Best ideas in newspapers and converging media

Tiered commenting system rewards quality commenters

2009-08-03T09:55:00.000-07:00

The commenting structure on the Gawker family of Web sites has undergone some major changes. In the previous system, stars were given to commenters who had a large following. In the new system, priority placement of comments will be given to commenters who provide thoughtful insight. Posting hateful comments, irrelevant soliloquys or garbage? You get put in the second tier. Preferred comments are in the first tier, which appear directly below the story. Tier 2 comments can be viewed when a reader clicks on the "View all comments" link. Starred commenters have access to more features like the ability to approve comments from others and edit comments.

Read a review of the new comment system from Poynter's Dorian Benkoil for more details.

What is storystreaming?

2009-07-27T09:07:00.000-07:00

Lifestreaming is a chronological aggregated view of your life activities both online and offline. Kevin Sablan has taken that simple idea and applied it to the news media. He has an idea for a platform that would allow any piece of content to blossom into a real-time curated story powered by social media.

Read more: http://almightylink.ksablan.com/2009/06/lifestreaming-why-not-a-storystreaming-platform/

And here's a link to a rough sketch of Sablan's idea: http://almightylink.ksablan.com/2009/07/first-rough-sketch-of-storystreaming-platform-twitter-first/

A new way of bringing the news to the community

2009-07-20T08:24:00.001-07:00

Daniel Bachhuber has come up with an innovative take on bringing news to the community in The Newsroom as a Cafe. He says this concept is about "repositioning the news organization as the information hub for the community."

The idea is part citizen journalism, part Starbucks, part MashupCamp and totally out-of-the-box, which is why I like it so much.

Great example of crowdsourcing

2009-07-17T08:41:00.000-07:00

For its coverage of the health care reform legislation in Washington, NPR was putting together Dollar Politics, a series looking at how lobbyists are trying to influence the debate. That's when they began their crowdsourcing project, "Turning the Camera Around." They took a panoramic photo of the audience attending a June 17 Senate hearing and turned to the audience for help in naming the lobbyists.

Poynter.org has a nice interview about it: http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=101&aid=165824

Alltop - Magic City remix?

2009-07-15T08:09:00.000-07:00

Much like the popular news aggregator Alltop, The Miami Herald plans to unveil a page that will aggregate content from more than 200 blogs and other media outlets throughout South Florida. The Herald also created a widget that would allow bloggers to embed a feed of all or a portion of the South Florida blogs directly into their own blog.

Newspaper Web site advertising experiment using Real-Time Ads

2009-07-10T08:01:00.005-07:00

Small local advertisers represent a $24 billion market nationwide. MinnPost.com is trying to tap into that market by offering advertisers a short feed on certain parts of their Web site for a modest weekly fee.

It's easy for advertisers, it's cheap and it's not a lot of work for the news organization. Knight Digital Media Center's Michele McLellan asks, "Do you think this model would work for your site? How are you capturing local advertising dollars online?"

Spreading the wealth and keeping it local

2009-07-03T08:12:00.001-07:00

South Carolina's Aiken Standard did something a lot of community newspapers have forgotten how to do: mobilize their community. By helping local businesses, they helped themselves to some hard-earned revenue. Read the inspiring story.

Sell more than the news

2009-06-30T10:30:00.000-07:00

How often do you write about new products you received a press release about? What about top 10 lists of things your readers must have? Fashion? Home and garden? Movies and books? Why aren't you selling what you're talking about? Bloggers do it all the time.

You can link from your stories to your own online store like The Guardian, or go through a third party as an affiliate, like Amazon Associates.

Sure, it might now be millions of dollars, but something is better than nothing.

Create an elite niche product

2009-06-16T05:31:00.001-07:00

Why do people spend $400 on Jimmy Choo shoes? I don't know, but I do know that people will pay big bucks for something they percieve as elite. Have you heard about what they're doing at Worth magazine? They have created a smaller, higher-quality version of the magazine with thicker-stock paper, more photography, and a matte finish and they're mailing it free to carefully selected high-net-worth households (i.e. rich folks who like read about money). They've also decided to be more picky about advertisers, selecting only top performing wealth advisers.

What if you're not rich and want to read Worth? Pick it up for $20 at the newsstand. Will this new approach work? We'll keep our eyes on it.

Get your editorial and marketing teams on the same page.

2009-06-11T17:01:00.001-07:00

Do you really know what your readers like to read about? Just ask them. A Chicago Tribune collaboration surveyed "would-be readers" about general news topics and previous story coverage. You could do this in your own market and even get reader opinions on different story angles. This kind of information can be useful in so many ways. Read on: http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=31&aid=162884.

Using Flickr to add value, traffic

2009-06-05T14:09:00.008-07:00

(This picture was taken by Rachel Sian.)

Having a Flickr account is good for promoting your community events and company awards, but it can be used in ways you never thought about.

For example: Say you're putting together a theme issue or a special section or a microsite and your budget is nil. Flickr to the rescue. Get free photo of the location you're writing about, the product you're trying to sell or special events you're promoting. Not only that, but if you post the photo on your website (and link back to Flickr) and notify the owner of the photo that you featured them, you get a little traffic from them sending their peeps over to you to check out the photo.

Flickr is a free service, but there are many advantages to upgrading to the "pro", plus it's a cheap $25/year to upgrade. You'll want to search for Creative Commons-licensed content that is available for commercial use.

Read Getting Links and Content From Flickr for some really great ideas on how to use Flickr to your advantage.

For more information on copyright and Creative Commons, check out these links:

Flickr's Creative Commons guidelines
Creative Commons FAQ

Creative Commons + Flickr = 22 Million Sharable Photosby Mark Glaser

Man cannot live by bread alone

2009-02-13T08:47:00.005-07:00

Multiple revenue streams, people. I say it again and again. You cannot solely depend on adverting dollars to succeed. You've got to find other ways of supporting real journalism and sometimes that means providing a related service like a tourism guide or a book of lists.

Here's a great idea I came across today: http://newsvideographer.com/2009/02/12/another-interesting-journalistic-service. Use your multimedia journalists to offer a local business a professionally created video or web element. It's added revenue dollars using skilled employees that you already have.

What do you think? Best idea or bad idea? Comment and let us know!

Work your watchdog

2009-02-10T08:07:00.007-07:00

The News-Press in Ft. Myers, FL is located in a town that has become the poster child for the current economic state, but that hasn't stop them from making watchdog journalism the foundation of their newsroom. They have begun a new program on their website where the plan to share information with their readers via databases and blogs. Three long-time reporters and 15 citizens will "scrutinize, investigate and hold people accountable". They welcome tips from whistleblowers and hope to make Lee County a better place.

http://www.news-press.com/article/20090208/OPINION/902080374/1015/OPINION

How is your newspaper doing in the area of watchdog journalism? What are you doing to encourage a more transparent and accountable government?

Here's your 90-second pitch

2009-02-09T12:18:00.003-07:00

Seattle just held a Startup Weekend, where 47 presentions were given 90 seconds each to pitch their ideas. One idea that might have merit for newspapers? A crowdsourcing site about your city...hosted by the local news outlet. Watch the pitch below.

Taking web innovation in different directions

2009-01-05T14:17:00.003-07:00

The best newspaper stories are inspirational. Maybe a profile inspires hope, maybe an investigative piece inspires outrage, maybe a feature inspires goodwill. What if a newspaper story inspired music?

What if the news site encouraged its stories to inspire music? Read more and tell us what you think of this idea: How to promote the local music scene and deliver killer content to your news site.

Really thinking outside the box in terms of personnel structure

2008-11-07T12:33:00.004-07:00

Here's a radical idea stemming from a conversation with Bryan Murley, Assistant Professor of New and Emerging Media at Eastern Illinois University: "I had a student tell me recently his idea was a reversal of hierarchy: Have the older journos serve as interns and let the twentysomethings run the show and attract younger readers."

And while we're thinking outside the box, let's picture other scenarios: two-person teams on each beat...one to cover it as a mainstream journalist would and one make it enaging on the Web. A team that shares info and teaches each other...

What ground-breaking ideas do you have? Let us know!

Adding functionality to your Web site

2008-11-03T09:14:00.012-07:00

So, someone's on your Web site and they see this awesome article and they want to share it. Do you offer some sort of "email this" feature?

Here's a tool for anyone that wants to add functionality to their Web site, but does not have the technical background to do so. Many of the newer content managment systems for the Web offer this is some sort of format, but if you handle your own Web site design, here's something to keep in mind: People get on the internet to be social. Hence the explosion of social networking applications.

	So, help them be social. Add This can help. Roll your mouse over the button to the right...see what happens.
Add This is a little button that can help your story reach a lot of people by allowing readers to email the article or post it to their social network or bookmarking site with one click. And it's fully customizeable. AND IT'S FREE!
Try it. Tell me what you think.

The kids have started doing it, too

2008-10-23T08:44:00.004-07:00

The Cronkite News Service, the student-run news bureau at Arizona State University's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, has begun offering news in mobile formats. Now you can access their content on your iPhone or Blackberry.

In addition to stories and photos, they've got terrific online video that you can watch anytime, anywhere.

My challenge to you: Enhance your Web site with mobile accessibilty. If students can do it, so can you!

FYI: For more info on the Cronkite News Service, contact Steve Elliott.

Best Ideas Roundtable Luncheon

2008-10-13T08:39:00.028-07:00

Thanks to all who attended the ANA 2008 Fall Convention. The ideas we generated are listed here. And most of these are super-simple to implement!

In no particular order:

Rule #1: Promote your Web site thoroughly in your print product.
Text breaking news to mobile phones (Examples: Miami Herald, Des Moines Register and WYFF Channel 4)
Send out email alerts for breaking news (Examples: Lawrence Journal-World, Texarkana Gazette and The Daily Journal.
Have a different poll on your Web site each week (Create free polls at: SurveyMonkey, PollDaddy or ZapSurvey.)
Link back to your advertisers (This should be a no-brainer)
Get more reader interaction with comments
Post local events (Examples: The Arizona Republic, Austin American-Stateman)
Create special community contests such as "Pet Idol", "Best workplace smile" or "Best ____ in your town"
Use audio and video to do a portrait on someone in the community
Get listed with Google News Archive Search
Create a Twitter presence
Linkbacks: If someone emails you about a new band, impending nuptials, store grand opening, etc., email them a link back to that story. Nothing spreads like word of mouth (or grandma's emails).
Photo slideshows: Quick, easy and better than just plain text (Example: Las Vegas Sun, Arizona Daily Star)
Email newsletters or e-editions (Examples: Green Valley News and Sun, Abilene Reporter-News)
Recognizing leaders in the community: Extraordinary women, true volunteers, exceptional teachers
Promote garage sales bigtime. Who doesn't like a bargain?
Making smarter use of niche products
Delving into the community's culture: Navajo language, motorcycles, etc.
Get listed with Topix

The most important thing to remember? Give your community something that keeps them coming back for more. Think outside the box. See a great idea that's not listed here? Post it to the comments section.

How much multimedia is on your site?

2008-09-10T07:25:00.003-07:00

Video, sound and images...how do you use those to draw your readers in? How do you use multimedia to disseminate information? Take a look at this video. It takes typically boring data from a study and presents it to the community in an attention-grabbing way easily understandable way.

Reverse revenue model

2008-09-09T12:52:00.003-07:00

Lucas Grindley, online managing editor for NationalJournal.com takes "thinking outside the box" to a new level with his nontraditional approach to employment ads. His idea? Don't charge for the recruitment ad...charge for the replies. It's called lead generation. Bad idea or brilliant idea? You tell us.

Improve your online photo gallery

2008-09-05T08:16:00.003-07:00

Thank you, Mindy McAdams for pointing out what many photo galleries on news sites are lacking and what can be done to raise the bar. She says: "A great gallery player is The Week in Pictures from MSNBC.com. It’s fast. It’s easy and pleasant to use. It’s way better than good enough." I suggest you check it out.

Give good photos their due

2008-09-04T10:20:00.004-07:00

This post courtesy of Steve Yelvington:

Codrie, La., after Hurricane Gustav

It's "just" a 360-degree picture, something that's been around on a lot of news sites since the early days of iPix and Quicktime VR.

But it's huge.

And I tell you what, on a 20-inch Apple Cinema monitor, you feel like you're going to get dunked. The detail is just dazzling. Click and spin and look around.

It makes me painfully aware of how badly most news sites treat photography: Little tiny thumbnail images that (if we're lucky) click through to semi-tiny versions.

It's as if we're still catering to the 14.4kbps dialup crowd.

In a broadband, high-definition world, we should be giving images their due.

New Statesman investigates...

2008-09-02T15:38:00.004-07:00

The UK’s New Statesman asked its readers to vote on the subject for the periodical’s next investigation. It's been called "an experiment with merit". Do you think this is a good way to get readers involved in the journalism process? Would this fly in Arizona?

Alphabet City

2008-08-27T14:05:00.000-07:00

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch attracts readers with “Alphabet City”, an online game that features pictures of different shops and landmarks in St. Louis. How easy would it be to put something like this together and get advertisers involved? You could use it to the boost the advertising as well as draw in a few more unique visitors! What do you think? Tell us!