On November 1, myself and a few classmates attended the Ventura County Star’s morning meeting lead by the editor, John Moore. After the morning meeting, Moore gave us some more insight into the the Star and how it runs, allowing us to ask questions at the end. The morning meeting began at 8:30 a.m., however, we were told the meeting officially begins when Moore picks up his white board, leaves his office, and heads over to the center of the building. He began with a look at yesterday’s paper, asking colleagues if they had any questions or concerns regarding the paper. It was interesting hearing one woman’s critique about a certain story missing a nut graph. I really enjoyed seeing the direct connection between what we have been learning in our Mass Media course to what professionals in the real world deal with. The next step on the agenda was going over the numbers for the day and the top story of the paper. Next, they spoke about what they would like to see accomplished in today’s paper and concluded with iPad visuals.
When meeting with Moore, we learned that although there has been a shrinkage in print, they do not foresee a complete elimination. Moore showed us how different the print experience is as opposed to any other form of news coverage. It includes all of the current news in one experience, rather than seeing short clips, you receive the entire package with print. Although some people assume print is declining, he told us that their print revenues is what pays their employees’ salaries, where as their digital revenue pays their bills. He also explained how their goal is to prove their information is more valuable and trustworthy than news releases in blogs. When asked about activeness on social media, Moore explained how they are heavily active on Facebook and Twitter, however, although they have created a smart phone application, they are not heavily advertising the application. He spoke about the large spike in mobile web traffic but still does not see much in the application. A few students also questioned how he knows what to feature in each daily paper. His answer was simple. He explained that as an editor your job is to learn to how to make decisions and to make them with confidence.
apiantadosi 