RJ’s Cherisse Johnson on Editor & Publisher’s prestigious list

As a result, Johnson was named to Editor &Publisher’s prestigious “25 under 35” list of rising stars in the industry.

Customer service and subscriber retention have always been a challenging area of newspaper operations, and it has only become tougher in recent years as print readers have transitioned to digital platforms. Turnover in these positions can be high.

But under Johnson’s leadership, that has not been the case at the Review-Journal.

“Rarely does anyone leave Cherisse’s team,” said Chris Blaser, Review-Journal vice president for audience and circulation. “She creates a positive, fun, results-driven environment where staff learn, grow and are empowered to work independently. She is innovative and creative as a problem solver. And most importantly, she is customer-centric and mentors her team in a way that constructively addresses subscribers’ concerns while exceeding retention and budget goals.”

Johnson, 35, the customer service and retention manager, has delivered strong results during a turbulent period for the industry. Subscription cancellations at the Review-Journal are down 9 percent, and customer retention is up 14 percent.

Johnson, who was born in Oceanside, California, grew up reading newspapers.

“I’ve alwas been that current-event type of nerd,” Johnson said. “I love reading a physical newspaper, so I definitely identify with our subscribers when they say, ‘I just want to have it in my hands.’ I’ve always been into newspapers, that’s for sure.”

She has been at the Review-Journal for six years. Her supervisor at the the Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California, took a job at the RJ and brought Johnson along.

Johnson began as retention supervisor and was promoted to retention manager before moving into her current position.

Under her leadership, wait times at the customer call center and costs were reduced. She oversaw the company’s transition to a new circulation system as well as the addition of an online portal for customers to manage subscriptions on their own. Johnson also created programs aimed at digital readers and was instrumental in developing price rates for those who have newspapers delivered.

The coronavirus pandemic has created a surge in online readership, with digital subscription growth doubling in recent weeks.

Print subscriptions have held steady even though many readers have lost their jobs because of the economic shutdown. Johnson said readers have called about concerns over not having a steady paycheck, but the value of the newspaper during this epidemic has resonated and retained readers, she said.

“We are the newspaper, and we provide wonderful content,” Johnson said. “If you’ve never been informed before, now is the time to be informed. So I believe that people understand that. I believe that our subscribers love us for it.”

Contact reporter Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com. Follow @markanderson65 on Twitter.