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.

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.

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.”