May sweeps is officially a disaster, and Variety has a follow-up: “The writers strike, along with the rising popularity of DVRs and the increased availability of programming on multiple platforms, conspired to make this season the lowest-rated on record for the broadcasters,” says the trade mag. The top five broadcast networks are down 10 percent in the 18-49 demographic. “The strike made this year an anomaly,” said Fox Entertainment chairman Peter Liguori. “But we all should look at what happened to those viewership levels and be shocked into being more aggressive about our thinking. No one knows what will happen with summer viewing and into the fall.”
Great quote. Great advice. Because this is most likely not a fluke.
May 21st, 2008
With laptops and WiFi, is there any reason for newspaper reporters to file from the newsroom — or even work out of a newsroom at all? “With most editing, ad placement, layout, and design done on computers anyway, it’s conceivable that the newsroom as it exists today could be eliminated, with folks working from home, their car, or even the local Starbucks,” writes Joe Strupp in Editor & Publisher. But some worry that reporters will lose the valuable exchange of ideas that comes from working in a newsroom.
Personally, I don’t understand why newspapers haven’t split off half their reporters to neighborhoods (requiring them to live there) and launching a network of hyperlocal news sites that all seamlessly feed back to their core site with an integrated CMS. (Beat reporters, meanwhile, would categorize their stories across relevant neighborhoods.) Having a neighborhood reporter is a powerful idea, especially when that reporter covers the small stuff in short form. This forms a relationship and an online community that generates more tips and a larger aggregate audience. But that’s just me. Culture, my friends, is the highest of all barriers.
May 21st, 2008
