Newseum site of today's front pages from newspapers around the road has been crashed by too-heavy traffic.
http://www.poynter.org/latest-news/top-stories/130349/newspaper-front-pages-capture-elation-relief-that-osama-bin-laden-was-captured-killed/
Here's newseum site in case it starts working. I'm having trouble with it right now.
http://www.newseum.org/todaysfrontpages/flash/
Here's the guy who tweeted about the attack.
http://eu.techcrunch.com/2011/05/02/heres-the-guy-who-unwittingly-live-tweeted-the-raid-on-bin-laden/
In regards to how people get news, I asked my five students in reporting class today how they found out. The could all be traced to a form of digital media. Two on Facebook, one a text message and two heard from someone in the dorm and watched the president's announcement live online on news channel Web sites.
I found out this morning from my wife, who saw it on Yahoo! news.
How did you find out?
Monday, May 2, 2011
Thursday, March 31, 2011
I loved you, New York Times...
Yesterday The New York Times' website implemented its long-awaited (dreaded, in my case) pay wall, that limits online readers to 20 free articles a month before it asks (requires) that they subscribe.
Twenty free articles a month might sound fine and dandy to... well, I don't know who... but I probably go through that many in a day or two. Many people do. Of course, the easy solution to that is obvious: subscribe! But. I'm in college. I am poor. And I am desperately cheap.
From the Times Publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr. (you can read his entire explanation letter here):
"As you have seen during this recent period of extraordinary global news, The Times is uniquely positioned to keep you informed. The launching of our digital subscription model will help ensure that we can continue to provide you with the high-quality journalism and substantive analysis that you have come to expect from The Times."
I mean, I get it. Newspapers all over the world are struggling to keep afloat. But that doesn't mean I'm not going to pout about it.
I love the Times for that "high-quality journalism and substantive analysis" Sulzberger was talking about. I've defended the Times (and CNN as well) to people who have called it liberal hoopla (in so many words...) because, lets face it, they are the best at the NEWS part. Just because I'm a conservative doesn't mean I should have to suffer through FOX News (or, heaven forbid, the Fox News website) and shun everything else. I don't have to agree with every Op-Ed column that appears in the Times to acknowledge that it is good at what it does.
I'm not sure whether or not I'll subscribe. Perhaps after the first month of rationing I"ll change my mind, but for now I'm disappointed enough to do without.
Friday, March 25, 2011
For reporters, there's an app for that
For now I have a plain-old flip phone, but if an iPhone or some type of smartphone is in my future, I will certainly take a look at the kind of apps that are handy for a reporter to have.
Wes Baker e-mailed me a link today to a list on poynter.org of eight must-have apps for reporters.
I suppose it's not a matter of if, but when. As every technology matures, we all eventually have it. From TVs, to color TVs, to cable, to PCs, to cellphones, to laptops, to HDTV, etc.
News reporters need everything at their disposal possible these days. More than ever it is important to get the news to the audience first. He who is first, gets the most traffic. And eyeballs equal dollar signs.
Wes Baker e-mailed me a link today to a list on poynter.org of eight must-have apps for reporters.
I suppose it's not a matter of if, but when. As every technology matures, we all eventually have it. From TVs, to color TVs, to cable, to PCs, to cellphones, to laptops, to HDTV, etc.
News reporters need everything at their disposal possible these days. More than ever it is important to get the news to the audience first. He who is first, gets the most traffic. And eyeballs equal dollar signs.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
The Daily running into hurdles it might not clear
The Daily is off to a rocky start. Glitches have kept the free trial period going well beyond the original two weeks that Verizon sponsored. A story on paidcontent.org says the free trial extensions could continue for several weeks. The Daily is also having problems with slow load times.
Maybe enough will stay with it when it comes time to pay, but the glitches will have to be gone. I've been a part of launches, and no matter how well something tests there will always be glitches after you go live.
I had intended to blog about what critics were saying about a week ago. Then today this news is out there. I am sure that Mark Potts, who writes the blog The Recovering Journalist, is not surprised.
Potts wrote soon after The Daily's debut that he was not impressed. Potts spent some time with The Daily, which I haven't been able to do. (Anybody have an iPad they don't want?) He wrote that The Daily was not blazing a trail, that it was old-style journalists still trying to do old-style journalism in a digital format that he doesn't think has a chance to work. And he wasn't impressed with the content either.
I wrote in a previous post that The Daily sounded like something that might work. But after reading Potts' critique and some others, I'm not so sure.
Few can't-miss ideas work, and in the digital news space there are a lot of failed ideas that sound really good. If you want to do something that works online and makes money, copy someone. It's incredibly difficult to bring to market the next great idea. But you can find a model that works, adapt it to your product and make it profitable.
A former page designer colleague used to say "talent creates, genius steals." Solomon said there is nothing new under the sun. The Daily is trying to build the latest, greatest news business model. What they probably need to do is steal some ideas from other things that work. Otherwise, The Daily could have a short shelf life.
Maybe enough will stay with it when it comes time to pay, but the glitches will have to be gone. I've been a part of launches, and no matter how well something tests there will always be glitches after you go live.
I had intended to blog about what critics were saying about a week ago. Then today this news is out there. I am sure that Mark Potts, who writes the blog The Recovering Journalist, is not surprised.
Potts wrote soon after The Daily's debut that he was not impressed. Potts spent some time with The Daily, which I haven't been able to do. (Anybody have an iPad they don't want?) He wrote that The Daily was not blazing a trail, that it was old-style journalists still trying to do old-style journalism in a digital format that he doesn't think has a chance to work. And he wasn't impressed with the content either.
I wrote in a previous post that The Daily sounded like something that might work. But after reading Potts' critique and some others, I'm not so sure.
Few can't-miss ideas work, and in the digital news space there are a lot of failed ideas that sound really good. If you want to do something that works online and makes money, copy someone. It's incredibly difficult to bring to market the next great idea. But you can find a model that works, adapt it to your product and make it profitable.
A former page designer colleague used to say "talent creates, genius steals." Solomon said there is nothing new under the sun. The Daily is trying to build the latest, greatest news business model. What they probably need to do is steal some ideas from other things that work. Otherwise, The Daily could have a short shelf life.
Friday, February 11, 2011
Seeing online video news for what it really is
In recent years, a priority for online news sites - particularly ones operated by newspapers - has been video. But just having video doesn't mean a your Web audience will grow significantly.
One of the reasons for the difficulty has been the print journalists' affinity for long-form storytelling. As a result, we've produced a lot of videos that would be best classified as features. A lot of good journalism happens this way, but the problem today is that it's not all about traditional newspaper journalism. The bottom line is audience size.
Some newspaper efforts in video have been so lackluster that many newspapers are cutting back on their video staffs because of financial pressures, according to an Associated Press study.
Part of the solution has to be what papers like the Miami Herald and The Roanoke Times are doing by emphasizing breaking news and sports. They have learned that those categories generate the most page views, writes Mallary Jean Tenore for the Poynter Institute. I saw video go through many stages while working at The Roanoke Times from 1997 to 2009. What I learned is that you try new things, then you try more new things until you start to really increase audience.
This doesn't mean newspaper Web sites should abandon good feature videos. But it does mean that newspaper sites ought to be putting more into breaking news and sports. This mindset is no different than the one at the afternoon news meeting when decisions about the next day's front page are based largely on what readers are most likely to read.
It's a simple question: What does the audience want the most?
When we know - or at least think we know - the next question is easily answered. Be sure to give them what they want the most. Then keep working hard at giving them everything else. That might just cause a significant boost to online traffic and revenue.
We have high hopes for video on our student news publication Web site at Cedarville, but it's not easy to start something new. Breaking news and sports will have to be big part of the equation as we make plans for video.
One of the reasons for the difficulty has been the print journalists' affinity for long-form storytelling. As a result, we've produced a lot of videos that would be best classified as features. A lot of good journalism happens this way, but the problem today is that it's not all about traditional newspaper journalism. The bottom line is audience size.
Some newspaper efforts in video have been so lackluster that many newspapers are cutting back on their video staffs because of financial pressures, according to an Associated Press study.
Part of the solution has to be what papers like the Miami Herald and The Roanoke Times are doing by emphasizing breaking news and sports. They have learned that those categories generate the most page views, writes Mallary Jean Tenore for the Poynter Institute. I saw video go through many stages while working at The Roanoke Times from 1997 to 2009. What I learned is that you try new things, then you try more new things until you start to really increase audience.
This doesn't mean newspaper Web sites should abandon good feature videos. But it does mean that newspaper sites ought to be putting more into breaking news and sports. This mindset is no different than the one at the afternoon news meeting when decisions about the next day's front page are based largely on what readers are most likely to read.
It's a simple question: What does the audience want the most?
When we know - or at least think we know - the next question is easily answered. Be sure to give them what they want the most. Then keep working hard at giving them everything else. That might just cause a significant boost to online traffic and revenue.
We have high hopes for video on our student news publication Web site at Cedarville, but it's not easy to start something new. Breaking news and sports will have to be big part of the equation as we make plans for video.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
The Daily has a chance to be a significant innovation
Did Rupert Murdoch change the news business today, or did he just put another toy out there for mobile users to play with? At 14 cents a day, plenty of iPad owners will give The Daily a few touches. If I had an iPad, I would have spent a little at the iTunes Store today. But would I keep going back?
News executives are sitting in meetings everywhere brainstorming ways to monetize digital news in a significant way. At newspapers, digital is 90 percent of the conversation but still no more than 10 percent of the revenue. The Wall Street Journal is doing it well, and The Daily is expecting to make a statement that news consumers will pay when the news comes to them in a convenient way.
We'll all be watching closely to see if this approach of a daily digital newspaper will be profitable. Not many others will have the cash to be as extravagant as Murdoch, but professional news organizations and student media operations will do whatever they can to copy this if it works.
The one thing Murdoch's product doesn't have is local news, and that's something all of us want. Is that his next step? ESPN has been successful with local Web sites in a handful of major markets, so it can be done at least in places like Chicago, New York and Dallas.
But for the rest of us in medium-sized to small to tiny markets, can small newspapers and Web sites produce something for mobile devices that people will pay for? Mobile devices are probably the only way a paper like the Springfield News-Sun or the Xenia Daily Gazette can ever move much past that 10 percent barrier in the digital world. Making big money on Web sites doesn't seem likely, because the Web at your computer is no more convenient than a newspaper. But mobile has convenience, and we are much more likely to pay when we can read, watch and listen to news any place at any time.
I watched Murdoch's announcement on Fox News today and the demonstration. It was one cool-looking app, that's for sure. And it sure would be fun to be part of the production team.
Every innovation has its naysayers and its optimists. Considering this is Murdoch and Apple, I'm leaning toward optimist.
News executives are sitting in meetings everywhere brainstorming ways to monetize digital news in a significant way. At newspapers, digital is 90 percent of the conversation but still no more than 10 percent of the revenue. The Wall Street Journal is doing it well, and The Daily is expecting to make a statement that news consumers will pay when the news comes to them in a convenient way.
We'll all be watching closely to see if this approach of a daily digital newspaper will be profitable. Not many others will have the cash to be as extravagant as Murdoch, but professional news organizations and student media operations will do whatever they can to copy this if it works.
The one thing Murdoch's product doesn't have is local news, and that's something all of us want. Is that his next step? ESPN has been successful with local Web sites in a handful of major markets, so it can be done at least in places like Chicago, New York and Dallas.
But for the rest of us in medium-sized to small to tiny markets, can small newspapers and Web sites produce something for mobile devices that people will pay for? Mobile devices are probably the only way a paper like the Springfield News-Sun or the Xenia Daily Gazette can ever move much past that 10 percent barrier in the digital world. Making big money on Web sites doesn't seem likely, because the Web at your computer is no more convenient than a newspaper. But mobile has convenience, and we are much more likely to pay when we can read, watch and listen to news any place at any time.
I watched Murdoch's announcement on Fox News today and the demonstration. It was one cool-looking app, that's for sure. And it sure would be fun to be part of the production team.
Every innovation has its naysayers and its optimists. Considering this is Murdoch and Apple, I'm leaning toward optimist.
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