Those of you who pay attention to such things – and I’m guessing that’s not too many of you – may have noticed I didn’t spend nearly as much time speaking at conventions in 2024.

It wasn’t because I didn’t get invited. I just decided to see what would happen if I took a year away from speaking to focus on other things.

I did several newspaper redesigns, which took a lot of time. I travelled from coast to coast and led focus groups for newspapers. I also spent more time at home, overseeing my businesses here.

After 30 years in the speaking business, I’ve learned a lot. Three times over those 30 years, I took a year away from speaking to focus on other things. I noticed two things that always seemed to happen after a year away from speaking. First, I saw a demand for my speaking increase significantly after a year off the road. I guess that makes sense. Secondly, it seemed like – not always on purpose – I reinvented myself after time away from the road. The focus of my speaking changed. New topics, along with new audiences, were often the result.

In the early days, I spoke almost exclusively about software. I would probably talk about it or teach related classes if it was a popular application. Next, almost by accident, I travelled to major universities to talk to faculty members about this new thing called the Internet and how it would disrupt the journalism world. Because of my role at the University of Tennessee Newspaper Institute, I was a trusted voice by most schools of journalism faculty. A few of you might remember when Rob Curley, now executive editor of the Spokesman-Review in Spokane, and I spoke – not together, but independently – to newspaper audiences about the potential for online news. I think Rob would agree that we both got some things right and some wrong.

I had an out-of-town subscriber sent us a note saying she didn’t think St Paul deserved such a “metro” looking paper.

Nebraska publisher

Following a break in the early 2000s, I found myself speaking a lot about the future of newspapers. Most folks had already decided there was no future, so I decided my role – at least for the next few years – was to offer a dissenting view on the subject. I made a lot of friends and a lot of detractors during that period. Saying newspapers weren’t dead wasn’t a popular opinion at the time.

I find myself at the beginning of another year after a break year”. I’ve already spoken at a few newspaper conferences, and my calendar is packed with upcoming conferences. Fascinating (to me, at least) is that I’m noticing the topics drawing the larger crowds are different than in previous years. I suppose that’s only natural.

Sure, I still get asked to teach software classes occasionally – photo editing classes are still a big draw – but most classes seem related to growing newspapers. People are especially interested in information about redesigning – which includes more than just the design – their newspapers and working with advertisers to create marketing campaigns. Sessions where I invite publishers to bring copies of their newspapers, which I critique in front of the audience, are especially popular. I’ve just had attendees write to me afterwards and tell me they were about to close their papers before attending one of my critiquing sessions and yes, the paper turned around after they returned home and made changes based on what they had learned. Audiences seemed to love learning about focus groups. Both what I’ve learned through leading focus groups throughout the US, and how they can conduct focus groups of their own.

Just to be clear, this isn’t a promotion for my work. I’ve never been busier and often wonder how I’ll finish everything. I hope readers understand from this column that newspapers evolve and grow continuously. I hear from publishers regularly who want me to know how their changes have revived – and sometimes, saved – their newspapers.

There’s no good reason to delay innovation. Gather your staff together immediately and begin discussing steps your newspaper needs to take to start revitalisation immediately.

I don’t know how many versions of me lie ahead. Still, in this edition, I’m enjoying seeing newspapers renewed and resuscitated after making decisions to make changes rather than giving in to the “newspapers are dead” mentality.

• Kevin Slimp is a consultant, author and trainer in the newspaper industry. From 1997-2018, he directed the Newspaper Institute of the University of Tennessee; he currently serves as chief executive of Market Square Publishing and chief guru at NewspaperAcademy.com