MPA eBulletin

The Mississippi Press Association along with sister organizations from across the country will once again host National Newspaper Week Oct. 3-9, 2010. Florida Press Association will facilitate distribution of materials this year through a special NNW website.

Packages for newspapers, including editorials, graphics, a crossword puzzle and more will be available for download Sept. 13. MPA will distribute access passwords to members on that date.

The National Newspaper Association, as part of the Affordable Mail Alliance, filed comments with the Postal Regulatory Commission opposing the Postal Service’s request for a Jan. 2 rate increase that would hit all mailers with a 5.6 percent postage increase, and some periodicals mail by increases in the 10 percent range.

The nearly 1,000-member Alliance told the Commission that the Postal Service’s financial woes are not the result of an emergency, but are the result of its inability to gain control over its operating costs.

AMA said the Postal Service admits that it has sufficient cash to run until Sept. 30, 2011, and that the exigent rate increase will not affect that fact. The increase is expected only to fund its required contribution to retiree health benefits prepayments — a requirement Congress forgave in 2009 and is likely to forgive again this fall.

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MPA member newspapers are required to file their Statements of Ownership with their local post offices by the close of business Oct. 1. Papers should reprint the statements in their newspapers by Oct. 10 (for dailies) or Oct. 31 (for non-dailies). Click here to download Form USPS 3526.

Max Heath, postal chair for the National Newspaper Association and a consultant for Landmark Community Newspapers and Publishing Group of American, will return this year to the ArkLaMiss Circulation Conference in Vicksburg.

Heath, a popular speaker at MPA events and conferences nationwide, will meet one-on-one with community newspaper personnel to discuss changes in postal regulations and rates, as well as confer with them on possible postal savings for their newspapers. He has saved MPA member newspapers thousands by reviewing postal forms and paperworks required by USPS.

ArkLaMiss is an annual meeting of circulation personnel and newspaper managers held jointly with press associations in Mississippi, Arkansas and Louisiana. The event will be held at the Ameristar Casino in Vicksburg. Hotel rate is $79 (Wednesday and Thursday) and $99 (Friday). Call Carmen Ramshur at 601-630-4656 to make your reservations.

Registration materials and program information will be mailed to members later in September and available online at mspress.org.

Criteria and entry packets for the 2010 Better Newspaper Contest Advertising Division are now available. The deadline for entries in the contest is Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2010 at 5 p.m.

Only slight revisions were made to the contest this year. Categories 29 and 30, dealing with magazine publications, have been expanded to included all circulation classes (Daily A, B and C; Weekly A, B and C). The Advertising Committee approved the changes in recognition of the growing popularity of slick magazine products at member papers.

Entries will be judged this fall by members of the Arkansas Press Association. Winners will be presented during the Mid-Winter Conference Jan. 22 at King Edward Hilton Garden Inn in Jackson.

A webinar focusing on mobile content strategies for newspapers is scheduled Sept. 1 at 1 p.m. The session is coordinated by the Iowa Newspaper Foundation and Southern Newspaper Publishers Association as part of the Online Media Campus series. Steve Buttry of the American Press Institute and director of community engagement for Albritton Communications will lead the session.

Cost of the webinar is $35. More information is available at the Online Media Campus website.

MPA is partnering with press associations across the nation to deliver this new webinar series to member papers. Future sessions will focus on technology, advertising, editorial and circulation topics, among others.

The Mississippi Center for Freedom of Information will hold a panel discussion on “Fighting Government Obstruction.” Panelists will include Clarion-Ledger editorial director and MPA board member David Hampton, attorney Leonard Van Slyke of Watkins Ludlam Winter and Stennis and Mississippi Ethics Commission executive director Tom Hood.

Charlie Mitchell, new assistant dean of the Meek School of Journalism and New Media at Ole Miss, will moderate.

The program begins at 4 p.m. in the auditorium at the Overby Center for Southern Journalism and Politics on the campus of Ole Miss. A reception will follow.

USA Today Technology Live | Now we can put a date on it: 2014 will be the year when consumers begin to spend more for digital media than they will for print, according to a forecast out today from private-equity firm Veronis Suhler Stevenson.

Knoxville News Sentinel | Chas Hartman, a former newspaper reporter for the Georgetown News-Graphic in Kentucky and currently a Ph.D. candidate in communication at the University of Kentucky, is asking online newspaper readers whether they would pay access fees.

Washington Post Campus Overload blog | The ACLU of Virginia has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in on whether college newspapers should be allowed to publish ads promoting drink specials and happy hour deals.

Editor and Publisher | The Associated Press is looking to position itself as a top source for college football news by launching APTop25.com, an interactive Web hub offering in-depth coverage and perspective on college football.

MPA members will join newspapers from four states for a 2012 Super Convention at Florida’s Sandestin Resort. Negotiations were finalized in June for the event that will bring togther Mississippi members with those in Alabama, Georgia and Florida.

The convention will be held July 6-8 at the Grand Sandestin Hotel. Rates for a standard 1-bedroom unit begin at $189. Condos up to 3-bedroom will also be available for special rates negotiated with the hotel.

“Coming on the heels of a very successful Tri-State meeting in Tunica, we know that we will be able to bring together a terrific crowd and build a very powerful program for our members in Destin,” said MPA executive director Layne Bruce.

The 2010 event was the second joint meeting held with Arkansas and Tennessee since 2004. Bruce said there are many advantages to regional meetings, particularly the ability to strengthen programs and keep overall costs low.

“I know some of our members may be concerned about a decision to leave the state for a convention meeting. I want to assure anyone with qualms this was a special consideration based on the invitation to join other states in a geographically-centered venue that had the potential to draw the largest crowd.

“Otherwise, the MPA-MPS Board remains committed to holding our annual conventions in Mississippi and supporting our state’s economy.”

Full information on hotel accommodations will be forwarded to members soon so the reservations process can begin.

The 2011 convention is scheduled for June 23-25 at the Beau Rivage Resort and Casino in Biloxi. A venue for MPA’s 147th Annual Convention in 2013 will be chosen later this year.

The annual ArkLaMiss Circulation Conference will be held Nov. 4-5 in Vicksburg and will return this year to the Ameristar Hotel and Casino. The event brings together circulation directors, personnel and newspaper publishers and managers for a two-day exchange of ideas and fellowship.

It is sponsored jointly by the press associations in Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi. More information is coming in the mail soon on program topics and registration.

MPA will take the wraps off a top-to-bottom remake of its website Sept. 1. The months-long redesign of mspress.org will include new member-specific features including optional online dues payments and conference registration.

“This has been a long process in the planning stages for over a year,” said Layne Bruce, MPA-MPS executive director. “We have partnered with an Austin-based firm specializing in providing website and database support to associations. The result will be a versatile and very useful site for the public, our staff and the MPA membership.”

In addition to providing a breadth of information on MPA, the site will also clearly delineate between the Association and Mississippi Press Services and the MPA Education Foundation. Each will receive a dedicated section detailing their respective mission and services.

Each member newspaper will have access to its own information in the MPA database, including dues statements and member profile data. While online conference registration has been available for the past couple of years for the Mid-Winter and the Annual Convention, the new site will offer registration for all MPA events and more versatility in selecting options.

Familiar services such as the downloading of advertising copy will still be facilitated through the new site. However, members will be assigned a new password for access to protected pages and the FTP site for advertising downloads prior to the launch on Sept. 1.

“There will be a period of adjustment,” said Bruce. “But we’re confident members will quickly come to appreciate the attractive new design and usefulness of the site.”

The relaunch of the website is the first major overhaul of mspress.org in nearly a decade and coincides with other technology upgrades for MPA-MPS. New improvements in proprietary media buying software will allow members to sign digital insertion orders and return by web or email rather than the traditional paper faxes. Those upgrades are expected to take place in the fourth quarter.

NNA | The National Newspaper Association is ending its management agreement with the University of Missouri at Columbia after eight years. The change means NNA will search for a new headquarters location as well as a new management team.

Illinois Press Association | Gov. Pat Quinn has signed into law a bill requiring that newspapers upload public notices to a website cooperative administered by the Illinois Press Association. The move is seen by many as a proactive step by the state’s newspaper community to further defend the medium as the watchdog of government through public notice.

Reuters | New York Times Co posted better-than-expected quarterly earnings and for the first time in three years increased revenue as advertising stabilized and readers paid more for its newspapers. The publisher on Thursday said advertising revenue was about flat in the second quarter, raising hopes among investors that the newspaper business might recover after a prolonged slump. Total revenue rose 1 percent.

Associated Press | Americans avoided television in historic levels in early July. CBS, NBC, ABC and Fox together had the smallest number of prime-time viewers last week in two decades of record-keeping, the Nielsen Co. said. Given the dominance of the big broadcasters before then, you’d probably have to go back to the early days of television to find such a collective shrug.

The publisher of The Northside Sun became the third generation member of his family to take the reins of the state press association.

Wyatt Emmerich, president of Jackson-based Emmerich Newspapers, was elected President of the Mississippi Press Association and Mississippi Press Services during the Tri-State Press Convention in Tunica June 24.

His father, the late John Emmerich, former publisher of The Greenwood Commonwealth, served as MPA president from 1982-1983. His grandfather, the late J. Oliver Emmerich, former publisher of The Enterprise-Journal, was president of the Association in 1928.

Wyatt Emmerich accepted the gavel from outgoing president Reece Terry, publisher of The Daily Corinthian, who becomes Chairman of the MPA Education Foundation.

Emmerich, who first joined the MPA Board in 1999, joked about the length of time it took for him to be elected president.

“It seems like I was on the board for 20 years before you decided to make me president,” he said after accepting the gavel. “But it is an honor for me to serve and I accept the responsibility with gratitude.”

Emmerich Newspapers operates two dozen community daily and weekly newspapers in three states.

Emmerich was born in McComb and is a 1976 graduate of Greenwood High School. He graduated from Harvard in 1980 and while there served as editor of The Harvard Crimson. He also has a masters degree in business from UCLA.

He has been a reporter for the Greenwood Commonwealth, Cocoa Today in Florida, the Dallas Times Herald and the Philadelphia Inquirer. He worked on Wall Street with Merrill Lynch as an investment banker to the newspaper industry. Prior to that he was a senior analyst for strategic planning at the New York Times Company.

Emmerich is married to the former Ginny Knight of Taylorsville. They have three children, John, 13, Lawrence, 11, and Ruth, 8.

Also elected to leadership positions on the Board of Directors were Vice President for Dailies Jimmy Clark, general manager of The Vicksburg Post; Vice President for Weeklies James E. Prince, III, publisher of The Neshoba Democrat and president of Prince Newspaper Holdings; and Treasurer David Hampton, editorial director for The Clarion-Ledger.

Elected to a three-year term on the board was James Arrington Goff, executive editor of The News-Commercial in Collins. Goff had previously been serving as a director for the MPA Education Foundation.

Returning for a three-year term on the board are sitting members Joel McNeece, publisher of The Calhoun County Journal, and Paul Keane, publisher of The Wayne County News.

Founded in 1866, MPA is the trade association for 115-member newspapers in the Magnolia State. Its business affiliate, Mississippi Press Services, was founded in 1978 and serves as a marketing representative and advertising placement agent for member papers. The MPA Education Foundation was established in 1983 to provide scholarships and internships to student journalists and grants to universities and colleges for the instruction of journalism.

The MPA Education Foundation will sponsor a multimedia workshop on the campus of Ole Miss July 15-16. The sessions will be moderated by Deb Wenger, assistant professor for journalism at the university.

The schedule includes:

• July 15, 9 am to noon – Writing for online. Learning the basics for writing and editing for the web.
• July 15, 1 pm to 3 pm – Basics of video. Instruction on equipment and editing techniques for online video to complement newspaper websites.
• July 16, 9 am to noon – Social media. The basics of this important medium and incorporating it into your newspapers and websites.

There is no cost to attend these sessions, but registration is required by contacting MPAEF coordinator Beth Boone. Seating is limited and available on a first-come, first-serve basis.

The third in a series of roundtables hosted by MPA will be held Thursday, July 8 for south region publishers and general managers at the Lake Terrace Convention Center in Hattiesburg. The program will be moderated by MPA board member Skippy Haik, publisher of the Laurel Leader-Call.

Topics covered during the sessions include increasing revenue, online ad initiatives, strengthening content and “doing more with less.” Prior workshops have been held in Tupelo and Jackson and were moderated by MPA Past President Reece Terry, publisher of The Daily Corinthian, and board member Jim Prince, publisher of The Neshoba Democrat.

The sessions will get underway at 10 am and lunch will be served. South region publishers received invitations and agendas in the mail last week. For more information on the event, email Layne Bruce.

Launching July 1, 1 for All is a national nonpartisan program designed to build understanding and support for First Amendment freedoms through the Nashville-basded First Amendment Center. 1 for All provides teaching materials to the nation’s schools, supports educational events on America’s campuses and reminds the public that the First Amendment serves everyone, regardless of faith, race, gender or political leanings.

Newspapers are encourage to donate remnant space for printing 1 for All PSAs.

Editor and Publisher | A mother in Washington state has been reunited with the son she gave up for adoption 43 years ago, thanks to a classified ad in The News Tribune in Tacoma, Wash.

Mediaweek | Web audience measurement amounts to a Tower of Babel, with various vendors and Web publishers speaking in a multitude of tongues. The result is confusing advertisers and frustrating online publishers who believe the lack of consistency is costing them revenue. The Interactive Advertising Bureau is quietly trying to change that, spearheading the creation of a gold standard for Web measurement.

Journalism UK | Three US newspapers will introduce paywalls to their websites later this week as part of subscription trials by parent company Gannett. The Tallahassee Democrat in Florida, the Spectrum in Utah, and South Carolina’s Greenville News will introduce a range of subscription packages from 1 July.

Several hundred newspaper professionals and associates are expected in Tunica next month for the second Tri-State Press Convention June 23-26.

The meeting will bring together the press associations from Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee for the second time since 2004. This year’s event will be held at Harrah’s Tunica Resort.

Registrations from Mississippi members and associates have already surpassed 100. Click here to see who has already registered from our state.

Events kick off Wednesday, June 23 with dinner at Hollywood Café for early arrivals. Thursday begins with a breakfast mixer for members of the Boards of Directors from the Tri-State associations. Other highlights of the three-day confab include:

• A Tri-State Golf Tournament Thursday afternoon at The Links at Cottonwoods
• Thursday afternoon Tennis Tournament at Tunica National Club
• A sporting clays match at The Willows
• A lunch and shopping excursion to Main Street Tunica
• Opening reception Thursday with rides aboard the River Queen at the Tunica RiverPark Museum
• Friday keynote address by Charles Overby, Chairman and CEO of the Freedom Forum and Newseum
• Friday trade show with over 30 exhibitors
• General session address Friday on the future of Public Notice in Newspapers
• Friday concurrent sessions on advertising revenue, changes with the United States Postal Service  and Photoshop tips featuring Chattanooga Times Free Press President Jason Taylor, postal consultant Max Heath and technology guru Kevin Slimp, respectively
• Grand Friday Night Gala featuring dinner and music by the Turnrow Cowboys
• Friday evening dessert reception and Tri-State Silent Auction
• Saturday breakfast keynote by nationally-syndicated columnist and Fox News commentator Cal Thomas
• Saturday concurrent sessions with Slimp, Heath, print journalism expert Dr. Samir Husni of the University of Mississippi and and editorial sessions with writing coach Jim Stasiowski.
• BNC Award and presidential installation banquets at noon Saturday for Arkansas and Mississippi

Wyatt Emmerich, publisher of the Northside Sun and president of Emmerich Newspapers, will accept the MPA President’s Gavel on Saturday from Reece Terry, publisher of the Daily Corinthian and Booneville Banner Independent.

Registration materials can be found at the Tri-State Website. The room block at Harrah’s Veranda Hotel has now expired, but alternate lodging may be available by contacting Harrah’s reservation line.

For more information on the Tri-State Convention or registration, contact Kimberly Haydu.

A terrific assortment of items has so far been donated by several member newspapers and MPA-MPS associates and clients for the upcoming Foundation Silent Auction benefit. This year’s auction will be held jointly with the foundations of the Arkansas and Tennessee press associations.

Income from the auction of individual items will be directed to the state whose members submit the winning bids. All items, however, will be open for bidding from anyone attending the Tri-State event. A wide assortment of merchandise is expected from the other states in addition to what has been donated thus far by MPA members.  Our thanks to the Laurel Leader Call, Calhoun County Journal, Winston County Journal, Bolivar Commercial and Port Gibson Reveille for their generous donations to date.

Click here to see a list of items already donated or to download a donation form. For more information on the event, contact Kimberly Haydu.

Postal and circulation guru Max Heath will be available for a one-on-one review of your newspaper’s USPS statements during next month’s Tri-State Press Convention at Harrah’s Tunica Resort. Heath, a postal consultant for Landmark Community Newspapers and the National Newspaper Association, is also a featured speaker during the event.

Heath will meet with newspaper members by appointment on June 25. Those wishing to take part in the review should bring copies of USPS Form 3541 and Form 3602-R with them and sign up at the registration desk.

He has saved some Mississippi member newspapers thousands through a review of their postal forms.

Also on June 25, Heath will present “Breaking News Postal Update” during the 3 pm concurrent sessions. The Friday program will touch on changes at the Postal Service, including the much-discussed plan to terminate Saturday delivery. Saturday, Heath will present a one-hour session on “26 Ideas for Growing Circulation Revenue.”

Reuters | AbitibiBowater Inc., the world’s largest newsprint maker, plans to emerge from bankruptcy with a simplified structure so it can take on the challenge of declining demand, its chief executive said on Tuesday.

MediaPost | Newspaper Web sites continue to grow in popularity, with online newspaper operations in the top 25 media markets reaching 83.7 million unique visitors in April — up 10% from March, 12% from February, and 15% from January of this year, according to comScore figures released by the Newspaper National Network.

The Guardian | In the land of the free, where press freedom is accepted as a cornerstone of democracy, it is extremely rare for newspapers to be gagged. But a United States judge has just blocked two papers from publishing stories about an internal college report because it was passed to journalists after, allegedly, being improperly removed from the college.

Editor and Publisher | Georgia’s 12 largest newspapers announced Monday that they will combine their resources to report on the year’s political races.