How Small Newspapers Adjust to Digital: Ask Employees for Help

Newspapers haven't quite figured out how to adjust to the digital age, which leads to a lot of experimentation. But when you're working at a small newspaper, with only 10 full-time employees, there's not much of a chance to experiment with digital media. So how does a small newspaper adapt? Well the editor of the Middletown Press, a small daily in Connecticut owned by the Journal Register Company, chose a strategy of simply diving in. In a blog post, the Middletown editor Viktoria Sundqvist explained how she implemented this strategy by asking/forcing her employees to come up with a solution. One issue that arose when switching to a 24/7 publication was how to schedule the three copy editors. But after two months, no plans had formulated. So Sundqvist got them in a room, and told them they would need to figure out how to set their schedule themselves. Then she left, shutting the door behind her. "After an intense hour in the conference room behind closed doors, the copy editors came out and said, 'So, do you want to hear our plan,'" wrote Sundqvist. In an hour, the copy editors solved a problem that was taking months to fix. The three would each work eight-hour shifts, with one person starting at 10 am, while another would finish at midnight. During the shift, the copy editors would allot five hours to web editing. It would be great if more companies came to their employees to ask for help, but often that can't happen in large organizations. But it's interesting to see how quickly and easily it occurred within this small company. Even if it took a firm hand and a shut door before change would occur.

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How Small Newspapers Adjust to Digital: Ask Employees for Help

Ryan Derousseau

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Ryan Derousseau