Connecting readers to their communities — both individual neighbourhoods and the city as a whole — is the founding principle behind OpenFile. If there’s something going on where you live that’s important to you and your neighbours, we want to cover it. We rely on local journalists and interested readers to inform us about what matters to them. If it’s a good fit, we’ll assign a reporter to follow up and see what develops.
We designed OpenFile to function as a community information utility that is both responsive to and directed by its users. If you’re a concerned citizen who wants to get more involved with your community, you should join us. If you belong to a local charity or community action group and want to share information about your issues and mission, you should join us, too. We want to engage our readers in an open discussion about what’s really happening around Toronto, not just tell them what we think they should know about.
OpenFile is committed to accuracy, transparency, accountability and, as our name implies, openness. For the full scoop on how we work, please read our privacy policy and terms and conditions. Members submit (“pitch”) story ideas to our editors, who then assign them to reporters or post them to the “New Pitches” section for community review.
Here’s the life cycle of a typical OpenFile story:
The germ of a good news story is a good idea. Most usually take the form of a question, such as: “Why doesn’t this busy intersection have a pedestrian crossing?” or “What’s being built around the corner from my kid’s school?” If you’re asking, chances are someone else is asking, too.
Okay, you’ve got a great idea. Now what? Click on the “Open a File” button in the utility bar at the top of any OpenFile page. Next, submit a brief summary of your story idea (think of this as a headline), a more detailed description, add any relevant multimedia (images, video, audio), and finally the general location of where the story takes place (a postal code or major intersection). When you’re finished, click “Submit” and your pitch will be sent to our editorial team.
Once submitted, your pitch will be passed along to OpenFile editors for review. If they think your idea warrants further investigation, they’ll post it to the “Recent Pitches” section to see what the readership thinks. Once your file is open, everyone will be able to read your pitch and comment on it. We’ll let you know by email and through your OpenFile account once your story has been assigned to a reporter.
Once a story has been approved by an OpenFile editor, we assign it to a reporter. OpenFile employs professional journalists to ensure that stories are accurate, informative and well-written.
When our reporter has filed his or her story, we’ll let you know that the story you pitched has gone public. From there, you and other readers can register comments and attach images, video and links to add context to the published story. If things get really interesting, it might even spawn a brand-new file.
The beauty of OpenFile is that our stories never really go away. We keep everything we publish in our archives so that members and contributors can supplement and update them as the story evolves. OpenFile members can post comments, add images and videos, and pitch follow-up stories. This way, we can create a permanent dialogue that endures as long as readers remain interested.
Ready to go? Sign up for an OpenFile account and help us make the news.