January 2016: Innity’s Featured Publisher of the Month

This month, it’s our pleasure to introduce one of our partner publisher from Taiwan, The News Lens (TNL),  an independent news site based in Taiwan and Hong Kong which offers news from around the world and within mainland China. What we love about TNL is they provide not only facts, but also diverse perspectives on the site. The News Lens also publishes its own news and analysis, with different versions (Taiwan, Hong Kong, International and Asean). One of the founder, Mario Yong has shared his thoughts on how he and his team build the site. Read the full interview below.

Name: Mario Yang
名字:楊士範
Position: Content Director
職位:內容總監

1.) Can you tell us a little about The News Lens and how it got started?
請問可以告訴我們TNL是一個怎樣的網絡媒體平台以及它的由來嗎?

TNL是一個想要提供年輕世代各種多元觀點和訊息的媒體平台。我們創立於2013年6月，網站在2013年8月1日上線，創辦人是楊士範和鍾子偉，分別負責內容和業務。我們期許能夠成為未來亞洲一流的主流媒體，提供新世代豐富多元的資訊，從政治、財經、社會到藝文和Lifestyle，都可以在TNL找到最精闢的觀點，和最有價值的資訊。
TNL is an online media platform that provides a variety of views and information. It was founded in June 2013, and the platform went live on 1st of August, 2013. The two founders of TNL are Mario Yang and Joey Chung. Both of them are in charge of content and business respectively. Our goal is to be Asia’s leading mainstream media to provide insightful and diverse information ranging from politics, finance, social, to arts and lifestyle.

2.) What is your strategy to stand out from your competitors?
請問你們有什麼策略或者優勢讓你們可以不同於其他競爭對手嗎?

TNL最特別的地方是編輯導向，每位編輯都有各自擅長的領域，而且會在各自領域中尋找不同聲音的作者，也會在每天整理各自領域最重要的新聞。仔細思考為什麼讀者應該知道這件事情，以及我們該怎樣傳遞這些訊息，才能讓讀者最容易接收。
What makes TNL special is the editorial direction. Every editor of TNL has their own strength in specific fields and they will create and compile important news in each respective field for readers to easily absorb all the news effectively.

3.) What are the main challenges faced by you in this highly dynamic online media ecosystem?
請問在這個網絡媒體生態系統,你們面對最大的挑戰是什麼?

兩個：一、人力；二、技術。
網路媒體雖然是網路業，但依然無法避免需要靠人才能產生最好最貼近讀者的內容，雖然技術可以幫上一部份忙讓編輯更容易做內容，但還是需要更多的人才能產生更多的內容。
技術部分，我們希望能夠更精準的掌握讀者的喜好、閱讀行為以及網站上的互動模式，這部分我們需要更多技術上的支援。
There are two challenges – human resource; and technology.
There is no doubt that we need talented individuals to create good content for our readers. Technology does help our editors a lot in creating content but we still need more human resource to consistently come up with interesting stories and articles.
As for the technical part, we hope we can capture our readers’ preferences, reading habits and their online interaction accurately.

4.) What can you share with us about building content for the site?
請問你可以跟我們分享你們為網站創造內容的心得嗎?

創造有意義高流量的內容需要掌握兩個關鍵：一、時事；二、趨勢。
當日或當週發生的大事件我們要能夠在第一時間找到適合的作者撰寫評論，或是編輯自己去整理相關的訊息。
趨勢則是要知道未來可能會發生什麼事情，或是多數讀者近期會關心什麼，然後提供相關的評論或新聞整理。
There are two important elements for building high traffic and meaningful content: current news and trends.
We have to make sure we are able to immediately find the suitable author to write articles or reviews related to current events that happened within the week.
Additionally, we need to constantly be in tuned to the latest trending topics to be in the know of possible upcoming events, so that we can manage to provide and arrange relevant reviews and news for them.

5.) Any words of wisdom you’d like to share with new and aspiring new publishers?
請問你們有什麼忠告或建議可以分享給那些新的網絡媒體們呢?

多看多想。
Read more, think more.

6.) Other than your own, what are your favourite websites out there?
請問除了你們的網站之外, 你還有欣賞哪個資訊網嗎? 他們的網站有什麼讓你覺得值得去學習的呢?

VOX、Buzzfeed、NowThis News，非常棒的解釋新聞、病毒式內容，以及有趣的影音。
VOX, Buzzfeed, NowThisNews are great online media sites because they are excellent in giving informative news, viral content and interesting videos.

7.) What role does Innity play in your business and what do you like most about working with Innity?
請問Innity 對於你們來說扮演了怎樣的角色? 與 Innity 合作,最讓你們滿意的地方是什麼?

Innity提供了多元化的廣告形式，讓我們網站的產品更豐富。讓我們很滿意的地方是廣告形式的創意性跟網站串連的方便性。
Innity offers a wide range of advertising formats which enables us to offer more products from our website. What makes us happy to work with Innity is the creativity of their advertising formats and their ability to connect websites.

8.) Where do you see The News lens in 3 years time and what do you hope to achieve?
在未來的3年內,你們希望你們的網站有怎樣的發展?

成為台灣以及亞洲前幾大的主流媒體。
To become Taiwan and Asia’s Top mainstream media.