Why Your Editorial Calendar Is Failing You (And What to Do Instead)
From filling space to creating value: lessons from newspapers that every content creator needs to know
Not to sound older than I am, but once upon a time, the editorial calendar drove everything in newspaper newsrooms. This was back when local news organizations built their coverage around an endless cycle of meetings—City Council, Board of Education, Planning Board, Zoning. The rhythm was predictable: write a preview story before the meeting, attend the meeting, then write the follow-up by essentially taking your preview and slapping a new lead on top. Rinse and repeat.
It was dependable work that filled pages and satisfied a basic definition of community journalism. But let's be honest—it rarely made for compelling reading.
Young reporters understood this was the dues they had to pay before getting to do the stories that actually mattered to them. There was always tension between the coverage editors needed and the journalism reporters wanted to create.
The problem wasn't just editorial planning—it was our entire understanding of what readers actually wanted.
For a while, the industry overcorrected. Meeting coverage became seen as "beneath us." We convinced ourselves that readers didn't want accountability journalism about local government. (Spoiler alert: they did, but they wanted it told better.)
When "Fill the Space" Stops Working
Many businesses face this same challenge. McDonald's changes their UK menu every six weeks. Dunkin' goes seasonal. Both approaches are research-driven attempts to keep products from going stale and customers from drifting away.
The difference in newsrooms was stark. I rarely saw reporters get excited about covering another Planning Board meeting. But tell them they had three weeks to explore reverse migration patterns, or they could travel to the Dominican Republic to document how New Jersey donations were helping hurricane survivors? Sometimes those same reporters would literally tear up with excitement.
So how does a legacy organization pivot when practices are deeply entrenched?
It's like turning a ship—slow, requiring clear communication, and impossible to do overnight. I remember one newsroom that tried implementing Kaizen, the Japanese approach of continuous improvement through small changes. We spent months learning systems and processes but never addressed the fundamental issue: we were optimizing for the wrong outcome.
We were still focused on filling space instead of creating value.
The Shift That Changes Everything
Here's what the newspaper industry eventually figured out, and what every content creator needs to understand: the focus must shift from filling space to creating value.
This realization transformed how I approach planning for any organization. Whether you're running a newsroom, nonprofit, or mission-driven team, start with these three questions:
Who is this for?
Why would they care today?
What change are we hoping to make—for them, or for the community?
Consider a religious organization facing declining membership. Is the solution to throw content at the wall until something sticks? Or should leaders examine the value they're creating, who they're actually serving, and whether their choices reflect community needs or just leadership preferences?
Research helps answer these questions, but even organizations without research budgets can apply this framework.
My Editorial Planning Framework (That Actually Works)
Today, my editorial planning is less about calendar slots and more about intent and alignment. Whether I'm working with a newsroom, nonprofit, or mission-driven team, I start with four pillars:
Audience First: Who is this really for? Not just who will see it—but who will feel it? This goes beyond demographics to understanding emotional resonance and genuine need.
Mission Alignment: Does this content reinforce what we say we're here to do? Every piece should connect back to your organization's core purpose, not just fill a content gap.
Editorial Diversity: Are we balancing utility, emotion, originality, and urgency? Great content calendars mix practical value with stories that move people, fresh perspectives with timely relevance.
Team Energy: Is the team excited about this work? Is it sustainable? Burnout kills quality faster than any other factor. If your team isn't energized by the content they're creating, your audience won't be either.
It's not a calendar—it's a compass.
You can see this framework in action at sites like LehighValleyNews.com, where audience-first thinking, mission alignment, editorial diversity, and team energy drive everything from breaking news to investigative series.
The Real Goal
The goal isn't just to publish consistently. It's to create value consistently. Your editorial plan can't just fill space—it has to mean something.
This means sometimes saying no to content that would be easy to produce but doesn't serve your mission. It means investing time upfront in planning that feels harder than just filling calendar slots. But it also means creating work that actually moves people, changes minds, and builds the kind of audience that sticks around.
I'd love to hear from you: How do you approach planning in your organization—whether it's content, programming, or something else entirely? What's worked? What's still a work in progress?
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