Nevada Press Association The best in Nevada journalism since 1924
by Ken Blum
Dear Black Inkling Readers,
I need to lead this column with an important note.
And that note is: no, I am not implying that reporters at community newspapers are loafers or laggards.
I spent the first ten years of my career in community journalism as a writer and editor. I worked hard (well, okay, I worked hard most of the time). Some of the finest, most talented and hardest working professionals I know write for hometown newspapers.
Now that that’s out of the way, let’s talk about productivity in the newsroom.
Wherever I go on my speaking or advising gigs, a publisher(s) almost always ask something like this:
“How can I measure the amount of work my employees in the newsroom put out?”
It’s not necessarily that the publisher is implying that he or she is dissatisfied with the performance of the newsroom. It’s just that it’s bothersome there are few proven ways to measure that performance.
You see, the publisher’s performance is measured by a few digits of
lonesome type at the bottom of a profit and loss statement.
The advertising salesman’s work output and, usually, a significant
chunk of his pay are determined in a sales report.
The circulation manager’s success is judged on the data in a post
office statement or audit report.
But it’s much more difficult to measure the quality and quantity of
material produced by a news staff.
A few have tried to measure the largely subjective task of writing
through the objective tools of charts, graphs and other various time-consuming,
bean-counting reports.
Usually, they’re a flop.
Counting bylines doesn’t work. A measurement system that emphasizes the number of bylines also encourages reporters to produce good statistics, not good stories. (I remember the days when a byline was a reward for an
exceptional story. Now, nearly every story seems to carry a byline.)
Another method is column inch-measuring. But taking a ruler and
measuring the type a reporter produces – in the same manner that hometown papers
used to (and some still do) pay stringers – can encourage overwriting, and
plug the newshole with copy that’s a yawn. And it’s a given that some news
beats yield reams of easy copy, while others require a fresh source for nearly
every paragraph.
So the measurements get more and more complex, such as rating the difficulty of each story, timing how long it takes to write a specific type of story, bogging down in so much detail that the system creates the disease it was supposed to cure.
However, this doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t try to improve the quality and quantity of writing in our newspapers, and measure it.
Writing is hard work that’s easy to put off. Perhaps no other activity fits Parkinson’s Law – “Work expands to fill the time available” – as accurately as the attempt to place words across the lonely gray prairie of an
empty computer screen.
All of us who write know this. Too often, we’re like timid kids who stand at the edge of a swimming hole afraid to put their tootsies in the chilly water. All of us need to be encouraged and at times pushed to dive in.
This is why the key to newsroom productivity is the editor, not the writer. Productivity begins with the guy or gal who gives out the assignments and follows the daily progress of the staff writers.
Here are steps the editor can take to pump up the productivity of his or her writers.
1. Use a measuring system, but keep it simple. Reporters should put all their clips in a manila folder and turn it in to the editor every week (and at some newspapers, the publisher). It may seem elementary, but it’s necessary and it can be an eye-opener for the writer and the editor. Keep in mind the number of stories and the amount of copy aren’t the
only measurements in the equation, but they are part of the equation. As to the issue of productivity relative to the difficulty of the assignments, an experienced editor, especially one who writes herself, will have a good feel for how well the writer has performed.
And, of course, quality plays a major role in the equation. Compelling, skillful writing is the stuff that makes a newspaper compelling to read. The editor should hand the folder back with sincere kudos for fine writing,
2. Productivity begins with assignments. A weekly meeting/brainstorm session to establish those assignments is a necessity. A writer should have one more assignment than the editor feels she can possible handle. A writer should have contingency assignments (those that don’t need to be done in aspecific time frame) to turn to if other stories are delayed or don’t pan out.
3. The assembly line of the newsroom can be virtually shut down by a sloppy writer. Most writers need a good copy editor. But a writer who consistently turns in copy that requires a near re-write needs to find another vocation.
In this vein, an editor should always output a story before he ever touches it. After the story is edited, output another copy with the changes highlighted. Put the two versions in the manila folder and return it to the reporter who can study them, learn from them, and turn in cleaner copy in the future.
4. Insist that stories be written immediately after notes and other material are gathered. Writing goes faster when the subject matter is fresh in the author’s mind. It’s too easy to dawdle until deadline – again, Parkinson’s Law.
Finally, in the context of all of the preceding, keep it fun. Anyone who has ever worked on the news staff at a hometown paper knows what a fulfilling experience it is.
To learn how to write more efficiently and eloquently is to quicken the mind, sharpen the senses, and heighten that experience to a new level.
Do you have a system to improve the quantity and quality of copproduced by reporters? Let us know about it.
All my best,
Ken
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More Unique Newspaper Names
The Chief – Broken Bow, NE
The Cherokee Scout – Murphy, NC
The Pocahontas Times – Marlinton, WV
The Wahoo – Wahoo, NE
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1,000 Ways To Build Paid Circulation
All on a CD in a PDF format – Available from Ken
Has your newspaper’s paid circulation slipped in recent years? If it
has, it’s not unusual. From my experience, paid circulation at hometown
newspapers has dipped anywhere from 10-25% since 2008 when the recession hit.
And even though the economy has improved, subscriptions and single copy
sales haven’t enjoyed the same bounceback that most other businesses and
industries experience during a recovery.
Does this scenario describe the circulation trend at you newspaper? Is
it time to do something about it? Do you need some ideas to get circulation
numbers back up.
Consider an ebook I offer that features over 1,000 ways to build
circulation at hometown papers. It’s on a CD disc in a PDF format. Just click on
any topic in the table of contents and it will go write to the page. And
you’re welcome to copy the PDF (437 megs) over to any computer in a single
office.
It’s $129 and worth every penny. $124 if I can call for a credit card
number. Interested? Just drop me an email to blummer@aol.com
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Readers Helping Readers
Topic – E-editions and How to Charge for Them
E-edition Sharing is Unavoidable
From Rinda Maddox, owner/editor, the Sidell (IL) Reporter
What a full newsletter! Thanks to all your readers for sharing on the
editions. This is such a valuable service from them and you to organize it.
I would like to make a comment to those who asked how you keep
e-subscribers from forwarding their pdf file of their newspaper (or even sharing
their password)? While I have not yet figured out how I want to add
e-subscriptions, I am ready to go that route, but my answer is that you can’t stop
them from sharing those pdf files no more than I can stop the guy who puts
75-cents into my news box on the street and pulls 3 newspapers out every week to
give to two other people (whom I figure he collects MY money from and
pockets it).
Or no more than I can stop the person who receives their copy in the
mailbox and then they pass it on to their sister or neighbor when they are
done reading it. After a big successful sports tournament, it is not unusual
for 20 papers to come up not being paid for from one news box. I figure one
athlete drops in the change and the whole group congregating in the parking
lot help themselves to a copy of the winning game report.
I agree it isn’t fair to those of us who are producing the news and I
certainly am not happy each week to see the number of papers I gave away from
my newsstands, but I don’t see the shared e-files will be any more of a
problem than my print editions. It does make a good topic for an editorial from
time to time about what is a thief and yes stealing three papers with the
price of one is robbery plain and simple. Has it changed anything by writing
about the thefts? Nope. But I feel better every year or so when I write that
editorial.
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Thanks and a tip of the hat to Ms. Maddox.
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Reader Questions
Doody-head Non-profit Groups
From Lyle Davis, publisher, The Paper, Escondido, CA
A perplexing problem that I would be interested in reading about how
your other subscribers handle . . .
Steam comes out of our ears and other body orifices when we see a paid
ad in another newspaper for a non-profit that has supplied us with press
releases and for whom we have run reams of publicity for months, if not years.
Loyalty and community support is a two way street. You, a non-profit,
need help . . . we’re here to help. But when you have an advertising budget
and we are not included, you’ve just discovered a very quick way to turn off
the publicity tap as far as our paper is concerned.
Sometimes, the non-profit is managed by folks who don’t know how the
game is played. Sometimes, you can gently explain to them as you slowly
whack them up alongside the head with a rolled up copy of your wonderful
newspaper, that simple business courtesy requires that if and when they have an ad
budget that they at least approach you and ask what you might be able to do
for them in terms of paid advertising, given a budget of $xxx.xx. Sometimes
you can tactfully imply, and sometimes explicitly state, that if they run
paid advertising in other media and not yours . . . they can kiss their free
publicity in your paper farewell.
(We automatically grant the end rate to bona fide 501(c)3 non-profits.)
Evelyn, my partner in crime, is more diplomatic than I am. She can
write a lovely letter/email to non-profit clients, tactfully explaining that
they are doody-heads if they think they can get free publicity from us and
spend their ad dollars elsewhere. (She may use different language. I’m not
sure she’d call a person a doody-head. Like I said,
she’s more diplomatic than I am.)
Curious to hear what you and your subscribers have to say.
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Thanks and a tip of the hat to Mr. Davis.
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My Advising Service
Are you concerned about your newspaper’s financial performance? Is it
time to step back and analyze where your newspaper is as a business, and
where it’s headed? I offer an advising alternative that covers all the bases but
is done by email and telephone, and costs about half as much as an onsite
visit. The process will pay for itself ten times over (and probably much
more) within a year. For details, just drop me an email to blummer@aol.com
___
From a Fan
“A breath of fresh air . . .”
Jim Schmitz, Publisher/General Manager, STAR newspaper, Cambridge, MN
-“Ken Blum is a breath of fresh air. His ability to politely point a
finger at both opportunities and potential stumbling blocks makes his “second
opinion” invaluable. After his visit last Spring, we found the courage to make
several significant changes in our operation that we could never get past the
planning table. Ken’s fee was recovered in la short time on just one circulation idea. Ken helps you think about strategies and options.”
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Thanks and a tip of the hat to Mr. Schmitz
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Write at any time
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free to send your comments and ideas to blummer@aol.com. If you know
another person in the community newspaper field who may be interested in receiving
this free newsletter, have them e-mail their name, job title, newspaper and
e-mail address to blummer@aol.com. To unsubscribe e-mail blummer@aol.com
___
Ken Blum
Publisher
Butterfly Publications
909 N. Crown Hill Rd.
Orrville, OH 44667
330 682-3416
Fax-330 682-3415
blummer@aol.com</HTML>