The web still needs news editors

The growth of user generated content and socially driven news sites where users dictate the popular stories are numerous, but one ingredient remains essential.

Experienced editorial decisions about what is news will always be necessary. News providers on local and national levels will still be the gatekeepers, enhanced by the investigative blogger or dedicated and knowledgeable local citizen journalist.

These editors in turn gain feedback from what audiences of their own networks and the news aggregators find interesting and the cycle of quality news and more populist tabloid stories will happily continue.

Editors still have a very important function and that role will only increase in importance. They will be like a bartender at your favourite bar. People will go to them expecting the best information and as long as that information remains quality, those readers will continue to return.

Quote by: Jason Pontin; from: editorsweblog.org.

Never assume understanding online

To assume is to make an ass out of u and me.

I'd never heard that until recently, no really. But when working in the online world, it is a pertinent phrase. Just because I know how to find things quickly with Google, or what software is required to open a particular file type (not that I can claim to know them all!), it doesn't mean the audience that I am responsible for will.

This goes for developers, designers, content producers and all that are engulfed in a digital world, we should never take our audience's level of understanding for granted.

Many are able to bring in aspects of the offline world into their work that enhances the usability of products or services.

But for some digital workers it is often vital to step back from a piece of work, or some web specific copy to imagine what someone who rarely dabbles online might make of what's been created.

It is eye-opening to realise how many people visit a search engine to search for... a search engine. Part of me sniggers, but the less sneering side realises that a large part of the population don't go online everyday.

Not everyone is up to speed with the latest 'coolest' websites or crazes; they don't get their daily fix of news online; they prefer banking in a more human-interactive environment; and aren't sure about shopping in a paperless, digital world.

It's a responsibility of anyone producing any content or work seen online: making something advanced or ultra-modern is wasted if your target audience are unlikely to know how to use it easily. Myself included!

England's Ashes pain ends, but what now?

Fifth Ashes Test: Australia win by 10 wickets and the series 5-0, yes 5-0, no draws, no scraps for England.

And so an end to my nights of listening to an session of Test Match Special before dropping off to sleep assuming there is some hope of a decent days work by our boys abroad, only to be woken by the morning news that we had blown another opportunity and that the game was all but up.

We all know what went wrong, with errors of judgement and poor performances along the way, but what for the future of the team:

Andrew Strauss: Obviously good enough, but needs to knuckle down more often and stop getting ropey umpiring decisions!

Ally Cook: Shows great promise, his mid-series Test century showed that, but needs to progress as he matures.

Ian Bell: Great improvements since the last Ashes, showed some guts on and off, could be a winner at number 3 if Vaughan doesn't return.

Kevin 'All or nothing' Pietersen: As the name suggests, it's a big impressive whackathon or not a lot from the shot-playing king.

Paul Collingwood: One monumental effort and some failures don't cement his place, but the lads got stamina and ability.

Freddie Flintoff: Never fully fit, too much responsibility, not enough support. By the end of the series he showed signs of his former self with bat and ball. He will be back, but as an all-rounder/captain, I'm still not convinced.

Gerry Jones: Can't be preferred to Read any more, unless he smacks a couple of tons early in the 2007 summer.

Chris Read: A fine keeper, but his batting has been shown up by the best. Surely his stop start career deserves another series to let him improve?

Matthew Hoggard: Dependable as ever, our bowling rock, get fit soon. Probably the only player to hold his head high at series end.

Jimmy Anderson: Personally I think he has shown enough promise to persevere with, some hanging around with the bat won't do him any harm!

Saj Mahmood: Personally he looks to ragged with bat and ball, and as for the schoolboy run out error of Warne in the final Test...

Harmy Harmison: Thankfully he ended the series in far better form than he began, unfortunately he began it in appalling form. Question marks still linger, but he isn't the worst tail ender.

Ashley Giles: An Tourus Horribilus for Gilo. As Warne put down the Ashes in 2005, an abiding moment for England will be his drop of Ponting in the Third Test. Hope he can put it behind him, but who knows how many opportunities he'll get now?...

Monty Panesar: He didn't set the world alight, but once he was rightfully given a chance he showed enough skill with the ball and courage with the bat to see him cemented as our first choice spinner.

Putting it in perspective, we were beaten by a very good, determined and experienced side, but now we need to address the shortcomings and power on this summer. By 2009, we may well have a more rounded side to challenge the new-look Aussies who should be without Hayden and Gilchrist by then.

Lets just forget the one-day series and World Cup, for I fear more of the current form will prevail!

Newspapers battle with the future

Why would you buy a printed newspaper when you can get all your news free online? Or why not just pick up a free paper?

The key to any strategy for current print news providers is deciding what and how to put content on their websites as currently very few papers have found success charging for content.

It isn't as simple as putting the print content straight onto the web, that is a one-way ticket to oblivion.

People turn to the web for breaking news now, first reports, following up watching longer analysis on TV and in the following days newspapers.

Advertising revenue from online newspapers is way behind print revenue, although this is improving, but I cannot currently see many printed titles being able to drop their cover price in order to encourage more readers that way.

What are newspaper good for?

People don't tend to read long news articles on a screen, personally I would rather print them off to read and take in later.

Lengthy feature or analytical articles are what print is and has always been good for.

This is part of the key to any level of success in the current murky media climate. Clever integration and cross-promotion of the print and online products.

If both products can be successful editorially and feed off each other, drawing audiences through their quality, then this can only help grow potential both advertising revenue streams.

The main problem for national and local titles is there is no tried and tested path for a successful future strategy. Their are titles that have large audiences and a strong presence online, particularly The Guardian in the UK and The New York Times in America.

Multimedia minefield

Broadband has enabled the web to embrace multimedia content, and this has trickled down to news organisations, including newspaper titles.

Podcasts have begat video reports, but the danger with treading into visual waters is that there are plenty of broadcasting operations who have far more understanding of the medium and can produce superior content.

Summing up

The future looks very uncertain, but the opportunity is there to reinvent newspapers for a digital age. The question will be: "But how do we do it?".

There is no simple answer, but one thing news providers must never forget is that content is king.

Taking your eye off the ball regarding producing relevant, intelligent and focussed news reports would be a big mistake, that is the one advantage news operations have over the majority of bloggers or citizen journalists.

The editorial team will always be the most vital resource, but newspaper owners must support them wisely and cleverly in order to keep the paper afloat in the coming decades.

Read more:
Papers battle online news sites from BBC Click technology programme.

More links on online newspapers and the future of newspapers.

Web accessibility. Who cares?

Web User reports Most websites fail accessibility tests. Simon Norris, managing director of Nomensa, said: "The Disability Rights Commission estimates that there are over 10 million people with disabilities in the UK and by ignoring accessibility and usability, companies are excluding over £80bn in untapped revenue."

Ignorance of web accessibility potentially leaves these companies open to legal action. Simon Norris comments: "Ignoring accessibility actively turns visitors away.”

Millions of people have difficulty browsing and interacting with the web. Online accessibility is about giving everyone the opportunity to see and use web content and services. Norris also added: "Conditions such as learning difficulties, cognitive impairments, visual impairments and Repetitive Strain Injury affect the way people access the internet"

Web design and development has to take this in to account, not because we feel we should, or because it's the law, but because making a site accessible (and thus usable) to as many people (and potential customers) as possible can only make good business sense. More links to accessible sites and articles.
File under: web design.

The popularity of the MySpace web design train-wreck

Commenting on Web 1.0 vs. Web 2.0: User Content and Lock-In, I think maybe Web 2.0 vs Web 1.0 is not necessarily the best scenario. Maybe it's simpler, maybe web standards is a waste of time, when you see how popular myspace is right now, and yet it's a web design train-wreck.

Somewhere between the popularity of MySpace and the simplistic usefulness of Basecamp lies the future of the Web. At least the near future, as trying to see too far ahead is becoming difficult as technology and software develops and mutates ever-quicker.

I've seen some disgusting looking MySpace sites, not just from a technical web production point of view, but visually the colours and layout are awful. But on the whole it obviously works, and as we all know people rarely actually complain about stuff they don't get or can't use online, they just go somewhere else and find what they want.

I couldn't survive at work without my Basecamp, to-do dynamic lists and email reminders saving me from searching through pages of written notes, ideas and lists.

But to those that don't work inside the web industry daily, something as simplistic as a MySpace page speaks - particularly younger web users - to them in a simple voice. Here is a wake-up call for all web designers of large and small-scale sites alike, the importance of engaging with your audience, in terms of not only the content, but the layout and visual structures.

Journalism meets blogging

How does the print journalism world adjust to the new media age of "citizen journalism", bloggers from all corners suddenly having a voice, opinion, a say on local and national issues and stories?

A columnist at the Philly Inquirer writes: “...the biggest evil of blogs is that first flaw, blogging's original sin: the discounting of news-gathering in favour of news analysis. Bloggers are forever telling us how easy journalism is, yet very few of them have ever really practiced it...but opinion writing is a tiny - and let's be honest, inconsequential - corner of the journalism world. Real journalism - the practice of adding to the store of public knowledge by reporting news - is a difficult, thankless, and often unpleasant task. Bloggers want no part of it.”

Bloggers without journalistic training or experience are no less worthy of reading. Coherent and articulate arguments and opinions are all valid. But surely the myriad of bloggers will not overrun the trained journalists backed by experienced news teams.

Writing regular articles and thoughts takes time and mental energy, as well as background reading and research to produce quality content. But not everyone has the time or inclination to do this for free.

True, some bloggers have made some money out of it, but it has to be almost a full-time job to be churning out lengthy quality writing at regular intervals.

For journalists and news teams it is an opportunity to break into new avenues of writing. Adding depth to articles there would otherwise not have been space for in the print world alone.

Speaking to the audience in more personal ways, taking a second look at stories with the benefit of hindsight and feeding the instant desires of those online readers who do not want to be tied down by waiting for the next days newspapers or the next weeks magazines or supplements.

The new journalistic age is still finding its feet, but the opportunities - providing some revenue streams can be found - could be rewarding for those currently inside journalism and those speaking from the blogosphere.

File under: newspapers and blogging.

Take a break, refresh your productivity

Particularly busy day at ET Towers today. It wasn't until I took a break in the afternoon to grab a few bits for dinner that my mind began to be a little more objective about my current workload.

I had more constructive ideas and clearer thoughts on issues that needed resolving in that forty minute break than the rest of the day.

When you have a busy day at work and you haven't got time to stop and take a break and be objective about how things are going it can be difficult to focus on the priorities and effectiveness of your routine.

Bill Gates wrote this in a 2005 Executive E-Mail column:

"A recent study showed that 56 percent of workers are overwhelmed by multiple simultaneous projects and interrupted too often; one-third say that multi-tasking and distractions are keeping them from stepping back to process and reflect on the work they’re doing. In the United Kingdom, it’s estimated that stress accounts for nearly one-third of absenteeism and sick leave." (Source: http://www.microsoft.com/mscorp/execmail/2005/05-19newworldofwork.asp

While technology makes many jobs and tasks easier, it also enables us to do more. But then we are almost expected to do more, but does this in some way stifle creativity and block clear thinking?

I find taking regular breaks, how often depending on the individual needs, clearing the mind, even for a few minutes can help to overcome a creative block, prepare for a nagging deadlines or bring fresh ideas to unsolved problems.

Review: Prague, Czech Republic

Sunday, March 12 until Wednesday, March 15 2006.

Our Gatwick flight was cancelled after nearly a foot of snow had fallen in the last 24 hours, closing the airport in Prague.

Things looked bleak but as it turned out Becky and I ended up on a later flight from Heathrow. The snow stopped and Prague's airport opened for business, welcoming us about 8 hours later than planned, but glad to be on holiday.

On our first full morning we found a very cold but bright day greeting us. Most challenging was the icy cobbled streets. But we managed to stay on our feet, and frankly the snow added to the picturesque view of the city.

Our photos from Prague

Everyone we had spoken to had good memories of Prague, and from the guide books and reviews it sounded perfect for a short break and change of scene.
Even though we went off-peak it was still awash with tourists from America and around Europe. Prague's popularity means that it is easy to get around and communicate as virtually all the locals we encountered spoke enough English to avoid embarrassing incidents.
We stayed at the Hotel Julian, just south of the Little Quarter to the west of the River Vltava. We travelled by foot, although there are plenty of buses and trams if needed. I found it to be good exercise and would rather be pounding the streets than sat a desk at work. Discuss.

Brief historical interlude

The Czech Republic is a country full of history. It gained independence in 1918 becoming Czechoslovakia, ending the 400-year reign of the Habsburgs. But it wasn't until the Velvet Revolution in 1989 when democracy returned, and in 1992 Czech Republic and Slovakia were formed.
But over the centuries, the Czechs have been busy, building elaborate buildings, churches and cathedrals. I've never seen so much impressive and ornate architecture.

Tourists galore, but impressive views

We headed for the Old Town Square, via the Charles Bridge, an impressive site, lined on both sides by statues of kings, princes and religious scenes. This was pretty busy with tourists. I imagine it must be a little too crowded in mid-summer, but it gives a great view up and down the river, with the castle spanning the northern view of the city.
The best way to enjoy the city is to stroll beyond the Old Town Square and down side streets and alleyways to get a less tourist-driven feel for Prague.

Church of St Nicholas, Little Quarter

We almost missed this stunning building as we walked through the Little Quarter to the west of the Charles Bridge. After seeing a steady stream of people heading in and out of a building, we ventured in, and were treated to a an array of ornate carvings, statues and a fantastic frescos adorning the ceiling.

Prague Castle

Prague Castle stretches along the hills, dominating the city skyline to the north. It was only about 30 minutes walk from the hotel, and gave stunning views across the river and city beyond.
It contains many buildings, courtyards, as well as the opportunity to see another country's version of the changing of the guards. St Vitus's Cathedral is another stunning cathedral, lined with stained glass windows, full of the history of Prague and the Czechs.

Old Town

Every hour the Town Hall Clock strikes and out troop the 12 Apostles, as this impressive Astronomical clock draws regular crowds.

Food and drink

Along the tourist route through the city, you will find no end of restaurants, bars and cafes. Plenty of European styles available and a good standard.
Becky was more adventurous trying some local Beef Goulash with dumplings, which was very nice. Be aware that these were no dumplings I had ever experienced, very filling. The prices varied, but even the popular restaurants charge no more than you would pay in this country.

Commonly the weight of any meat is listed on the menu, a relic of the communist era. And the beer is strong and cheap as you would expect from the Czechs, roughly 70 pence a pint. After pounding the streets check out the popular Kaverna (Cafe) Slavia, overlooking the river and watch the world go by. In the evening try Red, Hot & Blues, just off the Old Town Square, for some tasty Tex-Mex food and lively jazz and funky music every night.

Useful links:

• Prague tourism/holiday and hotel reviews - TripAdvisor


• Been There: Prague - guardian.co.uk

Building an online local newspaper in 2006

In a word, diversify. Online newspapers need to push on with their unique selling points; namely, local knowledge and a trusted brand bringing loyalty within the a local marketplace. These need to be visible online whilst providing a more user-driven site, accessible to all on any platform.

Aims & objectives

Encouraging interactivity and providing high standards of usability for users; using web standards and offering flexibility for the web producers.

Design & construction

• Usable and accessible to all potential users in any browser, on any platform (mobile, PDAs, etc).


• Clean design and layout, with clear branding links with any print editions.


• Consistent branding and navigation.


• Produced in semantic, web standard code (XHTML and CSS) to improve control of layout.


• Makes temporary changes within layout templates more flexible, make content viewable on any platform with minimum of extra development work and make future developments easier.

Content & features

The digital age is well and truly upon us, modern news providers are multimedia outlets where news is transmitted and received in new formats by ever hungry users devouring news and information as quickly as it is produced. As Media Guardian puts it: "With news websites starting to fill up with audio and video clips, we are seeing just the beginning of "convergence"."

• Regularly updated content, i.e. up to the minute news from the local news team.


• Follow-ups and updates of news from print edition. Established print working patterns would need to be augmented by an understanding of the web audience and skills in writing for the web.


• The written content would be more geared towards a web audience. Shorter sentences/paragraphs and use of bullet lists.


• Flexibility to change homepage features regularly with eye-catching content whilst keeping basic structure and layout.


• Use of audio and visual content to augment written articles (but not just for the sake of doing it).


• Alternative distribution methods: Email newsletters, RSS feeds, blogs, email alerts.


• Awareness of online news aggregators: Google News, Newsvine - "..to build a perfectly different, perfectly efficient way to read, write, and interact with the news." Read an analysis of Newsvine.


• Text containing terms related to article keywords more helpful for search engine ranking. Google's advice for your website: Content.

Relationship with the audience

• Giving them the content that they want, in the format they want it: RSS feeds, email updates for specific sections.


• Offer blogs, user feedback/input, blog comments.


• Still pushing commercial options.

Marketing & promotion

• Clear consistent branding across all off and online editions.


• Cross promotion of features and offers.


• Print edition pushing online only content and vice versa.

Revenue/Return on investment

• Targeted advertising within sections.


• Sponsorship of features/sections – cross-branded between off/online editions.


• Interactive competitions – use of SMS.


• Not overwhelming the homepage with advertising, but specific content can carry relevant advertising options.

TECHNOLOGY: Long life mobile battery 'vital'

Modern technology users want more power from their mobile products.
As mobile phones, PDAs and music players become more widely used, users are demanding higher specifications, more memory and longer battery life.
Read: BBC NEWS | Technology | Long life mobile battery 'vital'

Effective writing for page titles

Page titles should be such a simple aspect of Web page production. Yet a bit of thought, and broad understanding of a potential audience will go a long way to getting content more widely read.

Short, clean, meaningful and relevant. A title of the actual page your are on is what your are striving for. Not the name of the site, that can come afterwards, but when people are reading links, RSS feeds, and search engine results, the first half dozen words need to convey the purpose and benefits of the user visiting a page.

Don't try to be too clever, cryptic or pretend the content is something better than it actually is (visitors might be enticed once, but probably never again, and they might tell their friends, or the Web community!)

Nothing too long, but a brief and succint description of what the page is about. This may seem like more hard work than at first sight, but it will benefit the sites popularity among users and search engines alike.

DVD: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005)

I just watched the The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005) DVD, and really enjoyed it. Frankly it was always going to be tough turning Douglas Adams' fantastic story into a movie, but that's what he always wanted, so now at least it's here.

It stays fairly true to the original story despite being a Hollywood funded flick, the cast dow ell to fill out the crazy scenes and showing off Adams' clever wit, sarcasm and irony.

And in the UK, there's a bonus disc with a making of, that starts from the day the Director gets the green light to start making it. It was a fascinating hour, a literal behind-the-scenes documentary giving a real feel of how the crew of animatronics experts, set-designers, etc. and cast put it all together.

FUN: Home of the video flick book

Get your mobile phone (and other) movies turned into flick books. Flick off you say, no it's true, and a genius idea. Visit: FlickFilms - Home of the video flick book

WEB DESIGN: 10 Reasons Clients Don't Care About Accessibility

Accessibility is a divisive issue in the workplace. Companies have varying degrees of interest/understanding in the issue.

Basically, it's about making Web pages accessible and usable for all, regardless of ability, device (e.g. computer or mobile), browser, or operating system. It makes production quicker, cheaper, simpler.

What more do you people want?

"It'’s the Law But There'’s None to Follow". Read: Digital Web Magazine - 10 Reasons Clients Don't Care About Accessibility

CRICKET: In praise of ... Richie Benaud

He always knew what to say, Richie Benaud was a great in, and broadcasting on the great game. And what a series to bow out on English soil. Possibly the greatest series ever, at least in the modern game. England have come through against the best team in the world.

The [replica] Ashes are coming home! Read: Guardian Unlimited Sport | Special reports | In praise of ... Richie Benaud

CRICKET: Players lambast incompetent Zimbabwe board

The maddeningly depressing situation for Zimbabwean cricketers shows no sign of letting up. Read: Cricinfo - Players lambast incompetent Zimbabwe board

FLIGHTS OFFER: British Airways/Ashes offer

Briish Airways are running an Ashes promotion, and it could be a real bargain.

"The Price of the fare, including taxes, will be equal to the number of runs scored by Australia (in their first innings).

The number of flights available for sale will be equal to the number of runs scored by England (in their first innings)."

Go here now: British Airways - Your questions

CRICKET: Zimbabwe players call for Chingoka and Bvute to quit

The key for the Zimbabwe players is sticking together. If they all sign the petition, they leave the board little option but to do something about the contract situation. They can't very continue with no players.
It is so frustrating that the ICC have remained on the fence, and that the wortld continues to sit by why the black racist elite of Zimbabwe misguidedly ravage anything that was good within the country. Read: Cricinfo - Players call for Chingoka and Bvute to quit

CRICKET: The Ashes comes down to the fifth and final Test at The Oval

From Wisden/Cricinfo: The Oval
"This is where it all began. The first-ever Test on English soil was played here in September 1880, resulting in an England win over Australia by five wickets, with WG Grace scoring a hundred on debut, and this is where a Test series in England traditionally ends.

More pertinently, this is the historic venue where the legend of the Ashes was born a couple of years after the inaugural Test, in August 1882. England, chasing only 85 to win, slumped from 51 for 2 to 78 all out. The next morning The Sporting Times published its famous mock obituary and the legend was born.

The Oval has witnessed many historic matches. England's dramatic one-wicket win in 1902 inspired by Gilbert Jessop's sensational hundred; Australia's 701 in 1934 as Don Bradman (244) and Bill Ponsford (266) put on 451 for the second wicket; England's 903 for 7 as they beat Australia by an innings and 579 runs in 1938; Bradman's farewell duck in 1948; Denis Compton scoring the boundary which meant England regained the Ashes in 1953; Michael Holding's 14 wickets on a featherbed in 1976; Devon Malcolm's 9 for 57 against South Africa in 1994.

Owned by the Duchy of Cornwall (who is the Prince of Wales, hence his feathers have appeared on Surrey's badge since 1915), The Oval came about in the 1790s when an oval road was laid round what was then a cabbage patch. When a subsequent market garden failed, the land was opened as a cricket ground in 1845 after 10,000 turfs were brought in from Tooting Common. It has been Surrey headquarters ever since, even though it has been well outside the county boundary for many years.

It has hosted many other important sporting occasions and can claim to be the most important general sports ground in the world. It staged the first FA Cup final in 1872 (won by Wanderers in front of 2000 spectators) and the following year the first England international (against Scotland). It was the home of the FA Cup final between 1874 and 1892. In 1876 it staged to the first England v Wales and England v Scotland rugby internationals, and in 1877 to rugby's Varsity match. In addition, it has witnessed rock concerts (The Who and The Faces in 1971), ice skating and the now traditional end-of-season Aussie Rules match. It was also a POW camp during the Second World War."

Sorry to copy verbatim, but Bring it on!!!