A Message from the New Publishers
Tuesday, September 8 marked 100 days since Margaret Powers and Paul King took over as publishers of The Rockaway Times. Below is their report to our loyal readers, advertisers and neighbors.
New Presidents of the United States often talk about their goals for the first 100 days. Margaret and I did not have an arbitrary calendar target; we were just eager to modernize services for our readers and businesses across Rockaway. The website and the app were priorities. Other good ideas popped up and we kept saying, ‘We can do that, too.’ It has been quite a sprint. Now it is time to take stock.
Despite the technological advances, Margaret and I left the core paper largely untouched. We wanted to add columns that speak to Rockaway’s culture – fitness, family, basketball, faith, etc. – but the week-to-week newspaper is an award-winning product that is widely loved. We were not going to mess with success.
Whenever possible, we increased the number of pages from the standard 40 to 44, 48 or even 56 so that our paper could report on even more activities across the peninsula. The most noticeable changes to the newspaper were the America 250 and September 11 commemorative sections. We were proud to publish a document that paid homage to America’s history; we felt duty bound to honor our fallen loved ones and this great community that responded to tragedy with so much love, compassion, courage and sacrifice.
On the technology side, improvements we made in the first 100 days included:
Upgraded rockawaytimes.com – The previous Rockaway Times website needed a facelift and an improved reader interface. We put at least 100 hours into refining how stories flow in the feed, increasing the size of photographs, linking the site to our extremely popular Facebook page, and upgrading the e-Edition to a flipbook – all while staying true to the branding and color scheme that is a thread from Kevin Boyle to the McVeighs/Ferriolas to the current publishers. The result has been gratifying with traffic surging more than 500 percent according to Google. We also discretely added web advertising options that help Rockaway’s local businesses.
Rockaway Time App – Not a newspaper app, but a guide to everything Rockaway. Every summer, millions of visitors flock to the Rockaways but most are only familiar with the few blocks close to the beach they frequent. Rockaway Time connects those visitors with experiences and businesses across the peninsula. It is also a resource for locals. Sometimes, even lifelong residents forget how much Rockaway has to offer, whether it is sailing, live music, yoga, golf, or ways to be pampered at a spa. The app should prove to be a gamechanger for local businesses that need to maximize their summer surge or find new ways to attract customers off season.
Automatic Reading of Articles – Eagle-eyed readers may not care, but for those of us who suffer eye strain from too much screen time, or who want to listen to peaceful, uplifting local news while in transit, The Rockaway Times added “Audio by Carbonatix” to our website stories. Simply click the arrow and hear the latest articles.
Rebooted YouTube – Americans consume information via video more than ever. To be effective as a modern news organization, The Rockaway Times had to up its game. Our expanded YouTube channel (@rockawaytimes) gives us the platform to share videos across our website and social media channels. It is also a resource for people from Rockaway to view local sports action and learn more about recent news.
Online Sports Coverage – Rockaway is a great sports town with wonderful youth sports programs. However, space is limited in the newspaper. Fortunately, our website and YouTube channel enable the RT to offer extended coverage online. A new pull-down has entries for Summer Classic basketball, Rockaway Little League, BCAC and Volleyball. Football and Soccer coverage are coming soon. Parents, grandparents and family love to see pictures and videos of their children in action. Our new web-based services are already very popular.
Facebook and Instagram – These social media pages were already very successful so, again, we didn’t tamper with success. We did add a Facebook plug-in to rockawaytimes.com, linking our platforms. This summer, Instagram followers surged past 25,000 and the number of Facebook followers is on the cusp of 60,000. The Rockaway Times has great reach! If you don’t already, follow us on Facebook and Instagram!
That is a lot of change in a short amount of time. We could not have accomplished it if we had not inherited a great team that included our award-winning editor, Katie McFadden, talented freelance writers, and a rock-solid office team. It is easy to invest in “new” when the core is so reliable.
People ask us, “Do you like it?” When we are not exhausted, we love it. The newspaper gives Margaret and me so many ways to preserve and support our community. It gives us a vehicle to help make sure the beauty of this community prospers into the next generation, regardless of what is happening across the water.
People also ask, “How do you do it? How do you keep creating new services and features?” The simple part is that we love Rockaway. The inspiration is there. And our careers have given us a wealth of knowledge and experience that we can leverage to do new things for Rockaway. The hard part was the time commitment necessary for change. We barely had a beach day this summer and didn’t spend as much time with family and friends as we would have liked. Now it is time to throttle back to a “normal” pace and enjoy more of Rockaway ourselves, but we think the sacrifices of the last 100 days were worth it. The Rockaway Times has quite a foundation on which our team will continue to build.
When Margaret and I introduced ourselves as the new publishers, we said we were doubling down on Rockaway. At a time when other neighborhoods are splintering, we invested in this community’s future.
The Rockaway Times gives us the chance to help preserve what’s special about Rockaway, nurture new ideas from the next generation of beach dwellers and bolster local businesses. It has been quite a first hundred days, but we are just getting started.
