Local Irish papers embracing multimedia

Local newspapers are turning to multimedia on an increasingly regular basis in an attempt to entice consumers.

The Limerick Leader, the Galway Independent, and the Mayo News all use their Facebook pages to remind people that they exist. The Mayo News’s page is particularly impressive as it has almost 1,500 followers and frequently updates the page with competition details.

The Carlow Nationalist revamped its website in 2009. It has two Facebook pages – one for news and one for sport. The sport page is regularly updated (along with its Twitter page) and has almost 2,000 fans. This represents about 1 in every 25 people in County Carlow.

The sport section of the website has exclusive content. Their blog features contributions from staff and freelance writers, as well as a selection of photographs which didn’t appear in the paper.

Internet is the opportunity for journalism's 'golden age' - Little

ONLINE journalism advocate Mark Little says that blogs are increasingly unimportant in the age of Twitter.

Little told members of DCU’s Journalism Society that blogging is “at the wrong end of the technological shift.” He added that politicians are beginning to use Twitter to communicate their message and they are trying influence conversations.

He told students that it is “wrong and dangerous” to assume that the only good journalism is to be found in newspapers. He said that the medium is not the message, and that people don’t necessarily care where they get their information from.

Twitter and justice

Without question, the trial of Eamonn Lillis for the murder of his wife Celine Cawley (Lillis was convicted of manslaughter) was the most attention-grabbing Irish court case since the Joe O’Reilly trial. There were a number of new toys for the Courts Service to play with in the Criminal Courts of Justice, but journalists had their new toys too, namely Twitter.

Every day during the Lillis trial, freelance journalist Abigail Rieley was among those who regularly tweeted updates. These were quickly retweeted, and word about Rieley’s messages spread. For anyone who wanted to hear from the courts immediately and regularly, Twitter was the place to go. It broke the news of the verdict first (citation). The Lillis Trial even had its own hashtag.

Press ombudsman warns that online interactivity needs careful moderation

PRESS Ombudsman Professor John Horgan says he expects more integration between print and web editions of newspapers over the coming years.

Prof Horgan told Dublin City University’s Journalism Society that although he expects newspapers will survive, they will look different in five years time.

More information: Press Ombudsman website.

Watch the speech in full.

He said: “They won’t have so many pages because it’s all very expensive, and they will have bigger web presences.” He warned however that interaction from the public needs to be carefully moderated, as publishers are as liable for defamation on their website as they are in their print edition.