Direct participation makes a community board work.

Getting readers involved in editorial pages beyond the traditional letters to the editor isn't really a difficult task. Anyone reading the page in the first place has his or her own opinions, to be sure, and most are very willing to share them.

The Observer-Dispatch has had reader panels in the past, but after several months, they've fizzled out. Our latest group, however, is pretty dynamic, and nearly a year later, members still provide us with good input.

This panel--we call it the Community Contributors Board--was put together in March 2004 as part of a broader newsroom effort to better serve our readers. We solicited readers' general ideas concerning coverage, and from that found some who agreed to serve on the panel to further dissect coverage of issues and provide comment. Do they care about the topics we're covering? What should we be paying more attention to?

Most important is their direct participation. While the group meets quarterly to hone in on specifics, the contributors--about a dozen of them--have carte blanche to weigh in on topics when the mood strikes. That might frighten some editors, but it really hasn't been a problem, especially with this group. In fact, while the contributors are bright, articulate folks and have no trouble sharing their thoughts during discussions, they usually need to be prodded to put their thoughts down on paper. When they do, they do well. But we need to encourage them regularly.

And so, anyone considering organizing such a group should be ready to keep them active. Good people will respond, but people who don't write for a living, no matter how opinionated and wordworthy, need to be prompted.

Our panel is diverse in age, gender, race, and career. That's vital. A readers' panel, like a newspaper, must reflect the community it serves. Our group includes a high school junior, director of the city YWCA's racial justice program, a marketing specialist, a retired school administrator, a high school teacher/career specialist, a college senior, a Realtor, and a stay-at-home mom.

Our first meeting was pretty basic. After a brief statement of purpose, we asked them what they liked and disliked about the opinion page--local and syndicated columnists, whether topics are relative to people's lives, where we're hitting the mark, and yes, where we come up short. Overall, they were kind, and at this meeting and in follow-up sessions we fell into some great discussions.

Their first "assignment" was to weigh in on school dress codes, something some area schools had been debating. Too restrictive? Too permissive? We solicited our panel (along with the general readership) and were able to put together an interesting Sunday op-ed package, including a fun graphic.

We have since tapped the contributors for an assortment of input--most recently soliciting their thoughts on what community leaders need to prioritize in 2005. We'll be gathering again in the near future to outline some issues that need closer scrutiny this year.

Since everyone is busy, we meet early evening-around 6 p.m.--and limit the session to two hours at most. Most discussions become quite spirited, and the time passes quickly. E-mail makes it pretty effortless to solicit and receive opinions from contributors on breaking news or otherwise in relatively short time.

Although reader advisory groups are nothing new in our business, I think a key to making them effective is to find a diverse group that best reflects your community and make them a regular part of the newspaper's voice. If you pick good people, they'll add a special flair, and even though you might have to poke up the flames now and then, they'll keep the fire burning if they feel a part of it all.

Dave Dudajek is the opinion page editor of the Observer-Dispatch in Utica, New York. E-mail DDUDAJEK@ utica.gannett.com