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02 Dec 2011 21:14

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Culture: RIP Louis Silverstein, the guy who gave The New York Times its shine

  • An unsung journalistic hero: Before Louis Silverstein, newspaper design was a trade, not a profession. With the many changes he made as art director of the Times in the 1960s and 1970s, he helped change that. White space? More ambitious typefaces? Larger fonts? Abstract illustrations? Those were all his doing. Many of the conventions that modern newspapers now take advantage of came (in part) from Silverstein’s work. It took a lot of pushing, but Silverstein sold editors on these ideas. As a result, the Gray Lady is (and many other papers are) a lot less gray. And graphic design and news aren’t separate entities. Silverstein died Thursday at 92. (Also worth a read:The Society for News Design has a lot of anecdotes about an important figure in visual journalism.) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

26 Mar 2011 10:18

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Biz, Tech: New York Times’ paywall: Favoring the mobile Web over apps?

  • The fine print in the NYT’s paywall: Have you been wondering to yourself, “Who the heck would pay $260 extra to subscribe to the iPad version of the New York Times?” So have a lot of people. From a distance, the price plan makes little sense and makes the paper nearly as expensive as the dead-tree version (which costs $770 a year for the seven-days-a-week edition outside of NYC). But Poynter’s Damon Kiesow has a really interesting take on the matter which a lot of people haven’t considered: What if the Times wants to discourage mobile app use by pricing them at a premium, specifically with the iPad version? (above pic taken by Robert Scoble — yes, that’s the man’s hand)
  • $385 yearly cost of a weekday subscription to the Times
  • $195 yearly cost of a Web-only Times subscription
  • $260 yearly cost to add mobile to the Web
  • $455 yearly cost to add tablet use to the bunch source
  • » What this all means to you: Now, if you’ve ever used an iPad, it’s pretty clear that the New York Times Web site is as good, if not better than, the NYT iPad app, at least for now. And if they want to further emphasize the tablet-y nature of the iPad, they already have that in the form of Times Skimmer. Furthermore, Apple doesn’t take a 30 percent cut out of Web-based subscriptions. Damon Kiesow’s perfectly apt reasoning, then, is that the NYT is trying to de-emphasize the App Store by pricing people out of that direction. And you know what? He’s right. The NYT Web site will work fine on the iPad. There is an advantage to using NYT’s app on your cell phone, so that’s kept at a more reasonable cost, but the NYT’s plan to focus on the Web over the app? Sneaky.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

22 Mar 2011 11:23

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Politics: New York Times writes puff piece about their paywall model

  • Some of them even send us checks unsolicited. I have this woman in Canada who’s sent me two $50 checks because she doesn’t understand why she can get our journalism for free. Each time I have to tell her I can’t accept the check.
  • New York Times Corp. Chief Advertising Officer Denise Warren • Discussing the NYT’s paywall plan, which hits around the end of the month. Hey, Denise, if you guys won’t take the money, we’ll put it straight in our pockets! In all seriousness, though, read the piece — it does a great job explaining the mindset of the NYT as they decided to try the paywall model once again. Key thing? Ad money in print is falling, and online isn’t keeping up. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

08 Mar 2011 21:32

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Politics: New York Times’ Bill Keller rips on Fox News unobjectively

  • I think if you’re a regular viewer of Fox News, you’re among the most cynical people on planet Earth. I cannot think of a more cynical slogan than ‘Fair and Balanced.’
  • New York Times Executive Editor Bill Keller • Assessing Fox News while speaking at the City University of New York graduate journalism school late last week. As you might guess, the comments weren’t taken particularly well, partly because he’s the executive editor of the New York Times and the NYT regularly breaks news about Fox News. Including, uh, like two days ago. Now, considering how hard-up they are about their objectivity (this piece on Nate Silver is a pretty great example), it’s a reasonable criticism – and one that sticks a little harder than the one about Anderson Cooper using the word “liar.” Because, unlike this, he landed a direct blow on a competitor that compromises his paper’s objectivity. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

23 Jan 2011 11:07

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U.S.: The NYT makes Rockford, Illinois look as depressed as possible

  • “Dear residents of Rockford, Illinois: This is The New York Times. We’re doing a photo feature on why your town is so depressed and lacking in jobs. (16 percent unemployment?! We need to do this story, stat!) We need to take photos of your citizens. None of you are allowed to smile. If you smile, we’re going to find someone else who looks plainer than you. OK? Thanks. We’ll send a photog from Manhattan to the Rust Belt on a private jet sometime next week. Remember. Plain. No smiles. Optimism is dead. Thanks.” source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

15 Dec 2010 11:21

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U.S.: NYT decides to show off by making insane demographic map

  • There’s everyone else, and then there’s the NYT. And we’re proven this fact yet again with his crazy demographic map based on U.S. Census data. You can get very detailed with this thang. We think they’re just showing off this time. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

07 Nov 2010 20:13

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Culture: New York Times once again proves more clever than everyone else

  • There’s journalism, and then there’s the NYT. Today, as runners got past the finish line at the New York Marathon, the New York Times (fresh off Cheesegate) got a bunch of the finishers to take post-race photos, and some of the faces are pretty amazing. Witness the post-marathon glow. (In other news, Chilean miner Edison Pena reached the finish line, too.) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

27 May 2010 22:44

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Music: M.I.A. doesn’t handle long-form interviews very well

  • The messages have mostly been from people trying to hook up with M.I.A. If she wants to get together with John at Bard next week, I have his number.
  • New York Times staff writer Lynn Hirschberg • Regarding what happened to her after the pop star, angry about the very interesting, exhaustive piece Hirschberg wrote about her, posted a phone number on Twitter claiming it was hers, like so: “CALL ME IF YOU WANNA TALK TO ME ABOUT THE N Y T TRUTH ISSUE, ill b taking calls all day bitches ;)” In reality, it was Hirschberg’s, and her voicemail totally filled up as a result. Listen. M.I.A. is an awesome musician who deserves a lot of respect for her art, but this is pretty much the worst possible way to handle a situation like this. You’re 34, not 12. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

04 Apr 2010 11:28

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World: The New York Times won’t bend to Singapore’s will anymore

  • Google faced a similar painful dilemma in China. With potentially billions of dollars at risk, it stuck to its principles, and The Times applauded editorially. I think Google set an example for everyone who believes in the free flow of information.
  • New York Times Public Editor Clark Hoyt • Regarding Google’s China example for free speech and what that means for the Times and its Singapore interests. The company is considering leaving Singapore, where its International Herald Tribune has a major foothold, due to the government clamping down on their free speech. Why? The IHT dared call the current government a “dynasty.” Twelve years ago, the IHT agreed not to do that anymore, but broke their promise when they noted former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew and current prime minister Lee Hsien Loong in an article about dynasties. The Times won’t work that way anymore, kids – some are surprised the free-speech defenders did in the first place. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

31 Mar 2010 23:56

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Tech: David Pogue: Techies will hate the iPad, regular people will love it

  • techies It’s just a giant iPod Touch, and
    it doesn’t do any of the technical
    stuff you’d expect a computer to
    do. The keyboard is hard to use.
    Oh, and it doesn’t run Flash.
  • non-techies It’s just a giant iPod Touch, but it’s also loaded with possibilities thanks to the new format, and is fairly foolproof. It’s fast and loaded with battery life. Oh, and apps! source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
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