Telegram deadlines, dates changing to better serve readers

These are exciting times in the newspaper industry, particularly here in the Twin Ports where a multi-million investment in a new press is about to give all the Forum Communications Co. owned newspapers a new, crisper, cleaner look.

Like anything new, there are changes that must take place in order to improve what we do every day.

For us that means deadlines are changing. But that also gives us a new opportunity to serve Superior Telegram readers.

Under our current publication schedule, our readers get the news on Wednesday and Friday mornings.

That makes for a tidy work week for staff. Monday and Wednesday, everyone is busy gathering information needed for those publications. Tuesday and Thursday, they are busy turning that information into stories and captions, and preparing photos for print so it can be delivered Wednesday and Friday morning.

Notably, while that’s a tidy work schedule, if something happens Friday afternoon — and it often does — it could be Wednesday the following week before anyone reads about it in the Superior Telegram.

So as the Telegram staff sat to contemplate how to serve the newspaper’s readers — knowing that new deadlines would mean there are some things that we won’t be able to provide in print with the immediacy we might have before, the discussion turned to making sure readers got the news they need, when they need it.

After a fair amount of discussion about the opportunity it would create to make a modest adjustment in our publication schedule, we found a way to better serve our readers.

Starting the week of Feb. 11, our publications will be landing on your doorstep on Tuesday and Friday morning instead.

Now readers will know in advance when the local teams are playing.

And readers concerned about the decisions our government officials make will have the opportunity to know what’s on the agenda for discussion and influence the outcome of decisions that impact the quality of life in our community.

As a long-time government reporter, I have long admired those thoughtful citizens who stepped forward to advise councilors and county board members, village trustees and town boards about issues they may not have considered to guide our local officials to better policy.

I look forward to the opportunity to better serve our readers by providing them with the information they need, when they need it — every Tuesday and Friday morning.

And if you miss the game, couldn’t stick around until the end of the council or county board meeting, you’ll still be able to find out what you missed at www.superiortelegram.com and in our next print publication, which will come at more regular intervals.

Tags: opinion, editorials