Generating excitement among readers and advertisers
Generations is an 8 ½ by 11 glossy magazine that is intended to look like a magazine, not like part of a newspaper, says Brenda Bennett, regional sales manager for the SCNI newspapers in Conyers, Covington, McDonough, Jackson and Jonesboro, Ga. "I think the key to the success of the book is that we're reaching outside of our media markets and looking for stories and travel ideas and food, and it also helps to have a major retailer in the mix."
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Upgrades that save money
Cost cutting at media companies doesn't have to involve the news product. Several participants in an SNPA video conference in April presented ideas that saved money on everyday business operations.
Keeping the lights on costs a lot less than it used to cost at The Jonesboro Sun in Arkansas. Publisher David Mosesso said the switch from fluorescent light bulbs to LED lights has cut the utility bill by 28 percent, or $1,000 month, and the lighting part of the bill by 68 percent. "It's strictly math," he said.
Mosesso credits his production manager, Roger Brumley, with taking the initiative and being skillful enough to do much of the work in-house.
MORECarmage Walls Commentary Prizes awarded
Editorial staff members from The Florida Times-Union in Jacksonville and the former editorial page editor of The Ledger in Lakeland, Fla., have been awarded top honors by SNPA in the Carmage Walls Commentary Prize competition.
First-place in the "over 50,000" circulation category went to Mike Clark, Roger Brown, Wayne Ezell and Ron Littlepage of The Florida Times-Union. First-place in the "under 50,000" circulation category was awarded to Glenn Marston, former editorial page editor of The Ledger.
Second-place honors went to John Railey, editorial page editor of the Winston-Salem (N.C.) Journal, and Anita Shelburne, opinion page editor of The Daily Progress, Charlottesville, Va.
The awards were presented by Lissa Walls Vahldiek, CEO of Southern Newspapers, Inc., Houston, Texas. Vahldiek is the daughter of the late Benjamin Carmage Walls, for whom this award is named.
Walls, whose newspaper career spanned seven decades, primarily owned community newspapers and advocated strong, courageous and positive editorial page leadership.
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We have a new website:
www.newspapers.org
America's Newspapers – the association formed from the merger of the Inland Press Association and Southern Newspaper Publishers Association – was ceremonially launched October 6 at its inaugural annual meeting in Chicago.
Dean Ridings will be its chief executive officer, effective Nov. 11.
America's Newspapers unites two of the oldest press associations to form one of the industry's largest advocates for newspapers and the many benefits to their communities, civil life, freedom of expression and democracy.
"Newspaper journalism provides a voice for the voiceless, challenges elected officials, shines a light on government, calls for change when change is needed, and exposes corruption and injustice," said Chris Reen, the president and publisher of The Gazette in Colorado Springs who will serve as the first president of America's Newspapers.
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New association launches today;
SNPA-Inland merger is complete
A new association formed by the consolidation of SNPA and the Inland Press Association was officially launched today. The name of the new association will be announced on Oct. 6 at the association's first annual meeting in Chicago.
Edward VanHorn, SNPA's executive director, said that the merger unites two of the country's oldest press associations into a progressive new organization that will use its bigger and more powerful voice to be an unapologetic advocate for newspapers.
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