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Protests in the Middle East have sparked imaginations worldwide. Everything from dreams of stable, moderate Arab democracies to fears of worldwide apocalypse to accusations of CIA conspiracies are flying around the internet. Whatever the reality and result of these epic events is, they will surely paint a lasting and drastic impression on the world.

The protests, however, are not isolated events. There are many different plot lines that caused the unrest to reach its fever pitch, for Ben Ali to flee Tunisia, or Mubarak to announce he will not seek reelection. These protests will resonate all over the world for generations to come, with the consequences, benefits and repercussions making themselves evident only with time.

Tara Todras-Whitehill, AP

There can be no doubt as to the scale of what is happening. This is certainly the biggest worldwide event since 9/11. According to the Business Insider, Al Jazeera’s website has seen a 2500% increase in web traffic since news of the protests in Egypt hit the air, with almost 60% of that traffic coming from the USA. In addition, nearly a quarter-million protestors filled Tahrir Square in Cairo yesterday.

This is only the beginning. Governments in the Middle East and elsewhere will feel more vulnerable, and the people more confident and inspired about their ability to affect change.

So how do we responsibly and effectively track something this huge? Episodic stories with no historical context and no follow up no longer suffice. There is too much access to information and too many sources of information to stick to the plan of traditional and finite news coverage. I believe the answer lies in recognizing and embracing the need for persistence in the new age of digital journalism.

Last week, we had the privilege of sitting down with Ed Lenert, Attorney and Adjunct Professor of Media Law at USF, who, among many other brilliant things, brought up the idea of persistence versus episodic stories. An episodic story is a one and done. A story with no lead up to, or follow up from the event. Try to think of a news story that fits in this category… Tough, isn’t it?

Despite the fact that almost every story worth reporting has a relevant pre and post text, many papers and networks cover only the most important or “sellable” part of the event, leaving the reader to find out the real context and consequences for him or herself. As a result, story after story appears on the front page, before fading into obscurity and out of the public consciousness.

Some readers will follow up with more research and some will not, but in today’s fast-moving world the onus should fall on the journalist to provide the whole story. Giving the pretext, the context and the follow up are not only important, but with the wide variety of tools available and being developed for and by journalists, easier than ever to share. The persistence of each story is something Ed imparts to his students, and something he illustrated poignantly with a personal anecdote.

Ed was riding AirBART from the Oakland Airport one day when a man approached the bus at a stoplight. The bus driver let the man board, who promptly knocked him out. The man, obviously on drugs, began to run the pockets of the passengers. Ed sized the guy up, wondered if he could take him down, and decided the answer was probably no. Ed grabbed his bags and ran off the bus. Police arrived minutes later and arrested the aggressor.

The next day a brief mention of the incident appeared in the paper. The suspect had apparently been a local football star (so no, Ed couldn’t have taken him down), but had fallen on hard times. Ed wanted to know more, but the paper didn’t provide the information. It shared the “sellable” episode of a man assaulting and robbing bus passengers, but not the circumstances that led him to do so, or the outcome of his trial and subsequent sentencing.

Not only is this information important for the narrative value, but also because it increases accountability within the court system, BART and law enforcement. The before and the after are not only relevant, they can be the difference between stagnation and positive change.

So taking this one small example and expanding it for the big picture, we come back to an internationally significant story, protests in the Middle East. How will the news media account for the amazing amount of information and persistence of the story? How do we dig deeper than the “sellable” violence, unrest and political upheaval to expose the true story behind revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt?

One news provider tackling this type of coverage head on is Voice of America. VOA news used a Dipity timeline on multiple articles concerning Egypt to present the career and legacy of soon to be deposed Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak. Here is that timeline:

Not all of VOA’s readers know about Mubarak’s career, but it is easy to argue that understanding the leader’s history helps paint a better picture of what is going on today. By building a simple and easy to follow Dipity timeline, VOA is providing it’s users with a genuinely complete picture of the event. Kudos to them.

So, VOA used Dipity to provide context, but how can you follow up on a story? I’ve been keeping tabs on the situation in Egypt, Jordan and Tunisia on our home page, updating the timeline regularly when new stories are reported. I plan to keep updating this timeline as things develop, addressing a persistent story with persistent coverage. As this story will still be unfolding a year from now, I could continue to update it, creating something truly all-encompassing.

Dipity is a new and effective tool for the age of digital journalism. With Dipity, editors, writers and researchers can track stories, photos, videos, locations and moments in time in a single space. The application is free to try and provides newsrooms with a tool for their arsenal that does not require a lot of time, resources or effort to build and maintain.

Furthermore, Dipity is not just good for supplementing or broadcasting coverage of a story, but can also be used for research. For example, writers could track stories that revolve around a certain issue, person or incident, referring back to their Dipity timeline for context when writing a new piece. I’ve said it many times, Dipity’s potential applications are limitless.

However, Dipity is not the only tool out there. Storify, Historypin and Intersect are just three digital tools journalists should take a peak at when looking for ways to enhance their coverage.

As events in Egypt and elsewhere prove, traditional coverage on it’s own will no longer keep readers engaged. Adapting to the new needs and preferences of readers is crucial for the survival and growth of news media.

If you are a journalist or editor and are looking for new ways to expand your toolset, provide persistent coverage, or simply increase reader engagement, then Dipity is for you. If you would like to find out more, or join in the conversation about digital journalism, we would love to hear from you. Find us on Twitter (@dipity) or Facebook and we would be glad to answer any of your questions, help you get started, or just take a look at your timeline.

Thank you for reading,

-Steve
Dipity Community Manager