What do you want in your local newspaper?

Our publisher recently brought in a media consultant from Rhode Island to conduct two days of training for our editors, page designers and advertising representatives. It was a big investment, but one she felt was necessary.

The consultant pointed out that newspapers are one of the few things that have never changed or evolved with the times. Frustrating though it was to hear, I knew he was right. 

We want to be a reader-centric newspaper and to do that, we must make some changes. We must determine what people want in their local newspaper and then provide it. It really comes down to two things – content and mechanics.

Contentwise, we must change the way we write to make it more interesting. We must cover people’s lives. It’s not enough just to cover government meetings. We must determine how the decisions made at those government meetings will affect people’s day-to-day lives and what those effects will be and then we must inform the people.

As for mechanics, we must take bigger, better photographs that are cropped tightly to focus on the subject. Additionally, we must write better headlines and cutlines to draw the readers into the stories.

One of my biggest takeaways from the two-day training was that “local” isn’t about geography, it’s about interest. We must always think of the reader first and how we can be more relevant and interesting to them.

We must shake off the rigidity of “this is how we’ve always done it” or “this is the way we were taught in journalism school.” Change is good. It is forward motion – an opportunity to stretch, grow and improve.

This is an opportunity for us to re-evaluate and recalibrate everything that we do as your community newspaper. We have already made a few subtle changes in recent years, but more are coming. I’m excited about the path we are on and the upcoming journey.

Now is your opportunity to provide input. I come to you today to ask what you want in your local newspaper. We are better able to serve you if we know exactly what you want. You may contact me via email at [email protected]. Keep in mind, I’m looking for respectful ideas and suggestions. This is not a free-for-all for you to tell us all the things you think we’re doing wrong. Legitimate suggestions and ideas will truly be considered. I look forward to hearing from you.