It Tolls for Thee
In the wake of Redeye declaring blogs "over" yesterday, we asked the world whether it would prefer to read Tribune-owned media like Redeye or an independent Chicago blog like City Wendy in the Windy City.
The world has answered.
The Cubune Watch received links recently from two different sources. We received a link this morning from City Wendy herself and another link 10 days ago from Tribune columnist and Cubs fanatic Dave Wischnowsky. (Funny how many Tribune employees are Cubs fans. Sox fans need not apply, apparently).
In the 10 days since Dave linked to us, two readers have clicked over. We'd like to think they were two of Dave's half dozen regular readers, but in fact we know one of them was us, checking the link after Dave installed it, and the other was probably Dave, checking the link after he installed it. It's a deep link, off the front page, but this is the mighty Tribune, right?
Wendy linked to us this morning at 9:53. By 10:08 — when our server last compiled statistics — 35 readers had clicked over from City Wendy's page to the Cubune Watch.
Two readers in ten days from Tribune. 35 readers in 15 minutes from Wendy. That should tell you where the readers are.
The issue seems not to be the medium so much as the source — new media aren't thriving just because they're new, they're thriving because they offer fresh voices, like Wendy's. Maybe readers would rather spend time with an independent mind than yet another Tribune employee. It doesn't seem to matter whether that Tribune employee writes for the stodgy old morning daily, the poser tabloid Redeye, or a Tribune-owned and operated blog.
So in considering what media are "over," Tribune, ask not for whom the bell tolls.
p.s. In today's Tribune, media columnist Phil Rosenthal writes that the Virginia Tech killer's manifesto "reveals the dark side of new media." We were trying to figure out how an envelope sent through the U.S. Mail to NBC News represents "new media." Is it because the envelope contained a CD (invented in 1979) or a pdf file (1991)? Finally, Phil revealed his clever reasoning. Honestly, folks, we couldn't make this stuff up:
The world has answered.
The Cubune Watch received links recently from two different sources. We received a link this morning from City Wendy herself and another link 10 days ago from Tribune columnist and Cubs fanatic Dave Wischnowsky. (Funny how many Tribune employees are Cubs fans. Sox fans need not apply, apparently).
In the 10 days since Dave linked to us, two readers have clicked over. We'd like to think they were two of Dave's half dozen regular readers, but in fact we know one of them was us, checking the link after Dave installed it, and the other was probably Dave, checking the link after he installed it. It's a deep link, off the front page, but this is the mighty Tribune, right?
Wendy linked to us this morning at 9:53. By 10:08 — when our server last compiled statistics — 35 readers had clicked over from City Wendy's page to the Cubune Watch.
Two readers in ten days from Tribune. 35 readers in 15 minutes from Wendy. That should tell you where the readers are.
The issue seems not to be the medium so much as the source — new media aren't thriving just because they're new, they're thriving because they offer fresh voices, like Wendy's. Maybe readers would rather spend time with an independent mind than yet another Tribune employee. It doesn't seem to matter whether that Tribune employee writes for the stodgy old morning daily, the poser tabloid Redeye, or a Tribune-owned and operated blog.
So in considering what media are "over," Tribune, ask not for whom the bell tolls.
p.s. In today's Tribune, media columnist Phil Rosenthal writes that the Virginia Tech killer's manifesto "reveals the dark side of new media." We were trying to figure out how an envelope sent through the U.S. Mail to NBC News represents "new media." Is it because the envelope contained a CD (invented in 1979) or a pdf file (1991)? Finally, Phil revealed his clever reasoning. Honestly, folks, we couldn't make this stuff up:
"If Cho didn't put his message in a package for a major media outlet, then he might well have put it on a Web site, or a Facebook or MySpace page, or posted it on YouTube."So the killer's manifesto was new media because he might have put it on a web site (the "dark side" where, incidentally, we found Rosenthal's column). Only, he didn't. What's really being revealed quite often lately in the Tribune is a shrinking newspaper's insecurity about new competition.
Labels: Chicago Tribune
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