Rusbridger’s philosophy is that “journalists are not the only experts in the world.”

In a recent online chat, Alan Rusbridger explained how he understands open journalism:

“Open journalism is journalism which is fully knitted into the web of information that exists in the world today. It links to it; sifts and filters it; collaborates with it and generally uses the ability of anyone to publish and share material to give a better account of the world.

A year or so ago, when we were trying to work out how journalism should change, we jotted down 10 principles of open journalism (obviously you can stick a “not” in any of the sentences to see what closed journalism looks like).

Here they are:

– It encourages participation. It invites and/or allows a response

– It is not an inert, “us” or “them”, form of publishing

– It encourages others to initiate debate, publish material or make suggestions. We can follow, as well as lead. We can involve others in the pre-publication processes

– It helps form communities of joint interest around subjects, issues or individuals

– It is open to the web and is part of it. It links to, and collaborates with, other material (including services) on the web

– It aggregates and/or curates the work of others

– It recognizes that journalists are not the only voices of authority, expertise and interest

– It aspires to achieve, and reflect, diversity as well as promoting shared values

– It recognizes that publishing can be the beginning of the journalistic process rather than the end

– It is transparent and open to challenge – including correction, clarification and addition

I think they’re pretty good principles. What do you think?”

In a video interview, Alan Rusbridger further explains how he sees journalism in the 21st century.

Below is a commercial for open journalism, which the Guardian produced. It imagines how the Guardian might cover the story of the three little pigs in print and online.