Why doesn't The Herald engage readers?
A friend forwarded a link from the Hartford Business Journal about the Journal Register Co., which owns The Herald. It begins:
The JRC's stock was trading below 60 cents today.
I have not been in touch with people at The Herald for many years, so I have no idea how this is impacting that newspaper if at all.
The JRC bought The Herald, Middletown Press, Bristol Press and a number of other Connecticut publications beginning in the early 1990s. The JRC’s strategy is fairly simple: Buy distressed independently owned newspapers located in close proximity to one another and through centralized management, combined advertising and cost cutting, make them profitable. For a time, it seemed to work.
The JRC’s stock price was over $20 just a few years ago. The company has grown aggressively in multiple states and took on a lot of debt. The JRC is under enormous pressure.
I want to make one observation that illustrates what's wrong with the JRC.
One of the most important things a publication must do today is build community with its readership. It is for that reason why most newspapers let readers comment on stories.
There is no obvious way to comment online in response to a story on The Herald’s web site. I suspect that Herald reporters and editors would like a Web site that is modern and interactive but they are obviously at the mercy of the JRC executive management.
But even on their own blogs, The Herald’s approach is confusing. The blog “Blog Central,” a sports blog, has set comment moderation, meaning that comments have to be approved by the blog author. The same is true for Talkn’ Sports. But “Lip Service” by Ken Lipshez doesn’t have the moderation requirement. Why are there different rules for these blogs?
And why just sports blogs? What’s up with that? Isn't anyone interested in blogging about local politics, land use, schools?
This inability of readers to comment on stories tells a lot about the JRC. If the executive management of this company was really interested in turning this company around, it would be moving aggressively to build an online community. But it is not even trying.
If the JRC's executive management doesn't have the drive to produce first-rate newspaper Web sites, then the future of this chain is not good.
Dailies In Danger
JRC, parent company of New Haven Register, Connecticut Magazine, in financial crisis
By Sean O’Leary
Hartford Business Journal Staff Writer
Today
The finances of the Pennsylvania parent company of 75 Connecticut publications, including the New Haven Register and Connecticut Magazine, have hit an all-time low, prompting surprise newsroom layoffs and threatening the delisting of its stock.
The decline of the Journal Register Co.’s financial condition has been swift and steep. After earning $42.4 million in 2005, the company lost $9.7 million in 2006 and $130.1 million in 2007.
And its financial woes continue to worsen. Last month, the New York Stock Exchange halted floor trading of shares of JRC because they slipped below the exchange’s $1.05 per share floor-trading threshold. ….
The JRC's stock was trading below 60 cents today.
I have not been in touch with people at The Herald for many years, so I have no idea how this is impacting that newspaper if at all.
The JRC bought The Herald, Middletown Press, Bristol Press and a number of other Connecticut publications beginning in the early 1990s. The JRC’s strategy is fairly simple: Buy distressed independently owned newspapers located in close proximity to one another and through centralized management, combined advertising and cost cutting, make them profitable. For a time, it seemed to work.
The JRC’s stock price was over $20 just a few years ago. The company has grown aggressively in multiple states and took on a lot of debt. The JRC is under enormous pressure.
I want to make one observation that illustrates what's wrong with the JRC.
One of the most important things a publication must do today is build community with its readership. It is for that reason why most newspapers let readers comment on stories.
There is no obvious way to comment online in response to a story on The Herald’s web site. I suspect that Herald reporters and editors would like a Web site that is modern and interactive but they are obviously at the mercy of the JRC executive management.
But even on their own blogs, The Herald’s approach is confusing. The blog “Blog Central,” a sports blog, has set comment moderation, meaning that comments have to be approved by the blog author. The same is true for Talkn’ Sports. But “Lip Service” by Ken Lipshez doesn’t have the moderation requirement. Why are there different rules for these blogs?
And why just sports blogs? What’s up with that? Isn't anyone interested in blogging about local politics, land use, schools?
This inability of readers to comment on stories tells a lot about the JRC. If the executive management of this company was really interested in turning this company around, it would be moving aggressively to build an online community. But it is not even trying.
If the JRC's executive management doesn't have the drive to produce first-rate newspaper Web sites, then the future of this chain is not good.
Labels: Connecticut, JRC, New Britain, The Herald
posted by kob at
7:50 PM
2 Comments:
The Herald’s approach is confusing. The blog “Blog Central,” a sports blog, has set comment moderation, meaning that comments have to be approved by the blog author.
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Jhon
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