Diane Kortus

About this time every year, I write a column about our annual circulation and readership audit. I use this audit to talk about the number of papers we print and deliver, and more importantly, how many people regularly read The Laker or Lutz News.

In the free newspaper industry, Circulation Verification Council has been verifying circulation and readership since 1992. Today it audits more than 2,000 publications with more than 55 million in circulation, including The Laker and Lutz News.

Well, it’s audit time again, and our numbers are even better than they were a year ago. Our circulation has increased by 3.8 percent to 42,600, and our readership grew by 3 percent to give us 79 percent household penetration.

Most newspapers would be thrilled with 60 percent household penetration — a percentage most publishers have not seen since before the Internet explosion of news. For our papers to be at 79 percent household penetration is enviable, and one we’re very proud to report.

To put our circulation growth in perspective, earlier this month most daily newspapers in Florida reported circulation drops by the auditing company they use. Close to home, the Tampa Bay Times reported its mid-week circulation was down 7 percent, while The Tampa Tribune showed no growth after accounting for the circulation gain of a weekly paper it bought in Clearwater April 2013.

As proud as we are about our audit and the gains we’ve made this past year, I realize you may think these numbers a bit boastful and not really relevant to your life.

It probably doesn’t matter to you whether we throw 10,000 papers or 50,000, just as long as your paper is thrown in your driveway or dropped at your newsstand every Wednesday. You get to decide each week if you want to take the time to read the stories and look at the ads from local businesses.

It’s our job to make sure your paper has stories and information that are relevant and you find interesting to read.  And it’s our job to make sure you can count on your paper to be delivered every week so reading it becomes a habit.

In addition to circulation verification, the audit gives us demographical information about our readers, which we use to choose the stories we write.

We know that 57 percent of our readers are women, that 42 percent are between the ages of 35 and 54, and another 41 percent are over 55. Our readers are well educated (74 percent have attended or graduated from college) and affluent (30 percent have household incomes above $100,000, and another 20 percent above $75,000).

The audit also surveys readers and asks what types of stories they want to read. That’s why we write a lot about growth and development, things to do and stories about people and organizations in our communities. We’ve worked hard this past year to bring you more stories about topics that interest you.

This year’s audit is, as they say, proof in the pudding that we’ve improved. It’s independent confirmation that we’re doing a good job, and that the changes we’ve made in our news coverage this past year have resulted in increased readership.

And this is tremendously gratifying to my staff and I because we love what we do. Nothing is more emotionally satisfying than to know that our hard work is appreciated, and that we make a difference in the community where we work and live.

Published May 14, 2014

Before reading my column this week, you may want to first read the other story that explains that we’ve changed the ending on our email to make all of our digital addresses uniform.

Our goal is to make it easier to find us on the Web, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn and other virtual forums that will become the next multimedia rage. Simply put, all of our addresses will now incorporate the phrase “lakerlutznews.”

I think of “lakerlutznews” as the “handle” for our company. Remember those days not so long go ago when people adopted the CB radio language of truckers and gave themselves “handles”?

CB radios were the precursor of cell phones and email, and provided an instant way to talk with friends and family while driving across town or cross-country. In many ways today’s technologies are not that much different — just faster and more seamless.

Our new handle is easier to remember and say than “cnewspubs” — the abbreviation of our corporate name, Community News Publications, that we’ve used since we launched our first website in 2002.

While we want you to know about our new “handle” and expanded digital products, this does not mean we will be focusing less on the printed weekly newspaper you are holding in your hands.

In fact, now that our website and Facebook page have been redesigned and we’re posting e-editions and daily photos and stories, we have more time than ever to focus on the newspaper itself. After all, there are 60,000 people who read The Laker and Lutz News every week, or 240,000 readers monthly. This compares to 17,000 monthly page views on our website and close to 2,000 friends on Facebook.

With numbers like this, there’s no doubt that the printed newspaper is the way most of you prefer to get your local news. And you’re no different than newspaper readers nationwide.

A recent study by the Newspaper Association of America found that 55 percent of the U.S. newspaper audience — both daily and weekly papers like ours — only read their local newspaper in print and never read it online.

The NAA hired Scarborough Research to survey 150 U.S. media markets, including Tampa Bay. The study found that the digital-only newspaper audience (people who only read newspapers online, via mobile devices, or both) is very small.

Just 7 percent said they only read their local newspaper online, 3 percent said they only read it with a mobile device, and just 5 percent said they read it both online and with a mobile device.

That works out to 15 percent of the local newspaper audience who don’t read the printed paper and instead only read the news online or with a mobile device.

So, to those who believe the printed newspaper is on its way to extinction, you are wrong. This NAA study is just the latest of many studies that dispels the belief that newspapers are dinosaurs and will not be around for our great-grandchildren to read.

While only 15 percent of newspaper readers get their news digitally today, it still represents a lot of readers, and that market will likely continue to grow. So, we will continue to make improvements to our online services and do our best to keep up with the ever-changing digital world.

But at the same time, we will never forget that the vast majority of our readers will always prefer the printed paper to stay abreast of local stories, photos and advertisements that are informative, relevant and uplifting to read.

The challenge that I have as publisher is to bridge the worlds of print and digital so that we remain accessible to all of our readers in the format they prefer, to enable us to continue to be a vital resource for everyone who is interested in their community.

And hopefully something as simple as consistently using our new “handle” of “lakerlutznews” will make it easier for you to do just that.

Published April 9, 2014

Today is Jan. 1. Which means you’re probably making a list of all the things you hope to do, improve or change in 2014.

But let me stop right here before you turn the page.  I promise — this is not another column about New Year’s resolutions that are almost certain to go unfulfilled.

Instead, I want to look back, instead of ahead, much like this week’s paper that profiles our favorite stories of 2013.

So here, in no particular order, are 10 achievements of the past year that I’m most proud of professionally and personally.

1.) More readers than ever
In March, we learned that our 2012 circulation audit reported that 80 percent of households in Lutz regularly read The Lutz News. And in Pasco, The Laker is read by 75 percent of households in our distribution area. This is an increase of 8 percentage points in just two years — a statistically remarkable accomplishment.

2.) Better business coverage
Our business reporting really took off after Michael Hinman joined our staff in July. In particular, his focus on growth and development — topics readers told us they wanted more of in a readership study — have added more depth and analysis to our news coverage.

3.) Breaking news reporting
In early November, we reported that the long-stalled outlet mall at State Road 56 and Interstate 75 had finalized a permit with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,  clearing the way for construction approvals. We were the first to report this story, which was later picked up by just about every other news outlet in Tampa Bay.

As a weekly newspaper, it is never our priority to be first with a story. We leave that to the immediacy of television and the daily newspapers. But it sure felt good, and made me proud, that our small news staff broke such important regional news.

4.) More faith and worship stories
One of my favorite stories this year was about the Rev. Garry Welsh, a new priest assigned to Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Church in Land O’ Lakes. It was one of many religion stories written by B.C. Manion, a subject she does a superb job exploring and writing about.

5.) Redesigned website
A redesign of our website makes it easier to read and find stories in our archives. Check it out at LakerLutzNews.com, for everything from things to do this weekend to stories you want to share with friends and family.

6.) An active Facebook page
It took us a while to join the conversation with an active Facebook page. But we’re finally there, thanks to the combined efforts of Suzanne Beauchaine of our advertising staff, Michael Hinman of our editorial staff and Stefanie Burlingame of our design staff. This threesome makes our Facebook presence engaging and fun. See for yourself at  Facebook.com/TheLakerLutzNews.

7.) Three employees celebrate 10 years
For a small business like ours, it’s quite remarkable that three out of 12 employees celebrated their 10th year with our company. Terri Williamson in sales, Carolyn Bennett in customer service, and Mary Eberhard in accounting are outstanding individuals whose commitment to our customers and company are much appreciated. Another employee, Mary Rathman, also has played a valuable role in our company for more than a decade, with a brief break in service. She’s the one who makes sure our t’s are crossed and our i’s are dotted.

8.) My son’s engagement and marriage
It was a huge year for my son, Andy Mathes, a first lieutenant in the Marines. He became engaged to Erin Morgan on Labor Day and married her Nov. 2, a week before his deployment to Afghanistan. I never imagined I would be marrying off my son last year, and couldn’t be happier with the daughter-in-law he chose for me.

9.) My daughter turned 21
I know my daughter, Rachel Mathes, has technically been an adult since she was 18. But there was something about her turning 21 that has solidified our adult mother-daughter relationship. Rachel graduates from Stetson University this spring, and I am so proud of her perseverance and commitment to completing her degree in four years.

10.) Zeke dies, Jonas lives
On March 27, my family lost Zeke, our 14-year-old yellow lab. We never doubted our decision to euthanize Zeke, but that didn’t make it any easier to say goodbye. Zeke left behind Jonas, our 8-year-old Airedale, who has flourished with all the extra attention and elevation to alpha dog. Sadly, Jonas had a cancerous spleen removed in September, and we were told he had only one to three months to live. Four months later, Jonas is proving the vet wrong and is livelier than ever. We’re beginning to call him our miracle dog.

We are a company of just 12 employees, myself included.

It is a small group, really, to take on the many steps needed to produce a unique community newspaper every week.

There is no cookie-cutter approach to what we do. Every story you read, every photo you see, every ad you review and every invoice we prepare is created new each week by our team of writers, artists, sales representatives and customer service folks.

To produce the 32-page newspaper you are holding, my staff was looking at 32 blank pages last Tuesday. They had just five business days — until Monday — to fill these pages with new stories, new photos and new advertisements. This is the equivalent of 15,000 words, 80 headlines, 30 photos, 140 display ads, 60 directory ads and 125 classified ads.

People are often surprised when I tell them there are only a dozen of us getting the paper out each week. Our group makes it happen week after week because we share a vision, and a commitment, to produce a newspaper with quality stories and effective advertisements that are important to our readers and local businesses.

This shared vision keeps us motivated and satisfied by our work. Employees are trusted to make decisions that are best for readers and advertisers, and know their decisions will ultimately be best for our company.

I credit our success to this culture of self-determination, and believe it is why eight of our 12 employees have worked here for more than six years. Even more remarkable is that three of these employees are celebrating 10 continuous years with our company.

Terri Williamson, our senior account manager, was the first to pass this milestone in November.  In the business community, Terri is the face of The Laker/Lutz News, attending two or three chamber and community events most weeks.

I never fail to marvel at Terri’s ability to assess a business’ marketing needs and then recommend ideas to maximize its budget and exposure. Her goal always is focused on getting more people to buy products or services from the businesses she consults with, whether it’s through ads in our newspapers, by sponsoring a chamber event, or connecting the owner or manager to another business that targets similar customers.

Next up is Mary Eberhard, our accounting manager, whose anniversary was Dec. 2. Mary is the ultimate diplomat — the rare person who intuitively sees the other’s perspective. She brings a kind heart and level head to our accounting process, and manages her area with outstanding communication and accuracy.

And then there’s Carolyn Bennett, who celebrates 10 years on March 2. As our inside customer service rep, she is the person most customers work with to update their ads and sign off on their proofs. Carolyn also works closely with other departments in a position that is perhaps the most detailed in the company.

No matter what her responsibility, Carolyn handles it with incredible efficiency and finesse.

I single out Terri, Mary and Carolyn in this column because of the significance 10 years represents. But they would be the first to tell you they would not be successful at their jobs without the shared commitment of the rest of our team: Matt Mistretta, Stefanie Burlingame, Kathy Welton, Suzanne Beauchaine, Rachel Thompson, Mary Rathman, Michael Hinman, B.C. Manion and myself.

It is our appreciation and respect for each other that unites us at The Laker/Lutz News. We come together to produce a new newspaper every week with commitment and dedication because we know our newspaper is important to each other and to the communities we serve.

I spent last weekend with my two brothers in Vilano Beach, an island just north of St. Augustine, in a house that fronts the Atlantic Ocean.

The house is battered grey by years of sun and wind; its décor a step back to the 1970s with foil wallpaper, macramé wall hangings and avocado-colored pots and pans.

In many ways this weathered house with its ’70s feeling was a perfect setting for a weekend away with my brothers. The three of us last lived together in the 1970s, when I was in college and the boys in high school.

We were middle children in a large Minnesota family. We grew up close in age (my parents had 10 children in 14 years), and most of us never moved farther than a few hours from our father’s home in St. Paul.

Jimmy and I were the only ones to leave the area, moving to Florida in our 20s. But the 1,500 miles separating us from our brothers and sisters never changed how we felt about them. That was especially true for Jimmy and Tom, who have always remained close.

Over the years, Jimmy and I have looked forward to visits from our brothers and sisters. In the beginning, when we were all young and Florida still a novelty, three or four siblings would visit each year.

That pace slowed as we married, had children, and our work commitments grew. Time off became precious, and visits from brothers and sisters slowed to just once or twice a year.

So when brother Tom announced a few weeks back that he and his wife Sue were coming for a visit, it was a wonderful surprise, and we planned the weekend together in Vilano Beach. It was not long after the dinner plates were pushed aside and the carrot cake served that we began to reminisce about our childhood in the 1970s. The house by the sea, with its furnishing so much like our family home, was a perfect setting. The conversation was fast-paced and reflective. We shared wonderful memories from our childhood, as well as painful times. But no matter what was said, there was never a doubt about the love and commitment we felt for each other.

Like most families, it does not matter how long it has been since we were last together. We can go weeks, even months, without seeing or talking to each other. Yet when we next connect, it’s as if we had been together the day before.

I suppose it’s the bond we have as siblings that makes this so. The love we have for our brothers and sisters is ingrained in our souls. It allows us to accept each other for all that is good, to believe in each other despite challenges, and to forgive the things that are best forgotten.

And, as I pause to reflect on my blessings this Thanksgiving, my heart is filled with gratitude to have shared my life with brothers and sisters whose love remains constant, despite the time between our visits, and the miles that keep us apart.