Examiner.com
Type of site | Citizen journalism |
---|---|
Available in | English |
Owner | Anschutz Entertainment Group |
URL | www |
Commercial | Yes |
Registration | Optional, required to comment |
Launched | September 1994 (domain registered by San Francisco Examiner) April 2008 (launch in present format) |
Current status | Defunct (July 10, 2016) |
Examiner.com was an American news website based in Denver, Colorado, that operated using a network of "pro-am contributors"' for content.[1][2] It had various local editions with contributors posting city-based items tailored to 238 markets throughout the United States and parts of Canada in two putative national editions, one for each country.[1][3][4][5]
As of early 2014, Examiner.com was a property of
Growth
In August 2009, Examiner.com was named one of the fastest-growing network of localized websites by
In October 2010, Examiner.com reported adding over 3,000 articles a day, to a growing library of 1.5 million pieces of content.[2][10]
Pay scale
Examiner.com was criticized for the low compensation received by some contributors.[11] The site claimed it told contributors that they should not consider this full-time employment, and "tries to be very clear and transparent that this isn't a 'quit your day job' opportunity."[12]
Examiner.com offered a variety of pay scale options to its writers.[13] Examiner.com based compensation on variables such as subscriptions, page view traffic and session length.[12]
History
The domain was registered by
In 2006, David Schafer, Clarity Digital Media's CEO (former
A small team of engineers and developers worked over the next 18 months to develop the site into something more than a collection of news headlines. Schafer was replaced[16] by the former AOL executive Michael Sherrod in February 2008. (He stayed on as Chief Operations Officer).
In late April 2008, Sherrod unveiled the current model of using "Examiners", local writers and columnists recruited for expertise in a variety of areas, to feature local material about numerous cities. Launching the new model, which he called a "community knowledge site," were 115 "Examiners" in five markets: Denver, Seattle, Baltimore, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C. The latter three already had free distribution of printed Examiner newspapers in certain neighborhoods of those cities. The
In March 2009, Sherrod was replaced by Rick Blair, also formerly of AOL.[17] In September 2009 Clarity Media purchased NowPublic, a Vancouver-based website consisting of "citizen journalists" contributing from around the world.[18] Clarity Media developed the Clarity Digital Group, including both Examiner.com and NowPublic.[10] Blair is the CEO of both Clarity Digital and Examiner.com.[10]
On October 29, 2009, the website's first international expansion took place when Examiner.com Canada was launched in Calgary, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, and Vancouver, along with a national Canadian edition.
On January 23, 2014, Examiner.com announced that it had been acquired by
On July 1, 2016, Examiner.com announced it would shut down on or around July 10, 2016.[8]
Criticism
Matt Smith of the
After Smith brought the issue to Pimentel's attention, the voluminous Gray material was removed from Examiner.com. Pimentel said the Examiner has "a less-strict standard for accuracy and attribution in stories that appear on the Web" than for publications in print.[23]
See also
References
- ^ a b Lee, Edmund (June 7, 2010). "Does Who Creates Content Matter to Marketers in a 'Pro-Am' Media World?". Advertising Age.
- ^ a b c "Examiner.com Execs Push for Quality, Refute 'Content Farm'". PBS MediaShift. October 1, 2010. Archived from the original on November 13, 2012. Retrieved August 27, 2017.
- ^ a b Stelter, Brian (September 2, 2009). "Examiner.com Buys NowPublic, a Citizen-Media Web Site". The New York Times. pp. B2. Retrieved November 16, 2009.
- ^ a b c d Rocha, Roberto (October 29, 2009). "News website chain expands into Canada". The Gazette. Montreal. Archived from the original on November 1, 2009. Retrieved November 16, 2009.
- ^ "Examiner.com expanding into Canada". The Sydney Morning Herald. Agence France-Presse. October 28, 2009. Retrieved November 16, 2009.
- ^ Harden, Mark (April 18, 2008). "Examiner.com recruits local bloggers". Denver Business Journal. Retrieved November 16, 2009.
- ^ a b "Examiner.com Acquired by AXS". AEG Worldwide. 23 January 2014. Archived from the original on 5 October 2014. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
- ^ a b "Online Content Platform Examiner.com Shutting Down". Retrieved 2016-07-05.
- ^ Harden, Mark (September 29, 2009). "Nielsen: Anschutz's Examiner.com is fastest-growing news website in nation". Denver Business Journal.
- ^ a b c Takahashi, Dean (October 1, 2010). "As AOL rushes to local news, Examiner.com is already there". VentureBeat. VentureBeat.
- ^ Hoycom, Angela (May 13, 2009). "How Much Are Examiner.com Writers Really Earning?". Writers Weekly. Retrieved November 16, 2009.
- ^ a b Behling, Ellie (September 8, 2010). "Update: Examiner.com explains low wages, hyperlocal strategy". eMedia Vitals.
- ^ Luscombe, Belinda (December 9, 2009). "Why Does Google Search Love Examiner.com?". Time. New York. Retrieved December 9, 2009.
- ^ Harden, Mark (February 27, 2008). "Anschutz's Clarity Media names online chief, recruits new editors | Denver Business Journal". Bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2011-03-31.
- ^ Raine, George (December 22, 2004). "What's in a name? Plenty". San Francisco Chronicle. sfgate.com. pp. C1. Retrieved November 16, 2009.
- ^ a b Harden, Mark (February 27, 2008). "Anschutz's Clarity Media names online chief, recruits new editors".
- ^ "New executives named at Anschutz's Examiner.com". Denver Business Journal. March 25, 2009.
- ^ Steltner, Brian (September 1, 2009). "Examiner.com Buys NowPublic, a Citizen-Media Web Site". New York Times.
- ^ "Examiner.com invades 5 Canadian cities". CNET. October 28, 2009.
- ^ "Examiner.com conversion". drupal.org. 2010-02-01. Retrieved 2011-03-31.
- ^ "Google Tweaks Algorithm To Spot 'Content Farms'", NPR, 22 April 2011
- ^ Beus, Johannes (26 February 2011). "Google Farmer Update: Quest for Quality". SISTRIX SEO Blog. Archived from the original on 23 January 2013.
- ^ a b c Smith, Matt (December 4, 2007). "Blogos-Free". SF Weekly. SF Weekly. Retrieved November 16, 2009.