30 May 2011
This is true on two counts. Firstly, one of my project deliverables was to provide an assessement of the current state of APN Online's content loading procedure. This was to encompass all masteheads that fell under the APN Online banner including, nz herald, nz magazines and nz regional media websites.
As part of this, i have been spending a lot of time talking to the people who are involved in the states of both content creation and loading and gettting an understanding from them about what is working and what isnt.
While all this has been going on, the Fast Track recruitment has been going on as well.
So, I will be heading into Australia next week to tee up with the Australian Regional Group News Editor and if possible, drop over to Brisbane to see how they do things there before I head over to Sydney to prepare for the Fast Track Assessment centres which are scheduled for the week of the 6th (june).
To all participants, who have made it thus far... Congratulations and best of luck. The assessment centre will be one hell of a day..it will challenge you, it will push you and by the end of it you will be physically and mentally drained. It wont be easy.. but hey, if it was, it wouldn't be worth it :)
Monday, May 30, 2011
Thursday, May 19, 2011
It's elementary my dear.....
19 May 2011
My investigation has continued on for this week as well where I have now had a chance to sit down with key people involved in the loading of the content as well as key people in the creation of content.
One of the people I got a chance to sit down with was Shayne Currie (Deputy Editor of the NZ Herald) and pick his brains on how stories are created and why certain stories make it and others dont; which stories are front page news and which aren't; and also what the relationship between nzherald.co.nz and the NZ Herald print product is.
It was very heartening to find out that ALL reporters are expected to file their report with online to make sure we capture the breaking news as quickly as we can.
I was also invited to the afternoon news brief where the chief reporters meet with Shayne along with a representative from Online (Nik Dirga -NZ Herald Production Editor) and Newspaper Sales & Marketing and they go through the stories that are being worked on to prepare for the next day's newspaper including what should make the front page and headline. A very interesting meeting where I felt like I was from the future since I knew what the front page of the paper would look like next day. A bit far fetched i know but it was fun!
So the reason why I am doing all this is to be able to deliver certain things to Jeremy Rees as part of the project.
The Project deliverables include:
• An assessment of the current systems and processes; including step by step guide on how to load content in each area (herald, regionals and magazines)
• Noted strengths and weaknesses of the above
• Recommendations for ‘quick wins’ that come out of the assessment
The NZ Budget is being announced today and it is going to be streamed from a box set up on my desk so I am currently operating out of half a desk and right in the middle of it. Exciting times, if you're into the budget or wondering about how live streaming works!!
My investigation has continued on for this week as well where I have now had a chance to sit down with key people involved in the loading of the content as well as key people in the creation of content.
One of the people I got a chance to sit down with was Shayne Currie (Deputy Editor of the NZ Herald) and pick his brains on how stories are created and why certain stories make it and others dont; which stories are front page news and which aren't; and also what the relationship between nzherald.co.nz and the NZ Herald print product is.
It was very heartening to find out that ALL reporters are expected to file their report with online to make sure we capture the breaking news as quickly as we can.
I was also invited to the afternoon news brief where the chief reporters meet with Shayne along with a representative from Online (Nik Dirga -NZ Herald Production Editor) and Newspaper Sales & Marketing and they go through the stories that are being worked on to prepare for the next day's newspaper including what should make the front page and headline. A very interesting meeting where I felt like I was from the future since I knew what the front page of the paper would look like next day. A bit far fetched i know but it was fun!
So the reason why I am doing all this is to be able to deliver certain things to Jeremy Rees as part of the project.
The Project deliverables include:
• An assessment of the current systems and processes; including step by step guide on how to load content in each area (herald, regionals and magazines)
• Noted strengths and weaknesses of the above
• Recommendations for ‘quick wins’ that come out of the assessment
The NZ Budget is being announced today and it is going to be streamed from a box set up on my desk so I am currently operating out of half a desk and right in the middle of it. Exciting times, if you're into the budget or wondering about how live streaming works!!
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Online and ready to go
11 May 2011
My project revolves around reviewing current content management tools and processes and providing a fresh perspective on what is being done well and what could be done better.
So, before I can give any recommendations, I need to understand what the system currently is and how it works. And for this reason, i have spent all of this week, meeting with people who are part of the Online content management team in Auckland. These individuals are part of different teams where they are responsible for what goes up on the websites for the different mastheads for APN NZ (namely, nzherald.co.nz, all regional websites, NZ women's weekly and NZ listener).
It was a good learning process where i got the chance to sit down with both the online editors to see what they do on a day to day basis as well understand why a certain story which shows up on the front page is there. You would be surprised at the thought that goes into this instead of updating stories as they flow in.
The remainder of this week will also be quite similar where i will continue this journey to firstly understand why things are being done the way they are and then, how exactly do the people who do this, do it?
If that hasn't confused you enough, please feel free to come back in about a week's time where I should have some more clarity!
On a separate note, the Fast Track positions are now shut for 2011 intake and the recruiting company is now vetting these applications as they go through a series of steps before they are shortlisted down to the final assessment centre in June.
Best of luck to everyone who applied.
Sid is also now in Auckland and has started work with The Radio Network and will be here for the next three months. I look forward to showing him around my city and a healthy dose of kiwi hospitality :)
My project revolves around reviewing current content management tools and processes and providing a fresh perspective on what is being done well and what could be done better.
So, before I can give any recommendations, I need to understand what the system currently is and how it works. And for this reason, i have spent all of this week, meeting with people who are part of the Online content management team in Auckland. These individuals are part of different teams where they are responsible for what goes up on the websites for the different mastheads for APN NZ (namely, nzherald.co.nz, all regional websites, NZ women's weekly and NZ listener).
It was a good learning process where i got the chance to sit down with both the online editors to see what they do on a day to day basis as well understand why a certain story which shows up on the front page is there. You would be surprised at the thought that goes into this instead of updating stories as they flow in.
The remainder of this week will also be quite similar where i will continue this journey to firstly understand why things are being done the way they are and then, how exactly do the people who do this, do it?
If that hasn't confused you enough, please feel free to come back in about a week's time where I should have some more clarity!
On a separate note, the Fast Track positions are now shut for 2011 intake and the recruiting company is now vetting these applications as they go through a series of steps before they are shortlisted down to the final assessment centre in June.
Best of luck to everyone who applied.
Sid is also now in Auckland and has started work with The Radio Network and will be here for the next three months. I look forward to showing him around my city and a healthy dose of kiwi hospitality :)
Thursday, May 5, 2011
A new desk and a new audience.
5 May 2011
Before I give you all an update on my new project, I would like to touch briefly on my experience yesterday with The Radio Network where I go an opportunity to present to a group of people who were interested in the Fast Track Program. I gave a presentation that was structured by Sid Rallapalli and then added to by Tracy Martin. I modified the content to suit my style of presentation and then invited discussion from the group on what they could expect from the program while trying to be as clear as I could about their queries.
This went on for about an hour and 15 mins and the feedback that I got was that everyone in that room felt quite comfortable with the next steps in the process and what to expect from the program itself.
Mission Accomplished!
And now on to my new project. Something that I have now become very familiar with is introducing myself to people. For the next 3 – 6 months I will be based at APN Online (NZ) and working with Jeremy Rees on some content management recommendations. I cant disclose much more as I still need to get to the nitty-gritty of it myself.
The deadline for applying for the fast track intake is fast approaching for internal candidates. I am looking forward to seeing who makes it to the assessment centres in Auckland and Sydney!
Before I give you all an update on my new project, I would like to touch briefly on my experience yesterday with The Radio Network where I go an opportunity to present to a group of people who were interested in the Fast Track Program. I gave a presentation that was structured by Sid Rallapalli and then added to by Tracy Martin. I modified the content to suit my style of presentation and then invited discussion from the group on what they could expect from the program while trying to be as clear as I could about their queries.
This went on for about an hour and 15 mins and the feedback that I got was that everyone in that room felt quite comfortable with the next steps in the process and what to expect from the program itself.
Mission Accomplished!
And now on to my new project. Something that I have now become very familiar with is introducing myself to people. For the next 3 – 6 months I will be based at APN Online (NZ) and working with Jeremy Rees on some content management recommendations. I cant disclose much more as I still need to get to the nitty-gritty of it myself.
The deadline for applying for the fast track intake is fast approaching for internal candidates. I am looking forward to seeing who makes it to the assessment centres in Auckland and Sydney!
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