Briefing

A nonprofit business model is an increasingly attractive alternative for newspapers that have seen their profit margins fall and those with an interest in accessing grants and tax-deductible contributions. The potential of the nonprofit model for rural papers was the topic of programming last week during the National Summit on Journalism in Rural America.

The summit was presented by the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues and the College of Communication and Information at the University of Kentucky. Summit sessions can be viewed on YouTube.

The annual conference of the International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors — planned for July 20-23 at the University of Kentucky — will have programs on localizing national politics becoming, dealing with the challenges of social media, new business models for weeklies, the government's role in the news business, university help for community newspapers, shared interests between newspapers and libraries, and the hallmark of the conference: critiques of member editorials and editorial pages.

Registration fees start at $300 and include lodging. The deadline to signup is Wednesday, June 15. Questions? Email al.cross@uky.edu.

Friday, June 3, is the last day to register for this year’s WNA Trees Retreat next week in Eagle River.

During the retreat, we'll remember Pylon honorees from 2020, 2021 and 2022. Come a day early and join us for the annual golf outing and traditional steak fry in the WNA Press Forest.

As part of our 2022 contest judging partnership, the Arkansas Press Association needs 20 additional volunteers from the Wisconsin Newspaper Association to judge its editorial contest this spring.

The deadline to sign up is Sunday, May 1. All judging will be done online and is scheduled to begin next week, with a deadline of Friday, May 20.