This is AdBusters’s video from the NCMR 2008 in Minneapolis. I am so upset that I missed this. I left Minnesota the week before this conference began. Hopefully they’ll bring it back to the city next year.
NCMR 2008
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Monthly Archives: June 2008
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
I think that front page says it all. Kudos to the Gazette for managing to still put out a good product both online and in print despite being directly affected by the flooding.
Good thing I’m moving closer to that area soon…*gulp*
Tim Russert (May 7, 1950 – June 13, 2008)
The transparent newsroom
From Mastering Multimedia:
“The story of how a small newspaper opened its editorial decision making process to the public in order to gain credibility with great results. A case study produced by Innovation Media Consulting on American Newspaper about The Spokesman Review newspaper in the United States.”
Now this is the type of newsroom innovation that needs to take place. Not measuring journalists’ bylines, not cutting paper length and not plastering the news Web sites with every piece of technology and doodad that comes out.
If you earn the respect of your readers again, you will earn their money.
It’s official! I’m moving to the Twin Cities
After a long and difficult decision between two great opportunities, I finally had to choose. I am now an Associate Editor for Online News at Minnesota Public Radio, part of the American Public Media Group. The next few weeks will be spent handling the logistics of moving 1,600 miles, getting acclimated to the Twin Cities and learning my new role as part of the MPR team.
Once I get settled this blog will come alive again, especially once I’m playing a large role in the online development of such a creative and diverse news organization. I’m looking forward to having a more direct perspective of the online journalism world as we enter this age of broad and sweeping change in our beloved industry.
To say I am excited about this opportunity would be putting it mildly. Yay for the future!
Tribune to Measure Journalists’ Productivity, May Cut Pages
From Editor & Publisher:
Tribune executives sketched out the future of its publishing division during a Q1 conference call with media and investors Thursday afternoon — including accelerated plans to “right-size” its newspapers.
One of the main strategies outlined by Tribune Chief Operating Officer Randy Michaels involves measuring the productivity of journalists. “This is a new thing,” he said. “Nobody ever said, ‘How many column inches did someone produce?’”
Michaels knows, and then proceeded to tell listeners, that in Los Angeles the average journalist at the Los Angeles Times produces about 51 pages a year, while in Harford, Conn., the average is more like 300 pages a year.
Michaels acknowledged that different reporters, such as those dedicated to investigative stories, turn out various amount of copy depending on job descriptions. He did not mention if online contributions are included in the count.
“You find you eliminate a fair number of people while not eliminating very much content,” Michaels explained about the strategy. “I understand there are other factors. … If you work hard and are producing a lot for us, everything is great.”
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Wow, this is really unprecedented. No mention of quality of content or quality of service to the public. Just pages and ads. Apparently the newspaper is just another widget to these folks.