Posts Tagged 'חדשות 2'

Exclusive tour at Channel 2 News

Just got back from the first bloggers’ tour at a news company, as 15 of us visited the offices and broadcasting studios of Channel 2 News (web and web) in Neve Ilan. The tour was organized by Liran Dan, VP Interactive Services and Anat Ginio, who among other things is the ‘voice’ behind @channel2news – thanks guys! One fact I learned at the beginning is that according to Israeli Law, every news broadcast MUST be aired from Jerusalem and Channel 2 News got an approval to shoot at the Jerusalem area – Neve Ilan is midway between the capital and Tel Aviv. Weird law, but that’s for another discussion..

It’s always interesting to visit at a news network, being at the studio and all, but with the Iranian election in the background, and the change twitter is bringing into this medium as well, it’s even more interesting. The goal of the visit, at least for me, was to understand how social media, twitter in this case, can support the on-going efforts to bring the news, as they happen, to the viewers.

Channel2news joined twitter some 6 months ago, and in the past 2-3 months they are putting some 50-100 updates a day, mostly breaking stories, special reports, live coverage and Q&A. Their online strategy includes twitter of course, and they sport a youtube channel as well, but are always learning this medium, trying to figure out the best way to use it. Learning is also about listening and asking for feedback, which Liran was interested in getting. We suggested to open a second twitter account, for breaking news (much like CNN Breaking News), that would alert followers to new stories as they happen, and also raised the option of ‘pulling’ live conversation data from twitter (trending topics or twitterfall) to get the public’s reaction to the story. I’m guessing the adoption of the latter will not happen soon, but our first proposal might.

Still, there’s much to consider when mashing community conversations with journalism, and I for one think it’s wise that Liran is exploring this step-by-step. Only 4 weeks ago they first asked viewers to submit questions to the weekend show (Meet the Press), and even thou they could promote this initiative more, they’re going slowly, for now. Twitter (and other social services) are changing the way we consume (and produce) content, but once you started, it’s almost impossible to undo.

I do believe social services will change the way we view the news, and the recent events from the elections in Iran proves it, but the battle between traditional vs. new media will bring new challenges, that must be solved. Journalists have a tough job these days, as they see/read/hear stories as they happen, but cannot report them until they were authenticated, and thus losing the scoop. The next 12 months are going to be pivotal in the history of the social web and its effect on the way we consume the news, so stay around, we’ll be right back… 😉

Links:
Channel 2 News on twitter
Channel 2 News on mako.co.il and reshet.ynet.co.il
My photos from the tour, Kfir Pravda‘s photos and Yarin‘s photos (on facebook)

VOI – Video On the Internet

The local internet scene is humming and buzzing for the last few months now, with new portal designs and the annual TV/Internet festival.
Only yesterday I read several posts and comments about Channel 2 latest announcement – mako.co.il, which was suppose to be the new face of Channel 2 online and instead reduced to ‘just another news portal‘.

The internet has definitely changed the way we consume content – my single source for information is definitely the web, being internal or external. Thanks to bandwidth and UGC I can now watch complete episodes/sketches of The Colbert Report, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, SNL and others anytime I want to.

Why this intro? Well, I’ve been following Gal Mor‘s blog, Holes in the Net, for some time. He’s a savvy internet producer/consumer, and although (or maybe bacause) managing the Dev. dept. of Ynet.co.il, his insights into the space of content, internet and UGC is a must read. The new mako.co.il got low reviews from Gal, who put together an excellent post, disecting the different parts of the site. One might say that Gal is a bit biased, as mako.co.il competes with Ynet.co.il, but as Gal (and the comments) concludes, mako.co.il should be more focused on video, rather than ‘plain’ content. We want Video On the Internet.

What interest me is the fact that Channel 2 already has a video presence online – it launched IsraelNews at YouTube a month ago, with some clips on the ‘behind-the-scene’ action at a news room (and watching Yonit Levy up close and personal for 2:16min can’t hurt either.. 😉
That’s the kind of VOI I’m talking about. Even Yonit is saying that the internet provides the extra screen time they need, putting the full 15min interview instead of the 4min cut for the news item.

Bottomline – nice to see Channel 2 are taking risks, leaping into the VOI space, but they need to walk carefully. Already there’s some confusion between mako.co.il, israelnews, ch2news2, reshet.tv – some strategy and direction may be needed.

Danny Koshmaro welcomes YouTube viewers:

Why IsraelNews at YouTube is important (Yonit Levy):

Videoblog with Aharon Barnea at the US Elections:




Mobile & Media Consultant. I help startup companies launch products to the consumer market. Reach out: dvir.reznik [at] gmail.com
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This is my personal blog. The postings here do not represent the thoughts, intentions, plans or strategies of my past employers or of my clients. It is solely my opinion.