Adiós, Gannett Blog; where are the rest of the watchblogs?

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Adiós, Gannett Blog; where are the rest of the watchblogs?

shark2

You have to admit, Gannett Blog kind of jumped the shark.

When Jim Hopkins got started with it, Gannett Blog was a useful compendium of news, gossip, tips and analysis about the country’s largest newspaper publishing company, and occasionally he would uncover something nobody else had noticed, like CEO Craig Dubow’s self-serving direction of $40,000 in Gannett Foundation money to an endowed scholarship, in his and his wife’s names, at Western Carolina University.

But lately the site has degenerated into a rather odd mix of self promotion, beefcake, travelogue from Ibiza, more beefcake, and a countdown toward oblivion, which is slated for Friday. Time’s running out! You have just two days left to comment!

Hopkins is redirecting his traffic to Gannettoid, which started up in December. Gannettoid is not a blog; its content lacks clear dates, so it’s not clear that it will be as useful to Gannettoids as Gannett Blog was, at least before it succumbed to self-admiration and hype. Until recently it lacked commenting, as well, but it has recently added a forum for discussion. Maybe it will get around to RSS, also.

Not every major newspaper group is favored with a meta-site where employees and others can get the latest news, leaks, gossip and analysis on their favorite company.

MediaNews groupies can turn to MediaNews Monitor, operated by the Newspaper Guild-CWA, which doesn’t do much reporting of its own, but links to stories and blog posts published elsewhere.

For McClatchyites, CanceltheBee monitors the Sacramento Bee as well as the parent company. It’s run by a laid-off McClatchy staffer, Kevin Gregory, who tends to keep his personality out of it.

But where are the rest of the watchblogs? Among the top groups, Tribune, News Corp., New York Times Company, Hearst, Scripps and CNHI all lack Gannett Blog equivalents, as far as I can tell (but clue me in, if I’m missing something).

Advance/Newhouse and its flagship the Star-Ledger were loosely the focus of The Ledger is Burning, but its proprietor, “sizzlingjboy”, has been AWOL since December (or maybe he got a job). And Lee Watch was keeping an eye on Lee Enterprises until April, but now it also seems to have fizzled.

Newspaper groups would appear to be fertile subjects for independent company-focused blogs. They’re an industry in transition, they are full of writers, they are hotbeds of rumors. On the other hand, the audience for any individual newsco watchblog, even Gannett Blog’s, is relatively small, and shrinking with each wave of layoffs. While some ex-staffers maintain an interest in the doings of their former employers, once you’re terminated, you tend to move on, so the primary audience is those still employed.

And that creates another problem: nearly all commenting at Gannett Blog and the others is anonymous for obvious reasons. That makes a typical comment thread hard to follow. A way to encourage posters to register with pseudonyms might have been useful, but doesn’t cure the credibility issue that comes with anonymous sourcing.

And finally, newspaper journalists are realizing that focusing on the issues of their own company, or even their own industry, is folly — that their personal future lies in the larger, evolving world of information creation and distribution online and across all media. At least, I hope they realize it. The snarkier comments among the “anonymous” crowd sometimes betray states of denial and unrealistic feelings of entitlement, rather than any interest in the future of journalism.

In any event, with or without a company watchblog, journalists and others in the business have other, generally better avenues for monitoring the pulse of their employer and the industry: Paul Gillin’s Newspaper Death Watch monitors both the decline and fall of legacy enterprises and the emergence of new models in admirable detail; the indefatigable Jim Romenesko’s aggregation of daily news blurbs at Poynter is required reading; and of course, you can find us pontificating daily here at NiemanLab.

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Mark Coddington February 3, 2012

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http://oregonmediacentral.com/ oregonmedia

In Oregon, I’m running Oregon Media Central. I wish there were more such sites around in other states and for other media groups.
http://gannettblog.blogspot.com Jim Hopkins

I must say, Martin, you get a grade of “F” in Journalism 101. If you had dropped me a note, I would have pointed you to a major reason why Gannett Blog is closing.

From my July 2 post, Why I’m shutting down this blog; Sparky is my domestic partner:

My decision to shut this blog on July 10 is mine alone, with Sparky’s support and encouragement. He and I had grown concerned about health problems I’ve experienced as I’ve tried to keep up with the demands of blogging about a company with 41,500 employees, and many more who have left.

In the past year, I have lost quite a bit of weight as I’ve neglected proper nutrition and exercise. I could have made better choices, to be sure. But I am a very competitive journalist. I wanted this to be the best newspaper blog possible, because I think the employees deserve that much.
http://newsafternewspapers.blogspot.com/ Martin Langeveld

Thanks for the explanation, Jim. I was aware of your personal reasons for stopping the blog, but didn’t think they were relevant to my commentary; I don’t believe I ascribed any reason or motivation to the shutdown.

And I certainly wish you the best, as I’m sure your followers do. Hopefully, Gannettoid will improve and evolve a little to fill the gap.
http://www.wenalway.com/forum Wenalway

Jim Hopkins would get an F in Journalism 101 and Logic 101. His statement about “making better choices” is the closest we’ll get to seeing him admit a mistake, though.

His moderation policy at the site has been pathetic. Anonymous posters could take vicious shots at any of the Gannett management people, who were usually named and “slammed” with a juvenile, unoriginal comment, and Hopkins would leave these posts up for lengthy periods of time. Regardless of what the false legal “experts” trumpet all over the Internet, I tend to believe these statements were forms of actionable libel, and I would not be surprised to find out Hopkins was warned by the company to take more steps to deal with them.

(I’d like to have a direct response from Jim on that issue, but I could never get him to answer more than one e-mail. Like many arrogant and thin-skinned pseudojournalists, he is great at putting the heat on others, but he is not very good at responding to legitimate criticism.)

Also, you nailed the issue of “feelings of entitlement.” The people with “ink in their veins” but no other abilities need a strong glass of realism, stat.

Finally, I’ll mention that my own site has archived many examples of the craziness of journalism in the last couple of years. My posts have tapered off, and I don’t allow anonymous posting, as lazy folks like Hopkins and others do, but that at least restores the credibility that was always missing at the Gannett Blog. Regardless of the rationalizations the lazy folks like Hopkins use, anonymous posts have no credibility anywhere. They’re often simply a way for a coward to attack someone without fear of ramifications. Jim Hopkins enabled these attacks, and I believe his lack of responsibility in this area shows us why journalism won’t miss him.
http://newsafternewspapers.blogspot.com/ Martin Langeveld

From here and there I’ve gathered links to a few more company watchblogs:

Tribune: TribuneWatch, also operated by the Newspaper Guild, similar to MediaNews Monitor.

Hartford Courant: CourantAlumni

And OregonMediaCentral, linked in the first comment above, takes the approach of monitoring all media in its geographic area.
Fred S.

For the NYT, see http://www.nytpick.com/. It’s now and then, sometimes very good, sometimes very boring, but they try hard.
http://newsafternewspapers.blogspot.com/ Martin Langeveld

Thanks Fred – but NYTPicker would seem to me more about the journalism than about the company and its employees, no?
http://newsafternewspapers.blogspot.com/ Martin Langeveld

The NYTPicker crew has emailed me the following:
“We just noted your comment on your post re: our website. Have you had a chance yet to look at our website? If you take the time to read through our posts, you’ll see that we cover not only the journalism but also the internal workings of the NYT; indeed, most posts pertain to specific reporters/employees, and many focus on the company, the institution, financials, staff issues, etc. Given your stated interest in these sorts of websites, we would greatly appreciate it if you could take at least a few minutes to look us over before characterizing our content.”

I did look at the site, obviously, and I’ll stand by my prior comment — NYTPicker is more about the journalism than about the company, in contrast to the other watchblogs I’ve mentioned, which are not particularly concerned about journalistic nuances but mostly deal with dollars, cents and jobs. But OK, I stand corrected: NYTPicker occasionally has posts about the company’s financial doings, as well. Although I looked for, but couldn’t find, anything recent about Boston Globe and Worcester Telegram being up for sale.

All that said, I’d say NYTPicker is closer to the kind of company watchblog I’d prefer than Gannett Blog ever was. So let me add it to the official Watchblog List.
Mark

Wenalway attacks Jim Hopkins, who provided a great service with much reliable information to Gannett workers who are kept in the dark until the gun is put to their heads, for allowing annonymous posts. But that is the only way info could be shared without retribution. Yes, he left up attacks on management types, but he also allowed the most slimy and vicious attacks on himself to be posted. Were these from regular Gannett Blog users who suddenly took offense at Jim’s sexual orientation? Were the posts an attempt to chase him off the Internet? At least he had the guts to allow, as most blogs do, the readers to talk back. Without that, the blog is just a bully pulpit from which to pontificate.

And to Martin Langeveld: You slam the guy for what happened to his blog, then dismiss his reasons as irrelevant? Nice work. No wonder journalism as I’ve known it for some 32 years is dying.
http://www.wenalway.com/forum Wenalway

“who provided a great service with much reliable information to Gannett workers who are kept in the dark until the gun is put to their heads”

Nice melodrama, “Mark.” But people haven’t known this train was headed off the tracks? Please, ground yourself in some reality.

“But that is the only way info could be shared without retribution.”

You typed a period before the end of the sentence. You forgot to add: “at least for lazy folks like Jim Hopkins, who think that as long they can trumpet their cause as noble, then all rules should be thrown out the window.” Glad to help finish your thoughts, “Mark.”

“Yes, he left up attacks on management types, but …”

No need to explain, “Mark.” You’ve told us what we need to know.

“No wonder journalism as I’ve known it for some 32 years is dying.”

Journalism is dying because someone told the truth about Jim Hopkins’ blog? Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha! So it’s not dying because of people like you who think it’s OK to allow anonymous slams, just as long as they can be “justified?”

I’d say it’s dying because of people like you, “Mark.” If you have “known” journalism for 32 years and you are justifying what Jim Hopkins did in the name of “journalism,” then you have put in a shallow 32 years, “Mark.”

I’d say this “Mark” is off the mark. It’s yet another person who thinks anything and everything can be justified in the name of “ink in the veins” journalism.
http://moorparkmedia.blogspot.com/ Moorpark Media

You find lots of insight and behind-the-scenes reporting about the Tribune Co., Los Angeles Times and Times personnel at http://www.laobserved.com/ .
http://moorparkmedia.blogspot.com/ Moorpark Media

for a more direct link, see http://www.laobserved.com/archive/cat_los_angeles_times.php
http://Gannettblog.blogspot.com Jim Hopkins

Thanks, Mark! Indeed, this *does* seem like an odd way for the good Nieman Foundation to support independent, public-service journalism by an unpaid, overworked blogger.
http://www.wenalway.com/forum Wenalway

It seems like a good way to get the truth out about the blog, though. And truth is a good thing, especially with the blog ending tomorrow.

Wouldn’t you agree, Jim? Or are you more comfortable with anonymous posts that may not be true? After all, checking the accuracy of facts is hard. That makes your head hurt.
Pingback: links for 2009-07-09 — contentious.com
http://www.newspaperdeathwatch.com Paul Gillin

It’s a shame this debate has degenerated into name-calling, because I think the experience of Gannett Blog has been a fascinating microcosm of the promises and perils of new media. Having written a book about blogger influence a couple of years ago, I’ve watched this story with particular fascination.

It’s clear that Gannett Blog’s success was a surprise to everyone, including Jim Hopkins. As activity exploded, he was faced with the difficult decision of whether to try to take the blog’s celebrity to the next level or keep it as an interesting sidelight. Jim tried to make a run at a sustainable financial model last fall through a kind of tip jar approach, but that ran into the same problems that all publishers encounter these days: people don’t want to pay for news.

Faced with the prospect of continuing to sustain the effort on a labor of love basis while also becoming a lightning rod for criticism, Jim made a reasonable decision in my view. If he’s been a little dramatic in winding down the operation, I can understand that. Gannett Blog has provided a valuable service for many Gannett employees for two years, but no one is willing or able to step up and support the effort. It’s not surprising that Jim is pointing out what they’re about to lose.

Whether or not you agree with the way Jim has handled comments from readers, it’s clear that this blog has taxed the limits of one man’s ability to give without compensation. He deserves thanks and respect for all he is put into the effort.

To address Martin’s comment about the lack of watchdogs, the problem is that no one wants to pay watchdogs. My own blogging activities on Newspaper Death Watch have consumed hundreds of hours of time over the last 27 months while yielding a few hundred dollars in advertising revenue and no meaningful business opportunities. That’s okay. I do it because I love it, but if my family’s livelihood were ever at stake, it’s the first activity I would have to jettison.

That’s where this story is also a microcosm of the industry. Newspapers are the watchdogs of our institutions, but their financial predicament makes that role less and less viable. It would be nice to look to the blogosphere for salvation, but those who choose a watchdog role must also face up to the realities of the market. New media has yet to figure out a viable financial model for watchdogs, and it may never do so. For the time being, we are increasingly delegating that function to people like Jim Hopkins, who can only give so much.

In any case, thank you, Martin, for the shout-out and the kind words. In the category of silent watchdogs I would include Tell Zell (www.tellzell.com), a witty and pugnacious blog by a Los Angeles Times staffer that suddenly fell silent nine months ago. Rumor was that management threatened the anonymous author with unemployment if he continued. I have no idea if the rumor is true. Who’s got time to check all this stuff out, anyway? :-)
http://mediapro.foliomag.com/profile/RichardMichem Richard Michem

Gee, I glad, you guy listen, to me when back in October, I suggest, to NiemanWatchdog, that you start and follow Jim’s blob. Now as the only person who has total objectivity to ALL PARTY’S who posted, at “the Gannett’s Blog, and who probably the second most criticize person, who posted at Jim’s blog. Let me add my two cent worth. For the record, I have never met Jim in person,. Gannett’s Blog was a good way for fired or piss off Gannett’s people to let off steam. How many layoff Gannett’s people, would have, went out and got drunk, got in an accidents and killed someone, or beat their spouses, kids, who ever happen to be wandering by.Who know if a GCI employee that was fired, would have went into the former newspapers were they were let go from, and start shooting to murder their former boss and other people, who happen to be in the way. If Jim’s blog was not around, for then to vent their anger at Gannett. As far as people inside Gannett,(no I do not work for then), upper levels were concern,, from what my sources tell me, they were somewhat afraid. It would not surprise me if some of the put down of Jim, was the results of upper management directives (more about this later, in another story, another place). Their was another blog, which this forum fell to mention, ” Gannettblogthatsucks”,(yes i know who started it) who so purpose , was to put down Jim (me to) and everything that was posted in his blog. I still have questions, about the sincerity, of Gannettoid.com, that is going to take the place of Jim Blog. The fact that this person still is working for Gannett, concern me. This person also, seem reluctant, to answer any of my questions or confirm to me who they are(I have an idea )?
http://www.wenalway.com/forum Wenalway

Summary of Paul Gillin’s comment: It doesn’t matter how many flaws there were in Jim’s approach or demeanor. People HAVE to thank Jim! In other words, it’s the same logic we hear defending messy journalism all the time. Also, Jim received some money, which he blew during his paranoia.

And Richard Michem gives us a new rationalization: People HAD to post anonymous attacks, or they would have killed scores of people!

Newsrooms apparently have not changed. People keep using weak justifications for anything they do. No wonder the industry is failing.
mary

Re: blogs about Tribune, a couple of blogs monitor news at the Orlando Sentinel, one of the Tribune papers. The posts are sporadic, though.

They are:
http://eyeonthesentinel.blogspot.com/
http://amazingshrinkingsentinel.blogspot.com/

And don’t forget http://www.tellzell.com. Its content is outdated, but it does provide some backstory to the Tribune drama.
http://www.wenalway.com/forum Wenalway

Just to add a note about Hopkins’ blog, since he claims it’s going to be “locked in place” in a day:

Although I have never worked for Gannett, there is a day filled with derogatory posts naming me, simply because I dared to post with my name at Jim’s site. Because Jim is a poor moderator who believes he can do no wrong, he has deleted my posts, but he has left the other posts.

No one with much journalism sense would do this. I have e-mailed him about this matter, but he refuses to respond.

Jim Hopkins isn’t on some crusade against evil. He’s on a delusional power trip, and he doesn’t care about laid-off employees or declining newsrooms. His blog is about him and the lemmings he can get to agree with him.
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