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INTRODUCTION

Global Journalist produces multiplatform content about the state of press freedom around the world, covers developments in international journalism and serves international journalists. It tells the stories of the storytellers. 

 

During the fall of 2014, we worked with Global Journalist as a digital content strategy team to strategize, execute and evaluate ways to help Global Journalist reach and engage with users around the world. 

 

We began by creating a SWOT analysis (below) that helped us form goals for the semester. Many of these goals are long-term practices that we think can be sustained in the future.

 

 

STRENGTHS

 

  • Global Journalist publishes interesting, in-depth content that attracts people who are interested in global affairs and press freedom issues.

  • The content spans several platforms, which broadens a potential audience. With radio shows, multimedia pieces, text pieces and a digital publication, there's something for everyone.

  • The recently redesigned website is clean, and the soon-to-be-released newsstand app sounds very promising. (From the "test" version we saw on the App Store, the design looks very sleek and easy to read on an iPad or mobile device.

  • Global Journalist's YouTube channel has strong content — and lots of it. Content is also updated on a regular basis. More people are subscribed to our YouTube channel than who follow our social media accounts other than Facebook and Twitter.

 

 

WEAKNESSES

 

Social:

  • Accounts have very, very few followers, especially for how large the audience could potentially be. We should try to increase our reach both domestically and internationally.

  • Posts are mostly recaps or teasers to content; there is little engagement with readers or questions to foster thoughtful online discussions.

  • The website makes it easy to share stories on social media, but we could only find links to Global Journalist's main social media pages on the home page. This makes it harder for the publication to gain new social media followers.

  • The LinkedIn presence is confusing. The organization is a group, which usually implies members are a part of that organization; why doesn't Global Journalist have a company page, like the one The New York Times has, so people can "follow" it and receive its content on their newsfeeds without receiving the LinkedIn group emails.

 

Website:

  • It looks like there still might be some outdated links because of the website overhaul a few years ago.

  • Videos and multimedia work (besides the radio show and free press watch content) aren't showcased in a prominent place on the website.

  • There are no staff or editor biographies. Adding those might add transparency and humanize the media outlet.

 

OPPORTUNITIES

 

  • Expanding Global Journalist's audience on social media platforms. Pursuing a large campaign to attract followers could reap rewards.

  • Fostering engagement and conversation on social media by posing questions and making posts more interesting. We like the editor's goal of pitching content to a millennial audience — and social media platforms are where the millennials are.

  • Promoting the newsstand app (once it has launched) and using that content to attract and engage audience members. Some may be drawn to Global Journalist because of that digital content, so measures could be in place to direct them onto a live website or to apps for social media platforms so they can get stories without waiting for the next issue.

  • Using the Missouri Honor Medal content to not only drive traffic to the content around that time, but also to encourage readers to return to the site and follow Global Journalist on social media.

  • Supporting existing staff efforts with supplemental content. For example, one effort I think would be successful is using Storify to create stories with social media posts.

  • Optimizing content for different platforms; not everything has to go on every platform, and content could even slightly be altered to fit better on different platforms. We should promote and publish content at different times, and we should repackage great content that is still relevant.

  • Using analytics patterns to drive posting content. Generally, desktop traffic (and especially home page traffic) is higher in the morning; mobile traffic increases at night. We should confer with Google Analytics data and see if Global Journalist's audience matches that general trend.

 

THREATS

 

  • Low brand awareness: Many people don't know what Global Journalist is, never mind that it's an award-winning publication with an acclaimed history.

  • Staff turnover: Most students are new to Global Journalist, and many may not stay there more than a semester.

  • Other, more mainstream publications with a similar target audience and mission.

  • Apathetic class and staff: If students or staff put in minimal effort, the quality could suffer, and that itself could lose readers.

 

 

SWOT ANALYSIS

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