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You might have heard: An interactive website can make its content more persuasive, and web design has the potential to increase the amount of reader engagement
But did you know: ‘Contemporary’ homepage designs receive more pageviews and lead to better information retention by readers (Engaging News Project)
According to a new report by the Engaging News Project, “contemporary” homepage designs lead to more pageviews and increased retention of details from articles. The experiments gave readers the same content, presented in a traditional newsprint-style layout and in a modular, image-based layout. The contemporary designs received a 90 percent increase in pageviews as compared to the classic design, and readers’ retention of details from articles increased by 50 percent when viewing the contemporary website. Director of the Engaging News Project Talia Stroud says: “Our research shows just how important the design of a homepage can be to the commercial and democratic success of a news website.”
+ Noted: Snapchat adds BuzzFeed and iHeartRadio to its Discover line-up, dropping Yahoo and Warner Music (Variety) and publishers say Snapchat’s design change to more prominently feature Discover has as much as doubled their views (Digiday); Daily Dot puts its comments section on an “indefinite hiatus,” but may bring them back eventually with Facebook integration (Daily Dot); Podcast advertisements push the line between story and sponsor (New York Times); A former journalist created Expertise Finder, a website that helps journalists find academic experts (Poynter); Business Insider launches new site Tech Insider, covering tech, science, innovation and culture (Tech Insider); Vice previews new women’s news channel Broadly, which will premiere Aug. 3 (Observer)
API UPDATE
We’re hosting tomorrow’s ONADC meetup (Meetup)
Wednesday evening, API will be hosting this month’s ONADC meetup at United Press International. Executive director Tom Rosenstiel and deputy director Jeff Sonderman will be discussing our report on newsroom culture and its role in innovation and sharing strategies. If you’re in D.C., RSVP online today.
Storyful’s best practices for reaching out to eyewitnesses (Medium)
User-generated content is becoming increasingly valuable, but Storyful’s Rachael Kennedy says many journalists don’t consider the welfare of their sources enough. Kennedy says Storyful usually takes the time to send a follow-up message to inquire about the source’s well-being. Kennedy offers Storyful’s best practices for reaching out to eyewitnesses who could potentially become long-term sources, including being transparent about who you are and what you’re doing, taking an interest in the source’s safety, and keeping in touch afterwards.
How new tech allowed a Scotland newspaper to print slightly different papers for each reader (HoldTheFrontPage)
A new printing system allowed a Scotland newspaper to print slightly different papers for each reader. Each copy of the newspaper featured a different comic strip, with competition codes and different endings to the comic strip. The printing system from DC Thomson makes it possible to change what’s being printed without swapping plates on the press. DC Thomson’s head of operations Guy Thomson says: “We’re one of only two printers in the UK with this technology, so as far as I’m aware (the) cartoon strip is the first ever variable data strip that has been produced in the U.K. newspaper marketplace, possibly even the world.”
+ Huffington Post launches its 14th international edition, HuffPost Arabi, which will cover the entire Arab world (Huffington Post)
Why paying for exposure is more efficient for advertisers than paying for commission on sales (Knowledge@Wharton)
Research by Wharton professor Ron Berman finds that a “last click” method of compensation is inefficient for advertisers because ads are shown to consumers who would buy the product anyway. Instead, Berman advocates for a compensation metric that rewards “effort” over “performance,” or paying for impressions rather than sales conversions. According to Berman’s research, paying for impressions is more profitable for advertisers than paying sales commissions.
Why a local news startup has its reporters write press releases for local businesses (MediaShift)
At local news startup Richland Source, reporters write press releases in addition to covering the Mansfield, Ohio, community. Publisher Jay Allred says the idea was formed when the team noticed how poorly the press releases they received were written. Staff set hourly rates for writing press releases, web copy and other editorial needs a business owner who isn’t a great writer might need, with part of their salary coming from the Source’s editorial budget and part coming from its business budget. While the idea violates the idea of separation of editorial and advertising in journalism, Allred says: “In small business, church and state have to mingle.”
+ Margaret Sullivan says pressure to break scoops and the increasing competition on the web lead to mistakes in NYT’s Hillary Clinton story (New York Times)
How New York magazine brought its Cosby cover story to readers while its website was hacked (Nieman Lab)
New York magazine published a powerful cover story on Monday with testimonies from 35 women who said they were assaulted by Bill Cosby, but the magazine’s website was brought down hours later by a hacker who says he hates New York City. While the website was inaccessible, New York magazine made the story available on other platforms, including publishing the article in full on Tumblr. On Instagram, the magazine posted testimonies one by one, announcing each on Twitter. New York magazine’s response to the attack shows that “crafting multiple versions of the same article on different platforms can protect journalism and preserve access to important work.”
+ Nate Silver criticized Vox on Twitter for aggregating New York magazine’s story (Mediaite), following earlier criticisms of Vox’s aggregation of FiveThirtyEight charts
The post Need to Know: July 28, 2015 appeared first on American Press Institute.
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