Bring on the chicken dinners

Our new publisher, Steve Pope, came for an introduction last week and talked alot about content. I liked that, and I liked what he had to say – that newspapers (and journalists) have forgotten that they need to listen.

Because in these days when people get their news from Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, Digg and any number of other sites, that community connection is more vital than ever. The definition of “news” itself has changed and more people are now getting their news from the Internet than newspapers.

Pope talked about getting back to “chicken dinner” news while still delivering quality journalism, and it will be interesting to see how he and the editor plan to do that with existing resources. Sometimes it seems like we’re so busy putting out the print product that there’s no time for online already.

To really resonate with readers, the online site has to be a place where readers can connect with their community, where their voices can be heard (and not just when we ask) and that reflects the community in which we live. I’ve been looking at ocregister.com almosy daily lately to get ideas and learn. It seems like they embrace what the community wants, rather than dictating what the community gets.

To that end, I read a really interesting post today about how online newspapers can become the community hub, and there are lots of great suggestions. Some we’re doing, and some would take a seismic shift to accomplish.