ANAgrams FEBRUARY 2017

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Saving Public Notice Newspapers, nationwide, are facing a crucial battle with state legislatures over the requirement to keep public notices in print newspapers. Not only is this a revenue concern for many community papers but, also a fight to hold government to standards of accountability and transparency.

In this issue of ANAgrams we are presenting cases of attack against our industry and workable solutions from expert sources to help our members defend their public notices.

We hope you will take this information, digest it and continue to work with the Arizona Newspapers Association to save Public Notice.

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websites operated or controlled by government units. The potential that any of these bills will become law varies by state, according to newspaper lobbyists, but nobody is taking any of them lightly.

In Connecticut, several different bills that could eliminate newspaper notice in some form or fashion were introduced in the House in January, each by a different Republican member of that body.

In Michigan, the second bill introduced in the House this year would create separate “tiers” of public notice, each allowing or requiring some level of notice by government website. House Bill 4002, which would phase out newspaper notice by 2024, is a “replica” of a bill introduced in the last two legislative sessions by a former representative, according to the Michigan Press Association.

The bill in Kansas that would allow notices to be published on See Flood page 3

Click here to see photos.

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ANA Legislative Reception January 9 the 53rd Arizona Legislature convened to begin its first Regular Session for 2017.

In conjunction, ANA and ­Arizona ­Capitol Times held its Legislators, ­Publishers and Editors ­Reception ­January 24.

This is the one time each year where newspaper ­publishers and editors can visit with their legislators in an informal and casual setting.

ANA members from all parts of the state came to meet with their district ­representatives and state senators.

There were 33 legislators and 62 newspaper members in ­attendance, some of which included ­representatives from: Camp Verde Bugle/Verde Independent, Daily Courier, Sedona Red Rock News, Fountain Hills Times, SanTanValley.com, Yuma Sun, Sierra Vista Herald, Green Valley News, Today’s News Herald, Nogales International, ­Associated Press, and AZCIR. During the Regular Session ANA works with great effort to protect the ­people’s right to know what their ­government is doing by keeping government ­records and meetings open as well as protecting public notice.

ANA and Arizona ­Capitol Times would like to thank the sponsoring organizations for their support that helped make the ­evening a ­success: The Arizona Republic, ­Arizona Daily Sun (Flagstaff), Arizona Daily Star (­Tucson), Independent Newsmedia, Wick ­Communications and Western News&Info.

Flood of Public Notice bills hits state legislatures At least 62 bills relating to public notice in newspapers have been introduced in 25 different states through the first The Public Notice week of FebruResource Center, ary, according to Inc. was estaba review of billlished in 2003 tracking software by the American used by the Public Court and Notice Resource Commercial Center. In adNewspapers, Inc. dition, no fewer (ACCN). than 16 other bills targeting public notice in three states carried over from 2016 and are still active.

Many of the new bills merely add or change requirements for particular categories of notice, but at least 12 states are considering legislation that would move all or most of their official notices from newspapers to

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Sunshine Week, March 12-18 Sunshine Week occurs each year in mid-March, coinciding with James Madison’s ­birthday and ­National Freedom of Information Day on the 16th.

During Sunshine Week, hundreds of media organizations, civic groups, ­libraries, nonprofits, schools and other

participants engage public discussion on the importance of open ­government through news articles; opinion ­columns; special Web pages; ­infographics; ­editorial cartoons; public service ­advertising; public seminars and forums.

Sunshine Week’s purpose is to highlight that “government functions best when it operates in the open.”

ANA encourages its members to visit the Sunshine Week website for ­information and resources on how to get involved.

ANAgrams is a quarterly e-publication produced by the Arizona Newspapers Association 1001 N. Central Ave., Suite 670 Phoenix, AZ 85004-1947 Office (602) 261-7655 • Fax (602) 261-7525 www.ananews.com

ANA Staff Paula Casey Executive Director / ext. 102 p.casey@ananews.com Julie O’Keefe Communications Manager / ext. 110 j.okeefe@ananews.com Cindy London Ad Placement Manager / ext. 112 c.meaux@ananews.com

NNA’s nominations now open for Amos, McKinney, Phillips Awards Every year, the National Newspaper Association announces the call for ­nominations for the Amos, Established ­McKinney & in 1885, the Phillips Awards, National which are the ­Newspaper highest honors ­Association awarded to (NNA) is a notworking and for-profit trade retired news­association papermen and representing women who the owners, have exhibited ­publishers distinguished and editors service to the of ­America’s community ­community press. ­newspapers.

Arizona has had two ­recipients honored with these awards. F­ rances Gerhardt, Arizona Silver Belt, 1969 for the Emma C. McKinney Award and L. Alan ­Cruikshank, The F­ ountain Hills Times, 2013 with the James O. Amos Award. The Arizona Newspapers Association fervently hopes its membership will participate and Page 2 | ANAgrams ■ February 2017

nominate candidates from their body of members.

The General James O. Amos Award was established in 1938 by E.C. Amos, publisher of The Sidney Daily News, to honor his father, General James O. Amos, a pioneer Ohio ­journalist and an early-day member of the National Editorial Association.

The Emma C. McKinney Award was created in 1966 to honor Emma C. McKinney, co-publisher and editor of the Hillsboro (OR) Argus for 58 years.

In 1954 Mrs. McKinney was named dean of Oregon newspapermen and women and in 1957 received the Amos Voorhies Award, the highest state honor that can be awarded to an Oregon newspaper person. Mrs. McKinney was inducted into the Oregon Journalism Hall of Fame in 1982.

The Daniel M. Phillips Leadership Award was established in 2007 to honor Daniel Morris “Dan” ­Phillips, an award-winning writer and ­photographer who passed away in 2005 at the age of 47.

For more information and forms: http://www.nnaweb.org/contestsawards

The Arizona Newspapers Association (ANA) was established in 1930 and incorporated in 1956. It is the successor to the ­Arizona Press ­Association of 1905, and the ­Arizona Daily Newspaper ­Association of 1922. The ­Association is governed by an 11-member board of directors elected by the member newspapers. The ANA is a ­nonprofit trade association representing more than 115 A ­ rizona newspapers.

ANA Board of Directors President Manuel ­Coppola, ­Publisher – Sierra Vista H ­ erald Secretary / Treasurer Rebecca Bradner, Publisher – Green Valley News, Sahuarita Sun Marc Marin, Publisher – ­Arizona Silver Belt, Copper Country News (Globe-Miami) Kyle Larson, General Manager – Larson Newspapers (Sedona) Brian Kramer, Publisher – White Mountain Independent, Payson Roundup Alisha Owens, VP Advertising Sales and Marketing – Arizona Daily Star (Tucson) Colleen Brady, Advertising D ­ irector – Arizona Daily Sun (Flagstaff) Chase Rankin, VP Advertising – Arizona Republic/Republic Media (Phoenix) Kent Johnson, Publisher – Arizona Capitol Times (Phoenix) Past President Donovan Kramer Jr., ­Co-Publisher – Casa Grande ­Dispatch

Flood of Public Notice Bills continued from page 1 designated “internet websites” is also similar to legislation that has been introduced in the state in the past, according to Kansas Press Association Executive Director Doug Anstaett. It was read in the House last week on the same day KPA members were visiting the capital for the association’s annual lobbying day.

In Missouri, bills have been introduced that could move both government and foreclosure notices out of newspapers. Senate Bill 47 would permit all notices required by law or the courts to be published on an “official government legal notice website established and maintained by the secretary of state.” The bill would allow the secretary of state to charge $10 for each notice. Separate companion bills in the Missouri House and Senate would allow foreclosure notices to be published on websites “hosted by an entity that maintains such website for the purposes of providing web-based notice of foreclosure sales.”

Legislation in South Dakota and Virginia would permit jurisdictions meeting certain population thresholds to move their public notices to government websites. In South Dakota, House Bill 1167 would allow municipalities with population above 5,000 to designate an “official Internet website” that could be used to publish notices in lieu of newspapers. The bill would also require the municipalities to publish two annual newspaper notices specifying where to find documents and other information relating to their notices. A hearing on HB 1167 is scheduled for this Thursday.

In Virginia, House Bill 286 would allow localities with populations of 50,000 or above to satisfy notice requirements by publishing notices on their own websites, or by broadcasting them on a local radio or TV station.

Another bill in the Virginia House would allow cities within certain counties in the Washington, D.C. area to post notices on their websites in lieu of newspapers. Both bills were introduced in January 2016 and were carried over to the current session by voice vote.

The two public notice bills in New Jersey that received so much attention in December also carried over to the current session. Governor Chris Christie, who vigorously lobbied for the bills’ passage, has served notice that he will continue to pursue the issue in 2017. Christie issued a letter last month (pdf) claiming that his “office had uncovered additional information that demonstrates the amount of money wasted (on public notice in newspapers) is exorbitant.”

Most of these bills would provide government units with discretion over whether to publish notices in newspapers or on their own websites, which would give government officials the power to punish local papers for coverage they deemed insufficient. However, Iowa Senate File 158, sponsored by 11 Republican Senators, would completely eliminate newspapers’ traditional role of providing notice, re-

quiring all government notices in the state to be published on government websites.

Bills that would permit most public notices to be published on government websites have also been introduced in Illinois, New York, Oregon and Texas. The Oregon bill would move the notices to the websites of associations that represent counties, cities and other state government units. One Texas bill would allow political subdivisions in the state to satisfy notice requirements by posting them on “a social media website”; another would allow them to publish notices on “any other form of media”.

Not all of the public notice legislation introduced this year would subvert government transparency. At least 22 bills would establish or enhance newspaper notice in particular categories, like gravesite relocations (Florida), government budgets (Mississippi), redevelopment plans (Nebraska), bond measures (Oklahoma, Texas) and issuance of cannabis licenses (New Mexico). Minnesota and Nevada were blessed with three bills in each state — four in Minnesota if you count companion bills — that would increase newspaper notice.

Reprinted with permission from Public Notice Resource Center. Originally published February 7, 2017.

Click here for links to some of the house bills noted in this article.

News Media Alliance Free Public Notice House ads When public notices reach the public, everyone benefits.

Some officials want to move notices from newspapers to government-run websites, where they may not be easily found.

This is like putting the fox in charge of the hen house.

Download and run News Media Alliance’s public notice ads supporting keeping public notices in print newspapers. Member log-in is not required to access this content

February 2017 ■ ANAgrams | Page 3

Saving Public Notice, best practices Arizona Newspapers Association, in partnership with Inland Press Association (IPA), offers our members webinar training on today’s top trends in the newspaper industry.

We’d like share the best practices and key ideas from their most recent webinar sessions relating to Public Notice.

The following article is reprinted courtesy of IPA.

Webinar takeaways: Best defense for protecting newspaper public notices are these best practices Inland Press Association January 25’s webinar came as the threat to laws requiring public notices be published in print newspapers is growing increasingly grave.

The concern publishers have about retaining this important revenue source— and tool to hold government transparent and accountable—could be seen by the high attendance at the webinar. So high, in fact, that ­Inland is planning an encore webinar from the presenters at a time to be ­announced later.

Best Practices for Public Notices

Presented by Eric Barnes, publisher and CEO of The Daily News Publishing Company; Richard Karpel, president of APW; and Brad Thompson, president and CEO of Detroit Legal News Co. and president of the Public Notice Resource Center (PNRC).

Here are the takeaways: Time to give a little more notice to public notices.

They’ve been in our newspapers for two centuries, and we tend to take them for granted. They are the result of laws that compel the government or businesses when they have news that affect the c o m m u n i t y.

They alert the community to government meetings, to legal processes Richard Karpel that threaten to take away homes or when our water becomes contaminated.

Richard Karpel said it: Public notices “ represent the best of what we

Page 4 | ANAgrams ■ February 2017

are about. They’re an essential element of self-government.”

The four key elements of public notices: • They must be accessible to the public. Newspapers have been the forum to ensure accessibility for 200 years.

• They must be published in places that are independent, and outside the control of the government or private parties.

• They must be archivable for the use of the judicial system and historians.

• They must be verifiable, which simply means that there must be a way to prove that they were actually published in accordance with the law The war against printed public notices.

In October, the Environmental Protection Agency decided that Clean Water Acts no longer need to be published in a newspaper, but can be posted on the EPA website. And the agency included a point-by-point rebuttal of all the arguments the PNRC put forth—an example of the increasingly sophisticated arguments being

used against newspaper publication.

The opposition’s case: The internet is faster and more efficient. The internet reaches more people even as newspaper circulation falls. EPA permits can be posted along with the notice online. The public notices will stay on EPA for a long time, while they are posted in newspapers only one day.

Trouble everywhere: There’s an anti-media political environment, there’s a constant drumbeat of bad news about newspapers, and print newspaper archives are disappearing.

Eliminating the hassle factor.

Government clerks don’t like posting printed public notices because they are a hassle to publish, and cost more than simply posting on their own websites.

The case for newspaper public notices, part 1.

Newspapers’ digital reach is far broader than city or county websites.

Consider the traffic of the Lansing (Mich.) State Journal with 918,000 monthly visitors compared to the county website with just 63,600 visitors.

The case for newspaper public notices, part 2.

Nobody reads public notices on government sites—especially now that online reading is migrating to mobile. Print newspaper publication is self-evident, particularly important

when property is involved.

Brad Thompson said it: “Print is still more reliable than the internet.

When you’re reading a newspaper, it doesn’t ‘go down’ like a website, and it can’t get hacked.”

Newspaper self-sabotage on ­public notices.

The notices are tiny, the invoicing can be complicated, print archives are disappearing, and newspapers simply do not put public notices on their websites.

Brad Thompson also said it: “More generally, it’s a problem of taking public notices for granted and not treating them with the Brad Thompson same care and respect as our other categories of advertising.”

Tips for improving public notices: • Stop burying the legal ads in the back of the paper, with unreadable type • Consider giving public notices their own section. Display them with maps and headers. One example: putting news-type headlines on public notices.

• Put all public notices online, even if you’re not required to do that by law • Put all public notices online, even if you’re not required to do that by law • Let’s say it again: Put all public notices online, even if you’re not required to do that by law • Aggregate public notices on sites such as state press associations.

• Tease public notices on Facebook and other social media.

Tear down that paywall!

Don’t put public notices behind a paywall. They are supposed to be for the public, and legislators will seize on the paywall to try to pull the notices from newspapers.

Read your own public notices.

The most successful public notices publishers use information from the ads to report on issues such as trends in foreclosures. There is rich data for journalism in public notices.

Set reasonable public notices ad rates.

The sky is no longer the limit on pricing. If we as newspaper treat this as an entitlement and can charge whatever we want, it will come and bite us in legislatures. Gouging on public notices hurts all newspapers.

Bring back the morgue.

Published print public notices must be archived, and available for access.

These are legal documents, and newspapers should be responsible stewards. Think decades, not years for print archives.

The Public Notice Resource Center is ready to help.

Here’s their website: http://www. pnrc.net/ So be ready to help the PNRC. It’s a charity that accepts tax-deductible donation to help preserve public Eric Barnes notice laws.

Our presenters own best practices in public notices on their websites. Check out Brad Thompson’s at www.legalnews.com, and Eric Barnes’ at www.memphisdailynews.com Notice something you want to follow up on?

Contact Richard Karpel at rkarpel@apw-management.com or 703.237.9801 Contact Eric Barnes at ebarnes@ memphisnews.com or 901.523.1561 Contact Brad Thompson at bthompson@legalnews.com or 313.967.5533 Slides from their presentation are posted on Inland’s website, inlandpress.org

Upcoming Webinars Designing Public Notice Best Practices for Public Notice Online Media Campus March 2, 2017

The newspaper industry has had a lot of success protecting public ­notice in the state legislatures, but collectively we’re on the defensive.

Our opponents are more ­motivated than ever and increasingly ­sophisticated in their arguments. ­Every newspaper must play a role in this fight.

This session will focus on the state of public notice and the best ­practices that every publisher should follow to help the industry maintain its rightful position as the publisher of official notice of public actions.

More information about the ­presentors and registration: click here. Price: $35

Ed Henninger: Saving Public Notices Slimp’s Newspaper Academy March 9, 2017 We used to call them “legals.” and we used to think we’d have them in our papers for…well, for ever. But there are those who’d like to see the “legals” elsewhere.

We’re still fighting that battle.

But here’s a new weapon: a design ­webinar targeted toward Saving ­Public Notices.

Ed Henninger and Kevin Slimp have been teaming up to address the­ issue of public notices and this webinar has been taking the industry by a storm. In this webinar, Ed will discuss “real world” ideas and concrete steps to save and improve your newspaper public notice efforts. Bring two pens You don’t want to miss this one. (Scroll down) ANA members receive a discount: $49, regularly $59 Register here.

February 2017 ■ ANAgrams | Page 5

Learning to use technology to tell important stories about communities

Arizona journalists had a chance to get their hands on remote sensing technology and learn about how it can be

By Yoohyun Yung used to tell imEducation portant stories Reporter, about their comArizona Daily Star munities.

More than 80 professional and student journalists, including freelancers and journalism teachers, gathered at the second annual News Hack Arizona event, a data and technology literacy conference for journalists, at the University of Arizona in Tucson on Feb. 18 and 19.

On the first day, participants learned everything from assembling the hardware, loading the software to using their sensor kits to gather data. They also learned how to turn that data into story ideas that address issues around their communities.

The participants then took the skills they learned to develop specific sensor journalism project pitches on the next day.

“Sensor journalism is more important now than ever,” said Lily Bui, a scholar who taught at News Hack. “In an increasingly data-driven world, it’s important for more people to understand how to use data to make sense of the world around us.”

Bui, a doctoral candidate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, works with remote sensing data as part of her urban planning studies. She is also a former radio producer for Public Radio Exchange, where she worked on Page 6 | ANAgrams ■ February 2017

science storytelling.

News Hack 2017 also included breakout sessions of sensor journalism story development, working with spreadsheets and a technology showcase on drone and virtual reality by UA Professor Michael McKisson and graduate student Jenny HIjazi.

Tracy Greer, managing editor at KJZZ Phoenix who has attended News Hack two years in a row, said she would take what she learned at News Hack back to her newsroom and help her reporters learn how to use the technology.

“Part of my role is knowing what our resources are,” she said. Now, sensors are one of the resources she has in her pocket.

Her group pitched a project on using a temperature sensor to figure out where the coldest areas in the UA library are.

The members also wanted to use a motion sensor to determine the most popular study spots within the library.

The data collected through the sensors would be used to illustrate a larger point on whether or not university resource is being wasted in excessively cooling facilities, Greer’s group said in their presentation.

UA student Jordan Glenn’s group’s pitch was to use temperature sensors

to detect temperature in low income neighborhoods and compare that to sensor data from more affluent neighborhoods. The data would help them test their hypothesis: Are lower income neighborhoods hotter because of lack of vegetation? How does that relate to the number and size of public ­spaces?

With support from the Arizona Newspapers Association, Arizona Press Club, UA School of Journalism, UA soil, water and environmental sciences department, and UA Journalism alum Al Litzow, each organization that completed project pitches on the second day took home a sensor journalism kit.

The kit includes a Raspberry Pi computer, a temperature and humidity sensor, a motion sensor, a circuit board, cables and accessories.

More than a dozen news organizations were represented the event, incluling KJZZ Phoenix, Pinal Central, Navajo Times, the Associated Press, Cochise County Record, Arizona Daily Star and Arizona Republic. Journalism students from Arizona State, Northern Arizona, University of Arizona and Pima Community College also attended.

Photos courtesy of News Hack Arizona.

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Ph: 602-261-7655 / www.ananews.com February 2017 ■ ANAgrams | Page 7

Today’s advertising sales teams are not taking no for an answer What is it going to take for newspaper organizations to retain—if not grow—their advertising support, particularly Gretchen A. Peck in a competitive Publishing & field with so many Media others vying for Consultant/ brands’ad spends?

Independent What does it take to Journalist reignite the allure of ad campaigns that creatively build upon the publishers’ platforms— campaigns that leverage the strength of mobile, desktop, web and print?

To better prepare for the New Year and the new relationships newspapers will have with advertisers, the industry requires a point of reference about what’s challenging advertising revenues now.

E&P asked advertising professionals (from ad reps to senior executives) about the greatest obstacles their ad teams are currently facing, the objections or reasons for reluctance from advertisers—across all the products and publications—and how they’re winning back the hearts of advertisers and changing their minds.

Conveying the Power of Print According to Logan Osterman, advertising director for the Idaho Statesman in Boise, he and his team are accustomed to hearing plenty of objections from advertisers, mostly in relation to print advertising.

“They may say, ‘We don’t do print’ or ‘Print doesn’t work for us anymore,’ or ‘Our audience doesn’t read print.’ If you look at objections, percentage wise, I’d say that’s far and away the biggest challenge. As soon as you get a foot in the door, you’re branded or labeled as ‘the newspaper,’” Osterman said.

His team isn’t in the habit of “pushing” advertisers to buy into any proPage 8 | ANAgrams ■ February 2017

gram for which they’re not comfortable, but the objection to print is often overcome by noting its reach and effectiveness.

“If we think there’s an opportunity for the advertiser to benefit from print, we usually go in with some market research. If there’s an objection to a print campaign, we inform them that the audience is actually more than 130,000 people who read the newspaper every day—many, every single morning,” Osterman said. “We may ask if that’s surprising or if it’s what they expected to hear.

“Increasingly, our reps are leading with digital solutions, instead,” he continued. “We’re rebranding ourselves and showing that we can help our advertisers with a lot more than just print advertising.”

Lincoln (Neb.) Journal Star advertising director Natalia Wiita thinks the reluctance expressed to her ad team probably mimics what other ad professionals around the industry hear as recurring themes.

“I’d say the most common, usually, boil down to advertisers stating that people aren’t reading the newspaper like they used to, that we are too expensive, or that they may not have the budget available,” she said.

Fortunately, Wiita said, the team has been able to dispel those worries.

“When we hear, ‘People aren’t reading the newspaper like they used to,’ I think it’s important to address that, yes, our readers are now reading our content on a variety of platforms, which is only resulting in a larger audience for us and our advertisers.”

When advertisers challenge the publisher on rates, Wiita and the team are equipped to talk specifically about compelling numbers for cost per piece or cost per household, for example.

Objections do vary depending on platform, Wiita noted. In the case of

print, the reasons are often related to audience or cost, though Wiita said that “objections” may be too strong a word to describe these perfectly typical conversations.

“With web or mobile buys, we may hear that ROI is too difficult to measure, or that the business doesn’t have a website or landing page to drive readers to,” she said.

Lance Lewis hears similar statements daily. He’s an advertising sales executive with the Gettysburg Times in Pennsylvania. In his estimation, the most common concerns from advertisers are: “Newspaper circulation is decreasing; it’s not a viable method of reaching the public. Newspaper advertising is too expensive on a per capita basis.

Print is not a creative way to convey a message in the digital age.”

The good news is that the ad team at the paper is well-prepared to acknowledge the concerns and calm them.

In response to the first objection about readership, Lewis said, “It is true that in metro areas circulation is shrinking; however, we have found that in smaller markets that circulation has remained either level or is actually growing. I always cite Berkshire Hathaway’s investment in small market papers to support this.”

Regarding return on investment, he said, “Per capita advertising cost depends solely on if you are reaching your target audience. If you are attempting to reach millennials in print, your ROI will be higher than if you are attempting to reach Boomers.”

Finally, to counter the assumption that print is somehow underwhelming as a creative platform, Lewis pointed out, “Creativeness in print can be overcome by utilizing print as a referral method to digital advertising, which I have seen to be very successful.”

Using Data and Targeted Marketing Data seems to drive so much of the

publishing organization today, especially in the digital space. Today, data can glean so much more insight for advertisers, which they need to effectively target their ads, even if they don’t yet know it.

“Readership numbers have gotten less and less important over the years,” Osterman said. “It seems that advertisers aren’t quite as interested in them, even when they’re presented with media audit information that dispels their own notions; so, we’re frequently talking more about digital data than we are about readership or traditional metrics like that.

“A lot of the time, the advertiser doesn’t actually express that they want data. It’s more about trying to entice them to want it,” he added.

Osterman offered data from Borrell Associates as an example.

“We might suggest to the advertiser, ‘You might not want to see the readership figures for the paper, but if I can help you understand what other businesses in your category are spending on various kinds of media, in this market, would that be interesting to you?’ And it is,” he said. “That is an extra value for the advertiser and insight that they would otherwise have to pay a lot of money for.”

The New Ad Sales Pro The conversations that advertising reps are having with ad buyers these days are far more sophisticated and consultative in nature than they were when print was the sole product to sell.

The conception and creation of the advertising program is also far more creative and collaborative than before.

“The more information and feedback

that we receive from both current advertisers and those that aren’t doing business with us, the better,” Wiita said.

“I’m a big fan of feedback, whether it’s positive or negative, as it allows us to adapt and change to suit the needs of the market. I would say that most of the feedback we’ve received as to where clients who aren’t spending with us are spending their budgets generally

comes down to a lack of knowledge of the services we can provide.

“More often than not, new clients are not familiar with the fact that we are not only a newspaper, but that we offer a full suite of digital solutions, produce a wide variety of niche publications, have an events department that produces large-scale and custom events,

and operate an in-house ad agency.

There is no better feeling than sitting down with a new client and walking them through the wide variety of ways that we can help them grow.”

At the Idaho Statesman, Osterman’s team has adapted to a more consultative approach.

“We follow a multi-step sales process, which is very much based on doing research and essentially interviewing the client.

Then, we offer solutions that fit, which is opposed to the ‘old way’ of selling audience and pushing product,” he said.

To be effective, the salesperson must be rebranded, too—from ad sales to media consultant.

The new role of ad reps includes having conversations about where reluctant advertisers and their marketing agents are investing their ad spends, and why they are perceived as a better buy.

Osterman said, “We try to crack open that conversation about why they’re spending elsewhere, especially in the digital space. Is it that the others are actually doing a better job than our digital team can do, or is just because the site is new and has a trendy look? We find that there are a ton of fly-bynight operations that we can far out-perform when it comes to creating multifaceted digital campaigns.

Plus, in the end, those publications are not the newspaper.

Osterman cited a favorite quotation by businessman and author Stephen M.R. Covey, who said, “Trust is equal parts character and competence.”

See Overcome Objections page 10 February 2017 ■ ANAgrams | Page 9

Overcome objections continued from page 9

“A lot of times, businesses don’t trust us to handle their digital (messaging). In their eyes, we may not be ‘competent,’ though we have the character,” he explained. “They know us. They know who we are, so we have the character, but we haven’t done enough work to show them that we’re competent in the digital space and that we’ve trained up as well.”

The implication is that, while newspapers are known to have digital complements now—the web, web mobile and mobile apps—they’re not perceived as being leaders or particularly innovative

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for those efforts, at least not yet.

“The winning scenario is we build on the character that we’ve already established and prove that we’re a digital force,” Osterman said. “In some cases, they may be turning to a digital advertising alternative that’s merely using an off-the-shelf technology for something as important as search engine optimization. Meanwhile, we have a fully staffed team of extremely talented marketing professionals at their disposal. They may not know we have that expertise.”

Wiita said at the Lincoln Journal Star, they’re accustomed to hearing that ad budgets have been sliced, leaving less of the pie to portion out.

“The budget objection is obviously a very common objection in sales, and while in some cases it may be valid, most of the time, if a consultant gets this objection, they haven’t sold the agency or the advertiser on the value of the program,” she said. “We do a lot of training and role playing with our staff on getting the value proposition right.”

Prove Your Worth Certainly one of the greatest challenges that advertising sales teams have faced in recent years is reinforcing the advertising value proposition of the news organization. When asked if advertisers generally still understand and buy into that value proposition, Osterman said definitively, “No.” “I think newspapers, in general, are behind the times of self-promotion, especially compared to broadcast and radio,” he said. That needs to change, and he suggested that educating advertisers—and the public—about what the newspaper does for its readers and advertisers must start at the highest

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levels of the organization, at the publisher level and certainly among marketing teams.

Beyond evangelizing the value of the news organization, sales teams need to be prepared to come to the table with real solutions based on the expressed needs of the advertiser. But the work doesn’t stop there. Then, they must be able to prove ad effectiveness, and do that with every single program, with every single digital or print display and insert advertiser.

And about the “character” part of the trust equation that Osterman suggested?

Lewis concurred and pointed out that character, integrity and a record of getting the stories right have a tremendous impact on value proposition messaging. “When I discuss newspapers as a viable and reliable source of news, I point to issues such as the Dan Rather story regarding former President Bush’s service in the Air National Guard, the recent election and how it totally caught the broadcast media off guard, and now this ‘fake news’ on the web regarding a Hillary Clinton sex ring in D.C. The print media is still, in my humble opinion, the only truly investigative news source available.”

“I do think that advertisers believe in our value proposition,” Wiita said.

“However, it’s important that we continue telling our story as an industry.

While our industry is changing, it’s not a bad thing. People read our content now more than ever, and our audiences are larger than ever before … I think it’s important that we acknowledge that change is good and that all industries have been forced to adapt to a digital world.”

Gretchen A. Peck is an independent journalist who has reported on publishing and printing for more than two decades. She has contributed to Editor and Publisher since 2010 and can be reached at gretchenapeck@gmail. com.

Reprinted with permission: Editor&Publisher. Originally published: January 16, 2017

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February 2017 â– ANAgrams | Page 11

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AP Definitive Source: Ensuring accuracy wins against fake news Loaded with useful information.

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Or call (602) 261-7655 Page 12 | ANAgrams ■ February 2017

Fact-checking has taken on new meaning in a world where misinformation spreads quickly on social channels, often disguised as legitimate news content.

Journalists worldwide have a responsibility to identify and debunk stories that are trending but simply wrong.

The Associated Press has stepped up its efforts to separate fact from fiction when questionable news stories emerge, including by partnering with Facebook to inform users about disputed content.

Join AP for a conversation on what is being done and how you can be a part of taking on the crisis of fake news.

What: AP Definitive Source Webcast: Ensuring accuracy wins against fake news When: March 8, 2017 2 p.m. ET Speakers: • Jason White, Facebook/Manager News Partnerships • Eric Carvin, AP Social Media Editor and Online News Association/Ethics Chair • Brian Carovillano, AP Vice President/U.S. News Register Now! Click Here

Are you ready for the new year? Take an inventory It’s standard procedure at newspapers to chronicle the year. Headlines typically include the passing of

By Jim Pumarlo noteworthy individuals; the sucNewspaper cess, or maybe Consultant and failure, of a civic Trainer project; milestones in sports achievements, election results or key community benchmarks.

Convene a brainstorming session with your newsroom – better yet, with a cross-section of employees from your entire “newspaper family” – and you’ll quickly have a list of noteworthy headlines. You may well be surprised at the scope of stories.

That prompts the question: Are you ready for 2017? All newsrooms should prepare an editorial calendar and review it regularly. Many of the things you cover are the same year in and year out. Use the opportunity to explore new approaches for coverage.

Think across the spectrum of your community. Here are three areas.

Public affairs always demands attention. There are the regular meetings of city councils, county boards and school boards plus the numerous commissions and task forces. Do you preview the important agenda items? Do you go beyond the votes and report the impact of the actions in real and understandable terms? Think beyond the meetings as you examine how to broaden your coverage. The mayor presents a state of the city speech. Government bodies spend weeks, even months, reviewing and adopting budgets. Capital improvement projects are previewed.

Also, brainstorm stories that may warrant special coverage. Has a longtime elected official announced that this will be his or her last term of service? Are single issues dominating a government

body? Did the election produce new voting blocs?

Sports present a regular staple of stories: the preview, the rigors of the regular season, the playoffs. Team performance can present challenges and opportunities. How do you keep readers interested if a team suffers through a losing season, possibly not even winning a game? In contrast, what kinds of stories can be pursued if a team is headed for a championship season, maybe even going undefeated?

Also, brainstorm stories that may warrant special coverage. Is an athlete on the verge of achieving a scoring milestone? Might a coach notch a noteworthy victory? Is this the last season for a school in a sports conference due to league realignment?

Civic clubs are the fabric of communities. The number of groups and their range of contributions mean editors are routinely approached with requests for coverage. The “asks” range from the Lions Club annual brat feed fund-raiser to volunteer of the year recognition to a candidate forum sponsored by the League of Women Voters. It’s impossible to produce a story and photo for each event. Communicate with organizations early and discuss the two elements of publicity – promotion and actual coverage. An even better idea is to produce a simple set of guidelines that can be distributed to publicity chairs.

Also, brainstorm stories that may warrant special coverage. Is a club celebrating a significant anniversary? Is a local club officer rising through the ranks in the affiliated state or national organization? Is there a special fundraiser or other project planned that has extra significance to the community?

Planning a calendar can be overwhelming. These are but three areas in your entire range of news. So take a slow approach. Explore and outline your editorial calendar for the tried and true elements of news.

Then identify one new area where

you’d like to bolster coverage. Announce it in a column, and set up a process for soliciting feedback from your community. Lay out a plan of action and present it to readers.

Every newsroom is stretched for time and resources as you strive to produce stories that people like to read and stories that people should read. Any additional time you give to planning your calendar is a win-win-win scenario for your newspaper, your readers and your community.

Jim Pumarlo writes, speaks and provides training on community newsroom success strategies. He is author of “Journalism Primer: A Guide to Community News Coverage,” “Votes and Quotes: A Guide to Outstanding Election Coverage” and “Bad News and Good Judgment: A Guide to Reporting on Sensitive Issues in Small-Town Newspapers.” He can be reached at www.pumarlo.com and welcomes comments and questions at jim@pumarlo.com.

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February 2017 ■ ANAgrams | Page 13

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www.prmediarelease.com/arizona IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE ARIZONA NEWSPAPERS ASSOCIATION 1001 N. Central Ave., Suite 670, Phoenix, AZ 85004 / 602Ͳ261Ͳ7655 Page 14 | ANAgrams ■ February 2017

What I learned in Ohio kevin@kevinslimp.com

Visit with newspapers in Buckeye State cures my winter “funk”

Convention season is an interesting time in the life of a speaker. Most years, I’ll travel directly from one convention to the next between late January and June. Some years, the Kevin Slimp travel doesn’t slow until The News Guru July or August.

I’ve purposely cut my travel this year, to make time for a couple of new projects I’ve begun. That’s a primary reason I’m enjoying convention appearances so much this year.

I just returned from Columbus, Ohio, where I spoke to the Ohio Newspaper Association.

Actually, I believe they officially changed their name a few minutes before I came to the stage. Either way, they are still “ONA.” After more than 20 years of speaking, you would think I would be past being suprised by audiences. It’s become the norm for groups to add seats at the last minute when I’m speaking about the state of newspapers, but it still surprises me for some reason.

A steady stream of attendees lined up to ask for a few moments to visit following my speech. With five hours to kill before my flight home, I offered to find a place near the registration table to meet with folks for a few minutes each.

I attempted to spend as much time as possible answering the questions of each person, while cognizant others were waiting in line for their turns.

I can’t tell you how much it pleases me to meet with publishers and others who see a real future for their newspapers and attend conferences, classes, read journals and even stand in line to gain insight into ways to improve their operations and products.

What was on the mind of Ohio’s newspaper leaders? The discussions varied, but most centered around ways to improve their newspapers and the methods used to get them out.

“Should we outsource our ad design?”

This came up more than once. At one point, a group of us gathered around a

table and discussed options to get the best results for their small community papers. The possibility of a joint “co-op,” where small newspapers in adjoining communities might work together, giving them more control over the creative process while sharing in the expenses came up.

We discussed the best options for outsourcing, for papers who feel this is the best option for them. Should they use designers who are part of a huge national group, a company outside the country,

or a smaller group who might offer more personalized attention?

Should we keep everything “in house,” finding ways to combine different areas of pre-press production that benefit our papers?

Like most important questions in life, the quickest answer is often not the best.

I reminded publishers to consider longterm effects of their decisions. Are we risking long-term success for the sake of short-term savings?

A new publisher asked advice about several areas, including the design of the paper itself. I suggested taking advantage of as much reading, online training and local training opportunities as possible. The publisher of a community newspaper wears many hats and it’s easy to become overwhelmed by the sheer amount of added work when the

job title changes from editor, or ad manager, to publisher.

Several editors and publishers asked me to look over their papers and make suggestions. I laughed when one said, “Wow! You’re really good at this.”

I told her it was like anything else. After you’ve done it a few thousand times, you get pretty good at it.

What did I take away from my day in Columbus?

Ohio is an interesting place to be in the newspaper business. There are several big cities, meaning there are more metro papers than in most states.

Like most places I visit, large papers are trying to find new ways to attract advertising dollars and readers. When asked, my advice was to remember what readers want, because readers and advertisers go hand in hand.

Smaller papers have their own set of issues. For the past century or more, newspapers in smaller communities have dealt with many of the same issues as their larger counterparts. In addition, competition from nearby metros looking for new readers is increasingly creating more competition between metros and nearby community papers.

I was glad to see fire in the belly of Ohio’s newspaper community. I visited with reporters who are passionate about their calling, editors and ad managers serious about improving their products and service, and publishers who still feel confident about the future.

Convention season always seems to come at the right time. After spending a couple of months working from my office, convention season reminds me our industry is alive and well, and will be for decades to come.

That’s one reason I love my job so much.

Kevin Slimp is CEO of newspaperacademy. com and director of The Newspaper Institute.

Contact Kevin at kevin@kevinslimp.com.

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February 2017 ■ ANAgrams | Page 15

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Webinars • Calendar • DATES ANA Training Partner Local Media Association is a thriving and innovative association that serves more than 2,400 local media companies (newspapers, TV, radio, directories, pure plays, and more) as well as several hundred research & development partners in the industry. LMA assists local media companies with the digital transition via cutting-edge programs, conferences, webinars, research and training.

Our motto is “Innovation | Education | Inspiration.”

From Here to $72 Billion: What will drive mobile advertising over the next half decade?

Tue, February 28, 3 p.m. – 3:20 p.m. ET ‘Quick Bite’ webinar How much will be spent on mobile advertising through 2021, and what will be the sources (and destinations) of those dollars? And where will localized ad tactics play a part? That and several other factors driving U.S. mobile ad spending will be broken down during our webinar.

Free for LMA members / $29 for media association partners / $59 for nonmembers.

Check here to see if your paper is a member: http://bit.ly/1wqkxug Registration: www.localmedia.org/webinars/

Texas Regional Innovation Mission Takeaways

Fri March 9, Noon – 12:45 p.m. ET The Local Media Regional Innovation Mission headed to Texas and met with executives at 11 fascinating companies. All of them were disruptors in the media and/ or technology space. We’ll present the top takeaways from the fantastic 3 days in Austin and Dallas.

Free for LMA members / $29 for media association partners / $59 for nonmembers.

Check here to see if your paper is a member: http://bit.ly/1wqkxug Registration: www.localmedia.org/webinars/

Why Can’t We Find Sellers?

Fri March 14, 3 – 3:30 p.m. ET Hiring sellers is a major challenge that causes many media managers to lose sleep at night. Regardless if the issue is lack of response to ads, poor compensation plans or not having time to really conduct searches, recruitment needs to be a major focus for any company. It is much more than just posting an ad to be successful, it takes a major commitment. In this session will be an overview why hiring tactics need to change; why turnover will kill you and how to stop it while hiring smarter; what the sales team of the future looks like.

Free for LMA members / $29 for media association partners / $59 for nonmembers.

Check here to see if your paper is a member: http://bit.ly/1wqkxug Registration: www.localmedia.org/webinars/

Click here for more Webinars and Training Sessions

Page 16 | ANAgrams ■ February 2017

Happenings & Events ANA BOD Meetings May 18 via conference call, 1 p.m.

July 27 via conference call, 1 p.m.

Sept. 29 TENTATIVE date, to be determined based on the ANA Fall Convention schedule.

Sept. 30 ANA Annual Meeting. TENTATIVE date, to be determined based on the ANA Fall Convention schedule.

Dec. 7 via conference call, 1 p.m.

ANA Office Holiday Schedules May 29 Memorial Day – CLOSED July 4 Independence Day – CLOSED September 4 Labor Day – CLOSED November 24 & 25 Thanksgiving – CLOSED December/January Dec. 25 through Jan. 1, 2018 – CLOSED

Save the Date!

ANA Fall Convention and Annual Meeting Sept. 30 Where: Wild Horse Pass Hotel & Casino, Chandler, AZ.

Workshop sessions, networking opportunities, and of course, everybody’s favorite event — the award ceremonies. Make your plans now!