Join us for the 2018 Kansas Press Association Convention and Day at the Capitol!

Beginning with Day at the Capitol on Thursday, Feb. 8, KPA members will have the opportunity to meet with legislators about issues that are important to our industry. We will then begin our convention festivities on Thursday evening with a new event -  "Cold Brews and Hot Issues."

Friday is packed with educational opportunities for everyone on your staff! We will be inducting two new members of the Kansas Newspaper Hall of Fame that evening. After a morning of great information, we will conclude the 2018 convention with two popular general sessions and the AOE Awards Banquet on Saturday. Kevin Slimp will be headlining this year's convention - join us!

Thursday, Feb. 8, 2018

Day at the Capitol - 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.

11  – 11:30 a.m. – Capitol Update
Noon – 1 p.m. – Lunch with Your Legislators  
1 p.m. – 2 p.m. – Legislative Meetings
3 p.m. – KPA Board Meeting
4 - 6 p.m. - Dinner on your own
6:30 p.m. – “Cold Brews and Hot Issues” at the hotel - NEW!
Join us for a discussion about the hot topics in the newspaper industry in a casual environment. Wine and non-alcoholic drinks will also be available.

Friday, Feb. 9, 2018

8 – 9:15 a.m. – KNF Trustees Meeting
8 – 8:30 a.m. – Welcome and light continental breakfast - NEW!

Breakouts
8:30 – 9:40 a.m.
9:50 – 11 a.m.

 1. "Web Search & Backgrounding" with Denise Malan, IRE
One of the best ways to build watchdog work into your daily routine is to get in the habit of backgrounding every source. In this session we'll discuss tips for backgrounding and learn some web search tricks and tools to help quickly find information online.

2. "Getting the Most from Your Periodical Mailing" with Helen Sosniecki
Helen Sosniecki will review USPS changes that have been implemented recently involving newspapers and those on the horizon.  She also will share money-saving tips for getting the most benefit from your periodical permit when mailing your newspapers.  Bring your USPS 3541 forms! One-on-One sessions with Helen to review your 3541s also are available by signing up at the registration desk.

3.  "Fraud Prevention at Your Newspaper" with Ken Knepper, former Newton Kansan publisher and current Vice President of Business Development for Citizens State Bank
Join us as Ken Knepper walks us through the steps you can take to prevent fraud at your newspaper. From basic accounting checks and balances to effective cash on hand money management, Ken will give you the steps you can take to discourage and prevent fraud at your newspaper.

4. "Selling Against Social & Overcoming Other Objections" with Chris Rhoades
Back by popular demand! Social media and on-line marketing is a hot topic these days.  But, what do we say when our customers tell us they "only advertise on Facebook"?  Or that "everything is on-line now." How do we combat this public perception that social media is the be-all, end-all when it comes to marketing?  This session will uncover some misconceptions about social media, and why it might not be all it's cracked up to be.  We'll also discuss sales strategies to show the power of print versus on-line.  In addition, we will spend time overcoming other general sales objections, and share an easy strategy to overcome ANY objection that you might face when selling to your customers. 

5. "Driving Traffic to Your Website" with Thad Swiderski
There are many ways to increase traffic to your website and digital products.  Come discuss the top 10 ways that publishers can increase traffic to their digital products with Thad Swiderski - President of eType Services. Increasing traffic will help your paper and increase revenue.  Take advantage of new readers to your content by offering them quick and easy access without giving away your hard work.  Digital is here and needs to be used by publishers to increase their readership. Come learn how.

11 – 11:40 a.m. –"The Changing Landscape of Agriculture and How it Affects Your Community"
Join us as we examine the issues affecting Kansas agriculture. Expert panelists will provide insight on farm and commodity prices, today’s challenging regulatory environment and how they affect our communities. Sponsored by Kansas Farm Bureau.

11:40 a.m. – 1 p.m. – Past President’s Luncheon (invitation only)

11:45 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. - Lunch and Keynote Speaker
"What’s Going On: The real story about what’s going on at newspapers today" with Kevin Slimp
For the past 20 years, Kevin Slimp has been traveling the globe, working with newspapers. In his early years, he was known to many as the “Tech Guru” of the newspaper industry after developing the method nearly all of us use to transmit and print our pages. Over the years, as his experiences grew, he began to be called on for advice about circulation, sales, content, design and newspaper management. Today, folks throughout the newspaper world simply refer to Kevin as “Guru.” In this session, Kevin will discuss the latest research regarding the industry and what he is learning from his recent visits with newspapers. See for yourself why Publishers Auxiliary called Kevin Slimp “the most popular and effective speaker among community newspaper publishers.”

1:45 - 2:45 p.m. - KPA Gubernatorial Forum

Breakouts
2:50 – 3:50 p.m.
4 - 5 p.m.

1. "Breaking News Watchdog" with Denise Malan, IRE
When breaking news hits, you need to put a plan together quickly to give your audience context and in-depth information. This session will cover data, documents and sources you can use on deadline to beef up your breaking news coverage.

2. "Digital 101: How your community newspaper can make money with its website" with Gary Sosniecki
An updated program aimed at weeklies and small dailies that still struggle to understand – and profit – from digital. We’ll review why digital is important to your newspaper, who your digital competitors are, how much revenue you should generate from digital, how Facebook has become your biggest competitor, how to price digital ads for your market, the importance of using standardized ad sizes, techniques for selling digital, what makes banner ads effective, how to use digital statistics to sell and retain advertising, paywall options, current trends and ideas for promoting digital.

3. "Media Law Hot Topics and Legislative Issues" with Max Kautsch, KPA's Legal Hotline Attorney
Join our resident media law expert, Max Kautsch, as he examines hot topics in media law and gives you an update on legislative issues that affect your newspaper and your community.

4. "Photoshop: Color Correction and Photo Editing Tips for Newspaper Reproduction" with Kevin Slimp (first breakout session ONLY)
The name says it all. Kevin taught his first photoshop class to a group of 200 newspaper professionals in Lexington, Ky. in 1995. There’s not much he doesn’t know about getting your pictures to look better on the page, and he’ll share some of that knowledge with us during this session. Kevin taught his first photoshop class to a group of 200 newspaper professionals in Lexington, Kentucky in 1995. There’s not much he doesn’t know about getting your pictures to look better on the page, and he’ll share some of that knowledge with us during this session.

5. "Keeping Up with Styles: Everything you’ve always wanted to know about InDesign styles, but were afraid to ask" with Kevin Slimp (second breakout session ONLY)
During the most recent session of the Newspaper Institute, Kevin and Ed Henninger were surprised when two thirds of the attendees packed their room to hear them discuss InDesign styles. Kevin says they were surprised because the students had five classes to choose from. Afterwords, they received perfect scores on the class evaluations from every attendee. Apparently, there are a lot of things about InDesign styles that newspaper designers and editors want to learn about. This is your chance.

6 – 7 p.m. – President’s Reception
Join us for drinks and networking before the annual President’s Banquet.

7 – 9:30 p.m. – President’s Banquet (additional ticket required to attend)
Enjoy a sit-down dinner as we recognize this year’s recipients of the KPA special awards. We’ll also induct new members into the Kansas Newspaper Hall of Fame.

9 – 11 p.m. – President’s Hospitality Suite (hotel bar) sponsored by the Eureka Herald
Join Olaf Frandsen for a reception celebrating his year as KPA president and the 150th Anniversary of the Eureka Herald.

Saturday, Feb. 10, 2018

8 – 8:30 a.m. – Annual Meeting and breakfast
Join us as we address KPA business and elect new officers and members to the KPA Board of Directors.   

8:30 a.m. – "The One Week Publisher - Reverend Sheldon’s Christian Newspaper…the Topeka Daily Capital" with Laird Kelly
The Rev. Charles Sheldon often included newspaper men and women in his stories, among them, a major character of his best-seller “In His Steps.” In that book his fictional editor makes the pledge to produce his paper as Jesus would do.   Certain types of stories or ads would not appear, or would be severely edited, even if doing so meant the loss of revenue. In late 1899 the publisher of the Topeka Daily Capital offered Sheldon the full control of his paper for a week. Promoters set up a revenue-sharing scheme to have Sunday Schools throughout the country sell subscriptions. The circulation went from about 12,000 to an estimated 376,000 for the week. Reporters came to Topeka from all over the country to see exactly how Sheldon would get a bunch of typical rough-hewn, hard-drinking reporters to produce a truly Christian paper. While the Christian Daily Capital, was only a short-term novelty, it had a national impact on editorial practice and on circulation promotion that is still relevant today. 

9 – 10 a.m. - "Getting People to Pick Up Your Paper: What every newspaper staff person and manager should know to get people to pick up their newspapers" with Kevin Slimp
Possibly Kevin’s most requested topic, thousands of newspaper managers throughout North America have heard him speak on this topic over the past year. Referencing research, focus groups and more, Kevin will lead us through a look at just about every area of our own papers and what we can do to make people want to pick up our papers. Bring two pens. You will need them.

10 – 11 a.m. - "Customer Service: A Common Sense Approach: What newspapers can learn from other newspapers and other industries about the importance of customer service" with Kevin Slimp
You will laugh, gasp and take copious notes as Kevin shares his customer service stories. One magazine called Kevin “America’s Consumer Crusader” in 2014 and you will enjoy his insight concerning the importance of customer service in retaining current readers and advertisers, as well as attracting new ones.

11 a.m. – 12:45 p.m. – AOE Awards Luncheon
Join us for a celebratory luncheon that honors individuals and newspapers on their accomplishments in 2017.

Register Now!