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Nominations open for APA special awards Guest Column:
Making plans for the next 10 years By Kevin Slimp
Arkansas Press Association
Publisher Weekly Vol. 16 | No. 21 | Thursday, May 27, 2021 | Serving Press and State Since 1873
APA lobbyists reflect on recent legislative session Last month, the Arkansas General Assembly wrapped up a 108-day legislative session having enacted several bills that impact the Arkansas Press Association and the state’s newspaper industry. Throughout the session, APA’s contract lobbyists at Little Rock-based Gilmore Davis Strategy Group helped support the industry. For this week’s Arkansas Publisher Weekly¸ J.R. Davis of Gilmore Davis answered questions about his views on the session overall and what he expects for Arkansas’s newspapers going forward.
Q) How do you think the newspaper industry fared overall in the last session? The 2021 General Session was a successful one, overall, for the Arkansas newspaper industry. That may seem a bit strange given the barrage of attacks on public notice and FOIA; however, our collective efforts to push back on some of the more harmful legislation is certainly reason to celebrate. One such example, among many others, is HB1280 by Rep. Delia Haak, R-Centerton, that would have gutted the FOIA’s open meetings provision by allowing executive sessions for the purpose of discussing economic development and investment opportunities. After multiple attempts in committee, the bill finally made it to the House floor where it ultimately died.
Other important issues to note: Teachers, for the second session in a row, were given pay raises; high schoolers must now take some form of computer science in order to graduate; sales tax on used cars below $7,500 was eliminated; and ARHOME, the third iteration of the state’s private option model, surprisingly sailed through both chambers and onto the governor’s desk for signature.
Q) What was the tone and theme of the session overall, and what were the “big issues” unrelated to our industry to come out of this General Assembly? Discord between the legislative and executive branch was a constant theme throughout the 2021 session. Defiant legislators on one side and a governor who was more than willing to push back on legislation he deemed harmful set the tone early. Consider this: In Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s three prior legislative sessions, he has only used his veto power three times. In this year’s session, he doubled that total. (Two were sustained, and one was overridden.) Social issues were once again front and center this session with a number of antiabortion, Second Amendment, and antitransgender bills becoming law.
Finally, it’s important to note that tax cuts are still being considered and will be taken up by the Legislature, along with congressional redistricting, when it reconvenes later this fall.
Q) What new laws are going to affect Arkansas newspapers the most?
As mentioned above, there were a lot of victories this session, but there were also some losses, despite our collective best efforts. A few laws that will directly impact the newspaper industry are as follows: • SB 610 (Act 954) by Sen. Scott Flippo, R-Bull Shoals, adds a requirement that public notices placed by Arkansas counties and cities contain extra information stating which entity paid for the notice and how much the notice costs. The entity purchasing the notice is required to supply the additional language (the mandate does not fall to newspapers), and newspapers may levy per-word charges on the added text. Continued on Page 2
APA lobbyists reflect on recent legislative session
Continued from Page 1
• HB1027 (Act 367) by Rep. Frances Cavenaugh, R-Walnut Ridge, eliminated the newspaper publication requirement providing notice of the sale of personal property within self-storage units.
passing the Senate. A new bill was filed that addressed those concerns, and at 1 a.m. on the final day of the session, it was passed out and along to the governor for his signature.
• SB355 (ACT 889) by Sen. Larry Teague, D-Nashville, allows lottery winners to choose to keep their personal information exempt from FOIA. That exemption expires three years after the individual claims his or her lottery prize.
Q) How did the pandemic affect the session?
• SB305 (ACT 440) by Sen. Ron Caldwell and SB456 (ACT 435) by Sen. Gary Stubblefield raised the threshold for when cities, counties and school districts must solicit competitive bids for purchases. The threshold for bid notices for products, like asphalt or equipment, moves from $20,000 to $35,000 (SB456) and the threshold for public improvements, such as construction projects, increased from $35,000 to $50,000 (SB305).
Q) Were there any surprises?
Always. It’s not a General Session without drama at the 11th hour. SB298, dubbed “The Arkansas Sovereignty Act of 2021,” was the last big fight this year. After overwhelming passage in both chambers, Gov. Hutchinson vetoed the bill due to concerns over some of the language and the potential unintended consequences as it pertains to criminal gun cases at the federal level. The veto override effort ultimately died on the House floor after
The pandemic made this session particularly difficult, especially in the beginning weeks. Committee rooms were relocated; agenda processes were tweaked from past years; and phone calls over face-to-face meetings were aplenty. The pandemic also made committee testimony challenging in that most of the public were seated in holding rooms outside the actual committee room. COVID also became the political lightning rod over the 108 days of session—from fights over executive authority to protesting mask mandates to unauthorized removal of plexiglass shields from the House Floor.
important for the APA staff to recognize t h o s e attacks and provide an effective defense— which they did. We of course want J.R. Davis to be team players across the industry; however, APA has to ultimately look out for the interests of its members first. Only then should considerations be made for the priorities and concerns of other groups and individuals who support transparency and are our allies.
Q) What advice do you have for APA members who want 2023, we hope, should be much more to make a difference ahead of 2023? familiar to us all. Q) What did we as an industry do right, and what did we do wrong, in the session?
The industry really helped itself this session by showing a willingness to work with legislative leadership for incremental wins based upon political capital that has been built for decades. It’s no secret that the industry is under attack, and it was
Start working now on the issues we know are coming in 2023. Reach out to legislators. Cultivate relationships with them. Identify legislative champions of transparency. And begin the conversation, internally, about what is an acceptable compromise when it comes to public notice. We dodged bullets in 2021. They will fly once again in 2023—a bevy of them—and we need to be prepared.
API looks at recovery of local news outlets The American Press Institute has released a new report to explain how local news outlets across the country are attempting to rebound more than a year after the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. The report follows a request from API to local and regional news organizations asking them how to address “lost resources, audience retention, misinformation, rebuilding beats and improving investigative journalism, newsroom diversity and journalists’ mental health.”
least 65 news organizations permanently closed and outlets in every state faced job cuts or pay reductions. The report found at least three key factors for moving ahead: That news organizations must recognize that “some aspects of the work of local journalism have changed
According to API, the report shares the early success stories of news outlets and how they are handling those issues and moving ahead past a dismal year where at
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significantly;” that local journalism must embrace creativity; and that diversity, equity and inclusions efforts are mandatory, and that news organizations have been damaged because of their inaction related to diversity, equity and inclusion. To read the full report, which features tips on how to keep readers, fight misinformation and producing strong investigative content, go to https://www. americanpressinstitute.org/publications/ articles/how-local-news-organizationsare-taking-steps-to-recover-from-a-yearof-trauma/single-page/
May 27, 2021
Nominations U.S. ad spending soars in April open for APA special awards The Arkansas Press Association will highlight the achievements of several individuals connected to the newspaper industry at its upcoming annual convention. APA’s special awards are chosen based on recommendations from membership, and nomination forms are available to nominate people for the association’s Distinguished Service Award, Educator of the Year and Freedom of Information Award. The Distinguished Service Award is presented by APA to someone who has exhibited a career of positive contributions to the APA and the newspaper industry in Arkansas. The Educator of the Year award is presented to an outstanding journalism educator, either at the high school or collegiate level. The APA’s Freedom of Information Award goes to someone who successfully defended, supported or effectively used the state’s open-records and open-meetings laws. Nominations may also be submitted for the Golden 50 Service Award. This award is presented to people who have spent 50 years or more within the newspaper industry. This year’s awards are for the 2020 calendar year. Nominations are considered by the APA Board of Directors and winners will be recognized at this year’s convention, to be held online July 22 and July 23. Winners do not have to be APA members. The nomination form is available on page 5 of this edition of Arkansas Publisher Weekly. Deadline to submit is Friday, June 11, 2021
INDUSTRY QUOTE “No one needs to tell me about the importance of the free press in a democratic society or about the essential role a newspaper can play in its community.”
MediaPost reported this month that year-to-year advertising spending in the United States was up 52 percent in April compared to the same month in 2020, signaling a marketplace rebound and suggesting a positive trend in ad sales. March 2021 was also higher than spending in March 2020; however, the publication notes that ad spending still lags behind compared to April 2019. Ad sales are still 7.4 percent below where they were two years ago.
MediaPost noted that April 2021 was the first month since the coronavirus started that showed “stronger gains for smaller ad categories than the bigger ones, an indication that the recovery is gaining momentum across a broader range of advertisers.” Digital advertising is driving most of the ad market recovery, the publication noted. To read the full story, go to www.mediapost. com
Spring River Chronicle offices move Owners of the Spring River Chronicle in Hardy have announced they are relocating offices within the community. The business is now at 1638 U.S. 412, Suite 2F, Highland, Arkansas, 72542. Previously, the newspaper was located in Hardy near the Spring River bridge. Newspaper officials said the Chronicle always had plans to move once the daughter of the building’s owner (and former newspaper publisher) completed
law school. That building will now be a law office. The Spring River Chronicle “looks forward to continuing to serve our loyal readers and advertisers. … Signs will be going up outside in the next week, but the paper is still open.” Anyone trying to reach the newspaper is asked to call (870) 955-5020 or (870) 283-2132. The email address is editor@ myspringriver.com
Arkansas Press Association offices will be closed on Monday, May 31, in observance of Memorial Day.
— Robert Kennedy Arkansas Publisher Weekly
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May 27, 2021
Guest Column:
Making plans for the next 10 years By Kevin Slimp In my previous column, I mentioned that there seem to be a lot of positive feelings in the community newspaper industry right now. Several weeks have passed since I wrote that column, and I’m even more convinced that good things are happening at many of our papers. Just before sitting down to write this column, I interviewed a new graduate of the University of Tennessee School of Journalism for a collegiate journalism conference where I spoke. Two years ago, he came by to see me to tell me he changed his major from computer engineering to photojournalism. Recently, he landed a dream job as a journalist, his future is bright, and I asked if he was glad to have changed majors. He visibly rose from his seat with enthusiasm as he answered, “Oh, yes. I am so glad. There’s no looking back!” Like a lot of folks, I’ve been living and working out of my home for the past 15 months and I was excited to have lunch with Dale Gentry, publisher of the Jefferson City, Tennessee, newspaper last week. It was my first in-person business meeting since March 2020. His official reason for asking me to lunch was to discuss plans for a redesign at his newspaper. As we visited, I was able to ask about his paper and was glad to learn that things are going quite well at the Standard-Banner. Dale was very enthusiastic about the future and is looking forward to the energy created during a redesign. The reason I’m writing this column in the middle of the night (It’s 11pm on Sunday night), is because there is such a demand for training right now from newspapers.
My normal workday begins around 9 a.m. and ends around 2 a.m. The requests aren’t for any specific area of training. It just seems like publishers are looking forward to a return to “normal,” and are ready to invest in improving their products. You may have read some of the columns I’ve written about Affinity Publisher, the software that’s poised to give Adobe InDesign a run for its money. Those of you that know me know that I’m an Adobe guy. I’m not going to be tossing out InDesign and Photoshop anytime soon. But after leading several Affinity training sessions over the past six months, I’m convinced Affinity will eventually own a big chunk of the newspaper software market. Just this past week, I taught three half-day classes for a national newspaper group. I’ve received requests from community papers and groups across the U.S., wanting to know when they can be trained to use the software. Some are even asking for help creating new templates in Affinity Publisher. My guess is the primary reason Serif, Inc. (maker of Affinity) isn’t making a bigger push in the U.S. newspaper market is because they are having so much success in Europe. I’m quite certain we’ll be hearing a lot more from the folks at Serif in the nottoo-distant future. I’ve interviewed Joey Young, the young publisher who has gained quite a bit of national attention for the work he’s doing in Kansas. I remember like it was yesterday, Joey sheepishly walked up to me at a newspaper convention in Des Moines and asked my advice about starting a new community paper in his hometown. That
was about eight years ago, give or take a year. He told me he knew he could start a successful paper. The last time I counted, Joey had four publications in Kansas. Every time I visit with Joey, I come away even more enthusiastic about the future of community newspapers. It’s now been 12 years since I made that now-famous bet with the renowned journalism educator that there would still be newspapers standing after 2018. I knew then that newspapers weren’t going away anytime soon, and I’m more confident than I have been in years about the future of community papers. (I still want to get t-shirts printed that say, “Kevin was right!”) Well, what do you know? I made it to 800 words before midnight. I’m never at a loss for positive things to say about the community newspaper industry. I’m proud to be associated with this family. Let me suggest, as we move back to a period of “normalcy,” you take a look at your newspaper to see what can be done to create a stronger product, draw more readers and attract more advertisers. What we do is incredibly important, and this is the time to let our communities know that we did, indeed, make it past 2018. Let your readers know you’re making plans for a future in which the local paper remains a vital component of a healthy community. If anyone wants to make a bet, I’m betting most of us will still be around in 2028. 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.
News Release Distributon Service Do you need to disseminate a news release regionally, by congressional district or to statewide members of the media?
Call 501-374-1500 to discuss your customized project. Arkansas Publisher Weekly
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May 27, 2021
2021 APA Annual Special Awards Nomination Form Each year, APA recognizes a number of special people at its convention. All have made special contributions either to the entire newspaper industry, the Arkansas Press Association or both. See the list of past honorees on the next page. The process starts with nominations from any source, primarily members. The APA Board of Directors will make the final selections. We seek your help in identifying these special people. Please read the descriptions of the awards below and fax or email us your nominations. Deadline to submit is Friday, June 11, 2021. 1. Golden 50 Service Award - Since 1980, APA has honored people who have worked for the newspaper industry in any capacity for 50 years or more. Service may include both full-time and part-time, including country correspondents, carriers, etc. It includes high school, college and military newspapers. The total must be 50, so please check with prospects to confirm their 50 years. We ask the person making the nomination to gather the information needed for the convention program and awards presentation. Full Name___________________________________________________________Total Years Worked for Newspapers___________ Newspapers Most Identified with____________________________________________ City ______________________________ 2. Journalism Educator Award - Given to a person who has made significant contributions to journalism education in Arkansas, either at the high school or the college level. Can be for contributions during the past year or, more likely, for a number of years or a life time of contributions. Nominee___________________________________________________________ Title______________________________ Reasons____________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ 3. Distinguished Service Award - Given to a person who has made significant contributions to the APA and/or the newspaper industry. Award has honored both people in and outside the newspaper business. Nominee___________________________________________________________ Title______________________________ Reasons____________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ 4. Freedom of Information Award - Given to a person who has defended the Arkansas FOI Act in some way, either for a single act or for ongoing efforts. Nominee___________________________________________________________ Title______________________________ Reasons____________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ Person making nomination(s)_______________________________________________Phone____________________________
Fax: 501.374.7509 | Email: ashley@arkansaspress.org Arkansas Publisher Weekly
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Previous Recipients of the Arkansas Press Association Special Awards GOLDEN 50 SERVICE AWARD 1983: Morgan D. Braswell, DeWitt Evelyn Kimball, De Queen Ray Kimball, De Queen Bill Whitehead, Sr., Fordyce Jamie Jones Young, Searcy 1984: John Q. Mahaffey, Texarkana Joe B. McGee, Conway Phil “Moon” Mullen, Osceola Ida Reidmatten, Conway Buford E. Robins, Conway 1985: Bill Gill, Jonesboro 1986: Lewis Epley, Fayetteville Louis Graves, Nashville Mary Ethel Martin, Atkins Alden Spencer, Fayetteville Lillian Vaughn, Rector 1987: Ralph Casey, Ark. Democrat Jon Kennedy, Ark. Democrat Chester Garrett, Ark. Democrat Arthur Lachowsky, Conway 1988: Jim Jones, Forrest City 1989: James Bechtelheimer, Camden Ida Maggard, Huntsville 1990: Doris Crowder, Morrilton Annie Dunlap, Morrilton Iris Huett, Morrilton Overa Nisler, Morrrilton J.R. McKinley, De Queen Al Miller, Searcy 1991: Nannie Mae Breeden, Van Buren Joel Irwin, Heber Springs Perrin Jones III, Searcy Ethel Plum, Van Buren 1992: Claude Babcock, Bentonville J.E. Dunlap, Jr., Harrison 1993: Ann B. Carroll, Pocahontas Tom Gillespie, Atkins LeRoy Tyson, Atkins 1994: Robert R. Douglas, Fayetteville Sammy George, Fayetteville LaRue M. Griffin, Prescott Orville Henry, Little Rock William T. Taylor, Little Rock 1995: Flora Jean Elledge, Brinkley D. Wilson Powell, Batesville Richard Spain, Bentonville Bill Woods, Hazen Jim Wyckoff, Little Rock 1996: James Braswell, DeWitt Ted Larimer, Green Forest Bob Fisher, Clarksville Charlotte Schexnayder, Dumas Melvin Schexnayder, Dumas Dean Walls, Des Arc 1997: Cone Magie, Cabot Bob McCord, N. Little Rock J.V. Rockwell, Corning
Arkansas Publisher Weekly
John Troutt, Jr., Jonesboro Marylea Vines, Corning 1998: Jean Bradley, Little Rock Sammy Dunlap, Harrison Jay Jackson, Clinton Ethel Mae Moore, Des Arc Robert L. Newton, Warren 1999: Floyd C. Carl, Jr., Fayetteville Wallace Ballentine, Hot Springs 2000: Charles Allbright, Little Rock Jim Morriss, Springdale 2001: Cecil Atwood, Little Rock Jerry Donohue, Jonesboro Ellis Reynolds, Atkins 2002: George Fisher, Little Rock Hazel Freeman, Harrisburg Owen Lusk, Paragould Joe Mosby, Ark. Gazette 2003: Dodie Evans, Gravette Gene Herrington, Ark. Democrat Billie Jines, Pea Ridge 2004: Perry Dutton, Melbourne 2005: Floyd Emerson, Hot Springs Betty Magie, Cabot 2006: Shirley Curtis, Harrison T.C. Day, Pine Bluff 2007: Jim Bailey, Little Rock Frank Lightfoot, White Hall 2008: Christine Fisher, Clarksville Louie Graves, Nashville Robert Shaw, Little Rock Van Tyson, Atkins 2011: Jackie Bevill, Camden Rosetta Lockhart, Augusta Roy Ockert, Jr., Jonesboro 2012: Bill Simmons, Little Rock Dean Walls, Des Arc (60) 2013: Jane Christenson, Harrison Dodie Evans, Gentry Paul Greenberg, Little Rock Charlotte Hodge, Morrilton Steve Trolinger, Bentonville 2014: Claudia Ahrens, Stuttgart Buddy King, Texarkana 2015: Paul Smith, Little Rock 2016: Lee Henry Dunlap, Harrison Harry Beshoner, Paris 2017: David McCollum, Conway Jimmy Robertson, Hot Springs Patricia Stuckey, Benton 2018: Rusty Fraser, Mt. View Lynda Hollenbeck, Benton Brenda Blagg, Fayetteville 2019: Glenda Arnett, Brinkley Danny Cook, Warren Larry Miller, Morrilton Frank Fellone, Little Rock
JOURNALISM EDUCATOR OF THE YEAR 1984: Randy Lindsey, Mena High School 1986: Dean Duncan, University of Central Arkansas 1990: Ernie Deane, University of Arkansas 1991: Bob Douglas, University of Arkansas 1992: Bill Downs, Ouachita Baptist University 1993: Fred Lollar, John Brown University 1994: Dixie Martin, Sylvan Hills High School 1995: Roy Ockert, Jr., Batesville 1996: Joel Gambill, Arkansas State University 1997: John Schirmer, Nashville 1998: Roy Reed, University of Arkansas 1999: Gene McCoy, UALR 2000: Sonny Sanders, UALR 2001: Margaret Sorrows, Bryant 2002: Ernie Dumas, University of Central Arkansas 2003: Beth Shull, ASPA, Little Rock 2004: Van Tyson, Arkansas Tech University 2005: Jeanne Rollberg, UALR 2006: Judy Jones, Nashville High School 2007: Bonnie Thrasher, Arkansas State University 2008: Bruce Plopper, UALR 2009: Tommy Mumert, Arkansas Tech University 2010: Stacey Kendrick 2012: Susan Colyer, Fort Smith Southside 2013: Anita Stafford, Camden Fairview 2014: Katherine Shurlds, UAF 2016: Bob Qualls, Batesville 2018: Merlin Mann, ATU 2019: Karla Sprague, Har-Ber High School Springdale 2020: Gil Fowler, Arkansas State University Sonny Rhodes, University of Arkansas at Little Rock FREEDOM OF INFORMATION AWARD 1991: Ben Allen, Little Rock 1992: Lu Hardin, Russellville 1993: Winston Bryant, Little Rock 1994: Perrin Jones, Searcy 1995: Brenda Blagg, Springdale 1996: Bob McCord, North Little Rock 1997: Carol Griffee, Little Rock 1998: Bill Rutherford, Austin 1999: Dennis Schick, APA, Little Rock 2000: FOI Arkansas project 2001: John Troutt, Jr., Jonesboro 2002: Bob Fisher, Attorney General’s Office, Little Rock 2003: Beth Walker & Elana Wills, Attorney General’s Office, Little Rock 2004: Milton Scott, APA Lobbyist, Little Rock
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2005: 2006: 2007: 2008: 2009: 2010: 2011: 2012: 2013: 2014: 2015: 2016: 2017:
Brenda Blagg, Springdale Rick Peltz, UA Bowen School of Law Dennis Byrd, Stephens Media Michele Page, Helena David Bailey, Little Rock Rep. Dan Greenberg, Little Rock Bryan Hendricks, Little Rock Danny Shameer, Little Rock Chad Day, Little Rock Sonny Albarado, Little Rock Chelsea Boozer, Little Rock Doug Thompson, Springdale Lisa Hammersly, Fort Smith Tom Larimer, Little Rock Rep. Laurie Rushing, Hot Springs 2018: John Tull, Little Rock 2019: Chris Wessel, Jonesboro David Bailey, Little Rock 2020: Rep. Vivian Flowers, Pine Bluff DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD 1985: 1988: 1990: 1991: 1992: 1993: 1994: 1995: 1996: 1997: 1998: 1999: 2000: 2001: 2002:
John Paul Capps, State Rep., Searcy Ernest Cunningham, State Rep., Helena Marvin Vinson, Mayor, Clarksville Pat Murphy, Little Rock Ray Kimball, De Queen Charlotte Schexnayder, Dumas Bob Douglas, Fayetteville Bob McCord, North Little Rock Sen. Lu Hardin, Russellville U.S. Sen. David Pryor, Camden Jay Jackson, Clinton U.S. Sen. Dale Bumpers, Little Rock Bill Rutherford, Little Rock/Austin Jim McCall, Little Rock Cone & Betty Magie, Cabot J.E. Dunlap, Jr., Harrison 2003: Bob Wimberley, Little Rock 2004: Jerry Russell, Little Rock 2005: Milton Scott, Little Rock 2006: John Tull, Little Rock 2007: O.E. & Pat Jones, Batesville 2008: Roy Reed, Hogeye 2009: Frank Robins III 2010: Dr. Joel Gambill, Jonesboro 2011: Paul Greenberg, Little Rock 2012: John Troutt, Jr., Jonesboro 2013: Paul Smith, Little Rock 2014: Dennis Byrd, Benton Buddy King, Texarkana Griffin Smith, Little Rock 2015: Dr. Bill Downs, Benton John Mobbs, Little Rock 2016: Gerald B. Jordon, Fayetteville 2017: Brenda Blagg, Fayetteville 2018: Walter E. Hussman, Jr., Little Rock 2019: David Mosesso, Jonesboro
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