12.18.2006

FW: Deck Map the Halls

Sharing an idea from Bakersfield via our new friends at Baristanet....


From: Debbie Galant
Posted At: Friday, December 15, 2006 3:53 PM
Posted To: Baristanet
Conversation: Deck Map the Halls
Subject: Deck Map the Halls

christmas%20light%20map%20%282%29.gif
We saw this holiday light map over at Bakersfield.com and decided we had to have one of our very own. And the wonderful folks over at Faneuil Media, who made our Tear Down Map and our Java Map have agreed to make it happen. Have some Holly Jolly to show off? (Lights? Reindeer? Inflatable Simpsons? Or just some really classy garlands?) Send us your street address (with town) and a photograph, and we'll include you on the map. Please use this e-mail address: barista.lights@gmail.com and send your photos (low-res, please) in by the end of the day on Monday.

12.14.2006

More to the Story from the Traverse City Record-Eagle

Interesting in-paper marketing tactic from our recently departed sibling in Traverse City:


The print edition of the Record-Eagle often refers to more information about a story that is available online. Watch the print edition for the "More to the story" icon and go online here to view the extra information.
Also note the box in the upper right rail of their home page, which links into the page described above:


It's a tactic used a lot by local broadcast TV stations. I've seen the practice referred to as NewsLinks, but maybe that was just a Belo TV term. It's meant to be one place to collect all of the things you relentlessly promoted in your news broadcast.

If you adopt this idea, don't let it stop you from enhancing your story files. Remember, people increasingly encounter our content via the search engines, e-mail sharing, IM or otherwise (i.e. not via our home page or section fronts), and it is important to lead users from that story to the enhanced or related content you have on that topic.

A Dozen Online Writing Tips - CyberJournalist.net - Online News - Tips and Tools

Someone asked this week whether there are any good online writing resources or training that we could recommend. We came up empty at the time, but I did manage to dig up these tips, written in 2000 by Jonathan Dube, who is now editorial director for CBC.ca.

This post is also a way to introduce the new members of the mailing list members to the existence of this Ottaway blog, in which I share insights and tidbits from our peers and elsewhere about this Internet thing we're trying to wrap our arms around.

New posts get automatically e-mailed to the list.
Some days that's many posts. Some weeks there are none.

12.04.2006

A Newspaper Chain Sees Its Future, And It's Online and Hyper-Local - washingtonpost.com

A Newspaper Chain Sees Its Future, And It's Online and Hyper-Local - washingtonpost.com

A must-read, and file it away for future discussions. Many of you have likely heard me advocate a similar concept whenever I am asked how our newsroom workflows might evolve.