Símbolos y arte funerario en el Valle del Tominé

This subsection outlines the survey respondents’ expectations for the process and content of online press conferences. According to the survey respondents, the process and content of an online press conference should be compact, interactive and include only information relevant for journalists. As Respondent (6) noted:

“No advertisement slogans but precise information for journalists to be used as the basis for a story” (R6).

In other words, the survey respondents expected the content of online press conferences to be substantially and clearly linked to a precise piece of news keeping the running time of the event fairly short. In addition, the possibility to get specialized answers to one’s questions was considered an important motivational factor of participating in an online press conference. Therefore, as several journalists were hoping, the participants of an online press conference should be given contact information of specialists who they could contact afterwards in case of need for more detailed information or to express more specific questions.

Journalists responding to the online survey were also hoping for online press conferences to be interactive and informative and, hence, as similar to traditional press conferences as possible. The following quotation describes this finding very well:

“In general, an online press conference would be good with the same criteria as traditional press conferences: good speaker, clear outline, short addresses and the possibility to ask questions.” (R86)

The informational content of online press conferences did, however, receive interestingly two-fold answers from the survey respondents. On the one hand it was argued that the main problem with press briefings, in general, was the lightness and even inadequacy of their content. According to this view, many traditional briefings were organized without a real reason as, in many cases, the issues could had been easily

read from a press release, as well. Quite the contrary, for instance Respondent (77), on the other hand, argued that online press conferences would work especially well for somehow light subjects. The results may be seen as expressing the lack of relevant information about the case service or merely different needs and opinions between different journalists.

Three aspects of the content were raised as important elements to consider when organizing online press conferences: (1) case-specific manners of representation, (2) clear visual elements and (3) comprehensive and carefully designed supplementary material. The respondents’ needs for the material differed, however, according to their represented media. While one journalist perceived the supplementary material more important than seeing the speakers’ faces and suggested on showing the supplementary material during the event and playing only the speakers’ voices, another journalist highlighted the importance of expressions, gestures and other visual elements in the speakers’ communication.

It was commonly agreed among the survey respondents that all briefings and visual material published at the online site should be designed with careful thought. Especially regarding the written material, journalists seemed fairly unanimous that all text has to be short, clear and easily understandable. Views on the informational depth of the supplementary material, on the other hand, differed between the respondents to some extent. While some journalist wished for very detailed information, some journalists preferred material offering information in multiple ladders first telling about the subject only briefly, yet also offering a wider set of background information for those interested.

Receiving photos or video material from an online press conference was also raised a challenge for the service by the survey respondents. The possibility for the event organizer to hand out high quality photos of the event was puzzled over by the journalists and several journalists were hoping for photos of excellent quality and printable form. It was, however, also noted that in reality this might show multiple

challenges as different media often have different needs for the quality and format for the photos. Sending a photographer at the location, on the other hand, would vitiate the core possibilities of an online press conference.

Views on the availability of the supplementary material were interestingly two-fold among the survey respondents, as well. While one journalist emphasized the hectic nature of journalism and the need for material as early as possible to be able to get ready for the event and design questions in good time, another pointed out that the material should also be available online preferably for even a few weeks after the event as the working rhythm is very different with a magazine than with the daily media. In addition, for instance Respondent (86) pointed out that,

“Having the possibility to download the supplementary material on one’s own computer before an online press conference would make it possible for journalists to follow the material during the event.” (R86)

It was also reminded by the journalists that, in case the material was not available when needed, a story was likely to stay unwritten or it would only be written on a very superficial basis.

To summarize, the survey respondents expected the process and content of online press conferences to be compact, interactive and include only information that was relevant for journalists. The respondents’ needs for material differed according to their represented media. In general, the respondents of the online survey did, however, raise the case-specific manners of representation, clear visual elements and comprehensive and carefully designed supplementary material as important elements to consider when organizing online press conferences.