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News & ArtsSaturday, February 21, 2009
City / Media Re: Re: The P-I's Online Plan
Posted by Eli Sanders on Sat, Feb 21, 2009 at 12:05 PM
It sounds like the P-I's decision to shift to outside link aggregation wasn't shared with the P-I staff. Received this morning from one P-I reporter:
You know what's really beautiful about this sudden change of the P-I's website? They didn't fucking tell the staff.I was pretty surprised to click on to headlines and find myself directed to an entirely different site, rather than a story written by a staff reporter, or an AP story.
Sheesh. What's next? Linking to the Times?
It's aggravating, but in a sense, I guess it's hard to care that much about what happens here anymore.
And from another P-I reporter:
This is a HUGE change, but there was no internal announcement about it. It was done on a Friday afternoon. Was this to minimize possible complaints among staff members?
I'm also hearing that it's unclear—at least to reporters—who in the newspaper's hierarchy is now making the calls about which outside sites get linked and when. One bit of informed speculation, however, has it that Michelle Nicolosi, the P-I assistant managing editor and web guru (and likely candidate to lead the online-only P-I when the print edition folds), has essentially supplanted all the other top editors when it comes to such decisions.
2
Isn't Globalism wonderful, you Globalism promoting newsies?
Yeah, outsourcing means you.
Thanks for telling America for the last few decades how wonderful Globalism would be.
Hope you like seeing your job done by people over in India.
Yeah, outsourcing means you.
Thanks for telling America for the last few decades how wonderful Globalism would be.
Hope you like seeing your job done by people over in India.
3
I care. I am sorry to lose my paper. And I expect I'm not going to have to be billed for home delivery if it's now a web site. I also do not want the fucking Times.
4
Web gurus should stick to the mechanics of making the site work like it's supposed to, NOT determining content, especially on what's still supposed to be a NEWS site.
5
Oh, and don't give me a web site that is a "family" web site. You'll just be going down the same road to your doom.
6
Eli, Slog planning any kind of presence at this forum Th night?
http://www.nonewsisbadnews.org/
Panel is only part of the show.
http://www.nonewsisbadnews.org/
Panel is only part of the show.
7
How 'bout the P-I's egregious headline about the "Bellevue Towers" this week, "Condos still selling well." Like hell! Then I noticed Aubrey Cohen had blogged "The new Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac rules include a provision that, as of March 1, will not allow buyers to close on condos in a new building until at least 70 percent of the units are pre-sold. The current requirement is 51 percent." Maybe that's it, I thought.
Today, we have "Shakhnazaryan v. Bellevue Towers"! Allegedly defrauding low-income immigrants from, like, Uzbekhistan! That was quick. Will the P-I admit to being played like the Seattle Times by local real estate interests?
Today, we have "Shakhnazaryan v. Bellevue Towers"! Allegedly defrauding low-income immigrants from, like, Uzbekhistan! That was quick. Will the P-I admit to being played like the Seattle Times by local real estate interests?
8
@4 A-FUCKING-MEN! Tell that to these clueless slimeball recruiters who want to fill contract jobs with experienced journalists who must have 3-5 years of Web production experience. Yeah, I'll just finish up this interview with the Mayor and then go build a new sports Q&A forum.
9
So, right now on the P-I home page I count exactly *two* links to a non-P-I blog (Lifehacker, which is simply regurgitating a press release; and KING5 video of Griffey's press conference).
This is hardly "huge," Eli.
This is hardly "huge," Eli.
10
Wow intrepid newshounds can't figure out who's controlling their own website... now that's the kind of reporting talent we need more of.
13
A couple of anonymous P-I reporters write in to complain and you blog about it? First, I want to know who these folks are. Chances are, they are serious, smart journalists who care about the future of the P-I. Or they could be curmudgeons who spent the past decade ignoring the Web and refusing to do any work for it, but now that they're jobs are in serious jeopardy they are peeved that they're not being consulted on P-I Web site changes.
If it's the latter, they quit complaining and get back to work. Better yet, send Nicolosi some ideas for good content to link to. Smart aggregation is a great complement to an original news gathering organization's Web site. Good for the P-I for experimenting. And good for the P-I for not convening a committee of whiny bastards to debate the merits of what color the lifeboats should be painted while the Titantic is sinking.
If it's the latter, they quit complaining and get back to work. Better yet, send Nicolosi some ideas for good content to link to. Smart aggregation is a great complement to an original news gathering organization's Web site. Good for the P-I for experimenting. And good for the P-I for not convening a committee of whiny bastards to debate the merits of what color the lifeboats should be painted while the Titantic is sinking.
14
Typical Northwest laziness.
We don't build the (software|airplanes|newspapers) we "configure" them from parts built from suppliers.
We don't build the (software|airplanes|newspapers) we "configure" them from parts built from suppliers.
15
For fuck's sake, Eli, quit all of this speculation.
Another thing. The P-I/Hearst, as I understand it, hasn't reached the end of their original 60-day sale proposition. When they do, there will be more formalities, and blah, blah, blah.
Another thing. The P-I/Hearst, as I understand it, hasn't reached the end of their original 60-day sale proposition. When they do, there will be more formalities, and blah, blah, blah.
16
You're wrong again, as are the P-I reporters: there is no change in the links policy. The P-I has always had those outside connectors and regularly posts stories they either haven't covered by staffing or use the wire version until their stories are completed. Actual reporting might have cleared this up.
17
@16 I work at the P-I and that's simply not true. We've never posted to non-PI sites from the home page.
@12 The number of outside links isn't the point. The point is that yes, this is huge, because it is a change in policy.
@15 Eli isn't speculating. This was not shared with the staff.
@12 The number of outside links isn't the point. The point is that yes, this is huge, because it is a change in policy.
@15 Eli isn't speculating. This was not shared with the staff.
19
There are two factions at the PI battling it out here on Slog:
The Futures and The Pasts. The Futures have a job (or think they have a shot at a job) and The Pasts don't.
The PI will become an increasingly toxic place as people start to realize that Hearst's plans don't include them.
For those keeping score at home The Futures are calling Eli a hack and The Pasts are his sources.
The Futures and The Pasts. The Futures have a job (or think they have a shot at a job) and The Pasts don't.
The PI will become an increasingly toxic place as people start to realize that Hearst's plans don't include them.
For those keeping score at home The Futures are calling Eli a hack and The Pasts are his sources.
21
I go to the P-I site to give my useless two cents multiple times a day. That feature is what set them apart, early, and gave them an edge over other local news sites. Now when I go to read a story about watered down gasoline I am taken to another site. The P-I is dying a slow painful death and unfortunately is going without a bang but with a whimper. Guess its hard to care when your counting the days till your career ends.
Unfortunately my favorite local newspaper is fading in relevance, originality and edginess. I could give a fuck what KING5 reports!
Unfortunately my favorite local newspaper is fading in relevance, originality and edginess. I could give a fuck what KING5 reports!
22
@7: "Played like the Seattle Times by real estate interests." Geezus, lady, the Times BROKE the Bellevue Towers ripoff story on Friday, the day the P-I was pimping the project. The ignorance about the Times and its motives in Stranger comments is sad, and laughable.
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