AN old rule of thumb in the newspaper industry used to be: If it bleeds, it leads. Well, online media ‘tools’ now seem to be disproving that theory to a large extent. There are various packages like Google Analytics, which is only one of several that the Herald uses to measure traffic on its website: www.southcoastherald.co.za.
They all show the news of choice countrywide is often about… the weather!
Go figure! One can only assume that South Africans are so hardened to blood and gore that they are more interested in whether they will be able to play golf, go fishing or if they need to take an umbrella to work. These ‘analytics’ are totally accurate and can measure who reads what, where, when, how much and how (desktop, tablet or cellphone). So there’s no disputing that the ‘weather’ is hot news.
In the old days, editors could only judge the above through;
* Expensive and relatively inaccurate surveys;
* When they were accosted in a pub by an irate reader;
* Or when they received a lawyer’s letter.
The late Sunday Times editor, Tertius Myburgh, used to say the measure of a good newspaper was the number of lawsuits it had to fight.
The fact is that the newspaper industry has to evolve – and quickly if print is to survive the digital age.
‘Hard news’ is now instant as everyone is able to be a ‘citizen journalist’ via social media. If you have a cellphone in your pocket, you are all-powerful.
Sex symbol Mae West (1930s) said: “Is that a gun in your pocket or are you happy to see me?”
Today she could have said ‘cellphone’ instead of ‘gun’, as the former is far mightier and even dangerous because so many ‘citizen journalists’ go off half-cocked.
For example, how many times have you read that Robert Mugabe has died?
Good advice is to find a trusted print brand with resources – experienced editors, sub-editors and journalists.
These newspapers ‘power’ their own online sites that are linked to various social media platforms so you can ‘like’ or ‘share’ reliable information at your convenience.
Surely none of us wants to be a test case for spreading posts that are defamatory or racist (think Penny Sparrow)… or viral ‘hoaxes’ that make you look downright stupid.
Many of the latter are thinly disguised as ‘satire’. When in doubt, go to sites like www.snopes.com or www.hoax slayer.com.
They are quite up-to-date and they can save your bacon.
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