This semester WINOL (www.winol.co.uk) has struggled to meet
the success that we reached last semester with our Alexa ranking peaking at
just 27,807 (figure from Alexa.com and being accurate on 30/10/12) compared to
last semester where we reached 12,025 (correct on 27/03/13 at 11.16). At no point this
semester did we even come close to the viewership we achieved last semester,
which I believe is down to a number of reasons. Inevitably we lost the
attention of our audience completely over the summer months as no content was produced,
so there was nothing drawing people to the website and all of our content,
perhaps with the exception of features, was heavily outdated. However I don’t
think it is reasonable to place too much blame to this, as we encountered and
overcame a similar issue due to the Christmas holiday. The main issue, I
believe, is that we aren’t producing enough news stories to keep the website
active throughout the week. We get a surge of viewers on Tuesday and Wednesday
when reporters are uploading their stories for their packages and the bulletin
goes live, but then it dips massively for the rest of the week. To prevent this
lull I think WINOL needs to resurrect the role of the “weekend news team” which
we had last semester, as this ensures that the website is continually updated
over the weekend. This will also make use of the many press releases that WINOL
is sent but we never produce packages on, due to a lack of pictures.
The dedicated SUBS team and their clear news
writing bible have definitely helped to develop the quality of the news writing
being produced. They have also improved the SEO standard, after guest editor
Paul Wood highlighted its importance, and explained how to utilise it properly.
All reporters must now ensure that they use appropriate tags, keywords and have
a high quality photo/video to accompany their story. Having a newly appointed content editor has
helped to improve the appearance of the website massively, with the top story
being changed regularly so that the website appears live and up to date.
Every
guest editor this semester has highlighted the importance of using social media
to get your publication noticed, however I think this is a tool we are still
failing to utilise properly. The WINOL Twitter (@WINOL) has 1,564 followers
(accurate 12/12/13) which has only increased by around 150 followers from last
semester. We need to be proactive in tweeting our news stories to appropriate charities,
publications and accounts relevant to the target audience. Reporters shouldn’t
be afraid to promote their stories across new platforms, as it gives you the
opportunity to reach an audience that otherwise may have never heard of WINOL.
An example of this is an interview I conducted with the Southampton Itchen
Labour MP candidate, Rowenna Davis. I promoted this interview by sending it to
Rowenna Davis, and she subsequently tweeted the interview and linked to the
WINOL twitter. This allowed my interview to reach a much larger audience as
Rowenna Davis’ twitter (@RowennaDavis) has
15,297 followers (accurate 12/12/13), and consequently got retweeted by
sixteen of her followers, extending the audience even further. I also promoted the interview on several
political forums, Facebook pages, and other Twitter accounts. I believe that if
every reporter did this for each of their stories then WINOL’s audience could
potentially double.
We
also changed the role of the news editor this semester so that it took place on
a rotary basis, changing to a different third year every week. This had both
its advantages and its disadvantages as it allowed the opportunity for
different styles and opinions to be vocalised however in my opinion I felt that
it also resulted in inconsistencies from week to week. By having just one news
editor for the whole semester it gives reporters time to build a relationship
of respect with the editor. It also enables the bulletin to progress and
improve with consistency from week to week. Although I felt my time as the news
editor had its educational merit I felt that I could not really achieve
anything or make a difference as I couldn’t ensure that the advice and
criticism was followed through in following weeks.
Claudia
Murg returned as a guest editor and she highlighted an issue that I had
recognised myself; we aren’t taking enough risks. We are a student publication,
with the advice of industry experts at our disposal and as a team, we aren’t
taking advantage of it. We like to play it safe with press release news stories
which are guaranteed to have balance, which is fine, but as journalists we
should want to strive to find the news, not just regurgitate stories from
elsewhere. We can achieve this by simply sending off freedom of information
inquiries. They may take months to come back and they could bring up nothing of
interest, but it’s worth spending the time sending them because they can result
in journalism gold. Claudia also highlighted the importance of building and
maintaining contacts. A system that I have found works for me is that when I
email someone I have spoken to before I make reference to the last time I saw
them, as this reminds them that they have spoken to me before and should
therefore want to speak to me again.
The
biggest achievement for the WINOL team this year was our BJTC award for “The
Best News Day” for our coverage of The Budget 2013. This well-deserved award
highlighted the hard work of the WINOL team, and will encourage us to push
ourselves further as a student publication.
This semester I continued on my beat of politics, but my
role changed slightly from “Political Reporter” to “Political Editor”. My new
role required me to take a step away from producing weekly news packages, and
instead try to expand on my list of contacts and produce more long-term
projects. I chose to approach this by initiating a series of interviews with
politicians called “The Big Interview”.
These interviews would function as a one on one sit down
discussion, without a particular news peg. Because the interviews weren’t about
one specific topic this allowed me to be lenient as to when the interviews took
place and I could be flexible around when was suitable for the politicians.
This also gave me the ability to aim to get bigger names in. However it was
also very daunting. I wanted the interviews to each last around twenty minutes
so it would allow me to cover a variety of topics. This required a lot of
research on my part to decide on the areas I wanted to cover and ensure that I
could discuss them confidently. I also immersed myself in researching their
previous interviews, and getting up to date on their views on national issues
so I could predict their demeanour and what kind of responses they would give.
I e-mailed a variety
of politicians, many of whom were too busy to be interviewed, couldn’t guarantee
a date, or in some cases, failed to reply all together. However I managed to
organise interviews with members of each of the four main parties: Diane James
(UKIP), Rowenna Davis (Labour), MP Mike Thornton (Liberal Democrats) and
Royston Smith (Conservatives).
The first interview I organised was with UKIP’s Diane James.
This was a reassurance for me as I had experience interviewing her from the
Eastleigh by-election, so I felt she was a safe starting point to ease me into
this new style of interview. This interview covered immigration, the 2014
European Election, and UKIPs reputation in the media. It provided me with a
steep learning curve and I quickly realised what I should expect from
politicians and myself. Organising this interview proved to be quite a
challenge as I was faced with last minute cancellations on numerous occasions,
which tested my ability to be flexible with arrangements. When the interview
finally took place, I was pleased with its content, but its execution left a
lot to be desired.
I decided early on that I would have the interviews take
place in the studio under the organisation of the production team, as I wanted
the interviews to come across as very professional, however this was not the
end result. The studio atmosphere was cold, and the black background and severe
lighting gave the interview a very intimidating and almost “mastermind” feel.
We filmed it through the studio cameras and the tri-caster, as I originally
thought that this would produce the best result, but in hindsight the interview
looked extremely dated and was of a poor quality.
My demeanour as an interviewer was far too tense and rigid
which made for uncomfortable viewing. Our guest editor, Chris Coneybeer,
highlighted that I didn’t push Diane James enough and I didn’t do my job as a
reporter, I simply allowed her to give her party line and on several occasions
avoid the question all together.
Learning from my mistakes for the next interview with Rowenna Davis, I chose to film the interview, once again in the studio, but this time with the DSLR’s. I also softened my interview style and worked on pushing my questions further, when I felt they weren’t being answered. This interview, as previously mentioned, was a great success in gaining many views. However I was once again disappointed with the production of the interview, as there were issues with rustling on the radio mic and the studio setting still looked far too serious and alien for the situation.
I took the decision to not use the studio for anymore
interviews as it simply wasn’t the right environment. For my interview with MP
Mike Thornton I went to his office in Eastleigh and once again used DSLR’s to
film. I was very pleased with the outcome of this interview, as I felt I had
done my job as a journalist in responding to what he was saying and really
pushing him on points which I felt the public needed to know. The production of
it was flawless, and although there were only two cameras used, as opposed to
three in previous interviews, I don’t think it needed the additional camera. I
felt that the interview came across as very natural which made it seem more
professional, whereas in the previous interviews I had been trying to force
that professional appearance, which simply didn’t work.
Unfortunately
due to miscommunication my interview with Royston Smith did not go ahead, but I
am working on re-arranging this interview for the new year.
Alongside
the big interviews I also managed to cover the energy price hike and grab a
quick interview with Business Secretary Vince Cable. I hadn’t originally
intended to get the interview, as every other news organisation had booked a
set slot with him, so instead I was going to take candid shots of him at the
event and treat it similarly to my coverage of Nick Clegg last semester.
However as he walked away from the BBC my journalism training took over and I
threw him a question regarding the energy price hikes, and thankfully he
answered. I then worked to turn this into a full package for the bulletin.
I
also maintained my role as radio editor this semester, however due to issues
with the university radio we chose to take it in the very different direction
of podcasts. I decided to make the most of the great content the features team
were producing and get them to produce short, three to four minute, podcasts to
promote their features. The most successful podcasts were those produced by The
Volt. Because they were reviewing music they could use fair dealing of songs
which broke up the podcasts nicely and alongside Harry’s presenting, it made
the podcasts very listenable. Finding appropriate sound clips proved a
challenge for other sections of the features team as many of their features
would normally just be written.
I
think the podcasts and the features team could be a match made in heaven as
they are both timeless. They simply need
to be promoted correctly and people need to consider their podcast content when
making their features. After three semesters of trying to build a relationship
between WINOL and the radio I think podcasts are the most realistic facility
for that relationship. I think it would be a real shame if WINOL did not
continue to work on producing podcasts next semester, as although they weren’t
perfect they will only improve with time and they act as a perfect
advertisement for the work of features. It would also mean that WINOL is
broadcasting across all possible mediums, which I believe can only be a good
thing.
There
was often confusion regarding who our target audience was, as it appeared to
change from week to week. An example of this was Calum’s interview with
Elizabeth Stewart and the work of Access Winchester which both have a very clear
local target audience. Whereas packages
such as my big interviews, although they are local politicians, they also
appeal to a wider audience. As we aim higher as students we achieve national
level stories, which is great for us as journalists, but it’s not always
beneficial for WINOL. I think we need to create clear boundaries for where we
can and cannot report stories on and only cross those barriers in exceptional
circumstances.
It is impossible to mention everything that
has happened this semester but I think that as long as WINOL is promoted
correctly and establishes a clear target audience, there is no reason why WINOL
can’t be a main source of news in the area. I feel that personally I have
really developed my skills as a journalist and my confidence has grown
massively. I have gained an extensive knowledge of my beat, especially when it
comes to local politics, and I look forward to challenging myself even further
next semester.
