4 6
News Media Alliance hosts audience development webinar on May 13
Guest Column:
Community support pages an important source of revenue
Arkansas Press Association
Publisher Weekly
By Peter Wagner
Vol. 15 | No. 18 | Thursday, April 30, 2020 | Serving Press and State Since 1873
Arkansas newspapers keep finding innovative projects Arkansas Publisher Weekly.
As the coronavirus pandemic enters its third month, resilient Arkansas newspapers continue to approach their response to the crisis with innovative and unique ways to serve the community.
This week, Paxton Media Group newspapers throughout Arkansas promoted an advertising matching grant program valued at $250,000. According to an article in the Jonesboro Sun, the program will “help local businesses get back to full strength by subsidizing their marketing through matching grants.”
APA Executive Director Ashley Wimberley applauded newspapers that are answering the call to serve readership and advertisers and remain relevant in their communities. “While we may not be able to assemble in person at this time to share our best practices and revenue-generating ideas, we at the APA want to make sure to convey this information through our newsletter,” Wimberley said. “Since March, we’ve learned about some excellent strategies for raising money and boosting readership, and we encourage APA members to continue to let us know what they’re doing in the midst of this crisis.” Wimberley urges APA members with ideas to share to email her at ashley@ arkansaspress.org with details. Those practices will be profiled in future editions of
All locally owned and operated businesses are eligible for an ad matching grant, which can be used for Paxton newspapers’ print edition and special section advertising between now and June 30. Grants range from $200 in value to $5,000 in value. The company noted that means a business that spends $200 in advertising and receives a grant, the actual value of the advertising will be $400.
Promotional ad about the grant program in the Jonesboro Sun .
“We realize this is a critical time for our business community, and we wanted to subsidize their marketing through this grant,” said Reece Terry, Paxton group publisher in the article about the grant
Continued on Page 2
ANF sets plans for summer internship opportunites The Arkansas Newspaper Foundation this year will fund paid summer internships for two interns at Arkansas community newspapers. The foundation is providing $3,000 per intern to cover the entire cost of an intern for the summer. All Arkansas newspapers are eligible to apply for the program, and newspapers will be selected to participate on a first-come, first served basis. “Over several years, the Foundation has covered half the cost of an intern at four different newspapers, but given the current economic climate the ANF board has decided to focus on fully funding internships
at two newspapers,” said Rusty Fraser, publisher of the Stone County Leader and president of the ANF board. “We are eager to help support quality journalism in Arkansas and provide two student journalists with a fantastic opportunity to receive a fully-funded internship to learn the newspaper business and provide needed help this summer.” In 2019, ANF placed interns at the Carroll County News, Sheridan Headlight, Malvern Daily Record and Nashville News-Leader. Journalism professors from Arkansas State University, Arkansas Tech, the University
of Arkansas at Little Rock, H e n d e r s o n State University and the University of Central Arkansas have been contacted about the competitive grants. For more information about the application process for both newspapers and student journalists, email Terri Cobb at terri@arkansaspress.org.
Arkansas newspapers keep finding innovative projects Continued from Page 1
program. “As businesses begin to think about opening, even if it’s on a limited basis, it’s vital that they communicate with their customers. We want to be a resource for them to do that.”
begun a weekly puzzle page designed to stimulate minds and alleviate boredom created while readers remain sheltered at home during the pandemic.
To apply, businesses must visit Paxton newspapers’ websites and click on “Advertising Match Program.”
The page, called “Brain Games: Therapy for those Social Distancing Blues,” features a crossword puzzle, word search, word scramble, a cryptograph, word search, sudoku, and kids’ activities. The Headlight is seeking sponsorships for the page, which have become quite popular among Sheridan readers in quarantine.
In Sheridan, the Sheridan Headlight has
In north-central Arkansas, the Stone
Terry added: “A community newspaper is only ever as strong as the community it serves.”
Paycheck Protection Program opens with additional funding
County Leader sold advertising space for a special one-page pull-out to honor local health care professionals in the Mountain View area. The page offers a “thank you” statement to people on the front lines of the battle against COVID-19. Stone County Leader Publisher Rusty Fraser said the page was designed to encourage readers to take it out of the newspapers and attach it to their front window. That way, readers can show gratitude and solidarity with health care workers in the community.
Buying or Selling? I can help you with a new purchase or the sale of your publication.
Congress last week approved $310 billion in additional funding for the Paycheck Protection Program, and small businesses were eligible to apply for those dollars this week. The Small Business Administration resumed taking applications for the program after it screeched to a halt in mid-April because the initial $349 billion in funding had been depleted.
LEWIS FLOYD Senior Associate (850) 532-9466 lfloyd@mediamergers.com
Newspapers are encouraged to apply for a Paycheck Protection Program loan, which is intended to offset some of the economic losses related to the COVID-19 epidemic and keep employees on the payroll. Any business that meets the SBA’s size standards is eligible, as are sole proprietorships, independent contractors and the self-employed. The loans may cover up to two months of payroll and will be fully forgiven if used for payroll expenses, interest on mortgages, rent and utilities. For more information, visit www.sba.gov
Arkansas Publisher Weekly 2
April 30, 2020
Advice for generating revenue in times of crisis By Kevin Slimp
2. We could find new ways to bring in revenue to get us through the COVID-19 period. 3. We could throw in the towel. I chose option 2. We began looking for ways to bring in new revenue while our traditional methods of income are taking a hit. We came up with several. In a strange turn of events, we had to bring in more staff to deal with all the projects we’ve begun. It’s very likely, when things get back to “normal,” we will be a much stronger company because of the plans originally made to deal with the current crisis.
It’s a crazy time for all of us. I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know. Like many of you, I’ve been working out of my home office for six weeks. Not only am I a little stir crazy from being home all the time, I’m a little anxious about the reduction in income related to COVID-19. I’d like to share a few things I’ve done to increase revenue during this period while building new business for the postCOVID-19 world. Until six weeks ago, I earned a living in two primary ways. I own a book publishing company which employs a few folks. We publish books by well-known authors. This includes everything from editing manuscripts and designing pages to marketing and promoting the books. Interestingly, most folks I speak with outside the book business think people are probably ordering a lot of books right now. You might be surprised to learn that, like most other expenses, people have – for the most part – quit buying books. Our sales have dropped more than 90 percent since early March. My other primary method of making a living is through speaking at conferences and leading webinars. Like many of my speaking friends, our schedules went from quite full in the spring and summer of 2020 to nonexistent. Of a dozen or so speaking events I had scheduled, other than one, all have canceled or postponed. I saw three choices: 1. We could count on COVID-19 to pass quickly and just keep doing things like we always have. Arkansas Publisher Weekly
So how does this relate to newspapers? Many of you are in the same place. Hopefully, my friends at papers in the U.S. were fortunate enough to qualify for PPP loans from the Small Business Administration. Those help, but they are a band-aid, not a permanent solution. Let me suggest three ideas: 1. Find ways to bring in new revenue through your traditional newspaper. A publisher friend in Minnesota and I were talking in the wee hours of the morning a few days ago. She said, “Give me an idea to bring in revenue. I am all out of ideas.” I suggested she contact local advertisers in her very small town and get them to go in together to sponsor two-page spreads each week to honor the high school graduates in the area. Combined with the feelings of regret a lot of folks are feeling for graduates missing their proms, graduations, etc., this would give area advertisers a way to honor their graduates all summer. And yes, it could bring in significant revenue for the newspaper. The conversation ended with “You may have just saved my newspaper.” 2. Find ways to use the tools on hand to bring in new revenue. I led two webinars in April related to publishing books for local authors. Afterwards, I heard from several of the attendees that they were going to begin the process of helping local authors self-publish books right away. Using staff, hardware and software they already have, a lot of newspapers can begin spreading the word and authors will show up with revenue-producing work. How could your newspaper think out of the box and offer new services that would benefit your community and bring in revenue at the same time? You’re already doing lots of 3
things: designing brochures and websites; marketing on your social media pages for local restaurants who are delivering and offering carry-out; and creating signs to congratulate the Class of 2020. What else could you be doing with the tools you already have to bring in additional revenue? 3. Look for tools available, many at no cost, to help your advertisers and bring in revenue so they can stay in business and prosper. A few nights ago, I spent an hour on a video conference with Katherine Haine of City Media. I’ve run into Katherine at several newspaper conventions and always liked the way she came up with products that benefited her customers, newspapers, as well as her own business. Frankly, I don’t have time these days for an hour teleconference, but when Katherine told me what City Media was up to, I decided it might be something I’d want to share with newspapers. In a nutshell, City Media has created protectlocalusa.com and protectlocal.ca as ways for community newspapers to offer online marketing - including online stores - for local businesses at, get this, no cost. No cost to the newspaper. No cost to the business. How do they make money? When a percentage of the businesses decide to upgrade to other services offered by City Media, they make money. I spent two hours with Katherine, making sure there wasn’t a catch. I couldn’t find one. And get this . . . newspapers get a percentage of the revenue – 20 percent – when businesses in your area upgrade to other services. As far as I can tell, and I’m pretty good at telling, it’s a no-lose situation for the newspaper. You offer local businesses a free service that is beneficial to them, with no expenses on your part. Ever. And you get paid anytime City Media gets paid by one of the businesses in your area. It is, indeed, a crazy time. Like many of you, I’ve never worked harder. And like many of you, I’m making less money. To me, however, it seems you have three choices. I’ve been working with community papers for more than half my life. I haven’t run into many publishers who give up easily, so I would suggest you give serious consideration to option 2. If your business is anything like mine, it could begin to pay dividends in the short term, and in the long term that follows. April 30, 2020
—30— Beverly Ann Holloway Reep
Arkansas Press Women awards presented
Tammy Keith earned the Sweepstakes Award, given to the journalist who receives most honors in the annual contest. Keith, who recently retired as senior writer for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette’s River Valley & Ozark and Three Rivers editions, was also winner of the Sweepstakes Award in 2017, 2018 and 2019. Keith earned five first-place awards, eight second-place awards, eight third-place honors and nine honorable mentions. The sweepstakes runner-up was Angelita Faller, news director at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Faller was first place in four categories, second in two categories, third in one and honorable mention in four others.
Beverly Ann Holloway Reep, 63, of Warren, died April 18 in Little Rock of complications related to COVID-19. A Warren native, she was retired after 39 years of teaching. She had a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Arkansas at Monticello and a master’s degree from Henderson State University, where she studied journalism. Her son, Robert (Rob) Gregg Reep Jr., is the owner and publisher of the Saline River Chronicle, an online news site based in Warren. Beverly Reep was a member of Central Missionary Baptist Church in Warren, where she worked with youth and taught Sunday School. She was also a member of the Warren Junior Auxiliary. Survivors include her husband, R. Gregg Reep, a former state representative, her son, and two sisters. A graveside service was held April 23 at Oakland Cemetery in Warren. A memorial service will be scheduled at a later date.
INDUSTRY QUOTE “Journalism is what maintains democracy. It’s the force for progressive social change.” —Andrew Vachss Arkansas Publisher Weekly
Arkansas Press Women hosted its firstever online awards ceremony last week and recognized winners of its 2020 Communications Contest. The ceremony was conducted from remote locations via video conference because of ongoing social distancing directives because of COVID-19.
All awards were presented for work completed in 2019. First-places winners advance to the National Federation of Press Women competition. For a complete list of winners, visit arkpresswomen.wordpress.com.
News Media Alliance hosts audience development webinar on May 13
Members of the News Media Alliance may participate in a webinar on Wednesday, May, 13, to hear success stories and best practices in growing audiences, engagement and digital subscriptions. Winners of the 2019 John P. Murray Award for Excellence in Audience Development will participate in a panel discussion about audience growth and will also share how they have approached audience development during the coronavirus crisis.
The panel will “share their organizations’ journeys to success, including their original goals, the strategies and tactics they implemented to improve audience engagement and grow subscribers, and measurable outcomes of their efforts.”
MARK YOUR CALENDAR APA Annual Convention Sept 24 & 25 Little Rock Marriott 4
The webinar features P.J. Browning, publisher, and Mitch Pugh, executive editor at The Post and Courier in Charleston, South Carolina; Jennifer Hefty, content strategist and Eric Larsen, executive editor at The Coloradoan in Fort Collins, Colorado; and Christine Taylor, managing editor of the Chicago Tribune. The moderator for the hourlong webinar is Rebecca Frank, the vice president of research and insights for News Media Alliance. The webinar is Wednesday, May 13, at 1 p.m. and is open to News Media Alliance members. Visit newsmediaalliance.org to register.
LET’S GET SOCIAL Follow us on Facebook & Twitter
@ArkansasPressAssociation
@ARPressAssoc
April 30, 2020
Pine Bluff Commercial alters print deadlines
The Pine Bluff Commercial is pushing up its news deadlines starting Monday, May 4, to accommodate a change in where the newspaper is being printed.
Effective that day, the Commercial will be printed at another Gannett-owned newspaper in Jackson, Mississippi. The Commercial is one of several Gannett newspapers that will be printed in Jackson, including publications from Monroe, Louisiana, Hattiesburg, Mississippi and Biloxi, Mississippi.
Russellville newspaper changes print frequency, delivery method The Courier in Russellville has shifted to a Tuesday through Saturday publication schedule, a change similar to that of other Paxton Media Group newspapers across Arkansas during the coronavirus epidemic. Starting April 21, the Courier began publishing five days weekly, with Saturday’s newspaper being a “comprehensive weekend edition” that includes items previously included in Sunday’s edition like preprint circulars and coupons. The newspaper will not be published on postal holidays.
With the reduction in frequency, the Courier is doing away with carrier delivery and will be distributed through the U.S. Postal Service. The newspaper said recruitment and retention of newspaper carriers has been difficult and more costly than delivering the publication through the regular daily mail. For readers who want their news earlier in the day, the Courier noted that the online, digital replica edition of the newspaper is uploaded to the newspaper’s website by 5:30 a.m. daily.
With the change in printing, the news and content deadline for the Commercial will be 1 p.m. daily. According to the newspaper, that means “most late afternoon stories will appear online the night before being printed and published 24 hours later (in some cases.)”
What’s Growing on in Arkansas?
Our team of experts can help you tell the story of our state’s #1 industry Public Relations Contacts:
For photos, video, news, commentary and more: arfb.com Facebook
Arkansas Publisher Weekly
5
Flickr
SoundCloud
YouTube
April 30, 2020
Guest Column: Community support pages an important source of revenue By Peter Wagner Even before the current COVID-19 virus the traditional large advertisers – supermarkets, furniture stores, department stores, automobile dealerships, building centers and even home owned women’s and men’s clothing and shoe stores were disappearing from the community. Many of today’s boutique stores are too small to be able to invest much of their operating budget on traditional advertising. Additionally, many younger entrepreneurs establishing small shops in the marketplace have been led to believe they can succeed using just their website, Facebook and Twitter. Newspaper and shopper publishers, in response, have had to offer lower priced community support promotions to a larger number of prospects to fill their lost display revenue. That group should include local medical
Arkansas Publisher Weekly
services, law offices, accounting firms, manufacturers and banks along with traditional advertisers.
to or more than the paper’s price for a process color full page.
One community support package that has worked well for our firm for many years has been our Red Ribbon series. These five annual pages – promoting student safety during Homecoming (September), October’s Red Ribbon Day, Christmas/ New Year vacation (December), Prom (March) and Graduation (May) – are sold to interested groups of advertisers for the entire year early in the fall. But there is no reason it couldn’t be sold any time in the year for all five insertions. In our market the support spots are most easily sold when priced between $37.50 and $50.00 each.
As always if you have questions or would like additional earlier sample pages you can contact me at pww@iowainformation. com or my cell at 712-358-3550.
We always ask the advertisers if they would like to be part of a valuable “support” page and never a “signature” page. The dollar goal for the page should be equal
6
This year has been different since most public schools are closed before the school proms and potentially will be closed for graduation. We have had to come up with a more general “be safe” message for our high school and college age readers.
Peter W. Wagner is founder and publisher of the award winning N’West Iowa REVIEW and 13 additional publications. Wagner can be contacted by emailing pww@iowainformation.com or calling his cell at (712) 348-3550.
April 30, 2020