Media lawyers at Prince Lobel, in association with NENPA, are on call to provide emergency legal assistance for journalists covering rallies and protests in Boston or elsewhere in New England. If you are in need of assistance email hotline@princelobel.com.
We are excited to announce that the Local Community News Fund of New England is now live!
This new initiative allows local newspapers to quickly and easily begin fundraising and accepting tax-deductible donations. Twenty-five New England publications joined in the first sign-up period. Those that have started promoting the program are already receiving donations and words of encouragement from their readers.
“Without local press, i.e., Stowe Reporter, it will be close to impossible for those in the future to know the happenings of today.”
“Thank you, Milton Times, for all that you do to keep our community updated on important news & events.”
“Your editorial and reporting staff are vital community leaders always and especially now during this public health catastrophe. Thank you!”
After signing up for the program, newspapers receive a custom fundraising page, step-by-step instructions, a marketing plan, customized ads and all of the support needed to get started – without any startup fees.
All donations to the fund go to the specific newspaper designated, and can help pay reporters’ salaries and other costs of covering the local community.
If you would like to schedule an informational webinar about the program and answer any questions you have, please contact Linda Conway at L.Conway@nenpa.com.
All donations to this fund are tax-deductible. Together, we can make it through this.
Local Community News Fund of New England is a service of, and administered by, New England Press Association Scholarship Fund, Inc., (aka Journalism Education Foundation of New England, tax ID #23‐7297724, a 501(c)(3) organization) affiliated with New England Newspaper and Press Association.
The Tennessee Press Association, working with research firm Coda Ventures, that specializes in newspapers, is launching a readership survey next week.
The survey includes national information on ad effectiveness in newspapers for 2020 that they have graciously shared with us and given us permission to share with our members.
With industry standards for digital ad ‘click thru’ at less than 1%, newspaper ad effectiveness norms are much higher. For all display ads the national data shows:
Ad Recall – 54%
Reader Actions – 66%
Ad Likability – 73%
These numbers are amazing. Check out the full report that breaks down ad effectiveness by category.
Download Report
The basis for almost all great journalism is the interview, the act of obtaining information from a source. With less in-person meetings and more phone interviews, Zoom meetings or other online interviews happening during the COVID-19 pandemic, the same effective interview skills apply.
These skills can easily be implemented in this new environment to heighten the depth of information obtained from sources and to help reporters write more authoritative and complete articles.
It sounds simple enough, right? Find someone with knowledge, call or visit them virtually, ask them questions and record their responses. But like everything in journalism, conducting quality interviews is a craft that requires great commitment, effort and skill to pull off at the highest level. It demands a never-ending process of learning and improving.
Interviews serve several important purposes. They deepen a reporter’s understanding of a topic; they provide opportunities to gather detail, color and specifics that enhance storytelling opportunities; they add context, nuance and perspective that documents and data cannot provide; and, ultimately, they generate credibility with readers by strengthening the writer’s voice, authority and understanding of a topic.
Effective interviewing is an art form; there is no one way to do it well and the approach depends on the subject and the topic. Here are some tips to conducting memorable and effective interviews that will generate quality material to make your reporting and writing shine.
— Consider the Three Ps. Preparation, planning and persistence are critical. Great interviews only result from great preparation. Read up on sources and topics before the interview begins. Never go in cold.
— Be ready for anything; don’t let sources take control of the interview. Ask a tough question three different ways if that’s what it takes to get a real answer.
— Be patient to get more info. Asking good questions takes skill. Thought, anticipation and analysis are critical elements of asking the right question at the right time. Do not be in a hurry.
— Discomfort is encouraged on both sides of interviews that become intense and go deep; it’s OK if you both squirm a bit.
— Think about questions in advance and write them down. On breaking news, think on your feet and react to the situation to come up with high-impact questions. Maintain a tight focus on the work and don’t drift off.
— Ask open-ended questions and those that push the source to go beyond the obvious and make them think deeply and reveal things they may not have intended to. Force them to reveal their feelings in addition to their knowledge.
— Develop a connection with the subject and use a conversational style to lower their guard and make them feel more comfortable revealing the truth. Be open with the source to gain trust and credibility and build a rapport but not a friendship.
— Create a flow for the interview that makes sense and feels right. Easy questions early, hard questions in the middle, follow-up queries at the end. Plan a strategy in advance.
— Listen more than you talk. Avoid questions with long wind-ups. Give the source your full attention at all times.
— Try to meet sources on their own turf (when this is safe). Better yet, be with them when they undertake an activity or go about their daily duties.
— Use the “devil’s advocate” excuse to pose sensitive questions.
— Share a bit of yourself to warm up an uncomfortable, uneasy or inexperienced source.
— Feel free to acknowledge that you don’t know something or didn’t get it. Ask sources to explain complex topics in the simplest terms possible.
— Always seek opportunities for photos and video. In this new environment ask the subject if they can submit photos or video or is it ok to do screen shots during your video call. Do the full interview, then re-ask a good question while taking a photo or short video.
— On breaking news, interview both the blowhards and the quiet people who stand on the edge of a scene. Find the highest ranking officer on the scene and question them. Never stop asking questions of authorities until they walk away or tell you to stop. Have business cards handy to give to people and ask them to call you later. Act and think fast because opportunities are fleeting. Stay a little longer than you think necessary.
— In press conferences, never ask your best question amid the pack. Try to get private time with the source or call them later with the gangbuster inquiry. Always break away from the pack.
— Be kind and respectful at all times and don’t be afraid to use tasteful humor to break down barriers with an uncomfortable or new source.
— Record interviews for accuracy, even if transcription takes more time and is painful. For phone interviews, put your phone on speaker and tape the call on a micro-recorder. When a key fact or great quote comes along, write down the time on the recorder in your notes to expedite finding it later.
— Always keep open the opportunity for a follow-up interview. Arrange to speak again to clarify facts or run new findings by them. Get the cell phone number of all people you interview.
— Put the phone down and turn the radio off while driving after an interview (windshield time is thinking time.) Right after an interview, go back and tidy up the notes and write up the information in story form.
— Practice makes one proficient; becoming a student of the interview process and reviewing past results leads to constant improvement.
Mother’s Day 2020 is about as different as it can get with stay at home orders in place in most of the New England states.
Celebrating will take new forms for many people. Virtual Zoom visits with mom will replace in-person visits. Going over will be driving by and chatting from the car or eating outside with mom while maintaining social distance.
This is where the New England states stand with stay at home orders, phased reopening’s and Mother’s Day stories from newspapers around New England.
Connecticut
The mandatory shutdown in the state was extended until May 20.
Connecticut Post
Connecticut restaurants offering special Mother’s Day takeout
Hartford Courant
Coronavirus creates anxiety, new protocols for Connecticut moms giving birth during the pandemic
Maine
The state’s stay-at-home order has been extended through through May 31, allowing some businesses to reopen on May 1.
Portland Press Herald
Mother’s Day will be different this year in Maine
Bangor Daily News
Happy Mother’s Day — Editorials
Massachusetts
The timeline for the closure of nonessential businesses has been extended to keep the physical workplaces and facilities closed to all workers, customers and the public until May 18.
Boston Herald
Massachusetts moms put patients first, serve on the front lines on Mother’s Day
Boston Globe
A Mother’s Day like no other
New Hampshire
A modified stay-at-home order was issued and is in effect until May 31. Barber shops, hair salons and retail shops can begin to open May 11 with restrictions on capacity and mask requirements.
New Hampshire Union Leader
Mom might need to settle on takeout or barbecue for special day
New Hampshire Magazine
Mother’s Day Goodies and Gifts
Rhode Island
Statewide stay-at-home order expired May 8, and the state has begun Phase 1 of its reopening with strict restrictions remain in place for some businesses.
The Westerly Sun
Makeshift Mother’s Day: Celebrating mom is a bit tricky in the time of the coronavirus
Providence Journal
Check it Out: 5 R.I. things to do for Mother’s Day
Vermont
The stay at home order is in effect until May 15, but certain restrictions have been relaxed.
Burlington Free Press
(Un)Happy Mother’s Day, mom! Here’s some snow, cold temperatures and high winds
Seven Days Vermont
Retail Therapy: Where to Shop Locally for Mother’s Day
Source for state stay at home orders: https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2020/us/states-reopen-coronavirus-trnd/
New England news organizations received 5% out of the nearly $16 million in grants announced today through the Facebook Journalism Project’s relief fund for local news. The grants were awarded to more than 200 news organizations in North America, including 11 in New England that will receive individual grants totaling $810,645.
The COVID-19 Local News Relief Grant Program was designed to provide support for US local news organizations serving a critical role for communities impacted by COVID-19. The funding is intended to respond to immediate community needs and/or offset some revenue shortfalls to help publishers maintain long-term sustainability during this crisis.
“The grant of $100,000 to MaineToday Media will assist in funding our newsroom payroll at the Portland Press Herald, Morning Sentinel (Waterville) and Kennebec Journal (Augusta), allowing us to continue publishing stories covering every aspect of the crisis to keep Maine’s people informed and connected.” Lisa DeSisto, CEO MaineToday Media
NEW ENGLAND NEWS ORGANIZATIONS RECEIVING GRANTS
Connecticut
Record-Journal Meriden Meriden, CT
Grant Amount: $99,501
The Waterbury Observer Waterbury, CT
Grant Amount: $25,000
Maine
MaineToday Media Portland, ME
Publications include: pressherald.com, centralmaine.com
Grant Amount: $100,000
Massachusetts
Boston Globe* Boston, MA
Grant Amount: $150,000
Boxcar Media, LLC. / iBerkshires.com North Adams, MA
Grant Amount: $65,404
MuckRock on behalf of Outlier Media Somerville, MA
Grant Amount: $70,140
New Hampshire
Newspapers of New England, Inc. Concord, NH
Publications include: concordmonitor.com, vnews.com, ledgertranscript.com, gazettenet.com, recorder.com, atholdailynews.com
Grant Amount: $100,000
New Hampshire Public Radio* Concord, NH
Grant Amount: $40,000
Rhode Island
Portsmouth Press Portsmouth, RI
Grant Amount: $25,000
Vermont
The Chester Telegraph Chester, VT
Grant Amount: $35,600
VT Digger* Montpelier, VT
Grant Amount: $100,000
*Asterisk denotes Accelerator participants who are receiving grants.
The Facebook Journalism Project Local News Accelerator program includes a three-month period of workshops, now fully virtual, led by the Accelerator’s executive director Tim Griggs, regular reports on best business practices and grants administered by the Lenfest Institute and the International Center for Journalists. Accelerator participants from the US and Canada are receiving relief grants to help safeguard the transformation they’ve achieved over the last several years and to capitalize on new opportunities.
NTVB Media will provide a weekly roundup of television viewing recommendations to newspapers at no charge until at least May 31.
Curated by NTVB’s television critics and editors, What to Watch includes daily viewing suggestions from Sundays to Saturdays, with versions provided in Eastern and Pacific tune-in times. What to Watch also includes movie recommendations
Newspapers can access What to Watch at content.ntvbmedia.com, and each weekly edition will be available for download on the previous Friday. In addition, NTVB Media partnered with Lee Enterprises, which is providing daily versions of What to Watch that are camera-ready for newspapers.
“Newspapers are focused on reporting important news about the pandemic to their readers,” said Andy DeAngelis, president of NTVB Media. “We hope this small gesture of providing What to Watch helps the papers, and gives their readers a valuable tool and an entertaining diversion from the more serious things outside.”
The coronavirus pandemic has most Americans living under stay-at-home orders, causing television viewing to skyrocket.
Media research firm Nielsen anticipates an increase of 60% more television viewing during the stay-at-home restrictions related to the pandemic. Nielsen reported that streaming of TV and movies has jumped 36% — from 115 minutes to 156 minutes weekly — since the start of stay-at-home orders. In addition, Nielsen said the increase in television viewing has been higher among younger viewers since the coronavirus outbreak.
Not surprisingly, the Los Angeles Times noted that “A cooped-up audience hungry for information on the coronavirus is driving up viewership of TV news to extraordinary levels.”
“As people stay safe at home over the next several weeks, we expect a shift in viewing from news to more entertainment,” DeAngelis predicted. “And people will naturally be looking for good programming to watch. We launched What to Watch to help them and our newspaper partners.”
In addition to television news, people across the country are relying on newspapers for much-needed news from federal, state and local authorities, along with information on infection prevention, screening, financial and other types of assistance.
To augment coronavirus coverage, NTVB recommends that newspapers post What to Watch to their websites and social channels, and include a hyperlink to it from their e-editions.
NTVB Media, Inc. is the largest independent publisher of entertainment magazines in the United States. Its publications include TV Guide Magazine, TV Weekly, Channel Guide Magazine, OnDish, ReMIND, TVInsider.com, and VIEW! Magazine. The company markets and distributes TV Weekly and syndicates content and interactive widgets to hundreds of newspaper partners throughout the United States.
PAWTUCKET – U.S. Representatives David N. Cicilline (RI-01) and F. James Sensenbrenner (WI-05) are leading more than 100 members of both parties in pushing to protect local news publishers and broadcasters in the next COVID-19 relief package.
“Reliable local information and reporting in our communities is more important than ever—newspapers and broadcasters are working ‘around the clock, often in dangerous conditions, to consistently get critical and timely information to the public,’” the Members of Congress wrote. “Local news publishers and broadcasters employ thousands of journalists—including reporters, photographers, newsroom staff, and others—to provide timely and accurate news to keep people informed about their communities. Under ordinary circumstances, this work is essential to public health and safety, local businesses, and our democracy. But it is more important than ever as our country responds to and recovers from the COVID-19 crisis.”
The full text of the letter and a list of signers is embedded below. A PDF copy of the letter, as delivered, can be downloaded by clicking here.
The New England Newspaper & Press Association is excited to announce the Local Community News Fund of New England, a new initiative to allow local newspapers to quickly and easily begin fundraising and accepting tax-deductible donations.
Local community newspapers were struggling before the conronavirus pandemic disrupted life as we knew it, and we were determined to help them discover alternate funding sources.
Traditional advertising revenue, which the industry has always counted on to fund the free press, was being challenged by the rapidly changing media landscape. Now that revenue is being decimated even further by the current crisis.
The loss of advertising dollars has threatened the existence of many newspapers that are the lifeblood of the communities they serve.
The New England Press Association Scholarship Fund, Inc., a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, created the Local Community News Fund of New England to allow tax-deductible donations to support local newspapers in our six-state region.
Local newspapers play a critical role in the communities they serve, making us all stronger. They are dedicated to delivering consistent, quality, local news coverage, whether it is a local issue or a worldwide pandemic that is now a danger to our communities. They tell the grim facts and wonderful success stories of our lives every day.
We believe in and support local newspapers in their commitment to serve their communities and, with some assistance from loyal readers and other businesses in the community, newspapers can keep reporters on the job working to provide resources and information that every community needs.
All donations to the fund go to the specific newspaper designated, and can help pay reporters’ salaries and other costs of covering the local community.
All donations to this fund are tax-deductible. Thank you for supporting local newspapers. Together, we can make it through this.
We have scheduled an informational webinar to present the program and answer any questions you have:
Thursday, May 21 at 1:00 pm – Register for Zoom webinar here
Local Community News Fund of New England is a service of, and administered by, New England Press Association Scholarship Fund, Inc., (aka Journalism Education Foundation of New England, tax ID #23‐7297724, a 501(c)(3) organization) affiliated with New England Newspaper and Press Association.
