Analyzing data: The newsroom of the future

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If newspaper publishers want to fully understand their readers, they have to start by analyzing data.   During an address at the Key Executives Mega-Conference last Tuesday, Josh Awtry, executive editor and vice president for news in Gannett's Carolina region, argued that – armed with good data – newspapers need to combat the decline in readership of their print publications by adapting roles in their newsroom.  Awtry oversees the newsrooms of The Greenville (S.C.) News and the Asheville (N.C.) Citizen-Times.

Before any roles in the newsroom change, publications must first understand the four aspects Awtry states are imperative for a well-functioning newspaper:

  1. Know your audience. What do the readers want?
  2. Analyze your data and change what you're writing.
  3. Connect to the community.
  4. Market your work.

When publications start to understand what readers want and adapt published material to fit readers' needs, then the declining readership chart that has haunted newsrooms can finally start to turn around.

Along with content changes, Awtry argued that newsrooms must reorganize.  Adapting roles is not simply changing titles, but changing responsibilities as well.  He said the main roles in need of a facelift are those of reporters, digital/print producers, engagement editors, content coach and content strategist. Some of these roles may sound new, but their responsibilities aren't.

Here's how the roles break down:

  • The Reporter: They must become deep subject matter experts, think like independent bloggers, be self-directed, and possess the ability to post their stories to the Web at a moment's notice. They need to be capable of engaging with readers online and off, able to write cleanly and spearhead watchdog projects.
  • The Digital/Print Producer: They must be audience savvy, understand what stories are trending, be capable of packaging and presenting across all platforms (both digital and in print), have a solid grasp of grammar and the ability to edit for clarity and punctuation.
  • Engagement Editor: This individual ensures that public outreach is occurring online and off, manages all core social media channels, plans events and looks for opportunities to extend journalism past stories. Senior level positions write editorials and have the responsibility of expressing the paper's voice.
  • Content Coach: This person's responsibility is to help reporters grow as writers. The coach focuses on sharpening ideas before writing and reporting, as well as editing after the process.
  • Content Strategist: The strategist must look for opportunities to grow readership. What should be covered in the publication?

Awtry left the audience with six suggestions for boosting both productivity and readership.

  1. Analysis at management level: In smaller newsrooms, your top editor must be an analyst.  In larger newsrooms, the analyst must be of enough seniority to effect change.  This cannot be the Web geek's job.
  2. Break the link between city editor and reporter: City editors have valuable skills, but it's unreasonable to expect them to coach, edit and manage a modern newsroom.
  3. Split technical editing, planning and strategy: Instead of all-purpose editors by section, consider editors by technical expertise.  Titles don't have to be bizarre – Web editor, planning editor, story editor, enterprise editor.
  4. Set reporters free and examine workflow: Empower reporters to be experts.  Don't let all copy be bottlenecked at the assigning editor phase.  Study where bottlenecks to digital operation occur.
  5. Expend less energy on print: Look at your meeting structure.  Does it revolve around a print cycle? Task sub-editors (managing editors, team leaders) with print planning.  Top editors should think about journalism – not about channels.
  6. Remember the basics: Hire people who want to write.

Download Josh Awtry's PowerPoint presentation (in PDF format)

Delaney Strunk is a journalism major at Georgia State University, who assisted the Southern Newspaper Publishers Association in covering the Mega-Conference. She has written for collegiate publications and also works as a freelance journalist for local Atlanta blogs.

Mega-Conference, Awtry, Gannett, Greenville, Asheville