dvertising is the heartbeat behind the Herald as it brings life to all parts of the paper.
The money made from selling advertisements pays for more than $200,000 in operating bills to run the Herald each year.
The ad department has trained students throughout the Herald’s history to be better prepared for the real-world job market by equipping them with the knowledge needed to succeed.
Former ad staffer Liz Griffin said working for the Herald helped her to perfect her sales skills. She is currently working for Griffin Fundraising and Marketing in Louisville.
“My time as a part of the Herald ad staff was invaluable,” she said. “It really taught me the professionalism involved with the job.”
Griffin said the Herald taught her to sell her product to clients and customers and make herself marketable.
Former ad manager John Tebault said the advisors at the Herald used a “hands off” approach so students could learn and get experience of working under deadlines and working with other people.
“The advisers would let you stumble but never fall,” Tebault said. “They were always there to catch you and support you in decision making.”
He said the Herald is one of the most successful student organizations on campus.
“The university doesn’t realize what a gem they have with the paper,” he said.
Tebault has recently been hired by SMY Media, Inc., an advertising firm in Chicago.
Tom Yunt, president and chief operating officer of Woodward Communications, graduated from Western in December 1977.
Yunt said he would not be where he is today if it weren’t for his experiences on the Herald ad staff.
“It was just a good newspaper experience and good life lessons,” he said.
Learning how to communicate and interact in a business environment, as well as developing customer-client relationships are some of the key lessons taught to students working at the Herald, Yunt said.
“While working for the Herald, I felt honored to uphold the reputation that is associated with the paper’s name,” he said.
While the students who create the ads have gained experience, they also have gained recognition.
In the past two years, ad staff members have won eight national awards including consecutive wins for best in category for a promotional campaign. Nationally, they have won first place for best newspaper promotional ad.
Ad staff members have also won several Kentucky Press Association and Kentucky Intercollegiate Press Association Awards in numerous categories over the last two years.
JoAnn Thompson, Student Publications business manager and advertising adviser, said the awards that ad staff members have earned are wonderful, but they aren’t the department’s focus.
The ad department not only has responsibility to teach students, but it provides a service to the businesses that buy ads, she said.
Matthew Rountree, the Herald’s current ad manager, said the department’s top priority is to make sure customers are pleased with the what they purchase from the Herald.
“Without the advertisers, we might not have a paper – so we have to care for their needs,” said Rountree, an Elizabethtown graduate student.
The desire to please advertisers is so great that the Herald changed its publication dates from Tuesday and Friday to Tuesday and Thursday several years ago, Thompson said.
She said since Western is considered a “suitcase campus,” advertisers felt they did not get their full money’s worth when they bought an ad for Friday’s edition. The second publishing date was changed to a day that would be beneficial to students and the ad buyers.
“I feel this is one of the best forums for businesses to reach this market, and that’s why we exist,” Thompson said.
Rountree said that despite the need for ads, the idea behind the paper always has remained the same – to get information out to readers.
Reach Andrew McNamara at news@wkuherald.com.
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