Tag Archives: Advance Internet

The only site ever banned from al.com’s state blog list

Posted on October 8, 2013 by | 10 comments

al.comIn perusing the list of state blogs on al.com recently, I noticed a curious omission. This site, Media of Birmingham, was no longer on the list after having been there for years.

I asked by email for it to be reinstated, and the response from an al.com employee was that this site was “heavily anti-Advance” and that “the editors didn’t feel that it was a good fit.” (Advance Publications owns al.com.)

No such guidelines are listed on the al.com page.

I have asked for the names of said editors.

Checking through the sites (which still include my other blogs), I see these are approved for inclusion:

  • Blogs that haven’t been updated in 12 months or more (including those hosted on al.com)? OK.
  • Splogs (a k a spam blogs)? OK.
  • Broken sites? OK.

Be careful, bloggers. Any coverage of Advance or its properties could get you banned from the state’s largest website.

A copy of the email is included below.

From: —– <—–@al.com>
To: Wade Kwon <wade@wadekwon.com>
Subject: RE: Blog page addition
Date: Mon, 7 Oct 2013 4:59:34 p.m.

Hey, what’s up,

I just chased this down to see what the problem was. I assumed it had been added already.

Apparently, there was concern that the MOB blog was too heavily anti-Advance. The blog list is subject to the discretion of the editors and they didn’t feel that it was a good fit. Your other blogs, of course, were fine.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

Thanks,
—–
[job title]
Alabama Media Group

Advance emailRejection email from al.com (click to enlarge)

I’ll continue to include links to the Birmingham News and al.com on the sidebar.

Update Oct. 9: It has been added back. It was also cited on JimRomenesko.com.

Update Oct. 15: The unnamed al.com staffer referred me to Julie McKinney, the statewide community engagement specialist. I asked via email about who made the decision and what the reasoning was. She replied:

“I think [an al.com executive] and you exchanged messages, and any confusion is cleared up. Your blog is listed again. If you hear of anyone else removed who thinks they should be back, send them my way. It’s a constant evolution, and I try to stay on top of it.”

I invited her again to answer my questions, but have not received a response.

When I invited the al.com executive to respond in the comments, she declined because she “[didn’t] want to throw [her] staffers under the bus.”

10 Comments

Posted in Updates

Tagged , , , ,

Questions on the 1-year anniversary of the Alabama Media Group

Posted on October 1, 2013 by | 2 comments

Inside the soon-to-be-abandoned newsroom
of the Alabama Media Group

Birmingham once had two daily newspapers. Today, it has none.

Owner Advance Publications turned the Birmingham News and its website al.com into two new companies, Alabama Media Group and Advance Central Services Alabama. It has followed through with similar plans in many of its other markets across the country.

One year ago today, the Birmingham News ceased daily publication after 124 years and began a thrice-weekly schedule. That same day saw similar transformations in Huntsville, Mobile and New Orleans, which has since gone back to publishing 6 days a week in two separate publications.

Circulation has dropped year to year. Site traffic has risen. Both companies have changed leadership.

And this week, Alabama Media Group announced plans to move in early 2014 to a leased location downtown; a previous report had indicated the company’s move was contingent on selling the facility, asking price $21.4 million. (No word on where sister company Advance Central Services will go.)

Before looking ahead to year two, let’s examine the key questions from the last 12 months under Alabama Media Group’s digital first strategy.

• As both companies’ leaders are replaced with those with no previous ties to Alabama, how will that affect the quality of local coverage?

• Have the journalists who replaced some of those fired in 2012 improved local coverage? Digital initiatives? Community interaction?

• How many unique visitors did al.com have each month in 2012 before Oct. 1? How many unique monthly visitors does it have in 2013?

• What was the monthly advertising revenue in 2012 and 2013 for print ads, classifieds and online?

• Which coverage areas have improved in the past year? Which coverage areas have faltered?

• Will Alabama Media Group be able to sell its current building at $21.4 million?

• Will a competing daily newspaper enter the Birmingham market, as has happened in at least two other Advance cities?

• And lastly, are we, the people of Birmingham, better off today with the Alabama Media Group than we were a year ago?

•

Update Oct. 2: Amount of local news on page 1 for Oct. 2 edition? 0 percent.

Birmingham News

Click on image for larger view.

•

Additional reading:

The Birmingham News turned 125 in March.

Birmingham News building demolition

Photo: m.rags (CC)

The demolition of the previous headquarters of
the Birmingham News in 2007, constructed in 1917.

2 Comments

Posted in In the news

Tagged , , , , , , , ,

ADVANCE CRISIS: The insanely obsessive guide to the Birmingham News/al.com implosion

Posted on May 23, 2013 by | 9 comments

By Wade Kwon

Birmingham has seen one of its most tumultuous years in its media landscape. The last 365 days have brought layoffs, departures, closings and a few victories among local outlets.

It was 1 year ago today that the New York Times scooped New Orleans’ venerable Times-Picayune on its own impending upheaval: layoffs, a drop to publishing three times a week and the formation of two new companies.

Before that explosive announcement, Advance’s online portal al.com joined nola.com and mlive.com in a drastic and comprehensive site redesign. Reaction by readers nationwide — as Advance switched all its sites over to the 2012 look — was overwhelmingly negative.

The following day (May 24), owner Advance Publications announced hurriedly what Times-Picayune staffers had already learned online. In addition, the New Jersey-based chain rolled out a similar Alabama-wide strategy for the Birmingham News, the Huntsville Times and the Press-Register of Mobile.

•

See full coverage of Advance Publications.

•

Before reviewing the Advance Crisis of the last 12 months, just look at the other major events on Birmingham’s media scene during the same period …

A look at the ups and downs since Advance’s restructuring of its Birmingham operations …

May 2012

May 24: Birmingham News reporters tweet the stunning morning announcements on publishing schedule and company reorganization.

•

At the same time, the media release appears on al.com, similar to the one on nola.com and that would appear in coming months for other Advance properties.

•

Naturally, layoffs were part of the deal.

•

I threw in an appropriate hashtag.

•

Birmingham News staffers (and others) weighed in via Twitter.

While New Orleans felt the ire of a large, loyal readership, Birmingham faced a more muted response. That afternoon, New Orleans residents spring into action with a Save the Picayune campaign. No such reaction in Birmingham.

May 25, 2012 newspapers

Mobile finds layoffs ‘exciting’ for its May 25, 2012, edition.
[larger version]

May 25: Print editions across the state splash the announcement across the front page.

May 30: Our special Media of Birmingham report details worries about layoffs and the new model for the Birmingham News.

May 31: Another Media of Birmingham report shows one key company, al.com, seemingly lost in the shuffle. While the newspapers would fire hundreds, al.com would fire only one employee.

Continued on page 2 …

Pages: 1 2 3 4 5

9 Comments

Posted in In the news

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,