First in Print: GateHouse papers sound off on their experiences

When GateHouse announced its First in Print strategy, some of our newspapers, from the Springfield State Journal-Register  to the Boonville (Mo.) Daily News jumped on it. Here is some info from Nate Birt, news & online editor in Boonville; Jon Broadbooks, executive editor in Springfield; Joyce Miller, editorial director of the Lake Sun in Missouri; and Chazy Dowaliby, editor of the Patriot Ledger in Quincy, Mass., and the Enterprise in Brockton, Mass.

Two themes that ran throughout the approach of these papers:

1. Let readers know what you're doing and why.
2. Give people content that makes sense for each platform. For example, the Patriot Ledger ran all names of grads in print, but ran photo galleries (with the option to buy photos) online. The print product is a keepsake; the Web offers the chance to monetize the photos and run far more of them.

CONTENT

What are examples of stories you've promoted as being in your newspaper first?

Nate: "We plugged a news release/photo compilation about an assistant warden named in Boonville because it's about a local man who received a promotion. This is something people will cut out of the paper and hang on the fridge, send to family members, etc. It invites people to pick up the paper to find out what their neighbors are doing.

"We also chose a story on gaming-funds usage. The Isle of Capri Casino and Hotel in Boonville employs a number of people, and the revenue obtained through gaming allows the city to make improvements to services such as water and roads. The city provided us with a list of gaming-fund expenditures, and we used Excel to build a table to determine the largest and smallest gaming expenditures. We then wrote an article that included both details about those funds and an interview with the city administrator explaining them. It was a narrative style that fit print well. Our Web component: A list of the city's top five gaming expenditures."

Joyce: Clarks sues in Lake Ozark: "Former city administrator sues municipality. This is an ongoing story, very controversial. Used for First in Print because of the popularity of story. We felt it would draw readers to our print products."

Chazy: "Graduations at both Patriot Ledger and Enterprise are doing First in Print for stories and names of all graduates and select photo displays for more than 40 high schools and colleges in our market.
However, we are offering online audience extensive photo galleries and the opportunity to purchase those pictures." At the end of the online piece, Web users are given the option of going to the e-edition or a subscription page.

LAUNCH & LOGISTICS

How did you explain First in Print to your readers? How did you execute it?

Jon: "I announced (First in Print) to readers with a column and followed up with a blog posting." From Jon's column: "The change is a watershed moment for the SJ-R because this means the newspaper’s website and print editions will evolve differently."

Nate: "I wrote an editorial to explain First in Print to readers, and that ran in print and online in conjunction with our launch of the initiative." From Nate's editorial: "As a news organization, it’s important that we provide helpful, interesting and informative content for both our print and online readers. (First in Print) will give people who exclusively visit our Web site a peek at what we think is worth their time (and eyeballs), and let you print readers know that we’re interested in giving you something valuable."

THE AFTERMATH

Have you had complaints from readers or Web users? If so, how have you dealt with them?

Nate: "At this point, I haven't responded to the handful of negative comments that has been posted to our website about the initiative. I encouraged readers for feedback about how we can improve our news operations in any medium, explaining how we're trying to differentiate between Web and print. People are free to disagree with our decision. Over the past four days, two of our "First in Print" Web stories have generated a good amount of Web traffic, which is exciting. I'm hopeful that this initiative will help generate a positive conversation about how readers can find valuable content in both mediums"

Jon: Springfield received several comments on Jon's column announcing the First in Print strategy, and responded to those using his blog. This one deals with a lot of questions you might run into: Questions and comments.

Joyce: "We haven't received much feedback at all."

Please share your First in Print stories with us. You can reach me at jhodges@gatehousemedia.com.