Subbing in the Age of Live Stories

Karl’s busy responding to comments on his post about subbing. But I think he saved the most important bit of his post for last:

One of the differences between the web and print media is that the
web can be used for interactive, real-time experiences that have more
in common with a live event such as a conference or a group discussion
than with publishing.

So, as I frequently tell our journalists,
when deciding how to behave, it is often useful to ask the question:
“what would we do if this were really a live event, with the audience
in the same room as the journalists?” The implications go far wider
than simply whether or not to sub.

And that’s the concept that’s most often missed in discussions about subbing for the web. Much of the content that goes onto the web isn’t a finished product, but a live object, that will be developed, commented on and linked to. And rethinking subbing for the web will have to take that into account. How do you add value as a sub, to something that continues to change after it’s published?