Mentors Sought For New Hampshire Journalism Mentorship Program

December 18, 2019

New Hampshire Press Association | December 17, 2019

This is an appeal for participation in the New Hampshire Journalism Mentorship Program that launched earlier this month as a joint initiative of The New Hampshire Press Association, The Granite State News Collaborative, The Nackey S. Loeb School of Communications and the Marlin Fitzwater Center for Communications at Franklin Pierce University.

The program seeks to pair students and educators with working and retired journalists to assist them advance their journalism careers and support high quality news coverage in the state. A full description of the program can be reviewed on the Press Association’s website.
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Local broadcast stations make money on political ads as print and digital newsrooms struggle

December 17, 2019

Rick Edmonds | Poynter | December 13, 2019

As legacy print outlets and many digital startups struggle financially, another segment of the news industry is doing just fine, thanks.

Local broadcast, building on an already solid advertising and audience base, remains the most popular medium for political advertising. 2018 outpaced the last presidential cycle in 2016, and 2019-20 figures to be much better still.
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Athol Daily News Closes Office – Greenfield Recorder’s Editor-In-Chief To Oversee Coverage

December 13, 2019

Adam Frenier & Sam Hudzik | New England Public Radio | December 10, 2019

The Daily News in Athol, Massachusetts, will no longer have an office in the North Quabbin town. The cost-cutting move for parent company Newspapers of New England means seven positions have been eliminated, according to the publisher.

The closure of the office was announced in an ad on page A8 of Tuesday’s edition of the Daily News. It said the paper will now be based out of the company’s Greenfield office.
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A NH bill seeks to force news media to ‘unreport’ criminal cases

December 13, 2019

Sentinel Editorial | Keene Sentinel | December 12, 2019

A bill in the N.H. House of Representatives’ Judiciary Committee seeks to undo — or un-see — news that has happened.

House Bill 1157, a proposed amendment to RSA 507, which governs legal actions and processes, wants to add a liability section forcing New Hampshire news media to “update, retract or correct” digital news stories about crimes in which the person charged is later found not guilty or charges dropped. The concern is obvious: Because the Internet and news websites keep almost everything and index content for searching, a story about charges brought against someone that is not also accompanied by an update reporting a non-guilty finding leaves the individual impacted in all manner of ways, from personal relationships to employment.
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Vermont Supreme Court Orders Release of Record Sought by Seven Days

December 13, 2019

Derek Brouwer | Seven Days | December 6, 2109

The Vermont Supreme Court on Friday unanimously affirmed a lower court’s ruling that the Burlington School District can release to Seven Days a separation agreement between the district and a former school administrator.

The ruling, while narrow, also endorsed the district’s unusual decision last year to sue the newspaper rather than respond to its public records request.

The case began in 2018 after the newspaper sought details of former Burlington Tech interim director Adam Provost’s departure in January of that year for unspecified medical reasons. Provost had been on administrative leave for months before he resigned.
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Big changes at The Republican on Jan. 1

December 13, 2019

Wayne Phaneuf Yankee Quill — Wayne E. Phaneuf, executive editor of The Republican and Sunday Republican, accepts his award from William B. Ketter, chairman, of the Academy of New England Journalists, during the 58th Annual Yankee Quill Awards Dinner at the Crowne Plaza in Natick, October 11, 2018. (Frederick Gore Photo)

Ray Kelly | The Republican | November 28, 2109

Wayne E. Phaneuf, will retire as executive editor of The Republican on Jan. 1. He will be succeeded by Cynthia G. Simison, who will become the first woman executive editor in the newspaper’s 195-year-history.

George Arwady, publisher and CEO of The Republican, announced the change in leadership at the end of November.

“Wayne Phaneuf shaped this newspaper and the community for a generation. Few people ever do as much good for their hometowns as Wayne has accomplished here through truth-telling for half a century,” Arwady said.

He added, “Cynthia, an outstanding writer and editor in her own right, has spent four decades of incredibly dedicated work on behalf of our readers, making a difference for good at the newspaper, in the community, and in the lives of countless other women and men of talent and dedication. Now, she will be in a position to do even more. I can’t wait to see what’s to come.”
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Heather Henline

December 12, 2019

Heather Henline has worked for Ogden Newspapers, the Telegraph’s parent company, for more than 20 years. Most recently, she has been the publisher and general manager of The Inter-Mountain in Elkins, W.Va. During her six-year tenure, The Inter-Mountain was named Newspaper of the Year and won more than 200 awards, including general excellence for editorial and advertising as well as multiple first-place awards for Henline individually.

Prior to taking the helm at The Inter-Mountain, Henline was editor of The Journal in Martinsburg, W.Va., and The Sentinel in Lewistown, Pa. She also had worked at The Parkersburg News & Sentinel in Parkersburg, W.Va., as its city editor and in a variety of other roles, including delivery, sales and marketing, and customer service at the newspapers.

Henline attended the University of South Carolina School of Journalism and Mass Communications on a dean’s scholarship for an undergraduate Bachelor of Arts. She majored in print media with an emphasis in newsroom management. She received a Doctor of Letters from Davis & Elkins College in May 2015 and has been very active in civic and community organizations, including leadership positions within Rotary and the Chamber of Commerce.

She and her husband, Lance Henline, have three sons, Johnny, 18, Bobby, 14, and Joshua, 2.

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Innovative journalism projects sought for RJI’s flexible fellowship program

December 11, 2019

RJI Online | December 11, 2019

Is there a journalism challenge you or your newsroom has wanted to tackle, but haven’t had the time or resources to focus on the idea?

Could the project benefit the industry as a whole in some way and strengthen democracy through better journalism?

If you answered ‘yes’ to both of those questions, then consider applying for a 2020–21 fellowship at the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute at the Missouri School of Journalism. Apply between Dec. 16, 2019 and Jan. 17, 2020.

RJI Fellowship projects typically devise new strategies or models for solving a problem, build new tools, or create a prototype or advance a prototype so it is ready for investment or launch during an eight-month fellowship. This year’s fellows are working on a variety of projects, which include, developing a best practices guide for better gun violence reporting, helping news outlets take advantage of push notifications and developing a platform to produce audio stories on smart speakers that can contrast or expand based on the reader’s interest level in a topic.
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How Training Can Improve Local News, Make It More Inclusive

December 11, 2019

Mark Glaser | Knight Foundation | December 11, 2019

If you were to train the perfect local news journalist or publisher, you would make sure they had a good grasp of digital business, used innovative reporting techniques, listened to and engaged deeply with audiences, and understood the value that their community’s many cultural and intellectual differences bring.

Training programs run the gamut from online webinars to in-person boot camps at conferences to fellowships and cohorts that learn together over a longer period of time. And the training programs aren’t just about keeping up with the latest tech tools; they also try to imbue a mindset of innovation, so journalists can be flexible and curious and open to constant change in the industry.

“We see our mission as investing in people,” said Meghan Murphy, senior manager, communities & local journalism initiatives at the Online News Association (ONA). “We can’t fulfill our mission to make the journalism field more innovative without lifting up the people in the industry.”
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