may 2012 colorado editor

Colorado Press Association re-cently announced a new partnership with Local Media Association (LMA/formerly Suburban Newspapers of America) to offer training and re-search services and products to CPA members at a reduced fee.

“The need for quality training and education that is affordable and ac-cessible for our members has never been more important. It is one of five areas of critical importance in our 2012 strategic plan,” CPA Executive Director Samantha Johnston said. “LMA recognizes the value of col-laboration and we are thrilled that

they have extended their outstanding resources to our membership.”

Beginning this month, members of CPA will be able to participate in the following LMA programs at rates reduced from the LMA non-member rates:

•Sales certification program (ajoint venture between LMA, Borrell Associates and Motivate America) – a true certification program that features web-based modules and a test that requires a 90% grade or higher;

•Local Media Innovation Alli-ance – a monthly research club

that focuses on emerging trends, sustainable business models and digital revenue growth. The LMIA produces a monthly re-port in a case study format and includes a webinar with rep-resentatives from the featured companies. Topics include: Digital Agency, Daily Deals 2.0, Using Open Source Software, Social Strategies, Event Market-ing & more;

•Webinars – a diverse mix oftraining and educational we-binars, including many with a revenue-growth focus;

•Conferences – access to LMAconferences and events.

The partnership is a win-win for CPA member newspapers and LMA. CPA will market the LMA services and products each month and, in re-turn, will receive a revenue-share for each product or service purchased by a CPA member. CPA members re-ceive deep discounts they would not otherwise get without an LMA mem-bership.

Local Media Association is mak-ing this partnership opportunity available to all media associations in

fundraising effort

joining forces

colorado Inside: Papers try to capitalize on the power of Pinterest. PAGE 4

Official publication of the Colorado Press Association / coloradopressassociation.com / Vol. LXXXIII, No. 5 May 2012

editor

GIVE on page 8

Reprinted with permission from the Silverton Standard & the Miner

Saturday, May 5, will be a festive day in Sil-verton. Not only is it first-train day, with the first Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge

Railroad passenger train of the season scheduled to arrive at noon, but it is also Cinco de Mayo.

And the Silverton Town Council on Monday night also declared that May 5 will be observed as “Silverton Standard Day throughout the realm.”

The vote was unanimous.OnWednesday morning, April 11, the San

Juan County commissioners unanimously passed a similar proclamation.

This newspaper has been declared a National Historic Site in Journalism by the Society of Pro-fessional Journalists, and at 1 p.m. May 5 at the San Juan County Historical Society Museum, a dedication ceremony will take place.

The public is invited.Standard editor and publisher Mark Esper

told the Town Council that the Standard is the only newspaper in Colorado to receive such a designation, and one of only 93 such sites in the nation.

Other sites include Ben Franklin’s print shop, the Chicago Tribune, the Baltimore Sun, The Wall Street Journal and the Tombstone (Ariz.)Epitaph.

Esper also told the Town Council how the his-torical society’s project to save the oldest continu-allyoperatednewspaperontheWesternSlopeofColorado has gotten a lot of national attention.

The NBC “Today Show” was in town taping a story on the newspaper a couple of weeks ago. The Standard is still awaiting word on when that storywillair,butproducerIanWengerindicatedhe is nearly done with final editing.

Reprinted with permission

By Chet Hardin

Laura Long, the “beerocrat” for Bristol Brewing Co., remembers the first time that she heard about the In-dependent Gives! campaign.

It was probably late 2008, she says, and she was sitting with her boss, Mike Bristol, in the tasting room of the brewery, watching Indy publisher JohnWeissmadlytracingouthisvi-sion for a new fundraising effort.

“There ws lots of red ink, and scribbles and circles and arrows, and tangents, and big, huge ideas,” she says. “It was so exciting.”

Since its inception in 2009, Give! has been a volunteer-based effort of this paper.

“Anybody on the staff that was involved in it was taking it on over and beyond their current duties,” says Carrie Simison-Bitz, Give! co-chair and now the Indy’s general man-ager. “Our time was volunteered to the Give! campaign on behalf of the

It’s been an interesting few weeks. In five out of six cities, chairs had to be added to the rooms to accommodate attendees.

In New York, I received spon-taneous applause when I told the audience to “quit running their newspapers as if all their business is coming from mobile” when most of their profits are coming from print.

In Texas, I was introduced as “probably the most important voice in the newspaper industry today.”

Geesh. The things people say.

LANDMARK HONOR More to Give!Two prominent local women join the Indy’s fundraising campaign

kevinsimp

Fun may be returning to journalism

CPA and LMA form strategic partnership

SIMP on page 8TEAM on page 8

on the industry

Silverton one of few sites in the nation to receive historic SPJ designation

2 colorado editor May 2012

colorado editorISSN #162-0010

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Vol. LXXXIII, Issue 5May 2012

Colorado Editor is the official publication of the Colorado Press

Association and is published monthly at 1336 Glenarm Place.Denver, CO 80204-2115

p: 303-571-5117f: 303-571-1803

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Subscription rate:$10 per year, $1 single copy

StaffSamantha Johnston

Publisher/Executive [email protected]

Brian ClarkDesign Editor

Board of DirectorsOFFICERS

PresidentBrenda Brandt

The Holyoke Enterprise [email protected]

Vice PresidentBryce Jacobson

Craig Daily Press [email protected]

TreasurerTerri House

The Pagosa Springs SUN [email protected]

SecretaryKeith Cerny

Alamosa Valley Courier [email protected]

DIRECTORSMark Drudge

Cortez Journal [email protected]

Bart Smith The Greeley Tribune

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Jane Rawlings The Pueblo Chieftain [email protected]

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The Total of Forty Years – Last month I marked my 40th year in the publishing business, the great majority work-ing either for or with newspapers of all shapes and sizes. Although I have worked in virtu-ally all the different disciplines associated with the industry, my primary emphasis has been circulation and its role in the publishing system.

It is appropriate then that I cel-ebrate my 40th anniversary of sorts with a simple but direct evaluation of circulation that I have surmised in these 40 years of laboring in the fields.

It really comes down to two basic tenants.

Circulation success is di-rectly correlated to the amount of expense a newspaper is willing to devote to its function. In simple terms, it costs money to increase or even maintain your circulation.

There is no magic rock. Circula-tion is a nickel and dime business and success is achieved by a wide based effort. There is no one single action, event, or accomplishment, which will guarantee your success.

Allow me to elaborate on both points.

First, there seems to have been a concerted effort by newspapers to find cost savings in circulation at the expense of quality delivery and growth. One of the primary reasons that I left the day-today circulation business was because there was a reluctance by the powers that be to pay carriers what they were worth. Carriers in particular were the victims of increasing gas prices, higher vehicle expenses and increased workloads without any significant

or subsequent financial help from the newspaper. Tens of thousands of carriers across America get up in the middle of the night, generally seven days a week, tear up their vehicles wit no benefits or overtime. They endure late papers, sloppy bundles and poor weather. For all this, rarely do news-papers make any attempt to improve their earning power. On the contrary, there is more of a general feeling of “what can we get

by with” when it comes to paying carriers. Rate increases are greeted withlittleornot“split.”Withthishas come a reduction in quality carriers and frankly the only thing that has saved home delivery in recent years has been the reces-sion, which forced people to take routesasalastresort.When,andI guess I should say if, the employ-ment picture brightens, the quality of carriers will drop to an all-time low if something isn’t done.

The tendency toward exagger-ated frugality is also exhibited in the area of subscription sales or marketing. It costs money to keep and obtain new subscribers. The most haunting words I ever heard from a major newspaper executive were, “This paper will sell itself.”

Let’s hope that no one really believes that. If subscribers are truly our greatest asset, why won’t we spend more money to acquire them and equal amounts to keep them? Let’s do a little math for a second. Let’s say you have a 20,000-circulation daily newspaper and you feel it’s worth $10 million. I am just pulling those numbers out of the air, but they are certainly in the ballpark. That means each subscriber is worth $500. How much are you spending to obtain or retain that $500? One can argue

that in today’s acquisi-

tion market, newspapers are not worth what they used to be, but you would have to get to a really low figure before you would get in the $20 to $30 per subscriber range where most newspapers operate.

Second, there is no magic rock. I have to give credit to my friend Dave Gossett for coining that phraseseveralyearsago.Whathe means is everyone seems to be looking for that special offer, contest, promotion, newspaper design, special section, website or whatever that will miraculously increase readership and correct all that is wrong with a newspaper’s growth. There is a belief that there are hundreds or thousands of read-ers out there that are just waiting for you to find that magic rock and do the right thing and they will flock to your newspaper in droves and save the kingdom.

All you have to do is turn over that magic rock. There is no magic rock. Just like there is no pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Newspaper growth is not just the circulation department’s job. It is a team effort and a grind. It’s adding

a few subscribers today and saving

a few tomorrow. Great service is imperative. It takes all types of marketing including telemarket-ing, kiosk, crewing, special events, Internet, direct mail and NIE.

It takes a quality product that engages the readers and makes them want to come back for more. The product has to be produced in an attractive, readable and navigable fashion. It has to be both timely in delivery and news. It has to have ads that the reader can use and relate to. There is no one thing you can do to increase your newspapers. It is all these things working in concert.

I have always found it amusing (if not insulting) that when the newspaper was growing, it was be-cause we had a great product, but when circulation was down it was because the circulation department wasn’t doing its job.

Bob Bobber is a newspaper con-sultant specializing in circulation sales, training and public speaking. You can contact him at [email protected]. Reprinted with per-mission.

Doug Conarroe, MBA • 720-470-7550 • [email protected]

Affordable, easy-to-maintain and scalable WordPress installs for newspapers. Includes social-media integration, iPad & mobile, export to InDesign, paid classifieds, smart SEO, event calendar, e-mail news-letter and an e-edition. Copy flow & searchable database options. WordPress guru since 2004

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You have to invest to increase your numbers

Second, there is no magic rock. I have to give credit to my friend Dave Gossett for coining that phrase several years ago. What he means is everyone seems to be looking for that special offer, contest, promotion, newspaper design, special section, website or whatever that will miraculously increase readership and correct all that is wrong with a newspaper’s growth.”

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By Cailey McDermott Mail Staff Writer

After breaking his back playing high school football, Mike Camp-bell decided the next best thing to playing would be standing on the field documenting every down.

As sports reporter, Campbell joined The Mountain Mail edito-rial staff March 7.

He has more than 30 years of photography experience, including shoot-ing college sports at Oklahoma State Uni-versity 10 years.

“I’ve had a camera in my hand since I was 10,” Campbell said.

He said he likes all sports, but football is his favorite.

Campbell’s football expertise won him a football scholarship to Oklahoma State University, but after injuring his back dur-ing the fourth game of his senior high school season, he received a disability scholarship instead.

“Because I didn’t get to go to college (for football, photography) got me on the field. I don’t want to watch from the stands, I want to be in the action – it’s where I’m comfortable,” Campbell said.

In addition to football, Campbell let-tered in basketball, baseball and track.

Born and raised in Stillwater, Okla., Campbell worked part-time as a newspaper photographer for a decade.

Campbell covered high school sports, car wrecks, news and wild-fires. He wrote a regular article about photography for an Okla-homa magazine for seven years.

Simultaneously he and his wife, Karen, started their business,

MK’s Photography and Video, 12 years ago.Campbell said he plans to reduce his

studio work to part-time because his new job is full-time.

His family owned a house in Salida when he was growing up and they visited regularly. He has family in Poncha Springs and Colorado Springs.

“Salida feels more like my hometown than my real hometown,” he said.

The Campbells returned to the area for a time in the 1980s and again last year when he moved to Nathrop.

TheywillmovetoSalidaWednesdaytobe closer to the community they love.

“I’m looking forward to getting ac-quainted with the community again. It’s going to be fun getting to know everyone – and I’m excited to be covering sports again,” Campbell said.

Mountain Mail copy editor Dick Dixon re-tired – again – Thursday after 12 years at the paper.

A lifelong journalist and educator, he re-tired in 1999 after 31 years teaching journal-ism, American history, Colorado and western history in Summit and Chaffee counties.

He moved to Salida with his family in 1970 and became advisor for the school newspaper, Tenderfoot Times, and yearbook, “Le Resumé.”

His journalism students won “literally hun-dreds” of awards. Five times Tenderfoot Times was judged best in the nation among schools of all sizes.

He’s been writing since he was 15 and en-rolled in journalism at Wheat Ridge HighSchool. Throughout college he edited school newspapers and yearbooks and “I’ve been writing and editing ever since.”

He attended college intending to become a veterinarian, but was stopped cold by chem-istry and math and subsequently switched to journalism and history.

“I found writing and history were a natural match,” Dixon said.

He edited a couple of history books while in Summit County and later wrote “The Story of the Salida Smokestack,” and “Off the Beaten Path,” a Chaffee County area travel and history guidebook.

Dixon spent 20 years researching the Ute Trail area and eight years writing “Denver and Rio Grande Railroad Calumet Branch and Turret Mining Area,” which was the last in the Sundance Publishing Co. Trails Among the Columbine series.

As a photographer he recorded historical sites and began accumulating a collection of old photos that have illustrated history articles published in The Mountain Mail and else-where.

He was a correspondent for The Pueblo Chieftain 12 years while he taught.

When Merle Baranczyk, Arkansas ValleyPublishing Co. owner, decided to produce “Sal-

ida, The Early Years” in 2001, he asked Dixon to edit. Material for the book came from copies of “almost extinct” special newspaper editions researched and written during the 1950s by Mountain Mail news editor Eleanor Fry.

Years later, Fry became Dixon’s editor when he worked for the Chieftain.

“She was pretty salty as an editor and ham-mered in practical lessons I never learned in journalism school. Her method was blunt and direct.

“I told Eleanor I’d get even with her when I edited her stuff for the book,” Dixon joked. “I never regretted her hard-hitting lessons.”

In 2000, The Mountain Mail needed a copy editor and the rest, as they say, is history. Dixon started editing at night while retaining his day job as a truck driver, maintaining the dual em-ployment about five years.

“My intent now is to clean my office, ga-rage and workbench, work my way through a big list of home projects and then work on the bookaboutWhitehornandotherareasofUteTrail that were cut from what I called my Tur-ret book,” Dixon said.

“I don’t intend to quit writing.”

Photog Campbell joins Mountain Mail

Campbell

Second retirement’s a charm for Dixon SMALL WEEKLY PAPER FOR SALE

Small weekly in Colorado mountain community. Grosses about $120,000. Good opportunity for young couple start-ing out, or older “downsized” journalists. All buildings and equipment included in sale price; you can walk in on Monday and put out a paper on Tuesday. Current own-er will stick around to help with transition. Most news sources within blocks of the office. Beautiful location. Price includes office building and residence. April price reduced to $240,000 from $270,000. Call 970-873-8850.

SPORTS COPY EDITOR/DESIGNERThe Grand Junction (Colo.) Daily Senti-

nel has an immediate opening for a sports copy editor/designer.

Candidates must have outstanding editing skills, command of the English language, be an innovative designer and able to work under deadline pressure. A journalism or related degree is required.

The position includes some writing, compiling and writing local roundups and occasional story assignments.

Experience with InDesign, especially DT’s Cloud pagination system, is a plus.

The Daily Sentinel covers four local and several surrounding high schools, one Division II university, a new minor league baseball team, plus the NJCAA Division I baseball World Series. We’re also heavily involved in recreational sports, from hunt-ing and fishing to mountain biking, skiing, running, community and youth sports.

We offer competitive salaries and benefits packages.

Send a cover letter, resume, references and four design samples to:

Patti ArnoldSports EditorPO Box 668, Grand Junction, Colo., 81502email: [email protected] Daily Sentinel is a drug-free work-

place and all applicants considered for

employment must pass a drug screen and background check. This position requires proof of insurance and a valid driver’s license.

PHOTO/VIDEO INTERNThe Durango Herald, a family-owned

daily newspaper in spectacular Southwest Colorado, seeks a paid summer photo/video intern. Daily duties include produc-ing local news, sports and feature photos and videos.

Photo/video interns must provide their own digital SLR equipment, including a telephoto lens to cover sports. Knowledge of Photoshop and the ability to shoot and edit video are plusses.

Hours include nights and weekends.

To apply, please send a cover letter, resume and photo and video samples to David Bergeland, Photo/Video Manager, at [email protected] or c/o The Durango Herald, 1275 Main Ave., Durango CO 81301.

NEWS EDITORAre you ready to step up in your career? News Editor needed for Kansas daily, about 4 hours east of Denver, near wildlife areas, fishing, hunting, outdoor sports. College town on I-70. This professional will be responsible for news content, supervision of two full-time and several part-time writers and correspondents, pagination, design and new coverage, reporting to publisher. Involved in award-winning series of joint news sections produced by regional group. This is a prime opening for a reporter or editor with some experience who feels they can step up and produce an award-winning newspaper. Salary based on experience. Immediate opening. Send letter and resume to [email protected] and [email protected].

cpa marketplace


By Joanne Phillips

Pinterest: Crazy growth lands it as top 10 social site (CNET, December 2011)

Pinterest hits 10 million U.S. monthly unique faster than any standalone site ever (TechCrunch, February 2012)

Pinterest drove more referral traffic than Twitter in February (PC Magazine, March 2012)

The headlines are certainly eye-catching.

Withnumbersliketheseit’sunderstandable why bloggers, businesses and brands from all industries are looking to stake out some ground on the network. More than 100 newspapers around the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and other regions of the world have opened accounts on the platform and are trying to figure out how to take home a piece of the Pinterest pie.

What are newspapers pinning?

TheWallStreetJournalhasseen quite a bit of attention in the blogosphere over the last few months for its use of Pinterest. The newspaper used the platform, in conjunction with Instagram, to coverNewYork’sFashionWeek.Also of note is a “Quotes” board where editors have found a way to turn a text heavy article into something visual for its Pinterest followers. Think pull-quotes and soundbites. After a MediaBistro piece about the Quotes board, at least seven other newspapers started giving the strategy a spin.

Pins from the Chicago Tribune have a historic and local focus: “Historic Front Pages,” “Notable Chicagoans,” “Chicago Sports.” Social media editor Amy Guth reports that the Tribune’s historic pins have done well. A board de-voted to newspaper crafts has also been well received by Pinterest users.

“For news organizations, the focus on purely visual aspects rather than exclusively on news is a hard concept,” Guth said in a recent email

interview. “I see news orgs trying to pin train wrecks and car crashes because they are breaking news, but that sort of thing just doesn’t go anywhere on Pinterest. Put your values on display, and speak to the values of your readers, and you’ll do fine.” Values are visible on the boards of The Pottstown (Pa.) Mer-cury:“WeusePinterestasawayofshowcasing things we are doing in the community, such as our recent community food drive,” said Diane Hoffman, community engagement editor. The Mercury’s food drive was on display on a board called “Fill the Media Lab” where they posted photos of donations submit-ted by readers.

A local focus is also evident on the boards of the York Daily Record. As a public service, Buffy Andrews, social media coordina-tor and assistant managing editor of features and niche publications, created boards with images that link to the websites of local parks and libraries. Andrews strives to drive traffic back to her own newspaper’s website by comment-ing on others’ pins and adding links to relevant stories that may be of interest.

“I hope to connect and engage with our readers. I also hope to drive traffic to our websites and promote all of the cool things we do,” Andrews said. “Some of the things I’ve promoted are contests (such as our Peeps and Sharp-dressed shoes contests) and feature series by my staff (such as our oral history series and the new series we just started, Exit Interviews).”

Some newspapers use Pinter-esttoadddepthtostories.Whennews came that the penny would be eliminated from Canadian cur-rency, the Calgary Herald created aboardcalled,“Whattodowithyour old pennies.” The Edmonton Journal has boards for “Chalkboard Paint Inspiration” and “Mint Green Fashion,” both were created to accompany and promote stories reporters were developing.

CollaboratingSome newspapers are inviting

their community to pin with them. The Des Moines Register was one of the first newspapers to encour-

age their readers to collaborate on a board called “Community Favorites.” If you decide to try this idea, make sure to give Pinterest users clear instructions for partici-pation.

As an incentive to follow the Arizona Republic on Pinterest the newspaper has created a collabora-tive board where anyone can pin anything so long as they follow all of the newspaper’s boards.

In Texas the Dallas Morning News and Austin American States-man are two of over 40 contributors to a board called, “Texans are pin-ning it big.” The board instructs pin-ners to add anything and everything “Texas.”

Linda Negro, managing editor of the Evansville (Ind.) Courier & Press, curates a board where

newspapers from around the U.S. are invited to pin images of their features section fronts.

Keep in mind that most news-papers are still feeling it out and experimenting with different pin-ningstrategies.Whatworksforonepublication might not be a hit in another market. That being said…if you’re inspired by the newspa-pers mentioned here or have ideas of your own, get online and start pinning!

Reprinted with permission from the May Inlander.

Joanne Phillips is newsroom development coordinator at Lee Enterprises and the creator of the “Newspapers on Pinterest” pinboard. She can be reached at [email protected].

Follow Joanne’s blog, newspa-personpinterest.com, to stay up to date with what newspapers are pinning and for an alphabetical list of publications already on the social network.

The Inland Press Association was founded in 1885 by a group of U.S. newspapers seeking solutions to common problems. The association is a not-for-profit corporation owned and controlled by its members, nearly 1,200 newspapers in the United States, Canada and Bermu-da. The daily and weekly newspapers in the association reach nearly 20 million U.S. homes. Inland has an affiliated foundation, which provides educational programs.

For more information, visit inlandpress.org.

Power of the Pin

Newspapers among those trying to make most of popular new social networking site

Pinning by the numbersHow does it work?

Each pin placed on a user’s virtual corkboard links back to its original source (hello, traffic!).WhenPinterestuserspin something to their board they are also sharing it — and the link — with their followers, increasing the chances for any particular pin to catch on in the community and potentially create a flood of traffic back to your website.

Who’s behind the pins?

In early February, comScore reported that Pinterest had hit 11.7 million unique monthly visitors in the United States alone — and it hit that mark faster than any other stand-alone site in history.

Most of the site’s users are

women, and they’re more likely to be from Midwestern states.

What are they pinning

According to an RJMet-rics report from mid-March,

the all-time most popular pinboard categories are home (17.2 percent), arts and crafts (12.4 percent), style/fashion (11.7 percent) and food (10.5 percent).


edhenninger

Whenwewere kids,many ofus drove our parents to distrac-tion with “why” questions. The classic, of course, is “why is the sky blue?”

You can be sure there were others:

Whydoes it get darkat night?

Whyisthewaterwet?Whyisup?We were full of “the

whys” back then. As designers, we can

take a good lesson from that. We can rememberto ask “why.”

As in:WhyamIputtingthis

in a box?WhyamIjumpingthisstory?WhyamIusingthiscolor?Sound design demands that

every element on the page needs a reason to be there. If its existence cannot be explained, then it’s ex-traneous—and therefore bad de-sign.

There are basics to good de-sign, such as contrast, unity, focus and the like. Every element on the page needs to contribute to sound design approach.

You see, design isn’t “playing with the page.” It isn’t “Let’s see how this looks.” It isn’t “Throw a tint behind that story and see if it works.”

Good design is a discipline. It’s a cabinet maker using his

measuring tools, remembering to “measure twice...cut once.” It’s that same cabinet maker using his plane to smooth the surface of a dresser.

And it’s that same cabinet maker running his fingers along the grain of the wood, using his years of experience to feel for those places that are still a bit rough, still a bit unfinished.

When he finds thosespots, he’ll work to re-move them. Because they don’t belong.

One of our tasks as designers is to use our experience to find those

elements that don’t belong—and remove them.

Wedothateverytimeweaskourselves “why.”

ED HENNINGER is an in-dependent newspaper consultant and the Director of Henninger Consulting. Offering comprehen-sive newspaper design services in-cluding redesigns, workshops, staff training and evaluations. E-mail: [email protected]. On the web: henningerconsulting.com. Phone: 803-327-3322.

WANT A FREE evaluation of your newspaper’s design? Just contact Ed.

Whyweneed to ask why

Why would you run a head-line on a curve? In this feature package, it helps to add inter-est and it works natu-rally with the photo illustration. The lower curved headline echoes the design at the top.

Pinterest is hot.The photo-sharing

social network grew by leaps and bounds through the end of 2011 and gained even more momentum during the first quarter of 2012. As you might expect, the explosive growth has prompted newsroom personnel to start asking, “How can we use this in our reporting?” Before we get to that, let’s back up just a bit and talk about what Pinterest is and how people are using it. Pinterest is the digital version of corkboards you might see at a supermarket or community center. They provide an empty slate for people to post (or “pin”) images or messages – and others to see and interact with. Pin? That’s right, Pinterest has another term to file away with the rest of the social-media vocabulary – like tweet, check in and Like – you’ve acquired in the past few years. Pin-ning is the act of creating or curat-ing content on Pinterest. During sign up, users are prompted to load a “bookmarklet” (a small button )ontotheirbrowser.Whenusersvisit a site with a picture they want to pin to one of their boards, they click that little button, write their won caption and add it. Publish-ers can also add “Pin It” buttons to their sites to encourage Pinterest us-ers to interact with their content.

Big Pinnin’Just how explosive has growth

been on Pinterest? ComScore – a web traffic tracker – shows usage in January increased more than 50 percent from just under 10 million userst to nearly 15 million. And that number was expected to increase to nearly 20 million by the end of March.Whilethatfigureisjustafraction of Twitter’s more than 300 million users, or the more than

half-billion users claimed by Facebook, it does indi-cated a growing awareness and adoption. Most nota-bly, adoption has been by a preponderance of women. Pinterest has become the “in” place to showcase wish lists and everything designed to inspire. Many boards are about our material culture: fine food, and wine, clothes, fashion and shopping.

Pinterest isn’t charging for the service, but there’s

definitely potential to do so in the future – not only for them, but for newspaper companies looking to better affect ROI for their advertis-ing customers by directly harness-ing the power of personal recom-mendations.

News UsageUnlike Facebook and Twit-

ter, Pinterest doesn’t seem to offer enough focus for breaking-news and beat reporters, though it’s not out of the question. However, it could be a gold mine for arts, culture and consumer reporters looking to identify emerging trends for story ideas. Newsrooms might also find the platform a natural for curating content, preserving stories and giving them a longer shelf life. Of course, also, being active on Pin-terest might serve to bring in visi-tors to your site who are interested in niche content.

Here are a few ideas you might try in your newsroom:

• Fair Play: Take the unpub-lished photos from your county’s fair and publish them on Pinterest, include links to stories on the fair and where folks might buy a print of the photo from your company. Invite the pubic to visit your board and let them know it’s home for this kind of local content.

•Gastro-sourcing: Create a board for finding the best lunches in your town for under $10 (or another theme like best Mexican food or taco truck). Invite readers to share their food-related pins with you – you can review and add them to yours, curating a comprehensive resource for local lunching.

• Our town: Can you tell the history of your area in images? Here’s your chance to find out. Audiences love easy-to-understand information on themselves and their hometowns. Create a board of local landmarks and their signifi-cance to your town’s history.

• Go crazy: As journalists, it’s important to evaluate your tools to determine their best application for your goals. Look, nobody knows whether Pinterest will be the next Twitter. It could flame out or take off. So for now, just experiment.

Takeaways

Pinterest is growing like wasitlines during the holidays. Its popularity stems from widespread adoption among women, many of whom are using it to highlight the material goods they most wish to acquire. News organizations are in their infancy when using the service and are using it to highlights arts and culture content along with find photography. Though there has been some controversy about whether the site encourages violations of intellec-tual property rights, more and more people are joining the site.

This article first appeared in The Inlander. Reprinted with permis-sion from Henry M. Lopez, founder of Lopez Webworks, a Santa Fe, N.M.-based provider of web services, training and consultation is a former Inland Press Minority Leadership Fellow and digital manager for the Santa Fe New Mexican. [email protected]

WhatPinterestcandoforyourpaper

henry m.lopez

santa fe, new mexico


We all know that sales peopleshouldsellbenefits.Weknowthatadvertising should emphasize ben-efits. And we know that people buy benefits.

What kinds of benefits do cus-tomers want? According to Don, who has been in the advertising business for many years, “It all comes down to: more, better, fast-er or cheaper. You can talk about other things, but if you don’t show them how your product or service offers at least one of these four, they’re not going to buy.”

Let’s take a look:

1. More: When you’re preparing for asales presentation, ask yourself if your pub-lication has more coverage than in previous years. Can you offer advertisers more ads for the same dollars? Do you offer extra market-ing or analytical services that may appeal to certain businesses?

“Whenyou’rethinkingofadideasinthiscategory,” Don said, “the most obvious ex-ample is a two-for-the-price-of-one offer – or buy-one-get one free. This tactic has been around for a long time, because it works so well.”

There are plenty of other choices. As

you’re gathering information, look beyond pricing. Find out if your ad-vertiser has additional services. Or new locations. Or expanded busi-ness hours.

2. Better: Every business claims to be better than the competition. The challenge is to be specific. Two questions: (1) Exactly what is it that makes your widget better? (2) Can you communicate that without us-ing the word “quality?”

In my opinion, “quality” is the most overused word in advertising. Usually, it doesn’t mean anything.

Do you know what distinguishes “qual-ity construction” from other types? Do you know the characteristics of “top quality ser-vice?” Do you have a good understanding of what “better quality” means? Neither do I. And neither do your customers.

Now, this is not to say that “quality” should never be used in selling or advertising. Just don’t use it in general terms.

3. Faster: We live in a get-it-done-nowage. E-mail, texting, speed dating, overnight delivery, drive-in windows – it’s all a reflec-tion of our demand to get things in a hurry.

While writing this paragraph, I did aGoogle search on “consumer demand for

speed.” The search generated over 4 million results in .14 seconds. That’s point-one-four seconds.Whattooksolong?

Healthcare has its own version of speed dating. A medical organization in Texas has a program to help people choose primary care physicians in five-minute interviews.

When it’s time for an oil change, I usu-allygotoaplacethatoffersfastservice.Whyshould I wait an hour somewhere else, when it can be done in 20 minutes? Same oil, faster service.

On the highway, “speed kills.” But in the marketplace, “speed sells.”

4. Cheaper: “Price can be a huge motiva-tor,” Don said. “Even with luxury items – or premium advertising space – people like to get bargains.”

The key is to provide specifics. How much can your customers save? How deep is the discount? How long will the sale last?

© Copyright 2012 by John Foust.All rights reserved.

John Foust has conducted training programs for thousands of newspaper advertising professionals. Many ad departments are using his training videos to save time and get quick results from in-house training. E-mail for information: [email protected]

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See Tom's archive website here: http://smc.stparchive.com.

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Newspapers frequently ask the question: How can we promote a lively exchange of ideas in our com-munity?

There’s no silver bullet, but one premise is fundamental: Letters are the lifeblood of an editorial page. Translated, take steps to ensure sub-stantive letters, and you’re well on your way to making your editorial page a “must read.” My apologies in advance to anyone who takes of-fense, but “thank you” letters should be at the bottom of the pile – if they ever are published.

Consider this string of “thank you” letters during a two-week span at one newspaper.

The retiring director of a youth camp thanks the community for its unwavering support. Teachers thank school board mem-bers for their service in observance of School BoardRecognitionWeek.Twoorganizersof fund-raisers thank the community for its support, one specifically thanking a local hotel for hosting the event. A mayor thanks the community for the opportunity to serve them, then expresses his appreciation to all appointed and elective officials. Another public official thanks his constituents for the opportunity to serve them as he announces his decision not to seek re-election.

Sorry, these letters may be great for scrap-books. But they do little to boost the editorial page as the place for substantive exchange on important community issues.

Following are additional dos and don’ts to keep the letters column relevant:

Limit length: Readers have limited at-tention span for lengthy stories. The same is true for letters. Editors are doing the writers a favor by imposing limits; 300 words is a good starting point.

Limit frequency of authors: Individuals

generally should be limited to one letter per month, except in the case of rebuttals (see next item).

Restrict rebuttals: Exchanges among writers should be limited to two letters from each individual on a particular subject – in other words, a letter and a rebuttal, plus a counter-rebuttal from each writer. After that, the readers can carry on their conversations privately. Writerswillcomplainthattheotherperson “had the last word,” but that will always be the case.

Avoid orchestrated campaigns: Letters distributed in mass distribution should be held to a higher standard. If you publish one, you likely open the floodgates to a variety of special interests that may not necessar-ily have a presence in your community. At minimum, editors should require that these letters are authored by a local resident.

Give priority to local opinions: In gen-eral, letters should be accepted from local readers only. An exception might be a letter on a local topic from a recognized expert who lives outside the area.

Verify letters: All letters should be verified prior to publication, preferably by a phone call. Editors should require name, full address and telephone number on all submissions – especially if letters are submit-ted via e-mail.

Letters are no substitute for news sto-ries: Only in special circumstances should editors accept letters promoting an event or program. Once you say “yes” to one, it’s dif-ficult to say “no” to another.

Be conscious of display: Be sensitive to the prominence letters receive – especially

those that present opposing views on the same issue.

Edit aggressively: Make readers aware that letters are edited aggressively, especially those that repeat themes.

Stick to public issues: Letters should ad-dress public issues or issues that come before public bodies. Compliments and/or criticism of private organizations and businesses are not regular subjects for letters.

Identify authors where appropriate: Letters should carry a note identifying the writer if it’s germane to the subject. For example, a writer might be identified as a nuclear engineer if the letter addresses nuclear energy.

Possibly most important, newspa-pers should resist the temptation to add a postscript to letters. Editors’ notes might be appropriate to correct an error in fact or a statement that grossly mischaracterizes a position. But they should not be tacked on to defend or restate the newspaper’s position.

Editors should keep in mind that every action prompts a reaction. The obsession of many newspapers to have the “last word” sends a clear message to readers and is a sure-fire way to squelch the exchange of opinions.

Jim Pumarlo writes, speaks and provides training on Community Newsroom Success Strategies. His newest book is “Journalism Primer: A Guide to Community News Cover-age for Beginning and Veteran Journalists.” He also is author of “Votes and Quotes: A Guide to Outstanding Election Coverage” and “Bad News and Good Judgment: A Guide to Report-ing on Sensitive Issues in a Small-Town News-paper.” He can be contacted at www.pumarlo.com and welcomes comments and questions at [email protected].

Focus on letters to invigorate your editorial page

jimpumarlo

Whatdocustomerswant?

johnfoust

Advertising Manager

Informational Webinar

CPA member advertising managers and publishers are encouraged to attend an informa-tional webinar co-sponsored by CPA and LMA to provide informa-tion about the LMA partnership and the benefits extended to CPA members.

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Who should attend: All advertising managers, sales managers, publishers and those making training decisions for advertising sales staffs

When: Thursday, May 17 – 1 p.m. MST

Log on at: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/352677506.


Mark Faenza Internet Sales Representative

Record-Journal Meriden, CT

“The Local Media Association Sales Certification Course was one of the first things I did as a new employee of the Record-Journal. As a recent college graduate, I had no sales experience and this course gave me the skills I needed to launch my career. I would recommend this course to anyone looking to sharpen their sales skills.”

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Sound Publishing Poulsbo, WA

“I find the course to be very helpful for new sales representatives in understanding the skills it will take to be successful in their profes-sion. I found it also motivational for seasoned sales executives to re- examine their own current habits and see if they’re utilizing all of the tools that it takes to be at the top of their game!”

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Local Media Association has consulted with some of the leading media companies in America and together with Borrell Associates and training specialist Kevin McCrudden, President of Motivate America created a data driven webinar training series. The webinar programs are “self-directed” and can be taken at home or in the office at your staff’s own pace.

The FoLLowing Courses Are CurrenTLy AvAiLAbLe:

basic Print Certification prepares a Media Sales Representative to present a “solution” to the client in an effective and persuasive presentation, providing details of a current product that matches their needs or a creative solution that provides a positive outcome.

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Media sales Manager Certification is for those who are competent in the topics covered in the basic and advanced courses and are ready to lead other sales representatives.

Colorado Press Association introductory Member rate: $395Multiple Registration Discounts Are Available

Contact: Al Cupo, VP, Operations, Local Media Association(888) 486-2466, [email protected]

Editor’s note: Colorado Press Association’s legal counsel Tom Kelley, Steve Zansberg, and Chris Beall, with the Denver law firm of Levine Sullivan Koch & Schulz, field questions from CPA members on First Amendment and freedom of information issues. Some of those recent questions and answers, in revised form, are listed below. If you have any questions you would like them to address, please submit them to CPA Executive Director Samantha Johnston at [email protected].

Question: The executive com-

mittee of our county’s Republi-can Party is going to be having a meeting, and I would like to attend it. I have been told that I will likely be barred, despite the fact that there will undoubt-edly be elected officials at the meeting. Can they keep me from attending?

Answer: Probably. The fact that elected officials may be in attendance at the executive com-mittee meeting for the El Paso County GOP does not control whether the meeting must be open to the public. Rather, in order to

be subject to the Colorado Open Meetings Law, there must be a quorum of a “public body” in at-tendance at the meeting and there must be a discussion of public business over which that public body has jurisdiction. Thus, if the elected officials who attend this meeting constitute a quorum of one or more government boards – such as the county commission or a city council – then there may be an argument in favor of requir-ing public access if the discussion during the executive committee meeting pertains to issues that are related to the work of that public body. Otherwise though, the COML would not generally apply to a political party’s executive committee meeting.

Question: Our county-owned hospital has recently signed a contract with a private consult-ing firm to do a variety of things, from temporary management/oversight, to a possible CEO search, as well as an overall analysis of the operation. Is that contract a public record?

Answer: Yes. The contract is a “writing” that is “made, main-

tained, or kept” by the county hospital, “for use in the exercise of functions required or authorized by law or administrative rule,” and therefore it constitutes a “public record” under the Colorado Open Records Act. In addition, any contractual provision that requires the hospital to treat the contract as “confidential” is unenforceable as contrary to the public policy stated in the CORA. That is why several courts have required public agencies – including Memorial Hospital in Colorado Springs -- to release to the public contracts it enters into with staff physicians and settlement agreements with claimants who asserted medical malpractice claims.

Question: I cover a state public body, and I recently had an exchange with the spokesman for that board who claimed that the board does not announce the particular topics that will be discussed in an executive session. After the conclusion of a particularly lengthy executive session, I asked the spokesman what would be the topic of the next day’s executive session topics. He replied that it was a

personnel matter and reiterated, “As I mentioned previously, we do not announce the specific de-tails of executive session discus-sions.” He added that the regents planned to discuss “personnel, legal and property matters” in the additional scheduled execu-tive sessions. I am wondering if there is a problem that the regents are not saying more than “legal advice” or “it’s a personnel matter”?

Answer: Yes. There is a problem. The Colorado Open Meetings Law requires an advance announcement of the “particular matter to be discussed in as much detail as possible without under-mining the purpose for which the executive session is held.” This re-quirement has been enforced in a number of court cases in precisely the situation you’ve described – where the public body announced only the category of the execu-tive session (i.e., “legal matters” or “personnel matters”) without announcing the specific topics to be discussed under those catego-ries. So, yes, in merely stating the statutory category for an executive session, without announcing the “particular matter to be dis-cussed,” this board has not “strictly complied” with the COML, and this failure to comply renders the subsequent closed-door meetings unlawful under the statute.

Question: I am trying to track down job performance evalua-tions for our local high school football coach and the school district superintendent. Are those records exempt from dis-closure under state law?

Answer: No.Withrespecttothe football coach, if he is not a licensed teacher or other licensed school profession, then his job performance evaluations fall under the standard provisions of the Colorado Open Records Act. Un-der that statute, Colorado’s Court of Appeals has narrowly construed the exemption for “personnel files” to limit that exemption solely to information maintained by the employer that is unrelated to a public employee’s discharge of his official duties: “Personal demo-graphic information” that is of the same highly personal and private nature as the itemized list of “home address, home phone num-ber, personal financial informa-tion.” As a result, only this type of personal demographic information may properly be withheld under the “personnel files” exception.

As for the superintendent, because she is a licensed profes-sional, her final evaluation report is subject to public disclosure pursuant to § 22-9-109, C.R.S., the statute dealing with access to records of licensed educational professionals. Unfortunately, all

documents that were “used” in preparing the evaluation report on the superintendent are not subject to release under this statute. Of course, any records pertaining to the superintendent performing her public functions which were not used in preparing the evaluation report fall under the CORA and are subject to release.

Question: We received an agenda for a “special” meeting of our local school board today, and in it, the board indicates that this meeting will “take place via email.” Is that legal? Can they no-tice an email meeting? And how does the public participate?

Answer: Yes. Meetings can be conducted by e-mail. The Colorado Open Meetings Law says so expressly. To do so, the school board must give proper advance written notice, as they appear to have done. And, you should be given access to the “meeting” con-ducted via e-mail by some reason-able means – either being allowed to observe at the computer of one of the participants, or, alternatively, you could ask to be copied (“cc:”-ed) on the exchanges between the meeting participants.

Question: I attended the meeting of our local city plan-ning and zoning commission last night. They are in the process of getting requests for proposals from three consultants to help them update the city’s Master Plan. The completed the RFP last night. For their next meeting, they want to go into executive session to discuss and prepare the interview questions for the consultants. The city attorney at the meeting said they could do an executive session for that since they are purchasing a product, the master plan. Their reasoning is that they do not want the candidates to know the questions ahead of the interview. Is that legal?

Answer: Probably not. The Colorado Open Meetings Law does not provide any exemption for discussions related to “purchas-ing a product.” The only potential-ly applicable exemptions is the one for discussions concerning “the purchase, acquisition, lease, trans-fer, or sale of any real, personal, or other property interest.” However, a contract to hire a consultant to develop the city’s master plan is most certainly not a contract to purchase a property interest. It is a contract for personal services. And, because the consultant is not going to be hired as an “employee,” the discussion also does not fall within the “personnel matters” exemption, which applies only to “employees” of local public bodies.

legal q & a

coloradopressassociation.com


“Monumental Majesty: 100 Years of Colorado National Monu-ment” is a 2012 Colorado Book Award finalist in the anthology/collection category. The 136-page, photo-intensive book was writ-ten, photographed and designed largely by Grand Junction Daily Sentinel staff. A truly collaborative effort, nearly 50 people contrib-uted, including invited artists, photographers and writers in the community.

Legendary documentary film-

maker Ken Burns wrote the fore-word, calling it, «a stunning book, full of exquisite imagery of one of the most beautiful places on the planet.» Sentinel Publisher Jay Seaton said the book is a natural extension of the newspaper›s work in covering the community. In the book›s introduction, Seaton wrote: «The Grand Junction Daily Sen-tinel, situated within view of the monument, has chronicled in pic-tures and words the monument›s

birth and close relationship to its community. Indeed, Sentinel PublisherWalterWalker›ssupportof Otto›s efforts gave a foothold to what may otherwise have been interpreted as the tinkerings of a madman on a mountain.» The other finalists in the anthology/col-lection category are “Denver Inside and Out” from History Colorado and “Climb: Tales of Man Versus Boulder,Crag,WallandPeak,”

edited by Kerry L. Burns and Cameron M. Burns. Finalists in all categories are listed at www.coloradohumanities.org. They will be recognized at the Colorado Book Award Celebration during theAspenSummerWordsLiteraryFestival on June 22 in Aspen. Cop-ies of “Monumental Majesty” can be purchased ($32.95 plus tax) at Tattered Cover, Barnes & Noble Booksellers and at GJSentinel.com.

‘Monumental Majesty’ finalist for award

GIVE from Page 1 paper. But now it’s gotten so big that we finally need to staff it with paid people.

WhichiswhereLongcomesbackin. She has been involved with the campaign from the start, working to partner Bristol in providing rewards to contributors, like in-home beer tasting.

She has also served on the advi-sory board and executive committee. And starting May 16, she will come on as part-time Give! coordinator.

She will be joining Mary Lou Makepeace, the former Colorado Springs mayor, activities and execu-tive director of the Gay & Lesbian Fund for Colorado, who accepted a community outreach position and

has been working part-time since March.

Give! aims to promote and sup-port Pikes Peak region nonprofits. It is set up as an end-of-year fundrais-ing campaign, but Simison-Bitz says that considering everything else it does – from helping nonprofits craft their message for media to holding community events – “it is so much more than that.”

The campaign aims to inspire people, mostly young adults in their 20s and 30s, to begin seeing them-selves as philanthropists. And busi-nesses like Bristol help to make this idea attractive, by offering rewards for donations.

“Whilegivingisandshouldbeitsown reward, we want to break you in

easily.Wewantyoutoknowthatyoudon’t have to be rich,”Simison-Bitz says.“We’re tryingtoenticepeople,by saying, ‘This is fun. Get to know these nonprofits. We want to offeryou a reward.’ And thankfully we have a fantastic local community of business folks and individuals who ware willing to donate their products or their time.”

A couple weeks ago, Mayor Steve Bach hosted a hike with the mayor thorugh Red Rock Canyon Open Space, Simison-Bitz points out. Fif-ty donors participated, then went to The Broadmoor for drinks and snacks.

Last year, Give! raised almost $700,000 cumulatively for 49 Pikes Peak are nonprofits.

SIMP from Page 1 In Pennsylvania, the woman

who introduced me instructed the audience to stand so I could tell everyone I had another “standing room only” group in Harrisburg.

Here’s what I’m noticing. People are having fun again in our busi-ness. For a few years, conventions were overshadowed with a feeling of gloom and doom. It seems to me that 2012 may be the year that the vale of gloom is lifted and we start enjoying our work again as an industry.

Convention registrations have been up. Audiences have been larger. More people have been out on the dance floor. These are all good signs.

In South Carolina last week, an editor told me his paper had sent more than 20 attendees to their annual state convention. “It’s the first time we’ve done that in recent history,” he said.

Obviously it’s not fun for every-one. I had an enlightening lunch with two executives with a chain of metro papers a few days ago. I told them about the larger crowds this year and profits that seem to be on the way up, instead of down.

“I hear the community papers are doing well,” one of them said. “They really know how to meet the needs of their readers and it’s paying off.”

Wediscussedthe“mistakenidea” - their words, not mine - that consolidation leads to profits.

I mentioned that I had recently worked for a client who used to be a big dog with one of the major newspaper groups. She told me she was part of the inner circle that originally made the decision to send their production and customer service to other countries.

WhenIaskedhowthatwent,shewas very blunt. “It was a disaster.”

Apparently it didn’t take long to move everything back. I’ve heard the same story from publishers with other groups that had similar experiences.

My two lunch friends told me their company had come “perilously close” to moving production over-seas. “Thank goodness we didn’t,” said one of them.

He went on to add that he felt it was “a mistake to assume that con-solidation increases profits.”

Speaking of their efforts to consolidate properties, using central locations for producing multiple newspapers, he said that he would bet that it ended up “costing more money in the long run” than keep-ing everything in separate locations.

I certainly don’t know every-thing, but I will share a little of what I’ve noticed in my travels of late. It seems that papers I’ve visited that are produced locally, rather than at centralized facilities, seem to be having fewer problems with ad sales, reduced circulation and other problems that have made so much news over the past three years.

I could venture my own guesses as to why that seems to be the case, but I’m sure there are locally owned

and produced papers that

are having plenty of struggles of their own. They just don’t happen to be locations I’ve visited.

Having said that, I’ve prob-ably visited more newspapers that are being produced in centralized locations over the past year than the other way around. And most of them seem to be doing well.

If I were drawing a chart of the entire newspaper industry, I’d prob-ably divide the page into two halves. One one half would be “Profitable newspapers.” On the other, would be “Struggling newspapers.”

It probably wouldn’t surprise too many people in the business to know that community papers seem to be doing better than larger papers. It also wouldn’t surprise most industry professionals to hear that locally owned papers seem to be fairing better than newspapers owned by large groups.

If I might paraphrase my lunch mate, I believe this has a lot to do with understanding your commu-nity. Reporters, editors, publishers, ad staffs and others at our papers understand their communities bet-ter than someone looking in from the outside. And it seems to me that this results in stronger sales and increased circulation.

Time will tell, I suppose.The dean of a major school of

journalism told me four years ago that he believed there wouldn’t be a single printed newspaper left in the United States by the year 2018. I told him I believed that might be the dumbest idea I’d ever heard.

WhenheaskedwhyIfeltthatway, I told him that I knew my com-munity. And if all the other papers closed down, I’d start one and make a fortune.

It looks like I won’t have to do that. It’s been four years and none of the papers in my area have closed.

I’m glad 2012 seems to be a bet-ter year for our industry. Even some of my metro clients are telling me things are looking up.

I hope the journalism dean and I cross paths in 2018. I’d love to compare notes.

TEAM from Page 1the U.S. and Canada. Colorado Press will join the California Newspaper Publishers Association in being the first to join the LMA Association Partnership Program.

“There are many great industry trade associations in North America and we all have certain niches or areas of expertise”, said Nancy Lane, presi-dent, LMA, “it just makes sense to collaborate and share with our fellow associations. Our sales certification program took over two years to de-velop and included a serious invest-ment from our partnership group. Sharing this fabulous tool with the industry is the right thing to do.”

At a time when newspapers are struggling to adequately train sales teams to sell both print and digital in an ever-changing environment, LMA offers certification programs geared to-ward sales personnel and management that will help shift the resource burden off of in-house advertising teams.

“LMA offers a resource that many community newspapers simply don’t have the time or money to develop independently,” Johnston said. “This nine-module course prepares a sales person to hit the street with confi-dence, industry knowledge, market-ing savvy and sales know-how. The programs are designed to be used as an initial training course for new sales consultants or on-going educa-tion for current consultants. And the beauty of the program is that it can be done from anywhere, anytime with Internet access.”

In addition to the sales certifica-tion programs, LMA hosts a variety of monthly webinars. Recent topics include: Social Media and your Ad-vertisers:What YouNeed toKnow;Major Account Outlook; Develop-ing an In-House Agency; Reputa-tion Management – A New Revenue Stream; and Daily Deals Best Prac-tices. Upcoming webinars include: Using Free Open Source Software;

Digital Pricing Optimization; Assess-ing Local Digital Sales Forces; Mobile Strategies; Political Advertising Op-portunities and many more. For a complete list of upcoming training, visit www.localmedia.org/Webinars/UpcomingWebinars.aspxorvisit theCPA website at coloradopressassocia-tion.com/News-Events.

Another unique resource available to LMA partners is access to monthly research focused on Emerging Busi-ness Model, Digital Revenue Oppor-tunities and New and Exciting Trends packaged in a How-To Information/Case Study Format. Subscriptions to the “Research Club” findings include a monthly report and webinar with featured company executives.

For more information about the Local Media Association Partner-ship program, contact Nancy Lane at [email protected] or (843) 390-1531 or Samantha Johnston at [email protected] or (303) 571-5117.

Focusing on community seems to aid newspapers

Members will benefit from collaboration

Give! aims to inspire young philanthropists

It probably wouldn’t surprise too many people in the business to know that community papers seem to be doing better than larger papers. It also wouldn’t surprise most industry professionals to hear that locally owned papers seem to be fairing better than newspapers owned by large groups.”

may 2012 colorado editor

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