NCPTT

NCPTT enters media partnership to deliver preservation news through social media channels

To view the Preservation Today netcast online, visit http://preservationtoday.blip.tv. Heritage organizations can also request a free demo DVD by contacting Jeff Guin at NCPTT: 318-356-7444.

Preservation Today reports preservation news by combining the production values of the six o’clock news with the interactivity of Web 2.0.

NCPTT recently partnered with Northwestern State University of Louisiana (NSU) to develop a media outlet dedicated to advancing heritage preservation using the World Wide Web.

“Preservation Today,” includes an online newscast that integrates a wide variety of social media distribution platforms such as Blip.tv, YouTube and iTunes.

According to Jeff Guin, NCPTT marketing manager and NSU adjunct instructor of journalism, this project takes a “best of both worlds” approach to news gathering and delivery.

“The web is bringing people together based on ideas and common values, and that’s what Preservation Today is about,” Guin said. “Unlike your six o’clock news, it’s not based on where you live and it’s not designed to attract an audience through shock value. But, by maintaining those same high production values, we hope to help viewers understand how to advance heritage preservation in a Web 2.0 world.”

The Preservation Today netcast includes news briefs about heritage activities from around the world. It also features interviews with preservationists, bloggers and social media experts.

During the first Preservation Today netcast, Don Short, executive director of Silos and Smokestacks National Heritage Area, reports the progress in the recovery of cultural resources made after the summer floods in the Midwest.

A community-based “shownotes” website allows viewers to interact around the news being reported. Among the features of the website are preservation blogs and news. The shownotes site also features a “2.0 tips” section that offers practical help on using social media to advance the conversation about heritage preservation.

“Social media is about bottom-up grassroots collaboration that achieves a higher purpose, which makes it ideally suited to preservation causes,” Kirk Cordell, executive director of NCPTT, said. “One of the most powerful goals this partnership can achieve is to help organizations and individuals understand how social media tools work, and how those tools can be easily used to advance their preservation objectives.”

NSU is providing its studio set as well as student production assistance as part of the partnership. According to Paula Furr, head of the NSU Department of Journalism, the effort also represents a rare opportunity for NSU journalism students.

Preservation Today

“I don’t think anyone can quantify exactly how much social media is changing journalism but we know the change is fundamental,” Furr said. “This partnership will challenge our students to analyze the broader impact of the stories they report. Today, their audience is the world.”

As with all social media efforts, Preservation Today depends on feedback from its audience to remain sustainable. Guin says heritage organizations can help simply by contributing video and news reports from their projects. Viewers can also help by tagging their online media with “preservationtoday” which will allow it to be easily found and used for the Preservation Today netcast.

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