Printed Matters

I became interested in newspaper websites somewhat by accident. I developed websites and designed databases for a while before I went to work for a newspaper company. (I explain the transition a bit more on my About page.)

Now, I want to play more of a role in newspaper companies than I have so far. So I went back to school to study journalism. I’m beefing up my editorial skills because most of the jobs out on JeffGaulin.com say I need it.

This could be my mistake. I want to lead the charge on a newspaper’s website, and all the jobs that let me do that have titles like Web Editor, Online Editor, Online Manager, and so on. And they all require editorial experience. Not so much web design or web programming or understanding web technology or anything like that.

It seems like a disconnect. Why would a news company looking for people to help with their online efforts – and dare I say it, they all need those people – not want staffers with keen insight into search engines, databases, mash-ups, AJAX, usability and information architecture? Why would they not demand people that understand how the web works?

My favourite example is elections coverage. The web editor might get his staff to write up some summaries of candidates: their platforms, their parties, their party platforms, their ridings (or wards), their histories. Then he’ll throw it up in the traditional way, as stories, possibly linked to one another in a coherent way, but probably not.

But there’s so much more that could be done. Graphics people could make charts and maps. There might be good photos in archives that could be turned into slideshows, there could be sound bites and video clips. There could be forums online where candidates or the election in general are being discussed, and they could be pulled into the mix. There could be informal polls, reader comments and letters to the editor that could help further the conversation.

As the election nears, there are stories rolling in about conferences and debates and events and scandals. The candidate appears at this business opening, he debates at that town hall, he makes a trip over there to drum up support. Those stories could be tied in to the platform.

Then the results on election night need to be covered.

All of this begs for a wonderful platform to present election coverage. But the typical web editor doesn’t know what the possibilities are, has no clue that databases make linking this stuff up quite easy, that maps and charts can be generated on the fly, that related stories can be brought into the mix by keywords.

And the IT guys have no idea what sorts of information can be brought in, what the reporters could be sent out to gather, no sense of editorial balance and fairness. At least, not necessarily.

So you’d think news companies would be looking for people to bridge these gaps.

Recently, the director from a major online news outlet based in Toronto came to our journalism class to give a talk. He was talking about how they use heat maps from their hits analysis tools to decide whether a story should be higher on the page or the headline should be changed. It seemed like the type of outfit I eventually wanted to work for.

He also talked about the type of people they are looking for: people that can write, that can do video and sound, that are comfortable on the web.

Shortly after the talk, I sent him an email with my resume and a cover letter asking him for a job. Based on my resume, mostly technical, he shunted me over to their IT department. I told them I didn’t want to work in IT, that I wanted to work on the editorial side. No dice: if they wanted me at all, they wanted me on the IT side.

I guess it’s the way companies have traditionally been set up, with IT in their bubble over here, and editorial in their bubble over there. But I think companies would do well to reorganize a little, and have people that can bridge that gap.

Last fall I was at a seminar given to Metroland editors by Rob Curley, the epitomal gap-bridger of Lawrence Journal-World and now Washington Post fame. He told incredible success stories about the things he’s done with newspaper websites during his career in the U.S.

He also talks about the perfect online editor and lists these qualities:

• knows when to break a story early online
• knows what extras to throw in
• can write their asses off
• knows how hard something is to program
• understands alternate delivery methods
• can jump in and do it, whether it’s databases, video, podcasts, etc.
• knows how to webify a story

Getting pretty close here to someone who can bridge the gaps: can write like crazy and can jump in and do databases.

He also describes the dream team for the online department: a ‘real’ online editor, like the one described above; at least one dedicated programmer for news; a designer/Flash animator; and interns.

That’s the kind of team I want to be on and I guess I’m aiming to be the editor of it. But does such a team exist yet, despite Curley’s exhortations? Am I training for a role that doesn’t exist…yet?

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