Biz weekly readership grows

The reach of the Triangle Business Journal has gone from 30,000 per month a decade ago to 236,000 now, said editor Sougata Mukherjee in a presentation at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on Monday.

“They are very dedicated followers,” said Mukherjee at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication. “We are not for everybody. That gives us an advantage. I don’t have to cater to 1 million people.”

The growth has come primarily from online readers and others the American City Business Journals publication reaches with its events. Its print subscription base is also continuing to increase, said Mukherjee.

Mukherjee also showed how the paper has changed its layout in the past year. The current Triangle Business Journal features a cover story on the front as well as a featured story on page 3. In addition, its reporters receive more branding inside the paper.

“We want to associate the reporters with local coverage,” said Mukherjee, who has a newsroom staff of 10 plus a small freelance budget.

The paper now employs a web-first strategy where breaking news is placed on its website. It might save exclusive stories for its print edition, which comes out on Friday, but only rarely.

When asked why he liked being a business journalist, Mukherjee replied, “I really like being nosy and asking people questions they don’t want to hear.”