Arkansas Publisher Weekly: July 22, 2021

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‘Read Local’ house ad campaign lauches

Guest Column: Know when to invest in your newspaper’s future

By Kevin Slimp

Arkansas Press Association

Publisher Weekly Vol. 16 | No. 29 | Thursday, July 22, 2021 | Serving Press and State Since 1873

2021 APA Virtual Convention kicks off to a great start

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1. New Arkansas Press Association President Ellen Kreth (left) accepts the president’s gavel from APA Executive Director Ashley Wimberley. Kreth is publisher of the Madison County Record in Huntsville. 2. Participants hear from Ryan Dohrn, a media sales expert, on how to reignite advertising revenue. For the second consecutive year, the annual APA convention was held virtually due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. 3. Kreth (center) served as moderator of a panel discussion about how to grow audiences. Panelists were (from left) Eliza Gaines of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Mitch Bettis of Arkansas Business, Kelly Freudensprung of the Saline Courier and Jennifer Allen of the Hot Springs Village Voice. 4. APA employees Wimberley (second from right) Neil McConnell (left), Terri Cobb (second from left) and Aaron Sadler prepare to start the 2021 virtual convention. The event resumes Friday, July 23, at 9:45 am

New public notice law goes into effect Tuesday A new law requiring additional language in certain public notices will take effect Tuesday. The law was enacted as Act 954 by the Arkansas General Assembly earlier this year.

Public notices subject to the new requirement are those placed by

municipalities and counties in Arkansas.

Act 954 requires the entity placing the notice to disclose how much the notice cost and which entity paid for it.

The entity placing the notice is responsible for including the disclosure language required under Act 954. The act applies

only to notices placed by Arkansas cities and counties or divisions of those cities and counties.

Sen. Scott Flippo, R-Bull Shoals, sponsored the bill, which easily passed the House and Senate. The Arkansas Press Association did not take a position Continued on Page 2

New public notice law goes into effect Tuesday Continued on Page 2

for or against the measure. Proponents of the bill included the Arkansas Association of Counties and Arkansas Municipal League.

Those groups supported the bill despite the fact that the additional language within public notices would result in an increased price for those notices.

“Governments have counted on newspapers for centuries to convey accurate and verifiable information to the public,” said Ashley Wimberley, APA executive director.

“Newspapers continue to be the best place for public information that’s valid and reliable. The public values our industry’s role in the process, and we are demonstrating our commitment to transparency under this new law.”

Wimberley said the bill’s supporters view Act 954 as a way to show the cost of notices in a negative way. However, newspapers and the public understand that there must be some cost to transparency and government accountability. Without newspaper public notice, government entities could hide bid solicitations or potentially controversial planning and zoning announcements on a government-controlled website.

In addition to the requirement that the entity placing the notice must provide the additional disclosure, newspapers are required to display the disclosure in the same font as the primary text of the notice.

To read Act 954 in its entirety, visit https://bit.ly/3iALaOM

Local Journalism Sustainability Act gains co-sponsors More than two dozen members of Congress have signed on to co-sponsor a bipartisan bill aimed to help newspapers economically by offering three distinct tax credits. The Local Journalism Sustainability Act (H.R. 3940) was reintroduced last month after it failed to advance in 2020.

The measure now has 27 total cosponsors, both Republican and Democrat.

Newspaper industry advocates in Washington are urging local newspaper publishers to contact their local congressmen to ask for support. So far, none of the co-sponsors are among the Arkansas delegation.

Newspaper industry leaders said the proposal gives newspapers the boost they need to face financial hardships that only worsened during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The bill offers tax credits to newspaper subscribers, advertisers and news outlets.

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The subscriber credit would provide up to $250 annually to Americans who subscribe to newspapers. The credit would cover 80 percent of subscription costs in the first year and 50 percent each additional year for up to five years.

Advertisers could receive a tax credit of up to $5,000 in the first year and $2,500 in the next four subsequent years if the act passed. The credit would cover 80 percent of the cost of local advertising in the first year, and 50 percent each additional year.

Advertisers could use the credit to offset ad costs in both local newspapers and local radio and television stations.

newspapers were made worse by the pandemic,” said Dean Ridings, CEO of America’s Newspapers. “The result is even more pressure to maintain newsroom positions and the critical local news gathering that is at the heart of our democracy. As local newspapers continue their progression to a sustainable digital future, the Local Journalism Sustainability Act will provide meaningful assistance as newspapers seek to provide information in new ways to meet the needs of their audience. This act will also help the local advertisers that are critical to local communities.”

Newspapers can obtain a credit to defray costs of employing reporters. The five-year credit would be $25,000 the first year and up to $15,000 each additional year so that newspapers could hire additional, quality journalists and enhance news coverage.

America’s Newspapers has compiled a list of resources for newspaper owners on its website. Among the resources are a sample letter that can be used as a template for a letter to a member of Congress.

“The

Learn more at newspapers.org/ljsa

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July 22, 2021

‘Read Local’ house ad campaign launches

A new marketing campaign called “Shop Local. Eat Local.

Read Local” has been launched by America’s Newspapers.

Template print and digital advertisements that newspapers may use free of charge are available at newspapers.org.

The advertising campaign reinforces the message that the audience supports its local community when it supports newspapers.

The ads state: “Local businesses and restaurants need your support more than ever. Whether you visit stores, get delivery or shop online, keep your spending local and keep your community healthy.

“Newspapers are LOCAL. We are dedicated to keeping you informed, safe and connected and care about the issues that are important to our neighbors, our schools and our businesses.”

The no-cost, downloadable ads include space for the name or logo of the newspaper publishing the ads.

INDUSTRY QUOTE Great journalism will always attract readers.

The words, pictures and graphics that are the stuff of journalism have to be brilliantly packaged; they must feed the mind and move the heart.

Clay County Courier relocates

The Clay County Courier in Corning has moved its offices following this year’s sale of the newspaper to New Jersey-based CherryRoad Media.

The newspaper announced last week it had relocated from its former offices at Corning Publishing Co., owned by the newspaper’s previous owners, the Rockwell family. The Courier is now at 433 W. Second St. in downtown Corning. The newspaper will maintain its same business hours, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

—Rupert Murdoch

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.

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July 22, 2021

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Democrat-Gazette’s Simpson awarded USC fellowship Stephen Simpson, a reporter at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, has been named as one of 24 journalists taking part in the USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism 2021 National Fellowship. As a fellow, Simpson will participate in a one-week training institute and receive grants and one-on-one mentoring. The fellows report on critical health and social welfare issues.

Simpson’s project will be to “analyze health disparities throughout Arkansas, with a focus on the Delta area, where the once thriving cities of Blytheville and Pine Bluff have declined, affecting residents’ access to health care,” according to a news release from the Annenberg Center.

Training for Simpson and others from across the country selected for the prestigious fellowship is ongoing this week, where they are hearing from public health experts, journalists and community leaders.

Fellows will receive reporting grants and mentoring from veteran journalists for five months after the training, the news release stated.

–30– Sam Pierce

-30Robert Shaw

according to an AP report.

In 1984, he was named AP bureau chief in Oklahoma City. Five years after that, he was promoted to bureau chief in Indianapolis. He became AP’s Arkansas bureau chief in 1996 and worked in that role until his retirement in 2009.

Shaw was remembered by his colleagues as a perfectionist who cared about his staff, according to the AP. “He was very competent at his job, did it calmly, did it without fanfare and was widely respected both within the staff and outside the staff, among the members,” former AP president Lou Boccardi said in a published AP report.

A native of Conway, Shaw was the editor of his high school newspaper and a graduate of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. He was president of the UALR Alumni Association for two years.

Robert L. Shaw of Little Rock, an Associated Press veteran who served as bureau chief in three states, including Arkansas, died on Thursday, July 15. He was 79.

Shaw worked at the Arkansas Gazette before joining the Associated Press in St. Louis in 1965. The next year, he returned to Arkansas to write for the AP bureau in Little Rock. In 1973, he was named as an AP correspondent in Memphis, then in Jackson, Mississippi, two years later,

Arkansas Publisher Weekly

He was preceded in death by his wife, Joyce Shaw, in 2014.

Survivors include a son, Robbie Shaw of North Little Rock; a daughter, Erin Moore of Flower Mound, Texas; a sister, Betty Dent of Maumelle; six grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

Funeral services will be 11 a.m. Saturday, July 24, at Smith North Little Rock Funeral Home, with burial to follow at Pinecrest Memorial Park in Alexander. Visitation is Friday from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the funeral home.

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Samuel James Pierce, 35, of Hot Springs Village, died Saturday, July 17.

Pierce was a reporter and paginator for the zoned editions of the Arkansas DemocratGazette. A graduate of Arkansas State University, he served as editor of the ASU student newspaper, The Herald.

He was the communications director for First United Methodist Church in Benton, and had previously been a special correspondent for The Trucker trucking industry magazine.

He is survived by his wife, Alyssa Pierce; two daughters, Lileigh and Abigail; his father, Jim Pierce; his grandparents; and two step-brothers.

Funeral services were July 21. Burial was in Walnut Grove Cemetery.

The family asked that the American Heart Association be considered for lasting memorials.

July 22, 2021

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Guest Column: Know when to invest in your newspaper’s future

By Kevin Slimp About 15 or so years ago, I received a call from a newspaper designer at a small weekly. She was panicked because of a technical issue that was causing a lot of complications at her paper.

“No problem,” I told her. For less than $100, the paper could purchase a software utility that would fix the problem.

A few minutes later, my phone rang again.

“The publisher says we can’t afford it.”

My response worried the designer. “Walk into your publisher’s office,” I told her, “and remind her that I know what kind of car she drives.”

She didn’t want to follow my instructions, but I assured her she wouldn’t get into any trouble.

You see, I knew what type of car the publisher drove. I’d known her for years.

Just now, I checked, learning that a 2021 model of her car sells for more than $100,000.

A few minutes later, my phone rang again.

“We just ordered the software.”

Since starting my own publishing company four years ago, I’ve gotten a feel for what it’s like to be on the other side of the desk. As a consultant for 25 years, I often advised publishers about making long-term plans and investing in their companies.

This became especially apparent to me a few days ago when a staff member told me we needed to talk. She had a business proposal. We met for coffee – well, I had a Diet Coke – and discussed her ideas.

I came out of the meeting a little poorer in the short term. These were her ideas: ● We should invest in a subscriptionbased software package, priced at $500 per month, that would help ensure that

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we’re making accurate payments to writers. ● We should hire more editors.

There were a couple of reasons for this, but I was sold on the idea because years of consulting have taught me that quality is everything, and I agreed that we needed to “up” the quality of our editing.

In addition, we’re publishing a lot more books these days, and I’ve been working my editors too hard, which has resulted in a loss in quality. ● We need to invest in more office space. Yes, we could continue to work the way we have, but our tight spaces were resulting in short fuses, as well as storage and other issues.

I now know more than ever what it means to be a publisher. It means that every penny invested in the company comes directly out of my pocket. There’s no salary from other owners. No group to pay my way. My income is based on the profit of the company. What I make is what’s left over after all expenses are paid.

We discussed the pros and cons of each idea. I brought up the possibility that she could continue to work as hard as she has been, and I could pay her more money, but we both knew that wasn’t the best option. The best option was to look toward the future of the business and do what is needed to help ensure continued growth in the long term.

One reason many community newspapers succeed is because their owners live in the communities they serve. In addition to their love for their communities, along with an understanding of the importance of journalism, they also realize every decision made at the paper affects their financial futures.

When I considered the three proposals

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presented to me, it didn’t take long to realize our company had two choices: 1) Continue to go on as we were, which would allow us to make a living, but keep us from significant growth in the longterm, or 2) We could invest in the future, meaning I could take home a little less money over the next few months, knowing our business would be poised to continue our growth well into the future.

I bet you can guess what I decided. We met and looked over the new office space.

I signed the lease, and I’m very excited about the new editors who will be working with us.

Speaking of Software My friend Reed Anfinson, publisher in Minnesota, called in a bind last week.

His paper wasn’t going to press on time due to a technical error with the InDesign newspaper file. I asked him to send the file to me, I fixed it, then sent the new file back to him. Reed called again yesterday with the same problem, so I took the time to tell him how I repaired the file.

A few months ago, I wrote about a software app called IDMarkz, from Markzware (markzware.com), a software company that creates plug-ins and applications related to InDesign. In my research, I learned that IDMarkz does a great job of fixing corrupt InDesign files. That’s how I fixed Reed’s problem file.

Now you know what Reed knows. If you use InDesign, go ahead and purchase IDMarkz. Get the full $150 version. You can thank me later.

Kevin Slimp has been a popular speaker and consultant in the newspaper industry since developing the PDF remote printing method in the mid-1990s. He can be reached at kevin@kevinslimp.com.

July 22, 2021

ARKANSAS PRESS ASSOCIATION 2021 VIRTUAL CONVENTION SCHEDULE Friday, July 23 9:45 am

APA Business Meeting Rusty Turner, APA President

10 -11 am

Session: “Do Less WiselyStrategies for thin staff and tight resources.”

Presented by Doug Phares, Silverwind Enterprises

11:15 am 12:15 pm

Session: Apps for Journalists Presented by Val Hoeppner, Val Hoeppner Media & Consulting

12:15 12:30 pm

Break

11 - 11:15 am Break

12:30 - 2 pm

APA Better Newspaper Editorial Awards Presentation Emcee: Rex Nelson, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

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July 22, 2021

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

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Special Section Sponsors

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July 22, 2021