Arkansas Publisher Weekly: March 25, 2021

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APA Editorial Contest now open for entries

Arkansas Press Association

Publisher Weekly

APA Legislative Review

Vol. 16 | No. 12 | Thursday, March 25, 2021 | Serving Press and State Since 1873

“Best in Show” winner highlights superheroes Game on |

Last year, front-line workers went above and beyond to help their friends and neighbors during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Employees of the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank were recognized specifically by their employer for THEtheir PERFECT SPOT FOR A FAMILY TRIP commitment and dedication to feeding the people of the region. And, a “thank you” ad in the Northwest Arkansas DemocratGazette earned “Best in Show” honors at the Arkansas Press Association’s Better Newspaper Advertising Awards.

Brian Huntley, the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette’s creative services manager, designed the ad. It features a stock photo of a man purported to look like Clark Kent, pulling open a dress shirt to reveal a shirt with the “NWA Food Bank” logo underneath. The ad’s headline reads: “Some Heroes Wear this Uniform” in a font similar to what would be found in a comic book.

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Solutions

One of the few highlights of a challenging year naturally was a focal point for the best North American National Parks newspaper advertisement in Arkansas in 2020.

Sunday | 5.17.202

School Life

Bond Baddies

Animated TV Series

HERE’S TO LIFE’S NEXT CHAPTER

NO MISTER BOND, I EXPECT YOU TO DIE

CHIP ‘N DALE RESCUE RANGERS

Easy

Medium

Take 5 A

Take 5 B

Difficult

Master

Take 5 C

Take 5 D

Huntley said the concept came easy.

“Obviously, this last year has been really hard, so there’s a lot of people, not necessarily just at the Food Bank, who are doing this superhero-type work,” he said. “It’s health care workers and first responders and people working on the front lines doing superhero work when no one’s asking them to. It’s a relatable topic.”

This marks the second year in a row that the Northwest Arkansas DemocratContinued on Page 2

2020 Best in Show ad

“Best in Show” winner highlights superheroes Continued from Page 1

Gazette has earned the top prize for best individual ad in the APA contest. David Hancock with that newspaper received the 2019 “Best in Show” award for an in-house promotional ad celebrating the freedom of the press.

The customer, the head of the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank, had asked for a superhero theme and Huntley went from there.

“They just gave me the direction they wanted; a superhero theme is popular these days, and Superman is up there for a lot of people,” Huntley said. “There are some good, memorable images of him doing things. I thought the theme just kind of fit.”

Huntley said he’s appreciative of customers who give a general idea of what to work with, but let him handle the creative. Ultimately, the designer’s job is to give customers what they want, convey important information in an ad, and get them business, he noted, but sometimes a “diamond in the rough” will give him the chance to be innovative.

Brian Huntley

With Huntley’s ad, the award winner said he used a half-tone background, oversaturated color and comic book speech bubbles to draw attention to the ad and make it more effective.

HERE

“The best thing you can say to a graphic designer is, ‘I want to get this idea across and I want you to come up with how that is,’” Huntley said. “I get that opportunity every once in a while, and I try to make the most of it.”

Huntley has worked for newspapers for 17 years. The southwest Missouri native spent more than a decade at the Joplin

is

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(Missouri) Globe, as a graphic designer and creative manager. He’s been at the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for about four years. He majored in 3D animation and graphic design at Missouri Southern State University in Joplin He was drawn to the graphic design field as a child, he said. He enjoyed video games while growing up and wanted to become a video-game designer.

Unfortunately for Huntley, “you have to be good at math” to be a video-game designer, and he said college courses on typography and other aspects of print graphic design “spoke to me in a way I hadn’t expected until I took those classes.”

His advice for designers hoping to create the next award-winning ad is to just keep trying.

“You just never know. The things you absolutely love and think should win all sorts of stuff may get nothing, so just don’t get discouraged and keep it up,” he said.

“Keep trying to do what you think looks good and works, and hopefully you’ll get to where you want to be. … There are a lot of people out there that are really good designers, especially in the newspaper industry.”

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Arkansas Publisher Weekly

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March 25, 2021

Bill in Congress WEHCO offers preferred stock to would make fund Hot Springs iPad purchases federal FOIA fix As The Sentinel-Record in Hot Three U.S. senators have filed a bill in Congress to correct what is perceived as an error by the U.S. Supreme Court to protect information about federal food stamp benefits.

S. 742, the Open and Responsive Government Act of 2021, was filed in response to the 2019 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Food Marketing Institute v. Argus Media. The Supreme Court at that time ruled that retailers could keep confidential its sales to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) beneficiaries.

In the Supreme Court case, a newspaper in South Dakota was blocked from obtaining information from the U.S. Department of Agriculture on SNAP sales. The case dragged on for more than a decade, with the newspaper winning in the lower courts, but the food industry ultimately winning at the highest court. According to the National Newspaper Association, the records sought by the newspaper were never released by the USDA. Tonda Rush with the NNA said the bill being considered by Congress would “overrule the high court’s holding that eviscerated a long-standing FOIA rule making federal business records public unless release would create substantial harm to the competitive position of a business claiming confidentiality.”

The Open and Responsive Government Act puts into federal law that federal records obtained from businesses must be disclosed unless they would create substantial competitive harm to the business.

Sponsors of the legislation are Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California; Sen. Charles “Chuck” Grassley, R-Iowa; and Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont.

Arkansas Publisher Weekly

Springs moves to a digital Monday through Saturday format, the newspaper’s publisher told Hot Springs business leaders last week the company that owns The Sentinel-Record is offering up to $1 million in preferred stock to fund the transition.

Walter E. Hussman Jr., chairman of WEHCO Media, Inc., told the Hot Springs National Park Rotary Club the company had sold $650,000 worth of a $1 million goal of stock.

The stock offering will fund the purchase of iPads for subscribers as well as training in how to use the technology to read the newspaper, according to The Sentinel-Record.

The preferred stock pays a 5 percent annual dividend. The Hot Springs decision follows an effort by WEHCO in Pine Bluff to sell $400,000 in preferred stock to Pine Bluff residents. Hussman said the Pine Bluff stock sale was a success, according to the newspaper, which quoted Hussman as saying “I thought this might create a model for other newspapers around America to copy in order to cover those large … costs of the plan.”

Hussman said it would cost about $850,000 for iPads in Hot Springs and $200,000 in training costs.

“Our newspapers are the first ones in the country to supply iPads for our home delivery subscribers,” he said.

Earlier this year, Hussman announced The Sentinel-Record would suspend home delivery except on Sundays and instead produce a digital replica edition for subscribers Monday through Saturday.

APA ONLINE STORE and

“In these times we fight for ideas, newspapers are our fortresses.”

-Heinrich Heine

“In these times we fight for ideas and newspapers are our fortresses.”

Show your support for independent journalism with this soft cotton tee, available in sizes S-XXL at arkansaspress.org/store.

T-shirts are $20 each.

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March 25, 2021

America’s Newspapers launches research project America’s Newspapers has launched an ambitious research project to help convey the “effective digital and print solutions” that newspapers consistently deliver to local advertisers.

The research will be conducted by Borrell Associates and will seek to measure where advertisers are spending, what media they are spending with and how they feel about local newspapers and their

solutions, according to a news release from America’s Newspapers.

The organization said newspapers of all sizes are important participants in the survey, because they need as much information from as many different types of newspapers as possible in order to get useful results. To participate, Borrell Associates requires a commitment from local newspapers and its contact

APA Editorial Contest now open for entries

Participating newspapers will get premium access to the insights from the project, which are expected mid-May. They will also receive newspaper-level specifics and a list of advertiser-respondents.

Participants must be America’s Newspapers members.

For more information, go to newspapers.org.

INDUSTRY QUOTE “A newspaper is the center of a community, it’s one of the tent poles of the community, and that’s not going to be replaced by websites and blogs.”

As Spring begins, so does the entry period for the Arkansas Press Association Better Newspaper Editorial Contest. The annual competition highlights the best in reporting, opinion writing, feature writing, photography, newspaper design and headline writing for the previous year.

-Michael Connelly

The contest is open to employees of APA member newspapers for work published at any time during the 2020 calendar year.

The deadline for entries is April 30.

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.

REMINDER

There are multiple categories for news stories, including sports, humor and general interest; column writing; photography; layout and design and community coverage.

Please add arkansaspress@arkansaspress.org to your contacts so you don’t miss anything from us.

Winners will be announced during the APA’s annual convention.

Like last year’s convention, the 2021 event will be hosted online because of the ongoing coronavirus epidemic.

Also, please check your spam folder regularly.

Entries are accepted electronically at newspapercontest.com/ Contests/ArkansasPressAssociation.aspx. For a complete set of categories, rules, or for more information, contact Terri Cobb at terri@arkansaspress.org or (501) 374-1500.

Arkansas Publisher Weekly

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March 25, 2021

Guest Column: What makes a good ad headline?

By John Foust Imagine the editors of a prestigious news organization sitting around a conference table discussing a breaking story. The story is written and all they need is a headline to convey its importance to readers. Someone says, “I’ve got it. Let’s use one word: ‘Look.’ We can give it more impact by making the two o’s look like eyeballs.” Everyone nods in agreement, and the headline runs.

Sounds ridiculous, doesn’t it? But something similar must be happening in advertising conversations, because ‘Look’ has been a popular headline for years.

Popularity doesn’t equal effectiveness.

Even though it’s frequently used, “Look” is one of the worst headlines you’ll ever see. It’s a product of lazy writing. It communicates nothing of value to readers.

The headline deserves more respect than that, because it is the most important part of an ad. Research shows that four out of five readers do not get further than the headline. Unfortunately, this means that only 20 percent of the people who read an ad headline will read any of the body copy.

In other words, headlines have a lot of weight to carry. Pick up any newspaper – or go to any online news site – and you’ll find article headlines that reveal

Arkansas Publisher Weekly

the subjects of those articles. As a result, you can make split second decisions on whether or not to read more.

Doesn’t it make sense that the same should apply to advertising headlines?

The next time you write an ad headline, ask yourself three questions: 1. Does the headline tell readers what the ad is about? If your ad is selling banking services, say so in the headline.

If you are selling kitchen remodeling, say so. If you are promoting furniture, say so.

We read at a glance. If readers can’t determine quickly what an ad is about, they’ll skip it completely.

2. Does the headline promise a benefit?

There are several types of headlines: (1) those that promise a benefit, (2) those that provide news, and (3) those that surprise readers or arouse curiosity.

While each type is capable of winning readership and selling products, benefit headlines have been shown to be the most reliable choice. Just about every buying decision we make is driven by real or perceived benefits. That’s why it’s a good idea to create benefits-oriented advertising – and then put the major

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benefit front and center in the headline.

3. Is the language believable? Without believable language, our first two questions are not worth answering. Consider a hardware store ad which is headlined, “Fantastic savings on the world’s best lawnmowers.” To answer our first two questions, the ad is about lawnmowers and the benefit is that customers can save money. But the puffery kills the message.

Copywriters should avoid exaggerations and unsubstantiated claims in advertising.

No one believes sweeping boasts like “fantastic,” or “superior” or “best ever.”

The right answers to these three questions can put your next ad in the top 20 percent.

And you’ll increase your chances of creating an ad that is worth a “look.” © Copyright 2021 by John Foust. All Rights Reserved.

John Foust has conducted training programs for thousands of newspaper advertising professionals. Many ad departments are using his training videos to save time and get quick results from in-house training. Email for information: john@johnfoust.com

March 25, 2021

93rd 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

APA Position

Current Status

HB 1007 Rep. Love

Creates a hotline and database for reported allegations of police civil rights abuses, but shields that database from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act. https://bit.ly/35EM3A4

Pending

Awaits initial hearing in House Judiciary Committee

HB 1280 Rep. Haak

Amends the FOI Act to permit governing bodies to meet in executive session, with their attorney, to discuss certain economic development projects. https://bit.ly/36FMUkQ

Opposes

Failed in House City, County and Local Affairs Committee

HB1442 Rep. Bentley

Changes the definition of newspaper as it relates to notice requirements for timber sales on state-owned lands to a newspaper published in print, electronically or both in print and electronically. https://bit.ly/3a9eYPC

Neutral

Passed Senate; returns to House for concurrence on amendment

HB1443 Rep. Bentley

Changes the definition of newspaper as it relates to notice requirements for land commissioner sales to a newspaper published in print, electronically or both in print and electronically. https://bit.ly/2NlbjVH

Neutral

Passed House; moves to Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee

HB 1468 Rep. Jett

Establishes an independent Tax Appeals Commission to settle disputes between DFA and taxpayers and creates an exemption to the FOIA for commission meetings and records. https://bit.ly/3qiZ4ba

Neutral

Passed House; moves to Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee

HB 1576 Rep. Mark Berry

Provides a mechanism for victims of crime to have their names and personal information sealed and made confidential by a court. https://bit.ly/3edzf91

Neutral

Awaits initial hearing before House Judiciary Committee

HB 1579 Rep. Smith

Creates a Terrorism Offender Registry in Arkansas and makes the registry exempt from the Freedom of Information Act. https://bit.ly/30abRRL

Pending

Awaits initial hearing before House Judiciary Committee

HB 1626 Rep. Brooks

Clarifies that gross salary information of a public employee is disclosable under the Freedom of Information Act outside the structure of a typical personnel records request. https://bit.ly/2PBUk2L

Supports

Awaits initial hearing before House State Agencies Committee

HB 1634 Rep. Lanny Fite

Repeals a law deemed obsolete in the bill that requires public notice in a newspaper of local tax collections. https://bit.ly/3cgVIQb

Neutral

Passed House and Senate

HB 1635 Rep. Milligan

Creates a Freedom of Information Act exemption for personal information about a crime victim or that victim’s family, or for an individual who has filed for an order of protection. https://bit.ly/38s7NRt

Neutral

Awaits initial hearing in House State Agencies Committee

HB 1758 Rep. Eaves

Clarifies that records requested under the FOIA may be received in a native format. https://bit.ly/3eUahMo

Neutral

Awaits initial hearing in House State Agencies Committee

HB 1811 Rep. Christiansen

Removes newspaper public notice requirement for the towing of abandoned implements or machinery. https://bit.ly/3fg3Wv0

Opposed

Awaits initial hearing in House Public Transportation Committee

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March 25, 2021

Bill No. / Author

Short Description

APA Position

Current Status

SB 64 Sen. Irvin

Makes technical corrections to statutes to state that school districts may publish annual student progress reports in a newspaper. https://bit.ly/35GcSEg

Neutral

Passed Senate; removed from House Education Committee agenda

SB 166 Sen. Clark

Allows the public to have access in certain circumstances to court hearings involving child support and paternity matters. https://bit.ly/3pQQq3l

Supports

Passed Senate; awaits hearing in House Aging, Children, Legislative and Military Affairs Committee

SB 195 Sen. Sullivan

Redefines “public records” in the FOI Act to include some records from private entities such as nonprofit foundations that directly support public entities. https://bit.ly/3rnDOkx

Pending

Awaits initial hearing in Senate State Agencies Committee

SB 196 Sen. Sullivan

Permits a judge to grant attorneys’ fees to a plaintiff in a FOIA lawsuit even if the defendant receives information based on the request following the filing of a lawsuit. https://bit.ly/3aFEET8

Supports

Passed Senate; awaits hearing in House State Agencies Committee

SB 203 Sen. Rapert

Includes a newspaper notice requirement for the transfer or novation of insurance policies made under court order while establishing other guidelines for notice. https://bit.ly/3axspI0

Supports

Awaits initial hearing in Senate Insurance and Commerce Committee

SB 208 Sen. Sullivan

Defines “meeting” under the FOIA as a gathering of two or more members of a governing body to discuss any matter on which action may be taken by the governing body. https://bit.ly/3rnDRNf

Pending

Awaits initial hearing in Senate State Agencies Committee

SB 299 Sen. English

Exempts personal information obtained by the Division of Workforce Services from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act. https://bit.ly/2NgcwOb

Neutral

Passed the Senate and House Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee; advances to full House

SB 305 Sen. Caldwell

Increases the competitive bidding threshold for public improvements from $35,000 to $50,000 and reduces public notice frequency for bid solicitations from two to one. https://bit.ly/2OL5Yru

Opposes

Passed the House

SB 355 Sen. Teague

Allows names of lottery winners of $500,000 to be exempt from disclosure under FOIA for three years. https://bit.ly/3qUasuk

Opposes

: Passed Senate and House Rules Committee; awaits full House vote

SB 358 Sen. Caldwell

Sets out a process for notice of sale of state lands, but does not include a newspaper public notice requirement. https://bit.ly/3q3kwQx

Opposes

Awaits initial hearing in Senate State Agencies Committee

SB 454 Sen. Mark Johnson

Increases the minimum threshold from $20,000 to $35,000 for municipal sewer systems to seek competitive bids on construction projects and improvements. https://bit.ly/309x6mG

Opposes

Passed the House

SB 456 Sen. Stubblefield

Increases the minimum threshold from $20,000 to $35,000 for cities and counties to make purchases without soliciting competitive bids. https://bit.ly/30aGV3x

Opposes

Passed the House

SB 488 Sen. Hammer

Exempts voted ballots from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act until 30 days after the certification of an election. https://bit.ly/38xnI0B

Pending

Awaits hearing in Senate State Agencies Committee

SB 535 Sen. Davis

Exempts from FOIA any personal information about membership or donations to nonprofit entities contained in otherwise public records. https://bit.ly/3r6CUsg

Pending

Awaits initial hearing in Senate State Agencies Commitee

SB 558 Sen. Garner

Implements a sales tax on advertising on social media platforms that have at least 500,000 Arkansas users and generate at least $500,000 in ad revenue in Arkansas. https://bit.ly/30Z10dA

Opposes

Awaits initial hearing in Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee

SB 567 Sen. Bledsoe

Creates broad FOIA exemptions in coroners’ reports. https://bit.ly/3s2cTeT

Opposes

Was not considered in initial hearing by Senate City, County and Local Affairs Committee

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March 25, 2021