Comments on: Interview: Chris Krewson on changes at Philly.com and the Inquirer

By: Some Thoughts, Complaints, and Otherwise About “Print First.” « J-School: Educating Independent Journalists

Mon, 15 Sep 2008 14:22:38 +0000

[...] visions of how the print and online universes relate to each other (i.e., the Philadelphia Inquirer non-controversy about paper first, and also this recent, very insightful article about a decision by the Bowling [...]

By: Wheat From Chaff » Much Ado… - Trends, Events, and Business Strategy

Wheat From Chaff » Much Ado… - Trends, Events, and Business Strategy — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 16:39:23 +0000

[...] “Web centric” credentials then the identification of a real problem. A Ryan Sholin interview with Chris Krewson of the Inquirer further suggests this is the [...]

By: Should online always be first? | forum4editors.com

Should online always be first? | forum4editors.com — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 19:32:33 +0000

[...] Krewson, the managing editor of the Inquirer, responded to these critics in two interviews with Ryan Sholin and Poynter’s Amy Gahran: “This policy shift is part of a strategy to create [...]

By: :::Philebrity…media, culture, music and more::: » Blog Archive » Reasons Not To Twitter: Chris Krewson Faces The Critics

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 18:47:31 +0000

[...] the more you kind of start to think that he deserves it. The back-and-forth has already spawned this insufferable, tempest-in-a-teapot interview, and we get the sense that sadly, this post will only serve to keep it going for another day or so. [...]

By: Ryan

Ryan — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 14:31:08 +0000

@ Chris A:

I haven’t looked into it much further than the conversation with Chris Krewson that you see in this post.

The “coordinated differentiation” riff is coming from my own experience as a reporter, editor, and trainer: If your “Web-first” strategy is to just put text stories up on the Web before they hit print, you’re not gaining much.

If, on the other hand, you’re floating ideas in a beatblog and finding sources and developing angles by posting little chunks of news or quotes before your full story hits print, then you’re using the Web as a reporting tool, not just a publishing platform.

And lastly, if you have multimedia, interactive elements to your story that complement the text, you want those out front when the story hits doorsteps, so when you tell readers to “Go to newspaper.com for more” it’s easy to find, right away.

What level are they at in Philly? I’d be interested to read your thesis to find out…

By: Chris Anderson

Chris Anderson — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 12:42:22 +0000

Ryan, I’m curious with regard to this: “So if it’s about differentiation, it’s about coordinated differentiation, not about running things on the Web at a random hour and in print the next morning.” What do you think? You’ve spent some time in Philly, or at least talking to people there– do you think this is coordinated differentiation? (personally, I have my doubts, mostly regarding the ‘coordinated’ part.)

Also, you and I should chat — I’m wrapping up fieldwork for my doctoral dissertation on local news production, and Philadelphia is my case study. Would be great to hear what you’ve been up to.

By: Ryan

Ryan — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 11:27:53 +0000

@ Mike H: Hmm. If you read the interview, you’ll note that “tipping off the competition” has nothing to do with it. (And it shouldn’t.)

No one is talking about holding breaking news until morning. The goal in Philly seems to be to run print and Web simultaneously when there’s an investigative/enterprise/feature story, especially if there’s an online element that should be out front on the Web when the paper hits doorsteps.

So if it’s about differentiation, it’s about coordinated differentiation, not about running things on the Web at a random hour and in print the next morning.

Part of me guesses that the issue has as much to do with their Web CMS as it does with any sort of high-level strategic decision-making.

By: Mike H.

Mike H. — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 06:28:07 +0000

I think Leary has the right idea. We all have this urge to get our stuff onto the Web today. But the dead tree paper — as troubled as it might be — still brings in a lot more ad revenue than the Web version, as in orders of magnitude more money. It’s the organization that collects the news and carries the budget for the news staff. So there should still be some distinction. The Web is great for murders, accidents, disasters, fires, weather stories, traffic, and routine government news stories (the stuff everybody will probably cover anyway). You can get it out first online without doing any real harm. But I think there’s still a case to be made for saving the good stuff for the people who pay for it. You certainly don’t want to tip off the competition (mostly TV and radio today) by posting something important eight hours befor your paying customers get a chance to see it.

By: .: GAFNO.com - Hot World News Blog :. » Blog Archive » Killing the cash cow and other acts of media indecency

Sat, 09 Aug 2008 03:43:07 +0000

[...] a follow-up interview Ryan Sholin conducted with Chris Krewson, the Executive Editor, Online/News at the [...]

By: Software Reviews & Free Software Download. » Blog Archive » Killing the cash cow and other acts of media indecency

Sat, 09 Aug 2008 03:39:19 +0000

[...] a follow-up interview Ryan Sholin conducted with Chris Krewson, the executive editor for online/news at the [...]