Media Helping Media

Creating a converged news operation

Created on Tuesday, 12 January 2010

Published on Tuesday, 12 January 2010

Written by David Brewer

  

The first requirement is a converged, multimedia newsroom, based around a central superdesk and operating as a content factory.

That newsroom will deliver one set of sourced, attributed and verified news facts to the widest possible audience which will be accessing that information on different platforms.

The material will be created by a multiskilled production team using multiplatform authoring tools.

Convergence is a fundamental prerequisite for a multimedia news organisation.  It gives a news organisation a consistency of editorial focus played out across whatever device the user turns to in order to access that information.

The print, on-air, online and on-the-move offerings need to cross-promote each other. Each must add specific value relevant to the particular platform.

It's also essential to make full use of social networking tools for research, news gathering, production and news dissemination - check our social networking modules for more.

Setting up a newsroom superdesk

Convergence is an editorial strategy issue and not a space, resources, technology or time issue - the most common excuses given for delaying and opposing the introduction of such a system.

It is not a nice-to-have to be accommodated or considered by print, TV or interactive staff; it is essential for the effective functioning of a modern newsroom.

It doesn’t need to be expensive; there are many open-source tools available to help media organisations introduce convergence without incurring high costs.

In my media development work, I have helped print and broadcast news organisations build converged newsrooms based around a central superdesk system in Zimbabwe, Serbia, Croatia, Guatemala, Vietnam, Malaysia, Syria, Indonesia and Georgia.

Some have a handful of staff operating in a space the size of small living room, others have large purpose-built newsrooms and employ several hundred staff.

It doesn't matter what size the news organisation is, what matters is adapting the following strategy to work for you and your audience.

Convergence is an editorial strategy issue and not a space, resources, technology or time issue.

Basic rules

• All interactive properties must be by-products of a converged news operation and not stand alone and self managed entities
• The news website must be a window on the newsroom, reflecting the key editorial decisions made by a central news resource
• The news website must add value to all stories covered on air or in print by offering in-depth background information
• The audience must be fully engaged in and be able to participate in the newsgathering and news dissemination process through the embedding of interactivity and social networking tools on all items
• All platforms must cross-promote the others with genuine calls-to-action offering clear added value to enrich story telling and enhance audience understanding
• No story will be exclusive to one platform, but will be exploited and cross-promoted on all devices.

All plaforms must cross-promote the others with genuine calls-to-action offering clear added value to enrich story telling and enhance audience understanding.

Benefits

• Clarity and consistency of the news to all devices thereby strengthening the brand
• Centralised editorial planning - improving the quality of the content
• Streamlined newsgathering - efficiencies in speed and effectiveness
• Avoidance of duplication and saving in resources - cost cutting
• Ability to respond to new business opportunities from existing resources - revenue generation
• Fresh newsgathering material (from engaging the audience via the website) - audience relevance and audience loyalty.

Convergence offers clarity and consistency of the news to all devices thereby strengthening the brand.

Workflow

• All senior editorial staff need to sit together as part of a converged news operation. This could be around one central superdesk, or in one area where they are all breathing the same news air and can hear the latest news calls
• This is best achieved by setting up a news superdesk with the daily interactive and TV or print editors sitting alongside the planning editor and (if resources allow) an intake editor
• The forward planning editor needs to work closely with the interactive editor to ensure that all in-depth, issue-led, investigative journalism is backed up by fact files, timelines, profiles, and audience participation interactivity, so that these elements can be cross-promoted and always point to the website's added value
• The interactive editor needs to ensure that all social networking opportunities are fully utilised in order to not only inform the audience, but to also inform the news organisation's journalism as to the needs and priorities of that audience
• Social networking must be a central part to the news organisation's newsgathering efforts
• One set of editorial choices and calls, one central editorial meeting, one clear editorial message, one editorial running order, one editorial team.

Convergence is best achieved by setting up a news superdesk with the interactive and TV or print editors sitting alongside the planning editor and intake editor.

A typical converged workflow

 

Editorial essentials

• Define the core editorial proposition – what you will cover that others don't, or the way you will cover news that is different
• Ensure all staff understand the target audience for each platform, what that audience needs to know, how that audience uses the platforms
• Continue to educate all staff, from senior journalists to the most recent recruit, in the continuing changing audience behaviour and the ways the audience is consuming news. Never presume that this news consumption stays the same - it rarely does
• List the special sections and in-depth areas that the online version will be required to offer to back up the overall editorial proposition
• Set out the expected content production levels (number of stories a day and frequency of update)
• Translate this into staffing needs, hours to be covered, multiskilling training required (all staff should be able to use all newsroom systems and the online content management system in order to update all platforms)
• Think through multimedia news-on-demand plans, again in terms of design, navigation, staffing, update expectations, and hours covered
• Train staff in the writing disciplines needed to create content once so that it can be exploited on multiple platforms.

Ensure all staff understand the target audience for each platform, what that audience needs to know, how that audience uses the platforms.

Multiplatform authoring - breaking content into component parts

Note: More on this in the multiplatform authoring module

Technical needs

• Where possible look for tried, tested and proven open-source products
• Install a central news production tool and a web-based content management system
• Install multimedia encoding technology that is fast, simple to use, and which can deliver audio video to an online multimedia news-on-demand console
• Install a central database for storing and delivering content
• Ensure you embed social networking functionality to enable people to save, share, re-use and comment - download Tweetdeck or another similar tool to all computers
• Decide on server structure, capacity, and redundancy needs
• Build robust security systems designed to fend off hackers.

Design issues

• Design the same print, TV and online look and feel
• Design interactive templates for the story page, the sections, in-depth area, multimedia console, and main page templates
• Design tagging to ensure multiplatform delivery and exploitation on all devices
• Design a breaking news component that can be managed from the superdesk
• Design templates for mobile alerts and tie these to the superdesk, making sure they link through to social networking updates, such as Twitter and Facebook- all your headlines should be tweets
• Design multimedia news-on-demand templates and set up a web TV channel
• Ensure SEO (search engine optimisation) built into all elements.

Human resource issues

• Ensure all existing staff and new staff realise they are working as part of a multiskilled team in a multiplatform news operation - you may need to look at existing contracts
• Offer training for those who need to learn new skills, but make it part of the media organisation's development rather than a personal preference
• Set corporate, unit and individual objectives defining newsroom targets which rely on the full use of multimedia
• Create an appraisal system with 360 degree feedback
• Ensure all staff are prepared to work flexible hours
• Install a rota system that ensures adequate recovery and turnaround time
• Carry out workplace assessments in terms of ergonomics
• Ensure adequate screen breaks
• Deal with those who view social networking as something for kids - help them understand it's central to their job.

Convergence offers many more benefits than just cost saving and efficiencies in news production. It also helps widen the audience and creating a new and valuable newsgathering resource. It will prove a major benefit to your journalism and your media business.

 

  

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