Arkansas Publisher Weekly: March 2, 2023

Argus’s Glenda Arnett named Brinkley Citizen of the Year

7 Guest Column:

The power of enthusiasm

By

Doug Phares

Sunshine Week shines a light on government

Annual Freedom of Information event to be celebrated March 12-18

By Wesley Brown

Sunshine Week, which shines a light on local, state and national government, runs March 12-18 this year. But, the annual initiative comes as many Arkansas reporters and news organizations are dealing with open government dilemmas.

Sunshine Week was launched in 2005 by the American Society of News Editors — now News Leaders Association — and has grown into an enduring initiative to promote open government.

As national co-sponsors of Sunshine Week, the News Leaders Association and the Society of Professional Journalists provide information about freedom of information, free materials for participants and a calendar of events already planned around the nation.

In Arkansas, the board of the Arkansas Pro Chapter of the SPJ recently sent a letter to the Conway School Board concerning the school district’s efforts to block citizens and journalists from attending and observing their deliberations.

The letter urges Conway School Board President Andre Acklin and Superintendent Jeff Collum to move school board meetings to a larger venue when the number of attendees exceeds the capacity of a regular meeting room. SPJ Vice President Sonny Albarado wrote the two-page letter, which was signed by the organization’s board members.

“We believe that preventing journalists or any citizen from observing a public body’s deliberations in person violates the spirit, if not the intent, of Arkansas’s Freedom of Information Act,” wrote Albarado, editor-in-chief at Arkansas Advocate and a longtime SPJ national board member.

In response to Albarado’s letter, Collum reassured the Arkansas SPJ that the Faulkner County school district would comply with the FOIA and ensure that media had access to board meetings. The Conway School Board has garnered state and national attention due to its recent controversial policies involving Black History Month and efforts to draft new rules on bathroom use and overnight stays based on a student’s assigned gender.

We have a responsibilit y to you, our readers. It is our job to question authorit y, that mat ter most We are watchdogs who advocate for accountabilit y and transparenc y

As we obser ve Sunshine Week, we celebrate why freedom of information through an open government is a bedrock of democrac y Information belongs public from this constitutional right. You deser ve no less. March 12-18, 2023

Sunshine Week shines a light on government

Annual Freedom of Information event to be celebrated March 12-18

Continued from Page 1

Albarado said thanks to computers and the internet, the public has more and easier access to government information than ever before.

“Nevertheless, governments at all levels continue to try to prevent the public from knowing what they do. For example, some officials insist the public has no right to know the details of violent incidents in juvenile lockups or to learn how and why some people died,” he said. “Many government agencies censor what the public can know by limiting or forbidding government employees from speaking to the press.

“Sunshine Week is an important reminder that citizens cannot remain free if they cannot shine a light on the dark corners of government activity.”

John Tull, a FOIA expert and APA’s attorneys, also stated that Sunshine Week reminds citizens, reporters, local and county officials,and lawmakers of how important open government and transparency is to democracy. Tull also recently spoke out against the Conway School Board’s actions, including its email retention and public meeting policies.

“Citizens of the United States are blessed to live in a democracy where citizens have the right to know how their tax dollars are being spent and what actions are being taken by their government. Access to

information is one of the keys to democracy as evidenced by autocrats seizing control over the free press once they rise to power,” said Tull, a managing member with Quattlebaum, Grooms & Tull PLLC. “Without transparency a government can control its citizens through misinformation and denials.”

Robert Steinbuch, a law professor at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s Bowen School of Law, said the state’s FOIA is the best check for the public on government misbehavior in Arkansas.

“It allows any citizen—and their representatives in the press—to request copies of public records, which includes access to databases, as well as to attend meetings of governing bodies,” said Steinbuch, coauthor of the definitive treatise on the Arkansas FOIA.

Both Tull and Steinbuch sit on the state’s nine-member FOIA Task Force, which is responsible for making recommendations to the Arkansas General Assembly about potential legislation that would amend or impact the act first established in 1967. The APA, which also appoints a member to the open government panel created by the Arkansas legislature in 2017, also monitors FOIA bills that are filed during each legislative session.

The Arkansas Freedom of Information Act Coalition also works to stay abreast of any

legislation that may impact the state FOIA law. The coalition includes journalists, educators, government officials and other advocates committed to protecting the state’s open records and open meetings laws.

Once lauded as having the nation’s most comprehensive open-records and openmeetings act, Steinbuch said there are ongoing efforts to undermine FOIA by bad actors in local and state government.

“While some laudable government officials readily comply with the FOIA with little fanfare or thanks, I work daily to address those who don’t. In many cases, the burdens put on citizens are unwarranted and result in a dramatic lack of transparency,” said UA law professor. “Sadly, the Municipal League and the Arkansas Association of Counties have repeatedly sought to lobby legislators to weaken our FOIA, the crown jewel of Governor Winthrop Rockefeller’s incumbency over 50 years ago. Such behavior is an affront to his memory and the rights of Arkansans.”

Note: Author Wesley Brown is an SPJ board member and serves on the FOIA Task Force for the Arkansas Press Association.

Sunshine Week 2023: How to get involved

Share your experiences, success stories, FOIA battles, new laws and other efforts on behalf of open government. Tweet @SunshineWeek or use #SunshineWeek on social media when sharing.

Highlight the importance of openness through stories, editorials, columns, cartoons or graphics.

Organize local forums, sponsor essay contests or press elected officials to pass proclamations on the importance of open access.

If you would like to submit stories, editorials, columns, cartoons or graphics for public use during Sunshine Week, email your content links to sunshineweek@newsleaders.org. Please include a brief description and/or headlines.

NIE Coordinators can use Sunshine Week to teach students how government transparency improves our lives and strengthens our communities.

UP TO SOMETHING

Recently named an Arkansas Business Trendsetter City in Tourism Development, North Little Rock is always up to something fresh and bold.. From the development of Argenta Plaza - a catalyst for more than $50 million in economic development (with more in the works) - to the transformation of an old rock quarry into a multi-phase bike parkNorth Little Rock understands that tourism and quality of life directly correlate to local economy. The North Little Rock Convention & Visitors Bureau plays critical roles in marketing, selling and promoting North Little Rock as a destination for leisure visitors, sports groups, meetings and conferences, reunions, events and festivals.

Get in Touch:

Stephanie Slagle Director of Marketing

sslagle@northlittlerock.org

NorthLittleRock.org @exploreNLR

Moore plays pivotal role in Teacher legislation

Andrew Bagley

Nominees set for APA board annual election

This is the required notification to membership of a special election for seats on the APA Board of Directors. This is the first of three notifications. The nominees include:

• Andrew Bagley, co-owner and copublisher of the Helena Daily World and Monroe County Argus

• Tom Byrd, publisher of the Mena Star, Mansfield Citizen, Waldron News and The De Queen Bee

• Scott Loftis, co-owner, editor and publisher of the Carroll County News Ballots will be mailed to APA member newspapers following the third publication of this notice.

This notification opens a period for acceptance of other nominations. A letter of recommendation from three APA member newspapers in good standing is required for an at-large nomination. The newly elected members will assume their respective seats on the board at the conclusion of the election.

Seeing the need to provide as many incentives as possible for teachers to come work in high-need areas like the Delta, State Representative Jeremiah Moore worked closely with Governor Sar-

ah Huckabee Sanders to get his proposal for a Teacher Academy program into the Governor’s education plan. The program would allow

students who wish to enter the teaching field, agree to attend a college or university that has an approved Arkansas Teacher Academy program that will be implemented by the proposed new law can get their education expenses paid, resulting in an elimination of the debt bur-

den that often saddles new teachers with high costs without high salaries that come in other professions that require a four-year degree.

Argus’s Glenda Arnett named “Brinkley Citizen of the Year”

Moore, who helped write the language to set up this program, hailed its inclusion by Governor Sanders in her

CITIZEN OF THE YEAR

Brinkley superintendent receives

Thomas Jacques

CONTRIBUTING

Schools

Supt. da Poole tract extended years and raised to $102,500 ally following a unanimous vote by Brinkley School Board members present at the body’s Feb. 21 meeting. Board member Harvey, who motion to pay, said believed it to raise her comparable other area dents. Poole mer salary

In other -- Board was sought ed requesting Arkansas Education trict to retain waiver extension. 1240 permits dents to apply schools. The goes to the Elementary ary Education and feedback trict. Final denial is granted Arkansas Education.

Arnett earns top honor at

Brinkley Chamber Banquet

Steve Henry, Master of Ceremonies for this year’s Brinkley Chamber of Commerce banquet, hugs Citizen of the Year Glenda Arnett of the Monroe County Argus after presenting her with the award. Arnett, who has been with the Argus for 56 years, was nominated by many of her fellow citizens who attested to the fact that she epitomizes the best of Brinkley.

-- The proposed endar for school year, mended by also approved board. Teacher is slated Aug. students arriving semester classes 14. Fall break Oct. 27-30; break is set Winter break through Spring break

(Photo Credit: Cameron McMath)

Staff Reports MONROE COUNTY ARGUS

Glenda Arnett, a life-long resident of Brinkley and a 56-year-veteran of the local newspaper business, has been named the 2022 Citizen of the Year by the Brinkley Chamber of Commerce. Arnett has been active in a wide variety of civic and charitable activities in

APA is pleased to announce the Stuttgart Daily Leader as a new Media Member to the association. First launched in 1885 as a daily newspaper, the 138-year-old Daily Leader has operated as an online newspaper at stuttgartdailyleader.com since 2019.

Some government officials want to move public notices from newspapers to a government-controlled website

The online news site has a loyal readership, with a monthly user average of 35,559 and 91,828 pageviews. “We provide news

addition to her dedicated work for the newspaper in Brinkley through multiple owners and publication names. Arnett is very active in the ministries of the Brinkley First Assembly of God and the activities of the Brinkley Lions Club. She also volunteers to help with other community activities such as the annual Lick Skillet Festival.

Numerous nominations of Arnett were submitted to the Chamber. One of them said of Arnett, “Glenda is the epitome of everything that is great about Brinkley. She is dedicated to the town and volunteers for innumerable charitable activities through civil and religious organizations…There are few lives in Please see ARNETT on 2A

Media Member spotlight: Stuttgart Daily Leader

and information for Stuttgart, Arkansas County and South Central and Southeast Arkansas,” said Managing Editor Kristen Siler “3,000 subscribers and 500 social media followers read our Headlines edition, which is delivered via email Monday through Friday.”

We welcome them to the association.

Steve Henry, the Master of Ceremonies for this year’s Brinkley Chamber of Commerce banquet, hugs Citizen of the Year Glenda Arnett after presenting her with the award. Arnett, who has been with the Argus for 56 years, was nominated by many of her fellow citizens who attested to the fact that she epitomizes the best of Brinkley. See more coverage of Arnett’s award and the banquet inside this edition. Photo Credit: Cameron McMath

2023 Diamond Journalism Awards accepting entries through the end of March

The Society of Professional Journalists is accepting entries to the 2023 Diamond Journalism Awards through the end of this month.

Arkansas native Willis, travel and environmental journalist, dies

well-known wildlife filmmakers and made the first of 33 journeys to Africa.

For her first book, “The Hominid Gang: Behind the Scenes in the Search for Human Origins”, Willis profiled prominent Kenyan conservationist Richard Leakey She also wrote “The Sand Dollar and The Slide Rule: Drawing Blueprints From Nature”. She wrote articles for Adventure Travel, Audubon, Connoisseur, Diversion, Outside, People, Natural History and The New York Times and served as Chief Contributor to Fodor’s Travel for their guides to Kenya and Tanzania. She served as senior publicist for the National Audubon Society and Earthwatch as well, and was on the Editorial Board of Swara Magazine for the East African Wildlife Society.

Open to professional and student journalists and freelancers living in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas, participants can submit entries on their own or have entries submitted on their behalf by the news organizations that published or broadcast their work.

Entry is not limited to members of SPJ, but members do get a discount on entry fees. For contest rules, categories and instructions for entering please visit, arkansasspj.org

A native of Watson (Desha County), she was a daughter of Robert, Jr., and Margaret Lee Willis.

Willis studied journalism at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville on a scholarship provided by The Dumas Clarion. After graduation she began her career in New York City at J. Walter Thompson (JWT), then the world’s largest ad agency. As Director of Programs and Press for the Survival Anglia Ltd. unit of British television, she promoted many

Willis traveled extensively over her lifetime. A member of The Explorers Club, later in life she used her travel experience to organize trips for others on a professional basis, leading tours for Lindblad Expeditions in China, and putting together personalized trips through Africa for small groups. She ultimately moved permanently to Kenya in 2016.

She is survived by brothers Robert Willis, III and Mickey Willis. No details on services have been announced.

Author, photographer and environmental journalist Delta Willis of Nairobi, Kenya, East Africa, died Dec. 12, 2022, of cancer. She was 74.

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Getting the most out of customer loyalty

By Doug Phares

Are you a Hilton person or a Marriott person? I ask because this distinction recently came up while my wife and I were at a family event out of town, and the organizer had booked it at a DoubleTree hotel.

Upon learning this, I did what a rational, sane person does — pulled out my phone, did a quick search and dutifully informed my wife that there was a Marriott Courtyard up the road. To her perplexed, “What’s your point?” I replied that I only stayed at Marriotts. I could get points, upgrades and special pillows. I’m a Marriott guy!

Anyone in a committed relationship will know that I spent the weekend at the DoubleTree, and it was fine — although I didn’t get an upgrade or free Wi-Fi, just saying.

But upon reflecting on it, I know that this neurosis is not unique to me, despite what my wife’s exasperation would imply. I talk to plenty of people who travel regularly, and we all have our particular loyalties and affinities for different hotel brands.

Curiously, though, none of my contacts have that similar kind of “Google the nearest Marriott location” loyalty for airline brands; we all just take the best deal in front of us while paying nominal attention to the airline.

This begs the question: What are hotel chains doing that airlines aren’t, and why does it engender such affinity?

Looking at airlines, it’s possible to get small rewards — maybe an extra inch or two of overhead space or the promise not to be squished against a bulkhead in the back of the plane by the bathrooms. But at the end of the day, the promise is thin, and there’s no clear, consistent way to get those rewards except at the highest levels.

Not so with the big hotel brands. They promise that if you get serious about them, you’ll get nicer pillows, a free cookie, free internet and upgrades you can bank on. They deliver on that loyalty every single time you visit them, so you always have a compelling reason to book with them for your next stay. Not many programs deliver that kind of consistent reward for loyalty, but hotels do, and it serves them well.

If you’re running a business, in all likelihood, you don’t have the opportunity to give out big rewards like free suite upgrades or first-class seating. But there are probably steps you can take to attract repeat customers and establish some brand loyalty.

Side note: If you’re running a business where you only have one opportunity to sell to a customer, this column isn’t for you. Sorry, please come back next month.

But for anyone with the potential for repeat business, large or small, what benefit does being your repeat customer get people? Your business certainly has some potential, even if it’s not in an industry you’d typically associate with loyalty rewards programs.

A great example is my local fitness center. At first, I dismissed their perks program, but then I started getting simple emails showing my points and how to spend these with them. I signed up for some classes and did other things they liked, and I got a free workout towel — not a cheap piece of terry cloth, but a high-quality product that has made me go back and purchase other things from them.

They also reward my behaviors that are favorable to them. They’re in an urban area where parking is at a premium, so I can earn a handful of extra points if I walk or bike to their location. This isn’t making

or breaking my experience with them, but the small rewards are tangible and nudge me to consider choices that are better for their business as well.

Similarly, you want any type of return business program you offer to feel like a win for both you and your customer. And if a rewards program doesn’t make sense for your business, what about referrals?

I own a transactional business in the leisure industry, and a lot of our business is from people who live in another state or country, so the opportunity for repeat business is slim. But we have rewards for referrals, which gets us great word-ofmouth business, and we have plenty of customers who come to us at roughly the same time every year when they’re in the area. So we have an offer out to them for a special discount at that time. This nudge helps bring back customers who could easily choose a different provider.

Ask yourself what you can do to give someone that little extra reason to come back. And let me know what you figure out because all I have is my own little laboratory to try out new offerings. I’m always curious to hear what people are doing to retain business and engender affinity with their customers.

Originally published in Editor & Publisher. Doug Phares is the former CEO of the Sandusky News Group. He currently serves as managing director of Silverwind Enterprises, which owns and provides management services to small businesses. He can be reached at doug@ silverwind.biz

94th Arkansas General Assembly

Legislative Report

APA is monitoring the following filed bills of interest to our industry and the public:

Bill No. / Author Short Description

HB 1099

Rep. Collins

An act to expand the Arkansas FOIA - Expands the time a custodian, requester, or the subject of certain public records can seek an opinion from the Attorney General on whether the decision by a public-records custodian to release those records is consistent with FOIA.

https://bit.ly/3HcRslh

HB 1399

Rep. Cavanaugh

SB 87

Sen. Dotson

An act to amend the law regarding publication requirements for counties and municipalities; to amend the law concerning elections; and to amend the law concerning tax delinquency lists.

https://bit.ly/3xqOiEM

APA Position

Current Status

Supports Passed

Opposed Tabled for fiscal impact study

Amends Arkansas law concerning the creation and implementation of the Code of Arkansas Rules. - In no Pending