It’s about more than how much our ads cost.

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Why can’t newspapers make money online? (Mashable) - So, they’ve got it all figured out? “The bottom line is this: the reason that newspapers can’t make money is because they’re pricing themselves out of the market.” It’s a lot more complicated than that. I like what Paul K. Ward says in the comments of the article: “Newspapers and other information outlets shouldn’t be setting sights on paying their costs, they should be focused instead on creating demand for what they offer at a profit. ” There are so many problems with the way many newspapers present and distribute news online that makes it less desirable than other outlets. And the fact that we’re still calling ourselves “newspapers” is problematic too. If that’s what we identify as, that’s what we prioritize, and the web will always be an afterthought. We are media companies. We have websites and newspapers. And we need to think creatively about the future of both. Create unique demand for our content online, then you can charge for it.

Rutledge’s NYT “design redux” gets real

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WooThemes launches theme based on Rutledge’s redux - I wrote in July about Andy Rutledge’s design redux getting slammed by journo-tweeters after he wrote a scathing post (which has since been deleted from the web) about news design. While many of his points were spot-on, it was frustrating for those of us at newspapers who know there are a lot more politics and technical integration issues that go into website design than meet the eye. This week, though, premium WordPress theme developers at WooThemes launched Currents, a WordPress news theme based almost exactly of Rutledge’s initial design. Worth checking out.

On open news budgets

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Making Your News Budget Public: How And Why – I feel like I’ve been talking about open news for years and years. Back then, I referred to it as “making your editorial calendar public,” but now that I’m an old fart in a newsroom, I say “open your news budget.” Same diff. My latest post at 10,000 Words outlines examples of a few news orgs who are actually doing it – finally. Some use Facebook, others use Twitter, some are writing straight-up blog posts and others are using Google Spreadsheets. More later today on how The Seattle Times is approaching this concept.

If your website is full of assholes…

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If your website’s full of assholes, it’s your fault. Anil Dash is spot on. Part of maintaining a news website is maintaining community and having high standards. He outlines five steps every website should take to keep their community in order. Because whether we like it or not, quality of our comments reflects on how our organizations are perceived, and the quality of comments that will come up moving forward.

A journalist’s life as an illegal immigrant

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My life as an undocumented immigrant. I finally had a chance to read this in full. It’s the first-hand account of a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who has worked at The Washington Post, HuffPo, etc., who has taken extreme to keep his illegal status a secret, all the while reporting on the truth for high-profile publications. It hits a chord with me because so many of my Filipino family members came here, including my father, just about 25 years ago. Read it. And read WaPo’s response about why they didn’t publish it.

California Supreme Court rejects noncompete clauses

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California Supreme Court rejects noncompete clauses. This is old news but I discovered it today from a lab technician in Santa Barbara. I’ve signed a few noncompete agreements in my day, and apparently they’re void here in California. “Californians have the right to move from one company to another or start their own business and can’t be prohibited by their employer from working for a competitor in their next job.”

Pregnot: The story of a girl with guts

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Toppenish High student fakes pregnancy as social test about stereotypes, rumors. A high school senior in Yakima, Washington endured 6.5 months of rumors and stereotypes while faking a pregnancy on a quest to learn more about the life of a teenage mom. No one knew her secret but her mom, the principal, her boyfriend and best friend. She revealed the lie at a school-wide assembly, where she pulled off the fake belly after reading degrading quotes from notecards of rumors that were spread about her. She’ll publish a report on her experience soon. Power to this young lady for having the balls to not let ego get in the way of social experimentation.