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Meet the Rising Stars in Today’s News Industry Alternative routes to fund journalism APRIL 2020 | EDITORANDPUBLISHER.COM

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Google News Initiative North American Innovation Challenge is Underway

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he Google News Initiative second ever GNI Innovation Challenge in North America is underway. The goal of this year’s challenge is to identify local media projects that will elevate underrepresented audiences and promote diversity, equity and inclusion within their journalism.

The first North American GNI Innovation Challenge which launched in 2019 resulted in $5.8 million in funding offered for 34 projects selected from 269 applications.

Google Innovation Challenges Manager Benjamin Shaw talks about this latest challenge.

Q: The theme of the North American GNI Innovation Challenge is “Sustainability Through Diversity.”

How was that selected?

A: Over the past two years the Google News Initiative has launched several Innovation Challenges around the world, each aimed at stimulating new thinking in the digital news-ecosystem. In the first North America Challenge, we focused squarely on supporting new thinking around driving revenue and generating audience at the local level.

For this challenge, we put a concerted focus on diversity and sustainability of local news publishers who serve underrepresented audiences. We understand the role that diverse and ethnic media play in their communities. They are critical news sources for underrepresented groups, they fill coverage gaps for stories that don’t rise to mainstream media.

Q: How can organizations apply?

A: Head online to our Website at: https://g.co/newsinnovation. Keep in mind that we close the application window on May 12 at 11:59 p.m. PST. Q: Could you highlight some of the results from the first North American GNI Innovation Challenge?

A: We were looking for applicants focused on generating revenue and/or increasing audience engagement for local news. The 34 successful projects clearly answered this call.

For example: • Graham Media Group is building a program to diversity broadcast revenues for news stations in Detroit; • OkayPlayer in Brooklyn, New York is creating an investigating reporting platform to increase engagement of its African American audience;

• La Noticia in Charlotte, North Carolina is creating an open-source platform for its Latino audience to publish their own family notices.

You can read all about all the selected at https://newsinitiative.withgoogle.com/ innovation-challenges/funding/north-america/.

Q: What kind of response are you expecting for this challenge?

A: We are very proud that there was this high a level of engagement from organizations that had new ideas around driving revenue or

We are way past the days where media companies and the tech platforms can go it alone. We are partnering with innovators to build a better future for news. creating audience engagement for local media.

We expect this round to be even stronger, because these are developing and timely issues. Even though this might mean tougher competition, spending time with your teams thinking about new ideas and ways to innovate is never wasted. And who knows? You may even get selected for a project worth up to $300,000.

Q: What criteria is being used to evaluate projects?

A: Projects will be evaluated against five main criteria: diversity; equity and inclusion

} Benjamin Shaw

(DEI); impact on the news ecosystem; innovation; and feasibility and inspiration.

To learn more about this and other terms and conditions, we encourage people to email nagnichallenge@google.com or to visit our website

Q: How much are the applicants vying for?

A: We strongly believe that local media still requires innovation to become sustainable and that is why we are willing to back projects all the way up to $300,000 and will finance up to 70% of the total project cost. Special discretion on the total project cap may be considered by the Jury depending on the scale and impact of a very large collaborative effort.

Q: How many projects are you hoping to select? Or is there a number in mind?

A: We aren’t directly focused on the top line numbers. Of course, we would like to energize U.S. and Canadian publishers to participate.

However, what we really want is to surface all the great ideas around “Sustainability Through Diversity” and fund as many of the great ones as possible.

Q: Why is GNI looking for these media innovations?

A: Because it’s the right thing to do. Our CEO Sundar Pichai has said, “Google cares deeply about journalism. We believe in spreading knowledge to make life better for everyone. It’s at the heart of Google’s mission. It’s the mission of publishers and journalists.” Financial stability requires innovation and new technology presents opportunities. We are way past the days where media companies and the tech platforms can go it alone. We are partnering with innovators to build a better future for news. 

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32

A Section

Features

Departments

EMPOWERING WOMEN

Can News Publishers Survive the Coronavirus?

CRITICAL THINKING

Launching this summer, The 19th wants to level the playing field . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 6

TAKING CONTROL Ground News allows consumers to judge the news for themselves . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 7

POSITIVE IMPACT News Media Alliance puts a spotlight on local stories making a difference. . . . . p. 8

14

How newsrooms are dealing with the pandemic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 26

As more media outlets stop posting mugshots of people, should other newsrooms follow their lead? . . . . . p. 13

Uncharted and Unexplored

OPERATIONS

How publishers are finding alternative routes to fund journalism. . . . . . . . . p. 28

Is your commercial printing as profitable as it seems? . . . . . . . . . p. 22

25 Under 35

NEWSPEOPLE

Meet the rising stars in today’s news industry. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 32

New hires, promotions and relocations across the industry. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 43

PASSING THE TORCH

CLASSIFIEDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 48

The new owners of the Skagway News paid just $20 for the paper. . . . . . . . . . p. 9

SHOPTALK JUSTICE FOR ALL

The false promise of paywalls for local news . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 50

Local Legal Initiative will provide newsrooms legal services in five states. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 12

PHOTO OF THE MONTH Kevin Rivoli/The Citizen. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 14

Columns INDUSTRY INSIGHT

THE CORNER OFFICE

DIGITAL PUBLISHING

When older journalists leave the industry, so do their wisdom and experience. . . . p. 16

Newsroom leaders could recharge by unplugging. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 18

For 10 years, Muck Rack has provided journalists with the digital tools they need. . . . . . . . . . . p. 20

editorandpublisher.com

APRIL 2020 | E & P |

3

editorial

Getting with the Times

PUBLISHER Mike Blinder, 406-445-0000 Ext. 1 mike.blinder@editorandpublisher.com EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Nu Yang, 406-445-0000 Ext. 2 nu.yang@editorandpublisher.com MANAGING EDITOR Evelyn Mateos, 406-445-0000 Ext. 8 evelyn@editorandpublisher.com CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Rob Tornoe, Doug Phares Matt DeRienzo, Jerry Simpkins BUSINESS MANAGER Robin Blinder, 406-445-0000 Ext. 0 office@editorandpublisher.com

I

n the span of six months since E&P was acquired, we’ve added new voices, changed the magazine size and we’re working on a new website design. Perhaps the biggest project we’ve implemented is E&P Reports, our audio and video podcast. Updated every Wednesday, E&P Reports features interviews with some of the biggest players in the news industry. If you look through our archive, our past podcasts include interviews with News Media Alliance president and CEO David Chavern, media analyst Ken Doctor, and Google’s LaToya Drake.

When current publisher Mike Blinder shared his podcasting plans with me early on, I admit, it was a bit daunting. Our printed magazine and website are still important products, but I agreed with Mike that we needed to expand our brand and reach new audiences on these untapped platforms. I found it kind of ironic. For eight years, I’ve covered stories of newsrooms that have had to adapt to the “times,” and now here I was, learning a new skill so I could do the exact same thing.

Both managing editor Evelyn Mateos and myself didn’t have any experience with recording a podcast, but Mike already had an expert in place who would be our teacher: Bob Andelman a.k.a. Mr. Media. I wasn’t familiar with Bob before Mike introduced us, but a quick internet search shows that as Mr. Media, Bob conducted more than 1,000 video podcast interviews. With such an extensive background, I knew Bob was definitely the guy who was going to help take E&P to the next level—and he did.

For four months, Bob contributed and produced E&P Reports, while patiently teaching Evelyn and myself the ins and outs of how to create the perfect podcast. During this time, we were aware of Bob’s health issues.

He had his good days and he had his bad days, but he always showed up—until the end of 2019 when he had to step back from his duties.

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I didn’t know all the details, but I knew the reason was health related.

Two months into the new year, we received the unfortunate news that Bob had passed away on Feb. 24 after a yearlong battle with a rare cancer called adenoid cystic carcinoma.

He was 59. According to his obituary, we weren’t the only ones who enjoyed working with Bob over the course of his long career: “To everyone who knew him, Bob was kind, generous with his time and always ready to listen, with a positive outlook that never wavered, even when he became ill.”

Even though I only knew Bob for a short amount of time, I learned a lot from him—not only with how to make a podcast, but also it’s never too late to learn new skill—and his valuable assistance with elevating the new E&P will never be forgotten. Thanks to his vision, he helped E&P get with the times, and E&P Reports now receives more than 4,000 downloads and views a month.

Speaking of getting with the times, this month we also recognize 25 young news professionals who are working hard to ensure the future and success of our industry. When you read the story, you will certainly feel the passion and excitement they have for their work. Many of these young professionals were nominated by their older peers, championing their performances and accomplishments. But they don’t need our annual 25 Under 35 list as a reason to do so. If our industry wants to remain relevant, we must continue to support and recognize the next generation. 

Nu Yang is editor-in-chief of Editor and Publisher.

She has been with the publication since 2011.

MARKETING/ADVERTISING SUCCESS OFFICER Patti Minglin & Go Girl Communications 406-445-0000 Ext. 5 patti.minglin@editorandpublisher.com SALES AND MARKETING CONSULTANT Kevin Hoppes, 406-445-0000 Ext. 9 kevin.hoppes@editorandpublisher.com DIRECTOR OF DATA SERVICES Al Cupo, 406-445-0000 Ext. 3 al.cupo@editorandpublisher.com CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING SALES Jon Sorenson 800-887-1615 FAX 866-605-2323 classifieds@editorandpublisher.com SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES Mid-Atlantic Media 888-538-4188 circ@editorandpublisher.com DESIGN AND PRODUCTION DESIGN2PRO www.design2pro.com Howard Barbanel 516-860-7440 howard@design2pro.com

BUSINESS MAILING ADDRESS Editor & Publisher Magazine #322 23110 State Road 54 Lutz, FL 33548 EDITORIAL MAILING ADDRESS Editor & Publisher Magazine 5811 McFadden Ave., Huntington Beach, CA 92649 www.editorandpublisher.com 406-445-0000 Editor & Publisher is printed in the U.S.A.

America’s Oldest Journal Covering the Newspaper Industry With which have been merged: The Journalist, established March 22, 1884; Newspaperdom, March 1892; The Fourth Estate, March 1, 1894; Editor & Publisher, June 29, 1901; Advertising, June 22, 1925.

editorandpublisher.com

comments ))) TMC Success Depends on Your Market Over the past 20 years, I’ve worked with hundreds of papers to improve the performance of their TMC programs. (“Operations: Are TMC Products a Value or Unnecessary Expense in Today’s Newspaper Environment?” February 2020) There’s only one way they are viable, at high volume. No matter how you deliver it and what choice you make for a jacket/wrap, if you’re not bringing in a minimum of $250 million per week in total revenue, you are spinning your wheels. The days of supporting them nearly 100 percent with major account preprints has passed, especially if you have any competition in your market. Make a decision that you’re either in this business or you’re not. Driving local metrics like “digital-only sales” when you’re still paying the cost of delivering print to every home is just silly. Merchandise it so it can deliver ROI, and bundle it into sales where it makes sense.

Selling cost per inch and cost per thousand and penetration are mostly dead metrics, especially for local ROP. JIM HART Submitted on editorandpublisher.com

Membership Models Brings Value to Readers As someone who owns a small city startup digital newspaper, I like the idea of paywalls, but it just puts up an unnecessary barrier to our readers and doesn’t show them the value beyond “just pay for the news.” (“Digital Publishing: Membership editorandpublisher.com

Programs are Just the Beginning of the Relationship,” February 2020) That’s not to say there isn’t value people should pay for. Instead, we are operating under a membership model.

It’s a small monthly fee to sign-up and our site stays free no login required. However, the bigger benefit to

members is access to exclusive events, showing them behind the scenes unpublished photos/ live videos, and we began using our staff photographers to host members only group photo sessions for families. Although we’re still building our member base, it shows the community that

supporting us is more important than bigger in-town “hedge fund”owned paper because we bring more valued added

opportunities other than just what they read.

JASON HUGG Submitted on editorandpublisher.com

Send us your comments nu.yang@editorandpublisher.com “Comments,” Editor & Publisher,

5811 McFadden Avenue, Huntington Beach, CA 92649 Please include your name, title, city and state, and email address. Letters may be edited for all the usual reasons.

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A bright, bold, attention-grabbing modern redesign is just the prescription for reader lethargy and advertiser apathy. Make yourself stand-out, make yourself a must-read. The best-looking publications are the ones thriving in this challenging environment for print media.

And how about your ads? Better looking ads mean more readership of your ads. More readership translates into more ad response for your advertisers. This leads to happier, more satisfied advertisers. Happier advertisers take more ads with you and spend more money with you.

At Design2Pro you can have your newspapers, magazines, ads and collateral materials produced for a fraction of the cost of in-house by some of the world’s most talented graphic designers. And when you work with us, we can redesign your publications for no extra cost whatsoever – no hefty fees to fancy high-priced consultants. Save a bundle and look your best. More than 270 newspapers and magazines trust us every week and it’s our 16th year serving the industry. Give us a call and see what we can do for you.

We Make Publishing Prettier and More Profitable.

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APRIL 2020 | E & P |

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the A section VOLUME 153

FOR THE MONTH OF APRIL 2020

ISSUE 4

Empowering Women

Launching this summer, The 19th wants to level the playing field

F

our years ago, Emily Ramshaw, then the editor-in-chief of the Texas Tribune, was on maternity leave with a newborn. At the same time, the country had just witnessed the first woman become a major party presidential nominee in American history, and soon after, the #MeToo movement started to gain traction.

“It felt like a moment,” Ramshaw said.

“I had been deeply immersed in Texas politics and policy and it occurred to me, ‘Why had no one taken the Texas Tribune’s very successful business model and tried to extrapolate it onto a national stage for woman politics and policy?”

The idea rattled around in her head for three more years until she finally took the leap and co-founded (along with Amanda Zamora, former chief audience officer at the Texas Tribune) The 19th (19thnews.org), a nonprofit, nonpartisan newsroom reporting at the intersection of gender, politics and policy.

The name is inspired by the amendment that gave some women the right to vote, which is where the asterisk in the logo comes from. It’s a representation that there is still a long way to go for full equity for women nationally.

In spring 2019, Ramshaw and Zamora worked together to determine the best business model. They also recruited the initial team: Andrea Valdez as editor-in-chief, Errin Haines as editor-at-large and Johanna Derlega as chief revenue officer. The next step was to say goodbye to the Tribune and begin fundraising, so Ramshaw traveled the country for some time in search of philanthropic support. So far, they are starting out with nearly $5 million in funding from various founding donors including the Knight Foundation and Craig Newmark Philanthropies.

In January, Ramshaw and Zamora announced the soft launch. Seventeen positions were posted, which if filled, would bring the staff to a team of 22. In addition, The 19th started publishing with the Washington Post and sharing their reporting prior to their official launch set for this summer.

“The response from women around the country has been amazing,” Ramshaw said.

“In the first 24 hours after our soft launch, we raised $100,000—most of that in $19 gifts.”

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} Pictured is The 19th team: (starting clockwise) Errin Haines, Andrea Valdez, Johanna Derlega, Emily Ramshaw and Amanda Zamora. (Photo provided)

While the reaction has been extraordinary, there is still much that need to be done in preparation of the summer launch. Ramshaw explained that the newsroom needs to honein on their journalistic identity, develop the

design of their platforms, and finish up their six-city listening tour with the League of Women Voters and The Riveter. The first stop of the tour is in Austin, Texas on April 22.

When asked why The 19th is important for today’s news cycle, Ramshaw said the reality is that 70 percent of politics and policy editors and reporters are almost all white men.

“This is nothing against white men, but those are the people deciding what’s news and what isn’t,” she said. “We want to provide equity across the industry so that storytelling is truly representative.”—EM editorandpublisher.com

the A section

Taking Control

Ground News allows consumers to judge the news for themselves

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o help news consumers combat misinformation, clickbait and fake news, Ground News will help them compare how trusted outlets of different political backgrounds and from around the world are covering the same stories.

Founded by Harleen Kaur and Sukh Singh, acting CEO and CTO respectively, Ground officially launched in January. It is available as an app or can be used via its website (ground. news). When a story is selected, users will see several outlets that have reported on the story, and Ground will label the political bias of each one.

Users can either sign up for free or enter as a guest, which allows them to check out news from more than 50,000 sources. Users can also pay 99 cents a month to go Pro (only available on mobile), which allows users to view news from all sources. It will also allow users to compare headlines and summaries per news source; sort by bias, } Harleen Kaur time and location; and track their own news bias. In addition, the Pro version has a “coverage analysis” feature, which breaks down the bias, time and location subsections.

Ground also recently launched another feature called the Blindspot Report which collects stories every week that received the most lopsided coverage. Each story is linked to multiple sources and labeled with a “blindspot” for either the left or right. Data portraying how much coverage the story received on each side can also be found in the report.

Currently, this feature is only available on the website.

} An example of the Coverage Analysis feature on the Ground News Pro app breaking down the bias of a story multiple news outlets have covered.

} An example of a USA Today article written with a center bias.

editorandpublisher.com

Kaur explained that Ground uses algorithms to find diverse articles and sources. For example, it can pick up sources using different vocabulary in the same story. She also explained that not all news sources are allowed into the system. To ensure that it is a trusted source, the outlet is vetted through an algorithm, which checks what a source has covered in the past, when it was founded and what its social media presence looks like.

A few years ago, Kaur herself was experiencing the confusion that so many news consumers faced, working hard to understand the news by searching for various sources to identify what was true and what was not.

“There’s so much tech around and so much news around, but why can’t we trust and understand news very much, very quickly?” Kaur said. “So, I wanted to develop a tech solution for a normal news consumer to be able to do that.”

That inspired Kaur and Singh to interview other consumers to find out what they wanted from news. They interviewed people between the ages of 25 to 50—those most likely to utilize an app to read news. In addition, it was important for the co-founders to find people that weren’t strongly politically biased so that they could view Ground with an open mind.

As of press time, Ground has 1,000 paying subscribers, and Kaur told E&P they have received many positive emails from users.

“In this world of news that we live in, it’s much more comfortable to consume news in newsletters or on Instagram,” said. “People don’t have time to do the research themselves…(but) it’s still important for people to be able to understand the different sides to a story.”—EM APRIL 2020 | E & P |

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the A section

Positive Impact

News Media Alliance puts a spotlight on local stories making a difference

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edia industry members understand how important local journalism is to everyday life. However, as more news consumers turn on New York Times’ “The Daily” podcast during their morning commute or catch the national evening news on their television sets, many local journalism stories are being overlooked. This is where the News Impact Project can help.

In January, the News Media Alliance launched the project which includes a News Impact Index of local news stories that have made a positive impact on their local communities. Currently, the Index has 34 stories listed. Each one links to the story on the news outlet’s website.

“We really wanted to demonstrate the positive impact that local news publishers are having on their community and the unique value that their journalism provides,” Lindsey Loving, Alliance director of communications, said.

Last November, the Alliance posted a call on their website for impactful stories (either news

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or opinion pieces).

News outlets were asked to fill out a form asking how the story had a positive impact.

The Alliance sought diverse submissions, both in organizations and with topics.

At press time, they had received nearly } Lindsey Loving 40 submissions from about 20 different news outlets. They include the Baton Rogue Advocate’s deep dive into the growing number of towns in Louisiana that rely on speeding tickets and the Detroit Free Press’ investigation on how the wrong man may be in prison for a rape charge.

Anjanette Delgado, senior news director for digital at the Free Press, said, “Our mission at the Free Press is to do important, revelatory and unique journalism, and to do that serving the Detroit metro area. This is exactly the type

of journalism that can lead to change, and it aligns perfectly with the purpose of the Index.”

In addition to the Index submissions, Jennifer Peters, Alliance reporter for trends and insights, interviews the news outlets for the Alliance website (newsmediaalliance.org).

While the Index is aimed at news consumers, Loving said the Alliance is also sharing blog posts about how the participating news outlets are measuring impact in hopes of informing others. The Alliance also hopes that these stories can inspire other new outlets to become more creative with their storytelling.

The goal is to continue building the Index, so the organization is still accepting submissions on its website and actively reaching out to news outlets when they see a story that might be a good fit.

“As news publishers continue to navigate the challenges that are in front of them, it’s important to help people appreciate and value the role that local journalism plays in their daily lives,” Loving said. “This effort is aimed at providing those examples.”—EM editorandpublisher.com

the A section

SPONSORED CONTENT

Newzware Says…

Passing the Torch STRESS FREE The new owners of the Skagway News CHANGES IN paid just $20 for the paper CIRCULATION DISTRIBUTION…

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ast month, Gretchen Wehmhoff and Melinda Munson became the new owners of the Skagway News after purchasing the paper for a total of $20. Skagway is a city in southeast Alaska located 600 miles from Anchorage. } Melinda Munson (left) and Munson has a bachelor’s degree Gretchen Wehmhoff in journalism from the University of Washington and has written for local newspapers in the area. Wehmhoff has also written for local newspapers and taught journalism at Chugiak High School for 21 years and advised the student newspaper. In addition, the two women also ran their own web magazine, Alaska Family Fun. Now that they are publishers, Wehmoff said the newspaper plans to take note of the many talented community writers in the city and potentially get high school students involved at the paper. They hope to improve their advertising reach, and they have some design improvements in mind. The duo is also looking forward to expanding the paper’s digital footprint to include online subscriptions, podcasts and video.

“We don’t plan to make any extensive changes in the first year,” Wehmoff said. “The paper may become ours on paper, but it really is part of Skagway and the area. We want to honor that and embrace the community when we first arrive.”

The former Skagway News owner and longtime journalist Larry Persily had announced last November that he would give the newspaper away to someone with journalism and business experience.

Persily purchased the Skagway News just a year ago when a friend Jeff Brady, the founder and former owner of the newspaper, convinced } Larry Persily, former him to purchase it. Brady had been upfront with owner and publisher of the Skagway News the paper’s quality and financial struggles, but when Persily took over, the situation was worse than he anticipated—and living miles away in Anchorage made it difficult for him to handle the newsroom. Additionally, the editor quit unexpectedly last fall.

Persily figured he had two choices: hire another editor and spend time training that person (who may or may not leave anyway), or accelerate his plan of selling it.

“I’d always planned to get (the newspaper) back on its feet and then sell it or give it to someone because what I wanted was for the paper and the community to thrive, not to make money,” Persily said.

So, he began asking around to see if anyone wanted the paper, and eventually the media caught wind, including the Anchorage Daily News.

Persily ended up receiving about 200 inquiries from around the world.

However, selecting the right person came down to two categories for Persily: experience and enthusiasm. While the search was not easy, Wehmhoff and Munson seemed like a good fit.

“Their enthusiasm, their initiative to scope out (stories)—you’re going to need that if you’re going to make it in a small town for a long time,” Persily said.

Munson told E&P, “I am ecstatic to take co-ownership of the Skagway News. It’s the dream job I never thought to imagine.

Newspapers, no matter their size, are the backbone of our democracy.

I feel honored to have been chosen. I am equal parts excited and awed by the responsibility.”–EM editorandpublisher.com

Tread Carefully with Print Reduction Plans “The [Insert Publishing Firm name here] will be stopping distribution of the print edition of [Insert Publication name here] starting in [Insert month here]. It has been decided that we will stop distribution of the print editions on [Insert affected publishing days here] beginning the week of [Insert date here].”

If these notifications don’t sound familiar, then you have been extremely fortunate.

Reducing print publication days is not always a simple task for your circulation staff and marketing department to pull off.

But, it could be… if your Circulation Management software has the right tools.

In preparation for this change, you will need to modify some subscriber accounts and the associated rate tables. Coordination with a circulation system support team like Newzware Support should ease the transition.

1. Build new retail rate records to support a reduction in print days into a formatted csv worksheet and load into database using Newzware import facility; 2. Build a Newzware campaign to move subscriber rate from prior legacy rate to new rate from the rate cross references provided; 3. Import those rate changes.

Remember to leave old rates and issue/FOD codes in place for accurate history on accounts going forward.

So… What Do You Think? Call us at Newzware Support to discuss your publishing distribution changes and ways to minimize your transition efforts.

Share Your Comments With Us

APRIL 2020 | E & P |

9

the A section

OF THE MONTH

As the toxicity of reporting off and on the ground has increased for female journalists, a new app will now offer support and resources to help women fight harassment, bullying and assault.

Called JSafe, users can “document incidents by uploading the attacker’s email or social media handles,” according to the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute (RJI). It was created

by RJI interim director of innovation Kat Duncan.

Photo or video evidence can be stored in the app, and the journalists can indicate the level of threat they are experiencing. The app also accepts requests for resources from the Coalition for Women in Journalism, such as lawyer, therapists or other types of assistance.

Duncan said she recruited the help of University of Missouri College of Engineering to develop the app, which is currently in its beta stage. However, the Coalition will maintain the app after its official launch. According to Coalition founding director Kiran Nazish, the organization has worked with hundreds of women reporters and has tried various techniques to support these reporters when they face harassment.

“As technology advances, so do the opportunities and methods of harassing female journalists,” Duncan told RJI. “Female journalists overwhelmingly face more harassment and assault than male journalists online and in the field.

I wanted to help journalists combat this and get them the resources they need to help them be safe and taken care of when these incidents happen.”—EM

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} Chicago Sun-Times editor-in-chief Chris Fusco (left) and Ian Haisley, vice president of marketing, pour champagne last month as the newsroom celebrates being named one of E&P’s 10 News Publishers That Do It Right this year. (Photo provided)

From the Archive

President George H.W. Bush addresses the crowd of about 5,000 people in front of the Commercial Appeal offices in Memphis, Tenn. and gives a thumbs up at the podium with (left to right) Amanda Ballard, a volunteer who was honored, Commercial Appeal general manager Joseph R. Williams, and editor Lionel Linder. This photo originally appeared in the Dec. 9, 1989 issue of E&P. editorandpublisher.com

the A section > Wise Advice

Tornoe’s Corner

} Manny Garcia

What do you look for when putting together an investigative team?

A positive attitude, enthusiasm and the confidence to be victorious, especially during times of self-doubt, external attacks and setbacks. I want to know why you have chosen investigative reporting and why it touches your heart.

I often say the heart knows—because you have to want this journey. I look for critical thinking skills, finding the workaround when a door closes, discernment, an open-mind to all sides of the potential story. The ability to treat everyone with fairness, dignity and respect, especially those that you are writing about. The best journalists do not twist the knife.

Diversity is critically important to the success of any team. Diverse teams, time and again, break stories that others miss.

You also cannot teach people skills or authenticity, so it’s necessary to have a personality that creates trust. Honesty, accuracy, self-discipline is critical. Then add to this stew: creativity, the joy of digging when others give up; be the journalist devoted to always improving your storytelling, written, visually, or audibly.

Lastly, a sense of purpose and mission. Laughter. Fun. Manny García is the senior editor for the ProPublica/Texas Tribune Investigative partnership, where he will help build and manage a team of five reporters and other staffers. He currently serves on the boards of the Reporter’s Committee for Freedom of the Press, the News Leaders Association and LSU Manship School of Journalism. editorandpublisher.com

LEGAL BRIEFS Michigan Newspaper Sues School District for Disregarding Transparency Laws The Associated Press has reported that the Traverse City (Mich.)

Record-Eagle has sued Traverse City Area Public Schools for allegedly disregarding transparency laws related to the unexpected resignation of former superintendent Ann Cardon in October 2019. The lawsuit alleged the district misused closed sessions and deliberately denied or delayed Freedom of Information Act requests related to Cardon’s departure. Following complaints from parents seeking answers about her departure, the lawsuit was filed this past January in Grand Traverse County. The lawsuit names the district’s board and its president, Sue Kelly, and seeks the release of documents and compliance with transparency laws, along with attorney fees and punitive damages.

Sinclair Broadcast Group Settles Lawsuit Over Tribune Media As reported by The Hollywood Reporter, Sinclair Broadcast Group and Nexstar Media have agreed to settle a lawsuit which stemmed from a failed $3.9 billion merger deal between Sinclair and Tribune Media that fell apart under FCC scrutiny. Tribune terminated the deal and sued Sinclair for breach of contract in August 2018 to which Sinclair countersued. Tribune ultimately ended up selling itself to Nexstar Media Group last year. As part of the settlement, Sinclair is paying out $60 million to Nexstar and transferring ownership of WDKY-TV in Lexington, Ky. Neither party admitted any liability or wrongdoing in connection with the terminated merger.

APRIL 2020 | E & P |

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the A section

Justice for All

Local Legal Initiative will provide newsrooms legal services in five states

N

ews organizations in five states will now have access to legal services they need to pursue enterprise and investigative stories, thanks to the Local Legal Initiative. Founded by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (RCFP), the program will place lawyers in Colorado, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Tennessee.

After $10 million was given to the RCFP from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation last year, the organization decided to devote the money to help launch legal support for newsrooms.

According to Jenn Topper, RCFP communications director, the initial investment from Knight will help launch the program in these five states. “(RCFP) has made a two-year commitment in each. Beyond that, we’ll need to raise additional funds,” she said.

From August to October last year, the RCFP requested proposals—a call to newsrooms and journalists to explain why the organization should place an attorney in their state and how it could improve the legal landscape.

Katie Townsend, RCFP legal director, told E&P they received more } Katie Townsend than 50 proposals.

RCFP spent the next few months deciding which five jurisdictions they would select.

A few things the organization looked for was geographic diversity since they wanted the attorneys to be spread out, and what organizations were already on the ground that could help make the program a success.

Essentially, they wanted locations with opportunities in the law where a RCFP attorney and the RCFP presence could really make change happen.

“It was tough,” Townsend said. “We had so many great proposals. I think we could’ve chosen 20 jurisdictions and had success in all of them.”

By January, RCFP had selected five locations. The first location, Tennessee, launched in March with Paul McAdoo from Adams and Reese LLP in Nashville, where he has represented media and other clients, joining the group. The remaining four

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locations are set to launch in September; Lawyers will have assigned phone numbers RCFP is currently in the process of hiring and emails they can be reached. Townsend lawyers for these locations. also shared that the lawyers won’t totally be on Townsend explained that RCFP is looking their own in their location since they will have for lawyers with three to five years of access to resources and the full support from experience, preferably the RCFP Washington in media law, access D.C. headquarters. work or public record Moving forward, the After $10 million was given work. Additionally, organization hopes to to the RCFP from the John RCFP wants people interest local funders, S. and James L. Knight that are just as and if enough money Foundation last year, the energetic and excited is raised, the goal is to about supporting continue the program organization decided to local journalism as in these initial five devote the money to help they are. states for the long-term launch legal support for Lawyers in each and expand to other newsrooms. jurisdiction will locations. be located at an “Given the economic RCFP partner pressures that news organization. For organizations are example, the lawyer in Tennessee is located facing we’ve seen a really significant decline at the Associated Press bureau in Nashville, in legal support,” Townsend said. “I think this and in Oklahoma, the lawyer will be located is absolutely the perfect time for this kind of at the Oklahoma Press Association along with initiative.” the Native American Journalists Association.

For more information, visit rcfp.org/local.—EM editorandpublisher.com

critical thinking If you have a question you would like to see addressed, please send it to evelyn@editorandpublisher.com.

J-school students and industry vets tackle the tough questions

As more media outlets stop posting mugshots of people, should other newsrooms follow their lead?

A:

This is a somewhat tricky question to answer and I believe that another question should be asked first: Is this crime worth reporting on? As a college publication, we see countless cases of theft and possession of marijuana recorded in our university’s police crime log. These are generally not worth writing about as they are smaller crimes. A story on trends Michael Tobin, 22 in crime may be a better senior, University of Oregon, choice to use that data.

Eugene, Ore. When it comes to Tobin is double majoring in mugshots, a similar journalism and political science, with approach should be taken. a minor in legal studies. He is the editor-in-chief of the Daily Emerald, A popular local website in the university’s independent student my area posts mugshots of newspaper, and has interned at the everyone arrested during Wall Street Journal and Eugene Weekly. After he graduates in June, the day. Many of them he plans to intern at Bloomberg News are people experiencing in Washington, D.C. homelessness who are arrested for trespassing. If someone is arrested for theft, it’s not worth publishing a mugshot of a property crime between two parties. I don’t think that it is responsible to post mugshots of people who are already struggling in life and experiencing homelessness.

But what if the person is more high profile and the crime is more egregious? Then that’s a different story. We hold some people like athletes, professors, university officials and other public figures to higher standards than we do the normal person. If an athlete is arrested for drunk driving, then that’s a story that is worth reporting on because they are someone who the public looks up to and holds in high regard. Driving under the influence is also a more serious crime than theft. While a mugshot shouldn’t be used in every story, I don’t believe there is anything wrong with using one in a story about the arrest of a public figure.

Many decisions we make in our reporting require critical thinking and discussion. My approach to using mugshots can be summarized by the following sentence: Before using a mugshot, think about the crime, the person who is arrested and what purpose the image serves. editorandpublisher.com

A:

Generally, yes, newsrooms should publish fewer mugshots.

But first some definition. I am mostly concerned with the galleries of mugshots that some news organizations feature on their sites.

Publishing them doesn’t make the world a better or more enlightened place. We can engage our audiences without Dan MacLeod, 36 exploiting people caught managing editor, Bangor (Maine) in a criminal justice Daily News system that doesn’t always get it right.

Before MacLeod, a Maine native, came to the Bangor Daily News, he I agree with the spent time reporting in New York Houston Chronicle’s at the New York Post and Brooklyn recent decision to stop Paper. posting this kind of content.

That said, I am generally wary of universal rules or standards that should apply to all news organizations. Mugshots aren’t great journalism. They don’t often serve our mission of comforting the afflicted. But within the context of a major breaking story, a mugshot can have value. For instance, we ran a booking photo of a man arrested for killing a Maine police officer in 2018. His lawyer said police “pummeled” his client, which contributed to his confession. The then-suspect—who was later convicted—had a black eye in the photo. That detail mattered in the story.

At the Bangor Daily News, we avoid publishing mugshots unless we plan to cover an alleged crime from gavel to gavel. Once the suspect makes his or her first appearance before a judge, we typically rely on photos taken in court by journalists.

When we do run them, we usually do not make them the featured image on the article. We also avoid publishing handouts from law enforcement that dehumanize the suspect.

Our guidelines are not written as hard-and-fast rules. There’s value in embracing complexity and editors should consider their audience’s needs over outside opinions. Every day we have to find that balance between providing valuable information to readers and being fair to those awaiting trial.  APRIL 2020 | E & P |

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photo of the month

Send us your photos! E&P welcomes reader submissions for our Photo of the Month. evelyn@editorandpublisher.com.

UNDER THE STARS ď ˝â€… Kevin Rivoli/The Citizen (Auburn, N.Y.)

Southern Cayuga High School principal Luke Carnicelli (left) looks on as STEAM coordinator Heather Snyder and science teacher Caitlin Rejman work the control panel during a test at the Cayuga Planetarium on the high school campus in Poplar Ridge, N.Y. After being closed for years, the school is reopening the planetarium after securing funding from the state.

industry insight

Losing a Generation

When older journalists leave the industry, so do their wisdom and experience

By Matt DeRienzo

T

o stem the decline of local journalism, we will have to experiment with new business models and adapting old ones.

Figure out digital subscriptions and membership programs.

Find publishers’ place in an advertising landscape where programmatic tools and a handful of huge tech and social platforms are dominating. Battle disinformation, mistrust and

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apathy. There are endless takes, a universe worth of hand-wringing, and significant funding aimed at addressing these things.

What’s still missing is a focus on the people who are doing the work, and what we’re losing in this time of endless transition.

Consider the local reporters, editors and photographers over the age of 50 who have been displaced from the business in the past few years. Buyouts

target exactly this demographic, dumping salaries that are at least slightly higher than the entrylevel or early career journalists that are often chosen when there’s a new hire to be made.

And it looks like there will be plenty more buyout processes in local news in the coming months, with McClatchy filing for bankruptcy protection, Tribune being squeezed by its new largest shareholder (the

vulture capital firm Alden Global Capital), and the newly merged Gannett-GateHouse operating under a mountain of debt. Even the Los Angeles Times and San Diego Union-Tribune, with a deep-pocketed owner committed to innovation and investment, announced a round of voluntary early retirement-type packages this spring.

“What’s Your Plan B?” is a Facebook group for journalists who editorandpublisher.com

have left the business or expect they will soon. Its membership has grown to more than 15,000 people—people in their 50s who are out of work but too young and with inadequate savings to retire, and who are finding it difficult to get any kind of job at their age, never mind one in journalism.

The loss to local journalism, specifically, is pronounced. Part of the expertise that a reporter or editor develops over decades on the job is knowledge of their community. The news outlets they’re leaving can’t replace it, and the people whose jobs are eliminated can’t make use of that knowledge if they have to move to another community to find another journalism job.

The lucky ones find new jobs teaching journalism at a local university or in public relations.

But shouldn’t we be talking more about how to keep our most experienced and most knowledgeable journalists doing journalism?

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The gig economy could be one way, and some local journalists have pieced together a living from freelance work after their full-time jobs went away. But the industry is not oriented this way. Freelance rates at local news organizations in particular haven’t kept up with the cost of living. Some big newspaper chains have policies written by lawyers and corporate HR that ban people who’ve taken buyouts from freelancing for the organization for a year or even longer. A California law now being reconsidered limited the total number of freelance assignments a company could give to a single person. Both the waiting period on writing for your old organization, and that law, are attempts at protecting what should be full-time jobs from being contracted out and stripped of benefits. But they damage the ability of gig economy workers to make a living. And we’re still in the earliest stages of admitting the

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gig economy is a thing and taking steps to improve conditions within it.

Although it’s not for everyone, entrepreneurship can be one of the most promising ways to keep experienced local journalists doing local journalism in their communities. A large number of publishers who are part of the Local Independent Online News (LION) organization, and the Institute for Nonprofit News, call into that category of over 50 journalists who were displaced from a job at a traditional newspaper or other local news outlet.

They’ve found a way to leverage their journalism skills and knowledge of their community by starting up local news organizations that compete with or complement (or both) their former employers in many cases.

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discussions and technology stacks.

They need business models and seed funding that make not just survival, but health insurance and retirement savings possible.

We need to talk a lot more about helping the people doing this work if we’re going to make the work itself sustainable. We should start with the highlyskilled, locally knowledgeable, gray-haired journalists who are walking out the door as we speak.  Matt DeRienzo has worked in journalism as a reporter, editor, publisher, corporate director of news for 25 years, including most recently as vice president of news and digital content at Hearst’s Connecticut newspapers, and previously serving as the first full-time executive director of LION Publishers, a national nonprofit that supports the publishers of local independent online news organizations.

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APRIL 2020 | E & P |

17

the corner office

Warren Buffett’s Advice to the ‘Too Busy’ Newsroom leaders could recharge by unplugging

By Doug Phares

Y

ou should be reading this about the same time as you are seeing your first quarter results. They always seem to fall short of the expectations you had when making the budget.

It can be easy to get overwhelmed by everything you want to do in getting your year back on track— especially if you’re short on time

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to complete everything on your to-do list. And while that’s an understandable reaction in this industry, it isn’t necessarily true.

As Warren Buffett pointed out to Bill Gates, you may have more time than you realize; it just needs to be efficiently utilized.

In one famous interaction, Buffett shared his personal calendar with Gates, revealing that

it was almost entirely blank, with perhaps a few entries in the span of months. Gates was understandably confused and asked Buffett why his schedule was so barren. And to quote Mr. Buffett, “(Time is) the only thing you can’t buy. I mean, I can buy anything I want, basically, but I can’t buy time.”

To which one of the richest men in the world replied, “You know,

I had every minute packed and I thought that was the only way you could do things.” But to this day, Gates cites this as one of Buffett’s lessons to him: Give yourself time to think.

In the news industry, it’s uncomfortably easy to find yourself taking on increasingly thin work with less and less return on your time investment. If I may, editorandpublisher.com

I’d propose taking a page out of Warren Buffett’s (undeniably successful) playbook. Instead of overloading your already fatigued calendar, try isolating yourself for a few hours and seeing what solutions you come up with.

Often, all you need is privacy, a whiteboard, and a long afternoon.

This is, of course, not to suggest that there is no place for the busy in the contemporary news industry. Undoubtedly, Bill Gates has done quite well for himself with his own time management ethos. But still, I’d postulate that there are, for all of us, moments when taking a step back is infinitely more effective than attempting to resolve every issue at once. By seeking out these moments of chaos and disarray, you will be better equipped to identify when you need to step away from your work, even for just a few precious moments.

While quaint, a system I use is the old yellow legal pad method.

Keep one designated just for Big thoughts and have it in a drawer or a place handy but not in your way. Jot down anything that floats into your head as a place to park it and let the thought go.

When you fill a page (or a screen), it is time to find your time. Rewrite your notes, consolidate them, add to them and finally try to rank them on a grid of time invested versus financial return. Find at least one item that makes a real impact and do it.

And while you may lack Warren Buffett’s almost unique ability to pick exactly what you do with each hour, that does not make this style unattainable. A few times a year, perhaps once a month if you’re particularly ambitious, schedule this designated time with no calls, no meetings, not even an email in need of response.

Research has increasingly shown that this is a remarkably effective method to produce real, actionable solutions.

As professionals in this industry, we are each of us awash with crucial tasks, meetings, and webinars. And while there is perhaps no immediate solution, there is certainly a tool to make the workload less overwhelming.

I cannot offer you a foolproof solution to a busy schedule, but if Warren Buffett is to be believed (and his record heartily suggests that he is), then allocating time for personal thought and reflection may make all the difference for both your calendar and your peace of mind.

As I was finishing this column, news broke that Buffett sold all his newspaper holdings to Lee Enterprises. It wasn’t a shock; he had hired Lee to manage them more than a year ago, but it was still disappointing. He

had long owned the Buffalo News personally and acquired a sizable group through Berkshire Hathaway in 2012 and later years. He cited “lack of faith in their future” as the reason, but heartily endorsed Lee’s management approach and their ongoing ability to navigate the industry’s change. I’m confident he spent a couple days thinking about all of that before pulling the trigger.  Doug Phares is the former CEO of the Sandusky News Group.

He currently serves as managing director of Silverwind Enterprises, which owns and provides management services to small businesses. He is also an associate with Grimes, McGovern & Associates, specializing in news media M&A. He can be reached at doug@silverwind.biz.

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digital publishing

Trending Now

For 10 years, Muck Rack has provided journalists with the digital tools they need

By Rob Tornoe

I

’m not proud to admit it, but like most journalists, I Google my own name from time to time. Usually I’m either bored or simply looking to see if a story I’ve written has gotten much traction. But over the years I’ve noticed the website Muck Rack (muckrack.com) popping up among my Google results and decided to simply ignore it.

It turns out if you’re a journalist, Muck Rack is a handy little website filled with a few useful tools intended to help reporters monitor the news and

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quantify the impact of their reporting. Not surprisingly, it was Poynter’s digital tools guru Ren LaForme that got me to stop and notice what the site had to offer.

Muck Rack co-founder and CEO Gregory Galant, who is also one of the brains behind the Shorty Awards, said the idea for website came about back in 2009 as it became clear journalists were using social media in new and unique ways, especially when it came to breaking stories and revealing scoops. Since then, Muck Rack has evolved into a powerful tool that can filter

and analyze how journalists are covering news topics and events in real-time.

“Most of what’s on Muck Rack now was launched after we started and has been a reaction to what we’ve heard from journalists,” Galant said. “We’ve always got stuff in the pipeline, and we’re always looking for ideas.”

Recently, Muck Rack rolled out one of its new ideas called Muck Rack Trends, a tool that tracks and displays how much news coverage a particular topic, individual or event has received.

Galant said he was surprised

no one had built a similar tool, because it seems like such an obvious need among the reporters and public relations professionals he’s spoken with.

“Everyone looks to Google Trends as the de facto way to know if something’s on the rise or on the fall, and it’s a great source of data. But I think a lot of people don’t realize that Google Trends is a specific measure of search volume,” Galant added. “The number of times people search for something doesn’t necessarily correlate with how many times it’s being written about.” editorandpublisher.com

Muck Rack crawls the web in way that’s similar to Google News (though the data only goes back a year, which Galant said will be extended soon). But thanks to a fairly robust team and the technology they’ve built over the years, Muck Rack is able to differentiate news articles from other results, such as topics pages or businesses, giving a more accurate representation to the news coverage a topic is receiving.

Unlike Google, which measures results on a relative scale of one to 100, Muck Rack shows exactly how many articles mention a term over a certain period of time.

So, how can that be helpful?

Let’s look at the Democratic primary race, which is highly topical and relevant to the readers of just about every news organization right now.

Back in February, it was easy for me to search and quickly determine that despite his late surge in polling success, reporters were writing far less frequently about Mike Bloomberg than they are about Joe Biden or Bernie Sanders. That could signal a potential gap a reporter could tap into for a story.

With just a few clicks, I was able to dig deep on the data Muck Rack provided. For instance, I could see headlines, bylines and descriptions of nearly 1,500 Joe Biden articles that were published by news outlets in the Philadelphia market over the previous 30 days. That’s useful in a host of ways, from brainstorm story angles to coming across local news nuggets you might have missed. It’s also a great way to contextualize your news stories.

“When Mike Bloomberg entered the race, if you were wondering if reporters were writing about him as much as the other candidates, you can now actually answer that question with just a quick search,” Galant said.

In another search, I quickly discovered that the number of new stories published about the iPhone in the past few months far exceed those about the Android, even though Android users outnumber iPhones users by more than 20 million. It could also be used to track back the editorandpublisher.com

original coverage of a new trend or company, or to see if a topic is picking up interest.

The best part is the tool is free for all journalists, thanks to the public relations professionals that subscribe to the service to track their campaigns or to simplify the way they connect with reporters.

The only downside is that journalists can’t search for the popularity of a topic or compare terms within a specific region or location, but Galant said his team is already working to add that criteria to a number of data filters they hope to update soon.

At the risk of sounding like a cheerleader, putzing around Muck Rack’s website recently opened my eyes to several worthwhile tools I imagine would be useful to journalists. According to Galant,

one of the site’s most popular features is a tool that reveals which journalists shared a link to one of your stories, or are discussing your article on social media. It’s a great way to measure your reach, or connect with reporters that are either on your same beat or share an interest in the stories you write about. It could even lead to new job opportunities if you notice editors from other outlets sharing your work.

Muck Rack also has a tool that’s like Google Alerts, but Galant said it’s typically a lot faster and has some unique elements, such as links to journalists tweeting about a specific topic. And just like the Trends tool, the alerts are limited to news companies, which you can filter by location. You can also choose to include or exclude

specific individuals or publishers you don’t want results from.

“It’s been a blast to see Muck Rack grow over the years and interact with more journalists,” Galant said. “Of course, there’s a lot of challenge in the industry that’s very concerning, but I feel fortunate to be in a position to provide more resources to journalists and kind of be part of the action.”  Rob Tornoe is a cartoonist and columnist for Editor and Publisher, where he writes about trends in digital media. He is also a digital editor and writer for the Philadelphia Inquirer. Reach him at robtornoe@gmail.com.

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APRIL 2020 | E & P |

21

оperations

KEEPING WATCH OF ALLOCATIONS

Is your commercial printing as profitable as it seems?

A

s is the case with any successful business, it’s one for all and all for one. Yet based on my experience in both newspaper publishing and commercial printing, I’ve often questioned the fair distribution of expenses across these two divisions.

When too few or too many expenses are misallocated to commercial printing from the newspaper side, it can distort the profit lines of both areas and lead a company to make poor

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decisions based on inaccurate bottom-line reporting.

I’m a strong proponent of truth and fairness in our industry and don’t tolerate well one side of our business profiting at the expense of the other. We either all succeed or fail together as one cohesive unit.

Often in our business I’ve seen individuals on both the commercial and the newspaper side of the business warring over expenses as if they were in competition with one another

} By Jerry Simpkins

instead of all on the same team, with the same goal, which is overall profitability and sustainability for the company.

Keeping accurate track of what expenses are allocated from operations to commercial isn’t always an easy task, nor is it a perfect science. Although most of us believe we’re doing a fair job distributing expenses to reflect accurate costs in both areas, I believe we need to take a closer look at how we assign expenses on a regular basis, and make appropriate editorandpublisher.com

adjustments to reflect true profitability in commercial and our expenses in both production and commercial.

However, I realize that many of us are content to sit back and let the newspaper take on the lion’s share of expenses to reflect a stronger bottom line for commercial. To some, it seems to produce a false sense of security that at least one area of the business is doing well. After all, with faltering circulation, losses in advertising revenue, classified a mere shadow of its former self and profitability in newspapers challenged day in and day out, what’s wrong with shaving a bit of expense from production to show a healthier profit in our commercial division? In my opinion, there is a lot wrong with it.

So, I’ll climb down from my high horse and go over some of the gray areas I believe need to be carefully evaluated and adjusted accordingly to reflect accurate accounting practices in operational and commercial print expense and profitability.

SHADES OF GRAY Most of our properties allocate some form of overhead to commercial. When we create quotes for customers, we throw in 10 percent or so for overhead to cover the cost of electricity, gas, water, property taxes, etc. figuring that the amount of expense moved into commercial can be accounted for under this general category.

But how much thought really goes into the percentage verses actual use? Perhaps someone looked at this percentage/formula a few years back when you first got into the commercial business or maybe a well-meaning accountant pulled a number out of a hat?

Granted it isn’t always easy to arrive at an accurate number for allocating utilities, but it is an expense that can make a huge difference in the big picture. The amount of time and use is a utility expense associated with commercial verses newspaper production and it can vary greatly from week to week, with busy weeks verses slow periods presenting a moving target for even the best accountant. I don’t pretend to have the exact solution here, but I propose that you calculate hours of commercial running time and newspaper publications running time and make as fair an assessment as possible to arrive at a division of expense.

As you work through this exercise, you obviously understand that the press and mailroom are not running 24/7. So, who pays for the time that the lights are burning, and the heat or air conditioning is cycling on and off? Right now I’ll bet that your core publications division is paying for all downtime and commercial is sitting off on the sideline. Appropriately and fairly allocating any gray area of expense takes research and a bold business decision. The decision is yours on how to allocate expense in the utility area. editorandpublisher.com

To be clear, if we were to sort through each little allocation on an ongoing basis, we probably would have so much time invested we wouldn’t have any time left to do our day job. I’m not suggesting that we go overboard with this but merely recommending we look at things from time to time to make sure that as commercial work varies allocations follow.

AREAS TO CONSIDER The following are some questionable areas of expense worth looking at that we may put little thought into and can subsequently be absorbed into operations. If your management is okay with this, that’s fine. Just keep in mind that while these expenses may be considered covered in the general overhead area of commercial, but they are real costs that may be skewing production expenses and contributing to a false margin in your commercial area.

Many of our properties may already have separate expense lines for some of these

customers and commercial details; likewise with land lines. This expense should be adjusted and allocated accordingly.

Office supplies: These can range from a few envelopes to expensive toner cartridges, reams of copy paper, office equipment, etc. and usually isn’t considered under commercial overhead.

Building repairs and general maintenance: I’ve never seen commercial share in an expensive building repair. Sure, there is the general belief that it’s covered within overhead, but if you take a close look at the cost of repairing or maintaining HVAC units, plumbing, electrical issues, pest control, janitorial supplies and services, etc., those items come at a significant cost.

Building supplies: Cleaning supplies, restroom supplies, soaps, shop rags…the list goes on and on. It takes a lot of materials to keep our operations up and running, and it all comes at a steep price.

When too few or too many expenses are misallocated to commercial printing from the newspaper side, it can distort the profit lines of both areas and lead a company to make poor decisions based on inaccurate bottom-line reporting.

categories and that may work fine for you. I’m bringing these areas up simply to generate thought and focus attention on many of the less reviewed of parts of our operation and detail how those expenses can affect us.

Software updates and maintenance: Contracts for software updates and maintenance exist for many of our inserters, press controls, mailing/labeling systems, copiers, printers and other production equipment. These expenses can add up to a pretty penny and need to be considered when looking at commercial overhead.

CTP contracts: While we all account for plate usage on our quotes and our expense lines, we also have both hardware and software contract expense for our computer-to-plate equipment that is probably falling under production expense. Depending on your coverage, this is not a small expense. This area of cost can easily be fairly allocated by taking a simple plate count, arriving at a percentage and allocating the contract expense based on that percentage.

Cell phones: A small but constant expense, normally charged to the department the phone service lives in and if this service is for a commercial salesperson, it will be allocated appropriately, but often the operations director is the person directly in charge of commercial and many hours of cell phone time can be related to interactions with

Lubricants, blanket wash, press chemicals, recycling of ink and chemicals: Again, these could be some items you feel are captured under overhead, but you just may notice that overhead expense is starting to look a little thin after we continue to add expense after expense to it.

Blankets and rollers: Following the same thought process as above, expenses falling under overhead/general supplies. Although I have seen this before as a separate expense line item in commercial, it’s often hard to separate blanket and roller expense for commercial verses production expense for non-commercial products. Therefore, we usually take the path of least resistance and simply roll it under general supplies as a small percentage of allocation to commercial.

Property taxes: Some of us also consider this part of the overhead expense allocation to commercial, but I don’t know if I’ve ever actually seen it applied to commercial. It seems that the publication division picks up this expense and commercial is not assigned any of this cost.

Overtime expense: This can be one of the most misallocated expenses to commercial in any property. We normally track hours on each commercial job and charge those hours to commercial subsequently extracting that expense from production, but when it comes to overtime, often it goes unaccounted for and tends to be entered at straight time instead.

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оperations Of course, this not only adds to the expense in production but also falsely inflates the margin in commercial.

Management expenses: How involved is a property operations manager in commercial? It’s quite a bit. There’s day to day management of commercial job production, juggling of schedules to accommodate commercial, speaking with customers, working through printing issues, etc. How much time does your mailroom or pressroom manager spend working out insert issues and press challenges with commercial that doesn’t show in the salary line of your expense report?

Normally, managing commercial takes up a lot more of your managers time than is accounted for on the commercial expense report.

BE TRUTHFUL AND FAIR Most of the time we tend to focus on the big expense items and account for those costs believing we’re capturing majority, if not all, the expense for producing commercial jobs.

We diligently keep track of paper, ink, salaries (although this allocation can vary depending on workflow), bad debt expense, etc. And yes, generally these expenses make up for majority of the costs in the commercial area, but if we choose to ignore the miscellaneous expenses associated with producing our commercial products that expense will still exist and be absorbed into other areas of the operation, distorting the expense lines as well as exaggerating margins for our commercial operations.

I expect that those on the commercial side are reading this article and thinking I’m way off base and that commercial is already absorbing more than enough of the expenses for the franchise and we’re lucky they’re contributing to our bottom line.

On the other hand, I’m sure that the production folks are reading this thinking it’s about time that someone brought attention to all the expense hitting their area and that commercial should be eating more of the costs.

If either of the above is true, then you’re all wrong. We’re all here for the same purpose, and if you’re stuck managing in a silo mentality, you’re in the wrong industry.

I sincerely hope that some part of this article helps you to better allocate expenses between production and commercial. We’re all on the same team and have the same goal in life—to be the best at what we do and be proud of the contribution we make.

The lesson is to be professional and be fair.

It will take you a long way in our business and the area of expense allocations.  Jerry Simpkins has more than 30 years of experience in printing and operations in the newspaper industry. Contact him on LinkedIn.com or at simpkins@tds.net.

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THE LATEST FROM ING

T

} Clarence Jackson

How will this partnership between ING and E&P be beneficial to our industry?

Clarence Jackson: I feel that in these times of consolidation in the newspaper industry where operations have been and will continue to be merged and drawn down, it is vitally important to recognize those that continue to drive their operation to be the most efficient and reliable. Having a job and collecting a paycheck is important but being recognized and rewarded will go a lot farther in showing how much we truly appreciate these all stars.

What is your opinion of what makes a true “Operations AllStar” in our industry?

Jackson: Someone who has demonstrated a passion for the business by leading by example, engaging and continuing to improve by acquiring new equipment, refurbishing existing, consolidated operations, making significant operations changes do better position their business. Led their operations through major changes with open and honest communications with their teams.

he International Newspaper Group and E&P recently announced their collaboration on the first annual ING/E&P Operations All-Star Excellence Awards to be handed out at this year’s ING Leadership Networking Summit in September. In preparation of that, we will share the latest news from ING every month.

This month, we spoke with ING board member Clarence Jackson, director of sustainable supply chain with Cox Enterprises, about the partnership and what it takes to be an Operations All-Star.

Based on your experience, what personal attributes do you believe make someone successful in operations today?

Jackson: Integrity and honesty with open communication are attributes that are key to leading in operations today.

What advice would you give to someone coming into our industry on the operations side?

Jackson: The advice I’d give to those newly entering operations in the newspaper industry is that you’re starting during an exciting time where there is a lot of change and opportunities to make a real impact for where you’ll be supporting great journalism.

What advice would you give someone currently in our industry to become an All-Star this year?

Jackson: Keep pushing to improve your business and driving efficiencies and savings.

There are still opportunities in our newspaper operations, from energy savings to labor and environmental improvements. Utilizing Design Thinking, Six Sigma and other optimization and industry tools to drive continuous improvement. Don’t overlook the great internal resources at your disposal—your people—as they are your greatest resource with most knowledge and the best ideas.—JS editorandpublisher.com

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CAN NEWS PUBLISHERS SURVIVE THE CORONAVIRUS? How newsrooms are dealing with the pandemic

} Desks sit empty in the San Francisco Chronicle newsroom. For the first time in the newspaper’s 155-year history, its editorial staff made the decision to place a mandatory work from home policy on newsroom staff amid the Coronavirus threat. (Photos by Jessica Christian/San Francisco Chronicle)

By Nu Yang

W

hen former vice president Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders took the stage for a Democratic presidential debate on March 15, there was no studio audience in attendance. They stood 6 feet apart at their podiums, and instead of shaking hands, they greeted each other with an elbow bump.

This is our new reality now since the COVID-19 (also known as the coronavirus) pandemic landed in the U.S. Since then, the number of affected people has grown to more than 10,000, and that number is expected to rise. In order to slow the spread of the infection, people are being asked to practice “social distancing” and stay at home.

It’s not just the election cycle that is being shaken by this pandemic. Movies and television shows have delayed productions around the world. Sports leagues from the NBA to NHL have paused their seasons.

Schools have ceased meeting in-person and moved to online classrooms. Restaurants, bars and movie theaters have temporarily closed. Airlines are grounding planes and cancelling flights.

But what about the news industry? In this time of crisis, communities are looking for facts and truth, and newsrooms are stepping up, working around the clock, to fulfill that need.

E&P spoke with a few of these newsrooms to find out how they’re dealing with the coronavirus while keeping their employees safe and healthy, and see what long-term effects the pandemic could have with their coverage and revenue.

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“It was coming.”

The first reported U.S. coronavirus case and death happened in the state of Washington on Jan. 21. and Feb. 29, respectively. Reporting } Michele Matassa from the epicenter is Flores, Seattle Times the Seattle Times. executive editor Executive editor Michele Matassa Flores said weeks before the first death was reported, the newsroom was already in brainstorming sessions discussing coverage and going over what tech hardware and software they needed if they had to work remotely.

“It was coming…and at first, we thought it was going to be a long-term story we would have to stay with, but we didn’t realize how explosive this was going to be,” Matassa Flores said. “As soon as that first death hit, we immediately went from zero to 60.”

With a staff of 155 (58 are reporters), Matassa Flores said essentially everyone at the paper is working on something related to the coronavirus. Without any sports to cover, Matassa Flores said some sportswriters have been temporarily reassigned to the metro and news desks. Other beats, like crime and education, are still carrying on but with more emphasis on the virus.

Matassa Flores said for now, the newsroom is working from home indefinitely. She said she is proud of the newsroom’s readiness to work remotely, and although they are “tired but energized,” they are also “incredibly focused.” She doesn’t anticipate any interruptions to their workflow, but she did

address concern for the employees working on the operations side, especially those in the warehouse and delivering newspapers.

“They can’t run the press from a living room, so the risk is quite high for them,” Matassa Flores said, explaining they are keeping those workers safe by disinfecting machines and providing gloves. Reporters and photographers who are out in the community are also advised to take necessary precautions.

“We’re keeping an eye on our people,” she said.

“We’re in touch with them, and so far, no one has tested positive, but it’s something we worry about. The thing that helped was that we got out of the newsroom early on, and that’s what I would tell others, get out of your newsroom now.”

Other newsrooms like the San Francisco Chronicle and Dallas Morning News have followed Seattle’s lead.

Chronicle editor-inchief Audrey Cooper said her newsroom is already trained to work from home in scenarios such as an earthquake or a wildfire, but never during a pandemic. }Audrey Cooper, San Francisco Chronicle When I spoke with editor-in-chief Cooper, the Bay Area was under a shelter-in-place order, and businesses with non-essential services were closed. Fortunately, in California, news publishers are deemed essential businesses.

Like Seattle, the coronavirus is “touching every single beat.” But with no arts, concerts or sport games to cover, Cooper said many of those sections are now smaller, and those writers have moved to the news team. editorandpublisher.com

In Dallas, editor Mike Wilson said his entire team is working remotely.

“Among our journalists are a married couple who are somehow doing their work } Mike Wilson, Dallas Morning News editor in the presence of a restless 5-year-old. Another colleague manages to be incredibly productive even though she has a toddler at home and is 36 weeks pregnant,” he said. “These people are heroic, all of them. Our daily video conference calls are fun; we show each other our pets and get a glimpse into our colleagues’ work-at-home attire and decorating tastes.”

Dozens of reporters, photographers, social media producers, data journalists and editors are covering the coronavirus, Wilson said, and with no sports events to cover, half-dozen people from sports have moved to other desks.

“We’re thinking a lot about how we can help our people stay healthy and motivated for the long haul,” he said, citing that something as simple as checking-in with each other regularly can help.

Glimmer of Hope Right now, newsrooms around the world are caught in the eye of the storm.

Many alternative weeklies have stopped printing and laid off employees, while others have seen advertising decline sharply as businesses have stopped operating. Long-term, this crisis could have a devasting effect to the news industry’s bottom line, but there is a positive spin to this pandemic.

We’re seeing more collaboration and unity among news organizations around the world, and the three editors I spoke with said they have seen a huge spike in web traffic and subscriptions. (Cooper said their website recently hit 5 million visitors in one day). This tells them people are craving information. They want to know about how to keep safe in the community; closures and cancellations; how to deal with their children being at home; and how to support local businesses.

Although the coronavirus is a global pandemic, the crisis has reminded people about the importance of local journalism.

Cooper said she is receiving up to 500 emails a week from readers telling them what they’re doing is important.

“This is all coming together in a perfect storm,” she said. “If any good can come from this, it will be that people will shell out that $10 to keep their local paper in business.”  editorandpublisher.com

Tipsheet: Covering the Coronavirus Epidemic Effectively without Spreading Misinformation

K

eep the stories coming.

Avoid false balance.

You may have published Experienced health, science, and dozens of stories about environment reporters know not COVID-19 already, but to give equal time to creationists, as more people start paying serious climate change deniers, anti-vaxxers, attention to this epidemic, you’re or flat Earthers. There’s no need to increasingly writing for people who tell some “other side” of coronavirus } By Laura Helmuth didn’t realize what a big deal it was when the other side is nonsense. when it was circulating mainly in China. That Acknowledging fears or uncertainties means they’re coming to you with even less can defuse them. Rather than say “don’t understanding of the situation than your earlier panic,” say that some people are worried, and audience. It’s more important than ever to be that’s understandable because this is a new clear and thorough, even if you feel like you’re situation and we don’t know how it will end, repeating yourself again and again. but … (and then provide the reliable information Define terms in every story, and they might otherwise be too scared to process). maybe create and link to a glossary.

Explain what we don’t know. People When you listen to lots of briefings from the have a lot of questions that can’t be answered Centers for Disease Control and Prevention yet, such as how infectious this virus is in and state and local health authorities, it’s easy people who aren’t yet showing symptoms. to pick up their language. Even when you’re in Saying that something is a question that a rush, it’s important to translate their jargon. researchers are urgently trying to answer can Most people don’t know the terms “community ease your reader’s confusion. transmission” or “asymptomatic spread” or Beware of “othering” who is at risk. really understand what quarantine is.

It’s true that people with existing medical Use social media effectively. Twitter conditions seem to be more likely to have shouldn’t be your assignment editor, but if serious complications from COVID-19. But people are asking questions on social media or many of the people in your audience have are showing they’re confused or fascinated by existing medical conditions or loved ones who something, maybe you should write about that. do. The first cases were in China, but viruses And share the heck out of your own stories. don’t respect cultural or political boundaries.

People want reliable information right now, Share information about who is at risk without and you are providing it. implying that they are to blame or that they Look to infectious-disease and aren’t part of your audience. public-health experts for solid Include context. Where appropriate, information, and be on alert for people help readers understand how the health care trying to sell themselves as experts system works, how science works, how scientific when they aren’t. Lots of misinformation publishing works, how the immune system is circulating about coronavirus, and this works, how viruses work. This is a reachable problem will get worse as the outbreak does. moment—people who don’t usually pay attention Some politicians are minimizing the danger, to these subject areas are suddenly fascinated. some quacks are trying to sell sham treatments Interview nurses. Journalists typically or protections, and some anti-vaxxers are quote doctors rather than nurses as expert weaving coronavirus into their conspiracy sources, even when nurses’ experience and theories about vaccines. knowledge is more relevant. Especially with Avoid debunking a fringe theory if infectious disease control, nurses can offer it hasn’t gotten much attention yet. critical information and perspective.

Repetition makes misinformation feel more true.

Look for opportunities to show When a piece of misinformation virologists, epidemiologists, nurses, does become prominent, debunk it public health officials, vaccine makers, effectively. Research on misinformation has geneticists and more doing their revealed some best practices for this: Replace work. As you know, but as some readers don’t the false information with something that is necessarily appreciate, science is a process and true. Say immediately that this false thing is it’s done by real people. People really want to false, especially in headlines. Provide a reason see competence right now. why the falsehood has been spreading or why people might believe it or why someone is Laura Helmuth is the health and science editor promoting it, to help people understand why for the Washington Post and past president of they’re seeing this misinformation even though the National Association of Science Writers. This it’s false. Simple and brief debunks are usually piece was originally published on The Open the most effective.

Notebook and reprinted here with permission.

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UNCHARTED and UNEXPLORED How publishers are finding alternative routes to fund journalism

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editorandpublisher.com

I

} By Rob Tornoe

n an era where print advertising revenue continues to decline rapidly and the lion’s share of digital advertising dollars are sucked up by Google and Facebook, it’s more important than ever for news organizations to focus on developing as many revenue streams as possible.

Some, like the Atlantic, have created significant revenue through a focus on events. Others, like the New York Times, see a sustainable future provided by a mix of digital subscriptions and advertising revenue (just because it’s not as beefy as it once was doesn’t mean it can’t be part of the mix). ProPublica has had great success going the philanthropic route, while the Guardian has garnered significant revenue by instituting membership programs and simply asking for donations from readers.

Annie Madonia, the chief advancement officer of the Lenfest Institute in Philadelphia, points to the Texas Tribune as an example of a news organization really working to bring in money in as many different ways as possible.

“They were established in Austin, which already had this huge festival. But they have philanthropic donors, they have sponsorships, they have event revenue. So, I think they have a pretty healthy model” Madonia said. “It’s about a $9 million organization. So, the question becomes, can you scale that to cover a $120 million dollar news organization?”

One thing is clear—there is no one-size-fits-all model that will rescue news organizations and provide the fertile ground for local news coverage to continue out into the distant future.

But executives can take a look around and borrow ideas from what’s actually working out there for some news organizations.

PHILANTHROPY Another newspaper that is exploring If there was an overriding trend in philanthropy is the Philadelphia Inquirer, journalism last year, it was the growing where I currently work as a reporter. embrace of philanthropy throughout the Unlike the Tribune, the Inquirer is a world of journalism. Even the robust New for-profit public benefit corporation, York Times is putting together a team but it’s owned by the nonprofit Lenfest focused on philanthropic income led by Institute for Journalism, which invests in Sharon Chan, who launched successful news initiatives and technology with the fundraising initiatives at the Seattle Times. goal of creating new business models for Leading the charge is the Salt Lake sustainable journalism.

Tribune, which became the first legacy The Lenfest Institute can’t fund the newspaper to make the leap and become operating expenses of the newsroom } Fraser Nelson, Salt Lake Tribune, a non-profit media company thanks to due to IRS rules, but the foundation’s vice president of business several factors, including the generosity of financial support has enabled the Inquirer innovation owner Paul Huntsman, who gifted all of the to launch an investigative news fund and newspaper assets (and none of its liabilities) to a newlySpotlight PA, a 12-person investigative team with a formed 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. focus on state government and urgent regional issues.

While the move was heralded throughout the Lenfest also joined with the National Geographic journalism world, there remains some confusion over Society and the William Penn Foundation to kickstart what the change actually means for the nearly 150-yeara collaborative reporting project on the Delaware River old newspaper moving forward. Fraser Nelson, the Watershed. newspaper’s vice president of business innovation who is “You can’t rely on just one source of revenue leading the Tribune’s work to become a nonprofit, said exclusively, because you just run a huge risk if that dries the switch alone won’t magically rescue the newspaper. up,” said Lenfest’s Madonia. “And if you’re going to rely “It does not save our bacon. It’s not like money just on philanthropy, then you need a very diverse cohort of falls from the sky now that we’re a nonprofit, or that we donors and funders so that you’re not overly reliant on don’t have to make revenue,” Nelson said. any one donor or type of donation.”

Nelson compared the Tribune to the local symphony.

The list of news organizations turning to philanthropy The newspaper will continue to sell subscriptions and and local community funds to support journalism ads, just as the symphony does. But now, people who is growing exponentially. In Alaska, the Anchorage want to support local journalism can donate to the Daily News turned to a large group of foundations to Tribune the way they would to the symphony. There will support the State of Intoxication, a year-long look into also be a separate endowment—in the Tribune’s case, alcoholism throughout the massive state. Following it’s the Utah Journalism Foundation—that can offer the success of three community-funded initiatives— financial support in a myriad of ways, from helping with Education Lab, Project Homeless and Traffic Lab—the building costs to funding specific projects.

Seattle Times formed its own investigative journalism “We’ve always had this model in the United States,” fund supported by donors. And community foundations Nelson said. “It’s just that no one has used that allowed the Fresno Bee and Fresnoland Media to partner particular setup for the purposes of a daily metropolitan up to add four journalists to focus on land use, water, newspaper because it’s never been necessary before.” housing and neighborhood opportunity. editorandpublisher.com

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UNCHARTED AND UNEXPLORED

GOVERNMENT FUNDING Considering the bleak landscape for local news and the sheer amount of publications that have been forced to shut their doors over the past 15 years (one in five, according research by the University of North Carolina’s School of Media and Journalism), some might welcome government funding with open arms.

But direct funding also creates potential problems when newspapers, who are used to covering politicians, are now also benefiting directly from their policies. Outside of local NPR affiliates that are often supported directly by state governments (and receive high grades for trustworthiness), funding often takes a circuitous route to newspapers, showing up in the form of advertisements for public meetings or discounted postal rates.

In New Jersey, a new approach has taken shape in the way of a first-of-its-kind allocation of millions of dollars from the state government to a nonprofit with a mission to help grow and support local news.

In February, the state made its first $1 million payment on $2 million allocated to the Civic Information Consortium, a nonprofit initiative designed to help support local news and grow civic participation throughout the state. The state has promised through its budget $7 million, with the possibility it could offer more in the future.

It’s ultimately up to the consortium’s board— made up of political appointees, university representatives, and a few others—how that money is ultimately spent to support the state’s news ecosystem.

“I don’t want this money going to the Gannetts and the Advances of the world,” said Mike Rispoli, director of the News Voices project at the advocacy group Free Press Action, which put public pressure on the } Mike Rispoli, Free Press Action, government to News Voices director allocate and release the funds. “This money should be used to reimagine what local news looks like in New Jersey…not who has the most amount of influence in the journalism space and let’s give them money.”

Following New Jersey’s lead, lawmakers in other states, including Ohio, Colorado and California, have signaled an interest in examining what role public policy can play to help address the erosion of local news. In Massachusetts, lawmakers have created a commission to study gaps in local news coverage across the state and present suggestions for direct action.

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} Free Press Action members gather at the New Jersey State House for a lobbying day in February 2017 (Photo by Timothy Karr/Free Press Action)

Following New Jersey’s lead, lawmakers in other states, including Ohio, Colorado and California, have signaled an interest in examining what role public policy can play to help address the erosion of local news.

It’s a different approach than Canada’s attempt to help support local journalism, which has garnered its fair share of controversy.

The Canadian government pushed through a $600 million, five-year funding commitment that supports journalism through a mix of tax breaks and grants. Among other things, the new initiatives allow Canadian citizens to temporarily claim a tax credit if they have a digital subscription to qualifying news source and offer a refundable tax credit for each staffer employed by qualifying news organizations.

On top of that, the country has allocated $50 million over five years to fund the Local Journalism Initiative, which provides funding to Canadian media organizations to hire

reporters to cover underserved communities impacted by the decline of local news. Inspired by international programs like Report for America and the BBC’s Local Democracy Reporting Service, news organizations apply for funds to hire new reporters to cover news deserts and areas of news poverty. An independent panel of industry experts reviews the applications, selects recipients, and allocates the funding, an attempt to keep the decision making as far away as politicians as possible.

The response within the country has been decidedly mixed. While many Canadian journalists welcome any money being spent on local journalism (and there is certainly a beefy list of job openings on the Local Journalism Initiative’s website), some are leery that the government’s approach has benefited national chains over locally-owned media companies and smaller digital news outlets. And at a time when trust in news organizations is already low, it also creates tension among certain readers who think Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his government is trying to buy off the media.

Steph Wechsler, the managing editor of J-Source, the English website of the Canadian Journalism Project, suggests governments looking to support journalism should consult a diverse cross-section of independent news organizations and locally owned digital media outlets at the outset. That way, they can’t avoid the potential appearance or criticism they are simply propping up ailing newspaper chains. editorandpublisher.com

PAYWALLS Raise your hand if your publication has a digital paywall.

Once considered unworkable, charging readers for digital content has become a staple of the move to digital sustainability and the shift in focus to reader-supported revenue. Seventy-six percent of newspapers had a paywall in place in 2019, up from 60 percent just two years before, according to the Reuters Institute for Journalism. But clearly, some media organizations have been more successful in selling their wares online than others.

The New York Times easily leads the pack, boasting more than 5 million digital subscriptions with a goal of reaching 10 million by 2025. As new media columnist Ben Smith wrote in his first piece for the newspaper, the Times now has more digital subscribers than the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post and the 250 local Gannett papers combined.

Among the leaders on the local level has been the Boston Globe, which first launched BostonGlobe.com as a paywalled site back in 2011, and was one of the first newspapers in the country where digital subscribers outnumber print subscribers (partly because it has aggressively raised the price on its print subscription plans).

The Globe ended 2019 with more than 148,000 paid online subscribers, and subscriptions grew faster in the last three months of the year than in any quarter in the previous three years, the newspaper confirmed to E&P. And the Globe has done this without lowballing its price, charging customers $6.93

a week ($360 a year) after offering a fourweeks deal for $0.99 a week. As Nieman Lab’s Joshua Benton pointed out, that’s more than the New York Times ($4.25 per week) or the Washington Post ($1.92 per week) charge their subscribers.

How has the Globe managed to be so successful while other major metro news organizations have floundered? The newspaper didn’t answer specific questions about its online strategy, but Heidi Flood, the Globe’s strategic lead, partnerships and outreach, cited their “continued investment in new products and engagement initiatives” as a major factor behind their digital success.

Another important factor is the Globe boasts a market penetration of 23 percent, measured by examining unique visitors as a percentage of total digital desktop audience in their market. That placed the Globe at number two amongst its peers in a report released last August by the Shorenstein Center and the Lenfest Institute.

So, who was number one? The Minneapolis Star Tribune, which as of

January, boasted a digital subscriber base of around 90,000 readers, with a goal of 150,000 digital subscribers by 2025, according to Poynter. The Star Tribune also doesn’t cheap out, charging readers $3.79 a week for digital access after a limited introductory rate.

Unlike the paywall at most newspapers, which are triggered by reading a certain number of articles, the Star Tribune looks to a reader’s visit frequency to determine when to make the subscription pitch. It’s the same approach the Wall Street Journal uses to convert readers to subscribers, where an algorithm determines where a reader is in the conversion funnel based on 65 different variables.

“Your visitation count plays a big role, the device type you’re on—desktop, Android, iPhone—play a role, and the type of content you consume can play a role,” Karl Wells, the general manager of the Wall Street Journal’s subscription and membership business, said on a Digiday podcast last year. “The thirdparty data like where you live has a huge bearing on whether you will subscribe or not.”

FROM COFFEE SHOPS TO T-SHIRTS Digital subscriptions are one thing. But what if your bosses announced they were opening a coffee shop to help support the business?

That’s exactly what the new owners of the Big Bend Sentinel did down in Marfa, Texas.

Appropriately named The Sentinel, the coffee shop and bar is open every day from 7:30 a.m. until 10 p.m., closing between lunch and dinner, ostensibly so reporters can bang out stories in their offices in the back of the building.

As The Sentinel proudly proclaims on its website, the popular spot in the town of about 2,000 people “supports local, independent journalism with every coffee, cocktail, taco and retail item sold and with every event hosted.” In fact, the additional income has been able to keep the newspaper’s annual subscription costs

steady, publishers Maisie Crow and Max Kabat told the New York Times.

The Devil Strip, an arts and culture magazine in Akron, Ohio, went a different route in February by becoming the first cooperatively owned news organization in the country. Chris Horne, the magazine’s founder and publisher, wanted to create a sustainable model that would enable the publication to remain free and vibrant in a city where the average income is about $36,000 and nearly a quarter of residents fall below the poverty line.

Readers can own a piece of the Devil Strip starting at $1 a month, and when they reach $330, they become a fully vested shareholder, enabling them to have a voice in what the magazine covers. The magazine’s membership goal is 600 readers.

Drive about six hours west and you’ll hit Chicago, where one media company capitalized on an unusual sighting to

generate both interest and revenue for their subscription-based news site.

When an alligator was spotted in Humboldt Park Lagoon on Chicago’s West Side, it took the city by storm over the summer, the employees at the news startup Block Club Chicago had an idea: sell a t-shirt.

Shamus Toomey, the website’s editor-inchief, told Chicago media reporter Robert Feder the news organization sold nearly 4,000 “Gator Watch 2019” shirts, netting about $100,000 in revenue to support the publications news operation, not a small sum for the non-profit site.

“All good journalism is good. Support it by philanthropy, advertising, events, reader revenue, or by winning lottery ticket,” media analyst Ken Doctor wrote in a recent edition of his Newsonomics column. “Given the peril, we all need to look more widely for support, not more narrowly.” 

editorandpublisher.com

Seventy-six percent of newspapers had a paywall in place in 2019, up from 60 percent just two years before, according to the Reuters Institute for Journalism. But clearly, some media organization have been more successful in selling their wares online than others.

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UNDER Meet the rising stars in today’s news industry

T

his year’s list of 25 Under 35 showcases a wide range of skills and talents taking place in newsrooms around the world. We suggest news veterans study the advice these young professionals offer. No matter what age we are, their responses are filled with positivity and encouragement that we could all hear right now. Yes, they understand the challenges facing our industry, but they’re not admitting defeat. They’re pushing the industry forward with diverse ideas, creative innovation and intelligent vision. Our future is better because of it.

} By Nu Yang and Evelyn Mateos

(in alphabetical order by last name)

Hans Appen, 31 Publisher, Appen Media Group Alpharetta, Ga. Education: University of Georgia, bachelor of business administration, economics What advice do you have for other young professionals in the news industry?

Wear out your knuckles. That was the advice I received 10 years ago. It meant a lot to me then and still does. Work harder, longer and more efficiently then the next guy, and you give yourself a chance to make it in a still very competitive marketplace.

This industry has unique and sometimes unfair challenges. We don’t have room for complacency or people unwilling to put in the work. We need new and good ideas from people eager to bet on themselves, put in the work, and see where the chips fall.

No matter what new challenges may come your way you don’t ever want to look back and wonder if there was something more you could have done to change an outcome.

What was the most interesting story you covered for Black Box Investigations, the investigative journalism arm of Appen Media?

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“Marijuana’s hazy boundaries,” a series of articles that studied the evolution of marijuana, the nuances of state legislation and local enforcement guidelines for arrests related to possession of the drug.

A notable discovery we made was that neighboring police departments handled marijuana arrests very differently depending on which police department made the arrest. Typically, a police officer has an option to either arrest and book into jail a suspect in possession of the drug or they can release the suspect on a copy of charges.

In one city, Alpharetta, 68 percent of all arrests made for possession of marijuana under 1 ounce were released on a copy of charges.

This meant that the suspect was issued a date to appear in court to answer for their crime, rather than getting booked into jail and likely spending the night behind bars. Directly north of Alpharetta, once you crossed into the jurisdiction of Forsyth County, just 9 percent were released on a copy of charges.

The project also looked at examples of local municipalities who have chosen to decriminalize the drug altogether, how they reached that conclusion and what effects they’d seen since. editorandpublisher.com

Becky Bartkowski, 31

What social media skills are needed for today’s journalists?

Features director, Arizona Republic and azcentral.com Phoenix, Ariz.

Education: Arizona State University, bachelor of arts, journalism

What advice do you have for other young professionals in the news industry?

Take every opportunity you can to learn something new and help those around you do the same. There’s no harm in picking up new skills even when you aren’t sure how they might fit into what you do. Take the time to soak up what you can about audience strategy, search optimization and social media best practices. They’re all important and learning about developments in each of those areas (and so many others) can help you find where you really want to be.

Beyond pushing the bounds of what you know, I’ve found that working just plain hard

has been equally important. Put in the work and use that dedication, and the successes that follow, to advocate for yourself and what you really want.

Championing yourself is key. You can’t expect anyone else to do it for you. But you have to back it up.

(including the business side), don’t wait for someone to ask to share your ideas and don’t be afraid to suggest doing things differently from the way they always have been done. Never think an idea is too big or too crazy or too hard to throw on the table and discuss.

Always be thinking about how you can serve your readers in ways no one else does, and provide them information they can’t get elsewhere. And remember that, at the end of the day, clear, clear storytelling and impeccable reporting are still the cornerstone of everything we do as journalists.

Christopher Baxter, 34 Editor-in-chief, Spotlight PA Harrisburg, Pa. Education: Ithaca College, bachelor of arts, journalism and politics What advice do you have for other young professionals in the news industry?

Newsrooms are desperate for transformative ideas, creativity and new skills to help drive digital coverage and better connect with communities, and young professionals are some of the best poised to lead those efforts. Despite the continuing upheaval in the industry, there are more opportunities now than ever for young professionals to step up and contribute. Take an interest in the entire operation of your newsroom editorandpublisher.com

What is the most important lesson you’ve learned covering state government?

The most important lesson I’ve learned is that systemic failures are often not the result of one or a few bad actors or a nefarious plot to deny people the services they deserve, but rather some combination of overworked employees, a lack of resources, a lack of outcome-based measures, unfunded mandates, the prevailing politics of the administration and a “look the other way” or “I don’t want to know” mentality. Once you start to view failures through this lens—and understand the government is really just a huge group of people trying to do all kinds of different jobs, often in a very disconnected way—it’s easier to understand how problems persist and see the solutions that could fix them.

When it comes to social media, three things are most important: Knowing your audience on different platforms, writing for that audience and understanding how to dig into analytics in a meaningful way.

What works on Instagram might not resonate on Twitter and could tank on Facebook. Tailoring whatever the content is to the platform is essential whether you’re sharing a vacay pic or breaking news. You’re serving different needs and likely different people depending on the platform. Knowing what works where, from tone to visuals to topics, is crucial.

Not sure how to find that out? Look to the numbers and get familiar with each platform’s analytics tools. The more you keep tabs, the more trends you’ll be able to spot.

And in turn, you’ll make more informed decisions.

E. Garrett Bewkes IV, 32 Publisher, National Review New York, N.Y. Education: Colgate University, bachelor of arts with a concentration in peace and conflict studies What advice do you have for other young professionals in the news industry?

Once, while I was fighting for a better grade on an exam in middle school, a teacher threw a piece of chalk at me and shouted, “Would you stop caring about your damn grade? Learn the material because you should want to be smarter and the good grades will follow!”

I believe that professional life is no different. Stop dwelling on the title, the pay, etc. Do the work (and do it well), and all the “cool stuff ” will follow.

One way of approaching your work this way is treating your company like it’s a family business that you cannot afford to let fail. There is no task too menial or that “is not in your job description” when you know your company must succeed. Keeping that mentality will ensure that you step up to the plate, challenge yourself regularly, and make you a APRIL 2020 | E & P |

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25 Under 35 smarter and more experienced professional.

Plus, always being that reliable person will certainly make your teammates—and your superiors—appreciate and respect you more, often resulting in great things.

What has been your proudest moment so far as publisher?

As a team leader, I am really only as good as my team, and I work with the most impressive group of professionals who never cease to amaze me with both the quantity and quality of their output every week. Their work has led to award nominations and growth in nearly every metric that a publisher uses

to measure success—page views, unique visitors, engagement, paid subscribers, email subscribers, revenue, donors, etc.

So, when I consider which moment is my proudest, I look at my team. Through them, I realize the role I played in their success, including bringing them together and giving them the necessary tools, knowledge, and positive culture to do their jobs above and beyond “industry standard” expectations.

I am so proud of my team and the work we all accomplished together; thus, my proudest moments are the countless times we reach or exceed a goal in any of the success metric categories.

Vice president of marketing, San Francisco Chronicle San Francisco, Calif.

Education: Lehigh University, bachelor of science, finance and economics with a concentration in marketing

Jess Bryant, 33 Editor-in-chief, Philadelphia Gay News Philadelphia, Pa. Education: Eastern Washington University, master in fine arts, poetry; Otterbein University, bachelor of arts, English

What advice do you have for other young professionals in the news industry?

What advice do you have for other young professionals in the news industry?

Be in the community you cover. Build relationships and attend events. Make lunch or coffee plans with members on the ground in whatever communities you cover. If you have a blindspot or bias, go directly toward it; don’t fear ignorance, take opportunities to learn, or your coverage will continue to be biased. With so much focus on digital-first, realize that if you are not reaching a community, it could be method. Pay attention to radio stations and gathering places that serve communities on the margins. Work with them. Collaborate.

Look for new pathways into communities that are not accurately or fully represented by your outlet. If you have unique sources built through personal relationships, your stories will stand apart. Also, attend any journalism education event or lecture that you can. You will learn and grow. The way we cover everyday events is developing alongside society. Language around addiction, domestic violence, death by suicide and myriad other topics is evolving. The way responsible journalists frame our world is increasingly important. Be on the cutting edge.

Push your editor toward contemporaneity.

Be bold and different and also be humble, persistent and diligent.

How could coverage on the LGBTQ community improve?

Mainstream publications often don’t even know the basic language of the LGBTQ+ community. Queer folks have a vocabulary all our own, and writers from mainstream

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Sarah Morse Cooney, 35

publications are often ignorant of nuances.

Nonbinary and gender-nonconforming have different meanings. Gender-inclusive and gender-neutral are not synonymous. And, our community is anything but homogenous.

Trans folks and cis folks experience queerness differently and face dissimilar barriers—to healthcare, safety, etc. Black trans women face obstacles that white trans men do not, vis-a-vis transmisogyny, sexism and racism. Mainstream publications lean on opinions, columns and research, rather than hard news.

The LGBTQ+ community is up against a great deal under the Trump Administration concerning nondiscrimination policies.

LGBTQ youth represent a vast majority of homeless youth, and religious institutions try to keep queer couples from being foster parents. Still, mainstream publications often lean on “fluff ” pieces to demonstrate inclusivity, when what we need from credible news sources is consistent hard news coverage. For instance, we don’t need to read that Pete Buttigieg kissed his husband on stage in 20 different varieties, we need to read the LGBTQ+ platforms of all candidates and how these directly impact potential equity. Report on the grants our community centers secure and resource centers created for our community. Write about solutions, not just the violence we endure.

Stay curious and passionate. Our business is all about storytelling—continue to challenge yourself to learn and master new technologies—to ensure that your confident reaching your audience or selling around your content on the platforms that matter most.

Get involved with the community and know what is going on locally. In addition, always keep in mind the vital role that quality, local journalism plays in the community. In every project we do, we are conscious of what local means to the larger picture. By both being involved with the community and committed to the community, we are able to build better programming, more relevant events, more actionable ideas, etc. Work hard, ask questions and don’t be afraid of your age.

New ideas are always welcome. Speak up and don’t be intimidated to share your point of view.

What is your current favorite marketing campaign, not related to journalism?

By far my favorite marketing campaigns are from Aviation Gin. There are plenty of brands that parlay celebrity faces for quick brand awareness, but their humorous use of Ryan Reynolds really nails it. Their campaigns are witty and smart, continuing to use pop culture moments to project themselves (think Andy from Fyre Fest and the Peloton Woman). The brand resonated so much with me that I found myself ordering a gin cocktail at a recent happy hour. editorandpublisher.com

Brandon Cox, 32 Publisher, Kentucky New Era Hopkinsville, Ky. Education: Kentucky Wesleyan College, bachelor of arts, graphic design/visual communications What advice do you have for other young professionals in the news industry?

The best advice that I ever received is, “You are not your business card.” It is very easy in this business to forget to clock out mentally.

These days we are all maximizing our time and resources, searching for efficiencies and juggling multiple projects at once. By all means, give your work the time, attention and passion it requires. But also remember to set boundaries and protect your time with the people you love and yourself. You are not defined by your job nor does your job define you—unless you want it to. The latter is a lonely place at the end of the day.

Katherine Engqvist, 29 Greater Victoria bureau chief, Black Press Media Victoria, B.C., Canada Education: Ryerson University, bachelor of journalism What advice do you have for other young professionals in the news industry?

Never stop learning. The journalism industry is always evolving and as a journalist you will need to keep up. You’ll push your comfort zone and put your skills to the test so be prepared—that’s the beauty of this industry. No two days are alike and every interview will be different. Some days will be tough but others will be unforgettable and you will grow in ways you never imagined.

} Brandon Cox and his fiancée, Charity Young,

minutes after he proposed. (Photo by Amber Huston)

How do you motivate your staff during challenging times?

Our leadership team views every challenge and opportunity through the lens of our mission to serve the community. We control the things that we can control, accept what we

The best thing you can do on your journey is find a mentor, someone with experience you can turn to when you reach a grey area and aren’t sure how to proceed. Whether that’s an editor, publisher or another colleague, learn as much about their experiences in the journalism industry as possible as it will help shape your own path in the industry.

Where do you see the Canadian news industry in 10 years?

Community news will continue to thrive in Canada. Readers are looking for stories they can’t get from the wire or read anywhere else.

They want to connect with their neighbors, learn more about the business owner down the street or find out if their local tax dollars are being misspent. Compelling human interest stories and hyper-local breaking news will continue to drive readership on all

Jaime Gianini, 29 Strategic sales director, RJ Media Group Meriden, Conn.

Education: University of New Haven, bachelor of arts, music industry

What advice do you have for other young professionals in the news industry?

Stop doubting yourself. The reason you’re in the position you’re in is because somebody believed in your abilities and that you have something of value that they wouldn’t have editorandpublisher.com

cannot and formulate plans to respond with our readers in mind. Then, we communicate.

We communicate clearly the challenge and what it means to our operation. We communicate that we also have skin in the game and how we personally feel about the challenge.

And we communicate what we intend to do about it.

That is not to say that there are not times where we have to make tough, unpopular decisions. But every decision of that nature is accompanied with solid reasoning and a clear idea of how that particular course of action is the best in the long run—not only for the business and product, but for the reader and community as well.

That transparency has gone a long way in my group. As much as anything, people do not want to be in the dark. I share what I can, when I can, and I make sure that my efforts to participate in both the sacrifice and the solution are well known.

platforms, whether that’s in print, online or on a new platform that hasn’t been invented yet.

Social media, smartphones and the 24-hour news cycle have transformed the way news is delivered, but it hasn’t changed what readers are engaging with.

without you. Don’t ever be afraid to be yourself and stand up for or suggest something you strongly believe in; passion is what sets leaders apart from everybody else. Not only is it the biggest motivator, passion can also push you to go above and beyond your goals if you learn the ability to find passion in anything you do.

When you find a mentor, allow yourself to be coachable and don’t just listen to advice, implement it. A loss or mistake is never a failure, it’s an opportunity to learn and grow.

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25 Under 35 fake it ‘till you make it. Trust me, the confidence will come with time.

What is the best sales advice you’ve ever received?

I have two and they go hand in hand. If your clients aren’t saying no, you’re not trying hard enough.

In sales, it can be hard to “ask for the no” and we’re always fighting to stay out of the dreaded limbo of “will they, won’t they.” Just ask for the no. The worst thing a client can say back to you is quite literally “no.” A “no” is also an opportunity to discover what the client genuinely values and collaborate deeper on what they really want.

Secondly, by far the most valuable advice is to “leave the head-trash in the car.” We all have preconceived notions of what our clients are able to afford or what they value. Here’s the thing: you’re the expert when it comes to your own products and you know how your products align with your client’s needs. Provide the client with the opportunity to see what you believe to be the best solution for them and build up your own value.

If you’re passionate about whatever product you’re offering, your client will get excited and see just how great it is. You’ll be pleasantly surprised at the outcome.

Jennifer Hefty, 30 Content strategist, Fort Collins Coloradoan Fort Collins, Colo.

Education: University of Colorado, bachelor of science, journalism

Julia Hatmaker, 30 Emerging markets team lead Philadelphia, PennLive.com and the Patriot-News Philadelphia, Pa. Education: Richmond the American International University, bachelor of arts, communications, with minors in history and theatre and certificate in British studies

What advice do you have for other young professionals in the news industry?

What advice do you have for other young professionals in the news industry?

Journalism is a constantly changing field. You have two options for how you attack it: you can either mourn the old ways or be excited for the new. In the nearly 10 years I’ve been working, I’ve gone from a publication that was focused largely on print to one that’s digital-first. Video has gone from not being a focus at all to a huge priority to simply another part of the storytelling toolbox. The same is true for Snapchat, Instagram and Facebook Live. Don’t plan on doing the same thing year after year. This is the time to be innovative, to be creative and to experiment. Learn new skills, don’t get comfortable and you’ll go far.

How has being a multimedia journalist helped you cover some of the stories you’ve reported on?

It’s incredibly freeing to let a story dictate how it’s told, rather than trying to force a narrative into a certain format. Some tales are

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best told with photography, others with video and still others with text.

Sometimes it’s best to use a mix of them all.

That was the case with the tale of the SS United States, a cruise ship that was once the way to travel across the Atlantic. Now it sits decaying outside of an Ikea. Photographs of the ship today, when shown juxtaposed with old vintage photos, really conveyed how far this ship had fallen. Text was necessary to go deep into the history of the ship and its future. But what really helped the SS United States come to life were video interviews I shot of former passengers, several of whom had immigrated to the U.S. on the ship.

Words fall short when it comes to seeing the emotions they expressed concerning the ship, the tears that fell down their face or hearing their voice crack. Together, each element played a key part in telling this ship’s story.

Teach yourself and never stop learning. Journalism will always be an industry of change, and we are all in this grand experiment together. The tools and strategies we use today won’t be the same in three to five years, and there’s exciting opportunity in that.

Almost nothing I do on a day-to-day basis is something I learned in college. You learn as you go. But one of the most important skills I learned was how to be resourceful and experiment my way to the answer.

Knowing a little bit about a lot of things and how they work will take you a long way. Don’t be afraid to struggle through something new and innovative to teach yourself a new skill. Soon you’ll be the expert others are turning to for advice.

Think about what you want your job—and what you want this industry we all love—to look like in five years, in 10 years. Start innovating and laying the groundwork today for that future.

What is key to converting a first-time digital visitor to a paid subscriber?

Get them to come back. First-time visitors to our content don’t have brand affinity and they’re not yet familiar with what we do. It’s vital that we start building trust and take steps to form an authentic relationship with our audience right away—on the very first story, video or podcast they interact with.

That means we can’t be afraid to explain our “why.”

We need to let our audience in on our process. Write about how you cover crime, your policy on unnamed sources, all the work that went into reporting your story and why you think it’s an important story to tell. In addition, be bold and unapologetic about telling your audience why your work is valuable and what makes it worth paying for. We’re all passionate about journalism and our mission. Share that passion with your audience and they’ll want to support you. editorandpublisher.com

Cherisse Johnson, 35

the industry to find best practices that can be applied to our model.

Customer service and retention director, Las Vegas Review-Journal Las Vegas, Nev. Education: California State UniversitySacramento, bachelor of arts, psychology

What was the best customer experience you ever received?

What advice do you have for other young professionals in the news industry?

Stay focused, humble and a team player.

Ask a lot of questions. Many of us work with seasoned veterans who have a wealth of knowledge, learn from them but keep testing and exploring new ways to do business. We have all been given the opportunity to make the industry grow and thrive. Be innovative and creative about the ideas you bring to the table and confident in what you feel will work.

Never give up on your ideas. Look outside

Kaley Johnson, 24 Breaking news and crime reporter, Fort Worth Star-Telegram Fort Worth, Texas Education: University of Missouri-Columbia, bachelor of journalism with an emphasis in investigative reporting and a minor in history What advice do you have for other young professionals in the news industry?

First, wake up every morning and tell yourself that you earned where you are. Imposter syndrome and selfdoubt are monstrous in this industry, especially for young women, and some days you might find yourself questioning whether you’re good enough. You are good enough, and you’ve got to remind yourself of that every single day.

Second, you’re going to get hate mail and called names on Twitter and questioned on Facebook. editorandpublisher.com

} Cherisse Johnson (right) with her late mother, Thelma Johnson

Remember that most of those people are hiding behind a phone or keyboard; you’re the one actually doing the work. People generally like being mad, and it’s not worth your energy to try and change that.

Third, if a story seems too simple, you’re probably not getting the whole story. The world is filled with nuanced, and it’s our job to capture that nuance. When you think you have all the information, dig deeper, and you might find there’s a whole perspective you haven’t considered yet. Journalism that embraces the reality that the world isn’t black and white is always superior journalism.

What does a typical workday look like for you?

In breaking news, there is no typical workday, which is what makes it so appealing to me. Some days I’ll get into the office and write a few news briefs, other days I’ll work 12 hours from a crime scene. Maybe I’ll talk to grieving families or political candidates or murder suspects or business owners. I might stomp through flood waters or post up at a school board meeting. I could go into the office with a plan to write a feature, and wind up outside a church all day because there was a shooting. A typical day in breaking news is one that is unexpected, difficult and unpredictable—which is for the best, because if I had to do a 9 to 5 at a desk every day, I would probably go crazy.

When I first moved to Las Vegas, I did not know my way around the area and needed car insurance. I signed up online and then discovered the agent was really far across town. When the agent learned where I lived, she offered to come to me to make the process easier and handle my paperwork. The fact that she was willing to drive an hour to help me get car insurance really proved to me that she cared about me and my business.

To this day, I have not had to drive to my insurance agent. If there are policy changes or additions, she travels to provide service to me in person. It truly makes me feel good as a customer.

Matt Johnson, 31 Assistant editor, Mariposa Gazette Mariposa, Calif.

Education: Brigham Young UniversityIdaho, bachelor of science, communications with a minor in sports management

What advice do you have for other young professionals in the news industry?

Be creative. If you have a good idea, suggest it. If you want to try something that has never been done at your organization, try it. Think big, think outside the box. That’s how awesome things happen. Also, write every story as if it’s the most important thing out there; write with passion.

You can’t go wrong with that mindset. Ask questions and learn from experienced industry veterans. My other advice is to keep your head up. Times might be tough in the industry, but if you work hard, I believe things will work in your favor.

What have you learned from covering high school sports that you can also apply in the newsroom?

Covering high school sports is a grind, but it teaches so many things. It has taught me how to organize my time, how to make sure to pay attention to detail and “the little things.” With covering high school sports, you have to really focus and pay attention: what grade is the player in, how do you properly spell their name, how should you be sensitive in reporting about youth? Honestly, covering high school sports is a great way to get started in the news industry. It is a valuable learning tool.

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25 Under 35 Candace Mitchell, 27 Director of digital and breaking news, The Record and NorthJersey.com Woodland Park, N.J. Education: Ramapo College of New Jersey, bachelor of arts, communication and literature

What advice do you have for other young professionals in the news industry?

Always be listening. So much of what I learned my first year in the newsroom was from listening to veteran reporters do phone interviews or to editors giving their reporters advice. Frankly, being nosy allowed me to get an idea of how nearly every job in the newsroom worked and having the full picture really helped me understand how the entire operation worked.

In your experience, what topics have driven the most digital subscriptions?

And be there as much as you can. If a big story breaks, don’t wait for somebody to ask you to get involved. Look at what’s getting done, see what’s needed and offer to jump in. The big stories are the ones that nobody forgets—make sure you have a role in it.

It usually comes down to the question: How does this story affect the reader? If our story makes clear to the reader that what we’re writing about makes a difference in their everyday lives—they’re willing to pay for it.

For NorthJersey.com, it has been the topics that have always been the most important to our newsroom that drive subscriptions. Stories about how our local communities are changing, including topics like redevelopment, overcrowded schools, mom-and-pop shops closing and new stores opening.

People are also willing to pay for stories that hold people accountable, including corruption in municipal governments, workplace lawsuits within police departments and schools, and questionable hires at our state agencies.

Keila Torres Ocasio, 34 Managing editor, Connecticut Post Bridgeport, Conn.

Education: University of Bridgeport, master of arts, global media and communications; University of Connecticut, bachelor of arts, journalism with a minor in women’s studies What advice do you have for other young professionals in the news industry?

Lloyd Mullen, 31 Owner/publisher, Port Townsend Leader Port Townsend, Wash.

Education: University of Wyoming, bachelor of arts, international studies What advice do you have for other young professionals in the news industry?

Don’t be afraid to get out of your lane. If you’re a writer, learn about photography and design. If you’re in marketing, learn about editorial. The more you know about all parts of our industry, the better you’ll be at your job, whatever it is. We’re a symbiotic business. There is no “dark-side” to our industry.

Take a day and shadow someone in each department.

What is the most important advice you would give to other sales trainers?

Shut up and listen. As a trainer, it can be easy to get caught up in your own spiel. We get it, you’re the boss. The best thing you can do is be an active participant. Go on calls with your team. Watch them fail. When it’s over, use that failure as a teaching opportunity. If we don’t fail, we don’t get better.

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Never stop learning. In any position you take on, try to learn everything you can about that role and every position that connects to it in some way. The better you understand all aspects of this evolving business, the better I think you can adapt to the changes. It also helps you do your own job better when you understand how what you do affects others and their jobs. As an editor, if I do my job well it helps everyone else do their jobs well too.

I’ve found the best way to do this is to ask lots of questions. I always say people become journalists not only because they are curious, but because they are nosy.

We not only wonder what the answers to questions are, we feel compelled to seek out those answers. We should use that nosiness to our advantage in our careers.

In what ways can newsroom diversity improve?

In all ways. Unfortunately, the conversation about diversity is often superficial, with the focus usually on

how to increase the number of (insert your diverse group name here). But I don’t want to simply fill a quota. I’m not looking for a handout. I’m looking for an opportunity, and if I have the skills for a job, I don’t want to be passed up for it or overlooked because I don’t look like anyone in that position before me.

Two things are missed when we treat diversity as if it were a numbers game: we forget people are not just one “thing” at a time and we forget that roles within a newsroom also matter. Hire a “minority” but stick her in the sleepiest beat in the newsroom and give her no opportunities to grow or have voice, and you’ve failed at diversity. Also, people forget being white or black or Hispanic is not all a person is. Yes, I am Puerto Rican. But I am also a woman, a mother, a city girl, a public school graduate and so on. All of these things make me who I am and inform how I see the world. editorandpublisher.com

B. Rae Perryman, 35

Katie O’Connell, 32 Podcast editor, Arizona Republic and azcentral.com Phoenix, Ariz.

Education: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, bachelor of science and master of science, journalism What advice do you have for other young professionals in the news industry?

Podcasts weren’t a part of the cultural lexicon when I graduated from college. Yet here I am, creating them daily and loving it. Our industry is changing so quickly. The best thing you can do is cultivate a broad set of skills. That way you’re prepared to lead when the next storytelling platform emerges.

What are the top three podcasts that you listen to (besides your own)?

Bear Brook from New Hampshire Public Radio is an exemplary example of an investigative, cold case podcast. It’s captivating without being exploitative, making it the model for telling such stories a way that respects the victims involved.

Dolly Parton’s America from WNYC will turn you into a Dolly Parton fan (if you’re not one already).

I wasn’t expecting a podcast about the legendary singer to make me cry, but the depth of the storytelling goes well beyond your typical Hollywood biopic.

Don’t miss episode four in particular.

Getting Curious with Jonathan Van Ness is a must and not just for “Queer Eye” fans. Van Ness covers everything from geoengineering to “The Great British Bake Off ” with his trademark blend of humor and optimism. editorandpublisher.com

Chief content officer/editor, APG Media of Chesapeake, Cecil Whig Maryland and Delaware Education: Baylor University, bachelor of arts, philosophy

What advice do you have for other young professionals in the news industry?

My guiding principles are education, excellence and empathy: Learn as much as you can, work as hard as you can and be an advocate for yourself and your team.

I also continually remind myself and others to stay elastic. Don’t be afraid to move jobs if you’re not being paid a living wage.

Journalists especially are grossly underpaid.

Women, people of color, and traditionally marginalized groups are so often left out of important conversations, and it’s important to acknowledge that these barriers are real. Find (or create) a place where your excellence is seen and valued.

For young people specifically, I would say— kill your darlings. This is a grueling industry, and there’s little room to be precious. Listen to your mentors and learn from veterans in the field. Go to the mat for what matters, but always be open to growing your abilities and perspective. Also, read about 10 times as much as you think you should.

Without a background in journalism, what made you choose this field?

It’s simple: I am a writer, and writers write.

I am motivated by an urgent work ethic and a compulsive need to do what I can to uphold the civil liberties so swiftly being degraded in our world. I have worked in policy and advocacy on a national level and have significant business and management experience—all of these experiences make me a better journalist, editor and content director.

As a writer, I am eternally grateful for the opportunity to contribute to the world in an intelligent and meaningful way. Independently, I’ve been able to dabble in multimedia—I made an award-winning short documentary and have been recognized for my photography, too. I actively work to continue learning, growing, and expanding my skills in and out of the field in any way I can. The field sort of chose me, I just stay hungry and busy.

Rachael Pracht, 32 Digital subscriptions project manager, Lee Enterprises Davenport, Iowa Education: Scott Community College, associate’s degree, marketing What advice do you have for other young professionals in the news industry?

If you have an idea, speak up. It’s incredibly intimidating working with a large group of people well-seasoned in a long-established industry, and sometimes it’s scary to bring up new ideas to those who trust deeply in what has always worked.

That being said, it’s important to learn everything you can about your industry. If you can understand why processes and products have been so especially trusted for the last decade, you can start to see where new procedures could be profitable, and what processes can help make workflows more productive.

Also, don’t be afraid to take on new projects, even if you’re not completely knowledgeable on the topic. The more you learn, the further you expand your professional universe, the more fulfilled you will feel not only as an asset to the team you’re on but to yourself as an expert in the industry.

} Photo by Scott Laudick Endurance Photography

Is there a future for print in the news industry?

Absolutely. There is something so formal and trustworthy about the printed product. Every day we are bombarded with articles and stories from all across the internet that we’re not sure if we can trust. So much so, the term “fake news” became a household expression.

Being a trusted local news organization means that we are committed to bringing the facts that characters desire, and that people can deem dependable. Anyone can start a blog and write a post and pretend to be a news source, but a local newspaper is hands down the most authentic place to stay informed.

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25 Under 35 Alex Ptachick, 27

If I could offer a second piece of advice, it would be to think big. I’ve learned over the years that there is no bad idea in a brainstorm, and the ideas that might seem too big often end up being the starting point for nailing down the best idea.

Will TikTok still be a thing in five years?

I wish I knew. If I had to guess, I would say yes, but it certainly will not look the same as it does right now. TikTok is the first social media platform I’ve worked on that I believe is “with the times.” The platform includes vertical video filling the entire screen on a mobile device, the importance of having sound on, a way for creators to make money, an endless feed of content that’s “For You” and meant purely to entertain and a vertical scroll instead of a tap to the right or swipe from right to left.

By incorporating viral trends, TikTok makes people want to join in and be part of the fun.

Audience editor of emerging platforms, USA TODAY McLean, Va. Education: Syracuse University, bachelor of science, newspaper and online journalism What advice do you have for other young professionals in the news industry?

Be curious. I was taught the power of curiosity when I was studying journalism in college. The best stories I’ve ever reported and written were products of my curiosity. If it’s interesting to you, it’s probably going to be interesting to your audience. In my current job, I read a lot about the social media app industry and I carry that “be curious” advice with me when I’m looking into which platform to launch next.

Take risks. Be willing to ask questions: What do our readers want? How do our writers and artists want their stories told?

How can expand our reach? Soak up the institutional knowledge from the news veterans around you, get to know others in the industry and be coachable. Dive into projects with passion, and be okay with failure. It’s in failing that the best ideas are discovered.

What is your favorite comic strip and/ or syndicated column?

Simone Slykhous, 29 Managing editor, Creators Syndicate Hermosa Beach, Calif.

Education: Northwestern University, bachelor of science, journalism with a minor in political science What advice do you have for other young professionals in the news industry?

Learn from and relish the past while always looking forward. The newspaper industry is an ancient field with a storied past—pun intended. News matters, and how we spread that information matters.

We have a responsibility to our consumers to share ideas, enlighten people with facts and spur interest in this big, beautiful world. How people are consuming news is continually changing. It’s up to us to change along with it.

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I work with an extraordinary roster of talented people, so this question is almost like asking which child is my favorite.

Though because that is a cop-out, I would say that reading the comic strip “Scary Gary”

by Mark Buford always makes me laugh.

His twisted sense of humor, hilarious cast of undead characters and intricate drawing offers a great respite from the stress of keeping up with the 24-hour news cycle.

In terms of syndicated columns, reading Marc Dion’s words each week is a joy.

He expresses the opinion of middle-class America through the lens of an old-school newspaperman. With his relatable, nuanced and beautiful way with words, reading a column from Marc Dion is like walking into a bar and hearing your favorite world-weary bartender tell you about the way things were, the way things are and the way things could be—if that bartender also moonlighted as a graduate professor. In today’s whocan-scream-loudest, three-ring circus of a political arena, it’s the quiet brilliance of Marc’s commentary that leaves space for contemplation, connection and calm.

} Tyler Thomas, with his wife, Madison, and their

daughters, Chandler and Evan, in front of the printing press used by the Cherokee Advocate (the last edition was printed on the press in 1906). The press is on loan from the Gilcrease Museum to the Cherokee National Supreme Court Museum.

Tyler Thomas, 31 Executive editor, Cherokee Phoenix Tahlequah, Okla.

Education: University of Oklahoma, bachelor of arts, journalism What advice do you have for other young professionals in the news industry?

Pursue your passion. Before starting college, I never imagined I would be in journalism, let alone leading the first Native American newspaper in history. But, as I grew and matured, my passion for my heritage and people did as well and now I am able to use that passion to continue a tradition at the editorandpublisher.com

Congratulations Kaley Johnson Editor & Publisher 25 under 35 As an award-wining member of the McClatchy team, Kaley exemplifies everything we stand for — a dedication to producing local journalism that is essential to the communities we serve. We’re

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KALEY JOHNSON

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25 Under 35 Cherokee Phoenix that empowers and improves the lives of Cherokee people.

Through our storytelling, reporting, photography, videography and more, we, at the Phoenix, not only have the opportunity to inform and educate, but also hold our government and other governments accountable, just as our founder, Elias Boudinot, did when he began publishing the paper in 1828. That is a responsibility and legacy that I do not take lightly and am dedicated to upholding. So, my advice to young professionals is to find your passion and then work tirelessly to fulfill that passion.

In what ways are you moving your newspaper into the future?

In 2020, the Phoenix is focused on developing and diversifying its digital products and distribution methods. We are currently creating the newspaper’s first podcast that will focus on the latest issues facing the Cherokee Nation and Indian Country as well as highlight the tribe’s vibrant culture, rich history and beautiful people. With the rising popularity of podcasts, particularly with younger demographics, our podcast will provide an opportunity to engage that audience and enhance and expand on our traditional print outreach. The redesign of our website and development of a mobile app is also a priority this year. We want to make our content and information the most accessible it possibly can be so that all Cherokees have needed information at their fingertips.

Elizabeth Walters, 34 Executive editor, Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal Tupelo, Miss.

Education: University of Mississippi, bachelor of arts, journalism

What advice do you have for other young professionals in the news industry?

Be willing to learn anything and everything.

When I was in college, my emphasis was in broadcast. I already had a solid foundation in writing, so I chose to learn more about video production, and that proved valuable later as I helped implement online video at my first publication. Reporters have to be versatile, now more than ever. You have to be willing to go out of your comfort zone. You’ll be better for this in the long run.

Also, go wherever your career takes you.

Seems pretty simple to say, and I’ve had a lot of moves and difficult choices to make in my career. Each stop in my journey provided experiences that helped me get to where I am today. And if your career takes you to a small publication, embrace it. So many areas across the country are in desperate need for strong journalists, so while your sights may be set on a major publication, think of the impact you can make in a smaller newsroom and community.

What are some lessons you learned from turning your publication into a digital-first newsroom?

Joey Young, 35 Majority owner, Kansas Publishing Ventures Newton, Kan. Education: Hutchinson Community College, associate of arts What advice do you have for other young professionals in the news industry?

Not every job in this industry is in a city of 100,000 or more. In fact, more jobs are in small towns and communities throughout the country than you know. Grab your bags, be willing to move from a metro, and get some experience in a small town and learn to do a little of everything. When you run a small daily or weekly, have reported on city government, written great features, shot some photos, and even put some pages to bed, you will either forget about doing listicles in New York and Washington, D.C., or you will have enough experience and clips to know what you can specialize in and start moving up.

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As a former sports reporter, what team would you model your newsrooms after, and why?

The 2013 Wichita State Men’s Basketball team. I thought about the Kansas City

Patience is key. It’s not easy to enter a new newsroom that is set with a certain workflow and start changing everything. There were a lot of conversations about why things were done a certain way and a lot of suggestions on different approaches. There are some previous practices we kept, and it was a lot of give and take.

The biggest hurdle for the newsroom was understanding that we serve different audiences in print and online and moving away from the thought that a story couldn’t go online before running in print. Once we crossed that hurdle, it became easier to discuss digital planning for stories and not minimizing the discussion on print but thinking of how we can use online to enhance the content our newsroom generates.

Chiefs, but in fairness, newsrooms can’t afford to brutally torture its audience for decades. WSU’s Fred VanVleet was a leader with talent to go pro and win a championship. There was a scrappy kid from Western Kansas named Ron Baker, who worked his tail off and showed a good example always, and then there were the likes of Cleanthony Early, Malcolm Armstead, and Tekele Cotton, who all knew what their roles were on the team and perfected them.

Most importantly, they believed in each other and enjoyed the ride. WSU wasn’t supposed to go to the Final Four (no midmajor college is). A newsroom who likes each other, works together, and has talent and leadership can do great things. That team didn’t win the championship, but they are important to the city they represent, are remembered fondly and planted their flag as something to be proud of in Wichita. Through our reporting, that is what we all should be striving for.  editorandpublisher.com

By Evelyn Mateos evelyn@editorandpublisher.com

Ben Kenfield has been named publisher of the Pilot in Brookings, Ore. and the Triplicate in Crescent City, Calif., both owned

by Country Media Inc. Most recently, he served as general manager of the Herald Journal in Logan, Utah. While at the Journal, Kenfield also oversaw the non-daily newspapers in Tremonton, Utah and Preston and Montpelier, Idaho. In addition, Brian Williams has been named editor of the Pilot and the Triplicate. For the past 20 years, he served in a variety of writing, editing and management roles at daily and non-daily newspapers primarily in California. He had been editor and general manager of weekly newspapers in Paso Robles and Atascadero since June 2018.

Greg Miller has been named the Washington Post’s Europe-based investigative correspondent, a new role created as part of the Post’s investigative expansion. Beginning this summer, he will work closely with correspondents from across Europe, the Middle East and beyond, as well as colleagues in Washington. Miller has reported from more than a dozen countries since he joined the Post in 2010 as a national security reporter. He has twice won the Pulitzer Prize as part of teams, in 2014 and 2018. Previously, Miller spent 16 years as a reporter for the Los Angeles Times, where he covered business and technology in Los Angeles, Orange County and Silicon Valley before moving to Washington to cover national security.

Eliza Hussman Gaines has been named managing editor of the Arkansas DemocratGazette. Most recently, Gaines served as vice president of audience development at the Democrat-Gazette and other newspapers operated by parent company WEHCO Media, Inc. She is a former editor of the SentinelRecord in Hot Springs, Ark. and worked as a travel reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle. Gaines is the fourth generation of the Hussman family to work in newspapers, and she is the newspaper’s first top female editor since its founding in 1878. Gaines succeeds David Bailey, who has retired.

Bailey came to the newspaper in 1993 as assistant city editor. He was named city editor in 1994 and placed in charge of day-to-day local news coverage. In 1999, Bailey became managing editor of the Democrat-Gazette.

His retirement ends a 27-year career at the newspaper.

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NewsPeople Dan Sprung has been promoted to general manager for the Daily Sun in The Villages, Fla. Over the past 19 years, he served as the paper’s director of marketing and publishing. He also managed advertising sales and marketing for the Daily Sun, Villages Magazine, WVLG 102.7 FM and 640 AM, The Villages phone book and other publications. In the past, Sprung has worked for Knight Ridder in Missouri, Hollinger Media in Indiana, and the Oshkosh Northwestern newspaper in Wisconsin.

David Adams has been named general manager and vice president of sales of Courier Communications.

He succeeds Roy Biondi, who has left the company. Prior to joining the Courier in Waterloo, Iowa, Adams was a regional president and vice president of sales for GateHouse Media’s Illinois Communities, overseeing sales for 40 print publications, 27 websites and a number of digital advertising solutions platforms.

Chris Stone has been named executive sports editor for the Los Angeles Times. He joins the Times from Sports Illustrated where he worked for 27 years, including four as editorin-chief. In addition, Mike Hiserman has been named sports editor. He had been serving as deputy sports editor. Hiserman joined the Times in 1981.

Yesica Fisch has been appointed West Africa senior producer for the Associated Press. In this new role, she will drive the AP’s video report in West Africa working with staff and a network of freelancers across 27 countries.

Most recently, Fisch was the senior producer and video journalist in Brazil where she covered scores of major global stories. In addition, Cara Anna has been appointed the new East Africa correspondent. She will help lead the text report from 13 countries across East Africa. Previously, Anna worked as an editor and reporter based in the AP’s Johannesburg bureau since 2016.

Kelley Root has been named the executive editor for Crain’s Detroit Business. She joins the publication from the Detroit News, where she held a series of senior editor roles

since she joined the newsroom in 2004. Root was named managing editor in 2019. In that role, she supervised local and business news coverage as well as investigative projects and features. Before that, Root had been metro editor, a stint that included supervising the reporting team covering Detroit’s bankruptcy, which won multiple national and local journalism awards.

Tim Knight, a longtime Tribune Publishing company executive who became CEO in January 2019, has been replaced by Terry Jimenez, Tribune Publishing’s chief financial officer. In addition, board member Philip Franklin has replaced David Dreier as nonexecutive chairman. Dreier will remain on the board.

Jana Collier has been named publisher of Cox Enterprises’ three Ohio newspapers: the Dayton Daily News, the Springfield News-Sub and the Journal-News. Collier most recently served as interim executive editor and operations leader for the newspapers, at which time they were in the process of being sold from Cox Media Group back to Cox Enterprises.

In the past, Collier served as vice president of content for Cox Media Group Ohio. She began her career with Cox Enterprises in 1988 as a reporter at the Waco (Texas) Tribune-Herald and came to Dayton in 2001 as features editor of the Dayton Daily News.

Chris McIntosh has joined RMS Media Group as publisher. He will be responsible for managing, cultivating, and developing the illustrious publications’ print and digital portfolios and branded events. Most recently, he was the chief marketing officer of Baystate Financial and the executive director of the Baystate Charitable Foundation. In the past, he has served as the president and publisher of the Boston Business Journal.

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NewsPeople Jack Newcombe has been promoted from president to co-CEO at Creators Syndicate. He shares the partnership with Rick Newcombe, the company’s founder and chairman. Jack started full time at Creators in 2009 and was promoted to president and chief operating officer after two years. As COO, he helped found Creators Publishing, a consumer-facing digital publishing platform that enabled the company to sell directly to consumers. In 2013, Jack cofounded the software company New & Co. Edward Graves has been named CEO and publisher for New Mexico Magazine. He brings 25 years of publishing experience to the role. Most recently, Graves served as publisher for Lifestyles After 50, the largest senior publication in Florida. Prior to his role, Graves co-owned the publication while serving as CEO and president of the magazine’s parent company, News Connection USA, LLC. In the past, he has held several seniorlevel publishing roles at GateHouse Media and Gannett including the role of senior vice president for Gannett’s USA WEEKEND magazine.

Bill Poindexter has been named managing editor of the Auburn (Calif.) Journal, owned by Gold Country Media. He succeeds Julie Miller, who left to pursue other opportunities.

Poindexter previously worked for the company from 2010 to 2013 when he was the sports editor of the Roseville (Calif.) Press Tribune.

Prior to his first stint at Gold Country Media, Poindexter was a sports editor the Modesto Bee and was an assistant city editor at the Stockton Record, both in California. He most recently worked for the Sacramento Bee as an editor.

Ian Caso has been named president and publisher of the St. Louis (Mo.) Post-Dispatch.

He succeeds Ray Farris, who has been promoted to operating vice president and vice president of advertising at Lee Enterprises

ACQUISITIONS Lee Enterprises, Inc. has acquired BH Media Group’s publications and the Buffalo (N.Y.) News from Berkshire Hathaway for $140 million in cash. Berkshire Hathaway is providing approximately $576 million in long-term financing to Lee at a 9 percent annual rate. The proceeds from the Berkshire financing will be used to pay for the acquisition, refinance Lee’s approximately $400 million of existing debt, and provide enough cash on Lee’s balance sheet to allow for the termination of Lee’s revolving credit facility. Subsequent to the deal closing, Berkshire Hathaway will be Lee’s sole lender. BH Media owns the print and digital operations of 30 daily newspapers, as well as more than 49 paid weekly publications with digital sites and 32 other print products. The acquisition brings Lee’s portfolio of daily newspapers up to 81.

Coastal Bend Publishing, an affiliate of McElvy Media Group, has purchased the Beeville (Texas) Bee-Picayune from brothers Jeff and Chip Latcham. In addition, Costal Bend Publishing purchased the other four Texas-based newspapers owned by Beeville Publishing Company: the News of San Patricio, Progress, Advance-Guard Press and Karnes Countywide.

The Savannah (Mo.) Reporter has been sold by Guy and Leslie Speckman to Ken Rosenauer and his son, Brent. The Speckmans purchased the newspaper in 2001. The Rosenauers become only the seventh owners in the paper’s 143-year history; it is the oldest continuously operating business in Andrew County, Mo. George Economides, who founded the Long Beach Business Journal three decades ago, has sold the business to John Molina of Pacific Community Media. No terms of the transaction were announced. The Journal has served as the voice of business in Long Beach since 1987.

It is published bi-weekly with distribution of 15,000. In addition, the company operates lbbusinessjournal.com and CAL DVMA, a California subsidiary of media merger and acquisition firm. Dirks, Van Essen, Murray & April represented Economides in the transaction.

MediaNews Group has acquired the assets of Minnesota-based Red Wing Publishing Co., including its print publications, websites and commercial printing operations.

Red Wing Publishing Co., a family-owned company that has been in operation for more than 50 years, is the parent of Big Fish Works, which operates three clusters across Minnesota. Big Fish operates 11 community newspapers, an innovative digital marketing agency and two commercial printing facilities. Dirks, Van Essen, Murray & April represented Red Wing Publishing Co. in the transaction. Terms of the sale were not disclosed.

Cox Media Group has sold its Ohio newspapers, the Dayton Daily News, the Springfield News-Sun and the JournalNews to Cox Enterprises Inc. The sale follows a recent federal court decision reinstating an old FCC rule that prohibits a single owner from operating both a daily newspaper and a broadcast station in the same market.

Inc., parent company of the newspaper.

Caso joined the Post-Dispatch in 2001 as a retail sales manager after four years with the Tribune Co. in Chicago. He was named general manager of the newspaper in 2018.

Eva Dou has joined the Washington Post as a China correspondent, with a focus on business and technology. This is a new position created as a part of the Post’s international expansion. She is based in Beijing, where she joined a team of researchers to add to the paper’s coverage of China. Dou joined the Post from the Wall Street Journal, where she has spent the last seven years reporting business and political news from Beijing and Taipei.

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Alec Etheredge has been named managing editor at Shelby County Newspapers, Inc. He joined the Shelby County Reporter in Columbia, Ala. as a staff writer in 2016 and was promoted to a sports reporter role later that year. In November 2017, he was promoted to sports editor. In this role, Etheredge was in charge of covering high school sports for 16 different schools.

While he will continue to cover local sports throughout the county, he will also guide coverage of all other facets of Shelby County news. editorandpublisher.com

Site Impact has appointed Jennifer Gressman as president, marking the first female president in the company’s 10-year history. She brings 15 years of experience in the digital marketing industry to the role. In this position, Gressman will oversee day-to-day operations, sales and revenue growth, business development and product rollouts.

Bruce Dold, who has served as publisher and editor-in-chief of the Chicago Tribune since 2016, will leave the newspaper April 30, capping a 42-year career at the Tribune. Dold joined the Tribune’s suburban operation in 1978, moved to the Tribune staff in 1983 and joined the editorial board in 1990. He was named editorial page editor in 2000. Colin McMahon, Tribune Publishing’s chief content officer, will succeed Dold. McMahon has served as senior vice president/chief content officer

AP Photo

NewsPeople Amanda Barrett, Nerve Center director for the Associated Press, has been named deputy managing editor in news. In her expanded role, Barrett will take on overseeing newsroom talent development, meaning she will help lead the AP’s efforts across both international and U.S. to create career paths to help retain talented staff and to create a more diverse team. In addition, she will continue to lead the Nerve Center, AP’s hub for global news coordination, research, customer communications and audience engagement.

Barett joined AP in 2007 from Newsday, where she led a team of interactive journalists and managed websites. Since then, she has served in various roles including deputy editor for the East region in the U.S. and New York City news editor.

for Tribune Publishing since February 2019 and oversees Tribune Content Agency. He joined the Tribune in 1987 as a copy editor and has served in multiple roles since then.

In addition, Peter Kendall, one of two managing editors at the Tribune, also left the newspaper. He joined the Tribune 32 years ago. Before he was named managing editor in 2015, he led the newspaper’s metropolitan news coverage.

Mark Medici has been named interim publisher of the San Antonio Express-News.

He replaces Michael Sacks, who had served as publisher since July. Medici joined Hearst, the paper’s parent company, in 2018 and has served as president of the Houston Chronicle and as chief marketing officer for Hearst Newspapers. Medici previously worked at the Dallas Morning News and the Oregonian, among other news organizations. 

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ELITE BUSINESS GUIDE We are grateful to these industry leaders for supporting E&P and urge you to learn more about them

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CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING Phone: 800-887-1615

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ADVERTISING SALES REPRESENTATIVE: Advantage Newspaper Consultants, an industry leader selling millions of dollars in customized print and digital advertising packages for newspapers across the US and Canada each year, seeks an experienced Media Analyst (Advertising Sales Representative).

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THE CALIFORNIA NEWS PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION (CNPA), a 132-year-old, 500-member trade organization, is seeking its next Executive Director.

The ideal candidate must be an excellent communicator and also have a strong financial acumen. Expertise in leading the association’s legislative efforts is also a key component of this job.

The ideal candidate will have a proven record of success as well as at least five years of senior management experience in a media environment or trade association.

The compensation package for this position includes a competitive base pay, a performance-based bonus plan and attractive benefits package. (See E&P website for detailed job posting.)

Qualified candidates should forward a cover letter along with their resume to: cnpajobs@gmail.com

“I’m extremely pleased with the fantastic results we receive from advertising in E&P.” - Kevin B. Kamen, Kamen & Co. Group Services.

PUBLISHER: We’re looking for a successful, innovative publisher to lead the Journal Record Publishing Company, a subsidiary of BridgeTower Media, located in Oklahoma City, OK. You will be responsible for guiding a group of talented individuals responsible for Oklahoma’s leading source of news, energy information and events for the business community. We’re a digital-first organization that prides itself on providing our audience with information that they can’t get anywhere else.

In this role, you will be expected to represent our brands in the business community, but your primary responsibility will be to work with the sales team to achieve and exceed goal, grow new sources of revenue, find sales leads and close business. You will be responsible for driving digital and print advertising sales, presenting high-visibility events, developing ancillary revenue streams, helping with marketing collateral, and creating a culture where everyone feels motivated and can shine.

You will receive executive and administrative support from BridgeTower Media, which allows you to focus on the operational areas that drive revenue. We are seeking a proven leader with excellent management skills, experience with a P&L and budgets, as well as experience leading a solutionsbased sales team.

We are searching for a strategic thinker who can work with your managers to develop and execute plans. You will need to be hands-on, self-motivated, proactive and digitally savvy. No task is too great or too small. Your drive and willingness to do the work necessary to grow new business, while growing community relationships, will be vital to your success.

BridgeTower Media is a leading provider of information to the business and legal communities through our collection of niche newspapers and websites in cities across the country. We offer a competitive salary package commensurate with experience along with a comprehensive benefits program.

To apply, contact Mindy Caroll at mcarroll@bridgetowermedia.com, 612-215-6484 BridgeTower Media and all subsidiaries are Equal Opportunity Employers and value diversity in our workplace.

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shoptalk /commentary

The False Promise of Paywalls for Local News

By Michael Shapiro

I

believe that paywalls and most subscription models do not work for local news.

As local news outlets traverse the desert of reality, paywalls and subscription models are a cruel mirage promising to quench a thirst for revenue. These business models are really just repackaged digital versions of what print papers have been doing for a century. Many of the reasons legacy print outlets have struggled are the same reasons subscription models and paywalls won’t work long term—it costs too much for the reader.

Let’s say a local news subscription costs $5 a month. In isolation, it doesn’t seem like much.

But then you add in Netflix and Hulu. Don’t forget Disney Plus. Throw in a subscription to the New York Times or Washington Post. It starts to add up.

But wait, we’re not competing against streaming services like Netflix, Hulu and Disney Plus...are we? We sure are. Local news outlets are competing for attention and dollars. There are a finite number of hours in a day in which we can give our attention to our screens, jobs, and family responsibilities.

Financial resources are likewise limited.

The competition is fierce and for local and hyperlocal news, putting another barrier in front of readers, like a paywall, can have a dampening effect. It’s not that people don’t value hyperlocal news—in fact they do. It’s that on a list of household budget priorities for many people, it may not be at the top of the list. As our options proliferate, consumers will have to face more and more tradeoffs in good economic times. In a bad economy, consumer choices about what to cut become even easier. Local news is the first to go. Again, it’s not because people don’t like and value local news—it’s that we exist in a world where limited resources force us to triage what to pay for.

I would go further to assert that even hybrid models—leaky paywalls, partial paywalls and the like—don’t work either. They can have the effect of degrading user experience and increasing frustration. When you’re working in what is sometimes a very defined geographic area, you can’t afford to prioritize a shortterm cash infusion over building a loyal and enduring audience.

Ultimately, audience is the key. Without an audience, local news is a tree falling in the forest with no one around to see it. By limiting audience, paywalls reduce the attractiveness of advertising on local news sites, creating something of a revenue death spiral. To make local news work, outlets need to focus on user experience and creating great content in order to build a sustainable advertising business.

Let’s take the financial and business model implications out of the equation for the moment and zero in on why we seek to create sustainable models for local journalism in the first place. Our collective mission is to strengthen our democracy and improve our civic lives by providing objective reporting of information. There is no shortage of research that shows when local news coverage disappears from communities civic engagement and accountability decline. Paywalls and subscriptions necessarily preclude some citizens from getting important information simply because they have prioritized other expenses overpaying for a local news subscription. This does not make them bad citizens and it does not mean that they do not support local news reporting. It simply means that they are human

beings who exist in a world where we have an increasing number of choices about how to allocate our resources.

As I’ve written before, advertising supported journalism can work as a business model, but it has to be done right by building trust in the communities covered, providing high quality advertising products, and continuous innovation.

We have to compete in the reality we have, not make decisions based on the reality we desire. Paywalls and subscription models for local news operate on the premise that if it’s worth paying for, people will open their wallets. Unfortunately, that is not reality for local news. There is a limit to how many subscriptions—news or not—people will pay for regardless of the quality of the content. 

Michael Shapiro is the CEO and publisher of TAPinto.net, a network of more than 80 franchised online local news sites in New Jersey, New York, and Florida with more than 10,000,000 readers. He can be contacted at mshapiro@tapinto.net.

Printed in the USA. Vol. 153, No. 4, EDITOR & PUBLISHER (ISSN: 0013-094X, USPS: 168-120) is published 12 times a year. Regular issues are published monthly by Editor and Publisher Magazine.,19606 Eagle Crest Drive, Lutz FL 33549; Editorial and Advertising (406) 445-0000. Periodicals postage paid at Lutz FL, 33549, and additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Please send address changes to: Editor and Publisher, 19606 Eagle Crest Drive, Lutz, FL 33549. Copyright 2020, Editor and Publisher Magazine. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

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50 | E & P |

APRIL 2020

editorandpublisher.com

OBITUARY

BOB ANDELMAN October 9, 1960 – February 24, 2020

When everyone else is afraid...

...Leaders find a new direction

I

} Bob Andelman hosting E&P’s debut podcast on Sep. 25, 2019

never knew Bob before he was in his year-long battle with adenoid cystic carcinoma. I met Bob in June 2019 when I was doing due diligence for the potential acquisition of E&P. Bob was one of the initial advisors sought to help me evaluate and decide on this magazine’s future. The truth is one of my biggest concerns prior to acquisition was my } By Mike Blinder lack of editorial experience, which was why Bob E&P Publisher was a huge part of helping me through the sale.

After the purchase, he decided to stay on, even during his energy draining treatments, working hard to steer us into our new direction, and as a senior advisor, pushing the team and myself to excellence. He even volunteered to design and host E&P’s first podcast/video, where he was integral in breaking a major news story. Today, E&P receives more than 4,000 views and downloads each month from a platform that Bob helped pioneer.

Each printed and digital page of E&P is a tribute to a Bob, a man I only knew for a few fleeting months, but I wish I could still gain more wisdom from today. My brief time with Bob reminds me of James W. Foley’s poem: “Drop a pebble in the water: just a splash, and it is gone; But there’s half-a-hundred ripples circling on and on and on, Spreading, spreading from the center, flowing on out to the sea. And there is no way of telling where the end is going to be.”

“Drop a pebble in the water: just a splash, and it is gone; But there’s half-a-hundred ripples circling on and on and on, Spreading, spreading from the center, flowing on out to the sea.

And there is no way of telling where the end is going to be.”

– James E. Foley

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