Editor: Larger network will enhance our journalism - Akron Beacon Journal

The question was a fair one, not a dig at our journalists who work hard every day to find facts and compelling local stories and images.

But it made me realize we’ve not shared much about how recent internal changes will help improve our print and digital offerings.

A writer I came across last week wondered if the Akron Beacon Journal’s superior investigative coverage of the 1970 shootings at Kent State University could be replicated if some similar event happened today.

We’ve been telling readers we can’t keep doing everything we’ve done in the past, which is true. The world has changed dramatically around us, with fewer people reading and paying for print newspapers. That’s the reality behind many decisions — including earlier print deadlines — that we’re making to ensure our business remains sustainable.

But if a major news event occurs, I’m confident the main difference would involve how we tell the story in a crowded media landscape, including websites, cable news and even social media.

Yes, we have fewer reporters today than back in 1970. But we’re also now part of Gannett’s USA TODAY Network, meaning we can pull in journalists from across Ohio and the region if we need help staffing a major news event.

We joined Gannett in December following the merger of GateHouse Media, which acquired the Beacon Journal in 2019, and Gannett, another national media company I had the privilege of working for from 2000 to 2016.

We now have 21 daily media markets in Ohio, with Akron being the third-largest site following Columbus and Cincinnati. If we need help for a major event, and I hope we don’t, we have full access to our Ohio colleagues and the resources of Gannett’s USA TODAY national network. Gannett has successfully shared resources to cover hurricanes, mass shootings and other national events. Our journalists also have an opportunity for their content to reach a national audience.

We’re already working with a Gannett digital team to assist us in telling the story of the upcoming 50th anniversary of the May 4 shootings at Kent State. They simply possess better digital and artistic resources than we have locally.

We know there are two generations of younger people more likely to use mobile devices to learn about how events right here in Northeast Ohio reshaped our nation’s view of the Vietnam War. We can’t plan just for print, nor assume everyone knows the May 4 story. Our content will be made available to all sites across the company.

We’re also involved in national conversations about covering the presidential race and other elections, videos for BeaconJournal.com and much more.

The bottom line is Gannett can help us enhance our reporting for readers on all platforms.

So, yes, I believe we can still cover a major story. We still have skilled reporters and editors and plenty of help if needed.

Afternoon edition?

A few readers concerned about our new print deadlines have understandably suggested we move back to an afternoon edition, which once was common for newspapers.

That’s highly unlikely for a few reasons, including that the vast majority of our readers have a habit of beginning their day by reading the newspaper. The other reality is our carriers deliver more newspapers than ours each morning to make their routes more efficient and profitable with print circulations decreasing at all publications.

I fondly remember working at an afternoon newspaper twice in my career, although the 5 a.m. editing shifts were challenging and stressful as deadline approached. Without websites, if a story did not make the deadline, we had to wait 24 hours. The benefits included being one of the first newspapers in America to print news of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on that day.

Comics

Beginning Monday, the daily black-and-white comics pages and puzzles will move into our C section behind sports. The move is necessary to ensure we have color pages available for obituaries every day.

Michael Shearer is editor of the Akron Beacon Journal and BeaconJournal.com and a regional editor for Gannett’s USA TODAY Network. He can be reached at 330-996-3750 or mshearer@thebeaconjournal.com.

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Editor: Larger network will enhance our journalism - Akron Beacon Journal
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