Katie Schroeder, Daily Journal Media

TABLE OF CONTENTS

STORIES

Bethel church tackles multiple expansion projects ...........................4-5

Sunmart building redesigned..................................................................6

Hatchery Row adds innovation space to Battle Lake.........................8-10

COLUMNS

Katie Schroeder, Daily Journal Media ....................................................2

NeTia Bauman, Greater Fergus Falls......................................................3

Lisa Workman, Fergus Falls Chamber of Commerce...........................7

INNOVATION 2021

Daily Journal media

Ken Harty | Publisher Heather Kantrud | Editor Sean Lewis | Assistant Advertising Manager Deb Erickson | Creative Director Melody Surginer | Audience Development Manager Dee Forkey | Business Manager

© 2021 Daily Journal Media

The innovation of NABUR

By Katie Schroeder

Innovation

We typically think of newspapers as a printed item which shows up in your mailbox or on your doorstep. In today’s digital world maybe you also think of a news website with all the latest articles and photos.

When I got into journalism I wanted to be involved in creating the physical paper. There’s something about the shape and feel of a newspaper that is just impossible to recreate. But what if you could combine the quality of a newspaper with a townhall atmosphere in an online environment?

At Daily Journal Media, we are seeking to create a combination of quality journalism from a newspaper and a social-media website. Our goal is not to replace the newspaper, but to supplement it with NABUR. We want to create content that people are interested in, and NABUR allows us to have an easily accessible outlet to hear what articles you would be interested in reading. NABUR creates a way to make local information easily accessible for anyone in the community.

Even though we are living in the information age, local information is still complicated and difficult to find. It can be hard to find answers to local questions by googling it.

We created a local social-media website which is based around a town-hall atmosphere. The goal is to create a place where people can discuss local information and ask questions about their community.

The goal with NABUR is to change the way information flows between readers and the source of information. In classic journalism, journalists come up with an idea for an article, gather information for it and then consolidate it into an article.

With NABUR, readers have an opportunity to interact directly with domain experts, journalists and other readers to get a more conversational experience for the reader. We hope to make NABUR a source of easy-toaccess local information and discussions about community issues.

Social media can be a source of local information, however, that often comes at the expense of civility and good information. Myself and other journalists are in charge of moderating the website and facilitating conversations between members with the goal of having a neighborly conversation. Following our guidelines does not mean that people will get kicked off the site for disagreeing. Discussions and debates can be productive, our goal is simply to make sure people are extending common courtesy to one another throughout the conversation.

We want to invite you to become part of the NABUR community by talking to your actual Fergus Falls neighbors. We have already been able to serve as a local Google for people with questions about the community. For example, I have been able to answer questions about everything from street sweeping to information about local writer’s groups. It has been truly rewarding to see civil conversations between NABURs about economic development and city issues as well as participating in them myself.

To join the conversation, visit nabur.fergusfallsjournal.com to sign up.