California Publisher

A t th e C ap ito l

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Get more out of testimonials

Legislative session had mixed results Page 7

M oving t o mail

How multi-day papers deliver

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Winter 2024 | Volume CXIII, No. 4

Rebele, 93, was 1988 CNPA president

By Joe Wirt CNPA Director of Affiliate Relations

Rowland “Reb” Rebele, a tireless supporter of the First Amendment and California news organizations, died Nov. 25, 2023.

Rebele, CNPA’s 1988 president, was 93.

Rebele’s publishing career took him to the Coalinga Record, Chula Vista Star-News and Paradise Post.

After moving to the Santa Cruz area in the 1970s, his life as a philanthropist — and of wife Pat’s — included supporting the philosophy of pubRebele lishing as well as underwriting arts See REBELE, Page 11

CNPA focuses on key policy priorities in 2024; your support will be critical

By Jenny Dudikoff Special to California Publisher

As we head into 2024, the second year of a two-year legislative session, CNPA leadership is focused on three key issues in Sacramento. While the strategic approach and details as to how we plan to effectively tackle each of these issues is still being

Dudikoff

See ROLE IN ADVOCACY, Page 5

Case over misinformation on social media tests limits of ‘jawboning’ Misinformation can spread like wildfire on social media, sometimes with dangerous effects. Can the government do much about it?

The U.S. Supreme Court this term will hear a case testing the limits of “jawboning,” when government officials attempt to persuade or cajole ONLINE private companies to moderate conLEGALITIES tent in the absence of legal orders.

Jason Shepard The case is Murthy v. Missouri, in which the Court will review a ruling by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals that found government officials impermissibly coerced social media platforms into censoring content protected by the First Amendment.

See LEGALITIES, Page 9

In retirement, Bill Brehm Jr. is an avid nature photographer and gardener. (Photo courtesy Brehm Family)

Lifetime achievement award goes to Brehm From a news release

The California Press Foundation on Dec. 1 presented its Philip N. McCombs Achievement Award for lifetime service to William J. Brehm, Jr., a former executive at news companies across California and the Midwest.

The award honors distinguished publishers who are no longer fully active in the industry but who have served their communities well for an extended period and have made lasting contributions to the industry and its traditions.

Qualifications include: a living person who has been an exemplar of ethical conduct, leadership and service to the newspaper industry and their community; one who has been a newspaper leader on

California News Publishers Association

the local, state or national level; and one who has been a community leader and has contributed, through the newspaper, to the enhancement of community life.

As longtime CEO and then chairman of Brehm Communications, Inc., Brehm oversaw a family-owned company that included dozens of newspaper properties across the West and Midwest. Prior to their eventual sale in 2022, BCI's California holdings included a dozen newspapers.

Brehm was a longtime member of the CNPA Board of Directors and also was a sustaining supporter of Cal Press and its mission to support journalism education.

See BREHM, Page 3

1517 H St. #407, Sacramento CA 95814 (916) 288-6000

California Newspaper Hall of Fame inductee Newt Wallace was publisher of the Winters Express.

www.cnpa.com

2 | Winter 2024

C A L I F OR N I A PUB LIS HER

California Publisher

THE CNPA MISSION

To serve the common interests of its members and newsmedia, and foster the highest ideals, ethics and traditions of journalism, a free press and the news profession

California Journalism Awards: Exciting new changes coming to CNPA contests Published quarterly by the California News Publishers Association 1517 H St #407 Sacramento, CA 95814 Winter: December 2023 Operating Committee: Charles Ford Champion II President & Chief Executive Officer Joe Wirt Director of Affiliate Relations Brittney Barsotti General Counsel Cecelia Drake Chief Revenue Officer Ashley Bryant Director of Finance California Publisher USPN 084720 ISSN 0008-1434 Subscriptions are $15 per year.

California Publisher is printed by Gold Country Printing in Auburn.

Periodicals postage paid at Sacramento, CA. Postmaster send address changes to: California Publisher 1517 H St #407, Sacramento, CA 95814

CON T A CT US Submit a story idea, letter or comment to California Publisher: Joe Wirt (916) 288-6021 joe@cnpa.com Advertise in California Publisher: Cecelia Drake (916) 288-6011 cecelia@cnpa.com Change your address; update information: Ashley Bryant (916) 288-6012 ashley@cnpa.com Billing question: Ashley Bryant (916) 288-6012 ashley@cnpa.com Get help with a legal issue: Brittney Barsotti (916) 288-6006 brittney@cnpa.com

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Whether you run a large, medium or small newsroom, you’ll want to read this.

CNPA’s California Journalism Awards are getting a huge revamp this year, meaning FROM THE there are more options CHAIRPERSON for entering your team’s good work. As Emily Charrier we roll out the entry guidelines for the contest, we want to encourage all members to take a close look at the new categories and rules. We are standing by to answer your questions as you prepare your entries!

Perhaps the biggest change is the contest committee agreed to merge the Print and Digital contests, making for inclusion and balanced competition across the membership.

The General Excellence awards are also getting an overhaul to ensure we are truly recognizing the best work by newsrooms of all sizes.

And, by popular demand, we are bringing back fourth- and fifth-place awards in categories where there are a sufficient number of entries to award such prizes.

It’s a lot to chew on, right?

Let’s start with the new categories, which we hope will prompt more newsrooms to enter their team’s good work from across more coverage areas and content verticals, and recognize new areas of work our publications must master to succeed. The new categories are: • Labor Reporting • Homelessness Reporting • Technology Reporting • Film and TV Writing/Reporting • Music Writing/Reporting • Food Writing/Reporting • Fine Arts Writing/Reporting • Transportation Reporting • Community Calendar • Religion and Faith Writing • Tourism/Travel Writing/Reporting • Immigration Reporting We have added categories to recognize excellence in digital publishing, including

• Home Page Layout and Design • Online Story Presentation Page Layout & Design Also new this year are six categories that aim to help publishers earn recognition for their audience, community and innovation work: • Community Focus Award • Excellence in Collaborations and Partnerships • Social Media Innovation Award • Audience/Community Engagement Award • Innovative Technology Award • Sustainability Award Our contest committee, which included about 10 editors from across the CNPA membership, analyzed the contest categories from recent years and collaborated to devise new categories that would be more inclusive.

As an editor and publisher, I’m encouraged by the additions. And as a competitor, I’m already looking to my teams’ 2023 clips to see where we can put more of our work up against our esteemed colleagues from around CNPA-land.

The Campus contest remains unchanged for work published in 2023.

Merged contests promote inclusion A review of participation levels from recent years indicated that there were many CNPA newsrooms that had not been entering the California Journalism Awards.

One of the north stars of this contest overhaul was to create more opportunities for newsrooms to enter work that they consider award-worthy.

Another concern was that the distinction between print and digital operations at many publications has largely dissolved in recent years. We have sought to change the contest to keep up with the changing reality of being a news publisher in 2023.

This year, there is one contest for all CNPA Members: No more “Print and Digital divide.” The contest committee analyzed Print circulation, Digital-only unique monthly visitors and staffing numbers for both to create a new sevendivision contest.

This means that Print entrants who entered unique work in the Digital contest will now compete on a level field with Digital News members. And Digital-only members will be able to compete in a broader number of categories, directly with their Print counterparts.

New path to General Excellence The final change was a tricky one, in that the committee needed to weigh the value and prestige of the General Excellence Awards against the opportunity for more CNPA Members to compete by virtue of their most intensive and enterprising work.

The Print General Excellence Award had previously been based upon a member submitting two complete Print editions, while Digital General Excellence was based upon a judge’s review of the entire website.

Under the new rules, newsrooms must win at least two first-place awards or a first place and two other awards (second, third, fourth or fifth place) in any category of the 2023 contest to advance to consideration for the General Excellence award.

Judges will determine General Excellence winners by evaluating a newsroom’s winning entries across all categories of the 2023 contest plus their supplemental materials: either two complete print editions, or a review of a publication’s website.

More details about this will be published in the entry guidelines, and we will host some webinars to answer questions members may have.

I call this a win for all entrants whose bodies of work add up to a level above and beyond that contained in a single edition.

Overall, it’s a huge way for our publications to put their best work up for review and for CNPA to showcase the wealth of good work across all of our newsrooms.

I hope you’ll take a look and seize the opportunity. New rules and categories are at CNPA.com. The entry deadline is Feb. 13, 2024.

CNPA Chairperson Emily Charrier is editor and publisher of Sonoma Media Investments’ Sonoma Index-Tribune and publisher of the Petaluma Argus-Courier.

Make plans for our February Fly-in in Sacramento My connection to CNPA began with a Governmental Affairs Day in 2015. It was a trek from Southern California to Sacramento, but I knew it was crucial to be there.

At that gathering of publishers and editors, I glimpsed the value of numbers in representing the collective influence of our state’s news industry. And the CNPA collaboraEXECUTIVE tive is a key compoREPORT nent of my work with the association today.

Charles Ford Champion II Many hands have eased the burden for news companies doing business in California since CNPA’s founding, and that strategy is still solid today. The “many hands” focus returns to Sacramento with our Legislative Fly-in on Feb. 7. You may believe you run your operation year-round on your own, but joining others at least once a year is a vital infusion that pays dividends, both in interacting with other CNPA Members and in relating our commonality and influence to the Legislature.

Mark your calendars for this one-day gathering at the Sutter Club near the

Capitol. As is tradition, key leaders in government and our industry will take part in explaining the legislative process and the issues concerning CNPA Members. In turn, our members will share their personal and collective advocacy with legislators and staff in Capitol visits and networking opportunities.

Please make plans to join us in February.

Unshakable advocacy requires solid funding Your association’s dues have not risen since 2016, though impacts on revenue and costs of doing business have increased.

CNPA directors, in analyzing the association’s membership and costs, determined that adjustments both to Print and Digital News membership must be enacted to cover shortfalls in revenue from advertising placement and events production.

In January, Print Members will see a 15% increase in annual dues, which leadership deemed equitable across all newspaper levels. Print dues are based upon declared annual gross revenue. The scale for Print dues now begins at $744 per year. Print Members who choose to prepay their 2014 dues will receive a 3% discount.

Print dues had seen incremental increases in the 2010s but were frozen in 2017.

CNPA dues for all Digital News Media will increase in January. They will be based upon the number of full-time employees and independent contractors and range from $744 to $2,000 per year.

CNPA’s building sold CNPA has sold the office building it has owned and leased to CNPA Services, Inc. Acquired in 2014 and renovated to house the association-management company’s staff, the 7,060-square-foot, two-story building with subterranean parking is at 2701 K St. in Sacramento, across the street from Sutter’s Fort State Historic Park. The building had two tenants at the time of acquisition. Following the move, Services staff occupied the upper floor and part of the lower level.

Directors who assisted in the project aimed to both reduce and stabilize the operation’s office costs. CNPA as owner and landlord would build equity in its new asset and obtain a new and stable source of revenue. The process would help to keep member services strong and dues low.

Subsequently, with changes to Services staffing and the real-estate climate, the investment property became more a rental property. Staff had worked primarily See MAKE PLANS, Page 9

Winter 2024 | 3

California Publisher

California Press Foundation directors paid tribute to Rowland “Reb” Rebele on Dec. 1 during their 146th Annual Winter Meeting in Berkeley. From left: Dean Eckenroth, Becky Clark, Bruce Brugmann, Marty Weybret, John Burns, Tom Newton, Jim Ewert, Jim Boren and Will Fleet. (Photos by Shannon Faulise)

Professor Bill Drummond, UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, accepted the Mark Twain Award for Journalism Excellence in California for the family of the late Los Angeles reporter Ruben Salazar.

Former Cal Press interns who informed the group about their careers so far: Robin Epley, left, opinion writer for The Sacramento Bee; Cresencio Rodriguez-Delgado, news director at KVPR public radio in Fresno; and Alexis Terrazas, editor in chief of El Tecolote in San Francisco.

BREHM \ From page 1

In his retirement, Brehm and wife Sandy have traveled and hosted family, including a growing brood of grandchildren. Brehm himself remains active in Rotary and is an avid nature photographer.

Mark Twain Award

Cal Press’ Mark Twain Award for Journalism Excellence in California this year honored the late Ruben Salazar, the Los Angeles Times columnist and former reporter whose groundbreaking work shed light on the struggles of Mexican Americans in Los Angeles. He died when a tear-gas projectile struck him during the National Chicano Moratorium March against the Vietnam War on Aug. 29, 1970, in East Los Angeles.

George Savage

Marty Weybret inducted George Savage into the California Newspaper Hall of Fame, presenting the award to Patricia Johnson, Savage’s grand-niece.

This award, presented since 2010, honors those from the writerly world: editors, writers, cartoonists whose journalistic work, either regional or statewide in nature, challenged the status quo. Nominees may have rendered service anytime from the beginning of newspapering in California to the present time.

Hall of Fame

Cal Press inducted Newt Wallace and George Savage into the California Newspaper Hall of Fame this year.

Wallace was publisher of the Winters Express from 1947 to 1983 and was considered the epitome of a small-town newspaper publisher.

Savage was publisher of the Inyo Register, Lone Pine Progress-Citizen and lnyo lndependent. He also had been managing editor of the Claremont Courier and assistant to the publishers of the San Bernardino Sun-Telegram.

Cal Press inducts two into the California Newspaper Hall of Fame each year: one who has been deceased fewer than 10 years and one for more than 10 years.

Salazar

Assemblywoman Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland) co-author of AB 886, the California Journalism Protection Act.

Jack Bates Award The Jack Bates Award for distinguished service to the California Press went to Jean-Paul Jassy, partner, Jassy Vick Carolan LLP, a CNPA Allied Member. The award honors an individual for distinguished service to the California Press through effective leadership in addressing newspaper challenges and assisting journalism education.

The California Press Foundation 146th Annual Winter Meeting, held in Berkeley, featured a keynote conversation with Geeta Anand, dean of the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism; a panel of former Cal Press newsroom interns; a discussion about community foundation funding of local news; and a look at the JourEd Collaborative project.

More about Cal Press at Cal-Press.org.

Jim Ewert, left, former CNPA general counsel, presented the Jack Bates Award for distinguished service to the California Press to Jean-Paul Jassy of Jassy Vick Carolan LLP, a CNPA Allied Member.

4 | Winter 2024

California Publisher

ADVERTISING

Get more mileage out of testimonials Back in my ad agency days, I worked with a real estate client on a series of customer testimonials. We started with one, then added another and another. The final count was more than a dozen, which kept the campaign fresh and gave us a lot of flexibility.

The plan was to run smaller ads with one testimonial, and then to place three small testimonials at the top of weekly, full-page ads that featured descriptions of houses for sale. The ads attracted attention from AD-LIBS prospective buyers and sellers (many of whom recognized their neighbors) John Foust and the company’s agents (who were proud when their clients were featured). One testimonial photo and quote featured a South Korean couple who had relocated to the area, when one spouse’s high tech employer moved a number of executives to North Carolina from that country. The quote appeared in Korean, which appealed to others who were relocating with the same company, in addition to attracting a lot of attention on the page.

This strategy gave us more mileage than a campaign with two or three testimonials, because there were so many different combinations. If you’d like to try something similar, here are the steps to take: 1. Select the right testimonial subjects. Your advertiser can make the choices. Go for variety: some individuals, some couples and some international customers, if possible. In the case of real estate, balance testimonials between home buyers and sellers.

2. Get the right testimonial quotes. You can coach your advertiser on how to do this. Keep the quotes brief, with a target of 10 to 20 words. The quotes can be obtained by phone or email, or even in person. Make sure the subjects understand that their comments may be edited slightly for brevity.

3. Be specific. A testimonial ad is a way to convey selling points about the advertiser. As a result, it’s important to ask questions to direct answers in the right direction … and to create a variety of statements. “XYZ’s service team responds quickly to calls. I can always count on them” is more informative than “The XYZ Company is great. I really like them.” The next quote can focus on something other than service: product selection, for example.

4. Photos are a must. Taking photographs has gotten simpler with each year. It’s OK to use your phone.

Headshots are best. Clean, uncluttered backgrounds provide better ad reproduction.

5. Get signed releases. Depending on the laws in your area, make sure you have the proper permission to use each testimonial. Release forms can be found online.

6. Establish a rotation. Be flexible. The more testimonials you have, the greater the possibilities (some ads with one testimonial, some with multiple testimonials).

7. Thank (but do not pay) your testimonial subjects.

Unpaid testimonials from real customers have the ring of authenticity. Your advertiser should send a nice letter, along with their photo (preferably 5x7) and a copy of an ad in which they appeared. It’s another chance for your advertiser to strengthen their relationships with clients.

Large and small, California publishers turn to us.

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

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Winter 2024 | 5

California Publisher

AT T H E C A P I T O L

ROLE IN ADVOCACY \ From page 1 refined, an overview on each issue is important to understand where CNPA plans to focus its advocacy and public affairs resources.

2024 key issues Public notice: There continues to be a national effort gaining momentum to replace print newspaper notice requirements with government websites and online notice. Legislators introduced several bills last year to eliminate selected notice requirements, making this a priority issue for CNPA in 2024. As a critical revenue source for our membership, it will be important for CNPA to demonstrate why newspaper notice remains vital to keep

information in the public stream while maintaining ease of accessibility and continuity.

Open meetings: Open meetings is another topic that saw attention this year in the Legislature, with seven different bills seeking to exempt various categories of governmental bodies from complying with the Brown Act. We view the effort by special interests as a strategy to chip away at open meetings and transparency, threatening to eliminate it entirely. One of the bills relaxing open meeting requirements, SB 544, passed the Legislature and was signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom. SB 544 encourages special interests to further erode the requirements, impacting how we currently hold public officials accountable and allow media access to do so.

For this CNPA priority issue, and as a growing trend

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CALL CECELIA DRAKE WITH AD-NETWORK QUESTIONS: (916) 288-6011

CNPA: ABOUT OUR LEGAL HELPLINE. Open meetings and public records: What to know If you have a question about the meeting of a city council, school board or other Brown Act body, get a copy of the agenda and be familiar with it. The first question the Helpline Helpline calls are included with membership in CNPA. Members attorney usually asks is, “What did the agenda for the item often say that the money the Helpline has saved them in legal say?” costs is alone worth the price of CNPA membership.

If you are not allowed into a meeting or your public records The operator of CNPA’s legal Helpline is available to answer any request is denied, ask the contact person denying your question asked by any CNPA-Member publisher or publisher’s admission or request what statute the agency is relying on for employee about law and legislation as they affect newsgath- its position. ering and the news business.

Since the Brown Act and the Public Records Act presume public access to meetings and documents, the agency has the Why would you call? burden of showing why it is denying you access. l Do you publish legal notices? l Do you mail your newspapers?

This information is critical when calling the Helpline because l Do you distribute using newsracks? it allows the CNPA attorney to quickly evaluate the agency’s l Do you work with independent contractor carriers or legal reasoning. freelance journalists? l Do you cover city hall? l Do you accept housing ads?

Learn more at cnpa.com/legal-help l Do you report on the courts? or contact Brittney Barsotti, l Do you get information from local police or sheriff’s (916) 288-6006 departments? l Do you ever get troublesome ad copy, letters to the editor or worry about your comments section online?

CNPA l Do your employees work overtime? l Do you ever have someone tell you that the law requires 1517 H St. #407 you to do something or not to do something – and you’d like a Sacramento CA 95814 (916) 288-6000 second opinion?

Among the many services CNPA offers its members, the legal Helpline often provides the most direct benefit to members and their staffs.

The CNPA Helpline has you covered.

across the nation, we will be working to define and emphasize the importance of public-official accountability and how that differs from the important distinction of public participation. Decision-makers have to be available to reporters and the public.

AB 5: As you are well aware, the introduction and passage of AB 5 (independent contractors) in 2019 was a significant focus for CNPA. CNPA was able to negotiate a three-year exemption for newspaper carriers: one that will sunset at the end of 2024. With this deadline on the horizon, it will be important for us to come together and determine the best path forward to extending the sunset or advocating for a permanent extension.

AB 886: The California Journalism Protection Act would require large online platforms to pay news outlets a “journalism usage fee” for the pre-click value of their content. The fee would be determined for outlets through a baseball-style arbitration process. Each publisher would receive the quarterly allocation share, with small publishers receiving a $25,000 minimum annual payment. The bill also would require publishers to invest 70% of those funds in preserving journalism jobs in California.

Your engagement continues to be the best form of advocacy As discussed in our last quarterly publication, your engagement with legislators strengthens CNPA and local news statewide. The most effective form of advocacy relies on consistent and reliable communications over a sustained period of time between local publishers and members of the Legislature. We urge you to revisit and maintain your local relationships, as 2024 is going to be a significant year for us in the state Capitol, and your support will be critical.

CNPA has nearly 600 members across the state; if each member contacted its representative either in person, by letter or phone call, the impact would be substantial. CNPA members’ role cannot be underestimated, and having wellinformed, engaged members is critical to ensure that CNPA can meet its legislative, regulatory and political goals.

We look forward to your engagement next year, and as always, we appreciate your commitment and support.

Jenny Dudikoff is a leader of the public affairs team at KP Public Affairs, a CNPA Allied Member.

Two news companies move to non-profit Embarcadero Media and the Long Beach Post/Long Beach Business Journal have announced their conversion to nonprofit organizations.

Pacific Community Media LLC had owned the Long Beach Post, founded in 2007, since 2018. It acquired the Long Beach Business Journal in 2010.

“This is a huge change: For the first time, we are beholden to no one but the readers we serve,” wrote former Executive Editor Melissa Evans, now-CEO of the new nonprofit Long Beach Journalism Initiative.

In Palo Alto, Embarcadero Media aims to complete its nonprofit transition in early 2024. Founded in 1979 by Bill Johnson, 2017-18 CNPA president, it publishes the Palo Alto Weekly, The Almanac in Menlo Park, Pleasanton Weekly and several community news sites.

“Local journalism has the ability to make our communities stronger by shining a light on local institutions and helping people to feel connected to their neighbors,” said Embarcadero CEO Adam Dawes. “But we can’t do that alone. We need the support of our community to ensure that publications can continue to thrive for years to come.”

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6 | Winter 2024

California Publisher

Omissions as damaging as glaring errors to credibility

By Jim Pumarlo Special to California Publisher

Newsrooms collectively cringe at the obvious errors when an edition rolls off the presses or is posted online with mistakes: a misspelled word in a headline, especially on Page 1, a wrong score in a sporting event, an incorrect date of an upcoming event.

Most miscues are acknowledged, but the original mistake has taken its toll on credibility. That can be especially damaging in today’s challenging media landscape when readership share is at a premium.

The above examples and any number of other errors are easy to spot. But also scrutinize your reporting for instances of omissions that can be equally harmful to your newspaper’s integrity.

Consider, for example, when someone speaks up at a public meeting and unleashes criticism about an individual or organization. Reporters have little difficulty presenting a balanced report if the accused is at the meeting. But what happens if the individual is not present? And what if deadlines do not permit time to get the other side of the argument?

It’s the classic case of a “single source” story. These reports are no doubt the easiest to write, and they also will prompt calls of “foul play” from readers for good reason.

Consider this editor’s note, which prefaced a story:

Note: The following article pertains to a presentation that represented one side of a highly controversial topic. Representatives for the alternative position were not available to contest or counter statements made and statistics shared. As such, that perspective is not a component of this report.

Kudos to the staff for acknowledging the shortcomings in its report, but it could have done better to earn its readers’ trust.

The editor’s note — the newspaper’s lack of initiative in pursuing and presenting the other side of the story — is rather remarkable in today’s 24/7 communications landscape. Multiple avenues are available to get the opposing view, from picking up the telephone to sending an email to checking out organization websites.

Blind-sided attacks are becoming all too common at meetings of government bodies. Newsrooms, as the clearinghouse of information in your communities, are often in a perfect position to anticipate the circumstances and double down your efforts to present all sides of a story.

Brainstorming at a staff meeting can reveal additional opportunities for broader coverage with multiple voices.

Example: A school board is prepared to act on a recommendation to switch from half-day to all-day kindergarten; the packet of materials accompanying the agenda details the reasons. A preview of the meeting is a chance to provide “pro” and “con”

arguments, including interviews with several individuals.

Follow-up reports on a variety of board actions present similar opportunities.

Review other everyday coverage in your newspapers A community’s selection of a “citizen of the year” is an automatic feature story: usually a one-on-one sit-down with the honoree. Inject some flavor to the story by including comments from other individuals.

A big-box retailer comes into a town with great fanfare. A sidebar is appropriate to capture the sentiments of those who believe existing local retailers will be helped or hindered.

Most items in police blotters are sufficiently summarized in a few sentences. On occasion, take the time to quiz police on some incidents, and the circumstances can lead to an interesting story.

Tracking down all the voices — all the perspectives — of a story is just the first step, however. Two other points are important in the spirit of fairness.

First, give the opposing voices equal prominence. Court proceedings are a great example. In other words, don’t put the prosecutor’s arguments on Page 1 and bury the defense’s rebuttal on the jump page.

Reader attention is limited on the web, too; present the opposing viewpoints in the first few paragraphs.

Second, don’t be afraid to hold a story if it means delivering a more complete — and fairer — report. That’s especially the case with nondaily newspapers, where it can be a few days to a week before readers receive the “other side.” In these cases, the web is a great friend. Newspapers can wait a few hours to pursue all the voices and still deliver a timely report.

The instructive to seek all perspectives of dialogue at government meetings is especially important today as newsrooms deal with diminished resources. Reporters increasingly monitor meetings livestream with no ability for immediate follow-up with individuals.

Seeking and incorporating the many varied — yet pertinent — voices in a story is not always easy. It can take time and hard work: solid journalism that benefits the newspaper and readers alike.

Jim Pumarlo is former editor of the Red Wing (Minnesota) Republican Eagle. He 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.

F R O M T H E S E PA G E S REB LOOKS BACK: For this 2008 feature, Rowland "Reb" Rebele recounted his early adventures in community newspapering and connected the tale to those still publishing around the state.

4 California Publisher Summer 2008

C O M M U N I T Y N E W S PA P E R S

Lessons from early venture still valid

By Rowland Rebele Special to California Publisher A newspaper fails when it can’t make its payroll, including something for the ownerpublishers, when it fails to cover the news of its community and when it fails to write challenging editorials expressing views that the owner feels are in the best interests of his/her community, inviting others in the community to express their own view in his/her newspaper through lively, opinionated letters to the editor.

So my wife Pat and I concentrated on doing those things — selling ads like mad and covering the news like mad and writing our views — during our four years publishing Rowland the Coalinga Record from Rebele 1957 to 1961. And only those things. I think the same formula would apply today, although some (or all) of the news and ads would be on the Internet as well as in print. But I don’t think the basic mission of a good community weekly newspaper has changed very much.

As owner-editor, I’d sell advertising on Thursday, Friday and Saturday and maybe a half-day Monday, shoe-leathering it from store to store. At night I’d cover school board, city council, planning commission, etc. meetings, if there were any, and laying out ads. Sunday was spent writing editorials, maybe laying out some more ads. Then, Monday afternoon I’d begin news writing. More meeting coverage and writing Monday night. More reporting and newswriting Tuesday all day. Taking news and feature photos all week long, of course.

I also had a full-time reporter on staff, the former publisher/editor, F. J. MacCollum, who covered the cops, courts and fire station and wrote a wonderful

column called “Fifth St. Philosopher” every week. It was the first thing lots of our readers turned to in the paper. I also had correspondents who covered outlying news, high school/community college sports, library news, social news, church news, etc.

On Wednesday I’d work in the backshop helping get the paper out: putting together ads, making up pages and printing, folding and mailing the paper. Wednesday night, after we’d delivered the paper to the post office in the “Hoopus” (our broken-down Dodge car so named because it whooped and coughed its way each week from our backshop to the post office, and amazingly actually made it every week).

Of course, we had to hold back about 2,000 copies for our youngster street-vendors to sell on Thursday, a tradition at The Record that went back to its daily days in the ’20s and ’30s when Coalinga was a booming oil town. These kids would line up after school on Thursday afternoon in front of our office to buy the paper and then sell it door to door.

Meanwhile, virtually all week long, wife Pat was laying out ads, answering the phone, doing basic bookkeeping, covering meetings: We essentially divided the workload and did everything. We did have a crew of three to four printers, however, in our hot-type backshop who linotyped copy, put ads together, did job printing (job printing was about 20% of our revenue), poured pigs, made stereotypes of “mats” and did all that stuff.

In late 1959, we sold our whole hot-type plant and replaced it with offset equipment and a Harris S7L 36” x 48” sheet-fed offset press. We also bought Justowriters and a Headliner to create news copy and display ad phototype. What a wholesale change from hot type! But Pat was happy because now she could draw ads, put type on the bias, create illustrations, etc., in the whisk of a pen stroke!).

I remember in our fourth year at the Record, in 1960-61, we grossed about $125,000 and were able to take home about $25,000 of that for ourselves. We thought we were really successful, not only because we had enough money to live on and pay our debts, but because a few people in the community hated us for our outspoken editorials. We cherished those who disagreed with us. But our “profits” allowed us to sell the paper to Murray Flander (who later became Sen. Alan Cranston’s press secretary when he sold the paper five years later to Keith Shannon of Hanford). We’d had bought the Record in 1957 for $35,000 from F. J. MacCollum and sold it four years later to Flander, for, as I recall, $115,000: $30,000 down and the balance on a 15-year equally amortizing loan at, as I recall, at 5 percent interest. We’d also made enough during our four years in Coalinga to pay off a loan from my dad, buy our first house for $12,250 and live pretty well. In those days, that was being successful, man!

There were no “community editions” or “group buys” in the newspapers of 1958.

Every town around us had its own independent newspaper and independent publisher/editor, to wit: Henry Leffert published the Lemoore Advance; the O’Neills published the Avenal Times; Robert “Cotton Top” Evans published the Shafter Press; Harry Casey published the King City Rustler-Herald; Fred Weybret published the Paso Robles Press; Roy Brock published the Selma Enterprise; Tony Turano published the Clovis Independent; Seymour Sterling published the Sanger Herald; Ray Chapman published the Patterson Irrigator; Diane and Bob Raison published the Dinuba Sentinel.

We were all independents and damned independent-minded, too. Most of us related through our San Joaquin Unit of CNPA to the larger CNPA organization. We shared ideas and exchanged issues so we could

steal good ideas from each other. It was a “loose confederation” of like-minded but independent weekly (or daily) newspapers.

We got together regularly and drank beer, had a steak dinner and told lies.

The advice I’d give to a publisher starting out in a small town today is to cover the news thoroughly; sell ads creatively and relentlessly; and publish opinions through lively letters to the editor, columns by local pundits, and through your own editorials Take stands; lead; investigate. You can do it.

Tim Crews does it with a vengeance in Glenn and Colusa counties; Al McCombs does it in Chino; Craig and Katie Harrington do it in Burney; Bill Lynch does it in Sonoma; the O’Malleys do it in Berkeley; Roy Herburger does it in Galt and Elk Grove; Steve McLaughlin does it in Gualala; Becky Clark does it in Idyllwild; Robert Plotkin does it in Point Reyes; Jeff vonKaenel does it at the Sacramento News & Review; Bruce Brugmann does it at the San Francisco Bay Guardian; Paul Nyberg does it at the Los Altos Town Crier; Bob Matthews does it in Tracy; and Bill Johnson does it in Palo Alto, Pleasanton and Mill Valley. These are the independent publishers I know, and I vouchsafe all are making a decent living. There are many more in California I don’t know, and I assume they’re making a good living, too.

The need of a community for a local newspaper, a reliable source of news, opinion and advertising, will never end, in my opinion. Whether it’s published in print or on the Internet, or a combination of the two. And as long as there is that need, there will be hard working, bright, opinionated (but fair in news coverage) journalist/businesspersons to fill the need.

Rowland Rebele, a former co-owner of newspapers in Chula Vista, Coalinga and Paradise, lives with wife Pat in Aptos.

Winter 2024 | 7

California Publisher

Legislative session ends mixed for CNPA

By Brittney Barsotti CNPA General Counsel

The session scorecard ended with bills CNPA opposed being signed and those it supported coming back as two-year bills.

Here is the wrap-up: Public Notice CNPA opposed AB 721 (Valencia), regarding public notice of school district budget information. The bill requires school budget information be posted prominently on the homepage of the internet website of the school district or published by the school district in a newspaper of general circulation in the school district or, if there is no newspaper of general circulation in the school district, in any newspaper of general circulation in the county, at least three days before the availability of the proposed budget for public inspection.

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the bill.

CNPA also opposed AB 542 (J. Carrillo), covering public notice of lien sales by selfservice storage facilities. This bill would require a single publication in a newspaper of general circulation in either the

public notice district where the sale is to be held or in the county where the selfservice facility is located. The bill would alternatively authorize an owner to satisfy these notice requirements by publishing once in a newspaper of general circulation and an advertisement for the sale on an internet website that customarily conducts or advertises online auctions or sales.

Newsom signed the bill.

Open Meetings CNPA did not take a position on SB 411 (Portantino), which would fundamentally alter the Brown Act by excluding subsidiary bodies from complying with the Brown Act and allowing them to meet remotely, without in-person access indefinitely and without justification. Newsom signed the bill.

CNPA opposed AB 817 (Pacheco), which would exempt all subsidiary bodies from complying with the teleconferencing provisions of the Brown Act, thus allowing them to meet remotely, indefinitely and without justification. There would never have to be a quorum in person or a place from which the public can participate in

EFFICIENT APPROACH Media & First Amendment Internet & Digital Entertainment Intellectual Property Business Litigation EXPERIENCED ADVOCACY San Francisco 601 Montgomery Street, Suite 850 San Francisco, CA 94111 415-539-3399

Los Angeles 355 S. Grand Avenue, Suite 2450 Los Angeles, CA 90071 310-870-7048

Photo by Lindsay Champion

Chris Jennewein, left, Times of San Diego; and Steve Falk, The Press Democrat, Santa Rosa; were part of the audience at the Senate Committee on Judiciary’s hearing, “The Importance of Journalism in the Digital Age,” on Dec. 5 at UCLA.

person. The bill was held in committee.

CNPA opposed AB 1275 (Arambula), which would authorize student-run community college organizations to use teleconferencing for their meetings without having to (1) post agendas at all teleconfer-

Photo by Lindsay Champion

Simon Grieve, left, Grunion Gazette, Long Beach; with Ryan Adam, The Toronto Star; during the Senate Committee on Judiciary’s hearing “The Importance of Journalism in the Digital Age” on Dec. 5 at UCLA.

encing locations, (2) identify each teleconference location in the notice and agenda, (3) make each teleconference location accessible to the public, and (4) require that a quorum of the student organization’s members participate from a singular physical location. The bill was held in committee.

CNPA opposed AB 1379 (Papan), covering open meetings of local agencies. It would delete the restriction that prohibits a member, based on just cause, from participating remotely for more than two meetings per calendar year. The bill would delete the requirement for the legislative body to provide at least one of two specified means by which the public may remotely hear and visually observe the meeting. The bill would also delete a provision that requires a member participating remotely to publicly disclose at the meeting before action is taken whether there are individuals 18 years of age present in the room at the remote location and the general nature of the member’s relationship to those individuals. The See LEGISLATIVE, Page 8

MOST EXCELLENT, MEMBERS.

These CNPA Members captured top Print honors in our 2022 California Journalism Awards.

Dozens more categories are open to entry by daily, weekly, campus and digital members.

Is there excellence in your newsroom? Be sure to join or renew your CNPA membership to be eligible to enter the California Journalism Awards this coming year.

CALL JOE WIRT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT MEMBERSHIP: (916) 288-6021

8 | Winter 2024

California Publisher

The last mile is moving to USPS

By Joe Wirt CNPA Director of Affiliate Relations

In recent years, news companies have reduced daily print days, cut back rural delivery and encouraged the adoption of e-editions, all to reduce printing, delivery and manpower costs.

The move to mail delivery by multi-day newspapers adds a new opportunity to ensure timely delivery and reduce costs.

Some carrier-served dailies that have mailed to subscribers in hard-to-deliver areas now are looking to convert entire operations to mail. That adds a logistical challenge that calls for technology and special coordination with the USPS. In zip codes with few subscribers, distribution by contracted carrier is a loss leader. Metro district managers often have difficulty filling these and other routes, and newspaper companies have encouraged those customers to subscribe to e-editions or mailed copies.

CNPA-Member companies were reluctant to share their top-level plans for specific changes in their markets, but flags that have converted to same-day mail delivery have shared the news with subscribers and customers.

The overhead for multi-day publishers has them looking at efficient cross-town or cross-county delivery by mail. They know that hands-on print is still meaningful for many customers and crucial for print advertisers. But bottom-line concerns have led some companies to increase singlecopy prices and subscription levels to con-

LEARN MORE CEO Brad Hill at Interlink provided logistical guidance for this piece.

Visit ilsw.com or contact him at (888) 473-3103; brad@ilsw.com.

tinue servicing their local and rural routes.

Conversion to mailed delivery calls for special arrangements with post offices and USPS regional distribution centers.

A program called Exceptional Dispatch provides a way for dailies to drop off their newspapers before hours at post offices and arrange for their routes to be distributed through USPS transport to other post offices farther along the route line.

Several key points aim to streamline the process.

First, an analysis of the newspaper’s routes should identify the post offices that serve current subscribers. Zip code data already in hand makes this easy for the newspaper.

Then, the publisher should identify the USPS plants covering the newspaper’s market. For regional publishers,

this enables the daily delivery to catch a ride from the distribution center to other post offices on USPS trucks.

Third, the publisher needs to apply for and secure Brad Hill Exceptional Dispatch, which happens at the local level. It allows for a declaration of what will be dropped and at what time in order to make those drops before USPS opening hours. This requires the adoption of electronic paperwork so that the route is coded and sorted for an efficient move from newspaper truck to drop-off and to the regional USPS trucks and/or individual route trucks.

Special software also allows publishers to calculate the exact postage for any known issue.

By enabling these steps, multi-day delivery potentially can reduce same-day per-copy delivery to a very attractive level.

the playing field between Big Tech and journalism providers, no matter their size.

This bill will ensure the future of journalism and our role in democracy by requiring Big Tech to pay each publisher a fee based on the advertising revenue generated from the use of their content. Additionally, the bill requires that 70 percent of revenue from the bill go back into newsrooms and journalism jobs. Bill in Senate Judiciary Committee.

SB 254 (Skinner) covers media access to prisons. California prisons currently are among the least transparent in the nation.

But prior to the 1990s, state prisons were

much more accessible to the news media, enabling the public and policymakers to know more about prison conditions. For over 20 years, CDCR allowed journalists to conduct face-to-face interviews and to investigate leads inside prison walls. The publication of the resulting stories helped inform the public and initiate important policy changes necessary to achieve the efficient administration of the prison system and to provide accountability for

one of California’s largest and most expensive public institutions. Bill in Senate Appropriations.

SB 719 (Becker) would require law enforcement agencies, including the California Highway Patrol, municipal police departments, county sheriff’s departments, and local law enforcement agencies, to ensure public access to the radio communications of that agency. Bill in Senate Appropriations.

Photo illustration by Joe Wirt/CNPA Services, Inc.

Some publishers are finding efficiency by moving the multi-day “last mile” from driveway to mailbox.

LEGISLATIVE \ From page 7 bill would further delete a provision that prohibits a member from participating remotely for a period of more than three consecutive months or 20% of the regular meetings within a calendar year, or more than two meetings if the legislative body regularly meets fewer than 10 times per calendar year. The bill would expand the definition of just cause to include travel related to a member of a legislative body’s occupation. The bill was held in committee.

CNPA opposed SB 544 (Laird), covering the Bagley-Keene Act, which governs open meeting requirements for all state bodies, similar to the Brown Act. The bill would require all boards and commissions with regulatory authority to meet with an in-person quorum, but it would allow individuals with a disability or just cause to count toward the in-person quorum. All advisory bodies and commissions will be allowed to meet entirely remotely, without justification until the bill sunsets in 2026.

Newsom signed the bill.

CNPA opposed SB 537 (Becker), which would allow bodies to meet remotely, without historical guardrails of the Brown Act. The bill would define “legislative body” for this purpose to mean a board, commission, or advisory body of a multijurisdictional cross county agency, the membership of which board, commission, or advisory body is appointed and which board, commission, or advisory body is otherwise subject to the act. The bill would also define “multijurisdictional” to mean a legislative body that includes representatives from more than one county, city, city and county, special district, or a joint powers entity. Bill dead for the year.

CNPA supported AB 469 (V. Fong), which would allow for an ombudsperson to review denied public records act requests from state agencies and if improperly denied, disclose the appropriate records. This would create another avenue for small publications and individuals who can’t afford to challenge denials in court to have improper denials reviewed and remedied. Newsom vetoed the bill.

Two-Year Bills AB 886 (Wicks), the California Journalism Protection Act, would level

GO BACK IN TIME.

Community newspapers:

Numbers to brag about

A combined 77% percent of respondents say they read a newspaper that covers their local community, both via printed edition and online edition.

83% of respondents said their households rely on their community newspaper for local news and information.

93% said that their community newspaper informs them.

43% cited the local newspaper as their top resource for making shopping decisions.

89% of community newspaper readers planned to vote in the last federal or state election. Respondents called local newspapers the most trusted source for learning about candidates for public office.

Dynamic digital editions of California Publisher are available for viewing and reading on your favorite digital device. Just click “California Publisher” at the top of CNPA.com.

Tecnavia Press, a proud CNPA Allied Partner, provides our digital edition support.

A combined 96% say it’s very or somewhat important to have reliability and truth in local journalism, including 83% who think it’s “very” important.

39% of respondents think newspapers are the originators of content when they read stories on the internet or social media.

RESPONDENTS think it is important for the public to have access to public notices from local governments — local newspaper readers more so with an average rating of 6.72 on a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 representing the highest). * 2022 NNA Community Newspaper Readership Survey Report

Winter 2024 | 9

California Publisher

LEGALITIES \ From page 1 The government’s defense is that it was simply pointing out to social media companies the dangerous false content that was spreading online in violation of the social media’s own content moderation policies.

Examples of online misinformation and extremism seem to be everywhere.

Following the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack against Israel, experts documented how false claims and deceptively edited videos fueled extremist speech and racist and anti-Semitic hate crimes.

The “demand for an intimate view of the war has created ample openings for disinformation peddlers, conspiracy theorists and propaganda artists — malign influences that regulators and researchers now warn pose a dangerous threat to public debates about the war,” CNN reported.

“Getting information from social media is likely to lead to you being severely disinformed,” Imran Ahmed, founder and CEO of the social media watchdog group Center for Countering Digital Hate, told CNN. Falsehoods on social media are nothing new. An early example of real-world harm from online conspiracy theories was the case of “Pizzagate,” when a man in 2016 fired a shotgun in the Comet Ping Pong pizza shop in Washington, D.C., believing he was exposing a child sex ring run by supporters of presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

And in dozens of cases in which individuals have been sentenced for crimes related to the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, defendants blamed false election conspiracies fueled by President Donald Trump and his supporters to justify their actions.

In his latest book, “Liar in a Crowded Theater,” law professor Jeff Kosseff traces the history of regulations of false speech and defends traditional First Amendment rationales that call for skepticism of regulation, including theories related to mar-

ketplace of ideas, democratic citizenship and the philosophy of uncertainty.

Instead of banning false speech under the First Amendment, Kosseff proposes solutions that give targets of false speech greater ability to respond, supporting online platforms in content moderation, holding people accountable for how they respond to false speech, increasing media literacy skills and restoring public trust in institutions such as government agencies and the media.

One would think the government actions under review in the Murthy case fit squarely within Kosseff’s proposals, allowing the government to take actions to mitigate harmful misinformation short of censorship.

But as the Murthy case shows, it’s not so simple. The stakes are high and the issues are complex.

The Murthy case (originally filed in the lower courts as Missouri v. Biden) focuses on complaints about removed content on topics such as the COVID-19 lab-leak theory, pandemic lockdowns, vaccine effects, election fraud and the Hunter Biden laptop story.

Four individuals, a conservative website and the states of Missouri and Louisiana filed the lawsuit in U.S. district court in Louisiana. They alleged that government officials in the Biden administration, including those in the White House, Surgeon General’s office, the CDC and the FBI, improperly pressured Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Google to remove or downgrade posts and stories by conservative speakers.

In July, a U.S. district court issued a sweeping injunction against the Biden Administration, finding that “unrelenting pressure” from government officials likely “had the intended result of suppressing millions of protected free speech postings

by American citizens.” The judge ruled government’s actions constituted viewpoint discrimination against conservative

To find significant encouragement, a court must find the government exercised ‘active, meaningful control over the private party’s decision.’

To find coercion, a court must find the government compelled a private party’s decision. speakers.

Notably, the judge’s injunction banned government officials from even communicating with social media companies about content moderation practices.

In September, the appellate court limited but affirmed some central findings of the district court.

In a 74-page ruling, the Fifth Circuit scrutinized communications between government officials and social media companies, including emails demanding to take down flagged content “ASAP” and “remove [an] account immediately.”

Social media companies responded to the requests “with total compliance,” the appellate court ruled. The government said in filings that social media companies rejected requests as often as they agreed to them.

Government officials have the right to speak about public issues. Legal precedents make it clear the government “can speak for itself, which includes the right to advocate and defend its own policies.”

But when officials take action to induce private parties into violating the First Amendment, such actions may be viewed as improper state action.

“On the one hand there is persuasion, and on the other is coercion and significant encouragement,” the appellate court ruled.

Under current precedents, the first is permissible, the latter is not.

To find significant encouragement, a court must find the government exercised “active, meaningful control over the private party’s decision.”

To find coercion, a court must find the government compelled a private party’s decision. Lower courts have used a nuanced four-part test to determine whether government actions “can reasonably be interpreted as intimating that some form of punishment or adverse regulatory action will follow the failure to accede to the official’s request.”

While acknowledging that officials “have an interest in engaging with social media companies, including on issues

such as misinformation and election interference,” the Fifth Circuit concluded that the government likely “coerced the platforms into direct action via urgent, uncompromising demands to moderate content” with express or implied threats of adverse consequences if they failed to comply, in violation of the First Amendment.

In October, the Supreme Court lifted the temporary restraining order against the government, and it granted review of the Fifth Circuit’s ruling, for likely oral arguments in the spring and a ruling before the term ends in June.

The U.S. Solicitor General criticized the appellate court’s ruling on multiple fronts, saying its holding would compromise private companies from making its own content decisions and set new limits on government speech.

The government also said the appellate court overinflated the government’s actions, saying that many of the government’s statements were made in public statements pointing out inaccuracies of viral posts. “The court did not identify any threat, implicit or explicit, of adverse consequences for noncompliance,” the Solicitor General wrote in a brief.

“This is an immensely important case,” said Jameel Jaffer, executive director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, in a statement.

“The First Amendment has long been understood to prohibit the government from coercing bookstores and other speech intermediaries to suppress speech, but the Supreme Court hasn’t had occasion to apply this rule in the context of social media. Even outside that context, it’s said very little about how lower courts should distinguish permissible persuasion from unconstitutional coercion,” Jaffers said. “These are momentous, thorny issues, and how the Court resolves them will have broad implications for the digital public sphere.”

The Murthy case is but one of several cases involving social media regulations under review by the U.S. Supreme Court this term. The Court is hearing cases about whether government officials can block citizens from their social media accounts and whether Texas and Florida can stop social media companies from blocking users or enforcing their own content moderation rules.

Jason M. Shepard, Ph.D., is a media law scholar, and professor and chair of the Department of Communications at California State University, Fullerton. Contact him at jshepard@fullerton.edu or Twitter at @jasonmshepard.

“Trust Us!”

MAKE PLANS \ From page 2

remote following the pandemic’s start in ing functions will continue, with the March 2020, and staff vacated the building unchangeable aim to support and protect in December 2022 when a tenant leased the business and the craft of California Without public notices, thenews government the entire facility. companies. wouldn’t Going forward, CNPA’s administration have to say anything else. and staff will work remotely. Legislative Charles Ford Champion II is president and and legal, membership and advertisCEO of CNPA Services, Inc.

When government takes action, it uses local newspapers to notify you. Reading your public notices is the best way to find out what is happening in your community and how it affects you. If you don’t read public notices, you never know what you might miss.

Notices are meant to be noticed.

Read your public notices and get involved!

Public notices are a community’s window into the government.

From zoning regulations to local budgets, governments have Jeff Glasser, used local newspapers to inform citizens of its actions as Los an Angeles Times, asks essential part of your right to know. You know where to look, panel a queswhen to look and what to look for to be involved as a citizen.

Local newspapers provide you with the information you needtion to during a 2018 CNPA get involved.

Governmental

Notices are meant to be noticed.

Read your public notices and get involved!

Affairs Day in Sacramento.

Photo by Jason Pierce

10 | Winter 2024

California Publisher

CNPA 2023-2024 Board of Directors

Officers

Emily Charrier Chairperson Sonoma IndexTribune/Petaluma Argus-Courier

Julie Makinen Chairperson-Elect The San Francisco Standard

Norb Garrett SecretaryTreasurer Picket Fence Media, Dana Point

Simon Grieve Immediate Past-Chairperson Grunion Gazette, Long Beach

Directors

Martha Diaz Aszkenazy San Fernando Valley Sun Paulette Brown-Hinds Black Voice News, Riverside Arturo Carmona La Opinión, Los Angeles Erik Cushman Monterey County Weekly, Seaside Julian Do Ethnic Media Services, San Francisco Richard Esposito Mountain Democrat, Placerville Steve Falk Press Democrat, Santa Rosa Will Fleet Tracy Press Jeff Glasser Los Angeles Times Ron Hasse Southern California News Group Vandana Kumar India Currents, San Jose Terri Leifeste Santa Maria Times Silas Lyons Record Searchlight, Redding Colleen McCain Nelson The Sacramento Bee Bill Nagel San Francisco Chronicle Charlie Plowman Outlook News Group, La Cañada Flintridge Von Raess Beacon Media, Monrovia Laura Rearwin Ward Ojai Valley News Steve Strickbine Times Media Group, South Pasadena Michael Yamashita Bay Area Reporter

Note to readers

California Publisher is the official quarterly newspaper of the California News Publishers Association. Its printing and distribution are underwritten by vendors and suppliers who value the message opportunity offered by a print medium. A digital edition may be accessed at cnpa.com.

The newspaper’s distribution list includes department heads at all CNPAmember companies and corporations, directors of other state and regional press associations, and campus media advisers.

The newspaper also goes to digital news media companies, whose CNPA membership is welcome.

Please contact President & Chief Executive Officer Charles Ford Champion II for details on CNPA membership and benefits: (610) 6133122; chuck@cnpa.com.

New tools in Photoshop elicit warning By now, you would think I’ve learned not to write things that will get me in trouble.

So, before I write another word, I’m inserting a warning label: NEWS THIS COLUMN IS TECHNOLOGY FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY Kevin Slimp What is that all about, you ask? There was a day, not that long ago (OK, maybe 20 years ago), when I couldn’t get through a Photoshop class without someone in the audience getting upset.

“What about journalistic ethics?” this person would shout. “I was taught we couldn’t even lighten or sharpen a photo.”

Most of us made it through those early days of Photoshop without too much bloodshed, but I still fear the nasty emails I will get for writing this column. Just remember, you’ve been warned: THIS COLUMN IS FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY I teach a lot of classes in photo editing and page design, so it’s essential that I stay up to date on the latest developments in those fields. While I was preparing for some recent Photoshop classes, Adobe updated the software, which they do regularly. I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised that the latest versions (Photoshop 2024 and Photoshop Beta 25.2) contain several tools that allow users to use generative artificial intelligence (AI).

Generative AI is a type of artificial intelligence that can create new content, such as text, images or video. Generative AI software learns the patterns and structure of their input data and then generates new data with similar characteristics.

Please keep my previous warning in mind as we discuss just a couple of tools in Photoshop that utilize generative AI. The Photoshop Generative Fill The newest versions of Photoshop include a “Contextual Task Bar” that usually sits beneath the open image (it can be moved to other places on the screen or removed altogether). Users are often amazed at the various options available when utilizing the Contextual Task Bar for the first time. Here are two of the options in the Contextual Task Bar: Extending an Image: Imagine you are utilizing stock art from a provider for an ad or cover of a special section. To your dismay, the art isn’t quite wide enough to fit the designated area. In the past, this generally meant increasing the image size then cropping the top or bottom to allow it to fit in the space. With Photoshop’s generative AI capabilities, users can now “widen” the image with additional background material. If you need more trees on the left and right, Photoshop can create more trees. If the photo includes a family standing in front of some buildings in New York, Photoshop can generate more buildings on either (or both) sides of the family.

Replacing an Area of an Image You have a stock image of a teenager running forward to kick a soccer ball.

“Wait!” you realize, “I need that to be a football!”

This is the original stock photo before any changes from istockphoto.com.

The small black box below the photo is the Contextual Task Bar. The Crop Tool designates the expanded image space.

The Generative Fill Tool was used to remove the background and replace it with “New York City.”

This image was created using the Crop Tool and Generative Fill tool to generate more content on each side of the image.

You guessed it. By creating a selection of the soccer ball, going to the Contextual Task Bar and then entering “football” in the taskbar window, Photoshop can generate a football where the soccer ball was previously laid.

I know. I know.

I can already feel angry emails heading my way. Just remember the warning earlier

in this column. I would never suggest it’s OK to use AI to generate or change images used in stories or other types of news content. But there are times when Photoshop’s generative AI will be useful when designing ads or working with stock art.

Adobe seems to cover the legal basis of generated artwork. This is from the Adobe Generative AI User Guidelines: “In general, you may use outputs from generative AI features commercially.

However, if Adobe designates in the product or elsewhere that a beta version of a generative AI feature cannot be used commercially, then the generated outputs from that beta feature are for personal use only and cannot be used commercially.”

The guidelines go on to add: “If you’re not sure whether your content violates the rights of a third party, you may want to reach out to an attorney or consult publicly available reference materials.”

Contact Kevin Slimp at kevin@kevinslimp.com.

CHANGES Messenger Publishing acquires eight titles Carmichael-based Messenger Publishing Group added seven Sacramento County newspapers and one Colusa County weekly to its portfolio. Paul V. Scholl isMPG’s owner and publisher.

It acquired the Colusa County Pioneer Review, a former CNPA Member, from WACM Media, Inc. and Publisher Lloyd Green on Aug. 1. Green had owned the newspaper for 13 years.

Messenger also acquired Galt-based Valley Oak Press publications, which include The Galt Herald, Elk Grove Citizen,

River Valley Times, East Sacramento News, Land Park News, Pocket News and Arden-Carmichael News. Valley Oak (Bonnie Rodriguez, owner and publisher), operated the publications since January 2022, having acquired them from Herburger Publications Inc. The new flags joined MPG s Carmichael Times, Rancho Cordova Grapevine Independent, Citrus Heights Messenger, The Rio Linda News, West Sacramento News Ledger, Dixon Independent Voice, The Gridley Herald, Territorial Dispatch (Marysville/Yuba City), American River Messenger (Fair Oaks/Orangevale) and Gold River Messenger.

Winter 2024 | 11

California Publisher

OBITS

REBELE \ From page 1 and culture. Those sustaining contributions endeared the Rebeles to publishers and editors nationwide.

Rebele and Pat owned and operated the Coalinga Record for four years in the 1950s and sold it for a good profit.

Later, with partner Lowell Blankfort, Rebele owned newspapers in Colorado, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Illinois, in addition to California. During his time running the Paradise Post, Rebele joined the CNPA Board of Directors and served as its board president in 1988.

Rebele was always a fan of the newspaper business and its practitioners’ First Amendment role. He kept consistent tabs on the successes and travails of fellow publishers and a watchful eye on the student press.

When Burt Dragin, the then-journalism adviser at Laney College in Oakland, wrote an op-ed in the San Francisco Chronicle about seven Oakland high school newspapers on the chopping block, Rebele contacted Dragin and offered $40,000 to rescue the papers. “I’ve got plenty of money,” Rebele said. “I could think of no better use than keeping alive newspapers in our high schools.”

Retired high school adviser Steve O’Donoghue, who administered the dona-

David Mitchell, 79

Photo by Lindsey Moore

Reb and Pat Rebele greet others at the 2019 California Press Foundation Winter Meeting in San Francisco.

tion, went on to partner with Rebele for other high school journalism support programs, and engaged other philanthropists in similar support.

“There was no one like him,” O’Donoghue told CNPA. Rebele was the consummate listener.

When leaders of scholastic journalism programs met during a 2007 California Press Foundation gathering in San Francisco, Rebele was among the current and for-

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mer publishers who heard their stories of administrative difficulty and declining enrollment in their campus programs.

When it was his turn to speak, Rebele thanked all of the educators for their candor. He then asked, “So, what do you want from us?” In essence, he instructed the teachers to tell the story, but don’t forget to make the ask.

The Rebeles were founders and major supporters of the First Amendment Coalition. “He believed fervently that the public has a right to understand what its government is doing in their name,” FAC Executive Director David Snyder told the Santa Cruz Sentinel. “I can’t think of an interaction with Reb where I didn’t come away feeling passionate and confident and fully supported in the work that we do.”

Rebele supported the Cabrillo College journalism program in Aptos by providing funds for students to intern in area newsrooms. And the Rebeles’ internship program at Stanford University provided grants for students to intern in California community newsrooms.

The Rebeles also provided a $100,000 match to a 2021 California Press Foundation fundraising campaign and were integral in influencing others’ financial support.

Cal Press presented Rebele with its Philip N. McCombs Achievement Award in 1996. And California journalism educators named him a Champion of Journalism Education in 2010.

David Vokes Mitchell, a former Point Reyes Light editor and publisher, died Oct. 25, 2023, the Pacific Sun reported.

He was 79 and had Parkinson's Disease.

The Light's coverage of Synanon, the drug-rehabilitation programturned-cult, earned The Light the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service in 1979. Mitchell and then-wife Cathy had run the newspaper on a shoestring and were reluctant to even enter the contest. Many fellow publishers later heralded The Light's win for the "little guys."

Mitchell sold The Light in 2005. Its current owners are David Briggs and Tess Elliott.

Dolores Sanchez, 87 Dolores Sanchez, who had been publisher of the old Eastern Group Publications in Los Angeles County, died Sept. 28, 2023, after being ill in recent months, the Los Angeles Times reported. She was 87.

Eastern Group at one time included as many as 11 publications, including the Eastside Sun, Mexican American Sun, Commerce Comet and Bell Gardens Sun, covering East L.A. and southeast Los Angeles.

Sanchez was publisher of the group for nearly 40 years. Her husband, Jonathan Sanchez, was associate publisher and CEO until his death in 2016.

Jonathan was a member of the CNPA Board of Directors. The business closed in 2018.

Don Slinkard, 97 Donald R. Slinkard, a former managing editor at The Fresno Bee, died Aug. 26, 2023, said his obituary, which he wrote. He was 97.

“Slinkard spent 40 years with McClatchy newspapers — sports writer, courthouse reporter, copy editor — retiring in 1990 as managing editor of The Fresno Bee, the No. 2 newsroom job,” it read.

Send notices to news@cnpa.com

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