Site Redesigns, IDG’s Video Hub, Headline Writing, Jack Welch Interview, TFP’s Infographic Pick of the Week, InDesign CC Tip: Creative Cloud Libraries
Welcome to TFP’s roundup of news and tips for media industry pros! This week, we’re sharing stories about site redesigns at The Atlantic and The Wall Street Journal, IDG’s plans for a tech video hub, the evolution of headline writing at the Times, a LinkedIn interview with leadership guru Jack Welch, and more.
- A couple notable site relaunches this week: The Atlantic and The Wall Street Journal. Fishbowl NY and others reported that the new TheAtlantic.com is a nice improvement over the former site, with a simpler design and more emphasis on images. For its part, the Journal launched its first redesign since 2008 with the goal of promoting increased responsiveness and innovation, according to Nieman Lab. It also said the newspaper is integrating its product and news teams and has created an innovation group, following similar moves at The Washington Post and others.
- IDG, a leading publisher of technology titles, considers itself “the best-kept secret” when it comes to tech video, Digiday reported. But now the media company is looking for greater visibility with the launch of IDG.tv, a hub for video content from all of its brands, including Computerworld, Network World, Macworld, PCWorld, and CIO. It’s also working on a central video production unit that will create new video series and provide innovative video coverage of tech events. Dina Roman, general manager of IDG.tv, said that “the time was right to leverage our audience and become the dominant creator of tech video on the web.”
- A New York Times column looked at the evolution of headline writing and how SEO now drives what was once a creative process involving the use of clever or “lyrical” word play. “We weren’t ready to give up on the lyrical approach,” explained Patrick LaForge, who supervises the 130 copy editors who write headlines at the Times. “But we’ve come to understand that it didn’t always serve the readers very well if a beautiful headline didn’t tell them clearly what the story was about.” And that applies to not only searchability but also shareability, the article pointed out, meaning that in order to suit various platforms, copy editors now often have to write multiple headlines for the same articles.
- In a LinkedIn interview, former GE chief Jack Welch discussed his alternative to traditional MBA programs: the Jack Welch Management Institute. He said the online school is designed to enable business professionals to get practical training without embarking on lengthy and costly MBA programs, noting that, as in business, the idea is to stay relevant, move fast, and cut inefficiencies. On leadership, the focus of his best-selling books and popular posts, Welch said, “Leadership today is all about two words … truth and trust.”
- On the Technology for Publishing blog: Everyone in the content business is trying to stay on top of what motivates millennials, but there are some big differences between emerging Gen Z consumers and their Gen Y counterparts. To test your generational IQ, check out our Infographic Pick of the Week.
- Also this week, TFP’s Monica Murphy brings you an InDesign CC Tip on Creative Cloud Libraries, an easy way to organize and share design assets like graphics, color swatches, and text styles.
Image: Fishbowl NY/The Atlantic
This Week in Publishing appears every Friday on the TFP blog. Every week we compile interesting and noteworthy stories from the publishing world and put together a wrap-up to help our readers stay up-to-date. Think we missed something great? Leave a comment below and let us know!
Posted by: Monica Sambataro
