January 2013 Oklahoma Publisher

Transcription

The Oklahoma Publisher
Official Publication of the Oklahoma Press Association
www.OkPress.com
www.Facebook.com/okpress
Vol. 84, No. 1
16 Pages • January 2013
CONTEST
DEADLINE
NEARS
INSIDE
WHERE OPA
MEMBERS PRINT: An
updated map showing where
OPA business members
have their newspapers
printed.
PAGE 9
DONATE TO ONF –
RECEIVE THIS PRINT:
Donate $500 or more to
the Oklahoma Newspaper
Foundation and receive a
framed, matted print of this
Will Rogers painting. More
information available at
okpress.com/will-rogers.
ATTEND THE OPA LEGISLATIVE SUMMIT
Many legislators visit the
newspaper office when they’re
in town. Now you can reciprocate and visit them at their
office during the Oklahoma
Press Association’s 2013 Legislative Summit.
This year’s summit will be
held at the Oklahoma State
Capitol in Oklahoma City on
Thursday, Feb. 7.
The summit offers publishers, editors and other newspaper staff members the opportunity to meet their local legislators and ask them to support
decisions that will affect the
newspaper industry.
“Legislators listen to people
that make the time to come to
the capitol and express their
concerns,” said Mark Thomas,
OPA executive vice president.
A recent survey of legislators showed that their most
effective contact with repre-
sentatives is a personal visit.
An email ranks fourth; a phone
call ranks fifth.
Local leaders need to know
their way around the halls
and offices of the capitol and
to know how legislation gets
passed or defeated, said Thomas.
“Every organization, including those that oppose newspaper interests, go to the capitol
to demonstrate commitment
to their legislative goals and
desires,” he said. “Those voices must be offset by the presence of newspaper publishers
and editors at the capitol early
in the legislative session.”
While the morning is
reserved for spending time
with your legislators, the
afternoon features speakers.
Grover Norquist, president of
Americans for Tax Reform,
will speak at 1:00. Lee Slater,
newly elected executive director of the Oklahoma Ethics
Commission, takes the stage
at 1:45.
Oklahoma Governor Mary
Fallin speaks to members of
the press at 2 p.m.
“This time with Gov. Fallin will give us the opportunity to ensure she understands
our issues and how important
they are to our mission and
economic viability as community-based businesses,” said
Thomas.
The summit starts at 9:30
a.m. with opening remarks in
the Blue Room from Thomas
and OPA President Jeff Shultz.
Lunch will be provided by OPA
in the capitol rotunda. The
summit concludes at 3:00 p.m.
For more information or to
register, visit the OPA website
at www.okpress.com/legislative-summit.
The deadline for the 2012
OPA Better Newspaper Contest, the 2012 OPA Website
Contest, 2012 OPA Print Quality Contest and the Joseph H.
Edwards Outdoor Writer of the
Year award is fast approaching.
Entries must be postmarked
by Monday, Feb. 4, 2013, in
order to be considered for this
year’s contest.
Entry packets were mailed
at the end of November 2012.
Information and downloadable
PDF forms are available for all
the contests at www.OkPress.
com/awards.
The Better Newspaper Contest period includes content
published from Jan. 1, 2012, to
Dec. 31, 2012.
The annual contests are
open to current OPA business
members.
The Better Newspaper
Contest is being judged by
members of the South Dakota
Newspaper Association in a
reciprocal agreement. Judging
other contests is a good opportunity to gather new ideas for
your newspaper. If you would
like to volunteer to judge the
South Dakota newspaper contest, please contact Eli Nichols
at [email protected] for
more information.
For information or clarification about any of the contests,
contact Lisa Potts or Jennifer
Gilliland at (405) 499-0020 or
toll-free in Oklahoma at 1-888815-2672.
2
The Oklahoma Publisher // January 2013
UP, UP AND
AWAY!
23$35(6,'(17·6&2/801
&HOHEUDWLQJ1HZVSDSHU+HURHV3DVW3UHVHQW
By Jeff Shultz, Garvin County News Star
Now is a busy time for Mark and the
OPA with the start of the legislature
just around the corner.
Mark reports there hasn’t been
much activity at the capitol so far. Only
23 bills have been filed in the House
and 219 in the Senate.
Mark estimates there will be approximately 3,000 bills filed before the session starts.
None of the bills filed right now will
have an impact on newspapers, but
you can be sure Mark will be on top of
any bills that might be filed that would
affect us.
Mark’s work at the capitol each
year is nothing short of amazing. He
has made numerous contacts and relationships with the legislators and has
a major influence on legislation that
would influence our industry.
This is just one of many reasons why
your OPA dues are so important. Not
many states have someone like Mark to
go their capitol and fight for newspaper
issues.
Because of that, some states have
done away or altered such important
items as legal notices being printed in
local newspapers and have taxed advertising and circulation revenues.
Mark deserves a huge “thank you”
for the work he’s doing at the capitol
and I know he’ll continue to fight for
our industry.
SPEAKING OF LEGISLATIVE ISSUES,
I would like to remind everyone that
OPA’s Legislative Summit at the capitol
will be Thursday, Feb. 7.
Last year we had a strong showing of
newspaper professionals show up at the
capitol and that, along with the staff’s
small posters of newspapers lined up in
the rotunda area, made a major impression on lawmakers and their staff.
Mark your calendars and plan on
attending the Legislative Summit. Let’s
show our lawmakers that despite what
they may hear nationally, Oklahoma
newspapers are vital to our state.
AS MOST OF YOU KNOW BY NOW, Bill
Newell has retired. His last day at the
OPA was Jan. 4. The staff held a little
going away party for him.
Mark is actively seeking a replacement for Bill and will have someone
soon.
For the OPA to have a postal expert
on staff to help us with postal issues is
not only necessary, but also vital to our
industry – especially with any future
changes the U.S. Post Office may be
making.
Bill and his wife, Sue, stopped in
Pauls Valley last month and paid me a
visit.
We had a lively conversation about
the future of the post office and what
Bill’s plans are once he is gone.
“Sue’s already got a list of things
she wants me to do,” he said jokingly,
noting some of the items included traveling plans.
They also visited the Toy and Action
Figure Museum while they were here
and said they would definitely be coming back with their grandchildren.
Sounds like they are already planning some joyous times together and I
know you will join me in wishing them
safe travels.
CONGRATULATIONS
to Jennifer Gilliland. Mark told me she has been with
the OPA for 29 years.
That’s a long time, especially in our
business.
Jennifer’s work at the OPA is monumental and we appreciate her and the
rest of the staff so much.
IT WAS 150 YEARS AGO
this month
that President Lincoln signed the
Emancipation Proclamation.
As you know, the proclamation freed
all slaves and was a turning point in the
Civil War.
What I didn’t know until recently
was that anti-slavery newspapers were
the catalyst for the abolitionist movement and brought a new awareness of
the issue to the general public.
The newspapers called for the nation
to abolish slavery some 30 or more
years before the Civil War and many of
the papers’ publishers and editors were
persecuted and sometimes even killed
for their stance on the issue.
They also brought light to the harsh
treatment and deplorable conditions
slaves were subjected to.
Newspapers have always played a
major role in the birth and maturing of
our nation and the communities they
serve and they continue to do so today.
It’s something we can all be proud
of.
OPA CALENDAR
OF EVENTS
Complete Listing of Events at
www.OkPress.com
THURS., JAN. 31, OKLA. CITY
ONF – LEARN TO CREATE
‘DESIGNER ADS’
Carol Richer Gammell’s “Create Designer Ads”
workshop focuses on designing and selling
great ads for print and online. Richer Gammell
will train attendees in closing sales of resultsgetting ads. Registration $35. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.,
Reed Center, Midwest City. For more information or to register, go to www.OkPress.com/
events-calendar.
MON., FEB. 4
OPA – DEADLINE FOR
ANNUAL CONTEST ENTRIES
Contest entries must be postmarked
by Monday, Feb. 4, 2013, for the Better
Newspaper Contest, Website Contest, Print
Quality Contest and the Outdoor Writer of
the Year Award. For more information, visit
www.okpress.com/awards.
THURS., FEB. 7, OKLA. CITY
OPA – LEGISLATIVE DAY
AT STATE CAPITOL
All OPA members are encouraged to meet at
the State Capitol on Thursday, Feb. 7, 2013, to
discuss issues with statewide elected officials
and House and Senate members. Members
will discuss proposed legislation and issues
of concern to every Oklahoma newspaper.
Check www.OkPress.com/legislative-summit
for updates.
FRI., FEB. 15
ONF – APPLY FOR
AN INTERNSHIP OR
SCHOLARSHIP
The Oklahoma Newspaper Foundation
awards several internships and three $1,500
scholarships to Oklahoma journalism students
each year. University of Oklahoma students
are also eligible to apply for the Breeden
scholarship. View eligibility requirements and
download all applications at OkPress.com/ONF.
MON., FEB. 25
OPA receives two applications for membership
Metro Creative Graphics and the
Oklahoma News Weekly have applied
for sustaining memberships in the
Oklahoma Press Association.
Metro Creative Graphics is located
at 519 Eighth Ave. in New York, N.Y.
Lou Ann Sornson is the contact person.
Metro is an online resource where
subscribers can access images, photos,
borders, frames, headings and more.
The Oklahoma News Weekly lists
its company name as CKA Publications
LLC. Carolyn Ashford Wright is the
main contact for the publication located
at 212 W. 8th in Bristow, Okla.
The weekly newspaper serves the
Highway 75 corridor, which includes
Glenpool, Mounds, Kiefer and Beggs.
The Oklahoma Press Association
Board of Directors will vote on the sus-
taining member applications for Metro
Creative Graphics and CKA Publications LLC dba Oklahoma News Weekly at their meeting on April 4, 2013,
in Pauls Valley. Any current member
wishing to object to either application
must do so in writing to the OPA at
3601 N. Lincoln Blvd., Oklahoma City,
OK 73105-5499, by March 25, 2013.
NOMINATION DEADLINE
Send in your nominations for the OPA Half
Century or Quarter Century Clubs and the ONF
Beachy Musselman Award. For more info, visit
www.OkPress.com/awards.
JUNE 13-15, MIDWEST CITY
OPA ANNUAL CONVENTION
The OPA annual convention will be held at the
Sheraton and Reed Center in Midwest City.
For more information on upcoming events, visit the
OPA website at www.OkPress.com or contact Member
Services Director Lisa Potts at (405) 499-0026,
1-888-815-2672 or email [email protected].
Kiowa County Democrat
under new ownership
Dee Richardson recently purchased
the Kiowa County Democrat in Snyder
from Carol and Jessee Middick.
Richardson was born and raised in
Snyder and worked for the former owners of the paper, O.T. and Linda Brooks,
for eight and one-half years.
The 107-year-old paper has moved
its office to 532 E. Street in Snyder.
A later printing schedule means the
weekly publication won’t appear on
racks until after noon on Wednesdays,
but the change should not affect delivery of mailed copies, said Richardson.
“Some say newspapers are dying,”
said Richardson. “But I believe in small
communities such as ours, the local
paper is vital to the heart of the community as the best way to dispense news
and events.”
Richardson said she is looking forward to covering local meetings and
events, and visiting with members of
the community to learn what needs to
be covered.
Weleetkan closes its
door after 37 years of
service to community
The Weleetkan, a weekly newspaper
in Weleetka, Okla., ceased publication
in November 2012.
William ‘Bill’ Morgan started the
newspaper 1976. When he became ill
in 2011, it was put up for sale along
with The Hughes County Times in
Wetumka. The Times was purchased
in September 2012 by Bill and Dayna
Robinson.
Morgan died in February 2012.
Bill Morgan’s daughter, Julie Morgan, operated The Weleetkan during
her father’s illness.
“I was left with the decision to either
close the Weleetkan or try to make a go
of it by hiring someone to assume the
managerial duties so I could return to
my own life,” said Julie Morgan.
“I hope to resume my underwater
career in publishing and photography/
video that I was called away from when
my dad and mother became ill.”
Julie Morgan continued to publish
the Weleetkan through Thanksgiving.
“I’m disappointed and deeply sorry
we could not make this work,” she said.
New owner at Bristow News & Record Citizen
The Bristow News & Record Citizen
is under new ownership. Brett Wesner
recently purchased the two publications from Carolyn Ashford.
Wesner also owns the Cordell Beacon, Hinton Record, Walters Herald
and Watonga Republican.
Wesner has hired J.D. Meisner as
managing editor. Meisner was a reporter at the Lincoln County News in Chandler, Okla., from 2009-2011. In the ’90s,
he served as managing editor at the
Cibola Beacon in Grant, N.M., for about
10 years.
“Community journalism is what I’m
all about,” said Meisner. “The community supports the paper and the paper
supports the community. It’s a wonderful community to come into. I’m real
excited about it.”
Meisner, who has been at the Bristow newspapers since mid-December,
said no major changes to coverage are
planned.
“We just want to maintain a good
community newspaper so everybody
can read about themselves,” he said.
Nominations for ONF Beachy Musselman Award,
OPA Half & Quarter Century Club due by Feb. 25
Most Oklahoma journalists know
a colleague who never fails to amaze
them, an editor who pushes every staffer to higher achievements, or a publisher whose courage and news sense
makes every issue of their newspaper
stand out.
The Beachy Musselman Award,
presented annually by the Oklahoma
Newspaper Foundation, recognizes
people like that.
One journalist each year wins for
his or her contribution to the field of
print journalism or its related field. The
recipient receives a plaque and $1,000,
which is presented at the OPA Convention in June.
Any professional journalist is eligible. Nominations, which may be made
by anyone, must include biographical information showing work in the
newspaper industry or related field
and reasons you believe the person is
deserving of the award.
Send nominations to mthomas@
okpress.com or mail the information to
the Oklahoma Newspaper Foundation,
c/o Oklahoma Press Association, 3601
N. Lincoln Blvd., Oklahoma City, OK
73105-5499 or fax to (405) 499-0048.
Beachy Musselman nominations are
due February 25.
February 25 also is the deadline for
nominations in the OPA Half and Quarter Century Clubs.
To be eligible for membership in
the Half Century Club, nominees must
have completed any 20 years of their
50 years of newspaper experience at an
OPA-member newspaper.
To be eligible for induction into the
Quarter Century Club, nominees must
have completed at least 10 years of
their 25 years of newspaper experience
at an OPA-member newspaper.
A nomination form for either the
Half Century or Quarter Century Club
is available on the OPA website at www.
okpress.com/century-clubs.
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
Jeff Shultz, President
The Garvin County News Star
Jeff Mayo, Vice President
Sequoyah County Times
Gracie Montgomery, Treasurer
The Purcell Register
Mark Thomas,
Executive Vice President,
Oklahoma City
OPA DIRECTORS
Rusty Ferguson, Past President
The Cleveland American
Jeff Funk, Enid News & Eagle
Robby Trammell, The Oklahoman
Dayva Spitzer, Sayre Record &
Beckham County Democrat
Brian Blansett, Shawnee News-Star
Mike Brown, Neighbor News
Ted Streuli, The Journal Record
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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3
4
Lack of funding precipitates closure of publishing museum
The historic State Capital Publishing
Museum in Guthrie has closed indefinitely due to inability to find funding to
replace a broken boiler.
The building is owned by the Oklahoma Historical Society and was operated by the Logan County Historical
Society. Neither organization had the
$150,000 in their budgets to purchase
a new boiler.
The building in downtown Guthrie
was built in 1902 by the State Capital Company, a printing company that
eventually grew to become one of the
largest printing operations in the southwest.
It was one of the first buildings in
Oklahoma to be listed on the National
Register of Historic Places.
The museum houses a large collection of printing machinery as well
as related artifacts including numerous type cases. The collection includes
one of the largest exhibits of Linotype
machines and typewriters in the state
of Oklahoma.
Over the last four years the Oklahoma Historical Society saw its budget slashed by 28 percent, which has
affected museum sites, the Oklahoma
History Center and more.
With a broken boiler, the building
would not be able to heat its exhibition
spaces. The building has had cooling
problems as well – in the summer
the museum closed whenever the temperature in the building reached 90
degrees.
“There’s so much potential in that
building for so many things to happen there for our community,” said
Mary Coffin, president and CEO of the
Guthrie Chamber of Commerce. “I just
don’t want to give up on it and I think
everybody else is the same way. We’ve
got a little snag. Let’s see what we can
do to get past this and get it back open
again.”
With no funds to purchase a new boiler to heat the building, the State Capital
Publishing Museum in Guthrie has closed its doors to the public.
UCO professor author of book
to assist beginning journalists
■ BY TERRY M. CLARK
A new book designed for beginning
journalists has just been published in
Oklahoma, and I think it’d be the ideal
guide for small newspapers hiring local
talent, and for other newsrooms breaking in new staffers.
“A Journalist’s Primer,” by my University of Central Oklahoma colleague
Dr. Mark Hanebutt, is his answer to
what he considers the standard bloated, impractical and overpriced reporting textbooks. It’s a small book, less
than 250 pages, about the dimensions
of the AP Stylebook, in paperback. It’s
designed for beginning reporting students, but a quick reference guide too.
Hanebutt, a former reporter for the
Orlando Sentinel, has been teaching
reporting at UCO in Edmond for more
than 20 years.
There are 15 short chapters, and
shortest is the first, only six pages,
about the importance of the press in a
Democratic Society. Second is on press
ethics, focusing on credibility.
Here are the others: What is news?
What is a reporter? Newsgathering.
Interviewing. Writing news for print.
Writing news for broadcast. Writing
news for the web. Photographing the
news. Feature writing. Writing the
depth/investigative story. Writing editorials, columns and reviews. Editing.
Media law (Hanebutt is also a lawyer).
Many chapters have exercises, or
practical tips attached. Appendices
include the SPJ code of ethics, and copy
editing symbols.
About the only chapter that is suspect is on feature writing, written by
some geezer named Clark. Others who
helped Hanebutt in specific chapters
were Dick Pryor of OETA, and UCO
profs Bill Hickman, David Nelson and
Mark Zimmerman.
The book costs $60 and is available
at amazon.com.
For more information, contact
Hanebutt by email at mhanebutt@uco.
edu.
5
Gov. Fallin provides examples of transparency
In response to criticism from FOI
Oklahoma Inc. and media around the
state, Gov. Mary Fallin’s office released
130 pages of documents to the Tulsa
World showing dozens of ways that
state agencies are providing information to the public.
Fallin solicited examples of government transparency from her cabinet
members after she received a barrage
of criticism for her “executive privilege” claim on documents relating to
her decision to flip-flop on a state health
care exchange.
Fallin’s general counsel, Steve Mullins, has said the governor has executive privilege under state and federal
law to withhold documents related to
“internal deliberations” between the
governor and her advisers.
After facing criticism, Fallin solicited
examples of transparency from her 14
cabinet members.
“While some of these documents
may be covered by executive privilege
or deliberative privilege, the governor
has waived those privileges and chosen
to share them with the Tulsa World,”
said Fallin’s spokesman, Alex Weintz.
The records shared with the World
include dozens of examples of ways
state agencies are making information
available to the public. These include an
increasing amount of data and records
placed on websites like data.ok.gov and
OpenBooks.
In an open letter to Fallin in Decem-
Kingfisher Times & Free Press publisher retires
Gary Reid, longtime publisher of
the Kingfisher Times & Free Press, is
retiring.
On Dec. 27, 2012, Reid sold his stock
in the newspaper to his son, Barry.
Barry has served as an advertising
salesman for the paper as well as copublisher since he graduated from the
University of Oklahoma in 1983.
Gary started in the newspaper busi-
ness in 1958 as a reporter at the Pauls
Valley Daily Democrat.
For the last 33 years, he has published the Kingfisher Times & Free
Press.
“We ask that you show the new publisher of the Times & Free Press the
same consideration you have us,” said
Gary. “We believe a home-owned, independent newspaper is the best kind,
and one that is getting in short supply.
We are pleased to pass on a locallyowned newspaper to an individual you
already know and trust. The Times &
Free Press is in good hands.”
Although Gary will no longer be
publisher of the Times & Free Press,
he said from time to time he may help
out at the newspaper – “I just won’t be
on the payroll.”
Tulsa business publication changes its name in January
On Jan. 2, 2013, the Tulsa Daily Commerce & Legal News officially became
the Tulsa Business & Legal News.
The five-day newspaper will continue
to provide readers and advertisers with
current news.
In addition to the name change, the
daily newspaper has added three members to its staff.
Susan Kay Watkins has joined the
newspaper as an event coordinator.
She spent several months with the
paper as a temp before being hired
fulltime. Watkins moved to Oklahoma
from Georgia in 2005. Her previous job
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NATIONAL EDIA
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www.nationalmediasales.com
was as an administrative assistant at the
NORDAM Group.
Megan Sando joined the paper as an
editorial assistant. She lives in Tulsa
and recently graduated from Oklahoma
State University with a degree in journalism.
Danny Cork is working in the
paper’s sales department. He previously worked for Augusta Medical Systems as a device representative. He is a
graduate of the University of Oklahoma
and worked as a strength and conditioning coach there from 2003 to 2004.
ber, FOI Oklahoma Inc. lambasted the
governor’s privilege claims.
“Your office has claimed at least
three times recently that executive
branch privileges allow you to hide
records from public view,” said the letter from Lindel Hutson, president of
FOI Oklahoma Inc. “This is disappointing because conducting government in
secrecy defies the state’s Open Records
Act and frustrates the ability of citizens
to understand basic functions of state
government.”
Longtime Frederick
employee retires
Barbara Tucker, a longtime
employee of the Frederick Daily
Leader and later the Frederick
Press-Leader, recently retired.
Her official title at the newspaper
was “business manager,” but she
did a lot more than that, said Ray
Wallace, editor and general manager of the Press-Leader.
Citizens of Frederick recognized
her by naming her the Most Useful
Citizen in 1996.
“She taught me more about
Frederick, and the people who live
here, in the short time I was at the
paper than I have learned in the
remaining 13 years,” said Wallace.
“When I moved on to The Press,
she remained a true professional in
all our encounters, and I am proud
to say, she remained a true friend.”
A come-and-go reception was
held at the newspaper office on
Dec. 21 to honor Tucker.
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6
PLAYER PROFILE
STEVE COULTER, Co-Publisher, Co-Owner,
MUSTANG TIMES, THE TUTTLE TIMES,
MINCO-UNION CITY TIMES, CHOCTAW TIMES
Name:
EDUCATION: BA Advertising, University of Central Oklahoma
Each month, The Publisher will profile a newspaper executive in this space. Learn more about your peers from all
corners of the state. To request the questionnaire for your Player Profile, email [email protected].
Q:
What’s something most people don’t
know about you?
Q:
Who’s had the biggest influence on your
career?
A:
I DJ weekends on Oklahoma City’s
Magic 104.1 KMGL. You can catch me
on the air every Saturday afternoon. I
have been DJ at the radio station for
over 15 years.
A:
The late Randel Grigsby, who was the
former owner of the Mustang News
and Yukon Review. He taught me all
about the newspaper business. I tried
to leave once, but Randel wouldn’t let
me. He took me down to the MercedesBenz dealership and bought me a new
company car to stay at the paper. It
worked. I have so many great stories,
if you knew Randel Grigsby, then you
know what I am talking about… never a
dull moment.
Q:
A:
Q:
A:
What’s the best/most unusual part of
your job?
The best part of my job is seeing my
paper roll off the press. I love picking up
a new paper hot off the press. I’m like a
kid in a candy store, I can’t wait to grab
a copy and see our finished product. It
makes me feel so good to see all our
hard work come together.
What civic activities are you involved in?
My newspapers are involved in the local
chambers of commerce.
Looking for a Complete
Q:
A:
Sell ads, sell ads, and sell more ads.
Advertising is my background, and that
is what I do best.
?
for Print and Online Special Sections
Metro Creative Graphics, Inc.
1.800.223.1600
www.metrocreativeconnection.com
What about newspaper publishing gets
you out of bed in the morning? What
makes you want to stay in bed?
Q:
How does your newspaper play an
important part in the community?
A:
I think it gets in your blood. I really enjoy
going to work. I love to help put out a
great-looking newspaper. The only thing
that keeps me in bed is the occasional
stomach flu. If I am not at work, my staff
knows I am really sick.
A:
We strive to be the number one source
for local news and sports coverage in
our newspapers’ respective areas. We
are where readers can go to find out
everything they would ever need or want
to know about their communities, from
obituaries to who scored the winning
touchdown.
Q:
What’s the biggest obstacle you’ve
overcome in your career?
Q:
A:
Thankfully nothing too big, just a few
little bumps here and there.
What type of annual events is your
newspaper involved in?
A:
We hold an annual food drive to help out
the local food bank.
Q:
A:
What are you most proud of?
Q:
In what ways has the newspaper
positively impacted your community?
A:
We are like the cheerleader for our
communities. We publish progress
editions and festival guides in each of
our newpapers’ areas to bring positive
energy and publicity to those towns.
Nobody cares more about our towns
than us!
Q:
What challenges are facing your
newspaper today and in the future?
A:
Finding qualified applicants when a
position becomes available. More
college graduates are straying from
the newspaper industry, and we as an
industry need to find ways to attract the
talent back to our ranks.
Q:
What are some area attractions in your
community visitors shouldn’t miss?
A:
We have some great events! Choctaw’s
Oktoberfest, one of the state’s largest…
Mustang Western Days… The Tuttle Ice
Cream Festival (Tuttle is the home of the
Braum’s Dairy Plant)… and the Minco
Honey Festival.
What would you describe as the three
most important responsibilities of your
job?
Combination Solution
+
Q:
Now you can get
fully-templated, full-color
print special sections &
companion, ready-topost online MicroSite
sections from Metro
Editorial Services!
View samples and get
more information from
metrocreativeconnection.com,
call Metro Client Services
at 1-800-223-1600,
or send an e-mail to
[email protected]
Starting the Mustang Times from scratch
and making it a success. We started
the Times on April Fool’s Day, and
luckily, our little project, The Mustang
Times, has turned into one of the best
newspapers we could have ever hoped
to publish. We have since grown into
a chain of four very strong community
newspapers in the Oklahoma City metro
area.
Q:
A:
What are your hobbies?
Q:
Does your newspaper have a website?
How do you differentiate between the
two products?
A:
Yes www.mustangpaper.com … we use
our website and Facebook for breaking
news coverage. We use those platforms
to give our readers enough information
(teasers) that they will definitely not want
to miss the next printed edition for full
in-depth coverage.
I like to play Texas Hold ’Em… I’ve
always been an “all-in” type of guy with a
great poker face.
Time is running out to enter the OPA Better Newspaper Contest…
Entries must be postmarked by
MON., FEB. 4, 2013
7
DEATHS
BRIAN BARBER, Tulsa World City Hall reporter, died
Jan. 9, 2013. He was 39.
Barber had struggled with heart failure and complications caused by anti-rejection drugs related to
two heart transplants. His first heart transplant was in
2000 and the second in 2005.
“Brian Barber was such an inspiration to us. We are
saddened and stunned by his death,” said Joe Worley,
Tulsa World executive editor.
“Despite his obvious health challenges, Brian
never took shortcuts. He loved his City Hall beat. He
knew city government thoroughly and was competitive to always do his best work. He did not shy away
from confronting editors if he thought he was the best
reporter to work a particular story,” said Worley.
Barber joined the Tulsa World as a night police
reporter in December 1996. He later worked as a
general assignment reporter before moving to the
City Hall beat in 2004.
His writing style was simple and direct. Accuracy,
clarity and fairness were his hallmarks as a reporter.
Before joining the World, Barber worked as a state
reporter at the Des Moines Register/Waterloo-Cedar
Falls Courier.
A graduate of Tulsa’s Memorial High School,
Barber received an Al Neuharth scholarship and
attended the University of South Dakota, where he
obtained a bachelor’s degree.
He was the recipient of many journalism awards.
He and three World colleagues were honored in 2008
with the Associated Press/Oklahoma News Executives sweepstakes trophy for their coverage of the
December 2007 ice storm.
Barber was always grateful for the gift of life made
possible by organ donation.
“I wish that everyone who can would become an
organ donor,” he said in a 2002 World profile. “There
are so many people that need transplants.”
Barber is survived by his parents, Larry and Janice
Barber of Bixby; a sister, Monica Barber of Edmond;
and a grandmother, Wanda DuFour of Tulsa.
SANDY CASE, longtime production manager at Okla-
walking out the door at 5 on Tuesday, said Jan Locklear, assistant general manager at Friday. “They knew
Sandy would get the paper to press, at first by car,
more recently via Internet.”
In August or September, Case wrote a story about
her life that was published after her death. The column reflected on a cherished dog, who had been
diagnosed with a large tumor.
As Case laid in bed wondering how she would deal
with the death of her best friend, she heard a clear
voice. “Live in the Now. Enjoy me while I am here,
and I’ll let you know when it is time for me to go.”
Case embraced those words and lived the rest of her
her life by them.
A small ‘work family’ memorial was held for Chase
at the Friday office.
KAREN LEE GREEN, longtime news and feature writer
able to tell stories of the people in her community.
When she moved into the news editing position, she
designed numerous award-winning pages. She was
adept at coordinating breaking news events, including
the Murrah Building bombing in 1995.
She received many awards for writing and design
from the Associated Press/Oklahoma News Editors
Association and the Oklahoma Society of Professional
Journalists.
Green is survived by her son, Nicholas Green
and his wife Courtney of Meeker; special son Chad
McClain and his wife Fallon of Shawnee; sister Billie
Shaw of Yukon; brother Murray Bohannon of Santa
Rosa, Calif.; four grandchildren; and many nieces and
nephews.
VICKIE HOGAN,
“I didn’t know if I wanted to own and operate a
newspaper – but I did know that I didn’t want the
newspaper to disappear.
“I wanted there to continue to be place where
every person was important enough to be in a headline. A place proud parents could read about their
children’s accomplishments, clipping out the stories
to be memorialized in scrapbooks.
“A place where the town’s citizens were kept
abreast of our local teams, able to cheer them on
when they read of their successes, and able to give
them encouraging words when they read of their
losses.”
Vickie married Matthew Hogan Jr. on April 1, 1979
in Annapolis, Maryland.
She was born April 1, 1951, in Watertown, New
York, to James Ralph and Delores Marie Campbell.
Hogan is survived by her husband, Matthew, of
the home; two sons, Bob Hogan and his wife Suzanne
of Rockville, Md., and Demond Hogan and his wife
Jessi of Cameron, N.C.; one daughter, Kimmi Hogan
of Enid; her mother, Delores Campbell of Garber; one
brother, Jim Campbell of Garber; two sisters, Patti
Robinson of Franklin, Wisc., and Debbie Foxwell of
Dallas, Texas, and five grandchildren.
homa City Friday, died Dec. 30, 2012, after a 13-month
battle with cancer. She was 61.
Case, who had worked at OKC Friday for 35 years,
worked right up to two weeks before she passed away.
She was born on Jan. 22, 1950.
J. Leland and Vicki Clark Gourley, owners and
publishers of Friday, said they never worried about
and editor for the Shawnee News-Star, died Dec. 25,
2012, in Shawnee. She was 63.
Green was born June 7, 1949, in Fresno, Calif. She
graduated from Shawnee High School and earned
a degree in journalism from the University of Oklahoma in 1983.
As lifestyles editor at the News-Star, Green was
publisher of the Garber-Billings
News, died Dec. 25, 2012. She was 61.
Hogan was the owner/operator of the GarberBillings News for more than 20 years. She enjoyed
supporting the local schools, kids and her community
but most of all she enjoyed spending time with her
children, grandchildren, family and friends.
Vickie’s health had been declining for several
weeks and she had made a tough decision to close the
newspaper. In her final column in the Garber-Billings
News, she told her subscribers why she went into the
newspaper business 22 years ago:
In memory of our Friends and Colleagues
Jan. 1, 2012 – Roberta Jean Parker
Jan. 6, 2012 – Verner John Salamone
Jan. 6, 2012 – Betty Watson
Feb. 19, 2011 – Jim Sellars
Feb. 2, 2012 – William ‘Bill’ C. Morgan
Feb. 16, 2012 – Anthony Shadid
Feb. 20, 2012 – Dorothy Lorraine Irwin Patterson
8
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Photo by J.B. BITTNER, Elk City Daily News, Nov. 11, 2012
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NOVEMBER 2012 DAILY WINNER:
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The November 2012 contest was judged by a member of the Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame.
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Northwest firefighters and OTEMS medics struggle to move Damen Brewer up a
steep, rocky cliff on Oologah Lake. Brewer swam to shore after a small fishing boat
he was in with two other relatives capsized in high winds. One member of the
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Photo by CHRIS EDENS, Oologah Lake Leader, Nov. 12, 2012
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★ PONCA CITY
★ALVA
★ENID
★
★
★
NOWATA VINITA
★TULSA
MOORELAND
★CLINTON
★WEATHERFORD
★EL RENO
★ELK CITY
The list below shows the
printing facility in bold followed
by the newspapers it prints.
★ANADARKO
★ALTUS
★LAWTON
★OKLAHOMA CITY
★EDMOND
★NORMAN ★
SHAWNEE
★SAPULPA
★
OKMULGEE
★MUSKOGEE
★SALLISAW
★STIGLER
★SEMINOLE
The Oklahoma Press
Association recently updated its
list of where OPA business member
newspapers are being printed.
The map at right shows
the location of cities where
newspapers print.
★BARTLESVILLE
WHERE OPA MEMBER PAPERS PRINT
★POTEAU
★LINDSAY
★ARDMORE
★IDABEL
★DURANT
January 2013
ALTUS TIMES
The Frederick Press-Leader
ALVA REVIEW-COURIER
ANADARKO
DAILY NEWS
The Cyril News
The Fletcher Herald
ARDMORE ARDMOREITE
The Davis News
The Healdton Herald
The Lone Grove Ledger
The Madill Record
Marietta Monitor
The Ringling Eagle
Sulphur Times-Democrat
The Wilson Post-Democrat
EL RENO TRIBUNE
Chickasha Leader
Garber-Billings News
The Hennessey Clipper
The Kingfisher Times &
Free Press
Mustang News
The Newcastle Pacer
ELK CITY
DAILY NEWS
The Cheyenne Star
ENID NEWS & EAGLE
The Pawnee Chief
Perry Daily Journal
Stillwater NewsPress
Woodward News
BARTLESVILLE
EXAMINER-ENTERPRISE
(IDABEL) MCCURTAIN
COUNTY GAZETTE
CLINTON
DAILY NEWS
THE LAWTON
CONSTITUTION
LINDSAY
WEB PRESS
Pawhuska Journal-Capital
The Carnegie Herald
The Cordell Beacon
The (Eakly) Country
Connection News
The Daily Elk Citian
The Hinton Record
The Hobart Democrat-Chief
Kiowa County Democrat
Mountain View News
The Sayre Record &
Beckham County
Democrat
The Sentinel Leader
The Thomas Tribune
Watonga Republican
DURANT DEMOCRAT
Atoka County Times
Johnston County
Capital-Democrat
EDMOND SUN
The Duncan Banner
The Okarche Chieftain
The Piedmont-Surrey
Gazette
Waurika News-Democrat
Woods County Enterprise
Broken Bow News
The Apache News
The Blanchard News
The Comanche Times
The Comanche County
Chronicle
The Garvin County
News Star
The Lindsay News
The Logan County Courier
The Marlow Review
(OKC) Capitol Hill Beacon
The (OKC) City Sentinel
The Purcell Register
The Rush Springs Gazette
The Walters Herald
The Wynnewood Gazette
THE MOORELAND
LEADER
The Canton Times
Cherokee Messenger &
Republican
The Dewey County Record
The Ellis County Capital
The Freedom Call
The Gage Record
The Okeene Record
THE MOORELAND
LEADER (cont’d)
(Shattuck) Northwest
Oklahoman &
Ellis County News
Taloga Times-Advocate
The Vici Vision
MUSKOGEE PHOENIX
The (Barnsdall) Bigheart
Times
The Chelsea Reporter
Claremore Daily Progress
Fort Gibson Times
Inola Independent
McAlester News-Capital
Muskogee Phoenix
Oologah Lake Leader
The (Pryor) Paper
The (Pryor) Times
Stilwell Democrat Journal
Tahlequah Daily Press
Tulsa Beacon
The Westville Reporter
(Westville) Weekly Express
THE NORMAN
TRANSCRIPT
The Ada News
The (Chickasha)
Express-Star
Choctaw Times
Minco-Union City Times
Mustang Times
Pauls Valley Democrat
The Tuttle Times
NOWATA PRINTING
Collinsville News
Coweta American
Owasso Reporter
Sand Springs Leader
Skiatook Journal
(Tulsa) South County Leader
Wagoner Tribune
THE (OKC) JOURNAL
RECORD
OKMULGEE DAILY TIMES
Henryetta Free-Lance
PONCA CITY NEWS
The (Shidler) Review
The Tonkawa News
POTEAU DAILY NEWS
The Antlers American
SAPULPA HERALD
Bristow News &
Record-Citizen
The Cleveland American
Drumright Gusher
The Fairfax Chief
The Haskell News
Holdenville News
The Hominy News-Progress
Morris News
Sapulpa Daily Herald
Tulsa Business &
Legal News
The Oklahoma Eagle (Tulsa)
The (Yale) Phoenix
SEMINOLE PRODUCER
The Konawa Leader
The Wewoka Times
SEQUOYAH COUNTY
TIMES
The Eufaula Indian Journal
McIntosh County Democrat
(Roland) Eastern
Times Register
Vian Tenkiller News
SHAWNEE NEWS-STAR
The Allen Advocate
Coalgate Record-Register
The Countywide & Sun
Holdenville Tribune
The Hughes County Times
The Meeker News
Okemah News Leader
The Prague Times-Herald
The (Shawnee) County
Democrat
Stroud American
STIGLER NEWSSENTINEL
Clayton Today
Latimer County
News-Tribune
Latimer County Today
Spiro Graphic
Stigler News-Sentinel
Talihina American
SUBURBAN GRAPHICS
(OKC)
Blackwell Journal-Tribune
Cushing Citizen
Guthrie News Leader
The Lincoln County News
Oklahoma City Friday
The (OKC) Black Chronicle
Yukon Review
THE OKLAHOMAN
The Perkins Journal
TULSA WORLD
VINITA DAILY JOURNAL
The (Afton) American
Nowata Star
WEATHERFORD
DAILY NEWS
The (Bethany) Tribune
The Geary Star
OUT-OF-STATE
ARKANSAS CITY, KS
The Newkirk Herald Journal
BOWIE, TX
The (Lawton) County Times
The Ryan Leader
CIMARRON, KS
Harper County Journal
Laverne Leader-Tribune
LIBERAL, KS
The (Beaver)
Herald-Democrat
The Hooker Advance
Guymon Daily Herald
PARIS, TX
Choctaw County Times
Hugo Daily News
(Idabel) Southeast Times
PITTSBURG, KS
The Grove Sun
The Delaware County
Journal
The Miami News-Record
SHAMROCK, TX
The Boise City News
Mangum Star-News
VAN BUREN, AR
Heavener Ledger
WICHITA FALLS, TX
Hollis News
DONATE $500
TO ONF and
RECEIVE THIS
FRAMED PRINT
By making a donation of $500 or
more to the Oklahoma Newspaper
Foundation, you will receive your
own matted and framed print of Will
Rogers as shown above with ONF
President Steve Booher. (Donations
of $100 to $499 will receive an
unframed print.)
The 16”x20” “All I know is what I read
in the papers” portrait of Will Rogers
by artist Charles Banks Wilson is
printed on 20x24 archival-matte paper.
The portrait was purchased in
July 1962 by the Oklahoma Press
Association to showcase in the lobby
of its new building.
Now you can display “All I Know
is What I Read in the Papers” in
your office or home while proudly
recognizing your contribution to
journalism education and the
Oklahoma Newspaper Foundation.
To place your order,
download the order form at
www.okpress.com/will-rogers.
Send completed order form
along with your donation to:
OKLAHOMA NEWSPAPER
FOUNDATION
Oklahoma City, OK 73105-5499
(405) 499-0020
9
10
NEWS FROM THE DIGITAL REALM
Clark’s Critique
by Terry Clark
Journalism Professor,
University of Central Oklahoma,
[email protected]
Here are some random pixels of
digital thoughts and information for the
New Year.
Several recent events about media
along with more explosions of information put newspapers and journalism on
the front page.
As much as I like to sit down with a
print newspaper – and spend my time
thumbing through it, spending time on
what I want – I’m increasingly dependent on digital technology, even though
scrolling through a website is not really
fun nor attention grabbing. I may spend
more time online, but I spend less time
on site.
This column is now a product of
digital. Without OPEN and the ability
to reproduce pages, email and providing links, it would simply not exist. Still
it’s interesting to me that one of the
most read sites on the Internet is the
Newseum’s daily front pages…people
still want to see print.
http://www.newseum.org/
todaysfrontpages/default.asp
Then 60 Minutes did a piece on
Newhouse newspapers depriving New
Orleans of a daily newspaper. Rejecting
a local bid to buy, the company gutted
the paper, turned it to three days a
week and said digital was the savior –
in a city with more than 30 percent not
online. I’d call it death by greed.
Evidence of that can be seen in two
places – Orange County, Calif., and
Omaha, Neb. Warren Buffett bought
the World Herald in Omaha and is keeping it as a daily, because he cares about
the community, and you can bet he’s
still making money.
Then the Orange County Register was
bought, and the new owners are pouring money into the paper. Apparently
the owners know that content sells,
and cutting kills. They’ve found digital
advertising stagnant and print advertising rising.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/01/
orange-county-register-aaronkushner_n_2392999.html
Against this news, I learned that
The new year brings in big news ranging
from shootings at schools to the drought.
Featured this month are front pages of the
Woodward News, Pauls Valley Democrat,
The Healdton Herald, Coweta American
and Sulphur Times-Democrat.
two universities are cutting or changing traditional “journalism” programs.
Emory and the real big dog, Indiana
University.
www.poynter.org/latest-news/
mediawire/188743/emory-university-plansto-close-its-journalism-program
www.poynter.org/latest-news/mediawire/199844/indiana-university-may-combine-journalism-communications-studies
I’ll let you mull what this means. I
don’t know.
On the advice of pros in this state,
I’ve just taught a class, Twitter for Journalists. I can see you rolling your eyes.
Speakers included Mike Sherman of
The Oklahoman and Dave Rhea of The
Journal Record. Much more about what
I learned in that class of 24 senior students in the future. But all the speakers
kept emphasizing it’s about content and
storytelling. Hmmmm.
A final digital note, promoting print.
Have fun and check out this YouTube
video, “Six things you can miss while
reading a newspaper”:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e512_
OxFWyM&feature=youtu.be
LOOKIN’EM OVER.
The new year is
brash with big news that affects every
reader of every paper – guns, schools
and drought.
In the wake of the Connecticut
school massacre, parents and children
and taxpayers need to know what’s happening in your schools.
Chris Cooper at the Woodward News
covered an intruder’s drill. Cherokee
Messenger & Republican reported that
security was not a priority when schools
were built. Matt Montgomery at The
Piedmont Surrey Gazette interviewed
Continued on Page 11
Clark’s Critique Continued from Page 10
the superintendent about school safety. The Kingfisher Times & Free Press
covered the local focus on safety. Ryan
Horton of the Choctaw Times reported
on school security. Jerry Fink at The
Eufaula Indian Journal reported on
a text message causing a lockdown
in local schools. Mike West at the
Sulphur Times-Democrat covered the
impact on school safety.
The shootings also spurred record
gun sales of people afraid of changes
in gun control.
Tulsa World’s Kelly Bostian reported on heavy sales at a gun show, complete with Matt Barnard’s photo of a
lady buying an assault rifle.
Jerry Fink of the McIntosh County
Democrat wrote about the local run on
assault rifles. Here’s his lead: “By the
time you read this you won’t be able to
buy an AR-15, semi-automatic assault
rifle at Richy’s Pawn in Checotah. “
The drought may be the biggest
story of last year and perhaps this,
judging from the coverage. The Healdton Herald carried the map and report
from the Oklahoma climatologist.
Lawton Constitution carried stories
by Josh Rouse and Kim McConnell.
Headlines, “Forecast: continued dry.”
“Dry as dust.” Joy Hampton’s story in
The Norman Transcript about the city
water supply, headlined “Water worries.” Phyllis Zorn at the Enid News
& Eagle reported it’s the worst on
record, with a dramatic Billy Hefton
photo of local agricultural irrigation.
Local weather prompted The Daily
Elk Citian to gather survivors of the
Dust Bowl for Mary Loveland’s interview, headlined “Black as black can
be.” Here’s her lead: “One week ago,
a red haze filled the skies around Elk
City. Heavy winds from the west had
brought a cloud of red dirt from the
Texas panhandle. / “But, it was just a
haze. For five men and women in Elk
City….”
Other things you can report on this
year. Jeff Harrison at The Tuttle Times,
reports on the legal medicine people
can buy at drug stores as substitute
drugs, “synthetic drugs.” Headline,
“Dangerous High.”
Jeanne LeFlore at the McAlester
News-Capital writes about the new
year at the court house, “It’s tax time.”
Conrad Dudderar at the Yukon Review
writes about the city’s efforts to control feral cats. Zane Thomas at the
Coweta American outlines the county’s
proposed roadwork for the new year.
How about health issues statewide?
“Culture of Tobacco” in the Enid News
& Eagle, focuses on addiction. Here’s
Robert Barron’s lead: “The cigarette
goes between your lips. You hold
the flame close, cupping your hands
against the breeze. As you draw on the
cigarette, you feel the smoke going
deep into your lungs, relaxing your
nerves and calming your body. / “That
simple act can create an addiction
to….” Also at Enid, Phyllis Zorn interviews a diabetes amputee. Headline,
“Check your blood sugar.”
New years bring retirements
among county workers. Oklahoma’s
hardworking county clerks are influential and often overlooked. Here’s
Louise Red Corn’s lead in The Bigheart Times, under “She leaves some
mighty big shoes”: “For almost 10
years, Denny Hutson has only had to
roll her eyes slightly over her glasses
to keep the three Osage County Commissioners in line.”
Know a crop duster? Brian Brus of
The Journal Record wrote about the
seasonal “down time” for crop dusters.
“Nothing like it on the ground.”
There’s nothing like good writing
to start the year. Here’s the lead of
Sharon Chadwick of The Davis News,
writing about decorative tiles in a
drug store: “The next time you perch
on one of the stools at the City Drug
soda fountain take a look at what your
knees are touching. / “My search into
the ceramic tiles on the drug store
counter started….”
If you’re looking for ideas for next
year, right at Christmas time, Bill
Sherman of the Tulsa World reported
on increased belief in miracles, interviewing pastors. End of year wrap-up
ideas? The Purcell Register ran a page
full of reduced images of top 2012
front pages.
HEAD’EM UP AWARDS: First place,
Tulsa World, above Matt Barnard’s
photo of a gun show,
Triggering the frenzy
Second place, Cherokee Messenger
& Republican, on a Steve Booher story
about record sales tax income thanks
to the energy boom,
Our cup runneth over.
Third place, tie, Muskogee Phoenix,
for just getting the word “scofflaw” in
the head over a Dylan Goforth story
on the arrest of someone skipping out
on $100,000 of child support,
Alleged child support scofflaw arrested
and Miami News-Record on Melinda
Stott’s story about a café and owner
quitting after 18 years,
Ellen Roberts is
hanging up her spatula.
Honorable mentions, others than
those mentioned earlier: The Daily Elk
Citian on Dale Denwalt’s story about
a small business using the internet,
“Small biz, high tech”; Tulsa World
on a Kyle Arnold story about slack
holiday business, “Some retailers get
lump of coal”; Lawton Constitution,
on the AP story about the fiscal cliff,
“House divided.”
Looking for a Complete
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
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
?
for Print and Online Special Sections
+
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
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11
Now you can get
fully-templated, full-color
print special sections &
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sections from Metro
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View samples and get
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call Metro Client Services
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or send an e-mail to
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12
Some news isn’t fit to print in the paper
Learn how
to create
That InterWeb
Thing
designer ads
by Keith Burgin
[email protected]
Getting advertisers to choose
your newspaper and website is only
the first part of the job. The hard
part is working with your client to
build the best ad for their business.
The “Create Designer Ads” workshop focuses on producing highquality copy writing and design. The
Oklahoma Newspaper Foundation
workshop will be held Thursday,
Jan. 31, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the
Reed Center in Midwest City near
the Sheraton Hotel.
Good account managers know
how to help clients tell their story
in print and digital format through
innovative copy and creative design.
This workshop will cover all these
aspects of ad creation through examples of good ad design and copy writing, role play and class participation.
You’ll learn to research customers,
create spec ads that close sales and
work in print and online.
Workshop presenter Carol Richer
Gammell started Sales Training Plus
in Tulsa, Okla., after being associate
publisher for MacDonald Classified
Services for 16 years.
She also teaches newspaper
advertising at Tulsa Community
College. In 2000, the Newspaper
Association of America gave her the
McGovern Award for her service to
the classified industry.
Richer Gammell’s workshops
emphasize building relationships
with newspaper clients and helping
them get the most for their advertising budget.
Registration is $35. To register
online, go to www.OkPress.com/
events-calendar or print a PDF of the
registration form to mail to the Oklahoma Press Association at 3601 N.
Lincoln Boulevard, Oklahoma City,
OK 73105. Fax registrations to (405)
499-0048.
For more information, contact
Eli Nichols, OPA Member Services
Coordinator, at enichols@okpress.
com or call (405) 499-0040 or 1-888815-2672 (toll-free in Oklahoma.)
“Because a person can do a thing,
does not mean he should.”
This phrase is a common old tool
used by folks to shape decisions every
day. In one form or another, editors
and journalists have used it for centuries to determine what goes into print
and what doesn’t. Responsibility works
pretty well.
“Hold my beer. Watch this.”
That’s the rallying cry of the Internet
and it seems with it, the “new media.”
In the minutes and hours after the
December massacre at the Sandy Hook
elementary school in Connecticut, bad
information was passed back and forth
by 24-hour cable, Facebook, Twitter,
website, blog, talk radio and more.
Outrageous information spread like
head lice at a Grateful Dead concert,
fueled in large part by the Internet.
Social media trolls created faux Twitter
accounts presenting themselves as witnesses or victims and the new media
swallowed much of it without chewing.
Everyone got the story wrong, not
once but many times. And pundits
declared this the new normal.
This is not the first time this has
happened and it won’t be the last. The
Internet makes it far too easy to leap
before thinking.
Days later, a New York newspaper
posted an online map of 33,000 residents in two counties who had permits
to own a gun – including names and
addresses. It was public information;
the paper said it was posted as a service
to its readers.
Would it have run 33,000 names and
address in newsprint? Probably not.
The Internet and social media are
powerful and necessary tools for communicating, connecting, imparting
urgent information and more. It’s also
the launching pad for Jackass and the
vehicle that made Gangnam Style a
worldwide phenomenon.
Just be careful. Make sure everything you touch passes the smell test.
And I suggest before you do something the Internet makes really easy,
you ask yourself whether you’d do it if
the Internet didn’t exist.
A lot of it is common sense – but
there seems to be a dearth of that
online.
Here, hold my beer.
Non-profits may be subject to records act
Legal Notes
by Michael Minnis
OPA Attorney
A recent decision by a Tennessee
court may give hope to those seeking
access to documents from the Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association (OSSAA) and similar groups.
The OSSAA constitution specifically
states that its meetings are governed
by the Open Meeting Act, but does not
have an equivalent section on the Open
Records Act.
In December, a Tennessee court
held that a private non-profit athletic
association is the equivalent of a gov-
ernment agency and thus subject to
Tennessee’s public records law.
The order came in a suit brought by
a Nashville newspaper seeking access
to documents from the Tennessee
Secondary School Athletic Association
(TSSAA). The TSSAA denied access
claiming it was not subject to the open
records law because it ws not a government entity.
The court held that private organizations performing public functions and/
or using tax dollars meet the “Functional Equivalency Test” of a public
government entity. In this case, TSSAA
regulated the activities of more than
400 Tennessee secondary schools
through bylaws, rules and standards.
The TSSAA revenue includes public
funds.
The “Functional Equivalency Test”
was established by the Tennessee
Supreme Court in Memphis Publishing v. Cherokee Children and Family
Services in 2001.
The OSSAA, which receives public money and regulates high school
sports and other high school activities
including music, speech, and debate,
is mentioned at least twice in the Oklahoma Statutes.
Oklahoma’s Open Records Act
broadly defines “public body” to
include essentially any entity “supported in whole or in part by public funds
or entrusted with expenditure of public
funds or administering or operating
public property.”
LEND US YOUR ERRS
Seen any bloopers in your newspaper – or someone else’s? Send us a copy! Share the fun
at the annual Grand Blooper Award show at the Annual Convention.
EMAIL PDFS OF BLOOPERS TO: [email protected]
or send tearsheets or photocopies to:
GRAND BLOOPER AWARD, c/o Oklahoma Press Association
3601 N. Lincoln Blvd., Oklahoma City, OK 73105-5499
13
Technology keeps changing; Office 2013 release coming
Computer Notes
from the road
by Wilma Melot
[email protected]
It has been quite a year at the newspapers. I’ve seen more viruses on both
Mac and Windows platforms than in all
my years prior to this one. No wonder
software vendors are making our operating systems more closed all the time.
On the Mac side, I had to completely
wipe four computers due to viruses this
year. Many more were found infected
and needed major work to repair. If
you’re working on a Mac, you can
no longer say that it’s impervious to
viruses.
On the PC side, many computers
were rendered so slow that they were
pitched in the back of the newspaper
office and replaced.
If you’re running a PC there is no
excuse not to have – at the very least –
free virus protection on the computer.
Microsoft’s security essentials
seems to work well to fend off the most
common problems, or use your favorite
anti-virus software.
Emails seem to be the other most
common problem on computers this
year. Take some time to clean out your
inbox and other stored emails – 4,000
emails in one box is enough to kill most
email client’s software.
If you’re an email hoarder, look at a
video on the website www.inboxzero.
com. It will show you how to keep your
inbox clean.
Now let’s look at how the keyboard
is positioned on your desk. Is it at a
comfortable typing position for you?
I’ve noticed this year that many people
type for hours at a time with very poor
posture.
Give your chairs a thought as well.
Many I’ve seen are just completely
worn out. Often you can find office
chairs that work well for under $100.
Your back is worth it.
Now let’s move to big changes. Windows 8 was the biggest change of 2012
for PC users. This change will be felt
for many years to come as it changes
the basic way Windows users interface
with the computer.
Mac users observed changes Apple
is making post-Steve Jobs. New Apple
computers are leaner and faster but
some of the designs include gluing
parts of the computer together. This
makes them nearly disposable or at
least not upgradable by the end user.
And while Apple’s iPads are mini
computers in their own right, we can’t
run large programs on them. As more
people adopt tablets as their main computer the need for software developers
to create software that runs on both will
increase. The lines between tablet and
computer software may become very
blurred in the next couple of years.
New purchases are probably in our
future.
Our hard drives are changing along
with tablets and computers merging.
Now the hybrid drive that is part flash
memory and part SATA is becoming
more mainstream and soon most drives
will be all flash as the price comes
down.
POSTAL LABELS
As the U.S. Postal Service adopts
new automation processes, software
updates need to be made and the way
labels are created probably need to be
changed.
If you do not have a large enough
subscription list to justify one of the
larger postal software programs like
AccuZip, Interlink or Bulk Mailer, you
may want to take a look at Postage
Saver at savepostage.com.
Postage Saver is updated to take care
of the Intelligent Mail Barcode (IMb)
and has the barcode font included.
This solution is better than nothing
as newspapers may move through the
mail slower without the Intelligent Mail
barcode.
Postage Saver is more complicated
than using AccuZIP or Interlink and
also requires other software such as
Microsoft Office or Microsoft Access
to work with it.
Unless your subscription list is very
small, bigger programs are definitely
worth the time you would spend working with Postage Saver.
NEW MICROSOFT OFFICE
Microsoft Office 2013 is about to be
released and it’s going to cost more.
The full version will be $462 and,
according to reviews, you will no longer
be able upload it on multiple computers
in the office.
The company is changing to a new
product called Microsoft 365. It’s a
subscription based (lease) model. For
$100 a year you can install it on five
computers.
Like Adobe, Microsoft is trying to
get us to spend money with them every
month instead of buying the program
just once and using it for many years –
like we used to do. While this ensures
that our software is always up to date,
it also forces us to buy new equipment
more often.
Office 2013 requires Windows 7/8,
Server 2008 R2 or later.
Microsoft really wants us to join
their cloud and much of the software is
set up to interface with the cloud-based
setup.
The touch capabilities of the programs have been improved so they will
run on a tablet computer. Word and
PowerPoint will have bookmark-like
menus so they can sync between different Windows 8 computers. Word will be
able to handle video and audio and will
publish to the web easier. Word also
will have a better graphics interface.
You can now hide the ribbon in
Word and go to a read mode that looks
like an online book. The ribbon is still
at the top of the screen if you want to
edit the document. Also included is a
minimized collapsed ribbon that just
show icons and doesn’t take up so
much screen space.
Excel will have a new auto fill feature
that works off of the data that is already
in the document. For example, this
new feature allows you to pull all the
first names out of a field that has both
first and last names listed and place it
in another field. The handling of large
data has been improved in the way the
program suggests creating options and
formatting.
Sending documents from Word or
Excel is improved and there is more
control over what the other person sees
and can do with the document you send
them.
PowerPoint, like Word, has many
of the same viewing improvements.
Enhanced media support includes the
ability to play more video formats and
the option of having background audio
play across your entire presentation.
It deals with two screens in a new
and better way and lets us swap screens
easily.
Outlook even has more views and a
better interface.
If you own Office 2010, 2013 is not
a must have upgrade but if you are on
older versions of Microsoft Office think
about the upgrade. The new features
and interfaces are worth the price.
OPA Computer Consultant Wilma Melot’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.
14
ADVENTURES IN
PART 6… it’s a bird …it’s a plane …
it’s OPA President Jeff Shultz visiting superheroes at Oklahoma newspapers.
Family meetings can sometimes
alter the direction of your life.
For Jeff Mayo, a third generation
newspaper publisher, a family meeting
held by his father, Jim Mayo, over 10
years ago let Jeff realize a dream he
had for years.
On Dec. 6, Mark Thomas and I traveled to eastern Oklahoma to visit several papers. Our first stop was in Sallisaw
to visit the Sequoyah County Times.
“My goal at first was to own 10 newspapers in a 90-mile radius from each
other so I could live in Sallisaw and
drive to the newspapers without having
to spend the night,” Jeff recalled.
At the time Jeff was majoring in
journalism at Kansas University and he
thought the newspaper business was
his destiny.
“Then I got sidetracked by the law,”
he said. “I thought that might be something good to do. Looking at journalists’
salaries at the time, I wasn’t ready to hit
the job market just as a journalist.”
He kept his journalism major
throughout college and then started
applying to law schools.
“My idea then was not to actually go
into law, but be a newspaper reporter
covering the courts at a larger newspaper, but not at the Sequoyah County
Times.
In 1997 he graduated from the University of Minnesota Law School and
decided he should at least make good
on his law degree and practice law.
“After all, I had just spent three
years of my life in law school. I thought
I ought to at least go into law,” he said.
Jeff studied for the bar exam while
working at a Boulder, Colo., newspaper
as a court reporter.
After passing the bar exam he moved
back to Sallisaw briefly and then began
working for a Tulsa law firm.
During his two-year stint with the
Tulsa law firm he married his wife,
Beth.
“We had both decided our careers
weren’t heading in the direction we had
hoped they would,” he said.
Jeff and Beth moved to Seattle,
Wash., where his brother lived. Jeff
got a job with T-Mobile negotiating
OPA president Jeff Shultz, center, at the Mayos’ press facility in Sallisaw with Jim Mayo, left, and Jeff Mayo. The Mayos print their
five family-owned publications – Sequoyah County Times, Vian Tenkiller News, Eufaula Indian Journal, McIntosh County Democrat
and Eastern Times-Register – at the Sallisaw plant.
contracts and Beth transferred within
the company she was working with in
Tulsa to a Seattle branch.
“My parents go to Seattle every year
for Christmas and one year while they
were there my dad held a family meeting,” Jeff recalled.
Jim announced he was planning on
retiring and wanted to know if anyone
at the table wanted to take over the
papers.
“To his shock and astonishment, I
raised my hand and said, ‘I do.’ So, we
plotted my return for about 18 months.”
The plans included what changes Jeff was going to make once he
returned to Sallisaw.
“Through my dad’s illnesses of heart
disease and cancer, the paper wasn’t
always where he wanted it to be.
“He certainly saw that times were
changing and that we needed to make
sure we were trying to innovate as we
went along.”
In June of 2003 Jeff and Beth moved
back to Sallisaw and took over the
operation of the paper.
“We have done everything from selling the press, printing elsewhere and
then getting a press again,” Jeff said.
Part of Jeff’s dream has been realized as the Mayo family now owns
five other newspapers along with the
Sequoyah County Times.
“I always wanted to own newspapers,
but I thought the scale would be bigger
than just the Sequoyah County Times.
“But now that we have papers in
Vian, Muldrow, Eufaula, Roland and
Checotah, I am about halfway to where
I wanted to be.
“Whether I still want to go there is
still up for debate because managing
newspapers and people is difficult.”
Under Jeff’s leadership the Sequoyah
County Times has undergone several
changes other than a new press.
The paper has stopped its job printing service, but has branched out
in doing some broadcasting of local
school sports and events.
“I think newspapers are going to
have to diversify some in order to compete,” Jeff said.
Jeff is quick to point out that he’s not
trying to compete with other broadcast
stations in the area, but he is providing
a service to his readers and Sallisaw
that no one else can come close to.
“What sets it apart for me is that
(the broadcasts) are very local and no
one else can touch the advertising and
creative side of this venture. They can’t
Continued on page 15
ADVENTURES
POTEAU DAILY NEWS
Continued from page 14
build the ads, they can’t produce it,
they can’t set aside the time to produce
it and do the broadcasts in a professional manner.”
This doesn’t mean the Sequoyah
County Times has left the print side of
journalism. “Part of our job is to remain
compelling. If you are compelling then
people will seek you out and try to read
what you have to offer,” he added.
“I don’t like to go away from print.
I think it’s a matter of finding an audience that is interested in what you have
to talk about.”
To remain compelling, Jeff and his
staff publish several niche publications
each year.
The Sequoyah County Times sponsors a senior retirement fair in June and
a women’s expo fair in October. Both
events have special sections tied to
them and are published a week before
the event.
“We do at least one special section
a month that is a separate publication.
That’s one way we are trying to focus
on our niche audience and diversify
just by having a number of different
publications.”
One of the other niche publications
the paper has is a hunting and outdoor
sports special section that is printed
every two months.
The special niche publications aren’t
filled with canned stories. They all have
local content produced by the staff of
the various papers they own.
Like his father, Jeff is active in the
OPA. He currently is serving as the
board’s vice president and will take
over next year as the association’s
board president.
ADMINISTRATION
MARK THOMAS
Executive Vice President
[email protected]
(405) 499-0033
ROBERT WALLAR
Accounting Manager
[email protected]
(405) 499-0027
SCOTT WILKERSON
Front Office/Building Mgr.
[email protected]
(405) 499-0020
15
Our next stop was at the Poteau
Daily News in Poteau. The publisher is
Robert Shearon and the editor is Mike
Dougherty.
Both men have many years experience in the newspaper industry and
have just recently moved to Poteau.
Robert has been publisher of the
Daily News since April and Mike has
been editor since September.
Robert jokingly says life in Poteau
suits him just fine.
“I’m not big on night life. Poteau has
a nice movie theater and a Braum’s.
You don’t need much more in life,” he
said.
Robert says one of the big challenges he faced when he came to Poteau
was the print quality of the paper.
“We have our own press and one of
the things our staff would do was blame
the press people if the paper looked
bad.
“Well, I’ve been doing this for a long
time and I knew not all of the problems
we were having was the press’ fault.”
Robert said they began concentrating on the whole production process,
from the time an ad or page is built to
when it is sent to the press.
“Gradually our paper started improving. Color photos and pages were in
registration and the overall quality of
the paper was better,” he said.
Robert started hearing from readers
and other newspapers in the area on
how nice the paper was looking.
After Mike joined the team there
was also a strong emphasis on local
news coverage.
“We now fill most of our paper with
local content. We do use some wire
copy on an inside page when we need
to fill a space, but for the most part our
MEMBER
SERVICES
LISA POTTS
Member Services
Director
[email protected]
(405) 499-0026
ELI NICHOLS
Member Services
Coordinator
[email protected]
(405) 499-0040
Poteau Daily News editor Mike Dougherty and publisher Robert Shearon keep the
focus on local news.
paper is filled with local news,” Mike
added.
The paper is also making an impact
on the community, pushing for change
when change is most needed.
One incident Robert shared with us
is a bullying problem at the local high
school.
“There was a kid there that was
threatening to kill everybody,” Robert
recalled. “No one at the school thought
to tell anyone about the threats, including his parents. They would just suspend him for three days.”
When some other parents finally
found about the threats and approached
the school administration about them,
the student was suspended for 45 days.
“The paper had not covered it before
because the schools were trying to
keep it quiet. So when we found out
about it, Mike wrote a real strong editorial about it,” Robert said.
The editorial addressed the situation
and the bullying in the school.
OPA STAFF DIRECTORY
ADVERTISING
CINDY SHEA
Media Manager
[email protected]
(405) 499-0023
LANDON COBB
Account Executive
[email protected]
(405) 499-0022
COURTNI SPOON
Advertising Assistant &
OCAN/2X2 Contact
[email protected]
(405) 499-0035
CREATIVE
SERVICES
COMPUTER
ADVICE
JENNIFER GILLILAND
WILMA MELOT
Creative Services Director
[email protected]
(405) 499-0028
Computer Consultant
[email protected]
(405) 499-0031
MORGAN BROWNE
POSTAL
ADVICE
Creative Assistant
[email protected]
(405) 499-0029
BILL NEWELL
Postal Consultant
[email protected]
(405) 499-0020
“A week later the school adopted a
bullying policy as a result of Mike’s editorial,” Robert said. “I was real proud
that we had a role in that.”
Robert and Mike are appreciative of
the OPA and the work the association
does for its members.
“The biggest asset you have is
Wilma (OPA computer consultant
Wilma Melot). If Wilma was the only
benefit the OPA had it would be worth
our membership,” Robert said.
Robert noted that Wilma has helped
them tremendously and sometimes he
is embarrassed about her knowledge of
computers and software.
Next month we’ll review the second
half of our trip with visits to Spiro,
Stigler and Eufaula.
EDITOR’S NOTE: In last month’s Adventures
in Newspaper Land column, Stillwater NewsPress publisher Rex Maynard’s name was misspelled. We regret the error.
OPEN
(DIGITAL CLIPPING)
KEITH BURGIN
OPEN Manager
[email protected]
(405) 499-0024
KYLE GRANT
Digital Clipping Dept.
[email protected]
(405) 499-0032
OPEN (CONT’D)
NELSON SOLOMON
[email protected]
(405) 499-0045
CRYSTAL FOREMAN
[email protected]
(405) 499-0030
GENERAL INQUIRIES
(405) 499-0020 • Fax: (405) 499-0048
Toll-free in OK: 1-888-815-2672
16
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE NOVEMBER 2012 CONTEST WINNERS
Column:
Editorial:
TED
STREULI
JEFF
MULLIN
The Journal Record
NOVEMBER 2012 EDITORIAL WINNER JEFF
Enid News & Eagle
MULLIN, ENID NEWS & EAGLE
Be Thankful: Thanksgiving time
means taking nothing for granted
It’s that day again, the day for turkey, stuffing,
pie, parades, football and awkward family
conversation — a cease-fire in the annual holiday
war between crass commercialism and the true
meaning of Christmas.
It is Thanksgiving.
We know how it started, inspired by a long-ago
meal shared by the pilgrims and their new friends
the Wampanoag Indians, in gratitude for the
Indians not letting their pale-skinned neighbors
starve to death in their new but unforgiving home.
We know it has been an annual tradition since
the Civil War, so proclaimed by Abraham Lincoln.
We know it is a day on which we blow our diets
sky-high, eating early and often, topping the festivities off with just one more piece of pie before bed.
But do we ever really give thought to what it
means to be thankful?
Sometimes there doesn’t seem to be much for
which to be thankful.
The economy’s a mess, Republicans and
Democrats continue to get along like tomcats
and pit bulls, the Middle East is threatening to
explode, we’re still fighting in Afghanistan and the
nation is inexorably rolling toward a fiscal cliff.
But if you are loved and love someone in return,
be thankful. If you have a job, be thankful. If you
have a reasonable measure of health, be thankful. If you call someone friend, and they return
the sentiment, be thankful. When you walk into a
public building with no fear it will be bombed or
struck with a missile, be thankful.
When you go to the church of your choice, to
worship under the teachings of the faith of your
choice, be thankful. And if you choose not to
worship any God, under any doctrine, be thankful
for your right to do that, too.
For those who have taught you, mentored you,
corrected you, guided you, be thankful.
For friends, acquaintances, colleagues, clients,
customers, and all fellow travelers on this little
blue ball we call home, be thankful.
For the freedom to be, do, work, play and live
wherever you choose, be thankful. For the ability
to vote for the candidates of your choice, whether
they win or lose, be thankful.
For the fact you live in the greatest nation on
the planet, be thankful.
For the fact you are spending one more day on
the green side of the grass, be thankful.
For sunrises, sunsets, spring rains, winter
snows, blue skies and gentle breezes, be thankful.
On this, our national day of thanks, take nothing for granted, consider nothing to be owed you,
don’t overlook the inherent magic of a single
seemingly ordinary thing.
Be truly, deeply, thankful, which means humbly
acknowledging your life would be a miserable,
screwed-up mess without the blessings you
normally spend little or no time thinking about.
And then have some more pie.
The November 2012 contest
was judged by a member of the
Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame
Enter and Win a
$100 Check from ONG!
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Each month, send a tear sheet or
photocopy of your best column and/
or editorial to ONG Contest, c/o OPA,
3601 N. Lincoln Blvd., Oklahoma City,
OK 73105-5499.
Include the author’s name, name of
publication, date of publication and
category entered (column or editorial).
Only ONE editorial and/or ONE
column per writer per month will be
accepted.
All entries for the previous month must
be at the OPA office by the 15th of the
current month.
Winning entries will be reproduced
on the OPA website at www.OkPress.
com.
Entries must have been previously
published. 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 and Editorials on the OPA website: www.OkPress.com (Under Contests)

January 2013 Oklahoma Publisher

Transcription

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