How to «Live»
International best practices for live content
& Boston.com
The Boston Globe
Pulitzer-prize winning journalism
Huge number of visitors
Total Unique Visitors to boston.com liveblogs
75 million
Total UEMs on boston.com liveblogs
662 million
They weren’t the only ones covering the bombings.
WCVB
Run
Blog
Run
So what made
Boston.com
different?
-
Were trained and prepared
-
Invested in a “live” strategy
-
Connected to a worldwide network
Know the tools
You wouldn’t go into a press conference without a pen and paper or recorder. Don’t find yourself
in a breaking news situation not knowing
how to use the technology.
in a breaking news situation not knowing
how to use the technology.
Boston.com
- Journalists, editors trained on social tools
- Practiced ScribbleLive, made connections
- Reporters knew the workflow
Digital First Media
The hunt for Christopher Dorner
Trained
on social
Knew
ScribbleLive
Workflow
More information
Daily Freeman coverage: Link
LA Daily News coverage: Embed link
The event can also be found: Troy Record, Mainline Media News, Press and Guide, Inside Bay Area, San Jose Mercury News.
Invest in «live»
Put your money where your mouth is.
Invest in your real-time online strategy.
Before the bombings
The Boston Globe and Boston.com had a number of reporters on scene
ready to cover the finish line with ScribbleLive and social channels
Schleswig-Holsteinischer Zeitungsverlag
Orkan Xaver
Investing in «live»
Xaver was forecasted to rage for up to three days.
shz.de organized day and night shifts to report.
More than 50 hours
of non-stop, up-to-date storm coverage
Hundreds
reader questions
157,000
unique visitors
More information
shz.de's coverage: Link
ScribbleLive Spotlight on shz.de: Link
For more, ask for ScribbleLive's case study of
shz.de's coverage of Cyclone Xaver
shz.de's coverage of Cyclone Xaver
Network around
the world
Connect to organizations worldwide. Push content to them and increase your reach. Pull in authoritative content from the source.
Flood relief liveblog
MDR
Regional syndication
MDR—part of the state-owned broadcaster ARD—gave their event to the local Sächsische Zeitung who, in turn, enabled their readers to contribute to the effort.
During the first days of the natural disaster, “Hilfe suchen – Hilfe anbieten“ was used primarily to co-ordinate people to secure dams and levees. After the flood, the live blog was centralized around
connecting people and communities to manage the aftermath.
The liveblog ran
24/7 for 12 days.
of comments were left by users.
of comments were left by users.
Thousands
User traffic for MDR.de increased
tenfold.
More information
MDR's event: Link
ScribbleLive Spotlight on MDR: Link
MDR/ScribbleLive case study: Link
Boston.com syndication
During the US elections, they put all their coverage of the
debates and election day in the Scribble Market.
debates and election day in the Scribble Market.
-
Became a trusted, authoritative source
- Increased SEO from increased reach
- Built a network around the world
They became the go-to
organization for real-time
coverage of the bombings.
Syndicators of their coverage
-
Le Soir (Belgium), ABC.es (Spain), La Stampa (Italy), Rappler (Philippines), Mediehuset Nettavisen, MSN International: Singapore, Berlingske (Denmark)
- Chicago Sun-Times, Seattle Times, WEWS-TV, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, NPR
-
Winnipeg Sun, Toronto Star, Yahoo Canada
- Lee Enterprises: The Citizen, Pantagraph, Casper Star-Tribune, Quad City Times, The Citizen, Billings Gazette, Sioux City Journal, Daily Herald, Bismarck Tribune
Just to name a few.
Total: 114
Total syndicated UEMs: 360 million
Since then...
Boston.com has been offered content partnerships with organizations they otherwise would not have been able to access.
-
Content sharing during NHL playoffs with Toronto Star (blog post).
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Digital First Media, Toronto Star and Boston.com partnership to publish content about the Major League Baseball trade deadline in July 2013.
More information
Scribble Chat: How media covered the Boston Marathon
bombings in real-time
bombings in real-time
Boston.com/ScribbleLive case study
Blog post: Boston Marathon explosions, told in real time
Quotes from Boston.com & Boston Globe reporters
From Scribble Chat
Catherine Cloutier, online producer at Boston.com
In times like the bombings and manhunt, it's important to deliver verified information as it comes in. I saw the live blog as a service to the community. Details like closed schools, transit systems or the "shelter in place" order needed to be conveyed immediately.
Cloutier (cont'd)
Friends told me after the fact that they sat with eyes glued to that feed for days. It was a really important resource, as was the Globe's comprehensive, long-form coverage of the events.
Adrienne Lavidor-Berman, social media editor for Boston.com/The Boston Globe.
A former editor here referred to "real-time" reporting as allowing readers to see the "making of the sausage." It can be messy - and we try to avoid the mess by only reporting verified information - but we do issue corrections as we discussed earlier. I heard from many, many people who refreshed our twitter feeds and live blogs all throughout our coverage.
Martine Powers, transportation reporter, Boston Globe
In terms of advice, I'd say: Make sure that Twitter/social media are a non-negotiable part of your daily workflow ... that way, when something huge and incredible happens like this, those practices are second nature to you.