Tag Archive for 'Video'

Schedule: Master Classes for Romanian Editors-in-Chief

I am flying to Bucharest today at the invitation of the World Editors Forum to teach two Master Classes at the Executive Media Management Institute.

I really like the structure of these discussions - 20 minute presentation and 70 minute conversation, that’s a great format for an executive audience and my favorite style of teaching.
See the schedule below:
Continue reading ‘Schedule: Master Classes for Romanian Editors-in-Chief’

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Video: Readers talk about Chicago Tribune redesign

A first-day report from the upscale suburban streets of Chicago, home to the Chicago Tribune’s core readership. I went out to see what people who were reading the Monday Sept. 29 edition were saying about the shrunk-down three-section paper and the new emphasis on graphic design.

More reaction around the Web:

  • Readers speak up about the Tribune redesign at Gapers Block.
  • Crain’s Chicago Business surveys readers “Trib readers say redesign lands with a thud”
  • Chicago Public Radio has a podcast with Mark Fitzgerald of Editor & Publisher who says the sections need more cohesion.
  • Fitzgerald elaborates on exactly what has changed in the product in the E&P review.

    E&P: The change in the lifestyle/entertainment/comics section is no improvement at all.

  • Chicagoan Beth Kujawski blogs about the redesign:
    Beth: “It’s a tabloid that can’t bear to think of itself as a tabloid, so it’s still going to publish as a broadsheet.” But it’s a tabloid.

  • Photo District News notes the irony of playing photos better while at the same time laying off four photographers.
  • Sara Quinn at Poynter has filed an illustrated Q&A from staffers at three papers that have fresh designs debuting this week. The Hartford Courant, the Oklahoman and, of course, the Trib.
  • Chicago designer, Ron Reason, has a write up about the changes.
  • Charles Apple has more detail, pages and interviews of all the year’s rapid redesigns - he posts frequently.
  • Industry trade group, SND, has a new blog post up from Steve Dorsey with a slideshow and a video interview with Steve Cavendish - a fellow SND blogger.
  • The official Chicago Tribune Media Group press release - PR Newswire

Please add your reviews and links in comments

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Video Obit: Death of a small-town newspaper

This cryptic line was recently posted by VizEd member William Fouts in a blog entry.

“Today was an extraordinarily sad day. Today, I posted OUR obituary.”

William worked for The Noblesville Daily Times and its Web site, Hamilton County Today.
His video above documents the decision to shutter the paper and stop the presses in a small Indiana town.
After watching the clip, I reached out to him through the VizEds network to explain what happened in his newsroom.

 

The Noblesville Daily Times was founded by local owners in 2003. The paper revived the name of the city’s original newspaper. It was quickly taken over by South Bend-based Schurz Communications.

The Daily Times was founded in response to community demand for a daily paper after our competitor, the Noblesville Ledger, changed from a daily to a weekly publication. The Ledger is now a neighborhood insert in the Indianapolis Star.

If I’ve accounted for everyone in the end credits, there were 24 of us on staff when the bomb dropped last Wednesday. We were family. The vast majority who were there at the end were there at the beginning.

We were always under revenue pressure. It would have been easy and understandable to jump ship but most did not. We were dedicated to producing the best paper we could and building a successful business.

I’m sure you can imagine shooting video around the office in the final hours was a melancholy experience. I wondered to myself why I hadn’t shot video of my colleagues in happier times.

It is important to note Hamilton County, Ind. borders Indianapolis to the north. It is, if not the, one of the fastest growing counties in the nation. In addition to Noblesville (40,000+ residents), we covered the cities of Fishers (60,000+), Carmel (60,000+), Westfield (25,000+) and the smaller towns of Cicero, Sheridan, Arcadia and Atlanta.

Not one of those communities now has a dedicated local paper.

Thanks for sharing this painful experience with us, William.

Rest in Peace, Noblesville Daily Times and best wishes to the former staff in pursuing their next adventures.

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