What Do YOU Want from NYCR? We Want to Hear From You.
To be a better writer, I’ve always thought that you need to be an avid reader. So, I’ve been spending quite a bit of time of late reading books written by some of my favorite wine writers — people like Terry Thiese, Jamie Goode, Hugh Johnson and Eric Asimov. I’ve also been obsessively listening to I’ll Drink to That! a podcast by Levi Dalton that is fantastic. He sits down with some of the best and brightest in the wine world and they talk about a wide array of topics — everything from living in Champagne to counterfeit wines to opening a wine shop to online wine writing. I really can’t recommend it enough if you’re a wine geek.
All of this reading and listening has, perhaps not surprisingly, led to a great deal of thinking on my part — thinking about the present and future of this site. Thinking that inspired me to bring back our “5 Questions with…” series earlier this week, actually.
There was a time when this website was nothing more than me — and just me — writing about the local wines I was tasting and drinking. There wasn’t an “editorial direction” and the idea of an editorial calendar was preposterous. Blogs didn’t (and mostly don’t) operate like that. It was a deeply personal outlet back then.
But the site grew. More and more people started reading it, and I soon realized that to produce the kind of website that I myself would want to come read, I needed help. Fast forward a couple years and we have a staff of more than a dozen advocates for ‘local’ sharing their passion and finds with you. I’m extremely proud of what we’ve created, together, but I don’t want to just continue doing what we’re doing. That would be like drinking the same wine for the rest of your life — and who wants to do that?
As my wife will tell you, I’m a guy with a million ideas and nowhere near enough follow-through. The time crunch of a day job and a family is partly to blame, but it goes beyond that. I only want to do things here on the New York Cork Report that you, our readers, will enjoy and want.
I have had long talks and email exchanges with Evan and other members of the editorial board about the future of this site and what sorts of content we should be producing. We talk about creating vintage charts — charts that are more than just a grid with letters or numbers by including details about the growing seasons and commentary from growers and winemakers. We also talk about writing shorter, less-geeky stories that remind us that wine is supposed to be fun — things like “Top 5 <INSERT CATEGORY>” slideshows. Do we bring back our “Local with Local” wine and food pairing series with local chefs? How can we get non-writers interested in our #TasteNY Twitter-based virtual tastings?
And those are just a few of the things we talk about.
Many of you have been reading this site for many months or even years. You’ve seen the site progress in many ways over that time, but probably regress in others. I thank you for sticking with us through it all — and now I have a favor to ask.
I want your help in directing the future of the New York Cork Report.
I don’t remember the last time I directly asked for comments on a post — but today is that day. What do you want more of? Less of? If you’ve ever thought to yourself “I really wish the NYCR team would do XYZ” we want to know. Do you want restaurant features and reviews, or should we stick to our current formula? More spirits information, or less? You tell us.
I won’t say that every request will be fulfilled, but I can promise you that every bit of feedback is appreciated and will be taken to heart.
I miss “the science of” posts that tom mansell used to contribute. incredibly interesting and informative, and (i thought) sparked lots of interesting discussion.
Ben: Thanks for the feedback. I agree and hope to get Tom back writing for us again very soon.
First, thanks for bringing back “5 questions with” and for re-organizing the display based on time, not category. It’s much easier to find interesting articles when you don’t have to dig into the categories.
Second: I agree with Ben. Bring back the “science of” posts. Also, see if you can get more winemakers to contribute articles about what they are working on. A lot of the site is geared towards controversy (who said what about which winery, legal battles, etc) but there should be more, as you wrote, about just how fun it is to enjoy good wine. Perhaps those who are doing the wine creation can help steer things in that direction.
Scott: You can thank my wife for the re-organization of the homepage — she didn’t like the categories listing either
Thanks for the other feedback as well. If we can’t get the winemakers to write those stories, we’ll have to just write them ourselves!
Lenn, you and I have talked enough about this that you know what I like about NYCR, which is a lot…but I think the main improvement I would wish for is regular columns.
That is, the What We Drank should appear regularly on Monday. Beer column and food column should appear regularly on Tuesday. Five Questions on Wednesday. Highlighted wine review plus mini reviews on Thursday. Weekly contributions from the contributing editors every Friday. Do that and you should be able to take the Weekends off no?
There’s a lot of contributors, but I only see their stuff once every two months, if that…I think ideally your fans will look forward to, and expect things that are scheduled. “Must see TV” if you will.
Great points and I totally agree Jim.
I agree with Jim as well.
I’m sorry, but I have found myself visiting your site less and less frequently since the big make over.
My interest in reading the posts here has fallen into stagnation mode where I may only visit once every week or ten days to do a quick skim for something that may catch my eye.
John: No reason to apologize…but I’d love to hear why. I sit just because you don’t find the design/layout as appealing? I’ve heard that feedback, certainly.
I would agree with John. I come to the site less, I think because there is not as much give and take from the readers. Perhaps people have gravitated to other venues like Facebook. I like the new look. I wish there were more wine reviews, maybe less diversification towards beer.
I would love see more stories speaking with the wine makers about the specific details about one wine with no rating.
That’s a good one! “Winemaker discusses a wine they made” like a director discussing one their films…fun idea.
Lenn,
I’ve thought about this quite a bit the past few days and I think it comes down to this: what is your and others’ editorial vision for this vehicle? I think it’s wonderful that you are looking for input from readers, but magazines, whether in print or online, are tools. And this tool is yours. So, what are the jobs you’d like this tool to do, now and in the future? Do you anticipate this medium growing into something that, within its niche, rivals the scope and depth of the major mags? Those publications are increasing their online presence rapidly. Do you see yourself becoming another player in that field? I do think it’s important to keep your fingers on the pulse of your now and future readership, and through attention to that seeking to create copy that serves that readership’s needs. But at the end of the day, too much input is dangerous and distracting. When I was in publications back in the day, any project or publication seemed to suffer or soar in inverse proportion to the amount of input I was forced to entertain. Maybe you can do a reader survey once a year. After that, I think it’s up to you and the other editors and board members to craft a vision that explores the current NYS scene and seeks to embrace the same as it continues to grow. You’ve got a tiger by the tail and at some point will need, if not want, some major capital to make this the powerful publication it needs and deserves to be. Not sure what happens then, but that will be an exciting time. And it’s coming.
Not sure if any of the above is useful, but I’m happy to discuss these ideas further if you’d like.
Best of luck,
Tom
Tom: Thank you for the thoughtful reply. I really appreciate it.
You’re absolutely right that the true direction of the site must come from me and the other editorial board members. We have to captain the ship.
But, when you’ve been doing something like this for a while, it can be hard to step back and look at it with fresh eyes and point of view.
I’ve liked the feedback so far. Some of it has sparked ideas, others I’m not sure we can enact as we’re currently built.