Richardson, Jonesborough publisher, now heads TPA

Transcription

The Tennessee Press
12
Haven
“If in other lands the press and
books and literature of all kinds are
censored, we must redouble our ef-
C
M
Y
K
forts here to keep them free. If in other
lands the eternal truths of the past are
threatened by intolerance, we must
provide a safe place for their perpetuation.”
Franklin D. Roosevelt
32nd U.S. president, 1938
JULY 2013
TPA to judge
SCPA advertising;
want to help?
Tennessee Press Association (TPA)
members will judge the South Carolina Press Association’s (SCPA) Advertising Contest on Friday, July 12, at the
TPA offices in Knoxville. The judging
will take place from 9:30 a.m. until
12:30 p.m.
SCPA came to TPA Executive Director Greg Sherrill with the request for
assistance on June 19, and eight TPA
members responded with offers to
help.
If you would like to participate, contact Robyn Gentile, member services
manager, at (865) 584-5761 x105 or [email protected].
TPAers are in the process now of
judging the Washington Newspaper
Publishers Association Better Newspaper Contest. That is being done online and is to be completed no later
than July 12.
GOAL: $1,000,000
$900K
$800K
$700K
BELIEVERS
Contributors to the TPAF
‘I Believe’ campaign thus far:
• Hollow & Hollow LLC
• Cannon Courier, Woodbury
• Jim Charlet, in memory of Martha C.
Charlet
• Chattanooga Times Free Press
• Nathan Crawford, In Memory of James
Walter Crawford Sr. and C.T. (Charlie)
Crawford Jr.
• Crossville Chronicle, In Memory of
Perry Sherrer
• Gannett Foundation
The Jackson Sun
The Leaf-Chronicle, Clarksville
The Tennessean, Nashville
• Joe Hurd, The Courier, Savannah
• Jones Media, In Memory of Edith
O’Keefe Susong and Quincy Marshall
O’Keefe
The Advocate & Democrat,
Sweetwater
The Daily Post Athenian, Athens
The Daily Times, Maryville
The Greeneville Sun
The Herald-News, Dayton
The Newport Plain Talk
News-Herald, Lenoir City
The Rogersville Review
• Kennedy Newspapers, Columbia
• Lakeway Publishers, Morristown
Citizen Tribune, Morristown
The Elk Valley Times, Fayetteville
Grundy County Herald, Tracy City
The Herald-Chronicle, Winchester
Manchester Times
The Moore County News, Lynchburg
The Tullahoma News
• The Milan Mirror-Exchange
• News Sentinel, Knoxville
• The Paris Post-Intelligencer, In Memory
of W. Bryant Williams
• Republic Newspapers
The Courier News, Clinton
• Richard Rowlett, Rowlett Advertising
Service, Goodlettsville
• Union City Daily Messenger
• Bill and Anne Williams, Paris, in honor of
Michael Williams’ presidency of TPA
$600K
$500K
$400K
$302,600
5-13
$300K
$200K
$100K
No. 1
JULY 2013
Vol. 77
Lynn J. Richardson, publisher of
the Herald & Tribune, Jonesborough,
is the new president of the Tennessee Press Association (TPA). TPA is a
trade association composed of 26 daily
newspapers and 95 non-daily newspapers.
Richardson, the fourth woman to
lead TPA, succeeds Michael B. Williams, publisher of The Paris PostIntelligencer.
Other officers elected at TPA’s Business Session during the 144th anniversary Summer Convention June
13-15 in Memphis were Jason P. Taylor,
president of the Chattanooga Times
Free Press, vice president for daily
newspapers; Joel Washburn, managing editor of The McKenzie Banner,
vice president for non-daily newspapers; and John Finney, vice president
of the Buffalo River Review, Linden,
treasurer.
Directors elected for two-year terms
are Keith Wilson, publisher of the
Kingsport Times-News, District 1;
Chris Vass, metro editor of the Chattanooga Times Free Press, District 3;
Hugh Jones, publisher of the Shelbyville Times-Gazette, District 5; Mark
Palmer, publisher of The Daily Herald,
Columbia, District 7; and Daniel Richardson, distribution manager for Magic Valley Publishing, District 9.
Continuing their terms as directors are Jack McElroy, editor of the
News Sentinel, Knoxville, District 2;
Darren Oliver, advertising director
of the Overton County News, Livingston, District 4; Joe Adams, publisher
of The Lebanon Democrat, District 6;
Brad Franklin, marketing director of
The Lexington Progress, District 8; and
Eric Barnes, publisher of The Daily
News, Memphis, District 10. Michael
B. Williams will continue on the board
for one year as immediate past president.
The TPA Board of Directors elected
trustees to serve on the Tennessee
Press Association Foundation (TPAF)
Board of Trustees for three-year
terms. Re-elected trustees were Nate
Crawford, Nashville; Doug Horne, Republic Newspapers, Knoxville; and Janet Rail, publisher of the Independent
Appeal, Selmer.
TPAF officers elected at the TPAF
Board of Trustees meeting were Gregg
K. Jones, president of Jones Media
Inc., Greeneville, re-elected president,
and Victor Parkins, editor of The Mi-
INSIDE
RICHARDSON
HUFFORD HONOR
Richardson
lan Mirror-Exchange, re-elected vice
president.
Officers and directors of the Tennessee Press Service (TPS), business
affiliate of TPA, are Jeffrey D. Fish-
man, president, and Victor Parkins,
vice president. David Critchlow Jr.,
editor of the Union City Daily Messenger, and Jana Thomasson, publisher
of The Mountain Press, Sevierville,
were elected to the board during the
TPS Stockholders’ Meeting on June 15.
Continuing to serve on the six-member
TPS Board are Ralph C. Baldwin, chief
financial officer of Jones Media Inc.,
Greeneville, and Jason P. Taylor. TPS
will elect officers in November.
Lynn J. Richardson was named general manager of the Herald & Tribune,
a 4,228 paid-circulation non-daily in
Washington County, in 1999. She was
promoted to publisher in 2004.
Art Powers, former publisher of
the Johnson City Press and a past TPA
president, commented on Richardson’s new TPA role. “Lynn will do an
outstanding job as TPA president, I’m
certain. She is so dedicated to her work
and community that I’m sure that
work ethic will follow her in this new
post. The association is in great hands
in the coming year! Congratulations,
Lynn. I’m very proud of you!”
Mark Stevens, publisher of the Elizabethton Star and former publisher of
The Erwin Record, recalled, “I first
met Lynn when I was an intern at the
Johnson City Press in the summer of
1989, and we immediately hit it off and
have been very good friends since. I’m
so proud of Lynn and that she will be
leading TPA.
“Lynn is an immensely talented and
creative person, and she will put her
enthusiasm for newspapers to good
use for the entire membership,” Stevens said.
Richardson started her career in
journalism writing part-time for the
Bluefield (W.Va.) Daily Telegraph while
in college. After graduation, she went
to work at her alma mater, serving as
Concord College’s director of public
information.
In 1979, she was hired by the Johnson
City Press-Chronicle to start and direct
the newspaper’s first Newspapers In
Education (NIE) program. In that role,
she was responsible for all curriculum
writing, promotions, marketing and
training.
In her work with NIE, Richardson
was first introduced to the Tennessee
Press Association, serving twice as
chairman of the organization’s NIE
Committee.
During her tenure, the Johnson City
Press’ NIE program grew from 500 participants, ultimately reaching 18,000
students each week throughout the 11
school systems in the area.
She has served as a contributing
writer for the Governor’s Study Partner Program Curriculum, Tennessee Teacher Magazine, The Tennessee
Reading Teacher and the Newspaper
Association of America and has served
as a speaker and focus session leader
for national Newspaper Association of
America conferences.
Lynn spearheaded the Jimmy Ellis
Memorial Photojournalism Lab project at East Tennessee State University
and directed “Passport To The World,”
a Tennessee Press Association statewide competition for educators.
SEE RICHARDSON, PAGE 3
AWARDS LUNCHEON
REMINDER
ELENORA E. EDWARDS | TPS
Leading the three press organizations for 2013-14 are Gregg K. Jones, Jones Media Inc., Greeneville, Tennessee
Press Association (TPA) Foundation, left; Lynn J. Richardson, Herald & Tribune, Jonesborough, Tennessee Press
Association; and Jeffrey D. Fishman, The Tullahoma News, Tennessee Press Service.
2
3
PARKINS MAN OF YEAR 4
TPA,TPAF, TPS LEADERS 6-7
ADVERTISING
GIBSON
8 DISCLOSURE LAWS
9 SLIMP
10
11
WHO: Newspaper staff members
WHAT: UT-TPA State Press Contests
Awards Luncheon
WHEN: Noon, Friday, July 19
WHERE: Millennium Maxwell House
Hotel, 2025 Rosa L. Parks Blvd.,
Nashville
RESERVATIONS: The deadline for
hotel reservations at the special TPA
rate has passed, but one can check
with the hotel at (615) 259-4343. To
make luncheon reservations, call TPA
at (865) 584-5761 x105 or x100.
NOTE: A photographer engaged by UT
will make photos of first place
winners as awards are presented.
Please stay a while after the luncheon
to have photos made as follows: General Excellence winners, Meeman winners, first, second and third place winners by groups. The TPA photographer
will make group photos.
IN CONTACT
Phone: (865) 584-5761
Fax: (865) 558-8687
Online: www.tnpress.com
The Tennessee Press
2
(USPS 616-460)
Published quarterly by the
TENNESSEE PRESS SERVICE, INC.
for the
TENNESSEE PRESS ASSOCIATION, INC.
435 Montbrook Lane
Knoxville, Tennessee 37919
Telephone (865) 584-5761/Fax (865) 558-8687/www.tnpress.com
Subscriptions: $6 annually
Periodicals Postage Paid At Knoxville, TN
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Tennessee Press,
435 Montbrook Lane, Knoxville, TN 37919.
The Tennessee Press is printed by The Standard Banner, Jefferson City.
Greg M. Sherrill.....................................................Editor
Elenora E. Edwards.............................Managing Editor
Robyn Gentile..........................Production Coordinator
Angelique Dunn...............................................Assistant
The Tennessee Press
is printed on recycled paper
and is recyclable.
www.tnpress.com
The Tennessee Press can be read on
OFFICIAL WEBSITE OF THE TENNESSEE PRESS ASSOCIATION
TENNESSEE PRESS ASSOCIATION
Lynn J. Richardson, Herald & Tribune, Jonesborough........................President
Jason P. Taylor, Chattanooga Times Free Press............................Vice President
Joel Washburn, The McKenzie Banner.........................................Vice President
John Finney, Buffalo River Review, Linden.........................................Treasurer
Greg M. Sherrill, Knoxville.....................................................Executive Director
DIRECTORS
Keith Wilson, Kingsport Times-News.....................................................District 1
Jack McElroy, News Sentinel, Knoxville................................................District 2
Chris Vass, Chattanooga Times Free Press............................................District 3
Darren Oliver, Overton County News, Livingston................................District 4
Hugh Jones, Shelbyville Times-Gazette................................................District 5
Joe Adams, The Lebanon Democrat......................................................District 6
Mark Palmer, The Daily Herald, Columbia.............................................District 7
Brad Franklin, The Lexington Progress..................................................District 8
Daniel Richardson, Magic Valley Publishing, Camden.........................District 9
Eric Barnes, The Daily News, Memphis...............................................District 10
Michael B. Williams.....................................................Immediate Past President
TENNESSEE PRESS SERVICE
Jeffrey D. Fishman, The Tullahoma News.............................................President
Victor Parkins, The Milan Mirror-Exchange..................................Vice President
Ralph C. Baldwin, Jones Media Inc., Greeneville..................................Director
David Critchlow Jr., Union City Daily Messenger..................................Director
Jason P. Taylor, Chattanooga Times Free Press......................................Director
Jana Thomasson, The Mountain Press, Sevierville................................Director
Greg M. Sherrill.............................................................Executive Vice President
TENNESSEE PRESS ASSOCIATION FOUNDATION
Gregg K. Jones, The Greeneville Sun...................................................President
Victor Parkins, The Milan Mirror-Exchange...................................Vice President
Richard L. Hollow, Knoxville.....................................................General Counsel
Greg M. Sherrill.....................................................................Secretary-Treasurer
CONTACT THE MANAGING EDITOR
TPAers with suggestions, questions or comments about items in The Tennessee Press are welcome to contact the managing editor. Call Elenora Easterly
Edwards, (865) 457-5459; send a note to P.O. Box 502, Clinton, Tenn. 377170502; or email [email protected]. The deadline for the August
issue is July 8.
JULY 2013
Dean Coombs, you’re my hero
I’ll grant you that it’s a little unusual for a new
tion. The newspaper doesn’t have a website. Heck,
Tennessee Press Association president to write
The Crescent office doesn’t even have a computer.
her first column about someone who lives in a difCoombs hasn’t stepped far away from the way
ferent state.
the newspaper was produced when his grandfaIt’s probably even more odd that I’m writing
ther bought it in 1917. News is handed in typed
about someone I don’t even know.
or written on paper. He takes that information
But stay with me. After you read this, maybe
and whatever else he has gathered that week and
you’ll feel like you know me a little better.
heads over to his 90-year-old Linotype machine to
You see, I’m a sap when it comes to a good story
start pounding out stories to fill the paper’s fourabout newspapers and the people who work in our
page edition with local events, birth and death anYOUR
industry. That’s why I feel it is such an honor to be
nouncements, legal notices and the like.
the president of this organization, and it’s why I
Thompson describes a scene at The Crescent.
PRESIDING
feel compelled to tell you about Dean Coombs.
“On any given Tuesday,” he writes, “if you venREPORTER
I’ve never met Dean, but I sure would like to one
ture past the creaky door and the piles of paper
of these days.
and boxes and photos, you’ll find Dean Coombs
He is surely one of the last of his kind – a one- Lynn J. Richardson marinating in the smell of hot lead, dust and the
stop newspaper man who does it all.
slow decay of old newsprint, tending an ancient
Coombs is the publisher, the editor, pressman
printing press that emanates a rhythmic whirand mechanic for a tiny newspaper, The Crescent of Saguache, swoosh.”
Colo. For those of us who operate small newspapers in small
He goes into even more detail as he outlines Coombs’ weekly
towns with small staffs, this man even makes us look like we process: “forging each line of text, or slug, from molten lead,
are running mega media organizations.
which he arranges among ads and graphics engraved into
As if that isn’t impressive enough, as far as anyone knows, wood or metal, into a chase, a rectangular metal frame.
Coombs’ newspaper is also the last newspaper in America
After all that, it is secured into the press. The case and type
printed using only letterpress technology.
are inked and the newsprint rolls over them.”
I stumbled across an article about Coombs when I was readEven the mailing labels, Thompson said, are printed on an
ing my online edition of the “Rural Blog.” Finding out about old codger of a machine that dates back to the 1920s.
him that way is sort of ironic, now that I think about it.
There probably are very few of us who have ever seen a
In a story written by Jonathan Thompson for the High Coun- newspaper produced that way and even fewer who have partry News, you can almost smell and feel the atmosphere at The ticipated in such a process. The list of newspapers that would
Crescent, a paper in its 134th year of spreading pertinent news remain in business if it were still done that way would no
to the 500 or so local residents of Saguache in southern Colo- doubt be very short.
rado.
That painstaking, labor-intensive method of putting out a
Thompson does a good job of telling the story of Coombs – newspaper requires a dedication far beyond what many would
a man who came into this business through family tradition be willing to commit.
and a lot of hard work.
It takes someone who really believes in the importance of a
His grandfather, Charles Ogden, bought The Crescent in 1917. newspaper in the local community to continue that way.
After his death, Coombs’ mother took over the paper.
I wonder how our newspapers would fare if those methods
Coombs became the publisher in 1978. After his mother’s were still used today? Do we still have that kind of determideath in 2002, it was all his.
nation, that deep-down, dogged determination to get the job
As I read Thompson’s article, I wondered about this do-it- done?
all newspaper guy. Did he always want to be in the newspaper
I’d sure like to think so.
business, or did he just land in the middle of it and decide to
Now don’t think for a minute that I’m proposing we go back
make the best of it?
to Linotypes and letterpresses. It’s too late for that. We’ve
You just have to wonder about a person who lives his life this moved too far away from those roots.
way. So I Googled him, wanting to put a face to the story. He
Our new technology gives us opportunities we never
was easy to find. Again, given Coombs’ apparent aversion to dreamed possible.
all things digital, another irony.
But even though we’ve embraced our digital future, let’s
The photos I saw on my screen showed him hard at work, hope we haven’t moved so far away that we can’t learn from
with a scruffy grayish beard and wire-rimmed glasses. He and admire Coombs’ spirit and his commitment to community
looked a lot like I expected him to, somehow.
journalism. That’s something to which we all should aspire.
I also guessed that he would look really tired and maybe
I’d like to meet him one day and tell him, face to face, that
more than a little overwhelmed. I guessed wrong. I surely I think he is something pretty special and that I admire the
didn’t expect to see him looking so happy.
work he does every day at The Crescent. But until then, I’ll just
In all of the photos, Coombs is smiling. In a few shots, he put my thoughts here, on this printed page.
Dean Coombs, you’re my hero.
is flat out grinning as he proudly stands there in front of his
newspaper office.
Maybe he is smiling because he knows if you or I want to LYNN J. RICHARDSON is publisher of the Herald & Tribune,
read a copy of The Crescent, we would have to get a subscrip- Jonesborough.
tion – to the print edition – which is, of course, the only edi-
TPA has two new associate members
The Tennessee Press Association has
two new associate members, approved
by the Board of Directors at its Feb. 6
meeting. The new associates are Vanderbilt University and Medical Center
and The Maximum Times. Contact information for them follows:
• Vanderbilt University and Medical
Center News Service
Contact: Elizabeth P. Latt, assistant
vice chancellor
[email protected]
News and Communications
110 21st Avenue S., Ste. 802
Nashville, Tenn. 37203
(615) 322-2706
www.vanderbilt.edu
• The Maximum Times
Contact: Tony Vick, #276187
RMSI 6-A-211
7475 Cockrill Bend Blvd.
Nashville, Tenn. 37209-1048
The Tennessee Press
JULY 2013
Signing up for Creative Cloud? Do it soon!
BY KEVIN SLIMP
TPS technology director
When I was a college student living
in Texas, I got used
to hearing people say,
“Boy, howdy.”
This wasn’t a greeting, as you might
think. It was more
along the lines of
Slimp
“You’re not kidding!”
It’s struck me as
funny that, as I thought about the best
way to explain the reaction to Adobe’s
Creative Cloud announcement, the first
words that came to mind were, “Boy,
howdy.”
Did Adobe open a huge can of worms
by moving to the Creative Cloud model?
Boy, howdy. Did they ever. Is the creative
and publishing world up in arms about
it? Boy, howdy. Are they ever.
Is there anything we can do about Creative Cloud? Probably not.
For those who have been hiking the
Appalachian Trail for the past two
months and aren’t familiar with the
changes at Adobe, here’s the short version: You no longer buy Adobe software. You lease it. Think of your cable
company. For a monthly fee, you have
access to hundreds of channels, even
though you probably don’t watch more
than three or four.
Cable seemed like a good idea when
I moved into my place three years ago.
I got 200 channels, HBO, high-speed
Internet and a phone line for $99 per
month. It’s hard to argue with that.
What I haven’t been able to figure out
is how my cable bill went from $99 per
month to over $200 without my noticing
it. And I don’t even get HBO anymore.
And that’s the catch about Creative
Cloud, isn’t it? Sure, we get InDesign,
Photoshop, Illustrator, Flash, Acrobat
InCopy and a couple of dozen other
apps. But let’s face it, how many of our
people use more than two or three Adobe applications?
And that price of $30 per month per
user? That sounds like an OK deal. $360
per year for the latest version of Adobe
software. But what about next year?
That price is only guaranteed for the
length of the one-year agreement. And,
unless something changes, the $30 per
month goes up to $50 for folks who sign
up after July 31 – I’m talking at the end
of this month. So beginning Aug. 1, that
$360 moves up to $600 annually.
Are people upset? Boy, howdy. There
are blogs and online communities dedicated to complaining about the changes
at Adobe. They’ve recently been compared to Quark, whose corporate attitude in the 1990s led to their quick descent from their lofty perch as king of
the creative world.
In 1997, Publish Magazine asked me
to write an editorial comparing Adobe
to Quark. Not a software comparison,
but a comparison of the companies. At
the time, it seemed like just about all of
Quark’s customers were tired of their
corporate “take it or leave it” attitude.
Quark customers left in droves after
the release of Adobe InDesign. Over the
next few years, the king of the creative
world was sitting at the bottom of the
heap, looking up at the new king.
I’ve received calls and emails from
publishers from New York to California.
I even received a call from Jeff Fishman
last week while I waited for a flight in
Boston. He was attending a meeting of
the National Newspaper Association
board, wanting to know what our alternatives are as an industry. Apparently it
was the board’s “hot” topic at that moment. My answer: “Not much.”
At this moment, however, I’m letting
my mind play “What if ?” The game is
played something like this:
• What if Quark got together with
Corel and packaged the latest version
of QuarkXpress with Corel Paintshop
Pro and sold the bundle for $699?
• What if Quark bundled QuarkXPress
with GIMP, a free Photoshop “clone” application and made some tweaks so the
two applications could work seamlessly
together, like InDesign and Photoshop?
The problem with playing “What if ?”
is that it’s just a game. It looks like none
of these scenarios are going to happen. I just got off the phone with Gavin
Drake, vice president of marketing at
Quark, and it sounds like they’re not
planning any bundles or making any
plans to take on the Creative Cloud.
And let’s face it. If Quark’s not interested in competing with Adobe on the
publishing front, who will?
I’m not worried about the changes
with Adobe software. We can always
keep producing newspapers and other
publications the way we always have.
What does worry me is that companies
like Adobe and Quark don’t see the traditional publishing world as a market
worth concern any longer.
So what’s my advice? There doesn’t
seem to be a viable option to Adobe Creative Cloud at the moment. Eventually
you will be forced to upgrade equipment
and software and, when you do, you’ll
probably sign up for Creative Cloud.
In the meantime, read carefully. The
price goes up significantly after July 31.
If you are going to upgrade software, do
it before then. Otherwise, you’ll spend
$240 extra per user over the next year.
Am I a little frustrated that we don’t
seem to have other options? Boy, howdy,
am I ever. But like everyone else, there
doesn’t seem to be much I can do about
it at this point.
I’d love to hear your thoughts about
the changes at Adobe. Email those to
me at [email protected].
11
HOW TO CONTACT US
Tennessee Press
Association
Mail: 435 Montbrook Lane,
Knoxville, TN 37919
Phone: (865) 584-5761
Fax: (865) 558-8687
Web: www.tnpress.com
Email: (name)@tnpress.
com
Those with boxes, listed
alphabetically:
Laurie Alford (lalford)
Pam Corley (pcorley)
Angelique Dunn (adunn)
Beth Elliott (belliott)
Robyn Gentile (rgentile)
Frank Gibson (fgibson)
Earl Goodman (egoodman)
Kathy Hensley (khensley)
Greg Sherrill (gsherrill)
Kevin Slimp (kslimp)
Umbrella illustration courtesy of Adbuilder.com
Kayretta Stokes (kstokes)
David Wells (dwells)
Border War Golf Tournament
Monday, September 9, 2013
Tessa Wildsmith
(twildsmith)
Heather Wright (hwright)
Advertising email:
A bene¿t to raise funds for
Kentucky Journalism Foundation
Tennessee Press Association Foundation
This tournament for members, associate members and
other parties connected to TPA and KPA will take place at
Fairvue Plantation Country Club in Gallatin, Tennessee.
Registration is $75 per player, inclusive of green fee, cart,
range balls, beverage cart, food and awards reception.
Fees are considered a donation to the newspaper
foundations and are non-refundable.
Tennessee players register by email to:
Bob Atkins, [email protected]
[email protected]
Tennessee Press Service
Knoxville, TN 37919
Phone: (865) 584-5761
Fax: (865) 558-8687
Web: www.tnadvertising.
biz
Tennessee Press
Association Foundation
Knoxville, TN 37919
Phone: (865) 584-5761
Fax: (865) 558-8687
The Tennessee Press
10
JULY 2013
The Tennessee Press
JULY 2013
3
FORESIGHT
WORTH REPEATING
Disclosure laws on contributions must be upheld
BY EDITORIAL BOARD
News Sentinel, Knoxville
That a recent review that found
more than 50 candidates — including
some of the Legislature’s top leaders
— failed to report contributions from
political action committees or corporations is more proof that Tennessee
disclosure laws should not be undermined.
The Registry of Election Finance
found the discrepancies during an annual “crosscheck” review mandated
by state law. The review matches donations listed on candidates’ disclosure
forms with donations listed on PAC
and corporate disclosure forms.
A bill sponsored by House Republican Caucus Chairman Glen Casada
would do away with the requirement
for disclosure by corporations, which
would cripple the crosscheck process.
Casada was one of lawmakers who
failed to fully report contributions. He
did not report two $1,000 contributions
from PACs. House Democratic Caucus
Chairman Mike Turner, who fiercely
opposed Casada’s bill, had more unreported donations than anyone else —
18 totaling $19,875. In all, 51 legislative
candidates failed to report 180 contributions totaling $144,875.
East Tennessee lawmakers with undisclosed contributions from PACs
or corporations include Rep. Joe
Armstrong, D-Knoxville, with seven
totaling $3,900; Rep. Kent Calfee, RKingston, with three totaling $1,250;
Rep. John Ragan, R-Oak Ridge, with
two totaling $1,000; Sen. Frank Niceley, R-Strawberry Plains, with two
totaling $700; Rep. Andrew Farmer,
R-Sevierville, with one for $1,000; and
Rep. Dennis Powers, R-Jacksboro, with
one for $250.
Drew Rawlins, executive director of
the Bureau of Ethics and Campaign Finance, said the 181 listed contributions
amount to only about 2.5 percent of all
contributions made to state candidates
by PACs and corporations last year. He
termed the results “pretty good.”
In the aggregate, yes. Sometimes a
candidate or campaign treasurer can
inadvertently leave off a contribution.
The fact that Gov. Bill Haslam failed to
report one PAC contribution for $1,000
is understandable in light of the large
number of contributions he received.
But those with multiple undisclosed
contributions such as Turner and Senate Republican Caucus Chairman Bill
Ketron, who had eight cited donations
totaling $6,100, are more troubling.
Campaign disclosure laws are in place
so the public knows who is donating
money to the people who would be
stewards of taxpayer funds.
Turner’s unreported PAC money is
in addition to the Old Hickory Democrat’s already formidable fundraising
— his reported contributions for 2012
added up to $67,975.
Casada said that since the Citizens
United decision in the U.S. Supreme
Court, corporations are people “in the
eyes of the law” and, like individuals,
should not have to file a contribution
report to the Registry.
However, corporations are allowed to
give much more money than individuals. People can give a maximum of
$1,500 to a House candidate or $3,800 to
a Senate candidate. PACs and corporations can give up to $7,500 to a House
candidate and $11,200 to a Senate candidate.
The crosscheck provision of state
2013
law allows election officials to identify
candidates who fail to file accurate financial disclosure forms — not to punish them, necessarily, but to ensure
that they ultimately reconcile their
financial reports.
Casada’s bill failed in the House by
just two votes in the recently ended
session, but he has said he will revive
it next year. Speaker Beth Harwell,
who opposes it, will have to keep a
coalition of responsible Republicans
and Democrats together in blocking
its passage.
Campaign spending continues to
spiral upward with no end in sight,
and the people of Tennessee deserve
to know who is bankrolling the people who represent them in Nashville.
Transparency is vital to the integrity
of the election process and must be
preserved.
(May 26, 2013)
Kids say thanks for newspapers
at NIE appreciation luncheon
You probably didn’t realize you’re
reading a textbook right now. For
thousands of children and even adults
in McMinn and Meigs Counties, the
newspaper has become part of their
educational experience.
“Newspapers aren’t part of education. They are education,” said McMinn County Sheriff Joe Guy during
Thursday’s Newspapers In Education
Sponsor Appreciation Luncheon.
“They’re a living document that, each
day, tells us what’s going on.”
The Daily Post-Athenian’s NIE program is a non-profit, cooperative effort between schools and newspapers
to create lifelong readers and leaders
by promoting the use of newspapers
as an educational resource. More than
3,400 newspapers are distributed to all
McMinn and Meigs county, Athens and
Etowah city schools, Athens-McMinn
Adult Education, KIDS Connection
after-school program, and the McMinn
County Justice Center’s GED program
through NIE sponsorships.
“We had 101 teachers using the program this year – our largest amount
ever,” said DPA NIE Coordinator Lu
Shep Baldwin. “Our program continues to grow and be successful because
of the educational systems, businesses, and organizations that support it.”
NIE also co-sponsors the annual Family Fun Fair with Tennessee Wesleyan
College and McMinn Living Well to
promote literacy and healthy lifestyles
for youngsters.
In addition to newspapers in the
classrooms, NIE provides the KidScoop page, serial stories and summer
reading activities inside editions of
The DPA.
“This program provides educators
with the most relevant and current
textbook: The local newspaper,” said
DPA Publisher Mike Miller. “The content in the newspaper enables teachers to supplement programs and textbooks they use while also opening a
discussion of current events and promoting social awareness among their
students. And, that couldn’t happen
without our supporters.”
“The DPA’s NIE program stands
head and shoulders above any others
in the communities we serve,” added
Gregg K. Jones, chief executive officer
of Jones Media Inc., The Daily PostAthenian’s parent company.
The McMinn County Sheriff ’s Department has used NIE for 10 years in
its Drug Abuse Resistance Education
(DARE) program and now uses it to
help inmates obtain their GEDs.
Guy said seeing how inmates use
The Daily Post-Athenian reminds him
of the need for newspapers.
“Sometimes, we forget just how important the local newspaper is because
we’re inundated with information
through the Internet and social media,” Guy said. “In jail, you don’t have
social media, so when the newspapers
come in, they don’t survive long. The
inmates literally eat those papers up.
They read every word and pass them
around. It’s the only contact with the
outside they really have. Seeing that
makes you realize the value of the
newspaper.”
Newspapers are just as important for
KRISTI NELSON BUMPUS | ETSPJ
Members of the cast of the 2013 edition of the ETSPJ Front Page Follies, from left, director Terry Silver-Alford,
John McNair, David Haley Lauver, Cindy Hassil, Michael Holtz, Lisa Hood Skinner, Ernie Roberts, Ingrid Ruffin, Cathy Jenkins and Megan Venable Smith. Not pictured: Adina Chumley, Regina Mays, Hubert Smith and
Amanda Womac.
CHARLIE DANIEL | ETSPJ
Hufford is honoree for 35th Front Page Follies
Reserve your place for an entertaining evening at the 35th Annual Front
Page Follies, through which the East
Tennessee Society of Professional
Journalists (ETSPJ) raises money
for journalism and electronic media
scholarships at the University of Tennessee and Pellissippi State Community College.
The July 13 event, in addition to
poking light-hearted fun at news, and
folks who make the news, will honor
UT journalism professor Bonnie Hufford. Hufford, who
teaches
editing,
writing, graphics
and international
communications,
has edited and written for the AssociHufford
ated Press, Whittle
Communications, WKYC-TV and sev-
eral daily newspapers and advertising/public relations agencies. She is
a two-time UT College of Communication and Information Outstanding
Faculty Member, and she has won the
SPJ President’s Award for public service twice.
The evening begins at 6 p.m. with a
reception featuring cocktails and hors
d’oeuvres in the lobby of the Clarence
Brown Theatre on the UT campus, be-
fore the 7:30 p.m. show.
Admission is $75 per ticket for general seating. Limited blocks of premium
seats at $100 per ticket are available.
A portion of the ticket price is a taxdeductible contribution to UT.
One may buy tickets by contacting
Megan Venable Smith at (865) 974-6903
or [email protected], or one may order online and pay by credit card at
www.etspj.org.
RICHARDSON: Jonesborough publisher heads TPA
FROM PAGE ONE
In the community, Richardson has
worked with the Chamber of Commerce as marketing chairman for
Focus 2015 and for “Hands of Friendship,” a food and supply relief project
for Rybinsk, Russia.
She has served as East Tennessee
State University’s ETSU Pride Week
co-chairman and on the boards of
the Newspaper Association of America’s Youth and Education Board, the
QUEST Foundation and the Northeast
Tennessee Tourism Association.
Richardson has received several
ADDY awards over the years from the
Tri-Cities Metro Advertising Federation, as well as an international award
from Editor & Publisher for promotion
of Newspapers In Education.
Under her leadership, the newspaper
has received the TPA’s General Excellence Award as well as multiple awards
for investigative, editorial, news and
feature writing, photography, newspaper design, promotions and ad design.
The paper has also received recognitions from The Washington Post and
Presstime magazine for its Community
Awareness Project with the Town of
Jonesborough.
She lives with her husband, Dean
Batchelder, in Elizabethton, and they
have three children, Keely Goodwin,
Matt Batchelder and Cory Richardson.
Later this summer, Richardson will
also have a new title – grandmother –
as she and her family joyfully anticipate the arrival of their first grandchild.
Richardson is a native of Princeton,
W.Va. and a graduate of Concord College in Athens, W.Va.
She has a bachelor of science degree
in elementary education with a specialization in music from Concord College
in Athens, W.Va. and a certification in
journalism from East Tennessee State
University in Johnson City.
The TPA was founded in 1870-71 for
the purpose of creating a unified voice
for the newspaper industry in Tennessee. Today, TPA continues to provide
assistance to its 121 member newspapers by monitoring legislative activities, providing training programs, issuing press credentials, maintaining
a website and providing regular meetings and forums to foster the exchange
of information and ideas.
The TPA presidency rotates among
TPA’s three divisions of Tennessee,
east, middle and west, and alternates
each year between a daily and nondaily publication. It is customary that
a person serve two terms as vice president before being elected president.
JULY
4-5: TPA offices closed for Independence Day
10-14: International Society
of Weekly Newspaper Editors
Conference, St. Norbert College, Green Bay, Wis.
12: TPA members judge South
Carolina Press Association
advertising contest, 9:30 a.m.
to 12:30 p.m., TPA headquarters, Knoxville
12: Period ends for online judging of Washington Newspaper
Publishers Association Better
Newspaper Contest
13: ETSPJ Front Page Follies, 6
p.m., Clarence Brown Theatre,
Knoxville
19: UT-TPA State Press Contests Awards Luncheon,
noon, Millennium Maxwell
House Hotel, Nashville
AUGUST
25-27: Society of Professional
Journalists Annual Convention, Anaheim, Calif.
SEPTEMBER
9: First Border War golf tournament, to benefit TPA Foundation and Kentucky Press Association Foundation, Fairvue
Plantation Country Club, Gallatin
12-15: NNA Convention & Trade
Show, Phoenix, Ariz.
OCTOBER
17-19: 16th Institute of Newspaper Technology, UT-Knoxville
NOVEMBER
8: SNPA-TPA Publishers Summit, Nashville
2014
FEBRUARY
5-7: TPA Winter Convention &
Press Institute, Nashville
NOTE: The Government Affairs
Committee meeting set for July
19 has been canceled.
THE DAILY POST-ATHENIAN, ATHENS
Athens City Schools KIDS Connection students hold up signs to thank sponsors of The DPA’s Newspapers in
Education program at the close of their musical performance during an NIE Sponsor Appreciation Luncheon.
public officials, Guy noted.
“It’s a litmus test of how people feel
about the job public officials are doing,” he said. “It’s a valued asset. The
Sheriff ’s Department is committed to
continuing its sponsorship, and I’d encourage others to do so, as well.”
Angie Dahle, Director of the Athens
City School System’s KIDS Connection
after-school program, called the newspaper “a great tool.”
“KIDS Connection is an extension of
the school day, so we incorporate elements of what the kids have already
been doing in class,” Dahle said. “Math
projects, science projects, language
arts, community involvement, parent
involvement – all the things we need to
do we can do with the newspaper. For
Halloween, the kids have even dressed
up as mummies using the newspaper.
There are so many fun and interactive
opportunities through NIE.”
Dahle said she has made presentations and pitches at the National AfterSchool Association conference and
with struggling programs around Tennessee about the importance of NIE.
“A lot of programs struggle with
community involvement,” Dahle not-
ed. “We have one of the best. Everyone
here works together.”
Joyce Simpson, an art instructor
at Central High School, has used the
newspaper in her classroom for various projects, including an art history
lesson on Vincent Van Gogh, which
she shared during the NIE luncheon.
“NIE has provided a great way for
my students to express themselves and
share with others their experiences,”
Simpson said. “We want to make sure
students are retaining what they’re
learning, and the newspaper helps us
do that very well.”
President names committee chairmen
TPA President Lynn J. Richardson
has selected chairmen for all 2013-14
committees. They are the following:
Advertising: Leslie Kahana, Chattanooga Times Free Press
Circulation: To be announced next
month
Contests: Terri Likens, Roane County News, Kingston
Futures: Gregg K. Jones, Jones Media Inc., Greeneville
Government Affairs: Elizabeth K.
Blackstone, Kennedy Newspapers,
Columbia, co-chairman, and Joel
Washburn, The McKenzie Banner, cochairman. Washburn automatically
became the co-chairman when he was
elected TPA vice president last month.
Hall of Fame Administrative: Dr.
Peter Gross, UT School of Journalism
and Electronic Media
Journalism, Education & Literacy: Janet Rail, Independent Appeal,
Selmer
Membership: Mark Stevens, Elizabethton Star
Nominating: Michael B. Williams,
The Paris Post-Intelligencer (an auto-
matic appointment of the immediate
past president)
Postal: Joe Adams, The Lebanon
Democrat
Winter Convention and Press Institute: Jason P. Taylor, Chattanooga
Times Free Press (an automatic appointment as the senior vice president
of TPA)
Summer Convention: Jana Thomasson, The Mountain Press, Sevierville
Technology: John Finney, Buffalo
River Review, Linden
AP moves offices
of Nashville bureau
Leek, Clipping Bureau
tabber, retires from TPS
The offices of the Associated Press
Nashville Bureau have been moved
from Centerview Drive in Brentwood
into the John Seigenthaler Center on
the campus of Vanderbilt University.
Contact information is as follows:
The Associated Press
John Seigenthaler Center
1207 18th Ave. S.
Ste. 261A
(615) 373-9988 or (800) 453-1282
[FAX] (615) 376-0947
[email protected]
Brenda Leek, whose service with
Tennessee Press Service reached back
further than anyone else on the current staff, retired June 7. She was a
tabber in the Clipping Bureau. Look
for further information in the August
issue of The Tennessee Press.
The Tennessee Press
4
JULY 2013
Parkins among Milan Chamber People of the Year
Milan’s People of the Year for 2012
were honored recently when the
Chamber of Commerce held its annual
membership banquet at Milan Middle
School. One of them was Victor Parkins, editor of The Milan Mirror-Exchange.
An overflow crowd, estimated at
more than 300 people, attended the
gala with the theme: “Glitz, Glamour
and Grow.”
The award recipients were kept secret until announced at the banquet.
The Man of the Year Award went to
Parkins and the Woman of the Year
to Linda West, the Chamber administrative assistant since 1987; the Steve
Marsh Pinnacle Award for small business, to the Crocker-Carter Law firm;
and Educator of the Year to Deidre
Maxwell, a pre-kindergarten teacher
at Milan Elementary School.
Musical entertainment and the playing of the National Anthem were pro-
vided by the Milan High School jazz
band directed by John Scruggs. The
catered dinner was served by students
in the school Beta Clubs and Milan
High Spanish Club. Joey Johnson, pastor of Whitehall Baptist Church, gave
the invocation.
Mayor Chris Crider introduced special guests and summarized recent efforts to make Milan more attractive to
potential businesses and industry.
Blake Brown described Man of the
Year winner Parkins as a “strong man
of faith and a family man.’“
In his role as newspaper editor, Parkins was called by one nominator as a
“voice for the Milan community.”
“With the untimely passing of his
father (Bob Parkins), he assumed the
reins of one of the best newspapers
in Tennessee, and certainly the best
in West Tennessee, based on numerous awards for excellence and quality
in reporting,” said the nomination of
Parkins. “However, the significance
of his role is in his desire to keep the
citizens of Milan not just an informed
2013 UT – TPA
State Press Contests
Awards Luncheon
Millennium Maxwell House Hotel
Nashville, Tennessee
Noon
Friday, July 19, 2013
Register online at:
www.tnpress.com
THE MILAN MIRROR-EXCHANGE
Victor Parkins, editor of The Milan Mirror-Exchange, center, was named Man of the Year at a Chamber of
Commerce banquet.
public, but a thinking public. His editorials are always on timely topics; his
comments combined with factual information are thought-provoking, and
in many cases have led the citizenry
to better decisions in action through
voting, letters to Congress and other
forms of action on the part of our community.”
Parkins put “his heart and soul” in
trying to save jobs at the Milan arsenal, said one nominator.
Mayor Chris Crider described Parkins as a wonderful advisor and confidant, invaluable “not only as a friend,
but on a professional level as well.”
Mr. Parkins’ nomination packet in-
cluded numerous letters citing his
contributions, Brown noted.
“He is willing to put friends in front
of himself,” said one letter. “He is always willing to help a friend in need
and go the extra mile. He would lend
a helping hand or let someone borrow equipment or anything else they
need to help them out. He would, at
a moment’s notice, drop what he was
doing to help someone in need. He
also extends friendship to children
of his friends by willingly spending
time with them hunting, fishing, fourwheeler riding or just having conversations with them. My son loves him
like family.”
People cited Parkins’ support of
school programs, work with the Chamber, involvement in Lions Club and
dedication to his church and support
for other denominations.
“He truly cares about the citizens of
Milan,” said one supporter. His pastor, Scott Bloodworth, said Parkins
was a person of the highest character,
steeped in Milan’s traditions. “He’s
Milan’s man when it comes to ensuring our community’s future and safeguarding our heritage,” said Bloodworth.
Parkins previously served as presiSEE PARKINS, PAGE 5
WORTH REPEATING
History repeats itself
BY CLAY MORGAN
Editor
The Daily News Journal, Murfreesboro
I apologize for being away the last
couple of weeks. It has been an extraordinarily busy time professionally
and personally. Fortunately, it has been
as rewarding as it has been busy.
I read a comment the other day – I
think on Twitter – that we are returning to the days of pamphlet journalism. Whoever wrote that may very
well be correct.
Much of the journalism of the early
days, particularly the 17th and 18th
centuries, was in the form of pamphlets. These were often arguments for
or against a particular government,
law or right. Not at all what we think
of as journalism today.
For example, I have heard the pamphlet Common Sense by Thomas Paine
referred to as an early piece of American journalism, and that may well be
the case. However, it is clearly a piece
of writing that makes an argument
that the Americas should be free of
British rule. One thing it is not is impartial. It presents a strong argument,
more like an extended editorial than
a piece of independent “news reporting.”
Today, are we witnessing the same
thing with social media? Are people
reporting and presenting news and
information from a particular point of
view and with the purpose of convincing people of a particular idea?
9
Court made right call in mosque public notice case
ENGRAVINGS
BY STEVE SHORT
The Milan Mirror-Exchange
The Tennessee Press
JULY 2013
OK. Memes probably aren’t the pamphlets of our time. However, there is
no doubting the ability of social media
to inform large groups of people and
sway opinion. And it can be done from
a deliberately specific perspective or
with deliberate intention, much like
the pamphlets of old.
Are memes or Facebook posts or
tweets the pamphlets of our time? Are
they the product of citizen journalism;
people trying to sway opinion?
I don’t know. While I have some concerns with the way news is presented
on social media, it is a powerful communication tool, just like the ability
to print and sell 100,000 copies of Common Sense was in 1776.
(May 6, 2013)
The state Court of Appeals’ reversal of a The notice ran three weeks before the
of high public interest and import.
Murfreesboro judge’s ruling in a public notice meeting.
Most of the court cases from the
case involving a controversial Muslim mosque
There was no zoning issue to be refirst challenge of the Sunshine Law in
was good reason to exhale.
solved. That had been taken care of
1974 to the present have relied on the
It was the right ruling on a bad lawsuit. We may before the local Islamic community
principle that the amount and method
have dodged a bullet because bad cases sometimes bought the property. Zoning issues
of providing notices should be based
result in bad law.
typically lead to public hearings and
on the “totality of the circumstances
The court said Chancellor Robert Corlew erred thus more detailed notices. Rutherford
as would fairly inform the public.”
by finding that the public notice the Rutherford County accommodates its citizens by
That basically means the government
County Regional Planning Commission ran May having one meeting a month at night
should tailor its policies so the level of
PUBLIC
2, 2010 in The Murfreesboro Post was inadequate. for that purpose.
notice provided should be proportional
Corlew had ruled it should have appeared in
In this case, the land was already
to the public interest involved.
POLICY
more places than the Post, which at the time was zoned residential, and “religious” use
In 1974, leaders in the City of MemOUTLOOK phis said they didn’t know what “ada newspaper that published only on Sunday and is permitted by right under the counmaintained a website.
ty’s zoning ordinance.
equate” meant. The state Supreme
The appeals court decision actually turned on
Opponents of the mosque claimed Frank Gibson
Court said they should know. Later, it
the content of the public notice.
Islam is not a religion and that adherents
was things like posting notice on a bank
“This litigation has included many twists and to Islam are dangerous to American society, but window the day before a BMA meeting and usturns and volumes of filings, but this decision to block construction, they hung their hat on the ing vague language to describe the business on
discusses only what relates to the narrow issue adequacy of the public notice.
the agenda or not mentioning that a controveron appeal,” Judge Andy Bennett wrote.
The appeals court noted that the planning com- sial matter would be discussed at an out-of-state
Later he noted that facts in the
mission did everything the law school board retreat that were ruled as not meetcase that were “relevant” were
required – it notified the pub- ing adequacy standard.
“undisputed.” That suggested
lic by usual means when and
The most troubling part of cases like the emoSuch cases ‘can be
to me that the case bordered on
where the planning commis- tion-generated mosque litigation is they can be
used by some to enbeing frivolous.
sion was meeting.
used by some to encourage legal mischief.
courage legal mischief.’
Though not one of the “relThe court’s unanimous
Rutherford County officials sought legislation
evant” issues, the court made
opinion explained that the es- in the General Assembly earlier this year to denote of the fact the public notablished case law about Ten- fine “adequate” notice in the statute. It was in
tice appeared in print and on
nessee’s Sunshine Law (Open response to Chancellor Corlew’s now-tainted
the newspaper’s website and through an “over- Meetings Law) only requires notices of “special opinion. One early draft would have put them on
sight” the county failed to put the meeting notice meetings” to include details such as the agenda. government websites.
and the agenda on its website until after the May The Sunshine Law defines “special meeting” as
TPA discouraged that effort as premature be24 meeting.
any meeting “not previously scheduled by stat- cause the law should not be changed on some
The issue was whether the notice of the regu- ute, ordinance, or resolution, or for which notice knee-jerk reaction.
lar bimonthly meeting should have included the is not already provided by law.”
The case was still on appeal. The chancellor’s
fact the commission would be considering a site
The court explained that more detailed notices decision was clearly wrong, ill-advised and uninplan for construction of the religious complex in are required for “special” meetings because by formed, and we believed it would be overturned
a sparsely-populated outskirt of Murfreesboro. definition those are meetings reserved for matters because he made a very simple question overly
complicated.
Rutherford County officials had followed the
law. Those were the same reasons TPA did not file
or join in an amicus brief in the matter.
The News Sentinel, Knoxville, had a story three
days after the appeals court opinion came down.
Under the headline “Knox County meeting notifications under scrutiny,” the newspaper quoted
Knox County Attorney Richard (Bud) Armstrong
as saying the county needed to do something in
response to Corlew’s decision.
“When the decision came out of Murfreesboro,
it gave a lot of people heartburn,” he said. “But
the truth of it is that it’s a really tough topic.”
The newspaper reported that the decision in
Rutherford “could lead to many local governments changing the way they notify the public
when individuals and legislative bodies want to
meet.”
Armstrong said the chancellor’s “judgment has
merit” and he has advised his county commission that it, too, should take heed.
“Ever since the case came out, the rope has
been pulled a little tighter, and I think we need to
start complying to a tighter position,” the newspaper quoted him as saying.
We should all favor improvement in government policies on public notices. That’s why TPA
proposed the legislation this year to improve the
way notices are delivered.
But, we have to beware of proposed changes
based on a unique set of facts. Many times when
legislation is considered something gets lost in
the process. It’s usually transparency that gets
lost in the compromises.
FRANK GIBSON is TPA’s public policy director.
One can reach him at (615) 202-2685 or fgibson@
tnpress.com.
Quiz question stumps some on public notice Paulson is communication dean
BY KENT FLANAGAN
Executive director
Tennessee Coalition
for Open Government
A quiz on open
government topics
revealed that nearly
three-fourths those
who took the online
test did not know
that only Tennessee
citizens are guaranteed access to state
Flanagan
and local public records.
The Tennessee Sunshine Quiz included 15 questions to test a person’s
knowledge about public records as
well as the state’s Sunshine Law on
access to public meetings of city councils, county commissions and other
public boards.
In March about 350 people completed
the quiz, which was sponsored by the
Tennessee Coalition for Open Government (TCOG) through the support of
the Tennessee Press Association, the
Tennessee Association of Broadcasters and the Associated Press. All are
TCOG members.
The quiz was produced as part of
Sunshine Week, a national initiative
by the American Society of Newspaper Editors to promote greater openness in government.
The Tennessee Public Records Act
of 1957 states that public records shall
be open to “any citizen of Tennessee.”
But government agencies don’t apply
that clause uniformly, and most officials interpret it to mean that they
must deny requests from people who
are not Tennessee residents.
“It is a frequently abused section of
the law,” Frank Gibson told AP.
Earlier this year, the United States
Supreme Court affirmed the right of
states to limit public records access to
only citizens in a case from Virginia,
which along with Tennessee and a
handful of other states have similar
laws on records access.
Responses to another question in the
quiz showed that about 40 percent did
not know that the Tennessee General
Assembly is not covered by the state
Sunshine Law, which does cover all
other public state, county or local governing bodies.
Another Sunshine Law question
stumped about one-third of the respondents. The question asked for a true or
false response to this statement:
“Two members of your local county
commission meet for lunch and discuss matters that the commission will
vote on at its next meeting. As a quorum of the commission is not present,
this lunch meeting is not a violation of
the Sunshine Act.”
The correct response is false.
However, chance meetings of members of a public body do not violate the
Sunshine Law as long as the members
do not discuss official business that
is to come before their commission,
council, board or committee.
Anyone wanting to review state laws
on public records or open meetings
can download copies of the statutes
from the Tennessee Press Association
website, www.tnpress.com.
The list of more than 350 exceptions
to the TPRA is being updated this summer and will be posted on TCOG’s website, www.tcog.info.
One can reach Kent Flanagan at (615)
957-2825 or [email protected].
First Amendment
advocate and former
journalist Ken Paulson is the new dean
of the Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro,
College of Mass Communication, effective
Paulson
July 1.
He was president
and chief executive officer of the First
Amendment Center in Nashville and
was editor-in-chief at USA Today from
2004 to 2009 and was a founder of the
newspaper in 1982. He continues his
involvement as a columnist on USA Today’s board of contributors and covers
First Amendment issues and media.
He also has “significant ties to the
music industry,” said Brad Bartel,
university provost, who cited in an
email sent to faculty Paulson’s positions as deputy chair of the Nashville
Songwriters Hall of Fame and his appointment to the Music City Music
Council.
University President Sidney McPhee
echoed Bartel’s enthusiasm.
“We were impressed by the breadth
of Ken’s experience,” McPhee said in
a press release by MTSU News and
Public Affairs. “He has led a national
news organization, traveled the country with a rock ’n’ roll band to tout the
First Amendment and hosted a national television program. His career
has touched all of our college’s disciplines.”
Paulson said he sees a lot of opportunity for growth in the College of Mass
Communication.
“There’s an opportunity for innovative communication colleges to craft
new and bold approaches, fueling these
professions with fresh perspectives
and insights – and graduates with the
skills to maximize both,” he said in the
press release.
Paulson earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri and a juris doctor
degree from the University of Illinois
College of Law.
He will be replacing Dr. Roy Moore,
who has held the position of dean
since 2008. Moore plans to remain with
the College of Mass Communication
as a professor.
The Tennessee Press
8
Tennessee’s advertising networks: Helping
your local customers extend their reach
BY BETH ELLIOTT
Networks advertising manager
David
Wells,
Tennessee Press
Service
(TPS)
advertising
director, and I just
returned from a
refresher training
course at The
Mountain
Press
Elliott
in Sevierville. It
was a great day to drive to the foot of
the Smoky Mountains and an even
better time meeting the folks at The
Mountain Press.
David discussed how TPS is here
to help bring new business to TPA
members and how we must work
together in order to accomplish this.
The refresher course was about
Tennessee’s advertising networks.
During the session I could see the
wheels spinning as to the types of
businesses that could benefit from
getting their message in multiple
markets through one-point-of-contact
– the local advertising rep.
Tennessee’s advertising networks
(TnSCAN, TnDAN and TnNET)
are powerful tools sales reps can
offer their existing clients. Imagine
your local chamber of commerce is
wanting to bring in crowds not only
in your county, but from surrounding
counties. The task would be daunting
for them to search the markets they
want to reach. Contact each of these
newspapers. Send the ads to each
newspaper. Receive invoices from
each newspaper. And, finally, have to
cut checks to each newspaper. All this
is wrapped up in a nice package with
What a powerful sales tool your rep
has to offer!
The power the networks have to
offer is not limited to chambers of
commerce. Any business that has a
need to reach outside your area is a
good fit. The possibilities are just about
everywhere. Become familiar with
the networks. If an extended reach is
part of your clients’ needs analyses,
remember to tell them about this easy,
effective and affordable way to reach a
region of Tennessee, the Southeast or
the whole nation.
In addition to the networks helping
your local clients extend their reach,
TPS is having a contest for sales reps
at participating newspapers. Sell a
TnSCAN, TnDAN or TnNET ad and
get your name entered in a monthly
drawing. The winner will receive a
$50 gift card. Every rep who sells an
ad gets a chance to win. Double your
chances by selling an ad in the monthly
selected category. For July, you can
win a $50 wild card (that’s a collection
of gift cards, not a sleazy store). The
monthly category for July is vacation/
stay-cation destinations.
The winner of May’s drawing was
Teresa Hicks of the Johnson City
Press. The competition was strong.
Congratulations to all reps who sold
network ads in May!
If you would like a refresher course
for your reps or have questions about
the contest, please contact David or
me at (865) 584-5761. TPS is here to help
you!
Protest regardless
“There may be times when we're
powerless to prevent injustice but
there must never be a time when we
fail to protest.”
Elie Wiesel
Nobel Peace Prize laureate, 1986
JULY 2013
Paper mill in Calhoun,
once known as Bowater,
idles last newsprint machine
BY DAVID FLESSNER
Chattanooga Times Free Press
A generation ago, Bowater’s paper
mill in Calhoun was one of America’s
biggest producers of newsprint and
one of the biggest land owners in
southeast Tennessee.
Next week [mid-March], Bowater’s
successor company, now known as
Resolute Forest Products, will shut
down its last newsprint machine there
after decades of shedding forest lands
and mill jobs in response to the shrinking size and circulation of its newspaper customers.
Resolute officials said the “indefinite
idling” of the newsprint machines will
cost another 150 mill jobs, cutting the
remaining staff at the Calhoun plant
below 500 by the end of the month.
Resolute continues to operate two
specialty paper machines in Calhoun,
making papers for circulars, flyers
and other higher-grade paper publications.
“From the time I joined the company
26 years ago, production (in Calhoun)
is probably half of what it once was,”
said Douglas Breckenridge, a sales
representative for Resolute Forest
Products. “Newspapers are much narrower than they used to be and today’s
printing presses use far less paper.”
After Bowater and Abitibi-Consolidated merged in 2007 to create the
third largest pulp and paper company
in North America, the company shut
down two of its five paper production
machines in Calhoun in 2008. Debbie
Johnston, director of public affairs for
Resolute, said the Calhoun newsprint
machine was not as efficient as other
company mills in Augusta, Ga. and
Grenada, Miss., where the company
has invested more than $30 million to
upgrade operations.
“The idling (in Calhoun) comes as
a result of a decrease in demand for
newsprint, coupled with high operating costs for the machine,” she said.
The decision follows Resolute’s acquisition this week of the 49 percent
interest in Calhoun Newsprint Co.,
owned by The Herald Publishing Co.,
LLC, its joint-venture partner for the
newsprint operations.
The Calhoun mill produced 215,000
metric tons per year and supplied
newsprint for dozens of newspapers
in the Southeast, including the Chattanooga Times Free Press. A plant in
Augusta, Ga. will now supply such
newsprint.
(March 13, 2013)
REWRITES FROM THE TENNESSEE PRESS
JULY 1963
John M. Jones Sr., The Greeneville
Sun, presented President’s Awards
to J. Zollie Howard, Memphis PressScimitar, and John Finney, The Daily
Herald, Columbia.
The Millington Star became the first
three-time winner of the Grand Award
in the UT-TPA State Press Contests.
Bill Frame, The Lebanon Democrat,
assumed the 1963-64 presidency of
TPA.
The need for careful handling of desegregation news stories was reviewed
at wire service meetings at the summer convention in Chattanooga.
The TPS board of directors was reelected: Guy Easterly, The LaFollette
Press, president; J. Bill Frame, The
Lebanon Democrat; Donald Brookhart,
Crossville Chronicle; and W.T. Franklin, The Lexington Progress.
Three Tennessee newspapers converted to offset (cold type) printing.
They were the Cookeville Citizen; Putnam County Herald, Cookeville; and
the Sparta Expositor-News Pictorial.
Franklin Yates, Shelbyville TimesGazette, spent six weeks in Russia and
eight other Iron Curtain countries as a
member of the American Newspapers
Study Mission.
JULY 1988
John Paul Jones, publisher of The
Daily News, Memphis, was installed as
Advertising Placement Snapshot
ROP:
Network:
May 2013:
$384,540
$68,685
Year* as of May 31:
$2,677,680
$385,351
*The Tennessee Press Service Inc. fiscal year runs Dec. 1 through Nov. 30.
TPA president for 1988-89.
Persis Corp., the parent company of
the Honolulu Advertiser, planned to
buy The Knoxville Journal.
Bob Atkins, publisher of the News
Examiner, Gallatin, was re-elected
president of TPS, and Tom Hill, publisher of The Oak Ridger, Oak Ridge,
was re-elected TPAF president.
Members of Virginia Press Association who judged the UT-TPA contests
for 1988 praised the entries as exciting,
excellent and handsome.
The Tennessean, Nashville, and The
Commercial Appeal, Memphis, swept
photojournalism honors at the annual
United Press International Tennessee
Association of Newspapers annual
competition.
Sam Kennedy, chairman of the
TPA Legislative Committee, termed
a Metro Nashville policy of not making available wreck reports involving
fatalities a “sham.”
Ralph C. Baldwin was named publisher of The Daily Post-Athenian,
Athens. He succeeded James Gray.
Baldwin had been general manager of
a newspaper in Aberdeen, N.C.
Newspapers were experimenting
with ink made from soybean oil.
The Tennessee Press
JULY 2013
PARKINS
OBITUARIES
John Anderson
Retired from The CA
BY MAX FILBY
AND L. TAYLOR SMITH
The Commercial Appeal, Memphis
John Anderson,
retired marketing
and
promotions
manager for The
Commercial
Appeal, Memphis, was
an innovator in his
field.
“He led the way
Anderson
in developing the
newspaper’s research division when
the competitive media landscape demanded more than just raw circulation numbers,” said Paul Jewell, the
newspaper’s marketing director. “He
was a pioneer in developing the analytics that have become commonplace in
the industry today.”
Anderson died June 13 after a battle
with lymphoma. He was 85.
Anderson was originally from Arkansas. During the Great Depression
his family moved from Chicago to Pace,
Miss. and eventually to Memphis.
After graduating high school and
completing a brief stint in the Navy,
he enrolled at Memphis State College.
He graduated in 1950 with a double major in English literature and business
sales management.
He met his wife-to-be, Wanda, at
Treadwell High School when he was
in the 10th grade, and they married on
May 31, 1952. During their 61 years together, they raised two children.
“We did a lot of traveling in the last
10 years,” his wife said. “Those are
some of the fondest memories I have
of him.”
Anderson started at The Commercial
Appeal in 1953 as the circulation and
promotions manager.
“He led Memphis Publishing Co.’s
promotions and community relations
department back in the days when
there were two thriving newspapers,
The Commercial Appeal in the morning and the Press-Scimitar in the afternoon,” Jewell said. “I’m sure there are
many, many men and women in Memphis who remember winning bicycles,
trips and other prizes in carrier contests that were coordinated by John.”
During his free time, Anderson volunteered with his son’s Boy Scout
troop and his daughter’s Girl Scout
troop.
He became an avid photographer
through his work as a promotions
manager. And his family can’t help but
boast about his talent in the kitchen.
“He made wonderful spaghetti,” his
daughter, Suzanne, said. “He used to
watch all of those cooking shows. He
was a great chef.”
Anderson donated his body to the
5
University of Tennessee in Memphis
to aid in research.
Besides his wife, he leaves the
daughter, Suzanne Anderson Leslie of
Memphis; a son, John Anderson Jr. of
Knoxville; and a granddaughter.
(June 16, 2013)
Allen W. Pettus
Tennessean journalist
BY BRIAN HAAS
Allen W. Pettus, a
longtime journalist
at The Tennessean,
Nashville, and avid
outdoorsman, died
June 18. He was 91.
A Nashville native, Pettus worked
for The Tennessean
Pettus
for more than 40
years, joining the staff as a reporter in
1946 after serving in the U.S. Army Air
Corps during World War II. He held
various positions over the next several
decades, including financial editor,
Sunday and magazine editor and executive assistant to the publisher, from
1970 until he retired in 1987.
“After he got out of World War II …
he went down and just camped on the
front door until he got a job,” said his
son, Bill Pettus, who lives in Brentwood. “He was a company man. He
very much believed in The Tennessean,
its goals and purposes.”
He was a talented storyteller who
loved the great outdoors. In 1972 he implored Tennessean readers to “Make
friends with a mountain” and wrote
lovingly of the Smoky Mountains, a region that remained close to his heart.
“You don’t have to be a mountain
climber to discover the solitude of the
Smokies,” he wrote on Sept. 17, 1972.
“There are many walking trails for
‘just plain folks,’ too – and a different
world lies just around the bend.”
John Seigenthaler, chairman emeritus of The Tennessean, said Pettus was
one of the kindest, most open-minded
journalists he ever knew. In a newsroom filled with cantankerous personalities, he said Pettus was notable – for
his kindness.
“I don’t know that I ever knew anybody who brought his faith to work
everyday in as meaningful a way as
Allen did,” Seigenthaler said. “He sort
of stood out because he was just such
a good guy.”
Pettus retired in 1987 and focused
mainly on traveling.
In his advanced years, he made it a
mission to keep his mind sharp and to
help others his age do the same. In 1999,
The Tennessean wrote about him helping to lead senior brain teaser games
at the Maryland Farms YMCA pool in
Brentwood. More recently, at Bethany
Health & Rehabilitation, he’d lead fellow seniors in “Laff with Allen” before
Bingo Night, in which he’d spin yarns
about Nashville history and anecdotes
from his life, such as the time Amelia
Earhart visited The Tennessean.
“He described what he was trying to
do as helping the old folks to be more
mentally alert and more active,” Bill
Pettus said. “I think that kind of symbolized his life – he tried to help others.”
(June 19, 2013)
Natalie W. Smith
Late publisher’s daughter
Natalie
Wells
Smith,
daughter
of the late Horace
V. Wells Jr., founder,
editor and publisher of the Clinton
Courier-News, died
unexpectedly June
12 while on a family
Smith
outing in Fairfield
Glade. She was 76.
A Clinton native, Smith resided
in Bradenton, Fla. She graduated
from Clinton High School, attended
Maryville College and received a B.S.
in education degree from the University of Tennessee. She continued her
education with a master’s in library
science from Peabody College and
then completed a law degree.
Her enthusiasm for education continued late in life as she was proud to
help remodel and dramatically improve the library at First Presbyterian
Church in Sarasota, Fla. She tried to
better herself at all of her many hobbies, including tennis, golf, daily exercise, prolific reading and educational
travel, and she enjoyed the symphony
and the theater. She had a lifelong love
for music and was learning to play the
hammered dulcimer.
She was preceded in death by her
parents, Horace Vinson Wells Jr., in
1994 and Dorothy Overall Wells, in
1969, as well as her sister, Nancy Wells
Townsend.
She leaves her husband, James R.
(Jim) Smith; three children, Bill Wiesehuegel, Susan Cress and Robert
Wiesehuegel; sisters, Katrina Counts
and Dorothy Cunningham; stepchildren, Kim Smith, Greg Smith and Kyri
Smith; and six grandchildren.
A memorial service was held at Fairfield Glade Community Church on
June 22, and another will be held at
the First Presbyterian Church, Sarasota, on July 7.
(Adapted, Crossville Chronicle,
June 19, 2013)
Read
The Tennessee Press
—then pass it on!
FROM PAGE 4
dent of the Chamber.
Parkins was surrounded by a large
group of family as he received the
award. “Thank you from the bottom of
my heart; I’m truly honored,” he told
the audience. “A lot of people out there
are just as deserving of this award
as I am. But I do deeply care for this
community and love this community
and town. It’s the only place I’ve really
ever been and I’m probably stuck with
it.” He thanked his family for attending, including a “gaggle of sisters”
and some who traveled from afar. He
thanked wife, Carol, saying, she “has
put up with a lot. I know it’s not easy
on her all of the things I get myself
caught up in. She’s a very supportive
wife and I love her for that.”
Parkins has the rare distinction of
being the child of two previous Man
and Woman of the Year winners, the
late Bob Parkins and Dorris Parkins.
“I certainly couldn’t be here without
my mother; she continues to amaze me
every day,” he said. “She’s an incredible woman. I wish my father could
be here. We sure do miss him, and he
was a great example for me and a lot
of other people.”
He encouraged people to become involved in the Chamber of Commerce.
MARKETPLACE
ADVERTISING DIRECTOR needed
for the largest daily newspaper in the
Upper Cumberlands of Tennessee.
This is a full-time position with the
110-year-old Herald-Citizen in Cookeville, Tennessee. Duties include: managing, training and motivating our
five- to seven-person sales staff in
newspaper and online sales. Marketing degree or appropriate sales and
management experience a must. This
position offers: salary with bonus
based on performance, paid employee
health insurance, paid vacation and
sick days, five paid holidays, 401K plan
with company match, mileage paid for
travel while on the job, company-paid
life insurance policy.
This is an outstanding opportunity
for the right person!
Send resume and qualifications to:
[email protected] or
mail to Mike DeLapp, P.O. Box 2729,
Cookeville, Tenn. 38501.
Have a job opening?
Post your open
positions and review
resumes in the
employment area of
www.tnpress.com.
The Tennessee Press
6
District 9
Daniel Richardson
Magic Valley Publishing
Camden
Since June 2013
Ashland City Times
The Dickson Herald
The Stewart-Houston Times, Dover
The Gallatin News
Gallatin News Examiner
The Lebanon Democrat
The Wilson Post, Lebanon
Mt. Juliet News
The Portland Leader
Robertson County Times, Springfield
The News-Democrat, Waverly
Dresden Enterprise
The Tri-City Reporter, Dyer
State Gazette, Dyersburg
The Fulton Leader
The Humboldt Chronicle
Weakley County Press, Martin
The Paris Post-Intelligencer
Lake County Banner, Tiptonville
The Gazette, Trenton
Union City Daily Messenger
District 10
Eric Barnes
The Daily News
Memphis
Since July 2008
2013-14
TPA officers, directors, members
District 7
Mark Palmer
The Daily Herald
Columbia
Since June 2013
District 6
Joe Adams
The Lebanon Democrat
Since December 2010
PRESIDENT
Lynn J. Richardson
Herald & Tribune, Jonesborough
VICE PRESIDENT
DAILIES
Jason P. Taylor
6
9
Bulletin Times, Bolivar
The Camden Chronicle
Chester County Independent, Henderson
Carroll County News-Leader, Huntingdon
The Jackson Sun
The Lexington Progress
The McKenzie Banner
The News Leader, Parsons
The Courier, Savannah
Independent Appeal, Selmer
10
VICE PRESIDENT
NON-DAILIES
Joel Washburn
The McKenzie Banner
TREASURER
John Finney
Buffalo River Review, Linden
Pickett County Press, Byrdstown
Carthage Courier
Citizen-Statesman, Celina
Dale Hollow Horizon, Celina
Herald-Citizen, Cookeville
Crossville Chronicle
Jackson County Sentinel, Gainesboro
The Hartsville Vidette
Fentress Courier, Jamestown
Macon County Chronicle, Lafayette
Macon County Times, Lafayette
LaFollette Press
Livingston Enterprise
Overton County News, Livingston
Independent Herald, Oneida
Scott County News, Oneida
The Sparta Expositor
Morgan County News, Wartburg
IMMEDIATE PAST
PRESIDENT
Michael B. Williams
The Paris Post-Intelligencer
1
4
7
5
District 2
Jack McElroy
News Sentinel
Knoxville
Since June 2008
Roane County News, Kingston
The Union News Leader, Maynardville
The Oak Ridger, Oak Ridge
Tennessee Star Journal, Pigeon Forge
The Mountain Press, Sevierville
The Claiborne Progress, Tazewell
District 5
Hugh Jones
Shelbyville TimesGazette
Since June 2007
Elk Valley Times, Fayetteville
Manchester Times
Southern Standard, McMinnville
Shelbyville Times-Gazette
Smithville Review
The Tullahoma News
Cannon Courier, Woodbury
2
8
7
District 4
Darren Oliver
Overton County News
Livingston
Since June 2010
Your Community Shopper, Ardmore
Hickman County Times, Centerville
The Daily Herald, Columbia
The Fairview Observer
Lewis County Herald, Hohenwald
The Democrat-Union, Lawrenceburg
Marshall County Tribune, Lewisburg
Buffalo River Review, Linden
Pulaski Citizen
The Wayne County News, Waynesboro
District 8
Brad Franklin
The Lexington Progress
Since June 2006
The Crockett Times, Alamo
Bartlett Express
Brownsville States Graphic
Collierville Herald
The Leader, Covington
Germantown News
The Daily News, Memphis
Memphis Business Journal
The Millington Star
The Lauderdale County Enterprise, Ripley
The Lauderdale Voice, Ripley
The Fayette Falcon, Somerville
The Tennessee Press
JULY 2013
JULY 2013
3
District 1
Keith Wilson
Kingsport Times-News
Elected June 2011
and served previously
Grainger Today, Bean Station
Bristol Herald Courier
Elizabethton Star
The Erwin Record
The Greeneville Sun
The Standard Banner, Jefferson City
Johnson City Press
Herald & Tribune, Jonesborough
Kingsport Times-News
The Tomahawk, Mountain City
Rogersville Review
District 3
Chris Vass
Chattanooga Times
Free Press
Since November 2008
The Daily Post-Athenian, Athens
Polk County News, Benton
Hamilton County Herald, Chattanooga
Cleveland Daily Banner
The Dunlap Tribune
Jasper Journal
The Bledsonian-Banner, Pikeville
South Pittsburg Hustler
The Advocate & Democrat, Sweetwater
TPA officers’ terms are one year; directors’ terms are two years.
Even-numbered districts serve until June 2014; odd-numbered districts
serve until June 2015.
TPAF officers, trustees
TPS officers’ terms are one year;
directors’ terms are three years.
TPAF officers’ terms are one year;
trustees’ terms are three years.
TPS officers, directors
PRESIDENT
Gregg K. Jones
The Greeneville Sun
PRESIDENT
Jeffrey D. Fishman
The Tullahoma News
VICE PRESIDENT
Victor Parkins
DIRECTOR
Ralph C. Baldwin
Jones Media Inc.
Greeneville
DIRECTOR
David Critchlow Jr.
Union City Daily Messenger
DIRECTOR
Jason P. Taylor
DIRECTOR
Jana Thomasson
The Mountain Press
Sevierville
Bob Atkins, Hendersonville
Eric Barnes, The Daily News, Memphis
Jim Charlet, Brentwood
Nate Crawford, Nashville
David Critchlow Jr., Union City Daily Messenger
John Finney, Buffalo River Review, Linden
Jeffrey Fishman, The Tullahoma News
R. Jack Fishman, Citizen Tribune, Morristown
R. Michael Fishman, Citizen Tribune, Morristown
Brad Franklin, The Lexington Progress
Dale Gentry, The Standard Banner, Jefferson City
Tom Hill, trustee emeritus
VICE PRESIDENT
Victor Parkins
Doug Horne, Knoxville
Hugh Jones, Shelbyville Times-Gazette
John M. Jones Sr., Greeneville, trustee emeritus
John M. Jones Jr., The Greeneville Sun
Sam D. Kennedy, Kennedy Newspapers, Columbia
Hershel Lake, Pulaski Publishing
Steve Lake, Pulaski Citizen
Jack McElroy, News Sentinel, Knoxville
Victor Parkins, The Milan Mirror-Exchange
Mike Pirtle, Murfreesboro
Walter T. Pulliam, Knoxville, trustee emeritus
Janet Rail, Independent Appeal, Selmer
GENERAL COUNSEL
Richard L. (Rick) Hollow
Knoxville
Darrell Richardson, The Oak Ridger, Oak Ridge
Lynn Richardson, Herald & Tribune,
Jonesborough
Pauline D. Sherrer, Crossville Chronicle
Larry K. Smith, LaFollette, trustee emeritus
Jason Taylor, Chattanooga Times Free Press
Joel Washburn, The McKenzie Banner
Scott Whaley, Henderson
Bill Williams, Paris
Michael Williams, The Paris Post-Intelligencer
Keith Wilson, Kingsport Times-News
The Tennessee Press
8
Tennessee’s advertising networks: Helping
your local customers extend their reach
BY BETH ELLIOTT
Networks advertising manager
David
Wells,
Tennessee Press
Service
(TPS)
advertising
director, and I just
returned from a
refresher training
course at The
Mountain
Press
Elliott
in Sevierville. It
was a great day to drive to the foot of
the Smoky Mountains and an even
better time meeting the folks at The
Mountain Press.
David discussed how TPS is here
to help bring new business to TPA
members and how we must work
together in order to accomplish this.
The refresher course was about
During the session I could see the
wheels spinning as to the types of
businesses that could benefit from
getting their message in multiple
markets through one-point-of-contact
– the local advertising rep.
Tennessee’s advertising networks
(TnSCAN, TnDAN and TnNET)
are powerful tools sales reps can
offer their existing clients. Imagine
your local chamber of commerce is
wanting to bring in crowds not only
in your county, but from surrounding
counties. The task would be daunting
for them to search the markets they
want to reach. Contact each of these
newspapers. Send the ads to each
newspaper. Receive invoices from
each newspaper. And, finally, have to
cut checks to each newspaper. All this
is wrapped up in a nice package with
What a powerful sales tool your rep
has to offer!
The power the networks have to
offer is not limited to chambers of
commerce. Any business that has a
need to reach outside your area is a
good fit. The possibilities are just about
everywhere. Become familiar with
the networks. If an extended reach is
part of your clients’ needs analyses,
remember to tell them about this easy,
effective and affordable way to reach a
region of Tennessee, the Southeast or
the whole nation.
In addition to the networks helping
your local clients extend their reach,
TPS is having a contest for sales reps
at participating newspapers. Sell a
TnSCAN, TnDAN or TnNET ad and
get your name entered in a monthly
drawing. The winner will receive a
$50 gift card. Every rep who sells an
ad gets a chance to win. Double your
chances by selling an ad in the monthly
selected category. For July, you can
win a $50 wild card (that’s a collection
of gift cards, not a sleazy store). The
monthly category for July is vacation/
stay-cation destinations.
The winner of May’s drawing was
Teresa Hicks of the Johnson City
Press. The competition was strong.
Congratulations to all reps who sold
network ads in May!
If you would like a refresher course
for your reps or have questions about
the contest, please contact David or
me at (865) 584-5761. TPS is here to help
you!
Protest regardless
“There may be times when we're
powerless to prevent injustice but
there must never be a time when we
fail to protest.”
Elie Wiesel
Nobel Peace Prize laureate, 1986
JULY 2013
Paper mill in Calhoun,
once known as Bowater,
idles last newsprint machine
BY DAVID FLESSNER
A generation ago, Bowater’s paper
mill in Calhoun was one of America’s
biggest producers of newsprint and
one of the biggest land owners in
southeast Tennessee.
Next week [mid-March], Bowater’s
successor company, now known as
Resolute Forest Products, will shut
down its last newsprint machine there
after decades of shedding forest lands
and mill jobs in response to the shrinking size and circulation of its newspaper customers.
Resolute officials said the “indefinite
idling” of the newsprint machines will
cost another 150 mill jobs, cutting the
remaining staff at the Calhoun plant
below 500 by the end of the month.
Resolute continues to operate two
specialty paper machines in Calhoun,
making papers for circulars, flyers
and other higher-grade paper publications.
“From the time I joined the company
26 years ago, production (in Calhoun)
is probably half of what it once was,”
said Douglas Breckenridge, a sales
representative for Resolute Forest
Products. “Newspapers are much narrower than they used to be and today’s
printing presses use far less paper.”
After Bowater and Abitibi-Consolidated merged in 2007 to create the
third largest pulp and paper company
in North America, the company shut
down two of its five paper production
machines in Calhoun in 2008. Debbie
Johnston, director of public affairs for
Resolute, said the Calhoun newsprint
machine was not as efficient as other
company mills in Augusta, Ga. and
Grenada, Miss., where the company
has invested more than $30 million to
upgrade operations.
“The idling (in Calhoun) comes as
a result of a decrease in demand for
newsprint, coupled with high operating costs for the machine,” she said.
The decision follows Resolute’s acquisition this week of the 49 percent
interest in Calhoun Newsprint Co.,
owned by The Herald Publishing Co.,
LLC, its joint-venture partner for the
newsprint operations.
The Calhoun mill produced 215,000
metric tons per year and supplied
newsprint for dozens of newspapers
in the Southeast, including the Chattanooga Times Free Press. A plant in
Augusta, Ga. will now supply such
newsprint.
(March 13, 2013)
REWRITES FROM THE TENNESSEE PRESS
JULY 1963
John M. Jones Sr., The Greeneville
Sun, presented President’s Awards
to J. Zollie Howard, Memphis PressScimitar, and John Finney, The Daily
Herald, Columbia.
The Millington Star became the first
three-time winner of the Grand Award
in the UT-TPA State Press Contests.
Bill Frame, The Lebanon Democrat,
assumed the 1963-64 presidency of
TPA.
The need for careful handling of desegregation news stories was reviewed
at wire service meetings at the summer convention in Chattanooga.
The TPS board of directors was reelected: Guy Easterly, The LaFollette
Press, president; J. Bill Frame, The
Lebanon Democrat; Donald Brookhart,
Crossville Chronicle; and W.T. Franklin, The Lexington Progress.
Three Tennessee newspapers converted to offset (cold type) printing.
They were the Cookeville Citizen; Putnam County Herald, Cookeville; and
the Sparta Expositor-News Pictorial.
Franklin Yates, Shelbyville TimesGazette, spent six weeks in Russia and
eight other Iron Curtain countries as a
member of the American Newspapers
Study Mission.
JULY 1988
John Paul Jones, publisher of The
Daily News, Memphis, was installed as
Advertising Placement Snapshot
ROP:
Network:
May 2013:
$384,540
$68,685
Year* as of May 31:
$2,677,680
$385,351
*The Tennessee Press Service Inc. fiscal year runs Dec. 1 through Nov. 30.
TPA president for 1988-89.
Persis Corp., the parent company of
the Honolulu Advertiser, planned to
buy The Knoxville Journal.
Bob Atkins, publisher of the News
Examiner, Gallatin, was re-elected
president of TPS, and Tom Hill, publisher of The Oak Ridger, Oak Ridge,
was re-elected TPAF president.
Members of Virginia Press Association who judged the UT-TPA contests
for 1988 praised the entries as exciting,
excellent and handsome.
The Tennessean, Nashville, and The
Commercial Appeal, Memphis, swept
photojournalism honors at the annual
United Press International Tennessee
Association of Newspapers annual
competition.
Sam Kennedy, chairman of the
TPA Legislative Committee, termed
a Metro Nashville policy of not making available wreck reports involving
fatalities a “sham.”
Ralph C. Baldwin was named publisher of The Daily Post-Athenian,
Athens. He succeeded James Gray.
Baldwin had been general manager of
a newspaper in Aberdeen, N.C.
Newspapers were experimenting
with ink made from soybean oil.
The Tennessee Press
JULY 2013
PARKINS
OBITUARIES
John Anderson
Retired from The CA
BY MAX FILBY
AND L. TAYLOR SMITH
John Anderson,
retired marketing
and
promotions
manager for The
Commercial
Appeal, Memphis, was
an innovator in his
field.
“He led the way
Anderson
in developing the
newspaper’s research division when
the competitive media landscape demanded more than just raw circulation numbers,” said Paul Jewell, the
newspaper’s marketing director. “He
was a pioneer in developing the analytics that have become commonplace in
the industry today.”
Anderson died June 13 after a battle
with lymphoma. He was 85.
Anderson was originally from Arkansas. During the Great Depression
his family moved from Chicago to Pace,
Miss. and eventually to Memphis.
After graduating high school and
completing a brief stint in the Navy,
he enrolled at Memphis State College.
He graduated in 1950 with a double major in English literature and business
sales management.
He met his wife-to-be, Wanda, at
Treadwell High School when he was
in the 10th grade, and they married on
May 31, 1952. During their 61 years together, they raised two children.
“We did a lot of traveling in the last
10 years,” his wife said. “Those are
some of the fondest memories I have
of him.”
Anderson started at The Commercial
Appeal in 1953 as the circulation and
promotions manager.
“He led Memphis Publishing Co.’s
promotions and community relations
department back in the days when
there were two thriving newspapers,
The Commercial Appeal in the morning and the Press-Scimitar in the afternoon,” Jewell said. “I’m sure there are
many, many men and women in Memphis who remember winning bicycles,
trips and other prizes in carrier contests that were coordinated by John.”
During his free time, Anderson volunteered with his son’s Boy Scout
troop and his daughter’s Girl Scout
troop.
He became an avid photographer
through his work as a promotions
manager. And his family can’t help but
boast about his talent in the kitchen.
“He made wonderful spaghetti,” his
daughter, Suzanne, said. “He used to
watch all of those cooking shows. He
was a great chef.”
Anderson donated his body to the
5
University of Tennessee in Memphis
to aid in research.
Besides his wife, he leaves the
daughter, Suzanne Anderson Leslie of
Memphis; a son, John Anderson Jr. of
Knoxville; and a granddaughter.
(June 16, 2013)
Allen W. Pettus
Tennessean journalist
BY BRIAN HAAS
Allen W. Pettus, a
longtime journalist
at The Tennessean,
Nashville, and avid
outdoorsman, died
June 18. He was 91.
A Nashville native, Pettus worked
for The Tennessean
Pettus
for more than 40
years, joining the staff as a reporter in
1946 after serving in the U.S. Army Air
Corps during World War II. He held
various positions over the next several
decades, including financial editor,
Sunday and magazine editor and executive assistant to the publisher, from
1970 until he retired in 1987.
“After he got out of World War II …
he went down and just camped on the
front door until he got a job,” said his
son, Bill Pettus, who lives in Brentwood. “He was a company man. He
very much believed in The Tennessean,
its goals and purposes.”
He was a talented storyteller who
loved the great outdoors. In 1972 he implored Tennessean readers to “Make
friends with a mountain” and wrote
lovingly of the Smoky Mountains, a region that remained close to his heart.
“You don’t have to be a mountain
climber to discover the solitude of the
Smokies,” he wrote on Sept. 17, 1972.
“There are many walking trails for
‘just plain folks,’ too – and a different
world lies just around the bend.”
John Seigenthaler, chairman emeritus of The Tennessean, said Pettus was
one of the kindest, most open-minded
journalists he ever knew. In a newsroom filled with cantankerous personalities, he said Pettus was notable – for
his kindness.
“I don’t know that I ever knew anybody who brought his faith to work
everyday in as meaningful a way as
Allen did,” Seigenthaler said. “He sort
of stood out because he was just such
a good guy.”
Pettus retired in 1987 and focused
mainly on traveling.
In his advanced years, he made it a
mission to keep his mind sharp and to
help others his age do the same. In 1999,
The Tennessean wrote about him helping to lead senior brain teaser games
at the Maryland Farms YMCA pool in
Brentwood. More recently, at Bethany
Health & Rehabilitation, he’d lead fellow seniors in “Laff with Allen” before
Bingo Night, in which he’d spin yarns
about Nashville history and anecdotes
from his life, such as the time Amelia
Earhart visited The Tennessean.
“He described what he was trying to
do as helping the old folks to be more
mentally alert and more active,” Bill
Pettus said. “I think that kind of symbolized his life – he tried to help others.”
(June 19, 2013)
Natalie W. Smith
Late publisher’s daughter
Natalie
Wells
Smith,
daughter
of the late Horace
V. Wells Jr., founder,
editor and publisher of the Clinton
Courier-News, died
unexpectedly June
12 while on a family
Smith
outing in Fairfield
Glade. She was 76.
A Clinton native, Smith resided
in Bradenton, Fla. She graduated
from Clinton High School, attended
Maryville College and received a B.S.
in education degree from the University of Tennessee. She continued her
education with a master’s in library
science from Peabody College and
then completed a law degree.
Her enthusiasm for education continued late in life as she was proud to
help remodel and dramatically improve the library at First Presbyterian
Church in Sarasota, Fla. She tried to
better herself at all of her many hobbies, including tennis, golf, daily exercise, prolific reading and educational
travel, and she enjoyed the symphony
and the theater. She had a lifelong love
for music and was learning to play the
hammered dulcimer.
She was preceded in death by her
parents, Horace Vinson Wells Jr., in
1994 and Dorothy Overall Wells, in
1969, as well as her sister, Nancy Wells
Townsend.
She leaves her husband, James R.
(Jim) Smith; three children, Bill Wiesehuegel, Susan Cress and Robert
Wiesehuegel; sisters, Katrina Counts
and Dorothy Cunningham; stepchildren, Kim Smith, Greg Smith and Kyri
Smith; and six grandchildren.
A memorial service was held at Fairfield Glade Community Church on
June 22, and another will be held at
the First Presbyterian Church, Sarasota, on July 7.
(Adapted, Crossville Chronicle,
June 19, 2013)
Read
The Tennessee Press
—then pass it on!
FROM PAGE 4
dent of the Chamber.
Parkins was surrounded by a large
group of family as he received the
award. “Thank you from the bottom of
my heart; I’m truly honored,” he told
the audience. “A lot of people out there
are just as deserving of this award
as I am. But I do deeply care for this
community and love this community
and town. It’s the only place I’ve really
ever been and I’m probably stuck with
it.” He thanked his family for attending, including a “gaggle of sisters”
and some who traveled from afar. He
thanked wife, Carol, saying, she “has
put up with a lot. I know it’s not easy
on her all of the things I get myself
caught up in. She’s a very supportive
wife and I love her for that.”
Parkins has the rare distinction of
being the child of two previous Man
and Woman of the Year winners, the
late Bob Parkins and Dorris Parkins.
“I certainly couldn’t be here without
my mother; she continues to amaze me
every day,” he said. “She’s an incredible woman. I wish my father could
be here. We sure do miss him, and he
was a great example for me and a lot
of other people.”
He encouraged people to become involved in the Chamber of Commerce.
MARKETPLACE
ADVERTISING DIRECTOR needed
for the largest daily newspaper in the
Upper Cumberlands of Tennessee.
This is a full-time position with the
110-year-old Herald-Citizen in Cookeville, Tennessee. Duties include: managing, training and motivating our
five- to seven-person sales staff in
newspaper and online sales. Marketing degree or appropriate sales and
management experience a must. This
position offers: salary with bonus
based on performance, paid employee
health insurance, paid vacation and
sick days, five paid holidays, 401K plan
with company match, mileage paid for
travel while on the job, company-paid
life insurance policy.
This is an outstanding opportunity
for the right person!
Send resume and qualifications to:
[email protected] or
mail to Mike DeLapp, P.O. Box 2729,
Cookeville, Tenn. 38501.
Have a job opening?
Post your open
positions and review
resumes in the
employment area of
www.tnpress.com.
The Tennessee Press
4
JULY 2013
Parkins among Milan Chamber People of the Year
Milan’s People of the Year for 2012
were honored recently when the
Chamber of Commerce held its annual
membership banquet at Milan Middle
School. One of them was Victor Parkins, editor of The Milan Mirror-Exchange.
An overflow crowd, estimated at
more than 300 people, attended the
gala with the theme: “Glitz, Glamour
and Grow.”
The award recipients were kept secret until announced at the banquet.
The Man of the Year Award went to
Parkins and the Woman of the Year
to Linda West, the Chamber administrative assistant since 1987; the Steve
Marsh Pinnacle Award for small business, to the Crocker-Carter Law firm;
and Educator of the Year to Deidre
Maxwell, a pre-kindergarten teacher
at Milan Elementary School.
Musical entertainment and the playing of the National Anthem were pro-
vided by the Milan High School jazz
band directed by John Scruggs. The
catered dinner was served by students
in the school Beta Clubs and Milan
High Spanish Club. Joey Johnson, pastor of Whitehall Baptist Church, gave
the invocation.
Mayor Chris Crider introduced special guests and summarized recent efforts to make Milan more attractive to
potential businesses and industry.
Blake Brown described Man of the
Year winner Parkins as a “strong man
of faith and a family man.’“
In his role as newspaper editor, Parkins was called by one nominator as a
“voice for the Milan community.”
“With the untimely passing of his
father (Bob Parkins), he assumed the
reins of one of the best newspapers
in Tennessee, and certainly the best
in West Tennessee, based on numerous awards for excellence and quality
in reporting,” said the nomination of
Parkins. “However, the significance
of his role is in his desire to keep the
citizens of Milan not just an informed
2013 UT – TPA
State Press Contests
Awards Luncheon
Millennium Maxwell House Hotel
Nashville, Tennessee
Noon
Friday, July 19, 2013
Register online at:
www.tnpress.com
THE MILAN MIRROR-EXCHANGE
Victor Parkins, editor of The Milan Mirror-Exchange, center, was named Man of the Year at a Chamber of
Commerce banquet.
public, but a thinking public. His editorials are always on timely topics; his
comments combined with factual information are thought-provoking, and
in many cases have led the citizenry
to better decisions in action through
voting, letters to Congress and other
forms of action on the part of our community.”
Parkins put “his heart and soul” in
trying to save jobs at the Milan arsenal, said one nominator.
Mayor Chris Crider described Parkins as a wonderful advisor and confidant, invaluable “not only as a friend,
but on a professional level as well.”
Mr. Parkins’ nomination packet in-
cluded numerous letters citing his
contributions, Brown noted.
“He is willing to put friends in front
of himself,” said one letter. “He is always willing to help a friend in need
and go the extra mile. He would lend
a helping hand or let someone borrow equipment or anything else they
need to help them out. He would, at
a moment’s notice, drop what he was
doing to help someone in need. He
also extends friendship to children
of his friends by willingly spending
time with them hunting, fishing, fourwheeler riding or just having conversations with them. My son loves him
like family.”
People cited Parkins’ support of
school programs, work with the Chamber, involvement in Lions Club and
dedication to his church and support
for other denominations.
“He truly cares about the citizens of
Milan,” said one supporter. His pastor, Scott Bloodworth, said Parkins
was a person of the highest character,
steeped in Milan’s traditions. “He’s
Milan’s man when it comes to ensuring our community’s future and safeguarding our heritage,” said Bloodworth.
Parkins previously served as presiSEE PARKINS, PAGE 5
WORTH REPEATING
History repeats itself
BY CLAY MORGAN
Editor
I apologize for being away the last
couple of weeks. It has been an extraordinarily busy time professionally
and personally. Fortunately, it has been
as rewarding as it has been busy.
I read a comment the other day – I
think on Twitter – that we are returning to the days of pamphlet journalism. Whoever wrote that may very
well be correct.
Much of the journalism of the early
days, particularly the 17th and 18th
centuries, was in the form of pamphlets. These were often arguments for
or against a particular government,
law or right. Not at all what we think
of as journalism today.
For example, I have heard the pamphlet Common Sense by Thomas Paine
referred to as an early piece of American journalism, and that may well be
the case. However, it is clearly a piece
of writing that makes an argument
that the Americas should be free of
British rule. One thing it is not is impartial. It presents a strong argument,
more like an extended editorial than
a piece of independent “news reporting.”
Today, are we witnessing the same
thing with social media? Are people
reporting and presenting news and
information from a particular point of
view and with the purpose of convincing people of a particular idea?
9
Court made right call in mosque public notice case
ENGRAVINGS
BY STEVE SHORT
The Tennessee Press
JULY 2013
OK. Memes probably aren’t the pamphlets of our time. However, there is
no doubting the ability of social media
to inform large groups of people and
sway opinion. And it can be done from
a deliberately specific perspective or
with deliberate intention, much like
the pamphlets of old.
Are memes or Facebook posts or
tweets the pamphlets of our time? Are
they the product of citizen journalism;
people trying to sway opinion?
I don’t know. While I have some concerns with the way news is presented
on social media, it is a powerful communication tool, just like the ability
to print and sell 100,000 copies of Common Sense was in 1776.
(May 6, 2013)
The state Court of Appeals’ reversal of a The notice ran three weeks before the
of high public interest and import.
Murfreesboro judge’s ruling in a public notice meeting.
Most of the court cases from the
case involving a controversial Muslim mosque
There was no zoning issue to be refirst challenge of the Sunshine Law in
was good reason to exhale.
solved. That had been taken care of
1974 to the present have relied on the
It was the right ruling on a bad lawsuit. We may before the local Islamic community
principle that the amount and method
have dodged a bullet because bad cases sometimes bought the property. Zoning issues
of providing notices should be based
result in bad law.
typically lead to public hearings and
on the “totality of the circumstances
The court said Chancellor Robert Corlew erred thus more detailed notices. Rutherford
as would fairly inform the public.”
by finding that the public notice the Rutherford County accommodates its citizens by
That basically means the government
County Regional Planning Commission ran May having one meeting a month at night
should tailor its policies so the level of
PUBLIC
2, 2010 in The Murfreesboro Post was inadequate. for that purpose.
notice provided should be proportional
Corlew had ruled it should have appeared in
In this case, the land was already
to the public interest involved.
POLICY
more places than the Post, which at the time was zoned residential, and “religious” use
In 1974, leaders in the City of MemOUTLOOK phis said they didn’t know what “ada newspaper that published only on Sunday and is permitted by right under the counmaintained a website.
ty’s zoning ordinance.
equate” meant. The state Supreme
The appeals court decision actually turned on
Opponents of the mosque claimed Frank Gibson
Court said they should know. Later, it
the content of the public notice.
Islam is not a religion and that adherents
was things like posting notice on a bank
“This litigation has included many twists and to Islam are dangerous to American society, but window the day before a BMA meeting and usturns and volumes of filings, but this decision to block construction, they hung their hat on the ing vague language to describe the business on
discusses only what relates to the narrow issue adequacy of the public notice.
the agenda or not mentioning that a controveron appeal,” Judge Andy Bennett wrote.
The appeals court noted that the planning com- sial matter would be discussed at an out-of-state
Later he noted that facts in the
mission did everything the law school board retreat that were ruled as not meetcase that were “relevant” were
required – it notified the pub- ing adequacy standard.
“undisputed.” That suggested
lic by usual means when and
The most troubling part of cases like the emoSuch cases ‘can be
to me that the case bordered on
where the planning commis- tion-generated mosque litigation is they can be
used by some to enbeing frivolous.
sion was meeting.
used by some to encourage legal mischief.
courage legal mischief.’
Though not one of the “relThe court’s unanimous
Rutherford County officials sought legislation
evant” issues, the court made
opinion explained that the es- in the General Assembly earlier this year to denote of the fact the public notablished case law about Ten- fine “adequate” notice in the statute. It was in
tice appeared in print and on
nessee’s Sunshine Law (Open response to Chancellor Corlew’s now-tainted
the newspaper’s website and through an “over- Meetings Law) only requires notices of “special opinion. One early draft would have put them on
sight” the county failed to put the meeting notice meetings” to include details such as the agenda. government websites.
and the agenda on its website until after the May The Sunshine Law defines “special meeting” as
TPA discouraged that effort as premature be24 meeting.
any meeting “not previously scheduled by stat- cause the law should not be changed on some
The issue was whether the notice of the regu- ute, ordinance, or resolution, or for which notice knee-jerk reaction.
lar bimonthly meeting should have included the is not already provided by law.”
The case was still on appeal. The chancellor’s
fact the commission would be considering a site
The court explained that more detailed notices decision was clearly wrong, ill-advised and uninplan for construction of the religious complex in are required for “special” meetings because by formed, and we believed it would be overturned
a sparsely-populated outskirt of Murfreesboro. definition those are meetings reserved for matters because he made a very simple question overly
complicated.
Rutherford County officials had followed the
law. Those were the same reasons TPA did not file
or join in an amicus brief in the matter.
The News Sentinel, Knoxville, had a story three
days after the appeals court opinion came down.
Under the headline “Knox County meeting notifications under scrutiny,” the newspaper quoted
Knox County Attorney Richard (Bud) Armstrong
as saying the county needed to do something in
response to Corlew’s decision.
“When the decision came out of Murfreesboro,
it gave a lot of people heartburn,” he said. “But
the truth of it is that it’s a really tough topic.”
The newspaper reported that the decision in
Rutherford “could lead to many local governments changing the way they notify the public
when individuals and legislative bodies want to
meet.”
Armstrong said the chancellor’s “judgment has
merit” and he has advised his county commission that it, too, should take heed.
“Ever since the case came out, the rope has
been pulled a little tighter, and I think we need to
start complying to a tighter position,” the newspaper quoted him as saying.
We should all favor improvement in government policies on public notices. That’s why TPA
proposed the legislation this year to improve the
way notices are delivered.
But, we have to beware of proposed changes
based on a unique set of facts. Many times when
legislation is considered something gets lost in
the process. It’s usually transparency that gets
lost in the compromises.
FRANK GIBSON is TPA’s public policy director.
One can reach him at (615) 202-2685 or fgibson@
tnpress.com.
Quiz question stumps some on public notice Paulson is communication dean
BY KENT FLANAGAN
Executive director
Tennessee Coalition
for Open Government
A quiz on open
government topics
revealed that nearly
three-fourths those
who took the online
test did not know
that only Tennessee
citizens are guaranteed access to state
Flanagan
and local public records.
The Tennessee Sunshine Quiz included 15 questions to test a person’s
knowledge about public records as
well as the state’s Sunshine Law on
access to public meetings of city councils, county commissions and other
public boards.
In March about 350 people completed
the quiz, which was sponsored by the
Tennessee Coalition for Open Government (TCOG) through the support of
the Tennessee Press Association, the
Tennessee Association of Broadcasters and the Associated Press. All are
TCOG members.
The quiz was produced as part of
Sunshine Week, a national initiative
by the American Society of Newspaper Editors to promote greater openness in government.
The Tennessee Public Records Act
of 1957 states that public records shall
be open to “any citizen of Tennessee.”
But government agencies don’t apply
that clause uniformly, and most officials interpret it to mean that they
must deny requests from people who
are not Tennessee residents.
“It is a frequently abused section of
the law,” Frank Gibson told AP.
Earlier this year, the United States
Supreme Court affirmed the right of
states to limit public records access to
only citizens in a case from Virginia,
which along with Tennessee and a
handful of other states have similar
laws on records access.
Responses to another question in the
quiz showed that about 40 percent did
not know that the Tennessee General
Assembly is not covered by the state
Sunshine Law, which does cover all
other public state, county or local governing bodies.
Another Sunshine Law question
stumped about one-third of the respondents. The question asked for a true or
false response to this statement:
“Two members of your local county
commission meet for lunch and discuss matters that the commission will
vote on at its next meeting. As a quorum of the commission is not present,
this lunch meeting is not a violation of
the Sunshine Act.”
The correct response is false.
However, chance meetings of members of a public body do not violate the
Sunshine Law as long as the members
do not discuss official business that
is to come before their commission,
council, board or committee.
Anyone wanting to review state laws
on public records or open meetings
can download copies of the statutes
from the Tennessee Press Association
website, www.tnpress.com.
The list of more than 350 exceptions
to the TPRA is being updated this summer and will be posted on TCOG’s website, www.tcog.info.
One can reach Kent Flanagan at (615)
957-2825 or [email protected].
First Amendment
advocate and former
journalist Ken Paulson is the new dean
of the Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro,
College of Mass Communication, effective
Paulson
July 1.
He was president
and chief executive officer of the First
Amendment Center in Nashville and
was editor-in-chief at USA Today from
2004 to 2009 and was a founder of the
newspaper in 1982. He continues his
involvement as a columnist on USA Today’s board of contributors and covers
First Amendment issues and media.
He also has “significant ties to the
music industry,” said Brad Bartel,
university provost, who cited in an
email sent to faculty Paulson’s positions as deputy chair of the Nashville
Songwriters Hall of Fame and his appointment to the Music City Music
Council.
University President Sidney McPhee
echoed Bartel’s enthusiasm.
“We were impressed by the breadth
of Ken’s experience,” McPhee said in
a press release by MTSU News and
Public Affairs. “He has led a national
news organization, traveled the country with a rock ’n’ roll band to tout the
First Amendment and hosted a national television program. His career
has touched all of our college’s disciplines.”
Paulson said he sees a lot of opportunity for growth in the College of Mass
Communication.
“There’s an opportunity for innovative communication colleges to craft
new and bold approaches, fueling these
professions with fresh perspectives
and insights – and graduates with the
skills to maximize both,” he said in the
press release.
Paulson earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri and a juris doctor
degree from the University of Illinois
College of Law.
He will be replacing Dr. Roy Moore,
who has held the position of dean
since 2008. Moore plans to remain with
the College of Mass Communication
as a professor.
The Tennessee Press
10
JULY 2013
The Tennessee Press
JULY 2013
3
FORESIGHT
WORTH REPEATING
Disclosure laws on contributions must be upheld
BY EDITORIAL BOARD
That a recent review that found
more than 50 candidates — including
some of the Legislature’s top leaders
— failed to report contributions from
political action committees or corporations is more proof that Tennessee
disclosure laws should not be undermined.
The Registry of Election Finance
found the discrepancies during an annual “crosscheck” review mandated
by state law. The review matches donations listed on candidates’ disclosure
forms with donations listed on PAC
and corporate disclosure forms.
A bill sponsored by House Republican Caucus Chairman Glen Casada
would do away with the requirement
for disclosure by corporations, which
would cripple the crosscheck process.
Casada was one of lawmakers who
failed to fully report contributions. He
did not report two $1,000 contributions
from PACs. House Democratic Caucus
Chairman Mike Turner, who fiercely
opposed Casada’s bill, had more unreported donations than anyone else —
18 totaling $19,875. In all, 51 legislative
candidates failed to report 180 contributions totaling $144,875.
East Tennessee lawmakers with undisclosed contributions from PACs
or corporations include Rep. Joe
Armstrong, D-Knoxville, with seven
totaling $3,900; Rep. Kent Calfee, RKingston, with three totaling $1,250;
Rep. John Ragan, R-Oak Ridge, with
two totaling $1,000; Sen. Frank Niceley, R-Strawberry Plains, with two
totaling $700; Rep. Andrew Farmer,
R-Sevierville, with one for $1,000; and
Rep. Dennis Powers, R-Jacksboro, with
one for $250.
Drew Rawlins, executive director of
the Bureau of Ethics and Campaign Finance, said the 181 listed contributions
amount to only about 2.5 percent of all
contributions made to state candidates
by PACs and corporations last year. He
termed the results “pretty good.”
In the aggregate, yes. Sometimes a
candidate or campaign treasurer can
inadvertently leave off a contribution.
The fact that Gov. Bill Haslam failed to
report one PAC contribution for $1,000
is understandable in light of the large
number of contributions he received.
But those with multiple undisclosed
contributions such as Turner and Senate Republican Caucus Chairman Bill
Ketron, who had eight cited donations
totaling $6,100, are more troubling.
Campaign disclosure laws are in place
so the public knows who is donating
money to the people who would be
stewards of taxpayer funds.
Turner’s unreported PAC money is
in addition to the Old Hickory Democrat’s already formidable fundraising
— his reported contributions for 2012
added up to $67,975.
Casada said that since the Citizens
United decision in the U.S. Supreme
Court, corporations are people “in the
eyes of the law” and, like individuals,
should not have to file a contribution
report to the Registry.
However, corporations are allowed to
give much more money than individuals. People can give a maximum of
$1,500 to a House candidate or $3,800 to
a Senate candidate. PACs and corporations can give up to $7,500 to a House
candidate and $11,200 to a Senate candidate.
The crosscheck provision of state
2013
law allows election officials to identify
candidates who fail to file accurate financial disclosure forms — not to punish them, necessarily, but to ensure
that they ultimately reconcile their
financial reports.
Casada’s bill failed in the House by
just two votes in the recently ended
session, but he has said he will revive
it next year. Speaker Beth Harwell,
who opposes it, will have to keep a
coalition of responsible Republicans
and Democrats together in blocking
its passage.
Campaign spending continues to
spiral upward with no end in sight,
and the people of Tennessee deserve
to know who is bankrolling the people who represent them in Nashville.
Transparency is vital to the integrity
of the election process and must be
preserved.
(May 26, 2013)
Kids say thanks for newspapers
at NIE appreciation luncheon
You probably didn’t realize you’re
reading a textbook right now. For
thousands of children and even adults
in McMinn and Meigs Counties, the
newspaper has become part of their
educational experience.
“Newspapers aren’t part of education. They are education,” said McMinn County Sheriff Joe Guy during
Thursday’s Newspapers In Education
Sponsor Appreciation Luncheon.
“They’re a living document that, each
day, tells us what’s going on.”
The Daily Post-Athenian’s NIE program is a non-profit, cooperative effort between schools and newspapers
to create lifelong readers and leaders
by promoting the use of newspapers
as an educational resource. More than
3,400 newspapers are distributed to all
McMinn and Meigs county, Athens and
Etowah city schools, Athens-McMinn
Adult Education, KIDS Connection
after-school program, and the McMinn
County Justice Center’s GED program
through NIE sponsorships.
“We had 101 teachers using the program this year – our largest amount
ever,” said DPA NIE Coordinator Lu
Shep Baldwin. “Our program continues to grow and be successful because
of the educational systems, businesses, and organizations that support it.”
NIE also co-sponsors the annual Family Fun Fair with Tennessee Wesleyan
College and McMinn Living Well to
promote literacy and healthy lifestyles
for youngsters.
In addition to newspapers in the
classrooms, NIE provides the KidScoop page, serial stories and summer
reading activities inside editions of
The DPA.
“This program provides educators
with the most relevant and current
textbook: The local newspaper,” said
DPA Publisher Mike Miller. “The content in the newspaper enables teachers to supplement programs and textbooks they use while also opening a
discussion of current events and promoting social awareness among their
students. And, that couldn’t happen
without our supporters.”
“The DPA’s NIE program stands
head and shoulders above any others
in the communities we serve,” added
Gregg K. Jones, chief executive officer
of Jones Media Inc., The Daily PostAthenian’s parent company.
The McMinn County Sheriff ’s Department has used NIE for 10 years in
its Drug Abuse Resistance Education
(DARE) program and now uses it to
help inmates obtain their GEDs.
Guy said seeing how inmates use
The Daily Post-Athenian reminds him
of the need for newspapers.
“Sometimes, we forget just how important the local newspaper is because
we’re inundated with information
through the Internet and social media,” Guy said. “In jail, you don’t have
social media, so when the newspapers
come in, they don’t survive long. The
inmates literally eat those papers up.
They read every word and pass them
around. It’s the only contact with the
outside they really have. Seeing that
makes you realize the value of the
newspaper.”
Newspapers are just as important for
KRISTI NELSON BUMPUS | ETSPJ
Members of the cast of the 2013 edition of the ETSPJ Front Page Follies, from left, director Terry Silver-Alford,
John McNair, David Haley Lauver, Cindy Hassil, Michael Holtz, Lisa Hood Skinner, Ernie Roberts, Ingrid Ruffin, Cathy Jenkins and Megan Venable Smith. Not pictured: Adina Chumley, Regina Mays, Hubert Smith and
Amanda Womac.
CHARLIE DANIEL | ETSPJ
Hufford is honoree for 35th Front Page Follies
Reserve your place for an entertaining evening at the 35th Annual Front
Page Follies, through which the East
Tennessee Society of Professional
Journalists (ETSPJ) raises money
for journalism and electronic media
scholarships at the University of Tennessee and Pellissippi State Community College.
The July 13 event, in addition to
poking light-hearted fun at news, and
folks who make the news, will honor
UT journalism professor Bonnie Hufford. Hufford, who
teaches
editing,
writing, graphics
and international
communications,
has edited and written for the AssociHufford
ated Press, Whittle
Communications, WKYC-TV and sev-
eral daily newspapers and advertising/public relations agencies. She is
a two-time UT College of Communication and Information Outstanding
Faculty Member, and she has won the
SPJ President’s Award for public service twice.
The evening begins at 6 p.m. with a
reception featuring cocktails and hors
d’oeuvres in the lobby of the Clarence
Brown Theatre on the UT campus, be-
fore the 7:30 p.m. show.
Admission is $75 per ticket for general seating. Limited blocks of premium
seats at $100 per ticket are available.
A portion of the ticket price is a taxdeductible contribution to UT.
One may buy tickets by contacting
Megan Venable Smith at (865) 974-6903
or [email protected], or one may order online and pay by credit card at
www.etspj.org.
RICHARDSON: Jonesborough publisher heads TPA
FROM PAGE ONE
In the community, Richardson has
worked with the Chamber of Commerce as marketing chairman for
Focus 2015 and for “Hands of Friendship,” a food and supply relief project
for Rybinsk, Russia.
She has served as East Tennessee
State University’s ETSU Pride Week
co-chairman and on the boards of
the Newspaper Association of America’s Youth and Education Board, the
QUEST Foundation and the Northeast
Tennessee Tourism Association.
Richardson has received several
ADDY awards over the years from the
Tri-Cities Metro Advertising Federation, as well as an international award
from Editor & Publisher for promotion
of Newspapers In Education.
Under her leadership, the newspaper
has received the TPA’s General Excellence Award as well as multiple awards
for investigative, editorial, news and
feature writing, photography, newspaper design, promotions and ad design.
The paper has also received recognitions from The Washington Post and
Presstime magazine for its Community
Awareness Project with the Town of
Jonesborough.
She lives with her husband, Dean
Batchelder, in Elizabethton, and they
have three children, Keely Goodwin,
Matt Batchelder and Cory Richardson.
Later this summer, Richardson will
also have a new title – grandmother –
as she and her family joyfully anticipate the arrival of their first grandchild.
Richardson is a native of Princeton,
W.Va. and a graduate of Concord College in Athens, W.Va.
She has a bachelor of science degree
in elementary education with a specialization in music from Concord College
in Athens, W.Va. and a certification in
journalism from East Tennessee State
University in Johnson City.
The TPA was founded in 1870-71 for
the purpose of creating a unified voice
for the newspaper industry in Tennessee. Today, TPA continues to provide
assistance to its 121 member newspapers by monitoring legislative activities, providing training programs, issuing press credentials, maintaining
a website and providing regular meetings and forums to foster the exchange
of information and ideas.
The TPA presidency rotates among
TPA’s three divisions of Tennessee,
east, middle and west, and alternates
each year between a daily and nondaily publication. It is customary that
a person serve two terms as vice president before being elected president.
JULY
4-5: TPA offices closed for Independence Day
10-14: International Society
of Weekly Newspaper Editors
Conference, St. Norbert College, Green Bay, Wis.
12: TPA members judge South
Carolina Press Association
advertising contest, 9:30 a.m.
to 12:30 p.m., TPA headquarters, Knoxville
12: Period ends for online judging of Washington Newspaper
Publishers Association Better
Newspaper Contest
13: ETSPJ Front Page Follies, 6
p.m., Clarence Brown Theatre,
Knoxville
19: UT-TPA State Press Contests Awards Luncheon,
noon, Millennium Maxwell
House Hotel, Nashville
AUGUST
25-27: Society of Professional
Journalists Annual Convention, Anaheim, Calif.
SEPTEMBER
9: First Border War golf tournament, to benefit TPA Foundation and Kentucky Press Association Foundation, Fairvue
Plantation Country Club, Gallatin
12-15: NNA Convention & Trade
Show, Phoenix, Ariz.
OCTOBER
17-19: 16th Institute of Newspaper Technology, UT-Knoxville
NOVEMBER
8: SNPA-TPA Publishers Summit, Nashville
2014
FEBRUARY
5-7: TPA Winter Convention &
Press Institute, Nashville
NOTE: The Government Affairs
Committee meeting set for July
19 has been canceled.
THE DAILY POST-ATHENIAN, ATHENS
Athens City Schools KIDS Connection students hold up signs to thank sponsors of The DPA’s Newspapers in
Education program at the close of their musical performance during an NIE Sponsor Appreciation Luncheon.
public officials, Guy noted.
“It’s a litmus test of how people feel
about the job public officials are doing,” he said. “It’s a valued asset. The
Sheriff ’s Department is committed to
continuing its sponsorship, and I’d encourage others to do so, as well.”
Angie Dahle, Director of the Athens
City School System’s KIDS Connection
after-school program, called the newspaper “a great tool.”
“KIDS Connection is an extension of
the school day, so we incorporate elements of what the kids have already
been doing in class,” Dahle said. “Math
projects, science projects, language
arts, community involvement, parent
involvement – all the things we need to
do we can do with the newspaper. For
Halloween, the kids have even dressed
up as mummies using the newspaper.
There are so many fun and interactive
opportunities through NIE.”
Dahle said she has made presentations and pitches at the National AfterSchool Association conference and
with struggling programs around Tennessee about the importance of NIE.
“A lot of programs struggle with
community involvement,” Dahle not-
ed. “We have one of the best. Everyone
here works together.”
Joyce Simpson, an art instructor
at Central High School, has used the
newspaper in her classroom for various projects, including an art history
lesson on Vincent Van Gogh, which
she shared during the NIE luncheon.
“NIE has provided a great way for
my students to express themselves and
share with others their experiences,”
Simpson said. “We want to make sure
students are retaining what they’re
learning, and the newspaper helps us
do that very well.”
President names committee chairmen
TPA President Lynn J. Richardson
has selected chairmen for all 2013-14
committees. They are the following:
Advertising: Leslie Kahana, Chattanooga Times Free Press
Circulation: To be announced next
month
Contests: Terri Likens, Roane County News, Kingston
Futures: Gregg K. Jones, Jones Media Inc., Greeneville
Government Affairs: Elizabeth K.
Blackstone, Kennedy Newspapers,
Columbia, co-chairman, and Joel
Washburn, The McKenzie Banner, cochairman. Washburn automatically
became the co-chairman when he was
elected TPA vice president last month.
Hall of Fame Administrative: Dr.
Peter Gross, UT School of Journalism
and Electronic Media
Journalism, Education & Literacy: Janet Rail, Independent Appeal,
Selmer
Membership: Mark Stevens, Elizabethton Star
Nominating: Michael B. Williams,
The Paris Post-Intelligencer (an auto-
matic appointment of the immediate
past president)
Postal: Joe Adams, The Lebanon
Democrat
Winter Convention and Press Institute: Jason P. Taylor, Chattanooga
Times Free Press (an automatic appointment as the senior vice president
of TPA)
Summer Convention: Jana Thomasson, The Mountain Press, Sevierville
Technology: John Finney, Buffalo
River Review, Linden
AP moves offices
of Nashville bureau
Leek, Clipping Bureau
tabber, retires from TPS
The offices of the Associated Press
Nashville Bureau have been moved
from Centerview Drive in Brentwood
into the John Seigenthaler Center on
the campus of Vanderbilt University.
Contact information is as follows:
The Associated Press
John Seigenthaler Center
1207 18th Ave. S.
Ste. 261A
(615) 373-9988 or (800) 453-1282
[FAX] (615) 376-0947
[email protected]
Brenda Leek, whose service with
Tennessee Press Service reached back
further than anyone else on the current staff, retired June 7. She was a
tabber in the Clipping Bureau. Look
for further information in the August
issue of The Tennessee Press.
The Tennessee Press
2
(USPS 616-460)
Published quarterly by the
TENNESSEE PRESS SERVICE, INC.
for the
TENNESSEE PRESS ASSOCIATION, INC.
435 Montbrook Lane
Knoxville, Tennessee 37919
Telephone (865) 584-5761/Fax (865) 558-8687/www.tnpress.com
Subscriptions: $6 annually
Periodicals Postage Paid At Knoxville, TN
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Tennessee Press,
435 Montbrook Lane, Knoxville, TN 37919.
The Tennessee Press is printed by The Standard Banner, Jefferson City.
Greg M. Sherrill.....................................................Editor
Elenora E. Edwards.............................Managing Editor
Robyn Gentile..........................Production Coordinator
Angelique Dunn...............................................Assistant
The Tennessee Press
is printed on recycled paper
and is recyclable.
www.tnpress.com
The Tennessee Press can be read on
OFFICIAL WEBSITE OF THE TENNESSEE PRESS ASSOCIATION
TENNESSEE PRESS ASSOCIATION
Lynn J. Richardson, Herald & Tribune, Jonesborough........................President
Jason P. Taylor, Chattanooga Times Free Press............................Vice President
Joel Washburn, The McKenzie Banner.........................................Vice President
John Finney, Buffalo River Review, Linden.........................................Treasurer
Greg M. Sherrill, Knoxville.....................................................Executive Director
DIRECTORS
Keith Wilson, Kingsport Times-News.....................................................District 1
Jack McElroy, News Sentinel, Knoxville................................................District 2
Chris Vass, Chattanooga Times Free Press............................................District 3
Darren Oliver, Overton County News, Livingston................................District 4
Hugh Jones, Shelbyville Times-Gazette................................................District 5
Joe Adams, The Lebanon Democrat......................................................District 6
Mark Palmer, The Daily Herald, Columbia.............................................District 7
Brad Franklin, The Lexington Progress..................................................District 8
Daniel Richardson, Magic Valley Publishing, Camden.........................District 9
Eric Barnes, The Daily News, Memphis...............................................District 10
Michael B. Williams.....................................................Immediate Past President
TENNESSEE PRESS SERVICE
Jeffrey D. Fishman, The Tullahoma News.............................................President
Victor Parkins, The Milan Mirror-Exchange..................................Vice President
Ralph C. Baldwin, Jones Media Inc., Greeneville..................................Director
David Critchlow Jr., Union City Daily Messenger..................................Director
Jason P. Taylor, Chattanooga Times Free Press......................................Director
Jana Thomasson, The Mountain Press, Sevierville................................Director
Greg M. Sherrill.............................................................Executive Vice President
TENNESSEE PRESS ASSOCIATION FOUNDATION
Gregg K. Jones, The Greeneville Sun...................................................President
Victor Parkins, The Milan Mirror-Exchange...................................Vice President
Richard L. Hollow, Knoxville.....................................................General Counsel
Greg M. Sherrill.....................................................................Secretary-Treasurer
CONTACT THE MANAGING EDITOR
TPAers with suggestions, questions or comments about items in The Tennessee Press are welcome to contact the managing editor. Call Elenora Easterly
Edwards, (865) 457-5459; send a note to P.O. Box 502, Clinton, Tenn. 377170502; or email [email protected]. The deadline for the August
issue is July 8.
JULY 2013
Dean Coombs, you’re my hero
I’ll grant you that it’s a little unusual for a new
tion. The newspaper doesn’t have a website. Heck,
Tennessee Press Association president to write
The Crescent office doesn’t even have a computer.
her first column about someone who lives in a difCoombs hasn’t stepped far away from the way
ferent state.
the newspaper was produced when his grandfaIt’s probably even more odd that I’m writing
ther bought it in 1917. News is handed in typed
about someone I don’t even know.
or written on paper. He takes that information
But stay with me. After you read this, maybe
and whatever else he has gathered that week and
you’ll feel like you know me a little better.
heads over to his 90-year-old Linotype machine to
You see, I’m a sap when it comes to a good story
start pounding out stories to fill the paper’s fourabout newspapers and the people who work in our
page edition with local events, birth and death anYOUR
industry. That’s why I feel it is such an honor to be
nouncements, legal notices and the like.
the president of this organization, and it’s why I
Thompson describes a scene at The Crescent.
PRESIDING
feel compelled to tell you about Dean Coombs.
“On any given Tuesday,” he writes, “if you venREPORTER
I’ve never met Dean, but I sure would like to one
ture past the creaky door and the piles of paper
of these days.
and boxes and photos, you’ll find Dean Coombs
He is surely one of the last of his kind – a one- Lynn J. Richardson marinating in the smell of hot lead, dust and the
stop newspaper man who does it all.
slow decay of old newsprint, tending an ancient
Coombs is the publisher, the editor, pressman
printing press that emanates a rhythmic whirand mechanic for a tiny newspaper, The Crescent of Saguache, swoosh.”
Colo. For those of us who operate small newspapers in small
He goes into even more detail as he outlines Coombs’ weekly
towns with small staffs, this man even makes us look like we process: “forging each line of text, or slug, from molten lead,
are running mega media organizations.
which he arranges among ads and graphics engraved into
As if that isn’t impressive enough, as far as anyone knows, wood or metal, into a chase, a rectangular metal frame.
Coombs’ newspaper is also the last newspaper in America
After all that, it is secured into the press. The case and type
printed using only letterpress technology.
are inked and the newsprint rolls over them.”
I stumbled across an article about Coombs when I was readEven the mailing labels, Thompson said, are printed on an
ing my online edition of the “Rural Blog.” Finding out about old codger of a machine that dates back to the 1920s.
him that way is sort of ironic, now that I think about it.
There probably are very few of us who have ever seen a
In a story written by Jonathan Thompson for the High Coun- newspaper produced that way and even fewer who have partry News, you can almost smell and feel the atmosphere at The ticipated in such a process. The list of newspapers that would
Crescent, a paper in its 134th year of spreading pertinent news remain in business if it were still done that way would no
to the 500 or so local residents of Saguache in southern Colo- doubt be very short.
rado.
That painstaking, labor-intensive method of putting out a
Thompson does a good job of telling the story of Coombs – newspaper requires a dedication far beyond what many would
a man who came into this business through family tradition be willing to commit.
and a lot of hard work.
It takes someone who really believes in the importance of a
His grandfather, Charles Ogden, bought The Crescent in 1917. newspaper in the local community to continue that way.
After his death, Coombs’ mother took over the paper.
I wonder how our newspapers would fare if those methods
Coombs became the publisher in 1978. After his mother’s were still used today? Do we still have that kind of determideath in 2002, it was all his.
nation, that deep-down, dogged determination to get the job
As I read Thompson’s article, I wondered about this do-it- done?
all newspaper guy. Did he always want to be in the newspaper
I’d sure like to think so.
business, or did he just land in the middle of it and decide to
Now don’t think for a minute that I’m proposing we go back
make the best of it?
to Linotypes and letterpresses. It’s too late for that. We’ve
You just have to wonder about a person who lives his life this moved too far away from those roots.
way. So I Googled him, wanting to put a face to the story. He
Our new technology gives us opportunities we never
was easy to find. Again, given Coombs’ apparent aversion to dreamed possible.
all things digital, another irony.
But even though we’ve embraced our digital future, let’s
The photos I saw on my screen showed him hard at work, hope we haven’t moved so far away that we can’t learn from
with a scruffy grayish beard and wire-rimmed glasses. He and admire Coombs’ spirit and his commitment to community
looked a lot like I expected him to, somehow.
journalism. That’s something to which we all should aspire.
I also guessed that he would look really tired and maybe
I’d like to meet him one day and tell him, face to face, that
more than a little overwhelmed. I guessed wrong. I surely I think he is something pretty special and that I admire the
didn’t expect to see him looking so happy.
work he does every day at The Crescent. But until then, I’ll just
In all of the photos, Coombs is smiling. In a few shots, he put my thoughts here, on this printed page.
Dean Coombs, you’re my hero.
is flat out grinning as he proudly stands there in front of his
newspaper office.
Maybe he is smiling because he knows if you or I want to LYNN J. RICHARDSON is publisher of the Herald & Tribune,
read a copy of The Crescent, we would have to get a subscrip- Jonesborough.
tion – to the print edition – which is, of course, the only edi-
TPA has two new associate members
The Tennessee Press Association has
two new associate members, approved
by the Board of Directors at its Feb. 6
meeting. The new associates are Vanderbilt University and Medical Center
and The Maximum Times. Contact information for them follows:
• Vanderbilt University and Medical
Center News Service
Contact: Elizabeth P. Latt, assistant
vice chancellor
[email protected]
News and Communications
110 21st Avenue S., Ste. 802
(615) 322-2706
www.vanderbilt.edu
• The Maximum Times
Contact: Tony Vick, #276187
RMSI 6-A-211
7475 Cockrill Bend Blvd.
Nashville, Tenn. 37209-1048
The Tennessee Press
JULY 2013
Signing up for Creative Cloud? Do it soon!
BY KEVIN SLIMP
TPS technology director
When I was a college student living
in Texas, I got used
to hearing people say,
“Boy, howdy.”
This wasn’t a greeting, as you might
think. It was more
along the lines of
Slimp
“You’re not kidding!”
It’s struck me as
funny that, as I thought about the best
way to explain the reaction to Adobe’s
Creative Cloud announcement, the first
words that came to mind were, “Boy,
howdy.”
Did Adobe open a huge can of worms
by moving to the Creative Cloud model?
Boy, howdy. Did they ever. Is the creative
and publishing world up in arms about
it? Boy, howdy. Are they ever.
Is there anything we can do about Creative Cloud? Probably not.
For those who have been hiking the
Appalachian Trail for the past two
months and aren’t familiar with the
changes at Adobe, here’s the short version: You no longer buy Adobe software. You lease it. Think of your cable
company. For a monthly fee, you have
access to hundreds of channels, even
though you probably don’t watch more
than three or four.
Cable seemed like a good idea when
I moved into my place three years ago.
I got 200 channels, HBO, high-speed
Internet and a phone line for $99 per
month. It’s hard to argue with that.
What I haven’t been able to figure out
is how my cable bill went from $99 per
month to over $200 without my noticing
it. And I don’t even get HBO anymore.
And that’s the catch about Creative
Cloud, isn’t it? Sure, we get InDesign,
Photoshop, Illustrator, Flash, Acrobat
InCopy and a couple of dozen other
apps. But let’s face it, how many of our
people use more than two or three Adobe applications?
And that price of $30 per month per
user? That sounds like an OK deal. $360
per year for the latest version of Adobe
software. But what about next year?
That price is only guaranteed for the
length of the one-year agreement. And,
unless something changes, the $30 per
month goes up to $50 for folks who sign
up after July 31 – I’m talking at the end
of this month. So beginning Aug. 1, that
$360 moves up to $600 annually.
Are people upset? Boy, howdy. There
are blogs and online communities dedicated to complaining about the changes
at Adobe. They’ve recently been compared to Quark, whose corporate attitude in the 1990s led to their quick descent from their lofty perch as king of
the creative world.
In 1997, Publish Magazine asked me
to write an editorial comparing Adobe
to Quark. Not a software comparison,
but a comparison of the companies. At
the time, it seemed like just about all of
Quark’s customers were tired of their
corporate “take it or leave it” attitude.
Quark customers left in droves after
the release of Adobe InDesign. Over the
next few years, the king of the creative
world was sitting at the bottom of the
heap, looking up at the new king.
I’ve received calls and emails from
publishers from New York to California.
I even received a call from Jeff Fishman
last week while I waited for a flight in
Boston. He was attending a meeting of
the National Newspaper Association
board, wanting to know what our alternatives are as an industry. Apparently it
was the board’s “hot” topic at that moment. My answer: “Not much.”
At this moment, however, I’m letting
my mind play “What if ?” The game is
played something like this:
• What if Quark got together with
Corel and packaged the latest version
of QuarkXpress with Corel Paintshop
Pro and sold the bundle for $699?
• What if Quark bundled QuarkXPress
with GIMP, a free Photoshop “clone” application and made some tweaks so the
two applications could work seamlessly
together, like InDesign and Photoshop?
The problem with playing “What if ?”
is that it’s just a game. It looks like none
of these scenarios are going to happen. I just got off the phone with Gavin
Drake, vice president of marketing at
Quark, and it sounds like they’re not
planning any bundles or making any
plans to take on the Creative Cloud.
And let’s face it. If Quark’s not interested in competing with Adobe on the
publishing front, who will?
I’m not worried about the changes
with Adobe software. We can always
keep producing newspapers and other
publications the way we always have.
What does worry me is that companies
like Adobe and Quark don’t see the traditional publishing world as a market
worth concern any longer.
So what’s my advice? There doesn’t
seem to be a viable option to Adobe Creative Cloud at the moment. Eventually
you will be forced to upgrade equipment
and software and, when you do, you’ll
probably sign up for Creative Cloud.
In the meantime, read carefully. The
price goes up significantly after July 31.
If you are going to upgrade software, do
it before then. Otherwise, you’ll spend
$240 extra per user over the next year.
Am I a little frustrated that we don’t
seem to have other options? Boy, howdy,
am I ever. But like everyone else, there
doesn’t seem to be much I can do about
it at this point.
I’d love to hear your thoughts about
the changes at Adobe. Email those to
me at [email protected].
11
HOW TO CONTACT US
Tennessee Press
Association
Knoxville, TN 37919
Phone: (865) 584-5761
Fax: (865) 558-8687
Email: (name)@tnpress.
com
Those with boxes, listed
alphabetically:
Laurie Alford (lalford)
Pam Corley (pcorley)
Angelique Dunn (adunn)
Beth Elliott (belliott)
Robyn Gentile (rgentile)
Frank Gibson (fgibson)
Earl Goodman (egoodman)
Kathy Hensley (khensley)
Greg Sherrill (gsherrill)
Kevin Slimp (kslimp)
Umbrella illustration courtesy of Adbuilder.com
Kayretta Stokes (kstokes)
David Wells (dwells)
Border War Golf Tournament
Monday, September 9, 2013
Tessa Wildsmith
(twildsmith)
Heather Wright (hwright)
Advertising email:
A bene¿t to raise funds for
Kentucky Journalism Foundation
Tennessee Press Association Foundation
This tournament for members, associate members and
other parties connected to TPA and KPA will take place at
Fairvue Plantation Country Club in Gallatin, Tennessee.
Registration is $75 per player, inclusive of green fee, cart,
range balls, beverage cart, food and awards reception.
Fees are considered a donation to the newspaper
foundations and are non-refundable.
Tennessee players register by email to:
Bob Atkins, [email protected]
[email protected]
Knoxville, TN 37919
Phone: (865) 584-5761
Fax: (865) 558-8687
Web: www.tnadvertising.
biz
Tennessee Press
Association Foundation
Knoxville, TN 37919
Phone: (865) 584-5761
Fax: (865) 558-8687
The Tennessee Press
12
Haven
“If in other lands the press and
books and literature of all kinds are
censored, we must redouble our ef-
C
M
Y
K
forts here to keep them free. If in other
lands the eternal truths of the past are
threatened by intolerance, we must
provide a safe place for their perpetuation.”
Franklin D. Roosevelt
32nd U.S. president, 1938
JULY 2013
TPA to judge
SCPA advertising;
want to help?
Tennessee Press Association (TPA)
members will judge the South Carolina Press Association’s (SCPA) Advertising Contest on Friday, July 12, at the
TPA offices in Knoxville. The judging
will take place from 9:30 a.m. until
12:30 p.m.
SCPA came to TPA Executive Director Greg Sherrill with the request for
assistance on June 19, and eight TPA
members responded with offers to
help.
If you would like to participate, contact Robyn Gentile, member services
manager, at (865) 584-5761 x105 or [email protected].
TPAers are in the process now of
judging the Washington Newspaper
Publishers Association Better Newspaper Contest. That is being done online and is to be completed no later
than July 12.
GOAL: $1,000,000
$900K
$800K
$700K
BELIEVERS
Contributors to the TPAF
‘I Believe’ campaign thus far:
• Hollow & Hollow LLC
• Cannon Courier, Woodbury
• Jim Charlet, in memory of Martha C.
Charlet
• Chattanooga Times Free Press
• Nathan Crawford, In Memory of James
Walter Crawford Sr. and C.T. (Charlie)
Crawford Jr.
• Crossville Chronicle, In Memory of
Perry Sherrer
• Gannett Foundation
The Jackson Sun
• Joe Hurd, The Courier, Savannah
• Jones Media, In Memory of Edith
O’Keefe Susong and Quincy Marshall
O’Keefe
The Advocate & Democrat,
Sweetwater
The Daily Post Athenian, Athens
The Greeneville Sun
The Rogersville Review
• Kennedy Newspapers, Columbia
• Lakeway Publishers, Morristown
The Elk Valley Times, Fayetteville
Manchester Times
The Tullahoma News
• The Milan Mirror-Exchange
• News Sentinel, Knoxville
• The Paris Post-Intelligencer, In Memory
of W. Bryant Williams
• Republic Newspapers
• Richard Rowlett, Rowlett Advertising
Service, Goodlettsville
• Union City Daily Messenger
• Bill and Anne Williams, Paris, in honor of
Michael Williams’ presidency of TPA
$600K
$500K
$400K
$302,600
5-13
$300K
$200K
$100K
No. 1
JULY 2013
Vol. 77
Lynn J. Richardson, publisher of
the Herald & Tribune, Jonesborough,
is the new president of the Tennessee Press Association (TPA). TPA is a
trade association composed of 26 daily
newspapers and 95 non-daily newspapers.
Richardson, the fourth woman to
lead TPA, succeeds Michael B. Williams, publisher of The Paris PostIntelligencer.
Other officers elected at TPA’s Business Session during the 144th anniversary Summer Convention June
13-15 in Memphis were Jason P. Taylor,
president of the Chattanooga Times
Free Press, vice president for daily
newspapers; Joel Washburn, managing editor of The McKenzie Banner,
vice president for non-daily newspapers; and John Finney, vice president
of the Buffalo River Review, Linden,
treasurer.
Directors elected for two-year terms
are Keith Wilson, publisher of the
Kingsport Times-News, District 1;
Chris Vass, metro editor of the Chattanooga Times Free Press, District 3;
Hugh Jones, publisher of the Shelbyville Times-Gazette, District 5; Mark
Palmer, publisher of The Daily Herald,
Columbia, District 7; and Daniel Richardson, distribution manager for Magic Valley Publishing, District 9.
Continuing their terms as directors are Jack McElroy, editor of the
News Sentinel, Knoxville, District 2;
Darren Oliver, advertising director
of the Overton County News, Livingston, District 4; Joe Adams, publisher
of The Lebanon Democrat, District 6;
Brad Franklin, marketing director of
The Lexington Progress, District 8; and
Eric Barnes, publisher of The Daily
News, Memphis, District 10. Michael
B. Williams will continue on the board
for one year as immediate past president.
The TPA Board of Directors elected
trustees to serve on the Tennessee
Press Association Foundation (TPAF)
Board of Trustees for three-year
terms. Re-elected trustees were Nate
Crawford, Nashville; Doug Horne, Republic Newspapers, Knoxville; and Janet Rail, publisher of the Independent
Appeal, Selmer.
TPAF officers elected at the TPAF
Board of Trustees meeting were Gregg
K. Jones, president of Jones Media
Inc., Greeneville, re-elected president,
and Victor Parkins, editor of The Mi-
INSIDE
RICHARDSON
HUFFORD HONOR
Richardson
lan Mirror-Exchange, re-elected vice
president.
Officers and directors of the Tennessee Press Service (TPS), business
affiliate of TPA, are Jeffrey D. Fish-
man, president, and Victor Parkins,
vice president. David Critchlow Jr.,
editor of the Union City Daily Messenger, and Jana Thomasson, publisher
of The Mountain Press, Sevierville,
were elected to the board during the
TPS Stockholders’ Meeting on June 15.
Continuing to serve on the six-member
TPS Board are Ralph C. Baldwin, chief
financial officer of Jones Media Inc.,
Greeneville, and Jason P. Taylor. TPS
will elect officers in November.
Lynn J. Richardson was named general manager of the Herald & Tribune,
a 4,228 paid-circulation non-daily in
Washington County, in 1999. She was
promoted to publisher in 2004.
Art Powers, former publisher of
the Johnson City Press and a past TPA
president, commented on Richardson’s new TPA role. “Lynn will do an
outstanding job as TPA president, I’m
certain. She is so dedicated to her work
and community that I’m sure that
work ethic will follow her in this new
post. The association is in great hands
in the coming year! Congratulations,
Lynn. I’m very proud of you!”
Mark Stevens, publisher of the Elizabethton Star and former publisher of
The Erwin Record, recalled, “I first
met Lynn when I was an intern at the
Johnson City Press in the summer of
1989, and we immediately hit it off and
have been very good friends since. I’m
so proud of Lynn and that she will be
leading TPA.
“Lynn is an immensely talented and
creative person, and she will put her
enthusiasm for newspapers to good
use for the entire membership,” Stevens said.
Richardson started her career in
journalism writing part-time for the
Bluefield (W.Va.) Daily Telegraph while
in college. After graduation, she went
to work at her alma mater, serving as
Concord College’s director of public
information.
In 1979, she was hired by the Johnson
City Press-Chronicle to start and direct
the newspaper’s first Newspapers In
Education (NIE) program. In that role,
she was responsible for all curriculum
writing, promotions, marketing and
training.
In her work with NIE, Richardson
was first introduced to the Tennessee
Press Association, serving twice as
chairman of the organization’s NIE
Committee.
During her tenure, the Johnson City
Press’ NIE program grew from 500 participants, ultimately reaching 18,000
students each week throughout the 11
school systems in the area.
She has served as a contributing
writer for the Governor’s Study Partner Program Curriculum, Tennessee Teacher Magazine, The Tennessee
Reading Teacher and the Newspaper
Association of America and has served
as a speaker and focus session leader
for national Newspaper Association of
America conferences.
Lynn spearheaded the Jimmy Ellis
Memorial Photojournalism Lab project at East Tennessee State University
and directed “Passport To The World,”
a Tennessee Press Association statewide competition for educators.
SEE RICHARDSON, PAGE 3
AWARDS LUNCHEON
REMINDER
ELENORA E. EDWARDS | TPS
Leading the three press organizations for 2013-14 are Gregg K. Jones, Jones Media Inc., Greeneville, Tennessee
Press Association (TPA) Foundation, left; Lynn J. Richardson, Herald & Tribune, Jonesborough, Tennessee Press
Association; and Jeffrey D. Fishman, The Tullahoma News, Tennessee Press Service.
2
3
PARKINS MAN OF YEAR 4
TPA,TPAF, TPS LEADERS 6-7
ADVERTISING
GIBSON
8 DISCLOSURE LAWS
9 SLIMP
10
11
WHO: Newspaper staff members
WHAT: UT-TPA State Press Contests
Awards Luncheon
WHEN: Noon, Friday, July 19
WHERE: Millennium Maxwell House
Hotel, 2025 Rosa L. Parks Blvd.,
Nashville
RESERVATIONS: The deadline for
hotel reservations at the special TPA
rate has passed, but one can check
with the hotel at (615) 259-4343. To
make luncheon reservations, call TPA
at (865) 584-5761 x105 or x100.
NOTE: A photographer engaged by UT
will make photos of first place
winners as awards are presented.
Please stay a while after the luncheon
to have photos made as follows: General Excellence winners, Meeman winners, first, second and third place winners by groups. The TPA photographer
will make group photos.
IN CONTACT
Phone: (865) 584-5761
Fax: (865) 558-8687
Online: www.tnpress.com

Richardson, Jonesborough publisher, now heads TPA

Transcription

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