Two News Journal veterans tackled questions related to a smaller staff and a focus on digital at a meeting Tuesday morning of the Public Relations Society of America Delaware Chapter.
News Journal Community Content Editor Betsy Price painted a portrait of a newsroom in flux with young reporters, editors from out of town and a corporate focus on web traffic and video. Price was joined in the discussion by Suchat Pederson, a long-time visual journalist at The News Journal.
Editor sought at News Journal
Both Price and Pederson are among the few long-time journalists who remain at the Gannett Co. property. The newspaper-website recently saw the departure of long-time executive editor David Ledford.
Price said a search is underway for his successor, with internal and outside candidates being possibilities. Editors and others do work outside Delaware, with one editor based in York, PA and another in Miami, FL.
According to Price, the emphasis at the News Journal and its DelawareOnline.com website is on web traffic, with stories generating fewer than 5,000 clicks not considered to be worth the trouble.
Stories getting plenty of traffic arose from the controversial firing of the principal at female Padua Academy in Wilmington. Clicks on those posts have run into the hundreds of thousands. Late Tuesday, the principal was reinstated.
Stories generated by News Journal reporters are closely tracked for web activity by the corporate side of Gannett. “If you don’t get the numbers (for stories) they will tell you to stop doing it,” Price said.
Still covering important stories
“We’re still covering important stories,” Price later noted, but added that reporters are challenged to tell their stories in a way that engages readers.
Price conceded that News Journal lacks veteran reporters following a long-running period of retirements and downsizings. The current staff roster is young and bright but lacks the seasoning and wide-ranging knowledge of their predecessors, she added.
Pederson seconded Price’s emphasis on storytelling. The move to digital has resulted in fewer photographers and fewer assignments. That change is offset by nearly all stories coming with video content that help tell the story.
Other panelists at the event included:
- Christi Milligan, managing editor, Delaware Business Times
- Jose Somalo, publisher & founder, Hoy en Delaware
- Whitney Hoffman, marketing strategist and podcaster for Mingl
Milligan and Somalo told attendees their publications and websites occupy a different place in the market. Both have small staffs.
Advice offered on submissions
Hoy en Delaware serves the Hispanic community with Spanish language content, while The Business Times offers print and web coverage of business people and trends and pick their areas of coverage.
Hoffman, a pioneer in digital work in northern Delaware and Chester County, PA talked about her experience in getting stories out to audiences. Hoffman is well known in marketing communications circles for her experience in audio podcasts that uses words rather than images to tell stories.
Panelists offered the following suggestions:
- Think about how and why your news idea is of interest to readers.
- Do not submit photos from outside sources unless you are clear about copyrights. The media outlet is responsible for photos that are copyright protected.
- Avoid the use of PDF files.
- Do not embed photos within the content. Attached photos and check on acceptable resolution figures. Never submit large files containing several gigabits. DropBox and other options are available for large files.
- Read up on the best ways to take photos. The News Journal’s Pederson even volunteered to hold a presentation for the communications community.
- Do not send a release with a web link to the URL.
- Podcasts are not easy and the market is crowded. Keep in mind production values that allow for a professional presentation.
- Submit a press release for Hoy En Delaware in English. Editors will translate and provide context.
(Delaware Business Now follows similar guidelines to those listed above in items one through five. We have no problem with links.)
