After the city of San Jose, Calif., launched its $100 million Strong Neighborhoods Initiative in 2002, the local residents began to see a need for an online forum to connect neighborhoods. The idea eventually evolved into NeighborWebSJ, which was launched as a bulletin board in August 2009.
Janice Rombeck, a self-proclaimed “do-it-yourself media entrepreneur” and former newspaper reporter and editor, took over the site in 2010 and immediately set out to expand content and add an array of interactive features.
The site sets out to inform residents who live in San Jose neighborhood improvement areas, with and aims to break news stories that other media outlets aren’t covering.
New look, new features
Rombeck wanted to refresh the site’s appearance and started by attending a weeklong workshop at the Knight Digital Media Center at UC Berkeley, where she learned to work with the WordPress platform to completely overhaul the site.
With the help of neighborhood volunteers and a KDMC graduate student who Rombeck says “coached and consoled via the Internet,” NWSJ has changed its look and added three new features.
A calendar page serves as a guide to news and events in San Jose neighborhoods. It also imports City Hall and other neighborhood calendars.
An online forum allows residents to debate and discuss issues in the San Jose area and add their own content.
Finally, an interactive Google Map page features links to other blogs and websites started by local residents, as well as contact information for local representatives for the Strong Neighborhoods Initiative.
Community outreach
NeighborWebSJ has worked hard to reach out to other organizations in the community. The home page of the site features quick links to City Council members and local non-profit groups. Rombeck has also partnered with San Jose State University to find journalism students to contribute content to the site.
She notes that the key to continued success will be relying on local citizens to contribute content.
“Residents are starting to show interest in becoming journalists,” Rombeck says. “And when NeighborWebSJ attracts a critical mass, we’ll sponsor a journalism workshop.”
She has also attempted to forge alliances with other media outlets, holding meetings with Create (www.creatvsj.org) a local non-profit cable television station and training center; Oakland Local (www.oaklandlocal.com), a successful Bay Area news site; and SJ Beez (www.sjbeez.org), a local collaboration of online and print ethnic media that sponsors monthly mixers; and Bay Area Publisher Partnership, a new network launched by the Sacramento Press (www.sacramentopress.com).
In order to spread the word about the revitalized NWSJ site, Rombeck organized two presentations at a United Neighborhoods workshop in April, and she continues to give monthly presentations at a neighborhood leadership group that serves as an advisory board for NWSJ and at Strong Neighborhoods meetings. NWSJ will also be featured at the upcoming Neighborhood Leadership Institute, and was introduced to editors and publishers at the recent Block by Block Community News Summit in the Bay Area.
Looking forward, “Phase 3” takes shape
“Phase 3” of NWSJ will be focused on continuing to add new features, contributors, readers and collaborators.
Rombeck says she plans to add an online tool kit for readers that will offer “tips on topics ranging from how to start a neighborhood group to speaking at a City Council meeting.”
There will also be two new pages added: One will highlight the Neighborhoods Commission, a group elected by City Council to serve as an advisory board on neighborhood issues; a second will be an extended contact page offering residents information on how to report graffiti, abandoned cars and more.
Rombeck also wants to generate a broader range of viewpoints and voices, and plans to use grant money to create a media center and purchase laptops and cameras for citizen journalists. The media center would provide workshops, training and support to residents looking to contribute.
“As a startup, NeighborWebSJ has built a solid foundation,” Rombeck says. “There’s tremendous potential to connect neighborhoods across San Jose and provide news about events and issues that aren’t being covered by other media.”
—Ashley Bright
