Romanesko Memos: WP turns on blog comments

I know many of you read Romanesko, but for those who haven't seen it today, here's a follow-up to an issue I blogged previously.

Philadelphia Daily News: How to save the newspaper biz

Thanks to Len for bringing this one to our attention.

Yesterday, your fearless leaders at Campbell Hall had an off-site meeting to discuss what we're doing on the Internet and where we're going as an organization. John Wilcox started the day by reminding all of the participants to focus on our customers, who are hiring us daily to do a job. That job can be many things, especially on the Web.

Paying attention to readers like Mark Alan Hughes -- and more importantly, readers less prominent than Hughes -- is a good way to get a glimpse at our job descriptions.

Let the Good Times Roll--by Guy Kawasaki: How to Kick Butt On a Panel

I've accepted an invitation to be on a panel at the E&P conference in May, and in a bit of kismet today also ran across
this blog post that I had saved last month for future reference.

"How to Kick Butt on a Panel" is interesting enough, but what just caught my eye was the blog's tagline:

Blogger. n. Someone with nothing to say writing for someone with nothing to do.

I'd argue with the premise, but I respect the notion.

City turns off Muzak for a taste of Seattle

Did I hear recently that one of our sites was in the midst of launching a local music effort (it's entirely possible I dreamed it...)? And Santa Cruz has an annual battle of the bands, yes?

Here's an idea on putting that music to another use (and a Web page to accompany it). What better way to reflect that we are a community newspaper than by entertaining those in the phone queue with local music?

Then again, perhaps the sheer torture of some lower-quality local music would push more people online to use our new self-service classifieds....

Either way, it's a win.

Blogs @ Cincinnati.Com: Olympics

Some vlogging (video blogging) going on here. I personally enjoyed the text items more than the video, but that's primarily because Dustin Dow doesn't have the steadiest hand when driving his camera. I got dizzy. The interviews with Chad Hedrick are decent content, though.

- First spotted at CyberJournalis.net

Blogs to Riches - The Haves and Have-Nots of the Blogging Boom -- New York Magazine

Ken Hall recommended this article to me today, and I agree it is a fascinating read on blogging business models. It's not analagous to our business model, per se, because any blog we do would be a part of our existing business, but an interesting look at the competition, nonetheless.

The Boston Globe Olympics Blog - Boston.com

Another Olympics Blog, this one from Boston.com. What I like about this one (in addition to the hyperfocused coverage of Bode Miller today) is the module on the right that provides links to other writers covering the Olympics for the Globe.

Marketwatch: Covering baseball in a new world of blogs

Speaking of sports and blogs....

Tales From Turin: An Olympic Journal

Gawker today points to this Olympic blogging effort by The Washington Post. I'm sure there are numerous others. I haven't yet had much of a chance to cruise the 'Net for them. Lend us a hand. Share your favorite in the comments section.

Western Union discontinues Telegrams

Yesterday's (well, really, last Friday's) Sign of the Apocalypse.

Probably old news to some, but I hadn't seen anything on Western Union canning Telegrams. I discovered it in a very roundabout way. My NewsGator Online RSS reader has a module on the left side that tracks "The Latest Buzz." Yesterday morning it showed the Wester Union item as having 91 incoming links, just ahead of the OSCAR.com's nominee list.

Here's the full top 5:

• Internet Explorer 7: Beta 2 Preview (236 incoming links)
  
• IE 7.0b2 available to the public (207 incoming links)
  
• IE7 Beta 2 worth the download (134 incoming links)
  
• Western Union has stopped sending telegrams after 145 years of offering the service (91 incoming links)
  
• OSCAR.com - 78th Annual Academy Awards - Nominee List (90 incoming links)
  

"What has this got to do with being an Online Editor?" you ask. Well, for one, buzz lists can be effective sources for story ideas.

Also, it shows how RSS readers and content distribution can be an aid audience acquisition. I never would have looked at LiveScience otherwise, and am intrigued enough by their content that I'm likely to revisit.

USATODAY.com - Papers take a leap forward, opening up to new ideas

Thanks to Len for bringing this one to my attention.

Best quote in there:

"Across the industry the message I pick up is, 'Oh my God. It's slipping away. What can I do?' " says Stephen Gray, managing director of the initiative, called Newspaper Next. The answer, he says, will require "a shift of thought from, 'How do we get people to read more newspapers?' to 'What problems are people trying to solve in their lives, and how can we help?' "

More Enron blogging

From chron.com:

• Enron: TrialWatch
• Full Disclosure
  

Live blogging

As a tangent to my previous e-mail on editorial group blogging, here's some live "blogging" (really, they're more live logging of events as they happen) examples:

• KHOU: Inside the Enron Trial
• KTVB: Archived live blog of the MPC Computers Bowl
• Will & Grace Live Blog

These Are The People in Your Neighborhood

Interesting audience overview pages over at IBS, which operates a multitude of television Web sites around the country, including many within our online competitive landscape:

• TheWMURChannel.com in Manchester, NH
• WMTW.com in Portland, ME
• TheBostonChannel.com
• TurnTo10.com in Providence, RI/New Bedford
• NBC30.com in Hartford, CT
• TheChamplainChannel.com in Plattsburgh/Burlington, VT
• WNBC.com in New York City
  
• TheWGALChannel.com in Lancaster, PA
• TheKSBWChannel.com in Monterey, CA
• TheKCRAChannel.com and WB58tv.com (soon to be CW58tv?) in Sacramento
  
• KTVU.com and NCB11.com in San Francisco
• AccessHollywood.com (who knew!?)
  

Back on the IBS site, click through the various audience categories. In particular, I liked the slice from the Working Women page:

Pull quote: "I like to feel more connected with the outside world when I’m at work."

Backed up by:

• 86% are white-collar professionals
• 38% are college graduates
• 76% are 25-54
• 44% make more than $75,000 in household income
• 23% spend $150+/week on groceries

Incidentally, IBS reported this week that their traffic grew 29% in December compared to the same month in 2004. I think their sites are weaker than many in terms of usability and content presentation, but clearly they are doing something right. Perhaps the key for them is understanding their audience as well as they do.

Lost Remote: The web is cool again! A checklist

MUST read the to-do list Liz Foreman posted today at Lost Remote. It is from a TV point of view, but the concepts are universal. It's a great blueprint for where to start in our newsrooms as we tackle re-engineering our approach to the Web in our daily work lives.

CitJ: Lessons Learned

It sounds like Dan Gillmor is giving up on Bayosphere, a citizen-journalism site in San Francisco. He's not giving up on what he calls "a more democratized media" but he lists some interesting lessons learned. Paraphrasing:

- The more people are required to clearly identify themselves and stand behind what they write, the better their contributions will be.
- Citizen journalists require active interaction and support. One of my basic questions about this whole area has been how we can expect good work from unsupervised amateurs when we work very hard to develop and guide our professional journalists.
- Good work requires some form of compensation.

It's not clear what happens next; he's looking for other people to take over Bayosphere so it will most likely continue. Meanwhile, he says he'll be concentrating on The Center for Citizen Media.

Yanksfan vs Soxfan

More from the "Blogs I Like" file... Check out Yanksfan vs Soxfan. Even if you are not a fan of either team, you'll appreciate the concept.

And can someone please explain to me how Theo Epstein returning to the Red Sox is good for anyone involved? Because another favorite blog o' mine, Management by Baseball, is curiously quiet on the matter.

L.A. Observed: Changes coming at LATimes.com

L.A. Observed: Changes coming at LATimes.com

Wisconsin State Journal: You Pick the News

Credit to Mark Jurkowitz for spying this item. I certainly wasn't trolling for news in Wisconsin this morning....


After reading Managing Editor Tim Kelley's column, I can't wait to return to the site at 11 to see how it is presented. It's a phenomenal idea, taking UGC to another level. What a great use for the Saxotech polling engine!

I'm afraid a weakness in its execution, though, is that the readers will be judging based on headlines alone. I wouldn't let that stop me from executing the idea myself. But I'd be working vigorously to figure out a way to link each headline to a broader summary (news budget item, perhaps) of the story.

Make sure to read the article all the way to the end. Kelley describes the new, "nothing too radical yet" things they are doing to enhance their Web product. Sounds familiar, eh?

Jurkowitz, by the way, isn't as positive in his outlook as I am. Speaking only for myself, I think he misses the point. Reader involvement makes the product better, not worse. Don't more voices in a story make it better? Aren't single-source stories highly frowned upon? Why can't those principles apply to news decisions?

I'll keep my thoughts on Jurkowitz's we-know-better-than-you undertone (heck, maybe it's an overtone) to myself. Ask me about them next time we sip a cocktail together....

SeattlePI.com Buzzworthy - Departing from dayparts

Spied on Lost Remote. I've not yet seen the buzz elsewhere on this, but I can predict the knee-jerk reaction will be to proclaim "Death to Dayparting!"

Lost in the translation will likely be these two key phrases:

• "...we can't be all things to all people all the time." (This gets back to the product development notion I introduced last week: Design a suitcase for a flight attendant, and you'll likely meet the needs of a much greater population. Likewise, design a local news and information site for your local news and information consumer.)
  


• "We'll still change the content mix on the home page constantly...." (Have to. It's the key to turning the once-a-day consumer into a devotee of the site. Draw the eyeballs with frequency. Keep them with stickiness.)