SD PAPER’S ONLINE RADIO EXPERIMENT CRUMBLES: Last month, the San Diego Weekly Reader (here) reported that the San Diego Union-Tribune was planning to shut down its Internet radio experiment, SignOn Radio [background in RAIN here], due to “lack of interesting content.” Now the Reader says (here) the Union-Tribune has axed three executives involved in the paper’s online efforts, including two, Chris Jennewein and Ron James, who “were heavily involved in SignOn Radio, the disastrous online radio experiment that is now winding down… People with ‘no advertising and programming experience’ were in charge, says Ron Bain, local radio pro. The on-air people ‘were has-beens; it was the graveyard.’”

LAST.FM LAUNCHES VIDEO CHANNEL: Last.fm has launched a new video channel, “Last.fm Presents,” to spotlight artists and feature interviews, concert footage from Last.fm promo events, and other original programming. Last.fm also announced it will distribute video content through the CBS Audience Network of media partners.

EMMIS TO MERKET iTUNES-LINKED “STOREFRONT” TO OTHER MEDIA COMPANIES: Emmis Interactive has reached a deal with Apple’s iTunes Store to market Emmis’ custom “Storefront” technology to outside radio stations and media companies, according to a company announcement. The Indianapolis Star reports (here), “Storefront, already in use by Emmis-owned radio station Web sites since June 2006, allows a station to direct its listeners view playlists online to make purchases of the songs the station plays with a single click. Listeners can easily find and purchase songs they are hearing on-air using the customers’ own Apple iTunes account on the computer.

Comment

1. This is not the first time newspaper people have sunk an online ship. When will these deep pocketed newspapers realize that you cannot just take newspaper sales and content people and give them huge internet jobs? Over and over, it never works without serious human resource re-tooling.

   Bill Wilkins, CEO
   Melted Metal Web Radio
   http://www.meltedmetal.com/

   — Melted Metal Web Radio · May 13, 11:20 PM · #

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