Tag Archives: American City Business Journals
American City Business Journals papers see results with changes
by Chris Roush
The early results of American City Business Journals‘ overhaul of its San Jose, Calif., paper has resulted in a growth in circulation, online readers and revenue, so the Charlotte-based owner of 40 business weeklies plans to begin rolling out the changes to its other papers.
“We’re pretty close to rolling out the design in other markets,” said Emory Thomas, the chief content officer at ACBJ and the former editor and publisher of its Seattle paper, in a telephone interview Thursday with Talking Biz News.
Thomas declined to name the first markets to implement the changes, citing the desire of its local publishers to use the redesign for marketing purposes. And he also declined to give specifics about the results in San Jose other than to say the paper was in the top two within the company for circulation growth in the first quarter and that its online page views have been stronger in 2013 every month than any of the months in 2012.
“We’re happy with what we’re seeing in San Jose, and happy with the results and reactions by the newsrooms that are embracing this content strategy in other markets as well,” said Thomas.
All of the ACBJ papers have rolled out a new home page, but the Silicon Valley Business Journal is the only one to have implemented all of the editorial changes, which focus on three major approaches, under editor Greg Baumann.
Those three areas are:
- The centerpiece cover story, digging into an event that people don’t know about. “It’s a nice deep dive with a multifaceted story play,” said Thomas. “We are aiming high on page one. That has worked well in San Jose. One of the questions was whether we can hit this week after week? Do we have the right staff in place to do this? And the answer has been yes.
- Reporter pages within the paper, focusing on the reporter as a brand. “It’s something that we have embraced here,” said Thomas. “People follow people.”
- Expanding its lists and databases, or telling the stories behind the numbers. “Those stories have always been there…but we’re telling more of them now in an expanded lists section,” said Thomas. “Readers really just love that.
The results have also helped improve the company’s business journalism.
We just find that we’re getting good interviews and getting pieces that get a lot of social traffic,” said Thomas. “Our social media metrics have risen sharply in San Jose.”
Sacramento biz journal launches new home page
by Chris Roush
The Sacramento Business Journal, an American City Business Journals paper, has launched a new home page.
Editor Jack Robinson writes, “The site redesign reflects our increasing emphasis on publishing the news you need as it happens, all day long. Much of the page will be dominated by the newest stories — including many exclusives about businesses and economic news in the capital region.
“We’re doing away with the rotating carousel of images at the top to present a cleaner, simpler display of images keyed to stories on the site. And subscriber-only stories will be highlighted in a box at the top of the page.
“Many other features — including the Business Pulse survey and list of most popular stories on the site — will remain much as they are.
“We hope you find the new home page more accessible and useful, and we want to hear from you.”
Read more here. The changes are occurring at other ACBJ papers as well. Here is an explanation from Kevin Bumgarner, the editor of the Pacific Business News in Honolulu.
Sacramento biz journal hires new reporter
by Chris Roush
The Sacramento Business Journal has hired Christopher Arns as a reporter.
Jack Robinson, the editor of the paper, writes, “Christopher Arns joined the paper on Monday as our first Capitol reporter. His mission: to find out what California’s massive state government is doing for — and to — business interests.
“He’ll get under the dome and inside the bureaucracy to find out what new regulations and legislation could mean for your business. He’ll report on big new contracts and business opportunities with the state. And he will dig deep into the Golden State’s ongoing struggle to shed the “job killer” label and better compete with other states.
“Christopher is an accomplished reporter who has written for many Sacramento-area news organizations, including this one, as a freelancer. He’s also author of the first travel guidebook devoted to the Sacramento and Gold Country regions. It’s due out in May from Moon Handbooks.
“A graduate of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo who also has a master’s degree in international relations from California State University Sacramento, Christopher also teaches political science part-time at Napa Valley College.
“He replaces Melanie Turner, who recently left to take a job with the state Air Resources Board. Her beats will be split up among other staff writers, with real estate reporter Ben van der Meer taking transportation and agriculture issues and technology writer Mark Anderson taking energy, clean technology and med/biotech.”
Read more here.
Denver Biz Journal starts energy newsletter
by Chris Roush
The Denver Business Journal has started a weekly email newsletter called Energy Inc. that will be sent out every Tuesday.
A story on its website states, “Energy Inc. is powered by the DBJ and its award-winning energy reporter, Cathy Proctor. It has everything you need to know about the energy industry.
“In one package, you get the latest oil, gas, wind and solar-energy news from across Colorado and the region, plus in-depth industry reporting and analysis from Proctor and other energy reporters and experts from around the nation.
“Energy Inc. is a compilation of Proctor’s news reports and blog posts that appear online and in the print edition of the weekly Business Journal, along with those of other DBJ staff members.
“We also gather headlines from energy industry centers around the nation, and news from the Bakken, Utica and Marcellus shale plays.”
Read more here.
ACBJ paper strikes content-sharing deal with TV station
by Chris Roush
Columbus Business First, a paper in the Ameican City Business Journals chain, and WCMH-TV have agreed to a content-sharing partnership for local and business news on-air, online and in print.
Doug Buchanan, managing editor of Business First, writes, “Beginning Friday, Business First Publisher Don DePerro will appear weekly on NBC4 Today during the 6 a.m. hour, providing insight into the business news of the week.
“‘NBC4 is excited to share content with Central Ohio’s best source for local and regional business news. We know it is important content that our viewers are interested in and this partnership will help us deliver it to them,’ Dan Bradley, president and general manager of NBC4, said in a press release.
“‘Award-winning Columbus Business First is the market leader in providing business intelligence to Central Ohio. At Business First, we are experiencing a sort of renaissance in Columbus and within our own brand,’ DePerro said in the release. ‘We are constantly seeking innovative ways to inform our loyal and influential readers, via signature events, social and digital platforms and, of course, with media collaborations such as this.’
“WCMH is owned by Richmond, Va.-based Media General Inc. and is an affiliate of NBC.”
Read more here.
Honolulu biz paper celebrates 50th anniversary
by Chris Roush
James George, managing editor of the Pacific Business News, writes about the 50th anniversary of the business newspaper now owned by American City Business Journals.
George writes, “Mason was not a journalist. He was a businessman and a government bureaucrat who once headed what is now the Hawaii Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism. But, like all successful entrepreneurs, he saw a customer need and a market niche and thought he could fill it.
“In his case, it was the fact that state and local governments were collecting all kinds of data that would be helpful to Hawaii’s business community. But it wasn’t being made public. Mason reasoned that a newspaper that printed news of record, such as new-business listings and building permits, would enjoy high readership and make some money.
“He also wanted it to be a real newspaper. To that end, he hired John Ramsey, a Honolulu Star-Bulletin editor known for being able to pump out news copy at amazing speeds. Ramsey also brought editorial integrity that would define PBN throughout its first 50 years.
“In a Page 1 letter to readers in that first issue, Mason pledged ‘sound business practices and unflinching editorial integrity.’ He promised that the newspaper would always be at least 50 percent news content. If advertising space grew, which it did, he would increase the number of pages.”
Read more here.
Biz weekly readership grows
by Chris Roush
The reach of the Triangle Business Journal has gone from 30,000 per month a decade ago to 236,000 now, said editor Sougata Mukherjee in a presentation at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on Monday.
“They are very dedicated followers,” said Mukherjee at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication. “We are not for everybody. That gives us an advantage. I don’t have to cater to 1 million people.”
The growth has come primarily from online readers and others the American City Business Journals publication reaches with its events. Its print subscription base is also continuing to increase, said Mukherjee.
Mukherjee also showed how the paper has changed its layout in the past year. The current Triangle Business Journal features a cover story on the front as well as a featured story on page 3. In addition, its reporters receive more branding inside the paper.
“We want to associate the reporters with local coverage,” said Mukherjee, who has a newsroom staff of 10 plus a small freelance budget.
The paper now employs a web-first strategy where breaking news is placed on its website. It might save exclusive stories for its print edition, which comes out on Friday, but only rarely.
When asked why he liked being a business journalist, Mukherjee replied, “I really like being nosy and asking people questions they don’t want to hear.”
ACBJ is rolling out TechFlash name across company
by Chris Roush
TechFlash, a tech news site started by two business reporters at the Puget Sound Business Journal in 2008, is now a brand name rolling out across the American City Business Journals chain.
Cromwell Scubarth, who covers technology for the sister paper Silicon Valley Business Journal, writes, “Our parent company, American City Business Journals, is rolling the TechFlash brand out around the country. Startup Now is a natural fit.
“Look for the same features we have delivered in the first month of Startup Now, along with top stories from affiliated publications in Boston, Austin, New York and elsewhere.
“Same great stories. New name. See for yourself on Monday.”
Read more here.
Charlotte-based ACBJ rolled the TechFlash site back into the Puget Sound Business Journal last year after the two journalists who started it left in 2011.
ACBJ paper begins startup newsletter
by Chris Roush
The Silicon Valley Business Journal, an American City Business Journals paper, has started a new newsletter called StartUp Now.
J. Jennings Moss, editor of the Upstart Business Journal, writes, “The Silicon Valley Business Journal is one of our sister publications, part of the network of 40 weeklies published by American City Business Journals (which is part of Advance Publishing). It’s led by publisher James MacGregor and editor-in-chief Greg Baumann.
“StartupNow, which is compiled by senior technology reporter Cromwell Schubarth, is just the latest sign of a newspaper being reborn. Until a few weeks ago, the paper was called the Silicon Valley-San Jose Business Journal. It dropped the San Jose part and adopted a more aggressive approach to covering the high-tech giants and upstart newcomers that drive the economy south of San Francisco.
There’s another reason I’m biased. I spent six years of my childhood in San Jose. My mother worked for Fairchild Semiconductor, a company now seen as the birthplace for so much of the region’s tech innovation. My brothers and their families still live a short drive away from the Silicon Valley Business Journal’s offices. I like the area. I love the paper. I’m glad the folks at the Silicon Valley Business Journal and I work for the same company.”
Read more here.
Silicon Valley Biz Journal redesign a template for ACBJ papers
by Chris Roush
Jessica Hanks of The Huffington Post writes about the redesign of the Silicon Valley Business Journal with editor Greg Baumann and redesigner Mario Garcia.
The redesign is planned to be a template for other American City Business Journals papers.
Hanks writes, “Effective with the first edition in 2013, the Silicon Valley Business Journal has revitalized nearly every aspect of the paper, from expanding newsroom staff to advancing digital and social capabilities, to buttressing the print layout.
“‘[I wanted to] bring a sense of the digital mentality to print,’ Garcia told HuffPost. ‘Our readers use other platforms and unconsciously bring the way they navigate and scan digitally, to print.’
“Readers’ digital habits are also being used to tailor editorial content, which Baumann thinks is key. ‘We watch the data. When a Web story pops, or when a social media conversation about one of our Web stories takes off, that’s a clanging bell telling us to weigh in more heavily in print. You just have to listen to the audience,’ he told HuffPost.
“The publication is certainly bucking the trend, as many other major newspapers are scaling back on distribution. But SBVJ may have the recipe for success: a new, state-of-the-art look for the paper product they’ve published 30 years, reader-driven content and a good pulse on the digital landscape.”
Read more here.
