RPD: Anyone Can Cut A Budget

42nd in a 2022 Series* I was reminded of the fun times managing stretch budgets when a colleague’s note and its unusual attachment fell out of a storage spot. The attachment was a banana pen — well, a plastic banana with blue ink. The note followed a tense meeting with the bosses over budget performance.

RPD: A Better Route Does Exist

41st in a 2022 Series* Relevance Project Priority Update: The top pushback to THE Community Forum strategy is, “We already have too much on our plate.” A more dire retort is: “We’re struggling to even get out an edition. Not now.” At least one executive director of a state trade association waved off a presentation

RPD: Freedom Is A Difference Maker

40th in a 2022 Series* One of the first moves autocratic, repressive regimes make during a crises or when challenged is to silence independent media. Shackled, reporters go underground. Or disappear. In America, one of the first steps media complete in a crisis is to expand coverage and ask more questions. Public interest is answered.

RPD: Newspaper Power In Wyoming

39th in a 2022 Series* Add Wyoming to the growing list of press associations using new research to update the impressive value of newspapers and how their loyal readers add to a community’s quality of life. The February issue of the WPA Bulletin included two data-filled pages headlined, “402,000, or 87% of Wyoming Adults, Turn

RPD: Lessons From A Storyteller

38th in a 2022 Series* You can learn a lot by reading the tiny type. That was true Saturday when I stumbled across a paid obituary in The Wall Street Journal for California agribusinessman Dean Cortopassi that not only detailed a fascinating career of starting companies and developing winning strategies, it included pithy sayings he

RPD: Convincing Case For Local News

37th in a 2022 Series* 60 Minutes finally aired its account Sunday night about newspapers and the storyline was familiar to anyone paying attention to printed local news. Decline, demise, depression and democracy dangers. But after weeks of postponing the report, 60 Minutes probably did local newspapers a favor in “Headlines. Deadlines. Bottom Lines.” by

RPD: Newspaper Ads Are Trusted

36th in a 2022 Series* Readers trust ads in newspapers. More than other media. That’s one of the conclusions in Nielsen’s new study, U.S. Trust in Advertising. Newspapers looking for a competitive edge should review this MediaPost summary: Trust in Advertising Rising, Nielsen Data Finds. What we know: Newspapers are a vital voucher for an

RPD: ‘Lost Art’ Of Bringing People Together

35th in a 2022 Series* Investigative reporter Ronan Farrow this week made an indirect case for local newspapers becoming THE Community Forum. As the guest lecturer at a speaker series in Sarasota, FL, Farrow said bringing people together to hear “voices from across the political spectrum’ is needed now more than ever, according to an

Director Q and A: Kansas’ Emily Bradbury

A Monthly Feature Emily Bradbury turns the latest Executive Director Q&A into a crisp summary of how newspaper trade associations use forward-looking perspectives when serving members in a turbulent world and why it is important to always be thinking of what’s next to conquer. In this installment of The Relevance Project’s monthly feature, the head

RPD: Meet The News Sales Pro In CO

34th in a 2022 Series* A big THANK YOU to Colorado Press Association Executive Director Tim Reagan-Porter for including The Relevance Project in the introduction of new Sales Director Scott Kuntz. Tim had shared Relevance Project promotions with Scott in advance and added a Zoom call with the three of us yesterday. It was good