21st century media. Part 3. Six questions after
In the last parts of the article, I showed how to work with news sources , and what stages there are in the production process. In this part, we consider what should happen to the news after publication. To do this, we will rely on the traditional list of questions that any news text should answer: who? what? Where? why? when? And How?
A web page, unlike a printed article or broadcast, does not have a complete form. At least you can always edit it. The strength of such a page lies in the constant location at a certain address, and is directly related to its connection with other materials (which in turn ensures and enhances its accessibility to the reader).
From the moment of publication of the article on the page, you can put a link, it can be discussed, divided into parts, put labels, share a bookmark, send to a friend by e-mail. All this can be done right on your site, but in reality everything is different. Remember, after the publication of the article you no longer belong. So even if you organize all the above possibilities on your site, this will not be enough. What else can you do?
')
Look at the discussion. Discussions are good. With their help, we better work on ideas, obtain alternative points of view, collect arguments, find connections, reveal dark spots, agree, agree. But this is only the beginning. You most likely have been to such discussions, where everyone speaks, but no action follows. The same thing is happening now with most media sites and blogs — one endless discussion.
This is a big problem of modern media. Traditionally, journalists hunted for information, sniffed out, found out, investigated, but now we have a lot of sources, information, communications ... So, doesn’t it follow from this that we should have time to do more? Maybe we should tie everything together.
In my media of the 21st century, after the article was published, I would answer 6 questions, I would look for connections in the following areas:
And I would do that.
Having learned the news, a person wants either to urgently share it with someone, or to do something, or he does not give a damn. Usually, the media give a phone number where people can answer questions, or give the address of the authority or organization where you can turn for help. But what if the phone is constantly busy? What if getting to the address is not possible? Why not give your audience the opportunity to communicate directly with each other, without intermediaries? No matter how you do it. Organize the Vkontakte group, make a dating service on your site, open a separate site based on free engines ... No matter how, just help people communicate directly.
This should have been a commandment for a journalist a long time ago - make references to your sources of information. But for various reasons, this does not happen. Somewhere the content management system does not allow to do this, someone does not have enough time, someone just follows the old habit. We need to fight this. One of the ways is that every journalist gets an account on the social bookmarking service, that is, where people can exchange them, put labels, etc. His bookmarks need to be integrated with his articles on our site. This is not the easiest task, programmers should work here. Or even better, if a journalist will mark all the bookmarks used by him with the label that he uses for his publication. And readers will mark their bookmarks with this tag, thereby expanding the range of sources.
The simplest example is to mark events on the map. Use Google Maps (or Yandex.Maps - approx. Translator ). During fires in California, the media noted on the map the spread of fire, the Los Angeles Times uses maps to illustrate data on homicides in the city . But these are the most outstanding examples. Let's look at simpler ways to use maps. Archant, a British publisher , assigns geographical labels to articles, so readers can get a selection of materials depending on their location on the map. BBC is experimenting with GPS coordinates for materials published to the site using mobile communication devices. On the site Google Maps Mania you can find a lot of working examples. Watch and learn.
A simple example. If I read an article about an upcoming event, it would be great if I could easily add it to my Outlook / Yahoo / Google calendar as easily as I subscribe to RSS now, with one click. It would be even cooler if the media sent me an SMS in advance about the upcoming action. And even cooler - if I could add to the site information about the event organized by me, related to what is described in the article or news.
Some media already have event calendars. Imagine how they would benefit from if readers could add events to them. And then another, and set them your tags. And if you make the news with the appropriate label automatically display a calendar of related events? And if you link to them Google contextual advertising and earn a little bit? Or take a small fee for sending sms with a reminder? Not bad, right?
This is probably the most difficult question. Maybe it had to be answered at the very beginning of the article. So, increased income tax. How will this affect me? Began to build cottages in the reserve. Well, I do not face giving there. And what do I care about what is happening in Uganda and Iran?
New media technologies (and especially databases) provide unique opportunities to show how a specific news story affects the life of a particular reader. A good example is the online game “Which Presidential Candidate Is Better for You?” Made by USA Today. It allows you to determine which of the candidates you have a point of view. And the Budget Calculator , made by BBC, allows you to calculate how new tax rates will affect you. But you can go further. If Stern Review publishes data, how will environmental changes affect our economy, can we calculate how our reader’s wallet will lose weight?
In part, all previous answers answer this question. The reader can connect with other people, they can come together to participate in one event, they can spread information. But put the question squarely: people are starving - how can I help them? Media sites should help a person to do something, to do something specific. Web allows you to organize online petitions and collection of signatures. You can even affect the quality of service by organizing this service via the Internet. Undoubtedly, there are other examples. Organizing flash mobs is the first thing that comes to mind. Of course, sometimes this translates into the protection of someone’s private interests and interferes with objective coverage of events. But we are above it, right?
This part of the article is not finished. Please send your examples of how you work with the answers to the described questions. Or are you ready to expand this list?
Paul Bradshaw
November 12, 2007.
From the translator:
The article was translated with the personal permission of the author. At his request, I indicate the address of the article directly in the text:
onlinejournalismblog.com/2007/11/12/five-ws-and-ah-that-should-come-after-every-story-a-model-for-the-21st-century-newsroom-pt3
I hope the administration of Habr will take into account the request of the author and forgive me a forced violation of the format.
Other parts of this article:
Part 1. Diamond news.
Part 2. Distributed journalism.
Part 4. Distribution of content in the new media environment.
Part 5. How to make money on journalism? Business models for new media.
Part 6. New journalists for new information flows.
A web page, unlike a printed article or broadcast, does not have a complete form. At least you can always edit it. The strength of such a page lies in the constant location at a certain address, and is directly related to its connection with other materials (which in turn ensures and enhances its accessibility to the reader).
From the moment of publication of the article on the page, you can put a link, it can be discussed, divided into parts, put labels, share a bookmark, send to a friend by e-mail. All this can be done right on your site, but in reality everything is different. Remember, after the publication of the article you no longer belong. So even if you organize all the above possibilities on your site, this will not be enough. What else can you do?
')
Look at the discussion. Discussions are good. With their help, we better work on ideas, obtain alternative points of view, collect arguments, find connections, reveal dark spots, agree, agree. But this is only the beginning. You most likely have been to such discussions, where everyone speaks, but no action follows. The same thing is happening now with most media sites and blogs — one endless discussion.
This is a big problem of modern media. Traditionally, journalists hunted for information, sniffed out, found out, investigated, but now we have a lot of sources, information, communications ... So, doesn’t it follow from this that we should have time to do more? Maybe we should tie everything together.
In my media of the 21st century, after the article was published, I would answer 6 questions, I would look for connections in the following areas:
- Who else can I contact?
- What did the journalist read before writing this material?
- Where did this happen?
- When will something else related to this event happen?
- Why should I care?
- How can I really influence the situation?
And I would do that.
Who else can I contact?
Having learned the news, a person wants either to urgently share it with someone, or to do something, or he does not give a damn. Usually, the media give a phone number where people can answer questions, or give the address of the authority or organization where you can turn for help. But what if the phone is constantly busy? What if getting to the address is not possible? Why not give your audience the opportunity to communicate directly with each other, without intermediaries? No matter how you do it. Organize the Vkontakte group, make a dating service on your site, open a separate site based on free engines ... No matter how, just help people communicate directly.
What did the journalist read before writing this material?
This should have been a commandment for a journalist a long time ago - make references to your sources of information. But for various reasons, this does not happen. Somewhere the content management system does not allow to do this, someone does not have enough time, someone just follows the old habit. We need to fight this. One of the ways is that every journalist gets an account on the social bookmarking service, that is, where people can exchange them, put labels, etc. His bookmarks need to be integrated with his articles on our site. This is not the easiest task, programmers should work here. Or even better, if a journalist will mark all the bookmarks used by him with the label that he uses for his publication. And readers will mark their bookmarks with this tag, thereby expanding the range of sources.
Where did this happen?
The simplest example is to mark events on the map. Use Google Maps (or Yandex.Maps - approx. Translator ). During fires in California, the media noted on the map the spread of fire, the Los Angeles Times uses maps to illustrate data on homicides in the city . But these are the most outstanding examples. Let's look at simpler ways to use maps. Archant, a British publisher , assigns geographical labels to articles, so readers can get a selection of materials depending on their location on the map. BBC is experimenting with GPS coordinates for materials published to the site using mobile communication devices. On the site Google Maps Mania you can find a lot of working examples. Watch and learn.
When will something else related to this event happen?
A simple example. If I read an article about an upcoming event, it would be great if I could easily add it to my Outlook / Yahoo / Google calendar as easily as I subscribe to RSS now, with one click. It would be even cooler if the media sent me an SMS in advance about the upcoming action. And even cooler - if I could add to the site information about the event organized by me, related to what is described in the article or news.
Some media already have event calendars. Imagine how they would benefit from if readers could add events to them. And then another, and set them your tags. And if you make the news with the appropriate label automatically display a calendar of related events? And if you link to them Google contextual advertising and earn a little bit? Or take a small fee for sending sms with a reminder? Not bad, right?
Why should I care?
This is probably the most difficult question. Maybe it had to be answered at the very beginning of the article. So, increased income tax. How will this affect me? Began to build cottages in the reserve. Well, I do not face giving there. And what do I care about what is happening in Uganda and Iran?
New media technologies (and especially databases) provide unique opportunities to show how a specific news story affects the life of a particular reader. A good example is the online game “Which Presidential Candidate Is Better for You?” Made by USA Today. It allows you to determine which of the candidates you have a point of view. And the Budget Calculator , made by BBC, allows you to calculate how new tax rates will affect you. But you can go further. If Stern Review publishes data, how will environmental changes affect our economy, can we calculate how our reader’s wallet will lose weight?
How can I really influence the situation?
In part, all previous answers answer this question. The reader can connect with other people, they can come together to participate in one event, they can spread information. But put the question squarely: people are starving - how can I help them? Media sites should help a person to do something, to do something specific. Web allows you to organize online petitions and collection of signatures. You can even affect the quality of service by organizing this service via the Internet. Undoubtedly, there are other examples. Organizing flash mobs is the first thing that comes to mind. Of course, sometimes this translates into the protection of someone’s private interests and interferes with objective coverage of events. But we are above it, right?
This part of the article is not finished. Please send your examples of how you work with the answers to the described questions. Or are you ready to expand this list?
Paul Bradshaw
November 12, 2007.
From the translator:
The article was translated with the personal permission of the author. At his request, I indicate the address of the article directly in the text:
onlinejournalismblog.com/2007/11/12/five-ws-and-ah-that-should-come-after-every-story-a-model-for-the-21st-century-newsroom-pt3
I hope the administration of Habr will take into account the request of the author and forgive me a forced violation of the format.
Other parts of this article:
Part 1. Diamond news.
Part 2. Distributed journalism.
Part 4. Distribution of content in the new media environment.
Part 5. How to make money on journalism? Business models for new media.
Part 6. New journalists for new information flows.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/288170/
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