Making Video Work

It's been fun to watch from a distance the development of the multi-media efforts over at Recordonline.com, the site for the Times Herald-Record. It's a resource-strapped newsroom making a go at giving people interesting online non-print content.

Check out Oliver Mackson's report on Chris Colombo's life in Orange County. Nice work, right? And look at Greg Bruno's story about a kid killed in a house fire. There's something appealing about these. It's refreshing that they're real and unrehearsed, and the reporters aren't trying to be TV folks.

Sometimes it's just video. Sometimes the characters narrate. Sometimes it's just silliness.

The question I have is whether the reporters think their efforts are paying off. How much time are you guys spending on video? Does the extra effort impact your print stories? Are people watching these things? Are they talking about them?