September 28, 2006

The Commercial Appeal in Memphis, Tenn., a Scripps newspaper, has made five appointments to high-level positions. Rob Jiranek has been named vice president of sales and strategic planning. Paul Jewell has been named marketing director. Bob Pinarski is the new advertising director. Denise Holman is the new manager of classified advertising. Ron Gray has been named sales training and recruitment manager. Jiranek was partner and publisher in Charlottesville, Va.-based Portico Publications before moving to The Commercial Appeal. Jewell was marketing manager for The Commercial Appeal before his promotion. Pinarski was advertising director at the Erie Times-News in Erie, Pa., before coming to The Commercial Appeal. Holman was vice president of advertising at Gannett Co. Inc. and most recently was vice president of sales at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Gray came to The Commercial Appeal from BellSouth, where he worked in sales and sales management in the Memphis office for 13 years.

Cox Newspapers has announced that Robert “Sandy” Andrews has been appointed to the newly-created role of senior director of commercial printing. He will be responsible for developing a cost-savings program for Cox Newspapers’ commercial printing needs. He also will seek to maximize the financial opportunities for Cox’s own in-house printing operations. Andrews will report to Brian Cooper, executive vice president. Andrews has more than 25 years of experience in the newspaper publishing industry, having served in senior sales and managerial roles at Vertis Communications, Parade Publications, Inc. and Bowater Sales Company.

Adam Symson has been named director of content and marketing for the Scripps interactive media division. He previously was director of news strategy and operations for the Scripps Television Station Group. In his new role, Symson will assist the company’s interactive businesses in their implementation of branding strategies as well as act as a liaison between the interactive media division and other Scripps media properties to help with coordinated branding efforts.

NELA is adding to its commercial sales structure. Taag Erickson, who has been NELA’s inside sales manager, has been named regional sales manager commercial for the Eastern part of the U.S. David Burkhart, product manager for commercial, will cover the Western part of the U.S. as well as direct NELA’s commercial efforts. The remainder of the field sales force will solely focus on newspaper sales. Both Burkhart and Erickson report to Jurgen Gruber, director of sales for NELA USA.

SNPA Welcomes New Member
SNPA is pleased to welcome Adicio, Inc. as our newest associate member.

Adicio specializes in private-label online classified advertising solutions for careers, automotive and real estate markets, which serve the Internet's leading media companies and web portals. The company also just announced the launch of the CareerCast Southwest Regional Network, an alliance of job sites throughout California, Nevada and Arizona.

The new network enables employers to reach hard-to-find candidates in the region via partnerships with other regional network sites. Among the online job sites joining the new network are the San Diego Union-Tribune, Riverside Press-Enterprise, Orange County Register, Ventura County Star, Las Vegas Review-Journal, East Valley Tribune (Phoenix/Mesa), Scottsdale Tribune, Barstow Desert Dispatch, Victorville Daily Press and Hesperia Star.

In addition to its new Southwest Regional Network, Adicio offers the CareerCast National Network, an aggregation of job listings from more than 200 participating newspaper, magazine, trade association and broadcast media job sites. By posting to the National Network, employers can reach millions of high-quality job seekers from across the U.S. and Canada via a link from the job-search results on every participating site.

Terry Baker is vice president, sales and marketing for Adicio and can be reached at: 2382 Faraday Avenue, Suite 350, Carlsbad, CA 92008. Phone: 760-692-4131. FAX: 760-602-9260. E-mail: terry@adicio.com. The company web site can be found at: www.adicio.com.

To take a virtual tour of the New Media Facility, click here!

This year's convention features expanded educational programs on Sunday afternoon, as well as general sessions on Monday and Tuesday. Topics include new business opportunities for newspapers, relationships with advertisers, the changing media environment, the value and future of newspapers, making money with free classifieds and practical ways to create a constructive culture.

Speakers include:

• Ed Crenshaw, president of Publix Super Markets
• Don Logan, retired Time Warner Media & Communications Group chairman
• Dean Singleton, chairman of Denver-based MediaNews
• Walter Hussman, publisher of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in Little Rock
• The Honorable Jeb Bush, governor of Florida
• Toni Antonellis, organizational development expert and president of TSA consultants
• Edward Power, general manager, Targeted Publications & Media, Norfolk, Va.
• Trevor Collins, director of classified & interactive media for the New York Times Regional Media Group
• Maggie Krost, vice president/sales and marketing of The Birmingham News
• John W. Martin, co-founder of The Boomer Project and president, CEO of the Southeastern Institute of Research, Richmond, Va.
• Donna Moore, retail advertising director of the Fort Myers (Fla.) News-Press
• John Fish, publisher of the Naples (Fla.) Daily News

The convention will be held Oct. 15-17 at the Ritz-Carlton in Naples, Fla. To register, follow the links below:

• Online Registration.
• Faxable registration form.
• 2006 Annual Convention Program

Member companies can be represented at the convention even if they cannot attend by placing promotional materials in the registration bags that are given to each convention attendee. For information about sponsorship opportunities, contact Carole Kallansrude in the SNPA office.

SNPA, Zinser Law Firm, INFE Join Forces to Host Seminar on Circulation Strategies
SNPA is joining forces on Nov. 3 with The Zinser Law Firm and the International Newspaper Financial Executives to present a unique circulation seminar in Atlanta, Ga. The program, "Circulation Master Strategies," will examine circulation strategies as a composite, integrated whole, combining business, management, practical and legal components.

The program will be presented by David Kaspar, president of Kaspar Sho-Rack; Rick Hively, president of Wilson Gregory Agency, Inc.; and L. Michael Zinser of The Zinser Law Firm. Zinser is general counsel to seven circulation trade associations and INFE.

Topics to be covered include:

• "Newsrack Management and Strategy"
• "Newspaper Industry Insurance Issues"
• "The DM – Frontline Offense in the Independent Contractor War"
• "Preventive Legal Medicine – Newsrack, Workers' Comp and Independent Contractor Issues"

The program wil be held at the Wyndham Vinings Hotel in Atlanta from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The cost is $89.

To register, contact Meredith Green of The Zinser Law Firm at (615) 244-9700.

Click here for the complete program.

API Teleconference to Look at Innovative Solutions to Challenges, Opportunities for Growth
The American Press Institute has released a report detailing specific ways for newspapers to reverse the course of declining revenues and shrinking readership and to find new and profitable business models. The report is the result of API’s year-long research project, “Newspaper Next: The Transformation Project,” a collaborative effort to develop practical, market-tested tools and processes for achieving long-term industry survival and growth through innovation.

API will hold a teleconference to discuss this report tomorrow morning – Friday, Sept. 29, at 11 a.m. EST. Reporters may participate at no charge. For instructions on taking part, e-mail garmstrong@americanpressinstitute.org.

Electronic copies of the report are free. To request the link to the download site, contact Gayle Armstrong at API: garmstrong@americanpressinstitute.org. Hard copies are available for $50 to API corporate members and $100 to others. Details about ordering hard copies of the report are available at www.newspapernext.org or e-mail: garmstrong@americanpressinstitute.org.

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Scripps Sells Shop At Home TV Stations
The E.W. Scripps Company has reached an agreement to sell the five Shop At Home-affiliated broadcast television stations it owns to Multicultural Television Broadcasting LLC for $170 million.

Multicultural Television, based in New York City, is acquiring WMFP-TV in Boston; WOAC-TV in Cleveland; WRAY-TV in Raleigh-Durham, N.C.; WSAH-TV in Bridgeport, Conn.; and KCNS-TV in San Francisco. The transaction is expected to be completed over the next nine months pending license transfers and other approvals by the Federal Communications Commission.

The sale of the television stations follows the decision by Scripps earlier this year to divest Shop At Home. In June, Scripps sold the Shop At Home television network, including its Nashville studios and other assets, to Jewelry Television for $17 million.

Multicultural Television Broadcasting is a newly formed limited liability company created by Multicultural Radio Broadcasting Inc., a leading multi-ethnic media company with radio stations, cable and satellite television operations, and printed publications serving consumers in more than 22 languages.

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Teens Tune into News on Internet, Knight Foundation Study Shows
When it comes to using the Internet, high school students not only pay attention to the news, they like traditional news sources more than most might think. 

A majority of high school students say they’re plugged into the news on the Internet at least weekly, and they are getting most of their news from Internet portals and mainstream media web sites – not from blogs, according to a new survey of 15,000 high school students by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. 

“The digital revolution is increasing, not decreasing, the connection between American teens and news,” said Eric Newton, director of Knight Foundation’s Journalism Initiatives.

Students who go online get most of their news from the news pages of Internet portals like Google and Yahoo!, followed by national TV news sites, and local TV and daily newspaper web sites. Blogs came in fourth place, according to the survey, part of Knight Foundation’s 2006 Future of the First Amendment study.

A majority of high school students find TV, followed by newspapers, to be the most accurate news sources. They don’t trust the accuracy of blogs, according to the survey.

But despite their reliance on traditional news sources, nearly half of high school students say they also get news and information from entertainment programs like The Daily Show and others at least once a week.

Key findings of the survey include:

• 66 percent of high school students get their news and information from the news pages of Internet portals such as Google and Yahoo!, 45 percent from national TV news web sites, 34 percent from local TV or newspaper web sites, 32 percent from blogs and 21 percent from national newspaper sites.
• 45 percent of high school students say TV provides the most accurate news; 23 percent say newspapers, and 10 percent say blogs.
• 46 percent of students get news and information at least once a week from entertainment shows such as The Daily Show, The Colbert Report and South Park.
• 31 percent of high school students post comments on blogs or online columns at least once a week.
• Only 10 percent of teens say they are not at all interested in the news, mostly because they feel it isn’t presented in an interesting way.
• Nine of 10 teens are wired to the Internet through school and eight in 10 through the home.

Last week's SNPA eBulletin featured the results of a Knight Foundation update showing that U.S. high school students know more about the First Amendment than they did two years ago.

For the full findings of both parts of the 2006 survey, visit www.firstamendmentfuture.org.

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Newsprint Consumption Down 7.8 Percent in August
Newsprint consumption by U.S. daily newspapers was down 7.8 percent in August 2006 compared with August 2005. Final inventories averaged 48 days supply at the end of August 2006, compared with 48 days a year earlier. Stocks were down 8.1 percent.

There were four Sundays in August 2006, the same as a year earlier.

For the complete monthly newsprint statistical report from the Newspaper Association of America, click here.

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Newspaper Launches New Citizen Journalism Web Site
Yesterday, The Gazette in Colorado Springs, Colo., launched a new citizen journalism web site, Your Hub at ColoradoSprings.com. Area residents can write their own news stories or blogs and post them on Your Hub at ColoradoSprings.com.

Freedom Communications, which publishes The Gazette, promoted the new site, saying: "Citizen journalism is a frontier for those of us who make a living collecting and reporting the news. It is a little controversial, it's very interesting and it's definitely here to stay. Think of it as a virtual town square, a place where neighbors gather to share information, personal experiences, opinions and concerns. As others in the industry have pointed out, it is journalism for the people, by the people, our freedom of speech in pure form."

Your Hub currently has nine distinct web sites in the north and east parts of the region. Eventually, Your Hub at ColoradoSprings.com will provide citizen journalism sites for every part of The Gazette's coverage area.

Your Hub at ColoradoSprings.com also features tools for posting events, photos and classified ads.

Starting Oct. 26, Your Hub at ColoradoSprings.com will produce three zoned weekly tabloid newspapers filled with the best citizen journalism stories and photos submitted each week, plus some staff-generated stories and photography. There are plans for six weekly Your Hub papers.

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Gannett Introduces New Business: Gannett Video Enterprises
Gannett Broadcasting has launched a new business called Gannett Video Enterprises to provide high-quality, customized and cost-effective programming to other media for on-air, online and wireless distribution.

“We are taking the best, most exciting work from our award-winning television stations and customizing it for use by other media,” says Roger Ogden, president & CEO, Gannett Broadcasting, and senior vice president of design, innovation and strategy for Gannett. Ogden said Gannett Video Enterprises will be able to offer high-definition programming.

Clients will be able to choose from a variety of programming, ranging from full 30- and 60-minute shows for broadcast and cable to 1-3 minute segments for online, on-demand and wireless technologies.

Holly Nielsen has been named director of Gannett Video Enterprises and will oversee the day-to-day operation of the unit.

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Tampa Bay Times Celebrates Second Birthday
On Tuesday, tbt*/Tampa Bay Times, published by the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times, celebrated its second birthday. The “fast news you can use” daily paper was launched in September 2004 as a free weekly newspaper for busy, time-challenged adults, and was so popular it became a daily in March of this year.

The public was invited to help celebrate the occasion at a lunchtime party in Lykes Gaslight Park, in downtown Tampa. A second birthday celebration continues today at three Green Iguana locations in Tampa and in St. Petersburg.

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• To enhance its targeted marketing activities and improve its reporting capabilities, The Eagle in Bryan, Texas, has agreed to license MediaPlus® Circulation, MediaPlus® iServices Subscriber and MediaPlus® List MatchPlus from Publishing Business Systems. The Eagle has daily circulation of 22,843 and Sunday circulation of 25,277.

• Vertis Communications has introduced ¡Alcance!™ en tu Buzón, an advertising vehicle designed to deliver personalized, trackable retail promotions directly to the mailboxes of 2.1 million Hispanic homeowners. This co-operative direct mail product includes premium coupon pages and special, ride-along promotions to effectively impact the Hispanic consumers. The 12-page, bilingual booklet will be distributed in conjunction with major Hispanic holidays to specifically target multi-generational and multi-gender homeowners during peak shopping seasons.

• J.B. Kenehan Printing and Communication Services has added a second Goss web press at its Waukesha, Wisc., facility. The new 16-page M-500 press system includes a JF-40 folder. Goss International also supplied a Contiweb splicer, Ecotherm dryer and Omnicon press controls. The new M-500 press complements J.B. Kenehan's existing Goss M-130 web press, giving the company the ability to produce standard 4-, 8-, and 16-page signatures as well as digest forms and 4-, 8-, or 12-page tabloids.

• MacDermid, Incorporated has retained Merrill Lynch & Co. as its financial advisor. The company will assist a Special Committee of MacDermid's Board of Directors in reviewing and considering a proposal letter from Daniel H. Leever, MacDermid's chairman and CEO, to purchase all of its outstanding common stock.

• Quipp Systems, Inc. has received an order from the Eureka (Calif.) Times-Standard for one 10:2 Newstec High-Speed Inserter with Newscom 6 Insert Management Control System software. The complete system will be installed in the next few months. In addition, the Pensacola (Fla.) News-Journal, has purchased another Quipp Packman Packaging System. And, Quipp has sold six Model 501 Stackers to The Commercial Appeal in Memphis, Tenn.

• The Morton Tribune, a weekly paper in West Texas, has changed hands. Jeff Jordon, publisher of the Knox City (Texas) News, has acquired the paper from Chris Woolam and her late husband, Danny. Rollie Hyde of W.B. Grimes & Company represented the owner in this transaction.

Multimedia Journalism: Lesson Shared by The Billings Gazette
The Billings (Mont.) Gazette held a workshop in July to provide its staff with a basic primer of multimedia journalism and get them excited about trying it for themselves. Chris Cast, an online reporter and producer with the paper, says he "purposely spent a lot of time showing great examples of multimedia journalism to give the uninitiated an idea of what was possible and how best to use these powerful tools." Click here to read his overview of the workshop – available on the web site of TownNews.com.

Paid and Non-Paid Magazine Distribution Yields Similar Ad Action Response
The Value of Magazine Readership study, from the Magazine Publishers of America, suggests that many assumptions may not be accurate about the connection between consumers' reaction to magazine advertising and the price paid and circulation source for the magazines that they read. Click here for the latest research brief from the Center for Media Research.

Local Video Ads to be Trackable in 2007
Local online advertising faces another banner year in 2007, says Borrell Associates in its recent research release, as local businesses continue to seek new, more efficient ways to drive traffic to their web sites and to their businesses. It will grow to a $7.7 billion category in 2007, reflecting 31.6 percent growth over 2006. Click here for the latest research brief from the Center for Media Research.

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eBulletin Archives Now Available
Can't remember when you saw it in the SNPA eBulletin Find it in the eBulletin archives.

All of the SNPA eBulletins from November 2000 to the present are just a few clicks away. Here's how to access them:

• Log on to the members section of the SNPA web site – www.snpa.org.
• Choose "eBulletin" from the menu on the left rail of the home page.
• Enter your search term and press "Enter."
• Links to all the eBulletins in which that term appears will be listed. If you'd like to see all of the eBulletins, enter "eBulletin" as the search term.
• Have more questions Contact anyone on the SNPA staff at (404) 256-0444.

List Newspaper Job Openings on the SNPA Web Site
SNPA member newspapers can post job openings free of charge on the SNPA web site. To post your job, send the text of the ad to jobs@snpa.org. Most announcements will stay on the site for a month, but you can request shorter or longer runs. Click here to access the SNPA Jobs Board.