Pocono Record
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The Pocono Record is a daily newspaper published in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania.
Contents |
[edit] History
The Pocono Record was founded as The Daily Record April 2, 1894.
In 1946, the newspaper was purchased by James H. Ottaway Sr., becoming the third newspaper in what would become the Ottaway Newspapers chain. Today, Ottaway is a subsidiary of Dow Jones & Company and the Pocono Record is a subsidiary of Ottaway Newspapers of Pennsylvania LP.
Officially, the article "The" is not part of the newspaper's name.
[edit] Market
The Pocono Record is the newspaper of record for Monroe County, Pennsylvania. Its coverage area centers on Stroudsburg and East Stroudsburg and includes the area's many small communities. The newspaper also covers parts of Pike, Lackawanna, Wayne and Carbon counties as well as areas of western New Jersey.
Monroe County is Pennsylvania's fastest-growing county, giving the Pocono Record tremendous growth opportunities. However, this is a challenge for the newspaper because much of the population commutes to New York City or New Jersey and feels little connection to Monroe County - and therefore lacks the motivation to read the community newspaper.
Because of this, the Pocono Record lacks any direct local competitors but competes against newspapers such as the New York Post and New York Daily News. In addition, the Pocono Record competes with regional publications such as the Wilkes-Barre Times Leader, Scranton Times-Tribune and the Allentown Morning Call.
[edit] Daily Newspaper
The Pocono Record publishes seven days a week. The newspaper is available via home delivery or at newsstands and retail locations throughout the area.
[edit] Format
A daily edition of the Pocono Record always has at least four sections: An A section, Pocono Life, sports and classifieds. The size and configuration of the paper varies day to day, based on how many advertisements have been sold.
[edit] A section
The A section of the Pocono Record is typically 8-16 pages and contains most of the big local, state, national and international news of the day.
[edit] Page A1
The section's front, A1, is typical of most newspapers in that it will feature the biggest stories of the day. Page 1A frequently focuses on local or regional stories, but will also include state, national and world news as the day's event warrant. Editors often will feature a quarky or off-beat story for this page as well. Stories from A1 typically continue (or "jump" in newspaper lingo) to page A2.
[edit] Page A2
Page A2 usually features the continuations of stories featured on A1. As space allows, the page will also feature standalone state or national stories. A daily feature of A2 is the lottery numbers for Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York.
[edit] Page A3: Regional & Local News
Page A3 always features local and regional news. The page is designed to appear as a front page - and could be considered the newspaper's second A1. Usually stories of local interest that don't warrant being on A1 are run here, though the page may also be filled with stories from around the state. A3 often features a local civic affairs calendar, listing local meetings, political events and other happenings. This page is unusual in that it does not feature any advertisements. Typically, page A3 is considered one of the most deseriable positions for newspaper advertisers, because it's the first page readers see when opening the paper.
[edit] Page A4
If a story from A3 is long, it may continue to A4. Otherwise, A4 usually contains state and regional news or national news if needed. Sometimes small local stories and briefs will also run on this page.
[edit] Page A5: U.S. & World News
Page A5 is a full page of national and international news. Like page A3, this page never has advertisements on it.
[edit] Opinion pages
The Pocono Record typically runs two pages of opinion, though the op-ed page is sometimes dropped. These are usually, but not always, pages A6 and A7. The Pocono Record's editorial board tends to be fairly liberal.
[edit] Remainder of A section
The rest of the A section, which varies depending on the size of the newspaper, is filled with state, national and international news.
[edit] Pocono Life
Pocono Life is the Pocono Record's lifestyle section. The section varies from being the second or third of the paper (the B or C section).
[edit] Pocono Life page 1
The front of the Pocono Life section includes several stories. Each day has a loose theme that the articles on the page center around. Typically there is at least one local story that relates to the theme along with several other articles - local or not - that relate to the theme as well. The pages also feature regular syndicated columns related to each day's theme. Stories from the Pocono Life section front continue to the second page of the section.
[edit] Obituaries
Obituaries always appear on the third page of the Pocono Life section (B3 or C3). The Pocono Record charges for full, story-size obituaries, which are considered advertisements and written and provided by local funeral homes. However, the newspaper runs a gray box of deaths and basic burial information every day and does not charge to be listed in this box.
[edit] Remainder of Pocono Life section
The rest of the Pocono Life section is filled with entertainment and lifetyle news as well as comics, advice columns and puzzles.
[edit] Sports
The Pocono Record's sports section is either the second or third of the paper. The Pocono Record does not focus heavily on local high school sports but rather tends to publish more national sports news. The sports section front features a selection of the day's top local sports stories. The second page of the sports section includes a scoreboard of national, international and local sports scores and data.
[edit] Other standing pages
The Pocono Record usually publishes a business news pages every day somewhere in the paper. In addition, entertainment news pages are also quite common.
[edit] Classifieds
The last section of the newspaper is the classifieds.
[edit] Friday format
On Fridays, the newspaper has its four base sections but adds a tabloid-sized insert called "Pocono Weekend." This publication spotlights a local event or organization and also includes concert, exhibit and other entertainment listings. In addition, Friday's newspaper includes "TVWeek" a local television listings guide.
[edit] Sunday format
The Sunday paper usually has an in-depth story on page A1 that continues to page A3 along with a state government column and column on state lawmakers' votes. The Sunday paper adds several sections to the four base ones.
[edit] Business
The business section features local, national and international business news.
[edit] Sunday Life
The Sunday Life section takes the place of Pocono Life and usually features a local event and other local news.
[edit] Arts & Leisure
This section includes local and regional arts news.
[edit] Newsroom
The Pocono Record's newsroom is located in Stroudsburg, along with the newspaper's administrative and sales offices.
[edit] Newsroom management
The Pocono Record employs an editor in chief, managing editor, news editor, sports editor, online editor, lifestyles editor and editorial page editor.
[edit] Other newsroom staff
The newsroom employs approximately seven full-time reporters, each assigned a specific beat. Some reporters are assigned a geographic beat, others a topical beat. For example, one reporter covers the local schools, white another covers police and another is dedicated to court and legal proceedings. The newsroom also relies on several editorial assistants, copy editors and staff photographers as well as freelance writers and photographers.
[edit] Reporters
The Pocono Record reporting staff contains a mix of long-timers and newcomers. As a smaller newspaper, the newspaper often hires reporters right out of college - these reporters may stay a few years and then move on to other jobs.
[edit] Copy editors
Copy editors at the Pocono Record are responsible for both line editing and page design.
[edit] Freelancers
The Pocono Record has several freelance reporters who cover local government meetings and other stories the regular staff is unable to. The paper also has a few freelance photographers.
[edit] Newsgathering
The Pocono Record is a member of the Associated Press and follows the Associated Press Style with few exceptions. The newsroom uses Harris&Baseview's JazBox content management system, along with Adobe InDesign, InCopy, Photoshop and Illustrator. The computers run on Microsoft Windows XP Professional Edition.
[edit] Circulation
The Pocono Record is considered a small to medium size newspaper. According to its 2005 media kit:
- Monday through Thursday the paper is delived to approximately 14,200 homes with 9,700 sold as single copies on newsstands and at retail locations. In total, about 23,900 copies are distributed.
- Friday and Saturday the paper is delivered to about 15,200 homes and sells about 11,000 single copies. A total of about 26,200 copies are circulated.
- Sunday home delivery remains at 15,200, but single copy sales increase to 15,000 - with a total of 30,200 copies sold.
[edit] Sister publications
In addition to its flagship daily newspaper, the Pocono Record publishes several other publications:
[edit] Eastern Poconos Community News
The Eastern Poconos Community News, or Community News for short, is mailed free of charge to residents of eastern Monroe County. The weekly paper features some original material and columns, but relies heavily on reprinting stories from the daily Pocono Record. About 9,700 copies are mailed to residents of Smithfield, Middle Smithfield, Price and Lehman townships.
[edit] Mountain Mail
Mountain Mail was discontinued in January 2006 and news covering this market is now included in the Pocono Record. History: Mountain Mail is mailed free of charge to the "Mountain Villages" of Buck Hills Falls, Canadensis, Cresco, Henryville, Mountainhome, Paradise Valley and Skytop. This monthly publication contained original and reprinted material. About 8,000 copies of Mountain Mail are distributed, with 4,800 of these being direct mailed.
[edit] Sage
Formerly known as Dignity, Sage is a monthly publication aimed at active senior citizens. It is inserted into the Pocono Record and available free throughout the area.
[edit] Pocono Record PLUS
Pocono Record PLUS is the Pocono Record's total market coverage product. It is mailed free to all non-subscribers every Saturday.
[edit] Poconos Property Showcase
This monthly booklet, which features local real estate listings, is inserted into the Pocono Record and available free of charge throughout the area.
[edit] Online publications
The Pocono Record first went online in the early 1990s and its online properties have evolved ever since provided more functionality, content and services to the readers in the Pocono market as well as the world. Our online publications include:
[edit] PoconoRecord.com
The main newspaper Web site is at PoconoRecord.com and is updated daily with the printed news as well as throughout the day with breaking news and updates. The primary site also offers a news archive powered by Google. Our community pages not only organize news by region but also includes lots of information about each community to help people find answers to most commonly asked questions.
We have several news-related special report sites focusing on hot topics in the region. The list as of today includes:
