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The Lake Sun newspaper in Camdenton, Mo., launched a redesign in early February that incorporated several alternative story formats that make the writing and page production easier. But when news of a fuel spill broke on deadline, Editorial Director Joyce Miller wanted to get this story quickly and make it the centerpiece. Her solution? Use an alternative story format. Here Joyce answers a few questions on how it all came together.
At what point in the day did the fuel spill story break, and how long did it take for you to decide to use an alternative story form?
We learned of the incident around 4:15 pm. The reporter was there by approximately 4:30 p.m. and spent a total of about 30 minutes taking photos and gathering information.
How did the piece come together in this alternative story form, and how much time did the reporter need to write the story?
As we were discussing front page placement, we wanted to give the incident the attention it needed and the use of an ASf was the logival solution. We were able to get it out there quickly, concisely and in a format that drew readers attention.
Who on staff played a role in the execution of this package, what time of the day did each become involved?
4:15 pm Charis, the reporter, hands the information over to the news director. Charis then went to grab photos and see what was taking place. Fortunately there wasn't much travel time involved.
Shortly after 5 p.m. when Charis returned, we were discussing where and how to break the story. We made the decision to use the ASF style. It took Charis less than 30 minutes to piece the story together. From there David, the editor, took over and did the page design. By 7 p.m. the front page was done and ready to be proofed and shipped. Total time was just short of three hours from beginning to end.
If you have an ASF success story that could help other GateHouse newspapers, drop me a line. If you'd like to incorporate alternative story forms in your newsroom, we can help you with that, too. Please let me know.
Joe Greco is corporate design director for GateHouse Media. If you have questions for Joe or have an idea for a future blog post, contact him at jgreco@gatehousemedia.com.
The Lake Sun newspaper in Camdenton, Mo., launched a redesign in early February that incorporated several alternative story formats that make the writing and page production easier. But when news of a fuel spill broke on deadline, Editorial Director Joyce Miller wanted to get this story quickly and make it the centerpiece. Her solution? Use an alternative story format. Here Joyce answers a few questions on how it all came together.
At what point in the day did the fuel spill story break, and how long did it take for you to decide to use an alternative story form?
We learned of the incident around 4:15 pm. The reporter was there by approximately 4:30 p.m. and spent a total of about 30 minutes taking photos and gathering information.
How did the piece come together in this alternative story form, and how much time did the reporter need to write the story?
As we were discussing front page placement, we wanted to give the incident the attention it needed and the use of an ASf was the logival solution. We were able to get it out there quickly, concisely and in a format that drew readers attention.
Who on staff played a role in the execution of this package, what time of the day did each become involved?
4:15 pm Charis, the reporter, hands the information over to the news director. Charis then went to grab photos and see what was taking place. Fortunately there wasn't much travel time involved.
Shortly after 5 p.m. when Charis returned, we were discussing where and how to break the story. We made the decision to use the ASF style. It took Charis less than 30 minutes to piece the story together. From there David, the editor, took over and did the page design. By 7 p.m. the front page was done and ready to be proofed and shipped. Total time was just short of three hours from beginning to end.
If you have an ASF success story that could help other GateHouse newspapers, drop me a line. If you'd like to incorporate alternative story forms in your newsroom, we can help you with that, too. Please let me know.
Joe Greco is corporate design director for GateHouse Media. If you have questions for Joe or have an idea for a future blog post, contact him at jgreco@gatehousemedia.com.
