By Chris Mertes
Digital Content and Communications Editor
It’s time for a refresher on our state’s newspaper websites because, frankly, too many of them are only refreshed on Wednesdays or Thursdays.
As a former managing editor of a twice-weekly newspaper, I was a knuckle-dragging late adopter when it came to websites — inconvenient stops for freeloaders unwilling to pay for our content.
That all changed in 2018, when our website became more indispensable to our Sun Prairie Star readers.
Seven years ago on July 10, a part of Downtown Sun Prairie blew up with a natural gas explosion that killed Sun Prairie Fire Capt. Cory Barr, injured two people, destroyed seven buildings and displaced dozens of downtown residents. Sun Prairie relied on our website for updates — some of which were posted multiple times per hour — about the explosion.
Our website was no longer something that just was updated when the paper came out. We updated it with breaking news, important rivalry game coverage . . . the list is way too long to re-create here.
According to Benjy Hamm, this is the exception and not the rule. In a recent Publisher’s Auxiliary article, Hamm wrote of a time when he heard about a major news event and went to that community’s newspaper website — only to find nothing about the big news event there.
“While many newspapers aggressively post breaking news on their sites and do commendable work during times of crises and tragedies . . . I regularly find many others operate as if still bound by the old newspaper production cycle,” wrote Hamm, who is director of the Institute for Rural Journalism at the University of Kentucky.
Multi Media Channels Senior Editor Kris Leonhardt agrees with Hamm and post-knuckle-dragging me.
“Readers go to the internet for the latest information, and if you’re not providing it, they’ll find someone who is,” Leonhardt said recently in response to a WNA Update question about how MMC keeps their websites current.
“News websites serve as the primary source of current information for many people, so frequent updates are essential for maintaining relevance, building trust and staying competitive in the ever-changing, fast-paced media landscape,” Leonhard added. “The current news landscape thrives on a multi-platform approach where online video, digital posts and traditional print each serve distinct but complementary roles in comprehensive journalism.”
In PubAux, Hamm pointed out that reporting and writing quickly are skills that can be learned, but that mostly, it’s a mindset that journalists have to get into. Leonhardt said for MMC, breaking/hard news that requires quick notification is posted to the website immediately and linked to Facebook and other social media sites shortly after.
“Feature stories and soft news is scheduled out through the upcoming week after our print edition is public,” Leonhardt added. “That way, no matter how much hard news goes up each day, there is always content scheduled to post each day.”
Hamm provided a few more tips for dealing with breaking news on your websites:
Post right away — a short story that is concise but might be added to later. Make sure the reader knows it’s breaking and you’ll be updating so they should keep checking your site. Social media is very important here — there are more people who peruse your newspaper social media pages than those who like or follow your pages.
Think graphically — No, not blood and guts; we’re talking about photos from the scene: Storm damage aftermath, how the heat from the fire melted siding on houses nearby, etc. And don’t forget about historic photos from your local museum or historical society in the event of fire or storm damage.
During the 2018 natural gas explosion, Downtown Sun Prairie was evacuated, and I decided to cover the Plan Commission meeting two blocks away from the fire. I was going to stay until they told me to evacuate.
I used that time to get photos that nobody else had: The fire’s black smoke plume over downtown, the fire trucks arriving from area departments to help fight the fire, the City of Sun Prairie employees knocking on doors and telling residents they had to evacuate . . . and more.
Most importantly — Ask readers to contact you with their stories. During the 2018 explosion coverage, many of our readers tweeted or emailed where they were when the explosion happened, but your situation may be different — those readers may know important details about the storm, fire or multi-car pile-up you’re covering.
Remember the goal: To make your newspaper an indispensable local news source for your community. Today, that means updating frequently and DEFINITELY more than once a week!
Mertes works for the Wisconsin Newspaper Association as Digital Content and Communications Editor; learn more here.
