Tue, Oct 14 2008
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Published July 20, 2008 03:10 pm - Phoenix changes as readers’ needs change By Ed Choate Executive Editor Nearly two-and-one-half years ago, the Phoenix underwent a change in philosophy. The paper dropped from three or more stories on Page 1A to two. We also quit using wire copy except to tease inside stories and went exclusively to locally generated stories on 1A. The Phoenix, like many newspapers, especially non-major metropolitan dailies, adopted this philosophy: hyperlocal content is a response to the growing amount of options that readers have today. There are many sources for national and international news from 24-hour news channels, news magazines and the Internet. Wire services such as the Associated Press have reporters stationed all around the world. These services create the content that we provide to the reader. From a competitive point of view, the reality is wire services provide approximately the same content to every media outlet, including TV and the Internet. An AP story online or in the two major dailies in Oklahoma is pretty much the same as the story you would read in the Phoenix. And if the story is big enough, it will have been reported, discussed and dissected online and on TV and radio all day. The printed version of the newspaper is at a disadvantage. Some events, such as in Iraq, could be 32 hours old by the time the paper hits your doorstep. That is the reason behind our change in philosophy. Instead of trying to be all things to all people in print, we made a decision to provide as much hyperlocal content to our readers. We also ramped up our Web site to become more immediate with our local content. You may be able to read stories such as politics on other newspaper's covers, but you won't find the hyperlocal content you will find on the cover of the Phoenix. For example, we are the only outlet that will report Muskogee city government on a consistent basis. We have a reporter at every City Council meeting. No other media outlet does that. We are the only media outlet that will consistently cover the Muskogee, Fort Gibson and Hilldale school boards. If it happens locally, it is most likely to appear in the Phoenix first. This is our mission and our commitment to our readers. 
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