J O U R 3340 Sept 22 Online Journalism

University of North Texas Department of Journalism Online Journalism 3340 Sept. 22, 2009 Teens & News/ Types of Convergence

Today’s class
Website of the Day
Cool online tool of the day
Teens & News
Types of convergence
Martin Jones, president of Martin Jones Films

Lessons about Young Audiences
Study conducted by NAA/Media Management Center@ Northwestern University
“ Teens Know what they want from online news: Do You”
How online news is just not connecting
Interviewed 96 young people, ages 13 -18 in six cities: Denver, Fresno, cA, Springfield, ILL; Philadelphia, Fort Lauderdale, Orangeburg, SC
Online pre-work and 90-minute focus groups, teens shown prototypes

Ten Key Lessons
Don’t overload them.
Create home pages that satisfy.
Entice them to keep reading.
Summarize stories on the home page.
Include visuals with anything that matters
Convey what’s important with a clear visual hierarchy.
Beware of too much scrolling and clicking.
Provide background, explanation and context.
Provide background, explanation and context.
Break up information into manageable chunks.
Get rid of clutter.

Don’t overload them
Reduce volume of information on each page
Fewer stories, words, photos
More space highlighting stories, photos

Prototype Homepage

Create home pages that satisfy.
Give them them the news – with limited or no clicking
Brief, understandable overview
Reports like TV and radio

Entice them to keep reading
Eye-catching layout/design
Why should they care? Don’t tease
Use photos to engage
Make it shout out, “Interest me, please!”

Summarize stories on home page
Gives gist of stories without clicking on them
Provides info on what to expect
One sentence per story
Long summaries = tune out

Include visuals
Photos & graphics a must
Home page and story-level pages with multiple photos a huge plus
Use visuals to convey information
Avoid clutter

Convey what’s important with a clear hierarchy
Critically think of all element: story, photos, graphics to grab the reader
Too complex, you lose them
Too simple, you lose them

Beware of too much scrolling & clicking
Teens want stories that engage
Use links wisely
Integrate images/slideshows that enhance the experience, knowledge

Provide background, explanation and content
If a teen clicks, you’ve hooked them – but you’ve got to keep them
Provide valuable information
Combine the “news”, background and explanatory elements

Break up information into chunks
Uninterrupted text is a non-starter
“ Smaller, bite sized chunks”
Clear headlines, subheads and photos
Graphics, photo galleries, videos and pulled quotes

Get rid of the clutter
Don’t randomly fill open spaces
Be smart
Ask yourself: What will add to the depth, richness, interactivity
Ask yourself: How can I keep the reader’s interest, and have them recommend it to someone else

J O U R 3340 Sept 22 Online Journalism

by Neil Foote on Oct 09, 2009

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J O U R 3340 Sept 22 Online Journalism — Presentation Transcript