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Why you should move your newspaper online and how to do it.
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TAKING THE ONLINE LEAPWhy and How to Move your Print Newspaper Online
WHY SHOULD I TAKE THE LEAP?
Reasons for a Web-First Publication
Breaking News
Endless Space
Vibrant Color
Constant Workflow
Innovative Technology
Social Media
Affordable
Inclusive
Scooping the Competition
The Future of Journalism
"Working online not only opened my eyes to a new way of reporting, but it also taught me how fast the field of journalism is changing. By experiencing the constant evolution of technology in our current society, I feel prepared for what the future holds for reporters and also my future career as a journalist. While some people fear what journalism may become in the upcoming years, I feel very excited and I can't wait to continue my knowledge, experience and my future with online journalism." ~ Shelby Rowe, 2012 EIC and current journalism major at Missouri University
Online journalism gives a sense of timeliness a high school print staff cannot deliver. It feels more like real reporting. Also, the ability to vary media (video, text, photos, etc.) makes online unique. By using a wider range of medias, content on the website better fits the context of the situation. ~ Zak Jones, 2013-2014 Opinions Editor
My Students Love Writing Online
Take a Look at the Facts from 2012~ 93% of teens 12-17 either have a computer or have
access to one.
~95% of teens use the internet.
~78% of teens have a cell phone. 47% of those have a smartphone.
~ 74% of teens describe themselves as mobile internet users.
~ 23% of people surveyed (all ages) stated they read a print newspaper yesterday. In 2002, it was 41%.
~ 55% of New York Times readers use the online site instead of print. 48% of USA Today readers use the online version.
~ In the 18-24 age bracket, 41% of respondents stated they saw news on a social network. In 2010, it was 14%.
Data from: Teens and Technology 2013 Mar 13, 2013
by Mary Madden, Amanda Lenhart, Maeve Duggan, Sandra Cortesi, Urs Gasser
In Changing News Landscape, Even Television is Vulnerable
Trends in News Consumption: 1991-2012
What this Means for our PublicationsOur students are
online.
They come to school with mobile devices in hand.
The are avid consumers of social media and the internet and use it to get their news.
Social networks and online news sites are the places to go to reach young readers.
HOW DO I MOVE MY PAPER ONLINE?
Know your Online RightsIdentifying Minors Online: “There are no federal laws that require school officials to prohibit or restrict student journalists from publishing the names or photos of students in their online publications when that information is lawfully obtained, accurate and newsworthy.” ~ Naming Names: Identifying Minors A discussion of the legal and ethical issues concerning publishing minor names and photos in student media © 2011 Student Press Law Center
FERPA: “FERPA penalizes schools that indiscriminately release certain student "education records" to third parties.Where the policies directed at student media miss the mark is that FERPA only restricts the release of information by school officials or those acting for them. Outside parties — including student reporters, who are neither state actors, employees nor agents of the school— are not restricted by the law.” ~ Naming Names: Identifying Minors A discussion of the legal and ethical issues concerning publishing minor names and photos in student media © 2011 Student Press Law Center
Open Forum: “Where a public high school has established a ‘policy or practice’ of allowing a publication to operate as a ‘public forum’ where students express themselves freely, the administration's ability to censor student speech is more limited.There is no reason that the same rules would not apply to the online context.” ~ Student Media Guide to Internet Law Part One of a two-part update on the answers to the most common Internet legal questions © 2004 Student Press Law Center
Get Administration On Board
Pick a Platform
Wordpress: Bryan Murley from College Media Innovation and Aaron Manfull from JEA Digital Media analyzed the platforms from the 2013 Online Pacemaker sites and found that 70.4% and 94% respectively use Wordpress.
Started out for bloggers but now is versatile and intuitive. Needs very little technical expertise.
Has a wide range of plugins and themes that are easily adaptable. Tons of free theme options.
Joomla:
More complex than Wordpress but fairly intuitive after some reading.
Allows more flexibility than Wordpress. Users can change almost everything.
Also has an extensive theme and plugin selection.
When selecting a platform pick one that both you and your students can use. As the adviser, you need to
understand the site after they are gone.
Pick a Platform
Drupal:
Requires the most technical understanding but produces very advanced sites. You will need to learn the software.
Most challenging to set up.
Strongly integrated social networking features
Dreamweaver:
You really need to know what you’re doing with html coding
Just reading the descriptions made my head spin and my husband is a coder.
When selecting a platform pick one that both you and your students can use. As the adviser, you need to
understand the site after they are gone.
Platform ExamplesWordpress: The Lancer Link http://thelancerlink.com
Joomla: FHCToday.com http://fhctoday.com/
Drupal: Minnesota Daily http://www.mndaily.com/
Dreamweaver: The Feather Online http://thefeather.com/
Host Your PublicationISONN- Need to pay for your domain name. Free to host.
School Newspapers Online- set up fee and yearly hosting fee. Great tech support. Designed by j adviser.
Your School Server- Might not have control over your domain name. Free to host but more school control.
Professional Hosting Company- Control over domain name. Fee structures based on contract length. The more bandwidth, disk space, etc. the better.
Set Up your NewsroomYour online editorial staff should work solely on the website.
Split Staffs
Creates a focused, specialized team.
Can create rivalry in the classroom.
Both staffs in the same class.....Combined Staff
Team is less specialized which slows down all productions.
Classroom is much more team-oriented.
Separate classes for print and online.....Team is specialized and focused on the one publication being produced.
Rivalry will exist, but not with students in the same period.
Depending on your school, could require a lot of students to fill both classes.
Invest in Quality
EquipmentDSLR camera with video
Audio recorder
Microphones
Video editing program
Make Online Unique from Print
Use multiple story forms
Use tools on the web to tell stories visually as well as through words. Don’t be afraid to chunk information, post an entire story in photos, use sound and video exclusively or post infographics.
Use your site to break the news happening at your school.
Stories don’t need to be complete- if it’s breaking news get it posted as it’s happening as long as it’s accurate. Post brief stories and update when more information is available.
Make Online Unique from Print
Content should be constant. Don’t have “dump days.”
Try to upload a few stories every few days. Every day is ideal.
Avoid repeating your print stories on your website.
Print and online can and should work in tandem to present different angles of the same story.
Don’t write stories that can be found other places on the web.
Why would a reader come to your site to read a review when he/she can go to the NYT?
Package your StoriesEvery story should have:
Copy with multiple sources. Aim for shorter stories.
One or more visuals- try to avoid publishing without a visual.
Hyperlinks
Begin with the end in mind. Decide on story packages before the process begins. You need to make sure that you are using the right media to tell your story.
Great stories use additional media including videos, podcasts, slideshows, soundslides, infographics, pull quotes, etc. Be sure to provide points of entry.
Go Beyond Merely Posting Stories
Great sites become the hub of information for a school. Try to find ways to include:
Sports scores and events
Vital information (school closures, testing days, schedule changes)
School activities
Surveys
To-do reminders- especially for those seniors
A digital copy of your print edition
Student-created blogs
Reader generated content
Links to other organizations and advertisers
Integrate Social Media
The Grading MonsterI find this one of the harder
parts of my job as an adviser.
Next year, my online students will be graded on the amount of work they publish on the website.
To earn an A they must publish work totaling 100 points in 6 weeks.
My editors will be sure that nothing is published if it doesn’t meet our journalistic standards.
If it isn’t published, they don’t get points.
QUESTIONS?
DANIELLE RYAN, CJEJournalism Adviser
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: CbadNewsTeacher
Website: www.thelancerlink.com
