It has been one of those days. You’ve had them. It began with a website that wasn’t working like it was supposed to. When you have a website that lists items for.... Read More

Earlier this month, I traveled about an hour from my home to conduct focus groups for a weekly newspaper in Tennessee. Focus groups come in all sizes and shapes. This particul.... Read More

It’s been a while since a column has drawn as much response as my November review of Affinity Publisher, the layout application that has so many designers, editors and p.... Read More

As I write this column, vaccines are beginning to make their way to first responders, the New Year has begun, and maybe – just maybe – the world is seeing a light.... Read More

A few years back, I received an email from Nebraska publisher Rob Dump about a design application he’d read about named Affinity Publisher. He asked if I thought he migh.... Read More

Over the past few weeks, I’ve spoken (virtually) at five state and regional press association conventions. In all but one, my leadoff topic was “What’s Going.... Read More

So, what do professional speakers do during a pandemic? I can’t speak for all the speakers in the world, but among other things, I’ve been leading a lot of webinar.... Read More

It’s a crazy time for all of us. I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know. Like many of you, I’ve been working out of my home office for six.... Read More

I will remember fall '19 as a season of research. I was involved in two major newspaper studies: one related to Millennials for North Dakota Newspaper Foundation and one to de.... Read More

I spent my morning writing about mergers, buyouts, and bankruptcies. I don't know about you, but I'm ready to spend a few minutes on something more fun. For the past three or.... Read More

Like many of you reading this column, I've been in the newspaper business a long time. I began delivering daily papers for the Johnson City (Tennessee) Press-Chronicle when I.... Read More

Andy Warhol once said, "In the future, everyone will be world-famous for fifteen minutes." I've experienced those fifteen minutes a few times, but it comes less often these da.... Read More

I don't know about you, but my life seems to get busier with each passing day. I just finished publishing my second book in a month, began work on a major project to help rais.... Read More

It sounds like the beginning of a bad joke: "What do you get when you gather 760 newspaper executives and ask them how things are going at their papers?" That's just what I di.... Read More

An editor in South Carolina wrote to me yesterday, "I'm always amazed at your productivity." I get that a lot these days. Since yesterday, I've written an opinion piece that's.... Read More

I've been training and advising newspapers for 21 years, every since Larry Smith asked me to come look over his operation in LaFollette, Tennessee back in 1994. I worked with.... Read More

The best word to describe Minnesota Newspapers PHENOMENAL There's a reason I love my work so much. There's a reason that there are folks around the country waiting for me to r.... Read More

In retrospect, I love the email subject line: "Dead at deadline." The email came to me at 6:15 last night, just as I was getting ready to take my two teenagers out for dinner..... Read More

The Tennessee Press Association Foundation did it. On Friday, July 17, 2015, the new Tennessee Newspaper Hall of Fame was officially unveiled at a celebration that included pu.... Read More

When a person visits as many newspapers as I do, he starts to notice similarities. It used to be that most papers wanted staff training in InDesign (or QuarkXpress in years pa.... Read More

"It's a quarter to three," sang Frank Sinatra, "no one in the place 'cept you and me." I'm not sure why that song comes to mind. It might have something to do with the fact th.... Read More

I don’t know about you, but I’m not much of a sitter. By that, I mean I can sit through speech for a few minutes, but then I usually start to get bored. That’s when my mind st.... Read More

Admit it. If you

New Books For Newspaper Designers This has been an especially difficult column to write this month. I?ve tested several new software products, but none of them seemed worth.... Read More

Slimp?s Year End Review of Products At the turn of each year, I dedicate a column to my favorite products of the past year. Basically I ask myself, ?If I were starting a ne.... Read More

The past two decades have introduced unparalleled changes in technology, which have significantly altered the way we create newspapers. Beginning with the introduction of the.... Read More

I was speaking at a conference in Louisville, Kentucky over the weekend when I mentioned Thursby Software

Most of the books I recommend are basic

After testing RedEye Pro by Andromeda Software, I turned my attention to the latest version of Nik Multimedia

Many Photoshop users never venture into the realm of plug-ins. Plug-ins, referred to as

Adobe Studio Exchange is a free resource for users of Adobe software with actions, plug-ins, extensions, tutorials, and other helper files that allow you to easily add new fea.... Read More

Since 1997, Extensis Software has been creating great programs and plug-ins for the graphic design professional. A few of their most notable products have included SuitCase, P.... Read More