Location tells us where it’s at for ABC audiences
ABC Innovation just launched the first in a series of pilot projects that explore the role of location in news and information seeking. Part of a 12 month investigation, we have kicked off the first pilot in Newcastle and Launceston, and a second one in South East SA and Townsville.
Why all the fuss about location?
When it comes to news, of course location matters. We care about what is happening close to our homes, our schools and our places of business and we want to be informed about anything that might affect them. But how much? In the contemporary media landscape, as major players slowly centralise their news desks and the more profitable digital distribution models are bought up by multinationals, this question has become increasingly interesting to media organisations globally.
In an attempt to answer ‘how much’ (and potentially tap an under-served market) there has been a string of hyper-local experiments over the last five years by both small and large media groups such as the New York Times, Guardian, Washington Post and Aol.
The ABC has followed these with interest, but we need Australian examples or experiences that might inform our own need to know our audience potential and their need for local updates.
So we embarked on our own exploration with a 12-month research investigation. The central question was ‘how does location matter in a news/information service?’ The methodology was ‘design thinking’ centred. We didn’t test an existing product or ask questions about ABC services, we asked them what they do now, and what they really wanted when it came to local information.
![Shirley Chapman By ABC Open Hunter](http://web.archive.org./web/20140214190740im_/http://about.abc.net.au/wp-content/uploads/cache/2013/11/ShirleyChapmanByABCOpenHunter/2176588860.jpg)
Can the ABC find new audiences by providing a mix of local news, information and big stories? (Pictured: Hunter Knit In Organiser, Shirley Chapman. Photo by ABC Open Hunter).
Taking it to the people
The best way to find out what people are doing every day is to go to their place and take a look around. This was a core element of our research. We hired a company (Symplicit) to help us make a series of what they call ‘contextual inquiries’. This involved visiting people’s homes to ask questions about their routine, talk about what they read/watch/listen to, looked at the notes on their fridge and generally got a glimpse of what we can’t see in surveys or analytics.
We did this in Geelong, Mt Gambier, Canberra, Newcastle and Launceston and we also ran small group workshops in Newcastle and Geelong. We made sure that we met people who never used the ABC and those who did. All ages, many different backgrounds. The only constant was that they owned a smart phone as we identify mobile as key to the development of any future ABC products.
So what did the people say?
The things we learned informed a lot of the next part of the research project – developing the pilots:
- People work hard to find local news. Papers, TV, radio, websites, apps billboards, community notice boards. Seems like single source (like a major masthead) is a luxury enjoyed by major cities.
- National news is easy, local news can be harder. Detail, alternative perspectives, and timely reporting were noted as issues for local news by some of our research participants. Public accountability was raised as missing in relation to local government.
- ‘Local’ lines are variable. Smaller communities are more externally focused, looking to their surrounding areas, larger communities are more inwardly focused and have a greater variety of news/information sources, with finer resolution
- Local news on its own is not enough. Packaging local content in with state, national and world news has wider appeal.
- People lack a forum to talk about local issues
- People want to choose the news they want that is relevant to them
The people have SPOKE(n), now test it with some mobile pilots
Can the ABC find an audience beyond its current users by providing a mix of local news, information and big stories in the one offering?
Can the ABC noticeably enrich communities, by forging discussions between people and local issues?
These questions are tested with the first two pilots – collectively known as SPOKE.
SPOKE Pilot One is a simple mobile site that brings together a mix of local, national and international ABC news. You enter your postcode, and we use an algorithm to determine the right ‘location’ based mix for you. (This is optimised only for our pilot locations).
SPOKE also includes a bigger mix of news. The local Fairfax newspapers have contributed a feed of their content that is used to augment the ABC’s local news service. We also include updates from the local council and important community groups with active Facebook pages.
For the user, SPOKE can be tailored by content type as well as location. So if you love (or hate) sports for instance, you can dial the volume up or down. Or add more arts to your mix. And change it any time.
SPOKE Pilot Two will be a space to encourage more local voices, looking at how national or international issues can be contextualised at a local level, and how important local issues can get the discussion and attention they deserve.
![SPOKE can be tailored by content type as well as location. So if you love or hate a topic, you can dial the volume on it up or down.](http://web.archive.org./web/20140214190740im_/http://about.abc.net.au/wp-content/uploads/cache/2013/11/topic-dials/112930610.jpg)
SPOKE can be tailored by content type as well as location. So if you love or hate a topic, you can dial the volume on it up or down.
The content model for both pilots is ‘automated plus enhanced’. We have some content rules in place for aggregation and filtering but there is also some intervention by an editor. We have taken this approach to ensure we are testing the ‘possibility’ for the concept rather than the implementation.
The pilots will each run for three months in their locations. During this time we will be tracking usage closely and making some changes along the way. We welcome requests from other divisions in the ABC to test ideas for local content using these pilots, it’s a great opportunity to learn how people consume our content if presented in an entirely different way.
You can follow the progress of SPOKE via our Tumblr: http://abcspoke.tumblr.com/
If you’re in Newcastle or Launceston you can give SPOKE Pilot One a try: http://spoke.abc.net.au/
If you are in South East SA or Townsville you can try Pilot Two at http://spoke.n.abc.net.au
Tags: innovation, mobile, news, regional
“People work hard to find local news. Papers, TV, radio, websites, apps billboards, community notice boards. Seems like single source (like a major masthead) is a luxury enjoyed by major cities.”
I don’t imagine residents of major cities who are interested in local news restrict themselves to a single source. Indeed, local news is generally most comprehensively covered by paid regional newspapers – the best results for single source usage would be in a regional location.
Good idea but I believe it is a waste of time. The ABC will continue to treat Sydney as the centre of the universe and that will always be the lead item and have the most emphasis in your news reports. I can give you numerous examples that have occurred on ABC radio and ABC television of news and sport results that focus only on Sydney and ignore other states. But I won’t bother because it will be a waste of time. However more importantly Save the ABC from the Liberal Party who once again want to reward the Murdoch Mafia for their support at the last election.