Arkansas Publisher Weekly: April 29, 2021

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Support builds for bipartisan projournalism act APA Legislative Review

Arkansas Press Association

Publisher Weekly Vol. 16 | No. 17 | Thursday, April 29, 2021 | Serving Press and State Since. Pág.

187311 GRATIS

El Latino provides critical link to community during pandemic LA VOZ DE NUESTRA COMUNIDAD www.ellatinoarkansas.com

As one of the few media resources for Hispanic consumers in Arkansas, El Latino has ramped up its efforts to educate the community during the coronavirus pandemic, while targeted advertising has helped sustain the product in a challenging year for newspapers.

El Latino editor Michel Leidermann said the newspaper has been the go-to source in recent weeks for advertisers trying to reach Central Arkansas Hispanic audiences both with “help wanted” ads and with educational ads about the pandemic and vaccinations. While the weekly Spanish-language publication suffered like others from lagging ad sales at the onset of the public health crisis, it has rebounded in 2021.

“Yes, we did have businesses that stopped advertising because nobody knew what was coming,” Leidermann said. “But now we’re seeing the second wave of what’s coming on now, people trying to hire workers. … We have to encourage Continued on Page 2

8 DE ABRIL 2021 • VOLUMEN 21 • EDICIÓN 38

ARKANSAS ABRE VACUNACIÓN PARA TODOS LOS MAYORES DE 16 AÑOS Y FINALIZA OBLIGACIÓN DE MASCARILLAS PÁG. 2

A recent issue of El Latino promotes vaccination for all.

Annual APA Editorial Contest deadline extended to May 3 Because it’s been a busy month as many Arkansas newspapers try to re-engage readers and advertisers, the Arkansas Press Association has decided to extend the deadline for entries in the 2021 APA Better Newspaper Editorial Contest. The new deadline for entries is 11:59 p.m. on Monday, May 3.

The annual editorial contest gives APA members an opportunity to highlight their best work from the 2020 calendar year and measure that against other newspapers’ work from across the state. Winners will

be recognized for excellence in writing, reporting and page design at the annual APA convention. This year’s convention is being held virtually, with an online awards ceremony scheduled for the afternoon of Friday, July 23.

The contest is open to employees of APA member newspapers and entries are sought in categories ranging from beat reporting to community coverage to design to photography to humor writing.

For a full list of categories, and to submit entries, go to https://bit.ly/3eKiYac.

Continued on Page 2

El Latino provides critical link to community during pandemic Continued from Page 1

the Latino community to continue to get vaccinated, apply for jobs and sort of go back to normal life.”

vaccination clinics. Leidermann views it as an essential service to readers to make sure El Latino allays any concerns.

Like many other businesses, El Latino employees began remote work in March 2020 and that continues even now, he said. The weekly newspaper ramped up health coverage during the pandemic, and each edition features an update on COVID-19 cases in Arkansas, nationally and among Latin American countries.

For instance, the newspaper will make clear that interpreters will be on-hand for vaccination events, he said. Clinics that advertise with the newspaper have been successful. At a recent event at the Mosaic Church on South University Avenue in Little Rock, more than 750 of the 1,000 people vaccinated were Hispanic.

The newspaper features a variety of advertising with public health messages, and most recently has included ads urging readers to get vaccinated, he said.

Leidermann said readers want to know about the effectiveness and safety of vaccines. It’s his duty to provide that information to the community, he said.

“We’ve been lucky in the sense that, because of the pandemic, the Department of Health and hospitals and clinics have been advertising,” Leidermann added.

In Central Arkansas, “We are the only newspaper that really is in Spanish and addresses the community,” he said. “I select very carefully the articles I publish, and I mix a lot of Arkansas news with other news. I write for my readers, and that has been my mission from Day 1,” Leidermann said.

He noted that it is important that editorial content in El Latino support the vaccination efforts touted in the advertisements.

In addition to people who may just be hesitant to receive the vaccine, there are undocumented individuals who may fear detention by law enforcement if they attend

It’s been a formula that’s worked effectively for more than two decades, he added. The newspaper is one of several

publications produced by the Arkansas Times, an Arkansas Press Association member. El Latino’s purpose, according to the Times, is to “educate, assist and inform the Spanish speaking people of Central Arkansas that could not otherwise understand information released only in English.”

Aside from publications in northwest and southwest Arkansas, one television station and a Facebook auction group that evolved into a Spanish-language news site, there are no other Latino media outlets in the state, Leidermann said.

He expects a continued need for Latino outreach through the media though, and he said he was eager to see new U.S. Census numbers for Arkansas as the Hispanic community grows. The cost of living compared to other states is a key factor for relocation here.

“I think people will continue to come to Arkansas,” he said. “Overall, this is a friendly state for immigrants, and it’s cheaper. That’s why many people came here from California: It’s cheaper.”

Annual APA Editorial Contest deadline extended to May 3 Continued from Page 1

Entries will be judged by a panel of journalists from the Michigan Press Association.

Entries are accepted in five divisions: smaller weeklies, medium weeklies, larger weeklies, smaller dailies and larger dailies.

Visit the website for more information, or contact Terri Cobb at terri@ arkansaspress.org.

Arkansas Publisher Weekly

Support the future of Arkansas journalism by giving to the Arkansas Newspaper Foundation.

Ways to give: Estate planning, memorial and honor gifts and charitable donations. The Arkansas Newspaper Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization.

For more information call APA at 501-374-1500 or email info@arkansaspress.org.

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April 29, 2021

National group seeks Webinar promises grad page-building help survey participation With high school graduations just days away, America’s Newspapers is offering a free webinar for members of the organization to help with design and layout of graduation pages.

WE WANT

YOUR

FEEDBACK America’s Newspapers is requesting that newspaper employees across the country participate in a survey about working remotely. The organization asks publishers, general managers and other newspaper leaders to take the survey and to also distribute the survey link to all employees.

According to America’s Newspapers: “As newspaper executives begin making decisions about whether their staff will continue working from home, will return to the office or take part in a hybrid model, these survey results will help to give a good feel for what other newspapers are doing.”

America’s Newspapers is the organization established several years ago when the Inland Press Association and Southern Newspaper Publishers Association (SNPA) merged.

The survey is about two to three minutes long and it is available at this link: h t t p s : / / w w w. s u r v e y m o n k e y. c o m / r / ANremote

The webinar set for Thursday, May 6, will help designers “save hours (or even days) building pages to honor local graduates.”

Russell Viers, an Adobe certified instructor in InDesign, Photoshop and Illustrator, will show participants how to save significant amounts of time using a feature of InDesign to build graduation pages. The feature is called “Data Merge,” and it can automate page building for car and real estate ads, as well as for graduation features.

Viers began his career in 1981 as a reporter and photographer, and he now specializes in print production. He’s been a featured presenter in conferences in 23 countries.

His webinar is at 1 p.m. on May 6. It is free to members of America’s Newspapers. To register or to learn more, go to newspapers.org/webinar-indesign/

Era-Enterprise relocates offices The DeWitt Era-Enterprise in Arkansas County is moving across the courthouse square back to a location that had previously served as its office.

The newspaper’s staff relocated from 140 Court Square in DeWitt to at 326 Court Square, where the Era-Enterprise had offices 40 years ago. According to an article in the newspaper, the EraEnterprise will have a news stand and a drop box available for readers’ convenience in front of the building.

The phone number, (870) 946-3933,

remains the same, as do staff email addresses. The newspaper stated that it continues on with the same ownership and staff and is “proud to serve the residents of Arkansas County, and with your support plan to be a part of our community for many years to come.”

The DeWitt Enterprise was founded in 1916, and in 1929 absorbed the DeWitt New Era, founded in 1882, to become the DeWitt Era-Enterprise. The newspaper has been published continuously since.

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April 29, 2021

Support builds for bipartisan pro-journalism act Supporters of strong, community journalism are asked to contact members of Congress to encourage elected representatives to vote for the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act. The bipartisan legislation would establish a “safe harbor” for newspapers to join together to negotiate with big tech companies for fair compensation.

The bill permits newspapers temporarily to work together to negotiate with tech platforms without invoking any antitrust restrictions. The proposed legislation provides a four-year window for publishing companies to “negotiate fair terms that would flow subscription and advertising dollars back to publishers, while protecting and preserving Americans’ right to access quality news. These negotiations would strictly benefit Americans and news publishers at-large; not just one or a few publishers,” according to the bill’s sponsors.

Ahead of newspaper publisher meetings with members of Congress next month, the News Media Alliance is asking newspapers and supporters of good journalism to call on their representatives and Senators.

Your community could lose local news.

SEARCH

90

%

Google and Facebook take 90 percent of all digital advertising revenue growth – revenue that news publishers need to invest in continuing to deliver the news.

The Alliance produced print and digital ads for newspaper publishers to use, free of charge, that encourage readers to support local journalism. The ads are available at newsmediaalliance.org/ads-support-asafeharbor4news/ The advertisements explain that Google and Facebook receive 90 percent of all digital advertising revenue growth, which is revenue that local news publishers need to invest in continuing to deliver local news.

The Alliance also asks supporters to send letters to members of Congress to encourage them to support the Act, which will level the playing field with tech companies and give news publishers of all sizes – especially small, local publishers – a chance to get the compensation they deserve from the dominant tech platforms.

The Journalism Competition and Preservation Act is sponsored by Sens.

Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota, and John Kennedy, R-Louisiana; and Reps. David Cicilline, D-Rhode Island, and Ken Buck, R-New York.

Arkansas Publisher Weekly

Tell your Member of Congress to co-sponsor THE JOURNALISM COMPETITION & PRESERVATION ACT now.

#SafeHarbor4News bit.ly/sh4news

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April 29, 2021

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Guest Column: Advertisers’ Blind Spots

By John Foust When we learned how to drive, we heard about blind spots. Those are the areas which are not visible in our rear and side view mirrors. As a result, we have to be extra careful when we change lanes.

The term “blind spots” has become popular in today’s business environment.

It refers to significant things that are not acknowledged or given fair consideration by management. Outside observers are often perplexed by the fact that certain obvious factors are always ignored.

Blind spots are common in the advertising business. Let’s take a look at a few examples: 1. Family. This can be a big blind spot in family-owned businesses. It’s a clear sign if you hear something like, “My grandfather wrote our ad slogan, and if it was good enough for him, it’s good enough for me.”

Or, “My son just finished a marketing class, and he’s got some good ad ideas.”

Or, “My niece says we need to have a bigger presence on social media.”

2. Do-it-yourself mentality. A lot of entrepreneurs and Mom-and-Pop businesses are used to doing just about everything themselves. They don’t like to delegate tasks and they resist outside

Arkansas Publisher Weekly

help. They hire and fire, they set office policies, they select inventories, and they keep their own books.

They also maintain tight control of their marketing. In their minds, no one could know more about promoting their businesses than they do.

3. Competitor distractions. Someone told me about his experience in working for a furniture manufacturer. His company suddenly started losing orders, because a competing company was dramatically cutting prices. His CEO called an all-staff meeting and announced that their new focus was to beat the competitor at their own game. “From that point on,” he said, “it was like Captain Ahab going after Moby Dick. But along the way, we lost our focus on quality, which had been our big selling point. It was like the CEO became blind to what we had going for us all along. It took a while to regain our balance in the market.”

Some advertisers make the same mistake. They spend so much time thinking about their competitors that they lose sight of what differentiates them in the marketplace.

4. History. We’re all products of our past

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experiences. It should be no surprise when we encounter otherwise savvy business people who are wedded to old media choices – or old ad campaigns – even if those choices are no longer producing results. There may be long-standing relationships with those media outlets. Or there may be a bias against a particular newspaper or newspapers in general.

Blind spots are real, but not necessarily fatal for an ad campaign. After all, we have blind spots, too – and some of them involve our perspectives on advertising.

How should you handle an advertiser with a blind spot that is blocking the way? A good place to start is to look for common ground and bite your tongue if you are tempted to criticize. © 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

April 29, 2021

93rd Arkansas General Assembly

Legislative Report APA is monitoring the following filed bills of interest to our industry and the public: A complete listing of all the bills filed this year that would affect APA member newspapers will appear in next week’s Arkansas Publisher Weekly: 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

None

Was not considered

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

Passed House; failed to receive a motion in Senate City, County and Local Affairs 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

Was not considered

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

None

Was not considered

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

Failed 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

Was not considered

HB 1868 Rep. Haak

Allows city and county governments to receive certain sales tax data from the state, and makes that data exempt from the Freedom of Information Act. https://bit.ly/3e6flv1

Neutral

Passed House and Senate

HB 1872 Rep. Beaty

Requires governing bodies meeting in executive session to maintain audio recordings of those sessions; provide oral summaries of the sessions; and publish a written transcript of the session in a local newspaper. https://bit.ly/3dnGmep

Supports

Withdrawn from further consideration

HB 1903 Rep. Hawks

Exempts from sales tax the purchase of digital subscriptions to newspapers or periodicals when purchased by a public school or library. https://bit.ly/3djxg20

Neutral

Referred for interim study following legislative session

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

None

Was not considered

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

Passed the Senate and House

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

None

Withdrawn from further consideration

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

Signed by governor as Act 889

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

Was not considered

Arkansas Publisher Weekly

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April 29, 2021

Bill No. / Author

Short Description

APA Position

Current Status

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

None

Passed Senate and House

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

Referred to interim study

SB 567 Sen. Bledsoe

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

Opposes

Withdrawn from further consideration

SB 610 Sen. Flippo

Requires statements to be included in any newspaper public notice paid for by a municipality or county stating the public entity that paid for the notice and the cost of the notice. https://bit.ly/3cIFqks

Neutral

Signed by governor as Act 954

SB 691 Sen. Hammer

Requires disclosure of agency or office funding an advertisement when an ad bearing the image of an elected official is published in a newspaper. https://bit.ly/3wXZLu3

Neutral

Passed Senate and House

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April 29, 2021