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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Daily Briefing

Updates from the publisher

Spokesman-Review head honcho Stacey Cowles held the first of a series of publisher's meetings this morning.

Of new developments, there's not a whole lot that can be shared publicly (business strategy and new projects and such). But here are few general points:

• We are a news-media company, he said, as result of a switch from thinking of the S-R as strictly news-paper. The overarching theme in this meeting was for multiplatform and niche marketing - bringing people or advertisers the information or audiences they need, to whatever device or access point by which they approach The Spokesman-Review, extending reach and diversifying investment.

• Revenue is still falling like the rest of the industry, but the number of readers/viewers actually consuming the information remains very strong, Mr. Cowles said. Readership surveys indicate an increase over the past few years, in people consuming S-R content. The question is how to monetize those viewers/readers on different platforms, or how to sell those audiences to advertisers.

• New radio show with Rebecca Mack starts next week - 11:00 a.m. to Noon every weekday - The show is called "On The Record." More information available from the Radio blog.

• The new redesigned Web site will launch, to the public, right after Labor Day weekend. The site will allow user accounts, browsing by tags, drilling down by subject, a smarter search function, more emphasis on multimedia, and commenting on stories and other items - among other features.



Each weekday morning and afternoon, the newsroom staff meets to discuss the coverage plan. This blog covers editors' discussions, upcoming coverage and miscellaneous newsroom news.