RELATIONAL RELEVANCE

by Rob Runett
Runett is NAA’s manager of electronic media analysis.

Fast access to the information that flows through the veins of a community ought to be a right, not a privilege. Too often, publishers fail to make use of the data galaxy collected by reporters by placing it on the World Wide Web.

The days of shovelware won’t end until news providers view the information they collect as raw material that can be accessed many ways. This doesn’t reduce the importance of reporters and editors who process and analyze information. Their role becomes more crucial because of readers’ increased access to information.

Instead of presenting just an electronic version of an in-depth story, savvy publishers offer packages that contain complete stories, enhanced with additional charts, photographs, and audio and video clips; a searchable database that lets viewers pluck data; and an editor’s note that explains how to get maximum value.

This will be a novel, perhaps threatening, concept to some. Others view the distribution of invaluable archival data, chopped and sliced to meet users’ immediate needs in a Web-based format, as the crux of their duties. In 1997, for example, New Jersey Online enhanced a report from The Star-Ledger in Newark by giving visitors access to data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Uniform Crime Report.

Residents derive a benefit, as do those considering a move. The Washington Post’s site serves a similar need by posting a crime-watch application. Viewers enter a county or town name, specific criminal activities such as robbery or assault, a time period and an address. The database then delivers all relevant articles.

Publishers contemplating cost-cutting steps for their interactive units should consider that a talented group can wring value from dormant data. They should remember that the majority of users view the ’Net as a global grab-bag of tools. Ninety percent of the Internet’s U.S. home users go online to find information or conduct research, according to a report from PricewaterhouseCoopers in New York City. Aware of viewers’ needs, The Sun in Baltimore places a utilities toolbox high on the front page of www.sunspot.net.

The development of interactive applications will lead to increased usage and loyalty, says Rusty Coats, director of new media at MORI Research in Minneapolis.

Advertisers, of course, demand a high-quality, engaged audience. Some applications lend themselves to sponsorship. H&R Block, Quicken or software manufacturer Intuit Inc. might jump at the chance to sponsor an interactive package about taxes, suggests Bill Mitchell, online editor and marketing director at the Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg.

The implications are greater than ad sales. They affect production. The shift won’t be painless: Relational databases must be developed to house assets such as text, video and audio. Work patterns will change as print editorial assistants learn to enter information such as calendar lists and sports statistics. Tools for feeding and managing the database information to print and online production systems must be purchased.

If you’re intrigued, learn by monitoring the online census-reporting strategies of The Associated Press, USAToday.com and others. They’re fulfilling readers’ demand—and right—to quickly retrieve facts relevant to their lives.