‘It Can Really Make Information Come Alive’; Neal Award Winners Talk Power of Data Journalism

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Data has become a focus of many B2B media organizations and will be one of the many focuses for BIMS 2023, Feb. 23-24, in Orlando. “The stuff that is going to really set your journalism apart is learning how to [use data] on a day-to-day basis in your stories and getting story ideas,” Winsight’s Jonathan Maze told us in a recent Editorial Training Session.

“It’s important to remember that data only supplements a report, it does not replace it,” said Maze, Winsight’s Restaurant Business editor in chief. “You have to still talk to people, you have to get the lay of the land, you have to make sure you’re sourcing right and that people can help you provide proper information.” (Winsight and Maze won the 2022 Neal Award for Best Editorial Use of Data for Restaurant Business’s Top 500.)

Maze cited instances where “running data past internal sources found that the data was completely off or there was something wrong and it saved me. So it’s still important to cover your beat very extensively when doing these pieces.”

Data Journalism 101 co-presenter Todd Dills, editor of Randall-Reilly’s Overdrive Magazine and a multi-Neal Award-winner himself, backed this up. “Data is no substitute for reporting, but it can really make information come alive.” He pointed to a download they put together that showed a key inspection trend for the trucking industry. “One of the things that I want to point out is that when you’re reporting, you get great examples that illustrate a trend you’re seeing in data, but you also get the opposite. And it’s the exception to the rule sometimes that’s even better.”

Here are more insights from that session:

Find story leads. “You can find story leads and ideas simply by looking at numbers,” Maze said. “It also really helps provide context, which is super important. You can’t have a good story without really good context.” He also said that if you do not know Excel really well, you should take training on it. And he emphasized the positives of persistence and that just gathering data over time can eventually yield some big stories.

Prioritize mobile when it comes to visualization. “Generally speaking you’ll have to prioritize mobile at this particular point,” Maze said. “Because that’s where we’re getting most of our page views. So it’s super important that whatever you do has to work for mobile. If it doesn’t, you have to figure out a way to make it work.” Added Dills: “I totally agree [but] it’s not easy. We’re all sitting in offices working on this talk, and they look really great and then you go, ‘oh wait a second.’ This is not going to look [like this] for our guys that are behind the wheels of trucks out on the road. Datawrapper does a pretty decent job of accounting for mobile.” Maze said Instagram also works well.

Drive feature stories. Maze showed us a story he did on Crumbl Cookies. “It’s one of the hottest restaurant chains in the country. We have access to data from Technomics, our data arm. I crunched some data and found out Crumbl grew by 463% over the past two years, and we hadn’t written anything on it. I also got some franchise disclosure document data which is really important if your industry has any franchises. I found out that the average local Crumbl unit makes $2 million, which just selling cookies is actually really good. And I used that [and a podcast interview with the CEO] as a foundation for a story on why it was successful.”

Call companies out. Executives may sometimes overemphasize their success, Maze said. He pointed to a story he did on Subway, which liked to take a victory lap for sales jumps at its restaurants. But by going over the data, he found that 25% of its restaurants averaged a 26% decline. “Sometimes data journalism is just simple mathematics,” he said. “We did another story more recently on a pizza buffet chain and found some data that said it actually is not doing nearly as well as its competitors. Again, [data] helps you call out when companies are not necessarily giving you the full story. It helps provide proper context, [and that] is super important.”

Make the extra effort. “You should prioritize making that extra effort [with data] and making it a part of your routine,” Dills said. “Persistence is key. We do small stories with data; we do bigger ones in different ways that evolve over time. And, to this day, they’re still evolving so it’s pretty nice.” He also pointed to examples of crowdsourcing and polls that they’re doing.

Put stories in context. For a story on jobs, Maze saw that private companies hit pre-pandemic levels, but restaurants didn’t. So he went and got access to bls.gov (the Bureau of Labor and Statistics) to look at the historical data. “You could go to the tables to find your industry and very, very quickly find out total job growth in that sector,” Maze said. “I was able to find that the restaurant spaces were actually [thousands of] jobs short of where it was before the pandemic. That’s a pretty important story—that could be done in a day and just a few clicks—and helps put job growth in the restaurant space in proper context.”

 

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‘Don’t Guess What Members Want’; Association Panel Addresses Content Management Strategies

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This article was written by special assignment writer Ruth E. Thaler-Carter

We’ve all heard the saying that “content is king (or queen),” but it isn’t enough to create content. Association publishers have to make the best use of their content, and that means knowing “What Not to Do: Setting Content Priorities,” as recently discussed in an Associations Council Lunch & Learn session in October.

Figuring out what not to do in creating and generating association content requires “setting priorities,” said moderator Elena Loveland (pictured), editor-in-chief, Directorship magazine, National Association of Corporate Directors. The panelists—Kelsey Casselbury, content director, School Nutrition Association; Margaret Mitchell, editor-in-chief, Civil Engineering magazine, American Society of Civil Engineers; and Hilary Marsh, chief strategist, Content Company, Inc.—agreed.

Content is everything in a publication and also encompasses every product, project, and offering, Marsh noted.

First and foremost, “don’t try to do it on your own,” Casselbury said of creating and sharing content. “It has to be association-wide. It has to start with leadership.”

SNA is undertaking a survey of where everyone is spending time, she noted, to see the return on investment of various projects and what isn’t working. “Revenue seems to be the most important thing to us, but it isn’t always important to our members.” That leads to her next tip: “Don’t always base content on revenue-generating.”

Casselbury recommended trying to prioritize interdepartmental activities and working with various centers from the beginning of a content campaign or effort to make dissemination more effective and efficient. “There can be resistance to change, especially if you’re trying to limit the number of e-blasts to members,” she warned. “Aim to have meaningful conversations. Explain the ‘why.’”

There’s another popular saying about when you assume. Casselbury’s take is, “Don’t assume you know what members want.” She suggested looking at analytics to figure that out: “Colleagues couldn’t argue with data.”

A related tip was, “Don’t guess what members want.” Find out by looking at what members are discussing and reacting to in social media, Casselbury suggested.

“Don’t waste old materials or keep them if there’s no way to use them,” she added, even if that means reusing non-electronic items in this electronic age. Her staff recently found a stash of promotional cards that could be brought back to life in members’ hands.

Casselbury wrapped up with a reminder of that association publishers are well-challenged: “Don’t give sponsors or advertisers control,” she said. “Never forget the division between church and state — for us, between editorial versus advertising.”

Maintaining control over content volume can be a challenge, especially in a large association. “You don’t have to talk to everyone,” Mitchell said. If a content strategy is to discontinue a publication or combine existing ones into a new one, though, “you do have to check on current commitments, such as library subscriptions.”

If cutting down on the number of publications is key to a content strategy, “don’t get rid of your print magazine,” Mitchell said. “If you do go all-digital, you might reduce the number of pages.

In making any changes—whether launching new digital publications, reducing or discarding print publications, or other approaches to content management—“don’t overlook the difference between writing for print vs. online,” Mitchell advised. “It’s a different mindset.”

Marsh outlined a number of tips, starting with not forgetting to think about what your audiences are looking for. “Make it easy for them to find what they need, and connect your publication content with every other department. Think about planning processes,” she said. “Don’t keep doing what members are least interested in.”

Here are more tips from the excellent panel:

Don’t plan in silos—keep everyone in the association informed about what is coming up that might be worth developing content about.

Don’t try to work without goals—“Look at why you’re providing information and how members will use that content.”

Don’t focus on page views as a goal.

Don’t push for new content without knowing what members want—look at what the association already has and remind people of that resource. “Curate past information as reruns; people like reruns.”

Don’t forget to add an association take on daily news to make content unique.

To do more with your content, “don’t forget to repurpose material,” Marsh said.

In wrapping up the session, Loveland offered a key strategy in making the most of association content that relates to all of the presenters’ don’ts: “Don’t forget to do readers surveys before making changes—especially if you kill off a magazine—so you have data before making such decisions.”

And for generating content and feedback: “Don’t forget to use email” to communicate both internally and externally.

Award-winning freelance writer/editor Ruth E. Thaler-Carter is a long-time AM&P associate member and contributor to AM&P and member publications. She can be reached at Ruth@writerruth.com.

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Three Neal Award Winners for Best Package Show How Variety Is Spice of Presentation

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The three 2022 Neal Award winners for Best Subject Related Package—Winsight, MLR Media and Crain Communications—demonstrate the creativity and expertise with which topics can be covered and conveyed these days. Video, podcasts, photos, charts, infographics, intuitive copy and challenging topics give an audience lots of reasons to engage.

For its Neal Award-winning presentation of The Impact of the $15 Wage, Winsight’s Restaurant Business deployed a creative spread of infographics, photos, video and well-written and researched content to show what can be done with a topic in these digital-dominant days.

Like the other two winners in this category, Winsight makes simple grey text a relic of the past. The package starts with a bold declaration: “The $15 wage is increasingly common throughout the U.S., either as a government mandate or a market reality. Its impact touches the entire restaurant industry, its employees and its operators.” This statement mirrors the growing discussions I’ve seen in online forums and communities, particularly those centered around 도박사이트 추천. Just as the $15 wage impacts every level of the restaurant industry, the rise of these offshore gambling sites influences a wide range of players, from casual bettors to those deeply entrenched in the gambling world. Both situations highlight how external changes—whether in wages or in gaming platforms—can ripple through entire industries, affecting everyone involved.

To emulate this success in your own presentations, consider adopting a similarly creative and multimedia-rich approach. As you delve into the digital-dominant era, learn how to wrap up a presentation in style by leaving a lasting impression. Conclude with a concise and impactful summary that reinforces key takeaways, engages your audience, and prompts further discussion. By embracing diverse presentation tools and techniques, you can captivate your audience and ensure your message resonates long after the presentation concludes.

Then come the following whistles and bells:

A vertical timeline with How It Started pasted onto a photo showing a protest at a big McDonalds. Then it’s on to how Mom and Pops restaurants were the first to reach $15—illustrating with a photo of an independent brewery owner. Every small headline links to a “Premium” story they’ve written.

A map of the United States—“States on the way to a $15 minimum wage.” By hovering over the states they’ve selected, you can see the progress—or lack of it—being made. Then come charts of Chains That Are Raising Wages and “how much are you currently paying newly hired employees who don’t directly earn tips?” Again, hovering over a section to see what it says adds more room for description and makes it interactive (and fun).

A video of a robot “working” in a restaurant. “Robots hone their muscles. Miso Robotics is still tweaking its automated kitchen bot, Flippy, as it fields strong interest from restaurants.” The timeline continues with &pizza paying its workers at least $15 by 2022 and McDonalds informing the National Restaurant Association—which acquired Winsight in 2021—that it will stop fighting against increases.

A bar chart on where restaurants weigh in on the $15 wage. Lastly, there’s an article on the survey results. “A survey of operators found nearly 30% already pay $15 an hour, but most are skeptical that the business can function at that pay level.” It’s all quite a package.

Another winner in this category was also the Grand Neal recipient: Reckoning: Family Businesses Confront Race, Racism and Inclusion by Barbara Spector of MLR Media. In an Editorial Council meeting we conducted with her earlier this year, Spector offered six takeaways from her experience with the story:

1. Get the support of top management.

2. “When tackling a big project, you need enough time to get it right, including a lot of time for a major rewrite if needed… If possible, wait until the editing is far along before committing to publish it on a specific date.”

3. It’s important to be known to your readers “as a trusted resource that is sensitive to audiences concerns. It will be easier to find sources and get them to open up to you.”

4. “Back up your assertions with quotes, facts [and] statistics from trusted sources. This is especially true for controversial topics.”

5. “If you have a complex story to tell, break it up into parts and make ample use of subheads, pull quotes, illustrations and sidebars to avoid the old wall of text. Link to sources where readers can go to research and learn more.”

6. “Everyone needs an editor, and you also need a talented creative director and web designer for projects like this.”

The third winner in this category was EV1: A Legacy in a New Light from Crain Communications’ Automotive News. This is also an amazingly versatile package featuring video, podcasts, eight chapters, an epilogue, and more stories such as Filmmaker Chris Paine on Who Killed the EV1, and Cultivated. Then Crushed—about a “topsy turvy” car-saving attempt.

The package begins dramatically: “25 years ago, GM rolled out the EV1, a triumph of electrification that ended in a crushing blow. But the car planted the seed for the industry embrace of EVs now.”

In the podcast’s first episode, reporters Pete Bigelow and Hannah Lutz “tell listeners how they tracked down more than 30 key players to weave together the story of GM’s EV1r.” The episode tells of General Motors’ flashy launch of the EV1—at a Sylvester Stallone film premiere.

Everything takes place on the Automotive News website with many links to more content. “On the Automotive News Special Reports podcast, we’ll take you beyond our weekly print edition. Subscribe for periodic episodes.” The videos are also impressive, appearing on Automotive News TV. Podcasts and videos are also great opportunities to push your publications’ personalities forward; let your audience get to know them better.

 

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‘They’re Getting Insights From The Data’; Helping Editorial Focus More on Metrics

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“The fact that audience metrics don’t reflect the quality of a piece or necessarily capture its full impact isn’t a weakness,” Chris Moran, head of editorial innovation at Guardian News & Media, wrote. “… Instead, metrics tell us things we absolutely don’t, or can’t, know from gut instinct. Metrics, at their core, are simply measurements. And as journalists, we should never argue that ignorance is bliss.”

Last year, Dan Fink, managing director of Money-Media, a division of Financial Times, told us that they “are working to develop a formula that combines page views, time-on-page and other user actions (print, save, share, etc.) into a single metric. My plan is to shift our internal focus on this new engagement metric, since it is more valid than one-dimensional page views.”

This week, Fink reported on how the transition is proceeding and what it is telling them. Meanwhile, a key question is how much help should journalists get to incorporate metrics and analytics into their day-to-day? Some organizations have made it a process. In talking to Fink last week in preparation for Thursday, metrics are simply now part of the culture at Money-Media.

“Journalists are not analysts,” wrote Elisabeth Gamperl, managing editor, digital storytelling unit, Süddeutsche Zeitung in Munich, last year in a Reuters Institute report titled Overcoming Metrics Anxiety: New Guidelines for Content Data in Newsrooms. “Most of them became journalists because they care about words and stories… It is important to provide the newsroom with data it really gets value from.”

Ultimately, wrote Gamperl, data and metrics analysts should be seen as vital members of the newsroom. Here are some keys to incorporating metrics into your culture:

Don’t overwhelm – find your key metrics. In an article on The Fix, David Tvrdon said that putting too many metrics on your journalists’ plates could be risky. “With every added metric the chance of more people not getting it simply rises exponentially. I would rather use a simplified metric and tweak it in time than risking colleagues in the newsroom having different goals.” The Financial Times used RFV (recency, frequency, volume) to help hit one million digital subscribers. Later, they pledged allegiance to a more consumption-based Quality Reads.

Set out a specific time. “One of the best practices that we’ve embedded is an analytics meeting for our editors, so that they can really see their work and how it ends up performing out in the world,” said Lucy Swedberg, executive editor and senior editorial director at Harvard Business Publishing. “You start to hear them thinking and observing, ‘Oh, this thing did really well—let’s do more of those.’ I love when I hear they’re getting insights from the data. Because, at the end of the day, that’s what will keep us going and [allow us to] make an impact.”

Educate your editorial staff. At Industry Dive, the audience and marketing team creates actionable dashboards for the editorial team. “This not only helps us measure more of the things that matter to our audience, but it makes it really easy for our editorial team to get actionable insights and make [informed] decisions,” said editor-in-chief Davide Savenije. A data and analytics team works closely with the newsroom. For instance, they recently analyzed trends in UK non Gamstop casinos to understand how these platforms attract players seeking alternatives to regulated domestic options, providing the editorial team with key insights for their coverage. A central analytics hub for the newsroom has a repository with all the reports. During onboarding, a training session walks new people through those reports. “We are trying to build a culture of data analytics in our newsroom, and we want to bring a balance to that culture. Data is powerful. And it can tell us a lot, but as there are also limits and blind spots in the data, so context is always critical to knowing what data really tells you.”

Be positive and concise. One analytics team developed a list of questions they work through before submitting data to the newsroom. Leaders also advise to be careful in sending around individual rankings or standings. Instead, promote information on screens that is helpful to the newsroom. For example, “Did you know that most people read us between 6 and 8 am?” And be concise. “If you provide too much, it has a counterintuitive effect of making people less engaged with it because people don’t know where to focus. It becomes a little bit overwhelming and disengaging to just see reams and reams of data,” said Jörn Rose, director, strategic growth, HuffPost & BuzzFeed News.

Don’t look at metrics as static and immovable. It should be an ongoing process to work with—a positive feedback loop. The question should not be: What is the number? But rather: What can you do in response to this number? Also articles may not be getting the same play. To solve this, The Times of London “developed a score that compares articles only with equivalent articles promoted in the same spot.”

 

Impact awards

SIIA Honors Outstanding Emerging Talent and DEI Champions

by DEIMediaPress Release

Inaugural class of SIIA IMPACT Awards’ Emerging Talent and Equity Winners Announced

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Suzy Wagner, Brand & Buzz 

Washington, DC (October 20, 2022)  The Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) announces winners of the inaugural SIIA IMPACT Awards, a new program honoring outstanding leadership in the publishing industry, specifically championing Emerging Talent and Equity. 

The SIIA IMPACT Awards are an extension of SIIA’s continuing commitment to support members in achieving better outcomes in diversity, equity and inclusion and to spotlight and develop outstanding young professionals across the publishing industry. Ten awards will be presented across seven categories, honoring emerging talent as well as individual and teams championing DEI in the publishing industry.  A celebratory winners luncheon will take place on November 15 in Washington, DC.

The 2022 class of SIIA IMPACT winners includes:


Emerging Talent recognizes those aged 35 and under who have 3+ years of service to the industry and have demonstrated outstanding success and leadership potential.  The winners are:

  • Matt Ausloos, American Health Law Association
  • Martha Porado, EnsembleIQ
  • Sarah Gaydos, GRAPHEK
  • Alayna Hyler, Questex

Equity Awards recognize individuals and teams demonstrating significant progress and identifiable achievement toward efforts related to advancing diversity, equity and inclusion.  The winners are: 

  • Outstanding Employee Resource Group (ERG): American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
  • Individual Contribution: Travis Wolfe, GovExec
  • Team Award: Less than 50 employees: American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians
  • Team Award: 51 – 99 employees: American Physiological Society
  • Team Award: 100 – 149 employees: Money-Media, A Financial Times Company
  • Team Award: 150+ employees: American Chemical Society

“The IMPACT Awards recognize not only emerging talent, but organizations who have embraced the importance of diversity. We are in awe of the accomplishments of every IMPACT winner as well as the talented nominees,” said SIIA President Chris Mohr, “Diversity is integral in everything our member companies do. These awards not only elevate the phenomenal work being done, but amplify our deep belief that it is our differences which makes us stronger. Congratulations to all of the winners.  We also extend our sincere appreciation to the IMPACT committee, judges and to the sponsors who made this program possible: Association Vision, Cristaux (the official IMPACT award manufacturer), and PrintCinch.” 

In addition to the IMPACT Awards, SIIA is the owner and producer of a suite of premiere awards programs:

About SIIA:
SIIA represents more than 500 large and small technology companies, associations and related interests across the diverse information industry. Our members provide the critical data, content, and information that drives financial networks, connects learners and educators and drives the global economy.