Here is a presentation on Managing the Digital Newsroom. It covers everything from assigning stories and grading to assigning staff positions and utilizing IFTTT.

1. Managing the Digital Workflow
Aaron Manfull
@manfull
JEA Digital Media Chair
Francis Howell North High School
MediaNowSTL.com
AaronManfull.com
aaronmanfull@gmail.com

2. #nhsjc @manfull
Intro classes
• Get intro students
excited about the web
• Cater assignments to
generate web content
– Can be traditional
assignments
– Can be alternative
story forms (Q&A, lists,
etc.)
• Get intro student work
published on the web
• Work to get intro
students to take photos
for their stories
• Get students to work
multimedia additions to
their projects
INTRO
CLASS
ES
ROCK

3. Traditional class structure
newspaper yearbook
#nhsjc @manfull
Writers
Designers
Photographers
Writers
Designers
Photographers

4. #nhsjc @manfull
Inflated class structure
newspaper
newspaper yearbook
Writers
Designers
Photographers
Some Web
Video
Writers
Designers
Photographers
Some Web

5. Reimagined class structure
newspaper yearbook
#nhsjc @manfull
digital
media
Writers
Designers
Web
Video
Photographers
Writers
Designers

6. #nhsjc @manfull
web/
video
photo newspaper
Writers
Designers
Web coders
Web content
Video
Photographers
yearbook
Writers
Designers
A 2014 class structure

7. #nhsjc @manfull
The new class structure
newspaper yearbook
Writers
Designers
Web
Writers
Designers
Photo/Video

8. #nhsjc @manfull
Editor roles
Web Editor
Content
Digital Media
Digital Media
EIC
Publicity Director
Coding Social Video Photo

9. #nhsjc @manfull
Editor roles
Web Managing
Editor
Webmaste
r
(coding)
Digital Media
Managing Editor
EIC
Publicity of Video
Online
News
Editor
Social Multimedia
Director
Photo
Online
Sports
Editor
EIC
Photography
Director of
Video
Photo
Photo
Photo

10. #nhsjc @manfull
Web
Content
Editor
EIC
Digital Media
Web
Coding
Editor
Video
Editor
Photo
Editor
Editor role Essentials

11. #nhsjc @manfull
Generating content
The ideas The assignments

12. #nhsjc @manfull
Generating content

13. Progression of web content systems
#nhsjc @manfull
• Everyone writes something
by end of the month
• Everyone gets a specific
week
• Everyone gets a specific day
• Beats
• Today…

14. #nhsjc @manfull
Rule of 3
• Staffers choose what they want to
do on the web
• Offer a variety of options for them
to choose from
• Include a mix of things they like
and some things we need
• Hold them to something for a set
period of time and allow them
chance to change (or you change)
• Give them the ability to pitch an
idea
• Easy to grade/track

15. #nhsjc @manfull
Rule of 3
OPTIONS FOR STUDENTS INCLUDE:
• Write a story
• One photo unit
• Design a
page/spread
• Web coverage
team
• Multimedia
• Sports scores
(limited)
• Web features
• Social media
(limited)
• Copy (limited)
• Web team
• Announcements
(limited)
• Advertising
• Publicity
• Live coverage
• Pitch an Idea

16. Digital Workflow for stories
#nhsjc @manfull
• Create calendar and share with all
• Web Content Editor sends email week
before
• Students can choose from calendar or
pitch an idea
• Criteria: Minimum Word
Count/Sources
• Hard deadline with no option for
making up missed deadlines
• Editor goes through and posts
• Feedback given

17. #nhsjc @manfull
Digital Workflow for
photographers
• Photographer photographs event
• Within 24 hours puts all pics in a folder
on server titled: 8-17 V B Soccer (CM)
• Inside that folder a “Best of” folder is
created and photog picks best photos
• “Best of” Gets uploaded to Smugmug
• Gallery is embedded within a
Wordpress post
– 4 graphs of searchable text
– “Click here for mobile version”
– [Photos] encouraged in headline

18. Pageviews
#nhsjc @manfull
Photo
86%
Other
14%
Analyze data for focusing content
Unique Pageviews
Photos 43%
Pages/News
43%
Multimedia
14%

19. Cater content to analytic data
#nhsjc @manfull
FHNgameday.com

20. #nhsjc @manfull
Cross promote

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Create staff resources

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Tracking the madness
Trello
Edit Flow – WordPress Plugin
Flow - SNO

23. #nhsjc @manfull
Tracking the madness

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Tracking the madness
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5
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25. #nhsjc @manfull
Tracking the madness

26. #nhsjc @manfull
• Students choose what they
want to do
• Holistic grading sheet shared
• Deadline point deduction
grading sheet shared
• Share general job descriptions
• Monthly calendar shared
• Adviser creates spreadsheet
with editors
• Editors track monthly progress
with Green, Yellow or Red
• Google form shared at the end
of the month
While all of you are in individualized plans in this room, I thought it
would be good to make sure you know what s
my expectations are for
all of you each month. There was some confusion on this fir
t seme ster
and I want to make sure that I have cleared that up so we have a fresh
start second semester. When it’s put down like this, it makes everything
that you have four weeks to do seem much more manageable. Meeting
these by deadline, along with working well with others as a team, are
my expectations for an A. I know this list doesn’ t cover everyone, but
it should cover the masses. Please let me know if you have questions or
where you fall.
Beat options
Days - You will be given a day of the
month. Chelsey Damalas (5th hour)
will send you a story to write once a
month, prior to your day. Your beat
is due on or before 7 a.m. on your
assigned day. Beats should be sent
to Emily Wilkins (7th hour) If you
miss a beat, you will have 10 days to
complete two alternative beat assign-ments
to get no more than 75% credit
for your month’s beat grade. Lesson:
do the beat that’s assigned to you.
Each beat needs to be a story, roughly
4 graphs, with two quotes (by two
different people) and a photo that you
have taken or had someone else shoot
(web photos are copyrighted and you
cannot use them unless given permis-sion
by the owner).
Social Media - Take care of Twitter
and/or Facebook. Phillips oversees
Sports scores - Update sports scores
by 7:25 a.m. the day after a sporting
event. Questions should be directed
to Jared Tompkin (7th hour). Phillips
oversees
Multimedia - Create a soundslide or
a video for your beat once every six
weeks. Manfull oversees
Blogs - Write a weekly blog on a
topic of your choice. Direct ques-tions
to Dan Spak (7th hour). Phillips
oversees
Days-On-Demand - Comprised of
editors and write stories for web as
they happen. New in 2011. Manfull
oversees.
Writers/Designers
Write one story for print publication
Complete your beat
Design a page or spread for publication
Promote the publications in one way
Complete story ideas once a month
Attend worknight
Submit monthly evaluations as assigned by Manfull
Photographers
Photograph two assignments per week.
Write good cutlines as assigned
Format photos as assigned
Complete your beat
Promote the publications in one way
Complete story ideas each month
Submit monthly evaluations as assigned by Manfull
Videographers
One feature story per month
Complete your beat
Maintain one area of FHNtodayTV (iTunes, Youtube, Schooltube, etc.)
Promote the publications in one way
Complete story ideas each month
Submit monthly evaluations as assigned by Manfull
Web
Maintain your one web duty each month
Work toward a monthly deadline for a secondary, long term web duty
Complete your beat
Promote the publications in one way
Complete story ideas each month
Submit monthly evaluations as assigned by Manfull
Tracking the madness

27. Managing the Digital Workflow
Aaron Manfull
@manfull
AaronManfull.com
aaronmanfull@gmail.com