Charles Apple: The Visual Side of Journalism

 

New in St. Louis: An all-electronic afternoon edition

The Post-Dispatch of St. Louis, Mo., has something new for readers these days: A special evening edition called P-D P.M.

It’s viewable on tablet, smartphone or regular desktop or laptop computers and it’s free to 7-day-a-week subscribers.

Here was last night’s front page. Note the custom nameplate.

Here is last night’s page two, containing mostly briefs and shorter snippets:

Assistant managing editor for presentation sent us these pages from Tuesday’s P-D P.M. and answered a few questions for us:

Q: Is the material in the evening edition available only in the evening edition? None of this is reachable via your web site?

A: Much of the PM edition stuff has been published on the site, but in various forms. For example we’ll go through live chats from our writers and cull the best exchanges for a story … same with conversations in our forums. Overall I would say that:

  • 10 percent of the stuff is an early version of a story that might be in print in the following morning’s paper.
  • 10 percent of the content is user generated … user photos, conversations from our chats, forums or the Post-Dispatch Facebook pages.
  • 30 percent of the content is from breaking news  coverage during the day that would appear on STLtoday at sometime during the day.
  • 30 percent of the content is from Post-Dispatch online columns, reedited for the PM edition.
  • 20 percent is wire content, either breaking news from the day, enterprisers that don’t run on STLtoday, or entertainment-based news
  • 0 percent of it is something that would have been in the previous morning’s paper.

Tuesday’s page three held one big local story, two briefs and a large ad.

Q: You mention “tablet, desktop or smartphone.” Are there three different versions of the evening edition? Or is this one version, accessible via three avenues?

A: It’s basically one version, on all three platforms. Newspaper Direct is our e-edition partner. (They recently made a big splash with the Boston Globe‘s e-edition) The tablet version obviously has more functionality, richer user experience than the smart phone version, but all versions are designed to emulate the physical browsing of a newspaper.

Q: So P-D P.M. uses “responsive web design,” then?

A: No… newspaper direct does not use responsive web design. I think they redesign the product slightly for each different type of screen … it does not dynamically redraw like responsive design would.

Q: About what time each day is the evening edition available?

A: We tell customers it’s available for download at 6 p.m. … but it’s usually available by about 4:30 p.m.

Q: When did you launch this evening edition?

A: We’ve been promoting the P.M. edition about a month now. I think we announced it to our 7-day subscribers in early April. Now we’re making more noise about it so that both subscribers and non-subscribers know about it.

Tuesday’s page seven held entertainment news.

Q: How did this come to be?

A: This came to be after we realized how people were using the iPad, predominantly at night, and as a relaxing reading experience. So when we started on the e-Edition with Newspaper Direct, we realized we weren’t necessarily bound to some of our print conventions… We had color on every page, we could hyperlink to content … and we could deliver the news when we  wanted. So  as a bonus to our 7-day subscribers, we are supplementing their e-Editions with the PM e-editions.

Tuesday’s page eight was all sports: Two columns and a snappy, quick-hit roundup of quotes.

Q. Does it have a separate designer?

A: Right now, Wade Wilson, Tom Borgman and Carlos Ayulo are doing the bulk of the design work on it.

Q. What kind of response have you gotten from readers? Any clue yet how well this is going over?

A: I would say it’s a bit early to get the response.

We expect, any day now, to have native app versions available (currently tablet and mobile editions are seen through a browser or through a Newspaper Direct app).

We are getting about 300-500 subscribers signing up each week, and they do seem to enjoy the reading experience that the e-edition brings — although it’s certainly not for everyone. Many folks prefer either a traditional web browser experience or a native app, rather than seeing a digital replica of the newspaper. Others however, like the familiarity that the digital replica brings.

Interestingly, one reader sounded off on P-D P.M. by commenting on the Post-Dispatch web site:

Until the Globe-Democrat folded in 1984, the Post-Dispatch was an afternoon newspaper. This had been the case as part of the terms of their joint operating agreement since 1961. So the Post-Dispatch has been a morning newspaper for less than 30 years. In some ways this is a return to their roots, but in a digital format. Curious.

Read more about the new P-D P.M. edition here.

Average daily circulation for the Post-Dispatch is 191,631.

Fun skybox promo alert

Lots of papers ran that wire story yesterday on the most popular baby names. Some ran it on page one. And some refered to it off of A1.

No one did this better — and had more fun with it — than did the Virginian-Pilot.

This skybox is cute and it catches the eye. But take particular note of what the little kid is thinking:

Now, that’s how you make a skybox promo.

This was birthed, I’m told, by Colleen Kirsten.

Average daily circulation for the Virginian-Pilot is 145,785.

This just in…

Stop the presses, everybody.

Brad Richards of the New York Rangers had two — count ‘em, two — bowel movements during Monday night’s 3-0 playoff win over the New Jersey Devils..

That’s according to this onscreen graphic by the NHL Network.

I suspect they meant shots. But I wouldn’t bet money on it.

These guys need to find themselves a copy editor. Or a very laid-back janitor.

Thanks to David Downham of Gannett’s Nashville Design Studio for the tip.

You know who else needs a copy editor?

Local TV news operations. Chicago’s WMAQ-TV in particular. And Harrisburg’s Fox43 TV news. And Local 15 News in Mobile, Ala. And WBAL-TV in Baltimore. And Fox2Now in St. Louis. And KTLA channel 5 in Los Angeles. And KNBC channel 4 in Los Angeles. And Charlotte’s WBTV. And KXAN-TV of Austin. And Huntsville’s WAFF-TV. And Miami’s WSVN channel 7. And KCRG of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. And other local TV news operations. And CBS local media. And CBS/DC in Washington. And the web operation for DC101 radio. And the Huffington Post. And the Huffington Post again. And CNN (and CNN again)(and yet again)(and yet again) and CNN Money and CNN mobile and Fox News (and Fox News again)(and Fox News yet again)(and again!)(and again!)(and yet again!)(and yet again) and Fox Business and MSNBC and ABC News and the BBC and German news channel N24. And Fairfax media of New Zealand. And Dagsrevyen, the evening news broadcast of the Norwegian Broadcasting Corp. And Martha Stewart’s TV operation. And the Disney Channel. And AOL. And creators of mobile apps. And Yahoo News. And Yahoo News again. And Google News’ ‘bots. And Baseball jersey manufacturers. And Georgetown University. And Kansas State University. And the University of Iowa. And the University of North Carolina. And Nebraska Wesleyan University. And the New York Jets, the Minnesota Vikings, the St. Louis Cardinals and the Washington Nationals (boy, do they need a copy editor). And the National Hockey League. And ESPN (and ESPN again)(and yet again)(and yet again)(and three more times!)(and yet again) and Fox Sports (and Fox Sports again)(and Fox Sports one more time). And CBS Sportsline. And Sports Illustrated. And college athletic department ticket offices. And the NCAA. And Leaf trading card company. And the Virginia general assembly. And college alumni magazines. And pharmacies. And the makers of Sudafed. And Borders bookstore. And the U.S. Postal Service. And government agencies and political candidates. And Tea Party candidates. And the Newt Gingrich campaign. And the White House. And the Vice President. And city and county Boards of Elections. Both the state of Pennsylvania and its department of transportation. And Costa Cruises. And Pittsburgh skywriters. And road paving contractors in Durham, N.C. and in New York City. And the city of Norfolk, Va. And the Ohio Dept. of Transportation. And the West Palm Beach, Fla., police dept. And Lakewood High School in St. Petersburg, Fla. And Sunrise-McMillan Elementary School in Fort Worth, Texas. And South African traffic cops. And the Conservation Trust of Puerto Rico. And gas stations. And billboard companies. And bumper sticker manufacturers. And sign painters. And Home Depot and manufacturers of “hoodies.” And T-shirt designers. And more T-shirt designers. And Old Navy. And Adidas. And Mazda. And rubber stamp designers. And glass etchers. And Starbucks. And Wendy’s. And Applebee‘s. And restaurants, breakfast joints, Chinese restaurants and cake decorators. And more cake decorators. And drive-in movie theater managers. And auto dealers. And romance novelists. And Capcom, the makers of Resident Evil video games. And American Idol. And book cover designers. And editorial cartoonists. And South Africa’s New Age and Sunday Independent newspapers. And Dublin’s Sunday Business Post. And the Echo of Gloucestershire, England. And the London Daily Mail. And the South China Morning Post. And the Washington Post (Hey! Another repeat offender!), the Post‘s Express tab (Hey! Yet another repeat offender!), the Washington Examiner, the New York Times (Wow! Yet another repeat offender!)(Hey! A third offense!), the New York Post, Wall Street Journal Europe, Newsday, USA Today, the Chicago Sun-Times (And yet another!), the Daily Herald of Arlington Heights, Ill., the Rochester, N.Y., Democrat & Chronicle, the Daily Mail of London, the Seattle Times, the weekly Manila Mail of San Francisco, the Miami Herald (and again!), the Portland Oregonian, the Durham, N.C., Herald-Sun, the News & Observer of Raleigh, N.C., the Chapel Hill, N.C., News, the Missoula, Mont., Missoulian, the Duluth, Minn., News Tribune, the Springfield (Mass.) Republican, the Bangor (Maine) Daily News, the Times-Record of Denton, Md., the News-Herald of Willoughby, Ohio, the Reporter of Lansdale, Pa., the Times-News of Erie, Pa., the Tribune-Review of Pittsburgh, Pa., the Wilmington, Del., News Journal, the Amarillo (Texas) Globe News, the Laredo Morning Times, the Daily Telegram of Temple, Texas, the Cincinnati Enquirer, the Waynesboro News Virginian, the Virginian-Pilot (and the Virginian-Pilot again), the Des Moines Register, the Green Bay Press-Gazette, Gannett’s N.Y. Central Media hub, the Greenville (S.C.) News, the Daily Herald of Provo, Utah, the Deseret News of Salt Lake City, the Salt Lake Tribune, the Fort Collins Coloradoan, the Olympian of Olympia, Wash., the Anchorage (Alaska) Daily News, the Carbondale, Ill., Southern Illinoisian, the Lakeland (Fla.) Ledger (Hey! Yet another repeat offender!) and the Canarsie Courier of New York City. And Politico. And the Associated Press. And the Associated Press again. And the Associated Press again. And Mann’s Jeweler’s Accent magazine. And New Scientist magazine. And Investment News magazine. And Time magazine (and Time magazine again).

And, of course, I need a copy editor myself.

I’ve always needed a copy editor. Which is why you’ll see me fight so hard for them.

Birthdays for Wednesday, May 16

Here’s wishing the happiest of birthdays to two wonderful visual journalists…

Allen Cone is a copy editor for Demand Media and based in Boca Raton, Fla. A 1977 graduate of Indiana University, Allen worked in a number of positions at the Independent Register of Libertyville, Ill., the News-Sun of Waukegan, Ill., the Daily Herald of Arlington Heights, Ill., the Virginian-Pilot of Norfolk, Va., the Courier-News of Bridgewater, N.J. and the Daily Racing Form of Phoenix, Ariz., before finding  home in 1989 at the Houston (Texas) Post. Allen spent six years there as a copy editor, designer and assistant sports editor. From there, he moved to the Express News of San Antonio and the Telegraph of Macon, Ga., before ending up at the East Valley Tribune in 1996. He spent three years there and then three years at the Review-Journal of Las Vegas. Allen moved to the Sun-Sentinel of Fort Lauderdale in 2004 and worked there through 2009. He’s worked for Demand ever since, along with handling freelance copy editing assignments. Allen turns 57 today.

Cavan Reagan Reichmann is a social engagement manager for Carmichael Lynch Spong of Minneapolis, Minn. Cavan spent his senior year at Iowa State University as editor-in-chief of the Iowa State Daily. Upon graduation in 2003, Cavan went to work as a copy editor and designer for the Des Moines Register. In 2006, he moved over to the online side and then relocated to Minneapolis in 2009. He spent two years as a social media strategist for Children’s Hospitals and Clinics. He’s earned a master’s degree in media management last year from the University of Missouri, plus he is the chef, host and writer for the You’re In My Kitchen video web site. Find his Twitter feed here. Cavan turns 31 today.

Cavan and Allen share a birthday with actors Megan Denise Fox, Victoria Davey “Tori” Spelling, Mary Debra Winger, Tracey Claire Fisher (better known as Tracey Gold), David Paul Boreanaz, Pierce Brendan Brosnan, Khary Payton, James Anthony “Jim” Sturgess and Henry James Fonda; musicians Janet Damita Jo Jackson, Krist Anthony Novoselic II (of Nirvana) and Wladziu Valentino Liberace; sports greats Thurman Lee Thomas (football), Gabriela Beatriz Sabatini (tennis) and Olga Valentinovna Korbut (gymnastics), politician William Henry Seward Sr. and broadcast journalists Robert Alan “Bob” Edwards and Tucker Swanson McNear Carlson.

In addition, today is National Employee Health and Fitness Day, Turn Beauty Inside Out Day, Biographer’s Day and National Sea Monkey Day. Seriously.

Best wishes, you two! Have a fabulous birthday today!

Pantagraph of Bloomington, Ill., launches redesign

The Pantagraph of Bloomington, Ill. — circulation 39,349 — launched a redesign this morning.

On the left is an issue from a couple of weeks ago. On the right is today’s front page.

 

A page-one story by regional editor Gary Sawyer states that the purpose of the redesign was to add:

  • More color pictures
  • Color positions on the daily obits page and in the Sunday “Milestones” section
  • A comprehensive daily weather map
  • More color ad positions

The pages became more narrow, as well. As far as I can tell, typography didn’t change significantly. Other than the nameplate, that is.

The additional color positions are available, perhaps, because the paper is now being printed by the Journal Star of Peoria.

The column states:

We also wanted to make the newspaper easier to navigate by packaging news and information in a more efficient manner and adding “rails” on the left side of each section front. These are a handy guide to important information you can read at a glance, including which page to turn to for more information.

Hmm. I’m not sure I agree at all that rails are “handy.” But whatever.

Here’s a closer look at the new front page.

In order to solicit comments from readers, the paper says it is offering a $500 prize. Among the five comments on the Pantagraph‘s web site as of 6 p.m. EDT:

  • One asks for more baseball box scores.
  • One asks for more consideration to carriers: Today’s paper included an extra section, which meant more stuffing work.
  • One said, “Please make sure that moving the press operations to Peroria doesn’t impose impractical deadlines that interfere with timely reporting.”
  • And one asked for the paper to post a picture of the new front page.

The two front pages above are both from the Newseum. Of course.