Nice story, but I have to offer some construcive criticism about The News-Gazette's online site as a whole. Really, it's inexcusable that for hours after one of the biggest Illini victories in decades, your online front page had nothing about the game except a link to Bob Asmussen's blog. By contrast, within minutes of the upset, The New York Times' online featured story was about the Illinois victory. I'm not talking about the lead story on the Times' sports front page -- this was on the Times' overall front page.

I realize how demanding it is to put out an online publication, so I'm not faulting the people in the trenches. I am faulting the people at the top who make the decisions about where The News-Gazette allocates its resources. You really need to expand your online presence and hire the people necessary to do the job. Your core readership might still be wedded to print, but that won't last for more than another decade at the most. You need to position yourself to survive and thrive in a new age.

Posted by daveporreca on November 11, 2007 at 10:37 AM Suggest Removal

I would have to agree. I grew up in Champaign and lived there until 1990. Following the Illini is not easy from the Seattle area, and I wind up having to read the Decatur and Bloomington on-line papers. I respect what the Gazette is trying to do -- boost online subscriptions while keeping its web traffic bills low -- but it just doesn't make sense to have such a sparse web site for such a town full of achievement. I would even go so far as to say the Gazette's paltry and podunk offerings might reflect badly on the Illinois recruiting effort, though Zook does seem to have overcome it.

Please for the same of "Illini Nation" do your part and make a reasonably decent on-line local media site. Alumni of the local high schools who have left the area would benefit, too.

Posted by DaveD on November 11, 2007 at 10:57 AM Suggest Removal

Oops, sorry -- "construcive" should be "constructive." But this leads me to another point: Your commenting system should be updated to allow readers to preview their comments and then to edit them after they are published.

Plus, you should take down the paywall that hides your biggest asset -- your sports section -- from the outside world. The Web is about being viral -- link, link, link. Nobody links to things behind a paywall. Compare the Columbus Dispatch's online coverage of Saturday's game to The N-G's.

To make clear: I'm saying all this because I like The N-G, especially your sports section. Right now, the strategic vision governing your online presence is seriously flawed and outmoded. The newspaper industry is undergoing radical changes, as you know. The days when the local daily had a near-monopoly on advertising (especially classifieds) and a license to print money are over. I don't see The N-G facing up to that. I hope I'm wrong, though.

Posted by daveporreca on November 11, 2007 at 11:18 AM Suggest Removal