Media have been trying to come to terms with the need to learn how to live in a digital world for years. Not all of them have managed to adapt, and some of them simply tried to replicate what they had already been doing on paper or on television.
However, some others have tackled the “digital challenge” in a very innovative and efficient way, like AJ+, Al Jazeera online channel.
We spoke with
Shadi Rahimi, Senior Producer at AJ+, about digital storytelling and MoJo.
How has AJ+ managed to make the “digital first” strategy work?
From its inception AJ+ has been a digital-only, platform-specific, mobile-first enterprise.
That is really what sets us apart from most media outlets and what has been the driving force of our success in the social media landscape. We are different than most in that we produce content specifically for digital audiences that receive their news primarily on mobile phones. We do not just repurpose content that was initially produced for TV or a website.
A story with a Facebook audience in mind will be produced differently than a story for an Apple TV audience. And from the researching and pitching part of the storytelling process, our producers are thinking about the platform(s) they are producing the piece for and the best way to tell the story for the platform(s). This approach has played into our producing some of the most watched videos online.
What does “engaging the audience” mean for AJ+, and how do you manage to do it?
Engaging our audience is an utmost goal at AJ+. We aim to engage not only during their viewing of our content but also afterward. That is how you build a dedicated audience that feels invested in the storytelling process, and how you win a following online.
Our videos are produced with an aim to capture and retain audience attention throughout. They often contain big questions that are meant to spark conversation in the comment section. We sometimes also ask direct questions in the comment section, or provide further information. We interact with our audience daily, whether that means replying publicly to tweets or answering private messages on Facebook. We have even produced stories based on audience comments. An example that comes to mind is a Medium post that was produced after a viewer commented about her personal experience with drug abuse.
Do all kind of stories work well online or mobile? If not, what ingredients should be present for them to work?
One of the most important considerations for producing optimal video for a digital and mobile audience is arresting visuals. Particularly for Facebook, where auto-play means the first several seconds can determine whether the audience will stick around. “Good footage” is an obvious consideration when producing video, but when it comes to online audiences it is more than that. Emotions matter. Does the video allow the audience member to enter the story, up close and personal? The type of footage we look for is a more immersive feel than most traditional TV-style filming.
What role do citizen journalism and UGC play in the making of AJ+ packages?
We do use citizen videos and UGC in our packages, particularly when there’s a breaking story like a police shooting and someone has filmed on their cell phone, for example. But we take all the proper steps to verify the content, whether waiting for it to be verified by Storyful or speaking to the content producer ourselves. This type of content is extremely valuable and powerful when it comes to telling particular stories, often adding a sense of raw urgency to the storytelling.
How have you at AJ+ decided to cover the so called refugee crisis? Is there something you have focused on in particular?
We have covered all aspects of the Syrian refugee crisis, from the civil war to the flood of refugees into Europe. It is one of the most important stories of our time that our entire organization values and so every department in our office has played a crucial role in shedding light on the crisis.
Last year the field reporting team I produce was dispatched to Europe amid the refugee crisis and we produced
videos walking alongside refugees on their journey to safety in Germany. Our goal in that effort was to humanize some of the nameless faces streaming across the borders.
On MoJo:
Mobile Journalism, is it the way forward for journalism?
I view mobile journalism as one of many tools that all journalists should have at their disposal. Being able to effectively capture quality video and photography with your mobile phone is a game changer when it comes to breaking news.
It is also crucial to know how to best broadcast live with your phone. I do not believe that phones will replace DSLR (Digital single-lens reflex camera) anytime soon, but we are moving toward the footage from cell phones being used alongside DSLR footage pretty seamlessly at times, at least in some videos I have produced.
What are the advantages both when it comes to breaking news and to longer features?
When it comes to breaking news, mobile journalism is the fastest method at our disposal at AJ+. When protests broke out after the killing of black teenager Michael Brown by a white police officer in Ferguson, my colleague and I were dispatched to the scene with only mobile phone rigs in hand. And so we entered the existing conversations about the events – which were primarily of a breaking nature and were mostly on Twitter – by also publishing raw and unedited footage and photos of what was happening on ground.
We entered the social media space using the tools of that space. Our audience grew exponentially with this strategy.
When it comes to longer features, when I am producing a longer piece on ground I often use phones to capture and publish daily content such as protests or behind the scenes moments that help promote or enhance the story.
Does it increase interactivity with the audience?
When we were reporting in Ferguson, and later with mobile phones in Baltimore amid protests around the death of Freddie Gray, we found that our audience responded overwhelmingly to our approach. We became a breaking news source online comparable only perhaps to the way livestreamers and activists behave online, tweeting by-the-minute updates on scene. In both of these cases we did “timeline takeovers” of our Twitter account, where most of the tweets were related to breaking news on the ground. The audience engagement and interaction we received in response was unparalleled.
In what way MoJo could enhance storytelling especially when it comes to stories like the so called refugee crisis?
We used Facebook Live for the first time last year when reporting on the refugee crisis, which was monumentally powerful in terms of audience engagement and interaction. We were able to use mobile phones to allow our audience the experience of standing in confusing and long lines at the border between Austria and Germany.
We took that a step further by translating their questions to refugees and translating the responses back, allowing fruitful conversations to take place. This year we had a similar approach when joining migrants on an Italian rescue boat. Storytelling can be enhanced in this way, with moments of interactive reality that allow the audience to enter spaces they would never otherwise have access to.
What can we expect from the future? Is it something every video journalist should learn?
The technology keeps improving but the fundamentals of newsgathering and storytelling remain the same. Mobile phones are the best tool for reporting to social media, particularly when reporting breaking news. I think every video journalist in the field should be skilled in live streaming along with capturing and sharing quality video and photos in real time.
