Another great way to engage readers in your newspaper and Web site is to create a reader advisory board. Here's a guide to setting one up:
Seek board members | Put a callout for applications on your front page for a few weeks. Explain to readers that you’re starting a reader advisory board and ask those interested in serving on it to send the editor a few paragraphs on why they’re interested in serving. Explain to readers that the newspaper is looking for a diverse board and no city officials will be accepted. Board members should serve six-month terms and meet once a month. Select about a dozen board members. Go over the applications with newspaper leadership and inform the board members they have been selected. Write a column in your newspaper announcing who is on the board.
How to run the meeting
• The meeting shouldn't last more than one hour.
• Bring food in, based on what time you do the meeting.
• Consider videotaping the meeting and post pieces of it online.
First meeting | Give the board some history of the newspaper, talk about the importance of the board, your expectations of the board and lay down some ground rules. Give the board a tour of your building and your Web site. Take a group photo after the meeting and run it in the
newspaper and online.
Contact sheet | Have a "how to contact who at the newspaper” sheet built and hand it out to the board. Also, make a "newspaper terminology" sheet so the board will understand your lingo.
Steps for the meeting
1. Start the meeting by updating the board on projects your newspaper is working on, a redesign, re-contenting, new features. Don't just tell the group what you're doing, but ask some specific questions about what you're thinking or doing and get their feedback. Don't consume the meeting with this kind of content, maybe two or three things.
2. Bring in a different department head (classified, circulation, advertising, press) each month and have them talk about their area of expertise and give the board a chance to ask questions. Consider having each of those department heads build a FAQ about their department that they can hand out to the board.
3. Do a roundtable discussion. Ask each board member to provide feedback over the last month — stories they have liked, ones they didn’t, thoughts on coverage, ideas for the future, etc. Ask them to bring tearsheets of examples of what worked and what didn't. Encourage the board not to spend so much time rehashing what the paper was, but more about what it is today.
4. Bring a different issue to the table each month for discussion. This will keep the discussion each month on track. Tell the board at the end of each meeting what the discussion topic will be at the next meeting. For example, for the first meeting, the topic could be sports coverage.
Another great way to engage readers in your newspaper and Web site is to create a reader advisory board. Here's a guide to setting one up:
Seek board members | Put a callout for applications on your front page for a few weeks. Explain to readers that you’re starting a reader advisory board and ask those interested in serving on it to send the editor a few paragraphs on why they’re interested in serving. Explain to readers that the newspaper is looking for a diverse board and no city officials will be accepted. Board members should serve six-month terms and meet once a month. Select about a dozen board members. Go over the applications with newspaper leadership and inform the board members they have been selected. Write a column in your newspaper announcing who is on the board.
How to run the meeting
• The meeting shouldn't last more than one hour.
• Bring food in, based on what time you do the meeting.
• Consider videotaping the meeting and post pieces of it online.
First meeting | Give the board some history of the newspaper, talk about the importance of the board, your expectations of the board and lay down some ground rules. Give the board a tour of your building and your Web site. Take a group photo after the meeting and run it in the
newspaper and online.
Contact sheet | Have a "how to contact who at the newspaper” sheet built and hand it out to the board. Also, make a "newspaper terminology" sheet so the board will understand your lingo.
Steps for the meeting
1. Start the meeting by updating the board on projects your newspaper is working on, a redesign, re-contenting, new features. Don't just tell the group what you're doing, but ask some specific questions about what you're thinking or doing and get their feedback. Don't consume the meeting with this kind of content, maybe two or three things.
2. Bring in a different department head (classified, circulation, advertising, press) each month and have them talk about their area of expertise and give the board a chance to ask questions. Consider having each of those department heads build a FAQ about their department that they can hand out to the board.
3. Do a roundtable discussion. Ask each board member to provide feedback over the last month — stories they have liked, ones they didn’t, thoughts on coverage, ideas for the future, etc. Ask them to bring tearsheets of examples of what worked and what didn't. Encourage the board not to spend so much time rehashing what the paper was, but more about what it is today.
4. Bring a different issue to the table each month for discussion. This will keep the discussion each month on track. Tell the board at the end of each meeting what the discussion topic will be at the next meeting. For example, for the first meeting, the topic could be sports coverage.
After the meeting
1.The editor should write a column about the meeting and explain what got discussed and what the paper is going to do about that feedback.
2. If you implement something from a suggestion or conversation from the board, find ways to tell readers that the new feature or idea is the result of conversation that came out of a reader board meeting.
3. Send out a thank you e-mail after the first meeting and remind the board when the next meeting will be and what the topic will be. Remind them that they’re a sounding board for the community. Remind them that they don’t have to wait a full month to provide feedback to you.
4. Build a reader advisory board logo and run it with all columns about the board.
