Content Development Workshop

Editorial Output

Workshop led by

Elana BeiserSENIOR EDITOR

Committee to Protect Journal ists

ebeiser@cpj.orgTwitter: @elanabeiser

In workshop, we’ll discuss:

Optimizing content for international audience

• Presentation (headlines, teasers, photos, captions)• Search engine optimization• Building strong content to fend off critics

Presentation:HEADLINES

Where do headlines appear?

• Websites• Email and newsletters• Social networks—Twitter, Facebook, and which local

ones do you use?• RSS feeds• Search engines

RSS feed = really simple syndication

Aspects of a strong, clear headline:

• Information for international audience—include country name

• Reason why story is important• Much information but not many words• Active voice—”Police attack journalists”

(NOT “Journalists attacked by police”)• Interest but not sensationalism• No emotional language

Example

Original headline:

Privacy International commences legal action against British government for failure to control exports of surveillance technologies

Example

Original headline:

Privacy International commences legal action against British government for failure to control exports of surveillance technologies

New headline:

UK: Exports of surveillance technology spark legal action

SEOSearch engine optimization

SEO = Search engine optimization

How to get your story seen when people use search engines like Google?

SEO = Search engine optimization

• Search queries are usually 2-4 words• Someone types in: “reported arrested Kampala”

SEO = Search engine optimization

Search queries are usually 2-4 words• Someone types in: “reported arrested Kampala”Engine searches:• Title tag (usually derived from headline)

SEO = Search engine optimization

Search queries are usually 2-4 words• Someone types in: “reported arrested Kampala”Engine searches:• URL or web address (derived from headline)

SEO = Search engine optimization

Note difference in URLs:allafrica.com/stories/201008040109.html

Vs.fesmedia-africa.org/home/what-is-news/africa-media-news/news/article/uganda-journalist-arrested-over-kampala-bomb-blast-story

(second example is better for search results)

SEO = Search engine optimization

Search queries are usually 2-4 words• Someone types in: “reported arrested Kampala”

Engine searches:• Title Tag• URL• Other content on page, such as text, photo caption

How do you get good search results?

• Keywords describing story—“reporter arrested Kampala”• Proper names of places, companies, organizations

“Daily Monitor”• Full personal names (contrary to print headlines)—

Xi Jingping is better than Xi• Unique descriptives—“Spanish reporter missing in Syria”

is better than “Reporter missing in Syria”

What doesn’t help SEO?

• Wordiness (limit important info to first 7 or 8 words)• Puns (“Police are still monitoring the Monitor”)• References to local topics (“Muhoozi Project” name of

Uganda plot, but this is not widely known internationally)

How to think up keywords:

Start in your headWhat keywords does the story itself suggest?

Use some toolsWhat keywords are people searching for?• Google autocomplete

Google autocomplete

Keyword tools:

• Google autocomplete

• Google trends: http://www.google.com/trends/(See Hot Trends, compare words)

Presentation:TEASERS

(Teaser is blurb below headline)

How to write good teasers:

• Expand on the headline

• Teaser must stand aloneNot everyone reads headline and teaser in that order

• May be lead paragraph with some reworkingIf lead doesn’t work, it may need to be rewritten

Example:

Original teaser:

The Internet clearly was targeted again by authorities with a crackdown on media outlets and journalists ahead of the vote. Several opposition websites have reported being briefly hacked and defaced with the message, "There is no safe margin for speakers of nonsense and enemy mercenaries.” Google issued a statement saying tens of thousands of Gmail accounts of Iranian users had been targeted.

Example:

Original teaser:

The Internet clearly was targeted again by authorities with a crackdown on media outlets and journalists ahead of the vote. Several opposition websites have reported being briefly hacked and defaced with the message, "There is no safe margin for speakers of nonsense and enemy mercenaries.” Google issued a statement saying tens of thousands of Gmail accounts of Iranian users had been targeted.

New teaser:

Iranian authorities have intensified their crackdown on the Internet, including on media outlets and journalists, in the days leading up to Friday's presidential election. Several opposition websites have reported being briefly hacked, while Google said tens of thousands of Gmail accounts of Iranian users had been targeted.

Presentation:PHOTOS

How to select good photos:

• Accurate• Timely• Clear at a small size• Free or low cost, but with permission to use• In good taste• Images and headlines must work together

Photo with impact, emotion (Reuters/Jonathan Ernst)

Photo with sense of place (Reuters/Muhammad Najdet Qadour/Shaam News Network)

Photo with juxtaposition (AP/Jeff Widener)

A good photo might show (recap)

• Impact/emotion

• Sense of place

• Juxtaposition

Photo captions:

• Use search keywords

• Use a sentence and tell part of a story; don’t just describe what people can already see in photo

Example

Original photo caption:A Burmese soldier stands guard in Kachin.

(Photo credit: AFP/Patrick Bodenham)

Example

Original photo caption:A Burmese soldier stands guard in Kachin.

New photo caption: The Burmese military has pressured local newspapers in connection with their Kachin war coverage.

(Photo credit: AFP/Patrick Bodenham)

CONTENT

Build in defense against

governments and other attackers

on free expression

Defensive content:

• Information thorough and accurate• Every detail confirmed (date, time, spelling of names,

location, and specifics of attack)• Use multiple sources; ideally two independent sources• Use reports from reputable local and international media• Identify source by name when possible: “… said defense

lawyer John Doe.” (not if source could be endangered)• If can’t use source name, use details: “said a lawyer

involved in the case.”

Defensive content continued:

• Strive for fairness; give those accused of restricting free expression an opportunity to respond

• State details if you fail to reach someone in the interest of fairness or balance. (“The culture minister’s spokesman did not reply to an email asking why the writer’s invitation was canceled.”)

• Give clear attribution to all factual information (such as precise number of lawyers you spoke to, whether any involved directly in case, etc.)

Exercise – Let’s write a headline

June 11, 2013--Indian authorities should bring to justice the perpetrators of an attack on three cameramen in Kolkata, capital of eastern West Bengal state, on Friday, in which one reporter was almost burned alive, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.The journalists were attacked while covering clashes between two rival factions, news accounts said. One journalist filed a police complaint in which he said the attackers doused him with gasoline and were about to light him on fire, but law enforcement arrived on the scene, according to the reports.“Swift action against the attackers will signal that such senseless violence against journalists is unacceptable in democratic India," said Bob Dietz, CPJ's Asia program coordinator.

Headline

Indian cameramen attacked covering Kolkata political clash

June 11, 2013--Indian authorities should bring to justice the perpetrators of an attack on three cameramen in Kolkata, capital of eastern West Bengal state, on Friday, in which one reporter was almost burned alive, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.The journalists were attacked while covering clashes between two rival factions, news accounts said. One journalist filed a police complaint in which he said the attackers doused him with gasoline and were about to light him on fire, but law enforcement arrived on the scene, according to the reports.“Swift action against the attackers will signal that such senseless violence against journalists is unacceptable in democratic India," said Bob Dietz, CPJ's Asia program coordinator.

Exercise – Let’s write a headline

May 20, 2013--Several assailants beat two reporters covering an opposition protest outside the Ukrainian Interior Ministry in Kiev on Saturday in view of police officers who failed to intervene, according to press reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the beating and the inaction of police."It’s outrageous that such a beating could take place in front of Ukraine's main law enforcement building, while officers sworn to uphold the law stood by," CPJ Europe and Central Asia Program Coordinator Nina Ognianova said.

Headline

Journalists attacked in Ukraine as police stand by

May 20, 2013--Several assailants beat two reporters covering an opposition protest outside the Ukrainian Interior Ministry in Kiev on Saturday in view of police officers who failed to intervene, according to press reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the beating and the inaction of police."It's outrageous that such a beating could take place in front of Ukraine's main law enforcement building, while officers sworn to uphold the law stood by," CPJ Europe and Central Asia Program Coordinator Nina Ognianova said."

Exercise – Let’s write a headline

May 21, 2013--The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned by reports of a U.S. Justice Department investigation into the work of a Fox News reporter.The FBI characterized the activities of Fox News' chief Washington correspondent as a “co-conspirator" in the government's 2010 investigation into a leak of classified information regarding North Korea. The Justice Department seized two days of his personal emails and his phone records, The Washington Post revealed Sunday ."U.S. government efforts to prosecute leakers by obtaining information from journalists has a chilling effect domestically and sends a terrible message to journalists around the world who are fighting to resist government intrusion," said CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon.

Headline

CPJ troubled by US government investigation of reporter

May 21, 2013--The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned by reports of a U.S. Justice Department investigation into the work of a Fox News reporter James Rosen.The FBI characterized the activities of Fox News' chief Washington correspondent Rosen as a “co-conspirator" in the government's 2010 investigation into a leak of classified information regarding North Korea. The Justice Department seized two days of his personal emails and his phone records, The Washington Post revealed Sunday."U.S. government efforts to prosecute leakers by obtaining information from journalists has a chilling effect domestically and sends a terrible message to journalists around the world who are fighting to resist government intrusion," said CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon.

ebeiser@cpj.orgTwitter: @elanabeiser

Thank You