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Rome News Tribune Bio Feature Video Series
INCLUDES COLORFUL RFN COMMENTARY - The video links are below the brief backstory info.
Like alot of newspapers across the country, the Rome News Tribune has been on a steady decline for various reasons but
especially due to the internet changing the way information is delivered. Newspapers can no longer hold information until they
decided when to release it or for the sole purpose of selling a print copy (old news) a day later. A story posted by another
local business news website revealed that RNT is in serious financial distress facing foreclosure on several buildings
occupied by the paper along with other legal troubles NOT mentioned by the RNT in their own modest self-report.
New Year's Day 2013, RNT finally came clean announcing it was filing for chapter 11 bankruptcy. The day before, there was a
"secret" meeting held with employees but again RNT failed to break its own big announcement because the "secret" meeting was
leaked on another website at least 15 hrs ealier. Then early that morning, RFN informed thousands about it before RNT posted
it on its own website 9 hours later so it could sell the info to the public first. To see RNT's BIG announcement along with
some incredible wishful thinking, click HERE.
The 12 video links below are located under each set of video preview excerpts mixed with colorful RFN commentary.
Considering RNT's extreme efforts to keep their operations & strategies internal and secret over the decades, the publicizing
of the video content in the candid behind the scenes feature below is highly unusual, not to mention arrogant considering
their market size, their continually degrading product and the state of the industry in general. It clearly demonstrates that
RNT management up to the highest level is not in touch with reality which could at least partly explain why they are in their
current situation. This RNT feature is believed to have been produced around the end of 2010 so it reflects knowledge & opinions
at that time which hasn't changed much, if any. Why RNT management would appear on camera and make such foolish statements is
beyond comprehension. So why is this info important for you to see? Well, it clearly shows
that they think they know how all of us think and what's good for us by replying to questions like "what
would happen if RNT went away?" with answers like, "The biggest problem is that people just
wouldn't know about anything". Apparently, these oracles aren't aware that the internet provides unlimited sources
of local and world news & not just RNT's version or copy & paste of it. The order of video selections starts from the top
management position to the lowest because we all know BS rolls down hill. Be sure to watch ALL of the Alred videos. If the
arrogant statements he makes aren't funny enough, his immitation of a living Homer Simpson bobble head doll (see
for yourself >> here)
will do the trick. He also seems to be quite nervous alot of the time, especially when mentioning all of us "others" that
he claims don't even exist by the way. Please spare everyone of the trauma Mr Alred, please, oh please stay BEHIND the cameras
because you do NOT have the on-screen talent or the "look" to be in front of them. Scroll down to get started.
RNT Backgrounder (.PDF)
OTIS RAYBON VIDEO 1 PREVIEW EXCERPTS:
(1:27) ". . . It's very important to us that our front page be local news. It's gotta be a very big story for our front page
of RNT and the same way with our weekly papers to not be local news. We think that's what differentiates us from the 6p news
. . . and even online."
(2:20) ". . . I'm not sure that we all understand just what hyperlocal means . . . we try to, using our website and our newspapers
give our readers and our audience a great perspective and a great view of what's happening in their community . . . It could
be a kindergarten graduation . . . we probably have more than 5000 local produced videos such as kindergarten graduations,
breaking news events . . . a bank robber being chased & taken from a wooded area for arrest"
RFN REPLY: Your video director says 3000 videos & you say 5000.
Which is it sir? Either way, it looks like home video and more is NOT necessarily better.
RFN REPLY: You mean this bank robbery suspect arrest video that RFN also captured, Mr Raybon? 
Bank Robbery Arrest RFN VIDEO
RFN REPLY: Sorry, RFN doesn't do kindergarten graduations. You win in that category.
(3:40) ". . . if we ever lose that understanding that we have to build a sense of community . . . then I think that's when we
begin to lose to the internet and to the cable and whatever else is out there."
RNT Publisher: Otis Raybon
Intro and Contribution (6:06)
OTIS RAYBON VIDEO 2 PREVIEW EXCERPTS:
(1:35) (Could a digital-revenues-only operation support a quality newsroom?) "A digital only operation may make money. I
don't think it would make enough money to support the infrastructure that's needed to produce the daily news operation that
RNT produces. The revenue model, the business model for online has yet to convince me that it's strong enough to sustain 180
full time employees."
RFN REPLY: Well sir, you better figure something out and quick!
(2:35) "all things combined cost alot of money and I just don't see yet, the benefit to an advertiser as strong as the benefit
that that newspaper brings to that advertiser."
RFN REPLY: A mindset such as that will be the RNT's undoing.
VIDEO 2: Strategic Changes (7:40)
OTIS RAYBON VIDEO 3 PREVIEW EXCERPTS:
(2:53) ". . . We've got reporters that take video cameras with them that in addition to shooting a still photo that's going
to be printed in the paper, they can do a video that capture's the heart of what your interview is doing and you put that
online, you put sound with that. . . . get as diverse an eduction as you possibly can because when you get here, we're going
to give you another education."
RFN REPLY: Yes Mr Raybon, video cameras do record sound. The
technology has been around for about 60+ years now.
RFN REPLY: As for the re-education, Mr Raybon, are you not aware
that you ARE in Rome, Ga, not New York, not LA or any other major market? Get over yourself sir.
VIDEO 3: Adaptation & the Future (2:56)
VIDEO 4: Prospects and Preparation (3:43)
After being "educated" by the publisher above, prepare to be educated some more by this whirlwind of knowledge. She knows
everything about everything but is actually the ONLY one in the group that does have a clue and coming from RFN, that's a
compliment. The real problem though is that she doesn't know anything about multi-media management or video production.
The interesting thing is that after all of this cheerleading, Charlotte Atkins left the ground breaking RNT a little over a
year after this video was produced.
Ironically, for someone who knows so much you will hear alot of statements starting with "how do we figure out"
RNT Editor in Chief: Charlotte Atkins
Introduction and Contribution (7:52)
VIDEO 2: Ethics & Content (7:03)
VIDEO 3: Strategic Changes (6:21)
CHARLOTTE ATKINS VIDEO 4 PREVIEW EXCERPTS:
(:17) ". . . I'm really sick and tired of hearing about the death of newspapers"
RFN REPLY: And yet, you left that unique, local news powerhouse.
(4:40) ". . . I do think newspapers have a primary responsibility as the originators of content but I suspect we're going to
find ourselves more in the role of curators of helping people navigate the other information that's out there . . . validating
what is the important news and what is the accurate news from just all the other noise that might be out there because any
Tom, Dick and Sally can get online and have a blog or a website and I like to give our readers credit for knowing the difference."
RFN REPLY: The "important" news seems to be at least 95% out of
town AP stories, at least on your website.
RFN REPLY: It is highly probable that not all, but the majority,
of those that continue to buy a print edition (day old news) from ANY news source do so because certain content they want to
read is only available in print, because of habit, cannot afford internet service and/or they are not technically savvy to
view ANY online content.
VIDEO 4: Adaptation & the Future (5:40)
CHARLOTTE ATKINS VIDEO 5 PREVIEW EXCERPTS:
(2:49) ". . . fortunately here, I've had bosses who have been committed to keeping feet on the street and actually augmenting
staff and creating a multimedia department at a time when others have been cutting back . . . We've faced the same struggles
but not by slashing staff."
RFN REPLY: As stated above, these videos were produced a while back
and situations do evolve, but the high turnover rate since then, even some in management, has told a much different story.
(3:21) ". . . young journalists need the curiosity and that drive to want to tell those stories is what's going to seperate
them I think."
RFN REPLY: They also need to have the willingness to work long hours
and weekends for very low pay.
VIDEO 5: Prospects & Preparation (3:43)
Apparently, the upper management gives Mr Alred the benefit of the doubt by not checking the traffic numbers for RNT video
"programming". If they did, they might reduce his pay to hire more people or eliminate his position and save alot of wasted
money. >> RNT Viewer Traffic Screen Shot (note the viewer counts in yellow boxes).
How do you explain these LOW and NO viewer numbers Mr Alred? >> RNT Non-Viewer Traffic (note the LOW OR NO viewer counts under the images). What's the point if NOBODY is watching them? What
makes this info even more interesting is that they are posted on Youtube, a website that specializes in "search" attracting
countless millions of daily viewers and yet nobody's watching RNT's "Emmy nominated" video content. Imagine how many are NOT
watching on RNT's website either. Finally, why would you post your videos to an external website? Why would a viewer come to
RNT's website, WHERE THE PAYING SPONSORS ARE LOCATED, when they can see it somewhere else and not benefit the sponsors? It's
very clear that you & your bosses don't have a clue as to how to manage multimedia!
And now for some trivial comparisons, except they're not really trivial because the difference in viewer traffic is dramatic.
>> RFN's 6 Legged Deer Video
(4.3 MILLION+ views) NOTE: ALL national broadcast & cable networks purchased and aired RFN's video
>> RNT's 6 Legged Deer Video
(77.5 thousand views) NOTE: Because an RFN message sent to the producers of an Animal Planet show was not
successfully delivered, they found & used RNT's video because it was provided for FREEEEEE! You're welcome, RNT.
>> RFN's Crane Collapse on Car Video
(282,000+ views) NOTE: Again, ALL national broadcast & cable networks purchased and aired RFN's
video
>> RFN's Police Dash Camera Crane Collapse on Car Video
(524,000+ views) NOTE: Again, ALL national broadcast & cable networks purchased and aired this
RFN-provided video that was packaged with RFN's location video. A key difference is that RFN's video looks normal & RNT's
video is tinted BLUE! See for yourself below.
>> RNT's Police Dash Camera Crane Collapse on Car Video
(29,000 views) NOTE: In addition to being tinted BLUE, RNT's video was used by the Associated Press because
it was provided for FREEEEEE!
JIM ALRED VIDEO 1 PREVIEW EXCERPTS:
(2:14) "Alot of people when they get into journalism, they want to go cover the big leagues and I was that way at one time too.
But now it's the case of I want to go out and cover the great things"
RFN REPLY: So Mr Alred, the big networks aren't covering the "great
things"? It's probably more about how you couldn't make it in the "big leagues" considering you have NO background in professional
or broadcast video production. Or, you were not very significant in Naples, FL when RNT came a callin' and you realized how
desperately behind and technically ignorant RNT's management was and you took full advantage of it. Good for you! Now you're
the big fish in the little pond, RNT's pond only though. You're invited to enter the world of freelance and we'll see just
how good you really are.
(2:30) "When I got here video was almost non-existent on our website, since I've been here we've produced almost 3000 videos"
RFN REPLY: Your boss Mr Raybon, said it was 5000 videos. It must
be hard to keep up with accuracy when dealing with such large numbers. By the way, more is NOT necessarily better, as proven
at the link above because nobody's watching, but RNT specializes in nurturing the "good enough" generation with low quality.
Just how interesting is rain, falling snow, kindergarten plays, kindergarten circuses, kindergarten weddings, playground
parties, easter egg hunts, kite flying, garden club meetings, etc.? Nobody watches that other than the participants and their
families. Have you ever heard of Youtube? Basically RNT is providing an amateur video service of what any family member would
produce anyway. Apparently it's about bragging about big numbers versus watchable content.
(4:08) (What would be the effect if your newspaper were to close and not be replaced?) "The biggest problem is that people
just wouldn't know about anything. I'll be honest, there are 2 or 3 blog sites that have tried to come in to our territory
and there's one that does business news, fairly well. They've tried to do prep sports and failed miserably at that. One tries
to do video and puts a couple of videos up per month. I think the biggest crying shame about it would be that these events that
we think are so important, nobody would ever know about. The only recordings of them would be whatever the parents did . . .
You know we have professional videographers going out, recording these"
RFN REPLY: If RNT went away, people wouldn't know about anything?
Really? As far as the "others" failing miserably, just because RNT makes the effort, does NOT mean it's watchable so what's
the point with all the nauseating, strobic, badly framed, blurry, shaky, blue, green, red, wavy, dark, blown out, backlit,
blank (no video!) and/or missing or distorted audio? Your excuse is, it's better than nothing and would only be done by
parents if it wasn't for RNT. Why don't you just get the parents to shoot the video for FREE and tell them how lucky they are
for it to be seen on RNT's website? Your bosses could save alot of money and you could get a raise. Obviously, your definition
of professional is different from most. Please do not insult those with extensive resumes by calling yourself or your "crew"
professionals because they are nothing more than low paid entry level interns with NO professional experience. That's why the
turnover rate of your "crew" is nearly 100% every year!
RFN REPLY: Mr Alred, it is important for you to remember that you
work for someone else. Someone that you have convinced to pay you much more than your actual professional worth AND that is
not checking the numbers themselves but are taking your word for it. It would be interesting to see how you would survive in
a larger market or in the real world of freelance with your lack of knowledge and experience. You're invited to enter that
world and we'll see just how good you really are.
(5:57) "I mean it's like ESPN showed up. We're not ESPN quality, I never pretend we are"
RFN REPLY: Please make up your mind, either you provide network
quality or you don't. Seriously, it's probably not necessary to inform people that your video product is not ESPN quality.
(6:13) "If we go away, you lose all of it. Because no matter how someone tries, they're not going to be able to do what we do."
RFN REPLY: Really!? THAT has got to be the most ridiculous
comment you've made so far but you're partially right. But it's not because of the "others'" lack of knowledge, experience or
equipment. No, some are just not willing to make as much effort as RNT for free or next to free. So it's not that nobody else
can do it, it's that nobody wants to compete in such a small market with a lowball operation like RNT. It could easily be
done by another if they were also the only one because there's really not enough market share for another large operation like
RNT. Why do you think Comcast's tv news operation left years ago? RNT's "success" couldn't possibly have anything to do with
the fact it has been riding a 100+ year newspaper monopoly wave with the benefit of legacy readers & subscribers because they
had no other choice in Rome could it? RNT also survives on low ball volume based ad rates which reflects how RNT values
itself. Cheap, cheap, cheap. It would be interesting to see how RNT would develope as a startup in today's market. When it
comes down to who can operate the cheapest, RNT will win every time. Get over yourselves!
RNT New Media Director: Jim Alred
Introduction and Contribution (6:07)
JIM ALRED VIDEO 2 PREVIEW EXCERPTS:
(:20) ". . . I spent about six months at the college campus tv station"
RFN REPLY: Yeah, and it shows. Look where it got you, RNT.
(:51) ". . . to be honest, I had never done any HTML coding at all . . . I'd be sitting there saying what am I doing here? . . .
I kind of felt like a trained monkey . . . it was a very big learning curve . . . those same HTML codes learned years ago
are extremely important to what we do on a daily basis . . . HTML is getting outdated"
RFN REPLY: Yes, and it shows! Just stick to those templates and
you can't go wrong. The RNT website's "new and improved" look has not changed from its cartoon, kindergarten, bubble buttoned,
oversized text layout since its launch several years ago trying to win useless small newspaper awards. As for HTML being
outdated, that's the story of RNT's website. You must not have learned very much HTML because from what's been displayed so
far, you certainly don't look very skilled in the art of HTML coding. LIVE PC video and a dedicated mobile edition was
available on RFN at least 2 yrs before RNT and LIVE/On-demand mobile video is still NOT available on RNT's mobile edition but
it was launched years ago on RFN.
(2:31) (What additional skills will be needed for a new media job in the next 3 - 4 yrs?)
(4:05) ". . . get interships, hey come work for me! I'll train you up on everything, you'll get to work with an Emmy nominated
crew"
RFN REPLY: Wow. The second most ridiculous statement you've made.
Come work for you? No thanks Alred. How does someone that doesn't know anything train others? The fact that RNT got nominated
for those Emmy awards only means that the competition's work must have been that much more horrendous. Doesn't it bother you
that those special categories were created just so insignificant operations like RNT could actually feel important by winning
something. Maybe you should concentrate more on improving your video product instead of chasing meaningless awards.
(4:20) ". . . The more you know, the better chance you have of getting hired."
RFN REPLY: THAT and the willingness to work long hours, weekends
and holidays for cheap, cheap, cheap while YOU get higher pay than them, leave at 5P daily, are off on the weekends & holidays,
sit at home and get all the credit on top of not having a clue about the latest video technologies and delivery, all while the
the whole operation falls apart. That's also the view of a few of your former co-workers & underlings.
VIDEO 2: Skills (4:28)
JIM ALRED VIDEO 3 PREVIEW EXCERPTS:
(1:11) ". . . We've got to think we're big and we've got to act like we're big because if not, we're going to get left behind"
RFN REPLY: Now that's being more realistic, acting like something
you're not. However, it's probably a little too late to be thinking like that. RNT and all physical or scheduled media providers
were left behind when the internet was launched and if they don't find a solution fast they will be obsolete.
VIDEO 3: Adaptation & the Future (4:52)
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