Covering current events in real-time through “live blogging” involves the live transmission of breaking news, press conferences, cultural events, or general interest happenings through concise updates of the most current information.
Increasingly, media outlets inform their readers about the latest news developments through “minute-by-minute” updates. Just a few weeks ago, journalist and digital media consultant Ismael Nafría shared several examples of major international media that frequently employ this format in his newsletter “Tendenci@s”: The Guardian, BBC News, and Sky News.
For instance, Sky News has been continuously live-blogging the Ukraine war since its inception, which is now well over a year and a half. This live blog alone attracts millions of monthly visitors to their website.
Below, we outline the 5 most significant benefits of live news broadcasting:
1. Real-Time Updates
One of journalism’s daily goals is to “be the first to break the news,“ which is much simpler when journalists can publish instant, real-time information snippets. These “live broadcasts” allow for covering news as it unfolds, delivering precise information about recent events quickly.
2. Enhanced SEO Ranking
Live news broadcasting ranks high in Google search results because each update is recognized by search engine crawlers, and the frequency of publication is beneficial for the algorithm. Additionally, live content tends to keep readers on the website for longer periods, significantly improving the digital newspaper's SEO.
3. Enriched News with Multimedia Content
Live broadcasting provides the opportunity to enrich content with multimedia elements, such as videos, images, and interactive graphics. This enhances news positioning on Google, makes it more appealing to the audience, and encourages audience engagement through real-time comments and questions for journalists.
4. Monetization Potential
Live broadcasts can also be an additional source of revenue for digital newspapers. An intriguing option for publishers is to consider exclusive access to this type of news as part of premium content available only to subscribers.
5. Top Reads of the Day
It is common for live news to become the “most-read of the day” on the website. Due to its high Google ranking, it often receives a large volume of visits. Moreover, readers often seek last-minute updates on specific news, which they find in this “live blog” format. This enhances trust and loyalty towards the newspaper as a reliable source of information.
Undoubtedly, live news broadcasting is essential for any digital newspaper. It is a format that offers significant advantages, such as immediacy and improved SEO ranking, in addition to the monetization potential for this type of content.
Our CMS, Iter, incorporates this functionality, allowing you to create and manage live news and event coverage easily. If you're interested, please get in touch with our team.
