2012.05.18
Open mic: Share your ideas
Today’s is open mic here on RefreshRT. We want to hear any ideas you have about the redesign of roanoke.com. Our teams are working on various parts of the site, and your feedback has been really valuable. Keep it coming because we are listening.
What other things should we consider as we remake roanoke.com?
Give your ideas about design, navigation, multimedia and everything in between.
And if you have other news sites to point us to, please share those as well.
How about starting to cover news in the NRV outside of ‘The Burgs’ on a substantial basis again?
I’m glad I switched to the Southwest Times, because otherwise I would not have known about an effort to remove members from Pulaski County’s Board of Supervisors and the County Administrator. I’d think that something big enough to cover in the news, especially one as big as the RT.
But I guess not, we’re not Pulaskiburg, nor does it involve pictures of squirrels.
Comment by Other John — March 30, 2012 @ 7:11 am
And to demonstrate that outside of the 2 Burgs the NRV is largely ignored…the only 3 news articles available for my county are dated March 2, march 7, and March 22. Really? That’s why I won’t buy a paper copy of the RT, and I practically never read the Burgs webpage, it’s useless.
Please, whatever else you do with the main site, do not model it after the way the NRV Current was gutted and ‘revamped.’
Comment by Other John — March 30, 2012 @ 7:16 am
I hope that the changes, while sorely needed for functionality will not change the format of the pages and forums too much. Re-learning to navigate the site is not something I am hoping to have to do. I like the layout, the good sized rather uncluttered pages and the organization of the site.
Personally, I would like to see someone, maybe a “news/blogger” from every area added so that an area could have it’s own place to find info and news specific to that area and be able to discuss it. All big stories in the region can usually be found but other stuff happens too and we would like the feel of community news as well as fluff. Hopefully you could find some writers to volunteer for submitting stuff or keeping the page informed.
Again, for the extremists who cannot get along on the blogs, I still think you need “From the Left” and “From the Right” blog pages so they could just savage the other side in relative agreement with each other and maybe leave the normal people alone. Certainly if you cannot get the “block posts from this user” feature (although I pray you do), you need to offer them an outlet elsewhere! Hate loves hate, the rest of us, not so much.
Better search mechanisms would be great too.
Comment by Sandi Saunders — March 30, 2012 @ 9:51 am
This is Kyle with the RefreshRT team. I think Sandi and OJ have hit upon a line that we try to walk everyday. How do we define what is community news and what is fluff? I’d love to hear your answers, because this is a topic that I hear from readers and clients all the time. Some want more local, community news; while others want to see more regional and national stories. Some want to see what’s going on at the local schools on a daily basis, while others don’t care so much. How would you strike this balance? Thanks.
Comment by kyledraper — March 30, 2012 @ 10:11 am
Oh I do not doubt it is a hard balance. For me it would be government, tax, initiatives, business, events, schools, sports, in each community and in that order. Pictures, celebrations, missions, gripes, and reader submitted “fluff” could be worked in on slower days.
Also, I just thought of another great addition. In the online letters and commentary, when they reference a previous letter, article or commentary, it would be fabulous to offer the link to that letter, article or commentary in case you missed it the first time or forgot what it said.
Thanks!
Comment by Sandi Saunders — March 30, 2012 @ 10:44 am
I’m sure it is a hard line to balance, and I know that some things that don’t appeal to me because I have no vested stake in them are very important to other people…such as schools and HS-level sporting events.
The biggest thing that drives me batty with The Burgs site is the intermingling of RT-produced news content and the community-submitted stuff. Those two should be kept separate for clarity. I can’t tell you how annoying it is to see the ‘News’ stream of the Burgs on the main RT site and see that it contains pictures of a sunset or a squirrel in the park, or information on a community dance. That’s not news.
I do see how the community-submitted content can be important, because sometimes, it’s information not otherwise noticed or covered. I get that. But I believe the push to include community submissions has come at the expense of reporting on actual news, which is why I bought a subscription to the SW Times, because they actually cover the news in Pulaski County…they’re really the only source that does with any regularity. And since that’s my home county, I’m going to buy from and support whomever does that job…and right now it’s not the RT.
But if I’m looking for news from the Roanoke area or the state in general, the RT website is pretty good for that, and usually where I come first for that sort of coverage. But for me it’s not worth paying for a paper subscription to get that information.
Comment by Other John — March 30, 2012 @ 11:52 am
I would like to see a “police blotter” type daily column, with entries from all our local jurisdictions. Plus a listing of what’s going on at the Salem and Roanoke civic centers. Other than that, perhaps organizing the site the same way as the real paper would help us older people navigate the site easier. Thank you.
Comment by Dennis Chandler — April 2, 2012 @ 4:40 am
To echo what Other John says, it would be nice to see actual news from ANY of the Burgs. So what if the last biggest tax raise was 8 cents, as someone else pointed out, give us some depth about RIGHT NOW! Do the Blacksburg Town Council or C’burg Town Council even meet any more? I was watching “Ax Men” on the History Channel the other Sunday night and one of the logging companies that showed up was a sustainable horse operation — FROM FLOYD COUNTY! Was there anything about this in our local paper? Not that I could find. Good news and national exposure for a neat little operation in our corner of the world and all we can get in The Burgs is still more reader-submitted pictures. There is a new brick building on Prices Fork Rd. across from the BW3 location — what it is is a mystery. Sure would be nice to read about it in the paper, but since it seems like the New River Bureau people (are there any left there?) never leave the building because all the content is now handed to them, no one would know about it. I hope Connie B. is successful in bringing back the News Messenger because she could clean up just by covering hard news like her dad did back in the old days. People want that but the RT has forgotten how (or has given up).
Comment by Bruce Harper — April 3, 2012 @ 8:58 am
From a Luddite (?) Roanoke Times is a newspaper that should print the news. I don’t read it to get an index of what is on the website. If Chubbies is closing (as an example) tell me about it in the paper, don’t refer me to a blog. If it is important, print the story and not information on where to find the story. (Sorry if negative sounding, but someone needs to do it !)
Comment by Frank Eastburn — April 11, 2012 @ 2:52 pm
Since one of the biggest “sore spots” on any blog is the presence of “trolls” and ongoing conflicts, I would like to know if Roanoke.com would consider offering a blog for conversation, either on topics/threads or just “Open Comments” for registered, non anonymous posters only? A community of not necessarily “like” minded but conversation and discussion minded as opposed to just hurling invective and answering insults?
I think that some very intelligent, articulate and informed people visit the blogs and only a few will ever stay due to the level of vitriol and constant badgering as opposed to actual discussion and information sharing.
If you have room, I would sure appreciate you looking into such a “place” for those of us very very tired of the “blog wars” here.
I had thought that the “block user” would be effective, but in reality that will just leave them free rein to abuse people who no longer respond and embolden them.
Please create a place where only known and identified people can contribute and only the mildest chiding is allowed. At least give it a try and see if there are bloggers who would forgo anonymity to be able to speak freely and not be demeaned and abused. I believe there is a market for that.
Comment by Sandi Saunders — April 18, 2012 @ 7:53 am
Community members should support local papers:
Warren Buffet’s take on his purchase of the Richmond Times holding co.:
“I think there is a future for newspapers that exist in an area where there’s a sense of community,” Buffett said at Berkshire’s annual meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, on May 5.
Local papers should be appreciated by their communities, and advertisers should help. Newspapers require funding; it seems that many folks want much for nothing. Subscribe (to many papers), and advertise!
Comment by Know Nothing — May 18, 2012 @ 10:13 am
I think the Blogs [especially the blogs written by R/T staff] should be buried deep into the site. At times one is unable to distinguish news from opinion. I know that would make for a skimpy website as opinion from the R/T staff comprise the majority of the paper.
A good investigative story idea; how many hours are wasted [stolen from employers] by employees posting on websites all day, S.S.
Comment by johnny — May 18, 2012 @ 11:31 am
To survive, you must build community. Every story must have a comment thread with reply options. If you avoid this for fear that people will submit something inappropriate, you will simply fizzle out. One-to-many communication models are shrinking. Many-to-many is the future. You are positioned to transition into the role of moderator. But if you don’t grab the ring, you’ll be craigslisted on this as well in due time. BTW, newest comments at the top, please. And you would be surprised how much loyalty you will receive if you give people “badges” and such. For comment thread design, you should look at the structure on huffingtonpost.com as a model.
Comment by Earl Eakin — May 24, 2012 @ 6:55 am