The Internet is fluid by nature. Any website seemed like a novelty in the "old days." Yes we can reflect on "the old days" with this communication means now.
We saw the Morris newspaper with a pretty active website during its time under Fargo Forum ownership. It was interesting enough that a standard was set, and any time a standard is set, people might complain about something from time to time. An example: why did the Morris site link to sports material from the West Central Tribune? The material has value but wouldn't we as a matter of principle like to see our own newspaper staff generate exclusive content? Fair enough.
I was advised long ago that the fans want to see someone from the paper at games, like this was nearly as important as whatever content was rendered. I think it was Ron Lindquist who told me that. The Forum-owned Morris paper had a variety of decent content to peruse online. I'm susceptible to nightmares as I remember this, because I was on the paper's staff and sensed the website was going to be a priority. What would this mean for my schedule and workload?
I got quite concerned. Would I have to go crazy, as it were, taking photos for our ballyhooed "photo gallery?" And if so, would I be required to collect specific caption (cutline) information for every photo I took? There's a huge difference, let me tell you, between taking a bunch of photos randomly to represent an event, and taking photos while having to ensure you have specific caption info for each.
A couple years for Prairie Pioneer Days - remember that, in summer? - I painstakingly got caption info all over the place only to find that the editor collected a whole lot of photos for a "collage" that had no captions! Mercy! After I left the paper, this practice became more common. It meant a lot less work for the photographer. I would fear a dressing-down if I didn't get detailed caption information all the time.
I remember the first PPD after I departed, there was a collage that included the new Miss Morris being congratulated but I couldn't find the name of this person anywhere. If I were at the shop and had to tell my superiors I couldn't supply the name of the new Miss Morris for quite essential publication, I'd fear being shot (metaphorically).
Let's focus on the present: standards for the newspaper's website have vanished! Mercy, again! At the time the Morris paper went from two issues a week to one - now there's retrenchment - Sue Dieter reportedly said a major reason was to allow for more emphasis on the website. I can't remember if that was an on-the-record quote or just something I heard, but I don't doubt it.
Emphasis on the website would be fine. I commend Sue's attitude. But like I said, the Internet is fluid and was changing like a chameleon to establish something approximating an ecosystem. The Morris paper is at a place today where it must not see much value in its website. This surprises me. The paper's site has become a "tease" with a sprinkling of random and not very timely "news" items. It is nothing but a thin complement to the "paper" product which only comes out on Tuesday.
A theory that I float is that because the new owners reportedly don't offer great benefits to employees, they can't push the staff real hard. Say what you want about the Forum, they were big league with benefits.
Kudos to KMRS-KKOK
Meanwhile the radio station has developed marvelously with its site. It is truly a dynamic site worthy of a visit every day. So I'm wondering: will sports fans decide that the KMRS-KKOK site is truly the "go to" place as a media resource for both information and promotion? Well yes, it appears so.
I wonder if the coaches will tweak their habits, then, to work more closely with the radio station. Radio can totally compete with the newspaper on the latter's own turf. Radio now has a "static" product that its audience can consult at their own convenience. It's a sea change and a nice one.
Sports and online: natural marriage
Wherever high school sports can find its home in the world wide web, it is a good thing. Surely it will find that home once the web-based "ecosystem" matures. Perhaps the coaches could set up a nice little template for statistics and feed that to the radio station regularly. Already the coaches are doing that with the "Maxpreps" site. Maxpreps has gotten into the ecosystem in a meaningful way. My own work gets linked there, I'm pleased to say.
There's the "Hudl" site also which is getting its elbows in. All of this will be good for the long term. Fans will expect these services and it's important to note that the services do not have to be supported by advertising. "Mercy," again! After all, my own web-based coverage on "I Love Morris" and "Morris of Course" does not require advertising. Get over it: reaching an audience does not require money to change hands. Adjust your mindset.
I enjoy staying connected to prep sports and it helps make my life meaningful, especially as my age advances. I turned age 65 on Tuesday - Medicare time! I think Deb at the radio station beat me to that.
As we ponder the new media ecosystem, we must conclude the newspaper is "out of the mix" for online, after its decent presence in the Forum years. "Turn out the lights, the party's over," as the late Don Meredith would sing.
There are times when I post my decent coverage of Tiger events a whole week before the Morris paper comes out! The day may come when we no longer pay much attention to what the newspaper does, as it basically fades out of mind, a process that could well be underway. It will dawn on us, at some point down the road.
In the meantime it can be subconscious. Just like how we get out of the habit of visiting a website that no longer holds an allure. Message to the media and to sports coaches: "Adapt or die." That's Brad Pitt talking from "Moneyball." Great movie. Remember the hard rock electric guitar for the National Anthem on opening day? Totally accepted by everyone, even the VFW and Legion guys with their hats, out on the field unfurling the flag. In the late '60s when Jose Feliciano did the first real stylistic version, it caused an uproar. Mercy! I cite this as an example of change proceeding inexorably.
As they say, "I'm just the messenger."
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
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