Change is hard. Yet it’s coming at us faster and faster every day.
Sometimes it’s new technology. Sometimes it’s a fresh idea. Sometimes it’s driven by the shifting economic or cultural landscape around us. Sometimes it’s more individual and personal.
Often it’s beneficial. Sometimes it’s even fun.
In any case, it’s inevitable.
Here at the Hartford Business Journal, we’re making some changes in the paper with an eye toward making ourselves more compelling and indispensible to you, the reader. It’s all about engagement. I’m not talking diamond rings here, rather the contemporary use of the term to indicate connectivity between us. Whether you like the feel of newsprint in your hand or the look of images on a computer screen, we want to be your source for local business news. We deliver subject-specific e-newsletters and also have an active events department that’s engaging our audience in person.
Today I want to tell you about some changes here in the newspaper.
In this week’s edition, you’ll find the debut of our ‘Business Strategy’ page. Here we’ll offer some expert advice on various aspects of running your business. Today’s page features the BizBooks column by Jim Pawlak, who we expect to be a regular contributor. In future weeks, we’ll bring you wisdom from a variety of experts — mostly local folks — on topics that range from marketing to human resources, sales to management strategy. And we’ll pair that expert advice with stories about local businesses that are doing interesting things and finding new ways to succeed.
You’re also seeing new bylines and more stories as we expand our coverage.
Later this spring, we’ll begin a ‘focus’ page that will look at issues in a specific industry sector. One week, we may tackle accounting and the next we may look at healthcare. Again, our goal is to bring you local voices, so we’ll reach out to local experts and solicit their commentary as part of the package. In general, we’ll aim to coordinate with our schedule of popular lists to give you a strong package each week.
Naturally, when we add content, something else has to go to make room. In this case, we’ll be moving our listings of state contracts and new business exclusively to our website at HartfordBusiness.com, starting next week. We know these listings are valuable to many of our readers and we want to serve those interests. But, in this case, the technology has forced our hand. The speed at which these lists are updated and changed makes online delivery the only practical solution.
As we move forward, we’ll continue to examine what we’re doing and challenge ourselves to do better. We invite you to come along, to engage with us in this journey. Tell us what’s happening, who’s making news and what issues are keeping you up at night. Share your thoughts and expertise in a letter to the editor or as a guest columnist. Tell us what we’re doing well and what we can do better.
My mailbox is always open at nbell@hartfordbusiness.com. I can’t promise I’ll always agree, but I do promise I’ll always listen.
Norman Bell is editor of the Hartford Business Journal.
