gdp's Comments

Matt Neznanski : App is the new Web. Yeah, but whose app?

Thu, 24 Jun 2010 20:54:24 +0000

There's an interesting post on iPhone economics over at O'Reilly that kind of sharpens this point: apps and information are cheap; it's the delivery system that stands to reap the big rewards. Ah, the more things change, the more they stay the same...

Stephanie Romanski : Six of one...

Wed, 21 Apr 2010 16:04:40 +0000

Hi Stephanie. It's a good question, and one we've tackled with some workarounds on a niche project aimed at the home improvement industry (http://revamp.mvvoice.com). I should probably write a post about the lessons we've learned there, but to your point: we set up a fairly rigid protocol for how the posts get categorized and choked down the WP admin a lot to keep things flowing smoothly. I also spend a fair amount of time coaching and encouraging. I don't see any way around that (and I think it's probably the key to providing customer service that makes long-term relationships with local advertisers).

Matt Neznanski : The elephant in the college town: universty news and communications

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 23:05:26 +0000

Hey Mike! I was in Waco in early December touring Baylor with my wife's family (her sister is a Baylor Bear) and was reminded of you. Glad to have the perspective of someone on the news service team.

Matt Neznanski : Get a good deal? Let\'s share the details

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 23:00:53 +0000

Maybe flat rate was a bad description of what I mean. I'm not advocating for artificial limitations on the market. Rather, I feel like a market performs best when information is freely available. I'm much more interested in is having as much information as possible available for consumers and an openness in the transaction so we can compare apples to apples. Kind of like what I hope can occur with mobile devices: I pick the platform that meets my needs and budget and pair it with an operating system that works the way I think, then hook it up with a network that provides the service I require. Note that the example of a cable company is a bit loaded since they're often the monopoly provider -- something that provides neither good service nor competitive rates.

Matt Neznanski : The elephant in the college town: universty news and communications

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 07:43:37 +0000

Thanks for the note, Dennis. I don't disagree that here's a clear difference in the quality (at least) between the OSU and NYT posts. But what's the difference between using OSU resources and asking readers to start covering their own events and issues with big picture input from the 'pros' in the newsroom? That's the reality moving forward, I think. Try as we might, we just can't be everywhere in town with just five reporters (plus editors) covering seven days. And to Shawn's point above that getting "news you can use" in the hands of community members who can take action, sometimes a quick note, calendar entry or "Here's what's up" box written by anyone in the community (even those involved in the event) gets the job done. As you know, we spend a ton of time just formatting and "getting things into the paper" that don't result in better reporting or meaningful coverage. I guess what I'm saying is that I'd love to spread the load of that kind of record keeping in favor of focusing on doing the kind of work pro journalists do well -- often the kind of work others don't: impartial (as much as possible) analysis of issues, asking uncomfortable questions and being in places most people don't want to go.

Matt Neznanski : The elephant in the college town: universty news and communications

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 18:15:11 +0000

I'm not sure that I feel like OSU News and Comm is really a competitor. I just want to make the most of the resources they are making available and use our own staff to the greatest effect. I do think that advancing stories and events is a more useful thing for readers, but there's a time and place for recapping them, too. We also have a sizable (or at least vocal) group of readers who enjoy some national and international news in the print edition. Note that just today we ran a story on vitamin d research from OSU written by a university communications writer. I think it works fine provided we give credit and link out.

Between the Lines : Business info changes coming -- What do you need?

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 16:24:01 +0000

Yeah, that list has been a problem since we swapped servers back in May. I haven't heard anything in particular about that business: dog grooming? Anyone else hear about this?

Stephanie Romanski : Just embrace it.

Fri, 2 Oct 2009 22:04:21 +0000

Nice. Will be watching to see how this goes. And don't worry about the social media panel. You'll rock it. Let us know about that, too!

Matt Neznanski : Gulp. I just dropped the last two newspaper headline feeds from my reader.

Fri, 2 Oct 2009 22:03:18 +0000

Glad you're looking forward to it. Me too. A lot of journalists really bristle at the idea that we'd be curating links for people, but I think that's mostly a semantic argument. Desk editors have always been gatekeepers. Now it's front line reporters who have to sift through the noise to suggest important information for readers. That means going beyond the traditional story. But it also puts a lot of responsibility on readers, too, to produce quality content and understand the implications of reaching broad audiences with powerful tools.

Between the Lines : On comment threads, free speech and being the bad guy

Mon, 3 Aug 2009 22:42:33 +0000

In order to be able to comment, Francis, you need to login to our commenting system. And you found the blog, which features lots of ways to get in touch with me (see the right rail).

Between the Lines : On comment threads, free speech and being the bad guy

Thu, 16 Jul 2009 15:54:01 +0000

Ha. I'm always happy to talk with folks about how we can do better. Just promise me we'll talk about how the paper can serve you and the community better, not just complain that we're a bunch of left/right wing mouthpieces bent on destroying America. That gets a little old.

Matt Neznanski : Adding value to print by letting online be its own animal

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 16:37:06 +0000

Alena, Do screen readers work with pdf files? I'm wondering if you could use the e-edition product we have. It's a pdf of the paper with clickable links, etc.

Matt Neznanski : Oregon fourth in new wind power

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 23:28:56 +0000

That image is from www.permatopia.com/energy.html You'll have to ask them for permission. Sorry, my ability to caption photos comes and goes with various plugins and I'm struggling to find a consistent way to do that. Thanks for reminding me.

Matt Neznanski : High speed rail to Oregon? Yes!

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 16:20:27 +0000

You know, it's true that the HUT shuttle gets kind of spendy and I'm not really sure why. I used it once (on a long trip, so it paid off akin to antester's comment) and the service was fine, but I was shocked that it cost so much to ride. I suppose it's worth a look to see why.

Matt Neznanski : New Rite Aid building coming soon to Ninth and Circle

Thu, 16 Apr 2009 23:59:58 +0000

That's interesting, JNT. It's always tough to nail down these stores (or those who are trying to attract them) until they're officially onboard. I'll start making some calls. Thanks.