Correction: This post originally referred to the player as the “Infinity Player” — the error has been corrected.
Great doesn’t always have to be complicated. Recently, NPR’s digital team caused major buzz with the release of its Infinite Player on Nov. 14. The quick little web-based application geared toward distracted listening combined the best of Pandora and old-school radio by creating a smart-streaming experience that personalized news, without creating an echo chamber.
ONA took a few minutes to talk to Michael Yoch, Director, Product for NPR, to figure out the genesis for the player, project inspirations and creating small concept-focused products in a major organization.
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Al Jazeera English was looking for a fresh take on global issues and culture, with a decidedly modern spin. After a year or so of incubation, the Doha-based network launched The Stream, a web-integrated show based completely around user-generated tips and feedback, across platforms like Twitter, Reddit, Facebook and Google+. Here’s an average day at office.
9:50 AM
MORNING PITCH MEETING
This is the monster pitch session, where all staffers come in with news they are following. Demographics are fairly evenly split — seven women and seven men are in attendance this morning.
Topics proposed: Coca-Cola using gamification on Japanese vending machines; Kenyan University Strike; Jawbone’s motion sensor bracelet; African rural radio broadcasters get a social network called Barza.
Members of the team provide justification for selecting stories. In general, The Stream prefers stories that are relevant to an international audience, covered enough to be buzz-worthy but not necessarily in the mainstream media. Direct requests from viewers are highly ranked.
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After the market crash of 2008, the Great Recession has been debated by pundits and policy wonks while journalists try to document the unfolding tales of the newly unemployed. Financial experts note that Americans are technically out of the recession, while most citizens are still reeling from the effects of a tanked economy, with no end in sight.
Yahoo! News decided to step into the fray with an experimental project, harnessing crowdsourcing, Tumblr and traditional storytelling techniques to illuminate the toll of long-term unemployment. The project, Down, But Not Out: Stories from the Long Term Unemployed (DBNO for short) is sobering reading, putting a face to the seemingly endless economic free fall. The stories shared are simultaneously painful and poignant, underscoring the stark economic headlines with tales of personal expectations, shattered dreams and a mountain of obstacles to overcome.
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