Some advice for the Freep blog squad

It seems the Freep’s experiment with blogging and video isn’t going so well. In a recent survey of the Free Press Insiders panel, only 25% of respondents said they watch a Free Press video at least once a week, and only 27% read a Free Press blog at least once a week. The paper says it’s “going back to the drawing board on how we’re delivering and promoting these website features.”

In the interest of keeping the Free Press bloggers alive — well Dan, Mary Agnes and Nick anyway — I’d like to offer the following unsolicited advice:

Be patient, and promote more. In my observation, Manitobans have been very slow to adopt to many forms of new/social media, with the exception of Facebook. Many of my friends/colleagues don’t read blogs regularly, almost none use RSS to subscribe to blog feeds.

Concentrate on local content. I can read a thousand blogs about TV, technology, travel, family life or growing old, I don’t need to come to the Free Press site for that. It’s no surprise that your most popular bloggers are Lindor Reynolds, Mike McIntyre and Milt Stegall, as they’re all delivering local content.

Add a blog about civic politics. This is a gaping hole in your blog roster. If Bart and/or Aldo don’t want to do it, then offer a spot to a current or former member of Council. Or recruit a former political staffer or senior bureaucrat (lord knows there’s plenty of those around) who knows the people and issues.

Recruit Curtis. The guy already writes regular opinion pieces for your paper, so why not throw a few extra shillings his way and make Curtis Brown’s Endless Spin Cycle part of the Freep empire? It’s already one of the best written and researched local blogs, and it comes with a built-in audience of dozens of political nerds like me.

Rip off (or partner with) Freshdaily. The Freshdaily network of blogs — blogTO, Midnight Poutine and Beyond Robson — offer some of the best local content in Canada IMHO. Assemble some young staffers and freelancers to produce a similar group site that covers arts, entertainment, shopping, dining, clubbing, architecture, politics and local gossip. Done correctly, this could become the replacement local newspaper for 15 to 30-year olds.

Add a blog about media. There’s really no coverage of the media in the local media, other than the odd report on TV/radio ratings or newspaper circulation. But many viewers, listeners and readers are interested in learning more about the local and national media scene — the business dealings, critical analysis of coverage, deeper examination of ratings, and the comings and goings of media personalities. Heck, I still get hits from people trying to figure out why Natalee Taylor disappeared from Q94.

Redesign your blog pages. They all look the same, and are practically identical to the rest of the Freep site. It could be that some people are actually reading blogs but not realizing it. Give each blog some personality, or at least a custom header.

Change the comments system. Having to register for an account just so I can make a comment is a pain in the ass. The relative lack of comments on Freep blogs suggests that I’m not alone in that opinion.

Post your videos on YouTube. Right now your videos are trapped within the Freep website. Adding them to YouTube and similar video-sharing sites will increase exposure and allow bloggers like me to easily embed them within my own posts, ultimately driving more interest in your video efforts.

Try podcasting. I suppose Paul Samyn’s weekly video review of the stories of the week is a podcast of sorts, but there’s lots of opportunity here for other shows. A weekly reporters roundtable might be a good place to start, or maybe that civic politics blog becomes a podcast instead. Take a look at the tremendous success of the Guardian’s podcasts for inspiration.