Arkansas Publisher Weekly: July 3, 2019

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APA Past Presidents Gavel Passing & New President Installation

Guest Column:

Continuity, cooperation, credibility and commitment

By Peter Wagner

ARKANSAS

PRESS

Ar kansas

Publisher Weekly

Vol. 14 | No. 27 | Wednesday, July 3, 2019

ASSOCIATION

Serving Press and State Since 1873

APA 2019 Convention Coverage Edition Better Newspaper Editorial Awards Winners

General Excellence – (From left) Kim Christ, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Little Rock; Rick Kron, The Leader, Jacksonville; Josh Briggs, The Saline Courier, Benton; Rusty Turner, Washington County Enterprise Leader, Lincoln; Graham Thomas, Herald-Leader, Siloam Springs.

Daily Winners – Here are first-place winners from daily newspapers in the annual Better Newspaper Editorial Awards Contest. Their entries were selected among the best of more than 1,500 submitted. (front row, from left) Jennifer Allen, Pine Bluff Commercial; Sarah Perry, The Saline Courier, Benton; Kim Christ, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Little Rock; Elisha Morrison, The Saline Courier; Benton. (back row, from left) Jim Perry, Harrison Daily Times; John Lovett, The Times-Record, Fort Smith; Steve Watts, The Daily Citizen, Searcy; Josh Briggs, The Saline Courier, Benton; Phillip Martin, Arkansas DemocratGazette, Little Rock.

Weekly Winners – Here are first-place winners from daily newspapers in the annual Better Newspaper Editorial Awards Contest. Their entries were selected among the best of more than 1,500 submitted. (seated, from left) Byron Tate, The Sheridan Headlight; Harold Coggins, Advance-Monticellonian, Monticello; Jeri Shire, South Arkansas Sun, Hampton; Tammy Curtis, Spring River Chronicle, Hardy; John Robert Schirmer, Nashville News-Leader; (standing, from left) Jim Perry, Newton County Times, Jasper; Rick Kron, The Leader, Jacksonville; Graham Thomas, Herald-Leader, Siloam Springs; David Scolli, The Leader; Jacksonville; Scott Loftis, Carroll County News, Berryville; Eplunus Colvin, Stuttgart Daily Leader; Ray Benton, The Leader, Jacksonville; Lori Freeze, Stone County Leader, Mountain View; Zach Killian, South Arkansas Sun, Hampton; Mack Thompson, Spring River Chronicle, Hardy; Preston Tolliver, The Madison County Record, Huntsville; Edie Sutterfield, Stone County Leader, Mountain View; Jeremy Peppas, North Little Rock Times; Tom White, AdvanceMonticellonian, Monticello.

I.F. Stone Award

Photo of the Year

Sarah Perry of The Saline Courier in Benton received the prestigious I.F. Stone Award for investigative reporting.

Preston Tolliver of The Madison County Record in Huntsville was selected to earn the Photo of the Year Award for his feature photo, “Pop!� which showed a young boy popping an oversized bubble.

APA Annual Golf Tournament

Participants compete in the annual Arkansas Press Association Golf Tournament benefiting the Arkansas Newspaper Foundation. Centennial Bank won the tournament at 12 under par. Laurie Lee with Trace Strategies won the Longest Drive and the Closest to the Pin was Neal Wimberley with Rabo AgriFinance.

Teams from The Malvern Daily Record, Saline Courier in Benton and the APA Past Presidents also played.

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July 3, 2019

Opening Roundtable Luncheon

A warm welcome by Gary Troutman, president and CEO of the Greater Hot Springs Chamber of Commerce kicked off the roundtable luncheon. Lori Freeze of the Stone County Leader in Mountain View moderated the discussion. Nearly two dozen publishers and others attended the luncheon to talk hot topics and issues being faced by Arkansas newspapers. Kelly Freudensprung, publisher of The Saline Courier in Benton and The Malvern Daily Record shares advice on best practices during the opening roundtable luncheon for publishers. Sitting next to Freudensprung is Jim Perry, publisher of the Harrison Daily Times and the Newton County Times in Jasper.

APA Past Presidents Gavel Passing & New President Installation

APA past presidents participate in the annual passing of the gavel (from left) Derwood Brent, 1989; Jane Christenson, 1991; Ron Kemp, 1993; Mike Brown, 2004; Jeff Christenson, 2005; Roy Ockert, 2008; Britt Talent, 2010; Frank Fellone, 2012; Mary Fisher; 2014; Rusty Fraser, 2015 and Byron Tate, 2017. On the dais are APA President Tom White and Incoming President John Bland.

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July 3, 2019

APA Trade Show

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A total of 15 vendors participated in the annual Trade Show on Friday, June 28, at the annual Arkansas Press Association Convention. (2) Amy Lyman with the Arkansas Agriculture Department; (3) Lee Fox and Neal Wimberley of Rabo AgriFinance visiting with APA Vice President Rusty Turner; (4 & 7) employees and supporters of Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort as well as family members of Louis Cella, Oaklawn Jockey Club president and 2019 APA Headliner of the Year; (5) Trade show attendees had plenty to see.; (6) David Lewis from Entergy (left) who watches APA Board Member Kelly Freudensprung take a putt at the UAMS trade show booth along with Sandra Combs of Arkansas State University.

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Speakers & Sessions

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6 (1) Jim Pumarlo, a longtime newspaper editor and communications director for the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce, gives attendees tips on connecting with readers; (2) Teri Finneman, a professor at the University of Kansas, offers up 10 tips for better social media engagement; (3) The News Photography Workshop presented by Kevin Pieper was well-attended. (4) Rex Nelson of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette moderates a panel discussion on legislative reporting with Mike Wickline of the Democrat-Gazette, Andrew DeMillo of the Associated Press and Wesley Brown of Talk Business and Politics. (5) Carol Grubbe of TownNews. com provided advice for increasing advertising revenue; and (6) Christoph Keller and John Tull of the Quattlebaum, Grooms & Tull PLLC discuss with attendees legal, libel and FOIA issues at a panel moderated by Ellen Kreth, publisher The Madison County Record in Huntsville.

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Past Presidents

(seated, from left) Bob Moore, 2013; Frank Fellone, 2012; David Fisher, 1987; Mary Fisher, 2014; Rusty Fraser, 2015; Roy Ockert, 2008; (standing, from left) Ron Kemp, 1993; Britt Talent, 2010; Jeff Christenson, 2005; Byron Tate, 2017; Derwood Brett, 1989; Buddy King, 2000; Jane Christenson, 1991; Bill Hager, 2007; and Mike Brown, 2004. The Past Presidents Breakfast was sponsored by Entergy Arkansas.

Behind the Scenes at Oaklawn

On Thursday evening, attendees at the annual APA Convention visited Oaklawn Racing and Casino Resort in Hot Springs to get a first-hand look and behindthe-scenes tour of the grounds and hear about Oaklawn’s planned $100 million expansion. Photos include Jennifer Hoyt, Oaklawn’s media relations manager, discussing plans for a new hotel; and attendees admiring the sculpture of American Pharoah, Triple Crown and Arkansas Derby winner in 2015.

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July 3, 2019

APA Honors Banquet

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5 (1) Larry Miller of the Conway County Petit Jean Country Headlight, Morrilton speaks to attendees at the annual APA Honors Banquet after receiving his Golden 50 Service Award for 50 years of service to the newspaper industry. (2) Frank Fellone, an independent journalist, former deputy editor of the Arkansas DemocratGazette and former APA president, earned a Golden 50 Award; (3) Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Managing Editor David Bailey received his second Freedom of Information Award; (4) Former APA President Roy Ockert (left) presents the Distinguished Service Award to David Mosesso, retired group publisher for Paxton Media Group; (5) Emcee Kelly Freudensprung recognizes Tom White (standing) and other APA board members. Other awards presented during the evening were Golden 50 Service Awards to Glenda Arnett, Monroe County Herald, Brinkley and Danny Cook, The Eagle Democrat in Warren. Journalism Educator of the Year to Karla Sprague of Har-Ber High School in Springdale and the Freedom of Information Award to Chris Wessel, editor of the Jonesboro Sun

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Guest Column:

Continuity, cooperation, credibility and commitment

By Peter Wagner One of our printing customers includes the following observation just above the signature line on all his emails: “To say you don’t need newspapers because you’ve got the internet is like saying you don’t need farmers because you’ve got a grocery store.”

In almost every community the local paper is the first recorder of news. Little Joe Brown might have hit a home run at last week’s Pee Wee game, but only a few are going to know about it until it is reported in the hometown paper.

Yes, there is always going to be a digital element to the news reporting from now on. But unless that digital source meets print’s standards of balanced reporting, fact checking and professional editing it will never have the credibility attached to print.

So why is the printed paper, the longacknowledged source for information about everything happening in the community, overshadowed by endless digital websites, Facebook pages and blogs?

In 2018, the entire U.S. news industry – print and broadcast - made an estimated $5.1 billion from digital advertising. And those dollars were spread out across scores of companies.

It was of little help during an age where all newsrooms were cutting jobs and many small-town papers closed their doors forever.

Meanwhile, according to a report from the News Media Alliance, Google almost matched the industry’s total digital-ad revenue with $4.7 billion simply providing search engine assistance to finding that locally-produced news.

That number only represents the income

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from advertising on the Google website.

It does not include the value of personal data Google gathers when users click on news articles.

While the local paper collects and clearly presents the news, it is Google and not the hometown that’s getting wealthy off the tedious detail work. As it has often been said, people go to the internet to find out details about a story. But most often they earlier had learned about the story in their newspaper.

We need, as an industry, to believe in ourselves and TELL OUR STORY. No other information source has the reach of our publications. Broadcast, digital and social media are targeted and cannot.

The local paper provides much needed CONTINUITY. Locally written and edited papers are the most reliable link to the past, as well as the most dependable source of informative details regarding what is happening that day or week. The community newspaper provides CONTINUITY across various community interest groups, as well as from generation to generation.

The hometown paper also encourages local COOPERATION. As the media connecting with the greatest number of local families, the paper is in a position to educate, encourage and clearly explain “why” something is happening or needs to happen in the community. Through solid news coverage and editorials, the newspaper provides citizens with the reasons to COOPERATE to help make possible changes. Or, why they should not.

Today’s electronic media is overloaded with as many differing opinion blog sites, ideas and voices - many of them shortsighted and biased - as there are

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stars in the sky Local communities need community newspaper to everyone’s ideas together.

their bring

Newspapers also assure CREDIBILITY. A newspaper’s future depends on earning and keeping the respect of local readers, advertisers and community leaders.

Newspapers cannot afford to get the facts wrong or to take sides when reporting a story. A newspaper’s reputation depends upon its CREDIBILITY. You will often hear someone saying with a scoff, “It must be true, I saw it on the internet!” But when the same person says “I read it in the paper,” he is sharing the information as a fact.

And finally, the men and women who own, manage and produce a local newspaper live and raise their families in the town where they are doing business. They are COMMITTED to making their town and region the best possible place to live, work and invest.

The paper’s COMMITMENT to building a better community makes the local publication the town’s leading cheerleader for all important events and projects.

Hometown newspapers support community with their stories, donated advertising space, time and often their own dollars.

Now how can Google match that?

Peter W. Wagner is founder and publisher of the award winning N’West Iowa REVIEW and 13 additional publications.

Wagner can be contacted by emailing pww@iowainformation.com or calling his cell at (712) 348-3550.

July 3, 2019