How do you use Mumbrella?
In this guest post, journalism researcher Renee Barnes explains why she wants to hear about how Mumbrella’s readers use the site.
You visit Mumbrella obviously; you’re reading this right now. You may even leave a comment or join a conversation. But why? What motivates you to participate in online news sites and Mumbrella in particular?
This survey on your use of Mumbrella is part of a larger researcher project investigating the participation on a number of Australian and US news sites. The study will be used to develop a greater understanding of what motivates users to participate in online news sites and also help determine user perception of common engagement techniques.
“Embrace your audience”. This is the catch phrase of the digital news media environment. But is it enough to just add an obligatory ‘Your Say’ section? I believe we need to understand the motivations of users. We need to understand why are they engaging and what is it about particular sites that foster engagement.
I am one of many consultants that is regularly telling newsrooms they must treat their audience as partners if they are to remain relevant and continue to provide the facility for advertisers to reach consumers. Journalism’s ‘perfect storm’, as it has been termed, has resulted in the loss of thousands of journalism jobs and news media publications and programs in Australia and globally. In fact, Mumbrella is regularly reporting on newspapers’ declining readership and the impact of the fragmentation of television audiences. Vast changes in technology, in particular the proliferation of new content delivery platforms, has left a gapping hole in the revenue model of traditional journalism. News media organisations know they must embrace the online medium, but they are still struggling to find an online model that replicates traditional media advertising revenue.
Enter the consultants. We are the advocates of so called participatory journalism. The equation is simple: if the news media is to compete in an environment where the engagement principles of Facebook and YouTube are considered the norm, then they must bring users into the newsroom fold. As a result, there has been a proliferation of news sites offering users the ability to interact with stories, make comments, join discussions and even generate their own content. In some cases it is a superficial nod to the ethos of user participation, in others new and innovative ways of engaging the audience in the news production process are emerging. But just what does the audience think of these participation strategies? The focus of research in this field has traditionally been on quantitative data – number of clicks etc. – but few studies have actually asked the audience what it thinks.
I believe that it is not enough to incorporate user participation into the news media and then rely on hits as a measure of success. We need to understand the motivations of users. Why are they engaging? And in particular, what is it about niche and independent sites that is leading the participatory journalism model?
This is important information for the industry and will help form a clearer picture of the future of journalism. So please take the time to complete a survey about participation elements on Mumbrella.
The survey should take about 15 minutes to complete.
Download further information for participants
- Renee Barnes is a freelance journalist and media trainer. She teaches online journalism at RMIT and runs digital training for the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance. She is undertaking a PhD in online news audiences at La Trobe University.
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For the lols.
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I work for a media provider and I find that mUmbrella is one of the most critical public sources out there. Even if it is to some degree a bit over-critical in some stories, I welcome the opportunity to see different events from someone elses eyes, especially when they are so drastically different to my own.
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Should be interesting to see who uses Mumbrella and why.
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Awesome that Mumbrella is reviewing how people use the site – and in particular what value feedback/commenting is to users.
It does seem that most feedback is pointless in my view. Given a lot of people don’t use their real names it is not for raising profiles, nor is it generally adding any deep insights or industry learning in the main. The anonymity factor encourages judgmental and bitchy opinion and sometimes outright verbal abuse.
One benefit I can see is a feeling of community (one of the core needs of us all to feel connected. We also want to stay with a resource like this in order to build an ongoing relationship and perhaps along the way end up buying something).
Mumbrella may be figuring out what to do with the site – my training in buying psychology says that having a community is in Mumbrella’s interest – only I wonder if it can be done some other way, without the pointless verbal insults??
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i will do the survey, but one reason I visit less is there are less comments now it seems that Tim moderates them.
Not that i am saying he is censoring them, but rather the quick cut and thrust of someone posting and another responding quickly has disappeared largely.
So that makes the site less attractive for me.
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To laugh at falling newspaper sales and ratings disasters.
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Ah what a perfect opportunity for me to respond.
Like most readers here, I initially started reading Mumbrella to stay up to date with the latest Media/Advertising news (and probably found out about the site from work colleagues).
However it’s important to highlight why I (and many others) continue to come back to this site.
Mumbrella has much more interesting articles (particularly under “Mumbo” and “Opinion”) than AdNews, B&T and Mediaweek. Tim isn’t afraid to write about the latest industry controversies, campaigns and personalities and his unique writing style is analytical, comprehensive and eloquent while at the same time witty, humorous and entertaining.
I suspect Mumbrella’s ‘on-the-same-level-as-readers’ approach to the site is what encourages readers to comment on articles much more than on competing sites (and in a much more open and honest manner) – the comments on Mumbrella are often more entertaining than the article itself!
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I stumbled across this site because I thought it was a parenting site! Seriously Im a uni student in Melbourne studying business so this gives me a deeper insight into a possible career path.
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Good survey. Look forward to the results.
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I agree with Bob; I enjoy reading the comments and responses almost as much as the article itself.
As a newbie I have no ieda wheteher Tim is culling the comments or not – hope he isn’t.
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For years audiences have interacted with media channels.
– Letters have been published in the newspaper.
– People have been interviewed in the street and their comments and views have been aired on TV.
– People call in and have their say on the radio and thus interact with a broadcast.
The great advantage with the online medium is that you never have to miss out. You won’t miss the program if you are not home in time. You can log on and view a debate, add a comment, come back a day / days / a week / even weeks later and still continue to get involved with the discussion.
As well as the original article the great thing with commenting, whether anonymous or not is that the article gains weight, sides are formed and further points are addressed, thus the article and debate gets fully polished.
Occasionally debates can turn into slanging matches, however this reflects the real world. (Politicians sometimes get told to leave the floor, as do guests on chat shows – C’est la vie…)
Mumbrella enables me to have my say and interact with the media industry in Australia. The fact that the site is not locked down, means that everyone can have a go and lets face it I would estimate that the majority of Mumbrella readers are associated or have interest in Australian media / marketing / advertising etc (Visitors to Mumbrella are not looking for summer holidays…)
Mumbrella writes for the online medium very well. Short, punchy articles that get to the point and fast. Comments are easy to place and featuring the latest and most commented on the side of the page encourages people to scan and get into the debate.
Mumbrella is a great platform for engagement and that is the success. Tim has also embraced online social networks, video and of course face to face event / seminar style channels.
A job well done Timbo and team and many traditional publishers should take a leaf from Mumbrella’s book. Engagement is key, not propping up old dusty products that might not have a future in this ever changing media world.
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