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Breaking news stories on Zapiro's cartoon controversy and the political shake-up are among the real drivers of traffic to The Times properties. A story showcasing Zapiro's cartoon, which is an illustration of African National Congress president, Jacob Zuma, unbuckling his belt in front of a woman representing the justice system with the leaders of the ANC Youth League, ANC and South African Communist Party, received almost 60 000 views while an audio interview with Zapiro had nearly 25 000 views. Reporting on the political shakeup saw up-to-the-minute blogging of the breaking news together with a special report on Mbeki resigning and a new cabinet generating more than 16 000 views. A photo series of Mbeki's career in pictures was the most viewed photo content with more than 6 000 views to date.
Forward-looking, interactive and transparent news is at the heart of The Times Online strategy. The results are testament to our effective use of multiple platforms and multimedia to deliver news as it happens and to target a wide demographic, says Colin Daniels, publisher of The Times Online. The site has become increasingly popular because we have packaged and provided news content by utilising a variety of mediums from standard text articles to blogs, audio and video clips as well as photo slide shows. We are especially pleased about the fantastic response to our blog and multimedia portals, which proves that we have our finger on the pulse when it comes to responding to the changing way in which people are choosing to consume their news. The Times Planet Blog site saw a 159% increase in unique users. The revamped Times Multimedia portal, which showcases video, audio, pictures and movie trailers in an easy-to-navigate interface, has grown impressively with a 55% increase in traffic.
The phenomenal growth of The Times Planet Blog means that we have managed to catapult blogging into the mainstream where it is no longer the exclusive domain of the technologically literate, says Daniels.
Although SA has been relatively shielded from the digital media revolution until now, due to cost and bandwidth issues, in other parts of the world traditional media has struggled to adapt to the new regime. Guy Berger, head of the journalism department at Rhodes University, noted at the recent Highway Africa journalism conference that while the mainstream media has previously subsidised the web, the reverse is likely in future.
While US newspapers are slashing jobs in traditional newsroom functions such as stills photography and copy desk editing they are hiring in other areas, notably videography and web editing.
Matthew Buckland, the newly appointed GM for 24.com, said at the same conference that media needed to be made available on multiple platforms.
It has become easier to access the internet through cellphones, which now come preloaded with WAP settings and have a dedicated button for the internet. In some countries, internet access via cellphone is outstripping access via desktop computers. Buckland suggests that media companies need to use social network layers, which connect users to each other as well as connecting the publisher to the user.
Multiple formats are important too, especially cellphone. Eventually, the internet will be the foundation of all media, including TV and radio. It is a more efficient medium, which promises greater interactivity. And multimedia content must be of the same quality as print media, says Buckland.
Publishers should embrace their communities. Get your readers to write, copy taste and gather news, he says. In addition, content should be niched and tagged because the web has a niche for every piece of content, no matter how obscure. This is less true of traditional media, which risks losing readers by being too niche.
Eventually, the internet will be the foundation of all media, including TV and radio. It is a more efficient medium, which promises greater interactivity. And multimedia content must be of the same quality as print media.
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