BBC takes a big step into media interwebs

Great article by Jonathon Stray on the BBC's recent decision to increase the amount of outgoing links it provides on news articles online.

The new strategy review from the BBC lays out the goal of:

Turning the site into a window on the web by providing at least one external link on every page and doubling monthly ‘click-throughs’ to external sites

Finally, a news outlet that understands the benefit of providing proper context and further reading for viewers. It is certainly a concept that major news outlets around the world have, and will continue to struggle with.

Take the current uproar about Catherine Deveney's sacking from The Age over offensive tweets. I'm not going into whether she should or shouldn't be sacked - I don't care. What I do care about is The Age covering a digital media story, without utilising digital media capabilities and functions.

This article about the sacking links to three addresses:

• Catherine Deveney's personal website <- good, you're learning
• A previous Age article about the controversy <- bad, internal focused
• Another previous Age article about the controversy <- also bad

There are countless articles from reputable, experienced and knowledgeable online sources that could have been provided as links, either via hyperlinks within the body of the article, or as 'further reading' links at the bottom of the piece. But this would have resulting in traffic flowing out of The Age's grasp - we can't have that!

There are also serious questions about the use of online media in the coverage of online events. Granted, this is a very recent development, but Twitter just launched the ability to link and embed to direct tweets. This is a story that could have benefited greatly from direct links to the relevant content on Twitter.

But no - in a dying media world obsessed with clinging on to the last vestiges of their print empire (and blindly applying them to the online environment), The Age couldn't possibly send viewers anywhere but circling around and around within their own site.

To look at the alternative example, look to Crikey for a brave yet forward-thinking media distribution model. Not only do they heavily rely on email delivery to supplement regular web traffic (versus print as the majors do), the layout and design of their site is tailored entirely towards external content.

By offering headlines, bylines and links to content from all around the globe, Crikey become the aggregator of news rather than merely a producer. In the age of social media and (although I hate the term, it is valid here) citizen journalism, it is the communicator in their central hub, able to inform and update their listeners, that is king.

We should no longer put journalists on their own pedestal as the fountain of all knowledge and intellect. A huge percentage of the population recieve their news and info from peers via social networking sites, and in an age where Jon Stewart is voted America's most trusted news reporter, you've got to stop and realise that something is wrong with the current news model.

The BBC's move to a more 'window to the source' model is a welcome step for open, accountable and less ivory tower-based media.

As Stray points out:

Aggregators flourish because users find them useful. The weekly link roundup and the top-ten list remain perennial blogging forms. And while every statement in news writing is supposed be attributed, in practice Wikipedia articles link to their sources far more reliably than news stories. The BBC may be on to something here.