Welcome to the newly re-imagined edition of The Modesto Bee
For more than 90 years, The Bee has been your first choice for news and information, your first choice to help your business find customers and your first choice as a community partner. We are deeply grateful that you’ve chosen us all these years.
But we recognize that your life is busier and more complicated than ever – and that your demands for the news and information that help you live your life change quickly. The Bee is continually striving to make sure that we remain your first choice.
So we did something simple: We asked your opinion.
Last fall we began a project working with our sister McClatchy newspapers to solicit feedback from readers and news consumers across all ages and backgrounds. A few themes emerged: The print newspaper is very much a part of many of your lives, yet most readers simultaneously access digital news sources and are fully “connected” to the digital and mobile worlds. It also was clear that you count on us to provide the best and most trustworthy local news and to serve as a watchdog for government and institutions.
Our goal became to optimize our print and digital offerings so they can better serve your changing needs. Our printed newspaper needed to be more reflective – a “lean back” experience to be savored, while our digital products needed to be more immediate and populated with breaking news and video as it happens.
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McClatchy hired renowned news designer Mario Garcia to help develop an approach to how we could rethink all of our products and to develop a design that looks familiar across both digital and print products.
For the print edition you’re holding, we’ve worked to create a better, more modern and logical package.
Here’s a look at the changes:
▪ The A section will contain the news of the day. It will be led by a front page that will have story starts but will also be a “window” into content that appears in the rest of the paper. Page 2A will continue to have a Names & Faces column. Page 3A will be the main local news page and will contain the latest news. Further inside the A section will be a rundown of national and world news, lottery results, the business page with stock listings and a back page with an updated weather map.
▪ You’ll find the biggest change in our second section, “Insight.” The content in Insight is in-depth and plays to the strengths of the printed newspaper. Our most thorough reporting will appear on the cover of this section, as well as opinion columns on occasion. Inside you’ll find more depth coverage on big topics from around the nation and world, and our excellent local Opinions page. You’ll also find obituaries in this section.
▪ The C section starts with the daily sports report. You’ll notice that sports content in print centers less around game scores; that’s on purpose. Most of you already have digital sources for the latest scores, and this change recognizes this fact. Our print content will provide background, context and voices that can’t be found anywhere else. Today, you’ll find a features page – Explore Mind & Body – following sports, as well as puzzles, comics and classified advertisements.
The newspaper you hold in your hands is the re-imagined Bee, the result of your feedback and input. We have tested these changes with folks like you and we’re happy to report that the feedback has been enthusiastic.
The changes will, no doubt, be somewhat different from that to which you are accustomed. We hope that you will find them convenient and useful and that we have enhanced the value of your Bee. We know you’ve changed how you live your life and how you consume news and information.
Today our audience is bigger than ever. We are working hard to be where you need us, when you need us. You can keep up with breaking news on our mobile and digital versions; relax and savor our storytelling in the printed newspaper; or enjoy our state-of-the-art video and visual reporting on our tablet versions.
More and more, you are enjoying The Bee in digital formats and half of that audience is using mobile devices. Our new approach will provide increased focus on these digital versions.
But our print editions still can’t be beat for a thoughtful in-depth reading experience. We continue to offer readers a full mix of news – from the briefs for the rushed reader to the art of storytelling and investigative and watchdog journalism that only The Bee can provide.
We also recognize that marketers face complicated and fragmented audiences, too. The Bee offers a complete lineup of multimedia solutions. Our goal is to bring you the expertise and technology – from social media to search marketing to banner advertising – so you can focus on your business.
The changes we debut today reflect a lot of work, but really we’re just getting started. We know that your life will continue to change and that we will need to change right along with you. That’s our commitment and our focus every day.
After all, it’s your Bee.
Thanks for your loyal partnership,
Ken Riddick
President and Publisher
kriddick@modbee.com
Joseph Kieta
Editor & Senior Vice President
jkieta@modbee.com
This story was originally published May 11, 2015 at 2:14 PM with the headline "Welcome to the newly re-imagined edition of The Modesto Bee."