12:00pm | As the old saying goes, “If I were a betting man…” (which I am), going all-in and winning stronger than when I started is the apex of achievement. Today, we are going “all-in” not to selfishly wager, but to set a vision and a clear course of action to achieve a goal for your benefit and the betterment of the best City in the world.
The Long Beach Post was created three years ago with the intention of revolutionizing and redefining how you access local media. Today, our vision to charge forward towards January 1, 2015 to be the most read media source in Long Beach requires an understanding of our beliefs, our past, and our present and a clear vision for our future.
For the first time, we will share all of this with you today.
The evolution of media and its connection to audiences is at a cross roads. Decades ago, the media industry adapted to the advent of radio. Radio found itself competing for listeners who now became viewers of television. Only recently, television was forced to adapt to the internet. And, now the internet is risking new ways to dominate its time and will then prepare for its evolution, too.
So, as the world of online news, information and technology changes all around us, the evolution of the Long Beach Post is based upon a core belief that change is not an impediment to success. Instead, we embrace change, we understand it, and we leverage it so we can lead it to reach the most people in Long Beach.
Being the primary media source is not a subjective statement. Instead, as an industry standard, it is defined by accurately quantifying unique visitors that read us on a monthly basis. Readership at the Long Beach Post has grown exponentially. In 2007, we peaked at 15,830 unique readers each month. In 2008, 17,784 a month. In 2009, 49,460 a month. Today, we reach 81,130 unique visitors a month. By contrast, in just three short years, we have gained an audience equivalent to 25% of the 319,000 monthly online unique readers of the Press-Telegram, Long Beach’s current primary media source. (Source: Press-Telegram Market Overview).
However, five years from now, we will be the most read media source in Long Beach. And to do it, we will commit ourselves to three fundamental principles to get there.
1. We Invest In Professional and Citizen Journalists
We would not exist without a talented stable of writers to produce fresh and informative content each and every day. We are built on the theory of defining “we” as more than one person. We are a collective of professional (paid) and citizen (volunteer) journalists. We employ volunteer columnists (who we call Posters) to write articles in their area of expertise. They are and will always be a major component of our business model. We also believe it is important to have professionals in the field writing the news and commentary about what is going on in Long Beach, too.
Citizen journalism is not a new concept. Nor should it be feared. In the traditional comparative sense, our Posters pen “letters to the editor” every day. The difference with traditional forms of media is that our citizen journalists write as often or as little as they wish. Most importantly, they are accountable to the same ethical standards as professional journalists.
Professional and aspiring journalists have also been a driving force for us. With three managing editors, the help of several freelance journalists and a wide variety of journalism student interns over the past few years, we have created jobs and professional opportunities to those pursuing a field that can guarantee neither at the moment. We will continue to provide enthusiastic, talented and professional writers and editors drawing upon their training and experience to serve this community.
2. We Do Not Fear Technology
Our readership has grown at a phenomenal rate and we plan to continue that growth by expanding our coverage by continuing our investment in new technologies. The return on this investment is robust technology that encourages your involvement to spark debate and discussion on our coverage. The growth and understanding of new technologies is paramount.
We live in a world of changing information and we are a local media leader in this change. Our daily email Alerts send the day’s top stories to thousands of readers’ inboxes upwards of five times a day. We have also increased our use of instant information systems such as Twitter and Facebook that alert our readers to important or interesting stories as they are happening. The news consumer of today is interested in what’s happening right now, and we are committed to providing and inventing new ways for our readers to obtain the information they crave – when they crave it – and how they crave it.
We are embracing new equipment such as advanced photography and videography tools, podcasting and live discussion boards, we have found new and exciting ways to bring our readers closer to the action than ever before. We have experienced several landmark achievements in the past three years, such as posting hundreds of news and sports videos to YouTube and recently providing live easily-viewable streams of both the State of the Union and the recent introduction of new Long Beach Police Chief Jim McDonnell. We will always exist on the cutting edge of technological advances in order to provide the highest quality coverage to a growing number of readers.
3. We Are Nimble
Media must be accessible 24 hours a day. The days of waiting for tomorrow’s paper to read what happened in Long Beach the day before are long gone. To accommodate this fast-paced environment of information flow and the demand for it, we must remain nimble and flexible so that we can be reactive and proactive in communicating the events of the moment, not just the events of the day. And, our readers want us to be accurate and timely and are not afraid to hold us accountable in the process. Together, we will grow our infrastructure but we will not grow so much so that we are not able to change. This is important because our next big step in reaching a broader audience will succeed only if we maintain nimble enough to leverage the opportunities and not succumb to its liabilities.
Progress in this industry takes money. Our vast array of advertisers (we call them sponsors) demand value and most importantly they demand a return on their investment. We are proud of our 90% retention rate of sponsors since day one and the fact that we have leveled off expenses with increasing revenues. Our future depends not only on their continued investment, but our future also depends on our own investment in new and creative ways to connect their products with potential consumers.
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My friend Robert Garcia (now a Long Beach City Councilmember) and I started this organization as a rough outline on a computer in the summer of 2006. Six months later, with a handful of talented people we launched this idea as an experiment. Three years later, this experiment has evolved into a service that thousands of people depend on every day.
Today, the Long Beach Post owes leadership to the people that depend on us. We owe them a vision so that they can see our future and join in the journey towards it. And, most importantly, we owe the best community in the world the benefit of information about what impacts them every day so they can engage to play their part in making Long Beach even better.
Developing . . .
Shaun Lumachi
Publisher
Long Beach Post, Inc.
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