This year marks the Columbia Journalism Review's 50th anniversary, and in the anniversary issue CJR online editor Justin Peters edited a section that looked ahead to the next fifty years of news. Near the end of that section, he tried to articulate a coherent philosophy for how news organizations could help ensure their continued relevance by embracing the principles of the open web. Four panels will be held at the festival to expand on four key points in the essay, principles that news organizations ought to embrace if they are to fully realize the potential of the digital news revolution: collaboration, experimentation, education and moderation/participation.

The future of news: collaboration

In the future, the most sustainable news organizations will be the ones that give their users prominent space to substantively interact, express themselves and participate in the genesis and dissemination of news. The panel will consider how news organizations can effectively collaborate with their physical and virtual communities and why it's important that news organizations find ways to interact and collaborate with all kinds of citizens, not just those who are the most technologically adept.

Organised in association with Columbia Journalism Review