Tag: MLive.com

New MLive Grand Rapids Contact Info

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The Grand Rapids Press completed its digital conversion and physical move to a new hub yesterday.

Here’s the contact info for news staffers.

A few things for PR people to notice:

  • The title “producer” is not just for TV anymore. Think about offering b-roll and other video opportunities to the newspaper when you pitch stories.
  • Some of the staffers focus statewide as well as local. Keep scope of audience in mind when pitching.
  • They have a ‘Today Show’ style room with glass wall right on the sidewalk in their new space downtown for video interviews. Bring clients and yourself over there for interviews in advance of and/or in addition to the article coverage you pitch.
  • Every reporter has social media contact information in addition to email. A phone, apparently, is not for actually calling anymore, but for email and engagement. So follow your key beat reporters and editors on Facebook and Twitter. This is best for getting a sense of reporters’ interests. Pitching via social media requires some savvy because it is done in public. So use your judgment there.
Back to work everyone.

MLive Goes Live, Getting Ready for Close Up

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It’s been interesting to watch the news executives at MLive Media Group doing public relations and blogger outreach in the gear-up to the bow of its new digital/print product and home in a ‘hub’ in downtown Grand Rapids later this week.

After blogging recently about MLive facing a new competitive environment with the increase of local news bureaus at the Rapidian, including some branded journalism efforts of local nonprofits, I was invited to take a tour of MLive’s new downtown space with Grand Rapids Press Community News Director Julie Hoogland.

Ari Adler got a similar treatment from MLive Media Group President Danny Gaydou, as Adler recounts in his own blog.

Hoogland had taken issue with my indication that the Press was losing staff capacity. Of course my sense of that was largely informed by the numerous farewells of long-time Press staffers on Twitter, Facebook, and in person. Hoogland maintains that many were offered jobs but chose to take a buyout and move on to new ventures. What remains is a large number of veteran journalists, as well as some savvy young ones who have graduated from area college journalism programs. So she says quality journalism will remain. She also points out that capacity will not suffer as formerly independent Booth papers work more  collaboratively on statewide news, including coverage of Lansing, major league sports, entertainment and other subjects. Meanwhile, each of the local papers  will continue to stress local coverage.

In the new hub across from Rosa Parks Circle, Hoogland showed excitement at the possibilities. The ground floor will have a studio with a window on the sidewalk, similar to New York City morning network TV programs, for video interviews of newsmakers. Job titles include the word “producer,” indicative of the new multi-media nature of news gathering and reporting by MLive and its various digital entities.

The public will also be welcome to walk-in and visit on the main floor. The second floor news room looks strikingly like a college computer classroom, with modern Steelcase chairs at long tables where journalists will work adjacent to each other when they’re not out in the community.

“Previous changes were triage; this is embracing the future,” Hoogland said.

She did change my view about the potential for both the quality and quantity of news coverage in the new model. I am excited  and hopeful that the “newspaper” we have known and loved will adapt and thrive, both locally and nationally.

But I still maintain that the MLive launch later this week puts it into a new media landscape. The Press will co-exist and/or compete with with citizen journalism, other print media, television, and news content directly  from companies, nonprofits and government entities–all of which will have a digital presence as well. Just as young people have lost the distinction between cable and network, in the online/mobile/social mix of 24/7 information, news consumers may lose at least some of the distinction between print and broadcast, as well as between third party news reports and direct sources of information.

I eagerly await their close-up.

 

Nonprofit Shows Glimpse of Media Future

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An recent item in the citizen journalism outlet The Rapidian offers a glimpse of the local media future. The article notes the debut this month of a news bureau dedicated to environmental news. It shows the further growth of alternative niche media outlets that are a significant presence in the local media landscape.

This is interesting on several levels. For one, it shows that even as Mlive.com adapts and morphs from a collection of local newspapers on actual paper to a digital hub, it faces competition. The same is true for local television stations highlighting hyper-local areas on their web sites  and apps, such as WZZM TV13’s “My Town” effort. There was a time when the Grand Rapids Press and Muskegon Chronicle had reporters dedicated to the environment beat. Now they still cover  environmental issues–there is even an ‘environment’ category on the MLive.com mobile app–but they don’t cover  it as often.

The reason mainstream media don’t cover things like the environment with regularity is for economic reasons. Conventional media are market-driven. They are caught in a cycle of losing readers and viewers, which leads to lost ad revenue, which lead to less staff to cover everything. They are trying to recapture that by getting more local, but this puts them in a new competitive ballpark.

Citizen journalism projects are content-driven. They operate with grants, underwriters and donations. Support may come in the form of ads eventually. But for now they are not averse to content that yields smaller audience. In fact, that is their purpose, as evidenced by the series of news bureaus launching focused at the neighborhood or topical level. Readers can subscribe via RSS feed to the specific neighborhood or topic of interest to them in the community.

Another interesting aspect of all of this is the source of the news. The Rapidian seeks “journalists and aspiring journalists” for these bureaus. Some of them will be journalism students in internships. Others may be laid off journalists doing freelance work. But nonprofit organizations will also be providing news for these bureaus. As an example, the Creston Neighborhood Association  will be a primary source of neighborhood news for that bureau. The West Michigan Environmental Action Council (WMEAC) appears to be running the environment news bureau.

Some people might wonder about the credibility and quality of news being provided by young or even untrained journalists. But keep in mind several things. First,  MLive.com is downsizing and rehiring a leaner, younger staff too. Who is to say The Rapidian site won’t be equally credible? In fact, in the case of the environmental news bureau, WMEAC’s  Executive Director Rachel Hood has a background in public relations, and their Communications Director Dan Schoonmaker is a former journalist and public relations professional (see their staff directory bios).

Secondly, the news has always been largely supplied indirectly from businesses, nonprofits, government spokespeople and other sources. It’s been called “information subsidy.” The way The Rapidian is doing it is more transparent. That relates to the final point, that the public will have to be thoughtful and critical of all information they consume, even as they are now with local and national “mainstream” news. I would also hope that WMEAC will be magnanimous and offer news from other environmentally focused nonprofit organizations, and that they are fair and even-handed vs. activist if there is an environmental story with multiple points of view.

It’s also important to note that what The Rapidian is doing will supplement mainstream news such as MLive.com and other local print and broadcast outlets. The advantage of The Rapidian for PR professionals is a greater chance of getting news publicized than in the busy conventional media outlets. It’s also possible to reach a smaller niche audience of people most interested in your subject. However, smart PR pros will also keep in mind the need to reach people who are not currently interested or engaged, and the best way to reach them is through a greater mass distribution that conventional mainstream media will offer.

In short, there will be more outlets for public relations professionals to consider, and more news for the public to consume.