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 Franklins 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 societys 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 Indys general man-ager. Our time was volunteered to the Give! campaign on behalf of the

Its 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 Indys 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

USPS # 0122-940

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

coloradopressassociation.com

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

StaffSamantha Johnston

Publisher/Executive Directorsjohnston@colopress.net

Brian ClarkDesign Editor

Board of DirectorsOFFICERS

PresidentBrenda Brandt

The Holyoke Enterprise bbholent@chase3000.com

Vice PresidentBryce Jacobson

Craig Daily Press bjacobson@craigdailypress.com

TreasurerTerri House

The Pagosa Springs SUN terri@pagosasun.com

SecretaryKeith Cerny

Alamosa Valley Courier krcemail@aol.com

DIRECTORSMark Drudge

Cortez Journal mdrudge@cortezjournal.com

Bart Smith The Greeley Tribune

bsmith@greeleytribune.com

Jane Rawlings The Pueblo Chieftain janer@chieftain.com

Laurena Mayne Davis The Daily Sentinel

laurena.davis@gjsentinel.com

David McClain Sterling Journal-Advocate

dmcclain@journal-advocate.com

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chubbard@denverpost.com

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The Holyoke Enterprise

Community Newspapercovering Phillips County in NE Colorado

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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 withlittleornotsplit.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 isnt 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 execu