Cooperative News
Time to Remember
USPS Plant Closings
The Inter-County Leader and Washburn County Register are the only cooperatively owned newspapers in the country. See Page 2.
The Fennimore Times and the Reedsburg TimesPress mark important anniversaries. Learn more about their unique histories on Page 3.
Key USPS processing plants are scheduled to close in January around the country. You can participate in an upcoming publishers call with the USPS. Details on Page 4.
Bulletin THE
News and information for the Wisconsin newspaper industry
... among the world’s oldest press associations
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2014
Milwaukee Press Club Honors Print Journalists Representatives of past and present WNA member newspapers will be recognized Two Wisconsin newspaper journalists will be recognized Oct. 24 with induction into The Milwaukee Press Club 2014 Hall of Fame. The first is Bill Behling, the deceased editor of the Beloit Daily News. According to an article from the newspaper, Behling was “a longtime fixture in Beloit’s civic leadership and an icon of journalism in southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois.” While still in high school, Behling was employed by Greater Beloit Publishing Co.’s commercial printing operation. Beginning in 1946, he ascended from cub reporter and photographer to state editor. By 1965, he was promoted to city editor, then managing editor and chief editorial writer. When the Beloit Daily news was acquired by Hagadone Newspapers in the late 1960s, Behling’s was promoted to executive editor. He held that position until 1972, when he was appointed to the top executive role at the Hagadone-run Rhinelander Daily News. Behling returned to Beloit in 1979 to take on the top position as editor and publisher of the Daily News, a job he held until his retirement in 1994. Behling died Jan. 30, 2013 at the age of 84. The second honoree is Eugene Kane. Kane has served as a columnist at The Milwaukee Journal and Milwaukee Journal Sentinel for 33 years. Kane’s award-winning columns focus on the African-American community. His honors include the National Headliner Award for the Best General Interest Column in 2001 and 2003, Best Local Column from the Society of Professional Journalists in 2001, and Best Commentary from the National Association of Black Journalists in 2000. The 1980 Temple University graduate was also a John S. Knight Professional Journalism Fellow at Stanford University in 1992-1993. Kane currently writes a weekly column in the Crossroads section of the Journal Sentinel’s Sunday edition. Relatives, friends and co-workers of the inductees, as well as members of the Milwaukee Press Club and the general pub-
By Perry Hibner, former assistant sports editor, Wisconsin State Journal
Former editor of the Beloit Daily News, Bill Behling, and Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Columnist Eugene Kane will be inducted with six other journalists into the Milwaukee Press Club Hall of Fame on Oct. 24. Photos courtesy of the respective newspapers.
lic, are invited to attend. The event will take place at Potawatomi Hotel & Casino in the Serenity Room at 1721 W. Canal Street in Milwaukee, with a reception at 5:30 p.m. and dinner at 6:30 p.m. The induction ceremony will begin immediately after dinner. Tickets are $65 per person; tables of eight are available for $500. Read more.
Driver Data Redaction Ends in Stevens Point Stevens Point is the most recent beneficiary of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association’s battle against police department redactions of blotter information. The city’s attorney, Andrew Logan Beveridge, said starting Sept. 19, records, such as traffic and police reports, requested by the news media will include driver names, ages and addresses. The change will help journalists get information out to the public quicker and will save the city the time spent redacting records, Beveridge said. Many Wisconsin newspapers have been granted broader access to police report information obtained from driver’s licenses that was redacted after one interpretation of the Driver’s Privacy Protection Act. Police departments redacted personal information before handing it over to reporters, which journalists see as a violation of open records laws. In a summit held by the Wisconsin Newspaper Association in June, media and local government representatives and insurers recommended that their members/clients release un-redacted records containing information derived form the Department of Motor Vehicles database. Under a deal brokered by the WNA and its legal representatives,
Mulhern Sports Scholarship Drive Encourages Wisconsin Journalists to Pledge
a form was circulated for journalist to submit when seeking un-redacted police records if their local government continues to redact information.
What’s the Scoop? How has the deal struck by the Wisconsin Newspaper Association with the League of Municipalities affected your newsgathering access? Are you getting the information you need from your local police department? Email WNA Executive Director Beth Bennett at beth.bennett@wnanews.com.
I have always thought of sports journalists as my extended family. Families help one another in times of need and this is one of those times. Tom Mulhern covered the Green Bay Packers and the University of Wisconsin Tom Mulhern Badgers football team for more than 30 years before finding out last month he had a rare neurological disorder and likely only 6-12 months to live. Tom passed away Oct. 3 at age 56. His friends and colleagues, in partnership with his family, have established the Tom Mulhern Scholarship for Sports Journalism at UW-Madison. We are asking every journalist in Wisconsin to contribute $10 as part of our First-and-10 campaign. Tom’s legacy as a true professional is secure, but our goal is develop even more great journalists through this scholarship. You can contribute online or by mailing a check made payable to the UW Foundation–Mulhern Scholarship and sent to this address: UW Foundation; U.S. Bank Lockbox; Box 78807; Milwaukee, WI 53278. Thank you in advance for your support. It means a great deal to all of us who worked with Tom. For more information on Tom Mulhern, see Page 7.
WNA’s 1970s Cook Book Features Recipes from Newsies Past Back in 1976, the Wisconsin Newspaper Association compiled “Feasting With Wisconsin’s Fourth Estate,” the fourth estate being another term for the journalism profession since 1638. Marie Creviere, managing editor for the DePere Journal, was the cookbook editor whose efforts to feature favorite recipes from newspaper publishers, their wives and employees was very well received. The 444-page spiral bound book carries readers and good cooks through the cultures that comprise Wisconsin and includes many familiar names. It’s available for purchase here.
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WNA BULLETIN | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2014
WNA news ICCPA publishes the only cooperative-owned weeklies in the US Among it’s 233 members, the Wisconsin Newspaper Association boasts the only cooperatively-owned newspapers in the United States: The Inter-County Leader and Washburn County Register. Both newspapers are published by the InterCounty Cooperative Publishing Association (ICCPA), headquartered in Frederic with satellite offices in Shell Lake, Siren and St. Croix Falls. ICCPA is one of nearly 600 registered cooperatives in the state and 29,000 nationwide. October is National Co-op Month. ICCPA is holding true to this year’s slogan, “Innovate Cooperatively.” A newspaper co-op is born During the Great Depression, there was a movement to form cooperative businesses. At the same time, a handful of Wisconsin farmers in Burnett and Polk counties sought a voice for their concerns about fair market prices, particularly for milk, and rising bankruptcies and foreclosures. They formed the Inter-County Leader in 1933. For five dollars, anyone could become a voting member of the cooperative. Journeyman journalist Benny Bye took on the job of editing and managing the new paper, which had a goal of becoming a strong forum for not just farmers, but every-
one who felt strongly about an issue. “The principal way in which we expect to make this paper different from the common run of papers is that we are in business for service and not for profit, and intend to carry the truth to the public regardless of whose toes get pinched,” the young editor wrote in the first issue, which rolled off the press in the early morning hours of Nov. 1, 1933. In the past 80 years, more than 4,000 issues of The Inter-County Leader have been produced, keeping the public informed of what goes on in their backyards, from births to deaths, school board meetings to gridiron glory, all the while providing a forum for community issues. In 1967, the cooperative launched the first of what would become five Advertisers that are now delivered to homes in most of northwestern Wisconsin. In 2004, the ICCPA purchased the Washburn County Register from Eric and Theresa Jensen, folding that newspaper into the cooperative model. The modern newspaper co-op Today, more than 450,000 papers a month roll off the presses at ICCPA’s Frederic printing plant. The cooperative also operates a
commercial printing department that designs and prints business cards, brochures, calendars and posters. ICCPA currently employs more than 70 people, with an annual payroll of approximately $2 million. By design, cooperatives return a percentage of annual profits to businesses and employees because the nonprofits operate for the economic benefit of the community by providing jobs and services. Once a year, stockholders gather to hear an annual report and elect board members, thus following the cooperative principal of being a democratic organization. ICCPA Manager Doug Panek works with board Chairman Charlie Johnson and board members Janet Oachs, Ann Fawver, Merlin Johnson and Richard Erickson to oversee implementation of the cooperative principals and the mission statement, which focuses on providing readers with “fair, honest and accurate” information, providing quality service and products to all its customers and providing a workplace with good working conditions, wages and benefits. And, not to be forgotten: to provide a forum for community issues.
MJS Takes Home Online News Association Award for ‘Deadly Delays’ The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s investigation into flaws in the nation’s newborn screening programs that put babies at risk of disability and death has won the award for top data-driven investigation from the Online News Association.
In response to the investigation, dozens of states throughout the country have made changes to address newborn screening delays, from providing daily courier delivery to keeping labs open on
Weekly Newspapers: More than Meets the Eye As in most careers, young journalists often start small. They freelance for a local weekly newspaper, cover town board meetings or photograph the latest community gathering. When I got my first “real” newspaper job at a weekly after college, we were still pasting up pages by hand. This was right before the Great Recession hit. While I grumbled about old technology and the constant drivel of “this is the way we’ve always done things,” I was thankful for what I had. I watched young colleagues struggle to find jobs and layoffs became the norm. Many newbie newsies aspire to work for big news organizations and become the next Bob Woodward, uncovering political scandals and pursuing truth and justice in high places. The truth is, however, we all can’t cover the White House or work for the Washington Post. During my first gig, I grew to appreciate covering local politics, getting to know my neighbors and becoming truly embedded in community life. I also helped my newspaper become more tech-savvy and innovative. The weekly publishing schedule simply gave me more time to experiment. I still cherish that added flexibility today. You don’t need to work for a prestigious daily to do some of your best work. You can do dogged, investigative reporting right in your own small-town back yard. Nowhere is it more important to do this service than in a community that would otherwise be overlooked by larger media organizations. Today, weeklies are publishing more than just a newspaper every seven days. We’re online and breaking news in ways we never thought possible until only a few years ago. Even working in markets with strong dailies, my weekly newspaper colleagues and I have used websites and social media to scoop the big guys on stories that matter to readers.
Fond du Lac High School Newspaper Fights Censors
The Deadly Delays project was also a finalist for two other awards — public service journalism and innovation in investigative reporting. The winners were announced Sept. 27 at the group’s annual conference in Chicago.
The Deadly Delays investigation found that thousands of hospitals — and dozens of state agencies that oversee newborn screening programs — are failing America’s children because of an ineffective and unaccountable system. In an analysis of nearly 3 million newborn screening tests, the Journal Sentinel found that hundreds of thousands of blood samples from newborn babies arrived late at labs where they are to be tested.
James Debilzen is the managing editor of The Edgerton Reporter and a WNA Future Headliner. He can be reached at editor@edgertonreporter.com.
The bottom line for young journalists: Weekly newspapers offer more than simply the first stage in your career. They give you opportunities to get to know and serve readers, as well as hone different skill sets that you’ll develop for the rest of your life.
The award was sponsored by the University of Florida. The Journal Sentinel topped three other finalists: USA Today, The Washington Post and La Nacion, a news organization from Argentina. In recognizing the work, the judges said, “the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel demonstrated the authority that rigorous data analysis can lend to investigative journalism.”
The Deadly Delays project has previously been recognized with the Selden Ring Award for the nation’s top investigative reporting of 2013; the top award for Nondeadline Writing from the American Society of News Editors; the top investigative award in the annual national Scripps Howard Award competition, and a Gerald Loeb Award, which recognizes business-related reporting, among others.
JAMES DEBILZEN
Photo by Kristyna Wentz-Graff/Journal Sentinel
weekends to identifying problem hospitals and providing them with regular performance reports. Many hospitals and hospital systems immediately changed their sample delivery processes, saying they didn’t realize they were performing poorly until seeing the data, which had never been compiled before. The American Hospital Association and Association of Public Health Laboratories alerted their members to the series, urging them to clean up problems. In Congress, lawmakers amended a bill reauthorizing the Newborn Screening Saves Lives Act to systematically track the timeliness of samples delivered to labs. A committee that advises the U.S. secretary of health is also reviewing the issue.
Control of Fond du Lac High School’s student publication, Cardinal Columns is back in the hands of journalism students and their adviser. Sudden implementation of censorship and the need for prior approval of content from school superintendent and the high school’s principal spawned a nationwide debate about free speech and student expression. The Fund du Lac high school board was upset by an editorial in the newspaper that advised students of their right not to participate in the Pledge of Allegiance, as well as an article headlined “The Rape Joke,” indicating survey data that 80 percent of students had heard a rape joke in the past month. Read more.
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WNA BULLETIN | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2014
WNA news Fennimore Times Celebrates 125 Years of News The Fennimore Times celebrated its quasquicentennial and retraced how its owners, content and locations have changed over 125 years. First published in 1889, the Fennimore Times was established by E.L. Howe. Henry E. Roethe joined him as a junior partner and eventually bought the business from Howe in 1893. Roethe renamed the newspaper the Times Revue. At that point, the weekly Friday paper was eight pages and cost five cents; annual subscriptions cost $1.25. The Times’ first office was built in 1895 and is now occupied by an attorney. Newsworthy content has changed since those days. For instance, a recipe for eye and skin ointment, a piece on famous magicians and local train schedules occupied the front page of an 1891 copy. Roethe’s younger brother Edward joined the paper in 1897. The Roethes co-edited the newspaper until Henry’s death in 1939. The newspaper reverted to the Fennimore Times in 1900. A second generation of Roethes began producing the paper in the early 1930s. At that time, Charlie was the news editor and his brother Donald was the managing editor. Charlie currently owns the newspaper’s old Linotype machine. The brothers sold the newspaper in 1973 to Tom Beebe of Fort Atkinson, who replaced
the press equipment and added a dark room. Looking back at newspapers from the latter half of the 20th century, deaths, marriages, anniversaries and births were front page news. At that time, a copy of the paper cost 15 cents; a subscription cost $4-$5 depending on the subscriber’s location. In the early 1990s, Beebe left the business and William S. Hale, Lancaster Herald Independent publisher, purchased the Times, along with the Boscobel Dial and the Montfort Rural Register. In 1921, the business moved to 990 Lincoln Avenue, now a chiropractor’s office, and stayed there until the 1980s. The office then moved to a location that is also occupied by a chiropractic clinic. The publication is now printed by the Lancaster Herald Independent and owned by Morris Newspaper Corporation of Wisconsin. At right is an aged copy of The Fennimore Times, which was first published in 1889. Fennimore was once known as the “Center,” but now it’s the “City on the Move.” Photo courtesy of the Fennimore Times.
Reedsburg Times-Press Recalls 75 Years of History It was a different world — a 1939 Chevrolet was being advertised for $795 and two loaves of bread cost 15 cents. In some ways the world was not so different, as crowds descended on the Sauk County Fair. The small city of Reedsburg could lay claim to having two newspapers — but not for long. The sudden death of Reedsburg Free Press Operator George J. Seamans led to a merger of the Reedsburg Times and Reedsburg Free Press. The first issue of the Reedsburg Times-Press was published 75 years ago on Sept. 7, 1939. Times Publisher T.C. Ninman purchased the paper and all its related assets. The merger included the Times taking control of all printing equipment and subscriptions of the Free Press. The Free Press was first published Sept. 1, 1860, by N.V. Chandler, according to an August 1939 Times article on the merger. The paper was discontinued after a year when Chandler joined the Union Army. He started the paper again in 1872. W.F. Hill owned and operated the paper until he sold it to Seamans in 1899. Seamans would work on the paper until his unexpected death. A.L. Seamans, George’s brother, discussed the decision to sell the Free Press in a front-page letter of the last issue – Sept. 1, 1939. A.L. said George’s wife, Emma, took over the paper after his death, but she would soon pass away. “These events and the necessity of settling his estate required that the administrator dispose of the Reedsburg Free Press,” A.L. Seamans wrote. He said many offers were made on the paper and the debate of whether to join up with the Times or ensure two separate papers was a difficult one. “A newspaper is a vital part of a community,” A.L. Seamans wrote. “It is a community builder. It, perhaps as much as any single institution, helps build a community and stamp it with an individuality. On the other hand, the service rendered by a newspaper to the community is one, especially in a small community, that can be peculiarly furnished by one paper.” In the end, it was decided the merger was the best option for the reading public, businessmen and advertisers. Free Press Sports Columnist John A. Zimmerman wrote, “In a sense it seems, with the sale of the Reedsburg Free Press, that another member of the family had been called in death, and to all the friends and patrons of the Reedsburg Free Press through all the years we speak our thanks for loyalty.” It was the first time since 1888 Reedsburg would have a single newspaper. In a story that seems eternal, Ninman discussed the trend of newspaper consolidation in a letter to the public in the Sept. 7 issue.
Pressing Matters
“The trend toward only one newspaper in communities the size of Reedsburg is not new,” Ninman wrote. “For the past 10 years more and more weekly papers have been consolidated. The same has held true in the daily field.” Ninman and H.B. Quimby bought the Times from Charles Smith in September 1899. Ninman became the sole owner in 1910. While the Free Press would close its doors, its memories remain. As Zimmerman wrote, “Its identity will not be wholly lost. The Reedsburg Free Press will continue to live on in its consolidation with the Reedsburg Times as the Reedsburg Times-Press.”
M-E-R-G-E-R To everything is an ending When things aside are laid When the last type is set And the last galley made. The printer’s devil locks the door. The lead cools to warm to more. No more copy to write, nor proof to be read. The desk is locked, the wires are dead. The Linotype is silent and still. It ran all the stories it ever will – Oh! The tales it told of me and you And the town at the side of which it grew. The reporters’ pads are penciled out Squeezed out is the last drop of printer’s ink. As with arms and hand akimbo. The machines stand sentinel, link on link. Face cupped in hands the filing box – Listless the fonts – hand type covered by a shawl. The emcee talk of no ems to-day The editor’s chair is empty. It’s empty over all. One more look e’er ghosts shall come. The clock has stopped. Oh! Leave it so, Open the safe – its safe. The cat shall have a home. Turn out the lights – but turn them slow. It’s MERGER MERGER- The presses never again shall go. — Reedsburg Free Press Sports Columnist John A. Zimmerman in the paper’s Sept. 1, 1939, final issue
TONY SMITHSON
Tony Smithson is Vice President of Printing Operations at Bliss Communications, Inc. in Janesville.
Process-Free Plates Sometimes doing the right thing for your bottom line is also a chance to do the right thing for the environment. Those opportunities are so rare that it’s tempting to want to jump in with both feet. Making a move to process-free plates is that kind of opportunity, but there are several considerations to keep in mind before you jump. Process-free plates are plates that don’t require secondary processing after they have been imaged. The extra emulsion is washed off during the initial rotations of the press. This means the actual processing equipment, the chemistry, water and energy used in processing plates is no longer needed. Chemistry alone can account for 7% to 10% of overall plate cost, so the savings can be significant. However, there are a few things to keep in mind while looking at process-free plates: Speed: Different types of process-free plates take different amounts of time to image. A plate that takes even a little longer to image can result in missed deadlines. Laser Power: Often the way to get speed with plate-making is with laser power. Even if you have selected a plate that images fast enough to meet your deadlines, it may require increased laser power in your platesetter. Laser upgrades can be expensive, so those costs need to be considered, as well. Plate Handling: Process-free plates have a more fragile emulsion than their processed predecessors, so there are some handling considerations. All process-free plates on the market now are shipped with an “inter-leaf”, or a piece of tissue paper in between each plate. These can either be removed by hand or mechanically with a “de-leafing” machine. Each method has costs attached. Process-free plates are also more sensitive to ambient light, so the timing and location of the plate-making operation need to be considered. Although these issues are important to address, they won’t be insurmountable for most publishers. At that point the only thing left to do is jump.
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WNA BULLETIN | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2014
Industry news Newspaper Subscribers May Be the Unseen Victims in Planned 2015 USPS Plant Closings
CAROLINE LITTLE
The U.S. Postal Service should evaluate the impact of slower service to newspaper subscribers before proceeding with 2015 closings of mail processing plants, National Newspaper Association President John Edgecombe Jr., said in a recent advisory. Edgecombe is the publisher of The Nebraska Signal in Geneva, Nebraska.
Caroline Little is President and CEO of the Newspaper Association of America. The NAA is a nonprofit organization representing nearly 2,000 newspapers and their multiplatform businesses in the United States and Canada.
NNA seconded the concern expressed by the USPS Office of the Inspector General that the Postal Service has not completed service impact evaluations on the planned closings of 82 more mail processing plants starting in January 2015. The evaluations should include public notice and comment. The OIG strongly recommended that USPS complete these evaluations and requested confirmation that they are being completed.
Protect Journalists Who Risk Their Lives
NNA has previously reminded the Postal Service that the impact of moving mail processing operations into urban areas creates mail delivery problems for its subscribers, who may judge the effectiveness of the mail by the on-time arrival of their newspapers. “As I look at the list of plants on the closing list and see cities like Salina, Kansas; Grand Island, Nebraska; Eureka, California, and Elko, Nevada, I worry that small-town America is gradually losing reliable mail service,” Edgecombe said. “Affordable, dependable service links us to our subscribers. More importantly, it is the bedrock of local small-town economies. It is essential that USPS understand and grapple with these impacts before it makes a decision to close any mail sorting plant.” NNA Postal Committee Chair Max Heath in Shelbyville, Kentucky, said a particular problem is that USPS has no universal system for measuring newspaper on-time delivery. Even with strong impact studies, it may not always capture the full effect of slower newspaper delivery, he said. “USPS rests its service studies upon electronic scanning equipment on its automated mail sorters. But many newspapers are not sorted on these machines. So our mail drops out of the visibility measurements that USPS depends upon to report its success in reaching delivery times. Certainly we are concerned whether a plant closing creates a slower standard. We are equally concerned that if newspapers are not delivered on time with today’s delivery standards, USPS has no systematic way of detecting it.” Newspapers are gradually adopting the Full Service Intelligent Mail barcodes that could be scanned by the sorting equipment. But unless the machines are used to sort the newspaper mail, usable information will still elude the Postal Service, he said. “We are working diligently with USPS to develop a better measurement system,” Heath said. “But adoption of a better system for us is months, if not years away. What is important now is for USPS and publishers to recognize that newspaper subscribers want their issues on time, and any changes in service standards or actual service that puts their trust in jeopardy is bad for newspapers and for the Postal Service.”
Join Publisher Call with the USPS Wisconsin Newspaper Association members are invited to participate in a Nov. 4 call with United States Postal Service officials to address issues facing newspaper publishers. This is an unprecedented outreach effort by the USPS to our industry, so we urge you to take advantage of the opportunity to talk directly to the people who can make operational decisions to improve service to your customers. This call, hosted by the Ohio Newspaper Association (ONA) is the second held between the ONA and the USPS. For a detailed review of the first call, see this column.
“One subject we plan to cover came out of our first call — the revenue loss many papers experience from “snowbirds” who go south for the winter, particularly to Florida, but then cancel their mail subscriptions because of erratic delivery,” said ONA Executive Director Dennis Hetzel. “We are hoping to have a Florida-based postal official as part of the call. If your newspaper has this problem, you definitely should participate,” Hetzel said To be included on the call-in list, please contact Hetzel at dhetzel@ ohionews.org. Call-in information will be sent to interested participants in advance.
AMG to Buy Parade, Dash Magazines Athlon Media Group (AMG) has entered an agreement to purchase Parade and Dash magazines with associated digital assets from Parade Media Group, LLC. AMG’s stable of newspaper-distributed magazines, including American Profile, Relish, Spry Living and Athlon Sports, have a combined circulation reach of 38 million+ via 1,600 newspapers. The move will add Parade, the largest-circulation magazine in the U.S. at 32 million households, and Dash, a food & family magazine with 8.8 million circulation, to the AMG portfolio. Parade.com and DashRecipes.com are also part of the acquisition. Parade magazine is distributed weekly by more than 700 newspapers, including The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Baltimore Sun, Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, Dallas Morning News, The Los Angeles Times, The Miami Herald, New York Post, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Minneapolis Star Tribune, San Francisco Chronicle, Seattle Times and The Washington Post. Dash magazine appears monthly in more than 150 newspapers. Both publications are distributed to predominately A&B county DMA’s.
“The opportunity to acquire these marquee brands is very exciting,” said Chuck Allen, President & CEO of Athlon Media Group. “Their titles have different marketplace distribution than our other publications. Parade and Dash position the company to have the most effective and efficient advertising and retail activation reach of any media group across the U.S.” AMG also provides content to its newspaper partners via Athlon 360, a website available exclusively to AMG partners that includes food, sports, lifestyle columns, TV listings, weather forecasts, interactive sports and celebrative games. “We value our audience, and look forward to serving the 54 million readers and 30 million unique visitors loyal to the Parade and Dash brands,” Allen said. “We are confident that Athlon will provide a good home for Parade and Dash,” said Jack Haire, Parade Media Group CEO. “They have a clear commitment to serve and strengthen their newspaper partners, while continuing to grow these vibrant brands in the digital arena.”
Journalists like to tell the story. They do not like to become the story. Unfortunately, during the past several months, journalists have been thrust into the spotlight under tragic circumstances. Around the world, journalists are putting themselves in harm’s way to report on the most important stories of our time and, sadly, the results have been horrific. In August, the gruesome and senseless murder of James Foley stunned the world. His death was a vivid and painful reminder of the risks journalists take when reporting from conflict zones. Since 2011, 66 journalists have died in Syria alone and another 30 are missing, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. This is not acceptable. Only a few weeks after James Foley’s death, we were shocked and appalled again by the murder of journalist Steven Sotloff. As with Foley, a video showed the beheading of Sotloff, the second American journalist killed by ISIS. The murders remind us of the dangers journalists face in seeking the truth, and reporting those truths to us. Reporting from the front lines, they shed light on the darkness of war. If there is anything good that comes from these tragic and brutal murders, it is the hope they will further raise awareness about the importance of protecting journalists and freedom of the press. These are the men and women who ensure the public knows what’s happening in their neighborhoods and across the globe. Foley and Sotloff lost their lives because they believed finding and delivering the truth was worth the enormous risk. We will never forget their contributions to the public’s knowledge and the craft of journalism. In October, Foley will be honored at a service on the campus of the University of New Hampshire. His family announced the launch of the James W. Foley Legacy Fund to preserve his legacy and promote his ideals among future generations. The fund will seek to aid American journalists from conflict zones and contribute to quality educational opportunities for urban youth. While these horrific acts of violence have drawn enormous attention, there are still many journalists at risk on a daily basis. In August, we lauded the fact that American journalist Peter Theo Curtis was released from captivity. However, we must remember that he was kidnapped and held in Syria for nearly two years. This spring, two reporters – Anja Niedringhaus of The Associated Press and Nils Horner of Sveriges Radio – were killed in Afghanistan. In April, the Newspaper Association of America endorsed an Inter American Press Association (IAPA) resolution condemning the violation of human rights in Venezuela, where more than 100 reporters have been arrested, threatened or the victim of violence this year These examples serve as sobering reminders of the world we live in and the great lengths journalists go to report on the news. They believe, as I do, that the free flow of information is a key tenant of democracy and freedom. Without a proper understanding of what is going on, we cannot vote, make sense of the world events, or hold leaders accountable.
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WNA BULLETIN | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2014
Among friends APPLETON Pamela Henson, senior vice president of advertising, marketing, digital sales and community newspapers at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, was named publisher of Post-Crescent Media and president of Gannett Wisconsin Media.
Jumping into Journalism
— 30 — John Bornor John Richard Bornor, former copy editor at the Racine Journal Times, died Sept. 2, 2014, at age 65 after a monthlong battle with cancer. Borner spent his entire career in newspapers. He earned an master’s degree in journalism from Penn State University.
Holly Meyer of The Post Crescent won the Religion Newswriters Association’s Cassels Religion Reporter of the Year. One of her winning entries was a story about the motivations of a truck driver who spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to deliver messages on highway billboards. Nick Penzenstadler took a position as an investigative reporter and project manager for the USA Today National News Desk’s joint investigations team. Previously, Penzenstadler covered Appleton city government, community economic development and investigative projects as a part-time contributor to the Gannet Wisconsin Media Investigative Team. He also served as USA Today’s Wisconsin correspondent. Ariel Cheung is a new crime reporter at The Post-Crescent. Cheung is implementing social media to engage readership and promote crime awareness. She will host a weekly Crime Chat each Friday.
BRODHEAD Cynthia Hunter was named editor of the Independent Register, taking over for Dan Moeller. Hunter has nearly 30 years of newspaper experience, starting at The Monroe Times in 1976 and later as the managing editor at The Republican Journal in Darlington until 2005.
COLUMBUS Megan Sheridan has been named editor of the Columbus Journal. The Dodge County Native has a degree in visual journalism from UW-Oshkosh. She previously covered the city governments, school districts, crime, courts and businesses of Horicon and Mayville for the Daily Citizen.
DODGE COUNTY Katie Petrick, editor of the Dodge County Pionier, left the publication to pursue a degree in education. Petrick discovered her passion for teaching children while working in schools for the newspaper. Ed Zagorski has been promoted to the editor position at the Dodge County Pionier. Zagorski previously worked as editor of the Horicon Reporter in the 1990s. Breonna Bleuel has been hired as a reporter for the Dodge County Pionier. She will cover the Lomira, Theresa and Brownsville area.
Duane Kelley
Black River Falls High School student Devin Newby poses with Gwen Ifill, co-host of PBS NewsHour after attending the Student Reporting Lab Bootcamp hosted by PBS Allstars in Washington, D.C. All-Stars aims to provide teaching tools that foster the next generation through classroom media literacy. One week earlier, Newby attended the Asian American Journalism Association’s annual JCamp in Boston. Newby is editor of the Tiger Tribune, the BRFHS student newspaper. Newby toured the Boston Globe and Bloomberg offices while in that city. In Washington D.C., Newby and other participants conducted an interview in the White House. “I was looking at a career in medicine, but that has sort of all changed. I want to be a foreign correspondent or some sort of broadcast journalist,” Newby said. Text and photo courtesy of Ryan Spoehr, Black River Falls Banner Journal.
EAU CLAIRE Karyn Eckert joined The Country Today as a regional editor. Eckert will cover news and write feature stories in west-central Wisconsin. The Iowa native was previously an associate editor at the Tribune Phonograph in Abbotsford and a reporter for The Star News in Medford.
EDGERTON James Debilzen was named managing editor of The Edgerton Reporter. Debilzen formerly held the same position at The Milton Courier. Debilzen is one of the WNA’s Future Headliners, a group of young journalists recognized as emerging leaders in Wisconsin journalism Steve Jahn, publisher of the Dunn County News from 1996 to 2007 and former employee of Chippewa Valley Newspapers, was named executive director of Momentum West, a regional economic development organization. He will work from the company’s Eau Claire office. Since 2007, Hahn has been vice president/ publisher of the Dolan Company’s Finance & Commerce, Inc., where he led the Twin Cities publication Finance & Commerce, Capitol Report/ Politics and Minnesota Lawyer.
MEDFORD
STEVENS POINT
Bryan Wegter was hired as a sports reporter at The Star News. Wegter has experience with MVP Magazine in Rochester, Minnesota.
Rogers Park, named for George and Jeanette Rogers, was dedicated Oct. 3, 2014, in the heart of Stevens Point. The 38-acre park’s namesake George was the editor and publisher of the Stevens Point Journal and co-founder of the Portage County Gazette. He died in 2012. Rogers Park preserves an island of green space, straddling the Wisconsin River that George worked diligently to preserve.
MENOMONIE Former regional editor for The Country Today Danielle Endvick was named communications director for the Wisconsin Farmers Union. Endvick, who lives on a small hobby farm north of Boyd with her husband and sons, will work out of the union’s Chippewa Falls state office.
MILTON Susan Angell was named managing editor of The Milton Courier. Angell has worked for more than 16 years in various capacities for the newspaper. She started in 1991 as a summer intern for the paper and has since served as associate editor, advertising manager, production manager and page designer.
SUN PRAIRIE MADISON
Chris Mertes marked 25 years as the editor of the Sun Prairie Star.
Lauren Fuhrmann was promoted to associate director of the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism. Fuhrmann began as a freelance reporter for the center before accepting the position of public engagement director. Fuhrmann is one of the WNA’s Future Headliners, a group of young journalists recognized as emerging leaders in state journalism.
Lodi Enterprise reporter Rebecca Rudolph was promoted to lifestyle editor at the Sun Prairie Star. Rudolph started working at the Lodi Enterprise in February and wrote several feature articles for the Poynette Press.
WATERTOWN The Watertown Daily Times recently hired two new staffers. Hannah Becker joined the Watertown Daily Times as a staff photographer. Becker will also regularly contribute news stories. She is a December 2013 graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh with a bachelor’s degree in journalism with a visual emphasis.
Michael Koller is the new city reporter at the Watertown Daily Times, concentrating on local government affairs. Koller is a May 2014 graduate of UW-Oshkosh with a bachelor’s in journalism with a writing/editing emphasis.
Duane Kelley, age 78, of Wilson, Wisconsin, died Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2014. Duane worked in the printing business his whole life, starting as a young man working for the Sleepy Eye Herald. He also worked at the Springfield Newspaper, Dakota County Tribune in Farmington, and then moved to Delano where he worked for the Delano Eagle. He also pumped gas, flipped burgers, fixed guitars, welded wear rods, ran a screen repair business, and anything else he could find to do to take care of his family. In 1977, Duane and Colleen bought the Spring Valley Sun/Elmwood Argus Newspaper in Spring Valley, Wisconsin. He retired in 200. Read more.
James Metz James Metz, a former editor at the Oshkosh Northwestern, died Sept. 8, 2014, at age 83. Metz spent nearly his entire life in Oshkosh and spent years recording and telling the history of his hometown. For about 46 years Metz was a writer for the Oshkosh Northwestern, as a reporter, then as city editor and spending the last 20 years until 1995 as editorial page editor. As such, he twice (1987 and 1993) was given William Allen White Editorial Excellence Awards. Read more.
Tom Mulhern Wisconsin State Journal Sports Editor Tom Mulhern, who covered the Green Bay Packers and the UW Badgers for more than 30 years, died Oct. 3 at age 56. He was diagnosed just one month earlier with a rare neurological disorder, Crutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Mulhern was known for his careful craftsmanship in the written word. See “Mulhern Sports Scholarship” on Page 1. Read more.
Neil Shively Neil Shively, a longtime state Capitol reporter and advocate for aspiring journalists, died Sept. 30, 2014, at his home in Cambridge. He was 83. Shively retired as Capitol bureau chief for the Milwaukee Sentinel in 1992 after spending a quarter-century covering eight governors and hundreds of state representatives. Read more.
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WNA BULLETIN | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2014
Industry columnists JOHN FOUST
Ad-libs 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.
Sell Beyond the Overlap Meredith has been selling advertising for many years. “Watch out for overlap,” she told me. “It’s a big challenge in the sales profession. Just like all companies who compete with each other, my paper and my competitors offer a lot of the same things. I’ve heard that – depending on the industry – feature overlap can be more than 50 percent.” According to Meredith, when a sales person focuses on things that the competition can do just as well, there’s little chance for differentiation. The prospect thinks, “Why buy advertising in Choice A, when Choice B offers the same thing?” Here are some common areas of overlap: 1. Audience: “To sell beyond the overlap, this is a good place to start,” Meredith said. “The number one media question that advertisers have is: ‘How many prospective buyers will my ads reach?’ All sales people talk about audience, but not many of them acknowledge the fact that other media choices reach some of the same people.” Selling beyond the overlap forces you to analyze how many of your advertiser’s prospects you – and your competitors – can reach. With facts on your side, your selling approach becomes: “Of course, we cover x-audience, like so-andso does. But let me show you where we reach more people (better quality buyers, etc.)” “Even when you’re selling against TMC (Total Market Coverage) products, there can be gaps in coverage,” Meredith said. “You’ve just got to look for them.”
ED HENNINGER
Newspaper Technology
Writing Matters
Ed Henninger is an independent newspaper consultant and Director of Henninger Consulting. He offers comprehensive newspaper design services including redesigns, workshops, design training and design evaluations. Visit www.henningerconsulting.com or ed@henningerconsulting.com.
Kevin Slimp is a speaker and trainer in the newspaper industry. Visit www.kevinslimp.com or e-mail kevin@kevinslimp.com.
Jim Stasiowski, the writing coach for The Dolan Co., welcomes your questions or comments. Call him at 775- 354-2872, or write to 2499 Ivory Ann Drive, Sparks, Nev. 89436. He has coached reporters at newspapers and magazines in dozens of states.
Behind the Curve I’m sure you’ve heard the expression “ahead of the curve.” It’s where many designers want to be. Not me. Not that I don’t like doing things differently. Not that I don’t like experimenting. Not that I don’t like to find better ways to design. I don’t like the curve because I’m not a fan of fads—and too often that’s where the curve takes us. Our job as newspaper designers is to present the news to readers in a fashion that’s comfortable and concise. We need to use design as a guide to helping them find what they want and being able to read it clearly and easily. Yes, design also should be compelling in those places where it’s called for, but standing design elements such as page labels, section flags and headline fonts should be reserved, quiet. Too often, the curve gets in the way of good design practice. Instead of helping the reader, it rushes at him, yelling “Hey! Look at me! I’m different! I’m new! I’m colorful! I’m cool!” I believe that a good design is characterized by elements that are seen but not heard. Years ago, when an early version of QuarkXPress added the ability to create ovals, well…ovals all were “in.” Oval page labels, oval standing heads, even (ugh!) oval photo frames. Ovals were ahead of the curve.
That leads us to another possible source of overlap. 2. Market research: More and more media companies are offering research services to their advertisers. This can be a good point of differentiation.
And radial gradients! Wow! We could put a radial gradient in an oval for our standing heads! Radial gradients were ahead of the curve.
3. Ad production: “Although most media companies are capable of producing ads, this is where you can put some distance between you and your competition,” Meredith explained. “Unless your prospect uses an ad agency, your creative team will have a big influence on the content and style of the advertising. In fact, you might close the deal, if you have some good examples of ads your paper has created – both print and online.”
Read the rest of this column on the WNA website >>
JIM STASIOWSKI
Design for Readers
Then gradient color blends. Why, you could use a green-to-red gradient screen behind a Christmas headline! Gradients were ahead of the curve.
“It’s important to promote your research department as an objective source of information,” Meredith said. “If advertisers start to think it’s just to stack the deck in your favor, they’ll turn away.”
KEVIN SLIMP
And overlines. You know, those little centered labels above headlines? They often serve to help place the story, such as an overline with your town or county name above a headline on a plan to increase taxes. These can work well, but not if they’re redundant or obvious. One of the first overlines I saw years ago was above a story about Iran ignoring UN sanctions. The overline read “World.” Gee…I think I could’ve figured that one out for myself. Overlines were ahead of the curve. And color headlines. No, I’m not against a color headline on a food page or an entertainment centerpiece. I use color in those headlines myself. But…an orange headline about the firing of city manager in a town across the state? No… let’s not. Color headlines are ahead of the curve.
Read the rest of this column on the WNA website >>
Bridge: A Useful Tool Checking my email has produced better than usual results this morning. Besides looking over questions from readers and browsing through the more than 2,000 spam messages I receive on an average morning, I’ve enjoyed seeing responses coming in from a survey that I posted late yesterday. As newspaper associations and groups throughout North America have begun sending requests to their of newspaper publishers and managers to complete the survey, responses are arriving at the rate of one to two per minute this morning. Survey questions relate to advertising, social media, industry evolution, technology and more. If you haven’t completed the survey, visit http:// ow.ly/B5CoF to share your responses. Adobe Bridge: The most underused tool in Adobe’s Creative Suite/Cloud I have to admit: I’m as much to blame as anyone. Honestly, I figured everyone was already using Adobe Bridge, so I’ve not put much effort into teaching Bridge tools at workshops and classes over the past few years. Longtime photo editors remember the Browser from versions of Photoshop prior to CS2. Since then, Bridge has been included in all Creative Suite/Cloud packages and also with stand-alone Adobe Photoshop. So why am I bringing up the Bridge now? After recent trips to train small and large newspapers in several states, I noticed that most designers and photo editors rarely, if ever, use the Bridge. As a result, I added a Bridge class in a day long training session for a large paper in California in September, and the response was pretty surprising. Almost everything I taught was new to everyone in the group. What is Adobe Bridge? First and foremost, Adobe Bridge is a digital asset management application. It keeps track of your files, whether they are photos, PDFs or whatever and makes them easy to find and display intuitively. The most common use for Bridge is simply finding files. Click on a folder or drive and see thumbnails of all the files in that location. I’ve found the Bridge most useful for browsing pictures on a camera card and quickly deciding which to keep and which to discard. Not only can you search files by name, users can find files using metadata. Metadata is a set of standardized information about a file, including author, resolution, color space, copyright, and keywords applied to it. For example, most digital cameras attach some basic information to an image file, such as height, width, file format and time the image was taken. These are all included in the metadata.
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Interview with Empathy “Every morning, before I head off to the newsroom, I read a tattered clipping taped to the top shelf of a bookcase. It is the Gettysburg Address. It starts with the most famous words in U.S. history: “Four score and seven years ago …” (I suppose some would argue that “We hold these truths to be self-evident,” or, “… a day which will live in infamy” are more famous; I’m sticking with the oddest way to say “87.”) Abraham Lincoln was a lawyer and politician, not a journalist. But he knew how to write. I read the Gettysburg Address every day to get myself in the mood to read, and sometimes write, excellent sentences. Just as “Four score …” etc., is a creative way of saying something simple, so too is this passage from the address’s extremely lengthy last sentence: “… that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion …” I contend that “they gave the last full measure of devotion” is not only the most powerful clause in U.S. history, but also the most profound substitute ever for, “… they were killed.” I’m in a Lincoln mood these days because I finally am reading “Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln” by Doris Kearns Goodwin. Most of you read it eight or nine years ago; it came out in 2005 and was an instant best-seller. I waited until I could find it in a used-book store for $9.95. What I look for in a book, first of all, is a pleasurable narrative, and even though I’m barely one-third of the way through “Team of Rivals,” I already am enjoying its forward motion as I get to know both Lincoln and those “Rivals.” I had heard of William H. Seward – who doesn’t remember “Seward’s folly,” the 1867 purchase of Alaska (from Russia) for $7 million? – and Salmon P. Chase, but Goodwin fleshes out their personalities and even their families. Goodwin also introduced me to Edward Bates, the oldest of the rivals and the one I knew the least about.
Read the rest of the column on the WNA website >>
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WNA BULLETIN | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2014
About WNA We’re here for you! The Wisconsin Newspaper Association exists to strengthen the newspaper industry, enhance public understanding of the role of newspapers, and protect basic freedoms of press, speech and the free flow of information. The Wisconsin Newspaper Association (WNA) was established in 1853 and is among the oldest press associations in the world. Over the years, the association has established a number of services for its members, advertisers and the general public. Created by and for Wisconsin’s newspapers, WNA exists to strengthen the newspaper industry, enhance public understanding of the role of newspapers, and protect basic freedoms of press, speech and the free flow of information. WNA is the single point-of-contact for working with newspapers in Wisconsin. In addition to serving 223 member newspapers (31 dailies and 192 weeklies), WNA serves advertisers through advertising placement programs (Customized Newspaper
First Vice President: Chris Hardie, Executive Editor, La Crosse Tribune
Sidney “Skip” Bliss, Publisher, The Gazette, Janesville
Second Vice President: Brian Thomsen, Publisher, Valders Journal,
Kevin Clifford, Associate Publisher, Watertown Daily Times
Third Vice President: Mike Beck, Publisher, Wausau Daily Herald Advertising) and additional clients through WisconsinNewsTracker.com (news tracking and release services). Supporting WNA goals is the WNA Foundation, a not-for-profit organization created in 1980 to improve the quality and future of Wisconsin’s newspapers and the communities they serve. The foundation solicits, manages and disburses funds and other resources for the benefit of Wisconsin’s newspaper industry and, ultimately, the citizens of our state.
Contact >>
Visit us at: 1901 Fish Hatchery Road, Madison, WI Phone: (608) 283-7620 or (800) 261-4242 Fax: (608) 283-7631 Office Hours: 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
WNA Board of Directors
Secretary: John Ingebritsen, Regional Publisher, Morris Newspapers Treasurer: Ann Richmond, Publisher, The Daily Reporter, Milwaukee Past President: Kent Eymann, Publisher, Beloit Daily News
Steve Lyles, Group Publisher, Journal Community Newspaper, Inc. Pat Reilly, Co-Publisher, The Dodgeville Chronicle Heather Rogge, General Manager, Daily News Paul Seeling, Publisher, The Woodville Leader Gregg Walker, Publisher, The Lakeland Times, Minocqua
Chris Apel, Vice President of Financial Planning and Analysis, Journal Communications, Inc.
President: Carol O’Leary, The Star News, Medford
WNA Executive Director Reach Beth by email at Beth.Bennett@WNAnews.com Direct line: (608) 283-7621 Director of WNA/WNA Services/WNA Foundation operations and policies; legislative advocate
BETH BENNETT
Does your newspaper comply with public notice laws? The Wisconsin Newspaper Association has been taking steps to ensure all newspapers are in compliance with Wisconsin law, which now requires that every public notice published in a newspaper appear on the searchable statewide website - WisconsinPublicNotices.org. The site is maintained by WNA and uploading of all public notice content will help to preserve the industry’s communications leadership and revenue streams. To ensure compliance with the law, WNA changed its bylaws pertaining to newspaper membership to reflect the reality of digital record keeping. The change was approved by the WNA membership at its 2013 annual meeting, held in February. As a condition of membership, all WNA members are now required to send their publications to WNA electronically. All PDF pages of your publication must be uploaded to the association via FTP (file transfer protocol). These PDF files are used by WNA for tear sheets, archiving and also to meet legal requirements for the Wisconsin Public Notice website. When you send your pages electronically to the WNA, you will also gain access to a free, searchable electronic archive for your newspaper. Each newspaper has been assigned a specific code and login information to upload pages and access the newspaper’s archive. To get your newspaper’s coding and login information, please contact WNA Media Services Director Denise Guttery at Denise.Guttery@WNAnews.com.
WNA members: Please promote WisconsinPublicNotices.org in your print and digital products. Download ads here >>
WNA Staff
DENISE GUTTERY
HOLLY HENSCHEN
Media Services Director Denise.Guttery@WNAnews.com Direct line: (608) 772-2479
Communications Director Holly.Henschen@WNAnews.com Direct line: (608) 283-7623
Membership Services Director Julia.Hunter@WNAnews.com Direct line: (608) 283-7622
News Tracker – monitoring services and press releases; WNA newspaper archive; WisconsinPublicNotices.org; WisconsinNewsTracker.com
WNA newsletters; Wisconsin Newspaper Directory; promotions and communications;WNAnews.com; collegiate and high school journalism outreach
WNAF contests, scholarships, internships; Trees Retreat; WNA Member services; education; freedom of information advocacy
RUZICA DZANIC
DIANNE CAMPBELL
Communications Specialist Search Technician MaryKate.Elbow@WNAnews.com Direct line: (608) 283-7620
Wisconsin News Tracker Search Technician Ruzica.Dzanic@WNAnews.com Direct line: (608) 283-7626
Wisconsin News Tracker Team Leader Dianne.Campbell@WNAnews.com Direct line: (608) 283-7625
WNA member information; search technician; Wisconsin Openness Report; Member Exchange
News Tracker search technician
News Tracker account manager; search technician supervisor
MARY KATE ELBOW
JULIA HUNTER