Newspaper Exec Stuck in Legacy Mud

A few months back I spent several month talking to a newspaper group executive about my coming on board, to sell advertising, or manage the group’s social media and viral marketing efforts or some such. We’ve had two phone discussions, several e-mails back and forth and one face to face meeting. Still no firm offer. Then I got an email that asked me if I would like to sell classifieds, with an apology for the offer, saying that selling classifieds “doesn’t sound exciting.”

Oh my. Nothing like insulting most of my adult career! Did he really read my resume? Has he even looked at all the opportunities in classified lately? Did he not hear anything I said, or read anything I wrote to him?

Perhaps five or ten years ago I might have taken on the challenge of trying to turn this legacy attitude around, but I think if I hit my head up against this particular brick wall anymore it’s going to start to get bloody. There are plenty of community newspaper groups out there that are finally getting on board the needed multimedia evolution. This is not one of them. I give up.

Social Gaming Wars Kicking into High Gear

News Corp. is evidently kicking its social gaming efforts into high gear, though a potential setback was announced today. AllThingsDigital just reported that recently-hired social gaming executive Sean Ryan is already leaving News Corp. to serve as head of gaming partnerships at Facebook.

Recent News Corp. hire John Welch will take over the gaming head role. His casual gaming company Making Fun, was recently acquired by News Corp.

I’ve been saying for quite some time that gaming is important, and should be important to traditional media turned multimedia houses. This points even more to how the social gaming world is about to grow, probably by leaps and bounds.  Don’t get left behind.

HGTV, Examiner.com Team up – I’m appalled

I have to say right up front that I really hate this. I’ve been opposed to Examiner.com’s “Cutco” method of paying good writers next to nothing, and now, according to MediaPost and Poynter.org,  a media giant has given the disreputable content employer yet another financial boost. To make it even worse, the news group has allegedly  “bought” positive news coverage with ad dollars. For a reputable news organization to resort to this disreputable behavior and to do it by teaming up with a media organization that pays writers appallingly-low wages is unconscionable.

MediaPost has recently reported that Scripp’s HGTV is paying Examiner.com local “Examiners” by buying advertising on Examiner pages. I actually found the story on Poynter.org. In return these Examiners are being encouraged by their employer to write positive info about HGTV. According to MediaPost, the plan resulted in hundreds of Examiner.com articles and lots of social media traffic about HGTV. So, now writers are not only making a pittance but they’re selling their souls to do it.

Are you as appalled as I am? Examiner.com has angered me from the get go. I have a good friend who is an Examiner, in a town that I never visit and have no interest in. She asks me to read her posts so she can make her penny a view. (I heard that it’s now gone down to 75 cents per view, but that hasn’t been confirmed by Examiner.com.) I won’t do it. That’s what I mean by Cutco method. Ask writers to write, and make their friends earn their keep. Not so nice. Now this latest lack of ethics really takes the cake. Scripps, what were you thinking?

Nearly Half NAR Members Have Dot MLS

The MLS Domains Association is going great guns, with at least a third, and probably more like one half, of all Realtors now part of one or more dot-mls domains. The sites can’t be built until ICANN okays the extension but it seems like that’s just a formality.

Here’s more from AIM Group. Real estate publishers should be watching this one closely.

 

Check-in Offers Now on Yelp

courtesy, Website Magazine

Local review site Yelp has just announced its iPhone-enabled check-in offers – an emulatable idea for any publisher or broadcaster that wants something additional to offer its advertisers.

The feature rests on the dashboard of the business client or advertiser, letting them set up a coupon reward for customers who check in on the site. The clients also get a report on the check-in numbers.

Website Magazine has more details.