At most ski areas, the printed press kit has gone the way of the dinosaur. Even the CD kit, which seemed high-tech just a few years ago, is on the endangered species list. Today, most areas put their media information in special “Press” or “Media” sections on-line, often including downloadable images. Unfortunately, the results are not always what they could be.

The advantages are obvious: immediacy, ease of updating, access from anywhere on the planet, and, of course, significant savings in resources.

The main disadvantages for a ski area would seem to be that maintaining and keeping the press section of a site up to date requires someone dedicated to looking after it. When there’s no “someone,” life is more difficult for journalists on deadline and ultimately for the communications or PR person who has to play catch-up.

The key problem: For winter stories, magazine writers start churning out copy in summer and are in high gear in fall. For summer articles, research begins in winter and is really cooking in spring. News and current factual information needs to be on-line when journalists start their work, often 6 to 9 months ahead of the season.

Like my colleagues, I’ve often found on-line press material that is undated or one season old, but I was actually shocked when, in late September 2007, a major Utah resort’s on-line press materials included “improvements” for the 2005-06 season. In late November, a New Hampshire website was still showing last year’s information; the most recent press release was a year old. And a second Utah resort was still touting a new lift coming next year—trouble is, then is now, and the website was out of date. So, therefore, was the website lift count.

But that’s just one person’s experience. What do writers and reporters generally like and what do they hate about on-line media sections of websites? We asked members of the North American SnowSports Journalists Association. Here’s what they had to say:


Timeliness and Relevance
« I like having information on the coming season in August or September, October at the latest.—Evelyn Kanter, bicoastal freelance writer (New York and California)

» Outdated websites are not helpful. When a site is a season or two behind, it prompts a phone call. ––E.K.

» My main beef is that real news is never in press releases. I’ll call somebody and ask, “What about X? Did you put out a press release?” They’ll say, “No.” I use ski area websites for basic facts, so I don’t need a separate press section to find out the vertical or annual snowfall.—Grace Lichtenstein, freelance journalist (print and on-line)

» I hate the fact that some ski areas are so parochial that they pretend the surrounding community doesn’t exist. At least put in a link to the local Chamber of Commerce or other source for lodging and dining opportunities.—Charlie Leocha, editor and founder of www.skisnowboard.com, Boston

» Lack of solid information. I go to a website to get spellings, prices and dates. A fair amount of the time, the basics aren’t there. I don’t need to click on a site and get a slowly emerging image [on my screen]. I need facts.—Jules Older, SkiPress editor and freelance writer, San Francisco

» Some sites don’t differentiate between 2007-08 and 2006-07. It’s easy for ski areas to forget what’s up on their site. It’s necessary for every ski area to get “what’s up” on-line for writers with six-month lead times. When I look at recent releases, sometimes all I see is executive appointments. I dislike [a site] with no current facts. There’s so much outdated information when you Google.—Risa Weinreb Wyatt

« I like to see tickler ideas for possible story slants. I like trends. I want to know what makes your area unique. —R.W.W.

« I like a good website, because it’s good to have information available at midnight. Freelancers never sleep.—Cindy Hirschfeld, freelance writer and editor, Aspen

» My biggest gripe is that a lot of websites don’t get updated, especially by smaller areas. I do a lot of writing in summer and early fall. Some websites are really sparse, so I still have to call to get the latest information.—C.H.

« [For my column in the Harrisburg Patriot-News] I tap into three areas’ websites: Roundtop, Ski Liberty and Whitetail. Last season, when they had no natural snow, the Roundtop people talked about snowmaking. They had a feature on the art of snowmaking. I learned a lot that I didn’t know before, and I told readers, “You’ve got to check out this website.”—Ted Heck, freelance writer and editor of The Blue Book of European Ski Resorts, Philadelphia area

« [I like sites that] think “new”—not last year’s news.—Peter Schroeder, freelance writer-photographer, Seattle

» I hate press releases that aren’t dated.—Claudia Carbone, freelance writer, Denver


Ease of Use
« I like a page with quick facts like pricing, opening and closing, acreage and so on. Finding the closing date is really helpful.—Shannon Luthy Lukens, broadcast and on-line journalist, Colorado

« Ease of access on a site that is clean and accurate. I like to find phone numbers easily. Don’t make me search for them.—J.O.

» Sometimes I can’t even find the media section on a website. I realize there’s a need to be discreet, but if it’s not easy to find, at least have it on the site search. I also hate PDF files. If I don’t open Adobe Reader, PDFs crash on my computer. Also, I can’t do a search for more than one page at a time. I also don’t like “artistic” websites with small light green type. Some websites have no phone number for the [public relations] contact. Sometimes, there’s not even a general phone number. —R.W.W.

» I’m often in a hurry, so I don’t like to have to log in and then get a password before I can get into a site. Also, I don’t like PDF files, because, often, you can’t do a search.—P.S.


Images
« I like it when ski areas don’t make it too hard to download images. Sometimes you have to jump through hoops to get an image. —C.C.

« I like having a choice of high- or low-resolution images. I like to look at low-resolution images, but for the magazines I work for, I also like to be able to forward a link or a page to the photo editor. If there’s a password, it has to work for both.—E.K.

« A good image library that’s not protected by some ungodly password. I like it when there’s some kind of auto-responder that automatically generates a password.—C.L.

» I don’t want to have to call the next morning to get a password.—C.L.

« I like access to high-resolution photos. At least, I like to let editors know where to get photos.—R.W.W.


Trail Maps
» I hate interactive trail maps that take five minutes to load at high speed. Give me a simple map to scroll through or a PDF to download.—C.L.

» Trail maps on websites are no substitute for the real thing. The trail map is the one paper thing that I keep. I collect stickers too, like “TAOS—A four-letter word for steep.” —G.L.


Contact Information
« When I go to the media page [of a website], I like to see complete contact information—not just for the PR person but also for the owners, operations manager, marketing person.—S.L.L.

» I don’t like it when the only contact information is an E-mail address. I want telephone numbers with extensions, so I can get through to people.—C.L.

» Some websites don’t even give the name of a press contact, and that’s sometimes why I go to the site. I also want to know who’s in charge of operations, food and beverage and so on.—P.S.

» I hate E-mail forms. I’m on a Mac, and it drives me wild to have to find a way to open to Outlook Express. I have to find the address and copy it to contact the PR department.—C.L.