#Podcast: How news outlets are bringing content ‘to life’ with augmented reality

Image by Francis Storr on Flickr, showing Wikitude augmented reality browser. Some rights reserved.

A number of news outlets have this year launched projects centred on using augmented reality technology to bring content to life, from adding interactivity to magazine or newspaper editorial and advertising, to highlighting hyperlocal blog content to mobile users.

The podcast looks at a number of AR projects from a hyperlocal level through to national media in the UK and US. We speak to:

• Mark Challinor, director of mobile platforms, Telegraph Media Group
• Emily Smith, senior vice president of digital, LA Times
• Sarah Hartley, managing director, Talk About Local
• Hugh Mark, head of ad innovation, The Times

Podcast: Download

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

Related reading/information:

• Article by the LA Times: L.A. Times to link Olympics print coverage to Web content via app
• Journalism.co.uk report: Talk About Local takes hyperlocal content to augmented reality
• Blog post by Sarah Hartley: Augmented Reality as a tool for journalism
• IJNet post: Five augmented reality apps for reporters abroad
• Editors Weblog post: News publishers innovate with augmented reality
• Times announcement: Times Magazine augmented reality special

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#Tip of the day for journalists: How news outlets can use Instagram

On its Tumblr Instagram has produced a list of three ways news outlets can use Instagram to curate, crowdsource and “capture users’ attention”. The post also usefully links to real-life examples by news outlets which demonstrate the different suggestions made by Instagram.

See the full post.

Earlier this month Journalism.co.uk reported on how the Boston Globe is using an Instagram wall to feeds its journalism. The wall displays all Instagram pictures posted in the local area as part of a partnership between the Globe and the MIT Media Lab.

If you have a tip you would like to submit to us at Journalism.co.uk email us using this link.

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#Tip of the day for journalists: Try creating web videos using Popcorn Maker

Image by Bunches and Bits {Karina} on Flickr. Some rights reserved

Yesterday we reported that Mozilla has launched Popcorn Maker 1.0, an in-browser web app that allows you to create web-native videos, adding real-time tweets, Google Maps and other content from around the web.

A great way to try out the free tool is to follow a tutorial created by Knight-Mozilla fellow Nicola Hughes. The excellent (and tried and tested) tutorial is at this link.

If you have a tip you would like to submit to us at Journalism.co.uk email us using this link.

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#Tip of the day for journalists – multimedia reporting pointers

Poynter has a “career chat” with Ball State University professor of multimedia journalism Jennifer George-Palilonis, in which she outlines ‘tips on what tools you should learn and the skills you should acquire’ for multimedia reporting, as well as training tips, according to the site.

See the full post here.

Journalists also interested more generally in digital journalism tools can check out Journalism.co.uk’s topic page which collects together features on such tech.

If you have a tip you would like to submit to us at Journalism.co.uk email us using this link.

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#Tip of the day for journalists – making audio slideshows

Image by j_baer on Flickr. Some rights reserved.

Digital and online journalism lecturer at the University of Central Lancashire Andy Dickinson yesterday blogged about how journalists can use Slideshare and Windows Movie Maker to produce audio slideshows. Dickinson outlines, for example, how to combine a presentation file with an audio file (via platforms like AudioBoo or SoundCloud) to produce an audio slideshow in Slideshare.

See the full post here.

On this topic, Journalism.co.uk’s latest tool of the week was Story Wheel, which enables users to create audio slideshows.

Also, our podcast last week, which looked at visual storytelling, included some pointers on producing audio slideshows from Peter Sale, a multimedia producer at the Guardian, where he said they tend to use SoundSlides or in some cases Final Cut Pro.

If you have a tip you would like to submit to us at Journalism.co.uk email us using this link.

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#Podcast – Discussing user experience and news site design

Image by Donald Lee Pardue on Flickr. Creative commons licence. Some rights reserved

A topic which comes up frequently in industry conference discussions is that of user experience, from engaging users with immersive, rich and interactive content, to providing a clear journey through the site.

In this week’s podcast we discuss just some of the issues relating to digital user experience, focusing on the importance of audience research and the presentation of content on digital platforms, with pointers from digital journalism and design experts.

The podcast hears from:

• Raju Narisetti, managing editor, Wall Street Journal Digital Network
• Jacek Utko, design director, Bonnier Business Press
• Max Gadney, founder and design director, After the Flood

Podcast: Download

While this week’s podcast focuses on the user experience in terms of the design and delivery of content, this previous Journalism.co.uk podcast looks at building interactive content itself and offers tips for creating engaging experiences for audiences with interactives.

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

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#wef12: Six lessons in tablet storytelling

Image by C.Regina on Flickr. Some rights reserved

At last year’s World Editors Forum in Vienna we reported on the 10 great tips shared by Mario Garcia, founder of Garcia Media, on creating news apps.

At this year’s event in Kiev Garcia is back, and he shared with delegates some of the lessons learned in the past couple of years when it comes to storytelling on tablet devices.

In summary, here are just six of the takeaways to be gained from his presentation:

• The editor today needs to undertand the sociology of how readers use tablet platforms and remember the multimedia approach
  

Garcia urged editors to not think it is all about the newspaper. “No one expects to have the breaking news there,” he said.

In the eyes of consumer, digital is current, print is old, not abandoned, but old.

… Still newspapers write headlines as if they’re the only forms of communication these days.

He added that news outlets need to show they are a multimedia house. Therefore “no marketing campaign should be based on one of the platforms”.

• Be visual and make something happen

A main point made by Garcia was about the importance of the visual element on tablet devices, where users “don’t just want a photo”, he said. “They want something to happen”.

He suggested that every four or five screens users should be offered “a moment where the finger touches the screen and something happens”.

Whatever it is, in the tablet you can not be linear.

… If all you do is turn the pages, readers will not be happy.

Garcia also referred to a Poynter study due to be published in the next few weeks, which found the majority of people preferred the “flipboard” visual style, with photo galleries and videos.

• The story is what counts

While lessons have been learned about tablet storytelling, content remains king.

Garcia offered a new definiton of news, as “anything you know now that you did not know 15 minutes ago, or 15 seconds ago”.

And this piece of news is “what counts”, not the platform it is distributed on.

• Understand the pattern of consumption during the day

Garcia said research shows most people use tablets after 6pm in the evening, while the average person reading on the tablet at night has the television on at the same time.

• Users are willing to pay on tablets

The research also found that those who use tablets are more willing to pay for content than online users.

With that in mind, he highlighted the potential for news outlets – bearing in mind the 85 million iPads in the market today, which he said may reach “more than 165 million soon”.

• Print has not been abandoned

And despite all this, “there is a place for print as a lean-back platform,” Garcia stressed. “Print is eternal, but only if it adapts”.

And “paper has the power of disconnect”, with print readers able to “totally unplug and read.”

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#wef12: What news outlets can learn from magazines on content presentation

Image by VFS Digital Design on Flickr. Some rights reserved. Creative commons licence

Bonnier Business Media designer Jacek Utko has previously spoken about the need for news outlets to break the template format online, in the way they can with their print products.

Speaking at the World Editors Forum in Kiev today, Utko helpfully highlighted the ways in which news outlets can show that creativity in the presentation of their newspaper print products. And the place to look for inspiration is in magazines. Put simply, he said, “I don’t look for inspiration in newspapers anymore”.

The key lessons for newsrooms to take from magazine content presentation include finding a balance between long and short pieces, producing simple visuals and offering bite-sized chunks of information, the latter being a news presentation format which also “increases understanding”.

Magazines also demonstrate how to “tell stories almost without words”, he said, and “surprise the readers” with different news design on the front page.

That’s what we do with our newspapers, play the white space…

This then looks “totally different in the kiosk on the shelf than the other newspapers”, he said.

And this design approach need not only be for news outlets with sizeable resources. It is “very cheap” to do, he said, and takes just a few hours a day, and means print products can get a step ahead of digital in terms of design.

Art direction and news presentation is so weak on the web, it’s our strength, it’s our competitive advantage for print.

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• FT.com: US magazines planning digital store
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• Jonathan Stray: Digital news needs better products, not just emulations of old media

#Tip of the day from Journalism.co.uk – an ‘online video shopping list ‘

Multimedia producer and lecturer Adam Westbrook has written up an “online video shopping list”, outlining tips on planning and preparation through to advice on the “shopping trip itself” – the video shoot.

See his post here.

Tipster: Rachel McAthy

If you have a tip you would like to submit to us at Journalism.co.uk email us using this link.

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#Tip of the day from Journalism.co.uk – handy pointers for shooting video from a smartphone

The Washington Post is encouraging its readers to contribute Olympics-related footage using video sharing app Socialcam.

As part of its preparations the title has posted tips for shooting video with your smartphone.

Here are a couple, but it’s worth reading the full list.

Get up close

Sometimes it’s a bit uncomfortable, but videographers often invade people’s space to get the best shots. You get to see the detail if you’re close to the action. That said, be respectful and smart while trying to get the best shot.

Above and below

Normal people take video from eye-level. Try holding your smartphone above your head to get a unique angle. Try crouching down to get the shuffle of people’s feet. Watch any documentary and you’ll see the varied angles are what make sometimes boring shots interesting.

Tipster: Sarah Marshall

If you have a tip you would like to submit to us at Journalism.co.uk email us using this link.

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