France: overview, newspapers faced with digital
Posted by Jean Yves Chainon on February 14, 2007 at 2:33 PM
The digital age has revolutionized all media. Le Monde gives an overview of newspapers’ new challenges and horizons in the digital era, from adopting new platforms to mastering tools for those platforms.
“The more newspapers evolve into media groups, providing diverse products and information 24/7, the more will journalists need the tools to satisfy new expectations,” wrote le Monde, quoting Ifra’s January 2007 Newspaper Techniques.
“While newsroom processes have reached a high level of perfection, possibilities in terms of other media are still limited.”
In other words, many French newspapers are currently exploring how to export 'print content' to other platforms, without going through all the costs of intensive retraining or new hires with those qualifications.
This is why EidosMedia has developed its Method software (soon to be used by Libération, and already used by Le Figaro, and La Tribune). According to EidosMedia, Method enables to “develop content independently from its platform, without superfluous copies and without task repetition.”
Theoretically then, this type of software can allow most newspapers to easily transition into integrated newsrooms, without having to face too many human costs. A reporter can post a ‘print’ piece on the Web, format it for mobile distribution, segment it to make up the captions of a slideshow, and finally simply read the story into a microphone so it turns into a podcast. Theoretically.
“Method’s philosophy is that media companies must define their strategy, manage their different information content, and then distribute it on whichever media at the appropriate rhythm,” says a commercial development manager at EidosMedia, owner of Method.
At the same time, these new tools are a cause of concern for many journalists. At a meeting of press employee representatives in January, these evoked that the rush to new tools and digital adaptation “threatens quality of information and jobs.”
Yet one editor also said that “some tasks will be simplified but the editor and journalist keep their role, particularly for content coherence. This can create new jobs, like super-editors…”
Who knows? In truth, many newspapers will continue to cut jobs back, pressured by decreasing revenues, but they can’t possibly ignore the necessity of these new tools, which will allow them to stay healthy in digital times.
Source: Le Monde
“While newsroom processes have reached a high level of perfection, possibilities in terms of other media are still limited.”
In other words, many French newspapers are currently exploring how to export 'print content' to other platforms, without going through all the costs of intensive retraining or new hires with those qualifications.
This is why EidosMedia has developed its Method software (soon to be used by Libération, and already used by Le Figaro, and La Tribune). According to EidosMedia, Method enables to “develop content independently from its platform, without superfluous copies and without task repetition.”
Theoretically then, this type of software can allow most newspapers to easily transition into integrated newsrooms, without having to face too many human costs. A reporter can post a ‘print’ piece on the Web, format it for mobile distribution, segment it to make up the captions of a slideshow, and finally simply read the story into a microphone so it turns into a podcast. Theoretically.
“Method’s philosophy is that media companies must define their strategy, manage their different information content, and then distribute it on whichever media at the appropriate rhythm,” says a commercial development manager at EidosMedia, owner of Method.
At the same time, these new tools are a cause of concern for many journalists. At a meeting of press employee representatives in January, these evoked that the rush to new tools and digital adaptation “threatens quality of information and jobs.”
Yet one editor also said that “some tasks will be simplified but the editor and journalist keep their role, particularly for content coherence. This can create new jobs, like super-editors…”
Who knows? In truth, many newspapers will continue to cut jobs back, pressured by decreasing revenues, but they can’t possibly ignore the necessity of these new tools, which will allow them to stay healthy in digital times.
Source: Le Monde
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