Results matching “tips for small newspapers”

Should newspapers train journalists in-house or outsource the job? Do they have to send their journalists away for weeks at a time? Is online training the future? Tony Johnston, Head of Training for UK’s national press agency, the Press Association (PA), tells the Weblog of some of the organization’s training programs for papers, with comments from Daily Telegraph deputy editor, Rhidian Wynn-Davies. And as a bonus, you also get some practical tips gathered live from one of the PA’s videojournalism training courses, taught by David Dunkley.

The closing of hyperlocal news outlet, BackFence, has prompted The American Journalism Review (AJR) to examine the benefits of local news sites, as well as the dangers that come with the territory, most notably dismal revenue figures.

Inlandpress.org reports on some useful tips for the growth of newspapers online by creating additional revenue, frequently updating online editions, and knowing newspaper website user statistics.

One of this year’s major trends in newsrooms was the generalized evolution of the newsroom itself, into what was dubbed ‘integrated newsrooms’. Gannett came up with its own innovative version though, the Local Information Center (IC). The Editors Weblog interviewed one of the main engines of this venture, Jennifer Carroll, Vice President of New Media Content at Gannett Corporation.

With the New Year comes advice and resolutions, here are 10-in-eight tips by Steve Outing, columnist for Editor & Publisher, to help your small newspaper grow at little cost.

In the run-up to the US mid-term elections, many news organizations have been using interactives in their website coverage, and often taking advantage of Flash technology to do it.  Are these graphics effective?  Are they worth all the trouble?  Digital media experts Alberto Cairo, Mindy McAdams and Laura Ruel give their assessment, and offer tips for future news website content producers.

The widespread availability of broadband internet has upped the ante adding much variety to what internet users can view, hear, in short consume, online. In such a climate, video is set to become one of the key new requirements for newspaper websites.

UK regional daily The Hull Daily Mail began offering video news reports on its website in November after six of its journalists completed a diploma in videojournalism, comprised of three weeks of intensive practical training, organised by The Press Association and taught by David Dunkley Gyimah, senior lecturer in Digital Journalism at The University of Westminster.

The Editors Weblog interviewed David Dunkley Gyimah and Paul Hartley, assistant editor at the Hull Daily Mail, asking them about the diploma in videojournalism and the implications of online video for newspaper websites. Both agree that online video will soon be found on most newspaper websites.

MARIO GARCIA of Garcia Media, a newspaper designer and a strong advocate of format change for newspapers.

Tabloid fever -- is the temperature going down?
Mr. Garcia, during his presentation focussed on general tips for conversion of newspapers (broadsheet) into compacts (tabloids).

"Its the best of times to rethink what they (the editors) do and how they do it".

Some early influences on change of format:
Free newspapers, which have tremendous impact. According to Garcia, free press is coming to a second stage, becoming more sophisticated. This gives the newspapers more incentive to try harder and become better. Take the example of Metro, which for Garcia, is highly
sophisticated and appealing to readers who normally never read papers.

The other idea is of the almost free press: papers which are inexpensive, try to attract readers and do the job (examples are Chicago Sun Times, Germany: 20 Cents)

Why compacts? The world is moving into everything smaller, cameras, mobile phones. "Since 1984, I have not attended a single focus group where the readers did not prefer the tabloid version of newspapers".

The ideal compact has larger photographs and less text. The reason for the success of the compact is: lower story counts and shorter texts, there is s certain finality to tabloids, the timer factor is also very important. It is important to note that the profile of the readers is of a tech savvy individual.

"Technology has turned us into multimedia users". According to a report by Poynter Institute (Tampa, Florida), most readers use two media at a time.

There is a growing culture of 'always on': a typical day in the life of a media and tech savvy reader involves picking up the paper in the morning, then reading it again at about 9.30 in the morning, then again at about 7.30 in the evening. There is also the idea of a person sitting at the beach using a cell phone and laptop at the same time. Papers are not read at one sitting and people are managing two-3 media at the same time.

The good news is: people are reading, they may not be reading newspapers but they are still reading (Harry Potter books are a good example, the average reader for approximately 766 pages of the book is 14 years old).

Another example is the New Yorker, which has recently had one million subscriptions.
How does one change from Broadsheet to compact:

1. Decide the size, a consideration would be what size should the compact be (longer european style or micro tabloids like some US papers are using). Garcia favours the longer version due to its ability to host larger photographs and text.
2. Say goodbye to the broadsheet canvas. Say hello to larger photographs; the compact has more photographic than text driven. However, "you can have a classic look and still be a tabloid".
3. Increase the size of headlines. Headlines are very important in compact papers: the way they are placed, where they are placed.
4. Photographs are King in compacts. Larger photographs are preferred to smaller ones, the medium sized photographs are not used at all. Its either a larger photo or a pretty small one. The reason is that most readers are familiar with small photos through mobile phones and MMS.
In a compact, there can also be TWO LEADS: a visual lead (photograph) and a word lead (text).
5. Advertisements and compacts: Ads benefit greatly from compact newspapers. With broadsheet, people (readers) FOLD the paper, so they treat page 2 as page 2. In compacts, both pages are kept open. This makes it more important for advertisers to use compacts.
6. Make the transition one section at a time. The transition from broadsheet to compact does NOT have to be done all at once. Starting with one section is a good idea (sports section is a good start). ANother way of changing is to make format changes within the newspaper itself. Even if the paper is not going to change into compact, it is better to rethink certain format changes. A good idea started by a few papers is having two front pages (one in the front and another at the back). "Readers hate the flip...it is better to have a front door and a back door".
7. Tabloid perception holds you (editors) back. Thankfully, readers do not have this perception. Most readers prefer smaller text, compact papers. "You have to deal with the tabloid perception, like therapy". Nobody else thinks tabloids are less than serious.

Conclusion: make the transition successfully. Having the US publishers asking about compacts is a major step. The Wall Street Journal going compact is a great sign that things are changing.

The readers win!

Posted by: Zebunnisa Burki

MARIO GARCIA of Garcia Media, a newspaper designer and a strong advocate of format change for newspapers.

Tabloid fever -- is the temperature going down?
Mr. Garcia, during his presentation focussed on general tips for conversion of newspapers (broadsheet) into compacts (tabloids).

"Its the best of times to rethink what they (the editors) do and how they do it".

Some early influences on change of format:
Free newspapers, which have tremendous impact. According to Garcia, free press is coming to a second stage, becoming more sophisticated. This gives the newspapers more incentive to try harder and become better. Take the example of Metro, which for Garcia, is highly
sophisticated and appealing to readers who normally never read papers.

The other idea is of the almost free press: papers which are inexpensive, try to attract readers and do the job (examples are Chicago Sun Times, Germany: 20 Cents)

Why compacts? The world is moving into everything smaller, cameras, mobile phones. "Since 1984, I have not attended a single focus group where the readers did not prefer the tabloid version of newspapers".

The ideal compact has larger photographs and less text. The reason for the success of the compact is: lower story counts and shorter texts, there is s certain finality to tabloids, the timer factor is also very important. It is important to note that the profile of the readers is of a tech savvy individual.

"Technology has turned us into multimedia users". According to a report by Poynter Institute (Tampa, Florida), most readers use two media at a time.

There is a growing culture of 'always on': a typical day in the life of a media and tech savvy reader involves picking up the paper in the morning, then reading it again at about 9.30 in the morning, then again at about 7.30 in the evening. There is also the idea of a person sitting at the beach using a cell phone and laptop at the same time. Papers are not read at one sitting and people are managing two-3 media at the same time.

The good news is: people are reading, they may not be reading newspapers but they are still reading (Harry Potter books are a good example, the average reader for approximately 766 pages of the book is 14 years old).

Another example is the New Yorker, which has recently had one million subscriptions.
How does one change from Broadsheet to compact:

1. Decide the size, a consideration would be what size should the compact be (longer european style or micro tabloids like some US papers are using). Garcia favours the longer version due to its ability to host larger photographs and text.
2. Say goodbye to the broadsheet canvas. Say hello to larger photographs; the compact has more photographic than text driven. However, "you can have a classic look and still be a tabloid".
3. Increase the size of headlines. Headlines are very important in compact papers: the way they are placed, where they are placed.
4. Photographs are King in compacts. Larger photographs are preferred to smaller ones, the medium sized photographs are not used at all. Its either a larger photo or a pretty small one. The reason is that most readers are familiar with small photos through mobile phones and MMS.
In a compact, there can also be TWO LEADS: a visual lead (photograph) and a word lead (text).
5. Advertisements and compacts: Ads benefit greatly from compact newspapers. With broadsheet, people (readers) FOLD the paper, so they treat page 2 as page 2. In compacts, both pages are kept open. This makes it more important for advertisers to use compacts.
6. Make the transition one section at a time. The transition from broadsheet to compact does NOT have to be done all at once. Starting with one section is a good idea (sports section is a good start). ANother way of changing is to make format changes within the newspaper itself. Even if the paper is not going to change into compact, it is better to rethink certain format changes. A good idea started by a few papers is having two front pages (one in the front and another at the back). "Readers hate the flip...it is better to have a front door and a back door".
7. Tabloid perception holds you (editors) back. Thankfully, readers do not have this perception. Most readers prefer smaller text, compact papers. "You have to deal with the tabloid perception, like therapy". Nobody else thinks tabloids are less than serious.

Conclusion: make the transition successfully. Having the US publishers asking about compacts is a major step. The Wall Street Journal going compact is a great sign that things are changing.

The readers win!

Posted by: Zebunnisa Burki

MARIO GARCIA of Garcia Media, a newspaper designer and a strong advocate of format change for newspapers.

Tabloid fever -- is the temperature going down?
Mr. Garcia, during his presentation focussed on general tips for conversion of newspapers (broadsheet) into compacts (tabloids).

"Its the best of times to rethink what they (the editors) do and how they do it".

Some early influences on change of format:
Free newspapers, which have tremendous impact. According to Garcia, free press is coming to a second stage, becoming more sophisticated. This gives the newspapers more incentive to try harder and become better. Take the example of Metro, which for Garcia, is highly
sophisticated and appealing to readers who normally never read papers.

The other idea is of the almost free press: papers which are inexpensive, try to attract readers and do the job (examples are Chicago Sun Times, Germany: 20 Cents)

Why compacts? The world is moving into everything smaller, cameras, mobile phones. "Since 1984, I have not attended a single focus group where the readers did not prefer the tabloid version of newspapers".

The ideal compact has larger photographs and less text. The reason for the success of the compact is: lower story counts and shorter texts, there is s certain finality to tabloids, the timer factor is also very important. It is important to note that the profile of the readers is of a tech savvy individual.

"Technology has turned us into multimedia users". According to a report by Poynter Institute (Tampa, Florida), most readers use two media at a time.

There is a growing culture of 'always on': a typical day in the life of a media and tech savvy reader involves picking up the paper in the morning, then reading it again at about 9.30 in the morning, then again at about 7.30 in the evening. There is also the idea of a person sitting at the beach using a cell phone and laptop at the same time. Papers are not read at one sitting and people are managing two-3 media at the same time.

The good news is: people are reading, they may not be reading newspapers but they are still reading (Harry Potter books are a good example, the average reader for approximately 766 pages of the book is 14 years old).

Another example is the New Yorker, which has recently had one million subscriptions.
How does one change from Broadsheet to compact:

1. Decide the size, a consideration would be what size should the compact be (longer european style or micro tabloids like some US papers are using). Garcia favours the longer version due to its ability to host larger photographs and text.
2. Say goodbye to the broadsheet canvas. Say hello to larger photographs; the compact has more photographic than text driven. However, "you can have a classic look and still be a tabloid".
3. Increase the size of headlines. Headlines are very important in compact papers: the way they are placed, where they are placed.
4. Photographs are King in compacts. Larger photographs are preferred to smaller ones, the medium sized photographs are not used at all. Its either a larger photo or a pretty small one. The reason is that most readers are familiar with small photos through mobile phones and MMS.
In a compact, there can also be TWO LEADS: a visual lead (photograph) and a word lead (text).
5. Advertisements and compacts: Ads benefit greatly from compact newspapers. With broadsheet, people (readers) FOLD the paper, so they treat page 2 as page 2. In compacts, both pages are kept open. This makes it more important for advertisers to use compacts.
6. Make the transition one section at a time. The transition from broadsheet to compact does NOT have to be done all at once. Starting with one section is a good idea (sports section is a good start). ANother way of changing is to make format changes within the newspaper itself. Even if the paper is not going to change into compact, it is better to rethink certain format changes. A good idea started by a few papers is having two front pages (one in the front and another at the back). "Readers hate the flip...it is better to have a front door and a back door".
7. Tabloid perception holds you (editors) back. Thankfully, readers do not have this perception. Most readers prefer smaller text, compact papers. "You have to deal with the tabloid perception, like therapy". Nobody else thinks tabloids are less than serious.

Conclusion: make the transition successfully. Having the US publishers asking about compacts is a major step. The Wall Street Journal going compact is a great sign that things are changing.

The readers win!

Posted by: Zebunnisa Burki

MARIO GARCIA of Garcia Media, a newspaper designer and a strong advocate of format change for newspapers.

Tabloid fever -- is the temperature going down?
Mr. Garcia, during his presentation focussed on general tips for conversion of newspapers (broadsheet) into compacts (tabloids).

"Its the best of times to rethink what they (the editors) do and how they do it".

Some early influences on change of format:
Free newspapers, which have tremendous impact. According to Garcia, free press is coming to a second stage, becoming more sophisticated. This gives the newspapers more incentive to try harder and become better. Take the example of Metro, which for Garcia, is highly
sophisticated and appealing to readers who normally never read papers.

The other idea is of the almost free press: papers which are inexpensive, try to attract readers and do the job (examples are Chicago Sun Times, Germany: 20 Cents)

Why compacts? The world is moving into everything smaller, cameras, mobile phones. "Since 1984, I have not attended a single focus group where the readers did not prefer the tabloid version of newspapers".

The ideal compact has larger photographs and less text. The reason for the success of the compact is: lower story counts and shorter texts, there is s certain finality to tabloids, the timer factor is also very important. It is important to note that the profile of the readers is of a tech savvy individual.

"Technology has turned us into multimedia users". According to a report by Poynter Institute (Tampa, Florida), most readers use two media at a time.

There is a growing culture of 'always on': a typical day in the life of a media and tech savvy reader involves picking up the paper in the morning, then reading it again at about 9.30 in the morning, then again at about 7.30 in the evening. There is also the idea of a person sitting at the beach using a cell phone and laptop at the same time. Papers are not read at one sitting and people are managing two-3 media at the same time.

The good news is: people are reading, they may not be reading newspapers but they are still reading (Harry Potter books are a good example, the average reader for approximately 766 pages of the book is 14 years old).

Another example is the New Yorker, which has recently had one million subscriptions.
How does one change from Broadsheet to compact:

1. Decide the size, a consideration would be what size should the compact be (longer european style or micro tabloids like some US papers are using). Garcia favours the longer version due to its ability to host larger photographs and text.
2. Say goodbye to the broadsheet canvas. Say hello to larger photographs; the compact has more photographic than text driven. However, "you can have a classic look and still be a tabloid".
3. Increase the size of headlines. Headlines are very important in compact papers: the way they are placed, where they are placed.
4. Photographs are King in compacts. Larger photographs are preferred to smaller ones, the medium sized photographs are not used at all. Its either a larger photo or a pretty small one. The reason is that most readers are familiar with small photos through mobile phones and MMS.
In a compact, there can also be TWO LEADS: a visual lead (photograph) and a word lead (text).
5. Advertisements and compacts: Ads benefit greatly from compact newspapers. With broadsheet, people (readers) FOLD the paper, so they treat page 2 as page 2. In compacts, both pages are kept open. This makes it more important for advertisers to use compacts.
6. Make the transition one section at a time. The transition from broadsheet to compact does NOT have to be done all at once. Starting with one section is a good idea (sports section is a good start). ANother way of changing is to make format changes within the newspaper itself. Even if the paper is not going to change into compact, it is better to rethink certain format changes. A good idea started by a few papers is having two front pages (one in the front and another at the back). "Readers hate the flip...it is better to have a front door and a back door".
7. Tabloid perception holds you (editors) back. Thankfully, readers do not have this perception. Most readers prefer smaller text, compact papers. "You have to deal with the tabloid perception, like therapy". Nobody else thinks tabloids are less than serious.

Conclusion: make the transition successfully. Having the US publishers asking about compacts is a major step. The Wall Street Journal going compact is a great sign that things are changing.

The readers win!

Posted by: Zebunnisa Burki