Yesterday, I attended “Like Minds,” a pre-
Online News Association Conference workshop that focused on convergence in newspaper newsrooms (at least, my section of the workshop did).
The ideas-sharing session of the workshop included these ideas for getting over some of the bumps in converging your newspaper’s newsroom.
Interns/Rotations: Education Week has implemented two-month “rotations,” where each newsroom staffer is pulled off their beat and immersed in the publication’s Web operations. Learning how the Web site works first hand is helping reporters think about the Web before start reporting their stories. The Tacoma News Tribune is letting reporters apply for mini-internships with the Web department where the reporter completes a Web-based project in addition to learning the ropes.
Volunteers: Don’t underestimate the power of the first few people to try something new. Many newspapers have reported to NAA that when a few newsroom staffers try something new and tell their co-workers how fun it was, those co-workers are much more likely to want to give that new thing a shot.
The Metrics Trick: Show reporters their Web traffic numbers. The Commercial Appeal tells everyone how many page views the top stories online received, and sometimes reporters get rewards for having the highest number of page views. For many newspapers, the Web page views can be as high as or higher than the newspaper’s circulation, and giving print reporters those numbers can help them understand the importance of the Web.
Passions: Some newspapers have been taking another look at each reporters passions and strengths. If a reporter loves telling stories, the newspaper can give them digital media tools to do their job better, such as encouraging video. If a reporter loves breaking news, the newspaper can make them a mojo (mobile journalist) or put them on the breaking news desk. Investigative reporters may be especially interested in playing with databases.
Movement: One newspaper from Vancouver, B.C., said it has brought its senior editors out of their offices and moved them into the newsroom. In addition, all those senior editors sit within feet of each other, creating an environment friendly to spur-of-the-moment collaboration and multimedia thinking. Reporters now bring their ideas to a group of people instead of to just their individual boss, which ultimately results in stronger stories.
I’ll blog more about the conference this weekend!