Arkansas Publisher Weekly: July 29, 2021

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Public notice disclosure law now in effect

Guest Column:

Special projects energize staff, community

Arkansas Press Association

Publisher Weekly

By Jim Pumarlo

Vol. 16 | No. 30 | Thursday, July 29, 2021 | Serving Press and State Since 1873

Photo of the Year winner captures emotions of pandemic

APA 2020 Photo of the Year by Charlie Kaijo of the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

A northwest Arkansas photojournalist saw a nurse’s empathy through his lens and captured a photograph that, in essence, honors health care heroes and illustrates the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Charlie Kaijo’s shot of a healthcare worker embracing a 4-year-old boy just after a painful COVID-19 test serves as a visual example of a trying year, and for its clarity and emotion, it was selected as the

Arkansas Press Association’s 2020 photo of the year.

again on Dec. 31 as part of a “year in pictures” retrospective.

Kaijo’s work was recognized last week at the annual APA Better Newspaper Editorial Contest awards. His photo ranked ahead of dozens of others submitted for the 2020 contest. Kaijo is a photojournalist for the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

His photo first appeared in the April 25, 2020, edition of that newspaper, and then

The photo and other entries in the contest were judged by members of the Michigan Press Association. The judges said this about Kaijo’s photo: “Love the emotion in the shot – the nurse comforting the child who is distressed from the testing process – and the smiling face in the background, Continued on Page 2

Photo of the Year winner captures emotions of pandemic

Continued from Page 1

an image we all hope to see more of as the pandemic wanes.”

Kaijo said he’d been assigned to shoot photos at a COVID-19 testing site in Bentonville, and saw the 4-year-old crying about the potential of the uncomfortable nasal swab. A group of nurses at the

“I think the photo is really about her,” Kaijo said in a telephone interview this week.

“She didn’t have to do that. This was at a time when people were really starting to talk about social distancing. With all the trials nurses had to go through, I think that’s what people were moved by from this image. This gesture from this nurse echoes the hard work that nurses were doing and are still doing.”

Kaijo and the state’s other photojournalists placed themselves in harm’s way, too, during a tumultuous year in order to chronicle their communities. In addition to documenting images of COVID-19’s impact on northwest Arkansas, Kaijo also covered protests in the aftermath of the George Floyd killing.

He said he didn’t think about the ramifications of being in close proximity to people with COVID-19 or where violence could be possible. He just thought he needed to “show up,” he said.

Charlie Kaijo

site, the Mercy Convenient Care clinic in Bentonville, rushed to console the boy while his mother underwent the test.

After the boy’s test was finished and he began to cry, nurse Julie Palmer, who administered the test, turned to embrace him.

“I think a lot of it starts with choosing a subject, and of course showing up,” he said. “ … I didn’t do anything special to make that photograph. I just did what I do every day.”

Kaijo has been “showing up” to capture events through his camera lens for about a decade now, after developing an interest in photojournalism during some photography classes in college. As a student at Cal State-Northridge near Los

Angeles, he would take photos during the Occupy protests of 2012 in LA and other larger cities. The photos he took during those protests gave him the confidence to pursue photojournalism as a career.

The philosophy major’s interest in photography led him to seek out a spot with the New York Times Student Journalism Institute. During that intensive six-week program in 2012, he worked directly with Times journalists who offered mentoring and guidance.

He then went on to his career in photojournalism, working as an intern at the Tampa Tribune before joining the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette staff in 2017.

Kaijo said he remains in touch with his mentors from college and from the Times student journalism project, and one of those mentors had offered some advice that he lives by. He encouraged other photojournalists to take a similar view of their jobs.

“I had a mentor who said something along the lines of, ‘Shoot every assignment like it’s your Super Bowl and, when you cover the Super Bowl, it’s going to be like every other assignment,’” Kaijo said. “I like that piece of advice. When you shoot your assignments with the same level of care and duty and preparation, you can make yourself ready for the big ones when they come up.”

Newspaper industry asks court to block postal rate increases

The National Newspaper Association and News Media Alliance have intervened in a lawsuit asking a court to block broad postal rate hikes that are expected to take effect on Aug. 29.

The newspaper groups and a coalition of organizations representing commercial and nonprofit users of the mail are involved in the lawsuit in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.

Last week, the coalition filed a motion seeking a stay of the Aug. 29 rates as the court considers a lawsuit challenging the Postal Regulatory Commission’s authority to allow rate increases beyond the inflationbased cap in the Postal Accountability and Enforcement Act, according to NNA.

Arkansas Publisher Weekly

Rate increases of nearly 9 percent are expected for periodicals newspapers.

implemented two weeks before that unless the court grants the stay.

The motion for a stay comes after the court had already rejected a similar motion because the size of the increases was not known at the time. Now the rates are known and the costs would be staggering for community newspapers.

According to the motion, newspapers’ ability to “educate, advocate and provide direct services will be significantly curtailed” if the rate increase is implemented. Higher costs would lead to decreased news coverage and less customer service, the newspapers maintained.

“We were shocked that the Postal Service decided to implement such dramatic postage increases just as the economy is struggling to re-emerge from the COVID shutdowns,” said NNA chairman Brett Wesner. “The increases for newspaper mailers will be more than four times what they would have been under the inflation cap, but the ability of our readers and customers to pay for these increases certainly is still being held down by the very real cap on economic activity from COVID.”

Oral arguments in the lawsuit are set for Sept. 13. The rate increases would be

To read the full motion, visit https://bit. ly/3xfiSyF

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July 29, 2021

Bill to bolster newspapers introduced in Senate

The bill mirrors the same proposal currently in the House. The House version has garnered bipartisan support and has more than two dozen co-sponsors.

are essential to keeping the public informed and safe, but their importance spans well beyond health emergencies,” Cantwell said in a statement. “At its core, local news is about holding the powerful accountable.

The strength of our democracy is based in truth and transparency, and local newsrooms are on the ground in our communities asking the critical questions, countering misinformation and telling our stories. We have to protect these vital parts of our communities, because once they’re gone, they’re gone.”

“The COVID-19 pandemic made it crystal clear that local reporters and newsrooms

The Local Journalism Sustainability Act would allow newspaper subscribers to

Three U.S. senators last week introduced legislation to offer tax incentives to newspaper subscribers and ad buyers in an effort to support quality local journalism.

Sens. Maria Cantwell, D-Washington, Mark Kelly, D-Arizona, and Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, proposed the Local Journalism Sustainability Act in the Senate.

receive a tax credit of up to $250 per year for subscribing to newspapers. Advertisers could receive a credit of up to $5,000 to offset ad costs in local newspapers or on local radio or television. News publishers would be eligible for a credit of up to $25,000 for employing reporters to cover local news.

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.

Industry attorneys to recap U.S. Supreme Court term America’s Newspapers will host a webinar to brief newspaper publishers on workplace-related issues emanating from Washington on Friday (July 30).

Richard Lapp and Camille Olson, attorneys with Seyfarth Shaw LLP, will offer commentary on the U.S. Supreme Court’s latest term and rulings that impact decisions in the workplace. The two attorneys presenting the webinar will also discuss the Biden administration’s focus on redefining independent contractor status.

The webinar is free for America’s Newspapers members. It starts at 11 a.m.

Register at newspapers.org/webinarview-from-washington

INDUSTRY QUOTE “In times of profound change, the learners inherit the earth, while the learned find themselveds beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.”

— Eric Hoffer Arkansas Publisher Weekly

Public notice disclosure law now in effect A new Arkansas law requiring additional disclosures in legal notices published by Arkansas Press Association member newspapers took effect this week. The requirement under Act 954 enacted by the Arkansas General Assembly this spring means certain notices must contain additional information about the cost of the notice and the entity that paid for it.

Under the new law, cities and counties must provide the additional information to the newspaper for publication in the same font as the notice. The newspaper is not responsible for writing the disclosure itself. The additional language is considered a part of the public notice under the law.

Act 954 pertains only to notices published by cities and counties.

No other forms of legal notices are impacted by Act 954.

To read the Act, visit https://bit.ly/3faYatE

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July 29, 2021

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National Newspaper Association’s Max Heath dies Max Heath, the National Newspaper Association’s postal service expert and a consultant to newspapers around Arkansas and across the country, died Tuesday, July 28, at his home in Shelbyville, Kentucky. Heath was 75.

Heath had recently retired as postal chair for the organization. He was the goto source for postal service questions for newspaper publishers, and he was a frequent guest speaker at Arkansas Press Association conventions. Though he had gone into semi-retirement as NNA’s Postal Committee chairman over the past several years, he remained a consultant to the committee.

The former executive editor of Landmark Community Newspapers, Inc., he was editor and chief postal advisor over 52 weekly and daily newspapers in 12 states.

He became head of NNA’s postal policy in 1989 the same time he joined the U.S. Postmaster General’s Mailers Technical Advisory Committee. He earned a special achievement award from the postal service in 1998, and served on several committees that helped guide the technical and logistical initiatives that have preserved affordable mail delivery options for community newspapers.

“Max has long been a legend in the newspaper industry across the country as the go-to guy for anything postal and has always been a stalwart ally of newspapers of any size and shape,” said Matt Adelman, president of the NNA Foundation in an NNA release announcing Heath’s death. “He will be greatly missed as a true friend as well as a mentor, industry leader and invaluable partner in our constant struggle with postal issues on all fronts.”

NNA officials said they pledged to honor Heath’s legacy by “making sure community newspapers remain in the forefront of the Postal Service’s mission.”

Heath is survived by his wife, Ruth Ann Heath, and son, Jason Heath, both of Kentucky.

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July 29, 2021

Guest Column: Special projects energize staff, community

By Jim Pumarlo I fondly characterize newsrooms as organized chaos. That definition has aptly described operations for the past 18 months with the impact of COVID-19. The story has demanded constant attention, and there are likely fewer reporters to handle the task due to the economic toll of the pandemic.

As we begin to return to some level of normalcy, it’s a great time to recharge – to brainstorm special projects that have unfortunately gone by the wayside. The initiatives are a great way to energize your staff and simultaneously deliver great content.

Special projects, you say? We are barely treading water handling daily chores.

The reaction is understandable. Mention big projects and the mind-set often focuses on in-depth series that can take weeks to plan, research and write, and then will be published over multiple days.

Newsrooms, no matter their size, should strive to do those enterprises, even if produced only once a year.

But special projects also can mean generating more substantive reports in everyday news. These reports can be just as “big” in terms of providing expanded coverage. And they can be done without overwhelming newsrooms strapped for time and resources.

Broadening your definition of big projects also presents opportunities for fresh approaches to stories done year in and

Arkansas Publisher Weekly

year out.

A few examples: •Annual reports on a variety of topics are regularly presented at meetings.

Statistics are often regurgitated with little interpretation. As an alternative, review reports for the most compelling highlights.

Tell a story by putting names and faces behind the representative data. It’s a great way to introduce individuals not regularly showcased in your news columns. A sidebar can detail the overall statistics.

•Pursue second-day coverage. How many times do you cover spot news, and then drop a story? There’s often more to be told by probing beneath the surface.

These stories are also a great way to distinguish your newspaper from outside media that sweep into a community for the big story and then are rarely seen again.

Supplementary and complementary coverage is especially worthwhile and effective when reporting on sensitive and challenging stories that may initially prompt reader complaints of sensationalism.

•Local governments pore months over data preparing annual budgets.

Newsrooms too often simply give blowby-blow meeting reports. Instead, connect early with the appropriate folks at city hall, the courthouse and the school district to develop a series of stories that offers meaningful analysis of numbers.

By all means, newsrooms still should take the time and initiative to pursue the

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once-a-year projects. Remember, if you’re going to devote the time and effort, you want to identify those packages that will strike a chord with readers. Solicit citizen comments and suggestions on topics that will resonate with your audience. Your newspaper can play a valuable role in researching and advancing conversation on challenges facing the community.

As you explore in-depth projects, pay attention to the calendar. Are there times of the year where workloads might be lighter and it’s easier to devote extra resources?

Planning and organization are especially important. Online project management tools can help to assign and schedule responsibilities. Using one place to check all your tasks keeps everyone running at the same pace.

I pose a challenge to all news operations in little projects and big projects alike.

Everyone should strive to deliver the chicken dinner – and the steak extravaganza, too. No matter how big your newspaper, don’t forget the little things. And, no matter how small your newspaper, take the time to pursue the big projects, too. The combination keeps you relevant to readers and advertisers.

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 29, 2021