Are you curious?
Join us for the
2020 KPA Annual Convention - The Virtual Edition
Aug. 13 - 14 and Aug. 20 - 21, 2020

Kevin Slimp, nationally known newspaper consultant and industry champion, will headline the event.
Slimp, who has presented numerous times at past KPA conventions and advertising conferences, will discuss what's working and what's not at Kansas newspapers during this pandemic along with an ad design workshop and helpful tips on getting people to pick up your newspaper. 

For the low price of $99 per publication (unlimited amount of staff members can attend), you will get four days of fantastic programming. If you have a registration fee on file from our original covention date, that fee will be applied to the new date and the credit will be applied to next year's convention. 

 

Thursday, Aug 13
10 - 11 a.m.  - How We Rebranded Our Newspaper Business to Potential Customers and How You Can Too with Jeff Cott, Derby Informer 
Newspapers need to be thinking about how they can be more than just a newspaper to advertisers. Join Jeff as he walks attendees through the process in which he rebranded his newspaper into a company that provides more to clients than just print advertising. 
 
 11:15 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. - Business Entity Selection in Today’s Tax Environment, with Denise Peterson and Debbie Coan, CPA
 Join Debbie as she explores tax and business structure issues that affect the newspaper industry. Debbie will explore the different business structures for media companies, including nonprofit, and how to change a structure to optimize tax savings, if needed.
 
1:30 - 2:30 p.m. - Ask the Media Hotline Attorney, with Max Kautsch
Max runs the most utilized KPA member benefit, the KPA Legal Hotline, and does it well. He talks to members throughout the year about KOMA/KORA issues and other important topics affecting the newspaper industry as well as being an advocate for open government. Join Max as he answers your questions and discusses the questions most asked on the hotline during 2020. 
 
3 - 3:45 p.m. - Selling Your Total Audience with Useful Techniques to Make Money with Digital with Thad Swiderski, eType Services
Traffic to news websites is at an all-time high. Join eType Services for a "how-to" on how to sell your total audience - print AND digital. 
 
7 - 8 p.m. - President's Presentation and Hall of Fame and Special Award Presentations
 
Friday, Aug. 14
10 - 10:45 a.m. - Kansas Farm Bureau panel
Join us and our presenting sponsor and partner, Kansas Farm Bureau, as we discuss what is happening in farming and ranching in the state - including a drought update, pandemic responses, etc. 
 
11:15 - Noon - What's Working and What's Not at Newspapers in Kansas and Across the Country, with Kevin Slimp
Kevin spent much of spring of 2020 researching what is working and what's not at newspapers across the nation. Conducting research for the North Dakota Newspaper Association and the Texas Center for Community Journalism, Kevin discovered unique revenue streams that were working while identifying the things that weren't. Join us as Kevin shares the results of his research involving over 700 newspapers and numerous in-person focus groups including responses from Kansas newspapers. 
 
1:30 - 2:30 p.m.  - Getting People to Pick Up Your Paper, with Kevin Slimp - NEW for 2020! 
Getting people to pick up your paper is the top priority of many newspapers right now. Sure, we need to sell advertising, but if people aren’t picking up your paper, you won’t have many advertisers. Why do
readers pick up one paper over another? What would make someone subscribe to your paper – or what would turn them off from subscribing? Kevin Slimp speaks on this topic at newspaper conferences internationally.
 
3- 4:15 p.m. - Grow Revenue by Designing More Effective Ads – For Sales and Design Staff, with Kevin Slimp
Kevin Slimp has been teaching ad design and software skills for two decades, and newspapers have been asking for a webinar for folks who design and sell ads to help create ads that will be more effective for the advertisers and easier to create. Time is money, and advertisers are money. It’s important for designers and ad reps to work together to create ads that will be more effective without causing more work. Good ads sell, and creating good ads is of vital importance to newspapers.We’ll discuss what draws attention, what doesn’t. We’ll look at what turns readers off. We’ll discuss colors, fonts, trends and more. Bring two pens. You’ll need them.
 
6:15 p.m. - The Future of Journalism in Kansas: Why You Should Care - a community event
The KPA and Newton Now will co-host this event where the community will be invited to participate. A panel of journalists will discuss their thoughts on where our industry is headed and why you should care. 

Thursday, Aug. 20
9:30 - 10:30 a.m. - Community Journalism Training (part one), with Doug Anstaett
Are you new to journalism? Do you have a staff member that could use a refresher course on the basics? Join Doug as he teaches participants about the basics of covering a community well. Writing basics, journalism ethics and meeting coverage will be included in this class. Please note - this is a two part class. While we encourage participants to attend both, it is not required. 
 
11 a.m. - Noon - Exploring Trends and Opportunities with Subscriptions, with John Montgomery
Join John as he explores print and digital subscription models and strategies, memberships, etc., and the shift within the industry to a higher reliance on subscription revenue. 

12:10 - 1:10 p.m. - Brown Bag and BS
Bring your lunch and login as we eat lunch together and talk about what is happening at your newspaper, gather ideas from fellow members and simply shoot the... well, you know. 

1:15 - 2:15 p.m. - Social Movements and the Press: What Journalists Can Learn from History, with Teri Finneman
From 1848 to 1920, journalists and mass communication played a significant role in informing the public about the women's rights movement asking for the right to vote. The fact that it took 72 years for white women to get the ballot ... and another 45 for women of color ... illustrates the consequences of the lack of diversity in newsrooms and an acceptance of the status quo that made newspapers complicit in widespread discrimination. This session will address the history of suffrage in America, how journalists covered it and what can be learned from their mistakes, as well as have time for an open discussion about whether the news values we continue to operate under 100 years later best serve audiences today.

 

 
2:45 - 3:45 p.m. -  Best Management Practices, with Ken Knepper
It is becoming harder and harder to recruit and retain employees. Join Ken as he explores strategies that newspaper managers can use to recruit the best team members and keep them... for good. 

Friday, Aug. 21
10 - 11:15 a.m. - Roundtables
Join us for an update on public notice laws, issues in Kansas and topics that are of interest to you and before breaking out into daily and nondaily groups. 

11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. - Using Open Records to Strengthen Your Reporting - NEW! 
Using documents is a proven method of providing your audience with reliable and revealing information. This session will show you how to use the Kansas Open Records Act to find documents to enhance your reporting and promote the press's important role as a watchdog of public business. From your local city manager's salary to sorting campaign contributions by zip code to what is the most popular pet name in your community, there's a public document available for just about every story. The session is team taught by Max McCoy, a veteran investigative reporter and a professor of journalism at Emporia State University, and Sarah Spicer, the Wichita Eagle's climate change reporter, who holds an MS in investigative journalism from Columbia University. 

 1 - 2 p.m. - Community Journalism Training (part two), with Doug Anstaett
Writing basics, journalism ethics and meeting coverage will be included in this class. Please note - this is a two part class. While we encourage participants to attend both, it is not required. 
 
3 -  4:15 p.m. - AOE Awards Watch Party! 
Join us as we gather together for our annual Awards of Excellence presentation for our annual news and advertising contests. Plaques are being mailed (along with a goodie bag!) and publications will have the awards before the presentation. 

 

 

Register Now!