HOT PURSUIT

No matter what size newspaper you are, things are bound to not always go right. It has happened to our newspaper, and I’ve seen it in publications much larger.

I had to chuckle after looking at the Friday edition of the Star Tribune out of Minneapolis. They ran the same 2-pages of comics back-to-back in the same section. Oops. In all fairness we mess up as well from time to time, but as evidenced from the state’s largest newspaper with hundreds of employees, it can happen to anyone.

In an effort to make sure we don’t mess up, I have decided to employ the “Newspaper Manager” beginning this spring. It’s a software program designed for newspapers that tracks advertising content and production management to put the paper together, as well as a billing component to get invoices out to clients.

Up until now, we’ve utilized our own antiquated system of word documents, spread sheets, Excel files, and yes, even some chicken scratch sheets with information jotted down. For me, it’s a wonder how everything gets into the newspaper week after week, mostly in the correct fashion. This certainly hasn’t been the most ideal way of doing business, but we’ve made it work—most of the time.

I’ll admit I’m a little apprehensive in making this jump to a full-fledge computer program. And with good reason. About six years ago, I tried something similar and let’s just say it didn’t go well at all. I was working with a one-person company that came in to install the program. About halfway through the installation, he unexpectedly died. I had no other option than to abort the new system and revert to the old. It was a mess, to say the least. Our accounting system was a nightmare, and I ended up losing thousands of dollars.

Lesson learned not to lean on a one-man operation for such an important task. This time, we’re working with a large company with multiple people who will help install and train our staff. It should go much smoother. Of course, my fingers will be crossed constantly over the next couple months.

In my book, organization is the key to staying on top of things whether in your personal life or professional life. The goal with the new system is to make things more organized and efficient for our staff. Being organized is an important key to operating a successful newspaper. I’m always looking for ways to increase productivity and efficiency.

Readers won’t notice anything differently with their newspapers. Each edition will contain the same great local coverage with photos and stories that readers have become accustomed to over the years.

And just maybe, I’ll be able to go in hot pursuit of running a more efficient operation while creating a little extra time in my schedule for other things that often get shoved to the back burner.