This week we learn about the work of viral content editors, and we see how public data can be pulled together to monitor the work of lawmakers.
PART 1: Viral content editors
With social sharing now an important part of news distribution, having a full-time person assigned specifically to the task is increasingly common inside news operations. We learn more about the work and content involved from Diana Bruk, viral content editor at Hearst Magazines, and Annie Colbert, viral content editor at Mashable.
Reporting by Rachel Wise, Allison Prang and Reuben Stern.
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For more information:
- RJI Futures Lab update #72: Making sharable content at BuzzFeed
- 9 Powerful Moments In The Day Of A Viral Web Editor At BuzzFeed (NPR)
- A Gawker Editor Tells How He Picks ‘Viral’ Content Readers Can’t Resist Sharing (Wall Street Journal, subscription required)
PART 2: Access Missouri
NPR-affiliate station KBIA recently partnered with a team from the University of Missouri to create Access Missouri, a website that pulls together publicly available data about local legislators. KBIA News Director Ryan Famuliner explains how the site offers a new way for the public to keep tabs on their elected representatives.
Reporting by Tatiana Darie.
[To skip directly to this segment in YouTube, click here.]
For more information:
A key to success for something like Access Missouri might be getting a coalition of news organizations to steer their audiences toward the site, according to panelists from KBIA’s media criticism program “Views of The News.”
Reuben Stern is the deputy director of the Futures Lab at the Reynolds Journalism Institute and host and co-producer of the weekly Futures Lab video update.