BG News Alumni Society Forum

What the F**k Is Social Media?

2009-08-11T03:40:00Z

Found this presentation, does a good job of explaining things while being cheeky.

What the F**k Is Social Media? Here's an Answer

Brainstorming: starting online, from scratch

2009-08-10T02:47:34Z

I have recently accepted a job as Online Director of the Pine Bluff Commercial, owned by the Stephens Media Group. It's a grand experiment and I'd love to get feedback from those still in the news business -- and those who aren't.

If you were to build a news operation from scratch, published only digitally, what would be the top three things you'd want on it -- that you would pay for? Think local local when considering this challenge.

Also, think of the news Web sites you check regularly: what annoys you? ... And what have you gotten in the habit of looking for daily (a particular blog, maybe? Traffic update, etc.) -- and why?

Much appreciate these and any other feedback/thoughts you are willing to share on how you use news Web sites!

Show me the money

2009-02-01T22:56:31Z

Been doing a bit of research lately on what newspapers are charging advertisers to publish online. Answer? Very generally, using the standard of CPM (Cost per thousand of impressions), they seem to be ranging from $1 CPM to $65 CPM, with the Wall Street Journal at that high end and most major metro papers in the $20-$35 CPM range.

Couple of thoughts:

A.) Could newspapers make their rate cards any more confusing and intimidating?

First you've got to figure out what CPM and ROS CPM vs. Targeted CPM means and then cross examine the paper's traffic reports (if they provide them) with the rate cards to try and figure out how many impressions (think television viewers) you should go for. And you've got to be careful to catch the fine print, which may tell you you need a minimum buy. So the least you can pay for a CPM of $25 for 25,000 impressions is $650. ..... In other words, if I were a real advertiser, I would have given up trying to understand all of this within five minutes of downloading the rate card.

B.) Adding all kinds of inventory (space for the sake of space) to news web sites seems like one of the dumbest strategies ever.

Why make readers click four times to read an entire story? Or make a slideshow that forces readers to click 10 times through a top 10 list? To sell more ads! .... But it seems all they are doing is driving down the price of the ads they are selling. i.e., More supply = cheaper product. Wouldn't limiting the amount of space on a site mean better profits and less work for employees?

C.) Oh, those online ads are ugly.

Anyone work on the advertising side of things or sell their own ads for their own blog or web site? Why do you charge what you charge for online ads? Love to get a discussion going!

Public figures using private email addresses

2009-02-01T22:37:39Z

Last month in Arkansas, the attorney general issued an opinion at the request of a state legislator on whether or not the state's Freedom of Information Act allowed the public access to emails sent from private email addresses. His response -- Yes, but there is a loophole:

"If the e-mails constitute "public records" under the FOIA, and the corporation is not required to produce them in response to a FOIA request directed to the corporation, a question might arise about how to obtain them. While it is clear that there must be a procedure to obtain the records, the details of that procedure are unclear under the FOIA because the Arkansas Supreme Court has not squarely addressed the situation you posit. In my opinion, there must be a procedure to obtain these e-mails because, otherwise, the FOIA would be subverted, which is something the Arkansas Supreme Court has repeatedly made clear it will not permit.[3] If no procedural mechanism exists to obtain admittedly public records, then a citizen's substantive right to obtain the records is effectively destroyed."

See full opinion here: http://ag.arkansas.gov/opinions/docs/2008-190.html

How are other states' handling this? Anyone have experience fighting for such records?

Interested in your own blog?

2009-02-01T22:22:24Z

Hey All,

I wanted to extend an offer to any alumni that is interested in their own blog. If you are, we would be more than happy to host it here on BG Views. Just post a reply here and I can get you setup.

Ken

Your Company's Computer Guy

2009-02-01T22:06:00Z

Can you name that reference?

Many of you know who I am, other do not. I have not actually graduated from BGSU but have been working for Bob Bortel in one capacity or another since I started college in 1997 (scary, isn't it).

I now work in an office downtown and have been working with a small team to get the new BG Views project off the ground. BGNAS is an integrated part of BG Views and I hope that means we see much more participation in the web site because of it.

Working in and around a newsroom for so long has worn off, and I am now the Gaming Editor at Blogcritics Magazine, which just got bought out by Technorati, though that does not mean I get a big fat check each month.

If anyone has questions about the BGNAS site or BG Views site please ask me. My email is ken@bgviews.com.

Ken

Who I am and Where I am

2009-02-01T15:25:28Z

Hello! I'll get things started ....

I am AmyJo Brown, an '02 grad and former BG News editor-in-chief. I am working now as a general assignment reporter at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in Little Rock.

Although a g.a., I tend to focus on covering county government, housing and nonprofits. Reporting on local government has long been the niche I've carved out for myself, but covering housing and nonprofits became a more recent passion after I spent five months investigating a HUD program in Arkansas.

Find me on linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/amyjobr