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| Image from alphr.com |
So, it was a weekend filled with entertainment. It started by watching the latest Fifty Shades of Grey film (please don't judge) and ended with the 59th Grammy Awards. That many musicians, celebrities and handcuffs in one weekend was sure to get my brain fired up.
It's the start
of a new week and time to think again about the wonderful, yet evolving, world of online
journalism.
The way we consume news
is changing. Last week, this blog touched on the slow departure from the
traditional evening news, for example. Smartphones and tablets are replacing
the television as the primary news source. The news media is quickly following
this consumer trend. In fact, they are also following the consumers themselves.
Let’s talk metrics for
a bit. Tracking how news is now consumed, who is consuming it and how actively
they do it is what metrics are all about. In the race to engage the public, understanding the psychology of the news consumer is crucial.
In this regard, online news services could learn a thing or two from the latest Fifty Shades movies. Before
you laugh, give this analogy a chance.
The Fifty Shades films have been far from critically-acclaimed. So why did people pay hard earned money to
see such a badly reviewed film? They did it because the film appealed to them.
It found its audience and tapped into something that resonated with it. The results were profitable.
This is precisely what metrics do and why media sources are paying a lot of attention to them. The news can now be tailored to meet the needs of the public and its all done in attempts to turn them into loyal followers. The sites we visit, the stories we spend the most time reading and so on can be tracked and used to create news that is competitive and captivating. After all, the bigger the audience, the bigger the profits.
Big Brother is watching us but is it necessarily a bad thing?
Lets think about the Grammy Awards. The last few years have seen the ratings for this show plummet. This year, some major recording artists didn't even bother attending. Some say the show is out of touch with the public and what they want from the show. The result is evident in the viewership. If only the show producers could tap into what the viewers actually wanted. See where I'm going with this?
So, if a news site knows what the public wants and relates to, then it can offer just that. It could result in a greater engagement with the public. Then again, it could mean less quality news and more adorable kitten and puppy videos. The pressure is on then for editors to ensure a balance with what the public 'wants' and what it 'needs'.
What do you think?
Big Brother is watching us but is it necessarily a bad thing?
Lets think about the Grammy Awards. The last few years have seen the ratings for this show plummet. This year, some major recording artists didn't even bother attending. Some say the show is out of touch with the public and what they want from the show. The result is evident in the viewership. If only the show producers could tap into what the viewers actually wanted. See where I'm going with this?
So, if a news site knows what the public wants and relates to, then it can offer just that. It could result in a greater engagement with the public. Then again, it could mean less quality news and more adorable kitten and puppy videos. The pressure is on then for editors to ensure a balance with what the public 'wants' and what it 'needs'.
What do you think?
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