Statewide Classifieds do work; just ask us

We hear it a lot. “Well, I can’t sell a Statewide Classified because I don’t have any clients who would want that.” Really? Think again. KPS decided to sell one of its two vehicles, a 2017 RAV 4. Oh we could have put a For Sale sign on it, parked it in front of the office or driven it around […]

Coast to coast, and in between, local news is standing up to Trump’s press attacks

By Brian Stelter CNN About 350 newspapers all had one thing in common on Thursday: A statement supporting the free press and decrying President Trump’s attacks against the media. From The Martha’s Vineyard Times to the Dallas Morning News… from the Yankton County Observer in South Dakota to the Bangor Daily News in Maine… the papers are all running editorials as part […]

Into the Issues: Daily reporter turned small-town publisher still won’t back down from Open Records battles

By Al Cross Small, rural newspapers can win open-records battles with state agencies and beat larger news outlets at covering big stories in their communities, says a journalist who spent most of his career at a metropolitan daily but has returned to the business of publishing a rural weekly. Les Zaitz, publisher of the Malheur Enterprise in eastern Oregon, made […]

Peter Wagner: The many benefits of reading a newspaper

We’ve published at least three stories recently regarding older Sheldon citizens being scammed over the phone for thousands of dollars. But even though the first two crimes were printed in our Sheldon Mail-Sun in detail, a third individual was taken for soon after for $16,000.When asked by Sheldon police why she hadn’t learned from the stories reported in the newspaper, […]

25 on-the-job ideals

  By Ed Henninger, Henninger Consulting I’ve been a consultant for almost 30 years. Before that, I worked more than 20 years in writing and editing positions, most of those years as an editor and manager at daily newspapers. During that half-century, I’ve learned a few things about how to do my work well and how to conduct myself in […]

Help Wanted: West Virginia is looking for the next generation of local newspaper owners

The West Virginia Press Association and West Virginia University are launching a new effort to replenish the shrinking pool of independent community news publishers. Don Smith, a veteran of both the editorial and publishing sides of the business and the executive director of the West Virginia Press Association (WVPA), talks about the phone calls he received from long-time community newspaper owners in […]

A sports reporter took a new job. Now his former newspaper is suing over a Twitter account

The Roanoke Times spells it out right in its handbook: Employees who have been issued “Company-owned information assets, keys or other access items must return them to the Company upon termination of employment,” according to a lawsuit filed last week in federal court. Does that policy also include the keys to social media accounts maintained by its reporters? That’s what […]

News publishers rethink premium day practices

By Matt Lindsay, Mather Economics The use of premium days as a tactic to grow audience revenue has caused customer relationship issues, and many publishers are seeking ways to maintain the revenue while moving away from the practice. What are premium days? “Premium days” refers to the delivery of premium products to home delivery subscribers that were not requested by […]

ProPublica to expand local reporting network to focus on state governments

In an effort to help stanch the decline in aggressive statehouse coverage across the country, ProPublica announced last week that it is expanding its Local Reporting Network with a focus on accountability journalism on state governments or state politics. Under a new two-year grant, ProPublica will pay the salary, plus an allowance for benefits, for reporters at seven partner news […]