This is from the Beeb's College of Journalism:-
sorry, it IS a huge article but SOOOO useful for our presentation!
The BBC's online audience has been able to choose video news on demand for some time; and here are some of the ways in which they've used it:
Most BBC News website users in the UK choose to read text news content in office hours -- but they prefer to watch video news content early in the evening, at home.
The BBC News website video audience favours entertainment over information. The most popular video news content, and that which remains popular for the longest, is visually led, quirky, visceral or violent.
The figures for "talking head" video clips have been consistently low - BBC News website users prefer to read correspondents' analysis in text rather than access a video clip and watch them do a piece to camera.
The lifespan of video news content on the BBC News website is typically no longer than two or three days. The clips that continue to be accessed after this period have "see-it-to-believe-it" content that spreads virally around the internet.
Global market research
The BBC commissioned research into the use of online news video indicated it was "the most popular and most accessed part of any kind of interaction." The reason was that it delivers "proximity (closeness to the news) and verification (seeing is believing)".
The research also found:
Users access video news content as a 'leisure activity'. They are more likely to indulge during breaks from work, in the evenings and at weekends.
They rarely choose to watch in full-screen mode, preferring to multitask, scanning other on-screen content while half-watching pop-up video content until they see something they feel merits their full attention.
Users are not looking to video news content for facts they could get from text and static pictures. They want it to add texture, convey sensations and provide emotional engagement.
Users want video news content that is graphic and dynamic - if they do not see things happening relatively quickly after opening a video file, it is abandoned.
Breaking news stories and user-generated content are particularly popular among the online video audience.
Users prefer video news content that is unedited and uncensored - presenters are not valued.
Users enjoy viewing footage that has been secretly filmed.
It is very rare for users to watch any single piece of online video more than once.
The most popular online video news content is almost always short-form clips.
Users want a search function to help them find clips
Users are indifferent about what software they use to display online video news content.
Will BBC News see a convergence between the way in which audiences watch news video online and the way they watch it through digital TV? Will a different market emerge? And if popularity on iPlayer is one measure of 'success' ... how will that change the way BBC News does its video journalism?
Tuesday, 22 January 2008
Monday, 21 January 2008
Survey
yes yes yes it's the survey of wonder. I've emailed it to all your hotmail accounts ( I didn't have your uni email addresses). It's just one side cos I wanted to keep it simple...enjoy!
ITV local channels on the internet
The ITV local channels all have their own webpages, which are linked to from the main ITV website.
When you click into each region, the regions' page opens in a new window and the video player starts playing the most recent news bulletin automatically.
The regions' pages all look almost identical, but the various sections differ slightly from region to region eg. Westcountry has a link to a live webcam at Fistral beach. ITV Wales currently has a section called ITVWales @ 50
Every region does seem to have the same few core sections however, eg. Local news; Travel News; Weather; Sport; Grassroots Sport among others.
Quite a lot of the video content on the local pages seems to have been made specifically for the website, eg. the weather report - the presenter says "welcome to the weather report on ITVLocal" or "...ITVLocal.com"; or entertainment interviews presented as being for ITVLocal rather than a specific area.
A lot -but not all of the ITVLocal pages have a Go Local section, with a map, on the right-hand side of the page where you can link through to ultra-local news.
I like the fact that each of the ITV regions has so much on its local pages, because often it seems like national news is all that the big broadcasters really want to focus on.
The extra, just-for-the-web content gives the viewer a lot more choice. On the ITV Wales page I found an interview with Trinny and Susannah which stretched to almost 8 minutes. There's no way local TV news would ever have time for that sort of item, so it's good that viewers can get this kind of variety on the website.
The ultra-local content reflects the growing trend for ultra-local sections in the main TV regional news and keeps some continuity between the two media.
The fact that some regions have different sections gives a feeling of variety.
Overall, in some ways the ITVLocal content has a lot more in it than I would have expected, and has quite a nice feel to it, with a lot of variety.
It does however still have some of the cheap feel to it that local news has always had, which is a shame. I guess local content just doesn't get the budget to make it any glossier, but I wonder if this will change with the rise of ever more local news? So many people complain that national news is too London-centric that I think the audience might appreciate a shift to more investment in local news. At the moment the channel bosses just don't seem to be taking things that way...
When you click into each region, the regions' page opens in a new window and the video player starts playing the most recent news bulletin automatically.
The regions' pages all look almost identical, but the various sections differ slightly from region to region eg. Westcountry has a link to a live webcam at Fistral beach. ITV Wales currently has a section called ITVWales @ 50
Every region does seem to have the same few core sections however, eg. Local news; Travel News; Weather; Sport; Grassroots Sport among others.
Quite a lot of the video content on the local pages seems to have been made specifically for the website, eg. the weather report - the presenter says "welcome to the weather report on ITVLocal" or "...ITVLocal.com"; or entertainment interviews presented as being for ITVLocal rather than a specific area.
A lot -but not all of the ITVLocal pages have a Go Local section, with a map, on the right-hand side of the page where you can link through to ultra-local news.
I like the fact that each of the ITV regions has so much on its local pages, because often it seems like national news is all that the big broadcasters really want to focus on.
The extra, just-for-the-web content gives the viewer a lot more choice. On the ITV Wales page I found an interview with Trinny and Susannah which stretched to almost 8 minutes. There's no way local TV news would ever have time for that sort of item, so it's good that viewers can get this kind of variety on the website.
The ultra-local content reflects the growing trend for ultra-local sections in the main TV regional news and keeps some continuity between the two media.
The fact that some regions have different sections gives a feeling of variety.
Overall, in some ways the ITVLocal content has a lot more in it than I would have expected, and has quite a nice feel to it, with a lot of variety.
It does however still have some of the cheap feel to it that local news has always had, which is a shame. I guess local content just doesn't get the budget to make it any glossier, but I wonder if this will change with the rise of ever more local news? So many people complain that national news is too London-centric that I think the audience might appreciate a shift to more investment in local news. At the moment the channel bosses just don't seem to be taking things that way...
How are traditional news broadcasters using internet TV?
I've looked at the different ways traditional news broadcasters are using internet TV at the moment.
Firstly I looked at ITV, on www.itv.com/news .
(nb. I first checked it out for the purposes of this presentation on the day that ITN were re-launching their News at Ten, and then on other 'normal' broadcast days.)
The site had a realy interesting mix of uses of video content, here is a bit of a breakdown of them:-
The news homepage is split more or less into three columns.
The first has the channel's top news stories and for every story you can click into a written article by clicking on the story's headline, and/or then also choose to watch the news report accompanying it by clicking on the video icon attached to the story's picture.
-I think this is well done, a good integration of web and video content, because the video and text complement each other rather than the text just being a transcript of the video.
These video reports appear to be reports that have been used in the regular broadcasts rather than made specifically for the website, so it must be a fairly cost-effective thing to do.
The second column is video reports only, ie when you click on the story you don't get a written article, just the video report which opens on the right hand side of the page.
-This column is only about half the width of the first, which is visually more interesting. It seems generally to be used ony for sport and entertainment news, which reflects the amount of importance given to Sport and Entertainment in the main news bulletins compared to general news.
The third column and the bottom of the second column contain video reports which would not be broadcast. On the day of the News at Ten launch for example there was a preview of the launch show with the female anchor Julie Etchells, ITN's big signing from Sky News. That particular report had an intentionally on-the-hoof feel to it, as it was shot at a newsroom camera rather than in the studio, and seemed to be unscripted (from the amount of times Julie repeated herself in it).
Other reports in these parts of the page include "A Correspondents View" pieces, with more personality-led pieces on the conditions in news locations, and "The Making of..." pieces showing eg. how the News at Ten titles are made.
-These Video Log / Vlog style pieces give a little behind the scenes look that there is time and space for on the website that the main bulletins won't always have. I think that even in these days of reality TV and interactivity, viewers still enjoy being given these behind-the-scenes type looks at TV reports. It also makes the website user feel like they're getting something different from the website than from the news programmes.
At the middle of the bottom of the screen is a link through to local news, divided by region. Once in the regional pages, you can search through local bulletins from the last week, which is a great resource. One reason why I like this feature is that if you want to look back to earlier stages of a running news story you can do so. Also, a lot of the ordinary people featured in local news will probably want to use this search feature to find their own contributions. I'm not sure if that's one of ITV's reasons for having this feature but I imagine it might be a good way to get new people using the website!
General comments
I like the layout of the ITV news homepage, the way the page is divided is clear to understand and use. I like the fact that every report has video footage at least, if not also an accompanying written report. The behind-the scenes style reports and show previews give the website an extra dimension you can't possibly get from the main news programmes.
It's also worth mentioning that once you've watched a report, several adverts appear in the video player, which is obviously a nice extra way for ITV to earn some revenue from news. (As we all know news does not make money for TV stations!)
That's enough for ITV, I'll do another post for local news pages, the Beeb and the other TV broadcasters I've looked at!
Firstly I looked at ITV, on www.itv.com/news .
(nb. I first checked it out for the purposes of this presentation on the day that ITN were re-launching their News at Ten, and then on other 'normal' broadcast days.)
The site had a realy interesting mix of uses of video content, here is a bit of a breakdown of them:-
The news homepage is split more or less into three columns.
The first has the channel's top news stories and for every story you can click into a written article by clicking on the story's headline, and/or then also choose to watch the news report accompanying it by clicking on the video icon attached to the story's picture.
-I think this is well done, a good integration of web and video content, because the video and text complement each other rather than the text just being a transcript of the video.
These video reports appear to be reports that have been used in the regular broadcasts rather than made specifically for the website, so it must be a fairly cost-effective thing to do.
The second column is video reports only, ie when you click on the story you don't get a written article, just the video report which opens on the right hand side of the page.
-This column is only about half the width of the first, which is visually more interesting. It seems generally to be used ony for sport and entertainment news, which reflects the amount of importance given to Sport and Entertainment in the main news bulletins compared to general news.
The third column and the bottom of the second column contain video reports which would not be broadcast. On the day of the News at Ten launch for example there was a preview of the launch show with the female anchor Julie Etchells, ITN's big signing from Sky News. That particular report had an intentionally on-the-hoof feel to it, as it was shot at a newsroom camera rather than in the studio, and seemed to be unscripted (from the amount of times Julie repeated herself in it).
Other reports in these parts of the page include "A Correspondents View" pieces, with more personality-led pieces on the conditions in news locations, and "The Making of..." pieces showing eg. how the News at Ten titles are made.
-These Video Log / Vlog style pieces give a little behind the scenes look that there is time and space for on the website that the main bulletins won't always have. I think that even in these days of reality TV and interactivity, viewers still enjoy being given these behind-the-scenes type looks at TV reports. It also makes the website user feel like they're getting something different from the website than from the news programmes.
At the middle of the bottom of the screen is a link through to local news, divided by region. Once in the regional pages, you can search through local bulletins from the last week, which is a great resource. One reason why I like this feature is that if you want to look back to earlier stages of a running news story you can do so. Also, a lot of the ordinary people featured in local news will probably want to use this search feature to find their own contributions. I'm not sure if that's one of ITV's reasons for having this feature but I imagine it might be a good way to get new people using the website!
General comments
I like the layout of the ITV news homepage, the way the page is divided is clear to understand and use. I like the fact that every report has video footage at least, if not also an accompanying written report. The behind-the scenes style reports and show previews give the website an extra dimension you can't possibly get from the main news programmes.
It's also worth mentioning that once you've watched a report, several adverts appear in the video player, which is obviously a nice extra way for ITV to earn some revenue from news. (As we all know news does not make money for TV stations!)
That's enough for ITV, I'll do another post for local news pages, the Beeb and the other TV broadcasters I've looked at!
Westcountry rugby
Although I will be concentrating on local radio I couldn't help but notice that westcountry is now showing highlights of Division One rugby via its website. For those who are not into rugby that is the second highest league in the country and includes the Cornish Pirates, Plymouth Albion, Launceston and Exeter.
Despite the huge interest in the region for the above sides the league gets very little coverage on the local news and a petition was recently sent to the BBC to give it more coverage on Spotlight. The league overall does not get a great deal of television in any part of the country and I can't help thinking that Westcountry are on to something here.
By putting highlights on their website they have not just pleased local people in their region, but are also likely to gain web visitors from supporters of other clubs throughout the country.
Westcountry and Spotlight compete for a small audience and to thrive they need to look at the bigger audience picture. By doing something which is new not just to this region but across the country Westcountry have taken a step forward in an ever increasing industry.
Website. www.itvlocal.com/westcountry
Despite the huge interest in the region for the above sides the league gets very little coverage on the local news and a petition was recently sent to the BBC to give it more coverage on Spotlight. The league overall does not get a great deal of television in any part of the country and I can't help thinking that Westcountry are on to something here.
By putting highlights on their website they have not just pleased local people in their region, but are also likely to gain web visitors from supporters of other clubs throughout the country.
Westcountry and Spotlight compete for a small audience and to thrive they need to look at the bigger audience picture. By doing something which is new not just to this region but across the country Westcountry have taken a step forward in an ever increasing industry.
Website. www.itvlocal.com/westcountry
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)