At the Roundup office

We're already finished with the last January 2012 issue... soon we'll be knee-deep in bull sale season, which means a bigger paper with the increased advertising, which means more work for Saige and I to keep it full, so for right now I'm enjoying a few 'normal' weeks, even though we have been running four pages bigger than usual.

Before we know it, Saige will have worked with me on the Roundup's editorial team for a year, and she's accomplished so much already, including an overhaul of our website, and much time devoted to brainstorming new ideas and implementing new sections. Check it out at wylr.net.

She passed her crash course taking care of the paper while I was out on maternity leave with flying colors. So much so that I was compelled to give her a fifth of whiskey and a set of whiskey glasses for her trouble, because in this profession that sort of thing comes in handy every once in a while. :-)

With the new year, she and I sat down and made a list of goals for 2012 for the paper. Most of them are small, and most people probably won't notice them, but they have to do with having a more polished, engaging newspaper. Between the two of us and Tracy, our designer, we tweaked the front page a little, and we've also added article breaks to all of our longer articles, to break up the text and hopefully draw in the 'skimmers,' and we're also doing more of what we call 'pull quotes' and more 'sidebars.' All of this in effort to break up the text and get more people's attention.

Part of what I decide to do with the paper comes from watching Scott look through it. A lot can be learned by watching one of our targeted demographic look through the finished product!

Another goal for 2012 is to renew the partnership with the Northern Ag Network, recording and sharing our Wyoming news for their daily ag broadcasts, which originate in Montana. The first event we'll send them is from tomorrow's Women's Ag Summit, so wish me luck!