The Washington Post launched a grassroots journalism Web site, joining dozens of other papers seeking to grow their overall audiences by offering so-called hyperlocal coverage of community events.
LoudounExtra.com, serving the northern Virginia community about 25 miles north of Washington, D.C., combines Post reporters with community journalists, the paper said. If the pilot is successful, The Post plans to launch similar sites for other areas surrounding and including the District, the paper said.
The site is based on Ellington, custom software licensed from the Lawrence (Kan.) Journal-World. Rob Curley, who was hired by The Post to oversee its Internet efforts, developed the Journal-World’s site as well as the Web site of the Naples (Fla.) Daily News, both of which feature hyperlocal journalism.
LoudounExtra.com features community news as well as extensive databases on schools, business and churches.
Saturday, September 1, 2007
Philly papers join Yahoo consortium
The Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News partnered with Yahoo Inc. to use features offered by the Newspaper Consortium.
Under terms of the deal, Philly.com will use Yahoo’s display advertising technology and be represented nationally by Yahoo sales staff, while Philly.com sales staff will represent Yahoo locally. Philly.com’s local content will also be transmitted across Yahoo’s network.
Philly.com will continue to use employment-classified services from Monster.com. Last year, Philly.com was the first U.S. daily to partner with Monster.com’s online employment initiative.
“Working with Yahoo as a member of its Newspaper Consortium will give Philly.com the opportunity to share its award-winning local content with its users and advertising with Yahoo’s 131 million monthly visitors, targeting those with interest in the Philadelphia area,” said Eric Grilly, president of Philly.com.
Grilly, formerly president and CEO of MediaNews Group Interactive, worked for the Denver-based newspaper group last November when the partnership between Yahoo and the Consortium was first announced.
In addition to Philly.com, other newspaper publishers joining the Newspaper Consortium are GateHouse Media Inc. and Paxton Media Group. Two other papers, Tribune-Review Publishing Co. in Pittsburgh and The Day in New London, Conn., are also using Yahoo employment features.
Under terms of the deal, Philly.com will use Yahoo’s display advertising technology and be represented nationally by Yahoo sales staff, while Philly.com sales staff will represent Yahoo locally. Philly.com’s local content will also be transmitted across Yahoo’s network.
Philly.com will continue to use employment-classified services from Monster.com. Last year, Philly.com was the first U.S. daily to partner with Monster.com’s online employment initiative.
“Working with Yahoo as a member of its Newspaper Consortium will give Philly.com the opportunity to share its award-winning local content with its users and advertising with Yahoo’s 131 million monthly visitors, targeting those with interest in the Philadelphia area,” said Eric Grilly, president of Philly.com.
Grilly, formerly president and CEO of MediaNews Group Interactive, worked for the Denver-based newspaper group last November when the partnership between Yahoo and the Consortium was first announced.
In addition to Philly.com, other newspaper publishers joining the Newspaper Consortium are GateHouse Media Inc. and Paxton Media Group. Two other papers, Tribune-Review Publishing Co. in Pittsburgh and The Day in New London, Conn., are also using Yahoo employment features.
PressDisplay available for iPhone
NewspaperDirect announced the availability of its PressDisplay.com service for the Apple iPhone. As a special promotion, NewspaperDirect said it will offer the service to all iPhone users for one month.
PressDisplay presents newspapers in their original layout, and the iPhone’s unique multi-touch gestures and auto-rotate feature let users zoom in to view any article or photo, NewspaperDirect said.
“The iPhone is the perfect mobile platform for PressDisplay.com because its rich user interface complements the advanced navigation and browsing capabilities of PressDisplay,” said Alexander Kroogman, chief executive officer of NewspaperDirect. “But what is really exciting is that, for the first time, we can mobile-enable all of our dozens of SmartEdition publications, giving their subscribers anywhere, anytime access to their digital editions.”
PressDisplay users have access to online digital replicas of more than 500 newspapers and magazines, including Newspapers & Technology.
PressDisplay presents newspapers in their original layout, and the iPhone’s unique multi-touch gestures and auto-rotate feature let users zoom in to view any article or photo, NewspaperDirect said.
“The iPhone is the perfect mobile platform for PressDisplay.com because its rich user interface complements the advanced navigation and browsing capabilities of PressDisplay,” said Alexander Kroogman, chief executive officer of NewspaperDirect. “But what is really exciting is that, for the first time, we can mobile-enable all of our dozens of SmartEdition publications, giving their subscribers anywhere, anytime access to their digital editions.”
PressDisplay users have access to online digital replicas of more than 500 newspapers and magazines, including Newspapers & Technology.
Mediaspan broadcast unit launches video service
MediaSpan and Broadcast Interactive Media launched YouNews TV video, an online video upload, management and editing service that allows local newspapers and radio stations to handle user-generated content.
Users can upload breaking video stories in categories such as local sports, weather, entertainment and news events to their local media Web site.
YouNews TV’s back-end tools allow newspapers to monitor, edit and track video, as well as inserting targeted video ads.
YouNews TV differs from open video systems in that each video goes through several layers of content moderation prior to going live, MediaSpan said.
Users can upload breaking video stories in categories such as local sports, weather, entertainment and news events to their local media Web site.
YouNews TV’s back-end tools allow newspapers to monitor, edit and track video, as well as inserting targeted video ads.
YouNews TV differs from open video systems in that each video goes through several layers of content moderation prior to going live, MediaSpan said.
Google expands Print Ads program
Google expanded the size and the scope of its Google Print Ads advertising initiative, making it available to hundreds of thousands of U.S. advertisers who currently have a Google AdWords account.
The program started last November with a test that included 50 newspapers and a small group of advertisers (see Newspapers & Technology, December 2006). Now the program has grown to more than 225 newspapers with a combined circulation of almost 30 million.
“We are always looking to extend our editorial products to new advertisers while also driving additional revenue to our business,” said Todd Haskell, vice president of business development, advertising at The New York Times, one of the original participants. “Google Print Ads has brought in new advertisers who were either too small to consider advertising in a national newspaper or who hadn’t tried print advertising because their business was largely online.”
Google Print Ads allows agencies and advertisers to plan and buy traditional newspaper media in national and local newspapers within a single, Web-enabled interface.
The program started last November with a test that included 50 newspapers and a small group of advertisers (see Newspapers & Technology, December 2006). Now the program has grown to more than 225 newspapers with a combined circulation of almost 30 million.
“We are always looking to extend our editorial products to new advertisers while also driving additional revenue to our business,” said Todd Haskell, vice president of business development, advertising at The New York Times, one of the original participants. “Google Print Ads has brought in new advertisers who were either too small to consider advertising in a national newspaper or who hadn’t tried print advertising because their business was largely online.”
Google Print Ads allows agencies and advertisers to plan and buy traditional newspaper media in national and local newspapers within a single, Web-enabled interface.
With ‘lecture mode’ gone, here’s talking at you, kid
By Marcelo Duran
Associate Editor
Subscription size doesn’t matter when it comes to becoming more social on the Web.
Case in point: the (Hopkinsville) Kentucky New Era, which became even more of a sounding board for its community when it added social media services from ThePort Network Inc.
The new features allowed the 12,000-subscriber evening newspaper to let readers post comments on stories, start blogs, upload video and collect local and national news based on their particular interest.
“We think it’s going great,” said Daniel Stahl, the paper’s Web site manager. Some 250 people have signed up to access the site’s features.
The Kentucky New Era’s Web site offers a variety of social networking features.
The southwestern Kentucky paper added the options to its site to keep pace with consumer demands for interactivity, Stahl said.
“The traditional paradigm of newspapers, the lecture mode where newspapers produce a printed product and people just read the news, is officially gone,” he said. “We are no longer in lecture mode, but in conversation mode.”
To that end, the New Era tapped such ThePort features as the ability to let users arrange news stories on pages in the way they want to view them, Stahl said.
Personalization
“Through RSS feeds, readers can build personalized Web pages based on their favorite interests, hobbies, sports, cooking, politics and news stories,” he said.
Stahl said the level of intensity readers bring to the site when they respond to a story surprises him.
“It is a good thing because it opens up a level of dialogue that we haven’t seen with the traditional newspaper,” he said.
Readers can leave comments to any story on the Web site as registered or anonymous users.
“Even if they don’t want to build a profile and want to make a comment from time-to-time that’s what ThePort offers,” he said. “You don’t have to jump in with both feet. You can just stick a toe in the water and be part of the community.”
Atlanta-based ThePort introduced its social networking software in 2005. In addition to the Kentucky New Era, the company’s software is also used by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution as well as a number of NFL teams.
Meantime, The Journal Times in Racine, Wis., rolled out its ThePort-anchored social networking site last month.
The Journal Times created six different neighborhood sites covering various parts of the Racine community. Content created by The Journal Times staff is loaded onto the specific neighborhood site and users are given the option to contribute their own comments and author their own blogs.
Associate Editor
Subscription size doesn’t matter when it comes to becoming more social on the Web.
Case in point: the (Hopkinsville) Kentucky New Era, which became even more of a sounding board for its community when it added social media services from ThePort Network Inc.
The new features allowed the 12,000-subscriber evening newspaper to let readers post comments on stories, start blogs, upload video and collect local and national news based on their particular interest.
“We think it’s going great,” said Daniel Stahl, the paper’s Web site manager. Some 250 people have signed up to access the site’s features.
The Kentucky New Era’s Web site offers a variety of social networking features.
The southwestern Kentucky paper added the options to its site to keep pace with consumer demands for interactivity, Stahl said.
“The traditional paradigm of newspapers, the lecture mode where newspapers produce a printed product and people just read the news, is officially gone,” he said. “We are no longer in lecture mode, but in conversation mode.”
To that end, the New Era tapped such ThePort features as the ability to let users arrange news stories on pages in the way they want to view them, Stahl said.
Personalization
“Through RSS feeds, readers can build personalized Web pages based on their favorite interests, hobbies, sports, cooking, politics and news stories,” he said.
Stahl said the level of intensity readers bring to the site when they respond to a story surprises him.
“It is a good thing because it opens up a level of dialogue that we haven’t seen with the traditional newspaper,” he said.
Readers can leave comments to any story on the Web site as registered or anonymous users.
“Even if they don’t want to build a profile and want to make a comment from time-to-time that’s what ThePort offers,” he said. “You don’t have to jump in with both feet. You can just stick a toe in the water and be part of the community.”
Atlanta-based ThePort introduced its social networking software in 2005. In addition to the Kentucky New Era, the company’s software is also used by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution as well as a number of NFL teams.
Meantime, The Journal Times in Racine, Wis., rolled out its ThePort-anchored social networking site last month.
The Journal Times created six different neighborhood sites covering various parts of the Racine community. Content created by The Journal Times staff is loaded onto the specific neighborhood site and users are given the option to contribute their own comments and author their own blogs.
Gannett goes mobile
Gannett Co. Inc. announced that breaking news, sports, weather and other local information are available to mobile phone users in more than 100 local markets.
The local mobile sites are designed to appear on small screens and include content, updated 24/7, produced by local Gannett Information Centers. The mobile sites also carry local, regional and national display advertising.
The sites are free to consumers with mobile Internet browsing and data plans.
Meantime, Gannett said it is installing VoicePort LLC’s speech recognition circulation software CircPort at its newly opened call center in Tulsa, Okla. The center will handle customer service calls from 25 dailies.
The local mobile sites are designed to appear on small screens and include content, updated 24/7, produced by local Gannett Information Centers. The mobile sites also carry local, regional and national display advertising.
The sites are free to consumers with mobile Internet browsing and data plans.
Meantime, Gannett said it is installing VoicePort LLC’s speech recognition circulation software CircPort at its newly opened call center in Tulsa, Okla. The center will handle customer service calls from 25 dailies.
Chicago Trib, Baltimore Sun launch new-look sites
In addition to the revamped newsday.com, two other Tribune Co. publications relaunched their Web sites, highlighting interactive and video features.
The (Baltimore) Sun introduced its redesigned site July 17 with the Chicago Tribune following a few days later.
Both sites focus on multimedia and interactive features.
“This redesign underscores our commitment to adapting to meet our users’ needs in the constantly evolving online environment,” said Alison Scholly, the Tribune’s vice president and general manager of Chicago Tribune Interactive. “The ability for more user-generated content creates a richer dialogue with our readers.”
The new platform also offers standardized ad positions and a more streamlined process for local and national advertising sales across the network of Tribune Interactive newspaper sites. Added video placement, meantime, gives advertisers a new option for online campaigns.
Baltimoresun.com, meantime, added a video player on its home page and all section fronts as well as giving readers the option to upload their own videos.
It’s the first redesign for the site since 2005.
The (Baltimore) Sun introduced its redesigned site July 17 with the Chicago Tribune following a few days later.
Both sites focus on multimedia and interactive features.
“This redesign underscores our commitment to adapting to meet our users’ needs in the constantly evolving online environment,” said Alison Scholly, the Tribune’s vice president and general manager of Chicago Tribune Interactive. “The ability for more user-generated content creates a richer dialogue with our readers.”
The new platform also offers standardized ad positions and a more streamlined process for local and national advertising sales across the network of Tribune Interactive newspaper sites. Added video placement, meantime, gives advertisers a new option for online campaigns.
Baltimoresun.com, meantime, added a video player on its home page and all section fronts as well as giving readers the option to upload their own videos.
It’s the first redesign for the site since 2005.
Study shows video playing big role for newspaper sites
By Marcelo Duran
Associate Editor
Newspapers are increasingly mining video and multimedia to boost their online traffic, according to a recent study from The Bivings Group.
The study said 92 percent of the largest 100 U.S. newspaper sites are offering video, a 31 percent jump from last year.
Thirty-nine papers offer original video content, 26 use video streams from the Associated Press, 13 offer video content from local news outlets, four use all three technologies and 10 papers use a mixture of two different types of video, the study said.
“While many industry experts fear that the Internet will spell the end of newspapers as we know them, [we feel] that the Internet presents newspapers with a unique opportunity to make up for lost circulation and readership,” said Erin Teeling, new media associate for the Washington, D.C.-based consultant.
The Bivings Group analyzed Web sites of the top 100 highest circulation newspapers based on the Audit Bureau of Circulations’ March 31, 2007 Fas-Fax report. Each site was evaluated based on the presence or lack of Web 2.0 features.
The study found that the use of interactive features increased in nearly every category compared to its report from last year.
Ninety-seven papers offer RSS partial text feeds, 95 percent of papers offer at least one reporter blog and 88 percent of newspapers allow comments on blogs, the report said.
Other findings include:
• The number of papers requiring registration increased by six from last year. Of this group three papers required a paid subscription, while 26 papers offered free access after registration.
• Forty-four percent of newspapers provide some form of bookmarking. In 2006, only 7 percent of newspapers provided bookmarking.
• Almost half (49 percent) of newspapers now offer online podcasts, compared to only 31 percent last year.
It’s new to U.S.
The development by newspapers of content geared to mobile devices, meantime, grew sharply, with 53 percent of papers producing news and information for cell phone users. The metric wasn’t even tracked in last year’s report.
Bivings cited the evolution of more sophisticated smartphones as a driving force fueling the growth of mobile offerings from U.S. newspapers.
Still, U.S. papers lag behind mobile marketing strategies employed by newspapers in other parts of the world, particularly in Europe and Japan (see Newspapers & Technology, July 2007).
The 2007 study also tracked user participation, monitoring such activities as user comment, user-generated content and social networking.
The number of newspapers permitting user comment, the study said, rose from 19 percent to 33 percent, while nearly 25 percent of newspapers accepted user-generated content, spanning photos, videos and articles.
Five percent of papers incorporated social networking features on their sites, including USA Today (see Newspapers & Technology, June 2007), The Denver Post and The Washington Post.
Grabbing a piece of the revenue pie
The Bivings study also found that while papers have added new features to their Web sites, many are “relatively unwilling” to link their sites to other sources and that papers continue to keep some content behind virtual walls.
At the same time, newspapers aren’t taking enough advantage of RSS technology. Instead, Bivings said papers should tap into the protocol’s monetization capabilities in a bid to attract new revenues.
Finally, Bivings attempted to answer the million-dollar question plaguing newspaper publishers: how to develop a profitable online model that will offset the losses in print advertising.
One recommendation: Papers should create Web sites strategically and visually superior to those of competitors.
For small newspapers, Bivings suggested they should steer away from AP and generic content and instead offer unique, hyper-localized information that is difficult to find elsewhere.
Finally, Bivings said publishers need to understand that consumers read both print and online editions of their newspapers, citing as proof a Scarborough study that reported that 81 percent of those polled using both print and electronic editions.
Getting closer to you
As video gains a foothold on newspaper Web sites, the demands associated with managing such high-bandwidth content is moving front and center.
Content handling companies such as Tewksbury, Mass.-based Mirror Image Internet are playing a more significant role as content demands grow.
The company, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, helps customers manage and distribute bandwidth-intensive content through a network of content access points located at strategic points around the Internet.
When a user requests a particular item, Mirror Image determines the most appropriate server from which to route the information.
Jim Hart, vice president of sales and marketing for MI, said the company has 23 of these massive data center-like environments deployed globally.
MI counts several large papers as clients, including The New York Times and Boston Globe (see Newspapers & Technology, July 2005).
“We are helping to incorporate video on newspaper sites to give the end user a richer media experience,” Hart said, adding that clients are adding video at a rapid clip.
Associate Editor
Newspapers are increasingly mining video and multimedia to boost their online traffic, according to a recent study from The Bivings Group.
The study said 92 percent of the largest 100 U.S. newspaper sites are offering video, a 31 percent jump from last year.
Thirty-nine papers offer original video content, 26 use video streams from the Associated Press, 13 offer video content from local news outlets, four use all three technologies and 10 papers use a mixture of two different types of video, the study said.
“While many industry experts fear that the Internet will spell the end of newspapers as we know them, [we feel] that the Internet presents newspapers with a unique opportunity to make up for lost circulation and readership,” said Erin Teeling, new media associate for the Washington, D.C.-based consultant.
The Bivings Group analyzed Web sites of the top 100 highest circulation newspapers based on the Audit Bureau of Circulations’ March 31, 2007 Fas-Fax report. Each site was evaluated based on the presence or lack of Web 2.0 features.
The study found that the use of interactive features increased in nearly every category compared to its report from last year.
Ninety-seven papers offer RSS partial text feeds, 95 percent of papers offer at least one reporter blog and 88 percent of newspapers allow comments on blogs, the report said.
Other findings include:
• The number of papers requiring registration increased by six from last year. Of this group three papers required a paid subscription, while 26 papers offered free access after registration.
• Forty-four percent of newspapers provide some form of bookmarking. In 2006, only 7 percent of newspapers provided bookmarking.
• Almost half (49 percent) of newspapers now offer online podcasts, compared to only 31 percent last year.
It’s new to U.S.
The development by newspapers of content geared to mobile devices, meantime, grew sharply, with 53 percent of papers producing news and information for cell phone users. The metric wasn’t even tracked in last year’s report.
Bivings cited the evolution of more sophisticated smartphones as a driving force fueling the growth of mobile offerings from U.S. newspapers.
Still, U.S. papers lag behind mobile marketing strategies employed by newspapers in other parts of the world, particularly in Europe and Japan (see Newspapers & Technology, July 2007).
The 2007 study also tracked user participation, monitoring such activities as user comment, user-generated content and social networking.
The number of newspapers permitting user comment, the study said, rose from 19 percent to 33 percent, while nearly 25 percent of newspapers accepted user-generated content, spanning photos, videos and articles.
Five percent of papers incorporated social networking features on their sites, including USA Today (see Newspapers & Technology, June 2007), The Denver Post and The Washington Post.
Grabbing a piece of the revenue pie
The Bivings study also found that while papers have added new features to their Web sites, many are “relatively unwilling” to link their sites to other sources and that papers continue to keep some content behind virtual walls.
At the same time, newspapers aren’t taking enough advantage of RSS technology. Instead, Bivings said papers should tap into the protocol’s monetization capabilities in a bid to attract new revenues.
Finally, Bivings attempted to answer the million-dollar question plaguing newspaper publishers: how to develop a profitable online model that will offset the losses in print advertising.
One recommendation: Papers should create Web sites strategically and visually superior to those of competitors.
For small newspapers, Bivings suggested they should steer away from AP and generic content and instead offer unique, hyper-localized information that is difficult to find elsewhere.
Finally, Bivings said publishers need to understand that consumers read both print and online editions of their newspapers, citing as proof a Scarborough study that reported that 81 percent of those polled using both print and electronic editions.
Getting closer to you
As video gains a foothold on newspaper Web sites, the demands associated with managing such high-bandwidth content is moving front and center.
Content handling companies such as Tewksbury, Mass.-based Mirror Image Internet are playing a more significant role as content demands grow.
The company, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, helps customers manage and distribute bandwidth-intensive content through a network of content access points located at strategic points around the Internet.
When a user requests a particular item, Mirror Image determines the most appropriate server from which to route the information.
Jim Hart, vice president of sales and marketing for MI, said the company has 23 of these massive data center-like environments deployed globally.
MI counts several large papers as clients, including The New York Times and Boston Globe (see Newspapers & Technology, July 2005).
“We are helping to incorporate video on newspaper sites to give the end user a richer media experience,” Hart said, adding that clients are adding video at a rapid clip.
ABC to launch new readership study
The Audit Bureau of Circulations approved a new study that will integrate newspaper readership and online audience estimates into ABC circulation reports.
The new report, called Audience-Fax, will begin this fall, and will allow newspapers to report in-market print, online and net combined readership as measured by Scarborough Research, ABC said.
Monthly Web site unique visitors also will be reported from sources such as Nielsen//NetRatings, comScore Inc. or server-based analytics tools.
“Audience-Fax is an important step forward in showcasing the expanding range of product offerings coming from daily newspapers,” said Stephen P. Hills, president and general manager of The Washington Post.
ABC said it will independently audit audience and Web site estimates and include them in ABC Publisher’s Statements, Audit Reports and Fas-Fax.
Audience-Fax is expected to launch on Nov. 5, and will cover the September 2007 six-month ABC reporting period.
The new report, called Audience-Fax, will begin this fall, and will allow newspapers to report in-market print, online and net combined readership as measured by Scarborough Research, ABC said.
Monthly Web site unique visitors also will be reported from sources such as Nielsen//NetRatings, comScore Inc. or server-based analytics tools.
“Audience-Fax is an important step forward in showcasing the expanding range of product offerings coming from daily newspapers,” said Stephen P. Hills, president and general manager of The Washington Post.
ABC said it will independently audit audience and Web site estimates and include them in ABC Publisher’s Statements, Audit Reports and Fas-Fax.
Audience-Fax is expected to launch on Nov. 5, and will cover the September 2007 six-month ABC reporting period.
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