News-Record.com

We have always operated under the idea that the best way to build content online is to integrate it into the work of what was formerly known as our newspaper newsroom. A room full of journalists, originally hired to create content for the newspaper, can just as easily learn to create content for the web, too. We've moved to a newsroom that publishes content -- newspaper or online -- as soon as we have it verified, or, in the case, of the blogs, as soon as we have our thoughts together.

It's worked out pretty well so far.

We're going to amend/extend that thinking. Amy Dominellois going to report for online. She will report breaking news, updates and enterprise pieces that we aren't getting now. She won't officially be a MoJo. She'll have a place in our office, but she'll have the laptop, still and video cameras, and a nose for news. Because we're making her asking her to report to work at 6:30 a.m., she will extend the time people can come to our site for new news. Presumably some of her stuff will be published in the paper, too, although she doesn't have any specific newspaper duties.

In addition, Jerry Wolford, one of our award-winning photographers, will spend most of his time shooting and reporting multi-media and video. His work, too, will span breaking news to enterprise.

Our policy continues to be that everyone posts news as soon as they know it. Amy's and Jerry's work will be gravy, making the site fresher and more robust. Their measure of success? Using their journalistic skill and online savvy to help readers and drive traffic. Because this is new to us, their jobs will evolve. Will it follow the initiative at Spokane? Perhaps. We're learning every day.

It is arguable that they are our first online reporters.* What is certain is that they won't be our last.

Howard at Etaoin Shrdlu, a site for McClatchy papers, has a clearly-stated post that describes where we are:

Like all companies, we're working hard to restructure costs and operations to make them affordable within new revenue realities. Unlike some, we're trying to do that without throwing the baby out with the bathwater: keeping as much staff as we can in newsrooms and sales departments, emphasizing growth online to backfill eroding print revenues, sustaining the print franchise as much as possible, launching new products, learning new skills, and above all focusing on total audience growth as the best hope for both our finances and our community service mission.

* Right now, Michael Grossman and Michael Fuchs report stories online, but their primary duties are to build the news on the site, posting stories, creating links, helping to maintain blogs, etc.

Sunday update: I like Gary Goldhammer's description of reporters here.