Online Editor Alex Kreitman speaks on Mobile Journalism at Elon University

By Shea Northcut

Newspapers are changing, media is evolving, and the integration of the two is vital. These points were evident when Alex Kreitman, online editor for the Burlington (N.C.) Times News and Elon alum spoke to students at Elon University on Monday morning.

Elon Alum Alex Kreitman speaks to students about multimedia.

“Reporters now are trying to be more innovative and do things for the Web,” said Kreitman. “It is not just about the writing anymore.”

He emphasized that point numerous times by comparing local broadcasting and print journalists. As print journalism looks to shift to video, broadcast is producing online print to go along with their story.

Online Contests and Prizes

In order to reach the local audience, Kreitman explained how The Burlington Times News has created viewership through contests and polls. For example, this month their focus is on the theme of “love of my life” for Valentine’s Day. By submitting a photo to go along with this theme, viewers can win specific prizes. 

“Through these contests and the polls, we find out geographically who is joining the Web site,” said Kreitman.

Other online commodities that Burlington Times News offers are public records of crimes happening locally, and features that find out common misconceptions. Readers can post on these stories and leave their comments.

Remaining Hyperlocal in the Newspaper Industry

In his talk, Kreitman focused in on local reporting. He said that the Times-News leads with local stories rather than the big stories such as the Presidential Inauguration or other nationwide events. Instead,  it is about taking a national story and catering it to the Burlington audience.

“Hyper local is the only way that newspapers will survive,” said Kreitman. “The people in Burlington want to hear what is going on in Burlington instead of the national stories that they can get from the bigger papers like the Raleigh News & Observer.” 

With a focus on the new innovations and multimedia, Kreitman encouraged journalism students to be innovative and stay on the curve.

Alex Kreitman speaks about the advantages of young journalists:

Click to view Kreitman’s blog.