NY Community Newspapers in the Digital Age

Rensselaer County Dairy Princess and Hoosic Valley student Leah Remington Says Farewell

2011-05-19T07:53:00.000-07:00

Princess Leah Remington

I wrote in December, how since being named Rensselaer County Dairy Princess in July, Hoosic Valley High School junior Leah Remington religiously emailed The Record every week with her dairy princess update. Well, the Hoosic Valley High School student's reign is coming to a close. Below is her final missive. We wish her all the best!.

From Princess Leah:

Eighty-five thousand servings, that’s how much dairy the average person should consume during their lifetime. My goal, as Rensselaer County Dairy Princess, was to encourage a bunch of kids to become lifelong dairy consumers.

During my reign, I’ve had more than 80 newspaper articles published in The Express, Eagle, Pennysaver, Agricultural News, Country Folks, Eastwick Press, Troy Record and Times Union. Each weekly article not only contained a dairy recipe, but a paragraph or two on what I was doing as the Dairy Princess, a dairy update or personal thoughts on my life or life on the farm. I wrote several detailed articles for Cornell Cooperative Extension’s Agricultural News. The Times Union also did an extensive interview and article about me and the Dairy Princess program.

I attended more than 75 community events. I proudly contributed to a Wegman’s Cooking Demonstration disaster with Melissa Osgood (ADADC) and State Dairy Princess Katie Brosnan at the State Fair. I spent numerous sweltering, dusty hours in the judging arena, observing kids proudly showing their dairy cows. I’ve explained to students that being the Dairy Princess does not, unfortunately, entitle me to special privileges at Cinderella’s Castle. I hosted, with other Princesses, the banquet at State Fair where Battenkill Dairy won the prestigious award for the highest quality milk in the State. I scooped hundreds of ice cream cones. I can’t recall one event that I attended where I didn’t have a great time.

One of my favorite experiences during this year was visiting ARC’s Brunswick Center Services, a school for the disabled. I explained to the students how to make milk punch and we worked together on the recipe…laughing, visiting and making a mess along the way. They were so excited and happy to have me there and I was just as thrilled to be there. I realized during that visit, that those students stole a little bit of my heart. They gave me something valuable in return. They made me realize that not only do I want to be a teacher, but I would like to major in special education.

We put lots of mileage on, and spent countless hours in, the car. It was worth every minute and every mile. I know many farm businesses are closing and it hits close to home. I can relate to the farmers and the families who have had to sell their cows or even their farms. So many people are so far removed from farming that they don’t realize the farm’s importance to their lives and those of their family.

I have reached out to the young, the old, and everyone in between; to teach them the importance of supporting dairy farming and understanding the effort farmers make to provide them with nature’s most perfect beverage. I’ve tried to instill in them the huge benefits of consuming three servings of dairy every day. I could go on forever about it, but then I’m preaching to the choir…

My reign as Rensselaer County Dairy Princess has come to an end. It has been a busy year and it has gone by fast. I had the opportunity to meet a lot of wonderful people and made some friends that I can’t imagine my life without.

I want to thank those that supported me since the day I decided to pursue this journey. I have been encouraged by those that have read my articles and taken the time to drop me an email or letter to tell me I was doing a great job, stopped me at an event to tell me that you appreciated my efforts, or invited me to an event where I could spread the dairy message.

As I say goodbye, I’d like to thank the Rensselaer County Dairy Farmers. Without the support of our farmers, there wouldn’t be a Dairy Princess Program. I feel honored and privileged to have served you. You have, what I consider, one of the toughest, most underappreciated jobs in the world. I hope I’ve left a positive mark on your industry.

I am so fortunate to have had this experience; it has helped me become a better person. Not many people can say they are a Princess, but now I can (I’ve got the tiara and pictures to prove it)!

I encourage anyone interested in serving your community and your dairy farmers to consider getting involved in your local Dairy Princess committee. The Dairy Princess program is made possible through the support of the American Dairy Association and Dairy Council – the local planning and management organization funded by dairy farmer check-off dollars.I had many opportunities to teach children, as well as adults, about the importance of milk and dairy products, farming and our dairy farmers.

Empire State College holds grand opening for downtown offices in Troy, N.Y.

2011-05-12T10:21:00.000-07:00

There has been some great news this week about investments in Troy: a $2 million project at the Troy Boys and Girls Club; the start of work from another $2 million project - this one repairing the streets, sidewalks and curbs of South Troy; and the grand opening of a downtown branch of Empire State College.

I attended the grand opening of college's new offices at the historic Rice Building at 216 River Street last night. The offices will bring some much-needed foot traffic to the riverfront area.

As an aside ... Visitors to the site will have a birds-eye vista from the third floor to view the demolition this summer of the former city hall across the street and then, at least for awhile until redevelopment occurs, a nice view of the river.

Welcome to downtown Troy.

The Record's own Lisa Robert-Lewis is honoree at 10th annual tribute to the late Jack Dwyer

2011-05-11T09:39:00.000-07:00

The Record's own Lisa Robert-Lewis, editor, is this year's honoree at the 10th annual tribute to the late Jack Dwyer, a former Rensselaer County undersheriff who passed away on Jan. 5, 2001.

The event is 6-9 p.m. Thursday, June 2 at the American Legion, Main Avenue, Wynantskill. Cost is $35 per person; proceeds to Capital District Cancer Resource Foundation. For info/tickets call Nora @ 518-527-1705.

Troy Boys and Girls Club plans $2 million make-over; local businessman Scott Earl offers matching funds

2011-05-11T06:27:00.000-07:00

Scott Earl hugs Troy Boys and Girls Club Executive
Director Sharon Smith after meeting with club officials
about a matching gift to completely refurbish the
organization's building in downtown Troy.

In the midst of reports from a local double murder trial and the usual other bad news of the day, it was gratifying to be present yesterday when Scott Earl sat down, reviewed architect plans and cost estimates to completely renovate the Troy Boys and Girls Club in downtown Troy, and opened up his checkbook to offer the club a matching gift to fund the project.

It was an extraordinary gesture by a man who was simply moved to tears on a previous visit by the condition of the club, and the desire to ensure youth have a better facility for generations to come.

The club's board and executive director Sharon Smith now have to set to work to reach out to the community at large to solicit donations to fully fund the estimated $2 million renovation (full disclosure: I am a member of the Troy Boys and Girls Club board). Construction won't be delayed however; Earl, who recently sold a company he founded, County Waste, is providing immediate funds to renovate the first floor this summer while the club's youth are transported daily to its Camp Barker. Phase 1 is expected to be complete by early/mid-September.

This gift was made possible by the board's vice president Dan Crawley, who invited Earl for a club tour earlier this spring.

The timing coincides with an effort by The Record, Camps4Kids, to fund scholarships for youth wishing to attend Camp Baker. The newspaper started Camps4Kids last summer as a spin-off of its long-standing winter Clothe A Child effort. Fundraising for the scholarships begins later this month.

For more on the story, see link 1 and link 2.

San Francisco Giants bring trophy 'home' to Troy, NY for a visit

2011-05-10T20:02:00.000-07:00

Dignitaries at trophy presentation including
The Record sports editor Kevin Moran
(second from left).

The Record launched an online petition late last fall asking readers and fans to sign in hopes of getting the San Francisco Giants - whose origins are in Troy - to bring the trophy "home" for a visit. The Tri-City ValleyCats called upon their major league baseball connections to help bring make it happen; the collaborative effort resulted in a two hour visit by the trophy on Thursday.

For background on Troy's baseball history and the petition, click here.

For Editor Lisa Lewis' blog on the event, click here.

To see a video from the live-streamed coverage, click here.

For video of the trophy event, click here.

For coverage and photos, click here.

Making The Record newsroom the center of the Troy, N.Y. community

2011-04-29T14:20:00.000-07:00

A colleague of mine, Matt DeRienzo, publisher of The Register Citizen and Foothills Media Group in Northwest Connecticut, was kind enough to highlight some of the great work the newsroom at the Troy Record has accomplished in the past six months. Please read Matt's story about our Community Media Lab effort.

Matt is a leader in the Journal Register Company on community outreach and citizen journalism and inspired us in our efforts. Read about his innovative work.

For a timeline about our Community Media Lab and some related blog posts of mine, follow this link.

Jay Rosen shares what he knows about journalism

2011-04-26T09:14:00.000-07:00

One day after posting a link to thought-provoking blog on the economics of journalism from one Journal Register Company (JRC) advisor, Jeff Jarvis, I find myself posting a link to a second blog by another JRC advisor, Jay Rosen.

In "What I Know About Journalism", Rosen reflects on his 25 years on the faculty of New York University and lists four truths he has come to know during his tenure. The first of them - that "the more people who participate in the press the stronger it will be" - is an important building block of JRC's "Digital First" focus. Hence our Community Media Labs and efforts at citizen journalism.

The third is one that has struck more than a few people in our field as essential; witness the Newspaper Next effort by the American Press Insititute that subscribes to the philosophy that we should devote resources to - to paraphrase - "news readers can use". It is a task we fall short of at most newspapers, mine included; while chasing what editors and reporters consider are the big stories of the day, we too seldom reflect on what is our readers seek from our products. As Rosen states, we need to starting asking the right questions if we want to know.

Thank goodness Rosen, Jarvis and others keep us on our toes. It is too easy in the course of the day-to-day to stop pondering the important questions.

Newpaper industry's 'hard economic lessons'

2011-04-25T10:17:00.000-07:00

Jeff Jarvis succinctly explores the "hard economic lessons for news" in his blog today. Must-read for anyone employed in the business or fascinated by it.

Disclaimer: Jarvis is an advisor for the Journal Register Company, parent company of New York's The Record, Oneida Daily Dispatch, Saratogian and Daily Freeman.

Middle schools newspapers eligible for Newspaper Association of America grant

2011-04-22T11:37:00.000-07:00

Grants are available to middle schools for their efforts to support or start a printed or digital school newspaper. For more information follow this link.

The challenges and opportunities of 'disruption' to daily newspapers such as the Oneida Daily Dispatch

2011-04-21T08:28:00.000-07:00

The following are my notes for a speech delivered April 21, 2011 to the Oneida’s Club on the future of the Oneida Daily Dispatch.

During President Barack Obama’s talk at Facebook headquarters yesterday he spoke about how “we've got all sorts of disruptions, technological disruptions that are taking place, most of which hold the promise of making our lives a lot better, but also mean that there are a lot of adjustments that people are having to make throughout the economy.

And I thought I couldn’t open this talk today in any better way today than to say that, well … “there are all sorts of disruptions, technological disruptions that are taking place” for those of us in the journalism and in the media industry. And that “the rapid technological changes we face hold a lot of opportunities, but create some real challenges" for media companies. President Obama’s words can be adapted as a pretty succinct analysis of our industry today; it captures much of our current reality.

And yet …. I recently saw another quote attributed to an America writer Irene Peter on change that in some way demystifies some of the transformation happening in local journalism today. Peter said, “Just because everything is different doesn't mean anything has changed.” And that is so true. We are using all kinds of technology to report news to different audiences in different ways. But our journalists’ contribution to our community essentially remains unchanged: we’re telling the narrative of a large slice of our collective experiences every day. It is really exciting the ways in which we can tell that story now: not only in words and still pictures but with video and slideshows and Twitter’s 140 characters. And the promise of technology is that we can do a better job telling more stories, more completely, in more timely and in more diverse ways.

There is a lot of ground I could cover today on the trials befalling my industry or the resources we’re amassing to address them. But I thought it more important to talk in more simple, more direct terms about the Dispatch and what you can expect from us in the next 12 months, and then to open this up to a discussion and question-and-answer period.

So … you might have noticed a few changes at the Dispatch recently.

For one, you may have seen articles and ads demonstrating that we’re reaching out more than ever to engage you in what we call our Community Media Lab. Recently our sports writer David Johnson held a class on Twitter at the Oneida Public Library and at 11 a.m. on Saturday, May 7 our online editor Leah McDonald is going to hold a discussion there on Twitter. On June 6 at 11 a.m., our editor Kurt Wanfried will return to the library to discuss the art of blogging and how to build audiences for your blog.

If you notice … there is a pattern there - several workshops on social media. But our Community Media Lab is much more than that … we looking to lead a discussion this summer on local involvement in the Civil War and we’ve got the beginning of an idea of capturing local resident stories on video about their life in the area and their remembrance of important events like what it was like to grow up in Oneida in the 50s, and life on a local farm a half century ago, and what our readers remembered about shipping off to serve in foreign wars.

As a further extension of the Media Lab and related to my earlier mention of the “slice of our collective experiences” that the Dispatch reports on each day … we can only make the “slice” of the community we cover significantly larger by opening up the pages of our newspaper and our Web site to you, our readers. Currently we have 12 blogs – five staff-written and seven written by community members. Our goal is to expand the number of community participants by more than seven-fold to over 50 by the end of the year. We can’t be everywhere, we can’t have all the expertise and access, and we can’t represent every point of view locally … but collectively we can capture life here more accurately, more fully than could any newsroom. If you are interested please see general manager Karen Alvord or me after lunch today. It only takes a couple simple steps for us to get you ready to blog with us.

You may have also noticed we post videos on our site most days now. This has added a whole new element to our storytelling. Soon we’ll offer a feature where you, too, can upload videos to us for posting on our site. So that junior varsity or Little League sporting event, or dance recital or science fair, or public meeting or news event you find yourself at – to be frank, we don’t have the resources to cover them all – can still be shared with the community on our site.

You may have also noticed we have expanded the content on our site – for instance, we now deliver a lot of business news online with our media partner, The Street. This content will make its way into our print products as well. And look for an announcement soon on expanded regional, national and international sports coverage as well.

Another new feature you’ll see information about in the Dispatch over the next few days is SMS text alerts. If you’re not familiar with the phrase … these are the text messages that about three-quarters of cell phone users can receive. If you have a phone that has text messaging, you can sign up for alerts that our reporters will send from the field to cue you in on local breaking news as it happens – before the story can be written or the video posted. We won’t send them too early or late in the day so that the message alert doesn’t wake you if you use a sound prompt … and we won’t send more than a few each day. But if you who like to be among the first to know the outcome of a municipal board vote or important trial, or the development of a major crime or fire or accident as it is happening, or other events of importance, this feature is for you …. And it is free. It is part of our fast to slow philosophy to news coverage. We’ll send you important updates via text, post more information to sources such as Twitter and Facebook, and then roll out stories, videos and photos to our Web and mobile products – more on the latter in a minute – and finally, publish a print version of much of the news we cover.

I mentioned mobile briefly – the text message alerts are the first step in a mobile strategy we are rolling out this year. This is an important development for us – roughly half of mobile phone users access news online. We will also optimize our Web product for your smart phones, roll out mobile video capabilities, and develop smart phone and tablet applications that deliver news, as well as offer electronic versions of our newspapers.

I am talking a lot about our new digital platforms but we also have something you may be familiar with called the Oneida Daily Dispatch, our print product that you may have home delivered or pick up on a newsstands. A lot of the buzz about the Dispatch lately has been about changes we have made to our print edition:

The fact that we are now printing color on every page.
The fact that we are now outsourcing printing the the Dispatch and our Oneida-Madison Pennysaver, Rome Observer, and Southern Madison County Living to the Syracuse Newspapers.
The fact that we no longer contract with carriers to deliver the Dispatch; we now contract with Syracuse Newspapers as well to deliver it.

These developments have been the source of endless speculation locally as to what they signal; despite the fact we have tried to be transparent about these changes. Our CEO John Paton has repeatedly blogged about the changes going on in the Journal Register Company, and I have written about them as well in my blog at oneidadispatch.com. We’ve also written about the changes in our news products, and have addressed them in public forums such as these.

So let me address some of the rumors head on – and then I will it open this up to take your questions.

Have we been sold? No, we contract with the Syracuse Newspapers to print our newspapers because it is no longer an efficient use of resources for any newspaper to use their press just a few hours a day. These partnerships are happening all over the place – sometimes they are internal developments. At The Record in Troy for instance, we print two sister dailies, the Saratogian and Daily Freeman from Kingston, as well as six weekly newspapers and a Hispanic newspaper. Sometimes these relationships are between two newspapers who do not share a common owner; a well-known example is USA Today, which for more than 25 years has contracted with newspapers outside of its parent company, Gannett, to print and deliver its daily product in areas around the country.

We also have the Syracuse Newspapers deliver our daily print edition for the same reasons and again, this is a common development in our industry. The Times Union in Albany, for instance, delivers 19 titles for 12 different companies, including the aforementioned Troy and Saratoga daily newspapers. These are just some of the ways newspapers are addressing the disruptions in our industry … which include technological developments as well as economic concerns such as rising fuel and health costs, among many others. It no longer makes economic sense to leave a printing press idle 16 or more hours a day and it no longer makes sense – with gas $4 a gallon - to pay a carrier to deliver just a single product to your neighborhood.

Another rumor: That by printing elsewhere and having a partnership with another company to deliver our newspaper that we are somehow de-investing in the community. It couldn’t be further from the truth. Again, the conversation returns to those disruptive technologies I mentioned. Media is rapidly fragmenting – the economics of TV station or network ownership, of radio station ownership, and all other forms of traditional media has evolved rapidly in the last decade. We still have profitable businesses. We still have loyal audiences. And some of us are forging ahead in this new environment in exciting ways. But there are developments that have in layman’s terms, really rocked our world in the past couple years:

Our financial “challenge”? Newspaper advertising has shrunk by half since 2005, for one. Another is the investment required in product development while we strive to improve our traditional ones.
The “opportunities”? Digital ad revenue now exceeds print ad revenue nationally and more people are accessing our news than ever.

So the discussion can’t be framed any longer about what we are not doing – i.e. printing and coordinating distribution of our print products at 130 Broad Street. The conversation is about how we are investing in the people and the work we produce at that facility. We have given our reporters netbooks to write and distribute news electronically from the field. We have given every reporter a Flip camera to shoot videos. Some have been equipped with smart phones. There are new front-end systems coming to make it more efficient to produce content. We will invest in redesigning the paper, and expand the content we deliver.

Not everyone is impressed with the changes. We have some readers who only value the print product – the same newspaper we have delivered to them in many cases for decades, and in some cases, for several generations to their families. We understand that and will continue to deliver you a newspaper. But we are in an age where news is becoming highly customized. Some of us want it delivered only via the Web and smart phones, some of us only use the print product. Some of us want it all. The fact is that this “disruptive technology” we have talked about has grown our audience to perhaps its largest ever. We now have over 98,000 people reading the Oneida Daily Dispatch and/or oneidadispatch.com each month, and more reading the Oneida-Madison Pennysaver and our Southern Madison County Living monthly. In Rome, where we have the weekly Rome Observer and a companion Web site, our monthly reach exceeds 30,600 adults each month. These are huge audiences we can’t reach in print alone … and here is that word again … it presents a huge “opportunity” for local businesses as well. These products deliver terrific results for advertisers because of the expanded reach, the increased frequency and the level of reader engagement we offer.

This is an exciting time at the Dispatch. We’ve entered a new age in community journalism and we are working to make our coverage more compelling and more complete than it has ever been before. The changes you have seen in the first quarter of this year are the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Our goal is to cover the news – not necessarily be making it. But there will continue to be developments we share with you throughout 2011 and beyond.

We hope you see each of these changes in a positive light – we’re working to bring you more news, in a more timely way, using all the technologies you might employ to access our coverage. We believe, to paraphrase President Obama from yesterday, that these “disruptions that are taking place ... hold the promise of making our lives” a little better. These “disruptions” are making us journalists be more nimble, more targeted, more thoughtful, more creative, and less complacent about how we deliver news.

And yet, as I also stated at the top of this talk, “Just because everything is different doesn't mean anything has changed.” We have chronicled the lives of the members and institutions of our local communities for over a century, and that isn’t going to go away … the coverage in fact, we know, will continue to get much better.

Now I would like to open the discussion. Who has questions?

To read a related talk to the Oneida Rotary Club in February 2011, click here.

The Oneida Daily Dispatch's own David Johnson connects the community to Twitter

2011-04-10T10:57:00.000-07:00

David Johnson, standing, leads an
Oneida Daily Dispatch Communty Media Lab
workshop at the Oneida Public Library.

The Oneida Dispatch's David Johnson led a workshop on Twitter Saturday at the Oneida Public Library as part of the newspaper's Community Media Lab. Johnson is a sportswriter at the paper. For more on the workshop see a related article.

Read the Dispatch for announcements on upcoming workshops at the library on other forms of social media.

Mayor Harry J. Tutunjian: Troy, N.Y. is moving in the right direction

2011-04-10T10:39:00.000-07:00

I have been saying it for my 19 months at The Record and now it is official: Mayor Harry J. Tutunjian wrote a guest column today at troyrecord.com that Troy, N.Y. "is moving in the right direction".

Journal Register Company newspapers, Web sites partner with The Street

2011-03-23T12:52:00.000-07:00

All Journal Register Company newspapers, including four in New York - The Record, Oneida Daily Dispatch, Daily Freeman and Saratogian - have partnered with The Street, a leading financial news and information site.

This partnership allows each paper and its corresponding Web site to deliver more robust and extensive content to our audience.

From detailed analysis of stocks, bank and mortgage rates to extensive coverage of personal finance and the market forces impacting small businesses, we can now deliver more business focused news and information.

We will continue to expand this partnership to provide more detailed business content in our print edition of our newspapers in the coming weeks – including features like Jim Cramer articles and investment advice, automotive news and money-saving green energy news.

Log on to troyrecord.com/business, saratogian.com/business, dailyfreeman.com/business or oneidadispatch.com/business for more information.

Oneida Daily Dispatch begins new chapter

2011-03-22T04:06:00.000-07:00

The Oneida Daily Dispatch you read Monday was produced in much the same way it has been since the newspaper’s inception 160 years ago. It was written, edited, designed in our newsroom. It was printed on our presses at our 130 Broad Street facility. And it was picked up from our mailroom and delivered by carriers with whom we independently contracted.

But there were operational changes in how today’s edition was produced. It was written, edited and designed by those same journalists. But electronic files were transmitted from our newsroom to the pressroom at the Syracuse Newspapers some 30 miles west of here. It was printed there on a state-of-the-art press, driven back to the communities we serve on their truck, and picked up by Post-Standard carriers to deliver to our readers.

That is the simplest way to describe the changes we made today in the Oneida Daily Dispatch’s business model. But that doesn’t begin to describe why we made this change.

Let’s delve deeper into this decision and what it means for the future.

There was a time not too long ago when every newspaper housed every resource it needed within the same building: accounting, printing, photo processing, customer service, ad creation, Web design and so many more functions. Even newspapers owned by the same group in the same geographic area often had separate facilities and staffs. The business model at the time supported these large organizations and the available technology necessitated it.

But there have been a number of developments recently that have made it easier to accomplish virtually all of the non-news gathering and non-sales functions centrally, resulting in huge cost efficiencies. And there has been a significant shift in the economics of media ownership in the past decade that requires newspapers take advantage of each and every one of them. Finally, there has been a huge transformation in how readers consume news that propels these developments as well.

Outsourcing printing and distribution, a now-common model in the newspaper industry, accomplishes three things crucial to the future of the Oneida Daily Dispatch:

• It frees staff to focus on advertising and news gathering. No more trouble-shooting press and pre-press malfunctions. No more time spent recruiting carriers or subbing for vacancies in the mailroom. The list of things to manage is shorter, and more of the list is crucial to good journalism, superior customer service and effective marketing of our advertisers’ businesses.

• It will result in better service and a better product. The Syracuse Newspapers’ print facility is second-to-none in New York. The paper’s reproduction will be crisper; there will be more pages with color art and photography than before. And on the distribution side, they have a more sophisticated circulation infrastructure to manage and recruit carriers and to address delivery problems.

• Finally, the cost savings allows us to invest now in our future. More Americans today get their news online than from newspapers and nearly half (47 percent) get at least some local news from a mobile phone, according to the just-released State of the News Media report. It is important we find ways to fund the technology we need to address this rapidly growing demand for all things digital.

So does that mean with this project we are done altering our operations? Hardly. In fact, the transformation has just begun. Here is some of what is coming over the next 12 months:

• We will deliver the news our customers want - when, where and how they want it. Starting in April, we will expand our new delivery platforms with news and advertising mobile applications. Later in the year we will extend our mobile offerings to include coupons, video and QR codes, and we will launch electronic and tablet editions.

• We will engage more with our community … connecting with you more through social media; encouraging you to contribute more writing, video and photos; asking you more often what you want to see in our coverage; and organizing innumerable community conversations on topics of interest, as well as workshops such as our upcoming Community Media Lab event at the Oneida Public Library for newcomers to Twitter.

• We will redesign all of our print news products including the Oneida Daily Dispatch, the Rome Observer and Southern Madison County Living to make the design more current.

• We will continue to look for cost efficiencies as part of our effort to create a sustainable business model. We will use technology and shared resources to shed as many functions locally as possible that are not related to our core competencies of journalism and sales.

Our vision is to put you – the reader – at the center of all we do; to consistently deliver better and more diverse news and advertising products in every manner in which you wish to receive them; and to ensure we thrive in the coming years as the media landscape continues to transform swiftly and deeply.

Today’s development is an important step … but just one of many.
More on this development.

Journal Register Company making news again

2011-03-16T03:17:00.001-07:00

The Journal Register Company - parent company to four NY dailies (Daily Freeman, Oneida Daily Dispatch, The Record, Saratogian) is making - not just writing - headlines again.

There were two big developments on Tuesday:
- First, at a time when furloughs are commonplace in the newspaper industry, JRC issued profit-sharing checks on Tuesday. The headline on CEO John Paton's blog says it all: "I promised. You delivered. Checks are cut". It is evident that the Digital First strategy launched last year is not only paying off for the company but employees, too.
- Second, one of the company's newspapers - The Register Citizen in Torrington, Conn. - was named among "10 Newspapers That Do it Right" by the trade publication Editor & Publisher. Torrington launched an innovative and highly popular Community Media Lab last December.

Ironically, both announcements came a day after it was reported that for the first time, more Americans get news online than from newspapers. It appears we at JRC can't work fast enough to fully implement our Digital First strategy.

Feast or famine: The art, science of event marketing at The Record's Community Media Lab in downtown Troy

2011-03-11T06:34:00.000-08:00

I suspect accountants get queried regularly at this time of year for free tax advice. So when one publicly offers to give it for free, you would expect a mob.

Full house at a Troy Record
community discussion on
Irish geneaology.

Well, one of troyrecord.com's community bloggers, Kevin O'Leary of Marvin and Company, P.C. in Latham, did just that this week. He held a discussion at The Record's Community Media Lab and no one showed up. We felt bad for Kevin but our attention turned quickly to a Irish genealogy talk a couple nights later. Were we poorly marketing these events? Did no one want to come to The Record and participate in our community discussions?

Well, in the space of a couple nights we had two very different turnouts. We had more people show up than space. More guests than chairs. All told - 50 people showed. A great problem to have - especially on the heels of the outcome two nights earlier. Good thing we were already working on a solution to expand our Community Media Lab.

So, as The Record's Tom Caprood points out in his blog, we are learning in a trial-by-fire fashion how to organize, market and execute events. With three more scheduled in March (see link 1 and link 2) and a slew coming in subsequent months, I am sure we'll have more highs and lows. But we know three things for certain: We are onto something. We're going to get better at it. And we'll be much better for it.

Bringing the outside in; reflecting on the Times-Union's decision to close Troy, Saratoga news bureaus

2011-03-04T12:43:00.000-08:00

Technology has certainly made it easier for journalists to interact with their readers. It is not only tools such as email, Facebook and Twitter that enables communication (and hopefully collaboration). But mobile technology - smart phones, netbooks and tablets - ensures reporters don't have to spend half or more of their workday in a newsroom; the gadgets free journalists to write and submit photos from anywhere. The smart ones plant themselves a good part of the day at coffee houses, libraries, parks, malls, beaches, courthouses, stadiums and elsewhere to increase their contact with the community.

To that end the Times Union announced this week it was closing bureaus in two communities where our parent company, the Journal Register Company, has newspapers: Saratoga and Troy. The TU admitted in the story on the bureau closings that saving money was a factor in the decision but spun the move to say it "could increase - rather than diminish - the presence of Times Union journalists in either city". The theory being, the story explained, if reporters didn't have an office to go to they might report from those aforementioned public places. But also note they used the word "could" not "would".

I am not going to quibble with any newspaper's attempts to save money. It has been a tough couple years financially for the industry and 2011 isn't shaping up to be any different. But I do think it is a mistake to pretend that a newspaper not having a physical place in the community is not important. For one, it adds to the tax base, and in these tough times when municipalities are strapped that support is important. But much more critical is having roots in the community. By at least one definition a community is, in part, a social group of whose members reside in a specific locality. By not being physically present, one automatically earns an "outsider" label. Yeah, there are digital communities, too. But in this context being able to identify your brand as truly being local requires one to be, well, local.

I would have been less inclined to publicly comment on this development if the TU story hadn't mentioned that our company is practicing "coffee-shop journalism" within some of its buildings, a reference to the much-publicized recent opening of the newsroom to the public at our sister paper in Torrington, Conn. But the point that was lost on the writer is that JRC's approach is to bring the public into its newsroom. We want to not only have our writers exposed to the community, we want the community to physically participate in our news process ... much of which happens inside our buildings as we make decisions about what stories to cover, how much visibility those stories are going to receive in our products, and so on. Moreover, we want to collaborate other ways - artistically (let's invite in a local band to perform and live stream it), educationally (sponsor workshops, book groups, demonstrations and lectures), socially and so on. And we want them to write, blog and shoot photos and video alongside us.

We're constantly pushing our reporters and photographers out the door and giving them tools to spend as much time in the community as possible. But we also believe we have to be in the thick of things locally, to get as much facetime as possible with our readership, to have them know where we are when they want us, and to support local infrastructure. The Record and Saratogian offices have been physically open for more than a century but they have never been as open as they are today. And they will remain that way.

Footnotes:

Read what The Record's Tom Caprood and the Saratogian's Barbara Lombardo wrote on the TU closing two bureaus.
The Record has a number of workshops in its Community Media Lab (501 Broadway, downtown Troy) in March: on the 8th, tax preparation; 10th, Irish genealogy, part 1; 14th, Irish genealogy, part 2; 30th, a fishing season preview; and on the 31st, a workshop on social media fundamentals. See The Record, troyrecord.com, and http://www.facebook.com/#!/troyrecord for more information.

Thoughts on the future Oneida Daily Dispatch and the state of the newspaper industry

2011-02-08T10:54:00.000-08:00

The following is my notes for a speech given Feb. 8, 2011 to the Oneida Rotary Club on the topic of the state of the newspaper industry and the future of the Oneida Daily Dispatch.

Thanks Brian (Simchik) for the introduction and the invitation to speak today. And thank you to each of you for braving the weather.

It seems whenever a journalist is invited to speak, or for that matter, any time we join a conversation at a public function … we are asked to address the vitality of the newspaper industry. It is a fair subject.

As we have frequently reported about ourselves over the last decade – and particularly the last three years – our industry has been on something of a roller coaster ride.

Readers want to know if they will still have “their” newspaper, and advertisers want to know if they need to be thinking about alternative marketing plans. To that end, Brian asked me to talk about the state of the newspaper industry, and how the Oneida Daily Dispatch is responding to changes.

Given the time limit, I am going to cover a lot of ground briefly and in a general tone and then open it up to questions. I think it is best to start by talking about the changes in our personal lives and in the life of this community, as an example of how our audiences and advertising base has changed, and how we have adapted and need to adapt in the future.

Let’s start with the business side of our business. Newspapers have historically relied on advertising from locally-owned retail businesses for the lion’s share of their ad revenue budget. We have always been – much more so than local radio or television – the medium that drove considerable foot traffic into stores.

What happened? We got more mobile as a society and beginning in the 60s and expanding through the 70s and 80s, we started driving further for our goods and services. Shopping centers grew up on the outskirts of places such as Rome and Dewitt, and then came the malls in Fayetteville, New Hartford and Syracuse. Downtown Oneida was no longer as much of a shopping destination for smaller communities contiguous to us such as Sherrill and Canastota … and our local residents were visiting and spending more in Oneida and Onondaga counties. So less of our disposable income stayed local and our retail base shrunk considerably.

The demise of many small local retail stores – think Garofalo Shoes, Joy’s Department Store, Lynn’s, and LL&Js, for example - and their budgets wasn’t fatal to the Dispatch; the change coincided with the rise of the regional department stores and their need to draw large audiences from wide areas. So newspapers including the Dispatch started getting more preprints from the J.C. Penney’s and Lowe’s of the retail world. And our base of ad revenue grew. That pattern continued right through the middle of the last decade, and then in the last few years many papers – the Dispatch wasn’t impacted as much as others – but it was impacted … we saw further erosion of spending from local businesses, particularly in key categories such as automotive dealers and real estate, among others, as they went through upheavals in their industries. Another segment that has been important to newspapers, recruitment advertising, has shrunk as the job market has of late. In other words: As our customers’ businesses have suffered, so have we.

Add to that a fundamental change in retail over the past few decades: the rapid rise of franchise stores and restaurants – many which rely on national marketing efforts rather than local ones – which continue to supplant businesses grown locally. So our challenges persist.

I am going to stop there for a minute and change the subject from our advertisers to our readers … How our lifestyles have changed how we access news. And then I will come back to the business side of the business again.

So … let’s go back 60 or so years to the last mid-century, where many larger cities had not one but two dailies – a morning and an afternoon newspaper - and many people subscribed to both … And where residents of smaller outlying communities frequently subscribed to their local daily as well as one of the regional metro newspapers. Print readership was at an all-time high – the audience was of a size that would seem incomprehensible compared to many of today’s media audiences.

Over time, as more people commuted further and more women entered the workforce, and all the changes that resulted to our lifestyles … our readership habits changed, too. We had less time to read newspapers, and we preferred to have our newspapers delivered before our commute. Afternoon titles went away and most people subscribed to just one daily newspaper. Then lifestyles changed even further – more single parents, more two-income families, and more soccer moms and dads spending their free time with transporting kids from one extracurricular activity to another, and the end result: some folks resorted to reading the newspaper fewer days a week.

So we’ve established that in terms of sheer number of newspapers home delivered, consumption is down, and that we are adapting to a changing advertiser base. But those two factors don’t explain all the doom-and-gloom in the headlines about our industry and they betray some remarkable facts about the current quality and quantity of our audience.

The reality is most newspapers remain profitable. Some major metro papers have some real challenges as they relied more on national/major advertising which has dried up – witness the announcement this week that the Orange County Register is going to be auctioned. But most have respectable – if diminished - cash flow. The big villain - the same one that tripped up the banking industry and so many others – impacted newspapers large and small: Too much access to credit and too much optimism over the valuation of newspaper properties led to purchases and buyouts over the past 15 years. That led to tremendous debt levels that couldn’t be paid back in tough times.

So to answer the original question: How healthy is the newspaper industry? The glass is half full. And it half empty.

Let’s take the optimistic view first … and that has mostly to do with our loyal audience how they use newspapers to make buying decisions, and our growing digital reach:

- roughly 4.5 in 10 American adults watched Sunday’s Super Bowl game .... yet more – 71 percent of adults - read a newspaper each Sunday;

- newspaper readers are more loyal today than a decade ago ... subscriber cancellation rates have dropped 42 percent since 2000;

- 82 percent of all adults took some action as a result of newspaper advertising in the last month;

- 61 percent of all active internet users visited a newspaper website in the past month, accessing 4 billion pages;

- eight in 10 households with an income of over $100,000 read newspapers in print or online each week;

- and even among young adults, newspapers are better read than conventional wisdom might suggest – over a five-day period 45.9 percent of adults ages 18-34 pick one up. (What TV network or radio station wouldn’t envy those numbers?)

I also mentioned there is considerable cause for concern in our industry … If we don’t adapt to a host of changes - technological, societal and more - we face extinction. The three biggest trends that keeps newspapers executives up at night: 1.) newspaper advertising has shrunk in half since 2005; 2.) for the first time, digital ad revenue now exceeds print ad revenue nationally (and newspapers have precious too little of the digital dollars); and 3.) print readership – while it hasn’t declined as steeply as other media – is likely to see further erosion.

So, I promised in light of all the national trends to end by talking about the Dispatch’s prospects. The short answer is they are pretty darn good.

For one, we are associated with the most-forward thinking company in the industry. The Journal Register Company, revitalized over the 18 months with first a new board, and later a new CEO, is the talk of the industry. From a company that emerged from bankruptcy in late 2009, here is our 2010 performance:

- our ad performance was three times better than the industry;

- our classified ad performance was six times better than the industry;

- our retail ad performance was two times better than the industry;

- our digital income was two times better than the industry;

- and while some newspaper companies imposed furloughs in 2010, we announced employee profit sharing.

Two, we’re the talk of the industry not for how we are performing today but where we are headed tomorrow. Our Digital First strategy – from fast to slow, from mobile to Web to print – ensures we are positioned for the long-term. We are going to leverage our print brands’ audience to build and deliver news on the platforms of our readers’ choice. That’s our new reality … the new news ecology. You may want sports scores delivered to your smart phone, and she may want to review season-to-date stats on the Web, and he may want to read a team’s prognosis for the rest of the season in print. We are going to deliver it all. The news you want, when and where you want it.

Three, readership of our products is at an all-time high. We have over 98,000 people reading our Oneida-based print and online daily news products each month, and more reading the Oneida-Madison Pennysaver and our Southern Madison County Living Monthly. In Rome, where we have the weekly Rome Observer and a companion Web site, our monthly reach exceeds 30,600 adults each month.

Fourth, we’re going to focus on producing better journalism going forward. We did a horrible thing as our industry to our newsrooms in the mid/late 80s and 90s as we had our editors take over the pagination of our newspapers. The focus became more on production functions than news ones – and the burden was particularly heavy on the smallest newsrooms such as Oneida’s. We’re going to slowly remove that work from our newsroom in the coming year.

Added to that, if you spent a day at the Dispatch today, you would find so much of our resources – time and money - being spent on repairing equipment and recruiting carriers and billing and so on … and not enough energy on growing our advertiser’s businesses and writing quality journalism. That is typical of newspapers – two-thirds of the costs are infrastructure-related.

Our new business model is to outsource all those functions that don’t add value …. Hence the announcement recently The Dispatch is outsourcing printing and distribution. It was a hard decision in the respect it impacted some terrific employees and independent contractors. But it was an easy decision in the sense it improved the long-term viability of the newspaper and will ultimately, when these and other changes are fully implemented over the next year, allow us to focus on our core competencies. As a result, we will improve the quality and quantity of - and the speed with which we deliver - content.

Fifth, we will invest in technology. Electronic editions and mobile and tablet platforms are coming in the next six months. All Dispatch employees will be working on new computers and new front-end system as we integrate them into the company over the next 18 months.

Sixth, we will make it easier for advertisers to buy our products. We will move to easier-to-understand modular ad sizes this spring, and create new pricing to maximize discounts for businesses that buy across our many products and platforms.

Last but not least, we will engage you, our readers more. We have some terrific ideas for community engagement through a new community media lab. With your help we will continue to publish more videos and we will cover more live events than a newsroom of any size ever could. You will help us lead community-wide discussions on the most important topics of the day, and we will fine-tune our focus on information important to you.

I am proud to say of the newspaper that developed my interest in journalism at a young age and gave me my first job out of college in the field … that we are indeed entering this publication’s golden age. The Oneida Daily Dispatch of tomorrow will be the most relevant, best read, and most engaging newspaper in this community’s history.

Thank you for inviting me to share our story today. I would be glad to answer any questions.

All of the national statistics come from various studies cited by the Newspaper Association of America on its main Web site and its ancillary site, newspapermedia.com. Some of the talking points are from the latter site as well. The readership data for the Oneida Daily Dispatch and Rome Observer and related Web sites is from Scarborough research of the market. The stats about the Journal Register Company's 2010 performance are taken from CEO John Paton's blog.

Princess Leah extends a Happy New Year greeting - and a pizza recipe

2010-12-28T13:03:00.000-08:00

Princess Leah Remington

Since being named Rensselaer County Dairy Princess in July, Hoosic Valley High School junior Leah Remington has religiously emailed The Record every week with her dairy princess update. Between preparing her update and her personal appearances at places such as the Altamont Fair, the Washington County Fair, The New York State Fair, and the Schaghticoke Fair, as well as her duties on the family farm, she must be busy young lady.

We weren't able to publish her writing in the paper each week so we tried to get Leah to blog for us this fall to no avail .... but I have had so much fun getting to know her through her writing I thought it appropriate to end my blog for the year by recognizing her hard work and sharing her most recent dispatch and season's greetings.

From Princess Leah:

I hope you had a wonderful, safe New Year's Eve celebration. May 2011 bring you good health and happiness. I am sure your holidays were crazy, so take some time for yourself and relax. My mom and I love to go to stop for hot cocoa and then go shopping to use our gift cards. There is so much less pressure when you're not trying to buy the perfect gift for someone.

I hope all the little ones had a tremendous vacation and fun playing in all the snow from last week's storm. Good thing the kids were off of school so, hopefully, you didn't have to travel in bad weather. I stayed at my Uncle Matthew and Aunt Sue's house during the storm. We watched movies, baked cookies and watched the snow fall and blow around from our cozy couch in front of the fireplace. It doesn't get much better than that!

Now that the kids are back in school, you have to get back to a normal schedule. So here is a quick and easy dinner recipe. Who doesn't love pizza!? This recipe is packed with dairy products, helping you get your recommended 3-Every-Day of Dairy!

Four Cheese Margarita Pizza
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
8 Roma tomatoes, sliced
2 (12 inch) pre-baked pizza crusts
8 ounces shredded Mozzarella cheese
4 ounces shredded Fontina cheese
10 fresh basil leaves, washed, dried
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

Stir together olive oil, garlic, and salt; toss with tomatoes, and allow to stand for 15 minutes. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Brush each pizza crust with some of the tomato marinade. Sprinkle the pizzas evenly with Mozzarella and Fontina cheeses. Arrange tomatoes overtop, then sprinkle with shredded basil, Parmesan and feta cheese. Bake in preheated oven until the cheese is bubbly and golden brown, about 10 minutes.

If you have an event that you would like Princess Leah to attend, or have any questions or comments, please contact her at rens_princess_leah@yahoo.com

Oneida Daily Dispatch readers can look for big changes in 2011

2010-12-27T08:59:00.000-08:00

After I became publisher of the Oneida Daily Dispatch in March, we had hoped to implement some big changes to improve the quality of our product. And while we made strides over the last nine months, a little thing called technology (or more accurately, the lack of it) got in the way.

Let me explain.

Before personal computers became commonplace and affordable in the late 1980s and early 1990s, journalists primarily wrote and edited copy and there was a separate team to compose the paper - in other words, to layout the copy and photos and ads for the press. But with the advent of PCs and computer programs such as Adobe Photoshop and Quark Xpress that easily allowed editors to paginate the paper, newsrooms everywhere took over production functions - compiling and designing the various elements that make up the newspaper. Fast forward to 2010 with a couple of downturns in the economy that shrunk newsrooms in between, and today upwards of half to two-thirds or more of the manpower in newsrooms can be spent on these pagination functions. This severely impacts the quantity of news produced - particularly at smaller newspapers such as the Dispatch.

So while it been my hope that we move quickly to outsourcing the news production of the Dispatch in 2010 so the journalists here could focus on writing stories, shooting videos for our Web site, etc., the going has been slower. Much of the issue has been technology - the incompatibility of some of our outdated computers/systems to interact correctly with a source outside the paper that might oversee the news production for us. We have taken steps to fix this - the entire newsroom will be equipped with new computers in the next couple weeks. The second phase is new software and finalizing plans to outsource the news pagination function.

However, technology aside, we did make a number of improvements in 2010:
- We gave all of our journalists flip cameras in March to shoot video. We now average over 40 videos posted to our Web site each month. (See some of our 465 videos posted including excerpts of local high school sports contests, community events such as fund drives and parades, and more.)
- We engaged our audience more using social media such as Facebook and Twitter. If you haven't already, please sign up to receive our Twitter feed and join the other 412 people who have "liked"' the Oneida Daily Dispatch page on Facebbook.
- We have also done a better job of posting stories to our Web site throughout the day in recent months as part of our corporate Digital First strategy.
- And we have opened up our Web site to community bloggers.
- On the print side, in the last few months we have localized the front page of our "Life and Times" section that appears each Saturday, and have added an Oneida Chamber of Commerce page on Saturdays as well.

Here is some of what is coming in 2011:
- A redesigned newspaper.
- More local news coverage (after we free up our newsroom from pagination functions in the second quarter).
- Smart phone and iPad applications.
- Establishment of a Community Media Lab to better integrate the community into our newsroom and vice-a-versa.

Many of these changes are part of an overall strategy our parent company Journal Register Co. has engaged in. I recommend those interested in the transformation at JRC, read my blog on the subject and also read our CEO John Paton's blog and see a video released last week on our progress in 2010.

In closing, I want to take this opportunity to wish all of our readers, advertisers and employees the merriest of holidays; we look forward to engaging our community even more in 2011.

Journal Register Company ends 2010 the talk of the newspaper industry

2010-12-22T11:43:00.000-08:00

This blog was updated Dec. 23.

I published my year-in-review/2011 preview on The Record (Troy, N.Y.) today, and in the next week, will write a similar piece about our sister newspaper, the Oneida Daily Dispatch.

Alot of similar year-end pieces are publishing recently on the state of the newspaper industry ... and media in general. Here are what industry insiders are saying about our parent company, Journal Register Co. and our CEO John Paton in year-end stories:

Joshua Benton announced the results of a Neiman Journalism Lab poll on what industry participants thought were going to be the big stories in the journalism field in 2011. To the question, "Who do you think is the smartest thinker about the future of news inside the working world of journalism?" he announced JRC CEO John Paton as the winner. Voters could choose any editor, publisher, or other executive at any news organization. "John Paton’s efforts to turn around the moribund Journal Register Co. have gotten noticed: he led the way with 14 percent of votes, far outpacing The Guardian’s Alan Rusbridger and CUNY’s (and JRC advisor) Jeff Jarvis," he wrote. "(Personally, I would have put Jeff in the Clay/Jay outsider category, but he wears enough hats that he could probably fit anywhere.) Others getting mentions: WaPo/TBD-ex Jim Brady, New York’s Adam Moss, Talking Points Memo’s Josh Marshall, Gawker’s Nick Denton, and Rupert Murdoch."
In another article at at Neiman Journalism Lab's web site, Martin Langeveld, who spent 30 years in the daily newspaper business working for a variety of New England papers, wrote: "Is there another newspaper company CEO who agrees with (John) Paton’s mantra, 'Be Digital First and Print Last'? I doubt it, because what it means, in Patton’s words, is that you 'put the digital people in charge, and stop listening to the newspaper people.' Most newspaper groups pay lip service to 'digital first'." See his full post here on his prediction for JRC in 2011.
emedia.com staff writer Ellie Behling named Journal Register Company alongside Sports Illustrated, Gourmet Live, National Public Radio, and The Atlantic as the top 5 digital makeovers in media in 2010.

And in related news:

Suburban Newspapers of America announced a North America Innovation Tour in May 2011 around the continent for newspaper leaders which includes a stop at JRC's Torrington, CT newspaper, the Register Citizen, to visit its open community newsroom. "While there, the group will also spend a half day meeting with JRC corporate executives learning more about their digital-first strategy with a particular focus on revenue strategies that are working," the SNA release reported.
The New York Times wrote about our sister paper, The Register-Citizen in Torrington, Ct. last week that has opened its newsroom to the public.
emedia.com also recognized two JRC advisory board members - professors/authors Jeff Jarvis and Jay Rosen - among the top five most influential digital media tweeters.
JRC CEO Paton wrote a year-end blog to employees lauding them for their digital first efforts in 2010: "In 10 months this company has gone from nearly zero video to producing about 1,000 videos a week and 2 million video streams monthly. From almost no digital ad orders to more than 1,000 orders per month." Read the blog and view a related video on JRC in 2010.

It used to be said that journalists wrote the headlines, not dominated them. But times have changed as folks openly fret about the future of the media business. Some headlines reflect a glass is half-full outlook and some reflect the glass is half-empty; it is terrific to be working in a company where the headlines about it are all the former.

The year in review - 2010 at The Record

2010-12-22T08:45:00.000-08:00

This was a transformational year in the history of The Record. We took a firm step into our digital future while buttressing our legacy print business. The year in review:

Digital First
In February, Journal Register Company (our parent company) named a new CEO, John Paton. He met with JRC publishers on his first day on the job and told them to embrace a new “news ecology”, which includes the empowerment of citizen journalists to help us report what is going on in our communities. He demanded we be mobile-first in news delivery; and employ technologies to give consumers what they want, how they want it, when they want it.

To that end, the Record has changed the way it reported news in so many ways:
- All of our journalists were equipped with video cameras in the the spring; we now broadcast an average of about 70 new videos a month.
- Staffers began blogging, and we invited the community to blog on our site as well. Today we have over 30 bloggers.
- We began engaging our audiences more using social media. We launched a Facebook page, which today has 767 "fans". Now more than a dozen staffers use Twitter.
- We live-streamed all of our editorial board meetings with candidates during the election season, and our sports team has been particularly active with the above tools - regularly blogging, tweeting and posting video from games, and setting up special events such as Will Montgomery's high school football chat sessions, and Andrew Santillo's and Tretonian sports reporter Ben Doody's weekly chat about MAAC college basketball.

We promoted one of our staff writers, Tom Caprood, to lead our digital first efforts in the newsroom this spring, and he was named to JRC's Idea Lab in July. The concept is to have 15 employees companywide devote 10 hours a week for a year to helping the company "think differently about what we do and how we do it". Experimenting with technology is a big part of the charge.

We also opened the first phase of our Community Media Lab - a space designed to bring the community in to collaborate with us on all types of projects - from citizen journalism (ie. blogging) to forums on topics of interest to business owners to dialogues with local business, arts, education, government, and non-profit leaders.

And lastly, we added journalists in our newsroom in early 2010 - aiding both our digital and print efforts - and launched a few new features throughout the year. (Among the highlights were two in sports: a roundup of local athletic accomplishments each Sunday, and the presence of an in-depth sports feature that day as well.)

Our audience is growing
Our audience is larger than it has been in some time. Our digital audience is now up to over 163,000 unique visitors a month, and our print audience over the same period exceeds 93,000 adults.

The Record has been defying newspaper industry trends this year - as of last week our paid home delivery circulation was up 9.8 percent vs. the same week last December (while our overall circulation is relatively flat due to declining single copy sales).

Not only have readers have responding positively to changes in our operations; the Capital Region's alternative news weekly Metroland cited The Record in its Best of the Region announcement in late July for "Best Newspaper Turnaround". They said, in part, that we "re-imagined" our product, and "now regularly produce the most satisfying read of any paper around".

Legacy structure
None of the digital first focus represents an abandonment of our print products. In fact, this effort will enhance our newspapers as we refocus our resources to use newsprint to present more compelling journalism.

In many instances our company, as CEO John Paton has blogged about, we have outsourced to reduce our legacy costs so we could invest more in technology and journalism. Buildings, presses and delivery trucks have all been shedded. But in some cases where it made sense, some locations were identified as printing centers in JRC. So Troy is a print hub now for our Troy, Saratoga and Kingston products. To that end, we invested in our building and printing technology here:

In February we went live with new computer-to-plate equipment, which cut down on our prepress costs.
And in November we went live with new inserting equipment, which improved efficiency in that end of our operations in the week leading up to our becoming printer for a sister newspaper, Kingston's The Daily Freeman, on Dec. 7.

We have also invested in our building, repairing our roof and facade over the summer and fall, renovating two areas of the building for the aforementioned CTP equipment and the Community Media Lab, and installing a new T1 line.

More community engagement
We were active with a number of new community organizations during the year, and we expanded our Clothe the Child effort to a second annual campaign called "Camps4Kids". Proceeds sponsored camp scholarships for Troy Boys and Girls Club kids to its Camp Barker, which was struggling with funding.

Another exciting project came late in the year as The Record rallied to bring the 2010 World Series Trophy to Troy. After a five-week campaign, the San Francisco Giants - whose Major League roots are in Troy - agreed to bring the trophy here in May.

Sneak peak at '11
We have a bunch of new products, technologies and ways of reporting news and engaging with our readers that we will employ in 2011. I am happy to announce two projects today to provide a sneak peak:

The Record's Rensselaer Forum will be a regular gathering of community leaders in the arts, education, health, public service and local business to discuss issues of importance to local residents. The goal is to provide an ongoing process for residents to envision the future of their community. Topics and invited guests will vary, but the format will be the same: The public will be invited to participate in the discussion. A transcript will be published at troyrecord.com, as will stories. And video will be shot and excerpts made available on our web site.
We'll call it a working name for now - troyrecord.com's CML Concert Series (the CML standing for our Community Media Lab) - is also coming soon. We're inviting in music acts from the region to perform live in our media lab, and we'll post videos from each session and a brief artist biography on our Web site.

Also:

Electronic and mobile editions of our newspaper will roll out early in the coming year.
As announced this week by the Business Review, we are looking to expand our Community Media Lab into our newsroom. More on this as the project progresses.
And we are investing in a new front-end system for our editorial department this spring to make us more efficient, to push news more readily to mobile devices and the Web, and to make it easier to share content with other publications in our company, among other reasons.

In closing
I recommend those interested in the transformation at JRC see the video released this week on our progress in 2010.

And I want to take this opportunity to wish all of our readers, advertisers and employees the merriest of holidays; we look forward to engaging our community even more in 2011.

It's coming ... San Francisco Giants' World Series Trophy coming home to Troy, N.Y.

2010-12-16T01:55:00.000-08:00

After a campaign lasting over five weeks, The Record has done something that may have seemed a little far-fetched to some when we began it: We've convinced the San Francisco Giants to bring the World Series trophy home to Troy this spring.

The Record learned last night that the San Francisco Giants confirmed they will bring the trophy to Troy and Cooperstown the weekend of May 6-8. The stop in upstate New York will be part of a victory tour the team has set to celebrate its first World Series championship since 1958, and the first since moving from New York City to San Francisco.

Several days after the Giants beat the Texas Rangers in six games, The Record launched a Web and print petition asking the Giants to bring the trophy to Troy, the franchise’s original home. Petitions signed by Capital District residents and Giants from the Midwest and East Coast were presented to San Francisco Giants officials last week.

The back story on why the trophy belongs here, according to The Record Sports Editor Kevin Moran: The Troy City Trojans, an original member of the National League, competed for four seasons, 1879-1882. The Trojans failed to produce a winning season and struggled to attract fans, and that was a concern to other National League owners because of a threat from a rival league, the American Association. In December 1882 owners from Buffalo, Cleveland, Chicago, Providence, Boston and Detroit decided to remove Troy and Worcester from the National League and place franchises in New York City and Worcester. The vote was illegal because according to National League charter teams could only be removed from the league if it failed to complete its schedule. Troy completed its schedule all four years.

Troy representative A.L. Hotchikin at first balked at resigning Troy’s franchise, but eventually did so with concessions. Troy would be an Honorary Member of the National League — a distinction its holds today. National League teams would return to the Collar City each season to play a series if exhibition games to help Troy raise revenue to start a new National League franchise. Of course this never happened.

The petition drive was envisioned and orchestrated by Moran, who also labored hard to get the story picked up by local, national and West Coast media. Digital specialist Tom Caprood assisted in bringing attention to the event by marketing the effort through social media. And editor Lisa Lewis kept the project moving forward despite a steady diet of breaking stories that needed coverage. Congrats to all for their hard work. And thanks to everyone who signed our petition.

We'll keep you update on the events surrounding the homecoming, and of course, have full coverage at troyrecord.com and in The Record.

Journal Register CEO John Paton delivers frank assessment of challenges to newspaper industry

2010-12-02T11:37:00.000-08:00

The CEO of the Journal Register Company, parent company of four NY papers - The Record (Troy), The Oneida Daily Dispatch, Saratogian and Daily Freeman - delivered a frank critique of the challenges the newspaper industry is facing at an industry event today.

John Paton told colleagues at the International Newsmedia Marketing Association (INMA) Transformation of News Summit this morning in Cambridge, Mass. "(we must) profoundly change how we do business". He then spent the rest of the presentation explaining to folks the Digital First transformation he has led in JRC since he joined the company earlier this year, and the results so far. The short version is, in John's words, "the company’s expenses are down and its profits are up".

But if you have any interest in the newspaper business, the story is more compelling. Read/view John's presentation.

Journalists describe Digital First changes this year in The Record newsroom

2010-11-25T11:47:00.000-08:00

I often write about the Digital First efforts at the new Journal Register Company, parent company of this Web site. Journalists in the newsroom at The Record in Troy recently reflected on the changes in the nine months since CEO John Paton came aboard. View their commentary:

The Record effort to bring San Francisco Giants' World Series trophy to Troy, N.Y. gains momentum

2010-11-25T11:17:00.000-08:00

As reported last evening at troyrecord.com, The Record's effort to bring the San Francisco Giants' World Series trophy to Troy for a visit is gaining momentum.

San Francisco Giants president Larry Baer, while being interviewed by Brian Murphy of KNBR radio in San Francisco this week, acknowledged The Record’s effort to bring the World Series Trophy. He also stated the Giants are planning a tour of the World Series Trophy and that Troy would be included among its stops.

If you haven't signed our petition, please do so today. And keep reading troyrecord.com and The Record for the latest on when and where the trophy will come to our area.

Community members discuss their troyrecord.com blogs

2010-11-11T18:01:00.000-08:00

Troyrecord.com digital specialist Tom Caprood
talks with blogger Marcie Pry at the web site's
Community Media Lab.

Some of troyrecord.com's bloggers came by The Record's Community Media Lab on Wednesday night for a discussion/reception to preview a video featuring several of them talking about their experiences writing for us.

Digital special Tom Caprood led the discussion and previewed the video he created.

More on the event.

See the video:

Petition by troyrecord.com to bring San Francisco Giants' World Series trophy to Troy gains momentum

2010-11-11T16:29:00.000-08:00

Your News Now's Megan Eaton interviews
The Record's sports editor Kevin Moran.

I blogged Tuesday how the recent World Series winners, the San Francisco Giants, can trace their origins to a late 19th century National League team, the Troy (N.Y.) Trojans. And how troyrecord.com was rallying Troy folks and and baseball fans to petition the Giants and Major League Baseball to bring the World Series trophy to Troy.

Our effort is gaining momentum. Sports editor Kevin Moran has been interviewed from San Francisco on stations KCBS and Newstalk 810 to Albany on YNN-TV. News reports are also proliferating on Web news sites - from the Wall Street Journal to Huffington Post to USA Today to the San Francisco Examiner, among others.

If you haven't joined the effort, please sign the petition today.

Sign troyrecord.com's petition to bring World Series trophy to city of S.F. Giants' origins - Troy, NY

2010-11-09T05:41:00.000-08:00

The recent World Series winners, the San Francisco Giants, can trace their origins to a late 19th century National League team, the Troy Trojans. A long story, but Troy's NL team was hijacked to NYC; part of the stipulation moving the team from Troy to NYC was that major league teams would come to Troy to play exhibition games, which was never done.

To correct this slight, The Record is attempting to get the Giants and Major League Baseball to bring the World Series trophy to Troy to let city residents view what it rightfully theirs to share.

Please sign our petition, visit our Facebook page, and follow our progress at troyrecord.com.

Celebrations abound in late October around the Oneida region

2010-11-01T09:31:00.000-07:00

There were many celebrations in and around the greater Oneida area late last week:

On Wednesday, the Madison County Historical Society held its well-attended annual dinner at Johnnie's Pier 31 Restaurant on Oneida Lake. Solsville native and guest speaker Jim Ford spoke about his book, "Sweet Cider Days", recounting the story of the world-famous Mott family of Bouckville. Executive director Sydney Loftus also reviewed the organization's highlights from the previous year and new board members were voted into office (including yours truly).
Oneida Healthcare Center celebrated the completion of the second phase of an $18 million expansion effort on Friday morning with a ribbon-cutting and a breakfast at the Kallet Theater for nearly 250 supporters.
A crowd of over 260 feted Madison-Cortland ARC Executive Director Ray Lewandowski as he received the 2010 Distinguished Service Award at the Greater Oneida Chamber of Commerce annual dinner, also held at the Kallet.
And lastly ... and admittedly how you feel about this depends on where you live and/or attend(ed) high school ... Oneida had a thrilling 28-27 overtime gridiron victory Saturday over rival V.V.S. in a Class B semifinal football game in Chittenango. It was quite a transformation from a 33-6 Oneida loss to V.V.S. just two weeks earlier.

November is shaping up to be just as exciting. Among the many events and activities on tap: Oneida football faces Cazenovia in the Class B finals this weekend. And the new Pepi's Pizza on Route 5 opens its doors soon. Keep reading the Oneida Daily Dispatch and oneidadispatch.com for all the news of these happenings and much more.

Congrats to Oneida's Marcia Warham!

2010-09-29T07:33:00.000-07:00

When I started my career at the Oneida Daily Dispatch in 1981, Marcia Warham was already one of the most - if not the most - veteran employees in the newsroom with nearly a decade logged in here. A number of reporters, edtiors and publishers have come-and-gone since (including me with a 28-year gap in my time here) but Marcia is still working along side us. She manages our calendars and obits, and is responsible for many of our news briefs.

Today is Marcia's 38th anniversary at the Dispatch. Congrats and thanks Marcia for all your years of hard work and dedication!

Oneida residents say Daily Dispatch is their #1 source of school news

2010-08-30T12:13:00.000-07:00

Oneida Superintendent of Schools Ron Spadafora stopped by the Daily Dispatch office today to let us know the results of a community satisfaction survey related to communications from the district.

Respondents of the survey - over 400 total - overwhelming said their number one source of information on Oneida schools was the Daily Dispatch. While 75 percent of those responding cited the newspaper, the number two and three sources of information came from school employees and the district's twice-annual newsletter, respectively.

We discussed how the school district and the newspaper can partner and we agreed to start publishing a district column once a month, beginning in October.

I also offered the district superintendent a blog on our Web site, and would make the same offer to students, faculty and board members interested in writing about local education.

The survey included Oneida residents with and without family members in Oneida schools.

Full results of the satisfaction survey will be announced later this year; look for details of it in the Dispatch and at oneidadispatch.com.

Don't miss The Record's h.s football preview section next Thursday

2010-08-27T11:21:00.000-07:00

If you are a fan of local high school football, make sure you pick up a copy of The Record next Thursday, Sept. 2, for our 48-page Kickoff 2010 special section.

The special section is the only area high school football guide that is free (assuming you are subscriber, otherwise 75 cents). Written and photographed by our award-winning sports and photo staffs, the section previews the fortunes of 21 local teams. Schedules and additional articles are also included.

Troy Restaurant Tour is Tuesday; support the Troy Boys & Girls Club

2010-08-27T11:03:00.000-07:00

The first Troy Restaurant Tour sponsored by the Troy Boys & Girls Club is 6-9 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 31. Ten downtown eateries are serving up samples of signature dishes to benefit the club.

The Record is the media sponsor.

Dinosaur Bar-B-Que will serve pulled pork and baked beans in the club's parking lot, located at 1700 Seventh Ave., with local bluegrass band Big Creek providing live entertainment. Other participating restaurants include: Bacchus Wood Fired Pizza, Brown’s Brewing Co., Francesca’s, Holmes and Watson, Gelateria Lisa, Meka’s Lounge, The Red Front, The Ruck, DeFazio's and Wood-Fired Pizza.

Tickets are $20 in advance and $30 the day of the event; call the club at 274-3781. Maps will be available to participants describing the menu options available at each location.

See troyrecord.com story for more details.

Busy month in August at The Record

2010-08-27T10:41:00.000-07:00

Busy month here at The Record. A few highlights:

Two staffers won awards in the state 2009-2010 New York State Associated Press Association annual contest. Chief photographer Mike McMahon won a second place award for spot news photography in the under 50,000-circulation category, while high school sports reporter Will Montgomery won a third place award for blogging in the under 25,000- circulation category for his blog, "Off The Record." Congrats to both.
We had some transitions among people some of our readers and advertisers may know: Jessica Pasko, our business/higher education reporter, left to pursue a graduate degree in media management at Northwestern University in Chicago, Ill. We are currently working to fill her position. Today is Danielle Sanford's last day in advertising; she is also pursuing a graduate degree (master's degree in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages). We wish both of them all of the best.
Lianne Webster-Kim joined the staff as night copy desk chief. Previously, she was special sections editor for the Hudson-Catskills newspapers. She and her husband Ray reside in Troy.
We have begun two important construction projects on our physical plant: We are completing a facade repair effort begun in 2009 and we will start working on replacing most of our roof (we're repairing those part that are slate) next week.
The Record's digital specialist, Tom Caprood, began his journey as one of 15 people selected to participate in our parent company's ideaLab by attending a gathering of his co-conspirators in Pennsylvania. The goal of the group is to develop and field-test ideas that are going to help transform our digital first company, Journal Register Co. Read Tom's blog about it.
Speaking of Journal Register Co. .... Our CEO John Paton was named to be a board member of the Newspaper Association of America; read the announcement.

Metroland on The Record: 'The most satisfying read of any paper around'

2010-07-29T20:30:00.000-07:00

A year ago this week I was in my first 30 days as publisher of The Record when I wrote about a shout out in Metroland's Best of the Region issue; they cited The Record for having the area's best sports department.

Well, Metroland didn't cite any award this year for sports coverage but they did again recognize The Record - this time for "Best Newspaper Turnaround" - in their Best of the Region announcement this week. They said, in part, that we "reimagined" our product, and "now regularly produce the most satisfying read of any paper around".

We're blushing. Seriously, the newspaper - and our corporate parent, the Journal Register Company - has come along way in the last year. I've chronicled some of it here: a digital first focus, more editorial staff, new investments in technology and much more. And Metroland isn't the only one to notice; our home delivery subscriber base has grown over 6 percent so far this year.

I want to use this opportunity to say thanks to the folks at Metroland for the recognition, and particularly to our staff for the hard work and dedication to publishing a worthwhile community newspaper for the greater Troy area.

And finally, I want to say that more positive developments are coming. I can't wait to read what Metroland will recognize us for next year. I am confident the staff there and our readers will still be talking about the progress.

The Record is looking for a few good sales professionals

2010-07-27T07:56:00.000-07:00

The Record currently has two openings in its advertising sales department. One is a territory sales rep and a second is an online sales manager.

If you never have considered a sales career ... take five minutes and read "6 Massive Advantages of a Career in Sales". Many people - particularly those from hospitality, customer service and retail fields - find it a rewarding career. And newspaper sales positions are more family-friendly than many jobs in the aforementioned fields with weekday hours - no weekends, evenings or holidays - and the ability to get outdoors and visit with local business owners.

If you or someone you know is looking for a challenging career with a good income and advancement potential, please contact Heather DeForge, our advertising director, for more information.

New tech blog at troyrecord.com; author is receipient of JRC recognition

2010-07-23T07:26:00.000-07:00

The Record's digital specialist Tom Caprood launched a technology blog this week at troyrecord.com; it's called Digital Future.

Tom has previously contributed to our Troy Talk and Campaign Notebook blogs at our Web site.

Tom was named recently as named to our company's Idea Lab by our CEO, John Paton. Tom - and 14 other Idea Lab members from across Journal Record Co. - will devote 10 hours a week for the next year to helping the company "think differently about what we do and how we do it". Experimenting with technology is a big part of the charge.

Record staffer gets national recognition for blog

2010-07-23T06:53:00.000-07:00

The Record's own Siobhan Connally has been named a finalist by BlogHer in its 2010 Voices of the Year competition.

She was recognized in the editorial-opinion category for No Babies Are Saved in Killing of Doctor, posted to one of her blogs called Exiled in Toyland. Her Tiny Babel blog appears at troyrecord.com.

She has been an editor and writer with our company for 18 years. She is also an accomplished photographer; see her Flickr site.

Breadth of bloggers for troyrecord.com keeps growing

2010-06-24T09:15:00.000-07:00

The depth and breadth of folks blogging at troyrecord.com is growing in leaps and bounds.

I wrote in mid-March when we had 14 bloggers that we wanted to expand the community voices on our Web site and many responded. By the end of April, we had grown our roster of blogs to 27. And since then we've added six more indiviudals to bring the total to 33.

Areas of interest/expertise on a wide range of subjects are represented, from semi-professional football to financial and career planning to several people who write on happenings and concerns in our local communities. Our latest blogger is B. Reefer, a management major at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, who writes on his experience as a college student in our community.

Interesting in blogging with us? Contact Tom Caprood with your ideas. And to everyone else, happy reading.

The Record's sports section is now even better on Sunday

2010-06-22T06:41:00.000-07:00

The Record has long had an outstanding reputation for local sports coverage but sports editor Kevin Moran and his team have topped themselves with two recent additions to our Sunday sports package.

The first is Faces in the Crowd, a weekly page devoted to accomplishments of athletes of all ages. Recent appearances include a brief profile on John Hudson, head groundskeeper at Joseph L. Bruno Stadium; a photo of the Lansingburgh Knights modified baseball team, which outscored opponents 140-38 on the road to winning their league championship; and an update on Troy heavyweight boxer Shannon Miller.

The goal is to expand the number of faces and names in our newspaper beyond those who normally appear in our local sports coverage to include brief stories and profiles of Little League players, triathletes, Senior Games and Special Olympic participants, skiers, fishermen, and martial arts enthusiasts, to give a few examples. The space will also be used to profile the exploits of former local high school sports stars in their collegiate, professional and amateur careers. All mentions include a photo of the athlete(s).

If you have wish to submit an athletic accomplishment to Faces in the Crowd, send details and a photo (.jpg format) to sports@troyrecord.com.

The sports department has also launched a weekly Sunday sports feature that goes in-depth on an issue that is of interest to sports fans; it appears over two pages in the centerfold of the section. Andrew Santillo's recent profile of Capital District World Cup fans and Kevin Moran's comprehensive profile of legendary Catholic Central High School basketball coach Don Bassett are two examples. A different approach was taken the Sunday prior to the U.S. Open when The Record golf columnist John Craig wrote a hole-by-hole account of his recent effort to play Pebble Beach, site of the 2010 event.

You don't have to be a dye-in-the-wool sports nut to enjoy reading either of these new efforts each week. if you haven't already checked them out - do so this Sunday. You will be glad you did.

Newspapers' audience online reaches nearly 3 in 5 users

2010-06-18T08:12:00.000-07:00

I've wrote on this blog repeatedly about our company's digital first efforts. A report released yesterday by comScore and its Media Metrix service demonstrates the reason why: It showed that more than 123 million Americans visited newspaper sites in May, representing 57 percent of the total U.S. Internet audience.

“The good news for publishers is that even as print circulation declines, Americans are actually consuming as much news as ever – it’s just being consumed across more media,” said Jeff Hackett, comScore senior vice president, in a press release. “The Internet has become an essential channel in the way the majority of Americans consume news content today with nearly 3 out of 5 Internet users reading newspapers online each month."

Oneida High senior Colten Seamans receives Dispatch scholarship award

2010-06-14T11:54:00.000-07:00

Colten Seamans is the 2010 winner of the Roland J. Woodcock Memorial scholarship.

The award, sponsored by The Oneida Daily Dispatch, is given to an Oneida High School graduating senior planning a career in journalism or graphic arts. (Colten is shown at right receiving the award from Dispatch editor Kurt Wanfried during a recent award ceremony at Oneida High School.)

The award is named for 'Rollie' Woodcock, who retired in 1991 from the Oneida Daily Dispatch after an amazing 71 years on the job. Except for doing his bit in World War II - a two-year stint with Savage Arms Co. in Utica from 1942-1943 - all of his working life was spent at the Dispatch. Starting as a paperboy in 1917 when the paper was a weekly, he ended his career as a master pressman noted for his ability and enthusiasm in teaching the craft to others.

Colten is the son of James and Bernadette Seamans, who live on Crescent Avenue in Oneida. His activities included intramurals and Art Club, and he helped produce school talent show. He enjoys working with videography in and out of school.

Colten, who works part time at Dunkin' Donuts and for neighbors doing yardwork, will attend Alfred State College in the fall, majoring in graphic arts.

Congrats to Colten and all of the members of OHS' Class of 2010.

New video portal at troyrecord.com

2010-06-08T12:35:00.000-07:00

New today to troyrecord.com is an improved video portal to a library of all of our recently posted videos. It can be sorted by most recent and most viewed; video captions can be searched as well.

Currently 216 videos are posted and we are filming an average of almost 2.5 each day, so come back often for updates. Some videos are also embedded in news stories. Videos average about 2 minutes in length; the range is as brief as roughly a half minute and as long as a little over four minutes.

This is the latest in a series of developments to improve out video journalism. The first this winter was to equip every journalist with a video camera. Coming soon is the ability for readers to upload videos to our Web site.

The Record announces Ben Franklin Project stories

2010-06-07T14:25:00.000-07:00

Recently I wrote about the Troy Record's participation in Journal Register Company's Ben Franklin Project. On Sunday, July 4, our editorial coverage will reflect the fact our journalists will have sought considerable help from readers in reporting the news, while using free tools to publish our print and online products.

We rarely work on story budgets this far out but for this project we are making an exception, for obvious reasons. Here are seven stories we would like readers of The Record to give us input on:

High cost of summer athletics. Some parents pay up to $1,000 or more for their children to play on summer athletic teams or to attend specialized camps around the country and abroad. We want your input on the matter of the value of these programs and camps to swimmers, soccer players, baseball athletes, football participants and others. For a related story, we would also like your opinion on how the specialization in sports has led to the near extinction of the three-sport scholastic athlete as teens strive to pursue college scholarships. Contact Andrew Santillo or Will Montgomery.

Major League Baseball memories. We’re looking for readers who have been to major league ballparks to share their most memorable experiences - as well as photos if you have 'em - with fellow readers. Contact Ed Weaver.

Parking meters. Troy recently installed new meters downtown. The effort has caused quite a stir among residents, business owners and visitors. We want to find out how the public feels about the city’s effort to generate new revenue and manage parking space availability. Some people report confusion about how the meters work and where best to find parking. We will send a staff member to observe how parking ordinances are enforced as well as how people are reacting to it. There are also plans to create a video and/or photo slideshow on how the meters work, and to set up an online forum for discussion. Contact any one of these individuals with your feedback: Jessica Pasko, Cecelia Martinez, Tom Caprood or Katie Nowak.

Gridlock. Capital District highways and thoroughfares tend to turn into parking lots most days during morning and afternoon rush hours. What are some of your worst commuter horror stories? What route is the worst for traffic jams or best to avoid them? Contact: Jessica Pasko, Dave Canfield, or Danielle Sanzone.

Editorial page content. We’re inviting the public to submit content for editorial cartoons, columns and guest editorials related to an Independence Day theme of your choice. Feel free to be as creative as to the context - patriotism, independence, the state of state and/or federal politics, or something else. Contact Lisa Robert Lewis for more information and to share your ideas.

Travel. We are asking the community to send us their thoughts and photos of their favorite travel destinations for this time of year: day trip, weekend getaway and week-long (or longer) summer destinations are all welcome. E-mail Siobhan Connally.

Photo story. Lastly, we're looking for photos of your favorite historic sites, patriotic displays, and local summer events to put together for a photo page showcasing your interests. Contact Mike McMahon.

Thanks in advance for participating!

Oneida Daily Dispatch announces Ben Franklin Project stories

2010-06-04T10:47:00.000-07:00

Recently I wrote about the Oneida Daily Dispatch's participation in Journal Register Company's Ben Franklin Project. The gist is that on Saturday, July 3, our editorial coverage will reflect the fact our journalists will have sought considerable help from readers in reporting the news, while using free tools to publish our print and online products.

We rarely work on story budgets this far out but for this project we are making an exception, for obvious reasons. Here are three stories we would like your input on:

Where have all our neighbors gone? Census projections show Madison and Oneida counties continue to lose residents. It's not just retired people moving to Florida; it¹s the young and the educated seeking opportunity they can¹t find at home. If this area is to grow and proper in the years to come, these are the people who need to make it happen. What can be done? The first in a series of articles on this topic will run July 3. We'll talk to teenagers about where they see themselves living as young adults. We'll reach out to former residents as to why they moved. And we'll talk to local adults of all ages about whether they are planning to stay.

Oneida proud. One thing shared by many of us who have remained in Oneida is Oneida High School; either we attended and/or our children. But the school was different in each era. Teachers, fashions and atmosphere are some of changes. Clique also fashioned our experiences. We want people to share their memories of what OHS was like "back in the day" .... whenever that was for you. It would be particularly fun to talk to families who have had several generations of family members taught at OHS. We'll also ask readers to share photos.

Dangerous intersections. Based on your input as to which intersections are the worst, we'll talk with local officials about how to solve what may be long-standing issues. We'll use online maps and take photos to illustrate.

If you would like to participate in any of these stories, please contact editor Kurt Wanfried.

Oneida Daily Dispatch honors vets, wins 1st in parade competition

2010-06-01T12:38:00.000-07:00

The Oneida Daily Dispatch won first place in the "adult float" category at the 2010 Oneida Memorial Day Parade.

The parade theme was "Honoring our Veterans - Past, Present and Future". The Dispatch float used symbols that interpreted all three themes:
- PAST: At the head of the float (right) is a table set for one. A common symbol at American Legions, it represents service members - POWs and MIAs - whose return we await.
- PRESENT: The yellow ribbon represents the support we give to all service men and women as they serve our country, and our hope for their safe return home.
- FUTURE: Silhouette of service member as he takes his oath at enlistment represents all men and women who will voluntarily commit inthe future to serve in the armed forces.

Kudos and thanks go to:
- Marc Alvord and Karen Alvord for decorating the float, and Marc for the concept.
- Gordie Fox and Brian Pratt for cutting and painting the symbols on the float.
- Dennis Alvord for donating the wood for the symbols.
- Francis Relyea for donating his truck (and time driving), pulling the trailer.
- White's Farm Supply for supplying the trailer.

The Record adds fact-checking and story idea tools to Web site

2010-05-28T08:16:00.000-07:00

As some readers have noticed, we've added several new fact-checking and story idea submission forms to on news and sports stories at troyrecord.com.

The enhancements exemplify our efforts to be more transparent in our journalism and to collaborate more frequently with readers in gathering and reporting news. It also acknowledges our collective knowledge of our communities is greater than any one news organization can possess.

The initiative is one element of the Journal Register Company's (JRC) Ben Franklin Project which aims to “crowdsource” content as much as possible in our products. The Record is a JRC news operation.

We encourage you to report any fact we publish that you believe is incorrect. Our staff will verify the information and publish corrections at the source of the original story (whether it is in print or online, or both).

To be clear, The Record is not passing off its editing and fact checking responsibilities. Accuracy remains of paramount importance to each and every member of our staff. We only hope that by opening the door to the tens of thousands of you who read our products, we can harness the collective knowledge of everyone.

On story submissions, this will help streamline incoming story ideas to make sure they are being screened by the right people, while also hopefully encouraging more people to submit ideas.

We will communicate much more about the Ben Franklin Project and the role we hope our readers will play with us in the coming weeks

Declaring independence: Shedding the past and adopting the future coming July 4th to this newspaper

2010-05-25T09:36:00.000-07:00

Ben Franklin is credited with saying, "Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing."

Reporters of our company's newspapers and Web sites do a lot of the former each and every day. On July 4, we're going to something of the latter. That is the day all of the newspapers in our parent company, Journal Register Co., will seek help from readers in reporting the news while using free tools to publish print and online products.

I mentioned last week that JRC announced The News-Herald in Lake County, Ohio and the Perkasie News-Herald in Perkasie, Pa. successfully produced two websites and newspapers – one daily and one weekly - using only free web-based tools. Now JRC's CEO John Paton has challenged all of the company's employees to "declare our independence from the kind of thinking that has kept our company and industry from transforming to a multi-platform news company.

"And we will", he continued, "declare our independence from an industry that ties itself up with expensive proprietary I.T. systems and processes that are outdated almost the day they are installed."

As a part of the company's Ben Franklin Project, our 18 daily newspapers - including this one - will publish online and in print, using only free web-based tools. and "crowdsourcing" content while bypassing proprietary systems - from ad order entry to sales, finance, and publishing.

"In the process, we will, as before, liberate our thinking and become ever more meaningfully involved with the communities we serve by involving the audience in our content creation," he added. "Along the way, we will prove we can challenge the outdated business model of print to a model of the future that preserves and enhances our journalism."

Look for more info on this project as Independence Day approaches.

Long-time issue in Oneida resonates with SeeClickFIx users on Dispatch Web site

2010-05-21T08:42:00.000-07:00

"Cancer Corner" in front of Oneida High School has been a source of consternation for some members of the community going back at least three decades. And local residents have recently used a new citizen journalism tool - SeeClickFix - to express concerns on Oneida Daily Dispatch's Web site.

Oneida Police Chief David Meeker responded to the issue in today's newspaper in a report by Caitlin Traynor. Read the story online and join the conversation.

Parent company of this newspaper produces web sites and newspapers using free tools

2010-05-20T07:41:00.000-07:00

The parent company of this newspaper - the Journal Register Company - announced today it successfully produced two websites and newspapers – one daily and one weekly - using only free web-based tools.

The participating newspapers were The News-Herald in Lake County, Ohio and the Perkasie News-Herald in Perkasie, Pa.

The company’s Ben Franklin Project, announced April 21 by CEO John Paton, challenged the legacy newsgathering process and proprietary computer system model – while focusing on the company’s digital-first model. The websites and newspapers involved in the project were produced – from story assignment and advertising design through publication – utilizing free tools available online. The employees were given 30 days to meet that challenge and this week they succeeded.

Highlights of the project:
- The papers' newsrooms solicited story ideas and contributions through social media tools including Facebook and Twitter.
- Residents of one community shared their views on the county’s most dangerous roadway intersections and the newsroom staff compared those submissions with data from police reports. The audience, using Journal Register Company’s community portal partner SeeClickFix, also reported blighted properties – ranging from fields in need of mowing to a house that has been under construction for 10 years – that were included in newsroom reports. Residents in another community submitted questions for local officials as part of reports on the local pay-as-you-throw trash system and the community’s electric supplier contract.
- Advertising designers used free, web-based tools to design online and print advertisements, and copy editors and designers utilized a desktop publishing system available free online.

"Taking a digital first, print last approach motivates journalists to tap into readers before they even start reporting," said a blogger for the Poynter Institute of Media Studies, Mallary Jean Tenore, reporting on the project.

“We have taught ourselves the power of open source journalism by involving our communities," Paton said in a news release, "and we have showed the industry a way to a much more effective business model by bypassing costly legacy media proprietary systems and harnessing the power of the web.”

The Record opens Community Media Lab to public; newspaper presents advertiser workshops

2010-05-18T09:33:00.000-07:00

We opened The Record's Community Media Lab this morning with an "Advertising That Sells" workshop for advertisers. Five sessions are scheduled today and Wednesday; the 75-minute discussions focus on how business owners/manager can effectively buy local media by using some tried-and-true tools and principles.

One person at each session received an autographed copy of "What Would Google Do?" by author amd media expert Jeff Jarvis; Jarvis is a member of our parent company's (Journal Register Co.) advisory board.

If you have't heard about the lab read the blog at the link above and share your ideas for use of the room.

Below video is an excerpt from today's workshop.

The Record's Community Media Lab is now open

2010-05-13T07:35:00.000-07:00

The Record is putting the finishing touches on its Community Media Lab in our building in downtown Troy (501 Broadway).

The goal is to have a space where we can bring the community in to collaborate with us on all types of projects - from citizen journalism (ie. blogging) to forums on topics of interest to business owners to dialogues with local business, arts, education, government, and non-profit leaders.

The room, located on the first floor near the entrance, is brightly lit with capacity for 30 people: it comfortably seats 24 people at seminar-style tables, with room for another half dozen or so seated on the perimeter. We will install a video display in coming weeks for multi-media presentations, and Wi-Fi is present for Internet connectivity. We have also roughed out an area to build a new restroom in the future, but in the meantime there is one located on the same floor.

We soft-launched use of the room today with an internal training presentation (see photos above right and at right of John Krivosheyff from the Journal Register Co. leading digital sales training). Next week we have a couple public seminars called "Advertising That Works" scheduled (registration required). In coming months we will open it up to a full compliment of activities. We envision workshops for students on journalism; get-togethers for our growing compliment of bloggers; brown bag lunch discussions for businesspeople on topics such as social network and e-mail marketing; and roundtable discussions with local leaders from different fields that we will broadcast and report on.

This room is the result of 10 months of discussion and planning; originally scheduled to be created late last year, the date was pushed back when we decided to renovate another area of our building at the same time to install new pre-press equipment. The proposed named has changed (formerly dubbed the less stylish Community Meeting Room) since February when the CEO of our parent company - Journal Register Co. - announced his desire to establish Community Media Labs at several newspapers. Our paper wasn't on the original launch list but we proceeded because we felt it was a core component of our effort for our newsroom - and all of our staff - to be integrated into the community in new ways and vice-a-versa.

I need to do a shout-out to three people who were instrumental in making this (and our new pre-press facility installed in February) happen: Randy Pobran, operations director; Mike Furman, building services manager; and resident painter extraordinaire Joe Hack. Once again, they did a project on-time, on-budget and above expectations.

We expect our readers have many more ideas than we do on how to use our Community Media Lab - please drop me a note and share yours.

Newsweek to take a page from Journal Register Company playbook

2010-05-06T07:06:00.000-07:00

On The Daily Show the editor of Newsweek magazine discussed his publication's fortunes Wednesday; it was previously announced the magazine, which is losing money, is up for sale.

"For 77 years, the emphasis has been on the print," Jon Meacham said. "We had it backwards .... It's probably time to flip that." He said the approach should be to focus on digital delivery and take "the best stuff" from the previous week and compile it for the readers who "want to hold the magazine in their hands".

Newsweek isn't the traditional print media company to reverse its strategy. John Paton announced a similar "digital first, brands first" approach in early February upon being named CEO of the Journal Register Company (parent company of this newspaper).

Newsweek won't be the last print publication to make this announcement if more are to survive - and thrive - in the digital age.

Can you describe Troy in 140 characters or less?

2010-04-30T13:34:00.000-07:00

How do you feel about Troy? Are you a lifelong Trojan beaming with pride? Or have you had enough of the Collar City?

The Record wants to know.

Tell The Record what you think of Troy in 140 characters or less (including spaces) and we’ll share your feelings with the world.

Send a direct message on Twitter to @TroyRecord and we’ll send them out to all our followers as they come in. Additionally, you can send an e-mail to tcaprood@troyrecord.com with the subject "TroyNYis".

We plan to expand the project over time by adding video interviews, photographs, comments from area officials and business leaders, and more.

We will even print a number of responses in The Record and post them to our website in the near future.

However, we ask that you be honest and courteous with your responses. Personal attacks, as well as the use of vulgarities or profanities, will not be allowed.

Questions? E-mail The Record's digital specialist, Tom Caprood, at tcaprood@troyrecord.com.

Follow along with us - @TroyRecord on Twitter with the hashtag #TroyNYis

Stable of voices writing blogs at troyrecord.com grows to 27

2010-04-30T06:42:00.000-07:00

The Record is expanding the quantity of "voices" in its products, starting with our Web site.

We have added 11 bloggers to our site in the last seven weeks, bringing the total number to 25; we have two more polishing up their first blogs and they should go live later today or over the weekend. This brings us one blogger shy of my previously stated goal of having 28 bloggers on our site by today.

Here is just a sample of some of the new voices at blog central at troyrecord.com:
- Clinton Ballinger, founder and CEO of Evident Technologies, is taking the mystery out of technology without techno-jargon in his fun, relevant and educational blog.
- Marcie Pry, aka Short Temper, rocks and rolls - literally - as a member of the Hellions of Troy Roller Derby. She chronicles her adventures in roller derby, from bragging about bruises received at practice to attending roller derby events.
- Three women - Margaret, Jenn and Amy - from Troy's Some Girls boutique share writing duties for a style and lifestyle blog.

Why our effort? Jay Rosen, New York University professor and a Journal Register Company (our parent company) advisory board member, states the case succinctly: "Journalism - to be fully legitimate - needs to present a plurality of voices, not just one. I don't mean to invoke the gods of balance. They are false gods. I mean to suggest that journalism isn't a monologue. More than one person speaks in it. More than one angle is taken on the object."

Beyond blogs .... From the recent addition of our SeeClick Fix tool to our commenting functions, we're committed to a "plurality of voices" on our Web site. Coming soon is the ability for site viewers to upload their videos to all of our company's Web sites.

Also look for more bloggers. When I set the goal in mid-March of adding 14 bloggers by April 30, I also committed us to adding another 14 by June 30, to bring the total to 42. If you have the expertise, time and interest to blog for us on a particular subject, send a brief bio, contact information and a sample blog (or link to one) to editrecp@troyrecord.com and we’ll review and get back to you quickly.

The Record expands Clothe-A-Child to help send kids to summer camp

2010-04-30T05:46:00.000-07:00

The Record announced this morning that we have expanded our Clothe-A-Child Fund to a second annual campaign to raise funds to send children from low income households to summer camp.

Clothe-A-Child is expanding from a narrow mission of buying clothing for needy children to a broader aim. The winter campaign will continue to raise monies to purchase winter clothing for children while the summer effort, called Camps-4-Kids, will focus on funding summer camp scholarships.

The summer campaign will run through mid-June; a goal of $35,000 has been set. This year, Camp Barker, operated by the Boys and Girls Club of Troy, is recipient. The funding couldn't have come at a better time according to the organization's Executive Director Sharon Smith. She reported that two major funding sources for camp support have “dried up completely” recently.

“We were in serious danger of not offering a camp program this summer until The Record came to our rescue,” Smith stated.

More info here.

Donations may be sent to Clothe-A-Child/Camp Fund, The Record, 501 Broadway, Troy, N.Y. 12180.

A look at John Paton's first 90 days as CEO of Journal Register Co.

2010-04-29T12:03:00.000-07:00

John Paton will celebrate his 90th day as CEO of the Journal Register Company (parent company of this newspaper) this weekend. It has been a whirlwind three months for John and for the 3,100 employees of JRC, including those working here.

After a year of uncertainty as the company went into, and later emerged from bankruptcy and conducted a search for a leader, JRC has not only been reporting the headlines but making them almost weekly for a series of announcements about the bold steps it is taking to transform to a digital company.

Here are some highlights:
- John started work on Feb. 1; his first two days on the job were attending an already-scheduled meeting of JRC publishers, a handful of editors and corporate executives. He told those gathered the company's current business model was broken and that "all employees must recognize we have to change. And fast." He explained that the company must be "digital first and brands first" and set goals for significantly increasing operating cash flow from the digital side of the business over the next 3 to 5 years. He also charged those in the room with ensuring that the company is the "number one choice" for news in all of the communities that it serves. He restated these and other goals to all employees later in the week in both a companywide phone conference and in a letter.
- An advisory board was named in mid-March. Paton said in the announcement that the board "is charged with helping us assess the changes we need to make (to participate in social media and other digital innovations) and pushing us to experiment in new ways of news creation and delivery." Named were: Jeff Jarvis (an author and associate professor and director of the Interactive Journalism program and the new business models for news project at the City University of New York’s Graduate School of Journalism; Jay Rosen, PhD (a professor and former chair of the journalism program at New York University and a member of the Advisory Board of Wikipedia); and Betsy Morgan (a former CEO of the Huffington Post and former senior vice president and general manager of www.CBSNews.com).
- Earlier this month, Paton announced the launch of the Ben Franklin Project. Two JRC newspapers are empowering their communities to decide what information readers would like to see covered, and to become active members of the news-gathering process by submitting tips, personal stories, photos, videos and more using tools found for free on the Internet. Part of the project's mission is to create a web and print publication for one week that uses only free tools widely available on the Internet to demonstrate just how easy it is for citizens to become 'citizen journalists'. One newspaper had a community forum this week to field ideas of what readers would like to see the paper cover as part of the process.
- And last week Paton announced "a major citizen journalism initiative" with a partnership with SeeClickFix that allows Web site visitors to observe, report and follow issues - from poor road conditions to blighted buildings - in their communities.

Other changes include giving EVERY reporter in the company a digital Flip HD camera to contribute video to our Web sites (these were quickly paid for through new digital sales initiatives); the establishment of community media labs at six JRC newspapers (to encourage citizen journalism); restructuring at corporate to flatten the company and give more decision-making powers to the field; a considerable amount of training through Webinars and corporate conferences (touching more than one-third of the company's employees); and announcement of an employee profit-sharing plan.

Paton and JRC have been garnering considerable press for this recent activity. From trade industry magazines such as Editor and Publisher, to bloggers such as Judy Sims, a former vice president of Digital Media for the Toronto Star Media Group, the industry is eagerly watching the transformation at JRC.

But much more change is coming - most importantly, developments that will radically improve all of our print and digital products. You can follow these here on my blog and/or on John's blog.

My gut tells me the activity in this company in any 90 day period over the next few years will equal or exceed the pace of the past three months. Employees are on notice this transformation isn't for the faint of heart, and readers have been encouraged to expect more - and engage more - with the various products that comprise this emerging leader in U.S. community journalism.

Oneida digs SeeClickFix feature at oneidadispatch.com

2010-04-22T06:39:00.000-07:00

The Oneida Daily Dispatch announced Tuesday it launched a SeeClickFix feature on its web site, whereby local residents can identify issues of concerns in their communities. In 48 hours, viewers have already raised nine issues in Oneida and Verona about everything from potholes to disruptive teens to a zoning dispute. The latter - over a vacant Oneida lot where a planning board has nixed the design for a proposed restaurant - has drawn the most responses.

The mapping/social networking feature has drawn written comments, but also allows for videos and photos to be uploaded.

Our site also has a video from the founder of SeeClickFix, with more information on the possibilites of the product, and another video showing a few of the sites viewers there have complained about, including one of the nastiest poholes I have ever seen (at Oneida High High School).

The Record in Troy, where I am also publisher, launched SeeClickFix in the past month and viewers have opened way more than 50 issues on our site. Among the reports there is a brand new "fake red brick crosswalk on Central Ave in the Village of Colonie, at Vly Road, (which) is falling apart already". The viewer continues, "So much for DOT's new 'fancier', 'cobble-stone look' crosswalks!"

This newspaper wants to partner with you to 'fix' issues in our communities

2010-04-20T08:37:00.000-07:00

The Record and the Oneida Daily Dispatch - both papers at which I am publisher - are part of a major citizen journalism initiative to empower citizens to improve their communities.

Starting today, all 18 Journal Register Company daily newspapers and online publications in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Michigan and Ohio - including in Troy and Oneida - are partnering with www.SeeClickFix.com in the communities they serve.

The partnership provides SeeClickFix portal pages on our websites that allows users to observe, report and follow issues - poor road conditions to blighted buildings - in their communities.

This benefits our community by:

- Encouraging our audience to utilize the SeeClickFix platform to alert fellow residents of impact issues.
- Empowering residents to work with our journalists to address the needs of the community.
- Highlighting those who participate and make a difference through news reports.

We all have some issue - a broken sidewalk or a graffiti-marred public sign - near our home or workplace that drives us a little mad. Chances are someone shares our frustration, and experience has shown that municipalities and others will generally respond to those who shout the loudest. This tool is as effective a way as I know to 'shout' pretty loud.

Visit Oneida Daily Dispatch's or The Record's Web sites and look for the SeeClickFix information on the front page. Troy has had dozens of viewers participate in recent weeks; Oneida just launched theirs today.

Conventional wisdom: Young people do not read newspapers. Except studies show a fair amount do

2010-04-19T12:36:00.000-07:00

News reports last week of a new survey of news consumption in Britain shows adults under age 35 significantly increased their consumption of news in the past three years. And more are getting their news from print newspapers.

A McKinsey survey says average daily news consumption in the U.K. increased from 60 to 72 minutes in three years - "an increase driven almost entirely by people under the age of 35", according to a McKinsey spokesperson.

While young adults "overwhelmingly prefer to get their news from television and the Internet," the report says, newspapers remain the most trusted medium. The report said 66 percent of respondents describe the paper as "informative and confidence inspiring" compared to 44 percent for television and just 12 percent for the Web.

"This suggests that newspapers have further scope to go beyond news, to drive reader interest and advertising revenues at the same time," a spokesperson wrote.

And "interest" in getting news from newspapers has grown, the survey found. Among people aged 16 to 24, interest in newspaper news grew from 53 to 64 percent since a 2006 survey. Among 25-34 year olds, interest grew from 51 to 61 percent.

A study released last month from a 2009 survey of Canadian newspaper readers found print newspaper readership among young adults roughly the same as the general population.

A study by NADbank reported that 71 percent of adults ages 18-24 read a print version of a newspaper in the past seven days, nearly identical to the percentage of all adults age 18 and older (73 percent). Young adults were less likely than the general adult population (37 percent vs. 47 percent) to have responded they read a newspaper "yesterday" however, mirroring historical trends which show younger adults tend to be more often consumers of single and pass-along copies (and therefore not reading every day).

The Record's coverage of breaking news story Tuesday sets site traffic record

2010-04-08T18:24:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday I blogged about how The Record newsroom executed coverage that day of breaking news story – Troy’s Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute locked down its campus after an alleged armed robber was reportedly sighted near one of its buildings - exemplified our paper's digital first strategy.

I also said readers responded to our tweets, blogs and e-mail alerts and scoured our coverage in large numbers. The traffic stats are in and we set a one-day site record for visitors, crushing a record set a week earlier. Some 26,343 visits were recorded, up 46 percent over a previous one-day record of 18,028. Wednesday's coverage also drove an audience near the size of the previous record: 17,422 visitors. We also set a one-day record for page views on Tuesday (70.556). And, we set a record for two-day views of a single video (4,156) of the sound of an RPI alert shot from our newsroom window. Another video from the same package also recorded the second most views over a two-day period (2,743).

Our use of social media to drive site traffic also drove registration for our main Twitter news account; 45 new followers signed up.

More on how our digital efforts are paying off in bigger audiences in future blogs.

Breaking news story offers opportunity to fully execute JRC's new 'news ecology'

2010-04-06T14:29:00.000-07:00

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy locked down its campus this morning after an alleged armed robber was reportedly sighted near one of its buildings. Police are still searching the city for an unidentified male who made off with more than $40,000 after he allegedly robbed a local business.

A few years ago, you would have first read The Record's coverage the following day.

A year ago we might have posted a short story online with a few details fairly late in the news cycle on the same day.

Today we have reported continuously as the story developed, from roughly 90 minutes after the theft occurred at 8:10 a.m., through the morning and early afternoon as police warned the community to stay behind locked doors. And more reporting is coming this evening.

I have blogged lately about our newspaper’s – and our parent company, Journal Register Co.’s – rapid adoption of a digital first philosophy. Here's a rundown of how our news staff – led by Tom Caprood - did an excellent job in reporting a breaking news story as it happened today.

Photographer Jeff Couch called into the office with a report that the robbery had taken place and that police were on the scene at 8:30 a.m. Within 10 minutes Caprood was on scene with a Flip video camera and notepad to get what very few details police would offer, and a few quick shots of the scene and a helicopter flying overhead. A brief video was uploaded just before 10 a.m. (2,118 views as of 2:30 p.m.); and another with the audio of the R.P.I. alert was posted shortly after 10 a.m. (1,536 views as of 2:30 p.m.).

And another version of the original video edited with reaction from local business employees near the robbery site was uploaded at 2:12 p.m.

In addition, a story was updated throughout the morning as it progressed. Photos were posted. By 2 p.m., reporter Jessica Pasko added more from a press conference on the matter, and an R.P.I. statement on the matter was posted at 2:37 p.m. A story was published about (and a link established to) Troy Mayor Harry Tutunjian’s controversial tweet criticizing RPI’s emergency alert system (further coverage on this development will be published by reporter Dave Canfield tonight.) And city editor Jim Franco blogged about the controversy.

Some more highlights:
- All of our reporters have created work-related Twitter accounts in recent weeks, and several drove traffic to the site with their breaking news tweets.
- Many of our sources for reaction stories came from mining Tweets from R.P.I. students and others.

We gained more than 40 Twitter followers throughout the morning and had 13,000 page views on the coverage by just before 3 p.m. I’ll report out more on our same-day and next-day traffic on Thursday.

Kudos to all who wrote, posted and edited coverage, shot photos and video, and blogged. Welcome to the new “news ecology” … let’s do it again tomorrow.

Journal Register CEO ponders name change

2010-04-06T07:31:00.000-07:00

The Journal Register Co. - parent company of The Record and the Oneida Daily Dispatch - considers a name change.

Do citizen journalists need legal protection from frivolous lawsuits?

2010-04-05T08:28:00.000-07:00

Does the First Amendment offer citizen journalists legal protection to say what they believe? Yes and no.

Companies regularly use lawsuits - which have become know Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) - to silence and punish critics, usually individuals who have posted a negative comment on the Web. Legal experts say the plaintiffs lose more SLAPPs than they win because the First Amendment is on the defendants' side, but that is not the point. The goal of the lawsuits is to get the critics to back down - or face financially rehabilitating legal action.

A bill now working its way through Congress - The Citizen Participation Act (H.R. 4364) - was introduced to protect either “petition activity and speech or conduct in connection with an issue of public interest with a set of procedural mechanisms", according to the Public Participation Project". "An 'issue of public interest' includes any information or opinion related to health or safety; environmental, economic or community well-being; the government; a public figure; or a good, product or service in the marketplace."

Twenty-seven states have signed similar provisions into law, but the levels of protection vary. According to the Public Participation Project, the proposed act "allows a defendant to bring a special motion to dismiss the lawsuit at an early stage in the proceedings. The defendant must show that the lawsuit against him arose from his protected speech or petitioning activity. The plaintiff must then demonstrate that her claim is both legally sufficient and supported by a sufficient prima facie showing of facts to sustain a favorable judgment."

One expert - speaking on National Public Radio's "On the Media" show - also suggests anyone who blogs regularly to add defamation coverage to their homeowner or renter's insurance coverage; he estimated such coverage could cost as little as $3 a year.

More feet on the street at The Record

2010-03-31T11:58:00.000-07:00

I wrote late last year we would add more feet on the street in The Record newsroom in 2010. To date, we have hired three people into new reporter positions:

- Jessica Pasko, a former editorial assistant for the Associated Press bureau in Albany and SUNY-New Paltz grad, joined the city desk staff as a general assignment reporter.

- Cecelia Martinez, a former assistant editor at NTP Media and College of St. Rose alumnus, is covering news and politics in Troy.

- Katie Nowak, a Syracuse University (master's degree) and SUNY-Albany (bachelor's in journalism) grad and former editorial intern and freelancer for Bentley-Hall, is a general assignment reporter.

Also, Rebecca Eppelmann, a former editor of our Latham Life publication and College of St. Rose grad, has joined our news desk, filling a vacant copy editor position.

This development counters an industry trend; some 15,000 full-time reporting and editing jobs in the newspaper industry have been lost in the last three years, according to a Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism State of the News Media 2010 report released this month.

More developments coming.

The Record has record participation in lottery promotion; Mechanicville man wins $5,000

2010-03-30T11:09:00.000-07:00

The Record had record participation in its annual $1,000,000 Instant Jackpot promotion this winter with the New York Lottery. There were 4,209 entries this year, up over 41 percent from last year and roughly 80 percent from two years ago.

This second chance promotion was tied to the New York Lottery's new $1,000,000 Instant Jackpot Instant Game ticket. It offered readers the opportunity to mail in a non-winning $1,000,000 Instant Jackpot ticket along with an official entry blank from The Record. Winners were chosen each week to win $1,000,000 Instant Jackpot Instant Game tickets. Four weekly drawings were held, and all non-winning weekly entries qualified for the grand prize drawing on March 12.

The grand prize winner was Clarence Skipp of Mechanicville, a The Record subscriber for many years. In addiiton to a check for $5,000, he received 100 scratch-off tickets because he is a subscriber.

Jim Collier, circulation director of The Record, and Jina Matthews and Yolanda Vega, New York Lottery personalities, awarded the winner his check today at The Record office in downtown Troy. A photo from the check ceremony will be published in The Record this weekend.

Newspaper industry is at "peak of creative destruction"

2010-03-28T18:18:00.000-07:00

The newspaper industry is at the “peak of creative destruction,” according to Penny Abernathy, Knight Chair in Journalism and Digital Media Economics at the University North Carolina and former executive at the New York Times and Wall Street Journal.

Speaking at the New York State Press Association convention seminar on Saturday, Abernathy borrowed the phrase from Joseph Alois Schumpter, an early 20th century, Czech-born economist and political scientist. His theory – which described the process of transformation whereby established companies succumb to the pressure of new technology – applies today to print media, she said. Industry leaders may take one of two approaches: The first is to retreat with “Chicken Little” pessimism that “the sky is falling”. Another is to “embrace change” and experiment freely. She said the best tact is “to walk down the middle” of the two courses of action so not squander resources or act too slowly.

Innovation and progress isn’t enough to save newspapers from changing consumer media consumption habits. Companies must shed legacy costs; the industry’s distribution and printing systems are outmoded, she said.

Professor Abernathy outlined a five-step strategy process as the “path of renewal” which involved defining our companies; defining our customers; determining whether we are in a cycle or cyclone; performing a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) analysis; and setting a long-term strategic plan. The only part of her discussion that didn’t ring true was telling participants – mostly publishers and editors – to set three- and five-year plans. That seemed to contradict a statement earlier in the talk about how disruptive innovation has quickly evolved from being a once-a-century phenomena for the print industry, to something that now happens every 18 months. Pretty hard to aim so far in the distance when the target is moving that quickly.

For a copy of the presentation, click here. (Please note that at the time of this posting, the title slide on presentation had two numbers transposed; date should be 2015 and not 2105.)

For more on the NYPA convention, click here.

The future of newspapers gets debated locally in two forums ... with decidely different outcomes

2010-03-26T15:13:00.000-07:00

What a difference a day makes.

I attended a joint meeting of the Albany chapter of the American Marketing Association and the Albany Ad Club on Thursday, and the first day of a New York State Press Association conference today in Saratoga. At both functions newspapers were under a microscope. The first gathering was disconcerting and chaogenous; the second included a keynote address that was much more insightful and competently presented.

The topic of the AMA/Ad Club meeting – held ironically within walking distance of the Times Union Building - was “Are Newspapers Dead?” I didn’t catch the title of the press convention keynote today but the premise was how community newspapers are poised to thrive in the new media order.

Let’s take the “Are Newspapers Dead?” discussion first. It was billed to be a “roundtable” discussion but was neither figuratively (there was no “round table”) or literally (only two people presenting and there was little back-and-forth dialogue between them). It was also reported to be a “sell out” (a dubious distinction because several attending commented there were easily room for 35-40 more people in the room) and a breakfast (again questionable because the only food served was convenience store-quality danish). But I digress. The most suspicious part of the gathering was the agenda itself, which included participation by exactly zero people representing the daily newspaper industry (again, remember the T.U. is a brisk couple minutes walk away) and a seminar title I am absolutely certain the same organizers would never use to broach the future of local TV or radio (or any other business their members represented).

Mike Danieli, representing the New York State Press Association – a group of mostly free and paid weekly newspapers and a former T.U. executive – spoke first. He adequately represented the outlook of his current employer, which is that weekly newspapers have grown both in number and in audience in the last decade throughout New York. He sufficiently delineated why that segment of the print media has grown, because of the insatiable interest of consumers in hyper-local content.

If it is accurate to say Danelli was representing the ”newspapers remain viable” side of the conversation, albeit with only a little insight into why, a second presenter, Ron Ladoceur, executive vice president/executive creative director at Media Logic, represented the opposite thesis. Except that he wasn’t a terrible willing participant – saying on one hand that he still encouraged buyers at his firm to use local print, while on the other meekly suggesting through anecdotes and observations that maybe newspapers’ time had passed.

Missing in both men’s discourse were the fundamental reasons for both the negative headlines about newspapers today (corporate debt, the loss of multiple titles in almost all metro markets, and the erosion of seven-day subscriptions to weekend or Sunday home delivery offers are just three), newspapers’ audience growth in recent years (through Web and mobile offerings, among others), or the myriad of steps many newspapers have taken to improve their fate (shedding legacy costs and partnering with competitors and companies outside the industry, to name just two).

The 90-minute AMA/Ad Club presentation wasn’t informative but it was good drama. Several of the dozen or so Times Union staffers attending loudly expressed their angst at Ladoceur’s remarks, a woman from a weekly newspaper contributed comments that were off topic several times, and many from outside print media seemed to be confounded, embarrassed and, or amused by the whole affair. Neither Ladoceur or Danieli should have been the target of any angst; that belonged to the organizers. As someone who sat on the board of an Ad Club in another market for six years - and as attendee/presenter/organizer at dozens of other trade functions - I feel qualified to say this was something of a public train wreck.

By contrast, it was a Web guy – Interactive Advertising Bureau CEO Randall Rothenberg – who almost gushed about the future of local newspapers at the NYPA conference in Saratoga Springs. During a half hour talk, he drew upon a range of data from ComScore, MORI Research, Borrell Associates and others to outline why newspapers are poised for a resurgence in the coming years if they embrace new technologies and adapt to new social realities.

Rothenberg cited strong brands, consumer trust, terrific knowledge of and access to local advertisers, and an abundance of sought-after local content as assets that positioned newspapers for success. And he demonstrated how as direct mail, radio and telephone directories lose local market share of ad dollars in coming years, newspapers were poised to gain share through interactive advertising because of their strength in selling to businesses in the categories that are most embracing Web and mobile advertising such as retail stores, financial services, telecoms and others.

The IAB chief set aside projections and statistics and talked about the vital role newspapers serve as he neared the conclusion to his speech. He described how merchants rely on newspapers to drive foot traffic, how readers count on newspapers to inform, and how consumers use newspapers more than any other source to make local buying decisions. “Speaking as someone who runs an online trade association,” he said, “nothing exists in my town without the things newspapers do”.

It wasn’t that the IAB chief sided with my point of view on my industry’s outlook that made his presentation better than the one the day before. It was because Rothenberg – like a good opinion editor – had done his homework and composed and articulated an intelligent viewpoint.

For more on the NYPA convention, click here.

Welcome fellow Oneidans ....

2010-03-22T19:28:00.000-07:00

This past weekend my blog became available at the Web site of the Oneida Daily Dispatch. It is began as a column for The Record (Troy, N.Y.) last July when I became publisher there, and the blog component was added a little over a month ago. I also became publisher of the Dispatch last week. Twice the newspapers but still one blog.

The blog is (now) about both newspapers, our parent company (Journal Register Co.), the state of the journalism business, and the communities we serve.

To catch you up, you may want to try reading an old post ... One that discusses some of the signficant changes coming in our company.

More coming soon ...

My 16-year-old son approves of JRC's choice of Jeff Jarvis as an advisor

2010-03-18T19:01:00.000-07:00

Our parent company, Journal Register, announced a new advisory board yesterday.

Jeff Jarvis is a member; he is associate professor and director of the Interactive Journalism program and the new business models for news project at the City University of New York’s Graduate School of Journalism. He is a career media executive and the author of the best-selling book, "What Would Google Do?" Hours after the announcement, he joined about 80 JRC employees - mostly editors and online journalists - for a two-hour discussion during a two-day content conference.

Recently my boss John Paton gave out copies of the "Google" book to all JRC editors, ad directors and publishers as a precursor. Ironically, I was the second in my house to read it; my 16-year-old son Trevor - who enjoys finance and tech books, along with sci-fi and fantasy - read it last April. So when I told him I met Jeff yesterday and that he was a member of the advisory board John named, Trevor - who is critical of the future of dead-tree media - paused and then said, "that makes sense." And then he went back to Facebook.

That is as close to props as we are going to get from Trevor. More on Jarvis and his book in the next few days.

Why video matters to a local news site

2010-03-12T11:44:00.000-08:00

On Feb. 1 our company's new CEO, John Paton, promised on his first day on the job every reporter in the company would have a Flip camcorder within 30 days. He delivered ... and in a little over three weeks, our staff has shot, edited and posted 52 videos. (By comparison, prior to John's investment, we were shooting maybe 10-12 a month.)

Three video highlights: Nicholas Kaiser, who spoke about his accomplishments during his seven years as Troy police chief on his last day before retirement; several videos highlighting the win and post-game celebration by the Siena men's basketball team after defeating Fairfield in overtime to win the MAAC Championship and an NCAA tournament berth; and an announcement by a representative of the Franklin Inn and Suites in downtown Troy that the business is now affiliated with Best Western. A huge moment for local sports fans, a big milestone celebrated by a renown public servant, and a report on a business investment in Troy's economic center. This represents the ebb and flow of some of the many important moments in our community being broadcasted (most posted within minutes or hours of being captured).

Why the sudden emphasis on video? Well, to be frank, it is more to make up for lost time than any other reason. The public was ahead of our company in their desire to view news videos online (versus our ability to deliver). A recent study spotlights the audience we were missing.

The Pew Research Center and the Project for Excellence in Journalism released a report on March 1 outlining research on how Americans are consuming news, particularly in social context. I will blog more on the results down the line but one element of their research addresses which Web site features appeal to news consumers. Among all features, multi-media content including video clips is important to 48 percent of all online news users; preference is heaviest by younger viewers (57 percent of those age 18-29 and 51 percent of those ages 30-49 percent).

So overwhelmingly, our consumers - particularly those under age 50 - expect video at our Web site. If they don't find it here, they will go elsewhere for it and may not come back.

Currently, we don't have the opportunity for our viewers to upload video to our site, but that option is coming this spring. More functionality for where and how we can post them to our site, and more access to our archive (currently we only have links to our most recent videos) is also coming.

If you take our current productivity producing videos, assume we're going to get more efficient at this process, you can extrapolate that we could be on track to produce close to 1,000 videos in the next 12 months. That builds a foundation for our future as a multi-media company.

Happy viewing!

We’re looking for a few (well, at least 28) citizen journalists

2010-03-11T12:35:00.000-08:00

The news business is getting turned inside out. The folks who used to be our audience are now our competition.

Historically, our platform was the iron that comprises our press. Our distribution channels included our carriers, stores and news racks. Access to the public was limited mainly to “professional” journalists; an enlightened few who wrote for the masses.

Today, anyone with access to a computer and Web access can set up shop and write to a wide audience. Want to broadcast instead? A camera-enabled phone or a $150 Flip camcorder will give you about as much authority and technical capability as a multi-million dollar news studio. The new platforms and distribution channels - which include YouTube and Blogger.com - are readily available and free. The only qualification is possession of minimal computer skills.

This movement - years in the making but getting larger by the day - is often referred to as “citizen journalism”. The first news reports of the U.S. Airways crash in the Hudson River and the Fort Hood shooting last November are just two of innumerable major stories that first broke by eyewitness citizen journalists. Add to that, tens of thousands of daily posts and Tweets by witnesses to celebrity sightings, car wrecks, natural disasters, workforce cutbacks, weather anomalies and more ... and we are quite literally becoming a nation of journalists.

The smartest newspaper companies - including the one I work for - are embracing the change and looking for ways to partner with citizen journalists. It is on some level the old “if you can’t beat them, join them” adaptation. We offer promotion across various distribution channels, access to significant audiences, and credibility working with one of the community’s most trusted brands. Citizen journalists give us more eyes and ears on the ground, much-needed alternative perspectives, expertise in many areas that we don’t possess in a newsroom, and ultimately they bring audiences to our products. It is a symbiotic relationship that works very well.

For instance, a trained journalist can write professionally about a local economic development issue and communicate the basic facts of a story. But a trained economic developer with some basic writing skills can communicate with more passion, authority and understanding on the subject, and he or she can write more frequently and more comprehensively than a general assignment reporter. And that person likely is someone who a significant number of people would value - and take the time to follow - his or her opinions.

Going forward we are going introduce citizen journalism more into our news projects in a variety of ways, but to get a head start we are going to be aggressive about expanding our roster of local bloggers. At 4 p.m. today we’re having a discussion in our newsroom on the subject and I am setting a goal of doubling the number of bloggers we have (from 14 to 28) by April 30, and then looking to triple it from our current number (to 42) by June 30. We’ll brainstorm how to do this and invite community members.

But ... please don’t wait for an invitation. If you have the expertise, time and interest to blog for us on a particular subject, send a brief bio, contact information and a sample blog (or link to one) to editrecp@troyrecord.com and we’ll review and get back to you quickly.

Whether you want to blog to express yourself and have fun, to build credibility as a thought leader in your field of interest, or to bring visibility to your personal and/or business brand, please give it consideration. And thanks for reading my blog.

A newspaper that chips away at its product's value

2010-03-05T16:34:00.000-08:00

I won't name names but a daily newpaper which publishes in the community in which I live decided with today's issue to no longer list where local bands are playing in its Friday entertainment section. Now I know these folks making the decisions - a couple middle-age guys (like me) - aren't musicians (like me), nor do they probably ever venture inside a local tavern or club (unlike me) to see a favorite act. So, in an attempt to make a few coins, they started charging bars, restaurants, et al. to list bands. To their credit they got six businesses to pay (I suspect their regular advertisers get the listing for free) but many of the places that normally appeared in this space are gone.

Now my wife and I are big local music fans and we were trying to figure out where we are going tonight - we usually see one local act a week, though some weeks it might be two. (We got nearly all of our information on where to go from this newspaper.) Presented with this dilemma, it took me all of a few minutes to find a work-around to get the info we needed. Most of the best venues for local music all have Facebook pages so I just signed up as a "fan" and their band listings, dinners specials, etc. are now streaming into my Facebook account. Those businesses that don't have Facebook pages will no doubt reach out in the coming months as their customers urge them to communicate the information in new ways.

This move diminished the value of this newspaper for me. It didn't cause me to cancel my subscription but it did give me pause to consider what I get for my money.

A few predictions:
- Other readers - music fans - had the same reaction I did. This calendar is no longer a source they can rely on for complete info in the market. They will use Facebook, Metroland, the Times Union, a local weekly newspaper (The Chronicle) or another outlet to get this info going foward, and they will be a tad bitter their daily newspaper doesn't deliver this information to their doorstep.
- Some bar, nightclub and restaurant owners/managers will be ticked off as well. They may have had to cut back on advertising for seasonal reasons, or because cash flow is slow, and they will be reluctant to come back when they might normally do so. All it takes is the loss of one or two display advertisers to eliminate all the gains from paid listings.
- I suspect local musicians - who have no budgets to advertise - will be angry at the slight. These readers are seeing themselves reflected less and less in the pages of this publication, which has cut back on its local music coverage as well.
- I would bet that those few businesses who do buy these listings - now or in the near future - will stop doing so within six months. Someone - a customer or employee - will comment on the changes and confirm their own suspicion that this "marketplace" has limited value because it is incomplete.

Media consumers want information packaged how they want it and delivered when they want. For me, there is no turning back as either a publisher or as a consumer.

Are newspapers dead?

2010-03-05T06:33:00.000-08:00

"Are Newspapers Dead?" That is the subject of an upcoming Albany Ad Club "round-table discussion of the viability of newspapers in the Internet age". Ironically, there is no one currently working at a newspaper on the panel, though Mike Danieli is a former Times Union executive (and former The Record employee) and he currently works with the New York State Press Association. I am going to attend for no other reason I am curious to see who is interested in the topic.

And for those of you who can't attend, the answer is a definitive "no" ... no matter what the panel says.

See Ad Club site for details: Albany Ad Club event

RPI President: "History maker"

2010-03-03T07:38:00.000-08:00

This is a little dated but R.P.I. President Dr. Shirley Ann Jackson was named theGrio.com's "History Makers in the Making" in conjunction with Black History Month. theGrio.com is published in conjunction with NBC News and its sister Web sites.

Read the profile.

You've seen the TV show 'Undercover Boss'? Forgetta bout it: This boss operates in the open field

2010-02-27T19:54:00.000-08:00

I started a column in The Record last July - and earlier this week added to the effort by beginning to blog - largely to begin a conversation with the community about the transformation going on at The Record.

Tonight the CEO of the parent company of The Record, Journal Register Co., John Paton, one-upped me by launching a blog to chronicle his effort to transform our entire company.

According to John, his blog will "be my account of how we, the employees of Journal Register Company, make the neccessary changes to ensure our Company’s future. By sharing publicly our actions I hope we can spark true debate in our Company on what we are doing right and wrong and extend that debate to include the public and the newspaper industry at large."

It is a grand experiment - both the process itself and the writing about it. Happy reading: John's blog

Social networking & The Record

2010-02-26T05:42:00.000-08:00

We launched a Facebook page for The Record this week; once we have a 100 "fans" we can create a simple URL for it ie. facebook.com/troyrecord ... but until then the best way to find it is to search Facebook for "The Record"; it should come up on the first page of results. As an incentive to sign up as a "fan" we'll give a $25 gift certificate to one fan at random is we can get 100 users in the next 15 days; see our Facebook site for details.

If you tweet (or don't tweet but follow them), we have four Twitter accounts with news alerts:

- The first is primarily news alerts; see http://twitter.com/TroyRecord

- The second is primarily sports alerts; see http://twitter.com/TroyRecordSport

- The third focuses on Latham-area news; see http://twitter.com/MyLathamLife

- Lastly, I tweet about things going on at The Record and in media, with the occasional alert on something of broader interest; see http://twitter.com/jamesamurphy3

We also have 13 blogs at http://www.troyrecord.com/blogs and are looking for more "citizen journalists" to join us. More on this in my next column in The Record, which will also be posted here.

We'd rave about newspapers if they were invented today

2010-02-25T08:23:00.000-08:00

The following is reprinted by permission from Ken Paulson, president of the Newseum and the Freedom Forum in Washinington, D. C., and the former editor of USA Today.

I can understand why newspapers are not viewed as trendy today. After all, they were really the iPods of 1690.

But humor me, and consider this alternate history: Imagine if Gutenberg had invented a digital modem rather than a printing press, and that for centuries all of our information had come to us online.

Further, imagine if we held a press conference announcing the invention of an intriguing new product called the “newspaper.”

That press conference might go something like this:

We're pleased to announce a new product that will revolutionize the way you access information. It will save you time and money and keep you better informed than ever before. Just consider the hours you've spent on the internet looking for information of interest to you. We've hired specialists who live and work in your hometown to cull information sources and provide a daily report tailored to your community, your friends and your neighbors.

We also know that you sometimes wonder whether you can trust the information you see online. We plan to introduce a painstaking new process called 'fact-checking' in which we actually verify the information before we pass it along to you.

In addition to saving time online, you'll also save money. You won't need those expensive color ink cartridges or reams of paper because information will be printed out for you in full color every day.

You’ll also save money on access charges and those unpleasant fights over who gets time on the computer because this product will be physically delivered to your home at the same time each day, for less than what you would tip the guy from Pizza Hut. You worry about your kids stumbling across porn on the internet, but this product is pre-screened and guaranteed suitable for the whole family.

And in a security breakthrough, we guarantee newspapers to be absolutely virus-free, and promise the elimination of those annoying pop-up ads. It's also the most portable product in the world, and doesn’t require batteries or electricity. And when the flight attendant tells you to turn off your electronic devices, you can actually turn this on, opening page after page without worrying about interfering with the plane's radar.

To top it all off, you don't need a long-term warranty or service protection program. If you're not happy with this product on any day, we'll redesign it and bring you a new one the next day.

I can see the headlines now: "Cutting-edge newspapers threaten Google’s survival.”

My point, of course, is that newspapers remain an extraordinary information bargain, and we shouldn't be selling them short or lose sight of the qualities that make American journalism so critical to our democracy.

When we do our jobs as journalists the right way, when we strive everyday to publish reports of integrity and balance, when we ask the tough questions, when we fight to keep the public’s business public and when we provide the kind of thorough and balanced reporting that is the life blood of a democracy, we fulfill our promise to that first generation of Americans who believed that one of the best ways to guarantee a democracy was a free and vigorous press.

There are people counting on us.

Newspaper Web sites: Most used and valued sites for consumers

2010-02-25T05:30:00.000-08:00

A study released this week demonstrates newspaper Web sites lead all media as the most used and valued sites for consumers seeking credible and trustworthy local content and advertising online.

The study, conducted by comScore for the Newspaper Association of America, found approximately 57 percent of the 3,050 respondents identified local newspaper Web sites as the top online source for local information -- ahead of all other media. That percentage grows for upper income households (63 percent) and for the college educated (60 percent).

The strength of local newspaper Web sites was made clear when respondents to the survey were asked to identify sites they used most often for specific types of local content. Newspaper sites ranked first as a source for local information (29 percent), local sports (27 percent), local entertainment (26 percent) and local classifieds (39 percent), ahead of both local television Web sites and online portals.

Local newspaper Web sites also ranked first among all sources for trustworthiness, credibility and being the most informative place to find local content of all types – including news, information, entertainment, sports and classified advertising. When respondents were asked what sources were most trustworthy or reliable, local newspaper Web sites bested local television for local information (34 vs. 22 percent), for local sports (30 vs. 24 percent), for local entertainment (30 vs. 20 percent) and by 29 points for local classifieds (42 vs. 13 percent).

The survey also found that consumers consider local newspaper Web sites to be the most trusted source of online advertising, with ads that are perceived to be more current, credible and relevant to them.

Forty percent said online advertising is influenced by the type of Web site on which the ad appears. Of those, local newspaper sites ranked first in trustworthiness of advertising. Thirty-six percent selected local newspaper Web sites for trustworthy advertising compared to 23 percent for local television Web sites and 12 percent for online portals. And local newspaper sites were the clear winner across all demographic categories – even among the younger 18 – 34 age group, leading the second-ranked television Web sites (35 vs. 22 percent), and online portals (35 vs. 11 percent).

Seventy-eight percent across all demographic groups rated “more likely to be current” as the top reason advertising on local newspaper Websites are most trustworthy. Credibility and local relevance were also important factors with close to 50 percent of respondents citing these attributes for reasons behind local newspapers advertising trustworthiness.

The comScore survey results follow initial data from “Consumer Insights,” a new study conducted by MORI Research, that indicates newspaper advertising remains the leading advertising medium cited by consumers in planning, shopping and making purchasing decisions. The survey of more than 3,000 adults found that 82 percent of adults said they “took action” as a result of newspaper advertising – from clipping a coupon or making a purchase to visiting a Web site.

We will get the new 'news ecology' right

2010-02-14T12:12:00.000-08:00

The following was written for publication in The Record.

I have been involved in the Web side of the newspaper business in one way or another for a little more than a decade. My direct involvement started when I was named online manager of a Gannett newspaper and asked to produce that organization’s first Web site, continuing through last spring when a newspaper online site I oversaw in another company was recognized as the best community Web site in the nation by a trade organization.

And I have never been more energized about a newspaper company’s future digitally as I was when I recently met our company’s brand new CEO, John Paton, on his first day of work.

Paton joins the Journal Register Company from impreMedia LLC, a company he co-founded in 2003. impreMedia has evolved into the top news and information company in online and print serving the U.S. Hispanic community. In 2009, Editor & Publisher magazine recognized Paton for transforming what was a legacy news media organization into a modern multi-platform company by naming him "Publisher of the Year." He was also named a "Media All-Star" by AdWeek magazine's Marketing y Medios.

I can see why our new boss has received media attention when you consider the pronouncements he made on his first day on the job:

Every reporter in our company will have a point-and-shoot, high-definition video camera within 30 days. The breadth and depth of our video coverage will expand exponentially as a company over the coming months.
JRC will upgrade and enhance its information technology infrastructure so that our employees can fully participate in the new news ecology (more on that later).
The company is establishing Community Journalism Media Labs immediately in six of its communities. At all of our newspapers we are going to bring the outside world in to our company and work with entrepreneurial journalists. “We will establish both content and sales arrangements with these local entrepreneurs to increase our coverage, audience and sales to our mutual benefit,” he said.

Elements of the new “news ecology” include empowerment by media companies of citizen journalists to help them report through their own eyes what is going on in their communities; a news cycle that is mobile-first in news delivery; and one where all technologies are employed to give consumers what they want, how they want it, when they want it.

None of this represents an abandonment of our print products. In fact, this effort will enhance our newspapers as we refocus our resources to use newsprint to present more compelling journalism.

We will communicate more on these developments over the course of the spring as they evolve. But a few hints of what is to come: We will look for more “citizen journalists” to participate in our news gathering, much like the bloggers and community columnists we have now. We will present new marketing opportunities to the business community. We will launch new products and communication channels. And we will look for institutional partners to jointly develop content and business opportunities. But please, don’t wait for our announcements; if you have ideas or questions please contact me at jimmurphy@journalregister.com.

Earlier this week there was a Local Online Advertising Conference attended by 400 media professionals in New York. Jeff Jarvis, author of the book “What Would Google Do?” and an associate professor and director of the interactive journalism program at the City University of New York’s new Graduate School of Journalism, was the opening speaker. He reportedly stopped his presentation at one point to tell the audience to watch John Paton and the Journal Register Company over the coming months. He said, “Follow this company; they are going to get this right”.

We will “get it right”. And it is going to exciting for the communities we serve.

Together we can make this the best summer ever for some youth

2010-01-31T12:10:00.000-08:00

This first appeared in The Record.

Among my favorite childhood memories is the weeks spent at an assortment of summer camps over more than a decade through my late teens.

First were the years being bused to a day-camp outside my hometown to a reservoir for a few hours of swimming and crafts. When that site was deemed unsafe and closed, the bus ride became longer – we rode a half hour in each direction to a state park for similar activities. This was overlapped by the years spent at an Adirondacks camp sponsored by Catholic Charities. Later I graduated to a camp run by the state Department of Environmental Conservation, and finally, an out-of-state football camp.

Whether I was making a boondoggle thing-a-ma-jig, singing songs with a camp counselor, learning the fine art of hunting for snipe at night, or getting instruction from an NFL player such as Joe Namath, the camps kept me outdoors, active, learning new skills, and growing my circle of acquaintances and friends. I wouldn’t trade those experiences for anything, and I made sure that summer camp was an option made available to my kids each and every summer, even at times when my wife and I weren’t entirely sure we could afford it.

If I were to create a Bill of Rights for children, I might borrow a phrase from the U.S. Constitution and amend it to say that summer camp is an “unalienable right of childhood”. Such a universal right seems even more important today than when I was a child in light of technology that keeps kids glued to screens, indoors, and often secluded from face-to-face contact with kids outside their immediate circle throughout the summer.

Unfortunately, there is no such right for every child to have access to a camp experience. Many kids spend the summer home – in some cases without supervision during the day because a parent has to work – and without the organized activity, camaraderie and just plain fun that comes with camping. Much of the time, the sole reason for not participating is family finances.

To that end, The Record is going to organize a drive this spring to fund summer camp scholarships for needy area children. This will be a mid-year effort similar to our Clothe a Child fundraising activity each fall. All monies raised will go to summer camping.

Our planning is in its infancy. If you and, or your company or organization is interested in helping us raise funds, please contact me. To others looking for information on how the monies raised will be disbursed, please look for an announcement in The Record in late March.

Together we can make this the best summer ever for a significant number of local children. A worthwhile cause … I hope you agree.

Developments portend good things for our readers in 2010

2010-01-03T12:07:00.000-08:00

The following first appeared in The Record.

Now that the holidays are behind us, the staff of The Record is looking ahead and 2010 is already shaping up to be a great year. There are four developments that portend good things for our readers in 2010.

The first is something we have already shared - that we are making an investment to install computer-to-plate (CTP) equipment designed to make the newspaper’s printing operation more efficient. CTP is a prepress process in which a digital image is transmitted directly from a computer to a plate used on a press. It eliminates the need for producing film or negatives, stripping and shooting plates. The technology reduces costs, increases productivity, and offers better consistency and higher quality.

We have made significant progress since the announcement Dec. 4 in renovating an area of our building where this equipment will be housed. The equipment is due to be delivered in the next two weeks and will be fully operational by mid-February. There will be significant cost savings with no reduction in staffing.

The second improvement is the growth of our editorial staff. Currently we are filling four news writing positions: one to cover business, a second to cover education, and two others to write news and feature stories. These are all new.

The business writer will focus on trends and developments shaping our community within the small business, technology, health, education and non-profit sectors, as well as coverage of some of the organizations charged with economic development.

The education reporter will focus on developing good human interest stories from our local schools, as well coverage of issues such as budgets, construction projects, and trends in education. Emphasis is not only on school districts in our core market but our local colleges and universities.

The other two positions will be assigned some specific responsibilities but be flexible to cover breaking news and feature opportunities that present themselves.

All four positions should be filled by the second week in February.

A third development here is a repositioning of our three weekly newspapers - our Latham, Greenbush and River Life products. Beginning Jan. 21, Greenbush Life will move from carrier home delivery to being made available in news racks throughout the community; the other two publications move to rack delivery Feb. 11. This change is designed to make sure the newspapers get in the hands of those who want it. They will remain free but mail delivery will also be available for a nominal charge. We will begin publicizing the locations where these will be available, as well as how to order mail delivery, later in the month.

The weeklies will also transition from a broadsheet to tabloid format and be designed in a more attractive format. Studies show the smaller size is preferred by readers, and it will make it easier to buy advertising across our product mix since The Record is a tabloid.

Another change to the weeklies: All three will be distributed on Thursdays; currently they are delivered on different days.

One last advancement: I mentioned in a recent column we were looking to expand our arts coverage. Our goal is to give more visibility to the artists who live in our coverage area, as well as some of the other arts professionals (everyone from sound engineers to gallery owners). We’ve been advertising the last few weeks in The Record for freelancers to write occasionally for us in the visual arts (ceramics, drawing, painting, sculpture, architecture, printmaking, photography and filmmaking) and contemporary music (rock, pop, country, hip-hop, Christian, folk, jazz and rhythm and blues.). The response has been terrific. We’re hoping to try a few people out in the next 30 days and you should see more diverse arts coverage beginning February.

All of these changes are designed to ensure we deliver better hometown journalism in the coming year. We hope you enjoy the improvements.

Our readers enjoy a lot of company

2009-12-20T12:04:00.000-08:00

The following was originally published in The Record.

Whether you read The Record online or in print, you have a lot of company.

While headlines about declining circulation and falling revenues in the newspaper industry might suggest this isn’t our industry’s golden age, the reality is much better than one might be led to believe.

Roughly three-quarters (74%) of U.S. adults – nearly 171 million people – read a newspaper online or in print during the past week, according to a recently-released survey from Scarborough Research, an audience ratings measurement company. When you filter the data for economic and education variables – attention newspaper advertisers – the results are even better. Some 82 percent of adults with household incomes over $100,000 read newspapers each week, as do 84 percent of college graduates.

So if so many people are reading newspapers, why are they reporting circulation is down? There are a variety of reasons: more people are reading online; fewer households are receiving two or more different newspapers in markets where there are (or there used to be) choice; pass-along rates (people or households sharing a paper) are higher; and more people are reading fewer days each week (late-week editions – Thursday through Sunday – seem to be more popular in some markets).

Adding to the confusion is the fact that marketing-wise, the daily newspaper industry has done itself a disservice over the years. We count households while radio and TV industries count viewers and listeners, respectively. While the eyeballs watching the average TV show or ears listening to the average radio station are getting incredibly small (with the average home receiving almost 120 channels, the majority of cable TV shows reach less than one percent of U.S. adults; ditto for the audience of many radio stations during any particular 15 minute period), newspaper audiences have remained significant. As new audience measurement tools (counting readers and not household) attests: Newspapers are truly the last mass media.

The Record’s readership today is significant. Our print product reaches 41,595 readers on the average weekday and 43,274 on the average Sunday; across seven days 73,235 people read our newspaper, according to a Scarborough survey conducted locally this year.

And http://www.troyrecord.com/ grows our audience further. Unduplicated readership of our print and online readership combined is 46,192 on any given weekday and 48,112 on Sunday. Over the course of a week, 95,148 local people read our daily newspaper and/or web site.

None of these statistics include our three weekly newspapers, which drives our local, weekly unduplicated readership over 100,000.

So as 2010 fast approaches, I am very optimistic for our newspaper and its ability to recover from this recession. In my next column (Jan. 3) I will add to the list as to why 2010 will be a terrific year for all stakeholders in The Record – employees, readers, advertisers and the communities we serve.

But today is a fitting time to say "thank you" for reading The Record, and to wish that the peace and joy of the holidays be yours.

RPI's integral role in our Tech Valley

2009-12-06T12:00:00.000-08:00

The following was first published in The Record.

The cumulative effect of a number of developments over the past decade – from the creation and expansion of alternative energy-related businesses such as Latham’s Plug Power to the start of construction of Advanced Micro Devices’ $3.2 billion computer chip fabrication plant at the Luther Forest Technology Campus – signaled that the Capital Region is earning the moniker it is marketing as America’s new Tech Valley.

Along the same timeline, Troy’s own Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute has quietly transformed itself into a world-class technological research university with global reach and global impact.

How intertwined are these developments? Well, without the latter, the former may never be fully realized.

America’s premier technology corridor, the Silicon Valley - grew mainly from its proximity to Stanford University in nearby Palo Alto. With respected engineering and electronics departments, the university establish in 1951 the nation’s first research park where companies could build facilities and conduct research in cooperation with the school. The seed was planted – with much nurturing and support from Stanford - for a phenomenal run of technological and economic achievements over the last six decades; without Silicon Valley, there may be no Facebook or iPod in our lives today.

When RPI president Dr. Shirley Jackson announced “Renaissance at Rensselaer: The Campaign for Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute” 10 years ago, I suspect few entirely grasped her vision for the campus. And there were skeptics who thought the $1.4 billion fundraising goal might be too aggressive.

Her effort was a nod to the college founders’ The Rensselaerean Plan, a statement 185 years ago that gave form to a vision for applying science to life’s common purposes. Here are just a few of the game-changing components of the modern-day plan:

Expand the school’s fundamental research activity in technological entrepreneurship and the management of innovation.
Introduce the teaching of the fundamentals of entrepreneurship to students across all majors.
Cultivate a campus culture that provides the spirit and motivation for inventors to pursue commercialization.
Create innovative programs targeted at growing major new technological ventures and creating value.

And for evidence of the impact of “Renaissance at Rennselear” today, look no further than some of the headlines of just the past 60 days: “Space Shuttle Atlantis will carry a new Rensselaer nanomaterials experiment to the International Space Station.” “Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute receives $16.75 million from the Army Research Laboratory to launch a new research center devoted to the study of social and cognitive networks.” “Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have received $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Defense to model how different metals are affected by neutron irradiation.”

Our newspaper has chronicled over the last few days – and will continue to tomorrow – a few highlights of both the impact of the Renaissance campaign and a celebration taking place this weekend on the campus commemorating its completion. Sometimes it is hard to recognize in the moment but this is a historic event in our community … an opportunity to reflect on some truly significant economic, academic and technological developments, and to ponder what is to come.

This investment is going to - well, there is that word again – transform this region over the coming years in ways we can’t begin to imagine. Over time, RPI’s contribution to the Tech Valley will be no less significant than Stanford’s to the Silicon Valley. We join this weekend in reveling in Dr. Jackson’s and all of the Rennselear community’s extraordinary accomplishments.

Troy 100 critic finds publisher in agreement

2009-11-22T11:57:00.000-08:00

The following was first published in The Record.

Troy 100 Forum – a twice-annual gathering of business, political, community, educational, religious, and cultural leaders – met this week at Sage College to discuss “How Do Our Arts & Cultural Organizations Contribute To Our Community? “

New to Troy, this was my first chance to attend and I found the environment stimulating; it was reminiscent of other programs I have attended elsewhere such as F.O.C.U.S. Greater Syracuse, a community-wide visioning process.

One of the audience members used an opportunity during the session to criticize The Record; a couple other people defended us, to a point. The conversation centered on whether The Record does enough to publicize and promote the arts. The person complaining said we didn’t run a press release she had dropped off and it gravely hurt attendance of an event.

I mulled over the conversation, discussed it with our editor, and decided to write a public response. Here it is:

First of all, I took the speaker’s comments as a backhanded compliment. It is always good to hear that whether or not we publicize an event has an impact on audience attendance. That signals that our efforts – and our readers – are relevant.

Next, it important to say up front that we do some arts coverage well: Bob Goepfert in particular does a great job for our paper with theater, and Bob and others do a good job with big cultural events and some of the music scene. And we publish a modest cultural calendar on Thursdays.

But it must be said that I wholeheartedly agree with the criticism. There is more we could, should and ultimately, will do.

I am in the camp of folks – many of whom attended the forum at Sage - who feel that a strong arts community greatly improves my quality of life. Beyond just the entertainment value, the arts cultivate cultural understanding and encourage critical thinking and creativity among each of us. And I also buy into the research that shows the arts are vital to a local economy – whether it is in generating sales of art which help keep retail revenue local and artists employed, or it is attracting tourists who seek out the arts and spend money on other things, or it is presenting the picture of a very livable community to people and companies considering relocating here.

So, having established that the arts are indispensible and agreeing the complaint is valid … Where do we go from here?

I would like to say first that the door is open to any arts organization or individual artist to contact me and get me acquainted with your work. I have hit some of the highlights such as Troy Savings Bank Music Hall and Revolution Hall, but there are many more places and people I have not been exposed to in my short time in Troy. Send me a link to your Web site or a brochure, invite me for a tour, or tell me about an upcoming exhibit I should see.

I would also like to meet with groups and start to understand the linkages between organizations and artists. Covering an individual performance is one thing but writing more deeply about trends and issues that highlight and impact larger numbers of musicians, painters, actors, etc. – similar to the discussion held this week - may be more captivating for readers and helpful to the arts community.

And if there is someone who is both an experienced writer and deeply connected to the cultural scene – we have a particular need for the visual arts – who is inclined to moonlight as freelancer, contact our editor Lisa Lewis. The more voices in our paper, the better.

The newsroom and I will work this winter on how we can more effectively use our resources to cover the community and I can truthfully say that the arts are in my top three areas of interest for improving coverage. Hopefully, we can make some minor changes soon but look for bigger shifts as we head into spring.

And now I have a concern and a request of cultural organizations. I have heard from several spokespeople of these groups that they do not set aside monies to market their events locally because they depend on our editorial efforts among other things to get the word out. Our interdependence is mutual; please consider setting aside a small portion of your budget to grow your local audience through us. I would be more than willing to set down and brainstorm ways to do this that are cost-effective and draw new people to your venue or work.

The actress Glenn Close reportedly said, “All great art comes from a sense of outrage.” Here’s hoping that from the outrage of the speaker at Troy 100 this week comes a greater understanding and better journalism.

Former media sales rep offers advice to would-be musicians

2009-11-08T11:52:00.000-08:00

The following was first published in The Record.

Some of us spend our entire career in the media.

Some pass through this profession on their way to something else professionally.

And a few juggle between two jobs; one in the media and a second in teaching or the arts, for instance. The media gig might be the one that pays the bills and the second may be aspirational, or vice-a-versa. Usually the candle burning at both ends flickers out on one career and grows brighter with the other.

Stephen Kellogg fell into the latter category for a brief time. A salesman by day for a periodical, he labored in his free time to record his first album. He sold ads for about six months for a publication called "Notes" that focused on promoting concerts in western Massachusetts.

As is the case with most media salesmen, singer-songwriter Kellogg could never have anticipated being in the job until it found him, or he found it. “I think one (as an artist) is always looking for work that allows you some time to keep your own hours, do gigs, etcetera.”

The sales “gig” didn’t come naturally to him – “I'd get so nervous for phone calls it would make me sick to my stomach” – but he says he did learn some life lessons from it. “It was a great lesson in the impossibility of doing something well that you aren't into.”

What he has “been doing well” at, has been nurturing a career that includes three solo albums, four studio albums as Stephen Kellogg & the Sixers, and roughly 1,000 live shows, including an April 2008 appearance at Northern Lights in Clifton Park, opening for Hanson, and an Oct. 30 show headlining at The Egg in Albany. Described frequently as a “roots rock” act, the band is building an audience that appreciates the sound of artists such as the BoDeans, Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, and John Mellencamp.

I suspect Kellogg isn’t the first musician to work his way up to the big time who also worked in media sales; I remember meeting lots of musicians throughout my career who were selling ads by day and strumming, drumming or singing by night. But I don’t think as much is made of it as the many journalists who have crossed-over to success in the artistic or literary world, such as novelist Samuel Clemens and Civil War photographer Mathew Brady, to name two.

The Record in fact, has its own working musician. Jason Constantine, a sales rep of three years, is the singer in the modern rock cover band called Off the Hook.

What advice does Kellogg have for Constantines of the world who are still burning the candle at both ends?

“Take care of the music that it might take care of you,” he advises. “It is important to build your business savvy, etcetera, but way more important to get good at the art.”

“I would also say that if it’s his love, make sure that’s how he always represents it,” he adds. “I meet a lot of musicians who tell the world that they want to do it for a living because it seems like a ‘tough living’ or whatever. You have to really need to play to play, and if that’s the case don’t get derailed by self-doubt. Just take the love you feel and make it happen.”

Kellogg’s band may be one of the best you have never heard. But that could change as they keep relentlessly touring and recording. Their last album, “Glassjaw Boxer”, deservedly made USA Today critic’s Brian Mansfield’s list of top 5 albums of the year in 2007, with company as prestigious as Bruce Springsteen and Alison Krauss and Robert Plant. “Heart’s In Pain” from “Boxer” and “Born in the Spring” from this year’s “The Bear” album earned the band some significant exposure with spins on episode of TV’s “One Tree Hill” over the last two seasons. And I suspect a live album that will be recorded later this month at The Bowery in New York City on Kellogg’s 34th birthday may be the effort that puts the band over the top in terms of visibility; this band is amassing a impressive catalogue of songs to showcase together, and the group’s energy is something that is more easily captured on stage than in a studio.

But don’t take my word for it: Stephen Kellogg & The Sixers can be heard locally on WEXT-FM (97.7), as well as on Internet and satellite radio. Also, check out Constantine’s band Off the Hook in local clubs or at www.myspace.com/theoffthehookband.

David, Rachel & me

2009-10-29T11:41:00.000-07:00

This was originally published in The Record.

Stories sometime take on a life of their own.

I mentioned to Lisa Lewis, our editor, on Sept. 30 that my next column was going to recount how a newsroom effort I contributed to very early in my career turned into a staple of late night television in the 1980s and early 90s. If you think you know where this tale might be going based on recent headlines, you’re right. Two words: David Letterman. Later that evening the subject at the heart of my idea became the biggest story of the week after his on-air confession that he had affairs with members of his staff.

So I pondered, do I write the column or not? A chance sighting last weekend of a daytime celebrity talk show host convinced me to go for it.

Back to the beginning: I was a reporter at the Wellsville Daily Reporter when, on an Indian summer day in 1982 - much like the day I am writing this - my then-editor Matt Leone and I were sitting around musing about how people from small towns enjoy telling stories about famous people they and, or their friends and family have met. We shared a few stories, elicited some more from throughout the building, and Matt, being the columnist at the time, wrote them down and published them in the paper.

This created what today we would call great water cooler talk locally. And, in an era before office water coolers replaced the drinking fountain, in a town where most days were a slow news day, and the only famous former resident was a semi-pro baseball player-turned-actor named Gabby Hayes, a sidekick to leading actors in a number of Western movies including Roy Rogers and Gene Autry, we made the most of it. We invited readers to send in their tales for publication, too. We called the two-part series “Touched by Greatness”.

Matt – a serious news guy who nonetheless enjoyed these types of features immensely – sent our efforts off to journalism school buddies working in Ithaca and Rochester, and they in turn decided to publish similar efforts in their newspapers that fall. The idea really gathered steam in those larger markets with many reader contributions; the one that has stayed with me all these years was a reader who told the Rochester paper he was living in California in the 1950s when his dog urinated on the leg of a man that went on to be the 37th president of the U.S., Richard Nixon.

Fall turned to winter and it all might have been forgotten about if a staffer from the then-fledgling “Late Night with David Letterman” show hadn’t called Matt and told them they saw the Ithaca incarnation of “Touched by Greatness”, had called the paper, and editors there credited us with the idea. A few questions were asked of Matt and then he was told when a segment inspired by us would air, and that we might get a shout out. A group of us gathered, staying up past our bed times, and watched the show. There was no on-air mention but it was fun seeing our idea in Technicolor.

The skit might have again been relegated to the back of all of our minds if Letterman hadn’t added what he dubbed “Brushed by Greatness” to his rotation of ongoing routines, and the repeat exposure inspired many morning a.m. radio shows to make it a staple of their programming. At the time it seemed at least one call-in show in every city was soliciting listener “Greatness” anecdotes over the airwaves.

Ironically, the routine reached popularity at the same time as entertainment news emerged. The success of the syndicated “Entertainment Tonight”, just a year old when “Greatness” debuted, would spawn the era of the paparazzi and ensure Andy Warhol prediction that“everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes" would come true. These developments also ensured the “Greatness” idea would be quaint within a decade.

Today the average household has evolved from getting just three TV channels to 114 – somebody has to “star” on all the programming on all of those outlets. Even the absolutely talentless – at least when it comes to singing and acting - are becoming renown; all one has to do is be clever for 5 minutes to be seen by millions on YouTube, or be impudent enough to endure a few weeks of humiliation for reality TV stardom. And that’s just television; more authors do more book tours to U.S. cities today, more businesspeople become celebs via the growth in business reporting and event marketing, and there has been a proliferation of ‘experts” in politics and virtually every segment of culture to fill airtime on around-the-clock broadcast news outlets. Even rock acts such as John Mayer and Sister Hazel spend a few days on cruise ships with fans, while lesser stars schlock merchandise at pre- and post-show “meet-and-greets”. So, it seems, everyone who has yet to be famous is tripping over someone who is, and Twittering about it and posting pictures to Facebook.

My entire 15 minutes is still on the clock. The Letterman connection never produced so much as two tickets to sit in the show’s audience despite my trying to snag some through the show’s lottery process every time I headed to New York over the years. And, for a long time, I have also been the odd man out in swapping “Touched by Greatness” stories.

At the time of original incarnation back in Wellsville, I had met no one famous except a few athletes such as Joe Namath at a football camp I attended, and I didn’t think those counted because of the circumstances. (I did have a few stories about folks such as Babe Ruth and former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Sam Rayburn which my parents contributed.) Since then, I have got to interview a couple famous folks as a reporter, from country music’s Boxcar Willie to a guy named George H.W. Bush. And a cousin was a finalist on one of TV’s earliest reality shows, Fox TV’s “Married By America”. Yet, I can still count all my celebrity sightings on one hand with fingers left over: I shared an elevator once with rapper-actor-model Queen Latifah in Chicago, and I saw an actor from “General Hospital” in a London airport. (It seems you gotta be in big cities to increase your odds of bumping into these people.)

But maybe my fortune is changing. After more than a decade of drought in celebrity sightings, my latest happened last Sunday as I was debating whether to finish this column, and the irony is I almost missed it. I was at a wine store at a Washington County apple orchard patiently waiting for a tasting behind a woman who eventually established eye contact with me to, well, let me know I had to move so she could retreat to leave. It wasn’t until she walked out the door my wife (and the buzz around me) informed me that I just been, quite literally, “brushed’ by greatness in the form of one TV star, Rachel Ray.

My wife enjoys pointing out to anyone who will listen – this will be come her own “Greatness” story – that I, a big Ray fan, was clueless to her presence for the better part of a couple minutes. Which brings up my last point about this whole phenomenon: Keep you eyes open because you never know when “Greatness” is going to happen.

Maybe “Greatness” still has some legs at the office and parties as long as some of us remain anonymous. And next time I go to New York? I will test my luck and put my name in the drawing to be in the audience of the Rachel Ray Show instead of Letterman.

Tell us who is among the 'best' locally

2009-10-25T11:49:00.000-07:00

The following first appeared in The Record.

Whether you work on the front lines or in the back office of a local business – or are the owner - it is rewarding to be singled out for excellent customer service and/or products, atmosphere and value.

With that in mind – and to draw more visibility to the local merchants, restaurants and service providers who offer the best service and value in the greater Rennselear County area - the Record launched its inaugural Readers Choice awards this week.

The first ballot focused exclusively on health, wellness, beauty and fitness-related businesses – from home health care agencies to dental practices to day spas. These ballots were published earlier this week in The Record, and in our weekly publications - Greenbush Life, Latham Life and River Life – as well. Two more sets of ballots are coming up; this coming week we will publish a ballot for restaurants and night life venues, and next week, retail stores and service providers. Look for the ballots Tuesdays and Thursdays in The Record, as well as in the weekly newspapers.

In all, we plan out to give out Readers’ Choice certificates to winners and runners-up in roughly 150 categories.

Also, each eligible reader who votes will be put in a drawing to win a $25 gift certificate from a local restaurant; three will be awarded.

All winning businesses and runners-up will be published in a pull-out Readers Choice section of the Dec. 9 issue of The Record. Our hope is that readers will use the information to shop, dine and use service providers locally whenever possible during the holiday season and beyond.

In other developments at the newspaper:

If you missed our coverage of the inauguration of Dr. Susan C. Scrimshaw, the ninth president of The Sage Colleges, stop by our offices to purchase a copy of Friday’s and Saturday’s paper while supplies last. Our staff did a terrific job of previewing (in a commemorative special section) and covering this special event.
If you’re looking for a holiday gift for a special someone, consider a gift subscription to The Record. To sweeten the gift, a limited number of these are available with a bonus – two tickets to a holiday performance of either “Scrooge, The Musical” on Dec. 11 or to the Vienna Boy’s Choir on Dec. 20. Both shows are at Troy Savings Bank Music Hall. Look for ads in the paper over the next couple weeks promoting this offer.
Finally, look for a number of exciting announcements over the next few months including a redesign of some of our products and the launch of some new ones. We have a number of exciting projects designed to enhance the value of our newspapers and Web site.

Clothe-A-Child, now in its 35th year, continues to impact the community

2009-09-27T11:38:00.000-07:00

This was originally published in The Record.

I found it ironic that no sooner than summer turned to fall this week. a co-worker was outside our building on a 70 degree day getting a tractor mounted with a small plow ready for winter. And none-to-soon, because we all know the weather follows no calendar when determining when to blanket the region with the white stuff; the first snowfall could be just a few weeks away.

Sue Chasney is another individual on our staff who could be found thinking about winter this week as well. In addition to her role in our newsroom, Sue is returning as coordinator of our Clothe the Child program, now its 35th year. The effort, which raises money to buy winter clothing for children from needy families, requires some planning as we head into the final quarter of the year.

The program is pretty straightforward. The Record raises money from the community to purchase the clothing. Some 30 organizations bring forward the names of prospective recipients. The groups – from area schools to non-profits such as Unity House - also help solicit volunteers to help recipient families shop at discount department stores. Currently, the spending limit is $100 per child.

The program’s impact is bigger than one might think. Some parents tell Sue the clothing is the only “present” the child will receive that holiday season. A child’s self-esteem gets a little boost when they go back from winter break wearing brand new clothes like the kids from better-off families. Teachers tell us kids do come to school inadequately dressed to protect them from the cold and these clothes do help. And shopping volunteers return year-after-year because they enjoy witnessing the impact of their gesture – and that of the donors - on these young lives.

We haven’t created an exact tally – maybe someday we will – of all the children impact and funds raised over the years. But we do know that local residents have given many hundreds of thousands of dollars to this cause. That Clothe the Child has impacted thousands of families. And that 100 percent of all monies received have gone to purchase clothing; administrative costs are borne by The Record.

Recently we received our largest donation ever, a gift of stock and cash from an estate worth approximately $24,000. In addition, the Troy Turkey Trot has named Clothe the Child a named charity for the second consecutive year. And we know we can count on organizations such as R.P.I.; for years, students, faculty and staff have held countless fundraisers for the cause.
But we do need more help. If your club, workplace, classroom, fraternity or sorority, scout troop, church or family is looking to raise money for a good cause, we would ask that you keep Clothe the Child in mind as the holidays approach. Jars of pennies, spare change from bottle drives, large checks and small denomination bills are all welcome and all have a real impact.

Folks who are seeking winter clothing should contact a local social service agency for more information on how they can be considered for the program; The Record does not accept applications. We do accept donor questions, however. For more information, contact Sue Chasney at 270-1280.

The Record is publishing more 'good news' than ever

2009-09-13T11:33:00.000-07:00

Those of us who are old enough to remember growing up in our neighborhood where everyone knew everybody, most news that our industry today calls “hyper-local” traveled via conversations across backyard fences: Who was promoted at work, who was accepted to what college or joined the military, and who started their own business.

Today, Americans are much more mobile, and with hectic work-life schedules and suburban neighborhood designs that promote isolation, a lot less interaction occurs on the streets we live on. It may take us months or even years to meet those “new” neighbors down the street, and as much or more time may pass to learn word-of-mouth that a new deli has opened across town.

In the wake of these fundamental changes to our communities, weekly newspapers have sprung up across the U.S. “They showcase the goods things going on schools and community institutions, and zero in on an interesting people, in a way daily newspaper cannot,” observes Lisa Lewis, editor of The Record. “It is an opportunity for people to reconnect with their communities.”

To that end, we have expanded our product portfolio in the past year to include three weekly newspapers. The first, Greenbush Life, celebrates its one-year anniversary this month. It, along with Latham Life, founded in February, focus on two large suburbs in our region. The third, River Life, launched in April, serves smaller communities; Mechanicville, Stillwater and Waterford.

Two of weekly newspaper editors reflected this week on the weeklies’ first year and reported they find the job – and the community feedback – rewarding.

Greenbush Life Editor Jennifer E. O'Brien, a former high school and college English teacher, says the “the memorable stories are always the ones that can help someone else. Last fall, we did a feature on the annual JDRF walk; it was inspiring to meet the children and their families.”
She adds, “Residents really seem to enjoy reading stories about their community and recognizing familiar faces in the photo pages.”

Rebecca Eppelmann, editor of Latham Life, says “two of my most memorable interviews have both been Siena (College) professors. One wrote a book and another was working on a research project. The passion with which both spoke struck me as awe inspiring. Anytime I can share with the community the story of those who clearly love what they do, it's a great day for me. “The community has really embraced Latham Life,” she continues. “Not only have I received calls and notes from readers saying how much the like the paper, but in my opinion the best feedback the community has given is by becoming patrons of the local businesses we've profiled. The community is reading and reacting in a very positive way.

These newspapers are still evolving. There are plans to integrate more local school and recreational league sports coverage, incorporate more interaction from the community – including teenagers – and to introduce more news from school and municipal boards.

The Record is publishing more “good news” than ever with the addition of these products. And from what we have heard, that has been received as, well, good news by the communities we serve.

RPI scores big with new athletic facility

2009-08-30T11:28:00.000-07:00

This originally appeared in The Record.

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is heading into the final stretch of the first phase of its $114 million East Campus Athletic Village. I recently had a chance to tour the complex and I’m excited for a bunch of reasons.

First is the scope of the project. How many upstate New York communities would give its proverbial eye teeth for an economic development project of this magnitude? What might this lead to down the road? (Hint: Look no further than SUNY-Cortland, which has attracted the NY Jets summer training camp and Empire State Games, among other events, since opening a new sports complex in 2002.) What might this development mean for existing and local businesses? (Another hint: Check out the RPI-themed new Hilton on Hoosick Street if you haven’t already.) And finally, you have to admire the boldness with which RPI President Shirley Ann Jackson’s administration stuck with the project through a recession.

Second is the impact that this endeavor will have on the RPI community – faculty, staff, student-athletes and alumni. A little more swagger on the field and the court playing in one of the best Division III athletic facilities in the country. A little more inspiration off the field – the strength and conditioning area has an eye-level sweeping view of the stadium turf. There will be more excitement for fans in the stands; the setting is first class and feels more Division 1-AA than Division III. And the expansion will provide more opportunities for intramural participants – which represent nearly three-quarters of the student body. All of this adds up to a lot more “wow” in putting the school’s best foot forward in its recruiting efforts.

Third, this is a great moment for The Record as well. This event allows us an opportunity to present this milestone in a way that only your hometown newspaper can.

We will present several commemorative projects during the fall:

A special section on the new stadium and this year’s football team publishes Sept. 12, the day of the first home game; a broader look at the entire East Campus Athletic Village project will appear in a second commemorative special section in the Oct. 3 issue of The Record, the day of the grand opening and homecoming football game.

Both of those publications will be printed on brighter, heavier newsprint. The Oct. 3 edition will also include a free, two-sided glossy commemorative poster shot by our photography staff. And expect expanded news, sports and photo packages the day after both events.

I want to give a quick shout out to the local business owners who have joined us in celebrating the achievement by helping underwrite the efforts. Look for their ads in each section and tell them “thank you” as well. (The first issue deadlines early this week; please call me Monday at 270-1206 if you’re interested.)

RPI has scored a terrific achievement for the campus community and the entire region. There are a lot of reasons to give pause to celebration and we look forward to the party.

My calendar is marked. Mark yours, too.

2009-08-16T11:19:00.000-07:00

This was originally published in The Record

The newspaper industry has been the subject of more headlines this year than at any time in my career. Some of that is due to the proliferation of new media outlets that report on business issues. But much of the reason is the industry has been raked through the economic coals of this recession. Hey, the media loves bad news. The closing of the Ann Arbor News in July after nearly 175 years in operation was the latest in a series of recent setbacks including bankruptcies, layoffs, retrenchments and closings that drew attention.

So it is understandable if many people have drawn the conclusion that newspapers are on life support and are about to be put out of their misery. Yet there is evidence that the tide has turned, evidenced in part by the work of a research and consulting firm called Borrell Associates. The company – which focuses on interactive marketing but which works with traditional media as well – tracks local advertising.

According to a Borrell report released this month, the decline in newspaper industry revenues will abate after this year, with a 2.4 percent rebound in 2010. Further, it says by 2014, newspaper income will be up 8.7 percent over 2009.

While no industry executive is going to take this projection to the bank, I suspect there was a collective sign of relief when the report was released. The outlook mirrors what many newspaper company executives have been saying, that there is light at the end of the tunnel. But Borrell has a good forecasting track record; it correctly called the severe, long slide of newspaper revenues of the past eight years when newspaper revenue as at an all-time high in 2001. If we had only listened.

Borrell’s report points to the history of radio, which rebounded after struggling with the advent of television in the 1950s, as “a historical reference point”. The medium lost market share but continued to thrive for nearly a half century.

The study is quick to note that the recovery won’t be equal among daily newspapers – that metro markets will have a tougher time – and that the transition requires some tinkering with products and marketing. Newspapers are increasingly focusing on the most highly-educated and highest-income of readers. The industry is making product changes – using more color and devoting less space to world and national news. And newspapers are getting better at focusing on advertising customers’ and readers’ needs.

The report also states that while all traditional media is under siege – newspapers will recover faster than radio, television, direct mail, magazines and yellow page directories because it was the first to be forced into “a period of adjustment” as a result of the Internet. “Now they are scrambling to cope with fundamental changes in their business models, hoping to take some lessons from newspapers,” the report states.

Gordon Borrell issued the following challenge to readers of the report: “We may be dead wrong. The entire industry might die, and scores of papers might go belly-up over the next year. I’d like you to mark your calendar for today’s date, 2010, and see if that’s the case, or if we wound up being right.”

My calendar is marked. Mark yours, too, and we’ll revisit his predictions in a year.

Compliments, announcements & promotions, oh my!

2009-08-02T10:38:00.000-07:00

This first appeared in The Record.

We recently received a compliment from another local media outlet. We’ll graciously accept it and use the opportunity to make a few related announcements.

First the recognition: The staff of Metroland, in its Best of the Region edition on July 16, cited The Record as having the best local sports coverage among local media. This is the second time in three years the sports department has been cited;

“The Record gives a lot of real estate - in newspapers, ‘real estate’ means pages - to sports,” Metroland reported. “And a big share of this is in-depth coverage of local sports: high school, college, minor league baseball and hockey, you name it. Being able to devote your back page to a dynamic sports photo every day doesn’t hurt, either.”

Not too shabby. Thanks Metroland! We’re very proud of the team here too, which includes six full-timers - sports editor Kevin Moran and assistant sports editor Tim Martin, and staff writers Chris Fitz Gerald, Will Montgomery, Andrew Santillo, and Ed Weaver – as well as some stringers. And I would be remiss if we didn’t add the names of Jim Carras, Tom Killips and Mike McMahon – our very experienced (more than 85 years at the paper between the three of them) and very talented photo staff whose work on the back cover was referenced by the alternative paper.

One of the very cool – and very unusual in our business – aspects of our staff is their local ties. Five of the aforementioned writers grew up in the area: Fitz Gerald in Scotia, Montgomery in Burnt Hills, Martin in Hudsonx, Moran in Waterline, and Santillo in Niskayuna. Weaver is a native of the Elmira area.

Moran says that the local connections ensure the staff is very sensitive and responsive to covering the local sports scene as broadly and deeply as possible. “My philosophy is to cover every event no matter how small. We can’t get to every 8- or 9-year old Little League game. But we know our readers are only going to get the kind of local coverage in The Record that we do so we try to cover every local team and athlete we can.”

And now, a segue to a few developments at The Record we feel will serve readers well:

The first is we would like to announce that McMahon, who has been with us 33 years, has been promoted to the executive chief photographer. Previously he served as chief photographer at The Record. He now oversees the photo staff of both our paper and our sister paper, The Saratogian. Mike will continue to shoot and be present in our newsroom just about as much as he has in the past, but will now work with both staffs on scheduling, overseeing quality control and training. He will help us continue to evolve in our ability to delivery local news and sports videos on our Web sites as well.
They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. The paper is in development of a Reader’s Choice Awards which will be unveiled this fall. It is kinda, sorta similar to Metroland’s “Best of” effort, but frankly this is not the purview of any one publication - it is a staple of hundreds of newspapers across the country. It seemed to us that more of the businesses and institutions in our readership area deserved recognition than afforded by similar efforts of other publications that cast a much wider net. Look for ballots in The Record and our weekly publications soon.
Last, but certainly not least … Look for The Record’s 2009 High School Football Preview section the first week in September. Kevin and his staff will be publishing previews and schedules for each of 21 schools in our readership area. This is something we haven’t done in a few years but, as the paper with the title of “best sports coverage”, it is only apropos it return.

If that is not enough, we’ll be unveiling more sports- and non-sports related projects as we head into fall. Stay tuned.

Despite rumors, newspapers remain vital to communities they serve

2009-07-19T11:08:00.000-07:00

This originally appeared in The Record.

“I think I’ve timed this moment perfectly. Think about it: I’m on a last place network, I moved to a state that’s bankrupt, and tonight show’s is sponsored by General Motors.”

- Conan O’Brien, excerpt from his monologue June 1 as the new host of “The Tonight Show”.

The first thought that entered my head as I was named publisher of The Record recently was O’Brien’s monologue. The similarities between late night TV and newspapers are broad in the respect that this is an interesting time for all media.

And both Conan and I have spent a career in preparation for a long-sought gig, even if a few zeros separate his salary from mine. Having said that:

• I am not working for the last-placed anything by any means but the newspaper industry has been getting some bad press lately. Much of it is self-inflicted. (More on both the last-place and self-inflicted comments in future columns.)
• We all know the precarious situation of New York’s finances but I didn’t move to the state; I am a life-long resident. But the comment does remind one of the contentious economic times we are in.
• I wish our newspaper was sponsored by General Motors. The truth is car companies – and car dealers – are cutting back on both traditional and “new” media advertising.

So, naturally some people have asked with the state of the industry, why did I make a career move now? As someone whose last name is Murphy, as in Murphy’s Law, I can appreciate the irony. A glance at my career sheds some light.

Having possessed a wee bit of writing talent and few other options coming out of college with a degree in political science a couple of recessions ago, I was quick to say yes to an offer from the editor of my hometown paper, the Oneida Daily Dispatch, to freelance write. Six weeks later they offered me a staff writing job for all of $150 a week, and after another six weeks went by, a stint as sports editor. My career was off-and-running; I quickly became enamored with the profession.

During my days in the newsroom I saw how inextricably the life of so much of the community was tied to the newspaper: Upstart politicians seeking to gain some notoriety. Church supper organizers hoping to draw a wider audience for an Election Night dinner. Frustrated taxpayers looking to have a voice in the political debate. Proud parents basking in the attention earned by notice of their child’s athletic, musical or academic accomplishments. Grieving family members taking some solace in an obituary detailing a life lived well. And on and on – day in and day out.

Later in my career, I moved to the advertising side of our business and discovered the similar impact. Business owners set aside money they could use to fund their 401k or invest in inventory to instead advertise with us in the hopes of maintaining and growing their revenue and customer base. I have seen innumerable businesses thrive and prosper from being regular newspaper advertisers because of all media, we have the best quality and quantity of reach, and we are the ad source used far more than any other by consumers to make local shopping decisions.

So, despite rumors of our demise, I emphatically believe newspapers remain extremely vital to the communities in which they reside – particularly those of our size. The industry is evolving for a myriad of reasons including rapid changes in technology, costs (newsprint and health care, to name two), and the rise of new competitors, among others. And readers’ needs are changing – some read us more than ever (because our product mix has grown), some want more targeted information from us (hence the rise of our three weekly newspapers), and some want more customized and timely information (thus our 24-hour-coverage online now).

Back to the monologue analogy: I did come to this position at a challenging time. But there are challenges all around us. The Record has plenty of company among local businesses who face new threats (and opportunities). But I also come very much energized at being a party to what is certainly the most transformational age in the history of newspapers since the invention of moveable type. It is an exciting time and the glass is half full – those newspapers that embrace and help shape the new order will thrive alongside the communities they serve.

The author is the new publisher of the Troy Record. This is his debut column; it will appear every other Sunday.