The news business is changing.
The Internet is bringing new options to readers as they seek information about their world. But the Internet also is bringing new tools to journalists to help them do a better job of providing reliable, factual information quicker than ever before.
This Independence Day, The Dispatch's parent firm, Journal Register Co., is undertaking a company-wide effort to accelerate the use of new avenues to include readers -- both online and print -- in shaping the news reports in their community. It's called "The Ben Franklin Project."
The company's new CEO, John Paton has set forth a "Digital First and Print Last," strategy encouraging the chain's local papers to reach out to readers by posting developing stories online throughout the day, while continuing to print useful, authoritative and interesting newspapers in the community.
The goal, Paton said, is to "liberate our thinking and become ever more meaningfully involved with the communities we serve by involving the audience in our content creation. Along the way, we will prove we can challenge the outdated business model of print to a model of the future that preserves and enhances our journalism."
From Independence Day on, Paton said "we will continue to explore ever more ways to shed the past and adopt the future.Ó
Along with making greater use of social media software, such as Facebook, Twitter and blogs, The Dispatch and other JRC papers will experiment by publishing a newspaper on July 3-4 using largely open-source or free online tools.
To that end, The Dispatch is planning several "crowd-source" stories designed to include readers in shaping what appears online and in the paper.

The stories include:

Where have all our neighbors gone?
Census projections show Madison and Oneida counties continuing to lose residents. It's not just retired people moving to Florida; it's young and educated people seeking opportunity they feel they can't find at home. If this area is to grow and proper, we'll need these people to help make it happen.
What can be done? What are the pluses and minuses of this area? What do other areas offer that this area doesn't? What can you find here and nowhere else?
We want to hear from former residents as to why they moved and local adults about why they stayed local adults of all ages about whether they are planning to stay.
We want to hear from teenagers and college students as to where they see themselves living in the future.
The first in a series of articles on this topic will run July 3.

Dangerous intersections:
Dispatch readers know better than anyone which are the most dangerous intersections in the area. After all, they travel though them every day. Let us know which intersections are high on your list. We'll talk with local officials about how to solve what may be long-standing issues.
To report an intersection, click on the SeeClickFix button on www.OneidaDispatch.com

Your neighbor:
Too often news stories revolve around the same high-profile public officials. But we all know the area is filled with interesting people who rarely step into the limelight. Dispatch readers know who these people. We're asking for help identifying them. There are great stories waiting to be told.

Oneida Proud:
This year's edition of this annual effort will focus on Oneida High School. While many of us attended or have children who did, the school was different in each era. The teachers, fashions and atmosphere changed over the years and made huge differences our experiences. We want people to share their memories of what OHS was like "back in the day" .... whenever that was for you. We want to hear from everyone, students, teachers and administrators. Please share your memories and your photos.

To contribute, to any of these-mail: kwanfried@oneidadispatch.com,visit the Oneida Daily Dispatch on Facebook

or simply comment below