The Reno Gazette-Journal’s Web site, RGJ.com, recently made the Top 10 list of sites that have the greatest audience reach in the country. That’s a pretty big achievement for a site.

Beryl Love, the editor, and James Ku, the director of online operations, spoke to us about how they pulled it off.

It’s all about defining audience targets and setting goals for bringing users to your site. At the Reno Gazette-Journal, they target men and women 35 to 49, and adults 50-plus.

Beryl said think about who you are trying to reach and what jobs they need you to do for them. That’s the key. “If you can find something that the time-challenged can use, maybe others can find value in it, too."

It’s all very 'Newspaper Next' thinking, but it must work. We must become as necessary to our readers and online users as the electric company is to them - a true information utility. Beryl said they are always looking for new ways to understand the needs of their readers: "Papers are changing from a mass medium to a targeted one," Beryl said.

We spent a couple of hours taking to Beryl and sat in on the first news meeting of the day. In the 9:30 a.m. meeting the editors discussed story options for the next day, set on a Plan B for A1 if the planned centerpiece didn't work out, and did a quick once-over of the day's paper.

Then James talked a little about what stories were cookin’ online and what the plan was for changing the story lineup on the Web site as the day progressed. The homepage at RGJ.com is always changing based on the traffic stories are generating.

James took us on a tour of the building and outlined how their Web operation works. They have three full-time programmers and three full-time newsroom staff dedicated to getting content online as it is available.

James said their traffic peaks in a similar way to ours at joplinglobe.com — 9 a.m., noon and again around 4 p.m. They are always looking for ways to expand the number hours their users are active news and information consumers.

James believes people want to be told what’s important and what to read first. Readers, he said, want to be told, “Go here first.”

Photos are the best way to guide readers' eyes to the big news of the day. When covering breaking news, James said to always get a photo up ASAP. Even, he said, if it’s a cell-phone shot used as a place holder until a better shot is available.

Readers want to “see the news,” he said.

Another important point: Don’t make promises to readers that you can’t keep. If you say “Come back later for more info,” you'd better give them more info later. Don’t burn the reader. They may not ever come back.

Paying attention to the traffic stories create is important. Using Google tracking programs to monitor page views allows you to better understand what grabs your readers' attention. What's the story THEY care about? The dominant story position on a homepage, James suggests, should be reserved for the story that’s generating the most traffic.

I’ll be spending some time at RGJ.com in the coming weeks and plan to pick James' brain clean. He’s a smart guy.