WashingtonPost.com Exec Editor Mulls YouTube for Video Distribution: The New York Times Grabs Smart Dartmouth Grad for New Blog

Since 1999, The Washington Post has been in the forefront of the newspaper industry in integrating video. Last week, I sat down with Jim Brady, Executive Editor in the newsroom of washingtonpost.com, the online division of the newspaper, to talk about the Post and online video.

Jim shared with me some of the thinking that went into last week’s revision of the home page to include a sleek new multi-media player. The new player and its videos are getting some pretty good attention in the blogesphere.

He is excited about the enhanced visibility of video on the home page, but added that the newspaper will distribute its content outside the site via other sites which may include YouTube and various broadcast partners.

He said that downloads are a big part of the Post’s online business. He told me that more video clips are downloaded via video podcasts than streamed. Jim said that he doesn’t know how many of the downloaded videos are actually watched, but he says the company has created a successful download model.

I think the idea of creating and syndicating quality video for distribution on different platforms is essential. Sure, washingtonpost.com is a hugely popular site, but Jim and his colleagues know that they need to make their videos viewable and downloadable to a global audience beyond.

On Friday, we reported on how the Wall Street Journal is making its video clips easily "blogable."

New York Times Enlists College Students for Blog Project

Unrelated to video, but in an another innovative development by a newspaper publisher, The New York Times just launched a blog written by eight graduating college seniors. The blog is about their transitions from college life to the work world. We understand that this is a seasonal project and the blog will be up or just a few weeks.

I am thrilled to report that Dartmouth graduate Alice Mathias (left), a former columnist for the Dartmouth Mirror, is one of the Times’ grad bloggers. We are partial to Dartmouth here at Beet.TV as my son Benjamin is graduating from the school in June. Also, Plesser Holland, the public relations firm and publisher of Beet.TV, is the agency of record for Dartmouth College and the Tuck School of Business. Go Green!!!