Reinvent yourself online

Michael Riley, the editor of The Roanoke (Va.) Times, wrote a blueprint for online innovation in the spring 2006 issue of Nieman Reports: Lessons from a Newsroom’s Digital Frontline.

Finally, some optimism!

… the future of what we do is not as scary as it seems. Newspapers — or, more precisely, newsgathering operations — are in a position of strength: In most markets, they are the last remaining mass medium; they are prime creators of original journalism and, in many cases, they are deeply committed to a community’s civic life and welfare.

Riley believes we can reinvent newspapers. That’s what they have been doing in Roanoke, he says, and I’m willing to believe him. I’ve been keeping my eye on Roanoke’s Web site for some time, and it just keeps getting better (check out their daily video update; they have never had a TV partner). Maybe that’s because management took this approach:

Don’t force change: That’s a sure path to failure, because resistance will be high. Look first for allies across the newsroom, staffers who see the need for change and the importance of online. We partnered first with photographers, technophiles who love to experiment and want to see their work go global…. I knew we’d reached a milestone when I spotted two reporters with headphones on, busily editing sound files for online stories to accompany their work in print. The enthusiasm was going viral.

Another thing that I agree with wholeheartedly:

The online content operation should be integrated into the newsroom, particularly as the seismic shift of resources from print to online gains momentum. We moved our online team into the newsroom more than a year ago, and what a difference it has made. The online editor hears a metro editor talking with a reporter about a breaking story, and within minutes that nugget of news is posted on our Web site. We’ve even given up the old-fashioned notion that we can scoop ourselves, except in the rarest of cases.

Ever since my first job in online, in 1994, I’ve been hearing arguments for and against that integration. I’ve heard persuasive logic from both sides.

I don’t think newspapers can afford to have that argument anymore. The time has come to recognize that we are all in this together, and no one can afford to do double work on the same story now. It’s all one operation. Everything is digital. The turf wars need to stop.

That doesn’t mean you should try to ram a video camera (or an audio recorder, or a copy of Flash) down someone’s throat. You won’t get a good result with force and coercion — much less with humilation, or threats of staff reductions, or demands that everyone work an extra 20 hours a week. I mean, get real. When did those tactics ever have a positive long-term outcome?

It also means you have to hire some people who already know how to make things online:

While our online content team is in the newsroom, our digital media operation is a separate department. … some separation is good, because they are free to pursue new and more radical ideas.

So go and have a look at Roanoke.com, and chew on what Mike Riley wrote in the Nieman Report.

If you’re in management at a news organization, you REALLY need to read it. Top to bottom. About 20 times. Or more.

And if you’re NOT in management … Well, print it out on a nice laser printer, and make sure it gets on the To Do stack in your editor’s In box. Today.

Technorati tags: change | online media | multimedia | newspapers | journalism