(2 of 5 in “From good to great” series)

Models that help the newsroom take ownership of its Web site are already emerging. And they can be adapted to benefit the television partner, as well.

With interests in the Web so wide ranging, it’s the job of newspaper leaders to focus the newsroom’s energy into areas that matter and can be sustained. To do this, Knight-Ridder and washingtonpost.com use cascading goals. Among each editor’s goals are increasing page views, promoting the Web site in the newspaper, and more convergence.

For example, the business editor might be charged with posting two items to the breaking news blog each day, providing reporters to be interviewed on television five days a week, teasing the Web site in 10 new ways each week, and increasing page views 10 percent year-over-year.

Imagine the effect of requiring an editor to increase page views in their section online. His turf is suddenly larger. On a daily basis, the editor will assign reporters with a mindset that the newspaper company must own the story in print and online. In all likelihood, more editors will follow the example of Herald-Tribune features editors Rod Harmon and Joel Welin: In addition to regular newspaper coverage of the Sarasota Film Festival, they assigned two reporters to writing a live blog, two reporters to SNN Channel 6 coverage, and two page designers to developing video podcasts. With revised goals, this sort of converged resource allocation can happen every day at your newspaper on a smaller scale.

Learning from such small-scale projects is vital if newspapers are going to compete as multimedia powerhouses on the big stories. Small projects help the newsroom learn ways to overcome obstacles that come with new mediums like video podcasting or live television broadcasting.

One of the many reasons for the success of Knight-Ridder and the Washington Post is that cascading goals are tied to the performance review system.

Here at the Herald-Tribune, reporters are told that annual raises are tied to their level of involvement in convergence. The same policy exists at the Washington Post. And to prove it, one of the Web’s top editors is asked to rate each employee’s involvement. The rating is considered when deciding raises.

Bottomline is your newspaper must use goals and performance management to be explicit about its commitment to convergence.

Tomorrow's entry: Set up for success