Mobile-First Journalism
Media publishers produce news for a full range of smart devices including smartphones, tablets and watches. Combining theory and practice, Mobile-First Journalism examines how audiences view, share and engage with journalism on internet-connected devices and through social media platforms.
The book examines the interlinked relationship between mobile technology, social media and apps, covering the entire news production process from generating ideas for visual multimedia news content, to skills in verification and newsgathering, and outputting interactive content on websites, apps and social media platforms. These skills are underpinned with a consideration of ethical and legal concerns involving fake news, online trolling and the economics of mobile journalism.
Topics include:
understanding how mobile devices, social media platforms and apps are interlinked;
making journalistic content more engaging and interactive;
advice on how successful news publishers have developed mobile and social media strategies;
adopting an approach that is entrepreneurial and user-centred;
expert interviews with journalists, academics and software developers;
learning key skills to launch and develop news websites, apps and social media outputs.
Mobile-First Journalism is essential reading for journalism students and media professionals and of interest to those studying on courses in social and new media.
Steve Hill is Course Leader of the MA in Multimedia Journalism at Westminster University, London. Previously, he lectured at Southampton Solent University, UK, and has a background in technology journalism. His books include Online Journalism: The Essential Guide (with Dr Paul Lashmar, 2013).
Paul Bradshaw is Course Leader for both the MA Multiplatform and Mobile Journalism and the MA in Data Journalism at Birmingham City University, UK. He also works as a consulting data journalist with the BBC England Data Unit. His books include the Magazine Editing (with John Morrish, 2011), Snapchat for Journalists (2016) and Online Journalism Handbook (2018).
Mobile-First Journalism
Producing News for Social and Interactive Media
Steve Hill and Paul Bradshaw
First published 2019
by Routledge
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2019 Steve Hill and Paul Bradshaw
The right of Steve Hill and Paul Bradshaw to be identified as authors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
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British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Hill, Steve (Lecturer in journalism), author. |
Bradshaw, Paul (Data journalist) author.
Title: Mobile-first journalism : producing news for social and
interactive media / Steve Hill and Paul Bradshaw.
Description: London ; New York : Routledge, 2019. | Includes index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2018019287 | ISBN 9781138289307 (hardback : alk. paper) |
ISBN 9781138289314 (pbk. : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781315267210 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Online journalism. |
JournalismTechnological innovations. | Digital media.
Classification: LCC PN4784.O62 H545 2019 | DDC 070.4dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018019287
ISBN: 978-1-138-28930-7 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-138-28931-4 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-26721-0 (ebk)
Typeset in Goudy
by Out of House Publishing
Contents
When we began researching this textbook, resources on mobile journalism were focused almost entirely on one aspect how reporters record video content using smartphones. There was lots of material about framing techniques and which company manufactures the best microphone or tripod, but not a lot else.
This book aims to correct things. The impact of mobile and social media on journalism is massive. Tech analyst Ben Evans wasnt exaggerating when he proclaimed in 2016 that mobile is eating the world. The audience (our users) view and engage with journalism content on a range of smart devices manufactured by tech giants such as Apple, Samsung and Amazon. Today a few social media companies, led by Facebook, dominate the distribution of news. Many media companies worry about power being put in the hands of so few large tech companies.
Mobile has leapfrogged print newspapers, desktop computers and traditional radio as the main way we stay informed about the world. Only TV news is more popular in the UK. As we will see later in this book, Googles Android software is the most popular operating system (OS) in the world, overtaking computers running Windows. Mobile and social media continue to have a radical and transformative impact on journalism. So we had no choice but to write this textbook!
This book isnt just about shooting video on mobile, although this is a core skill. We start by outlining a definition of mobile and social media journalism which is much broader than that contained in other textbooks. Our users view and engage with journalism content on a full range of devices and platforms. Some devices are mature technologies such as iPhone and iPad. We encourage an experimental approach to newer smart devices and social platforms. We focus on newsgathering, production, output and design and take an approach to journalism that is user-centred i.e. we focus on the audience throughout. In doing so, we look at the interlinked relationship between mobile devices, social media, news websites and apps.
The book has four core principles:
1) Mobile and social media are two sides of the same coin
Mobile and social media grew up together. Smartphones, tablets, smartwatches and even Amazon Alexa devices are social tools. We may use them to communicate with friends and often personalise them through the selection of apps and their appearance. Social media predate smartphone technology (and even the birth of the World Wide Web), but the success of the likes of Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter and WhatsApp has been shaped by the availability of smart devices.
2) Adopting an approach that is mobile first and user-centred
Media companies have had to adapt to technology change. In the late 1990s they adapted the print user experience to desktop. Back then, we spoke about a publishing strategy that was web first where newspapers broke their stories on the internet before print. The iPhone launched in 2007. It took time, but creating interactive content for mobile is now commonplace. Mobile and social is at the heart of the newsgathering process, although there are often subtle differences in strategies between media companies across Europe.
