From news cycle to news spirograph

From ‘news cycle’ to ‘news spirograph’:

Disrupting patterns of consumption, production and distribution

Judith Townend, Centre for Law, Justice and Journalism, City University London (@

jtownend)

Credit: Lorenz Lachauer / eat-a-bug.blogspot.co.uk

Spirographs on sale, Istanbul, 2009

The ‘news spirograph’

"The new picture of a news story’s life cycle looks less like a tight loop that closes after 24 hours. Instead, it enters a period of dormancy only to return weeks later. The resulting chart of a story’s attention trajectory looks more like a Spirograph — a large circular pattern constructed out of smaller loops."

Mike Taylor, Fishbowl NY, Media Bistro (2010)

Changes to the news cycle?Similarly, Sophie Brendel, head of digital communications for the BBC has said: ‘Social media have changed what we talk about, who we talk about and how quickly we talk. The 24-hour news cycle is dead, now it's 24 seconds.’ (Magee, 2012)

The ‘news spirograph’ can take different formsMore spirograph patterns on Flickr.

Public participation

Everyone has the right to freedom of expression. This right shall include freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers.

Clause 1, Article 10, Human Rights Act 1998

The ‘news spirograph’

The pattern of journalism in ten years’ time may include a news cycle that looks very different from a neat 24 hour loop, with its small number of influential media sources. Instead, changes in digital consumption, production and distribution may transform it into a ‘news spirograph’, with a greater number of sources, and news stories that loop back at different points in time. In fact, we are likely to see transformation in the very notion of the ‘news story’… It’s already evolving.

1. Write newspaper2. Print newspaper 3. Wrap fish‘n'chips in newspaper

As it was / is ….

Slides from a talk by Martin Belam, 2011

1. Write newspaper2. Print newspaper 3. Wrap fish‘n'chips in newspaper

As it was / is ….

Slides from a talk by Martin Belam, 2011

As it could be… 1. Produce content, drawing from more sources and across more topics

2. Publish on digital platforms, selectively and carefully with effective curation, labelling and contextulisation

3. See content gain new lease of life and inform future content

References

• Belam, M. (2011) ‘How digital transformed the news cycle’, currybet.net

• Belam, M. (2012) ‘The Guardian’s Facebook app’, currybet.net

• Magee, K. (2012) ‘Beyond the 24 hr news cycle’, PR Week• Taylor, M. (2010) ‘The 24-Hour News Spirograph’, Fishbowl

NY, MediaBistro.com• Tinworth, A. (2009) Our Real Problem: The Death of the

News Package, Onemanandhisblog.com.• Wynne-Jones, R. (2012) ‘Enquirer: watching the hacks get

hacked’, Guardian.co.uk.