august 2015 colorado editor
DESCRIPTION
Monthly publication of the Colorado Press AssociationTRANSCRIPT
colorado Meet SYNC2’s new VP of
Marketing
PAGE 6
Official publication of the Colorado Press Association / coloradopressassociation.com / Vol. LXXXVI, No. 8 August 2015
editor
Coming soon: the Colorado e-editorStarting in September, the CPA members can start receiving the Colorado e-Editor on a bi-weekly (once every two weeks) basis.
The e-Editor will provide more timely updates as well as links to industry trends.
If you’re not already on the CPA’s mailing list and want to receive e-Editor updates, email [email protected]
Question of the monthOn July 15, 2015, the U.S. Department of Labor issued an interpretative Guidance Memo on the misclassifica-tion of employees as inde-pendent contractors. Is this memo a game changer, or is this something that has been done frequently before under different names?
See page 7 for answer
Newspaper readership on riseThe Newspaper Association of America recently released a report saying newspapers are in better shape than ever based on ex-tended reach via mobile and digital media.
NAA says digital media now reaches eight in 10 people in the United States every month, tallying 176 million adult unique users (March 2015 – up from 164 million in November 2014).
The report also said millennials make up the majority of digital newspaper readers (84 per-cent women, 80 percent men between ages 18-24).
NEWS YOU CAN USE
‘Future growth potential for CPA’Recommendations made to allow free- distribution, online, monthly publications to be full CPA members
Staff report
After more than two decades, the debate on whether or not free-distribution papers should be allowed to be members of the Colorado Press Association could be resolved.
During a five-hour workshop on Aug. 13 in Denver, the Membership Committee — along with a small, but wide range of CPA members from Holyoke to the Denver Post — made a recommendation to change the bylaws to create silos of full membership, including silos for:
• Legal Papers• Free-Distribution Newspapers• Online Only• Monthly PublicationsLegal publications — meaning they meet
the standards to produce legals according to Post Office regulations and legislative require-ments — are currently the only newspapers allowed to be full CPA members.
Convention gets rebootNew location, time frame and theme for annual convention
Staff report
A new place, a new date and a new theme — that is what the 2016 Colorado Press Association annual conven-tion has in store.
The convention is moving from the Downtown Denver Westin to the Denver West Sheraton in Lakewood.
The timeframe the convention is held is moving from the traditional late February meeting to May 12-14, 2016.
And with all the changes to the convention and to the industry, the theme of the 2016 convention is — perhaps fittingly — “Keep Calm and Press On.”
New time frame and classes are just some changes
changes to 2015 contest10
Staff report
The annual contest has too many categories.It needs to be more competitive. The awards show goes on for far too long. This was some of the feedback from Colorado Press
Association members who took a recent online survey, and they said they wanted change.
In addition, with the 2016 annual convention moving its time frame by nearly two months, the annual Better Newspaper Contest will also have a shift in time frame — about two months.
See MEMBERSHIP, Page 10
See CONVENTION, Page 9
See CONTEST, Page 12
2 colorado editor August 2015
People on the movePeople on the move this summer include:
Lynn Bartels, political reporter at The Den-ver Post, who has left that position to become communications director for the State of Colo-rado’s Republican secretary of state, Wayne W. Williams. After nearly 35 years in journalism, including the Rocky Mountain News (1991-2009), Bartels took a recent buyout at the Post.
At Digital First Media, Editor-in-Chief David Butler announced he will retire this fall, cit-ing “personal and professional rea-sons.”
Butler will as-sist in the search for his replacement for DFM, the second-largest newspaper group in the country by cir-culation. Butler took his current post in April 2014.
He is a longtime newspaper executive, in-cluding editor of the New Haven Register, edi-tor and executive vice president for news for the Los Angeles Daily News, and vice presi-dent for news for MediaNews Group.
The Chronicle-News launches fully integrated website
The Chronicle-News in Trinidad last month rolled out a fully integrated news web-site.
Said General Manager Allyson Sheumaker in an article in the newspaper, “It’s something we’ve been working on for a long time. It will be another way we can serve our readers and adver-tisers.”
The site will carry electronic editions, unique content, news pro-duced by the news-paper’s editorial team, plus state and national news from the Asso-ciated Press. The site is integrated with social media, including The Chronicle-News feeds for Facebook and Twitter.
Said Editor Eric Monson: “The website is really its own unique publication, but it gives us the opportunity to pull together all we’ve done in the past and what we’re planning to do in the future.
It gives us immediacy, right off the bat.” Rather than publishing news once a day, the paper can now break news in minutes, includ-ing weather, accidents, crime and sports in whatever medium readers prefer.
Fort Morgan Times hires new reporter
Stephanie Alderton has joined the report-ing staff of The Fort Morgan Times. Her beats will include agriculture, police, courts and the town of Wiggins.
Alderton is a graduate of Metro-politan State Uni-versity in Denver, earning a bachelor’s degree in journal-ism to go along with a previous associate of arts degree in creative writing at Arapahoe Community College.
Since graduation from Metro State, she has completed internships at Evergreen Newspa-pers, The Fence Post, the Brighton Standard Blade and the Aurora Sentinel.
She grew up in Minneapolis, moving to Aurora in 2008, where her father is the pastor of a small church.
“We’re excited to have Stephanie on board … and think she’ll have a great impact on the Morgan County community,” said Times Edi-tor Thomas Martinez in a recent article in the newspaper.
“She has a varied background that will play well with a lot of the coverage she will be do-ing.”
Said Alderton: “This is my first opportu-nity to cover an eventful, diverse small town like Fort Morgan. I can’t wait to get to know the people here and tell their stories.” In her spare time, she enjoys poetry, blogging, bak-ing, watching Netflix and “seeing the world.”
Rio Blanco celebrates 130 years of newspapers
On July 12, the Rio Blanco County Histori-cal Society hosted a celebration of 130 years of newspapers in the community.
Among the speakers were Mitch Bettis, own-er of The Rio Blanco Herald Times and president of Arkansas Business Publishing Group, and An-nette Lyttle, wife of Bill Lyttle, the great-grandson of James Lyttle – who started the first newspaper in the area on Aug. 5, 1885, the same year the Town of Meeker was established.
As reported by Ellene Meece in the Herald Times (from “Ropin’ the Past,” by Rich Lyttle, a descendant of the founder and who worked for the newspaper from 1949-1962), James Lyttle was a printer’s apprentice from Pittsburgh who moved to Leadville in the early 1880s, where he worked on a newspaper.
Purchasing equipment of his own in 1883 from a defunct paper in Kokomo (near Lead-ville), he began looking for a place to start his own newspaper.
Hearing about the new town of Meeker he headed that way, teaming with John V. Jack Houston (a fellow pressman he’d convinced to come along to Colorado) to publish the first edi-tion of the Meeker Herald on a Washington hand press – now on display along with some of the paper’s original type and type cases in the White River Museum in Meeker.
However, without enough revenue to sup-port two staff members, Houston moved on to become Meeker’s postmaster.
Lyttle ran the newspaper until his death in 1925.
His son, R.G. Lyttle, Sr., published it until its sale to K. James Cook in 1964.
The Cooks subsequently sold it in 1992 to Sureva Towler, who had worked for the Wash-ington Daily News and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Towler published the paper for just a year, but struggled, and the Cook family came back to re-vive the newspaper, with publisher Mike Cook. After 18 months, the Cooks sold the paper to Glenn and Donna Troester in 1995, who ran it for the next five years. During that time, the pa-per was combined with the Rangely Times with two editions, one for Rangely, one for Meeker.
Next it was sold to Kerry and Joy Murdock, who a year later sold to the current owners, Mitch and Meg Bettis in March 2001.
Along the way, the newspaper made its final name change to The Rio Blanco Herald Times.
The Colorado Editor wants to hear from you. We’re on the lookout for news about your staff, publications and businesses for our all-new columns and features in the Colorado Editor – your monthly membership newspaper from Colorado Press Association.
What’s new in Colorado news?
Colorado Newspapers
In the News
Send us your “breaking news” on:• New Hires• Promotions• People Moving On• Anniversaries• Retirements• Contest or Staff Awards & Honors
• New Building or Equipment Projects or Updates• Meetings, Seminars and Training• Community Projects• College-Related News and Events• Industry news that affects you• And any other personal news your staff members might want to share
Send your news items of 150 words or fewer (photo also welcome) to Cheryl Ghrist – [email protected] – using subject line “Colorado Editor News.”
Stay up to date at coloradopressassociation.com
colorado editorISSN #162-0010
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Vol. LXXXVI, Issue 8 August 2015
Colorado Editor is the official publication of the Colorado Press
Association and is published monthly at 1120 Lincoln St., Suite 912
Denver, CO 80203p: 303-571-5117f: 303-571-1803
coloradopressassociation.com
Subscription rate:$10 per year, $1 single copy
StaffJerry Raehal
Chief Executive [email protected]
Board of DirectorsOFFICERS
ChairTerri House
The Pagosa Springs [email protected]
PresidentKeith Cerny
Alamosa Valley [email protected]
Vice PresidentBart Smith
TreasurerMatt Lubich
The Johnstown [email protected]
SecretaryLarry Ryckman
The Denver [email protected]
DIRECTORS
Mike WigginsGrand Junction Daily [email protected]
Beecher ThreattOuray County [email protected]
Lisa SchlichtmanSteamboat Pilot & Today
Jason Woodside Aurora Media Group
Bob Hudson The Pueblo Chieftain
Matt Sandberg The Summit Daily [email protected]
Periodical postage paid atDenver, CO 80202.
POSTMASTER:Send address changes to
Colorado Editor1120 Lincoln St., Suite 912
Denver, CO 80203
Lynn Bartels David ButlerAllyson SheumakerStephanie AldertonJames Lyttle and the Meeker Herald
DAVIDBUTLER
STEPHANIEALDERTON
ALLYSONSHEUMAKER
colorado editor 3August 2015
Q A&10 questions with
By Cheryl GhristContributing Editor
This issue, “10 Questions” checked in with
Merle Baranczyk, owner of Arkansas Valley Publishing Company and its four newspa-pers – The Mountain Mail in Salida, Herald Democrat in Leadville, The Chaffee County Times in Buena Vista and The Park County Republican & Fairplay Flume in Bailey – and editor and publisher of The Mail.
The storied Mail recently celebrated 135 years of service to the southwest Colorado community, pressing on through various own-ers, names and pub schedules. Merle and his wife Mary purchased the newspaper in 1978, making some big changes of their own.
You edited a weekly for the Colo-rado Springs Times group, which went out of business in 1974. The story is that one of your resumes then landed on the desk of The
Mail’s owner, and Ken Johnson was im-pressed enough to hire you as his new editor and publisher. Is that true, and how did you begin your journalism career prior to the Times?
When starting my job search when the weekly group I was working for shut down, I found “How to Land an Executive Job” at a library. The book suggested sending out
letters to the heads of companies where you wanted a job. I sent out 150 letters, one of them to Ken Johnson. Ken passed the letter on to Ed Walthall, his
outside properties director, who hired me. The Mountain Mail at the time was in
tough, tough shape. They probably were hav-ing some difficulty finding someone to run the paper.I started as the sports editor of The Pulaski
News in Pulaski, Wis., as a high-school ju-nior. A year later I was named the editor. The News is a community newspaper for
Pulaski, a farm town of about 1,800 near Green Bay. It is put together by the high-school journal-
ism class, one of the few newspapers in the country where high-school kids put out the community paper. It’s still the case today – high-school
students still put the paper together, writing, editing and selling ads.In college I wrote and took photos for the
student newspaper, graduating from the University of Wisconsin in 1969. With the Marines in San Diego for the next couple of years, I had some great career experiences. After the Marines, I was visiting my sister in Colorado Springs when my ‘60 Olds F85 burned out its transmission on Pikes Peak’s Gold Camp Road. It was either ride out of town on a bike or get a job. I got a job and met and married Mary, who worked for a competing weekly.
In 1977, you stopped using wire service news at The Mountain Mail, going to an all-local format, and changed from a broadsheet to a tab.
Did you see immediate success from those changes for both the paper and the commu-nity, and did that help influence you to buy the newspaper the following year?
People kept telling me they wanted more local news. So we dropped the AP and went totally local. People still kept telling me they wanted more local news.
What they meant by local, I found out, was small-town gossip news of who was visiting from out of town, etc.
But the move saved a considerable amount, funds we put into reporters and covering local news, local news of all types, I should add.
At the time we dropped the wire we had already been working at purchasing the news-paper. We’re still an all-local paper. Instead of paying for a wire service, we put that money into the newsroom.
Situated on the Arkansas River, Salida is the county seat and most populous city in Chaffee County.
Founded in 1880, it became a major link on the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad line. After World War II, the railroad influence gave way through the 1970s to ranching and mining work. Today, the focus is on tourism, including skiing, rafting and kayaking, and outfitting. How did that affect your newspaper and the community from the ‘80s on?
When mining busted in the 1980s, some 3,100 miners were out of work, including 900 or so in the county. The Upper Arkansas Valley went into an economic depression.
Instead of railroads and mining, the valley started mining tourism.
The Upper Arkansas is blessed with natural resources, including the Sawatch Range and the Arkansas.
With a rich history and a historic down-town, rafting, skiing, fishing and the arts developed over the next three decades.
We looked at how we could best serve this market and began publishing seasonal visitor editions.
These publications served the market and provided income and stability to our news-papers.
Over the years, how have you seen the relationship with the commu-nity and yourself, your family and your newspaper evolve, and what have been the dividends on both
sides? And how personally involved have you been?
You can’t be a newspaper editor in a small town for any period of time without becoming a part of the community. When Mary and I first came to
Salida, the community was leery of a couple of young outsiders. That gradually changed over the years as we
became involved in church, chamber, Rotary, centennial committee, fundraising, communi-ty-development projects, judicial-nominating committees and arts programs.
After serving as vice president, you were named president of the National Newspaper Association in 2012. In your acceptance speech, you said
community newspapers are still a vital force, and that NNA continues to fight on their behalf. What steps did you take as president to do that?
Merle Baranczyk
See 10 QUESTIONS, Page 11
“You can’t be a newspaper editor in a small town for any period of time with-out becoming a part of the community.”
Courtesy photo
Mary and Merle Baranczyk at the National Newspaper Association convention in October 2012 in Charleston, S.C., where he became the new NNA president. Established in 1885, the association is the largest newspaper organization in the country.
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4 colorado editor August 2015
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$10,000 challenge kicks offMoney meant to raise money for scholarship fund
Staff report
Kicked off by the generous donation of Richard Ballantine, chairman of Ballantine Communications, the Colorado Press Asso-ciation’s Philanthropic Action Committee is seeking to raise at least $10,000 to help fund the Foundation’s scholarship fund.
In March, the Press Association’s Founda-tion — which is run through the Denver Foundation — awarded out $19,500 in schol-arships to six college students and three high school students who had a focus on journal-ism education.
However, due to lack of donations in recent years, the Philanthropic Committee was con-sidering dropping the scholarship off erings from six college students to three, and from three high school students to one or two.
In hopes that the Foundation can continue to off er all nine scholarships, Ballantine is donating $5,000 to the scholarship fund to start off the $10,000 challenge.
“We’re thrilled Mr. Ballantine made the donation with a focus on the very fabric of the future of journalism — students who want to enter the fi eld,” said Jerry Raehal,
CEO of the Colo-rado Press Asso-ciation and SYNC2 Media. “People say the industry is crumbling, but last year we had the largest turnout in scholarship ap-plications in recent history, which shows the interest is there, and we want to be able to continue to foster it.
“We would love to raise $10,000. Heck, we would love to raise more. It’s a program that is needed and appreciated.”
If you wish to donate online, you can go to www.denverfoundation.org and click the ‘Donate Now’ button at the top of the page. Select the ‘Family, Donor and Corporate Funds’ option on the following page. Under Designation, select Other and key in Colora-do Press Association Fund in the fi eld below.
If you wish to donate by mail, please make a check out to Th e Colorado Press Associa-tion Fund and send it to:
Th e Colorado Press Association Fund c/o Th e Denver Foundation 55 Madison Street, Suite 800 Denver, CO 80206
For more details, contact Raehal at jrae-
[email protected] or 720-274-7171.Th is year’s winners Six college students
received $2,500 scholarships, while three high school students received $1,500 scholarships. Recipients, their respective home cities and colleges/universities are:
College recipients: Metropolitan State University of Denver – Jhocelyn Avendano, Th ornton; Justin Fye, Denver; Jose Salas, Th ornton; Colorado State University – Ma-rissa Isgreen, Fort Collins; Colorado Mesa University – Matt Scofi eld, Grand Junction; University of Colorado Boulder – Jordyn Siemens, Boulder.
High School recipients: Anna Blanco, Louisville; Gretchen Cope, Highlands Ranch; Haasini Ravisankar, Boulder.
Other fundraising options
Th e Philanthropic Action Committee also is raising funds for the Foundation through sales of the recently published book, “Colo-rado Newspapers: A History & Inventory, 1859-2000.”
Th e book is available for sale — $49.95 not including mailing costs — at www.colorado-pressassociation.com/resources.
Proceeds, minus binding costs, go to the Colorado Press Association’s Foundation
Funds. Foundation money can be used for scholarships and other educational opportu-nities.
Th e CPA and the Committee has devel-oped a marketing plan to increase sales on the books, including developing house ads (print and online) that they hope CPA member papers will run. More details are coming.
Th e Committee is also looking at new op-tions to raise funds at the annual convention, which starting in 2016 will be held in May.
About the PACTh e Philanthropic Action Committee
meets at least three times a year with a focus on:
• Working as the charitable arm of the CPA, focused on educational opportunities that enhance the industry.
• Establishing fund-raising mechanisms and projects to be funded.
Current committee members include: Committee chair Ralph Loos; Bob Hudson; Dan Petty; Doug Bell; Bob Sweeney and Jean Williams.
If you’re interested in joining the Philan-thropic Action Committee or any other CPA committee, contact Jerry Raehal at [email protected] or at 720-274-7171.
RICHARDBALLANTINE
colorado editor 5August 2015
Summer months bring increased travel and varying sched-ules for everyone, presenting a chal-lenge to the media enterprises seeking to engage audiences. How do media stay relevant to audiences that are on-the-go?
The answer is simple: innovation. Newspapers across the country have dedicated time, dollars and staff to improving their products to meet the changing needs of their audiences. From fresh mobile apps to community events to niche partner sites and products, newspapers are expanding their of-ferings to better serve readers no matter where they are.
Community-based events and Guides
Newspapers are taking advantage of the flex-ibility in schedules during the summer to plan and host unique events for their local commu-nities. With direct access to their subscribers, newspapers serve as the perfect platform to promote events in their specific markets.
For example, for the past six years, the Chat-tanooga Times Press held She, a two-day Expo for Women that draws attendees of all ages. Vendor booths offering new products and ser-vices, free health screenings, cooking demon-strations, entertainment and more are all part of the fun “girl’s weekend,” held each year in July.
Similarly, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution leveraged the warm Georgia weather and free popsicles to increase its subscribers’ digital engagement. At its annual Decatur Book Fes-tival, attendees were simply asked to enter their information and register for a digital account to receive a refreshing summer treat.
Another example of a summertime commu-nity-focused event is The Honolulu Star-Advertiser’s sponsorship of the Hawaii Career Expo, which aims to match qualified applicants with quality companies. The event promotes the newspaper’s commitment to its readers and to overall community advancement.
Newspapers in destination locations produce interesting and innovative summer-themed content and products. It is the most obvi-ous way for some newspapers to stay relevant during the season. Summer-themed content and products boost audience and advertising engagement. For example, the Asbury Park Press produces a comprehensive Jersey Shore Summer Guide, filled with all the information Jersey shore goers need to know about restau-rants, shopping, entertainment, and activities.
Innovative smartphone and tablet apps
More and more people will be tapping their mobile devices this summer, offering more op-portunities to capture audience. In fact, just this past spring, the audience engaging with news-paper digital content reached a new monthly high with 176 million unique visitors, accord-ing to comScore data from March 2015. The data show that the increased usage of mobile devices contributed significantly to the growth in audience. In fact, those who use only mobile
devices to consume digital newspaper content have increased by an impressive 53 percent in the last year.
Understanding that mobile is key to engag-ing audiences on-the-go, several developed new apps (or updated old ones) to retain cur-rent readers and attract new ones.
In Southern California, The Desert Sun cre-ated a summer playlist on Spotify. Staffers got together to create a list to resonate with readers during the summer. The effort is interactive because readers are asked to share their favorite summertime songs, too.
Following the success of The Washington Post’s tablet app, the paper recently announced that it is testing two versions of its mobile site that will aim to provide a linear news experi-ence and give readers a “bundle” of articles that are handpicked by editors, making a user’s experience more customized.
The New York Times also updated its NYT Now mobile app. Designed with social media users in mind, the app focuses on curating the top articles across The Times and other outlets. Users can view as many articles as they’d like, free of charge – the app will attempt to gener-ate revenue by building a broad audience to which the paper can sell ads.
And earlier this year, USA Today launched a sports app to help fans stay up-to-date on sports news and live sporting events. Readers who download the app also have access to its “Best.Scoreboard.Ever” feature, which aggre-gates sporting events occurring in real-time and ranks them to help app users determine which events they want to watch.
Niche partner sites and products
The digital components of many newspapers are attempting to appeal to specific, targeted audiences through niche partner sites and products. Summer presents a great opportu-nity for readers to dig deeper into a topic that interests them.
An example is The Wall Street Journal’s Logistics Report, a vertical site that launched in late April and focuses on global trade and transportation infrastructure issues. The news-paper’s expertise in this area, combined with its audience’s interest in these issues, is key to success.
In addition, since 2013, The Tennessean’s 12th & Broad has collaborated with commu-nity partners to create unique events, experi-ences and stories that showcase Nashville’s creative culture. Members of 12th & Broad receive tickets to its events, home delivery of its quarterly magazine, and a digital subscription to The Tennessean, as well as perks from its various partners.
The Dallas Morning News has also found success in appealing to niche markets by utiliz-ing print products.
Its award-winning lifestyle magazine FD Luxe offers exclusive content on fashion, art, dining, design, travel and more. It also publish-es FD Love, which covers weddings, and FD House, a luxury living magazine. The magazines are specifically designed to appeal to an “on-the-go” audience.
As these examples show, the summer—and seasons beyond—can be bright for the newspa-per media industry. Niche and digital products allow publications to engage with their readers wherever they are, providing the personalized and immediate information they are looking for while traveling. And with targeted community events, publications can take advantage of the slower pace and beautiful weather to involve the local audience and further increase engage-ment and customer loyalty.
Keep readers engaged during summer months
Caroline Little
President and CEO, NAA
CPA members receive discount to attendTwo great opportunities are coming to
Denver for CPA members this fall, ac-cording to a press release.
First, the Local Media Association’s Tech Expo is being held in partnership with the Local Media Consortium. And, second, LMA is holding its major Innova-tion Conference – Media 3.0 – right on the heels of the Tech Expo.
First, the Local Media Tech Expo is free to local media executives. This will take place on Sep. 28 and 29 and will feature up to 50 of the most progressive R&D partners in the industry. The expo will feature programming on the floor from various revenue stages as well as tours, demos and one-on-one meeting times.
For more information, visit localmedia.org/technology.
Second, there is the Local Media Inno-vation Conference – Media 3.0. The CPA’s sponsorship means reduced rates for CPA members. This conference — Sept. 30 to Oct. 1 — is all about transformation.
A keynote address from Innovation Media Consulting VP & Partner Juan Señor will outline the top takeaways from WAN–IFRA’s” Innovation in World News Media” Report. The day two keynote features Mashable, Yelp and Yahoo! in a
session that focuses on “Creating Cultures of Experimentation, Accountability and Scale.”
In addition, the conference will have two tracks to choose from – one track is all about company transformation case stud-ies. There will be transformation case stud-ies from The Victoria Advocate, Scripps (broadcast), The McClatchy Company and Cox Media. All sure to inspire.
A separate track is dedicated to sales and sales management issues such as training, analytics and arming your sales force for success.
Along with this, both tracks will feature debates. There will be debates on separate vs. integrated sales teams and separating digital and traditional duties in news-rooms.
And finally, there will be one-on-one meetings with media buyers representing 17 major retailers (meetings scheduled on first-come, first-serve basis).
The best part? CPA members can at-tend for LMA member prices. For more information, visit localmedia.org/innova-tion.
For more information contact Peter Conti, Sales and Marketing Director, Lo-cal Media Association at 804-360-9434 or [email protected].
LMA conference coming to Denver
Metro image
6 colorado editor August 2015
“Doug brings a great passion for advertising and news industry,” said Jerry Raehal, CEO of SYNC2 Media and Colorado Press Associaiton. “In the short time he’s been here, he’s already looking at many long-term plans that will benefit both CPA member papers and SYNC2 Media.”
SYNC2 Media is the for-profit affiliate of the CPA. Hay has more than 20 years of successful sales,
sales management and marketing experience. Fifteen of those years were spent in the media industry working for regional Colorado companies BizWest Media and Lehman Communications. Hay also spent 9 years with the Gannett Corporation serving as an award winning Classified Advertising Manager for the Fort Collins Coloradoan.
In his free time, he enjoys running, playing all sports, listening to live blues music and spending time with his wife Kathryn and his college-aged sons, Griffin and Keaton.
WHAT’S YOUR VIEW OF THE NEWSPAPER IN-DUSTRY AND HOW SYNC2 MEDIA FIGURES IN?
There are more media buying options than ever before. Newspapers are still a great buy. We all need to believe that, prove that with case studies and testimonials and share that message to a much broader audience. Aggressive, fact based, informa-tional promotions using readership demographics and success stories will lead the way.
SYNC2 provides an efficient way for agencies and direct sales clients (retailers etc) to purchase all of Colorado with one call. We also provide a great revenue stream for CPA member newspapers. Think of SYNC2 as a cross between an additional advertising salesperson on your staff and an evan-gelist for the 21st century newspaper.
YOU’VE WORKED IN AND OUT OF THE NEWS-PAPER INDUSTRY. WHAT DOES THE WORK YOU DID OUTSIDE OF THE INDUSTRY HELP YOU WITH SYNC2?
I successfully launched four new products dur-ing my time outside the industry. I learned how to leverage current technologies to connect more quickly with business to business prospects as well as how to optimize those tools to increase the visibility of the product or service I was offering.
SYNC2 will implement a number of those tech-niques to increase our visibility among our target audiences.
YOU’VE MET WITH SEVERAL NEWSPAPERS ALREADY. WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED FROM THOSE MEETINGS?
Everyone is hungry for new revenue producing ideas. And, surprisingly, SYNC2’s services are not well known within a number of papers. We will help remedy that by holding monthly Ad Manager forums where ideas can be shared. We will also begin ad sales training seminars that will run the gamut from AD Sales 101 to selling digital. You may even grow tired of hearing from us as our communications to member papers will increase substantially over the next few months.
WHAT’S YOUR SHORT-TERM AND LONG-TERM GOALS FOR SYNC2 MEDIA?
Short term goals are to increase the visibility and awareness of SYNC2’s offerings among all of our audiences — member newspapers, agencies, direct sale client and even other press associations. We will leverage that increased visibility into more ac-tive accounts buying into all of our member papers.
Long term goals are to position SYNC2 Media as a thought leader in media sales and as the “go to” vendor of choice among agencies and companies looking to reach the desirable demographics of our member papers’ audiences.
WHAT DO YOU THINK THE GREATEST BEN-EFIT SYNC2 MEDIA HAS TO OFFER?
We offer exposure to agencies and direct clients for papers of all sizes. The penetration rates of smaller market papers within their communities are high; a fact that agencies and larger advertis-ers often overlook . So SYNC2 presents all of the available markets to those prospects. For those member papers willing to participate, we offer rev-enue enhancement through our statewide network program also. I’m looking forward to getting all of our members up to speed and on board with these great programs.
Getting to know DOUG HAYSYNC2 Media’s new VP of Marketing to take the wheel
oug Hay started as SYNC2 Media’s VP of Marketing on July 20 — and then promptly got in a car and traveled the Western Slope meeting
with member newspapers to learn more about their needs and taking part in Regional Trainings.
D
CPA attorney appointed to police body-cam group
By Jeff RobertsCFOIC
Steve Zansberg, attorney for the Colorado Press Association and president of the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition, has been
appointed to serve on a new state committee that will study and report on issues related to the use of body-worn cameras by police officers in Colorado.
The study group, as-sembled by the Colorado Department of Public
Safety, is mandated by HB 15-1285, which also establishes a grant program to help law enforcement agencies purchase body cameras, train officers and manage the video data.
The 15-member panel will study policies and best practices through-out the nation and make recom-mendations on questions such as when cameras must be turned on and off, when to require notification that a camera is in use and when another person’s consent is neces-sary.
Other questions involve pub-lic access to recordings and for how long those videos should be retained.
The new law requires that one panel member represent an orga-nization that advocates for govern-ment transparency.
Zansberg, a partner in the law firm of Levine Sullivan Koch & Schulz, recently helped draft the Media Law Resource Center’s model policy on public access to recordings made by police body-worn cameras.
“I believe that with certain limited and justified exceptions, the public interest is strongly advanced by public inspection of records that memorialize peace officers perform-ing their official public functions,” Zansberg said.
The first meeting is scheduled for Aug. 25.
The panel’s report is due Mar. 1, 2016.
STEVEZANSBERG
colorado editor 7August 2015
Local Media Innova.on Conference – Media 3.0 – Reduced rates for CPA members
This conference (September 30 -‐ October 1) is all about transforma;on. • One-‐on-‐one mee;ngs with media buyers represen;ng 17 major retailers (mee;ngs scheduled on first-‐come, first-‐serve basis)
• Transforma;on case studies from The Victoria Advocate, Scripps (broadcast), McClatchy Company and Cox Media • A separate track is dedicated to sales and sales management issues • Keynotes from Mashable, Yelp and Yahoo
CPA members can a>end for LMA member prices. For more informa.on, visit localmedia.org/innova.on
Sponsored by
TWO GREAT OPPORTUNITIES FOR CPA MEMBERS THIS FALL
Local Media Technology Expo – FREE to local media execu.ves
This will take place on September 28-‐30 and will feature up to 50 of the most progressive R&D partners in the industry. The expo will feature programming on the floor from various revenue stages as well as tours, demos and one-‐on-‐one mee;ng ;mes. For more informa;on, visit: localmedia.org/technology
Local Media Innova.on Conference – Media 3.0 – Reduced rates for CPA members
This conference (September 30 -‐ October 1) is all about transforma;on. • One-‐on-‐one mee;ngs with media buyers represen;ng 17 major retailers (mee;ngs scheduled on first-‐come, first-‐serve basis)
• Transforma;on case studies from The Victoria Advocate, Scripps (broadcast), McClatchy Company and Cox Media • A separate track is dedicated to sales and sales management issues • Keynotes from Mashable, Yelp and Yahoo
CPA members can a>end for LMA member prices. For more informa.on, visit localmedia.org/innova.on
Sponsored by
TWO GREAT OPPORTUNITIES FOR CPA MEMBERS THIS FALL
Local Media Technology Expo – FREE to local media execu.ves
This will take place on September 28-‐30 and will feature up to 50 of the most progressive R&D partners in the industry. The expo will feature programming on the floor from various revenue stages as well as tours, demos and one-‐on-‐one mee;ng ;mes. For more informa;on, visit: localmedia.org/technology
National FOI Summit coming to Denver
On July 15, 2015, the U.S. Department of Labor issued an interpretative Guidance Memo on the mis-classifi cation of employees as independent contrac-tors. Is this memo a game changer, or is this some-thing that has been done frequently before under diff erent names?Registration is open for the 2015 national FOI Sum-
mit, to be held at the Curtis Hotel in Denver on Oct. 9-10.
Th e “open government” portion of the two-day conference, co-sponsored by the National Freedom of Information Coalition (NFOIC) and the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition (CFOIC), is on Sat-urday and will feature panels on issues related to police body-worn cameras, government emails and open data.
Most of Friday’s panels will focus on organizational matters for NFOIC-members such as the CFOIC.
A Saturday-only conference rate of $75 is available for those who register by Sept. 1.
Th e price includes the NFOIC’s “Hall of Fame Luncheon,” which honors “an individual who has left a legacy at the state and local level for their service, accomplishments and contributions to keep state and local government records and meetings open and acces-sible to residents.”
SATURDAY’S AGENDA:Policing the Police: Should police body-cam videos
be publicly available? Do citizens have the right to record police conduct? What redaction policies and procedures should occur? What are the challenges to store and maintain the digital fi les? Can the public access police internal aff airs reports? When do records become public during/after an investigation and why?
Hall of Fame Luncheon and Keynote Speaker (TBA)
Here Today, Gone Tomorrow: What use is a robust public records act if the emails, texts, and other digital records “self-destruct” before the public can even ask to see them? Or where shoddy record keeping puts a fi nancial burden on the petitioner to access and view
these records? If the digital fi les are stored outside of government servers, what rights do citizens have to access those public records? How can you challenge a denied response where the records custodian claims their search turned up nothing to meet your criteria? Why the inconsistencies across jurisdictions for the same type of records requests?
OpenData – No Need to Ask: FOI and OR requests are expensive, time-consuming and often frustrating – sometimes for both sides. Proactive open data policies and procedures can make access to public information cheaper and easier for everyone. A consistently applied defi nition of a “data set” including what is available right now from public agencies, to what is being (digi-tally) generated each day by agencies and organizations, determining what data should be public and how it should be made more accessible, will take a dedicated eff ort from public organizations and members of the public.
Th e need to work together on policies and practices that create and complement best practices to collect, organize, manage and report public information can result in win-win results for both record custodians and record petitioners. Both public organizations and the FOI community must share an understanding of what open data is most useful and how to make it cost- and time-aff ordable for the public to access it.
Th e full agenda is at http://www.nfoic.org/2015-foi-summit-agenda. More details will be added soon.
Register at http://www.nfoic.org/register-2015-foi-summit.
Th ose needing a hotel room can make reservations at the Curtis until Sept. 8 at the special conference rate of $139/night.
Th e following is a memo from the Zinser Law Firm about the Department of Labor's Guidance Memo and its potential impact on newspapers.
Note: Nothing in this Legal Q&A should be relied upon as legal advice in any particular matter.
Th e DOL’s new Guidance Memo is potentially a real game changer.
It is part of the adminis-tration’s overall war against independent contractors. One has to always keep in mind that organized labor hates indepen-dent contractors. Th e current administration is very pro-union. Th is Guidance Memo is doing the bidding of labor unions everywhere.
Th e message is consistent with the new position on indepen-dent contractors adopted by the National Labor Relations Board in a recent case involving Federal Express drivers in Connecticut. Th e NLRB’s Decision attempts, by stealth, to impose a single factor test: “Does the Publishing Company have greater bargain-ing power than an individual contractor?” Th at is really stretch-
ing the law.Th is Guidance Memo tries to
stretch the defi nition of “employ-ee.” It also focuses on economic dependence of the individual contractor. Disturbingly, it places very little value on the intention of the parties. It is clear to this writer that the DOL is going to take the position that most individuals are employees – not independent contractors.
However, the DOL Guidance Memo is inconsistent with much of current case law supporting independent contractor status. Fortunately, for the newspaper industry, there is an exemption under Section 13(d) of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
If an individual is engaged in the delivery of newspapers to the consumer, he/she is exempt from the minimum wage, overtime, and child labor provisions of the Act. Unfortunately, that exemption does not help with other types of contractors. Buckle your seatbelt and get ready for a rocky ride with the DOL’s new interpretation on independent contractors for purposes of the FLSA.
question of the month
8 colorado editor August 2015
Investigative Reporters & Editors — more commonly known as IRE — is holding a special Watchdog Workshop on Sept. 25-26 in Fort Col-lins.
“Get the tools and the tricks of the trade that you need to be a better, faster, watchdog journal-ist,” according to a news release.
Register early as space is limited.This training will offer several of IRE’s core ses-
sions that will improve a reporter’s ability to find information on the Web quickly, and point to key documents and data that will help him or her add depth to the daily work and produce quick-hit enterprise stories. In addition, this workshop pro-vides tips on bulletproofing stories, digging deeper on the Web with social media, search engines and much more.
These sessions are designed for reporters, editors, and producers from small, midsize and large publications, TV, radio stations, Web-only news sites and news blogs. Freelancers, students and journalism educators are also encouraged to attend.
IRE’s experienced trainers and a group of vet-eran reporters will be at the Watchdog Workshop on Sept. 25 at the Fort Collins Coloradoan in the community room.
An optional Computer-Assisted Reporting Training Session is offered Sept. 26 morning at Colorado State University in Clark A-70. At-tendees in this hands-on workshop will learn how to use Excel, a powerful electronic spreadsheet for deadline and beat reporting on budgets, salaries, election data and more. Also, learn how to dig deeper using the Internet and find valuable data-sets for stories. Class size is limited; register early to reserve a seat on a first-come, first-served basis.
Go to https://www.ire.org/events-and-training/event/2136/
To get directly to the registration site for non-IRE members, go to https://irenicar.wufoo.com/forms/watchdog-workshop-fort-collins-co/ . If you have any questions about the event, feel free to contact Tricia Morgan, the event coordinator for IRE. She’s at 573.884.7556 or [email protected].
‘Watchdog Workshop’ in Fort Collins
Be a FOI machine with the FOI Machine
FOIA Machine, an easy way for people to file and track freedom-of-information requests, is now available via the Colorado Freedom of Information of Coalition thanks to a new partnership.
The National Freedom of Information Coalition teamed up with FOIA Machine to provide the free service to the CFOIC and other NFOIC-affiliated organizations around the country.
The technology helps users prepare, file and track FOI requests to public agen-cies at the federal, state and local levels
following the applicable laws of a specific jurisdiction.
After creating an account, requesters can use either an email-like form or a guided wizard.
FOIA Machine emails those FOI of-ficers selected by a user, and it allows a user to track the status of his or her requests as well as agency response times.
It also lets a user create a template for sending the same request to multiple agen-cies.
When creating a request, you can choose
to make it public or keep it private. Public requests can be searched and viewed by other users.
“NFOIC members’ knowledge and expertise is vitally important in helping citizens navigate public records laws,” said FOIA Machine Project Manager Coulter Jones.
“We’re excited all FOIA Machine users will now benefit from NFOIC’s expertise and that this platform can help NFOIC members access public records.”
colorado editor 9August 2015
Why a new locationIn recent years, the convention has been held
at the Westin Hotel in Downtown Denver, and two more years were remaining on the contract with the Westin. However, construc-tion at the hotel scheduled for February 2016 made hosting the convention at the downtown Denver location impossible.
The construction problem broke the con-tract with the Westin for 2016 but not 2017. The Westin agreed if the CPA signed a new contract with one of its sister hotels for the next two years, it would relinquish the 2017 contract.
Enter the Sheraton Denver West.After reviewing several of proposals from
hotels, the CPA convention committee agreed to host the convention at the Sheraton Denver West, where it will be conducted in 2016 and 2017.
The Sheraton Denver West was the most affordable option for both the CPA and for members who plan to attend, but it is still a high-end hotel.
Parking is free, and room rates for those attending should be less — $125 in 2016 and $129 in 2017. It also offers a lower food and beverage minimum as well as lower food costs, so attendees should be able to get more and the CPA will pay less.
“If we ordered the same food and beverage as last year, it would save us about $10,000,” said Jerry Raehal, CEO of the Press Associa-tion.
It offers several close by dining options, as well as access to the light rail for those who want to travel to downtown Denver.
The CPA will likely have the entire conven-tion space to use, and all of it on the same
floor. “I’ve been to the Sheraton West and it is
a nice hotel that could serve our needs,” said Jason Woodside, Aurora Sentinel ad manager and Convention Committee member.
Locations moving forward
The issues with the Westin contract were timely for the CPA, as a recent online sur-vey of CPA members showed the majority of membership would like the convention to move around.
While the convention is at the Sheraton the next two years, that doesn’t mean it will remain in Denver in the future as 60 percent of those surveyed said they would like the convention to move around the state.
The CPA Board of Directors approved a motion at its June board meeting to give the convention committee the ability to do just that, though the preference is that the conven-tion be held in Denver every other year, and travel to other cities in the state during the other years.
But if the rates in Denver are exceedingly high, this gives the convention committee the ability to take the convention where the rates will be reasonable and attendance is expected to be high.
Why a new dateThe annual convention has historically been
held in Denver during February so it could run in conjunction with the legislative session, and the convention was expected to remain at the Westin Hotel in downtown Denver through the 2016 and ‘17 conventions.
One concern about hosting the convention in February is it limits attendance because of weather concerns.
Nearly 20 percent of members who regis-tered for the 2015 convention did not attend, mostly because of a snowstorm during the convention.
More than 60 percent of those who took the survey said they wanted the time of year the convention was held changed, signifying that April or May would be the top choices. At its June board meeting, the CPA Board of Direc-tors voted to move the convention to either late April or early May in 2016 and moving forward.
The new schedule is based on the annual convention being held in conjunction with the first Friday in May — other than on the years that would cause Mother’s Day to be the same weekend (like in 2016).
On the years it would be the same week as Mother’s Day, the plan is to move the con-vention forward or back a week. In 2017, the convention would be May 4-6; in 2018, May 3-5; in 2019, May 2-4, etc.
There was some concern about how this would affect the annual meeting, which has historically been held with the annual conven-tion; however, the CPA bylaws state that the Board of Directors can move the annual meet-ing at its discretion.
‘Press On’This year’s convention theme is “Keep Calm
and Press On,” — a trendy phrase based on a motivational poster from World War II — and will focus on how the term ‘Press’ is changing.
“We’re looking at bringing in some great speakers who can talk to all kinds of issues with newspapers,” Raehal said. “We saw a large increase in attendance last year, and we were told a lot of that was due to the strong speaker line-up. We hope to continue bringing a great convention, and we think the changes of loca-tion and timeframe with a focus on our chang-ing industry will help us accomplish that.”
WINNEMUCCA PUBLISHING SEEKS A HANDS ON EDITOR
WINNEMUCCA PUBLISH-ING SEEKS a hands on Editor to manage the editorial depart-ments. Previous writing experi-ence required. Pre-employment drug screening. Email resumes to [email protected].
WEB PRESS OPERATORThe Sheridan Press is accept-
ing applications for a web press operator.
The Sheridan Press is a six-day daily (afternoons and Saturday mornings) newspaper with a commercial print operation that is dedicated to customer service and good printing. We have a 10-unit Goss Community web press with SSC folder and q-fold. We have excellent benefits including health and dental insurances, profit sharing, life and disability insurances, paid vacations and more.
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SEEKING REPORTER TO JOIN HOLYOKE ENTERPRISE TEAM
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marketplace
CONVENTION
Continued from page 1
The Denver Post was recently honored with the prestigious 2015 National Murrow Award for overall excellence for large online organizations from the Radio Television Digital News Associa-tion (RTDNA).
The Post competed against newspapers such as The Washington Post, the San Jose Mercury News and The New York Times, and also won in two other categories, news series and sports reporting.
The RTDNA website posted the winning Den-
ver Post multimedia package, “State of Hope,” de-tailing the use of a liquid form of marijuana for ill children, with reporting by John Ingold, photog-raphy by Joe Amon, and videography by Lindsay Pierce. The winning Post news series was “Mental Health in Colorado,” about the failings of the state mental health system, with reporting by Jennifer Brown, photos by Craig F. Walker, and videos by Mahala Gaylord and the newspaper’s video staff. The sports reporting winner was “Bridal Veil Falls
Ascent,” about paraplegic climber Sean O’Neill’s ascent of the frozen falls, with reporting by Jason Blevin, video by Helen Richardson and editing by Eric Lutzens.The Post previously has won national Murrow honors, but this marks its first overall ex-cellence honor.
Since 1971, the awards have been regarded as broadcasting’s version of the Pulitzer Prize. The awards will be officially handed out at a gala on Oct. 12 at Gotham Hall in New York City.
Denver Post honored for digital news efforts
10 colorado editor August 2015
“Change is difficult,” said Bryce Jacobson, Greeley Tribune general manager and Member-ship Committee chairman, as to why it has taken so long to build consensus on such changes. “Our industry has experienced a major change over the past decade, prior to this change the prosper-ity that we experienced was good, really good and many of our members wanted to sustain that for as long as they could.”
But change to the membership criteria was needed to reflect a transitioning industry and for the future of the CPA itself.
“Future growth potential for CPA is the biggest benefit of the Silo format,” said Vincent Laboy, the Montrose Daily Press publisher and Membership Committee member. “For too many years we have tried to add members to our organization and forced them to all fit under the banner of traditional, legal news-papers. If we are going to execute on the boards’ direction of being more inclusive, we have to have a way to add memberships stan-dards and guidelines that fit with different media formats.”
The proposed criteria to be-come a full-member is to publish a certain frequency — daily, weekly, or monthly depending on the silo — and produce a certain amount of editorial to advertis-ing ratio on regular basis — no more than 75 percent advertising.
The committee’s recommenda-tion is to eliminate the associate level all together
“The biggest benefit (to elimi-nating the associate level) that I see is that now people are either members or they are not,” Laboy said. “There were so many discus-sions about what benefits each tier gets and what they shouldn’t. In the end most everyone on our committee was in agreement that membership has to have com-mitment.”
CPA staff is developing the proposed by-law changes to be reviewed by legal counsel and then the board of directors at its Sept. 11 Board Meeting. After review, the board will need to decide if it wants to hold a spe-cial meeting to propose the bylaw changes to go into effect in 2016, or wait until the 2016 annual meeting, moved to May this year, to go into effect in 2017.
According to the CPA bylaws, “This Association may amend or annul all or part of these by-laws at any annual or regu-larly called special meeting, but no change shall be made unless the official call for such meeting, issued 30 days prior to the meeting, shall state that such changes will be considered, and shall give generally the purport and tenor of such proposed changes, along with the recommendation of the by-laws committee. Amendments to these by-laws may be adopted only by a two-thirds vote of the Regular Members present, in person or by proxy.”
With the proposed format, more silos can be added as needed depending on the As-sociation’s direction in the future.
The recommendation is the CPA keeps the business membership category, but change it to “associate ally,” and it would be open to businesses that support the news in-dustry, but not newspapers. The Association would still retain memberships for individu-
als and retired executives. Entering the Aug. 13 meeting, the biggest
concern about changes to the membership criteria centered on public notices. The question was would a CPA membership change have implications on who could receive legal notices.
In a survey conducted by the National Association Managers, 16 of 35 press as-sociations that took part in the survey stated they had full membership available for free-distribution newspapers, and most of them reported that while there have been some questions about which papers can receive public notices, its been rare and not con-sidered a major issue. It seems more like an internal issue rather than a legislative one.
Those who voted in favor of the pro-posed changes include: Brenda Brandt, Bob Sweeney, Merle Baranczyk, Vincent Laboy, Al Manzi, Christine Moser, Reid Wicoff, Matt Lubich, Keith Cerny, and Samantha Johnston. There were no nay votes.
About ‘due’ timeThe Membership Committee originally
began meeting monthly this year to figure out another decades old-problem — coming up with a new dues structure.
The old dues structure was a complex formula based on national advertising rate and circulation.
“The old structure was out of date and in some cases unfair,” Jacobson said. “The national rate portion of the rate structure is out of date alone. Non-dailies don’t get national advertising very often, and hence their dues are larger than they should be, dailies rarely get to charge the national rate any more so it really isn’t applicable any longer.”
There is also concern about the amount of money the CPA loses each year. At the 2014 annual meeting, the membership voted to change the dues structure and it was noted that the dues should cover the costs of the CPA services.
But when CPA staff did a pro forma in 2015 on what that would look like, it meant that CPA members would have a 41% rate increase — a number that the commit-tee felt was too high to ask membership to pay.
The thought process is if more people are at regular rates, the CPA would be able to better serve all of the membership while at the same time, making the loss the CPA faces less severe.
At the Aug. 13 meet-ing, the committee did not approve a recommended dues structure, but did give direction for CPA staff to look into prior to the Sept. 11 CPA Board meeting so it can be voted on. Recommen-dations will likely include potential discounts for news-papers that upload a digital paper to the CPA’s digital archive through NewzGroup, participate in the network programs, and/or are part of group ownership.
Though it was not part of the committee’s charter, the committee strongly encour-ages the SYNC2 Board of Directors to consider in-creasing the holdback com-mission for newspapers from
10 percent to 15 or 20 percent for SYNC2 Media, the for-profit advertising subsidiary of the CPA.
“Obviously no paper wants to give a larger holdback,” Laboy said. “However, in doing the math, most papers will still make their membership dues back, even with the increased holdback. Combine that fact with all the other benefits members get, who wouldn’t want to be a member?”
The committee also wants the SYNC2 Board of Directors to look at how it sells to members and non-members of the CPA. Currently, the placement fee is the same. The SYNC2 Board of Directors approved at its June board meeting to have a higher holdback for non-members, which is being reviewed by an attorney. The committee also wants the SYNC2 Board to consider selling to only CPA members, an issue that was divided during the Aug. 13 meeting.
There are issues that still need to be worked through, but Jacobson said he was proud of the work done by the Membership Committee.
“I am excited that this group got together. Representatives from the largest daily and one of the smallest non-dailies and every-thing in between got in a room and didn’t leave until a solution was found,” he said. “I am sure there might be changes to the basics of our proposal but it is well thought out and ready to be applied.”
1 MORE MEMBERSHIP TYPES: The Membership Committee has made a recommendation to change the CPA by-laws to create silos of full membership, including silos for Legal Papers, Free-Distribution Newspapers, Online Only Publications, and Monthly Publications
2 NO MORE ASSOCIATE LEVEL: The committee’s recommendation is to eliminate the associate level all togeth-er, meaning you are either a full mem-ber of the CPA or not a member.
3 NEXT STEPS: At this point, the recommendation is just that. Bylaw changes first have to be accepted by the CPA Board of Directors at its Sept. 11 meeting, and then ap-proved again by the full membership.
4 NEW DUES: The CPA staff is working on propos-als for new membership dues, some of which include potential discounts. Pro-posals are scheduled to be presented to the CPA Board at the Sept. 11 meeting.
5 MONEY MATTERS: Though not part of its charter, the com-mittee is also asking the SYNC2 Board of Directors to increase the holdback the CPA’s for-profit affiliate takes from 10 percent to either 15-20 percent to help offset losses. The committee is also asking the SYNC2 Board to look at who the for-profit affiliate sells adver-tising into.
5 takeaways to be aware of
MEMBERSHIP
Continued from page 1
Nobody wins a turf war
This story has a cast of five characters: 1. The advertising sales person worked hard
to build relationships with clients, learn their objectives and develop marketing plans. Since he had previ-ously worked as a copywriter at an ad agency, he had unique marketing insights.
2. The graphic designer saw herself as an artist, and indeed had impres-sive design skills. However, she had no contact with advertisers. Her goal was to make each ad a work of art. She resisted suggestions and acted like she was threatened by others’ knowledge of ad design and creativity.
3. The advertising director managed the sales person and the graphic designer. Her goal was to oversee ad revenue. She wanted everyone to do their jobs, follow the rules, keep quiet, leave her alone and make money for the paper.
4. The big entity in the background was the corporate newspaper office, which had ironclad policies for its newspaper properties. In their minds – and in their employee manual – sales people sell and creative departments create.
5. The advertiser in the story had little confidence in the ads the paper created for him. Although the ads looked good, they didn’t produce the results he needed. As a result, he was seriously considering cutting back – or not renewing – his ad contract with the paper.
Tensions had been building for several months. The inevitable collision was set off when the advertiser approved a series of ads which were proposed by the sales person. When the graphic designer saw the layouts – with copy written, type specified and illustrations selected – she hit the roof and complained to the ad manager. It was the classic case of a com-plainer and a person who wants the problem to disappear. In the interest of a quick fix, the ad manager told the sales person to “stop being creative.”
What happened in the end? The sales person found another job. The ad manager eventually left the advertising industry, after experienc-ing nearly 100 percent turnover in the sales department. The advertiser took his advertis-ing elsewhere. The graphic designer celebrated the hollow victory of regaining control of the paper’s creative product, but lost the chance to develop ads for that advertiser. So in reality, everybody lost.
In today’s competitive advertising environ-ment, it is crucial for sales and creative depart-ments to work together.
If sales people have unique creative talents, encourage them to use those skills in develop-ing ad campaigns. And if graphic designers are particularly effective in explaining creative tech-niques, encourage them to talk with advertisers who want inside information on the production of their ads.
It’s called teamwork. What would have been the right approach?
In my opinion, the ad manager was in position to come up with a solution. She could have seen the conflict as an opportunity to challenge a bad company policy. And she could have encour-aged everyone on her staff – not just the two at the center of the controversy – to bring their talents to their jobs.
Tire pioneer Harvey Firestone once said, “The growth and development of people is the highest calling of leadership.”
John Foust
colorado editor 11August 2015
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The National Newspaper Association’s 129th Annual Convention & Trade Show, Oct. 1-3, 2015, will be at the Embassy Suites Hotel in St. Charles, MO, just eight miles from the St. Louis Airport (STL).
The room rate is $139 plus tax per night, and the hotel is located adjacent to the St. Charles Convention Center, where all the meetings will take place.
www.HistoricStCharles.com
Check out the three-day program at http://nnaweb.org/convention
10 QUESTIONS
Continued from page 3
In 2010-2011, NNA’s marketing committee had developed the “We Believe in Newspapers” marketing campaign, so this was a logical extension of NNA. Th e NNA president does a considerable amount of traveling
to state press associations, so on our visits Mary and I took the marketing campaign with us. While metro newspapers had taken a big hit with the economy tanking in 2009-2011, newspapers – in all their forms and with all their tools – were doing substantially better. In small-town America, newspapers were then and still are, without
question, the number one and in some cases the only source of a com-munity’s news. In communities like Salida and thousands of others across the country, the newspaper is the source of news, where readers look for news that’s fair, accurate, objective, timely and complete. Small-town radio news today typically consists of the “news” director picking up the local newspaper and reading it.Th is was NNA’s message, that community newspapers remained a vital
force in the communities they served. And that message continues today. Community newspapers have and are incorporating digital tools but their main eff ort remains covering the news of their towns, schools, hospital districts and counties, etc.
You set a goal of increasing NNA membership by 10 percent, saying it was imperative to increase the ranks in order to continue to represent community newspapers in Washington. How did that drive turn out, and what progress has been made regarding Capitol Hill?
One of the key responsibilities of NNA presidents is working to expand membership. Membership dues account for something like 80 percent of its revenues. We set a goal to increase mem-bership but did not reach the goal that year, though the year after we did see a healthy increase.
In 2013, NNA’s We Believe in Newspapers Summit, in Washington, D.C., drew some 120 people from across the country to take newspapers’ message to Capitol Hill. At the time, the U.S. Postal Service had an-nounced a deal with Valassis (a direct mail media and marketing services company) that threatened newspapers’ revenues. At the same time, the USPS had announced it was consolidating its mail centers such as ones in Salida, Alamosa, Durango and Colorado Springs. NNA is the only entity that lobbies on behalf of community newspa-
pers in Washington and it’s the only organization that battles the USPS for newspapers’ interests. For these two reasons alone, every community newspaper in the country should be an NNA member.
Do you have mentors or co-workers who have infl uenced you during your journalism career?
My high-school journalism teacher, Bernard Olejniczak, was my fi rst mentor. His values and leadership got me started in the business. Ed Walthall, who hired me, provided knowledge of how to read fi nancials and what was most important: circula-tion and the cash in your bank account. My boss in Colorado
Springs, Bill James, helped us structure the purchase of Th e Mail. At the time, we had been looking at a partnership to buy the paper. But one of the supposed partners, a CPA, looked at the books and said the paper wasn’t worth investing in. Bill showed us how we could do it and laid out the scenario. We followed it and it worked.
Th e Mountain Mail’s Facebook page, which dates back to 2011, is colorful and vibrant. What kind of a team works on this, and how has it complemented your print coverage?
Our editors, reporters and two other staff members work at AVP’s digital eff orts. Th ey are responsible for the electronic face of our newspapers. We have had a web presence since the mid-1990s. Digital tools are just one more way of delivering news to a community of readers.
Do you have a neat or “casual” desk or offi ce, and what would we see there?
George Oyler, editor and publisher of Th e Mail from 1951-1971, had a plan to deal with desk clutter. He said to put whatever’s on top on your desk into a box and set it on the fl oor. If you needed something, a document or fi le, you would know where to look. If after six months you didn’t have to look for
anything in the box, you tossed the whole box. I use a modifi ed version of George’s plan. Every six months or so I bring a big trash can into the offi ce and start tossing stuff .
What do you do in your spare time to reconnect with family and just enjoy the beautiful area in which you live?
We enjoy family gatherings with our grandkids and great-granddaughter. Christmas, birthdays, and other special occasions are big with the family. Mary and I thoroughly enjoy the friends we’ve made through NNA.
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12 colorado editor August 2015
The Contest Committee has listened and made changes, including how to make the contest more competitive. Here are 10 things to know about those changes:
TIME FRAME FOR 2015 CONTEST EXTENDED
The contest period for when entries can be submitted will be from Sept. 1, 2014 to Oct. 31, 2015, which adds two months to the 2015 contest for one year. The 2016 contest will run Nov. 1, 2015, to Oct. 31, 2016, to bring the contest back to an annual cycle.
LATER DATE TO SUBMIT ENTRIES
Historically, newspapers submit-ted entries into the contest starting in September.
Entries for the 2015 contest will be accepted from Nov. 9 through Dec. 15. CPA members will be notified of the names of award winners — but not their places — in March 2016.
FEWER CLASSES TO COMPETE IN
In the survey, members said they would like fewer classes in which newspapers could compete in order to make the contest more competitive.
There are currently 10 contest classes based on circulation — five weekly classifications, four daily, and one monthly.
The new breakdown has eight classes members — four weekly, three daily
classifications and one monthly classifi-cation.
The CPA Board of Directors is scheduled to look at different classifi-cation proposals at its Sept. 11 board meeting.
LOWER ENTRY FEES WITH EARLY BIRD REGISTRATION
Fees for this year’s contest have been lowered to $5.50 per entry if turned in by Dec. 7 — a savings of $1.50 per en-try over last year’s entry fees. On Dec. 8 fees will be $7.50 per entry.
It should be noted, the CPA tried this last year, and it did not work due to system errors. Those errors should be fixed.
EASIER PAYMENT METHODThe 2015 contest will feature an
online payment option so members who want to pay by credit card can. Members also can still pay by check if they want.
FEWER CATEGORIESThe majority of the CPA member-
ship stated they wanted fewer catego-ries in the contest in the survey.
The 2014 contest had 64 categories members could enter. This year’s con-test will have 49 total categories.
Eliminated categories include: edito-rial cartoon, public service, editorial layout and design, best web promotion, best ad slogan, best circulation promo-tion, best advertising layout and design, and online breaking news update.
Other changes include combin-ing health enterprise and feature into one category, and business enterprise and feature into one category. Online “breaking news or non-deadline video”
will be changed to simply “online video,” and moving “online video inter-view” into that category. Best Web Site will be just one category instead of six.
Two categories were added: Best medium sized ad, and Best large ad.
MORE ENTRIES PER PAPERIn most categories, the maximum
number of entries per paper per cat-egory is being increased from three to five.
DIFFERENT APPROACH TO AWARDS
There will only be first- and second-place awards in the 2015 contest. Historically, awards were handed out for first, second and third place.
DIFFERENT APPROACH TO SWEEPSTAKES AWARDS
There must be at least three papers competing from the same class for a sweepstakes award to be handed out in that specific division — editorial, advertising, photo & design, and/or online.
If not, a sweepstakes award for that division — such as Online Excellence — will not be handed out.
The reason is to ensure the sweep-stakes awards have meaning. Last year, a sweepstakes award in one class was handed out when there was only one entry into that entire division.
WHAT ABOUT AP CONTEST?The Associated Press still plans to
have its awards ceremony during the CPA annual convention, but at this point, AP plans to keep the contest period for accepting entries the same.
CONTEST
Continued from page 1
briefsSmall business likes newspaper advertising
According to a report from Borrell Associates – “Local Advertising Hits a Tipping Point” – more advertisers are planning to spend more over the next year than five years ago. The report looked at over 7,200 local businesses between Jan. 20-May 1, 2015.
Most have fewer than 50 employees, are independently owned, have been in business for more than 10 years, and have less than $2 million in annual revenue.
Over 20 percent said they were planning to reduce their newspaper budgets, but half said they planned to spend more for online and mobile advertising.
Another 20 percent said they didn’t expect to buy any newspaper advertising. But of the 60 percent who said they would purchase newspaper advertising, most said they were dedicating 20 percent of their total ad budgets to newspapers.
The report also noted that the smallest businesses spend the most on print advertising in local newspapers (around 25 percent who earn less than $100,000 per year), and only 10 percent of larger companies (over $2 million annual revenue) will increase their print budgets.
American Journalism Review stops publication
After 38 years as a premiere journalism industry magazine, the American Journalism Review (AJR) is ceasing publica-tion.
The Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland recently announced it will stop publication, saying it can no longer provide the resources to continue. The website will continue, however, as will access to archives online (www.ajr.org).
AJR began in 1977 as the Washington Journalism Review. In 1987 it was donated to the university’s College of Journal-ism and later renamed. In 2013, the publication cut back from 11 issues per year to three, online-only issues per calendar year.