January 16, 2024

Industry news

Star-Advertiser owner restructuring, sale of company in the works

The owner of the Honolulu Star-Advertiser has entered a court-supervised restructuring to reduce debt and to position the company for a possible sale.

Black Press Ltd. announced Monday that as part of its restructuring, its two largest existing debt-holders — Canadian institutional investors Canso Investment Counsel Ltd. and Deans Knight Capital Management Ltd. — along with community media company Carpenter Media Group would join forces in the potential purchase.

Forever, wherever, whenever: How technology has changed obituaries

In 1998, a little office opened in Chicago with one goal: to bring print obituaries online. Twenty-five years, several tech bubbles and one pandemic later, Legacy.com has grown from 12 employees and a ping-pong table into a coast-to-coast team that provides digital end-of-life services to millions worldwide. To commemorate this milestone, Legacy’s staff reflects on how obituaries and memorialization have changed over the last 25 years. Here’s what they had to say.

Register for Mega-Conference this month, before rates increase in mid-February

America’s Newspapers is committed to delivering the latest information on key industry topics for publishers, market leaders and department heads. The Mega-Conference is the premiere conference for the news industry. From conference sessions to hallway conversations, the Mega-Conference will deliver results. Publishers are encouraged to attend with their key department heads.

The Mega-Conference, set for April 14-16 in Phoenix, Arizona, will held at the Sheraton Phoenix Downtown — located near the Phoenix Convention Center, just minutes from Sky Harbor Airport.

Newspaper executives: Register early at the lowest discounted rates. And, save an additional $200 by taking part in the popular Roundtable Sessions to be held during the conference.

Solutions Partners: The Mega-Conference is the premiere conference for the news industry and a must-attend for newspaper leaders and solutions suppliers, alike. Don't miss your chance to get in front of industry leaders and share your company's expertise and the results you can drive. Contact Patty Slusher for information about sponsorship opportunities at the Mega-Conference.

For information about reserving a hotel room, click here.

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Submit your contest entries by the end of April at just $25; contest fees go up in May

Carmage Walls Commentary Prize honors courageous column and editorial writing

Awards for excellence in editorial writing (representing the view of the newspaper) and awards for excellence in column writing (columns written by one or more individuals) will be presented this October in Phoenix, Arizona, at the America's Newspapers Senior Leadership Conference. Win cash prizes and recognition!

People news

Reilly Kneedler named chief of staff for Wick Communications

Reilly Kneedler has been named Wick Communications’ chief of staff, a new role for the family-owned local media company.

Kneedler will oversee special projects, work on long-term strategy, and drive digital innovation and technology integration. He will report to CEO Francis Wick, working closely with the company’s executive team.

Rachel Davis Mersey appointed dean of Moody College of Communication

The University of Texas at Austin has selected Rachel Davis Mersey to serve as the next dean of the Moody College of Communication. Mersey, who holds the Everett D. Collier Centennial Chair in the School of Journalism and Media at UT, begins her new appointment effective immediately.

What we're reading ...

Digiday+ Research: Publishers show optimism for their own companies in 2024 — but not the media industry

Surprisingly, publishers don’t feel like their companies fared that badly in 2023. And they think their companies’ prospects for 2024 are bright. Also surprisingly, though, they feel differently about the media industry as a whole.

This is according to a Digiday+ Research survey of 54 publisher professionals conducted late in the fourth quarter of 2023.

Digiday’s survey found that, despite all of 2023’s challenges, publishers are feeling good about their own companies. Nearly half of publisher pros (48%) said they agreed that their companies had a successful year last year — although not overly so. Just 15% said they strongly agreed last year was a successful one for their companies, while one-third (33%) said they only somewhat agreed.

When contempt of court is deserved

Prior restraints — or government orders not to publish information — have long been considered a quintessential First Amendment violation. The Supreme Court has never upheld one against the press, even when the government claimed grave national security threats. The potential for abuse of censorship powers is simply too vast for the First Amendment to tolerate.

Prior restraints have historically been rare in lower courts as well. Even judges with little First Amendment expertise know better than to cross that line. When they do, appellate courts have expedited journalists’ emergency appeals to restore order.

But that seems to be changing.

Opinion | A fierce critic of news websites isn’t backing off

University of Texas scholar Iris Chyi has been saying for more than a decade that digital news reports are an “inferior good” to a daily print summary and largely fail to draw a paying audience or advertising. Memorably, she called digital the “ramen noodles” of journalism — food for news seekers, but food that is not especially nourishing or appealing.

Her latest study does not recant but aims to explore making the best of digital, even if big financial challenges remain. She first set out to see whether the two years of the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a surge of paid digital subscriptions. Her answer: At the 18 large papers studied, yes, the data shows that. But the bounce faded once the health crisis, with its many newsworthy local variations, receded.

The second leg of the paper looked at comparative pricing. The rates for digital subscriptions remain steady and low, Chyi argued, but the cost of all-access print subscriptions has soared, in many cases to more than $1,000 a year. In effect, newspapers are running their print subscribers off, hoping to convert at least some of them to paying for digital rather than dropping the news report altogether.

“She has a point,” Dean Ridings, executive director of the America’s Newspapers association, told me. With the potential news audience growing younger year by year, he said, “everyone is aware of the need to transition. … The issue is how to monetize that.”

America's Newspapers calendar

April 14-16, 2024 - News Industry Mega-Conference, Phoenix, Arizona

October 18-19, 2024 - Family and Independent Owners Meeting, Charleston, South Carolina

October 20-22, 2024 - Senior Leadership Conference, Charleston, South Carolina

Get Involved. Be Heard. Invest In Your Future.

Keep up with the latest news, schedule of upcoming events and other information specifically for the newspaper industry. Learn more about America’s Newspapers at www.newspapers.org. And connect with us on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

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