This guide looks at how, when sub-editing for online, you need to approach the page to ensure your website engages its audience and keeps them coming back.
How do I approach the page?
Online sub-editing requires creativity and multimedia-savvy to adapt to a job description that continues to change as new media develops.
As production editor Seth Jacobson tells Journalism.co.uk: "You need to be news editor, commissioner, writer, sub-editor, picture editor and even marketeer to 'sell' your article through social media once it's been published."
Multimedia is the online sub-editor's chance to give the reader something they couldn't get from print. Strategically placed videos, audio and images will grab attention and bring the story to life, so being able to use Photoshop and basic video/audio editing software will serve you well.
Mark S. Luckie recommends using free software to help you brush-up on video and audio editing on a budget. The same rules apply to video and audio as for words, so keep them brief. The Online Journalism Blog's Paul Bradshaw suggests keeping within three minutes to hold the reader's attention.
Simplicity is crucial too: flash animation can take hours to create and might not be appropriate for the news story. However, it looks good on the page (as well as on your CV) and is effective at encouraging interactivity.
Interactivity
Interactivity can transform your story from a lecture into a dialogue and makes readers less likely to passively skim-read a page. As multimedia producer Colin Mulvany explains: "It's about sharing. It's about a conversation."
As formats to break stories have evolved beyond email and sms text alerts, more interactive, 'conversational' platforms have grown. RSS feeds and social networking sites can be effectively used to interact with readers and direct them to your website, so make sure you're familiar with these tools.
Once the reader has clicked on your page, encourage them to participate in the story. By inviting comments, offering online polls and blogs, and suggesting the reader 'email this story to a friend' you can keep them coming back for more.
Effective tagging of content and links are the online sub-editor's bread and butter, so use them well. Tagging helps readers find similar content and hyperlinks will direct them to further information. Having some knowledge of HTML code can make this easier.
Tags or inserting metadata, such as people's names, locations, story themes, might be part of your website's content management system (CMS). If not, you can add related content around articles with third-party widgets, such as Publish2.
HTML is not something that every online sub-editor will use, as much of this will be done automatically by your CMS.
However, having some knowledge of HTML and being able to create a simple webpage will set you apart from the rest. Mindy McAdams recommends using Dreamweaver.
Read more 'how to' guides from Journalism.co.uk at this link.
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