5 Ways to Save Articles to Ensure They Won’t Disappear
The media world is shifting beneath our feet — although, you could say we’ve not been on solid footing since early 2020. We’re seeing many changes throughout the industry this year, including those stemming from Dotdash’s acquisition of Meredith in fall 2021 (most recently, the heartbreaking print edition closures and subsequent layoffs this week). Among the biggest right now are major content audits taking place internally at newly renamed Dotdash Meredith dedicated to improving “site health.” Essentially, this means editors are tasked with evaluating thousands of stories on their websites and redirecting or removing them completely, eliminating content that hasn’t been updated recently or that isn’t performing well for their respective brands. Here’s why this matters to PR and writers: You need to be saving these past stories, now, whether they’re clips mentioning your clients or your own stories, before they could be gone. The last thing you want to do is click on a link to a piece you loved and were proud of, and reach a broken URL. (Not sure if you have stories you need to save? Check the full list of Dotdash Meredith’s brands here.)
This is going to be a time-consuming process for us all if we want to be safe rather than sorry, no matter what. Here are five strategies for saving articles most efficiently, collected from conversations with friends in the industry scrambling to do the same.
Save story as a PDF.
This is the easiest way to save stories with no learning curve. Go to File, Print, and choose Save as PDF in the destination field (instead of a physical printer).
Save the webpage.
A similar method to saving as a PDF, this method will preserve everything that appears on a webpage, including the masthead, images and even ads (for better or worse). The downside: It takes longer to download and results in much larger file sizes, so be sure you have adequate space on something like Dropbox to store them. Go to File, Save Page As, Webpage (select HTML Only if you don’t require images, or Webpage Complete if you want all assets included).
Download the “Go Full Page” extension for Chrome.
You can do so here. This extension converts stories into a downloadable PDF or image, depending on your needs, and is more helpful than the first two methods if the piece is lengthy or has lots of images. It’s free, but it will cost you some time. Longer stories take up to 30 seconds or so to capture, then download, and if you’re going through hundreds, you’ll have to commit to an afternoon of mind-numbing work. Remember to rename the file with publication and story title as soon as it downloads to stay organized.
Hire help through Fiverr.
If the thought of going through old articles is enough to send you over the edge, delegate. Check websites like Fiverr for professionals offering help saving data from webpages or converting them into savable files. A quick search on Fiverr reveals many options starting as low as $5. Keep in mind, however, that good prep work will be required for good output. You’ll need to go through and make a full list of the outlets and website links you need saved before turning over the project, and remember to specify what format you’d like them in and how you want the files named.
Print it out.
If all other methods fail, you can always physically print the story. While it won’t give you a digital record, you can always scan it later if you need one. Designate folders labeled with specific publications or clients and file accordingly to save time later. Hey, at least it’s an excuse to use those cute paperclips sitting in your desk collecting dust.
Have you tried any of these methods for saving stories? Let me know what’s worked best for you. Join our Pitchcraft community for more discussion around navigating the ever-changing digital media landscape.