Multimedia JournalismMultimedia JournalismReaching Your AudienceCreating Maps and Blogs

Sec. C1 – Feb 02, 2009

Topics we’ll cover today

• Media and audience power• Writing for the Web (review from last week)– We’ll go over your assignments from last week.

• Setting up a blog on Blogger• Working with maps– In-class assignment

• Assignments for next week

The Media is losing its power• What do you think this means?• Why do you think this has happened?

The Media is losing its power• What this means:– Audiences have choices beyond daily papers and

nightly newscasts. They don’t have to pick you anymore.

• Three big reasons for why we’re losing power:– 1-“Don’t Touch That Dial” is a thing of the past.

• The remote control literally put the power in viewers’ hands.

• Along with the remote came more channels/cable options.• If people watched the news, they could go to…

– CNN (1980) / Headline News (1982) / Fox News (1996) / MSNBC (1996) etc. anytime, nationwide.

• This alone didn’t take our power: What about local news?

The Media is losing its power• Three big reasons why (Cont’d.):– 2-The Web has made news customizable.• Audiences can choose to read/view what they want, when

they want.– They can find local/regional news in multiple places.– Local media need to make the move to Web to keep their market.

» Remember: The Pew study we discussed last week showed that 40 percent of people get most of their news from the Web, up from 24 percent from 2007.

» The younger a consumer, the less likely it is that he or she will pick up a newspaper.

• People no longer have to sit through scheduled newscasts/wait for the paper for “breaking news” on local events.

The Media is losing its power• Three big reasons why (Cont’d.):– 3-Is “iPodization” a word?• Just as music lovers no longer have to buy whole albums

thanks to iTunes/Amazon/etc., news consumers no longer have to stick to very local or very national/international news.– They can search (rather than sift) through their favorite news

sites.– Or they can use aggregators like Google News, Yahoo, and MSN.

» A news aggregator is basically a Web application that takes syndicated content from all over the Web and puts it in one location for easy viewing.

• Even if you’re on the Web, you still have competition– So how do you beat it?

Regaining the power• Your news organization has joined the 21st

century by going online, but your audience is still dwindling.– Besides cross-promoting or putting money into

advertising, what can you do to get those people back?

– How can you make sure they’ll find you?

Regaining the power• Search Engine Optimization– Definition: When you optimize your Web sites and

content to be found online.– Google drives more traffic to sites than any other search engine, but

it doesn’t necessarily know your site exists.

– Why it matters:• More people are turning to the Web for news than ever

before.• While some people strictly visit sites like nytimes.com, most

(like me) will also go to aggregators like Google, MSN, Yahoo.– Google News uses algorithms (formulas) to decide what content is

displayed most prominently on the front page and in searches.» The algorithms assign value to different elements of a story/URL» The more value Google gives to your story and URL, the higher

up your story will appear in a news search.

Regaining the power• Search Engine Optimization – How to do it and

what you can control– Master these three things and you’ll be on your

way to making news organization more visible• Headlines• Links and linking• Organizing your content

– Although your Google sites aren’t findable on news searches (as opposed to Web searches), these are principles you can and should control with all Web content you generate.

Regaining the power• Headlines – On most news sites, an article’s headline doubles

as the page’s title. (Example)• Search engine algorithms give more weight to key

terms in a title than to words on a page.– If you have virtually identical articles on bailouts, chances are

the ones that rank highest in Google News have “bailout” in the title.

– Consider including multiple keywords in your titles

• Page titles are also the highly visible clickable links you see in Google. – The better your headline/page title, the better your chances

of enticing readers to go to your site.

Regaining the power• Headlines – Keywords are important• A witty pun can grab your readers if they’re holding

your paper or already visiting your site. But it will only hurt you in terms of search results.• Headlines should be short (~45 chars)--IF longer,

use important words first. (Who, what, where, etc.)• Deviating from the general style, consider using full

names. ”Caylee Anthony" rather than ”Anthony.”– People often search for full names.– Notable exceptions: Obama, Blagojevich, [the] Pope

• Avoid keyword jumbles!– People like enticing and coherent headlines.

Regaining the power• Links and Linking– Some people say that The Drudge Report is the

best-designed site on the Web.• “it sends people away to keep them coming back.” –

Jason Fried of 37Signals.com– Drudge updates frequently, like a human aggregator

» Aside: all those links make Matt Drudge a wealthy man. It is estimated that he makes more than $1 million annually.

– Good link, bad link – which do you prefer?– William Ayers complained that the Republicans had turned

him into a “cartoon character.”– William Ayers complained that the Republicans had turned

him into a "cartoon character" (read full interview here.)

Regaining the power• Links and Linking– Good link, bad link• As with titles, search engines assign value to the

description within a link– “William Ayers complained” will help the link’s ranking in a

search more than “here” will. – How this benefits you:

» If you’re linking to a previous article from your own site, a more descriptive link might drive more search engine traffic to that article and your site.

– What if you’re linking outside of your site, say to a competing news organization?» Link unto others as you would have them link unto you.

Regaining the power• Links and Linking– Good link, bad link—it goes for URLs, too

• Your Google sites—like a lot of site and blogging services—allow you to create your own URLs.– The words in your URL, like those in links and titles, increase

your findability.» EXAMPLE: “Extreme multiple births carry tremendous

risks” -- http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/01/28/octuplet.risks/index.html

» EXAMPLE: “USPS May Cut Out Full Day Of Mail Delivery” -- http://www.ny1.com/content/top_stories/92987/usps-may-cut-out-full-day-of-mail-delivery/Default.aspx

» BAD EXAMPLE: http://oxfordeagle.com/news1.html (non-descriptive AND content changes daily)

Regaining the power• Organizing your content– Use categories that make sense to your reader: • Pretend you’re working for a news organization.

Doctors at the local hospital have just developed a new medical procedure.– Your newscast or paper might lack a “health”

segment/section, so you either don’t categorize it in the ‘cast or you stick it somewhere like “Local” in the paper. That’s fine.

– BUT your news outlet’s Web site SHOULD have a health section.» It won’t waste time or paper space» It will make the most sense to people coming to your site

after hearing about the procedure

Regaining the power• Organizing your content– Discrete ideas; discrete pages• No more than one article/topic per page

– Make a few keywords count—don’t get lost in the shuffle because you’re covering too much

– The more pages you have, the more a search engine can “crawl” you.

• Pages for multimedia content– Graphics and video content are virtually invisible to search

engines on their own.– If your video or interactive is on its own page, be sure to use

descriptive titles and URLS, and at least one small graf of text.

REVIEW: Writing for the Web

• Rules for Internet Writing:– Keep paragraphs short (one topic)– Use informative subheads– Hyperlink to other articles/sites you’re referencing• Most news sites do this by linking words like “Iraq” to

lists of related articles. (Example.)

– Use bulleted lists (if you need them) to break things up

– Key point: Long blocks of type are deadly!

REVIEW: Writing for the Web

• Internet Writing is a combination of print and broadcast– Like print:

• Inverted pyramid style preferred• Relatively expandable news hole• Write to be read rather than heard.

– Like Broadcast:• Conversational tone• Short, declarative sentences / Simple words• Immediacy is important (people check the Web for breaking

news)

REVIEW: Writing for the Web

• Improving scanability / readability – Highlight key words and phrases (this can include

hyperlinking important phrases for context)– Use subheads to break up text and divide story– Use meaningful links—if you can summarize an

issue succinctly by offering a link for more info, do.

• Make it timely and relevant– On Breaking stories, get info out fast

Class discussion

• Let’s take a look at your articles– How do they meet the basic criteria for writing for

the Web?– Lessons learned for next time

Create a blog• Log in: jo540c1 / !@jo540c1@!• Open browser and go to Blogger.com

• You all have Google accounts now. Where it says “sign in to use Blogger with your Google account,” use your Google login info.• You should be at the “Create account” screen. Follow

the steps:– Create account– Name blog – Ignore the advanced options– Choose template

• STOP: When you get to the “Your Blog Has Been Created,” minimize your window.– E-mail me your URL: mycynek@bu.edu subject: “jo540 blog”

Maps

• How are maps used on the Web?– http://flickr.com/map - Geotagging lets you find/share pictures

around the world– Homicide map – One of the first/most detailed (view all dates)– News Navigator -- A new way to find news in your area.

» Similar to Every Block and Outside.In– Mapped Up – Similar, but on an international level– Storm Stories - Users can submit their own stories– Tornado Aftermath/Rebuilding – Marriages Map

• Case study: Trip Advisor, Google Maps, Facebook and you– Working together, different sites broaden their reach

• Google maps demonstration

Class exercise• Posting your own Google map– Go back to your Blogger window and click on

“start blogging”– In a new window, go to Google maps. • Use what you’ve learned in class to create a map

meeting the following criteria:– Contains photos/videos– Contains at least three places that relate to each other– Conveys a general idea (gas prices and where’s the cheapest,

where an event will take place, like the Boston Marathon, etc.)

• Go back to your blogger page and paste the embed code for your map into a new entry. Add a title/description.

Class exercise• Posting your own Google map– Useful links for now and later:• Google’s Map tips—Getting started• BU’s HTML help page: Now that we’re getting into

more interactivity, you should study up on basic HTML. – At the very least, be able to hard-code the following:

» Text format (color, font, size, alignment)» Image embedding - <img src=“url.jpg”>» Linking - <a href=http://www.url.com>This is my link.</a>

– The sooner you start making yourself familiar with what HTML is, the better off you’ll be when we create sites at the end of the semester.» I am here to help, but we can’t cover everything during

class time. (There are entire courses devoted to HTML)

Assignments for Next Week

• Cover an event, write a news story on the event and create a blog entry about the event.

• Make sure to cover the story "straight" with a "just the facts" perspective for the website, and add a "personal view" for the blog.

• Bring printouts of your story and blog to hand in.

• Watch Channel 5’s evening newscast and Visit TheBostonChannel.com at least two nights this week

• Compare how both cover and report on the news in preparation for Maria Buckley’s visit next week.

• Be prepared to ask questions, join in discussion