Tuesday, March 26
Okay, this is why I find the new SFChronicle.com frustrating. What was everyone talking about today? Gay marriage. How many unique articles about gay marriage are there on the paywalled SFChronicle website? None.
There was an AP report summary earlier on Tuesday, and a lightly-reported Chron piece summarizing the hearings with a few quotes from local law professors later — but both were available in their entirety on SFGate for free. There was nothing else that the Chronicle felt it could offer as a premium piece to its new digital subscribers about this issue? Nothing?
Previously: My First Day With The New Online Chron
San Francisco has been at the center of the same-sex marriage debates since 2004. It didn’t occur to the Chron to try and put together a package of newsworthy material on the subject to upsell to its dedicated digital readership?
Why not interview their best friend Gavin Newsom about it? Or Mark Leno, who had been trying for years to get a bill for same-sex marriage through the Legislature? Couldn’t Chron legal reporter Bob Egelko have put together a nice overview of the legal cases and a quick legal analysis? How about interviews with couples who married in the summer of 2008, “where are they now” type things? How about coverage of the anti Prop 8 rally Monday night?
Related: SF Chronicle Employees Walking Out (Briefly) Wednesday Afternoon
Why am I seeing more interesting reportage about Prop 8 on my Facebook feed than I am in the local paper of record? It frustrates me!
Does the Chron really think I will just give them $12/month with no expectation of any additional news coverage in return? It’s like the opposite of Internet readership — where internet readers want something for nothing, the Chron wants to give us nothing for something. When all the actual content is still available on the Gate for free!
Previously: Day Two Behind The SFChronicle.Com Paywall
It’s like pay what you wish yoga around here. Who is going to buy this?
Tomorrow! I can’t believe you guys are making me read this terrible website for two more days. I thought we were friends. Maybe I’ll talk about reader engagement? (i.e., the legendary SFGate comment trolls.)
