Jane Hirt gets it: How to serve and under-served audience in a niche market. She is the Managing Editor of Red Eye: Chicago's huge hit easy read newspaper. While Utah Stories has a much different idea about our coverage, she gets how important it is to listen to readers rather than dictate what to them what they should be reading.
Chicago Tribune Managing Editor Jane Hirt Explains What do Millennials want in their news?
Watch Jane Hirt, Chicago Tribune, What do Millennials want in their news? in Game Videos | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com
Friday, May 1, 2009
Friday, April 24, 2009
Alisa Miller of PRI bashes main stream media
I usually love people who report about how the main stream media is missing the boat. How the news media has lost touch with what people want to watch. Alisa Miller did this recently in a 5 minute TED talk.
Overall I can appreciate Miller's sentiment but I take issue with two points that that Alisa Miller speaks about:
1) Miller criticizes the fact that most people watch local news rather then national or international news. Miller comments on this natural trend for people to care about their local community most as a bad thing. People naturally pay more attention to what hits closest to home. Local news is important because it's this news that impacts the daily lives of most people. If local news coverage were less about accidents and about more issues that address daily life, community and the impact of government and or corporate abuse, then there would be no better news for people to pay attention to than local news.
2)Miller espouses that global warming coverage should be more widely reported: I believe we receive enough news on global warming. Also, Miss Miller attributes the lack of foreign news bureaus is due to the coverage of Brittany Spears and Anna Nicole Smith.
Journalists graduating from college are now much more likely to find a job coverage global warming over foreign news. Global warming or green news is now a huge chunk of NBC's (which is owned by GE) coverage. Much of this coverage is targeted at attacking those who don't accept cap and trade and other hindering Co2 limiting measures that restrict our freedom.
Miller makes a good point about how the American news media always is attracted to the most sensational stories. The Anna Nicole and Brittany stories are incredibly over covered. But the public main stream news media is also in the entertainment business. And since viewers want to be entertained while they watch their news, it's unlikely that this will change.
It's true that more people should know more about the world, but the Internet allows people follow any news they wish and the Internet is slowly but surely killing the main stream news.
Miller works for Public Radio International. It's very easy for people whose income doesn't rely on ratings and viewership to criticize those who must provide programs that draw viewers or go out of business. Miller shouldn't be criticizing the media but the viewers who support and watch glued to the mindless celebrity programming.
Overall I can appreciate Miller's sentiment but I take issue with two points that that Alisa Miller speaks about:
1) Miller criticizes the fact that most people watch local news rather then national or international news. Miller comments on this natural trend for people to care about their local community most as a bad thing. People naturally pay more attention to what hits closest to home. Local news is important because it's this news that impacts the daily lives of most people. If local news coverage were less about accidents and about more issues that address daily life, community and the impact of government and or corporate abuse, then there would be no better news for people to pay attention to than local news.
2)Miller espouses that global warming coverage should be more widely reported: I believe we receive enough news on global warming. Also, Miss Miller attributes the lack of foreign news bureaus is due to the coverage of Brittany Spears and Anna Nicole Smith.
Journalists graduating from college are now much more likely to find a job coverage global warming over foreign news. Global warming or green news is now a huge chunk of NBC's (which is owned by GE) coverage. Much of this coverage is targeted at attacking those who don't accept cap and trade and other hindering Co2 limiting measures that restrict our freedom.
Miller makes a good point about how the American news media always is attracted to the most sensational stories. The Anna Nicole and Brittany stories are incredibly over covered. But the public main stream news media is also in the entertainment business. And since viewers want to be entertained while they watch their news, it's unlikely that this will change.
It's true that more people should know more about the world, but the Internet allows people follow any news they wish and the Internet is slowly but surely killing the main stream news.
Miller works for Public Radio International. It's very easy for people whose income doesn't rely on ratings and viewership to criticize those who must provide programs that draw viewers or go out of business. Miller shouldn't be criticizing the media but the viewers who support and watch glued to the mindless celebrity programming.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Utah Stories To Hire a Sales Person
To hire a sales person is a huge step in the building of Utah Stories. I've personally maintained all of the sales myself. I met all the great small business owners who sponsor Utah Stories and I've had a great time hitting the road with my stories and meeting people telling them about Utah Stories mission: to protect, promote and preserve local Utah.
I've studied how small businesses start up. I've seen start-ups flush with cash, big offices that offer big salaries. I worked for one for about a month and it was lacking in character. The people who came in to work every day, were there for the carrot on a stick, with the hope of future stock dividends.
Then I've talked to a lot of people who either had micro-loans or almost no start-up cash who have boot-strapped their way into success. This has been the case for nearly every business that sponsors Utah Stories: Rico Brand, Squatters, Bohemian Brewery, Studio Soiree and all the rest.
These people had vision, whether it was simple: to offer better beans, as in the case of Rico. Or complex: to offer great internet hosting and private e-mail accounts, as in the case of XMission. Vision is key, and sticking to that original vision and seeing it come to fruition though hard work provides a business with deep roots in the local community in which it flourishes.
So now Utah Stories is to the point where we are seeing a whole lot of new visitors and loyalty to the great stories we are providing, but we aren't seeing a whole lot of new revenue, because it's hard for me to both be sales guy and editor at the same time.
So I'm considering hiring a sales person. Someone who can understand the vision I have in place. Someone who can work well with small business owners and offer great customer service. So if you know the right person for this important job see our craigslist ad
I've studied how small businesses start up. I've seen start-ups flush with cash, big offices that offer big salaries. I worked for one for about a month and it was lacking in character. The people who came in to work every day, were there for the carrot on a stick, with the hope of future stock dividends.
Then I've talked to a lot of people who either had micro-loans or almost no start-up cash who have boot-strapped their way into success. This has been the case for nearly every business that sponsors Utah Stories: Rico Brand, Squatters, Bohemian Brewery, Studio Soiree and all the rest.
These people had vision, whether it was simple: to offer better beans, as in the case of Rico. Or complex: to offer great internet hosting and private e-mail accounts, as in the case of XMission. Vision is key, and sticking to that original vision and seeing it come to fruition though hard work provides a business with deep roots in the local community in which it flourishes.
So now Utah Stories is to the point where we are seeing a whole lot of new visitors and loyalty to the great stories we are providing, but we aren't seeing a whole lot of new revenue, because it's hard for me to both be sales guy and editor at the same time.
So I'm considering hiring a sales person. Someone who can understand the vision I have in place. Someone who can work well with small business owners and offer great customer service. So if you know the right person for this important job see our craigslist ad
Monday, April 13, 2009
Why The Wall Street Journal Stays On Top
readers seek insight into tomorrow even more than an account of yesterday.The Wall Street Journal has always been an ideal model of what a newspaper should be: not just informative but insightful. Helping readers navigate and understand how the news of today affects the world of tomorrow is the most essential function of providing news. Many local news providers have forgotten this. Gossip, bleeding news about car crashes and murders offer nothing but clutter in our daily lives.
read complete article
Utah Stories: Born At The Right Time
From the New York Times today:
At Utah Stories we pay our writers and contributors generously and that's why we have been successful. The missing link in most hyper-local news is offering enough incentive to attract smart people and good writers to produce quality journalism.
This is just another example of how it's great to be born at the right time. Utah Stories is attracting such great local sponsors because we know there is a big difference between a blog (often containing half-truths, unverifiable opinions and rants) and quality local news and stories that offer true insight into important topics.
‘Hyperlocal’ Web Sites Deliver News Without Newspapers
"The sites, like EveryBlock, Outside.in, Placeblogger and Patch, collect links to articles and blogs and often supplement them with data from local governments and other sources. They might let a visitor know about an arrest a block away, the sale of a home down the street and reviews of nearby restaurants. "This New York Times article mentions how difficult it is for "hyper-local" websites to get produce quality work. This is because none of the sites featured in this article pay contributors for their work. The man featured in this story doesn't get this.
At Utah Stories we pay our writers and contributors generously and that's why we have been successful. The missing link in most hyper-local news is offering enough incentive to attract smart people and good writers to produce quality journalism.
This is just another example of how it's great to be born at the right time. Utah Stories is attracting such great local sponsors because we know there is a big difference between a blog (often containing half-truths, unverifiable opinions and rants) and quality local news and stories that offer true insight into important topics.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Save Me XMission-- Web Site Source Sucks!!
Today I'm a victim of terrible web hosting.
For the second time in two weeks UtahStories.com has been down for over three hours. I've threatened to quit with website source but I've always had things higher on my list of priorities, so I've put it off.
Today I'm certain we (Utah Stories) would have had a huge day. We have a great new story coming out on Mormon blogs. Yesterday was a good day. Utah Stories has been increasing traffic by around 20 percent a month for the past three months. We get between 400-500 visitors a day and I couldn't be more pleased with how people are responding to our great local coverage of local Utah events, politics, blogs, food, culture and more.
Today we are turning our loyal readers away; essentially telling them we can't get our act together to provide them the great stories they now crave and check in every day to read.
So today I'm focusing all my attention towards saying "bye bye" to Website Source and switching to a fine local Utah business that offers much better hosting: XMission. (who also happens to be a proud sponsor of Utah Stories)
For the second time in two weeks UtahStories.com has been down for over three hours. I've threatened to quit with website source but I've always had things higher on my list of priorities, so I've put it off.
Today I'm certain we (Utah Stories) would have had a huge day. We have a great new story coming out on Mormon blogs. Yesterday was a good day. Utah Stories has been increasing traffic by around 20 percent a month for the past three months. We get between 400-500 visitors a day and I couldn't be more pleased with how people are responding to our great local coverage of local Utah events, politics, blogs, food, culture and more.
Today we are turning our loyal readers away; essentially telling them we can't get our act together to provide them the great stories they now crave and check in every day to read.
So today I'm focusing all my attention towards saying "bye bye" to Website Source and switching to a fine local Utah business that offers much better hosting: XMission. (who also happens to be a proud sponsor of Utah Stories)
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Moab Done Right
I've developed an opinion regarding the National Parks Control over our state's gems--It sucks.
I'm fed up with folks in green shirts with brown hats telling me I need to pay $25 to get into their park. Sure it's good that our national treasures be maintained and that places like Arches and Canyonlands are protected wilderness. But they could protect these areas with much less money and annoyance.
What benefit do the park rangers provide by paving the trails in asphalt. Do the wild jackrabbits and antelope prefer asphalt to dirt trails now? Do the additional signs telling me to stay on the trail and more info on the geology add to my appreciation? Not one bit. They block the view.
This past trip to Moab we didn't visit a single National Park and we had one of the best trips we have ever had. No entry fee, no excessive signs, no asphalt trails, just unregulated red-rock fun.
We hiked the Poison Spider trail off Potash road and there were mountain bikers, off-road trucks and runners all sharing the wide gorgeous trail having a great time. The folks in the brown shirt and green pants and big hats remind me of fascist dictators. I'm sure they are nice enough people, but they creep me out. I would prefer all of the National Parks in Utah to just go out of business. I'm sure we could do just fine maintaining the wilderness. Probably after 20 years their asphalt roads would begin to crumble and maybe the wildlife would return.
I'm fed up with folks in green shirts with brown hats telling me I need to pay $25 to get into their park. Sure it's good that our national treasures be maintained and that places like Arches and Canyonlands are protected wilderness. But they could protect these areas with much less money and annoyance.
What benefit do the park rangers provide by paving the trails in asphalt. Do the wild jackrabbits and antelope prefer asphalt to dirt trails now? Do the additional signs telling me to stay on the trail and more info on the geology add to my appreciation? Not one bit. They block the view.
This past trip to Moab we didn't visit a single National Park and we had one of the best trips we have ever had. No entry fee, no excessive signs, no asphalt trails, just unregulated red-rock fun.
We hiked the Poison Spider trail off Potash road and there were mountain bikers, off-road trucks and runners all sharing the wide gorgeous trail having a great time. The folks in the brown shirt and green pants and big hats remind me of fascist dictators. I'm sure they are nice enough people, but they creep me out. I would prefer all of the National Parks in Utah to just go out of business. I'm sure we could do just fine maintaining the wilderness. Probably after 20 years their asphalt roads would begin to crumble and maybe the wildlife would return.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
