COME JUNE 1, I will have spent 30 years as a newspaper consultant. That's a long time. I'll be retiring at the end of this year ... perhaps sooner.

It's time for me to turn my attention more toward Julia and my family ... and the pursuits that bring me joy.

Over for the next few months, I'm offering some of my best columns from the past few years.

Here's one that focuses on designers.

Read what one student learned from a failed newsletter at a newspaper he interned at this semester. “I may have learned far more about audience engagement through the struggles than I would have if the newsletter succeeded,” he said. “I was forced to be creative, to do whatever I had to lure and keep the audience engaged and coming back for more. In some ways, we did just that, even though we ran out of time.”

Six publications owned by Brehm Communications have deployed Presteligence's My News 360 platform for their editorial front-end system, website, e-edition and mobile apps.

Getting rid of the bad stuff isn't easy. Going through 1,000 or 10,000 "outtakes" of photos requires people and time. Can we create a system that automatically disposes of lower quality images while keeping enough so that an editor has flexibility in future publishing?

Artificial intelligence and machine learning are already transforming news operations in ways unimaginable even several months ago, much of it transformative and positive. Among the changes AI is helping implement: Customized content, improved reader/viewer/listener/user relationships, moderating and policing comment sections, and creating more efficient workflows.

So ... how does design affect readability? And how does writing affect design?

Take a look at the two stories in the illustration with this column. Which do you think will be read by more readers?

Well, the one on the right, of course!

The short paragraphs make that story more appealing because readers understand a simple truth about writing: Shorter is better.

The Associated Press is expanding its robust efforts to debunk false and misleading information, including in video and Spanish-language content appearing on Facebook.

With a focus on Spanish-language text, photos and video seen by a U.S. audience, AP will debunk misinformation and publish corresponding fact checks in Spanish. AP is the first fact-checker in Facebook's program to focus on content consumed by Spanish speakers in the U.S.

Presteligence has announced that Findlay Publishing Company (Ohio) will implement My News 360 Platform for its editorial system, website, e-edition and mobile apps.

Findlay Courier, Review Times and three radio stations will share a database allowing content to be written one time and easily distributed among the sister sites. As a fully-hosted service, staff can write and post content from their desktop or mobile device, including news stories, photos, videos and audio files. Each reporter can have their own queue to save working drafts and ideas.

Fundamentally, news consumers trust journalism that they find to be balanced, in-depth, honest and reputable.

Those qualities appeared over and over in an analysis of 81 in-depth interviews our newsroom partners conducted with members of their communities. And when asked directly about what defines quality journalism, they were at the top of the list.

Here's an idea to steal and adapt: The Virginian-Pilot used data to find a new beat topic to reach new audiences. Now, the beat is consistently one of the highest-performing in the newsroom.