garciamedia

Nov. 19th What medium is best for that story?

Updated Thursday, Nov. 19 at 07:04 EST

TAKEAWAY: It is all about the story, not the medium. Today, we can discuss the storytelling process and imagine how various platforms would enhance how the story is presented.  But, first, we must let go of the notion that we are gathered to produce a printed newspaper.

I am thinking that we have made much progress in our industry towards “convergence” of print/digital.  However, we are still taking baby steps in most editorial houses, with the printed newspaper as the guiding light for planning and execution.

Right now, in most newsrooms that I visit around the world, the best intentions for true convergence are there.

In many cases, the physical environment has been rearranged so that editors have greater opportunity for direct contact, discussions and quick decision-making about how stories will be played in various media.

Yet, we are not even one quarter of the way there yet.

This week, I sit in the newsroom of the Gulf News of Dubai.  The so called “hub” is a circle in the middle of the newsroom that has just the perfect ambience and location to be just that, a hub of interaction.

As I sit through various planning meetings throughout the day, I am amazed at the progress made here since the hub was launched six months ago.

Yet, I also still sense that stories land on the oval table with legs full of ink and newsprint.  Any discussion for the digital presentation of news is secondary.

My suggestion: please discuss the story as such, let it fly over the hub table for a while, then ask the question: which is the best platform to tell the story.  If more than one platform make sense, then discuss how the story will be presented.

Case in point: the entertainment editor pitches a story about Carrie Underwood contemplating a switch from singing country to pop.  The idea is presented: why not provide audio of Carrie doing pop and country, asking readers to vote for what they think she does best?

The most minimal link concept: Sometimes the story that appears in print becomes a diving board to the possibilities for multimedia.  Print story: new age changes for mammograms (from 40 to 50 years of age). Multimedia possibility: interview with local physicians about the subject, and invitation for readers to offer their views.

A name and a face:: In my experience, the best results for convergence take place when there is an assigned person at every editorial planning meeting whose task is to promote, to record and to explore multimedia possibilities.  Eventually, this person may not be needed, as I believe that storytelling discussions will lead to the right medium to tell the story. Until that happens, and as we go through transitional years, it is necessary to appoint someone to carry the multimedia banner.

Age has nothing to do with it Acceptance of multimedia in the newsroom is not an issue that the young accept and the older, more traditional editors, refuse to accept.  Quite the contrary, I find reporters in their 30s, who still confess that it is not really a byline until they see it on the printed page.  “I don’t really think much of my story and byline on the screen, but, alas, to see in print means so much,“ a reporter told me.

As I often discuss in newsrooms everywhere, a “convergence hub” is not merely a seating arrangement, it is a rethinking process.  It all begins with accepting that we are in the news business, not necessarily in the newspaper business.

Great example of multimedia packaging from Gulf News today

http://gulfnews.com/life-style/beauty-fashion/shopping/jimmy-choo-collection-sells-out-in-record-time-in-dubai-1.529684

TheMarioBlog post #423

 

 

Posted by Dr. Mario R. Garcia on November 19, 2009