Publisher’s Notebook: ‘Meet the Newsroom’ resonates

BizWest’s editorial team didn’t know what to expect when it decided to launch its “Meet the Newsroom” editorial outreach program last year. Would anyone come? Would they understand the benefits? If they did attend, would they have questions for us? And who would want to meet a bunch of reporters, anyway?

We needn’t have worried. “Meet the Newsroom” has been a resounding success. What began with an afternoon gathering at Aunt Helen’s coffee shop in downtown Greeley has morphed into later-afternoon gatherings at some of the region’s finest craft breweries. (Coffee and beer is how we roll.)

Our intent all along was to rotate the gathering from one community to another, beginning with the largest cities and then visiting some of the fast-growing municipalities in the Boulder Valley and Northern Colorado. Thus far, we’ve visited Aunt Helen’s, Boulder Beer, Horse & Dragon Brewing Co. in Fort Collins, Brewmented in Longmont and, most recently, Crow Hop Brewing Co. in Loveland. (I recommend the Rado’s Red Ale.)

“Meet the Newsroom” gives us a chance to introduce ourselves, inform attendees about our print publications (there are many), our daily news delivered through email and our website, our business-oriented events, research products and more.

Managing Editor Ken Amundsen discusses his role, which includes managing the content for our print publications, as well as joining the entire team in our daily news coverage.

Reporter Jensen Werley provides insights on her beats, which include startups, technology, the outdoor industry, natural products, cannabis and brewing, while reporter Lucas High describes his core beats of banking, real estate, health care, agribusiness and energy.

Both discuss what type of news is likely to pique our interest, what to do and not do in a press release, and whether small companies with few resources need to write a press release at all. (They don’t; a simple phone call or email will suffice to get a conversation started.)

Dallas Heltzell, who prepares the many “briefs” that run in our publication, informs attendees how they can get news in our hands, whether it’s for a nonprofit, a new product, event information or something else. He also writes our popular restaurant and brewery features.

Our audience-development director, Randy Clay, informs attendees of our subscription options, both digital and print.

Needless to say, we cover a lot of ground. But the truth is that we get more than we give at these gatherings, which draw anywhere from 10 to 25 people. We meet new people, get story ideas and learn about their communities. We encounter people who later contribute valuable guest columns or seek to further engage with us in other programs, such as our editorial boards.

In Loveland, we learned of a cool roofing system offered by Roof Restoration Inc. A nonprofit, One Community One Family, soon will be added to our Giving Guide. Representatives from Desk Chair, a coworking space, took Jensen and Lucas on a tour after our our gathering ended. (They were impressed, especially with the free beer that Desk Chair offers to clients.)

By the way, free beer is one reason you might want to check out our next “Meet the Newsroom” event. Next stop: Broomfield.

Christopher Wood can be reached at 303-630-1942, 970-232-3133 or cwood@bizwest.com.

on Facebook on LinkedIn