Wells Fargo editors’ newsroom model wins Ragan laurels

Best Employee Magazine follows mainstream media protocol on story selection, packaging.

Best Employee Magazine follows mainstream media protocol on story selection, packaging

The editorial employees behind Wells Fargo’s Connections newsletter treat their office like a newsroom.

Produced by a four-person team (two with newspaper experience), Connections recently was awarded Ragan’s grand prize for Best Employee Magazine. With deadlines, news meetings, and plenty of coffee, the staffers produce a monthly publication filled with tight storytelling and relevant information for employees.

Mike Bares, editor, explains how the newsroom atmosphere works: “Sources pitch stories, and we make decisions on which ones to cover,” he says. “We have story-planning sessions and spend a lot of time interviewing sources. It’s intense, as breaking news crosses our desks, but interspersed with periods of calm.”

Traditional journalism skills are essential to the magazine’s success, Bares says. He works closely with Kathy Nelson, managing editor; Jessi Risch, designer; and Cynthia Liu, web/contributor.

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