The exodus continues ... WaPo's Carpenter to Yahoo

[Bruhman]

Sorry if this was posted elsewhere, but it's interesting that Internet sites such as Yahoo and AOL continue to add print journos while newspapers continue to cut and furlough.

 

[imjustagirl]

Congrats, Double Down!!!

 

[Moderator1]

Whitlock will be thrilled

 

[OrthogonalWaterfowl]

I don't know if Yahoo is really a safer bet than a newspaper at this point. Yahoo's been having its own exodus for the past two years and is probably in need of some major changes on the business/technology side if it's going to stay afloat for more than another year or two.

 

[BTExpress]

I've asked time and again: How does Yahoo make money?

Its home page at the moment has one ad --- for Lean Cuisine --- and its tiny market watch sponsored by ScottTrade.

Where does the revenue come from?

 

[Dr. Howard]

I've known Les for a number of years. I like his long-form pieces. Good eye for details. Nice sequencing to his pieces. I would prefer to read lengthy stories on paper, rather than a screen, but that's mostly because I am old and cranky and set in my ways. So I wish Les much luck and success as a Yahoo-er.

 

[OrthogonalWaterfowl]

I've asked time and again: How does Yahoo make money?

Yahoo makes its money off of search advertising, the same as Google. Companies buy ads to appear alongside relevant searches, like how you get a couple paid entries before the first real link in a Google search. This is much more lucrative than ads on content, because searches give you a great opportunity to target specific customer needs, etc.

That said, Yahoo is increasingly beholden to Microsoft. They're no longer developing their own search engine or ad network and have been setting up deals to just resell Microsoft's stuff, basically. Aside from familiarity, there's no reason for users to keep coming to the site and there are better alternatives out there. That's fine for the short term, but we've seen exactly how well that worked out for newspapers...

Then again, they're a giant company with a revenue stream and there's no reason it can't be turned around. And if any companies can support significant news operations based on ad revenue, search engines would be a prime candidate.

 

[Bruhman]

Whitlock will be thrilled

I don't get it.

 

[Shaggy]

Yahoo also owns Rivals, which is a cash freaking cow.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

Whitlock will be thrilled

I don't get it.

Whitlock tried to out Double Down as Les Carpenter, which is only funny because Double Down is not Les Carpenter.

I like Whitlock, but it was a total **** move.

 

[TheHacker]

Yahoo also owns Rivals, which is a cash freaking cow.

I'm not at all disputing this -- simply pleading ignorance in the ways of Web revenue models (and I'm obviously not alone on that). So I ask in a sincere way, fill me in on how Rivals a cash cow?

 

[BTExpress]

Yahoo makes its money off of search advertising, the same as Google.

That's interesting.

Even before Google existed, I hated the results I got from Yahoo search and always went elsewhere.

Cannot imagine why anyone would use Yahoo search for anything.

 

[Ace]

I don't really see this as an exodus. It's just more opportunities for sports writers and columnists.

It's a good thing, not a wandering-40-years-in-the-desert-without-a-decent-deli kind of thing.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

It's a good thing. It would be a better thing if most of the people who have gone to Rivals, Fanhouse, CBS Sports, Yahoo, SI.com etc... were being replaced. I have no idea if Carpenter is being replaced, but I would bet 90 percent of the people who have left for those jobs were not replaced directly or indirectly.

 

[Bruhman]

I don't really see this as an exodus. It's just more opportunities for sports writers and columnists.

It's a good thing, not a wandering-40-years-in-the-desert-without-a-decent-deli kind of thing.

I kinda see it as an exodus, with WAY more folks leaving -- voluntarily or otherwise -- than the number of folks coming aboard. So I don't see it as a good thing for newspapers, although it's good for the writers who land elsewhere.

 

[Ace]

I don't really see this as an exodus. It's just more opportunities for sports writers and columnists.

It's a good thing, not a wandering-40-years-in-the-desert-without-a-decent-deli kind of thing.

I kinda see it as an exodus, with WAY more folks leaving -- voluntarily or otherwise -- than the number of folks coming aboard. So I don't see it as a good thing for newspapers, although it's good for the writers who land elsewhere.

It may not be a good thing for "newspapers" but it's a good thing for "sports writers."

 

[goalmouth]

I don't wanna sound like Johnny Raincloud or anything, but...

<a href="http://adage.com/mediaworks/article?article_id=142896">It's getting harder to make a print-to-digital move</a>

"The talent pool has so deepened that print devotees are no longer go-to candidates, says Nat Ives. "In fact, it's closer to the opposite." There's definitely a "prejudice" against print people, says BetaWave chief revenue officer Mark Oltarsh.

 

[OrthogonalWaterfowl]

Goalmouth, that's an interesting story but it sounds like it's talking more about ad sellers than writers. Not that I don't think the same could hold true on the writing side of the equation. Then again, the story's vague with its terms - "print professionals"? - so maybe I'm wrong.

 

[Joe Williams]

It's a good thing. It would be a better thing if most of the people who have gone to Rivals, Fanhouse, CBS Sports, Yahoo, SI.com etc... were being replaced. I have no idea if Carpenter is being replaced, but I would bet 90 percent of the people who have left for those jobs were not replaced directly or indirectly.

A number of those who have landed at the Web sites were shed by their newspapers -- and not replaced -- before they went to their online homes.

Writers turning their backs on newspapers now are just trying to beat those papers to the punch. Even the places determined not to do layoffs might not have any control over long-term job security and viability.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

The reason it's hard to make a move from print to web is because there are far more print jobs than there are web jobs, at least web jobs that pay competitive wages.

So there's a lot of movement, but it's usually the top 1 percent of the profession. The other 99 percent remains ****ed.