Technology and Emerging Platforms

Key points:

  • Facebook is the most popular social network—for work and personal reasons

  • Nearly 85 percent of respondents noted that their newspaper produces video reports, and over two-thirds (67 percent) use live video services like Facebook Live and Periscope

  • Journalists want to know more about video reporting, live video, and podcasts, while they’re less interested in emerging formats like augmented, virtual reality (AR/VR), and chat apps

  • Just under a third of our sample enjoyed formal training opportunities such as attendance at conferences

  • The majority of journalists learn about market developments and new tools through online articles and by training themselves

  • 70 percent of newsrooms in our survey use some sort of metrics tools/software

    We know that journalists increasingly use a variety of digital tools to support their profession.25 Although some small-market newspapers were initially slow to transition to digital,26 our survey showed a clear desire among many local journalists to learn about and embrace many of the latest technological opportunities.

    Digital tools can create new ways of working (for example, the use of Slack as an email replacement), while the emergence of platforms such as Live Video can enable reporters to tell stories and communicate with their audiences in new and engaging ways.

    Just because local newspapers have smaller newsrooms than their metro and national peers does not mean they are devoid of innovation and experimentation. Many local titles are exploring digital tools, and doing so with fewer personnel than their larger counterparts.

    However, the deployment of new digital technologies can be time-consuming, and in resource-challenged environments journalists may not have the hours to add this to their already-busy journalistic plate.

    Small-market newspapers are actively embracing video and live video

    We asked respondents to tell us about some of the emerging communication forms they are using. This included use of popular digital tools and platforms such as video reporting (used by 84 percent of respondents), live video (67 percent), and podcasting (25 percent).

    In our sample, small-market, local newspapers were less likely to use chat apps (5 percent), augmented reality (0 percent),27 28 and virtual reality (5 percent)29 30 31—although we know from our wider research that these tools are being used by different newspapers. The Herald and News in Klamath Falls, Oregon, for example, has produced augmented reality (often referred to as AR, for short) content on a regular basis since 2015.32 AR stories ranged from enhanced baseball cards for the Little League World Series to a tour of the Klamath Falls Restoration Celebration.

Do you use any of the following at your publication? Percent (%) Count
Video Reporting 84.38 162
Live video (e.g. Facebook Live, Periscope) 67.19 129
Podcasts 25.00 48
Chat apps (e.g. WhatsApp, Kik) 5.21 10
Augmented reality 84.38 162
Virtual reality 4.69 9

Social media usage is well established, with personal accounts primarily used for non-work purposes

Not surprisingly, Facebook was the most popular social network for personal use. Only 66 respondents said they used their personal Facebook account “primarily” for work, whereas 201 predominantly use their personal account for non-work purposes.

A similar number, 199 respondents, have the ability to access their organization’s Facebook account. Just behind this, 145 participants told us that they had access to their organization’s Twitter account.

When looking at slightly newer social networks, the personal accounts of journalists on Instagram and Snapchat are overwhelmingly used for non-work purposes. Only five respondents told us their personal Snapchat accounts were primarily used for work. In contrast, 73 respondents said their personal Snapchat accounts were typically used for activity unrelated to their day jobs.

Channel Personal (not work) Personal (for work) Organization account Total
Facebook 201 66 199 285
Twitter 104 110 145 254
Instagram 128 13 46 162
Snapchat 73 5 9 83
YouTube 68 7 63 129
Tumblr 28 4 5 36
Slack 7 17 27 46
Other 5 4 7 11

Local journalists want to know more about video and podcasting

A sizable number of respondents told us that they were eager to learn more about video reporting, live video, and podcasts. Interest in emerging platforms such as chat apps, augmented reality, and virtual reality, however, garnered much lower levels of interest.

How interested are you in each of the following? 1 2 3 4 5 Total
Video reporting 30 35 59 82 95 301
Live video 38 32 51 88 90 299
Podcasts 52 45 52 54 80 283
Chat apps 104 59 66 19 24 272
Augmented reality 127 55 37 25 31 275
Virtual reality 122 53 36 29 39 279

Authors’ commentary: newer technologies still need to prove themselves

These findings are, perhaps, not surprising given the infancy of some of these new technologies. Tools such as chat apps and AR/VR are still finding their feet with journalists and audiences alike.

Moreover, fundamental questions about whether these platforms—especially augmented and virtual reality—can be adequately monetized are still being debated.33 There is also the wider question of the accessibility and popularity of these platforms with users.34

Given this, and the fact that small-market newsrooms cannot do everything, 35 local titles need to use their resources wisely. It’s somewhat inevitable, therefore, that their focus will often gravitate toward more established digital formats.

Mainstream media platforms are also likely to be better understood—and used—by the older demographic that tends to consume local news. However, cutting-edge digital platforms may help to engage a younger audience.36

As one respondent explained:

I think a lot of small newspapers, along with newspapers of any size, struggle to reach younger audiences. Being 21 years old, I can see that newspapers struggle to reach my generation and those younger. I think we have to come up with unique and innovative ideas to keep them engaged.

Although the empirical research on this issue currently remains unconvincing,37 levels of interest within local newsrooms in these nascent digital tools and technologies may change over time. We believe that this is a space worth watching.

Trade press and self-learning are key for developingdigital knowledge

Staff at small-market newspapers often needs to be resourceful in learning about industry developments and new digital tools.

According to our respondents, significant numbers of local journalists turn to articles published by the Niemen Journalism Lab,38 Poynter,39 MediaShift40 (80 percent), and/or teach themselves (75 percent) about new tools and technologies relevant to their work. Preference for these learning methods ranked far ahead of attending conferences (38 percent) or training courses (27 percent).


Image 7: How Local Journalists Learn About Emerging Developments

Metrics tools are becoming established tools insmall newsrooms

Our final technology-focused question explored the use of metrics in local newsrooms. Chartbeat, Google Analytics, and the American Press Institute’s Metrics for News program41 are just some of the tools which have helped to deepen our understanding of audience’s digital habits. We were curious to see if use of these technologies—and metrics more generally—had permeated local newsrooms.

More than two-thirds (70 percent) of respondents told us their organization—or they themselves—use performance metrics to measure audience engagement. This included use of specific metrics software, capturing social media likes/shares/follows, website unique visitors, and engagement time/time on page.

These efforts are often top-down, although individual reporters told us they do follow their social media likes/shares/follows. Based on our sample, at an individual level, these metrics are the ones journalists are most likely to pay attention to.


Image 8: Use of Metrics

Metrics are shaping storytelling at small-marketnewspapers

Of those organizations that make use of performance metrics, almost two-thirds (65 percent) said it influenced the way they produced a story “some of the time,” while 24 percent said it did “none of the time.”


Image 9: The Influence of Metrics on Storytelling and Reporting

Authors’ commentary: we want to know more about how metrics are used in smaller newsrooms

Performance metrics have become integral to editorial decisions across the industry in recent years.42 While some argue that metrics demonstrate the types of stories that readers read and want, perhaps making the news and information ecosystem more “democratic . . . where readers matter more than editors,” others worry about “a world where Kim Kardashian beats out more important subjects, like the Syrian conflict.”43

The fact is that metrics are here to stay. Their use across the spectrum of newspapers— from smaller titles, to major national and international outlets—means that discussions about the impact of metrics must be broadened to include stakeholders from across all tiers of the newspaper industry. Of these, the experience of smaller newsrooms is the area that is perhaps the least well understood, and thus worthy of further study.

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