The Oklahoma Publisher Official Publication of the Oklahoma Press Association www.OkPress.com Vol. 85, No. 6 www.Facebook.com/okpress 28 Pages • June 2014 RUNOFF ELECTION AUGUST 26, 2014 Ideas from successful newspapers Nearly everywhere Kevin Slip visits, he Newspapers are finds the local newspaper thriving. Known as the News Guru, Slimp has ready to talk visited thousands of newspapers in his career and still visits newspapers of all to you about sizes. He serves as director of the Institute of Newspaper Technology in Kentucky and advertising. speaks at hundreds of newspaper confer- ences throughout the U.S. and Canada. Slimp shared some of the keys to a suc- cessful newspaper at the Oklahoma Press Association Convention at the Reed Center Call your local newspaper or in Midwest City on June 13. Oklahoma Press Service at Citing statistics, Slimp said there are newspaper success stories all over the (405) 499-0020 for help place. with your ad placement. “The Atlanta Constitution is up 40 per- cent in print circulation in the last two years; the Tampa Tribune is up about 32 percent. It’s not a bad time in the newspa- per industry at all.” Slimp said people are always asking him IN THIS why he believes newspapers have a bright future. His answer: “Because just about ISSUE: every newspaper I go to gives me reason to believe that.” OPA CONVENTION The qualities of successful newspapers he visits include: Kevin Slimp, known as the News Guru, shares ideas he’s learned from successful newspapers COVERAGE • Loyalty to staff. at the OPA Convention. The convention was held June 12-14 at the Reed Center in Midwest • Investment in quality. City, Okla. • Regular training for staff. • Close relationship between the pub- 14,500 averages 40 to 48 pages a day, filled newsprint. I run into almost no newspapers lisher and staff. with beautiful photos. that make a profit on the digital side. The Slimp showed examples from a few of “These were some of the most beautiful ones doing well are ones that consistently the papers he visited over the past year. photos I’d ever seen,” said Slimp. put emphasis on putting out a quality print At The Mirror-Exchange, a weekly in Some of the secrets to success for this product.” Milan, Tenn., the print product has seen newspaper are focusing on their strength, The Times Free Press in Chattanooga, a steady increase over the past four to five offering all local news and regular training Tenn., has gone from sinking to booming. years. Circulation is around 5,200 – 4,000 for staff members. When a new publisher took over about print and 1,200 online subscriptions. Northeast Nebraska News owns and six years ago, he went out and bought Mac- The paper offers a 48-hour online sub- operates six small newspapers. Circulation Book Pros for all the writers, reporters and scription for $5 and receives a few orders of its largest newspaper, The Cedar County designers. every day. News, is under 2,000; the smallest is 312. Not only did the gift let employees know “People are willing to pay for a day or Each of the six newspapers has its own they mattered to the company, the com- two,” Slimp said. “Over the course of a year staff. pany knew the employees would work from it adds up to some real money.” Publisher Rod Dump told Slimp that home if they had the equipment. The Mirror-Exchange also pushes print it’s important for towns to have their own “In Chattanooga, they invest in the staff,” subscriptions online, said Slimp. Readers paper. said Slimp. “That seems to be a key point of find several places on the website to order “We’re able to make enough to pay the newspapers of every size from largest to the print product and 5 to 10 new subscrib- staff and still have a little profit so I think smallest.” ers come in each week. it’s important to keep those papers,” said Newspapers require a constant invest- Profits are up again this year. Only one Dump. ment in quality, said Slimp. percent of the profit comes from digital; the A consistent emphasis on local news, a “If you ask me one attribute of papers real profit is all in the print product. qualify staff supported through training, that are growing, there’s no doubt that it’s The strength of the Dubois County Her- and an emphasis on print make this group quality. They’re putting out quality prod- ald in Jasper, Ind., is photography. This successful. ucts. No one wants to buy a newspaper six-day daily in a town with a population of “I’m not a naysayer on digital,” said that’s not any good.” Slimp, “but the truth is profit comes from 2 The Oklahoma Publisher // June 2014 But we haven’t quarter folded the Sequoyah County Times in more than 20 years. Once we bought an insert INK PIXELS machine, our newspaper was just half OPA CALENDAR folded because it ran in the machine bet- ter. It’s an obstacle. OF EVENTS PAPER POWER I bet we still have the well-worn wood- Complete Listing of Events en rulers and sticks used to quarter fold inserts decades ago. We are not good at throwing things away, and something THURS., JULY 10 By OPA President JEFF MAYO, like this only reinforces the hoarding. Associate Publisher of the Sequoyah County Times “See, I knew we would need these,” WEBINAR: 1-2 PM, $35 we tell ourselves. So, maybe our road INDESIGN 201: BECOME to increased sales is at the hands of 30-year-old sticks. A TYPE SUPERHERO I’m told the better spot to be in Register at OnlineMediaCampus.com Getting newspapers It’s easy to put type on a page in InDesign, instead of by the door is by the entrance to the cash register, but our store layout but using basic techniques on a large doesn’t leave much unused space. document can be VERY time consuming. closer to the counter Single copy sales are an old income Learn how to create master styles, and other stream for newspapers, but we must techniques that will allow you to create, What a great convention! Our num- rack out of normal foot traffic pattern? If continually work at it. Stores open and place and format text quickly and with more bers were the highest for number of it is, then that location should be evalu- close, merchandise is moved around exciting designs than you might be doing newspapers and attendees in nine years! ated for other alternatives. from shelves to counters and back. It’s now. It was great to see old friends and make But better than a rack out front is like Zig Ziglar said, “People often say new ones! The sessions were informa- space inside the store. Convenience that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither THURS., JULY 31 tive and designed to help your newspa- store counters are more coveted than does bathing — that’s why we recom- per improve its product or bottom line child eye-level space on the cereal aisle mend it daily.” WEBINAR: 1-2 PM, $35 — or both! I think the OPA staff and at the grocery store. MOBILE: CREATING education committee put on a useful and Serfoss and Wesner are working on THANKS interactive program! I will put away my plans to get back on the counter. Pay- It has been an honor to serve as GREAT VIDEO Register at OnlineMediaCampus.com exclamation point key now. ing a higher sales commission and even OPA president this year. The OPA staff, Learn to create and edit high-quality video including a once-a-month display ad led by Executive Vice President Mark with your smartphone. We’ll introduce you COUNTER SALES were kicked around as enticements to Thomas, do a tremendous job of making to tools for stabilizing your video, adding After Friday’s banquet, I was talking seal the deal. Being on the counter can ours the best press association in the with publishers Rod Serfoss and Brett country. external lights, adding external lenses and produce 2 to 10 times the sales of being getting crystal clear audio (and a few tools Wesner. Single copy sales came up, and I mentioned it during the OPA con- in a lesser-seen location. Store owners to add creativity to your videos). We’ll also we made a detailed analysis of the issue vention banquet, but I want to recognize know that, and we will have to compen- discuss the best apps for shooting and and hatched a plan to increase sales. my wife, Beth, for her sacrifice while sate them to get there. editing on your phone. If your paper costs more than 50 Our newspapers should be a valu- I was serving as OPA president. She cents, I think pocket change becomes an able product. The issues change at least made it easy to dedicate the time the issue — fewer potential customers carry weekly, have compelling local interest OPA deserves. THURS., AUG. 21 75 cents or $1 in change. If they do not and will likely drive customers in. Beth earned a degree from OSU, but WEBINAR: 1-2 PM, $35 have change, I think it is a challenge to For pricing, I think 75 cents or $1 is it was not in journalism. But her work at ask a customer to get change and then perceived better when someone is buy- the paper on the books, handling payroll INDESIGN 301: IMAGES go back to the rack.