By: Marcelo Duran and Chere’ Martin
N&T Staff
Editor’s note: This story contains bonus video material featured in our free SmartEdition available at http://newsandtech.newspaperdirect.com
As newspapers adapt to the pressures of maintaining and attracting new online readership, several are jumping into the video fray. But instead of focusing on traditional newscast videos, some papers are taking a detour to the lighter side.
Take the Cape Cod Times in Hyannis, Mass. Last summer, the New England newspaper took the video plunge with two journalists who were willing to try something they knew little about and an editor willing to support their efforts.
The result? CapeCast, a five-minute daily webcast designed to explore offbeat news about the seaside community and a nominee for this year’s Digital Edge Awards in the category of Most Innovative Use of Interactive Media.
“It’s a daily webcast that blends local and national news with offbeat stories and sketches,” said Times Editor Paul J. Pronovost. A new CapeCast is posted on CapeCodOnline at noon Monday through Friday.
CapeCast producer Jason Kolnos and anchor Eric Williams on the set. The Cape Cod Online team creates their weekday five-minute broadcast both in the studio and on the streets in communities on the Cape.
CapeCast features reporter and host Eric Williams working with multimedia reporter Jason Kolnos to deliver the news. Both are trained reporters who thought it would be fun to try their hand at video and hope the ride doesn’t end anytime soon. Both work full-time on the video project.
The program uses a mesh of still images and video footage and typically centers on a unique topic. Some past episodes explored “One Week Job Guy,” a profile of an area pizzeria worker; and a lively exchange among news staff attempting to answer the age-old question “What exactly is a caucus?” through music (think MTV).
Production
Transforming a story idea into a CapeCast clip is a journey unto itself.
It takes around seven hours to produce the daily video cast, including finding stories, interviewing subjects, writing scripts and editing video.
No fancy set to be had, CapeCast uses an existing interview station within the Times’ newsroom. Williams uses his mouse to manipulate the teleprompter software on a laptop.
The paper turned an old photo lab into a video editing bay, outfitted Kolnos with a Sony prosumer video camera and quality audio kit and retrofitted its newsroom TV studio for use on the webcast. The studio is used twice a week for interviews with a local TV station, and now doubles as the CapeCast set.
When CapeCast debuted, it appeared at 4 p.m. to afford maximum production time, but at the end of last summer, the webcast was bumped up to noon.
“We knew the lunch hour would be better and Eric and Jason moved their schedules around so we could get up by noon,” Pronovost said. The paper also redesigned the site to make CapeCast easier to find.
“If you’re going to make this sort of investment, you can’t whisper it on your site; we now move CapeCast into the main barker for a couple of mid-day hours,” Pronovost said.
In a novel move, the Times uses YouTube as its primary mode of distribution. “The decision to use YouTube was not only that it’s free,” Kolnos said, “but because of its reliability.” That and any technical problems associated with hosting large video files are removed from the desk of the Times’ IT department.
For users, YouTube’s presence is subtle. The Times uses Saxotech Inc.’s Publicus software to create a customizable window that links to YouTube but, to users, appears to be part of the Times’ site. This design allows the Times to maintain a clean presentation and include advertising space.
The Times further promotes CapeCast by distributing it through MySpace and on the Cape’s community television station. In fact, it was the joint venture with C3TV that ultimately dictated CapeCast’s five-minute length.
Entertainment vs. integrity
Pronovost credits Williams and Kolnos for making CapeCast successful.
“Eric is the talent. He’s a former radio host who’s been at the forefront of our Web efforts,” he said. “Jason is the producer; he’s the multimedia reporter with self-taught video shooting and editing skills.”
Although the Times’ editorial staff questioned the integrity of CapeCast when it debuted, the webcast now enjoys strong support from reporters and editors.
“People were concerned that we’d poke fun at serious subjects and dumb down the news,” Pronovost said. “Those were legitimate concerns and we stepped over the line once with a tone that was too light for a death in the community.”
But the program was adjusted and ultimately CapeCast showed skeptics that the rules of journalism were still being applied. Today, Pronovost said he hears people using Williams’ sign-off line of “see ya” around the newsroom.
Inspiration
Pronovost said CapeCast was inspired by a commitment to follow some of the early webcast trailblazers and their desire to tell unique and interesting stories in interesting ways.
“News is generally serious business and you have to respect the subject with the appropriate tone,” he said. “But a webcast doesn’t have to be a ponderous exercise. It can be light and you can have fun.”
The Times hopes CapeCast will draw 1,000 users each day, a goal that Pronovost said the webcast is nearing.
“There’s been consistent audience growth with CapeCast and a bit of industry buzz, but what I appreciate most about this is Eric’s and Jason’s ability to find the interesting and quirky sides of the Cape,” he said. “They’re telling stories that no other media — including the Cape Cod Times — are telling and they’re doing it with an innovative style and technology.”
Dollars and sense
Taking the video plunge does take an investment. Here’s some of what CapeCast uses to get the job done.
•Sony prosumer handheld camera for offsite shooting ($700 to $2,000)
•High quality broadcast camera for studio shooting: (free — on loan from New England Cable News)
•Teleprompting software for laptop ($44 to $495)
•Marantz audio recorder ($400 to $500)
•Apple Final Cut Pro ($1,300)
Keeping pace with evolving viewing trends is the name of the game for the Naples (Fla.) Daily News as it continues to expand its online video foothold in southwest Florida.
The newspaper took the video plunge in 2006 when it launched Studio 55 in a bid to fill in the void left by local broadcast television stations, said Phil Lewis, the Daily News’ editor and vice president.
“We developed it initially to compete with the local broadcast television stations in our region who we didn’t think gave the Naples area as much attention as they did for some of the larger cities,” he said. “All our commercial television stations in southwest Florida are based in Fort Myers. Naples is 40 miles south and we saw an opportunity where we could be the local broadcast station.”
The first incarnation of Studio 55 mimicked a regular broadcast station; staffers produced a 30-minute newscast that was streamed to the local Comcast cable operation each weekday at 4 p.m. and 6 p.m.
“We had a Web component of Studio 55 but the whole structure was based on being a TV station without a license and a tower,” Lewis said.
Almost two years later, Studio 55 is primarily Web-based. Videos are built and posted online before the Studio 55 newscast is built. And next month, the show will become Web-only when the Daily News ends its distribution agreement with Comcast.
Studio 55 assistant director Heather Harkins operates a jib-mounted video camera during the taping of an interview of Naples, Fla., City Council candidate Gloria Kovacs, left; by naplesnews.com assistant Web-desk editor Carrie Wise, center. The Naples Daily News’ Digital Edge Award-nominated Studio 55 is one of a growing number of video programs produced by newspapers nationwide as the industry finds new ways to attract readers.
No more cable
“We won’t be building a linear broadcast for cable television,” Lewis said. “It will be Web-based and we think we can make it more timely. There is a lot more potential to get viewers and we think that’s where our audience truly is. It’s not sitting (in front of their television sets) at 4 o’clock waiting for a newscast to come on.”
Studio 55 is spearheaded by two Daily News staff members, host Denise Spidle and online producer Ryan McAfee. But many other newsroom members contribute to the videocast by supplying interviews and video footage.
In addition, the Daily News employs two professional videographers who contribute long-form videos, video that is longer than one hour, for the webcast. There are also four other staff members who can cover breaking news.
Lewis said having trained videographers is key to ensuring the Daily News has the flexibility it needs to cover breaking events.
“For Rudy Giuliani, who was making the rounds in Naples because of the upcoming presidential primary, we sent one of our people to shoot the video,” said Lewis. “We’ll eventually be training our entire newsroom to shoot video and making sure they have easy-to-use cameras available for that.”
Immediacy is the key
Lewis said that Studio 55 gives the Daily News adds an important video dimension to its news distribution activities.
“We are going to start posting videos of Studio 55 reports earlier in the day, especially when we get away from our commitment of putting together half-hour broadcasts,” said Lewis.
Studio 55 also serves as a repository from which the Daily News harvests information for the print edition, Lewis said.
“For example, if there’s a city having city council elections and there’s a candidate forum, we’ll send a videographer to tape the whole 90-minute public forum and post and archive footage on our Web site.”
From there, Studio 55 will offer a concise news account of the forum while Daily News readers will see an article based upon the video account the next day.
As much as the Daily News plans to capitalize on its video capabilities, Lewis said the paper still has a few technological hurdles to overcome.
The most critical is its inability to provide live newsfeeds, which means the Daily News sometimes has to wait hours before posting video of a particular event.
Future plans
“That’s where we still can’t compete with broadcast because they have satellite trucks that transmit live,” said Lewis. “We think that eventually technology will get it to the point where we will be able to stream live on our Web sites breaking news 24/7. I think that’s the next incarnation of Studio 55.”
Overall, Lewis said Studio 55 evolved with fewer bumps than imagined. “The news staff has gravitated toward it rather well and we have had a couple of people who have become excellent on-air journalists,” he said. “The big part of the success is that we learned that a print newsroom can deal in video and breaking news and compete against broadcast stations.”
In fact, Lewis said the Daily News has garnered attention from broadcast rivals interested in the paper’s reporting style. The paper bucks the traditional method in which a reporter stands in front of the scene of a news story. Instead, videographers and reporters let people tell the story from their point of view.
“We let the people tell the story,” he said. “Within two months of us starting Studio 55 the local television stations began moving away from the old style of storytelling and started doing their video reports more like we were doing.”
Got an innovative multimedia story to tell? Contact us at mduran@newsandtech.com
to spread the digital word.
Friday, February 1, 2008
NAA announces annual Digital Edge Award finalists
The Newspaper Association of America will honor online innovators at the 13th annual Digital Awards breakfast at this month’s Marketing Conference in Orlando, Fla.
The Digital Edge Awards are part of the NAA Media Innovation Awards, which recognize the most innovative and results-generating solutions for newspaper companies in circulation, marketing, advertising and research.
“The Digital Edge Awards categories specifically honor the best in newspaper digital journalism in a variety of content and advertising areas,” said Beth Lawton, manager of digital media communications for the NAA. “This year, we received a record number of entries — more than 200.”
The NAA announced this year’s finalists in December and winners will be announced during a Feb. 24 breakfast.
Digital Award finalists were selected by 28 volunteer judges who looked at the entries with an eye toward creativity, strategy, adaptability and impact. The entries with the highest average scores represent some of the best the newspaper industry has to offer in digital media, Lawton said.
And the finalists are…
Most Innovative Multimedia Storytelling
Circ. less than 75,000
•Journal-World in Lawrence, Kan.
•Naples (Fla.) Daily News
•Ocala (Fla.) Star-Banner
Circ. 75,000 – 250,000
•Sarasota (Fla.) Herald-Tribune
•The (Oklahoma City) Oklahoman
•The (Oklahoma City) Oklahoman
•The (Oklahoma City) Oklahoman
•The Roanoke (Va.) Times
Circ. more than 250,000
•(Minneapolis) Star Tribune
•Tribune Interactive
•(Denver) Rocky Mountain News
•The Washington Post
Most Innovative Use of Interactive Media
Circ. less than 75,000
•Cape Cod (Mass.) Media Group
•The Telegraph in Nashua, N.H.
•Amarillo (Texas) Globe-News
•Naples (Fla.) Daily News
Circ. 75,000 – 250,000
•The Commercial Appeal in Memphis, Tenn.
•Florida Today in Melbourne
•Tampa Bay (Fla.) Times/St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times
Circ. more than 250,000
•Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
•The Cincinnati Enquirer
•The Washington Post
Most Innovative Visitor Participation
Circ. less than 75,000
•Savannah (Ga.) Morning News
•The Victoria (Texas) Advocate
•The Gainesville (Fla.) Sun
Circ. 75,000 – 250,000
•Knoxville (Tenn.) News-Sentinel
•The (Oklahoma City) Oklahoman
•The Ledger in Lakeland, Fla.
•The Tampa (Fla.) Tribune
Circ. more than 250,000
•The Cincinnati Enquirer
•Tribune Interactive
•The Denver Post
Best Local Guide or Entertainment Site
Circ. less than 75,000
•Scripps Newspaper Group — Florida
•Journal-World in Lawrence, Kan.
•South Coast Media Group/Ottaway Newspapers
Circ. 75,000 – 250,000
•The Austin (Texas) American-Statesman
•(Tucson) Arizona Daily Star
•The Spokesman-Review in Spokane, Wash.
Circ. more than 250,000
•The (Phoenix) Arizona Republic
•(Minneapolis) Star Tribune
Best Local Shopping and Directory Strategy*
Best Digital Advertising Program*
Circ. 75,000 – 250,000
•The Dayton (Ohio) Daily News
•The (Oklahoma City) Oklahoman
Circ. more than 250,000
•The Cincinnati Enquirer
•(Minneapolis) Star Tribune
Best Digital Classified Innovation*
Circ. 75,000 – 250,000
•The Palm Beach (Fla.) Post
•North Jersey Media Group, Trulia
Best Design and Site Architecture
Circ. less than 75,000
•The Record in Stockton, Calif.
•The Corpus Christi (Texas) Caller-Times
•The Topeka (Kan.) Capital-Journal
•Journal-World in Lawrence, Kan.
•Naples (Fla.) Daily News
•Savannah (Ga.) Morning News
Circ. 75,000 – 250,000
•Dayton (Ohio) Daily News
•Knoxville (Tenn.) News-Sentinel
•The Dallas Morning News/Quick
•Times Herald-Record in Middletown, N.Y.
Circ. more than 250,000
•Tribune Co.
•The Washington Post
Best Overall News Site
Circ. less than 75,000
•Journal-World in Lawrence, Kan.
•Naples (Fla.) Daily News
•The Telegraph in Nashua, N.H.
Circ. 75,000 – 250,000
•The Commercial Appeal in Memphis, Tenn.
•The Fresno (Calif.) Bee
•Knoxville (Tenn.) News-Sentinel
•The Austin (Texas) American-Statesman
Circ. more than 250,000
•St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times/Congressional Quarterly
•The (Minneapolis) Star Tribune
•The Washington Post
* There are no finalists in the unlisted circulation level(s) in this category.
The Digital Edge Awards are part of the NAA Media Innovation Awards, which recognize the most innovative and results-generating solutions for newspaper companies in circulation, marketing, advertising and research.
“The Digital Edge Awards categories specifically honor the best in newspaper digital journalism in a variety of content and advertising areas,” said Beth Lawton, manager of digital media communications for the NAA. “This year, we received a record number of entries — more than 200.”
The NAA announced this year’s finalists in December and winners will be announced during a Feb. 24 breakfast.
Digital Award finalists were selected by 28 volunteer judges who looked at the entries with an eye toward creativity, strategy, adaptability and impact. The entries with the highest average scores represent some of the best the newspaper industry has to offer in digital media, Lawton said.
And the finalists are…
Most Innovative Multimedia Storytelling
Circ. less than 75,000
•Journal-World in Lawrence, Kan.
•Naples (Fla.) Daily News
•Ocala (Fla.) Star-Banner
Circ. 75,000 – 250,000
•Sarasota (Fla.) Herald-Tribune
•The (Oklahoma City) Oklahoman
•The (Oklahoma City) Oklahoman
•The (Oklahoma City) Oklahoman
•The Roanoke (Va.) Times
Circ. more than 250,000
•(Minneapolis) Star Tribune
•Tribune Interactive
•(Denver) Rocky Mountain News
•The Washington Post
Most Innovative Use of Interactive Media
Circ. less than 75,000
•Cape Cod (Mass.) Media Group
•The Telegraph in Nashua, N.H.
•Amarillo (Texas) Globe-News
•Naples (Fla.) Daily News
Circ. 75,000 – 250,000
•The Commercial Appeal in Memphis, Tenn.
•Florida Today in Melbourne
•Tampa Bay (Fla.) Times/St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times
Circ. more than 250,000
•Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
•The Cincinnati Enquirer
•The Washington Post
Most Innovative Visitor Participation
Circ. less than 75,000
•Savannah (Ga.) Morning News
•The Victoria (Texas) Advocate
•The Gainesville (Fla.) Sun
Circ. 75,000 – 250,000
•Knoxville (Tenn.) News-Sentinel
•The (Oklahoma City) Oklahoman
•The Ledger in Lakeland, Fla.
•The Tampa (Fla.) Tribune
Circ. more than 250,000
•The Cincinnati Enquirer
•Tribune Interactive
•The Denver Post
Best Local Guide or Entertainment Site
Circ. less than 75,000
•Scripps Newspaper Group — Florida
•Journal-World in Lawrence, Kan.
•South Coast Media Group/Ottaway Newspapers
Circ. 75,000 – 250,000
•The Austin (Texas) American-Statesman
•(Tucson) Arizona Daily Star
•The Spokesman-Review in Spokane, Wash.
Circ. more than 250,000
•The (Phoenix) Arizona Republic
•(Minneapolis) Star Tribune
Best Local Shopping and Directory Strategy*
Best Digital Advertising Program*
Circ. 75,000 – 250,000
•The Dayton (Ohio) Daily News
•The (Oklahoma City) Oklahoman
Circ. more than 250,000
•The Cincinnati Enquirer
•(Minneapolis) Star Tribune
Best Digital Classified Innovation*
Circ. 75,000 – 250,000
•The Palm Beach (Fla.) Post
•North Jersey Media Group, Trulia
Best Design and Site Architecture
Circ. less than 75,000
•The Record in Stockton, Calif.
•The Corpus Christi (Texas) Caller-Times
•The Topeka (Kan.) Capital-Journal
•Journal-World in Lawrence, Kan.
•Naples (Fla.) Daily News
•Savannah (Ga.) Morning News
Circ. 75,000 – 250,000
•Dayton (Ohio) Daily News
•Knoxville (Tenn.) News-Sentinel
•The Dallas Morning News/Quick
•Times Herald-Record in Middletown, N.Y.
Circ. more than 250,000
•Tribune Co.
•The Washington Post
Best Overall News Site
Circ. less than 75,000
•Journal-World in Lawrence, Kan.
•Naples (Fla.) Daily News
•The Telegraph in Nashua, N.H.
Circ. 75,000 – 250,000
•The Commercial Appeal in Memphis, Tenn.
•The Fresno (Calif.) Bee
•Knoxville (Tenn.) News-Sentinel
•The Austin (Texas) American-Statesman
Circ. more than 250,000
•St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times/Congressional Quarterly
•The (Minneapolis) Star Tribune
•The Washington Post
* There are no finalists in the unlisted circulation level(s) in this category.
Lee to roll out mapping software to 25 papers
By Marcelo Duran
Associate Editor
Lee Enterprises is rolling out real estate mapping software from Classified Concepts across half its 55 daily newspapers.
Classified Concepts’ Open House Locator Map software will let Lee papers print maps that plot out locations of area open houses. The software will also enable the display of companion maps on each paper’s Web site that include features such as send-to-phone driving directions and aerial views.
Two Lee dailies in Montana, including the Billings Gazette, went live with the app last month, said Jeff Herr, Lee’s director of interactive media, with 23 more papers slated to have the software implemented by April.
“We decided to bring on Classified Concepts to enhance our real-estate maps online and to deliver excellent maps for our print products,” Herr said.
“One of the main components of our online development was finding a way for our classified real estate sections to serve both sides of our core constituency — real estate partners, and readers of real estate advertising.
“Since open houses are the key events in real estate, we wanted to have a unique yet reader friendly way to showcase them — in print and online.”
Ad revenue is generated by the advertising and sponsorship opportunities on and around both the print and online maps, Classified Concepts said.
Adapting to change
Rolling out Open House Locator Map is the latest step Lee has taken to fortify its papers’ online classified ad sections.
In 2006, Lee was one of the original eight newspaper groups to partner with Yahoo and its HotJobs initiative.
Last November it partnered with Zillow.com, allowing real estate advertisers to choose to have their listings and ads displayed on Zillow.com as well as on the classified ad pages of their local newspapers.
Herr said that no other media provides the local coverage readers want or the reach advertisers seek than newspapers, especially during turbulent economic times.
“People ask, why spend time on real estate when the market is tanking?’” he said. “ And I answer that during a slow market, homebuyers are much more deliberate, which means they need to have access to the best local information before making that decision to buy or not to buy.”
Associate Editor
Lee Enterprises is rolling out real estate mapping software from Classified Concepts across half its 55 daily newspapers.
Classified Concepts’ Open House Locator Map software will let Lee papers print maps that plot out locations of area open houses. The software will also enable the display of companion maps on each paper’s Web site that include features such as send-to-phone driving directions and aerial views.
Two Lee dailies in Montana, including the Billings Gazette, went live with the app last month, said Jeff Herr, Lee’s director of interactive media, with 23 more papers slated to have the software implemented by April.
“We decided to bring on Classified Concepts to enhance our real-estate maps online and to deliver excellent maps for our print products,” Herr said.
“One of the main components of our online development was finding a way for our classified real estate sections to serve both sides of our core constituency — real estate partners, and readers of real estate advertising.
“Since open houses are the key events in real estate, we wanted to have a unique yet reader friendly way to showcase them — in print and online.”
Ad revenue is generated by the advertising and sponsorship opportunities on and around both the print and online maps, Classified Concepts said.
Adapting to change
Rolling out Open House Locator Map is the latest step Lee has taken to fortify its papers’ online classified ad sections.
In 2006, Lee was one of the original eight newspaper groups to partner with Yahoo and its HotJobs initiative.
Last November it partnered with Zillow.com, allowing real estate advertisers to choose to have their listings and ads displayed on Zillow.com as well as on the classified ad pages of their local newspapers.
Herr said that no other media provides the local coverage readers want or the reach advertisers seek than newspapers, especially during turbulent economic times.
“People ask, why spend time on real estate when the market is tanking?’” he said. “ And I answer that during a slow market, homebuyers are much more deliberate, which means they need to have access to the best local information before making that decision to buy or not to buy.”
Cincy goes Avid for video
By Marcelo Duran
Associate Editor
The Cincinnati Enquirer is bolstering its video production capabilities in a bid to double the number of video segments it creates to more than 150 per month.
The paper is deploying Avid Technology Inc.’s Unity MediaNetwork storage platform to provide the storage and asset management capabilities it will need to hit the new target, said James Jackson, The Enquirer’s vice president of new media and product development.
The paper (daily, 195,028; Sunday, 280,556) is no stranger to the Avid platform, having used the vendor’s Xpress Pro app since mid-2006 to edit and create Web-based video content.
Unity MediaNetwork will let The Enquirer’s video producers collaborate and quickly access media assets stored throughout the network, Jackson said.
“We are using the Avid production system as a local internal production tool because of the efficiencies it provides,” Jackson said.
As part of its commitment to increase its video content, The Enquirer quintupled its number of trained video producers and editors, from eight a year ago to 40 today, Jackson said.
Multimedia and Presentation Editor Kenneth Amos said that the video producers come from all parts of the newsroom, spanning reporters, photographers and editors.
Increased video for 2008
“The amount of content they will be bringing into the facility is staggering so it makes sense to centralize all their content and have other people within the facility be able to use that same footage,” said Johnathon Howard, director of broadcast and media publishing for Avid. “By using our shared storage system they are able to centralize and consolidate all the different disciplines and the video that is going on.”
The Enquirer’s deployment of Unity MediaNetwork reflects parent Gannett Co. Inc.’s recent moves to boost the number of videos across all of its newspaper Web sites.
To that end, late last year Gannett tapped Seattle-based thePlatform to manage video content posted on its newspaper and television Web sites.
The company will also act as a central distribution hub to syndicate video content among various sites.
Gannett also selected Cambridge, Mass.-based Maven Networks Inc., an Internet television distribution company, to handle video advertising and other services.
Maven’s technology platform will allow Gannett to deliver thousands of hours of ad-supported news video throughout its more than 150 Web sites.
Mesh with other papers
“We will be using Avid’s system to produce videos internally and as far as videos on the Web, we’re planning to use Maven Networks and thePlatform as part of Gannett’s overall video strategy for serving, disseminating and monetizing video on the Web,” said Jackson.
Associate Editor
The Cincinnati Enquirer is bolstering its video production capabilities in a bid to double the number of video segments it creates to more than 150 per month.
The paper is deploying Avid Technology Inc.’s Unity MediaNetwork storage platform to provide the storage and asset management capabilities it will need to hit the new target, said James Jackson, The Enquirer’s vice president of new media and product development.
The paper (daily, 195,028; Sunday, 280,556) is no stranger to the Avid platform, having used the vendor’s Xpress Pro app since mid-2006 to edit and create Web-based video content.
Unity MediaNetwork will let The Enquirer’s video producers collaborate and quickly access media assets stored throughout the network, Jackson said.
“We are using the Avid production system as a local internal production tool because of the efficiencies it provides,” Jackson said.
As part of its commitment to increase its video content, The Enquirer quintupled its number of trained video producers and editors, from eight a year ago to 40 today, Jackson said.
Multimedia and Presentation Editor Kenneth Amos said that the video producers come from all parts of the newsroom, spanning reporters, photographers and editors.
Increased video for 2008
“The amount of content they will be bringing into the facility is staggering so it makes sense to centralize all their content and have other people within the facility be able to use that same footage,” said Johnathon Howard, director of broadcast and media publishing for Avid. “By using our shared storage system they are able to centralize and consolidate all the different disciplines and the video that is going on.”
The Enquirer’s deployment of Unity MediaNetwork reflects parent Gannett Co. Inc.’s recent moves to boost the number of videos across all of its newspaper Web sites.
To that end, late last year Gannett tapped Seattle-based thePlatform to manage video content posted on its newspaper and television Web sites.
The company will also act as a central distribution hub to syndicate video content among various sites.
Gannett also selected Cambridge, Mass.-based Maven Networks Inc., an Internet television distribution company, to handle video advertising and other services.
Maven’s technology platform will allow Gannett to deliver thousands of hours of ad-supported news video throughout its more than 150 Web sites.
Mesh with other papers
“We will be using Avid’s system to produce videos internally and as far as videos on the Web, we’re planning to use Maven Networks and thePlatform as part of Gannett’s overall video strategy for serving, disseminating and monetizing video on the Web,” said Jackson.
4 Questions with Yuval Rachmilevitz
Rachmilevitz, CEO of Olive Software, says digitized content is the lure newspapers must exploit to attract new audiences.
Why is it important for newspapers to offer electronic editions?
There are three main reasons that newspapers must offer electronic editions.
First, to leverage their existing investment in the printed product. The research, writing, layout and design that go into producing a daily or weekly paper can be repurposed by producing an electronic edition that provides instant access to any article or ad that has ever appeared. An electronic edition serves as a foundation for a content-centric distribution strategy that includes daily editions, searchable archives and mobile access.
Second, to extend their brand’s reach to a global audience. A local paper is often the best source of information about a community. So anyone searching for information on businesses, government, current events, sports or real estate in a specific area should consult the local newspaper first. Reading an electronic edition newspaper provides information in its original context, providing a feel for a community that a Web site cannot.
Third, to provide options for subscribers for whom traditional 7-day home delivery does not work. For example, people who travel for business or pleasure, environmentally conscious readers, students or military personnel. In addition, papers can extend their service area into adjacent markets with no incremental printing or distribution costs.
What tools are publishers and readers looking for in electronic editions?
The core newspaper asset is content, so publishers need ways to easily manage and repurpose their content in innovative ways to create new business models beyond traditional home delivery. Examples include using electronic newspapers as a way to attract readers through search engines and then monetizing that content either by charging for access or using an ad-supported model. Readers are looking for ways to access, read, discuss and share high-quality content anywhere, anytime, on their own terms.
What trends do you see in electronic newspaper technology?
The biggest trend is that publishers are starting to take the necessary steps to make their printed content universally available and searchable around the globe. For example, if someone recalls a restaurant review in your travel section while they are traveling in a foreign city, you want them to be able to access your archives through their mobile phone or Blackberry on their way to dinner. There is so much content that people need so they can make informed decisions — publishers need to digitize it and give people what they want.
Do you think hybrid subscriptions will lead to an increase in the number of electronic editions? Why or why not?
Hybrid subscriptions will certainly increase the number of electronic editions. There have many newspaper titles that have converted their Sunday or weekend print subscribers into 7-day hybrid subscribers. This benefits publishers by providing an increase in circulation, advertisers by gaining more readers who can now search online for ads and coupons, and readers who can read the paper online everyday even if they are not home.
Why is it important for newspapers to offer electronic editions?
There are three main reasons that newspapers must offer electronic editions.
First, to leverage their existing investment in the printed product. The research, writing, layout and design that go into producing a daily or weekly paper can be repurposed by producing an electronic edition that provides instant access to any article or ad that has ever appeared. An electronic edition serves as a foundation for a content-centric distribution strategy that includes daily editions, searchable archives and mobile access.
Second, to extend their brand’s reach to a global audience. A local paper is often the best source of information about a community. So anyone searching for information on businesses, government, current events, sports or real estate in a specific area should consult the local newspaper first. Reading an electronic edition newspaper provides information in its original context, providing a feel for a community that a Web site cannot.
Third, to provide options for subscribers for whom traditional 7-day home delivery does not work. For example, people who travel for business or pleasure, environmentally conscious readers, students or military personnel. In addition, papers can extend their service area into adjacent markets with no incremental printing or distribution costs.
What tools are publishers and readers looking for in electronic editions?
The core newspaper asset is content, so publishers need ways to easily manage and repurpose their content in innovative ways to create new business models beyond traditional home delivery. Examples include using electronic newspapers as a way to attract readers through search engines and then monetizing that content either by charging for access or using an ad-supported model. Readers are looking for ways to access, read, discuss and share high-quality content anywhere, anytime, on their own terms.
What trends do you see in electronic newspaper technology?
The biggest trend is that publishers are starting to take the necessary steps to make their printed content universally available and searchable around the globe. For example, if someone recalls a restaurant review in your travel section while they are traveling in a foreign city, you want them to be able to access your archives through their mobile phone or Blackberry on their way to dinner. There is so much content that people need so they can make informed decisions — publishers need to digitize it and give people what they want.
Do you think hybrid subscriptions will lead to an increase in the number of electronic editions? Why or why not?
Hybrid subscriptions will certainly increase the number of electronic editions. There have many newspaper titles that have converted their Sunday or weekend print subscribers into 7-day hybrid subscribers. This benefits publishers by providing an increase in circulation, advertisers by gaining more readers who can now search online for ads and coupons, and readers who can read the paper online everyday even if they are not home.
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