Upcoming Workshops & Events
June 2
PALMY Ad Contest Entry Deadline
The 2023 PALMY Advertising Contest entry platform is now live and accepting entries through June 2.
The PALMY Ad Contest is a wonderful way to recognize the sales reps, designers and advertisers of our state’s newspapers.
The contest period is for ads that ran between May 1, 2022 and April 30, 2023.
All ad directors and publishers will receive an email with log-in info that can be shared with your sales and design staff.
Awards will be presented in person or mailed to winners in mid-July 2023. On July 20, 2023, the digital awards presentation will be made available on the SCPA website and promoted as a resource for all members to use throughout the year. If requested, SCPA staffers will work with winners to have a recognition event on site at your newspaper.
Please let us know if you have any questions. Good luck entering!
June 8 | 2-2:30 p.m.
SCPA member services orientation
Zoom
Are you a news organization leader who is new to SCPA?
SCPA’s next new editor/publisher/member orientation is set for Thursday, June 8, from 2-2:30 p.m. on Zoom.
If you’re a leader at your news organization, we invite you to learn more about SCPA’s member services, legal/FOI Hotline, SLED Checks, lobbying, training, contests, communications, resources and ad representation.
This will be an informal space to get information about your membership and ask questions.
RSVP if you’d like to attend.
If you’d rather set up a time to meet with SCPA staff at your newspaper, contact us.
June 16 | 2-3 p.m.
New Business Development Secrets
Online Media Campus Webinar
Create and Execute Your Top 20 HOT LIST! This workshop is all about new business development. Learn proven and tested sales strategies to secure more meetings with the right people so you grow your bottom line NOW! Pump up your sales calls/meeting numbers by 25-35% in the next 30 days! Prospecting in today’s anti-traditional media environment is tough! Ryan will show you how to prospect and handle no less than 20 new clients in the next 30 days. He will dig deep and explain why most clients will not agree to meet you. Then he will share the exact prospecting templates he uses in his emails and voice mails to grab the clients’ attention and convert them into a meeting. Plus, you will learn how to take 10 of your top 20 and create a simple marketing plan to entice them into paying attention to you and your media!
Ryan Dohrn is a top motivational speaker that won an Emmy for marketing excellence while working for ABC TV/Walt Disney Co. and was recognized by Forbes.com with the “Best of the Web” award for his business strategies. Dohrn’s focus is leadership training and team performance development. His passion for sales and marketing has given him the unique opportunity to touch half a billion dollars in revenue for companies in seven countries. Dohrn was one of the youngest managers in Walt Disney history. His management insights have been featured in USA Today and on CNN. Ryan is an internationally certified business coach, has trained over 30,000 professionals, and works monthly with companies in 15 business sectors.
Please note OMC events are held in Central Time. Please make sure to note this event will be held from 2-3 p.m. EST.
June 22 | 2-3 p.m.
Story Idea Extravaganza
Online Media Campus Webinar
Having trouble coming up with your next enterprise story? The Cedar Rapids Gazette’s Zack Kucharski returns with another webinar of 60 rapid-fire story ideas that will help cure writer’s block. We’ll look at ideas from across the newsroom in this fast-paced session.
Zack Kucharski is Executive Editor of The Gazette in Cedar Rapids, where he has worked since 2000. Kucharsi leads content strategies for the organization. He has worn many hats within the organization, starting as a freelancer and moving up to reporter, news and database editor. He is a University of Iowa graduate.
The cost to attend is $35. Learn more and register here!
Please note OMC events are held in Central Time. Please make sure to note this event will be held from 2-3 p.m. EST.
June 22 | 2-2:30 p.m.
Earn Your Press Pass Q&A and Demo
Zoom
More details coming soon!
June 29 | 2-3 p.m.
Let’s Discover AI’s Potential Together!
Online Media Campus Webinar
Richard E. Brown is a News/Media Alliance Rising Star recipient, the former director of renewals and digital sales strategy at LPi, and the former director of digital operations and sales of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He recently served as the head of digital subscriber churn for Gannett | USA TODAY NETWORK and is now the senior director of retention for The Daily Beast. He is also a member of the board of directors for the Wisconsin Newspaper Association Foundation.
The cost to attend is $35. Learn more and register here!
Please note OMC events are held in Central Time. Please make sure to note this event will be held from 2-3 p.m. EST.
July 4
Independence Day
SCPA Offices closed for the 4th of July.
July 7
PALMY Ad Contest Winners Announced
July 14
PALMY Ad Contest Deadline for Corrections
July 20
PALMY Advertising Awards Presentation Live
Awards will be presented in person or mailed to winners in mid-July 2023. On July 20, 2023, the digital PALMY Advertising Awards presentation will be made available on the SCPA website and promoted as a resource for all members to use throughout the year. If you’d like, SCPA staffers will work with winners to have a recognition
event on site at your newspaper.
August 11 | 11 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Weekly & Monthly Editors Roundtable
SCPA Offices, Columbia
Weekly and monthly editors are invited to attend SCPA’s annual Weekly/Monthly Editors Roundtable on Friday, Aug. 11, from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m., at SCPA Offices in Columbia.
This will be a great time to meet with your peers for robust discussion! Topics are up to the group, but will include: FOI issues, motivating and training staff, special projects and sections, multimedia reporting, social media opportunities and issues, stories that get traction and more. We’ll also have plenty of time for show and tell.
Attendees are asked to bring ideas and samples to share. If you have ideas for discussion topics or specific questions you’d like addressed, please submit them on the registration page.
The cost to attend is $25, which includes lunch. Register here!
This event is only open to SCPA member weekly and monthly editors.
August 18 | 11 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Daily Editors Roundtable
SCPA Offices, Columbia
Daily editors are invited to attend SCPA’s annual Daily Editors Roundtable on Friday, Aug. 18, from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m., at SCPA Offices in Columbia.
This event will be a great time to meet with your peers for robust discussion. Topics are up to the group, but will include: FOI/legal issues; hiring, retaining and managing staff; innovative ways to tell stories and share news to include projects, special sections and story/series ideas; engaging your digital audience and more. We’ll also allow plenty of time for open discussion.
Attendees are asked to bring ideas and samples to share. Please submit discussion topics and specific questions on the registration form.
The cost to attend is $25, which includes lunch. Register here!
This event is only open to S.C. Press Association member daily editors.
Sept. 4, 2023
Labor Day
SCPA Offices closed in observance of Labor Day.
Oct. 1-7, 2023
National Newspaper Week
More details coming soon!
Contests & Awards
SCPA recognizes the best in South Carolina journalism through our annual contests. Our prestigious awards programs are open to SCPA members only. Each year, nearly 4,000 entries are received in SCPA’s News, Advertising and Collegiate Contests.
- Our annual News Contest recognizes excellence in daily and weekly newspaper journalism. We also have an Associate and Individual member division, and a Collegiate Contest. 2022 Awards were presented at the SCPA Annual Meeting March 9-10, 2023 in Columbia. The 2023 News Contest will open Oct. 6, 2023, and the deadline to enter is Dec. 1, 2023.
- The PALMY Advertising Awards recognize the Palmetto State’s best, brightest and most enterprising advertising professionals and advertisers, and the impact they have made in their communities! The 2023 PALMY Advertising Contest is live and accepting entries through June 2, 2023. Awards will be presented in July 2023.
Other Training Opportunities
- SCPA now offers free, individualized virtual training on legal and FOI topics for member newspapers. Learn more.
- SCPA members can attend Local Media Association webinars at a reduced rate because our state is a Media Association Partner.
- Poynter’s News University offers more than 100 interactive on-demand journalism courses. Several courses are free thanks to grant funding.