Being a news portal, you must be finding it difficult to manage multiple reporters manually. Those long Excel sheets and hours of manual work are quite tiresome, particularly in the digital era, when these tasks can be accomplished with a tool in minutes. And after all that hassle, you end up in a mess where stories lack accuracy and creativity. You can easily utilise that time in collecting the right facts and curating the best articles for your portal if you can automate the repetitive tasks.
We decoded your pain. This is not sorcery but a reality of many news portals. You can change it all by getting a Content Management System. This will help you in handling reporters, stories, performances, videos, images, and everything in one place. It is a cloud-based system that facilitates real-time collaboration for the smooth functioning of your newsroom. Now, let’s see how to manage multiple reporters in a news portal CMS!
Challenges in managing multiple reporters
Managing a news portal is not limited to writing and publishing, like a blog. It has a lot more to its character, which is why managing multiple reporters is a cumbersome task. Here are some common problems faced by news portals:
- The main problem is communication. Often, reporters are expected to relocate to far-off locations for work, and they fail to update their editorial teams, which creates hassle.
- A news portal team must work at the speed of light, owing to the intense competition. And scattered data, like videos and images, causes unnecessary delays in the same.
- Sometimes deadlines are missed, and they go unnoticed, which affects the proper performance analysis of the reporter.
- There could be a scene of confusion, and two reporters may end up working on the same story. A sheer wastage of time and effort.
Let’s dive deeper and find a solution to these problems.
Before we understand how to manage multiple reporters in the news portal CMS, let’s understand the importance of a good Content Management System.
CMS in a news portal
A Content Management System is a software used to create, manage, and publish content in one place. It omits the hassle of editors, writers, and bloggers by bringing everything to a single platform. It is a great tool for a news portal as:
- All stories, videos, and images are in one place.
- There is no risk of content getting lost in the system.
- Editors can keep track of every story.
- Reporters and editors can collaborate and work together through CMS.
- News can be published in seconds with no delays in approvals.
How to Manage Multiple Reporters in a News Portal CMS?
1. Assigning Roles
One thing we need to know is that most CMS have a role-based access system, which means not everybody needs complete access. Let’s understand what it means.
- Reporters should not be allowed to publish articles; instead, they should be allowed to create drafts.
- Heads should manage user access and settings.
- Writers and editors should publish articles.
By doing this, you can avoid errors like mistaken publications or the deletion of important data.
2. Assign Tasks and Deadlines with Ease
A good CMS helps you in managing multiple reporters by assigning respective tasks as per their speciality. For example, if you have multiple reporters for different fields like politics, business, entertainment, and sports, you can assign their tasks through CMS, and editors can follow up for further publishing of articles.
3. Facilitate Real-time collaboration
The best part about a Content Management System is that reporters and editors can collaborate through this tool. It amplifies the process by removing the nuisance created by emails, approvals, and attachments.
Everyone can connect on a single platform, work together, make necessary changes, and get the task done with no fuss.
4. Track the Performance of multiple reporters.
A simple dashboard of a CMS informs you about the performance of every reporter. You can get a clear number of how many stories a reporter is covering, which stories are getting the most engagement, and who blends well in which genre.
This will help you in assigning tasks according to their preference, and you can reward the best-performing employees as well. They can also check their performance, and better marks and rewards will motivate them to perform better.
5. Manage the entire Workflow
Preparing a news article is not just about writing and publishing. It goes through a process, and using CMS, you can automate that task.
Before a news story gets published, a reporter writes the draft, then it is reviewed by an editor, and then the language is polished and approved by the editor. After that, a news article gets published. Automation is simple. Once the reporter prepares the draft, it can move ahead to the editor through CMS.
6. Don’t shy away from Automation
You purchased CMS to avoid delays and manage multiple reporters, but if it allows you to automate repetitive tasks, then why shouldn’t you do that? For example, it allows auto-sharing on different social media platforms. It would add a lot to your efficiency, and you can use that time for more important tasks.
7. Create templates and a style guides
A news portal should maintain uniformity in the writing pattern, but it gets hard if multiple writers are writing for it. Some prefer short paragraphs while others write long ones. Some keep the tone strictly, while others may show some leniency. You should avoid this confusion for the sake of your reputation. By using CMS, you can manage that:
- Add a style guide to CMS so that everyone can follow that pattern.
- Also, create templates for news, features, or interviews.
8. Editorial Calendar should be maintained.
Having a plan for the next day is very important. And when you are a news portal, you cannot afford not to have an editorial calendar.
It will have a schedule of upcoming stories, deadlines, and events.
9. Don’t compromise with safety use Multi-factor Authentication
A CMS access is provided to multiple employees, which makes it riskier for the portal. Your data may get leaked, so using passwords is not a great idea. It is advisable to go for Multi-factor authentication for every account. Also, whenever an employee leaves the organisation, remove their account and provide role-based access to everyone.
10. Use Notifications Actively
News reporting is dynamic. You should use notifications and hyper-sensitive alerts to keep everyone aware. From reporters to editors, everyone should be able to share updates and get reminders for the timely accomplishment of the task. Everyone in the team should be updated with changes for the better functioning of the entire portal.
11. Updates through Mobile Phones
Nowadays, reporters use mobile phones to capture stories and incidents. So, they should be able to update drafts through mobile phones. It is advisable to get a CMS that is compatible with multiple devices, like phones and tablets. Otherwise, it becomes quite difficult for reporters to open laptops in every situation and update changes.
12. Train your reporters to use these tools
You can make the best use of CMS by training your reporters to use it. As they are going to create drafts, and if they fail to use this tool, you can experience several delays. Most of these tools are not difficult to use, so:
- You can conduct short training sessions.
- Share using guides
This is how you can manage multiple reporters in a news portal by making the best use of the Content Management System.
How to find the right CMS to manage multiple reporters in your team?
So, you got the answer to how to manage multiple reporters in a news portal CMS! Now let’s address another query.
- It must offer cloud storage that allows you to keep stories safe and manageable.
- It should be compatible with multiple devices like mobile phones, tablets, and laptops.
- It should have a measurable dashboard.
- It should also have role-based access control.
Caution
Avoid these mistakes to experience the CMS tool at its best.
- Regularly update your Content Management System for the best performance.
- Train your reporters to use the tool you have bought.
- Keep things organised and updated.
- Don’t permit everyone to access the tool.
Some amazing tools for your news portal
These are some of the widely used CMS by news portals.
- WordPress: Great tool for not just a news portal, but for every other business.
- Arc XP: If you are a large enterprise, this tool is for you.
- Newsifier: Newsletter, liveblogging, and social sharing tool.
- News 365: AI-powered tool for the newsroom.
- Drupal: If your portal has heavier traffic, go for this tool.
Ending Words
Often, news portals choose to stick to traditional methods of managing multiple reporters, which brings confusion, error, and inefficiency, ultimately impacting the reputation of the news portal. If you are also running a news portal and facing management issues, get the right CMS, and you’re done.
By choosing the right CMS, you cannot just manage multiple reporters but also track their performances. A simple dashboard will inform you who performed the best last month, and now is the time to reward them.
Sometimes it becomes difficult for you to find the right tool. Don’t worry! All you need to do is find a reliable News Portal Development Company, and they will guide you not just with choosing the right tool but also by providing you with the right strategies, if required.
Don’t wait any longer and get your efficiency-booster today!
Bonus Points
Often, choosing the right theme for a news website becomes difficult as we fail to find the middle ground between attention-seeking and subtlety. But not anymore, here is the list of top 8 WordPress themes that a News Portal Development Company can choose for the finest appearing website.
- Heiro, if you want a simple and effective look.
- Soledad, if you love the touch of modernity.
- ReHub, if you want to customise the whole look.
- Viral News offers eye-catching designs for free.
- Sahifa, a theme that caters to everyone. It is user-friendly, easy to navigate, and curates impressive designs for you. Go for it if you want to improve your website’s ranking.
- Deep, a great WordPress theme for free and 27 premium models for the best user experience.
- SuperMag, this one is highly recommended for magazines.
- Newspaper, if you want a well-organised theme, you cannot afford to miss this.
More Reading :
How to Make Money From a News Portal- 8 Best Methods to Get Monetized
How to Get AdSense Approval for News a Portal: An Easy 6-Step Guide
FAQs
Q1- Is it possible to manage distant or remote reporters using CMS tools?
Yes, managing multiple reporters from different locations or in the same office, a CMS does both flawlessly.
Q2- What is the importance of an editorial calendar in a CMS?
It avoids wastage of time and effort by planning things. You can avert overlaps and do balanced reporting. It also adds to the reputation of your news portal.
Q3- Which is the best CMS for news portals?
The definition of the best news portal varies according to your needs and requirements. We can suggest a few tools, such as WordPress, Labrador, Joomla, RebelMouse, and many more. But you have to find the right one for your portal. Click here.
Q4- How can we track the performance of a reporter using CMS?
Most CMS have a dashboard where you can keep an eye on deadlines and engagement on articles and keep a track of the performance of your reporter.
Q5- How are tasks assigned by editors in a CMS?
CMS platforms have an in-built feature to assign tasks and assignments to the reporter. You can use that feature to add efficiency to your work.
