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"1. Humans are amazing at adapting to new things if they’re given the right context. 2. Change is something that a person or organization has to want for themselves before anyone or anything can help them achieve it. 3. Changing things, small or large, is intimidating for most people whether they’ll tell you that or not. If you have knowledge that they need in order to make the shift, empowerment is key. That means helping people see what they can do rather than only outlining what they can’t or shouldn’t be doing."
Sunday, 28 October 2012
My Interesting Reads (weekly)
Friday, 26 October 2012
Shifted focus - audience, content, platforms
The Daily Post is three weeks into a new live breaking news blog - viewable in real time and fullscreen, here -
It runs seven days a week, ticking away between 6.30am and 10pm Monday-Friday and with a little later start at the weekends (or earlier, depending on what's been happening).
We keep the tone conversational but informative (and also, when appropriate, a bit informal - why not? Today's shift handover update made me smile).
Anyway,TM's digital publishing director David Higgerson has been involved from the get-go, and he's been explaining the raison d'etre of ours and the MEN's breaking news blog on Journalism.co.uk and Hold the Front Page - you can find the articles here and here.
In them he explains the hows and whys of how print and digital platforms can and should support each other.
It's shiny, but the liveblog is actually higher-profile piece of a much bigger jigsaw in our newsroom, with the aim of moving from
Now the editorial team has had to put its money where my mouth is, as we experiment with print and digital production ideas based around that. We still have to use a flatplan but it's far less in evidence than was previously the case.
Live news is reported live; I've always believed our best chance to sell newspapers is to use our sites and networks to actually tell potential readers what's going on rather than produce it, magician-like, and hope that they'll a) see the newspaper and b) care enough about the headline/free pasty offer to buy it
Visibility matters. Take this blog post - it will get auto-tweeted by my Dlvr.it service at some point, I'm not sure when, and lost as the Twitter river flows on. A tiny slice of people will see the link, an even tinier slice click on it (and thank you, reader, for doing that. You are lovely.)
If I were to keep retweeting that tweet, I'd have a bigger audience but no guarantee of a more interested audience - I probably just annoy those seeing the same content being pimped for the third time.
But by telling people the progress of something , you make it more compelling. Flowing information onto our digital platforms, and repositioning ourselves to be a part of people's day earlier, gives us a better chance of reflecting their interests in our print pages.
So the liveblog is important - it tells people what's happening, it gives the team staffing it their own identities, and it allows conversations. But it's also an enabler to us changing the way we think, and way the work.
(This is how it appears on the homepage,on the right hand side of the above screengrab)
It runs seven days a week, ticking away between 6.30am and 10pm Monday-Friday and with a little later start at the weekends (or earlier, depending on what's been happening).
We keep the tone conversational but informative (and also, when appropriate, a bit informal - why not? Today's shift handover update made me smile).
Anyway,TM's digital publishing director David Higgerson has been involved from the get-go, and he's been explaining the raison d'etre of ours and the MEN's breaking news blog on Journalism.co.uk and Hold the Front Page - you can find the articles here and here.
In them he explains the hows and whys of how print and digital platforms can and should support each other.
It's shiny, but the liveblog is actually higher-profile piece of a much bigger jigsaw in our newsroom, with the aim of moving from
Platform->Content->Audienceto
Audience->Content->PlatformsA couple of years ago I blogged that producing a newspaper by using a flatplan as a guide to the contents was not the best way to do things.
Now the editorial team has had to put its money where my mouth is, as we experiment with print and digital production ideas based around that. We still have to use a flatplan but it's far less in evidence than was previously the case.
Live news is reported live; I've always believed our best chance to sell newspapers is to use our sites and networks to actually tell potential readers what's going on rather than produce it, magician-like, and hope that they'll a) see the newspaper and b) care enough about the headline/free pasty offer to buy it
Visibility matters. Take this blog post - it will get auto-tweeted by my Dlvr.it service at some point, I'm not sure when, and lost as the Twitter river flows on. A tiny slice of people will see the link, an even tinier slice click on it (and thank you, reader, for doing that. You are lovely.)
If I were to keep retweeting that tweet, I'd have a bigger audience but no guarantee of a more interested audience - I probably just annoy those seeing the same content being pimped for the third time.
But by telling people the progress of something , you make it more compelling. Flowing information onto our digital platforms, and repositioning ourselves to be a part of people's day earlier, gives us a better chance of reflecting their interests in our print pages.
So the liveblog is important - it tells people what's happening, it gives the team staffing it their own identities, and it allows conversations. But it's also an enabler to us changing the way we think, and way the work.
Sunday, 21 October 2012
My Interesting Reads (weekly)
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Marc Reeves' post on the hyperlocal blogging scene - really interesting debate in the comments section.
Sunday, 14 October 2012
My Interesting Reads (weekly)
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"Opensignalmaps has pinpointed North Wales as the area with the worst coverage - with the highest concentration of notspots. "Looking at our map most of the big cities are well served by 3G, but it's clear that 3G coverage is still a massive issue anywhere outside major cities," said map creator Brendan Gill."
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"News remains an important part of what people do on their mobile devices-64% of tablet owners and 62% of smartphone owners say they use the devices for news at least weekly, tying news statistically with other popular activities such email and playing games on tablets and behind only email on smartphones (not including talking on the phone)."
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"When Americans first learn about a breaking news story, 83 percent seek out a second source to get more information, new research says.Half of them turned to a different type of platform (i.e., heard the news on TV then went online to read more) for follow-up, and of the people who went online, 60 percent turned to a traditional news outlet like The New York Times, CNN or Fox News."
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"Storytelling has emerged as a safe zone that allows media practitioners to circumvent, or at least loosen up, some of the traditional boundaries that may be confining the industry during a time of great change. It is, in part, a way for us to flex and experiment on the edges of the often strict parameters of journalistic practice and the fixed broadcast medium that defines much of what we do"
Monday, 1 October 2012
Storified: The Future of News Media in Wales debate
I would have liked to attend the Future of News Media in Wales debate at Cardiff JOMEC on Monday night - it sounded fascinating.
Luckily, I discovered it was underway on Twitter and with assistance of some excellent tweeters at the scene (a big thank you to everyone who helped those of us not attending follow the event by posting such great updates) I was able to see how the debate unfolded.
This was the purpose of the night:
And, because it was so interesting and relevant, I've Storified it here too (it has a few seconds load time...)
Luckily, I discovered it was underway on Twitter and with assistance of some excellent tweeters at the scene (a big thank you to everyone who helped those of us not attending follow the event by posting such great updates) I was able to see how the debate unfolded.
This was the purpose of the night:
Newspapers are closing and there is uncertainty about the future of news provision on radio and TV. Can new media, citizen journalism and the promise of local television fill the gap? And is the news business in terminal decline in Wales, or are we simply seeing an adjustment to technological change and new consumer demands?The speakers were:
- Phil Henfrey – Head of News and Programmes, ITV Wales
- Alan Edmunds – Editor in Chief, Media Wales (and, in the interests of disclosure, my former boss)
- Mark O’Callaghan – Head of News and Current Affairs, BBC Wales
And, because it was so interesting and relevant, I've Storified it here too (it has a few seconds load time...)
Sunday, 30 September 2012
My Interesting Reads (weekly)
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"For those willing to take an experimental plunge, Instagram is more about branding and engagement than eyeballs and dollars. After some campaign trail experimentation, the Associated Press is encouraging its staff photographers to use their personal Instagram feeds in a professional capacity. Meanwhile, well known media outlets like NPR and the Wall Street Journal maintain official accounts that share photos highlighting major news events. "We haven't totally figured out a strategy, to be honest," NPR Multimedia Producer Claire O'Neill said last week at the Online News Assocation (ONA) conference in San Francisco. Whatever they're doing, it seems to be working. The organization's Instagram account boasts over 213,000 followers with each image sparking hundreds of comments and thousands of likes. "
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"In a post-Leveson world, of all worlds, the UK mainstream media has to answer the L’Oreal question. Are you worth it? And once they’ve done that they have to come up with much ideas than a broadband levy. "In a country where we are shutting hospitals, cutting disability benefits and charging students £9,000 a year to attend University, journalism is more needed than ever. But professional journalists have to justify what they do more honestly, efficiently and imaginatively than ever before, too."
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"I looked The Troll in the eye and said "Stand up." " e stood. I said " Look at me. I'm a middle aged man with a limp and a wheeze and a son and a wife that I love. I'm not just a little avatar of an eye. You're better than this. You have a name of your own. Be proud of it. Don't hide it again and I won't ruin it if you play ball with your parents. Now shake hands.""
Sunday, 23 September 2012
My Interesting Reads (weekly)
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"Journalists and news publishers have long sought the best ways to create engagement on Twitter and make the most of every Tweet - and we want to help. We've created a set of best practices for journalists and newsrooms that can help you increase follower growth and engagement on Twitter, based on extensive research by our Platform and Analytics teams. " The team analyzed thousands of Tweets from more than 150 news brands and individual reporters around the world, determining four specific areas of focus: tweet your beat, use hashtags for context, @ cite your sources, and share what you’re reading."
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