Comments on: Op-ed vs. Ed

By: Sheila Lennon

Sheila Lennon — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 12:56:10 +0000

Doc, news-archive software varies, of course. At the Providence Journal, newspaper stories published to the Web via CMS remain at the URL forever, but you need to know the URL to find them.

If a blog or interested Web site posts a headline link, it’s out there for everyone. The archives front end throws up a pay wall, but at that point you’re paying to get the URL.

Reporters and editors access a different, searchable set of library copies of stories that include fields for the newspaper pub date, section and page numbers.

By: Doc Searls

Doc Searls — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 23:00:15 +0000

Thanks, John. That’s a good piece.

I think you’re saying that print stories follow two paths: one to an archive from which the stories are sold to readers, and one to blog posts where they persist and are freely available? Do I have that right? Just making sure.

If so, I’m wondering how the paper makes sense of that.

I’m also wondering if the paper would consider opening the archives. Do you see any hope for that?

By: John Kroll

John Kroll — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 21:20:46 +0000

Older content is behind a paid wall. But recent stories from The Plain Dealer are a hybrid. While an automated feed of our print stories still has an expiration date on each story, almost all of those stories (and many more articles) are also posted through blog software with permalinks, like this one for the Connell story.

By: Gus W

Gus W — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 20:11:26 +0000

I don’t think you’re missing much looking in the pay section of “print media” websites. The coverage has pretty much been a wash since Connell’s death. CBSNews had a decent piece on their website (hoping for witnesses to come to 60 Minutes?) and the Guardian UK. NY Times reposted a VR piece, otherwise they’ve been strangely silent. Maddow and Olbermann have also disappointed thus far.

The best sources for info have been Velvet Revolution, BradBlog, epluribusmedia and RawStory but an essential starting point if you haven’t already read it is here:

http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Republican_IT_consultant_subpoenaed_in_case_0929.html

By: Doc Searls

Doc Searls — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 19:26:59 +0000

I agree about Amy Goodman. I've liked and listened to Democracy Now for a long time. And your points about linking are correct as well. Even so, she and Democracy Now are gears in a partisan mill. Look here and you can see the mill at work. I don't think Amy and crew are to blame here. My post is mostly about the failure of newspapers to play in a field where they have some very good ways of winning.

By: Marshall Kirkpatrick

Marshall Kirkpatrick — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 19:18:26 +0000

I have the utmost trust in Amy Goodman but I agree that she should have included some links to mainstream news stories in her coverage in as much as available, just to show examples of coverage and offer a place to get more details. It appears though that this is essentially the transcript of an interview she did in video/radio and presumably one of her staffers turned it into a blog post. That’s another issue, I think, that the old guard of the left at least and the support staff they have working for them too often fails to take advantage of what new media offer. Blogging isn’t just another broadcast method – it’s an opportunity to link, send trackbacks, engage with comments and more. There are few people on earth I admire as much as Goodman, but I’m not sure her crew is really on top of new media as much as they could be. I think the technology available offers opportunities for greater communicative impact than they are currently taking advantage of.

By: Doc Searls

Doc Searls — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 18:42:48 +0000

That helps, John. But my point about archives stands. In time those stories will fall behind the paywall. Meanwhile click on “long term paid archives” under your link and see what happens.

By: John Kroll

John Kroll — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 18:35:32 +0000

Try "Michael Connell" at The Plain Dealer's site.

By: Doc Searls

Doc Searls — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 18:05:21 +0000

Yes, and in this case, you’ve got consent doing the manufacturing.

By: Shava Nerad

Shava Nerad — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 17:33:25 +0000

If the Wellstone crash had been during the blog era, you might have seen the same treatment. *sigh* Even if there is no evil plot, the sensitivities are so acute that the urge to tamp things down is going to be huge, and we’ll end up with the usual manufactured consent of not looking hysterical (and therefore, not looking).