Washington Post editor: Paper has 'constant interaction' with Web site
Robert J. McCartney, assistant managing editor of The Post's Continuous News Desk, discussed online news and how "continuous news" works at The Washington Post and washingtonpost.com in an online chat today. Here are some excerpts:
"We are in constant interaction with the Web site, from 5 a.m. or earlier until 7 p.m. or later every workday, and as needed on holidays and weekends. We are in touch with them via telephone, e-mail and The Post's internal messaging system.
"The Web site's news desk in Arlington is regularly asking us to evaluate the importance of breaking stories, or to try to get staff stories from The Post on different subjects. We advise them on play of stories on the home page, and offer stories that we think are important.
"We send them a budget of expected online stories each day, and update it regularly, and report to them on what happens at The Post's 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. story conferences. The Continuous News desk has a daily videoconference with the washingtonpost.com (wp.com) news desk at noon, and a teleconference at 3 p.m.....
"We certainly hold back stories from the Web to avoid tipping off competitors. Many (probably most) exclusive enterprise or feature stories go up on the Web site late in the evening, typically between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m., as the first edition of the newspaper is rolling off the presses. We decide whether to break news on the Web or in the newspaper depending on where we think it will have the most impact, and whether we think the scoop will 'hold.'
"For instance, National reporter Dan Balz got a break on the story in 2000 that Dick Cheney was George W. Bush's pick to be the GOP's vice presidential candidate. Balz nailed it down around the middle of the day, as I recall. He knew that wasn't going to hold until the next morning's paper. Other people were going to get it. So he went with it on the Web."
You can read the full transcript here.
Feb 23, 2005 | E-MAIL | SAVE | PRINT
| PERMALINK
| DISCUSS(3)
Discussion
3 comments about 'Washington Post editor: Paper has 'constant interaction' with Web site'Well, transparency is a good thing certainly. It's good they're talking about this. It's good they interact. However: why is the web desk in Arlington???
Posted by Joe Murphy at April 1, 2005 12:43 PM
It's good that WP is interacting with their web site, definitely. It's cool that they want to be transparent about it. But why is their web department in Arlington?
Posted by Joe M at April 1, 2005 12:47 PM
I am looking for a article that was written last month about drug addition and bipolar, in the Washington Post.
Posted by barbara olson at October 4, 2007 5:13 PM
Post a comment
Trackbacks
TrackBack URL: http://www.cyberjournalist.net/cgi-bin/mt-tab.cgi/580
1 Weblogs reference 'Washington Post editor: Paper has 'constant interaction' with Web site' Pondering the New WashingtonPost.comTrackback excerpt: A company called Eyetools Research has posted an interesting analysis of the Washington Post's new website, concluding that although the design of the top part of the page is very good, the design of the bottom half could be improved: "ineffective line... [Read More]
Posted on DCist at February 25, 2005 8:19 AM
Site Map
