MPA eBulletin, Jan. 5, 2011 _______________________________________________ -- Reader can win $250! -- Ad sales training at NW Press in January -- NNA office in Columbia moves -- This guy appreciates his newspaper; commenter doesn't -- Win a Branson get-away! -- Great generals grew up in Missouri -- Health care tax credit form available -- More furloughs for Gannett employees -- Canadian associations join -- TV viewing up: Good News for Newspapers! -- Who gave how much to whom? It's online! -- Old scam may return; alert staff, advertisers -- Ad outlook "better" around world -- Contest judges can win cash! -- St. Louis online-only paper gets $1.25 million -- Want to sell more ads? Read a book! -- Budweiser remains the king of baseball -- Keeping internet safe material (Special section opportunity?) -- Sunshine Week is coming -- Return 2011 Advertising Agreement -- Day at the Capitol Feb. 10 -- Circulation Management meeting April 14-16 -- Hall of Fame, Young Journalist forms online -- Will publishing online get you sued? -- MPA Calendar -- Job & Marketplace Classifieds _______________________________________________ -- Reader can win $250! One of your readers could win $250 from Missouri Press. All he or she has to do for a chance to win is fill out the survey about his or her responses to advertising for the November elections. Missouri Press asks that you run ads in your newspaper and on your website asking your readers to fill out the survey. Results of that survey will be used to help you and Missouri Press sell more advertising before the next elections. For the survey to have value, we need as many people as possible from all areas of the state to complete the survey. The more times you run the ads, the more responses will be received and the more valuable will be the results of the survey. Results of past election surveys were used by most Missouri newspapers to help them sell advertising to candidates in their areas. The papers either used material prepared by Missouri Press or used the survey results to create their own sales material. You can download ads for your newspaper and your website at http://www.mo-ads.com. Use the ad code "survey." The ads give the website where readers can go to take the online survey. If you have questions contact Greg Baker, Missouri Press ad director, (573) 449-4167, mailto:gbaker@socket.net. _______________________________________________ -- Ad sales training at NW Press Advertising sales sessions featuring marketing expert Jeff Greene will be held Thursday morning and afternoon, Jan. 20, during the Northwest Missouri Press Association's annual meeting. Northwest Press will meet Thursday and Friday, Jan. 20-21, at the Holiday Inn Downtown in St. Joseph. Friday's sessions will focus on editorial, including the traditional forum with area legislators talking about the 2011 session, creating and posting video stories to your website, and reporting on school finances and performance. Information, agendas and registration forms will be sent to you this week. _______________________________________________ -- NNA office in Columbia moves The Columbia headquarters of the National Newspaper Association has moved from the School of Journalism Annex on the MU campus to 309 Providence Road, Columbia, MO 65203. Associate Director Lynn Edinger has been handing NNA business out of the office since the departure of executive director Brian Steffans, who has taken a position with the Reynolds Journalism Institute. Other NNA staffers in Columbia are special events coordinator Sara Dickson and Publishers' Auxiliary managing editor Stan Schwartz. _______________________________________________ -- This guy appreciates his newspaper; commenter doesn't (Metropolis) Philadelphia -- The miracle of the Internet is that it can bring you news, music and video from anywhere on the planet. The curse of the Internet, it turns out, is that it can bring you news, music and video from anywhere on the planet. It's easy to avoid the local culture. In my eagerness to abandon the provincialism of my youth, I forgot that you can only live where you live. É I dispensed with a newspaper subscription and instead filled my Google Reader with RSS feeds from Philly.com and local blogs. I didn't realize, until much later, what I was missing. A newspaper, it turns out, is far more than the sum of its news, sports and feature stories. There's also the ads, the obituaries, the 150-word briefs about barely notable events in neighborhoods around town. These things give you the flavor of a community as much -- maybe even more, some days -- than the stories with the big headlines. (The story is at http://tinyurl.com/3463yyt. One commenter on this story suggested a newspaper isn't necessary: "just go to Patch, dude, and save the trees." Check out http://www.patch.com. See what Patch is and where it is in Missouri.) _______________________________________________ -- Win a Branson get-away! You could win two nights and an Andy Williams dinner show in Branson! Missouri Press Service will hold an Ad Network Sales Contest from Jan. 1 through February. For every ad you sell into any Missouri Press ad network during that time, your name will be entered into a drawing for two nights at The Village at Indian Point and a show and dinner for two at Andy Williams Moon River Grill. For details contact Jennifer Plourde (mailto:gbaker@socket.net) at Missouri Press. _______________________________________________ -- Great generals grew up in Missouri Missouri is the home of a number of the country's great military leaders. Introduce three of them to your readers -- especially the young ones -- by joining the Reading Across Missouri event beginning in January. ÒThree GeneralsÓ has a new feature. A recording of each chapter is online. Among the readers are Gov. Jay Nixon, U.S. Olympic Silver Medalist Christian Cantwell, and Missouri National Guard Maj. Gen. Stephen Danner. Download a promotional ad, story chapters and a companion teacher guide at http://www.mo-nie.com using download code: readmo11. The teacher guide can be posted on your website as a PDF, or you can print it and distribute it to teachers. The only requirement to participate is to agree to begin publishing "Three Generals" in January. _______________________________________________ -- Health care tax credit form available (NNA) WASHINGTONÑThe IRS has published forms and instructions for calculating and claiming the new small business health care tax credit that was enacted in 2010 as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The one-page form (Form 8941ÑCredit for Small Employer Health Insurance Premiums) is available at www.irs.gov along with instructions. The tax credit can be 35 percent of the health care costs that a newspaper pays for its employees. To qualify for the full credit, a business must have fewer than 25 employees, pay average annual wages below $50,000 (not counting ownersÕ salaries) and pay at least 50 percent of the premium for their employeesÕ coverage. Beginning in 2014, the credit increases from 35 percent to 50 percent. _______________________________________________ -- More furloughs for Gannett employees (AP) -- Non-union employees at Gannett's local newspapers will have to take a week off without pay during the first quarter. Gannett's only Missouri newspaper is the Springfield News-Leader. Gannett's flagship USA Today is not affected. Gannett has had several rounds of furloughs over the past two years. Bob Dickey, Gannett's community publishing division president, said the division's revenue is still slipping from where it stood a year ago despite improving trends. The newspaper industry in general has yet to see the kind of post-recession rebound in advertising that other types of media have. _______________________________________________ -- Canadian associations join (Winnipeg Free Press) TORONTO - Canada's two leading newspaper associations are merging into Newspapers Canada (www.newspaperscanada.ca). The Canadian Newspaper Association and the Canadian Community Newspaper Association have had shared management for more than two years. The merger is intended to give the association a united front for more marketing power. Many of the activities and resources of the two groups have already been combined. _______________________________________________ -- TV viewing up: Good News for Newspapers! (And a Goal for 2011) Americans watched more television than ever in 2010, according to the Nielsen Company. Total viewing of broadcast networks and basic cable channels rose about 1 percent for the year, to an average of 34 hours per person per week. (Editor's note: While average hours of viewing has risen, the audience for each channel or network has not. Read the full N.Y. Times story -- http://tinyurl.com/2cdjens -- to get a sense of the continuing fragmentation of the television audience, good news for community newspapers with solid positions in their markets. Viewers in a community are watching dozens -- maybe hundreds -- of channels and listening to dozens of radio stations and surfing to thousands of websites. Newspaper readers in your community are probably all reading the same newspaper -- yours. Make that point, constantly. A goal for 2011: Have more people in your community reading your newspaper on Jan. 31 than were reading it on Jan. 1, more on Feb. 28 than on Feb. 1, more on March 31 than March 1. Add just one subscriber a week, or two, or three. See where that gets you by Dec. 31, 2011.) _______________________________________________ -- Who gave how much to whom? It's online! (Missouri Ethics Commission) -- The Commission has released Contributions Over $500 During Legislative Session. An online search allows the public to view required reported contributions. Online campaign finance searches can be accessed at www.mec.mo.gov under Campaign Finance or Common Searches. Ê _______________________________________________ -- Old scam may return; alert staff, advertisers This is an old scam that recently popped up in New Jersey and probably will come around to Missouri soon. Alert your staffers, your advertisers and your readers. County officials and the local Chamber of Commerce issued an alert to businesses and residents concerning telephone calls they received promoting a county "Emergency Guide.Ó The calls have no connection to county government or the Chamber. The caller solicits prepaid advertising for the "guide" by falsely representing that she is working with the SheriffÕs Department and the Chamber. There is no guide. The calls are a way to get credit card numbers. (While this incident is a scam, an "Emergency Guide" is a good promotion for local newspapers. Gather all the details you can about area police, sheriff, fire and ambulance services and get advertising for a section.) _______________________________________________ -- Ad outlook "better" around world, except É (MediaPostNews) -- Advertising agencies in 24 of 28 countries reported that their business outlook for 2011 was "better." This is according to a survey of a global network of independent agencies. Ad shops in 20 countries said clients are increasing their budgets for 2011, with 15 forecasting client budget increases of 10% or more. (Editor's note: Print will have to fight for a share of this increased spending. Responses to this survey indicate growth in everything from TV, radio and mobile marketing to direct mail and events. It didn't even include print, perhaps because of who commissioned the survey.) _______________________________________________ -- St. Louis online-only paper gets $1.25 million (NetNewsCheck) -- The online-only non-profit newspaper St. Louis Beacon has received a gift of $1.25 million from the St. Louis based Danforth Foundation, the paper announced Monday. The Beacon, founded in 2008 to cover the St. Louis region, is also seeking other revenue sources in an effort to end its dependence on philanthropic funding. _______________________________________________ -- Want to sell more ads? Read a book! Have you sharpened your tools lately? Advertising sales consultant John Foust: If I were starting a sales library, I wouldÊget these books first: 1. ÒSelling for DummiesÓ (Tom Hopkins). Tom Hopkins is one of the most respected sales authorities in the business. 2. ÒS.P.I.N. SellingÓ (Neil Rackham). This is the best book I have read on the selling process. 3. ÒHow to Win Friends and Influence PeopleÓ (Dale Carnegie). This classic book on human relations will never go out of style.ÊÊ 4. ÒMade to StickÓ (Chip Heath and Dan Heath). While this is not a how-to book on selling, it offers valuable insights on communication. 5. ÒPrint Matters: How to Write Great AdvertisingÓ (Randall Hines and Robert Lauterborn). This bookÊprovides readersÊwith an excellent overview of print advertising. Extensive reviews of all of these books can be found on Amazon.com. _______________________________________________ -- Budweiser remains the king of baseball (AdAge.com) -- Major League Baseball and Anheuser-Busch renewed their marketing partnership less than 36 hours before the previous deal was set to expire Dec. 31. It is expected MLB will receive slightly more than the estimated $10 million a year it got from A-B on the previous agreement. A-B will continue to have exclusive rights as the Official Beer Sponsor of Major League Baseball. It sponsors 26 of the 30 MLB franchises. A-B had just signed a similar deal with the National Football League for an estimated $50 million a year. (The NFL has significantly higher viewership than baseball.) _______________________________________________ -- 'Keeping internet safe' material (Special section opportunity?) The World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) has released its second edition of "Internet in the Family: A guide to helping children when they go online" in time for newspapers to offer it to readers for "Safer Internet Day" on Feb. 8. WAN-IFRA, which is offering the guide free of charge, is encouraging newspapers to use it to attract partners and sponsors. The guide, run as an insert or a series, is designed to help parents and teachers reduce the risks children face online and help children better use the internet in their education. The materials can be found at http://www.wan-press.org/nie/home.php. _______________________________________________ -- Sunshine Week is coming Launched in 2005 by the American Society of Newspaper Editors, Sunshine Week is held annually to promote dialogue about the importance of open government and freedom of information. This year's observance will be March 13-19. You can get information, articles, graphics and cartoons to observe the week at http://sunshineweek.org/. _______________________________________________ -- Return 2011 Advertising Agreement If you haven't done it already, please return your Missouri Press Service Advertising Agreement for 2011. If you have questions or need another copy of the agreement, contact Missouri Press, (573) 449-4167 or mailto:mopressads@socket.net. _______________________________________________ -- Day at the Capitol Feb. 10 Plan now to attend MPA's annual Day at the Capitol on Thursday, Feb. 10. Details and registration information will be provided soon. _______________________________________________ -- Tell us of ad rate changes Missouri Press needs to know in advance if you are going to change your ad rates. Advance notice is needed so we can provide accurate cost quotes to advertisers and to pay you at your new rate instead of your old rate. Email a notice of your rate changes to mailto:mopressads@socket.net. _______________________________________________ -- Circulation Management meeting April 14-16 The annual Midwest Circulation Management Marketing Conference will be April 14-16 at the Embassy Suites in Rogers, Ark. This is not a Missouri Press activity, but MPA helps promote the meeting because of its training value to members. Meeting and registeration information is posted on the organization's website: http://www.midwestcirculation.com. _______________________________________________ -- Hall of Fame, Young Journalist forms online Nomination forms for 2011 Newspaper Hall of Fame and Outstanding Young Journalist are on the MPA website at http://www.mopress.com/CURRENT_FORMS.php. _______________________________________________ -- Online Media Campus webinars ahead -Openings, Closings and Overcoming Objections: Thursday, Jan. 20, 1 p.m. (central): Approaches to meeting and calling on new clients, different client relationships, what information you need to know to help the prospect be more successful, bridging the trust gap with new customers, overcoming their objections to your proposal and several simple approaches to closing more sales. Registration deadline: Monday, Jan. 17?($10 late fee). Registration fee: $35.?Group discounts are available. Visit our website for more information. -Digital News Content, 1 p.m. (central), Friday, Jan. 28: It is critical for newspapers to understand how digital news operations can invite new forms of legal scrutiny so they can protect themselves. Registration deadline: Jan. 25?($10 late fee). $35,?group discounts available. Visit http://www.onlinemediacampus.com for information. Online Media Campus is a project of the Southern Newspaper Publishers Association and the Iowa Newspaper Foundation. Missouri Press is a co-sponsor. _______________________________________________ --MPA Calendar January 20-21 -- Northwest Missouri Press Association, Holiday Inn Downtown, St. Joseph February 1-15 -- Missouri Press judges Virginia Press Association Newspaper Contest (online judging) 10 -- Missouri Press Association Day at the Capitol March 17-18 -- Ozark Press Association, Chateau on the Lake, Branson April 14-15 -- Missouri Advertising Managers' Association, Sheraton Sports Complex Hotel, Kansas City June 3 -- Southeast Missouri Press Association, Southeast Missouri State University, Cape Girardeau July 20-23 -- 50th Annual National Newspaper Association Government Affairs Conference, Washington, D.C. September 8-10 -- 145th Annual MPA Convention, Hilton Convention Center at Branson Landing, Branson 22-25 -- National Newspaper Association Annual Convention and Trade Show, Albuquerque, N.M. _______________________________________________ --Job Bank & Marketplace HELP WANTED AD SALES: Are you where you want to be? Do you need a great job with a company that can withstand the economic downturn? Would you like to make over $30,000 and live in an area with a low cost of living? We are looking for ad executives who want to exceed expectations, deliver exceptional service and enjoy the fruits of their labors. Applicants MUST have sales experience of some kind. If this is you, send your carefully edited and impressive resume to: Cameron Newspapers, attention: advertising representative, PO BOX 498, Cameron, MO 64429. Or email to: gm@mynwmo.com. Serious inquiries only. No calls, please. EOE. SPORTS EDITOR: WeÕre looking for a hybrid, someone who loves sports writing and photography and also likes news. The sports editor must love high school sports and be able to cover three small school districts and a variety of sports, writing stories, taking photos and designing pages twice a week. ThatÕs about 80 percent of the job. The other 20 percent is managing a few beats in a small town, including city council, police, and the school district. WeÕre in a beautiful county where people take their sports seriously, and we want to give them the coverage they deserve. WeÕre looking for a team player whoÕs not afraid of work, takes pride in what he or she produces, and is willing to jump in and contribute whenever and wherever necessary. If that sounds like you, send a resume and clips to Linda Caldwell at Carroll County News, P.O. Box 232, Berryville, AR 72616, or email l.caldwell@cox-internet.com. 12-14 MANAGING EDITOR: The Northeast News, an award-winning, weekly community newspaper serving Historic Northeast Kansas City, Mo., is seeking an experienced journalist to fill a managing editor position. Candidates must have writing, copy editing, photography and leadership experience. The ideal candidate should be a multi-tasker, self-motivated and highly effective working under deadline. InDesign, Photoshop, video editing and social media networking skills preferred. Salary is commensurate with experience. Send resume, clips and a cover letter to Publisher Michael Bushnell via e-mail: northeastnews@socket.net or fax: (816) 241-3255. 12-9 AWARD-WINNING COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER SEEKING SPORTS EDITOR: The Neosho (Mo.) Daily News, the daily newspaper serving Newton and McDonald counties in Southwest Missouri, is seeking a sports editor to join its award-winning staff. Applicant needs not only skills in reporting, photography and page layout, but also a passion for sports and community journalism. The Neosho Daily News prides itself on covering all sporting events, big and small, in its area. The newspaper covers five high schools, a junior college with a strong baseball program, youth sports and more. Knowledge of Photoshop, QuarkXPress, and multimedia tools is a must. Interested applicants should send resume and clips to Rick Rogers, publisher, atÊrrogers@neoshodailynews.com. The Neosho Daily News is owned by GateHouse Media, and is an equal opportunity employer. STAFF WRITER: The Carthage Press, Southwest Missouri's oldest daily newspaper and a division of Gatehouse Media, has an opening for a full-time writer with strong print and design skills. We are looking for someone who enjoys community journalism and demonstrates versatility in a variety of daily assignments. The preferred candidate must be dependable, dedicated with a strong work ethic. The position requires the preferred candidate to cover and report various government and local school functions, cover and reports on local high school sporting events, cover and photograph various community events and design and layout daily pages on deadline. This is a full-time salaried position for serious newspaper professionals. Please e-mail resume, cover letter, examples of writing and design to: jhacker@carthagepress.com or mail to: P.O. Box 678, Carthage, Mo. 64836. FOR SALE N. MO. WEEKLY: Locally owned, hometown weekly newspaper in La Plata, Missouri. 1,000 circulation. Mostly farm and rural area oriented. Homey, small "mom and pop" paper. Kids are grown and gone, time for me to do the same. If interested please call Becky at 660-651-9704 or The Home Press at 660-332-4431 for more information. 11-09 PREPRESS EQUIPMENT: Douthitt UV Plate Burner, 40 X 60, Approx. 4 years old; Douthitt 33 X 43 Plate Burner; GNS Plate Processor, 1-step, 25 in. plate, 6 years old; 33 X 43 light Table. Contact Bill James, Publisher, The Daily Star-Journal, Warrensburg, Mo., billjames@npgco.com; (660) 747-8110; cell (660) 429-9488. 11-8 ______________________________________________ -- End Note If others in your office should receive this eBulletin, please reply with their names and email addresses. The eBulletin is sent each week, except at the middle of each month, when a printed Bulletin is mailed. A PDF of the printed Bulletin will be placed on http://www.mopress.com and an email message will be sent to you that it has been posted. If you read the printed Bulletin online and don't need the printed copy, let us know so we can take you off the mailing list and save the postage. EBulletins are archived on the MPA website at http://www.mopress.com/ebulletin.php. Direct comments to: Kent Ford, MPA Editor, at kford@socket.net. ###