In the paper?
Posted April 19th, 2007 by Ron
It is no secret that the print-side of all media companies are struggling and that is the case with the Beacon Journal, too. That means we are constantly weighing what should be in the paper, what should be added and what should be eliminated given the restrictions on our resources (space, people).
Here is how it works: We are given a specific amount of space (columns in newspaper talk) each year. Rich Desrosiers (the sports editor) and I then break that down over the entire year. For example, we put more space into NFL Draft weekend and then take space away from some of the summer months.
This all brings me to these questions: The agate (the small results type), do you guys read that in the paper or online or do you not care at all? Also, what should go first, the items on page 2 (minor-league standings, golf, bowling, tennis) or should we eliminate the NBA, NHL, NFL and baseball box scores?
What we want to do is make the paper look better and to be open to more local stories, but as I said the space isn't changing.
April 19th, 2007 at 1:13 pm
Obviously you can't get rid of the NFL, NBA and MLB box scores, but the easiest to cut would be bowling first then tennis second.
April 19th, 2007 at 1:22 pm
Golf, bowling, tennis, auto racing, hunting/fishing, NHL….they can all go. This area is consumed with the Tribe, Browns, Cavs, OSU, Aeros, UA & KSU, high school sports…and a smattering of national stuff. Those other items are strictly niche, not for the masses in general. You'd hear relatively FEW complaints about any of those aforementioned subjects being deleted or moving to the online site. Prioritize with what NE Ohio readers are chiefly concerned with.
April 19th, 2007 at 7:33 pm
Hi Ron. Nice to see you're blogging, too.
I've always thought the agate in mid-sized papers was overblown. Going beyond the major sports, pro and college (local and top 25), is probably too much. The people who really care about that stuff are probably going online for their fix. I remember the business section was doing something similar to the stocks right before I left the paper. Surprisingly, not a whole lot of people complained.
April 23rd, 2007 at 1:20 pm
I think the Beacon is doing a good job at it's sports section. I would like to see more coverage on local sports teams.
April 23rd, 2007 at 4:12 pm
I find your questions disturbing.