A good Day’s work every day
You expect a lot from your local news company and at The Day, we take that seriously – so seriously we often have to remind staff to pace themselves in order to avoid burnout.
Everyone in the newsroom is flat out every day, because that's what it takes to provide excellent coverage of southeastern Connecticut.
We don't claim to work harder than those in other professions, but in our continuing quest to earn your trust – and your subscription, sponsorship and advertising dollars – we want to provide a glimpse of just a few things that transpired over a few hours in the newsroom this past week.
Scott Ritter, our production manager, was busy getting weekend content ready Thursday, but when he heard that reporter Kimberly Drelich was writing about a study that contained potential sites for new rail stations in our region, he volunteered to produce a map to help our readers envision the suggested locations. He has taught himself how to produce nifty maps, and our pages are better for it.
Norwich reporter Claire Bessette was scheduled to take the day off Friday, but she called Thursday evening to say she was working on a breaking story about the superintendent of schools and would spend at least part of Friday writing.
Thursday morning, New London beat writer John Penney told us he was considering working Saturday, on his day off, to cover a debate of City Council candidates.
We give staff time off to compensate for any extra hours they work, and though their salaries are modest, we tell them daily how much we appreciate their passion for the work.
Dana Jensen, the only photographer on the schedule Friday, sent out a photo schedule that had assignments starting at 8:30 a.m. and continuing through a 6 p.m. football game. When we mentioned how long that would make her day, she said she would take a “quick” break during her split shift.
We can't mention every staffer in this column, but we assure you we are all hustling, every day, because that’s what it takes to get the job done.
This fall, we'll be covering municipal elections, live streaming high school sports through our GameDay production, reporting on the wind industry's operation on New London's State Pier and producing special More than a Month reports on mental health and women in business.
We're winding up our philanthropy and reader-funded Housing Solutions Lab investigation over the next few months with a focus on solutions to the ongoing severe shortage of affordable housing. We're starting to plan our next in-depth investigation.
We're covering breaking news, as always, and keeping up with the arts, public safety, business and government.
You’re probably aware we’re planning to move out of our building at 47 Eugene O'Neill Drive within the next several months into a smaller office space, since we’re a smaller company, by necessity of market forces, and since we outsource our printing, no longer need the area that once occupied our printing press.
It's a demanding and financially challenging undertaking, but we love what we do and appreciate your support.
This is the opinion of Karen Florin, managing editor. Reach her at k.florin@theday.com or (860) 701-4217.
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