Official Publication of the Arizona Newspapers Association for distribution to all employees of ANA-member newspapers
Readers can access 10 years’ Times
June 2006
Page 3
New daily sections
A N Ag r a m s
Tucson Citizen readers have ‘new’ paper
By SAMMIE WICKS ANAgrams Writer
A well-established southern Arizona newspaper has just completed a major remake in content and design, ushered in by full-page ads in bright yellow to alert readers of the change. A “fundamental, front-to-back change in what we cover and how we cover it” was Tucson Citizen Editor and Publisher Michael Chihak’s descriptive phrase for the most thorough remake his publication has ever undertaken. Announcing what he called a “new Citizen” in a March 18 column, Chihak listed declining readership among print news media nationally as the reason his newspaper has been redesigned and rethought from the bottom up. “People have other information sources that meet their needs and are without time for newspaper reading or are turned off by the traditional newspaper in an ever-changing media world,” Chihak wrote. Changes among today’s readership prompted the Citizen to include news in a far different form than yesterday’s simple newsprint model, says Chihak. “We feel we have to make
changes to attract the younger reader,” says Chihak, “without in any way compromising our commitment to those who are our core readership: traditional newspaper readers.” With a long-time reputation for painstaking local news coverage, Chihak assured loyal Citizen readers the best of the former Citizen will remain intact. “This is not to say we’ll only provide just short takes on the news,” says Chihak, “we’ll also continue to provide in-depth coverage of the news, true to our 135-year tradition.” A key aspect of the Citizen’s redesign is its online presence, according to the publisher To provide local news in a new form, “instant news and information on a newly designed Web site” that of course will be available 24 hours a day, Chihak noted in a recent column. Two years of research and planning paved the way for the revamped Citizen, says Chihak, and reader feedback was invited through a series of focus groups and discussion meetings. “There was not a lot of guesswork in the changes we instituted.” Chihak says, “We prepared for it by
InDesign classes June 2, 3 ANA’s “extra” set of classes that focused on InDesignwere a big hit for members on June 2 & 3 in Phoenix. Normally the association offers computer application classes for news during the Spring and the Fall conferences. Usually Russell Viers or Kevin Slimp is the trainer. Viers, who taught PhotoShop at ANA’s Spring conference, has moved to Europe. But Slimp told ANA he would be in the area and wanted to know if ANA would host him. Paula Casey, ANA business manager who schedules and manages the educational opportunities, contacted members, found they were interested, and signed Slimp to come to Phoenix. She said that more than 70 people came to the friday-Saturday sessions.
Several newspapers are transitioning to InDesign, and a number of students affiliated with the Arizona Interscholastic Press Association, which ANA assists as their “back office,” also attended. Slimp may return in November. There will be no classes prior to the October Fall Convention.
conducting eight focus groups and inviting readers in to the office on several occasions to speak candidly and give us their views.” That same reader feedback, says the publisher, will be an ongoing aspect of the new Citizen. “I have actually started a blog to provide daily information to readers and to create an interactive environment where they can respond to what’s there,” says Chihak. “This way readers can continue to talk to
us about what we’re doing.” After its commitment to local news, the Citizen’s popular opinion columns, comics, and sports will remain fully exploited features, Chihak says, but with design features that invite quick-take reading. The Citizen’s modernized front page will feature something called “RealFast,” a pithy collection of information bytes on the top news of the day. Continued on Page 3
Classified word ad aggregation on way Association to pay costs for six months
Free classsified ad aggregation for perhaps as many as 50 member newspapers is a new program that was approved June 7 by the ANA/Ad Services executive committee. Board members believe it will allow newspapers to increase revenue and be a tool to compete with online-only classified ad web sites. The board committed to spend up to $30,000 from ANA’s Ad Services company to seed acceptance among members. The contract is with Verican, a silicon valley company that created a classified advertising network in conjunction with the California Newspaper Publishers Association. Many Arizona newspapers already do business with Verican, which provides them an online classified ad order web site. Dick Larson of Western Newspapers chairs the ANA Marketing Committee that researched the proANAgrams Arizona Newspapers Association 1001 N. Central Avenue, Suite 670 Phoenix, AZ 85004-1947
gram and recommended Verican. He and other Western employees are developing marketing materials for the association to use in explaining the program to members, and signing them up. The first newspaper to sign up for the aggregation is Today’s News Herald in Lake Havasu City. Its publisher, Mike Quinn, is the ANA president who pushed the program’s development and suggested ANA pay the fees for six months. When members sign up, a Verican employee will contact them. Uploading the word ads can be done several ways. The result is that members will point thier website classified ad links to a URL supplied by Verican. Their technicians say such pages show all the ads in the system, sorted by distance from that newspaper. ANA also will create a statewide site to display the ads. “PRSRT STD” U.S. POSTAGE PAID PHOENIX ARIZONA PERMIT NO. 3429
ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED