Automated workflows yield big growth in efficiency, audience for the Philadelphia Tribune
May 12, 2021
"We are the oldest and largest African-American newspaper in America. Established in 1884, we've got a long history," said Robert W. Bogle, CEO of the Philadelphia Tribune. "TownNews has allowed us to grow our audience and grow our traffic year-over-year. Even in the pandemic year of 2020, we continued to grow unique visitors by 24%."
The award-winning newspaper covers Greater Philadelphia with print, e-Edition, and online. "We also saw an average growth of 33% in unique visitors and 40% growth in pageviews each year from 2017 to 2019."
MORE EFFICIENT FOR BOTH PRINT AND DIGITAL
When moving to TownNews in 2014, the Philadelphia Tribune's goal was to replace manual processes with a more automated system.
"We wanted to become more efficient in both the print and digital space," Bogle said. "TownNews does a nice job with that by automating some of the process, and automating the transfer of data from our print to our digital."
With a newspaper printed five days a week, corresponding digital editions and 24/7 website, it's important that content flows smoothly. The Philadelphia Tribune utilizes the suite of TownNews solutions: BLOX CMS for the website, BLOX Total CMS for the print publication, and BLOX Live e-Editions for digital replicas.
"It's an integrated solution," Bogle said. "TownNews is well-versed in the technology and has enhanced systems across the board. With a limited staff, we don't have the luxury of doing it ourselves. TownNews saves us time and expertise. The company is easy to work with, and there's very little stress."
THREE EXAMPLES OF IMPORTANT WORK
“Race in America”, special supplement published November 22, 2020
Experts from around the country discussed issues regarding race in terms of economics, social, health care and more. "Race in America" included content from twenty contributors. "Reader reaction was quick and positive. The supplement exceeded our expectations from both an editorial and advertising perspective," Bogle said. "We are already planning a follow up edition for this fall."
“The 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre”, special publication for Black History Month, February 14, 2021
Coronavirus pandemic coverage by the Philadelphia Tribune. View more: https://www.phillytrib.com/news/health/coronavirus
SINGLE POINT FOR SUPPORT
"Because TownNews provides support for all solutions including print and digital, any issues that arise are much simpler to troubleshoot," Bogle said. "If there's a question or we've got an issue, TownNews support resolves it. If they don't know, they research it and they get back to us. There are no surprises.
"The bottom line is that we're happy. TownNews is certainly easy to work with, the product works, they support us, and pick up the slack where we can't do it. And that's really solid."
