slides from Kim Perry's Web Writing session

1. Web Writing & Web
Original Storytelling
Oct. 2, 2012
Kim Perry, Digital News Training
Kim Perry | Digital News Training | 202.513.2424 | kperry@npr.org

2. Why text?
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3. Online News Cycle
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4. Frequency
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5. Visual Medium
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6. What doesn’t work…
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7. What doesn’t work…
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8. What works…
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9. What works…
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10. Story structure
 What’s the purpose of the story? Get to it quickly.
 Why does it matter? Give me context.
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11. WEBIFYING RADIO SCRIPTS
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12. Webifying
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13. 13

14. Compare: Introductions or ledes
“Is bottled water better for you
than tap? Or should you choose
vitamin-enriched water over
sparkling? Experts say, skip it all.
None of these products are likely
to make you any healthier.
Below, we look at five major
myths about the benefits of
drinking water.
But first, how do you know if
you're drinking enough water?
Experts say there's an easy way
to judge. If you're not thirsty,
you're fluid intake is likely "just
right."
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Kim Perry | Digital Trainer | 202.513.2424 | kperry@npr.org

15. Five Differences: Web vs. Radio Writing
1. The journey isn’t as important as the ending – so give me
that first
2. I will judge you for poor grammar and spelling (including
names)
3. You can say it better than your source, summarize
4. Multiple ideas in one story won’t confuse me – I can
reread
5. Details, details, details – this proves you know what
you’re talking about
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16. Looking Ahead
1. Not all radio stories are meant to be web stories
2. Try writing web text first
3. Consider what your audience already knows and what
you’re adding to the story
4. Conversational language speaks to your strengths
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17. WEB ORIGINAL STORYTELLING
7 ways to signal webbiness
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18. 1. Create web-only stories
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19. 2. Link out to relevant material
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20. 3. Embed content
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21. 4. Update stories
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22. 4. Be a curator
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23. 5. Make it easy
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24. 6. Let the format fit the story
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25. 7. Listen & respond to your audience
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26. CASE STUDY: KPLU
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27. Web Checklist (must hit at least 2)
1. Is it timely? (Are we ahead of others?)
2. Are you adding something NEW to a known story?
3. Does it have a unique angle or perspective?
4. Does it ask users to take action or express an
opinion?
5. Is it shareable? (Would YOU share it?)
6. Does it celebrate an idea, person or place?
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28. Radio stories treated differently online

29. Broadcast first Web first
Web days later Broadcast week later

30. Web to Air
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31. What to ask…
1. What’s next?
2. Who are the key players?
3. How did we get to this point?
4. Why does this matter?
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32. Questions
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33. Assignment
1. Webify a radio story
2. Write a web-original story (before writing radio story)
Please send assignments to dseditorial@npr.org
Deadline: COB Thursday
Subject: (YOUR STATION) web writing
Example: KERA web writing
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