Arkansas Publisher Weekly: April 12, 2023

5

NPR quits Twitter after being falsely labeled as "stateaffiliated media"

6

Ad-libs: If it’s 10:08, it must be a watch ad

Guest Column: By

John Foust

Arkansas Press Association Publisher Weekly

and State Since 1873

APA Advertising Conference keynote speaker Grogan says Arkansas newspapers need to "tell their story" to readers

By Wesley Brown

Newspapers are great at sharing stories that move local communities, but they often fail in the storytelling department regarding their own bona fide.

That is the part of the message that Marianne Grogan will to share at the upcoming 2023 APA Advertising Conference. Grogan, president of Coda Ventures Inc. in Nashville, Tennessee, will be the keynote speaker at the first inperson ad conference since 2020.

Fast-growing Coda is a data-driven marketing consulting firm that primarily works with newspapers to deliver high quality, innovative audience and strategic research to help grow and sustain revenue.

According to Coda’s website, the Tennessee firm quantifies the reach and engagement of media audiences across all platforms — print, broadcast, web, social, apps, video and more. In addition, Coda documents the buying power of media consumers to help clients increase advertising revenue and turn customer research data into dividends that pay off in increased market share.

Founded in 2015, Grogan said she and her business partner originally built a business that was focused on the magazine industry. They soon transitioned into providing key insights to the newspaper industry on a more responsive and costeffective basis amid industry consolidation as readers migrated to other media, most notably digital.

Coda Ventures also saw an opportunity very few others did.

“The more research we did, the more we realized where everything was moving (toward) local news,” said Grogan. “We positioned this company to focus squarely on local markets and specifically newspapers.”

Although consolidation was causing local newspapers to focus on their “survival strategies” during those difficult times, Coda’s research showed there were strong advocates for newspapers in local communities across the United States

In her upcoming APA conference discussion, Grogan will take participants through the results of the statewide study commissioned by APA in 2022. The study will demonstrate how the data can be used by newspapers for successful sales conversations, she said.

“We are going to be sharing the data with

conference attendees. Our favorite quote is from W.E. Deming back in the 1960s. He said, ‘In God we trust, but all others must bring data,’” Grogan said jokingly. “We are going to remind everybody that was true in 1960, but more so in 2023. And they need to have a data-driven conversation.”

In releasing the APA-backed study, Grogan said her team will share data that can help newspapers in Arkansas remain viable through strong sales. “We are going to talk to them about how we can support them with sales materials to A – get them in the door, and B – have a meaningful conversation,” she said.

“The most meaningful part of our work is when we work with the small dailies and weeklies to bring this kind of data to them and to their sales force. It kind of gets them energized about going out and having these kinds of conversations,” said

Continued on page 4

Editorial Contest now open for submissions

The 2023 APA Better Newspaper Editorial Contest is now open for submissions to showcase the work of the editors, reporters, designers and photographers who worked so hard during 2022.

This year’s submission categories include News Story, Feature Story, Series Reporting, Investigative Reporting, Beat Reporting, Sports News Story, Sports Feature Story, Sports Column, Editorial, News/ Political Column, General Interest Column, Humorous Column, Freelancer Recognition and Headline Writing as well as a variety of photography, community coverage, layout and design and digital, including social media and podcasts, categories.

All work must have been published in the 2022 calendar year. The deadline for submissions is Friday, April 28.

The 2022 APA Better Newspaper Editorial Awards winners presentation will be made at the conclusion of the 2023 APA Convention at the DoubleTree Hotel in Little Rock on July 22.

For complete contest category information, rules and to enter, visit newspapercontest.com/Contests/ ArkansasPressAssociation.aspx. The login name and password remains the same as previous years, but if you need assistance please email terri@ arkansaspress.org.

REMINDER: Earn Your Press Pass program available for APA members

Earn Your Press Pass, a series of lessons covering the basics of community journalism, is open for registration. The course is available to staff at APA member newspapers at no charge.

Earn Your Press Pass is designed to train those with limited or no newspaper journalism experience. The courses are also suitable for seasoned reporters looking to brush up on their skills. Participants will work at their own pace. Designed and taught by Lindsey Young, a Kansas-based community journalist and publisher with 10 years of high school teaching experience, topics covered in Earn Your Press Pass coursework include

newspaper basics, industry jargon, interviewing and reporting skills, sourcing considerations, news judgment, headline and cutline writing, AP Style, copy editing and basic photography.

“Arkansas has a legacy of great community journalists,” said APA Executive Director Ashley Kemp Wimberley.

“However, not everyone is able to take time away from their careers to enroll in traditional college coursework. While this course does not replace journalism school, we are excited to offer Earn Your Press Pass as a benefit to our members.” For more information or to sign up for courses, email ashley@arkansaspress.org.

YOUR P R E S S P A

What is Earn Your Press Pass?

Earn Your Press Pass is a simple course, covering the basics of community journalism

It is designed to train those with limited or no news experience to work for their local newspaper,helping to create valuable coverage It is taught by Lindsey Young, a community journalist and publisher with 10 years of high school teaching experience.

What does the course include?

A. Parts of a newspaper

B Other terms to know

A. Who should I interview?

B Preparing for an interview

C. Conducting an interview

D Interview follow-up

E. Source problems and issues

F. Let’s practice.

A Newsworthiness

B. News-writing basics

C Breaking and hard news stories

D. Covering a meeting

E. Working a press release

F Writing a feature story

G Covering sports

H. Opinion writing

A. Writing on deadline

B. Fun with leads

C Using quotes

D Headline writing

E. Cutline writing

F Thinking outside the pyramid

Writing Techniques Associated Press Style Editing

A. Tips for effective editing

B. Revising and rewriting

C Let’s practice

A Your right to know

B. Avoiding libel

C Journalism ethics

D Contradictions of community journalism

X.

A. Taking good photos

B. Editing photos

C Dealing with submitted photos

IX. Photography Final Bits of Advice

A. Keeping yourself organized

B Preparing files for layout

C I have nothing to write about. Help!

•

Sections are feature videos and printable cheat sheets

• Lessons will continue to be added/updated.

“I was extremely impressed Lindsey even taught this old dog some new tricks The content is solid, it’s easy to use, and you can sign into and out of the program as your time allows. Lindsey’s engaging nature makes the lessons enjoyable, which makes you look forward to the next segment.”

president and a 50-year veteran

For more information, contact Ashley Kemp Wimberley at ashley@arkansaspress org

APA Advertising Conference keynote speaker Grogan says Arkansas newspapers need to "tell their story" to readers

Continued

Grogan.

from on page

The Tennessee marketing executive said testimonials from local newspapers show that data-driven research can result in stronger sales and subscriber gains. One success story involves a small daily in New Mexico that converted dozens of radio listeners into newspaper subscribers.

“Some of the advertisers have not seen data-driven newspapers. So, it is kind of like, 'Wow, I didn’t realize that you had that kind of reach,' said Grogan.

As most Americans return to the workplace from remote working and living arrangements, Grogan agreed there has been a slight downturn in newspaper sales and website traffic nationally. However, she noted that there is also ample opportunity for growth as the industry enters the post-pandemic era.

“Certainly, when people were sitting at home, there was higher website traffic,” she said. “But, the appetite for news is still strong (and) there is a very strong appetite for digital. Yet, (readers) want newspapers to become more timely.”

Coda also recently completed a national survey of more than 5,000 people on behalf of America’s Newspapers, the Washington, D.C.-based industry trade association that includes many of the nation’s top large and small dailies.

Among other questions, the survey asked the respondents, “What could newspapers be doing better to serve their communities?”

“We were surprised by a category of respondents who said newspapers have to do a better job of marketing themselves. It used to be that you would go to the store, and you saw the (newspaper) rack and their name everywhere,” explained Grogan. “But newspapers (today) are not as visible as they need to be, and they really need to market themselves.”

During the 2021 legislative session in North Dakota, the North Dakota Newspaper Association used a 2020 Coda survey to help defeat a bill that would have eliminated the requirement for county or city governments to publish their bills and payments in local newspapers.

Coda has also conducted studies for more than 25 other press associations including Tennessee, North Carolina, Iowa, North Dakota and Kansas. Grogan, along with Coda Senior Vice President of Key Accounts Al Getler, presented advertising findings in October 2022 to Florida Press Association publishers, sales and marketing executives, and other customerfacing staff that can be used to create additional revenue for individual markets.

They have also done research for a variety of newspapers, ranging from large clients including Gannett, Arizona Daily

News, The Buffalo News, St. Louis PostDispatch, Omaha World-News, and the Washington Post to smaller newspapers with a circulation of only a few thousand subscribers.

“Americans, and people in Arkansas, believe in newspapers – they value newspapers, and they want newspapers to succeed and that’s a great start,” said Grogan. “We don’t see that advocacy as strong for local TV and radio stations.”

The 2023 APA Advertising Conference will be April 28 at the Red & Blue Events Venue in Little Rock. Grogan’s session will start off the day.

Following Grogan will be a panel discussion, “Best Revenue Products,” featuring Jennifer Allen, owner and publisher of the Hot Springs Village Voice, Andrew Bagley, owner and co-publisher of The Helena World and Monroe County Argus and Rhonda Overbey, regional publisher and advertising director of the Malvern Daily Record and the Saline Courier in Benton.

The APA Better Newspaper Advertising Contest awards ceremony, emceed by Roby Brock of Talk Business & Politics, will close out the day.

NPR quits Twitter

after being falsely labeled as "stateaffiliated media"

Nonprofit media organization National Public Radio announced on Wednesday that it will no longer post fresh content to its 52 official Twitter feeds, becoming the first major news organization to go silent on the social media platform.

According to an article by NPR’s Media Correspondent David Folkenflik, NPR cited Twitter's decision to last week label the network “state-affiliated media," the same term used by the social media site for propaganda outlets in Russia, China and other autocratic countries, as the reason behind the decision.

Twitter later revised its label on NPR's account to "government-funded media," but NPR says that is still inaccurate and misleading, as NPR is a private, nonprofit company with editorial independence and receives less than one percent of its $300 million annual budget from the federally-funded Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Hope-Prescott News launches new weekly

Spanish-language digest edition

Mark Keith and Wendell Hoover, copublishers of the Hope-Prescott News in Hempstead and Nevada Counties, have launched a free weekly Spanish-language digest, Noticiero Hispano de Hope-Prescott News.

“We print 700 copies weekly with the top stories from our other paper, as a 4-page tabloid,” said Keith. “It is primarily Hempstead County news. This is a specialty item that aims to help bring local news to an underserved audience.”

Noticiero Hispano de Hope-Prescott News

published its first edition on March 16. News of the new Southwest Arkansas Spanish-language publication comes alongside the unrelated announcement of the closure of El Latino, the 23-yearold Little Rock-based Spanish weekly newspaper published by the Arkansas Times. According to Advertising Director Luis Garciarossi, El Latino published its final issue on March 30. In an interview with Arkansas Business, Arkansas Times Publisher Alan Leverett cited declining advertising revenue as the reason for the closure.

The Arka Tech marks 100th anniversary

Students, alumni and community supporters of The Arka Tech, the student newspaper at Arkansas Tech University (ATU) in Russellville, paused on April 10 to celebrate the publication’s 100th anniversary and the faculty mentors who have nurtured the growth and development of the newspaper’s student staff with a reception.

HOPE, AR – Los estudiantes de Hope High School están aprendiendo importantes habilidades para la vida a través de una simulación de vida llamada “Get Real!” El programa ayuda a los estudiantes de la secundaria a comprender la importancia de hacer un presupuesto, escribir cheques, comprender sobre el crédito y los préstamos, varias oportunidades educativas y profesionales después de la graduación y más. La maestra de Ciencias de la Familia y del Consumidor (FACS) de Hope High, Nora Cummings, explicó: “Los estudiantes primero aprenden a escribir cheques y se les presenta la simulación. Luego, adquieren experiencia práctica”. El Martes 14 de Marzo, la simulación se llevó a cabo en el edificio anexo de la escuela secundaria con empleados

John F. Lansing, president and CEO of NPR, says by going silent on Twitter the network is protecting its credibility and its ability to produce journalism without "a shadow of negativity."

Since its purchase by Elon Musk in October 2022, Twitter has become increasingly hostile to news organizations. It singled out The New York Times on April 2, removing its confirmed account blue check mark and calling its reporting "propaganda." The newspaper’s account remains live on the site, though.

Twitter's communications shop also now responds to journalist’s enquiries with automated replies of the “poop” emoji.

At least three public radio stations preceded NPR in leaving Twitter: NPR member stations KCRW in Santa Monica, California, WESA in Pittsburgh and WEKU, which serves central and eastern Kentucky.

The newspaper was established in 1923. The publication’s modern era has been shaped by the mentorship of two faculty advisors: Gerald Edgar, who served on the Arkansas Tech faculty from 1957-86; and

de Hope Schools, trabajadores de la Extensión Cooperativa y voluntarios de la comunidad trabajando en uno de los doce puestos. Durante la simulación, los estudiantes visitaron cada una de las diversas estaciones repartidas por la gran sala. Cada parada se centró en un aspecto particular de la experiencia de vida. Las estaciones incluyeron transporte (donde los estudiantes aprendieron sobre el costo de propiedad y financiamiento del vehículo), nutrición (donde los estudiantes tuvieron que elegir entre una alimentación saludable más costosa y alternativas menos costosas), conectividad (teléfonos celulares y wi-fi, por ejemplo) y otras nueve estaciones. La asociada del Programa Financiero de la División de Agricultura de la Universidad de Arkansas, Megan Wells,

who has served on the ATU faculty since 1989.

As part of the celebration, Moore

The Arka Tech when Mumert arrived, presented Mumert with a plaque of appreciation on behalf of the ATU Department of Communication and Media Studies.

Mumert said he was honored to receive the plaque.

“In a lot of ways, I feel like any success The

journalism, students from her Public Relations Project class and Tara Espinoza, 2022-2023 editor in chief of The Arka Tech

POR: MARK KEITH

El director de desarrollo económico de nosotros.” Señaló además que ha habido muy pocos inconvenientes en Newport. Chadwell dijo que tienen prisioneros que salen y ayudan en la comunidad en equipos de trabajo y le ahorran dinero ala ciudad y al condado debido a lo que

contrado que es una adición fantástica. De y comenzar a hablar con la gente y ver si pueden encontrar a una persona que esté enojada porque la prisión está allí... porque no creo que puedan encontrarlos,

POR DAVID HENDERSON Escuelas Publicas de Hope

Los estudiantes de Hope High School “se vuelven realistas”

Desarrollador económico de Newport le dice a los leones sobre la prisión en Newport

Hope, page 3

Tommy Mumert (left) of ATU and Scott Moore (right).

Legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden once said, “It’s the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen.”

That’s certainly true in advertising. Consider the nuances of photography. For example, the next time you run across an analogue watch ad in a newspaper, magazine or store poster, check out the photo. Whether it’s Rolex or Timex or another brand, there’s a good chance that the time is 10:08. Or in rarer cases, 1:52. That’s because the placement of the hands creates a v-shape at the top of the watch face, which is where most timepiece makers place their logos. This v-shape frame sets the brand name apart from everything else on the face.

Watch manufacturers – and other smart advertisers – know how to photograph their products. They realize that a photo makes an instant impression on an audience. And they understand the overall impression is heavily influenced by those

Guest Column:

Ad-libs: If it’s 10:08, it must be a watch ad

By John Foust

When we hear the phrase “photobomb,” we think about children jumping around in the background of wedding photos or family pets intruding on serious family poses. Mishaps like that are obvious and can be re-shot or corrected in commercial photos. It’s the little things that often create problems, because they can be missed in the design or editing process.

I remember seeing a photograph of a group of several people in a full-page ad. It was a generic image which probably came from a stock photo library. Although all of the people were looking toward the right side of the ad, it was clear that they had been looking to the left in the original shot. One of the subjects was wearing a shirt which featured a large slogan in words that were backward. The photo had been “flopped” to create a mirror-reversal across a vertical axis. The result was a photo of people looking in the desired direction, but with a distracting detail that had slipped through the

to make an advertiser cringe – or even reconsider the decision to run more ads in that publication.

Sometimes, there are legal reasons for what can and cannot appear in a commercial photo. You may have seen professional athletes in ads without any team identification. That usually means the athlete had agreed to appear in the ad, but the team or the league would not allow visible logos.

The point of all this is to think carefully about photography. Before and after a photo is taken or selected, there’s a lot of detail work to be done. Make sure the legal angles are covered. Make sure there are no photobombs. And make sure the photo casts a strong light on the advertiser.

In other words, make sure it meets the Wooden Requirement.

(c) Copyright 2023 by John Foust. All rights reserved.

John Foust of Greensboro, North Carolina has conducted training programs for thousands of newspaper advertising professionals. Many ad departments are using his training videos to save time and get quick results from in-house training. Email for information: john@johnfoust.com