NewsBeat

May/June 2017 NewsBeat 21 sports app, as the days goes by, it suggests you "escape your bubble", offering news that will give you a more balanced view. Syrua Deeply — part of new media company News Deeply–explores new models of storytelling around a global crisis. The media service founded by journalist Lara Setrakian, is underpinned by three deeply service-oriented insights: citizens need news built on deep domain knowledge; media needs a Hippocratic Oath, a pledge to do no harm, so it can continue to fulfil its role as a public service; and it needs to "embrace complexity", as this is the truest representation of the world. As Setrakian explains in this TEDNYC talk, "simple isn't accurate and news is adult education." Other user- centric initiatives include Archant's print newspaper The New European, launched two weeks after Brexit and focused on the 48 percent of voters who did not support it. It was intended as a pop-up with a four week life. However, it has performed well, leading to indefinite continuation and a digital edition. What can media take from the service designer's toolkit? Service design offers an ambidextrous approach to improve or innovate service experiences. It has become more relevant as more of the products we consume exist across channels in ways that are invisible to consumers. Digitization and an omni- channel presence have accelerated this process — by allowing users to communicate through their preferred medium, crossing from one touch point to the next while expecting seamless experiences everywhere. Service design "combines customer experience, operational model design and design thinking methodologies as tools. It considers the end to end service journey across all channels and touchpoints not only from a customer, but also from an organizational perspective", as described by Jani Modig of Deloitte. Delivering consistently good experiences on every channel is key–as this consistency aligns the customer experience to their perception of the brand. Service design does this by taking a multidisciplinary approach that enables organizations to enhance strategies and operations. By building back-office activities focused on service experience excellence, it prepares organizations to prioritize on this above all other issues. The above selection shows how a focus on service design may help bring about innovative media experiences. Their common virtues rest on the focus on implicit and explicit needs of news consumers. Media organizations can explore how aligning their strategies and operations to embrace service design principles will help them deliver innovative and sustainable services. — Reprinted from "theMediaBriefing"

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