Weekly Web Work, 8-10/8-15, 8-17/8-21

I got to try my hand as the main Web guy on a Friday. Here was the result:




This was an item in Ted Evanoff's A1 story about Indy-based Republic choosing to stick around Indy and not move. "After The Indianapolis Star posted an article on its Web site Friday [8-15-09] about the possible relocation of the head office, Bedford weighed in, saying the headquarters of Republic Airways, Frontier and Midwest would remain in their current cities." I found that story just doing a basic "Indianapolis" search as I randomly do through Google.


We were able to get the scoop on the city in writing about the exterior work of One Indiana Square being completed.

Newsletters for the two weeks
Fresh Start
8-21 Indiana homes sales dip 6.3%
8-20 State vies for Harley-Davidson site
8-19 Co-founder of Indy-based think tank dies
8-18 Dental firm puts roots in Noblesville
8-17 Renamed Indy college gets 1st provost
8-14 Republic flies high with winning bid for Frontier
8-13 Carbon Motors files for $310M federal loan
8-12 Beverage maker eyes Columbus for plant
8-11 One Indiana Square exterior facelift almost done
8-10 Striking workers at Bemis return to work today

Mid-Day
8-21 Indiana's July jobless rate 10.6%, down slightly
8-20 IT firm Apparatus to buy old WFYI building
8-19 Internet specialist to link Rushville with 100 jobs
8-18 Jobs announcements set for Rushville, Decatur
8-17 WellPoint, healthcare stocks avoid market freefall
8-14 Republic shares take off after Southwest victory
8-13 Southwest bid for Frontier may be delayed
8-12 Carmel names director for arts center
8-11 Surgeons use 'breakthrough' Cook implant
8-10 Bayh expects 1,200 at job fair

Weekly Web Work, 8-3 through 8-7

Tuesday was perhaps my busiest ever in the morning. I posted seven bylined stories between 7 a.m. and 11 a.m. as I did double duty, as business reporter and on the online desk. At one point my name or work was part of 7 of the 11 stories on the IndyStar.com home page. Stories I was part of were: Hard-hit RV region gets pick-me-up (350 jobs), Marsh sorry for Facebook flap, Red Gold looks to take advantage of ripe opportunity, Simon earnings dip on retail, investment loss, Duke Energy's 2Q profit hurt as demand ebbs and Ohio college hires dean for Indy expansion. Whew!



Oh, and the biggest story of the day was a 4.5' deluge in Indianapolis, which I kick started during the morning shift. Rain traveled sideways, and pushed its way through the closed windows in the office. Amazing!






Newsletters:

8-3 Fresh Start: Toyota readies for Indiana milestone

8-4 Fresh Start: Obama to announce grant in Elkhart County
8-5 Fresh Start: Obama to announce car grants today
8-6 Fresh Start: Senate to consider clunkers program

8-3 Mid-Day: Factory work, construction on the rise in July
8-4 Mid-Day: Eli Lilly to slash sales force with buyouts
8-5 Mid-Day: 7 Ind. firms get cut of electric car stimulus funds
8-6 Mid-Day: Simon opens outlet center in Cincinnati

Included are 8-7MD and FS although I was in negotiations and not involved with the production of the newsletter on that day.

Ripe opportunity

Ripe opportunity
Orestes' own Red Gold is taking its tasty message to Hoosiers as State Fair's chief sponsor

ELWOOD, Ind. -- Take a look around, and the Red Gold label is everywhere. The company's tomato products likely are among the condiments at your favorite restaurant and may even be in your own kitchen.

Now, the Orestes-based company -- the largest tomato processor in the Midwest -- will raise its profile even further by being the chief sponsor of the Indiana State Fair, beginning Friday.

Weekly Web Work, 7-27 through 7-31

Newsletters for the week


7-27 Fresh Start: St. Francis Hospital to absorb cardiac practice
7-28 Fresh Start: Delphi plan OK may lead to Kokomo plant sale
7-29 Fresh Start: Profit dips, but WellPoint's 2Q meets forecasts
7-30 Fresh Start: Cabela's to abandon Greenwood project
7-31 Fresh Start: Eli Lilly starts online registry on physician payments

7-27 Mid-Day: Old National shares rise on profit numbers
7-28 Mid-Day: Eli Lilly stock sinks on pipeline setback
7-29 Mid-Day: Connersville successfully woos police-car maker
7-30 Mid-Day: Cummins' shares jump as profits beat forecast
7-31 Mid-Day: Covance targets Greenfield labs for 315 new jobs

Weekly Web Work, 7-20 through 7-24

A particularly strong breaking news week, and it offered the kind of variety that makes a reporter enjoy the job. Besides the newsletters, I posted an average of five stories a day. As usual this selection was comprised of news releases, localizing national news or highlighting Indiana's outcome as part of a broader national trend, and original item-gathering.

The week's online headlines included: Finish Line co-founder to retire, Twitter trim cuts spam for Indy-area tweeters, Indy picks firm to find revenue in city assets

I titled this story on Peyton Manning getting another commercial endorsement, this time with Wheaties, Cereal thriller: Manning, other stars tout Wheaties.

We had a good scoop in mid-week related to an aircraft firm hiring 500 in Indianapolis.

On Tuesday I rustled up a pretty good story off a tip about Rolls-Royce having a low-key cake ceremony to bring together employees who had worked on the Apollo missions from 1968 to 1972 that led the U.S. to get a man on the moon. This is how the story looked online.






Newsletters for the week


7-20 Fresh Start: Rolls Royce to celebrate Apollo 11 mission
7-21 Fresh Start: Wind-farming forum kicks off today
7-22 Fresh Start: Eli Lilly profit rises 21% in 2nd quarter
7-23 Fresh Start: Aviation firm to expand, hire 480"
7-24 Fresh Start: Ballard outlines agenda for Brazil trip

7-20 Mid-Day: $336M casino boat opens in Southern Indiana
7-21 Mid-Day: Franklin vs. Franklin copycat suit appears settled
7-22 Mid-Day: Eli Lilly stock dips despite upbeat earnings
7-23 Mid-Day: Dow tops 9,000 on home sale gains
7-24 Mid-Day: Eli Lilly, WellPoint among largest global firms

Weekly Web Work, 7-13 through 7-17

7-17 Fresh Start, Kite offers to buy ATA's HQ
7-16 Fresh Start, Indiana 13th in foreclosures for 1st half
7-15 Fresh Start, Noblesville loosens sign code to help Realtors
7-14 Fresh Start, State names 50 companies to watch
7-13 Fresh Start, Board to discuss 'dumped data' settlements

7-17 Mid-Day, Ind. jobless rate up slightly to 10.7 percent
7-16 Mid-Day, Noblesville brewer expanding to Broad Ripple
7-15 Mid-Day, 700 Hoosiers per week added to uninsured
7-14 Mid-Day, Interactive Intelligence's shares rise on outlook
7-13 Mid-Day, Settlements OK'd with drugstore chains

Weekly Web Work, 7-7 thru 7-10

To say I was distracted during the week was a bit of an understatement, as we experienced layoffs at the Indy Star (I was actually quoted in an IBJ article about the layoffs wearing my other hat, as Indy News Guild president) that affected operations. (We also got coverage via a rejected vote in the IBJ and via Editor & Publisher.

I did start the week with a feature story on the founder of a Twitter app called TweetPhoto. Here's the story as it appeared online in the Indy Star. Here is the Indy.com version.





I also wrote stories that moved on a national basis which I localized, include the bankruptcy of seafood chain Oceanaire as well as stories that arose from analyzing fresh earnings reports such as Steak n Shake earningsSteak n Shake, and hhgregg store expansion plans that I was able to post before the competition!

Here were the week's newsletters in reverse order

7-10 Fresh Start: AP Source: GM emerges from bankruptcy.
7-9 Fresh Start: Natural gas incentives may help Honda.
7-8 Fresh Start: AirTran adding nonstops to Milwaukee, D.C.
7-7 Fresh Start: Obama eyes Hoosier for commerce post.
7-6 Fresh Start: Emmis Indy radio exec dies after cancer fight.

7-10 Mid-Day Update: Avon-to-Downtown bus gains added support.
7-9 Mid-Day Update: Indiana sues 2 out-of-state robo-callers.
7-8 Mid-Day Update: Indy retailer hhgregg to boost store openings.
7-7 Mid-Day Update: Oceanaire bankrupt, but Downtown site to stay.
7-6 Mid-Day Update: Downtown Marriott nearly halfway done.