Weekly notes 10/30-11/06

Interview with Susan Grant
President
CNN Newsource Sales, Inc.

Highlights:

• Brand attributes: accuracy, immediacy, credibility, global reach.
• 96% of users come to CNN.com by typing in the URL
• The essence of the CNN tradition is being a visionary leader
• Headquarters in Atlanta – by design; away from influences of financial NY and political DC. The outsider perspective differentiates the company’s product from competition.
• Free video was launched in 2005, after broadband costs came down and it was no longer necessary for the business to charge consumers for content and the contract with Real Networks, Inc. was dropped
• Major business costs are people and newsgathering
• XM Radio – another distribution platform. CNN network as an audio product.
  

CMS

Creating value-driven product is one thing. Managing it effectively is another. A crucial component in the company’s efficiency is the use of a home-grown Content Management System (CMS), referred to as CMS 2.0, or simply “The Tools.”

Bearing in mind the fact that a CMS solution is a very complex programming product, CNN.com was very effective in developing a home-grown solution and investing resources and time into this project. The CMS allows managing all types of content the company creates in one interface from putting story elements together to publishing it to the Web. The content landscape, therefore, is efficiently managed according to work flow, roles and approval chains.

With a high frequency of content changes, it is crucial that a reliable system is in place. The system is also used as a repository for archived content that can be easily searched and repurposed as necessary. Effectiveness of the system is further reiterated by capabilities of delivering content to all major platforms: e-mail, PDAs, cell phones, etc. The business logic behind a home-grown solution was that it would be flexible and efficient, leading to a high return on investment.

Effectiveness is part of the company’s organizational culture and tradition. On the offline, broadcasting side, a system called “Mediasource” is used for management of incoming video feeds. There is indexing, search and management of hi- and lo-resolution video, captions, keyframes, scripts and other metadata. The system is highly scalable, and is used at every editorial desk in the company.

Oral defense arrangements
Project oral defense is scheduled for 11/27/2006, 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM CST.
Location: 76 I GannettProject paper will be submitted to the committee for review on/before 11/17.