NEW WEBSITE FOR ACM NEWSROOM

The new ACM Newsroom website — www.acmnewsroom.com — is launched.

It is still in development, but this will be the new and permanent home for ACM Newsroom.

Please replace this site with the new site — www.acmnewsroom.com!

Athens Messenger produces quality video work

As our newsrooms continue to provide more digital content, take a moment to view the videos being produced and posted by the Athens (Ohio) Messenger.

Here is a link to the Messenger's YouTube channel:
http://www.youtube.com/user/AthensMessenger

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT COMING MONDAY!

ACM Newsroom will have a big announcement coming Monday concerning a beta project that will be tested in the field of all ACM regions.

More details to come Monday, July 25, 2011....

WEDNESDAY BUZZ: Back from vacation... Prep Football Blitz is growing!

Good Wednesday morning everyone,

After a few days away from the office, ACM Newsroom is pleased to report that the list of newspapers that are scheduled to launch Prep Football Blitz — our weekly prep football section — continues to grow.

Right now, the following newspapers are working to produce the section starting in the fall 2011:
- Grove, Okla.
- Miami, Okla.
- Southeast Kansas
- Waxahachie, Texas
- Stephenville, Texas
- Brownwood, Texas
- Edinburg, Texas

It is not too late to have a template produced for your market. The deadline to submit a request for a Prep Football Blitz template is Friday, July 22. We will need at least 72 hours to get the template ready for your market.

If you would like to request a template, or more information on the project, please email Rick Rogers at rogers@amconmedia.com.

Follow ACM Newsroom on Facebook

We are all aware of the power of social media. Now, you can easily follow news and posts coming from ACM Newsroom on Facebook. Click this link: http://www.facebook.com/pages/American-Consolidated-Media-Newsroom/166321993428539?sk=wall

Digital Reporting: Here are some great tools, apps to use

Check out this link to learn more about what tools and apps are available for the mobile journalist:

http://journalismdegree.org/2011/25-essential-ipad-apps-for-journalists/

THURSDAY BUZZ: Brownwood Bulletin launches new community website, seeing public interaction

The Brownwood (Texas) Bulletin recently launched one of ACM's new community-based websites on the TownNews Blox system, and has seen the community already engage with the website by sharing information, content and photos.

Here is a link to the Community Voice section of the website: http://www.brownwoodtx.com/community_voice/

As you can see, there are several photos uploaded and even a report on a local family reunion. Good stuff. The key to getting this user-generated content is through promotion — not just in the newspaper and on our website, but through rack cards, T-shirt, flyers, radio trade spots, etc.

To view the full website, go to www.brownwoodtx.com.

ACM JOB BANK: Cecil Whig seeks managing editor

Assistant editor looking to move up?

The Cecil Whig, a five-day daily in northeastern Maryland, is looking for a motivated managing editor. This person is responsible for developing daily and enterprise stories and will also assign photos and video and oversee features, sports, business and copy desk staff. Applicants should have a background in reporting and at least two years in an editor’s role. The Whig is located in Elkton, Md., which sits at the top of the Chesapeake Bay. We’re a boating and fishing destination and just an hour’s drive from Philadelphia and Baltimore. The Whig offers competitive pay and excellent benefits, including medical, dental, vision, 401(k) retirement and paid vacation. To apply, e-mail cover letter, resume and six writing and/or editing clips to mbullard@cecilwhig.com. Be sure to include "Managing editor" in your subject line. No phone calls please.

TUESDAY BUZZ: Redesign process under way for Grove (Okla.) Sun

Current Grove Sun front page

The redesign process is under way for the Grove (Okla.) Sun newspaper, and we thought we would give our ACM newsroom staffs a sneak peak at the front page redesign.

Remember, ACM Newsroom can provide redesign and repurposing of our news products in both print and online throughout our company.

Right now, redesigns are under way for Grove, Okla., Miami, Okla., Delaware County, Okla., and SE Kansas.

The goal is to have all redesigns launched by the beginning of September.

On schedule next is the Stephenville Empire-Tribune, which will begin the redesign process at the beginning of September.

If you have any questions on the ACM redesign process, please email rogers@amconmedia.com.

Proposed redesigned Grove Sun front page

MONDAY BUZZ: What the duties look like for today's reporter

Here's a big question for you to ponder: Are the demands on today's reporter more than they were 10, 15 or 20 years ago?

The easy answer would be, "yes!"

But, for argument's sake, let's discuss.

On quick glance, it seems today's reporter is being asked to do more, much more, than reporters of the past decades. Today's reporter is asked to tweet news from their beat, provide unique coverage for both print and web products, take photos, write detailed reports for print, shoot video for the web, and "crowdsource" for information using the public and the Internet. Today's reporter is asked to juggle multiple duties with multiple deadlines for multiple products.

In the 1980s life of a reporter, they were asked to write reports for print and, in some cases, take photographs for print. They had one deadline, and in many cases, one medium to concern themselves with — and they struggled to meet those demands because the technology was not there to do much more. Reporters had to wait to return to the office in most cases to begin filing their stories. They had to develop their film to begin processing their photographs for print. So much time was dedicated to their old-style processes that were done behind-the-scenes that it did not allow the reporter to do much more in terms of content gathering.

This is where today's reporter has a great advantage. With today's technology, a reporter can take a photo with their SmartPhone and upload it to the web, or email it directly to the design and web desk. They can file stories right from the scene of a fire, or from a press conference, using wi-fi or cell phone tethering technology. They can live blog from the event using free tools available on the web.

No more wasting time in the darkroom, as now reporters and photographers can upload images minutes after the event takes place from the field.

With a digital camera, a laptop, and a SmartPhone, a reporter can do their work in all mediums — print, digital, video and broadcast — and never step foot in the office.

Yes, reporters are asked to produce more content today than they were 20 years ago, because they have better tools to do so.

Brownwood Bulletin provides coverage of tragic death of father, firefighter at Texas Rangers game

The Brownwood Bulletin has been provided blanket, quality coverage of the tragic death of Brownwood husband, father and firefighter Shannon Stone, who died while attempting to catch a foul ball at the Texas Rangers baseball game.

Below are links to the Bulletin's coverage, which can be picked up and used in all ACM products.

Brownwood has done can excellent job covering the story, providing news coverage, ways to help the family, video coverage and sports stories on how the Rangers are dealing with the tragedy.

First main news story: http://www.brownwoodtx.com/sports/article_fbaef9b2-a91d-11e0-999d-001cc4c002e0.html

How to help the family: http://www.brownwoodtx.com/news/local/article_24f9db7c-a9ad-11e0-82f6-001cc4c03286.html

Sports angle: http://www.brownwoodtx.com/sports/article_8b4125ce-a9ea-11e0-883d-001cc4c03286.html


Video of city press conference: http://youtu.be/qJP6TmzMNps

FRIDAY BUZZ: Let's start the discussion on "crowdsourcing"

In the coming days, weeks and months, we will be discussing "crowdsourcing" and what it means and how it can benefit our newsroom in small-to-medium markets that we serve.

Here are some links to start your minds thinking about this subject:

http://www.ojr.org/ojr/stories/070731niles/

http://www.niemanlab.org/2009/06/four-crowdsourcing-lessons-from-the-guardians-spectacular-expenses-scandal-experiment/

http://www.journalism20.com/blog/2009/02/10/crowdsourcing-journalism-best-practices/

These links are just to get the engine started... You will be seeing a much larger and broader emphasis on crowdsourcing on this blog and in ACM's content strategy moving forward.

Have a great weekend!

RR

THURSDAY AM BUZZ: Good industry news from NAA on readership of newspaper websites

Jeff Sigmund

Director of Communications

April 26, 2011

Arlington, Va. – Newspaper publishers drove tremendous traffic to their websites in this year’s first quarter, attracting an average monthly audience of 108.3 million unique visitors - - nearly two-thirds (63.9 percent) of all adult Internet users.

The analysis, performed by comScore for the Newspaper Association of America, also indicates that newspaper websites continue to attract key demographics and affluent consumers, reaching 60.4 percent of 25-to-34-year-olds and 74.4 percent of adults in households earning more than $100,000 a year on average throughout the quarter.

The findings also point toward audience engagement, with newspaper website visitors generating an average of 4.3 billion page views each month, spending nearly 3.7 billion minutes browsing the sites. March was particularly strong, with newspaper websites attracting more than 113 million unique visitors who generated more than 4.5 billion page views during a month marked by significant world events.

“These figures demonstrate newspaper websites’ ongoing power to attract large and sophisticated audiences in the digital space,” said NAA President and CEO John F. Sturm. “It is noteworthy that in March, with the world focused on major global events in the Middle East and Japan, readers sought out newspapers for high-quality content they can trust in today’s environment.”

Figures released by NAA in March revealed that online advertising generated $878 million for newspapers in last year’s fourth quarter, a 14 percent increase from the same period a year earlier.

From comScore:

Newspaper Website Ads Rank Ahead of Portals, Search Engines and Social Media

The latest comScore figures come on the heels of new data indicating consumers rank ads on local newspaper websites ahead of portals, search engines and social media when it comes to online options for advertising sources. The findings, part of a Frank N. Magid Associates survey of 2,500 adults*, also indicate that newspaper advertising is the leading advertising medium cited by consumers in planning, shopping and making purchasing decisions.

The study, titled “How America Shops and Spends 2011,” is the latest in an ongoing series of NAA research investigating consumer shopping habits and the influence media has on shopping today. It found that newspaper ads rank first in driving consumers to take action, with four-in-five adults (79 percent) surveyed saying they “took action” as a result of newspaper advertising in past month, including:

• Clipping a coupon (54 percent)
• Buying something (46 percent)
• Visiting Web sites to learn more (37 percent)
• Trying something for the first time (20 percent)

The full study is available here.

*Frank N. Magid Associates, based in Minneapolis, conducted this phone and Internet survey of 2,502 adults for the Newspaper Association of America.

Good coverage of breaking story

Folks, I know I have been heavy on the news from Waxahachie, Texas, lately, but I had to share the great coverage provided by the Waxahachie Daily Light staff over the holiday weekend of a body being found in a refrigerator in their area.

This story broke on July 4th, and Joann Livingston, the managing editor of the Daily Light, provided great coverage and continues to update the story as details come in. Staff reporter Andrew Branca also was on the spot to get some good images of police working the crime scene.

Below is her latest report found on the newspaper's website. The photos taken by Andrew Branca were featured on the 10 p.m. newscast of ABC's WFAA in Dallas on July 5, with credit given to the Waxahachie Daily Light.

Body found in refrigerator in western Ellis County

Arlington police and crime scene unit at the location where a body was found in western Ellis County. Photo by Andrew Branca

Authorities looking into whether remains are those of a missing Arlington man

By JOANN LIVINGSTON
Daily Light Managing Editor

Published: Wednesday, July 6, 2011 8:49 AM CDT

The identity of a body found July 4 in a refrigerator on a property in western Ellis County remains pending; however, authorities say they are looking into whether the remains are those of a 62-year-old Arlington man who went missing May 6.

Sheriff’s Chief Deputy Dennis Brearley said a father and son were using their metal detectors on a property in the 500 block of Farm-to-Market 2258 when they came across the refrigerator. After opening it and discovering what appeared to be a body inside, they contacted the sheriff’s office, with a sergeant and investigators dispatched to the scene, Brearley said.

Justice of the Peace Jackie Miller Jr. said he was contacted at 11 p.m. and pronounced the as-yet unidentified person dead as of 12:01 a.m. Tuesday. Miller said he ordered the body taken to the Tarrant County medical examiner for an autopsy.

“It was a pretty disturbing scene. They threw him away like he was trash,” Miller told the Daily Light.

Brearley said sheriff’s investigators recalled information received from the Arlington police during recent intelligence meetings to be on the lookout for a body that had possibly been dumped in the Ellis/Johnson county area.

Arlington PD was contacted about the find, with that agency’s officers securing the scene and taking over the case, Brearley said.

As of Tuesday afternoon, Arlington PD spokesman Tiara Richard said her agency was still looking into the circumstances.

“We did have a homicide where a body was not recovered,” she said. “There is a possibility (the body found in Ellis County) is connected to our case, but the medical examiner will have to make that finding. We’re not connecting it; the medical examiner will have to do that. … We need to go through the process.”

According to information previously released by the Arlington Police Department, two people are in custody on a murder charge relating to the disappearance of Jerry Roberts from his residence in the 700 block of Sanford St.

Arlington officers had gone to his home May 6 to conduct a welfare check at the request of his family, arriving at the location to find the man’s pickup and refrigerator missing, while also discovering blood stains on a chair, authorities said.

During the ensuing investigation, at least one witness reported an argument the day before between Roberts and his roommate, Erin Leanne Guthrie, 38, who was seen on surveillance footage using Roberts’ debit card at a Fort Worth Convenience store May 7, authorities said.

On June 7, Thomas Eugene Dunham, 43, identified by police as Guthrie’s boyfriend, was stopped by officers in Alamosa, Colo., while driving Roberts’ truck, which had been listed as stolen, authorities said.

Dunham was taken into custody, with Guthrie located at a nearby Colorado homeless shelter and also taken into custody, authorities said.

“Based on the totality of the circumstances of this incident and interviews with the suspects, Arlington police investigators consulted with the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office and are now proceeding with murder charges,” a June 24 press release by the Arlington PD states. “Guthrie and Dunham have both been charged with murder and remain in custody in the Alamosa County Jail in Colorado. Bail has been set at $500,000 for each suspect.”

It was unclear as of press time whether Guthrie and Dunham had been extradited back to Texas.

Contact JoAnn at joann@wninews.com or 469-517-1452.

TUESDAY AM BUZZ: Feedback from readers not dead in Waxahachie

The Voice of the Reader section of the opinion page
in a recent edition of the Waxahachie, Texas, Daily Light.

Another takeaway from my site visit to the Waxahachie, Texas, Daily Light last week that was extremely positive was the number of letters to the editor the newspaper receives and publishes, not just on a weekly basis, but on a near daily basis.

In my discussion with the newsroom staff, editor Neal White said the fact that the newspaper's policy is that it will print all letters to the editor on varying political views — as long as there are no statement of slander or libel and they are signed by the author with a phone number given for vertification — has fostered a forum of open discussion on the Opinion page of the newspaper.

Also, the section of the newspaper that publishes the letters is not called, "Letters to the Editor," it is called "Voice of the Reader."

In an earlier post on this blog, I talked about how the term, "letters to the editor," may be dated in today's world. First, not many of us write traditional "letters" these days, and also many readers are not aware of who the editor at the newspaper is, especially if there has been some turnover in that position.

That's why I love how the Waxahachie Daily Light has its reader correspondence published in the "Voice of the Reader." Another names for the feedback section could be, "Reader Feedback," "Inbox," "Your Views," "Sound Off," and many more.

Daily Light editor Neal White said the newspaper publishes at least one letter from a reader nearly every day, and sometimes multiple letters per day. He said the newspaper's crop of political-themed columns help spur feedback from readers.

What is going on in Waxahachie is a great example of how a newspaper's openness with its community can help foster increased interaction with its readers in the pages of the product.

Well done Daily Light staff!

Use video to promote your product

This may not be a "news"-related post, but I wanted to share this video produced by the staff of the Valley Bargain Book, a group of shoppers located in the Valley region of south Texas owned by ACM.

This video has interviews with advertising customers talking about why they advertise with the shoppers and the success they have seen through their branding efforts.

The thing to remember is that video can be a great tool to use to promote your newspaper and website, whether it is for advertising, news or commercial printing.

Here is a link to the promotional video to the Valley Bargain Book:

Could your newspaper and website do something like this? I bet you could, and you would see great results.

An example of a great sports ASF

During my site visit and training with the newsroom staff of the Waxahachie (Texas) Daily Light, I picked up last Sunday's edition and came across a great spread by sports editor Chad Wilson.

Wilson, who is a one-man sports department like many of the newspapers in ACM, used an alternative story format to countdown the top 10 sports stories throughout the school year.

First, let me say, Chad's layout of the feature was extremely eye catching and really popped off the page, starting on the front of the sports section and then jumping the countdown to page 2 of sports.

The ASF is easy to read, and turned what could have been a ho-hum countdown story into a must-read for the local sports fan.

Also, this is a great idea for sports editors to do in the summer when high school sports are out of season in most of our regions.

Hats off to Chad on a job well done!

THURSDAY AM BUZZ: Promote coupons, inserts on your front page

If any of you have watched the TLC show, "Extreme Couponing" you know that couponing has caught fire again with consumers, and newspapers can also reap the rewards of this craze.

If your newspaper is not promoting coupons or preprints on the front page of your newspaper is a tease box or with a special teaser, why not?

Nothing will attract a reader's attention more in the newstand or at the store than, "Up to $140 of savings with coupons in today's edition!"

The goal is for people to pick up the paper, and even if it is for the coupons initially, chances are they will read your content as well.

And, you never know, coupons just may be the thing to hook a non-traditional newspaper reader into a regular subscriber.

Last Sunday while visiting a convenience store in the Dallas area, I saw a woman purchase three copies of the Sunday Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Being the nosy newspaper man that I am, I asked why she bought three copies. Her answer, "More copies, more coupons, more savings. I do this every Sunday."

In this photo with this post, you will notice that the Waxahachie (Texas) Daily Light promotes its preprints and coupons on the front page of its Sunday's edition. You can do something as simple as a regular teaser, which is what the Daily Light is doing, or go a step further and add up the total amount of coupon savings in that week's newspapers, or include a list of preprints featured in that specific edition.

Whichever you chose, we think it's a great idea to promote the savings featured in your newspaper.

Let's not miss this opportunity!

WEDNESDAY AM BUZZ: Site visit, training planned at Waxahachie, Texas, Daily Light

ACM Newsroom will be on the road today conducting a site visit and training session with the staff of the Waxahachie (Texas) Daily Light.

NEIGHBORHOOD ALL-STARS: A fun, unique ACM-wide content program

Template for Neighborhood All-Stars content promotion

Certificate template for Neighborhood All-Star to be given by newspaper.

ACM Newsroom is pleased to announce a company-wide content program that we encourage all of our newsrooms to participate in, whether you are a daily, weekly or shopper newspaper.

"Neighborhood All-Stars" is an initiative that will spotlight men and women in our community who go "above and beyond" in their daily lives. Maybe there is a special woman who reads to children every Friday at the local library, and her efforts typically go unnoticed. Or, what about the gentleman who stops once a week to visit friends and strangers at the nursing home, doesn't he deserve a public pat on the back? Maybe a Neighborhood All-Star is just someone who is always smiling behind the counter when you shop at the local grocery store.

I was taught by one of my mentors that "everyone has a story, and that it is our job to tell them," and Neighborhood All-Stars is a unique way to tell these stories of good deeds in an alternative format that is simple and fast for the newsroom to put together, and a quick, easy read for the reader.

Included in this blog post is a link that will download everything the newsroom will need to start this program — template, artwork, fonts — as well as house ads to begin promotion and a certificate that could be given to each Neighborhood All-Star.

Link to download is: http://www.mediafire.com/?h739s75ljxb1qt0

This program has several benefits beyond getting another face in the newspaper. It has the opportunity to provide good, positive promotion for the newspaper if publicized correctly. The house ad campaign is a good start, but we encourage our newspapers to go further. Talk about the program at your local civic clubs. Make buttons that your staff wears around town that reads, "Do you know a Neighborhood All-Star?" and make sure and take submissions and suggestions when approached. Run photos of each Neighborhood All-Star receiving their certificate in a follow-up. We suggest not running the certificate photos with the initial feature.

At launch, we recommend that you find and report on the first Neighborhood All-Stars to get the ball rolling. We suggest getting four spotlights completed prior to launch, which will allow time for residents to begin submitting nominations via e-mail to the newsroom.

It is our recommendations that you make Neighborhood All-Stars a weekly feature, and make an attempt to run the future on the same page, or at least in the same section, every week.

We encourage this feature to have a life-span of at least six months, but expect that it could be a feature for more than a year or more after it gains traction with your readers.

The first newspapers that kick off the Neighborhood All-Stars campaign and publishes it will be eligible for special recognition and a small prize from ACM. Newspapers will need to submit a PDF of the page which features this promotion to Rick Rogers at rogers@amconmedia.com by July 8 to be eligible.

If you have any questions or feedback on this new ACM content program, please email Rick Rogers at rogers@amconmedia.com.

MONDAY BUZZ: Stephenville Empire-Tribune displays good use of ASFs

Example of an ASF from the sports page of the Stephenville Empire-Tribune.
(Click to enlarge)

Hats off to the news staff of the Stephenville (Texas) Empire-Tribune on their use of alternative story formats (ASFs) in their news and sports pages.

Earlier this summer, I paid a visit to the staff of Stephenville for a training session on best practices for both print and online, as part of ACM's 2011 content strategy, "Web First… Print Best."

A focus of that training discusses best practices for the use of alternative story formats, and how they can make something as mundane as a press release or submitted photo into something of good news value.

An example of a good use of an ASF can be found on this sports page from the Stephenville newspaper. E-T Sports Editor Brad Keith took a submitted photo and information and instead of running a stand-alone photo with a long cutline, or a short story with the photo, he turned that information into a unique read using an ASF.

Good job Brad! You will be seeing more information and discussion of best practices when it comes to ASFs in the coming weeks and months on this website.

FRIDAY AM BUZZ: Valley-based shopper growing Facebook fans in bunches!

The Facebook page of the Valley Bargain Book.

During our visit to the Valley-based Texas properties in ACM, we were pleased to see the Valley Bargain Book focusing some attention on growing its fan base on its Facebook page.

Through a handful of promotions, including free tickets to a local water park, the Valley Bargain Book was able to grow its Facebook page from approximately 400 "likes" to more than 1,100 in a very short amount of time.

Why is this important? It's important because now the Valley Bargain Book can use its Facebook page with more bang to announce special advertising promotions, contests and much, much more.

Of course, we urge all users of company Facebook pages to post with caution. Please make sure the items you post are appropriate for a company-based Facebook site. One inappropriate post can do major damage to the reputation of the business.

That said, it is great to see the good work of the Valley Bargain Book paying off. During our visit, you could sense a real pride in the employees for their product.

A handful of staff members from the Valley Bargain Book in Brownsville, Texas, an ACM shopper newspaper.
Holding the newspaper is the Brownsville office genera manager, Linda Medrano.

THURSDAY AM BUZZ: ACM Newsroom on the road this week

ACM Newsroom is on the road this week in the Valley region, visiting properties in Corpus Christi, Brownsville and McAllen, Texas, concerning the roll out of the MediaSpectrum project.

The Valley region newspapers of the Ad Sack, Bargain Books and the Valley Town Crier editions will be installing the Ad Sales Pro platform from MediaSpectrum by the end of September, with set up of the product taking place in July.

Stay tuned for more updates on the roll out of the MediaSpectrum project in the Valley and throughout ACM.

Great Father's Day Reader Callout pages

Here are some great examples of the Father-Son Look-a-Like contest that were done by the Miami News-Record and Grove Sun. Well done. If you didn't do a reader callout for Father's Day, try to jump on board with a reader callout for the Fourth of July. See earlier post this week for more information.

Reader callouts and contests like the Father's Day pages are another great way to get more faces in the newspaper.

WEDNESDAY BUZZ: This week's front page gallery

Here are a few pages sent to ACM Newsroom for this week's gallery. Remember, please send your front pages every week to rogers@amconmedia.com.

Daily Light earns top honors from Texas Press Association

The Waxahachie Daily Light newsroom staff was presented with 8 awards for journalism excellence Saturday during the Texas Press Association’s 132nd annual Better Newspaper Contest.

The awards were presented for work published in 2010.

The Daily Light earned the “Sweepstakes” award as best daily newspaper in the Division 3 category for newspapers with a circulation less than 7,000.

The honor was the Daily Light’s fourth TPA Sweepstake award since 2005.

Other awards presented Saturday during the luncheon held in Rockwall included:

• First Place Advertising

• First Place Column Writing — Neal White

• First Place Feature Story — Rebecca Hertz and Neal White

• Second Place General Excellence

• Second Place Editorials — Neal White

• Second Place Headline Writing — Neal White

• Fourth Place Routine Special Sections

“I am very, very proud of our team at WNI,” said Ray Pike, vice president and publisher of Waxahachie Newspapers Inc. “Earning top honors as the best Texas newspaper in our division is a major accomplishment. It’s our equivalent of winning the Super Bowl — something that’s difficult to pull off once, let alone four times since 2005.

“While this is a big day for all of us at WNI, we also hope the community shares in our accolades because when it comes right down to it, everything we do is done to produce the best advertising and news products for the communities we serve,” Pike said. “While ‘Best in Texas’ honors are nothing new for our Ellis County communities, we are proud to add another ‘Best’ to the list.”

Pike praised the staff at WNI, noting the commitment and dedication of the team members.

“I can’t say strongly enough how proud I am to lead this team,” Pike said. “The past few years have been difficult ones for our industry as a whole. Through it all, the dedicated professionals at WNI have risen to the challenge. Their commitment to excellence has never waivered.

“Again, I express my congratulations to the WNI team for again being named as the best small market daily newspaper in the state of Texas by the Texas Press Association — a recognition that is very much deserved,” Pike said.

In March, the Daily Light news team was honored with 12 awards for journalism excellence from the Texas Associated Press Managing Editors Association. In April, the Daily Light news team received 16 awards for journalism excellence from the North and East Texas Press Association, bringing the total to 36 awards received by the newsroom staff for work published in 2010.

During the past 13 years, the Daily Light news team has earned more than 275 awards for excellence in journalism from various state newspaper organizations.

Stephenville Empire-Tribune earns Texas Press Association honors

The Empire-Tribune garnered a first place win in community service at the largest press association contest in the state this weekend.


The award - and others - were received at the Texas Press Association’s 132nd Annual Summer Convention in Rockwall on Saturday.

The association’s 2011 Texas Better Newspaper Contest called on newspapers to submit a scrapbook detailing a community service project covered during the 2010 calendar year. 

In the small dailies division, the E-T submitted a series published in November and December, “The 12 non-profits of Christmas,” written by Staff Writer Amanda Kimble. 

The series highlighted 12 Erath County non-profit organizations and encouraged area businesses and community members to forgo typical holiday gifts and instead make monetary donations or volunteer their time to the organizations that serve their neighbors in need.

The submission also included evidence that the community responded to the series, such as photos of donations, letters to the editor regarding the coverage and more.    

Other awards brought home by E-T staff included:

• Managing Editor Sara Vanden Berge, third place in column writing

• Second place in advertising

• Nathan Bural, third place in sports photography

• Vanden Berge and Kimble also received a fourth place combined win in feature writing.   

READER CALLOUT SUGGESTION: Fourth of July!

Now that Father's Day is behind us — and ACM Newsroom hopes all fathers in the company enjoyed their special day — we have another reader-photo callout suggestion for you: Fourth of July.

Start running house ads in your upcoming weekend edition, or no later than a week from today, asking readers to submit their favorite photos from their own upcoming Fourth of July celebration. Now, these photos could be from at-home celebrations, a party on the lake, a vacation Fourth of July getaway, or from the city's celebration through their own lens.

Make sure and set a deadline for photos to be submitted, and publish the photos in the next weekend's or the next week's edition. Try not to wait more than seven days after the reader callout is announced to publish the photos.

And don't forget to promote the reader callout in your newspaper, your website and through social media networks.

These reader callouts are just another great way to get interaction between your newspaper and website and the public.

MONDAY AM BUZZ: We want to see your Father's day photo spreads

Good Monday morning in ACM land!

If your newspaper published a page or pages of reader callout photos for Father's Day this weekend, ACM Newsroom would love to see and share your finished product.

Please email the pages your Father's Day photos published on to Rick Rogers, director of product dcvelopment, at rogers@amconmedia.com, by 5 p.m. Tuesday. Please send the pages in PDF format if possible.

FRIDAY AM BUZZ: Headlines — don't be afraid to go big

You have all heard the phase, "come big, or come home," right?

Well, when it comes to a headline for your dominant story on your front page or section fronts, don't be afraid to "go big" with your headline typeface size.

In my review of several daily and weekly publications throughout ACM, I have noticed that many of our newspapers tend to run their headlines too small both on the front page and inside the paper.

The days of waiting for a war story to run a headline 60, 70 or 80 points are long gone.

Big headlines draw big attention, even if the story is about a new trash collection service in your town that is being disputed by the public.

Don't be afraid to run a headline that says, "Resident trash city's decision" in 60-point type.

Headlines serve two purposes — to summarize the report, and catch the reader's attention. A 36-point headline on the top of A1 will not do the latter.

Please see the examples below of large headlines on page A1s of newspapers posted on Newseum today:

Below are examples of newspapers who are running their main headlines too small:

THURSDAY AM BUZZ: Do you need a poll question idea for your website?

Hey newsroom, are you in need of a fresh poll question for your website?

If so, don't be afraid to "go national" with your poll question because the topic could apply to not only your  local readers but readers across the globe as well.

Here's an example of a few topics that could play well on your poll question feature:

• Are you afraid of your bank information being hacked online?
     - Yes, I am taking measures to insure my banking information is secure.
     - No, I am not concerned because the incidents are isolated.
     - I keep my money under my mattress.

• Will you stop using your cell phone due to fear of cancer risks?
     - Yes, I am going to look for an alternative to a cell phone because of health concerns.
     - No, I can't afford not to use my cell phone on a daily basis.
     - I am going to consider using a heads-free set for my cell phone.
     - I am going to consider text messaging only.

• Will the increase in gas prices affect your summer vacation plans?
     - Yes, we are going to stay closer to home due to gas prices.
     - No, we plan on taking a major trip this summer despite gas prices.
     - We are not planning a vacation this year.

These are just three ideas for a poll question, and I am sure your newsroom can think of more. Please make sure that you change your poll question at least once a week, or better yet, every three days and promote your poll question in your print product as well, either on your front page or your opinion page.

TUESDAY AM BUZZ: Front pages around ACM

Check out this week's front page gallery of newspapers throughout ACM.
To submit your front page, please email PDFs to rogers@amconmedia.com.

Chisholm Tribune Press

The Edinburg (Texas) Review

Hibbing Daily Tribune

IN FOCUS: Example of being creative with static subjects

Cutline: Mike White's 1964 Pontiac GTO was one of the top prize
winners in Friday's Route 66 car show. Photo by Jim Ellis /
Miami News-Record

This is a great example of a photographer being creative when shooting static subjects, such as people attending a car show.

Jim Ellis, sports editor of the Miami (Okla.) News-Record, took this photograph, which ran on page 1A of the News-Record's Sunday edition.

Great job Jim on getting a creative angle, and the subject in the reflection for this artistic shot.

MONDAY BUZZ: What to do with those reader-submitted photos

It is a question every reporter or editor has to deal with no matter what part of the country your newspaper operates, "Where do I run the photo of the man and his vegetables."

During our training seminar at the Stephenville (Texas) Empire-Tribune, this question was asked. The news staff there was having trouble finding a good place in the newspaper to publish reader-submitted photos that do not fit the mark for quality or content for the front page, or even the lifestyles section or inside news section.

My advice: Begin a "Photo of the Day" feature on an inside page of your newspaper. I have seen newspapers typically run this type of "Photo of the Day" feature at the top of their Records page (typically page 2) or on a page that struggled to feature art.

Having this feature on a daily or weekly basis will provide your staff with an anchor to run these reader-submitted photos, and also could better promote readers to submit their photos.

Sometimes newsrooms struggle to see any news value in these reader-submitted photos or photos of "grip and grin" events. My answer, it may not be news to us — but it is news to them.

And that's what we have to remember.

Dallas Mavericks NBA Champs sig page now available

ACM Newsroom is pleased to provide our Texas newspapers in the Dallas Mavericks area a special sig page honoring the NBA champs.

To download the inDesign file, along with necessary images and fonts, please follow this link:

http://www.mediafire.com/?gfda9iqn6ob9wv6

A PDF version of this page is also included with the download.

A preview of the page can be seen with this post, but the quality is not suitable for printed use.

Coming Monday PM: Dallas Mavericks NBA Champion sig page for ACM Texas newspapers

A special NBA Champion Dallas Mavericks Sig Page will be available for all Texas ACM newspapers by 4 p.m. Monday for publication in Tuesday or this week editions.

FRIDAY AM BUZZ: Prep Football Blitz cover mockup debut

Prep Football Blitz cover mockup for Miami (Okla.) News-Record

ACM Newsroom has been burning the midnight oil this week in preparation of the July 1 launch of its weekly prep football section template for sports editors to use.

We already have confirmation that our newspapers in Miami, Okla., Grove, Okla., Cherokee County, Kan., and Stephenville, Texas, will be using our Prep Football Blitz template and launch this special section this fall.

Who else will join? This section is a proven winner for both grow in readership and advertising. The section will also have a dedicated website as well, merging our print and online offerings (Notice the website address and QR code at the bottom of the cover mockup with this post?)

With this post, you will get a sneak peak of the cover mockup for the section. This is the mockup for the Miami (Okla.) News-Record's Prep Football Blitz piece. It's not official, but close.

If your newspaper would like to join the others launching Prep Football Blitz this fall, please send us an email at rogers@amconmedia.com.

HONOR ROLL: ACM Texas weekly earns several awards

The Glen Rose (Texas) Reporter, an ACM weekly newspaper

The Glen Rose Reporter, a weekly newspaper in the ACM family, recently received several awards from the North and East Texas Press Association, including four first place honors.

Kathryn Jones, managing editor of the Reporter, received first place for column writing, first place for headline writing, first place in news photography and first place for special section. She shared the latter award with Linda Rowe and Jeri Martin.

The Reporter earned second place in the Sweepstakes category, and second place in news writing, also awarded to Jones.

Jones and Kelly Hoodenpyle earned third place in the feature photo category.

All awards were given in the medium weekly division.

If you have a recent award or honor your newsroom would like to share, please email rogers@amconmedia.com to be included in our next Honor Roll.

THURSDAY AM BUZZ: Some ideas for unique sports coverage this summer

Summer is almost officially here, as temperatures soar into the 90s throughout much of our regions, and for sports editors at our newspapers that means it is time to get a little creative with coverage.

Because high school sports are now over in most of our markets, times can get a little slow on the sports desk. And, yes, the rest is much deserved considering how hard you folks work during the school sports season.

That said, summer is also a time to have fun with your sports page by doing some unique stories. In the summer at the newspapers I previously worked at, we filled our sports section with local coverage of Legion baseball, football and fall sports camp stories and photos, and the occasional photo package from the Little League ballpark.

Here are 3 unique story ideas to use on your sports pages:

1) Let's play ball! Head to your local youth baseball or softball park, and instead of taking photos of the kids in action, turn your lens around and grab your notepad and do a feature on the people at the ballpark who work hard, and get little or no attention. Maybe it is an umpire who has worked behind the plate for 10-plus years and does it for the love of the game, or a coach who has been in the dugout for 30 years and long after his kids were too old to play, or interview a few moms on what it is like to watch their 8 year old swing the bat for the first time. These are all great stories and will be read by sports fans and non-sports folks!

2) It's time to play golf: I would think the majority of our markets have a golf course in town, or nearby. If so, do a feature on a local golfer who is tearing up the local league or tournament. Or, maybe it is a feature on a group of men or ladies who meet every morning and play a round, or two! These are great stories that tend to focus on older athletes — something we don't typically do during the normal school sports season.

3) Head to your local pool: Again, it is my guess that many of our markets have a city or YMCA pool, and now is the time that parents love to get their kids involved in aquatic sports. Do a feature on the local swim teacher, or maybe a feature on a local swimmer who is making waves in the pool. If those stories are not available, do a fun story on swim lessons and how much patience the instructor must have to teach young ones more than the dog paddle.

Remember, for all of these stories, think more than just how it would play in print. Maybe for the umpire feature, take some video of him working behind the plate and conduct a short 1 or 2 minute interview with him for your website. For the golf feature, maybe it is a photo slideshow or a video of what makes their swing so hard. And, for the swimming story, again a photo slideshow could be a great website feature.

Sports editors: If you take any of these suggestions and use them, please send me examples via PDFs of the pages so I can share with sports editors throughout ACM. Email PDFs to rogers@amconmedia.com.

Hey page designers, need fresh ideas? Check out this website

We all get stuck in ruts, whether you are a reporter covering the same events each year, an editor who is going cross-eyed proofing copy or a page designer who realized the other day that the last three front pages you put together all had a banner headline across the top of the page.

Do you need some ideas to break you out of the funk?

Log on to http://npd.snd.org/ and get some page design ideas from page designers throughout the world. This is a great resource for new and veteran "InDesign and Quark wizards" to check out at least once a week for a fresh spin on your front pages, sports pages, editorial pages and, yes, even special sections.

If you are already checking out this website, great. If not, bookmark it now and write yourself a sticky note to look at it at least once a week!

Hope you enjoy the tip!

WEDNESDAY SPOTLIGHT: Training conducted at Stephenville Empire-Tribune

The editorial staff of the Stephenville (Texas) Empire-Tribune of
(from left) Micah Moore, Brad Keith, Amanda Kimble, and Sara Vaden Berge

On Wednesday, June 8, ACM Newsroom visited with the newsroom staffs of the Stephenville (Texas) Empire-Tribune and the Brownwood (Texas) Bulletin to conduct a training seminar in conjunction with our company-wide content strategy of "Web First… Print Best" and the transformation of the Empire-Tribune's web product to the Town News Blox format.

The two staffs engaged in more than two hours of training, going over ACM's expectations for enhancing our print and online products now and in the future.

Items discussed included updating our websites multiple times per day with fresh news (not just major news, but items on upcoming events, news briefs, sports results, etc.); the increased use of photo slideshows and video to enhance our online products and pageviews; better promotion of online offerings in the print product, and better promotion of the print products through our website; the future "Only in Ink" and "Neighborhood All-Star" corporate wide programs that will launch later this summer; overview of "Prep Football Blitz" — ACM's upcoming high school weekly football section template and news staff/ad sales guide; how to use alternative story formats (ASFs) and user-generated content (UGCs) to enhance your print and online products, plus more more.

I was impressed with the energy of both news staffs of the Stephenville and Brownwood newsrooms. I was reassured that they understand the importance of making sure our websites have equal importance to our print products in our newsrooms.

The Stephenville staff has already agreed to move forward with Prep Football Blitz, and launching the section this fall with the upcoming football season. This will be a great move for both the editorial product, and the advertising staff. It is a proven winner!

Also, Stephenville has been put on the list for a redesign and repurposing exercise for its print product, with a goal of getting the process under way no later than Sept. 1.

The redesign process will begin after redesigns are complete for the Oklahoma-Kansas cluster of Miami, Grove, Delaware Co., and SE Kansas.

In June, ACM Newsroom is planning to make on-site training visits to the remaining newsrooms in our Texas cluster.

Thank you Stephenville and Brownwood staffs for taking part in Wednesday's training. If you have any questions, please remember I am always available via email at rogers@amconmedia.com.

Reader Callout suggestion: Father-son look-a-like contest for Father's Day

House ad in Miami (Okla.)
News-Record promoting
father-son look-a-like contest
reader callout.

Father's Day is right around the corner, and a great way to get reader interaction is with a Father's Day-themed reader callout.

There are various options to do this, including the one currently being done by the Miami (Okla.) News-Record which is doing a father-son look-a-like contest.

Example of Father's Day reader
callout page from another newspaper

You can also have readers submit a photo of their father, with a one-line greeting to be printed as well. Or, better yet, make sure the photo submitted is a photo of dad and the kids. 

I have seen newspapers have get success with reader callouts for both Mother's Day and Father's Day. Remember, you can print all or the best photos in your print product, but also include all photos in an online gallery as well.

To download a house ad template for this reader callout, please click the link provided: 

http://www.mediafire.com/?tq6h6yo36dyjiqq

House Ad provided by ACM Newsroom