The Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J., the state's largest daily paper that recently offered its second buyout in two years, is also asking staffers for marketing ideas, to the point of dubbing one columnist “marketing pest.”

Columnist Kathleen O'Brien on Friday sent out this e-mail seeking help:

As you may have heard, a new duty has been added to my job description: “marketing pest.” I'm to pester everyone to come up with ways we can signal our continued journalistic vitality and importance, then keep pestering to make sure we pull the trigger on those ideas. I'd love to hear your thoughts on what we should be saying and how we should say it. Big ideas, little ideas, bring 'em on. I'd especially love to hear from our newer employees, who may have different insights as to how the paper is viewed. Email me, leave a note in my mailbox, grab me in the elevator, etc. And if you'd like to be part of a small committee to review these ideas, please let me know. If I get too many volunteers, I'll make sure to include people who represent different niches of the newsroom.