Arkansas Publisher Weekly: September 30, 2021

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Two free webinars scheduled for next month Guest Column:

Newspapers must reconnect with community

By Michelle K. Rea

Arkansas Press Association

Publisher Weekly Vol. 16 | No. 39 | Thursday, September 30, 2021 | Serving Press and State Since 1873

“Community Forum” theme for National Newspaper Week Newspapers bring credibility and relevance to the communities they serve, and should emphasize that role with readers and others, according to organizers of this year’s National Newspaper Week observance.

The theme for the 2021 National Newspaper Week is “Community Forum.”

The theme underscores the important role of newspapers to democracy and to providing trusted, reliable content.

National Newspaper Week runs from Sunday, Oct. 3 to Saturday, Oct. 9.

“Newspapers inform and enlighten, they hold our leaders accountable and they provide accurate information about the happenings of the community and the world,” said Ashley Wimberley, executive director of the Arkansas Press Association. “APA and its members celebrate newspapers every single day, but National Newspaper Week gives us an opportunity to tell others about the essential purposes we serve.”

This year marks the 81st annual observance of National Newspaper Week.

Newspapers across the country typically publish promotional advertisements, write opinion columns or use other creative methods of raising awareness or driving local conversation about the value of newspapers.

In Arkansas, the Mena Star has requested

each year that the city’s mayor issue a proclamation declaring the week as “National Newspaper Week” in that community. Star Publisher Tom Byrd said the event is a great way to remind the community of the service his newspaper provides.

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Ownership statement filing deadline is this Friday Friday, Oct. 1, is the deadline for Arkansas Press Association member newspapers that send Periodicals Class Mail to file their annual ownership statements with the U.S. Postal Service.

The required Statement of Ownership, Management and Circulation (PS Form 3526) can be downloaded at about.usps. com/forms/ps3526.pdf.

This form is a public record and must be published by publication owners under federal law. Publications printed on a daily, semiweekly or other multiple-times-perweek basis must publish the form in their publications no later than Oct. 10. Those publications published weekly but no less than monthly must do so by Oct. 31.

Other publications such as quarterlies are required to publish the Statement of

Ownership in their first issues after Oct. 1.

Paid digital subscriptions may be included as part of the circulation figure on the statement, though paid subscribers, whether digital or print, may be counted only once.

The information on Form 3526 is used by the Postal Service to determine whether a publication may continue to qualify for periodicals mailing privileges.

“Community Forum” theme for National Newspaper Week Continued from Page 1

“It’s nice to also have affirmation from others with these reminders of our relevance,” Byrd said. “That’s why I believe it’s important in a town like Mena that the city government believes this as well, and issues a proclamation honoring National Newspaper Week. … We’re fortunate that the city administration here recognizes the benefits a vital community newspaper brings to the town. This extends not only to our oversight role and coverage of important community events and institutions, but also public notices.”

As always, a variety of resources compiled

by Newspaper Association Managers, the lead sponsors of the observance, are available at NationalNewspaperWeek. com.

Newspapers may download editorial cartoons and columns for their use. Promotional advertising that

emphasizes the effectiveness and history of newspapers are also available to newspapers to reprint free of charge during National Newspaper Week. Seven varying ads in five different sizes are available.

The free content this year includes additional resources for newspapers from The Relevance Project, a partnership of newspaper associations across the United States and Canada that advocates for local journalism and promotes resources to help newspapers with advertising and revenue. The Relevance Project provides what it describes as a “hub of resources that are relevant, effective, turnkey and inspiring” on its website, relevanceprojectnet.wordpress.com.

Organizers of National Newspaper Week encourage newspapers to devote

“as many column inches as possible to reinforce the importance of newspapers to your communities.”

Following the Star’s lead by encouraging local officials to endorse National Newspaper Week is one way to localize the annual event. Newspapers are encouraged to editorialize, too, about their unique relevance in their communities.

Perhaps editorial writers could talk about the newspaper’s responsibility as a government watchdog, its coverage of community events or running of public notices.

Although the week is observed in early October, the principle of a newspaper as a “Community Forum” is timeless. Thus, resources related to the week are available for free year-round on the website.

Couch named sports editor in Batesville, Heber Springs Paxton Media Group has named Martin Couch to lead sports coverage at its newspapers in Batesville and Heber Springs.

Couch will be sports editor for The Batesville Guard and The Sun Times in Heber Springs. He was previously a freelance sports reporter in the Little Rock area, a producer for Arkansas Travelers minor-league baseball radio broadcasts and a producer at a sports-talk station in Little Rock.

He has been a sports editor at newspapers in Benton, Stuttgart, North Little Rock, Arkadelphia and Franklin, Tennessee. While in the Volunteer State, he gained an affinity for motorsports. Batesville is home to NASCAR veteran Mark Martin and is a prime location for motorsports enthusiasts.

“I love to write stories about the drivers: Their struggles and successes are amazing,” Couch said in an announcement about his hiring. He also said that he planned to “give equal coverage to all the high schools in the area and introduce the community to the athletes through profiles or feature stories.”

Couch is a recipient of an award from the Society of Professional Journalists for his coverage of the Travelers’ relocation from Little Rock to North Little Rock.

INDUSTRY QUOTE “Journalism without a moral position is impossible. Every journalist is a moralist. It’s absolutely unavoidable. A journalist is someone who looks at the world and the way it works, someone who takes a close look at things every day and reports what she sees, someone who represents the world, the event, for others. She cannot do her work without judging what she sees.”

—Marguerite Duras Arkansas Publisher Weekly

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September 30, 2021

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Two free webinars NNA names Washington lobbying firm The National Newspaper Association has scheduled for selected Rafe Morrissey and Morrissey Strategic Partners to serve as advocates next month America’s Newspapers will host two free webinars for its members in October. One will help newsroom leaders develop trust with their readers, while the other focuses on digital advertising.

On Friday, Oct. 8 at 1 p.m., Talia Stroud of the Center for Media Engagement will help news organizations “identify concrete actions” they can take to address issues with trust. The presenter will discuss how to address reader concerns and how to explain reporting in ways that build trust.

To register for the Tools for Trust webinar, visit https://newspapers.org/webinartools-for-trust/

On Thursday, Oct. 21, at 1 p.m., Ben Bouslog and Elizabeth Bernberg with AdCellerant, a tech-enabled marketing services company, will share ways to grow revenue in the fourth quarter and in 2022 through digital advertising and marketing. The webinar will provide steps for newspapers on how to start with digital marketing and how to implement better digital tactics. Register and find out more information at https://newspapers.org/ webinar-winning-digital-strategies/ The webinars are available at no cost to America’s Newspapers members.

Registration is available until the day of each webinar.

“Let the people know the facts and the country will be safe.”

Show your support for independent journalism with this soft cotton tee, available in sizes S-XXL at arkansaspress.org/store.

T-shirts are $20 each.

on behalf of the newspaper industry on Capitol Hill in Washington. Morrissey was previously a consultant to an organization that led NNA’s legislative efforts. His background is in postal policy and regulatory affairs.

According to NNA, Morrissey will serve in the role following the pending retirement of Tonda Rush from NNA.

“It is comforting that in a time of great tumult in our nation and our industry that we are on track with NNA’s longrange plans for its public policy work. Our members have been very solid in their support of NNA as we continue to be the voice in Washington for community newspapers,” said NNA Chairman Brett Wesner of Cordell, Oklahoma.

Rush will remain with NNA at least a year as general counsel. The organization will also appoint a public policy oversight committee to coordinate work with Morrissey.

Morrissey is head of the NNA Postal Affairs Committee and is considered one of the postal industry’s top influencers.

CherryRoad Media picks up 20 newspapers in four more states CherryRoad Media continued its rapid growth last week with the acquisition of 20 newspapers from Gannett Co., Inc. The newspapers are located in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska.

CherryRoad Media, a subsidiary of New Jersey-based CherryRoad Technologies, earlier this year bought four newspapers in Arkansas: The Marshall Mountain Wave, the Mountaineer-Echo in Flippin, the Clay County Courier in Corning and the Pocahontas Star-Herald.

CherryRoad CEO Jeremy Gulban launched his newspaper enterprise last year with the purchase of a community publication in Minnesota. The company has since added another newspaper in Minnesota and one in Alabama to its portfolio.

The acquisition from Gannett includes five daily newspapers. The publications are in

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the communities of Pratt, Kiowa County, Hiawatha, Butler County, McPherson, Leavenworth, Wellington, Dodge City, Newton, Garden City, St. John, Hayes and Ottawa in Kansas; Nebraska City and Syracuse in Nebraska; Hamburg in Iowa; and Independence, Chillicothe, Boonville and Linn County in Missouri.

In a statement, Gulban said: “We are very excited to be working with such a talented group of people to serve these communities going forward. We plan to bring the focus back to local news and to offer additional digital solutions to supplement the printed newspapers.

I want to thank the team at Gannett for working with us to find a good home for these important community institutions.”

September 30, 2021

Guest Column:

Newspapers must reconnect with communities

By Michelle K. Rea When it comes to saving local newspapers, the solutions won’t be found in web metrics, ad rates or shrinking news holes.

The solution, seemingly simple yet terrifyingly complicated, is for newspapers to reconnect with the people they’re supposed to be serving. That’s the purpose of The Relevance Project, a national effort intended to make local journalism so relevant to people’s lives that papers will once again become an essential purchase.

The Newspaper Association Managers, a coalition of trade associations serving daily and weekly newspapers and new websites in North America, is coordinating the project, which was launched during National Newspaper Week last year. The focus on local newspapers was prompted in part by frustration that industry leaders were too focused on the major players – the papers run by corporations and big chains.

That approach overlooks the more than 8,600 local newspapers covering the parades, the school board meetings and the soccer games of small-town America and Canada. The problems those papers face mirror those of the bigger players: Declining revenues and rising costs that sometimes force closings.

But for independent local papers with shoestring budgets, the financial burdens

Arkansas Publisher Weekly

fall proportionately harder: Cutting a position from a four-person newsroom, for example, is a lot more difficult than cutting one from a newsroom of 40.

Newspaper association managers across the United States and Canada think the public is paying so much attention to media companies such as The New York Times, The Washington Post and Sinclair [Broadcasting] that they’re forgetting that there are vital, committed newspapers in their local communities.

As a result, small papers with few resources have been left to fend for themselves as the ground shifts under them. The Relevance Project grew out of that frustration, with the Newspaper Association Managers collectively retaining rebranding expert Andy Cunningham of the Cunningham Collective to help diagnose problems and develop solutions. Working with papers from around the country, Cunningham’s research took stock of all the industry’s warts, from public mistrust to falling page counts, rising subscription costs and poorly functioning websites.

From the newspaper association managers’ perspective, the results were a much-needed slap in the face – newspapers weren’t doing the right things by their readers. The Relevance Project is working to reassert newspapers’ relevance to their communities by building on the credibility they already have. It

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aims to remind people that newspapers serve as a trusted community forum and as a resource.

A newspaper’s strength and future rely on its local community; fortifying that relationship will fortify the paper. To do that, the project is coordinating efforts and supplying resources for newspapers across the continent working to find new ways of building reader trust and community engagement. The key to the project’s success will be its focus on concrete tools that even papers with limited resources can adopt.

The project’s superpower is the thousands of local newspapers who may choose to participate. With potentially 8,600 local daily and weekly newspapers participating, there’s a huge opportunity to reinvent the community forum, to re-engage communities to collectively address issues, and to make a substantial impact both for the readers and the newspapers.

(Newspapers that are not yet utilizing Relevance Project materials can access the ever-increasing archive of tools at: The Relevance Project - WordPress.com https://relevanceprojectnet.wordpress. com) Michelle K. Rea is the executive director of the New York Press Association/ New York Press Services

September 30, 2021