Hutchinson's Bass among E&P's 25 under 35

Posted April 1, 2015

Sara Bass, operations manager and audience director for The Hutchinson News is among Editor & Publisher's list of 25 Under 35.

This year's list of 35 up-and-coming young leaders features a senior systems architect, a video producer, a consumer experience director, and a digital marketing specialist, showing us how workplace positions have evolved over the years in the newspaper industry.

E&P notes: "Climbing the ranks now requires a multitude of skills not seen in previous generations, and these talented men and women are certainly equipped with them."

Here's the rundown on Bass:

Sara J. Bass, 33
Circulation operations manager and audience director
The Hutchinson News, Hutchinson, Kan.
Education: (currently attending) Fort Hays State University, bachelor in business administration, management; Hutchinson Community College, associate of science, registered nurse

Sara Bass has been circulation operations manager for The Hutchinson News for about two years. Even though she got her start at the News, she spent much of her newspaper career with the Wichita Eagle circulation department. At the News, Bass has restructured bundle-hauls and motor routes, and identified efficiencies to generate substantial expense savings.

According to publisher and editor John Montgomery, Bass has improved service so that it consistently is close to the paper’s benchmark of one complaint per thousand circulation, and although her title is operations and much of the sales is handled by a corporate team, she has proven to be a skilled marketer, sharpening promotional activities, growing digital circulation, and developing email marketing as a new sales channel.
 
What advice do you have for other young professionals in the newspaper industry?

Stay positive, energetic, learn as much as you possibly can and have fun. If you work in circulation, take a close look at your hauling expenses. You could be sitting on a goldmine (I was able to find a small fortune in savings). Ditch the medieval management style and lead by example, be a coach. For real change to happen you must be able to diagnose problems down to the most microscopic detail and be willing to gain the perspective from every faction involved. Put yourself in their shoes and then take a look down from the balcony. Ask yourself if what you are doing would motivate you to make a change, then adjust your actions accordingly. One person cannot change everything, but a team can make real progress.

You’re also a registered nurse. How would you breathe new life into newspaper circulation departments?

The first step to performing CPR is assessment. You have to gather data, both objective and subjective, so you can determine the baseline; the numbers are very important, but don’t discount your gut feeling. Circulation both from a medical standpoint and a newspaper standpoint are very similar. Both require a certain amount of maintenance and preventative measures to stop a small scratch from becoming a real bleeder. There will always be those days when you walk into a level 1 trauma, but don’t lose perspective. In many cases, using a solid plan with the right team, you can slow or even stop the bleed. And just how advances in healthcare have changed the landscape of the medical field, technology has changed the way that we look at a traditional circulation department. It’s really about building total audience by protecting print, embracing digital and working toward marrying the two together to maintain “homeostasis.”
 

See the other members of the class at: http://www.editorandpublisher.com/TopStories/Features/E-P-s-25-Under-35-...