Contest Corner: Follow entry instructions, win Convention-on-us!

Each year, starting on the Monday following the contest entry deadline, INA staff members begin the process of checking all entries to confirm they are prepared correctly. Newspapers are contacted to resolve any questions prior to the entries being judged, to ensure that all entries are judged fairly and properly.  INA newspapers submitted 3,335 entries…

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Accepting 2021 contest entries!

The Iowa Newspaper Association is excited to begin accepting entries for the 2021 Better Newspaper Contests. These contests, held annually, were developed to foster competition and quality among Iowa’s newspapers. To encourage participation, INA will again offer “coupons” for three free entries to newspapers who did not enter the 2020 contests. In addition, INA will…

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Contest season is here!

The time many INA members eagerly look forward to each year is almost here. Click here to view the Call for Entries for the 2021 Better Newspaper Contests.   While we know the contests are exciting for many of you, we also realize the work and effort put into the process by INA members is…

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Iowa newspapers work together to deliver the news

This month, a derecho caused significant damage to newspapers across the state. Jennifer Williams, publisher of The Madrid Register-News shares her experience and gratitude for Harlan Newspapers in helping them print their community paper. When the derecho storm passed through Madrid on Monday, Aug. 10, at approximately 11 a.m., we knew that an entire tree…

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Tell the stories behind the statistics

By Jim Pumarlo Everyday news reports are filled with statistics as COVID-19 continues to dominate headlines.  The number of individuals who have tested positive and those who have died of the coronavirus. Patients hospitalized and those in ICU. Confirmed cases broken down by gender, ethnicity and county of residence. The tally of businesses that have…

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Senator Charles Grassley Supports Need for Small Business Expense Protection Act, S 3612

The following legislative alert was sent by the National Newspaper Association on July 15, 2020. Community newspapers that received the Paycheck Protection Program loans urgently need to have S. 3612 included in McConnell’s proposal.  Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, are leading the way to get their bill included. Senate Majority Leader Mitch…

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White and privileged

Julie Gammack, guest columnist This column is free to publish in your publication. A woman I’ve known for decades called last week and said, “I need to process something. It’s not easy to talk about.” Now, there’s a conversation starter. She was referring to discomfort she was feeling to the Black Lives Matter movement. She,…

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State Fair meeting was affront to open government

Randy Evans, executive directorIowa Freedom of Information Council The decision last week to cancel the Iowa State Fair was a reminder of the seriousness of coronavirus and the consequences of many people’s anxiety about returning to activities that normally are an important part of Iowa life. But the State Fair’s decision also illuminated an embarrassing…

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More Iowa newsrooms earn Facebook journalism grants

Facebook has announced more than 200 news organizations will receive nearly $16 million in grants through the Facebook Journalism Project’s relief fund for local news. Three Iowa newspapers in Carroll, Cedar Rapids and Des Moines in total received over $200,000 in grants. Cedar Rapids Gazette and Iowa Starting Line were announced as recipients during the…

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