MPA/MPS e-Bulletin

Members of the state Legislative Budget Committee met with representatives of MPA and its Governmental Affairs Committee Thursday in Jackson to discuss the 2007 session and get updates from lawmakers on what’s happening in their respective areas of the state.
Governmental Affairs Chairman Lloyd Gray, editor of the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal in Tupelo, and Sid Salter, Perspective Editor for The Clarion-Ledger, presided for MPA, with Lt. Gov. Amy Tuck, Sens. Billy Hewes, Hillman Frazier, Jack Gordon, Terry Burton and Reps. Diane Peranich, George Flaggs, Johnny Stringer and Steve Holland representing the two Legislative houses.
Lawmakers touched on a variety of issues, including coast recovery and the looming issue of skyrocketing insurance premiums, while Salter championed MPA’s frontburner issue of a uniform incident report for all levels of law enforcement statewide.
A contingent of MPA publishers and editors will meet next month separately with Tuck and Attorney General Jim Hood to further drum up support for the incident report initiative.

Leading names in newspaper technology will gather for an intensive course on technology beginning Oct. 12 in Knoxville. Held on campus at the College of Communication & Information at the University of Tennessee, The Institute of Newspaper Technology will offer classes in InDesign, InCopy, Acrobat, Photoshop, QuarkXPress 7, Creator, Advanced Photoshop, GoLive, Lightroom, and more.
Attended by designers and publishers representing newspapers of every size, attendees learn from leading instructors including Kevin Slimp, Lisa Griffin, Karl Kuntz, Rob Heller, Lynn Grillo, Cathy Bandeko and more.
Held in state of the art labs, both Mac and PC based newspapers have the opportunity for top notch hands-on training.
As of earlier this week, a limited number of seats were still available. For more information, call 865.584.5761 or email Kevin Slimp, director, at kslimp@newspaperinstitute.com.

The annual convention of the National Newspaper Association will convene next month in Oklahoma City. Around 300 owners, publishers and senior management personnel of community newspapers across the United States are expected.  Convention attendees will have the opportunity to attend educational sessions, participate in roundtable discussions with experts in their field, hear keynote presentations and interact with their peers at offsite events scheduled for the Oklahoma City Museum of Art and the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum.
The convention will also host a trade show with more than 50 vendors offering products and services for newspapers.  Two workshops are scheduled for Saturday, October 14th at an affordable fee for conference attendees, but are also open to those not attending the convention.
For more information on the convention, and registration materials, click here.

The results of a year-long study by the American Press Institute on the future of the newspaper industry will be revealed during a symposium next week at API in Reston, Va. The Newspaper Next project has focused on disruptive innovation and the findings have resulted in research-tested, recommended solutions, according to API’s Drew Davis.
Executives with major media companies in the U.S. and abroad are expected to attend. For more information on the symposium, call API’s Sarah Decker at 703-715-3312 or email sdecker@americanpressinstitute.org.
MPA is working to bring a representative of API to the state for either the January Mid-Winter Conference or June Convention to discuss findings with the membership.

From editorandpublisher.com: Blaming raw materials costs, Flint Group said it is increasing the price of its news offset and coldset inks on Oct. 1.
“Since October 2005, our news ink operations have received over 80 raw material price increases from our supply base of approximately 30 key suppliers,” said Mike Green, vice president and general manager of Flint Group North America News Ink Division.
Green said global demand for chemical raw materials in developing nations “has significantly tightened supply of basic chemicals used by the newspaper printing ink industry.”
“We are now competing for supply from historic raw material sources that, in many cases, now have greater value in other developing global markets and industries,” Green said in a statement.
Flint also blamed the price increases on continuing escalation of energy and freight costs.

National Newspaper Week will be observed the first week of October. A full complement of promotional materials is available to members via the Kentucky Press Association Website, kypress.com/nnwkit/

The Early Bird Deadline for the annual Better Newspaper Contest Advertising Division is Sept. 26 at 5 p.m.  Papers sending their submissions by this date may take 25% off their total entry fees. For more information on the contest or to download entry forms, go to mspress.org/bnc/index.html, or call member services coordinator Beth Boone, 601-981-3060, for more details.

Third quarter newsletters mailed
The third quarter edition of the Fourth Estate, the official newspaper of MPA, was mailed this week from Jackson. Featured in this edition are reports and a photo spread from the 140th annual convention on the Gulf Coast in June; new publisher announcements for Hernando and Laurel; updates on FOI issues and postal matters; the latest in software and technology advice from guru Kevin Slimp; recollections on a decade of MPA board service by Holly Springs South Reporter publisher Barry Burleson; and, of course, comments from new MPA president Marcus Bowers and a full roundup of member news.
Look for it in your mailbox soon. As always, keep up with news about Mississippi newspapers as it happens via the MPA blog, Inkblots, at mspress.org/inkblots.

Publisher statements due to USPS Oct. 1
Annual USPS statement of ownership filings are due at your local post office by Oct. 1. According to the National Newspaper Association, the information provided on Form 3526 allows the Postal Service to determine whether publications meet the standards of Periodicals mailing privileges.
The required information also must appear in an issue of the publication whose primary mailed distribution is produced:
1.    Not later than Oct. 10 for dailies and semi-weeklies;
2.    Not later than Oct. 31 for all weeklies and less-frequently (but more frequently than monthly).
MPA also requires its members to submit a copy of the postal Statement of Ownership to our office by faxing to 601.981.3676 or via mail to 371 Edgewood Terrace, Jackson, MS  39206.

From the American Advertising Federation: Valassis, one of the largest media services companies in the US, works with 94 of the 100 leading national advertisers, helping to engage millions of consumers. Today, consumers are in control, choosing to opt in or out of advertising. A recent study reveals over 70% of adults regularly look through newspaper preprints. Go here to get the overview.

Planning is underway for the annual ArkLaMiss Circulation Conference, jointly hosted with Arkansas and Louisiana. The event, to be held at the Ameristar Casino in Vicksburg, will feature a number of session on topics ranging from postal issues to carrier retention. A limited block of rooms is available at the Ameristar Hotel, which is undergoing renovations. A secondary block has been reserved at the nearby Fairfield Inn. Get more information and download a registration form here.

The Early Bird Deadline for entries in the Better Newspaper Contest Advertising Division is coming up Tuesday, Sept. 26. Have your entries to MPA by 5 p.m. on that date and take $1 off the fee for each entry! That’s a deep discount if you enter before the final deadline the following week, Oct. 3 at 5 p.m. Get your entry packet, including rules, entry slips and more, right here. Note: There are revisions to categories this year, including consolidation of some color categories and introduction of new ones.

NNA contends: Serious flaws in the Postal Service’s cost accounting and its failure to accurately gauge the deep impact of a 25-30 percent postage increase upon community newspapers should lead the Postal Rate Commission to reject the increase. Read NNA’s argument.

The film-makers and network responsible for the upcoming miniseries, “The Path to 9/11,” which is now under assault for its alleged conservative bias, received critical support from a perhaps unexpected quarter on Friday — The New York Times. More from E&P.

A full-color, 68-page glossy magazine recently produced by journalism students at the University of Mississippi makes a statement about the quality of journalism education offered at the institution. Read more from Ole Miss.