To the July issue, click here.

The Oklahoma Publisher
Official Publication of the Oklahoma Press Association
Vol. 87, No. 7
16 Pages • July 2016
www.OkPress.com
www.Facebook.com/okpress
INSIDE
ONF INTERNS: Meet the
20 college students who are
working at OPA member
newspapers this summer thanks
to the Oklahoma Newspaper
Foundation’s summer internship
program.
Dayva Spitzer assumes duties
as OPA president for 2016-2017
PAGE 7
NEWS TRACK: Coverage
of the concurrent news track
sessions presented at the
June 11 OPA Convention in
Oklahoma City.
PAGES 9-11
SOCIAL NETWORKING:
Make sure your readers get
what they’re looking for – even
if it means linking to someone
else’s stories.
PAGE 15
DONATE TO ONF to receive
this Will Rogers print. Details at
OkPress.com/will-rogers.
Dayva Spitzer, co-publisher
of the Sayre Record & Beckham
County Democrat, was elected
as president of the Oklahoma
Press Association during the
OPA Convention in Oklahoma
City.
Spitzer will serve a one-year
term as president, beginning
July 1.
Other officers elected at the
meeting were Brian Blansett,
publisher of the Tri-County
Herald in Meeker, as vice president; Rod Serfoss, publisher of
the Clinton Daily News, as treasurer; and Robby Trammell,
news director at The Oklahoman, as immediate past president.
Barbara Vice, publisher of
the Drumright Gusher and
Yale News, was elected to a
three-year term as director, and
Mike Strain, managing editor at
the Tulsa World, was re-elected
to a three-year term.
Other members of the 20162017 OPA board are Ted Streuli,
The Journal Record; Ray Dyer,
El Reno Tribune; John Denny
Montgomery, The Purcell Register; and Mark Millsap, The
Norman Transcript. Mark
Thomas is executive vice president of the association.
Spitzer, who covers all trials at the Beckham County
Courthouse, takes seriously the
watchdog role of government.
“Newspapers are still strong,
whether it’s a small paper or a
large one,” she said.
Taking the lead from her
father, who worked in journalism, Spitzer knew she wanted
to work at a newspaper. At age
8, she began throwing newspapers from her bicycle for Bill
Bacon at the Sayre HeadlightJournal. She received 10 cents
a day.
Her mother worked for Mr.
Bacon, sitting at a typewriter.
Her father was on the football
field completing pigskin stats.
When Dayva saw a note on
the high school bulletin board
asking for someone to write
basketball stories, she was
hooked and continues to chronicle the basketball stats for her
own newspaper today.
She began writing for the
local paper in the 10th grade.
At the Headlight-Journal, she
did photography, worked the
double truck grocery ads and
laid out the front page.
In 1987, Dayva and her husband, Brad, started their own
newspaper, the Sayre Record,
merging it with their commercial printing business that they
started in 1982.
The Spitzers purchased the
Erick-Beckham County Democrat from Helen Shultz in July
1997, and merged the two
papers as The Sayre Record &
Beckham County Democrat.
Dayva Spitzer enjoys working with small weekly newspapers, and advocates for them.
“So many small newspapers are
struggling and need a helping
hand. We have to have small
newspapers; they are the bedrock of who we are,” she said.
Spitzer studied journalism
at Sayre Junior College, now
Southwestern Oklahoma State
University at Sayre, before
beginning her full-time career
in the newspaper industry.
The recipient of many
awards, Spitzer was twice
awarded a Distinguished Editorial Award from the Oklahoma
Heritage Association. She also
received the Oklahoma State
School Boards Association and
the Cooperative Council for
Oklahoma School Administration award for Excellence in
Education Coverage for the
Weekly News Report in 2003.
Brad and Dayva also received
an award for their dedication to
the Western Technology Center.
Dayva served as the first
female president of the Sayre
Kiwanis Club in 1992-93 and
also was the first female president to serve statewide.
She was elected president
of the Sayre Chamber of Commerce in 2013.
In 2006, she received the
Volunteer of the Year Award
Continued on Page 3
Two OPA members receive awards from NNA
Two Oklahoma newspapers
are among the winners of the
National Newspaper Association’s Better Newspaper Contest.
The Hennessey Clipper won
first place in the Best Investigative or In-Depth Story or
Series category for non-dailies
with circulation less than 3,000.
Barb Walter’s story “OSBI
plays games with school board
over records about coach” was
described by judges as thorough and sensitive.
The McAlester News-Capital won a total of six awards in
the Daily & Non-Dailies division with circulation 3,000 to
5,999.
James Beaty’s “Legendary
recording engineer remembered” won first place Best
Performing Arts Story. The
judge called the story “the best
entry in a group that included
a slew of great writing on multiple subjects.”
The first place Community
Service Award went to Parker
Perry’s story “Criminal justice system of southeast Oklahoma.”
Among McAlester’s other
wins was James Beaty’s editorial “Bubbles, soap and a close
election”, which won the ONG
Editorial of the Year at the 2016
OPA Annual Convention. The
editorial won second place in
the Best Serious Column category. The newspaper won two
first place awards, three second place awards and one third
place award.
A total of 1,696 entries were
entered from 158 newspapers
in 36 states.
The awards will be presented at the National Newspaper
Association Annual Convention in Franklin, Tennessee, on
Sept. 22-24, 2016.
For more information and to
read the full list of contest winners, visit www.nnaweb.org/
better-newspaper-contest.
2
The Oklahoma Publisher // July 2016
CIMARRON
TEXAS
BEAVER
HARPER
ELLIS
ROGER
MILLS
BECKHAM
BY OPA PRESIDENT DAYVA SPITZER
HARMON
Co-Publisher, Sayre Record
& Beckham County Democrat
GREER
Young couple breathe new life
into Panhandle’s Boise City News
A midsummer greeting to each of you
from Western Oklahoma. I consider it a
privilege to serve as your president for
the upcoming year.
Welcome to Weeklies Out West where
I will spotlight 12 weekly newspapers
that are located in the western most portions of our great state. Many of these
publications have rich histories and have
been an important mainstay in the life of
each community they represent and continue to be vital to those communities
today. These hard-working newspapers
are seldom in the limelight due to their
isolated locations and deserve a bit of
attention in these challenging economic
times.
I have begun the process of traveling
to each community to visit personally
with each publisher and learn a little
more about their home towns.
The first installment is the heart of
Cimarron County, in Boise City, which
has the only newspaper in the county. At
the time of the 2010 census, the county
population was 2,475 and the city population was 1,266.
The farthest west of the three Oklahoma Panhandle counties, Cimarron
seems like a state unto itself as you
drive across the beautiful sagebrush and
native grass landscape.
The Boise City News, now owned by
Blake and Ashley Wells, has a long tenure with 118 years of printing the news
of the county and holds the distinction
of being the longest continual operating
business in Cimarron County. The original publication, The Cimarron News,
began publishing in 1898 in Kenton
before moving to Boise City in 1910.
The young couple acquired the paper
in October of 2015 and hit the ground
running trying to pour new life into the
publication by writing features on local
businesses.
Blake and Ashley both grew up in
the Ulysses, Kansas, area with Blake’s
newspaper roots running back to the
previous publisher, C.F. David, who is a
relative. Blake has experience from two
previous newspaper jobs that he held
in Kansas where he specialized in the
technology side of the industry. Ashley
brings the editorial side of the publication and completes the team approach.
The Wells normally publish an 8-page
edition each week and have a circulation of approximately 1,000 with a key
emphasis on strictly local news coverage.
“Obviously, our largest edition so far
has been our Christmas edition,” said
Blake. “We printed letters to Santa from
the older children along with Christmas
list pictures from the younger kids,” he
added.
School sports remain important in
Boise City and Blake is there on the
sidelines covering the action during
each ball season.
The Wells admitted they are still
learning the ropes, especially when it
comes to local politics. They are not only
extremely busy with the newspaper but
also have five lovely children who have
their own child sanctuary there at the
news office. Abbi, Trenton, Reaha, Rebeka and Amanda can regularly be seen
coming into the newsroom to complain
about the antics of one of their siblings.
Cimarron is an interesting county
being the only county in the United
States that touches five states. Prior to
1907 statehood, Cimarron County was
known as “No Man’s Land” with a sparse
population and no law enforcement. At
statehood there were 20 post offices and
56 schools and the population stood at
5,927.
Traces of the Santa Fe Trail can be
seen at many locations with ranching
and agriculture remaining the economic
base for the county. Black Mesa State
Park is near with a rich deposit of prehistoric artifacts and early civilizations.
The Wells have a storehouse of history and fodder for a successful newspaper. Their zeal and energy will serve
them well to keep their small publication
viable to the community.
OPA President Dayva Spitzer visits Blake and Ashley Wells at The Boise City News in
Cimarron County.
OPA CALENDAR OF EVENTS
THURS., JULY 28, 2016
FRI., JULY 29, 2016
FRI., AUG. 26, 2016
READER ENGAGEMENT
WEBINAR
HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS
COVERAGE WEBINAR
MAXIMIZE YOUR DIGITAL
REVENUE WEBINAR
Cost: $35, 1:00 PM
Cost: $35, 1:00 PM
Cost: $35, 1:00 PM
This presentation will highlight research from
50+ publishers that have made strategic
decisions to cover content differently and
also showcase findings from API’s Metrics
for News program that can help publishers build empirical, modern news strategies by quantifying the nature of the content they produce as well as how and why
audiences engage with it. To register, visit
www.onlinemediacampus.com.
Presented by Gatehouse Media.
While game stories are important, adding
new features and better coordination to
your overall prep coverage plan can help
maximize your resources. This session will
discuss devising a weekly schedule and
implementing alternate story formats. It will
also offer strategies on how to beef up sections with a limited staff. To register, visit
www.onlinemediacampus.com.
Most media organizations have unsold digital
advertising inventory and organizations are
leaving hundreds of dollars on the table every
month due to some very simple errors in how
they make their inventory available on the
national market or how their site is organized
and designed. This webinar will cover digital advertising basics, common mistakes in
organizing inventory, and more! To register,
visit www.onlinemediacampus.com.
For more information on upcoming events, visit the OPA website at www.OkPress.com or contact
Member Services Director Lisa Sutliff at (405) 499-0026, 1-888-815-2672 or email [email protected].
Pulitzer Prize events
coming to Oklahoma
Mark your calendars for this year’s
Pulitzer events coming to Oklahoma.
The “Pulitzer Prize Centennial: The
Impact of Trauma Coverage” will focus
on journalists and victims of tragedy
affected by their coverage.
The series of events will take place
over a two-day period and will include
special speakers, including Pulitzer
Prize winners, and panel discussions.
Scholarly research about journalism and
trauma will also be presented.
The events will take place in Tulsa on
Thurs., Sept. 28, at Tulsa University and
at various locations in Oklahoma City
on Fri., Sept. 29. All events are free to
the public.
For more information and to view the
event schedule, visit www.pulitzer.org/
event/impact-trauma-coverage.
The Oklahoma Publisher // July 2016 3
Oklahoman names new sports editor Paine joins staff
Ryan Sharp is the new sports editor department as a part-time employee in
of Coweta American
of The Oklahoman, according to an 2004. Within a year he was promoted to
announcement by Publisher Chris Reen.
Sharp has worked in The Oklahoman’s sports department for more than
a decade. He replaces long-time sports
editor Mike Sherman, who recently
accepted a sports editor position at the
Tampa Bay Times.
Sharp joined the Oklahoman sports
full-time copy editor and page designer
before becoming assistant sports editor
in 2006.
“I’m excited about the opportunity
to serve the incredibly loyal, passionate
sports community in Oklahoma,” Sharp
said.
New reporter at Frederick Press-Leader
Kathleen Guill has joined The Frederick Press-Leader staff as a reporter.
Guill graduated from Cameron University where she studied English and
journalism.
She worked as editor on Cameron’s
graduate magazine, “The Oklahoma
Review,” and won the Matt Haag creative writing award in 2013.
“I look forward to covering the many
wonderful events that happen in Frederick over the course of the year,” Guill
said.
Guill lives in Frederick with her husband and three sons. She enjoys horseback riding, photography and reading.
Oklahoman religion editor receives award
Carla Hinton, The Oklahoman’s
religion editor, recently received the
Friends of Faith Award. The award was
presented by Elder Michael L. Southward, a regional leader with the Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Southward said Hinton was chosen to
receive the award “for her fair, accurate,
diverse and skillful coverage of religious
issues and events with The Oklahoman.”
Edie Roodman, executive director
of the Jewish Federation of Greater
Oklahoma City, surprised Hinton when
he announced that his and other faithbased groups had gathered enough
money to pay Hinton’s expenses for a
future interfaith trip to Israel.
“You’re going to the Holy Land,
Carla,” Roodman said.
New OPA president Continued from Page 1
from the Sayre Chamber of Commerce
for leading the effort to place clocks
on the Beckham County Courthouse.
The Courthouse, built in 1901, never
set aside money for the clocks. Spitzer
ser ved as project coordinator and
worked alongside the county commissioners to make the project possible
during the State Centennial.
Brad Spitzer oversees operations of
New sales rep joins
Hooker Advance staff
Toni Mathis has joined The Hooker
Advance team as an advertising representative.
Mathis graduated from Ponca City
High School in 2012 before attending
Northern Oklahoma College in Tonkawa. She is continuing her education
through Arizona State University.
In addition to working for the newspaper, Mathis is also employed as a
video technician in PTCI’s marketing
department. She enjoys hunting, fishing, horseback riding, filming and editing videos.
both the newspaper and printing business. He is an ordained deacon at the
First Baptist Church of Sayre, and Dayva
teaches a women’s class. She also is a
member of the Singing Churchwomen
of Oklahoma and is an avid golfer. She
volunteers her time as a swing coach
with the Sayre Girls Golf Program.
The Spitzers have one son, Drew, who
works at the Holdenville CCA Prison.
The Coweta American recently welcomed Rob Paine as its new marketing
consultant.
Paine joins the paper after working
in the marketing department at Whole
Foods in Tulsa where he was responsible for setting floor displays, graphic
arts and store branding.
“I really like investing in my community and building the economy through
local businesses and organizations,” said
Paine. “I am a people person, and ultimately my goal is to help them grow. I
want them to succeed.
“It’s easier to build a relationship with
someone when you are genuinely interested in the community.”
Paine wants existing and potential
advertisers to know that his experience
can help businesses with newspaper
print and digital advertising.
Paine is a native of Tahlequah and
earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from
Rogers State University.
He enjoys singing, playing music and
being outdoors.
OPA receives
membership
application
Michael J. Monahan has applied for
an associate membership in the Oklahoma Press Association.
Associate members are retired individuals who were previously engaged in
the newspaper profession.
The Oklahoma Press Association
Board of Directors will vote on the
application at its next meeting on Sept.
8, 2016. Any current member wishing
to object to the application of Michael
J. Monahan must do so in writing to the
OPA at 3601 N. Lincoln Blvd., Oklahoma
City, OK 73105-5499, by Aug. 29, 2016.
Looking for an acquisition?
W.B. Grimes & Company
has sold more than 1,500 newspapers over the
years and appraised thousands of others.
Gary Borders covers Oklahoma, Texas,
Louisiana, New Mexico and Arizona.
[email protected] • 903-237-8863
What’s Your Paper Worth? Find Out Today.
A free confidential consultation awaits via our website.
www.MediaMergers.com
The
Oklahoma
Publisher
ISSN 1526-811X
Official Publication of the
Oklahoma Press Association
PUBLISHER
Mark Thomas
[email protected]
EDITOR
Jennifer Gilliland
[email protected]
OPA OFFICERS
Dayva Spitzer, President
Sayre Record &
Beckham County Democrat
Brian Blansett, Vice President
Tri-County Herald
Rod Serfoss, Treasurer
Clinton Daily News
Mark Thomas,
Executive Vice President,
Oklahoma City
OPA DIRECTORS
Robby Trammell, Past President
The Oklahoman
Ted Streuli, The Journal Record
Ray Dyer, El Reno Tribune
Mike Strain, Tulsa World
John Denny Montgomery,
The Purcell Register
Mark Millsap,
The Norman Transcript
Barbara Vice, Drumright Gusher
3601 N. Lincoln Blvd.
Oklahoma City, OK 73105-5499
(405) 499-0020
Toll-Free in Oklahoma:
(888) 815-2672
www.OkPress.com
[email protected]
www.Facebook.com/OKPress
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4
The Oklahoma Publisher // July 2016
Maximize postage savings & improve delivery
BY MAX HEATH,
NNA POSTAL CHAIR
Community newspapers have options
to save money and improve delivery
times under price and rule changes during the past decade, notably in 2007 with
the last postal reform bill. From time to
time, I like to review these for newcomers to the business or others who may
have missed them. Updates to DMM
citations and changes are made as well
as percentage changes.
IN-COUNTY PRICE DISCOUNTS
1. In-county eligibility … DMM 207.11.3.1:
Periodicals circulating under 10,000 total
paid copies, or with more than 50 percent
of total paid circulation within the county of
original entry, can mail at lower in-county
prices. There are no advertising pound
prices paid on in-county mail, just a DDU
discount and non-DDU pound price, based
on no postal transportation costs for DDU
(lines A1/A2, 3541 Postage Statement).
2. Requester Periodicals that meet the same
qualifications above can mail at in-county rates under a provision of the Postal
Accountability and Enhancement Act
(PAEA), effective Aug. 30, 2007. Current
price savings run from 30 percent to 52
percent, depending on weight, to move
from Periodicals Saturation Regular Price
to in-county, and 64 percent if a Standard
Mail publication can qualify for in-county
Saturation (25 percent non-advertising in
75 percent of issues and 24-page minimum,
50 percent +1 requesters). The lower the
weight, the higher the percentage. DDU is
assumed in all scenarios. In-county rates
are only granted to the copies for which
valid requesters exist, plus 10 percent nonsubscriber copies.
NOTE: CSR PS-054 revised in April 2011 to
allow faxed and e-mail requests with signature, address.
3. In-county definition expanded … DMM
207.11.3.2(d). Another provision of PAEA,
effective Aug. 30, 2007, expanded in-county
price eligibility to copies originating inside
the county but delivered outside the county
of original entry. These so-called “wandering-out route” pieces were excluded under
the old statute definition.
4. Wandering-in pieces count too … DMM
207.l1.3.2(b) Another provision, widely overlooked, allows in-county price eligibility for
any carrier-route copies delivered to an
address inside the county when entered at
a delivery office in an adjoining county and
wandering back in-county. (BME interpretation that this only applies to mail entered at
the outside-county DDU.)
5. Walk-sequence carrier-route sorted mail.
(DMM 207.13.3b) Periodicals qualify for
High-Density prices (line A14) at 125 pieces
per route, saving 1.7 cents per copy (26
percent) in-county and 3.4 cents per copy
(17 percent) outside-county (line C32. Incounty mail gets a bonus under a rule that
allows High-Density price for 25 percent
of Active Possible Deliveries per route …
DMM 207.13.3.4(c). When routes, such
as rural routes covering wide areas with
low housing density, fall below 500 active
deliveries, the 25 percent threshold pays
off for carrier-route mailers. Walk-sequence
can be obtained via Delivery Sequence File
processing from software vendors, or Computerized Delivery Sequencing qualification
that is updated monthly, or even weekly
(DMM 207.23.8.4). Requester publications
saturating In-County routes (line A15) can
save 5.7 cents off Basic carrier-route price,
Setting realistic goals
BY JOHN FOUST
RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA
Derek placed more ads in the paper
than anyone else on the sales team.
Low volume clients suddenly increased
their expenditures. And large clients
started running even bigger ads. Revenue was rolling in.
Then it all fell apart. First one advertiser, then another, complained about
invoicing. Quickly it became evident
that Derek had been placing ads in the
paper without permission. His scheme
worked for a while, because some of
his clients didn’t check records carefully. At first, the paper rationalized
that refunds were a cost of having a
high-energy sales person with a poor
eye for details. Then they realized that
the problem was deeper than that, and
eventually had to let him go. Justice
prevailed, but that wasn’t the end of
the story.
The accounting department worked
overtime to clean up the mess. And the
ad department hired a replacement.
But in an inexplicable act of greed and
stupidity, the ad manager gave the
new person a goal that was ten percent
higher than the pre-refund amount
generated by Derek. In other words,
the new person would have to produce
more revenue than a crook.
Although this is an extreme example, it illustrates the fact that some
managers need a better understanding
of what it takes to set realistic goals.
If you are involved in the goal-setting
process, here are some points to keep
in mind:
1. Fairness is in the eye of the
beholder. If a sales person feels a goal
or 28 percent, on the part that pays outsidecounty prices (line C33). CDS is essential in
this situation.
6. Limited Circulation Preferred Price Discount
(5 percent) on the middle of Page 1 of PS
Form 3541 applies to a Periodical with at
least one in-county copy and under 5,000
outside-county copies. Effective May 2008,
and defined in DMM 207.1.1.4. Software
should add line B19 and parts C, D, E totals
times .05 and deduct automatically. This discount applies to the entire issue and not just
a version by weight that includes in-county
copies.
The National Newspaper Association
had a hand in all these changes for
its members, saving hundreds or even
thousands of dollars a year in postage.
DROP SHIPPING
1. DDU entry: Local/regional publications can
maximize savings and get faster delivery
by entering mail at delivery post offices
(Delivery Units). See DMM 207.29.6. There
are three ways to earn DU prices: Additional Entry, authorized simply by notification of your original-entry office, and no fee,
requires postage payment at that office, See
DMM 207.30. (Plant-Verified Drop Shipment
Postage Payment System) requires mail
acceptance at the office of original entry, at
a designated office, or Detached Mail Unit
within a printing plant, then delivery to other
offices. Form 8125, PVDS Drop Shipment
Verification and Clearance, must accompany the copies taken to DDUs. See DMM
705.17.2.9. Exceptional Dispatch (see No.
5 below). This is likely the best method for
local/regional publications.
2. In-county price eligible Periodicals save 4.7
cents per pound (24 percent) and 0.8 cent
per piece for DDU entry (lines A1/A17). The
is unfair, it is either (1) truly unfair
or (2) you need to do a better job of
explaining how you arrived at the goal.
2. Goals impact morale. When
a person makes progress toward a
goal, morale soars and she can be selfmotivated to work even harder. On the
other hand, when a person finds himself falling short week after week, he
can get discouraged and say, “What’s
the use?”
3. Morale is contagious. Although
sales people spend a big part of each
day working independently, they are
part of a team. When there are problems, they are often likely to talk to
each other than to the boss.
4. Consider multiple factors
when setting goals. Across-the-board
increases are common, but inherently
out of touch with reality. Let’s use the
ten percent figure at Derek’s paper to
illustrate. If you’re looking for an overall ten percent increase, see that figure
as an average. Some accounts could
DDU discounts apply only to carrier-route
sorted copies in Line-Of-Travel or WalkSequence order.
3. Outside-County price Periodicals save 8.8
cents per non-adv. pound (44 percent) and
9.2 cents per adv. pound (43 percent) for
DDU versus non-DDU entry (zones 1 & 2
price), with no piece discount. This is a very
helpful discount for nearby offices outside
your county (lines B1 and B14).
4. DDU-entered carrier-route copies, whether in-county or outside-county, will not be
upcharged to 5-digit prices if failing the
“flimsy flats” deflection test, as of Oct. 3,
2010, thanks to NNA. See DMM 201.4.6
& Exhibit 201.4.6a. Carrier-route copies
going through postal processing can be
upcharged.
5. Exceptional Dispatch (DMM 207.28.3)
allows local/regional Periodicals mailers to
claim DDU prices with request letter to
origin-entry postmaster. A 2001 rule change
also expanded DU-entry to drops within
zones 1-2, including the SCF zone. Neither
Additional Entry nor Plant-Verified Drop
Shipment Form 8125 is required. Eligibility is for Periodicals, which mail 25,000under copies. USPS said, “waivers would
be considered on a case-by-case basis.”
SCF entry can be done under Exceptional
Dispatch to improve service so long as only
mail for that SCF is dropped at the SCF.
(DMM 707.28.3.4) Mail dropped at an SCF
for “the world” would require Additional Entry
and postage payment at the SCF.
REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION. MAX HEATH,
National Newspaper Association (NNA) postal chair,
is a postal consultant for AMG | Parade, publisher of
Parade, American Profile, Relish and Spry newspaper supplements, and also for Landmark Community
Newspapers LLC. E-mail [email protected].
project a five percent increase and others could project 15. It’s like the old
management saying, “If you’re treating
everyone the same way, you’re treating most of them the wrong way.”
5. Use the S.M.A.R.T. formula.
This technique has been around for a
long time – and it has helped a lot of
ad managers set meaningful goals. It
represents goals that are (1) Specific,
(2) Measurable, (3) Achievable, (4)
Relevant, and (5) Time-sensitive. Wise
managers get each sales person’s input
in each area for each account.
Derek’s replacement lasted less
than a year. With realistic goals, the
story could have had a different ending.
© Copyright 2016 by John Foust. All rights
reserved. John Foust has conducted training
programs for thousands of newspaper advertising professionals. Many ad departments are
using his training videos to save time and get
quick results from in-house training. Email for
information: [email protected].
The Oklahoma Publisher // July 2016 5
ONF elects officers during June meeting
The Oklahoma Newspaper Foundation Board of Trustees met at the Sheraton Downtown Hotel in Oklahoma
City, Oklahoma, on June 10, 2016.
Officers attending were President
Ray Lokey, Johnston County CapitalDemocrat, and Treasurer Rod Serfoss,
Clinton Daily News. Trustees attending were Terry Clark, University of
Central Oklahoma; Sean Dyer, El Reno
Tribune; Carolyn Estes, Oologah Lake
Leader; Sheila Gay, Woodward News;
Vicki Gourley, OKC Friday; Maria Laubach, Okeene Record; John D. Montgomery, Purcell Register; Barbara
Vice, Drumright Gusher, and Barb
Walter, Hennessey Clipper.
OPA Board representatives attending were Robby Trammell, The Oklahoman; Dayva Spitzer, Sayre Record &
Beckham County Democrat, and Jeff
Funk, Enid News & Eagle. Staff at the
meeting was Executive Vice PresidentSecretary Mark Thomas and Member
Services Director Lisa Sutliff.
Absent from the meeting were Vice
President Tom Muchmore, Ponca City
News; Jerry Pittman, Washita Valley
Weekly; Jeff Shultz, Garvin County
News Star; Wayne Trotter, Countywide
& Sun, and Joe Worley, Tulsa World.
The board approved minutes of the
Nov. 12, 2015, meeting as presented.
Financial statements, expense summaries and the investment report for
the period ending April 30, 2016, and
the donation report for the period ending May 31, 2016, were reviewed at
the meeting. The board acknowledged
receipt of the report.
In activity reports, board members
discussed the internship program. A
selection committee of Lokey, Gourley,
Laubach and Walter met by conference
call on Jan. 28 to select host newspapers to receive internship funding for
the 2016 summer term. The 2015-16
grant from the Ethics and Excellence
in Journalism Foundation funds 18
internship positions. The ONF board
voted during its November 2015 meeting to discontinue the ONF scholarship program and designate the funds
toward the creation of two student
advertising internships. Sutliff said
18 news interns and two advertising
interns are currently working at OPA
member newspapers. Sutliff said 170
students have participated in the program over the past nine years.
College newspaper advisers and
student staffs, as well as all interns
working at member newspapers were
invited to attend the OPA convention
at no cost. ONF pays for their meals.
Almost 40 college students and advisers, including more than half of the
ONF interns, attended the June 10-11
OPA Convention.
In other business, ONF nominated
officers for 2016-17. Tom Muchmore,
Ponca City News, was nominated for
a one-year term as president; Vicki
Gourley, OKC Friday, was nominated
to a one-year term as vice president;
and Rod Serfoss, Clinton Daily News,
was nominated to a one-year term as
treasurer.
Thomas said the OPA Board of
Directors approved the renewal of
three-year terms for trustees Walter
and Worley at their meeting earlier in
the day.
In memory of Ben Blackstock:
JUDI LAMB BOLAND, a reporter for the
Lawton Constitution, died July 7, 2016, in
Lawton. She was 68.
Boland was born March 10, 1948, in
Hutchinson, Kansas. After graduating
from the University of Oklahoma with
a degree in journalism, she worked for
newspapers in Colorado and Georgia.
She served as a media liaison for two
sessions in the Oklahoma House of Representatives before joining The Associated Press in Oklahoma City, where she
was an editorial assistant for nine years.
In 2010, Boland joined the Lawton
Constitution. She was assigned to cover
the eastern portion of the newspaper’s
circulation area. This included Rush
Springs to Big Pasture, from U.S. 81 to
Interstate 44. She believed she was well
trained for the job after being an area
reporter covering communities of all
sizes.
Boland is survived by three children:
Tracy Boland of Greece, N.Y., Stephannie Boland-Anderson and husband Dan
of Denver, and Jon Boland of Denver;
and five grandchildren.
NORMA (RASMUSSEN) KRAFT,
a former reporter for the Vinita Daily Journal, died June 26, 2016. She was 86.
Kraft was born February 9, 1930,
in Progress, Oklahoma. She attended
Coyle High School before graduating
from Oklahoma A&M in 1950 with a
journalism degree.
Kraft began her journalism career
writing for the Vinita Daily Journal.
She continued to write for newspapers
throughout her life including pieces for
the Tulsa World and The Tulsa Tribune.
She is survived by three children:
daughter Kathy West and husband
Bob of Tulsa; daughter Susan Yandell
and husband Scott of Ukiah, Calif.; son
Jamie Kraft of Manchester, England; two
grandchildren and several siblings.
NANCY M. SEHER,
ing a Bachelor of Arts degree from St.
Edward’s University.
For many years, she worked for the
City of Austin making signs throughout the city. Seher eventually moved to
Woodward where she worked for the
Woodward News as a reporter and photographer before becoming an archivist
with the Plains Indians and Pioneer
Museum.
She is survived by her son, Matthew
Seher of North Richland Hills, Texas;
daughter Marla Eichholtz of Austin; two
grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
In Memory of Our Friends & Colleagues
Kenneth Ray McFall
June 4, 2015
Johnie Louise Cherry Reed
June 4, 2015
Kenneth Lowell Frakes
June 18, 2015
to the following individuals
and organizations for their
recent donations to the
Oklahoma Newspaper
Foundation:
Andy & Karen Rieger
DEATHS
a former reporter
and photographer for the Woodward
News, died July 6, 2016. She was 78.
Seher, a Clinton native, was born
March 25, 1938. She graduated from
Clinton High School in 1956 before earn-
THANK
YOU
Paul William Nishimuta
July 13, 2015
John William ‘Jack’ Hovorka
July 15, 2015
Jim & Rebecca Mayo
Richard & Patricia Crews
Barb & Bill Walter
George & Kathy Devereux
A donation to the Oklahoma
Newspaper Foundation will
support its efforts to improve the
state’s newspaper industry and
quality of journalism.
ONF’s programs include training
and education for professional
journalists, scholarship and
internship programs for
journalism students, and
Newspaper in Education efforts.
ONF relies on donations and
memorial contributions to fund
these programs.
If you would like to make a
donation, please send a check to:
OKLAHOMA
NEWSPAPER
FOUNDATION
3601 N. Lincoln Blvd.
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
6
The Oklahoma Publisher // July 2016
Oklahoma Press Association board of directors
meet in Oklahoma City during OPA Convention
The Oklahoma Press Association
Board of Directors met at the Sheraton Downtown Hotel in Oklahoma City,
Oklahoma, on June 10.
Officers attending were OPA President Robby Trammell, The Oklahoman;
Vice President Dayva Spitzer, Sayre
Record & Beckham County Democrat,
and Treasurer Rod Serfoss, Clinton
Daily News.
Directors attending were immediate
past president Jeff Funk, Enid News &
Eagle; Brian Blansett, Tri-County Herald; Ray Dyer, El Reno Tribune; Mike
Strain, Tulsa World; John Denny Montgomery, The Purcell Register, and Mark
Millsap, The Norman Transcript.
Also attending was director nominee
Barbara Vice, Drumright Gusher; Executive Vice President/Secretary Mark
Thomas and Member Services Director
Lisa Sutliff. Director Ted Streuli, The
Journal Record, was unable to attend.
After calling the meeting to order,
Trammell asked the board to review
minutes of the April 7, 2016, meeting.
The minutes were approved as presented.
The financial review included review
of the cash consolidated summary, OPA
and LSP financial statements for the
period ending April 30, 2016, and investment reports for OPA and LSP.
Thomas reviewed an executive sum-
mary of fiscal year 2015-16 budget differences and year-end projections for
OPA and LSP.
Board members also reviewed the
current list of 46 sustaining members
and 14 associate members.
ACTIVITY REPORTS
In the Education Committee report,
Strain reviewed the convention schedule
and registration numbers for the June
10-11 OPA Convention at the Sheraton
in downtown Oklahoma City. The board
discussed a few positive comments from
members about the new two-day convention schedule.
The National Newspaper Association
is holding its annual convention in Tulsa
at the Hyatt Regency Hotel October 5-7,
2017. NNA’s previous conventions in
Oklahoma were in 2006 and 1966.
Thomas said state associations usually try to hold a meeting or event in
conjunction with the NNA meeting to
attract state members to the event to
take advantage of the educational sessions and trade show offerings.
After discussing several options,
board members passed a motion to retain
the new OPA Convention format and to
create an additional event to be held during the NNA convention to attract OPA
members. They also expressed concern
about how many OPA members would
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be able to attend the NNA convention
due to conflicts with fall sports.
In the Government Relations Committee report, Thomas reviewed some
of the major issues from the recently
completed 2016 legislative session. The
board discussed a recent issue of a
newspaper missing a legal notice publication. Thomas said it is imperative
to improve Oklahoma newspapers’ processes to address the handling, billing
and publication of legal notices. Board
members also discussed the need for
newsroom staffs to read their local notices for potential news coverage.
Millsap said the Legal Services Plan
Committee discussed encouraging LSP
members to call for legal advice by
increasing promotional reminders of the
LSP attorney’s contact information and
by creating a bonus amount of defense
coverage if a newspaper requests the
LSP attorney’s advice prior to publication. Staff will prepare the new language
for the committee’s review during its
next meeting.
Dyer said the Marketing Committee
discussed some issues to work on in
the coming year, including legal notices, advertising DNRs, approaches to
political coverage and advertising staff
training. The Marketing Committee will
change its name to the Advertising Committee in July.
The slate of nominees for the 2016-17
year recommended by the Nominating Committee were: President – Dayva
Spitzer, Sayre Record & Beckham County Democrat; Vice President – Brian
Blansett, Tri-County Herald (Meeker); Treasurer – Rod Serfoss, Clinton
Daily News; Immediate Past President
– Robby Trammell, The Oklahoman;
Renewal of 3-year Director term – Mike
Strain, Tulsa World; and new Director
for a three-year term – Barbara Vice,
Drumright Gusher.
The Nominating Committee also recommended to the OPA board renewal
of a three-year term on the ONF Board
of Trustees for Barb Walter, The Hennessey Clipper, and Joe Worley, Tulsa
World. The board accepted the recommended nominees.
Other business discussed by the
board included:
• OPA-OSU Endowment Fund Scholarships accrue $20,000 annually for
OSU journalism scholarships. The
scholarships are awarded to upper
classmen who have demonstrated a
commitment to newspaper journalism by working at the student newspaper. The fund recently awarded
four scholarships for the 2016-17
school year.
• President-Elect Report for 2016-17.
Thomas said presidential nominee
Spitzer’s committee liaison decisions
would be announced soon. Spitzer
said she plans to visit weekly newspapers along Oklahoma’s western
edge and write about the visits in
her monthly Oklahoma Publisher
column.
• OPA Building Committee. Following up on the discussion of the best
use and future of the OPA building
at the April retreat, board members
passed a motion to create a committee to study the issue. Members are
Spitzer, Blansett, Serfoss, Trammell
and Thomas.
• University Relations. Board members discussed improving university
relations and focusing on the future
of the newspaper industry. Thomas
said the industry needs to change
the perception of newspaper finances and low salaries to entice students
to work at newspapers after graduation.
• Board Member Recognition. President Trammell thanked outgoing
President Jeff Funk for his many
years of service to OPA and OPS
and his many contributions to the
newspaper industry.
OPS BOARD MEETING
Minutes of the April 7, 2016, meeting
were approved by board members.
The financial review included a
review of OPS financial statements for
the period ending April 30, 2016, as well
as year-end projections for FY 2015-16.
Board members acknowledged receipt
of the OPS financial statements and
year-end projections.
Board members reviewed a Did-NotRun advertising report, which listed
the 50 papers with the highest number
of DNRs in 2014 and 2015 combined.
Those 50 had a total or 285 DNRs, or
75% of all DNRs, for the two-year period.
The five papers with the highest number of DNRs – 76 – for that same period
accounted for 20% of the total DNRs.
Thomas said staff would define and
develop a written insertion process
and attempt to correct problems at the
newspapers with the highest number of
DNRs.
Following the management review,
Trammell said the board appreciated
Thomas’ work throughout the year.
The Oklahoma Publisher // July 2016 7
Interns spend summer gaining newspaper experience
BY BECCA GREENWOOD, OPA INTERN
An opportunity to gain real world
experience and prepare for a future
newspaper career has been given to 20
college students through the Oklahoma
Newspaper Foundation summer internship program.
Thirty-five OPA-member newspapers
applied for salary funding to hire an
intern this summer. A group of ONF
trustees selected 20 OPA member newspapers to receive the funding.
A grant from the Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation provides
funding for 18 news internships while
ONF funds two advertising internships.
The selected host newspapers had the
option of choosing an intern from the
students who applied to ONF or finding
an intern through their own promotional
efforts.
ONF internship funding for summer
2016 was awarded to the following newspapers and students:
Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise welcomed NICK VILLALOBOS to its staff this
summer. Villalobos will be a senior at
Northwestern Oklahoma State University and is pursuing a Mass Communications degree. He currently works as the
editor-in-chief for Northwestern News,
the student newspaper at NWOSU. He
has previously served as sports reporter
and sports editor of the paper.
RILEY MEDILL, a senior at OSU, took his
summer internship with Bristow News.
He is majoring in multimedia journalism
with an emphasis in print. He has gained
experience at the OSU student newspaper, The O’Colly, as a staff reporter.
CHRISTIAN TABAK joined the staff at
Countywide & Sun in Tecumseh for his
internship. Tabak will be a senior this
fall at Rose State University where he
is majoring in both mass communication and English. He has worked for
15th Street News, Rose State’s student
newspaper, as circulation manager and
assistant editor.
The El Reno Tribune hired MIKAELA
HICKS, a strategic communications senior,
as its advertising intern. Hicks gained
experience at UCO as the communications officer for the advertisement club
and as public relations assistant for the
College of Business.
OU student BRYCE MCELHANEY will work
at Enid News & Eagle this summer.
He previously served as the diversity
reporter for The Oklahoma Daily at OU
and as lab assistant for the student newspaper at Oklahoma City Community
College. He also worked at The Journal
Record as a Legislative Report Intern.
The Grove Sun chose DEKOTA GREGORY
to work with them this summer. Originally from Locust Grove, Gregory will
be a senior this fall at OSU where he
2016
ONF INTERNSHIPS
NICK VILLALOBOS
Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise
RILEY MEDILL
Bristow News
ONF interns Riley Medill, Bristow News, and Dekota Gregory, The Grove Sun, chat with
fellow OSU student Jordan Bishop, middle, at the OPA Annual Convention.
is majoring in sports media. He has
previously served as an intern with The
Claremore Daily Progress, and currently
works as a sports correspondent for The
Times in Pryor and a sports reporter for
The O’Colly.
MORGAN SMITH will join the Hennessey
Clipper staff this summer. Smith is an
English junior at Oklahoma Baptist University. She currently serves as student
newspaper editor and reporter for The
Bison. She also works as a student blogger for OBU.
The Journal Record invited OSU student CHRISTIE TAPP to intern this summer. Tapp is majoring in multimedia
journalism with an emphasis on news
editorial. She has previously worked as
an intern with Spraycan Creative Media
and is currently a staff reporter with The
O’Colly.
DELEANIE MORIELLO, a senior at OU, was
selected to intern at The Norman Transcript. Moriello is pursuing a degree in
public relations with a minor in political
science.
The Oklahoman selected OSU student NURIA MARTINEZ-KEEL as a summer
intern. Martinez-Keel is a multimedia
journalism senior. She works as a media
consultant for 1 is 2 Many, a campus
domestic violence campaign, and as a
staff reporter with The O’Colly.
RUBY ARANI, a marketing junior at St.
Gregory’s University, will intern in the
advertising & marketing department at
The Oklahoman. Arani is very involved
with student government and her sorority. She also interned at Mid-America
Conference.
AVERIE WARREN joined the Poteau Daily
News staff as an intern. Warren, a senior
at the University of Arkansas in Fort
Smith, is pursuing a degree in media
communications and currently serves
as the editor of the Lion’s Chronicle.
She has also worked as a production
assistant for KFSM 5 News and has
been a marketing intern at Aramark in
Arkansas.
The Times in Pryor added CALEB SALSMAN to its summer staff. Salsman attends
Northeastern State University and is a
broadcast journalism major. He served
as sports editor of The Northeastern, as
well as a special writer for the Tahlequah
Daily Press.
ADAM EWING, an Oklahoma Baptist University sophomore, will intern at The
Shawnee News-Star. Ewing is a journalism major and has served as sports
editor and writer for The Bison, OBU’s
student newspaper.
OSU senior STETSON PAYNE from Pensacola, Florida, is interning at Stillwater
New Press this summer. He is pursuing
a multimedia journalism degree with a
minor in political science. He served as
news editor at The O’Colly and previously interned at The Times in Pryor.
The Tri-County Herald welcomed
NICOLE SMITH to its staff this summer.
Smith will begin her junior year this fall
at OBU where she is pursuing a journalism degree. She has worked on The
Bison staff as assistant arts editor and
news editor. She also works as producer
and reporter for News 30.
DANA BRANHAM joined the Tulsa World
staff as a web intern. Branham is a journalism senior at OU and will be editor of
The Oklahoma Daily in the fall.
OSU graduate CHAD WATERS is interning at Watonga Republican. Waters got
his degree in sports media with an
emphasis in journalism. He has worked
for Today’s Fast Break, DYST Now,
and The State Magazine as a writer. He
also worked as a sports reporter for the
O’Colly.
Southwestern Oklahoma State University senior TANNER BONHAM is working
with Weatherford Daily News this summer. Bonham is a marketing major at
SWOSU.
MALEYIA VAUGHN was chosen to intern
with the Yukon Review. Vaughn is a
mass communications senior at Oklahoma City University. She currently serves
as the web editor for OCU student publications and as VP of public relations and
marketing for Alpha Chi Omega.
CHRISTIAN TABAK
Countywide & Sun
MIKAELA HICKS
El Reno Tribune
BRYCE MCELHANEY
Enid News & Eagle
DEKOTA GREGORY
The Grove Sun
MORGAN SMITH
The Hennessey Clipper
CHRISTIE TAPP
The Journal Record
DELEANIE MORIELLO
The Norman Transcript
NURIA MARTINEZ-KEEL
The Oklahoman
RUBY ARANI
The Oklahoman
AVERIE WARREN
Poteau Daily News
CALEB SALSMAN
The Times (Pryor)
ADAM EWING
The Shawnee News-Star
STETSON PAYNE
Stillwater News Press
NICOLE SMITH
Tri-County Herald
DANA BRANHAM
Tulsa World
CHAD WATERS
Watonga Republican
TANNER BONHAM
Weatherford Daily News
MALEYIA VAUGHN
Yukon Review
8
The Oklahoma Publisher // July 2016
THE OG&E PHOTO CONTEST
APRIL 2016 DAILY WINNER:
JASON
ELMQUIST
Stillwater News Press
APRIL 2016 WEEKLY WINNER:
JOHN
FERGUSON
Broken Arrow Ledger
MAY 2016 DAILY WINNER:
LINDA
PROVOST
A dog breathes from an oxygen mask following a house fire in Empire.
Photo by LINDA PROVOST, The Duncan Banner, May 10, 2016
The Duncan Banner
MAY 2016 WEEKLY WINNER:
JOHN D.
MONTGOMERY
The Purcell Register
The April and May 2016 contests were
judged by a member of the
Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame.
View all winning photos at
www.OkPress.com/OGE-Photo-Contest
ENTER AND WIN A $100 CHECK
FROM OGE ENERGY CORP.
Blind date? Purcell Intermediate School Principal Lou Ann Wood gave Bobby the pig a big fat smack on
the nose, paying off a bet between her and Elementary School Principal Tammy Dillard for a PTO fundraiser. Bobby’s handler, Brian Gantz, got quite a kick out of the smooch as Bobby got lipstick on the nose.
For more information about
the photo contest,visit
www.okpress.com/oge-photo-contest
Photo by JOHN D. MONTGOMERY, The Purcell Register, May 26, 2016
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The Oklahoma Publisher // July 2016 9
Journalists speak about covering traumatic events
Rob Collins, Enid News & Eagle, served as the moderator during the Covering Traumatic Events session at the OPA Convention.
Panelists were David Bitton, Stillwater News Press, Todd Brooks, The Marlow Review, and Kathleen McElroy, Oklahoma State
University.
Three journalists shared their experiences of covering traumatic events
during a panel session at the Oklahoma
Press Association Convention.
Rob Collins, managing editor at the
Enid News & Eagle, moderated the
discussion.
The three panelists talked about their
experiences covering a tragedy in their
own community. David Bitton, a reporter at the Stillwater News Press, covered
the Oklahoma State University homecoming parade tragedy; Todd Brooks,
editor of The Marlow Review, covered
the murder of the newspaper’s publisher, wife and daughter; and Kathleen
McElroy, a professor at OSU, was working for the New York Times on 9/11.
Bitton was new to Oklahoma, having recently moved to Stillwater from
California. It was his day off on Oct.
24, 2015, and he was with his wife and
two children watching the OSU homecoming parade when Adacia Chambers
drove her car through several roadblocks, a parked police motorcycle and
then into a crowd of people. Four people
were killed and 46 injured.
“I was on the scene within 45-60 seconds,” Bitton said. “My wife went one
way with the kids and I went toward the
commotion.”
Armed with a notebook, press pass
and smartphone, Bitton began taking
photos. Seeing the trauma, he knew it
was going to be a horrible day for a lot
of people.
“You just take a deep breath and
document it the best you can,” he said.
Over the next 90 minutes, several
helicopters came in to take patients to
Oklahoma City or Tulsa. During that
time, Bitton interviewed a lot of people.
It was a normal Monday morning for
Todd Brooks on Oct. 13, 2014. Although
no one at The Marlow Review office had
seen their publisher, John Hruby, since
Thursday, they weren’t concerned. They
thought John and his wife, Tinker, might
have gone to the OU/Texas game.
Brooks drove to Duncan to cover a
Excellent session. Really interesting hearing the
perspectives and the suggestions.
A good and informative session. The panel
shared some very good real life experience.
*Comments from attendees at the 2016 OPA Annual Convention.
“There were a lot of heroics that day,
a lot of people stepping up,” he said.
“The community came together amazingly well. I was very impressed with
Stillwater and how they came together
to deal with this tragedy.”
Bitton, who has been to war, covered
tragedy and been shot at, said this event
impacted him more than anything else
he’s covered in his career.
county commissioner meeting, only to
realize the courthouse was closed for
Columbus Day. When he got back to
Marlow one of his co-workers was on the
phone and crying. He asked what was
going on and his co-worker said, “I think
John and Tinker are dead.”
The Hruby’s housekeeper had discovered the bodies of John and Tinker
and their teenage daughter Katherine.
“We kind of went into a stunned or
shocked mode,” Brooks said. “We didn’t
know what was going on.”
Brooks didn’t know if it was something the newspaper had written that
caused someone to murder the family, although he couldn’t recall anything
that would cause someone to act that
violently.
After locking the office door he called
the police and asked them to check on
them once in awhile.
“But we still knew we had to get the
newspaper out,” Brooks said. “We knew
that’s what John would have wanted us
to do.”
Phone calls began flooding the office
from other newspapers and television
stations. Brooks began sharing information with the media. In return, they
shared information with him.
“I was a one man department,”
Brooks said. “I couldn’t look into every
aspect of the murder.”
The Review staff worked all Tuesday
night to get the paper out on Wednesday.
News of the murder kept breaking for
the next several days.
“Finally, Alan Hruby, their son, was
arrested,” Brooks said.
Alan Hruby later confessed to the
murders.
Kathleen McElroy said her experience in New York City on 9/11 was less
personal.
“Three thousand people dying in
New York City is a big, ugly number.
And I didn’t know anyone who died in
9/11.”
She spent days working at the office
but when she could finally go home it
was a clear, pretty day in New York City.
What had happened was in a different
part of the city.
“I know it seems like a big number
but it’s not always the number but the
intensity, how it impacts the community,” McElroy said.
“In New York City we say 9/11 affected the world more than it did New York
City,” she said.
McElroy didn’t escape tragedy while
working at the New York Times. One
of her editors committed suicide by
jumping off a building in the middle of
the day. Reporters were killed covering
wars. Although in each instance it was
only one person, it was personal because
she knew that person.
It’s the four people in Stillwater or the
family in Marlow that everyone knows
that has the bigger impact, McElroy
said.
“I want people to think about that.”
10
The Oklahoma Publisher // July 2016
Learn to make videos using your smartphone
Making videos on a smart phone
doesn’t have to take hours; it can often
be done in minutes.
Mike Strain, managing editor at the
Tulsa World, discussed how to produce
video on a phone at the Oklahoma Press
Association Convention in Oklahoma
City.
Strain said he’s not a professional
photographer but was drafted into training his staff on how to use video.
Video offers newspapers an opportunity to promote their work on social
media, as well as the potential for sponsorship dollars. Digital video consumption is growing. Statistics show 55 percent of U.S. adults watch online video
every day for an average of 1.27 hours,
Strain said.
Before you begin to make a video,
Strain recommended creating a Dropbox account, checking the storage space
on your phone, making a mental game
plan of what you need, putting the phone
in airplane mode and cleaning your lens.
You’re also going to need to determine
what platform to use, such as YouTube
or Vimeo.
Another tip is to always shoot with
your phone turned horizontally. Vertical videos make it difficult for viewers,
Strain said.
The same principles of good photographic composition apply to videos.
“Look at the background,” Strain
said. “You want it clean. You don’t want
something sticking out of the back of a
guy’s head.
He also recommends thinking about
the rule of thirds when shooting video
and holding shots for at least 10 seconds
in order to give plenty of footage for
editing.
Tulsa World photographers often use
the phrase, “Zoom with your feet,” Strain
said. That means walk closer to your
subject instead of using the zoom. It’s
also better to stay stationary unless the
action you’re shooting requires you to
move with it, he said.
Most smartphone cameras provide
different modes for photos and video.
After selecting the video mode, tap the
screen to get a yellow square, which
allows you to check the focus and lighting. You can position the yellow square
in different areas to improve focus and
lighting.
Make sure you have audio with the
video, Strain said.
“If you don’t have audio, you don’t
have video,” he said. “It’s very frustrating not to be able to hear what people
are talking about. You can have the most
fantastic picture in the world, but if you
can’t hear what’s being said, it’s going to
be a problem.”
For good audio, get close to the subject and listen for background noises.
Windy days can be a challenge, Strain
said. To improve the sound quality, get
the wind at your back or cup your hands
around the microphone.
Editing a video is “a lot like taking
photographs and writing a story,” Strain
said. There’s a beginning, middle and
end. The beginning is the lead or attention getter. The middle is what your
subject is telling you and the end wraps
up the story.
Getting a little more technical, Strain
described B-roll, which is footage often
used to display what someone is talking
about.
“Videography is a unique and amazing art form,” Strain said. “You can learn
the basics in minutes but it takes a lifetime to master.”
There are plenty of video apps available. For Apple users, Strain suggested
iMovie, which retails for $4.99. “This
is an easy app to learn and use,” he
said. Also for iOS phones is moviePro
at $5.99. Strain said this app does a lot
more, but it’s harder to use.
Mike Strain, Tulsa World
For Android phones, try Viva Video
Pro for $2.99.
Stop referring to newspapers as the free medium
Phillip Reid, Weatherford Daily News
Two things Phillip Reid is passionate
about are newspapers and politics.
Reid grew up in the newspaper business and now owns and operates seven
newspapers in Oklahoma – Weather-
ford Daily News, Vinita Daily Journal,
Nowata Star, Perry Daily Journal, The
Bethany Tribune, Afton/Fairland American and The Grand Laker.
He presented a session at the OPA
Convention that focused on how newspapers can regain the political edge.
Historically, newspapers had everything to do with politics, Reid said.
Newspapers were involved with every
aspect of it, and then they lost it.
“Not only did we lose it from the
standpoint of editing, publishing and
writing it, but look what happened to
political advertising,” he said.
Politicians now send newspapers
news releases and expect them to publish it because they consider newspapers the free medium, said Reid.
“How did we become the free medium?” Reid asked. “When did we let that
happen and why do we continue to let
that happen?”
Reid decided it was time to try something new. He hired his own political
consultant and put together a plan utilizing newspapers, which have something
nobody else has.
“You have the printed piece. You have
the reach, the audience, the platforms
and you can combine those. Direct mail
doesn’t have that; radio doesn’t have
that,” he said.
Newspapers even control online content, accounting for 78 percent of online
news, he said.
Reid is using Facebook to engage his
community. He requires his news team
to come up with a hard-hitting issue
every day.
“They have to be intriguing. They
have to be thought stimulating, well written, balanced and have opinions from
multiple sources,” he said. “Every single
day during the campaign that has to be
done.”
At the end of the post on Facebook, it
asks readers to comment.
“And boom, it starts coming in,” Reid
said. “That’s how you engage.”
Political consultants now come to
Reid and ask to use the newspaper’s
Facebook page to find out how their
candidate is doing.
It’s a great opportunity for newspapers to become a polling source for
political candidates and issues.
Reid said the new concepts implemented at his newspapers have
increased their political advertising by
300 percent.
“Remember,” he said, “political advertising is not just the candidate that comes
in. It’s also the issues.
“You need to be more proactive, be
more involved rather than sitting back
and accepting press releases.”
The Oklahoma Publisher // July 2016 11
More resources available for
journalists in the digital age
Condensing most of her semesterlong course into an hour session, Kathleen McElroy reviewed the basics of
digital journalism during a concurrent
session at the Oklahoma Press Association Convention.
McElroy, an assistant professor of
journalism at Oklahoma State University, is a former editor at the New York
Times where she worked in sports,
news, online news and blogs, and dining.
She received a Ph.D. from the University
of Texas at Austin, a Masters of Art from
New York University and a Bachelor of
Arts from Texas A&M.
McElroy focused on four basics of
journalism – gathering information,
interviewing, nut graphs and leads, and
being your own editor.
Before writing a story, journalists
gather information about the topic. The
digital age provides tools for gathering
information and improving the story.
Google News Lab (https://newslab.
withgoogle.com) offers tools ranging
from how to research a story to how to
create maps. “There’s all kinds of possibilities there,” McElroy said.
She also recommends learning to
search better on Google. Ask Google
specific questions, McElroy said, and
look for tips on how to search including
using the advanced search. “You can
search smarter,” she said. “And get past
the first page. What you’re looking for
might be on the second or third page.”
Other useful websites McElroy mentioned were http://journalistsresource.
org for tips on how to cover particular
subjects, how to interview, get an expert
and more; http://www.journaliststoolbox.org presented by the Society of
Professional Journalists; and stats.org
for journalists who are mathematically
challenged.
Once you have the information, it’s
time for interviews. When interviewing,
McElroy asks for contact information at
the beginning “in case things don’t go
well at the end.”
Additional interviewing tips were:
• Conduct interviews at subject’s
workplace or home if possible.
• Avoid places that are noisy and
disruptive (restaurants, coffee
shops, etc.).
THINK ABOUT…
from Kathleen McElroy’s
presentation at the OPA Convention
‘The effective story lead meets
two requirements. It captures the
essence of the event, and it cajoles
the reader or listener into staying
awhile.’
– from Melvin Mencher’s
News Reporting & Writing
‘The nut graf tells the reader what
the writer is up to; it delivers a
promise of the story’s content and
message. It’s called the nut graf
because, like a nut, it contains the
‘kernel,’ or essential theme, of the
story. At The Philadelphia Inquirer,
reporters and editors called it the
“You may have wondered why we
invited you to this party?” section.
… Without context, the reader who
is hooked by an arresting lead may
feel left dangling.’
Chip Scanlon, Poynter
Kathleen McElroy, Oklahoma State University Professor
• Have a set of filler questions that
give you time to recompose yourself.
• Shut up, listen and observe.
• Don’t accept clichés or stock
answers. “Push them a little bit,”
McElroy said. “You want a personal answer, an answer that really
is unique to that person.”
After the interviews, it’s time to write.
McElroy compared the lead as the opening, close-up shot and the nut graph as
the wide-angle, big picture view.
“Writers should still employ a nut
graph,” she said. “To me, it’s more
important than the lead. The nutgraph
justifies the story by telling the reader
it’s significant, why they should care and
how it affects them. It’s not just what
happened but why it’s significant.”
More information on writing leads
and nut graphs is available from the following sources:
• Two articles by Chip Scanlon, an affiliate
faculty member at The Poynter Institute:
http://www.poynter.org/2003/the-nutgraf-part-i-11371; and http://www.poynter.org/2003/the-nut-graf-and-breakingnews/11472.
• A chapter on news reporting and writing
by Melvin Mencher, Columbia University:
http://www.columbia.edu/itc/journalism/
isaacs/client_edit/Mencher.html
McElroy said the Memphis Commercial Appeal uses the “High Five” theory
of writing – getting news, impact, context, scope and edge in the first four or
five paragraphs of the story.
Once the story is written, you need
to be your own editor. As more editing
positions are eliminated, reporters are
forced to proof their own work, McElroy
said.
In addition to checking contractions
and apostrophes and quotations, McElroy recommends changing the font,
printing the story and reading it out
loud.
“It’s not that we’re lazy or sloppy,”
she said. “You’re trying to do nine more
things with less time, less resources and
less backup.”
DIRECT LEAD: Goes directly to
the heart of the event or news.
DELAYED LEAD: Usually sets a
scene or evokes a mood with an
incident, anecdote or example.
Kathleen McElroy
LEADS TO AVOID:
• Leads that could have been
written before the event:
‘A meeting was held,’
‘a speaker spoke’
• A humorous lead that has
nothing to do with the
story/nut graph.
• Leads based on a fantasy
that did not happen: ‘…But it
did not work out that way.’
• A question lead that alienates
some readers: ‘Don’t you hate it
when your blond tresses go dull
in the winter?’
Kathleen McElroy
Featured this month on pages 9, 10 and 11 are stories from the Oklahoma
Press Association Convention’s concurrent news track sessions. Next
month, the concurrent advertising sessions will be featured.
12
The Oklahoma Publisher // July 2016
Newspapers should shy away from gray
by Terry Clark
Journalism Professor,
University of Central Oklahoma,
[email protected]
SPORTS, PAGE 1C
Call...
Clark’s Critique
Outdated Kitchen?
SINCE
1893
56 PAGES
$1.50
122ND YEAR — NO. 201
S U N DAY, J U N E 1 9, 2 0 1 6
INSIDE
AG’s office to file grand jury’s accusation
By Marsha Miller
It’s time to get rid of the gray.
I’m not talking about going down
to the store and buying some Grecian
formula, or to the hairdresser and adding color.
In fact, I’m not talking about color at
all… though it can help.
Give your paper the dollar bill test.
Take a dollar, and slap it down on
your front page. If there’s any block of
body type so large that the dollar doesn’t
at least touch a display element of some
sort, your paper suffers from what my
hair looks like… it’s too gray.
I don’t intend to get rid of my gray
even if I am old, but if your paper can’t
pass the dollar bill test, you not only look
old but are more than old. You’re driving away readers and essentially putting
a sign on page one that blares, “Don’t
read me. I’m boring!” You’re wasting
your time if you want people to read the
paper.
What started this tirade?
Going through our papers this month
I noticed several papers that looked like
they did more than 20 years ago, ignoring how the reading habits of people of
all ages have changed.
Here’s what I saw, along with suggestions for getting rid of the gray:
• A paper with almost the entire bottom third of the page as one gray
mass of horizontal story.
• Papers with stories of two or more
long vertical columns.
• Papers with long copy set two or
more columns wide.
• Papers with colored screens over
large amounts of copy.
• Papers with small headlines on long
stories.
• Papers with all the photos the same
postcard size.
ARDMORE, OKLAHOMA
MULTI-COUNTY
SPORTS,
PAGE 1C
[email protected]
While the multi-county grand
jury issued an “accusation of
removal” against Carter County
Sheriff Milton Anthony Thursday, the action is at a standstill.
Why? No court dates can be
scheduled until the attorney
general’s office actually files the
document in Carter County District Court.
Lincoln Ferguson, deputy
press secretary for Attorney
General Scott
Pruitt, confirms
the action seeking the sheriff ’s
removal remains
with the AG’s off
fice.
“Documents
will be filed next MILTON
week in Carter ANTHONY
County,“ Ferguson said Friday
afternoon in an email to The
Ardmoreite.
However, the official filing of
the document doesn’t change
Anthony’s elected status. Ferguson said once the filing is
accomplished the next step will
be a judicial one.
“A judge will decide whether Anthony will be suspended,”
Ferguson said. “If Anthony is
suspended from office, his replacement will be left up to the
county commissioners.”
But even a suspension ruling
is not removal and Ferguson
also confirmed the sheriff would
have the option of taking the
STATE QUESTION 777
KOOTERFEST
TEES OFF AT
LAKEVIEW
TULSA
BEACON
June 23,
2016
OKLAHOMA STATE
OPENS PLAY IN
WORLD SERIES
issue either to a jury trial or a
non-jury trial (verdict determined by a judge). The first
opportunity for either type of
trial wouldn’t come until August
when the next jury term docket
is scheduled.
Anthony has reserved comment on the grand jury’s accusation. Efforts to reach the sheriff ’s
attorney for comments on his
client’s options concerning the
pending hearing and/or possible
trial have been unsuccessful.
Vol. 16, No. 10
Tulsa’s Family Newspaper
www.tulsabeacon.com
June 28th Primary
SEE AG, PAGE 5A
The fight on the farm Friday
night
lights
DECISION 2016
New football field
lighting approved
by school board
By Stephen Lamar
[email protected]
This image shows cattle grazing below rows of crops near a farmhouse. State question 777
would amend the state constitution to give state agriculture interest protection against
regulations from the statehouse and beyond. METRO CREATIVE
SQ777 would give ag constitutional protection
Why it matters: State question 777 will be on the ballot for the General Election on Nov. 8
and the outcome could affect one the state’s leading industries.
Jessica Bruha
[email protected]
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The Ardmoreite
I
n November, voters will be
asked to amend the state
constitution, adding language that some say would
add a needed level of protection to the industry and its
consumers, while opponents
of the state question say it
will take away power from the
state and those who regulate
all things agriculture.
“It appears to me, that overall, this is an attempt for not
just Oklahomans, but seemingly the mindset of a lot of
Americans, to attempt to keep
their freedoms and slow legislation down from what they
believe is their American way
of life,” said Jerry Alvord, a
Classified
Comics
Digest
Lifestyles
7C Markets
6A
4B Obituaries 2A
4A Sports
1C
1B Weather
2A
—Jerry Alvord, Carter County Commissioner and cattleman
Carter County Commissioner
and cattleman.
While groups like People
for the Ethical Treatment of
Animals and the Humane Society of the United States have
lobbied their agendas and over
the years pushed for laws banning certain practices, “which
do have some justification in
the industrial-type farming, “
Alvord said it greatly damages
family farms.
He said the state question
to him, appears to be farmers
and ranchers pushing back
in order to not only create a
living for themselves, but also
feed the country.
However, the state question
does raise a few concerns, as
well.
SEE FARM, PAGE 5A
SEE LIGHTS, PAGE 2A
Connecting growers, community
stephen.lamar@ardmoreite.
com
INDEX
“Is this (state question) a happy medium or
is this pushing the pendulum too far? We
have to mix logic in this, we can’t go too far
one way or another. As times change, laws
have to change, the legislature has to change,
but we can’t go too far one way or another.”
Things are about to get a lot brighter at the Lone Grove football field.
The Lone Grove Board of Education held a special meeting Friday
to discuss options for new football
field lighting and the resignation and
hiring of several teachers.
Due to several spring storms that
took out one of the old wooden light
poles at the football field, the school,
according to Superintendent Meri
Miller, had the other poles inspected
and feared they may be at risk. School
officials decided to look into the cost
and process of replacing all the poles
with new metal ones.
Insurance will cover the cost to
replace the pole destroyed by the
storms, according to Miller, but the
school will fund the rest of the replacements through a lease purchase
payment program. The board received two bids for replacing the
structures with Sooner Electric Corp
quoting a price of $102,950 and
Shawnee Lighting Systems, Inc. quoting a price of $134,000.
The board discussed the 10-year
warranty that is included in the
Shawnee quote and discussed options
for the cost of a 25-year warranty
plan. A motion was made to accept
the Shawnee bid subject to the available warranty options.
Miller said that ensuring the foot-
FARMER’S MARKET
By Stephen Lamar
The fresh vegetables
and fruit aren’t the only
things growing at the
farmer’s market.
The Ardmore farmer’s market, which welcomes vendors from the
area every Saturday and
Wednesday from 7 a.m.
to noon, has seen healthy
growth after starting off
the season slow due to
spring rains and storms.
Michele Wolf, the farm-
Get a FREE
second opinion...
er’s market manager, said
that the market is finally
starting to hit its stride
after the slow start.
“We’ve got the sunshine
out and the warmth and
it’s turning out very well,”
Wolf said. “We’ve added
quite a few vendors. We
have about 10 to 12 vendors and so they rotate
out given what they have.”
The market features
homegrown vegetables
and fruit from the area
and is typically the busiest at 7 a.m. when the
vendors start selling their
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product. Wolf said the
sheer number of people
that arrive at the start
of the day makes for a
morning rush.
“People are getting
things so fast the vendors can’t always keep
up,” Wolf said.
With healthier food options and organic foods Betty Murrah, a vendor at the farmer’s market, makes
becoming more popular, some adjustments to her table on Saturday. STEPHEN
the farmer’s market off LAMAR/THE ARDMOREITE
fers a wide selection of
products that differ from enjoy fresh vegetables it’s community,” said Patrithe grocery store options. wonderful to come down cia Merritt, an Ardmore
“For people that don’t here and to be able to local. “I just love it and I
have time to garden and buy it and to support the
SEE MARKET, PAGE 3A
DIGEST, PAGE 4A
MARKETS, PAGE 6A
X-RAY MACHINE FOILS IGUANA STOCKS REMAIN LOW AS
BRITISH VOTE LOOMS
SMUGGLING ATTEMPT
• Many papers with long, long paragraphs.
Easy cures for getting rid of the gray:
• Long horizontal stories should be no
deeper than three to four inches per
leg, and should still have pull quotes
or other visual.
• Long vertical columns of type are
obsolete, especially side by side.
Jump the story after 10 inches. If
you don’t want to jump it, shorten it.
• Maximum column length for most
body copy should be about 1.5 columns. Two columns wide and more
drives readers away. Avoid it.
• Unless you’re a hip millennial, you
don’t have several colors in your
hair. Don’t use too much color…
it’s distracting. Color should be for
emphasis. Remember, a percent of
your readers are color blind, and
Briden
stine
on
Atkins
Mullin
n
Jackso
Incumbent congressmen face challengers
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miadwizard.com
June 28
Primary
Races
U.S. Senator
Democrat
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U.S. Representative
District 1
Republican
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U.S. Representative
District 2
Democrat
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Republican
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U.S. Representative
District 3
Republican
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Oklahoma Senate
District 11
Democrat
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District 39
Republican
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Oklahoma House
District 12
Democrat
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District 14
Democrat
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District 30
Republican
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District 66
Republican
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District 67
Republican
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District 70
Republican
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District 72
Democrat
Republican
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Court Clerk
Republican
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District 2
Republican
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Democrat
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Sheriff
Democrat
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City Councilor
Newspapers featured this month are The Ardmoreite, Tulsa Beacon, The Seminole
Producer, The Shawnee News-Star, The Elk City Daily News and The Fairfax Chief.
those colored screens – especially
dark ones – could make your paper
even more of a gray blob. Note the
Seminole Producer uses no color,
and isn’t gray at all.
• You should have a dominant headline and photo on every page (one
size or column bigger). Newspaper
advantage over the Internet is that
everything isn’t the same size. 24
point type at the top of the page is a
mistake. If everything on your page
is about the same size, you’re really
gray.
• Write short sentences and paragraphs (two sentence maximum
in most cases, except for the lead
which should be one, and 25 word
maximum there.)
• Use bullet points (as with this column), or pull quotes, or subheads.
LOOKIN’EM OVER FOR IDEAS:
®
Tulsa, Oklahoma
LONE GROVE
WEATHER,
PAGE 10A
SOUTHWEST
BRACES FOR
HEAT WAVE
75¢
• Have you started covering the “Right
to Farm” state question? Headline in
The Ada News on Glenn Puit story,
“Right to water.” The Ardmoreite,
on Jessica Bruha, “The fight on the
farm.”
• Weather: “Heat Wave,” Poteau Daily
News, on intern Averie Warren’s
story of 20 people affected.
• Talk to gun dealers after all shootings. Tulsa World, headlined “Targeting safety,” Samantha Vicent story
and Stephen Pingry photo.
NOTABLE:
Great pre-election coverage, Tulsa
Beacon.
Kudos to The Norman Transcript,
Adam Troxtell and John Shinn, headlining OU tuition going up above the hundreds of thousands of dollars of raises to
OU coaches.
Dramatic layout in Sand Springs Leader on Kirk McCracken and Rachel Snyder stories, headlined “Party crasher,”
about the GOP denying access to its
database for a candidate challenging the
incumbent.
Solid story and photo in Chickasha’s
The Express-Star by Austin Litterell
about a WWII vet getting to ride in a
B-17 again.
This comment from The Oklahoman’s
Jenni Carlson in a Kevin Durant story:
“Our method for trying to answer those
questions – the insight offered from
‘sources.’/Or their brother ‘anonymous
sources.’/Or their distant cousin ‘person
familiar with the situation.’”
Compelling stories in The Shawnee
News-Star by Adam Ewing on town’s railroad history, and a man with a pet bear.
HEAD’EM UP AWARDS:
First place, tie,
Bristow News, on Rick Vyper story
about lack of water at a day camp:
NOT SO HAPPY CAMPERS
The Sayre Record & Beckham County
Democrat, on Amber Bachiochi story:
Continued on Page 13
The Oklahoma Publisher // July 2016 13
Clark’s Critique Continued from Page 12
The
Seminole
Producer
Friday, June 24,2016
www.seminoleproducer.com
Thursday, June 23, 2016
Vol. 90
Number 83
Contents Copyright 2016
12 pages & Supplements
USPS 489-380
50¢
Seminole Man Killed in Head-On Collision
Ken Childers
Managing Editor
Two men, one of them
from Seminole, were killed
in a head-on collision early
Tuesday afternoon in Pottawatomie County.
Billy Joe Hill, 72 of Seminole and Brian Karnes, 42,
of Shawnee, both died at
the scene of the crash,
authorities said.
According to the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, the
fatal collision occurred at
approximately 2:30 p.m. on
Highway 177, about four
miles south of Tecumseh.
Karnes was reportedly
southbound in a Mazda
pickup and went left of
center in a “passing movement,” striking Hill’s northbound truck head-on.
Both drivers were pinned
for an unknown amount of
time and extricated by the
Tecumseh Fire Department.
Both were transported by
Alpha and Omega Mortuary
to State Medical Examiner’s
Office in Oklahoma City.
Hill was an avid dog lover
and his two dogs, Tator and
Penny, also perished in the
crash.
He was born January 1,
1944 in Seminole, Oklahoma to Harim David and
Caldonia Bell (Payne) Hill.
He was married to
Elsie Lee (Warden), who
preceded him in death on
October 23, 2015. They
had been married for over
50 years.
Hill served in the army,
completing three tours in
Vietnam where he received
a Bronze Star, Purple Heart
and several other medals. He
also did a tour of Germany.
He was a member of The
Bowlegs Assembly of God
Church.
A memorial service for
Hill is pending under the
direction of Swearingen
Funeral Home.
Deep Pockets
Man Had Needles ‘In Case Someone Wanted to Share’
Angela Downing
City Editor
A Seminole man was
allegedly intoxicated at
Chase Park and arrested
for possession of drug
paraphernalia.
James Craighead was
arrested June 20 for public
intoxication, possession of
drug paraphernalia and a
Seminole County warrant.
Lieutenant Jason Null
observed a shirtless male
stumbling across the park.
According to the police
report, when Null made
contact with the subject he
could smell a strong odor of
alcohol coming from him.
Null stated the man was
Changes Coming
—Staff Photo by Obbie Harvey
Above, An empty lot is all that remains where Expert Tire stood for several
decades. The building has been razed to make way for a new parking lot for First
United Bank, located on the corner of Broadway and Milt Phillips.
Wewokans Set to Celebrate
Rich History This Weekend
Ken Childers
Managing Editor
This Saturday, June 25
marks the beginning of the
Sesquicentennial Celebration in Wewoka. This year
marks the 150th anniversary
of the Seminole Nation of
Oklahoma making Wewoka
their capital.
The celebration will get
underway with a parade on
Main Street at 10:00 a.m.
with Jim Chadick and Zane
Smith serving as parade
marshals.
John Hargrave will be
on the microphone, giving
play-by-play details of the
festivities.
Those interested in being
a part of the parade may
call the Wewoka Chamber
of Business and Industry
at (405) 257-5485, Sheila
Egge at (405) 626-4986 or
Brenda Jackson at (405)
220-6716.
Immediately following the
parade, a special event that
has been five decades in
the making will take place.
A time capsule that was
buried fifty years ago will be
(See Celebration on Page 2)
uneasy on his feet and had
a circular sway about him
while standing in one spot.
When Null asked for the
subject’s identification, he
stated he did not have it on
him but gave the name of
James Craighead.
Null asked Craighead
how much he had been
drinking that day and he
replied ‘a little.’
Before patting Craighead down, Null asked if
he had anything illegal on
him. He allegedly stated
that he had some syringes
in his front left pocket and
he said that they were
unused.
Null asked Craighead
when the last time he had
Craighead
used
methamphetamine
and he stated ‘a couple of
days ago.’
(See Arrest on Page 2)
Seminole Nation Takes Action
Regarding Notice of Violation
The Seminole Nation
of Oklahoma announces
steps to change its gaming
program at three casinos to
come into complete compliance with regulatory concerns contained in a formal
Notice of Violation (NOV)
issued by the National
Indian Gaming Commission
(NIGC) on May 20, 2016.
The Seminole Nation
became aware of the seriousness of the 27 issues
of concern addressed by
the Notice of Violation on
February 28, 2016, during
a meeting between NIGC
Chairman
Jonodev
O.
Chaudhuri and the Semi-
nole Nation General Council—the Nation’s 28 member
legislative body.
Almost immediately the
General Council took significant steps to protect its
gaming assets, to improve
the integrity of its gaming
operations, and to come
into
voluntary
compliance. Those steps include
included:
Eliminating the Gaming
Enterprise Board of Directors and placing Gaming
Enterprise supervision and
control directly under the
Executive Office; issuing
a Resolution expressing a
vote of no confidence in the
performance of the Chief
Gaming Regulator; and
initiating action against the
Seminole Nation Gaming
Commission that resulted
in the resignation of two
Gaming Commissioners.
These
immediate
changes resulted in more
stream-lined management,
greater cooperation between
the Gaming Agency and the
Gaming Enterprise, as well
as greater accountability to
effectuate needed changes
in the Nation’s compliance
process.
The Notice of Violation
issued on May 20, 2016,
(See Nation on Page 12)
Buzz off!
Take a stand
Local lifeguards kick off summer
Sheryl Ponce
Staff Writer
Summer is heating up
and the Elk City swimming
pool is open for business.
Amanda Hunter is managing the group of lifeguards
and pool for the seventh
year. With a new year
underway and lifeguards
5HG&URVVFHUWLÀHGVDIHW\
is the key to enjoying the
city facility.
Next week swim classes
will begin and if there are
spaces available Hunter
will make sure late arrivals get a spot. There will
be a second set of classes
offered the following
week.
Another event that
began Thursday evening is
the adult swim night.
Each Tuesday and
Thursday at 6:30 p.m.
to 7:45 anyone who is 17
or older can swim for $2
each.
There will be no children allowed during this
adult swim time. There
will be lap swim as well
as low impact aerobic
class conducted by a local
volunteer.
“This year we will post
pool closings on the City
of Elk City Facebook page
and they added a lightening detector so if there is
lightning within a 10-mile
UDGLXVZHZLOOEHQRWLÀHG
This will help save time
and keep us safe because
we can not be in the water
when there is lightning
in the area,” Hunter
explained.
She continued to
explain some of the rules
that have been implemented and will continued to be enforced. One
that is emphasized is that
no one under the age of
nine can enter the pool
without an adult.
The pool is open form 1
to 6 p.m. every day during
their summer hours.
The cost is $3.50 per
person with no refunds for
bad weather. Another rule
that is enforced is that
swimwear must be worn
in the pool, which means
no cut-off shorts or street
wear.
There are experienced
lifeguards on duty at all
times. Some of them have
been working the pool for
more than four years and
DOOKDYHEHHQFHUWLÀHGDQG
trained to handle a variety
of situations.
“Swimming is fun.
Come and have fun with
us,” Hannah Anderson
said.
Those taking the stands
this summer include
Sydney Skelton, Hannah
Anderson, Conner Rogers, Jacquie Cheatham,
Ashlynn Pierce, Karson
Dixon, Cody Pruitt, Mallory Luttrell, Drew Anderson, Chipper Skelton,
Erika Odom, Sarah Atha
and Sarah Wilson.
To get more information call the pool directly
at 580-225-1706.
Mallory Luttrell watches swimmers in one of the rotations of the three
guards on outside duty. Staff photo by Sheryl Ponce.
Mosquito numbers
expected to be heavy
this summer
STILLWATER – The wet spring may have been a
boon for crops, but it has opened the door to the possibility of a challenging summer when it comes to
mosquitoes.
Spring rains brought a decent amount of moisture to
Oklahoma, creating favorable breeding conditions for
mosquitoes, said Justin Talley, Oklahoma State University Cooperative Extension livestock entomologist.
“The size and intensity of the mosquito population
from year to year is dictated by the amount of moisture
in the environment,” he said. “Given that this year we
had fairly mild temperatures, we’ll probably have a
SUHWW\VLJQLÀFDQWPRVTXLWRSRSXODWLRQDVORQJDVWKH
moisture stays around. We mainly need to be concerned about mosquitoes from late spring all the way
through early fall.”
)ORRGZDWHUPRVTXLWRHVFRPHZLWKVLJQLÀFDQWUDLQfall amounts but present no real concerns with disease
transmission. However, species of both container
breeding and transient water mosquitoes are related to
multiple viruses that are potentially troublesome.
Though usually associated with urban or suburban
environments, container breeding mosquitoes can be
found anywhere water pools for an extended period of
WLPHLQDFRQÀQHGDUHDVXFKDVDELUGEDWKRUWUHHKROH
“Any container that can hold water for at least 10
to 20 days can harbor container breeding mosquitoes,
which are linked to dengue, chikungunya and Zika
viruses,” Talley said.
Meanwhile, transient water mosquitoes such as those
that belong in the Culex genus, the main culprit behind
West Nile virus, typically require warmer temperatures and become more prevalent later in the summer.
“With transient water mosquitoes, we have to be
careful because it’s not only the water we see, but it’s
also the water we don’t see, like in storm drains, where
these mosquitoes can breed ... which could cause an
impact and disseminate West Nile,” Talley said.
Although Zika has not yet been found in Oklahoma,
West Nile will always be a challenge across the state,
Talley said.
“Keep in mind there’s actually a very low percentage of mosquitoes that are infected with these types of
viruses,” he said. “There’s no way to tell which is an
infected mosquito versus an uninfected mosquito. You
need to treat all mosquitoes equally, protect yourself
and get rid of any standing water on your property.”
Firefighter visit
Senator Visits With SSC President About Budget Cuts
State Senator Jason Smalley (R-Stroud) visited the
campus of Seminole State College Tuesday. During the
stop, he talked with students in a General Chemistry I lab
in Tanner Hall.
He told the students that getting a college degree had a
major impact on his life, and enabled him to get jobs that he
would have missed out on otherwise. He stressed to the
students that education opens doors.
Smalley was on campus to talk with SSC President Dr.
Jim Utterback about recent budget cuts made to Seminole
State College and other higher education institutions.
Dr. Utterback, SSC President, said, “We appreciate
Senator Smalley taking a close look at the effects of State
budget cuts on the small rural colleges. More importantly,
we appreciate him always being a champion for education
on every level.”
During his visit, Senator Smalley said that he hoped the
State would put the entire $100 million surplus that has
recently been identified, back into education. “I think this
money is desperately needed to help our school districts
that are struggling to make ends meet.
“In addition, the cuts to higher education overall, and
the two-year colleges in particular, were far too drastic. No
one has been discussing the reduction of funding for the
concurrent enrollment of high school students enrolled in
(See Smalley on Page 12)
Special Visit
—Courtesy Photo
Left, Senator Jason
Smalley
and
SSC
President
Dr.
Jim
Utterback listen to SSC
students Alex Eddlemon
of Seminole and Kelsie
Carsten of Tecumseh
explain their chemistry
experiment. During his
stop, Smalley talked with
students in a General
Chemistry I lab. He told
the students that getting
a college degree had a
major impact on his life.
Seminole County Today
birthdays
Those celebrating birthdays today include Dean
Anderson, Sharon Beck,
Kristina Blakley, Christopher
Carney, Donnell Carter,
Linda Coody, Briana Croce,
Troy Dobson Jr, Kirah
Edwards, Rhonda Factor,
James Fowler, Marie Harbeston, Deneal Harjo, Wally
Harjo, Symathia Hooper,
Nature Hunn, Christopher
Keisman, Pam Kolander,
Marty Lena, Kasey Payne,
Judy Robbins, Willie Sanders, Emily Soule & Justin
VanBrunt.
anniversaries
Those celebrating anniversaries today include Earl
and Ruth Anderson, Fred
and Mary Crenshaw, Brian
and Kendra Eddlemon,
Donald and Kristy Emmitt,
Matt and Dana Riffle & Paul
and Joy Smith
slants
Logan Richardson rock-
ing her new haircut…
Stephanie Johnson watching a little too much netflix
this summer…
today
Camp Meeting Coney
Island Tabernacle. Call
Pastor Charles Troglin for
more info 405-398-4511 or
405-380-6763.
The Wewoka Public
Library will be hosting their
story time at 10:00am.
The Seminole Nation
Higher Education Office
will be offering Summer
Academic Tutoring open to
the public for grades 9-12
from 9am to noon at their
office on 215 E. Evans in
Seminole.
Seminole Nation Special Call General Council
meeting
scheduled
for
Thursday, June 23, 2016,
at 7:00 p.m., Mekusukey
Mission Council House to
consider Tribal Business.
saturday
The Executive Commit-
tee of the Prairie View-Pleseant Grove School Alumni
Association
announce
the 63rd Annual School
Reunion will be at 10am
at Lunch ‘N Such Café in
Seminole.
Registration
begins at 10 and lunch will
be served at noon Everyone
is welcome and if there are
any questions contact Dora
Young at 405-382-7941.
tuesday
The Wewoka Public
Library will host a reading
Covering the Tri-County Area Since 1894
hour at 10am.
The Seminole Care
and Rehab will be hosting
a Alzheimers Workshop at
6:00pm.
Words to Live By:
“Be strong. You
never know who
you are inspiring.”
Jeremy Chan
Elk City Firefighter Jevon Collins was the special guest reader at the Elk City Carnegie Library’s summer reading program
Storytime Wednesday. Collins read library visitors a book, then took them outside to check out the fire engine he brought
with him to the library. Above, visitors had a chance to walk through the fire engine. At right, Collins sounded the engine’s
sirens as he left, startling the kids in attendance. Staff photos by Larissa Copeland.
Weather
tomorrow
97/73
Vol. 114, No. 125
75 cents, 8 pgs.
Home delivery
580.225.3000
Visit us online
ecdailynews.com
THE SHAWNEE NEWS-STAR
$1
THURSDAY, JUNE 30, 2016
WAL-MART NEIGHBORHOOD MARKETS
WEATHER
TODAY
FRI
SAT
93°/73°
90°/74°
94°/79°
Towns cut workers, services after closings
By Christie Tapp
The Journal Record
STATE BRIEFS
Okla. governor
requests disaster
declaration for
flooding
OKLAHOMA CITY
(AP) — Gov. Mary Fallin
has asked for a federal
disaster declaration in
three Oklahoma counties as a result of severe
VWRUPV DQG ÀRRGLQJ LQ
June. Fallin announced
Wednesday that she’s
requesting individual
assistance for homeowners, renters and business owners in Caddo,
Comanche and Garvin
counties.
7KHVWRUPVDQGÀRRGV
that began June 11 are
blamed for two deaths
and damage to nearly
300 homes — including
major damage or destruction to 124 homes.
Flooding also forced
the closing of numerous
roads, made travel dangerous and led to more
than 150 water rescues by
the Oklahoma Highway
3DWURODQGORFDO¿UHDQG
police departments.
Roller coaster
stuck in OKC,
8 rescued
OKLAHOMA CITY
(AP) — Oklahoma City
¿UH¿JKWHUVHVFRUWHGHLJKW
people — including seven
children — from a roller coaster that became
stuck.
District Chief Benny
Fulkerson said there
DUH QR LQMXULHV DQG ¿UH¿JKWHUVZHUHZDONLQJWKH
stranded riders down a
catwalk to safety after the
amusement park ride became stuck.
He said the children
range in age from 7 to 15.
Fulkerson says the Silver Bullet roller coaster at
Frontier City “just didn’t
make it over a hill” and
became stuck.
Fulkerson says power to the ride was shut
off and the cars were
chained to the rail before
the stranded riders were
escorted down one at a
time.
COMING IN PRINT
Vehicles are parked by gas pumps in front of the shuttered Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market in Luther, one of six the store chain closed in Oklahoma.
PHOTO BY BRENT FUCHS/THE JOURNAL RECORD
WEWOKA – Five months
after Wal-Mart closed six
Neighborhood Markets in
Oklahoma, some cities continue to feel the aftermath.
Wewoka City Manager
Mark Mosley said the city
received about $85,000
per month in sales tax revenue the year Wal-Mart was
open. In February, after the
store closed, the revenue
dropped to $50,000 per
month, he said.
He said the store contributed $300,000 for the
year.
“When that money left, it
hurt tremendously,” Mosley said. “It has a lot to do
with the state’s economy,
but it was a bad time for
Wal-Mart to experiment
and leave,” he said.
Mosley said when the
city had a revenue increase,
WALMART, Page 5A
POTTAWATOMIE COUNTY
OU’s student publication
celebrates 100th anniversary
The Oklahoma Daily will turn 100
years old this fall, and plans are under
way to celebrate a century of excellence
in student journalism with alumni and
current students.
An alumni reunion dinner will be held
Oct. 14, followed by a tailgate party for
alums and current students before the
OU-Kansas State football game Oct. 15.
Anyone who ever worked at OU Student Media/Student Publications while
attending the University of Oklahoma is
invited to both events, said Nick Jungman, Student Media director and 1994
editor of The Daily. Ticket sales will be
available soon on The Oklahoma Daily
centennial website at https://medium.
com/oudaily-100.
The dinner will feature inductions
into a new Oklahoma Daily Hall of Fame,
according to Andy Rieger, fall 1978 Daily
editor and chairman of the Centennial
Planning Committee. Dinner location
will be announced this fall based on the
number attending.
The tailgate will be outside Copeland
Hall, The Daily’s home since 1958. The
start time will be determined by kickoff
for the OU-Kansas State football game
that day.
“You’ll be able to get a good look at
your old stomping grounds and have a
chance to interact with the student journalists doing the jobs you did years ago,”
Jungman said.
The first issue of The Oklahoma Daily
was published Sept. 14, 1916. Willard
H. Campbell was editor. The newspaper
launched its centennial year in January
with a historic shift in focus to digital
publication, although a print edition still
comes out twice-weekly in the fall and
spring semesters and once a week in the
summer.
Follow the event on Facebook at
http://bit.ly/oudaily100 or check out
the website at https://medium.com/
oudaily-100.
A man and his bear
A special bond
By Adam Ewing
[email protected]
M
ost pet owners have a
close relationship with
their animals. However,
Bowser isn’t your average pet. He’s a
4-year-old black bear, standing about 6
feet, 6 inches when he’s on his hind legs.
He currently weighs about 400 pounds,
and he is still growing.
You’ve Got Questions!
Bowser’s owner Stan Pace has been fond of bears
since his family took yearly vacations up in Minnesota.
“I’ve always loved animals since I could remember,”
Pace said. “We used to go on vacation every summer
to Minnesota with my grandparents. There was a
place called Deer Land. We would go to feed the deer.
One year there was a bear and I was all over it. They’d
pull me away because he’d scratch you, but I made
my way back over to him.”
He said, “There was a strong spiritual connection
that stuck with me. From then on, I’ve always wanted
one.”
About four years ago, Pace got his wish. Pace
brought Bowser home when he was a couple weeks
old. Since then, they’ve had a special bond.
“Once he came home, it was amazing,” Pace said.
• Can I photograph minors without consent?
BEAR, Page 5A
• Can police deny access to records
by issuing a press release?
Above: Bowser and
Stan Pace spend some
quality time together.
At left: Bowser
hams it up for
the camera.
ADAM EWING
STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Bowser enjoys cooling off in the water.
ADAM EWING STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
• Movies showing
See Friday’s paper for
a list of movies that will
be showing in Shawnee.
• Photos and videos
See local photos and
videos.
• Jennifer Diane
Cosby
• Bobby Gene
Cook
ONLY ONLINE
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(Hathcock) Holland
Local News. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2A
Lifestyles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3B
Puzzles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3B
Classified . . . . . . . . . . . 5B-8B
www.fredstire.net
• Should I alter my archives
when a person demands it?
LOTTERIES
Powerball
23-29-37-60-64-06
Hot Lotto
26-33-34-43-45-12
Cash 5 08-09-11-12-25
Pick 3 8-1-7
Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1B
Scoreboard . . . . . . . . . . . . 2B
16 West Highland, Shawnee • (405) 273-8500
BIRDS OF A FEATHER FLOCK TO
SAVE SAYRE POULTRY AUCTION
Second place, tie, The Fairfax Chief:
MARIA MURAL ARTIST
DANCES INTO SMITHSONIAN SHOW
and The Elk City Daily News, on Sheryl
Ponce life guard story:
TAKE A STAND
Third place, tie: El Reno Tribune,
Rosemary Stephens of the Tribal Tribune on Douglas NoEar’s comic book
hero’s mural:
MARVEL’ING HIS ARTWORK
and The Lone Grove Ledger, on story
about new football field lights not being
ready:
FRIDAY NIGHT FRIGHT
Honorable mentions: The Oklahoman,
on a Steve Gooch photo of an archery
class at Martin Park, “Aiming to Learn”;
McAlester News-Capital on David Dish-
man story, “Peanut butter drive spreading around McAlester”; The Journal
Record on Molly M. Fleming story on
development along the river, “Not Banking on It”; McCurtain Daily Gazette, about
a man who choked his girlfriend for dissing his pancakes (You can’t make this
up), “Criticism of pancakes results in
choking, chase”; Pauls Valley Democrat
on Ezra Mann story about kids releasing lady bugs, “Bugging out for X-treme
fun”; The Seminole Producer, on Angela
Downing story about an arrest of a man
with drug syringes in his pockets, “Deep
pockets”; The Hooker Advance, “Summer
turns up the heat”; The Times in Pryor,
Cydney Barron photo, “Walkin’ through
water”; Guymon Daily Herald, “Local winners powered up at youth power energy
camp.”
• Can I report inaccurate
tesimony given in open court?
• What are the laws about liquor advertising?
These are questions answered by the attorneys for the OPA
Legal Services Plan members in recent months. Newspapers always
need timely legal advice on issues related to newspaper publishing.
You should join OPA’S
LEGAL SERVICES PLAN!
See www.OkPress.com/LSP or contact Lisa Sutliff
at (405) 499-0026 or toll-free in Oklahoma 1-888-815-2672
14
The Oklahoma Publisher // July 2016
New operating system for Apple changes file structure
Computer Notes
from the road
by Wilma (Melot) Newby
[email protected]
Apple is unleashing a new Mac OS
on its computers this fall. Mac OS Sierra
10.12 will move Apple towards a similar
look on phones, watches and computers.
The biggest changes are coming in
2017 as they roll out Apple File System,
APFS. For the last 20 years HSF+ has
been the file system on a Mac. But now
in order to gain a similar file system
across phones, computers and watches,
they are going to change it.
Deep breath all around. Apple says it
will still run all our older software and
fully support HSF+ programs, but real
change is in the wind.
If your paper is running CS4 or
newer, go ahead and update to OSX
10.11, which requires at least 4GB of
RAM memory. This is an easy thing
to do and allows your computer to run
on an operating system that works well
with Creative Suite for a few more years.
You should stop at OSX 10.11 until we’re
sure Creative Suite runs well in newer
environments.
As of now, beta versions aren’t good
enough to conduct a thorough test.
Watch Adobe’s tech blogs to see if their
software is going to work before updating. All the reports I’ve read say not
to install it on your working computer;
put it on a test computer if you want to
experiment with it.
The new system will allow
you to talk to your computer and
ask it to find a file, but if it can’t
run your software you’re going
to end up leasing the Creative
Cloud.
If you’re already running Creative
Cloud, you should wait until the fall of
2017 to update, not as soon as it comes
out. Let someone else figure out if it’s
going to be stable.
Sierra most likely will support the
major programs like Adobe but the little
programs that make our life easier may
go by the wayside.
Big changes also are coming to Safari in the way it handles content that
uses plug-ins like Flash, Silverlight and
QuickTime. You’ll get an alert that tells
you the plug-in is not installed, and then
you need to click on a “Click to use”
button to see the content. Apple is doing
this to force websites to load HTML5
compliant media implementations.
My next piece of advice is to make a
really good backup of your computer. If
the hard drive crashes or updates without a good backup, it is very difficult to
get your operating system and software
back.
Apple’s new file system structure will
work better with the favored solid state
drives, but as of now APFS volumes
can’t be encrypted with FileVault or
backed up with Time Machine. Fusion
Drives can’t use APFS yet, either.
All these changes are being made to
give us a more seamless way to work
with the iPhone.
If you bought a Mac in 2010 or later,
you should be able to receive the update.
Those that bought a Mac prior to 2009
are pretty much out of luck. I maintain
you’re going to need at least 4GB of
RAM, even though Apple may say less
will work.
Finally, be careful buying a new computer that only has one port for both
charging and all external devices, such
as the new MacBook. What happens if
that port wears out? Unless you’re buying it and expecting to replace it in a few
years, the longevity of the product is
questionable.
It looks cool, it’s thin and it comes in
pretty colors but treat that port with the
utmost care. Any computer that offers
less than five adapters to get the computer connected to the rest
of your equipment is not all
that cool.
A third party adapter is
required to simultaneously
charge the computer and use ethernet. I
only found one at www.j5create.com that
will charge, run an external monitor and
the ethernet at the same time all from
one little port. I guess we will see how
good USB C is.
The Anker Premium USB-C Hub with
ethernet and power delivery, 2 USB 3.0
ports, 1 USB-C recharging port and 1
ethernet port would get the computer
out and charging at the same time.
These adapters start at $45 and go up,
making the lower price of the MacBook
not as attractive. In an office environ-
LEGAL ADVICE
is just one of the benefits of being a member of the Oklahoma Press
Association’s Legal Services Plan. Remove the worry of needing
professional advice by enrolling today. For more information contact:
OKLAHOMA PRESS ASSOCIATION’S
LEGAL SERVICES PLAN
1-888-815-2672 or 405-499-0020
ment, the safety and speed of the ethernet cords vs. the Wi-Fi would make the
adapters a must have item. Also, Apple
will let the computer back up over the
wireless as long as it is an Apple Airport.
But if your office does not have one, you
would need an adapter to make a back
up of the computer.
shop. It seems like an old school question but if you don’t know how there are
a lot of steps.
This can be done in Illustrator, InDesign and Gimp. Here are the steps. The
project was a reverse logo.
RENAMING FILES
With Apple’s OS X Yosemite 10.10
and up you can batch rename files.
Here’s how:
1. Select the items, then Control-click
one of them or just right click.
2. In the shortcut menu, select
Rename Items.
3. In the pop-up menu below Rename
Folder Items, choose to replace text in
the names, add text to the names, or
change the name format.
Replace text: Enter the text you want
to remove in the Find field, then enter
the text you want to add in the “Replace
with” field.
Add text: Enter the text to you want to
add in the field, then choose to add the
text before or after the current name.
Format: Choose a name format for
the files, then choose to put the index,
counter or date before or after the name.
Enter a name in the Custom Format
field, then enter the number you want
to start with.
4. Click Rename.
This is a fast way to rename files for
uploading to OPS with no extra software
required.
QUESTION OF THE WEEK
The best question from the road this
week was how to curve text in Photo-
Choose Color of text with this box
Choose arc with this tool
In Photoshop type the text and select
it to change the text to reverse type.
Look at the options bar at the top of
the screen for a rectangular box. If you
run your cursor over it, it will say Set
the text color. Double click and set the
colors in the CMYK boxes to 0 so they
are a true White. Your text should now
be white.
Then in the options bar choose the
Create Warp Text box. Under styles
choose the first option, Arch. Play with
the arch until it works for the project.
Finally, flatten the file under Layer
Menu > Flatten Image.
This part of Photoshop’s settings
remind me of TypeStyler on a Mac. That
great little program is still out there and
works like the old one. It cost $59.99 at
http://www.typestyler.com/store/.
TypeStyler creates all kinds of fun
text and saves in many formats.
It has a built-in PosterMaker that
prints designs scaled to any size you
need – from postage stamp to billboard.
Large printouts tile automatically, allowing you to print huge signs and posters
from your desktop printer. You can use
the front window to attract more traffic
into the office. The program is available
for older operating systems on the Mac.
To get an arch text with InDesign,
draw a shape for the path. Get a circle
(hold down on the Rectangle tool) and
choose the Ellipse tool. Draw a circle.
Then under the Text tool (hold down on
it for a second) you will find a Type on
a Path tool. Click on the path that was
drawn first and start typing. The trick is
to double click the type on a path tool to
get a dialog box that lets you get the cool
effects. Play with it until it looks right,
then change the line on the circle to 0.
OPA Computer Consultant Wilma Newby’s
column is brought to you by the Oklahoma
Advertising Network (OAN). For more information on the OAN program, contact Oklahoma
Press Service at (405) 499-0020.
The Oklahoma Publisher // July 2016 15
Networking means sending people away
That InterWeb
Thing
by Keith Burgin
[email protected]
If you want to be successful at social
networking, you need to learn to send
people away. It runs contrary to conventional thinking, but it works.
Your news staff cannot be everywhere, reporting on everything – it’s
a lack of manpower resources and an
inability to fold time/space. You can
offer your reader more, though, if you’re
willing to hunt for interesting stories on
that reader’s behalf. In turn that person
is likely to come back to you for that
courtesy.
I’m not talking about shared content, although that’s a great asset and
one worth pursuing with your media
partners. I’m talking about using your
social media platform to send readers
to another news outlet’s website and
turning your feed into a jump-off point
for interesting stories – no matter the
source.
For instance, if you show your readers not only the stories you created but
great stories from other providers, those
who follow your posts are much more
likely to pay closer attention. In short,
sending people to great content, even if
you didn’t put it together, will create a
larger, more attentive network for you.
When readers decide that these stories night be interesting to their network, turns out it’s far easier to share
your link to that content than pick up the
link and create a new post. That means
extra eyeballs on your account.
Of course, your content needs to
be interesting to your target audience.
That’s how it has to be when new eyes
hit your work.
Let me give you an example of a guy
who has a real handle on all of this.
Wayne Dupree runs a blog called
“News Ninja.” He’s an award-winning
conservative blogger; he doesn’t even
have the advantage of being a newspaper. His content, podcast and writing, is
opinion and punditry.
But he links… he links a lot… to
other folks’ work. He shares and comments on articles written by others – he
sends readers away constantly. For his
efforts, his Facebook page has more
than 11k friends. His Twitter following
is 116k. His following is real and he
makes money.
Dupree is a polarizing guy, to be sure,
and his fan base is rabid. They are often
of like mind. But they are readers and
a solid network he put together by taking the extra step of finding material to
share and expanding his reach.
Your reach can grow. Your network
can expand.
Like I’ve suggested before, though,
you have to work at a social media presence to succeed with it. You have to step
outside your comfort zone and give the
reader what he wants: access to great
content, both yours and well, not yours.
At least experiment a bit. If you see
something you think might interest your
readers, link to it; suggest they take a
look; comment on it. Do that consistently for a while and see what kind of
response you get.
It can’t help but grow your sphere of
interest.
The way I see it, the word “design” is
synonymous with the word “plan.” If you
have no plan, you have no design.
And the word “plan” implies that
you’ve given the look of your front page
some forethought.
That’s not quite true at some newspapers, is it?
Too many editors/designers “wing
it.” Oh, they may have a vague idea of
what they want to put on the front, but
that idea goes out the window as soon
as they get a story that’s too long. Or…
they don’t get that photo they expected.
General Dwight D. Eisenhower, during World War II, said: “Plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.”
He was right. We need to have a plan
for the page, but we also need to be flexible. If that story is too long, what do
you do: Do you cut it, jump it or run it
longer? If you were planning on a vertical picture but get one that’s much better – and horizontal – which do you run?
Flexibility is important, of course, but
it just doesn’t work if you don’t have a
plan to flex from.
Some points to consider:
HOW MUCH: How many story/photo
packages am I going to put on the page?
Do I have all the visuals I need? Are five/
six stories too many? Are three/four
stories too few?
BANNER: Is there one package that
demands to be placed across the top of
the page? What’s the visual to go with
it? How long is it gonna be? Should I
jump it?
LEAD VISUAL: Do I have one? Does it go
with a story or does it stand alone? How
big can I make it so it has impact? Where
do I place it on the page?
OTHER VISUALS: Do I have a visual element with every package on the front? If
not, how do I get that to happen? If I do
have those elements, where do I place
them so they don’t fight each other for
attention?
JUMPS: How many is too many? Where
do they go?
MODULES: No doglegs or odd-shaped
packages. Each has to be designed into
a rectangular module.
ADS: Do I have only banner ads? If, so
they’re not a concern. But what if there
has to be a two-column-by-four-inch ad
in the bottom right corner of the front?
How do I design with that and still keep
the page modular?
HEADLINE SIZE: Am I using good headline hierarchy? Am I avoiding the use
of a teeny headline at the bottom of the
page? How big is too big on the lead
headline?
TYPE WIDTH: Am I following the grid?
Should I take one of the stories and
STAFF DIRECTORY
ADMINISTRATION
MARK THOMAS
Executive Vice President
[email protected] • (405) 499-0033
JEANNIE FREEMAN
Accounting Manager
[email protected] • (405) 499-0027
SCOTT WILKERSON
Front Office/Building Mgr.
[email protected] • (405) 499-0020
MEMBER SERVICES
LISA (POTTS) SUTLIFF
Member Services Director
[email protected] • (405) 499-0026
ADVERTISING
LANDON COBB
Sales Director
[email protected] • (405) 499-0022
CINDY SHEA
Advertising Director
[email protected] • (405) 499-0023
Page design begins with a plan
BY ED HENNINGER
HENNINGER CONSULTING
OKLAHOMA PRESS ASSOCIATION
BRENDA POER
Advertising Assistant
[email protected] • (405) 499-0035
CREATIVE SERVICES
JENNIFER GILLILAND
Creative Services Director
[email protected] • (405) 499-0028
ASHLEY NOVACHICH
Editorial/Creative Assistant
[email protected] • (405) 499-0029
COMPUTER ADVICE
WILMA (MELOT) NEWBY
Computer Consultant
[email protected] • (405) 499-0031
DIGITAL CLIPPING
KEITH BURGIN
Clipping Director
give it an odd measure, to help it stand
out a bit?
All of these need to be part of your
thinking when you begin work on your
front page. Remember: it’s a plan. And
plans should be flexible. But if you want
to do “design,” then you need to do
“plan.”
ED HENNINGER, an independent newspaper consultant and director of Henninger Consulting, offers
comprehensive newspaper design services including
redesigns, workshops, design training and design
evaluations. Contact Henninger at www.henningerconsulting.com, email edh@henningerconsulting.
com or phone (803) 327-3322.
[email protected] • (405) 499-0024
KYLE GRANT
Digital Clipping Dept.
[email protected]
JENNIFER BEATLEY-CATES
Digital Clipping Dept.
[email protected] • (405) 499-0045
GENERAL INQUIRIES
(405) 499-0020
Fax: (405) 499-0048
Toll-free in OK: 1-888-815-2672
16
The Oklahoma Publisher // July 2016
OKLAHOMA NATURAL GAS CONTEST WINNERS
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE APRIL AND MAY 2016 WINNERS
April Column: FAITH WYLIE, Oologah Lake Leader
April Editorial: BARB WALTER, The Hennessey Clipper
May Column: TRACIE MACY, The Hennessey Clipper
May Editorial: CAROL CONNER, The Fairfax Chief
MAY 2016 COLUMN WINNER
TRACIE MACY, The Hennessey Clipper
Times well spent with our family
This past Sunday we laid to rest my Great
Aunt Edna. She was 98 years young.
As they spoke about her life, it was as if
God was sending me a message.
She spent most mornings outdoors in her
flower beds and most afternoons baking
with family in the kitchen.
The grandkids talked about how much fun
it was to help her in the kitchen and how
wonderful all her cooking was.
She and her sister, my grandmother Irene,
have that in common.
They are both wonderful cooks. I think that
came from years of barely getting by and
having to make-do with what they had to
eat.
I was thinking about her routine and all
the fun stories her kids and grandkids told
when the message God was sending hit
me. What is my routine and what will my
family remember about me?
As many others have, I have taken to my
phone and iPad on a daily basis. A habit
that I need to break.
If I died tomorrow, what would my kids
remember about me?
That I sat around in my living room playing
games or watching TV?
Tears flooded my eyes. I was filled with
sorrow not only for the loss of a great
woman, but for a loss that I could prevent.
The loss of my ability to spend time with
my family.
So starting today I’m going to make an
effort to put the electronics down and
spend more time with my loved ones.
I want there to be wonderful memories
shared at my funeral and smiles on faces
while they’re being told.
Leave it to Aunt Edna to teach me something even in her death.
To make sure my time is well spent, just as
her time was.
Enter and Win
a $100 Check
from Oklahoma
Natural Gas!
The April and May Oklahoma Natural
Gas Column and Editorial Contest
was judged by a member of the
Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame.
1. Each month, send a tear sheet or
photocopy of your best column and/
or editorial to Oklahoma Natural Gas
Contest, c/o OPA, 3601 N. Lincoln Blvd.,
Oklahoma City, OK 73105-5499.
2. Include the author’s name, name of
publication, date of publication and
category entered (column or editorial).
3. Only ONE editorial and/or ONE column
per writer per month will be accepted.
4. All entries for the previous month must
be at the OPA office by the 15th of the
current month.
5. Winning entries will be reproduced on
the OPA website at www.OkPress.com.
Entries must have been previously
published in print. Contest open to
all OPA member newspapers.
Although Oklahoma Natural Gas Company
selects representative contest winners’
work for use in this monthly ad, the views
expressed in winning columns and editorials
are those of the writers and don’t necessarily
reflect the Company’s opinions.
Thank you for continued
support of “Share The Warmth”
Read the Winning Columns & Editorials on the OPA website:
www.OkPress.com (Under Contests)