j-school buzz
DESCRIPTION
David Teeghman Jennifer Paull Lindsey Wolf. J-School Buzz. Overview. J-School Buzz. III. Implementing Changes Editorial philosophy Publication schedule Content Operations Multimedia Social Media IV. Sustainability New editors Transition Expansion V. Conclusion. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
David TeeghmanJennifer PaullLindsey Wolf
J-School Buzz
I. Audience Research: Web Analytics• Our audience• Most/Least popular stories• Balancing “spinach & sugar”• Social media
II. Lessons Learned• Publication• Content• Multimedia• Social Media• Criticism
III. Implementing Changes• Editorial philosophy• Publication schedule• Content• Operations• Multimedia• Social Media
IV. Sustainability• New editors• Transition• Expansion
V. Conclusion
“If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.”
-Henry Ford
Our study Examined site statistics using:
Studied numbers/feedback from:
Blog post comments
Bit.ly links
What we learned about our audience…
Source: Quantcast Audience Profile
Some of our least popular stories:
Starving Journalist: Comedy Coffeehouse: 29 views
Live Blog: Open Missouri Day at RJI: 36 views
Live Blog: SXSW Debriefing from RJI: 53 views
Open Missouri: Shining a Light on Missouri Government: 53 views
Why did they get so little traffic?
Content-Sharing/Links
Huffington Post College PBS MediaShift
Romenesko
Only Wire
Most Popular Post Elements:
Multimedia: graphics/video
Strong opinion/voice
Controversial
Updated (Process over Product)
Crowdsourcing
Balancing “sugar & spinach” stories
Negative feedback about lack of POYI coverage
Published more conventional “hard news”
▪ Dismal page views
▪ No social media traffic
News they want vs. news they need – the debate
Social Media Twitter: 1,177 followers
▪ Our most conversational medium
Facebook: 421 “likes”
▪ Lots of “likes” on posts, decent # of comments
▪ Slower growth, less conversation due to design/layout, convenience
Tumblr: 39 followers
▪ Reblogs site content
▪ Slowest growth of all social media
FourSquare: 149 friends
▪ Minimal # of check-ins
▪ Ultimate goal: Leave helpful “tips” that illustrate our role as the insider’s guide to the J-School
Publication Schedule Staff size limits publication amount
(with the exception of breaking news)
How to use site stats to our advantage
▪ Title wording can make all the difference
▪ No one reads JSB on Saturday
▪ Starving Journalists don’t work as blog posts
Content
Balance – hard vs. soft news
Tone – inserting voice, humor
Readers’ opinions on objectivity (or lack-thereof)
Importance of absolute transparency
Criticism Our 80-20 rule
Dealing with it in a professional manner
Realizing that some readers think criticizing the J-School in any way is negative
Using it to improve
Trolls
Fake Twitter accounts
Vitriolic Commenters
Multimedia
Important from beginning Show, don’t tell
Video pieces got a lot of backlash because they weren’t perfect – switched to infographics
Fall 2010 Enrollment Statistics:
▪ Over 100 pages of statistics about Mizzou – made multiple graphics
▪ Presented the information different ways to make sure it was still interesting
▪ Posts still centered around J-School, even if they were also about other schools in Big 12 or other colleges
Some of the most popular multimedia posts:
▪ Where journalism students end up/came from
▪ How much money journalism students make
▪ How many students have jobs when they graduate, by college and sequence - lead to original contact with Huffington Post College
Least popular:
▪ Where to park around the J-School
▪ Race breakdown - surprised me because I thought it would bring up a lot of concern
Social Media No one had experience with
Tumblr, unsure of what to do with it
Must be maintained/updated minute-by-minute
All J-School emails must be read for relevant info to share on social media
FourSquare – no Hootsuite-type program for managing multiple accounts
Make sure to carry on equal conversations on both Facebook and Twitter. Don’t minimize Facebook because it is less popular
Editorial Philosophy
• Puts the “objectivity” debate to rest
• Clarifies “news site” vs. “blog”
Terms of use
Publication schedule
Frequency (twice once)
Time of day (morning, early evening)
Days of the week (Monday-Friday, Sunday)
Content
Disclose all biases Be the J-School’s biggest fan
as well as its biggest critic
Operations
Hired a copy editor to review ALL content
All 3 editors share responsibilities, understanding that there will be a lot of cross-over between positions
Learning when to respond to comments and criticism and when to step back
Multimedia
Switched to publishing infographics – videos weren’t good enough
Text that went along with the graphics adding supplementary information
Tried to make sure there was a least some sort of J-School tie with all of the graphics – our key audience
Social Media
Began posting more info on Facebook beyond just story links
J-Info tweets were scheduled as soon as the info was received
Set up access to JSB Twitter on editor’s smart phone to ensure faster responses.
Fall 2011: Independent Study Credit Publicized opportunity:
Blog post with video Social media (JSB & Personal)
J-Info & Convergence Listserv
RJI TVs
Application process
10 applicants granted interviews, 4 selected
Editor-in-chief: Claudia Tran
Social media editor: Mel Gibson
Graphics editor: Francis LaBelle
Video editor: Zach McGowan
Three sequences represented
Transition & Training Introductory meeting: May 3rd
“Lessons to pass on” Google Doc
Summer transition period
▪ Less frequent publication
▪ Opportunities to slowly take over responsibilities
▪ Training via Skype
August 2011: New editors take over entirely
▪ Original editors available via email & Skype for questions
▪ New titles for current editors
Launched April 17, 2011:
Executive Director: Josh Lory
Senior Content Editor: Zach Fleeman
Senior Web Editor: Thomaz DeSouza
Social Media Editor: Tyler Clark
1st week: featured on MSNBC, Reddit
186 Facebook “likes”
121 Twitter followers
J-School Buzz