Online multimedia ideas for theworld.org

1. Today’s program as a map

Rich audio features and reports can become buried in the current blog format. A click-able, link-able map would be a more interactive way of introducing each piece. Because the web is a visual tool, it’s important that listeners don’t have to do too much digging.

For example, The World on Friday, April 16 (UMapper)

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2. Formatting and tone

One of the great advantages of online reporting is the straightforward, accessible writing style. It’s a lot like radio actually. You get to write how you speak. This doesn’t mean dulling down the writing. It means writing in concise sentences. I found this tutorial (written by a U of Florida journalism instructor) to be a great resource for how to write online.

I see that very often a radio script gets posted as the transcript. It’s an added task to reformat these stories to be read online, but I think this is the expectation for visitors. I like the way that bites can be highlighted in grey, but maybe if this was set into a column it would be easier to follow. Pictures can also upset the format, but they do a nice job in Ari Daniel Shapiro’s latest  story of breaking up the text and giving us a visual. Very cool.

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3. More than an archive for stories

When I come to a news site, I’m searching for what’s happening now, or for a heads-up on what’s about to happen. The page currently previews one story on that night’s program.

I’m curious about what the The World’s editors see as the day’s most important international news stories. If a brief list came out at midday, I could make sure to pay attention. The PBS Newshour does this well in a blog called The Rundown. Each story comes with a one- or two-sentence description. Simple, conversational writing. What if there was an audio version available? Or a slideshow preview? This could be sent out via the Facebook group at lunchtime when many people put down work and jump online for a break.

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4. Simplify stories about trade and connections between foreign governments

For example, Which countries are buying World Cup tickets? (Sourcemap)

iPod production

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5. Podcasting

5a.) Finding certain stories within a 51:00 podcast

What if a listener wants to download the podcast and skip around to a certain story? Creating chapters would make it easier to find that story  a friend mentioned. (Apple instructions.)

5b.) Improve search results in iTunes

The World is not currently one of the four top results when searching “The World” in the podcast section. It has to be easier to reach. It may be necessary to remove collaboration branding to improve SEO.

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