More than 100 black newspaper publishers are expected in Charlotte this month for the winter conference of the National Newspaper Publishers Association.

Host publisher Fran Farrer of the County News said the conference will mark the first time the group has come to the Qcity. The conference will be held Jan. 20-24 at the uptown Omni.

Farrer said she lobbied to bring NNPA to Charlotte not only to showcase the Charlotte market but to spotlight her weekly newspaper, which covers Iredell, Cabarrus, Catawba, Mecklenburg and Rowan counties.

The group had voted to meet in South Carolina, she said, but changed plans after recalling that the NAACP had not lifted its boycott of the state.

Topping a list of concerns will be economics. Farrer said black publishers are frustrated that their newspapers are being largely shut out as the federal government spends billions to promote the 2010 Census.

She also questioned why auto makers and groups promoting health care reform don’t spend more with the black press.

“Black folks buy as many cars as anybody else,” she said, “but they give us just two percent of the advertising.”

To be sure, print publications in general have seen ad revenues plummet as more advertising dollars chase younger readers who have gone online. But the Internet alone, some publishers say, cannot explain the dearth of advertising dollars directed toward black newspapers.

“The history of the black papers is that we put stories out there that no one else will put out there,” Farrer said. “I feel some of those dollars need to come to our industry.”

Charlotte Post Publisher Gerald Johnson said that despite the Internet trend, his print readership has grown, up 18 percent in the last year.

“Our readership is going through the roof, but the revenue is not keeping track of that,” he said.

Johnson said more of his readers also are getting their information from the Post’s Web site. Like all news consumers, he said, African Americans increasingly want information that reflects their interests and lifestyles.

Despite the tough times for print, Farrer said black newspapers may fare better than their larger, mainstream cousins.

“One thing about the black press,” she said: “It’s always been a struggle for us. It’s hurting us, but it’s not hurting us as much as it’s hurting the dailies. We’re used to fighting. We’re used to struggling. ”
 

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