October 26, 2006

Wendy Zomparelli, president and publisher of The Roanoke (Va.) Times and roanoke.com since 2000, will retire in February. She will be succeeded by Debbie Meade, currently advertising director of the newspaper. Meade also has worked in The Roanoke Times' news and circulation departments and was human resources director for seven years.

James C. Austin has been named publisher of The Parkersburg (W.Va.) News and The Parkersburg Sentinel. Austin most recently was group publisher of The Post-Journal group of newspapers in Jamestown, N.Y. As publisher of The News and Sentinel, Austin also will oversee The Marietta Times, The Ad-Mailer, the statewide Graffiti alternative news magazine, and the Parent Magazine of the Mid-Ohio Valley, Parent Magazine of the Tri-State Area and the Parent Magazine of Kanawha County. Austin succeeds Michael Christman, who had been publisher of the News and Sentinel since 2000 and is now publisher of The News-Sentinel in Fort Wayne, Ind., and chief executive officer of the Fort Wayne Publishing Co.

Bill Ketter has been named vice president of news for Community Newspapers Holdings, Inc. The announcement was made by F. Steve McPhaul, senior vice president, newspaper operations for CNHI. Ketter had been serving as the editor and vice president of news for the Eagle-Tribune Publishing Group of four dailies and four weeklies, headquartered in North Andover, Mass. Ketter's experience includes that of reporter, editor and vice president with UPI. He is a former Boston Globe vice president, former chairman of the Boston University Journalism School, and is a member of the Pulitzer Prize Board at Columbia University. Ketter, who will remain in North Andover, is replacing Brad Dennison who has accepted a position in the Chicago area.

Michael J. Harris has been named sports editor of the Richmond (Va.) Times-Dispatch. Harris joined the staff of The Richmond News Leader in 1978 as a sportswriter. Since the merger of The News Leader with The Times-Dispatch in 1992, Harris has covered a variety of beats and events, including two Olympics. In 2003, Harris was named assistant sports editor and in August, he became acting sports editor following the retirement of former Sports Editor Jack Berninger.

Norbert (Bert) Ortiz has been named director of circulation for the Orlando (Fla.) Sentinel, effective Nov. 13. Ortiz will oversee the company’s circulation activities, including circulation marketing, customer service and distribution functions. Previously he was subscriber marketing & sales director for the Chicago Tribune, whose parent company, the Tribune Company, also owns the Orlando Sentinel.

The University of Southern Mississippi will launch a fundraiser in the name of longtime journalism professor Dr. Robert Gene Wiggins at an evening roast Nov. 17 at the Hattiesburg Country Club. The Dr. Robert Gene Wiggins Endowment for the School of Mass Communication and Journalism will support undergraduate scholarships and graduate fellowships for students pursuing degrees in the school. Wiggins has taught at Southern Miss for 33 years.  He served as director of the School of Communication from 1981 to 2001.  He is currently coordinator of the graduate program in the School of Mass Communication and Journalism.

Audio CDs, PowerPoint Presentations From SNPA Convention Now Available
Audio CDs and PowerPoint presentations from the general session programs at SNPA's 103rd Annual Convention now are available from the SNPA office. To order these presentations, click here.

The Boomer Opportunity: #1 Target for Newspapers

John W. Martin

The 78 million people who make up the Baby Boomer generation should be the number one target audience that newspapers focus on, according to John W. Martin, co-founder of The Boomer Project and president/CEO of Southeastern Institute of Research, Richmond, Va.

In an hour-long presentation at the SNPA Annual Convention, Martin talked about where Boomers fit in with newspapers, what makes them tick and 10 things newspapers can do right now to maximize the Boomer opportunity.

Martin told SNPA publishers, "The old thinking is that the paid daily should be all things to all people. We believe the new mantra should be that paid dailies should be hyper-focused on its core readers. These are the last folks that we want to lose to the Internet."

He advised newspapers to:

• Design for fast grazing. Use strong headlines, keywords, large type, bold/accurate statements, compelling stories, well-crafted packages and limited use of jumps.
• Design for reading comfort, being careful with the use of color. Use pastel colors, which are easier on older eyes.
• Run positive stories whenever possible.
• Make stories compelling. Tell a human story.
• Talk about life's stages – not ages – in stories and features. Martin says people's lives are very much like the four seasons – spring, summer, autumn and winter. Each one's about 20 years long. Through each stage, people have a different focus on life – a focus that changes over time.
• Base marketing position on readers' needs. Find the most compelling need in the market and own it.
• Be conditional and offer choices and solutions. Stay away from "best" and "only" claims when marketing the paper. Instead, talk about attributes and the benefits of reading the paper.
• Aim inwardly. Newspapers need in-depth understanding of their Boomer customers and what's happening in their lives. Humanize the paper by keeping these questions in mind: Is this story about something that could happen to me? Does it look out for my interest? Does it connect to my life and community? Does it make me smarter?
• Become an "experience" newspaper. Boomers are into experiences. They want to be connected with their communities and they want to participate...to be engaged. Newspapers need to make their brand part of the fabric of the community that they serve.
• Keep exploring and learning. Readers are evolving; stay in touch with them.

SNPA members are invited to subscribe to The Boomer Project's free newsletter to receive monthly insights about connecting with Boomers over 50. Click here to subscribe (then scroll to the bottom of the page).

Publishers wanting more in-depth information about traits and preferences among the Boomer generation, research done with the Richmond (Va.) Times-Dispatch and details about Martin's 10 suggested steps for reinventing the newspaper can listen to Martin's full convention presentation. Click here to order a CD containing an audio presentation of Martin's talk.

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Publix: 'Our Company, Our Community and Our Business Relationship with Newspapers'

Ed Crenshaw

Although he's heard reports that say newspaper readership may be declining, Ed Crenshaw, president of Publix Super Markets in Lakeland, Fla., can't imagine a world without newspapers. "Even with the growth of computers and the Internet, I have a feeling that you're always going to be around," he told publishers gathered last week in Naples for SNPA's 103rd Annual Convention.

Crenshaw says newspapers represent one of the company's most important partners, noting that Publix routinely advertises in 158 newspapers using a combination of inserts and ROP. The company has 884 stores, 11 distribution centers and 11 manufacturing facilities in five states – Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee.

He offered two suggestions to publishers about how Publix could better work with newspapers. He says Publix enjoys participating in NIE and other sponsorship programs. But, he would like to gain a better understanding of the advantages of being a sponsor. He thinks Publix and newspapers would be better off if they each narrowed their focus and became more selective about what they become involved with.

He also encouraged newspaper reporters to work with the Publix media relations team. He said, "Some companies prefer to let their executives speak to the media. Other companies – like Publix – have certain associates to communicate through the media."

Newspapers that have Publix stores in their markets can gain a better understanding of the company's relationship with the community and local newspapers by hearing Crenshaw's full presentation. To order a copy of the audio presentation, click here.

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Who Will be Left Standing?

Don Logan

The average American spends 14 hours a week watching television, 14 hours a week on the Internet, two hours a week reading newspapers, and one hour a week reading magazines, according to figures shared at the SNPA Annual Convention by Don Logan, retired chairman of Time Warner Media & Communications Group. "Certainly, we have our challenges cut out to keep them reading," he said.

Logan says the big battle on the Internet is all about consumers – what they want, when they want it and how they are going to receive it. He told publishers, "I don't think any of the players – including Google – are ready to rule the universe yet. I think consumers still have a lot to say about what they want and what they are willing to pay for."

He also said there is still a lot that is unknown about consumer behavior. "We don't know what our role is. We don't know what they are willing to spend money on. We don't know what some of the services that haven't even been invented yet are going to be – so we have to be diligent in what we do."

To hear his full comments about the Internet, cable TV, radio, wireless and more, click here to order a CD with his 45-minute audio presentation.

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1st District Court of Appeal Overturns False-Light Claim Against Pensacola Paper
An $18.28 million verdict against the Pensacola (Fla.) News Journal and Gannett Co. was reversed last Friday in connection with a 1998 article in the paper about a state road paver.

The News Journal reports: "The 1st District Court of Appeal ruled that Joe Anderson's case should have been dismissed because he mischaracterized his lawsuit as a 'false-light claim' to get around a two-year statute of limitations that applies in libel cases."

To read the full article in the Pensacola News Journal, click here.

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Judge Says One-Year Statute of Limitations Applies to Internet; Libel Suit Dismissed
The Dallas (Texas) Morning News reports that a federal judge has dismissed a defamation case against it in a ruling that could have a significant impact on libel actions against online publications.

An article by Brendan M. Case in the Oct. 18 edition of the paper says that U.S. District Judge David Godbey of Dallas ruled that Texas' one-year statute of limitations on libel actions begins when an article is first posted on the Internet and ends a year later even if the article remains available on the Internet.

"The court sees no rational reason for distinguishing between the Internet and other forms of traditional mass media," Judge Godbey wrote in a court order dismissing a libel case brought by an Ohio company against The News; the newspaper's Dallas-based parent company, Belo Corp.; and personal finance columnist Scott Burns.

To read the full article in The Dallas Morning News, click here.

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Virginian-Pilot Wins World Young Reader Prize
The Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk, Va., has won a World Young Reader Prize in the editorial category for a strategy that turned a print youth section into an innovative multimedia component for the paper.

The paper was recognized for 757, a youth section that combines print, podcasts, online videos and a presence on myspace.com. The project also provides a youth editorial for the newspaper's opinion page.

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Free Mock Election Materials Available to Newspaper NIE Programs
The Hartford (Conn.) Courant will be National Election Headquarters for Mock Election Night, Nov. 2, and Tricia Barrett, a long-time NIE coordinator and Connecticut Mock Election Coordinator, will be at the helm.

November 2 will be Mock Election Day – the 26th year for the Mock Election. NIE coordinators can request free National Student/Parent Mock Election materials for use in local classrooms. Schools and teachers have until Nov. 1 to enroll their classes, schools or community groups in the National Student/Parent Mock Election. This can be done online at www.nationalmockelection.org or via phone 1-520-877-VOTE (8683) or fax 1-520-742-3553.

Newspapers may publish part or all of the Mock Election curriculum materials found at http://www.nationalmockelection.org/curriculum.html.The curricula cover grades K-12 and are designed to support the National Standards for Civics and Government.

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Newsprint Consumption Down 8.9 Percent in September
Newsprint consumption by U.S. daily newspapers was down 8.9 percent in September 2006 compared with September 2005, according to the monthly newsprint statistical report published by the Newspaper Association of America.

Final inventories averaged 42 days supply at the end of September 2006, compared with 41 days a year earlier. Stocks were down 7.2 percent.

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

For the full report, click here.

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• Last week's eBulletin reported that WEHCO Media has signed a $3.7 million order with Goss for a four high Colorliner press to add to its existing 8-unit Goss Headliner Offset press in Lowell in Northwest Arkansas. The report should have said WEHCO Media purchased a Goss Uniliner tower, not a Goss Colorliner. SNPA regrets the error.
• Be Jane, Inc. and Publishing Group of America have announced their partnership to bring a weekly home improvement column geared toward women to newspapers throughout the country. Each week, "The Janes" of Be Jane (most recently featured on NBC's "Today" Show) will provide Tips & Tricks, Tooltorials and project ideas to readers in this "Ask Jane" column. Heidi Baker and Eden Jarrin – "The Janes" – will share seasonally relevant projects, simple home repair solutions and innovative improvement ideas.

Best Practice: Job Descriptions for the Next Generation of Jobs
New jobs are emerging in the newspaper industry and SNPA wants to help you share job descriptions for those new positions.

If you share job descriptions with SNPA for new jobs that have been created at your newspaper in the last five or 10 years, you will receive a free electronic copy of all job descriptions shared.

We are particularly interested in collecting job descriptions for jobs in the new media and niche publications areas – but we aren't limiting the sharing to that. Job descriptions for any jobs that you view as the "next generation" of jobs in the newspaper industry are invited. Perhaps you have new jobs in the production area. Perhaps you now employ salespeople to sell online ads. Or, reporters to write for your online, niche or advertorial products. This collection is designed to include any job at your newspaper that did not exist five or 10 years ago.

Electronic copies of job descriptions are preferred. To share job descriptions, e-mail them to cindy@snpa.org no later than Friday, Nov. 17. In early December, those job descriptions collected will be shared free with the publisher of every participating newspaper. Others will be able to purchase the job descriptions collection.

Ideas for this this section of the eBulletin are invited. Some ideas are generated from idea-exchange forums for publishers, which SNPA plans to institute across the South in the coming year for newspapers of various circulation sizes. The forums are designed to encourage publishers to meet with their counterparts at same-sized newspapers to share ideas and best practices and converse about relevant issues. The first forum brought together publishers from seven newspapers with circulations over 100,000, who spent six hours talking about innovations, niche products, new publications and cost-reduction ideas. The programs will make it convenient for virtually every SNPA publisher to participate in one-day, small-group discussions with other publishers – with minimal travel. If you would like to submit a great idea, send it to cindy@snpa.org. If you'd like to host a forum, contact Edward VanHorn at edward@snpa.org or (404) 256-0444.

Rob Curley: Hyper-Local Hero
Ten years ago, Rob Curley was covering city hall for the Topeka daily paper. Now he's lighting up the entire industry. In the November issue of fastcompany.com, read about how a "nerd from Kansas" discovered the web and hit the big time. Click here to read the article by Chuck Salter.

Divorcing the Daily Paper – The Empire Strikes Back!
Last week's SNPA eBulletin carried a link in this space to a column by a woman who said she cancelled her newspaper subscription because the subscription fee is out of proportion to how much she actually looks at it. One of our member newspapers reports, however, that this reader is still getting the Sunday paper. And, she got some pushback from readers of her blog after her article was published in the Oct. 12 issue of The Hook. Read some of the comments posted to Mariane Matera's blog from people who told her she was wrong:

• "Hey, there are a lot of reasons why newspapers are in trouble today, but the cost of subscribing is *not* one of them. My morning paper was delivered to my driveway today with 90 oversized pages of new content for 50 cents. Nothing else I purchase today will be so cheap. For someone who subscribes to HBO and XM to say the paper is too expensive is just a little much."
• "I couldn't disagree with this writer more. I too am a writer (w/a former background in newspapers). Now, I'm just a newspaper reader. I am continually amazed at the great value newspapers are for the money – national and local. There is so much info. packed into those pages, they do a much better job of covering the news than any other medium. TV news can only give the barest of summaries of what's going on. Open the paper and spend five minutes with it, and you'll be amazed at how much you can glean that you didn't know before."
• "A newspaper's price-value relationship is outstanding. It's exceptional. 50 cents per issue!!! This is costly? And, what difference does it make that the circulation has declined; how does that change their cost structure that would allow them to LOWER the price? However, the author is 100% correct in the time factor. Anyone who has responsibilities today (job, marriage, parenting, care of parents, etc.) is so overloaded that it's difficult to set aside the time it takes to read the newspaper . . . in other words, we don't have enough time to capitalize on all the features and benefits the newspaper provides!! Bottom line? It's not the product; it's the lack of 'downtime' to devote to the product."
• "My scrapbooks for my children are filled with honor rolls, sports stories, graduation, service news, engagement announcements, weddings, etc. from our local weekly paid newspaper. For $23 per year I also know who went to jail and for what, local deals at local stores and who the candidates are for school board, city council, etc. NEWSPAPERS COME IN DIFFERENT VARIETIES. Don't paint all papers with the same brush. Our local newspaper has no AP wire stories, just local news about local people. I couldn't get along without it."
• "This is a great time for news consumers. People who don't want to pay for a daily paper can get the news for nothing from TV or online sources that repackage newspaper-generated content. The interesting question is this: How much will that news cost us when newspapers are no longer around to produce it?"
  
  Reader's Corner contains, from time to time, links that require registration on another site. Registration rules and requirements are established by the host site and participation by eBulletin readers is entirely voluntary. Articles cited here do not necessarily reflect the opinions of SNPA or its Board of Directors. Links refer the reader to the source material.

Go Local, Go Deep, Position for the Future

By Peter M. Zollman

As audience migrates online at a remarkable pace, too many newspapers are positioning for the past.

They’re trying to convert twice-a-week readers into three-times-a-week readers. They’re using every trick in the book to increase print circulation. They’re focusing on selling more inserts, more classified “liners” – frequently giving them away – and more small print ads to more small advertisers.

Great ideas, all. I wouldn’t denigrate a one. But why not instead focus where the audience is going? Why not position for the future, instead of the past?

Will newspapers still be printed for the next 20 or 30 years? Most probably. But will the generation that’s now teenaged or younger suddenly come to rely on newsprint as it matures into a generation of 20s and 30s? Not a great idea to bet your future on that!

With that issue in mind, I spoke a few weeks back at the Western Classified Advertising Association. It’s a wonderful group, and unlike many conferences I attend it focused heavily on the changes classified advertising departments face. (Contrast that with so many newspaper association conferences, where the classified presentations are all about protecting print from the “encroaching Internet.”)

As I spoke about the changes in real estate, recruitment, automotive and other classified categories, one theme came to mind: A local newspaper has several strengths, but its No. 1 advantage is clear – its ability to out-local anyone else.

So the theme of my presentation was simple: “Go local. Go deep. Position for the future.”

Should a local newspaper not provide national tools, or national content? Of course it should. And regional networks are extremely valuable – news content, classifieds, regional retail advertising. But that newspaper should focus its effort on the place it can do the most good and have the most impact. Local. More local. And still more local.

A database of “just the classified liners” from the paper is not enough to serve the audience. Not when the local multiple listing service has lots of pictures of houses for sale. Not when auto dealers make the inventory of every car on their lot, and others, available for the viewing. Not when eBay has items for sale in your market; when Craigslist offers free ads for just about everything that you charge for. And not when Monster.com, CareerBuilder.com and niche sites of every stripe include  long, detailed job descriptions of jobs in your market that aren’t in your newspaper. (Don’t believe it? Send me an e-mail and I’ll prove it to you. No charge.)

Go local. It’s obvious. None of the national sites knows your market better than you do. They won’t capture schools information with day-in, day-out coverage of the education scene in your area. They can’t offer local video clips on a real estate site – generic clips, perhaps, but nothing truly local.

Go “deep.” What does that mean? Ideally, your database of online ads will include information about every home for sale in your market. Every car on a dealer’s lot, and every private-party seller’s car, too. Every job in the area. And more. It’ll include extensive editorial content about all of those verticals. Plus data about schools. Home prices. The largest, the best, the most “family friendly,” the growing employers. Things a buyer can’t find anywhere else.

Recently, Classified Intelligence and ERE Media surveyed recruiters about their advertising spending habits and trends. Almost half of the participants said they plan to increase spending with online job sites this year over last; 43 percent said they would cut spending on print. One recruiter called print “less and less effective every year, as the new generations don’t read the classifieds.” (The report, “Recruiters Rate Advertising Effectiveness,” is available through ClassifiedIntelligence.com.)

Similar results are clear in the automotive and real estate categories. Circulation and readership numbers for newspapers make the related downward trend obvious: Fewer people are using the printed product; more are going online.

Faced with that inevitability, doesn’t it make sense to “position for the future?” Focus where the audience is going?

That’s one of the things that made Wayne Gretzky great as a hockey player. Although Gretzky is often quoted (incorrectly) as saying so, it was actually his father, Walter, who taught Gretzky, “Go where the puck is going, not where it has been.”

Good advice, too, for a newspaper publisher.

Peter M. Zollman is founding principal of Classified Intelligence and the AIM Group,  consulting groups that work with publishers print and online to develop profitable interactive media services. For more on their services, visit their web sites, ClassifiedIntelligence.com and AIMGroup.com. Reach Zollman at pzollman@classifiedintelligence.com, (407) 788-2780.

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.