I am often asked how we are able to grow the readership of our print publications while paid subscription newspapers continue to suffer from declines in circulation. The answer is two-fold.

First, it starts with our business model, which is based on providing our print and digital publications for free to our readers. Unfortunately, many paid circulation publishers became greedy over the years, increasing the costs for consumers to subscribe while providing less content (more on this in point No. 2). Charging more and giving less is not a good recipe for any business. This became more complicated when paid subscription newspapers decided to give away content on their websites for free. I challenge you to name any other industry that once had up to two-thirds of households buying their product and then acted dumbfounded when fewer people continued to purchase it because they could get it for free from the same company elsewhere. That decision by newspaper execs continues to be mind-boggling. For us, the digital option was simple. We give our publications away for free in print… and online. Our digital efforts do not exist to replace our print publications (and alienate our most loyal readers) but rather to enhance our print publications. That may change over time, but, for now, our print readership far exceeds our digital readership. Meanwhile, we are focused on providing as much news and information as we can through every available medium — for free.

Second, content truly is king. Michael Gartner shared a story with me a few years ago from Abe Rosenfeld, who was the executive editor of The New York Times. Rosenfeld’s father ran a lunch counter in Manhattan. He said there were lunch counters everywhere at the time, and business was awful for all of them. To help their bottom line, some of them started adding water to the soup. Their customers soon realized this and went elsewhere. Slowly, those lunch counters went out of business. Rosenfeld said his father took a different approach and added more tomatoes to his soup, and his customer base grew. That was Rosenfeld’s — and is Gartner’s — advice to improve newspapers. Newspapers and magazines today need more tomatoes — more content. And that content should be of the local variety, not filler pieces from other publications. At Big Green Umbrella Media, we spend substantial time and money on producing local content for our publications. Although we certainly don’t have it all figured out, we are convinced that a focus on local content is crucial to any success we may have.

So despite the fact that most paid newspapers and magazines are dying, all print is clearly not dead. We are proving it. Others are, too. There is also no doubt that in the media world — both in print and online — content is king. We are determined to prove that as well — one tomato at a time.  

Have a fantastic Friday, and thanks for reading.

Shane Goodman
Editor and Publisher
Times Vedette digital editions
shane@dmcityview.com
641-755-2115

I wish I had a dollar for every time I heard that question. The honest answer is that I don’t have anything else to compare it to.

For those of you who don’t know, my wife Jolene is the advertising director for our company and the person I lean on the most. As such, Big Green Umbrella Media is a family-owned and operated company. That is unique in most industries today, and it is especially rare in the world of publishing or media.

Jolene and I met in 1990 when I was employed at The Des Moines Register and she was at the Shopper News Network. Within a few months, Jolene began to work at the Register as well, and that’s when we began dating. I was hoping for a promotion as a supervisor, and I knew that dating someone in the department would not help my chances. So we kept it quiet until I left the Register to pursue other jobs in the industry — and then Jolene was promoted. Go figure.

We married a couple years later and decided to start a family. Jolene opted to quit her job at the Register and stay home to raise our first daughter. In addition, she worked part-time in the businesses I managed, serving as our circulation manager for one of the papers. She also remained involved in the industry, doing contract sales for the Iowa Newspaper Association, the Association of Free Community Papers, and Meredith Publishing. 

Jolene was patient when my career choices moved us to Nebraska and then back here. She focused the bulk of her energy on raising our three daughters. When we started our first lifestyle magazine in Johnston in 2007, she attended the launch party and then better understood my vision of what this company could be. It was then when she decided to get back into the business. That was the beginning of numerous roles Jolene has served here including advertising sales rep, sales manager, sales recruiter/trainer and now as the advertising director. I had to nudge her a bit with each role change, but she has grown more confident each time. We have had a number of employees who have made incredible contributions to this company, both past and present, but none have been as committed and loyal to our efforts as Jolene. 

She is my partner in life, and she is my business partner, too. That’s how I work with my spouse every day, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. 

Have a terrific Tuesday, and thanks for reading.

Shane Goodman
Editor and Publisher
Times Vedette digital editions
shane@dmcityview.com
641-755-2115

I have been doing some purging as of late. I pride myself in being a minimalist, but the “stuff” is stacking up in the garage, the attic, the closets, under the beds and seemingly every drawer.

Jolene and I have lived together in eight homes now, not including our childhood, college or apartments. As such, we purged many items during each of those moves. We also transported many of the same unopened boxes several times. Sound familiar?

This process of purging reminds me of three pieces of advice I received through the years. The first was to handle a piece of paper once. The same goes for voicemails, emails and text messages. Don’t save them to review later. Don’t let them pile up. And certainly don’t just ignore them. If you do — and maybe you can relate (or know someone who can) — you suddenly have thousands of these items, and the stress of that piles on, too. 

The second piece of advice was on to handle tasks immediately and not procrastinate. “Do it, ditch it or delegate it,” I was told by my first boss out of college. The best scenario is to do it right now, he suggested, and get it over with. Or if it simply isn’t important, ditch it. And if you can ask someone else you trust to get it handled for you, delegate it.

Recently, I read another related tip that said, “If you can do the task in less than five minutes, then do it right now.”

I try to use these three tips on every task I have and every piece of paper, every voicemail, every email and every text message I receive. They help, but they are not failproof, which is obvious by the “stuff” I am sorting through right now.

And the purge continues.   

Have a fabulous Friday, and thanks for reading.

Shane Goodman
Editor and Publisher
Times Vedette digital editions
shane@dmcityview.com
641-755-2115

I am not a big fan of flying in airplanes. I appreciate the time savings, but I could do without the rest of it. Too many people. Too small of a space. And not enough margin for error. I get anxious when flying, and things like COVID don’t help. But like many of you, I do fly a handful of times per year.

The most frustrating part of flying for me is arriving at the gate only to learn my flight has been oversold. You have likely dealt with this. Maybe you gave up your seat for vouchers. Or maybe you were stranded at the airport with no acceptable options.

Imagine this happening in any other industry. You buy a car online and show up at the dealership only to learn that the vehicle you thought you bought was sold to three other people as well. Or you purchase a home from a Realtor and arrive at the closing to learn that your home has two others there who bought it, too. Or, on a smaller level, you stop by to pick up groceries you ordered and are told your milk is no longer available, but the cashier will give you a 25-cent voucher if you come back in a few days.

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, this “bumping” or “denied boarding” is not illegal. Airlines are allowed to oversell their scheduled flights “in order to compensate for no-shows.” The DOT site also says some airlines do sell only enough tickets to fill every seat. Would you like to know which airlines those are? I would. Sounds like a great marketing promotion. “We won’t sell your seat to others!”

What if an airline offers to put you on standby on another flight that’s also full? You could be stuck at the terminal for a long time. It happened to me — for two nights at the Dallas/Fort Worth airport. Other Iowans I got to know in the airport who were in the same situation invited me to join them in renting a car and driving back to Des Moines. I respectfully declined, as I trusted the airline would take care of me. Bad choice. The car crowd beat me home.

Let’s say no passengers are willing to voluntarily give up their seat. Then what? Well, the airline will then force some passengers to forfeit their seats based on their check-in times, the fares they paid, or their frequent flyer status, according to the DOT.  

Bottom line, if you want to avoid being bumped on a flight, make sure you have a confirmed reservation, you check in to your flight on time, and you arrive at the departure gate on time. And be prepared to rent a car, assuming those are not rented out to multiple people, too. 

Have a terrific Tuesday, and thank you for reading.

Shane Goodman
Editor and Publisher
Times Vedette digital editions
shane@dmcityview.com
641-755-2115

I was in seventh grade when my friend Brad, who was in eighth grade, told me that guys like us can never use illegal drugs because we will get addicted. I didn’t fully understand his advice, but he was a year older than me and someone I admired, so I took heed. 

Today, I realize how the simple words of someone you look up to can impact the rest of your life. At that young age, I could have very easily been convinced to use illegal drugs in the same way I was convinced to avoid them. My life today may have ended up much differently.

To be honest, I never really understood the attraction to roll something up, light it on fire and breathe in the smoke. My parents both smoked cigarettes when I was growing up, and the relentless stench of that kept me from ever wanting to ever smoke a cigarette, let alone marijuana. I also wrestled in high school and college, and competing in that sport meant you had to have strong lungs. Smoking anything was not part of that plan.

Drugs that don’t require inhaling are a different animal. I had my appendix taken out when I was in my twenties. It had started to burst, and I was in the hospital for an extended time. I vividly remember the nurse giving me IV pain medication, and I vividly remember how incredibly good that felt. My friend Brad was right. I could have easily become addicted. Fortunately, it was not readily available to me.

Meanwhile, I did partake in moderate alcohol consumption, and I still do. My argument as an adult has been that it is legal, but I recognize that alcohol has created just as many, if not more, problems for people than illegal drugs. I am fortunate that drinking too much alcohol gives me a horrible hangover for multiple days. So as much as I may enjoy it, I have a painful reminder of why I need to do so in moderation. 

I am concerned about illegal drug usage and its availability to kids today. Habits are difficult to break, so we all need to form good ones and encourage others to do the same.

Several years ago, I reminded my friend Brad about his words of advice. He said he did not recall telling me that, but I do, and I owe him many thanks for steering me in the right direction. It is a reminder of how our words — and our actions — can be impactful to young and impressionable people.

Have a fantastic Friday, and thank you for reading.

Shane Goodman
Editor and Publisher
Times Vedette digital editions
shane@dmcityview.com
641-755-2115

Could you use a good night’s sleep? You are not alone.

We Americans tend to spend about a third of our lives in bed, but 164 million of us struggle to actually get to sleep. That’s right, more than two-thirds of us fail to get some serious shut-eye at least once per week. Sound familiar?

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 36.5% of U.S. workers get less than seven hours of sleep. We do seem to be searching for solutions, though. In fact, Consumer Reports shares that 41% of people use over-the-counter sleep aids several times a week.

Meanwhile, according to the Sleep Foundation, only 1 in 10 Americans consider sleep to be their top priority over fitness, work, hobbies and social life.

That’s a lot of statistics — and not much sleep. If only the fix was easy. Far from it. More than 70 types of sleep disorders exist with the most common ones being insomnia, obstructive sleep apnea, movement syndromes and narcolepsy.

Did you know humans are the only mammals that delay sleep? When other mammals are tired, they sleep. It works for my dog. Not so much for me. In my younger years, I enjoyed a Sunday afternoon nap while watching the Minnesota Vikings lose another close one on TV. Not anymore. Any sleeping after the noon whistle means this guy is up into the wee hours of the morning. 

But what about the snoring thing? My wife tells me it’s a problem. Once again, I am not alone. In fact, nearly half (48%) of Americans ADMIT they snore, according to the American Sleep Association. Jolene has a two-part solution: a not-so-gentle poke and some clear advice to “roll over.” The dog gets a treat for rolling over. I get a bruise. 

Admittedly, the fetal position does seem to subdue snoring. This may be why it is the most popular sleeping position with 41% of adults choosing to do so, compared to sleeping on the side (28%), lying on the back (8%), and lying on the stomach (7%), according to Sleep.org.

If you want to sleep better (and who doesn’t), try these tips: cool down your bedroom, get on a regular sleep schedule, turn off the electronics, avoid caffeine and read something that makes you relax. Then be ready to roll over. 

Have a terrific Tuesday, and thank you for reading.

Shane Goodman
Editor and Publisher
Times Vedette digital editions
shane@dmcityview.com
641-755-2115