Three things a citizen news site can teach us
Note: I reached out to the creators of the Ann Arbor Chronicle while trying to track down somebody from the Ann Arbor News, which lost its print operation in 2009 and is now entirely online. But what I found at the competing Chronicle intrigued me. So I decided to interview them instead.
When I emailed the Ann Arbor Chronicle, I assumed it would be for a story that focused on how a news website, run entirely by citizens, is using social media to help expand as the preferred way to reach readers.
That would fit perfectly with this blog.
More: A Nieman article on the Chronicle
What I found instead was a website founded by people with journalism experience and a passion for local news who use social media, such as Twitter and a Facebook page, because the current climate says they have to.
“Those are in place mostly so that I don’t have answer the question ‘why don’t you have a twitter account?’,” said Dave Askins, editor of the Ann Arbor Chronicle. “We don’t have a Facebook strategy.”
See, that’s blasphemy. Even I have some form of a crappy Facebook strategy, and it’s just you guys and my wife reading this. Seriously, I make her read everything before I post it. I tend to leave words out.
Askins and his wife, Mary Morgan – the publisher – run a very well-written and focused news site that local readers rely on for accurate and important information.
I’m getting ahead of myself, though. Here is how the Ann Arbor Chronicle was born.
The site was launched in 2008. Mary had been working for the Ann Arbor News for a few years. She started as a reporter and worked her way up to Opinions Editor. The News, though, was about to start offering buyouts that Mary didn’t qualify for.
So she and Askins decided it was time to branch out and start a site of their own. He said the vision for it was to focus intensely on the local news that the newspaper was ignoring.
That meant government news.
“This is just boring stuff that nobody cares about,” Askins said, “except for people who read our publication.”
First lesson
Askins and Morgan know their audience. They know the kind of reader that faithfully reads and what the expectations are. They also know that some will drop in for a moment, but might not like what they see. They’re okay with that.
An example Askins gave was a story he was working on the Friday I talked to him. It was a story covering a board meeting that took place on the Tuesday of that week. He knows from previous comments that some readers have complained about how long it takes to get stories published.
Askins said readers can get the quick-hit coverage of the meeting at other sites. What the Chronicle is providing its faithful readers, he said, is a detailed look.
“If you want to watch the council meeting, which is six hours long, you can do that,” he said. “Or you can take 15 minutes to read 10,000 words to get all the background information you need to know.”
The story, posted Saturday, is by far the most thorough look at a meeting I’ve ever seen. It’s certainly more than I’ve ever written on one meeting.
Yet it has tons of good information that readers are commenting on.
Second lesson
It seems as if the motivating goal behind the Chronicle is to be unique in a competitive market. Askins made some great points on the topic when describing his beliefs on how things should work.
In a competitive market, the rush is to be first. What can be lost in that race, Askins said, is the need to separate yourself from everybody else. That’s a struggle we feel daily in the “mainstream media” world.
A friend from work often says he tells reporters to report the hole while everybody else is reporting the donut. I know, it sounds dirty.
For the Ann Arbor Chronicle, that means reporting heavily on government news and light on features, when they make sense and can be done with depth.
“It’s not going to be about being first,” he said. “That’s not being unique. It’s just being sooner.”
Third lession
Let’s get back to social media. It is after all why I reached out to Askins. The Ann Arbor Chronicle does plenty with social media. Plenty. The have a good Facebook page, two twitter accounts, a customizable RSS feed and the ability to send email updates.
In all honestly, that’s about all they need. Yes, I was hoping for streaming video and a weekly podcast. Askins and Morgan don’t force social media down the throats of their readers, though.
That is honestly why I scaled back what I had listed for social media accounts. The first design of this site had links to my YouTube, Tumblr, Me, AudioBoo, Stumble, and I think Flickr. Those are in addition to the remaining links I have on the page.
That’s too much. I learned that from the Ann Arbor Chronicle. Their twitter pages are active and used in a way I would have though too. Askins said his personal account is where they interact with readers and talk about whatever comes to mind.
Then there’s the account that is used as a way to feed website headlines. That gives readers a simple choice. Do they want interaction on Twitter or a straight feed of the news? Maybe both?
The beauty of a Facebook page is that it allows us to do both. The Ann Arbor Chronicle has 500 people following its Facebook page. That’s pretty solid. I have like 30.
They combine a short list of social media abilities with a solid news website to provide readers with a consistent and dedicated product.
Lessons learned.
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