The Sunday Times story surrounding our embattled health minister has been a good example of integrated journalism. The newspaper broke the big story, yet the online presence went further than just plonking a repeat of the story on the web.
Nowadays, media companies are publishing source material and the original supporting documentation of their stories with increasingly regularity. The Sunday Times website is no exception, having scanned source documents relating to the story, including legal letters, court documents and full statements. These don’t always make for riveting reading, but at least demonstrates transparency that further builds trust between a publication and its readers. It also puts the paper on a more solid legal footing if the source documents for a story are there for all to see.
Secondly, I was interested in a video interview with Sunday Times editor Mondli Makhanya here by Fred Khumalo, which I think added to the overall story. I’ve read Mondli’s columns, I’ve read the story — but here he was in the virtual flesh, talking to me. I may be wrong, but is this — a newspaper editor being interviewed by his own website via online video for background on a major story — a South African first?
I just wonder how the newspaper reporters who broke the story feel about The Times swooping in and taking their ‘limelight’ – I would be interested to find out if newspaper sales increased as much as The Times Oline’s hits did over those few weeks. Integration is a good idea but there will always be some stepping on toes and imo a bit of resentment on the part of traditional media stoics at the inteference (I speak from personal experience)
I like the fact that the Sunday Times has made all the extra scource documents available on the website. It shows that they have investigated thoroughly, and are confident in the accuracy of their reporting. I only wish that these documents were not only made available on the net, but also as part of the paper itself. This way many more people would have access to these scource documents, and would be confident that the accusations made were fact, and not just speculation.