The Effects of the Changing Media Industry on the Washington Post
Advisor: Dr. Pittman
Internship Location: Innocuous AI
Onsite Mentor: Regina Jaslow
With the rise of short form content, traditional newspapers are struggling to keep up with the changing market. With the creation of The Washington Post Shorts, the traditional newspaper has found a way to remain relevant in the minds of the younger audience via a shorter form of content. This paper surrounds the complementary environment of short form content (ie. TikTok, Instagram reels, YouTube Shorts) and traditional news media, with the divide being slowly bridged as we move through time. With this research, I can, as a journalism student, learn how to make content more appealing to modern audiences and to help other journalists revolutionize their content in the same way. My internship will be carried out at Innocuous AI as a media intern.
Project Blog
Post 1: Introduction Blog Post
Hi! My name is Paloma and I'm an aspiring journalist at BIM! My senior project is about The Washington Post Shorts and the future of news media. While in Journalism class and working on the BIM Bulletin, I wondered if our articles would appeal to our school audience; mainly 12-19 year-olds who generally don’t read 2000-word articles in their spare time. The answer, based on the analytics, was clear. Not many people looked at our website. Most articles got about 25-35 views, with one outlier which got about 75 views. Later, that summer, I was able to attend the Washington Journalism and Media Conference, where I got to hear a talk from the CEO of the news platform AXIOS. He mentioned something that related to this. He told us: “Whenever you get high enough at a newspaper to see the analytics, you’ll see that they’re not doing so well”. Looking at the BIM Bulletin analytics, I discovered that we were experiencing the same thing, though on a far smaller scale. Therefore, I wanted to figure out how the media will have to change in order to adapt to this shift in consumer habits.
In the later end of March 2020, just as the pandemic started, an intern at the Washington Post by the name of Dave Jorgenson presented an idea to his higher ups. All newspapers had been seeing decline, and the Washington Post was no exception. The recent buyout by Amazon’s CEO Jeff Bezos was one of the few reasons they hadn’t shut down yet. However, the COVID-19 Pandemic brought the rise of Tiktok, the still popular short-form video platform. Jorgenson decided to go ahead and create a Tiktok account for the Washington Post, taking the daily news and creating short comedy reels in order to try to reach a younger, less engaged audience. This was an immediate success, especially with the massive spread of misinformation due to COVID. He then got two other employees, Carmella Boykin and Chris Vasquez, to join in, creating the official Washington Post Tiktok Team. They have now spread to other platforms like Instagram and Youtube, with plans to expand even further if that proves fruitful.
What had originally started with a Tik Tok account has now grown into Instagram Reels and Youtube Shorts. Each one of their videos get millions of views and the account is well known and liked. What does this approach to news telling tell us? Has it benefited the Washington Post overall? How does this help figure out where journalism and news telling needs to go to remain relevant? Understanding how a lowly Tik tok account has managed to garner so much attention could be the key to understanding how to make the news remain on top and relevant. Hence, my senior project.
My internship is taking place online at Innocuous AI, a new AI Startup which is looking to help small businesses streamline their procedures. I'm going to be helping out as a media intern, making social media posts and helping figure out the logistics behind marketing. As with all the other senior projects, I'll update my progress here each week, so keep posted to see what I start to uncover.
Post 2: Blog #1 - The Week of March 4th
This week, I started working part-time at Innocuous AI! I can’t tell you what I’ve been working on, but know that it’s been very interesting up until now! I’ve learned a lot about information gathering and social media analytics since I’ve been making many social media posts so far, alongside a research project.
I started my first few sessions at the YMG Spring Workshop for student journalists! I applied when Mr. Warlick brought it to my attention and was lucky to get in! It’s two classes per week with a team of 3-4 people from 3 major cities. I’m in the DMV team and I’m preparing for an article we’re going to write as a group while trying to absorb as much as I can from the interesting discussions and lessons we’re having. We’ve also started interviewing sources to help figure out our angle.
For my research project, I planned out a rough calendar for the next few months and started looking into the viewership statistics for The Washington Post Shorts segments. I’m hoping that by next week I’ll have a rough list of sources ready to look at, alongside a better idea of how to tackle registering the data from the Washington Post Shorts Social Media Accounts.
Post 3: Blog #2 - The Week of March 11th
This week, I started doing some consumer development for Innocuous AI so that we can start to gauge a marketing perspective for potential investors. I’m learning a lot about how to appeal to an investor and how to craft a proper pitch deck to send out and hopefully get funding. I’m also learning about how to properly analyze the consumer perspective, noting who is watching us, why, and how to most effectively appeal to them.
For my research project, I’ve sorted out that the only real method to be able to properly analyze the data will be to manually use the wayback machine website to see the Washington Post Shorts’ previous viewership. I tried to use socialblade.com, but that only gave me the past year of data, and I need to go further back than that. This is more work than I was expecting, but it is nonetheless doable. The data will be used to analyze their effectiveness as a channel through views and interaction to try to see if what they’re doing is effective. Once I have the data, I’ll decide how to analyze it, given that I’m still not sure what I’m going to be able to reliably get.
Also this week I’m writing from NYC! I’m here for the CSPA Spring Conference, a journalism conference for student publications. So far, I’ve attended talks about Libel Law, Information Warfare, how to cover Vulnerable Populations, and so much more to come!
Post 4: Blog #3 - The Week of April 1st
Greetings Post-Spring Break! I’m back at it again after a week off in Chicago with some friends! My internship continues to go smoothly as I continue to research possible customers for Innocuous and to do marketing for them as well. I’m learning a lot about how to properly reach out to potential customers while learning what gets a click on a post.
With my research, things are moving along smoothly! I started looking through the wayback machine for viewership data for the Washington Post Shorts’ account on tiktok. Unfortunately, there was no data for their youtube account, and their instagram has interestingly disappeared off the web. While I can find evidence that they had an instagram at some point, it’s not available anymore, so I’m working purely off of their tiktok for now.
Another hiccup that I’m running into is with the Wayback machine itself. Due to how the wayback machine likes to analyze and store its data, it really struggles with websites that aren’t HTML based, meaning that the tiktok website is something it can struggle to load. Several of the snapshots are unloadable, leading to just a blank screen, and some of them were flagged by the website itself noting that the website redirected them. I have found two reasons for this. One being that there was an iteration of the tiktok website where you had to log in to view content, which the Wayback Machine is obviously incapable of doing. The second reason being that the tiktok servers sometimes get a little confused themselves. With most of the snapshots, the wayback machine copied enough of the server data so that it could load the basic account information (ie. followers, total views, following, channel notes), but sometimes it doesn’t do that, leading to the website trying to use the tiktok servers, which obviously can’t work because the server time and the time the wayback machine is trying to load to match, leading to the wayback machine crashing unfortunately. This means that there are chunks of data that are just unavailable and there’s nothing I can really do about it unfortunately. However, on the brighter side, I do believe I have enough intact data to continue with this path for now.
Within the next week I hope to have collected all of the Wayback machine data. Right now, I’m somewhere around mid 2022, with 2019-2021 already fully cataloged, so that seems like an achievable goal by this week. Next week will be source searching online through JSTOR and other similar databases alongside actually analyzing all the data that I’ve collected to start formulating my research paper.
Post 5: Blog Post #4: The Week of 04/08/2024
Greetings from Pennsylvania! Or, more precisely, a random highway on the return from Pennsylvania at 10pm! This week I had a slight detour to visit Penn State University Park in State College, Pennsylvania. This will be my last stop on my college acceptance journey as I finally sit down and decide where I’m going to go!
Overall, I really enjoyed my visit! The weather was not in our favor with the whole day being rather gloomy and then raining pretty bad near the end, but we were still able to get through everything that we wanted to do and see, including a detailed visit to the Bellisario School of Communications. I was initially worried that the size of the school would intimidate me, seeing as University Park has over 43,000 undergraduate students on campus, but the College of Communications is actually rather small, coming in at 2,700 students, so I felt far more comfortable with it. Not to mention the amount of resources they have boggles my mind coming from a small school like BIM. I really couldn’t find much negative to the university as a whole. My only real issue is that I don’t necessarily love the dorming options, but that’s very dealable overall so…it’s currently my top option!
Since I took the day to go to Penn State, I worked from the car for my internship, which actually worked out remarkably well. Thank you T-Mobile for giving me decent hotspot data as I continued to research insurers for Innocuous at 4am, which was when we left for PA. I continue to edit pitch decks alongside the usual work of making social media posts and researching, which consumes most of my time. Otherwise, life continues to inch forward on that front.
In terms of my research, everything is progressing rather smoothly as well, luckily! I finalized my sources this week so now comes the tedious task of actually reading through all of them and taking notes for my final paper. I’ve started collecting daily data on some of the Washington Post Shorts’ most recent uploads, which is revealing some trends with their separate TikTok and YouTube Accounts. Namely, in a shocking turn of events, their YouTube account actually gets much more interaction than their TikTok Account, which I wasn’t expecting. I believe this to be due to the more rapid-paced nature of the TikTok Algorithm, compared to YouTube which has a slower turnover of videos. Tiktok prefers short, fast content with multiple uploads daily while YouTube is more satisfied with longer videos uploaded less frequently. The Washington Post Shorts land pretty much in the middle, as most of their videos are about 20-30 seconds long, but more research will be needed for that, so stay turned to see what I uncover!
So, in conclusion, for the most part, my paper is coming together! I have already started outlining the rough sections to start to organize all the information I’m receiving into something coherent that I can actually use for something. As per usual, I’ll continue to update week by week, so keep on checking back in for more!
Post 6: Blog Post #5 - The Week of 04/15/2024
Another week goes by and another week closer to the Senior Project Deadline we get! I’m nearly finished with all of my research and I’m currently still on schedule to be drafting my Research Paper next week. However, I might become a little delayed with prom on Saturday, so much of my week has been dedicated to preparations!
Last week I was able to get my dress and now I just need to do some tailoring before Saturday seeing as it’s too long for me. Then I’m making pre prom and post prom preparations with my friends, which has also taken up a lot of time. Organizing a group of a dozen teenagers is harder than it sounds!
In terms of my internship, my boss just returned from the GIA Mentorship Program in Iowa, so much of my work will now surround customer outreach instead of pitch deck preparation which is very exciting! It also means that pretty soon I’ll be able to share a lot more about my work since our product will become public knowledge, but I’ll save that for when I can talk about it.
In funner life terms, I did celebrate my 18th birthday last weekend with a few friends which was super exciting! I’ve always enjoyed having smaller get-togethers with close friends over large parties, so it was a small lunch/dinner at my house with my close friends. We chatted a whole bunch and caught up, and I always enjoy meeting with friends not just from BASIS but from middle school as well. Overall, it was the best last high school birthday party I could’ve asked for!
Looking towards college, I've spent the week having meetings with people in Penn State. I finally sorted out FAFSA, which was a living nightmare but at least it's temporarily over until my aid package comes out. I've met with people in the Bellisario School of Communications for some follow up questions to last week's visit and I've started meeting people generally to start getting me on track for my college journey. Penn State is definitely my top choice right now, and each meeting I'm having with them is reaffirming that decision!
Overall, as we approach the Senior Project Showcase, everything is starting to come together! As usual, more updates will come next week.
Post 7: Blog Post #6: The Week of 04/22/2024
I’m writing a little bit late this week since I’m unfortunately sick! I was out of it Friday night, and it has progressed to me spending my entire Saturday laying in bed and watching nostalgic movies. I hope this won’t throw me back too far off schedule, but with how I’ve been feeling, my hopes aren’t crazy high either.
At Innocuous AI, This week officially marks the end of the GIA, or the Global Insurance Accelerator, 100 day program! Innocuous has started putting its feet on the ground, which means that now we’re focusing on getting funding and customers.
In terms of research, I started analyzing the Wayback Machine data on the Washington Post’s tiktok account, which is serving me pretty well. I’ve also been analyzing the Socialblade data for all of the Washington post shorts accounts, so I’m starting to make some genuine progress on my rough draft! I’m planning to have my draft finished by the end of the week, but so far that plan may have to be delayed a bit thanks to me being sick.
Overall, not the week I was expecting to have, but luckily everything seems to be progressing on schedule so far, so all good for now. Hopefully next week will have a better post as I will not be in bed with a splitting headache.
Post 8: Blog Post #7: The Week of 04/15/2024
This week was filled with college decisions and prom preparations! Everything was calm at Innocuous AI, but I had two separate meetings with the Bellisario School of Communications at Penn State to try to decide whether PSU was the place for me. Both of the meetings helped me fully understand what I’d be getting at Penn State, and it helped me solidify my decision to commit! I am now happily an incoming freshman in the Class of 2028 at the Bellisario School of Communications!
Meanwhile, I was also completing multiple interviews both online and in person for my YMG workshop. I interviewed a friend of mine regarding her own college application journey and a graduate of the DMV program Higher Achievement regarding his own experience. It does seem like programs similar to Higher Achievement are effective in helping kids keep up in the complicated world of college admissions.
Finally, prom preparations are in full swing! I got my dress sorted out last week, so this week is just coordinating the actual day of prom. I’m going to meet up with my friends ahead of time to get ready and take pictures, then have a blast with my friends at the actual prom, and then have a chill movie night after party. I hope it goes well!
All the while I’m finishing up my reading for my Senior Project and trying to finish up my data collection as soon as possible. Overall, a very eventful week full of many fun things!
Post 9: Blog Post #8: The Week of 04/22/2024
This week at Innocuous AI, I spent most of my time researching Domestic Insurance Companies. My main task is to try to find out what states we should prioritize as we start to create our customer base. This also means more pitch deck editing, alongside my daily zoom meeting with my mentor Regina which went well.
With my Senior Project, I started outlining my final paper and rough drafting some sections that I already had the content for. I do still have some long term data collection that I should be finishing up soon, but the core of the content is there, so I’m trying to just get started with what I have. I should finish up reading all of my sources by this week too which will help me be able to get that section completed soon as well.
On the social end of my life, prom was awesome! I got to hang out with friends, dance, take some awesome photos, and, most importantly, have fun! This week, I took it a little easier since the weekend was so crazy. I did do a small brunch with a few of my friends, but it was very laid back.
Post 10: Blog Post #9: The Week of 04/29/2024
This week at Innocuous AI, I prepared a new e-newsletter template for our customers. Next week I’ll have to make an edition for investors too, but for now this’ll work to help us attract people to our product. I did some more pitch deck editing, alongside drafting another LinkedIn post. Overall, not a bad week at all on that front though,
With my Senior Project, I finally finished reading all of my sources, so now I’m just making some notes so that I could more efficiently write my paper. Meanwhile, I’m still progressing through my rough draft as I slowly get more and more information compiled. I’m about 75% done with my draft so far, and I’m hoping to be fully done by next week so that I can start to make my presentation for the Senior Showcase.
On a funner note, I did attend my friend’s Senior Recital in DC this week, alongside having a fun Tysons shopping run with a few friends which ended in Ice Skating! However, I’m still not doing as much as I’m very tired from the last few weeks of events. Overall though, a very productive and fun week.
Post 11: Blog Post #10: The Week of 05/06/2024
Innocuous AI was pretty light this week. Besides planning out a new project to complete with other interns, I didn’t have much work to do, which is fine since this week has been a little hectic outside of my internship. This week also officially marks the end of my internship with BASIS, but my internship has been extended into the summer thanks to my good work at Innocuous, so I’ll stay on for a few more months.
I’m in Syracuse, New York, for the weekend for my sister’s graduation, meaning I completed my internship from the car on Friday. Beyond that, I hung out a bunch with my friends and also hung out with a new friend of mine as well. I also had an additional violin class given that I’m out all weekend, so a rather eventful week on that front.
With my Senior Project, I created my final abstract for presentation day. I also created my presentation draft for my mock presentation which will be happening at school next Monday. I am nearly done rough drafting, I’m just missing the long term data collection which I will be completing this week, meaning that hopefully everything will soon be done. All that will be left then is to just present and not mess it up too bad.