Senor and colleague Douglas Griffen, of the Innovation International Media Consulting Group, presenting their 2007 Global Report on Innovations in Newspapers, stressed the need to remember that news itself remains the same, but the methods of disseminating it require constant updating.

Newsrooms need to establish constant contact with their audiences. He cited the example of the Singapore Straits Times Online Mobile and Print as an example of a news house that has refreshed its brand to a stage where it would “not exist were it not for user content”, according to editor Jennifer Lewis.

An international poll for WAN showed that, among the most common reasons people do not read newspapers were a lack of time, and concern over the narrowness of reporting. Newspapers had to broaden their reporting and avoid too much “angle”, he said. The online poll was conducted among 8,749 adults in seven countries: The United States, Great Britain, France, Italy, Spain, Germany and Australia.

Senor said that audiences had less time for reading. Editors can take advantage of this with “infographics” for example – 3-D diagrams explaining large or complicated processes in a digestible way. Griffen added that “you cannot create more time, only increase its value” – editors must concentrate on strategies for using the available audience time.

The poll also showed a consensus for a higher quality of reporting and analysis, as well as better integration of print and online platforms. “Newspapers can significantly increase their product as it stands today,” was Griffen’s conclusion, although readers are still “really concerned about credibility and objectivity – what the real story is.”

By Oliver Brock, Wits University Journalism