PublisherA R K AN S A S

PublisherWEEKLY

Since 1873

VOL. 10 | NO. 31 ° THURSDAY, AUGUST 6, 2015 SERVING PRESS and STATE SINCE 1873

411 SOUTH VICTORYLITTLE ROCK AR 72201

Krain awarded APA’s‘Photo of the Year’

Each year, during the presentation of theBetter Newspaper News-Editorial Awards dur-ing the closing Awards Luncheon, one photo isselected from all those submitted in the variouscategories and divisions in the photographycompetitions. It is then named the Photographof the Year.

In the 2015 contest, that photo was takenby Benjamin Krain of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in Little Rock. The photo came fromthe “Best Sports Action Photo” category.

SPECIAL AWARDS | Above left: Paul Smith of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in Little Rock and theEl Dorado News-Times, where he began his career, accepted the Golden 50 Service Award, recogniz-ing his 50-plus years of service to the newspaper industry. His award, along with several other SpecialAwards bestowed annually during the Arkansas Press Association’s Superconvention, was presentedto him on July 10 during the Awards Banquet. Above right: Chelsea Boozer of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in Little Rock was presented this year’s Freedom of Information Award by APA board memberJohn Bland of the The Times Dispatch in Walnut Ridge. The Award honors outstanding contributionsto transparency in government and effective defense of the state’s Freedom of Information Act.

Golden 50 and FOI Awards bestowedAmong this year’s Special Awards, the hon-

ors presented annually for outstanding contri-

butions to the newspaper industry of Arkansas,

were the Golden 50 Service Award and the

Freedom of Information (FOI) Award.

In many years there are several Golden 50

Awards — recognizing those who have served

in the newspaper industry for 50 years or more

— handed out, but this year there was only

one. It went to Paul Smith of the ArkansasDemocrat-Gazette in Little Rock. Smith began

his newspaper career at the age of 19, working

for the El Dorado News-Times. He left to help

found a weekly newspaper in Texarkana before

landing in Little Rock when he was 29 to work

for the Arkansas Democrat. He played an inte-

gral role in the merger of the ArkansasDemocrat and the Arkansas Gazette following

the so-called “newspaper war.”

The Freedom of Information Award recog-

nizes a singular dedication to preserving trans-

parency in government and enforcing the

Arkansas Freedom of Information Act. This

year’s recipient was Chelsea Boozer, also of

the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in Little Rock.

She is the newspaper’s City Hall reporter. A

graduate of the University of Memphis, where

she earned a bachelors degree in journalism,

Boozer was also named Young Journalist of the

Year by the Arkansas Press Association (APA)

in 2014. She has also won the national College

Press Freedom Award.

3

4‘OUTLAW FUNKY

FONTS’BY ED HENNINGER

WATER QUALITYSEMINARS COMING

Thursday, Sept. 3 | “Beyond the Boil Order” Water quality reportingseminar, Little Rock

Îimportantdates

PHOTO OF THE YEAR | Benjamin Krain (left)of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette was present-ed the “Photograph of the Year” Award by APAboard member Jay Edwards of The DailyRecord in Little Rock. Edwards served as theemcee for the annual announcement of the APANews-Editorial Contest winners.

PotpourriTom Larimer’s

Tom

One of the persistent challenges of newspapers everywhere is to find

the right mix of traditional print and online sharing. The two are so

very different and certainly appeal to a diverse audience. Knowing just

what to share and what to leave in print alone is a big question mark.

Newspapers tend to be in-depth in their print editions. That’s certain-

ly traditional and appeals to a segment of readers who want all the

details. But that number of readers appears to be flat, neither growing

nor shrinking. Replacing them are newer generations…read that

younger readers…who want their news in much shorter bites. Nibbles,

really.

Modern news consumers don’t feel like they have time for all the

details. They just want a capsule of the facts, and they want them on a

wide variety of stories. I think that’s a symptom of attention deficit dis-

order, or perhaps it actually promotes the disorder.

This isn’t a criticism. It’s just the way our world moves and how news

rolls. It’s become just one big blur of stories because there are just a

whole lot more stories being covered and played, largely in the digital

arena. News junkies want it all. All the news, that is, and the digital

world has it for them in mostly tight little snippets that satisfy our news

cravings.

It’s easy to get caught up in this as a news consumer, and to get swept

along in the constant cavalcade of news. It must be something like run-

ning with the bulls in Pamplona, Spain, only a bull run that never ends.

“Here they come. Try to stay up with them. Okay they’re gone. Oh, get

ready because here they come again.” That’s the modern news cycle in

the digital world.

The newspaper, the printed one that is, becomes an oasis of sorts. One

can still sit in one place and satisfy one’s need for news packaged in the

so familiar columns and pages. We can find it, the printed newspaper I

mean, and the standing features are like old friends we’ve come to

embrace over the years. We need it, like an old friend or a favorite

cousin.

The digital world is hardly so warm and fuzzy. It fills the need of

those in a big fizz for a high volume of news stories, but in the end it

just seems to leave us wanting.

The two worlds are just so different. The digital constantly changing

to meet the desires of consumers, and newspapers, again the printed ver-

sions, packaging up the familiar standing features that so many appreci-

ate, long for really, and don’t get in their digital reading.

When things happen we want to know about them instantly. We are

now programmed in this way. When there’s a fire in Las Vegas or a

plane crash in a neighboring city, we turn to the digital world for the pre-

liminary facts. The newspaper? Again the printed one? You’re waiting

till the next day, but you’re going to get a lot more facts, comments from

authorities and witnesses, and perhaps even survivors. Not nearly as

timely but fulfilling our need for the details in follow-up to a story.

Different worlds and to some extent different readers.

It used to amuse me when I’d hear someone say they watch the

evening news and TV and consider themselves well informed.

Entertained maybe, but hardly well informed. If you print out the script

used for the evening news into body copy newspaper text, it would take

up maybe a quarter page in a standard newspaper. It’s a tad superficial.

The same might be said for online news efforts. You can get a lot of

news, hopefully credible news if you choose your purveyor wisely. But

that satisfies your need. It’s what you have when you have time to read

it, and it gives you a great overview.

From time to time I get asked the question, “Who reads newspapers

anymore?” or “Who buys newspapers anymore?”

My response is that, actually, you might be surprised who is buying

and reading newspapers these days. You can’t judge the reading habits

of the news consuming public based on your own habits. Well, of

course you can, it’s still a free world, but you shouldn’t. There is a lot

of people who still depend on newspapers…again the printed kind…for

their news. We know this, or at least we think we know this, and cer-

tainly we suspect it, but when survey after survey tells us this is still the

case, it provides just the validation.

So when I get asked the question(s) above, my usual response is,

“You might be surprised.” Actually, you might be overwhelmed with

the numbers.

There’s just a whole lot of misinformation circulating regarding the

future of newspapers or regarding the future of the media in general.

For some reason some delight in perpetuating rumors of the demise of

various segments of the news media, and for some reason this is partic-

ularly so of newspapers.

It is likely that at least part of this line of thinking stems from the fact

that the “mainstream media” or MSM as some like to reference it, gets

blamed for a whole lot of what’s going on in the world that’s bad at

least in their perception of those repeating this mantra. It is a classic

case of blaming the messenger.

Newspaper people are accustomed to this. Who in town likes the

local newspaper? Nobody. Who in town is reading the local newspa-

per? Almost everybody in the community served by the newspaper.

Many won’t admit that they do, but they do.

While more and more may be getting their news fixes in a digital

environment, when it comes down to it, it’s the newspaper that deliv-

ers what concerned and engaged local readers want and need.

That’s not just me talking. It is survey after survey of news con-

sumers, including the one just commissioned by the Arkansas Press

Association. If you were at the SuperConvention you may have seen

the preliminary results of that survey presented, and again it bears out

what we suspected but needed verified.

The newspaper…the printed one…and the digital newspaper still fill

very specific needs in every community they serve. They may do it in

different ways and they certainly do it in different environments, but

they do it.

Those who say otherwise are exposing their ignorance on the subject.

Have a great week!

Arkansas Publisher Weekly 2 August 6, 2015

Arkansas Publisher Weekly 3 August 6, 2015

Online sign up available for seminarsAs reported last week, the University of

Arkansas Division of Agriculture, the

University of Arkansas System Public Policy

Center and the Arkansas Natural Resources

Commission are hosting for media and conser-

vation districts concerning water quality.

Online registration for the seminars is now

available at: http://forms.uaex.edu/PPC/pol-

lution/pollution.asp.

The Nonpoint Source Pollution Seminars

will be held in three

locations across the

state: Sept. 3 in Little

Rock, Oct. 1 in

Monticello and Oct.

15 in Jonesboro. The

seminars will pro-

vide an opportunity

for media to learn

how the phrase

“water quality” can

mean different

things depending on

the waterway. The

program will include

a panel discussion

on water issues and

attendees will put

some of their new

knowledge to use

during a water sam-

pling activity.

According to a

new release from the

Division of Agricul-

ture, “Reporters

working in water-

sheds impaired by nonpoint source pollution

have an opportunity to brush up on their under-

standing of environmental science at three

upcoming water quality seminars.”

At the seminar, participants will collect

water quality samples alongside Conservation

District employees who will spend the day with

Extension faculty learning communication

strategies. The joint program will also include a

morning panel discussion about media and con-

servation practices.

“Take aways from the seminar include:

• Sources for future water quality stories

• Better understanding of how water sam-

ples are collected and analyzed

• Ideas for local stories on water quality

“At the same

time, the seminar

will be a time to net-

work with conserva-

tion district mem-

bers who will spend

the day learning

how to tell their

story to the public

and media.”

Seminar organiz-

ers say that the pro-

gram will include a

“hands-on water

quality sampling

activity.”

The Arkansas

Press Association

(APA) and the

Arkansas Bureau of

the Associated Press

joined with the

sponsors to help

call attention to the

events. APA distrib-

uted an information-

al flyer on the pro-

gram to all members and associates on last

week.

More information is available online. Those

interested in further details may also contact

Kristin Higgins at 501.671.2160 or at

khiggins@uaex.edu.

USPS may be required to study deliveriesThe U.S. Postal Service (USPS) could soon

be required to produce regular studies of on-

time delivery of rural and small-town mail. The

National Newspaper Association (NNA) asked

for these studies in March comments to the

Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC).

Now a key congressional committee is

mandating the studies.

Because USPS closed nearly 150 mail pro-

cessing plants, mostly in smaller urban and

rural areas, reports of problems with rural

delivery in all mail classes have abounded, and

many have reached members of Congress.

Typical was the comment submitted by NNA

Vice President Chip Hutcheson: “We have

experienced severe degradation of service

since January 2015. Our newspaper is prepared

for maximum delivery outside our county, yet

we find subscribers 30 miles away not receiv-

ing a paper for seven days after it has been

mailed. Also, First Class Mail has deteriorated

greatly. There will be a large pile of mail one

day, virtually nothing the next, and that cycle

seems to repeat itself. Our local utility has

experienced problems with customers not get-

ting their bills on time.”

—30—Marcelle Brown

Marcelle McClintock Brown, 85, ofMarianna died June 19 at Methodist Hospitalin Memphis. She attended Mary BaldwinCollege in Stanton, Va. and graduated fromthe University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa with adegree in journalism. She was employed bythe Courier-Index in Marianna for 23 years,retiring as an associate editor in 1989.

—30—Wames Monroe Qualls

Wames MonroeQualls, 95, of LittleRock died Aug. 2. Bornin the small communityof Centerville inFaulkner County, heattended ArkansasTeachers College (nowthe University ofCentral Arkansas in Conway) and graduatedfrom Arkansas State University at Beebe. Hebegan his newspaper advertising career at theLog Cabin Democrat in Conway in 1943, thenmoved to the Pine Bluff Commercial in 1946.In 1952 he joined the staff of the ArkansasDemocrat, now the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, where he retired after 35 years withthe newspaper.

—30—Willard Lucille Baber

HewittWillard Lucille

Baber Hewitt, 92, ofArkadelphia died Aug.1 in Maumelle. Shewas born in Okolonaand graduated fromOkolona High School.She worked as a book-keeper for the DailySiftings Herald in Arkadelphia for 19 years.

Send news of staff changes or other happenings

to: Tres Williams (tres@arkansaspress.org).

MEMBERSIN THE NEWS

White Hall Progressceases publication

Arkansas Publisher Weekly 4 August 6, 2015

Some call them “decorative.” Or “illus-

trative.” Or “expressive.”

I call them funky fonts.

These are typefaces like Snowcap. Or

University Roman. Or Comic Sans. Or

Mistral. Or Barbatrick. Or Typewriter. Or

Toolbox. Or Giddyup. Or Critters. Or Curlz.

Or Nueva. Or… Or… Or…

They’re all funky fonts—and none of them

deserves a place

in your newspa-

per.

Funky fonts

are: Cheap.

Cliché. Dated.

Silly. They’re

also difficult to

read. But the

real problem

with funky fonts

is that they tend

to draw too

much attention

to themselves,

becoming a

dominant part

of the design of

a page.

If you want

to use funky fonts, save them for those adver-

tisers who find them appealing. But let’s not

use them in our page designs.

Funky fonts may have a place in other pub-

lications—like church bulletins or high school

yearbook—but I can’t think of a designer for a

high-class magazine (Elle, GQ, Vogue and

NatGeo come to mind) who would debase a

design with a funky font.

A quick story:

Years ago, I was approached by the fea-

tures editor of a client newspaper on the very

morning we were launching a redesign. She

showed me her feature front. It included a

funky font for a headline.

“No, Amanda,” I said. “As of today, we’re

only using our new headline and accessory

typefaces for design elements. No more funky

fonts.”

“Oh…” she said, her voice trailing off.

“Tell ya what,” I said. “I’m gonna make

you a better designer right now, with one sim-

ple rule.”

“What’s that?” she asked.

“No more funky fonts. Not for three

months, until I return for my follow-up visit.

None!”

“OK,” she said. But I could see she wasn’t

quite convinced.

The launch went well, I left town.

When I returned three months later,

Amanda saw me

walking in the

door. She point-

ed at me, looked

at me purpose-

fully and shout-

ed across the

n e w s r o o m :

“You’re right!”

“I know,” I

said, joking. But

I really had no

idea what she

meant.

“Tell me how

I’m right.”

“I’m a better

designer than I

was three

months ago.”

“Yes, you are,” I said. “I’ve been looking at

your pages in the papers I get mailed to me.

But…you tell me why.”

“Because I’m no longer using funky fonts.

Now I don’t waste my time spinning through

that CD of fonts, searching for just the right

one—which is often the wrong one. Now I pay

attention to the design of the entire page. My

designs are better because I’m looking at the

whole design, not just one silly font.”

I couldn’t have been more pleased.

“So,” I said, “what did you do with that

CD.”

“I don’t know. I think I tossed it.”

End of story.

Ed Henninger is an independent newspa-per consultant and the Director of HenningerConsulting. Phone: 803.327.3322. On theweb: www.henningerconsulting.com. Email:edh@henningerconsulting.com.

WeeklyWORD

brummagem\BRUHM-uh-juh m\ , adjective

1. showy but inferior and

worthless.

noun

2. a showy but inferior and

worthless thing.

Source: Dictionary.com

“When you are courting anice girl an hour seems l ike a

second. When you sit on ared-hot cinder a second seems

like an hour. That 'srelativi ty.”—Albert Einstein

The White Hall Progress, a weekly newspaperserving White Hall, ended publication onWednesday, July 29, according to Byron Tate,publisher.

The Progress was first published in 2002 as asister publication to the Pine Bluff Commercial.The intent was to give readers in White Hall analternative to The Commercial and the White HallJournal, Tate said.

"Now that the Progress and Journal areowned by the same company -- GateHouseMedia -- there is less of a need to service thecommunity with two weekly newspapers andmuch more of an opportunity to create a strongersingle newspaper that will better service theneeds of readers and advertisers in that market,"Tate said.

Outlaw funky fonts

BY ED HENNINGER

Wanna be a better designer? Never…ever …use a funkyfont!