More than 200 individuals gathered in New Orleans for the Senior Leadership Conference hosted by America’s Newspapers — in an atmosphere that reflected enthusiasm and positivity about the newspaper industry.
As incoming President Cameron Nutting Williams said in her acceptance remarks, the tradition of real fellowship between members remains as strong as ever. That was evident in the hallway conversations, the sharing that took place in the Town Hall-style conference sessions and in the openness in what publishers shared with each other.
“I believe America’s Newspapers is delivering on the most important promise we made in 2019: That we would form a home, a resting place, a supportive platform dedicated entirely to our members and their future,” Williams said.
She pledged that America’s Newspapers will continue to be “brazenly optimistic about the future of our business, because we must be, because it is essential to the future of our country and the communities that depend on each and every one of you to continue to deliver on our promises.”
That brazen optimism was on full display in the talks that took place in the conference sessions, too.
Coverage of three conference sessions follows …
The state of local newspapers:
What advertisers really think
Gordon Borrell, CEO of Borrell Associates, opened the conference with a recap of a survey conducted this spring for America’s Newspapers.
He told publishers that 53% of local buyers are still novices, have questions, need advice and are looking for partners. The “masters” — 87% of agencies are classified as master marketers — also view traditional media companies as partners.
He said the importance of newspapers to a local community is something newspapers should be highlighting as they reach out to local businesses about advertising — especially new businesses in a community. His survey showed that 84% of newspaper ad buyers believe there would be a negative impact on the community if the local paper were to close. And, 78% of those who don’t buy newspaper ads said the same thing.
He also shared highlights about local ad agencies. Eighty-seven percent of agencies offer basic digital marketing services, with the most common being related to the production and distribution of video and the handling of social media. Three in five agencies buy digital products from a traditional media company. “These advertising agencies need your help,” Borrell said. “You face competition. They face a lot of competition from upstart digital agencies that are out there.” Twenty-nine percent of agencies are buying digital services from newspapers. “I think that can increase,” Borrell said.
Among the other findings shared with members of America’s Newspapers:
A focus on revenue
Two separate sessions during the conference focused on the topic of revenue. Part one of these sessions was facilitated by Alan Fisco, president and CFO of The Seattle Times Company; Cameron Nutting Williams, regional publisher and CRO with Ogden Newspapers; and Bob Woodward, publisher of TH Media/Telegraph Herald and vice president of Woodward Communications.
Conference attendees expressed confidence in their papers’ ability to grow revenues over the next five years — through a variety of revenue avenues.
One publisher noted that his paper hired its first Report for America reporter this year and found success in raising the money needed to fund its portion of the reporter’s salary through philanthropy. The response from the community was very positive, he said, adding that his first ask generated a $10,000 contribution. There are people who are very supportive of us, he said, and will support the paper through philanthropy if newspapers tell the story well, provide the necessary background, and talk about what the money will (and won’t) be used for.
Among the alternate revenue sources that attendees are growing revenue with are commercial printing, public notice, employment, obits, niche publications, websites, contests, video services, sports betting, lifestyle magazines, visitor guides and electronic newsletters. One publisher reported that his paper will make over $60,000 this year on commissions from trips — both foreign and domestic. The pent-up demand for travel is crazy, he said, especially among older residents in the community. The interest in travel is part of the reason that travel guides also are doing well.
The conversation also turned to digital subscription revenues and how newspapers are differentiating between print and digital subscription rates.
One publisher at the conference said her paper is planning to take steps soon to close that gap by setting an increased subscription rate to cover the newspaper’s newsgathering operations. At the basic subscription rate, readers would receive a digital paper in their inbox every morning. If they prefer to receive the paper in print at their homes, there would be an additional print and delivery fee added to their subscription. She said it will be important, in taking this step, to be very transparent about the subscription rate — noting that the subscription rate is designed to fund newsgathering. The additional fee added on for print subscriptions will fund printing and delivery fees.
Conference attendees also discussed what was termed the monumental shift in print frequency that is expected to occur over the next five years, with publishers facing decisions about whether to reduce print frequency. If you are going to reduce print frequency, don’t play around with middle ground, one publisher said. If you are moving from seven or five days to something else, go to one. “A death by a thousand cuts is way worse,” he said. Move to weekly, he said, and do it before you have to.
In addition to decisions about print frequency being driven by demographics, the difficulty in finding carriers also is pushing that decision in some areas. One publisher suggested that it may be possible to keep print subscribers happy by moving to delivery by mail and publishing a late morning or mid-day paper, instead of early-morning delivery by carriers.
Diversity, equity and inclusion
Best practices for achieving a more diverse workforce (both in terms of hiring and retention) were offered during a session presented by Larry Graham, founder and executive director, and Gaby Martinez-Stevenson, director of institutional research, both of The Diversity Pledge Institute.
Best practices suggested in the hiring process include:
They also talked about the value that can be gained from surveying individuals who are not hired and the importance of approaching DEIA as a collaborative process where everyone understands the company’s goals and strategies.
They discussed The Diversity Pledge Institute’s Newsroom Diversity Survey Pilot, which was conducted over the past two months.
In a news release announcing last week’s one-year anniversary of the founding of The Diversity Pledge Institute, Martinez-Stevenson said that conversations held at the America’s Newspapers conference and at other recent conferences, have been “a great addition to the work we are doing in finalizing our diversity and inclusion survey that will officially launch early in 2023. This survey will further help the industry develop a common understanding of DEIA as well as help identify the appropriate strategies and tools needed to address these barriers.”
Read more about the need for DEIA initiatives to be mission-centered and measurable in this article written by Martinez-Stevenson for Editor & Publisher.
