UDN, Today is the day!!

[Clipper]

Today marks the "official launch" of the Utica Daily News site. It is looking good, and getting better every day. I am sure that now that it is in "high gear" and officially open for business, it will grow and thrive.

If you go there this morning, you will find a couple of pieces at the top of the page. One by Bill Keeler, describing how the concept came about, and a recollection of a great April Fool's spoof that he pulled off many years ago. There is also another article by Stepanie Berberick that kind of describes their purpose, or mission, and what they intend to be to the readers.

There is a line-up of very talented people listed in the article by Stephanie, and I am looking forward to a high quality product that we will all enjoy. Nancy Ford is an extremely talented photo journalist, Mark Piersma, and others listed are folks that are masters of their craft, and will insure that we have a dependable and high quality product on a daily basis.

Bill Keeler is a guy that you either love or you hate. I personally love him. He is a true media stand out. Bill is a man that can stand with his face into the storm, and never flinch. He tells it like it is, and doesn't cower to anyone. I am looking forward to a real treat from this alternative news outlet.

[WestmoGuy]

Good reading over there. They will be a great addition to what news we have had offered to us up till now.

[concerned]

Who is moved?

[dgriffin]

Headline today, 4/5/09

"4 shot at Binghamton civic association; hostages held"

UDN staff must have taken the weekend off and left operations to the little elves.

[Clipper]

I also have been disappointed with the lack of "new news" the last few days Dave. I saw the police blotter posted ONE DAY, and then not repeated on a daily basis. That was an item that I was hoping would become a daily feature.

Hopefully it is a matter of getting off the ground and finding their footing. I hope that the reporting gets more prolific. I like what I read, but I am disappointed that there is not MORE stories covered locally, and that there doesn't seem to be sufficient updates to keep the stories current.

The Binghamton story made national cable news and it was covered all day, even here in Tennessee. I was sorry to see that it was not better covered by an outlet only 80-90 miles up the road.

I am very excited to have an alternative, and I have applauded their format and the staff that has been hired.

Come on guys and gals. Don't disappoint us. Let's light that fire in your bellies and bring us your "A Game". You are all very capable and astute news people, and can "burn down the house" with your reporting and photojournalism. Show us what you have got.

[dgriffin]

UDN might be the Internet version of the TV-Radio "rip and read" template. No one on the street or on the phones, just pasting from the wires. They did just update the headline and re-write the Binghamton story ... without reading all of it. The phrases, " ... 13 people were shot and killed, and 26 wounded. Several media sources are reporting at least four died" gave me a chuckle. Evidently, you can get killed without getting dead. hahahaha!

Hope they get it together, as you said. It's a great endeavor and I wish them well.
But, "Focus, focus."

[Clipper]

I certainly hope you are wrong about the "rip and read" template Dave. I really want to see this endeavor succeed and bring us quality news from a reliable source. This can't be done without "full time" reporting, and "on the street" mining for news stories. It cannot be a part time job, or it will fail.

I still have faith in the theory that it is simply in it's infancy and will be a great product when it is up to full speed. I know that the folks that are behind it are all very talented, honest, and trustworthy people. With that in mind, I wait patiently for the final product, and for the improvements to continue daily, as problems are identified, and corrected.

We have to remember that we are only five days in, from the official launch date. I think maybe we are premature in judging, but they need to heed our concerns and keep moving toward a genuine, high quality, alternative to the local newspaper's on-line news page.

I also send them all the luck and good wishes for a successful business venture.

[bobbbiez]

Channel 10 out of Syracuse which is a station that runs only the news and weather 24 hours is the one that kept me informed as this tragedy was being unfolded. Great station if you want the news first hand and can get the station

In fairness, even with them for the first few hours all details were sketchy because of the hostage situation and the police could not enter the building for a while until the entire outside area was cleared. Most of the immediate information coming to law enforcement was from the receptionist inside the building who had been shot and was hiding under a desk trying to update them on the shooters where abouts.

She is definitely the hero in this tragedy. Without her 911 call to the police after she was shot no one would have known anything was taking place. Very brave woman.

[gearofzanzibar]

It's apparently a lot easier to talk about being a news source than actually, you know, being a legitimate news source. It appears that UticaDailyNews is following the same path as CNYHomepage- an initial burst of activity followed by a slow decline into irrelevancy.

On the bright side, someone cares enough about the site to keep the AdBlocker listing for Firefox updated.

[Clipper]

Rather premature in your judgment Gear. It is only 10 days old. I think they may be finding it a little more difficult to "mine the news" and to root out good stories, than they had anticipated it would be.

The OD, as lousy as it sometimes can be, has sources gathered from many years of publication. They have people that call, precluding them from having to call the source for the news. They also have a newsroom FULL of reporters. Some good, some not so good, but at least with two legs and a telephone.

TIME gear. It all takes TIME. I think you will find several of us here that were members of CNY Forum, that would disagree with you that it faded into irrelevancy. It was SOLD, so it must have retained enough value for someone to have wanted to purchase it. Some of us were still posting there, and enjoyed the site very much, although it did get less active over time.

I am also a little disappointed that UDN hasn't set the news world on fire, but I am patient enough to give them time to work out some unanticipated hurdles, and to find a niche and to fill it.

I think any new venture needs SUPPORT, more than negative criticism, with no suggested way to improve. UDN may not become the number one news source for the Mohawk Valley, but they will become an alternative site for news. I am sure that they have that in mind. I don't think they expect TV2 and the OD to fold their tent and leave town.

[corner]

remember you are dealing with bill keeler who has a reputation for not finishing what hes started screwiing business partners and staff and views himself as the poor mans howard stern

[Clipper]

LOL. Interesting comparison Corner. I will agree that you either hate him or like him, but he DOES have some other VERY talented people involved in this venture. I am sure that they would not embark on such an expensive venture it they were not going to pursue it with vigor. We will have to wait and see.

If it lives we'll water it, and if it dies, we'll bury it. In the mean time, I am still hoping for another outlet from which to get news online, besides the OD homepage. Bill Keeler IS a controversial radio personality, and one can hardly expect a "shock jock" persona to endear himself to everyone, but he obviously has quite a fan base, because he is still there, and his show is alive and well. I wish him, and the rest of the UDN staff all the best.

[gearofzanzibar]

Apr 10, 2009 7:29:55 GMT -5 Clipper said:

TIME gear. It all takes TIME. I think you will find several of us here that were members of CNY Forum, that would disagree with you that it faded into irrelevancy. It was SOLD, so it must have retained enough value for someone to have wanted to purchase it. Some of us were still posting there, and enjoyed the site very much, although it did get less active over time.

Just to be clear, if you re-read my comment you'll see I wasn't talking about the CNY Forum. I was talking about CNYHomepage- cnyhomepage.com. Nextstar launched it intending to leverage their local newsgathering and sales force into the online world, but it's been a huge disappointment since the initial surge of effort.

I think any new venture needs SUPPORT, more than negative criticism, with no suggested way to improve. UDN may not become the number one news source for the Mohawk Valley, but they will become an alternative site for news. I am sure that they have that in mind. I don't think they expect TV2 and the OD to fold their tent and leave town.

Support is earned, a lesson that far-too many Utica-based endeavors seem to forget. "We didn't get the support we expected" is an epitaph that's been engraved on a stunning number of tombstones locally. The "Good enough for Utica" attitude that prevails with most of these efforts is far more damaging to their existence than any criticism leveled from outside.

Believe me, I want the area to have a thriving online presence. Making alternative sources of information available and getting more voices heard is the only way that things are ever going to change. That said, if you're going to proclaim yourself a relevant source of news you can't just twiddle your thumbs when news is breaking. If you don't have the staff to cover fast breaking news you have to make up for it by offering better analysis and context than the competition. That's where I think UDN has shown some real potential. They've done some pretty good long-form reporting, and they're delivering a decent amount of context and source material, but they're still taking baby steps.

[Clipper]

Sorry for the misnomer Gear. I had forgotten about the CNY Homepage. I guess I didn't find it that interesting, as I had deleted it from my bookmarks.

I definitely agree that they need to find a way to more aggressively seek out the news, and report it in a timely fashion. I also agree that they are taking "baby steps" and I hope to see them step up their game soon.

Discussion here is one way for them to see what the general public is thinking about their site. There are also email addresses listed on their site, where you can email constructive criticism. Hell, I guess if it were one's desire, they can email NON constructive criticism also.LOL

The interesting, yet scarey thing is that the CNY Homepage has a format much like UDN's. It's bright, cheery, eye catching, and easy to navigate. It is interesting that it has failed to catch fire and thrive. Journalistic talent seems to be the secret to success, and I see some very talented journalists and photographers working to bring UDN to fruition. I wish them luck, and still hold out hope that it will be successful and refreshing as it grows and develops.

[gearofzanzibar]

Apr 10, 2009 13:57:11 GMT -5 Clipper said:

The interesting, yet scarey thing is that the CNY Homepage has a format much like UDN's. It's bright, cheery, eye catching, and easy to navigate. It is interesting that it has failed to catch fire and thrive. Journalistic talent seems to be the secret to success, and I see some very talented journalists and photographers working to bring UDN to fruition. I wish them luck, and still hold out hope that it will be successful and refreshing as it grows and develops.

The only question is if they have the time to do it. A lot of websites are far too optimistic about their potential traffic and assume they'll be drawing hefty numbers after two or three months. That's what I understand happened to CNYHomepage- the revenue they expected just wasn't there.