The primary role of the journalist is to report on subjects that the audience didn't know they wanted to learn about. Daily circulation jumped to 164,300 at the end of last year from 153,600 in 1995. By comparison, the only other area daily, the Durham Herald Sun in Durham, N.C., had a circulation of 50,008 in the year ended last June, a decline from a year earlier. The paper provides participants with a sheet of newsroom terms so that they can more easily follow discussions. Story ideas are one big benefit of getting readers into the newsroom.
Guests often have interesting jobs and are involved in the community.
Mr. Gyllenhaal frequently pumps visitors for business information. In such an atmosphere, guests seem ready to talk. But programs like these do have some obvious drawbacks. Take Susan Moran, for instance. Her job as the Cary, N.C., public-information officer was created about 18 months ago to try to stem the negative publicity the town often gets as a snooty Raleigh suburb.