Huck Boyd National Center for Community Media

The Huck Boyd National Center for Community Media and the National Newspaper Association Foundation are sponsoring the 13th annual Newspapers and Community-Building Symposium, which helps community journalists by promoting research on a variety of topics relevant to small-circulation newspapers.

The 13th annual Newspapers and Community-Building Symposium, co-sponsored by the Huck Boyd National Center for Community Media and the National Newspaper Association Foundation, was Sept. 27-28 in Norfolk, Va.

The 12th annual Newspapers and Community-Building Symposium, co-sponsored by the Huck Boyd National Center for Community Media and the National Newspaper Association Foundation, was Oct. 12-13 in Oklahoma City, Okla.

Symposium XI info - 2005

The Huck Boyd National Center for Community Media and the National Newspaper Association Foundation sponsored the 11th annual Newspapers and Community-Building Symposium at the 119th National Newspaper Association convention in Milwaukee, Wis., Sept. 29-30, 2005.

Reaching real-world readers
Powerful Q&A— W.C. O'Donovan, The Virginia Gazette, 216 Ironbound Rd., Williamsburg, VA 23188; 757-345-2351; bodonovan@vagazette.com

Advertising dilemmas, readership demographics, and war coverage were among the presentation subjects as the Huck Boyd National Center for Community Media celebrated its tenth annual symposium at the National Newspaper Association Convention in Denver, Colo.

“The 10th annual Newspapers and Community-Building Symposium was well-attended this year,” said Gloria Freeland, director of the Huck Boyd Center. “The topics covered a broad range of issues relevant to newspaper publishers.”

In addition to the twelve papers that were presented Sept. 15-18, the Huck Boyd Center also showcased remarks from researchers about changes that community journalism has faced since the symposium started.

“How we use the term ‘community journalism’ has been changing,” said Robert Krecklow of Brown Publishing Co. and author of the symposium paper “Community-building: a case study in community unity.” “We first coined the concept of community journalism to describe the journalism craft as practiced in smaller markets. Today, the term has been adopted by suburban journals serving tens of thousands of households and by shopper publications, which have begun referring to themselves as ‘community newspapers.’

“Nonetheless, community journalism as originally conceived has had a profound impact on the business in the last 10 years. Once upon a time, community journalists tried to emulate their metropolitan counterparts. Today, we see the opposite occurring, as metropolitan properties work hard to win back readers by returning to the roots of community journalism—names and faces make news.”

Presenters also offered advice to students embarking on their professional careers.

Papers Presented at Symposium X:

Understanding your readers and how they use media

“Identifying bilingual media newspaper readers: research method selection and effectiveness” Brooke Fisher, University of North Carolina—Chapel Hill

“Beyond demographics: understanding who your readers are and how they communicate” Stephen Byers, University of Wisconsin—Milwaukee

“Social capital in decline: who is to be blamed? An examination of the relationship between social capital and mass media use” Maria Raicheva-Stover, Washburn University

“Show me the money: A modest proposal to make a modest profit on community newspaper Web sites” Joe Marren, Buffalo State College

“Advertiser pressure on news content: the dilemma between business and editorial in community newspapers” Soontae An and Lori Bergen, Kansas Sate University

“Building community on the copy desk: how newspapers between 25,001 and 50,000 stack up” Susan Keith, Rutgers University

“Preserving the legacy: the joys and tribulations of running the family newspaper” Linda Gilmore, Kansas State University

“Perceptions of a small town newspaper’s role in war coverage”
Sharon B. Stringer, Lock Haven University

“Small papers, big stories: a look at the Pulitzer Prize-winning efforts of three community newspapers” John Hatcher, Syracuse University

Building community through conversation, participation and continuing education

“Community building through interactive mass communication”
John “Jack” Morris, Loyola University

“Community-Building: a case study in community unity”
Robert Krecklow, Brown Publishing Co., Van Wert, Ohio

“A Johnny Appleseed Community Journalism Roadshow”
Jock Lauterer, University of North Carolina—Chapel Hill

Thursday, Sept. 25, 2003: 10:45-11:45 a.m.
•Reaching a wide range of readers

Hablamos Español? (Do we speak Spanish?) Case studies: how five mainstream community newspapers have started covering their new Latino communities - Jock Lauterer, School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill

The giant at the gate: Covering the military base on your doorstep - Linda Gilmore, reporter, Junction City Daily Union, Clay Center, KS

Thursday, Sept. 25, 2003: 2:30-3:30 p.m.
• Taking the heat: content issues

Editorials: A thing of the past in community newspapers? - Les Anderson; Elliott School of Communication; Wichita State University, Wichita, KS.

When the cop said, "The all-American boy who died had been driving drunk": How one small southern newspaper responded to a seeming disconnect between its news coverage and its readers - Larry Timbs, associate professor; Department of Mass Communication; Winthrop University; Rock Hill, SC

Cheerleaders and community builders: How rural weekly newspaper publishers view their roles - Anne L. Tezon, publisher; The Hamilton Advocate; Hamilton, MO 64644

Present at the creation: The Ayers Family Institute for Community Journalism - Chris Waddle, vice president for news and director; Ayers Institute; Anniston, AL

Using the Web to put out all the news that's fit to print : How community newspapers can use technology to compete against the big metros on the block - Joe Marren, assistant professor, Communication Department, Buffalo State College; Buffalo, NY

Friday, Sept. 26, 2003: 2:30-3:30 p.m.
• Building bridges/expanding readership

Building bridges in Wisconsin: PARTNERS connects collegiate and professional journalism communities - Bill Haupt, Lodi Enterprise; Lodi, WI

Expanding the community newspaper through online news sites - Gene Murray, professor, Department of Mass Communication, Grambling State University, Grambling, LA

Journalism educators and newspaper publishers had the chance to interact at the 116th annual convention of the National Newspaper Association in Portland in September. The two groups met during the eighth Newspapers and Community-Building Symposium, sponsored by the Huck Boyd National Center for Community Media at Kansas State University and the NNA Foundation.

The purpose of the symposium is to bring journalism educators and publishers together in a forum that encourages discussion about current research that is relevant to community newspapers.
Symposium sessons this year covered the general topics of meeting internal and external challenges in your community; innovative ways to generate revenue; renewing the public trust; and connecting the community with your newspaper.

“We heard some good comments about this year’s symposium sessions,” Gloria Freeland, director of the Huck Boyd Center, said. “Audience feedback was very positive and there were some great questions for the presenters. It seems that the symposium gets better and better each year.”

Presentations included:
•“Surviving changes in ownership: how one community newspaper coped with three new owners in two years,” Mike Cowling, associate professor in the Department of Journalism at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.
•"Establishing a community history beat," Don Corrigan, professor of journalism at Webster University in St. Louis, Mo. and editor and co-publisher of two weekly newspapers.
•"Small dailies’ plan for their Web sites in an economic slowdown," Byung Lee, associate professor in journalism and communications at Elon University.
•"Newspaper front-page ads: the good, the bad and the ugly," John Irby, assistant professor in the Edward R. Murrow School of Communication at Washington State University.
•"Covering a community in crisis: hard news and compassion in balance," Kathleen Mason, assistant professor in the Russell J. Jandoli School of Journalism at St. Bonaventure University.
•"One toke over the line? When the watch dog becomes a guard dog," Jock Lauterer, founding director of the Carolina Community Media Project at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Journalism and Mass Communication.
•"Looking for love in all the wrong places. In their search for online Nirvana, newspapers may be overlooking the obvious," Clyde Bentley, associate professor and member of the Center for the Digital Globe at the University of Missouri.
•"Young journalists’ attitudes toward their communities," Kim Landon, associate professor of journalism at Utica College.
•"Building community by building a high school newspaper: a case study of one daily’s cooperative project," Jim Mueller, assistant professor of journalism at the University of North Texas.

The Center and the NNAF will sponsor the ninth Newspapers and Community-Building Symposium at the National Newspaper Association convention in Kansas City, Mo., Sept 24-27, 2003. The Center has issued a call for proposals for that symposium. Please contact Gloria Freeland, gfreela@ksu.edu if you’re interested in submitting a proposal.

Symposium VII recap

Symposium VII's Newspapers and Community-Building Symposium, in Louisville, Ky., Oct. 4-7, 2000, was the first to feature a poster session. The symposium's four sessions covered the following topics: essential community coverage, discovering community opinion on a budget, defining your changing readers, and recruitment, retention and retreat. In addition to the 12 papers, the Symposium included a poster session. Five papers were presented on the trade show floor, where the presenters received a lot of visitors.