My industry
Philadelphia was long a breeding ground for some of the most meaningful metro columnists in the country.
Some say the newspaper columnist is dying, but it isn’t dead.
So who’s the next columnist of record in one of the oldest newspaper cities in the world?
Continue reading Who is Tom Ferrick's heir: the best Philadelphia newspaper columnists
The history of the Philadelphia Inquirer mirrors the path of all the big gray ladies in the United States.
While putting together suggestions for the Inquirer months ago, I came across some interesting reading on the third oldest newspaper in the country, which is nearing its 180th birthday. Follow it and the path of your own hometown paper.
But why isn’t the Inquirer already cashing in on its historical brand? It seems it may be moving that way, but I want to see more and as a means to develop, sustain its brand and monetize it.
What is writing, reporting and editing worth to you?
Everyone says he didn’t get into journalism to be rich – particularly not the print field – but rather it’s what he wants to do.
But when you really face the numbers it may seem even more daunting.
Continue reading Your new journalism job: what do reporters, editors get paid?
We had a good conversation on the merit of full-text or partial feeds on a post recently that I never got to address.
I got a few e-mails on the matter, too, actually. (No surprise they were as conflicted as the comments)
What we all seemed to agree on is that newspapers (or any RSS feed for that matter) are fools to offer no excerpt in an RSS post.
The debate came on how much content should be provided in a feed, though.
Continue reading Full-text feeds, Partial feeds: What's a blogger to do?
Why does a Google search of “Commonwealth Confidential,” the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Harrisburg state capital bureau blog, yield no direct results, but rather links to some of their posts?
Because they haven’t reached out to the blogosphere and received in return the currency of the Internet – incoming links.
This isn’t something I put on the Inquirer Harrisburg bureau staffers, nor am I trying to criticize the Inquirer. Rather it is the newspaper I read, so my criticisms and suggestions often fall their way, though I think they’re widely applicable to newspapers across the country.
Continue reading Inquirer blogs that don't own their Google searches: all newspapers need to learn
I owe Philly.com an apology.
I got heavy traffic on a recent post of mine in which I complimented the video product (particularly Philadelphia Business Today) but regarded it as incomplete in many ways. I haven’t shifted much on my analysis, but I have learned I put the wrong address on the post. Find out where it should have gone below, and what every newspaper – or company, or organization, or individual – can learn from it about branding.
Everyone in this country, I figure, ought to be watching the again flourishing NFL rivalry between the Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants in today’s NFC divisional playoff contest.
So who would be scrolling the Internet? Still, this game made me think about how newspapers are losing ground for which they need to fight harder – local sports.
Continue reading Newspapers need to dominate local sports coverage
The 2008 list-spree continues here, and, really, I hope to build on this next year.
No one makes the sensible move to keep a check on the best stories in the fourth biggest media market in the country.
Below, in chronological order, find my seven favorite pieces of journalism from the city’s largest and most influential publications.
Updated 6/27/10 @ 8:50 p.m.: Added additional Gmail improvement suggestions
Yeah, we’re all on Google’s bird. It may be a phenomenon, financially and socially, but I still have my complaints. I’m sure you do too (even if you just blame them for killing newspapers, like the French do.)
As Google applications have grown in popularity during the past few years, journalists have taken to see Google aps as a way to better unite newsrooms.
The advantages are clear, but having only used Google aps for a couple years, and a couple for half that, but I have already found a number of faults with these free Web-based services, particularly for journalists.
Continue reading My problems with Google applications: holes in these journalism tools
I think the Philadelphia Inquirer is doing at least one of its online videos right – mostly.
The storied newspaper’s business section puts out a daily, noontime, three to five-minute news show called Philadelphia Business Today, and it has developed into one of the best newspaper-produced videos online. What are they doing right? What are they doing wrong? What can newspapers across the country learn. And Is anyone watching?
