Building a Better Online Newsroom (College)

BUILDING a BETTER

ONLINE NEWSROOM

School Newspapers OnlineLogan Aimone

@loganaimone

slideshare.net/snosites

http://slideshare.net/snosites

MANAGING AN ONLINE FIRST

NEWSROOM

State of many college news websites:• They’re a repository for printed stories.

• They’re where the bad stories are published.

• They’re a storage place for print PDFs.

• They’re only occasionally thought about.

• Big stories are published only after the “big reveal” in print.

• They don’t live up to their potential.


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What if it didn’t have to be that way?• What if you didn’t have to wait until the next issue?

• What if you needed to reach your audience instantly, no matter where they were?

• What if your audience wasn’t just your campus?

• What if you have real news to report?

It can be different.


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Online publication gives you opportunities:• Breaking news and emergencies

• Developing stories

• Sports game coverage

• Movie and music reviews

• Opinions

• Multimedia

• Social Media


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In the same way you must adapt the tools to work on the Web, you must adapt the newsroom.


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Staff members will be in different points of the

production schedule daily. And that’s OK.


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Rethink the story cycle• Your job is to tell the story, not to make the paper.

• You can make every day a story idea day.

• You can make every day a publication day.

• A story might take three weeks or three hours to produce.

• Plan for when big news happens outside the print schedule.


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Take advantage of what the Web offers• Stories can be published when they are ready —

not when the print cycle dictates.

• Content can be the length that is appropriate —not cut or expanded to fit space.

• Storage is not an issue — lots of photos or multimedia.

• Stories can be updated or corrected easily as new information is gathered.

• A story can be a springboard for exploration with links to additional content and related stories.


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Build the audience• Establish a reputation: Be the #1 news source on your campus.

• Deliver relevant content. Timeliness makes content relevant.

• Notify readers when you’ve posted a new story.

• Surface new content

• Email updates/RSS

• Social media


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Engage with readers via social media• Use the social media that your audience uses.

• Write posts specifically for each social media platform.

• Time your posts for when the audience is engaged.

• Get readers to share content they like or want to promote.

• Listen to your audience.

• Find sources and story ideas on social media.


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Design with the readers’ needs in mind• Help readers identify what’s new and important.

• The story page is often the reader’s landing page.

• Contextual linking

• Embeddable elements

• Multiple photos and video

• Design and structure can vary to fit the circumstances.


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Revise your leadership structures• Online Editor-in-Chief option. A student with a title and

responsibilities equal to the print editor.

• Expanded roles option. Assignment role for managing editor and additional coordinating for photographers/photo editors must be expanded.

• Social media coordinator. This person supervises adoption, policies, training and voice via social media channels.


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Decide how a story will be covered• Determine the best platform. Some stories are told better in

print, while others are told better online (or will appear first online).

• Post when it’s ready. Don’t just dump content on the website every one or two weeks.


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Use a planning process• Which stories will appear in print? Online? Both?

• How can online and print combine to create multimedia coverage?

• How can you tell advance and follow-up stories using both platforms? Live coverage?


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Use Web-specific elements on story pages• What components does a Web story need to be effective

at telling the story:

• photos • video • audio • poll

• hyperlinks • infographic • pull quote • related stories


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Establish timelines and deadlines• Set up an editing process that allows for students to

finish and publish work at different times, not just the general deadline for a print issue.

• What deadlines make sense?


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Decide the best workflow • You need a tool that allows you to collaborate in real

time (Camayak or Google Docs)

• Have reporters place story in draft mode, including headline, contextual links and pull quote suggestions.

• Once a story is edited, it can be approved and published.


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Revise your plan for compensation• You will likely need to shift your paradigm for compensation.

• Assignments will have many forms. How do you accommodate this in compensation?

• What happens when students slack off, flake out or just don’t produce?


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Enjoy it• The production cycle doesn’t have the same ebb and flow as

each printed paper, so you will need to build in time to celebrate, evaluate, bond and grow.

• Incorporate Web milestones (analytics, hits, likes, retweets) into the celebration list.

• Celebrate recognition: contests, awards, critique ratings


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Improving the online newsroom takes some

work and an open mind.


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The great journalismyou produce will

look different.


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You’re using today’s technology and laying a

foundation for the future.


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You’ll teach your staff to adapt to changing

circumstances.


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QUESTIONS? Let’s hear ’em.• Contact us at [email protected] or @schoolnewspaper

• School Newspapers Online ?

mailto:[email protected]?subject=

mailto:http://schoolnewspapersonline.com?subject=

Education

Building a Better Online Newsroom (College)