What a news organization should have

I understand that adopting a currently existing news organization into a full-fledged digital operation takes lots of effort from people, a change in ideology, and can be like turning a cruise ship around: it goes very slowly. I'm not going to talk about that.

Instead, if I were hired to start a brand new news organization, one that had been given enough money for a nice web site (already we know we are dealing in fantasy, don't we?), here is a list of what I would try to include:

• The ability to Like, Comment, and Share a story. The up and coming generations do not consume news, they share it. They live with it and pass it around. Make these buttons visible and prominent. Do not bury them. 
• Unafraid to link to an original press release. This is perhaps the most controversial claim, as re-wording a press release has often been the tradition between the writers and the PR world for decades. In a land where releases go online as soon as they are faxed around, there is no need for a news organization to pretend they have original information. Link to the release. This shows transparency, and a level of trust with readers. Chances are, you are still re-wording the release to fit your style. This will help your audience to see that they can view source information, but can still see the original information for themselves. 
• Geo-tag EVERYTHING. And then do something with that information. Make an interactive map. Sell your map to real estate web sites. Give people a chance to experience the news in new ways, and with a good archive system, you can show them stories from years past.
• Archive everything. Have fund-raisers for the servers if need be. Keep everything on record. News is news, and we'll want to see it years down the line.
• As far as the reporting goes... be serious when you need to be serious. Words mean things, and formality still works well when it comes to meatier issues. 
• Let me export your news. Give me RSS, Atom, XML and any other feed the evil internet geniuses can come up with. Shoot, let me create a custom RSS feed by selecting which sections and authors I want to keep up with. 
• Commit to having a clutter-free front page. (Reminder: this is fantasy.) No one likes seeing ads above and below every widget.
• For pete's sake, make the web site looks like it's been design in at least the last decade. 
• Don't just toss up a bunch of text on the screen. Design the site in a way that guides me along the text. And makes me feel like I'm guiding myself along. 
• News sites have failed miserably in creating social networks to connect with the audience. So, imbrace whatever is out there. Is it 2001? Then embrace MySpace. 2006? Facebook. 2009? Twitter. 
• If on Twitter: Do NOT just promote your product. Create a value out of yourself.  
• If this is a web site for a newspaper, television station or a radio station, post a story BEFORE your next product. I know this can be very difficult for a reporter to do, since she/he will need to be creating a broadcast script and a print script no matter what medium they are working with. Nevertheless, if I see a story being teased by someone somewhere, I should be able to go to the web site and see the story.
• If making a webcast, make it interesting. And don't call it a webcast. That's about as cringe-inducing as putting the letters "Tw" in front of anything to make it sounds Twinteresting (Twitter = Tw). The word webcast sounds foreign, and cold. And, often unprofessional. Find a different description.
• Everyone on the staff has a way to tell a story. Utilize them, in whatever big or small way that they aren't being used currently. (Yes, that's a pretty broad statement to make... describing anything specific would risk ruining finding the creativity in people.)
• Let your staff go on social networks, with either no leash or a really long one. Unless they are publicly bashing the company, most statements will be okay. People understand that individuals have opinions. And opinions do not often agree with "the company." Let people be human, and other humans will find that much more interesting.
• Don't stand in the way of getting me to the news. Don't give me a box that cycles through top stories. Don't make me click on a headline that just makes that story the highlight on the box. Don't hide headlines on another page. I go to a news site for news. Make that the king of value, and never forget that.
• Mobile sites, apps, SMS alerts... These are terrific things. Let creative people work on these, make them valuable, make them special. The crowd who will use these are looking for something new, something to fascinate them. Meet and surpass their expectations.
• Encourage "citizen reporting." Don't hide it, spotlight it. 
• On the other hand, also highlight your own reporters. People care less about a brand. A brand is just a portal to engaging with others. Make your reporters the stars, and let the reporters build a brand about themselves. And if this requires making the web site look more like a Facebook, Twitter or Myspace versus a 'traditional' news web site, so be it. 
• If you can talk about an issue for hours, do so. Set up a webcam on Skype for all I care. Get some live video going. 
• Make your tag cloud visible. Let me see how stories are being organized internally. Plus, anything to help people filter down how they are searching, anything, can help. 
• Stalk your reporters, and let the public stalk them. Online, of course! (I'm scaring a lot of you right now, aren't I?) Whether its a story or a SMS update, let people know where the reporter is. Wondering where a photo was taken? I believe technology will soon catch up (3, 5 years? 10 at the latest) where we can get GPS information automatically in our cameras, and with SD cards already able to transmit to a web site automatically, the audience will be able to know exactly where a reporter is getting their information. We all ask each other "where were you?" at an event. This will help answer that question before it is even asked. 
• No pre-roll ad to exceed :30 seconds, preferably :15 maximum. (I'll be slightly realistic here.)
• If it isn't broke, don't try to fix it. Always keep this rule in mind when tinkering with the site.
• Also, remember: Users will always use Occam's Razor. That is, if faced with a complicated choice and the less-complex choice, less-complex always wins. Make sure its your web site, and not your competitors, that uses Occam's Razor -- the users will be thankful for it.
• Experiment. Have the resources to go a nature show? (Podcast, video podcast, weekly blog series...) Do it.
  

That's enough for now. Leave additional suggestions in the comments, or re-tweet me at @charlesjurries.