Jonathan Hiskes | Nov. 1, 2007
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| Photo by Jonathan Hiskes |
| Indianapolis Star editors Dennis Ryerson (left) and Bob Jonason showed "Data Central" to students during their talk about how newspapers should connect readers to data resources. |
Digital operations director Bob Jonason and editor and vice president Dennis Ryerson visited assistant professor Joann Wong’s J502 Quantitative Research Methods for Journalists class Tuesday to showcase Indystar.com’s Data Central and explain why they think it’s the future of newspapers on the Web.
Jonason showed Indy911calls.com¸ which uses live feeds from the Marion County Sheriff’s Department to plot police, fire and ambulance calls on a clickable Google map. Ryerson showed the company’s response to local property tax turmoil: a set of databases that allow residents to compare neighborhood tax values and to conduct research for tax appeals.
This provides new opportunities for tech-savvy journalists, he said.
“Five years ago, we didn’t think we’d be doing these kinds of things,” he said. “But if you’re interested in public service, if you’re interested in math and if you’re interested in a job, there are going to be opportunities to do things like this.”
The two asked the graduate class for ideas for online data presentation. They came away with a couple: a site that estimated walking times between two points, the way other sites do for driving times, and a database that tracks water use and other utility consumption among neighborhoods.
They spent the most time talking about Indy.com, a local entertainment site with user-generated content targeted toward 18- to 30-year-olds. The domain name is deliberately different from the Star’s, Jonason said, because young people might not consider a newspaper the hippest place to get entertainment advice.
“The Star site does very well with those 35 and older,” Jonason said. “But we really weren’t doing very well with the under-25 market.”
Indy.com employs 23 moderators who receive $50 a week, on average, to post stories and start discussion chains on Indianapolis dining and nightlife, Ryerson said. Registered users also can post reviews of restaurants and bars. A student from Columbus, Ind., wanted to know if the company would expand such offerings to other places in the state. Only if advertising revenue would support it, Ryerson told her.
He acknowledged that the paper has cut its metro reporting staff as it invests in its digital operations division. He expects other newspapers to follow suit if the Star is successful, he said. And he praised fellow Gannett paper USA Today for taking similar risks two decades ago.
“USA Today’s gotten a bum rap, and for a while they were McPaper,” he said of the colorful paper that drew criticism for lacking depth and substance when it first launched. “But they also revolutionized the newspaper industry. These days, they’re doing a much better job analyzing data, breaking stories and doing good work.”
In response to a question, Ryerson said the Star isn’t shirking its watchdog duties by investing heavily in Indy.com or in elaborate sports sites, such as its “Manning Meter” devoted to Indianapolis Colts star Peyton Manning, and its Indy 500 lap tracker. Rather, he hopes the popularity of such sites will fund more traditional public affairs reporting.
“I’m convinced this kind of stuff will be an increasing part of our future,” he said of online-only content. “We’re going to need to commit more resources to this if we’re going to succeed.”
Jonason showed Indy911calls.com¸ which uses live feeds from the Marion County Sheriff’s Department to plot police, fire and ambulance calls on a clickable Google map. Ryerson showed the company’s response to local property tax turmoil: a set of databases that allow residents to compare neighborhood tax values and to conduct research for tax appeals.
This provides new opportunities for tech-savvy journalists, he said.
“Five years ago, we didn’t think we’d be doing these kinds of things,” he said. “But if you’re interested in public service, if you’re interested in math and if you’re interested in a job, there are going to be opportunities to do things like this.”
The two asked the graduate class for ideas for online data presentation. They came away with a couple: a site that estimated walking times between two points, the way other sites do for driving times, and a database that tracks water use and other utility consumption among neighborhoods.
They spent the most time talking about Indy.com, a local entertainment site with user-generated content targeted toward 18- to 30-year-olds. The domain name is deliberately different from the Star’s, Jonason said, because young people might not consider a newspaper the hippest place to get entertainment advice.
“The Star site does very well with those 35 and older,” Jonason said. “But we really weren’t doing very well with the under-25 market.”
Indy.com employs 23 moderators who receive $50 a week, on average, to post stories and start discussion chains on Indianapolis dining and nightlife, Ryerson said. Registered users also can post reviews of restaurants and bars. A student from Columbus, Ind., wanted to know if the company would expand such offerings to other places in the state. Only if advertising revenue would support it, Ryerson told her.
He acknowledged that the paper has cut its metro reporting staff as it invests in its digital operations division. He expects other newspapers to follow suit if the Star is successful, he said. And he praised fellow Gannett paper USA Today for taking similar risks two decades ago.
“USA Today’s gotten a bum rap, and for a while they were McPaper,” he said of the colorful paper that drew criticism for lacking depth and substance when it first launched. “But they also revolutionized the newspaper industry. These days, they’re doing a much better job analyzing data, breaking stories and doing good work.”
In response to a question, Ryerson said the Star isn’t shirking its watchdog duties by investing heavily in Indy.com or in elaborate sports sites, such as its “Manning Meter” devoted to Indianapolis Colts star Peyton Manning, and its Indy 500 lap tracker. Rather, he hopes the popularity of such sites will fund more traditional public affairs reporting.
“I’m convinced this kind of stuff will be an increasing part of our future,” he said of online-only content. “We’re going to need to commit more resources to this if we’re going to succeed.”
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