rgpages.github.io - Pitch

[robertdenton]

Create a newsroom pitch/mission statement for what rgpages hopes to accomplish.

Moved from /issues/1

First draft:

RG Pages

RG Pages is simply a GitHub organization created and cared for by The Register-Guard web team. It is set up using gh-pages and can be seen at pages.registerguard.com or rgpages.github.io.

Right now there is nothing there. But we're hoping to change that in the near future. We want to create specially designed stories for the web that will both inform the public and engage readers in new ways.

We've created a few examples using past stories:

• Up in flames
  • First published on July 18, 2014
• Agritainment
  • First published on Sept. 26, 2014
• Country Fair slider
  • Published July 5, 2014
• 3,093 - Ashton Eaton sets world decathlon record at Olympic Trials
  • First published on June, 5, 2012. See the print product here

Goals

RG Pages has two clients. The reporter and the reader. While the end product is the same, each has separate goals.

Reporter

The goal of working with reporters is to create one-on-one relationships that lead to greater communication in the newsroom and increased trust between the web team and story tellers.

Over time, the web team hopes to streamline the process of producing online designs for specific stories in a way that is most convenient for the reporter.

Reader

The goal of creating these alternative story templates is to engage and educate the public in new and interesting ways. In turn this will continue to please current readers and encourage them to share stories which leads to new readers.

How this works

When an editor or reporter suspects their upcoming story may lend itself to an alternative web design they should email [email protected] or visit with the web team regarding the specifics of the story. This conversation should happen as early as possible, preferably before actual reporting is done. Reporters and editors should also be sure to mention if there is any potential data or multimedia possibilities.

From here, the workflow will be identical to that of a normal story until it is time to publish to the web. At this point the web team will redirect the story page to our specialized page at a pages.registerguard.com URL.

TL;DR

Why should you care?

If we can find a way to better engage readers, your story will be seen by more people.