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Computers & Writing 2000 Online March 15 - June 6, 2000, Fort Worth, Texas |
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The Integrated Newsroom: A study of technical challenges news publishers face in the digital age |
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Welcome one and all! This is my very first virtual conference and I am really excited about this. Before we commence our virtual discussion, here is some pre-reading material I have prepared. Primer As a primer, consider Los Angeles Times’ Leah Gentry’s vision: "Buckbobbill is a geek of the first order, who each day intrepidly climbs upon his spaceship, jets off to probe the inner workings of the high command at Galactic Central, and writes it up in HTML to file it via e-mail. They (the journalists) see his [Buckobill’s] coming as either the downfall of [the] free press or the heaven-sent salvation of a dying medium." Twenty-first century digital journalist Buckbobbill, a cross between Buck Rogers, Bob Woodward, and Bill Gates could simply be just another futuristic image we come across in a Hollywood science fiction film, a comic book, or television series, but the questions and concerns Buckbobbill raises are urgent ones for journalism. Setting the scene This paper examines the changing journalistic work practices in two newsrooms – The Straits Times Interactive (Singapore) and The Age Online (Melbourne) as twin case studies. It is based on my masters thesis, where I employed a mixed-methods approach primarily the following techniques:
These papers are published by the Singapore Press Holdings and John Fairfax Holdings Pty Ltd. Launched in 1995, making them pioneers in this new medium at a stage when the commercial use of the Internet was in its infancy. The Age Online was the first paper in Australia to go online while The Straits Times Interactive was one of the first in Southeast Asia. Singapore Press Holdings & John Fairfax Holdings Pty Ltd Both Fairfax and SPH are well-established and major media players in their own right. Both have, or are investing, heavily in new technology and are trying to gain a stake in the emerging lucrative new media pie. Besides their staple publishing enterprise, both have emphasised multi-media, Internet start-up or telecommunications business interests. In keeping with the increasing expectations of their audiences, and the high costs involved in new technology, both companies are investing in new business interests. It is an economical means of gaining entry into the technology market as it is cost-effective to develop and "own" rather than rely on third-party firms for technological support. Through these investments, they can provide consumers with additional services, work out bandwidth uncertainties, and experiment with interactive means of news presentation. Publishing Industry Trends
Industry trends indicate that new dot.com companies will continue to be born and AOL-Time Warner ‘type’ mergers will prevail. Although profitability is questionable, major players who fail to ride the WWW bandwagon risk losing their audiences. The popularity of web-only publications such as CNET, is growing immensely and introduce a host of new competitors for news publishers. The buoyant performance of enterprises such as AOL-Time Warner, ThirdVoice and AsiaOne on the stock market is an indication of a boom times ahead. Visible trends - technology’s impact on journalistic writing Journalistic work practice is evolving, and the WWW is slowly gaining acceptance in the newsroom. Journalists are beginning to recognise the WWW as a potential source of information, and the new set of skills required to judge an online source’s credibility, WWW-searching skills and producing online content. Skills required include:
Beyond the basic writing, editing and interviewing skills required, future journalists need to be au fait with technology, photo manipulation and require basic web skills. Journalism educators are recognising this trend and course content is being re-written to cater to industry needs.
Besides writing, online journalists need to keep abreast of technological innovations and are comfortable with HTML/photo manipulation and sophisticated software. They need to "flip, flop and flip" again. Roles are being re-defined as staff are hired for specific tasks. New roles in the form of web masters, content managers, web developers are emerging.
There is a trend towards hiring younger journalists who both possess IT expertise and writing skills. Once employed neo-journalists still require substantial ‘on the job’ training and experience to become editorial decision-makers. However, online media have created a new job market, open to younger, less experienced journalists since most professionals in this field lack such skills.
The deadline pressure an online journalist faces may be intensifying as the vision of the online news product evolving through the day beginning identical to the print edition in the morning and looking different by the end of the day may not be far fetched. There could well be a reverse in trend with the print edition turning into a digest or pointer towards a detailed information and news service available online.
A current glitch lies in the transfer of content from the desktop publishing to online systems and there is a need for an individual to rid copy of print commands, finetune HTML coding and locate photographs from their system. Both papers, are working to automate this progress through sophisticated content management software such as Cybergraphix and Futuretense. With such a system in place it can free their journalists to focus on developing quality content and enriching the user experience through interactivity. Such technology is being finetuned and will dictate the progress of the online newsroom and the online newspapers adventurous spirit on the WWW. However if successfully implemented, it removes the flexibility in design and could result in a ‘template-approach’.
Sophisticated tracking devices and software have been developed in a bid to develop a profile of the online reader, however it is still a challenge. The fact that online readers are no longer restricted by geography, and have diverse interests and preferences indicate that publishers will face a challenging task. In general online readers are quite sophisticated and are beginning to expect the latest technology such as audio/video streaming, advanced search capabilities, and diverse (and occasionally customised) information. Singapore Press Holding’s Paul Jansen explains: "Expectations are so much higher that if you don’t deliver it is immediately apparent that you are a sub-standard content provider. As long as the reader is exposed to available technology, he comes to expect it." The popularity of Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) such as the 3Com’s Palm Pilot, and similar products such as the Psion and the DaVinci introduce new potential especially when coupled with Wireless Application Protocol (WAP). This technology can cater to the demands of the reader and provide access to bite-sized news and condensed downloadable versions of news sites via PDAs. At the top end of the spectrum, there are technology-savvy readers equipped with the latest gizmos, and at the other end "newbies" are being introduced to the WWW. Users’ technology limitations influence news publishers as they hesitate to use the latest plug-ins such as Flash, and other fancy tools for fear their readers will not be able to access their site. Online publishers need to find a balance between providing quality information with compelling design and user access. Future Casting The future of online journalism very much depends on the entire WWW revolution and will be shaped by the way audiences adopt technology as part of their lifestyle. New media will not replace print, radio or television and the market will be redefined. There will be a continued focus on personalisation be it in the form of news or any other area and "information content providers" will continue to implement and finetune total e-business. The only certainty lies in the fact that the WWW revolution will continue to evolve. SPH, Fairfax and other news publishers in the same way will experiment with online news delivery, move away from simple re-purposing of print content to developing extensive "portals", and personalised mobile news through PDAs. They may be capable of delivering news (not just bites of news) by the hour to individuals customised to their needs, if the potential of WAP can be realised. Publishers will trial different information retrieval systems and search capabilities to capitalise on the archival nature of the WWW, with a view to developing the ideal mix to boost income and profitability. "Buckbobbill" as Gentry describes may not be a fallacy. Future journalists will carry wireless devices and transmit news stories directly to the server that converts the content and uploads it online. With WML (Wireless markup language) and WAP, content will be written in WML, driven from WAP sites that can be accessed by phones and no longer limit the used to a desktop or physical space. Audiences will be able to surf and request in menu format what kinds of information they want, and this is not limited to news, leading an integrated lifestyle where users people will read news, trade stocks, order pizza and book a cinema ticket with their phone/PDA. This vision could indeed become reality once bandwidth concerns are resolved. About the presenter Singaporean freelance journalist Nisar Keshvani has written for various publications including The Straits Times (Singapore), worldroom.com, movies-online, smallplaces.com and corresponds for the Asian Sources Media Group (Philippines). Nisar edits fineArt forum, a 14-year old art & technology e-zine and has extensive experience developing and maintaining websites. His research interests include; new media technologies, media convergence, WWW content management, online journalism, web development and desktop publishing and layout. |
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