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Rob Curley, vice president of new media for The Washington Post, spoke to George Mason University students about how to use the web to its fullest to do better journalism.

He started out by aknowledging that the format for news is not static.

"We're not in the paper business, we're in the news business," he said. To Curley, the challenge is not to adapt print methods to the web, but to base online content on the way people naturally use the web. He divided people's internet usage into 4 "P"s:

Passion. People go to sites about things they care about -- their hobbies and interests.

Practical. People use the web as a fast source of useful information and services. Shopping, directions, movie schedules, you name it.

Playful. People use the internet to have fun and kill time. Though users might wind up spending several hours on Facebook, the same usually isn't true for The Washington Post. However, this is something Curley wants to change.

Porn. Not something news organizations are ever going to deliver, but the reality is there.

Curley provided a list of "must-have" features for a news website that wants to make the most of the web.

• Stay on top of breaking news content--be the first as often as possible

• Content should be "hyper-deep" and database-driven

• No such thing as too much multimedia content

• Provide "evergreen" content such as historical information that is always there for readers

• Content should be compatable with portable devices. Go out of your way to be the first to bring features to other platforms

• Create a conversation, not a monologue

• Be aware of how the internet really works. Your site should use the web, not fight it.

On Being

While news sites may not typically cause readers to "lose themselves" for hours browsing content, On Being may be the exception to the rule. The On Being project, which consists of full screen video interviews with ordinary people in the Washington area, draws in thousands of viewers each week.

The unique appeal of the project comes in part from the skill of Jenn Crandall, the interviewer.

"You never see her, but you can feel her," said Curley. "Everyone has one interviewer who gets people to open up."

The syle of the interviews is a reversal of the "inverted pyramid" format typically used in news stories. The most remarkable part of the story often doesn't come out until the end.

Curley said the purpose of the On Being interviews is to introduce people in the Washington area to others they might not otherwise have met. Rather than a departure from "real journalism," he sees this as a return to the roots of local journalism.

Stories like these can't carry a paper on their own, but coupled alongside major news stories, it creates a richer experience for the reader.

"We're a hometown paper, but the President lives in our hometown," said Curley. "So that changes everything."

Multimedia Overkill

Curley described a huge multimedia project where 36 journalists gathered a group of teens at Tyson's Corner, "tagged them like salmon," and then set them loose to observe and track their shopping habits.

The result was an interactive map that allowed viewers to examine the course the teens took through the shopping center, how long they spent in each store, and what purchases they made. The goal was to explore the sociological and psychological implications of teen shopping.

To deepen the story, the team selected 10 "chosen ones," who logged into online diaries to report on their own shopping habits over the course of six additional weeks. The site featured 360 degree pictures of the "chosen ones" in their rooms that allowed readers to mouse-over objects to reveal where they were purchased and how much they cost.

Such a big project would have done little good for the paper if no one had gone to see it, and so it was advertised with a huge section in the front page and business section telling readers to check out the story online. From the size of the ads to the size of the news crew working on the story, everything about the project was unprecedented to Curley-- but it worked.

"Hyperlocal" Coverage

To Curley, hyperlocal coverage is nothing to pat yourself on the back for -- "It's just doing your damn job." Still, the Loudon Extra site goes above and beyond the features provided by many local sites, and even Curley admitted that there was some risk of "screwing up." Loudon County was the first to recieve the hyperlocal treatment in part because they thought it would attract less attention if it didn't work out.

In addition to listing local events, sending reminders, and providing cell-phone accessible restaurant guides searchable by "what's open right now," the site also covers local high school sports even more closely than the Redskins.

Curley said he hopes to expand this kind of detailed reporting to Fairfax, in keeping with his belief that The Washington Post is, above all, a local paper. Remarkable, then, is the fact that Curley isn't even from the Washington area -- he's from Kansas.

While creating the Loudon Extra site, they made sure to have a George Mason University student from Loudon on staff -- "to show everyone where everything is."

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