Convener and note taker: Steve Begnoche, Ludington Daily News, Michigan
Participants
- Phil Elliott, The Post, Athens, Ohio
- Diane Vickars, Beatrice Daily Sun, Nebraska
- Erica Gordon, Mequon, Wisconsin
- Ted Gest, Council of Presidents
- Jim Timmermann, Holland Sentinel, Michigan
- Bob Peck, Riverton Ranger, Wyoming
Discussion
The idea of the session was to consider ways small papers can do projects that often are viewed as beyond their means. In other words, try to find ways to not let a small staff, budget or circulation prevent us from doing big stories.
As an example, one of the Ludington Daily News’ biggest successes in recent years was sending a photographer to Alaska for about a month to cover a local musher racing in the Iditarod. It cost several thousand dollars, not including salary, and placed stress on the staff that remained behind at the about 9,000 circulation, 6-day a week paper. It wasn’t in any budget when the idea first was broached by the photographer. However, we pressed on. The photographer was very enterprising and worked efficiently. He sent digital photos back from most of the checkpoints, even remote ones, via the Internet. Plus he wrote a story/feature most days and provided a diary. Readers loved the coverage. Circulation spiked. Posters, special sections and a book shortly after the photographer’s return covered the cost. If salary is excluded, we actually made some money.
Certain roadblocks to doing “big” projects were identified:
* Feelings of “we’re so busy” on the part of staff need to be overcome. Pain is involved in the form of extra workload shared by all, especially on a small staff, but the results are worth it in reader interest and value.
* Difficulty in finding the “right” idea. One solution Diane Vickars suggested is to have reporters submit project ideas with proposed budgets and have them “sell” the idea to top editors. . How to cover costs: Several suggested gathering special project stories, when appropriate, in special sections after completion, selling advertising in the compilation to help offset costs.
* It is very important to use resources available in the community or from other sources. Doing so not only enrichens the paper on a daily basis, it can free time for reporters to spend in other ways. For instance, the Daily News and the Sentinel both have an outdoors enthusiast from their communities report and create their outdoors pages. Those community outdoor writers have the passion for and knowledge about the topic lacking among the regular staff. This frees the staff to work on projects more interesting to them. The Beatrice Daily Sun had a high school student take pictures and write reviews of rock concerts the student was attending. This didn’t cost the paper any staff time and the reviews were well received by the youth in the community who thought it was cool their paper had those photos and stories.
* Different ways to find a “big” story: The Post, the student newspaper of Ohio University, uses a grid to map out their community. Staffers are then expected to write stories on assigned portions of the grid, thus encouraging broader geographic coverage. The Beatrice Daily Sun allows a sports reporter to cover University of Nebraska football bowl games. The local flavor of the coverage of the national event is enjoyed in the community and it pumps up the reporter. One of the papers is going to follow a family as it returns to its homeland of Cambodia. Bob Peck explained his paper has been able to get more interest in special sections by changing their format to a “Hats off” approach with a luncheon for those written about after the publication is completed. The luncheon is held on the day of publication with copies brought and distributed to those attending. They do this 6-8 times a year and it has proven popular. The Ludington Daily News has done, in different ways a decade apart, “Day in the life” all-photo special sections well received by the community. The first time, we split the project into one day per season (fall, winter, spring and summer) over the year. The last time we photographed one day a month for a year. This allowed the small staff to really look deeply into the community in photos. At the Daily News, instead of doing the typical Progress Edition, each year a unique theme is developed and a special project created that is released over a week, or in some cases two weeks.