> The Daily Gazette has chosen not to publish obituaries on its Web site to preserve the value of its print and paid online editions. To view obituaries from The Daily Gazette online, you can subscribe to the paid electronic edition by clicking here.
This is probably the most egregious example of “not getting it” I’ve ever seen in the online journalism world.
001 // Tyson // 04.29.2008 // 3:48 PM
I don’t know about you, Jeff, but I subscribe to my local print newspaper solely so that I can see how many of the local residents are dropping dead every day. It’s worth the price of a paper edition, alone!
Joking aside, I can only imagine the meeting where this decision was made. I’m sure some MBA used terms like “value-add” and “cross-media synergies” at least a few times.
002 // Craig Saila // 04.29.2008 // 5:20 PM
Tyson: I’ve been at those meetings (if not at the Gazette) and you’re more right than one would want to think.
003 // Justin Lilly // 04.29.2008 // 6 PM
I will say, to their defense, that obituaries are our (thestate.com) top clicks, constantly hanging in the top 3 (typically behind local/breaking and sports). With print dying more and more every day… papers are freaking out trying to do what they can to preserve their dinosaur. This seems a lot like an umbrella in a meteor shower.
004 // Jeff Croft // 04.29.2008 // 6:04 PM
Obits were always very strong traffic-getters at LJWorld.com, too, when I was there.
We, however, never once thought, “this is so popular that maybe we shouldn’t offer it!” That just seems absurd, to me. Like you said, this is newspaper companies trying to perverve their dinosaur.
In other words, “not getting it.” There’s no defense for that. They’re trying to cling to a dying medium. Period. It’s a bad business move, and it makes them look completely inept from a marketing perspective, too..