Journalists need to love your newsroom
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A more diverse media landscape requires an entirely new approach newsrooms if you are to meet the time and resource demands of journalists.
In a recent survey we conducted of 100 high profile newsrooms worldwide, we unearthed a startling fact; not one of the newsrooms we reviewed is suited to how journalists and media work today.
What online newsrooms look like
From the media perspective, most online newsrooms look like (and I paraphrase high-profile journalists) "a place where brands put their old press releases". Most branded online newsrooms do not represent the dynamic and highly visual brands that are shown on branded websites. They look (and feel) like an afterthought. They feel like they are the product of a functionary operating from a windowless room, not the home of inspiring and compelling content for the public and media facing a brand's voice. If this is the attention brands are paying to their online newsrooms, it's stunning to think that these sites are generating any additional media coverage.
A life of online obscurity
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Almost all currently available newsroom solutions are ill fitted to meeting the demands of the modern media landscape. Lookatmedia™ provides a clear incentive for journalists and the media to tell your stories.
A life of online obscurity
Getty Images/iStockphoto
Almost all currently available newsroom solutions are ill fitted to meeting the demands of the modern media landscape. Lookatmedia™ provides a clear incentive for journalists and the media to tell your stories.
What online newsrooms should look like
The answer to what a branded online newsroom should look like lies in the name. Your branded should be as dynamic and visually compelling as the solutions offered by news media. Surveyed journalists have said that they use other online news sources for story ideas. Imagine how they must feel when they feel when they come from a dynamic media environment to the average high profile brand’s online newsroom. It’s not exactly an environment that will motivate them to tell your story.
Now imagine the same journalists arriving at a newsroom that’s even more dynamic and visually inspiring than an online newspaper or magazine. Think of how that may inspire them to create a feature on your latest news or back story.
Signs of life
Lookatmedia
Breathe life back into your newsroom by illustrating and punctuating news and stories with images and video from your Lookatmedia™ newsroom and Digital Asset Management solution.
Signs of life
Lookatmedia
Breathe life back into your newsroom by illustrating and punctuating news and stories with images and video from your Lookatmedia™ newsroom and Digital Asset Management solution.
Visual storytelling
All of the newsrooms we surveyed seemed to have overlooked one of the most important aspects of modern media. Visual content is the lede on every piece of online news coverage. Of all the newsrooms we surveyed, none created a synergy between illustrated content and written content that reflected the priorities of the media and how they work.
Recent surveys show that journalists will prioritise sharing a story with a compelling image almost as much as a trending storyline. By illustrating and punctuating your news, events, backstories and media releases with images and videos, you dramatically increase the newsworthiness of your stories.
The common language all journalists understand
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The most common and popular form of communication today is visual storytelling. The media knows this, which is why they now chose illustrated stories for publishing.
The common language all journalists understand
Getty Images/iStockphoto
The most common and popular form of communication today is visual storytelling. The media knows this, which is why they now chose illustrated stories for publishing.
24/7 news cycle
Journalists and the media work crazy hours. It's impossible (and improbable) to think that their deadlines will wait until your team gets back to them with just the right selection of images for their story. The reality is that if they cannot get access to all they need to discover, select, and illustrate their stories at any time of the day, they will simply move on to their next idea. By providing secure access to pre-approved image and video libraries that allow them to find the right visual content, in the right formats, your newsroom becomes a better fit and a place they will return to again and again.
Open all hours
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The media never sleeps. Journalists and producers need 24/7 secure access to the pre-approved digital assets they need to write and illustrate their stories, no matter what the channel.
Open all hours
Getty Images/iStockphoto
The media never sleeps. Journalists and producers need 24/7 secure access to the pre-approved digital assets they need to write and illustrate their stories, no matter what the channel.
Counting the beats
In a 2021 Muck Rack survey, journalists said that (on average) they covered 3 beats. The same survey in 2022 showed that the number had increased to 4. The right online newsroom would make discovery simpler and faster, with more journalists covering more beats. It would also use filters to allow even the one journalist covering multiple beats to find inspiring story ideas. The same should be true for events, images, and videos.
1,2,3,4
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With an average of 4 beats covered per journalist, they’re looking for story ideas all the time. Increase discoverability and media coverage by providing a newsroom that allows journalists to cover multiple beats in the one place.
1,2,3,4
Getty Images/iStockphoto
With an average of 4 beats covered per journalist, they’re looking for story ideas all the time. Increase discoverability and media coverage by providing a newsroom that allows journalists to cover multiple beats in the one place.
Branded online newsrooms that work
Legacy branded online newsrooms are based on website technology. Online newsroom solutions like Lookatmedia™ work more like the child of an online media source and a productivity solution, providing practical workflows that enhance the creativity of both PR professionals and (more importantly) the media. Lookatmedia™ newsrooms reflect the current media environment and provide your PR team with an opportunity to show you what they're capable of if given the opportunity. It's also an opportunity to bring your brands' news coverage out of a windowless room and into the sunlight.
