Since printed media ceased to be the center of gravity for the news in order to start sharing that hegemonic role with their digital platforms, the work rhythms of the traditional editorial board have been modified to be able to respond to the newer information strategies of multimedia.
Now, the news searches for both platforms are planned in parallel on the basis of three different times: the short, medium and long terms, distributing the responsibilities among the editors according to the bets agreed upon at the first morning meeting of editors and reporters.
The short-term applies to searches and news publications of the first hours in the digital; the medium-term to the news that the printed version will provide the very next day, with the greatest number of elements and styles of the most important stories and, in the long-term, the works planned for research series, reports and other special content, always exclusive, for the future.
Unlike the traditional model already over, when the editors assigned to specific entities (such as ministries, congress, courts and police, etc) went directly to their “sources” to collect the news, the media of today are unmarked from that very routine to not depend on external agendas.
Hence, instead of each going out for sources, the redactors participate together with editors in every morning meeting to discuss and decide on the most appropriate type of searches.
The first exercise that takes place in those meetings is the reviewing of the list of that showcases the most read news on both platforms (printed and digital), which may be the ones that are happening since earlier that same day, or news that have been given a follow-up and new angles, or those special contents exclusive to the newspapers or the digital version.
It’s a kind of temperature-taking of the readers’ preferences, which tell us what kind of data attracts the most interest and what else can we offer to complete the story.
With that horizon, that we draw for all three rhythms, the teams begin to work, to transmit, to look for additional data to contextualize an event, so that digital users are as aware as possible of what’s going on. And later in the day, you can already have an idea of which are the most interesting or awakening issues. And on the basis of that choice, enters the phase of deciding the contents of tomorrow’s newspapers.
In this combination of timing or rhythms, the effect of interactive journalism is taken into account, through which the reactions, ideas, leveling of follow-up of a hooking news item can be measured, and this wealth of data helps the planners of the papers to be more assertive in their “day-after” bets.
No longer we simply settle for the broadcasts without knowing the repercussions amongst the readers. It’s necessary to be on the march and beat of the news, feed the most relevant social media sites with audiovisual content, be that videos or animated graphics, while interacting with users. This special contact with the audience, determining their likes or dislikes, is essential.
From this dynamic, which is similar to adding together the best quality ingredients to make an exquisite gastronomic dish, the commitment of the “day-after” printed model is taking shape, procuring a life of its own on the basis of refined, deep, well contextualized and enriched content, avoiding the prompt expiration that today’s news is easily identified with.
This is, broadly speaking, the new daily routine that multimedia are assuming to be closer to their readers or users, guaranteeing them quality, reliable and plural journalism.
– Translated from Spanish by Randy Rodriguez.
Director's Thoughts 