Innovating Online Journalism: New Ways of Storytelling

Figures & data

Table 1. Interviewees’ experience and background.

Role / Area	Organisation	Experience (years)	Area of expertise
Digital news	BBC News Labs	30	Journalism / Digital news
Digital news	BBC News Labs	15	Journalism / Digital news
Digital news	BBC News Labs	10	Journalism / Digital news
Academic	Cardiff University	20	Journalism
Academic	Cardiff University	30	Journalism
Game Designer	Half Mermaid Productions	22	Storytelling
Newsroom	ITV News	22	Journalism
Digital news	Financial Times	15	Journalism / Digital news
Comedian	Freelancer	30	Storytelling
Puppeteer	Freelancer	15	Storytelling
YouTuber/Scientist	Freelancer	10	Storytelling
Academic	Washington & Jefferson College	20	Storytelling /Anthropology

Table 2. Survey respondents demographics and breakdown of self-assessment of how informed participants rated themselves (on a 10-point scale).

Age range	Under 24	25–34	35–44	45–54	55+	Total answering question
Age distribution	23.5% (250)	35.5% (378)	22.2% (236)	10.8% (115)	8.0% (85)	100.0% (1064)
How well informed	6.34	6.48	6.83	6.84	7.26	6.63 (1204)

Figure 1. The four developed prototypes of online news storytelling.

Table 3. Breakdown of how long readers took over each prototype.

	Original Article	(a) Narrative Accordion	(b) Plain Text Dramatic	(c) Informal Video	(d) Contextual Timeline
Less than 1 min	0.9	1.5	0.8	0.7	4.3
1–2 mins	12.5	19.1	9.6	2.5	33.6
2–3 mins	26.3	32.8	29.7	11.7	32.1
3–4 mins	31.9	34.8	31.7	73.5	22.1
5 + mins	28.4	12.2	28.1	11.7	7.9
% taking more than 3 min	60.3	47.0	59.8	85.2	30.0
Total	100.0* (232)	100.0* (131)	100.0* (249)	100.0* (283)	100.0* (140)
N	1035

Table 4. The “value added” provided by each prototype.

	Original Article	(a) Narrative Accordion	(b) Plain Text Dramatic	(c) Informal Video	(d) Contextual Timeline
Under 24	2.65	3.85	2.54	2.32	1.62
25–34	2.20	3.41	2.72	1.63	1.72
35–44	2.32	2.53	1.99	1.74	1.65
45–54	2.48	2.00	2.25	2.08	1.48
55+	2.18	3.10	1.12	0.99	2.29
Average	2.38	2.96	2.23	1.84	1.48
N	552 participants answered both questions

Table 5. Summary of participants impressions about the prototypes and numerical synthesis of the findings.

	Original Article	(a) Narrative Accordion	(b) Plain Text Dramatic	(c) Informal Video	(d) Contextual Timeline
Most INTERESTING		TOP	3rd	2nd
Most ENJOYABLE		2nd	3rd	TOP
Most USEFUL	2nd	TOP		3rd
Most RELATABLE	3rd	=TOP		=TOP
(i) TOTAL ENGAGEMENT	5	11	2	9	0
Rated LANGUAGE		TOP	3rd	2nd
Rated LAYOUT	3rd	TOP		n/a	2nd
Rated TONE		2nd	3rd	TOP
Rated FORMAT	3rd	TOP		n/a	2nd
Rated NAVIGATION		TOP	3rd	n/a	2nd
Rated VISUAL	TOP			2nd	3rd
(ii) TOTAL STYLE/FORM	5	14	3	7	7
Increased sense of how affects decisions		3rd	2nd	TOP
Increased ability to take part in a debate	2nd		3rd	TOP
Increased understanding problems with current network		3rd	TOP	2nd
Increased confidence in discussing with friends/family	2nd	TOP	3rd
Increased confidence in understanding the impact	2nd	TOP		3rd
Increased confidence in being able to decide if it’s good or bad	3rd		TOP	2nd
(iii) TOTAL IMPACT ON UNDERSTANDING	7	8	10	11	0
OVERALL SCORE	15	32	15	27	7

Table 6. Comparing the prototypes with traditional news.

	(a) Narrative Accordion	(b) Plain Text Dramatic	(c) Informal Video	(d) Contextual Timeline
When compared with others you have read, how ENGAGING	3rd	2nd	TOP
When compared with others you have read, how FRIENDLY	2nd	3rd	TOP
When compared with others you have read, how INTERESTING	2nd	3rd	TOP
When compared with others you have read, how RELATABLE	2nd	3rd	TOP
When compared with others you have read, how USEFUL	TOP		2nd	3rd
When compared with others you have read, how INFORMATIVE	3rd	TOP	2nd

Table

Question

How long do you spend reading and/or watching news per day in total?

On a scale of 1–10, where 10 is fully informed and 0 is not informed at all, how informed do you feel generally about news and current affairs?

Which channels/platforms do you use to access the news?

What are your top 3 providers of news?

Thinking about why you are interested in certain news topics, please rate the following in order of importance: If the topic/conversation directly impacts me If the topic/conversations if of interest within my social group If the topic/conversation is a particular interest of mine If the topic/conversation is about my local area If the topic/conversation is an area I have previous knowledge of

Thinking about why you choose to read/watch the news, how important are the following? I want to be able to confidently discuss the topic with friends/family/colleagues I want to be fully aware of how the topic in question impacts me I want to feel involved in wider society, and understand what’s going on nationally I want to continue to learn None of the above

Which of the following would prevent you from continuing to watch/read the news? (Please select as many as applicable) Jargon/Complicated Language No previous knowledge/understanding of topic Negative tone Too much politics Lack of impartiality Lack of relevance to you personally No interest in topic Repetition of the same topic Dislike of news source Other (please specify)

Have you heard of HS2? (High Speed 2, the high speed rail line that will link London with Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds)

Where have you heard HS2 mentioned before? Television Newspapers (printed) Radio Newspapers (online) Social media Friends/Family/Colleagues None of the above

Where 10 is fully informed and 0 is not informed at all, how informed do you feel about HS2?

Please detail what you know about HS2?

Which of the following benefits do you think HS2 offers? Faster, more frequent train service Direct connection between 8 of 10 of the UK’s biggest cities More destinations within an hour’s reach Low carbon travel Reduction in road traffic Generate jobs None of the above

Based on your current knowledge of HS2, how confident do you feel about the following? Taking part in a conversation with a friend/colleague about HS2 Understanding the impact HS2 will have on your family/friends Making a decision on whether you believe HS2 is a good or bad thing

Do you understand what the key problem is with our current railway network?

Do you know how you might take part in the debate around HS2?

Do you know how you might be able to affect decisions about HS2?

Do you know what’s likely to happen with HS2 in the next 20 years or so?

Based on your current understanding, to what extent do you agree with the following statement: “The construction of HS2 will bring lots of benefits”?

Have you clicked the link above and read the news article in full?

Are you now ready to answer questions related to the article you have just read?

Which version of the link did you use? Mobile phone Desktop/laptop/tablet

Having read the article, where 10 is fully informed and 0 is not informed at all, how informed do you now feel about HS2?

How long did you spend reading the article?

Which of the following words would you use to describe the tone and feel of the article? Formal Comprehensive Casual Brief Conversational Serious Light Gossipy Incoherent Succinct Lengthy Wordy Other (please specify)

Please detail your understanding of HS2 now!

Which of the following benefits do you now think HS2 offers?

Thinking about the article you just read, how would you rate the following? Your interest in the article How enjoyable you found the article How useful you found the article How relatable you found the tone/language

Thinking about the article you just read, what did you think of the following? Language Layout Tone Format Navigation Visuals/images

Do you now understand what the key problem is with our current railway network?

Do you now know how you might take part in the debate around HS2?

*The design of this article meant you could navigate around, deciding what to read, when. How did this affect your experience? It made reading more engaging It made me trust the information more It made me feel in control of how I read news It made me understand the information better It made the experience more convenient

Do you now know how you might be able to affect decisions about HS2?

Do you now know what’s likely to happen with HS2 in the next 20 years or so?

Having read the article, how confident do you now feel about the following? Taking part in a conversation with a friend/colleague about HS2 Understanding the impact HS2 will have on your family/friends Making a decision on whether you believe HS2 is a good or bad thing

Having read the article, to what extent do you now agree with the following statement: “The construction of HS2 will bring lots of benefits”?

Comparing the design and content of this news article to others you have read in your own time, to what extent do you agree with the following? This article is more engaging This article is more informative This article is more interesting This article is more relatable This article is more useful This article is more friendly