CBSNews.com will host a special live online Washington Unplugged video chat Tuesday at 12:30 p.m. ET, allowing viewers the chance to discuss the upcoming midterm elections with chief Washington correspondent Bob Schieffer, congressional correspondent Nancy Cordes, political analyst John Dickerson, and chief political consultant Marc Ambinder.
The special Washington Unplugged installment will be available via CBSNews.com, Livestream, and Ustream.TV.
Launch a social media campaign that will build your brand and deliver results in our online Social Media Marketing Boot Camp starting June 7. Speakers include Abigail Cusick (Bravo Digital), Gregory Galant (Sawhorse Media), Alex Leo (Thomson Reuters Digital), Jim Tobin (Ignite Social Media), and many more. Read the reviews. Calling it “an essential component of CBS News’ future,” CBS News & Sports president Sean McManus sent an email to his entire staff today to show just how important the web is to the Tiffany network’s news division.
In the email, obtained by WebNewser, McManus touted the growth of CBSNews.com (+120% year-over-year) as well as features which stem from the broadcast side, including the @katiecouric web show, Bob Schieffer‘s Washington Unplugged and the Crimesider blog, from the 48 Hours team.
The recent growth of CBSNews.com has helped our Web footprint grow overall, both in absolute terms and in comparison to competitors. The combined CBS News Web sites (including CBSNews.com, BNET and CBS MoneyWatch.com) now rank 5th overall among all combined properties in the General News category (CNN, Yahoo, MSN, AOL, CBS) – and 2nd among media companies that have a broadcast network.
The email, after the jump…
The newly re-launched CBSNews.com includes audio tours of the redesigned site from some of CBS’ biggest names including Katie Couric, Bob Schieffer and Charles Osgood.
Only problem – they all say the same thing. The same exact thing.
Have a few minutes? Open several browsers and listen to Couric, Schieffer, or Osgood, give the tour simultaneously. Or for a little South African spin, play the Lara Logan version.
CBS News unveiled the newest iteration of CBSNews.com today offering a new look and feel. The front page features a visual carousel of the day’s top stories, site sections based on topic, a module featuring stories from CBS News broadcasts and, of course, Twitter streams from CBS News correspondents. (I’m looking in your direction (@markknoller)
“The new design and platform looks to capitalize on the legacy and strengths of the CBS News’ brands, while leveraging the Web’s ability to help us dramatically expand our coverage, showcase our strength in video, and drive greater engagement with our audience,” said Joe Gillespie, EVP of CBS Interactive Technology & News.
Other highlights include Bob Schieffer‘s Webcast Washington Unplugged now five days a week at 12:30pmET.
“The Tomorrow Show” (I bet NBC just loves that) a Webcast hosted by CBS News Contributor Mo Rocca launches in August. It will discuss what’s to come in technology, food, pop culture and the environment.
And beginning today, the team behind 48 HOURS MYSTERY launches the “Crimesider” blog.
Click here to take a tour of the new site…
AdAge takes a look at the $1.8 billion CBS-CNet merger one year later. Calling it “the marriage of the oldest of old media with the oldest of new media,” Michael Learmonth writes that the cultures have meshed, “in part, because most CNet journalists have old-media print backgrounds, and because the CBS old guard gets that CBS News’ storied brands must be given some relevance on the web to have a 24-hour presence in the news.”
Katie Couric has embraced the medium and is pushing to do exclusive web coverage of events such as President Barack Obama’s first 100 days. She has 24,739 Twitter followers, which is about 24,739 more than NBC’s Brian Williams, who blogs enthusiastically but refuses to Twitter. A coming redesign of CBSNews.com will stress visuals and video, CBS’s strengths, and CBS has launched a number of web shows, including Bob Schieffer‘s “Washington Unplugged.”
So what are the results?
CBSNews.com’s traffic is still flat compared with a year ago, and it has a long way to go before it’s even in the same league as MSNBC, Yahoo News or NYTimes.com. [CBS Interactive President Neil] Ashe said CBS Interactive will make money on online news, and it has won at least one new advertiser in Microsoft, a longtime CNet advertiser that sponsors CBS News’ online video.
