Wednesday, August 27, 2008

'Chicago Tribune' Redesign Prototype Boasts 'Trib' Nickname -- Here's a Glimpse

Possible redesign of the Chicago Tribune. Too bad the whole industry is in a slow motion swan dive. Even worse for us there's nothing to replace it. It does look snappy and colorful. I bet it'll get thinner too. Can't wait?

Monday, August 25, 2008

Some Britons Too Unruly for Resorts in Europe - NYTimes.com

Might be the most entertaining article in the NY Times in years. I especially love the reasoning behind why they Brits are such louts. They are bad at home too. When was the last time someone died at a football game due to hooliganism?

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Obama Courts Southside Virginia - washingtonpost.com

Like this! Obamarama needs to be out in the country and really working hard to court these guys. Not that he's going to win them, but at least look like a real person who's in touch with real people. If he can shave the margins here and get in the high 40s, he'll be in real good shape. If he can get Warner like numbers, he's going to win in a landslide.
McCain cuts into Obama's lead - CNN.com

These are valid points about Obama's shrinking lead. However it does not matter, yet. it's still really early and people are on vacation. The campaign won't really heat up till after the Conventions and Labor Day. There's the sprint of the election is where things are going to gel. Obama cannot let things get out of hand. It is possible that his campaign is playing possum with McCain. After he accepts the nomination, he's under federal campaign financing and will not have enough money to play. that aside, Obama has got to work harder at connecting with real people in real events. These 40,000 revivals are great for his base, but not really going to win him votes in PA or rural VA. Where are his connections to the people? He has a great biography, but it is not very common (see Bill Clinton for cliche). Being an outsider is great and gives him a more critical eye, but connecting is what people want and he's not doing that.

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

The Front-Runner’s Fall

From the Atlantic, this is a tough look at what went wrong with the Clinton campaign. It seems that there was no leader or boss to make decisions and that's what killed it.

Is anyone worried about the current Presidential Poll numbers?

Tuesday, August 05, 2008

Op-Ed Columnist - Where’s the Landslide? - Op-Ed - NYTimes.com

the election is becoming about Obama and that is a problem. He does not inspire confidence and Brooks makes a good point about him lacking a "base" or foundation. McCain's people have been very good at getting under the skin of the Obama campaign and running a guerrilla war with the Web ads. Obama does suck out all the air in the media room, but he is fighting battles on McCain's time and place.

That being said, this is a Democratic year. It is very early and Obama does have a lot of time to introduce himself to the people of the United States. He needs to be one of us. He needs to be the Midwesterner with a mother from Kansas. The guy who's a winner in the meritocracy, something you want your kids to be. Instead of repeating hope all the time, he needs to make it clear why hope is important and how it has shaped his life and vision. Then he needs to tie it white dudes that like guns.

The type of fervor he elicits actually turns off people. All you see is a buch of idealistic kids saying that their parent's values are bad. I see the rise of another silent majority in this generation gap. McCain is seperating Obama from the people he needs to win. While it may not be the most elegant strategy, he is doing what he has to. BTW , it's working.

Monday, August 04, 2008

Market Place - Newspapers Could Be Bargains, but Few Are Buying - NYTimes.com

Wow! The Sun-Times lost almost $36 million last quarter? Holy cow. I used to be up on media companies and newspapers especially. I'm not sure anymore. The big thing that investors are seeing is that very smart newspaper people (NY Times, WaPo, and McClatchey) and very smart outsiders (Sam Zell, that guy in Philly) can't seem to make money with newspapers. I have not seen what the profit margins are on these properties recently but I will bet that they have fallen rapidly.

For the most part, the people that own these properties do not want layoffs or cutbacks (maybe Tribune co.), and they love the newspaper business. However the era of newspapers dominating the news coverage is ending. Reinventing themselves on the Web is necessary, but at the end of the day, will there be the infrastructure to deliver a newspaper to your door? I'm not so sure about that. We as a society will lose a lot, but somehow newspapers will survive. It'll be in a smaller form, maybe electronic only. Niche markets like business and sports will rise while general reporting will fade.

On the Web, papers need to be better positioned to get the next generation of readers. I heard that most people under 30 don't go to newspaper sites for their news, they prefer Yahoo News and other aggregators. Why is that? This is a brave new world and things are still cheap and fluid. What about getting there first? Local news blogs are starting to compete with the dailies in a real way. In a few election cycles, I'll bet that almost all the people born after 1985 will get there news from the Web sites that are not affiliated with newspapers. If that really happens, then newspapers will truly be in peril.