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WNA BULLETIN | JANUARY 2014
Industry columnists john FOUST
ED HenningER
Ad-libs
Design for Readers
John Foust has trained thousands of newspaper advertising professionals. Many ad departments are using his training videos to save time and get quick results from in-house training.
Ed Henninger is an independent newspaper consultant and Director of Henninger Consulting. He offers comprehensive newspaper design services including redesigns, workshops, design training and design evaluations.
For information, contact: John Foust, PO Box 97606, Raleigh, NC 27624. E-mail: john@johnfoust.com Phone: 919-848-2401.
You’re replacing someone. Now what? I was talking to Angela about her early days at her newspaper. “When I moved into this sales job, a lot of clients asked about the person I replaced. Most of them asked innocent questions about how that person was doing. But some of them were nosy and persistent. I figured the best strategy was to stay upbeat.” It’s a big challenge to step into a new position, whether it’s a result of account reassignments or a matter of replacing someone who has left the newspaper. By being upbeat, Angela was on the right track. People transition in and out of jobs and sales territories all the time – and the new person has some control of how those changes are perceived. Here are three points to keep in mind: 1. Be positive. Never say anything negative about the person you’re replacing. “Early on, I decided to avoid saying things that I wouldn’t say if my predecessor were in the room,” Angela said. “There’s nothing to be gained by criticism, even if that person left under negative circumstances. “It’s smart to prepare some positive comments – things that are true, things you can say with sincerity. For example, you can say something like, ‘I appreciate your concern. Joe developed some ad strategies which got great results for his accounts.” Or ‘Joe told me how much he enjoyed working with you. I’m sure his old accounts will miss him.’” 2. Don’t gossip. It’s human nature for clients to want to hear the details – good or bad – of how and why their former representative is no longer handling their advertising. And it’s natural to want to please their curiosity. That’s why even the most innocent question calls for self-discipline. “Just because people are curious doesn’t mean I have to answer inappropriate questions,” Angela explained. “I found it helpful to say, ‘I appreciate your interest in Joe, but I wasn’t here at the time, so I really can’t answer your question.’ I kept my comments as neutral as possible.”
Visit www.henningerconsulting.com or ed@henningerconsulting.com
10 News design basics A few years ago, I developed the Francis A. Henninger Grant Program, which helps me improve the look of even the smallest newspapers. From my work on those projects, I’ve realized that many editors at these papers have hardly any training in proper news design. Many of them are just “winging it,” and they’ll freely admit it. As a result of that realization, I now offer a seminar titled “News Design 101: All Basics. No Bull.” The presentation offers those editors an opportunity to learn some of the most fundamental techniques, approaches and practices of good news design. Many of those who read this column also serve their community newspaper as editor, publisher, reporter, photographer, clerk, janitor, gofer, etc. And they, too, will admit they have little design training. So I thought I’d share some of the tips in that seminar here. Here’s a Top 10 Basic News Design Things You Need to Know: 1. Headline hierarchy. Place larger heads higher on the page. Give your lead news story the largest, boldest headline. Start big, so your smallest head isn’t teeny-tiny. 2. Use a dominant photo. Give your lead photo some size. At least three columns. Anything smaller doesn’t bring enough impact to the page. 3. Crop photos tightly. Look for the picture in your picture. Rid your photos of cluttered backgrounds and zoom in on your subject. 4. Avoid funky photo formats and frames. No ovals. No notched corners, no colored or embossed frames. We are community newspapers, not high school yearbooks. 5. Use modular design. Keep all the elements and packages on your page in rectangular format. There will be times when you will have to “dogleg” a story around ads, and that’s acceptable. But stick to modular design wherever possible..
Eleanor Roosevelt famously said, “Great minds discuss ideas. Average minds discuss events. Small minds discuss people.”
6. Keep briefs brief. No more than three to four inches. Anything more than that is a story—put a headline on it and place it elsewhere. ing in the right direction.
Read the rest of this column on the WNA website >>
Read the rest of this column on the WNA website >>
JIM PUMARLO
Community Newsroom Success Strategies Jim Pumarlo writes, speaks and provides training on Community Newsroom Success Strategies. He is author of “Votes and Quote He can be contacted at www.pumarlo.com.
A lesson in reporting tragedy A family’s farm is devastated by a tornado. A reporter is on the scene moments afterward to record the events, including talking with family members. A student commits suicide and, understandably, it’s a shock to many people. A story documents the community’s response; the family relives the episode, blow by blow. A child is murdered. Within days, an interview with the grieving parent is published. All three stories were handled during my tenure as editor of the Red Wing Republican Eagle. All three dealt with tragedies and involved interviews with family, friends or others close to the situation. All three probably put people in an unfamiliar – and uncomfortable – spotlight. Tragedies are some of the most readable stories but also the most difficult to write. It’s probably the toughest assignment for any reporter – rookie or veteran. It’s difficult to predict how the people will respond – when approached for the story, during the interview and after it’s published for all to read. Anger, bitterness, remorse, guilt – people may react with any of these emotions. A reporter from another newspaper, who was involved in such an incident, wrote about a letter to the editor his newspaper received describing the reaction of the family of a man killed in a car-truck collision. It was written by a member of the man’s family. “To be honest,” the family member wrote, “our first reaction was anger and dismay that a reporter would violate our family’s privacy during a time of grief. The reporter, however, handled the contact with tact and concern that was not upsetting to our mother. “The result was an article that provided your readers with some small comprehension of this man who died in the crash. For many readers who wondered why they were late to work, your paper let them know it was because a decent, hardworking man lost his life that day, and this man had a family that is now grieving its loss.” Read the rest of the column on the WNA website >>
KEVIN SLIMP
JIM STASIOWSKI
Newspaper Technology
Writing Matters
Kevin Slimp is a speaker and trainer in the newspaper industry.
Jim Stasiowski, the writing coach for The Dolan Co., welcomes your questions or comments.
Visit www.kevinslimp.com or e-mail kevin@kevinslimp.com.
Reflecting on 2013 I thought the holidays were supposed to be the easy time of the year. Whoever came up with that idea surely wasn’t a journalist. I remember looking at my calendar just a few months ago and thinking that November and December were going to be awfully quiet. It’s funny how things work out differently than planned. That’s certainly been true for me lately. My, how things have changed. A year ago, I was spending most of my time writing and speaking about the situation in New Orleans and other Newhouse cities. At the time, it seemed like we might all be following their lead. Funny how things change in a year. In the past few weeks, I’ve been all over the map. I would like to be the first to declare that “The end is near” period has ended and most newspapers are now figuring out how to improve their products again. OK, in truth, plenty of others have realized that lately. It’s becoming quite chic again to write about the future with optimism. And what are newspapers asking of me these days? My recent trips can be broken down into three categories: - Publishers Summits: Groups of publishers gather now and then to discuss what’s going on in the industry and how to better prepare for the future. I’ve been leading these and the change in perception has been quite striking since a year ago. While some publishers still arrive with serious worry about the future of their newspapers, most seem to come with stories of rising profits and optimism about the future. There’s a lot less talk about digital - which seemed to be all we were talking about a couple of years ago - and a lot more talk about creating better products. - Getting Color Right: I guess it’s only natural that since we do, indeed, have a future, it only makes sense to prepare for it. Over the past two weeks, I’ve been in Tupelo, Mississippi and Newport, Rhode Island, working with daily newspapers to improve the quality of their printing. I suppose I shouldn’t forget the Selmer Independent Appeal, a weekly newspaper in West Tennessee. And in the next few weeks, I’ll be in Minnesota and back in Tennessee, doing the same thing. Read the rest of the column on the WNA website >>
Call him at 775- 354-2872, or write to 2499 Ivory Ann Drive, Sparks, Nev. 89436. He has coached reporters at newspapers and magazines in dozens of states.
What a horrible year Whoever is keeping score – I’m talking about cosmic score, not some simplistic accounting of touchdown passes or three-pointers from the top of the key – should take note of what a horrible year 2013 was. To be clear, the reason I’m unhappy with 2013 has nothing to do with problems at work, family calamities or public humiliation. I’ve managed to avoid all three, occasionally by the narrowest of margins. No, 2013 was a bummer because three of my best newspaper friends either have left, or announced they were leaving, their newsrooms. One is retiring; one found a promising outside-journalism opportunity; and one … well, he’s hard to describe, but whatever he does next, he’ll have more fun than anyone else and get rich. Maybe richer. I’ve never asked about his finances. What you need to know is that all three have three things in common. (Four, if you count occasional loud arguments with me, often fueled by post-deadline drinks.) First, all have been extremely successful writers as well as highly accomplished, inspirational editors. Second, each is very much an individual, unafraid to defy the conventional wisdom. As one of them often advised journalists, “When a bunch of reporters are running toward something, run in the opposite direction because that’s where the real story is.” Third, they are three of the wittiest people I’ve ever known. Maybe the three wittiest. Here are the reasons elevated wit correlates to excellent journalism: Inherently, a newsroom is tense. Story pitches that sounded good at 8:30 a.m. are in jeopardy by 10:15, then shortly after noon, are discarded as good ideas gone bad, replaced by different pitches that may suffer the same fate. A sense of humor will dispel tension, sure, but tension can return as swiftly as a fire hose fills a teacup. But wit shows that, even though there is plenty to worry about in a newsroom, ers will appreciate as meaningful. Read the rest of the column on the WNA website >>