ANR format revisions reflect accelerated pace of change

Change has always been part of the newspaper business. Just as local news reflects the times, so too does the way it is delivered and consumed.
This week’s front-page story announces the pending debut of the ANR e-newsletter, one of several changes coming soon in response to a national focus group study designed to help sustain local journalism. It’s a new format, shaped by technology and consumer demand, but certainly not the first shift our industry has experienced.
For some perspective, let me share changes I’ve witnessed just in my lifetime.
Back in the late 1960s and early 70s, newspapers made a monumental transition from hot type to computer production. I grew up in a newspaper family, so I remember the heat and smell of molten lead being molded into rows of words and images, then melted down at the end of each week in what was a labor-intensive process. Computers eventually eliminated that process, allowing newspapers to design (“paginate”) pages on screen and send them directly to press.
Next came newspaper websites, followed by e-editions that delivered the paper digitally rather than in print. And yet, despite all the innovations, many readers — young and old alike — still prefer the feel of holding a newspaper in their hands. It’s a matter of choice, and a conversation I thoroughly enjoy, no matter your perspective.
In more recent years, social media and smart phones have further changed the landscape, offering instant soundbites and video clips. And through our focus groups, local readers told us clearly that you want and like hyper local news content from the ANR team, but you want more of it, and you want it more often than once a week.
We heard you!
The new e-newsletter — delivered via email on Fridays — will provide fresh reports, previews of the next edition, and a timely calendar of events. It will link to ANR’s website, which will also be updated more frequently with news briefs, photos and videos. In short, “weekly” no longer describes the Aurora News-Register’s business model, and it hasn’t for quite some time. Even more news and advertising will now be posted and updated throughout the week, reaching more eyeballs than ever before.
We hope you like these changes and we invite your feedback. One thing I can promise is that while these changes are significant, they won’t be the last.
— Kurt Johnson