A look under the hood of Overtone for publishers
Plus: An interview with director of the Black Media Initiative on collaboration after Buffalo
Overtone enjoys taking part in the big, somewhat abstract (and occasionally even frustrating) discussion on the nature of quality, information and sorting through the internet in a different way. But we also work hard on solutions we think will make life online better, for both companies and individuals. Today we’re looking at practical applications of how Overtone sorts through content in ways that help people in everyday life and work.
This is something we have been thinking a lot about as we took part in NYC Media Lab’s AI for Local News Challenge, which specifically focuses on how new technology like ours can help publishers including the smallest ones. The programme just had its “Demo Day,” and a video of that is coming soon, but until then more information is available here.
What Christopher went into in our Demo Day demonstration is that clients of Overtone use both our “API” and “Feeds” solutions. The API provides data about the type of reporting and work in an article, and this can go anywhere into a publisher’s system. The Overtone score is essentially another column on a spreadsheet that an editor, journalist or audience engagement manager can use along with other data they have. A few examples: with our data, you can instantly select all the in-depth articles about sports in the last week and put them in a newsletter for your readers, you can choose to automatically keep all of the quick hits about business outside of your paywall, or pre-select pieces that might go well on your homepage or Twitter.
The other product, “Feeds”, is less tech-y, and similar to what you have seen in our newsletters to date. You see a news-style interface with a list of pieces to read, along with their accompanying scores. This can be useful for looking out at the wide world of “content” out there on a certain subject, but also for networks of newspapers that want to share articles. As part of NYC Media Lab we had the pleasure of meeting and making feeds for Cheryl Thompson-Morton, the Director at the Black Media Initiative, which helps coordinate hundreds of Black-owned outlets across the U.S.
Feeds (example above) help highlight articles worth sharing across the network, because they show original reporting and work that make the pieces valuable not just in a local context, but far beyond. There are many articles of different types throughout the Black Media Initiative, including aggregation and simpler, no-fuss pieces, but using Overtone scores can help sort out pieces where reporters went the extra mile.
You can read our interview with Cheryl below where she discusses how crises, such as gun violence in the U.S., can make collaboration between newsrooms especially important. Below you can also see some of the articles from a wider range of outlets that our data highlighted as worth reading on the subject of gun violence.
“You have to see the value in this type of media and invest in it in a similar way”
Cheryl-Thompson Morton on collaboration across editorial, business
Articles Highlighted with High Overtone Scores
East Side residents "exhausted" by inequities - Investigative Post
From Sandy Hook to Uvalde, the Violent Images Never Seen - NY Times
Black Buffalo determined to rebuild while dealing with grief and sorrow - NBC News
At the NRA Convention, Lower Attendance But Fierce Commitment - The Trace
Are Chicago’s gun laws the strictest in the United States? Not anymore. - Chicago Tribune
One Of My Students Asked If I’d Stand Between Them And A Gunman. Here’s What I Said. - HuffPost
10 people hospitalized in Memorial Day mass shooting on Charleston's East Side - Post and Courier
Trump and Cruz propose “hardened” one-door schoolhouses. Experts say that’s not a credible solution - Texas Tribune
A quest for significance gone horribly wrong – how mass shooters pervert a universal desire to make a difference in the world - The Conversation
U.S. enters a ‘new era’ of surging gun sales - Globe and Mail