Print vs. Online vs. Social Media

Posted on by Cassidy Brandt
  • Print
    • Enticing layouts, especially for pages like Features. This could also potentially expand to other sections. A1/A3 can probably use a bit of re-vamp as well, considering the repetitive content
    • Better art overall.
      • More of our own photos, I realize the paper can become quite boring when it’s just a bunch of submitted photos. It’s so exciting to get great photos of our own (which I know should be the norm)
    • Simpler, easier to understand, more useful infographics/breakout boxes
    • Don’t fear white space, utilize it!
      • I’d like to explore different ways of going about this
    • Don’t be afraid to not use art, or not have a story attached to art. Let art stand alone, let the story stand alone. Break away from what we know.
  • Online
    • This could also be a good spot for memes, especially when the online articles are shared on socials
    • Good variety of text, photos, and combinations of the two
    • Constantly update these rather than just specific times of the week\
    • Interactive photos/articles
      • The early voting map could have been interactive, but I’m honestly unsure of how to approach this
  • Social Media
    • More interactive content
    • Polls that allow people to give their input
      • People mostly feel like their opinions are important and might want to vote on polls or give feedback when asked
    • Like we discussed in class, memes can be used for social
      • Considering the demographic of Gen Z, this could up our engagement a lot.
    • Photos or graphics specifically formatted for social
      • Get a person who is aware of how this works and who could export or reformat things to fit the square format of Instagram or the rectangular formats of Twitter or Facebook

Two assignments for Oct. 23

Posted on by Eric Meyer

Please write up two separate, persuasive proposals for how you and your fellow DI staff members might better:

  • Differentiate material intended for print vs. online vs. social media.
  • Train new staff members.

Try not to just parrot what the instructor said during class discussion Oct. 16. Free free to offer solutions other than those he provided. But in any case, make sure you document the reason how you believe the procedure you outline would improve current situations and write it enthusiastically and persuasively enough that it might get others in the newsroom to enthusiastically support your plan.

Post each of your two proposals separately in the Responses category.

In class this week, we’ll also be discussing these photographs:

And we’ll refer to these breakdowns:

Commodified

  • Similar material is available from multiple sources.
  • Stenographically merely recites what various sources say.
  • Deals with an expected topic.
  • An “eat your vegetables” story urging readers to participate in some action or become involved with some cause.
IMPLICATIONS
  • Short and to-the-point, with few wasted words.
  • Whoever posts it first and in the simplest, easiest to consume way earns the traffic.
  • Informal, conversational tone, possibly with an attitude.
  • Any event of interest to local audience, even if it’s not local.
  • Invite immediate comments, reactions and news tips.

Enterprise

  • Information is available only from this news organization.
  • Includes original investigation, data, inquiry or visualization.
  • Surprises the readers.
  • Doesn’t preach so much as informs of consequences and lets readers choose whether to care.
IMPLICATIONS
  • Multiple entry points add breadth to depth.
  • Reportage is comprehensive and reflective rather than instantaneous.
  • Professional polish visually and in writing.
  • All local, all the time; avoid items with just minimal local angles.
  • Don’t discourage interaction but make sure it’s thoughtful.

10/9 Critique

Posted on by Gabby Hajduk
  1. I would say the only story that could surprise someone is ‘Test return times down to eight hours’. This is an important story for students or staff getting tested on campus because a week ago it would take almost a day to get test results back. The other three stories, however, seem to be selected because of the topic they represent. 
  2. I think the protesting photo is the best visual on A1 because it shows human faces actually doing something. The testing photo isn’t bad, it’s just a little generic. Looking at the voting picture, I would think the story would be about voting in-person rather than mail-in The kingfisher picture is generic, but I’m not sure if anything different would’ve fit, maybe no picture?
  3. The lead story, the protest story, doesn’t really follow the proper lead story structure. The headline is a little bigger than the rest, but not by much and the headline doesn’t stand out, the picture does. It helps the picture is a good one, but the story itself really doesn’t stand out to me. I also don’t think this was the most surprising news story. The centerpiece package of this page is technically the lead story because of how large the picture is. 
  4. Between A2 and A3, I think the study abroad story could be more engaging than the kingfisher or mail-in voting story. It has a bigger immediate impact on students because many at least consider study abroad as an option. 
  5. I think a hidden gem was the Reddit story on A4. This type of story is really fun to read and a lot of students can relate to this type of light-hearted story. I also think it’s a good change of pace from all the negative coronavirus-related stories we have to produce. 
  6. I think the Block I story could’ve used another source like a student planning to attend the watch party. That would’ve provided a better human face to this story. 
  7. In Thursday’s paper, I think the group fitness story could’ve had more photos. It’s interesting to see how clubs like these are operating right now. 
  8. I think the main point of this infographic is clear. It’s a little difficult to read, but I don’t think it’s deceiving or spins the topic. 

Critique for 10/9

Posted on by Salem Isaf
  1. The only story that might be unexpected for readers would be the story about test times. This is information that can help form their decisions in their daily lives. I think the protest coverage is interesting (I’m biased) but the story about encouraging mail-in voting seems like the preachy problem we had last week.
  2. I really like the protest picture because it shows an actual action and lots of people in the midst of a protest. It also shows the location and an idea of the route that a march took through campus. For mail-in voting, the picture shows some of the precautions that citizens can avoid by mailing in their votes. The picture for the test time doesn’t offer much useful information. Infographic in Thursday’s paper seems interesting.
  3. It seems like Monday’s had two interesting visuals in the top, but the testing center photos don’t really grab my attention. Doesn’t seem like any of the articles is really the main, most important one, aside from the protest coverage but I’m not sure if that should be. For Thursday the false positive header grabs my attention the most.
  4. Jewish organizations opposing ISG is very interesting to me because there is conflict. Maybe it didn’t make front page because there wasn’t a visual for it? Food insecurity story in Thursday might be more important because it could help people out to see that.
  5. Posting a meme on the front page of the paper would definitely increase the “talk factor”. I’m curious as to the attribution for the picture. Unless Kenyon created it, shouldn’t it be attributed to the reddit account that posted it? I don’t know, just curious. Ballot box is also interesting and the image provides information.
  6. I think most of the stories within the inside pages could have benefitted a lot from human faces, especially the Halloween one. Halloween is all about festivities and people doing fun things, there should be more about people and less about city ordinance.
  7. Maybe photos of people working out inside the arc because it looks much different now with all of the restrictions. Also maybe get a photographer into some of the apartment gyms where people usually aren’t following the guidelines by wearing masks, wiping all the machines down and standing six feet apart.
  8. The graphs that appeared seem simple and easy to read for me. I like them, but I really don’t know much about them. Additionally, yeah the fully blocked out ballot box looks much better.