[Seattle-editorial] Re: how to make the seattle website work

[sheelanagig at juno.com]

> As long as people are comparing Seattle and PDX --
> 
> >Writing features has always been an understaffed task.

I am willing to give you a solid flow of features. I write for Portland
indy media's features on a regular basis, I think I have two on the main
page today, one on an Anti-School website and another on Women Street
Performers and Sexual Safety which talks about the Seattle Pike Place
Market, but is on the Pdx site right now not the Seattle IMC site....I
give Infoshop.org cover stories for their main page often, I think my
street performer one is on main infoshop.org right now...

> 
> In Portland, editors don't "write features," they feature newswire 
> items.  
> Point, click, there it is.

I hand them features and would do so for you too.

> 
> In Portland, editors don't propose features, they post them.  Point, 
> click, 
> there it is.
> 
> In Portland, for instance, a complaint such as Kirsten's would 
> probably 
> result in somebody actually showing her how to use the Mir feature 
> interface 
> to post center-column features herself.

It is good they do not have to resort to making writers post with Mir on
the main column there, as that is more editorial and that is a different
job. I won't make editors pitch feature ideas and write the features if
the editors will not make me be an editor just to write. It is TRULY
COURTEOUS that Pdx IMC makes it nice and easy for the writer. The fact
that they have people on staff reading their own open newswire and
pulling items of interest off the newswire, such as my articles, makes
Pdx an easy place for a writer to deal with. And they keep the front page
moving at such a fast pace, that it is not stale. Like Seattle's which is
dead in the mud. 

> 
> I know of at least one former Seattle IMC editor-person who told me 
> she 
> tried to write center-column features during the "85% Jonathan" 
> period and 
> gave it up because most of her proposals resulted in concerns rather 
> than 
> feature-posting.

Not sure what you are talking about here...I am "she" and I gave up for
several reasons. But I am still here and willing to give articles to the
site once it is back in order somehow. But no, I am not going to do Mir
internal posting on the Sea site...editor and writer are different jobs,
just like manager and performer are different jobs.

> 
> I doubt the only problem at hand is lack of volunteers.  I suspect 
> ongoing 
> structural obstacles are continuing to discourage new volunteer 
> contributions.

I am an old volunteer contribution, but not sure what to do to breathe
life into this thing...

Kirsten

*************************************************************************
*********************
ATTENTION! Kirsten Anderberg has discovered she has no administrative
control over her 
www.kirstenanderberg.com website. It has been hijacked, so to speak,
against her will 
by some guy on a power trip. So please change all links immediately to
www.angelfire.com/la3/kirstenanderberg.


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