NNBW Editor Column: What a quick, strange trip it's been

It's hard to believe it's been more than 3 months since we made the switch back to a weekly format with the re-launch of the Northern Nevada Business Weekly on Wednesday, Feb. 5.

February. It seems like eons ago, doesn't it? The saying goes that time flies when you're having fun. Well in these times, it's more like “time flies when you're stuck in the middle of a once-in-a-century pandemic that's shut down the economy to unprecedented levels and has forever questioned the very nature by which our society will be judged by future generations.”

Fun, it's not. But, I digress.

As is the case with any business, three months is a great benchmark to measure successes, identify challenges and opportunities, reevaluate operations, and, if necessary, institute changes for the better.

When it comes to the business of reporting news and telling stories, I've always found that the easiest way to get started is to ask our subscribers and advertising partners for feedback and constructive criticism.

What are we doing right? More importantly, what are we doing wrong? What sorts of stories and news are we not covering enough? Are you tired of any of our recurring Voices columnists? What about our website and social media channels — what sort of content do you feel we should share differently digitally versus in print?

We would very much appreciate any feedback as we continually look to improve our offerings.

Feel free to contact me any time by phone (775-850-2145) or email (kmacmillan@nevadanewsgroup.com) with tips, ideas, critiques and more — same goes for our reporter, Kaleb M. Roedel; email him at kroedel@nevadanewsgroup.com or reach him by phone at 775-850-2147.

You can also message us through our Facebook, Twitter or Instagram pages, or hit us up via LinkedIn. We do our best to monitor all our channels of communication as frequently as possible, and we endeavor to respond as quickly and succinctly as we can. The lines and DMs are always open.

Top 15 stories of the last three months

Much like quarterly finance reports serve as an appropriate benchmark to evaluate success on the business side of the operation, I always like to take a look back every 12 weeks or so at the top-performing stories on our website and report those out to our readers so everyone has an idea of what type of content people are consuming most.

When reevaluating the analytics for the last three months for our website, it should come as little surprise that “all things COVID” dominate the list of our most popular stories.

Below is the Top 15 list, ranked in order from most page views, from Feb. 5 through May 5, including the date each story was published at www.nnbw.com:

1. With rents starting at $550, Reno developer unveils downtown co-housing project (first published Feb. 6)

2. Nevada's ‘piecemeal' approach to evictions during pandemic worries tenants, landlords (first published March 29)

3. Nevada outlines restrictions for mining, construction, manufacturing businesses (first published March 19)

4. COVID-19: Sisolak's order addresses eviction fears; tenants still vulnerable to predatory landlords (first published April 7)

5. Reno, Sparks, Washoe Co. field over 350 complaints of businesses staying open (first published April 8)

6. Sisolak: Nevada will transition to limited business reopening over next 2 weeks (first published May 4)

7. PHOTO STORY: A Saturday stroll through downtown Reno amid COVID closures (first published March 23)

8. City of Reno: Businesses that don't close could face fines, suspensions (first published March 18)

9. Nevada Gaming Control outlines rules for casinos to reopen (first published April 23)

10. Coronavirus raises questions about food security, supply chain in Nevada (first published March 13)

11. COVID-19: Reno mayor says bars, gyms, restaurants must close; Washoe County, Sparks don't have same mandate (first published March 16)

12. Community Foundation announces COVID-19 Relief Fund (first published March 20)

13. Sisolak issues ‘Stay at Home' order; business closures extended to April 30 (first published April 1)

14. COVID-19 business closures: Becoming unemployed in just hours (first published March 21)

15. Northern NV consumers urged to shop responsibly at local grocery stores (first published March 23)

Again, and not surprisingly, content related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and its stranglehold on businesses of all shapes and sizes across Northern Nevada has easily been our most-engaging.

I suspect when I revisit the analytics in August to report page views from May-July, there will be a similar theme.

Hopefully, as businesses slowly reopen and we start thinking about returning to some semblance of normal, we can also avoid another spike in cases later this year. And if that's the case, then hopefully, future Top 15 lists won't be anchored by this damn pandemic.

In the meantime, as noted above, we'd love to hear your feedback on where the NNBW has been, where it sits currently and where you'd like to see it go as we get ready for the 2020 summer season.

Kevin MacMillan is editor of the Northern Nevada Business Weekly. Reach him for comment at kmacmillan@nevadanewsgroup.com.