Friday, April 10, 2009
Elmira Confidential: Issue 04.10.09
In a trial offer: A new comments forum, exclusively for New York Group news and commentary. It's named for the central New York state community of Elmira -- where it all began in 1906. (Archives.)
11 comments:
Jim says: "Proceed with caution; this is a free-for-all comment zone. I try to correct or clarify incorrect information. But I can't catch everything. Please keep your posts focused on Gannett and media-related subjects. Note that I occasionally review comments in advance, to reject inappropriate ones. And I ignore hostile posters, and recommend you do, too."
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Building news! Bring it!
ReplyDeleteWhile I am now out of the biz, the cuts at Elmira hit close to home in a couple ways.
ReplyDeleteI am from the area, and interned at the S-G while still in college. For a small daily, Elmira produced some great work and housed some great writers who inspired me (Garth Wade could do wonders with the little stuff most reporters would turn their noses up at).
Now, it's so sad to not recognize any bylines. And while apparently there will be a few reporters left to lock up for the day, how is a copy editor in Binghamton (or wherever) going to edit a story FROM Elmira FOR Elmira readers?
Even my elderly mother, a subscriber for more than 50 years, is contemplating cancelling.
What a shame.
Binghamton's inability to cover the shooting properly is a direct result of corporate and local management decisions regarding staffing over the years.
ReplyDeleteThat's a good story for the trade press, the media bloggers, the media critics and the Poynter think-tankers to pursue. That group won't pursue it because they are too busy worrying about whether Murdoch will buy the Times of New York. (Hint, hint people. We know you read this blog).
Do not blame the employees in Binghamton. The blame should be aimed at Craig Dubow, the corporate board, the golfer guy, the group publisher and the regional publisher.
Readers want news. Now they expect news quickly. But instead of gearing up over the years to be ready for such a story, Binghamton spent money on features sections, Good Life, etc. The same type of crap was published in every Gannett community in New York. Now all of those "initiatives" are being scrapped. Some income was realized, but at what cost to the core mission?
A Gannett paper got caught with its pants down. Does that surprise anyone?
7:47, I could not have said it better. You are absolutely right about why Binghamton could not cover the shooting properly. If there's a moment when this company and these managers should hang their heads in shame and feel embarrassed, this was it.
ReplyDeleteIf there's any higher-ups reading this, what do you have to say for yourself?
I'm not familiar with the details, so I'm curious. What do you feel was missing in the coverage?
ReplyDelete(not from NY, but interested in the shooter coverage discussion.)
ReplyDelete@7:47 What do you mean by "inability to cover"? Do you mean that the web site lagged behind national television concerns?
Maybe TV is just better at getting answers right now and disseminating that information right now to the masses. Maybe TV does a better job because their journalists have fewer tasks to do in order to cover these crises.
When one of theirs wants to inform the masses, all they have to do is speak into a mic while transmitting by microwave or satellite. Newspaper journalists tend not to have such resources at their disposal, and once they are done spending time at the scene, they have to do even more work to get a story or images ready for the paper.
When a Gannett newspaper wants to inform the masses right now, it has to create (or modify) a story in Saxotech Online, a content management server that has no specific breaking news interface. That's akin to a TV reporter having to call a station's main number and answering a ten-question touch-tone questionnaire before being allowed on the air. "Please key in a date code to indicate the date you would like your story to be punched in, followed by the pound sign." "You entered today's date. Is this a breaking story? Press 1 for yes." "Are you feeding video? By microwave or satellite?" "what about audio?" etc.
Maybe slimmed "information center" operations can work (I have no idea how slim Binghamton is), but they need efficient processes to work well.
What is all this nonsense about Binghamton's "inability" to cover last week's shootings? I think the P&SB did a fantastic job covering that story.
ReplyDeleteIf you're referring to the fact that people from Rochester and Westchester came to help out fill the staffing holes filled by layoffs, furloughs and attrition, that's one thing.
But don't insult a staff of the P&SB that did some of its best work ever this past week.
From what I can gather, local TV and radio coverage of the Binghamton massacre was awful.
ReplyDeleteWBNG-TV has long been the news leader in the Southern Tier yet it fell down badly on such a major story. Industry website Northeast Radio Watch spelled out the shortcomings:
The Front Street shooting scene was just a few blocks from the Sheraton Hotel where WBNG (Channel 12) used to be located, back in the days when the station routinely pulled in more than 75% of the market's news audience. Under current owner Granite, WBNG's coverage was less distinguished; we hear the station's live truck was inoperable, leaving the station with just a phone report during its noon newscast, then occasional updates through the afternoon.
A local cable news channel wasn't much better:
While News 10 at least had a live, on-scene presence ... it suffered from technical flaws that rendered the live pictures almost unwatchable, not to mention a very green reporting staff.
Other media in Binghamton were even more clueless. One TV station had to rely on a sister station up in Syracuse; another TV station merely patched in Fox News Channel; the news-talk radio station had live reports early, then went back to Rush Limbaugh.
11:48 "If you're referring to the fact that people from Rochester and Westchester came to help out fill the staffing holes filled by layoffs, furloughs and attrition, that's one thing."
ReplyDeleteCorrect.
Here is the company's mission statement and vision for those not familiar with it.
Vision
Consumers will choose Gannett media for their news and information needs, anytime, anywhere, in any form.
Mission
To successfully transform Gannett to the new environment.
We will provide must-have news and information on demand across all media, ever mindful of our journalistic responsibilities.
Hey Chuck I heard and watched and read the coverage myself. I didn't need to rely on some third rate rant on excuses on why the coverage sucked less for the Press and Sun as related to the other media outlets. Making excuses as to why you sucked less is even more lame and pathetic and taking the time to actually find a source to back it up is showing that you are a true loser or gannett robot. And if you think this coverage was great you obviously have no clue what great coverage is....And how the hell does radio provide live coverage of a hostage situation in building for a 3 hour rush limbaugh window? "we are still standing here.....yes we are still standing here, nothing has still happened since this morning, ummm lets have more dead air...hmmm the cops still have their guns ready and are watching the building....." no shit they are going to cut back to the programming and provide updates if an when anything happens. LOSER
ReplyDeleteHey, 10:40 PM ..... go back under the troll bridge where you belong and leave the conversation to us adults.
ReplyDelete