News

There’s still plenty of old-media thinking among newspaper editors. I caught an example this week with this story from DailyCamera.com: “Larimer sheriff slams Boulder cyclists,” which is about some inflammatory comments made by the sheriff of Larimer County, suggesting that when his deputies encounter cyclists from Boulder, the Boulderites often have an “attitude.”

The article was classic reporting, summarizing the sheriff’s remarks as published in a column on the sheriff’s website. What was missing: a link to the column.

Of course, DailyCamera.com does allow readers to post comments, and one reader noticed the omission and provided the link to the actual column.

While I’m picking on one newspaper, I continue to see this problem on many other newspaper websites. Linking out is good! It pays dividends as the linked-to’s notice and link back. Linking is not your enemy. Sigh.

My April 1 Editor & Publisher Online column (not an April Fools joke) about ending my long-held subscription to my local newspaper’s print edition generated a fair bit of controversy in the form of letters to E&P. I apologize for not responding more promptly, but it’s been a crazy period for me. Belatedly, here are some of the letters received (previously published on Editorandpublisher.com), and my responses to them.

Continued

Well, it took me a lot longer than many of my new-media colleagues, but I finally gave up the print habit and stopped the driveway deliveries of the Boulder Daily Camera. I used this life milestone — and it is, since I’ve been getting a printed newspaper delivered for my entire adult life, and as a kid my parents subscribed to the local paper — to suggest some lessons for the newspaper industry.

Here’s my Editor & Publisher Online column about it: Life Without the Print Edition.

This is the cover of the weekly TV guide insert in the Boulder Daily Camera that showed up in Sunday’s paper. (Click on the image to see the larger view.) Like many papers, the Camera has continued to cut back on elements of the print edition. At the same time, it recently raised the home-delivery price significantly. It’s the get-less, pay-more marketing strategy.

Actually, I applaud this move. Camera subscribers who still want the weekly printed TV guide can get it mailed to them, while the rest of us who couldn’t care less about it can feel better that our choice to abstain will save a few trees.

My latest Editor & Publisher Online column is up: “When Journalists Aren’t Happy, the Industry Isn’t Happy.” It’s about what we can learn from the rants that are filling up the new website, AngryJournalist.com. Enjoy.

(This is actually my February column, delayed because of a weird e-mail problem where my messages to E&P editors didn’t get through for the space of a week.)

This could become addictive: AngryJournalist.com. Simple concept: Allow any journalist to anonymously air a gripe about life as a journalist. Moderate comments to keep out the trolls and spam.

So far it’s entertaining reading. But I think it also will prove useful. I hope newsroom managers will make AngryJournalist.com a regular read. It will be useful in understanding what people in the newsroom are really thinking.

Here are a few gripes I pulled out that pertain to new media:

I hate the fact that print and online can’t work together! Come on, online is the future, so please have some respect for the webeditors!”

“I spent about an hour today teaching our publisher how to add an attachment to an e-mail. I then had to teach her how to empty the trash can on her computer. How this newspaper gets published? I don’t know! They don’t pay me enough to deal with pure stupidity.”

“The reporters don’t understand the Internet department and the Internet department doesn’t understand reporters. The worst part — some of them aren’t even trying. These debates are important; no one has the answers yet. Let’s recognize that. Let’s be frank about that. Let’s talk honestly with our newsroom about the pressures of the online media landscape.”

“I’m sick of editors. Let the people decide what we want to read. Throw it all at the wall and let us decide. Its the greatest time in the world for journalist…if they decide to break free from the chains of standard editor driven journalist. Blogging is the future.”

“The web is constantly misused by journalists. The managers think it’s a dumping ground (”oh, let’s just put it on the web”). The reporters don’t care about it. The photographers don’t know what to do with it. Promotions doesn’t know how to promote it. And when a few people try to do the right thing the right way (ie: my news manager, two of my reporters), it gets buried under the ignorance of everyone else (EP of News, EP of Morning Shows, I’m looking at you).”

“joe citizen is not a goddamn journalist.”

“I used to be a journalist and actually inform and tell interesting stories. Now I work for a lame TV web site.”

“i’m angry cuz i hear people talk shit about our industry all the time and i can’t defend it cuz most of the time they’re fucking right.”

“I hate citizen journalism.”

“I don’t like seeing young journalists scoff at the Internet. I never knew there were Luddites under 30 until I started working in the news business. I hate you people.”

“There is a major disconnect between the old-timers (even the middle-timers) who are so used to doing the same things for so, so long. They “don’t get it” (sorry-already a tired expression) when it comes to new media. It’s very frustrating working with these dinosaurs (vainly) fighting change.”

Priceless!

I’ve just debuted a new website/blog designed to be a resource for ideas, tips and advice for online news publishers. It’s called GrowingYourNewsWebsite.com, and it’s NOT another industry news blog. The focus is exclusively on advice. I hope you’ll find it useful.

I soft-launched the site yesterday, so hardly anyone knows about it. I’d love it if a few of you checked it out and maybe commented on the early posts. My intent is to post a tip a day. There will be ideas on how to increase traffic and earn more money, primarily. I’m aiming for actionable tips and advice.

Obviously I don’t know it all, so I’ve made the site open to everyone to participate in and contribute to. Comment on the posts. Submit an idea of your own if you’d like me to write it up for you (and credit you). Create an account and blog to the site directly. (I will be moderating submissions.)

I’m also looking for sponsors, so give me a shout if it looks like that might be useful to you.

Many of us watch Romenesko to keep tabs of the news business. The venerable media blog, which is published by the Poynter Institute, is great for giving a sense of where the industry is at.

I’ve yet to see anyone use Romenesko for research. (Have I missed it?) But I wonder if a careful analysis of all the media news that gets pumped through Jim Romenesko’s filters would turn up some trends. One I would expect to find is an increasing pessimism by traditional news organizations, and an increase in stories about news company cutbacks, layoffs, stock price falls, circulation dips, etc. — increasing over time.

For fun, I did a quick and completely unscientific survey of what was in the latest Romenesko e-mail, which covers the last 4 days of blog entries. Here’s what I found. (Note: If you tried this, you might categorize things differently. But here’s my attempt. Some stories got counted in more than one category.)

• 26 - News personnel (announcements, awards, changes, deaths, profiles, etc.)
• 13 - Demise/decline of newspapers
• 10 - Ethics-related
• 9 - Bad news about industry stock prices, real estate sales, acquisitions
• 6 - Transition of media, online trends, user interaction, etc.
• 6 - “Inside baseball” stuff (that only true industry geeks care about)
• 6 - Journalism craft news
• 5 - News about the news business (excluding the “The End Is Near” coverage)
• 4 - College journalism, academia, research
• 4 - Oddball stuff
• 3 - Labor news
• 3 - New publications, websites, programs announced
• 2 - Stories with mixed good-bad news about news industry
• 2 - Credentials and access issues
• 2 - Objectivity in journalism
• 2 - Gossip
• 2 - Events, conferences
• 1 - Negative stories about Internet, blogs, user content, etc.
• 1 - Media law
• 1 - Audience, circulation news

Perhaps someone with more time on their hands than me can find interesting Romenesko trends over time.

Earlier this week, a large ad ran on page 3A in the Boulder Daily Camera, my hometown paper, announcing an increase in the subscription price — the first one in 13 years. Publisher Al Manzi’s letter and photo took up the entire page.

He rattled off the many price pressures faced by the Camera plus the well-known woes of the newspaper industry, and begged subscribers (like me) to hang in there and accept paying “less than 15 cents per day” extra.

The letter gave a sense of Manzi’s — and the industry’s — desperation. “…We cannot rely on advertising revenue alone. To be honest, it isn’t enough to support our operations and invest in the future.”

While probably not having much choice, price increases like this could put some subscribers over the edge. The increase is about $53 more per year, or around $4.50 a month. That’s not much money, but I fear that a growing number of newspaper readers are poised to kick the print habit. Price increases could be what makes them finally cancel their subscriptions.

Is this story a joke? “Clinton, Obama keep distance at Bush speech: Rivals come within a foot of one another without acknowledging it.”

The Associated Press report, as spotted on MSNBC.com, also includes an accompanying video and this earth-shattering news:

In other handshaking news, Bush shook Obama’s hand after the speech but not Clinton’s.”

So this is the state of political journalism? I thought I was reading an April Fool’s joke.

Time to go read about Britney Spears now.