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Say it: Uh oh Inky!
Published on 07/08/08
by Zac Echola
I’m mostly ranting here, so I apologize if it comes off a bit scatterbrained.
I want to believe that Howard Owens is right, that the Philly memo means they’ll break the trend and differentiate their products in a meaningful way. It’s a provocative argument. But I don’t believe that’s what’s actually going on at the Inquirer. At least not from what I read in the memo:
“We won’t post those stories online until they’re in print.”
“We’ll make the decision to press the button on the online packages only when readers are able to pick up The Inquirer on their doorstep.”
“For our bloggers, especially, this may require a bit of an adjustment. Some of you like to try out ideas that end up as subjects of stories or columns in print first.”
In regards to breaking news: “I want to re-emphasize that being first with the news is all-important.”
That, to me, is saying that your Web site is little more than radio news, with a few news “packages” you can send off for antediluvian awards and pats-on-the-back. You will only focus on the breaking coverage, and then you’ll shovel the paper online at a later time. Oh! And if you use your blog to collaborate and tweak your print stories, maybe you won’t get to do that any more.
When I think of “Web-first” I don’t think of running a nearly-finished, print-ready story, like so many supposedly Web-first shops operate. I think of a series of quick updates, watching a story build, collaborating with other reporters from multiple angles and engaging the public for their opinion and their expertise. That’s how I envision it.
But basically saying you’re not willing to let the network be the network, that you might not be willing to build the majority of your content from the ground up in front of people? That frightens me. What makes you any different than radio or TV, if this is your grand plan for the Web?
To me, this smells not like differentiating a product. It smells a lot like reallocating scant resources to the print product so they can use the Web mostly as a place to shovel their content. And shovel it later than they were shoveling their content previously.
Lastly, this isn’t a business model. It’s a defensive move to try to protect the print product while sticking their tongue out at their online readership.
The end. Or is it?
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Tags: news is dumb sometimes