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Nieman Reports Winter 2006 Issue Goodbye Gutenberg Converging on the Web Feeding the Web While Reporting the Story At The New York Times, multimedia storytelling is becoming more a part of the journalism and less of an afterthought. By Neil Chase A decade after newspapers began to publish online, there is still trepidation about technology among reporters and editors, columnists and photojournalists. Some reporters worry that they will look like traveling junk dealers as they try to gently approach reluctant sources in the field while juggling video cameras, audio recorders, notebooks and satellite phones. Yet fear is yielding to innovative thinking about how what we do online can enhance the quality of journalism. One example: Having to file midday updates for the Web, like radio or wire reporters already do, seems to conflict with the idea that a newspaper journalist spends the day doing the interviews and thinking through the analysis that form tomorrow's story. But many at The New York Times who have tried this new approach are finding it makes their work better, not worse. Experiencing the Change The transition to real-time journalism is easier for reporters who've done it before, like Micheline Maynard, our Detroit
"Now, because I'm going to be writing at least two versions, I have to be present tense and future tense in the way I handle a story," Maynard said. "So as I'm reading a release, or talking to sources, my questions aren't simply, 'What happened and what does this mean?' but 'What's going to happen as a result of this?'" Writing quickly for the Web, picking a lead, and then backing it up with a complete story filed to the paper's news desk causes Maynard to focus on what's most important and how she'll approach the rest of her reporting day. "The Web story is essentially the first effort," she said. "Then that helps me find the thread for the print story that will take it forward." Science writer Andrew C. Revkin agreed about the challenges of reporting for rolling deadlines. Not only do Times reporters file to the Continuous News Desk, but they also meet the European and Asian deadlines of the International Herald Tribune (IHT), which is owned by the Times. "Filing early for CND and the IHT can create issues, particularly when the news hasn't quite gelled," Revkin said. "But it always helps me focus my thoughts and provides at least a skeleton to build the final version of the story on." Revkin also enjoys taking direct questions from readers online, as he did in October after he reported on sharp declines in spending on energy research by governments and corporations. From such exchanges he can learn the names of new sources and get ideas for follow-up stories while he helps readers to better understand the news. And there's another advantage: space. "The best thing about the recent energy-climate conversation was that it gave me an opportunity to get elements that didn't fit in my energy challenge story into the paper's online side," Revkin said. "In quite a few of the 60-plus back-and-forths with reader/commentators, I actually was able to slip in quotes and other context that had to be cut from the print story." The additional space available online enables new approaches to journalism:
Revkin's involvement with "Times Topics"—Web pages dedicated to in-depth examinations of specific topics—illustrates the long-term value of publishing online.
How to Get Multimedia Stories Online Whether it's filing quickly for the Web, recording video or audio, blogging, or just thinking smartly about the way a story will appear both in print and online, one strategy has worked well so far at the Times: letting journalists decide what's comfortable for them. Rather than forcing new ideas on people, Web and video producers at the Times make equipment and training available and invite participation. Some of the new things reporters are often asked to do take only a small amount of time:
Another successful strategy: Play to your strengths. After 25 years of reporting on the U.S. Supreme Court and a Pulitzer Prize for Beat Reporting, Linda Greenhouse was clearly the reporter to write the obituary of Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist when he died last year. But she also spent a significant amount of time on something new—a long-form video obituary.
Reporters and editors who think about material they can obtain to enhance the telling of their story—audio, video, CDs containing data, Web sites—from the beginning of an assignment often end up with compelling online packages. Piecing such packages together after reporting has taken place is more difficult, and the resulting product can be less rewarding. Economics columnist David Leonhardt uses online components to explain some of the complex issues he tackles. "Throughout the reporting for each week's column, I try to
Perhaps the biggest change in the newsroom since the advent of Web publishing is the response from readers. Reporters sometimes have the joy of watching their story climb toward the top of the "most e-mailed articles" list. Or they will respond to a few reader questions and hear from dozens more. "It's common for subsequent reader responses to cite earlier ones, suggesting that the writer read both the column and the replies," Leonhardt said. Interacting with readers and doing the extra work required for blogs and other new forms of journalism does take additional time, and editors are working closely with reporters to manage those demands. Sometimes it means a change of assignments or dropping something else to make room in the schedule. Sometimes it means sneaking in bits of online work whenever there's time. But the limited number of hours in the day mandates smart time management as the demands of online journalism continue to grow. Multimedia note-taking can create advantages for reporters. "When I'm doing field reporting and shoot pictures or video," Revkin said, "while it can be a pain, it can also help the final written product—particularly when I'm in circumstances that prevent a lot of note-taking, as was the case when I was on a bobbing fishing boat with Carl Safina last summer, and in the Arctic. The images and video then provide detail—What color was that coat?—and a record of conversations that I can review later, when conditions allow." While helping Revkin to refresh his memory, this valuable trove of sounds and images—with the Web producer's assistance—will bring his story alive online. Neil Chase is editor of the Continuous News Desk at The New York Times. Table of contents Printer-friendly format |
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