And then there are folks like me: a former daily newspaper reporter who decided to go it alone on the Web. As a newspaper staffer I reported area food and restaurant news, mostly once a week in the Wednesday food section. Now I report area restaurant news daily on my Web site, and both diners and restaurants benefit from it.
But I don't do it for free. I hired someone to sell banner ads for the site, and our little niche publishing empire is working.
An interesting twist: My former employer refuses to sell me an ad for my site because I am competition. They need to wake up and see the future.
... cents a copy, which is what the paper went for then, the additional gross revenue came to $2,500, less than what the paper could make from a single full-page ad.
Interesting post, Jay. A coupla quick comments ...
[[In most newspapers the bottom line is going to be sales. A story might be great, but if it does not push out oodles of papers, you probably won't see it.]]
Not true. Most reporters want to do the best stories they know of, and most of their editors want them to do them. Whether or not a story will generate sales isn't a consideration for two reasons: 1) Figuring out what kinds of stories will generate sales and what kinds won't is still more roll-of-the-dice than art, let alone science. The only thing we know for sure is -- and I am not making this up -- a UNC men's basketball win is usually good for about 500 extra copies sold the next day. 2) Even when a story does generate extra sales, the "extra" isn't big enough to make much difference. On the first day of Gulf War I, for example, the N&R sold about 10,000 extra papers, the most ever to that point and about 10% over its regular daily circulation at the time. At 25
Whoops- I guess your humor was beyond my kin, that time! Maybe I made the problem out to be more complex than it was (blatent plug-see "pigs")!
I think you are so very right on alot of the things you said, I totally agree with you..... oh, and nice site you got here.
Interesting that the three people who have commented so far are a newbie blogger and two non-bloggers. To answer a couple of questions, rolly: Yes, my wife is real understanding and she was also at work at the time. I also think the N&R is doing groundbreaking work on the web and will continue to improve what they are doing. David: If the link you are asking me to check is the Eason Jordon link, the point is that he is not there anymore, kind of a joke. Also, WillR: Nice to see you at my site. I wish you would start blogging man, you gots lots to say and comments aren't the only media to say them in.
i must say you've got one tolerant and/or understanding wife. she let you write all that on valentines day!?!?!?
ignoring the occupation definition of journalist...
n 1: a writer for newspapers and magazines 2: someone who keeps a diary or journal
so really a blogger is a journalist, it's just traditionally they get paid to report the news, bloggers do it for other reasons.
i feel what is needed is exactly as you say a link between the world of mainstream media, and the blogosphere.
i however think that the Greensboro News and Record is worth much more than an example of what not to be.
J- check that link.
We all know that hearsay and rumors take on a life of their own, and those who propogate them must be policed by the bloggers and their readers. Those "journalists" who dismiss blog info out-of-hand, when they contradict a "real" report, won't give a concrete rebuttal. What are they hiding? They need to present some evidence and quit whining about being questioned! As more blogger-journalist-watchdogs police these folks, the excuse of "It's a blogger, so don't take it seriously" won't hold much water. You cannot judge relevance by its source. Even Dan Rather reported truth most of the time.(benefit of the doubt and all that...)
Jay, I was trying to make the point about newspaper archives at the blogcon that by walling them off a newspaper was reducing its overall credibility.
In the future (at least I think), credibility is going to be the real currency of the realm. Determining credibility will be a combination of social networks (the transitivity of a
"friend of my friend"), historical verifiability (what's the long term history, as reflected by the papers archive, of the veracity/accuracy/credibility/integrity
of these providers) and "platonic ideal" integrity (is there credibility because the provider matches some idealized criteria I have [probably from reading too many Swamp Things]).
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