Category: Ask an Expert Questions and Answers

I think it’s clear that non-profit options are going to be part of at least the short-term future of community media (I’d be suspicious of anyone who purports to predict the long-term future). We have seen a recent proliferation of journalism supported by philanthropy and/or public donations — mostly, if not entirely, on a metro or state or national basis in projects such as MinnPost, the St. Louis Beacon, Texas Tribune and ProPublica.

A couple of community-focused operations that I know of are Champaign News-Gazette, owned by the Marajen Stevick Foundation, and the Anniston Star, which the Ayers family is turning over to a trust, affiliated with the University of Alabama, arrangements similar to the Poynter-St. Petersburg Times relationship. But the Star and News-Gazette are really mid-sized papers, smaller than the metros, but still much bigger than small dailies and weeklies.

I do expect someone to try a non-profit approach (or perhaps an L3C, low-profit, limited liability company) in a smaller community. Or perhaps some people are already doing it and I don’t know about it because the bigger ones get more attention.

One of the situations you always need to address in a non-profit journalism operation is where does the money come from. In a smaller community, you might be more likely to have the funding come from a powerful local person or organization, which will raise questions (perception, if not reality) about how independent and credible the new organization will be in covering that person or organization’s other community involvements. However, that’s not all that different from the questions that for-profit publishers have always faced in how their news organizations cover their other business interests and community activities.

I do hope some people try non-profit models at the community level. I think we need a wide range of experimentation to find the best models to support a prosperous future. But I do agree with my former boss at the American Press Institute, Drew Davis, who often said (quoting a former boss himself, as I recall) that the best guarantee of a free press is a profitable press.

I favor pursuit of new revenue streams, such as I have described in my Complete Community Connection and Mobile-First Strategy blog posts. I think those are potential paths to a profitable future and I know that other people are pursuing other paths to a profitable future. I think the future of journalism at all levels, including the community level, is a future of multiple models. And I believe non-profit models are part of that future. I look forward to learning from a Texas community news organization that gives it a try.

Whenever you come up against your clients moving ad dollars to another medium, you need to ask them a few questions and ask yourself some questions, too.

The questions

For the advertiser who has added or moved ad dollars to other media, begin by asking: “What do you hope to accomplish by using ___?” Your advertiser might answer: to reach a new market, to test a new media, to save money, or to complement and reinforce some other media they are using. Once your advertiser clarifies what his or her strategy is, it becomes easier for you to put together a counterproposal.

You must also ask yourself a question. First, when was the last time you sat down with this advertiser, or, for that matter, all your advertisers, and reiterated, reinforced, and updated your newspaper and your newspaper’s Web site’s statement? A presentation on your audience, results, market coverage and affordability may be your first and foremost strategy.

The competitor’s pitch

A favorite tactic our competitors use against newspaper advertising is to try to get our clients to reduce their exposure in our newspaper and switch those “available” dollars to their medium. They constantly remind advertisers of circulation declines and how newspapers have lost Generation ‘Y’.  They typically recommend that our customers reduce the frequency of their newspaper ads, reduce their ad size, or drop all color and run only black and white ads. 

In the face of new or strengthened competition, don’t reduce your price. You can have more money if you change your approach by having more confidence and more belief in your newspaper and your newspaper Web site. Use testimonials of other advertisers to that effect.  Never, ever, ever believe or develop the habit that you have to haggle or bargain over price with a potential advertiser.

About billboards

There are some things to remember regarding (typical) billboards, or, as I like to say: Billboards – Seen in a FLASH: There are some pluses for this medium: it’s available 24 hours, there’s color availability, and they have strong reach, frequency, and location. But there are also some challenges: short viewing time, they’re seen by the same individuals, billboards aren’t flexible, afford a limited message, and will eventually (even digital) blend into the background.

According to the Outdoor Ad Association of America, billboard revenues have been down the last six quarters.  But with digital signage, outdoor vendors have been able to raise revenue by showing multiple ads on a single billboard, as well as vary rates by selling dayparts corresponding to heavy commuting periods. The new technology is giving advertisers the unparalleled ability to change their ad messages quickly and efficiently. Digital technology’s marriage to billboards has opened up a number of countless benefits to diverse groups of consumers.

Some possible reasons your advertisers are considering digital billboards might be timeliness (e.g. to community weather/local events), to test the new medium, the ability (additional cost?) to change their message throughout the day, as a tie-in to another media they are using (your paper, their Web site) or for the sight and sound factor (… the flash,  or visual impact).

The newspaper advantage

Like all media, electronic billboards have some pluses and minuses. So don’t knock the competition. Rather, identify (through questions) what your advertisers want to accomplish strategically when they use various media.  Newspapers, whether in print or online, have a distinct local audience that trusts them.

Why are your paper and your newspaper’s Web site a better choice than a digital billboard?

• A newspaper covers a tight geographic area, giving the reader and advertiser a strong sense of community.
• It’s typically retained all week for more viewings, review and reference — not only to articles and community information, but also to the advertisements.
• Coupled with your newspaper’s Web site, you can offer print (to tell the story) and online (for daily timeliness and sight and sound).
• Last, but not least, remind your advertisers that every day, there’s a small number of buyers in the market place — your paper and your newspaper’s web site reach and sell them on a regular basis weekly in print and daily with your newspaper Web site. With digital billboard media, the buyer and the message need to be at the same point at the same time.

Once you have uncovered their strategic plan (e.g. your advertiser’s need, problem or opportunity), use your consultative selling skills to offer a solution backed with proof positive (reader, viewer, advertiser testimonials).

Thanks again for your question. Good luck!

Resources

Here are some resources on outdoor advertising:

• Outdoor Ad Association of America, oaaa.org
• Outdoor Billboard, outdoorbillboard.com

The Texas Open Meetings Act (Texas Local Gov’t Code section 551.001 et seq.) requires that meetings of government bodies be open unless a certain exception in the act applies.  These exceptions include consultation with its attorney about “pending or contemplated litigation” [Texas Local Gov’t Code section 551.071(1)(A)], discussions about purchasing property if it may adversely affect bargaining position [Texas Local Gov’t Code section 551.073], and certain personnel matters [Texas Local Gov’t Code section 551.074].

Notice of the reason for going into closed session must be given at least 72 hours in advance of the meeting [Texas Local Gov’t Code sections 551.041 and 551.043].  The Texas Supreme Court has said that the Open Meetings Act requires more than bare listings of “personnel” or “litigation” on the notice posted.  Rather, the court requires that the notice “should specifically disclose the subjects to be considered at the upcoming meeting.” [Cox Enterprises, Inc. v. Board of Trustees, 706 S.W.2d 956, 959 (Texas 1986)].  Examples the court gave were as follows:

• Selection of a new school superintendent is not in the same category as ordinary personnel matters — and a label like “personnel” fails as a description of that subject.
• Similarly, a major desegregation lawsuit which has occupied the Board’s time for a number of years, and whose effect will be felt for years to come, is not in the same category as the more common “litigation” which a school board may expect to face. Certainly, a school board is not expected to disclose its litigation strategy, but it cannot totally conceal that a pending desegregation lawsuit will be discussed. [706 S.W.2d at 959]

Beyond that, however, the Texas Supreme Court and the Attorney General have not given much guidance about how much information a government body must disclose. 

If a government body announces on its agenda that it plans to go into closed session, but gives no more detail than “personnel matters” or “litigation,” citizens and journalists should push to ask for more information about the reason for going into closed session.  Further, they can steer reluctant government employees to the Attorney General’s Open Meetings Act Handbook (2010 edition now available at http://www.oag.state.tx.us/AG_Publications/pdfs/openmeeting_hb.pdf; information relevant to this question is on pages 22-25), which also calls for more detailed information in meeting notices.

If the government body still refuses to provide more detail for its closed sessions, citizens and journalists should seek the assistance of an attorney to consider legal remedies.  A court may declare actions taken with improper notice void [Texas Local Gov’t Code section 551.141], or it may be able to issue an injunction to “reverse a violation or threatened violation” of the Open Meetings Act [Texas Local Gov’t Code section 551.142].

When an account is 60-days past due, accounting takes a copy of the statement to the advertising sales manager and she or the sales representative call the past-due advertiser and put them on a “cash only” basis and try to encourage the customer to pay a portion of the past due with their cash payment for current advertising. The sales rep usually handles the first contact by telephone and occasionally makes a personal call on the advertiser. If not successful, the general manager gets involved and no further advertising is accepted.

Newspapers and other print media have no legal duty to publish the name of any author or source.  Publishers have broad discretion to make decisions about what to print.  The U.S. Supreme Court has recognized the importance of such editorial discretion in ensuring the First Amendment guarantee of freedom of the press:

“A newspaper is more than a passive receptacle or conduit for news, comment, and advertising. The choice of material to go into a newspaper, and the decisions made as to limitations on the size and content of the paper, and treatment of public issues and public officials – whether fair or unfair – constitute the exercise of editorial control and judgment.” [from Chief Justice Burger’s opinion in the unanimous decision in Miami Herald v. Tornillo, 418 U.S. 241, 258 (1974)]

There may, however, be ethical obligations to consider — for example, the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics says journalists should:

“Identify sources whenever feasible. The public is entitled to as much information as possible on sources’ reliability.”

One other consideration is what happens if an unattributed statement or anonymous author becomes the subject of a defamation lawsuit or is relevant to a criminal investigation.  Then, a news organization may have to identify the source or author.  This is mostly about identifying witnesses or suspects in the service of the legal process (so police can identify criminal suspects or so a plaintiff can make his or her case and can properly name potential defendants).  A publisher who refuses to identify an author or source when a judge issues a subpoena demanding such a release will likely be held in contempt of court.  Texas, of course, recently passed a reporter shield law to make it harder for prosecutors and plaintiffs to force journalists to divulge confidential sources (see Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code § 22.021 et. seq.)  Congress is considering a similar law that would apply in federal courts (see H.R. 985 and S. 448).

No. The Texas Public Information Act does not allow government officials to ask why you want the information.

I generally find that a very polite response – with an emphasis on polite – noting that the law doesn’t allow them to ask will generally put an end to that line of questioning.

According to the Texas Attorney General’s office, a government agency is allowed to ask for proper identification of the requestor and for clarification, if necessary, on the information requested.

“Often, an initial open records request may involve the production of more documents than the requestor intended,” according to the attorney general’s Web site. “Similarly, many open records requests ask for information that is not kept by the governmental body in the requested format. In either case, the governmental body can ask the requestor whether a potential narrowing or variation of the request would meet the requestor’s needs.”

For more information about this issue or the Texas Public Information Act, visit the attorney general’s web site at www.oag.state.tx.us, and then click on the “open government” tab. Down the right side of the screen you will see a prompt for “public information act made easy.” This is a great resource for explaining the law and how it has been interpreted over the years.