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RJI FUTURES LAB IS…
A weekly, online video show that covers the latest innovations in journalism and is designed specifically to reach out and inform newsroom leaders across the nation.
WE WILL ADDRESS
1)Who we are and what we have done this semester
2)What we have learned about our audience
3)Recommendations to improve the show
4)Suggestions of ways to sustain Futures Lab
FUTURES LAB TEAM• Two editors: Reuben Stern and Olga Kyle• Four capstone reporters• One GRA reporter • One volunteer graduate student
QUICK STATS
• Launched March 20, 2013
• Nine episodes published to date
• 8-10 minute episodes
• 40 stories produced
• 90-minutes of video content published
• More than 80 interviews with sources from all over the world
• Nearly 2,000 YouTube views
PRODUCTION CYCLE
Pitch stories to editors
Do research, conduct
interviews and gather
b-roll
Produce story and
incorporate editor
feedback
Complete story
HOW DOES THIS WORK?
• Reporters typically are working on 2-4 stories at a time on this three-week production cycle.
• Each story takes approximately 15 hours to research, report and produce.
• Reporters completed an average of eight stories per person.
WEBSITE ANALYTICS
Users stay on Futures Lab pages for an average of 5:51.
Average time on page for the RJI site is 2:03.
WHAT THE WEBSITE ANALYTICS TELL US
• Users aren’t watching the whole video
• The viewers who watch the longest come through a direct link
• Users coming to the Futures Lab page consume other RJI content while they are there
SOCIAL MEDIA ANALYTICS
• Platforms used: Twitter, Facebook, YouTube• 117 Facebook Fans, 54 Twitter Followers• Majority of those audiences are still Missouri School of
Journalism faculty and students
• Hootsuite analytics tell us that the most popular tweets included handles for organizations and people featured in the episodes and general, searchable hashtags.
• Because this is a work-related show, it can expand to LinkedIn and other professional social networks
FACEBOOK FANSThe majority of Facebook followers are females ages 18-24.
Source: Facebook Analytics
Female fans
Male fans
WHO ACTUALLY WATCHES THE SHOW
YouTube viewers skew older and male.
Source: YouTube Analytics
Female viewers
Male viewersfemale
male
FOCUS GROUP METHODOLOGY
• Hosted a focus group of five editors from a variety of newsrooms in mid-Missouri
• Asked for their thoughts about the show and to analyze the usefulness for their own newsroom
FOCUS GROUP
Positives 10-minute show length
Video format
Wrap-up stories of conferences they were unable to attend
Themed episodes
FOCUS GROUP
NegativesSound and visual quality on Skype/Google+ Interviews
Inability to view single stories within an episode
Lack of diversity in sourcing
Occasionally unrelated visuals
FOCUS GROUP KEY TAKEAWAYS
•Likely to watch on a computer while at work•Likely to share one story with other, but not the whole episode•Would like to receive specific how-to information in video segments•Would like more coverage of mobile and social engagement issues
RECOMMENDATION 1: IMPROVE STORY QUALITY WITH MORE IN-PERSON REPORTING
Challenge: Most of the stories for this show don’t occur in Columbia, Missouri
Establish a traveling budget for reporting trips to sites like New York or Silicon Valley
2-3 people could report several stories over the course of a few days.
• Send a small team of reporters/editors to important industry conferences where there are high concentrations of sources. Focus group participants cited conference recaps as some of the
most useful stories Potential conferences to attend: ONA, IRE, SXSW, NAB Show
Seven stories came out of the interviews done at the SXSW conference this year.
RECOMMENDATION 1 (CONT): IMPROVE STORY QUALITY WITH MORE IN-PERSON REPORTING
RECOMMENDATION 2: IMPLEMENT STRATEGIES TO BETTER REACH TARGET AUDIENCES•Create a communication/outreach team of students to• Compile a list of target audience• Push email subscriptions • Build strong social media following• Work with professional journalism
organizations• Identify online communities that would
find the content useful• Ex. LinkedIn and Facebook Groups
RECOMMENDATION 3: MAKE CONTENT MORE SEO-FRIENDLY AND SEARCHABLE
Video format makes it harder for people to find our content
Part of this can be solved by increased use of meta tags
More text and specific headlines with individuals stories will increase search traffic to our site through SEO ranking
RECOMMENDATION 3 (CONT): MAKE CONTENT MORE SEO-FRIENDLY AND SEARCHABLE
HOMEPAGE
EPISODE PAGE STORY PAGE
RECOMMENDATION 3 (C0NT): MAKE CONTENT MORE SEO-FRIENDLY AND SEARCHABLE
Futures Lab
Landing Page
Episode Page
Proposed: Story-
level page
Page with individual video and text story
Focus group participants would like to watch individual segments or skip over segments within an episode.
“I am going to watch all the stories. I just may not be able to watch them all at one time.”
Presentation can be changed to include: Time stamps when the story begins Links to YouTube videos that jump to the start of the
story Individual story videos embedded below the main
episode
RECOMMENDATION 4: MAKE INDIVIDUAL STORIES EASIER TO FIND WITHIN EPISODES
We recommend that each story addresses the following questions:
How much does this idea cost?How much time would I have to dedicate to this idea?
How can I implement this in my newsroom right now?
Some editors wanted step-by-step processes. Others just want to know what innovations are possible.
Include supplemental content that shows detailed processes so main episodes remain less than 10 minutes
RECOMMENDATION 5: INCLUDE MORE LOGISTICAL AND HOW-TO DETAILS
RECOMMENDATIONS TO BETTER SERVE AUDIENCES
Improve story quality with more in-person reporting
Implement strategies to better reach target audience
Make content more SEO-friendly and searchable
Make individual stories easier to find within episodes
Include more logistical and how-to details in stories
HOW WE CAN SUSTAIN THE SHOW
Reporters have already been selected to work during the summer
For Fall 2013, continue as a project for students in Convergence capstone class with the assistance of two GRAs
Long term goal: create a Futures Lab class
FUTURES LAB CLASS
We propose to create a course that would be responsible for reporting this show.
The ideal team would be:• Five reporters• Two communication/outreach team members• Two graduate research assistants
Editor/Advisor Editor/Advisor
GRA
Reporter
Reporter
Reporter
Reporter
Reporter
Comm/
Outreach
Comm/
Outreach
ROLE OF THE GRA
Help flow/stability of newsroom and ease reporter transitions if they held assistantship for more than one semester
Serve as a middle management position
Help reporters develop story ideas and plan out episodes
Assist in editing and producing storiesEstimated hours per week: 10
ROLE OF THE REPORTERS
Eligibility:Independent study course should have completed Broadcast II, Convergence Editing and Producing or equivalent experiences with video reporting
Responsible forPitching, shooting and editing packagesComplete 10-12 stories in the 16-week semester
Estimated hours per week: 15
ROLE OF THE COMMUNICATION AND OUTREACH TEAM
Primary goals:Grow audience Manage social media AnalyticsConnect interested audiences to content by
Using relevant #hashtagsIdentifying online communities Crowdsource ideasCreating a presence on LinkedIn and other platforms
Estimated hours per week: 15
ROLE OF THE COMMUNICATION AND OUTREACH TEAM
Potential future projectsPlan and execute live Google Hangouts with news innovators
Guests featured in the Tuesday show “hangs out” with Futures Lab viewers to answer audience questions
Implement an awards program that recognizes newsroom innovators
Work with RJI to interject a Futures Lab presence at RJI events
SUGGESTIONS TO IMPROVE WORKFLOW
Implement a beat system for reportersPlan out episodes around a certain theme
Implement a system to keep track of sources interviewed in the show
Create a master calendar of Missouri School of Journalism Events, RJI events and special guests
CONCLUSION
With the proposed changes, RJI Futures Lab can continue to aide
Newsroom leadersRJI’s missionStudent journalists
Tomorrow’s newsroom leaders