anagrams - april 2015

WWW.ANANEWS.COM April 2015

Taking a look at newspaper’s biggest expense: newsprint � � � � � � � � page 10

Payson Roundup, supporting literacy project in its community � � � � � � � � � page 6

Connecting with readers, don’t forget the small things or the big ones either � � page 12

ANA is proud to bring its membership the annual Excellence in Advertising and Better Newspapers Contests for 2015. Since March, we have been featuring and promoting the contests in our weekly e-newsletter, This Week @ ANA and encouraging all our members to participate in the 2015 BNC and Excellence in Advertising contests.

In case you missed it, ANA has moved its contest management to Innovative Contest Entry Systems (ICES), a newspaper contest system built by newspaper

people for the newspaper industry. Developed by the Illinois Press Association, ICES will have the same categories and circulation classes that our members are used to.

In the 2015 rules packet you will also have instructions on how to set up an online account for your organization in the new system. It’s a very easy and straightforward process. Should you have any questions or need help in creating your account, please contact Julie O’Keefe at j.okeefe@ananews.

com or call her at (602) 261-7655, xt.110.

The packet also con-tains rules for eligibil-ity, circulation divisions (automatically calculated by the system to take out the guess work), which categories are for online entry, which should be en-tered by mail – and how to create labels for your mail-ins plus where to send them.

Here are some general items to keep in mind as you gather and prepare for the contests. Entry dates are May 1–29. Mail-in entries must be postmarked or received by May 29, 2015. Our new online system does not allow us to accept

See ConteStS and Convention on page 5

Advertising and BNC contests open May 1, introducing ICES

ANA NEWS Steven Pope currently holds the position of General Manager for AZ Local Media and also as Publisher for the Daily News-Sun, the Mesa Tribune, Gilbert Tribune and the Chandler Tribune. In this role Pope is responsible for the publication of 14 commu-nity newspa-pers and shop-ping guides, 16 websites, and a direct mail magazine in the greater Phoenix and Tucson areas.

Pope is a long term vet-eran of the n e w s p a p e r industry. Over his career he has worked in senior management positions for Gannett, Knight Ridder, Swift Communications, Media News Group and Huckle Communications and Freedom communications.

Immediately prior to moving to Arizona Pope was Chief Operating Officer for Huckle Communications located in Minnesota. In this role Pope was responsible for manage-ment of 13 newspapers, 17 web sites and assorted regional publications across Southern Minnesota.

Steve Pope joins ANA board

ANA NEWS

See ana board member, page 2

Steve Pope

General Manager, Az Local Media

Publisher, Daily News-Sun,

East Valley Tribune

| ANAgrams ■ April 2015

Prior to his work with Huckle was responsible for Freedom Communications publications in Colorado Springs, CO, Jacksonville, Alton, IL, Lima, OH, Sedalia, MO and Seymour, IN. Prior to his Freedom work Pope was General Manager for Colorado Mountain News Media and Publisher for the Vail Daily and before that Publisher/General Manager for the Observer & Eccentric Newspaper Group in Michigan and Vice President for the parent company HomeTown Newspapers. Pope has also operated his own newspaper and internet consulting company.

Pope holds a Bachelor of Science degree from California State University, San Bernardino, California in economics. He also holds a Master of Business Administration degree from California State University, Dominguez Hills with a concentration in marketing.

Pope believes in community service and has served on numerous Boards in every location he has lived. In Arizona he serves on the boards of the Benevilla and Mesa Chamber of Commerce organizations. In Minnesota he served on the Faribault Main Street Board of Directors and the Paradise Theatre for the Arts Board. In the Colorado Springs area he served on the Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, the Board of Directors for the Sports Corporation, The Fine Arts Center Board and the Colorado Springs Economic Development Council. He was also active at the committee level with the el Pomar Foundation and worked with the Care and Share organization as Co-Chair for the 2009 truckloads of Hope campaign. In the Vail area his community commitments included the Gore Range Natural

Science School (Board of Directors), Habitat for Humanity (Board of Directors), Vail Valley Youth Foundation (Board of Directors), Vail Valley Chamber & Tourism Bureau (Past Chairman), Bravo Music Festival (Past Chairman), Rotary (Board of Directors), Vail Valley Wine Auction (Past Chairman), Vail Leadership Institute (Executive Board), the Vail Valley Charitable Foundation and as a founding board member for the Round Up River Ranch. Over the years Pope has been very ac-tive in Chamber activities and has been Chairman or President of numerous Chamber of Commerce organizations.

At the state and national level Pope is currently on the Board of Directors for the Local Media Association and the Certified Audit of Circulations and is on the Board of Advisors for the Virgla Corporation.

Steve has three children ages 33, 30 and 18 years old. His wife Carolyn is a published book and newspaper author, a flight attendant for United Airlines and is a ski instructor.

ANAgrams is a quarterly e-publication produced by the Arizona Newspapers Association

1001 N. Central Ave., Suite 670 Phoenix, AZ 85004-1947

Office (602) 261-7655 • Fax (602) 261-7525www.ananews.com

ANA STAffPaula Casey

Executive Director / ext. 102 [email protected]

Julie O’Keefe Communications Manager / ext. 110

[email protected] Schwartz

Network Advertising Manager / ext. 108 [email protected]

Cindy Meaux Ad Placement Manager / ext. 112

[email protected] Straub

Accounting Assistant / ext. 105 [email protected]

ANA BOArd Of direCTOrSPresident

Don Rowley Publisher – Arizona Daily Sun

1st Vice President Donovan M. Kramer, Jr.

Co-Publisher – Casa Grande Dispatch2nd Vice President

Kit Atwell Executive VP – Western News&Info, Inc.

3rd Vice President Manuel Coppola

Publisher & Editor – The Nogales InternationalSecretary / Treasurer

Rebecca Bradner Publisher – Green Valley News and Sun,

Sahuarita SunSteve Pope

General Mgr. – AZ Local Media, Publisher – Daily News-Sun, Mesa Tribune, Gilbert Tribune and the Chandler Tribune

Inside Tucson Business, Explorer NewsMarc Marin

Publisher – Arizona Silver Belt and Copper Country News

Charlene Bisson Publisher – Sun City Independent, Sun City West Independent, Surprise Independent,

Peoria Independent, Arrowhead Ranch Independent and Sun Life Magazine.

Chase Rankin Publisher – Arizona Daily Star

Chris Stegman VP Advertising – The Arizona Republic

Past President Pam Miller

Publisher – Verde Independent/The Bugle

The Arizona Newspapers Association (ANA) was established in 1930 and incorporated in 1956. It is the successor to the Arizona Press Association of 1905, and the Arizona Daily Newspaper Association of 1922. The Association is governed by an 11-member board of directors elected by the member newspapers. The ANA is a nonprofit trade association representing more than 115 Arizona newspapers.

ANA board membercontinueed from page 1

www.ANAnews .com

Get access

to upcoming

events, videos,

member benefits,

public notices and our

media directory.

April 2015 ■ ANAgrams |

I am happy to report that we have recently concluded a very successful 2015 Legislative session. The Lobbying team had been very apprehensive that we would see this kind of success as the session opened. There were numerous bills

introduced which would continue to erode public records, a bill which would have been a complete re-write of the open meetings law as well as “yet an-other” public notice bill. After only 81 days in session, we can say that we were able to defeat, kill or help obtain a veto of all the most damaging bills to keeping government open.

That said, we fully expect to see more of these kinds of bills in the next 2016 session. To prepare for any future Pub-lic Notice bills, we have created a new

set of promotional ads which can help educate your readers to the VALUE of public notices. Each ad discusses a different kind of public notice and what the notice is for. The Yuma Sun design staff created this new set and you have the ability to per-sonalize the ads to include your own local Govern-

mental seals (Govt. enti-ties you print notices for) at the bottom of the ads. It is the suggestion of the legislative team that you routinely run these ads throughout the year as a way to be more proactive with your community.

We have also posted a set of public notice ads created by NNA which can also be personal-ized for your newspaper in several sizes, with or without color.

Other important things to continue doing in preparation for the 2016 session are:

As in the past, we cannot say how important it is for you

all to meet and build your relation-ships with your local legislators. Tell them how important their support was to your business and to keeping your community informed.

Give Legislators a forum for their thoughts to be shared with the public by running their Op Ed’s, more importantly, be fair

in your coverage.Continue to upload

your notices to the PublicNoticeAds.com website. Promote the Public Notice website in your newspaper and on your websites using the ads available at: www.ananews.com/public-notices/promote-public-notices/.

Keep your link to the PN website in a promi-nent position on your website. Make it easy for your read-ers to find the link to your notices.

Another great way to highlight Public notice is to write stories which highlight a public notice in your community. High-

light a new public works project or a budget increase that is in a notice. Tie them together by showing the notice next to the story. We need to continually show the importance of public notices to the public.

New Public Notice promotional ads available for download

ANA NEWS

By Paula Casey

Executive Director, ANA

Image not to scale

Images not to scale. These are just two samples of the black and white public notice ads available for download. These are built with a blank tag line area at the bottom so that you can add a personalized message to your community with your organization’s logo.

Image not to scale

www.ananews.com/public-notices/promote-public-notices/




The 76th AnnuAl MeeTing and FAll ConvenTion

September 25 – 26, 2015

Ideally located, less than 15 minutes south of Sky Harbor Airport and minutes from Tempe, Scottsdale and Chandler.

Mark your calendars!

Wild Horse Pass Hotel & Casino 5040 Wild Horse Pass Blvd. Chandler, AZ 85226 All parking and valet is complimentary.

Each room features one king size bed or two double beds, a 40” flat screen TV with premier channels, in-room safe, coffee maker, hair dryer, iron/ironing board and complimentary high-speed wireless internet.

ADA rooms are available based on hotel availability. In room dining is always a phone call away, available 24 hours a day.


entries after the posted deadline, so get your entries submitted as soon as possible. The contest period dates for entries/materials is between May 1, 2014 and April 30, 2015. Previous entries are not eligible.

Individual entry fees remain at a very reasonable rate of $10 per entry. So, to improve your chances, enter unlimited entries per category with just a low fee for each. As in contest past, plaques will be awarded to First Place winners, and certificates to Second and Third Place winners in each category.

We’ll be e-mailing the 2015 entry and rules packet next week (April 30) to publishers, managing editors and ad directors. If you haven’t already, now is the time to start organizing your contest entries! Help us get the word out and forward this newsletter to publishers, editors, writers, ad managers and web and graphics teams.

As you get your entries ready, don’t forget to make plans to attend the ANA Fall Convention and Annual Meeting. We are also pleased to make another announcement – the 2015 convention will be at a new venue! Our event will be at the exciting and conveniently located, Wild Horse Pass Hotel and Casino on September 25-26.

Ideally situated, less than 15 minutes south of Sky Harbor Airport and minutes from Tempe, Scottsdale and Chandler. Free transportation is offered to its neighboring attractions including 36 holes of Troon Golf, Rawhide Western Town, Aji Spa and Koli Equestrian Center. There’s also the Phoenix Premium Outlets mall neighboring the hotel location.

Wild Horse Pass Hotel and Casino is a premier hotel featuring tastefully appointed rooms with a wealth of amenities at a reasonable price. Complimentary wireless internet in guest rooms and meeting space, no resort fee, no shipping receiving/

fees, complimentary parking and valet, use of lounges, outdoor space and separate entrance to hotel and meeting space.

ANA is bringing in several notable trainers from the publishing indus-try or this year’s training and workshop sched-ule.

On our pro-gram to date, Ed Henninger, na-tionally-respected newspaper con-sultant and fore-

most design expert for large and small newspapers. Henninger Consulting has served hundreds of dailies, weeklies, business journals, church-affiliated newspapers and niche publications throughout the United States, Canada

and Europe.Janet DeGeorge,

president of Classified Executive Training & Consult-ing since 2001. She specializes in Classified Sales Training, the train-ing of new classified managers, out-bound sales training, and rede-

signs of print products and rates to un-cover new revenue sources. He will also be available for a 20 minute individual

consultation free of charge.

Amie Stein, Di-rector of Training and Development at Local Media As-sociation (LMA), will be conduct-ing multiple work-shops including: “Monetizing Na-

tive/Social/Mobile/Video, Advanced Digital Sales Development, and Funda-mentals of Sales, Event Marketing.

Josh Hoffner, with Associated Press, a journal-ist with nearly 15 years of experi-ence writing, edit-ing and managing major news sto-ries at the world’s largest news orga-nization, including

nine years in New York City. Session yet to be determined.

As you can see we have already start-ed signing up an all-star line up of pro-fessionals to bring you current and rel-evant training for today’s news world.

We’re looking forward to another exciting and successful convention and would be delighted for all our members to take part in what promises to a truly remarkable event.

Advertising and BNC contests and Fall Conventioncontinueed from page 1

Ed Henninger

Janet DeGeorge

Josh Hoffner

Amie Stein

ANAexcellence in Advertising and Better Newspapers Contest

2O15


Newspapers must constantly seek new readers. One way publishers can reach out to younger generations is to support literacy projects in their communities, according to John Naughton, publisher of the Payson Roundup.

Literacy – the ability to read and write – is essential to fully developing a sense of well-being and citizenship. Research shows that children who are solid readers perform better in school, have a healthy self-image and become lifelong learn-ers, adding to their viability in a competitive work world.

Yet, many of our state’s children lack the motivation to read. They don’t see their parents reading; often there are no books, magazines or newspapers in the home. Many parents report that they are too busy to read to their children. These factors can severely hinder a child’s success in school.

In our information-driven society, illiteracy has evolved into a social issue. Studies show that 60 percent of America’s prison inmates are illiterate and 85 percent of all juvenile offenders have reading problems. Over one million children drop out of school each year. This costs the nation $240 billion in lost wages, tax revenues and expenditures for social services.

The newspaper industry is on the front lines of the literacy battles. For many years the Newspaper Association of America (NAA) supported Newspapers in Education (NIE) programs at newspapers and schools throughout the nation. Following a merger with NAA, the American Press Institute (API) did additional research about youth media literacy. Today, API offers expanded programs to help teach-ers use newspapers in classrooms. These programs provide tools to equip youth with skills and healthy media consumption habits needed

to properly understand and evaluate media stories, while developing the abilities to detect misinformation.

The Payson Roundup, (recognized 12 times by ANA as Newspaper of the Year) continues to supply local schools with 150 papers per edition. Now it has become the prima-ry media sponsor of Payson’s first book festival, set for July

25, 2015 at Gila Community College (GCC) in Payson. “The Payson Roundup strives to be a positive influence within our Rim Country communities,” says Naughton.

Arizona Professional Writers (APW), formerly known as Arizona Press Women, is partnering with GCC to present the one-day event, which will take place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in several areas of the campus. This family-oriented event is offered to the public free of charge. A children’s element will feature story time, a young writer’s workshop and an opportunity to meet “Story Monster.”

Due to budget cuts, many schools no longer sponsor author visits, so few children have ever met an author in person. “Our goal is to promote literacy and showcase Arizona authors,” says Carol Osman Brown, director of the Rim Country District of APW, a statewide organization. She adds, “We want to foster a love of reading by providing a friendly environment that encourages personal interaction between Arizona authors and readers of all ages.” More than 40 authors from throughout the state will be available to sign books and talk about writing both fiction and non- fiction books representing many genres. In addition, there will be entertainment and food from local ven-dors. More information is available at the website: www.paysonbookfestival.org. Proceeds will benefit scholar-ship funds.

“We hope newspapers throughout Arizona will add the Payson Book Festival to their Calendar of Events listings for July. This will encourage a wider group of readers to attend this new event and meet some very interesting authors,” comments Brown.

Naughton adds, “Newspapers have evolved to keep pace with society’s hunger for more information. We now provide breaking and updated stories in print and on a variety of digital and mobile platforms. But we need to keep developing a diversified customer base. The Payson Roundup is pleased to support this endeavor, one that will surely grow with time.

“Certainly we have a vested interest in literacy, and what better way than to allow the reader to personally interact with the author. We offer a special thank you to the Arizona Professional Writers organization for their work on this project and the state-wide publicity that has already garnered some 40 authors to the Payson Book Festival,” he said.

Payson Roundup cultivates literacy through new book festival

July 25, 2015 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Payson campus of Gila Community College

201 N. Mud Springs Road Payson, Arizona

Activities will include:• Book readings by

authors• Storytelling for

kids• Book signings• Author exhibit

tables• Local food

vendors • Musical

entertainment

www.paysonroundup.com


There’s nothing more satisfying than looking at your product—whether it’s the print or digital edition—and say-ing to yourself, “We’ve got it covered. We’re connecting with our readers.” It matters little

whether a newspaper has a circulation of a few hundred or several thousand. News organizations must connect with readers—their customers—if they are to remain relevant.

That means delivering the chicken dinner—and steak, too. No matter how big your operation, don’t forget the little things. And, no matter how small your newsroom, take the time to pursue the big projects, too.

I put news reports into two buckets: stories readers should read and stories they like to read. The two lists need not be mutually exclusive. The key is to regularly connect with your community. Here are a handful of ways.

Rethink your beats. Is your newsroom structured to monitor the things most important to your readers? Think be-yond the standard public affairs beats of local government. For example, the local economy plays a huge part in people’s lives. If you regularly check in with the city council administrator, it’s equally wise to put other individu-als and organizations on your list—the chamber of commerce, union leader-ship, government agencies that handle agriculture subsidies, bank presidents,

workforce centers.Go beyond the newsroom. News-

rooms regularly review everyday cov-erage and plan special projects. Expand the discussion. Include the entire news-paper family—representatives from all departments—as they likely represent a cross-section of your readers. Think of other individuals who have a pulse of the community—the United Way di-rector, the chief executive officer of the largest employer, the community ed director, the leader of a civic club, the morning coffee roundtable at the bak-ery, the go to volunteer who seems to be involved in every civic project.

Be inquisitive. Reporters are paid to ask questions. One reporter, recalling his editor’s nose for news, recalled, “If he saw a city crew digging up a side-

walk, he’d stop and ask, ‘What are you doing’? There’s a good chance other passers-by had the same question. Your staff can’t be ev-erywhere, so turn all your employees into reporters. In-still in them a simi-

lar mind-set. Encourage them to bring you the news.

Don’t forget second-day stories. Scan any newspaper, and coverage is likely dominated by reports of meet-ings and events. Stories detail the facts behind an action, the quotes from the decision-makers detailing the whys of a particular decision. Remember, every action has a reaction. Second-day sto-ries are just as important—sometimes more important—than the original re-port. Follow-up stories likely include new names and faces. You are expand-ing your network of news sources and, most importantly, your readership base.

Available NOW!

Special announcement: we have expanded the directory to include broadcast media and

changed the name to the: 2015 Arizona Media Directory.

This expansion as an opportunity that broadens our

format and will also help to further get our member’s information out to a wider scope of advertisers,

advertising agencies and PR firms.

In addition to information about Arizona and Nevada newspapers,

you will also find our ANA Advertising Media Kit which includes information on our pre-printed insert delivery

program, our statewide display network programs and our

national press release service.This directory is packed full of information. We hope you will find the 2015 directory a

useful planning tool.As part of your membership

with ANA you’ll be receiving a complimantary copy in the mail.

Additional directories are available for $40, call (602) 261-7655

Connect with readers; deliver what your community wants

Jim PumarloNewspaper Consultant and Trainer

Rethink your beats. Is your newsroom structured to moni-tor the things most important to your readers? Think beyond the standard public affairs beats of local government.

See ConneCt, page 14


payments after leaving our country. In another instance, a reporter reviewing military ballistics tests found that the Marine Corps had issued armored vests that failed to protect against bullets – and 5,277 vests were quickly recalled, perhaps saving lives. Likewise, records obtained through FOIA revealed that some firefighter safety equipment failed to work properly when exposed to heat or moisture, rendering it inef-fective in crisis situations.

Without these records and journal-ists’ diligent research, none of this would have been brought to public at-tention. Our armed forces and firefight-ers may have been directly harmed as a result.

The Freedom of Information Act was enacted in 1966. It remains critical for creating and preserving an open and accountable government. However, it must be updated to keep up with changing technology and a persistent mindset within federal agencies that information belongs to the government not the general public.

Congress came very close to passing FOIA reform legislation last year before the end of the 113th Congress. Now, members in both the Senate and House are working in a bi-partisan fashion to move these bills forward in the new Congress. The Senate Judiciary Commit-tee unanimously approved its FOIA re-form bill, S. 337, which is sponsored by Senators John Cornyn, Patrick Leahy, and Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley. The House bill (H.R. 653), which is sponsored by Representatives Darrell Issa and Elijah Cummings, was reported out of committee last week. We applaud the bills’ sponsors and the congressional leadership for turning their attention to this good government legislation. We hope that this momen-tum bodes well for bipartisan, bicameral action early in the new Congress.

President Obama has routinely promised greater transparency within the federal government. Now, Congress is making strides towards achieving this critical goal.

The House of Representatives and Senate are currently con-sidering nearly identical bills to strengthen the Freedom of In-formation Act (FOIA), which pro-vides the general public, including journalists, with

access to federal government records. This legislation has received broad

support across media organizations, including the Sunshine in Govern-ment Initiative, a coalition of which the Newspaper Association of America is a member. And here’s why:

Openness instead of secrecy would be the “default” key within the government.

The legislation would require agencies to release documents under a “ presumption of openness,” reaffirming the principle that informa-tion should never be kept confidential to protect government interests at the expense of the public. Agencies

would need to prove specific harm that could result from disclosures before withholding documents. While this policy has been in place since 2009, the legislation would ensure future ad-ministrations honor this objective for openness.

The process of obtaining FOIA records would be much more efficient.

Citizens and journalists would re-ceive requested information in a more timely fashion and would be updated on the status of their request or rea-son for denial. Federal agencies would be allowed to withhold information on policy deliberations for only 25 years – currently, there is no limit.

More records would be available. The legislation would require agen-

cies to post frequently requested in-formation online. This will give citizens and journalists more timely access to key information and a deeper under-standing of what the government is do-ing – or not doing.

Why is this important? The Freedom of Information Act re-

mains a powerful, though currently in-efficient, tool to obtain public informa-tion. Last year, several key stories were brought to light as a result of reporters’ FOIA record requests.

The Associated Press was able to show that people accused of Nazi war crimes had continued receiving Social Security

Why strengthening the Freedom of Information Act is so important

NAA NEWS

By Caroline Little

President and CEO, NAA


PRC remands USPS case a second time.

Newspaper mailers still face uncer-tainty with 2015 postal rates, as the Postal Regulatory Commission has now twice kicked back the U.S. Postal

Service request for new rates to go into effect April 26. Because the Postal Service has to provide 45 days’ notice be-fore new rates occur, it would have needed final rates by March 12. But on March 18, the PRC indicated it still wasn’t

happy with the proposal for either Periodicals or Standard Mail.

So the following is useful as a guide for the rates that may be ahead, amidst the PRC’s criticisms of USPS data. But final rates will not be known until the PRC is happy, unless USPS decides to gamble on implementing new prices without the PRC blessing. That has hap-pened in postal history, but usually ends up in the courts.

Here is what has gone on so far.The Postal Service re-filed parts of its

2015 price case after certain sections of it were remanded (rejected and sent back for correction) by the PRC. There were two notable changes affecting newspapers.

Most notable was the changing of Standard Mail Carrier Route Flats prices from slight increases (1-2 percent range) in the original filing to decreases (1-3 percent range, with one price, High-Density Plus minimum price, down 11.4 percent) in the second filing. This price is for 300 or more walk-sequences piec-es per route. The changes occurred for

several reasons, including PRC’s order to make presort discounts equal between for-profit and nonprofit rates.

If these numbers stick, newspa-pers with shoppers would enjoy lower costs. The changes are to Part F of the 3602-R.

Periodicals rates suffer from similar uncertainty, which is complicated by the fact that in recalculating the rates, USPS wound up with a smaller increase than the law would have allowed. Because Periodicals are thought to be “under water” or failing to cover costs, USPS is required to explain any rate that does not hit the price cap ceiling.

But to date, it had not.In the second filing, there was one

change in the Periodicals pricing from that originally proposed. Advertising pound prices (Part B, 3541) were de-creased less than in the original pro-posal, but nothing else. Bundle charges would still be increasing rather sharply.

The complexity of this rate filing cen-ters primarily on new incentives being granted for Flats Sequencing System mail, even though the machines are in high-demographic, metro areas that include only 30 percent of the flats vol-ume in the country. (The term “Flats”

Standard Mail Carrier-Route prices drop in second filing

NNA NEWS

By Max Heath

NNA Postal Committee Chairman

NewspapersShow Me

The Future Of

129th Annual Convention & Trade ShowSaint Charles

Convention CenterSaint Charles, Missouri

October 1-3, 2015

Save TheDate

See PriCeS droP, page 14


It’s less exciting than a hot new app and won’t be a top-ic for your next newspaper revolutionizing webinar, but newsprint continues to be one of the top three expenses for most newspaper companies, and it’s worth another look. It is a fertile area for expense reduction but also for innovation.

The last decade saw page sizes shrinking from 13.5-inch-es wide down to 11-inches and 10-inches wide. Reducing page size further is still an area for savings but typically it involves significant capital investment. The Berliner format (a tall tabloid, typically 12.4-inches wide by 18.5-inches tall) and three around presses (allowing for compact broad-sheet format) come with big newsprint savings but require expensive press and packaging center modifications.

So if we can’t quickly and cheaply make the newspa-per narrower, the next logical move is to consider making the paper thinner. Many publishers already made the switch from 30 pound newsprint to 27.7 pound newsprint, so the next ob-vious step is to go thinner.

“I could tell you that we are selling more 42.5 gm (26 pound) paper than we have in the past and have a couple customers converting downward from 45 gm (27.7 pound). We are also mak-ing 40 gms (24.6 pound) newsprint as well. So, we do anticipate that the light-weight trend will continue,” said Dean Diorio, Kruger Inc. sales representative.

Dioro’s statement is supported by reports from the Pulp and Paper Products Council showing that average “gram-mage” of newsprint is down 0.3 percent in the United States, comparing January 2015 to January 2014.

The savings is not linear, however. The printing yield is higher on lightweight paper meaning you can print more pages per pound of newsprint. However, the price per pound is almost always higher for lighter basis weights. In layman’s terms, this mean you will use less paper, but the paper itself costs more money per roll.

In many cases, it is still a break-even proposition for printing on light weight. However, there are other finan-cial benefits to printing on lighter stocks. More pages per pound means you will use fewer rolls of paper and, there-fore, incur less trucking and warehouse expense. As the

printing consolidation trends continue, this reduction for needed storage space can be very helpful.

Newspapers relying on the post office for delivery will often see the greatest benefits from printing on lighter basis weights. The newspapers themselves are lighter, so the postage expense is reduced. The more pages and copies printed, the greater the savings. But it is a complicated formula; the varying prices for each basis weight of news-print need to be considered. The type of mailing from standard to saturation also plays an important role in the decision. High density and saturation mailings often deliver the highest savings on lightweight newsprint.

“Publishers and printers are still using 27.7 pound and 30 pound, which has been the staple in newsprint for years,” said Dustin Seidman, vice president, Papers Unlimited Inc.

His company has been in the reseller market since 1975. “I would say to def-initely shop around for the best price.” He added there has been a drop in con-sumption, but there is still a demand and prices have come down in 2015.

If you have the ability to shop around for newsprint and you’re continuing the switch to lightweights, the pricing will vary from mill to mill. Don’t assume your current standard weight supplier will also have the best pricing on other grades. Pricing is determined by a company’s equipment and the volume demands for each grade of paper.

Besides a place to save money, newsprint can also be a way to make money. As production manager positions con-solidate and publishers delve into digital revenue streams, some age-old newsprint ideas are worth revisiting with a modern twist.

Reglar old gray newsprint can become staid and boring to readers and advertisers. A minor change like printing on bright white paper can shake things up a bit. Consid-er running the local high school football team’s photo on bright white stock with advertising support as a banner or on the back side of the “poster.” The sales pitch to adver-tisers is unique because you are asking them to be part of something new on a page that will certainly be noticed by readers. To reduce cost, just run the dink sheet (two pages) or full or half roll alongside your standard newsprint rolls as

Production: The Power of Print Still PrevailsBy JiM fALzONe GM, North of Boston Media Group

“In many cases, it is still a break-even proposition for printing on light weight. However, there are other financial benefits to printing on lighter stocks. More pages per pound means you will use fewer rolls of paper and, therefore, incur less trucking and warehouse expense.

Sorce and reprint permssion: E&P


part of your regular press run. The content for these special pages can range from local festivals, sports team photos, arts and entertainment events, and more.

At the Eagle-Tribune in North Andover, Mass., we’ve heard positive things. “I LOVE the bright white that we have because of the posters in the paper this week,” said subscriber C. Maloof in a letter to the publisher. She goes on to say that it was so much easier to read and she could do the puzzle without the pencil poking through the paper. So another interesting use for heavier stocks and bright white is for a Sunday supplement with comics and puzzles.

Besides bright white stock, there are more dramatic col-ors of newsprint being used by publishers today including pink for Breast Cancer Awareness sections and green that can be used around the holidays or St. Patrick’s Day. But these contro-versial colors can sometimes lose impact as they affect the quality of photos when printed on this over-powering stock. It’s purely sub-jective, but publishers either love or hate these saturated colors. A printing trick that accomplishes a similar color effect without de-grading photo quality is to put a slight color tint behind the text us-ing page layout programs such as QuarkXpress or Adobe InDesign. Your pagination hub or copy editor should know how to do this pretty easily. It’s just creating a box that covers the entire page and setting the color to 10 percent magenta or green. Photos will pop and the colored page can’t be missed by readers. It won’t be full bleed meaning the color won’t go out to the edge of the page, but it will cover the majority of the page, and there is no limit to the colors that can be created.

Spadeas and gatefolds also present a unique opportunity for advertisers and new revenue with minimal incremental cost from your press room. Newspapers benefit when their ads are most effective, and an attention-grabbing position like a spadea (a half sheet, which flaps over the front of a section) is sure to be seen by readers. The press crew may grumble about the additional set-up time or slower press speeds, but the newsprint expense is low. Publishers who charge a premium for this position can help offset some of the headaches occurred in the pressroom, and the legiti-mate need for more time. If your production facility isn’t comfortable running these, you can start small by offering them on preprinted sections so the daily deadline isn’t af-fected.

Another often overlooked newsprint idea is Kraft news-print or heavier ground woods. Typically the stock is rel-egated to the unglamorous role of wrapping TMC products delivering preprints to non-subscriber homes. Its sturdy

composition makes it the perfect solution for tricky label-ing machines and the inevitable battering of postal deliv-ery. However, this stock can also appeal to advertisers for specific unique products.

A cheer card is a landscape-oriented broadsheet-sized page that usually displays a message of support to a local sports team. “Go Wild Cats” or “State Champion Mustangs” are examples of typical encouraging sentiments. The back sides of these pages offer prime territory for advertising sponsors. The sturdy nature of Kraft paper is perfect for these pages as they will be held up in the air by sports fans or hung on walls at schools or businesses.

The distribution of the cheer card will help determine the advertising rate. If you are just printing them and dropping

off a thousand at the appropri-ate school, the rate can be low. If you plan to insert the cheer card for your entire market to enjoy, the advertising rate will need to be a little higher to cover your newsprint and production ex-penses.

Kraft can also be used to wrap your entire newspaper. This is something you would want to reserve for very special (high-paying) advertisers. Depending

on your market, it could be the grand opening of a long-awaited Starbucks, a large new museum exhibit, or to an-nounce a new bank entering your market. You may want to consider keeping your masthead at the top of the wrap, but the rest of the sheet (front and back) is sold to the ad-vertiser. It is the ultimate premium position, yet fairly in-expensive to do. The trickiest part is that you likely have to stack down your press run, and then run it through the inserters with this wrapper in the “head” as the jacket and your newspaper in line with the other preprints going into this wrapper. For single copy sales, you may want to ne-gotiate that this wrapper goes inside the paper instead of outside the paper and just wrap your home delivery cop-ies. It’s a big idea and curmudgeonly publishers will hate it, but it can drop more revenue to your bottom line in one day than almost anything else you can do. This requires no special tools or equipment.

Calling a 15-minute meeting with your ad manager and production supervisor regarding newsprint will likely be met with groans, but unless you have looked at it in the past twelve months, you are likely leaving easy money on the table.

Jim Falzone is general manager of the North of Boston Media Group, a collection of CNHI-owned dailies, weeklies, magazines, and digital products in Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

The Biggest Names inNewspaper Design

Since 1997, newspaper designers, publishers, editors and technical staff have gathered at the Institute of Newspaper Technology. � e Institute is internationally-recognized as the leading program of its type in the world.

Held each fall on the campus of � e University of Tennessee (Knoxville), the Institute off ers basic and advanced classes in InDesign, Photoshop, Social Media, Layout & Pagination, Illustrator, Cloud Technology, Color, Digital Journalism, Photography, video production, network management and much more.

Classes are hands-on and held in state of the art labs in the UT College of Communication. Most sessions fi ll to capacity, so take advantage of this opportunity before it’s too late.

October 15-17, 2015O t b 15 17 2015

v r ii nersversionversiversioniivver ii nersversionversionversionooossssseeeevevee nnniiiiiiiiirrrrrvvvvvvvv ooeee iiiiiiiiii22201114222222222222222222222222222000000000000000011111111114444444444444444

in one place over three incredible days in October!

John Hatcher Kevin Schwartz Lisa Griffi n Rob Heller Tracey Trumbull Kevin Slimp Ed Henninger

ROXEN TM


Growing NewspapersThey seem to be popping up everywhere

People ask, “Doesn’t it exhaust you to be on the road so much?” What they don’t realize is that newspapers are fun again. This is the group in Cambridge, MN.

[email protected]

Kevin SlimpThe News Guru

I’m in the midst of one of those crazy, multi-town, trips that leaves little time for remembering what

happened yesterday because I’m too busy getting ready for today.

Friday found me in Cambridge, Min-nesota. Wade Weber and I have known each other since the � rst time he invited me to his newspaper in Mora, Minnesota, somewhere around seven or eight years ago. Since then, he’s had me back to visit one of his o� ces about every other year.

As we went around the room, every-one introducing themselves, I loved hearing, “I’m editor of the new paper!”

Who knew? Wade has a brand new newspaper. I always wonder why people think there aren’t new papers being cre-ated. I run into them all over the place. Recently, six very successful non-dailies in Florida. Two in my hometown of

Knoxville, Tennessee. Wade’s new paper in Minnesota. � ey seem to be popping up everywhere.

It’s no surprise that his papers are popular. His group has several titles in area communities, paid and free, each with its own local sta� . At the end of the day in Cambridge, Wade and I went

back to his pressroom to look over some of the papers his group publishes each week.

� e production quality was excel-lent. Good color. Great photos. Reds were red and blues were blue. Regular training over the years will lead to those types of results.

I didn’t know it before Wade told me, but Ed Henninger had been to Cam-bridge to help with design just a couple of months earlier. I wasn’t surprised. � e pages looked near perfect.

I saw a story about a daily newspaper for sale a couple of days ago. Almost as a side note, it was mentioned that the paper had a pro� t in the 20 to 25 percent range. And why was it for sale? Appar-ently, that wasn’t enough for the giant corporation that owns it. So, it’s for sale.

Another thing that I noticed while visiting Cambridge that has been a common thread in visits to newspa-pers this year is the enthusiasm present among sta� s. It’s almost like it’s fun to work at a newspaper again.

I’m glad. For three or four years, newspapers were starting to seem des-tined for doom. Someone, probably me, should do a study to � nd out how many new newspapers have been started in the past year. I’ll bet it’s a lot.

� e headlines continue to be about huge corporations like Digital First, Gannett and others selling and buying papers. But don’t kid yourself. � e real story this year is the renewed vitality in

the newspaper industry.Surely you read the comments of

Martin Sorrell, CEO of the world’s larg-est advertising group, as well as high-est paid CEO in Europe, concerning newspaper advertising. In April, he said that print media is more powerful than agencies believe and advised advertisers to spend more in print.

“Publishers need to ensure their o� ering is as quick and simple to buy as other solutions in the market,” said Sorrell. “In doing so, they will no doubt continue to prosecute the case not only for the value of their audience but the engagement and in� uence of their mastheads and digital properties with those audiences.”

I couldn’t have said it better. And I certainly wouldn’t have had the audi-ence Sorrell has when it comes to ad executives.

It pleases me to know that in� uential leaders like Martin Sorrell and Warren Bu� ett understand the value of newspa-pers. Frankly, though, I’m more pleased that people like Wade Weber, publisher in Minnesota, Victor Parkins, in Ten-nessee, and Jerry Tidwell, in Texas, do.

It’s the folks I’ve recently visited in places like Minnesota, Texas, Tennes-see and Florida that give me so much optimism about the future. � ere’s a keynote I give now and then at con-ventions titled, “I wish you knew what I knew.”

Now, you know a little of it.

Wade and I looked over some of his papers in the pressroom.

| ANAgrams ■ April 2015Page 14 | ANAgrams ■ January 2015

includes newspapers, magazines and large envelopes). Newspapers have been mostly exempted from running on the machines because they don’t run well.

But because USPS has not—to date—adequately explained to the PRC what the old prices would have been for the mail that will get the new discounts, the PRC says it cannot calculate how much the increase would be for the new FSS mail. The dispute between the two bodies, however, is primarily based on incomplete calculations in the USPS fil-ing and not in principled disagreements about rate policy. So once the commis-sion is satisfied with the math, the in-creases are likely to be approved.

PriCeS droP continued from page 9

Have a conversation. Connecting with readers requires having regular conversations. Explore all opportuni-ties through your print edition and digital platforms. Follow social media channels, too. Take the time to answer questions; explain the dos and don’ts of your policies in a regular column.

In a nutshell, place as much empha-sis on developing informal networks as you spend resources on your estab-lished networks. Making regular stops at the city hall, cop shop or courthouse are important, but think of all the other places where people regularly gather and share the news of their friends, neighbors and co-workers.

Drop in regularly, and editors will soon develop an informal group of correspondents. Some individuals will be waiting to pass along story ideas, especially if they wind up in the news-paper on occasion. The investment of your time will provide dividends for your content and your community. © Jim Pumarlo 2015

Jim Pumarlo writes, speaks and pro-vides training on community newsroom success strategies. He is author of “Jour-nalism Primer: A Guide to Community News Coverage,” “Votes and Quotes: A Guide to Outstanding Election Cover-age” and “Bad News and Good Judg-ment: A Guide to Reporting on Sensitive Issues in Small-Town Newspapers.” He can be reached at www.pumarlo.com and welcomes comments and ques-tions at [email protected].

ConneCt continued from page 7

May 7, 2015 11a.m.- noon / ET

Registration fee: $30 Register by Monday, May 4.

Registrations submitted after this date are subject

to a $10 late fee)

http://goo.gl/aM6uyV

Rob Dump, owner of six Nebraska community newspapers ranging in circulation from 312 to 2,000, saw an opportu-nity through government grants to bring profession-al training to his staff.

The information provided in this case is state-spe-cific, but the idea of seek-ing and finding money for training is transferable to all communities.

Obtaining Government

Grants to Help Pay for

Staff Training

Consumers rate newspapers

as the media…

with the most trusted and believeable advertisments.

most preferred for receiving advertising.

most valuable in planning for shopping.

Arizona Newspapers Association 1001 N. Central Ave., Ste. 670

ananews.com

Newspapers Deliver!


ANA note: The following article is reprinted as a courtesy to our friends and colleagues at the Hoosier State Press Association.

Much of the material offered by HSPA can be used in your newspapers to commemorate and promote V-Day, May 8 and Memorial Day, May 25.

The materials (a copy of his last column, a short bio of Pyle, headshots, and mention of the Museum that you could use) can be downloaded from our website: http://ananews.com/ernie-pyle-70th-annivesary/.

April 18 marks the 70th anniversary of the death of famous World War II correspondent Ernie Pyle by a machine-gunner on Ie Shima in the Pacific Ocean. To mark this occasion, the Ernie Pyle World War II Museum in Dana, Indiana, and Scripps Howard Foundation offer this reprint of the last column written by Ernie Pyle. The uncompleted work was found in the shirt pocket on his body on that date in 1945. Ironically the subject matter was the anticipated end of hostilities in Europe, or V-E Day, which actually occurred on May 8, 1945.

We think it is an appropriate time for us to recall the sacrifices made by those serving and who had served in our Armed Forces. It’s a reminder to all of the ultimate sacrifice made by so many Americans to maintain the freedoms we enjoy.

If you decide to use the materials provided for your recognition of either the 70th anniversary of Ernie Pyle’s death or V-E Day, we ask that you consider adding a paragraph about the Ernie Pyle World War II Museum. Donations may be made through the museum website at www.erniepyle.org.

If you want to expose your readers to additional columns by Ernie Pyle, you could include the following link to the Indiana University School of Journalism, where your readers can access additional stories written by him: http://journal-ism.indiana.edu/resources/erniepyle/

If you have any questions about this 70th anniversary com-

memoration or about the Friends of Ernie Pyle or the Ernie Pyle World War II Museum, feel free to contact me at [email protected].

I also ask that you consider making a donation to the museum, either per-sonally or as the news-paper. It only seems proper that efforts to preserve the legacy of the most famous World War II correspondent be supported by current journalists.

Thanks for considering this tribute to veterans and Ernie Pyle.

Stephen Key, Executive Director and General Counsel Hoosier State Press Association and Member of the Board of Directors of the Friends of Ernie Pyle.

Ernie Pyle, 70th anniversary

Want to search Arizona legal notices?Subscribe now to have legal notices emailed to you based on YOUR custom search criteria.

Public Notice Arizonawww.publicnoticeads.com

A public service provided by Arizona Newspapers Association

Advertising, Newsroom andHuman Resources602-296-0955FOI / Access602-351-8000

ANA Legal ServicesHOTLINES

Arizona Newspapers Association


Mark Your CalendarWebinars and Training Partners Happenings

& EventsANA Advertising and BNC ContestsSee page 3 for more informationNow is the time to start preparing your entries for the 2015 competitions.Entry dates are on May 1 –29. We’re also proud to announce that this year begins our partnership with ICES, (Innovative Contest Entry System). a new and easier contest experience.Entry packests will be emailed on April 30 to publishers, managing editors and advertising directors.

ANA Fall Convention & Annual Meeting — NEW venue for 2015! WHeN: Sept. 25-26, 2015WHere: Wild Horse Pass Hotel & Ca-sino. 5040 Wild Horse Pass Blvd. Chandler, AZ 85226. All parking and valet is complimentary.

ANA BOD MeetingsMay 14, conference call, 1 p.m.July 30, conference call,1 p.m.Sept� 25, Dinner meeting, 6–8:30 p.m., part of the 2015 Fall ConventionSept� 26, ANA Annual Meeting, FOI Awards Luncheon at the 2015 Fall Conventiondec� 10, conference call, 1 p.m.

ANA Marketing MeetingsJune 18, conference call, 9 a.m.Sept� 25, Time to be determined based on the ANA Fall Convention schedule.

Poynter’s NewsU reimagined: Training for anyone, anytime, anywhere

deSCriPTiON: For a decade, journalists and the educators who teach aspiring ones have turned to Poynter’s News University to acquire the skills they need in an ever-changing digital media landscape. With funding from Knight Foundation, NewsU was created to offer journalism training to anyone, anytime, anywhere.MOre iNfO: http://kng.ht/1QgfbPR

Stay engaged. Find solutions. Move forward.

deSCriPTiON: The Inland Press Association is a not-for-profit organization based in Des Plaines, Illinois with more than 1,000 daily and weekly newspaper members in all 50 U.S. states as well as Canada and Bermuda. Inland describes its principal mission is to help its member newspapers and the industry at large thrive in their business performance, their journalism quality and their ability to respond nimbly to whatever changes arise in the media environment.Inland is especially well known for its high-quality, cost-effective and practical continuing education for newspaper leaders and staff.Members of Arizona Newspapers Association get a discounted rate of $15 per webinar. MOre iNfO: http://bit.ly/1wUOnsf

Webinars for Media Professionals

deSCriPTiON: Online Media Campus is a partnership of the Southern Newspaper Publishers Association, the Iowa Newspaper Foundation and press associations throughout the United States and Canada. Online Media Campus provides high-quality, low-cost online training to media professionals.More than 20 programs are offered annually on writing and editorial topics, print and online advertising sales, technology, social networking, management issues and much more. Each program runs approximately 60 minutes and is designed to be interactive.MOre iNfO: http://bit.ly/1Oc4peF

Focused on helping local media companies discover new and sustainable business models

deSCriPTiON: Local Media Association is a thriving and innovative association that serves local media companies (newspapers, TV, radio, directories, pure plays, and more) as well as several hun-dred research & development partners in the industry. LMA assists local media companies with the digital transition via cutting-edge programs, conferences, webinars, research and training. LMA’s motto is “innovation, education, inspi-ration.” Check your membership here: http://bit.ly/1wqkxugMOre iNfO: http://bit.ly/1HRAQu6

CLICK ON THE LINKS TO VISIT THE HOME PAGES

http://kng.ht/1QgfbPR

http://bit.ly/1wUOnsf

http://bit.ly/1Oc4peF

http://bit.ly/1wqkxug

http://bit.ly/1HRAQu6

anagrams - april 2015

Documents