Kevin Slimp Online
Kevin Slimp is a favorite speaker and trainer in the publishing world. He can be reached at kevin@kevinslimp.com.

Current Newsletter

When Less is More in Newspapers

Feb 01, 2024 at 06:30 pm by INT

In late January, I had such a good time visiting with the publishers of the Wyoming Press Association at their annual convention. I spoke on a few of my favorite topics: Growi.... Read More

Predicting 2024 for Newspapers

Jan 10, 2024 at 10:45 pm by INT

Making bold predictions is easy. This year, I’ve paid close attention to forecasts by respected sportswriters in national print and online publications to see how my foo.... Read More

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Recent Columns

Readers help compile New Year list

Jan 02, 2018 at 01:24 pm by staff

I suppose any time is the right time to look over your newspaper operation and search for ways to make improvements., but the beginning of the year seems especially appropriat.... Read More

Keeping Up With Styles

Oct 17, 2017 at 03:50 pm by staff

Speeding up your workflow while improving your design in Adobe InDesign At the 21st session of the Newspaper Institute last week, Ed Henninger and I did something we've neve.... Read More

Sharpening Your Focus

Sep 13, 2017 at 03:54 pm by staff

Focus groups can change the way you create your newspaper I guess it comes with experience (that sounds better than "age"). In the "old days" when I visited a newspaper, it wa.... Read More

Online Training Available at Newspaper Academy

Mar 06, 2017 at 04:20 pm by staff

NewspaperAcademy.com features training you need from people you trust. Join Kevin Slimp, Ed Henninger, John Hatcher, Tim Smith and other trusted names in newspaper training fo.... Read More

Meeting Deadline: Learning to Get Along

Jan 27, 2017 at 01:09 pm by staff

A few years ago, I spent several days with a newspaper in Tennessee. They were converting from an editorial workflow based on QuarkXPress to InDesign and asked if I would be o.... Read More

Know When to Fold Them

Nov 21, 2016 at 09:54 am by staff

While in Minnesota last week, I had an assignment similar to assignments I've had many times during the past 20 years: to spend a day with a small community newspaper group, m.... Read More

This Story is About Hamburgers: If you think it's about something else, you are wrong

Nov 21, 2016 at 09:37 am by staff

This story is about hamburgers. Nothing else, just hamburgers. If you think it's about something other than hamburgers, you are mistaken. This story is simply about hamburgers.... Read More

Learning what I can from really smart people: Interviews with experts yield valuable information

Oct 11, 2016 at 08:45 am by staff

I live a charmed life. Last week, I spent four days with nine of the top newspaper experts in the business, along with journalists from 22 states at The Newspaper Institute in.... Read More

Iris Chyi, John Oliver and hundreds of journalists leave me no choice but to write this column

Sep 02, 2016 at 08:14 am by staff

Those of you who write columns for a living know what I'm talking about. This is one of those days when I'm not sure what to write. It's not that I lack subject matter. The op.... Read More

Pressing Issues

Jul 14, 2016 at 11:34 am by staff

If a person hangs around long enough, he's bound to get noticed. That's my theory anyway. When asked why I receive so many requests for help from newspapers, I simply mark it.... Read More

Front Page

What I learned from 6 small Nebraska papers

Feb 22, 2014 at 04:33 pm by staff

So many topics, so little space. This morning, I created a poll on my Facebook wall, which includes thousands of newspaper friends, and asked for help in deciding among three.... Read More

Advice For a New Publisher

Feb 12, 2014 at 04:04 pm by staff

So tonight I was sitting with my son, Zachary, at Dragon Den. After a bite of his eggroll, Zach stopped and turned to ask a question. “Dad,” Zach asked, “what happens with all.... Read More

People are talking bout COLOR

Jan 15, 2014 at 01:38 pm by staff

Color. It seems to be on the minds of newspaper publishers and production managers everywhere. Without a doubt, the second most requested task I’ve been given by newspapers i.... Read More

Tale of Two Newspapers

Nov 13, 2013 at 08:09 am by staff

I had to laugh a few days ago, when I saw my pic on the top fold of the front page of a monthly industry pub with the headline, “Slimp’s invention has served newspaper industr.... Read More

An aMUSEing tale about digital design

Oct 31, 2013 at 03:34 pm by staff

Back in the days of CS5, it became relatively simple for an InDesign user to design a website in InDesign, then export it as a Flash file that could be viewed online. Although.... Read More

Tools & Tips for InDesign and Photoshop Users

Sep 18, 2013 at 09:10 am by staff

I spend a lot of time at newspapers, training staffs in Advanced InDesign, Photoshop and PDF workflows. It’s funny, no matter how long someone uses these applications, there a.... Read More

How Changes at Metros Impact Community Papers

Aug 21, 2013 at 08:54 am by staff

This month’s column is dedicated to my friends in the community newspaper world. So much is going on in our business - and I receive so many messages asking me to write about.... Read More

Software Q & A

Jul 23, 2013 at 08:46 am by staff

People seem to have a lot of questions concerning layout software these days. I suppose it’s only natural with all the changes at Adobe and Quark. Let’s look in my in-box and.... Read More

Storm Clouds Brewing at Adobe?

Jun 11, 2013 at 10:57 am by staff

When I was a college student living in Texas, I got used to hearing people say, “Boy, howdy.” This wasn’t a greeting, as you might think. It was more along the lines of “You’.... Read More

Adobe Announces Creative Cloud

Jun 11, 2013 at 10:53 am by staff

My mailbox has never been as full as it’s been lately. Publishers and editors from all over the place have been writing concerning two topics: 1. What do I think about Adobe’.... Read More

Taking Control of Your Time

Mar 12, 2023 at 09:49 pm by INT

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

The Secret to Newspaper Growth

Feb 22, 2023 at 10:45 pm by INT

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

A few reasons some papers grow

Jan 22, 2023 at 10:13 pm by INT

I’m going to let you in on a little secret. I don’t plan these columns in advance. Most months, I receive an email from newspaper industry executive Jack Guza remi.... Read More

Design issues faced by most newspapers

Nov 16, 2022 at 11:27 pm by INT

As I write this, I’ve just returned from a trip to Marysville, Kansas, where I worked with the staff of The Marysville Advocate on their new design, which went to the pr.... Read More

Even more about Adobe Type 1 and your newspaper: Time to prepare for Jan 1

Sep 28, 2022 at 11:30 am by INT

Excuse my repetition, but for those who didn't read my column last month titled, "Planning for Adobe Type 1 Conundrum in January," there is a storm brewing, and it's not comin.... Read More

Paying Attention to Readers Yields Increased Readership & Revenue

Sep 09, 2022 at 10:00 am by INT

In 1849, French writer Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr wrote, “plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose.” (The more things change, the more they stay the.... Read More

A Tale of Two Publishers

Jul 12, 2022 at 06:31 pm by INT

I’m not that old. Seriously, I’m not. But in my work with newspapers, I’ve worked with so many younger people that I sometimes feel like Yoda (for you Star W.... Read More

4.5 Hours of Training by the News Guru at 1 Low Price!

Jul 06, 2022 at 04:23 pm by staff

In all, these videos include 4.5 hours of training for everyone on your staff. Topics include: Designing (and redesigning) better pages Creating more effective ads to imp.... Read More

Growing Readership

May 07, 2022 at 06:28 pm by INT

I had a great time last month, as I got out a little more to visit newspapers in multiple states. What I learned inspired, invigorated, and reminded me of much that is going w.... Read More

CBS and the Death of Newspapers

Mar 04, 2022 at 01:17 pm by INT

It’s late as I write this column, just around midnight. There’s nothing unusual about that. I tend to write my columns, stories, and books late in the evening. App.... Read More