Net Journalism Born from Humans, Machines, and Social Media ~ Yoichi Nishimura, Representative Director, The Huffington Post Japan

One year has passed since The Huffington Post Japan launched its Japanese edition in partnership with The Asahi Shimbun. Having gained attention in the US as a unique social news site, it has steadily increased its user base in Japan, growing its presence and influence as a news outlet. We spoke with Yoichi Nishimura of The Huffington Post Japan about the challenges and prospects facing online journalism.
(Interviewer: Yuzo Ono, Director of Planning and Promotion, Digital Business Division, Dentsu Digital Inc.)

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■ The Background Behind the Support for Online "Experiments"

──We'd like to discuss this from the perspective of online journalism. First, what surprised me was the unique office of The Huffington Post Japan. This is the music room of a closed junior high school, right?

Nishimura: That's right. There was absolutely no reason to have an office within the Asahi Shimbun building. This location (Arts Chiyoda 3331 in Sotokanda) is close to Akihabara and is an art space, hosting exhibitions, cafes, art shows, and solo exhibitions. When starting HuffPost Japan as this experimental new media venture, we thought it would be interesting to be here.

──So the experiment began with the office itself. HuffPost Japan has been widely accepted by internet users and is growing steadily. What do you attribute this to?

Nishimura: Within its first year, we surpassed 10 million unique users, so you could say our growth has been extremely rapid.

One reason is that we're constantly trending in the social sphere. Compared to the number of users who "like" The Huffington Post Japan's Facebook page, the number of users "talking about it" is relatively high. This means our users are very active, which is a feature not found on other news sites.

The second reason is its excellent SEO (search engine optimization). When searching for major news stories, HuffPost Japan articles frequently appear at the top of search results. For instance, the story about Anne Frank's diary being defaced was actually an exclusive scoop uncovered by HuffPost Japan staff. Such unique scoops reaching the top of search results draw attention from other media outlets, leading them to follow up on the story.

The third reason is Editor-in-Chief Tomoko Nagano. She is a news anchor for "Hodo Station SUNDAY" and a journalist with a large following, possessing significant influence and reach on social media. For example, when the retrial for the Hakamada case was decided, she wrote an original blog post based on an interview with the judge who had originally handed down the death sentence. Search results show this blog ranking highly among articles covering the Hakamada case. This demonstrates the strength of having a journalist with the brand power of Tomoko Nagano as editor-in-chief.

I believe this trinity of social influence, search engine power, and brand recognition is the background behind its broad support among net users.

──I'd like to ask about the operation of HuffPost Japan. The bloggers contributing are doing so unpaid, correct?

Nishimura: Yes. This is the same across all countries. The Huffington Post model is to have contributors write for free, in exchange for providing them with a broad audience. Currently, we have about 50,000 bloggers worldwide. They range from famous figures like President Obama to unknown individuals, and this diversity is a key feature. Within Japan, we have about 350 bloggers. Regarding blogger participation, we often reach out to them, but sometimes bloggers contact us directly expressing interest in writing.

──Are specific bloggers assigned based on the news genre?

Nishimura: While we generally have a rough idea of which blogger fits which news story, there are also combinations where that's not the case. In those instances, the editorial team decides who to ask to write. We sometimes reach out to people who have never contributed to a news site before, or to those who write for other sites. All submitted manuscripts undergo a content review process by the editorial team before publication.

──Among online media, some have distinct approaches. For example, Yahoo! Topics is known for its "no reporting" editorial policy, while Google News aggregates content automatically. What role does the editorial department play at HuffPost Japan?

Nishimura: We do a variety of things: we conduct our own reporting and publish news, commission original blog posts, create news roundups by topic, and republish content from Asahi Shimbun Digital. We also translate and publish content from our sites in 11 other countries and regions for Japanese users. The editorial team mixes content like this to build the site every day.

──This diverse approach is unprecedented in Japanese online journalism, right? The Huffington Post originated in the US. When you first encountered it as a journalist, what was your impression?

Nishimura: I spent a total of seven years in the U.S., and The Huffington Post launched the year I left. Back then, there was a conservative news site called "The Drudge Report," and I heard Arianna Huffington was creating a news site to counter it. I also knew it featured blogs by quite famous people. But I never imagined it would become a site capable of surpassing The New York Times. However, the strategy they adopted was presented as "Nine Success Strategies" by Nico Pitney of The Huffington Post, who participated as a panelist at the recent symposium "How Media Can Change the Future," co-hosted by The Asahi Shimbun and MIT Media Lab. It included comprehensive points like "Reaching out to where readers already exist" and "Social media that positively evaluates <positive journalism>."

──Previously, online media initiatives like "OhmyNews," where ordinary citizen journalists write articles, also drew attention but didn't fare very well.

Nishimura: Not every new experiment tried online will succeed. While HuffPost Japan has achieved this level of growth in just one year so far, we must continue our relentless efforts to further differentiate ourselves going forward.

■ The New Currents in Journalism: Open, Social, Data

──Regarding the internet and journalism, the concept of open journalism has gained traction recently, with advanced efforts like those by the UK's Guardian newspaper.

Nishimura: That's right. First, regarding The Guardian: Asahi Shimbun received a massive number of Japan-related diplomatic documents from the whistleblowing site "WikiLeaks" and reported on them in print and digital. The Guardian was one of the first major Western media outlets to break the WikiLeaks diplomatic cables story. The Guardian also covered the NSA-related revelations from Snowden.

──The Guardian's approach of opening up their editorial meetings online and soliciting reader opinions via Twitter and other platforms is quite interesting.

Nishimura: Actually, opening physical editorial meetings to local citizens—where they listen to discussions over tea—is something even small local papers in the U.S. do. The New York Times also streamed video of its front-page editorial meetings for a time. Visualizing data, making the reporting process transparent—these aren't unique to The Guardian; many newspapers are already doing them. For example, at the Asahi Shimbun Sunday edition GLOBE, where I served as editor-in-chief, reporters traveling worldwide would share their coverage via YouTube and Twitter, then input it into Google Maps. Readers could click on the map to see the reporters' tweets and videos—this was an experimental example of visualizing the reporting process.

──On the other hand, some advocate for "Twitter journalism." This idea posits that one crucial skill for future journalism is the ability to judge the veracity of content posted by ordinary citizens on Twitter. What are your thoughts?

Nishimura: At The Asahi Shimbun, individual reporters have over 170 Twitter accounts. Not just them, but all our reporters analyze where, who, and what is being tweeted when major incidents occur. We don't have reporters at every single scene, domestic or international. Twitter analysis during national elections is similar, and we're also increasing video provision. No media outlet can do everything on their own; I believe all recognize this.

But that doesn't encompass all media work. Investigative reporting requiring massive costs and time is obviously impossible via Twitter. For instance, Asahi Shimbun's long-running series "The Trap of Prometheus," which won the Newspaper Association Award, couldn't have been done on Twitter. Similarly, the scoop on "Sloppy Decontamination," also an award winner, involved reporters spending hundreds of hours on stakeouts to produce the articles and videos they brought to the public. The Guardian's NSA reporting is another example. Investigative journalism requires money, time, and personnel; this is the work of professional journalists at outlets like The New York Times, The Guardian, and The Asahi Shimbun. However, Twitter analysis is indeed incorporated into parts of such investigations or as a starting point for reporting, and it has become one of the necessary elements in journalism.

Here's an interesting example. Two Asahi Shimbun reporters attended the Sasago Tunnel accident press conference. One reporter asked questions as usual, taking notes on the answers. The other reporter, who actively uses Twitter, solicited questions via Twitter during the press conference. While questions at the press conference were largely focused on the accident's cause, he posed questions gathered via Twitter – specifically, questions from the driver's perspective and the user's perspective, such as how to address the psychological issues of the driver. This changed the flow of the press conference. While some reporters might dislike this approach, it introduced a new perspective to the press conference.

A top columnist from The New York Times, when interviewing the Iranian president, used Twitter to ask "Help me!" and gather questions. Examples like this are increasing, so I think very few people still believe a newspaper reporter can do everything alone. Even at press conferences, they actively solicit questions via Twitter and make their own reporting visible. They also analyze Twitter in various ways. Such techniques are being increasingly adopted, and in that sense, the media itself is changing.

──In that case, does the reporter become a kind of aggregator (collector/organizer)?

Nishimura: No. Take elections, for example. Media outlets conduct opinion polls, analyze key issues, and chase candidates to write articles. But that alone doesn't reveal the full picture, so they also strive to gauge the social mood through Twitter analysis and similar methods. What's essential then is the political perspective of a political reporter—the insight, experience, and skill to discern what matters from vast amounts of data. Simply compiling Twitter summaries haphazardly won't allow you to structure it into an article, so accumulating professional experience naturally becomes necessary.

──Recently, the term "data journalism" has gained traction. While big data has long been a focus in advertising and marketing circles, journalism and data seemed somewhat distant fields to me. Personally, I found it a bit surprising when the two converged.

Nishimura: Not at all. Asahi Shimbun Digital has a dedicated data journalism section. It already aggregates data journalism practices across various fields: disaster recovery, elections, budgets, subsidies, local finances, aging populations, healthcare, sports, and more. The Guardian was a pioneer, but now domestic newspapers are also actively pursuing it. A recent example: Asahi Shimbun became the first Japanese media outlet to host a data journalism hackathon, and the grand prize team presented their work at the Asahi-MIT Symposium.

■ What's Happening at the Cutting Edge of the Internet and Media

──Media companies like newspapers and magazines still seem to be experimenting with things like online content monetization. Ultimately, since the internet's arrival, the newspaper industry hasn't found a definitive answer on how to properly engage with it. What are your thoughts?

Nishimura: You're absolutely right. However, regarding newspapers specifically, there are several differences between the US and Japan. One is circulation figures, where Japan's are significantly larger. Another is the nationwide network of newsstands, which forms communities. On the other hand, the decline in young people reading print is a global challenge. We are working on how to get young people to consume content across various devices and media.

Regarding monetization, some models are succeeding, so it's premature to conclude we're failing. U.S. media companies have eight revenue streams: subscriptions, advertising, cross-media promotions, crowdfunding, micropayments, events, premium content, and donations. The U.S. business model is about combining these effectively. In contrast, Japan essentially relies only on subscriptions and advertising. How we combine these two is crucial. Regarding subscriptions, there are various approaches, such as combining print and digital editions or developing digital-only products targeting younger audiences. The solution hasn't been found yet. We are actively working on it.

──When discussing these kinds of issues, there's a tendency to oversimplify things, like framing it as "from print to online."

Nishimura: I believe framing the discussion as a binary opposition between print and online is completely meaningless. It's about the synergy between print and digital, how to combine them, or how to reach people who don't read print through digital. It's not about viewing print and digital as adversaries requiring an either/or choice. Even a media outlet without a print edition, like HuffPost Japan, publishes information weekly in the Asahi Shimbun's opinion section. Furthermore, as a unique initiative for Japan, HuffPost Japan regularly publishes print special features.

──So it's not about opposition or transition, but how they're combined. Or what about the notion of "digital first, print last"?

Nishimura: That's a major challenge. At The Asahi Shimbun, we're seeing more cases of digital-first publishing, where articles appear digitally before print. For major scoops, digital-first hasn't been the norm in Japan yet. However, with the recent "Yoshida Report" scoop, we launched a dedicated "Scoop Preview" site on Asahi Shimbun Digital the evening before. Many departments and reporters actively spread the "preview" on social media. By previewing the exclusive's content, we aimed to get as many readers and users as possible—both print and digital—to engage with the full story.

──Changing the subject slightly, one issue discussed regarding online information dissemination is the problem of serendipity. Specifically, how to broaden users' interests, which risk becoming narrowed by algorithmic information optimization, potentially leading to echo chambers.

Nishimura: Content distribution involves three elements: machine algorithms, human editing, and social media. The key is finding the right balance between them. For example, The Asahi Shimbun has many talented editors, but we're weaker in the machine aspect. So, we aim to learn various things externally for that machine part. Social media is where The Huffington Post is the frontrunner. We believe combining these elements is the way forward.

──In the advertising industry, it's also pointed out that as ad targeting becomes increasingly sophisticated, the traditional boundaries between ads, recommendations, and articles are disappearing.

Nishimura: In the world of journalism, this relates to the current discussion about native advertising. This is precisely what's being debated in the US. In January this year, The New York Times partnered with a major computer company for the first time to launch native ads, implementing several key measures. They enclosed it with a blue border, changed the font, ensured it wouldn't be indexed as a news article like others, clearly labeled it "Paid for and Posted by [Company Name]," and even specified that the content studio under the advertising department, not the editorial department, produced it. This was one solution they presented. They treated native ads as a major product and implemented multiple safeguards. In other words, rather than removing barriers, clearly defining boundaries is crucial. A key feature in the US is the prevalence of highly sophisticated native ads.

Whether approaches like native advertising will become mainstream in the future remains to be seen, but there's no doubt this is currently the central topic of discussion in the US. It's an ongoing process.

──Finally, I'd like to ask about language on the internet. Some point out that internet slang is distinct from both written and spoken language, being very "lightweight." Working in online media, do you ever reflect on language?

Nishimura: Yes, I do. Rather than being light, I think the style and grammar are different. The grammar accumulated over more than 130 years of history at a newspaper company doesn't always resonate with young people who don't read newspapers. I'm not trying to flatter anyone. I always pay attention to the fact that the grammar and style of the online world are different.

──I see. Thank you very much.

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Glossary

Open Journalism
Journalism that actively incorporates the voices of external readers and experts into the reporting and editing process, particularly by leveraging the internet, beyond just the editorial staff within the media organization.
　

Data Journalism
A form of journalism that aims to analyze vast amounts of data in society using technology, discover previously unseen perspectives, and create visually accessible reporting.
　

Crowdfunding
The practice of organizations or individuals using the internet to raise funds from a large, unspecified number of users for a specific purpose. It is gaining attention as a powerful means of supporting new businesses. Overseas, initiatives exist where citizens provide funding for investigative activities through crowdfunding in response to article ideas proposed by journalists and others.
　

Micropayment
Refers to small-value payments. Particularly in the media business, attempts are being made to segment articles and content and sell them individually to users online.
　

Serendipity
The accidental encounter with valuable information or events that are different from what was originally sought.
　

Native Advertising
An advertising technique used in online media where the display format of the ad is designed to blend seamlessly with the media's content, providing it to users in a natural way. It has gained rapid attention, particularly in the United States, and various trials are underway. Ads displayed among friends' posts in timelines on platforms like Twitter and Facebook are also a type of this.

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