Monday, May 04, 2009

USA Today Confidential | Issue 05.04.09

In a trial offer: A forum, exclusively on USA Today. (To be archived.)

12 comments:

  1. With new Publisher Dave Hunke at the helm, plus newly appointed top Editor John Hillkirk, I've set up this new comment forum, exclusively for news about the company's flagship. (This new feature was requested by a reader.)

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  2. I hope the new USA TODAY administration takes a long and hard look at the leadership in the graphics department. I am talking about the top design czars who seem to not give a damn about the newspaper, nor do they appear to have the leadership skills to run an efficient department. The most basic things appear broken. Just my two cents based on my own observations as well as rumblings I've heard over the last several months. This has always been an important department in terms of brand identity. I wasn't always thrilled with the previous editors there, but they were professional and seemed to sincerely care. This new crew is absurd. The work coming out of there lately is filled with errors, often late or never gets off the ground for a variety of reasons. Getting a simple correction made is a real adventure. It's making my job and the job of others pretty difficult.

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  3. Sorry for the cross post in the Monday comments, where I was typing this while Jim was creating the USAT Confidential trial.

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    I don't recall seeing any mention of story on Hunke here. But I confess I couldn't finish any of the daily comments over the weekend -- because I just got tired of dodging all the vomit and spew.

    Anyway, Hunke tells E&P that he sees USA TODAY charging for premium content. But what I found odd was his comment that "USA Today in print will continue to be here for at least the next five years, but digital delivery will drive a ton of delivery decisions."

    Five years? There's some faith for you.

    Story is here:
    http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003968197

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  4. Hey, 8:21am: Who makes up the Graphics/Photo leadership now? I figured after more than two decades of Richard Curtis, it couldn't get worse.

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  5. What's the timeline for moving out of Hattiesburg? I thought that it was supposed to be this month.

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  6. 'USA Today' Offers New Front Page Ads
    Mediaweek
    Hoping to appeal to skittish advertisers by offering more flexibility, USA Today is selling four new front-page ad units. The new units include pyramid- and staircase-shaped formats and are roughly the same size as the strips currently available on its section fronts.

    The strip format is always a challenge to creative directors and the change is a way to loosen up the restraints to allow for more inviting creative work, according to newspaper execs. The new ads are priced the same as the strips, at $97,500 Monday-Thursday and $119,400 Friday.

    HOW DO THESE RATES COMPARE WITH OTHER SPACE, USAT INSIDERS?

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  7. It is just my personal opinion, but I think USA TODAY has the most creative, imaginative and wonderful leadership in the world. Now can I have a raise?

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  11. Wow, telling E & P that the USA print circulation leader will be in print for at least the next 5 years. I can only hope that comment was taken out of content.

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