I've started a few businesses in my time. And within a few weeks I'll be helping an old friend and client launch an online news service. The debut of a business can be a stressful time. It seems as if everyone is watching, and it can feel as if everything is going wrong.
But the truth is that my business debuts have been quiet affairs. At no time have I done anything that was as closely watched as what Jeff Jarvis and Craig Newmark are about to do.
And for that, I'm grateful.
According to Paid Content, daylife will soon see the light of day. The distributed news platform was founded by Upendra Shardanand; but Jeff is an adviser and Craig is an investor and everyone in the media world will be watching it.
Daylife may turn out to be remarkable. Or it may not.
But what it won't be is unnoticed.
For Dan Blank's thoughts on the upcoming launch, click here.
tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, newsletters, business media
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
Friday, October 27, 2006
Google builds a search engine for me
I'm easily confused whenever anyone starts talking about vertical search. I know this stuff is important. And I know that databases full of "rich data" help pay the bills at many a B2B publishing company.
But the truth is that I'm a word guy, not a data guy (although I recognize that Adrian Holovaty is right to believe that the two worlds are merging into a new form of journalism.) And when someone starts talking about vertical search, my brain goes numb pretty quickly.
But even someone as uninterested as I am in the subject knows that something remarkable has happened in the last few days. Google has unveiled a new service called Custom Search. In a nutshell, it allows anyone to download a vertical search application for their site and then choose what it will include.
Russell Perkins, who runs InfoCommerce Group, is the king of databases and directories. In an email newsletter to clients, later posted on his blog, he said "Google Custom Search, which is built off the Google Co-op platform, in essence creates a filtered look at the main Google index, so you can combine the breadth of the Google search engine with your own expertise about which sites are most relevant to a specific topic. It’s a powerful combination, and did I mention, oh so easy. Google even remembered monetization this time: AdSense ads surround the search results, but Google will happily pay you a percentage: just check the box on the set-up screen."
Russell decided to give the Google service a try... and installed it in about 30 minutes.
Take a look at the InfoCommerce site. The new vertical-search box is on the left-hand side just below the first screen.
Matt Mullen, a B2B journalist and blogger, was even faster. He installed it in 20 minutes (no shame on Russell. Matt is younger)
Click here to see the box on the upper right-hand side of Matt's blog.
Heck, when something is that easy, and that valuable, how can someone not add it to a site? I may even build a search box myself if I can find a few free hours (I'm just being realistic about the time required. I'm older than Matt, and have a shorter attention span than Russell.)
For more on Google Custom Search, check out CNET's coverage here.
Click here to see what IDG's Colin Crawford has to say about the service.
Click here to read Rex's thoughts.
tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, newsletters, business media
But the truth is that I'm a word guy, not a data guy (although I recognize that Adrian Holovaty is right to believe that the two worlds are merging into a new form of journalism.) And when someone starts talking about vertical search, my brain goes numb pretty quickly.
But even someone as uninterested as I am in the subject knows that something remarkable has happened in the last few days. Google has unveiled a new service called Custom Search. In a nutshell, it allows anyone to download a vertical search application for their site and then choose what it will include.
Russell Perkins, who runs InfoCommerce Group, is the king of databases and directories. In an email newsletter to clients, later posted on his blog, he said "Google Custom Search, which is built off the Google Co-op platform, in essence creates a filtered look at the main Google index, so you can combine the breadth of the Google search engine with your own expertise about which sites are most relevant to a specific topic. It’s a powerful combination, and did I mention, oh so easy. Google even remembered monetization this time: AdSense ads surround the search results, but Google will happily pay you a percentage: just check the box on the set-up screen."
Russell decided to give the Google service a try... and installed it in about 30 minutes.
Take a look at the InfoCommerce site. The new vertical-search box is on the left-hand side just below the first screen.
Matt Mullen, a B2B journalist and blogger, was even faster. He installed it in 20 minutes (no shame on Russell. Matt is younger)
Click here to see the box on the upper right-hand side of Matt's blog.
Heck, when something is that easy, and that valuable, how can someone not add it to a site? I may even build a search box myself if I can find a few free hours (I'm just being realistic about the time required. I'm older than Matt, and have a shorter attention span than Russell.)
For more on Google Custom Search, check out CNET's coverage here.
Click here to see what IDG's Colin Crawford has to say about the service.
Click here to read Rex's thoughts.
tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, newsletters, business media
Thursday, October 26, 2006
What I didn't say
I'm back home at my desk after three days at the Folio: Show. And it hasn't been easy to readjust. My typical working day involves email and phone conversations interrupted by baby talk from my five-month-old daughter. But at the show I had real conversations, in person, with grown-ups that share my interests.
And I miss it already.
I co-hosted a session Tuesday morning called "Blogs, RSS and More: Editorial in the E-Media Age." I was pleased with how things went, and more than a little bit amused. I did a similar session at the Folio: Show two years ago, and fewer than a dozen people showed up. But this time the room was packed.
I doubt very much that I've gotten more interesting in the past 24 months, so I can only assume that more folks in the magazine industry are beginning to think about the sorts of things I like to think about.
As I've mentioned here before, I like to do a post-game analysis after a speaking gig. And last night I sat down with my note cards and realized that on Tuesday, unlike in many other instances, I was able to at least touch upon almost every subject I wanted to discuss.
Neither I nor my co-presenter Janice Castro did a formal presentation. Instead, we simply opened the floor to questions.
Most folks seemed most interested in basic, how-to information about content-management systems, multimedia software and writing for the Web. I used that as a chance to voice some of my key ideas for the session: best cheap thing to do right now (spend $40 on Soundslides), most fun way to understand online communities (join Second Life), the quickest way to learn RSS and become a better reporter at the same time (sign up for Bloglines) and the best subject for a debate back in the newsroom (Creative Commons.) I also managed to plug Mindy McAdams' book, Rex's blog and the good folks at J-Learning.
In fact, although I didn't get a chance to show some of my favorite sites or talk about some of my favorite journalists, there was only one major topic on my list that I didn't mention at all. No one asked about it. And I didn't raise the issue myself.
But that's not a problem. I tend to agree with the guest blogger at Read/Write Web that we still have some time to figure out what the effects of personalized news services will be on our industry. But time passes quickly these days, so I'll put the subject on the agenda the next time I speak.
For coverage of the keynote speeches at the Folio: Show, click here.
For coverage by the blog of NXTbook, click here.
For a review of Robin Sherman's dance routine, click here.
tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, newsletters, business media, journalism education
And I miss it already.
I co-hosted a session Tuesday morning called "Blogs, RSS and More: Editorial in the E-Media Age." I was pleased with how things went, and more than a little bit amused. I did a similar session at the Folio: Show two years ago, and fewer than a dozen people showed up. But this time the room was packed.
I doubt very much that I've gotten more interesting in the past 24 months, so I can only assume that more folks in the magazine industry are beginning to think about the sorts of things I like to think about.
As I've mentioned here before, I like to do a post-game analysis after a speaking gig. And last night I sat down with my note cards and realized that on Tuesday, unlike in many other instances, I was able to at least touch upon almost every subject I wanted to discuss.
Neither I nor my co-presenter Janice Castro did a formal presentation. Instead, we simply opened the floor to questions.
Most folks seemed most interested in basic, how-to information about content-management systems, multimedia software and writing for the Web. I used that as a chance to voice some of my key ideas for the session: best cheap thing to do right now (spend $40 on Soundslides), most fun way to understand online communities (join Second Life), the quickest way to learn RSS and become a better reporter at the same time (sign up for Bloglines) and the best subject for a debate back in the newsroom (Creative Commons.) I also managed to plug Mindy McAdams' book, Rex's blog and the good folks at J-Learning.
In fact, although I didn't get a chance to show some of my favorite sites or talk about some of my favorite journalists, there was only one major topic on my list that I didn't mention at all. No one asked about it. And I didn't raise the issue myself.
But that's not a problem. I tend to agree with the guest blogger at Read/Write Web that we still have some time to figure out what the effects of personalized news services will be on our industry. But time passes quickly these days, so I'll put the subject on the agenda the next time I speak.
For coverage of the keynote speeches at the Folio: Show, click here.
For coverage by the blog of NXTbook, click here.
For a review of Robin Sherman's dance routine, click here.
tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, newsletters, business media, journalism education
Friday, October 20, 2006
Going to the Folio: Show
The Folio: Show is next week here in New York City. I'll be attending every day, and I'm joining Janice Castro from Northwestern's Medill School on a panel Tuesday morning called "Blogs, RSS and More: Editorial in the E-Media Age."
If you're going to be at the show, drop me an email and let me know. I'm hoping to catch up with old friends, meet some online friends in the real world for the first time, and find some new friends.
If you haven't registered yet, it's not too late.
See you at the Hilton.
tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, newsletters, business media
If you're going to be at the show, drop me an email and let me know. I'm hoping to catch up with old friends, meet some online friends in the real world for the first time, and find some new friends.
If you haven't registered yet, it's not too late.
See you at the Hilton.
tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, newsletters, business media
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Redesigns, relocations and returns
Longtime readers of this blog know I haven't always been kind to Variety. In posts such as this one, I've said the Web site of the showbiz bible was a "a mess of cluttered design and poor taxonomy" that "crashes more than any other B2B site I visit."
But the truth is that in recent months the sites of Variety and sister publications Multichannel News and Broadcasting & Cable have gotten better and better. More material has been moved in front of the firewall. Links are more frequent. There are RSS feeds, podcasts, more Web-exclusive items and an overall general sense that the entertainment magazines of Reed Business are truly learning to love online journalism.
This shouldn't be a complete surprise. As I told the French, Variety has used blogs more effectively and more appropriately than much of the rest of the B2B world. And if you've ever heard me speak about online journalism, you know that I often use the Variety site as an example of compelling multimedia work.
But I always hesitated to truly embrace Variety because the site itself was ... well ... just plug ugly.
But everything old is new again. Variety has debuted a new look. And I for one am thrilled. Take a look. See if you agree that the 100-year old magazine has become a symbol of best practices in online publishing. (Disclosure: Reed is a client, and I played a very small role in the changes at Variety.com.)
When I talk about best practices in online journalism, one of the places I point to is the Web site of Reinventing College Media. I've loved that site since it debuted a year ago. I find there's something compelling about watching the people who teach journalism as they learn new forms of journalism. But RCM appears to be gone. And the folks who founded it have changed names and URLs. Take a look at the new site, and make the appropriate changes to your bookmarks and news readers. (Disclosure: RCM is a service of College Media Advisers. I serve on a CMA professional advisory board.)
And as long as I'm talking about changes at B2B Web sites, let me take a second to say "welcome back" to David Shaw. David's business is thriving. And that has made it difficult for him to find the time to post to his blog. But he's back. And I'm thrilled.
tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, newsletters, business media, journalism education
But the truth is that in recent months the sites of Variety and sister publications Multichannel News and Broadcasting & Cable have gotten better and better. More material has been moved in front of the firewall. Links are more frequent. There are RSS feeds, podcasts, more Web-exclusive items and an overall general sense that the entertainment magazines of Reed Business are truly learning to love online journalism.
This shouldn't be a complete surprise. As I told the French, Variety has used blogs more effectively and more appropriately than much of the rest of the B2B world. And if you've ever heard me speak about online journalism, you know that I often use the Variety site as an example of compelling multimedia work.
But I always hesitated to truly embrace Variety because the site itself was ... well ... just plug ugly.
But everything old is new again. Variety has debuted a new look. And I for one am thrilled. Take a look. See if you agree that the 100-year old magazine has become a symbol of best practices in online publishing. (Disclosure: Reed is a client, and I played a very small role in the changes at Variety.com.)
When I talk about best practices in online journalism, one of the places I point to is the Web site of Reinventing College Media. I've loved that site since it debuted a year ago. I find there's something compelling about watching the people who teach journalism as they learn new forms of journalism. But RCM appears to be gone. And the folks who founded it have changed names and URLs. Take a look at the new site, and make the appropriate changes to your bookmarks and news readers. (Disclosure: RCM is a service of College Media Advisers. I serve on a CMA professional advisory board.)
And as long as I'm talking about changes at B2B Web sites, let me take a second to say "welcome back" to David Shaw. David's business is thriving. And that has made it difficult for him to find the time to post to his blog. But he's back. And I'm thrilled.
tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, newsletters, business media, journalism education
Thursday, October 12, 2006
Plagiarism's pain
Back in the early days of the Internet boom, I was an editor and producer at CNNfn.com, the online operation of CNN's financial news network (The network is gone, but the Web site continues on as CNNMoney.com)
Lou Dobbs was the boss. He ran the TV network and the Web site as well as hosting two TV shows. And he had a reputation for being a little on the nasty side.
One day a reporter from the Wall Street Journal called. He was upset, albeit in a low-key and professional way. He claimed that one of our reporters had plagiarized his work. We did a quick investigation and found he was right. One of our staffers had placed her byline on a Wall Street Journal story, and we had published the stolen story on our Web site.
We fired that reporter.
And then we braced ourselves for a meeting with Lou.
And then we braced ourselves for a meeting with Lou.
We gathered in a conference room near Lou's office. There was nervousness among us. We felt a sense of collective guilt. One of us had committed an unpardonable sin. We expected yelling from Lou. We worried that others would be fired for having failed to uncover the plagiarism ourselves.
But what we got was quite different.
But what we got was quite different.
Lou didn't raise his voice. No one was fired. Rather, Lou just seemed sad. And that sadness wound up filling the room ... displacing the anger, the fear, the guilt and whatever else we felt.
In the end we published an apology. And I think it was Lou who later called the Journal to express our regret. But even before I left that conference room I knew that in some unexplainable way we had all become better journalists -- not because of the plagiarism, not because we had fired the offender, not because we would be on guard in the future, not because we'd survived a scandal or learned a valuable lesson.
We were better journalists because Lou had reminded us that the appropriate response to plagiarism by one of your own isn't anger, it's pain.
We were better journalists because Lou had reminded us that the appropriate response to plagiarism by one of your own isn't anger, it's pain.
I know that the folks there have become better journalists because of what has happened.
And I know that because I see it in every word in this remarkable editorial by the magazine's editor-in-chief Don Tennant. Please give it a read.
tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, newsletters, business media, journalism ethics
Thursday, October 05, 2006
More change for the better
I'm feeling positively giddy.
Take a look at this story on the Web site of Crain's Investment News. Or look at this one. Or this.
Notice anything? Each of them is attributed.
Just two months ago I used this blog to complain that Investment News engaged in the annoying and unprofessional practice of not disclosing the sources of news stories. Investment News, apparently frightened that someone might actually read another publication, used the phrase "according to published reports" every time it summarized an exclusive story from Bloomberg, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal or any other publisher.
I don't know the inside story of what prompted the shift at Investment News. I sent an email to editor Jim Pavia yesterday morning. But I haven't received a response.
Nonetheless, it does seem Investment News has had a change of heart. And that has gladdened my heart.
(Now it's probably too much to hope for .... but I will hope that Investment News will eventually learn to link to the sources of its summaries and to source material for its original stories.)
The change at Investment News comes a little more that a week after my complaints led VNU to end the use of inappropriate advertising links. And it was just a few weeks ago that BtoB magazine, also a Crain publication, began using external links in its copy -- something I'd been pushing it to do for a long time.
So with all these changes -- each of them making for better products and an all-around more professional environment in B2B journalism -- is it any wonder that I'm giddy?
tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, newsletters, business media, journalism ethics
Take a look at this story on the Web site of Crain's Investment News. Or look at this one. Or this.
Notice anything? Each of them is attributed.
Just two months ago I used this blog to complain that Investment News engaged in the annoying and unprofessional practice of not disclosing the sources of news stories. Investment News, apparently frightened that someone might actually read another publication, used the phrase "according to published reports" every time it summarized an exclusive story from Bloomberg, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal or any other publisher.
I don't know the inside story of what prompted the shift at Investment News. I sent an email to editor Jim Pavia yesterday morning. But I haven't received a response.
Nonetheless, it does seem Investment News has had a change of heart. And that has gladdened my heart.
(Now it's probably too much to hope for .... but I will hope that Investment News will eventually learn to link to the sources of its summaries and to source material for its original stories.)
The change at Investment News comes a little more that a week after my complaints led VNU to end the use of inappropriate advertising links. And it was just a few weeks ago that BtoB magazine, also a Crain publication, began using external links in its copy -- something I'd been pushing it to do for a long time.
So with all these changes -- each of them making for better products and an all-around more professional environment in B2B journalism -- is it any wonder that I'm giddy?
tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, newsletters, business media, journalism ethics
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
Folio looks at the ad-edit issue
A little more than a week ago, VNU pulled a series of inappropriate ads from the editorial section of its magazines after I pointed out that the practice violated our profession's ethics.
I was pleased that VNU made the right decision. And I applaud the company for doing something that can be very tough -- backing away from a bad move.
This month's issue of Folio magazine takes a look at the line between editorial and advertising, and uses my thoughts about VNU as a starting point. Take a look.
I read the Folio piece with a heavy heart. Because it reminded me that many people in B2B publishing seem to have a difficult time with the easiest of concepts -- be good. In particular, the Folio article quotes an unnamed publisher, referring to ethics and online publishing, as saying “It’s like the Wild West out there.”
That's nonsense.
More to the point, that's wishful thinking by people who are willing to cut ethical corners.
The Folio piece gives a detailed and thoughtful look at new forms of marketing material that are available on the Web, including "online advertorials, sponsored areas, micro-sites and vendor-generated content."
Those are all valuable forms of content. And each of them is perfectly appropriate on the Web site of a B2B publisher.
But there is nothing about those types of material -- NOTHING -- that exempts them from the rules of ethics. Or, as I've told B2B journalists a hundred times: the rules haven't changed online, and you shouldn't let them.
Consider if you will one of the most basic of our profession's ethical guidelines -- make it clear what's an ad and what's not. The American Society of Magazine Editors puts it this way: "If any content comes from a source other than the editors, it should be clearly labeled. A magazine’s name or logo should not be used in a way that suggests editorial endorsement of an advertiser." The American Society of Business Publication Editors has this to say: "Special ad sections and supplements should be clearly labeled with the word 'advertising,' 'advertisement,' 'sponsored by,' or similar designation. The words 'advertorial' or 'infomercial' confuse the readers about the nature of the material, and should be avoided."
Or to put it more simply -- if someone paid for something on your site, make that clear to the reader.
Don't call ads a "resource center." Don't call them "special services."
Be clear. Be honest. Be ethical. Be good.
Those are simple rules for all of business, and all of life.
And remember, no matter what anyone else says -- you work in journalism, not in the Wild West.
tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, advertising, newsletters, business media, journalism ethics
I was pleased that VNU made the right decision. And I applaud the company for doing something that can be very tough -- backing away from a bad move.
This month's issue of Folio magazine takes a look at the line between editorial and advertising, and uses my thoughts about VNU as a starting point. Take a look.
I read the Folio piece with a heavy heart. Because it reminded me that many people in B2B publishing seem to have a difficult time with the easiest of concepts -- be good. In particular, the Folio article quotes an unnamed publisher, referring to ethics and online publishing, as saying “It’s like the Wild West out there.”
That's nonsense.
More to the point, that's wishful thinking by people who are willing to cut ethical corners.
The Folio piece gives a detailed and thoughtful look at new forms of marketing material that are available on the Web, including "online advertorials, sponsored areas, micro-sites and vendor-generated content."
Those are all valuable forms of content. And each of them is perfectly appropriate on the Web site of a B2B publisher.
But there is nothing about those types of material -- NOTHING -- that exempts them from the rules of ethics. Or, as I've told B2B journalists a hundred times: the rules haven't changed online, and you shouldn't let them.
Consider if you will one of the most basic of our profession's ethical guidelines -- make it clear what's an ad and what's not. The American Society of Magazine Editors puts it this way: "If any content comes from a source other than the editors, it should be clearly labeled. A magazine’s name or logo should not be used in a way that suggests editorial endorsement of an advertiser." The American Society of Business Publication Editors has this to say: "Special ad sections and supplements should be clearly labeled with the word 'advertising,' 'advertisement,' 'sponsored by,' or similar designation. The words 'advertorial' or 'infomercial' confuse the readers about the nature of the material, and should be avoided."
Or to put it more simply -- if someone paid for something on your site, make that clear to the reader.
Don't call ads a "resource center." Don't call them "special services."
Be clear. Be honest. Be ethical. Be good.
Those are simple rules for all of business, and all of life.
And remember, no matter what anyone else says -- you work in journalism, not in the Wild West.
tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, advertising, newsletters, business media, journalism ethics
Friday, September 29, 2006
Time again for change
Last year at this same time I wrote that for "reasons that I'll probably never fully understand, I still live my life on an academic calendar." I shared how each September I feel obliged somehow to start my life anew. Last September I severed ties with one client and increased my work with another. I also took my love on a vacation in the Northeast. "It's September," I wrote, "when my year starts, and I'll begin anew in the mountains of New England."
When I wrote that, I could not have imagined just how much my life was about to change. Nine months later, my daughter was born.
And now it's September again. The leaves are changing, and so am I.
A few months ago I began writing a column for min B2B, the newsletter published by Access Intelligence. It was a good opportunity, and the money wasn't half-bad. But I've ended my relationship with the publication. My last piece will appear next week.
But when one door closes, another opens. I've been asked to help launch an online news service related to nonprofit businesses. I'll share details here during the next few months. But suffice it to say for now that I'm excited.
So I begin a new year, full of hope and gratitude and anticipation.
I don't expect that this year will bring change quite as dramatic as last year, but I've learned to expect the unexpected.
tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, advertising, newsletters, business media,
When I wrote that, I could not have imagined just how much my life was about to change. Nine months later, my daughter was born.
And now it's September again. The leaves are changing, and so am I.
A few months ago I began writing a column for min B2B, the newsletter published by Access Intelligence. It was a good opportunity, and the money wasn't half-bad. But I've ended my relationship with the publication. My last piece will appear next week.
But when one door closes, another opens. I've been asked to help launch an online news service related to nonprofit businesses. I'll share details here during the next few months. But suffice it to say for now that I'm excited.
So I begin a new year, full of hope and gratitude and anticipation.
I don't expect that this year will bring change quite as dramatic as last year, but I've learned to expect the unexpected.
tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, advertising, newsletters, business media,
Monday, September 25, 2006
Mediaweek blurs the lines between ads, editorial
(Note: The following post was written and updated in real time throughout the day. By the time you read it, most if not all of the inappropriate links I mention below will have been removed. Please read the entire post and the comments to understand what happened. Thanks.)
If you love B2B journalism as much as I do, you'll get your heart broken.
Often.
And today my heart is aching.
Take a look at this article on the Web site of Mediaweek. Don't bother to read the article. It's not particularly interesting. Just scroll down to the sixth graf. What you'll find there is an advertisement, right smack in the middle of the story. That hypertext link of the word "advertisers" will take you to the site of Vibrant Media's IntelliTXT, an advertising service that places marketing material into editorial space.
IntelliTXT says it uses "in-text placement to cut through the online advertising clutter." But B2B journalists know such "placement" is a violation of our profession's ethics guidelines.
Here's what ASBPE says about such things:
"Whether for editorial or advertising information, hypertext links should be placed at the discretion and approval of editors. Also, advertising and sponsored links should be clearly distinguishable from editorial, and labeled as such ... Contextual links within editorial content should not be sold, and generally should not link to a vendor’s Web site, unless it is pertinent to the editorial content or helpful to the reader."
Now to me, those guidelines are as clear as can be. Putting an ad in a story is wrong. Editors decide on what appears in the copy. Period.
But it appears some folks in B2B publishing continue to struggle with the idea of keeping editorial and advertising separate.
It's unclear to me who is responsible for the inappropriate links on Mediaweek.
I'd like to think it's some new guy on the advertising side, someone who just arrived and doesn't yet know the rules of journalism ethics.
I assume that the folks on the editorial side are furious, that they are raising holy hell and threatening to quit.
But I don't know.
I sent an email last week to Michael Bürgi and Jim Cooper, the editor and managing editor of the publication. I asked what was going on. I asked how the staff was reacting.
I haven't received a response.
Now like I said, what Mediaweek is doing is clearly an ethics violation.
But it's also worth noting that it's a particularly annoying violation.
Here's why:
1. Go back and take a look at that article. What you'll notice is that the ad is the only external link in the copy. Click around the Mediaweek site for awhile and you'll find that the only links in any story are ads. Mediaweek simply doesn't understand the value of links as an editorial function.
For example, the story in question is about a new service on Forbes.com. But Mediaweek doesn't see the value in providing a link so that readers can see the service in question. Or take a look at this story about MTV and Universal Music Group. The story has an inappropriate advertising link in the first paragraph. Think about that -- there's an ad in the lead! But there are no external links that might help the reader put the story in context.
I've complained for a long time about publishers that don't understand the basic concept of online publishing -- the Web is a web. And by now nearly all of the we-don't-link-offsite magazines have come around. But Mediaweek still doesn't get it.
2. Go back and look at that first article. It's about a new development at Forbes. Think about that -- a B2B publication has put an ad in a story about a magazine where the editorial staff had the professionalism and courage to stop a plan to put advertising links from IntelliTXT in their copy. I'm speechless. The Forbes fight over IntelliTXT was one of the most encouraging developments in journalism ethics of the past few years. And Mediaweek seems to .... what? not care? not know? not think that anyone would find this offensive?
3. Mediaweek isn't some tiny publication run by some knucklehead company that no one has ever heard of. It's owned by VNU, which also publishes B2B giants such as Editor & Publisher and Adweek. Furthermore, VNU is the home of National Jeweler and Whitney Sielaff, the recipient of ABM's Timothy White award for editorial integrity. Didn't anyone at VNU think that the praise and honor that Whitney has brought the company might be worth more than cheap cash from IntelliTXT?
ADDENDUM: (10:21, a.m. ET ) Within a few hours of my writing this post, the IntelliTXT links on Mediaweek were removed. I can't say for sure that the decision to pull the links was related to my complaints. Mediaweek has not responded to my email.
But what the heck, I'm going to take credit anyway.
More importantly, I want to offer my thanks and appreciation to Mediaweek for deciding to pull back from this practice.
ADDENDUM 2: (10:57 a.m.) I spoke to soon. Someone just posted a comment to this post saying the IntelliTXT links are back. And when I take a look at Mediaweek, I see that they have, in fact, returned.
ADDENDUM 3: (12:15 p.m.) It appears the IntelliTXT problem at VNU is wider than I thought. Check out this story from Adweek and scroll down to the 13th paragraph. I just left a phone message for Sid Holt, editorial director of all of VNU. I've asked him to respond here, or by email or by phone.
ADDENDUM 4: (12:41 p.m.) The IntelliTXT links also appear on VNU's Brandweek. Look at the lead paragraph of this story. I'm sending a copy of this post to Karen Benezra, editor of Brandweek, asking for her opinion on the links. I'm also going to try and send a copy to Alison Fahey, editor of Adweek, and see if she's able to comment on what's happening. But Alison's email isn't available on the magazine's Web site. So I'm going to have to improvise.
ADDENDUM 5: (3:30 P.M.) Sid Holt, VNU's editorial director, sent me an email saying that the IntelliTXT links are coming down.
According to Holt, "once editorial management became aware that advertising was embedded in editorial content, the ads were removed as quickly as possible (it is taking longer to remove the ads from Adweek than from Brandweek and Mediaweek for purely technical reasons). VNU Business Media has explicit guidelines delineating the relationship between editorial content and marketing messages. Despite occasional misunderstandings, editors and publishers alike understand, respect and observe those guidelines."
That's good news. I applaud VNU for deciding to end this inappropriate practice.
Thanks also to all of you who posted comments, sent emails or called. I'm glad to know that the B2B journalists who read this blog shared my concern about IntelliTXT and VNU.
My broken heart is mending.
Thanks.
For some of my earlier thoughts on unethical behavior click here.
For more on ASBPE's ethics code, click here.
For my advice on how to fight unethical behavior at your publication, click here.
tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, advertising, newsletters, business media, journalism ethics
If you love B2B journalism as much as I do, you'll get your heart broken.
Often.
And today my heart is aching.
Take a look at this article on the Web site of Mediaweek. Don't bother to read the article. It's not particularly interesting. Just scroll down to the sixth graf. What you'll find there is an advertisement, right smack in the middle of the story. That hypertext link of the word "advertisers" will take you to the site of Vibrant Media's IntelliTXT, an advertising service that places marketing material into editorial space.
IntelliTXT says it uses "in-text placement to cut through the online advertising clutter." But B2B journalists know such "placement" is a violation of our profession's ethics guidelines.
Here's what ASBPE says about such things:
"Whether for editorial or advertising information, hypertext links should be placed at the discretion and approval of editors. Also, advertising and sponsored links should be clearly distinguishable from editorial, and labeled as such ... Contextual links within editorial content should not be sold, and generally should not link to a vendor’s Web site, unless it is pertinent to the editorial content or helpful to the reader."
Now to me, those guidelines are as clear as can be. Putting an ad in a story is wrong. Editors decide on what appears in the copy. Period.
But it appears some folks in B2B publishing continue to struggle with the idea of keeping editorial and advertising separate.
It's unclear to me who is responsible for the inappropriate links on Mediaweek.
I'd like to think it's some new guy on the advertising side, someone who just arrived and doesn't yet know the rules of journalism ethics.
I assume that the folks on the editorial side are furious, that they are raising holy hell and threatening to quit.
But I don't know.
I sent an email last week to Michael Bürgi and Jim Cooper, the editor and managing editor of the publication. I asked what was going on. I asked how the staff was reacting.
I haven't received a response.
Now like I said, what Mediaweek is doing is clearly an ethics violation.
But it's also worth noting that it's a particularly annoying violation.
Here's why:
1. Go back and take a look at that article. What you'll notice is that the ad is the only external link in the copy. Click around the Mediaweek site for awhile and you'll find that the only links in any story are ads. Mediaweek simply doesn't understand the value of links as an editorial function.
For example, the story in question is about a new service on Forbes.com. But Mediaweek doesn't see the value in providing a link so that readers can see the service in question. Or take a look at this story about MTV and Universal Music Group. The story has an inappropriate advertising link in the first paragraph. Think about that -- there's an ad in the lead! But there are no external links that might help the reader put the story in context.
I've complained for a long time about publishers that don't understand the basic concept of online publishing -- the Web is a web. And by now nearly all of the we-don't-link-offsite magazines have come around. But Mediaweek still doesn't get it.
2. Go back and look at that first article. It's about a new development at Forbes. Think about that -- a B2B publication has put an ad in a story about a magazine where the editorial staff had the professionalism and courage to stop a plan to put advertising links from IntelliTXT in their copy. I'm speechless. The Forbes fight over IntelliTXT was one of the most encouraging developments in journalism ethics of the past few years. And Mediaweek seems to .... what? not care? not know? not think that anyone would find this offensive?
3. Mediaweek isn't some tiny publication run by some knucklehead company that no one has ever heard of. It's owned by VNU, which also publishes B2B giants such as Editor & Publisher and Adweek. Furthermore, VNU is the home of National Jeweler and Whitney Sielaff, the recipient of ABM's Timothy White award for editorial integrity. Didn't anyone at VNU think that the praise and honor that Whitney has brought the company might be worth more than cheap cash from IntelliTXT?
ADDENDUM: (10:21, a.m. ET ) Within a few hours of my writing this post, the IntelliTXT links on Mediaweek were removed. I can't say for sure that the decision to pull the links was related to my complaints. Mediaweek has not responded to my email.
But what the heck, I'm going to take credit anyway.
More importantly, I want to offer my thanks and appreciation to Mediaweek for deciding to pull back from this practice.
ADDENDUM 2: (10:57 a.m.) I spoke to soon. Someone just posted a comment to this post saying the IntelliTXT links are back. And when I take a look at Mediaweek, I see that they have, in fact, returned.
ADDENDUM 3: (12:15 p.m.) It appears the IntelliTXT problem at VNU is wider than I thought. Check out this story from Adweek and scroll down to the 13th paragraph. I just left a phone message for Sid Holt, editorial director of all of VNU. I've asked him to respond here, or by email or by phone.
ADDENDUM 4: (12:41 p.m.) The IntelliTXT links also appear on VNU's Brandweek. Look at the lead paragraph of this story. I'm sending a copy of this post to Karen Benezra, editor of Brandweek, asking for her opinion on the links. I'm also going to try and send a copy to Alison Fahey, editor of Adweek, and see if she's able to comment on what's happening. But Alison's email isn't available on the magazine's Web site. So I'm going to have to improvise.
ADDENDUM 5: (3:30 P.M.) Sid Holt, VNU's editorial director, sent me an email saying that the IntelliTXT links are coming down.
According to Holt, "once editorial management became aware that advertising was embedded in editorial content, the ads were removed as quickly as possible (it is taking longer to remove the ads from Adweek than from Brandweek and Mediaweek for purely technical reasons). VNU Business Media has explicit guidelines delineating the relationship between editorial content and marketing messages. Despite occasional misunderstandings, editors and publishers alike understand, respect and observe those guidelines."
That's good news. I applaud VNU for deciding to end this inappropriate practice.
Thanks also to all of you who posted comments, sent emails or called. I'm glad to know that the B2B journalists who read this blog shared my concern about IntelliTXT and VNU.
My broken heart is mending.
Thanks.
For some of my earlier thoughts on unethical behavior click here.
For more on ASBPE's ethics code, click here.
For my advice on how to fight unethical behavior at your publication, click here.
tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, advertising, newsletters, business media, journalism ethics
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
Running out of time, not ideas
Almost every time I give a presentation to a group of publishers or journalists, I run out of time.
Maybe I try to cover too much. Maybe I like to talk too much. Or maybe I'm just disorganized.
But whatever the cause, as the clock ticks down at the end of a speech, I often must discard items I'd planned to discuss.
After a speaking gig I do a little post-game analysis. I go through my notes. I ask a few folks what they thought. If my presentation was recorded, I listen to the tape or watch the video.
And I look again at the items I skipped and try to decide if I made the right cuts as time ran out.
Three times in recent presentations I dropped plans to talk about an idea I'd come across for user-generated content and community building. It wasn't the most interesting part of my speech (which is why I found it so easy to cut), but it is kind of fun.
So I want to make amends by talking about it here.
Take a look at Cool Hunting, a Web site that markets itself as a "daily update on stuff from the intersection of design, culture and technology." But that's just a fancy phrase for what Cool Hunting does -- find stuff that's cool.
The site has a number of regular contributors, just like many a magazine site uses freelance writers. But Cool Hunting also has an unusual, user-generated feature worth noting.
Scroll down the Cool Hunting home page and in the center column you'll find a section called "Reader Contributions" -- a feature that allows readers to participate in the hunt for cool things by using the del.icio.us bookmarking tool. (Instructions on how to participate are here.)
Hundreds of thousands of people use del.icio.us. But I haven't seen any B2B publication attempt to do what Cool Hunting has done -- urge its community to participate and share the results with other readers.
Certainly any Web site can make use of del.icio.us -- whether or not the publication seeks the help of its readers. Rex Hammock, for example, provides a del.icio.us feed of items of interest to folks in the magazine industry. And Make magazine uses del.icio.us to point readers to cool items. And of course I'm free to tag any item that I find interesting with "rexblog" or "makemagazine" or "coolhunting."
But I find the Cool Hunting approach compelling. I can't imagine an easier way to get a reader to "contribute." Little work is required; the process takes only seconds. More ambitious users can still create more elaborate contributions -- articles, graphics, etc. -- that they store on their own Web sites and "share" with a simple del.icio.us tag.
And the only thing that's required is that you ask your readers for their help.
For a look at the history of del.icio.us and the Wall Street "quant" who created it, click here.
For some of Matt McAlister's thoughts on tagging and social bookmarking, click here.
For more of my thoughts on community building and user-generated content, click here.
tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, newsletters, business media,
Maybe I try to cover too much. Maybe I like to talk too much. Or maybe I'm just disorganized.
But whatever the cause, as the clock ticks down at the end of a speech, I often must discard items I'd planned to discuss.
After a speaking gig I do a little post-game analysis. I go through my notes. I ask a few folks what they thought. If my presentation was recorded, I listen to the tape or watch the video.
And I look again at the items I skipped and try to decide if I made the right cuts as time ran out.
Three times in recent presentations I dropped plans to talk about an idea I'd come across for user-generated content and community building. It wasn't the most interesting part of my speech (which is why I found it so easy to cut), but it is kind of fun.
So I want to make amends by talking about it here.
Take a look at Cool Hunting, a Web site that markets itself as a "daily update on stuff from the intersection of design, culture and technology." But that's just a fancy phrase for what Cool Hunting does -- find stuff that's cool.
The site has a number of regular contributors, just like many a magazine site uses freelance writers. But Cool Hunting also has an unusual, user-generated feature worth noting.
Scroll down the Cool Hunting home page and in the center column you'll find a section called "Reader Contributions" -- a feature that allows readers to participate in the hunt for cool things by using the del.icio.us bookmarking tool. (Instructions on how to participate are here.)
Hundreds of thousands of people use del.icio.us. But I haven't seen any B2B publication attempt to do what Cool Hunting has done -- urge its community to participate and share the results with other readers.
Certainly any Web site can make use of del.icio.us -- whether or not the publication seeks the help of its readers. Rex Hammock, for example, provides a del.icio.us feed of items of interest to folks in the magazine industry. And Make magazine uses del.icio.us to point readers to cool items. And of course I'm free to tag any item that I find interesting with "rexblog" or "makemagazine" or "coolhunting."
But I find the Cool Hunting approach compelling. I can't imagine an easier way to get a reader to "contribute." Little work is required; the process takes only seconds. More ambitious users can still create more elaborate contributions -- articles, graphics, etc. -- that they store on their own Web sites and "share" with a simple del.icio.us tag.
And the only thing that's required is that you ask your readers for their help.
For a look at the history of del.icio.us and the Wall Street "quant" who created it, click here.
For some of Matt McAlister's thoughts on tagging and social bookmarking, click here.
For more of my thoughts on community building and user-generated content, click here.
tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, newsletters, business media,
Monday, September 18, 2006
Folio enters the blogosphere
Folio, the magazine for magazine management, has entered the blogosphere.
And I couldn't be happier.
The blog, dubbed Folio: Forum, first appeared in a soft launch on Friday (you can find it by following the links on the home page.) And it's exactly what I've been hoping Folio would do (well...almost exactly. There's no RSS feed.) The first few posts are thoughtful, well-written and on-topic. There are insights about the magazine industry, as well as a peek or two inside the goings-on at Folio itself.
Of course, even if Folio: Forum had been awful, I would likely have said something kind. That's because in one of the initial posts on the new blog, Folio editor and publisher Tony Silber was nice enough to list me as one of the "important voices" blogging about the magazine world.
Speaking of Tony, I'm hoping he continues to write the blog. Although there are some very talented folks at Folio, it's Tony's voice that I most value there. More importantly, there's something about Tony's writing style that seems to mesh well with the blogging world.
And as long as we're on the topic of new blogs, take a look at the work of one of my newest clients. Swarfblog is written by Lloyd Graff, editor and owner of Today's Machining World, a B2B magazine that covers the machine-tool industry. I met Lloyd when I spoke at the ASBPE convention in Chicago a few weeks ago. A few weeks after that, I flew back to Chicago, met with Lloyd and his staff, and helped them launch Swarfblog.
I'm thrilled with the result. Lloyd is another of those fairly rare journalists who takes well to blogging. His writing style -- informal, passionate and conversational -- is well-suited for this form of publishing.
But the thing that pleases me most about swarfblog is its name.
Swarf is what machinists call the debris that's produced by their work -- the tiny bits of leftover metal that can be both dangerous and valuable (Lloyd already runs a column in his magazine under the brand Swarf.)
And when Lloyd explained the meaning of the word to me, it seemed a perfect definition of much of what we put in our blogs: bits and pieces -- sometimes sharp and cutting, often mistaken for trash -- that are produced as we do our other work .
So welcome Tony and Lloyd to the world of blogging, welcome to the world of swarf.
tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, newsletters, business media,
And I couldn't be happier.
The blog, dubbed Folio: Forum, first appeared in a soft launch on Friday (you can find it by following the links on the home page.) And it's exactly what I've been hoping Folio would do (well...almost exactly. There's no RSS feed.) The first few posts are thoughtful, well-written and on-topic. There are insights about the magazine industry, as well as a peek or two inside the goings-on at Folio itself.
Of course, even if Folio: Forum had been awful, I would likely have said something kind. That's because in one of the initial posts on the new blog, Folio editor and publisher Tony Silber was nice enough to list me as one of the "important voices" blogging about the magazine world.
Speaking of Tony, I'm hoping he continues to write the blog. Although there are some very talented folks at Folio, it's Tony's voice that I most value there. More importantly, there's something about Tony's writing style that seems to mesh well with the blogging world.
And as long as we're on the topic of new blogs, take a look at the work of one of my newest clients. Swarfblog is written by Lloyd Graff, editor and owner of Today's Machining World, a B2B magazine that covers the machine-tool industry. I met Lloyd when I spoke at the ASBPE convention in Chicago a few weeks ago. A few weeks after that, I flew back to Chicago, met with Lloyd and his staff, and helped them launch Swarfblog.
I'm thrilled with the result. Lloyd is another of those fairly rare journalists who takes well to blogging. His writing style -- informal, passionate and conversational -- is well-suited for this form of publishing.
But the thing that pleases me most about swarfblog is its name.
Swarf is what machinists call the debris that's produced by their work -- the tiny bits of leftover metal that can be both dangerous and valuable (Lloyd already runs a column in his magazine under the brand Swarf.)
And when Lloyd explained the meaning of the word to me, it seemed a perfect definition of much of what we put in our blogs: bits and pieces -- sometimes sharp and cutting, often mistaken for trash -- that are produced as we do our other work .
So welcome Tony and Lloyd to the world of blogging, welcome to the world of swarf.
tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, newsletters, business media,
Friday, September 15, 2006
We were reporters once ... and young
It's been a long time ... a long time ... since I was young journalist with a new job in a new town.
And I'd almost forgotten how much fun it is to take on something new, to be at that point in your career where everything is a challenge and the possibilities are endless.
So I suppose part of the reason I so enjoy the work of Angela Grant is that she helps me recall the joy of starting out in this business. Angela's blog, called In the Circle, tells the story of a "reporter breaking into the emerging world of multimedia journalism."
The blog actually launched about a year ago when Angela was still in journalism school. But today she's at the San Antonio Express News, where she's already winning awards for work such as this.
I've thought of Angela quite a bit lately. In recent weeks I've met with dozens of B2B journalists who are considerably less excited about their jobs and the changes in media. They are reporters and editors of a certain age who think that multimedia is an inferior form of journalism that somehow represents a threat to their jobs. I understand those fears. Layoffs are common in our industry these days.
But the best defense against a layoff isn't in resisting change. It is, rather, in recapturing that youthful belief that new skills can be mastered, that life is just starting, and that our profession, more than many others, rewards the open-minded and inquisitive.
For more on the "transformation" from print, see what the folks at IDG have to say.
tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, newsletters, business media, journalism education
And I'd almost forgotten how much fun it is to take on something new, to be at that point in your career where everything is a challenge and the possibilities are endless.
So I suppose part of the reason I so enjoy the work of Angela Grant is that she helps me recall the joy of starting out in this business. Angela's blog, called In the Circle, tells the story of a "reporter breaking into the emerging world of multimedia journalism."
The blog actually launched about a year ago when Angela was still in journalism school. But today she's at the San Antonio Express News, where she's already winning awards for work such as this.
I've thought of Angela quite a bit lately. In recent weeks I've met with dozens of B2B journalists who are considerably less excited about their jobs and the changes in media. They are reporters and editors of a certain age who think that multimedia is an inferior form of journalism that somehow represents a threat to their jobs. I understand those fears. Layoffs are common in our industry these days.
But the best defense against a layoff isn't in resisting change. It is, rather, in recapturing that youthful belief that new skills can be mastered, that life is just starting, and that our profession, more than many others, rewards the open-minded and inquisitive.
For more on the "transformation" from print, see what the folks at IDG have to say.
tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, newsletters, business media, journalism education
Monday, September 11, 2006
Learning to listen
I'm heading out on the road for a few days, and won't do much, if any, posting to this blog.
Until then, take a look at the cautionary tale in today's New York Times about a journalist who behaved unprofessionally and fraudulently on his blog. There's much to be learned here, particularly about how to handle hostile comments online. But the thing I like most about the article is the following quote, which succinctly explains the anger, misunderstanding and blunders that often come when old-media journalists move into new media:
"Blogs, which may look like one more way to publish, are first and foremost a way to listen, something that journalists at established outlets don’t necessarily do well."
tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, newsletters, business media, journalism education
Until then, take a look at the cautionary tale in today's New York Times about a journalist who behaved unprofessionally and fraudulently on his blog. There's much to be learned here, particularly about how to handle hostile comments online. But the thing I like most about the article is the following quote, which succinctly explains the anger, misunderstanding and blunders that often come when old-media journalists move into new media:
"Blogs, which may look like one more way to publish, are first and foremost a way to listen, something that journalists at established outlets don’t necessarily do well."
tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, newsletters, business media, journalism education
Friday, September 08, 2006
The return of new media's power couple
It's as if Martin and Lewis were appearing again in Vegas.
It's like Mantle and Maris had taken the field again.
It's as if Fred and Ginger have stepped onto the dance floor once more.
The two most interesting guys in the world of online journalism are reuniting.
Rob Curley has taken a new job with Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive, the same company where Adrian Holovaty works.
That's particularly interesting news for those of us in B2B journalism. Because the parent of WPNI, the Washington Post Co., owns a slew of trade magazines, including Government Computer News and Defense Systems.
Curley and Holovaty were the top guys at the Lawrence Journal-World when that tiny paper morphed into a multimedia showcase, becoming one of the most influential publications in America.
But eventually the pair moved in different directions.
Curley headed to the Naples Daily News in Florida, where he became director of new media and convergence. And he became a superstar in the world of college media, speaking to young journalists about the opportunities and challenges of new media.
Holovaty went on to win a series of awards, create the best-known news mash-up (chicagocrime.org) and then join the Washington Post to help oversee its rebirth as a converged publication.
I won't say much more about these guys. I know I sound as if I'm swooning, and Lord knows I've said enough about Rob and Adrian in posts such as this and this.
But I will urge you to read two things ... and think about what it may mean for journalism in general and your publication in particular.
First, check out this piece by Steve Klein at the Poynter Institute, where he interviews Rob about the new gig.
Then check out the latest post on Adrian's blog, in which he writes about a "fundamental" way in which newspapers must change. Read through his post and substitute the word "magazine" or "newsletter" or "any news product" where appropriate.
tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, newsletters, business media, journalism education
It's like Mantle and Maris had taken the field again.
It's as if Fred and Ginger have stepped onto the dance floor once more.
The two most interesting guys in the world of online journalism are reuniting.
Rob Curley has taken a new job with Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive, the same company where Adrian Holovaty works.
That's particularly interesting news for those of us in B2B journalism. Because the parent of WPNI, the Washington Post Co., owns a slew of trade magazines, including Government Computer News and Defense Systems.
Curley and Holovaty were the top guys at the Lawrence Journal-World when that tiny paper morphed into a multimedia showcase, becoming one of the most influential publications in America.
But eventually the pair moved in different directions.
Curley headed to the Naples Daily News in Florida, where he became director of new media and convergence. And he became a superstar in the world of college media, speaking to young journalists about the opportunities and challenges of new media.
Holovaty went on to win a series of awards, create the best-known news mash-up (chicagocrime.org) and then join the Washington Post to help oversee its rebirth as a converged publication.
I won't say much more about these guys. I know I sound as if I'm swooning, and Lord knows I've said enough about Rob and Adrian in posts such as this and this.
But I will urge you to read two things ... and think about what it may mean for journalism in general and your publication in particular.
First, check out this piece by Steve Klein at the Poynter Institute, where he interviews Rob about the new gig.
Then check out the latest post on Adrian's blog, in which he writes about a "fundamental" way in which newspapers must change. Read through his post and substitute the word "magazine" or "newsletter" or "any news product" where appropriate.
tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, newsletters, business media, journalism education
Thursday, September 07, 2006
Facebook loses face; We lose FYJ
Last week I met with some journalists at IDG to talk about the next generation of media consumers. I won't share the details of my presentation here; but I will say that -- quite predictably -- I urged those editors and reporters to spend some time on the social-networking sites popular with high school kids and college students.
What I didn't mention, but perhaps should have, is that most of those journalists won't be able to check out Facebook. Membership to that service is limited to students at universities, high schools and a handful of businesses. (If a middle-aged person tries, as I did, to sign up for the community related to his high school alma mater, he'll get an ego-shattering message saying he's "too old" to participate.)
Given that, most of us in the media will have to get our understanding of the new scandal at Facebook from secondary sources. So today I'll urge journalists to check out the coverage of what went wrong when Facebook seemed to violate its long-standing commitment to users' privacy.
There are stories here, here and here. (Whenever I want to learn about social networking, I turn to Danah Boyd, who may be the brightest person working in the field. But as I post this piece, Danah hasn't written anything about the new Facebook scandal. But I'll suggest you keep checking here for an update. On the other hand, whenever I want to learn about almost anything, I turn to Rex. And he has weighed in on the Facebook issue.)
To ponder a journalism-ethics question raised by Facebook and other social-networking sites, check out this earlier post.
For more on the social-networking phenomenon, take a look at this piece in Fortune about the founders of MySpace, and how missteps by rival Friendster set the pace for MySpace's success.
For a look at a new initiative from the magazine industry to attract the next generation of media consumers, check out this piece in the New York Times. (Note: my first reaction to this idea is to roll my eyes and moan out load, but maybe college kids really are eager to get pdf-like files in their email.)
And one final note: as those of us in the media have pondered the next generation, we've often turned to the voice of the Canadian reporter known as Fine Young Journalist to help us understand what was happening.
We won't be able to do that any longer.
FYJ has stopped blogging.
I would urge all of you to read his farewell post, which is full of the insights and lovely writing that I've come to expect of him.
tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, newsletters, business media, journalism education
What I didn't mention, but perhaps should have, is that most of those journalists won't be able to check out Facebook. Membership to that service is limited to students at universities, high schools and a handful of businesses. (If a middle-aged person tries, as I did, to sign up for the community related to his high school alma mater, he'll get an ego-shattering message saying he's "too old" to participate.)
Given that, most of us in the media will have to get our understanding of the new scandal at Facebook from secondary sources. So today I'll urge journalists to check out the coverage of what went wrong when Facebook seemed to violate its long-standing commitment to users' privacy.
There are stories here, here and here. (Whenever I want to learn about social networking, I turn to Danah Boyd, who may be the brightest person working in the field. But as I post this piece, Danah hasn't written anything about the new Facebook scandal. But I'll suggest you keep checking here for an update. On the other hand, whenever I want to learn about almost anything, I turn to Rex. And he has weighed in on the Facebook issue.)
To ponder a journalism-ethics question raised by Facebook and other social-networking sites, check out this earlier post.
For more on the social-networking phenomenon, take a look at this piece in Fortune about the founders of MySpace, and how missteps by rival Friendster set the pace for MySpace's success.
For a look at a new initiative from the magazine industry to attract the next generation of media consumers, check out this piece in the New York Times. (Note: my first reaction to this idea is to roll my eyes and moan out load, but maybe college kids really are eager to get pdf-like files in their email.)
And one final note: as those of us in the media have pondered the next generation, we've often turned to the voice of the Canadian reporter known as Fine Young Journalist to help us understand what was happening.
We won't be able to do that any longer.
FYJ has stopped blogging.
I would urge all of you to read his farewell post, which is full of the insights and lovely writing that I've come to expect of him.
tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, newsletters, business media, journalism education
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
Reed's new Internet unit
Next week I'll be in suburban Boston to speak to reporters and editors from Reed Business about online journalism. It should be an exciting day. Because as outlined in an article in BtoB Magazine, Reed Business is in the process of revamping itself into a Web-first company.
The move comes less than a year after Tad Smith assumed the helm at Reed, which I said then was "further proof that our jobs are becoming less about print and more about multimedia."
More importantly, the creation of the new Reed Business Interactive unit this summer coincides with a widespread improvement in how Reed's journalists work online.
If you've been following things at Reed in recent months you've seen more multimedia content, more news in front of the firewalls, and a general sense of commitment to the Web -- particularly at the company's Electronics and Media publications.
Take a look at the BtoB article and see how Reed is revamping. But don't make the mistake of assuming that creating a "centralized Internet division" will work for your publishing company just because it seems to be working quite well for Reed.
The BtoB article mentions two other trade publishing giants with separate Web divisions -- Cygnus and PennWell. Cygnus (where I've also done some work) produces some fantastic online properties --notably the award-winning Firehouse.com. But as I've said before in posts such as this and this, no B2B publisher seems to do a worse job on the Web than PennWell.
tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, newsletters, business media
The move comes less than a year after Tad Smith assumed the helm at Reed, which I said then was "further proof that our jobs are becoming less about print and more about multimedia."
More importantly, the creation of the new Reed Business Interactive unit this summer coincides with a widespread improvement in how Reed's journalists work online.
If you've been following things at Reed in recent months you've seen more multimedia content, more news in front of the firewalls, and a general sense of commitment to the Web -- particularly at the company's Electronics and Media publications.
Take a look at the BtoB article and see how Reed is revamping. But don't make the mistake of assuming that creating a "centralized Internet division" will work for your publishing company just because it seems to be working quite well for Reed.
The BtoB article mentions two other trade publishing giants with separate Web divisions -- Cygnus and PennWell. Cygnus (where I've also done some work) produces some fantastic online properties --notably the award-winning Firehouse.com. But as I've said before in posts such as this and this, no B2B publisher seems to do a worse job on the Web than PennWell.
tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, newsletters, business media
Saturday, September 02, 2006
The lessons of Danny Sullivan
I am not a search-engine expert.
But I know a fair amount about search-engine optimization. I can hold my own in a conversation on the topic. I can help editors improve their search results. I can teach a little bit about writing headlines and title tags and such so that Google and the rest of the engines will rank a site highly.
And everything I know about search engines I owe to one guy -- Danny Sullivan.
And I have never even met him.
Danny is the genius behind Incisive Media's "Search Engine Watch." And last week he announced he was leaving the company because he and Incisive could not reach an agreement on compensation.
The news hit the search-engine world hard. No one -- NO ONE -- is more important than Danny in the search industry. And everyone seems perplexed that Incisive would let him go, including Danny, who was quoted as saying "I can't understand why [Incisive Media] would expect me to stay with them if they can't give me a long term incentive to build their business."
Longtime readers of this blog know that I've been warning B2B publishers for quite some time that they are vulnerable to competition from their own staff. The anyone-can-be-a-publisher software used by bloggers means that key editorial people no longer need their magazines. I've predicted a rise in entrepreneurial journalists -- most of them the key editors that become synonymous with a magazine's brand. I've predicted that they will quit their jobs -- or, more likely, accept early retirement -- and start running their own online publications, usually concentrating on a very small niche.
In a sense, Danny is the perfect example of what I've been talking about.
At the same time, Danny is an extreme case. He's already been an entrepreneurial journalist. He actually co-founded "Search Engine Watch" in 1996 and sold it to Jupitermedia a year later. But Jupitermedia knew that what it was really buying was Danny. And things went smoothly until Jupitermedia sold "Search Engine Watch" to Incisive last year.
So what's the lesson here?
If you're a B2B publisher I would urge you to look long and hard at the folks in your newsroom. In particular, look at that guy who has been around forever, the guy everyone in the industry you cover knows, the guy that "is" your publication.
And then ask yourself, and ask yourself honestly -- am I too dependent on him? am I doing enough to keep him? what do I do when he quits?
For more on Danny's departure, take a look here or here.
tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, newsletters, business media, entrepreneurial journalism, standalone journalism
But I know a fair amount about search-engine optimization. I can hold my own in a conversation on the topic. I can help editors improve their search results. I can teach a little bit about writing headlines and title tags and such so that Google and the rest of the engines will rank a site highly.
And everything I know about search engines I owe to one guy -- Danny Sullivan.
And I have never even met him.
Danny is the genius behind Incisive Media's "Search Engine Watch." And last week he announced he was leaving the company because he and Incisive could not reach an agreement on compensation.
The news hit the search-engine world hard. No one -- NO ONE -- is more important than Danny in the search industry. And everyone seems perplexed that Incisive would let him go, including Danny, who was quoted as saying "I can't understand why [Incisive Media] would expect me to stay with them if they can't give me a long term incentive to build their business."
Longtime readers of this blog know that I've been warning B2B publishers for quite some time that they are vulnerable to competition from their own staff. The anyone-can-be-a-publisher software used by bloggers means that key editorial people no longer need their magazines. I've predicted a rise in entrepreneurial journalists -- most of them the key editors that become synonymous with a magazine's brand. I've predicted that they will quit their jobs -- or, more likely, accept early retirement -- and start running their own online publications, usually concentrating on a very small niche.
In a sense, Danny is the perfect example of what I've been talking about.
At the same time, Danny is an extreme case. He's already been an entrepreneurial journalist. He actually co-founded "Search Engine Watch" in 1996 and sold it to Jupitermedia a year later. But Jupitermedia knew that what it was really buying was Danny. And things went smoothly until Jupitermedia sold "Search Engine Watch" to Incisive last year.
So what's the lesson here?
If you're a B2B publisher I would urge you to look long and hard at the folks in your newsroom. In particular, look at that guy who has been around forever, the guy everyone in the industry you cover knows, the guy that "is" your publication.
And then ask yourself, and ask yourself honestly -- am I too dependent on him? am I doing enough to keep him? what do I do when he quits?
For more on Danny's departure, take a look here or here.
tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, newsletters, business media, entrepreneurial journalism, standalone journalism
Thursday, August 24, 2006
New sites about student journalism
One of my favorite new bloggers is Ryan Sholin, who writes about his experiences as a journalism student. What I like most about Ryan is that he seems genuinely excited by this profession. And unlike so many people I meet in newsrooms, he seems interested in learning how to get better at his trade.
Take a look at this post or this or this funny little one to get a feel for his work.
Yesterday Ryan pointed me toward a site that may become another of my favorites -- campusbyline, a two-man operation that aims to highlight the best in college media. And as I took a look through it, I came across this post about the Princeton Review's rankings of college newspapers.
That post links to a related article in the University of Arizona's student newspaper, and suggests a link between the article's writer and a source quoted in the story. That raises an all-new ethics question for me: Should a journalist disclose that a source is a "friend" on a social-networking site? My gut instinct is to err on the side of transparency and say "yes." But I'll be curious to see what other folks say.
tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, newsletters, business media, journalism education
Take a look at this post or this or this funny little one to get a feel for his work.
Yesterday Ryan pointed me toward a site that may become another of my favorites -- campusbyline, a two-man operation that aims to highlight the best in college media. And as I took a look through it, I came across this post about the Princeton Review's rankings of college newspapers.
That post links to a related article in the University of Arizona's student newspaper, and suggests a link between the article's writer and a source quoted in the story. That raises an all-new ethics question for me: Should a journalist disclose that a source is a "friend" on a social-networking site? My gut instinct is to err on the side of transparency and say "yes." But I'll be curious to see what other folks say.
tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, newsletters, business media, journalism education
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
Crain gets link religion
It seems Crain Communications has decided that its Web sites are, in fact, part of the Web. The company has begun using external links in its articles.
I'm thrilled. And heck, I'll even take credit for the change, since I've been complaining about Crain's lack of interactivity for a long time and recently pointed out the disconnect between the public statements of the company's president and the practices of the company's editorial staff.
I first noticed a link in BtoB online in a story that ran yesterday. Now granted, the link is sort of an obvious choice. The story is about a new Web site, and the link takes readers to that site. But it's exactly that sort of no-brainer link that Crain has resisted in the past.
I dropped an email to Ellis Booker, editor of BtoB, and asked what prompted the change.
"We're re-tooling the site & some of our approaches," he said in reply.
And it looks like this re-tooling is also happening at another Crain site. This morning I noticed hypertext links in this story from Investment News. That too is a first. Unfortunately, at the time I publish this post it seems that no one at Investment News has yet noticed that the entire last 10 paragraphs of the story contain a single link, turning half the text on the page the color red. But I'll write that off to inexperience. More disappointing is that the link is internal. But at least it's a start. Besides, Investment News has bigger problems.
tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, newsletters, business media
I'm thrilled. And heck, I'll even take credit for the change, since I've been complaining about Crain's lack of interactivity for a long time and recently pointed out the disconnect between the public statements of the company's president and the practices of the company's editorial staff.
I first noticed a link in BtoB online in a story that ran yesterday. Now granted, the link is sort of an obvious choice. The story is about a new Web site, and the link takes readers to that site. But it's exactly that sort of no-brainer link that Crain has resisted in the past.
I dropped an email to Ellis Booker, editor of BtoB, and asked what prompted the change.
"We're re-tooling the site & some of our approaches," he said in reply.
And it looks like this re-tooling is also happening at another Crain site. This morning I noticed hypertext links in this story from Investment News. That too is a first. Unfortunately, at the time I publish this post it seems that no one at Investment News has yet noticed that the entire last 10 paragraphs of the story contain a single link, turning half the text on the page the color red. But I'll write that off to inexperience. More disappointing is that the link is internal. But at least it's a start. Besides, Investment News has bigger problems.
tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, newsletters, business media
Monday, August 21, 2006
Teachers, textbooks and new media
What happens when two of the smarter folks in college journalism get together? They publish a Q&A that serves as a quick guide to what's wrong with much of the media ... both inside and outside of academia.
They also wind up prompting me to do something that I've been promising to do for ages -- buy Mindy McAdams' book "Flash Journalism."
With a little bit of luck, I'll have finished reading it before the Folio Show in October, where I'll be talking about becoming "conversant in the ways of multimedia content."
tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, newsletters, business media, journalism education
They also wind up prompting me to do something that I've been promising to do for ages -- buy Mindy McAdams' book "Flash Journalism."
With a little bit of luck, I'll have finished reading it before the Folio Show in October, where I'll be talking about becoming "conversant in the ways of multimedia content."
tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, newsletters, business media, journalism education
Friday, August 18, 2006
Me, Folio and the cross-platform editor
I'm back from my trip to Chicago, trying to catch up with life, work and family. And among the things I did today was to go through the mail that had piled up on my desk in my absence. And lo and behold I find that the most recent issue of Folio has arrived, and that I'm quoted in an article about "The Cross Platform Editor."
Take a look at the Folio article. It's a pretty comprehensive take on what editors must do to work in new media. And I was thrilled to see that writer Bill Mickey cited my two favorite how-can-I-learn-to-do-that sites -- j-learning.org (which is free) and Lynda.com (which is inexpensive.)
Even more fun for me is that the article refers to an "infamous blog entry" I did earlier this year on the subject. (That post, titled "Improving your publication through murder" can be found here.)
But don't spend too much time on any of the above. There's something far more important in the August issue of Folio -- the annual salary survey. Take a look and decide if it's time to ask the boss for a raise.
tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, newsletters, business media
Take a look at the Folio article. It's a pretty comprehensive take on what editors must do to work in new media. And I was thrilled to see that writer Bill Mickey cited my two favorite how-can-I-learn-to-do-that sites -- j-learning.org (which is free) and Lynda.com (which is inexpensive.)
Even more fun for me is that the article refers to an "infamous blog entry" I did earlier this year on the subject. (That post, titled "Improving your publication through murder" can be found here.)
But don't spend too much time on any of the above. There's something far more important in the August issue of Folio -- the annual salary survey. Take a look and decide if it's time to ask the boss for a raise.
tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, newsletters, business media
Friday, August 11, 2006
Why the out-of-touch shouldn't touch the budget
Among the more interesting things I've been reading lately is CJRDaily.org, a wonderfully written (albeit often too snarky) product that is affiliated with, but vastly more entertaining than, the Columbia Journalism Review.
Now comes word that Nick Lemann, dean of Columbia University's Journalism school, has decided to cut the budget of CJRDaily in half. Why? According to the New York Times, Lemann wants to use "a portion of the magazine’s discretionary money for a direct-mail campaign to try to increase subscriptions to the print magazine." CJRDaily is about to launch a plan to sell advertising and sponsor conferences, but Lemann has decided in advance that there won't be enough revenue generated to run the site at full strength.
CJRDaily's managing editor Steve Lovelady quit in protest. So did assistant managing editor Bryan Keefer.
It would be easy to dismiss this as a battle between the old and the young, between mainstream media and new media. But things are seldom that simple. Lovelady is 63-years old and was once the managing editor of The Philadelphia Inquirer and deputy Page 1 editor of The Wall Street Journal.
Now look -- I'm a media junkie. And my primary addiction is to media about media. So I suppose I'm exactly the sort of person that Lemann plans to start bothering with junk mail invites to subscribe to CJR magazine. In fact, I'm pretty sure I get those things already. But I never pay any attention to mailings from CJR. The truth is that I haven't bothered to read an issue of CJR in years. I had a subscription once or twice in my career. And every once in awhile I still come across a copy, open it up and take a look. But the magazine never engages me anymore. It's become less a "review" and more of a retrospective. It has the feel of nostalgia and tends to remind me of Grit, which bills itself as "America's family magazine since 1882" and fills its pages with articles that evoke that things-were-better-in-the-old-days feeling.
And that's why CJRDaily, which feels as if it's written by people who work in journalism rather than by folks who used to work in journalism, is far superior to CJR magazine.
Earlier this week I posted a link to an essay in the New Yorker written by Lemann. I said then that Lemann's piece probably wasn't worth reading, and suggested instead that the criticisms of Lemann's essay were far more interesting than the essay itself.
In fact, an entire industry seems to be emerging online dedicated to unraveling Lemann's thoughts. Take a look at this piece on Businessweek.com that calls the CJRDaily a decision "an extraordinary mistake."
(Note: I'm heading out on the road to meet with clients. I don't expect to post anything to this blog for a week or so. While I'm sitting in airports and such, I'll make a point of looking at CJRDaily to see if it's still worth reading. And I'll check out some of the new sites that have caught my attention in the last few days, including Journalistopia, the D.C. chapter of ASBPE and TalkingBizNews. )
tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, newsletters, business media
Now comes word that Nick Lemann, dean of Columbia University's Journalism school, has decided to cut the budget of CJRDaily in half. Why? According to the New York Times, Lemann wants to use "a portion of the magazine’s discretionary money for a direct-mail campaign to try to increase subscriptions to the print magazine." CJRDaily is about to launch a plan to sell advertising and sponsor conferences, but Lemann has decided in advance that there won't be enough revenue generated to run the site at full strength.
CJRDaily's managing editor Steve Lovelady quit in protest. So did assistant managing editor Bryan Keefer.
It would be easy to dismiss this as a battle between the old and the young, between mainstream media and new media. But things are seldom that simple. Lovelady is 63-years old and was once the managing editor of The Philadelphia Inquirer and deputy Page 1 editor of The Wall Street Journal.
Now look -- I'm a media junkie. And my primary addiction is to media about media. So I suppose I'm exactly the sort of person that Lemann plans to start bothering with junk mail invites to subscribe to CJR magazine. In fact, I'm pretty sure I get those things already. But I never pay any attention to mailings from CJR. The truth is that I haven't bothered to read an issue of CJR in years. I had a subscription once or twice in my career. And every once in awhile I still come across a copy, open it up and take a look. But the magazine never engages me anymore. It's become less a "review" and more of a retrospective. It has the feel of nostalgia and tends to remind me of Grit, which bills itself as "America's family magazine since 1882" and fills its pages with articles that evoke that things-were-better-in-the-old-days feeling.
And that's why CJRDaily, which feels as if it's written by people who work in journalism rather than by folks who used to work in journalism, is far superior to CJR magazine.
Earlier this week I posted a link to an essay in the New Yorker written by Lemann. I said then that Lemann's piece probably wasn't worth reading, and suggested instead that the criticisms of Lemann's essay were far more interesting than the essay itself.
In fact, an entire industry seems to be emerging online dedicated to unraveling Lemann's thoughts. Take a look at this piece on Businessweek.com that calls the CJRDaily a decision "an extraordinary mistake."
(Note: I'm heading out on the road to meet with clients. I don't expect to post anything to this blog for a week or so. While I'm sitting in airports and such, I'll make a point of looking at CJRDaily to see if it's still worth reading. And I'll check out some of the new sites that have caught my attention in the last few days, including Journalistopia, the D.C. chapter of ASBPE and TalkingBizNews. )
tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, newsletters, business media
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
When technology and I were young
One of the best ... and most frustrating ... days I've had in journalism was 20 years ago this September, when I did some work as a stringer for National Public Radio. President Ronald Reagan was flying into Kansas City to make a campaign speech for Kit Bond, who was running for the U.S. Senate. It wasn't expected to be much of an event, which is why it fell to me, instead of some more established reporter, to cover the arrival of Air Force One at the little airport in downtown Kansas City.
But then, as the plane approached the city, word came that the Soviets would release imprisoned journalist Nicholas Daniloff.
That was huge news. 1986 was a tense time in the Cold War, and the detention of Daniloff had outraged many Americans.
NPR and I slammed together a plan. First, I would record interviews with the crowd, asking them for reactions to Daniloff's release. Then, as the plane landed, I would go live on NPR by phone.
At first, things went smoothly. One of the NPR hosts introduced the story, talked about Reagan's arrival, and then interviewed me. I described the plane as it taxied down the runway. I talked about Daniloff. I talked about the Soviets. I talked about how the crowd was acting. Eventually we switched to the microphone on the podium to hear the President's speech. Later, the host came back on the air to ask me a few more questions. Then he thanked me and I signed off. It was fantastic.
Perhaps for the first time in my life, I felt like a "real" reporter. I was positively giddy from the experience.
But my memory of the event is largely confined to what happened next.
In order to send my interviews to D.C., I had to connect my tape recorder to the pay phone. It was a cumbersome process that involved fitting a strange piece of gray-colored foam rubber over the mouthpiece. But I couldn't get it to work. The sound quality was awful. I'd send it. NPR would say they couldn't hear it. I'd send it again. They still couldn't hear it.
And I struggled and fumbled with this for a long time until -- believe it or not -- a female sergeant based on Air Force One came over with a tool box to help me dismantle the phone and connect the recorder directly with a set of alligator clips.
I thought about the technological struggles of that day -- as primitive as they sound now -- when I read a piece by Folio about a day in the life of an online editor.
Folio followed Kristin Campbell through a hectic workday at B2B publication DSNews as she wrote and edited news for the Web site while also producing and appearing in a video news program. The Folio article tells an interesting story, and Campbell is an endearing source who talks openly about the time and technological challenges of her job.
The Folio story is a worthwhile read for anyone who wonders what life will soon be like for almost everyone in journalism. And what's most heartening about the piece is that Campbell's joy in her job is apparent.
Take a look at the article here.
Then click here to visit DSNews to read and watch the fruits of Campbell's labor.
tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, newsletters, business media
But then, as the plane approached the city, word came that the Soviets would release imprisoned journalist Nicholas Daniloff.
That was huge news. 1986 was a tense time in the Cold War, and the detention of Daniloff had outraged many Americans.
NPR and I slammed together a plan. First, I would record interviews with the crowd, asking them for reactions to Daniloff's release. Then, as the plane landed, I would go live on NPR by phone.
At first, things went smoothly. One of the NPR hosts introduced the story, talked about Reagan's arrival, and then interviewed me. I described the plane as it taxied down the runway. I talked about Daniloff. I talked about the Soviets. I talked about how the crowd was acting. Eventually we switched to the microphone on the podium to hear the President's speech. Later, the host came back on the air to ask me a few more questions. Then he thanked me and I signed off. It was fantastic.
Perhaps for the first time in my life, I felt like a "real" reporter. I was positively giddy from the experience.
But my memory of the event is largely confined to what happened next.
In order to send my interviews to D.C., I had to connect my tape recorder to the pay phone. It was a cumbersome process that involved fitting a strange piece of gray-colored foam rubber over the mouthpiece. But I couldn't get it to work. The sound quality was awful. I'd send it. NPR would say they couldn't hear it. I'd send it again. They still couldn't hear it.
And I struggled and fumbled with this for a long time until -- believe it or not -- a female sergeant based on Air Force One came over with a tool box to help me dismantle the phone and connect the recorder directly with a set of alligator clips.
I thought about the technological struggles of that day -- as primitive as they sound now -- when I read a piece by Folio about a day in the life of an online editor.
Folio followed Kristin Campbell through a hectic workday at B2B publication DSNews as she wrote and edited news for the Web site while also producing and appearing in a video news program. The Folio article tells an interesting story, and Campbell is an endearing source who talks openly about the time and technological challenges of her job.
The Folio story is a worthwhile read for anyone who wonders what life will soon be like for almost everyone in journalism. And what's most heartening about the piece is that Campbell's joy in her job is apparent.
Take a look at the article here.
Then click here to visit DSNews to read and watch the fruits of Campbell's labor.
tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, newsletters, business media
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
Diverse or creepy?
"What racist imbecile is doing the hiring here?"
That's the question that, as I discussed in a post last November, enters my head whenever I wander into one of the hundreds of all-white newsrooms in B2B publishing.
If you're worried that folks like me believe it "has become positively creepy to visit your newsrooms," then you may want to attend the upcoming seminar called "No More Excuses: The "How to's" for Developing a Multicultural Magazine Staff." The two-hour event, hosted by Magazine Publishers of America and scheduled for Sept. 14 in New York, costs just $30 for members and $45 for non-members.
tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, newsletters, business media
That's the question that, as I discussed in a post last November, enters my head whenever I wander into one of the hundreds of all-white newsrooms in B2B publishing.
If you're worried that folks like me believe it "has become positively creepy to visit your newsrooms," then you may want to attend the upcoming seminar called "No More Excuses: The "How to's" for Developing a Multicultural Magazine Staff." The two-hour event, hosted by Magazine Publishers of America and scheduled for Sept. 14 in New York, costs just $30 for members and $45 for non-members.
tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, newsletters, business media
Monday, August 07, 2006
Non-suggested reading
If you have a lot of time on your hands, you could read the piece in the New Yorker criticizing citizen journalism. It's written by Nick Lemann, dean of Columbia University's Journalism school.
But I can't recommend it. There's nothing in it that you haven't seen before.
Instead, I'd suggest that you read Andrew Cline's piece about Lemann's article. Andrew does a great job of dissecting the rhetorical devices in Lemann's piece and how they add up to arrogance.
I'd also suggest that you read what Rebecca Mackinnon says about Lemann's article. She unveils the personal dispute that lurks in the background of Lemann's essay.
And I'd urge you to take a look what Jay Rosen, who works at New York University -- about 100 blocks south and a world away from Lemann -- has to say. No one -- no one -- thinks more clearly than Jay about where citizen journalism came from and where it may be heading.
For some of my thoughts on citizen journalism and B2B, see earlier posts here, here, here and here.
tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, newsletters, business media
But I can't recommend it. There's nothing in it that you haven't seen before.
Instead, I'd suggest that you read Andrew Cline's piece about Lemann's article. Andrew does a great job of dissecting the rhetorical devices in Lemann's piece and how they add up to arrogance.
I'd also suggest that you read what Rebecca Mackinnon says about Lemann's article. She unveils the personal dispute that lurks in the background of Lemann's essay.
And I'd urge you to take a look what Jay Rosen, who works at New York University -- about 100 blocks south and a world away from Lemann -- has to say. No one -- no one -- thinks more clearly than Jay about where citizen journalism came from and where it may be heading.
For some of my thoughts on citizen journalism and B2B, see earlier posts here, here, here and here.
tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, newsletters, business media
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
That's ridiculous, according to published reports
Yesterday I wrote about my belief that journalists should embrace the agnostic link -- pointing readers to interesting content no matter where it was published.
And longtime readers of this blog know that time and time again I've complained that some B2B publishers still haven't learned to insert any links, let alone agnostic ones.
Today I want to take this a little further and voice my dismay at an even more annoying practice.
Take a look at this piece in today's Investment News. It talks about a stock index fund that may be of interest to NASCAR fans. Look closely and you'll see that none of the material in the piece appears to be based on any reporting by Investment News. Rather everything in the article is attributed to "published reports."
Now the truth of the matter is this. The story isn't based on "reports" at all. It's based on a single report -- a piece of original reporting by the New York Times' J. Alex Tarquinio.
Now think about that.
I understand that many folks in our industry are afraid to link outside their own sites. I disagree. But I understand. But I absolutely do not understand why a publication would be afraid to attribute something. Lots of us do summaries of other published material. That's a well-established and valuable service that many press outlets offer to their readers.
But what could possibly justify withholding the single most important piece of information about a summary from our readers?
Attribution is one of the ways we let our readers know how much faith they can place in a piece of information. If we publish a sentence that says "'The sky is falling,' according to a guy on the street." We don't expect to be taken seriously. But if we publish something that says "'The sky is falling,' according to the director of the U.S. Weather Service," we're letting our readers know they should start panicking now. The same is true if we publish something that says "'The sky is falling, according to the New York Times, which cited an official with the National Weather Service."
But we're not telling anyone anything when we say "The sky is falling,' according to published reports."
But there is something else worth noting about the "according to published reports" phenomenon. And it is ugly.
The simple, unavoidable fact is that the phrase "according to published reports" is often a lie. If you've read one report and then attributed your story to multiple "reports" you are misleading your audience. It's similar to interviewing one person and then masking your laziness behind the use of the phrase "according to sources." Or publishing an unedited press release and calling it an exclusive news story.
And there is no room in journalism for a lie.
(Note: I singled out Investment News in this post because the use of the phrase "according to published reports" is a veritable plague at that publication. A search for the phrase on the site yields 11670 results. A search for the phrase on Google News yields 1,230 citations...and four of the first 10 are from Investment News. A good portion of those citations actually refer to actual reports, i.e. more than one news story. And sometimes, as in this story, Investment News cites the N.Y. Times or other sources by name. But Investment News routinely uses the phrase "according to published reports" when it's just plain silly to do so. Check out this story from today, which is based on this story from the Atlanta Journal Constitution.)
tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, newsletters, business media
And longtime readers of this blog know that time and time again I've complained that some B2B publishers still haven't learned to insert any links, let alone agnostic ones.
Today I want to take this a little further and voice my dismay at an even more annoying practice.
Take a look at this piece in today's Investment News. It talks about a stock index fund that may be of interest to NASCAR fans. Look closely and you'll see that none of the material in the piece appears to be based on any reporting by Investment News. Rather everything in the article is attributed to "published reports."
Now the truth of the matter is this. The story isn't based on "reports" at all. It's based on a single report -- a piece of original reporting by the New York Times' J. Alex Tarquinio.
Now think about that.
I understand that many folks in our industry are afraid to link outside their own sites. I disagree. But I understand. But I absolutely do not understand why a publication would be afraid to attribute something. Lots of us do summaries of other published material. That's a well-established and valuable service that many press outlets offer to their readers.
But what could possibly justify withholding the single most important piece of information about a summary from our readers?
Attribution is one of the ways we let our readers know how much faith they can place in a piece of information. If we publish a sentence that says "'The sky is falling,' according to a guy on the street." We don't expect to be taken seriously. But if we publish something that says "'The sky is falling,' according to the director of the U.S. Weather Service," we're letting our readers know they should start panicking now. The same is true if we publish something that says "'The sky is falling, according to the New York Times, which cited an official with the National Weather Service."
But we're not telling anyone anything when we say "The sky is falling,' according to published reports."
But there is something else worth noting about the "according to published reports" phenomenon. And it is ugly.
The simple, unavoidable fact is that the phrase "according to published reports" is often a lie. If you've read one report and then attributed your story to multiple "reports" you are misleading your audience. It's similar to interviewing one person and then masking your laziness behind the use of the phrase "according to sources." Or publishing an unedited press release and calling it an exclusive news story.
And there is no room in journalism for a lie.
(Note: I singled out Investment News in this post because the use of the phrase "according to published reports" is a veritable plague at that publication. A search for the phrase on the site yields 11670 results. A search for the phrase on Google News yields 1,230 citations...and four of the first 10 are from Investment News. A good portion of those citations actually refer to actual reports, i.e. more than one news story. And sometimes, as in this story, Investment News cites the N.Y. Times or other sources by name. But Investment News routinely uses the phrase "according to published reports" when it's just plain silly to do so. Check out this story from today, which is based on this story from the Atlanta Journal Constitution.)
tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, newsletters, business media
Monday, July 31, 2006
Learning to believe in the agnostic link
Of the subjects I like to discuss with B2B journalists -- ethics, multimedia, writing for the Web, reporting skills, etc. -- nothing causes as much anger as when I talk about "agnostic" hyperlinks. I've been called "stupid" for suggesting that a magazine link to a rival. I've been yelled at, scoffed at and walked out on. I've had myriad eyeballs rolled at me.
And it's all because I believe that journalists have an obligation as journalists to point to information of value no matter where they find it.
Two weeks ago I raised this subject briefly in a presentation to the ASBPE in Chicago in which I urged journalists to become more "blog-like" -- embracing the culture of blogging by becoming more passionate, adding feedback functions and linking outside their own publications. "If your readers should know about it," I said, "link to it -- no matter who published it." And much to my joy and relief, no one threw anything at me.
That could be testimony to the good manners of the folks at ASBPE. Or it could be an indication that attitudes about links are changing. Certainly today's news that the Washington Post has embraced the agnostic link would suggest that the mainstream press has begun to act more blog-like. So perhaps the B2B press will too.
On the other hand, as I noted just a few days ago, some B2B publishers haven't even learned to link anywhere, let alone link to competitors.
For more on the value of linking, read this earlier post.
tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, newsletters, business media
And it's all because I believe that journalists have an obligation as journalists to point to information of value no matter where they find it.
Two weeks ago I raised this subject briefly in a presentation to the ASBPE in Chicago in which I urged journalists to become more "blog-like" -- embracing the culture of blogging by becoming more passionate, adding feedback functions and linking outside their own publications. "If your readers should know about it," I said, "link to it -- no matter who published it." And much to my joy and relief, no one threw anything at me.
That could be testimony to the good manners of the folks at ASBPE. Or it could be an indication that attitudes about links are changing. Certainly today's news that the Washington Post has embraced the agnostic link would suggest that the mainstream press has begun to act more blog-like. So perhaps the B2B press will too.
On the other hand, as I noted just a few days ago, some B2B publishers haven't even learned to link anywhere, let alone link to competitors.
For more on the value of linking, read this earlier post.
tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, newsletters, business media
Thursday, July 27, 2006
How your Web site will look in the near future
Earlier today I downloaded the beta version of Internet Explorer 7, the next generation of Web browsers from Microsoft.
And after a just a few minutes of playing around, I can tell you that Version 7 is far superior to earlier versions. And that shouldn't be a surprise. Version 7's primary purpose seems to be duplicating the features and functions that made Mozilla's Firefox browser so superior to IE.
Longtime readers of this blog know that I'm a big fan of Firefox. And it seems that the developers at Microsoft are too. The new IE comes complete with the two most interesting features of Firefox -- tabbed browsing, which lets you look at multiple Web sites in a single window, and built-in RSS capability.
Why should you care? Think about this: as great as Firefox is, and as quickly as it has grown, its market share remains small. But Microsoft's IE is the king of the browser world. It won't always be that way, I'm sure. Things are changing quickly, and new user interfaces are coming. But until that day arrives, IE rules. So sometime in the next few months, IE 7 will become the way readers experience your online products. And you need to know what that will mean.
Download IE 7 today. You can do so here.
Take a look at how your site and the sites of your rivals look. One interesting feature of IE 7 is that the interface is smaller -- allowing users to see more of the Web pages they visit. Your Web designers should be considering what that means for your pages.
Then take a look at the little RSS icon that appears in the upper right hand corner of the browser. If the site you visit has an RSS feed, the icon will light up in orange. If not, the icon remains a dull gray. (Don't have an RSS feed yet? Perhaps that hasn't been a problem so far. But RSS is a superior experience for users. And billions of computer users are about to find that out. So trust me on this -- when IE 7 starts appearing on desktops around the globe, you don't want to be the only publication in your space that users can't access through RSS.)
tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, newsletters, business media
And after a just a few minutes of playing around, I can tell you that Version 7 is far superior to earlier versions. And that shouldn't be a surprise. Version 7's primary purpose seems to be duplicating the features and functions that made Mozilla's Firefox browser so superior to IE.
Longtime readers of this blog know that I'm a big fan of Firefox. And it seems that the developers at Microsoft are too. The new IE comes complete with the two most interesting features of Firefox -- tabbed browsing, which lets you look at multiple Web sites in a single window, and built-in RSS capability.
Why should you care? Think about this: as great as Firefox is, and as quickly as it has grown, its market share remains small. But Microsoft's IE is the king of the browser world. It won't always be that way, I'm sure. Things are changing quickly, and new user interfaces are coming. But until that day arrives, IE rules. So sometime in the next few months, IE 7 will become the way readers experience your online products. And you need to know what that will mean.
Download IE 7 today. You can do so here.
Take a look at how your site and the sites of your rivals look. One interesting feature of IE 7 is that the interface is smaller -- allowing users to see more of the Web pages they visit. Your Web designers should be considering what that means for your pages.
Then take a look at the little RSS icon that appears in the upper right hand corner of the browser. If the site you visit has an RSS feed, the icon will light up in orange. If not, the icon remains a dull gray. (Don't have an RSS feed yet? Perhaps that hasn't been a problem so far. But RSS is a superior experience for users. And billions of computer users are about to find that out. So trust me on this -- when IE 7 starts appearing on desktops around the globe, you don't want to be the only publication in your space that users can't access through RSS.)
tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, newsletters, business media
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Magazines of the year
I'm back from the ASBPE Editorial Conference in Chicago, where I had the good fortune to meet with some of the smarter, nicer and more interesting folks in our business.
While I was there, ASBPE announced the winners of its annual "Magazine of the Year" awards. And it was no surprise to me that both winners were IDG products -- Computerworld and CSO.
Longtime readers of this blog know that I'm a fan of much of what IDG does (DISCLOSURE: IDG is a client of mine.) And both Computerworld and CSO are truly wonderful publications in both print and online. I'm particularly impressed by how both publications have navigated the new media world. Although the designs of both sites are a little too cluttered for my tastes, Computerworld and CSO have a little bit of everything that makes for compelling online content -- graphics, feedback, podcasts, interactive tools, webcasts and hyperlinks. Congratulations to all involved.
For more on this year's winners, check out the blog of the Boston chapter of the ASBPE, which is run by my friend and ASBPE co-panelist Martha Spizziri (we served on a panel about blogging.) For more on this year's conference, take a look at the blog of my other friend and co-panelist, David Shaw.
You may also want to check out BtoB magazine's coverage of the keynote speech by Rance Crain, in which he calls for editors to stop looking across the "digital divide with fear and trepidation."
It's worth remarking that Rance is the president and editorial director of Crain Communications, owner of BtoB magazine. And although Rance seems to embrace new media, BtoB magazine still struggles with the most basic of new-media concepts. There's not a single link in the story about Rance. Nor, for that matter, is there a single link in any BtoB story. And as I've mentioned before, I find that's a common shortcoming at Crain publications.)
For more on why publications should link, take a look at this post at Reinventing College Media.
tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, newsletters, business media
While I was there, ASBPE announced the winners of its annual "Magazine of the Year" awards. And it was no surprise to me that both winners were IDG products -- Computerworld and CSO.
Longtime readers of this blog know that I'm a fan of much of what IDG does (DISCLOSURE: IDG is a client of mine.) And both Computerworld and CSO are truly wonderful publications in both print and online. I'm particularly impressed by how both publications have navigated the new media world. Although the designs of both sites are a little too cluttered for my tastes, Computerworld and CSO have a little bit of everything that makes for compelling online content -- graphics, feedback, podcasts, interactive tools, webcasts and hyperlinks. Congratulations to all involved.
For more on this year's winners, check out the blog of the Boston chapter of the ASBPE, which is run by my friend and ASBPE co-panelist Martha Spizziri (we served on a panel about blogging.) For more on this year's conference, take a look at the blog of my other friend and co-panelist, David Shaw.
You may also want to check out BtoB magazine's coverage of the keynote speech by Rance Crain, in which he calls for editors to stop looking across the "digital divide with fear and trepidation."
It's worth remarking that Rance is the president and editorial director of Crain Communications, owner of BtoB magazine. And although Rance seems to embrace new media, BtoB magazine still struggles with the most basic of new-media concepts. There's not a single link in the story about Rance. Nor, for that matter, is there a single link in any BtoB story. And as I've mentioned before, I find that's a common shortcoming at Crain publications.)
For more on why publications should link, take a look at this post at Reinventing College Media.
tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, newsletters, business media
Monday, July 24, 2006
Personalities for journalism, business
Longtime readers of this blog know that I've been predicting a surge in new businesses launched by established journalists. Now the New York Times has made note of the phenomenon.
The Times piece has its flaws. There's no mention, for example, of what role easy-to-use blogging software is playing. But there are some interesting insights here, particularly that business journalists tend to be "risk-averse."
The Times article focuses on Nina Munk, a former writer for Fortune and a stereotypically neurotic journalist "filled with self-doubt" who became "acutely aware of the personality traits required for success in business."
Take a look at the Times article here.
Then, before you launch your own business, take a Myers-Briggs test and spend a little time learning about the strength and flaws of your own personality type. I, for example, am an ENFJ. We are communicators and teachers by nature. There are lots of us in journalism. And we tend to have a "longing for the perfect" and to "experience some degree of restlessness" in our jobs. And although we can excel at any "people-to-people occupation," we tend to have problems with accounting (which explains why the biggest challenge I face in my business is balancing the checkbook.)
tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, entrepreneurial journalism, standalone journalism
The Times piece has its flaws. There's no mention, for example, of what role easy-to-use blogging software is playing. But there are some interesting insights here, particularly that business journalists tend to be "risk-averse."
The Times article focuses on Nina Munk, a former writer for Fortune and a stereotypically neurotic journalist "filled with self-doubt" who became "acutely aware of the personality traits required for success in business."
Take a look at the Times article here.
Then, before you launch your own business, take a Myers-Briggs test and spend a little time learning about the strength and flaws of your own personality type. I, for example, am an ENFJ. We are communicators and teachers by nature. There are lots of us in journalism. And we tend to have a "longing for the perfect" and to "experience some degree of restlessness" in our jobs. And although we can excel at any "people-to-people occupation," we tend to have problems with accounting (which explains why the biggest challenge I face in my business is balancing the checkbook.)
tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, entrepreneurial journalism, standalone journalism
Monday, July 17, 2006
Journalists and poets
I enjoyed reading the interview in CJR Daily with Priscilla Long, the writer who won this year's National Magazine Award for feature writing. There are some wonderful ideas in the piece -- particularly that journalists could benefit from reading poetry.
Yet I hesitated to link to the interview.
My concern -- born of experience -- is that the writers most interested in producing stories that read like poetry are seldom talented enough to do so. The result is too many magazines with too many awful stories by reporters in love with their own tortured prose.
And I don't want to link to anything that could possibly lead to more overwritten stories.
Yet there are those few journalists ... gifted, open to learning ... who can be taught to write like poets. And to them, I say, read this interview.
(I'd like to link to Long's award-winning essay, "Genome Tome," which appeared in the American Scholar. But it's not available online.)
For an earlier post of mine on poetry, click here.
tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, newsletters, business media
Yet I hesitated to link to the interview.
My concern -- born of experience -- is that the writers most interested in producing stories that read like poetry are seldom talented enough to do so. The result is too many magazines with too many awful stories by reporters in love with their own tortured prose.
And I don't want to link to anything that could possibly lead to more overwritten stories.
Yet there are those few journalists ... gifted, open to learning ... who can be taught to write like poets. And to them, I say, read this interview.
(I'd like to link to Long's award-winning essay, "Genome Tome," which appeared in the American Scholar. But it's not available online.)
For an earlier post of mine on poetry, click here.
tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, newsletters, business media
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
Looking at online video
I'd be hard-pressed to think of a style of content that has grown as quickly as short-form video. YouTube is certainly the most interesting company in the space, but new competitors are emerging.
But despite the enormous popularity of short-form clips online, few B2B publishers have offering video on their sites. There are exceptions -- mostly the larger players that cover the media business such as Variety and AdWeek.
If you're thinking about online video, or if you already offer some on your site, take a look at this commentary from MediaPost. It does a pretty good job of explaining what not to do.
For an earlier post about online video, click here.
tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, newsletters, business media
But despite the enormous popularity of short-form clips online, few B2B publishers have offering video on their sites. There are exceptions -- mostly the larger players that cover the media business such as Variety and AdWeek.
If you're thinking about online video, or if you already offer some on your site, take a look at this commentary from MediaPost. It does a pretty good job of explaining what not to do.
For an earlier post about online video, click here.
tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, newsletters, business media
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
Sources as competitors
There's no doubt in my mind that the greatest challenge traditional publishers face from blogging is that news sources can now be news competitors -- producing compelling content at little cost.
And it seems that most every day I find someone else who has found his voice ... and found a way to bypass the traditional press.
Take a look at this site, written by an employee at Birds Eye, about the pea harvest.
Or take a look at this blog about the beer industry from Miller Brewing.
I've written about this phenomenon before in posts such as this. And it was a year ago this month that I predicted a "surge in B2B news produced by B2B news sources."
And that has turned out to be one of the most accurate predictions I've ever made.
Yet many of the B2B journalists and publishers I run into seem unconcerned. They believe that something -- tradition, brand name, familiarity -- makes them a more trusted source of information than any non-media company can be.
That's a mistake.
In a world where anyone can be a publisher, it's time to rethink our mission, our role and our business plans.
For more on this subject, check out what my friend Chuck has to say about the Miller Brewing blog.
tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, newsletters, conversational media, business media, entrepreneurial journalism, standalone journalism
And it seems that most every day I find someone else who has found his voice ... and found a way to bypass the traditional press.
Take a look at this site, written by an employee at Birds Eye, about the pea harvest.
Or take a look at this blog about the beer industry from Miller Brewing.
I've written about this phenomenon before in posts such as this. And it was a year ago this month that I predicted a "surge in B2B news produced by B2B news sources."
And that has turned out to be one of the most accurate predictions I've ever made.
Yet many of the B2B journalists and publishers I run into seem unconcerned. They believe that something -- tradition, brand name, familiarity -- makes them a more trusted source of information than any non-media company can be.
That's a mistake.
In a world where anyone can be a publisher, it's time to rethink our mission, our role and our business plans.
For more on this subject, check out what my friend Chuck has to say about the Miller Brewing blog.
tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, newsletters, conversational media, business media, entrepreneurial journalism, standalone journalism
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