Arkansas Publisher Weekly: June 24, 2021

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Local Journalism Sustainability Act reintroduced into Congress

Guest Column:

Give your advertising some personality

By John Foust

Arkansas Press Association

Publisher Weekly Vol. 16 | No. 25 | Thursday, June 24, 2021 | Serving Press and State Since 1873

New public notice law takes effect in late July A new Arkansas law requiring cities and counties to disclose the cost of each public notice with each publication is set to take effect in late July.

Act 954 requires legal notices purchased by municipalities and counties in Arkansas to contain information about which public entity paid for the notice and how much was paid. The new requirement pertains to publications of new city or county ordinances, bid solicitations, delinquent tax lists and other notices paid for by cities and counties.

The requirement does not extend to any other public notices. Only those legallyrequired publications placed by Arkansas cities or counties or entities of those cities are counties are subject to Act 954.

According to an Arkansas attorney general’s opinion, the effective date of Act 954 and all other laws enacted in 2021 without an emergency clause is Tuesday, July 27.

“We’re asking Arkansas Press Association members to take time to review Act 954 in advance of the effective date, so that newspapers and government entities are both clear about the requirement,” said Ashley Wimberley, Arkansas Press Association executive director.

The act was sponsored by Sen. Scott Flippo, R-Bull Shoals, and driven by the Association of Arkanas Counties.

The Arkansas Municipal League also supported the measure.

APA took a neutral position on the bill, reminding legislators that APA members value transparency, especially in public notices.

“Our industry and the general public want public notices to remain in newspapers because newspapers are an independent and accountable source of this extremely important information,” said Wimberley.

“Our industry views Act 954 as another way to demonstrate the importance of transparency.

“It’s clear that supporters of this legislation thought that listing the cost of a public notice would somehow be taken negatively, but we think it’s essential for the

people to know that we take government transparency seriously here in Arkansas, even if it means spending just a little bit of money to protect the reliability and validity of public information.”

Proponents of the measure view it as a way to show what it believes is a high cost of publishing legal notices, but APA has argued for years at the Legislature that public notices are essential. In the 2021 legislative session, APA successfully staved off any efforts to remove Continued on Page 2

New public notice Register now for APA virtual convention law takes effect in Registration is now open for the 2021 Arkansas Press Association virtual convention.

The convention, held online again this year, is Thursday, July 22, and Friday, July 23. late July This year’s convention theme is “Reflect. Refocus. Reignite.” The theme acknowledges Continued from Page 1

government public notices altogether, thanks to the collaborative work of its membership.

“The cost of a public notice is an important detail, and it’s fair to share that within the notice,” said Wimberley. “We all know the value of transparency, and we recognize there has to be some cost to it.

Fortunately, the maximum rate for legal notices is already set by state law.”

APA members’ efforts to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic with a renewed commitment to their audiences and communities.

Registration is $50 per person. To register, visit ArkansasPress.org.

“Our programming for this year’s convention will offer essential tips and strategies that our newspapers need to rebound from the pandemic and grow even stronger,” said Ashley Wimberley, APA executive director. “Like last year, we are keeping registration costs low so that all our newspapers can benefit from our workshops and presentations.

There’s no better investment than to register for the 2021 convention, especially when our members don’t have to worry about travel or lodging costs, either.”

Act 954 states that the additional required information must be provided by the entity submitting the public notice. The font size of the disclosure must be the same as the font size of the public notice itself.

Because the additional language is considered a part of the public notice, perword charges for the disclaimer may be assessed by newspapers as well.

To read Act 954, please visit the link https://bit.ly/35JEPdS

INDUSTRY QUOTE “The most profound lessons about journalism I’ve learned have been taught to me by the people I’ve covered.”

—Jodi Kantor

LET US KNOW We want to know about your new hires, retires and promotions!

Send your staffing changes to info@arkansaspress.org to be updated online and included in the Arkansas Publisher Weekly.

Arkansas Publisher Weekly

The convention starts at 10 a.m. on July 22 with two presentations by Ryan Dohrn, the CEO of Brain Swell Media and internationally recognized advertising sales expert.

Dohrn’s discussions will center on how to re-engage with customers post-pandemic and how to renew revenue growth. He will be followed Thursday afternoon by a panel of APA members for a discussion on how to maximize your audiencE. At 3 p.m. on July 22 is the installation of a new APA president and presentation of Distinguished Service, Freedom of Information and Educator of the Year awards.

Friday, July 23 programming starts with an APA business meeting at 9:30 a.m., followed by sessions specifically tailored to helping reporters and editors better manage their time and improve their reporting.

The convention concludes Friday afternoon with the annual Better Newspaper Editorial awards ceremony at 12:30 p.m.

For more information about the 2021 virtual convention, call (501) 374-1500 or email terri@arkansaspress.org.

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June 24, 2021

THANK YOU TO OUR 2021 ARKANSAS VIRTUAL CONVENTION SPONSORS! Headline Sponsors

Breaking News Sponsors

Special Section Sponsors

Newspapers urged to participate in compensation study America’s Newspapers and Editor & Publisher have launched their second annual sales compensation study, a study that according to its organizers will give “insights into emerging and changing trends that can help owners and publishers plan budgets and goals while remaining competitive in hiring.”

In addition to compensation questions, the survey this year asks respondents about building diversity, selling podcasts and how they fared during the COVID-19 pandemic. The same survey is being conducted for radio and television sales teams as well, in order to compare how newspapers and other local, competing media compensate.

The surveyors said ideal respondents include owners, managers, sellers and human resource professionals. All survey participants and their responses are confidential.

WE WANT

YOUR

FEEDBACK

Each person who fills out the survey will earn a chance to win a $100 American Express Gift Card in a random drawing.

The survey is open through Friday, July 16, and responses will be released at the America’s Newspapers Senior Leadership Conference in Colorado in October.

Respondents will receive an early overview of the study.

To take the survey, visit: http://bit.ly/NewspaperCompStudy21

Fort Smith loses New MDR sports editor named FOIA court case The city of Fort Smith was ordered last week to comply with a Freedom of Information Act request from a Fort Smith attorney and FOIA advocate.

Joey McCutchen sued the city in Sebastian County Circuit Court after it failed to turn over emails requested by McCutchen on May 27. Judge Gunner DeLay ordered that a year’s worth of emails sent to the city’s board of directors email group be provided to McCutchen, the Northwest Arkansas DemocratGazette reported.

FOIA

Correspondence sent to the email group is distributed to 10 different recipients.

McCutchen said he was concerned that city directors were using the group to have “secret discussions” about public business, the newspaper reported.

The report said the city argued in court that, because the email address functioned as a conduit, it couldn’t fulfill the request.

McCutchen had asked for a year’s worth of emails sent to the group.

The judge rejected the claim that the “conduit” aspect of the email address meant the city didn’t have to turn over the records.

Arkansas Publisher Weekly

Gerren Smith has been named sports editor of the Malvern Daily Record, according to an article in that newspaper.

cheerleading.

Smith holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in mass communications with a minor in coaching from Ouachita Baptist University, and was a writer for the Signal, the OBU student newspaper. He was a sports reporter for the Hope Star for 11 years before that newspaper’s closure, and covered tennis, golf, track and field, baseball, football, basketball, soccer and

“We were fortunate to be able to recruit him [in 2018],” said Kelly Freudensprung, publisher of the Malvern Daily Record.

“Even though his background was in sports reporting, he handled news reporting very well. [With this promotion] we are thrilled that Garren is back doing what he loves … and giving our readers the sports stories and photos that they love.”

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He has been a news reporter for the Malvern Daily Record since 2018.

June 24, 2021

REACH YOUR AUDIENCE With more than 20 distinguished niche publications, it’s easy to get your message in front of your audience.

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Fulton joins Baxter Bulletin as reporter Christoper Fulton has joined the staff of the Baxter Bulletin in Mountain Home as news reporter.

“For the past few months, we have been looking for the right journalist to come to Mountain Home and tell your stories [and] to join Neal Denton who continues to excel with sports coverage from around the area,” said Dann Miller, state editor for Gannett Arkansas newspapers, in an announcement published on Monday, June 21. “I am pleased to welcome Christopher as news reporter for the Baxter Bulletin.”

Fulton was raised in Texarkana, Arkansas, before moving to Memphis, from where he graduated high school. He attended Arkansas State University – Newport and is a graduate of the University of Memphis.

He is also a veteran of the U.S. Navy.

While at the University of Memphis, Fulton was managing editor of student publication The Daily Helmsman. He recently completed a oneyear internship with the Institute for Public Service Reporting at the university.

Local Journalism Sustainability Act reintroduced in Congress For the second straight year, some members of Congress are moving forward with a proposal to support local news publishers with three distinct tax credits.

The Local Journalism Sustainability Act, which did not advance in the last Congress, was reintroduced last week by Reps. Ann Kirkpatrick, D-Arizona, and Dan Newhouse, R-Washington.

The bill would establish tax credits to consumers who purchase annual subscriptions to local newspapers, another credit for newspapers to hire quality journalists and a third to give small businesses an incentive to advertise with

local newspapers, radio and television stations.

Newspaper groups across the country, including America’s Newspapers, support passage of the proposed legislation.

“The ongoing challenges at local newspapers were made worse by the pandemic,” said Dean Ridings, America’s Newspapers CEO. “The result is even more pressure to maintain newsroom positions and the critical local news gathering that is at the heart of our democracy.”

Specifics of the legislation include: •A five-year tax credit of up to $250 each

year for subscriptions to local newspapers.

The credit would cover 80 percent of subscription costs in the first year and half for the remaining four years.

•A five-year credit of up to $25,000 in the first year and $15,000 in subsequent years for newspapers to hire local news journalists.

•A credit of up to $5,000 in the first year and $2,500 the next four years to defray costs for small businesses that advertise in local newspapers or other local media.

The credit would cover 80 percent of advertising costs in the first year and 50 percent in subsequent years.

SUPPORT LOCAL

JOURNALISM Arkansas Publisher Weekly

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June 24, 2021

Poll shows Republicans support journalism protection act RE LO A CA D L

A new poll commissioned by the News Media Alliance shows that nearly three-fourths of Republicans back federal legislation to allow news publishers freedom to negotiate better business terms with big tech companies like Facebook and Google.

The poll by Echelon Insights found 73 percent of Republicans surveyed support the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act. The Act, now being considered in Congress, is a bipartisan measure that gives news organizations a limited and temporary safe harbor to negotiate with tech competitors.

According to the News Media Alliance, the poll results show that voters value local news publishers and think it’s important to level the playing field between small, local and independent newspapers and Big Tech.

The act is essential for the newspaper industry to protect quality local journalism.

The survey’s findings included 75 percent of Republicans who said tech companies should not be allowed to profit from news content unless it is fairly compensating the news organization for using the content. About 70 percent said that Facebook and Google take advantage of small, local and conservative news publishers by not negotiating with them.

The News Media Alliance has established an online Safe Harbor Resource Center with more information about the bill. Visit the site at SafeHarborBill.com.

2021 Diamond Journalism Awards winners announced for a series of stories documenting efforts by Mississippi officials making changes to polling locations without adequate communication. In addition, Pittman was named the Diamond Journalist of the Year for a portfolio of work that included samples from the other two winning entries.

The winners of the Arkansas Pro Chapter, Society of Professional Journalists 2021 Diamond Journalism Awards were announced Friday, June 18, in a virtual ceremony, with top honors going to writers from the Mississippi Free Press, a nonprofit online media outlet based in Jackson, and AY Magazine of Little Rock. The Diamond Journalism Awards recognize journalism excellence in Arkansas and six neighboring states.

Ashton Pittman, Donna Ladd and Christian Middleton won the Robert S. McCord Freedom of Information Award for a three-part investigative series and subsequent reporting for the Mississippi Free Press that exposed racist and sexist email exchanges between powerful, wealthy donors and top administrators and faculty at the University of Mississippi.

The Mississippi Free Press also won the Public Service Award

Arkansas Publisher Weekly

Dustin Jayroe of AY Magazine was named the Outstanding New Journalist, a distinction that recognizes excellence by a journalist who has been working professionally for five years or fewer.

Two new awards categories were introduced for 2021.

Andrew DeMillo of The Associated Press took first place in the new Pandemic Coverage category. Christine Miyawa, Tristan Bennett, Chase Gage and Krishnan Collins, student journalists with the Delta Digital News Service at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro took the top prize in the Student Special Projects category for their coverage of the coronavirus pandemic.

For a complete list of winners visit arkansasspj.org

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June 24, 2021

Guest Column: Give your advertising some personality

By John Foust Kirk likes to work directly with his ad clients on their creative strategies. “Making a sale is just the first step in the journey,” he said.

“It’s a big part of my job to make sure my clients stand out from their competitors on the page and on the screen. When I work with several advertisers who are in the same type of business, it’s a special challenge to create a different ad personality for each one of them.”

Generally speaking, there are two types of advertising. There are image ads that are designed to give consumers a good feeling about the advertiser (for example, “Your safety is our biggest concern”). And there are response ads that are designed to move readers to take action (“Buy one, get one free”).

Kirk is on target in his comments about personality. Whether image or response – whether print or digital – every ad has some kind of personality. Instead of leaving that important advertising ingredient to chance, he is determined to help them develop ad personalities that appeal to their respective target audiences.

Let’s take a look at a few of the tools which can contribute to an ad’s personality – the type of personality that a client wants to project:

Arkansas Publisher Weekly

1. Typography. When we speak, it’s not just what we say, it’s how we say it that communicates a message. It’s the same on the newspaper page or the digital screen, so much so that typography has been called “the voice of print.”

From a bold, sans serif headline for a construction equipment distributor to a lighter serif headline for an upscale clothing store, type fonts can create important first impressions.

2. Photographs vs. Illustrations. To depict realism, use a photograph. Photos are usually more true-to-life than drawings.

Even if a photo has been touched up, consumers are willing to accept it as a reasonable representation of the subject matter.

Although some illustrations can be as realistic as photographs (consider closecropped, photo-like depictions of tires), most illustrations leave more to the imagination than that. There are a number of choices, including pen and ink, gray tones, charcoal, watercolors and cartoons.

3. Products vs. people. Three possible options are: products by themselves, people by themselves or people using the products. In other words, an ad can depict

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a widget, people (in posed or candid shots), or a person using a widget.

4. Copy style. Some advertisers present information in a straight-forward pattern that reads something like this: “(1) featurebenefit, (2) feature-benefit, (3) featurebenefit, (4) buy today.” Others like to tell – or imply – a story. For example: “Imagine getting yard work done quickly, so you’ll have the rest of the day for fun.”

“There are lots of creative options and combinations that give us ways to customize ads for our clients,” Kirk said.

“Even if they sell the best products in the world, nobody will read their ads unless they attract attention on the page. That’s why the sale is only the beginning of the process.” © 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

June 24, 2021