Sunday, October 06, 2013

Appleton | Deeper, fuller pertinent local bits

The Post-Crescent in Appleton, Wisc., debuted its much-anticipated redesign today with the Butterfly Project -- one, we've been told, that will yield more news, including a new, daily standalone USA Today section. Indeed, Executive Editor Dan Flannery kicked it off this morning with a note to readers headlined: "A deeper, fuller experience for Post-Crescent readers."

To be sure, Flannery was clear about what remains the P-C's bread-and-butter franchise. "We’re primarily a local news source," he writes. "And starting today, there’s more of it."

In the redesign, the A section is now focused on local, Flannery says. (But it also will focus on regional and state news, which, of course, isn't local.)

So what, exactly, constitutes the additional local? "The most notable change in the A Section is on Page A3, now called Fox Cities FYI," Flannery says. It'll include an overview of "important events and deadlines for families, plus helpful notes from all areas of our coverage team."

Also: "pertinent bits" on topics ranging from education to prep sports, business to entertainment, and more. And there will be a digest of the P-C's digital coverage that day, plus a “Photo of the Day.”

Channeling Milwaukee
Flannery, perhaps anticipating readers won't find all that especially deeper or fuller, hastened to add: "We’re not cutting back on anything, and we’ll also do a more complete job of publishing news from around the state and eastern Wisconsin."

So, non-subscribers, if all that sounds appealing, Flannery urges you to call the very non-local customer service center to place your order. I did, and wound up 500 miles from Appleton in Louisville, Ky.

But don't delay. That call center will close at 2 p.m. ET, a rather short day for a company theoretically interested in maximizing sales from its revamped Appleton paper.

11 comments:

  1. Juvenile carping, as per usual.

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    1. That's what Jim does!

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    2. 2:24 p.m.: How does your class recess "wit" contribute to the discussions on this blog by the grownups? Zero, I would venture.

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    3. Did you not get the joke, 7:57? Have you seen the commercials for the new Machete movie?

      That's what Jim does!

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  2. A "deeper, fuller experience?" Sounds more like an ad for Cialis.

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  3. Exactly what I've been thinking!

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  4. If the customer service center closes early it's because it's only open a half-day on Sunday. 2 p.m. ET is 1 p.m. in Wisconsin.

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  5. As an Appleton reader, I'm going to give it a full week test run to see how they do with the fuller, deeper, more local experience to see how much more local news is generated and how much is just "Hey, Biff, we've got a six-paragraph hole to fill. You have anything you can do a quick preview of?"

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  6. Regional and state news can be viewed as local depending on reader wants/needs. To label it as "not local" is assuming readers only want to read about what's on their block, school district etc. I am sure there are residents of the greater "Appleton Region" who are interested in a wider spread of information which they deem local. It is an area which we have all struggled to cover.

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  7. Regardless of how this is all spun, there are far fewer feet on the streets than there were in 2006 across all of Gannett. Local coverage isn't getting the resources it once did no matter how they approach it, and it shows.

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    1. Exactly. I'll continue to read the P-C only if it is on the counter when I stop for breakfast or if I go to McDonalds, where they sell it for 25 cents.

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