sensemaking preso
TRANSCRIPT
The Future of
ContextSensemaking – June 2010
Matt Thompson, NPR
Three big problems
Three big problemsopportunities!
Familiarity with a news story
New to the story
Somewhat familiar
Deeply familiar
Different news needsfor different users
New to the story
Somewhat familiar
Deeply familiar
What’s changed recently?
What’s the latest?
What’s the backstory?
7
“I sat out Kosovo.”
The overload problem
http://news.google.com
”““Learned helplessness”
The abundance of news and ubiquity of choice do not necessarily translate into a
better news environment for consumers ...
Participants in this study showed signs of news fatigue; that is, they appeared
debilitated by information overload and unsatisfying news experiences ...
Ultimately news fatigue brought
many of the participants to a learned helplessness response.
The more overwhelmed or unsatis"ed they were, the less
effort they were willing to put in.
From an AP study of young news consumers
10
crime & scandal
crime & scandal
accidents & tra!c
accidents & tra!c
weather
weather
sports & celebrities
crime & scandal
“Learned helplessness”
The trust problem
http://news.google.com
Institutional voice = “objective”?
Easier: Clear villains and heroes
Beyond newsThe future of context.
The emerging industry
Rising superstars of the new journalism
Coverage of the Fort Hood shootings
The Tribune’s reaction“It seemed like a made-to-order test for the Texas Tribune.”“They scrambled the jets, made plans, and then – stayed put.”
From more stories to larger stories
educationinvestigation
investigation
investigation
political analysis
feature
The quest narrative
The Epic of Gilgamesh
The quest: a journalistic staple
The quest moves online
21
And you can participate
22
The beat reporter of the future
Washington Post reporter/columnist/blogger Ezra Klein
Imagine a news source that provided enough background
to make every story clear.
Imagine a news source that day after day became
not merely timelier, but more comprehensive.
Wikipedia’s lessons.
Wikipedia logo
It works for breaking news.From the New York Times, July 1, 2007:
It works for old news.The Bet: Winer vs. Nisenholtz
Blogs will outrank the
New York Times on Google!
Oh yeah?
Wikipedia trounced both blogs and the Times.
From workbench.cadenhead.org, 12.20.07
Wikipedia’s growth curve
From Wikimedia.org.
Wikipedia creator Jimmy Wales estimated in 2006 that 1,400 people contributed 74% of the site’s edits.*
* Source: “Who Writes Wikipedia?” – aaronsw.com, 9.24.06
Before 2008 staff cuts, the size of the New York Times newsroom was around 1,420.*
* Source: “Newsroom Cuts at the ‘New York Times’” – portfolio.com, 2.14.08
Traffic estimates:NYTimes.com vs. Wikipedia.orgSource: Quantcast.com
wikipedia
nytimes
The Times learned from Nisenholtz’s bet.
The world’s most transparent newsroom?
From Wikimedia.org.
In sum ...
The Epic of Gilgamesh
- Larger stories, not more stories
- Reveal the quest
- Toward timelessness
Thank you.
Matt ThompsonBlog: Newsless.orgTweet: @mthompsEmail: [email protected]