See what fellow editors have in mind for this new year.

By William Dunkerley

We asked a sampling of editors what their goals and aspirations are for 2019. Here's what they said:

--Deborah Lockridge, editor-in-chief, Heavy Duty Trucking and Truckinginfo.com: "I would say the top priority for my publication is to become more organized and productive in creating digital content. We're in the process of creating an editorial calendar, both with topics for the sales team to use as well as a way to plan better internally week to week and month to month.

"Professionally? Doing a better job of being a manager. It's too easy to get caught up in the day-to-day of answering emails, producing content, and putting out fires, and neglect the strategic and supervisory parts of my job."

--Rebecca Stauffer, managing editor, pda.org: "For my publication my top priority is to continue striving to produce a more data-driven publication."

--Dave Zoia, editorial director, WardsAuto: "Professionally: We are moving toward becoming more of an intelligence company, and my role is changing from strictly journalist to something more typical of an analyst. So my goal is to continue evolving along that career track, and to continue to add to my depth of understanding of the industry/technology we cover so that I can better serve our audience.

"Publication: Continue the shift to more value-added, analytical, in-depth content that provides information vital to our audience/subscribers."

--Mary Ruth Johnsen, publisher, Welding Journal, Inspection Trends, and Welding Journal en Español: "So far as my top priority professionally, 2019 is the 100th anniversary of the organization I work for. Therefore, I want us to do this milestone justice. I want to provide meaningful coverage throughout the year that reflects upon our organization's past, but also how it is relevant to its industry and readership now and will continue to be in the future.

"Top priority for my publication: to develop complementary digital content. We have only limited digital offerings at this time, but plans are being made to add a lot more. I want it to be editorially sound and in keeping with what we offer in the print publication. It needs to be content driven and not ad driven."

--Linda Longo, editorial director, Bravo Business Media: "Top priority for me professionally (as editor-in-chief) is to do a better job of scheduling and more effectively managing deadlines. Top priority for the publication is to stay on top of breaking news faster. "

--Anne Marie Mohan, senior editor, Packaging World magazine: "Our trade magazine is a bit different. We started out as a privately owned magazine focused on packaging, and then our company grew to include several more publications that tangentially deal with packaging. Three years ago, we were acquired by a major trade association. One of our pubs is now their official publication. However, more and more of the content of our flagship magazine is now being tailored to align with the programs and reports the association offers.

"Now my top priority is to find a better work/life balance, where I work less and have more of a life! The top priority for the publication is to find opportunities to align our parent association's information with the high-quality editorial on which we built our success."

--Michael Welch, senior editor, Home Power magazine: "Priority for 2019 professionally? Find a job. Probably not in the publishing industry. We published our final issue in November. As far as I know, the only plan is to make the back issues available for download in perpetuity."

--Jeff Blumenfeld, editor, Expedition News: "Top priority for me is how to do a better job monetizing Expedition News."

--Editor, name withheld by request: "Top priority professionally? Just to 'hang in there.' Our magazine is published by a professional association, and the decision has been made -- 3-4 levels above me -- to make the magazine a lot more of a promoter of the association. This isn't an overnight change; it's been occurring in some form for 3-4 years. But now we're running more promotional articles that are of questionable value to our members. I know the magazine is an association function, and that it supports the association. I'm just concerned that the balance has tipped so that the value to our members is substantially diminished. So I'll still try my best to put out a magazine that serves the needs of the members and of the association. But it'll be more difficult to do. But I'll try to keep it as useful as possible for our readers/members while meeting the association's goal of using the magazine primarily for 'branding' the association."

--David Shadovitz, editor, HRE: "Top priority professionally? It's to develop my knowledge and expertise as we continue to build out our digital capabilities. I want to ensure that we, as an editorial team, are delivering meaningful content to our audience and presenting it in a way that will gain their attention."

--Dwight Silverman, technology editor, Houston Chronicle Media Group: "Top professional priority? Return to writing, rather than producing/editing. For the publication it's to grow our digital subscribers."

--Dan Goldfischer, editor-in-chief, PM Network magazine and PMI Today: "Priorities for 2019 for me personally and for my publication are pretty much the same: Convert the content of our association newsletter from a printed and digital newsletter coming out once a month ages behind what is covered in the content to a Web microsite that can be dynamically updated. That will give the stakeholders (our members) the news when they want it and need it."

--Dave Zweifel: "I'm no longer the editor of The Capital Times, although I'm still involved as editor emeritus and as an opinion columnist. My top priority professionally is to continue, through my writing, to persuade readers to see issues in a better light. And for publication it is for it to continue to be a necessary place to keep up with what's not only the news, but what's behind it."

--C.G. Masi, cgmasi.com: "I'm spending a lot of time developing/expanding the audience for my weekly blog. Personally, I've just accepted a part-time position teaching two sections of General Physics Laboratory at Florida Gulf Coast University, so I'm spending the next couple of weeks getting integrated into their IT system and preparing for next semester, which starts in January.

"Top priority for my blog is to expand the audience. Some time ago, I determined the best day to post is Wednesday (based on weekly visitor numbers). The target readers are engineers and engineering managers of all ages and disciplines who are interested in a broad range of topics, typically outside their immediate disciplines. I use social media to reach out to potential new readers (and engage with repeat visitors) by reacting to their posts on Linkedin and Facebook. I devote a couple of hours every morning to this activity and watch daily visitorship on the blog."

--Editor, name withheld by request: "Workload has made meeting deadlines more and more difficult, so my priority for 2019 is to get better organized and better at time management.

"For the magazine the goal for 2019 is to maintain quality -- in light of said workloads -- and to add new columns/features and access technologies to appeal to a changing reader demographic. (Our readership is getting younger.)"

--Ashley Cheney, manager, exam publications, National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying: "Keeping up with technology and the way it is changing the role of editors is my top priority. For the publication it's ensuring the accuracy of the technical content from committees of subject-matter experts."

--Tricia Bisoux, co-editor, BizEd magazine: "Because we have a small writing staff, we rely heavily on submitted content for our publication. It can be difficult to allot time to write in-house features that explore single topics in depth. In the coming year, in addition to my editing responsibilities, I would like to write at least one in-depth piece on a topic of importance to the business education industry.

"For our publication it's print-digital integration. Currently, we have content that we publish in print before it goes online, as well as some content that we publish in online-only formats. In many ways, the two formats exist in separate spaces. In the coming year, we would like to create a more robust digital strategy in which BizEd's online content is posted more frequently and its online and print content are integrated more seamlessly. We want readers to view both channels as equal parts of a single publication strategy."

--Trey Barrineau, managing editor, publications, NAIOP: "I want to continue to develop my editing and writing skills, and to learn as much as possible about the industry I'm covering (commercial real estate). I want to continue to bring our readers the best, most relevant content."

--Bob Zaltsberg, editor, The Herald-Times: "I want to help our journalists do the best, most comprehensive, most meaningful work they can in covering our community. For the publication it's to tell meaningful stories on digital platforms and in print that are worthy of (and receive) support from the community."

--Brad Worrell, editor-in-chief, RV Pro magazine: "My top priority professionally is for more advance planning on my monthly B2B publication. My top priority for my publication itself is to run more big enterprise stories."

William Dunkerley is principal of William Dunkerley Publishing Consultants, www.publishinghelp.com.

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