1. The Future of
Context
Sensemaking – June 2010
Matt Thompson, NPR

2. Three big problems

3. opportunities!
Three big problems

4. The backstory problem
http://news.google.com/

5. Familiarity with a news story
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6. Different news needs
for different users
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What’s the What’s the
backstory? What’s latest?
changed
recently?

7. “I sat out Kosovo.”
7

8. The overload problem
http://news.google.com

9. “
The abundance of news and ubiquity of
“Learned choice do not necessarily translate into a
better news environment for consumers ...
helplessness” Participants in this study showed signs of
From an AP study of news fatigue; that is, they appeared
debilitated by information overload and
young news
unsatisfying news experiences ...
consumers
Ultimately news fatigue brought
many of the participants to a
learned helplessness response.
The more overwhelmed or
unsatis ed they were, the less
effort they were willing to put in.

10. “Learned crime &
helplessness” scandal
accidents
& tra c
weather
crime &
scandal
weather
accidents
sports &
& tra c
celebrities
crime &
scandal
10

11. The trust problem
http://news.google.com

12. Institutional voice =
“objective”?

13. Easier: Clear villains and
heroes

14. Beyond news
The future of context.

15. The emerging industry
Rising superstars of the new journalism

16. Coverage of the
Fort Hood shootings

17. The
Tribune’s
reaction
“It seemed like a
made-to-order test
for the Texas
Tribune.”
“They scrambled the
jets, made plans, and
then – stayed put.”

18. From more stories to larger stories
investigation education
feature
investigation
investigation political
analysis

19. The quest narrative
The Epic of Gilgamesh

20. The quest: a journalistic staple

21. The quest moves online
21

22. And you can participate
22

23. The beat reporter of the future
Washington Post reporter/columnist/blogger Ezra Klein

24. Imagine a news source that
provided enough background
to make every story clear.

25. Imagine a news source that
day after day became
not merely timelier,
but more comprehensive.

26. Wikipedia’s lessons.
Wikipedia logo

27. It works for
breaking
news.
From the New York
Times, July 1, 2007:

28. It works for
old news.
The Bet:
Winer vs. Nisenholtz

29. Blogs will
outrank the
New York Times Oh yeah?
on Google!

30. Wikipedia trounced both blogs and the Times.
From workbench.cadenhead.org, 12.20.07

31. Wikipedia’s growth curve
From Wikimedia.org.

32. Wikipedia
creator Jimmy
Wales estimated
in 2006 that
1,400 people
contributed 74%
of the site’s
edits.*
* Source: “Who Writes Wikipedia?” – aaronsw.com, 9.24.06

33. Before 2008
staff cuts, the
size of the New
York Times
newsroom was
around 1,420.*
* Source: “Newsroom Cuts at the ‘New York Times’” – portfolio.com, 2.14.08

34. Traffic estimates:
NYTimes.com vs. Wikipedia.org
Source: Quantcast.com
wikipedia
nytimes

35. The Times
learned from
Nisenholtz’s bet.

36. The world’s most transparent newsroom?
From Wikimedia.org.

37. In sum ...
- Larger stories, not more stories
- Reveal the quest
- Toward timelessness
The Epic of Gilgamesh

38. Thank you.
Matt Thompson
Blog: Newsless.org
Tweet: @mthomps
Email: matt@emailmatt.com