Jury Journalism Platform - Product Specification

Core Concept

A democratic journalism platform that treats readers as jury members, optimizing for relevance and decision uncertainty rather than clicks and confirmation bias. Stories are presented as cases requiring verdicts, with readers actively participating in evidence evaluation and collaborative investigation.

Foundational Principles

The Dual Objective Function

• Relevance Maximization: Stories must matter to the reader’s jurisdiction (geographic, economic, demographic, temporal)
• Entropy Maximization: Prioritize stories where readers are genuinely uncertain, avoiding confirmation bias content

Jurisdictional Framework

• Geographic Jurisdiction: Local, state, federal impact zones
• Economic Jurisdiction: Industry sectors, market segments, employment categories
• Demographic Jurisdiction: Age, education, occupation, values-based groupings
• Temporal Jurisdiction: Immediate impact vs. precedent-setting implications

User Experience Architecture

Story Structure: The Trial Format

Jury Selection Phase

• User profiling to establish jurisdictional relevance
• Pre-story survey: “Based on what you know, what’s your initial verdict?”
• Explanation of stakes: “Why this decision matters to you”

Opening Statement

• Clear articulation of the decision to be made
• Preview of evidence types to be presented
• Explanation of what constitutes “reasonable doubt” for this case

Evidence Presentation

• Primary Sources First: Documents, recordings, data presented as exhibits
• Witness Testimony: Interviews and statements with credibility assessments
• Expert Analysis: Subject matter expertise with conflict-of-interest disclosure
• Cross-Examination: Addressing counter-arguments and alternative interpretations

Jury Instructions

• Guidance on how to weigh different types of evidence
• Explanation of logical fallacies to avoid
• Standards of proof appropriate to the decision type

Deliberation

• Interactive comment system structured as jury deliberation
• Evidence reference tools for debates
• Anonymous verdict tracking with demographic breakdowns

Verdict and Appeal

• Reader decision with reasoning requirement
• Comparison with peer verdicts
• “Appeal” option for new evidence submission

Interactive Participation Features

Evidence Contribution System

• “Consider This Data”: User-submitted documents, links, and analysis
• Source Suggestion: Pointing research agents toward new information streams
• Local Intelligence: Insider knowledge and context from domain experts
• Connection Mapping: Linking current story to previous investigations

Question-Driven Investigation

• Pay-to-Ask: Small fee model for specific research requests
• Crowdsourced Priorities: Community voting on investigation directions
• Expert Witness Requests: Bringing in specialized knowledge for complex cases

Story Spawning

• Related Case Generation: User suggestions for derivative investigations
• Jurisdictional Angles: Same story through different jurisdictional lenses
• Precedent Tracking: Following similar cases across time and geography

Platform Architecture

Agent System

Research Agent

• Data Source Monitoring: News APIs, government databases, social media trends
• Primary Source Acquisition: FOIA requests, document scraping, database queries
• Pattern Recognition: Identifying anomalies, contradictions, and investigative opportunities
• Source Credibility Scoring: Maintaining reliability assessments for information sources

Lead Generator Agent

• Story Opportunity Detection: Cross-referencing data streams for newsworthy patterns
• Relevance Scoring: Assessing jurisdictional impact for different user segments
• Entropy Calculation: Identifying stories with maximum decision uncertainty
• Investigation Prioritization: Resource allocation based on impact and feasibility

Editorial Agent

• Story Structuring: Converting raw investigations into trial format
• Fact Verification: Cross-checking claims against primary sources
• Evidence Hierarchy: Organizing information by strength and relevance
• Bias Detection: Identifying and addressing logical fallacies and unsupported claims

CMS and Technical Agent

• Content Management: Dynamic story templates and evidence organization
• Tag Taxonomy: Maintaining jurisdictional and topical classification systems
• Performance Analytics: Tracking engagement, verdict patterns, and evidence effectiveness
• User Interface Optimization: A/B testing trial formats and interaction designs

Phased Data Expansion Strategy

Phase 1: Foundation Layer

• News API aggregation (NewsAPI, GDELT, AllSides)
• Web scraping automation for primary sources
• RSS feeds from key government and institutional sources
• Basic social media monitoring for trend detection

Phase 2: Financial and Corporate Layer

• SEC filing monitoring and analysis
• Corporate database integration
• Market data APIs for economic impact assessment
• Procurement and contracting databases

Phase 3: Legislative and Policy Layer

• Congressional bill tracking (LegiScan, ProPublica Congress API)
• State and local legislative monitoring
• Regulatory filing systems
• Lobbying disclosure databases

Phase 4: Legal System Integration

• Court filing monitoring (CourtListener, Docket Alarm)
• PACER integration for federal case tracking
• State court system APIs where available
• Legal precedent analysis and citation networks

Phase 5: Specialized and Local Sources

• Industry-specific databases and monitoring
• Local government transparency portals
• Academic research and policy institute publications
• International data sources for global impact stories

Monetization Strategy

Subscription Tiers

Jury Duty ($5/month)

• Basic story access and verdict participation
• Community deliberation features
• Aggregate verdict results and demographic breakdowns

Grand Jury ($15/month)

• Early access to developing investigations
• Enhanced evidence packets with deeper primary source access
• Jurisdiction-specific filtering and personalization
• Story suggestion and question submission privileges

Judge ($50/month)

• API access for personal analysis and research
• Bulk data exports and custom alert systems
• Priority treatment for evidence submissions and questions
• Advanced analytics on verdict patterns and evidence effectiveness

Institutional Revenue Streams

Legal and Consulting Services

• Jury Consulting: Leveraging verdict prediction capabilities for actual legal cases
• Policy Pre-Testing: Testing proposed legislation through the jury system
• Corporate Risk Assessment: Scenario planning through simulated public opinion analysis

Data and Research Services

• Academic Partnerships: Anonymized decision-making data for research institutions
• Market Research: Understanding how different demographics process evidence and make decisions
• Trend Analysis: Early detection of public opinion shifts on policy issues

Expert and Contributor Network

• Evidence Marketplace: Compensating freelance researchers for primary source contributions
• Expert Witness Program: Paid analysis from subject matter experts
• Community Revenue Sharing: Contributors receive compensation when their submissions generate engagement

Community-Driven Revenue

Participation Economics

• Investigation Requests: Pay-per-question model for specific research priorities
• Premium Evidence Access: Enhanced primary source packages for complex cases
• Story Spawning Fees: Revenue sharing for user-suggested investigations that generate new stories
• Expert Consultation: Direct access to platform experts and contributors for personalized analysis

Success Metrics and KPIs

Engagement Quality Metrics

• Verdict Completion Rate: Percentage of readers who progress from opening statement to final verdict
• Evidence Interaction Depth: Time spent examining primary sources vs. summary content
• Deliberation Quality: Constructive comment engagement and evidence-based reasoning
• Mind-Change Rate: Frequency of verdict updates based on new evidence

Democratic Participation Indicators

• Jurisdictional Accuracy: Relevance scores correlated with user engagement and completion
• Entropy Optimization Success: Stories generating genuine uncertainty and thoughtful deliberation
• Community Contribution Volume: User-submitted evidence, questions, and story suggestions
• Expert Participation: Quality subject matter experts engaging with investigations

Business Performance Metrics

• Subscription Conversion and Retention: Particularly progression through subscription tiers
• Community Revenue Generation: Success of pay-to-participate features
• Institutional Client Satisfaction: B2B service delivery and renewal rates
• Platform Network Effects: Growth in evidence quality and investigation depth over time

Competitive Advantages

Structural Differentiation

• Engagement Model: Uncertainty-driven rather than confirmation-driven content selection
• Participation Architecture: Readers as active investigators rather than passive consumers
• Revenue Alignment: Business model rewards democratic engagement rather than attention exploitation
• Transparency Requirements: Open methodology creates trust and defensibility

Network Effect Moats

• Evidence Aggregation: Platform becomes authoritative source for controversy research
• Expert Network: Attracts high-quality subject matter contributors
• Community Investment: User contributions create switching costs and platform loyalty
• Institutional Integration: Becomes essential infrastructure for democratic decision-making

Implementation Roadmap

Phase 1: Core Platform Development (Months 1-6)

• Basic trial format story templates
• Research agent MVP with news API integration
• User profiling and jurisdictional relevance scoring
• Community verdict and deliberation features

Phase 2: Enhanced Participation (Months 6-12)

• Evidence contribution system
• Question-driven investigation features
• Premium subscription tier launch
• Editorial agent sophistication improvements

Phase 3: Data Expansion (Months 12-18)

• Financial and corporate data integration
• Legislative tracking capabilities
• Expert witness program launch
• Institutional service development

Phase 4: Platform Maturation (Months 18-24)

• Legal system integration
• Advanced AI agent capabilities
• Full API access for enterprise clients
• International expansion planning

This platform represents a fundamental reimagining of democratic media - not just informing the public, but actively engaging them in the decision-making processes that shape their communities and lives.