TAKEAWAY: Breaking news represents one of the greatest challenges for printed newspaper editors: how can the headline make a dated story fresh?
It’s another one of those breaking news that one hears about via a mobile platform: I was in the midst of conducting a workshop for The Citizen in Johannesburg, South Africa, Monday when my iPhone indiscreetly beeped the news that former UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher had died at 87.
Less than a month ago it was a similar inappropriately timed beep when the Pope Francis news was announced.
Immediately editors turn their attention to the breaking news at hand, and how to cover it. For those responsible for print editions, the process begins: how to make this important news not seem old 18 hours later, or how to write a second day headline on the first day that enhances and inspires and not one that repeats the obvious.
I will be on the lookout today for how those printed front pages remind—that’s the important word here—the world that Thatcher has died.
Three that got it right
By not using a headline, but, instead, a quote that says it all, The Guardian made us want to read
For The Independent a front page without headline and an intro that resembles more that of a book or magazine piece treatment
The Times opted for a double page cover, with photo and no headline at all: great impact and symbolic photo of Thatcher’s visit to Moscow and a wave of the hand
Ooooppppps for The Times (of London)
Walter Buchignani, of The Montreal Gazette, is a keen observer of the digital condition. Especially on a day like Monday, when news of Margaret Thatcher’s death broke, he points out how The New York Times and Germany’s Die Welt led with the news in their online editions, but, alas, not The Times of London. It was all happening at exactly 9 a.m. EST.
Walter’s email begged the question:
Which is the British paper again?
I am sure someone at the Times had some explaining to do.
Of special interest
The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age mobile audiences soar
http://panpa.org.au/2013/04/05/the-sydney-morning-herald-and-the-age-mobile-audiences-soar/
First paragraph:
The mobile sites of The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald have more than 400,000 daily users, according to Fairfax Metro Media’s February audience report released yesterday.
How do your daily budgets reflect multi-platform planning needs?
Highlight:
Steve Buttry’s suggestions for a Digital First news budget are a must read. A couple of particularly useful ones here:
Visual. What are plans visual content such as breaking photos for social media and web, video, photo galleries, multimedia, etc.? If not clear from staffing, this column might identify who is providing visual content. Another approach would be separate columns for photo (could be multiple columns, perhaps for breaking photo for social/web, photo gallery), video and multimedia.
Visual social. Mention plans for sharing photos and videos via Twitter, Facebook, G+, Tout, Pinterest, Instagram, Tumblr, Flickr and/or YouTube.
Where’s Mario until April 28, 2013?
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