Chicago Tribune app points to redefining of news delivery on mobile
Chicago Tribune?s launch of a mobile application that lets users cherry-pick news from specific communities and specific sports teams is the latest step in media organizations? evolution as audiences increasingly gain the power to control their media choices.
The Chicago Tribune is the first of eight Tribune Publishing brands expected to introduce apps by year?s end that let users prioritize and follow topics of most interest to them, while providing a consistent platform for marketers to launch premium ads. The app reflects traditional newspaper publishers? recognition that they need to change the way they deliver their content to reach audiences on mobile.
?There is a small window of time and space when you want to consume news on your phone,? said Bill Adee, executive vice president, digital, for Tribune Publishing, Chicago. ?We want to make sure the experience is what you want.
?This new product syncs with our overall focus on improving our digital products for our users,? he said. ?It also is in line with our focus on driving more consumer digital revenue.?
Personal tastes
By letting users custom-design their news, sports and entertainment packages to their personal tastes, media organizations show they have fundamentally re-thought the mobile experience for audiences and for their advertising partners to better engage with consumers on mobile.
Letting consumers self-organize news consumption.
The Chicago Tribune app can be downloaded from the Apple Store and Google Play Store.
A key feature of the new app is called Follow Topics, a personalized feed that allows readers to discover topics and communities that interest them.
Another user feature is Browse Your Way, which lets tablet users choose from two different experiences, one meant for browsing and one meant for deep diving, simply by rotating the device.
See Your Progress greys out articles that users have read, lending a sense of accomplishment for readers, while Save for Later is a custom reading list that saves articles for later reading.
?We started this project a year ago, focused on field research we did on consumers who have an affinity for our news brands either as current or recent print readers,? Mr. Adee said. ?We wanted to translate the print experience to mobile using an app?s native capabilities.
?You can see that research come to life in some of the features and functionality of this app,? he said. ?For instance, the research pointed to the sense of accomplishment that readers get from the print experience. We translated that feeling in the app by graying out the stories that users have read.?
Two weeks ago the Montreal Gazette launched a redesign that features fully differentiated products across print, Web, tablet and smartphone.
The redesign, which came on the heels of parent Postmedia?s redesign of the Ottawa Citizen, aimed to let each product attract its own distinct audience while allowing advertisers to engage with specific customers. It was the most ambitious transformations in the 236-year history of the Montreal Gazette.
Engaging experience
Postmedia said the redesign, which represented 2.5 years of investment, would offer a more relevant, meaningful and engaging experience to readers, while offering advertisers the ability to target customers across four distinct, complementary platforms.
Reaching out to empowered media consumers.
?This could be the start of the long-time-coming world of essentially self-publishing, or what I call pull-casting,? Chuck Martin, CEO of Mobile Future Institute, said of the Chicago Tribune app launch. ?Rather than broadcasting all the news of the moment, which with today?s tech capability is overwhelming, the Tribune is letting readers create their own, personalized publication.
?This is about as far away from a traditional newspaper as you can get,? he said.
Final Take
Michael Barris is staff reporter on Mobile Marketer, New York.