Community Newspapers - Hear Them Roar

USC Columbia

I’ve been traveling all week and am now in Columbia SC. Today I’ll meet with Beverly Dominick, the placement coordinator for the University of South Carolina  School of Journalism and Mass Communications. I want to explore with her the possibility of journalism and advertising grad and undergrad students doing internship work for community newspapers.  I’m also going to inquire about what the students are saying about their future with newspapers. USC has both a print journalism and electronic journalism program, a new visual communications  major, an advertising major and a Masters in Mass Communication.

Yesterday I toured the Ifra Newsplex and talked with Director Randy Covington. I sat in on a training session for hospital public relations executives who evaluated various Web sites and learned how to market themselves through multimedia and the latest technologies. It was similar to many of the issues facing newspapers. Ifra also trains newspaper publishers, editors and reporters, as well as offering an AdPlex advertising training program.  I’ll be talking extensively about my visit - and my dinner with Doug Fisher, J-school professor and co-author of Principles of Convergent Journalism - on the SNA site and in its  downloadable Suburban Publisher newsletter.

If you haven’t been to the site of  Netline Publication’s Tradepub.com, do take a look. I’ve signed up for notifications and have gotten a lot of  very helpful free magazine subscriptions and white papers. I’m regular receiving WebSite Magazine in print and on the Web, and Business Week. I have downloaded free white papers on CRM, search engine marketing, and several other topics. The choice of topics is vast- some for the ad manager, others perfect  for your publisher, and some technical and far-thinking enough for those geeky IT managers. Take a look!

I hope you’ll forgive the repetition but this is a very old post that I’m reviving.  I just love the concept and now that I have far more visitors I’d really like to hear what you all think about it.  My first concept of this was totally nostalgic but I think newspapers must embrace the new while honoring the old, so this would need some sort of online “what we’re doing now” citizen contributions as well as the “coffee table” book on history that I first thought of. Please take a look at the concept and tell me what you think.

There’s something I’ve wanted to do for a very long time, and it’s such a plus for the local community that I wonder if newspapers might consider taking this on, at least as partial sponsor. The advertising possibilities are pretty endless as well. I’m talking about recording your local community’s oral history.

When I was back living in my hometown of Binghamton NY, the four years after my dad had his first stroke, I started writing a column called Tier Jerker (we lived in what was known as the Southern Tier). The column was published on a local community Web site and in the county’s Senior News. I wrote about the nostalgia and history of the local area. Keep reading →

The USC campus of Ifra Newsplex

I’m headed to South Carolina this week, for SNA. On Thursday I’ll be meeting in Columbia with the J-school professors and director of Ifra Newsplex at USC.  I’m going to be talking with Director Randy Covington and also with Professor Doug Fisher, one of the authors of “Principles of Convergent Journalism.”  While I’m about halfway through the book (reading it in the airport right now) I’ve found it so far to be a great text book for newspaper, radio and TV journalists who need to learn how to become what the authors call “multi-skilled journalists” and others have referred to as”back pack journalists” or, my personal favorite, MoJos (mobile journalists.) 

Journalists, publishers, editors, photojournalists either staff or freelance,  and journalism students should all go out and buy this book.  It’s a tool you’ll return to time and again. More on Ifra Newsplex after my visit.

There are many reasons to do this. Not only does it help high school students prepare for their careers but it could also bring you much positive coverage and marketing. It would show our youth that community newspapers are multimedia and good products to visit often. It could entice newspaper employee recruits, and a new group of consumers for our advertisers.

Nor would this idea have to stop at journalism. The mentoring paper could set up a high school ad sales mentoring program and perhaps lure multimedia sales reps to its sales departments. 

Here’s the Knight Foundation / ASNE application. While the 2008-2009 deadline has passed, it’s good information for next year, and emulation.