RANDY FOSTER: The days are just packed

When you’re in my line of work, the only thing typical about a day is that there is nothing typical.

But some days are even less typical than others.

We had one such day last week.

Jen Swartz, the Sun Journal news editor who puts the finishing touches on the paper at the end of the day, starts her days at 1 p.m.

First thing she does is look at the list of stories we have available for publication.

On Thursday morning we didn’t have a whole lot on the list. By the time Jen came in, we had two blockbuster stories: Gov. Bev Perdue’s announcement that she was not running for reelection, and Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta’s announcement that he was recommending base realignment and closure hearings to start as early as 2013, two years earlier than we’d expected.

It amazes me how fast a front page can fill up on news days like that.

The Sun Journal focuses on local news but provides a sampling of non-local news as well. Rarely do non-local stories go on our front page.

But on Thursday’s front page, we had two stories with non-local datelines, Raleigh and Washington, D.C.

Governor Perdue’s story hits home because she lives here, she’s a neighbor; she does her own grocery shopping (at Harris Teeter, in case you were wondering).

The defense spending announcement hits home because of Cherry Point air station and Fleet Readiness Center East, the two largest employers in our county.

We’re doing a lot more coverage of non-local stories that have local implications thanks to social media and the internet, which give us much greater access to the world of information. 

The internet gives us (and you) access to the world of news coverage, which we comb for information that would be useful or interesting to our readers.

Social media gives us access to things people are talking about, from pop culture trends (did you know that Pinterest is the next big thing?) to breaking news (#GovPerdue won’t run in 2012, via Twitter).

We’ve established online listening posts in which we comb the world looking for information of local interest. Between that, our membership in Associated Press, and our own local staff of reporters, photographers and editors, we have at our disposal more material, and more ways to distribute that material, than the Sun Journal has ever had.

And our audience is growing because of it, not just on our website and our social media, but our print readers, as well. More people read Sun Journal-created or curated material now than ever before.

It’s an exciting, hectic time to be in the news business. As a result, my workday never really ends.

Mark, my 6-year-old, asked me Friday if I was working Saturday. Yes, I said. What about Sunday? Yes, too.

“You’re always working,” Mark said. “When do you not work?”

When the news stops, or when I do, whichever comes first.

Thanks for letting me take up some of your Sunday morning.

Randy Foster is managing editor of the Sun Journal. He can be reached at rfoster@freedomenc.com or 635-5663. Follow him on Twitter @NBSJEditor