One late story or overall late papers? That’s the question for print deadlines
One of the wonderful things about working for a local media company is knowing what you do every single day matters to people. And sometimes they want to know more about how you do it, too.
I thought I’d answer a couple of your questions today.
How do we deal with late-breaking news?
A reader was curious about deadlines for the print edition and another asked me if I miss the print-only world. Give me a minute and I’ll wrap these things together.
There is a lot of adrenaline in yelling “stop the presses.” I’ve only done it once, and it was for a levee break in a pre-digital world.
But the reality of print is that, at its best, it delivers breaking news that’s six hours old. It takes time to write a story, compose pages, print the paper and deliver it to carriers and on to homes.
The print experience remains a collection of the best of the day before. It’s a curated experience that readers say they like because it helps them discover information the might not see otherwise — local and national.
Breaking a deadline for print continues to be a question of the greater evil — miss a story or get the paper to homes too late to be read before people get on with their days?
Now, we can post breaking news online, give readers information right away, then come back and add to it.
And, we now have the ability to push alerts to subscribers’ phones and computers letting them know there’s news breaking. That’s where I get my adrenaline rushes these days.
Our work is more than just breaking news.
Topical civic news has its own cadence and it’s rarely a concern with deadlines. The timing becomes more about when it is critical for readers to have the information, when sources can talk to us, when public records requests are fulfilled and when reporters have time to complete the writing while they juggle other stories.
The Herald prints at 7 p.m. in Everett, where they print several papers throughout the night. We can’t all go at once. It was massively inefficient to have millions of dollars of press equipment sitting idle most of the day at smaller papers.
After it’s printed, the paper is trucked to Whatcom County, where it’s distributed to carriers. Those independent contractors then deliver the paper to get to readers by 6 a.m. With fewer print readers, their routes are less dense and can take more time to deliver.
Here’s a shout out to all the great newspaper carriers! There are a lot of other delivery job options these days. But Herald carriers brave the dark and rain and sometimes snow to get you your paper. I’m hoping giving them Saturday off makes it easier for us to keep good carriers.
With the presses rolling at 7 p.m. I have to send the last breaking news story to the page designers by 6 p.m.
For print, some civic news waits until there is room in the paper to print it. For digital, civic news waits to be published at times digital analytics show are best for readers.
It’s a strategy that’s paying off.
In the last six weeks we have returned to sustained subscriber growth. It’s exciting to see Whatcom County residents recognize the value of local news and support it with their digital subscriptions to The Bellingham Herald.
We want to continue to partner with the community to provide news as only we can.
I hope you’ll also participate in our coverage of critical topics by sending in tips or sharing your experiences with our reporters.
You have a new title, what does that mean?
I’ve been appointed general manager in addition to executive editor. Rusty Dodge, our former general manager, remains regional vice president of Northwest Strategic Sales for McClatchy. He’s moving to our larger sister paper in Boise, Idaho, where he’ll also be publisher.
Local media companies have changed with the times for efficiency and for expertise.
Technology allows us to share staff nationwide who specialize in one of many disciplines. That’s a really good thing for smaller media companies that wouldn’t be able to afford that expertise on their own.
As general manager, I’ll be the point person working on general business issues from Bellingham.
I’m happy to continue answering your questions, just drop me a note at julie.shirley@bellinghamherald.com.
Before I go, because it’s important you know the local people who produce your news, I’ve asked the staff to help me introduce themselves.
INTRODUCING: DAVID RASBACH
What you do at The Herald: I cover breaking news — crime, fires and just about anything else that comes up. I also follow Whatcom County’s emergency management resources and assist with editing.
Bio: I’ve lived in Whatcom County the past 15 years and Bellingham the past three.
What do you do when you’re not at work? I cook, hang out with friends and enjoy watching sports and movies.
What are you reading/watching? I’m a big college and pro football fan, so that’s usually on during the weekends. Other than that, whatever else catches my interest on Netflix or cable TV.
Where’s your happy place? I’m generally pretty happy everywhere, but Taylor Dock in the morning is a special place.
First job? I was a Sandwich Artist at Subway while in high school.
Why’d you become a journalist? I was originally a sportswriter, because of my love of all sports. I was a pretty decent writer, so a high school teacher pushed me to try out for the school paper. I thought combining the two would make it fun to go to work every day.
What’s a really good day for you professionally? Days when I get to tell a really good story.
And the worst? Any day I find out I’ve made a mistake.
INTRODUCING: LACEY YOUNG
What you do at The Herald: I’m The Herald’s only multimedia journalist, meaning I produce all of the local photo and video content you see for the most part.
Bio: I live in the Sehome neighborhood and have a long-haired kitty that I adopted in early 2019.
What do you do when you’re not at work? When I’m not at work you might find me watching movies, going to concerts with friends, or spending as much time outside as possible hiking, biking and skiing.
What are you reading/watching? I watch a whole lot of time-period tv shows – think The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Peaky Blinders, Mad Men, Game of Thrones, Outlander and Godless.
Where’s your happy place? My happy place is in the Rocky Mountains reading a book fireside as snow falls outside.
First job? I got my first job at age 15 as a lifeguard and swim lesson instructor at my neighborhood pool.
Why’d you become a journalist? I became a journalist because I wanted to tell visual-based stories that helped people understand their community. I started my career with hopes of going into film, but quickly realized that journalism was impactful in a more tangible and relatable way.
What’s a really good day for you professionally? A good day for me at work is nailing a video shoot and producing a narrative video that our audience shares on their social media accounts.
And the worst? The worst is when a source gives one-word answers or prepared responses during a video interview.
And finally, if you were a Ben and Jerry’s flavor, what would you be? Cookies and memes.
What did I miss about the essential you? Go Sounders!
