Arkansas Publisher Weekly: July 16, 2020

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Paycheck Protection Program reopens for new borrowers Guest Column:

Are you capturing all community voices

Arkansas Press Association

Publisher Weekly

By Jim Pumarlo

Vol. 15 | No. 29 | Thursday, July 16, 2020 | Serving Press and State Since 1873

Perry’s journey as publisher leads straight to Harrison now. He’s at the apex of a twisting, turning journey that started more than 40 years ago when Perry became interested in photography as a high schooler. That journey became more clear when he began to understand the substance and value of community newspapers after having his fill working for a television station.

Perry, a northeast Oklahoma native, studied broadcast journalism at the University of Tulsa and got his first journalism job at that city’s KTUL-TV. Colleagues’ egos got in the way of Perry’s television path.

Perry addressing the crowd at Women at the Distinction Luncheon event sponsored by the newspaper.

Those winding roads between Jim Perry’s newspapers in Harrison and West Plains, Missouri, are undoubtedly fitting for a man whose career twists and turns eventually

led him to right where he wanted to be.

Perry has been publisher of the Phillips Media Group newspapers in Harrison, Jasper and West Plains for five years

“I found out that everyone, including the cameraman, was trying to stab you in the back to get that anchor position,” Perry said. “Eventually, I realized that newspapers were the lifeblood of the community, and I loved them once I gave them a chance. It’s been the most gratifying job I’ve had in my life.”

In his career, Perry has been publisher, advertising director or editor at multiple community newspapers in Arkansas, Continued on Page 2

Deadline nears for annual Editorial Awards contest The deadline for Arkansas Press Association member newspaper staff writers to enter their best work in the APA’s Better Newspaper Editorial Contest is coming up quickly on Friday, July 31.

APA members are encouraged to submit their top articles, projects, columns and photography for the annual contest.

Award winners will be recognized during the first-ever virtually presented APA Convention on Friday, Sept. 25. The online ceremony allows for entrants who

might not otherwise be able to attend the convention due to work constraints to participate in recognizing good work and earn bragging rights among Arkansas newspapers.

above 10,000; nondaily circulation of 1,300 or fewer; nondaily circulation between 1,300 and 2,600 and nondaily circulation above 2,600.

Work published any time in 2019 may be entered. Entries will be judged by members of the Kansas Press Association.

To read a complete listing of categories and rules, and to enter, visit newspapercontest. com/contests/ArkansasPressAssociation. aspx

Entries may be submitted in multiple categories in five different divisions: Daily circulationunder 10,000; daily circulation

APA members with additional questions should contact Terri Cobb at terri@ arkansaspress.org

Perry’s journey as publisher leads straight to Harrison Continued from Page 1

“The small daily newspaper in particular is the one that’s presenting relevant material that no one else has,” Perry said. “I’m a believer in hyperlocal news. We have TV stations that cherry pick what goes on in Harrison, but the newspaper is out there every day. We get the news that no one else touches, and that becomes our franchise and our value. We’re relevant for the community, and as long as the newspaper stays relevant, it’s going to succeed.”

including Carroll County newspapers, the Mountaineer Echo in Marion County, Hope Star, Malvern Daily Record and Saline Courier. It was while Perry was working in Eureka Springs he decided his ideal job would be just down U.S. 62 in Harrison.

Perry was having a drink with J.E. Dunlap, the legendary former owner and publisher of the Harrison Daily Times at an annual Arkansas Press Association convention when he told Dunlap of his goal to one day work at the Harrison newspaper.

Owing to his background in television, Perry is encouraging his reporters to do more with video. His newspapers’ websites will contain edited video pieces that can be viewed and shared across digital platforms. He said he understands that the print product must have complementary digital content to succeed.

“J.E. and I would talk shop, and I just liked him so much that I said one time, ‘If you want a general manager there in Harrison, be sure to call me,’” Perry said.

Dunlap didn’t ever call “Eureka,” as he referred to Perry because of where he was based, but the Dunlap family did sell the newspaper to Phillips Media. When that happened, the company’s owner called Perry (who was working in Texas at the time) to ask if he’d want the publisher job.

“I couldn’t believe that, when I was called and they said ‘We’re buying Harrison. Are you interested?’” Perry said. “I’d come full circle.”

Perry lives in Harrison now — he and his wife, Lisa, have been married for 44 years, and have three sons. He travels frequently to his other newspapers, the

Jim Perry

Daily Quill in West Plains and the weekly Newton County Times.

Small daily newspapers like the ones in Harrison and West Plains have a resilience that other media outlets can’t match, he said. He thinks they will weather the economic hardships faced by the industry as it confronts digital transformations and an ongoing health crisis.

“The printed version is smaller and smaller because it’s more expensive to produce, and smart phones and e-editions are taking over,” he said.

Perry said he hopes to use his expertise and extensive industry knowledge to benefit newspapers as a whole as a member of the APA board of directors.

Perry will be a candidate for a board vacancy in the upcoming election.

“Anything I can do to help in whatever small way, I’m glad to do it.”

Paycheck Protection Program reopens for new borrowers

The federal government has reopened the application process for its Paycheck Protection Program, a targeted government relief effort for small businesses during the coronavirus pandemic. The program, operated through the Small Business Administration, is intended to supplement payroll for businesses during the global health crisis.

Congress approved broader guidelines for program eligibility in June, and on July 6 the SBA opened up the grant program for another round of funding. The deadline to apply for a PPP loan is now Aug. 8.

PPP loans may be forgiven if the money is allocated to pay salaries and other expenses covered under program

guidelines. Any small business is eligible to apply. To determine a business’s specific eligibility, visit sba.gov or contact a participating lender. To view a list of participating lenders, visit sba.gov/ document/support-paycheck-protectionprogram-participating-lenders

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July 16, 2020

Report for America opens application process Report for America is soliciting applications from news organizations throughout the United States for its program that helps fund the salaries of more than 300 journalists for up to three years.

Report for America is a national service program that places emerging, talented journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues and communities. Officials with Report for America are specifically seeking news media outlets in Arkansas, since Arkansas is one of very few states in which the organization does not have a partnership with a news outlet.

The program pays half the salary of a reporter – up to $20,000 – for up to three years. The remainder of the salary is split between the host news outlet and local donors The application deadline is September 30, 2020, and newsrooms will be publicly announced in December. Attentive to the

Arkansas Publisher Weekly

budgeting and fundraising needs of some newsrooms, an early decision will be made for those who apply by Aug. 31.

All local news organizations—nonprofit or commercial—are eligible to apply.

The application asks newsrooms to

sponsoring multiple journalists.

Currently, Report for America has 225 corps members at more than 160 local news organizations in 46 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico.

These include daily and weekly newspapers, digital-only news outlets, radio and television stations. Next year, the initiative aims to place 350 emerging journalists with local newsrooms in every state.

The reporters are chosen after a rigorous national competition.

Some 1,800 applied this past year for a few hundred open slots.

identify specific gaps in coverage in the community, drawing attention to undercovered communities or issues. It also requires applicants to craft a beat that would seek to address those gaps.

Newsrooms are encouraged to consider

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Report for America plans to hold online information sessions with newsrooms and partner organizations throughout the application period. To begin the application process or to learn more information, news organizations can visit reportforamerica.org or send an email to: info@reportforamerica.org.

July 16, 2020

NW Arkansas Newspapers consolidates printing plants

Northwest Arkansas Newspapers LLC, which prints the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and eight other WEHCO Media Inc. newspapers in northwest Arkansas, has ended operations at one of its two printing plants.

The move to consolidate printing comes after the Democrat-Gazette ended sevenday-a-week print and delivery amid the global coronavirus epidemic. In all, 24 fulltime and 15 part-time jobs were eliminated as Northwest Arkansas Newspapers shifted operations from its plant in Lowell to one in Springdale.

“In an effort to sustain local journalism in our daily and weekly newspapers in Northwest Arkansas, the decision has been made to consolidate printing between our plants in Lowell and Springdale,” said Brent Powers, president of Northwest Arkansas Newspapers, in a statement in the Democrat-Gazette. “Due to this change, there (was) a reduction in workforce in the production department on or about July 13.”

Earlier this year, the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette announced plans to move to a digital replica edition for home delivery subscribers on Monday through Saturday.

Newspaper closings nationwide increase with Covid-19 epidemic More than 50 newspapers – “and counting” – in the United States have closed since March, when the country began to experience a major economic slowdown as a result of the coronavirus epidemic, according to an article by Poynter.

The number of newsrooms that have been shuttered or newspapers that have merged with others continues to grow, the report reads.

The full report, which is consistently updated, is at poynter. org/locally/2020/ the-coronavirus-hasclosed-more-than25-local-newsroomsacross-america-andcounting/.

Of the shuttered newspapers, almost all are weeklies. In fact, of the 1,800 newspapers that have closed since 2004, about 1,700 are weekly newspapers – which often represent the only source of local news coverage in a

particular community.

Without a newspaper, studies show that communities lose transparency, taxes go up and voter participation decreases, Poynter’s report said.

Of the newspapers that have closed during the pandemic, here are the ones in states bordering Arkansas (the complete list is on Poynter’s website): The Edmond Sun¸ Edmond, Oklahoma, CNHI; The Merkel Mail, Merkel, Texas, John Starbuck; The Belle Banner, Belle, Missouri, Tri-County Newspapers; The Bland Courier, Bland, Missouri, Tri-County Newspapers; Maries County Gazette, Vienna, Missouri, TriCounty Newspapers; The Bolivar Commercial, Cleveland, Mississippi, Walls Newspapers.

New marketing campaign available for newspapers The template advertisement continues: “Local newspapers are focused on delivering the news fairly and accurately and have a proven track record of delivering results for advertisers. It’s why they are trusted in their communities.”

Arkansas Press Association member newspapers have an opportunity to participate in a new marketing campaign encouraging advertisers to turn away from social media platforms like hundreds of others have done in recent weeks. The campaign identifies the newspaper as the “trusted source” for local news.

America’s Newspapers offers the pre-designed print and digital advertisements for use free of charge by newspapers. The ads include space for the logo or name of the publishing newspaper. To learn more and to download the ads, visit newspapers.org/ marketing-trusted-source/

The new campaign by America’s Newspapers calls on newspapers to ask their advertisers: “Had enough of Facebook? So have more than 500 national brands that don’t want their ads placed next to hateful, divisive or fake content.”

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July 16, 2020

Arkansas Life ceases publication A monthly lifestyle magazine established in 2008 which highlighted Arkansas’s unique culture has stopped publishing, blaming financial problems related to the global COVID-19 epidemic for the closure.

Staffers at Arkansas Life, a WEHCO Media product, announced on the magazine’s social media channels this week that publication would stop effective immediately.

“This year’s virus-related problems proved too much to overcome,” said Lynn Hamilton, president and general manager of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, in an email printed in the newspaper. “The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette is making a lot of hard decisions these days in order to ensure the survival of our newspaper. The termination of Arkansas Life is one of them.”

According to the newspaper, current subscribers to the magazine will receive refunds for the unused portion of their subscriptions.

Just last year, the magazine announced it would shut down unless more subscribers purchased the product. Arkansas Life added more than a thousand subscribers in January 2019 as it transitioned from a monthly print model to a quarterly print magazine with monthly online-only editions.

At that time, paid circulation for the magazine was around 4,500 and total copies were about 24,000.

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Arkansas Publisher Weekly 5

July 16, 2020

Guest Column: Are you capturing all community voices?

By Jim Pumarlo Minnesota is in the spotlight following the recent death of a black man during a police arrest. Racial unrest has erupted everywhere and forced all institutions and organizations – everyone –to examine attitudes toward and treatment of minorities.

It’s an opportune time for newspapers to ask: Are all of your readers’ voices represented in your coverage?

Providing as many perspectives as possible to an issue or event should be part and parcel to everyday reporting. It’s the foundation of a well-rounded story.

The examples surface in everyday reporting. Consider a city council debating whether to give a tax break to a prospective big-box retailer. Stakeholders range from existing merchants to consumers. Are you reporting the comments solely of those at the front of the room? Are the opinions of those individuals in the back of the room – and, more broadly, residents across the community – given equal attention?

The necessity to give voice to all constituencies is elevated in an issue as powerful as race relations. The death of George Floyd has generated broad coverage of everything from protests to legislative proposals.

The events warrant an examination in the broadest sense of how all voices in a community are represented in everyday coverage. How are you monitoring and reporting on the demographic and social fabric of your communities?

Here’s an action item for your next newsroom meeting: Ask reporters to identify the community newsmakers.

Better yet, review newspapers from the past few months and circle anyone receiving attention in words and photos.

Arkansas Publisher Weekly

Several individuals are likely to be on the list, no matter the community: for example, the mayor and city council president; the superintendent and school board chair; the county’s chief administrator and the county board chair; local legislators; the heads of key local commissions and task forces. And these folks probably appear with some regularity.

Then identify who is missing. Are there constituencies who live, work and play in your community but rarely are recognized?

Your newspaper content, if it is to be regarded a living history, should reflect the full range of dynamics that make up your community fabric.

Examine your coverage to see if it reflects all aspects of the local landscape. This exercise if far from a once-and-done newsroom brainstorming. Include your entire newspaper family, which often represents a cross-section of your community.

Go beyond the newspaper as well. Here are some ideas: Convene a readers’ board. Rotate a panel of citizens to regularly evaluate newspaper content.

Solicit perspectives for bigger projects such as in-depth series. Connect first with the stakeholders of a story idea, who can identify aspects they deem important to understanding a subject.

Identify and follow key influencers.

The digital world brings the community to you at any time and any place. Find local bloggers, tweeters and other influencers on Facebook, Instagram and other social media. Track what’s on their minds.

Provide online forums. Have a regular “chat with editors.”

Convene brown bag lunches. Invite

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community members to discuss topics ranging from overall content to specific content beginning with: What voices are we missing?

Conduct a “call the editors” night.

Promote an evening when managers will be “on call” to answer any and all questions, or to focus attention on a specific topic.

Identifying opportunities for expanded coverage is the first step. Developing and implementing a plan of action are next.

This should be viewed as a long-term and never-ending process. Make no mistake, any new initiatives will tax an already burdened newsroom in today’s changing media landscape. You cannot simply add tasks without redeploying and/or adding resources.

Share the process with your readers and encourage their participation. At the same time, make it clear that you’ll be the final arbiter of which ideas will be carried out among the multitude you’ll likely receive.

A couple of points in that regard: Be clear in setting expectations; you can’t be all things to all readers. Weigh your action plans carefully; avoid token stories and focus on coverage that can be continuing and substantive.

All of this is hard work, but the effort will reap dividends for everyone. The ideas will translate into substantive content, and your newspaper will increase its relevancy in readers’ everyday lives.

Jim Pumarlo writes, speaks and provides training on community newsroom success strategies. He can be reached at www. pumarlo.com and welcomes comments and questions at jim@pumarlo.com.

July 16, 2020