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& Press Institute& Press InstituteTPA Winter ConventionTPA Winter Convention 16 - Convention The Tennessee Press APRIL 2011

Here and there

PHOTOS IN THIS SECTION BY ELENORA E. EDWARDS | TPS

EXCEPT AS NOTED

FREEDOM SINGS/FIGHT THE POWER

ROBYN GENTILE | TPA

Beth Harwell of Nashville, the new speaker of the Tennessee House, second from left, attended the Opening Reception. With her, from left, are Frank Gibson, executive director of the Tennessee Coalition for Open Government, Nashville; Jack McElroy, editor of the News Sentinel, Knoxville; Elizabeth K. Blackstone, Kennedy Newspapers, Columbia; and Billy Blackstone, Columbia.

While Kevin Slimp, TPS director of technology, strikes a suitable pose for the camera, Ed Henninger, director of Henninger Consulting, Rock Hill, S.C., adds a special touch.

Gregg K. Jones, Jones Media, Greeneville, suggests the photographer not make this photo. He had climbed onto a chair when, already on his feet, someone suggested he stand up while speaking during a Government Affairs Committee meeting. Sam Kennedy, Kennedy Newspapers, Columbia, is in front.

From left, Rita Williams, University of Tennessee-Martin; Keith Wilson, Kingsport Times-News; Tamara Parkins Dunnebacke, The Milan Mirror-Exchange; Richard Rowlett, Rowlett Adverting, Goodlettsville; Victor Parkins, The Milan Mirror-Exchange; W.R. (Ron) Fryar, Cannon Courier, Woodbury; Art Powers, Johnson City Press

Gene Policinski, executive director of the First Amendment Center, left, and Adam Yeomans, The Associated Press, chat as TPAers arrive.

Jim Thompson, The Courier, Savannah, foreground, and others take in an exhibit at the First Amendment Center.Janet Rail, Independent Appeal, Selmer, was tossed a

T-shirt after the music inspired her to sing a little.

‘Fight the Power’ highlightsfrowned-on, ‘banned’ songs

BY ELENORA E. EDWARDSManaging editor

TPA Winter Convention attendees were treated to an evening of enter-tainment of a different kind on Feb. 10. Music, much of it very familiar, but music which some elements of our society didn’t want us to hear.

Ken Paulson, president and chief ex-ecutive offi cer of the First Amendment Center, Nashville, wrote the show, which included four excellent musicians. It was a fun, interesting time.

What made these songs scary? Cer-tain ideas that certain people thought would be dangerous for people or for our society – sex, drugs, violence, “of-fensive” words, political correctness, environmental matters.

Paulson

From left, Bill Lloyd, Jonell Mosser, Jason White and Joseph WootenEntertainers who sang various songs

were Bill Lloyd, Jason White, Jonell

APRIL 2011 SPECIAL SECTION

Mosser and Joseph Wooten.In the sex category, the Everly Brothers’ 1957 hit “Wake

Up Little Susie” was upsetting to some people, while others saw nothing wrong with it.

Another was Jerry Lee Lewis’ “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Go-ing’ On” because of the phrase “Shake it,” the latter word being the problematic one.

As for drugs, the song “One Toke Over the Line” by Brewer and Shipley and lines such as “One pill makes you larger...” from Jefferson Airplane’s “White Rabbit” had some people upset.

In the area of political correctness and politics, and in one instance, war, some people objected to “I Feel Like I’m Fixin’ To Die” (Yeah, come on all of you, big strong men, Uncle Sam needs your help again. He’s got himself in a terrible jam Way down yonder in Vietnam). Another was Curtis Mayfi eld’s “People Get Ready” (People get ready, there’s a train a comin’; You don’t need no baggage, you just get on board. All you need is faith to hear the diesels hummin’. Don’t need no ticket, you just thank the Lord).

Other examples: “Red Rag Top,” which some people thought was pro-abortion and others, anti-abortion, while White, the song writer, said he composed it simply as a love song; “Short People” by Randy Newman; “Po-litical Science”; “I Am Woman”; “Paradise” by John Prine; “You Send Me” sung by Sam Cooke; “Blowin’ in the Wind” by Bob Dylan; “Change is Gonna Come” by Cooke.

The musicians wrapped up the show with “Express Your-self ” (Whatever you do, do it good) by Charles Wright and the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band.

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Convention - 15APRIL 2011 The Tennessee Press2 - Convention The Tennessee Press APRIL 2011

Elizabeth K. Blackstone, Kennedy Newspapers, Columbia, left, and Tiffany Mason, government relations coordinator, Adams and Reese

GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS COMMITTEE DRIVE-IN TRAINING

Clark

John Finney, a TPA director and chairman of the Winter Convention Committee, introduces Clark.

BY ELENORA E. EDWARDSManaging editor

Justice Cornelia Clark, who became the state’s second female chief justice of the Supreme Court, provided her views on several subjects when she spoke Feb. 11 at the TPA Winter Convention and Press Institute.

She pointed out that many people don’t understand the rule of law and that students are no longer required to take civics, which would provide basic understanding of the three branches of government.

“The media play an integral role in getting people to understand the courts and the roles of courts,” she said.

Budget shortfalls have impacted the courts as well as other departments of government, Clark said, noting that more than 20 percent has been cut from the judiciary system. This has resulted in staff cuts, the closing of three law libraries, reduction in space, reduction in the court reporting program and less money to pay judges to fi ll in for judges who are ill or for some other reason unable to hear cases.

At the same time, the justice said, the courts will continue to be responsible and give “the same level of service.”

More people have trouble getting help because they can’t afford attorneys, Clark said. Important issues of various kinds still affect people (and need the courts’ attention), the justice said.

Clark clearly was against current ef-forts to return to Tennessee the popular election of judges, rather than the ap-pointing of them. She likened judges having to seek election and re-election to a baseball game umpire having to be elected.

She said partisan election of judges might affect the judges’ rulings. She said, “There’s not enough money you could pay me, or pay on my behalf, to have me change my mind about an opinion in a case. But I can understand why, if somebody who had given enough

Chief Justice Clark speaks against the election of judges

money to my campaign, you might worry about that. You might question my sincerity.”

However, she said she had made politi-cal contributions at times and that this is allowed under current ethics rules.

She said judges are somewhat like referees, “doing the best they can.”

She quoted U.S. Supreme Court Jus-tice Sandra Day O’Connor, who said the court “must be a place where being right is more important than being popular.” O’Connor was the fi rst female to serve

on the U.S. Supreme Court. In the current discussion of whether

judges should be elected or appointed and then renamed based on merit, those who believe in election refer to the Ten-nessee Constitution, which says judges will be elected, while others see dangers in returning to electing because of pos-sible political sway. According to the Tennessee Constitution, “The judges of the Supreme Court shall be elected by the qualifi ed voters of the State.”

The state now uses the “Tennessee Plan,” which allows the governor to appoint judges from a select list of candidates from a nominating commission. The public can then keep or remove judges through retention elections, indicating a yes or no vote.

Clark also said she thinks judges should do more pro bono, or free, work.

TPA Director Jack McElroy, News Sentinel, Knoxville, relates a situation in which public notice helped save the home of a young family.

Lobbyists for TPA Marcille Durham, The Ingram Group, Nashville, and Bo Johnson, Johnson Poss Government Relations, Nashville

TPA Lobbyist Mack Cooper, senior policy adviser, Waller, Lansden, Dortch & Davis

TPA Lobbyist James Weaver, attorney, Waller, Lansden, Dortch & Davis

Clint Brewer, The Tennessean, Nashville, left, and Michael Williams, The Paris Post-Intelligencer, co-chairmen of the Government Affairs Committee

Bo Johnson, Johnson Poss Government Relations, Nashville, speaks to the Government Affairs Committee, which met on Feb. 9 during the TPA Winter Convention.

Mark Stevens, publisher of The Erwin Record, spoke on money to be made in the newspaper business.

Ed Henninger, Henninger Consulting, Rock Hill, S.C., left, and Kevin Slimp, TPS technology director, presented a give and take session on design tips and tricks.

Tracey Trumbull, Chattanooga Times Free Press visuals editor, spoke on visual storytelling.

A reporter gets comments from Clark.

This bracelet, made of typewriter keys, was worn by Lynn Richardson, Herald and Tribune, Jonesborough, who said it was a gift from her staff.

Many newspapers provided copies for other TPAers to peruse while not in business or training sessions.

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Convention - 3 APRIL 2011 The Tennessee Press14 - Convention The Tennessee Press APRIL 2011

TPA BOARD OF DIRECTORSDRIVE-IN TRAINING

TPA Treasurer Kevin Burcham, News-Herald, Lenoir City

TPA Directors Joe Adams, The Lebanon Democrat, left, and Brad Franklin, The Lexington Progress

TPA President Art Powers, Johnson City Press

Frank Gibson, executive director of the Tennessee Coalition for Open Government, reports to the board.

W.R. (Ron) Fryar, Cannon Courier, Woodbury, TPAF president

Jim Charlet, Brentwood, vice chairman, TPA Hall of Fame Administrative Committee

TPA Directors Eric Barnes, The Daily News, Memphis, left, and Jack McElroy, News Sentinel, Knoxville

TPA Vice President Michael Williams, The Paris Post-Intelligencer, co-chairman, TPA Government Affairs Committeee

TPA Director Chris Vass, Chattanooga Times Free Press, and Immediate Past President Victor Parkins, The Milan Mirror-Exchange

Some who attended the board meeting

TPA President Art Powers, left, talks with Charles Primm and Amy Blakely of the UTK Off ice of Communications and Marketing.

BY CHELSEA BOOZERThe Daily Helmsman

University of Memphis

E m p l o y e e s a t newspapers across the country have long been told their careers are quickly fading, becoming something more intangible and in digital format. And though the print for m of newspapers will continue to exist, experienced reporters have found it necessary to protect their papers’ digital brand by increasing their presence online.

Ed Bourn, online and technology director of the Chattanooga Times Free Press, presented an informational session on enhancing the online presence of a newspaper on Feb. 11, the last day of the 2011 Tennessee Press Association Winter Convention.

Bourn, who has improved social media participation from Chattanooga Times Free Press’s audience significantly since he’s been in charge of the paper’s online aspect, said interacting with the readers via social media sites like Facebook and Twitter is a necessity nowadays.

He also said that getting readers to the paper’s website isn’t the only goal.

“Any time a user is looking at our website,” he said, “I think, ‘Is there a way I can monetize that eyeball?’”

Bourn gave several tips on making money from a website.

Have lots of photos from events and allow viewers to buy photos of interest to them or that they are featured in, he said. He also suggested selling online ads and video advertisement separately from print ads.

“Don’t put print ads online,” he

said. “This is our future – don’t give it away.”

Bourn mentioned that people surfi ng the Internet on cell phones will surpass those surfi ng it on computers by 2015.

He said for newspapers to make their websites more mobile-friendly. They should get apps for not only the iPhone, which can view videos, but other brands of cell phones as well, he said. This allows the newspaper to reach all readers, no matter which cell phone company they use.

During holidays, Internet views (Facebook, Twitter and on the website) can go down. Bourn said he posts statuses and tweets from the paper’s account asking readers to post special sales during Black Friday or other deals around Christmas and New Year’s.

This technique has worked well

for the Chattanooga Times Free Press, Bourn said. They r e c e ive d t r a f f i c updates on Black Friday when certain roads became hectic and photos of long l ines at various s t o r e s . Re a d e r s accessed the paper’s Facebook account t o i n fo r m t h e i r fellow community members of what was going on.

The paper tends to offer awards such as iPads for contests advertised through their Twitter or Facebook account.

“You do have to watch for people promoting their own companies on your

site, however,” Bourn said. He deletes any postings from other companies or people advertising their own stories or ads.

He suggests that every paper create a social media contract for its employees, telling them not to post their opinions about theirs or other workers’ stories online.

“This is a new thing, and there are plenty of policies around for you to reference,” he said, referring to the social media policy.

Bourn wrapped up his session on protecting one’s digital brand by offering suggestions for content management systems. He said Flickr and YouTube are free sites a newspaper can access for photo and video sharing.

His lasting advice was to “measure everything. Keep all data: site visits per

In digital world, print publications must use social media

Boozer

Bourn

day, likes and mentions – everything,” he said.

William Mitchell, Shelbyville Times-Gazette, and Rita Mitchell, University of Tennessee-Martin

Foreground, Lyle Graves, The Daily News, Memphis

Erin O’Hara, policy advisor, First to the Top Implementation Team, led a session on reporting education reform and the use of statistics on schools.

Some of those who attended O’Hara’s class Foreground, Chris Daniels, University of Memphis, and Tracy Ayers, Pulaski Citizen

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BY LYNDSEY McCLELLANDVolunteer State Community College

Gallatin

One of the Drive-In Training sessions offered at this year’s Tennessee Press Association Winter Convention was Editing Help Desk, presented by Dr. Deborah Gump.

G u m p, wh o i s the Journalist in Residence at Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, answered several grammar questions and offered tips to help attendees improve their editing skills.

Gump started the editing training by explaining “weasel words.”

“These are words that don’t say a darn thing, but they want to make you think something. The reason I hate weasel words is that they often make reporters lazy,” Gump said.

She explained that without these words, reporters would have to get an actual fact rather than using words that don’t mean anything.

If the reporter was forced to get actual

Convention - 13APRIL 2011 The Tennessee Press4 - Convention The Tennessee Press APRIL 2011

OPENING RECEPTION

McClelland

The Tennessee Press Service fared much better in 2010 than in 2009 and saw a modest rebound in ROP advertising as well as healthy growth in our Network products such as Statewide Classifi eds, 2x2, 2x4 and TnNET online ads.

We weathered the recession very well, thanks to quick action to cut expenses, and the leaner TPS is poised to take advantage of slow growth in 2011 and beyond. Despite some major hits in ROP advertising, our “don’t keep all your eggs in one basket” approach shielded us from devastating losses suffered by a few other state press services that relied too heavily on one major account. TPS placed more than $4.5 million in gross ROP business into your newspapers in 2010. State of Tennessee public notices, Publix and TVA are likely to be our biggest ROP accounts this year.

TPS placed more than $880,000 in Network business in 2010, refl ecting a 10 percent increase over 2009. These valuable programs turn remnant space into revenue and are very important to keep TPS operating strong. With the tighter economy, these discounted programs are more popular than ever. If your paper is not participating in all three, please contact TPS to sign up.

TPS REPORT TO THE TPA BUSINESS SESSIONMichael Williams, TPS vice president - Feb. 9, 2011, Doubletree Hotel, Nashville

Our government affairs folks tell us to expect many challenges to printed public notice advertising during this year’s session. TPS is working with all TPA member newspapers to ensure that all public notice ads are being uploaded to www.tnpublicnotice.com. This should strengthen our argument with state and local governments that there is no need to use taxpayer-funded websites for public notice when the newspaper industry is already providing this service as a value-added to their print ads.

Additionally, TPS has budgeted to contribute money to Tennessee Coalition for Open Government in 2011. Led by Frank Gibson, this organization is on constant watch for legislation that could close records or threaten the access we all need to do our reporting jobs.

As you pay your TPA dues each year, remember that TPS operates as TPA’s business affi liate. We’re working as an extended sales force for your newspaper. Member papers receive back much more than their TPA dues amount to through TPS ad placements. I encourage you to contact TPS to ensure that you are getting the most from your TPA membership.

This marks the 35th year for the Tennessee Press Association Foundation. Chartered in 1976 to raise money for newspaper and industry-related programs, the non-profi t has come a long way in the last three and a half decades.

Please take our your programs and circle our 9:30 a.m. Board of Trustees meeting on Friday morning at this convention. Come join us to hear what the Foundation is planning for the next 35 years. All TPA members are welcome to observe.

TPAF has been a big part of many TPS and TPA activities over the years, donating $584,000 toward newspaper-related causes.

As examples, we’ve donated a total of $28,600 over 11 years to fund the Drive-In Training program at Winter Convention, offering concurrent tracks of newspaper training for editorial, advertising, circulation and other newsroom employees. TPAF has provided $60,000 over six years to help provide blanket Legal Hotline protection for all TPA members.

In recent years, TPAF has purchased two operating facilities in Knoxville to house all TPA operations. In 2009, we retired the debt on the newer facility, and despite the heavy recession we have already managed to accumulate $67,289 of cash in our endowment account in addition to the $1.3 million value of our land and property.

The future looks bright for TPAF. Last year I asked Doug Horne and Jay Albrecht to chair a committee that will soon launch an ambitious capital campaign to propel us to our next goal of having a million dollars in endowment funding. These funds will be invested to generate income that can be used to fund more projects that will benefi t our members and our industry.

If you have experience in non-profi ts, fundraising or grant writing, we could use your help. Please catch me during the convention so that I can tell you more about how TPAF gives back to our industry in so many ways.

TPAF REPORT TO THE TPA BUSINESS SESSIONW.R. (Ron) Fryar, TPAF president - Feb. 9, 2011, Doubletree Hotel, Nashville

Rep. John C. Tidwell, New Johnsonville, is one of the longest-serving legislators in the Tennessee General Assembly.

From left, Sen. Brian Kelsey, Germantown; Jeff Van Dyke, AT&T; and Rep. Andrew H. Holt, Dresden

From left, Rep. Vance Dennis, Savannah; Jim Thompson, The Courier, Savannah; and Michael Williams, The Paris Post-Intelligencer

Andy Sher, Chattanooga Times Free Press, left, and Brent Leatherwood, House Republican caucus press secretary

Nancy Fishman, Lakeway Publishers, Morristown, talks with Paula Haffner, harpist.

Andrew Oppmann, Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, and Rep. Mike Sparks, Smyrna

DRIVE-IN TRAINING

f acts, the story would be stronger.

Gump said one way to avoid weasel words is to use fewer adjectives and adverbs, since they are the writer’s opinion instead of actual facts.

Another problem Gump says editors should be looking for is when reporters use jargon that the common person is not familiar with s i m p ly b e c a u s e the reporters don’t know what their sources are saying.

“A lot of times, reporters fall into official speaking because they don’t know what they are talking about.” Gump explained.

She said reporters will often write sentences exactly the way the judge or policeman said it in order to avoid

making a mistake.Lots of times, they still use the

words incorrectly but don’t realize it because they don’t know what the

Look at story as if you were the reader, Gump tells classwords mean.

After covering these basics, Gump showed several slides and asked the group to point out the unnecessary words within news stories.

“They are going to close school early because more snow is coming this way,” said one slide.

The class agreed that the words “this way” were unnecessary since the message was understood without them.

After this exercise, Gump advised that editors always view the story as if they were one of their readers.

“Put yourself in the place of a reader. If this were to happen, what would you want to see?” Gump asked.

She explained that because of the World Wide Web, newspapers are able to see what readers are doing and what they are interested in. She said editors should focus on those things.

Then, Gump showed slides of several errors that well-known publications had missed.

For example, in the fi rst slide, The New York Times printed “razist” instead of the intended “racist.”

Gump then offered a recycled pencil as a prize to the fi rst person to catch

the next mistake.After a few seconds, the error was

spotted in the lead headline from the Green Bay (Wis.) Press-Gazette, which read “On to Chicaco.”

These mistakes helped to emphasize Gump’s last point.

She fi nished by saying, “The brain takes shortcuts. These mistakes happen when you are stressed, tired and nervous. So we need to have backup and protection.”

She said that it was important for editors who catch the mistakes to talk to reporters.

For example, if a reporter is having a hard time remembering to double-check the spelling of names, the editor should talk with the reporter about how to fi x the problem.

Gump said one solution may be to post names of all the important offi cials at the reporter’s desk, so that it serves as a reminder and makes the task simpler.

However, this is a solution best used for a small town or campus.

For more help with editing problems, students, professors and professionals may visit a website Gump created at www.EditTeach.org.

From left, Jamey Campbell, Dr. Monique Wright and Candice Ramirez, Volunteer State Community College, Gallatin, and Walton Dunn, Lewis County Herald, Hohenwald

From left, Stanley Dunlap and Lauren Foreman, The Jackson Sun, and Lesley Jones, The Paris Post-Intelligencer

Annette Hurd, left, and Beth Thompson, The Courier, Savannah

TPA President Art Powers, Johnson City Press, arrives to begin the convention.

Victor Parkins, The Milan Mirror-Exchange, makes notes at the registration desk, where Angelique Dunn, TPA administrative assistant, is on duty.

Foreground, Ryan Tyler, Chattanooga State Community College

Gump

ROBYN GENTILE | TPA

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Convention - 5 APRIL 2011 The Tennessee Press

Sara Jane Locke, The Herald-News, Dayton, and Ralph Baldwin, Jones Media, Greeneville

12 - Convention The Tennessee Press APRIL 2011

OPENING RECEPTION

Kevin Roper, executive assistant to the president for government relations, University of Memphis, left, and Rep. David A. Shepard, Dickson

From left, Rep. Vance Dennis, Savannah, Joe and Annette Hurd, The Courier, Savannah

Dr. Mike Wirth, dean, UTK College of Communication and Information, Knoxville, left, and Rep. Reginald Tate, Memphis

From left, Scott Critchlow, Union City Daily Messenger; Henrietta Hayward, The Tennessean, Nashville; and Arthur Melton, Union City Daily Messenger

David Arant, University of Memphis, and Marcille Durham, Nashville

From left, David Critchlow Jr., Union City Daily Messenger; Victor Parkins, The Milan Mirror-Exchange; Sarah Fryar and W.R. (Ron) Fryar, Cannon Courier, Woodbury

Tom Hrach, left, and Otis Sanford, both of the University of Memphis

Sen. Brian Kelsey, Germantown, left, and Bo Johnson, Johnson Poss Government Relations, NashvilleRep. Frank Niceley, Strawberry Plains, left; Rep. Debra

Maggart, Gallatin; and Nathan Poss, Johnson Poss Government Relations, NashvilleShannon York, Chattanooga Times Free Press; Janet Rail, Independent

Appeal, Selmer, center; and Leslie Kahana, Chattanooga Times Free Press

Rep. Tommie F. Brown, Chattanooga; Rep. Joey Hensley, Hohenwald; and John Finney, Buffalo River Review, Linden

TPAF MEETING

W.R. (Ron) Fryar, president of the Tennessee Press Association Foundation

From left: TPAF Secretary-Treasurer Greg Sherrill; TPAF Trustees Janet Rail, Independent Appeal, Selmer; Nate Crawford, Nashville; Hershel Lake, Pulaski Publishing; Sam Kennedy, Kennedy Newspapers, Columbia; Doug Horne, Republic Newspapers, Knoxville; and Steve Lake, Pulaski Citizen

From left: TPAF Trustees Joe Albrecht, Cookeville; Mike Pirtle, Murfreesboro; Eric Barnes, The Daily News, Memphis; Dale Gentry, The Standard Banner, Jefferson City; Scott Whaley, Chester County Independent, Henderson; R. Jack Fishman, Lakeway Publishers, Morristown; Bob Atkins, Hendersonville; Keith Wilson, Kingsport Times-News; and Joel Washburn, The McKenzie Banner

Frank Gibson, executive director of Tennessee Coalition for Open Government and a former longtime newspaperman, led a session on open meetings and open records on Feb. 11.

Kevin Slimp, TPS technology director, in one of his sessions, on techniques of Photoshop

From left, Tom Hrach, University of Memphis; Scott Critchlow and Arthur Melton, Union City Daily Messenger; and David Gentry, The Standard Banner, Jefferson City

In Slimp’s class

Listening to Gibson

In Gibson’s class

DRIVE-IN TRAINING

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6 - Convention The Tennessee Press APRIL 2011 Convention - 11APRIL 2011 The Tennessee Press

AP-TPA LEGISLATIVE PLANNING SESSIONSOPENING RECEPTION

Paul Summers, former Tennessee attorney general and partner in Waller, Lansden, Dortch & Davis, Nashville, left, and John Finney, Buffalo River Review, Linden

From left, Darren Oliver, Overton County News, Livingston; Pat Gore, Livingston; Kevin Slimp, TPS technology director, Knoxville; and John Halley, Selmer.

AP-TPA LEGISLATIVE PLANNING SESSIONS

Adam Yeomans, AP bureau chief for Tennessee, Kentucky and Mississippi, Nashville, welcomes conventioneers to the AP-TPA legislative planning sessions.

Teresa Wasson, AP news editor, Nashville, explains the AP-APME Broken Budgets initiative.

The Associated Press and the Associated Press Managing Editors have joined forces for a joint national reporting initiative to examine the fi scal crisis facing U.S. states and cities and how Americans’ lives will change because of it.

Teresa Wasson, AP Tennessee’s news editor, explained the project to TPAers Feb. 10 during the AP-TPA segment of TPA’s Winter Convention.

The initiative, called Broken Budgets, will continue throughout 2011, offering stories and in-depth projects spotlighting challenges across the country, and comparing how states are handling them.

Newspapers get seven to 10 days’ notice from AP and APME to enable them to localize some of the stories. The Broken Budgets logo can be used to accompany any stories in the series.

Stories can be jointly produced by the AP, its members and other journalism organizations. If an organization has a story it wants to contribute to the project or an idea that can be produced jointly, someone should contact the state’s AP bureau chief.

The weekly APME Update and www.apme.com carry developments in the joint initiative and stories produced by AP and member newspapers.

One aim is to shine a spotlight on fi scal challenges in the state houses, and in many cases AP and its members will develop comparison data to show the situation in every state.

“This is national reporting you can localize,” said Bob Heisse, executive editor of the Centre Daily Times, State College, Pa., vice president of APME. One can contact him at bheisse@centredaily.com or Sally Jacobsen at sjacobsen@ap.org.

The following are examples:LOCAL GOVERNMENTS

BOSTON - A sign welcomes visitors to “historic” downtown Gardner, Mass., but history is one of the few things this city of about 20,000 residents has going for it these days. While it still calls itself “Chair City,” its heyday of fi ne-furniture manufacturing has long past

AP-APME national budget reporting initiative under way

and unemployment is at 11 percent. The town about 60 miles west of Boston is struggling on two fronts: A sinking local economy that is generating less tax revenue for basic services and a state government drained by the Great Recession with less money to spread to its municipalities. Like countless cities and counties around the country, Gardner has compensated by cutting services.... (March 11, 2011)

MENTAL HEALTHDENVER (AP) - At the Ohio

Department of Mental Health, Christy Murphy’s days are fi lled with calls from people seeking help she can’t seem to give. They plead with her, but budget cuts have trimmed services so much - more than $1 billion in the current state budget - that she is not sure where to send them. The desperation on the other end of the line hits painfully close to home for Murphy. Her 19-year-old son, Christopher, suffers from a range of mental problems. Although he has coverage through Medicaid, he can’t get the services he needs. His mother says he has no psychiatrist....(March 14, 2011)

UNTAPPED RESERVESBATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - While

budget deficits threaten to cripple

gover nment services across the country, a handful of states with billions of dollars socked away in “rainy day” funds for troubled fi nancial times are discovering they can’t use that money to offset their cuts. Amid the worst fi nancial crisis facing states in decades, stringent rules governing the use of reserve funds have tied the hands of lawmakers in nearly a dozen states even as they consider raising taxes, slashing health and social services and shuttering education programs.... (March 9, 2011)

NON-UNION STATESJACKSON, Miss. (AP) - Whenever

Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour has asked lawmakers to weaken benefi ts for state employees, his proposals met little organized resistance. Public employees in the state might bristle at what the Republican calls his “right-sizing” of government, but there is little they can do about it except complain. Mississippi is among those states, many in the South, where most government employees do not have the right to collective bargaining, the benefi t that has caused a political upheaval in Wisconsin and has become a national flashpoint for those who argue that public employee benefi ts are too generous. Those states provide a snapshot of what life is like for government employees who do not have the same union clout that workers in Wisconsin are desperately trying to retain.... (Feb. 26, 2011)

A WARNING IGNOREDWASHINGTON (AP) - Despite

repeated war nings, many state legislatures reduced unemployment insurance taxes on employers over the past 15 years while maintaining or even enhancing benefi ts for the jobless. Such moves have exacerbated the current shortfalls in state unemployment insurance funds and have led many states to request larger loans from the federal government than they otherwise would have needed during the recession.... (Feb. 19, 2011)

TAXES AND JOBSNEW YORK (AP) - It’s been an article

of faith for governors trying to lure jobs and businesses to their states: raising taxes during a recession is a nonstarter, choking off growth and damaging a state’s fragile economic recovery. But that was before Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn, a Democrat, signed a 66 percent temporary personal income tax increase and a corporate rate hike to help close his state’s ballooning budget defi cit, a politically risky move that might allow other governors to challenge the prevailing anti-tax mantra.... (Feb. 12, 2011)

PENSION ROADBLOCKSSPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - New

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has all but declared war on government employees and their unions, or as he calls them, the “haves” in an economy full of “have nots.” In Ohio, Gov. John Kasich says state law should be changed to weaken unions in contract negotiations. And Arizona House Speaker Kirk Adams wants to cut pension benefi ts. But state offi cials trying to close crippling budget defi cits may fi nd it diffi cult, perhaps impossible, to translate their words into action. Many will fi nd that contracts and state law limit their power to lay off public employees.... (Feb. 8, 2011)

YEAR OF RECKONINGSACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - If 2011 is

hinting at a national recovery, there is

little sign of it in statehouses across the country. States that already have raided their reserve funds, relied on borrowing or accounting gimmicks, and imposed deep cuts on schools, parks and public transit systems no longer can protect key services in the face of another round of multibillion dollar defi cits. As governors begin to roll out their budget proposals and legislatures convene this month, they do so amid a sputtering economic recovery and predictions of slow growth for years to come. State and local governments face lackluster revenue projections, worries from Wall Street over looming debt and the end of federal stimulus spending. Republican and Democratic governors alike are detailing across-the-board pain for education, health care, transportation, public safety and other programs. Some say the year of reckoning for state and local governments is at hand, with calls for structural changes that could radically shift expectations of what services government provides.... (Jan. 16, 2011)

AID TO STATES UNLIKELYWASHINGTON (AP) - Cut spending,

raise taxes and fees, and accept billions of dollars from Congress. That’s been the formula for states trying to survive the worst economy since the 1930s. As Republicans prepare to take control of the House and exert more infl uence in the Senate, it’s clear that option No. 3 will wither next year.... (Jan. 6, 2011)

NEW GOVERNORSNEW YORK (AP) - New York’s

incoming governor, Democrat Andrew Cuomo, says he won’t raise taxes even though he will inherit a budget defi cit of at least $9 billion when he takes offi ce in January.... Twenty-six states elected new governors last month, 17 Republicans, eight Democrats and one independent, and now they are going to have to reconcile their principles and campaign promises with some harsh fi scal realities: This is the worst budget climate for the states in at least a generation.... (Dec. 20, 2010)

(Adapted, www.apme.org)

After Sen. Jim Kyle’s passionate speech, reporters listen to further comments about the atmosphere in the legislature.

Sen. Jim Kyle, Memphis, and David Arant, University of Memphis

Jack Fishman, Lakeway Publishers, Morristown, poses a question.

Otis Sanford, University of Memphis, asks a question.

Convention attendees listen as Nashville newsmakers talk about the 2011 legislative session. Frank (Buzz) Trexler, The Daily Times, Maryville

Robyn Gentile, TPA employee, receives a clock-picture frame as a token of her 20 years of service to the organization. She has held various positions and has been member services manager for 10 years. She has the longest period of service of anyone on the current TPA staff. She was the recipient of the 2010 employee of the year award.

Kristen Swing, left, and Lynn Richardson, Herald and Tribune, Jonesborough, look over some of the state’s newspapers.

(Left photo) Arthur Melton, standing, and Scott Critchlow, right, Union City Daily Messenger, look at what John Pourtless, MediaSpan, has to offer newspapers.

Students from Chattanooga State Community College talk with one of their professors, Betty Proctor, second from right, before the Friday luncheon.

Yvonne and Michael Williams, The Paris Post-Intelligencer

Reception attendees broke into smaller groups to discuss current issues.

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Convention - 7APRIL 2011 The Tennessee Press10 - Convention The Tennessee Press

AP-TPA LEGISLATIVE PLANNING

APRIL 2011

AP-TPA LEGISLATIVE PLANNING

Tennessee experienced its best Christmas sales tax season since 2007, the state’s fi nance commissioner said Thursday, indicating that holiday shoppers were spending more than any point since the recession began.

Finance Commissioner Mark Emkes said at a forum sponsored by The Associated Press and the Tennessee Press Association that sales taxes posted a growth rate of nearly 4.5 percent in January, which reflects economic activity in the previous month. Sales taxes make up two out of every three tax dollars collected in Tennessee, which has no state income tax.

Sales taxes are collected on nearly everything people buy — meaning the more they buy, the more taxes are collected.

“We’ve had positive tax growth in every month since April last year, after two of the worst fiscal years since World War II,” Emkes said. “The growth has been sluggish, but we’ve still had something good to talk about for a change.”

General fund tax col lections surpassed expectations by $36 million in January, and have outstripped projections by a total of $115 million since the budget year began July 1.

Emkes, who is Gov. Bill Haslam’s chief cabinet offi cer, said the positive economic news won’t be enough to

Holiday sales tax collections highest since 2007

Emkes

avoid deep spending cuts. He outlined several possibilities presented in budget hearings last week, ranging from closing the state’s only forensic mental health facility to abolishing four correctional release centers and ending state grants for public television.

“We know we won’t have to make all of those worst-case scenario reductions,” Emkes said. “But we will have to prioritize expenditures.”

Haslam in a luncheon speech to the same group said in considering budget cuts, his goal is to “make those decisions as educated way as we can, as thoughtful way as you can, as compassionate a way as we can.”

Emkes noted that cuts that had been scheduled to go into effect this year were put off by more than $1 billion in federal stimulus money that is running out.

“There simply aren’t any additional easy cuts to be made in state expenditures,” he said. “We’re going to have to have to make some very diffi cult choices.”

(The Associated Press)

Dr. Jason Reineke presented the fi ndings of the latest Middle Tennessee State University Poll.

Winter Convention factoids• 270 registrants, including

staff, speakers and guests• Most attended event: Friday

luncheon, with 129 registrants• Most attended Drive-In

Training course: Design Tips & Tricks, with 40 registrants• 2 0 d a i l i e s , w i t h 6 9

representatives

• 26 non-dail ies, with 62 representatives• 6 a s s o c i a t e m e m b e r s

( n o t i n c l u d i n g c o l l e g e s and universi t ies) , with 27 representatives• 8 colleges and universities,

with 25 representatives (not

including students)• 36 students• Most registrants: MTSU,

Murfreesboro, with 20 registrants (staff and students)• Newspaper with the most

registrants: The Paris Post-Intelligencer, with 10 registrants

Walter Roche, investigations editor of The Tennessean, Nashville, presented two sessions on investigative reporting.

Marrero Kyle

Legislators give their views of the 2011 session

Sen. Jim Kyle greets Eliza Blackstone and her grandfather, Sam Kennedy, Kennedy Newspapers, Columbia

Ramsey

Mark Humphrey, Associated Press photographer, covering the legislators

BY ELENORA E. EDWARDSManaging editor

Three legislators spoke to TPAers the morning of Feb. 10, each one with a different outlook or concern.

Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey, Blountville, knowing newspaper people are con-cerned about open government, cited what has changed in recent years. Citi-zens not only can watch the legislature in session, but committee meetings as well. He pointed out that Tennessee’s website was named the best of the 50 states by the National Conference of Legislatures.

But Ramsey challenged the journal-ists to help the legislature by letting people know the broadcasts are there for them to see.

“If you can’t sleep at 3:30 a.m, watch the Judiciary Committee, and I promise you’ll be back to sleep in 30 minutes,” he quipped.

Ramsey said he was excited that, for the fi rst time ever, the state has a Republican governor and a Republican-dominated Senate and House. “I am

excited,” he said, “but I realize there is pressure with that.” Before, if a bill failed, a legis-lator could say it was killed in the House or in commit-tee. “Now, we don’t have that excuse,” he said.

Ramsey said his number one objec-tive is to make Ten-nessee the best place in the nation to do business. He said he is thinking about small businesses that create jobs.

Referring to a vote in Memphis to close the city school system, the lieutenant governor said a plan was needed to provide education for the 105,000 children in that system and that the Senate had approved a bill three nights earlier to put a plan into motion. Ramsey said he was concerned because of 17 schools not in compliance with state standards, 14 of them are in Memphis or Shelby County. He said he hoped the House would pass a similar bill that day and that the state would take over the Memphis schools.

Noting that he and immediate past governor Phil Bredesen agreed most of the time, Ramsey said, “Thank good-ness we live in Tennessee,...where we’ve been fi scally conservative. We owe less money than any other state.” He added that it was a good thing that Tennessee had a rainy day fund and that it had helped during the last few years when the economy was down.

Sen. Jim Kyle of Memphis, a Demo-crat, was visibly wrought up about the change in party balance. He said now, all of a sudden, the new folks are smart, good-looking and know everything about places they’ve never been.

“They are so smart and so involved that there is no need for us to discuss what local leaders in Shelby County think,” that centralized government would be making the decisions.”

Kyle said there is a disconnect be-tween effi ciency and funding of gov-ernment. He said there is a 25 percent reduction in funding but the same amount of work to be done.

He said meeting on the Memphis schools problem will not be successful

if offi cials turn their backs on the open meetings law. He said the law does not apply to the legislature and the only way it ever will is for the press to make it uncomfortable enough that meetings are opened.

He said one of the evils of special school districts is that offi cials can draw lines where they want to. “Large and in charge and know more than the rest of us,” he said about the new Republican majority.

Sen. Beverly Marrero of Memphis had her mind on things environmental. She said that while some legislators are not concerned about the environment, she is and that she thinks it is the responsibil-ity of the legislature to protect citizens by seeing to it that there is clean air and clean water.

She said she is “proud to be an envi-ronmentalist and from Memphis. I was born and reared there,” she said.

She said she also believes in helping one’s neighbors, meaning everyone, and in providing assistance, respect and jobs.

“We Democrats continue to speak up for people in communities,” she said.

Rep. Beth Harwell of Nashville, the new House speaker, was scheduled to speak but was unable to do so because of the ongoing discussion on the House fl oor of the Memphis schools issue.

Attendees wait for another segment of the AP-TPA program to begin.

Tennessee Press Association expresses Tennessee Press Association expresses sincere appreciation to its members, sincere appreciation to its members, associate members and others who associate members and others who

provided sponsorship of the provided sponsorship of the 2011 Winter Convention! 2011 Winter Convention!

We couldn’t We couldn’t have done it have done it without you!without you!

Tennessee Press Association Foundation

AT&T

TennesseeAthlon

Sports

The

Associated

Press

Tennessee

Chattanooga

Times Free

Press

Citizen

Tribune &

Lakeway

Publishers,

Morristown

The Daily

News,

Memphis

Jones Media

& The

Greeneville

Sun

The News-

Democrat,

Waverly

The

University

of

Tennessee

Rowlett

Advertising

“The Church

Page People”

Johnson

City

Press

The

Kingsport

Times-News

Dale

Hollow

Horizon,

Celina

Herald

& Tribune,Jonesborough

Shelbyville

Times-

Gazette

Overton

County

News,

Livingston

The

Fayette

Falcon,

Somerville

TECHNOLOGY COMMITTEE

Members of the TPA Technology Committee listen to a joke by TPS Technology Director Kevin Slimp after their meeting during the Winter Convention. From left: Victor Parkins, The Milan Mirror-Exchange; John Finney, Buffalo River Review, Linden; Slimp; Scott Critchlow, Union City Daily Messenger, chairman; and Alan Broyles, Johnson City Press.

ROBYN GENTILE | TPA

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Convention - 9APRIL 2011 The Tennessee Press8 - Convention The Tennessee Press APRIL 2011

THURSDAY LUNCHEON THURSDAY LUNCHEON

From left, Gov. Bill Haslam, UT President Dr. Joe DiPietro and Haslam assistant Tom Griscom

TPA Pres ident Ar t Power s introduces Gov. Bill Haslam.

Dr. Joe DiPietro, president of the University of Tennessee, spoke at the luncheon.

Dr. Sidney McPhee, president of Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro

At the luncheon table, clockwise from left: TPA Vice President Michael Williams; Yvonne Williams; Fran Powers; TPA President Art Powers; Gov. Bill Haslam; UT President Dr. Joe DiPietro (not visible); Haslam assistant Tom Griscom, former executive editor and publisher of the Chattanooga Times Free Press; TPA Vice President Jeff Fishman; and MTSU President Dr. Sidney McPhee

Gov. Haslam

BY CHAS SISKThe Tennessean, Nashville

A surge of tax dollars should be used primarily to rebuild Tennessee’s dwindling reserves, not spent, Gov. Bill Haslam told a conference of reporters and editors Thursday.

The strongest Christmas shopping season since the recession pushed sales tax collections up in January, marking the 10th straight month that state revenues have grown, officials announced Thursday.

The infl ux of money has injected $137 million more into the state treasury this fiscal year than officials had budgeted.

But Haslam said at a conference organized by the Tennessee Press Association and The Associated Press that most of that money should be saved, rather than spent to keep programs going, as suggested by some of the state’s top legislators.

“We definitely need to rebuild the rainy day fund,” Haslam said. “The rainy day fund has gotten much lower than I’m comfortable.”

Tennessee’s rainy day and TennCare reserve funds have fallen over the last three years to about $520 million from a high of $1.2 billion. Money from the reserves has been used during the recession to plug holes caused by declining tax receipts and to delay cuts to some programs.

Last year, Gov. Phil Bredesen and lawmakers indentifi ed about $1 billion in state programs that would be funded for one more year with reserves and federal stimulus money. In a separate appearance at the TPA conference, Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey said he favored rebuilding reserves more gradually and would like to see the extra money coming in this year used to stave off

Foreground, TPA Vice President Jeff Fishman, The Tullahoma News, second from left, greets Gov. Bill Haslam.

MARK HUMPHREY | THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Haslam wants extra tax revenues saved, to replenish rainy day fund

cuts in next year’s budget.“I want to make sure we don’t cut

services to people that truly are vulnerable,” Ramsey said. “We’re required by law that any growth in revenue, 5 percent of that goes back into the rainy day reserve. I’ll be all in favor of that. … But I think if we’ve seen, maybe, a little light at the end of the tunnel, we need to make our cuts as small as possible.”

The conference in Nashville took place on the same day the Department of Finance and Administration released the state’s January revenue fi gures.

Exceeds estimatesSales tax collections, which are based

on sales recorded in December, jumped 4.3 percent compared to January 2009, and they exceeded budgeted estimates by $20.1 million. Franchise and excise tax collections also beat estimates,

coming in $19 million more than expected, and inheritance taxes were $328,000 more than expected.

Tobacco taxes were $3.3 million less than budgeted, while gasoline taxes trailed estimates by $184,000. But those losses were far outweighed by the surge in sales taxes.

“Sales tax collections are the bread and butter of state revenues,” Finance Commissioner Mark Emkes said in a speech at the conference.

“So that’s the good news. We’ve had positive sales tax growth in every month since April of last year after two of the worst fi scal years since World War II. The growth has been sluggish, but we still have something good to talk about for a change.”

‘We need some balance’Emkes went on to call for dedicating

increased revenues to rebuilding state reserves, a proposal that Haslam later supported.

Haslam said he would be willing to

use some of the unanticipated money to pay for one-time projects but otherwise thought it should be saved.

“My sense is we need some balance,”

said Haslam. “So I would like to see us slowly build that rainy day fund up.”

(Feb. 11, 2011)

Members of the Journalism Education Committee talk about plans to involve college students in the community newspaper business. From left, Clay Scott, Volunteer State Community College, Gallatin; Kent Flanagan, Shelbyville Times-Gazette; and Keith Wilson, Kingsport Times-News, chairman.

Kevin Slimp, TPS technology director Ed Henninger, Henninger Consulting, Rock Hill, S.C.

THURSDAY SESSION

J. Todd Foster, executive editor, and Chris Vass, Metro editor, Chattanooga Times Free Press

Editors talk about whata newspaper can do

J. Todd Foster, the relatively new executive editor of the Chattanooga Times Free Press, and his colleague, Chris Vass, Sunday editor and longtime staff member of that newspaper, presented a session on what a newspaper can accomplish.

Foster said the paper has a “passion-ate commitment to core journalism values,” and Vassar added that a paper not only can “survive, but thrive.”

Foster added that the long-story nar-rative is important at the Times Free Press. He cited a story done about “kids,” more or less homeless, who live on take-out food boxes people give them. One of them, a boy, let a reporter hang out with him, and after three or four months, she wrote the story.

Another story was about a woman who wanted to redeem herself after a troubled life. She was able to go to col-

lege and reclaim a son she had given up some years earlier.

Yet another example was a judge who contracted breast cancer and allowed “incredible access,” as Foster put it, over a seven-month period.

Other examples: A soldier who lost both legs in an explosion. The news-paper will follow him to complete recovery.

Another, about the recollections and losses when 12 people were killed in a massive vehicle pileup in heavy fog in the Calhoun area north of Chat-tanooga.

Foster said he is blessed to work for Walter Hussman, who owns the Chat-tanooga newspaper and others, and also was blessed to work for Carl Esposito, who was publisher of the Bristol Herald Courier when the newspaper won a Pulitzer Prize for public service.

Have questions about the Sunshine Law, Open Meetings Law or other legal matters of concern to newspapers?

Member newspapers can call Richard L. (Rick) Hollow on the

TPA LEGAL HOTLINE at (865) 769-1715

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Convention - 9APRIL 2011 The Tennessee Press8 - Convention The Tennessee Press APRIL 2011

THURSDAY LUNCHEON THURSDAY LUNCHEON

From left, Gov. Bill Haslam, UT President Dr. Joe DiPietro and Haslam assistant Tom Griscom

TPA Pres ident Ar t Power s introduces Gov. Bill Haslam.

Dr. Joe DiPietro, president of the University of Tennessee, spoke at the luncheon.

Dr. Sidney McPhee, president of Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro

At the luncheon table, clockwise from left: TPA Vice President Michael Williams; Yvonne Williams; Fran Powers; TPA President Art Powers; Gov. Bill Haslam; UT President Dr. Joe DiPietro (not visible); Haslam assistant Tom Griscom, former executive editor and publisher of the Chattanooga Times Free Press; TPA Vice President Jeff Fishman; and MTSU President Dr. Sidney McPhee

Gov. Haslam

BY CHAS SISKThe Tennessean, Nashville

A surge of tax dollars should be used primarily to rebuild Tennessee’s dwindling reserves, not spent, Gov. Bill Haslam told a conference of reporters and editors Thursday.

The strongest Christmas shopping season since the recession pushed sales tax collections up in January, marking the 10th straight month that state revenues have grown, officials announced Thursday.

The infl ux of money has injected $137 million more into the state treasury this fiscal year than officials had budgeted.

But Haslam said at a conference organized by the Tennessee Press Association and The Associated Press that most of that money should be saved, rather than spent to keep programs going, as suggested by some of the state’s top legislators.

“We definitely need to rebuild the rainy day fund,” Haslam said. “The rainy day fund has gotten much lower than I’m comfortable.”

Tennessee’s rainy day and TennCare reserve funds have fallen over the last three years to about $520 million from a high of $1.2 billion. Money from the reserves has been used during the recession to plug holes caused by declining tax receipts and to delay cuts to some programs.

Last year, Gov. Phil Bredesen and lawmakers indentifi ed about $1 billion in state programs that would be funded for one more year with reserves and federal stimulus money. In a separate appearance at the TPA conference, Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey said he favored rebuilding reserves more gradually and would like to see the extra money coming in this year used to stave off

Foreground, TPA Vice President Jeff Fishman, The Tullahoma News, second from left, greets Gov. Bill Haslam.

MARK HUMPHREY | THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Haslam wants extra tax revenues saved, to replenish rainy day fund

cuts in next year’s budget.“I want to make sure we don’t cut

services to people that truly are vulnerable,” Ramsey said. “We’re required by law that any growth in revenue, 5 percent of that goes back into the rainy day reserve. I’ll be all in favor of that. … But I think if we’ve seen, maybe, a little light at the end of the tunnel, we need to make our cuts as small as possible.”

The conference in Nashville took place on the same day the Department of Finance and Administration released the state’s January revenue fi gures.

Exceeds estimatesSales tax collections, which are based

on sales recorded in December, jumped 4.3 percent compared to January 2009, and they exceeded budgeted estimates by $20.1 million. Franchise and excise tax collections also beat estimates,

coming in $19 million more than expected, and inheritance taxes were $328,000 more than expected.

Tobacco taxes were $3.3 million less than budgeted, while gasoline taxes trailed estimates by $184,000. But those losses were far outweighed by the surge in sales taxes.

“Sales tax collections are the bread and butter of state revenues,” Finance Commissioner Mark Emkes said in a speech at the conference.

“So that’s the good news. We’ve had positive sales tax growth in every month since April of last year after two of the worst fi scal years since World War II. The growth has been sluggish, but we still have something good to talk about for a change.”

‘We need some balance’Emkes went on to call for dedicating

increased revenues to rebuilding state reserves, a proposal that Haslam later supported.

Haslam said he would be willing to

use some of the unanticipated money to pay for one-time projects but otherwise thought it should be saved.

“My sense is we need some balance,”

said Haslam. “So I would like to see us slowly build that rainy day fund up.”

(Feb. 11, 2011)

Members of the Journalism Education Committee talk about plans to involve college students in the community newspaper business. From left, Clay Scott, Volunteer State Community College, Gallatin; Kent Flanagan, Shelbyville Times-Gazette; and Keith Wilson, Kingsport Times-News, chairman.

Kevin Slimp, TPS technology director Ed Henninger, Henninger Consulting, Rock Hill, S.C.

THURSDAY SESSION

J. Todd Foster, executive editor, and Chris Vass, Metro editor, Chattanooga Times Free Press

Editors talk about whata newspaper can do

J. Todd Foster, the relatively new executive editor of the Chattanooga Times Free Press, and his colleague, Chris Vass, Sunday editor and longtime staff member of that newspaper, presented a session on what a newspaper can accomplish.

Foster said the paper has a “passion-ate commitment to core journalism values,” and Vassar added that a paper not only can “survive, but thrive.”

Foster added that the long-story nar-rative is important at the Times Free Press. He cited a story done about “kids,” more or less homeless, who live on take-out food boxes people give them. One of them, a boy, let a reporter hang out with him, and after three or four months, she wrote the story.

Another story was about a woman who wanted to redeem herself after a troubled life. She was able to go to col-

lege and reclaim a son she had given up some years earlier.

Yet another example was a judge who contracted breast cancer and allowed “incredible access,” as Foster put it, over a seven-month period.

Other examples: A soldier who lost both legs in an explosion. The news-paper will follow him to complete recovery.

Another, about the recollections and losses when 12 people were killed in a massive vehicle pileup in heavy fog in the Calhoun area north of Chat-tanooga.

Foster said he is blessed to work for Walter Hussman, who owns the Chat-tanooga newspaper and others, and also was blessed to work for Carl Esposito, who was publisher of the Bristol Herald Courier when the newspaper won a Pulitzer Prize for public service.

Have questions about the Sunshine Law, Open Meetings Law or other legal matters of concern to newspapers?

Member newspapers can call Richard L. (Rick) Hollow on the

TPA LEGAL HOTLINE at (865) 769-1715

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Convention - 7APRIL 2011 The Tennessee Press10 - Convention The Tennessee Press

AP-TPA LEGISLATIVE PLANNING

APRIL 2011

AP-TPA LEGISLATIVE PLANNING

Tennessee experienced its best Christmas sales tax season since 2007, the state’s fi nance commissioner said Thursday, indicating that holiday shoppers were spending more than any point since the recession began.

Finance Commissioner Mark Emkes said at a forum sponsored by The Associated Press and the Tennessee Press Association that sales taxes posted a growth rate of nearly 4.5 percent in January, which reflects economic activity in the previous month. Sales taxes make up two out of every three tax dollars collected in Tennessee, which has no state income tax.

Sales taxes are collected on nearly everything people buy — meaning the more they buy, the more taxes are collected.

“We’ve had positive tax growth in every month since April last year, after two of the worst fiscal years since World War II,” Emkes said. “The growth has been sluggish, but we’ve still had something good to talk about for a change.”

General fund tax col lections surpassed expectations by $36 million in January, and have outstripped projections by a total of $115 million since the budget year began July 1.

Emkes, who is Gov. Bill Haslam’s chief cabinet offi cer, said the positive economic news won’t be enough to

Holiday sales tax collections highest since 2007

Emkes

avoid deep spending cuts. He outlined several possibilities presented in budget hearings last week, ranging from closing the state’s only forensic mental health facility to abolishing four correctional release centers and ending state grants for public television.

“We know we won’t have to make all of those worst-case scenario reductions,” Emkes said. “But we will have to prioritize expenditures.”

Haslam in a luncheon speech to the same group said in considering budget cuts, his goal is to “make those decisions as educated way as we can, as thoughtful way as you can, as compassionate a way as we can.”

Emkes noted that cuts that had been scheduled to go into effect this year were put off by more than $1 billion in federal stimulus money that is running out.

“There simply aren’t any additional easy cuts to be made in state expenditures,” he said. “We’re going to have to have to make some very diffi cult choices.”

(The Associated Press)

Dr. Jason Reineke presented the fi ndings of the latest Middle Tennessee State University Poll.

Winter Convention factoids• 270 registrants, including

staff, speakers and guests• Most attended event: Friday

luncheon, with 129 registrants• Most attended Drive-In

Training course: Design Tips & Tricks, with 40 registrants• 2 0 d a i l i e s , w i t h 6 9

representatives

• 26 non-dail ies, with 62 representatives• 6 a s s o c i a t e m e m b e r s

( n o t i n c l u d i n g c o l l e g e s and universi t ies) , with 27 representatives• 8 colleges and universities,

with 25 representatives (not

including students)• 36 students• Most registrants: MTSU,

Murfreesboro, with 20 registrants (staff and students)• Newspaper with the most

registrants: The Paris Post-Intelligencer, with 10 registrants

Walter Roche, investigations editor of The Tennessean, Nashville, presented two sessions on investigative reporting.

Marrero Kyle

Legislators give their views of the 2011 session

Sen. Jim Kyle greets Eliza Blackstone and her grandfather, Sam Kennedy, Kennedy Newspapers, Columbia

Ramsey

Mark Humphrey, Associated Press photographer, covering the legislators

BY ELENORA E. EDWARDSManaging editor

Three legislators spoke to TPAers the morning of Feb. 10, each one with a different outlook or concern.

Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey, Blountville, knowing newspaper people are con-cerned about open government, cited what has changed in recent years. Citi-zens not only can watch the legislature in session, but committee meetings as well. He pointed out that Tennessee’s website was named the best of the 50 states by the National Conference of Legislatures.

But Ramsey challenged the journal-ists to help the legislature by letting people know the broadcasts are there for them to see.

“If you can’t sleep at 3:30 a.m, watch the Judiciary Committee, and I promise you’ll be back to sleep in 30 minutes,” he quipped.

Ramsey said he was excited that, for the fi rst time ever, the state has a Republican governor and a Republican-dominated Senate and House. “I am

excited,” he said, “but I realize there is pressure with that.” Before, if a bill failed, a legis-lator could say it was killed in the House or in commit-tee. “Now, we don’t have that excuse,” he said.

Ramsey said his number one objec-tive is to make Ten-nessee the best place in the nation to do business. He said he is thinking about small businesses that create jobs.

Referring to a vote in Memphis to close the city school system, the lieutenant governor said a plan was needed to provide education for the 105,000 children in that system and that the Senate had approved a bill three nights earlier to put a plan into motion. Ramsey said he was concerned because of 17 schools not in compliance with state standards, 14 of them are in Memphis or Shelby County. He said he hoped the House would pass a similar bill that day and that the state would take over the Memphis schools.

Noting that he and immediate past governor Phil Bredesen agreed most of the time, Ramsey said, “Thank good-ness we live in Tennessee,...where we’ve been fi scally conservative. We owe less money than any other state.” He added that it was a good thing that Tennessee had a rainy day fund and that it had helped during the last few years when the economy was down.

Sen. Jim Kyle of Memphis, a Demo-crat, was visibly wrought up about the change in party balance. He said now, all of a sudden, the new folks are smart, good-looking and know everything about places they’ve never been.

“They are so smart and so involved that there is no need for us to discuss what local leaders in Shelby County think,” that centralized government would be making the decisions.”

Kyle said there is a disconnect be-tween effi ciency and funding of gov-ernment. He said there is a 25 percent reduction in funding but the same amount of work to be done.

He said meeting on the Memphis schools problem will not be successful

if offi cials turn their backs on the open meetings law. He said the law does not apply to the legislature and the only way it ever will is for the press to make it uncomfortable enough that meetings are opened.

He said one of the evils of special school districts is that offi cials can draw lines where they want to. “Large and in charge and know more than the rest of us,” he said about the new Republican majority.

Sen. Beverly Marrero of Memphis had her mind on things environmental. She said that while some legislators are not concerned about the environment, she is and that she thinks it is the responsibil-ity of the legislature to protect citizens by seeing to it that there is clean air and clean water.

She said she is “proud to be an envi-ronmentalist and from Memphis. I was born and reared there,” she said.

She said she also believes in helping one’s neighbors, meaning everyone, and in providing assistance, respect and jobs.

“We Democrats continue to speak up for people in communities,” she said.

Rep. Beth Harwell of Nashville, the new House speaker, was scheduled to speak but was unable to do so because of the ongoing discussion on the House fl oor of the Memphis schools issue.

Attendees wait for another segment of the AP-TPA program to begin.

Tennessee Press Association expresses Tennessee Press Association expresses sincere appreciation to its members, sincere appreciation to its members, associate members and others who associate members and others who

provided sponsorship of the provided sponsorship of the 2011 Winter Convention! 2011 Winter Convention!

We couldn’t We couldn’t have done it have done it without you!without you!

Tennessee Press Association Foundation

AT&T

TennesseeAthlon

Sports

The

Associated

Press

Tennessee

Chattanooga

Times Free

Press

Citizen

Tribune &

Lakeway

Publishers,

Morristown

The Daily

News,

Memphis

Jones Media

& The

Greeneville

Sun

The News-

Democrat,

Waverly

The

University

of

Tennessee

Rowlett

Advertising

“The Church

Page People”

Johnson

City

Press

The

Kingsport

Times-News

Dale

Hollow

Horizon,

Celina

Herald

& Tribune,Jonesborough

Shelbyville

Times-

Gazette

Overton

County

News,

Livingston

The

Fayette

Falcon,

Somerville

TECHNOLOGY COMMITTEE

Members of the TPA Technology Committee listen to a joke by TPS Technology Director Kevin Slimp after their meeting during the Winter Convention. From left: Victor Parkins, The Milan Mirror-Exchange; John Finney, Buffalo River Review, Linden; Slimp; Scott Critchlow, Union City Daily Messenger, chairman; and Alan Broyles, Johnson City Press.

ROBYN GENTILE | TPA

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6 - Convention The Tennessee Press APRIL 2011 Convention - 11APRIL 2011 The Tennessee Press

AP-TPA LEGISLATIVE PLANNING SESSIONSOPENING RECEPTION

Paul Summers, former Tennessee attorney general and partner in Waller, Lansden, Dortch & Davis, Nashville, left, and John Finney, Buffalo River Review, Linden

From left, Darren Oliver, Overton County News, Livingston; Pat Gore, Livingston; Kevin Slimp, TPS technology director, Knoxville; and John Halley, Selmer.

AP-TPA LEGISLATIVE PLANNING SESSIONS

Adam Yeomans, AP bureau chief for Tennessee, Kentucky and Mississippi, Nashville, welcomes conventioneers to the AP-TPA legislative planning sessions.

Teresa Wasson, AP news editor, Nashville, explains the AP-APME Broken Budgets initiative.

The Associated Press and the Associated Press Managing Editors have joined forces for a joint national reporting initiative to examine the fi scal crisis facing U.S. states and cities and how Americans’ lives will change because of it.

Teresa Wasson, AP Tennessee’s news editor, explained the project to TPAers Feb. 10 during the AP-TPA segment of TPA’s Winter Convention.

The initiative, called Broken Budgets, will continue throughout 2011, offering stories and in-depth projects spotlighting challenges across the country, and comparing how states are handling them.

Newspapers get seven to 10 days’ notice from AP and APME to enable them to localize some of the stories. The Broken Budgets logo can be used to accompany any stories in the series.

Stories can be jointly produced by the AP, its members and other journalism organizations. If an organization has a story it wants to contribute to the project or an idea that can be produced jointly, someone should contact the state’s AP bureau chief.

The weekly APME Update and www.apme.com carry developments in the joint initiative and stories produced by AP and member newspapers.

One aim is to shine a spotlight on fi scal challenges in the state houses, and in many cases AP and its members will develop comparison data to show the situation in every state.

“This is national reporting you can localize,” said Bob Heisse, executive editor of the Centre Daily Times, State College, Pa., vice president of APME. One can contact him at bheisse@centredaily.com or Sally Jacobsen at sjacobsen@ap.org.

The following are examples:LOCAL GOVERNMENTS

BOSTON - A sign welcomes visitors to “historic” downtown Gardner, Mass., but history is one of the few things this city of about 20,000 residents has going for it these days. While it still calls itself “Chair City,” its heyday of fi ne-furniture manufacturing has long past

AP-APME national budget reporting initiative under way

and unemployment is at 11 percent. The town about 60 miles west of Boston is struggling on two fronts: A sinking local economy that is generating less tax revenue for basic services and a state government drained by the Great Recession with less money to spread to its municipalities. Like countless cities and counties around the country, Gardner has compensated by cutting services.... (March 11, 2011)

MENTAL HEALTHDENVER (AP) - At the Ohio

Department of Mental Health, Christy Murphy’s days are fi lled with calls from people seeking help she can’t seem to give. They plead with her, but budget cuts have trimmed services so much - more than $1 billion in the current state budget - that she is not sure where to send them. The desperation on the other end of the line hits painfully close to home for Murphy. Her 19-year-old son, Christopher, suffers from a range of mental problems. Although he has coverage through Medicaid, he can’t get the services he needs. His mother says he has no psychiatrist....(March 14, 2011)

UNTAPPED RESERVESBATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - While

budget deficits threaten to cripple

gover nment services across the country, a handful of states with billions of dollars socked away in “rainy day” funds for troubled fi nancial times are discovering they can’t use that money to offset their cuts. Amid the worst fi nancial crisis facing states in decades, stringent rules governing the use of reserve funds have tied the hands of lawmakers in nearly a dozen states even as they consider raising taxes, slashing health and social services and shuttering education programs.... (March 9, 2011)

NON-UNION STATESJACKSON, Miss. (AP) - Whenever

Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour has asked lawmakers to weaken benefi ts for state employees, his proposals met little organized resistance. Public employees in the state might bristle at what the Republican calls his “right-sizing” of government, but there is little they can do about it except complain. Mississippi is among those states, many in the South, where most government employees do not have the right to collective bargaining, the benefi t that has caused a political upheaval in Wisconsin and has become a national flashpoint for those who argue that public employee benefi ts are too generous. Those states provide a snapshot of what life is like for government employees who do not have the same union clout that workers in Wisconsin are desperately trying to retain.... (Feb. 26, 2011)

A WARNING IGNOREDWASHINGTON (AP) - Despite

repeated war nings, many state legislatures reduced unemployment insurance taxes on employers over the past 15 years while maintaining or even enhancing benefi ts for the jobless. Such moves have exacerbated the current shortfalls in state unemployment insurance funds and have led many states to request larger loans from the federal government than they otherwise would have needed during the recession.... (Feb. 19, 2011)

TAXES AND JOBSNEW YORK (AP) - It’s been an article

of faith for governors trying to lure jobs and businesses to their states: raising taxes during a recession is a nonstarter, choking off growth and damaging a state’s fragile economic recovery. But that was before Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn, a Democrat, signed a 66 percent temporary personal income tax increase and a corporate rate hike to help close his state’s ballooning budget defi cit, a politically risky move that might allow other governors to challenge the prevailing anti-tax mantra.... (Feb. 12, 2011)

PENSION ROADBLOCKSSPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - New

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has all but declared war on government employees and their unions, or as he calls them, the “haves” in an economy full of “have nots.” In Ohio, Gov. John Kasich says state law should be changed to weaken unions in contract negotiations. And Arizona House Speaker Kirk Adams wants to cut pension benefi ts. But state offi cials trying to close crippling budget defi cits may fi nd it diffi cult, perhaps impossible, to translate their words into action. Many will fi nd that contracts and state law limit their power to lay off public employees.... (Feb. 8, 2011)

YEAR OF RECKONINGSACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - If 2011 is

hinting at a national recovery, there is

little sign of it in statehouses across the country. States that already have raided their reserve funds, relied on borrowing or accounting gimmicks, and imposed deep cuts on schools, parks and public transit systems no longer can protect key services in the face of another round of multibillion dollar defi cits. As governors begin to roll out their budget proposals and legislatures convene this month, they do so amid a sputtering economic recovery and predictions of slow growth for years to come. State and local governments face lackluster revenue projections, worries from Wall Street over looming debt and the end of federal stimulus spending. Republican and Democratic governors alike are detailing across-the-board pain for education, health care, transportation, public safety and other programs. Some say the year of reckoning for state and local governments is at hand, with calls for structural changes that could radically shift expectations of what services government provides.... (Jan. 16, 2011)

AID TO STATES UNLIKELYWASHINGTON (AP) - Cut spending,

raise taxes and fees, and accept billions of dollars from Congress. That’s been the formula for states trying to survive the worst economy since the 1930s. As Republicans prepare to take control of the House and exert more infl uence in the Senate, it’s clear that option No. 3 will wither next year.... (Jan. 6, 2011)

NEW GOVERNORSNEW YORK (AP) - New York’s

incoming governor, Democrat Andrew Cuomo, says he won’t raise taxes even though he will inherit a budget defi cit of at least $9 billion when he takes offi ce in January.... Twenty-six states elected new governors last month, 17 Republicans, eight Democrats and one independent, and now they are going to have to reconcile their principles and campaign promises with some harsh fi scal realities: This is the worst budget climate for the states in at least a generation.... (Dec. 20, 2010)

(Adapted, www.apme.org)

After Sen. Jim Kyle’s passionate speech, reporters listen to further comments about the atmosphere in the legislature.

Sen. Jim Kyle, Memphis, and David Arant, University of Memphis

Jack Fishman, Lakeway Publishers, Morristown, poses a question.

Otis Sanford, University of Memphis, asks a question.

Convention attendees listen as Nashville newsmakers talk about the 2011 legislative session. Frank (Buzz) Trexler, The Daily Times, Maryville

Robyn Gentile, TPA employee, receives a clock-picture frame as a token of her 20 years of service to the organization. She has held various positions and has been member services manager for 10 years. She has the longest period of service of anyone on the current TPA staff. She was the recipient of the 2010 employee of the year award.

Kristen Swing, left, and Lynn Richardson, Herald and Tribune, Jonesborough, look over some of the state’s newspapers.

(Left photo) Arthur Melton, standing, and Scott Critchlow, right, Union City Daily Messenger, look at what John Pourtless, MediaSpan, has to offer newspapers.

Students from Chattanooga State Community College talk with one of their professors, Betty Proctor, second from right, before the Friday luncheon.

Yvonne and Michael Williams, The Paris Post-Intelligencer

Reception attendees broke into smaller groups to discuss current issues.

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Convention - 5 APRIL 2011 The Tennessee Press

Sara Jane Locke, The Herald-News, Dayton, and Ralph Baldwin, Jones Media, Greeneville

12 - Convention The Tennessee Press APRIL 2011

OPENING RECEPTION

Kevin Roper, executive assistant to the president for government relations, University of Memphis, left, and Rep. David A. Shepard, Dickson

From left, Rep. Vance Dennis, Savannah, Joe and Annette Hurd, The Courier, Savannah

Dr. Mike Wirth, dean, UTK College of Communication and Information, Knoxville, left, and Rep. Reginald Tate, Memphis

From left, Scott Critchlow, Union City Daily Messenger; Henrietta Hayward, The Tennessean, Nashville; and Arthur Melton, Union City Daily Messenger

David Arant, University of Memphis, and Marcille Durham, Nashville

From left, David Critchlow Jr., Union City Daily Messenger; Victor Parkins, The Milan Mirror-Exchange; Sarah Fryar and W.R. (Ron) Fryar, Cannon Courier, Woodbury

Tom Hrach, left, and Otis Sanford, both of the University of Memphis

Sen. Brian Kelsey, Germantown, left, and Bo Johnson, Johnson Poss Government Relations, NashvilleRep. Frank Niceley, Strawberry Plains, left; Rep. Debra

Maggart, Gallatin; and Nathan Poss, Johnson Poss Government Relations, NashvilleShannon York, Chattanooga Times Free Press; Janet Rail, Independent

Appeal, Selmer, center; and Leslie Kahana, Chattanooga Times Free Press

Rep. Tommie F. Brown, Chattanooga; Rep. Joey Hensley, Hohenwald; and John Finney, Buffalo River Review, Linden

TPAF MEETING

W.R. (Ron) Fryar, president of the Tennessee Press Association Foundation

From left: TPAF Secretary-Treasurer Greg Sherrill; TPAF Trustees Janet Rail, Independent Appeal, Selmer; Nate Crawford, Nashville; Hershel Lake, Pulaski Publishing; Sam Kennedy, Kennedy Newspapers, Columbia; Doug Horne, Republic Newspapers, Knoxville; and Steve Lake, Pulaski Citizen

From left: TPAF Trustees Joe Albrecht, Cookeville; Mike Pirtle, Murfreesboro; Eric Barnes, The Daily News, Memphis; Dale Gentry, The Standard Banner, Jefferson City; Scott Whaley, Chester County Independent, Henderson; R. Jack Fishman, Lakeway Publishers, Morristown; Bob Atkins, Hendersonville; Keith Wilson, Kingsport Times-News; and Joel Washburn, The McKenzie Banner

Frank Gibson, executive director of Tennessee Coalition for Open Government and a former longtime newspaperman, led a session on open meetings and open records on Feb. 11.

Kevin Slimp, TPS technology director, in one of his sessions, on techniques of Photoshop

From left, Tom Hrach, University of Memphis; Scott Critchlow and Arthur Melton, Union City Daily Messenger; and David Gentry, The Standard Banner, Jefferson City

In Slimp’s class

Listening to Gibson

In Gibson’s class

DRIVE-IN TRAINING

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BY LYNDSEY McCLELLANDVolunteer State Community College

Gallatin

One of the Drive-In Training sessions offered at this year’s Tennessee Press Association Winter Convention was Editing Help Desk, presented by Dr. Deborah Gump.

G u m p, wh o i s the Journalist in Residence at Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, answered several grammar questions and offered tips to help attendees improve their editing skills.

Gump started the editing training by explaining “weasel words.”

“These are words that don’t say a darn thing, but they want to make you think something. The reason I hate weasel words is that they often make reporters lazy,” Gump said.

She explained that without these words, reporters would have to get an actual fact rather than using words that don’t mean anything.

If the reporter was forced to get actual

Convention - 13APRIL 2011 The Tennessee Press4 - Convention The Tennessee Press APRIL 2011

OPENING RECEPTION

McClelland

The Tennessee Press Service fared much better in 2010 than in 2009 and saw a modest rebound in ROP advertising as well as healthy growth in our Network products such as Statewide Classifi eds, 2x2, 2x4 and TnNET online ads.

We weathered the recession very well, thanks to quick action to cut expenses, and the leaner TPS is poised to take advantage of slow growth in 2011 and beyond. Despite some major hits in ROP advertising, our “don’t keep all your eggs in one basket” approach shielded us from devastating losses suffered by a few other state press services that relied too heavily on one major account. TPS placed more than $4.5 million in gross ROP business into your newspapers in 2010. State of Tennessee public notices, Publix and TVA are likely to be our biggest ROP accounts this year.

TPS placed more than $880,000 in Network business in 2010, refl ecting a 10 percent increase over 2009. These valuable programs turn remnant space into revenue and are very important to keep TPS operating strong. With the tighter economy, these discounted programs are more popular than ever. If your paper is not participating in all three, please contact TPS to sign up.

TPS REPORT TO THE TPA BUSINESS SESSIONMichael Williams, TPS vice president - Feb. 9, 2011, Doubletree Hotel, Nashville

Our government affairs folks tell us to expect many challenges to printed public notice advertising during this year’s session. TPS is working with all TPA member newspapers to ensure that all public notice ads are being uploaded to www.tnpublicnotice.com. This should strengthen our argument with state and local governments that there is no need to use taxpayer-funded websites for public notice when the newspaper industry is already providing this service as a value-added to their print ads.

Additionally, TPS has budgeted to contribute money to Tennessee Coalition for Open Government in 2011. Led by Frank Gibson, this organization is on constant watch for legislation that could close records or threaten the access we all need to do our reporting jobs.

As you pay your TPA dues each year, remember that TPS operates as TPA’s business affi liate. We’re working as an extended sales force for your newspaper. Member papers receive back much more than their TPA dues amount to through TPS ad placements. I encourage you to contact TPS to ensure that you are getting the most from your TPA membership.

This marks the 35th year for the Tennessee Press Association Foundation. Chartered in 1976 to raise money for newspaper and industry-related programs, the non-profi t has come a long way in the last three and a half decades.

Please take our your programs and circle our 9:30 a.m. Board of Trustees meeting on Friday morning at this convention. Come join us to hear what the Foundation is planning for the next 35 years. All TPA members are welcome to observe.

TPAF has been a big part of many TPS and TPA activities over the years, donating $584,000 toward newspaper-related causes.

As examples, we’ve donated a total of $28,600 over 11 years to fund the Drive-In Training program at Winter Convention, offering concurrent tracks of newspaper training for editorial, advertising, circulation and other newsroom employees. TPAF has provided $60,000 over six years to help provide blanket Legal Hotline protection for all TPA members.

In recent years, TPAF has purchased two operating facilities in Knoxville to house all TPA operations. In 2009, we retired the debt on the newer facility, and despite the heavy recession we have already managed to accumulate $67,289 of cash in our endowment account in addition to the $1.3 million value of our land and property.

The future looks bright for TPAF. Last year I asked Doug Horne and Jay Albrecht to chair a committee that will soon launch an ambitious capital campaign to propel us to our next goal of having a million dollars in endowment funding. These funds will be invested to generate income that can be used to fund more projects that will benefi t our members and our industry.

If you have experience in non-profi ts, fundraising or grant writing, we could use your help. Please catch me during the convention so that I can tell you more about how TPAF gives back to our industry in so many ways.

TPAF REPORT TO THE TPA BUSINESS SESSIONW.R. (Ron) Fryar, TPAF president - Feb. 9, 2011, Doubletree Hotel, Nashville

Rep. John C. Tidwell, New Johnsonville, is one of the longest-serving legislators in the Tennessee General Assembly.

From left, Sen. Brian Kelsey, Germantown; Jeff Van Dyke, AT&T; and Rep. Andrew H. Holt, Dresden

From left, Rep. Vance Dennis, Savannah; Jim Thompson, The Courier, Savannah; and Michael Williams, The Paris Post-Intelligencer

Andy Sher, Chattanooga Times Free Press, left, and Brent Leatherwood, House Republican caucus press secretary

Nancy Fishman, Lakeway Publishers, Morristown, talks with Paula Haffner, harpist.

Andrew Oppmann, Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, and Rep. Mike Sparks, Smyrna

DRIVE-IN TRAINING

f acts, the story would be stronger.

Gump said one way to avoid weasel words is to use fewer adjectives and adverbs, since they are the writer’s opinion instead of actual facts.

Another problem Gump says editors should be looking for is when reporters use jargon that the common person is not familiar with s i m p ly b e c a u s e the reporters don’t know what their sources are saying.

“A lot of times, reporters fall into official speaking because they don’t know what they are talking about.” Gump explained.

She said reporters will often write sentences exactly the way the judge or policeman said it in order to avoid

making a mistake.Lots of times, they still use the

words incorrectly but don’t realize it because they don’t know what the

Look at story as if you were the reader, Gump tells classwords mean.

After covering these basics, Gump showed several slides and asked the group to point out the unnecessary words within news stories.

“They are going to close school early because more snow is coming this way,” said one slide.

The class agreed that the words “this way” were unnecessary since the message was understood without them.

After this exercise, Gump advised that editors always view the story as if they were one of their readers.

“Put yourself in the place of a reader. If this were to happen, what would you want to see?” Gump asked.

She explained that because of the World Wide Web, newspapers are able to see what readers are doing and what they are interested in. She said editors should focus on those things.

Then, Gump showed slides of several errors that well-known publications had missed.

For example, in the fi rst slide, The New York Times printed “razist” instead of the intended “racist.”

Gump then offered a recycled pencil as a prize to the fi rst person to catch

the next mistake.After a few seconds, the error was

spotted in the lead headline from the Green Bay (Wis.) Press-Gazette, which read “On to Chicaco.”

These mistakes helped to emphasize Gump’s last point.

She fi nished by saying, “The brain takes shortcuts. These mistakes happen when you are stressed, tired and nervous. So we need to have backup and protection.”

She said that it was important for editors who catch the mistakes to talk to reporters.

For example, if a reporter is having a hard time remembering to double-check the spelling of names, the editor should talk with the reporter about how to fi x the problem.

Gump said one solution may be to post names of all the important offi cials at the reporter’s desk, so that it serves as a reminder and makes the task simpler.

However, this is a solution best used for a small town or campus.

For more help with editing problems, students, professors and professionals may visit a website Gump created at www.EditTeach.org.

From left, Jamey Campbell, Dr. Monique Wright and Candice Ramirez, Volunteer State Community College, Gallatin, and Walton Dunn, Lewis County Herald, Hohenwald

From left, Stanley Dunlap and Lauren Foreman, The Jackson Sun, and Lesley Jones, The Paris Post-Intelligencer

Annette Hurd, left, and Beth Thompson, The Courier, Savannah

TPA President Art Powers, Johnson City Press, arrives to begin the convention.

Victor Parkins, The Milan Mirror-Exchange, makes notes at the registration desk, where Angelique Dunn, TPA administrative assistant, is on duty.

Foreground, Ryan Tyler, Chattanooga State Community College

Gump

ROBYN GENTILE | TPA

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Convention - 3 APRIL 2011 The Tennessee Press14 - Convention The Tennessee Press APRIL 2011

TPA BOARD OF DIRECTORSDRIVE-IN TRAINING

TPA Treasurer Kevin Burcham, News-Herald, Lenoir City

TPA Directors Joe Adams, The Lebanon Democrat, left, and Brad Franklin, The Lexington Progress

TPA President Art Powers, Johnson City Press

Frank Gibson, executive director of the Tennessee Coalition for Open Government, reports to the board.

W.R. (Ron) Fryar, Cannon Courier, Woodbury, TPAF president

Jim Charlet, Brentwood, vice chairman, TPA Hall of Fame Administrative Committee

TPA Directors Eric Barnes, The Daily News, Memphis, left, and Jack McElroy, News Sentinel, Knoxville

TPA Vice President Michael Williams, The Paris Post-Intelligencer, co-chairman, TPA Government Affairs Committeee

TPA Director Chris Vass, Chattanooga Times Free Press, and Immediate Past President Victor Parkins, The Milan Mirror-Exchange

Some who attended the board meeting

TPA President Art Powers, left, talks with Charles Primm and Amy Blakely of the UTK Off ice of Communications and Marketing.

BY CHELSEA BOOZERThe Daily Helmsman

University of Memphis

E m p l o y e e s a t newspapers across the country have long been told their careers are quickly fading, becoming something more intangible and in digital format. And though the print for m of newspapers will continue to exist, experienced reporters have found it necessary to protect their papers’ digital brand by increasing their presence online.

Ed Bourn, online and technology director of the Chattanooga Times Free Press, presented an informational session on enhancing the online presence of a newspaper on Feb. 11, the last day of the 2011 Tennessee Press Association Winter Convention.

Bourn, who has improved social media participation from Chattanooga Times Free Press’s audience significantly since he’s been in charge of the paper’s online aspect, said interacting with the readers via social media sites like Facebook and Twitter is a necessity nowadays.

He also said that getting readers to the paper’s website isn’t the only goal.

“Any time a user is looking at our website,” he said, “I think, ‘Is there a way I can monetize that eyeball?’”

Bourn gave several tips on making money from a website.

Have lots of photos from events and allow viewers to buy photos of interest to them or that they are featured in, he said. He also suggested selling online ads and video advertisement separately from print ads.

“Don’t put print ads online,” he

said. “This is our future – don’t give it away.”

Bourn mentioned that people surfi ng the Internet on cell phones will surpass those surfi ng it on computers by 2015.

He said for newspapers to make their websites more mobile-friendly. They should get apps for not only the iPhone, which can view videos, but other brands of cell phones as well, he said. This allows the newspaper to reach all readers, no matter which cell phone company they use.

During holidays, Internet views (Facebook, Twitter and on the website) can go down. Bourn said he posts statuses and tweets from the paper’s account asking readers to post special sales during Black Friday or other deals around Christmas and New Year’s.

This technique has worked well

for the Chattanooga Times Free Press, Bourn said. They r e c e ive d t r a f f i c updates on Black Friday when certain roads became hectic and photos of long l ines at various s t o r e s . Re a d e r s accessed the paper’s Facebook account t o i n fo r m t h e i r fellow community members of what was going on.

The paper tends to offer awards such as iPads for contests advertised through their Twitter or Facebook account.

“You do have to watch for people promoting their own companies on your

site, however,” Bourn said. He deletes any postings from other companies or people advertising their own stories or ads.

He suggests that every paper create a social media contract for its employees, telling them not to post their opinions about theirs or other workers’ stories online.

“This is a new thing, and there are plenty of policies around for you to reference,” he said, referring to the social media policy.

Bourn wrapped up his session on protecting one’s digital brand by offering suggestions for content management systems. He said Flickr and YouTube are free sites a newspaper can access for photo and video sharing.

His lasting advice was to “measure everything. Keep all data: site visits per

In digital world, print publications must use social media

Boozer

Bourn

day, likes and mentions – everything,” he said.

William Mitchell, Shelbyville Times-Gazette, and Rita Mitchell, University of Tennessee-Martin

Foreground, Lyle Graves, The Daily News, Memphis

Erin O’Hara, policy advisor, First to the Top Implementation Team, led a session on reporting education reform and the use of statistics on schools.

Some of those who attended O’Hara’s class Foreground, Chris Daniels, University of Memphis, and Tracy Ayers, Pulaski Citizen

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Convention - 15APRIL 2011 The Tennessee Press2 - Convention The Tennessee Press APRIL 2011

Elizabeth K. Blackstone, Kennedy Newspapers, Columbia, left, and Tiffany Mason, government relations coordinator, Adams and Reese

GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS COMMITTEE DRIVE-IN TRAINING

Clark

John Finney, a TPA director and chairman of the Winter Convention Committee, introduces Clark.

BY ELENORA E. EDWARDSManaging editor

Justice Cornelia Clark, who became the state’s second female chief justice of the Supreme Court, provided her views on several subjects when she spoke Feb. 11 at the TPA Winter Convention and Press Institute.

She pointed out that many people don’t understand the rule of law and that students are no longer required to take civics, which would provide basic understanding of the three branches of government.

“The media play an integral role in getting people to understand the courts and the roles of courts,” she said.

Budget shortfalls have impacted the courts as well as other departments of government, Clark said, noting that more than 20 percent has been cut from the judiciary system. This has resulted in staff cuts, the closing of three law libraries, reduction in space, reduction in the court reporting program and less money to pay judges to fi ll in for judges who are ill or for some other reason unable to hear cases.

At the same time, the justice said, the courts will continue to be responsible and give “the same level of service.”

More people have trouble getting help because they can’t afford attorneys, Clark said. Important issues of various kinds still affect people (and need the courts’ attention), the justice said.

Clark clearly was against current ef-forts to return to Tennessee the popular election of judges, rather than the ap-pointing of them. She likened judges having to seek election and re-election to a baseball game umpire having to be elected.

She said partisan election of judges might affect the judges’ rulings. She said, “There’s not enough money you could pay me, or pay on my behalf, to have me change my mind about an opinion in a case. But I can understand why, if somebody who had given enough

Chief Justice Clark speaks against the election of judges

money to my campaign, you might worry about that. You might question my sincerity.”

However, she said she had made politi-cal contributions at times and that this is allowed under current ethics rules.

She said judges are somewhat like referees, “doing the best they can.”

She quoted U.S. Supreme Court Jus-tice Sandra Day O’Connor, who said the court “must be a place where being right is more important than being popular.” O’Connor was the fi rst female to serve

on the U.S. Supreme Court. In the current discussion of whether

judges should be elected or appointed and then renamed based on merit, those who believe in election refer to the Ten-nessee Constitution, which says judges will be elected, while others see dangers in returning to electing because of pos-sible political sway. According to the Tennessee Constitution, “The judges of the Supreme Court shall be elected by the qualifi ed voters of the State.”

The state now uses the “Tennessee Plan,” which allows the governor to appoint judges from a select list of candidates from a nominating commission. The public can then keep or remove judges through retention elections, indicating a yes or no vote.

Clark also said she thinks judges should do more pro bono, or free, work.

TPA Director Jack McElroy, News Sentinel, Knoxville, relates a situation in which public notice helped save the home of a young family.

Lobbyists for TPA Marcille Durham, The Ingram Group, Nashville, and Bo Johnson, Johnson Poss Government Relations, Nashville

TPA Lobbyist Mack Cooper, senior policy adviser, Waller, Lansden, Dortch & Davis

TPA Lobbyist James Weaver, attorney, Waller, Lansden, Dortch & Davis

Clint Brewer, The Tennessean, Nashville, left, and Michael Williams, The Paris Post-Intelligencer, co-chairmen of the Government Affairs Committee

Bo Johnson, Johnson Poss Government Relations, Nashville, speaks to the Government Affairs Committee, which met on Feb. 9 during the TPA Winter Convention.

Mark Stevens, publisher of The Erwin Record, spoke on money to be made in the newspaper business.

Ed Henninger, Henninger Consulting, Rock Hill, S.C., left, and Kevin Slimp, TPS technology director, presented a give and take session on design tips and tricks.

Tracey Trumbull, Chattanooga Times Free Press visuals editor, spoke on visual storytelling.

A reporter gets comments from Clark.

This bracelet, made of typewriter keys, was worn by Lynn Richardson, Herald and Tribune, Jonesborough, who said it was a gift from her staff.

Many newspapers provided copies for other TPAers to peruse while not in business or training sessions.

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& Press Institute& Press InstituteTPA Winter ConventionTPA Winter Convention 16 - Convention The Tennessee Press APRIL 2011

Here and there

PHOTOS IN THIS SECTION BY ELENORA E. EDWARDS | TPS

EXCEPT AS NOTED

FREEDOM SINGS/FIGHT THE POWER

ROBYN GENTILE | TPA

Beth Harwell of Nashville, the new speaker of the Tennessee House, second from left, attended the Opening Reception. With her, from left, are Frank Gibson, executive director of the Tennessee Coalition for Open Government, Nashville; Jack McElroy, editor of the News Sentinel, Knoxville; Elizabeth K. Blackstone, Kennedy Newspapers, Columbia; and Billy Blackstone, Columbia.

While Kevin Slimp, TPS director of technology, strikes a suitable pose for the camera, Ed Henninger, director of Henninger Consulting, Rock Hill, S.C., adds a special touch.

Gregg K. Jones, Jones Media, Greeneville, suggests the photographer not make this photo. He had climbed onto a chair when, already on his feet, someone suggested he stand up while speaking during a Government Affairs Committee meeting. Sam Kennedy, Kennedy Newspapers, Columbia, is in front.

From left, Rita Williams, University of Tennessee-Martin; Keith Wilson, Kingsport Times-News; Tamara Parkins Dunnebacke, The Milan Mirror-Exchange; Richard Rowlett, Rowlett Adverting, Goodlettsville; Victor Parkins, The Milan Mirror-Exchange; W.R. (Ron) Fryar, Cannon Courier, Woodbury; Art Powers, Johnson City Press

Gene Policinski, executive director of the First Amendment Center, left, and Adam Yeomans, The Associated Press, chat as TPAers arrive.

Jim Thompson, The Courier, Savannah, foreground, and others take in an exhibit at the First Amendment Center.Janet Rail, Independent Appeal, Selmer, was tossed a

T-shirt after the music inspired her to sing a little.

‘Fight the Power’ highlightsfrowned-on, ‘banned’ songs

BY ELENORA E. EDWARDSManaging editor

TPA Winter Convention attendees were treated to an evening of enter-tainment of a different kind on Feb. 10. Music, much of it very familiar, but music which some elements of our society didn’t want us to hear.

Ken Paulson, president and chief ex-ecutive offi cer of the First Amendment Center, Nashville, wrote the show, which included four excellent musicians. It was a fun, interesting time.

What made these songs scary? Cer-tain ideas that certain people thought would be dangerous for people or for our society – sex, drugs, violence, “of-fensive” words, political correctness, environmental matters.

Paulson

From left, Bill Lloyd, Jonell Mosser, Jason White and Joseph WootenEntertainers who sang various songs

were Bill Lloyd, Jason White, Jonell

APRIL 2011 SPECIAL SECTION

Mosser and Joseph Wooten.In the sex category, the Everly Brothers’ 1957 hit “Wake

Up Little Susie” was upsetting to some people, while others saw nothing wrong with it.

Another was Jerry Lee Lewis’ “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Go-ing’ On” because of the phrase “Shake it,” the latter word being the problematic one.

As for drugs, the song “One Toke Over the Line” by Brewer and Shipley and lines such as “One pill makes you larger...” from Jefferson Airplane’s “White Rabbit” had some people upset.

In the area of political correctness and politics, and in one instance, war, some people objected to “I Feel Like I’m Fixin’ To Die” (Yeah, come on all of you, big strong men, Uncle Sam needs your help again. He’s got himself in a terrible jam Way down yonder in Vietnam). Another was Curtis Mayfi eld’s “People Get Ready” (People get ready, there’s a train a comin’; You don’t need no baggage, you just get on board. All you need is faith to hear the diesels hummin’. Don’t need no ticket, you just thank the Lord).

Other examples: “Red Rag Top,” which some people thought was pro-abortion and others, anti-abortion, while White, the song writer, said he composed it simply as a love song; “Short People” by Randy Newman; “Po-litical Science”; “I Am Woman”; “Paradise” by John Prine; “You Send Me” sung by Sam Cooke; “Blowin’ in the Wind” by Bob Dylan; “Change is Gonna Come” by Cooke.

The musicians wrapped up the show with “Express Your-self ” (Whatever you do, do it good) by Charles Wright and the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band.