To love, honor and obey.
There's plenty to worry about in this era of Matt Drudge, premature
uploadings, and "disintermediation," a loathsome word that essentially
means cutting out the middleman -- us.
At the Globe, the middleman is very much in place. Our philosophy about
the Web, and new media in general, has been to be innovative, clever, yet
prudent. In other words, to be a leader in the field while embracing the
judgments and values that guide us in our newsroom. We -- Globe editors
and our electronic cousins at the Globe's Web site, boston.com-- agreed
to these principles up front. They have served us well, and so far, at
least, peace has reigned throughout the land.
It’s not all roses.
Not that there haven't been moments of temptation or areas for conflict.
Launched in October 1995, boston.com (http://www.boston.com)
currently receives 22.8 million page views a month. The Boston Globe Online
-- which includes all Globe content -- is the anchor and attracts 80-85%
of that traffic. One of the first aggregate sites, boston.comhosts approximately
50 content partners. From the beginning boston.com locked up most of the
major media outlets and cultural organizations.
All the partners are corralled and looked after by the boston.com marketing
manager and her assistant, and all understand that their Web affiliation
has zero effect on Globe coverage. The partners, whose web addresses otherwise
would drift like tiny rafts out in a huge Internet sea, need the visibility
of boston.comand don't threaten to flee -- even when the Globe reports
that a distinguished museum, which happens to be a prominent Web partner,
may be displaying stolen artifacts in a new, big-deal exhibition. The Globe
runs the story on page 1, Globe Online does the same on its main page,
and a few clicks away, the museum trumpets the exhibitions on its Web site.
The church/state division was further enforced by moving the six boston.com
staff members who work exclusively on Globe Online from their off-site
location in downtown Boston to a pod (yes, we call them the pod people)
at the edge of our newsroom. This allows for complete autonomy from their
Boston Globe Electronic Publishing colleagues who are developing material
for boston.com advertisers and partners. Also, their titles were changed
from "content developer" to "news producer" to further
emphasize their allegiance to the printed Globe.
The family that htmls together...
The Globe goes online at 6 a.m. each day. We have never put Globe articles
on boston.com before the paper was published. We have, however, put up
breaking news photos. Using AP, Reuters and the occasional Globe Online
written piece, content is updated throughout the day. Everyone knows the
rules of the road, and none of the rules surprised anyone because we used
the same guidelines when we began experimenting with television programming
18 months earlier.
The Globe Online staff, as smart and hardworking as they are, have minimal,
if any, journalism experience. They do have a terrific asset in a former
metro editor who went to work for boston.com after retirement. As a highly
experienced tribal elder, he comes in daily and works in the pod alongside
the online news producers, has taught the young crew how to read the wires,
write heads, choose photos, what to emphasize, etc. We are all better --
and reassured -- for his involvement.
What's next? The connective tissue between our print and online operations
is so sturdy that many of the ambitions, ideas and suggestions for Globe
Online now originate in the newsroom from reporters, editors and infographic
designers. Globe Online has added a projects coordinator to better translate
the paper's grander efforts and adapt Globe information to the greater
layering gymnastics of the Web.
We plan to add video clips to breaking news content on Globe Online,
which will be supplied by New England Cable News, one of our longtimeTV
partners. Additionally we will layer on video from one of our "Around
the Globe" TV newsbreaks, which are broadcast live a few times a day
from our newsroom on New England Cable News. The multi-media end result:
Read breaking news on Globe Online, watch the video of the event, see a
Globe reporter discuss it.
Branching out.
A final word: Avery useful and exciting development is the Globe's Extranet,
another site that can be reached through boston.com. Its main purpose is
information delivery: easy Web access for placing classified ads or free
listings, getting subscription information, requesting back issues, etc.
A group of us is currently studying its effectiveness as a tool to reach
those historically difficult-to-reach young readers. With most schools
and universities already wired in some form, we can use the extranet --
a pure Globe newspaper environment -- to spin off Globe material and direct
users back into corresponding features in the paper.
