Dozens of PR professionals from entry level to retired attended the professional development meeting Feb. 5 to hear Pulitzer Prize nominee Matt Sauer, Business Editor of the Sarasota Herald Tribune speak about the newspaper industry in today’s economic climate.
Presentation:
With the challenges of our current economic situation, newspapers have been in unchartered waters for the past few years. The current headlines are ones that many would not have even believed several years ago.
We hear comparisons to the Great Depression every day.
Advertisers and readers have gone to the Internet. Papers are trying to line up costs with revenues. Some newspapers are filing for bankruptcy. And the newspapers that remain are under pressure to reinvent themselves.
People today are forced to become more introspective, as they change gears and are more focused than ever on a “survival mode.” They are often more concerned about what is happening in their personal lives than what is happening in the world. Newspapers are grasping for strong stories that appeal to people, helping them and affecting their lives locally.
Hard-hitting investigative news at the Herald Tribune isn’t going away. Editors are distracted by the enormity of daily stories dealing with the fallout of the economy.
Ask yourself how your business’ or organization’s stories fit in with the larger trends. What are the successes you can share that may have relevance for other businesses?
Your news releases should be as complete as possible, engaging and salient so editors can prepare the story largely from what has been sent with no phone calls or follow ups.
Develop relationships with the reporters and editors covering your stories.
Q: What does the newspaper hope to feature from this current economic situation that is positive?
A: On a personal standpoint, I look at the rise in involvement and engagement in politics now. It has brought people into the discussion who were never taking place in it before. We’re all taking stock of what’s important in our lives.
Q: What is the new vision for the paper? What do you get excited about?
A: Any story that is salient right now. Any glimmer of good news out there is something we’re interested in. The SunTrust economist in town for the EDC’s recent presentation shared a bright outlook. Good stories also sell newspapers—helping people feel like they’re on top of things. Are people succeeding in this environment? How are they doing it? We want to know.
One of our writers likened the recession to a hurricane. Find the good and the bad, throw all resources at it. It’s hard to catch your breath in this environment, when it’s coming in waves.
Q: What’s the difference between web and print stories?
A: There is a different audience on the web. Releases can continue to go to the same people; print and web staff are constantly interacting with each other. Newspaper is more the more in depth perspective. “Crime, quirky and weird does really well on the Web.” Part of the reason crime functions well on the Internet is that out of region is okay.
Q: How is the paper dealing with loss of revenue through ad sales?
A: Our web growth has been healthy, but it’s not a 1 - 1 relationship. Print delivers the lion’s share of revenues for ad spaces. Some projects are coming up in the next few months. We’re redoing our approach to the classifieds.
Q: Has there been breakdown for demographics in who’s reading the paper?
A: We have one of the most affluent, educated readerships of any paper in the country.
Q: What do you look at in terms of the future of a print newspaper in Sarasota?
A: Personally, I think the bulk of baby boomers are newspaper readers. We’ll always have a print product. Will it always be 80-85% of the equation? Probably not. If you’re not reading the print edition and you’re not reading the internet edition, what are you reading? The future may involve a widget that can be used to read the news.
Q: What is your goal with the electronic version of the newspaper?
A: If you’re reading the e-edition of the newspaper, you count as part of our circulation. We’d like to see the e-edition becoming even more successful.
Q: With reduced resources and space, are you receptive to PR people contacting you?
A: I don’t answer all e-mail, but I read all my e-mail. I like e-mail, phone and faxes. I’m open to personal contact. Find out which beat reporter is specifically covering your industry and work with them specifically. They will hear you out on a story. My difficulty is that I can’t respond directly to everything I get. And if you’re talking directly to the person doing the story, nothing gets lost in translation.
(Matt currently has 8 reporters, web and staff total. There are 100 people in newsroom as a whole. At the peak, in 2006, it was more like 200.)
Q: What advice do you have for newsworthy stories that aren’t in the paper?
A: Even if we can’t do it now, it may fit into something down the line.
Susie Bowie, Emeriging Communications Team
