My first suggestion in part was:
"Why not use miamiherald.com to provide breaking news but hold back posting non-breaking news and longer feature stories on the site? Print them in the morning paper instead. Once they've been published then they can be posted on the site.
"The way they're doing it now would be like Publix giving away fresh-baked bread everyday and then charging for the leftover stale loaves the next day."
There's no evidence that any of my suggestions reached anyone in power at the Herald.
But today, Mike Leary, managing editor of the Philadelphia Inquirer, wrote in a memo to staffers that the Inquirer, starting today is:
"...adopting an Inquirer first policy for our signature investigative reporting, enterprise, trend stories, news features, and reviews of all sorts. What that means is that we won't post those stories online until they're in print."
Interesting. And from my vantage point it certainly makes sense. I wish I could take credit for inspiring the Inquirer's move.
In any event, perhaps someone in power at the Herald will eventually get wind of the Inquirer's new policy and follow suit. And they won't even have to give me credit for coming up with the idea. They can just say that they got it from the Inquirer!
The Inquirer's policy essentially is a bit of a paper tiger. Posting a few articles here and there first online is not what's causing news sites' woes. Going to a print-first mentality is actually a step backward from becoming a media powerhouse online.
ReplyDeleteIncidentally, check the Herald's web site traffic numbers and compare it to other large Florida news sites. You're in for quite a surprise.