MyMissourian.COM

Below excerpted from "Written by the Community; Edited by Journalists" by Nathan Alderman (http://www.j-newvoices.org/index.php/site/story/written_by_the_community_edited_by_journalists/):

Clyde Bentley thinks he''s found a new way for professional journalists and citizen writers to work together; a way to improve traditional media''s coverage of the news, instead of replacing it.

Bentley, an associate professor at the Missouri School of Journalism, is testing that theory with MyMissourian.com, a student-run, community-powered local news site for Columbia, Mo.

Launched in October 2004 after less than two months'' development, MyMissourian empowers Columbia residents to write about their own lives and concerns, guided by the news judgment of students with formal journalism training.

Bentley envisioned the site as a quick, cheaply built endeavor that could be copied easily by other interested newspapers.