Yahoo Japan news editor says his own staff tend to pander to readers
Source: Japantoday.com Article
"TOKYO — The editor-in-chief of online news provided by Yahoo Japan Corp lamented a ‘‘dangerous trend’’ among its own newsroom staff to pander to readers in picking articles, which often results in ignoring newsworthy items that may not earn much traffic.
Michihiro Okumura, 40, head of the influential online news section, told the Japan National Press Club recently that about 20 Yahoo Japan employees who select news items from among some 3,500 articles offered daily by around 150 media organizations can be ‘‘tempted to cater to readers’ needs and often choose sports and entertainment news.’’
Yahoo Japan does not report news by itself, but distributes articles under eight categories such as domestic, international, business, sports and entertainment. The site run by former newspaper and television reporters attracts about 60 million readers and earns 3.76 billion page views per month, according to Okumura.
The former Yomiuri Shimbun reporter said the most-read articles are generally gossip and about 60% of all news items viewed by readers per month consist of entertainment, sports and crime news in Japan. Usually, international news items draw little interest, he said.
Unlike traditional media, online news covers issues of both public and personal interests and the great strength of Internet news is that viewers can personalize news items, or choose articles that will suit their own personal interests, the news section chief said.
However, online news sites should keep in mind that news items are not just commercial goods but also valuable tools to change society, Okumura said, urging both news organizations and portal sites to ‘‘carry out social responsibility.’’
Okumura aired concerns that in 10 years’ time, a gap in the intellectual level may be widening between people who can afford subscription to quality media services and those who just click Internet news sites and read only gossip and sports news.
He said nowadays, rival Internet sites employ automatic searching technique in selecting news items but that he believes human newsroom staff should have an edge in certain areas."
Source: Japantoday.com Article
"TOKYO — The editor-in-chief of online news provided by Yahoo Japan Corp lamented a ‘‘dangerous trend’’ among its own newsroom staff to pander to readers in picking articles, which often results in ignoring newsworthy items that may not earn much traffic.
Michihiro Okumura, 40, head of the influential online news section, told the Japan National Press Club recently that about 20 Yahoo Japan employees who select news items from among some 3,500 articles offered daily by around 150 media organizations can be ‘‘tempted to cater to readers’ needs and often choose sports and entertainment news.’’
Yahoo Japan does not report news by itself, but distributes articles under eight categories such as domestic, international, business, sports and entertainment. The site run by former newspaper and television reporters attracts about 60 million readers and earns 3.76 billion page views per month, according to Okumura.
The former Yomiuri Shimbun reporter said the most-read articles are generally gossip and about 60% of all news items viewed by readers per month consist of entertainment, sports and crime news in Japan. Usually, international news items draw little interest, he said.
Unlike traditional media, online news covers issues of both public and personal interests and the great strength of Internet news is that viewers can personalize news items, or choose articles that will suit their own personal interests, the news section chief said.
However, online news sites should keep in mind that news items are not just commercial goods but also valuable tools to change society, Okumura said, urging both news organizations and portal sites to ‘‘carry out social responsibility.’’
Okumura aired concerns that in 10 years’ time, a gap in the intellectual level may be widening between people who can afford subscription to quality media services and those who just click Internet news sites and read only gossip and sports news.
He said nowadays, rival Internet sites employ automatic searching technique in selecting news items but that he believes human newsroom staff should have an edge in certain areas."