The Enquirer's blogs
Does anyone else think that the new blog platform sucks? The blogs are hard to find, hard to read, hard to use. I also get the feeling, from the smaller number of comments posted, that traffic is down. This is another example of something Gannett has done for the benefit of advertising that gives a big fuck-you to readers. And Gannett thinks it "gets" the Internet.
posted by Newsache at 2:26 PM
28 Comments:
it does have that going down into the sewer feel to it
They are slow, hard to read (smaller type) and difficult to use. Hate them. The old format was nice.
The comments have dropped to NOTHING. It was pretty much all insider stuff anyway (prove to me there were more than ten non-media people who ever posted), so is there really "that" much of a loss? Bottom line here - columnists are not gaining readers, they're losing them.
Here's a caution for one of the Enquirer bloggers:
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/CA6548227.html
Why did Polly Campbell abruptly decide to take a hiatus from blogging. Did the crappy format have something to do with it?
Gannett is said to be in major restructure mode for 2009. Revenue keeps slipping and the economy is (obviously) not getting better. There are big challenges ahead.
The thing that went from Hit to Shit was Borgman's blog. They stuck him on this crappy platform that renders pixillated copies of his cartoons.
Borgman is the only real talent The Enquirer has left, ever since they let Rebecca Collins slip away.
I don't reach them anymore, mostly because I can't find them.
Their web traffic must be plummeting. I think that Polly saw the handwriting on the wall and split. The Politics blog is the worst, though. There are two right wingers that post on there under like 12 names. They are Jeff Capell (nutter from the Blue chip Young republicans) & Jim Schifirin (fat pig who publishes the Whistleblower). They make any attempt at debate impossible.
Newsache - is it true there is an Enquirer plan to make staffing adjustments in December?
December has historically been the time of small layoffs, mostly because of budget-year considerations. With the stock sliding and ad projections around the company falling, it would seem a likely time for the Enquirer to consider its position. In the past, these annual cuts have largely evaded the newsroom. Can it make it through this year?
Polly's on vacation. She'll be back in two weeks.
Reds blog seems to have a ton of comments, I guess it depends on the blog.
It seems the bloggers with lots of free time have moved over to Sissy Moms, er, Cincy Moms. There appears to be a lot of Sissy Dads, er, Cincy Dads, blogging about politics, criminals, red light cameras, baby barf, & other nonsense.
I've found the blogs in general have slipped way off. Perhaps it's the content - slow news, mediocre news - or, people have found other things to do with 15 minutes.
That's MHO. I do not like the E-quirer's new blog format at all. It stinks out loud.
"Sissy Dads?" What are we, twelve years old? Grow up.
I agree with Anon 8:20. People just don't want to take the time to read/comment on the Enky blogs.
I just took a look at those blogs. They strike me as a half-hearted attempt to post worthwhile material and a deceitful attempt to generate web traffic for the purposes of telling advertisers that their web site is happenin'. Except that most people I know are turned off by the need to register. The blogs just aren't worth it.
I didn't realized how nice the old blog system was until they switched to this. Awful
I loved C. Trent's Enquirer/Post Reds Blog. Unfortunately, the Clear Channel blogs are 10 times worse than the new Gannett blogs. He went from 100+ comments to less than 5 per post.
This revamp was dictated by corporate. All Gannet newspaper web sites have been or are being shifted to the same basic design, same blogging software, same "social network" program (that's what the registration is for, supposedly). The point: Establish a brand identity and allow the entire chain to be sold to advertisers as if it were Facebook or some such. In concept, not a bad idea, actually, if execution were not so utterly suckish. But newspapers in general and Gannett in particular have never understood the whole science of branding or marketing to anyone over the age of 70.
To 11:24 PM, I think you meant to say "under"
I despise the new format. I used to check all of the Enquirer blogs daily. I enjoyed reading them and often commenting.
Now?
I might check them once every couple of weeks. Just too hard to get around in the new format.
Pretty much, the Enquirer blogs are no longer part of my world.
And that makes me sad. But in my spare time, I don't want to have to work so hard....
I just tried to log on to the news site (not the blogs) and all I get is a mish mash of blog entries, "community pages" with citizen submitted photos, etc. Everything but the news.
This is what they think the news site should look like? Tell me this isn't a permanent change! It's unreadable.
How fast is the Enquirer losing money? It's got to be bad at this point.
All Gannett sites will/are going to that format. For exactly the reason someone stated, "for the advertisers"
As for the redesign, at my gannett location, the page views are down 2-3 million per month since redesign.
Give it up anonymous loser 5:14 PM. The people posting on that blog day and night are a couple of liberals who IMPERSONATE Jeff Capell and Jim Schifrin. Capell doesn't have to blog all day; he actually has a job. And Schifrin wouldn't know a blog if he was hit over the head with one. The liberals who post there day and night should try something new - gainful employment.
I can't subscribe to their blogs in Google Reader. The URL is too long or something to directly input it, and when I try to use the 'name' of the blog in the search feature, it doesn't find them.
You know, I must say, I've been looking at the blogs more frequently for the past couple of weeks, and honestly I've become more comfortable with them. They don't seem as confusing and awful as they did initially.
Time heals all wounds...
I thought that the Enquirer was beginning to learn from its previous blogging mistakes until I read "The New Kid in Town". Has anyone else read this god-awful blog? Apparently, someone at The Enquirer thought that it would be a good idea to give some 22 year old schlub right out of journalism school his own blog. His writing is atrocious.
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