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Topic: Memos Sent to Romenesko
Date/Time: 3/25/2008 3:25:38 PM
Title: Lee Abrams' third dispatch to Tribune staffers
Posted By: Jim Romenesko
 
--IMMEDIACY: Still get a static feeling on websites. Updated 6:57am looks old if you read it at 8:57. More second by second feel...less hour
by hour.

--SPOOF: Probably too late for this year, but it might be cool for RedEye to do a special front page on April 1. Or complete edition. Oniony spoof. Could create a buzz and they could probably get away with it.

--ONLINE COMICS: Might be way too cost prohibitive, but imagine Online
animated versions of major comics that run in print. An evolution of the
print comic. Maybe if they ran in hundreds of websites it could work
economically...especially if Tribune syndicated them.

--STAR REPORTERS: I may have mentioned this before, but picture
reporters doing a short online video "Story behind the Story" where they
tell the story via video of writing a given piece. A video intro that:

a) Puts a face to the writer. Humanizes the story. An electronic byline.
b) Added "reason" to go to the website. An added dimension in story
coverage
c) Interesting stuff.

--"THEN": A daily page that is "Today in Tribune History". Long-time
fans would love to look back. Today in 1944, Patton...Today in 1977, a
huge storm... Reprint the page out of history. The key: Use this page to
drive what I think is an enormous revenue opportunity that hasn't been
tapped--THE ONLINE ARCHIVES! These are amazing! Yet, a mystery...hidden.

This "THEN" page can drive awareness to the archives...then we need to
figure out how to monetize the archives to their fullest. Right now they
seem like a throw away, but I believe that if the archives are mobilized
you can see tremendous benefit and revenue. They are golden. They are
amazing. "THEN" can be the awareness vehicle.

--"BOOK BROWSER": Your distribution is a godsend for record companies as a way to promote their heritage artist CDs. But also, book publishers! You are a natural for the big publishers to stuff samplers of upcoming titles in the Sunday (or other days) paper. You have one big thing going--You reach people who READ. Imagine a sneak preview of the new Stephen King book ONLY in the Trib. Those should be easy to pitch-you have READers, distribution and people are lazy. Instead of going to Borders to browse, it comes to your doorstep. Plus-older luddites are not about to go online. Newspapers are their Internet.

Are these amazing ideas? Not really, these fall under the category of
observations. Observations can lead to big ideas. I suppose that helping
create a culture that observes and ACTS on observations...aggressively,
is the culture that gets in sync with the moment and wins.

A lot of what it's all about is maximizing and re-organizing the content
that already exists. Not always easy to do. But as I get closer to joining up, the more I'm thinking what an incredible opportunity we have to NOTICEABLY and maybe dramatically change the course of News,
Information and Entertainment.

Yeah I know, "heard that before"...well maybe, but this time it's
all about AFDI.

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