How Does a News Website Build Community around Contents?

With all media getting digital, building online community around the contents is crucial to attract and keep audience!

Here is a quick look at these different websites and exam how they build online communities around contents.

(1) The Atlantic, http://www.theatlantic.com/
In March 2010 Issue of the Atlantic, you may find Monster of Marriage, with a huge cartoon!

On this page, you will find tools for sharing: email this article, subscribe to email newsletter, or print it out,and you can share with anyone you like, by Facebook, or Twitter, or other popular tools.

You may also find links to relevant contents, like "Pride and Prejudice" which links to Amazon online store. Here, I wonder, if the Atlantic has some agreement with Amazon for this service, as the link takes readers away from its own website to Amazon!

But when you clink www.the atlanticwire.com, it has much more information with all different kinds of links involving readers to build community, for example, "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of ObamaCare", which is one of the "Hot Topics", providing many tools right next to the topic, such as Email, Facebook and Twitter, Digg and more. At the bottom of the article, you can comment, even as "guest", which makes it easier to engage readers, without the trouble of registering!! Registering might be necessary, but isn't it annoying from reader's point of view?

(2) Huffington Post, the online-only news organization, has built a more complex website, utilizing all the tools available to its community building.

The latest development is called "Huffington College" on its "FRONTPAGE" with 9 huge pictures of students who are "Majoring in Debt". When you click it, you come to "Share Your Story: Majoring In Debt". Every webpage has provided popular tools to you to communicate online!and you know how many people have retwitted or shared the story on Facebook!

But if you want to "PARTICIPATE", you need to register first, and then you can share yours!Registering is so easy-with your accounts of either Facebook, Twitter, Google, Yahoo! Convenience is just what readers need in today's fast-paced life!

You can vote the photo, if you are photo fans, or you probably like/dislike the folks in the pictures! Huffington gives you a chance to speak out your mind!

If you have more time to express yourself, you may share your reaction by choosing from "Amazing, Inspiring, Funny, Scary, Hot, Crazy, Important, Weird"

And report Corrections if you find problems.

If you use iPhone,iPod, you can get Huffington Post Mobile

(3) Even government websites like the White House, provide more interactive functions with the audience.

The President's Office website offers blogs, with online chat from time to time, Monday afternoon, Feb. 22, 2o10, for example, you can join the live chat.

On its homepage, you may share its contents with your accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, MySpace, Youtube, iTune, Vimeo, and so on.

You may also download video clips of the President's speeches or weekly address.

But there is no function for visitors to comment on the White House webpage contents, for reasons I have no clue.

In this case, I would say, there is no real community on the President's webpage. But you may find the President's official Twitter account,and I follow him when he twitted Georgetown vs Duke basketball game on snowy Saturday, Jan. 30, 2010!

(4) Now let's take a look at commercial website, Food & Wine, and how it build a community online around commercial contents.

This is a beautifully designed website, with lots of good tastes and flavors for most people. It offers you an opportunity to get 2 RISK-FREE Issues of its magazine.

It has a F&W Blog sphere, and F&W Community, where you can rate the recipes, and share with your friends on Facebook, Twitter, or other tools.

Related Recipes are also just a click away, engaging you to stay longer, with watering "virtual foody"!

What is most impressive is its "Recipe Video", where you can learn how to cook your favorite dishes from top chefs! A virtual cooking classroom with multimedia technologies-FREE!

When you travel, you may find your favorite restaurants in other parts of the country and the world, by visiting Restaurants and Travel. In Washington, DC, for example, you may find your restaurants, and THINGS TO DO. But there is one thing, at least, for improve: an interactive map should be provided, with either Google Map, or Yahoo, or whatever, for convenience of finding the direction to that restaurant in a not-so-familiar city, in most cases for travelers!

Well, that's my exploration! This is an endless journey to a perfectly designed website for building a community online around its contents, news or whatever...

Thanks for your time visiting my blog, a trial project and appreciate your comments!

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Story and Topic Perspective of Multimedia Reporting on 5 Real Events

Story and Topic Perspective of Multimedia Reporting on 5 Real Events

1.      Recalls

Story: Toyota Recalls, saying it would immediately stop selling the Camry, Corolla and Avalon sedans, Matrix wagon, RAV4 crossover, Tundra pickup, and Highlander and Sequoia sport utility vehicles.

Topic: Car Recalls include different makers and models in the past five years, for example, listing the problems, and their fixes in articles, pictures, videos, interviews with car owners, manufacturers, and experts, mechanics, salespeople, government agency such as National Highway Traffic Safety Administration; accidents in different regions using interactive maps supported by researchable data.

(Source: NYTimes.com)

2.      .Wildfires

(Source: Boston.com)

Story: Wildfires in California in September 2009

Topic: Wildfires in California in history, regions, causes and investigation results, in pictures videos, and writings, based on interviews with residents affected by the fires, and firefighters, experts in the field. And if possible, in comparison with epidemic wildfires in Australia.

3.      China Political Prisoners (of Conscience)

(Source: Canyu.org)

Story: Liu Xiaobo-who he is, what he did in the past; charges of his 11-year-sentence; worldwide reaction to his indication

Topic: political environment in Communist China; political prisoners in history under the Communist rule since 1949, and their status updates –death, release, re-education camps using graphics, and maps indicating where these prisons were/are; memoirs of sufferings of prisoners and family members using pictures and videos, and message board for those still missing, interviews with former political prisoners or prisoners of conscience, and the comments by experts. Today’s Chinese prisoners of conscience, including journalists being jailed for investigative reporting, and for exercising their constitutional rights of “freedom of expression”, etc. , using twitter, facebook, youtube, and other contemporary multimedia techiniques, revealing their stories to the world community.

4.      Google China

(Source: chinadigitaltimes.net)

Story: Google’s China move-Google operation in China, censorship policy fact check; Google claims and background reporting, Google.cn is the best example, using online groups for discussions, netizens’ reaction to the issue, US and Chinese government responses, etc.

Topic: Internet Freedom vs. Internet Censorship, to discuss the nature of the Internet, benefits and imperfects such as child pornography, Censorship policies in some countries, particularly in Communist China, where there is a government-led institutional, systematic practice of censorship, with self-censorship by businesses under the government pressure; fight over the freedom of information on the Internet; technological support to proxy software for netizens blocked by the firewall; Internet freedom and the “digital diplomacy” and “digital democracy”; maps indicating the censorship intensity; audio/video, online  interviews with Internet experts on censorship situations, and its future, etc.  

5.      Steve Jobs

(Source: Time.com)

Story: Steve Jobs unveils the latest mobile product iPad

Topic: Steve Jobs’ inspiring enterprenueruer career  and Apple’s breakthrough products including Mac, iPhone, iPod, iPad, despite the dotcome bubble in late 1990s, and current economic meltdown, using graphics displaying the products over the past 20 years, and its impact on the industry; Steve Jobs’ role in Apple, comparing the company before and after his departure, and his return to reinvent the company he co-founded.  Interviews with Mac fans and foes, IT experts, in audio, video and texting, all in an interactive platform.

The State of the News -Online

For more information, please visit,

http://www.stateofthemedia.org/2009/printable_online_chapter.htm

The State of the News-2009

The State of the News Media 2009 is the sixth edition of our annual report on the health and status of American journalism.
Our goals are to take stock of the revolution occurring in how Americans get information and provide a resource for citizens, journalists and researchers to make their own assessments. To do so we gather in one place as much data as possible about all the major sectors of journalism, identify trends, mark key indicators, note areas for further inquiry.
For each area we have produced original research and aggregated existing data into a narrative on the state of journalism that we hope is the most comprehensive anywhere. Statistical data also exists in an interactive format (see our index of charts), which allows users to customize their own graphics. The report also includes A Year in the News, a comprehensive content analysis of media performance based on more than 70,000 stories from 48 news outlets across five media sectors, as well as a special look at Hispanic and African American media and an Interactive Topline that lets users explore the data for themselves. This year’s study also includes special reports on Lessons of the Election, New Ventures online, a content analysis of Citizen Media in 46 communities. And coming soon: a Survey of Online Journalists and a look back at Campaign Coverage.
This report is the work of the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism, a nonpolitical, nonpartisan research institute. The study is funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts and was produced with the help of a number of authors and collaborators , including Rick Edmonds of the Poynter Institute and a host of industry readers.
The full report is comprehensive, totaling nearly 180,000 words.


For more information, please visit: http://www.stateofthemedia.org/2009/index.htm

A Short Analysis of Multimedia Coverage of Haitian Earthquake

Since Haiti was hit by the catastrophe on January 12, 2010, all media, print, broadcast and online have been covering the development around the clock.

One of the best multimedia coverage, as I can tell, is the New York Times's website, with a special project called "Haiti Earthquake Multimedia", (http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/01/17/world/americas/haiti-earthquake-multimedia.html), where you can find photography, videos, audios, and interactive graphic materials, from day one to the latest.

Let's take a look at these different components:

(1)Assessing the Damage in Haiti, http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/01/18/world/americas/0118-haiti-assess-maps.html#tab=0, where there are four sections: The Scene, Building Damage, Temporary Shelter, and Road Debris for readers to look into each section for more information.

(2)Devastation and Survival Along Avenue Poupelard, http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/01/24/world/haiti-street.html, which shows a place on a map with a more closer picture to follow, along with texts to provide more information.

(3)Many video clips on many different aspects of the disaster in Haiti, like this http://video.nytimes.com/video/2010/01/13/world/americas/1247466532047/haiti-s-legacy-of-environmental-disaster.html, but I NEVER LIKE ITS "Staples" ADS before the contents; it's dramatic and in funny tone, and is out of line with the tragical atmosphere.

(4)Rescuers Race Clock in Haiti, http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2010/01/15/world/20100115-HAITI_3.html, with so many shocking photos.

(5) Video information on "Haiti Quake Day 5: Tensions Rising", http://video.nytimes.com/video/2010/01/16/world/americas/1247466582363/haiti-quake-day-5-tensions-rising.html

(6)On Jan 22, "The Missing in Haiti"(http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/01/14/world/haiti-missing-people.html) provides a place for people to look for their relatives/friends, employees, and so on. More information available by clicking on the picture.

(7) On Jan 26, a new section was created "Perspectives on Haiti's Earthquake"(http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/world/haitivoices.html)-for people, such as journalists, and academics, to reflect on this event.

All in all, these 40 sections provide a comprehensive information about the earthquake in the island country.

Without multimedia technologies, the information cannot be available in such rich medium to readers/audiences almost simultaneously.

As we all know, the first information about the earthquake was sent out on Twitter! Surely, anyone on the scene can be a "citizen reporter" if he/she has a digital camera, and a cellphone with access to the Internet.

Of course, many other news organizations also provide timely information with multimedia tools, including,

USA TODAY, http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/haiti-timeline-interactive.htm,

CNN Special Coverage: http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2010/haiti.quake/; Christiane Amanpour is in Haiti, along with other reporters.

CBS does not have a special coverage on the earthquake, but has a lot of reporting on the development.

ABC provides a special coverage, http://abcnews.go.com/International/HaitiEarthquake/, with a small number of sections, though.

MSNBC has a topic on "Haiti", http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34748828, but does not input so much, I have to say. A lot of outside links are provides on the topic page.

Huffington Post created a special coverage with a title "Some News is so big it needs its own page", http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/haiti-earthquake, including a blog on this quake.


From my readings over the past two weeks on Haiti, I find all news organizations have maintain their journalistic values in carrying out their performance. News values such as impact, timeliness, prominence, conflict, proximity, currency are all reflected in their coverage.

My question is on technologies. How does a news organization employ so many talents and resources on a special coverage when breaking news happen, and how do the editors and reporters coordinate their working relations in such urgent conditions? What stories come first and with what kind of background supporting materials, like video, and audio, and interviews with relevant experts in the field? and so on...

Hope the class can discuss these issues with the professor in our next class.

WSJ: Web Access Is New Clinton Doctrine

* JANUARY 20, 2010





By SIOBHAN GORMAN

The U.S. plans to make unrestricted access to the Internet a top foreign-policy priority, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton plans to announce Thursday.

The announcement, which has been scheduled for weeks, comes in the wake of accusations last week that Chinese hackers penetrated Google Inc.'s computer networks. The attack, which also targeted Chinese dissidents, is the kind of issue Mrs. Clinton aims to address, said Alec Ross, a senior adviser.

The growing role of the Internet in foreign policy became clear last year during protests in Iran after allegations of election fraud. The government tried to crack down on protesters' Internet communications, but they circumvented digital blockades to send out video and Twitter messages about violence against demonstrators.

In one new initiative, the State Department plans to offer financial support to grass-roots movements that promote Internet freedom, Mr. Ross said.

Mrs. Clinton also hopes to diminish the "honor" beatings and killings of women in the Middle East by family members who discover they are using social media on the Internet, such as Facebook or Twitter, he said.

Mrs. Clinton sees Internet freedom as critical to America's longstanding promotion of democracy abroad, Mr. Ross added. She aims to shrink the proportion of the global population, now 30%, who live in countries that censor the Internet, he said.

"When we sit across the table from governments and talk about what matters to us, this is now on the table," Mr Ross said.

Other initiatives will include State Department funding for pilot technology programs to promote goals like government transparency, Mr. Ross said. One example could be providing funding for a Web site that allows citizens to rate aspects of their government—much like restaurant reviews are posted on the Internet—to publicize experiences such as bribery.

The initiatives build on ad hoc decisions made last year during the Iranian protests, such as the State Department's decision to ask Twitter to delay a planned upgrade at the time to ensure protesters could continue to get their message out.

They also mirror policies State has been advocating at the United Nations, where it has been fending off Russian and Chinese efforts to restrict access to information on the Internet on the grounds of national sovereignty, according to people familiar with the talks.

In recent months, both Russia and China have signaled a willingness to negotiate on cybersecurity. In November, a top-level Russian delegation met with U.S. officials about cybersecurity for the first time. Russian officials have also been trying to link up U.S. and Russian academics to study how the laws of war and international law might apply in cyberspace.

Last month, representatives from a think tank associated with Chinese security services met with U.S. cybersecurity experts to diffuse tensions over U.S. allegations of spying.

The State Department has also organized delegations of U.S. executives for trips to Baghdad and Mexico City to share thoughts on how new technologies could be best used in rebuilding the Iraqi government and fighting drug violence. "I've never experienced such government involvement before" in promoting technology internationally, said Jack Dorsey, Twitter co-founder and chairman.

Mrs. Clinton's elevation of Internet freedom could signal an important foreign policy shift, said Andrew Rasiej, founder of the Personal Democracy Forum, an annual conference on technology and policy. "This signals a critical shift in moving U.S. foreign policy from a 20th century world view to a 21st century reality," he said.

Advocacy groups supporting Iranian dissidents cheered the new initiatives. "It's a very significant development," said Brett Solomon, executive director of AccessNow.org, a group that has helped dissidents get videos and communications past Iranian Internet barricades. "It underlies the power of new technology to shift the political agenda."

Write to Siobhan Gorman at siobhan.gorman@wsj.com