Content Development Workshop
Editorial Output
Workshop led by
Elana Beiser
SENIOR EDITOR
C o m m i t t ee t o Pro t ect Jo u rn al i st s
ebeiser@cpj.org
Tw i t t e r : @ e l a n a b e i s e r
In workshop, we’ll discuss:
Optimizing content for international audience
• Presentation (headlines, teasers, photos, captions)
• Search engine optimization
• Building strong content to fend off critics
Presentation:
HEADLINES
Where do headlines appear?
• Websites
• Email and newsletters
• Social networks—Twitter, Facebook, and which local
ones do you use?
• RSS feeds
• Search engines
RSS feed = really simple syndication
Aspects of a strong, clear headline:
• Information for international audience—include country
name
• Reason why story is important
• Much information but not many words
• Active voice—”Police attack journalists”
(NOT “Journalists attacked by police”)
• Interest but not sensationalism
• No emotional language
Example
Original headline:
Privacy International commences legal action against
British government for failure to control exports of
surveillance technologies
Example
Original headline:
Privacy International commences legal action against
British government for failure to control exports of
surveillance technologies
New headline:
UK: Exports of surveillance technology spark legal action
SEO
Search engine optimization
SEO = Search engine optimization
How to get your story seen when people use search
engines like Google?
SEO = Search engine optimization
• Search queries are usually 2-4 words
• Someone types in: “reported arrested Kampala”
SEO = Search engine optimization
Search queries are usually 2-4 words
• Someone types in: “reported arrested Kampala”
Engine searches:
• Title tag (usually derived from headline)
SEO = Search engine optimization
Search queries are usually 2-4 words
• Someone types in: “reported arrested Kampala”
Engine searches:
• URL or web address (derived from headline)
SEO = Search engine optimization
Note difference in URLs:
allafrica.com/stories/201008040109.html
Vs.
fesmedia-africa.org/home/what-is-news/africa-medianews/news/article/uganda-journalist-arrested-overkampala-bomb-blast-story
(second example is better for search results)
SEO = Search engine optimization
Search queries are usually 2-4 words
• Someone types in: “reported arrested Kampala”
Engine searches:
• Title Tag
• URL
• Other content on page, such as text, photo caption
How do you get good search results?
• Keywords describing story—“reporter arrested Kampala”
• Proper names of places, companies, organizations
“Daily Monitor”
• Full personal names (contrary to print headlines)—
Xi Jingping is better than Xi
• Unique descriptives—“Spanish reporter missing in Syria”
is better than “Reporter missing in Syria”
What doesn’t help SEO?
• Wordiness (limit important info to first 7 or 8 words)
• Puns (“Police are still monitoring the Monitor”)
• References to local topics (“Muhoozi Project” name of
Uganda plot, but this is not widely known internationally)
How to think up keywords:
Start in your head
What keywords does the story itself suggest?
Use some tools
What keywords are people searching for?
• Google autocomplete
Google autocomplete
Keyword tools:
• Google autocomplete
• Google trends: http://www.google.com/trends/
(See Hot Trends, compare words)
Presentation:
TEASERS
(Teaser is blurb below headline)
How to write good teasers:
• Expand on the headline
• Teaser must stand alone
Not everyone reads headline and teaser in that order
• May be lead paragraph with some reworking
If lead doesn’t work, it may need to be rewritten
Example:
Original teaser:
The Internet clearly was targeted again by authorities
with a crackdown on media outlets and journalists ahead
of the vote. Several opposition websites have reported
being briefly hacked and defaced with the message,
"There is no safe margin for speakers of nonsense and
enemy mercenaries.” Google issued a statement saying
tens of thousands of Gmail accounts of Iranian users had
been targeted.
Example:
Original teaser:
The Internet clearly was targeted again by authorities with a crackdown on
media outlets and journalists ahead of the vote. Several opposition websites
have reported being briefly hacked and defaced with the message, "There is no
safe margin for speakers of nonsense and enemy mercenaries.” Google issued
a statement saying tens of thousands of Gmail accounts of Iranian users had
been targeted.
New teaser:
Iranian authorities have intensified their crackdown on the Internet, including on
media outlets and journalists, in the days leading up to Friday's presidential
election. Several opposition websites have reported being briefly hacked, while
Google said tens of thousands of Gmail accounts of Iranian users had been
targeted.
Presentation:
PHOTOS
How to select good photos:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Accurate
Timely
Clear at a small size
Free or low cost, but with permission to use
In good taste
Images and headlines must work together
Photo with impact, emotion
(Reuters/Jonathan Ernst)
Photo with sense of place
(Reuters/Muhammad Najdet Qadour/Shaam News Network)
Photo with juxtaposition
(AP/Jeff Widener)
A good photo might show (recap)
• Impact/emotion
• Sense of place
• Juxtaposition
Photo captions:
• Use search keywords
• Use a sentence and tell part of a story; don’t just
describe what people can already see in photo
Example
Original photo caption:
A Burmese soldier stands guard in Kachin.
(Photo credit: AFP/Patrick Bodenham)
Example
Original photo caption:
A Burmese soldier stands guard in Kachin.
New photo caption:
The Burmese military has pressured local newspapers in connection with their
Kachin war coverage.
(Photo credit: AFP/Patrick Bodenham)
CONTENT
Build in defense against
governments and other
attackers on free
expression
Defensive content:
• Information thorough and accurate
• Every detail confirmed (date, time, spelling of names,
location, and specifics of attack)
• Use multiple sources; ideally two independent sources
• Use reports from reputable local and international media
• Identify source by name when possible: “… said defense
lawyer John Doe.” (not if source could be endangered)
• If can’t use source name, use details: “said a lawyer
involved in the case.”
Defensive content continued:
• Strive for fairness; give those accused of restricting free
expression an opportunity to respond
• State details if you fail to reach someone in the interest
of fairness or balance. (“The culture minister’s
spokesman did not reply to an email asking why the
writer’s invitation was canceled.”)
• Give clear attribution to all factual information (such as
precise number of lawyers you spoke to, whether any
involved directly in case, etc.)
Exercise – Let’s write a headline
June 11, 2013--Indian authorities should bring to justice the
perpetrators of an attack on three cameramen in Kolkata, capital
of eastern West Bengal state, on Friday, in which one reporter
was almost burned alive, the Committee to Protect Journalists
said today.
The journalists were attacked while covering clashes between
two rival factions, news accounts said. One journalist filed a
police complaint in which he said the attackers doused him with
gasoline and were about to light him on fire, but law enforcement
arrived on the scene, according to the reports.
“Swift action against the attackers will signal that such senseless
violence against journalists is unacceptable in democratic India,"
said Bob Dietz, CPJ's Asia program coordinator.
Headline
Indian cameramen attacked covering Kolkata political clash
June 11, 2013--Indian authorities should bring to justice the
perpetrators of an attack on three cameramen in Kolkata, capital of
eastern West Bengal state, on Friday, in which one reporter was almost
burned alive, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
The journalists were attacked while covering clashes between two rival
factions, news accounts said. One journalist filed a police complaint in
which he said the attackers doused him with gasoline and were about
to light him on fire, but law enforcement arrived on the scene, according
to the reports.
“Swift action against the attackers will signal that such senseless
violence against journalists is unacceptable in democratic India," said
Bob Dietz, CPJ's Asia program coordinator.
Exercise – Let’s write a headline
May 20, 2013--Several assailants beat two reporters
covering an opposition protest outside the Ukrainian
Interior Ministry in Kiev on Saturday in view of police
officers who failed to intervene, according to press reports.
The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the
beating and the inaction of police.
"It’s outrageous that such a beating could take place in
front of Ukraine's main law enforcement building, while
officers sworn to uphold the law stood by," CPJ Europe and
Central Asia Program Coordinator Nina Ognianova said.
Headline
Journalists attacked in Ukraine as police stand by
May 20, 2013--Several assailants beat two reporters covering an opposition
protest outside the Ukrainian Interior Ministry in Kiev on Saturday in view of
police officers who failed to intervene, according to press reports. The
Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the beating and the inaction of
police.
"It's outrageous that such a beating could take place in front of Ukraine's main
law enforcement building, while officers sworn to uphold the law stood by," CPJ
Europe and Central Asia Program Coordinator Nina Ognianova said."
Exercise – Let’s write a headline
May 21, 2013--The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned by
reports of a U.S. Justice Department investigation into the work of a
Fox News reporter.
The FBI characterized the activities of Fox News' chief Washington
correspondent as a “co-conspirator" in the government's 2010
investigation into a leak of classified information regarding North Korea.
The Justice Department seized two days of his personal emails and his
phone records, The Washington Post revealed Sunday .
"U.S. government efforts to prosecute leakers by obtaining information
from journalists has a chilling effect domestically and sends a terrible
message to journalists around the world who are fighting to resist
government intrusion," said CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon.
Headline
CPJ troubled by US government investigation of reporter
May 21, 2013--The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned by reports of
a U.S. Justice Department investigation into the work of a Fox News reporter
James Rosen.
The FBI characterized the activities of Fox News' chief Washington
correspondent Rosen as a “co-conspirator" in the government's 2010
investigation into a leak of classified information regarding North Korea. The
Justice Department seized two days of his personal emails and his phone
records, The Washington Post revealed Sunday.
"U.S. government efforts to prosecute leakers by obtaining information from
journalists has a chilling effect domestically and sends a terrible message to
journalists around the world who are fighting to resist government intrusion,"
said CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon.
ebeiser@cpj.org
Tw i t t e r : @ e l a n a b e i s e r
Thank You