Jack Blog
March 7th, 2014 By Caspar Mason
When it comes to the front page of the paper, the editor calls the shots. But are they striking the right balance between “important” vs “popular” vs “interesting”? Do they even know what their readers want? What would happen if they chose the front page stories?
News-sharing site Newswhip have put this to the test, creating People Powered front pages of major news titles, based on (you guessed it) the most shared stories at each paper:
Faith in humanity has been maintained, as it hasn’t turned illustrious titles into a lowest common denominator den of salacious celebrity gossip, but the tone has changed on each one (some more than others). They’re a bit more human, a bit more local paper-like, and a bit broader.
It’s a nice experiment that suggests an interesting, disruptive way forward. Because who’s to say that there couldn’t be a more collaborative way of setting the news agenda: more dialogue, less didactic…and better than the ‘send us your pictures of the snow’-school of engagement we currently have.
Brands have been talking about ‘conversations’ with customers for a few years now. Maybe it’s time for news outlets to do the same?