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Why don’t newspapers offer their classifieds to other sites (bloggers, partners other papers in the chain) in an AdSense-like model?

You know, with the addition of some JavaScript your site could run a little widget with an ad in it tailored to the content on your site. And you get paid for it to boot.

Just a thought.

So back in 1990-something there was a big brouhaha caused by including the reporter’s email addressed in the “tail” of the story:

Buffy Writesalot can be reached at buffyw@thelocaltrusteddaily.com

This was the beginning of the End of Times apparently (well, in a way…). Recently several papers I work for are moving that info up to the byline. They call this progress. I suppose the lack of outcry is progress.

But it’s lame.

What I want to see is a link to a reporter’s “profile” page, in very much the same vein as Facebook profile. Except, unlike Facebook, this profile would be public — the fact that you’re a newspaper reporter makes the whole world your “friend”. Call this “transparency”.

Let the reporters customize these profile pages if they wish — just like Facebook — adding blog postings or photos or video… or whatever. It would be the reporter’s “face” at the paper.

The only things I think I’d require on said page would be a self written “about me” blurb (hello, you are a writer aren’t you?!?) and the inclusion of a “last X stories” widget and a “last X user comments on my stories” widget.

I’m starting to think that what’s needed at newspapers, excuse me, news organizations, is more people. People that you can trust as opposed to a big corporate entity you probably don’t. Staff profile pages with a collection of the reporter’s work and samples of their interactions with people seem to me to be a good way to create this relationship and build that trust.

On Feb 20th an IM conversation I was having with a friend contained this lovely:

“I was thinking the other day that it’d be interesting if newpapers pushed photos to Flickr or something and, as part of captioning, link to the article.”

And that was how it started. Nope, not my idea… but I love it just the same. And then the Portland Oregonian goes and does it. (Actually, it seems they uploaded their first photo on the 18th. They — in fact — win)

But there’s room to do it better.

First of all, it doesn’t appear that the Oregonian is uploading all their photos only a subset, and not on a daily basis either. I’d like to see all the photos that ran in that day’s paper automagically uploaded, with links to the stories of course.

I’d also like to see all the EXIF data pulled as well. I think it would be neat to see camera types and exposure and even geocode (mapping) data if it’s there. The Oregonian seems to strip all that.

Of course I’d use Flickr’s sets for various categories: the generic news, sports and features come to mind, but I’m sure more could be thought of. I’d use tags in the same way too, plus a few for other metadata like the photographer’s name (the Oregonian does this).

I’d also automatically put photos into various groups.

The automatic aspect is really a necessity. Even I recognize that Flickr would not be a huge traffic draw, and it would be tough to justify a staffer massaging daily photos into various groups and sets and whatnot everyday. Therefore to make it work, it would have to be an automatic process.

And really, why stop at Flickr? Why not video to YouTube? Why not headlines (or perhaps just breaking news) to Twitter? Just like newspapers are realizing it’s not just about paper, it’s not just about a single outlet on the web either.

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