NEWS
News Industry Summit:
Outsourcing Your Copy Desk?
Friday, July 16, 2010
A growing number of newspapers are refocusing scarce resources on their core competitive advantage – local content creation – by consolidating copy desks and production processes regionally or across the country.
On Tuesday morning during the 2010 News Industry Summit, to be held Oct. 17-19 at the Barton Creek Resort in Austin, Texas, panelists from the Chicago Tribune, Media General and The E.W. Scripps Co. will talk about their experiences.
The program will be moderated by Digby A. Solomon, president and publisher of The Daily Press in Newport News, Va.
Topics for discussion include:
- Can you really produce a local Virginia newspaper out of Chicago?
- What are the benefits and risks?
- How does it impact your audiences and your employees?
- Can you save money and improve your product?
Addressing these questions – and more – will be:
- Javier Aldape, vice president/niche products for The E.W. Scripps Company
Scripps has consolidated the copy editing, pagination and wire story selection of five newspapers at one site. The company's goal is to find efficiencies and facilitate content sharing, while allowing the local news staffs to focus singularly on developing local content. As part of this effort – which was launched in June 2009 – a unified design was developed to create a more consistent visual language for all five papers, while still ensuring local control over presentation and content decisions. - Gerould Kern, senior vice president/editor of the Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune took over copy editing and page design of The Daily Press (Newport News, Va.) in March. It already had been providing similar services for smaller Tribune papers. The Tribune Co. also began using CCI Europe's NewsGate application last year for all of its newspapers, making it easier to take advantage of these efficiencies. - Donna Reed, vice president/content for Media General
Media General is consolidating the copy editing and design of its newspapers through three primary initiatives: the consolidation of community newspaper production into Lynchburg, Va., and Hickory, N.C.; the virtual consolidation of its metro newspapers between Tampa and Richmond; and the installation of the CCI editorial system for its metro newspapers. The overall goal is to more effectively share content across all platforms.
Our Panel: Javier Aldape
In his role with Scripps, Aldape is responsible for identifying and developing specialty publications in the company’s newspaper markets.
In his role with Scripps, Aldape is responsible for identifying and developing specialty publications in the company’s newspaper markets.
Prior to joining Scripps in April 2008, Aldape was with Los Angeles Times Media Group, serving as vice president, audience development for the Los Angeles Times, and general manager and editor of the Spanish-language daily, Hoy Los Angeles. Previously, he was editor and vice president, product and audience development for all three editions of Hoy. At that time, Hoy was the nation’s leading Spanish-language newspaper, with daily editions in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, and weekly readership in excess of 1.6 million.
Before joining Tribune Company, Aldape was publisher of Diario La Estrella, a Spanish-language newspaper published by the Fort Worth (Texas) Star-Telegram. He also served on the Star-Telegram’s editorial board.
From 1996 to 1998, Aldape was managing editor for EL TELÉGRAFO, a leading daily newspaper in Ecuador.
He currently serves as secretary/treasurer of KidsVoting USA, and on the board of directors of the Student Press Law Center.
Our Panel: Gerould Kern
Gerould Kern was named senior vice president and editor of the Chicago Tribune in July 2008. Kern joined the newspaper in 1991 and held a number of senior editing roles, including associate managing editor/metro, deputy managing editor/features and associate editor.
Gerould Kern was named senior vice president and editor of the Chicago Tribune in July 2008. Kern joined the newspaper in 1991 and held a number of senior editing roles, including associate managing editor/metro, deputy managing editor/features and associate editor.
Since becoming editor, Kern directed a strategic reorganization of the news operation including the expansion of local, investigative and digital staffing and resources. The Tribune has greatly increased its commitment to watchdog journalism in print and online as a result. In January, the Chicago Tribune launched a tabloid newsstand edition and is the only major American daily to publish in both broadsheet and tabloid formats.
Following Tribune Co.'s acquisition of Times-Mirror Co. in 2000, Kern joined the corporate office and directed a number of strategic initiatives involving news coverage and content development across the publishing group. Kern was named vice president of editorial in 2003, a position he still holds in addition to his responsibilities at the Chicago Tribune.
Our Panel: Donna Reed
Donna Reed leads efforts to improve the quality of Media General’s print and broadcast journalism and focuses on growing the company’s multimedia initiatives. Media General’s operations include The Tampa (Fla.) Tribune, the Richmond (Va.) Times-Dispatch, the Winston-Salem (N.C.) Journal, 19 other daily newspapers, 18 television stations and more than 200 non-daily publications, primarily in the Southeastern United States.
Donna Reed leads efforts to improve the quality of Media General’s print and broadcast journalism and focuses on growing the company’s multimedia initiatives. Media General’s operations include The Tampa (Fla.) Tribune, the Richmond (Va.) Times-Dispatch, the Winston-Salem (N.C.) Journal, 19 other daily newspapers, 18 television stations and more than 200 non-daily publications, primarily in the Southeastern United States.
Before being named vice president of news for the Media General publishing division in 2004, Reed was the managing editor of The Tampa Tribune where she began her journalism career in 1974 as a sports correspondent. She held various reporting and editing jobs at The Tampa Tribune, including state editor and deputy managing editor.
During her tenure as managing editor, the Tribune was one of the fastest growing newspapers in the country. Editor & Publisher magazine named it one of the 10 newspapers “That Do It Right” in its June 2003 edition.
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Money-Back Guarantee
"Creating Our Future: The New Economics of Journalism" is the theme for this year's annual convention.
"Creating Our Future: The New Economics of Journalism" is the theme for this year's annual convention.
The conference will focus on the viability of newspapers' print franchises and ways to enhance it, including segments that point to new technologies that can become business advantages. Topics will include discussions about how to rebuild audiences and monetize them by delivering content that matters and information readers can trust as newspapers fulfill their critical watchdog roles in our society.
SNPA is offering a money-back guarantee on conference registration fees, if an attendee does not get a six-month ROI that exceeds his or her investment. That demonstrates the pragmatism and actionable items that this conference will deliver to members.
Discounted registration fees are available for those who register by Sept. 1.
Sponsorships/Tabletop Displays
The News Industry Summit offers supplier companies affordable opportunities to showcase the products and services that they offer to the newspaper industry on tabletop displays in the meeting room.
The News Industry Summit offers supplier companies affordable opportunities to showcase the products and services that they offer to the newspaper industry on tabletop displays in the meeting room.
For more information, contact Edward VanHorn in the SNPA office: edward@snpa.org or (404) 256-0444.
