Arkansas Publisher Weekly: November 4, 2021

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Call put out for Better Newspaper Contest judges

Guest Column:

WORKSPACE MATTERS Create a desktop that maximizes your creative output

By Kevin Slimp

Arkansas Press Association

Publisher Weekly Vol. 16 | No.43 | Thursday, November 4, 2021 | Serving Press and State Since 1873

New APA president lobbies for active engagement Ellen Kreth, the newspaper publisher, sees for herself the value of active and engaged membership in the Arkansas Press Association.

Ellen Kreth, the APA president, is convinced others should recognize that importance too.

Kreth was installed as APA president at the annual convention in late July.

The publisher of the Madison County Record in Huntsville said she joined the APA board in 2015 in order to learn more about how other newspapers were handling similar challenges. During her term leading the board, she wants other newspaper publishers to gain benefits from networking and showing unity at the state Capitol.

She encourages APA members to attend the association’s annual convention and the advertising conference, as well as to take advantage of the other opportunities and services provided by APA. “APA is a fantastic organization to know what other people are doing,” Kreth said. “It’s really good to hear how other newspapers are doing to validate what your ideas are. You might be down one month and then hear others say they are down, too. When you’re a small newspaper like we are, it’s really nice to be in touch with other people who are running newspapers and seeing what they’re doing. People are coming up with good ideas all the time.”

Continued on Page 2

ArkLaMiss Conference to be held next week Now is the time to register for the 2021 ArkLaMiss Audience Development and Marketing Conference, to be held virtually next Friday, November 12. The annual conference is presented

by Arkansas Press Association, Mississippi Press Association, Alabama Press Association and Tennessee Press Association.

Keynote presenter Kelly Wirges of ProMax Training and Consulting will offer training on brandbuilding and “5-Star Service” strategies, starting at 10:00 a.m.

After lunch, Ellen Kreth of the Madison County Record in Huntsville will moderate a panel discussion on maximizing your audience, followed by the ever-popular “Hot Ideas” exchange moderated by Dennis Dunn, operations manager at the Anniston Star in Anniston, Alabama.

The virtual format will allow busy newspaper staff members who might not otherwise be able to take time off for travel to a traditional conference to participate. Publishers, managers, circulation staff and audience development professionals are especially encouraged to attend.

The cost is $25. To register, or for more information, visit ArkLaMissConference.wordpress.com.

New APA president lobbies for active engagement Continued from Page 1

During her time in APA leadership, Kreth has been active in shaping the association’s response to challenges at the Legislature. She served as the APA’s representative on the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act Task Force, where she was chairwoman for four years. A recipient of the APA’s Freedom of Information Award, Kreth has also testified often before legislative committees.

She said local newspapers have a significant stake in what’s happening at the Capitol, and she hopes to convince others to help shoulder some of the legislative and lobbying efforts in upcoming sessions.

“I think it’s very important that we communicate with our legislators,” Kreth said. “That’s what I’ve mostly been involved in with APA, but I’ve seen a trend away from local newspapers engaging with their representatives. They are doing some things in the Legislature that really do affect the newspaper business.”

Engagement in other areas, as well as legislatively, is key to the APA’s success, she said. Her goal as president is to increase engagement both among members and between members and the organization. Members should be aware of many resources available to them,

including its legal and FOIA hotline, said Kreth.

“I would love to see more people engaged and doing more with the board, because the more involved you are, the more you get back from it,” she said.

Kreth said she’s made it a point to be engaged with her community in Madison County and with APA since she took over ownership of the longtime, familyowned newspaper. An attorney, she had been serving as a law clerk for the Arkansas Court of Appeals when she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2001.

After her recovery, she turned her focus to the newspaper and toward spending more time with her family, including her children, Celia and Gracie.

She credited her staff at the Record for making it possible for her to manage the newspaper and be present for her children at various school events. Celia and Gracie are continuing the family legacy, with both writing for the Madison County newspaper when they are home from college for the summers. Both Kreth children also worked for their respective college newspapers at the University of Virginia and the University of Pennsylvania.

and she expects the next generation of newspaper leaders to continue to emphasize the importance of community news.

“It’s been a family business for years, and it’s still a family business,” she said. “My girls bring a lot of ideas to me. They’re part of this next generation that’s computer savvy, they’re social-media savvy. They read the news. They want the news. They talk about the news. It’s just that the way the news is delivered is different.”

Kreth said she has noticed how national trends in readership have trickled down to her newspaper as it relates to the changing newspaper business. For the first year, out-of-county subscriptions are down but overall subscriptions to the Madison County Record are up. That includes a significant uptick in digital subscriptions, one that she anticipates other APA members are seeing too. That’s yet another reason why she believes member communication is crucial.

“We always start board meetings with board members talking about how their paper is doing and what’s going on in their part of the state,” Kreth said. “It’s good to get that feedback.”

Kreth said she’s proud of her children,

ARKANSAS PRESS ASSOCIATION MEDIA DIRECTORY

PHOTO CONTEST

Open to APA Members & Associate Members The winning entry will appear on the cover of the Arkansas Media Directory.

ENTRY DEADLINE: FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 12 PRIZES: 1st $150 • 2nd $75 • 3rd $50

EMAIL ENTRIES TO GRAPHICS@ARKANSASPRESS.ORG Arkansas Publisher Weekly

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November 4, 2021

ArkLaMiss Circulation & Marketing Conference

ArkLaMiss CIRCULATION & MARKETING CONFERENCE Circulation & Audience Growth

Friday, November 12 Virtual via ZOOM

Please visit this link to register: http://arklamissconference.com/ Registration is $25

Conference Agenda 10:00 AM 11:30 AM 1:00 PM 2:00 PM 2:15 PM

Build Your Brand, Build Your Business/Implementing a 5-Star Service Strategy Presenter: Kelly Wirges Break Panel Discussion: Maximizing your Audience Moderator: Ellen Kreth Break Hot Ideas Exchange Moderator: Dennis Dunn

Guest Speaker

Kelly Wirges, ProMax Training & Consulting About the Session: Your brand is a combination of actions, ideas and innovation consistently applied to create a persona that differentiates your company from competitors. Over time, your identity becomes associated with the level of quality, credibility and value you offer to your customers. Your brand helps distinguish you as a preferred advisor and news source in today’s crowded and complex marketplace. However, creating and developing your brand is more than simply providing exceptional customer service and quality news. To achieve a substantial competitive advantage, you need to have a 5-Star Strategy. How are you going to delight each customer? Stand out from the pack? What is going to make doing business with your company unique and different? Why would someone refer your company to their friends and family? Join this session to learn a step-by-step process to build your vision, plan and future success.

Call put out for Better Newspaper Contest judges APA is seeking volunteer judges for the Michigan Press Association Better Newspaper Contest.

All judging will be virtual, occurring between November 17 and December 17. APA member newspaper staff as well as associate members are invited to volunteer. The judging is self-paced, but the first 10 judges to complete their assignment will receive Amazon gift cards as thanks for their promptness.

To sign up as a judge, fill out the form at https://www.arkansaspress.org/event/ JudgesSign-Up. Volunteers should include their category preferences at registration.

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.

“As a standard practice in our profession, APA supports reciprocal judging of contest entries with press organizations in other states,” says Ashley Wimberley, APA executive director. “It’s also an excellent and often inspiring opportunity to review the best work of our peers from other areas.”

If you have any questions about the judging process, please email Terri Cobb at terri@arkansaspress.org.

Arkansas Press Association

CALL FOR JUDGES Michigan Press Association Better Newspaper Contest

Editorial • Adver tising • Photography First 10 judges to complete the assignment win an Amazon gift card. :

Editorial categories include: • News and Feature Writing • Column Writing • Sports News and Photos • Headline Writing • Best Podcast Advertising categories include: • Restaurant, Auto and Home ads • Promo and House ads • Digital ads • Community Marketing ads • Layout and Design pages

SIGN UP:

www.arkansaspress.org/ event/JudgesSign-up

LJSA language back in Build Back Better bill: Reach out to your member of Congress today The Local Journalism Sustainability Act (LJSA), a comprehensive legislative effort championed by America’s Newspapers and other leading media groups, is once again included in the House of Representatives “Build Back Better” reconciliation bill, reports Dean Ridings of America’s Newspapers, but the fate of the act is still uncertain.

The LJSA was taken out of the reconciliation bill late last week as the White House and Congress sought compromise language

Arkansas Publisher Weekly

that would both meet President Biden’s objectives and reduce the price tag, but was put back in yesterday as a result of the strong support from the bill’s sponsors and co-sponsors, members of the Ways and Means Committee and House and Senate leadership.

The bill is expected to be brought to a vote in the next week or so. It is still important to let your members of Congress know how important the LJSA is to you and to thank them for their support.

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November 4, 2021

Publisher Jim Perry retires November 1

INDUSTRY QUOTE

LET US KNOW

“Going where the silence is.

That is the responsibility of a journalist: giving a voice to those who have been forgotten, forsaken and beaten down by the powerful.

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.”

—Amy Goodman

THE ARKANSAS FREEDOM OF INFORMATION HANDBOOK The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) provides the public the right to request access to records from any state, county or municipal agency. It is often described as the law that keeps citizens in the know about their government.

It’s

YOUR RIGHT

Jim Perry, publisher of the Harrison Daily Times, Newton County Times in Jasper, The Baxter Bulletin in Mountain Home, and the West Plains Quill in Missouri, retired on Nov. 1 after devoting 45 years of his life to the newspaper industry.

to know!

• Open and closed public meetings • How to file a FOIA request • Exemptions to the FOIA • FOIA FAQ

Perry, an Oklahoma native, started his newspaper career at Eureka Springs Times-Echo in 1976 after receiving his journalism degree from the University of Oklahoma in Tulsa. He has been a publisher, advertising director and editor for many of Arkansas’s community newspapers, including Carroll County newspapers, the Mountaineer Echo in Yellville, Malvern Daily Record, The Saline Courier in Benton and the former Hope Star. He was also the publisher for the Gainesville Daily Register in Texas.

He joined the APA board of directors in August 2020.

Perry says he and his wife, Lisa, will continue living in Harrison and he will assist the Daily Times as needed.

“We really enjoy the Harrison community and being a part of the historic Harrison Daily Times. We’ve got a great community newspaper that we can be proud of,” Perry said.

Arkansas Publisher Weekly

To request your FREE copy of the Arkansas Freedom of Information Handbook, email info@arkansaspress.org or call (501) 374-1500.

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October 28, 2021

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501-372-1443 • ABPG.com

Huntsville newspaper seeks open proceedings in court case Questions of privacy versus the public’s right to know are playing out in an Arkansas federal court, as a community newspaper and a school district file opposing motions.

The Madison County Record last week filed a motion in the U.S. District Court in Fayetteville to intervene in a federal case, opposing possible limits on pretrial publicity. The newspaper maintains that it has an interest in protecting open proceedings for the public and itself in a case alleging the Huntsville School District knew of sexual harassment and abuse occurring to its boys middle school basketball players by older boys—but did not act to curtail it.

Earlier in the week, the school district filed a motion to limit pretrial publicity, stating that sealing the court records and proceedings would protect the identity of the victims and other students involved.

The district is also seeking a gag order to prevent the plaintiff’s lawyers from trying the case in the media.

The conflict set up a legal question to be adjudicated between the newspaper’s interests and those of the school district.

The identities of child victims, their families, perpetrators and others involved are protected by state law as well as federal Title IX regulations. In this case, the school district is arguing those privacy protections also extend to judicial proceedings.

Huntsville School District’s motion states: “The unfortunate reality is that the only way to protect all of these children from the consequences of decisions adults make is to seal these proceedings in their entirety. No live testimony and no record of this case — be it a pleading, motion, brief, court order or otherwise, should be open to the public without a prior order of this Court.”

Madison County Record lawyers John Tull and Noah Watson argue in their motion that the newspaper has been covering the story, including making FOIA requests of the school district about the alleged incident. The motion makes clear the newspaper isn’t seeking to be a part of the courtroom debate about the allegations themselves.

“Here, the Record does not seek to litigate this case on the merits,” the motion reads.

“Instead, it wishes to intervene for the limited purpose of protecting the public’s

right to the judicial proceedings, including the public statements of counsel and parties.”

A brief filed in support of the newspaper’s motion states, “The parents whose children attend the district and the community as a whole have interests in these proceedings.

Many of them keep informed by reading the Record. The district’s motion to limit pretrial publicity will harm the Record’s, the parents’ and the community’s interests in public access to the courts.”

The Record’s motion argues the parents’ and public’s interests are especially important in this case, given that it concerns alleged failures by the Huntsville School District to heed warnings that its students were experiencing sexual harassment and assault on campus. It also says that until recently the school district had been supplying information to the Record, including the names of students involved.

Support the future of Arkansas journalism by giving to the Arkansas Newspaper Foundation.

Ways to give: Estate planning, memorial and honor gifts and charitable donations. The Arkansas Newspaper Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization.

For more information call APA at 501-374-1500 or email info@arkansaspress.org.

Arkansas Publisher Weekly

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November 4, 2021

La Prensa Libre applies for APA membership

La Prensa Libre, a Spanish-language free newspaper covering Washington and Benton Counties in northwest Arkansas, has applied for membership to the Arkansas Press Association. The APA Constitution and Bylaws require three notifications of the application to APA membership. This is the third of those three notifications.

La Prensa Libre is owned by NWA Newspapers, LLC and WEHCO Media. Brent Powers is the General Manager of the publication and Breybinda Alvarez is the editor. It was first printed in November 2009 and publishes weekly on Wednesdays. The newspaper, having been published weekly for more than two years, is eligible for full APA membership.

Any APA member who objects to La Prensa Libre’s membership in APA may provide a written letter of objection to APA Executive Director Ashley Wimberley, 411 S. Victory St., Little Rock AR 72201 or email ashley@arkansaspress.org.

Survey answers detail why readers cancel news subscriptions

The answers, published Oct. 28, came from news consumers far more engaged than the average American, Nieman Labs said. They showed the top drivers of cancellations are money and political or ideological concerns.

deep apologies and feelings of guilt about their choice). Some people unsubscribed when promotional rates expired; others were irritated that subscriptions autorenewed or that news organizations weren’t transparent about price. Also in this category were people who subscribed to multiple news media, but whose tightening budgets reduced how many subscriptions they could afford.

The top two most common responses were almost tied: 31% reported financial struggles, including pandemicrelated difficulties, as their reason for unsubscribing (though Nieman Labs noted many of the respondents expressed

The next most common reason, at 30%, was because subscribers disagreed with the outlet’s political or ideological stances and choices. Several of the examples given for New York Times cancellations cited the editors’ decision to publish Sen.

A Nieman Labs survey received more than 500 responses from news subscribers who were asked the question, “Why do people cancel news subscriptions?”

Tom Cotton’s editorial calling for the military to be used against Black Lives Matter publishers.

Beyond that, the reasons given by the other 40% of respondents were more diverse. Thirteen percent cited a reduction of quality (too many click-bait headlines, stories not substantive enough or news that wasn’t worth the cost). Another cause given from 13% of respondents was a lack of time to read the news and a feeling of pressure as the unread articles stacked up. For 12% of respondents their reasons were customer service issues, such as late newspaper delivery or the website not being user-friendly.

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Arkansas Publisher Weekly

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November 4, 2021

Guest Column: WORKSPACE MATTERS

Create a desktop that maximizes your creative output

By Kevin Slimp Today, I’m going to invite you into my office to see how I work and some of the tools I use. Many folks reading this column have been to my webinars and seen the printers, lights, and wall decorations behind me. Today, we will reverse the lens and see what I see when I’m sitting in front of the camera.

We live in a deadline-driven world, and time is crucial. A few minutes saved while working on a project might mean the difference between profit and loss.

Whether I’m redesigning a newspaper, creating a book cover, or editing a manuscript, you can bet I’m going to find the fastest way to get the job done without any loss in quality.

If you were sitting in my chair, you’d see three very large monitors. Two are directly in front of me. The other is on my left.

Until three or four years ago, I was a “one

monitor guy.” That was before I met four young men who started a company just down the hallway from my office.

In two years, their little business had grown into one of the largest businesses in the self-storage industry, with offices all over the world. The first time I walked into their office – yes, they still shared one large office – I saw each of them, standing in front of three large monitors. They were writing software code, overseeing sales, and doing all the other tasks involved in owning a business like theirs. I asked them about their monitors, and they explained they didn’t have time to switch between applications. Everything they needed on their computers was always in front of them.

I went right back to my desk and ordered two 34-inch, hi-def monitors. My output increased so much, I added a third

monitor, 32-inches. The 32-inch monitor had an aspect ratio of 16:9, versus the 21:9 aspect ratio on the 34-inch monitors.

What does this mean? It means the 32inch monitor is much better and even seems bigger, than the 34-inch monitors.

Lesson learned. I bought a fourth monitor, a second 32-inch version, and settled on two 32-inch monitors and one 34-inch monitor.

When the pandemic began, I moved everything home. I soon learned I could get more done at home than at the office.

So, while there is usually someone at our company office, I rarely stop by there. I purchased hydraulic monitor arms for my desk, allowing me to move the monitors higher, lower, or side-to-side with the touch of a finger. I bought a much wider desk, allowing me plenty of room to work and space for the computers, monitors, drives, etc.

Continued on Page 11

I’ve found the 16:9 aspect ratio monitors (left and center) are much better for design work than 21:9 ratio monitors (right).

Arkansas Publisher Weekly

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November 4, 2021

WORKSPACE MATTERS Create a desktop that maximizes your creative output Continued on Page 10

On my desk are two computers. One is a new Mac Mini, upgraded with the maximum amount of memory and hard drive. The other is a Macbook Pro, which I use when I go out to speak. I like to keep everything on both computers, so there aren’t any surprises when I’m in front of an audience. The Macbook is connected to the 32-inch monitor on my left. I often have a movie, tv-show or ballgame running on that monitor while I work. The necessity for background noise results from working a lot of hours, often until 2 or 3 a.m.

On top of the Mac Mini, you will find five backup drives. Yes, you read that correctly.

I have five backup drives connected to my main computer. Having multiple backups has saved me more times than I can remember. At the cost of $80-$150 each, I’d be foolish not to have them.

In addition, my computers are connected to Backblaze, which creates a continuous

backup of all my files “in the cloud.”

session online.

Besides backup drives and cloud backups, we use an online service called box.com, which holds essential files on a server.

It allows everyone to work together from home as if we’re in the same building.

It’s not cheap, but it’s well worth it for the type of work we do. We also have several Dropbox accounts. We’ve learned there are times when box.com works better (when we want to allow outsiders to gain access to our workflow) and times when Dropbox works better (keeping huge files available online).

All my keyboards (there are three of them) are Apple keyboards. Even if I were working on a PC, I’d use an Apple keyboard. They are much more responsive than other keyboards, which leads to fewer errors.

Yes, they’re more expensive.

You will also find a Nexigo webcam on my desk. It has much higher video and audio quality than cameras built into computers.

That’s what you’re seeing and hearing when you attend one of my webinars. I created a camera stand out of three round peanut containers glued together, which I keep on the floor and use when leading a

There you have it. That’s pretty much everything on my desk. Throw in a few coasters, a couple of pairs of glasses (yes, I learned I work better with special computer glasses), and a light, and you know what’s on the other side of my camera.

How much has my output increased since getting a bigger desk, larger monitors, and newer computers? I’d guess I’m getting more than twice the work done than I was a couple of years ago, definitely worth the investment.

Arkansas Press Association

CALL FOR JUDGES Michigan Press Association Better Newspaper Contest

Editorial • Adver tising • Photography First 10 judges to complete the assignment win an Amazon gift card. :

Editorial categories include: • News and Feature Writing • Column Writing • Sports News and Photos • Headline Writing • Best Podcast Advertising categories include: • Restaurant, Auto and Home ads • Promo and House ads • Digital ads • Community Marketing ads • Layout and Design pages

SIGN UP:

www.arkansaspress.org/ event/JudgesSign-up