Posts Tagged ‘GlobalErie.com’

Oberle remains hopeful about newspapers

March 10th, 2010 joel
Bryan Oberle

Bryan Oberle

It is quite remarkable how two entrepreneurial new-media networks have scored major figures from media and politics for regular contributions. Last year, former Congressman Phil English began a blog on the GlobalErie.com network. Then early this year, former Editorial Page Editor of the Erie Times-News Bryan Oberle began a weekly post on ErieBlogs.com.

Oberle’s participation on ErieBlogs is particularly interesting considering he is married to an Erie media royal, Marnie Mead Oberle and continues to be a stockholder in the privately-owned Times Publishing Company.

Mr. Oberle was kind enough to share his thoughts on the state of the newspaper industry and his transition from ink to pixels in a Press and Tower exclusive interview:
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Posted in New Media Tags: , , , , No Comments »

Top Erie media stories of 2009

January 1st, 2010 joel

Happy New Year and welcome to the “teens!”

As was the case with much of the last ten years, the decade ended last night with the media front and center of culture’s conversation. With top-talker Rush Limbaugh finally released from a Honolulu hospital, and Fox viewers in O&O markets thankful for a momentary reprieve from losing their football, media doings are never far from top-of-mind.

Here’s the top stories we were talking about in 2009, by month:

  • January: local TV stations and the Times-News cover the inauguration of President Barack Obama on January 20th
  • February: longtime Erie broadcaster and cancer machine inventor John Kanzius succumbs to cancer on February 18th
  • March: Nancy Dymond replaces David Calabrese as market manager of the Connoisseur Media radio cluster in Erie
  • April: a video capture of an apparently intoxicated off-duty Erie Police officer uploaded to YouTube created a local and national controversy about police relations with the minority community, and the new reality of social media
  • May: Lilly Broadcasting merged the newsrooms of WICU and WSEE, resulting in the elimination of about a dozen off-air and on-air jobs
  • June: WICU is the final TV station to switch off their analog transmitter and put Erie completely into the digital television age
  • Wards react to the reveal July: The seven day build of a home for Erie’s Clara Ward culminated in the July 2nd reveal of the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition house
  • August: Star 104/WRTS increased it’s dominance in Erie radio as the Spring 2009 Arbitron ratings were released
  • September: Former Erie Congressman Phil English began his high profile blog “Presque Isle to the Potomac” on GlobalErie.com
  • October: The Erie Times-News was named Newspaper of the Year by the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association
  • November: Erie’s most-visited media website, GoErie.com underwent a major redesign
  • December: The weekend of December 12th and 13th turned out to be one of national media attention on Erie, as Saturday Night Live mentioned the fictional “Erie Chamber of Commerce” as part of a PGA spoof over the Tiger Woods controversy, then a two-hour special episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition showcased the work of thousands of volunteers impacting an eastside Erie neighborhood.

Next week, we’ll talk with one of Erie’s top media watchers about the past year and what we might see in the new year. Stay tuned.

Posted in From The Editor Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , No Comments »

SNL eviscerates Erie

December 13th, 2009 joel

Erie had another Rodney Dangerfield “no respect” moment in the national media last night, less than 24 hours before the big Extreme Makeover: Home Edition show.

Outside Erie, GoErie and others are twittering about a segment on Saturday Night Live last night that threw our fair community under the bus. SNL did a three-part bit highlighting the diminishing prospects for sponsorship of the PGA Tour without Tiger Woods. The fictitious Erie Chamber of Commerce is mentioned in the third segment, shown below as a “bottom of the barrel” sponsor of the tour, along with the letter “Q” and Seltzer.

It’s funny…but ouch, that hurts!

Posted in Television Tags: , , , , , , , 3 Comments »

Deep Background for September 13-19, 2009

September 13th, 2009 joel

There were developments through the continuum of old and new Erie media, from a press breakdown at the newspaper, the new set for WSEE, and an upcoming blog by former Congressman Phil English.

If you have a question, an inside scoop, or just a comment; this is your open forum. You can also e-mail me at joel@nataliemedia.com or tweet @pressandtower.

Embrace the chaos!

Posted in Deep Background Tags: , , , , , 24 Comments »

Phil English to blog on GlobalErie

September 10th, 2009 joel
Former Cong. Phil English

Former Cong. Phil English

Local blogging is about to take a huge leap in credibility.

Peter Panepento has announced that former US Rep. Phil English (R-PA) will begin a new blog on GlobalErie.com in the coming days. Panepento says English will tackle Erie issues looking through Beltway-framed glasses:

But he remains closely connected to Erie and I expect that he will be able to provide an interesting view of how what’s happening on the Hill affects life in northwestern Pennsylvania.

English has told me that he plans to be non-partisan in his approach — so don’t expect this site to be falling into the Republican party machine.

Rep. English is now a lobbyist employed by the Arent Fox law firm in Washington. With his 14 years of experience representing this Congressional district, including occupying a seat on the powerful Ways and Means Committee, he will instantly become the highest-profile blogger on Erie issues. More than likely, he will also be one of the most controversial, as he accumulated a bevy of haters during his tenure in the Capitol.

The addition of English to the blogosphere in Erie further elevates a paradox in Erie blogging. For as strong as a Democratic foothold this area is, and with the natural bent of the blogging medium to be left-leaning, my anecdotal review of the local blog roster shows more conservative voices than liberal ones.  Is that just my perception, or are there fewer voices pounding for the progressives?

Posted in New Media Tags: , , , , 10 Comments »

Poll: who is most influential person in Erie media?

April 27th, 2009 joel

Last week, during the intense heat of the Erie cop YouTube controversy, we asked if there was any circumstance where you felt that the video should be taken down. 80% of respondents said, no, that it was a matter of free speech, while only 14 % said that there could be a circumstance that would precipitate its removal.

However, commenter max perhaps had the best point, that is sometimes missed by folks like elder law enforcement and old-media holdouts, that the viral nature of social media like YouTube made the whole question moot. One a post is out there, it is duplicated, modified, and distributed in such a way that it makes it impossible to track.

This week I’m throwing caution to the wind and asking a bodacious question: Who is the most influential person in Erie media. I’m including “the usual suspects,” but if you have other people you would like to nominate, just throw them in the comments or tweet @pressandtower and I’ll update the poll.

Because of that fact, I’m going to open up the voting so that you can answer more than once, in case a name appears later in the week that you wish to vote for. However, the polling software limits you to three votes total.

Who is the most influential person in Erie media?

  • Mike Richwalsky (26%, 31 Votes)
  • Sean Lafferty (18%, 22 Votes)
  • Brian Lilly (12%, 14 Votes)
  • Ed Palattella (11%, 13 Votes)
  • Pat Howard (11%, 13 Votes)
  • Lou Baxter (9%, 11 Votes)
  • Scott Bremner (7%, 9 Votes)
  • Julie Eisenman (5%, 6 Votes)
  • Peter Panepento (3%, 4 Votes)
  • Kevin Flowers (3%, 4 Votes)
  • Kevin MacDowell (2%, 2 Votes)
  • Rosanne Cheeseman (1%, 1 Votes)
  • Nancy Dymond (1%, 1 Votes)
  • Jim Riley (1%, 1 Votes)
  • Rick Sayers (1%, 1 Votes)
  • Tim Dunst (0%, 0 Votes)

Total Voters: 121

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Posted in Polls Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , 14 Comments »

Erie media and the time crunch

March 25th, 2009 joel

Over the past week I’ve made a significant observation: when I get out of my Press and Tower journalism mode, and act as a typical Erie citizen in my routine, I consume little traditional Erie media.

The reason why this is occurring to me now is that for the past week, I’ve had a few really big deadlines at work that have me concentrating on the tasks morning, noon and night, so my blogging juices have gone on the back burner for a little while. My schedule put me in a mode of everyone else who doesn’t have a regular blog deadline, and here’s what I found out.

When I was in radio, we talked about “appointment radio;” making moments that people would stop and change their routine to listen to. This past week, when my life made me just average busy Joe Cume member, I found that there is very little in Erie media that I’ll make an appointment to watch, read or listen. Perhaps the most regular consumption is 15 minutes scanning the Times-News with my coffee and cereal. 15 minutes of NPR or Barry and Jim on the way to work. More sporadically I’ll catch Sean and Selena, or Amanda and Kevin about once a week each. Music on the radio is a weekend thing, 80’s on Classy 100, swing on WQLN, and worship on WCTL. Like many, I find that media viewing and listening is a secondary action while doing something else: eating, driving, getting ready for bed.
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Posted in From The Editor Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 2 Comments »
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