A weekly newspaper has produced a series of short “off-the-wall” videos as a novel way of showcasing its best-performing stories online.
Staff at the Hunts Post have been creating ‘vines’, six-second videos which can be played on a loop via social media, to highlight their best stories on the internet.
Videos include one of a giant arrow pointing at the stories in a physical edition of the newspaper which have been popular on the Huntingdon-based Post’s website.
Another, below, features content editor Daniel Mansfield sliding along a desk holding a piece of paper with the words ‘Yesterday’s top story online?’ written on it, before a shot of the story in the newspaper appears, and the number of views it received is revealed as being 930.
The videos are then shared on Facebook, Twitter and Daniel’s page on the Vine website.
The Post team have also been using Vine to capture newsworthy events on their patch, with a video of the Flying Scotsman passing through Huntingdonshire receiveing more than 12,000 views.
Said Daniel: “There is certainly no shortage of choice when it comes to social media, but what appealed to us about Vine was the opportunity to be creative, without a huge investment of resource and time.
“It also gives us an opportunity to showcase a different side to our journalism, to have a bit of fun, and, most importantly, to get the message out there about our newspaper in a way that is quick and to-the-point.
“It may be a little off-the-wall at times, but we hope that what we are doing gets people thinking about picking up our paper, reading our stories, and contacting us with their news.
“We’ve had a lot of good feedback from our followers and, hopefully, they will continue to keep track of what we do as we get better in the weeks and months ahead.”
Sign up for our free daily email bulletin
Follow HTFP on Twitter
Got a story? Email the Editor at
Good grief.
Report this comment
Genuinely surprised there’s time for this pointless pratting about in the modern newsroom. But hey, I guess some unfortunate souls have their noses firmly to the grindstone while their superiors enjoy such self indulgent frivolity!
Report this comment
Are things that desperate at The Hunts Post these days that they have to resort to this kind of juvenile stunt to get people to look st their content.
If anyone wants further proof of the sorry state local newspapers are in and the dumbing down of journalism in the regional press then this is it.
Report this comment
Humbug! I don’t want to see reporters doing anything but sitting at their keyboards tapping away press releases all day. There is no place or time for anything other than misery, just like the good old days. Bring back the quill!
Report this comment
“…., to get the message out there about our newspaper in a way that is quick and to-the-point.”
Yes, it certainly does
it gives a clear message about how cheap, nasty and unprofessional the paper and its staff have become from one that was a reliable source of quality news, professionally written and properly prompted, without the recourse to school boy pranks to get people to read their papers.
If the company has to resort to this kind of measure to get an audience then it gives out a strong clear signal that the papers not something to be taken seriously anymore and is clearly run without any kind of supervision,editorial ethics or standards.
Beyond belief
Report this comment
So if the main news story of the day was a car crash or a tragedy someone would be seen sliding across a desk holding a big arrow pointing to it would they?
Pathetic .
Report this comment
Oh you’re a stuffy lot. This is fine. Takes about five seconds and is a bit of fun.
#moanmoanmoan
Report this comment
I’m with bof. It’s not really aimed at us. Anything (okay, almost anything) that gets new readers, and possibly younger readers turning to the paper has to be a good thing.
Mind you, people having a laugh in a newsroom?
Report this comment
At least they’re trying and, to be fair, they look as embarrassed about it as we all are. Though I’m not sure those great unrelieved slabs of text are going to lure anyone to the print edition. Crossheads, anyone? Pull quotes? Something, at least? And does the expression ‘lead length’ mean nothing to anyone any more?
Report this comment
There’s a worrying trend in the industry where people back out of stories in order to avoid the inevitable abuse they get from message board trolls.
Whatever the story, you’re guaranteed a load of carping from the kind of depressing characters who were rubbish, moaning journalists and are now rubbish, moaning ex-journalists. This is a few people having a bit of fun and – let’s not forget – doing something to promote newspaper sales. It’s cheap and cheerful, but is doing no harm.
And Clare, if the main news story was a tragedy I suspect they’d use their editorial judgement and treat it differently. Moan your way into oblivion, guys and gals.
Report this comment
This childish rubbish would be embarrassing if it were in a student rag magazine, to be associated with a news(?) paper sums up how far this once credible county free title has fallen, I can only assume there’s no one locally or at Archant HQ with any editoral control or any authority these days to allow this kind of embarrassment to happen.
At least they’re giving out a loud and clear message that they’re no longer a paper to be taken seriously.
Report this comment
Why not create Vines with pdf files of the pages? That way the quality will stay high and you won’t look like a gimmicky market stall flogging knock-off goods. The idea is fine, though the execution is typical of a poorly run industry making the best it has out of whats left; broom handles and sticky-back plastic.
Report this comment
Nothing else seems to be working in terms of reader retention. Why not try this?
Report this comment
Bof. Its not fun. It is infantile crap. See it for what it is. Grow up all of you.
Report this comment
Beyond parody.
Yet more dismal local newspaper crap.
Report this comment
Jeez
There’s actually people on here defending this David Brent style rubbish!
The usual yes man responses are being trotted out about ‘moaning,depressing, rubbish journos,carping whingers ‘ yadda yadda yadda but are to be expected when standards have fallen so low that the yes men choose to pick up on those who have responded ,as majority of professional time served journalists would be expected to on seeing how desperate things have become to attract an audience,it says a lot that they feel the need to defend it and see nothing wrong in this cringeworthy ‘bit of fun’
Report this comment
Jesus Christ on a unicycle!
Thanks a lot for turning my proud profession into some sort of juvenile circus act with Theon Greyjoy sliding across a table!
Where the hell is the editor to offer some wise words of counsel along the lines of: “I can give you about 14 reasons why this is not a good idea!”
I despair!
Report this comment
Archant really should question how a flagship, award-winning weekly could slump to this while the print edition becomes more and more like a shopper.
Report this comment
someone somewhere thought this was a good idea. And they convinced someone who desperately needed to keep his or her job that it was a great idea.
They all need to get out and smell the roses. There is a real world out there boys and girls.
Report this comment
Words fail me.
Report this comment
and that, everyone, shows you just how bad, desperate and clueless they are these days to allow this kind of tripe to go out on their news sites and in their name. Is there no one in charge of digital site content? .
Obviously not!
When all other professional methods of reaching an audience fail,get someone sliding across a table pointing at a newspaper with a home made arrow on a stick.
Ye gods
Report this comment
At a recent conference, I heard a young journalist telling everyone how disgusted she was that her current boss knew very little about Snapchat, Vine, Periscope, WhatsApp etc. In response, I argued that it was more important to know WHEN to use them.
To start using something like Vine, you need a strategy. You need to know your target audience, the sort of content they want to see and when they want to see it. You can’t just ‘do a couple of Vines’ for a handful of clicks on your web stories. It has pretty much no value to it.
As a reader, I might care what the biggest news in my local area is and Vine might be a good way to reach me, but do I really care that it had 930 views? No, it’s pointless content no matter how long it took to do.
I appreciate the desire try something different; it’s great. I just feel that the way this comes across is a little self-indulgent and aimed at other local journalists, rather than the people who truly pay our wages.
Vine shouldn’t be something which, as bof says, only takes a few minutes. It’s actually the ultimate video ‘subbing’ challenge.
To paraphrase Blaise Pascal: “I’m sorry I made such a long video; I didn’t have time to create a Vine.”
Report this comment
Think we’ve all been had
This is obviously an April fools joke albeit a few weeks early
Had me there for a moment , almost as good as ‘banjo-gate’
As if any serious news group would allow this to happen on their webpages,
Nice one you whacky funsters
Report this comment
Oliver’s bang on the money in saying the principle is better than the execution. I can’t see any long-term strategy behind this and doubt the paper will still be making these ker-azee Vines a month or two from now, when the novelty’s worn off, they’re out of ideas for new ones and realise it’s not doing their reputation any favours.
It’s a bit like when Periscope came along. A handful of papers went out and covered events with it, then proudly rushed to tell HTFP like a nursery school kid showing off a drawing to their parents. Fast-forward a few months and none have meaningfully integrated Periscope into their week-in, week-out workflow.
And don’t get me started on that newspaper that went out a bought a drone a year or so ago… the “Shopper chopper”, I believe they (somewhat embarrassingly) christened it? Bet that’s now gathering dust in a cupboard somewhere.
Report this comment