SIDEBAR
National Acclaim For TCPalm

By MICHAEL CLARK
Scripps Howard News Contributor

The E.W. Scripps Company is turning "newspaper fiber into cyber," chasing "snow birds'' and getting closer to turning a profit through its innovative efforts in creating and linking newspaper and TV Web sites.

Making money off the Web sites may still be years down the road, cautions Neal Fondren, vice president of new media for Scripps, but he added that in the fast-as-light world of Web sites "down the road in Internet years may not be too far.''

"Just now we are getting the numbers large enough to show advertisers,'' said Fondren. "I think we'll look back on this in a couple of years and say it was a smart thing to get on the Web when we did.''

One of the top performers so far, he said, is Scripps' innovative TCPalm.com Web site, which combines the best from six Scripps newspapers and one television station in the Florida Treasure Coast market. It enjoys a growing legion of fans in the Sunshine state and throughout the nation.

Operating with its own staff out of The Stuart News facility, TCPalm.com offers news, TV broadcasts, features, weather, real estate and general information. The participating newspapers besides The Stuart News are: Ft. Pierce News; Jupiter Courier; Port St. Lucie News; Sebastian Sun and the Vero Beach Press Journal. The TV station is WPTV in West Palm Beach.

The site is so good, in fact, it was honored June 19 by the Newspaper Association of America as the best online newspaper in a small market. (See National Acclaim for TCPalm, next page.)

But a Web site, whether it be TV or newspaper or both, is only as good as its users say it is. In that criterion Scripps' various Web sites nationwide are keeping Internet users happily clicking on.

Steve Casel of Tempe, Ariz., moved from the Hobe Sound, Fla., area five years ago but by moving his digits over his home computer he can instantly revisit the Treasure Coast.

Casel said he is planning on returning to Florida and uses the TCPalm.com site to prepare professionally and personally for his move back.

"You are an answer to prayers. Access to TCPalm.com will allow me to job/business opportunity hunt and house hunt at the same time. Rest assured that I will be entering a lifetime subscription when I return,'' wrote Casel.

Cecilia Baker lives in rural Charlotte, Ark., but went to high school in Vero Beach. She recently told the TCPalm.com staff of the vital electronic link she maintains with her past via accessing the Vero Beach Press Journal online.

"I found it by accident searching for a term paper topic for my daughter. Thanks for being up with what's going on in Vero,'' she wrote.

Ed Pavlovsky is one of tens of thousands of "snow birds'' who migrate to the Sunshine State each winter from northern climates. From his home in New Jersey, Pavlovsky said he monitors The Stuart News and said he is "very pleased to see this new addition to my surfing pleasure...

"I shall use it to supplement my daily reading of The Stuart News while in Florida and look forward to keeping in touch with all down on the Treasure Coast while I go up to 'Joisey' for the summer,'' he wrote.Sherry Jenks lives outside Pittsburgh but has made many friends in the Naples, Fla., area during visits over the years. Ms. Jenks is a big fan of the Naples newspaper Web site and said it allows her to experience Florida's ambiance without suffering the sometimes oppressive heat."It tells me everything that goes on in the area. The Web site is easy to navigate and it makes me feel like I'm in Florida when I'm really not,'' she explained.

She added that she enjoys browsing various Web sites around the nation for real estate information and during her electronic travels she has found the Naples' Web site to be "by far the best in real estate listings anywhere.''

"They offer panoramic views of the rooms in houses that are just wonderful. You feel like you are actually there,'' said Ms. Jenks.

Phil Harris, who was electronic publishing director for the Naples newspaper until he recently became Scripps' director of online business development, said Web site "hits'' from snow birds was an surprise of the most pleasant nature.

"We've grown a new audience there that we didn't have before. During the summer months the hits from them really increase,'' said Harris.

Launched in October of 1996, the Naples's site now averages 60,000 users a day. Real estate listings are of particular interest to many snow birds and Naples' Web site is more than accommodating with a menu that offers photos and more than 8,000 properties.

"We are offering a whole new service to our readers,'' said Harris.

Jim Hare, new media manager for the Rocky Mountain News, said the recent march of the Denver Broncos to the Super Bowl brought home the strong reactive nature of the newspaper Web site audience.

"During the Super Bowl we spiked our traffic by 2 million page viewers. That shows you the power of events in this medium,'' said Hare, who added that average daily use of the Rocky Mountain News' site is about 300,000 viewers.

The Rocky Mountain News Web site is the most active of all Scripps newspapers, followed by The Knoxville News Sentinel's Go Vols UT Web site and the News-Sentinel's Knoxnews; Naples and then The Commercial Appeal's site.

"We're in touch with users on a regular basis. It helps us to keep our thumb on the pulse of what they like ... it helps us tailor our content,'' Hare said.

He added that the News electronic staff is trying to better coordinate its content with the traditional print newspaper. He cited an example where recently the newspaper did an investigative story on Colorado doctors who had been disciplined by the state board for malpractice and fraud.

He said the paper ran the list on its Web site and drew thousands of new users. Hare described the cooperative effort as a good example of "fiber to cyber correlation.

"It was a very successful example of how this can work,'' said Hare.

Robert Niles is one of the many fans of the Rocky Mountain News Web site and he recently praised the site for helping to ease his family's move to nearby Aurora, Colo., from North Dakota.

"I at first was apprehensive about moving to an area so large and having to find my way around. Your info page has alleviated all that frustration. It is a wonderful service and I am very thankful to you ...,'' Niles wrote.

Hasker Nelson, Internet site manager for WCPO-TV in Cincinnati, said the station's Web site has seen "significant growth'' of more than ten-fold since it was launched last year.

Up-to-the-minute weather news is very popular among users in the Tri-State area, said Nelson. Those calling up WCPO's Web site can access an instantaneous view of the Ohio River valley's weather via a video camera high atop a riverfront skyscraper.

"This is another arena for getting your brand name out there. It's another extension into the local community,'' said Nelson.

Like many of Scripps television stations, WCPO often flashes its Web site address on the screen during newscasts and beckons to viewers to access it if they would like more detailed information than what was given during the broadcast.

"The mother medium, which is TV, drives the Web site, but the Web site doesn't drive the mother medium,'' explained Nelson.

Former Cincinnati native Bob McGinley said the top quality of WCPO's Web site drives him back again and again.

"I like to catch up on what's going on back there,'' said McGinley from his home in Benzone, Ariz. "It's very informative.''

He said he likes sneaking peeks at the downtown Cincinnati skyline and Ohio River valley weather on the Web site.

"I like that quite a bit,'' he said.