This is the first of two items about how
and why to take your newspaper online. Today, we'll discuss the
benefits of going virtual and some tips for taking advantage of the
web's
resources. In a future item, we'll focus
on the practicalities of creating a web site — domains, servers, design
and cost.
Three years ago, The
Grizzly Gazette online (Granite Hills High School. Porterville, Calif.) consisted of a white page and a couple of
headlines. This year, the site won a
Pacemaker Award.
Editor-in-chief Lauren Rabaino led the way in redesigning the site,
dedicating a summer to learning web building and then motivating her
staff to improve what she started.
In an e-mail exchange, Rabaino offered these tips for creating an online newspaper:
1. Run lots of content. "The beauty of the web is that it's
unlimited. You can post as much as you want whenever you want."
2. Be timely. "You don't have
to wait until your issue goes to print, which for most high school papers is
weekly or even monthly, making news irrelevant after a while. The web
gives you the ability to post that breaking news story when the Bunsen burner
catches a student's lab coat on fire in the chemistry building."
3. Don't throw anything away. "The web
allows you to post online features or additional stories that had to be cut
from your print edition and won't be relevant by the time the next issue comes
out."
4.
Make it easy to navigate. "When the quarterback's great-grandmother
logs on to read about the playoffs, you don't want her to spend 20
minutes figuring out how to use the site. It has to be easy for
everyone to
use, because a majority of your readers aren't going to be web pros.
They're
going to be parents, grandparents, teachers, siblings."
5.
Create an easy way for readers to give feedback. At the bottom of each page, have PHP forms, boxes where readers post their thoughts. The comments will compile at
the
bottom of the page. This encourages
feedback and interaction among readers, moreso than just linking to an
e-mail
address.
6. Engage readers through opinion polls and multimedia. For surveys,
The Grizzly Gazette uses a program called
DreamPoll, which can be purchased online. Other programs are available. Multimedia options include slideshows
(the
Gazette uses
SlideShow Pro), podcasting, and video/animations with flash.
Jonah Varon, web editor-in-chief of The Lowell (Lowell High School, San Francisco, Calif.), another 2007 Pacemaker winner,
says this of their web site:
Our website has allowed us to reach
a broader audience than we would have otherwise with our printed paper. In
addition to alumni and students, people across the country and throughout the
world have visited our website. In fact, our site is censored in China,
because of articles we published on Falun Gong.
Please send us your own tips for going virtual.
-- Jacky Hicks
