I created the PegNews business plan back in 2004 because I love newspapers, but what they were delivering wasn't delivering for me. We were originally going to be a newspaper with a kick-ass website.
So I take no joy in the Belo buyouts (and potential layoffs) wrapping today or the Star-T buyouts (and potential layoffs) announced today. Beyond the fact that I know people at both shops (and countless others nationally) who this will personally hurt, it is at least in the short term, bad for local news.
Mark Potts, who started Backfence, which was a frienemy site to PegNews, wrote a compelling post last week about what would happen when a major US city went paperless -- and friends, it will happen somewhere in the next year.
Well worth a read and some thought about where we (both the royal and collective) fit in the ecosystem he describes.
(Sidenote: Funny that he uses Bugle as his example. I hear rumors that someone may be launching a DFW product by that very name.)
Comments
Scott Doyle Verified
I'm surprised Seattle isn't already paperless, tbh.
Think they'll beat us to the punch (presuming they haven't)?
3 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
Mike Orren Staff
Seattle has two newspapers. And they BOTH do as much web traffic as the DMN.
3 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
Scott Doyle Verified
Think I was there in May of '07 and saw the Seattle Times on a rack in a coffee shop. Considering they still have a link on their homepage for home delivery, seems they ain't paperless.
I'm kinda surprised they have as much traffic as DMN considering Dallas has twice the pop (at least, we did at the last census).
3 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
jtmbls Anonymous
Sadly, they probably just read more in Seattle.
Mike - Do you foresee this inevitability having any effect at all on the way you gather information or is Peg already ahead of the curve in terms of its sources?
3 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
Mike Orren Staff
jtmbls, I wouldn't go so far as to say we're ahead of the curve. If your question is as to how this effects our ability to cover the cities with a small staff -- clearly we link out to the DMN a lot for the metro-wide stories and if there are less of those it could have an impact. But we're pretty well set with our growing list of content partners to help us.
If the metro papers drop or reduce certain areas of coverage, we'll certainly try to fill in the holes, opportunistically as we see underserved groups of people.
But make no mistake: We are in strange times. The old guys are in a hurt and the new kids like us haven't grown big enough to pick up all the slack. I steadfastly believe that when all of this shakes out, there will be more, not less availability of news. But there's going to be gap in the meantime. Someone will figure out how to fill that while making a buck will have something.
3 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
Collin Gouldin Verified
Miko, I feel the same way about the music (,radio, and soon tv) industry, It's all going to pan out for the better, but it's going to be weird (and hard) getting there...
3 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
Jeremy Dunck Staff
For one reason why Seattle has more news traffic than Dallas, I suggest people read Bowling Alone.
The short version: commutes kill community.
There are more reasons, of course.
3 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
Mike Orren Staff
Bowling Alone was a big influence on our bizplan too.
3 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
Scott Doyle Verified
I dig the northwest, mang.
Portland, Seattle...Doyle would definitely like to see Dallas shift more towards those paradigms (even though it'll never happen). I'm no dirty hippie, but quality of life seems much better up there than down hiyah. If my frugality didn't stab my brain at the mere thought of a mortgage there vs. here...you'd probably already be out one ScoDo.
FWIW Miko, I'm a really big fan of PN staff originated columns/stories (i.e. New Product Wednesday, Thursday Morning Cup Check, etc). Would ABSOLUTELY love to see y'all fill in the gap where the big kids might start slacking on day to day Metro stuff.
Also, needs more NT Daily content imo. Sis is starting her freshman year on Monday.
3 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
xdavidwattsx Anonymous
You'd be better off planning a move to the great NW before ever expecting that quality of life to move down here.
3 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
David Gouldin Staff
That wouldn't happen to be the cost of a mortgage out in the very burbs that inhibit our ability to make the shift, would it?
And what's this? A Doyle in little d? I can recommend some good spots if she's not familiar with the town.
3 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
DC Anonymous
I could see people reading the DMN more if it wasn't birdcage quality toilet tissue. Somehow I am not optimistic that news coverage is going to improve in either quality or quantity as fewer people are going to be able to cover the world at a profit.
3 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
Scott Doyle Verified
DaGo, seriously? Seattle vs Dallas, most data from Oct 07. Median home price more than double. And it certainly isn't entirely the burbs' fault for Dallas being douchey.
Ja, little Doyle in little d. Stay away from my sister, you're a married man! Regardless if the wifey is that open-minded, no means no!
3 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
xdavidwattsx Anonymous
Seattle is pretty pricey compared to the D, but Portland isn't too out of control. Very doable, actually when you take into consideration the astronomical prices you now see in Lakewood and Uptown.
3 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
Collin Gouldin Verified
she's 18 right??
3 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
Andrew Laska Verified
Getting back to the Mark Potts discussion that Mike mentions, I have to agree with someone who left a comment saying that his discussion was overly optimistic.
Its about the money. Serious online news has yet to prove it can replace the serious place taken up by dead tree dailies and do so while making money.
3 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
TJ Callaway Verified
Mike, I'm curious as to how you see sites like The Huffington Post franchising thier name to hyper local news spots affecting PNews?
Thanks and I'll take your answer off the air.
3 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
Mike Orren Staff
TJ, under their current model it doesn't impact us at all, even if they extended it to DFW. They only put one part-time blogger in the market and are otherwise just aggregating (and doing that even lightly in favor of linking to their national coverage).
Unless they put real feet on the street, in terms of ad sales (which they are doing centralized in NY), content and real people answering questions like yours, I don't see them making a big dent.
Local is hard, sweaty, messy work. No one's ever really succeeded at it without substantial feet on the street, and I don't think HuffPo, or Topix, or {insert aggregator here} ever will.
3 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
Jason Rice Verified
And slavish devotees aren't born of 3 month account approval cycles. I like a lot of Huff articles, but their comments run pretty bigoted, so I was afraid to even sign up (SWM need not apply), but I did. Literally, months passed and I got added to their advertising email, their special alerts and slews of spam. Finally three weeks ago I got my account activation email.
Mike - I know it's a pain to be pwned by your iPhone, but your immediacy is a discriminator.
And the ferocity with which your user base defends you is... frankly a tad frightening, even to me. -And I'm the one stirring the dang kool-aid.
3 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
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