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This is why (college) old media is failing

collegian.psu.edu

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Re: This is why (college) old media is failing

#41

Post by ZachPruckowski »

el_dot wrote: post #26

Applicants need a working knowledge of ASP/ASP.net, MySQL, Movable Type, HTML/CSS and general web server experience. Knowledge of JavaScript, LAMP (Linux/Apache/MySQL/PHP) servers, iPhone development knowledge, Adobe Flash/Flex is a plus. I guess this is what PG meant when he said: The pointy-haired boss has no idea how this software has to work, and can't tell one programming language from another, and yet he knows…

In this case, it's apparent that they have a pre-existing system. Of course, why that system is in both ASP and PHP on both Linux and Windows, I have no clue.

Given that they have MySQL on there twice, I'm going to guess it was a "write down every technical term that anyone knows" kinda thing.

Re: This is why (college) old media is failing

#42

Post by ZachPruckowski »

johnohara wrote: post #10

Just bought a Powerball ticket. $114M woohoo! My odds of winning and her odds of finding someone are about the same.

You know what's gonna happen? Whichever boyfriend (or guy with a crush)[1] of a reporter there has the most tech knowledge is gonna get dragged into taking it over. I've been in that situation enough times (though usually with event stuff, not programming). That's basically the only shot they have at getting free skilled labor.

[1] - Not that girlfriends can't be programmers, but college girls seem to be better at roping guys into doing work for them than the other way around.

Re: This is why (college) old media is failing

#43

Post by ZachPruckowski »

scott_s wrote: post #36
adelevie wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Daily Collegian gives "scholarships" (stipends) to all editors and some senior reporters. These stipends don't come close to a wage, but it's something . Giving something to all editors and some reporters and then giving nothing to a web developer is insulting.

I don't understand why it's insulting. I assume that the editors and senior reporters have been on the paper for at least an academic year - otherwise, I don't see how they could become editors or senior reporters. So the little money they have goes to the people who've put significant amounts of time into the paper. The advertisement is for a new staff member. I assume new reporters don't get stipends either. So I d…

Simultaneously, the advertisement is for the position in charge of their website and online presence (which is to say a decent portion of their operations), and is thus a fairly senior position.

Stuff just gets more complicated when money's involved. It's one thing to ask for a hand with something you're not making money off of, and another thing to ask for free help on a project that's paying you.

Re: This is why (college) old media is failing

#44

Post by pchickey »

el_dot wrote: post #26

Applicants need a working knowledge of ASP/ASP.net, MySQL, Movable Type, HTML/CSS and general web server experience. Knowledge of JavaScript, LAMP (Linux/Apache/MySQL/PHP) servers, iPhone development knowledge, Adobe Flash/Flex is a plus. I guess this is what PG meant when he said: The pointy-haired boss has no idea how this software has to work, and can't tell one programming language from another, and yet he knows…

Sure - the editor in chief, or whoever on staff wrote that description, doesn't really know ASP from LAMP. But they do know the current programmers use ASP.net and MT, and will need to continue using ASP.net and MT for the time being.

In the past three years, the collegian website has added a lot of great features, and the design has improved considerably. It looks like they're still stuck on an old ASP backend, but the students responsible for the front page have been moving in the right direction. Unfortunately, its a pretty huge undertaking for unpaid (or close) full time students to replace a decent working site with a decade of archives with with a Rails app.

In many ways, the Collegian is a representative good college daily - there are many in much deeper trouble for failing to grasp the basics of good journalism, not the basics of web 2.0. (Disclosure: Former Collegian photo staff)

Re: This is why (college) old media is failing

#45

Post by ZachPruckowski »

morisy wrote: post #6

This ad is frighteningly similar to the ones out there in the real world at all but the most progressive papers, only difference is they pay a little bit better.

The problem is that a company run by content creators (and news/opinion articles are content just like film/music is) is going to tend to see the distribution of that content as ancillary to its creation. They then see the IT/web department as being on the same plane as the delivery-boys in terms of importance.

Re: This is why (college) old media is failing

#46

Post by ramchip »

el_dot wrote: post #26

Applicants need a working knowledge of ASP/ASP.net, MySQL, Movable Type, HTML/CSS and general web server experience. Knowledge of JavaScript, LAMP (Linux/Apache/MySQL/PHP) servers, iPhone development knowledge, Adobe Flash/Flex is a plus. I guess this is what PG meant when he said: The pointy-haired boss has no idea how this software has to work, and can't tell one programming language from another, and yet he knows…

Nonsense! I'm sure the editor-in-chief's major in print journalism and women's studies, as well as extensive experience as an "investigative team leader", is more than enough qualification to manage internet things. ;)

More seriously, it's probably hard to find good staff for that on a student newspaper. I think it would help their case if they wrote it in a more friendly tone than "Please submit a cover letter, resume and work samples to editorinchief@psucollegian.com. Submit applications by 5 p.m. March 1". Sounds very pretentious considering they're begging for a volunteer.

Re: This is why (college) old media is failing

#47

Post by scott_s »

ZachPruckowski wrote: post #43
scott_s wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't understand why it's insulting. I assume that the editors and senior reporters have been on the paper for at least an academic year - otherwise, I don't see how they could become editors or senior reporters. So the little money they have goes to the people who've put significant amounts of time into the paper. The advertisement is for a new staff member. I assume new reporters don't get stipends either. So I d…

Simultaneously, the advertisement is for the position in charge of their website and online presence (which is to say a decent portion of their operations), and is thus a fairly senior position. Stuff just gets more complicated when money's involved. It's one thing to ask for a hand with something you're not making money off of, and another thing to ask for free help on a project that's paying you.

I think you and others are looking at it from a normal business transactions perspective. College papers aren't a business. I would be surprised if their advertisement revenue even covered operation costs. Students work on college papers for the same reason they attend class: to learn.

Also, I think you're using "senior" in a different manner than I. I'm using it to mean seniority, or length of time spent working on the paper. You're using it to denote importance.

Re: This is why (college) old media is failing

#48

Post by adelevie »

pchickey wrote: post #44
el_dot wrote: post #26

Applicants need a working knowledge of ASP/ASP.net, MySQL, Movable Type, HTML/CSS and general web server experience. Knowledge of JavaScript, LAMP (Linux/Apache/MySQL/PHP) servers, iPhone development knowledge, Adobe Flash/Flex is a plus. I guess this is what PG meant when he said: The pointy-haired boss has no idea how this software has to work, and can't tell one programming language from another, and yet he knows…

Sure - the editor in chief, or whoever on staff wrote that description, doesn't really know ASP from LAMP. But they do know the current programmers use ASP.net and MT, and will need to continue using ASP.net and MT for the time being. In the past three years, the collegian website has added a lot of great features, and the design has improved considerably. It looks like they're still stuck on an old ASP backend, but…

The Collegian web site was cutting edge a few years ago. My predecessors really did a hell of a job cooking up a brand new system (built on MT). The previous system, from what I read, was archaic.

Sadly not much has changed over the last couple years and without proper staff, nothing really will change.

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