For your app-roval: For the News Junkies
Internet connectivity in our pockets has become one of the single most important shifts in modern society because it has allowed everyone to be connected to information and to reach other 24 hours a day.
My personal kryptonite as a multimedia journalist has been of course, the frontier of news apps. When done well, they are addictive and necessary. When done poorly with counter-intuitive design they are an abhorrence to the pursuit of journalism itself. If you like curated news that is relevant, impactful and contextual, here are the top three news apps I'd recommend to any fellow journalist, professional or citizen.
Timeline (free, iOS and Android)
Timeline is a gorgeous news app that aggregates articles and presents them to you in context. This is kind of like what Facebook has tried to do, but the social media giant falls short when it comes to the relevant way that Timeline presents stories to its users. It's simple to navigate, has a beautiful, simple black and white interface with a timeline sequence. Best yet is that it adds a "fourth dimension" to news in that it gives relevant back history and context to the articles you read.
VICE News (free, iOS and Android)
If you like edgy news, underreported international documentaries that you will invariably tell all your friends and coworkers about, then get the VICE NEWS app. They cover the gritty stuff, everything from how the digital world has effected our souls to new technologies to preserve the dead. The media giant has truly embraced multiplatform journalism and has successfully turned their reporting into a beautiful mobile experience. They also have a beautiful native video player that is simply stunning.
BBC News (free, iOS and Android)
Welcome to the world of digital-journo innovation. This team killed it in the noughties with their award-winning website that quickly became recognized as the world's best international news source, and their app now is no different. Easy navigation, simple interface, and as expected, award-winning reporting from around the world. The ads are a little annoying however but they can be swiped off pretty quickly.
Apps are everywhere, they're a household word, they are iconic, they are LIFE, they are on the tip of our tongue and on the forefront of our minds to find the perfect one. Sadly, 90% of them are ineffective and fail to engage users past the initial download. It is a great pity considering how much time and effort goes into actually building a mobile app. These apps have amazing shareability and work across many API's to help disseminate the news to the people who care about it the most.
