I adore Sunday morning. My husband lets me sleep in while he cooks breakfast, one of his favorite weekend routines. Not much of a breakfast eater, I awake in time to read the Sunday paper with a cup of coffee in hand. It’s a slow, relaxing and meaningful introduction to a new week for a journalist and journalism educator–my family together over a meal and a newspaper. We’re a Norman Rockwell painting.
Spending more than 20 minutes attempting to share three newspaper stories with my social media companions compromised this morning’s relaxing routine.
I was disappointed when I saw the Sunday edition of our metro paper, The Oklahoman. It seemed thin; the bag too large for the small amount of paper inside. A slim paper typically means not much news. As a journalism professor, I am aware of the industry shrink in the print edition (For an example, read: The Incredible Shrinking Newspaper). Newspapers are cutting staff and focusing more efforts online (Read, for example, this column in, ironically, the extinct Editor & Publisher). I don’t like it, but I “get” it.
For the sake of full disclosure, I used to work full-time for The Oklahoman and hope to continue freelancing for them in the future. I am biased when it comes to their products. I am protective of their reputation. And, I am acutely aware of how the newsroom (now “News and Information Center”) operates, the positives and the negatives. I am loyal to the people who work for OPUBCO and the products they distribute. I’m one of their biggest fans and greatest critics. I’m the sister who can say whatever she wants but won’t allow anyone else to criticize.
Perhaps this loyalty is why I wanted to share two stories from today’s edition with my “friends” on Facebook and “followers” on Twitter. I don’t agree with the bastardizing of print editions for online content (Read, for example: Print is still king: only 3 percent of newspaper reading happens online), but news is a business. Advertising is essential for income. More hits online positively benefits the pubs and the journalists employed there by adding new, diverse readers. I figured I could do my part by inviting more than 1,000 people to click on the site. Plus, as an educator, it never hurts to send out good stories via social media. Perhaps my students might stumble upon something they will read.
I grabbed my iPhone and logged onto newsok.com. I would have loved to simply select an app for the local metro, but they still don’t have one. Fail No. 1. (Read, for example: How the iPhone could save the newspaper industry).
Because it automatically recognizes that I’m on my mobile, I received the mobile version of the newspaper’s Web site, m.newsok.com. I didn’t find either of the stories on the RSS reader-like edition. I found a story that wasn’t in the paper. Yay! I clicked on the story to send it to my friends, but Facebook export wasn’t an option. Apparently sending to Facebook or Twitter is not allowed on the site’s mobile version. Fail No. 2.(Read, for example: Newspapers missing out on social media boost).
Not one to give up easily, I used my phone to log onto the regular version of newsok.com. Through this version, I sent the newly found story to my Facebook friends. Yay! But I still couldn’t find either of the stories I liked from the print edition. Fail No. 3.
I searched for 10 minutes, still not finding either. Finally, I gave up on hand-held technology and got my laptop. By logging onto newsok.com I used the site’s search feature to find the two stories from today’s paper. Fail No. 4.
I sent the stories to social media where hopefully they are shared. I already know they’ve received one reader from my Facebook friend list. He commented on the word misuse in the second graph of one of the stories. Fail No. 5.
I am not picking on The Oklahoman. Many talented, award-winning journalists work there. They try to serve their traditional readers and gain new ones. The examples above aren’t unique to the newspaper. Countless newspapers are failing their readers in the same way.
In the spirit of partnership, here are Four tips for newspaper managers who want readers to share content (which should be all of them):
First, get an app. Yesterday. People in 77 countries are using apps, according to apple.com, with more than 100,000 apps available. You cannot afford to miss out on a market this size. You also can sell advertising on your mobile app site, which will receive increased hits regularly. Oh, and did I mention that people will pay a reasonable price for the app itself? Putting business aside, it is the media’s job to provide information to the masses. There’s no simpler way to reach readers than through a device constantly in their hands.
Second, make the mobile site easy to share. This pass along increases hits to the online site. Again, more hits equals more advertising dollars and a justifiable higher rate. Twitter and Facebook sharing is a must. Ideally, a mobile site would allow users to share content via e-mail or text, on social media including Twitter, Facebook and MySpace, and save it to Evernote. Those only allowing reading or e-mail are missing out on thousands of original viewers. (Read, for example: 9 Reasons E-mail is Dead)
Third, you must make mobile content easy to find. If the reader can’t find the story, they can’t share it. Most people won’t work to share something. If it’s easy to do, they’ll do it. If not, they’ll move on and find publications/information that is easy to share. Provide shortened, multimedia versions of the stories in the print edition as well as original content online. This allows you to focus on the strengths of both platforms. In-depth stories with amazing still photos run in print. Shorter and breaking stories with video, multiple photos, audio, ongoing discussion posts, etc. go online. Everyone wins!
Finally, you must give the newsroom staff the resources they need to diligently edit and update the information. You cannot get something for nothing. Expecting one journalist to do the job of four or more and be good at them all is ridiculous. Cutting newspaper staffs while adding more products and skill requirements like online versions and video production is asinine. This type of poor management for economic purposes will cost more than it saves. Externally, your pubs’ credibility will be damaged by a lack of content, errors and professional approach. Readers will leave. Internally, staff morale will decline and burnout levels will increase. Burnout means less attention to detail, greater apathy toward the job, usage of more sick days, and, for many, ultimately job change. AKA: Your staff will leave.
Newspaper managers must learn to invest wisely in tough economic times. You need to work smarter, not harder. Give the people who want to help, like your staff and loyal readers, the ability to do so.
Sherri Martinez says
I agree, Kenna. As many people my age (24), I do not subscribe to the print version of the Oklahoman, but rather read online at my own leisure. I don’t like it that the print version is getting smaller in size, but I “get” it. Also, I usually browse NewsOK.com more often when I see your Facebook posts on stories you like. I even get CNN Breaking news via Twitter. This many times intrigues me to visit the site and see what else is going on. Even as a trained journalist, I still find social networking makes a different in the amount of news I read.
thekrg says
Sherri,
Thanks so much for commenting! I totally agree with your assessment.
Kenna
Ryan McNeill says
I’m annoyed so much by this idea of cannibalizing the print product. I understand that online is where we’re headed, but we aren’t there yet. Print is still king and it’s still the cash cow. I think you use the revenue from the cash cow to finance the R&D needed for our future.
So I don’t understand this idea that giving people a lesser print product is good for business. Maybe I’m biased, but I like the Dallas Morning News approach, which has been to add staff and add pages back into the paper.
We hiked the price of the paper to compensate some of the loss in ad revenue. But luckily someone said, “Wait a minute. We can’t hike the price and give people a lesser product.”
I don’t know if the strategy will work over time. But it’s sure as hell better than cannibalizing the paper and giving up.