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Sports coverage

The traditional sports game story is dead!

When is the last time you waited for the morning newspaper to learn the final scores of last night’s sports action?

Do you anxiously wait for the thump of the newspaper on the front porch to learn if Eric Hosmer went 2-for-4 with three RBIs, or how many strikeouts Adam Wainwright threw in the Cardinals’ most recent victory?

Didn’t think so.

With the advent Twitter, live blogging, dedicated apps for every major and minor sports league, score alerts on smart phones and Apple watches, the traditional sports game coverage story – “the gamer” – is dead.

The final score, the leaders on the stat sheet and sometimes even player and coach reaction is reported in the seconds and minutes after the game. The Twitter feed has become the sports fan’s best friend instead of the random stranger sitting on the next barstool.

This does not mean sports reporting is no longer an integral part of the newspaper or newsroom. It does mean sports editors and reporters need to think differently about the content they create, and the stories they tell.

If your newspaper is still publishing the majority of its sports page with 25-inch play-by-play game stories then it might be time for a content remodel. And this sports page remodel will work at a metro daily with a circulation of 200,000 along with at a small-town weekly with 2,000 copies hitting the street.

I know what you’re thinking: “But how I am going to get all of the names of athletes in the paper? Those names sell papers to the parents and relatives in the market. That’s revenue, especially in small markets.”

You are right. And I am not suggesting to not report the game’s highlights.

I am proposing a way to do it differently.

You have access to the coaches, players and stadiums that Joe Fan does not, so use it: What can a sports reporter provide that fans can’t get on their own? Access. Your coverage should provide Joe Fan access to the players, coaches and team. Go heavy with “notebook” type coverage about players who are trending up and down, and why. Talk to players more, and report what they think about their game or the team’s performance. You have the chance every day to interview the coach — use that access to provide insight to the team and its performance. Fans can’t go up to the coach and players and ask them questions about a certain play, but you can. So do it.

Focus on the big play, moment: Instead of providing a play-by-play recap of the Friday night game, focus on the one big play that changed the game, or possibly the player that hit the winning shot, returned from injury to make a difference in the game, or a player who had a special moment that can’t be found in the box score.

Deliver stats, recaps in an alternative format: In baseball, do a breakout “how they scored” box that provides the play-by-play recap, and allows you to get those all-important names in the paper. For football, break down the scoring by quarters; hockey by periods; soccer by halves. You get the picture. This content should be featured in a graphic format with the analysis or feature post-game coverage.

Three stars of the game: Another great way to get names in the paper outside of 25-inch copy is a breakout “Three Stars” box to highlight three players who made a difference on the stat sheet or with a big play. Use mug shots of the athletes to add a little visual pop.

Look ahead, not back: This coverage model is especially true for weekly newspapers. While providing coverage of the past week’s action in alternative format such as graphic boxes and features, consider focusing the majority of your efforts previewing the coming week’s big games. And, as always, use your website throughout the week after publication days to report final scores, and game highlights right after the game to provide that “daily coverage” from a weekly print publication.

Those are just five examples of thinking differently when reporting and editing your sports coverage.

By moving away from the traditional 25-inch game story and incorporating some of these new elements, you might just hit a home run with your readers.

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Ask an Expert Questions and Answers Link topic

Are inmate health records public?

Question: I interviewed a jail inmate yesterday who claims that deputies broke his ribs in two places when they arrested him on Dec. 16. He said he complained of the pain daily, but they didn’t x-ray him until Jan. 29. Can I get a copy of the x-rays and any related medical documentation provided the inmate signs off on it?

Answer: I’m sure a request would (appropriately or not) denied with HIPAA as an excuse.  The inmate can request those records, of course, and pass them on to the reporter.

I’d argue that AG Open Records Decision 577 (1990), as noted in the AG handbook, would allow a person to request personally identifiable health information maintained by a state agency with the permission of the person named in the record.  That would be under 552.023.

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Community Journalism

Out-of-town marketers not as effective as local newspapers

While we uphold a tradition of excellence in news coverage as Grayson County’s oldest newspaper, we are also vested in offering effective marketing and advertising expertise.

As the Internet and social media grow, a new advertising opportunity seems to pop up every day.

Small businesses, on limited budgets, can easily be overwhelmed with a rush of information and (in some cases) get taken by out-of-town companies who don’t have their best interest at heart.

Through it all, community newspapers remain the local marketing experts. We are here to help and are passionate about the services we provide.

One example of an out-of-town outfit over-promising and under-delivering is an outfit called Team Sportz Advertising that made calls on local businesses about this time last year.

They promised a full color Whitesboro Bearcat football schedule poster to be littered on walls all over town.

They convinced five local advertisers to subsidize their efforts at the tune of several hundred dollars per ad.

In return, each advertiser was delivered a crude wall hanger that included their five ads and the 2014 football schedule… no local pictures, nothing personalized about it.

Beyond that, the graphic design work could have been done by any fifth grader and the worst part was the advertisers didn’t get their shipment of posters until four weeks into the football season.

So, more than $1,000 left the community in exchange for 25 posters that no one ever saw because they were too ugly and out-of-date to hang in a store front.

Whitesboro athletic director and then-high school principal Rendell Cole both assured me the school was not contacted beforehand and did not have a hand in the process.

I have seen this before, and it is sad. There are countless companies who all operate on the same model. Some are better than others, but I have seen none as bad as the group mentioned above.

Posters are fun and different. I have done plenty of them in my career and would love to do some here.

In 2013, I entered into a partnership with the New Boston (Texas) Athletic Booster Club that yielded three different posters over the course of a school year and resulted in a $2,500 donation to the Booster Club.

We then implemented the same model at Atlanta, Queen City, Linden and Pittsburg (all Texas).

We were able to give local businesses an attractive new marketing option, keep the revenue local and offer the community a collectible piece of art they could be proud of.

I have made similar offers to each of our local booster clubs with limited interest that has yet to materialize.

The point is, once again, the local newspaper is able to be inventive when it comes to local marketing needs.

An even sadder story occurred this winter when a few downtown businesses were taken by a con artist supposedly selling ads on restaurant menus.

At least in the poster case the company delivered a product. The menu crook did not.

Local business owners said a salesman blew in from the metroplex selling ads for a menu at a local eatery.

He needed to be paid up front. A few folks bought it and never heard from him again.

The restaurant in question had never heard of him either.

Things like this are sad but are more common than you may think.

I am not saying all menu ads are scams. In fact, I will be around talking to some of you soon about a legitimate offer we are partnering with a local restaurant on.
All I am saying is, do your homework. If nothing else, pull out your phone and Google the salesman you are dealing with.

Even easier than that, call me. I don’t care if I’ve ever sold you an ad or ever will. Advice is free and I will give it honestly.

I will never tell you 100 percent of your advertising budget should go in my (or anyone else’s newspaper).

I believe in a balanced approach and will help anyone find that approach.
But the one thing I will not stand for is folks getting scammed; either by a poor product or no product at all.

We are your local marketing experts and we will be honest with you. We are here to serve you and, in turn, help you better serve the community we all call home.
It also seems every Chamber of Commerce has and ad to sell as well. Most of which bypass their local newspapers (which are usually their longest-standing members) and consult out-of-town firms. So once again, money leaves town –doesn’t that contradict the very mission of a Chamber of Commerce?

There are advertising opportunities everywhere and (nowadays) it seems everyone is a marketing expert.

We here at the News-Record really are. It is what we do and we want to help you. We can offer advice with print, radio, TV, mobile, online, whatever advertising you are interested in. Just because we don’t produce it, doesn’t mean we can’t help with your campaign.

The Whitesboro News-Record has been answering local marketing questions since 1877. It is what we do. We keep it local.

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Community Journalism

Why community journalism endured when the bottom fell out

To my way of thinking, community newspapers, the heartbeat of American journalism, have been the saving grace, the silver lining of an otherwise volatile media landscape after the bottom fell out in ’08.

Community papers endured, weathered, survived — and in many cases thrived.

Don’t you wonder, why is that? What are the community newspapers doing right that the big guys are missing?

I’ll come to that in a minute.

First, what were many of the big guys doing wrong?

Raleigh News & Observer opinion editor Ned Barnette, writing in the May 3 N & O, under the headline “Newspapers shrink, but survive,” notes how large media companies (his parent company, McClatchy, included) got underwater in the early 2000s saddled by corporate debt — and I would add: investor greed.

Big newspapers made and make money, but much of it went – and still goes – to paying down debts, and to mollify out-of-town investors who don’t give a fig about the communities these newspapers serve.

Which brings us to our main message, the so-called “nut graph.”

Community newspapers survived, are surviving and will survive – because they serve, because small is beautiful and because local is the only game in town.

Got milk?

Got LOCAL?

And weeklies, so called non-dailies, can pack their pages with all local news, photos, features, arts and entertainment, obits, weddings, engagements, first birthdays, check presentations, opinions, and ads – and never leave the community.

Community newspapers survive and thrive because of the SERVICE IMPERATIVE, a core working principal of their business plan, not an afterthought or add-on.

So take heart, young friends. You are entering a noble profession. No, you will not likely get rich doing community journalism; much like teaching, it is a calling, some call a sacred calling.

But you will be rich in experience, rich in meaningful relationships, and rich in the satisfaction of seeing how one person – you – can make a powerful difference for good in this sad old fractured world of ours.

You will see that when you help people tell their stories, when you give them a VOICE, that you are helping to build COMMUNITY, that most valued, elusive and precious of assets that a healthy society can possess.

For then, residents become citizens, strangers become friends, and people become stakeholders, engaged in the maintenance of their own civic affairs.

“Our most important job,” one enlightened community newspaper publisher told me,”…is to convince ordinary people that their lives matter!”

Let me close with another great quite, this one from the late great speaker of the house Sam Rayburn who said, “Any mule can kick down his barn. It takes a carpenter to BUILD one.”

Long live community journalism! Let’s get busy.

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Business of News

Quality journalism is the foundation of a good bottom line

As I look back on a career that began when I was 11 years old, I realize how rich those experiences have been. I’ve had the privilege of working for four publishers who are in the Texas Newspaper Foundation Hall of Fame, and have learned from each of them. I’ve written sports, weddings, birth announcements, obituaries, news, features, columns and editorials, taken pictures, laid out pages, shepherded talented staffs and sat down and written whole issues by myself. I’ve conceived and executed special sections that brought in huge financial windfalls, and others that made you think, “We did all that work for this?”

I’ve seen Texas newspapers make lots of money – and fail miserably. And I’ve seen newspapers struggle to stay in business, but succeed admirably.

I know newspapers have to be profitable. We owe it to our readers and our communities to thrive, to stay in business and accumulate the resources to cover the news fearlessly. My contention is that newspapers have the best chance of succeeding when they serve their communities — when they play a vital, active role in community life and the lives of their readers.

That’s not just an altruistic anthem to journalism – it’s good business. When a newspaper becomes a “must-read” in its circulation area, the positives multiply. More readers means more ads (if you know how to sell) and that means more resources. Delivering news people can get nowhere else makes you part of the fabric of the community. You’re no longer “them” but “us” – no longer “that newspaper” but “my newspaper.”

The rising tide of putting out a quality, readable newspaper, week after week, lifts all the boats – advertising, circulation, finances. If you’re not putting out a good product, it’s not likely you’ll gain in those areas. Quality journalism, “relentlessly local” and fearless in serving the community, is the foundation of a good bottom line.

It’s possible to have a good community without a good community newspaper, but it’s immeasurably more difficult. More often, great communities have a great newspaper leading the way, cheerleading, fundraising, encouraging every good thing and succeeding.

That’s what we want for Texas community newspapers. Let’s get there together.

Categories
Community Journalism

A suggested prayer to open government meetings

Editor’s note: Recently the U.S. Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision, ruled that it is permissible to open a government meeting with prayer. North Dakota journalist Allan Burke has written the prayer all journalists wish they would pray. Our thanks to Ken Blum of Black Inklings for alerting us to this column.

Lord, may this meeting include full and open discussion of the issues, and let the public be assured that no deals have been cut or discussion held outside this meeting.

We ask that no board business be conducted by phone, email, Facebook, text or Twitter, and that this board follow federal and state laws.

Please guide this board to rarely go into executive session and always to be transparent.

It is our humble request that the official minutes include a reasonable and fair summary of the proceedings and not be censored by the politicians. We ask that members of this board abstain from voting when they have a conflict of interest.

May this board remember the ordinances, rules and regulations it has adopted and precedents it has set and follow them with consistency.

Lord, we ask that those voting to spend money remember that taxes come out of the pockets of hardworking citizens and should be spent sparingly and wisely.

We ask that no favoritism be shown because of a person’s family  connections, standing in the community, power or wealth and that all citizens be treated fairly and with respect.

Lord, we ask that competitive bids be sought for major expenditures and that the truth be told about those bids.

Finally, Lord, we ask that this board listen to the citizens and accept input, suggestions and criticism graciously.

Thank you, Lord, for blessing us with the opportunity to live in a democratic republic under the United States Constitution.

Amen.

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Seeing yourself as a coach for your ad staff

“How am I doing?”

Remember those moments earlier in your life when you may have asked that question or a similar one of a teacher, friend, or confidant? In many instances, those questions were being asked to open a dialogue, and gather some outside information to confirm that your assessment of your current situation was accurate.

In these tough economic times, are you being asked these same questions today by your staff? Do you model and encourage your staff to ASK (Always Seeking Knowledge)? How are they doing, coach?

Coaching conversations with your staff help develop teamwork. Fostering an “asking” rather than “telling” environment will give support and encouragement to your team.

Coaching is not talking to your staff.  It’s a two-way dialogue looking at performance, identifying performance obstacles or problems, and developing solutions and action steps.

Coaching helps to clarify goals and priorities.  It minimizes misunderstandings and builds teamwork through involvement in planning, problem solving, and increased responsibilities. And it develops creativity and innovation while enhancing productivity.

Everyone – veterans and rookies alike –benefits from coaching as you open a dialogue that involves three action components: listening, asking and feedback.

Preliminaries are typically icebreaker in nature and help to put individuals at ease. They also open the conversation to a give-and-take by identifying the reason or goal for the meeting.

Probing asking works to narrow the focus, review the situation, identify the problem and its potential impacts. It elicits input and ideas and encourages staff to develop, innovate and review various solutions.

Feedback helps clarify new learning, develop and gain consensus on needed action steps and reinforce support of the plan.

Coaching calls for personal contact.  The newspaper business is time demanding, and our personal contact with the staff can suffer – but it’s vital to good management.

Personal contact conveys a sense of importance and a sense of identity (“Congratulations on your sale to……..”) It gives us the chance for positive reinforcement and individual motivation.

Coaching affords you the opportunity to listen, and foster an atmosphere of open communication. Your people are not the only ones to benefit from coaching — you also get the benefit of free information that helps build your team.

Coaching gives your people a regular barometer on their progress, and in some cases, may break their job into various components for reflection, review, revision, and growth. Most importantly, it gives emotional support and reinforces the importance of the individual to both you your team.

As the coach, you are the leader. Your staff watches how you work with each team member and the team as a whole. When you see yourself as a coach, you are teaching your add staff to coach their clients – to get to know them, to understand their problems, and to design ad campaign that meet their needs and build their businesses.  Consultative selling is built on a coaching philosophy – and we can hardly ask our staff to adopt that methodology if we aren’t using it with them.

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How to approach advertisers who may be uncomfortable with advertising on your Web product

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I’m moving from my sales job to a management job. What do I need to know?

Question: I am leaving my current sales position to move across the state and join a larger weekly newspaper in a sales management position. This is my first management job. I was very successful selling, but have always wanted to move into management. My staff will consist of four salespeople with limited experience. What things should I consider as a new manager, any tips to help me get started?

Answer: First of all, congratulations on your new adventure!

It sounds like you enjoyed selling and, in all likelihood, your publisher and others at your current paper have told you that you are good at what you do.

Now, as many new managers do, you are beginning to wonder if you will be as good and as successful in managing as you were in sales. When you were selling, you felt very competent and confident, even when business was tough to get. But now you are moving on to a new challenge and you’re somewhat unsure about just what it is that management entails.

In the past, your independence, attention to detail, strong organizational skills,a perfectionist streak, and the ability to get it done (in most cases by yourself!) have served you well.

However, your movement from one who does to one who manages is going to require a willingness to change, a focus on energy, and a steady and dependable perseverance.

Regardless of the size of your new paper, the management team, or your newly assigned staff, the following recommendations will serve you well in your personal and professional growth in becoming an effective and respected manager and leader.

Move off the field, into the dugout. You’re no longer a player or a doer; you are now the coach. Let go and coach your new staff. Develop a strong ability to communicate ideas and views so others will understand and accept them. Encourage initiative, while minimizing staff frustration.

Listen. Of all the sources of information to help you know, understand, and evaluate the abilities and personalities of each of your staff, listening to individuals is the most important. Much like when you were selling, there were times to sell and times to ask questions and listen. Remember, too, that to be a good listener you should always strive to be objective. Good listening skills are paramount to looking for ways to improve productivity, identify and solve problems, plus develop your people. “Nothing I say today will teach me anything; if I am going to learn something today, I need to LISTEN!”

Embrace conflict. Conflict or complaints from your staff members and others about fellow employees or systems or procedural requirements are going to happen. Be prepared to handle the conflict fairly, positively,and in a timely fashion. Work to have all parties involved focus on the issues at hand rather than the personalities in the disagreement. Listen, and listen again!

Start strong. Don’t be easy, unsure, or misdirected. Communicate your expectations, particularly in this challenging economic environment. When an employee or group of employees does not meet them, a casual reminder (…our workday is 8 to 5) rather than discipline may be all that it takes. However, when discipline is warranted, don’t hesitate to step up. As a collegiate soccer referee, I learned long ago that if a referee does not enforce the laws of the game, those players who were wronged would begin defending themselves. Discipline sets the parameters and it confirms who is in charge and keeps everyone on track.

The more you are successful, the louder your critics will be. Expect people to disagree with you. Be willing to defend what you believe is right and be flexible enough to know when to compromise.

Goals, expectations, dreams. Begin developing, outlining, and communicating your goals and expectations (and those of the paper, too) to your staff and others. Double check that they are S.M.A.R.T. Specific, measurable, agreed upon (in the company, or among the staff), realistic, and time-sensitive.

Assess and enhance your resources. Both your people and your physical resources. Observe, understand, and decide when it is best to utilize your staff’s strengths, as individuals or as a group. Be sure you have thought through both individual and group reaction to your ideas or goals, or any changes in policies.

Plan, plan, plan. Plan your work and work your plan. Assign activities and assign responsibilities and continually seek feedback. Many staffer members, when asked, will say that they want their new manager to succeed as their leader. Usually they will also say that they are going to be sure she earns it! Management is a challenge. It is also hard work. Though the rewards are usually hard-earned, they are well-deserved.

Have fun … and good luck!

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Business of News Community Journalism

Billionaire invests in community journalism

“In towns and cities where there is a strong sense of community, there is no more important institution than the local paper.” The speaker was not a journalist – it is billionaire Warren Buffet, who just invested an additional $142 million to purchase newspapers. We are all tired of hearing that “print is dead” and that our industry is history. We all know our that newspapers have a lot to offer to the public and to our advertisers. Apparently the legendary Warren Buffet agrees with us. He just invested $142 million purchasing newspapers and has expressed an interest in buying more publications. Warren Buffet has become one of the wealthiest persons in the world by following a simple strategy—he looks for business opportunities that are undervalued because most people don’t see the potential they offer. Buffet sees the potential of print advertising. When someone tells you that print is dying, tell them they might want to talk to Warren Buffet!