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Contest judges are still needed

Guest Column: First Amendment could bridge divisions

Arkansas Press Association

Publisher Weekly

By Gene Policinski

Vol.17 | No. 44 | Thursday, November 3, 2022 | Serving Press and State Since 1873

UA’s Foley teaches multimedia storytelling in Rome Larry Foley, chair of the journalism and strategic media department at the University of Arkansas, is doing what Romans do. Foley brought seven students from UA to Rome for the semester to learn multimedia storytelling in a unique environment. Not only that, Foley is incorporating his students into his current documentary project on the history of Tontitown, which was founded by Italian settlers in 1898. “My wife Susan and I ate at Mama Z’s Cafe in Tontitown, in Washington County, just before we left for Rome in August,” Foley said. “A typical experience for us in Rome has been spending a few hours eating at a restaurant or relaxing at a café. The other day, as we’re eating pasta, Susan looks at me and says ‘you’ve got to try this.’ I did and the dish she had ordered tasted exactly like what we had at Mama Z’s Cafe.” Foley began his career in journalism as an undergraduate student at UA. Towards the end of his junior year, he received a $250 scholarship from the Arkansas Press Association, which he credits as one of the highlights of his life. “That paid my tuition going into my senior year. It was really helpful to me financially, but it was also my faculty and others saying, ‘We believe in you, and you have a career as a journalist.’ That was in 1975, and I’m still writing and producing. I’m still as Continued on Page 2

November 14 last day to register online for ArkLaMiss Now is the time to register for the 2022 ArkLaMiss Audience Development and Marketing Conference. The last day to register online is Monday, Nov. 14.

Nov. 10. Participants should call (601) 638-1000 to book lodging.

The conference is being held Nov. 1718 at the Ameristar Hotel and Casino in Vicksburg, Mississippi, and is presented by Arkansas Press Association and Mississippi Press Association.

Bill Ostendorf of Creative Circle Media Solutions will lead a morning session on how and why print can still thrive, and an afternoon session on developing content that will drive readership. The conference will also include the traditional Hot Ideas Exchange and a round table for discussion of common issues and challenges at community newspapers.

The group hotel rate has been extended to

To register or learn more, visit arklamissconference.com.

UA’s Foley teaches multimedia storytelling in Rome Continued from Page 1

passionate about this as I was back then.” Foley went on to work at KATV and Arkansas PBS, as well as starting his own company, Foley Productions, before accepting a faculty position at UA in 1993. He is currently in his ninth and final year as department chair and considered this opportunity to teach and work on a passion project in Rome too good to pass up. “The story I’m telling started in Rome,” Foley said. “Fr. Pietro Bandini, a character to say the least, was kicked out of the Jesuits and begged his way to another chance in America. He came to the Lake Village area and found a mess. The story is, there was a scheme cooked up by railroad barons and the mayor of Rome to try to bring back a cotton plantation. Because they didn’t have slaves to pick the cotton, they recruited all these Italian immigrants from Northern Italy and sent them over through New Orleans. When Bandini arrived, he discovered malaria and poor living conditions had ransacked the community. He led them out of the Lake Village area to resettle in Tontitown. He’s like Moses to them, and every year since 1898, they celebrate the grape harvest. They look at Bandini as fit for sainthood.” The passion Foley shows for the topic has made an impression on his students. The group is now in the midst of 13-hour days documenting and researching the regions of Italy where the Tontitown immigrants originated.

Jeremy Foley, fifth-year UA architecture major, with Susan and Larry Foley, Venice, Italy.

The Tontitown project is at the heart of what Foley and the program at UA is teaching modern journalism students —while platforms evolve, storytelling is the key. “I’m known as a documentarian, but I can pledge this to you,” Foley said, “We are taking so many pictures and gathering so much material, it would be a waste not to have this story told on the page as well.” The group’s headquarters at UA Rome Center makes Foley’s job of teaching classes while also being in the thick of Roman activity easy. The Rome Center is located within a short walking radius of The Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain and the Vatican. The center has long been a hub for architecture students, who are required to spend a semester studying in either Rome or Mexico City, but Foley and colleague Jan Wicks have been exploring how media students can take full advantage. Continued on Page 3

Arkansas Publisher Weekly

University of Arkansas Rome Center, located in the heart of the city, provides the perfect headquarters for Foley’s multimedia storytelling study abroad experience.

November 3, 2022

Contest judges UA’s Foley teaches multimedia are still needed storytelling in Rome APA needs 10 more volunteer judges to review submissions from the Wisconsin Newspaper Association Foundation Better Newspaper Contest. All judging will be online, occurring between November 1430. Please volunteer by Friday, Nov. 4.

JUDGES NEEDED!

Wisconsin Press Foundation Better Newspaper Contest

SIGN UP TODAY! “APA members are highly encouraged to contribute to the judging pool of fellow newspaper associations,” said APA Executive Director Ashley Kemp Wimberley. “Every year we rely on our friends across the country to judge the APA Better Newspaper Contest, and we as an association need to reciprocate.” Editorial categories include news and feature writing, column writing, sport news and photos, headline writing and podcasting. Advertising categories include promotional ads, restaurant, auto and home ads, house ads, digital ads and community marketing ads. Additional categories include layout and page design. The deadline to volunteer to judge is Nov. 11. To sign up, visit: https://wnanews. formstack.com/forms/wna_contest_ judges

Arkansas Publisher Weekly

Continued from Page 2

Wicks has twice taken advertising and marketing students to Rome to learn and practice their trade craft. Foley’s trip is the third experience for UA media students, but the first to be focused solely on multimedia storytelling. “The center was shut down during the pandemic, but it’s getting going again,” said Foley. “One of the hardest parts of planning this experience was not knowing if it would happen.” Foley contracted COVID-19 after arriving in Rome, but his symptoms were mild. “It’s so weird being here in Rome with my students, yet Zooming into class. But that’s one of the things the pandemic taught us – most of the world now knows how to be flexible with communicating in almost any environment. We’re going to have to continue to be flexible because we’ll be living with this thing for a long time.” The group of students with Foley include global studies, fashion merchandise, finance, print, broadcast, advertising and public relations majors, with a wide variety of interests and career goals. Foley believes the group will gel around the storytelling focus. “When you teach at the Rome Center, you’re not just going to teach majors in your field,” Foley said. “I’ve enjoyed teaching students from other majors. It’s been fun to watch them grow.” Back at home, Foley’s department is undergoing the accreditation process through the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications. Foley believes his department is ahead of the game. “We’ve assessed and churned our curriculum, and created a brand new concentration in Digital and Multimedia Storytelling,” Foley said. “Newspapers have changed. Storytelling remains a constant. And now, as of last fall, our enrollment has increased by more than 100 students. Possibly the biggest spike we’ve ever had in one semester. Traditional journalism students are down, but storytelling students are growing.”

for storytellers,” Foley said. “Streaming is thriving. I get my Arkansas DemocratGazette on an iPad. Delivery mechanisms change, but we still need the news now more than ever.” Photojournalism and broadcast have changed, too, Foley said. “You have to get good images or sound, but can you harness a camera onto a drone and fly it? For my film about Arkansas Judge Isaac C. Parker, I had 12 cameras on one shoot. The statue was coming in from the foundry in Oklahoma to be installed in downtown Fort Smith. I had three GoPros, two drones, a roving still cam and cameras along the road for that shoot. We use the tools we have at our disposal to tell the story. That’s what we’ve always done.” This is Foley’s pitch to the accreditation site team: “I would argue that we are doing the hard work to preserve the fundamentals we all believe in, but teaching students 21st century job skills.” In the end, truth and ethics form the foundation for journalism and storytelling then and now. “We’re in the truth-telling business. There are no alternative facts. We’re in the ethics business. We don’t want to lose people to Q-Anon weirdos on the internet. We want to preserve the spaces where truth matters. And I think we’re doing that, as our growing numbers show. Our students see how important truth and ethics are.” The Foleys will be returning home Nov. 15, while the students will stay in Rome until the end of the semester to finish their projects. Will Foley miss Italy? “I am ready to get back to my dogs, but I can imagine myself wishing to turn around and head right back,” Foley said. “Once you get a taste for travel, it stays with you.” Regarding that taste for travel, it’s a good thing Mama Z’s Cafe isn’t too far away. To learn more about Foley’s documentary work, visit http://larryfoley.weebly.com To learn more about The Rome Center, visit https://romecenter.uark.edu/

“There is always going to be a job market

November 3, 2022

ARKANSAS PRESS ASSOCIATION

THROWBACK THURSDAY Malvern Daily Record celebrates 106 years In 1916, Julian Heard Beerstecher and his wife Kate Brice Beerstecher founded the Malvern Daily Record. It began as a four-page newspaper but eventually grew to an average of seven pages, and published every day except Sunday. On Oct. 7, 2022, the newspaper devoted its B section to a 16-page photo retrospective, featuring front pages, major stories and the history of the newspaper.

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.

INDUSTRY QUOTE “I think there’s always satisfaction that comes from digging in and telling a story and being on the front line and writing about it. I think there’s a venue available if you look. Even print journalism is in good shape in areas.”

– Cameron Crowe

Times-Herald files FOIA violation charges against Palestine-Wheatley School Board The Times-Herald in Forrest City has filed charges against the seven members of the Palestine-Wheatley School Board for violating the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act.

to interview Samples. The meeting, held in board member Jared Parker’s shop in Palestine, was attended by all board members, according to board president Derrick Boileau.

According to Times-Herald reporting, Publisher Tamara Johnson signed the affidavits at Palestine City Hall on Sept. 21, the day after the board met to interview Danny Samples to replace Jon Estes, who was fired during a Sept. 13 board meeting. The board hired Samples on Sept. 26.

None of the proper meeting procedures were followed at the gathering, such as calling the meeting to order, calling an executive session to interview Samples or adjourning the meeting, according to Boileau. In addition to Boileau, the affidavits were signed against board members Parker, Vernon Thweatt, Hannah Baskins, Blaine McCoy, Micah Jo Hilsdon and Haven McCoy.

The newspaper, which submits a letter to public agencies in January of each year asking to be notified of all regular and special meetings, was not notified of the meeting to interview Samples and did not learn of it until after it was completed. The board failed to notify the newspaper – or the public – that they would be meeting

Retired Judge Ralph Wilson from Osceola was picked to hear the case by the Administrative Office of the Courts after all local judges recused themselves. Violation of the FOIA is considered a Class C misdemeanor.

FOIA Freedom of Information Act

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Arkansas Publisher Weekly

@ARPressAssoc

November 3, 2022

David Chavern leaving News/Media Alliance in January News/Media Alliance President & CEO David Chavern has accepted a position at the Consumer Brands Association as President and CEO. At News/Media Alliance, Chavern led the development of a new brand and identity. In his 30 years of executive experience, Chavern has also held leadership roles at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, currently serves on the board of Transamerica Insurance and the University of Pittsburgh and has been named a “Top Lobbyist” by The Hill and one of Washingtonian’s “250 Most Influential People.” “We are grateful for David’s many contributions to the news and magazine industries during his tenure at the News/Media Alliance,” said Maribel Perez Wadsworth, President of Gannett Media and Chair of the Board of the News/Media Alliance. “Under David’s leadership, the Alliance was completely rebuilt and transformed into a powerful and effective champion for the future of quality journalism. The organization now enjoys the support of a broad range of the great news and magazine publishers, from the largest national outlets to a wide array of small and local publications. Most importantly, publishers are now aligned and fully focused on the need to fight for a digital future that rewards and sustains great reporting. This includes the immediate fight for the Journalism Competition & Preservation Act.” Chavern will remain with News/Media Alliance through the end of the year.

Slimp to hold live Adobe Acrobat webinar on Nov. 10 Newspaper Academy director and design expert Kevin Slimp is hosting a live webinar on Adobe Acrobat on Nov. 10. “Getting your money’s worth from Adobe Acrobat,” runs from 2-3 p.m. CST. Slimp worked with the team at Adobe during the development of InDesign in the 1990s and was one of the first to teach the application immediately after it was released to the public. His first class was for a group of 99 newspaper designers in Arizona. In the years since, he has come to be known to the newspaper industry as the guru for print design. “If you’re like most editors or designers, you’ve learned enough about Adobe Acrobat to make good PDF files of your ads, and probably not a lot more,” Slimp said. In this session, attendees will learn how to carry out many important functions in Adobe Acrobat, including creating perfect PDF files for printing on newspaper presses or for higher quality printing; editing text, graphics, colors and other items in PDFs from others; creating forms in Acrobat and much more. The webinar runs 70 minutes and costs $69. Participants who are unable to attend live will be able to receive the recording. To register, visit https:// newspaperacademy.com/webinar/acrobat22/

Arkansas Publisher Weekly

November 3, 2022

CALLING ALL JUDGES WISCONSIN NEWSPAPER FOUNDATION BETTER NEWSPAPER CONTEST EDITORIAL • ADVERTISING • PHOTOGRAPHY

EDITORIAL CATEGORIES: • News and Feature Writing • Column Writing • Sports News and Photos • Headline Writing • Best Video

ADVERTISING CATEGORIES: • Restaurant, Grocery & Real Estate • Promo and House ads • Best Special Section • Community Marketing ads • Layout and Design ads

To volunteer, visit this link https://wnanews.formstack.com/forms/wna_contest_judges

Deadline to sign up

Online Judging

NOVEMBER 11

NOVEMBER 14 - 30

Guest Column:

First Amendment could bridge divisions By Gene Policinski

A 2022 survey shows we like using our First Amendment freedoms — but also raises questions about whether we understand or accept how they work. “The First Amendment: Where America Stands” 2022 survey by the Freedom Forum, conducted in March, is the latest in a series that began in 1997, measuring Americans’ knowledge and attitudes about our core freedoms: religion, speech, press, assembly and petition. By and large, we are marching and protesting more often and in greater numbers than any time since the 1960s — and 79% of us say the right of assembly is necessary. But compared to the 2020 “Where America Stands” findings, this year’s survey showed a slight decline in the number of us who recently exercised that right. The survey also found that 43% want protest organizers held accountable for violence by anyone during a demonstration, even if they did not have a direct connection to that person. If such laws —already adopted in several states — survive constitutional challenge, the prospect of ruinous liability or even criminal charges may well discourage many of us from organizing such assemblies. More than half (53%) of respondents favor licensing of journalists. But that’s antithetical to either the law or spirit of press freedom — whether such “permission to collect and report the news” is controlled by the government or a professional group. Our nation’s founders had lived through an era of approval of printers by the king — and wanted no part

Arkansas Publisher Weekly

of such a system. Americans support the watchdog role of the press but are concerned about how they see this being executed. People are divided and uncertain about reliable sources of news — local outlets, friends or social media — and about whether the press does a good job. On the plus side, 61% say First Amendment freedoms can help bridge the country’s divisions. But 10% outright reject that idea and 29% are uncertain, leaving the prospects for meaningful discussion and compromise resting on a thin statistical perch. The survey did identify a slight overall tilt nationally on one of the more contentious issues of the moment: school book bans. Among all respondents, 57% said “there is no appropriate reason” to prevent books from being available in public middle and high school classes and libraries. But toss in specific and contentious issues, and sizable numbers find reason to accept such bans: 34% of Hispanic, 33% of Black and 27% of Asian American/ Pacific Islander respondents say it’s OK to restrict access if a “book discusses race in a way that may be offensive to someone.” About 30% overall would limit access to books that contain sexual content and 16% would limit those that focus on sexual orientation issues. Those views are inconsistent with a 1982 U.S. Supreme Court decision that school officials — while having total control over classroom materials — may not ban books from junior or senior high school libraries because of content.

And then how do we decide what is sufficiently offensive to justify censorship? In 1971, when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a man’s conviction over a jacket displaying the F-word, Justice John Marshall Harlan II wrote that “One man’s vulgarity is another’s lyric.” The survey also found that men tended to feel more strongly about the First Amendment overall and are more likely to support challenging or uncomfortable aspects of the First Amendment. Men approved of “free exchanges” on college campuses even when offensive to some, 72% vs. 57% of women. Likewise, more men supported protecting hate speech, 38% to 26%, and were OK with criticizing public officials by name at public meetings, 84% to 69%. And while 56% say religious freedom is being threatened in America today, about 25% say it’s not. And there’s a generational divide here: The younger the respondent, the less likely they are to agree that it’s threatened. The First Amendment exists to protect us from the government controlling or punishing us for what we say and believe. To paraphrase Justice Harlan, the 2022 survey shows most of us at least hum along with the First Amendment’s tune, but there are sizable tensions — by race, ethnicity, age and gender — when we consider the lyrics. Gene Policinski is a Freedom Forum senior fellow for the First Amendment. He may be reached at gpolicinski@ freedomforum.org.

November 3, 2022

Nov. 17-18, 2022 • Vicksburg, MS

Agenda Thursday, Nov. 17, 2022 Noon

Lunch

1:00 p.m.

Welcome and introductions

1:15 p.m.

Is print dead or dying? Presented by Bill Ostendorf, Creative Circle Media Solutions Should you roll back publication frequency? We’ll offer a different perspective about how and why print can still thrive. There has long been an assumption out there that print is a dead end but the facts simply don’t bear that out. We’ll discuss why print is declining, how to reverse it and dispel some myths about print readership. You are part of the solution and also part of the problem. And you don’t want to be the reason print fails in your market!

2:45 p.m.

Break

3:00 p.m.

Content that will drive your readership. Presented by Bill Ostendorf What the pandemic taught us and how to create a more interesting and engaging newspaper in print and online. If we can create more stories readers want to read, we can increase engagement, which is the key to not only surviving but for thriving in today’s environment.

4:30 p.m.

Break and check-in

5:30 p.m.

Reception

Dinner on your own Friday, Nov. 18, 2022 8:00 a.m.

Continental breakfast

9:00 a.m.

Ideas Exchange Bring your best ideas for increasing readership and revenue, promotions, expense reductions, and making budget for a chance to win a share of cash prizes.

10:00 a.m.

Break and check-out

10:30 a.m.

Roundtable Discussion A time to discuss common challenges and creative solutions with your peers.

Noon

Adjourn

Hot Ideas Exchange Ideas for making — and saving — money Title of idea _______________________________________________________________________ Submitted by _____________________________________________________________________

Newspaper________________________________________________________________________ Phone ____________________________________ Email _________________________________ Briefly describe your idea

_____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ Tell us the results of your effort

_____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ Use the back of this page for additional comments or ideas. Please enclose samples if available. Send this form and any samples or illustrations along with your conference registration to: By Mail » ArkLaMiss, 371 Edgewood Terrace, Jackson, MS 39206. By email » mgilmer@mspress.org By fax » 601-981-3676

NOV. 17-18 • VICKSBURG, MS AMERISTAR CASINO & HOTEL

We will share each of the ideas submitted in a booklet to be presented at the conference.

LAST DAY TO SUBMIT IDEAS IS NOV. 11.

REGISTRATION FORM Or register online @ arklamissconference.com

November 17-18, 2022 AmeriStar Hotel & Casino, Vicksburg, MS Room rate: $79 • Call (601) 638-1000 Group code: S11MS22 • Hotel cutoff: Nov. 1, 2022 Newspaper/Company Name _______________________________________________________________________________________

Street Address _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ City/State/Zip _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ Phone _________________________________________________ Fax _________________________________________________________ REGISTRANTS

Name ______________________________________________ Email ________________________________________________________ Name ______________________________________________ Email ________________________________________________________ Name ______________________________________________ Email ________________________________________________________ TOTAL REGISTRANTS ______ x $125.00 =

$______

Total Amount Due:

$______

Vendor sponsorship contribution:

Exhibiting during this conference? o YES o Visa

o Mastercard

o AMEX

$______ o NO

PAYMENT

o Check enclosed

o Bill me

Card No: _________________________________________________________________________________ Exp. Date: ________________ CID # ___________________ Signature ________________________________________________________________________________ REGISTRATION DEADLINE IS MONDAY, NOV. 14, 2022 REGISTER ONLINE AT ARKLAMISSCONFERENCE.COM Or return form with payment to: ArkLaMiss, 371 Edgewood Terrace, Jackson, MS 39206 Questions? Contact Monica Gilmer, 601-981-3060 ext. 2, mgilmer@mspress.org