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Information heaven Nando Media's web site is nirvana for the true news junkie. Lauded for providing the most up-to-date coverage on the Web, nandomedia.com receives more traffic than The New York Times or The Wall Street Journal sites - upwards of more than 3.5 million hits per day. The company publishes more than 400 stories daily, ranging from international and political news to sports and entertainment, and the company's online publishing system allows for information to be updated every three to six minutes. Nando's editors cull information from a growing list of wire services and other content providers from around the world - including the Associated Press, Reuters, and both the L.A. and New York Times syndicates. The information gathered is usually combined, edited, or otherwise repurposed for the Web, and updated throughout the day. Nando is very quick to point out that it is not just some automated regurgitator. It believes in a human touch, which is why the majority of the company's employees are in the editorial department. Nando's past The idea for the company was devised and executed by Frank Daniels III, whose family had owned and operated the Raleigh News & Observer since 1894. In 1990, Daniels felt the need to computerize the newsroom, with the ultimate goal of creating the first online newspaper. The first version of his electronic publication was introduced in 1994, and consisted of news stories on a bulletin board. By the summer of that year, the paper's new media division had moved on to the World Wide Web, and its URL was chosen to reflect its origin: 'N & O' became Nando.net. In August 1995, McClatchy Newspapers purchased the News & Observer for a whopping $373 million. Industry analysts speculated that it laid out the money because Nando.net was its major target. This was essentially confirmed within a month, when the two businesses were separated. The new media company was moved into new digs, and began operating autonomously. During its first eight months as a McClatchy subsidiary, Nando.net was run by Daniels, who expanded the business to include a web site design company, a hosting service for corporate web sites, a commercial web publishing tools business, and Internet service for consumer and commercial customers. It all became too much when Daniels opened a New York office to sell Internet software and consulting services to Latin American newspaper publishers. By April of 1996, Daniels was axed, and McClatchy's technology director, Christian Hendricks, was tapped to fill his post. Letting go of the excess Hendricks took the reins of the overburdened company and started trimming fat. He sold off all of the ancillary businesses and revamped the news site's editorial and tech departments. Thirty-six of the company's 42 employees either left or were replaced during the reorganization, which was dubbed "the bloodletting" by Nando insiders. In June 1998, Nando.net was renamed Nando Media, "to better reflect the company it is becoming," according to company literature. The Nando Media site is now divided into two major sections, the Nando Times and the Nando Sports Server, and offers users the option of having their news filtered and delivered to their desktops. Traffic on the site hit an all time low during Hendricks' restructuring, but within a year, it reached 2.4 million hits per day, more than double its highest level before Hendricks came in. Nandomedia.com brings in revenues from an impressive list of advertisers, including American Airlines, AT&T, and Ford Motors, but it has yet to turn a profit. It does not maintain archives, nor does it have an extensive advertising budget. With 3.5 million hits a day, it seems word-of-mouth is serving it well. Get your news anywhere If you've got a cell phone, you can get Nando news. In May 2000, Nando Media announced it had created a 24-hour news service available to cell phone users with web capabilities. Becoming Web informed Internet Tradeline, Inc. signed an agreement with Nando Media in 1999 to create separate online shopping malls for each of McClatchy's 24 newspapers. Since Nando Media will promote the online sites and Internet Tradeline will build them, both companies plan to split all expected profits. Nando Media also agreed to allow Brightstreet.com, a promotional commerce company, to promote its services over the Internet in order to attract media companies, manufacturers, and retailers. Nando's increasing attempts to become a leader in the Internet and media field has led to the creation of a new vice presidential position within the company as well. The company's former president, Christian Hendricks, took the new position in August 1999 to improve strategies for interactive media and to work on web advancements.
There are several things missing from the Nando Media web site - most notably the article archive and an employment site; but with a little Vault.com sleuthing, we managed to dig up a little dirt. Your first step should be to send a resume and cover letter or inquiry to the Human Resources department of the News & Observer at the address noted above. Failing that, you can look for company job listings by linking to the classifieds for the News & Observer, and do a search for jobs at Nando Media. A gutsier option would be to send a note directly to the head of the department you're interested in (or the president for that matter). Their e-mail addresses and contact numbers are posted on the web site's "contacts" page, located at http://www.nandomedia.com/contacts.html. Our contacts on the inside say prospective hires "should know at least a little bit about web design and page creation - nothing terribly creative though." It also helps "if you've had experience copy editing and with computers." If you manage to get an interview, you'll meet with HR first. After the preliminary screening, you'll either meet with someone from a specific department or be subjected to a grammar test if you're going for a copy editing position. (If you pass that, you'll then be called in to talk to an executive editor.) The process is usually "pretty relaxed," but it would be wise to bone up on your spelling and grammar before you get there.
Fair and diverse Nando Media insiders are proud to be working there "because it was a pioneer in Internet publishing." "In general, it's a good place to work," said one source, who describes it as "one of the best atmospheres" he has ever worked in. "There are only about 50 or so of us," points out one source, "so the people are friendly and closely knit." "It's a fairly diverse office, as we are associated with the McClatchy News family (see separate entry), which is wholly dedicated to equality in the workplace," says one insider. Another source reports that "the company treats everyone fairly, no matter the race, sex, gender, or anything else." A T-shirt and jeans kind of place Official office hours are 8:30 to 5 p.m., but "everyone has a different schedule," and employees are allowed to dress casually. "Of course," adds one informant, "some obvious limits do apply." These limits must be pretty low, because, as one insider reports: "I have on shorts and a T-shirt right now. We are only required to use good judgment." Sources say "they're pretty good about salaries," which "vary with experience." As one insider summed it up: "They understand people want to be compensated." Edit all day, every day Though it prides itself on offering the most thorough news content on the web, Nando insiders warn, "if you're interested in writing or reporting, this isn't the place to be." "To be honest, there are few people here excited about the work they do," says one contact, "we mainly move copy from one place to another, so the editors here are basically asked to edit and do minor formatting."
Human Resources Raleigh News & Observer (Nando Media)1 P.O. Box 191 Raleigh NC 27602
CNN;CNET;Starwave More Company Profiles For more career information, go to Vault.com ©2000, Vault.com Inc
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