| Ideas for newspaper content - An avalanche of content ideas to steal
Author: David S. Barrett
Published: June 01, 1997
Last Updated: May 26, 1999
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Ideas for newspaper content
An avalanche of content ideas to steal
Content session cuts to the chase: Dozens of good things
you can do at your paper
By David S. Barrett
Tired of small talk? Want to have something real to talk about at your
next party?
Try the "Time and Money" section published on Sundays by The Sacramento
(Calif.) Bee.
The section is "designed so that someone can read it in two minutes
and go to a cocktail party and look intelligent," says Rick Rodriguez,
managing editor of the Bee.
"Time and Money," which seeks to educate its readers on how to reduce
stress in their lives, offers money-saving tips that folks can use to simplify
their lives. From Cheap Thrills Cuisine to Dr. Tightwad to a column called
"The Two Minute Know-It-All," the section is designed to save readers time.
Rodriguez discussed the section in a session titled "Good Ideas for
Newspaper Content." If there was a single theme among the more than 80
ideas presented, it was that editors are seeking better ways to connect
with readers. On the one hand, they are adding context and relevancy. On
the other hand, they are having fun with their pages. The goal of all the
ideas is to retain current readers and hook new ones.
The session was a fast-paced slide show, with editors seeing their creativity
flashed on a screen and explaining the idea behind the innovation. Karen
Brown, associate director and dean of faculty at The Poynter Institute
for Media Studies, and Jeffery Cowart, associate director of the American
Press Institute, were facilitators for the session.
Time Savers was a key segment, as editors explained how they grapple
with the need to provide readers in-depth coverage in microwave time. Among
the ideas you might consider:
-
The Roanoke (Va.) Times wraps its front page on Thursdays with "Quick Look,"
a guide to inside stories most likely to interest readers as well as a
digest of the news.
-
The Tennessean, Nashville, offers "Short Cuts" on the back of its Life
section. The section, aimed at helping readers better manage time, handle
stress and save money, offers up to 10 bite-size topics each day, from
health and parenting to fashion and food.
Some of the ideas presented poked a little fun at editors and newspaper
people. We think we may know it all, or certainly know what news is, but
our readers like to be editors, too. The San Jose (Calif.) Mercury News
publishes a Celebrations section each Thursday, in which readers write
about what’s important to them. Jerry Ceppos, executive editor of the Mercury
News, told his colleagues, "This section, I hate to admit it, has more
humor, more emotion, more passion than the rest of the paper combined."
His was not the only newspaper to give editorial space over to readers.
Other newspapers talked about running photographs taken by readers (The
Huntsville [Ala.] Times) or engaging school children in documenting the
histories of their local communities (The Kansas City [Mo.] Star).
Reader participation took other interesting forms. The San Gabriel Valley
Newspaper Group of West Covina, Calif., ran a Dress the Turkey contest.
More than 700 people clipped a black-and-white turkey from the paper and
elaborately dressed it in feathers, lace, leather, beads or jewels. Turkeys
were given jobs, too, as lifeguards, chefs and Elvis impersonators.
Other areas where editors have experimented with content changes include:
-
Front pages: The Philadelphia Daily News, on the day of the verdict in
O.J. Simpson’s criminal trial, played both sides. It ran two headlines,
one predicting a guilty verdict, the other upside down and predicting a
not guilty verdict. The dramatic headline treatment sold 30,000 more papers.
-
Arts and Entertainment: The Palm Beach (Fla.) Post, through Photoshop software,
placed a fictional character — Bitsy — into photos of society events. Here’s
Bitsy pouring champagne onto someone’s head. There’s Bitsy getting booted
from a restaurant. Readers liked this product of newsroom creativity so
much that they started inviting Bitsy to their parties.
-
Kids and Families: So many high school students aspire to become cheerleaders.
Newspapers often publish photographs that show the cheerleaders’ school
spirit, but what does it cost today to become a cheerleader? The Sun of
Jackson, Tenn., decided to find out and published the information in a
weekly slot set aside for sports consumer reporting.
If you want to check out the presentation, it is available on ASNE’s Web
site at http:www.asne.org/ideas/goodideas/slide_show.html.
Whether you’re a large metro or a small weekly, there will be something
there for you to try.
Barrett is editor of The Hartford (Conn.) Courant.
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