I was traveling last week and checked into a hotel near the Dallas airport. It was late, and my flight wasn’t until early the next day. So I looked forward to a few hours’ sleep.
In my room, I noticed four plump pillows on each bed, tied with ribbon in sets of two. One pair was marked “firm;” the other was “soft.” A note explained that the hotel had provided the choice for my comfort and included the number of the front desk should I need anything else.
As I drifted off to sleep, I had a little chuckle, thinking about those tags on the pillows, and how they remind me of the newspaper. Like the hotel, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is working harder to communicate with customers.
You may have seen an ad on television recently featuring our editor, Kevin Riley, talking about changes we have made to the newspaper. Or you may have read an ad in the paper, with a quote from a reader who noticed results from our expanded investigative reporting. Perhaps you have joined the editor’s Facebook page or opened an e-mail update from the newsroom that promoted upcoming coverage. Or you’ve noticed one of the boxes alongside news stories, explaining how a reporter broke news or how we are following an ongoing story.
It’s all meant to tell readers our story. Beginning about 18 months ago, we decided we needed to connect more personally with readers, opening more avenues for listening and sharing information about the work we do.
This is routine for many businesses, but it’s mostly unfamiliar territory for newspapers.
For much of our history, newspapers had little competition for audience. But it’s no secret that the business climate has become much tougher for newspapers, while readers have more choices than ever. With the proliferation of Internet, cable and other news sources, many newspapers like ours realized that readers simply didn’t understand the unique role of local newspapers or how much the news they hear or read in other sources originates in the newspaper. We believe that readers should understand how much important and original journalism comes from our newsroom.
AJC Vice President of Marketing Amy Chown says the approach is pretty straightforward — to reinforce what readers tell us is most important to them.
“The AJC has made positive changes to the newspaper in the last year that have been resonating with our readers,” Chown said. “The timing was right to remind our readers of the value we deliver as well as invite former readers to give us another try. These efforts are working — more readers are starting and renewing their subscriptions and the Sunday print AJC is among the fastest-growing newspapers in the country.”
I confess that editors and reporters find self-promotion a little awkward — we’re not used to telling our story. And occasionally a reader will tell me it sounds like we are bragging. I understand that view, but from my perspective, a campaign that helps our business also benefits our readers.
First, you get to learn a little about the human beings behind your newspaper. Whether it’s columns like this one or hearing Kevin Riley in a radio ad or reading about a reporter’s background, you learn more about how we do our work. (Other newspapers are doing this as well; this week an industry publication reported on an ad campaign in the Cincinnati Enquirer featuring reporters and columnists.)
Reaching out to readers also opens more avenues for feedback. We’re listening as never before and responding with improvements.
Finally, I believe that when we tell you what we stand for — for example, watchdog reporting to hold government accountable and digging deep to get the real story — then you can hold us accountable as well. You can measure us against our own promises.
After all, we have to be just as honest and credible in telling our own story as we are in telling the hundreds of stories we report.
Which brings me back to those pillows and the note from the hotel.
I’m sure I would have slept just fine so long as the bed was comfortable and the pillows weren’t lumpy. But I slept better knowing the hotel was committed to me as a customer.
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