IASPS
Quarterly Report
Summer 2000
Water Water Everywhere and Ne a Drop to Drink
Comments of the President
The Director's Column
"A
Society is Healthier if Markets are Free"
Class
of 2001
The Internet/Telcom Corner
Back to the IASPS Homepage
Mastering the Art of the News Behind the
News
By Yossi Laster
In mid-1999, it became clear to the leadership of IASPS that a new strategy was needed in order to fully utilize the Internet revolution to its advantage. In the present competitive information environment, no one can afford to ignore the technological developments of information dissemination. This is especially true in the policy business since everything revolves around information and the effective communication of that information.
Ready for Launch
Since Policy Studies are published at varying intervals, IASPS determined that it was necessary to develop a model that would fully meet the information needs of the policy community that has come to rely on the Institute's research and analysis. IASPS needs to be contributing to the policy discussion in the fields of economics, political policy, and strategic affairs on a daily basis. The senior staff at the Institute began a series of discussions with the objective of developing such a model, with assistance from Internet experts who were hired to implement these ideas.
In the beginning of 2000, the prototype of the "News Behind the News" was ready to be launched. The first weeks of operation were devoted to learning on the job and improving the format. Within several months, however, the NBN column began to garner such prestige that it is now considered the most popular column on the Institute's Internet site, with almost 90,000 visits a month and an average stickiness that well exceeds similar sites in
well-known portals all over the world.
In April 2000, CNS News chose the Institute's website as the "Site of the Week," promoting the IASPS site on its own site. The editors of CNS News wrote that the site "was selected for the quality of its presentation,
up-to-date information, and dedication to free markets."
Model for Success
The business model and strategy that were developed by IASPS have led to significant results within a short time and can serve as a model for success for others in the policy business.
This model consists of the following ten principles:
* Originality: The underlying concept of the "News Behind the News" is to provide the reader with a critique of the way the media choose to present a certain subject (usually an economic or strategic subject) and to show why the presentation of the subject is distorted or misleading. There are other Internet sites in Israel that provide critical reviews, but there is no other site that provides a critique of the media and the manner in which the media choose to present the facts. The originality of the "News Behind the News" (NBN) on the IASPS site constitutes the first principle of its success.
* Added value: Today one can no longer supply information only on the factual level, since the level of expectations from
content-based sites is steadily rising. NBN articles provide the reader with analysis and added value, which pique the interest of the reader. The ability of the "News Behind the News" feature to provide this added value in the form of a fresh analysis (economic, political, or strategic) in an objective, independent way is the second principle of success.
* Current events: The NBN column concentrates on current events, which given the nature of public interest, makes this a popular destination. Every day the staff surveys dozens of newspaper headlines to identify newspaper articles that are suitable for inclusion in the NBN column. These subjects must be on the political and economic agenda, and must have been presented in a distorted fashion. Not surprisingly, distortions in media coverage are ubiquitous and provide constant fodder for new content.
* Rapid response: Content-based sites must respond to press articles rapidly so that the subject is still relevant when it is published. This is also true of NBNs. At present, articles are normally posted in the NBN column 24 hours from the time they are first published in a newspaper, and often in even less time.
* Innovation: The fifth principle for success is the ability to constantly innovate. At present, the NBN column features at least one new article daily and sometimes more. In this way, there is no day that a reader enters the site without finding new content, which translates into added value. The knowledge that every NBN "hit" will reveal something new for the reader creates constant stimulation to visit the site again and again.
* Constant improvements: The ability to listen to the needs of both visitors and subscribers on the site is the sixth principle for success. In this manner the site constantly adds improvements in format, graphics, and the various services that it offers the reviewers.
* Short articles: In a competitive and dynamic world, the average reader is not able to linger over long articles on a daily basis. Understanding this principle and making the NBN text succinct and hard hitting is the seventh principle for success.
* Bilingual: The NBN column appeals both to an English- and
Hebrew-speaking audience. The Institute employs a team of translators who can translate material on short notice. In addition, there are editors for both the Hebrew and the English sections of the site, who do a final editing before publication. The ability to translate and edit quickly makes it possible to appeal to an international audience and increase the appeal of the column.
* Technical reliability: The ninth principle for success is based on the ability to have a
content-based site that is constantly changing and updating itself, and yet does not suffer from technical problems or crashing. In
cyberspace, the message "Error" is enough to make a viewer decide not to revisit the site. That is why IASPS has employed a 24x7 website hosting service with backups available in case of a crash. Updating material and maintenance of the site are all done professionally and during low usage periods.
* Quality staff: The most important principle for the success of an Internet site and especially a
content-based site is the quality of the material and the level of operations. The ability to have developed a core group of dedicated,
first-rate professionals who can produce fresh and interesting critiques, translate and edit them, upgrade the site, maintain it, and carry out in real time the dozens of activities necessary to bring each and every article to the reader in the optimal way, is the ultimate success of the NBN feature. It is the people behind the "News Behind the News" who make the difference and are the site's most valuable asset.