2. ONLINE FIRST
MAKING IT WORK
State of many high school news websites
• They’re a repository for printed stories.
• They’re where the bad stories are published.
• They’re a storage place for print PDFs.
• They’re only occasionally thought about.
• Big stories are published only after the “big reveal” in print.
• They don’t live up to their potential.
3. ONLINE FIRST
MAKING IT WORK
What if it didn’t have to be that way?
• What if you didn’t have to wait until the next issue?
• What if you needed to reach your audience instantly,
no matter where they were?
• What if your audience wasn’t just your school?
• What if you have real news to report?
It can be different.
4. ONLINE FIRST
MAKING IT WORK
Online first gives you new opportunities.
• Breaking news and emergencies
• Developing stories
• Sports game coverage
• Movie and music reviews
• Opinions
5. ONLINE FIRST
MAKING IT WORK
Your publication is no longer a newspaper.
• It’s a news program.
• It’s news beyond the paper.
• It’s time to change your language.
• Issues/Editions
• Archives
• Section Names
6. ONLINE FIRST
MAKING IT WORK
Your audience expands beyond school walls
• Students
• Teachers and school staff
• Parents
• Community
• The World
7. ONLINE FIRST
MAKING IT WORK
What do you need to do to be online first?
• Commit.
• Build the audience.
• Have a writing/editing/classroom structure.
8. ONLINE FIRST
MAKING IT WORK
You’re committed.
You know what is needed.
So how do you do it?
9. ONLINE FIRST
MAKING IT WORK
Students will be in
different points of the
production schedule daily.
And that’s OK.
11. ONLINE FIRST
MAKING IT WORK
Rethink the story cycle
• With an online-first attitude, there is no “cycle.”
• You can make every day a story idea day.
• You can make every day a publication day.
• A story might take three weeks or three hours to produce.
12. ONLINE FIRST
MAKING IT WORK
Take advantage of what the Web offers
• Publishing is instantaneous.
• Stories can be published when they are ready —
not when the print cycle dictates.
• Content can be the length that is appropriate —
not cut or expanded to fit space.
• Storage is not an issue — lots of photos or multimedia.
13. ONLINE FIRST
MAKING IT WORK
Take advantage (continued)
• Stories can be updated or corrected easily as new information
is gathered.
• A story can be a springboard for exploration with links to
additional content and related stories.
14. ONLINE FIRST
MAKING IT WORK
Build the audience.
• Establish a reputation: Be the #1 news source in your school.
• Deliver relevant content. Timeliness makes content relevant.
• How do readers know you’ve posted a new story?
• Browsing
• Email updates/RSS
• Social media
15. ONLINE FIRST
MAKING IT WORK
Engage with readers via social media.
• Build your social media networks.
• Post to social media. Avoid the auto-post plugin.
• Time your posts.
• Get readers to distribute content they like or want to
promote.
• Listen to your readers with social media.
• Find sources and story ideas on social media.
16. ONLINE FIRST
MAKING IT WORK
Start looking at design differently
• Story page design is consistent, putting focus on content.
• Contextual linking
• Embeddable elements
• Multiple photos and video
• Rethink your home page. Rethink the carousel.
• Design and structure can vary to fit the circumstances
18. MANAGING
an ONLINE NEWSROOM
5 things to think about and address:
• Day-to-day activities
• Leadership structures
• Coverage decisions
• Grading
• Fun
20. MANAGING
an ONLINE NEWSROOM
Day-to-day Activities
• The daily activities of an online-first news staff look a lot like
the daily activities of a print-only class.
• However, each student could be at a different place in the
publishing process.
• You can bring order to the chaos.
21. MANAGING
an ONLINE NEWSROOM
Day-to-day Activities
• Brainstorm and plan stories. Have a quick session daily.
What’s happening? What do readers need to know?
• Teach lessons. Large-group, mini-lessons, ad hoc.
• Focus on the day’s priority. If it’s the print edition, spend time
on design, editing.
22. MANAGING
an ONLINE NEWSROOM
Day-to-day Activities
• Communicate beyond classroom. Develop a method to
facilitate organization and communication.
• One-on-one checkins. These add accountability and
opportunity to redirect student efforts.
• Outside class. Coverage might require evenings, weekends
and layout work nights (for print).
24. MANAGING
an ONLINE NEWSROOM
Leadership Structures
• Accommodate the online-first philosophy by revising student
leadership positions and descriptions.
• Empower students to make decisions responsibly.
• Plan for when big news happens.
25. MANAGING
an ONLINE NEWSROOM
Leadership Roles
• Online Editor-in-Chief option. A student with a title and
responsibilities equal to the print editor.
• Expanded roles option. Assignment role for managing editor
and additional coordinating for photographers/photo editors
must be expanded.
• Social media coordinator. This person supervises adoption,
policies, training and voice via social media channels.
27. MANAGING
an ONLINE NEWSROOM
Coverage Decisions
• Determine the best platform. Some stories are told better in
print, while others are told better online (or will appear first
online).
• Post when it’s ready. Don’t just dump content on the website
every three or four weeks.
28. MANAGING
an ONLINE NEWSROOM
Coverage Decisions
Use a planning process:
• Which stories will appear in print? Online? Both?
• How can online and print combine to create multimedia
coverage?
• How can you tell advance and follow-up stories using both
platforms? Live coverage?
29. MANAGING
an ONLINE NEWSROOM
Coverage Decisions
Discuss the Web-specific elements:
• What components does a Web story need to be effective at
telling the story:
• photos
• video
• audio
• poll
• hyperlinks
• infographic
• pull quote
• related stories
30. MANAGING
an ONLINE NEWSROOM
Coverage Decisions
Establish timelines and deadlines:
• Set up an editing process that allows for students to
finish and publish work at different times, not just the
general deadline for a print issue.
• What deadlines make sense?
31. MANAGING
an ONLINE NEWSROOM
Coverage Decisions
Determine the editing flow:
• You need a tool that allows you to collaborate in real
time.
• This speeds up the editing process.
• Google Drive (Apps/Docs) is great for this.
32. MANAGING
an ONLINE NEWSROOM
Coverage Decisions
Determine the publishing flow:
• Users can have different roles with levels of permission
and responsibility.
• Have reporters place story in draft mode, including
contextual links and pull quote suggestions.
• Once a story is edited, it can be approved and published.
34. MANAGING
an ONLINE NEWSROOM
Grading
• You will likely need to shift your paradigm for grading.
• You might need to try a few different formats until you find
what works for you and your school.
35. MANAGING
an ONLINE NEWSROOM
Grading
• Assignments will have many forms. How do you
accommodate this in grading?
• Your school may have requirements. Work within them.
• Set up a checklist of requirements to earn grades.
• Determine competency levels and grade based on level.
• Establish production quota for quarter/semester.
36. MANAGING
an ONLINE NEWSROOM
Grading
• What happens when students slack off, flake out or just don’t
produce?
• There are tools to help. CSPA, NSPA, JEA, state associations,
your colleagues.
38. MANAGING
an ONLINE NEWSROOM
Fun
• The production cycle doesn’t have the same ebb and flow as
each printed paper, so you will need to build in time to
celebrate, evaluate, bond and grow.
• Incorporate Web milestones (analytics, hits, likes, retweets)
into the celebration list.
45. MANAGING
an ONLINE NEWSROOM
QUESTIONS? Let’s hear ’em.
• Contact me at contact@snosites.com or @schoolnewspaper
• School Newspapers Online
• Visit our table in a convention exhibitor area
?
