Bakersfield Voice expands, Bakotopia evolves

Way back in September, I discussed The Bakersfield Californian’s evaluation of printed versions of its Bakersfield Voice and Bakotopia products, and our commitment to niche local websites and community journalism. At that time, deep in the recession, we were reviewing the performance of those products, something smart companies do in tough economic times.

We have since made changes to both products that increase advertising revenue and reduce costs in ways we hope will position them for success now and down the road. Bakersfield Voice will relaunch Sunday with a new print design and strategy, while we recently put the biweekly Bakotopia print magazine on hold after two years. We will continue to operate the websites for each brand and are working on other tools to increase their reach in our community.

Bakersfield Voice

The printed version of Bakersfield Voice has a new look that will debut Sunday and will be delivered weekly to 146,295 households in the Bakersfield area. The Voice will be delivered to non-subscribers of The Californian, and for the first time, on the east side of Bakersfield.

The Voice initially was created to serve the fast-growing northwest portion of Bakersfield (hence its initial name, Northwest Voice), but a year ago was merged with its sister publication Southwest Voice and renamed Bakersfield Voice to better reflect its readership.

While the different incarnations of the Voices had enjoyed good readership, we struggled to maintain initial advertising success and keep the hyperlocal ads that had not been a part of the daily Californian. We tried different pricing, packaging and distribution, but couldn’t find a formula for profitability.

The new Bakersfield Voice is printed on a 54-inch web and on thick stockBy dramatically increasing our circulation and using Bakersfield Voice as a “jacket” for preprint advertisements, we believe we’re better positioned than ever to ensure the Voice's success in increasing advertising, readership and engagement with our community.

The new distribution more than doubles Bakersfield Voice's previous circulation, and is nearly six times that of Northwest Voice at its peak. We’re hoping that increased print distribution will increase activity on BakersfieldVoice.com as a central location for hyperlocal user-submitted news throughout our market.

The look of the printed Voice is changing too. A 54-inch broadsheet has replaced the long-standing tab format, and we’ve placed a greater emphasis on long-term advertising contracts with local retailers (with a strong focus on coupons) and national preprint advertisers that we think will ensure profitability. News content remains 100% user submitted through BakersfieldVoice.com, but in order to control newsprint costs and gain profitability, we’re limiting content – at least initially -- to 25% of newshole. Stories in Sunday's edition include staples like pets, school activities and local arts.

The Voice will be a work in progress moving forward, but we’re excited about the prospects.

(Disclosure: My wife is a Voice contractor, coordinating content for publication).

Bakotopia

The second niche product undergoing changes is Bakotopia.com, an edgy alternative to The Californian that launched five years ago as a competitor to Craigslist, and which later evolved into a local social network centered around local arts and music. Bakotopia magazine's last issue before going into hibernation. The dress is comprised of issues of Bakotopia magazineTwo years ago, we spun off a biweekly print magazine titled Bakotopia featuring a mix of staff and user-submitted content from the website. The magazine (here's an e-edition sample) generated new revenue from mostly small advertisers -- with occasional full page ads from national companies -- and brought us readers who wouldn't touch The Californian. Despite those positives, we were unable to cover our costs.

The recession sapped our ability to absorb those losses, so in late December, we put the magazine version of Bakotopia on hold, with hopes of returning when the economy rebounds and we can rebuild the ad base.

Matt Munoz, the longtime face of Bakotopia in print and online, has since focused his time on feeding the website, coordinating sponsored events and launching a new weekly “Bakotopia Radio” show on local rock station KRAB. It’s proof that Bakotopia is evolving but full of more life than ever.

In the coming weeks and months, we’re planning to migrate Bakotopia.com onto a Drupal platform, launch a cool and long overdue website redesign and create a new digital version of the magazine using our home-grown Printcasting tools. We're also tossing around ideas on how to weave some Bakotopia content into The Californian.

Stay tuned.

Niche sites remain a core part of The Californian's future

If there ever was proof that a rumor can spread like wildfire these days, it came this afternoon when I read reports -- which were retweeted often -- that we were considering shutting down Bakotopia and BakersfieldVoice.

For those who don’t know, both sites are part of The Bakersfield Californian’s growing internet presence. Bakersfield.com is our flagship site, but we have about a dozen “minibrand” niche sites – with more to come – that complement our local presence. And unless something changes dramatically, we’re committed to maintaining and expanding that online presence in the coming months and years. We see digital products as a key element of our future.

The rumor in question got started from a Classified Intelligence report on our recent tabloid redesign and its focus on classifieds. (I'd link to the story at AIMGroup.com but C.I. is subscription-only PDF; here's my take on our recent classified changes) And here's PaidContent's interpretation of the Classified Intelligence story. 

The stories suggested the two sites were in danger of closure when in fact it’s the print versions of those two brands that are under review. Best I can tell, the reporters in both cases didn’t understand that the two sites have companion print editions. Both are “web-first, print-second” publications. Bakotopia is a free biweekly available in newsracks around town; Bakersfield Voice is delivered weekly to people in west Bakersfield who do not subscribe to The Californian.

What is true is that we’re evaluating the ROI of the print editions. In deep recessions, any smart business would evaluate whether it makes sense to continue funding money-losing products, no matter the reputation. That’s why the print versions of fabled publications like Portfolio, Sporting News, TV Guide, Newsweek and others have either been shuttered or scaled back this past year.

I'm a senior vice president and chief operating officer at The Californian, where among other things I oversee digital products. And, in overseeing our Interactive Media division over the past four years and where I had key involvement in our social-media strategy, I remain a firm believer in the value of social networking and user-generated content. BakersfieldVoice (launched as NorthwestVoice but renamed after being merged with SouthwestVoice this year) and Bakotopia were trendsetters in that area, and paved the way for the quality reader-submitted content you now see in the daily Californian. It's content that provides fresh voices and perspectives that supplement the professional journalism we're committed to delivering. 

Both Bakotopia.com and BakersfieldVoice.com remain at the core of a strategy we’re set to launch in the coming weeks and months that will truly – and finally -- leverage the collective power of our local network of community sites and social connections.

For the first time, we’ll be able to:

• Surface our content in fun and flexible ways through a new homegrown tool that allows us to create incredibly granular feeds on the fly, and drag and drop the feed widget onto a flexible site design. Voila, new page feature -- heck, a new page design -- in 5 minutes.
• Mash up related conversations or topics from throughout our network, which include niche focuses on hyperlocal, entertainment, self-publishing, lifestyle, parenting and coupons.
• Give advertisers a one-stop experience to reach customers across more than a dozen local sites, or target their advertising based on behavior, regardless of which site a reader is on.
• Expose all of our customers to the depth and variety of the content being created amidst us.

Yeah, I sound corny. So what. It's taken us a few years to get to this point, but we're close.

And that’s just the stuff right around the corner. The fall also will bring dramatic changes to bakersfield.com, the launch of several new sites and what I think are some exciting opportunities for advertisers to make big splashes in online advertising.

Stay tuned, and please continue to use and support Bakotopia and Bakersfield Voice. They remain lively destinations, and a core of the community mission we've shared with you for more than 100 years.