Banyan standards

From Banyan Project

It is by carefully setting and enforcing standards that the Banyan Project will ensure that the journalism it delivers to its public, much of it created by widely distributed independent franchisee/licensees, will meet its value proposition: It will be relevant to the lives of less-than-affluent people, respectful of them as people, and worthy of their trust.

We envision that the standards will be enforced four main ways:

1) To gain use of the Banyan platform, and to share in the revenue it generates, franchisees will sign an agreement that commits them to follow certain rules and procedures. Also, the franchisees and their employees will receive training in the ways of Banyan journalism.

2) Banyan's software will include content management system features that lead journalists at every franchisee through procedures designed to ensure that what makes it to the Web meets standards.

3) The 2.0 aspects platform will ask reader/users to flag material they think is irrelevant, disrespectful or untrustworthy so the editors can check. Franchisees that veer from Banyan standards will be severed.

4) When the time comes for national, Washington and foreign coverage to be added to the pilot sites for local and service journalism, the Banyan co-op's central office will provide it, modeling the standards that all Banyan journalism must follow.

Banyan will extend its standards -- as expressions of its value proposition -- to its advertising policy and to the culture of the 2.0 community that comes together in its software.