A local car dealer asked me earlier this year about how we put out the paper every day.
I’ve been working in a daily newsroom for more than 40 years now, but his question made me realize readers do not know about our business any more than we know about theirs.
Imagine, I said, if your job was to build from scratch and deliver a brand new car every day. Each time you also had to use all new parts. That car, meanwhile, had to be parked in the driveway by the time the owner got out of bed, including all holidays, like Thanksgiving and Christmas. Some of those cars would be fantastic. Some might be a little dull. Some might not start very well. But they would run and serve their purpose. That’s kind of what we do.
He nodded and said, “Now I understand.”
We get lots of calls, emails and letters with questions for “Ask Hutch,” but we also get questions about how we bring The Hutchinson News to you.
It’s not an easy job and it takes a team of dedicated people, many who have changed over the years, to bring you a new product 365 days a year for more than 146 years.
I thought 2018 would be a great time to make an addition to “Ask Hutch,” which we’ll call “Ask the Editor.” I’d like to call everyone personally who has a question, and I’ve talked to a lot of you already. But building a new product every day takes a lot of time, This column is a way to answer more people, especially when so many people tend to ask the same questions.
Maybe we’ll understand a little more about each other and the News, whether you read it on paper or, like most of you do, on your phone.
Why is the newspaper thinner than it used to be?
Not as many people read the printed page as they used to. That makes many people sad. It does me, too. There’s nothing quite as satisfying as reading something on the page, whether it be a book, a magazine, a newspaper or a child’s essay for school. A study released earlier this year showed people retain and comprehend more of what they read from print.
Still, most people are consuming their news on mobile devices. That means fewer people are buying the printed paper. That costs money. The two major costs of producing a newspaper are the 84 people who work at the News and the ink and paper on which it’s printed. With less money coming in from the print product, we had to cut both people and paper.
For me, it’s like the difference between listening to music on my phone and on a vinyl record. It’s a different feel and a different sound. Vinyl has started to make a comeback. Maybe someday print will, too. Until then we have to adjust our resources.
Still, it’s not the thinnest the newspaper has ever been. Gregg Beals, who runs our print shop and has worked there long enough to remember when the Monday paper was 10 pages. That was about 1989 and Gregg said the delivery people used to complain because it wasn’t heavy enough to throw onto the porch. Today’s paper is 12 pages. I know it’s thin, but long-time subscribers ought to be able to remember when it was even smaller.
Why don’t you cover high school sports from (fill in whatever school a son, daughter, niece, nephew, grandson, granddaughter, cousin, neighbor, plays for)?
That’s a great question. But look at this question on my very next voicemail:
Why do you waste so much space on high school sports when you could use that space to cover real news?
Perhaps you all could to get together for coffee, beer – it may take lunch, even – to decide this. Arm wrestle over it, maybe? I’ll dedicate one day’s entire paper to the winner.
High school sports have a small but faithful audience, and we do our best to try and highlight the parts they love most – features on players, off-court antics, video highlights, photo galleries and the scores themselves.
We have one full-time sports editor, Kelton Brooks, and he’s very knowledgeable and passionate. Once again, it’s about resources.
That’s why we instituted “Preps Day” this month. Kelton can only go to one game a night. So once a week, we’re going to throw all our resources at a game of the week. That will include stories, photos, video highlights, even some live game coverage, when appropriate. When Preps Day comes to your school, you will get all our available resources. We’re going to try to pick games deserving of that kind of coverage, and we’ll spread it around. Next up: Nickerson vs. Haven, this Friday.
Why do you waste so much space on national and international news, when we can get that anywhere? We want local news?
Absolutely, local is our focus. But wait: I’ve got to put you on hold for this next email.
Why don’t you run more national and international news – the really important stuff?
Maybe you all should join the high school sports folks for that lunch and talk this over.
What happened to the coupon sections of the advertising section of the Hutchinson News? I use the savings with the coupons to pay for my paper subscription.
I passed this on the Jeanny Sharp, our advertising director. She answered:
“The coupons haven't stopped they just aren't scheduled by the advertisers to run every week. These advertisers typically advertise in advance of a holiday as shoppers are planning their purchases rather than following a good holiday. The savings returned Sunday and even more the following week.”
Have you stopped running Leonard Pitts column? We miss him.
You know, oh wait, the phone is ringing.
Why do you run that @#$#*& Leonard Pitts?
We will continue to run Leonard Pitts to the delight of his fans and the chagrin of his detractors. Recently, he has been on vacation.
We want to hear from you. Send your questions to rsylvester@hutchnews.com, on Twitter @rsylvester, write an old-fashioned mail to 300 W. Second Avenue, Hutchinson, KS, 67501 or call 620-694-5700, extension 300. I can’t answer every call but I will try to answer your questions in this column at least once a month.
Ron Sylvester is editor of the Hutchinson News.