What Is News?
Earlier today, I sent the email below. I want to make it easy for everyone to share their thoughts with me and each other, so here it is:
Recently, we let you in on the fact that Imagination is redesigning our company Web site. Today, I need some specific feedback from you.
On the interim site, we shared our vision, our new marketing initiative you:i, and a video exploring our rationale for the redesign. We also posted a series of photos that begins to explain the process of how ideas are developed, tested and iterated.
Today, we invite you to come to see the sitemap and wireframes for the new site.
Here’s where I need you. I’m struggling with something that seems so basic, but here it is: What is “news?”
Every Web site seems to have a “news” section but is it important to have a designated repository for news? We feel pretty strongly that newsworthy items should be part and parcel of the rest of the content.
We will blog about changes and events and invite conversation, but should I still write press releases about new clients, new hires or new job openings?
What information do you consider news, and why? What’s important to you? What’s relevant? When would you like to see that information? Do you want to go to it, or do you want it to be delivered to you? How?
I’m all ears … reply to this email or write to me at michelle(at)imaginepub(dot)com and let me know what’s news to you!
Comment
Ashir said on April 03, 2008, 02:18 AM
I'd like to ask a different question: what created the news?
I think it was a desire to connect. To reach across time and [geographical] space and touch someone else. It was a truly human desire to say to another human: "Hey! You over there, look at what's happening all the way over here in Djibouti. Isn't that [insert preferred adjective here]? Doesn't that make a lousy day seem so [insert adjective]? What do you think?"
That act of sharing bonded us in a common purpose. We were all privy to the acts of horror and beauty. We were affected by this NEW information and experience.
So when someone asks me what "news" means, I can only think that it means sharing.
Of course that's a very simple definition to the industry that GATHERS the news, and DISTRIBUTES the news, and in some cases PACKAGES the news. They view the news as a commodity. A packet of information that can be DELIVERED.
Not all of them though. Some players in that industry understand that the DNA of the news, its value as an essentially human enterprise, should not be tampered with regardless of the delivery channel (a.k.a medium). It's about sharing a story, communicating a truth. They have relevant news on their sites, i.e they have information and shared experiences that compel people to visit them again and again.
Others, the ones who view news as a commodity, simply throw as much paint on the wall as they can, hoping to be relevant to every one. Their news lacks relevance, context but more importantly it lacks an identity, and therefore humanity. It's boiled down blah-blah. Filler.
Unfortunately 'trends' seem to drive behavior, and while that's not always a bad thing, it can lead to a certain amount of homogeneity. So my answer to the "should a Web site have news," is: do you have something to share? Do you have an experience or information that will compel people to ingest new information? If you don't all you have is news [the commodity] and people aren't going to hang around too long for that. But if you've got the good stuff, I think it's always relevant--maybe not to everyone, but certainly to the ones you want. The folks who want to be engaged in a process of give and take.
Ethan said on April 03, 2008, 03:11 PM
News is still information, just like any other piece of content. I agree with Ashir that relevance is paramount to what constitutes news. Regardless of medium, knowing what your audience wants is always going to give you the best results. And you can't be everything to everyone.
I don't think news always equals timeliness. Some bits of information will always be relevant no matter how long they linger.
From an information design perspective, news as a label doesn't really mean much. Would that be news about a company? About the industry? What's on the news? Site owners decide what is news and make it findable. That's the beauty of accessible media.
chavoen said on April 03, 2008, 05:23 PM
To add to the fray....from my perspective, News, or information, without CONTEXT has little, if any value. The context that informs the news, or the news that shapes the context must be part of the presentation in order for the news to be relevant and valuable.
And in the world we live in today, if it ain't relevant and valuable, I'm not interested.
--Laura
Chuck said on April 04, 2008, 08:45 PM
I agree with Laura, and I'll take her thought one step further: Context is what makes news and information ACTIONABLE. If a tree falls in the forest, that's news. But, if it fell because of some disease or insect infestation, then you need to take steps to protect the rest of the forest.
Chuck
chavoen said on April 05, 2008, 06:49 PM
I like that, Chuck. So what good is a press release or an announcement of a new client without context (and therefore relevance) which makes it actionable. So, press releases with comments? Or is that forcing the issue, skirting the problem.
My take on this conversation is that it must be about the Consumer of our site. Do we have media, etc., coming to our site looking for press releases? Are they a target audience for us, one that will support our site goals & objectives? If so, then they are a customer, and we need to present the information they seek.
Otherwise, tree, forest, boom.
--Laura
Chuck said on April 09, 2008, 09:19 PM
With apologies to Marshall McLuhan and his followers, "the media," collectively, is a conduit -- delivering news/information to their customers. In many cases, their customers will be our customers, too. So the message and context is the same. Circling back, to answer Michelle's original question -- What is news? -- we must consider what our clients and others want to know. The phrase that comes to mind is, "Solutions, not answers." Do people want to know when we get a new client? I suspect only if we provide the context of what we're doing to address the client's needs. Then others can/will act on that information.
dbarrick said on April 15, 2008, 03:01 AM
News is transient content, everyday ambience. What makes this content harmonious to the user? Isn't that the real question here? Engaging the user may provide the roadmap for relevant "news" however in this rapidly changing landscape we need to be adaptive and nimble to truly reach the intellectual/business requirements and objectives of each unique user/client.
Context
Con*text", v. t. To knit or bind together; to unite closely.
That which surrounds, and gives meaning to, something else.
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Rebecca said on April 02, 2008, 08:59 PM
News is one of those things that's expected on a site, I know what I'm going to get when I go there. As you say, news about new accounts, new hires, promotions, what have you. Which is good and bad. Good because I know what I'm looking for and where to find it. Bad because it never, ever surprises me. On the one hand you've made it easy for me, on the other, it's kind of boring. Do there need to be predicatable, sort of boring things on a site? Being surprised sounds really good but wouldn't it get kind of exhausting? If someone jumped out and yelled, "surprise!" every time I turned a corner, especially a nice familiar corner, I'd be pretty annoyed pretty fast.