For what reasons did Volksfreund implement its own local-internet-tv and when did you start?

We started on September 17th. We didn't start volksfreund.tv because we wanted to do "something with video," instead it was a strategic decision. Our strategic aim is to be the regional information media No.1 on all channels: print, internet, audio, video, mobile. Volksfreund.tv is one of the steps to reach that aim. Others will soon follow.

Why the choice of a 12-minute bulletin?

We do not have a fixed time bulletin. Our "broadcasts" range form 7 to 14 minutes, depending on the available news. We want to have at least three video stories. Then we have short news with photos, sports, entertainment and weather. A rather "classic" TV news format.

What are the main-topics of Volksfreund.TV?

Strictly local and regional news.

Do you have one news item from each local newsroom every day?

Yes. We have three local news teams. In our weekly planning conference we try to have one video per local team per day.

Volksfreund.TV is distributed for free and partly financed through advertising. Does the daily broadcast always start with a short ad and how does this interest advertisers?

We are still at the beginning, but have already sold a short ad at the beginning for most of the time. The beginning ad is limited to 15 seconds maximum length. We encourage advertisers to choose a 10-second-format. We also offer an ad at the end and sponsorships of each element in volksfreund.tv. E.g. weather has been sponsored by a local gardening supplier right from the start.

Is the anchorwoman different from one day to another?

We have two freelance anchorwomen and two anchor people from our editorial staff. They are scheduled by availability.


How has Volksfreund.TV changed the workflow of the newsroom?

Not very much. Reporters simply have changed priorities. Video delivery to our online editors is now top priority. Before volksfreund.tv our videos had an experimental character.

How many people are involved in the production?

Each reporter (30 in total) has a compact digital camera for video production. One online editor is coordinating material and news. Two persons are involved in editing and post-production of the video news.

How are journalists involved? Do they produce news for the newspaper and the TV simultaneously or do you have specialists for each medium?

Our reporters do both.

What is the traffic? How many viewers watch Volksfreund.TV daily?

We have approximately 10.000 Page Impressions per day on our video news site.

How did you promote Volksfreund.TV?

The launch was our top story in our print edition, followed by several pages of explanation: what we are doing and why we are doing video. We then published a series of portraits of the people involved and launched an ad-campaign for volksfreund.tv.
Every day a small section on the title page advertises the topics of the show.

Who are the competitors? Local traditional TV? Pure online players?

We have a local TV station and a state-wide TV station as local competitors.

Which technical devices are used for the reports and for the magazine itself?

The reporters use a Canon Power Shot G7 digital camera. The production company "Mediaworkx" (www.mediaworkx.de) uses a small, but professional production studio.

How much was the initial investment (for technical devices, Servers and personal or training for journalists)?

The training for our reporters was done in-house. Since we outsourced the production to our experienced partners we did not have investment costs. The average annual cost is 60.000 Euro, financed by advertisement in and around the show.

Roughly, what is the average cost of the daily video?

See above.

What has the newspaper learnt with this daily video?

We still have to learn the different writing of short news. Our anchorwomen always tell us that our writing is still too much print and less TV. And our reporters learn more about producing video each day. We are also reducing the length of the individual video takes.

What is the next step?

We will expand our video features widely during 2008. We are currently thinking about weekly and thematic shows.


Soon to come:

- An article about the rise of newspaper video and the increasing number of full-fledged video studios established within newsroom, looking at Le Figaro and Nouvel Observateur (France).

Also read some recent related articles:

- Online video will not replace traditional TV anytime soon
- New study warns Internet gridlock by 2010
- UK: Regional Express & Star creates weekend soccer video site
- A day learning videojournalism at the Press Association
- Tribune launches branded channels on YouTube

Source: Alexander Houben, volksfreund.tv editor – interview carried out by Christian Mathea, journalist