Caitlin Moran & Monica Guzman

Mónica Guzmán and Caitlin Moran are thoughtful practitioners of a new kind of reporting - conversational journalism. Their team at WhereBy.Us builds community in five U.S. cities with newsletters that engage their readers in ways that old media couldn't.

I invited Monica and Caitlin to the podcast because I was impressed with how they had maintained a consistent voice in their Seattle publication, The Evergrey, during a staff transition.

We talked about:

their impressive journalism backgrounds

the deliberate approach to voice and tone that they take at The Evergrey, but also the ability of each reporter to contribute their unique voice

the elements of their publication's voice and tone:

clarity of meaning, no jargon

conversational tone, always "hello" and "have a nice day"

delightful, light energy, even when the news is heavy

light cognitive load: short sentences, simple language and sentence structure

how their reporting is an ongoing conversation with their readers

how they developed their style guide

how the principles of the parent organization style (conversational, friendly, welcoming, warm, energetic) inform their local style

how local WhereBy.Us publications work to reflect local community concerns

their development of a conversational approach to journalism

how conversational journalism is more like writing an email than a conventional journalistic report

how traditional journalism values like concision and precision are still valuable

how events fit in with The Evergrey's reporting - closing a loop with the power of in-person relationships

how events and in-person interactions result in bigger benefits than quantitative measures can demonstrate

how they measure the qualitative impact of their work - one way is with a Slack bot that let's them report and record reader interactions

how readers' appreciation of their city fits their style: "Love for our cities is one of the ways that we connect with people in them."

how old journalism principles are impractical in the modern connected media age

how "transparency is the only way you can do it now"

the changing role of journalists from informants to mediators, moderators, and sense-makers - and the ensuing responsibility to be aware of which role they're in and their aims and intention

the importance of being aware that everything is always evolving and the need to "stay nimble and open to whatever's coming down the road"

how to figure out which stories matter in "a time when we're all overwhelmed with content"

Mónica and Caitlin's Bios

Mónica Guzmán is Vice President of Local at WhereBy.Us, leading a team of entrepreneurial journalists who are helping locals in five cities “live like you live here." She is the cofounder and former director of The Evergrey, the essential newsletter for Seattleites who want to make the most of their city, and a former columnist at The Seattle Times, GeekWire, The Daily Beast and The Columbia Journalism Review. Moni studied how to connect journalists and the public as a 2016 Nieman Fellow at Harvard University, and is studying political and social divisions as a 2019 Henry M. Jackson Leadership Fellow. She is the author of the influential 2016 API strategy study "The best ways to build audience and relevance by listening to and engaging your audience,” served as vice-chair of the Society of Professional Journalists Ethics Committee, and was as a juror for the 2013 and 2014 Pulitzer Prizes. Moni's a big fan of chocolate, karaoke, nerdy board games, and good stouts, and lives in Seattle's Wedgwood neighborhood with her husband, Jason Preston, and their two kids.