(The CLEG major covers Communication, Legal Institutions, Economics and Government)
Interning at washingtonpost.com is a privilege that remains fun and overwhelmingly educational. What astounds me still (and makes me happier to have interned with the site) is the relevance of the work of The Washington Post and washingtonpost.com.
While working in the news business is fun, it proves even more enjoyable when the work of your company is regularly referenced, debated, rehashed, disputed and loathed all over the world.
Writing That Gets Read
Proof of our work' s relevance first came from co-workers at my work-study job on campus. They had set washingtonpost.com as each computer' s home page even before I began interning because, " I like reading their stories and they do the best job,” as one coworker said.
Likewise, almost every time I watch the TV news, The Washington Post is cited as the source of the latest major investigation. (The Abu Ghraib prison scandal was introduced to the world through the photos posted exclusively on our site.) And, as selfish as it may seem, it is quite satisfying to go home to Upstate New York and not need to explain my internship for more than five minutes to each relative, neighbor and high school buddy I encounter, because their eyes widen at first mention of The Washington Post and they understand where I am working.
Coming up with the Idea
My boss, Jeffrey Marcus and I agreed that I had to complete a project before the end of my internship. Many different ideas crossed my mind, but I noticed many already existed on the site.
This is a good thing, I thought, because it means editors and producers have met the needs of readers who wanted issues covered. However, because all my ideas had already been used, this meant I had to think even farther ahead and faster than the other editors and producers to design something interesting and unique.
Some of the ideas I had were too advanced or expensive for even washingtonpost.com to consider. Likewise, I did not want my project to focus specifically on the presidential elections since dozens of sites already had unique, informative, timely projects underway, including the Debate Referee feature for which I had researched the positions of Kerry and Bush.
Better to focus on the post-election period, I thought, in order to help people understand the inevitable transition to a Kerry Administration, should he win, or the traditional second-term turnover if Bush won reelection.
The Washington Post vs. washingtonpost.com
It should be noted how my project would fit with the overall organization of the Web site and how it relates to the newspaper' s operations.
After meeting with Jeffrey to discuss the goals of my project, I had to consider how it would be completed and which departments and people I would have to ask for help in order to see its completion.
Many people understandably confuse the resources of the newspaper with the Web site, assuming that both work in unison on every project and in the same building. Such assumptions are far from the truth.
One of the first things one realizes when they begin at washingtonpost.com is that we are very separate from the newspaper, but at the same time very connected in our efforts.
Douglas Feaver, who was the executive editor of washingtonpost.com while I worked there, assumed his responsibilities in 1997 after 28 years at The Washington Post as a copy editor, reporter on the development and construction of the Metro system, national transportation reporter and then editor of the Virginia, Metro and Business sections, respectively.
Feaver retired at the end of January after more than 30 years at The Post and other publications.
Shortly before he did, he was asked, in a Live Online discussion, to explain the difference between the paper and the Web site. Feaver answered that:
The Web site's newsroom is located in Arlington VA; the newspaper's newsroom is in downtown Washington. All articles that appear in the newspaper also appear on washingtonpost.com. But the newspaper comes out once a day.
The Web site is updated continually and regularly posts breaking news or updates of articles that were in the morning paper. Washingtonpost.com has three of its own reporters -- one in politics and two reporting on technology.
The majority of the updated news and breaking news elements that appear on the site are prepared by Washington Post newspaper reporters. … In addition to text and photos, the Web site can post audio, video and slide shows to enhance Post articles or, as happens regularly, publish original multimedia material (Feaver).
Having read his answer, I figured that, when in doubt, I should let the boss answer the difficult questions. Consider that lesson one of the first things I learned from my experience.
Feaver' s first responsibility when he joined washingtonpost.com was to serve as the liaison between the paper and the Web site. His role was not easy, as he told interns in a summer lunch meeting, because he had to convince hundreds of print reporters to allow their work to appear on a online news Web site which, at the time, was still a relatively young, untested medium.
Equally difficult to explain to old-school print reporters was that readers would be able to read stories on-demand for free, without paying subscription costs. Furthermore, print reporters accustomed to filing for one deadline would now be called upon as needed to file copy on their area of expertise as soon as possible.
Proof of the difficulty in selling the concept of washingtonpost.com recently came from Feaver' s successor Jim Brady, who told staffers that when he asked Post sports columnist Tony Kornheiser to consider writing online-only content back in the mid-1990s, Kornheiser asked Brady bluntly, " How much will you pay me?” After explaining to Tony and other writers that there would not necessarily be more pay for their online content, both Doug and Jim mentioned that every reporter had the potential to reach millions of new readers around the world, thus broadening their exposure and influence to areas where The Washington Post was not available in print.
After mentioning the broad reach and increased audience size, Feaver realized his sell was no longer as difficult! The site more recently added a reporter' s byline when his or her story appears in the top table of the home page, giving writers more exposure and credit for their work.
As Feaver explained in his expert answer above, print content appears on the site and in the newspaper. Our job at the Web site is to make sure the print content is archived properly and to enhance that original report with some unique online-only features.
My department focuses on national, political and international news. Few other American newspapers, (New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal to name three), give national, political and international news such top priority. The process continues 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
For example, we may initially publish a wire story regarding a breaking story from Sudan. Soon after, we will add a photo courtesy of our photo department, links to the site' s Africa section, a box including the most recent Post stories about Sudan and a special Q&A that Jeffrey and I wrote this past summer.
Eventually, the newspaper' s Continuous News Desk may call the Post reporter to file an original edition of the breaking story, thus overwriting the wire copy.
If the Associated Press later sends a video package about the story, or if our reporter files an audio report on the topic, those links will also be added to the right of the body of the story. And if the reporter is interviewed on MSNBC about the subject, through the Post' s partnership with that network, we will include a link to video of the interview.
The Project: An Online Guide to the New Congress
For my project, I wanted to create something that would be useful, easy to use and that could be updated after my departure. Once Bush won reelection, a project on a cabinet overhaul seemed unnecessary since we already have a flash photo and text feature with biographical information on each cabinet secretary and links to related stories on each member. (See the " Bush Administration” section under site' s Politics link to view this feature.)
In scanning the site for story ideas, I noticed that our Congress section seemed weak when compared to other parts of the Nation and Politics areas.
A check of the Congress page in mid-November found that the lead feature was a column from early September discussing how some of John Kerry' s votes could affect the presidential election.
I settled on building a feature similar to our Bush Administration cabinet profiles that would include photos, biographical information and related stories on the 40 new members of the House and the nine new Senators.
This project would require working with the photo and graphics department as well as some cooperation from the newspaper' s staff. It also required collecting the information on each new member.
With a total of 535 members, few if any members of Congress become high-profile household names. Most people can name only a handful of House and Senate members and are often unable to name their own representatives or senators. Part of the problem is that voters know little about these members and few if any incumbents lose in competitive closely watched campaigns.
The incoming 109th Congress has 40 new House members, accounting for less than 10 percent of the House of Representatives, a frustratingly low turnover rate for some. On the Senate side, the nine new Senators are the result of eight retirements and one incumbent' s loss, even though 34 Senators faced reelection. New members occupy 26 percent of the contested Senate seats, only nine percent of the entire body.
While some might lament such a high incumbency rate, 40 new House members and nine new Senators fit nicely into my project. After meeting with our other deputy editor Mike Snyder, producers Kevin Hetchkopf and Dan Jung and graphics director Brian Cordyack, we agreed that I would compile the text portions of the project with Kevin' s guidance.
Brian said his colleague Nelson would help construct the flashcard portion of the package and that we should discuss the project with the photo department to obtain headshots of new members. After getting assurances from the photo department that they would pass along the headshots, I set out to compile the necessary information for the text portion of the package.
Moving from Concept to Completion
Most of the biographical information was available through our contract with the Associated Press. Washingtonpost.com subscribes to the AP, which provided election night returns that remain archived in our Elections section.
The AP also compiles biographical information submitted by each candidate for each House and Senate race, which we republished on our site.
Kevin told me that the information would have to be placed in a text file in our publishing program called Home Site. The software helps us construct some of our fancier link boxes and galleries and the link sets found towards the bottom of our home page, where the different news sections link to three stories to read.
The program allows a producer to input text and then preview how it will look when published. This basic data input feature could be considered an online equivalent of editing film for voiceovers or B-roll packages or cutting audio for a radio piece. Undoubtedly this technology will improve in the future, making the process easier for producers to publish information in a timelier manner.
In addition to the text and pictures, Mike thought we should include an audio feature from one of The Post' s reporters, previewing what readers could expect from the new members. He called Charles Babington, The Post' s chief congressional correspondent who once authored an online-only politics column for the site.
Since Babington had worked at the site, Mike was confident he would be willing to help us and that he would know exactly what to say and how to say it. Indeed, Babington' s audio feature previews the issues the 109th Congress will address, and he talks about the new Senate and House members and points out that both bodies will be more Republican. Readers can listen to Babington' s audio feature while simultaneously perusing the photos and information on each member.
Who is the Target Audience?
I wanted this project to simultaneously meet the needs of four groups: a casual post.com reader who might find the feature' s photo/graphics combination interesting and informative when trying to kill time; the political junky seeking information on new Congressional members and how they got to the Hill; the Congressional staffer wanting to learn more about their boss' new colleagues and/or adversaries; and the lobbyist/influence peddler needing a unique bit of information on the new member that would impress and persuade that member to vote on an issue in the future.
The package had to include more than the basic birth date, education and family information. Therefore, we linked to a story The Post had previously published on the member where available. We also incorporated information on their previous work experiences. At Jeffrey' s suggestion, we added a summary on how the person won their election, whom they beat, whom they replaced and why their predecessor was leaving Congress. Finally, we included an interesting fact about the person that set them apart from the others.
For instance, Rep. John Salazar of Colorado co-owns a Dairy Queen with his wife in his district. Rep. Gwen Moore of Wisconsin once relied on welfare as a single mother of three and became Wisconsin' s first African-American representative. Senator-elect Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, a physician, has personally delivered almost 4,000 babies and Senator-elect Mel Martinez of Florida once coached a Little League team.
When the project launches later this week, it will be informative and fun and give readers a unique look at the small collection of new characters on Capitol Hill.
It will also be the work of a collection of online editors and producers who know which software to use and how to present the package on the site, their colleagues at the newspaper who understand and appreciate the need to provide online news and interns with an idea and a desire to learn.
Such cooperation may have seemed inconceivable when washingtonpost.com launched roughly eight years ago and still proves occasionally difficult today.
Integrated Media: A Preview of Coming Attractions
However, the integration of print, audio and online features is the direction that journalism is headed in the coming years.Any reporter, editor, intern or news outlet that does not understand the need for all aspects of media to work together to provide information across multiple platforms will not succeed at properly informing and entertaining the evolving tastes and needs of audiences.
Washingtonpost.com is arguably ahead of its competition in understanding these needs. The site is most closely associated with the Web sites of its national newspaper competitors the New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal and Los Angeles Times.
Of the combined five, washingtonpost.com most frequently marries its text reports with audio hits, video packages and other graphics features. But washingtonpost.com must also address other forms of competition including Google News, powered primarily by alga rhythms, AOL News, delivered through its online program, the Internet and instant messaging, and international outlets including BBCNews.com that provides news through its Web site, on train station video walls, through PDAs and cell phones.
The past six months have better introduced me to the different methods of information distribution, especially those most related to the Internet. My multimedia package, which will be used in the coming weeks (and hopefully altered later to include even more information), is a small example of where news coverage is headed.
It taught me more about the technology available to the post.com's team, it demonstrated the need to have good working relationships with colleagues and it reveals that online news coverage can be informative, fun, and fun to use. Such lessons, taught to me by a team of eager, willing and thoughtful people, will prove invaluable in the future.
WORKS CITED
"washingtonpost.com Executive Editor Doug Feaver." Washingtonpost.com Live Online. 13 October 2004.
Comments by Doug Feaver and Jim Brady taken from meetings with interns over the summer and at editorial staff meetings this fall. Examples of all work can be found at washingtonpost.com.
Links to the Sudan Q&A can be found under the Africa node in the World section of the site, an " The New Congress” feature will be posted in the Congress node of the Politics section by December 10.
