Web Site Winners:
How They Do It
VOLUME XXV, NUMBERS 16 & 17, APRIL 18, 2005
RTNDA's regional Edward R. Murrow Award winners in the Best Web Site category have all
developed content that makes their sites special.
Here are some of the successful strategies of these new media managers.
http://www.thebostonchannel.com
Original reporting online
WCVB-TV, Boston
With more than one million unique users every month, the power of thebostonchannel.com
is likened to the reach of a top 10 radio station. This is the fifth anniversary of the
site and its staff of three. It's the fourth consecutive regional Murrow award they have
won.
"The judges are interested in original content --- what you have produced for the
Web, not just re-purposing material," says Maria Buckley, Managing Editor.
They write bylined articles and incorporate as much of the multimedia elements from the
station as they can.
"The Web users are getting a very holistic product --- video, interactive components
such as discussions, forums and surveys, and slide shows. They are basically getting
original reporting," she says.
Major breaking news is continually updated.
For example, for the Boston Marathon, the staffers write the story minute by minute.
"If there is a breaking news story, we go with it. We cover it as it happens, and get
it up on the Web site. We make phone calls, do interviews and get quotes. If the station
is covering something live, we can get information from the live feed," says Buckley.
| "If there is breaking news in the Boston area,
people are going to find it on thebostonchannel.com, and they will find it within
seconds." |
|
Maria Buckley
Thebostonchannel.com |
 Practical "news you can
use" is included whenever possible.
Last year was a very busy news year for Boston --- the DNC, Senator John Kerry, and the
Red Sox were huge local stories.
"When we put together packages on big stories like the convention, we always try to
include a very practical component. We might put together lists of road closures and
information about public transportation --- news people can use," she says.
Public is encouraged to participate, share experiences.
For stories like the Red Sox victory, the Web staffers involve the public.
"People were so engaged in this that we asked them to send in their photos. We
compile slide shows, and there is always a tremendous response to that," says
Buckley.
"During the blizzard a few months ago, we asked them to send in their blizzard
photos. With everyone using digital cameras, we were able to put together a slide show of
amazing photos from all over Massachusetts. There was a terrific response. It is something
that people really want to see," she stresses.
Online content gives additional depth to the air talent. Anchor
Natalie Jacobson has a section that includes her insights and past interviews.
When anchor Anthony Everett went to Rome for the Pope's funeral he sent essays.
"It is information in a different way and in a different format than what they would
be able to do on the air. He wrote some beautiful pieces, and we received many e-mails
from people who really enjoyed it. That lives on the Web site --- giving people a little
different perspective and offering them something extra," says Buckley.
One goal: Serve people who are searching for the very latest on a big
story while providing background, too.
Buckley says they are up against a "Goliath" competing with boston.com --- The Boston Globe --- which is viewed as a portal.
"The newspaper and the rules they are operating under can't respond with the
immediacy that a television station does, and that a Web site staffed by actual
journalists can. Our niche is our ability to respond quickly to breaking news, and to get
that information and the details on quickly," she says.
"We try to provide all the background and detail that they want quickly," she
adds.
On air segment promotes site
As a way to drive traffic to the Web site, Web producer/news editor Jamy Pombo recently
began filing The Click Report, which airs daily in the 5:30
news.
"We feature a new Web site or a new tech gadget that has come out. It is modeled
after the Good Morning America feature Around
the Water Cooler, something people would want to learn about, and it's
something on the Web site that you can't see on the news," Pombo explains.
The one-minute report drives people to the Web site to get the link to the item that is
featured.
The most popular report she's done so far was on a Web site that tells people what numbers
to dial to bypass computer operators.
"If you are calling Verizon, and you want to speak directly to an operator, it will
tell you what buttons to press to get to an operator, instead of having to listen to 17
menu items," she says.
Return to top of page.
http://www.wkyt.com
Many staffers update the Web
WKYT-TV, Lexington
"We approach this a little differently than many other stations," says Jim
Ogle, Senior Vice President of News.
Some stations have Webmasters or two or three formal Web editorial people. WKYT has about
25 people who have their own piece of the puzzle.
Ogle says their Web site is a priority, not a throwaway item for re-purposing content or
for use as a platform to promote their on-air content.
"You'll get the opportunity to promote your content if you make yourself valuable to
people beyond that," he says.
The daytime is the most important time for wkyt.com.
"You must develop the attitude that your primary audience on the Internet exists
between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.," says Ogle.
Most people's best Internet connection is at their work, not at their homes. Also, the
office imposes structure on people. At many places, workers can't even have a radio on.
"Working at a computer, the Internet is their contact with outside world," he
says.
Primary updating of the Web site occurs six times a day and is done by
newscast producers.
"Broadcasters must be able to service people when they want their information. We do
updates at 7 a.m., 10 a.m., 1 p.m., 4 p.m. on the Web site. If they click back on it
again, and don't see that we've updated the content, they'll go some place else," he
says.
Much of the content --- except breaking news ---- is put on the Web after the show because
then the video has full supers on it.
Breaking news is the priority whether it is big or small.
"One thing I am proud of is our ability to get breaking news onto the site quickly on
small stories as well as large ones," says Ogle.
"If we are dealing with a good breaking news story, even though we might not break
into programming for it, that information goes on the Web right away," he stresses.
A power outage affecting 5,000 homes may not be big enough to interrupt programming for,
or a major traffic jam may not warrant expanded coverage, but many people expect to see
such news on the Web.
"To them, that's news at that moment. It may not be broadcasting, but they want to
see that information. Because we have so many people who are involved in updating the Web,
there is always someone who can put something on quickly," says Ogle.
A timeline will be used to show how the information has developed.
"On some of the breaking news, such as small plane crashes, we time stamp the
information that we know at that point, so that people can read the whole log of what
we've been reporting from the beginning," he explains.
"We explain to people that some of the initial reporting will be, by nature,
inaccurate," he adds.
Early reports may indicate that three people are dead, when in fact, only two were killed.
"It's the difference between the thoughtful approach we take as to what will be on
the 6 p.m. news versus 'we're going to let you swim with us.' There are sometimes problems
along the way when people swim with you," he says.
Breaking video is placed on the Web as soon as it's available.
They've created a system where the process to get video on the Web is started as soon as
there is breaking news on the air. He has found video to be an important driver for
people.
Breaking news reports are quickly turned and put on the Web within a minute or two of when
the story goes out over the air.
In some ways, the site is more up-to-date than what is on the air.
"There are things that we won't interrupt programming for, but that we'll put on the
Web site right away," says Ogle.
Significant stories are not held.
"We don't hold stories. When we have a good story, we publish to the Web site
immediately," he says.
| "The big phenomenon I have noticed over the
last year is that you can't wait to put on breaking news. You can't wait to put it on your
air first, or you can't think that it's not a big enough story to put on." |
|
Jim Ogle
Sr. V.P. of News, WKYT-TV |
As for managers who don't have the staff to support Web site updating
throughout the day, Ogle believes they should consider putting fewer resources into the
noon news.
"The audience is on the Internet, not on your noon newscast," he says.
The personal connection is emphasized. A weather
"blog" is written by one of the meteorologists.
"During severe weather, a meteorologist writes a narrative about what is going on for
people even as our chief is on the air doing the weather," Ogle explains.
It draws "a huge number" of page views and unique users, he says.
"People will e-mail us pictures of what is happening in their area. There is almost a
dialogue that occurs during the coverage," he adds.
This was an effective technique during a major ice storm the past winter. Even in areas
where people lost their power, many still had Internet access. Some still had their phone
lines and others accessed the Internet via wireless.
Ogle feels that because TV is such a personal medium, people will be able to connect
more with a station Web site than with a newspaper's site.
"Except for a few columnists, most people never know who that person is who is
covering city hall for the paper. However, newspapers have the advantage of being able to
re-purpose huge amounts of content once a day," he says.
He feels that stations that approach the Web site as one of their channels, and try to
make personal connections with people, will grow and prosper beyond the newspaper's site.
"We can do much more with video and we have an element of personality and
relationships that we build with our viewers. Whereas, there aren't that many people at a
newspaper that people build that relationship with," he says.
People have responded in large numbers.
"We were just short last year of 16 million page views and 180,000 unique users. So
far this year, we are on track to do 21 to 23 million page views and 225,000 to 230,000
unique users," he says.
Ogle says the Web site is already profitable for the station, and that there are
advertisers who advertise only on the Web and not on the air.
His next plan for the Web is to make individual beat reporters managing editors of
their own sections.
They will be dropping in short columns and writing their own "blogs."
Plus, they can post additional background information on their stories.
"The beat reporters would create their own mini-Web sites for themselves. It also
allows them to troll for stories and creates a sense of dialogue between the individual
reporters and the public at large," he says.
Return to top of page.
http://www.wqad.com
Your Web site must be treated as an important asset
WQAD-TV, Moline
"The Web is treated like another newscast at WQAD," says News Director C.J.
Beutien.
Reporters are responsible for posting their stories to the Web
every day.
"It is part of their job," Beutien stresses.
The station is owned by The New York Times, which because
of its newspaper interests, has a substantial investment in the Web.
"The philosophy of the station and of the company is that the Web is extremely
important --- as important as our on air product. It is something we must pay attention
to," he explains.
Everyone knows that when they go out and cover a story, they must be prepared to put it in
whatever newscasts the producers want. It's the same way with the Web.
"It is absolutely essential to have a
full-time Web producer --- someone who lives and breathes the Web.
"That is the key. Someone has to be the strong advocate for the Web." |
|
C.J. Beutien
News Director, WQAD-TV |
Just as every show has its own producer, so does the Web site.
"You want someone who can take care of things that happen after hours and on
weekends. They should have a computer at home, in case they need to change content when
there is breaking news," he adds.
Beutien feels that if the Web is merely added to people's other
responsibilities, it can get lost in the shuffle. Producers may have to
take care of the Web, but they have to produce their newscast first.
"In our newsroom, everyone contributes to the Web. But our content manager is the
driving force behind it. If there is any kind of slack, he is on top of it. You really
need a watchdog to make sure it gets done," says Beutien.
Producers, production assistants and reporters all have their own duties to contribute.
"We're at the point now where it is a 24/7 operation. Even over the weekend, we have
multiple people contributing to the Web. It is a constant production of local
content," says Content Manager Mike Gorman.
A story's Web treatment is discussed in the morning meetings.
"We have added the Web treatment to the assignment board, too," says Beutien.
If a reporter covered the mayor's speech, he or she can look at the board and see the
producers want it at 5, at 6 and for the Web.
It's not just more content. Focus on the breadth of content.
"One of our successes with viewers has always been that we not only offer a lot, we
also try to cover all angles of the story, " he explains.
This is the third year the station has won a Murrow for the Web site. The award
submission this year included their ongoing coverage of two spot news stories: a tornado
that killed eight people and a 4.9 earthquake in northern Illinois.
They also made a major commitment to their election coverage. They built flash interactive
maps showing results from past elections and which states and which counties went for
which candidate.
"With this technology, you can take a lot of information and break it down so people
can understand it. Just posting a table of election numbers for each county isn't as
visual as being able to see which region voted for Bush and which for Kerry. Also, video
tells so many things that text stories can't," he adds.
Return to top of page.
http://www.nbc4i.com
Win breaking news online
WCMH-TV, Columbus
Breaking news and breaking weather are the two priorities for
the Web staff of nbc4i.com.
"We began 2004 with the man who was shooting at cars," says Craig Friedman,
Managing Editor.
The serial shooter is suspected in 24 incidents along the Columbus outer belt highway,
including one fatal shooting.
"We were able to provide our public with team coverage and breaking news coverage of
the entire ordeal --- from the moment the first shots were fired up until the end when a
suspect was finally captured in Las Vegas," says Friedman.
"We had a map of where all the shootings were, and we kept updating that throughout
the entire story. People could click on it and see where he had been. It was a good way
for people to follow the story, especially those who didn't know the area that well,"
he adds.
When users scrolled over the number, a date and brief description of what happened in that
incident would pop up.
"As the ordeal went on, the shooter started getting a little more bold, and we had to
expand the map. It showed detailed information about what happened and when it
happened," he says.
A shootings timeline was posted.
Slide shows reinforced this.
"We had the pictures from Channel 4, so people could see the video as well," he
says.
The story came to a head on St. Patrick's Day last year.
"At about 6:15 a.m., I was updating the site from home as I do every morning. We had
just announced on air that we had breaking news and that police had a suspect in custody
in Las Vegas. I took that information and updated it there at home," he says.
A second project submitted for the RTNDA award was their spot news coverage of a night
club shooting that left five people dead.
It occurred at 10:20 p.m. on a Thursday.
"Within about 10 minutes, the desk called me at home. I was watching our air, and
once we had information confirmed, I posted it on the Web site," says Friedman.
"As the story grew, we realized this involved a national celebrity, plus we had three
other victims and the gunman. I was able to post video from home and take the facts
reported on our cut-ins and put them into our Web story," he says.
Updating the site from any online location is important.
"Even though we are not physically in the building, we have the capability to update
the site 24/7 no matter what we are doing or where we are. It is a wonderful thing to
have, and it is something that makes us different from a lot of other sites," he
says.
The Web workspace in the newsroom is located next to the assignment desk.
"I can hear what's going on and see the commotion at the desk and who
is heading out to the stories. Plus, I have a router in front of me, so I can see the news
feeds coming in. Because of our prime location, we are able to access everything right
away," he says.
Friedman adds the commitment from WCMH management has helped make nbc4i.com as
successful as it is.
"The station management bought into this from the very beginning. We want nbc4i.com
to be the television station for people who don't have TV at work or school," he
adds.
Return to top of page.
http://www.newsok.com
Convergence is king in Oklahoma
KWTV-TV, Oklahoma City
Combining the power of video and the content depth of print can
create a strong site.
Newsok.com is the converged Web site of KWTV and The Oklahoman.
"The sheer volume of material we have, the fact we have a strong video presence, a
strong print presence and the depth of information is what makes us stand out," says
Kelly Dyer, General Manager of newsok.com.
The production is a true partnership.
"We break news 24/7 when it happens, and we collaborate on just about everything. A
convergence person goes back and forth between the two newsrooms, so the TV side knows
what the newspaper side is doing and vice versa, and then everyone feeds the Web
site," she says.
A television-print partnership provides lots of useful elements.
"Because we are working for such large media companies, we can zero in on a
topic," she says.
An innovative feature is the Crime Tracker.
They pull crime data from several different police jurisdictions around the metro. An
individual can type in an address, and learn about crimes in a certain radius.
"There is a lot of synergy that goes on with it. If they are doing crime reporting on
television, they will often refer to the Crime Tracker,"
explains Dyer.
For the tenth anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing, the Web producers put together
a major interactive package that featured video, audio, and photo galleries.
"The information is very rich and deep, and it stems from the strength of our
partnership," she says.
Two media outlets working together can create a stronger site than when working alone,
according to Dyer.
Her advice is to find a partner.
When the Oklahoman started its own individual Web site, it
was getting about six million page views a month. 9online.com was pulling two million a
month.
"The first month we combined we had 12 million page views. Now we are up to about 21
million page views a month and more than a half-million unique users. It's a big
footprint," she says.
"We are expanding the reach for our advertisers, and we are reaching audiences that
neither the newspaper nor television station was tapping. The three of us together are a
force to be reckoned with," she adds.
Return to top of page.
http://www.channel3000.com
Offer a personal connection to a story
WISC-TV, Madison
The site won primarily for a project they did covering hometown
troops in Iraq.
Anchor/reporter John Karcher went to Baghdad to report on a local military unit involved
in training the Iraqi military police.
"John kept an online journal from the war zone, which he updated several times a day.
He also held an online forum," says Molly Thompson, Managing Editor of Channel3000.
"The soldiers logged onto Channel3000 and talked to their families. We could all
watch that and see people connect through the Web site," she says.
The presentation was multi-faceted, taking full advantage of the online options, but
Thompson says it was not a difficult project to do.
"Internet connections were slow, but John was able to e-mail us material and post
things. He took lots of digital pictures, so we did a lot of slide shows. We tried to use
every multi-media tool we have. We had a chat prior to and after his trip," she says.
Viewers could ask Karcher to go meet certain people or check out
something.
"When he came back, they asked him what it was really like over there," she
says.
The crew shot packages to run on air when they returned.
The online component offered viewers a personal connection to the story, while promoting
the on air pieces yet to come.
"We were hearing about training the military police and how people were being bombed
while they were standing in line. John got the personal side from the Iraqis who were
being trained. They said they really wanted to do this job in order to promote democracy.
We got to know the Iraqi people and the children," she says.
Karcher was able to tell the story of the Iraqis trying to take control of their own
country, and show the danger for them.
People don't know what to believe about Iraq, because they hear what they call 'the
liberal media,' and then they hear from people who are promoting the war. In this case,
people feel like they know John, and his read on the situation was a little more
believable," she says.
Thompson believes some stations are missing the full potential
of their Web sites. She feels some are still operating in the
"shovelware" mode --- taking scripts and shoveling them online.
"What we really believe is the future is offering more information online ---
offering different information online, and responding to what viewers want. That means
more depth and more perspective," she says.
The Baghdad online journal added a personal aspect to the coverage, and the forum allowed
for interaction.
"People want to get involved, and this gave them a vehicle to do that," she
adds.
Return to top of page.
http://www.nbc10.com
Station's past highlights available online
The Web is the perfect place to put video that enables viewers
to revisit hometown shows and personalities from their pasts.
The WCAU Video Vault, a section devoted to historic news broadcasts, was an award-winning
submission to the RTNDA competition.
A key segment was devoted to the station's original news anchor. John Facenda was highly
respected and popular. He was also the voice of NFL Films for more than two decades. Some
fans described him as sounding like "the voice of God."
"We did field research and located a lot of the lost video of him that hadn't been
seen on TV in 40 or 50 years," says Scott Bomboy, Managing Editor of the site.
Included were newscasts and a 1961 documentary on the traffic problems in the Philadelphia
area.
"We restored the film, put it together and cleaned it up, and showed the entire
program on the Web. The station used part of that in sweeps on TV," he adds.
Two hours of Facenda films were located, restored and put online. Next, the staffers
began looking for films of their other celebrities.
"We did an historical retrospective on the station and put up all the video that
hadn't been seen in four decades. We reached out to the community, and got back video that
we had basically thrown out. The newsroom took highlights and put on a two-part series in
November," he adds.
They also found footage of Edward R. Murrow at the Philadelphia Zoo.
"When he was doing See It Now, he was also the director of educational programming
for CBS. No one had seen this since the early 50s," says Bomboy.
There have been several problems associated with restoring the
old video.
"It's hard to find a two-inch tape machine or a 16 mm projector to look at it,"
he explains.
They also found a lost film from 1963 that had been transferred to two-inch tape.
"It was just two days after Kennedy died, and they had a big memorial service in
Philadelphia with the governor and the senators. It is an hour of live from 1963. You can
see how they had to struggle to do remote shots with three cameras live," he adds.
The twentieth anniversary of the Philadelphia police confrontation with the radical
group MOVE is approaching. Excerpts of the station's duPont-winning coverage will be
placed online.
Throughout the year more video that has been restored will be added to the Vault.
"People who have lived in the community a long time enjoy seeing the old faces and
hearing the old voices. It helps re-establish your brand in the marketplace," he
adds.
"It is worth it for other broadcasters to go through their film libraries to see what
they have. The Web is great, because it is a low-cost way to put the video out there, so
you are not taking up bandwidth on TV," he says.
Return to top of page.
Fee-Based Web Sites Are Possible
There is so much free information online that media companies have found it difficult
to create services that significant numbers of people will pay for. However, there have
been successes, such as several directed to hometown football fans. Their managers shared
their insights with us.
See: The Rundown 2003, p.249
or subscribers can access it online at tvrundown.com/archives/0333.htm .
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