Published by the Institute of International Studies, Missouri Southern State University, Joplin, MO Volume 38, No. 2 • March 2013 Letterman* issues top 13 reasons to attend conference in Green Bay By Chris Wood 4. For those interested in seeing a place that has nearly 300 miles of shoreline, 12 light- 13. There will be numerous opportunities to confer with colleagues houses and five state parks, a trip to Door from other states as well as abroad about the newspaper issues that County — “The Cape Cod of the Midwest” — you deal with every week. will be available, complete with an opportu- nity to taste the breakfast specialty that was You will have the opportunity to see the highly acclaimed “Mark 12. featured as the best in the country on “Good Twain Revisited,” which is as close as you can come to seeing and hear- Morning, America” as well as a traditional ing the man in person these days. fish boil. You’ll have the inside scoop from people in the know on what 11. A presentation by the advisor to as well really went down in Madison two years ago when collective bargaining 3. as one of the top students of the one and rights were stripped from many state employees without notice and only high school class in the country that Chris Wood which culminated in the Governor Walker recall election. has been publishing a bi-weekly community 10. There will be a session offering ideas, methodologies and specifics newspaper for many years, the Pulaski News. on embracing the Internet as a successful complement to the print The opportunity to have your newspaper evaluated and critiqued product by people who have done so and are doing so. 2. by professionals, namely your peers in attendance at this conference, 9. For those who remember “the little paper that could,” an opportu- at the much anticipated and highly regarded editorial critique sessions nity to see a presentation on “The Anomaly of The News-Chronicle” will that are a mainstay of the event; and finally, the No. 1 reason you’ll be in the offing on its home turf with a session from the man who was want to be sure to attend the Green Bay conference is: its first and last editor, as well as ISWNE’S own Dick McCord who The opportunity to attend a tailgate party and see a football stadi- authored the “Now or Never” series and The Chain Gang. 1. um that everybody around these parts seems to think is so special (and 8. You’ll learn what not to do in the session on “13 Ways to Kill Your maybe you will have even heard of it before, called Lambeau Field), as Community” by one of the guys who wrote the book on the subject (lit- well as learn much more about that fabled, football franchise known erally!), Mr. Kelly Clemmer. as the Green Bay Packers! 7. There will be an opportunity to cruise down The Fox River on the Foxy Lady, said by some to be the boat that inspired the Jimi Hendrix -30- song of the same name.** * In the interest of full disclosure and truth in advertising, the author 6. Those interested in a tour of the home facility of the largest com- of this piece lettered in track one year in high school and with addi- mon carrier in the US of A, namely Schneider National, will have the tional apologies to David Letterman because we couldn’t condense it chance to take one. into just the top 10! 5. You’ll have the opportunity to make a pilgrimage to “Our Lady of ** Several people have pointed out this is somewhere between “totally Good Hope Shrine,” which has been revered by the faithful around impossible” and “completely not a chance” because the song was writ- these parts for well over a hundred years and is now getting national ten many, many years before the ship was ever launched! attention since the Catholic Church issued a decree two years ago rec- ognizing the Marian apparitions that took place there in 1859. Chris Wood can be contacted at [email protected]. The International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors By Cheryl Wormley The Woodstock Independent, Woodstock, Ill. Stand up and together; we’re community weeklies ISWNE members were outraged by Morley Others seemed to appreciate having some- From time to time, our readers, having heard Safer’s comment Jan. 6 on “60 Minutes” that one else applaud their efforts and recognize about “the troubles newspapers are having” newspapers are a “dying business.” Many their membership in our vibrant, healthy will ask how our papers are doing. The mes- used the Hotline to vent. It blazed. In six days and essential profession. sage we give will be the message they there were more than 40 postings. Our mem- I received similar emails from community believe, because we have earned their trust. bers also offered suggestions for responding, newspaper editors who are not yet ISWNE including inviting Safer to the July conference members, suggesting some press associations Reminders: in Green Bay, Wis. must have sent it out. I responded, thanking The ISWNE board’s winter board meeting them for helping with the unified effort to set • The 59th annual ISWNE Conference is July coincidentally was Jan. 12 in La Jolla, Calif. the record straight and suggesting they join 10-14 in Green Bay, Wis. We will be housed The timing couldn’t have been better. I added ISWNE. I also encouraged editors in the at St. Norbert College, De Pere, Wis. Check “Responding to Safer” to the agenda. Midwest to attend our conference in Green the ISWNE website for information about the Bay in July. programs planned by our hosts in Wisconsin. Board members had read the Hotline post- You’ll find the registration form on the web- ings, so they came to consensus fairly quickly: All the responses weren’t favorable. Phil site, too. In addition to the educational pro- a rebuttal column should be written and sent Lucey, executive director of the New Mexico grams, the editorial critiques and the oppor- to Safer with an invitation to the July confer- Press Association, sent Chad an email tunity to go inside Lambeau Field and experi- ence. The column also should be emailed to “wholeheartedly disagreeing with the col- ence northern Wisconsin and Green Bay, the ISWNE members for publication in their umn.” He wrote, “To create a divide amongst conference will provide priceless interaction papers and to state press associations to dis- weekly and daily newspapers goes against with fellow weekly newspaper folk. See you seminate to their weeklies and small dailies. the work that associations have done to bring there. Paul MacNeill was headed out the door to all newspapers together to fight the same good fight over the years.” • Paul MacNeill and the ISWNE board are catch his flight when he turned and said, seeking member input regarding our annual “Cheryl, it needs to be written by the presi- I wasn’t suggesting a divide amongst weekly conferences. Paul’s goal is to bring recom- dent.” The board agreed. I looked at Paul, a and daily newspapers, but I think it is in the mendations for discussion at this summer’s Golden Quill winner, and at Gary Sosniecki, best interest of the industry to embrace the conference. He developed a short online sur- a two-time Golden Quill winner. “We have differences between the cousins, as I referred vey at www.surveymonkey.com/s/CBYKTNS, talented editorial writers on the board, and to metro dailies and community weeklies in or you can send your thoughts to him at the assignment is being given to the acciden- the column. The cousins serve vastly different [email protected]. tal journalist in the room,” I objected. I was audiences and have different ownership and overruled. So I enlisted Gary and the acade- business models. The community weekly • The Hotline is, well, hot. The last week of mician on the board, Dave Gordon, to copy cousin is in good health and is looking to the February, ISWNE members posted 33 times edit and proof what I wrote. future. on a question about courtroom decorum. Hotline discussions in January helped mem- “You’ll be surprised at how many papers will Lucey suggested dailies and weeklies take on bers utilize filters to control the flow of pick it up” were Paul’s last words as the door TV in general and put our combined circula- Hotline emails. closed behind him. tion numbers up against the falling listener- ship for programs like “60 Minutes.” His sug- • Give fellow editors, staff members, educa- Paul was right. When Chad Stebbins, ISWNE tors and/or newspaper enthusiasts the oppor- executive director, sent the column (“Reports gestion has merit. I’ll do my part should state press associations come together to develop a tunity to benefit from the Hotline, newslet- that we are dying are greatly exaggerated” ters, Grassroots Editor, website, annual confer- published in the February 2013 ISWNE news- campaign, and I’ll encourage ISWNE mem- bers to join me. ence and association with ISWNE members. letter) to ISWNE members he asked them to Purchase special “friend” memberships for let me know if they ran it. I received emails For now, we’ll continue our commitment to $25 each. It’s a steal of a deal. from dozens of members from Maine to our communities — reporting the news, writ- California, Kentucky to Oregon and Idaho to ing quality editorials and incorporating tech- Arkansas. Some told me the column would nology in our news delivery.