The Palm Beach Post in the US will be reorganizing its newsroom and in an effort to build web traffic. The main change involves the creation of an Internet-oriented “Breaking News Department,” which comes to replace the Metro desk.

The Post’s newsroom change are very similar to that of the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

In a memo to staff, editor Bill Rose explains why it’s time to change from a print-centric structure “that was designed to serve a print newspaper. We’ve sort of grafted the Internet onto that and it’s worked, but not nearly well enough.”

The Metro department will be reshaped into a Breaking News Department. Reporters and editors in the former metro section no longer have to file to print in priority, but instead think of how to improve Web coverage.

“Henceforth, their first priority will be to file all breaking news to the Web as soon as possible,” said Rose in the memo.

The editor of the breaking news department will also assign a print editor to supervise production of the Local section and print stories.

“Under this system, most Metro editors and reporters will be working much earlier shifts, while several other editors and reporters will work even later shifts to handle print stories.”

A new Enterprise Department will be created to focus on print stories – while ensuring cooperation with the online edition. The enterprise team will produce investigative, enterprise and trend stories, as well as features and other longer pieces. Five reporters will initially work for the desk, which will produce several stories a week.

The Digital Department will continue to hire more recruits, both internally and externally. Business and Sports, and Features, will create Web pods within their departments, to create videos and other multimedia content. The news desk and photo desk won’t change their structure at this point.

The goal is eventually to produce a 24/7 newspaper for all formats.

For more info, read the full memo by clicking below.

Source: The Daily Pulp