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magazines: high-tech sneak peeks
In the race to embrace cyberspace, a couple of magazines have given extra meaning to the notion of reader involvement. In recent months, both Mother Jones and Interactive Age, a trade journal, began allowing their readers to see selected material electronically, before publication.
What's more, both magazines are running reader responses in the same issues in which the articles appear. "It's definitely new territory," says Jeffrey Klein, editor-in-chief of Mother Jones, whose previews show up on the World Wide Web. "But we see one of our roles as having debates. This is a good way to be more interactive with our readers."
Certainly, reaching out to readers is something every editor wants to do, especially at a time when mistrust of the media is reaching new highs. "Readers these days view most news organizations as remote and arrogant places," says The Washington Post's media critic, Howard Kurtz. "A growing problem for all of us is that this business engages in one-way communication. This is a relatively painless way to open publications to other voices."
Still, the practice, which seems likely to catch on as publications search for new ways to tap the fast-growing audience in cyberspace, also presents the magazines with delicate decisions. On one hand, the editors at both periodicals say they welcome the dissent, fresh insights, or clarifications that their interactive previews may provide. Not only does advance word about a story create a buzz, but such responses can also invigorate the editorial process.
But they also worry about readers who might react by objecting to the contents and want an article killed or altered under the threat of a lawsuit. And there's always the possibility that a competitor may grab hold of the same item. "There's a whole slew of perils out there that I don't have a solution to," says David Klein -- no relation to Jeffrey -- who is editor-in-chief of Interactive Age. The magazine calls its experiment "Real-Time Letters" and uses electronic mail for the previews. "We'll cross those bridges when we come to them. For now, it's case by case."
So far, his solution is to avoid sending out competitive stories ahead of publication. He also limits advance copies of stories to about a dozen people, from a pool of about 100 who have agreed to participate, none of whom are mentioned in the pieces. Klein will e-mail one of three different stories to no more than ten people each, and he relies on the honor system by requesting that everyone agree to confidentiality. In any event, replies must be submitted in four days.
The system at Mother Jones is to offer only essays on its Web site, which anyone can access by typing in the address. "At the moment, news would still go through a different set of considerations than an essay," says Jeffrey Klein, stressing that the previews are experimental. "There are dangers here. Editors have to think through each thing on an individual basis. That's why we're editors."
To preview Mother Jones, type http://www.mojones.com. For Interactive Age, e-mail dklein@interact.cmp.com.
