June 10, 2009

A note on competition

Just a quick note on competition in reporting Racine's news. We're in a really interesting race with the JT to report on the city.

The Uptown sculpture is a good example. We reported on the sculpture June 4 and the JT came back with a story today revealing the sculpture cost $40,000 (we had incorrectly reported it was donated to the city). Now we've responded with the latest story providing some background on the Uptown artist program and reporting at least one alderman is upset at the total cost.

That's the great thing about competition in the news business. Nobody ever gets the whole story the first time around. The back-and-forth of competing stories shakes out new information. It also keeps everyone honest. It's hardly a coincidence that newsroom hiring at the JT is at record highs as RacinePost and other local websites develop into a real threat to their business.

The downside for us is we liberally link to the JT and credit them for work. On the flip side, the JT never acknowledges our work despite liberally stealing our stories. Not that we blame them, but it's an interesting wrinkle in the debate over whether newspapers are fairly compensated for their stories. Newspapers claim their value is deteriorating because outside sites are linking to them (that's why there's all this chatter about charging for online news), but it's our experience that it's newspapers that steal work without so much as a link back to the original story.

Not that any of this matters to readers. Hopefully, the competition between RacinePost and the JT results in better information, coverage and insights into our community. That's certainly our goal, and hopefully that goal rubs off on our local newspaper as well.

30 comments:

  1. Sitting Down for Milwaukee6/10/2009 3:39 PM

    Well, you are providing a ton of free fodder for Mark Belling, too.

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  2. Since the J-Wax story I look at The Post a lot differently.

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  3. I think it is more important to get a story correct than it is being the first one to report an incorrect story.

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  4. Anon 4:11 - I agree. And when you do make a mistake, it's important to correct it.

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  5. Anon 3:39 - At least Belling credits us and points people to the site.

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  6. You're hacks, plain and simple.

    How can you possibly call the JT out on something you cannot prove?

    I highly doubt they would even care what you are writing about. Your articles are mostly fluff, with some inconsistent drivel sprinkled in.

    I can't believe you guys actually think you are a real news source. It's a joke.

    There really is no comparison between you two losers and the JT. If you were any good, you would still be working there. However, you aren't.

    Stick with the Buddhist junk.

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  7. Assume annon 6:06 thinks Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh are great newsmen

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  8. Not to detract from the JT, but Racine Post is a pretty good news source.

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  9. StopthemadnessNOW6/10/2009 7:44 PM

    Interesting observation, Dustin. While not a direct comparison, the urgency in news gathering spurred by competition is a little bit like having a "two newspaper town."

    Of course Racine hasn't seen competing print dailies for generations, but as recently as 1995 or so, Milwaukee had competing morning and afternoon papers. The public was better served because of it, IMHO.

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  10. If competition is good for news consumers, no doubt you must be opponents of nationalized health care and proponents of school choice/vouchers. Glad to hear it.

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  11. Dennis, et. al.,

    I like competition, too, especially in news, grocery stores and cars. But I don't know if that naturally translates into letting a lot of people die because they don't have health insurance, allowing children to starve because their parents can't afford to shop for food, or ensuring an ignorant population in a democracy because some people take a dim view of public education. Those basic needs must be supported by society for a healthy nation and body politic.

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  12. Randolph,

    I don't think competition naturally translates into the extreme (unquantified)examples you are putting forth.

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  13. Most news shows on TV mention when they find something on a blog.....just a plain old blog put out by one person in their spare time. To not mention the Post, a very comprehensive news website, is really a slap in your faces, IMHO. And, it's pathetic of them.
    Geez, some shows even have a segment on what's the buzz online.
    I bet a lot of waste baskets over at the JT got kicked when you guys did the SCJ story. tee

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  14. Are you people reading the same web site as me? I guess I just don't understand.

    Take a minute and LOOK at the site and the content.

    Now, can you actually tell me this is a comprehensive news source?

    I want some of what you're smokin'.

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  15. I find the journal puts news in their publication for their subscribers benefit, but more importantly, DOESN'T put news in their paper for THEIR, or some influential patrons benefit! Thanks guys, call them on the carpet when you can.

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  16. Randolph, there is no danger of having "an ignorant population in a democracy because some people take a dim view of public education." Rather, the cause will be a favorable view of public education.

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  17. The pettiness of the Journal Times is legendary.

    Go, Dustin and Pete!

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  18. No, just meant that some things are either too big or too important to be left to the private marketplace, like health care, national defense, education, prisons, (and for the most part) roads, bridges ... these are public responsibilities.

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  19. I do not get the JT anymore. The new size annoys me. The adds go 3/4s up the page. They have two page sections. The price has gone up too high, Sunday is now $2. Why would anyone pay that for mostly adds? When are the advertisers going to figure out that this is not an effective way of advertising. What is the point? And The paper article quality is lacking. They really do not report what is interesting to me. I can get the AP stuff online. Not much local being reported and it is all silly fluff. stroking SCJ, DRC, and Dickerts egos. Utterly useless. Thank you Dustin for providing the post.

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  20. Okay since you went there. School vouchers would give parents the choice of where to send their children. Private schools are educating children better for far less. This is a fact. The bureaucracy costs us too much. The children are being robbed. Cut the bureaucracy or give vouchers. It is coming, we won with the virtual schools because the arguments were insanity. Now it is only a matter of time til the same insane defences against vouchers are also defeated.

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  21. Rose Fernandez almost get elected to lead DPI. People in Wisconsin are fed up. The teachers union and their bought politicians better put up or shut up.

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  22. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  23. Anonymous,

    Actually, private and parochial schools aren't doing too well, but I agree with you on virtual schools, if by that you mean children (and adults) going to school via the internet. That's a valuable, efficient use of technology that ought to have been embraced by public school advocates.

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  24. What does it matter who broke a story first? That's insider stuff that only people in the business really care about.

    The fact that you broke the story isn't the story -- it's the story itself that's important. So I don't care if you credit the JT with getting the info first or if the JT credits you (or fails to credit you) with getting the info first. Just hammer away on the story itself and don't waste space telling me "as reported first here..." That's TV news B.S. that's supposed to drive viewer loyalty since people have to choose what they watch at a given time. When it comes to newspaper or Internet news products, I don't have to tune in at a specific time so I can absorb more.

    Ultimately it's the story that matters -- and how a particular new outlet handles it -- not who broke it first.

    But, yes, I'll agree competition does help get more information out. Keep up the good work Racine Post!

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  25. Mac the ripper6/11/2009 12:55 PM

    Why did you remove my post? I didnt use profanity. Or was I getting to close to the truth? You bad mouth the JT for censoring it's bloggers and here you do the same. Were you scared that what I said was true? The way you swindle people to get stories. I also like how you try to pad your comments by posting as anonymous when we all know it's you. Pleas, you should take a tip from the JT and force yourselves out of your own publication.

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  26. ...valuable, efficient use of technology that ought to have been embraced by public school advocates.

    And that makes it good?
    Maybe our school system would be better off forgetting about technology and do a better job with the basics of education. For instance, the value of individual risks and rewards (and costs).

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  27. Mac: I removed your previous post because it was full of lies, as is your current one. We do not swindle anyone, we do not pad comments, we do not do any of the evil things you accuse us of doing. If you don't like our site, don't read it. Case closed. But don't expect to assassinate our character on our site.

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  28. Never liked the school voucher stuff. I pay my taxes to subsidize public schools, open to everyone. Why should I also subsidize somebody's private academy? What next? Subsidizing somebody's golf club membership?

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  29. Randolph -
    You sound like a conservative complaining about subsidizing someone's poor eating habit(food stamps). Or subsidizing union jobs (GM), or bank ceos lavish salaries (TRAP), or any other entitlement.
    I suppose you are going to say that competition for our public school system would be bad??

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  30. Anon,

    We support a public school system in the public interest for an educated populace in a democracy. I don't see that translating into a public subsidy for private academies, sorry. Call me conservative, but that's the way I see it.

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