Building A Better Newsroom

WWYD:  What Would You Do? ...if you made a living sending out information.

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WWYD? I noticed on my twitter balloon that shows the frequency of the different words in my Tweets that “meeting” is the number one used word. I found that interesting, b/c I didn’t realize I had so many meetings. With that said, each day starts with one, so maybe that’s why. Tomorrow is different. It will start with a meeting, but one of much greater magnitude than “what stories should we do today.“
Tomorrow, we [officially] begin building a media company of the future. I have a meeting on my calendar that proves it. But, I’ve been dabbling in this future media (which is really more “what we should be doing now”) for a couple of months. Using twitter and linkedIn to connect with and engage our customers, I’ve been blown away by the response.
However, tomorrow’s meeting won’t be a bunch of people writing on a wall and then walking away feeling refreshed. Tomorrow will be the first step in actually changing what we do.
Mostly, we are going to look at what we do personally and what we need to stop doing as an organization so that we can focus on what we should be doing. The issue is, we really need to nail down what we SHOULD be doing.
This is where you all come in. If you had to build an information dissemination organization tomorrow, what would that organization look like? What would be the most important thing you could do to make sure it was successful? How would you make it fun? I would love to hear your thoughts.

I would get out of the office environment and start networking.  Go to where your audiences are.  Start asking a lot of questions about what’s going on in their lives and if they are willing to help create stories around their own.  Kind of like user generated content. 

Perhaps create informal social gatherings where you can chit chat and really get to know your audience on a personal level.  Break down the barriers (if there are any) and change their perception of how your organization is today.

Ryan:

I think you’re on your way to achieving your goal simply by asking your extended network for idea. Here are my thoughts, and they spring from both my personal and professional experiences.

I would recommend you maximize the mobility aspects of your organization - for inputs and outputs.

Here’s what I mean. It’s no secret that we are fast becoming a more mobile society. There are more than a quarter of a billion cell phones in the US today, and the adoption rate of mobile technology has surpassed that of any other technology in the history of mankind. As a media company, you most certainly realize this, but you could do more to capitalize on it:

* You are miles ahead of others in your space in that your web site is WAP enabled, so you get a gold star there. You also are offering mobile alerts - two gold stars. A great start.
* As a way to better interact with your community, you could also establish text or mobile story submission from viewers, and offer the opportunity for viewers to submit real-time video (similar to sites like qik.com, and others).

Once you get the ball rolling in your meeting I’m sure you will come up with other ideas, but by keeping focused on the premise that people are as mobile as ever (possibly more), and that the new technology they are carrying will make the concept of a scheduled newscast less relevant, I believe you will be able to find other ways to stay in front of your viewers.

Best of luck. Let us know how it goes.

Taking advantage of new methods of communication is critical.  Engaging your audience in one on one communication and solicit feedback from them as events happen.

Twitter is a great example of realtime or near realtime communication.  Your team will post about a new story and we can immediately ask questions and provide input before the story has even made it “on the news”.

News media also needs to realize that you can’t just hit everybody in one fell swoop anymore.  I used to be an avid news watcher but I honestly never watch the evening news anymore.  With the Internet the evening news is too slow and really not that in depth.  If I can’t get the information at my fingertips then the information is generally not worth having.  However for older generations that aren’t as comfortable with technology they still depend on their evening news. 

It almost as if the evening news should be tailored to a different generation and speak on topics that have more relevance to them than Gen X/Y.

I think using opt in technology like text messaging, twitter, etc is the direction in which you will capture a younger demographic.

A final piece of the puzzle, don’t just report the news.  Dig deeper and engage the community to offer solutions to the topics that are discussed on the news.  It needs to become more interactive in that you report on the issues that we may or may not be aware of, and then provide solutions to the problems that are encountered.  Solicit feedback from viewers and your connections around town on what the major issues are and how we can address them. 

I think there are many people in central Ohio who have a lot of bright ideas but just aren’t sure how to go about getting those ideas in front of the people that matter.  Provide these people with a forum to get their thoughts and ideas out in the open and then we may start to see some real changes in our lives.

Finally I like the idea of reporting on a broader range of topics instead of just tragedy, disaster, etc.  I would be interested in seeing more of what makes Columbus tick.  Find out about the businesses both large and small in the area and tell us what they do?  There are many peoples, places and things out there that are largely undiscovered by the general population.

Sorry for the rambling post, in the end I do feel like there is a need to step back from thinking as the Television as the primary source of information, and instead turn it to the Web, Social Media, and even something like round tables or informal get discussion groups held in each part of town each month to get into the minds of what people are thinking and what interests them.

I would try to set up several “town hall” meetings in numerous cities all around the viewing area to talk to people and see what they would like to hear more about on the news. 

Personally, I would like to hear more uplifting stores on the nightly news.  I know there are “feel good” stories out in the world but no one seems to report them. I understand that the shootings/crimes and accidents need to be reported, however, they are not the only stories deserving attention.  You could also set up teams to work with local citizens to do reports on several areas of Ohio, show the things to do and places to see when visiting different locations around Ohio.

First, I want to say that I am an NBC4 watcher.  I generally prefer this station, and its’ anchors, to the others.  Second, I am a terrible speller, so sorry for any mistakes :)

I am sick of hearing so much about the gas prices.  Clearly they are high and clearly that’s a problem, but I feel like it is the same story every night—-gas prices are up, consumption is down 1-2% and that’s not enough to make a difference in the supply/demand chain, people with lower household incomes are suffering as a result b/c higher fuel means higher food costs, etc…..All important information, but if it is the same every night, and every morning, can we just skip it?  Alternatively, insted of the same old story can we hear more about what, if anything, is/can be done to make a difference OR what are some practical alternatives for people in C-bus.  I live in Dublin and work downtown so COTA is not a helpful alternative. 

Second, I would also like to hear some more uplifiting stories.  There is so much bad news anymore that it would be really nice to hear about local kids who are winning awards or adults who are making a difference, etc.

Finally, I would like to see more about what is going on around town. There are a ton of things happening in and around central Ohio but I feel like I never find out about them until it is too late.  The times that I do find out in time it is rarely b/c I heard about it on the news—usually it is b/c I scanned the Dispatch intentionally looking for something to do.

Don’t stop posting news articles on you website.  I hate watching video news, I would rather read the article.

I think you’re off to a great start by asking and allowing us to participate. I agree with a lot that has already been said. I’m pretty tired of the gas price thing. It would be wonderful to hear some more up lifting news. There are so many non profits out there that are doing great things every day and I would love to see more reporting on what is going on to make things better for others. We see so much on the news about busting drug dealers why not balance that with some stories about organizations that are working to help people over come addiction? Why not do some in depth reporting on addiction? Or. help central ohioans understand mental health? Pick a diagnosis and do some indepth reporting on what the latest research is finding. Let’s educate the public about mental illness and work on getting rid of the stigma. The list is endless.

You can use you web site for more in depth reporting on issues that go beyond what can be squeezed into the limited amount of on air time.

It is great that you are seeking answers from your audience, your customers, and those people who are in the early adopter class as it will hopefully help you find innovative answers to your questions.

I personally do not watch the news on TV.  I can more easily digest it when I am ready by browsing a few sites and reading the articles that interest me.  I don’t have or want to spend the time waiting for commercials and uninteresting (to me) news stories.  It is easier and quicker for me to pick and choose on the web what I want to read.

The advantage you have over the national news is your local focus.  People in Columbus are passionate about sports and our local celebrities.  I think you can put out some positive stories on local people who have excelled in their respective fields.  Interview Cameron Mitchell.  Interview small startup founders.  Show the good stuff happening in central Ohio.  If you know ahead of time who you will be doing a story about, solicit questions from local people using twitter, FriendFeed, and some of these other new social applications.  If I submit a question, I am more likely to watch to see if it gets asked and what the answers were to it.  It becomes more interactive.

I think sending out notices of hot stories coming tonight or soon would be great, on an opt-in basis too.  If I knew you were doing a story on someone or something that really interested me, I would be sure to watch too.  You can’t overuse this, and it shouldn’t be advertising per-se, but rather you could hopefully use the expertise of your audience to make the stories better through this mechanism.  If you twitter you are talking with someone about technical startups in the area, we could provide you with other possible contacts to get a more well-rounded story than maybe the 2 people you already had lined up.

When living in the California North Bay area, one of my favorite shows was Bay Area Backroads.  This was a local affiliate show that aired once a week focusing on interesting local places to go and things to see.  We have a lot to offer in Ohio, but we sometimes forget not everyone knows about all of the opportunities we have.  A quick list of interesting places you could showcase in this kind of segment: Amish country, Indian Caverns, first Wendy’s, amusement parks, Put-in-bay, tour of the state parks.  It is easy for this to be done wrong, but Bay Area Backroads got it right.  A quick segment as part of the news does not give enough depth.

Just some opinions and thoughts.  Good luck in your meeting!

Ryan, I know of a great partner/resource to help with that idea.  We are starting to do the same thing for our members and clients because of the rising costs of travel.  Some kind of focus on backyard bargains, One Tank Trips (although that’s already trademarked), Quick Trips, etc.  Give me a shout if you want to develop something together :).

Columbus is such a great city.  I’m sure that many at NBC4 feel the same way.  The station should use its megaphone to help make Columbus the best city in the nation.

Crime stories should always include an easy way to help catch the criminals.

Stories about weather disasters should include ways the community can help out, and not just money donations.

Give us information from city/county/other govts on what we can do to help make Central Ohio better.

Become a funnel for information from the community to the government on what they should be doing to make this a better place to live.

Highlight companies/corporations/organizations that are giving Central Ohio a good or bad name.  So we know which we should patron or avoid.

Things/people/etc that make Columbus great that we can share with our out-of-town friends.  Give us reasons to be proud to live here.

I hope NBC4 grows a reputation for being the place for helping making Columbus great.

Ryan,

A link to your blog got passed along to me.  Thanks for taking a leadership role in the change process every one of our newsrooms must confront and work its way through…