Bringing Web Interaction to Paper

In a decade where newspapers are migrating from the paper to the web, El Universal —the oldest newspaper in Venezuela—decided to bring the interactivity of the web to its print readers.

In July of 2007, El Universal launched Doblevía, a section in which all the content, including photos, is provided and written by its readers. The print section has its own space on the web version of the newspaper so users of the site could also participate and communicate more directly with the newsroom.

This effort, launched before the El Universal site had a major makeover that allowed it to be even more interactive, had never been seen in the country. It was also the first section that integrated the web and the print newsroom within the newspaper.

“The participation of readers in the newspaper is part of a long tradition that started with El Correo del Pueblo (People’s Mail), a section that publishes readers’ complaints about a number of issues that go from the malfunction of public services to high food prices,” says Alejandra Romero, editor of Doblevía.

The section allows readers to submit movie, music and TV reviews; publish photos of their pets and places they have seen; tell how they have been victim of crimes; add a caption to a weekly caricature; and give their opinion about the topic of the week.

According to Romero, the content is manly sent through email and ElUniversal.com. “However, there are still people who prefer to send us handwritten or typed letters and, occasionally, we receive a fax.”

Although Venezuela is the second country with the largest Internet penetration in South America, it only represents 27,09% of the population, according to governmental statistics of the first trimester of 2009. Moreover, only 5,69% of the almost 28 million of Venezuelans are Internet subscribers.

Yet, Doblevía has been very successful in interacting with readers, both online and in print. Comments sent through the website are reviewed before being published. “Because of the editorial line of the newspaper and the political situation in Venezuela, we have to be very careful with what is published,” says Romero.

Since 2005, when the Venezuelan Penal Code was reform, media can be sued for what it publishes even thought it has a disclaimer that clearly states that they are not responsible for third party opinions.

When readers complain because their comments were not published, Doblevía’s team sends them an email explaining what participation rule was violated. “For example, we can’t published comments if the person hasn’t register with a full name and last name, if they have a pseudonym, or if they use bad words or insults to public figures or other users. Yet, we give them the opportunity to send a corrected comment or, if the problem was with the name, we explain how to change the registration,” explains Romero.

Because each comment has to be reviewed and photos have to be uploaded, every time a reader submits content or sends an email he receives an automatic message saying that Doblevia has received it and it will be shortly publish.

“However, most readers prefer to wait and see their contributions publish in paper rather than having them publish first online”, says Romero, as she explains that many times readers write and ask her to keep a copy of the edition where their article or photo was published because they were not able to buy it that day.

“Recently, a man who I had asked to send me a photo with a higher resolution because the one he had previously sent didn’t meet the requirements, came to the newspaper with a pen drive so I could choose one that we could publish,” says the editor of Doblevia.

So far, the most popular sections are the pets’ photos, the social events photos and Escapes, a subsection in which readers tell the story of a recent trip. According to Romero, also Medical Zone, in which a reader sends a medical question that is later answer by a doctor, has been a hit since 2007.

Doblevía has also given readers to contribute to the making of the anniversary edition of the newspaper. In April of 2008, when El Universal turned 99 years old, readers selected which Venezuelans—who live abroad and have had an impact in the world—were to be profiled on this special edition.

“People sends us thank you notes once their photos and comments have been published and some have become regular contributors,” says Romero.

As the interaction in the print version of El Universal grows, Doblevía also continues to create more spaces in the web site. Since 2009, the journalistic team—composed by to editors, a reporter and an intern—is now in charge of managing all the users participation in the online version.

“We keep Doblevia and what we call ‘participation’ separate, but it is managed with the same principles,” says Romero. This includes creating daily poles and topic questions, approving comments as well as sending the home page headlines through Twitter and Facebook.

Romero explains they answer each comment sent through the social media tools. “We try to be as quick as possible, especially with Twitter users who are faster than Facebook ones.”

The difference in the tools used is based on the difference in both audiences. Where as the eluniversal.com users are technology savvy and spend hours on the Internet, some Doblevía readers are more relaxed and have other channels to contact the newsroom.

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