New York Times: early burnout risk for young Online news journalists

If you’re feeling the strain from constant deadlines and draining every resource you have to find something new to break to your readers, you may take some solace from the fact that you are far from alone.

When the Washington-based Politico’s two top editors sent their reporters an email on April Fools’ Day last year saying that they would be required to start at 5am, not everyone saw the funny side, reports The New York Times. One girl even started crying.

This, says the report, is just one indication of the early burnout that young journalists can suffer in the online news business where, they say, the pressure of meeting a deadline for a paper can now be felt at any point of the day where the emphasis can be on getting something out as fast as possible before your rivals get the scoop.

It describes how the vibe of the newsroom is now “frantic and fatigued” with young reporters chained to their computers, rather than living the romantic notion of travelling the globe in pursuit of a story, to write articles that will “impress Google algorithms” and “draw readers their way”.

Like with The Washington Post and The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times displays a “most viewed” list on its home pages. Some media outlets, including Bloomberg News and Gawker Media, now pay writers based in part on how many readers click on their articles.

It’s perhaps a familiar tale of woe and one that adds fuel to the fires of those who argue that journalism quality will suffer as focus shifts to the numbers rather than the stories.

But, as Politico’s Editor-in-Chief John F. Harris told The New York Times: “Everybody in the audience is his or her own editor based on where they want to move their mouse or their finger on the iPad,” said the editor in chief, John F. Harris. “And if you’re not delivering to that reader, you’re going to lose them.”

Politico may not be a harbinger but when next you feel your head dropping towards your chest as you rush to break the latest news, you can at least stop and think - to borrow a phrase from our new Prime Minister - “we are in this together”.

(With thanks to Heather Chin for link)

How the New York Times football tracker could help journalists with effective targeting

It may all seem like a bit of pointless fun, but the New York Times' football tracker could indicate a way to tailor your content based on what your readers are most interested in.

In something similar to Twitter trending topics, the simple, interactive tool tracks the amount of discussion each team player attracts on Facebook and then creates a graphic based on the resulting numbers. The larger their picture, the more talk there is about them.

For example, Robert Green's infamous football fumbling resulted in him being the player most discussed on June 14th. Likewise, an uninspired performance from England against Algeria on the 18th gave Wayne Rooney the top spot.

Interestingly, perhaps suggesting that the discussions aren't entirely focused on the players' performance on the pitch, Christiano Ronaldo has dominated the tracker. As Portugal were eliminated from the tournament at the end of June, perhaps his continued presence is due to his reported Facebook announcement regarding his new role as a dad.

It's great for both the most obsessive of footy fans who dont want to miss a trick and those who have little interest in football but may want to keep up with the watercooler chats.

Arguably, it's also a good way of sport writers and editors keeping track of who and what is catching the attention of their readers which could allow them to tweak their content accordingly. It certainly gives pause for thought.