Pittsburgh’s Information Disconnection
Is Pittsburgh a Social City?
While listening to NPR CEO Vivian Schiller at the National Press Club today I was reflecting on a recent comment I made here at PittZine.com about there being missed connections between those producing important information in and about Pittsburgh with those who should be–and want to be–receiving and consuming that information.
Schiller said, “At our core we are a content company–and we should deliver content by any way the public wants to consume it.”
Though she was talking directly about radio broadcasting, the point is equally valid for any information producing organization.
This includes local government, local newspapers, news broadcasting outlets and etc., if they’re producing information they need to deliver that information where and how the public wants to receive it. Otherwise, they’re missing opportunities to reach, connect with, engage and retain users.
If you have been paying attention to the news lately then you know there are newspapers and media corporations going under almost daily right now. There are a lot of opinions on what caused this downfall for news content producers, and many of them boil down to blaming the Internet; but at the end of the day it’s probably easy to trace the real failings to the inability of these content producers to deliver their product (information) in the manner that users want it.
I decided to spend the afternoon looking at Pittsburgh’s primary news content producers to see just how well, or how poorly, they were doing in this arena. Starting with the official City Site and then each of the major newspaper and news broadcasting sites.
As the results of my afternoon below will show, there is an Information Disconnection problem here in Pittsburgh. Sure, for our large older population the traditional streams for disseminating information, Print and Evening Broadcast, are fine. But for the Teen through Middle Age users these platforms aren’t often convenient and don’t fit our needs as information consumers.
With all of the opportunities to connect that technology provides content producers and consumers, it’s startling that they are completely under-used here in Pittsburgh.
The City of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, Official City Site (www.city.pittsburgh.pa.us)
No kudos at all I’m afraid. The site lacks any form of connection opportunity for users of modern technology and Social Media networks.
There is no RSS newsfeed, no blogs, no Social Media network pages or profiles listed (nor easily located) at all for residents to connect with and engage their local government.
It’s worth noting that some city officials and secondary city sites do seem to embrace some of these opportunities to connect, but for the “first stop” online for information consumers looking to connect with Pittsburgh to miss these chances is sad.
Pittsburgh News on Television
WPXI (www.wpxi.com or www.pittsburgh.com)
Mixed kudos for having RSS news feeds, it’s just too bad they don’t have them properly coded in their web pages so that visitor’s browsers can instantly identify them.
Kudos for doing a good job of reaching out to users with multiple email newsletter options that are segmented by topic or purpose to fit the user’s needs; and offering Desktop as well as Mobile alerts options.
No kudos on utilizing Social Media outposts online. Staff blogs? I hear that some anchors and reporters have them but I can’t find them on the site… and where is WPXI’s Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, etc. Social Media network outposts? They actually do have pages/profiles on many of these networks (where the information consumers are connecting), but I was unable to find links for them posted anywhere on the main web site. That’s a huge missed connection opportunity.
WTAE (www.thepittsburghchannel.com)
Big kudos for having RSS newsfeeds AND having them properly coded into the site pages for browsers to identify.
Kudos for doing a good job of reaching out to users with multiple email newsletter options that are segmented by topic or purpose to fit the user’s needs; and offering Mobile alert options.
Mixed kudos on using Social Media outposts. Anchors and reporters are blogging and their blogs are being featured in the sidebar of the Links N’ At page. That’s great, unfortunately it seems they’ve all turned the commenting features “off” on their blogs, that’s not so good.
The benefit to blogging is that it’s a conversation. It provides a venue for not just posting your opinions or stories, but for engaging users and receiving valuable feedback and alternative perspectives.
From a commercial standpoint it also provides the content producer with instant barometers on how their work is being consumed and digested. That’s the kind of stuff companies have traditionally paid huge dollars to get from Survey Groups, and blogs provide it free and in real time when you engage your users.
It also promotes a community connection between the user and the content producer. People feel invested when they’re able to interact. Rejecting this opportunity by not allowing it to happen with closed commenting on blogs is counter-productive and foolish.
It may feel natural for those who come from broadcast media to “control the message”, but online information consumers reject that position and will gladly leave your site for another that caters to their needs and wants.
As for outposts on Social Media networks, WTAE also seems to have pages and accounts with several but they don’t promote these well on their main web site. More missed connection opportunities.
KDKA (KDKA.com)
Mixed kudos for having an RSS newsfeed, too bad my browser couldn’t identify it from their web page code.
Mixed kudos for doing a good job on reaching out to users with a newsletter and mobile alert options, too bad they require you to jump through additional hoops by registering with their site prior to being able to request the newsletters or alerts.
It should be enough that users are giving you an opportunity to come into their life online and on their mobile devices when they enter their email address or cell number, don’t put a silly and unnecessary obstacle in front of them like “Site Registration” first. If you do, you lose.
Big kudos on offering a variety of blogs, promoting them well from the main site navigation AND leaving them open to user comments.
Personal Note: Thank you KDKA for engaging with me and allowing me to participate in the discussions. Now, merge your blog posts and comments onto the same page rather than segregating them and I’ll become even more active with you.
Not-so-big kudos on being just like the other 2 local news broadcasters and failing to promote their Social Media network pages and accounts from their main web site. More missed connection opportunities.
Pittsburgh News in Print
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (www.pghtrib.com)
Kudos for having RSS newsfeeds AND having at least one of them properly coded into the site pages for browsers to identify.
No kudos for lacking a comments or discussion feature on published web stories. When newspapers publish stories online users view them as a hybrid between a news blog and a traditional news media format, and as such want to participate in the discussions. It doesn’t matter how the newspaper wants to view their web publishing, it is the users who count. Without them, you have dead space.
A major problem many newspapers seem to have is they want to go beyond “giving the story”, all the way to “controlling the story”, and this is shown when they don’t encourage discussions and commenting on current events.
For tech-savvy information consumers, the Comments section at the bottom of your web publishing is today’s water cooler. That’s where we hold the conversations, so let us and enjoy the benefit of free user-generated content for your pages and increased participation (page impressions) from users.
Almost-no kudos for having and promoting staff blogs. It’s sad that they miss the opportunity to connect with users by not allowing comments on web published stories, but to reject the connection opportunities on their staff blogs is tragic.
No kudos for outposts on Social Media networks. It doesn’t appear they have any pages or profiles out there at all, and if they do they’re so buried that they may as well not exist.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (www.post-gazette.com)
Kudos for having RSS newsfeeds AND having them properly coded into the site pages for browsers to identify.
No kudos for also missing the opportunity by not having an embedded comments and discussion feature on your story pages.
Mixed kudos for having staff blogs AND promoting them well from the site navigation, however rejecting public comments blows the opportunity to connect and engage users.
No kudos for outposts on Social Media networks. It doesn’t appear they have any pages or profiles out there at all, and if they do they’re so burried that they may as well not exist.
This was actually surprising to me because when I went searching for Social Media profiles for the Post-Gazette one of the first results I found was a link to a picture on Flickr (great social network) which shows that over half of the editors and reporters (who were in the room when the picture was taken) at the PG are using Facebook. So why couldn’t I find an official page or profile there to connect with?
Wrap Up
Overall, and aside from the official city site which lacked any of the most common features younger information consumers expect, I would give our news outlets a moderate rating for their attempts to reach and engage with people. There’s lots of room for improvement at each of them, but none were completely void of opportunities to connect.
I’m sure it’s a hard transition to make from being in complete control of information as they are in print and broadcasting, to opening the information (and themselves) up to public discussion and scrutiny. But that’s what news content producers need to do going forward if they hope to retain their reach and user base.
Consumers no longer go to work and talk with their coworkers about the stories you told them, they sit at work and want to discuss them online with other readers and the journalists who wrote them. You can benefit from those discussions by having them take place on your site, or you can give up your users to another site. That’s just the way it is.
And I bet my new friends David Gregory(Meet The Press), Rachel Maddow(The Rachel Maddow Show) and Ana Marie Cox(National Correspondent for Air America radio, contributor at The Daily Beast) would agree. I watch or listen to their broadcast content more now than I ever did before “friending” them on a Social Media outpost, because now they let me know when there’s something I’m interested in going to be aired. They don’t assume they have my attention, they request it along with letting me know why I should invest the time.
That’s the model going forward for content producers because it meets the needs and schedules of consumers. Hopefully our local content producers will continue advancing in this direction as well. Not only would it help cure our Information Disconnection issues, but I’d just hate to read the self-penned obituary of one of our local papers, or see any more newsroom consolidations among our local broadcast stations.
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I like what you have started with this blog but have to disagree with the idea of this posting. As you pointed out, all of the local news posts are using some forms of social media or web 2.0 features, so it isn’t fair to come down on them just because maybe they aren’t doing it the way you want them too.
Chris Brogen is kind of the defacto leader of social media and even says there’s really no way to do it wrong. Its about each person or company doing what’s right for them, period.
I’ll keep coming back here because I like what you’re trying to do, but I wanted to sound off on this because I’m always hearing people coming down on our local news and I think its better than most national news I see.
Lisa, thanks for the comments and I’m glad you like what we’re starting. In time I hope it becomes a great rest-stop online for Burghers to gather.
I hope I didn’t “come down” too hard on anybody in the post, that wasn’t my intention at all. I don’t think it’s a question of anyone doing it wrong, but rather are they doing it smart?
Are they getting a good return from the efforts they are putting in and are they reaching the people who would be most interested in the content they’re putting out?
My intention was only to point out the missed opportunities for connecting and engaging with their target markets, not to say they’re doing it wrong.
Just as an example of not making the most from their efforts, WPXI’s news feed only includes the headlines for the majority of pieces it announces. Once in a while there will be a single sentence added, but most entries are strictly headline only.
That almost never prompts me to click through to the full story from my feed reader when KDKA and WTAE’s feeds covering most of the same local stories include the leads (teasers) so that I know more about what I’m clicking through for.
In other words, by being what seems over protective about their content (which I see as not doing it smart), WPXI isn’t encouraging me to travel from my news reader to their web site very often… but KDKA and WTAE both do because they’re including the leads that peek my curiosity and tell me just a little bit more, like what perspective each story is coming from.
Where WPXI does engage me better than the others is on Twitter. Rick Earle, Jim Lokay and even one of the news directors from WPXI are using that medium for reaching out and connecting with locals like me. And they’re not just “announcing” headlines, but they ask questions and talk about lots of topics that aren’t always something they’re working on or WPXI related. That’s good engagement and when they do link to a WPXI story from Twitter I’m highly likely to follow them and check it out because of it.
You’re right that I’m viewing this from my own perch and from what makes me happy as an information consumer, but I don’t think I’m far off from what the majority of people online want or expect. Engagement is the core for social connections, isn’t it? When you remove the engagement aspect you’re right back to one-way media blasting you with their message as they want it, which is anti-social by definition.
As for Chris Brogan, I’ve conversed with him many times and imagine he’d get a kick out of being called the “defacto leader of social media”–that’s great!
Thanks again for your comments and I hope you will continue coming back and discussing more stories.