Eluma's VP of marketing and business development explains how news sites need to incorporate desktop apps and social media to keep up.

As fast as you can say digital world, the news consumer has changed dramatically. Viewers who passively watch a 30-minute newscast and readers who sit down with the morning paper are giving way to the online news surfer looking for specific information, regardless of the source. 

Recently, News2020Project (a blog that focuses on the future of online news), posted an interesting discussion about TV news stations' inability to tap into the radically different psyche of an online surfer actively seeking out specific information. Blogger Jeff Crigler points out that even the most loyal audience members rarely go to a TV news website just to see what's going on. That's the exact opposite of the TV viewer that's passively watching a 30-minute news broadcast. 

According to Pew Internet, the number of American adults who got their news online during a typical day rocketed from 27 million in 2002 to 90 million in 2005. But what's interesting is that while in the offline world we get our news from our city newspaper and local TV and radio stations, local media is not a primary source of information online for most consumers.

B&C/Magid Media Labs "Online User Study," (released in April, 2007) polled over 2,000 internet users ages 18 to 54 across the country and found that just 13 percent surf the web for local news on a daily basis. Yet, the same study found that 60 percent of respondents said they would be either "somewhat likely" or "very likely" to use a local TV site for information on a range of topics that include health, real estate, in-depth sports or local events.

Why the discrepancy? And why aren't local news providers more effectively leveraging their existing relationships and strong loyalty with their viewers/readers/listeners to better compete with the major media providers?

Maybe all it takes is the right "hook."

Is it the weather?  Local sports? School closings? Traffic? An on-air personality? Promotions from local retailers?

Local news providers would do well to make sure their website content is current and the website navigation is intuitive. But how can they encourage more users to visit their websites for information? One way, clearly, is to spend a little more on SEO. But another way is to offer a branded, always-on desktop application (BDA), and promote it through their primary channel (TV, radio, newspaper). Through a BDA, local media can grab viewers' attention by alerting them to the breaking news they are most interested in, and drive traffic back to their website, where they can cross-promote content to keep them there.

This is exactly what 7NEWS, Boston's NBC and CW affiliate's local news, had in mind when it recently launched the 7News Desktop. "A desktop application is a great way for us to leverage our strong relationships with our TV viewers in the online world. They get the information they want, as it happens, even if they don't have the time to come to our website," says Randi Goldklank, vice president and general manager of WHDH and WLVI. "The alerts' feature of the 7News Desktop is a powerful way for us to draw our viewers to our website and once there, engage them in our online community and enhance their overall online experience."

Another initiative local media providers might consider is fostering interactive online communities, which have been shown to increase both the time visitors spend with them online as well as the quality of their experience.

Creating an "interactive community" is all about involving individuals in the process of creating and delivering news on topics of interest. As a recent IBM report, "Navigating the Media Divide," states, in the traditional world content produced by professionals and distributed through proprietary platforms still dominates. But in the new world, content is often user-generated and accessed through open platforms.

For the media, this means engaging viewers in the online community via a wide array of tools and technologies made available by the Web 2.0 revolution. 

• Mark Glaser, host of the MediaShift blog, suggests adding Digg-like functionality where community members can vote on stories they'd like to see covered by the newsroom.
• At the first Magazine Media 2.0 Summit, Dr. Bernd Kundrun, CEO of Gruner + Jahr suggested that, "instead of staring anxiously at YouTube, you should adapt it in your community. Inspire, reform and entertain your audience."
• USA Today incorporated these concepts when it recently re-launched its website in the form of a social media community, jam-packed with Web 2.0 features designed to engage readers more directly in the news, give them a wider view of the news of the day and connect them with other readers who can contribute to their understanding of events. Via these community features, readers can vote on every article in the style of Digg, creating story lists based on popularity; create a personal page that aggregates his or her comments; participate in discussion forums; write reviews of movies, music and more; and contribute photos.

According to Rupert Murdoch, "A new generation of media consumers has risen demanding content delivered when they want it, how they want it, and very much as they want it."

Extending the online presence to users' desktops helps local media providers leverage customer loyalty to improve their traffic online, providing users with immediate, opt-in notification of the latest news specifically in their choice of topic area. Online community is another initiative that can help local media better compete with the major media. Some desktop applications deliver community capabilities as part of their applications, not only helping to increase traffic back to the website, driving users back to specific news stories, weather, and promotions, but also engaging users in their online community. The result: Desktop applications can deliver significant benefits to a local media organization's online presence, bringing the relationships they already enjoy in the offline world, online.

Joe Lichtenberg is VP of marketing and business development, Eluma. Read full bio.