To Georgia Press Association’s 131st Annual Convention sponsors: Georgia Press Association 131st Annual Convention June 1-3, 2017 Jekyll Island Club

Thank you!

Opening Also featuring: Luncheon • All-Georgia Products Reception with Miss • Better Newspaper Contest awards banquet America Betty Cantrell • How did media polling miss Donald Trump? of Warner • Fake news and the way forward Robins, Ga. • Much more! Georgia Press Association 2017 Convention GPA convention time: Wednesday, May 31 Noon, Early Registration Where fun, learning Aspinwall Room, Jekyll Island Club Hotel and friends come 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., GPA/GNS Board Meeting together for the Club Ballroom, Jekyll Island Club Hotel newspaper industry 6 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., Board Dinner in Georgia! Federal Reserve and Aldrich Rooms, Jekyll Island Club Hotel

Billy and Judy Fleming, left, with Kay and Tommy Purser, after the Flemings were inducted into GPA’s Golden Club in 2016 for 50 years of service to the newspaper indus- Sponsored by Georgia EMC and Georgia Transmission Corp. try in Georgia. Mike Gebhart, left, of Southern Community Newspapers Inc., and JefFindley of The Post- Thursday, June 1 Searchlight of Bainbridge talk at 8 a.m. Early Registration the Opening Luncheon Recep- Aspinwall Room, Jekyll Island Club Hotel tion in 2016.

8 a.m. to 8:45 a.m., Past Presidents Breakfast Eric NeSmith Riverview Lounge, Jekyll Island Club Hotel of Community Newspapers Inc. 8:45 a.m. to 9:45 a.m., “Fake News” presented by Dean Charles Davis, Grady College, UGA during a 2016 Fake news. Information overload. How do journalists maintain a foothold in today’s media landscape? A clarion panel discussion call for journalism’s timeless principles and a double-down on the values that distinguish journalism from other on employee hir- forms of mass media, that’s how. Let’s discuss the road forward.. ing and Club Ballroom, Jekyll Island Club Hotel retention..

9:45 a.m. to 10 a.m., Break

10 a.m. to 11:15 a.m., “Ad Tech Fraud” presented by Maggie Louie, DEV/CON Detect Learn how to protect your publishing platform from digital revenue thieves from the former director of audience at the Athens Banner-Herald who has now founded her own company. Club Ballroom, Jekyll Island Club Hotel Thanks to the 2016-2017 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Opening Luncheon Reception Riverfront Veranda, Jekyll Island Club Hotel Meetings Committee Chairman: Michael Traynor, Publisher, Savannah Morning News

Sponsored by Georgia EMC and

12:30 p.m. Opening Luncheon thanks to the Meetings Committee members: Featuring Betty Cantrell, of Warner Robins, Ga. Newspaper Hall of Fame and more! Don Bailey Luncheon sponsored by: The Telegraph, Macon Dan Pool GPA President Pickens County Progress, Jasper The Telegraph, Macon Friday, June 2 (continued) Meet the speakers In order of appearance 6 p.m., Past Presidents’ Reception (Invitation Only) President Don Bailey, The Telegraph, Macon, will host the Past Presidents’ Reception. Charles N. Davis is the Dean of the Henry W. Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication at Federal Reserve and Aldrich Rooms, Jekyll Island Club Hotel the University of Georgia. He was appointed in 2013, after a long career in journalism. Davis worked for 10 years as a journalist after his graduation from North Georgia College, working for newspapers, magazines and a news service in Georgia and Florida before leaving full-time journalism to complete a masters degree from the University of Georgia’s Henry W. Grady Sponsored by TownNews.com College of Journalism and Mass Communication and to earn a doctorate in mass communica- 6:45 p.m., Better Newspaper Contest Reception tion from the University of Florida. He spent 14 years as a faculty member, including four as Riverview Lounge, Jekyll Island Club Hotel department chair at the Missouri School of Journalism. Davis also spent fi ve years at Mizzou as Executive Director of the National Freedom of Information Coalition. His teaching awards include the 7:30 p.m., Better Newspaper Contest Awards Banquet Scripps Howard Foundation National Journalism Teacher of the Year Award in 2008, the Provost’s Award for Emceed by Robert M. Williams Jr., The Blackshear Times Honor the best of Georgia journalism as we present the winners of the 2017 Better Newspaper Contest. Junior Faculty Teaching in 2001, and the University of Missouri Alumni Association’s Faculty/Alumni Award in Grand Dining Room, Jekyll Island Club Hotel 2008.

Maggie Louie is founder and CEO of DEV/CON DETECT. After spending more than a decade as a digital Saturday, June 3 leader in the publishing industry, including time spent with EW Scripps, LA Times and 8:30 a.m., GPA Annual Meeting Morris Communications’ Athens Banner-Herald. She co-founded DEV/CON to address Come to the meeting to collect your rebate check and recognize the new offi cers and board appointments. the growing need for ad tech security and revenue protection. She became passionate Club Ballroom, Jekyll Island Club Hotel about this unexplored area of business after discovering methods by which a developer was able to exploit a publisher platform, extorting nearly $1 million. News Swap Be sure to drop off bundles of your newspapers and special sections to share with your fellow journalists during the convention. There are tables set up in the Federal Reserve and Aldrich Rooms. Betty Cantrell is . She is a native of Warner Robins, Ga., and the fi rst Georgian to win Miss America since 1953. She has embarked on a year of service to tour and promote her platform “Healthy Children, Strong America,” encouraging chldren to make healthy choices and be physically active. Crowned in September 2016, her reign will end later this year. She is a junior at , where she studies musical performance and aspires to one day Convention sponsors be a country music star. The Miss America organization is the nation’s leading advocate for These companies and organizations support the newspaper industry in Georgia with women’s education and is the largest provider of scholarship assistance to young women in America — helping them reach their goals and fulfi ll their dreams by increasing their confi - their sponsorship of activities at GPA’s convention and their associate membership in dence, developing their skills and honoring their dedication to serving others. our organization. Say thanks when you see them at the convention! David Hudson is with the law fi rm Hull Barrett in Augusta, where he practices in the area of general civil litiga- • Terri Statham, Georgia EMC tion with an emphasis on business and commercial disputes, media law and construction law. He has been a trial lawyer since 1974 and has argued numerous appeals in the appellate courts of Georgia, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second, Fifth and 11th Circuits, and a case • Andy Lucas, Georgia Farm Bureau before the Supreme Court of the United States. He is GPA’s legal counsel. David earned his A.B. degree, summa cum laude, from Mercer University, and his J.D. degree, cum laude, from • Tom Parker, Jeannine Haynes and Craig Heighton, Georgia Transmission Corp. Harvard Law School in 1971. He then served as a law clerk to the Honorable Griffi n B. Bell of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Before entering law practice, he was • Don Bailey and The McClatchy Co., The Telegraph, Macon a captain in the U.S. army and senior instructor, law department, U.S. Military Police School, at Fort Gordon. He is a trustee of Mercer University and has been chairman of the university’s board and its • Roger Lee, TownNews.com executive committee. • Sharon Dowdy and Faith Peppers, University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (Continued on next page) Brooks Hudson joined Hull Barrett in 2011 and practices general civil litigation, handling a wide variety of Thursday, June 1 (continued) complex litigation matters. Brooks focuses primarily on commercial litigation matters, includ- ing prosecuting and defending claims in complex business disputes, health-care litigation, First 2:15 p.m. to 3 p.m., Legal Update Amendment litigation, class actions and criminal litigation. Brooks attended undergraduate David Hudson, GPA General Counsel, and Brooks Hudson on changes to Georgia and federal laws affecting studies at University of Georgia and received his law degree from Mercer. Prior to joining newspapers. Hull Barrett, Brooks served as the Assistant District Attorney for the district attorney’s Club Ballroom, Jekyll Island Club Hotel offi ce, where he conducted prosecutions and court proceedings on behalf of the state of Georgia and was appointed Special Drug Prosecutor. He also worked in the Public Defender’s 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. “Ideas on Tap” Offi ce in the Augusta Judicial Circuit, where he represented defendants in numerous court proceedings. Join your colleagues and host William Bronson of The Daily Citizen of Dalton for lively round-table discussions over cold drinks. Share your best revenue-generating and cost-saving ideas. Over popcorn and pretzels, you’ll get some great tips to take home that will help pay for the cost of convention attendance. Be prepared to share ideas Willam Bronson has been publisher of The Daily Citizen of Dalton since 2007 after two years as publisher of your own on content, event marketing, digital products and social media. Learn how you can cut costs in the of the Americus Times-Recorder. He is a third-generation newspaperman with an under- newsroom and more. Cash prizes for best ideas will be awarded. graduate degree from the University of Mississippi and a graduate degree from the University Federal Reserve and Aldrich Rooms, Jekyll Island Club Hotel of Alabama. Bronson has also worked for USA Today, the Newark (N.J.) Star-Ledger and the Lafayette Daily Advertiser in Louisiana. He is a member of GPA’s board of directors. 5:30 p.m. All-Georgia Products Reception Join us for cocktails and hors d’oeurves and visit with All-Georgia Products vendors as they share their food, drink and other products. Bring your kids to play on the video-gaming truck! Crane Courtyard, Jekyll Island Club Hotel Len Robbins is the president of AIR Publications and owner of four community newspapers — The Clinch County News, Lanier County Advocate, Atkinson County Citizen, and Echols County Echo. Len has been named to “Who’s Who in Georgia Media” by Georgia Trend magazine, and is past president, and current board member, of the Georgia Press Association. He has won more than 150 GPA Better Newspaper Contest awards over the past two decades, including Sponsored by Georgia Farm Bureau and University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences over 20 for sports reporting and coverage. Prior to coming back to his hometown newspaper in 1994, Len was assistant sports editor of The Valdosta Daily Times. A graduate of the Uni- versity of Georgia, Len has been the president of the Clinch County Athletic Booster Club Friday, June 2 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., “Drone Journalism” and the radio “Voice of the Clinch County Panther” football team for the past 23 years. He currently serves Laws on the usage of drones are evolving rapidly even as unmanned aerial vehicles become cheaper with growing as chairman of the City of Homerville’s Tree Board, and is a member of Homerville’s Main Street Program numbers of applications for newspapers and journalists. Check out this primer on the right ways to use drones to board. He’s also a past president of the Clinch County Chamber of Commerce and Clinch County Lions Club. enhance the local news coverage provided by your organization. He and his wife, Jenny, and three children live in Homerville. Club Ballroom, Jekyll Island Club Hotel

Robert M. Williams Jr. of Blackshear is publisher of the SouthFire Newspapers Group and editor of The 10:30 a.m. to 10:45 a.m., Break Blackshear Times. He has won more than 300 state and national awards for journalistic ex- cellence. Robert is a past recipient of the National Newspaper Association’s James O. Amos 10:45 a.m. to 11:45 a.m., “Sports Coverage Panel Discussion” Award, the highest honor given nationally by the community newspaper industry. He was the Len Robbins of AIR Publications hosts a lively discussion about one of the most essential elements of local news- 2013-2014 president of NNA, America’s largest alliance of daily and weekly newspapers, and paper journalism: sports coverage. Hear these panelists who do it well discuss what they prioritize, how they get is among 58 journalists from around the nation chosen for the inaugural class of The Grady results when they can’t be there in person and much, much more. Fellowship, an honor given by the Henry W. Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communi- Club Ballroom, Jekyll Island Club Hotel cation at the University of Georgia. Robert is the youngest person to ever serve as president of our association, taking offi ce on his 30th birthday sometime very far back in the last century. He is now the 11:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m., “How did the media polling miss the Trump numbers so badly?” longest-serving “old-fogey” at our head tables. The national media was caught fl at-footed by Donald Trump’s surprising rise and victory over Hillary Clinton in the November election. How did they miss it so badly? What lessons can be learned from those mistakes? Club Ballroom, Jekyll Island Club Hotel

(Continued on next page)