Californian Web sites not going away

The death of The Bakersfield Californian’s online social media initiatives may have been greatly exaggerated.
Last week the AIM Group reported that the newspaper is considering shutting down its social networking sites including Bakotopia, Bakersfield Voice and other online projects.
But Logan Molen, the paper’s senior vice president and chief operating officer, said the online initiatives are not shutting down.
“The stories suggested the two sites were in danger of closure when in fact it’s the print versions of those two brands that are under review,” he said in a blog.
He further wrote that it’s true the paper is evaluating the ROI of the print editions and that in deep recessions “any smart business would evaluate whether it makes sense to continue funding money-losing products, no matter the reputation.”
Dan Pacheco, senior manager of digital products at The Californian, said any steps the paper might take will have no bearing on the daily’s Printcasting initiative. “We’re focusing more than ever on promoting and integrating Printcasting in the Californian’s sites,” he said.