Does your newspaper have a slogan?
If not, maybe it's time to create one. A snappy slogan - something beyond "Serving the ____ Community" - is a great way to summarize your paper's unique mission, heritage, style, etc., in a way that sticks in the public's mind. To use an "in" business term, it contributes to your "branding."
On top of that, it can be fun. Here are examples from papers that may or may not still be published to stimulate your thinking.
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My personal favorites were:
"If It's Good for Holmes County, We're for It!" - The Holmes County, OH, Hub
"The Only Newspaper in the Whole Wide World that Really Cares About Wadsworth" - The Wadsworth, OH, News-Banner.
"The Truth, Well Told." - I'm not sure where this one came from, but I love it.
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Hell-Raising Hometown Paper Slogans
Liked by Many, Cussed By Some, Read By Them All!" - Blackshear, GA, Times.
"If You Don't Want It Printed, Don't Let It Happen" - Daily News, Aspen, CO.
"Going where no dog has gone before - and without a leash!" - Putnam, TN, Pit
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Sorta Poetic Slogans
"Covers Dixie Like the Dew" - Atlanta, GA, Journal.
"A Newspaper, Not A Snoozepaper" - unknown.
"Pride in the Panhandle" - The Star-Herald, Scottsbluff, NE
"Without Fear or Favor" Zambia Daily Mail.
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Sophisticated Slogan
“A Weekly Newspaper for the Mutual Benefit of Ourselves, Colleton and Beaufort Districts and Mankind Generally" - Colleton and Beaufort (SC) Sun.
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Slogans for Papers with Big Egos
"World's Greatest Newspaper" - The Chicago Tribune.
"An Independent Democratic Newspaper of the First Class Unchallenged in its Field" - Longview (TX) Daily News.
"Voice of the Rocky Mountain Empire" - Denver, CO, Post
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Slogan for Papers with Small Egos
"Maybe the Best Newspaper in Holland" - Trouw, Amsterdam.
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Simple but Effective Slogans
"The Paper you Can Trust" - Sydney Daily Telegraph.
"Your Community Connection" - Yukon News
"Local and Latest" - Evening Times, Glasgow.
"If It Matters To You, It Matters To Us" - The Herald, Everett, WA
"Your Region. Your Paper" - Times-Age, Masterson, NZ
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And finally, a slogan that gets to the basics from an ethnic paper in Canada:
"The Newspaper for Those Who Can Read."
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If your paper carries a unique slogan, please pass it along.
All my best,
Ken
My Advising Service: Several readers have asked me how my advising service for hometown papers works. Here's a brief summary of the system I use.
1. We set a date for my visit to your newspaper, which is typically 1.5 days.
2. I ask you to mail me materials that I can study before the visit such as rate cards, copies of the paper, circulation reports and financials.
3. About a week before the visit, I call the publisher for a 45-minute to a one hour phone interview to get a feel for your operation and its needs.
4. I e-mail an agenda for the visit.
5. I travel to the newspaper, and we work by the agenda for the day and a half.
6. It takes approximately two weeks to complete my report and accompanying addendums.
7. After the report is delivered, I'm available at any for follow-up or help with any problem or opportunity. There is no additional charge.
The cost is affordable for any newspaper, and the benefits are tremendous. For more information, just drop me an e-mail to blummer@aol.com.
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