More awards the Enquirer won't win
The Online News Association has announced its finalists for the annual awards for outstanding digital journalism. The Enquirer is not nominated in any category. The Enquirer says it's committed to the Internet and committed to business journalism and committed to community journalism, but that's clearly not enough. The Enquirer must also be committed to excellence in what it does.
The Data Center, for instance, isn't a bad idea, but in the end it's just searchable tables, and that's not journalism. Look at some of the nominees, and you see that the core of these sites is ambitious journalism. And though the Enquirer was shut out, Gannett overall did quite well. Nominees include USA Today for general excellence, the Detroit Free Press, the Des Moines Register, the Wilmington News-Journal, the Tallahassee Democrat, Florida Today (two times) and the Journal News.
With its emphasis on crime and courts and traffic and voyeurism and "fan faces," the Enquirer's web site is becoming an embarrassment to the people who work there. It's a shame there's not an award category for Best Security Camera Video Sponsored By A Replacement Window Company.
The Data Center, for instance, isn't a bad idea, but in the end it's just searchable tables, and that's not journalism. Look at some of the nominees, and you see that the core of these sites is ambitious journalism. And though the Enquirer was shut out, Gannett overall did quite well. Nominees include USA Today for general excellence, the Detroit Free Press, the Des Moines Register, the Wilmington News-Journal, the Tallahassee Democrat, Florida Today (two times) and the Journal News.
With its emphasis on crime and courts and traffic and voyeurism and "fan faces," the Enquirer's web site is becoming an embarrassment to the people who work there. It's a shame there's not an award category for Best Security Camera Video Sponsored By A Replacement Window Company.
posted by Newsache at 12:44 PM
8 Comments:
Best Security Camera Video Sponsored By A Replacement Window Company. That's pretty good. It takes time, commitment and personnel to turn out a good product, both online and in print. Yet, resources at the Enquirer have been whittled to a point there aren't enough people to do great journalism.
I understand that the Enquirer's Customer Service Department was moved to a call center in Oklahoma. Does anyone have any idea how much notice was given to the employees that were let go? Sorry to veer off topic.
I have a friend who works at the Enquirer in their online department, and he told me that, a little after 4 p.m. today, the decision was made to splash yet another Slaby story, an "exclusive" interview with the Community Press, across the main pages. The decision, he told me, came directly from HT.
My friend told me he was mortified when he saw the site's front page, and was completely outraged when he found out that the headline style for the story -- one line headlines -- had been ignored on orders from HT.
To the poster who mentioned the Enquirer is an embarrassment to those who work there, it sounds like you're right on the mark.
That “exclusive” interview reads like a cross between a press release submitted by an inexperienced publicist and a story covered by a citizen journalist.
Unfortunately, that’s the type of “tough” coverage that one has come to expect from the Community Press and now, apparently from the Enquirer in its quest to drive traffic regardless of how it’s done.
I have to agree. There's no punch, just the PR line of a poor mother who failed her maternal duty -- and got caught -- and needs the community to help her heal. Jesus. Who asked the questions in this fluffy interview? Where's the punch? The Enquirer continues to write "mom" angle stories that patronize women and it's starting to piss me off. It is an embarassment. I could see this ordered to the front by HT. Remember, he has the judgment of a block of decayed wood.
Not only do the articles patronize women, but they are clearly aiming for a less educated demographic of women that have a desperate need for their opinions to be validated. Hence, the barrage of ridiculous comments that repeat the same thoughts over and over regarding Ms. Slaby. I had no idea that Cincinnati had so many bored stay-at-home-moms.
To get back to the web site and awards. Great irony here is that the Enquirer web site is probably Gannett's oldest one. They should know how to work it by now and how to produce compelling material that supplements the print report. Instead, they just slap stuff up and think the more pages, the better. But the search engine is pitiful - even staff can't find stories.
Actually, Lafayette was the first Gannett paper online.
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