by Bailey White
Staff Writer
The city’s morning newspaper is moving into the 21st Century, says its editor, and you’ll see significant changes soon.
The Florida Times-Union’s Pat Yack said Friday that several portions of the newspaper will be redesigned soon and the addition of a newsroom television studio will put the paper’s reporters on the air.
“We’ll make changes in our business section and also in First Business on Monday,” Yack told about 70 at at Friday’s Downtown Council meeting. “We’ll redesign the weather section on page 2, too.
“The reader also will be happy that we’ve made the stock pages more readable. I never paid much attention to that until my vision started going, and now I appreciate it.”
The newsroom, which is in the shorter of the two T-U buildings (Yack called it the “small, squatty building”) at the foot of the Acosta Bridge, is being remodeled (Yack’s temporary office will become part of the photo department) and will include a TV studio when it’s finished in May.
“This will allow us to fully participate with First Coast News (Ch. 12/25,) which is our media partner,” said Yack. “We’ll trade stories and information.”
Yack was a T-U reporter over 20 years ago and his journalism career led him back to the newsroom’s top job in 1998. He’s the man responsible for the news content of the paper and he oversees a staff of over 100 editors and reporters.
His position makes him one of the community’s most influential people and he shared his views on various subjects:
On the upcoming mayoral race: “I’ve lived in cities where there isn’t one candidate up to the caliber of the candidates running. I’ve been in politics before (he once served as press secretary to Illinois Sen. Charles Percy) and, unfortunately, the campaign will tend to get ugly.”
On the issues: “We’re big enough to have more than one or two. We‘re not a big town; we’re a small city. I’m looking forward to serious debates about issues affecting our community. Everyone says the No. 1 issue is education. We also have to address the homeless situation and the fact that many of our people have inadequate health insurance.”
On the Super Bowl: “I think the Super Bowl is the greatest marketing opportunity the City has ever known. The question I’ve been asking is are we getting ready for a football game or are we getting ready for something else. We’ll have the world in our den.”
On former Mayor Jake Godbold: When Yak came to Jacksonville in 1979, “you could smell the town from Pensacola, the Greaseman (a ribald disk jockey) was at WAPE, and Jake Godbold was the mayor. It’s refreshing to come back to the city, which you can’t smell now, and where Jake still thinks he’s the mayor.”
On Jacksonville’s growth: “I’m seeing interesting paradoxes. It’s fun to watch at arm’s length.We tend to be Jax-centric in our coverage and we’re trying to figure out how to cover Jacksonville, which is the nucleus, and also cover the suburban communities. People are starting to live in their communities, instead of just residing there. That’s a good thing for the area. If you live in, says, Orange Park you tell people you’re from Jacksonville, because ‘Orange Park’ isn’t a point of reference. In 10 years, those same people will say they’re from Orange Park because it’s going to be known.”
On the Jaguars: “A football team is a lightning rod for cheerleaders and criticism, but I think it’s the best thing to happen to this city in 100 years and taking it away would be the worst thing for the city.”