Oct 30th, 2006 | Blogs, Media 2.0 | 1 Comment
The Press Gazette in the UK had a recent post about the clutch of newspapers adding blogs to their online repertoire, and the debate over whether all of these blogs are really necessary or not, or whether newspapers are just trying desperately to prove that they are “with it.” The post in turn links to the blog of Andrew Grant-Adamson, who says: “Some of the offerings are very good but too many seem like ways of presenting traditional content in a “look we understand the digital age” way, while others are dumping grounds for copy that would never get into the paper.” As the Press Gazette notes, critics say most newspapers “have simply used blogs to publish short, second-rate columns in reverse-chronological order, mimicking the form but not the spirit of the genre.” And very few are making good use of the comments section of their blogs to get a real dialogue going with readers.
Oct 30th, 2006 | Media 2.0 | 1 Comment
The American Journalism Review has an in-depth look at four online news operations, and how they differ from the traditional newspaper process — and how the two are (or aren’t) working together. The story starts with a description of how a Houston Chronicle online editor has posted several stories and is working on getting photos of a crime victim, while “around her, in a newsroom as quiet as a library, print colleagues shuffle in sipping from their Starbucks cups and grunting their good mornings. It is a scene repeated more and more often as mainstream newsrooms adjust to becoming two worlds in one.”
Oct 30th, 2006 | Blogs, Media 2.0 | No Comments
CNN has invited some of the top political bloggers to an election night blog-a-thon, so that they can provide commentary and analysis as the election results come in. According to the L.A. Times, “The cable news network plans to host more than two dozen bloggers from across the political spectrum — including sites like RedState and Daily Kos — at a Washington Internet lounge where they can monitor the election returns on a slew of flat-screen televisions. (Each blogger will get his or her own monitor, which can be tuned to any channel.) There will be free wireless access — and plenty of food and beverages, natch.” Washington bureau chief David Bohrman said that “Bloggers are leading the conversation. You could argue that most of the political dialogue in this country is happening online, so if you don’t incorporate that into your coverage, you’re missing a major element.”
Oct 30th, 2006 | Citizen Media, Social Media | No Comments
Journalism Hope writes about the launch of Citzenbay, a locally-focused “social media” site that is designed to allow residents of various cities, towns and regions in the U.S. and Canada to both write or submit their own stories and submit links to news stories of interest from other sources, and then encourages them to vote on those that have been submitted by others. Not only that, but Citizenbay.com says that those whose links and/or stories are ranked highest are paid (although it’s not clear how much or on what basis).
Update:
Julie Wohlberg, a PR person who represents Citizenbay, got in touch with me and explained that users who post stories can make $1 a day if those stories are “voted up” by 15 or more people, and more if they attach photos or other media along with it. There are more details here.
Oct 30th, 2006 | Media 2.0 | No Comments
The New York Times has a headline on a recent story that has become all too common nowadays: “Circulation plunges at major newspapers.” The average daily circulation for U.S. papers was down by 2.8 per cent in the six months ended September 30, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations. Sunday papers were down 3.4 percent. And those were the averages — some papers did a lot worse, including the L.A. Times (down 8 per cent daily and 6 per cent on Sunday) and the Boston Globe (down 6.7 per cent daily and almost 10 per cent on Sunday). Even the New York Times lost ground on Sunday (3.5 per cent) although it held steady during the week.
Steve Yelvington says it isn’t just newspapers losing ground to the Web, although that’s obviously part of it — he says it’s also the newspapers that aren’t really local but aren’t really national that are getting hurt the most. Alan Mutter, a former journalist turned venture capitalist, says that part of the picture is also the gradual decline in the kind of “fake” circulation that many newspapers have employed for years, such as dropping bundles of papers off at hotels or taxi stands and counting them as paid. Mark Evans, formerly of the National Post, says that newspapers had better adapt — and fast.
