All bloggers joke about the size of their following. "All three of my readers," they laugh. And, they'll tell you there are a couple hundred at most (some of whom come back 500X in a day.) It's not quite that dire, and admittedly, they're the committed, tuned in people in the community.
But if you want to be seen, the papers were the way to go, with circulations of 23,000 (Times-Standard) and 21,000 (The Journal) dwarfing the blogs, popular as blogs may be.
But that's nothing.
Take a look at Lost Coast Outpost's Facebook page 'LIKES' -
Realize that the 17,405 'LIKES' are a multiplier, every post that shows up on a news feed, when 'SHARED,' TWEETED or responded to, shows up in hundreds, thousands more pages. They even get linked on blogs. And many regular readers aren't even included in that number, the numbers are far higher.
Couple that with radio news features and blurbs, and Twitter - and you're looking at something really big. Something Humboldt County has never seen before.
It's a hybrid, alright. And it's alive, vibrant and up to the minute. It has personality, and personalities. It has become the go-to place for breaking news, and it has reliably delivered. That creates a devoted following. It's a monster.
The other papers have the ingredients, an online presence, Facebook and Twitter, but not the electricity.
So, what's it mean? Well, for one thing, the comments threads are a big part of the equation, and there are a lot of people reading them. They're a mix, typical of online dialog, they can be playful, informative, populated by the camaraderie of regulars interspersed with ardent newbies, and they can be caustic, toxic, cruel and easily manipulated to harm the reputations of people whose honor or misfortune it is to be the subject of a post.
And it means those comments cannot be ignored. They could be on blogs, with their smaller reach, but not this. It is true that those who see the comment bloom turn negative and respond in person with facts and reason are often able to quell the toxic tidal wave. And that is going to become vital. For budding politicians, for elected officials, for businesses, and again, anyone who makes it into the news. Take it seriously. Not TOO seriously, but seriously.
It also means there's an added burden on LoCo itself. Online commenters don't always demonstrate decorum, respect and responsibility. Reputations are at stake, including their own.
They've done a good job policing their threads - and the threads are often filled with details and new bits of information that flesh out a story. Arguably they are not bound by the same gravitas, and need for standards as the Times-Standard and the North-Coast Journal, which are truly still the permanent record of our time. LoCo can allow anonymous input in a way the papers really should not. But they must be mindful, not just of accuracy in stories, but some level of accuracy in the threads.
Nonetheless - it is going to be up to the people to learn how to deal with this new beast. How to deal with it from a public relations standpoint, and how to set the record straight when it needs to be set straight. To learn how to respond, and when. The how? LoCo is going to have to make accommodations for that, I think. And I think they will.
It's pretty impressive. Good work.
◼ A bit about LoCo: Hank Sims — Lost Coast Outpost finds its voice in local news
◼ UPDATE: Who has two thumbs AND 20,000 Facebook "likes"? 4/7/14
Welcome LoCo readers!
Thoughtful post Rose on one of my favorite subjects, media. One quip, gravitas? Times Standard?
ReplyDeleteYes, Jon, gravitas. In the sense that they are part of a long-standing institution, they are, in every sense of the words, the permanent record of our time. Copies of today's papers will be archived in libraries, to be accessed years, even centuries from now.
ReplyDeleteIt remains to be seen if online media will have any of that longevity.
You missed the really important thing. The lion share of LoCO content is pasted press releases, the same releases the Times-Standard pastes. Look at the attention that efficient pasting of press releases nets them
ReplyDeleteHey, Ryan will be great, but one good reporter isn't churning out a ton of content. LoCO has simply realized people are satisfied with less everything. Less is more.
The TS only prints around 13k daily... Not 23k
ReplyDeleteGood to know. That's WAY down then.
ReplyDeleteVery thoughtful piece, Rose, thanks for it. Hank Sims has done a great job of making LoCO more than just another blog. Bringing Kym Kemp on board was a very smart move, and getting Ryan Burns was a great addition too. And the guest opinion pieces by folks like Matthew Owen and Richard Salzman (your favorite, I know!) are also a great idea too, in terms of generating additional clicks and comments.
ReplyDeleteOf course quite a bit of LoCO's content is what I consider fluff, but the same is certainly true of more traditional news sources.
Anyway, I agree, LoCO is off to an impressive start.
"Yes, Jon, gravitas. In the sense that they are part of a long-standing institution, they are, in every sense of the words, the permanent record of our time."
ReplyDeleteIn every sense of what word? Gravitas?
Here is the OED definition of gravitas, I picked this because I wanted to see if there were other meanings I was missing.
"Dignity, seriousness, or solemnity of manner:
a post for which he has the expertise and the gravitas"
I totally disagree with this term being used to characterize the TS. The lack of dignity or solemnity of manner is one of the reasons I don't appreciate the TS. It's one of the same reasons I get turned off by many of your posts and LoCO's too. I just can't abide the public shaming aspect of mug shots. So many reasons to avoid there over use - I'll point out just one - they instil fear on a subconscious level.
Now, is public shame an appropriate penalty? Maybe, but I don't want my local paper to be the modern version of the gallows.
Find the criminal, try them in a court of law and then mete out the appropriate sentence. It's simple. Let the papers engage in serious, dignified and solemn contemplation of the news and policy issues. At the very least, if you need mug shots and sensationalism, do it on the inside of the paper - maybe in a dedicated "crime" section.
I understand a local paper doesn't have the staff to do gravitas all the time, and their readership wouldn't want that either. We do need a mix.
So no Rose, longevity, tradition, permanency etc. are important in their own right, but they are different words with different meanings than "gravitas".
Again, small quip, but it hit on one of my (admittedly many) pet peeves. In general, though, kudos for you long opinion piece on the local media. I enjoyed it.
JOn, in the sense of the words 'PERMANENT RECORD OF OUR TIME.'
ReplyDeleteCome up with a better word to describe the overall seriousness of the institution, I don't have a problem with that....what would it be?
I disagree with you on the mugshots - it helps the community to know what the criminals look like, so that if they see them in their neighborhood, they have some chance of protecting themselves - and others.
I would like to take a moment to thank myself for all the comments that I make that add to the reading pleasure of all the LoCo readers.
ReplyDeletePretty good article, the only word that confused me the use of fledgling to describe the mad river union. Floundering would have been a better choice. Hoover endagering children by put there address and showing on the news the amount of power being used in the house and posting address was his dimize. Thing that really bites is the mckinleyville press was actually another place i like to frequent but when hoover teamed up with them most people who read press discontinued doing so. To bad to watch hoover take down the mckinleyville press to. Bad choice of a partner on there behalf
ReplyDelete6:08, I don't agree. The merger is a good thing, and The Mad River Union has a joie de vivre that makes it a great read. Both papers had bigger followings on their Facebook pages and blog pages, and it is taking some time for people to re-join. Thus the word 'fledgling.' So, take a minute and head over to their Facebook page and click the "LIKE" button! https://www.facebook.com/madriverunion
ReplyDeleteThe mad river union sucks. How many times must hear the fooll Jen Kalt tell us she,s a biologist as she supports liers,vandals and rip off law suits. With the addition of humbolts other bio-fool Pat Higgins this rag is an Arcata treasure. NOT!
ReplyDeleteGood thoughtful piece but the number of "likes" is not an accurate representation of anything. I don't even know what it means. Does it mean that at some time in history a reader checked "like" and never came back? Some of us will never check "like" because of our aversion to Facebook.
ReplyDeleteThat's right, Julie - and that's why that number being so high is so important. It is NOT the total "circulation" of LoCo, it's only a piece.
ReplyDeleteThe number of 'LIKES' is almost as high as the circulation of the local papers. So that's not counting the - even more - people who follow LoCo News through their site without Facebook...
So, the next part of the equation is how you USE this new monster to place ads, and, for them, how to best monetize it.
Do people read online ads? And when people are coming for the news, do they just tune out the ads?