It's been a good two weeks since I've made a post. I've finally dug out from under the pile of work on my desk, and my table, and on the floor, and in my in-box, and can turn my attention back to keep you informed about your Macon County Times.

Let's talk about May. We published four issues in May. This included 118 pages of Macon County news and information.

Here are a few numbers for you.

• 118 pages.
• More than $750 in coupons, which you can use to save money while shopping at home - an act that helps you help local businesses!
• The weekly American Profile magazine was included in each issue as always.
• We published in print 47 stories prepared by our staff.
• We ran more than 270 local photos.
• We informed you of local happenings through 168 calendar listings.
• We supported community groups by publishing more than 65 local press releases and stories.
• We had the sad task of sharing 45 obituaries with you.
• Yet we had the joy to celebrate 10 birth announcements and five anniversary/engagement announcements.

We were also delighted to publish the photos (not included in the above count) of every single Macon County High School and Red Boiling Springs High School graduate.

And in a very unique special section, we published 42 ads for local businesses - and each and every ad was designed by a local fourth or fifth grader.

I've already posted previously about our flood coverage, but the bottom line is this. The Macon County Times published online more information specific to Macon County during and after the flooding than any other media out there.

And in the middle of it, we still reported election results first online and in print.

The website continued its growth in May with:

• 8,551 unique visitors
• 20,557 visits
• 83,121 pageviews

Not a bad month. And as always, we'll strive to do even better.

When I last blogged, I talked a little about items available for your reading enjoyment on the site and in print.

One thing I mentioned was "online magazines." These are great products offered for free to you, the reader. They are filled with relevant and useful information and are entertaining. Currently, we have two such magazines up: Health, Mind & Body and Spring Home.

I hope you enjoy them.

For prospective advertisers, these present an interesting opportunity. You can have title sponsorship of the magazine, along with customized stories to suit your business, along with the wide array of other content on these magazines.

This sponsorship not only includes your logo and information prominently displayed on the magazine, with links to your web site, but it also includes a print campaign designed to drive traffic to the site.

And they are well read.

The most recent Health, Mind & Body has been viewed about 25,000 times since it was put up about 6 weeks ago.  That is a heck of a significant number!

And there are a huge array of topics available.

This is yet another marketing solution only available at the Macon County Times - one of many available exclusively through us.

If you are interested, call Hope or Clay at 666-2440 and we'll get you any additional information you might need.

Each week, the Macon County Times distributes American Profile in the print edition of the paper.

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With a paid circulation of over 5,000 and many thousands more reading the web site, I think most folks are aware of the Macon County Times' regular local news coverage. There's plenty to read in terms of local news, but there is even more than that to read on a more generalized basis.

Each week, our newspaper distributes the magazine American Profile. It's a great magazine that has feature articles, recipes and more information. I have to say it is pretty popular - you should see the phones light up if someone doesn't get theirs! And it is only available in our print edition.

At the same time, we offer online magazines that offer a mix of generalized, useful content and localized content. These make for entertaining reading as well. Our current online magazines are Health Mind & Body and the Spring Home Guide.

There are many other things to read and enjoy, particularly on our web site. These include the weather and stock listings, found on our home page and TV listings, which feature a variety of providers, including NCTC.

A report recently by Nielson Online indicates that readership of newspaper web sites continues to grow, and Q1 2010 was a record setting quarter with an average of 74.4 million unique visitors a month heading to newspaper web sites.

Furthermore, the report Site Matters: The Value of Local Newspaper Websites, commissioned by the Newspaper Association of America and conducted by Neilson Online shows that newspaper websites boast the following traits:

• High Value. Local newspaper Web sites are of very high value to consumers in terms of online local content. The key findings include the following:
  
  
  1. Local newspaper Web sites are the category most used for online local content.
  2. Local newspaper Web sites rank first among all sources for trustworthiness, credibility, and being the most informative place to find local content of all types – including news, information, entertainment, sports, and classifieds content.
• Ratings vary somewhat for certain demographic groups, but the overall rankings are consistently in favor of local newspaper sites.
• Trusted Source for Advertising. Consumers also consider local newspaper Web sites to be the most trusted source of online advertising, because the advertising on these sites is perceived to be more current, credible, and relevant to them.
• One site versus many. Local newspaper sites compete most closely with local TV station sites, but many local markets typically have only one local newspaper Web site.

The information is backed up by another report by comScore.

We have found similar in our analytical information.

In the last six months, we've seen, at www.maconcountytimes.com, a:

• 55% increase in unique visitors to more than 8,000 in April.
• More than 100% increase in visits to more than 19,200 in April.
• More than 100% increase in page views to over 77,000 in April.

It's clear that more people turn to our web site for news and information about Macon County. And that's why we work hard every single day - providing you with stories, photos, videos, blogs and more.

If there's something you wish to see in print on on this website, feel free to contact me and I'll see what I can do.

As always, I can be called at 666-2440 (office) or 670-6989 (cell), or you can e-mail me at cmorgan@heartlandpublications.com.

The Macon County Times has long been your business partner and the most effective means to reaching the largest Macon County audience.

You may remember our free business directories, which I wrote about a few weeks ago.

We have another program - or a repeat of last year's program - we are now offering businesses.

Any of you who have been around awhile know that every Summer, the Macon County Times offers some sort of special advertising program. This year, we're offering our Business Stimulus Program again. Also known as "the coupon books," many of you took advantage of this program last year.

The program contains many great values available only from The Macon County Times and it is a great way for a small business to engage in a major advertising campaign over the Summer at a fraction of the cost.

Here's an example.

For an investment of only $955.80 (the majority of which is billed monthly), a business can get:

• 3 quarter page ads in June
• 3 quarter-page ads in July 
• 4 quarter-page ads in August
• 2 months of online business directory ads
• 2 free spot color insertions (and yes, we have this capability)
• 13 weeks of 2x2 ads

If you bought each of these separate, the price would be approximately $2,300. Instead, through this program, you can get the above advertising for less than half that cost.

If you like larger ads, we have options for those too. Options that can save you more than $4,500 on a full-page-ad campaign.

This is a great program with huge savings - designed last year specifically to help our local businesses through a tough economy by giving them powerful advertising tools at a very affordable price. And it works.

If you are at all interested, call Hope Green or myself at 666-2440 and we'll answer any questions you might have.

And remember...to take advantage of the full benefits of this program, you need to sign up before the end of May.

Sunday is Mother's Day. I hope that you'll remember your mom and all the other moms out there.

Now, I'll say this. I actually write a little poetry from time to time (though not much lately), and nobody has ever read it - and that fact will never change.

However, English poet Christina Rossetti, who lived in the 1800's has written some beautiful poems, some of which reflect strong emotions for her mother. I share this one - a shortish one - but a powerful poem.

I hope you enjoy it - doubly so for you mothers out there.

Happy Mother's Day.

Sonnets are full of love by Christina Rossetti

Sonnets are full of love, and this my tome

Has many sonnets: so here now shall be

One sonnet more, a love sonnet, from me

To her whose heart is my heart’s quiet home,

To my first Love, my Mother, on whose knee

I learnt love-lore that is not troublesome;

Whose service is my special dignity,

And she my loadstar while I go and come

And so because you love me, and because

I love you, Mother, I have woven a wreath

Of rhymes wherewith to crown your honored name:

In you not fourscore years can dim the flame

Of love, whose blessed glow transcends the laws

Of time and change and mortal life and death.

Another month has come and gone. Here's some information for you about the Macon County Times in April.

• Our staff prepared 80 local stories and reports in print.
• Our paper published over 300 local photos.
• We celebrated with five birth announcements and nine wedding/engagement/anniversary announcements.
• We printed 217 local community calendar items and we published 89 locally submitted longer news items.
• We ran 13 of your letters to the editor.

We printed 132 pages in April and provided you with 37 "inserts" filled with valuable deals from local businesses.

We also published a business card directory and an important page highlighting

As added value, more than $1,000 in name-brand coupons were included in the Macon County Times as well as five issues of the weekly magazine American Profile.

Our web numbers continue to climb. We posted:

• 8,190 unique visitors.
• 19,252 visits.
• 77,200 pageviews.

Exciting news to us is that we surpassed 1,000 Facebook friends at Macon County Times. I know some folks have felt that Facebook is meaningless in the news game, and I couldn't disagree more. It has provided valuable surges in our web statistics, helped us obtain stories and photos, and is a very useful tool in sending information to the public.

Just look at this quote from Janet Meador: "I have found that when I need to know something quickly...I jump right to FB and Macon County Times is right there with the needed info...Thanks"

We also published a Health, Mind, & Body online magazine, available on our home page at www.maconcountytimes.com.

Oh yea, and our parent company emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy on the night of April 30/May 1.

Like everyone else, news folks enjoy a weekend off. However, for some, the weather stepped in this weekend.

I want to compliment our news crew for the information they've been posting online - much of it from a distance as several of us took off out of town for what we thought would be a quiet weekend.

With the invaluable support of readers, and utilizing all our tools - local contacts, Facebook and more, we're able to get lots of information to you. The team got you some decent updates Sunday and has been feeding you information all day today via the web site. Good job to Brad, Brian and Deidre.

In particular, I want to give props to Angel Gammons, a freelance photographer we use a lot. She spent a better part of Sunday out taking photos for us in the pouring rain - I think she had to change clothes about a hundred times. Angel, I appreciate your hard work - you're the best!

And my thanks to the entire Macon County Times crew. I've said it before and I'll say it again - they are the very best team in Macon County when it comes to news, hands down. Their efforts today have proven that to me again.

The weather threw a lot of curves at us this week, and we're handling it quite well.

The Macon County Times - still kicking and doing fine.

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This morning I was reading about the circulation among the 25 largest newspapers in the nation.

Only the Wall Street Journal posted an increase, and fortunately these numbers apply only to print circulation numbers. I'm relieve we are not following the trends (print circulation is up a bit, and online readership continues to grow at a monthly double-digit rate), but actually are doing quite well.

It's no secret that the the news industry (not just newspapers) are readjusting the way they do things.

Since my arrival in January, 2009, we've done a few things to adapt to the changes.

• We have adopted a web-first reporting policy. It's rare that you'll read something first elsewhere in Macon County now.
• We have implemented the use of slide shows, polls, comments, likes, video and interaction tools online.
• Our facebook page (The Macon County Times) continues its growth and will exceed 1,000 fans/friends any day now.
• We have expanded our services to advertisers to be truly multi-media. We offer print and web solutions that include but are not limited to traditional ads, classified ads, online classified ads, pre-print inserts, banners and button ads, commercials, and much more.

These changes seem simple, but they have required a cultural change in our company - and it's one that is taking place throughout Heartland. Some have not survived the changes, and some won't survive the future changes.

While we're at it, we offer more delivery methods than any other news source in Macon County.

• The traditional print edition. The old standby that has been popular for over 90 years. And with features you won't find online.
• The e-edition - an electronic version of our print edition.
• The web site - web first and with enhancements only available online.
• Headlines via RSS feeds.
• Now, highlights via Facebook.

And there is more to come...more delivery methods, more delivery enhancements and some major content enhancements coming down the pike.

What are you interested in? Is there a delivery method you'd like to see us explore? The door is always open and I'm anxious for your ideas as we work to adapt to the changing media landscape.

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This week I was writing an article about headlines for a web site. And then I remembered that paper.

The New York Post.

Love 'em or hate 'em, one thing about them is their headlines will get your attention.

Published in a tabloid format, the Post has a "news headline" on one side and a major "sports headline" on the back.

They are known throughout the industry for headlines that are sometimes funny, at times sophmoric, occasionally insensitive, but pretty much always clever.

I've included some of their images here ... a sampling of attention getting, funny, sophmoric and even one that is a bit insensitive.

But you gotta admit....you want to read more, don't you?

Sometimes, I wish I could write headlines with the cleverness they do.