WEDNESDAY SPOTLIGHT: Training conducted at Stephenville Empire-Tribune

The editorial staff of the Stephenville (Texas) Empire-Tribune of
(from left) Micah Moore, Brad Keith, Amanda Kimble, and Sara Vaden Berge

On Wednesday, June 8, ACM Newsroom visited with the newsroom staffs of the Stephenville (Texas) Empire-Tribune and the Brownwood (Texas) Bulletin to conduct a training seminar in conjunction with our company-wide content strategy of "Web First… Print Best" and the transformation of the Empire-Tribune's web product to the Town News Blox format.

The two staffs engaged in more than two hours of training, going over ACM's expectations for enhancing our print and online products now and in the future.

Items discussed included updating our websites multiple times per day with fresh news (not just major news, but items on upcoming events, news briefs, sports results, etc.); the increased use of photo slideshows and video to enhance our online products and pageviews; better promotion of online offerings in the print product, and better promotion of the print products through our website; the future "Only in Ink" and "Neighborhood All-Star" corporate wide programs that will launch later this summer; overview of "Prep Football Blitz" — ACM's upcoming high school weekly football section template and news staff/ad sales guide; how to use alternative story formats (ASFs) and user-generated content (UGCs) to enhance your print and online products, plus more more.

I was impressed with the energy of both news staffs of the Stephenville and Brownwood newsrooms. I was reassured that they understand the importance of making sure our websites have equal importance to our print products in our newsrooms.

The Stephenville staff has already agreed to move forward with Prep Football Blitz, and launching the section this fall with the upcoming football season. This will be a great move for both the editorial product, and the advertising staff. It is a proven winner!

Also, Stephenville has been put on the list for a redesign and repurposing exercise for its print product, with a goal of getting the process under way no later than Sept. 1.

The redesign process will begin after redesigns are complete for the Oklahoma-Kansas cluster of Miami, Grove, Delaware Co., and SE Kansas.

In June, ACM Newsroom is planning to make on-site training visits to the remaining newsrooms in our Texas cluster.

Thank you Stephenville and Brownwood staffs for taking part in Wednesday's training. If you have any questions, please remember I am always available via email at rogers@amconmedia.com.