Politico, Newschannel 8, and WJLA TV Parent company, Allbritton Communications, has announced that it is jumping into local media here in the Washington DC metro area. Planned for launch next spring, the yet unnamed site hopes to leverage social web technology to lure audiences who have become disenchanted with traditional media. They also hope replicate the success of the reportedly profitable Politico.

GAME CHANGER

So is this a game changer for local media in the Washington area? The New Republic’s website, TNR.com, who originally broke the story, framed this as a direct challenge to the Washington Post. But as more local TV stations place greater emphasis on their web presence, this “local Politico” will pose a challenge to TV stations as well. So I asked Twitter the following:

HEY DC PEEPS!! what are your thoughts on Politico’s foray into the online local news space??

Predictably,  there was no shortage of opinion.  Here are just a few.

Faryna

@newmediajim Considering WP’s gestapo tact on the opinion of their own journalists, is Jim Brady prepared to get out of the box? We’ll see.

anamariecox

RT @newmediajim: HEY DC PEEPS!! what are your thoughts on Politico’s foray into the local news space? http://is.gd/4H4We // SUPER PSYCHED!

Audreyforshey

@newmediajim I would subscribe, listen to POLITICO interviews on WTOP and they appeal to me. Like my news on the go.

loudoun

@newmediajim Politico local news…they should read this…http://bit.ly/3kjwhf – and then curate/cultivate relationships with the locals

ScottEblin

@newmediajim Means that the future is here. If they do as good a job as they did with Politico, the WaPo should be worried.

chrisobrooks

Just got this WAPO email re: redesign of their local news site. 1 day aftr Politico scare, coincidence? http://twurl.nl/k80fr7

Jim Brady At The Helm

Courtesey Michael Schwarz - Politico

Jim Brady, former WashingtonPost.com editor, will oversee a staff of 50 at the operation. In his presentation this past week at an Online News Association confab, entitled – Mobile: The Future is Now – Brady may have betrayed the strategy of the new site. I suspect there will be a very strong emphasis on mobile apps and geolocation, which makes sense. Mobile strategy is timely.  ComScore data indicates daily mobile news consumption has more than doubled in the past year. And if he believes what he preaches, not only will he staff the newsroom well, but he’ll bring on a strong mobile app development team. I also suspect that these mobile apps will be bi-directional, meaning users will be able to consume stories and upload their own content to the site. Another interesting data point from a Universal McCann study shows that 53% of smartphone users are clicking on mobile ads.

Catalyst For Change

So now that the story is out, it will be interesting to see how other local media respond. Competition is good, and hopefully better multimedia/online journalism should result from this. This could be a catalyst for great change for local media in the DC metro area. Will this new site embrace social tools and encourage networked journalism, crowdsourcing, hyperlocal news? While all of that “webby goodness” appeals to the web 2.0 evangelists, it’s noteworthy and encouraging to this media worker that, according to this NY Times piece, Allbritton plans on paying competitive, large market newspaper salaries for seasoned pros.

Ultimately, a site like this will live or die on how it serves the needs of the local community. So assembled readers, what is it that will make a site like this work, for the publisher and the community. Why have so many other hyperlocal, local web plays failed? What would you like to see from a local web news provider? Please discuss in the comments below!

NBC’s Local Media Initiative

In a move that acknowledges the diminishing influence of one-way communication channels, NBC has renamed the Television Stations Division “Local Media Division”. There was a great deal of coverage in industry blogs. Media Week and Lost Remote have both framed the change as a fundamental shift in business.

NBC Local Media better reflects the full scope of our capabilities, as well as our ability to offer clients a fully-integrated, local media solution across the full portfolio of our assets.-John Wallace – President, NBC Local Media Division, from press release

As marketers continue to shift ad dollars from traditional media to online, it’s vital for companies like NBC to take the brand where the people are. Increasingly, that means web and mobile. As newspapers and TV move to build online, the distinction between the two becomes meaningless. Right now local “newspapers” appear to be winning online.

Creating an Engaging Experience While Building a Business

The static web sites of most TV and Radio stations have been eclipsed by the more interactive offerings of newspapers. Perhaps the economic imperative of the dying newspaper industry has forced print publishers bring online innovations to market faster. So the challenge for local media is to build an engaging, imersive, media platform that actually becomes something the community can’t live without – at the same time scaling the user base to a point where the enterprise is economically worthwhile.

What would that platform look like? What key elements would satisfy both the community and the media company? I took that question to my very smart Twitter posse and they came up with some great ideas. Here’s a small sampling:

All very smart ideas from early adopters of social web technology. Smart ideas about the evolution of local media can be found in practice and in theory, but ultimately big media companies are looking for the ones that will generate increased traffic and ad revenue. I do think it is vital for those in charge of any local media initiative to get input from outside the corporate meeting rooms. They should be talking to the local blogging, tech, and social media communities. They should be sponsoring conferences, discussions and meetups with the pioneers of the social web in their local communities.

I strongly feel that media companies need to discover and encourage the brand champions within their own organizations to use social media. While there may be some who grumble about already burdensome workloads – and believe me, TV news is a pretty thankless sausage factory – standing by and hoping that the sales and promotions departments will save careers is not a good career strategy. I’ve discovered that meeting and listening to people on the social web, through platforms like Twitter, blogging, Facebook, and meetups, has enriched my life both personally and professionally. It’s also allowed me to bring the NBC News brand into this space.

Envisioning Local Media

Mel Taylor outlines the key points of a recent speech by former CBS News chief Andrew Heyward. In it, Heyward outlines the current problems with the state of TV news, and discusses some forward-thinking approaches to building succssesful online platforms. Don Dodge, while blogging about newspaper strategy, puts forth ideas that are equally resonant in television’s web efforts. Essentially he says be local, be a marketplace, and be the best local search engine out there. A good example of very useful local search platform is the Boston local search platform Citysqaures.

I think the key to success in transforming local media is to build a platform that people can’t live without. It should be a place where people can connect around ideas and affinities, build their own social netowrk profile, network and create events, have a robust mobile component, and should recommend content and events based on the users profile. People want to share and create content and links. Making that easy and customizable, in a locally relevant way, is key to getting the Facebook generation passionate about local media.The bottom line is, of course, the bottom line. But while media companies have to focus on profits, they should not look at their web presence as a secondary effort, or simply repository for recycled newscast content.

For local media platforms to be successful, they will have to implement imersive, relevant, engaging, and useful experiences for the community. So my assembled readers, how would you build a successful local media platform? What are some good examples of ones you’ve come across?

Nothing more meta than when media cover the media. If only I’d been there with my camera to get the media, covering the media, covering well..you guessed it..THE MEDIA!!

I’ve been down this road before but I <3 this guy! He ROCKS!

Apparently the Atlanta Journal Constitution <3's him too. I'm not going to steal Amani's thunder. Let's let him tell the story.

Click To Play

My friend SpaceyG also has a nice take on Amani’s meteoric rise.

Media gadfly Michael Rosenblum has some curious thoughts on the use of tripods in producing “newspaper video”.

Apparently there is a Yahoo group devoted very specifically to “newspaper video”.

A discussion/self-help/twelve-step group for recovering newspaper photojournalists working with video. This is aimed toward newspaper staff shooters who are expanding their repertoire to include multimedia. Video, audio and slide shows are fair game. It’s all about content.

It’s a walled garden that doesn’t even allow outsiders to SEE the discussion, much less get involved and contribute. If i were a betting man, I’d wager that this group was set up by Mr. Rosenblum to advance the notion that “newspaper video” is somehow different than other types of video journalism on the web. (see comment from Rosenblum himself below) I find this type of monotheism less than useful. But that’s just me, I’m influenced by a lot of different types of creativity. It’s video on the net for Pete’s sake. Last time I picked up the fishwrap it didn’t play video.

I have tremendous respect for still photographers, whether they shoot for newspapers, magazines or wire services. I’ve traveled with the likes of Dirck Halstead on White House trips, where Dirck was a bit of a nusciance to the TV crews, as he unsteadily and mercilessly clomped around on the camera risers, making the TV shots shake despite TRIPODS.

The current White House administration has solved the “Halstead effect” by pouring a concrete riser for the pool TV head-on camera at nearly every road event.. NO JOKE!..this courtesy of former NBC News cameraman turned White House staffer Bobby DeServi. I now work with immensely talented “stills” like Khue Bui, Chris Usher, Larry Downing, Scott Applewhite, Kevin LaMarque, Tim Sloan…I could go on. For all of them I have much love and respect. (until they pop up in my shot and I instruct my soundman to strike them back down with his boom pole like whack-a-moles)

We’re all media makers and all have valuable contributions to make, and voices that should be heard. Whether we’re shooting for the web, big-box TV, or “newspaper video”, we should be tearing down walls not building new ones. So I’m often suspect of monotheistic approaches and “rules” handed down from on high. I’m equally suspect of TV cameramen who insist on ALWAYS using tripods, or videobloggers who show disdain for anything but small cameras. Just tell me a story! Don’t get caught up on dogma. For interesting, well rounded ideas on creating “newspaper video”, I’d look at Angela Grant’s blog. She’s driving some interesting conversation in that space and is open to a wide range of ideas, while maintaining strong ones of her own.

For me, a “debate” on whether to use tripods or not, is specious right out of the gate. Video, television and film throw far more data at a viewer than a single frame. It’s vital that signal cut through noise. Bad audio or shaky images create noise and tripods are tools that can sometimes be used to reduce noise. Smart people know when to use the right tools.

I’ve been working in TV news in DC for more years than I care to recall, and I’ve never found TV reporters lacking in the self-promotion department. But for some interesting thoughts on a shift in promotional responsiblity to journalists themselves, Beet TV’s Andy Plesser goes to the washingtonpost.com well once again, with the site’s Executive Editor, Jim Brady. In the interview, Brady speaks on the importance of embracing the changes facing journalists.

On embracing and learning new multi media skills:

“one It’s hard and two they have to figure out how to do it”

On promoting their own stories:

“getting on and talking about what you’re doing is more important now than it’s ever been”

Here’s where I think Brady stops shy of articulating the more important notion of conversation and dialogue. Sure it’s important to get on NBC, MSNBC, CNBC, and MSNBC.COM. But I think it’s also vitally important to go out and engage the relevant online communities and bloggers, by actively participating in THEIR conversations, by way of comments and posts. That is both drop-dead simple and immensely valuable. Time consuming? Sure.

I recently had a conversation with MSNBC.COM’s East Coast Deputy Editor, Randy Stearns about the importance of these channels for connecting with viewers/readers. Stearns and MSNBC.COM’s Director of Video, Stokes Young were in DC talking content not long ago to the troops at NBC’s DC bureau. Their powerpoint featured my very low-brow video on the day in the life of the White House Press Corps, from this video grunt’s viewpoint.

LINK TO MSNBC VIDEO

To me what’s more valuable than the content itself is this:

To generate some conversation about this video, I posted a link in the Yahoo video bloggers mailing list and Twittered about it. I did all of this as sort of a proof of concept in self-publising and shameless self-promotion. But what was really fun and cool for me was actually talking with the people who took the time to stop by and comment. I either emailed or commented back on the site.

Much of what journalists (i’m including EVERYONE in the process here) are now tasked with has been thrust upon them because of economics and technology. Many are wary of their new roles and attendant new duties. Some of them, I sadly believe, are less than willing to engage the unwashed masses. Hubris is partly to blame for MSM’s decline. Humility and humanity may help revive it.