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APA Better Newspaper Editorial Contest approaching
Guest Column:
Newspaper production planning in a pandemic By Kevin Slimp
Arkansas Press Association
Publisher Weekly Vol. 15 | No. 11 | Thursday, March 12, 2020 | Serving Press and State Since 1873
Annual “Sunshine Week” to be observed March 15-21 Over the last year, the APA worked vigorously to protect the public’s right to know in the Legislature and throughout the state.
Arkansas newspapers, on the front lines of the battle to protect government transparency, will join open-government advocates from across the country next week in observance of National Sunshine Week. The annual celebration of the public’s right to know is March 15-21.
The Arkansas Press Association encourages newspapers to put a special focus on transparency during Sunshine Week. APA members will receive a special house advertisement from APA that draws attention to the necessity of the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act and continuation of legal notices in the state’s newspapers. Also, member newspapers will receive opinion columns to use in their publications highlighting Sunshine Week and how Arkansans can improve upon their efforts to support open government. “We’ve all heard the saying that ‘sunshine
is the best disinfectant,’ and it bears repeating in a time where opposition to open records and open meetings laws is at its highest,” said Ashley Wimberley, APA executive director. “During Sunshine Week, we encourage APA members and supporters to keep up the good work and find ways to make sure government transparency remains a priority in our state and our communities.”
Most recently, attorneys for the APA asked a circuit court judge in Randolph County to remove a gag order and release sealed documents in the case of a woman accused of killing former state Sen. Linda Collins. At the request of APA and ABC News, the judge allowed the organizations to intervene in the case to seek to have the order lifted. The judge agreed to review the order, which was entered by another judge last summer. Though he did not ultimately lift the gag order, he did institute Continued on Page 2
2020 APA Ad Conference begins today on Petit Jean Mountain
Pictured is Bill Ostendorf, presdident and founder of Creative Circle Media. Ostendorf presented two workshops Thursday on improving revenue through better advertising design and on making the most of classified advertising sales. Publishers and advertising directors from across Arkansas are attending the conference, which concludes Friday with the annual Better Newspaper Advertising Awards.
Annual “Sunshine Week” to be observed March 15-21
Continued from Page 1
some procedures to improve access to documents in the case. Last fall, the APA joined forces with other transparency advocates to protest the Little Rock Civil Service Commission’s ban on audio and video recordings of its hearings. The APA, the Arkansas Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists and Little Rock television station KATV, among others, protested the ban. The organizations met informally with Little Rock City Attorney Tom Carpenter about the issue and the Civil Service Commission did an about-face about six hours into a particularly contentious hearing. Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott Jr. asked Carpenter to recommend to the commission that it back off the reporting ban. Wimberley said that specific instance showed how media organizations, both print and broadcast, can work together to improve transparency. Incidentally, one of the major victories for Arkansas FOIA in 2019 was Act 1028, a measure to require audio recordings of all meetings of governing bodies subject to the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act.
The bill by Rep. Vivian Flowers of Pine Bluff drew bipartisan support and was championed by the APA. Effective last July, the law requires the recordings to be accessible to the public and maintained for at least a year. Beyond FOIA, the APA continues to be engaged in another transparency fight and asks the association’s members to focus, too, on demonstrating the value of public notices in newspapers. In 2019, the association turned back Senate Bill 409, which would have permitted municipalities, counties and schools to place notice of construction project bid solicitations online rather than in their local newspapers. As APA members know, there are newspaper public notice requirements in every state – and have been since the founding of the republic – for good reason. A newspaper public notice is a reliable, independent, accessible and verifiable method for holding the government accountable and making sure the people are aware of the actions of their elected officials. Transparency foes in Arkansas and elsewhere argue that placing public
notices online is a good option, but supporters of government sunshine counter that the best method for raising public awareness is to supplement newspaper legal notices with online postings. “Some government officials have tried to argue that public notices cost too much, but newspaper public notices are relatively inexpensive. And you can’t put a price on accountability and transparency,” Wimberley said. “Broadband access in Arkansas is limited, particularly in our rural counties, and it’s imperative that we work to make sure our legislators know and understand the value of public notices in their local communities.” In addition to resources being sent to member newspapers, a number of columns and story ideas, and other materials, are available on the National Sunshine Week website. Visit SunshineWeek.org to find other ways to engage readers and become involved in Sunshine Week activities.
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March 12, 2020
Former APA Board President Jay Jackson passes away Jay Jackson, the former publisher of the Van Buren County Democrat and a former president of the Arkansas Press Association, died Friday, March 6, in Rogers. He was 94. Jackson and his wife, Patsy, operated the newspaper in Clinton for more than 47 years as publisher and co-publisher of the Van Buren County Democrat. He began his journalism career in Clinton in 1951 as the editor of the Democrat. The Jacksons married in 1953. Jay Jackson served on the APA Board of directors for six years and was the Arkansas state chairman of the National Newspaper Association. He spent time as chairman of the NNA’s International Relations Committee, where he led American delegations to Canada and to Egypt. The Jacksons routinely attended and participated in APA conventions even after they retired from the newspaper business. Their commitment to Arkansas newspapers, to Van Buren County and to their colleagues in the APA was unmatched. “Jay and Patsy were steadfast advocates of print journalism and we were always happy to see them and their family at annual APA conventions,” said APA Executive Director Ashley Wimberley. “We are extremely grateful for Jay’s leadership, his friendship and his service to the newspaper industry over many decades.” Jackson was president of the Clinton
Jay Jackson (left) and wife Patsy are shown in this 1997 photo transferring the keys to the Van Buren County Democrat to new owners Westward Communications. Also pictured are BIll Smith (second from right) and Bill Hager (right) who worked for Westward at the time. Both Hager and Jackson were Arkansas Press Association past presidents.
Chamber of Commerce for four years; secretary and president of the Clinton Lions Club and secretary and president of the Choctaw Shrine Club. He was a trustee of the Van Buren County Library and he served on the Clinton City Council from 1971 to 2001. He was retired from the Clinton Volunteer Fire Department and recipient of the Greers Ferry Lake Association Distinguished Service Award. He earned the APA’s Distinguished Service Award in 1998; and the Jacksons were the Clinton Chamber of Commerce’s Merchant of the Year in 1998. After the Jacksons retired to northwest
Arkansas to be closer to family, a broadcast competitor and friend in Van Buren County, Sid King, said of them: “We miss them greatly … Ever since Jay and Patsy have been out of the newspaper, it has changed the face of journalism in Van Buren County.” In addition to Patsy, his wife of 66 years, he is survived by his daughters, Janan Jackson Foster and Susan Jackson Keller; two grandchildren; four greatgrandchildren; and a sister. Funeral services were Monday, March 6, in Clinton. To sign an online guestbook, visit www.rollerfuneralhomes.com/clinton
Government transparency group to meet on Monday The Arkansas Transparency in Government Group will host its annual conference on Monday, March 16, in North Little Rock. The conference coincides with the annual observance of National Sunshine Week. This year, Sunshine Week is recognized across the country from March 15-21. The meeting will be from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday in the Silver City Room of the Wyndham Riverfront Hotel in North Little Rock. According to published reports, the conference will feature speakers on a Arkansas Publisher Weekly
Arkansas Freedom of Information Act
variety of Freedom of Information Act topics. Deputy Attorney General Beth 3
Walker, an expert in Arkansas’s open records and open meetings law, will give a presentation and legislators including Senate President Pro Tempore Jim Hendren, Sen. Kim Hammer and Rep. Dan Sullivan are on the agenda. Members of the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act Coalition have been asked to discuss the role of that group in advancing the overall goals of government transparency as well. The event is free and Continuing Legal Education credits are available for attorneys. March 12, 2020
Better Newspaper Kentucky community newspaper sets Editorial Contest example with coronavirus education A local newspaper in Kentucky distributed just so much information that needs to approaching a special edition to every resident of get out there, because there’s so much Arkansas Press Association member newspapers are encouraged to start their preparations now to enter the 2020 APA Better Newspaper Editorial Contest. The contest will be open for entries to be submitted starting Monday, March 16.
The contest is open to employees of Arkansas Press Association member newspapers, and entries must have been published during the 2019 calendar year. Starting Monday, APA members may visit http://www.newspapercontest.com/ Contests/ArkansasPressAssociation.aspx to enter. Winners will be announced at an awards luncheon annual Arkansas Press Association convention at the Doubletree Hotel in downtown Little Rock on Saturday, June 27. Entries will be accepted in five divisions: Daily circulation under 10,000; daily circulation over 10,000; nondaily circulation 1,300 or less; nondaily circulation 1,300 to 2,600 and nondaily circulation over 2,600. There are multiple categories for news stories, including sports humor and general interest; photography; layout and design and community coverage. Visit the website for a complete set of rules, or for more information, contact Terri Cobb at terri@arkansaspress.org or (501) 374-1500.
INDUSTRY QUOTE “The duty of journalists is to tell the truth. Journalism means you go back to the actual facts, you look at the documents, you discover what the record is, and you report it that way”
its county last week after the first case of coronavirus was discovered in its community.
According to a post on The Rural Blog by Al Cross, the Cynthiana Democrat’s approach to coverage of Covid-19, the newspapers actions to inform and enlighten the community is “a great example for the rest of the nation of how to deliver reliable information about the new coronavirus.”
The rural county has about 6,000 households. Some within the county lack internet access, officials there told Cross. Their television news comes from stations based in larger cities nearby, and some county residents weren’t even aware of the coronavirus case in their county until they received the newspaper’s special edition.
Cynthiana
The
Democrat The newspapers owners worked with county officials and agreed to put the special edition “in every mailbox in the county.” The newspaper’s advantage was its ability under postal regulations to mail up to 10 percent of its annual circulation to nonsubscribers at subscriber rates, Cross said.
According to Cross: “This is an example for the whole country. Printed community newspapers have a high level of trust with their readers, and are ideal vehicles to circulate reliable information on a topic that has become the subject of false or misleading online information and political talking points.”
Journalistically, the Democrat’s editor said it was an easy decision because “…there’s
To read the full story, visit Cross’s blog at irjci.blogspot.com
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March12, 2020
Guest Column: Newspaper production planning in a pandemic By Kevin Slimp I received an email from Dennis Derossett, executive director of Nebraska Press Association, a little while ago. He posed an interesting question. “The C-virus poses a question. What if the staff of a community newspapers must quarantine itself – how would they continue to produce the newspaper?” I’ve got a pretty good idea Dennis knew the answer to that question, but was interested in my thoughts on the subject. If anyone knows a lot about publishing with a home-based staff, I suppose it’s me. For the past three years, I’ve run a flourishing book publishing business with a staff that works from home. Don’t get me wrong, we have an office. I just haven’t been there in five weeks. Neither have any of my staff, as far as I know. I’m a social person. I prefer to work at the office, but business took a huge turn upwards in January and I quickly learned I can get a lot more done if I jump out of bed, go straight to my computer (after a shower), and work till late night. How do we do it? Pretty easily, actually. Because all of our folks worked out of their homes at the beginning, we’ve learned to do anything that needs to be done, whether at the office or at home. We’ve got bookkeeping, editing, designing, marketing – and even writing books – from home down to an art form. It’s my guess that my words are going to travel quickly throughout the newspaper world. It’s Wednesday night, March 11. Five hours ago, my son sent word that classes at the University of Tennessee have been suspended until April 3. Three hours ago, the NCAA announced tournament games will be played without fans. Two hours ago, the NBA announced a suspension of the season for the foreseeable future.
Arkansas Publisher Weekly
The president was on TV, asking folks to prepare. Governors are asking churches to cancel services, schools to close, and for the workforce to prepare for working from home. Things are happening very quickly. Knowing many of my newspaper friends will read this on Thursday and Friday of this week, here are my initial thoughts on how to prepare for the possibility that your staff could be required to work from home at some point in the near future. Hold a meeting with your staff right away. Begin making a game plan to prepare for the possibility the unexpected happens. Be sure people have the tools at home to get the paper out, in case that has to be done. If you use Adobe CC (the current version), you are in a lot better shape, because the software can be installed on as many computers as necessary, though it can only be running on two computers concurrently. This means your staff could download InDesign, Photoshop and Acrobat at home using your company licenses and design pages since the software wont be at use at the office. If you have a large staff (more than a dozen or so), be prepared to purchase some Adobe CC licenses to get the paper out while folks are working from home. It would be disastrous to attempt to find and install older versions of the software on home computers. Adobe CC software is downloaded from the Internet, making it a relatively easy process. Design a process for getting the paper done. If you already work from “the cloud,” be sure everyone knows how to get to company files from their homes. If not, get a business dropbox account or find some other way to keep everything online so everyone that needs access to stories, photos and ads can get to them
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Create a Zoom or GoToMeeting account so the staff can easily communicate as a group when necessary. This will also allow reporters to interview folks online, rather than in person. Assuming your printer is still printing newspapers during this time (which is a big assumption), you will still be able to write, edit, design and sell ads for your newspaper while everyone is working at home. If you have no way to get your paper printed for a few weeks, plan to create an expanded online edition available to all of your readers to keep them informed. Remember, if you’re working from home, it’s likely most of your readers are as well. They’ll be scouring the web for information. Purchase extra external hard drives now. They’re inexpensive (I just checked. 1 TB drives are going for $45 on Amazon. com), and they will make your life much easier in the case of a quarantine. Plus, they’re good to have, even under normal conditions. Make sure important files from individual computers and servers are kept on these drives, just in case they are needed quickly. Create up-to-date information for your readers about how to get medical assistance, food, and other vital commodities we generally take for granted. Keep a running list of updated information on your website at all times during a potential quarantine. So what if no quarantine takes place and you make all these plans for nothing? So what. Good leadership depends, in part, on good planning. I hope we wake up tomorrow and learn that coronavirus was all a bad dream. But for today, let’s not put off making plans. Just in case.
March 12, 2020