Between February 1, 2007 and April 30, 2007, Jessica E. Vascellaro racked up more “byline points” based upon a proprietary NewsBiosweighting system to separate ordinary bylines from high-visibility bylines than all but 17 of her colleagues – quite an impressive achievement for a journalist who only turned 24 years old in May 2007. Indeed, on a weighted basis, Ms. Vascellaro ranked in the 92nd percentile of all Journal reporters, regardless of their age or experience.
One strength that Ms. Vascellaro has is that she writes many solo-bylined articles and they frequently appear on the cover page of either the “Marketplace” of the “Personal Journal” sections. While no editor at the paper would currently classify Ms. Vascellaro as a heavyweight – because the nature of the articles she writes do not require in-depth, probing reporting – there can be no doubt whatsoever that she is a rising star.
Between October 1, 2006 and April 30, 2007, only one of Ms. Vascellaro’s articles appeared on the front page of the paper. However, during that same 7-month period, 11 articles appeared on the cover of the “Personal Journal” section and 6 were placed on the front section of “Marketplace.”
Although not all bylines are created equal – with some articles requiring substantially more research and effort than others – over time byline counts can be a strong indicator of a reporter’s relative influence within his/her own news organization. Editors at the Journal keep track of similar byline statistics, which are one measurement used in job performance reviews as well as to help determine beat assignments and promotions.
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