Zombie Journalism » online

Copyright changes aren’t necessary to save media

Mandy — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 14:58:19 +0000

Yet another “academic” call has been made to change U.S. copyright law to provide special protection for mainstream news sources – and again, these academics ignore the very basics of what it means to aggregate news online.

This time, the nonsense comes out of the Wharton School, who one would think knows a thing or two about [...]

New strategy: Berate bloggers, tell online readers to buzz off

Mandy — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 18:29:31 +0000

I’m not sure where newspaper execs are getting their PR advice these days, but whoever/whatever it is needs to be fired. The print news sector has put out some head-shaking proclamations this week – all of which have a common theme of holier-than-thou insults directed at online news consumers.

First up is the absolutely appalling handling of [...]

The new kid in the downpour of fresh ideas

Mandy — Thu, 13 May 2010 17:30:27 +0000

When you’ve spent your entire professional career in a newspaper’s newsroom, it’s pretty easily to get your mind blown at a startup. I can attest to that firsthand in my first few days on the job at TBD.

Instead of shoehorning some new media approach into a centuries-old tradition, we’re building something so new, it’s still [...]

Online news is always TBD

Mandy — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 16:50:44 +0000

Allbritton's Washington, D.C. metro site will be named TBD - and I think it's perfect. News at the start of the reporting process is "to be determined" - and that's exactly where readers should come in. [...]

A bit more explanation of what’s going down in DC

Mandy — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 16:47:16 +0000

Poynter had a talk with Jim Brady, president of digital strategy at Allbritton and my future boss, about the as-yet-unnamed metro site I’ll be working on in Washington, D.C. starting next month.

Brady outlines the site’s coverage plan, which is, essentially, a bit of the umbrella (regional news readers care about) and the microscope (community-level news). He [...]

Today’s news now or yesterday’s news today?

Mandy — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 17:30:38 +0000

I've seen a lot of newsroom culture shifts in my admittedly young career, but the online deadline of now seems to be the biggest gap to cross. Many editors and reporters don't think there even IS competition anymore. [...]

If page views are the goal, keep those comments a-comin’

Mandy — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 19:34:06 +0000

Would newspaper editors be likely to eliminate anonymous commenting from their websites if they knew how much it would bring down page views? [...]

Devil’s advocate: Like it or not, site comments represent the community

Mandy — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 16:50:08 +0000

For better or worse, the people who comment on news websites do represent part of the readership we claim to serve. So should we as a news organization and conversation hub be trying to suppress their opinions? [...]

Anonymity isn’t to blame for bad site comments, it’s a lack of staff interaction

Mandy — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 13:50:12 +0000

We as an industry like to collectively wring our hands about the toxicity of online comment boards, but if we really want to improve the quality of on-site discussion we need to be willing to get involved in our sites in a hands-on manner. No amount of filters, comment-detecting robots and user-end moderation will replace the presence of a dutiful moderator. [...]

Twitter is the perfect place to break news (but don’t tell Reuters)

Mandy — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 15:38:57 +0000

When Reuters released its new social media policy last week, their competition had to be salivating. The wire service stipulates that its reporters are not to use Twitter to break news - and thus are digging their own grave. [...]