AAN News
Local Citizen Media Site Bleeding Management, Staffnew
Backfence, publisher of a family of "hyperlocal" news sites, has seen the resignation of its CEO and the firing of two-thirds of its staff of 18, reports Paid Content by way of Poynter. Original co-founder Mark Potts (who disputes the layoff figures without providing a number of his own) has returned to lead the beleaguered company. In the last year and a half, Backfence has grown from its original community site in the D.C. area to include 13 sites across the nation. A Poynter contributor surmises, "some of Backfence's revenue trouble could be attributed to the reliance on a single, spotty advertising revenue stream rather than developing multiple revenue streams."
Poynter Online |
01-12-2007 11:55 am |
Industry News
Major Print Chains Set To Jointly Sell Ads on Web Sitesnew
The nation's three largest newspaper publishers -- Gannett, McClatchy, and Tribune -- are teaming up to sell advertising jointly on their newspapers' Web sites, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. The companies will offer advertisers hassle-free one-stop shopping for display ads on all of their combined Internet sites. The joint effort, called "Open Network," is a clear attempt to win back advertisers that have defected in droves to Web portals such as Yahoo, AOL, and MSN. "Traditionally print newspaper companies have not worked well together to sell national ads in print," says Jack Williams, president of Gannett Digital. "We intend to sell Internet advertising differently."
The Wall Street Journal |
01-12-2007 11:02 am |
Industry News
Philadelphia Launches Promo Blitz Online and in Alt-Weekliesnew
The City of Brotherly Love is now the City of New Media Self-Marketing. The "uwishunu" campaign, announced by the mayor last week, marks the largest single investment by a U.S. city for a marketing effort centered on new media, according to the Bulletin. But print media also forms part of the two-year, $5 million plan. Along with a Web site featuring live blogging by locals and members of the Philadelphia arts community, the campaign will include custom-content inserts in alt-weeklies in New York, Boston, Providence, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C. "The world has changed," proclaimed Philadelphia Mayor John Street, "and in this ever-changing world, people get their messages in a very different way."
The Bulletin |
01-11-2007 1:32 pm |
Industry News
Apple's iPhone Could Revolutionize Mobile Advertisingnew
MediaPost's Marketing Daily |
01-10-2007 4:04 pm |
Industry News
Portland Mercury Incites Local Blog Warnew
When law professor-turned-blogger Jack Bogdanski posted an item about a shooting outside a downtown hip-hop club, the Mercury's Matt Davis accused him of inciting racism, leading to a flame war that spread to other local sites, reports the Oregonian. Bogdanski responded by blocking the alt-weekly's IP address, preventing Mercury employees from posting comments on his site. "It's like a jihad, when these guys (at the Mercury) get going, they just pour it on," Bogdanski tells the Oregonian. To which Davis responds: "Regardless of (Bogdanski's) readership or our readership, I don't think we should be cutting conversation down. It's important that Portland have a conversation about race."
The Oregonian |
01-09-2007 7:01 pm |
Industry News
Poynter: Online and Print Headlines Need to Work, not Matchnew
Amy Gahran says that papers that use the same headline for an article in print and on their Web site are making a mistake. "Online headlines should be intuitive, not cryptic, vague, or leading," says Gahran. "A well-crafted online headline provides the reader with sufficient information and incentive to decide whether to click a link to read the story." NOTE FROM AAN: Descriptive headlines also optimize search-engine results.
Poynter Online |
01-09-2007 6:16 pm |
Industry News
Tags: Editorial, Electronic Publishing
Rutten: Redesigned Wall Street Journal a Way Forward for Newspapersnew
The Journal's Web site handles breaking news, while the the newly redesigned print edition unveiled last week is devoted to context and analysis, says Los Angeles Times media reporter Tim Rutten. According to Rutten, the Journal's makeover represents a "good first look at what a rational division of labor will look like as newspapers move toward a future in which they simultaneously connect with their readers online and in print."
Los Angeles Times |
01-08-2007 3:51 pm |
Industry News
Tags: Electronic Publishing, Management
AAN Member Blogs Make Year-End Lists
Newspeak, a Colorado Springs blog with a strong alt-weekly pedigree, says The Stranger's Slog is "one of the best blogs on the internet and you can skip the local crap if it doesn't interest you." In fact, the folks at Newspeak think the Seattle paper is "the only alt-weekly in the country to have figured out why blogging is an alt's best friend and do it with teeth, wit and style." Perhaps they haven't read the Arkansas Times' Arkansas Blog, which John Brummett of The Morning News calls "by far" the best Arkansas political blog.
Newspeak/The Morning News |
01-08-2007 12:55 pm |
Honors & Achievements
Young Web Users Gravitating to Unregulated Sitesnew
As pioneering mega-sites like YouTube and MySpace have become increasingly regulated, young people are seeking out competitors with few or no limits on content, reports the New York Times. This unfiltered frontier includes sites such as Stickam.com, a social-networking start-up that allows users to stream live webcasts without the oversight associated with the site's larger competitors. "People are going to go where the content is," says Robin Bechtel, vice president for new media at Warner Brothers Records, which opened a page on Stickam for two of its artists. "If Stickam has celebrities and is entertaining, they will go there."
The New York Times |
01-03-2007 1:07 pm |
Industry News
Tags: Electronic Publishing
Rising Online Ad Prices Also Raising Eyebrowsnew
Online advertising rates continue their northward march with few signs of letting up anytime soon, reports the New York Times. With online advertising revenues expected to grow by 31 percent to $16.4 billion this year, rates for the front pages of some popular MSN sections rose tenfold in the last two years, according to an MSN executive. But one Internet retailer compares the heated market to the dot-com era. "In 1999 it was a rush of venture money that did it. Today you've got a rush of corporate money," says Mark Vadon, of Blue Nile.com.
The New York Times |
12-26-2006 1:27 pm |
Industry News
Tags: Electronic Publishing
New Web Tool Will Scan For Copyright Violationsnew
Silicon Valley start-up Attributor Corp. has begun testing a system capable of scanning the entire Web for copyrighted audio, video, images and text, reports the Wall Street Journal. The idea is to make it easier for owners of copyrighted content to monitor cases of infringement and request that violators remove content or pony up for rights. "We believe that we can provide an infrastructure that will align the interests of content owners, content hosts and search engines around legitimate syndication and monetization," says Jim Brock, Attributor's chief executive.
Wall Street Journal |
12-20-2006 4:09 pm |
Industry News
Tags: Electronic Publishing, Management
PDF Versions of Newspapers Catching On in Canada, Europenew
Media Life Magazine |
12-15-2006 12:08 pm |
Industry News
Tags: Electronic Publishing, Management
Study of Americans' Media Use Finds Web Finally Passing Papersnew
AP via Editor & Publisher |
12-15-2006 12:06 pm |
Industry News
Top Word-Of-Mouth Medium: Still Mouth, Followed By TV, Then Webnew
Media Daily News (reg. req.) |
12-13-2006 5:26 pm |
Industry News
Study: More Than Three in Four Now On Broadbandnew
Online Media Daily (reg. req.) |
12-13-2006 5:20 pm |
Industry News
Tags: Electronic Publishing
