'Fresno Bee' Latest to Merge Online, Print Units

By: Jay DeFoore The Fresno Bee's interactive division is no longer operating on an island set apart from the paper's main newsroom.

The Bee announced earlier this week that it is combining its online operations with other departments within the newspaper, a strategic shift it hopes will better position it for the future.

"We really wanted to create an organization where our most important people understand and make decisions concerning interactive media and are involved more in the process," explained Stephen Dana, the Bee's interactive media director.

Dana said the paper realizes that in the coming years, resources will become key to the success of mid-sized newspapers. "When you look at where a newspaper needs to be in the next two to three years, you really need to seriously consider [online convergence]," he said. "For example, the Fresno Bee has 800 employees, ten of which really understand online. Does that make sense? You really need to spread that expertise throughout the organization."

The online content team will report directly to the paper's managing editor and will work in the newsroom. The paper's online operational functions will be spread among the creative and design arm of the print production department. In addition, the online sales group will focus more on business development and work closely with the advertising and circulation divisions. The idea is to broaden the focus of the traditional departments.

Dana admitted that print and online employees have different cultures, but he said "hopefully the best qualities of each rub off on one another."

The Bee is the latest in a string of newspapers to integrate online operations with the print side. Belo made an organization-wide shift about eight months ago, and early results are positive. In August, The New York Times announced that it would merge online with its print newsroom, with executives explaining that the move "will enable us to fully tap the creative energy of this organization and thus raise digital journalism to the next level."

The Bee's news staff and its online content producers have been located in different offices in The Bee's plant since fresnoBee.com first launched in 1996.