Philanthropist Al Neuharth was no doubt waxing philosophical about First Amendment responsibilities as he told editors during USA Today's 1982 launch: "When you run a picture of a nice clean-cut all-American girl like this, get her tits above the fold."
Indeed! Racy entertainment site Metromix has clearly taken up the Neuharth challenge -- and The Cincinnati Enquirer's got the best example today, based on my new and completely unscientific survey of Metromix pages. Above, the Enquirer serves up New Year's Eve clubbers Holly Melind, Christy Newberry and Michelle Lee at the appropriately named Bang. (Among the consumer demos that Bang targets, the club lists "media moguls.'' In this Ohio Riverboat town, that would be Publisher Margaret Buchanan and, uh, . . .)Start your search engines!
I considered the Reno Gazette-Journal's amazing Santa Crawl's sexy Santas gallery, above -- and Cincinnati still came out on top (or is that bottom?). Whatever! I'm a gay guy; what do I know?! So, all you one-handed (ahem) Metromix-masters, can you top Cincy?
Please post your replies in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write gannettblog[at]gmail[dot-com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the green sidebar, upper right.
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ReplyDeleteShould be metrochix.com.
ReplyDeleteOf course, they should do a gay version, and call it metrodix.com.
And the ones in Dixie should be called metrohix.com, but that may be an oxymoron...
12:33, way too funny! I've never checked out Metromix sites; just read about them here. I'm no prude, but I was totally appalled. And embarrassed for the company I work for.
ReplyDeleteSo to summarize the future of gannett publishing in "conservative" Cincinnati:
ReplyDelete1 - Cincymom website featuring detailed discussions on oral sex techniques.
2 - Drunk girls gone wild pics in the Young Reader weekly metromix.
The next logical step is to feature a weekly contest in which a random drunk girls group photo is selected and readers are invited to guess how many total bj's were administered by the group the night the picture was taken. The prize could be free admission to the next metromix sponsored bar event - jounalistic integrity at its finest!
Having researched the issue, I think the Santa Crawl from Reno is actually metro-mixier than the Cincy Bang.
ReplyDeleteI am just waiting for some girl's dad to go have a fit over this...
ReplyDeleteand for the lesbian site call it metrolic.com
ReplyDeleteI almost took you up on your request Jim, until I realized that I would contribute to the hits for Metromix, which aspires to appeal to narcissists and masterbators.
ReplyDeleteOh, such a well of sadness.
12:49 pm: Thanks for the reminder about the earlier Cincy Moms forum that included advice on giving blow jobs to husbands.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, in the switch to the new MomsLikeMe template, that tip got lost.
It's nice to know that Gannettblog posters are so prudish. I suspect that the demo for Metromix is not the same demo that Gannettblog goes after. Hopefully it will be making money for the company which I would be very happy to see.
ReplyDelete"appeal to narcissists and masterbators."
ReplyDeleteAfter 30 years of teaching kids to love themselves and self esteem is more important than anything, Metromix is the newspaper of a new generation
don't these papers have a responsibility to not take advantage of folks who are DWI (Dumb While Intoxicated)?
ReplyDeleteWhen MMX launched last year at Cincy, dozens of reporters and copy editors had to collect and input the information for thousands of venues and restaurants. Our favorite part: we were told that the yes or no option for "carryout" and "delivery" had to be filled in as "no" for each restaurant because that info was forgotten in the data collection form. Can't believe that was the only fudging of facts.
ReplyDeleteAnd now we know why the company is in trouble. Look at these posts! Unable to accept that it's our job to provide content that our readers want. We do that with our paper. God forbid we allocate 1-2 employees to generate content for the next generation. Sorry you don't agree with it, but there is actually an audience for it. And to assume that Metromix is just drunk photos of scantily clad women is a gross misinterpretation of the site. I hope you all aren't journalists, because if that's you're only takeaway from Metromix, then your readers are in trouble the next time you look into their hot-button issues. Let's also not forget that while Gannett stock has been tumbling out the door and our colleagues are losing their jobs, MMX is actually profitable, so maybe we can save some jobs.
ReplyDeleteAnd don't cry about the integrity of the profession, because we're all whores to the system. The paper is a golrified ad delivery system filled with news. It's a business. Look at classifieds. What does that have to do with news? Personal ads? Obits? Come on, get real.
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ReplyDelete1:26 PM
ReplyDeleteYou can go after any demo you want, but that doesn't always mean that's the demo you'll get.
These photos pale in comparison to one run in The Tennessean's precursor to Metromix, All the Rage. One week's photos included a young woman's birthday party, complete with cake. Nearly unnoticeable in an early picture of the slideshow was the cake topper, a rather large sex toy. But when the birthday girl picked it up and licked the icing off, it was noticeable all right. And yes, it ran.
ReplyDeleteI'm with anon@203 on this one. I want to keep my job. If putting photos of scantily clad girls gets us page views, I'll do it. Trust me, it works. Cincy wouldn't do it if it did not bring in the eyeballs. All of you outraged cranks - good luck on the unemployment line.
ReplyDeleteCincinnati's own smut purveyor, Larry Flynt, has been spotted several times taking the elevator to Buchanan's floor. He knows the market well, that it's truly a community in the closet when it comes to matters of sex. MetroMix is a way of tying a GirlsGoneWild theme to nightclub directories and all the accompanying social networking possibilities. We're still trying to train the public on how to submit their own salacious photos so we won't incur the cost of sending out our own photographers.
ReplyDeleteDo Metromix editors ever get tempted to boost their page views by hiring, and sending really sexy models to nightclubs, where they pretend to be customers -- so Metromix photographers are guaranteed, traffic-boosting pix?
ReplyDeleteHow much would the model/photog costs be, and how much additional traffic would you need to cover those costs?
I'm looking out our local Metromix site and it really does a pretty good job at providing information about night life here - especially for the demographic that it's looking to capture. I didn't see any unfortunate pictures either. Apparently, anything that doesn't fit within the narrow model for the old guard is simply bad by default.
ReplyDeleteAnybody remember the "baseball" issue of The Des Moines Register's "Juice?"
ReplyDeleteI had some reservations about Metromix when it launched, but it's a riot. And the way Metromix uses the photo galleries to tell entertainment stories is something all Gannett papers trying to reverse publish struggle with. If any of y'all don't think the internet is the Wild, Wild, West well ... you better saddle up. Yeeha!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteAnd for all the ILLEGAL alians we can call it METROMEX
ReplyDeletehere's your winner for the contest, it's the future of journalism:
ReplyDeletehttp://denver.metromix.com/bars-and-clubs/roundup/global-warning/405083/content
I vote for pic #3 here at Des Moines metromix site:
ReplyDeletehttp://tinyurl.com/9uuqop
(as to hiring models, from here in Phx and scottsdale, especially, home to the $30k millionaires, that doesn't seem necessary.)
Somewhere along the line, I missed the information that proves eyeballs and clicks really translate to advertising dollars. Please someone, point me to some valid studies that were done by real researchers and not marketers. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteJim,
ReplyDeleteHire models to pose? Do you really think we're oozing cash here? It's a bare-bones operation. The whole marketing budget is gone. We can barely juggle the calendar listing and calendar events, much less actually cover what's going on in nightlife. Our mission is to snap photos of people having fun. That's all. If we get them trained using the site, they'll find that there's a whole lot more there than just bar photos. You do realize that these sites have more comprehensive venue listings and calendars than competing sites in most markets, right? iPhone app? check. Gannett's crawling to churn one out, while MMXs has been out for quite a while. Labeling the site as Girls Gone Wild is just ignorant. Have you been to a young bar lately? Have you looked at a young person's myspace or facebook? They're already taking these photos themselves - and posting them online - so why shouldn't we capture these moments for them? I think most of the disapproval many of you feel towards MMX should actually be aimed at the behavior or twenty-somethings. It's different than what you're used to, so you attack it. It's so frustrating to hear opposition to something we do that young people actually like. Or would you rather just rely on churning out news to a shrinking audience. This doesn't steal any of your resources, so what's the problem?
Personally, I find the site boringly fuddy duddy and sexist.
ReplyDeleteProfessionally, I'm wondering if high schoolers might really be the audience sites like Metromix and Moms is drawing.
Jim,
ReplyDeleteI am sure if this was a gay entertainment site, you would have a different perspective. You truly are an ignorant POS.
It must be another slow day for the Gannett Blog.
What're you talking about, 6:12 pm? They look pretty hot to yours truly!
ReplyDelete5:37 pm: You may have mistaken the tone of my post for MY disapproval. That is coming from some readers. In fact, purely from a commercial standpoint, I think Metromix is one of the smarter things Gannett has done.
ReplyDeleteBut I hate to see it become the sole replacement for more thoughtful entertainment coverage. (Whatever happened to the old News Department chestnut: deferring to local autonomy?)
On the other hand, now that Tribune is on the ropes, maybe Gannett can negotiate a bargain price to buy out its Metromix partner.
Boobs at the helm
ReplyDeleteBoobs online.
The Gannett cup Runneth over.
From LA Observed:
ReplyDeleteMetromix, we barely knew ya
Word, unconfirmed, out of 1st and Spring is that Metromix Los Angeles is shutting down — the Tribune pub's staff will merge with the staff of The Guide at the L.A. Times and a print section of some kind will still be put in those boxes located in sufficiently young and upscale parts of town. Dean Kuipers, editor of The Guide, will oversee the merged operation and Deb Vankin, currently Metromix editor, will run the paper section. Chris Barton is tagged with running the web side.
Jim... you'll have to check your traffic stats to determine if you had a surge based on your Metromix re-sets.
ReplyDeleteIF you do, might be time to look at similar content on an at least weekly basis.
Someone said that newspapers were whores all along... I'd have to agree with that assessment. We're just morphing into more obvious whores.
Ten years ago, we struggled with the journalistic ethics of free editorial touting a business in return for some advertising. Now, we run ads on the front page.
What a long way we've come.
I can tell you who is looking at those pictures, the girls in them.
ReplyDeleteIt does exactly what it's intended -- draw people to site who are out participating in the areas nightlife.
As a young Gannett reporter (not working for metromix) I think it's a pretty good model. If these girls didn't want people to see them, they wouldn't dress that way in public. I would venture to bet their MySpace page has worse. And after the photographer took their picture, I'm sure they asked where they could see it later. The next morning they woke up, sobered up and went searching for the photos. In the meanwhile, they were drawn to the site. They probably went back later to look for friends.
While I would by mortified to dress like that or have it on the internet, some people aren't.
And while it's not prize winning watchdog journalism, it is what a sector of the population is looking for. Posting risque pictures doesn't bar papers from doing good watchdog journalism, so quit being so prude or idealistic.
And as for the assertion that it's sexist. I would counter. It's empowering. Thirty years ago a woman would have been run out of town for dressing like that. Now we're given the choice to dress as slutty as we would like. It's not objectification. It's choice.
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ReplyDeleteJim: How is the content of many comments here, labeling these women "sluts" and "whores," not defamatory? Do you know anything about "false light" defamation law? You'd better study up.
ReplyDelete10:53 you scare me. For one, those chicks don't remember who the hell shot their pics or what Web site they'll be on the next day. They're sleeping it off and making plans for the next nights sleaze. And if there was traffic to a site's Web, that would help us how?
ReplyDeleteEmpowering you say? Grow up!
Bravo to the genius who identified the real motive behind the photos - to make the people in them go to the site. News has always been about "me". What do I need to know? How does this affect my life? Why does ________ news event even matter? The photos we take at arts and sporting events aren't for journalism's sake half the time - it's so parents can see their kids. It's so the leaders of local organizations can see themselves. Self-gratification. Just because these people are drunk when we snap their photos, they still just like seeing themselves like everyone else. Look at your news site. Look at most of your photo galleries. Are they really necessary to tell the story? Are 47 photos from the local high school basketball game really essential for the audience to know what happened?
ReplyDeleteAs I said, this poster was right. Let the record reflect that when these people have their photo taken, they're handed a card or sticker with the web url, so they can find it the next day. Does it work? You bet. Do they come back once they see what else is on the site? Not all of them, but we sure get their attention better than running a house ad below a story about local water system repairs.
Last, Jim - you say "But I hate to see it become the sole replacement for more thoughtful entertainment coverage." Again, the refusal to accept change is a handicap in this great profession. Holding on to old habits for posterity's sake is foolish. The public has spoken - they're not hungry for the same old song and dance routine we've been performing for years, so what's wrong with learning a few new moves? You know, there are actually real stories on Metromix, right? Q&As, survival guides, reviews, etc.
11:35 pm: Busy day and night; took a while to catch up.
ReplyDeleteWhether it's Matthew McConaughey on the beach with his shirt off or these lovelies with cleavage from neck to navel, people have always admired good human form. (http://tinyurl.com/lq6at)
ReplyDeleteMetromix is no more the onramp to hell than David was.
As another comment pointed out, most of the traffic drawn to these sites are people looking for their friends and themselves. The same thing we promote with our high school sports coverage and other local photo galleries.
Are there some pervs logging in with one hand typing, looking at the shots? Sure. They do that with the h.s. sports, too - don't fool yourself otherwise.
Your local library doesn't discount the number of materials checked out based on who is viewing them, or for what reason.
Why should we care, why should our advertising partners care if some in the audience have hairy palms? As long as they haven't gone blind yet and can see the local ads, they can still click through and drive business through the doors.
Gannett could profit from making their female reporters turn tricks, too. Is that OK to those of you who support this for no reason other than Gannett's unproved marketing pitch that hits to the site turn into success for advertisers?
ReplyDeleteMetromix creates hot spots. In so doing, it alienates potential advertising from the competition. And that's why objectivity in editorial coverage is what made newspapers desireable to both readers and advertisers.
Gannett ignores the mission of a newspaper. It has been a ringleader in destroying the entire traditional news industry, sure enough.
I have daughters, and I don't appreciate my company going out of its way to portray popular women as those who'll stick their t's and a's out for any camera aimed at them. I can tell you 98% of the girls at my daughters' high school and colleges do not dress or behave like this. Gannett is NOT accurately publishing a snapshot of anything but a freak show for people to gawk at.
No one has proved even that Metromix is successful at getting hits or that an unusual share of those hits also open the ads there. But no one has, or can, proved the "editorial content" brings paying customers anywhere. That "news" coverage may draw customers to the hot bars it creates, and those may be advertisers, but that just makes Metromix one big ad. There's no reason to think the ads sans editorial whoring do a damn thing for any business.
If this "newspaper" business model worked so well to serve a capitalist democracy, don't you think the media industries in other democratic countries would emulate it? Except for Murdoch rags, you rarely see anything like this, and I can tell you from my travels that people in just about every other country in the world -- including Russia -- are far better informed about the world around them than Americans.
In our market, the "Spotted" equivalent only goes out one night a week (Fridays), so I generally tend to go out Thursdays or Saturdays. If they bothered to announce which pub they were frequenting each week, I'm sure a number of students from our local college/university would show up for the chance to make the Web site (and I'd know which bar to avoid that night). Why pay models when a simple announcement acts as a call out?
ReplyDeleteJim said: "On the other hand, now that Tribune is on the ropes, maybe Gannett can negotiate a bargain price to buy out its Metromix partner."
ReplyDeleteGod, I hope that doesn't happen. I'm an assistant editor on an MMX site, and I have to say Tribune is the company that built the site and its admin tools, and it works better than anything I've used of Gannett's. If Gannett becomes sole owner, they're sure to screw it up.
And, for the record, much of what MMX uses is repurposed entertainment content from its parent newspaper. The club photos that everybody is rolling their eyes over are just one component of the site. MMX covers entertainment as a whole better than the print product I worked on for 7 years, especially with the good contributions from the national network.
The Reno paper continually runs these cheesy Metromix shots next to their standing photo for the series of stories they've done on Brianna Denison, a young woman who was raped and murdered last year. The irony does not go unnoticed.
ReplyDeleteI have no problem driving people to the site with pictures of themselves or their friends, but I do have a problem when anyone over 30, who is an employee in the department that covers Metromix is never allowed to attend meetings or discuss creative for the site or it's companion print section. Because I am not 20 something I still can suppply creative ideas to bring in revenue. I find it very sad that is the mentality of this organization. I think age and experience teaches you things the younger people may want to know or perhaps learn from. I always listen to their points of view and creative ideas and find it refreshing, but I also think since I am a woman and not 20 or 30 the door has been completely shut. I find it very upsetting.
ReplyDeleteAnon 520 a.m.: It's great that Cincy's metromix ran that photo on the web years after the graphics director airbrushed David's naughty bits in the paper.
ReplyDeleteMetromix is embarassing and degrading, especially to women. Maybe if the site was just as degrading to men, it would make things even. Ideally, it wouldn't be degrading to either gender. What's wrong with showing photos of people fully in their outfits having a fun time? I guess this is how low some papers are willing to stoop to attract Web viewers. It's sad but apparently it works.
ReplyDeleteProps to photographer Mark Byron from Metromix Cincinnati for this fine shot!
ReplyDelete