In a refreshing break from the wailing and moaning from the business side of content, Bill Mitchell offers an in-depth look at a dynamic storytelling form he calls "Next Step Journalism":

It's a process -- call it Next Step Journalism -- that will shape more and more of the news we need from around the block and around the globe.

Journalists have relied on a process approach to writing for years. The Next Step Journalism process practiced on the Neda story began with an event and is characterized by the collective sharing and enhancing of information ...

... Deconstructing the Neda story reveals seven elements of this kind of storytelling -- some more in need of professional journalism skills and values than others. In describing what's involved in each elements, I'm struck by a common thread: the importance of collaboration. [Link included in original post.]

As Mitchell illustrates later in the column, journalists can use social media tools as a starting point for deeper research and reporting. Sources are everywhere, you just have to be willing to look.