Tennessee Press is on the move! From Staff Reports

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1 Volume 78 April 2015 No. 10 INSIDE From our Presiding Reporter Page 2 Industry News Page 3 Administration sets record for withholding government files Page 4 Tracks Page 5 TSU s Sidelines goes to a 24/7 digital newsroom format Page 6 Daily Times reporter Iva Butler wraps up iconic career Page 7 Obituaries Bernie Arnold, ary. Strauss, John eans, Iva Jean Butler Page 8 Open meetings action Page 10 Tennessee Press is on the move! From Staff Reports Following approval of the Board of Trustees, the Tennessee Press Association Foundation on arch 1 rented 3,000 square feet of office space in the General Building in downtown noxville. The Foundation will operate from the new space and will rent space to Tennessee Press Association and Tennessee Press Service as well. The TPAF Board of Trustees also approved searching for a long-term tenant for the current building the Foundation owns at 435 ontbrook Lane in West noxville. The 8,000 square foot facility is too large and costly to maintain for our now much smaller staff, said Greg Sherrill, executive director. Our preparations are already well underway for the move. Offices will be closed on Thursday and Friday, April 16 and 17, while we transition to the new space. Please make note of these dates, since it will be difficult to reach us as phone lines and service is being transferred. We will be in contact with all customers, members, and vendors to remind everyone about the move schedule. The new offices are located at 625 arket St., Suite 1100, noxville, TN The phone numbers will not change. We will occupy the 11 th floor of the 15-story building, which also By ROBN GENTILE TPA ember Services anager Publishers, editors, contests entrants, advertising & circulation personnel should plan now to attend the TPA Summer onvention, July in noxville. Why? Because TPA has combined the Advertising & irculation onference, convention, and State Press Awards into one event. 75th anniversary State Press ontests This year marks the 75th anniversary of the Tennessee State Press ontests, sponsored by the houses First Bank and a number of small non-profit companies, said Sherrill. The General Building is on the National Register of Historic Places, and even has its own Wiki page at Building. The office space is divided into individual offices, each with large windows overlooking the city. On a clear day, one can even see the Smoky ountains from some windows. According to Sherrill, downtown noxville is enjoying quite a renaissance, with numerous retail businesses opening over the past 10 years. The residential population is growing, and there are now many businesses moving in to the entral Business Improvement District as well. It s an exciting time to be downtown, he said. An added bonus of this rental property is that the building s owner, Trotter Properties, has a large conference room on the top floor that tenants may reserve and use. This room could easily handle a meeting of the TPA, TPS, or TPAF boards, or facilitate a small conference or committee meeting. The staff is energized about the move, and we will encourage members to come see the new offices when visiting noxville. Let us know when we can expect you, Sherrill said. TPA offices will be closed for business during our move from noon (EDT) on Wednesday, April 15 through Friday, April 17. Normal operations will resume on onday, April 20. Photo by Robyn Gentile TPA ember Services anager The 11th floor of the General Building will be the new home of the TPA/TPS/TPAF. This 15-story office building is on the National Register of Historic Places and is located at the corner of hurch and arket streets in downtown noxville. The new address is: 625 arket St., Suite 1100, noxville, TN Summer onvention packed with activities University of Tennessee and the Tennessee Press Association. The awards will be presented at a banquet on Thursday, July 16. Winning newspapers will be notified in mid-ay. Advertising & irculation Ideas ontest The 2015 Advertising & irculation Ideas ontest Awards will be presented at the breakfast on Friday, July 17, followed by sessions for advertising and circulation personnel throughout the day. Photo courtesy of the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development See ONVENTION, Page 2

2 Page 2 The Tennessee Press April 2015 (USPS ) Published monthly by the for the TENNESSEE PRESS ASSOIATION, IN. 435 ontbrook Lane noxville, Tennessee Telephone (865) /Fax (865) / Subscriptions: $6 annually Periodicals Postage Paid At noxville, TN POSTASTER: Send address changes to The Tennessee Press, 435 ontbrook Lane, noxville, TN The Tennessee Press is printed by The Standard Banner in Jefferson ity, Tenn. Greg. Sherrill... Editor Amelia orrison Hipps... anaging Editor Robyn Gentile... Production oordinator The Tennessee Press is printed on recycled paper and is recyclable. The Tennessee Press can be read on OFFIIAL WEBSITE OF THE TENNESSEE PRESS ASSOIATION TPA/TPS/TPAF are on the move Tennessee Press Association and its sisters, Tennessee Press Service and Tennessee Press Association Foundation, are on the move. On April 16, the three will relocate to a new headquarters in downtown noxville. In late 2014 and during the February meetings of TPA and TPAF, agreements were approved to move to a more affordable and smaller office space at 625 arket St., Suite 1100, in downtown noxville. Please watch your and tnpress.com for details of the move. The existing office at ontbrook is available for lease. TPAF, the building s owner, is seeking a tenant for that 8,000 square-foot, two-story office building. Tennessee Press Association s annual Summer onvention is July 16 and 17 at the rowne Plaza in downtown noxville. It will be the first convention in recent history to combine the Ad/irc onference, the banquet to announce the winners of the UT-TPA State Press ontest, and the Summer onvention. Directors of the TPA and TPAF will also convene during the convention. Jack celroy, editor of the noxville News Sentinel is the incoming president. The Sentinel is the host OUR PRESIDING REPORTER JOEL WASHBURN newspaper for the event. I have appointed a committee to review the Bylaws of TPA. Some of the bylaws need some consideration because of the recent changes made by the board of directors. After a review of other neighboring states associations, the Sustainability ommittee decided to allow a committee to review the bylaws and bring that committee s decision to the full TPA Board. Any changes to the bylaws require ratification by the TPA membership. In April 2012, then President Jeff Fishman said TPA needs a more formalized method of training for its officeholders. He said that former presidents told him they were unaware of the full nature of duties of that office before their inauguration. As you might remember, I was placed on a fast track upon the resignation of Jason Taylor, former president of the hattanooga Times Free Press. Just two months after being inaugurated, he accepted a position in ississippi and moved from Tennessee. TPA s bylaws moved Lynn Richardson, immediate past president, back into the position of president. During a teleconference on Sept. 12, 2014, the TPA Board elected me to complete Taylor s term, which was scheduled to end in June However, that has now been extended to July As part of the review of bylaws, I have asked the ad hoc committee to consider committee assignments for each and every director. Additionally, I have asked the committee to consider standing assignments for each of the two vice presidents. Hopefully, these assignments will provide educational development of each of the directors. The year has involved very tough choices for both your TPA and TPS boards, whose directors set a course for leaner organizations. Print media have adjusted staff sizes according to the changing landscape. The same was necessary for your trade association. Presently, staff members are adjusting to their new expanded roles and duties. Joel Washburn is the managing editor of The cenzine Banner. TENNESSEE PRESS ASSOIATION Joel Washburn, The cenzie Banner... President Jack celroy, noxville News Sentinel... Vice President Jesse Lindsey, The Lebanon Democrat... Vice President John Finney, Buffalo River Review, Linden...Treasurer Greg. Sherrill, noxville... Executive Director DIRETORS eith Wilson, ingsport Times-News... District 1 arl Esposito, The Daily Times, aryville... District 2 hris Vass, hattanooga Times Free Press... District 3 Scott Winfree, arthage ourier... District 4 Hugh Jones, Shelbyville Times-Gazette.... District 5 Richard Stevens, The Leaf-hronicle, larksville... District 6 ark Palmer, The Daily Herald, olumbia... District 7 Brad Franklin, The Lexington Progress... District 8 Daniel Richardson, agic Valley Publishing, amden... District 9 Eric Barnes, The Daily News, emphis...district 10 Lynn Richardson, Elizabethton Star...Immediate Past President ONVENTION, from Page 1 Editorial staff In addition to the State Press ontests awards, editorial staffers can register to attend editorial sessions on Friday. TPA/TPS/TPAF Business The TPA Board of Directors will meet on Thursday afternoon, followed by the TPA Business Session, the Tennessee Press Service Annual Stockholders eeting and the Tennessee Press Association Foundation Board of Trustees. tion about each honoree. The convention will be headquartered at the rowne Plaza Hotel in downtown noxville. The location gives attendees easy access to shopping, restaurants and nightlife. In addition, there are local attractions to appeal to families. Explore com for a listing of things to do while in noxville. onvention registration information will be available on ay 15. Watch your mail, , www. tnpress.com and The Tennessee Press for additional information. TENNESSEE PRESS SERVIE Victor Parkins, The ilan irror-exchange... President Jana Thomasson, The ountain Press, Sevierville... Vice President Ralph. Baldwin, Jones edia Inc., Greeneville... Director David ritchlow Jr., Union ity Daily essenger... Director Jeffrey D. Fishman, Tullahoma News... Director Greg. Sherrill... Executive Vice President Presidential installation Jack celroy, editor of the noxville News Sentinel, currently serving as TPA Vice President for Daily Newspapers, is slated to be installed as TPA s new president at the Friday luncheon. TENNESSEE PRESS ASSOIATION FOUNDATION Gregg. Jones, The Greeneville Sun... President Victor Parkins, The ilan irror-exchange... Vice President Richard L. Hollow, noxville... General ounsel Greg. Sherrill... Secretary-Treasurer ONTAT THE ANAGING EDITOR TPAers with suggestions, questions or comments about items in The Tennessee Press are welcome to contact the managing editor. all Amelia orrison Hipps, (615) ; send a note to 1260 Trousdale Ferry Pike, Lebanon, TN 37087, or editor@tnpress.com. Tennessee Newspaper Hall of Fame Plan to stay for the reception Friday evening to experience the newly renovated Tennessee Newspaper Hall of Fame Gallery. Gone are the faded, over-sized portraits of the 55 inductees and in its place is a combination of static and interactive displays to share limitless informa- Photo courtesy of the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development

3 April 2015 The Tennessee Press Page 3 INDUSTR NEWS FOR OUR ALENDAR ule Day Pageant partners with NIE The Daily Herald in olumbia partnered with the ule Day Pageant in the spirit of promoting literacy and achievement. By attending and helping the pageant pick a People s hoice winner, the community helped raise money for Newspapers in Education. cenzie Pressnell, 17, will reign over ule Day festivities April 6-12 after winning the title in a competition featuring 18 contestants. She succeeds 2014 ule Day queen Brittney Redden. All 18 contestants in the pageant, held Saturday, Feb. 28, at the olumbia State ommunity ollege s herry Theater, had a donation jar in the lobby. Whoever generated the most money in contributions was the People s hoice winner at the pageant. Anyone who attended the pageant could contribute and participate. All of the proceeds will go to Newspapers in Education. Pressnell, who plans to attend the University of Tennessee-artin after graduation, also won the pageant s first People s hoice Award, which raised $1,330 for The Daily Herald s Newspapers in Education fund. It was her second time competing in the pageant, which included four elements, interview (100 points), speech (50 points), evening gown (50 points) and onstage question (50 points). The Daily Herald sends 3,300 newspapers per week to 19 aury ounty Schools. Schools in other counties are eligible for the newspaper s e-edition and can sign up by contacting irculation Director Fred Schmidt. Last year, I did not place, Pressnell said. This year, I came more prepared. I practiced my speech many, many times until 2 in the morning. The daughter of Jessica and ike Stewart of olumbia said she s looking forward to an amazing world of opportunity. The Daily Herald (olumbia) Feb. 28, 2015 Leaf hronicle wins for investigation The Leaf hronicle s 2014 work in investigative journalism was recognized recently in the 2014 Best of Gannett awards. The special report Developer primed for perfect school bid won first place in Watchdog Journalism. In the watchdog Green category, Photo by Susan W. Thurman The Daily Herald The 2015 ule Day Queen cenzie Pressnell, 17, gets a congratulatory hug from a fellow contestant after being crowned at the end of the pageant. Pressnell also won the pageant s first People s hoice Award, which raised $1,330 for The Daily Herald s Newspapers in Education fund. The Indianapolis Star, the Lansing State Journal and The Leaf hronicle at larksville set the standard, according to a news release from Gannett, The Leaf-hronicle s parent company. Through a special report by Smith Tavia D. Green, The Leaf-hronicle exposed that a local developer had an unfair advantage in winning an $18 million government contract. This is community watchdog journalism at its core, judges said. After reviewing two years worth of s, The Settle Leaf-hronicle broke the story that the developer of Oakland Elementary had an unfair advantage in winning the school contract. The Leaf-hronicle remained with the story for a month, resulting in complaints from readers and community leaders and, ultimately, public Grey apologies from school officials. Senior Editor hris Smith assisted Green with the research, while Jimmy Settle covered reaction and response in ontgomery ounty ommission meetings. The Leaf-hronicle also was recognized in the Narrative Writing/ Voice category, with a third place for Philip Grey for his news feature, Ghost town comes into the light, about the now abandoned larksville base at Fort ampbell. This is a nice combination of history, character and narrative, judges said. The reporter takes his audience into the base, through the eyes of people who lived through the development of the nuclear weapon and the old War. Great approach to an interesting local topic. The awards, recognizing the top newspaper journalism in the company, are presented annually by Gannett, owner of USA Today, 81 daily newspaper/websites and 46 television stations. The Leaf-hronicle (larksville) Feb. 28, 2015 Newspaper carrier alerts Tennessee cops to smash-and-grab robbery The good citizenship of America s newspaper carriers goes on, despite the public s mysterious failure to recognize these noble servants. On February 28, a tragically unnamed newspaper carrier from aryville, Tennessee noticed that someone had broken open the front door of the city s Plantation arket and promptly warned the police that a crime may have occurred. Sure enough, police officers discovered that someone had entered the store and stolen 95 cartons of cigarettes valued at $4,750. According to The Daily Times, aryville s daily newspaper, police investigators followed tracks in the snow from the market, through a nearby car wash, to a discarded soda can. That and the store s video footage led them to local resident Donald Eugene ashburn II, whom they arrested and charged with burglary. By hris Thompson Poynter arch 13, 2015 noxville launches sunshine law training for board members After learning of potential violations, city officials have launched a training program among hundreds of people on dozens of boards, committees and commissions to educate them on the state sunshine law regarding public meetings. Several of these presentations are already underway, said city spokesman Eric Vreeland. Some groups don t meet regularly, but the bulk of these should be made in two to three months. noxville ayor adeline Rogero on Feb. 12 announced she had ordered Law Director harles Swanson to develop a training program on the state s Open eetings Act. Her mandate was the result of a News Sentinel request for s of city employees on the nox ounty 911 board of directors. Rogero said that when gathering the public records for the newspaper, authorities realized apparent violations of the sunshine law by noxville Police hief David Rausch and Deputy hief Gary Holliday. Holliday for years has served as Rogero s proxy on the board. Rausch, according to s, had secretly discussed with other board members ways of thwarting an $8.9 million bid award to Harris orp. for a new radio system for emergency agencies in nox ounty. Rausch later said he did not realize his discussions were restricted by state law. After learning more from Swanson, the chief said he understands the 911 board of directors falls under the Open eetings Act. Swanson reviewed all the various groups that the city relies on for policy decisions or recommendations and decided 33 fall under the Open eetings Act. Those include groups such as the Beer Board, the Board of Zoning Appeals, the Pension Board and the Police Advisory and Review ommittee. See INDUSTR NEWS, Page 4 APRIL : TPA/TPS/TPAF offices closed for moving 16-19: JEA/NSPA Spring National High School Journalism onvention, Sheraton Denver Downtown, Denver, olorado 26-28: The American opy Editor Society s National onference Wyndham Grand Pittsburgh Downtown, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania A : Newspaper Association anagers Advertising onference, Double Tree by Hilton at Newark (EWR) International Airport, Newark, New Jersey 10-12: 85th Annual INA World ongress International Newspaper arketing Association, The Times enter, New ork JUNE : Investigative Reporters & Editors onference, Philadelphia arriott Downtown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 24-28: International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors onference, Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute (RJI), part of the issouri School of Journalism, olumbia, issouri JUL : TPA Summer onvention, rowne Plaza Hotel, noxville AUGUST : National Association of Black Journalists onvention & areer Fair, Hilton inneapolis onvention enter, inneapolis, innesota 5-9: Association for Education in Journalism and ass ommunication, San Francisco arriott arquis Hotel, San Francisco, alifornia 12-15: Asian American Journalism Association National onvention, Hyatt Regency, San Francisco SEPTEBER : National Federation of Press Women Annual onvention,hotel aptain ook, Anchorage, Alaska

4 Page 4 The Tennessee Press April 2015 Administration sets record for withholding government files Editor s Note: In arch 2009 issue of The Tennessee Press, The Associated Press article titled Obama: Transparency will be a touchstone of this presidency: FOI orders herald new standard of openness, end of era of secrecy was published. Today, some eight years later, for the sake of balance, TTP is publishing the latest reporting on the president s administration s record for transparency and openness. By TED BRIDIS The Associated Press arch 18, 2015 WASHINGTON (AP) The Obama administration set a record again for censoring government files or outright denying access to them last year under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act, according to a new analysis of federal data by The Associated Press. The government took longer to turn over files when it provided any, said more regularly that it couldn t find documents and refused a record number of times to turn over files quickly that might be especially newsworthy. It also acknowledged in nearly 1 in 3 cases that its initial decisions to withhold or censor records were improper under the law but only when it was challenged. Its backlog of unanswered requests at year s end grew remarkably by 55 percent to more than 200,000. It also cut by 375, or about 9 percent, the number of full-time employees across government paid to look for records. That was the fewest number of employees working on the issue in five years. The government s new figures, published Tuesday, covered all requests to 100 federal agencies during fiscal 2014 under the Freedom of Information law, which is heralded globally as a model for transparent government. They showed that despite disappointments and failed promises by the White House to make meaningful improvements in the way it releases records, the law was more popular than ever. itizens, journalists, businesses and others made a record 714,231 requests for information. The U.S. spent a record $434 million trying to keep up. It also spent about $28 million on lawyers fees to keep records secret. This disappointing track record is hardly the mark of an administration that was supposed to be the most transparent in history, said Sen. John ornyn, R-Texas, who has co-sponsored legislation with Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., to improve the Freedom of Information law. Their effort died in the House last year. The new figures showed the government responded to 647,142 requests, a 4 percent decrease over the previous year. It more than ever censored materials it turned over or fully denied access to them, in 250,581 cases or 39 percent of all requests. Sometimes, the government censored only a few words or an employee s phone number, but other times it completely marked out nearly every paragraph on pages. On 215,584 other occasions, the government said it couldn t find records, a person refused to pay for copies or the government determined the request to be unreasonable or improper. The White House touted its success under its own analysis. It routinely excludes from its assessment instances when it couldn t find records, a person refused to pay for copies or the request was determined to be improper under the law, and said under this calculation it released all or parts of records in 91 percent of requests still a record low since President Barack Obama took office using the White House s own math. We actually do have a lot to brag about, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said. Earnest on Wednesday praised agencies for releasing information before anyone requested it, such as the salaries and titles of White House employees. He cited more than 125,000 sets of data posted on a website, data.gov, which include historical temperature charts, records of agricultural fertilizer consumption, ensus data, fire deaths and college crime reports. When it comes to our record on transparency, we have a lot to be proud of, he told reporters aboard Air Force One. And frankly, it sets a standard that future administrations will have to live up to. Separately, the Justice Department congratulated the Agriculture and State departments for finishing work on their oldest 10 requests, said the Pentagon responded to nearly all requests within three months and praised the Health and Human Services Department for disclosing information about the Ebola outbreak and immigrant children caught crossing U.S. borders illegally. The government s responsiveness under the open records law is an important measure of its transparency. Under the law, citizens and foreigners can compel the government to turn over copies of federal records for zero or little cost. Anyone who seeks information through the law is generally supposed to get it unless disclosure would hurt national security, violate personal privacy or expose business secrets or confidential decision-making in certain areas. It cited such exceptions a record 554,969 times last year. Under the president s instructions, the U.S. should not withhold or censor government files merely because they might be embarrassing, but federal employees last year regularly misapplied the law. In s that AP obtained from the National Archives and Records Administration about who pays for ichelle Obama s expensive dresses, the agency blacked-out a sentence under part of the law intended to shield personal, private information, such as Social Security numbers, phone numbers or home addresses. But it failed to censor the same passage on a subsequent page. The sentence: We live in constant fear of upsetting the WH (White House). In nearly 1 in 3 cases, when someone challenged under appeal the administration s initial decision to censor or withhold files, the government reconsidered and acknowledged it was at least partly wrong. That was the highest reversal rate in at least five years. The AP s chief executive, Gary Pruitt, said the news organization filed hundreds of requests for government files. Records the AP obtained revealed police efforts to restrict airspace to keep away news helicopters during violent street protests in Ferguson, issouri. In another case, the records showed Veterans Affairs doctors concluding that a gunman who later killed 12 people had no mental health issues despite serious problems and encounters with police during the same period. They also showed the FBI pressuring local police agencies to keep details secret about a telephone surveillance device called Stingray. What we discovered reaffirmed what we have seen all too frequently in recent years, Pruitt wrote in a column published this week. The systems created to give citizens information about their government are badly broken and getting worse all the time. The U.S. released its new figures during Sunshine Week, when news organizations promote open government and freedom of information. The AP earlier this month sued the State Department under the law to force the release of correspondence and government documents from Hillary Rodham linton s tenure as secretary of state. The government had failed to turn over the files under repeated requests, including one made five years ago and others pending since the summer of The government said the average time it took to answer each records request ranged from one day to more than 2.5 years. ore than half of federal agencies took longer to answer requests last year than the previous year. Please share this copy of The Tennessee Press with your colleagues! We want your news for The Tennessee Press! your news items to editor@tnpress.com or rgentile@tnpress.com. INDUSTR NEWS, from Page 3 In the future, Rogero said all agendas for those groups will include a notice stating, This meeting and all communications between members is subject to the provisions of the Tennessee Open eetings Act In addition, the mayor said all city-appointed members of city groups will sign a one-page document acknowledging the sunshine law. The document states private communications, whether in person, by phone or by electronic means, by members of the board/ committee regarding the business of the board/committee are prohibited. Vreeland said city appointees on nine groups not controlled by the city such as the 911 board of directors also will sign the document acknowledging the Open eetings Act. ity attorneys will present the PowerPoint program developed by Swanson that outlines the law, its restrictions and what those limitations mean. The program also notes requirements for keeping minutes and recordings of public meetings. Swanson s program covers chance meetings of board members, providing adequate public notice of meetings, private sessions with board attorneys and use of Internet forums by public bodies. Swanson notes board members are free to talk to each other about their grandchildren, vacations and current events. They can discuss board business with members of the public, as long as that person doesn t have a matter before the board. They can t discuss the public s business privately with other board members or use third party discussions to get around the spirit of the Open eetings Act, the program states. By Don Jacobs noxville News Sentinel arch 26, 2015

5 April 2015 The Tennessee Press Page 5 TRAS Peek joins Herald & Tribune as advertising manager arcella Brooks Peek has joined the Herald & Tribune as the newspaper s new advertising sales manager. Peek, a Southwest Virginia native who moved to the Tri-ities region in the mid 80s, brings to the paper nearly three decades of advertising and sales experience. We are delighted to have arcella join our staff, Herald & Tribune Publisher Bill ummings said. We are very fortunate to have someone with her knowledge and experience join our team. The Herald & Tribune has a long history of providing superior customer service to our advertisers, and I know arcella will carry on that legacy. Peek got her start in the newspaper business at the Johnson ity Press, a member of the Sandusky Newspaper Group, as is the Herald & Tribune. y first job was in the mail room, Peek said. But it didn t take long for her to move into sales and advertising. Born with what she calls a gift of gab and a knack for selling I ve been selling ever since I was in the Girl Scouts, Peek said advertising seemed a perfect fit. Peek worked at the Johnson ity Press for 16 years as the retail-advertising clerk for the paper s advertising sales manager. In 2004, Peek accepted the position of advertising executive at the Elizabethton Star, where she was employed for more than 10 years. It was exciting getting to know Elizabethton and watch it grow, Peek said. Still, as a small-town girl from Dante, Va., Peek found herself also drawn to another small town. When the opportunity for a position at the Herald & Tribune arose, she didn t hesitate. I love a small town, Peek said. And I love the history of this town. She is also looking forward to getting to know Jonesborough s business owners and residents, learning more of its history and becoming part of its future. This is a wonderful opportunity and I m very excited about joining the Herald & Tribune, Peek said. I can t wait to become a part of the Town of Jonesborough. Peek is the mother of two daughters arie, age 17, and elanie, age 15. Herald & Tribune (Jonesborough) Jan. 14, 2015 Hargis promoted to TFP sports editor Jay Greeson has taken on a new role at the hattanooga Times Free Press, moving from sports editor to general columnist. With that move, Stephen Hargis has been promoted to sports editor. Hargis is a 25-year veteran Hargis at the Times Free Press and has been an assistant sports editor since He has won 42 local, regional and national awards in his career, including Tennessee s Sports Writer of the ear from 2012 to I m very excited to have the opportunity to lead an award-winning sports department staff, Hargis said. Having worked under Jay for 11 years, I have learned a lot about nurturing relationships on the staff and within the community and hope to carry on the progress we have made under his leadership. It s especially gratifying because this is my home, an area where I feel very comfortable knowing how important good sports coverage is to the community. hattanooga Times Free Press Feb. 13, 2015 Journal edia names ogswell vice president, regional publisher emphis ommercial Appeal Publisher George H. ogswell III has been promoted as one of four vice presidents, regional publishers of the new Journal edia Group. ogswell will continue his duties in emphis, ogswell where he serves as president and publisher, and will also oversee publishers of newspapers in Ventura, alifornia; Redding, alifornia; and itsap, Washington. ogswell, 55, said he is honored and excited about the opportunity with the Journal edia Group. I m very excited to have been tapped for additional responsibilities with the new Journal edia Group, of our West oast newspapers while continuing to serve as president and publisher of The ommercial Appeal, he said. Before coming to emphis, I was the regional publisher for the West oast region and, therefore, am very familiar with those newspaper markets. I look forward to reuniting with those newspapers and communities. ogswell joined the A in June 2012 from the Ventura ounty Star in southern alifornia, where he served as president and publisher for five years. Last July, Journal ommunications Inc. of ilwaukee and the E.W. Scripps o. of leveland the parent company of the A and the Ventura ounty Star announced plans to merge their broadcast operations and spin off their newspapers into a new publicly traded company to be known as the Journal edia Group. The ilwaukee Journal Sentinel will be the new company s flagship paper, and the company will be based in ilwaukee. It will employee about 3,600 people, with annual revenues estimated at more than $500 million. The move is part of a trend of media companies spinning off their print divisions. The transaction between Journal ommunications and E.W. Scripps is expected to be completed in the coming months. The ommercial Appeal (emphis) Feb. 15, 2015 DNJ general manager leaving to take Second Harvest post Loyal Gannett o. Inc. s ommunity Publishing division announced recently that Daily News Journal (urfreesboro) General anager Taylor Loyal left the company on arch 13 to join Second Harvest Food Bank of iddle Tennessee. In his new role, Loyal will serve as Second Harvest s Development anager for Rutherford ounty and surrounding areas. DNJ ontent Director Sandee Suitt will serve as interim news director during the search for Loyal s replacement. Loyal had been with Gannett for nine years and had spent the past eight years at The Daily News Journal. He began his time with The DNJ in 2007 as general manager of Smyrna A.. and was later promoted to digital director, news director and general manager of The DNJ. In the past year, he led a redesign and all-local focus of the print edition of The DNJ and oversaw the re-launch of dnj.com as well as smartphone and tablet apps. The DNJ won back-to-back first place Tennessee Associated Press edia Editors awards under Loyal s leadership. It has been an honor to work for The Daily News Journal. I m so grateful for the opportunities I ve been given here and I ll remain one of The DNJ s biggest supporters, Loyal said. In my time with The DNJ, I ve become increasingly aware of the needs of Rutherford ounty, and I felt called to serve our community by helping to feed hungry through Second Harvest. During the 2013/2014 fiscal year, Second Harvest distributed 28,010,520 pounds of food to over 450 Partner Agencies, providing more than 23 million meals of food to hungry children, families and seniors throughout its 46-county service area. Suitt has worked for The Daily News Journal for the past 20 years, starting in the Lifestyles department and soon working her way up to Lifestyles editor. She was promoted in 2013 to content director, in charge of managing the staff in the newsroom. She also spent nearly three years at the larksville Leaf-hronicle where she was the newsroom s assistant city editor after covering both public safety and government beats. A graduate of iddle Tennessee State University, Suitt has lived in ufreesboro most of her life. She is involved in a variety of organizations in Ruther ounty, including RutherfordABLE. She is a current member of the United Way of Rutherford and annon ounty s atalyst Program and serves on the board of directors of indful are. She is married to Tony Suitt, a special education teacher at Riverdale High Schools. They have two sons, atthew and Hayden. She has been recognized with a variety of Tennessee Press Association Awards, including first places for writing both features and news and for editing the Lifestyles section. Gannett U.S. ommunity Publishing honored her, along with a team she led, as a finalist for the Award of Excellence in coverage of a manhunt that become a human and canine interest story. She was also recognized nationally with a first place award from the National Newspaper Association for a feature story she wrote about the death of a young Smyrna boy whose family donated his organs to give others a chance at life. The Daily News Journal (urfreesboro) Feb. 28, 2015 Bales-Sherrod named government reporter for The Daily Times Lesli Bales-Sherrod, who previously worked for The Daily Times as a reporter in , has returned to the newspaper as a full-time reporter to cover municipal government. She is replacing government reporter Iva Butler, Bales-Sherrod who retired. Bales-Sherrod s coverage of Blount ounty government for The Daily Times earned her two Awards of Excellence for Investigative Reporting and two Awards of erit for General Reporting from the East Tennessee hapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. Bales-Sherrod s story on a woman and her mother who were evac- See TRAS, Page 11

6 Page 6 The Tennessee Press April 2015 TSU s Sidelines goes to a 24/7 digital newsroom format By VAL HOEPPNER Director of the enter for Innovation in edia iddle Tennessee State University Wait in line at Starbucks, visit downtown Nashville or stroll across campus at iddle Tennessee State University, and you ll see where our news audience reads. The smartphone is everywhere we are. The good news for our industry is that more news is being read, watched and listened to than ever before. Newspapers throughout Tennessee and the nation have struggled to meet their ever-changing audience where they read. ollege publications are no different. At iddle Tennessee State University, we have a long tradition of newspapering. Sidelines started publishing in At its peak, it published three editions each week. In 2010, Sidelines began printing a weekly edition while dabbling on the web. In September 2014, Sidelines boldly transitioned its staff to a 24/7 digital newsroom. The move to digital was made to better reach its increasingly mobile audience. Sidelines posts daily digital stories on a redesigned, mobile responsive website. Students use enhanced social media, digital tools and old fashioned reporting to bring news to TSU students and alumni on mtsusidelines.com. In addition to reaching its audience, students are learning skills necessary in all newsrooms tight and timely reporting and writing, photography, video, data analysis/ visualization, mobile and social media and website management. Sidelines editor aranda Farris, a senior journalism major says the transition from print to a 24/7 newsroom was rocky at first, but has been worth the effort. Our print product has continued to wane, despite being monthly. No matter what we try, the print edition at TSU does not reach students as effectively as the web product. We see our articles shared by students on Facebook, Twitter, and even anonymous apps like Unseen and ik ak. We are actually well known around campus for our coverage of events, and students turn to us for news around campus, said Farris. Another benefit of digital for Farris is the real-life training she and her staff are getting. Sidelines is more of a training experience for life after graduation, and I think practicing the digital daily process is more beneficial to all of us now rather than later, said Farris. The News section of Sidelines has flourished since the transition to digital. Students are writing tight and timely stories about campus and community news and crime. Photos courtesy of Sidelines Screen shots from iddle Tennessee State University s Sidelines online newspaper, which is now a 24/7 digital newsroom. A print version is published monthly and focuses more on in-depth coverage of issues. News Editor eagan White says being digital daily allows Sidelines to be indiscriminate with news stories and react quickly to breaking news. If something is happening now, we can post as soon as we know something and update our audience as we learn more. It s not about the most gruesome thing we can put in a headline to sell papers, it s about informing people about events pertinent to them and their livelihood, said White. Longer form stories on topics like campus sexual assault or the opening of the $150 million science building have a long shelf life on the website, due in part to social media. The Sports section has also seen tremendous gains since going digital. Game stories and breaking sports news drive a good share of traffic on mtsusidelines.com. In the past, sports fans had to wait days or even a week to read about a game. Now TSU fans get up to the See SIDELINES, Page 9 Save the date for the Third Annual Border War Golf Tournament, Thursday, Sept. 17, 2015, at Fairvue Plantation in Gallatin We need Tennessee players to commit to take on the folks from entucky and bring the trophy to Tennessee! Proceeds from the Tournament benefit the Tennessee Press Association Foundation and the entucky Journalism Foundation. Last year, the Tennessee portion of the proceeds totaled $12,000 and have been earmarked for the renovation of the Tennessee Newspaper Hall of Fame. The Tournament is a ton of fun, with good fellowship, good food, prizes, and more. In 2014, with a small additional donation, you could even arrange for Greg Sherrill to take a swing for the foursome behind you. And if that isn t scary enough, he was using his hockey stick! Please mark your calendars now, and commit at least one player or foursome from your newspaper to help make this the most successful Border War Tournament yet. For more information, please contact TPAF headquarters at lalford@tnpress.com or Bob Atkins via at bobntn@ bellsouth.net or call him at (615) For more details about the course, visit Retirement is birthday gift for olly Brock By AUTUN HUGHES News Editor The Daily Post Athenian (Athens) Feb. 23, 2015 If you have ever called The Daily Post-Athenian to renew your subscription or ask when that day s edition will be delivered, you have probably heard, irculation - this is olly. Those calm words are spoken by olly Brock, who has worked at The DPA 19 years this month. However, unless you called last Friday, you won t be talking to Brock again anytime soon she retired just in time to celebrate her 65th birthday today. It seemed a logical date to retire, she said with a smile. Actually, it may seem a bit delayed if you ask Tom, her husband of 45 years. He s been retired for about three years from ayfield (Dairy Farms), she said. Brock has worked in the irculation Department all 19 years of her time at The DPA, where she interacts daily Brock with subscribers and the carriers who deliver the newspaper throughout the community. I enjoy it, I really do, Brock said. The people here are great. Originally from Wisconsin, Brock moved here from Florida in September 1995 and started working at The DPA in February Florida was flat and hot and we wanted to get where it was nice and green, she said. We moved here because we wanted to move near the mountains. Before coming to Tennessee, Brock worked in the Building and Zoning Department for the ity of Fort yers, Florida. Her son and daughter-in-law, Scott and Ann Brock, still live there with their daughter, Hannah. Brock s daughter and son-in-law, elly and Jason Earnest, live in emphis. In retirement, Brock is looking forward to tackling a few home projects and looking for volunteer activities. She and her husband plan to visit their children and granddaughter more, too. We want to do a little traveling, Brock said. I will find things to do. Part of that traveling may be longer visits with her family; Hannah participates in horse shows and, I d like to see her do that, Brock said. She s 10 and they grow up so fast. Also, Brock is a photography enthusiast, so she would also like to visit pretty places to take photos. She also likes sewing and crafting. See BRO, Page 9

7 April 2015 The Tennessee Press Page 7 Daily Times reporter Iva Butler wraps up iconic career Editor s Note: Four days after this article first appeared in The Daily Times, Iva Butler passed away after an extended illness. Her obituary is on page 8. By JOEL DAVIS and ATTHEW STEWART arch 8, 2015 The Daily Times (aryville) A bulldog with a bone. Icon. True professional. Trailblazer. After nearly 45 years of service, Iva Butler has retired from The Daily Times. She is one of the longest-serving employees in Times history and second longest-serving newsroom employee. Editor Dean Stone has served 68 years. Butler joined the staff April 15, 1970, as a part-time employee in the newspaper s training program. She came to work about 4:30 a.m. every day and handled Associated Press wire copy, selecting stories for inside pages and writing headlines. She would leave her shift in time to make mid- to late-morning classes. Butler, who came highly recommended by the University of Tennessee s School of Journalism, was made a full-time employee following graduation in June 1971, Stone said. It was an assessment he never doubted in Butler s 44 years and 10 months at the paper. Iva was one of the most dependable people I ve ever known, Stone said. Once you gave her something, she was like a bulldog with a bone. She didn t let anything stand in the way. Butler chiefly covered the city of aryville in addition to general assignments. She also served as an editor, handling copy, laying out pages and writing headlines, and took many of her own photographs. The award-winning photographer and reporter served as business editor from and community editor for the past 13 years. She covered the cities of Alcoa and aryville, in addition to coordinating coverage of Friendsville, Greenback, Louisville, Rockford and Townsend, at the time of her retirement. Iva is one of those rare individuals who was as respected by the people she covered as much as she was by her colleagues, said Publisher arl Esposito. That s pretty remarkable when you consider she d doggedly chase a story when the situation called for it, yet far more often than not subjects of those stories would describe her coverage as fair and accurate. I congratulate her on an outstanding career, and we ll miss her solid, dependable reporting skills at The Daily Times, said Executive Editor Larry Aldridge. I wish her great happiness in her retirement. When Butler joined The Daily Photo from The Daily Times Archives Iva Butler, shown in this undated file photo, was surrounded by work, but also managed to make her corner of the Newsroom her home. Times staff, the newspaper was owned by the Tutt Bradford family. After the Bradford family sold the newspaper in 1989 to Persis orp., Frank Buzz Trexler stepped in to help lead the newsroom and was Photo by Joy imbrough The Daily Times met by Butler, Phyllis able and Anna. Irwin. It was clear to me that these three women were key to the newsroom s success, Trexler recalls. I learned a great deal from each of them. Iva taught me that community coverage meant always being ready to give an answer for why you published something about a person, because you may be sitting down to lunch with that person s brother, uncle, father or grandfather. So, always be ready to give an answer. Fearless but fair Former aryville ity anager Gary Hensley, who spent 28 years at the helm of aryville city government, knows Butler well. When I think of Iva, I would describe her as fearless but fair, he said. She covered city hall in aryville for years and years, and she was always relentless in her pursuit of a story. Butler knew everyone in city government and kept her ears open. She basically had contacts in every single department, Hensley said. At times I felt like she knew more of what was going on in city hall than I did, and I always admired the way she had the uncanny ability to separate facts from the rumors there were always flying around. She had the disarming ability to put you at ease in an interview, and I always ended up saying more than I intended to. Really, to sum up, she was just a darn good reporter. Icon Iva has been such an icon for The Daily Times, said aryville Police hief Tony risp, who started working in 1973 with Butler. Adele cenzie, Iva Butler, Anna Irwin. Top-shelf police reporters. risp, who served from for the Friendsville Police Department, recalls spending time with the trio while they were making their rounds. At that time, they were in Friendsville s squad room with us. I learned a lot from the three of them. We d talk about incidents and life, in general. Iva always impressed me as someone who knew what she was after and reported events in a fair, accurate way. I had complete confidence in her, and she helped teach me the important role media plays in our profession if the news is delivered in a fair, consistent way. Iva was a true professional who did the job well, said Blount ounty Fire hief Doug clanahan, who started working in the late 70s with Butler. She was always working. She was going to get the story. If something was going on, she was right there in the middle of it trying to get the story. It didn t matter whether it was in the dead of winter or on a mountain. She was there with us. I ve seen Iva walk barefooted through the mud to get to a structure fire on multiple occasions. Iva Butler, a great lover of animals, is greeted by a cat while covering a story for The Daily Times. See BUTLER, Page 11

8 Page 8 The Tennessee Press April 2015 OBITUARIES Bernice L. Bernie Arnold Bernie Arnold, 88, died onday, Feb. 23, nown for her sharp wit and genteel warmth, rs. Arnold was perhaps best remembered as the longtime food editor of The Tennessean and Nashville Banner, Arnold but she was also known for her love of drama and singing. rs. Arnold covered Nashville s restaurant and home cooking scenes from 1965 to 1973 as the food editor for The Tennessean, and then later at the Banner from 1974 until she retired in 1992, six years before the Banner closed. Her tenure at the papers spanned the shift from writing mostly about home cooking to the evolution of fine dining in Nashville. Her daughter, actress and writer Nan Gurley, talks about how her mother had a knack for seeking out superlative cooks and then sharing them with readers, but that when she married in 1948, om couldn t make a glass of tea. A frequent judge at the Tennessee State Fair and the Pillsbury Bake-Off, rs. Arnold also won awards for her recipes and writing on nutrition. In 1965, she accompanied Lala Gee of the Nashville Gas ompany for cooking demonstrations at the World s Fair in New ork. One of those demonstrations was broadcast in color by RA as part of the exhibition. We had all sorts of catastrophes, said rs. Arnold afterward in The Tennessean. The butter melted and the hot TV lights dried out our lemon extract, which we used to ignite little sugar cubes as the final part of our demonstration. When the Banner closed in 1998, rs. Arnold lamented the loss, I ve had a love affair with the Banner for decades. When I retired, it was like a marriage: I was still in love with this thing. Nashville is the poorer. A community with one paper is not as healthy as a city with two papers. The irony of all this, everybody that has come to me and has spoken their condolences has said the Banner was the better paper. I wanted to say, then why didn t you subscribe? In 1994, rs. Arnold published one of the first compendiums on the changing restaurant scene, Nashville uisine: A Sampling of Restaurants and Their Recipes, where she used her charm to somehow talk many restaurateurs out of treasured recipes, including Faison s Broken-Hearted Fettucine. rs. Arnold was equally at home in the theater and could often be seen performing with her husband, Henry Buddy Arnold, a professor at Lipscomb University, at haffin s Barn Dinner Theater. In 2009 Lipscomb dedicated the rehearsal space inside the Thomas James ceen usic enter as the Buddy and Bernie Arnold Hall. Survivors include: her daughter, Nan (Wayne) Gurley; her sons, ris (Alene) Arnold; Henry hip (ay) Arnold; and Tim (argie) Arnold; a brother, Tad Wyckoff; a sister Nancy (Jerry) Jennings; grandchildren and great-grandchildren; and innumerable friends and loved ones. Visitation was held 4-7 p.m., Tuesday, arch 3, 2015 at the Otter reek hurch of hrist at 409 Franklin Road in Brentwood, with a celebration service immediately following with Bro. Josh Graves officiating. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Wayne Reed enter (waynereedchildcare.org/donate) or donations may be made to David Lipscomb University s Bud and Bernie Arnold Scholarship for Theater Fund, in care of The Advancement Office, 1 University Park Dr., Nashville, TN The Tennessean Feb. 26, 2015 BroadwayWorld.com (Nashville) arch 3, 2015 ary. Strauss ary. Strauss, 69, died on onday, Feb. 23, 2015 at ilan General Hospital. A community news writer for The irror-exchange in ilan, rs. Strauss penned Bradford News and the Gibson ounty Office on Aging columns and sometimes covered city board meetings for the paper. She began writing for The irror-exchange many years ago. We could always count on ary for letting us know what was going on in Bradford, said irror-exchange Editor Victor Parkins. ary wasn t shy about telling the news as it happened. This newspaper will miss her, and we know the town of Bradford will too. The Strauss family is in our thoughts and prayers. rs. Strauss was a veteran of the United States Army. Survivors include: her husband, David, of Bradford; daughter, Angelica Voigt of Trenton; son, David A. (heryl) Strauss of Fayetteville, North arolina; three brothers, Andy ole of amden, Scott ole of Bradford and eith ole of Hot Springs, Arkansas; a sister, Betty Ann Gillon of Dyersburg; four grandchildren, David A. (Allison) Strauss II, Jacob Voigt, Alicia Reed and Luke Reed; and a great-grandchild, Evia arie Strauss. Funeral services were Friday, Feb. 27, at Hunt Funeral Home with burial in Davis Grove emetery. The irror-exchange (ilan) arch 3, 2015 Iva Jean Butler Iva Jean Butler, 65, of aryville, passed away on Thursday, arch 12, 2015, at Blount emorial Hospital. iss Butler recently retired after nearly 45 years of service at The Daily Times with an iconic career as a reporter Butler and photographer. She was one of the longest-serving employees in Times history and second longest newsroom employee. She had a passion for her community and served it for many years with her stories and photographs. She covered the cities of Alcoa and aryville, in addition to coordinating coverage of Friendsville, Greenback, Louisville, Rockford and Townsend at the time of her retirement. But over the years she had covered virtually every news beat at the newspaper, and had also written headlines and designed pages in her time. She was also a photographer. iss Butler won many state and regional newspaper awards for reporting and public service during her career. Last year, she won a Tennessee Associated Press anaging Editor s (TAPE) second-place award for daily deadline reporting with other staff members for Tale of Life and Loss, a package of three stories about the death of a former arine who died after a shootout with police. In 2005, she captured a first-place award for best news story with Officer Gunned Down, her coverage of a daylong standoff and the subsequent death of Loudon ounty Deputy Jason Scott. In 2012, she won a first-place Society of Professional Journalists, East Tennessee hapter, award for deadline/breaking news for The Day After, a news team compilation covering the Greenback tornado. A team including Butler also took an SPJ Award of Excellence in 2012 for the series called Taming the Dragon, which was a look at the challenges and dangers associated with the stretch of road by that name. Those with whom she interacted in her illustrious career referred to her as a bulldog with a bone, Icon, True Professional, and Trailblazer. iss Butler was the daughter of the late Walter and Geneva Butler of Walland. She was a graduate of Walland High School and received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Tennessee. She joined The Daily Times April 15, 1970, as a part-time employee in the newspaper s training program. She became full time following her graduation from UT in June She was preceded in death by her parents; grandparents, Isaac Edmondson and Lillie Hayes Garland; aunt, arie Rogers; and uncles, Otha and Garfield Butler. Survivors include uncles, lifford Butler and Pearson Butler; and cousin, Gary Rogers, all of aryville; and the entire staff of The Daily Times. Funeral services were Saturday, arch 14, 2015, at 7 p.m., at Smith Trinity hapel. Internment was at 1 p.m. Sunday at arpenters ampground emetery, with the Rev. Rex Everett officiating. Donations may be made to Appalachian Bear Rescue, P.O. Box 364, Townsend, TN 37882, or Friends of the Smokies, P.O. Box 1660, odak, TN The Daily Times, aryville arch 13, 2015 John eans John eans, 87, died Saturday, arch 21, 2015 at his home in Schertz, Texas after a heart attack. r. eans, who finished a long journalism career as a copy editor at the San Antonio Express-News, sent the newspaper eans his own obituary two months before his death. Daddy was the consummate journalist, his daughter, Lesley Pryor of Arlington, Texas, said. To hear that sound of the presses in the background while he s sitting there on a typewriter, that was his drug. Journalism was not just a vocation for him. It was a way of life. r. eans was born on July 8, 1927, in Lebanon, Tennessee, and got his first newspaper job at age 17 as a reporter for the Nashville Banner. He worked there for a year before joining the U.S. Navy during World War II, returning to the Banner to become its outdoors columnist. He then worked at the Jackson (Tennessee) Sun and the emphis ommercial Appeal, where he was the rewrite man whose byline appeared on the front-page story of the assassination of the Rev. artin Luther ing Jr.in that city in The page is displayed at the Newseum in Washington. As an aircraft load master in the Tennessee Air National Guard after World War II, he flew all over the world, including Vietnam, ending his service as an Air Force senior master sergeant. r. eans worked as a press aide for U.S. Rep. Dan uykendall, a Tennessee Republican, from 1969 to He then wrote a political column for Tennessee newspapers and worked for the Washington Post as a copy editor until He and his wife retired in San Antonio that year, but he worked part-time for the San Antonio Express-News until he was 80. He was known for compiling and circulating The Village Wordsmith, a humorous newsletter expounding on newswriting style and highlighting grammatical and factual errors that had been caught by copy editors or that slipped through and appeared in the paper. Good manners and good grammar are two tails of the same dog, r. eans wrote in the April 2004 issue. They set someone apart and give one an edge in society over the less fortunate. Appearing in one of r. eans newsletters was like being back in journalism school, said LeAnna osub, a senior technical online producer, who copy-edited for various departments in her 21 years at the paper. If you made a mistake, you knew you would be called out by the professor, osub said. No matter what department we were in, we were not spared. He really wanted us all to get better. r. eans was preceded in death by his twin brother, Air Force Lt. ol. Richard O. eans. Survivors include: his wife, Barbara Likins eans; daughters, Nancy eans, Jennifer Blackwood and Lesley Pryor; son John Jack eans Jr.; a brother,.p. eans; seven grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren. The funeral service was held onday, arch 30, at St. atthew s Episcopal hurch in Universal ity, Texas. San Antonio Express-News arch 26, 2015

9 April 2015 The Tennessee Press Page 9 SIDELINES, from Page 6 minute reporting through Twitter and game recaps minutes after the contest. The super star of the sports section is Start Em, Sit Em, a fantasy football column. The column has attracted readers from throughout Tennessee and the United States. Fantasy football is pure digital. It is a game played on the web so naturally enthusiasts look to digital for news and commentary. The music and arts audience continues to grow online at Sidelines. The ability to easily share stories on outube, Facebook and Twitter has boosted traffic on upcoming events, musician profiles and photo galleries from concerts. After months of fine tuning the digital workflow, Farris and her staff chose the November election to showcase the new website and new digital skills. Sidelines staff covered the election continuously with digital news briefs, photo galleries, news features and social media updates. When returns poured in, students reported live using data, video and social media. To create data visualizations, Sidelines students partnered with Dr. en Blake, director of the TSU Poll and an associate professor of journalism at TSU. Blake helped students learn to collect and organize data. On election night Blake and Sidelines staff produced data visualizations showing how Tennessee, urfreesboro and Rutherford ounty voted. The result was a deep dive into each precinct in the city of urfreesboro and Tennessee s 4th ongressional District. The data was used to show how the city voted on everything from Amendment 1 to Rep. Scott DesJarlais reelection. The data project Blake led for Sidelines was both a teaching moment and a service to the community. Photos courtesy of Sidelines Screen shots from Election Night overage 2014 by the staff of iddle Tennessee State University s Sidelines newspaper, which has been converted from all print product to a 24/7 digital newsroom. A print version is published monthly and focuses more on in-depth coverage of issues. If Sidelines content couldn t show up on the digital screens that the 20-somethings who make up most of its audience switch on at just about every opportunity, the content might as well not exist at all, said Blake. So, the paper s digital-first emphasis isn t just about preparing students for their post-graduation careers, it s also about meeting the practical demands of serving the audiences those students have right now. Print is still an important part of Sidelines, and like other print publications, it is evolving. Sidelines is now printed monthly and focuses on longer form, in-depth reporting. The idea is to use Sidelines as a news magazine for topics like campus assault (September 2014) and what the opening of TSU s new Science Building will mean for students and potential research partners (October 2014). Leon Alligood is the advisor for Sidelines and an associate professor in the School of Journalism at TSU. Alligood has guided students through the recent transition and sees an opportunity for students to learn both digital and leadership skills. A 24/7 news publication is a much different beast to feed than a once a week printed product. Student leaders have to be adept at planning timed releases of news and features, as well as making room for breaking news on campus, in the state and the nation, said Alligood. Students get more opportunities to be published because of the Web s larger capacity, and the opportunity to be read by more people than our old printed product. While the publication focus is digital, journalism is at the heart of Sidelines. Alligood and student leaders agree the future of print at Sidelines is to highlight the best journalism TSU s students produce, to be a showcase for excellent writing and photography skills. Sidelines isn t alone in reducing its print schedule. This past fall, The State Press at Arizona State University dropped its weekly print newspaper and became an all-digital publication. So did The Famuan at Florida A& University, The ollegian at the University of Richmond and The alifornia Aggie at the University of alifornia, Davis. The Daily O ollegian, Oklahoma State University s newspaper, reduced its print schedule, changed its name and will focus on digital publication. The Volante at the University of South Dakota became digital first, but maintains its weekly print edition for now. Dozens of other college newspapers have gone digital over the past few years and dozens more will follow. The future of Sidelines is bright. Sudents are training to be the kind of journalist editors might want to hire. John. Jones Jr., editor of the Greenville Sun, recently hired Emily West, a December 2014 graduate of TSU and the former Sidelines editor who helped shape the paper s digital future. Jones says West had all the things he was looking for in a county government reporter. She is a very gifted young journalist with native ability. Jones says West had very good preparation at TSU and is making a major contribution at the Greenville Sun each and every day. And what has West brought to his newsroom? ou guessed it, reporting skills, journalistic instincts, digital skills and a boatload of enthusiasm. Background on the enter for Innovation in edia Sidelines is editorially independent and is housed at The enter for Innovation in edia at TSU. The I is also home to T10, TSU s student run television station; WTS 88.3, a student run radio station; WOT 89.5, TSU s National Public Radio station; and atch Records, a student-run record label. The enter for Innovation in edia s goal is to help students innovate, cross platforms and converge when possible. Val Hoeppner is the director of the enter for Innovation in edia at iddle Tennessee State University. ou can reach Hoeppner at val.hoeppner@mtsu.edu or BRO, from Page 6 I like to make things, she said. Brock said she will miss the people at work and just having that structure, keeping me busy. It s kind of bittersweet, Brock said of retirement. I will miss it, I really will and I ll keep stopping by. Brock said she had been hinting to DPA irculation anager Tom ogdell for about a year that she would probably work to age 65. Over the past few weeks, another DPA employee, Tina Huckabey, has been training as the new circulation clerk. She will work alongside im Goslin, who has worked parttime with Brock for about a year. Since making the decision to retire, Brock has told a few longtime subscribers her plans some have asked her to stay, while others have congratulated her. Brock said she appreciates the loyal customers and dedicated carriers she has known over the years. I wish them all well, she said. While she will miss the people, Brock said she won t miss coming to work when it s snowing. Also, Brock plans to become a DPA subscriber now that she will no longer receive a free daily copy as an employee. I need to know what s going on in the community, she said. Save the dates! July 16-17, 2015 Plan now to attend TPA s blockbuster Summer onvention in noxville that consolidates the Advertising/irculation onference, Ideas ontest Awards, Summer onvention and State Press ontests Awards into one jam-packed summer event! Details coming soon in The Tennessee Press!

10 Page 10 The Tennessee Press April 2015 Judge: Audibility required for open meeting By EN LITTLE and IHAEL S. RENEAU The Greeneville Sun Jan. 23, 2015 Third Judicial District hancellor Douglas T. Jenkins made a ruling Thursday regarding Tennessee s Open eetings Act that could have far-reaching legal significance. During a hearing in a Greene ounty hancery ourt lawsuit which seeks to stop the Industrial Development Board of Greeneville and Greene ounty and US Nitrogen s plans to use the Nolichucky River for the company s water supply, Jenkins ruled that deliberations at public meetings covered by the Open eetings Act must be audible in order to comply with the law. He had earlier granted a otion For Leave to Intervene in the case from the advocacy group Tennessee oalition for Open Government (TOG) and its attorney, Richard L. Hollow, of noxville. I do think it sends a message that citizens have a right to hear a proceeding, TOG Executive Director Deborah Fisher said after Thursday s hearing. Hollow, a widely known specialist in First Amendment law, said after the hearing that Jenkins ruling is not binding on other courts, but does set an important legal precedent in the state if other courts wrestle with the same question. About the best thing that could happen is a ruling that says there is a requirement of audibility, Hollow said. Aside from citizens having access to public meeting is that you also have a right to hear what s going on, Hollow said. embers of Save the Nolichucky, who are plaintiffs in the lawsuit, have said they were unable to hear deliberations at the July 18, 2014, IDB meeting, held in the G. Thomas Love Boardroom of the Greeneville Light and Power System headquarters. icrophones were in the room Photo by Emily R. West The Greeneville Sun Tennessee oalition for Open Government attorney Richard L. Hollow argues in Greene ounty hancery ourt Thursday that deliberations at public meetings should be required to be audible in order to comply with Tennessee s Open eetings Act. but were not used for the meeting. The defendants in the lawsuit the IDB and US Nitrogen assert that the meeting did not violate the Open eetings Act or any other law. Hollow argued that the court should have a liberal interpretation of the Open eetings Act in this case and require audibility to be a condition of complying with the law. Hollow pointed out during his arguments that TOG takes no position on whether the Open eetings Act was actually violated at the meeting and isn t taking sides in the lawsuit in general. He said if Jenkins would have ruled against TOG in the motion, it would have created an exception to the Open eetings Act. The issue is simple and defined in the state onstitution, he told Jenkins in his presentation to the court Thursday. We say that we believe the citizens of Tennessee have a right to attend a public meeting and they have a right to hear what goes on at a public meeting, Hollow said. IDB members were seated around a rectangular table, some with their backs to the audience, during the July 2014 meeting, and there was no amplification of what they said, Hollow stated. We ask the court to apply the law, he said, and hope there is a requirement on audibility. Jenkins asked Hollow if he was aware of any other courts in Tennessee ever taking up the issue of ample sound at meetings of entities such as the IDB attended by the public. Hollow replied that the issue has never been discussed in Tennessee. ourts in New ork and New exico have ruled in favor of the same position TOG takes, Hollow said. These people have a constitutional right (or) at least a statutorily-defined right to see and hear what s going on, he said. We say the issue of audibility is a substantial interpretive part of this act. Denying the right to hear may be a potentially evasive device, Hollow said. This court is in the position to strike a blow for public transparency because no court (in Tennessee) has ever ruled on the issue, Hollow said. There ought to be a requirement for compliance on this act. The IDB and US Nitrogen had argued in pleadings filed before the hearing that the Open eetings Act does not stipulate that audience members be required to hear all of a meeting. The board and the company had stated that they had complied with all of the explicit requirements of the Act in connection with the meeting. In addition, they said that noise from the audience itself may have made it harder for the board s deliberations to be heard. US Nitrogen attorney ichael. Stagg, of Nashville, argued Thursday that the court should take what I would call the reasonableness approach, meaning that not every citizen who attends any public meeting can say he must hear every word of deliberation or the meeting should be voided as being in violation of the Open eetings Act. What it gets down to is statutory interpretation, Stagg said. Just because some people don t get some words, it s not grounds to void a meeting, he said. We re all for open government. hancellor Jenkins ruling could have a significant impact on the case when it goes to trial. As a result of Jenkins other decisions in the case Thursday, the only claim now remaining in the plaintiffs lawsuit is that the IDB meeting in July 2014 was a violation of the Open eetings Act. ounty Os rules change for sooner adequate public notice of meetings Editor s Note: TPA Public Policy Director Frank Gibson applauded the umberland ounty ommission for taking the action below. I wish every local government body would adopt similar rules for providing adequate notice of public meetings. The commissioners of umberland ounty are to be commended for taking this action on behalf of their citizens.. By GAR NELSON rossville hronicle arch 30, 2015 In an effort to improve adequate notice to umberland ounty ommission now requires agenda and notice of meetings to be mailed or ed at least 10 days before the meeting to all newspapers published in the county for sale and distribution to the general public. the public regarding the occurrence of public meeting times and dates, the umberland ounty ommission approved a resolution modifying its rules about public notice. Resolution states, The Rules ommittee is recommending some procedures be clarified/improved... The Rules ommittee recommends changing rule 12.7 to add that committee (meeting) notifications need five business days notice, or if deemed an emergency situation, three days. The new 12.7 county commission rule will read, A copy of the agenda and notice calling each commission meeting shall be mailed or ed to all licensed commercial radio and television stations in the county, and to all newspapers published in the county for sale and distribution to the general public at the same time the agenda and notice is mailed or ed to the commissioners, county mayor at least 10 days before the meeting. Standing and statutory committee meeting agenda and notices shall be mailed or ed to the commissioners and county mayor at least five business days before the meeting, or if deemed an emergency, within three days. The resolution changing the rules of the county commission was unanimously approved after a motion was made by Roy Turner, 7th District commissioner. Turner s motion was supported by Terry arter, 6th District commissioner.

11 April 2015 The Tennessee Press Page 11 BUTLER, from Page 7 I can remember one (structure fire) on the side of a mountain. It was a big fire; the wind was blowing. Fire was everywhere, and I see this civilian walking over to us. I said, a am, you need to leave. Then I noticed it was Iva. She gave me a big grin, then said in a soft voice: Wait a minute. We chitchatted. She got the details, and I told her she needed to leave. It s dangerous. ou need to go on. She grinned again. I m going. Then she left and walked back down the mountain. It became a running joke for us. Iva, put on your shoes. We learned to respect each other, and I can t sing her praises enough, he said. She became a part of the big picture whenever she was on scene. She became another set of eyes, identifying dangers and telling us about developments. She was a part of our emergency services family, and we all take care of each other. That s Blount ounty. We re going to miss her. ou can t train someone to do what she seemed to do innately, clanahan said. She had the knowledge, relationships and skills. However, she also had this overwhelming passion for her profession. She can t be replaced. She s one of a kind. When you say Iva, it s not: Iva? It s just understood. Iva... from The Daily Times. All of us feel that way about her, and everybody who knows her loves her. Epitome of professionalism Butler s assertiveness and tenacity were hallmarks of her craft and style, but they don t tell the whole story. She was always polite, kind, gracious and the epitome of professionalism, said former Blount ounty ayor Jerry unningham. Over the years, she covered everything TRAS, from Page 5 uated from New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane atrina also captured a second place for Best Single Feature from the University of Tennessee-Tennessee Press Association. A native of Jefferson ity, Bales-Sherrod started working for her hometown newspaper, The (Jefferson ity) Standard Banner, when she was 16 years old. During her newspaper career, Bales-Sherrod also has worked for the (orristown) itizen Tribune, The (Frankfort, entucky) State Journal and the noxville News Sentinel. She earned her bachelor s degree in news-editorial journalism from iddle Tennessee State University in Bales-Sherrod s career also has from murder trials to the ins-andouts of political happenings in Blount ounty. Her reporting was fair, straightforward and accurate. She never tried to put any slant or personal opinion into her stories. She just reported things factually and in understandable language. She was never pushy or obtrusive, and her quiet demeanor served her, the paper and her readers well. It s hard to put into words the value of her work, said aryville ity anager Greg clain, who worked frequently with Butler after being named city manager in She had expertise and understood our community. She loves this community, and you can see it in her work. The care, the love she felt, is apparent immediately. When I first met Iva in 1988, I thought she was extremely likeable and a great reporter, said Alcoa ity anager ark Johnson. y opinion of her has only increased from that first impression. She s always been fair and accurate and shown an incredible ability to boil down complicated issues into something people can understand. I have the utmost respect for her, and she can be proud of her career. There comes a time when everybody needs to hang up their guns and enjoy life. Blount ounty losing a treasure The Blount ounty native, who attended hilhowee View Elementary and Walland High, spent her career covering events that mattered most to her community. Births, divorces, marriages and public records. Breaking news, general assignments and public meetings. She reported about the community because she cares about the community, said Blount ounty ayor Ed itchell. I ve always enjoyed her stories and how diverse she was as a reporter. The Daily taken her to Washington, D.., where she earned her master s degree in journalism and public affairs from American University in She has worked for the federal government twice: as press secretary for then-ongressman John Tanner in 2004 and as a communications specialist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Bales-Sherrod and her husband, Jimmy Sherrod, have two children: Henry, 3, and atherine, 1. The Daily Times (aryville) arch 10, 2015 ing new editor at organ ounty News Joe ing was named the new editor for organ ounty News. Beth Braden left in February Times is losing a great reporter, but Blount ounty is losing a treasure. I feel very honored to have learned under and trained under two of the best reporters (Iva Butler and Anna. Irwin) that this community and The Daily Times has ever seen, said Jessica Stith Belitz, Blount emorial Foundation & ommunity Outreach s project manager, who worked at the newspaper Everybody I met on my beat told me they were the best reporters in the newsroom. They also made it clear that I had a lot to learn from them and my expectations would be high because they d set the bar for me. They were right too. I learned more from them in one month than I did in the School of Journalism. Iva was always one of the first reporters in the newsroom every day, and I could always count on her to cover her own beat, but also to cover me if I needed her help. She is loyal and dedicated in that sense. She is also very trustworthy to her sources. Iva always knows who to call and how to find out the details on any story, but if her source wants to remain anonymous, you can be sure that she will never breathe a word about their identity, even to her fellow reporters. Iva also has a big heart and is very caring, Belitz said. During my time working at the newspaper, I thought of Iva Butler and Anna. Irwin as my friends and part of my family. We all worked closely in police and court reporting, and we watched out for each other. She is always the first person to ask how you are feeling if you are sick, or to ask about your family members if she knows someone has fallen ill or needs thoughts and prayers. After leaving the newspaper, I ve also dealt with Iva through my positions at the hospital, and that has always been a very positive experience, as well, Belitz said. after 10 months to enter into a media business venture. He recently came from the LaFollette Press, where he worked as a reporter. ing Prior to his time at the Press, he was the editor of the Seymour Herald and before that he worked as a freelance writer for the noxville News-Sentinel and the noxville Journal. He is a cum laude graduate of the University of Tennessee. In 2014, he published a poetry collection called Human Ants with Sarah Book Publishing. organ ounty News (Wartburg) arch 19, 2015 Photo from The Daily Times Archives Iva Butler in She is an excellent reporter, who not only cares about getting the story right, but who also cares a great deal about her community and making positive changes through her work in journalism. Iva and Anna taught me when you care about a community living, playing and working in it that you re a better reporter. Respected by colleagues I ve always admired Iva s commitment and faithfulness, said Geneva Williams Harrison, who worked for the city of aryville. She came to our offices every day and gathered the news. However, it was the way that she did it that impressed me the most. She was friendly and put everybody at ease. I ll never forget the way she treated me, because I was the only African-American who worked there. Some people who came into From Staff Reports TPA welcomes Jackson State ommunity ollege (JS) as its newest associate member. The Board of Directors approved the JS request for associate membership at its Feb. 4 meeting. Abby Lackey is the contact for the JS ommunication and Humanities mass communication program. ontact information for Lackey and the program is: Abby Lackey Associate Professor ommunication and Humanities Division LR N. Parkway Jackson, TN our offices never spoke to me, but she acknowledged me on my first day and introduced herself. We became good friends, and I d always tell her when I was going to be out the office for church meetings and vacations. When I came back, she d always want to know everything. I d show her pictures, and we d just talk. I went to two or three Republican conventions with my brother, (former Blount ounty ommissioner) Richard (Williams Jr.), and I remember her asking who I talked to and what I thought about it. She also visited me when Richard passed away. We re real friends who share an unspoken bond. It s like we ve known each other forever. Iva always impressed me, said Peggy Swenson, who worked at The Daily Times. As a recent college graduate, she was enthusiastic and interested in everything. She was also an outstanding reporter who pushed herself to be the best in a much different era. In 1970, it was rare for women to work in that occupation. We had Iva, (former police/court reporter) Adele cenzie, (former ity Editor) Phyllis able; and it was even more rare for women to be as successful as they were in a newspaper. I was extremely proud to serve with that group of women. We were exceptionally close and were friends outside the workplace as well. It strengthened the bonds of our work relationships, and I don t remember any conflict. Iva is a very, very loyal friend who s always there for you. I don t have a specific example, because it was an everyday occurrence. We don t remember oftentimes what is normal and ordinary, and she was always herself. Jackson State ommunity ollege welcomed as newest associate member of TPA (731) ext alackey@jscc.edu Website:

12 Page 12 The Tennessee Press April 2015 When it comes to comparing newspapers, does size really matter? I probably start my workday about the same as most of my readers, checking . Somewhere around two hours of each day is spent helping people solve their problems. Sometimes it s a simple question. Darren, in Tennessee, wrote to ask my advice concerning proofs sent to advertisers. Bob, also from Tennessee, had an InDesign file that had become corrupt. That took a little longer. Barbara, with an architectural firm, was having problems with files she was preparing for the Tennessee Newspaper Hall of Fame. Thankfully, I teach a lot of Photoshop to newspaper groups, so I knew how to create an action and use a batch process to cut the time it took to fix her problem from several hours to 15 minutes. atie, in innesota, is having problems with the color in her photos. A quick look at her color settings clued us in on the problem. I think she should get better results in her next issue. A newspaper association down south was having issues with a PDF it received from an ad agency. Fortunately, it seems like I ve run into a few of those before. I asked them to the file to me, which I opened in Photoshop (at a super high resolution), fixed and sent back. I m thankful when problems are easy to fix. They re not all so quick. Like the press association up north that had technical problems with its contest judging. I eventually spent several hours helping with that one. Or last year, there was a press association in the Rockies that needed an entire awards presentation created at the last minute. I stayed up most of the night working on that one. Like most of my readers, I care about our industry and try to do THE NEWS GURU EVIN SLIP my share to help when there s a problem or issue that needs to be worked out. Don t think it s a one-way street. Newspapers and associations help me on a regular basis. any times, I ve contacted a colleague at a newspaper association and gotten help getting publishers to respond to a survey or spreading the word that I was coming to their area. Just yesterday, elli, with the North Dakota Newspaper Association, ed to ask if she could get information to promote the upcoming session of The Institute of Newspaper Technology. The primary reason I continue to collect data and survey newspaper managers is to help my newspaper colleagues. Several times, over the last few weeks, I ve received requests for advice from publishers who, after looking over data from a recent survey, found the answer the were looking for. For instance, my most recent survey just completed last month indicates about one-third of weekly newspapers saw an increase in advertising revenue in That means that many of these papers are increasing staff size, which is also indicated in the survey. Interestingly, most weekly newspapers say it is difficult to find qualified applicants for positions. The most difficult job to fill is a reporter. Digging further into the survey, I found that wages weren t the primary reason for the difficulty in finding qualified employees at weekly papers. Fifty-nine percent of publishers responded that it was a population issue. Weekly papers are often located in small communities where qualified workers just don t live. ompare that to daily papers, whose responses indicate they have even more difficulty finding qualified employees. Eighty-six percent of dailies responded that they found it hard to find the right folks to fill positions. However, unlike weekly papers that have, for the most part, retained or increased staff size, the majority of dailies (65 percent) have cut the number of staff positions over the past three years. Are you having trouble finding newsprint? Well, if you are, you might be the only one. Even though experts were predicting a newsprint shortage a few years back, 100 percent of respondents answered that they have no problem finding newsprint. Speaking of differences between weeklies and dailies, 79 percent of weeklies say they could survive just as well without a digital presence over the next three years. Only 44 percent of daily newspaper publishers feel that way. There s no doubt that non-daily newspapers are doing better, overall, than their daily brethren. Increased ad sales, more stable circulation and other positive signs dominate the surveys completed by weekly publishers. Daily numbers seem to be less favorable across the board. What is the most obvious revelation from this latest survey? Weekly newspapers are doing something right. Their advertising sales are steady, or up for most papers, and readership remains steady. Daily newspapers are losing advertisers and readers (I ll look into that further in a future column) and are searching for new forms of revenue. That s a good indicator of the reason for increased dependency on digital revenue at daily papers. Where do I see things from my desk? The number of requests I m getting from newspapers for training and advising is more than triple what it has been any of the last four years. In most cases, it s because publishers are investing in increased quality in their publications. And that tells me that good things are happening in a lot of places. evin Slimp is the Technology Director for the Tennessee Press Service. He may be reached at (865) , Ext. 107 or via at kevin@ kevinslimp.com. Newspaper advertising works time and time again Here are some interesting facts about newspaper advertising: Ads in newspapers and newspaper websites are a tried and true way to grow business. Ads in newspapers continue to be among the most trusted forms of advertising. Source: Nielsen 2014 Newspapers remain one of the top ideas sources for household shopping. Source: BrandSpark According to an article from the Jan. 18, 2014 issue of Realatch, there are five advantages of print advertising: Print has gravitas Influentials are swayed by print Print readers are focused Sometimes unplugging is very appealing Print offers ad buyers flexibility and more NETWORS ADVERTISING ANAGER BETH ELLIOTT personal attention Take one ad in your newspaper and multiply it by 90-plus, and your clients will be sure to get an incredible response. A well-written and well-designed ad in multiple newspapers is a proven way to grow your clients business. If you get to see the Network ads each week, you will have noticed there are many repeat ads, which means the ads are working. If you don t get to see the ads each week, here are a few words from some Network clients. This past year was the best ever for Susan G. omen license plate sales since the program stared in July The quarterly ads are keeping it alive. It works! Jane R. Brannon, executive director, Susan G. omen for the ure, noxville Affiliate We had excellent participation in these auctions and are pleased with the advertising we did. Jennie Wolff, project manager, clemore Auction ompany, LL I will say that our advertising with the Tennessee Press Service played a significant role in the wide-spread attention our estate auction received! Identifying specific items of interest farm equipment, quilts, antiques, cars, etc. really attracted bidders to our website. Thanks again, Beth, for a great job!!! David R. Hudgins, AI, AARE, Hudgins Auctions & Realty We have had a great response from the advertising for the Dietary anager Program. Patricia Roark, RN, BSN, dietary manager program director, Tennessee ollege of Applied Technology TPS is here to help your newspaper harness the power of the Networks, so you can take full advantage of participating in the programs by making a great commission on ads you sell and, at the same time, serve your clients by expanding their message across the state, thus helping them grow their business. ontact TPS today for a three-minute crash course on selling the Network ads by ing me at belliott@tnpress.com or calling (865) ext Beth Elliott is the Network advertising manager for TPS.