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Mother's Day features dominated the weekend's front pages, and Newseum highlighted The Repository's tribute to moms, headlined "Our Mom." See what they did with reader involvement to power the piece.
WHAT THEY DID: The Repository in Canton, Ohio, started its centerpiece with this words: "The memories of mothers transcend geographical location, social standing, gender, race or religion. One man’s or woman’s memories of their mothers seem similar to ours. All mothers on this day become 'Our Mom.' " Readers responded to the Mother's Day callout with vignettes and descriptions of moms that really do resonate and become universal. Also a nice touch: The dropcaps spell the word M-O-M. Here's the Newseum reference on Facebook:
TAKEAWAY: When we consistently ask readers for content, they come through with stories and photos that are powerful enough to drive centerpieces. Not all of our newspapers were successful with callouts right away, but many have reported that they continued to ask for specific items related to holidays or newsy items, and now readers are responding. Remember to run callouts in print every day, on your website and on your Facebook page. This isn't just about getting checked off on elements of Inner Circle, it's about cultivating a culture of reader involvement and using new tools to engage readers and find their stories.
GateHouse Media news organizations are finding ways to work corporate strategies for best practices into their websites and newspapers every day. National content development managers Jean Hodges and Sarah Corbitt are on the lookout for your best work, and we'll share it here.
