News judgment

Our day begins at 7:20 a.m. with an editors’ meeting, where decisions are made about how we present stories – which ones go on Page 1, which stories go on inside pages, etc .

Our niche is local news, and we strive for quality local stories first for Page 1. National or international stories of significance, particularly if they break on our “news cycle,” can land on Page 1. But for the most part, we try to be all local when appropriate.

News cycles, by the way, can be defined as the window of opportunity for a media outlet to present news as being fresh. That window is much smaller now, with 24-hour cable news networks, the Internet, etc.

So while we pepper onto Page 1 high-impact national/international stories within our news cycle, what we provide best is local news. That will remain our focus.  

Interestingly, after our editors’ meeting, we hit the ground running, putting out mostly four-section newspapers in about four hours time each morning. It’s invigorating, stressful but fun and fulfilling.