Sacramento Bee & Local Blogs: “Win-Win”
by Matt on Jul 21, 2010 in Industry
While my newspaper (and, no doubt, many others) is afraid of local blogs and citizen journalism, the Sacramento Bee is describing its partnership with dozens of local blogs a “win-win” for all involved.
Bee Editor Melanie Sill writes about Sacramento Connect, the local blog network/partnership that began with the newspaper and 18 blogs/sites, and now boasts a roster of more than 70 partners.
Launch was greeted enthusiastically. Readers who commented liked the network concept. Metrics tracking showed immediate use of the “Share” function of the toolbar, and the rich media format of the ad position got attention from some advertising customers. Ad revenue was steady, though modest, from the outset, through the toolbar and ads served on sacbee.com pages. Page views, “shares” from the toolbar, revenue and other metrics were established at the outset, and we’re pleased by progress.
The greatest lesson wasn’t about technology. It was this: Sacramento Connect’s successes and potential spring from the network effect — the activity and involvement of partners and the value of connections among them and The Bee. Partners share insights about their readers, subject matter and the local communities they cover. They ask questions about blogging and technology. They have offered praise and critiques of The Bee and sacbee.com, and have contributed content ideas.
She ends the piece by calling the paper’s partnership with local blogs a “win-win.” Nice to see a traditional media outlet not afraid to reach out and make connections with local blogs and citizen journalists.
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