This summer, the Journal-constitution abolished traditional news desks and reorganized its staff into four departments. But only after a painful – but necessary and certainly mind-opening – process for half of the staff, which was asked to apply for new or different positions.

Of the four new departments, two are content-producers: the News and Information desk supplies breaking news and Web-first content, while the Enterprise develops original watchdog-type stories typically geared to the print paper.

"News and Information, by philosophy, is supposed to think online first. Enterprise thinks print first," says Shawn McIntosh, who holds the title director of culture and change (simply reassigning positions helps staff think in terms of change) .

The two other departments, Digital and Print, select content from the first two and assign it to the paper and website, with considerations of design and presentation.

The AJC now has neither a metro editor, sports editor, nor a deputy features editor. There is no single person who oversees the business section. Instead, team leaders from the content and from the production teams are supposed to meet and discuss.

As the AJC furthered its integration, it had to sacrifice some traditional positions and trim staff, including dropping beats. There are no more national and regional reporters. One journalist instead of two covers local TV. A beat that focused on Coca-Cola is now devoted to food and beverages.

There will be increased reliance on wire services for regional news, features and sports. Editing positions were cut, so stories are getting fewer reads. On the other hand, the Digital Department has grown from 50 to 65 staffers, and most staffers in the News and Information department now focus online. The AJC can now have additional local coverage of civil courts, suburban development and other local issues.

The AJC’s example, or good-will, seems to be followed by others, as newspapers nationwide delve into real change.

“In order to really change the newsroom, you have to change the architecture of the newspaper," says Carole Leigh Hutton, Executive Editor of the San Jose Mercury News.

"Everyone here knows that the position they hold today may not be the position they hold in six months. I make no commitment that there will be a business editor or a sports editor or a city editor, because that may not be what we need."

Take a look at the original piece, which details the experiences of other newspapers.

Source: American Journalism Review