SeeClickFix as a fix for newspapers?

Tale of three newspapers:

The New York Times reports that The Journal Inquirer in Connecticut is using SeeClickFix.com, a Web service that allows citizens to post “something needs to be done about this…” alerts to other citizens, the media and officials:

Newspapers See the Appeal of a Local Web Gadget, SeeClickFix.

The story mentions that The Journal Inquirer began participating in SeeClickFix, but “did not receive responses until an article about the site ran in The Hartford Courant.”

There was no irony flag on the Times paragraph, but as a Courant alumnus, I recall the Rockville/Manchester J-I as  Courant competition — a scrappy suburban daily covering cities north and east of Hartford.

Curious, I checked: That original Courant SeeClickFix story was about SeeClickFix as a New Haven-born startup, mentioning its use by publications outside the Courant’s main home-delivery areas. The May item is behind the 30-day paywall for archive searches at Courant.com, but a Google site search of courant.com found it in the paper’s mobile edition.

I also found Courant reader comments mentioning SeeClickFix, such as this one about a Manchester restaurant, and this  letter to the editor about bicycle commuting. But the Courant itself doesn’t appear to be using the service.

However, my search also found a blog item today by a Courant reporter linking to the most recent Times story. Its heading was “The future of journalism,” so who knows…

Meanwhile, SeeClickFix’s own blog has items about the JournalInquirer’s involvement (at a $38 a month investment), as well as a working link to the Courant’s original coverage.

Related links:

• SeeClickFix.com
• Journal Inquirer
• The Hartford Courant