Freedom Shining Stars for second quarter announced

IRVINE, Calif. — July 16, 2009 — Freedom Communications' Center of Community Journalism Excellence is pleased to announce the Shining Stars award winners for the second quarter of 2009. The winning associates exemplify innovation and leadership in Freedom's content transformation.

Congratulations to these Shining Stars:

— J.D. Bruewer, The Lima News, Lima, Ohio
— Scott Edgington, Freedom ENC, Jacksonville, N.C.
— Jess Huffman, Sun Journal, New Bern, N.C.
— Ali Naqvi, The Monitor, McAllen, Texas
— Randy Simons, WRGB-TV, Schenectady, N.Y.
— Matt Tessnear, Sun Journal, New Bern, N.C.

Shining Stars are rewarded with a trophy and take part in training and mentoring opportunities.

“The initiative displayed by this quarter’s Shining Stars is truly encouraging,” said Lee Lerner, Director of Freedom’s Center of Community Journalism Excellence. "In the face of unprecedented struggles in the industry, these individuals push forward with an infectious enthusiasm that continues to make Freedom a leading source of news and information in the communities we serve."

Following are the nominations for each winner:

J.D. BRUEWER, The Lima News, Lima, Ohio

J.D. Bruewer was many things in the Lima newsroom in the second quarter of 2009: database wiz, talk-show host, videographer, sound technician and, oh yeah, reporter and editor.

It’s no surprise to us here. In the course of his 11 years, J.D. has filled any role we’ve asked of him, from regional reporter to assistant city editor to lifestyle editor to Internet editor to content editor.

Bruewer, now working as a Content Editor in Lima, took on the daunting task of handling our online Best of the Region voting this year in Caspio. It sounds easy enough to monitor the write-in votes and add them to our seed list for a drop-down menu. Over the course of the month of voting, J.D. spent about an hour a day going through more than 800 write-in votes. In all, we had nearly 1,000 online votes in each of our 40 categories.

With his newfound experience in Caspio, he’s become an early adaptor of the uses of databases:

– He put together the information for a database on speeding-ticket fines throughout the region.

– He maintained a wildly popular database where readers alerted us to where they saw speed-enforcement cameras in Lima until the city discontinued the project after just a few weeks under the negative pressure of our readers.

– He created a database of the different crops planted in Ohio.

– In July, he’s spearheading a historic database of murders in our region.

J.D.’s work is paying dividends. Our Info Center page views skyrocketed in the second quarter, up 799 percent from the first quarter to the second quarter.

He also helped with our video efforts. He shot, edited and posted a spot-news video of a fire that brought in 588 plays, our sixth-biggest video play in the quarter. He also filled in as host on our weekly “Sunday Conversation” for a June session on an unenforced swimming pool regulation, generating 335 views, the highest total in the quarter for these Webcasts.

He monitors complaints on our story comments and forums in Pluck, dealing with complaints from malcontents who dislike it when someone disagrees with them.

He does all this while still working as night editor on Fridays and serving as a reporter four nights a week, generating content for print and the online editions.

We continue to make great strides on the Internet, and J.D. leads by example in our newsroom with his stoic acceptance of these additional duties.

— Nominated by David Trinko, Senior Content Editor, The Lima News


SCOTT EDGINGTON, Freedom ENC, Jacksonville, N.C.

Scott is the Interactive Content Manager for Freedom Eastern North Carolina. His work in New Bern was instrumental in the Sun Journal's increase of video page views in the second quarter of 2009.

Some history: New Bern posted only nine videos in the fourth quarter of 2008. In the first quarter of 2009, only six were posted midway through February. At that time a video emphasis began, with Scott leading the way.

Scott was accommodating to travel from Jacksonville, N.C., to New Bern to share training, the goal of which was to have everyone be able to take a camera, shoot video and be able to post it through Brightcove to the Sun Journal’s Web site. By June 1, all of the Sun Journal’s reporters had gone through video training.

Recent numbers reflect Scott’s efforts: Video page views per month, compared to February 2009, increased 227 percent in March, 395 percent in April and 435 percent in May. Since the lowly nine videos in the final quarter of 2008, we posted 17 in the first quarter of 2009 and, to date, in the second quarter we posted 47.

With more videos to choose from, our audience is also going back and viewing older videos, even back into 2008. It’s been a benefit for all aspects of the Web site. And all this growth took place at a time when our company maneuvered through furloughs.

Scott has gone the extra mile for New Bern many times. It was Scott who joined in a planning meeting for the MCAS Cherry Point Air Show, a major event in our county. Scott offered and followed through being able to do a live Web feed from the event, which was shared with all Freedom ENC properties.

Without Scott’s leadership, these strides would not have been made. He is a Shining Star in New Bern and Eastern North Carolina.

— Nominated by Alan Wooten, Assistant Managing Editor, Sun Journal; and Amy Lock Collier, GM Interactive, Freedom ENC


MATT TESSNEAR, Sun Journal, New Bern, N.C.

Matt Tessnear, Night Editor in New Bern, has been a key player in the Sun Journal’s push to increase video page views.

When video training took place in New Bern, Matt took refresher training first. Then, with his encouragement, the sports department became interested and went through video training. By the first of June, all Sun Journal reporters had been through the training.

Matt is a great encourager to all of the Sun Journal staff, with gentle friendly reminders for video and other supplementary items for stories. He has solid knowledge to assist anyone with a variety of aspects to complement stories, especially the video aspect.

The Sun Journal’s recent numbers reflect his and the staff’s efforts. With more videos to choose from, the New Bern audience keeps coming back – even looking at videos from 2008. Matt’s leadership has been a boon for page views on the Web site.

To wit, Sun Journal video page views per month, compared to February 2009, increased 227 percent in March, 395 percent in April and 435 percent in May.

Matt’s enthusiasm, know-how and leadership make him a true Shining Star at the Sun Journal.

— Nominated by Alan Wooten, Assistant Managing Editor, Sun Journal


JESS HUFFMAN, Sun Journal, New Bern, N.C.

Jess Huffman, New Bern’s Sports Editor, and his staff were trained recently in using more video to increase page views on the Sun Journal site. That training and Huffman’s follow-through has reaped tangible rewards in the form of New Bern page-view growth detailed in the nominations above.

Jess' helpfulness shows through often, but especially on a recent Saturday night when New Bern Night Editor Matt Tessnear was trying to get the print edition put together and out, and a reporter (yet to be trained) had video in a camera. With a slower night in sports and waiting to see proofs, Jess volunteered to help and got the video posted on the site immediately. Great teamwork!

With Jess’ help and leadership, New Bern’s video page views per month increased 395 percent in April and 435 percent in May.

Without Jess’ hard work and willingness to go the extra mile, this could not have happened. He is a Shining Star at the New Bern Sun Journal.

— Nominated by Alan Wooten, Assistant Managing Editor, Sun Journal


ALI NAQVI, The Monitor, McAllen, Texas

Not only should McAllen videographer Ali Naqvi be a Shining Star, he should also be called a diamond in the rough.

While Ali was hired for The Monitor's "news side," he quickly hopped on board Festiva Hot Spots, a project that combined the resources of the advertising department and editorial. The project has been a cooperative effort between the departments, and it has helped The Monitor with page views, revenue and clearly is something in which advertisers and consumers are interested.

Since Day One, Ali has logged countless hours shooting, editing and promoting video for Hot Spots, helping The Monitor earn thousands of dollars in unplanned revenue. His work has made more Valley businesses look at the project and want to get in on the action.

Festiva Hot Spots goes to restaurants and clubs and does a 3-5 minute "review" of the restaurant, letting consumers know what's good. It has two local hosts who interview club owners, bartenders and patrons – letting people know what that hot spot is best known for.

In fact, some other Freedom properties in South Texas (and elsewhere) are using Festiva Hot Spots as a template to do similar projects.

Ali also has a great mind for what people want to see. Everything he does has a flair that resonates with our audience and helps drive page views, to FestivaHotSpots.com and to TheMonitor.com.

Video views have increased by more than 20 percent over past year with Ali on the team, putting our views so far for the year at 302,436. While Hot Spots has been his biggest contribution so far, he has also gone from shooting sports videos to breaking news.

Whether it’s a restaurant, a club, a concert or a crime scene, Ali has an eye for making something special and unique. He is also more than willing to help anyone with questions regarding video, whether it’s ideas for new projects or tips on how to get the best lighting.

Ali has been a huge asset not just to The Monitor, but also to other Freedom properties looking for ways to increase revenue, page views and relevancy to their community while helping bridge the gap between the Internet and business.

— Nominated by Adam Wratten, Online Editor, The Monitor, McAllen, TX


RANDY SIMONS, WRGB-TV, cbs6albany.com, Schenectady, N.Y.

Most associates simply accept change, but a few embrace it with enthusiasm, passion and creativity. WRGB reporter Randy Simons has done just that.

Simons is fully engaged in the cbs6albany.com Web site and recognizes the opportunity it provides to build his success and reputation with users, while building the success of cbs6albany.com as the top TV media site in the Albany, N.Y., market. Because of this, I am proud to nominate Simons for Freedom's Shining Star for the second quarter of 2009.

Randy takes the lead as the reporter in the newsroom's interactive integration. He vaults his Web duties to new heights by taking the initiative to experiment with new technologies such as Twitter and Skype to enhance his reporting.

Randy regularly files articles from the field for the Web site, and sends "tweets" using Twitterberry to provide up-to-the-second information for viewers.

Some recent examples of Randy's contributions include:

– Using Skype for the Web site and evening newscasts to provide traffic reports during the Memorial Day holiday.

– Helping train fellow reporters on posting video and putting video into articles.

– Driving traffic to the Web site during live reports in the newscast by promising updates on cbs6albany.com.

– Posting breaking-news updates from the field during Vice President Joe Biden's visit to the capital region.

Randy's contributions have enabled WRGB to continue our online growth. During the second quarter of 2009 our page views increased 26 percent year to year, and unique visitors increased 37 percent year to year.

— Nominated by Lisa Jackson, News Director, WRGB CBS 6