Arkansas Publisher Weekly: May 21, 2020

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NMA webinar aims to help newspapers with revenue

Guest Column:

Provide a go-bag for presentations

By John Foust

Arkansas Press Association

Publisher Weekly Vol. 15 | No. 21 | Thursday, May 21, 2020 | Serving Press and State Since 1873

ANF bolsters intern program to aid newspapers The Arkansas Newspaper Foundation announced this week it will substantially increase its funding for summer interns at Arkansas Press Association newspapers to support APA members during a pivotal time for journalism.

The summer 2020 student interns are:

The ANF has assigned five student journalists to summer internships at newspapers across Arkansas. Unlike previous years, ANF is providing full funding for the internships. These grants offer multiple benefits for newspapers and students, as students receive real-world newspaper experience and participating publications obtain a qualified candidate to fill a temporary position.

Matt Smothers, The Jonesboro Sun

In previous years, newspapers were expected to match ANF’s $1,500 outlay for the seven to 10-week program. Because of the hardships faced by Arkansas newspapers because of the coronavirus epidemic, the ANF Board of Directors this month voted to cover the entire cost of all five internships, for a total of $15,000 in grants to participating newspapers.

“Now more than ever our newspapers need assistance reporting on their communities and producing a quality product during difficult economic times,” said Rusty Fraser, publisher of the Stone County Leader and president of the Arkansas Newspaper Foundation. “Given the current circumstances, the ANF board believed now was the best time to fully fund these positions.

Participating newspapers reap the benefits of having a talented student journalist from an Arkansas university in the newsroom and students earn first-hand knowledge and skills from reporting in a professional newsroom.”

Krishnan Collins

Kolton Rutherford

Matt Smothers

Krishnan Collins, the Daily Record in Little Rock Kolton Rutherford, Log Cabin Democrat in Conway Pete Tubbs, Arkadelphia Dispatch Jordan Woodson, Searcy Daily Citizen Collins, of Sherwood, is a graduate of North Little Rock High School and is a junior at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro.

He is currently editor-in-chief of The Herald, Arkansas State’s student newspaper. He was previously the sports editor and a sports reporter for that newspaper and he has also worked for ASU’s Delta Digital News Service. His major is multimedia journalism and minor is history.

Rutherford, of Maumelle, attended American Online High School and he graduated from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock this month with a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication. During the past semester he was a news intern for KUAR 89.1 FM in Little Rock. He has also been an athletics communications intern for UALR and sports editor of The Forum, UALR’s student newspaper. His freelance work has appeared in four different newspapers.

Smothers, of Conway, attended Gosnell High School and is a senior at the University of Central Arkansas where he majors in Continued on Page 2

Pete Tubbs

Jordan Woodson

ANF bolsters intern program to aid newspapers Continued from Page 1

journalism with a history minor. He’s been a staff writer and editor for The Echo, UCA’s student newspaper. In 2019, he was the campus life editor for The Echo.

His awards include recognition from the Arkansas College Media Association.

Tubbs, of Arkadelphia, is a graduate of Hamburg High School and attended Henderson State University, where he majored in mass media and minored in philosophy. He worked from 2016 to 2019

Slimp to host twohour Photoshop webinar on May 28

Adobe Photoshop and newspaper industry expert Kevin Slimp will present a two-hour online workshop on Thursday, May 28, at 1 p.m.

Slimp, slated to be the featured presenter at this year’s Arkansas Press Association annual convention in September, promises to take participants from their current familiarity with Photoshop to “Photo Editing Guru” within the 120-minute seminar. The class provides more than just tips on Photoshop, according to Slimp. Participants will “learn the best way to save photos in CYMK, RGB, Grayscale and for the web with the click of one button. You’ll learn how to make transparent backgrounds that work. You’ll learn how to get the best reproduction in print from your photos. You’ll learn how to set up your default color settings. You’ll learn how to create, and use, patterns.”

The class is $59, a discounted rate offered to members of the Arkansas Press Association. To register, visit newspaperacademy.com

on Henderson State’s student newspaper, The Oracle.

Woodson, of Cabot, attended Cabot High School and is currently a student at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

His major is mass communications and minor is political science. He has worked for The Forum from 2017 to 2020. He is the recipient of several awards from the Arkansas College Media Association.

The five new interns will begin their work with their respective publications within the next month.

The Arkansas Newspaper Foundation is a non-profit organization that provides support, professional development and education opportunities to Arkansas Press Association member newspapers. For more than 20 years, ANF has provided paid newspaper internships to Arkansas students.

Partnerships covered under PPP The National Newspaper Association this week advised newspapers of a change in rules under the Small Business Association’s Paycheck Protection Program that may benefit newspapers that are partnerships.

According to NNA, any partnership that submitted a PPP application before April 14 may have been instructed to submit applications as self-employed individuals. Instead, those partnerships should have added their compensation to the payroll portion of their PPP calculations.

owners who applied before April 14 and did not include partners’ compensation in their loan requests may go back to lenders to seek a one-time increase.

The federal government has said it will permit businesses that filed for their loans before they were aware of the partnership ruling to apply again. Those newspaper

NNA has added more information to its website for newspaper owners to provide to lenders and accountants: nna.org/pub/ dog/adding-to-PPP-loans.pdf

INDUSTRY QUOTE Journalism, like democracy, is not something that is achieved. It is a work in progress, and not every day is as good as the last.

—John Maxwell Hamilton

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May 21, 2020

NMA webinar aims to help newspapers with revenue Newspaper publishers and advertising managers looking for ways to grow digital advertising revenue may consider registering for an upcoming News Media Alliance webinar.

new revenue streams is more valuable than ever. As browsers move to eliminate third-party cookies, new emerging technologies enable web publishers to generate higher CPMs for many visitors and enable publishers to monetize existing assets in new ways.”

The webinar, “Profits in Uncertain Times: Leveraging New Technology to Grow Digital Ad Revenue and Create New Revenue Streams” is Wednesday, June 3, starting at 1 p.m. Register for the 30-minute webinar at www.newsmediaalliance.org

Leading the webinar will be David J. Moore, CEO, and Chris Hatley, chief revenue officer of digital tech firm BritePool. The two will discuss advertising demand and how publishers can capture additional revenue in 2020.

According to NMA, “the ability to generate

Survey shares advertiser trends due to pandemic A survey by the World Federation of Advertisers shows that advertisers intend to cut their print budgets by 37 percent, on average, because of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a report from MediaPost.com.

The survey of multinational companies indicated that online display advertising would decline only by 14 percent and online video by 7 percent.

However, print advertising is not likely to suffer as much as other media, including a drastic reduction by half of all outdoor advertising and a 56 percent decline in event marketing.

America’s Newspapers extends free campaign to support local businesses With many American businesses reopening after weeks of closures because of the coronavirus epidemic, America’s Newspapers has retooled its “Newspapers Have Your Back” campaign. The new house ads for print and digital media are available free of charge to newspapers from the organization’s website.

The advertisements have the same slogan as those produced earlier this year to honor and recognize the health care workers and first responders on the front lines of the battle against COVID-19. The new ads, though, feature business owners.

The digital and print ads are intended to remind the business community that local newspapers’ reach across products has never been higher, and with special packages tailored to local businesses, there are options for any size business with any budget.

The ads read: “Local newspapers have the print and digital advertising solutions to help businesses bring customers back and quickly regain lost revenue.”

To access and request the free ads, visit http://newspapers.org/marketing-localbusinesses/

In the survey, many of the companies indicated they were deferring planned advertising campaigns from three months to up to six months.

The analysis from MediaPost.com concluded: “The data is discouraging, but at least summer months are slower for publishers and the broader media industry.

A key test will be the gradual easing of lockdowns that let more businesses reopen, even if they must revamp their operations for social distancing and improved hygiene.

“Any progress in these efforts will set the stage for the critical back-to-school and holiday shopping seasons. Obviously, keeping schools closed will suppress demand for school supplies and kids’ clothing. It will be the first sign of what to expect for the remainder of the year.”

Arkansas Publisher Weekly

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May 21, 2020

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Guest Column: Provide a go-bag for presentations

By John Foust Richard is an advertiser who has seen years of sales presentations. His pet peeve is any salesperson who shows up unprepared. “It’s a waste of valuable time to be in a meeting where someone is not ready for the topic at hand,” he said.

“I remember a meeting with an ad manager – a manager – and he showed up with no briefcase or folder, no rate information, and nothing to use for note-taking. All he had was a business card. I guess he thought his presence in the room would be enough for me to decide to run ads with his company. When I mentioned that it would be helpful to see a copy of his paper, he said he would have someone bring a copy later. His whole approach was arrogant and lackadaisical. It didn’t take long for me to decide that I could get along just fine without doing business with him.”

Although Richard’s example is extreme, it illustrates the importance of preparation. There’s a lot of truth in the old saying, “Perception is reality.” If a prospect perceives that a salesperson is unprepared, that becomes their reality – and the result is a large obstacle for the salesperson to overcome.

Consider the briefcase. In this instance,

Arkansas Publisher Weekly

let’s call it a go-bag, a term which concept likely originated in the military, where service men and women have to be ready at a moment’s notice. People also prepare go-bags of essential items that are needed in case of emergencies. Just pick it up and go.

Here are some basics for your advertising go-bag: 1. Note-taking device. It’s crucial to capture the things you learn about your prospect. Whether it’s a paper notebook or an electronic device, it’s important to be ready to take good notes.

2. Legal pad or sketch pad. You should always be ready to sketch ideas. Just a few shapes on the page can help an advertiser visualize an ad. “The headline can go here” (horizontal lines). “A photo of your featured product can go here” (large box). “Call-out copy blocks can go here, here and here” (small boxes).

3. Calculator. Yes, it’s okay to use the calculator on your phone. Just make sure the phone is muted and not distracting.

4. Ruler. This will eliminate the need to guess the size of ads on tear sheets and other samples.

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5. Rate information, ad specs, coverage map, etc. Have enough copies for anyone who may attend the meeting.

6. Current issue of your paper, along with copies of any special sections you’re selling. You can also consider adding screenshots of key online pages.

7. Business cards. Make sure they have sharp corners and no creases.

8. Folder of samples. It’s smart to have a folder of examples of the use of white space, the difference between serif and sans serif type, and clean layouts.

9. Folder of ads your prospect has run, along with relevant proposals and hard copies of emails. Obviously, you’ll add these to your go-bag before each appointment. (c) Copyright 2020 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.

E-mail for information: john@johnfoust.com

May 21, 2020