Does anyone else find the new inRichmond.com to be amusing? “Powered” by the Richmond Times-Dispatch, the new website seeks to combine the internet edition of the newspaper with other online resources into a one-stop community tool. It even has an “obituaries” tab for late-night reading.
Unfortunately, the somewhat entertaining new look, somewhat clever new name (inRich), and definitely too many links and advertisements on the homepage and throughout the website do not make up for the Times-Dispatch’s lack of quality writing, journalism, and variety of stories. Rather than renovating its website, perhaps the newspaper should try to treat the citizens of the Greater Richmond area with the respect they deserve and actually write in-depth, well-written articles about what’s going on in Virginia’s capital city and organize them in a logical way online. A newspaper should be able to hold its own and have its own website, with virtually total devotion to the news, rather than simply be a part of a community website with a cheeky name. I understand if the Times-Dispatch is looking to integrate itself with a website that receives more hits, or even if the newspaper seeks to become an “online community partner,” if you will. But again, the new website does not make up for good, old-fashioned journalism.
May 6, 2007 at 5:58 am
I agree. Maybe I’m not completely familiar with the website yet, but at first glance, I cannot find a single article on the mayor or city council. In fact, the “Politics” section only provides two articles per day, and most of these are about national or state politics.
May 7, 2007 at 2:32 am
The RTD is making a mistake trying to be the “one stop shop” for everything Richmond. There are many other websites
http://www.styleweekly.com
http://www.venturerichmond.com
http://www.grcc.com/ (Chamber of Commerce)
that offer calendars of events, guides, and other general information about Richmond. I personally feel like richmonddem does that newspapers should present the news, as a straightforward commentary on business, politics, and social issues of the locality, region and nation.
On the other hand, I understand the dilemma of newspapers trying to compete with web sites for their primary revenue source, advertising. The average attention span of an American citizen is 8 seconds and a traditional newspaper page placed on the internet will not keep the readers attention. While we would appreciate better reporting and news newspapers, like advertisers respond to the desires of the majority of the public.
My local newspaper recently changed their webpage, as well as their print format and I was not immediately satisfied. It takes some time to adjust to change and being critical is easy. Write an editorial, let them know how you feel, it is likely you are not the only one that feels this way and the newspaper may respond.
http://www.fredericksburg.com/ (my newspaper’s webpage)