Online journalism training module iwpr.

net

Online journalism
Overview:
This IWPR training module offers a general understanding of online journalism as a developing branch of journalism. It is designed as a basic overview to the topic, covering the boom and bust of the early years of the sector and what lessons journalists can learn from the large number of failures and from the few successes! of online news over the past decade. It also contains some elementary guidelines for journalists to refer to when writing or editing specifically for the internet. The outline presentation notes in this module are intended to be used to guide classroom conversation and encourage class participation. "ournalists generally enjoy debating the issues covered here, so a lively, well#moderated conversation should be the trainer$s goal. %lass time for this module should be &.' to ( hours depending on the level of class participation and debate. )ccess to the internet * whether on multiple monitors or on a projector * is an essential part of this module, as both trainer and trainees will want to point to various Websites to use as good and bad e+amples of the points they are trying to ma,e.

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Online journalism training module iwpr.net

How is online journalism different from other forms?

some reluctance to treat it as a separate form by traditionalists o

seen as -constantly updated print medium. at first

much li,e print journalism after all o o

appearance/ te+t#heavy with still images use/ reader s,ims headlines and selects which stories to read unli,e linear, no#options format of traditional T0 and radio!

Online journalism training module iwpr.net

but online is different o

different technology/
audio, video and te+t integration %12 for multiple formats and easy syndication apart from Webpages P344 technology!/ email

updates can send a story to millions very 5uic,ly, again, based on user preferences P326 technology!
possibility for personalisation coo,ies!/ can adapt to user automatically/ medium can

-learn.
following past news choices gauging reader$s interests positions future stories to meet individual tastes 78/ 9:T email alerts on subject selection o

different in time/
more li,e radio and T0/ the Web immediate to follow

brea,ing news
o

also changes the way journalists wor,/

hard now to imagine how journalists once wor,ed

without email, I1 and online bac,ground research

Online journalism training module iwpr.net

<ac,ground to online journalism today

initial enthusiasm for internet has dulled since the &==>s technology bubble burst huge number of sites offering free information have closed or tried

a subscription model and then closed

few people are launching new Websites today

The economics of online publishing

early hopes o

everyone thought that no printing costs and minimal distribution casts would mean cheap online publishing

o o

now, after the crash, a long reassessment of the economics everyone forgot how much good reporting costs
many journalists needed, esp. for (?#hour service real reporting on the ground isn$t cheap, and hard to

budget when big stories arise

78/ 2alon.com$s coverage of @lorida vote count in

(>>> election famously bro,e their budget

o

on the other side, income never seemed strong/ no generally functioning revenue model
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Online journalism training module iwpr.net

Web advertising failed o

probably because/
advertising gurus promised too much andA the technology reveal its effectiveness too much

the hope of ad#to#clic,#to#purchase

dreams of instant purchases by readers seems to wor, with things people are willing to

purchase immediately online, li,e boo,s

success of )maBon.com o o

but generally/ ineffectiveness of specific product advertising -the great minds of online advertising.
from banner to s,yscraper * duh the pop#up ad spam while browsing/ only annoying to potential customers

some successes
brand advertising, not e+pecting an immediate sale mi+ed with creative use of @lash 78/ )bsolut advert on Onion.com advertising revenues still very low, though

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Online journalism training module iwpr.net

online subscription models also failed o

people too used to reading the Web for free

CLASS QUESTIO : how man! "a! for online #ontent?

o

paying is technically problematic

world#wide, credit card holders are few micro#payments systems poorly developed some feared using credit cards online, esp. at first now, some are optimistic

still, very few Websites ma,ing a profit * who does and whyC/ o

$S%: business news, rich target audience for advertising, established brand name, subscriptions and advertising

Consumer &e"orts: buying advice is very practical, established brand name, subscriptions only#no advertising

other smaller ni#he sites: focused target audience, wanting specific or e+pert information, ideal target for advertisers

generally/ o

online journalists have shown much more creativity than the business heads

after eight or ten years, the notions of what wor,s are becoming a bit better understood

non#profit sector booming online <<% Online, IWPR, etc.!

Online journalism training module iwpr.net

%4)22 E7<)T7 Present the following two statements and have the group debate their merits. If time allows, the class can be divided into two groups for a more -formal. debate of &> or &' minutes.
&. Online #ontent will never 'e "rofita'le(

Information via the internet is inherently unprofitable because the internet did not start off as a commercial endeavorF it started off as a government project and was used as a research tool for decades before retailers, wholesalers and media interests got involved. The World#wide Web, defined as a Gwide#area hypermedia information retrieval initiative aiming to give universal access to a large universe of documents,G was not designed for business. Profitability depends on scarcity, which is antithetical to -universal access.. The internet$s original architecture, therefore, is creating the difficulty for those trying to force profit out of information on the Web today. Put simply/ the internet wasn$t designed to ma,e money from information, so we shouldn$t be surprised that it doesn$t.
(. Online #ontent will 'e "rofita'le eventuall!(

The early years of the internet were not profitable, it is true, but that can be said for the early years of any new medium. The early years of radio and T0 were similar. The &==>s were an era of e+perimentation in the internet information business, and some things wor,ed, while some didn$t. Hradually, we will understand the medium better, new revenue models will be developed, and profits from online content will be more widely possible.

Online journalism training module iwpr.net

4essons learned for online journalists/

many are the old rules for journalists generally, of course

rule num'er one: )now !our audien#e

li,e print or broadcast journalism, it all starts here -We don$t write for historyF we write for an audience and a

deadline..

Online journalism training module iwpr.net

Knowing your audience answers all your ,ey 5uestions/

What does audience want and needC o

li,e other media, online publications choose subject matter broadly or specifically depending on their target audience

the internet had e+ploded with small niche publications/ the focused target audience is loved by advertisers

6ow often does your audience need itC o o

does your Website need to be updated (? hours a dayC if it$s geared toward news analysis rather than news, then probably not.

78/ IWPR

Online journalism training module iwpr.net

What shape does the audience want its newsC o

Webpage layout
traditional audience, brought up on print

email newsletters
useful for a truly international audience, esp. useful to those facing e+pensive Web access also useful for alert systems though so is 212 te+t!

blogs
readers very Web#savvy willing to chec, in to the site often feel of -being on the inside. for readers

discussion forum
for readers who want to be involved especially good for local news and discussions of

issues where immediate action by readers is possible

also good for building a community of readers around

a specialist topic * spreads e+pertise and ,eeps readers

o

repac,aging
content in a %12 can be easily repac,aged across all

these platforms and into multiple publications automatically

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Online journalism training module iwpr.net

What ,ind of e+tras do your readers wantC o

many early Web projects wanted to have all the bells and whistles for every story/ audio, video, interactivity
but readers don$t always want that, and it$s too e+pensive to do everything all the time

o o

things have calmed down than,fully thin, about what you would want as a reader/
if you are writing #ar reviews, then some video of the

car in action will be e*"e#ted by the readers, and they will use it
if you are discussing #rime in !our #ommunit!, then

readers will appreciate an intera#tive feature allowing them to type in their post code to get the crime statisti#s for their area
if you are writing "oliti#al anal!sis, video and

intera#tive features sim"l! are not ne#essar!, no one would use them
sometimes, an audience simply wants a

,nowledgeable person to e+plain a subject to them in an intelligent way

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Online journalism training module iwpr.net

Where are your readersC o

despite the international possibilities of the internet, the overwhelming majority of sites are not aiming for international audiences
advertisers want national mar,ets generally readers want information about things that affect them

directly

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Online journalism training module iwpr.net

Writing for the Web/ basic rules

o Keep your reader interested/ o clic,ing away to another page is very easy for your reader
o

most important information on top/ inverted pyramid style

most important facts at the top least important at the bottom people have little time these days and they need to read a lot attention spans on the Web are short every word loses you readers tell them the ,ey elements first

Keep design simple o o o

few colours few graphics large, clear fonts/ no italics

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Online journalism training module iwpr.net

Keep it well#updated/ o o

this does not mean you have to publish (? hours a day publish regularly and on time/
let readers e+pect your ne+t edition and find it ready

when they e+pect it

alert readers when you publish/ on specific topics of their choosing or generally

3se short sentences and paragraphs o o o o

generally one sentence per paragraph (> words per sentence ma+. one idea per paragraph not dumbing downF just ma,ing it easier to read/
people generally read ('L more slowly from a screen

than from paper

it is tiring more paragraphs means more white space means

easier reading
avoid the -wall of te+t.

give precise publishing date &?

Online journalism training module iwpr.net

o o

not Glast wee,G but Gon &' "uly (>>;G archives stay online sometimes for years, so the time and date of the publishing of each article should be clear

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Online journalism training module iwpr.net

Web editing
o Web technology means that anyone can publish anything, so proper

editing online is essential to establish a mar, of 5uality.

o o o

so much information on Web I.' m new pages daily! but ='L of it is rubbish some Web publications donMt edit at all author uploads onto Web directly!

reputation for 5uality is ,ey to ,eeping readers

o real journalism means real editing o editing improves the 5uality clarity and readability! of a piece through/ o filtering o fact#chec,ing o gap#filling
slightly different from editing for print o o

shorter paragraphs hyperlin,s to other articles and sources/ recommended to put them at the end rather than in the te+t waste of hyperte+t technology, but it ,eeps readers better!

maintaining the readerMs attention is more important when he can just clic, elsewhere at any time

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Online journalism training module iwpr.net

-usability. is a ,ey concept o

Web readers want to engage with a medium that does not interfere with the content * a Website must be usable

o o

download times are important for readers/ ,eep graphics few ,eep -navigation. clear and simple/ for the basic user, not the advanced user

o o

colour#codes/ all lin,s in one colour, for e+ample "a,ob 9ielsen is the ,ey guru/ http/NNwww.useit.comN

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Online journalism training module iwpr.net

3seful lin,s/
Online "ournalism Review http/NNwww.ojr.org 7#media Tidbits http/NNwww.poynter.orgNcolumn.aspCidO;& Poynter Institute http/NNwww.poynter.orgN "a,ob 9ielsen$s usability guides http/NNwww.useit.comN

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