Dean Ken Paulson and professors Leslie Haines, Phil Loubere and Jason Reinke represented the MTSU College of Mass Communication at the Tennessee Press Association Winter Convention and Press Institute in Nashville on Friday, Feb. 7.
Haines presented a talk entitled “Hierarchy, Helvetica and Headlines. Oh, my!” entailing tips on typography and layout techniques to improve the look of any paper. Loubere’s talk centered on resources for small papers with small budgets. Paulson was the keynote speaker at Friday’s luncheon. His topic, “The Real Value of Newspapers: Digital, Dollars and Democracy,” looked at new models and old values and was a reminder of why America needs newspapers now more than ever.
The poll coincided with President Obama’s visit to Nashville’s McGavock High School on Jan. 30, where he delivered a speech on jobs and the economy. According to the recent poll, 55 percent majority of Tennessee residents do not approve of the job Obama is doing, while only 30 percent approve.Only 14 percent of Tennesseans approve of Congress’s performance.According to Reineke, if results are viewed across all of the president’s years in office, approval numbers show a slow and steady drop.
Jason Reinke at the TPA, delivering results of the latest MTSU Poll. Photo by Andrew Oppmann.
“Although the year-to-year differences are rarely significant, there is a clear trend in approval for President Obama going from bad to worse in Tennessee over time,” Reineke said.
“In other words, while the number of Tennesseans who disapprove of the job Obama is doing has held fairly steady, approval has noticeably softened over the course of his presidency.”
The MTSU Poll is conducted statewide twice each year to assess Tennessee residents’ opinions on different issues. For more on the most recent MTSU Poll, please click here.
The Tennessee Press Association was founded in 1870 for the purpose of creating a unified voice for the newspaper industry of Tennessee. Today, TPA continues to provide assistance to its 125 member newspapers by monitoring legislative activities, providing training programs, issuing press credentials, maintaining a website and employment database, and providing regular meetings and forums to foster the exchange of information and ideas. For more information about the association and the convention, visit http://www.tnpress.com/about_tpa.html TLE
The Leading Edge 
Leave a Reply