Arkansas Publisher Weekly: October 4, 2018

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APA house ad available for download for National Newspaper Week Rita Haldeman named general manager in El Dorado

ARKANSAS

Ar kansas

PRESS

Publisher Weekly

Vol. 13 | No. 40 | Thursday, October 4, 2018

ASSOCIATION

Serving Press and State Since 1873

Register now for ArkLaMiss Conference As newspapers across the country experience a time of transition and increased concern about revenue, experts in audience and financial growth will discuss opportunities for success at the annual ArkLaMiss Circulation, Marketing and Audience Development Conference next month.

building circulation, revenue growth and leveraging a newspaper’s public image and its community relationships.

Dennis Dunn, circulation director for the Anniston (Ala.) Star, will moderate the popular “Hot Ideas” breakfast. Attendees during the breakfast event will share their best revenue-generating and cost-saving tips.

The conference is hosted by the Arkansas The conference opens Press Association (APA), at 9 a.m. on Thursday, along with the press Nov. 8, with a roundtable associations in Louisiana for publishers, editors and Mississippi. It will and key newspaper be held Nov. 8 and 9 at Circulation & Marketing Conference personnel to discuss the Ameristar Hotel and revenue, expenses, Casino in Vicksburg, Miss. special promotions and

ArkLaMiss

The event features Peter Wagner of Creative House Print Consultants. He is a noted speaker and expert on newspaper and promotions. Wagner is the publisher and founder of the N’West Iowa REVIEW and he will offer practical tips on

management tips.

The conference is designed to help publishers, general managers, circulation directors and audience development professionals learn great ideas for generating new readership and revenue.

Because of the importance of this annual event, the Arkansas Newspaper Foundation offers grants to APA members to help cover registration and hotel costs.

Four continuing education grants of $200 each are available, with preference given to first-time participants. Each media organization is eligible for only one grant. If not all grants are awarded based on those criteria, awards will be made based on the order that applications are received.

To apply, visit ArkansasPress.org.

Applications should be emailed to Terri Cobb at terri@arkansaspress.org no later than Oct. 25. For more information about the grant application, email Cobb or call her at (501) 374-1500.

To register for the conference, visit ArkLaMissConference.wordpress.com.

Registration is $109.

To book a hotel room, call (601) 638-1000 and use the group code SARKLA8. Book

by Oct. 24 to reserve the $74-per-night conference rate.

National Newspaper Week kicks off Sunday

“Journalism Matters, Now More than Ever” is theme for 78th annual observance

Newspapers across the country will focus on the importance of journalism to their communities next week during the 78th annual observance of National Newspaper Week. This year’s theme for National Newspaper Week is: “Journalism Matters, Now More than Ever.” Organizers are asking local newspapers to participate in National Newspaper Week by publishing features, columns, cartoons and promotional advertisements.

Newspaper

Association

Managers

(NAM), which sponsors National Newspaper Week, has made a variety of resources available to newspapers. Visit NationalNewspaperWeek.com to view the “content kit” that contains a variety of materials for use at no charge.

“It seems like every day we learn of another example of why journalism matters so much to our democracy and to our communities we serve,” said Ashley Wimberley, executive director of the Arkansas Press Association. “As

our industry battles politically-charged commentary, it is so important that we all take the time to remind our readers about the value of good journalism and how our newspapers and their employees are such an intricate part of the fabric of a community.”

Wimberley encouraged publishers and editors to take advantage of the resources available. The sponsor, NAM, is the trade organization made up of press association Continued on Page 2

National Newspaper Week

Continued from page 1 leaders from across North America. APA pays NAM so APA members may access the content. In addition, APA has produced a house ad that members are asked to publish during newspaper week, which runs until Oct. 13.

The group states that newspapers can make the week more locally focused by editorializing about a newspaper’s unique relevance. Newspapers can discuss the watchdog role of journalism, important coverage of community events or keeping readers informed through timely public notices, just to name a few.

NAM notes that by newspapers banding together to celebrate National Newspaper Week, there is greater impact to newspapers locally and to the industry at large.

APA house ad available for download for National Newspaper Week

The Arkansas Press Association (APA) has produced a house advertisement available to all member newspapers to publish during National Newspaper Week, observed this year from Sunday, Oct. 7 to Saturday, Oct. 13.

The theme for this 78th annual observance of National Newspaper Week is “Journalism Matters, Now More than Ever.” APA Executive Director Ashley Wimberley encourages papers to download and run the free ad, which is available in both black and white and color and in three sizes. The ads can be downloaded on the APA homepage at ArkansasPress.org.

The ad lists a number of emotions that are captured each day by the hard-working men and women employed by Arkansas newspapers. The tag line “Life is full of emotion. We cover the journey” highlights the vital role our member newspapers play in their communities and acknowledge the credibility and reliability that comes from receiving news from a local paper.

Member newspapers are encouraged to add their newspaper logo or name in the white space above the APA logo.

Triumph Sorrow JoyAwe Interest

Anxiety Life is full of emotion.

We cover the journey.

Arkansas Newspapers Local • Credible • Reliable • Connected

Celebrate Carrier Day and honor dedicated workers

By Kirsten Alliance

Ballard,

News

Media

Earlier this year, Howard Shelton was shot on the job. He is a carrier for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

The 60-year-old was delivering to customers on his route when his car was stolen and he was shot.

The News Media Alliance has produced the above 2018 International Newspaper Carrier Day ad for use during National Newspaper Week (Oct. 8-12) and on International Newspaper Carrier Day (Oct. 13). The ads can be downloaded on the APA homepage at ArkansasPress.org

Arkansas Publisher Weekly

His customers set up a GoFundMe to help with his expenses while out of work. It was the first time in 20 years Shelton missed work. His customers lauded his work ethic and standard of care—he’s known for quietly placing the newspaper instead of throwing it, as to not wake his customers.

His motto is, “If the paper is printed, it’s going to get delivered—no matter what’s going on.”

Dedicated men and women like Shelton deliver the newspaper – and with it, key 2

information about their local community – to their customers every day. They are a vital arm of the news media industry and imperative to a free and robust press. Shelton is not the first carrier to make news. Last year we profiled a list of heartwarming stories about carriers who went above and beyond the call of duty.

On Saturday, October 13, International Newspaper Carrier Day, we want to take a moment to recognize and honor these hard workers. This is a salute to the hundreds of thousands of newspaper carriers that are necessary to get the news out. They diligently go about their jobs before most of us are even awake. They do not get the glory of bylines or recognition of broadcasters. But the unfortunate reality is, they are risking their safety to make sure we get the news, and for that they deserve our sincere thanks.

October 4, 2018

GateHouse Media buys The Oklahoman

GateHouse Media, a major publishing company with newspapers in 37 states, including Arkansas, has purchased the Oklahoman Media Company. The sale was effective Oct. 1.

GateHouse purchased The Oklahoman newspaper, digital site NewsOK and other properties as part of the sale. GateHouse publishes 145 daily newspapers and operates in more than 570 markets across the country. The company owns the Pine Bluff Commercial, the Times Record of Fort Smith and several weekly newspapers in Arkansas.

GateHouse’s parent company is the publicly traded New Media Investment Group.

As the leading paper in the Oklahoma City area, The Oklahoman is that state’s largest paper.

While the company expands elsewhere, GateHouse has made news recently in Arkansas for shuttering several of its weekly newspapers, including two it had purchased from Stephens Media in 2015.

In August, GateHouse closed the North Little Rock Times and the Democrat in Lonoke County. Just days later, it announced the closure of the Arkadelphia Siftings-Herald, the Hope Star and the Nevada County Picayune in Prescott.

Mark Your Calendar November 8 - 9 2018 ArkLaMiss Circulation & Marketing Conference, Ameristar Casino & Hotel, Vicksburg, MS

Industry Quote of the Week

“I am reminded of the professor who, in his declining hours, was asked by his devoted pupils for his final counsel. He replied, ‘Verify your quotations.’”

– Sir Winston Churchill Arkansas Publisher Weekly

Rita Haldeman named general manager in El Dorado The current publisher of three Kentucky newspapers is relocating to El Dorado to become general manager of the El Dorado News-Times. Rita Haldeman starts at the WEHCO-owned paper on Oct. 8.

Haldeman comes to south Arkansas from Middlesboro, Kentucky, where she was employed by Boone Newspapers Inc. She served as publisher of two dailies, the Middlesboro Daily News and the Harlan Daily Enterprise, and one weekly newspaper, the Claiborne Progress.

Before working in Kentucky, Haldeman was a publisher for Community Newspaper Holdings Inc. in Huntsville, Texas.

New manager: Haldeman, right, listens on as Mark Lane, president of WEHCO’s newspaper division, announces Haldeman as the new general manager of the News-Times.

Haldeman replaces Ronnie Bell, who resigned in March.

advertising as well as her publishing experience.

Mark Lane, president of WEHCO’s newspaper division, told the News-Times that Haldeman brings to the newspaper significant experience in accounts and

“She is passionate about local journalism, building relationships with customers, partners and team members,” Lane told the newspaper.

Warren paper moves to digital pagination The century-old Warren Eagle Democrat is moving its paste-up operations into the modern age, the paper’s editor announced to its readers recently.

Kessler added that the process should be much quicker for the newspaper, which will allow it to extend its deadlines for latebreaking news or last-minute advertisers.

The Eagle Democrat, which until recently still manually laid out its editions on fullsize paged, now paginates electronically.

According to editor Tim Kessler’s column: “I feel like we have finally moved into the 21st Century.”

While almost all other newspapers had moved to computer pagination years ago, the Eagle Democrat continued to print each headline, article, photo, advertisement and other items intended for the paper. Workers apply wax to the back of those items and pasted them on the page. The pages were turned into page negatives and then metal plates.

Now, according to Kessler: “All we have to do is call up a computer page template, place the copy on the page, make a copy called a PDF and send it electronically.”

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“That isn’t to say there haven’t been a few growing pains along the way as we learn new computer programs. But once we get the bugs out, we may be free to experiment a little more with the layout and create a more pleasing product for you,” he told readers.

October 4, 2018

Guest Column: Community Journalism Matters Because Communities Matter

By Matt Geiger, Executive Editor News Publishing Co. (Editor’s note: Oct. 7 through 13 is National Newspaper Week. This year’s theme is “Journalism Matters, Now More than Ever. In recognition of the week, columns and editorials by writers from across the country are available for use and reprinting at NationalNewspaperWeek. com. This is one of the columns free to member newspapers.)

“Everything in this newspaper is important to someone.”

It’s become something of a mantra for me, in recent years.

Weekly community newspapers are eclectic, to say the least. We publish photos of ribbons being cut at bakeries, and donations being dropped off at local food pantries. We print the school honor roll, the court report, and indepth stories on decisions made by planning commissions and town boards.

Sometimes we cover murders, abuse, and horrific car crashes, and when we do our community journalists often experience these tragedies as both reporters and neighbors — as both professionals and human beings. We cover the referendum that will determine whether a new school is built and our readers’ taxes will rise. We publish birth announcements, obituaries,

Arkansas Publisher Weekly

and the various things that, when wedged between those two book ends, make up the lives that make up our communities.

across the county and across the world, are what give meaning and purpose to all of our lives.

I’ve learned more than I ever wanted to know about sewage, in order to cover the approval and construction of a new treatment plant. I interviewed a survivor of the Iran hostage crisis about what it’s like to be held prisoner in a foreign land while the world looks on. I’ve interviewed grandmothers about their favorite holiday recipes. Perhaps most importantly, I’ve interviewed little kids about what they want to be when they grow up, and what type of world they hope to inhabit.

The ribbon cutting is the culmination of a childhood dream. The donations at the food pantry will allow a family to gather around their table without worrying if there is enough to fill each plate. The honor roll goes on the fridge, of course, because it’s a reminder to a young student that she can flourish when she applies herself. The birth announcement marks the proudest, greatest moment of a mother and father’s life together. The face looking out from the obituary is one that a wife, and children, and grandchildren, will never kiss again.

The new school being paid for with the referendum is where a young student might develop an interest in science, growing up and developing a treatment for cancer or Alzheimer’s, allowing millions of people to live a little longer, and have their faces kissed by those who love them a few more times.

I’ve even eaten lutefisk — a type of gelatinous Scandinavian fish that is usually only consumed as part of a dare — in the warm hum of a local church’s kitchen. (I even liked it, which I think qualifies as a kind of small-town gonzo journalism.)

People sometimes ask me why community newspapers are important. My reply is always the same. It’s because everything in those pages is important to someone.

Maybe the ribbon cutting isn’t flashy enough to go viral, and the Thanksgiving turkey recipe is not going to change culinary trends across the nation. But these things, these small things in communities

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Journalism matters, now more than ever, because people matter. Community journalism matters, now more than ever, because roughly half the world’s population lives in small communities, and in the pages of their newspapers, they see themselves and the ones they love.

October 4, 2018

Circulation, Marketing & Audience Development Nov. 8-9, 2018 | Vicksburg, MS

Aug. 29, 2018

Dear newspaper managers, Fall is on its way and so is the 2018 ArkLaMiss Circulation, Marketing & Audience Development Conference. The event will be held Nov. 8-9 at the Ameristar Hotel and Casino in Vicksburg.

The agenda includes great sessions for both daily and non-daily publications, large and small. We’re looking forward to programs by Peter Wagner of Creative House Print Media Consultants and publisher and founder of the N’West Iowa REVIEW. A veteran of the newspaper and promotions industry, Peter will share practical information and tips on circulation building, leveraging your public image and community relationships, and growing revenue.

As in recent years, the meeting will be preceded by a Round Table for newspaper managers. This session will touch on a number of topics. There is no cost to attend the Round Table, which is great for a giveand-take with fellow members. And don’t forget to submit your ideas for the Hot Ideas Breakfast idea exchange. Those we get in advance will be circulated to all attendees at the conference. A submission form is included here.

Our venue at the Ameristar is the longtime home of ArkLaMiss. They are providing a great room rate of $74 nightly. You can find more information on making your reservations and complete details on registration and the agenda online at arklamissconference.com.

We are looking forward to hosting you in Vicksburg soon.

Cordially,

Paul Keane President, Mississippi Press Association Publisher, The Wayne County News, Waynesboro, MS

arklamissconference.com

Preliminary Agenda Thursday, November 8 9 am

Vendor setups —Bottle Neck Blues Bar (main level)

Newspaper Managers Round Table —Magnolia Room (upper level)

Registration Opens 11 am

Lunch available in Heritage Buffet restaurant

1 pm Welcome & Opening Remarks —Magnolia Room Paul Keane, president, Mississippi Press Association 1:10 General Session —Magnolia Room “Why and how newspapers will survive the digital age” —Presented by Peter Wagner, Creative House Print Media Consultants 2:10 General session —Magnolia Room

“Building circulation through content, creativity and a commitment to community” —Presented by Peter Wagner 3 pm

Break with vendors —Bottle Neck Blues Bar

3:30 General session —Magnolia Room

“Telling your print and digital story and selling your value to advertisers and readers” —Presented by Peter Wagner 4:30

Break for hotel check-ins

5:30

Hospitality Hour with vendors —Bottle Neck Blues Bar

Dinner on your own

Friday, November 9 8 am

Registration opens

Buffet breakfast —Magnolia Room

8:45

Hot Ideas Exchange —Magnolia Room Share your best ideas for success on revenue generation, expense controls, promotions, marketing and more —Moderated by Dennis Dunn, The Anniston (AL) Star

10 am

Break with vendors —Bottle Neck Blues Bar

10:30 General Session —Magnolia Room

Questions and Answers: A time to discuss the issues on your mind —Moderated by Peter Wagner 11:45

Conference Wrap-up

Hot Ideas Breakfast Money makers & savers

CIRCULATION MARKETING AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT

Title of idea________________________________________________________________________ Submitted by_____________________________ Newspaper____________________________ Circulation________________________________ o Daily o Weekly

Phone _____________________________________ Email __________________________________ Briefly describe your idea

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

_____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ What was the revenue/benefit generated?

_____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ 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. 8-9 » 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. 2.

REGISTRATION FORM

Or register online @ arklamissconference.com November 8-9, 2018 AmeriStar Hotel & Casino | Vicksburg, MS Room rate: $74 » Call (601) 638-1000 Group code: SARKLA8 » Hotel cutoff: October 24 Newspaper/Company Name________________________________________________________________________________________

Street Address________________________________________________________________________________________________________ City/State/Zip________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Phone _________________________________________________ Fax _________________________________________________________ Check the box next to registrant’s name if attending the Nov. 8 Newspaper Managers Roundtable at 9 am. There is no added cost.

o Name ______________________________________________ Email ________________________________________________________ o Name ______________________________________________ Email ________________________________________________________ o Name ______________________________________________ Email ________________________________________________________ TOTAL REGISTRANTS ______ x $109.00 =

$______

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: ________________

CVN # ___________________ Signature ________________________________________________________________________________ REGISTRATION DEADLINE IS THURSDAY, NOV. 1, 2018

REGISTER ONLINE AT ARKLAMISSCONFERENCE.COM Or return form with payment to: ArkLaMiss, 371 Edgewood Terrace, Jackson, MS 39206 or Fax to 601-981-3676 Questions? Contact Monica Gilmer, 601-981-3060, mgilmer@mspress.org