Missouri Press Association
Serving Missouri Newspapers Since 1867
After a dreary drive in the rain to Cape Girardeau on Jan. 30 for the Southeast Missouri Press Association’s Sales Boot Camp, I was quickly invigorated when I saw the passion the 30 attendees had for selling the value of their newspapers to potential and current advertisers.
Mark Millsap, executive director of the Tennessee Press Association, led the four-hour workshop that included such topics as prospecting for new clients, researching your customers before you walk in, becoming a one-stop shop for all of their advertising needs, creating high-impact ads, and closing the sale.
As for prospecting, one idea that intrigued me was the “Get on the bus” concept where you load up your sales reps into a van or SUV and drive around all of their sales territories. The group would look for new businesses and inactive accounts and then stop for lunch somewhere to divide up the new leads. Mark recommended doing this quarterly and also visiting nearby towns where you are wanting to make inroads.
The boot camp ended with an idea exchange, and 10 of those in attendance came forward with something to share. Their motivation wasn’t the $5 bill they each received, but rather their desire to help one another. As someone who came up on the news side with little experience in advertising, I came away so motivated that I wanted to stop on the way home and try to sell an ad or two.
Speaking of Mark Millsap, MPA members will have another opportunity to hear him when he speaks at the Missouri Press Advertising and Marketing Executives (MPAME) meeting in St. Louis on April 10-11. Learn more about MPAME’s upcoming meeting here.
* * *
Missouri’s newspapers have a great friend in new Speaker of the House Jonathan Patterson, a Lee’s Summit Republican. A 1998 graduate of Blue Springs High School, Patterson wrote about politics for the school newspaper and later for the Maneater at the University of Missouri. He is a voracious newspaper reader, including The Kansas City Star, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and numerous others he accesses through Apple News+.
When Mark Maassen was looking for a location for MPA’s Day at the Capitol, Patterson suggested the historic House Lounge, which he calls “the most beautiful room in the Capitol.” Patterson was also one of our three featured speakers at the Jan. 23 event.
Rep. Bruce Sassmann, a Republican from Bland, is sponsoring two bills (HB 59 and HB 1063) this session that would add exemptions to the Sunshine Law. Although we oppose these bills, we are pleased that Sassmann regularly reads three papers ─ the Linn Unterrified Democrat, the Gasconade County Republican, and the Maries County Advocate. Sassmann even has the papers forwarded to him when he is on vacation.
HB 59, which MPA opposes, would add individually identifiable customer information for visitors who make camping, lodging, or other shelter reservations for a state park or historic site to the list of records exempt from disclosure under the Sunshine Law. Mike Jenner, who worked for both the Columbia Daily Tribune and the Columbia Missourian and spent 14 years teaching in the Missouri School of Journalism, testified against the bill on Jan. 30. I thought Mike summed up things quite nicely:
“I believe this is a bad bill because it erodes Missouri’s Sunshine Law by making public information secret. Transparency is absolutely vital to the effective functioning of our form of government.
“Citizens of Missouri have a right to know how their tax dollars are spent. They have a right to know how their government is operating and what government officials are doing to manage the state’s resources. And yes, they have a right to know who is using the state’s resources, and that includes the state’s parks and historical sites.
“This bill is a classic example of a solution in search of a problem.
“Supporters of this bill may believe they are protecting the privacy of state park users, but this bill removes access to benign information that citizens have a right to see and know. Who uses our parks? Where do they come from? Are the parks enjoyed by many people who visit one time, or a few repeat visitors who return many times?
“There’s no legitimate reason this information should be denied to those who care to ask and are willing to go to the trouble to find out.”
Mike also testified on Feb. 13 against another bill MPA opposes. Senate Bill 157, which would prohibit the release of the names of major water users to protect the privacy rights of Missouri’s farmers, is another attempt to further erode the state’s Sunshine Law.
Thank you, Mike, for taking the time to prepare your remarks and driving to Jefferson City twice to speak on behalf of MPA.
* * *
Mark Maassen’s last official day at the MPA office was Friday, Feb. 21, but I’m comforted by the fact that he will be available to us for another 15 months as a consultant. He’s been a fount of information and can answer just about any question that comes up. I’ve also been impressed with how well organized he is; his filing system would be the envy of just about anyone. I have learned so much from him the past two months and look forward to our continued interaction.
