Time's Asia editor says it's OK to spin the news

Time magazine has transformed itself to compete in the world of digital journalism. It publishes multiple editions on multiple platforms, and the most important one is no longer the print edition.

In addition, “You never hear the word objectivity in the newsroom at Time,” says Zoher Abdoolcarim, Asia editor for the publication. “We talk about fairness and balance, yes.”

With so much news available online instantaneously, Time could no longer continue as just a weekly digest of news. It had to tell people what the news means, Abdoolcarim told an audience recently at Tsinghua University's School of Journalism and Communication in Beijing.

Do you know where you're going? Set some goals

When you are consumed by the daily demands of publishing news on your website, it is difficult to step back and think about where you are going. But you have to do this.

Otherwise your destination is Nowhereville.

There are entire websites and shelves in the bookstore dedicated to the literature on goal-setting. I will give you a story from my personal experience.

Facebook still not driving as much traffic to news sites as Google

All the numbers for Facebook are impressive, from its 750 million users to its $500 million in estimated first half profits this year.

However, as a driver of web traffic for news outlets, the results look disappointing at first glance.

At the 25 biggest news websites in the U.S., the percentage of traffic from Facebook is still only in the single digits, according to the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism. Google, by comparison, was responsible for an average of 30 percent.