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Randy Little | Northern Kentucky University
Newspaper innovator Steve Buttry to speak at ANA convention The Arizona Newspapers Association is pleased to welcome Steve Buttry, Director of Community Engagement & Social Media for Digital First Media and Journal Register Co., as the keynote speaker for the 2012 Annual Meeting & Convention on Sept. 29, in Scottsdale. Buttry was named Editor of the Year
in 2010 by Editor & Publisher. He has spent more than 40 years in the news business: learning, reporting, editing, teaching and building. Buttry will share his insights into creating new revenue streams with ANA members Get a taste of what Buttry has to offer by reading his newspaper ideas on page 7.
In addition to Buttry, the team at ANA is hard at work putting together a great convention schedule that will have you screaming: “Show me the money!” Every session will focus on how newspapers can increase reveue with different tools, products and ideas. Registration opens soon!
Now accepting entries for ANA contests - Don’t wait! Enter now! Entry packets for the 2012 ANA contests, including the Excellence in Advertising competition and the Better Newspapers Contest have been mailed to publishers, editors and ad managers. The entry information and rules are also available online at
http://ananews.com/contest for your viewing pleasure. ANA will continue to utilize the http://betterbnc.com online entry system, as we have the past three years. Please direct all contest questions to Perri Collins at (602) 261-7655 ext.
110 or p.collins@ananews.com. The deadline for ALL entries is 4 p.m., JUNE 1, 2012. The awards presentation will take place at the 2012 Annual Meeting and Fall Convention, Sept. 29, 2012 at Chaparral Suites in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Newspapers must diversify At a time when almost anyone can publish information online and call it news, communities continue to embrace traditional media outlets as the #1 source of local information. But as technology and news consumption habits change, newspapers must adapt to new model of revenue if they want to thrive in the digital age. Enter multiple revenue streams. Even in a good economy, it makes no
sense to put all your eggs in one basket. To ensure the success of your business, you must diversify. According to the Pew 2012 State of the Media report, the most successful (and therefore sustainable) sites are those with a range of revenue streams. Make no mistake: advertising is no longer the only potential revenue stream. In Arizona, several newspapers are tapping into new (and old!) streams. This entire issue of ANAgrams
is full of ideas newspapers can use to drive traffic, increase revenue and build community. A lot has been written and said about the decline of newspaper industry, most of it negative. Make those fools eat their words. Start experimenting with new revenue concepts now. Perri Collins is the communications manager at the Arizona Newspapers Association. She is always interested in finding out what new and creative strategies local media organizations are using to build buzz and make money.
Educational events always a crowd-pleaser In November 2011, the Arizona Capitol Times launched the Capitol Road Show, an effort to engage people outside Maricopa County in state politics and the legislative process. The idea for the Capitol Road Show came about from a brainstorming session about the annual Citizen Government Guide, a guide to civic participation in state and local government that highlights Arizonans serving in appointed positions on state regulatory boards, commissions and agencies. “We have been producing it for a long time and thought it was getting a little stale. We wanted to perk it up a bit and add content that would help the public learn more about the legislative process and get involved,” said Times publisher Ginger Lamb. Then someone tossed out an idea for the Capitol Road Show and everyone liked it. “It seemed like a natural for us to share knowledge about what happens at the Capitol and take our products on the road across the state to gain awareness,” said Lamb. “We wanted to create statewide collaboration amongst those who are most interested and an entry portal for those wanting to get more involved,” she said. The events are held in cities and towns around the state, and feature panels of local elected officials and staff and community members discussPage 2 | May 2012 ■ ANAgrams
ing various aspects of government. Recent topics have included: How a bill becomes a law, how the state budget process unfolds and the latest on the redistricting plans. Between 40-75 people attend each of these events, with some of them subscribing to the printed paper and many subscribing online. “Events are a great way to increase your revenue, reach a different audience and expand your brand in the marketplace. Our audience in print, online and at events overlaps to some
extent but the events always bring new people to us,” said Lamb. The Arizona Capitol Times plans to continue this event as long as possible: “As long as groups contact us to come visit their communities”, said Lamb. And as long as sponsors like CenturyLink and Hardsale Communications are willing to participate. While none of the other Dolan papers doing anything similar yet, they have been following the Times’ success with great interest.
Losin’ it for your community Last year, Wickenburg Sun Assistant Editor Janet DelTufo had had enough with feeling sluggish and out-of-shape. When a friend recommended that she watch The Biggest Loser on TV to stay motivated, she got an idea. And got a whole town motivated. The Biggest Loser Wickenburg 2011 was a community sponsored weight loss contest that started with one journalist and spread to the local newspaper and then throughout the community. “I was so inspired by what I had seen and I had heard about other companies doing their own Biggest Loser contests, so I decided that a community-wide contest would be good for Wickenburg,” said DelTufo. She approached Publisher Kevin Cloe with the idea and he was excited about getting the community involved. Soon, the entire staff of the Wickenburg Sun was participating. The newspaper held its own company-wide contest in conjunction with the larger community-wide one. DelTufo challenged residents with one question: Can Wickenburg lose a ton? Contestants provided a waiver from doctor that allows them to participate and each participant received memberships to the Wickenburg Community Hospital Fitness Center. Everyone in the readership area of The Wickenburg Sun was invited to apply to enter the contest. The contest lasted 20 weeks, through all the major food holidays: Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. The newspaper sales department went to local businesses to drum up prizes and every week stories appeared in the paper, giving updates and encouraging the community to join in. Wickenburg Sun Editor Tamara Thomas said in a January column in the paper, “Anytime a good idea … has such a positive life-changing impact on so many, it deserves a great deal of recognition.” The total recorded weight loss in
the 20-week period was 1,287 pounds the Biggest Loser Wickenburg will be between 109 people. starting another challenge again this Bonus: After the Wickenburg Sun’s summer that will run through Dec. 27. corporate “I will be “Anytime a good idea … has getting after headquarters got wind of such a positive life-changing them again the contest, it impact on so many, it deserves this year,” said began develDelTufo. a great deal of recognition.” oping a wellWhile the -Tamara Thomas ness program Wickenburg for its western Sun did not see U.S. properties. Wellness programs a large increase in revenue from this can return as much as six times their venture, it mobilized its community on cost to companies that sponsor them, an issue and affected positive change, a according to Harvard Business Review service the newspaper has been provid(December 2010). ing to the community since 1934. But is Wickenburg ready for round What community issues and events two? The contest was so successful, does your news organization support?
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Let’s make a deal The Payson Roundup’s parent company began rolling out deal programs in most of their newspapers last year. The Roundup officially launched http://paysondealz.com in November and has been very successful at creating a new revenue stream. The Pew research Center reports that daily deals accounted for 5% of US newspapers’ overall digital revenue in 2011. And there is plenty of room for growth. Only one in six (16.7%) consumers use daily deal sites, according to a 2011 study by Cornell University. Newspapers can compete with giant sites like Groupon and Living Social because they have something these companies don’t: large local audiences that are still used to turning to newspapers for coupons, and a sales force with established local relationships. There has been so much demand in Payson, they are considering changing from a weekly deal (one deal every seven days) to a new deal every three days.
The deal arrangements are specific. Deals must be compelling: At least 50% off or more. The Payson Roundup stands 100% behind each deal and will buy back a customer’s deal if they are not satisfied. However, only one person has requested a refund since the program started. All sales personnel have been trained on the deal program, so they can answer questions and sell it, but in the beginning, “It was good to have one person on the ground, pitching it to local businesses,” said Davis. In addition to its own website, PaysonDealz.com, the deal is also promoted in a quarter-page ad in the Tuesday and Friday issues, online on payson.com and paysonmarketplace. com, as well as twice per week by email
and on Facebook. “Getting a valid, workable email list is the key,” said Davis. “It’s the most important aspect of this whole process.” Davis recommends collecting email address by holding drawings for prizes (donated by advertisers) at local events. “With this program, we’ve been able to generate much-needed funds,” said Payson Roundup advertising representative Bobby Davis. Things to remember when starting a deals program: - Educate businesses on what to expect when they place a deal with your paper - Market the deal online AND in print - Building an email list is key - Work with a reputable daily deals vendors
“Getting a valid, workable email list is the key.”
Three easy ways to spice up banner ads A significant number of bloggers are making good money from the advertising on their blogs. About 30 percent of bloggers make more than $500 per month from their blogs, according to ProBlogger. How much is your newspaper making from the advertising on its website? Maybe it’s time to spice up those banner ads. Here are three ways to do just that. 1. Why just place an ad? Why not save readers some money by offering a coupon to a local establishment? Tie it in to a print coupon and you’ve just double-teamed your readers.
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2. Add a map. Are you trying to drive consumers to local retails stores and restaurants? Why not add a simple interactive map to your ads? You can add a map using flash, or even an HTML link to a Google map, or use a service like spongecell.com to add functionality. 3. Add a calendar tool. Is your newspaper into event marketing? Do you frequent advertise community events? What about a banner ad that instantly add the event to a reader’s Google calendar with one click? This would be ideal for promoting special sales, festivals and workshops.
The original location-based service During the housing boom of the early 2000s, Yuma realtors could not find a good map in the community to use to show prospective home buyers where to look for homes. The maps they did find were plastic and hard to write on. But then the local newspaper came up with a solution. The Yuma Sun has been printing maps of the Yuma area for almost a decade. It began with the Yuma area, but they now also print maps of the sand dunes, the Colorado River and Algodones, Mexico. “We’ve sold maps like crazy,” said Yuma Sun publisher Joni Brooks. The Sun teamed up with other organizations such as the State of California waterways department, the BLM and Metro Maps to build on their previous work. They sold advertising space to local businesses, let their graphics department create an appealing design
and made the maps available for free to residents and visitors alike at hotels, the visitors bureau, the chamber of commerce, RV parks and other local businesses, including – you guessed it! – real estate offices.
The devil’s in the details
It’s exciting to see Arizona newspapers stepping up to the digital plate and learning about the different offerings at each newspaper. However, it’s the little things that can trip you up sometimes. For example, what good is sending out a weekly newsletter or community calendar, if it doesn’t link back to your site? Everything you send to customers and potential customers must provide value for them AND for your newspaper. If it’s not building relationships, branding your publication, driving traffic or building revenue, then what is the purpose? Sure, everyone gets excited about the next big thing, but whether it’s interactive ads or Pintrest you must have a plan before you jump in.. Stop just throwing money at a solution. Western News&Info Digital Director Richard Haddad believes in developing realistic, sustainable plans. When Western began contemplating an upgrade to their digital properties, Haddad decided to take the budget elsewhere. Instead of toying with mi-
cropayment and paywall systems, the Western team improved their e-invoice and easy pay systems to make it simple and hassle-free for customers to renew subscriptions. “We didn’t pour money into apps, but we did make our newspaper sites as mobile-friendly as possible,” he said. Western is not the only Arizona chain staying close to their roots. In early 2011, Casa Grande Valley Newspapers released their first community guide: a 6”x9’ full gloss full color booklet loaded with information about the community, including information on city services, demographics, city parks, city council bios, utility information, voter precincts and information, school information, church info, civic and community organization info, and a calendar with a year’s worth of events. It was distributed to all new residents in the newspaper’s zip code, with a single copy of the Casa Grande Dispatch and a subscription form. The simple guide was successful among advertisers, brought in read-
The response from the community has been positive. “As a result of seeing our river map, we had a river community approach us to print a map of their subdivision,” said Yuma Sun Advertising Director Lisa Reilly. While other organizations already print maps in Yuma, the Yuma Sun’s maps have really hit home within the community. They’ve gone through 30,000 copies of the river map this year alone and the city of Yuma maps have been very popular with winter visitors. And more maps are coming. In addition to the new voting districts and mall maps, the Yuma Sun gets many requests for hiking maps and plans on including them in its Outdoors magazine in the fall. Revenue from maps exceeded $28,000 and plans to finalize a map website are in the works.
ers and welcomed new residents by informing them where to find the best news source in town. Casa Grande has now added this guide to their lineup of annual products. Another example: If you’re promoting content with a QR code, make sure that the landing page the code is linked to is mobile-friendly. What good is it to create this fabulous additional content if it takes 20 minutes for the page to load on a smartphone and then the user discovers they can’t see it anyway because it’s all flash-based? Easy of use is very important when dealing with digital. That’s one reason why sites like Craigslist and Drudge Report gets so many visitors: They’re easy for people to manuever and find information. Don’t make visitors struggle to get what they need. Give them what the want and what they need quickly and simply, and watch they continue to turn to your products for the latest local news. And don’t forget: The devil’s in the details! May 2012 ■ ANAgrams | Page 5
15 favorite tips for a profitable website Gary Sosniecki owned three weekly newspapers and published a small daily in Missouri during a 34-year newspaper career. He currently is a regional sales manager for Townnews.com specializing in weekly newspapers. Sosniecki gives you his 15 favorite tips for a profitable website: 1. Believe in your site. Enthusiasm is contagious. With a positive attitude and a solid plan, you’re halfway home. 2. Protect your franchise. If you don’t take the lead on the Internet in your town, someone else will. Anyone you’ve ticked off with a news story – or anyone who thinks you’re making too much money – can start a website in competition with you for a few hundred dollars. And national news aggregators like Topix, American Towns and others already have Web sites in your town, maybe even using your own news to compete with you. 3. Know your market. This isn’t a one-size-fits-all technology. Just because something worked for me doesn’t mean it will work for you. Be flexible, be creative, and don’t be afraid to experiment with your website. 4. Bigger is better: Use IAB ad sizes. If you sold ads in the 1980s, you remember when newspapers adopted Standard Advertising Units (SAU) to make it easier for advertisers to place ads in multiple newspapers. The same standardization in ad sizes has come to online, with the same goal. And the ad sizes recommended by the Interactive Advertising Bureau are bigger than what were common on newspaper Web sites a decade ago. The bigger sizes are more effective for your advertisers. 5. If you want to sell online ads, keep enough free content to lure readers. To paraphrase a speaker I heard a couple of years ago, if you’re going to hook readers, have some bait on that hook. And if you’re going to hook advertisers, Page 6 | May 2012 ■ ANAgrams
you need some readers. If you insist on locking down your site, don’t lock down so much that you invite free competitors. 6. Make them click it. Impressions are good, clickthrus are better. Top-ofmind awareness is great, but when a reader clicks on a banner ad, it’s like walking through the front door of the advertiser’s business. Create that “urge to click” in your banner ads. Best example I’ve seen was for a car dealer in Alberta: “Shop in your underwear! Search our site now.” Irresistible! 7. Appeal to young decision-makers. They “get it.” Sometimes you’re selling to young people who, unfortunately, don’t believe in newspapers as much as we do. Make sure you ask about online. 8. Sell after the sale. Online traffic reports reinforce to your advertiser how smart he or she is for buying with you. They also make you look like the Internet expert in your community. Make sure your advertisers get online traffic reports monthly. 9. Monitor performance. Tweak before the customer tells you to. If the advertiser isn’t getting acceptable traffic – see No. 8 – change the ad. Online stats give you an opportunity you never had in print – to see how many people read each ad. Take advantage of that knowledge to help your advertisers succeed. 10. Complement your newspaper, don’t compete with it. You can duplicate some content safely with minimal impact on your print circulation, but also use your site for supplemental material: extra photos of school events, news releases from the extension service, video clips from basketball games, columns from your state legislators, sermons from local preachers. Which brings me to… 11. Keep it current. News updates generate more traffic, which helps your
advertisers. Breaking news is what sets your website apart from your print product. Even the smallest weekly newspaper, with minimal effort, can post some breaking news between print editions to keep readers coming back: death notices, school sports, extreme weather, school closings, boil orders, election results. Make your weekly paper a daily paper online. 12. Be the “You Tube” of your town. Credit this tip to the Grand Island Independent’s Jack Sheard, who gave a great presentation on online video at the 2008 National Newspaper Association convention. Jack’s suggestions for video subjects include news events, weather, sports, press conferences, band concerts, graduations, parades, festivals and other school events. 13. Think outside the box, even if we don’t know the size of the Internet box yet. Who is to say that the next great idea for making money with newspaper websites won’t come from you? 14. Promote, promote, promote. Never miss a chance to promote your website in your newspaper, and vice versa. Keep a supply of ready-made house ads – from 1x1 fillers to full-page road maps of your site’s features – and run them frequently. Include your domain in folio lines, Yellow Page ads and billboards. The Advance-Monticellonian in Monticello, Ark., displays its website on a big-screen TV visible to customers who visit its office. 15. You paid for it, use it. Don’t waste the features built into your site. I hate when newspapers don’t use their online poll. A good local poll question, changed every week, is a great way to build traffic to your site. If you can’t think of a poll question, use this one courtesy of David Keller of the Morgan County Herald, McConnelsville, Ohio: “Coke” or “Pepsi.” Here’s another: “Ginger” or “Mary Ann.” Sosniecki conducts programs and workshops on community newspapers and the Internet. He may be reached at gsosniecki@townnews.com.
Newspapers don’t need new ideas; here are lots of ideas for new revenue streams Steve Buttry’s blog post (below), originally dated April 29 2011, was reprinted with permission. Alan Mutter documents the nolonger-surprising fact that newspaper advertising revenues continued to fall for the 20th straight quarter in the first three months of 2011. This decline comes at a time when the economy has been growing for nearly two years, turning around declines in broadcast, magazine and online advertising. Mutter closes: “Clearly, newspapers need new ideas. They need to develop a broad array of targeted content and advertising solutions to serve diverse audiences across the web, mobile and social media.” Actually, newspapers don’t need new ideas. They need to unshackle themselves from their old advertisingand-circulation model and start serious pursuit of the dozens of ideas already presented for developing new revenue sources. Here are some ideas (not all mine and not new here, but not yet in wide use, at least by newspaper companies): Develop the must-have driving app for your community. I first outlined this idea two years ago in my Blueprint for the Complete Community Connection. I am not aware that any news organization has tried it yet. Mutter notes that the newspaper ad decline has been most severe in automobile advertising, falling from $5 billion in 2004 to $1.1 billion last year. Auto manufacturers and dealers have built better tools than the newspaper want ads section for selling cars. Buying a car is a job most people need help with only every few years. It was an easy job to disrupt. But driving is a task many of us do daily, and it presents abundant opportunity. Community news organizations are wellpositioned to offer one place where
drivers can compare gas prices, buy insurance, find parking spaces, check the traffic, get emergency service, schedule maintenance, rent a car and download coupons for tires and service. And if you develop that app that drivers can use daily, it may also be the best vehicle for advertising auto sales. Offer commissioned life stories instead of formulaic obituaries. I proposed this last summer and I am not aware of anyone who is trying it. You start with obituaries, but this model can expand to life stories about the living, occasioned by weddings, anniversaries, retirements or huge egos. I have fleshed out the idea into a business plan, but have not published it yet. Anyone who’s interested can email me: stephenbuttry@gmail.com. Daily deals. Newspapers are belatedly getting into the daily deal game. This is a classic case of an opportunity missed because of newspapers’ relentless focus on declining forms of revenue. It will be interesting to see how newspapers’ efforts work here. Groupon and Living Social are far ahead in developing this opportunity, though I think we are early in the history of daily deals. Direct transactions. This will be more challenging than daily deals, because it will require developing ways to fulfill orders and interface with business customers’ inventory systems. But I believe community businesses are more interested over the long haul in selling their merchandise and services regularly than in the huge discounts and brief spikes involved in daily deals. The rewards here will be worth the time and money it will take to meet the challenges. Newspaper executives like to talk about the difficulty of shifting from the dollars they used to get in print advertising for the dimes they can charge
for online ads. While I like John Paton’s answer (“start stacking the dimes”), I think we should pursue the possibilities of stacking digital dollars (sometimes hundred-dollar bills) through direct transactions. Sawbuck and MediaOne are plays by media companies to trade in the declining revenue stream of real estate advertising for an actual piece of real estate transactions by becoming a licensed real estate broker. Quality Consignment, the Ogden Standard-Examiner’s thrift shop is another example of how newspapers can trade up, exchanging the dimes of traditional classified ads for second-hand appliances for the dollars of selling the merchandise directly. If you don’t want to get in the consignment business, maybe you trade up by partnering with a local consignment shop that probably does little, if any, advertising anyway. As I noted in the C3 sections on weddings, births, retirements and graduations, gift registries can become potent channels for direct transactions (not to mention reservations for celebration venues and lodging for out-of-town guests). Local search. Some news organizations are making headway here. But every community news organization should offer a directory that offers businesses without websites (amazingly, still a lot of businesses) a de facto website with a multi-faceted entry in your directory, offering photos, videos, coupons, menus, maps, user reviews, reservations, direct-sales and archival content about the business. Even for many businesses with websites, this can offer a better place to showcase their products and services, and a place that will show up higher in search results. That’s the key to mastering local search. Don’t think of it as taking on Google, though you will develop a place where some people will turn first when they are searching for local answers Continued on page 8 May 2012 ■ ANAgrams | Page 7
Buttry: Newspaper ideas Continued from page 7
and businesses. But if you do it right, your listings will also show up high when people search in Google or other search engines. Calendars. Again from C3, I think newspapers have been woefully slow to develop the digital possibilities of calendar information that they have always gathered (I counted 11 calendars once in a weekly newspaper). Calendars can be standalone websites or a dynamic part of your news site. They should offer direct transactions: buy tickets for a concert, movie or athletic event or register for a class. Multiple vendors offer calendar possibilities. Or you can develop your own, as The Oklahoman did with Wimgo, the best calendar I’ve seen with newspaper roots (it’s expanded nationally from its Oklahoma City start). Social media. Community news organizations can help local merchants develop social connections in the community. News websites using ads (check out the possibilities offered by NowSpots) that feature social media content can offer more meaningful ads to businesses — timely, easily updated ads that build a business customer’s social media connections. Blog networks. One of my biggest disappointments in the TBD experience is that we did not pursue the full possibilities of selling ads (and coupons, deals, direct transactions and other commercial possibilities) through a network of local blogs and sites. Someone is going to demonstrate the rewards in such a network. Mobile applications. As I’ve noted before, newspapers have a long history of helping businesses make ads. The smallest newspapers I worked for routinely made up “spec” ads for local merchants who were better at baking bread or selling tires than they were at making ads. A news organization today needs a strong mobile app. Once you have developed that ability (whether the ability is on your staff or with a Page 8 | May 2012 ■ ANAgrams
contractor or a vendor such as Verve Wireless), you have a valuable service you can offer to businesses, helping them develop and market their own mobile apps. Mobile apps and websites offer other possibilities for media companies. Can you partner with local businesses and individuals who develop apps, selling ads on their apps and helping them promote the apps? Can you help provide members of your local blog network with apps or better mobile sites and sell ads and coupons on their apps and sites? Location. I think location-based ads, coupons and transactions present tremendous opportunities. Community news companies may be in the best position to develop those possibilities. Or they may watch someone else beat them to another revenue stream. Data. Dan Conover does an excellent job of describing the possibilities of finding revenue streams from structuring our content better as data through the use of a semantic content management system (no, it’s not developed yet; you could hire Dan and develop another revenue stream by selling your SCMS to other media companies). Memberships. Steve Outing is exploring the potential of membership models for news organizations. See more at http://testkitchen.colorado. edu/2010/10/should-we-give-newsmembership-models-a-chance/. Community funding. I love the Spot.us model of seeking community funding for specific stories pitched by freelancers. Could a news organization apply that approach to funding of entire beats that are not attractive to advertisers but are essential to the community? If you’ve cut back on your sports staff, perhaps you could use community funding to restore coverage of particular teams. Direct content sales. I am not opposed to news organizations selling their content. I just think it’s futile to demand pay for digital news content. But if you produce quality content,
some people will want to buy that content in high-value forms. Most newspapers get a small but steady revenue stream from the sales of photographs their staff shoots at high school sports contests and other community events. But they typically publish only a small minority of images that staff photographers shoot. What if you posted all (or nearly all) of your unedited photos (and raw video), along with do-it-yourself tools parents (and others) could use to order prints, posters, DVDs, t-shirts and other merchandise? Related products. Newspapers are pretty good at producing and marketing books and t-shirts relating to big news events (when I was at the Cedar Rapids Gazette, we produced a book about the 2008 flood and t-shirts of our front page the morning after the 2008 election). But we can do a better job of offering individual or small lots of t-shirts, books, DVDs and the like. Texts from Last Night offers the opportunity to order a t-shirt of any of the funny texts it publishes. Newspapers could offer custom t-shirts of any front page, story, headline or quote, from either the newspaper or the website. They could offer limited-edition books or DVDs with coverage of a local high school team’s sports season. You could set a price and a minimum order number and not produce the book unless it will make money. Archives. I suspect the small fees that most newspapers collect by charging for access to their archives could be exceeded by opening (and promoting) archives, with advertising by targeted topics and keywords and DIY tools for people to create booklets, DVDs, posters, t-shirts and other merchandise showing your archives. Steve Buttry is Director of Community Engagement & Social Media at Journal Register Co. & Digital First Media. He continues to speak on journalism and consult media organizations. He has worked in the news business since 1971.
What can you do with an extra $21,000 a year? Are you looking for new products for your sales department to offer advertisers? Maybe what you’re looking for is right under your nose! It’s easy to increase your bottom line with ANA network ad programs. For example, selling just ONE 25-word classified each week can bring your newspaper $8,520 per year. And selling just ONE 2by2 ad each week can net your newspaper $12,740 a year. What can your 12/6/11
paper do with an extra $21,000 a year? The more ads you sell, the more money you can make! In the first quarter of 2012, seven newspapers participated in selling network ads and earned a total of $19,009. That’s $19,009 that the newspapers get to keep. Wouldn’t it be nice to get in on that action? Add ANA ad network programs to the products your sales department already img.php (248×248)
offers and watch your revenue stream increase. Recent statistics confirm that no other advertising vehicle has the reach of newspapers. Interested in making more money? Join ANA’s network programs today. It’s easy money. Contact Network Ad Manager Sharon Schwartz at (602) 261-7655 ext. 108 or s.schwartz@ananews.com for more details.
Several big circulation gainers charge for online access, almost none of losers do Steve Myers, Poynter
New figures released by the Audit Bureau of Circulations News organization % circ gain/loss Digital pay plan show that nationally, daily circulation was up .68 percent for New York Times +73.05% Daily Yes digital and print at the 618 papers reporting; Sunday circulaOrange County Register +53.48% Daily No tion was up 5 percent at the 532 papers reporting. But some Newsday +33.21% Daily Yes papers did better than that, and some did worse. Denver Post +23.43% Daily No Three of the five newspapers that posted the largest percentage gains in Sunday circulation now charge for online Newark Star-Ledger +21.67% Daily No access (The Dallas Morning News, The New York Times and Dallas Morning News +87.38% Sunday Yes Newsday), while four of the five with the largest drops do Houston Chronicle +55.95% Sunday No not, and one, the Los Angeles Times, only started to charge New York Times +49.56% Sunday Yes in March. San Antonio Express-News +38.67% Sunday No When looking at daily circulation, two of the five papers Newsday +36.77% Sunday Yes that gained the most charge (The New York Times and NewsWashington Post -7.84% Daily No day), while none of the five biggest losers do. See table: Seattle Times -6.63% Daily No Paywalls are on the horizon at more papers. Gannett, Detroit Free Press -6.27% Daily No which owns the Detroit Free-Press, is planning to charge for Philadelphia Inquirer -5.36% Daily No online access to all its sites except USA Today. MediaPost Chicago Tribune -5.17% Daily Planned reported in February that the Chicago Tribune is planning to Washington Post -15.66% Sunday No charge for online access in some way; some other Tribune Cleveland Plain Dealer -.46% Sunday No websites now charge. NetNewsCheck noted that The Seattle Times recently said Seattle Times -.12% Sunday No that its main and mobile website would remain free “for the Chicago Tribune -.1% Sunday Planned time being.” MediaNews put up paywalls at some of its sites Los Angeles Times +.41% Sunday Yes in August, but not at The Denver Post. The Washington Post, however, has not demonstrated any interest in charging for online access, “not in the short term, whose Berkshire Hathaway holds Post stock, disagrees with that approach, saying in February, “You shouldn’t be giving and maybe never, if I read the tea leaves correctly,” wrote away a product that you’re trying to sell.” Post Ombudsman Patrick Pexton in March. Warren Buffett, qrcode.kaywa.com/img.php?s=8&d=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ananews.com…
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May 2012 ■ ANAgrams | Page 9
The truth about postal reform
By Reed Anfinson, president of the National Newspaper Association and publisher of the Swift County (MN) Monitor-News Now that US Senate has passed a bill, S 1789, to reform the ailing US Postal Service, critics are trying to disable the bill on its way to the House of Representatives. Business Week recently catalogued unhappy stakeholders, including postal unions, postal management and some Republicans who wrongly think the bill burdens taxpayers. Rep. Darrell Issa, R-CA, whose own bill awaits action in the House, blasted “special interests.” But Business Week says, “Considering how many people are unhappy with the bill, it isn’t clear which special interests Issa is referring to.” Some see Senate bill as the inevitable product of the sausage machine. But it is neither a budget buster nor processed meat. It is the expression of a better vision of the Postal Service. If you consider that survival of the service means maintaining the circulatory system for a $1.1 trillion mailing industry - or in other words, making sure cash, greeting cards, packages and newspapers and magazines arrive on time, the Senate bill is good medicine. Consider some of the alternative fixes. Issa’s bill would let USPS immediately end Saturday mail, close half the mail processing centers and thousands of post offices, and put a new board of political appointees in charge. The new board would be expected to trim workers’ benefits and maybe wages, and direct the Postmaster General to favor profit over service. At the other extreme might be Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-VT, who wanted to keep everything open. Labor unions backing him say that USPS will heal as the economy heals. Then there is the White House’s notion: to raise postage rates. For Sens. Susan Collins, R-ME, and Joe Lieberman, I-CT, neither extreme is suited to long-term survival of USPS. To many experts, Issa’s approach is likely to frighten away businesses that mail. The Lieberman-Collins bill agrees that USPS needs a more flexible, less costly workforce. It keeps mail flowing through Page 10 | May 2012 ■ ANAgrams
today’s network while cost-cutting is underway. For example, they would end Saturday mail delivery in two years, but only if USPS has taken other big steps toward financial viability. They would allow the closing of postal plants now, if USPS preserves local mail delivery speed. Is their bill the product of compromise, or of a different vision? Consider: --The Postal Service’s plant-closing plan is based on a desire to amass more mail at automated urban centers, where costly machines sit idle much of the day. To optimize machines, USPS would haul mail much farther. But the hauling would slow the mailstream, particularly in small towns and rural areas that are far from mail plants and create a set of secondclass citizens who would get and send mail more slowly than urban dwellers. It would also hamper smaller communities’ quests for economic development. - Many Americans say they wouldn’t miss Saturday mail. But USPS builds its system around senders, not receivers. Who would be hurt by a 5-day delivery regime? Anyone who depends on timely mail delivery. Shutting down the system two days a week—three when Monday holidays occur—would create delay, according to the Postal Regulatory Commission. Then there are those who need prescriptions delivered when they are at home; small-town citizens who get the newspaper by mail and businesses needing 6-day cash flows. - Closing small post offices seems a nobrainer to city dwellers who spot those one-room POs at the roadside on the way to the beach. Surely not all are needed. But rather than closing them entirely, USPS could have circuit-rider postmasters to open them a few hours a day. That is affordable if worker benefits are brought into line with the private sector. For those communities, a circuit rider could continue their links to the world. - The Congressional Budget Office says the Senate bill would cost $33.6 billion, adding to the federal deficit. But postage-
payers, not taxpayers, carry that burden. Taxpayers face a liability as the funder-oflast resort only if postage revenues dry up - which is more likely to happen if the mail slows to a crawl. Finally, members of Congress may differ on how they see USPS. Is it a corporation? Is it a government agency responsible for binding the nation together? Fact: it is a Government-Sponsored Enterprise or GSE, more like Fannie Mae than like IBM or the Defense Department. It has to use business tools, but carry out a public mission. And it has enormous power in the marketplace. Consider, for example, its new Every Door Direct Mail program, which directly competes with many private businesses. Members of Congress who mistakenly see postal reform as an exercise in deregulating a company may actually unleash a powerful federal agency, while those who look to raising postage so generous worker benefits can continue could pull the plug on the economic engine that keeps jobs alive. It isn’t compromise that is needed, but a clear-eyed vision based on a full understanding of the needs of all whom the Postal Service serves. Postal management today has an impossible task, expected to accomplish business goals without the cost-controlling tools businesses have, and expected to achieve government ends without federal support. Congress owns this confusion. Only Congress can fix it and it will continue to need to fine-tune its solutions as communications cultures change. No bill passed today will avoid the need for legislation in the future. Neither “deregulating” it nor hiking rates will get USPS to stability. Nor will abrupt and disruptive approaches to labor costs. Senators Collins and Lieberman, along with co-sponsors Tom Carper, D-DE, and Scott Brown, R-MA, have devoted endless hours to understanding the challenge and to crafting the next steps toward fixing it. Their approach deserves considerably more respect than it is getting.
SPJ-ONA JournCamp May 18, 2012 | Phoenix, Ariz.
THE DETAILS:
Friday, May 18. 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Walter Cronkite School of Journalism 555 N. Central Ave. Phoenix, Ariz., 85004
THE COST:
$20 for SPJ or ONA members / $40 for non-members (Registration fee includes breakfast and lunch.)
THE WORKSHOPS:
Entrepreneurial Journalism Entrepreneurship. It’s a term once used for businessminded go-getters. Until relatively recently, its attachment to journalism has been relatively non-existent, especially to front-line reporters. In the new and emerging journalism economy, everything is up for grabs. Universities are teaching entrepreneurial journalism. Books, such as Mark Briggs’ of the same name, are being written. What does it all mean? Where does every journalist, from the up-and-coming student to the seasoned newsroom manager, fit in this new field? Hear from one journalist turned innovator and entrepreneur who’s been leading the charge in this expanding space. Trainer: Retha Hill, Arizona State University SEO, Google and You Search Engine Optimization may come off as a dirty word full of sinister page view-trolling connotations. But it’s a necessary tool all journalists in an online age should know how to use. So, too, should journalists be aware of the free tools — many from Google — at their disposal to help in the reporting, gathering and presentation of news. Learn what techniques and tools to immediately incorporate into your work. Trainer: Daniel Petty, Denver Post Visual Storytelling Visual storytelling is no longer reserved for those who just work in television. Working on the Web means journalists in all media need to find creative ways to provide information to their audiences. We’ll show you how you can use pictures to tell your story, even if none are (obviously) available. Trainer: Victoria Lim, freelancer
From Their Grubbies to the Web: How to Acquire Government Data and Post it Online This session will teach you how to get data out of government agencies, clean it up, then post it on your website as a table, chart or map using free, simple Google Fusion Tables. It’s so easy most house cats can do it! You’ll learn the right lingo to use in dealing with agencies, tips for finding databases, and how to provide the information to the public in a visual, interesting and ethical manner. Trainer: David Cuillier, SPJ FOI Trainer, University of Arizona Social Media as a Reporting Tool Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare, Tumblr, Google Plus, Quora. Social networks sprout by the minute, but which ones should you focus on, and how can you use them to find news, crowdsource information and generate leads? We’ll give you ideas for how to curate information, what you should consider in the verification process and how to publish it all, with specific case studies. Trainer: Daniel Petty, Denver Post Mobile Newsgathering: Why the Smartphone is the Most Important Journalistic Innovation Since the Reporter’s Notebook You’ll learn the basics of how to use hand-held devices as a journalistic tool. With the help of social media, apps and some gear, you’ll immerse yourself in the best practices for reporting, editing and sharing stories to any media platform with your smart phone. Trainer: Deb Wenger, SPJ Newsroom Trainer, University of Mississippi Copyright for the Copycat Age: What Every Journalist, Newsroom Manager and Publisher Needs to Know About Legality, Privacy and Copyright Laws Fair use. Copyright. Trademark. Invasion of privacy. Do you know what these terms actually mean? Sure, every journalist, publisher and station owner does in theory, but in practice do you know how the laws governing use of images, content and other creative materials really affect your work? In the age of online journalism and digital/social media, how are the legal rules of the road changing? Trainer: Gregg Leslie, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press
ANA Calendar May 11-12 May 14-18 May 17 May 18 May 18-19 May 19 May 24 May 28 June June 1 June 12 June 14
June 26-28 June 30 July 4 July 5 July 10 Aug 1-4 Aug 13 Aug 15 Aug 16 Sept 3 Sept 20-22 Sept 27-29 Sept 28 Sept 29
Oct 4 Oct 30 Nov 22 Dec 25
NFOIC 2012 FOI Summit, Madison, Wisconsin “Unlocking Financial Statements” webinar, Reynolds Center, free ANA board meeting SPJ-ONA JournCamp, Cronkite School, Phoenix “Revenue Camp for Journalism Entrepreneurs” webinar, Poynter Arizona Press Club Awards Reception, The Duce, Phoenix “Defining your role in Newspaper 2.0” webinar, Online Media Campus Memorial Day-ANA offices closed Watch for details on upcoming classified webinars from Janet DeGeorge this summer ANA 2012 contest deadline ”Passive third-party revenue streams for your website” webinar, Inland Press Association “Using smart push messaging to engage readers after app download” webinar, Inland Press Association “Economics 101 for journalists” webinar, Reynolds Center, free Social Media Day, District American Kitchen, Phoenix Independence Day-ANA office closed ANA Bowl KICKOFF “Finding local stories in BLS data” webinar, Reynolds Center, free Unity, Las Vegas “Telling great stories” webinar, Reynolds Center, free Notification of ANA contest winners ANA board meeting Labor Day-ANA office closed National Association of Press Women annual conference, Phoenix Arizona Interscholastic Press Association annual conference ANA board meeting ANA Annual Meeting and Fall Convention ANA Excellence in Advertising and Better Newspapers Contest awards reception National Newspaper Association annual conference, Charleston, South Carolina Cronkite Luncheon, Phoenix Thanksgiving-ANA offices closed Christmas-ANA offices closed
Looking for more webinars? Check out the ANA training calendar at:
http://ananews.com/calendar