Now blossoming on a newspaper Web site near you: video.

The 13th annual Digital Awards, to be handed out later this month at the Newspaper Association of America’s Marketing Conference, reflects the breadth and depth of video now available on newspaper Web sites.

In this issue, Newspapers & Technology profiles two Digital Edge nominees: CapeCast, an irreverent take on the news produced by the Cape Cod Times in Hyannis, Mass.; and Studio 55, a daily news and public affairs show put together by the Naples (Fla.) Daily News.


Chuck Moozakis, Editor-In-Chief
Newspapers & Technology Magazine

You can see excerpts of both productions, by the way, by subscribing to the free SmartEdition version of Newspapers & Technology. Just click on the SmartEdition banner on our home page at www.newsandtech.com, fill in a few requested fields of information, and you’ll soon be laughing along with the rest of us when you watch CapeCast and host Eric Williams.

Although the Times and Daily News take dissimilar approaches as to how they position video’s role in their operations, each paper has a common goal: to extend its reach.

“The big part of the success is that we learned that a print newsroom can deal in video and breaking news and compete against broadcast stations,” said Phil Lewis, Daily News editor and vice president.

Times Editor Paul J. Pronovost has no less noble goals for his five-minute webcast. “News is generally serious business and you have to respect the subject with the appropriate tone. But a webcast doesn’t have to be a ponderous exercise. It can be light and you can have fun.”

The Daily News’ and Times’ efforts come as other papers step up their adoption of video within their Web sites. The Cincinnati Enquirer, for one, has quintupled the number of video producers as it doubles the number of videos it posts each month. The Gannett Co. Inc. paper will share its video resources with sister dailies as Gannett ramps up its multimedia efforts.

Will newspaper video one day be the Web’s version of “Must See TV”?

Why not? Three years ago, YouTube barely existed. Now look at it. Well, you probably already do…

Newspapers & Technology wants to know what your paper is doing with video. Share with us your successes, lessons learned and results. See ongoing coverage regarding video ventures in this and future issues.

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We’d like to welcome back a columnist to Newspapers & Technology. James Kober, prepress area manager of Newsday in Long Island, N.Y., this month becomes a regular contributor to these pages. Check out his column covering ink optimization software on page 32.