Lost Remote

"A blog that’s associated with a major, legitimate organization… would be, I think, treated..."

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:11:00 -0800

““A blog that’s associated with a major, legitimate organization… would be, I think, treated differently than an individual blogger who’s using his or her right of free expression to say whatever he thinks. So the presence of an editor, as an example. You know, an editor that’s not your mom.””

- Google CEO Eric Schmidt’s derogatory over-generalization of independent bloggers compared to big media bloggers. I’m on the record criticizing Google for imposing “blog” labels on neighborhood news blogs while not adding the same labels to newspaper blogs. (Google has now asked blogs to tag themselves as a blog in their sitemap, but I don’t see newspapers rushing to get that done anytime soon.)

Which social sites drive traffic? Depends on who you ask: ...

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:39:00 -0800

Which social sites drive traffic? Depends on who you ask: ChicagoTribune.com says 10 percent of its traffic originates from social sharing sites — much of it from Digg, which says it plans to roll out new features to showcase local stories. Meanwhile, StarTribune.com says it’s seeing less than a percent of its traffic from social sites. Such is the social state of affairs these days.

NBC Local sites report strong growth

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:07:42 -0800

NBC Local sites report strong growth:

Unique visitors went from 6 million a year ago to 12 million in October.

"(Local content) is the number one unmet need online."

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 09:10:12 -0800

“(Local content) is the number one unmet need online.”

- Lisa Gurry, senior director at MSN, commenting about the brand new MSN.com, which includes prominent integration of local news, weather, events and traffic.

Redesigns launching at Belo, Meredith TV sites: Belo TV sites,...

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:10:49 -0800

Redesigns launching at Belo, Meredith TV sites: Belo TV sites, like AZFamily.com above, are rolling out a new design powered by Broadcast Interactive. Meredith sites, like KPHO.com above, have just debuted a new look via Internet Broadcasting.

New NBCOlympics.com to feature DVR-like technology: TechCrunch...

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 13:40:00 -0800

New NBCOlympics.com to feature DVR-like technology: TechCrunch has a preview of the new NBCOlympics.com, which relaunches on Wednesday with the ability to rewind live video and save clips on the fly. Users will also be able to log in with Facebook and chat with their friends as they watch live coverage. And as always, the site will feature local affiliate integration.

"There are no TV journalists anymore. There are video journalists."

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 14:59:00 -0700

“There are no TV journalists anymore. There are video journalists.”

- A quote from msnbc.com’s Charlie Tillinghast that was included in Huffington Post’s writeup of the top 100 “game changers” in new media. Also on the list, Jason Kilar from Hulu, NetFlix founder Reed Hastings and Andrew Donohue from Voice of San Diego.

Comcast putting Yellow Pages on your TV set: Even more...

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 14:45:00 -0700

Comcast putting Yellow Pages on your TV set: Even more competition for local media. Comcast is starting an experiment in Philadelphia where viewers can navigate the Yellow Pages on their TV sets. Businesses can pay for premium placement — even include their own video commercials or longer how-to clips. Will viewers use it? Too early to tell, but for cable operators, it certainly sounds promising. The technology is powered by FourthWall Media. (Via the Kelsey Blog)

"The analogy I use is how ABC News uses ESPN for its sports coverage."

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 14:33:00 -0700

“The analogy I use is how ABC News uses ESPN for its sports coverage.”

- WGCL-TV news director Steve Schwaid explaining how an Atlanta radio station will now power all the sports coverage for the CBS TV affiliate.

Albritton to launch aggressive local site in DC

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 09:07:00 -0700

Albritton to launch aggressive local site in DC:

Wow, this is big news. Jim Brady, former executive editor of WashingtonPost.com, has been hired to create a new local news site in DC that combines the sites of Albritton’s WJLA.com and News8.net. The number of web staff Brady expects to employ: 50. ” The concept is, to win big, you have to bet big,” Brady told PaidContent. “To build a business, you have to build an audience. And to build an audience, you have to have enough interesting content features. You can’t take 10 people and create a local site as a business.”

Combine the staffing with the leadership and Albritton’s success with Politico.com, and you have a new competitor to the WashingtonPost.com and perhaps a new model of how television sites can seriously take on the newspaper in town. Stay tuned…

Update: Here’s more on Albritton’s plans in this story

Newspaper circulation sets new record decline

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 16:44:00 -0700

Newspaper circulation sets new record decline:

Down 10.6 percent in the last 6 months, and the decline is still accelerating.

Three TV stations become one newsroom in Hawaii: In August,...

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 16:29:00 -0700

Three TV stations become one newsroom in Hawaii: In August, three Hawaii stations agreed to merge their news operations, and this week they debuted on air and online on HawaiiNewsNow.com. Raycom Media, which owns two of the stations, said the consolidation was necessary to prevent one or two stations from going under. Such dramatic (and painful) consolidation, I’m afraid, is far from over in the industry. (Via Broadcasting & Cable)

"If you think local TV news is irrelevant and has long sacrificed real news coverage for flash and..."

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 16:19:00 -0700

“If you think local TV news is irrelevant and has long sacrificed real news coverage for flash and trash, just wait until stations have no money to even pretend they’re covering the important stuff.”

- Michael Schneider, Variety’s television editor, in an unflattering story about the cuts and consolidation in the local TV industry, especially in Los Angeles.

Patch plans hyperlocal expansion in NY

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 15:37:00 -0700

Patch plans hyperlocal expansion in NY:

AOL’s hyperlocal network Patch plans to launch 11 sites in Long Island and Westchester County over the next three months.

"Hulu’s online video platform may be a success with the masses, but it will have to begin..."

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 13:03:00 -0700

“Hulu’s online video platform may be a success with the masses, but it will have to begin charging for at least some of its content if it doesn’t want to destroy the $185 billion television ecosystem it draws from.”

- Columnist/analyst Diane Mermigas on the growing momentum to charge users to watch TV shows online. Earlier, a News Corp. exec predicted that Hulu will begin charging as early as next year. Hulu maintains it still believes in the free, ad-supported model.

WMUR publishes book of user photos: On September 9, WMUR-TV...

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 12:46:00 -0700

WMUR publishes book of user photos: On September 9, WMUR-TV asked everyone in the state of New Hampshire to grab their camera and take great shots of one day in the life of the state. More than 9,000 photos were submitted — more than enough to publish a coffee-table book with a companion DVD, just in time for the holidays. A very cool idea.

"It’s meant to squelch blogs."

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 09:55:00 -0700

“It’s meant to squelch blogs.”

- Texas blogger Steve Southwell reacting to a narrow-minded new policy by the Lewisville school district that says officials may turn down an interview request “if official press credentials are not presented or available.” Says a district spokesperson, “This is a way of prioritizing how we communicate. It doesn’t mean we’re not communicating.”

Seattle news site Crosscut now a nonprofit

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 10:20:00 -0700

Seattle news site Crosscut now a nonprofit:

The paperwork just went through — along with a $100,000 donation from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation — and Crosscut.com is now a nonprofit news organization.

Bing scores with two big social deals: Bing is announcing today...

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 10:06:00 -0700

Bing scores with two big social deals: Bing is announcing today a deal to integrate real-time content from both Facebook and Twitter in search results. “The deal is a definite blow to the dominant search engine, since–for the first time–data will be available on Bing that is not on Google,” writes Kara Swisher. And by melding Facebook and Twitter together in an integrated search, Bing is creating new value and is becoming, in a way, the “cooler” search engine. Stay tuned: it’s a safe bet that Google will ink its own deals in the next few weeks.

Update: Google has done a Twitter deal, too

Meredith TV stations getting into the obit business

Sun, 18 Oct 2009 21:09:24 -0700

Meredith TV stations getting into the obit business:

Meredith’s station in Saginaw, Michigan says it’s cashing in on the obituary business as newspapers cut back, and the station group is planning to expand the idea across the board.