How digital transformed the news cycle - and what you can do about it

“How digital transformed the newscycle - and what you can do about it"

Martin BelamHacks / Hackers, August 2011

Lead User Experience & Information Architect,The Guardian@currybet

I am not a hack

13th century miniature of the Siege of Jerusalem

I am not a hacker

This is what home computers used to look like

I joined the Guardian in 2009

1. Write newspaper

2. Print newspaper

3. Wrap fish‘n'chips in newspaper

1. Write newspaper

2. Print newspaper

3. Wrap fish‘n'chips in newspaper*remember to have sent the British Library a copy

**and our own library

***and send the front page to @suttonnick in advance

*****and sub-edit it, check it with legal, write the headlines,clear the rights for the images, make late changes, re-sub it,

syndicate the best bits, and get the files packaged up

****and publish it all to the web

1. Write newspaper

2. Print newspaper

3. Wrap fish‘n'chips in newspaper*remember to have sent the British Library a copy

**and our own library

***and send the front page to @suttonnick in advance

*****and sub-edit it, check it with legal, write the headlines,clear the rights for the images, make late changes, re-sub it,

syndicate the best bits, and get the files packaged up

****and publish it all to the web

Oh. Did I say “web”?

1 Stop the shovelsMobiles are not tablets.Tablets are not desktops.Neither of these types of devices are print.

There are more and more platforms to come

We are in “the animated gif years”

Not all content works for all mediums

Getting it wrong sends the wrong signal

2 Be fastThe audience expect news inreal-time.

Most people can publish faster than most news orgs

Print seems slower and slower and slower

Live blogging is a native digital format

The BBC’s tools now seem ahead of the pack

Story-telling tools are appearing all the time

It is vital to let journalists experiment

Paul Lewis - was that a riot #Twitrip?

3 Be permanentThe web is forever.And it should be right.

Our content now lasts longer than a day

We need better digital corrections

Wikipedia-style “di!s” may be a step too far

But we should be avoiding this...

4 Organise & ownFind people to “own” thedark corners of your digitalpresence

You get some metadata and “furniture” in print

but there is so much peripheral digital content

Teams of people agonise over the words on the left

The words on the right? Not so much...

You need a web governance mindset

5 Metadata is a friendUse semantic mark-up.The future will thank you.

Metadata is your friend

And so is semantic mark-up

There are many flavours to choose from

6 CurateNot all news is born equal.Help readers get to the beststu!.

Not all news content is born equal

Context is often lost in digital transformation

Context is often lost in digital transformation

Give clear signals to the user

Help them find the best of your content

Help them find the best of your content

7 Expand and re-useExploit your archives.News organisations areuniquely placed for this.

News has been recorded for centuries

Many sites charge for archive access

Guardian Shorts extend the life of our content

1.2.3.4.5.6.7.

Stop the shovelsBe fastBe permanentOrganise & ownMetadata is a friendCurateExpand and re-use

This made me cross yesterday

“The top four most important skills cited by editors were: writing, finding news stories, interviewing and legal knowledge - while at the bottom of the list came social media, web skills and interaction with readers.”

This made me cross yesterday

The article didn’t link to the source

And the source has basic usability issues

8 Don't stop learningThe digital revolution isperpetual revolution

8

Thank you. Questions?