On Wednesday, Sept. 23, the Ulysses News team, consisting of myself and advertising representative Ervey Olivas, traveled to Pampa, Texas, at the invitation of Publisher ReDonn Woods to meet staff members and learn more about the operations behind the newspapers.
The Pampa News is part of a publishing operation that prints and oversees several newspapers, with the Pampa News publishing three times a week. The Ulysses News is designed and laid out by Regional Editor Tina McGrady of Crawfordsville, Indiana. McGrady also is the managing editor of the Journal Review, Crawfordsville's daily newspaper. Shawn Storie, also of Crawfordsville, serves as president of the publishing operations and supervises Woods. All of the newspapers are owned by Smith Newspapers Inc., based in Fort Payne, Alabama.
During the visit, the Ulysses team was introduced to several members of the staff, including Angie Buckley and Hannah Ball, who handle advertising, and Geneva Wildcat, editor and reporter. We had previously met Woods, the publisher, and Carrie Hair, the bookkeeper.
The visit included a staff meeting covering topics such as advertising, social media, InDesign, revenue, and budgeting. The meeting provided an opportunity for everyone to discuss the day to day operations of our newspapers, and for us to learn more about how the larger publishing operation manages its various publications.
We also toured the printing press room, where newspapers are produced on a large-scale press. The tour included massive rolls of newsprint and the printing equipment that feeds the paper through multiple printing units before the finished newspapers emerge.
Newspapers continuously moved along a conveyor belt as they were printed, folded, and cut. The Ulysses team was handed a copy of the edition being printed for the Union County Leader, based in Clayton, New Mexico.
The Ulysses staff watched pressmen operate the machinery and inspect the finished papers for problems. Workers periodically removed defective copies and used magnifying glasses to closely examine the printing while keeping an eye on the press to ensure everything was running properly.
For the Ulysses News team, the visit offered a behind the scenes look at the larger operation responsible for producing the newspaper, as well as an opportunity to meet colleagues working across the publishing company.
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