The staff and management of Mississippi Press Association/Mississippi Press Services wishes all members, colleagues and friends a safe and happy holiday.
There will be no eBulletin the week of Nov. 24. Publication will resume Dec. 1.
A teleconference has been set for Wednesday, Nov. 29 at 1 p.m. for members of the Membership Committee to discuss possibly modifying classifications for daily newspapers in the upcoming 2006 Better Newspaper Contest Editorial Division.
Currently, daily newspapers are divided into three groups for the competition: Daily A – 20,000 and above; Daily B – 9,000-20,000; and Daily C – Below 9,000.
With the latest USPS Statements of Ownership and Circulation copied to MPA as required, at least two newspapers have dipped below the 20,000 in circulation. The decrease, although modest, is significant for the contest since it would reduce the number of competing papers in the largest circulation division from five to three.
One possible modification would be to lower the range of Daily A from 20,000 to 15,000 and above. That would keep any members who have traditionally competed in the large daily category from dropping to a lower division and affect only one other paper currently competing in Daily B.
Entry packets and rules for the contest will be released in late December. The deadline for entering the 2006 competition is Tuesday, Feb. 6. The contest will be judged by members of the Arkansas Press Association. Winners will be revealed at the 141st annual MPA Convention next June in Biloxi.
Action by Jackson postal officials to improve service to newspaper mail are welcome signs that the United States Postal Service is hearing the National Newspaper Association’s call for better delivery, NNA President Jerry Tidwell, publisher of the Hood County (TX) News said this week.
NNA Postal Committee Chairman Max Heath, vice president of Landmark Community Newspapers, Inc., reported results from work by NNA and Mississippi Press Association on particularly troubling service issues from Jackson . NNA highlighted the service problems in testimony to the Postal Rate Commission in September. More…
The final meeting of the MPA/MPS Board of Directors will be held in Jackson Thursday, Nov. 30. Board members will join the MPA/MPS staff for a holiday luncheon before afternoon business sessions begin. The lunch will be held at Jackson’s Regency Hotel and Conference Center.
The next scheduled meeting of the board will be held in conjunction with the annual Mid-Winter Conference Thursday, Jan. 25, 2007 at Jackson’s Hilton Hotel.
The MPA/MPS office will be closed Nov. 23-24 for the Thanksgiving holiday. We will reopen for normal business hours Monday, Nov. 27.
Additionally, our offices will be closed Monday, Dec. 25 in observance of Christmas and Monday, Jan. 1 in observance of New Years. Happy Thanksgiving to all our members and friends!
If your newspaper has not yet submitted changes for the 2007 MPA Mississippi Newspaper Directory, time has nearly run out. The book will be sent to the printer Dec. 18 in time for distribution at the Mid-Winter Conference in January.
Please contact technology coordinator Victoria Bracknell immediately (vbracknell@mspress.org) if you have changes to make in the information listed under your newspapers name. As a reminder, these guides are distributed to newspaper associates, vendors and advertising agencies nationwide, so correct information is vital to ensure our members are properly represented.
Additionally, members wishing to advertise their newspapers in the 2007 directory should reserve space by Friday, Dec. 1. For information on rates and space availability, contact office manager Kimberly Haydu (khaydu@mspress.org) by that date.
The 2007 directory will be presented in a new, handy format, complete with tabbed pages and expanded color options.
From NAA: Newspapers continue to serve as a major destination for U.S. consumers seeking advertising and shopping information, according to a new report released today by the Newspaper Association of America. The report is based on data from the Minneapolis-based MORI Research, which surveyed more than 3,000 consumers to explore how consumers use newspaper advertising and advertising’s effect on consumer purchasing habits.
From Media Life Magazine: In spring and again in the fall, the latest circulation numbers came out on America’s newspapers, and for a long time they have not been encouraging. This latest round, out two weeks ago, showed more losses, with the nation’s papers down 2.8 percent on average, and dramatic declines among the top papers. The Los Angeles Times saw an 8 percent decline for the six-month period. For media buyers, this is alarming news, meaning a key local medium has become that much less effective in reaching a mass audience. How are media people reacting to these declines? What most worries them?
From Editor and Publisher: Ben Bradlee, the former executive editor of The Washington Post, supported the recent changes in news coverage that current executive editor Leonard Downie Jr. proposed in a Tuesday memo. But he disagreed with Downie’s comparison (in that memo) to changes he made in the 60s and 70s — contending that Downie has a harder job ahead than he did.
