TimesDispatch.com Enriches Readers With Return to Breaking News

Audio Slideshow: Fighting For a Comeback to the Doorstep

Media General returns the Times-Dispatch brand to its roots as a source of online breaking news while replacing its community portal inRich with a relaunched Richmond.com.

By Paul B. O'Brien

Setting aside a brand that has more than 150 years of recognition may not make sense to many, but that is just what Media General did with the Richmond Times-Dispatch when it launched the community portal inRich.com in 2007.

Launched on April 16, 2007, the same day as the tragic Virginia Tech shootings, inRich.com took away focus from the tried and true brand, according to Michael Fibison, general manager for Media General's Interactive Media Division.

Fibison points out style discrepancies for website information printed in the Times-Dispatch.

“The Times-Dispatch name wasn't being used,” he said. “For awhile, it was just redirecting. If you typed in TimesDispatch.com it was just going to inRich.com”

Communications consultant and former site manager for inRich.com, Laura Bland said the move didn't make sense to many in the newsroom – or to readers.

“No one understood abandoning the TimesDispatch.com brand, especially the Times-Dispatch,” she said.

Bland described the launch of inRich.com as Media General's attempt to compete with Richmond.com, a site it acquired in 2008 and relaunched on April 8, 2009 – just eight days shy of what would have been inRich's second birthday.

“Part of the story of inRich is the great desire everyone at Media General had to figure out how to compete with Richmond.com,” she said.

“What everyone really wanted was based on that model. A site that catered to the reader's need not just for news but information about living in the community,” said Bland.

O. Reid Ashe

Chief Operating Officer for Media General, O. Reid Ashe described the reasoning behind the ascendency of inRich.com above the Times-Dispatch brand as an attempt to reach a larger portion of the online audience.

“As long as our site has the identity of the newspaper, it's going to attract the people who are interested in newspaper content, but that is just a small subset of the online audience that we want to have,” he said.

“So the idea was, ok, let's create a separate brand that'll be farther reaching than TimesDispatch.com and that's why we created inRich. When it became possible to acquire Richmond.com, that was a better brand for us to flow into.

“I think we're going to execute on that vision much better this time,” said Ashe.

Fibison shows off the new Richmond.com, several days before launch.

Fibison described the transition back to TimesDispatch.com as a breaking news site to complement the Richmond.com community as the natural correction of a mistake. “My question has always been, why were we forcing these people to go to inRich, where it had a different focus. It's not the newspaper.”

“Let's give them what they want!” he said.

Update: Death of the Newspaper? Not So Fast, Says Media General

Good news follows bad as Richmond.com successfully relaunches five days after layoffs at the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

By Paul B. O'Brien

The Richmond Times-Dispatch announced layoffs of 59 employees on April 3, 2009 in response to declining advertising revenue and changing business models.

Publisher Thomas A. Silvestri described the layoffs as "a day I never wanted to see come."

The new Richmond.com, the Times-Dispatch's latest effort at creating a community portal, relaunched on April 8, 2009.

Death of the Newspaper? Not So Fast, Says Media General

Media General and the Richmond Times-Dispatch describe plans to inform and entertain their audience as business models change and circulation declines.

By Paul B. O'Brien

Competing in an environment where many customers expect to receive its product free online, the Richmond Times-Dispatch meets such expectations and projects survival with plans for the future.

Times-Dispatch Executive Editor Glenn Proctor acknowledged the internet has “hurt all newspapers” and that availability of free online news is a double-edged sword.

“Just like everybody else, we’re looking to the internet as a plus,” he said.

A big part of Media General’s online strategy is geared around the relaunch of Richmond.com in April. The site was purchased from The Whitlock Group by Times-Dispatch parent company Media General in October 2008. Set to replace inRich.com as Media General’s current community news site, Richmond.com will complement TimesDispatch.com.

Publisher Thomas A. Silvestri clarified the role of the two sites, explaining that each one will bring a different focus to the table.

“We will continue to build out the news component of TimesDispatch.com with the goal of establishing it as the site for breaking news in the region,” he said.

“We think Media General’s purchase of Richmond.com is a great addition and offers a unique option for a true city site with a broad focus on information and entertainment,” said Silvestri. “We all hope it will be the site everyone is talking about.”

Expanding on the intended audience for the new and improved Richmond.com, Multimedia Editor John Witt explained that its mission “is more in the line of social networking than delivering news.”

Richmond.com will focus on “serving as a community portal, aggregating content from a variety of sources, including the Times-Dispatch, with a focus on entertainment and lifestyles,” he said.

Witt explained the renewed focus of TimesDispatch.com on breaking news as a natural progression of how the paper’s delivery systems have evolved.

“It used to be that the broadcasters would say ‘we're the source of breaking news’,” he said. “Well, now we can beat them, because all we have to do is get somebody with a cell phone ... for video and photos and send everything right from the scene of that latest car crash.”

While making such gains on traditional broadcast territory has been a bonus for newspapers, financial woes have recently caused many to shorten or even eliminate their print runs.

As for the Times-Dispatch, Silvestri was emphatic that “this is not on the table.”

“Right now, I don’t see us discontinuing any printed days of the week,” he said. “Papers that are cutting days are doing it based on profitability. We think it’s wise to preserve our seven-day distribution system.

“Media General is working on ways to deliver other newspapers and possible other products. Cutting days of the week have more to do with the cost of providing the product than online. Newspaper subscribers want a printed product.”

While Silvestri acknowledged some tension between the online and print products, he is also optimistic about their current joint efforts.

“We complement each other. We’re working very well together,” he said. “If there is friction between the two, it’s because we’re trying to get news online faster and two or more creative ideas are confronting each other. In the end, we all want all of our sites to succeed as each is part of a larger whole and that’s what matters.”

Meanwhile, decreased daily circulation of the print edition has been a cause for concern. It has shrunk by more than 34,000, from 195,529 in 2001 to 160,886 in 2008, according to figures from the Audit Bureau of Circulations.

According to Bonnie Newman Davis, former Times-Dispatch editor and reporter, the paper’s plans “to ride the storm” are admirable.

“I am certain that, given Richmond Newspapers' longtime presence here, its doors will not close anytime soon,” she said. “Yet, it's obvious from various layoffs, unfilled positions, decreased circulation, combined sections and recently announced furloughs that the daily Times-Dispatch and perhaps Media General at large are struggling.”

Despite the declining numbers, Proctor dismissed those who herald the death of the printed newspaper. “People have said that about our death now for years. We may be smaller, or in a different format, but there will still be a print format.

“We're not going anywhere.”

Local Schools, Merchants, Join Forces in 5K Race Through the Fan

Racing through Richmond's Fan District will bring community closer together and benefit students.

By Paul B. O'Brien

Benedictine and Saint Gertrude High Schools will work together on Saturday, March 14, 2009 in a 5-kilometer race that will take participants through the heart of Richmond's Fan District.

The race will begin and end at Benedictine High, and participants can expect to run through the Fan’s Museum District and Windsor Farms.

Proceeds will benefit general student funds at both schools.

Terri Quinan, annual fund director for Benedictine made the arrangements for the two schools to work together.

“I approached the advancement office at Saint Gertrude about this and we agreed to pull in students from both schools and split the proceeds in half,” she said.

Quinan’s counterpart at Saint Gertrude, special event coordinator Katie McKenney, emphasized the positive aspects of the joint project.

“We have students and alumni and parents participating,” she said. “The money we raise will go to the students and everyone can be proud of the results.”

Various Richmond merchants are pitching in with offers of food and expertise. “I was pleased with the response,” said Quinan. “Whole Foods, Kroger and two locally owned companies agreed to donate and help us with logistics.”

The two local companies referred to by Quinan are Road Runner Running Store owned by Thom Suddeth and RunRideRace owned by Mark Junkermann.

Suddeth agreed to allow event advertising in his store. “We agreed to help them out,” he said. “It’s good for the community.”

Junkermann is offering his company’s expertise to help organize the event. “I’ll mark the course and provide timing for the event as well as coordinate race results,” he said.

Quinan described the organization of the race as complex. “There are difficulties in organizing a race like this one, especially in the Fan,” she said. “Did you know that the city requires eight police officers present to assist for an event like this?

“We have to pay for their time,” she added. “I’m hoping that we’ll make enough profit to pay the officers and still have a good amount left for the fund.”

As of late February, 120 people are registered to run, although Quinan expressed optimism that the list will grow.

“My goal is 250 participants, which would be great for a first time race in the Fan,” she said. "The registration limit is 500, but even half of that would be great for us.”

Registration is available online at www.benedictinehighschool.org. The entry fee is $20 per person before March 1 and $25 afterwards.

VCU Community Reacts to Economic Stimulus Bill

Students and faculty express optimism, doubt over congressional plan to stimulate U.S. economy.

By Paul B. O'Brien

Details of the economic stimulus bill being debated in Congress are drawing attention from students and faculty at Virginia Commonwealth University.

The bill, which goes to vote in the Senate on Tuesday, has $827 billion earmarked for a combination of consumer incentives, massive cuts in spending and tax breaks.

“It is still a little early for us to know how we may be affected by a stimulus,” said the Associate Director of VCU’s Student Accounting Department Danielle Mitchell. “If it is not passed, we will almost certainly feel more negative effects than we have since our budget was cut.”

The cuts Mitchell referred to have already been implemented in VCU’s budget. Cuts of 5 percent for fiscal year 2009 are slated to be followed by an additional 15 percent in 2010 on orders from Governor Tim Kaine’s office.

Mitchell added that “we won’t know anything about the fall 2009 and spring 2010 budget until May.”

“I think the stimulus package is needed,” said Professor Kenneth Daniels of VCU’s Department of Finance Insurance and Real Estate. “There has been a general decline in economic activity in this country and it is necessary to jump start the economy.

“While there is a lot of waste in this bill, there are also good things in it including money for roads and schools,” Daniels added. “We also need to be very careful about what we do. Long-term, there is a danger of overspending and causing problems for the next generation.”

Others seemed ambivalent about the details of the congressional plan. “It might have an impact, but we’ll need to wait until the two sides work everything out before we can be sure,” said Tempestt Sheppard, a sophomore and graphic design major.

Hannah Pettit, a junior and English major, said she is “torn between wanting to support it because of all our problems and how it will affect the federal deficit.”

Pettit, who works part time at VCU's Technology Services Help Desk, added that she thinks VCU would benefit: "If the budget is expanded again, we can provide more student technology services."

Some students question the direction that this massive spending plan is leading the country.

“If this country really believes in capitalism, then we shouldn’t be giving all these companies so much money,” said Danielle Spencer, a senior and creative advertising major. “I understand that companies may fall and cause us a lot of economic dislocation, however, what they’re doing is definitely not capitalism.”

Alex Ghazarian, a program support technician for VCU’s office of Records and Registration, questioned the use of stimulus money already handed out. “I was thinking they should have given a stimulus payment to Circuit City," he said.

“If they had saved Circuit City, how many Richmond jobs would have been protected? Four thousand? More?”

Students Affected by VCU Spending Cuts

Solutions to budgetary crisis range from cuts in administrative expenses to elimination of electives.

By Paul B. O'Brien

Virginia Commonwealth University students are facing much more difficulty finding courses to fit their needs.

A five percent budget cut has caused VCU President Eugene Trani's administration to make curriculum changes that forced many students to take a second look at their schedules for this semester.

Caitlyn Grove, a sophomore and English major, had difficulty finding several of her planned courses. "When I was searching for classes, it was difficult to find available sections for a lot of them. I needed a physics elective and the one I wanted, Wonders of Technology, had been removed from the list," she said.

Despite the difficulties the students are experiencing, the biggest impact of the cuts is being felt on the administrative side of the university, said Pam Lepley, VCU's director of communications and public relations.

"The priorities are to maintain the instructional core of the university, and to take as much of the cuts as possible on the administrative side," said Lepley. "That would include cuts in travel, dues, subscriptions, office supplies and equipment, postage, and making sure we're using energy-saving devices. And the list goes on."

But the cuts affect all academic units of the university. "Each unit at VCU was given directions to assign a rating to every class they had scheduled for the upcoming spring semester," said Dr. Judy VanSlyke Turk, director of the School of Mass Communications. The top category, she said, listed classes that had to be offered for students to graduate this year. Second preference was given to required classes, and the third covered elective classes.

The dean of the College of Humanities and Science also had a voice in the reductions for Dr. Turk's area. "With the concurrence of the dean's office, we pretty much eliminated all electives for this semester," Turk said.

She emphasized that the reductions varied greatly in academic units. "Mass communications is one example of how this has impacted students. I'm sure there were some departments where students didn't even notice," added Turk.

While the budget cuts are responsible for some course cutbacks, academic advisor Natasha J. Long said there may be varying reasons.

"As students have noticed, there were fewer classes being offered and many of the classes that have been open to all students now have major restrictions," said Long. "It can be argued that the budget cuts were to blame. However, some of the changes could be attributed to the implementation of the new general education curriculum."

On top of this year's budget cuts, future austerity moves are already in place.

"It is concrete that there will be a 15 percent reduction for fiscal year 2010 on top of the five percent for 2009," said Lepley. "Many months ago, the state asked us to plan for multiple cuts, so I feel that we have a good handle on things, having known ahead of time."

Lepley added that some plans are on hold while VCU weathers the current economic storm.

"Dr. Trani said the other day that this is comparable to the recession of 2002. We lost a lot then and had just gotten back to that level again. Unfortunately with the latest recession, what we've lost takes us back to where we were before."

Curriculum Vitae

Also located at -
http://www.cyberfugue.com/resume.html
http://www.linkedin.com/in/paulbobrien

SUMMARY:

Experienced and energetic web analyst, project manager, multimedia developer, web editor, graphic designer. Skilled in gathering business and application functional requirements. Excellent analytical skills, creative ability and programming skills. Demonstrated success in large website implementation and complex problem solving.

EDUCATION:

Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia. Have finished all but one core requirement for a Bachelor of Science degree in Broadcast Journalism, and am 3 courses away from completion of degree.

Diploma (with seals for scholastic excellence and Beta Club), J.R. Tucker High School, Richmond, VA, June 1989.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:

Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond
701 E. Byrd Street, Richmond, VA 23219.
http://www.richmondfed.org/

Web Designer II, Customer Relationship Management & Web Reporting.

Designs, builds and provides non-routine maintenance of intranet sites, creating and incorporating complex code and images, and using advanced features of a variety of graphics software applications, techniques and tools to create graphical user interfaces. Identifies web-based technologies to support the organization's business goals. Advises web developers and external contractors in using uniform techological, functional and graphics standards consistent with company's standards and brand image. Provides leading-edge interpretation and execution of non-routine design applications through the use of state-of-the-art web design tools and web authoring techniques.

Develops Teamsite forms (concept and coding), writes applicable documentation and trains end-users.

Other primary responsibilities include writing and editing customer communications, project management and coordination with clients, involving all phases, from conception through delivery.

December 2006 - Present

Southern States Cooperative
6606 W. Broad Street, Richmond, VA 23230.
http://www.southernstates.com/

Internet Services Designer, Creative Services & Corporate Marketing.

Responsibilities include Interwoven Teamsite administration, site content and project management, editing and development of external corporate websites and corporate intranet, backup on oversight and maintenance of product catalog information.

This includes developing new sections from concept through finished product delivery, including project management, graphic design and coding. I am also responsible for creating Teamsite templates, writing documentation and training end-users.

My submission for a redesign of Southern States' corporate intranet was chosen by 95% of respondents in a company-wide survey. Three other designers also submitted their ideas.

November 2000 - December 2006

The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc.
1231 25th St., N.W., Washington, DC 20037.
http://www.bna.com/

Product Designer I, Marketing & Product Development.

Participated in the design and production of a variety of new electronic products, and provided on-going support for existing products. Developed and documented workflow for electronic products from conception through data prep, data conversion, and integration of graphics. Performed other functions to ensure final delivery. April 1998 - November 2000

Richmond Newspapers, Inc.
Media General, 300 E. Franklin St., Richmond, VA 23219.
http://www.timesdispatch.com/

Web Design Coordinator, Electronic Publishing

Promotion from previous position. Responsibilities included overall design coordination for the service, graphic design, layout, work with advertisers to design customized websites, supervisory responsibilities, and all previous duties. Jan. 1997 - April 1998.

Online Producer, Electronic Publishing

Responsibilities included content development, design work, and graphic production. On initial team designing, launching and operating a statewide news and information service online on the World Wide Web. April 1995 - Jan. 1997.

Copy Messenger, Newsroom

Delivered copy and photos, provided other aid to reporters and editors, kept equipment running. Nov. 1991- April 1995.

First Baptist Church
Boulevard and Monument, Richmond VA 23220.
http://www.fbcrichmond.org/

Television Production Crew, for weekly telecast on WRIC-TV 8 of the services of First Baptist Church. Regular video camera operator for services/other events; some experience with VTR equipment and technical direction. Position included continuing training in broadcast techniques. (Have done freelance camera work.) Nov. 1986 - Nov. 1994.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES EXPERTISE:

Graphics / Design:

• Acrobat
• Photoshop
  
• Dreamweaver
  
• InDesign
• Illustrator
• Freehand
  
• Flash
• Flex
• Audacity
• Sound Forge
• Soundslides
  
• QuarkXPress
• others
  

Organizational / Word Processing:

• Microsoft Office Suite
  (includes the following)
• Word
• Excel
• Outlook
• Publisher
• Access
• PowerPoint
• FrontPage
• PhotoDraw
• Project
• Visio
• MapPoint
• Folio Views
• OpenOffice
• others
  

Operating systems:

• Microsoft Windows
• MacOS
• Linux
• Unix

Content Management Systems:

• Interwoven Teamsite 6.7.2 (front end & form/template development)
• Vignette StoryServer (now called V7 - front end & template development)

Programming / Markup languages:

• Eclipse IDE
• JSP (Java Server Pages)
• Javascript
• CSS (Cascading Style Sheets)
• SGML (Standard Generalized Markup Language)
• XML (Extensible Markup Language)
• HTML (Hypertext Markup Language)
• XHTML (Extensible Hypertext Markup Language)
• DHTML (Dynamic Hypertext Markup Language)
• WML (Wireless Markup Language)

OTHER SKILLS:

• Led two-day workshop in designing websites and writing online
  
• Studied C programming and other computer courses in school.
  
• Completed ongoing professional development seminars to update skills including a week of training at Prodigy headquarters, White Plains, N. Y.; a series of advanced Photoshop seminars with the Virginia Press Assoc. and have continued to update skills to reflect the latest versions.
  
• Speak and write basic Brazilian Portuguese

AWARDS:

• 1st place 2002 Best of NAMA (National Agricultural Marketing Association)
  First Place, Chapter and Regional for Internet Websites Directed to Farmers - Carolinas-Virginia Chapter.
  
• 3rd place 2001 Best of NAMA (National Agricultural Marketing Association)
  Third Place Chapter for Internet Websites Directed to Farmers - NC/VA Region.
  
• 2nd place, 1997 Young Americans websites Competition
  Outstanding Design for Gateway Virginia's inSync website.

REFERENCES AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST