http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2009/02/21/re_the_p_i_s_online_plan Comments On: Re: The <em>P-I</em>'s Online Plan by Eli Sanders en-us Copyright 2009 The Stranger. All rights reserved. This RSS file is offered to individuals, The Stranger readers, and non-commercial organizations only. Any commercial websites wishing to use this RSS file, please contact The Stranger. webmaster@thestranger.com (The Stranger Webmaster) Wed, 25 Nov 2009 00:00:01 -0800 Wed, 25 Nov 2009 08:30:00 -0800 Foundation http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Posted by NaFun]]> Mon, 23 Feb 2009 07:18:33 -0800 The Stranger
it is ready to jettison a lot of old notions about what makes a journalistic enterprise.

I speak as a not-bitter--really--former Hearst employee. In fact, the company treated us well, in my opinion, but my division was spun off and then sold to another company, otherwise I'd still be working for them...I simply didn't have a choice. It was either "go with the spin-off or you're unemployed." So I'm doing exactly the same job--and even more--for another company.
Posted by Wolf]]> Sat, 21 Feb 2009 18:06:08 -0800 The Stranger
What the P-I is doing isn't about "gatekeeper." It's about "filter." It's about what Clay Shirky has been talking about the last few years -- we're losing the institutions that did the filtering for us (e.g. publishers), so we need to build new filters to handle our information sorting. The online P-I is positioning itself to be that local filter, which probably means they'll lean on local bloggers to fill some of the news holes.

Of course, there are all sorts of questions about this -- will they pay the bloggers, how much content will they create themselves, will they ever turn a profit. But it's worth a gamble. Even with Glenn Fleishmann's wild guess of $1.5M/year in ad revenue, that still suggests at an 80% reduction of staff they'll probably "only" lose, at worst, $3M/year. Given they lost $14M last year, that's a huge improvement -- and that gap should close.

The person or company that solves the "profitable online news website" riddle will be very, very, very rich. And Hearst, obviously, would love to be the company that solves the riddle.
Posted by dw]]> Sat, 21 Feb 2009 16:08:44 -0800 The Stranger
Obviously not. You did it.

Except for the recognized name, how is this different from Crosscut, which has been a spectacular failure (in terms of traffic, advertising, finances, etc.)?

Posted by rjh]]> Sat, 21 Feb 2009 14:22:56 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Good Grief]]> Sat, 21 Feb 2009 13:58:57 -0800 The Stranger
Oh wait, it already is.
Posted by arts&letters, not a cynic, I swear]]> Sat, 21 Feb 2009 13:17:33 -0800 The Stranger your jobs that are being outsourced to India.

Enjoy!
Posted by Will in Seattle (had to say it)]]> Sat, 21 Feb 2009 13:12:17 -0800 The Stranger Posted by SICK AND TIRED OF YOUR SHIT]]> Sat, 21 Feb 2009 13:04:53 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Troy]]> Sat, 21 Feb 2009 12:34:38 -0800 The Stranger
And I'm sorry, but most of the P-I reporters I know could run fucking circles around all of our "neighborhood bloggers" if given the same time and space. It's sad to see them put on the street in favor of hacks, mommies and shills for local-business-banner-ad-buyers.
Posted by WTF?]]> Sat, 21 Feb 2009 12:33:45 -0800 The Stranger
If the P-I maintains a local newsroom of journalists, and has local reporting that I can't find elsewhere, then I'd continue to go to the P-I website, even if they become an aggregator of other stuff. And I may very well delve off into some of the aggregated stories. That model may work.

But if they drop all local reporting entirely, then I have no reason to go there in the first place. Simply being an aggregator of local blogs and news, in the absence of any original reporting, would not keep me returning there on a regular basis. I think that model would fail.
Posted by Reverse Polarity]]> Sat, 21 Feb 2009 12:01:32 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Trevor]]> Sat, 21 Feb 2009 11:50:45 -0800 The Stranger Do you understand the difference between Portal and Gatekeeper?

No wonder the Times let you go.
Posted by Still kickin' at Fairview Fanny]]> Sat, 21 Feb 2009 11:46:39 -0800 The Stranger
Of course, a core value of this "new" P-I (like current weblogs and hybrids like the Huffington Post) would be the independent reporter-generated coverage, but as sources of information multiply, having trustworthy guides to it will become ever more valuable to readers.
Posted by josh]]> Sat, 21 Feb 2009 11:34:50 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Aislinn]]> Sat, 21 Feb 2009 11:25:36 -0800 The Stranger Posted by did i use all the words on my little list?]]> Sat, 21 Feb 2009 11:15:52 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Eli Sanders]]> Sat, 21 Feb 2009 11:13:06 -0800 The Stranger
oh come on. talk about exaggeration.

"What's the aim? My guess is it can answered in one word: traffic."

gee, that is some powerful insight.
Posted by you're joking right?]]> Sat, 21 Feb 2009 11:12:13 -0800 The Stranger
So when news breaks, and the P-I has minimal staffing, where are folks going to go to? The Times.

And then, if the Times can get its act together online, those folks will keep going to the Times site. The Times can offer original news reporting AND aggregation.


Posted by PI:RIP]]> Sat, 21 Feb 2009 11:10:58 -0800 The Stranger
Nobody reads the Stranger for it's "analysis" of the local media market.

Usually that "analysis" is smug, biased as ever, and dull. Even when you get interns to count PI blog comments and call it a "parlor game"

And it's a pathetic way for the Stranger to try and elevate it's own standing, as if blogging about Hearst somehow makes the Stranger legitimate.

The Stranger is amateur. Unprofessional as ever but determined to critique everyone else.

Stranger = movie listings and blogging about things named Dick (har har har). It is not journalism. Stop pretending.
Posted by we don't want your "longer print story"]]> Sat, 21 Feb 2009 11:06:57 -0800 The Stranger
The P-I "already draws a considerable number of online eyeballs" using the reporters it has. Replacing them with, essentially, links to local bloggers and blogs that mention the Northwest is a recipe for failure. Just because you're on the cutting edge of content doesn't mean that the typical Northwest news hunter is. They're looking for something more "official".

Turning the P-I into a corporate sponsored geocities site gives it a lifetime of one year at best. My guess is that by Christmas this will be a vast wasteland, and it will be shut down within 18mo at the outside.
Posted by paul in kirkland]]> Sat, 21 Feb 2009 11:05:01 -0800 The Stranger nytimes.com does the same thing? (Granted, the user does have to flip the "Extra" switch. Check it out ... it's in the nav bar.)

Times Extra "links you to coverage from other news sources and blogs, directly from our home page."

So perhaps this isn't as earth-shattering as you make it out to be.
Posted by Sherlock Homeslice]]> Sat, 21 Feb 2009 10:56:32 -0800 The Stranger