The online news environment of the future

16 sep 2008

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Journalists are lazy and like to take the easy way out. Or so I’ve been told. In any case, they always have tight deadlines. If you want them to write about your company, you’ll therefore have to make it as easy as possible for them. The information and sources you provide them with have to be interesting and ready to use. And all this via your corporate website, of course.

What are the basics for an online news environment? How do you keep the new generation of journalists satisfied? And do you have a vision regarding online press communications? This article will give you a few ideas.

Standard requirements for a news environment

Not all companies have their basics in order yet. What is the very least a journalist expects to find on your corporate website?

Reports about topical matters: news items, press releases, presentations of figures, etc.
Press releases reaching back at least five years, in an archive that’s easy to search through
Contact details of spokespersons (preferably available day and night)
Photo materials, also in high resolution
Company information, key figures, CV of directors

TNT has a search function in the press release archive

Online crisis communication: something you considered?

But there’s more. Did you include an ‘online communication’ chapter in your crisis communication plan? In case of an emergency, it’s impossible to quickly throw together a website or a few extra pages. So be well prepared.

If a head of state dies, national television has sufficient broadcasting material at hand to fill an entire evening of TV. Does your company have a site somewhere behind the scenes in the event of an incident?

For the new generation of journalists

When your basics are in order, you’re ready to take it to the next level.
This might be an exaggeration, but there are essentially two kinds of journalists. One takes notes on his notepad, with a blunt pencil usually concealed behind his ear by a tangle of curls. The other listens to the podcast of your press conference and subsequently sends his article about it to the editor on his iPhone.
What does this second category of journalist expect from your company in terms of press communication?

Alert service for news and events: via e-mail, RSS and SMS
Webcasts, but also downloadable pod- or vodcasts of press events or interviews
A corporate blog by your CEO or CFO, for example, that covers topical issues
A mobile website so current stock prices and press releases can be checked

In the TomTom calendar, visitors can receive e-mail alerts, register for RSS feeds and automatically add events to his/her Outlook Calendar

Take it to the next level. Create your own medium

But what does the online news environment of the future look like? There are a few trendsetters who can perhaps offer us some insight into the possibilities. Cisco Systems has a sophisticated news environment on their corporate website.

The network company has a separate website called News@Cisco, complete with key facts, press releases, news in a variety of categories, an overview of external reports about Cisco, press kits, photos, podcasts, videos and blogs, In short, all the issues mentioned in this article.

This is not only interesting for journalists, but also for all of Cisco Systems’ corporate stakeholders. In addition to press releases, Cisco also provides background information and posts their vision and opinions. Cisco thus creates its own medium. And that’s an exciting development.

What now?

Generating publicity undoubtedly remains an important task for the press department. To do so effectively, it is helpful to meet the needs of traditional and modern journalists via one’s corporate website. And if the online news environment attracts a great number of visitors, the company will have a personal, extremely valuable medium in their possession to share news, visions and opinions with all the corporate stakeholders. Is this the future?