Adding (Multi) Media to the Web

The term “mulitmedia” describes all the media tools — like sound, pictures and video — that the Web makes available.

Sites like YouTube are quite well know, by now, for having millions of hours of video that people can view for free.

Though some consider “multimedia” to be something of a dated, overused word, the concept is still important when considering how to tell stories in a meaningful way in today’s media environment.

The Chicago Tribune, when it reported on the Occupy Chicago marches over the weekend, used a combination of pictures, text and video to tell the story.

Still images have been a part of newspapers for many decades. But the Web has advantages over the printed page. Newspapers can create photo galleries of user-submitted photos to give multiple angles on a story.

Services like Flickr are a great stockpile of user-submitted photos, some of which are free to use and many of which have only limited Creative Commons copyrights.

A newspaper’s archive of still images can also be a source of revenue if they make digital copies available to institutions like local universities.

Though anyone can take a picture, capturing and processing an image takes skill. Cropping removes unwanted or distracting elements from an image. Sizing and resolution are important when making sure the image looks good on the webpage. And saving and choosing file type and quality are important for making sure an image is compatible with your content management system.

When recording sound it is important to use professional quality recording devices. Podcasting has become an easy way to bring audio content to the masses.

Web video has become extremely popular in recent years. It is particularly useful in today’s market when many viewers have only a limited attention span. Short videos work best.

The Web is the native space for interactive storytelling. Comments, polls and user submissions are now used more than ever in the news room.

Repurposing broadcast material for the Web

Broadcast material can be easily repurposed for the Web to extend the brand of the network online. Also, the Web is increasingly becoming a medium that can supplement broadcast news with additional material while providing opportunities for interactivity with the audience.

Repurposing broadcast content for the Web allows people to consume media at their own convenience. And mobile devices let them watch video or read articles while they are on the go.

Web video also allows the viewer to break free of the strictly linear constrictions that have limited the broadcast medium in the past. Viewers can move forward or backward in a video as they please.

Television broadcast operations have an advantage over radio broadcast because TV has more resources and bigger staffs. The Web lets radio break free of its strictly audio format with pictures and other media. Newspaper newsrooms have the largest staffs of all. And, as multimedia technology becomes more accessible and portable, print media can now have audio and video available online.

TV news websites were once known for their cluttered design. But, since the advent of Web 2.0, many TV broadcast operations have made use of the sleeker, simpler design that Web surfers have come to expect of the sites they frequent.

Utilizing the Web as an avenue for content can also provide opportunities for cross-promotions. In these days of tight newsroom budgets, any additional revenue stream is surely a welcome one.

Web producers for TV newsrooms will often find themselves adapting scripts as “print” stories for the Web. There are certain formatting issues to be aware of, however. Writing for the ear is different than writing for the eye. Attributions, for instance, would go after a quote, rather than before. This format is similar to what is seen in newspaper stories.

But for all the ways they are different, Web content and broadcast TV do share some similarities. Videos must be short and to the point to keep the attention of the audience. While the TV audience is generally more passive than the engaged Web audience, both seek the same kinds of stories from their news: weather, sports and local coverage.