The rumors about the end of days for the Seattle P-I were confirmed today, at least in print. An online edition will be life incarnate for the Puget Sound globe spinners. The Hearst Corp. announced that the P-I will become the nation’s largest daily newspaper to shift entirely online beginning this Wednesday.
New Media pundit Jeff Jarvis devotes more than a chapter to the newspaper Rx in his new book “What Would Google Do?” that could be described as a manifesto for news publishers on how to transform their operations from newsprint to interactive, electronic journailsm. The PI would be advised to take heed!
“News organizations should see themselves as services,” says Jarvis, “pushing out feeds, offering content to networks of sites, soliciting the public’s assistance on finishing stories. Papers should no longer make just one mass product, but services for targeted interests: a local sports show, a mobile weather service, local job fairs, parents’ guides. Small is the new big.”
What is a news story? Is a topic page a better vehicle for covering local news? How should news be gathered? How should it be shared? What does a newspaper look like it if it is no longer a newspaper?
Ironically, the marquee name Post-Intelligencer may come to symbolize intelligence overlooked or overturned by so many in the post-newsprint generation. This post-modern era needs a new brand of thinking for journalism that is post “ink on dead trees” and the news industry’s ability to adapt, or bust! [24×7]
Microsoft Bids Adieu to Gastineau
In a curious move given Microsoft’s bid to compete as a search marketing service provider. the company announced it will be closing its adCenter Analytics program aka Gatineau. Rumors hint that Microsoft may offer analytics in a different form than a standalone tool.
“Our team would like to sincerely thank you for your participation and your invaluable contributions to the program. Our objectives at the outset were to serve the needs of small and midsize self-service customers, as well as evolve the Microsoft strategy to address the Web analytics space.
The insights you’ve contributed through your feedback and your use of the tool have served an invaluable purpose in shaping Microsoft’s future in this space.” [24×7]
Get more info in the Seattle24x7 blog
