:
Fr Dec 15 -

OBSTRUCTIVE EDITOR
TO RETIRE IN FEB -

Tom Fiedler, the executive editor of The Miami Herald will retire in February. He will be replaced by Anders Gyllenhaal from the Star-Tribune in Minneapolis (both McClatchy syndicate). But, wait a minute-- when the syndicate deal took place, it was my understanding that part of the deal stipulated that Fiedler will still retain a chair on the Board of Directors. So, just how "gone" he's going to be after February is not clear to me yet.

Anyway, blogger Bob Norman has lived here a lot longer than I have. And he has his own take on the announcement:

*Between the Jim DeFede and Marti sagas, it’s the close of one of the most tumultuous reigns of any editor imaginable.*

My perspective: Although Fiedler talked a good game, what was actually happening on the ground, was the opposite of what he was saying about integrating the newspaper with the internet.

A good example of this occurs when you go to their website and try to click on a story there. You may be blocked by a popup which requires you to divulge private information to the newspaper in order to read the story. Many people do not wish to do this.

One of the implications of their obstruction is that when I blog a current event, I don't link to their story, which means that I do not send traffic to their website. That's their loss. And with a growing number of bloggers in Florida, they are turning away potential traffic from that source.

That's not integration; it's obstruction. And that's their current choice. I hope the new editor changes their current approach.

:: Herald story ::

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