Transition to web first

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Henry Howard on February 19, 2008 at 12:33pm

If it is urgent news that people need to know NOW, that's when we give it to them. Loads of it in easy-to-navigate chunks.
For example, we had fairly severe flooding earlier this year in parts of our rural communities. When the flooding hit the first morning, we verified and published information as we received it. School closings. Business closings. Road closings. People evacuated. Shelters opened. As we received news, it went online.
Each item had its own headline so that readers affected in that area could easily find news that matted to them.
Altogether, we published more than 30 breaking news updates on the floods that day. Our page views went through the roof.
How did we do it? We've made the expectation clear that when we have breaking news, we publish it. Most of the time it is routine coverage: accident slows traffic on major road, convenience store robbed, crime sentencing, etc.
So when a major event comes, the reporters, editors, photographers, all know the drill. It's just on a much larger scale than the 25 or so news updates we publish each day.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Andy Brown on February 19, 2008 at 7:18pm

In many cases, Carmen, we have reporters call in from the scenes of breaking news. They often dictate to me (the copy editor) what has happened, and then update the information when they get back in the office. Other times, if we know something will happen ahead of time, such as a verdict or Barack Obama coming to town, the reporters and photographers will take laptops and e-mail me their stories and photos.

But setting up a strategy where reporters write stories and Web-savvy copy editors post them was hardly the tough part for us. It often was convincing the reporters and other editors that this is a part of their jobs. Even tougher is getting them to take the next step beyond that and think, "Gee. It would be good to get this on the Web."

I would encourage you to help your reporters and editors see that you're breaking news and that you can use the Web to level the playing field with TV and radio journalists. And helping people see that gives them a great deal of pride in their jobs, which can motivate them with Web coverage.

Our presentations with Web stories differ depending on what the story is. If we're talking about a car accident, we'll tell people to avoid the area and that it's blocking traffic, then write through later with injury and citation information. If we're talking about the NIU shootings, we start with one story and add to it with timestamps and subheads to show how stories have developed throughout the day. Take a look at rrstar.com to see what I mean. If you have any questions, just yell.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Carmen Boles on February 19, 2008 at 9:57pm

Thanks to you both for your input! My goal is for our readers to watch the 5 p.m. local news and say "gee, all those stories have already been on gazette.com!" We're doing a pretty good job adding new stories to our web site throughout the day, but when it comes to breaking news, alot of our problems seem to stem from processes rooted in the print traditions of the past. Understandably, the metro editor doesn't want her reporters answering to several different people in the room, but we haven't yet worked out a process where they are calling in snippets of information, quotes, reaction as they happen. But I'm working on it...thanks again!

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Ron Sylvester on March 9, 2008 at 12:02am

It's all about changing the way you think. Instead of seeing yourself as a "newspaper" reporter, you have to think more like you're working for a wire service. File a brief "bulletin" when news breaks. As you gather information, update it often. Watch how AP does it with the first-lede write-thru, second-lede, etc. We find people keep coming back to check updates, especially if you can change the online headline every time to reflect new content. The older reporters have done a better job at this than the younger ones. For one, we remember when you had to dictate a story over the phone. I often say that writing breaking news online is like writing your story in public view. If you really want to get fancy, save back a good nugget or anecdote you can use as a new lead for the print edition. When you break news online, the morning newspaper story becomes a second-day story. I cover courts. I've started using my smart phone and a Bluetooth fold-out keyboard to update stories from the courtroom. On one trial, I reported the verdict using Yahoo! instant messenger, and our web producer fixed it so it flowed right from the IM onto our web page for live coverage, typos and all. I'm a content guy, not a tekkie, so I don't know how he did it, but it was cool. As for your goal, Carmen, I've had TV producers and news directors say they have made a habit of watching our site for breaking news, because we usually get it first. We have a few hard-working people filing news and updates throughout the day, but it's starting to catch on around the newsroom.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Andy Brown on March 9, 2008 at 2:04pm

Right on, Ron. Not being a tekkie shouldn't stop anyone from pursuing and producing Web content. It sounds like you have terrific practices.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Henry Howard on March 10, 2008 at 9:23am

One more thought to consider when planning coverage. From time to time, we have identified stories to preview early in the day online, which remind readers to come back to our web site for the details.

For example, a brief blurb about something you know is happening today -- a sentencing or a major jobs announcement -- can be used. Just remind readers that XYZ is expected to happen at X o'clock today, and to check back with your web site for the details.

We usually post these early in the day (8-10ish) when web traffic is highest, hoping to draw people back later when the news is in.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Ryan Mercer on March 10, 2008 at 3:56pm

Hi all,

I think Ron touched on something that is important to get past too, typos. When you are covering breaking news, or anything with some urgency for that matter, get something up FAST! Rather than dictate to anyone, file it to web directly. Then let the office staff edit it from your web post, don't delay. This means that staffers need tools as Ron points out, laptops with broadband wireless cards at the very least. This will give your staff incredible flexibility. Trade your desktop computers if need be, they are becoming more and more obsolete for reporters and photographers anyway. The photo staff here hasn't used a desktop as their primary computer solution for more than 18 months and many many other departments around the country have been doing that for nearly a decade now. We now routinely transmit breaking news photos just minutes after we've arrived at a scene. Reporters can operate away from their desks, GET THEM OUT OF THE BUILDING! It's good for them most of the time and good for editors too!!

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Tom Mallory on March 11, 2008 at 7:28pm

At the Union-Tribune we set up a Breaking News Team to cover breaking news or, often, assist others in covering the news of the day. It's six staff writers, several who serve as editors as well, led by me, senior editor for Internet.
We'll double-team some assignments, working alongside folks in Metro or Business; take dictation; write background, or shirttails, for beat reporters who are going to call in something; whatever it takes. Sometimes we'll start off a story and then it will be updated by a beat reporter; other times it gets replaced by the version written for the paper. Sometimes we'll update a story four or five times during the news day. We also set up a process so that stories going to the web have a unique prefix in the slug and end up in a single basket, so that the editors putting the paper together can retask them for print and so that we can track how well those files are read online.
It's not just words, either, it's important to get the pictures and videos over as well, and that can be harder at times.
Tom Mallory
San Diego Union-Tribune.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Henry Howard on March 12, 2008 at 10:07am

Tom raises a good point: urgency for the Web shouldn't be limited to just words. Our photo staff is trained to produce photo galleries on breaking news, and we do some video as well. In either case, we make it a priority to post online.

Especially in major stories like floods or snowstorms, readers want to see -- not just read -- about the latest. These galleries and videos allow them to have up close access to the news without trudging outside in a natural disaster.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Tom Mallory on March 12, 2008 at 1:14pm

Thanks, Henry. But I realized after I hit post -- isn't that always the case? -- that the Breaking News Team approach is a hard sell for a smaller shop. Here's some more attainable goals:
- Set up a process for filing to the web just as you have a process for filing to the paper. That includes a slugging or naming convention and a routine for how the stories move over, who edits them, etc.
- The process needs to establish ways to update stories. For example, if we're just adding a paragraph, we just plop it in the earlier story and highlight that new material. If we're rewriting every paragraph, we send over a new version (BN02slug2)
- Build into the process the means -- depending on your publishing system -- to get the material back into the copy flow for the newspaper. Some material is good to go without updates, other stuff needs the updates, and some material is good for the web only. What you don't want is to have two reporters asking the same source the same questions to produce the same material. Once you get confirmed facts, use them wherever it belongs.
- Track readership on your web-only material and adjust your thinking accordingly. You'll quickly see that some things that newspapers don't typically cover, traffic accidents and freeway tie-ups for example, captivate online readers. Other more important things (the Regional Planning Board's latest ruling, oh boy!) act like reader repellent. We have to keep serving them asparagus, but there's no reason we can't offer tasty morsels, too.
- If you have them, use the comments on breaking news reports to interact with your readers. They'll add information you don't have and lead you in unexpected directions. Also, just posting your own comment saying "Thanks for your interest. We're working to answer questions like yours right now, story coming soon," tells readers that you are minding their Breaking News counter. (But also monitor the comments to discourage people making sport of the sufferings of others.)
- Be super transparent about fixing things. Just note, "The car was westbound (not eastbound, as we initially reported.) If you try to hide mistakes, netizens will assume you are Conspiring to Obscure the Truth.
Hope that helps.
Tom

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Ryan Mercer on March 13, 2008 at 12:31pm

I like Henry and Toms' comments about breaking news culture and visuals online. But I think small shops are the most in need of this type of push. We have a photo staff of 3 plus myself. So, we are what I would consider small. If it were not for the IT tools we have, we would never be able to accomplish what we do and in many ways those tools are most needed where bodies and time are under more strain. We can shoot, edit, transmit to the office and/or post to web, collect audio, edit it, incorporate into an audio slideshow and post it to the web all independent of the office so long as we can get a broadband signal (We even have inverters for car power to plug into if need be.) We've sort of taken that "breaking" method and are applying it more and more to other things. I like the idea of a breaking news team too, but try training ever single person in your newsroom to operate in that manner even for stories that may not seem that urgent. Then post it. If readers notice a constant flow of information coming across your site everday, they'll keep coming back throughout the day to see what's new. Not to mention this can expand your high-traffic times considerably. After a while, once that culture is built up in your newsroom, when that big breaking news story happens, it won't matter who is in your office because they will all -- give or take a few -- be able to cover it quickly and get that coverage to your website without even blinking. It does feel a little weird at times b/c we are often publishing live for web the things that will be in the paper the next day, but I don't see that as a threat and no study has even really linked cir. decline to that activity (Chances are your cir. numbers are already dropping anyway due to other online sources of info/entertainment that aren't coming from you. In some cases, web coverage has seemingly helped single-copy numbers because readers know to look for the print edition the next day and want to have a physical copy of what they've seen online, especially for breaking news.)
For its part, photo tries to update and post galleries constantly, especially from breaking news and sporting events. Photo galleries now make up more than 10% of our entire web traffic (About 1/2 million hits each month.) What is interesting is that video does not remotely get that same attention ever. So, if you have to choose over one resource or the other, video is clearing not hauling mail yet for most of us even when we do it well and it is expensive and requires much more technical and time resources. For us right now, photo galleries across the board, especially for breaking news or large community events and sports, are key.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Henry Howard on March 13, 2008 at 1:20pm

Ryan is absolutely right about photo galleries. We've identified key areas that we know photo galleries do well: college sports are huge (especially when your team is doing well. Go Purdue!), high school sports are too, and local breaking news. We also do galleries for community events: think big festivals/fairs in your town. People like to see themselves, their neighbors, etc.

And, for the record, we're a small newspaper, too. We work with our photo staff (editor and three photogs) so they can easily identify stories that make good galleries.

Keep in mind that galleries do not have to always mean 50 photos. For our Purdue sporting events, we generally have a large gallery of game action and (for home games) another one of fans. For smaller community events, we may post only 8 photos or so. That can be enough to represent the various goings-on and people in attendance.

And here's an idea we trotted out last year to some amazing results: photo galleries from the local high school proms. We had a free-lancer shoot the photos and upload them to our FTP site, where the photo editor placed them in a gallery. They were a huge hit with readers. Four high schools, well more than 100,000 page views. (I seem to recall it was slightly more than 140K.)

▶ Reply to This

• First
• Previous
• Next
• Last