8. 8
Boston Marathon example
First bomb went
off
1-2 min:
Eyewitness
Accounts on SM
5 minutes:
Journalists
retweet/request
interviews
6 minutes:
Reuters reports
first story
10-plus minutes:
Broadcast reports
9. 9
Statistics are showing the news cycle is following
the Boston Marathon example, although the
timeline isn’t always that accelerated.
12. 12
Experts on the changing news cycle
“Twitter breaks the news almost every time and indicates the angle of the
traditional media coverage that follows.” - FleishmanHillard Blog
“Even though the mainstream news industry might be experiencing creative
destruction, demand for good storytelling from trustworthy news sources that
enrich the public discourse isn’t going away either.” - NiemanLab.org
“At its most basic level, news is a function of distribution -– news organizations
(or members of the public) create stories to pass on a piece of information to
readers, viewers, or listeners. A good story, however, does more than inform or
amplify. It adds value to the topic.” - The American Press Institute
15. 15
Despite changes in the news cycle,
reporters are still finding stories
through five primary ways
16. 16
Five Ways a Story Begins
1. Assigned by an editor
2. Current events/Breaking news
3. Original stories
4. Expand on stories in news
5. Talk to people
17. 17
Story Origin Type Opportunities
Current events Be proactive in telling them about new events
Anticipate current events
Original stories Know an industry inside and out (like a beat reporter)
Help identify an emerging trend with client data
Help identify an emerging trend with client anecdotes
Expand on stories
in news
Newsjacking
Offer new perspective
Offer analysis and context
Talk to People Talk to our own clients
Talk to influencers for our clients
Talk to our clients’ customers
Social listening/engaging
Assigned by editor Find experts to help them craft a specific story
Help our journalists go above & beyond
Understand WHY a story has been assigned
19. 19
We have opportunities for our clients to interject
during news-gathering process
Source: NiemanLab.org
20. 20
3. Applying these Lessons
• How can we identify story trends early and often?
• What parts of the news cycle make sense for our clients?
• How can we help our journalists ID stories in the following
categories:
• Talking to people
• Current events/expanding on events
• Editor assignment
• Original stories
• What areas are we doing well as a team?
• Where can we improve?
Print journalist responsible for breaking the story
TV journalist heightens the news story
People may talk about it for a little bit, but for the most part it dies after the news has aired
CNN Political Ticker tends to report a story/quote 19.5 hours before it reaches the peak; on average, they report 56 out of top 100 most important stories/quotes.
Huffington Post reports a story/quote 18 hours before it reaches the peak; and on average, they report 73 out of the top 100 most important news stories/quotes.
Drudge Retort reports stories 12 hours before they peak, and cover 32 out of the top 100 stories.
Here’s how the web editions of three major daily newspapers did:
StarTribune – 14 hours ahead of peak / 93 percent of top stories
Washington Post – 10.5 hours ahead / 78 percent
LA Times – 9 hours ahead / 72 percent
http://cindystephenson.wordpress.com/2009/07/17/news-cycle-dynamics/
