The Printer’s Devil

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In an earlier post, I said that although newspapers are in a frenzy to move onto the Internet, it was yet another gimmick that would keep them on their chosen road to ruin. Judging that most of the stupid publishers in this country are leading the pack to move to the Web, I’m confident it’s going to be yet another catastrophe.

If you have to have a Web site — by way, I know of some papers that don’t have a Web presence or have scurvy Webhsites and funny, they seem to be doing quite well and hanging onto their subscribers. If I were you, I wouldn’t be so quick to dump all your copy onto the Web site. Like some of the young upwardly-mobile professionals who publishing and advertising companies lust after have told me: “Why should I subscribe to the paper when I can look at it on the Web for free?” As nearly all newspapers are finding out, merely because people are looking at their Web sites doesn’t guarantee you’ll get enough money to justify the time and effort. After all, if there as much money as stupid but busy publishers seem to think, Google, Yahoo and other large CorpsNews dinosaurs would have bought the company that owns your paper.

And as a managing editor, you’ll find that time is your enemy. I guarantee you’ll spend a great deal of time fiddling with the Web — once you jump onto the Internet, you have assumed a responsibility to keep checking your Web page to ensure your copy is properly loading and that those people who click onto your site can bring up the Web pages quickly. (In other words, keep it simple and fast. Discourage those stupid but busy publishers or computer whizzes who want to add bells and whistles and other speed bumps.)

As the present housing and financial meltdown demonstrates, just because the “experts” recommend it and because everyone else is doing it is not a reason to join the parade of CorpsNews media morons jumping off the Internet cliff.

Moto photo
However, there are particular reasons to use the Web and as I mentioned in an earlier post, there some benefits being on-line.

One is in terms of photography. As an editor, it’s your job to help your reporters and photographers do their jobs and the Web can be a major timesavings — and a small money-maker for your paper and your photographer.

Readers clip out news stories and photos about their family and friends. But after a particularly good or interesting photo is printed, some proud parents and grandparents will call the photographer and ask if there were additional photos were taken of their kids (after all, for every one good photo, there’s at least 20 other rotten or not as good photos of the same subject, especially sporting events).

They’ll ask to see those photos and ask for reprints of those and the photo that appeared in the paper.

If they’re smart, newspapers have policies that limit how much time photographers spend on such requests and reprints. Since most papers split the proceeds, most photographers are willing up to a point to do reprints. You have to satisfy your readers but I’ve not cared for them because the reprint business requires colossal amounts of time and there’s frequently a backlog — which tends to annoy customers.

The Web offers some attractive alternatives that virtually automates the process and keeps your photographer out on the street rather than at the computer desk.

Several newspapers have signed onto Web services that allows the photographer to download all or some of his or her photos. I know of Second Street Media, which operates the My Capture Web service. There may be others.

Whenever reprint requests arrive, you refer them to the Web service, and the readers go to the Web service, examine the photos on their own time and pay to download the photos they want. The payments are split among the Web service, the paper and the photographer. And from what I’ve heard and observed, the customers seem happy — although you might have improvise or take a little extra for those grandmas who hate or are afraid computers and help them navigate the Web site.

I’m not sure if the money is all that great, but it saves tons of time and aggravation for the photographer (and yourself) and for that standpoint is worth it alone.

Second Street Media operates the My Capture photo Web service that serves many newspapers and other publications. That’s not necessarily an endorsement — that’s the one I know of and there may be others.

Selling subscriptions
Some of the smarter papers and a lot of the niche magazines see the Web as a way to peddle more subscriptions. I don’t know how successful that is — you tell me — but in my case, I don’t subscribe but I will buy a magazine off the newsstand if I’ve noticed something from its on-line edition and I decide I can’t live without it.

When I’ve the choice — and not following the dictates of a stupid but busy publisher (this is usually the case, though) — I’ve put a digest of the most “sexy” stories for that day on the Web. Enough to provide useful information but still tempt the reader to go to the newsstand. Sort of like putting your juiciest story above the fold but then jumping it — to keep the cheapies from reading the entire story through the vending machine glass and making them put their quarters in and buy it to read the end of the story. Or like Paul Harvey’s radio feature “The Rest of the Story.” He baits you and then makes you sit through the commercials to hear “the rest of the story.”

You can also post full copies stories that are unusually good or of particular community or historical significance — perhaps the ad staff can get some business to sponsor the story on-line but don’t hold your breath — as another inducement to subscribe. Especially if you have a “franchise player” reporter — there are getting fewer and fewer these days — you can “market” the reporter in promotions on-line and in the regular paper.

Obits and other stuff
An exception is obituaries and death notices. They’re among the most popular part of newspapers but they also tend to consume an managing editor’s time at inconvenient places, especially in small towns. People call about service times, calls from out-of-state shirt-tail relatives wanting copies. Your paper could make some money but it’s not worth your time. Put them on the Web.

Many papers have started putting the minutes of the various local city council, county commission and school board meetings. Your paper should be covering those but a fair number of readers seem to like reading the minutes as well. At least in Kansas, governmental bodies have to send you the minutes if you request them, and especially if you can talk the clerk into e-mailing them to you, it’s a relatively simple matter to post them on-line.

You can also perform a valuable service by putting on past tourism, newcomer and community guides on-line. The Chamber, government and economic development people will love you and it can be useful even to old-timers — and if your ad staff can’t find on-line advertisers to support, that’s a sign your move on-line was a mistake. Be sure to update the information periodically. Businesses close and open.

American newspapers, in their panic-stricken flight to “hyper local news,” yet another self-destructive gimmick, have done an increasingly crappy job of providing national and international news. I’ve wondered, given the smaller holes to such news, if it was possible to refer readers to more background perhaps through Associated Press stories (as paltry as they are at times) or U.S. Department of State or other free stuff regarding other countries. You might try it, especially if you have a reporter or even someone else in the newspaper building who’s interested in such news — you would be surprised if you asked to put on stuff and keep it current.

Above all, remember, the Web isn’t a lifeboat for newspapers. Use the Internet as a tool. Don‘t let the Internet use you.