Newspaper & Mailroom
WAN-IFRA Focuses on Meeting Needs of Digital Users
Monday 11. April 2011 - For publishers and editors of digital news products, the issue is not so much accessibility - they are addressing all platforms including laptops, mobile phones, and tablets - but meeting users needs. A recent study found that many people find news websites and apps unsatisfying to use.
The World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) is helping digital news teams address that issue via a workshop entitled “Meeting the needs of digital users – Developing the right solutions for your audience.”
Participants in the workshop, to be held on 3 and 4 May at the WAN-IFRA Academy in Darmstadt, Germany – close to the Frankfurt airport — will learn how to understand their customers needs and develop the right tools to meet them. Online editors, online designers and web developers will gather expertise in key areas, including:
– The news show – creating flexible sites to reflect drama, create information packages and reflect the best elements of stories.
– The time factor – taking into account customers varying time perspectives.
– Breaking news – going ‘live’ on the web.
– Device integration – creating a multi-platform design.
– Journalistic Search Engine Optimisation – creating an information architecture fit for search engines.
– Journalistic SMO – building a two-way bridge between the site and Facebook/Twitter.
– User-generated content – reporting, blogging, commenting, editing.
“The workshop provides methods to understand customers’ requirements when it comes to online news, and how to respond as those needs evolve in the multi-device age,” said Bettina Werner, Manager of the WAN-IFRA Academy. “The goal is to help participants develop solutions to increase traffic and loyalty, and to help them analyse what is working – and what is not – in the online news market.”
Leading the workshop will be Grig Davidovitz, a specialist in developing journalism in the new media age. Davidovitz is a former editor in chief of the Internet sites of the Haaretz Daily in Israel, where he was in charge of the newspapers sites and also responsible for the strategic development of the digital platforms of Haaretz.