Category Archives: online journalism

MySpace News is here – what a disappointment

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Well, it’s not the RSS killer app I was hoping for, but more more a Digg clone, according to Journalism.co.uk:

“MySpace News apes Google News by using a search algorithm to automatically aggregate stories from sources around the world, placing them in a plethora of niche categories and 25 overarching topics.

“Like social news bookmarking websites Digg and MySpace [sic], the news service allows users to vote stories up and down the news agenda. But unlike the one-million strong technology-focused site Digg, MySpace’s debutante does not yet enable users to add their own stories to the system – a feature that was expected, according to previous early reports.”

This lack of control could be the death of MySpace News. Sounds like they’re relying heavily on the fact they have such a massive user base, but that user base can easily go elsewhere for news…

Sky News website crashes on relaunch day

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Sky website April 19 2007 1.05pmIt had to happen. Relaunching on the day news organisations around the world reported on the Virginia Tech gunman’s video statements, Sky News’ video-heavy website couldn’t cope when workers hit their site in huge numbers at lunchtime.

The site was inaccessible for at least an hour before a stripped-down version of the homepage went live around 1pm. Even then, response times were snail-like.

Of course, crashes like this are not new: on September 11 news websites around the world crashed under the demand, and a number of blogs sprang up to distribute the information around the net, but Sky seems to be the only site to have struggled today.

Virginia Tech: the speed of news online

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If ever proof were needed of the increased speed which the internet and blogs bring to news, yesterday Wired was already looking at the implications of the Virginia Tech shooting after a blog post:

“After Columbine, there was a nationwide backlash against geeks and goths — kids were being suspended, and worse, for wearing Marilyn Manson tee shirts. What will the Virginia Tech backlash look like, if it comes?

“Given all the emphasis on Cho’s creative writing, I’d guess student fiction-writers will be feeling the heat. Turning in dark, tortured, soul-searching fiction will be a good way to get sent to a counselor, or wind up interviewed by the local police.

“Kimberly Lacey, a graduate teaching instructor at Wayne State University, has a thoughtful blog post on the position creative writing teachers are in now.”

The article even links to two of Cho’s plays: “Richard McBeef and Mr. Brownstone are here, along with an account of one his former classmates.”

Sky News’ serendipitous website relaunch

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Sky News has relaunched its website on what may prove the biggest day for online video this year.

It’s no surprise to see the Virginia Tech gunman’s self-filmed video dominating the homepage, which has a strong focus on video generally, as well as adopting what are becoming conventional features in news websites: the ‘most read’ stories list; podcasts; and blogs.

The most interesting feature – and it’s not clear whether this will be repeated for other major stories – is that ‘Campus Shooting’ is actually one of the main navigation options, alongside more conventional categories ‘world news’, ‘UK news’, ‘business’ etc.

Journalism.co.uk has more on the relaunch, including some notable organisational changes:

“”In the past few months alone, a number of senior journalists have joined Sky News Online from Sky News,” a statement read. “Phil Wardman, Sky News’ head of home news, has been seconded for nine months to sky.com/news to head up online intake, and executive producer Julian March and news editor John Gripton are also bringing their experience to Sky News Online.

“Simon Bucks has been appointed associated editor to put Sky News Online at the forefront of audience participation, encouraging online users to collaborate further in areas such as voting, commenting charing views and contributing to stories. He will continue to solidify the integration of Sky News’ TV and online news services.

“BSkyB is currently trialling a user-generated content portal, SkyCast, with the aim of taking videos from viewers of Sky News and other channels for use on air.”

You can see what Sky News’ website looked like in 2005 at the Web Archive.

UPDATE: as of 12.35 the Sky News website is down, presumably from too many visitors during the UK lunchtime surge. If your glass is half empty, perhaps it wasn’t the best day to relaunch; if it’s half full, well, they got the best day to test the site they could have asked for.

NUJ establish Convergence Commission

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Delegates at the NUJ ADM on Sunday voted for the following members to make up a commission to look at convergence in the industry. The panel will consist of:

  • Jemima Kiss, Guardian
  • Helene Mulholland, Guardian
  • Paula Dear, BBC Online
  • Gary Herman, NUJ Training/freelance

More details when I have them, but a good indication of some of the panel’s ideas can be gained from my earlier post on the Digital Convergence fringe meeting, which involved three of the four.

NUJ ADM: Digital Convergence: How should we respond?

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Probably the most interesting part of the weekend’s NUJ annual conference was a fringe meeting on digital convergence. Speakers included Cardiff University’s Dr Andy Williams on his research into Trinity Mirror’s online strategy, The Guardian’s Len Mulholland, BBC News Online journalist Paula Dear, NUJ NEC member Adam Christie, and NUJ General Secretary Jeremy Dear.

Below are video clips from the event, but here are the bullet points:

  • Trinity Mirror makes more money, spends less, employs fewer, circulation drops
  • The Guardian invests in its website and training, but the web staff are often marginalised when decisions are made – for instance, when the political print team went ‘web-first’ for a conference the web journalists (who had already been web-first) were not consulted as to how they might adapt as a result.
  • There is also concern about short-term contracts for those on more ‘experimental’ projects such as vodcasts.
  • The main issue for journalists on the BBC’s website is 24/7 working patterns and the rota that goes with that.
  • News management admit they don’t have a clue what they’re doing. The NUJ is seeking to set up a commission on convergence to help establish best practice and lead the process of convergence (more on this in later posts).

Introduction (chair: Jemima Kiss)

Dr Andy Williams

Len Mulholland, Guardian

Paula Dear, BBC

Finally, go to this page to download audio of Jeremy Dear.

Blogging the NUJ annual conference

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For the next four days a team of student NUJ members will be blogging the annual conference. The conference is taking place in Birmingham, as the organisation celebrates its centenary (the very first conference took place here).

Anyway, full disclosure: I’m helping the students to run the blog, which is at http://100yearsofnuj.wordpress.com/ – there’s also a Flickr page at http://www.flickr.com/photos/nuj100/, and a wiki at http://nuj100.wiki.zoho.com/. It’ll be interesting to see what the students – who have quite a mix of skills and experience – will make of it.

Conference: the impact of convergence and integration on journalists and journalism

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From NUJ Active:

One-day conference – Integration: The Big Conversation starts here…
An NUJ conference looking at the impact of convergence and integration on journalists and journalism will be held on Saturday 5th May in London. The NUJ wants to hear your views on the integration of new technologies in the media: the key challenges and also the lessons to be drawn from the good and bad practice already taking place. Find out more about the conference by clicking here.

Places are strictly limited so book early to ensure you don’t miss out! Email campaigns@nuj.org.uk

The NEC has produced interim guidance notes on the key issues facing members in the convergence of print and digital newsrooms. To access these click here

Members at Johnston Press have negotiated an enabling agreement for the introduction of New Media at Yorkshire Post Newspapers. A copy of this agreement is available here

Students launch kids’ news website

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A group of third year students on our journalism degree are running a live website all week. 4 You is aimed at 11-16 year olds and the group are finding writing for the audience hard.

Melissa Marshall, fashion and features editor for the group said: “We are only in our second day of the website but already it is pretty stressful! The hardest thing is trying to write stories that our target audience will be able to digest easily and will actually find interesting; but so far it’s been a great experience.”

Melissa is working with four other final year students – Richard Green, Eliot Mullett, Matthew King and Daniel Bardell – to update the site with breaking news. Each student has a specialist role, ranging from website designer to section editors.

In addition to the news items, the website has a news blog, editor’s blog and a sports blog, where readers are able to interact with the 4 You team and discuss different stories.

To make the site even more interactive, the team have set up message boards and are in the process of recording audio and video both for the blogs and for stories.

But as news editor Eliot Mullett states, this hasn’t been easy: “The more interactive we want to become, or the better we strive the website to be, the less time we seem to have in our editing role.

“Take Tuesday for example: I spent most of it sorting out the technical side of the website and helping the other guys do theirs. But when I finished for the day I hadn’t actually posted any stories at all!”

The students will not only be producing a live website, but also a magazine offering a more reflective angle on the news, as well as numerous features that are of interest to children.

Elliott says the team welcomes any comments or criticism about individual news items or design.

Rocketboom may charge for shows

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Advertisers aren’t interested in 200,000 users, reports MarketWatch:

“So, how does Rocketboom keep the lights on? Baron says the video blog has become kind of a loss leader and a promotional device for the real money. Like a blog, he says he has established the Rocketboom team as experts in using video on the Web. “We get consulting opportunities, conferences give honorariums. For us, there are many off-shoots.””