Arkansas Publisher Weekly: May 2, 2019

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Ballots in APA annual election to be mailed next week Register now for booth at APA convention trade show

ARKANSAS

PRESS

Ar kansas

Publisher Weekly

Vol. 14 | No. 18 | Thursday, May 2, 2019

ASSOCIATION

Serving Press and State Since 1873

University of Kansas professor to bring social media expertise to APA convention attendees The changing media landscape brought on by social media brands like Facebook and Twitter is a good thing for traditional media outlets, and the newspaper industry should embrace social media as a friend rather than a foe, argues University of Kansas Professor Teri Finneman

Teri Finneman

Finneman, a presenter at next month’s Arkansas Press Association convention, encouraged newspapers to use social media to its benefit, and she has a track record of success for doing just that.

Finneman will present “10 Tips for Increasing Your Social Media Engagement” on Friday, June 28. The convention runs from June 26 to June 29 at the Hotel Hot Springs. “I don’t have the same doom and gloom outlook as others may,” about the effect of social media on the industry, Finneman said in a telephone interview this week. “It’s a tremendous benefit for newspapers. Our primary job is to get information to the public, and we have 2 billion people on Facebook and that is where they’re going

to get their information. The industry needs to be where the people are.” Finneman, who has a Ph.D. from the University of Missouri, is an assistant professor in the School of Journalism and Mass Communications at KU. Finneman manages social media for several private clients, and one of her classes just this semester took on a project handling social media for a news outlet in a nearby community. During her oversight, the outlet’s engagement on social media grew more than 500 percent. The “secret” to that success, if there is one, is to identify and share items that newspapers know their readers are seeking online. Newspapers can implement some simple strategies and

APA membership to vote on bylaws changes Arkansas Press Association members will vote this month on whether to expand the association’s membership structure to include a new category of media affiliate members. The recommendation by the APA Board of Directors reflects the transitional nature of the newspaper industry and creates an additional revenue stream to continue to support the APA’s core function of advocacy, education and marketing for the newspaper industry. The bylaws changes members are asked to approve include membership eligibility for “media affiliate” members. Those would include specialty media outlets and

online news outlets.

“As APA leadership, we recognize our industry is undergoing a transformation, as it has been for some time now,” said APA Board President Tom White, publisher of the Advance-Monticellonian in Monticello. “Newspapers are changing the frequency of their publications, and the number of digital news outlets are increasing. As news organizations we all should have the same common goals and values, and it just makes sense to include this new category of media affiliates among the APA membership.” Specialty news publications eligible for membership will be monthly, quarterly

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or annual newspapers and magazines and college newspapers in Arkansas. The publications must be continuously published for at least six months and may not contain more than 75 percent advertising in half of the issues published in a 12-month period. Online news members will include websites that features local news, editorial comment or other content that has the primary function of informing, instructing, enlightening and entertaining readers. The content must be regularly revised and it may not serve as a special-interest platform. The website must have a known physical address in Arkansas.


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Arkansas Publisher Weekly: May 2, 2019 by Arkansas Press Association - Issuu