Good news in multiple media
March 31, 2006
For the Christian Science Monitor, the release of kidnapped reporter Jill Carroll was not only cause for joyful celebration – it was cause for a wonderful package of online multimedia journalism. You can read or listen to the main story; listen to audio from the publisher or watch a video of the editor making a statement; view reader comments on Carroll’s release and post your own; look at photo slideshows and view a graphic timeline of her captivity. Welcome home to Jill and congratulations to everyone at the Monitor for a job well done.
(And in the they’re-no-dummies department, the CS Monitor also realized that Carroll’s release would likely boost their traffic, and offered a special free download of Friday’s edition, featured prominently at the top of the home page, with information on how to subscribe.)
A few questions for K-R buyer
March 29, 2006
Ten web-centric questions for McClatchy CEO Gary Pruitt about his purchase of Knight-Ridder and decision to sell off 12 of its papers, courtesy of Ken Doctor — former VP-content of Knight Ridder Digital. Question number two, for example:
“What’s your plan for winning more online ad dollars, when the vast majority of those dollars seem to flow to online portals and aggregators with much greater scale of audience?”
Attention potential media moguls
March 29, 2006
Robert Kaiser of The Washington Post offers this advice to would-be buyers of Knight-Ridders’ 12 orphaned newspapers: “Put emphasis on your paper’s Web site, where its future health probably lies.”
CNN.com redesigns site
March 28, 2006
CNN.com has redesigned its site, jumping on the trend of designing sites for wider screens and with horizontal navigation.
Across the Web/Print Divide
March 28, 2006
E&P examines the new Web initiatives a number of newspapers are taking to focus more on the Web and get news online fast.
Magazines play catch-up on Net
March 28, 2006
Hearst Magazines has belatedly created a digital unit to develop and coordinate its titles (including Cosmopolitan, Redbook and Seventeen) online. “We want our brands and unique editorial perspectives to be available to our consumers wherever and whenever they desire,” Hearst Magazines President Cathleen P. Black tells Ad Age. They’re following in the footsteps of other traditional publishing powerhouses such as Time Inc. and Hachette Filipacchi, both of which recently moved to put more resources online.
Yahoo Launches Local News Beta
March 26, 2006
Yahoo! News has launched a beta version of a new local news site. You can browse most areas around the US via a map or drop-down menu. The site takes a different approach than in the past — rather than partnering with local providers and running their full text on Yahoo! News, the site is now pulling in RSS feeds from multiple providers, creating a snapshot of all of the local coverage from an area at once.
New West secures more publishing
March 26, 2006
New West Publishing, a site covering the Rocky Mountain West founded by Industry Standard editor in chief Jonathan Weber, has just secured funding and added Montana landowner Maury Povich to the board.
What’s in it for Reuters?
March 23, 2006
Why did Reuters want to partner with Google Finance? Traffic, traffic, traffic, says Ad Age.
Read any good blooks lately?
March 23, 2006
Books are springing out of blogs like tulips after a spring rain, it seems, and now these creations have a name — blooks — and their very own literary award. The winners of the first annual Blooker Prize will be announced April 3. The prize is sponsored by Lulu, a print-on-demand book company.