Zombie Journalism

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

Reporters who want online audiences to appreciate their lengthy watchdog pieces and enterprise journalism should consider writing a bulleted synopsis version to run online, a la Gawker.

Lest anyone think I’m casting stones without acknowledging my own sins, I decided to share a list of the shameless ploys I’ve used to get page views for my employers. What I’ve listed is hardly out of the ordinary for any website, but I still feel bad about it sometimes.

Big minds in journalism and marketing take on the confusion and misleading nature of web analytics as they relate to readers and news.

Does the quest for page views drive news judgement decisions in online news? Does that make us, the newsroom types, in the employ of advertisers?

While the AP’s new plan to protect its content shows a bit more online savvy than past declarations, they still don’t seem to get why it could be an issue.

David Marburger is pushing the idea that aggregating sites are pushing newspapers out of business with cut-rate advertising. The entire argument is based in several falsities and we should just stop giving this guy face time.

Digg’s recent decision to hijack shared links from content publishers back to their own home page should be the last straw for online media that has supported sharing content with Digg.