Attracting new readers and writers
I don't think this is necessarily complimentary but syndicated columnist Art Buchwald kind of writes about the News & Record today. I wouldn't call the Town Square "a circulation scheme," but wouldn't mind if circulation rose as a result.
Anyway, Ed Cone -- where I read about the mention -- nails the description of the column, saying that Buchwald: "...then phones in pretty much the same material he's been writing for the last few decades."
In an unrelated development, our Town Square initiative is one of five finalists for the Batten Awards for Innovations in Journalism, which are administered by the Institute for Interactive Journalism at the University of Maryland. Pretty cool.
Update: These are proof that there is alignment of the stars. Here's what my horoscope says today: Your ideas are golden. You'll surely succeed by following through with your own wacky antics but fail if you follow through on someone else's.
Comments (6)
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I want to hear more about your wacky antics, John.
Posted on July 26, 2005 5:06 PM
Don't worry, Patrick. They pass the four-way test.
Posted on July 26, 2005 5:57 PM
So, I'd rather know how you will measure this to be a success?
Page views?
New, unlikely audiences drawn to the website -- if so, how many?(Regular folk instead of the county board, politcal, school board wonks)
Some "interesting discussion"? (Intentionally vague)
A group hug on Market Street?
I mean at what point do you say "We've invested a lot of time and effort from our reporters and editors in this -- and I'm not certain the payoff is there." So, what would the payoff be?
Posted on July 26, 2005 8:24 PM
Being satirized by Buchwald isn't enough?
Page views are important. We're seeing monthly growth there, suggesting that we're delivering something that some people are reading.
Expanding on our transparency and interacting with readers in news ways are also important.
But extending our journalism is the key. As long as we continue to deliver reliable, useful information, then we'll be happy.
Posted on July 26, 2005 8:48 PM
I thought this cat, Buchwald, was supposed to be some sort of hot shot newspaper man. It's obvious from what he wrote that he never even looked into the story he was writing to see if it was true. He hasn't a clue of what you're doing and is too ignorant to know a good story when he sees one. Had he bothered to read just one editorial he would have never written that opiniated and unsubstaniated piece of BS that he wrote. Buchwald needs to get a job delivering newspapers 'cause that's as close to a real newspaper man as he is today.
Posted on July 28, 2005 10:52 PM
Buchwald used to be really good.
I have a number of his books.
But, like Jimmy Breslin, he's been sort of phoning it in for years.
Still, even being semi-slimed by him is an honor.
Posted on July 29, 2005 6:07 AM