Tag: media

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News Opinion

Restructuring positions UrbanCincy for further, long-term growth

Since UrbanCincy’s founding in May 2007 much has changed with the website, the city and its people. What began as a humble outlet to share my personal thoughts about the city with whomever chose to read it has become so much more. UrbanCincy now features exclusive and original content, publishes eight to ten times each week, runs a seasonal kickball league, organizes events throughout the year like Bikes + Brews, and has become the place for people to get their news on Cincinnati’s urban core.

For the third time in four years, UrbanCincy has been honored to be voted as one of the best blogs in Cincinnati. This year UrbanCincy was chosen along with Wine Me, Dine Me and 365 Things to do in Cincinnati. Each year I have been honored to even have UrbanCincy considered worthy of such recognition, but it was even more satisfying this year following a great deal of transition internally at UrbanCincy.

Over the past six months UrbanCincy has successfully begun a transition that is shifting more responsibility to Jenny Kessler, who is now Operations Manager for the site. We have also restructured the contributing team to best reflect time commitments and professional capabilities. Additionally, in fall 2010 UrbanCincy entered into an innovative content sharing agreement with the Cincinnati Business Courier which will further stregthen both entities. These moves allow me to take on a greater leadership role, while also maintaining leadership continuity at UrbanCincy when I am traveling domestically or overseas with work.

This transition was not easy. At the end of 2010 the website saw a significant drop in readership when compared to previous growth trends. This was, in large part, due to less content being published on the site. We have, I believe, solved those issues and have reaffirmed UrbanCincy’s long-term position within the Cincinnati community.

The bottom line is that UrbanCincy, while still a labor of love, is better positioned today and healthier than ever. And the team of writers (Andrew Oehlerking, Dave Rolfes, Emily Schneider, Jake Mecklenborg, Jenny Kessler, Nathaniel Hammitt), photographers (Jake Mecklenborg, Thadd Fiala) and general contributors (Bryon Martin, David Ben, Kevin Wright, Travis Estell) at UrbanCincy has you, the readers, to thank for this.

I hope that UrbanCincy can continue to grow and become an even more integral part of the conversation in Cincinnati in years to come. Please let us know how we might be able to do that by contacting us at UrbanCincy@gmail.com. Thank you, and please continue to support Cincinnati’s urban core.

Categories
Business News

The bloggification of the Cincinnati Enquirer

Let me start this week’s op-ed column off by saying I love print media. I love newspapers and magazines. Some might even call me a news junkie, but I have long been disappointed with the Cincinnati Enquirer – the region’s last surviving daily print newspaper.

Early on it was the Enquirer’s pro-suburban/anti-urban coverage that got me bent out of shape. The move was justified by Enquirer leadership that saw the region’s growth becoming increasingly suburban, and they seemed to aspire to steal market share from the Dayton Daily News as the two markets begin to merge.

Over time this situation has leveled off, but then the paper shifted its attention to the web. This was a seemingly smart move in an increasingly digital world, but I felt that taking professional journalists and writers off of their beats and giving them blogger duty did not do the staff or newspaper any justice.

The Enquirer is not going to beat the bloggers, nor should it try. What bloggers have proven is their ability to cover hyper local news extremely well. What bloggers have not been able to do is cover substantive stories or conduct investigative reports. This is where, I believe, the Enquirer needs to focus its attention. UrbanCincy will continue to cover on-street bike corrals and small business openings, while the Enquirer should dive into stories that pose public concern and act as a public watchdog. Deal? Deal.

Unfortunately, it appears that leadership at the Enquirer finds it more beneficial to go after the exact opposite. The Enquirer has put forth an aggressive push to gobble up as many local blogs under their mighty Cincinnati.com network. (UrbanCincy remains independent by the way)

Then you have their newly debuted website which includes a lot of new things – more ads, larger font type and many more visuals. One thing has decreased on the new website though. There are noticeably fewer of those pesky news stories.

If you look to the Enquirer’s print edition it is not much better. The print newspaper is often filled with stories picked up from the Associated Press, other nearby newspapers or syndicated columnists. The bottom line is that the last remaining daily newspaper in Cincinnati is getting thinner and weaker, and the leadership there appears content with going after what they probably see as low hanging fruit.

This was recently highlighted by the debut of the Enquirer’s new blog aggregator. CincyBlogs.com has taken blogs from all over the region and used their RSS feeds to set up a one-stop shop for blog content. This is a great tool and one that many had hoped Cinplify would debut first.

The problem is that those resources may have been better spent empowering the Enquirer’s professional journalists that are capable of doing so much better work than what they are currently being assigned. To Enquirer leadership: your professional staff, Cincinnatians, and your readers deserve better.

Enquirer Building photograph by UrbanCincy contributor Thadd Fiala.

Categories
Arts & Entertainment Business News

Freedom Center to debut new iPhone app tour this weekend

Cincinnati has historically served as a city that stood for freedom. It was a place of freedom to black slaves fleeing the south and heading north for a free life and the pursuit of that all elusive American Dream. The Ohio River was all that separated these individuals from a new life.

Today, on the Cincinnati riverfront of the Ohio River is the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center (NURFC). The NURFC highlights this prolific journey and covers issues of slavery and human trafficking occurring today around the world. Since it opened in 2002, the NURFC has served as a regional and national destination for human rights issues and the education of thousands one of the most significant domestic migrations to have ever occurred in the United States.

New to the museum this weekend will be the debut of an iPod tour that will take visitors on an interactive experience that enhances exhibits, photographs and stories shared at the NURFC.

“Visitors will be able to hear accounts of enslaved people, Underground Railroad conductors, founding fathers, and even slave traders, while viewing additional photographs, videos, and maps on the iPod screen that will further bring to life the poignant and powerful story that is the struggle for freedom,” explained NURFC marketing and communications manager Jamie Glavic.

The iPod tour is narrated by Judy Richardson and was developed by Boston-based Audissey Media in conjunction with Richard Cooper at the NURFC to ensure accuracy and overall quality. The iPod tour is now available on iPod’s app store, and will begin this weekend at the museum located in downtown Cincinnati (map).  Purchase or preview the new app online.

Categories
Business Development News

Google updates aerial imagery of Cincinnati region

Google has updated its aerial imagery for several major cities throughout the United States including Portland, Washington, D.C., and Cincinnati.  The new imagery appears to have been taken over the summer.  Observers in the nation’s capital have been able to narrow it down to as precise as Sunday, August 29 between 1:00pm and 1:35pm.

Like many other cities around the country, the new aerial imagery for Cincinnati illustrates much of what has changed over recent years.  New construction projects are visibly taking place while others have been completed or are nearing completion in their aerials.  In addition to capturing the changing urban landscape in Cincinnati, the new imagery is also much crisper than previous versions.

Below is a sampling of 20 sites around the city that illustrate the aforementioned changes.  Enjoy!

Categories
Arts & Entertainment News

CET wins regional Emmy award for Cincinnati Parks documentary

CET received a Regional Emmy Award for its documentary on Cincinnati’s famous park system at the 46th annual Ohio Valley Regional Emmy Awards in July 2010. Cincinnati Parks: Emeralds in the Crown tells the story of the creation of the city’s top-notch park system, how it continues to work today, and what plans are in store for the future.

“To me the heart of the story is the legacy from citizens who acted on a vision of a public park system,” explained Cincinnati Parks Director Willie F. Carden, Jr. “Our city parks remain strong and vibrant to this day thanks to the support of the entire Cincinnati community, and we congratulate CET on winning the regional Emmy for Emeralds in the Crown.”

Those who missed the original broadcast of this award-winning documentary will have several chances to check it out on CET in the near future. The first of those opportunities will take place this evening as CET will air the documentary at 9pm. Emeralds in the Crown will once again air on CET on Friday, September 24 at 10pm; and Sunday, September 26 at 4pm.

CET officials say that the public station will air a series this fall called Cincinnati Parks Recollections that will feature segments that were edited from interviews that did not make the final cut for the one-hour documentary. Broadcast times for this series, and the documentary, are available on CET’s website.