Ask The Post

Jim Brady
Executive Editor, washingtonpost.com
Wednesday, October 19, 2005 12:00 PM

This Week: washingtonpost.com executive editor Jim Brady answered your questions about The Washington Post Web site -- from recent stories to navigating the site.

How does the Web site differ from the print edition? How do you find your favorite features -- from multimedia to movie listings to columnist archives? What's next for washingtonpost.com? Have questions? Just Ask The Post.

Jim Brady was named executive editor of washingtonpost.com in November 2004. This is Brady's second stint at washingtonpost.com. He served as sports editor and assistant managing editor for news from 1995 to 1999, and later spent four years at America Online, including stints as Programming Director, News & Sports and Vice President, Production & Operations.

The transcript follows.

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Washington, D.C.: The other day I saw a TV commercial about the Washington Post newspaper. At the end of it there was no mention of washingtonpost.com. Does the newspaper discourage people from reading the Web site? Are both's division's objectives at odds with each other?

Jim Brady: Good afternoon... Thanks for all your questions, I'll get to as many as my lousy typing skills allow...

In regard to the newspaper's commercial, it could not be farther from the truth that the newspaper does not support the web site. Many of the newspaper reporters write columns or blogs for us, and the Post newsroom devotes hundreds of hours a month to Live Online discussions. Also, it should be noted that a tremendous amount of washingtonpost.com readers come from outside the Washington area and cannot receive the newspaper, so through the site, readers around the world are able to get Washington Post-quality journalism.

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Washington, D.C.: Your site search is the worst in the business and that is saying a lot. Don't you think it is important for your readers to be able to FIND what they're looking for? Is searching not one of the BIGGEST advantages the Web has over paper? What's wrong over there?

Jim Brady: I think it's a fair criticism, and it is something we're actively working on. But rebuilding your primary search mechanism can't be turned around on a dime, so it will be a little longer before we can make the improvements that we -- and you -- would like to see. But we are working on it.

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Washington, D.C.: Jim - Thanks for taking the question. The Washington Post Corporation has clearly spent a lot of resources building these Washington Post chats (and the site in general) into a significant and perhaps unrivaled online presence. Congratulations on a job well done.

Here's the question: While "cyberspace" is certainly devoid of some of the politics or decorum of a newsroom, some of your staff are increasingly combative and obnoxious towards readers while online. I'm sure that many of them receive too many rude and obnoxious queries from readers, but rather than simply choosing not to respond to such unfortunate posts, they respond in a manner unbecoming to The Washington Post. (Feel free to remove next sentence if you must) Two good examples are J. Freedom DuLac and Michael Wilbon. How do you feel about rude exchanges perpetuated by combative Post writers?

Jim Brady: I don't know the specific examples you're citing, but I do think part of the discussion format is allowing people to react real-time, and at times, readers and/or guests will get fired up by something they're reading. I think, in a free exchange of ideas, you get into dangerous territory when telling guests what they can and cannot say. We don't ask the people asking the questions to do that (outside of obvious issues with profanity, etc.)

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Arlington, Va.: Why do the stories on washingtonpost.com's home page differ from those on A1 editions of The Post? Are your people just smarter?

Jim Brady: It's actually pretty simple. The Post comes out once a day, and the site is updated 24/7, so a story that leads the paper may be one we have been promoting for 12 hours or so, so we may not lead with it. Obviously, it depends on the story, and on many days, we do lead with the exact same story as the paper. But I don't think having our home page and The Post's A1 content mirror each other always makes sense.

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Baltimore, Md.: What has happened to Jeff Morley's online chat? I don't think he's been on for weeks and I miss him!

Jim Brady: Jeff has been spending more time with World Opinion Roundup, since it's now a blog, and as any of you who have blogs know, they are monsters that constantly need to be fed. So while Jeff will still do occasional discussions, we've stopped the weekly for now to allow him to do the blog (which you should check out at World Opinion Roundup).

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washingtonpost.com: See Morley's Live Online from Monday on Iraq's constitution: Charter Appears to Have Passed, But Challenges Remain.

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San Diego, Calif.: Thanks for the wonderful site. I can (and sometimes do) spend the whole day here. I used to read New York Times online but started reading washingtonpost.com more and more about a year ago. Your Web only columns and chats show your determination to beat out your major competitor as the nations paper of record, online or off. I would say this even without the recent difficulties at NYT (not to mention their new and pricey ways). Your recent improvements to the site (new Opinions section, more blogs, etc.) make it even better. You offer much more than TimesSelect, and for free! So I have to ask--is the Web site self-supporting? Any reason to expect a "PostSelect" in the future? (Tell me now so I can budget for it!)

Jim Brady: Thanks for the kind words about washingtonpost.com. At this time, there are no plans to charge users for the site. We always reserve the right to revisit that strategy, but for now, there are no plans.

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Arlington, Va.: The Washington Post Web site is one of the worst offenders for pop-ups and obtrusive ads. I understand you need to make money, but I am a paid subscriber to the newspaper, and since you already force us to sign in to view content, can't you reward me for actually buying the paper by giving me an ad free (or at least pop-up free) version? Is that too much to ask?!? Seriously, I find the Web site really annoying.

Jim Brady: Actually, this is a good question to follow with. I am truly sorry that the unobtrusive ads are problematic for you, and we do try and limit them. But part of the tradeoff for keeping the site free is that we do need to make money via advertising. Understand the concern that, as a newspaper subscriber, you should get an ad-free site, but we don't have a site like that right now, and it would be a substantial task to create one.

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Alexandria, Va.: So do you have a contingency plan in place for when the panda cub goes home to China? What will washingtonpost.com be like without our weekly fix of adorable panda baby photos?

Jim Brady: I see PandaCam in our future.

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Wheaton, Md.: What is the future of video in Online News? Will The Washington Post continue original packages or will you need to strike deals for more video content beyond MSNBC?

Jim Brady: We will absolutely continue to do original video. It is one of our signature content areas, and while we'll always supplement that with video from other sources, I don't ever see a day where we're not producing original video content.

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Alexandria, Va.: When I try to access the site from home (dial-up), a big ad comes across half the page and doesn't go away, so I can't read the article. Can you please fix this?

Jim Brady: That should not be happening. May be an issue with the particular browser you are using. There is a "Contact Us" link at the bottom of all pages on the site, and they can help you sort out that problem.

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Washington, D.C.: I realize ads are necessary, but the ones with the toenail fungus are really unpleasant.

Jim Brady: Hard to dispute that. But I guess it works, since it's the one ad everyone seems to notice.

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Washington, D.C.: Good afternoon,

Working for washingtonpost.com would be my dream job. You guys just seem way out front of anyone else in the biz. Many of your online producer job postings state that they are not reporting positions - however they do ask for journalism experience. Could you clarify what kind of background you are ideally looking for? I have a research/library CV (no reporting) and am unsure if I qualify.

Many thanks and keep up the great work!

Jim Brady: Obviously, a background in journalism is a requirement. Without that, there's no chance. But in addition, time spent in Web journalism, proficiency with Web tools like Flash, audio editing, video editing and HTML are key. Also, knowledge of the Web and its usage trends...

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New York, N.Y.: For about two weeks before the Roberts confirmation the most viewed article on the washingtonpost.com was his bio. Though early in the morning it wouldn't be, but not much later it would be. Was this the result of a coordinated effort to move his bio to the most viewed sidebar. If if it wasn't, are there measures in-place to prevent having bots pump up stories popularity? Do think this is an important issue?

Jim Brady: That story was the most-read because it was being pointed to by some other big sites on the Web. So it wasn't a bot, it truly was the most clicked on story for a long period of time.

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Poughkeepsie, N.Y.: Mr. Brady, Thank you for making yourself available to take questions.

Please can you explain why Dan Froomkin's column is in the "Opinions" section?

Thank you

Jim Brady: Not sure how to answer other than to say because I believe it is indeed an opinion column. I'm assuming you're asking because you don't think it is, and if so, we'll just have to agree to disagree.

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Manassas, Va.: I'm a blogger, so multiple kudos for your partnership with Technorati. Now on to my complaint--

I've noticed that some of your links morph in a very confusing way. On several occasions, a link that starts out pointing to one story ends the day by pointing to a different file on the same topic--for example, a wire story or short take later changes to a fuller, bylined story slated to appear the next day in the newspaper. Is this a bug or a feature?

Jim Brady: Thanks for the comment. I will pass it on to the proper folks here to look into. But glad that you're happy with the overall deal. We felt it was an interesting way to open the door to a larger conversation about the news of the day.

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Lifelong reader: Good morning, diamond Jim: I think The Post Web site is as good as any I've seen. The other day, however, my paper had a Boswell article about re-doing RFK which I could not find online, where a different Bos article was posted..? 2. I would like to see more readily available access to send questions to editors, writers, etc. Many are not listed on the alphabetical sort. They could respond or not, e.g. Monday I wished to know what radio station was carrying the baseball game (not listed). And, here's the killer, editorials representing The Post (which is merely a name) should be signed by the author(s). They are often at odds in these times. Thanks.

Jim Brady: Thanks for the comments... I discussed news search earlier, and will pass on the other recommendations...

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Lanham, Md.: When will citizen journalism be coming to washingtonpost.com?

Jim Brady: Can't tell you when, but we're working on a handful of other ways to engage users, and among them is allowing for submission of content from outside sources. But there are a lot of details to be worked out before we're ready to go live.

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Chevy Chase, Md.: What is the future of News Aggregators (AOL, Yahoo) vs. Original news organizations like yourself?

Jim Brady: Interesting question. Having once worked for AOL, I have seen both sides. I think the original news organizations will continue to do what they're doing now, though that journalism will be featured in multiple media. The big question is whether the original news organizations will continue to do distribution deals with the aggregators. Those deals cut both ways for the original news creators. Obviously, the aggregators are making some moves to create their own content, and the success or failure of those enterprises will probably be telling.

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Ithaca, N.Y.: You recently started producing two home pages, one with a national/world emphasis, the other clearly targeted at the Washington market.

What results were you hoping for and are you getting them?

Jim Brady: The idea was to better surface content that would match the geographic location of the reader. For example, think about a story like a weekend shutdown of the Wilson Bridge outside DC. That story is a HUGE story for local residents, and has a tremendous impact on their ability to get around. However, outside the area, that story means nothing. So the idea here is to make sure local readers see that story emphasized appropriately, and national readers don't see it at all. Locally, we feature local traffic cameras, more local sports, the Focus on Fairfax blog, etc. Nationally, we focus more on world news, politics, etc.

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Washington, D.C.: Hey, Jim, I'm Jim. Thanks for taking my question. The Post's site has numerous RSS feeds, but they don't seem to track that closely to the site. For instance, the "Top News" feed gets a story or two a day, where I think it should pick up all the headlines coming across the front page. That would make the site rock in my eyes.

Jim Brady: We are working on this so that the Top News RSS feed will be more useful.

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Louisville, Ky.: I would love to read "The Fix" every day, but my organization blocks anything with "blgg.whatever" in the URL, in this case "blogs.washingtonpost.com." Is there a workaround I should know about? Thanks.

Jim Brady: Hmmm, not sure. You may need to get a new employer. :-)

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New York, N.Y.: Are the Jets forever jinxed?

Jim Brady: Obviously, yes.

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Laurel, Md.: Why is never any counter balance to the obvious liberal leanings of your cartoonist in the editorial pages?

Jim Brady: Just to be clear, there are lots of questions going to bias. I am in charge of the editorial content on the Web site, and it's not my place to get into perceived biases of the newspaper. If you have specific questions about biases of the web site, I'm glad to address those (and will in the next answer).

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Ashland, Mo.: Do you expect to affiliate with someone to do a daily column that is as pro-Bush as Mr. Froomkin's column is anti-Bush?

Jim Brady: As a columnist, Dan does have the right to take the position he wants, so I don't have an issue with that. But we are always striving for ideological balance, and we are in fact looking to add some conservative voices to the Opinions area of the site.

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Provo, Utah: Is there any sense from your perspective that people are reeling from too much audio/visual technology (pop up ads, tickers at the bottom of every news screen, etc) and are looking for simpler ways of getting information? Podcasting, for example, can be seen as a reaction to an overload in visual content - some people go for the simple, less-is-more approach.

Jim Brady: I think information overload is a risk, but the beauty of the web is that each user has their own way of consuming news and information, and you can be sure that whatever method that is, there's a site (or technology) available that will allow you to do it.

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Washington, D.C.: Hello: How long do you think it will be before the Web replaces printed newspapers? How will you replace the revenue from all the ads in the print edition when this day dawns? Thanks

Jim Brady: I don't see printed newspapers going away at any time. History is littered with predictions about one medium putting another out of business. In most of those cases, it has not happened.

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Washington, D.C.: Hi Jim, I would like to see a story on the total Web site. How many programmers, computers etc? Software? How many hits around the world? And who are the computer gurus? Who runs it on the tech side and what is the vision? And maybe some funny stories. Thanks for the site. I love it.

Jim Brady: Wow, a perfect softball. We're actually going to launch a blog soon that will talk about the site, including new features we've launched and a information about some of the questions you've posed.

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Ithaca, N.Y.: Repeating the second part of the two homepage question: what results did you expect and are you getting them?

Jim Brady: Ithaca is all over me. We have seen a significant increase in overall home page traffic since launch, which we believe is a sign than the two home page method has been a success. Also, we've had almost no complaints from users about being confused or on the wrong page.

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Catonsville, Md.: Does The Post have any plans to go the route of the New York Times and merge online and print staffs?

Jim Brady: Good question, but I will leave the answer to people in much larger offices than mine.

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Bethesda, Md.: On the Web site, I find it terribly annoying to have to always input my name and password. Will this strategy change any time soon?

Jim Brady: You should not have to log in on each visit. You may not be letting your computer set cookies. If you turned cookies on, it would save your name and password and you would be automatically logged in on each visit. Some employers don't let you set cookies.

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Bethesda, Md.: How do you see Online News evolving? Is the paid model of NYT and WSJ viable?

Jim Brady: I think this is the hot question right now. The pay model comes with the risk that your traffic will sharply decrease, and that traditional methods of distribution (search engines and blogs, specifically) won't link to paid content. However, the free model comes with the risk that the revenue generated won't be enough to fund the news gathering operations that power the world's great newspapers. I would not be presumptuous enough to say I know the answer, though for now, we have decided to stick with the free model.

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Bowie, Md.: I have The Post delivered to my house everyday; however, I enjoy the Web site for its updated information. As events are happening, The Post is right there.

Jim Brady: Heck, may as well end with a positive note.

Anyway, thanks very much for the questions, and if you have any additional comments or questions, please feel free to send them to executive.editor@washingtonpost.com.

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Editor's Note: Washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions.