Anyone who produces Webcasts or streams newscasts online might want to take a look at what ABC News is doing with its afternoon Webcast, called “World News.” According to an article in the New York Times:
“It is intended in part for people who view Web pages on iPods and cellphones and ABC executives say they are deliberately aiming to please the 25-to-54-year-olds whom every news organization covets.
Every night there is a good dose of technology and pop culture coverage. For instance, Google puts out a daily list of what it calls “rising searches” – search terms that are suddenly more popular among Web users. And ABC producers select three to mention on the Webcast, usually in a one-minute segment.”
Jason Samuels is senior producer for digital content. His advice to reporters?
“Do one long stand-up, do much longer sound bites, play an interview,” he said, summing up his advice to the staff. Produce a story in any way you think is engaging – there are no rules.”
Right now the ABC Webcast is getting 4.5 million views and downloads a month, compared to NBC which says elements of “Nightly News” are streamed on MSNBC.com 10 million times each month.
Still, it’s an experiment worth watching.
