Anticipate readers needs. Educate readers on issues relevant to their lives. Engender reader trust. Be highly enjoyable to read. In the masthead, Metro Diary lists senior Metro editors, their phone numbers and news bureau phone numbers for readers to call in news tips.
Columnists occupy both sides of the page most days.
Short profiles and news roundups from around the region also run on side columns. The centerpiece of Metro Diary is Close-Up Today. It is a short news feature, typically eight to 10 column inches with a photograph and a graphic box telling readers the information they need to know to act on what they ve just read. Each centerpiece is anchored to a daily theme that is universally relevant no matter where you live in the seven county-region. Monday, for example, focuses on criminal justice issues and is called Keeping Safe.