How do you staff your Web site?

[Jim Thomsen]

Do you have a dedicated Web editor? (With no other duties?)

Or does everybody share the responsibility?

Does copy get posted onto your Web site unedited? Or does it almost always get a look first?

How serious are your bosses/owners about getting their readers onto the Web?


My paper is pretty hardcore about the Web. We have a first-rate Web editor (in a staff of 30 total in the newsroom) who has been great about training others in making videos, writing heds with search engine optimization in mind, etc. But yes, embarrassing, typo-filled copy does sneak onto our site on a regular basis, and it makes me crazy, and we just haven't figured out how to find the balance between getting it first and getting it right.

[Gerri Berendzen]

We don't have a dedicated Web editor. It's the copy desk's job to post all stories throughout the day. (We have a 8-person desk that does editing and design.)

The photographers take care of all of the multi-media stuff — slide shows, audio slide shows and the like. There's a copy editor on the desk who works with the photog staff.

One of our line-type editors (we don't use that title around here, but that's a big part of his duties) is also the multimedia coordinator. When we have a night meeting, etc., he handles the posting. Otherwise, we're a PM, so it's easy to have someone here during the day to post stories. When a big story happens at night, a desk person gets called in or does it from home.

All of our Web stories get a read from an editor prior to posting. About 90 percent get two reads before posting. A few of the blogs go up unedited, like live from state sporting event blogs, but for the most part we edit blogs, too.

We revamped our Web site in January and we're doing a lot more. We post all the main news stories when they happen now, instead of waiting for the print cycle. We usually hold features until after the print cycle. We aren't doing a lot of video yet.

[mbrooky]

For the most part, I'm the guy.

Our small newsroom staff juggles a lot. I try to edit all copy, but I also shoot and produce videos, report (a lot less these days, thank heavens), photos, and put together the Web content each morning after deadline.

Here, some stuff still actually gets in the paper unedited or poorly edited. That is freaking embarrassing. But it happens a lot less these days than in years past.

[johnwroachiii]

One of our staff posts to the website after the page has been sent to press in addition to designing pages.

The good news is that nothing goes up unedited. The bad news is that nothing goes up during the day. Our website is not the place to go for breaking news.

We also have a multimedia guy to do videos and the like, but we rarely talk to him.

[Richard Douglas]

The copy desk has the chore of posting articles and photos to the Web here at the TDT. We take the copy directly from the Quark page (so all copy should have final edits).

[kstieffel]

The assoc. managing editor has three hats, one of which is Web editor.

All reporters write both print and Web content. Nothing gets posted without being read by the AME or, in his absence, another editor or copy editor. Web copy usually gets only one read, so the occasional error gets through. But not often. Our ME does a good job of coaching the writers, so most of their copy is clean.

Management is seriously pushing to increase Web site traffic by encouraging readers to sign up for a daily e-mail that contains the top headlines.

[JunO]

We have an IT crew of three who, among other things, keeps our Web site running. But posting stories and associated photos is up to the copy desk -- whichever page you work on is what you post.

Our photogs, however, edit the slideshows, video and audio, and are usually the ones who also post them.

We post stories after the press runs, so copy has been edited before it goes to the Web.