Facebook promotes Arkansas newspapers cut publication $100 million news frequency in response to pandemic grant program Several Arkansas newspapers this week days a week, will suspend its Saturday and Democrat-Gazette, Saline Courier among newspapers to have already received funding The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and Saline Courier are among 400 news organizations that have received grant funding from the Facebook Journalism Project to defray the costs of reporting on the COVID-19 crisis in their communities. Each grant is $5,000.
The awards were the first phase in Facebook’s rollout of grants to assist news organizations in covering the crisis. On Monday, April 13, newspapers will be eligible to apply for grants ranging from $25,000 to $100,000. The grants will provide immediate support to help publishers address community needs and revenue shortfalls that would help an organization maintain its long-term stability.
scaled back their publication days in direct response to the economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Monday editions starting Saturday, April 11. The newspaper will be on a Tuesday through Friday and Sunday schedule.
Paxton Media Group newspapers in Jonesboro, Searcy, Conway, Batesville, Paragould and Marion told readers this week they were decreasing the number of days the newspapers are printed each week.
In Crittenden County, the Evening Times will publish only once a week, on Wednesdays.
Jonesboro Sun Publisher Reece Terry, in a letter to readers on Wednesday, said; “…The business climate we are operating in is changing on a daily basis due to the COVID-19 outbreak and like most businesses in our community, The Jonesboro Sun is being negatively impacted.” Terry continued, “The decision to change our print frequency was not an easy one, but to do nothing simply is not an option. Instituting these changes now will help put us in a position to continue to serve our readers and communities for the long term.” The Sun, which had been printed seven
The Daily Citizen in Searcy is altering its publication schedule to three days per week – Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday – and independent carriers will no longer deliver the publication. Now, subscribers will receive that newspaper through the U.S. Postal Service. The Log Cabin Democrat in Conway is moving to delivery to the Postal Service as well, that newspaper announced. It is reducing its publication schedule to Tuesday through Saturday. There will be no Sunday or Monday newspapers. The Paragould Daily Press is also converting to three days a week: Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday; and The Batesville Daily Guard’s new publication dates will be Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Siemers named to head Jonesboro Sun circulation department
The Sun in Jonesboro announced the hiring of Tom Siemers as its circulation director. Applicants in the Facebook Journalism Project COVID-19 Local News Relief Fund Grant Program will get preference if they:
Siemers was previously the circulation director at the Tribune Chronicle in Warren,
He was editor of his student newspaper in college, but enjoyed working in circulation, he said in an article in The Sun.
• Serve immigrant, rural, underserved or economically disadvantaged communities • Are located in areas where COVID-19 is “particularly acute”
“It’s not the same every day, there are a lot of things that can happen and a lot of people don’t like that,” he told the newspaper, adding “I’m reliant not just on a staff of a dozen people or more, but on a hundred and something carriers, too, and if they don’t do their job that can totally impact our day here.
• Explain how the grant will contribute to an organization’s long-term viability • Are family- or community-owned or independent • Have an established digital presence For more details and to learn about a webinar scheduled for Friday, April 10, regarding applications and eligibility, visit https://www.facebook.com/ journalismproject/programs/grants/ coronavirus-local-news-relief-fund Arkansas Publisher Weekly
Ohio, and the Vindicator in Youngstown, Ohio. He has more than two decades of newspaper circulation experience. He said his experience ranged from working at a major metropolitan daily, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune all the way to a newspaper in North Dakota that has a circulation of about 3,500.
“You have to take care of customers. If I don’t take care of customers, I don’t have a job, nobody has a job.” Siemers started work at the newspaper this week. 4
April 9, 2020