Is Your Newsroom Future Proof? (Part 2)
40 Questions & 12 Trends for the Future of Journalism
Introduction
Almost two years ago I started Journalism Tools as a way to keep up with the never-ending stream of new tools and resources for journalists and newsmakers. Since then I have tested thousands of new apps and tools and read even more articles about the changing media industry. In doing so I have discovered how much these new tools and technologies exemplify and predict the disruption of our business. Pointing towards new habits and shaping new behaviors, these apps and platforms are not just temporary frills, but indicators of the seismic shift that makes this the most exciting but also most confusing time to be a journalist.
As a thank you to my 15.000 followers I have tried to boil some of my insights down to 12 trends shaping the future of journalism and 40 questions that could help newsrooms and journalists to frame the challenges ahead.
This is part 2. You can read part 1 here.
Ezra Eeman, Founder Journalism Tools.
On the Internet, years of solid journalistic tradition are no guarantee to succes anymore. Legacy media have to earn online ‘street credibility’ and social media authority. A new generation of news seekers values authentic voices and original storytelling over packaged TV news bulletins read by a ‘man or woman behind a desk’ or dry factual newspaper articles.
Questions:
- How far should you take authentic storytelling? (Neutrality > personal angle > taking position)
- Do you have an authentic brand voice? Or should your journalists become personalities?
- Where and when should you use storytelling?
- Are deontology/journalistic principles flexibel? How much do they depend on your target audience, platform, content form?
- Can you take position? And do you want to?
- …
New technologies have created an explosion of visual sharable content. Never before did journalists have so many ways to tell news in new forms, with new tools on new platforms. With this evolution, the demand to have a tighter integration of technology teams and editorial teams, has also risen. In order to survive disruption newsrooms have to master and exploit new possibilities faster and should make development and innovation a part of their daily workflow.
Questions
- To what degree are innovation and exploration of new forms and products an essential part of your news service?
- How much room is there to quickly build new experimental products, measure their impact and learn iteratively?
- How multiplatform and multiformat can you be? And to what extent do you have to make choices?
- What new processes, workflows and profiles are necessary to enable continuous innovation?
- …
“Globally, consumer internet video traffic will be 80 percent of all consumer Internet traffic in 2019, up from 64 percent in 2014. ” (Cisco VNI 2014–2019)
Video making has become cheaper, faster and more mobile than ever. With the means of production and distribution in everyone’s pocket. At the same time improved data connections are making it easier for everyone to consume an endless amount of video content on the internet.
Furthermore the advent of live streaming video apps have transformed the way that news can be accessed and consumed overnight. Streaming live news is now a more authentic experience than watching a traditional tv news can ever be.
Questions
- To what extent do you have to rethink your news offer to answer the growing importance of video?
- What talent do you have to hire in a more video focused news environment?
- In which manner can you use video to serve different target groups and there information needs and user behaviors?
- What new processes & workflows do you need to implement to develop a fast and mobile focused video news offer?
- How is streaming live integrated in your news offer?
- …
In an era without the constraints of physical newspaper space or linear television real estate, narrowly-targeted news offers or information services can be as economically attractive or even more attractive than the mainstream fare. New media models show how unbundled micro-content has the potential to reach deeper through networks online and generate revenue than the traditional mass media approach.
Questions
- To what extent do you tailor content to targeted audiences/niche groups?
- How can you unbundle your current offer?
- To what extent can you personalize your news offer?
- How much personal data do you require from you audience in order to offer them a personalized experience? And how open are you about the collection of this data?
- How do you deal with the filter bubble dilemma?
- …
”If you want that your newsroom understand digital than they need to see the numbers.” (Chris Moran, The Guardian Digital Audience Editor)
Every newsroom in the world has become aware that analytics and metrics have become of primordial importance in this digital day of age. Raw numbers and engagement data are how readers and viewers tell newsmakers more about themselves and what moves them. Only by truly knowing more about the audience can newsrooms learn how they have to adapt to a new digital reality.
Questions
- How do you measure succes and engagement?
- What metrics matter?
- When and how do you give your newsroom access to analytics?
- How do you use data to rethink your news strategy?
- How do you involve the audience in the evaluation of your news offer?
- …
In an effort to deepen the connection with the audience more and more news organizations are looking for new ways to engage and build relationships. Memberships, exclusive events, conferences on newspaper related topics where readers can meet and greet with journalists and newsmakers in real life, live television debates in large public venues,…are just a few of the ways media are trying to get loyalty and brand love.
Questions
- How do you position yourself outside your traditional and or digital channels…in real life?
- How can events, conferences, debates, workshops,…help in connecting with existing audiences in new ways and in reaching new audiences?
- …
After all these trends and questions your head might be spinning. Maybe you are just a journalist who wants to tell a good story. And there is nothing wrong with that. Not at all.
Off all the challenges facing a media company in the digital age, producing great journalism is the hardest. (NYT, Innovation Report)
Making sure great journalism also gets in front of a sizeable audience is a good enough reason to find the right answers.
