From 2007 through the spring of this year, many Japanese newspapers and news agencies implemented organizational changes that incorporated digital media divisions into their existing print-edition editorial departments in order to create an “integrated editorial department.”
The result has not brought only a change in organization, but also a change in the mindset of reporters. Specifically, many reporters are getting used to posting breaking news on real-time Web-based news sites without waiting for the editorial deadlines of their print-edition newspapers.
At some newspapers, the number of news articles carried on their Web sites has dramatically increased, while other newspapers have become accustomed to using their Web-based news sites to post analytical articles or exclusive backgrounders.
Senior editors and managers at many newspaper publishers and news agencies now share the view that maintaining close collaboration between their respective print and online versions poses a major challenge for the future of news organizations.
The following summary assesses current Japanese newspaper efforts to deal with that challenge.
(Breaking news bringing a changing mindset)
Yoichi Nishimura, an assistant to the managing editor at the Asahi Shimbun’s Tokyo head office, regularly reminds his field reporters, “Don’t hoard the news in your laptops.” He tells his reporters to file copy on the remarks of the governor of the Bank of Japan during his regular media conference “in a matter of one, three or five minutes.”
In a sweeping organizational reform in April of this year, editors at the Asahi’s News Center began dealing with the news in rotation for their print and online editions. Now that the editors in the Editorial Department are telling each section to post breaking news quickly, communication among the sections has markedly increased, according to Nishimura. More importantly, reporters on the beat are getting used to posting articles for the Web site without waiting for the editorial deadlines of the print edition. The sheer volume of articles posted to and distributed over the Web has more than quadrupled, he said.
The Kanagawa Shimbun created a breaking news division last fall to get reporters to post news in near real time over its Web site. Kenji Hotta, a director and managing editor at the newspaper, said that he urges reporters to post breaking news on the Web news site, noting that, “On the Web, we can release an article only five to 10 lines in length.” Since the opening of the new division, the volume of articles distributed over the Web site has more than tripled, he said.
At the Kumamoto Nichinichi Shimbun, the change in the mindset of its reporters began as a result of a major organizational shift in the editorial department. One example stood out in reflecting the change. The print edition carried advance news articles in its morning edition for this past Sept. 11th, reporting that the governor of Kumamoto Prefecture was set to announce a last-minute mediatory step regarding the much-disputed construction of a dam on a local river later that day. But one of the newspaper’s reporters found a source early the same morning who confirmed that the governor had already told the parties of his decision, and the reporter then posted the story to the newly created media news division, scooping the issue and preempting his own newspaper’s print report. The newspaper’s own Web site released his breaking story shortly before 8:30 a.m. Hiroaki Nagamatsu, the manager of the Information Planning Division of the Integrated Media Department, said the scoop reflected a big change in mindset and signifies that the print medium has overflowed into a new medium capable of providing breaking news without any delay.
But why are print-centric newspapers and news agencies scrambling to expand their distribution of breaking news via Web news sites?
Yoshichiyo Murakami, a director, editor-in-chief and concurrent head of the Digital Business Promotion Headquarters for To-o Nippo Press Co., said, “It’s because newspaper companies must develop their news Web sites to capitalize on their high growth potential to pursue business opportunities.”
Shigeyuki Yoshida, chief of the News Center at Kyodo News, said that newspapers are moving to expand their release of breaking news over Web sites while introducing a full multi-media approach. “Their users’ access to Web news sites is comparatively heavy during lunch breaks and in the evening, due to the relative unavailability of news till the start of regular evening news broadcasts on TV,” Yoshida noted. “The hours between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. have become a hole in news reporting.” Many newspaper officials now agree that they have to deliver breaking news over the Internet, disregarding editorial deadlines that long dictated the content of the evening and morning editions of their print editions.
(Original content becoming exclusive to the Web)
The Sankei Shimbun is pursuing what it calls a “Web-perfect” policy. Masafumi Katayama, the editor of both the print and online editions at Sankei’s Tokyo head office, said that the Sankei is concentrating on delivering exclusive “original content” over its Web site to ensure the whole company’s survival in the Internet age. Specifically, Sankei’s news site is firing off serialized in-depth features on major crime stories mainly over weekends, when its page views tend to drop. In the belief that firsthand information is the most attractive content on the Internet, the Sankei is also focusing on high-speed delivery of detailed courtroom proceedings on major crime stories and excerpts from question-and-answer sessions of key government officials and politicians, among other subject matter. Katayama identified a “secondary benefit” of such efforts. “Reporters’ assignments to contribute serialized features and to cover courtroom events prompt them to build their own networks of news sources and to enhance their routine newsgathering skills,” he said.
Kentaro Kawabe, the manager of the news service section at Yahoo Japan’s Media Business Division, gives high marks to the detailed courtroom coverage on Sankei’s news site. “This project is nothing short of a revolution for news sites. The success of this undertaking has swept aside our previous stereotype of users who would never even consider reading long texts on Web sites,” Kawabe said. Prompted by the popularity of Sankei’s site, Yahoo in September opened a new area on its own news site for users to read key articles from 18 weekly and monthly magazines including well known publications like “AERA,” “Chuo Koron” and “Bungei Shunju.”
Kawabe sees straight news overflowing onto the Internet, onto display screens in commuter trains, onto massive electronic advertising panels at major intersections -- everywhere you go. “That’s what makes people want to read more analytical pieces and backgrounders on news Web sites, he said.
Toshinao Sasaki, an IT journalist, called on newspapers to (1) increase the volume of information they carry on their affiliated news Web sites by posting more commentaries and columns, and to (2) provide a forum for the interchange of diverse perspectives by linking to blogs and other external sources. He also cited the importance of having newspaper reporters work to access expert knowledge in science and medical care to boost interest in the content on the news sites.
According to Sasaki, there are many forums on the Internet for professors, medical practitioners and specialists in diverse fields to exchange views and information. “If newspapers distribute intellectually-stimulating articles, written from the perspective of specialists, they will be able to stay at the center of opinion-making in the Web era,” Sasaki said. “Such venues on the Web could also be developed as a tool for new advertising,” he added.
(Headlining Web news articles)
This past August, Kyodo News held its first in-house study meeting to discuss how to write more-compelling headlines for Web-based news articles. Yasushi Fujii, a digital news manager, sees copyeditors as needing to use more ingenuity in devising headlines to attract Web users to click through to the article. “Users are unlikely to click on a long headline stretching out for 20 words,” Fujii said. He says headlines need to be held to an absolute maximum of 15 words. The Japanese word count for headlines on Yahoo News is already 13 or less.
Is there any big style difference between headlines for newspaper articles and those intended for the Web?
According to Tetsuo Hatanaka, chief of the digital editorial division at Kyodo News, it is common in newspaper headers for the protagonist and the subject to appear in a subhead (or second headline) rather than the main headline. But on the Web, there is rarely any room for a subhead, and the concluding summary line of articles written in the inverted-pyramid style of Japanese news reporting is just condensed into a short header. More often than not, including the actual subject renders a headline dull and boring, turning it into a mere statement of fact. Omitting the subject thereby arouses user curiosity by making them wonder, “What’s this all about?” and “Who’s the newsmaker?” said Hatanaka.
Sankei’s Katayama agreed with Hatanaka and said Web headlines must stir curiosity and even when a final decision or result is reported, the headline must avoid the details in order to draw in readers. Instead, such headlines must imply some major event, thus tempting users to click through to find out what happened.
In this context, a ruling issued by the Tokyo District Court in September came as a sobering embarrassment to those involved in news reporting over the Web. The Tokyo court ordered the Mainichi Shimbun to pay 1.1 million yen in damages for defaming a major consumer electronics retailer. At issue was a headline on a Mainichi article released via its Web site. The ruling called the headline misleading and defamatory, asserting that many Web users merely browse the headlines to grasp the news without reading the full text for the details. Drawing a line between the Web and print media however, the same ruling turned down the complainant’s parallel demand for damages based on the appearance of the same article in that Mainichi’s print newspaper, where the readers’ passive and simultaneous access to the full text of story was seen as a mitigating factor.
Some editors voiced worry about possible negative repercussions, saying newspapers might also end up facing similar defamation suits against “exaggerated headlines with extreme wordings.” While Kyodo’s Fujii refused to comment on the case, he warned in general terms that caution is still needed in referring to arrests or charges in headlines, especially as Japanese courts prepare to adopt a jury-like lay judge system in May 2009.
(A new focus for print-media content in the Web era)
The Kanagawa Shimbun sees newspapers as needing to attach more importance to community-oriented information in their print editions. The Kanagawa plans to set up a Citizens Information Division in February to start providing more information about local events and other community matters in its print version. Hiroyuki Namiki, a deputy managing editor and chief of the news center, said the Kanagawa Shimbun will concentrate on delivering useful information for daily life, a subject that is gaining importance among newspaper readers.
Some newspapers are also promoting new projects to link their print editions to their online editions. After coverage on its Web news site drew heavy user interest, the Asahi’s print edition carried a series of in-depth feature articles on “the working poor” and “Internet caf? refugees” (otherwise-homeless people who seek nightly shelter in walled cubicles rented by the hour inside 24-hour Internet cafes that have sprung up across major cities). The Asahi’s Nishimura said, “Nowadays, there are an increasing number of cases in which print media are learning from online media.” At the same time, Nishimura warned, “We still should not focus only on reinforcing our Web operations. Rather, we must address the challenge of motivating Web users to also seek out our print editions.”
At the To-o Nippo Press, the new slogan in the newsroom is, “Delivering breaking news 1st by e-mail, next via the Web, and then in print.” However, Murakami admitted that in terms of revenue, the Web is still merely a supplement to print edition earnings and the ultimate aim of the Web site remains to promote sales of the newspaper. Aside from linking the print and online editions in terms of content, “practical collaboration” to generate new revenue is still a major challenge, he said.
