Briefing Archives | Page 26 of 28 | Wisconsin Newspaper Association

polco, coronavirus, voter registration, presidential debates, covid-19

Poll: How does Joe Biden’s choice of Sen. Kamala Harris as VP influence your voting decision?

Aug. 13, 2020

A new poll question from Polco about how Joe Biden’s choice of Kamala Harris influences readers’ voting decision is now available to be used by WNA members.

This question and the related polling data are made available through a partnership between the WNA and Polco, a national civic engagement company based in Madison, that aims to help Wisconsin newspapers better engage readers and access enhanced data and insights.

Trio of weekly newspapers merge to form Buffalo County News

Aug. 4, 2020

Beginning with Thursday’s issue, subscribers to Buffalo County’s three weeklies will receive a newly merged newspaper, the Buffalo County News.

The newspapers last week announced the (Alma) Buffalo County Journal, Mondovi Herald-News and Cochrane-Fountain City Recorder would be merged to form one newspaper serving the entire county. All three newspapers shared the same parent company, Media One.

In search of the perfect headline

Aug. 1, 2020

A headline can make or break an ad. It’s important to look for connections between what the audience needs and how the advertiser can meet those needs.

Veteran sales trainer John Foust gives suggestions for doing just that in his latest installment of “Ad Libs.”

Local journalism needs a new ‘Sustainability Act’

Jul. 30, 2020

An editorial by the Vilas County News Review (which is available for republication by WNA members) asks the entire Wisconsin delegation to co-sponsor the Local Journalism Sustainability Act.

“Never has America’s free press been more threatened by economic insolvency, a development that could eliminate the work of local journalists who provide in-depth perspectives that inform their readership regarding important current events,” the editorial board writes.

RCFP, NPPA and CPJ to offer free training sessions for journalists covering 2020 conventions

Jul. 21, 2020

The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, the National Press Photographers Association and the Committee to Protect Journalists are offering offering makeup trainings for anyone who missed their sessions last week on the 2020 Democratic National Convention and other national political events.

The virtual training sessions will be hosted on Zoom on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

Report for America opens newsroom applications, expands opportunity to hire more journalists

Jul. 21, 2020

Report for America applications are now open for news organizations interested in hosting emerging journalists for up to three years, beginning next June.

The national service places talented journalists into local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues and communities. The program recruits journalists and pays half the salary, up to $20,000. The other half is split between the host news organization and local donors.

Ask your Congressional representative to co-sponsor the Local Journalism Sustainability Act

Jul. 21, 2020

WNA members are encouraged to contact their lawmakers and ask them to sign on as a co-sponsor of the Local Journalism Sustainability Act.

The bipartisan legislation provides direct financial incentives to support local journalism. Proposed tax credits include credit for local newspaper subscriptions, payroll credit for compensation of journalists and credit for advertising in local newspapers and local media.

journalism, investigative journalism, election integrity, wisconsin watch, wcij

WCIJ partners with Center for Journalism Ethics on election integrity project

Jul. 14, 2020

The Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism and the Center for Journalism Ethics at UW-Madison are partnering on a project to support election integrity this fall, the organizations have announced.

The effort, supported by $83,000 in funding from Craig Newmark Philanthropies, will focus on developing election integrity resource kits for citizens and journalists in addition to investigative reporting on voting issues in Wisconsin. Howard Hardee, a former Wisconsin State Journal reporter and current local news fellow at First Draft News, will be the lead reporter on the project.

Is your newspaper capturing all community voices?

Jul. 13, 2020

Are all your readers’ voices represented in your newspaper’s coverage? Providing as many perspectives as possible is the foundation of a well-rounded story.

Journalism trainer Jim Pumarlo provides some suggestions on how to make sure your newsroom is best representing the local landscape.

Amid bad news, a permanent solution to a temporary problem

Jul. 9, 2020

Since fall 2018, 300 more U.S. newspapers have disappeared, bringing the number over the last 15 years to 2,100. That’s almost 25% of the 9,000 newspapers that were published in 2005, writes Al Cross director of the University of Kentucky’s Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues.

The coronavirus pandemic and its economic impact has made it clear that the choices we make — as citizens, policymakers and industry leaders — will determine the future of the local news landscape.