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As long as we spend all our time talking about platforms, we’ll continue to pump out the same “news” that readers have already rejected. Yes, of course, use new platforms, but let’s update our approach to what we write about.

[...] Neiman Journalism Lab: If You Were Starting a News Organization, Where Would You Put Your Initial Efforts? [...]

Scott: thanks for the feedback, and glad you’re in agreement. Now, if I could just get that “Oxford Hills” page back, I’d be all set! (The RSS feed option is nice, however.)

You make a good point and being good listeners we are going to add some geographical info to our home page. For the record, the Sun Journal is in the process of a complete Web site overhaul. Our site is still in the process of becoming, if you will, but I suspect that the ever-evolving site is the way of the future.

The way I discovered your commentary, by the way, was our Web editor tweeted about your criticism of our site and being curious I went looking.

Following her on Twitter I learned there was an ongoing internal discussions regarding adding location info, beyond the datelines and headlines and weather reports that currently appear, to the home page banner. Your observations certainly added weight to the side that felt we needed our home location information front and center.

While stinging some for not being faster in the change we appreciate your comments and you using us as an example and will humbly take the page views that brings our way.

In the end I think you will like our new online banner better. :)
For now we have added the date and “in Lewiston, Maine” above the banner.

My kind regards,
Scott Thistle
Regional Editor,
Sun Journal

Good questions.

My five cents:

A new “online-centric” news operation needs three crucial “Trojan horses”

First: an state-of-the-art open space, walls down, fully integrated 24/7 multimedia newsroom.

Second: a reliable multimedia content management system.

Third: new working flows in order to make possible the “online first” and “always on” operations.

Plus:

1. Hire young digital native lions.

2. Don’t expend money, time and journalists tracking others breaking-news, when smart news robots can do it better and cheaper.

3. Re-invent the already dead traditional news website pages that don’t make money, are not interesting or useful, are not needed, and are not different.

But, going forward it’s going to be web+print+TV
+Twitter + whatever comes next. It’s an evolving communication ecology and too early to bet on one technology.

It is likely that QR codes will become mainstream in the States. They were invented in Japan in 1994 and have been growing steadily since then. I think the latest numbers are about 60% usage.

Consider the market effect of a “clickable” newspaper. The news in brief with a human readable URL like a tinyURL and a QR code that is embedded with user information that supplies the feedback advertiser’s need as it takes the mobile phone to a video on YouTube or shopping site.

My personal hope is to see clickable newspapers to replace high school textbooks. But that would make for a much longer comment.

Next is WHY YOU? This speaks to business model a bit. Fine you’re writing about the food scene in your area – is that not being done? If it is, what do you bring to the table? Writing about local government, environment, etc? Same question – what do you bring and why will people listen to you?

Operationally, let go of the idea of a central newsroom with everyone coming ‘into work’ and realize that they can work from home or the field with a laptop and a few accessories. You might want a co-working style of office where people can come in and interact or meet but aren’t required to.

Above all, don’t simply translate the traditional news organization into 2009, update the tools, sprinkle in some social and assume you’ll succeed. Challenge yourself about why you’re doing this and why anyone should care. Then go try it.

The path to scale is beat by beat and/or hyperlocal by hyperlocal.

If you expect consumers to pay something for the content you’ll produce, find consumers who you don’t know and who don’t know you, and ask them if they would pay and, if so, how much. Ask a lot of those consumers, more of them than you might want to ask.

If you expect advertisers to subsidize your operation, likewise find potential advertisers who you don’t know and who don’t know you, and ask them if they would pay for ads and, if so, how much. Ask a lot of those potential advertisers, more of them than you might want to ask. Also consider how much time you or someone else must spend constantly soliciting advertising, and what the expenses of that will be.

Don’t fall victim to the My Baby Syndrome – the latent belief among most journalists that their journalism is valuable; that people will want to see it and should be willing to pay something for it; and that advertisers will want to sponsor it.

Also, learn how to understand and create live spreadsheets (what accountants and capitalist call Integrated Financials) that take into consideration all possible expenses and expected revenues. Know that your expenses will be much more and your revenues much less than you expect.

Only if the spreadsheets showing your forecast revenues and expense over the next year show enough to live on, then you can decide what brand name or URL or Web site design to use, how many hyperlinks to embed in your stories, how to use Social Media, etc.

– Prof. Vin Crosbie, New Media Business, S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, Syracuse University