POINTS & PICAS :: THE BLOG
Use Google Maps with Flash
May 15, 2008 • 1 comment so far
I’m just now catching up on Google Reader items, so if you’ve already heard, I apologize.
But Google Maps are now Flash compatible! OK, I have to be honest: I guess I didn’t realize Google Maps weren’t Flash compatible, although I should have. (Yahoo Maps is Flash-based while Google is JavaScript-based, and I knew that.) Of course the downside is that the maps are developed in ActionScript 3, which I’d kind of been putting off learning. (Again with the honesty thing though, I haven’t opened Flash in more than a month, so what do I know?)
Speaking of Google Maps, you can track the WFLD helicopter when it’s out and about flying in Chicago (5:30-8:30 a.m. and during breaking news). The map does not auto-update (which would be easy to fix Fox Chicago!), so you’ll have to refresh your browser if you actually want to see the chopper move.
STLtoday.com launches redesign
May 7, 2008 • 4 comments and counting
The resdesigned (and much improved) STLtoday.com is live!
See the tutorial to learn more, and check out The Editors’ Blog to see what others have to say about it. Personally, I think it’s a huge improvement. There are a few quirks and bugs to work out, as there always are when a change is introduced, but kudos to Will Sullivan and everyone who helped.
(I know I’m a little late posting this, but I have a good excuse: I’m on vacation. And the FBI is at the door.)
Newspapers that Twitter: April’s numbers
May 3, 2008 • Comments? None yet
There were quite a few new newspaper Twitter accounts in April; half of them were specialty accounts:
• Chicago Sun-Times: @cst_cubs, @cst_sox and @cst_thomas (used to cover the pope’s visit to the U.S.)
• Clarion-Ledger: @clarionledger
• The Daily Press: @dailypress
• Grand Rapids Press: @grpress
• Kansas City Star: @kansascitystar
• Los Angeles Times: @latimestot (Top of the Ticket; political coverage)
• Miami Herald: @miamiherald
• New York Times: @thecaucus (political coverage)
• Orlando Sentinel: @momsatwork, @osbreakingnews and @whattheblog
• Patriot News: @patriotnews and @pennlive
• Philadelphia Inquirer: @phillyinquirer
• Providence Journal: @provo
• Sacramento Bee: @sacbee_news
• The Saginaw News: @saginawnews
• Tampa Tribune: @bucsbeat
• Washington Post: @capitolbriefing, @channel08, @postpolitics, @thefix, @thesleuth and @thetrail
• Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune: @wrtribune
None of the newspaper Twitter accounts lost followers in the last month, even those that didn’t post updates:
• @denverbroncos picked up 6 new followers
• @rocktober: 3
• @fwdailynews: 7
• @lancasternews: 19
• @latimesfires: 2
• @marshallnews: 4
• @thenewstribune: 15
• @scsentinel: 15
• @scj: 3
• @spokesmanreview: 1
• @nj_fun: 2
• @nwiprepsports: 3
• @washingtonpost: 6
The top five accounts with the greatest increase of followers:
• @timestribune: 2,050 percent
• @dmregister: 721.43 percent
• @thestate: 616.67 percent
• @cst_roeper: 550 percent
• @dmrsports: 500 percent
The top accounts that post the most updates:
• @startribune: 2,558 updates (87 fewer updates than March)
• @nytimes: 1,226 updates
• @asheville: 1,222 updates
• @nj_news: 1,220 updates
• @nyt_biz: 1,207 updates
(See statistics for other users at tweetstats.com/graphs/TWITTER USERNAME)
This little experiment is now tracking 141 accounts:
| Ann Arbor News | @annarbornews | 28 | 73 | 160.71% |
| @mlive | 260 | 365 | 40.38% | |
| @detroit_tigers | 68 | 225 | 230.88% | |
| Asheville Citizen Times | @asheville | 24 | 95 | 295.83% |
| Atlanta Journal-Constitution | @ajc | 85 | ||
| Birmingham News | @birmingham_news | 43 | 89 | 106.98% |
| Boston NOW | @bostonnowpaper | Started April 11 | 147 | |
| Charlotte Observer | @theobserver | 78 | 165 | 111.54% |
| Chicago Sun-Times | @suntimes | 17 | 78 | 358.82% |
| @cst_cubs | Started April 21 | 35 | ||
| @cst_ent | 0 | 0 | ||
| @cst_fashion | 1 | 1 | 0.00% | |
| @cst_roeper | 6 | 39 | 550.00% | |
| @cst_sox | Started April 10 | 58 | ||
| @cst_thomas | Started April 15 | 8 | ||
| Chicago Tribune | @chicagotribune | 145 | 221 | 52.41% |
| Clarion-Ledger | @clarionledger | Started April 26 | 8 | |
| Colorado Springs Gazette | @csgazette | 70 | ||
| Contra Costa Times | @cctimes | 12 | 23 | 91.67% |
| Daily Press | @daily_press | Started April 25 | 6 | |
| Denver Post | @denverpost | 34 | 78 | 129.41% |
| @denverbroncos | 3 | 9 | 200.00% | |
| @rocktober | 4 | 7 | 75.00% | |
| Des Moines Register | @dmregister | 14 | 115 | 721.43% |
| @dmrsports | 3 | 18 | 500.00% | |
| Detroit Free-Press | @freep | 40 | ||
| The Everett Herald | @everettherald | 12 on April 7 | 40 | 233.33% |
| Flint Journal | @flintjournal | 16 | 37 | 131.25% |
| Fort Wayne Daily News | @fwdailynews | 8 | 15 | 87.50% |
| The Fresno Bee | @fresnobee | 32 | 68 | 112.50% |
| @fresnobeehive | 31 | 80 | 158.06% | |
| Globe Gazette | @globegazette | 30 | 42 | 40.00% |
| Grand Island Independent | @theindependent | 12 | 29 | 141.67% |
| Grand Rapids Press | @grpress | Started April 15 | 59 | |
| Honolulu Star Bulletin | @starbulletin | 59 | 91 | 54.24% |
| Kalamazoo Gazette | @kzoo_gazette | 28 | ||
| Kansas City Star | @kansascitystar | Started April 22 | 5 | |
| Knoxville News Sentinel | @knoxnews | 126 | 186 | 47.62% |
| @bonnaroo | 84 on April 15 | 90 | 7.14% | |
| Lancaster News | @lancasternews | 19 | 38 | 100.00% |
| Lawrence Journal World | @ljworld | 45 | 76 | 68.89% |
| Los Angeles Daily News | @ladailynews | 61 | 81 | 32.79% |
| Los Angeles Times | @latimesbreaking | 122 | 220 | 80.33% |
| @latimesbiz | 55 | 122 | 121.82% | |
| @latimesent | 28 | 93 | 232.14% | |
| @latimesfires | 188 | 190 | 1.06% | |
| @latimeslocal | 59 | 107 | 81.36% | |
| @latimesmost | 35 | 68 | 94.29% | |
| @latimesnational | 67 | 112 | 67.16% | |
| @latimessports | 34 | 99 | 191.18% | |
| @latimestot | Started April 22 | 48 | ||
| @latimestravel | 97 | 213 | 119.59% | |
| @latimesworld | 32 | 71 | 121.88% | |
| Marshall News Messenger | @marshallnews | 5 | 11 | 120.00% |
| Miami Herald | @miamiherald | Started April 24 | 43 | |
| The Modesto Bee | @modbee | 45 | 96 | 113.33% |
| Nashua Telegraph | @nashuatelegraph | 118 | 155 | 31.36% |
| @telegraphpats | 6 | 10 | 66.67% | |
| @telegraphsox | 14 | 22 | 57.14% | |
| New York Times | @nytimes | 2,755 | 3,361 | 22.00% |
| @nyt_arts | 384 | 527 | 37.24% | |
| @nyt_biz | 390 | 554 | 42.05% | |
| @nyt_books | 341 | 437 | 28.15% | |
| @nyt_food | 277 | 378 | 36.46% | |
| @nyt_health | 202 | 277 | 37.13% | |
| @nyt_metro | 164 | 218 | 32.93% | |
| @nyt_movies | 351 | 462 | 31.62% | |
| @nyt_national | 332 | 454 | 36.75% | |
| @nyt_politics | 337 | 436 | 29.38% | |
| @nyt_science | 455 | 625 | 37.36% | |
| @nyt_style | 242 | 322 | 33.06% | |
| @nyt_travel | 212 | 322 | 51.89% | |
| @nyt_weather | 109 | 130 | 19.27% | |
| @nyt_world | 334 | 447 | 33.83% | |
| @thecaucus | Started April 18 | 49 | ||
| The News & Observer | @newsobserver | 69 | 134 | 94.20% |
| The News Tribune | @thenewstribune | 30 | 45 | 50.00% |
| The Oklahoman | @newsok | 17 | 50 | 194.12% |
| @newsok_bn | 15 | 50 | 233.33% | |
| The Oregonian | @oregonian | 304 | 439 | 44.41% |
| @oregonian2008 | 41 on April 5 | 72 | 75.61% | |
| @oregonianbiz | 62 | 101 | 62.90% | |
| @oregonianent | 7 | 24 | 242.86% | |
| @oregoniansports | 59 | 86 | 45.76% | |
| @oregoniantraff | 55 | 78 | 41.82% | |
| @playbookprofit | 57 | |||
| Orlando Sentinel | @orlandosentinel | 448 | 553 | 23.44% |
| @momsatwork | Started April 18 | 59 | ||
| @osbreakingnews | Started April 17 | 37 | ||
| @ostraffic | 4 | 4 | 0.00% | |
| @themeparks | 183 | 259 | 41.53% | |
| @whattheblog | Started April 17 | 3 | ||
| Patriot-News | @patriotnews | Started April 9 | 13 | |
| @pennlive | Started April 4 | 21 | ||
| Philadelphia Inquirer | @phillyinquirer | Started April 24 | 87 | |
| Pocono Record | @poconorecord | 11 | 17 | 54.55% |
| Post-Standard | @poststandard | 17 | 38 | 123.53% |
| Providence Journal | @projo | Started April 10 | 15 | |
| Red Eye | @redeyechicago | 135 | 169 | 25.19% |
| Sacramento Bee | @sacbee_news | Started April 16 | 26 | |
| The Saginaw News | @saginawnews | Started April 14 | 14 | |
| San Francisco Chronicle | @sfchron_alert | 74 | 112 | 51.35% |
| San Jose Mercury News | @mercnews | 18 | ||
| @mercrethink | 90 on April 6 | 111 | 23.33% | |
| Santa Cruz Sentinel | @scsentinel | 22 | 37 | 68.18% |
| Seattle Post-Intelligencer | @seattlepi | 19 | 101 | 431.58% |
| Sioux City Journal | @scj | 2 | 5 | 150.00% |
| South Florida Sun-Sentinel | @sunsentinel | 11 | 20 | 81.82% |
| Spokesman Review | @spokesmanreview | 22 | 23 | 4.55% |
| St. Louis Post-Dispatch | @stltoday | 64 | 131 | 104.69% |
| @hwy40 | 113 | 143 | 26.55% | |
| @pdvoxpop | 83 | 98 | 18.07% | |
| The Star-Ledger | @nj_news | 59 | 122 | 106.78% |
| @nj_business | 11 | 24 | 118.18% | |
| @nj_fun | No updates | 2 | ||
| @nj_giants | 67 | 85 | 26.87% | |
| @njdotcom | 50 on April 7 | 82 | 64.00% | |
| Star Tribune | @startribune | 44 | 65 | 47.73% |
| The State | @thestate | 6 on April 7 | 43 | 616.67% |
| @thestatesports | 3 on April 7 | 17 | 466.67% | |
| Tampa Tribune | @tbocom | 81 | ||
| @bucsbeat | Started April 18 | 161 | ||
| The Times of Northwest Indiana | @nwi | 35 | 47 | 34.29% |
| @nwiprepsports | 47 | 50 | 6.38% | |
| The Times-Tribune | @timestribune | 2 | 43 | 2,050.00% |
| Tribune Star | @tribstar | 7 | 17 | 142.86% |
| USA Today | @ondeadline | 114 | 221 | 93.86% |
| @popcandy | 1,013 | 1,302 | 28.53% | |
| @usatonpolitics | 114 | 164 | 43.86% | |
| Wall Street Journal | @wsj | 360 | 493 | 36.94% |
| Washington Post | @washingtonpost | 14 on April 5 | 20 | 42.86% |
| @capitolbriefing | Started April 17 | 16 | ||
| @channel08 | Started April 17 | 20 | ||
| @postpolitics | Started April 17 | 101 | ||
| @thefix | Started April 17 | 48 | ||
| @thesleuth | Started April 17 | 23 | ||
| @thetrail | Started April 17 | 34 | ||
| Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune | @wrtribune | Started April 25 | 3 | |
| York Daily Record | @ydrcom | 12 on April 7 | 52 | 333.33% |
Note: I have added newspapers to the list as I discover they’re on Twitter. Usually, that’s soon after they join. Sometimes it’s later. Know of a paper using Twitter that isn’t on the list? Tell me about it.
Take a look at numbers from January/February and February/March
Newspaper circulation vs. layoffs/buyouts
April 29, 2008 • 1 comment so far
I don’t really see any patterns, but take a look at the recent circulation information compared to the number of layoffs/buyouts at those papers during the same time period.
The top U.S. circulation gainers:
The Times of Northwest Indiana, Munster, Ind.: 3.01 percent
Layoff/buyouts: None
The Cincinnati Enquirer: 2.93 percent
Layoffs/buyouts: 30 announced in October 2007
Trenton (N.J.) Times: 2.91 percent
Layoffs/buyouts: None
The Daily Herald, Everett, Wash.: 2.37 percent
Layoffs/buyouts: None
Ventura (Calif.) County Star: 1.76 percent
Layoffs/buyouts:
San Jose Mercury News: 1.69 percent
Layoffs/buyouts: 40 announced on June 19, 2007; 50 announced on Feb. 14, 2008
Greensburg (Pa.) Tribune-Review: 1.68 percent
Layoffs/buyouts: None
The Advocate, Baton Rouge, La.: 1.40 percent
Layoffs/buyouts: None
The Standard-Examiner, Ogden, Utah: 1.21 percent
Layoffs/buyouts: None
Mobile (Ala.) Press-Register: 1.21 percent
Layoffs/buyouts: None
Seattle Post-Intelligencer: 1.21 percent
Layoffs/buyouts: None
U.S. newspapers with more than 50,000 paid circulation
Percent gain compares March 31, 2007, and March 31, 2008
Layoff/buyout information tracked from June 2007-March 31, 2008
Top 25 Sunday newspapers:
The New York Times: -9.26 percent
Layoffs/buyouts: 12 announced in November 2007; 100 announced in February 2008
Los Angeles Times: -6.06 percent
Layoffs/buyouts: 100 to 150 announced in February 2008
Chicago Tribune: -4.46 percent
Layoffs/buyouts: 120 announced in August 2007; 100 announced in February 2008
The Washington Post: -4.39 percent
Layoffs/buyouts: None
Daily News, New York: -9.20 percent
Layoffs/buyouts: None
Houston Chronicle: -6.59 percent
Layoffs/buyouts: 80 announced in October 2007
The Philadelphia Inquirer: -6.28 percent
Layoffs/buyouts: 68 announced in February 2008
Detroit Free Press: -5.18 percent
Layoffs/buyouts: Up to 100 announced in October 2007
Denver Post/Rocky Mountain News: -14.79%
Layoffs/buyouts: 21 announced in June 2007 at the Post
Star Tribune, Minneapolis: -7.02 percent
Layoffs/buyouts: 145 announced in June 2007; 58 announced in February 2008
Boston Globe: -6.46 percent
Layoffs/buyouts: 60 announced in February 2008
The Dallas Morning News: -7.61 percent
Layoffs/buyouts: None
The Arizona Republic -4.84 percent
Layoffs/buyouts: None
Newark Star-Ledger: -12.29 percent
Layoffs/buuyouts: Unknown number of cuts announced in January 2008 and March 2008
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: -5.07 percent
Layoffs/buyouts: None
Newsday: -4.83 percent
Layoffs/buyouts: 120 announced in February 2008
St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times: -0.44 percent
Layoffs/buyouts: None
Cleveland Plain Dealer: -3.25 percent
Layoffs/buyouts: None
San Francisco Chronicle: -3.06 percent
Layoffs/buyouts: 100 announced in July 2007
St. Louis Post-Dispatch: 1.67 percent
Layoffs/buyouts: 60 announced in August 2007; 31 announced in March 2008
Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Times: -3.40 percent
Layoffs/buyouts: 71 announced at the Times in December 2007; 86 announced at the Times in February 2008
New York Post: -8.63 percent
Layoffs/buyouts: None
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: -3.94 percent
Layoffs/buyouts: None
The Sun, Baltimore: -1.22 percent
Layoffs/buyouts: 45 announced in June 2007; 11 announced in September 2007; 45 announced in February 2008
The Oregonian: -3.70 percent
Layoffs/buyouts: 32 in August 2007
Percent gain compares March 31, 2007, and March 31, 2008
Layoff/buyout information tracked from June 2007-March 31, 2008
Liveblog your redesign
April 23, 2008 • 1 comment so far
The Grand Island Independent found a clever way to use CoverItLive, a Flash-based liveblogging tool. They’re chatting with folks about the redesign of their Web site. It’s a genius use of the tool. The conversations are public (That whole transparency thing that we love, right?) and, as Grand Island learned, allowed them to immediately fix quirks and bugs that readers found. (And, of course, the obligatory explanation that they were not going to go back to the old design — people always ask, no matter what you’re redesigning.)
But do you know what was missing? A link from the blog to the new site. (There was a link in the first entry of the liveblog, but elsewhere.)
The front page of the Independent’s site has a link to a user guide and column about the redesign. The user guide is a PDF. (Clicking on the image of the guide will not download the PDF, though. It’s a separate link to the right.) Why not walk me through it on the site? Set up a slideshow or, if you can, create a guide in Flash. There were two ways to get from the Web site to the blog: a link from the user guide page or through the blog channel, but neither adequately advertised that a live discussion was taking place on the blog. (I did ask Web editor Stephanie Romanski about it, so a clearer link may have been posted later.)
