10 web news business questions that need a ‘yes’
Steve Safran August 14th, 2006
10 questions to which any news manager must answer ‘yes’
By Steve Safran
Managing Editor
Lost Remote
1. Is your website and newscast fully integrated? A “go to our site for more information” promo does not count.
2. Does everyone in your newsroom understand the web?
3. Are you investing capital in your website?
4. Do your reporters contribute original content for the web?
5. Do you discuss the website in your morning meeting? Do you discuss it again midday?
6. Are your web producers talking with your TV producers / newspaper editors frequently?
7. Is your sales department pushing web sales as an independent line item, complete with budget goals?
8. Do you have a business plan for your site’s growth?
9. Can your viewers/subscribers/users get the information that they want, where they want, when they want it?
10. MOST IMPORTANT: If you were to start your news operation today, would it look like it does right now?
OK, keyboards down, everyone. Here’s hoping you got a 10 out of 10. If you didn’t - get cracking. Your competitors are beating you.
14 Comments Add your own
1. KJ | August 14th, 2006 at 3:14 pm
Here’s the long-term winning strategy for local TV news;
After answering question 3 with an emphatic ‘yes’ - become a 24/7 web-based local news operation that just happens to also produce 6-8 hours of news for broadcast…until your audience no longer watches the broadcast version.
That’s the fast track to owning the local news market and not being left in the dust by some company you’ve never even heard of, who is plotting to do this right now.
Acting on this RIGHT NOW might even be too late…
2. Safran | August 14th, 2006 at 3:36 pm
KJ: Outstanding. It is our position at LR that the TV newscast will eventually become the promo for the web-based news product. After all, if you spend that much money for a news operation, where do you want your efforts: on a 1/2 hour TV show, or a 24 hour news and information service?
Don’t become obsolete with your newscast. Make it obsolete. Fantastic.
3. Tim | August 14th, 2006 at 6:06 pm
____________
[ Your ] ====> broadcast show
[ News ] ====> web
[ Ops. ] ====> mobile devices
—————— ====> future unheard-of-yet delivery platform
Make it so the creation of your news department can be put into any output media/format you want.
4. KC | August 14th, 2006 at 8:30 pm
#2 is a tough nut to crack–in some places, like mine, probably the toughest of all. Some people get it, some people don’t–partly, I think, because they’re afraid of what they’re missing. Consider the position of those still on the wrong side of the digital divide in the newsroom: what does your future hold if you’re not already doing your job online? If I were still a line producer, or if I was an anchor, I’d be very worried about my future. Both of those jobs are now obsolete.
5. Charles | August 14th, 2006 at 9:02 pm
The newscast should never, NEVER be one big promo for the website. That’s just shilling a product, and people never take too kindly to that. They’ll see through it, and move along.
The newscasts and the web should compliment each other. You can use only one medium and get enough information to get on by, but if you use both together, you get a fuller, more in-depth understanding. (Like crossover episodes of “Buffy” and “Angel”. You didn’t need to see the other series to understand what’s going on, but seeing the other series helped make some other things clearer.)
News divisions should never be focused on “are we a web business?” or “are we a TV business?”. Rather, it should go back to being “are we a news business?”. If you can get the info out on TV, great. If not, the website is a great tool for information. Neither should make each other outdated or unnecessary, but work together in harmony.
And consider to the fact that some people just plain don’t like technology, period. Watching a newscast that relies heavily on the web division isn’t going to make those viewers feel comfortable. (And local news especially can’t afford to tick off any viewers!) Both the web and TV divisions should be able to stand on their own two legs. They should work together, yes, but BOTH sides need to be strong and independant.
After all, it’s the brand, style and delivery that people trust in a news organization. And if you can translate that to any medium, you’ll have a happy core fanbase.
6. Steve Safran | August 14th, 2006 at 9:12 pm
Charles: good comments, good observations. You’re absolutely right - they are all “in the news business.”
By 1/2 hour promo for a newscast, I don’t actually mean a promo in the sense of an ad. I was trying to turn the model on its head. Right now, there are too many sites that are nothing but promos for their station’s shows. What I’m suggesting is that the newscast will be a small element as a part of the larger product of news and information.
But there shouldn’t BE “web and TV divisions.” Enough with the divisions. Too divisive. The tool is not the artist. So I respectfully disagree that there should be independent sides to any news organization. Believe me, I’ve seen that, and that means is two rooms of people who don’t talk to each other.
We’re all on the same page here at LR, it’s really just a matter of degrees. Fundmentally, we all want better news. And we want the kind of smart and thoughtful conversation we have at LR. Thanks for adding to it.
7. Charles | August 14th, 2006 at 10:43 pm
Hey, I’m glad to add my two cents. As an aspiring journalism student, it’s fascinating to see how my (hopefully) future workplace is changing, even before I even start!
Speaking about the newscasts being just a part of the whole picture, the news leader in my market, WOOD TV8, produces original webcasts for news updates and weather, plus they put up a good amount of local news on the site as well. It’s nice to see a interest taken on getting local news up on the web. (WXMI, I’m talking to you!) For then, news does seem to be a 24 hour operation. If they’re not on-air, then they’re online. And that’s really nice to see that kind of devotion come across to the public. (That’s also yet another reason to like ABC’s “World News Now” podcast/webcast.)
On one other point… Seeing as you actually work in the biz, I’ll cede on the whole “web and TV divisions” thing to you.
8. Discouraged | August 15th, 2006 at 5:43 pm
Wow! My station can give a weak ‘yes’ to only two of the ten questions. My site is strictly repurposed newscast content plus wire stories. I can’t get the News Director to even talk about making any changes to the daily workflow. Bummer.
9. Alyssa | August 16th, 2006 at 10:16 am
Those are some very valid questions. Maybe it should start at a more basic level. Teach communication and journalism students, especially those who work at the school’s TV station and (newspaper), to utillize both the “traditional ” and the web. Thus ensuring that the next generation already has a solid understanding of how those platforms can enhance each other.
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