Young Spokesman-Review Journos Publish Newsroom Reorganization Report

A group of eight young journalists at the Spokesman-Review in Spokane, Wash. were asked to produce a report on how the newsroom can reorganize to improve efficiency.

Nick Eaton, a sports producer in Spokane, and the team have published the report [PDF], which has some interesting suggestions such as [more details at Nick Eaton’s post]:

1. Restructuring the newsroom workflow for most content, shifting deadlines for non-daily stories to noon…
2. Creating a universal reporters pool by combining the existing City, Business, Features, Voices (community extras) and 7 (weekly alt tab) desks…
3. Creating a hybrid universal copy desk, combining the day (features) and night desks…
4. Combining the multimedia and photo departments into a Visuals Department…
5. Flattening the newsroom hierarchy, as depicted in the organizational chart…

Nick and his team’s report is certainly worth checking out, as your own newsroom is probably undergoing or will undergo some form of reorganization soon. It’s also a lesson in harnessing the ideas of young journalists, who, while lacking experience, also lack etched-in-stone preconceptions about how the news business should operate.

[PDF – Spokesman-Review newsroom reorganizaton report]

[Hat tip to Journerdism for the link]

Author: Danny Sanchez

Danny Sanchez is the Audience Development Manager at Tribune's Sun-Sentinel.com and OrlandoSentinel.com. Danny has been with Tribune since 2005 in a variety of editorial, digital and product development roles in Hartford, Orlando and Fort Lauderdale. He has also previously worked in the newsrooms of the Tampa Bay Times and The Miami Herald. View all posts by Danny Sanchez