Monthly Archives: October 2019

Tell me something good

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There is no doubt social media has taken the world wide web by storm. Starting with platforms like MySpace to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and more coming online; it’s hard to imagine how we lived without it.

I found this study to be interesting (despite the fact they don’t breakdown the age demos correctly)…

While many may consider social media as a utility (a place to get information, news, etc.), the data shows us it is much more than that.

Social media is personal. The younger the demo, the more personal it becomes. Look as the percentage of people who use social media to get inspired. They are using it to become energized, learn more and try new things.

Today’s social media users want a real experience that is useful and relevant. As our world becomes more connected, it’s important to remember the content posted needs to matter to the audience.

Is America becoming a news desert?

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Facebook is once again changing the media landscape. The social media giant has announced it is creating Facebook News, a new section of content available that will feature a variety of different news articles.

The stories will come from outside sources, not Facebook employees and will use algorithms to deliver personalized recommendations for further reading. News Corp, The Washington Post, Bloomberg, BuzzFeed News, the Los Angeles Times, CBS and Fox’s owned-and-operated local stations are the first media outlets to provide content.

Not everyone is impressed by this announcement.

“It’s great that Facebook is willing to pay The New York Times and Washington Post, among other national news organizations,” Larry Gilbert, Jr., the audience engagement editor for the Sun Journal newspaper in Lewiston, Maine told CNN.com. “But while the tech giant is doing that, newspapers in smaller markets across the country are closing up shop and every day more of America is becoming a news desert.”

There is no doubt the landscape of news is changing. Local newspapers struggle to survive leaving communities with little or no information on what is taking place.

The Pew Research Center reports 71% of U.S. adults think their local news media are doing well financially. However, the study also revealed 41% of Americans say they prefer getting their local news via TV and the 37% prefer it online which is dramatically different to those who favor a printed newspaper or the radio (13% and 8%, respectively).

All of this does not bode well for local newspapers. According to an Associated Press analysis of data compiled by the University of North Carolina, 1,400 cities and towns across the U.S. have lost a newspaper over the past 15 years.

Much like other media industries, local ownership is fading with companies like Gatehouse Media Inc. (the nation’s largest newspaper company) buying up the mom and pop shops. Many of these large newspaper companies are owned by hedge funds or other investors who have no interest in anything other than the bottom line.

While print maybe out of fashion, one still hopes that local communities can take advantage of and even embrace new media to keep citizens up to date on news that have a direct impact on their lives. Perhaps it might even be Facebook News.

Fixing a wrong in a big way

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Corrections are not an uncommon practice in print journalism. Mistakes happen and it’s better to fix it, even if it is after the fact. There is no standard set of rules for letting readers know an error has been made, but the internet makes it is much easier to fix articles that appear on a newspapers website. Those stories can display the date/time it was updated and include an editor’s note at the bottom explaining what was changed and even why.

That being said, the “correction” the Houston Chronicle printed in its Oct. 8 newspaper is remarkable.

Mistakes happen. Being a long time broadcaster, I know only too well that, as hard as one tries, errors like this are going to happen. The pressure to increase (or in some cases simply maintain revenue), shrinking staff and tight deadlines only add the chances of mistakes taking place, not just in news stories, but advertisements as well.

That being said, the Houston Chronicle must have been under enormous pressure to acknowledge what admittedly is a pretty big screw up. Tilman Fertitta who holds the position of Chairman, University of Houston System Board of Regents (as well as Chairman of the Board and CEO Landry’s, Inc. and owner of the Houston Rockets) carries a lot of weight. I don’t know if he made the call to the Houston Chronicle, but given the severity of the correction, one has to wonder.

Normally when something like this happens, make-goods are offered (free ads to make up for the error), but that obviously was not enough to satisfy. I’m also curious as to whether or not the Houston Chronicle sent the ad to the client (ad agency, the university) for approval. That’s pretty standard practice and it would be surprising if that did not take place. The chronicle claims the mistake is 100% theirs, but was it really, or did they simply fall on the sword.

The one thing that is very clear, yesterday was not a good for many at the Houston Chronicle.