Mark Monday, October 27, 2008

Entertainment

News & Observer Taps Gift Market Sector

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In its latest attempt to stay afloat, the California based News & Observer is linking selected article images to an online store where you can purchase high resolution digital photographs in the form of prints, coffee mugs, ceramic tiles, and Christmas ornaments.

It makes sense, if you’re paying good dollar for professional photographers, to try and maximize profits. But who’s going to buy a Beware of Obama holiday ornament? How about biscuit restaurant owners at the State Fair coffee mug?

The newspaper has been in the news itself lately for making round after round of job cuts. Subscribers to the physical paper have certainly noticed the shrinking volume of the daily news source. Online subscribers have noted that published articles from actual N&O staff members are becoming much less frequent, and pieces written by AP journalists and McClatchy employees elsewhere.

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Filed Under: News and Observer, newspaper

  • Rob10/27 04:02 PM

    Way to go, journalistic integrity. This kind of stuff pisses me off—when CNN started printing headlines on T-shirts I threw up a little in my mouth. N&O, it’s time to adapt to a changing news market, not sell gimmicks to stay afloat. Your days are numbered.

  • Clyde Smith10/28 09:11 AM

    Wait a second.

    Are you dissing biscuit restaurant owners?

    That makes me mad…or hungry…not sure which.

  • Ginny10/28 09:46 AM

    I don’t think there’s anything wrong with this. In fact, I think it makes good business sense (so long as the N&O is getting a good return from Pictopia. Photographers take dozens, sometimes hundreds of photos that never appear in print. Why shouldn’t readers who were at an event have the opportunity to purchase them and put them on a mug or a Christmas ornament?

    As a former newspaper reporter (I’ve worked for several, including McClatchy-owned Island Packet), readers used to call the paper all the time asking how they can purchase a photo that appeared in print.  There was never a great process in place for readers to order photos. This site makes it a lot easier.

  • Live To Cook10/28 01:47 PM

    I don’t have a problem with the company trying to make a couple of extra dollars.  The problem is that the money doesn’t go directly to the photographer.  Just like big box stores and the farmers.  I guess the photographer has made that choice.  But seriuosly, California!  No wonder the paper is so outsourced for information.  The “local” section is a joke, and the coverage is piss poor at best.  People should be more informed. GO NEWRALEIGH.Com !

  • s.House10/28 02:52 PM

    First of all I think this is a good Idea as a lot of people probably do look for some of these phographs,and I am pretty certain that they have provided prints like this as a service for a while, they just have yet to advertise like this.
    Secondly, However sordid the News and Observer’s history has been here in North Carolina, to say that they are based in California is not true. The McClatchy Company is based in Sacramento, California, and owns the N&O, as well as the Charlotte Observer. However both papers are still based here in North Carolina, with staff writers and photographers working both in Raleigh and Charlotte. To say that it is a California based news paper infers that the papers staff writers are reporting our local news from a desk in California. They might not be the best papers in the nation, but they are the closest thing we have to a local daily news paper.

  • Ollie10/28 04:09 PM

    God forbid the N&O make a service they have always provided to the public a little easier for folks to access! While we’re at it, let’s outlaw other internet conveniences like online banking! Let’s get rid of shopping online all together.
    Come on NR, it seems that you are desperate to bash the N&O every chance you get. It’s getting old.

  • t10/29 08:34 AM

    come on. Really?! This is what New Raleigh considers headline news? Really?! Is this site run by teenagers? Maybe you should take a page from the n&o and save this crap for your side bar. No one cares. What might be a more interesting story is how difficult it is to maintain print based media in this day and age. Grow up New Raleigh. Stop acting your age.

  • cm10/29 08:54 AM

    What seems to be the problem, Ollie? Why so much anger towards NR? If I didn’t know better I would say you’re a disgruntled N&O employee. You must be a very miserable individual. Reading your post it sounds like your a loner, somewhat of a recluse. Online banking, shopping, etc.. What’s it like sitting at home all day living in your virtual world, watching QVC,HSN, and re-runs of Springer? Sitting in your chair surfing the internet spraying Febreeze throughout your apt. trying to mask the smell of cat urine. I actually feel sorry for you. I hope that after reading this post it will light a fire under ass to get up and do something with your life.

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