Good Wednesday (May 4) morning, as we begin to engage in discussion and the exchange of ideas for our news products, I thought it would be a good idea to first give you a little background about myself.
For the past 17 years, I have been working in the field of community journalism, whether it be at a twice-a-week newspaper serving a small Kansas town of 5,000, a local ABC television affiliate serving a community of 50,000, or small daily newspapers in towns of 12,000 and 10,000.
Community journalism is my passion.
This is something I know we all share, as the newspapers in ACM are mainly serving small or medium-size markets throughout our regions.
I came to ACM after serving the past six years as the publisher of the Neosho (Mo.) Daily News. For the final three years of that time, I also served as regional manager for the Southwest Missouri region of my former company, overseeing operations for the Carthage (Mo.) Press (daily), Aurora (Mo.) Advertiser (weekly & shopper), and Greenfield (Mo.) Vedette (weekly & shopper).
That said, I understand the challenges newsrooms face in small markets. I understand the struggle to find balance in offering great content in both the print and digital spectrum.
But, it can be done.
I want to use this website to help provide you some support to face those challenges head on, and to spur conversion and ideas on how we can improve community journalism in 2011 and beyond.
My goal this summer is to make an on-site visit to each property by the end of September, so we can spend two to three days in our newsrooms and discuss ways to enhance our print and digital offerings in our community.
This is the perfect time to have a renewed focus on content with the rollout of Mediaspectrum company-wide in the coming year. As well as having a focus on content, I will also be assisting Mike Winter, chief technology officer with ACM, with the Mediaspectrum project.
Well, enough about me, let's begin sharing ideas on how to improve our news offerings — both in print and digital — and begin a better engagement with our readers.
Let the fun begin!
A website for newsrooms and journalists throughout American Consolidated Media to use as a tool to improve local content and enhance engagement with the public they serve. The author of the website is Rick Rogers, director of product development for ACM, a 17-year newspaper and media veteran specializing in community journalism.
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