#jpod: Lessons from the NY Times and Guardian in managing reader comments

The New York Times last week introduced a new category of “trusted commenter”, which it describes as an “invitation-only programme designed for our most valued commenters”.

In this podcast Journalism.co.uk technology correspondent Sarah Marshall speaks to Sasha Koren, deputy editor of interactive news technologies for social media and community at the New York Times; Meg Pickard, head of digital engagement for Guardian News and Media; and Tamara Littleton, CEO of eModeration, a social media management agency that handles outsourced commenting.

The #jpod looks at how the New York Times pre-moderates the majority of comments and how the Guardian post-moderates most of its comments. The podcast also has tips for community managers in encouraging debate, diffusing heated arguments and rewarding readers.

Podcast: Download

You can also read advice from Tamara Littleton in this guide on how to manage reader comments as a journalist.

You can hear future podcasts by signing up to the Journalism.co.uk iTunes podcast feed.

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#Tip of the day from Journalism.co.uk – follow our Twitter list of national journalists

If you want a rolling daily news list then follow the @journalismnews UK national newspaper journalists list.

Journalists regularly change roles so do let us know of any additions or amendments by tweeting us or emailing using the link below.

Tipster: Sarah Marshall

If you have a tip you would like to submit to us at Journalism.co.uk email us using this link– we will pay a fiver for the best ones published.

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#Tip of the day from Journalism.co.uk – try Google Correlate

The 10,000 Words blog has named Google Correlate as it’s tool of the day.

Correlate allows you to find search patterns. You can upload your own data, enter a search query or select a time frame and get back a list of queries that follows a similar pattern to your search. You can also download the search results as a CSV file.

The 10,000 Words post, which acts as a handy guide to Correlate, is at this link.

Tipster: Sarah Marshall

If you have a tip you would like to submit to us at Journalism.co.uk email us using this link– we will pay a fiver for the best ones published.

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Top 20 most clicked news stories on Facebook in 2011

Facebook has this afternoon released its own list of the top news stories of 2011.

Yesterday Journalism.co.uk published a list of top 10 Facebook stories. We looked at total numbers of shares, likes and comments (you can find the source data at this link)

Today’s list differs as it is based on the number of clicks each article received after being posted, liked or shared.

It is interesting to compare the “most clicked” and “most shared, liked and commented” lists. Note that recent stories such as the Sun’s “tatt-poo” story did not feature in yesterday’s list as it was published too recently to appear in the Searchmetrics data.

The number of clicks the Guardian has received has no doubt been influenced by its new Facebook app launched on 22 September. Last week Facebook reported the app was delivering an additional one million clicks a day for the Guardian.

Here is Facebook’s list of top news stories published by UK news outlets, which was released at the Le Web conference taking place in Paris.

1. BBC: The World at Seven Billion

2. The Sun: Tatt-poo for cheating

3. The Guardian: The shocking truth about the crackdown on Occupy

4. BBC: Amy Winehouse: Tributes paid to dead singer

5. BBC: Austrian driver allowed ‘pastafarian’ headgear photo

6. The Guardian: Charlie Sheen v Muammar Gaddafi: whose line is it
anyway?

7. The Guardian: The meaning of 9/11′s most controversial photo

8.  Daily Mail: Amy Winehouse, 27, found dead at her London flat
after suspected ‘drug overdose’

9. BBC: Drunk Swedish elk found in apple tree near Gothenburg

10. BBC: ‘Brinicle’ ice finger of death filmed in Antarctic

11.  Daily Mail: Robber who broke into hair salon is beaten by its black-belt owner and kept as a sex slave for three days… fed only Viagra

12. The Sun: Frankie Cocozza kicked off X Factor

13. BBC: Japan earthquake: Footage of moment tsunami hit

14. BBC: Osama Bin Laden, al-Qaeda leader, dead – Barack Obama

15. The Guardian: Osama bin Laden corpse photo is fake

16. BBC: Japan earthquake: Tsunami hits north-east

17.  BBC: Speed-of-light results under scrutiny at Cern

18. BBC: Arrest over video of ‘racist rant’ on Croydon to Wimbledon
tram

19. Daily Mail: Loyal to the end: Heart-breaking photo shows Navy SEAL’s devoted dog guarding his coffin

20. BBC: LIVE: Osama Bin Laden dead

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Top 10 Twitter news stories of 2011

After taking a look at the top 10 Facebook news stories of 2011 yesterday, today we are publishing a list of the year’s top Twitter stories.

This list is based on data from SEO and social data tool Searchmetrics.

A liveblog makes it in at number two, plus there are photo stories and a news game (see number four).

1. Independent: Why the Fukushima disaster is worse than Chernobyl = 83,529

2. BBC: LIVE: Osama Bin Laden dead = 77,853

3. Mail Online: The big pictures: The moment Japan’s cataclysmic tsunami engulfed a nation =  74,835

4. BBC: The world at seven billion = 73,783

5. BBC: Apple holding more cash than USA = 70,202

6. Guardian: Top 100 women = 48,250

7. BBC: Malawi row over whether new law bans farting = 38,861

8. Mail: Back from the dead: Astonishing pictures show how Japan is recovering just three months after tsunami = 31,750

9. BBC: Spelling mistakes ‘cost millions’ in lost online sales = 28,253

10. BBC: Sacrebleu! = 27,377

Data was gathered using Searchmetrics and downloaded for analysis on 6 December. The news outlets included were: BBC, Guardian, Telegraph, Independent, Mail Online, the Sun, the Mirror. You can see the downloaded Twitter data here.

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Media release: Reuters announces global extension of Journalism Trainee Program

Reuters announced today that it will be extending its Journalism Trainee Program outside the UK from 2012 and into New York and Asia.

According to a release the scheme, which offers nine-months of training, has been running for 50 years.

University graduates, working journalists and other professionals wanting to move into journalism can apply for the highly competitive program that involves hands-on training in the classroom and on the newsroom floor. Trainees who meet Reuters rigorous standards will be placed in staff jobs and assigned mentors to guide their careers at the company.

In a statement in the release editor-in-chief Stephen Adler, added that this year a total of 15 jobs were made available to trainees.

Active recruitment across universities and top journalism schools is underway to find exceptional talent committed to journalistic excellence. Applicants should exhibit a passion for news, a competitive instinct, and speak and write fluently in English.

Applications can be made online with a closing date of 31 December.

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Top 10 Facebook news stories of 2011

Facebook last week published a list of the most shared articles on Facebook in 2011. That list included only US publishers – so we decided to create a list of the most shared, liked and commented articles from UK news outlets.

This list is based on data from SEO and social data tool Searchmetrics.

As with the US list, stories range from hard news to quirky (or “cute”, as Facebook describes them). Interestingly, the two top stories are newsgames, where the reader is invited to participate using gaming mechanics. (It’s worth mentioning here that there will be a session on newsgames and gaming mechanics at our news:rewired conference for journalists, for which the agenda is here.) The list also includes online video (another news:rewired topic).

The top 10 most shared, commented and liked Facebook news articles of 2011:

1. BBC: The world at 7 billion = 339,149 (shares, comments and likes)

2. Guardian: Charlie Sheen v Muammar Gaddafi: whose line is it anyway? = 219,023

3. Mail Online: Amy Winehouse, 27, found dead at her London flat after suspected ‘drug overdose’ = 190,498

4. BBC: Austrian driver allowed ‘pastafarian’ headgear photo = 167,754

5. BBC: Japan earthquake: Tsunami hits north-east = 159,023

6. BBC: Breast milk ice cream goes on sale in Covent Garden = 149,509

7. BBC: Osama Bin Laden, al-Qaeda leader, dead – Barack Obama = 146,244

8. BBC: Drunk Swedish elk found in apple tree near Gothenburg = 146,182

9. Mail Online: Robber who broke into hair salon is beaten by its black-belt owner and kept as a sex slave for three days… fed only Viagra = 145,413

10. BBC: London rioters: ‘Showing the rich we do what we want’ = 131,839

Top 10 most shared news articles on Facebook in 2011

1. BBC: The world at 7 billion = 147,000

2. Guardian: Charlie Sheen v Muammar Gaddafi: whose line is it anyway? = 65,820

3. BBC: Japan earthquake: Tsunami hits north-east = 60,238

4. BBC: Austrian driver allowed ‘pastafarian’ headgear photo = 54,800

5. BBC: Drunk Swedish elk found in apple tree near Gothenburg = 44,700

6. BBC: Osama Bin Laden, al-Qaeda leader, dead – Barack Obama = 38,891

7. BBC: Speed-of-light results under scrutiny at Cern = 36,700

8. BBC: London rioters: ‘Showing the rich we do what we want’ = 36,500

9. Mail Online: Meet the blind Great Dane in need of a home (but you’ll need to make space for HER huge guide dog) = 34,600

10. BBC: Amy Winehouse: Tributes paid to dead singer = 31,400

Top 10 most ‘liked’ articles on Facebook

1. BBC: The world at 7 billion = 75,619

2. Mail Online: The 9/11 rescue dogs: Portraits of the last surviving animals who scoured Ground Zero one decade on = 62,458

3. BBC: Austrian driver allowed ‘pastafarian’ headgear photo = 61,306

4. BBC: Drunk Swedish elk found in apple tree near Gothenburg = 51,618

5. BBC: Osama Bin Laden, al-Qaeda leader, dead – Barack Obama = 49,882

6. BBC: The world at 7 billion = 47,449

7. Mail Online – Beauty in every grain: For the first time remarkable photographs reveal hidden charms of ordinary SAND = 43,760

8. Mail Online: Robber who broke into hair salon is beaten by its black-belt owner and kept as a sex slave for three days… fed only Viagra = 42799

9. Mail Online: Cheeky monkey! Macaque borrows photographer’s camera to take hilarious self-portraits

10. The Sun: Frankie Cocozza 
kicked off X Factor

Top 10 most commented news articles on Facebook in 2011

1. Mail Online: Amy Winehouse, 27, found dead at her London flat after suspected ‘drug overdose’ = 127,396

2. BBC: The world at 7 billion = 116,530

3. BBC: Breast milk ice cream goes on sale in Covent Garden = 108,258

4. Guardian: Charlie Sheen v Muammar Gaddafi: whose line is it anyway? = 105,754

5. BBC: London rioters: ‘Showing the rich we do what we want’ = 73,350

6. BBC: Amy Winehouse: Tributes paid to dead singer = 72,313

7. Mail Online: Robber who broke into hair salon is beaten by its black-belt owner and kept as a sex slave for three days… fed only Viagra = 71,514

8. BBC: Japan earthquake: Tsunami hits north-east = 68,830

9. Independent: US preacher warns end of the world is nigh: 21 May, around 6pm, to be precise = 67,388

10. BBC: Speed-of-light results under scrutiny at Cern = 59,824

Data was gathered using Searchmetrics and downloaded for analysis on 6 December. The news outlets included were: BBC, Guardian, Telegraph, Independent, Mail Online, the Sun, the Mirror. You can see the downloaded Facebook data here.

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Five tips for writing an effective press release

A catchy headline and easy-to-read presentation is often the deciding factor in a press release being read and followed up by a journalist.

Here are five tips for grabbing a journalist’s attention:

1. Limit headlines to 65 characters

This excellent idea was proposed by Chris Lake from Econsultancy who proposed the 65 character rule for headlines for all news stories.

It makes sense if headlines are 65 characters or less for several reasons: for Google search, Google News and for Twitter.

You can read Lake’s full explanation on how to optimise headlines using the 65 character rule at this link.

2. Three reasons to present a story as a list

1. Lists also do well, particularly on social media.

2. They encourage clicks. For example, would you be more likely to be tempted to click on a headline that reads “10 technical Twitter tips for journalists” or “Journalists can set up RSS feeds for tweets”.

3. They are easy to scan and read when in a hurry

3. Use words like “how” and “why”

Writing a post for Poynter earlier this year, Matt Thompson provides 10 questions to help you write better headlines.

He makes some excellent points, including this piece of advice:

Could it benefit from one of these 10 words?

When I’m stuck on a headline, I often refer back to this list of words: Top, Why, How, Will, New, Secret, Future, Your, Best, Worst.

Each of them has different merits. Many of them reinforce the advice I offer above. “Why” and “how”, for example, help to frame the headline as explanation (“when” and “what” also work well for this). “Top”, “best” and “worst” are natural partners with a numbered headline. Some of them tap into universal desires: We all want access to “secret” knowledge, and we all want to know the “future”. Words like “your” help me to reframe wonky, technical headlines around what they might mean to the user.

4. Consider writing a “how to” guide

“How to” guides work well online. People often search for an answer to problem and the search engine returns a guide as a result.

For example: How to: write the perfect press release for journalists

5. Consider presenting your release as a Q&A

For example: Q&A: Audioboo founder on the riots, Libya and ‘friendly competitor’ SoundCloud or Q&A: MediaCooler, a platform for freelance journalists to upload and sell features

This helps journalists to scan information and jump to points they are interested in.

Advised reading: How to write headlines that work for SEO

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#Tip of the day from Journalism.co.uk – using spreadsheets for data stories

Poynter has a helpful lesson in Excel and other spreadsheet software for journalists dealing with data.

The post explains how to split names in a single column to two columns, for example.

Poynter’s post on how journalists can use Excel to organise data for stories is at this link.

There will be a workshop on data journalism – led by Simon Rogers, editor of the Guardian’s Datastore and Datablog – at Journalism.co.uk’s news:rewired – media in motion conference for journalists. The news:rewired agenda is at this link.

Tipster: Sarah Marshall

If you have a tip you would like to submit to us at Journalism.co.uk email us using this link– we will pay a fiver for the best ones published.

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App of the week for journalists – TinyVox, for recording and sharing audio notes

App of the week: TinyVox

Operating systems: Apple (iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad) and Android

Cost: £0.69 / £1.27

What is it and how is it of use to journalists? TinyVox allows you to record audio, add text and share the mp3 recording via email, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and SoundCloud.

Designed to look like a dictaphone, the app is a handy way for journalists to record interviews or memos and add associated written notes.

It is worth clicking the settings button and making recordings “high quality”, if you want broadcast-quality audio.

Audio is also posted online to a unique URL (the app should not be used for confidential recordings), which includes additional sharing options and the ability to embed the player within a post.

Ratings: Apple has not yet received enough reviews to rate the app.

Have you got a favourite app that you use as a journalist? Fill in this form to nominate an app for Journalism.co.uk’s app of the week for journalists.

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