newsclips MARCH 2016
2015 Ontario Junior Citizens Recognized On Monday, March 7, the Honourable Elizabeth Dowdeswell, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, hosted the 35th annual Ontario Junior Citizen Awards ceremony in her Suite at Queen's Park. Thirteen outstanding youth from across Ontario were recognized in front of family and friends for their inspiring community involvement. The Ontario Community Newspapers Association (OCNA) would like to thank corporate sponsors Insurance Bureau of Canada and TD Bank Group, as well as its member newspapers for continued support to recognize tomorrow's leaders. The 2015 Ontario Junior Citizens join a prestigious assembly of winners recognized for their outstanding achievements by OCNA member newspapers. These young people represent a diverse group ranging in age, interests and backgrounds, but they all share a common desire to make a difference. They are truly an inspiring group whose stories illustrate leadership, creativity, determination and generosity. Read about each of these nominees and their accomplishments on page six. Continued on Page 6 >>>
Top from left to right: Matt Hiraishi, Manager, Government Relations, Insurance Bureau of Canada; Mattias Mueller, 13, Petrolia; Ishan Vijay, 13, Oakville; Vishal Vijay, 15, Oakville; Madeleine Desroches, 17, Tiny; Daniel Sequeira, 17, Mississauga; Dheiksha Jayasankar, 11, St. Catharines; Preston Swan-Merrison, 13, London; Alexandria Montague, 17, Hamilton; Alan Convery, Director, Community Relations, TD Bank Group; Tysen Lefebvre, 15, Stittsville. Bottom from left to right: John Chisel, 9, Hudson; Darquise Frappier, 11, Sudbury; the Honourable Elizabeth Dowdeswell, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario; Elizabeth Lampson, 7, Dundas; Sophie Bywater, 9, Callander.
Where Are They Now? To celebrate the Ontario Junior Citizen Award program’s 35th anniversary, the OCNA recruited help from its members to connect with previous recipients, dating back to 1981 and discover Where Are They Now. The information has been collected into a unique publication and features inspiring stories of growth and achievement. Thank you to those who participated in this initative. We are excited to share a hard copy of the commemorative booklet with each OCNA member.
WHAT’S INSIDE:
CCNA MOVEMENTS Recommendations approved by the CCNA board for OCNA to discuss.
See Page 1
BNC FINALISTS ANNOUNCED First, second and third place winners will be presented on April 22.
See Page 6
COMPETING FOR CUSTOMERS Five tips to win over customers.
See Page 14
March 2016 MONTHLY PUBLICATION OF THE ONTARIO1 COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS ASSOCIATION www.ocna.org
ASSOCIATION NEWS
National Association Movements By Dave Adsett, OCNA President & Wellington Advertiser Publisher With spring in the air, business starts to blossom. Most publishers we have chatted with lately are certainly looking forward to better times, after an unusually slow January and February. Spring gives us hope at least. In the last issue of NewsClips, I informed our members of a movement at our national association to explore the merits of one association serving newspapers country-wide. The gentlemen tasked with preparing a recommendation for the CCNA board shied away from that initial concept after exhaustive consultations across the country. They met with provincial association directors, corporate owners and larger independent owners. Three separate opportunities were hosted by OCNA in Ontario for local publishers to provide feedback. The best attended event was in London and our board is appreciative of those members who could make it that day. There are five recommendations approved by the CCNA board that we now need to discuss. The full report and corresponding recommendations can be found on the OCNA Web site. The recommendations are as follows: Recommendation 1 • Creation of a Canadian News Media Association (News Media Canada) governed by a single board composed of corporate and community representation. • The primary mandate of the new entity will be to focus on lobbying and overall marketing of the newspaper industry. • Target Date: January 1, 2017
Continued on Page 4 >>>
IN THIS ISSUE... 05 .......................................EXCEPTIONAL YOUTH, LIMITLESS POTENTIAL 06 ......................................................BNC AWARD FINALISTS ANNOUNCED 10 ................................IBC COMMUNITY AWARD RECIPIENT ANNOUNCED
NEWSCLIPS VOLUME 05, ISSUE 01 890 Yonge Street, Suite 200 Toronto, ON M4W 3P4 p.905.639.8720 f.905-639.6962 e. info@ocna.org w. www.ocna.org
OCNA BOARD PRESIDENT
Dave Adsett
FIRST VP
Ray Stanton
SECOND VP
Anne Marie Creskey
SECRETARY/ TREASURER
John Willems
PAST PRESIDENT
Gordon Cameron
DIRECTORS
Abbas Homayed Alicia McCutcheon Darren Murphy Rick Shaver John Willems
OCNA STAFF EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Caroline Medwell
MEMBER SERVICES
Karen Shardlow Kelly Gorven
ACCOUNTING
Lucia Shepherd
AD*REACH
Ted Brewer Brad Hopkins Carolyn Press Erica Leyzac
14 .................................................................COMPETING FOR CUSTOMERS 16 .....................TEN IDEAS FOR COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER PUBLISHERS 18 .......................................................HUMAN RESOURCES - I’M TOO BUSY
March 2016
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ASSOCIATION NEWS
OLIP Interns Enjoy Tour of Metroland Media Office Every year, the OCNA sponsors the Ontario Legislature Internship Programme (OLIP), which allows ten smart and hard-working young university graduates to work for ten months at Queen’s Park, where they assist their assigned MPPs, research specific areas of policy and governance, and learn as much as they can about Ontario citizens, communities, government and business. On March 18th, seven of these talented interns visited the Metroland offices for a fun-and-fact filled afternoon learning about community news, touring the vast warehouse, and viewing the printing presses. The interns asked a lot of questions, and valued the experience. Thank you to Metroland for an educational and entertaining day.
OCNA MEMBER SPOTLIGHT JAN WATSON RETIRES AFTER 43 YEARS After 43 years in the newspaper business, Jan Watson retired from the Wheatly Journal at the end of 2015. She was presented with a Silver Quill Award from owners Jim Heyenes (left) and Sheila McBrayne (right) for her many years of service to the industry.
JOANNE BURGHARDT APPOINTED EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OF METROLAND CENTRAL Joanne Burghardt was recently appointed to the position of editorin-chief for Metroland Central. Joanne is a strategic thinker with a track record of not only journalistic excellence, but also digital leadership and editorial innovation. The latter qualities especially recommend her to this important role during a time that can best be characterized as a period of journalistic reinvention.
SPORTS SYNDICATED COLUMNS AVAILABLE ONLINE The Terrace Bay/Schreiber News is pleased that columnist Rejean Giguere’s sports themed columns, posted to the OCNA’s Syndicated Columnist section online, have been well received by newspapers throughout Ontario. Rejean’s columns can be found online in the Members Section at: http://www.ocna.org/en/filebrowser/syndicated_columnists/ Free_wCredit_RejeanGiguere?sort=asc&order=Last+modified. Please note: you must be logged in as a member to retrieve these documents. March 2016
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ASSOCIATION NEWS
OCNA MEMBER SPOTLIGHT IAN PROUDFOOT RECEIVES SILVER QUILL Ian Proudfoot received a Silver Quill Award from OCNA Director John Willems during a retirement party on February 24. Ian joined Metroland Media Central Division in 1979 and held positions including finance manager, director of distribution and finally, publisher and vice-president of the Toronto, York, Simcoe and Muskoka divisions.
Recommendations to Consider >>> Continued from Page 1
Recommendation 2 • Creation of a new regional model representing both community and daily publications in British Columbia/Yukon, Prairies/North, Ontario and Atlantic. Quebec and APF to be determined. • Target Date: June 1, 2017 - fully operational, with streamlined back ends, standardized membership and fee policies; commence work immediately under direction of existing boards to create regional framework. • If no progress is visible by Dec. 1, 2016, corporate groups may act together to proceed with establishment of a new Canadian Newspaper Association. Recommendation 3 • Elimination of national conference • Target Date: 2017 Recommendation 4 • National Newspaper Awards board to be engaged around either potential for award expansion to include weekly community newspapers, or a separate, affiliated competition. • Target Date: May, 2017
THE REVIEW HIRES NEW REPORTER Flamborough Review Editor, Brenda Jefferies is pleased to welcome part-time reporter/photographer Julia Lovett to the Waterdown newsroom. Julia grew up in Northwestern Ontario and now lives in Cambridge. Most recently, she worked at the Northeast News in Fort St. John, British Columbia. Prior to that, she worked at a publication serving the community of Miramichi, New Brunswick. Julia earned her honours diploma at New Brunswick Community College, where she studied radio, print and television journalism. “Moving from town to town, I have come to know a variety of people and have told their stories – the serious ones and those with a little more humour and humility mixed in,” says Julia. “I am excited to be joining the team at the Review and look forward to the stories yet to be told.”
March 2016
Recommendation 5 • Creation of a cooperative national sales arm for community newspapers. • Target Date: Immediate discussions to establish governance framework for creation of a national sales arm that maintains regional sales capacity; framework should be in place by Dec. 1, 2016. I would encourage all members to consider these ideas and be prepared to speak to them at our conference, scheduled for April 22 in Vaughan. If you are unable to attend, we will happily accept correspondence on the subject. As always, members are invited to share concerns or questions with one of our directors, our Executive Director (Caroline Medwell) or myself. In the meantime, a working group has been struck to further investigate one particular recommendation that suggests the establishment of a cooperative venture amongst regional associations for national sales. Ad*Reach, along with two other provincial sales groups attempting to attract national sales, would expand their scope and become an entity to act as one point of contact for any national advertiser looking to book newspaper ads in Canada. This is being undertaken with an eye to increasing ad sales and return to OCNA members by making community newspapers a more attractive buy for national advertisers while at least maintaining the existing levels of both sales and service. I look forward to seeing many of you at our spring conference. The convention committee has put together a very interesting agenda that I would encourage members to review and sign up to attend. Visit www.ocna.org/en/registration2016 to register online. 4
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Exceptional Youth, Limitless Potential >>> Continued from Front Page
The Ontario Junior Citizen Awards are promoted through OCNA’s 300 member newspapers. Nominees between the ages of six and 17 may be involved in community service; contributing while living with a physical or psychological limitation; or individuals who have performed acts of heroism. A panel of judges unanimously agreed on the final award recipients.
a difference. Since 2012 she has enjoyed doing crafts and visiting with elderly friends at a local retirement home. In addition, she has collected books, magazines and DVDs for patients in a local psychiatric ward who, as Elizabeth observes “are too sick to go out and do fun things”. Tysen Lefebvre, 15, Stittsville In 2012 Tysen was thrilled to meet his favourite actor, Adam Sandler – a dream made possible through the Make a Wish Foundation. After that day, he decided to make it his mission to raise one million dollars, which would be enough money to grant 100 wishes for other children with life threatening medical conditions. Already in its third year, the campaign has raised an impressive $450,000 and there’s no stopping him now!
Sophie Bywater, 9, Callander Sophie is following in the footsteps of her older sister, who was recognized with a Junior Citizen Award several years ago. After learning of a young girl in need of a service dog, Sophie felt compelled to help and began brainstorming ways to raise funds. She came up with the idea of creating a product called ‘Habit Helpers’, a toy designed specifically for children with autism or ADHD. Her creativity led to a unique fundraising campaign raising more than $1,000.
Alexandria Montague, 17, Hamilton At the top of Alexandria’s extensive list of volunteer contributions is her involvement with Sisters4Sisters, a women focused organization she cofounded with her sister. Through this endeavour, $1,500 and approximately 300 toiletry items have been collected for the Native Women’s Centre. She has also helped organize Ebola relief efforts, Halloween for Hunger and volunteers with the Jamaican Foundation.
John Chisel, 9, Hudson Kawasaki Disease has often been called a mystery. It’s a rare autoimmune disease not often heard of, but John has set out to fix that. Living with the disease himself, he has worked hard to promote awareness and raise money for research. Through various fundraising efforts, he has donated $2,776 to the Sick Kids Foundation. John hopes that one day a cure will be found, but for the time being is focused on sharing his experience and helping others learn about the condition.
Mattias Mueller, 13, Petrolia Disappointed that the sport of tennis had vanished from his small rural community, Matt took it upon himself to help refurbish the town’s rundown courts. Over the summer he managed to raise $25,000 and even received support from tennis pro, Milos Raonic. Largely thanks to Matt, people of all ages are able to enjoy the sport once again. The youth tennis team now has 22 members, which he also helps coach.
Madeleine Desroches, 17, Tiny Madeleine does not give up easily – proving so when she learned to downhill ski a couple of years ago, despite being legally blind. This determination shows through her community work and volunteer contributions. Not only does she meet weekly with the YMCA Youth Leadership program, she has also travelled to El Salvador with Habitat for Humanity to help build a house. She is indeed an inspirational leader who proves anything is possible and we can all make a difference.
Daniel Sequeira, 17, Mississauga At the age of 13, Daniel started a spearheaded ‘Two Kids for Change’ a registered charity focused on raising funds to purchase grocery gift cards for families experiencing financial difficulties. He partnered with the Peel School Board to implement the program and has raised over $20,000 and helped hundreds of families within the community.
Darquise Frappier, 11, Sudbury Sharing her musical talents, Darquise has performed during various events to help raise more than $28,000 for multiple charities. Just last year, she played the piano and sang to raise funds for a girl requiring treatment only offered in Mexico. Her contributions do not end there, however, she has also collected soccer balls for a local community centre, donated items to an orphanage in Jamaica and gathered warm clothing for the homeless.
Preston Swan-Merrison, 13, London Preston lives with Type 1 Diabetes, but does not let it define him. Instead, he is a confident go-getter, empowering youth to overcome the stigmas often associated with various medical conditions. In 2014 he was a Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Youth Ambassador and met with politicians on Parliament Hill to lobby for a cure. In addition, he has written and published a book in both French and English abo4ut diabetes.
Dheiksha Jayasankar, 11, St. Catharines Dheiksha is already well on her way to becoming the next Thomas Edison, or at least a Nobel Prize winner. She is a three-time competitor at the World Education Games and has placed in the Top 100 Worldwide twice, becoming the only Canadian to do so. Her projects include examining the effects of light bulbs on plan respiration. She is currently investigating the possibility of rotten fruits producing electricity.
Ishan Vijay, 13 and Vishal Vijay, 15, Oakville In 2012, Ishan and Vishal founded ‘EveryChildNow’ and have worked tireless to improve the lives of children around the world. The brothers have empowered more than 850 children through various campaigns; fundraised for clean water in India; organized Oakville youths to build 4,000 household protection kits to send to West Africa; and collected more than 25,000 school, food and clothing items for children in Canada and across the globe.
Elizabeth Lampson, 7, Dundas Young Elizabeth proves that age does not matter when it comes to making March 2016
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INDUSTRY NEWS
Better Newspaper Competition Finalists Announced OCNA is proud to recognize the outstanding quality of work produced each week by our member newspapers and showcase it to readers and advertisers.
GE08 - Class 8: College & University Durham College Loyalist College University of Waterloo
PC04 - Best Editorial, circ. under 9,999 Deep River North Renfrew Times Eganville Leader New Liskeard Temiskaming Speaker
Listed below are the top three finalists in alphabetical order of the 2015 Better Newspaper Awards Competition. First, second and third place winners will be announced the BNC Awards Gala on Friday April 22 at the Hilton Garden Inn in Vaughan.
College & University College & University Awards recognize the outstanding work of Journalism students in Photography, News Writing, and Feature Writing.
PC05 - Education Writing Barrhaven Independent Oshawa This Week Ottawa Embassy
General Excellence Awards General Excellence Awards recognize overall achievement by circulation class in editorial, advertising and layout. GE01 - Class 1: Circ. 1,999 & under Barry’s Bay, The Valley Gazette Blyth/Brussels Citizen Minden Times GE02 - Class 2: Circ. 2,000 - 3,499 Fort Frances Times Haliburton County Echo New Hamburg Independent GE03 - Class 3: Circ. 3,500 - 6,499 Eganville Leader Niagara This Week, Town Crier Nunavut News/North GE04 - Class 4: Circ. 6,500 - 12,499 Glanbrook Gazette Huntsville Forester Niagara this Week, The Leader GE05 - Class 5: Circ. 12,500 - 22,499 Elmira-Woolwich Observer Midland/Penetanguishene Mirror Waterdown Flamborough Review GE06 - Class 6: Circ. 22,500 - 44,999 Norfolk News Sarnia Journal Waterloo Chronicle GE07 - Class 7: Circ. 45,000 & over Brant News Oakville Beaver Peterborough This Week
March 2016
CU01 - Student Feature Writing Loyalist College - Annie Sakkab Niagara College - Joel Ophardt University of Waterloo - Megan Nourse CU02 - Student News Writing Loyalist College - Carla Antonio Niagara College - Joel Ophardt Sheridan College - Catarina Muia & Jeanylyn Lopez CU03 - Student Photography Algonquin College - Michael Robinson Loyalist College - Alyssa Lloyd Loyalist College - Annie Sakkab CU04 - Best College/University Newspaper Website Loyalist College - QNetNews.ca Sheridan College - thesheridansun.ca University of Waterloo - uwimprint.ca Premier Awards Premier Awards honour individual works in both editorial and advertising categories such as Best Editorial, Best Feature Photo, Best Front Page, Best Local Retail Layout, Best Original Advertising Idea, etc. PC01 - Arts & Entertainment Kanata Kourier-Standard Norfolk News Toronto Canadian Jewish News PC02 - Best Business and Finance Story Brampton Guardian Oshawa This Week Whitby This Week PC03 - Best Editorial, circ. over 10,000 Brant News Kitchener Post Norfolk News 6
PC06 - Environment Ontario Norfolk News Northumberland News Uxbridge Times-Journal PC07 - Feature Writing, circ. over 10, 000 Niagara This Week, Fort Erie Post Orleans News Ottawa Hill Times PC08 - Feature Writing, circ. under 9,999 Burks Falls Almaguin News Huntsville Forester Minden Times PC09 - Health & Wellness Aylmer Express Barrhaven Independent Burks Falls Almaguin News PC10 - Heritage Norfolk News Oshawa This Week Waterloo Chronicle PC11 - Best Investigative News Story Oshawa This Week Port Perry Star Richmond Hill/Thornhill Liberal PC12 - Best News Story, circ over 10,000 Collingwood Connection Oshawa Express Ottawa Hill Times PC13 - Best News Story, circ. under 9,999 Barry’s Bay, The Valley Gazette New Hamburg Independent Nunavut News/North PC14 - Best Rural Story, circ. over 10,000 Clarington This Week Norfolk News Northumberland News www.ocna.org
INDUSTRY NEWS
PC15 - Best Rural Story, circ. under 9,999 Eganville Leader Minto Express Mount Forest Confederate PC16 - Best Feature/News Series, over 10,000 Cambridge Times Newmarket Era/Aurora Banner Ottawa Embassy PC17 - Best Feature/News Series, under 9,999 Barry’s Bay, The Valley Gazette Haliburton County Echo Petrolia Lambton Independent PC18 - Sport & Recreation Story Clarington This Week Mount Forest Confederate Ottawa South News PC19 - Best Headline Writing Caledonia, The Sachem New Hamburg Independent Ottawa Embassy PC20 - Humour Columnist of the Year Barry’s Bay, The Valley Gazette - David Goulet Elmira-Woolwich Observer - Steve Galea Manotick Messenger - Jeff Morris PC21 - Columnist of the Year Markham Economist & Sun - Bernie O’Neill Niagara This Week, Fort Erie Post - James Culic Tilbury Times - Gerry Harvieux PC22 - Stephen Shaw - Reporter of the Year Brampton Guardian - Roger Belgrave Oshawa Express - Joel Wittnebel Peterborough This Week - Todd Vandonk PC23 - Editor of the Year Barry’s Bay, The Valley Gazette - Christine Hudder Etobicoke Guardian - Grace Peacock Scarborough Mirror - Al Shackleton PC24 - Best Feature Photo, circ. over 10,000 Hamilton Mountain News New Liskeard Temiskaming Speaker Weekender Norfolk News PC25 - Best Feature Photo, circ. under 9,999 Brock Citizen New Liskeard Temiskaming Speaker Niagara This Week, Town Crier PC26 - Best Photo Layout Clarington This Week March 2016
Manitoulin Expositor Oshawa This Week PC27 - Best Sports Photo Ajax Pickering News Advertiser New Liskeard Temiskaming Speaker Port Perry Star PC28 - Best Spot News Photo Brock Citizen Kawartha Lakes This Week Mississauga News PC29 - Best News Photo Hamilton Mountain News Ottawa South News Waterloo Chronicle PC30 - Most Creative Grip and Grin Photo Kawartha Lakes This Week Oakville Beaver Tilbury Times PC31 - Photographer of the Year Haliburton County Echo - Darren Lum Peterborough This Week - Lance Anderson Whitby This Week - Ryan Pfeiffer PC32 - Cartoonist of the Year Cornwall Seaway News - James Lapierre Dundas Star News - Mike Vukovich Ottawa Hill Times - Michael de Adder PC33 - Community Service Barrie Advance - Media for Young Minds Hamilton Mountain News - The warmth project Parry Sound North Star - Adopt a Senior PC34 - Best Vertical Product Bracebridge Examiner - Muskoka Life Innisfil Journal - Wedding Trends Ottawa Hill Times - Power and Influence Magazine PC35 - Best Front Page, circ. over 10,000 Alliston Herald Sudbury Northern Life Waterloo Chronicle PC36 - Best Front Page, circ. under 9,999 Haliburton County Echo Rainy River Record Tilbury Times PC37 - Best Sports Section Brant News Oshawa This Week Whitby This Week 7
PC38 - Special Section, circ. over 10,000 Bracebridge Examiner - Remembrance 2014 Cornwall Seaway News - Cornwall Living Hamilton Mountain News - PanAm Games PC39 - Special Section, circ. under 9,999 Aylmer Express Eganville Leader Petrolia Lambton Independent PC40 - Best Creative Ad Haliburton Highlander Orillia Today Richmond Hill/Thornhill Liberal PC41 - In House Promotion Elmira-Woolwich Observer Parry Sound North Star Prescott Journal PC42 - Local Retail Layout Burlington Post Fergus Wellington Advertiser Orillia Today PC43 - Original Ad Idea Fergus Wellington Advertiser Orillia Today Parry Sound North Star PC44 - Use of Process Colour Fergus Wellington Advertiser Guelph Tribune Haliburton County Echo PC45 - Salesperson of the Year Barry’s Bay, The Valley Gazette - Michel Lavigne Oshawa Express - Lezlie Appleton PC46 - Best Community Website over 10,000 Elmira-Woolwich Observer - observerxtra.com Sudbury Northern Life - NorthernLife.ca Toronto Canadian Jewish News - cjnews.com PC47 - Best Community Website under 9,999 Blyth/Brussels Citizen - www.northhuron.on.ca Huntsville Forester - Muskokaregion.com Manitoulin Expositor - Manitoulin.ca PC48 - ONLINE Special Project/Event/Breaking News Coverage Brampton Guardian - May 28, 1975: Tragedy at Brampton Centennial Secondary School Oshawa This Week - Great Lakes Ottawa West News - Parliament Hill Shooting Coverage www.ocna.org
INDUSTRY NEWS
Join OCNA at the 2016 Spring Convention and BNC Awards Gala FRIDAY APRIL 22, 2016 Hilton Garden Inn, Vaughan
CCNAwards and GIA Winners Announced April 15 Winners of the 2016 Canadian Community Newspaper Awards and Great Idea Awards will be announced on Friday, April 15. Newspapers Canada would like to thank all of the community and daily newspapers that submitted their work for both national competitions, and extend a special note of appreciation to all of the industry experts who served as judges for this year’s competition. Follow Newspapers Canada on Twitter and Facebook to get the latest updates on the awards, association activities and events, and industry news from Canada and abroad.
Don’t miss your chance to attend OCNA’s 2016 Spring Convention! It will be jam packed with information and sessions for all members and is a chance to mingle, discuss industry related issues and have fun! Thursday April 21st will include the Annual General Meetings for OCNA, OCNF and cnrie. A Welcome Social Soiree will also be hosted at Dave & Busters in the evening. Friday will be a busy day with advertising and editorial sessions in the morning and an industry panel and independent publishers session in the afternoon. And don’t miss our BNC Awards Reception and Gala in the evening! Home for the convention is the Hilton Garden Inn located in Vaughan. Book before April 8th to receive the special room rate of $129. To register go to http://hiltongardeninn.hilton. com/en/gi/groups/personalized/Y/YYZVAGIOCNA-20160421/index.jhtml Or if you’d rather talk to a live person, please call reservations at 1-888-269-4115 or the hotel front desk at (905) 660-4700 and quote group code OCNA
EACH YEAR, OLG IS PROUD TO SPONSOR OVER 250 COMMUNITY FESTIVALS AND EVENTS THROUGHOUT ONTARIO, INCLUDING THE OCNA BETTER NEWSPAPER COMPETITION AWARDS GALA RECEPTION. WE’RE ONTARIO’S LOTTERY & GAMING AND WE’RE ALL FOR HERE. OLGallforhere.ca @OLGtoday
March 2016
We hope to see you there!
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INDUSTRY NEWS
2016 OCNA SPRING CONVENTION
Hilton Garden Inn Vaughan, ON April 21 - 22, 2016
CONFERENCE PROGRAM: Thursday April 21st Daytime 3:30pm – 5:00pm 6:30pm – 10:30pm
Board Meetings Annual General Meeting - OCNA/OCNF/ cnrie Welcome Soiree at Dave & Busters
Friday April 22nd 7:45am – 8:30am 8:30 am – 9:00am
Breakfast Opening Keynote Address by Peter Lamb, Strategic Marketing Consultant, President, Lamb Consulting, USA
9:00am – 12:00pm
12:00pm - 2:00pm
Advertising
New-New Revenue Initiatives presented by Peter Lamb, Strategic Marketing Consultant What do the great Sales Managers do? What does activity have to do with it, anyway? Contests that Produce Results Aggressive Compensation plans New Product Development
Editorial
• It’s Alive – How to make your feature
stories jump off the page • Why you need to find time to be active on Social Media – Your readers will thank you. • How to get the information you want from the Ontario government. • Lose the Weight but Not the Substance: How Writing Shorter, More Focused Stories Can Improve the Quality of Your Paper
President’s Lunch • Keynote Speaker • Introduction of 2015/2016 Board of Directors • Quill Award Presentations
2:00pm - 3:00pm
State of the Industry Panel • Panel of industry professionals (editorial, advertising, social media) discussing challenges in the industry today.
3:15pm - 5:00pm
Advertising
5:30pm-6:30pm
BNC Gala Reception BNC Gala Dinner Celebratory Gathering
6:30pm-10:00pm 10:00pm March 2016
• Understand what influences media selection & how to make sure your offering aligns with advertiser needs Meet & Greet • Meet with the Industry Panel and the OCNA Board of Governors with your Questions
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Independent Publisher
• Round Table Discussions
www.ocna.org
INDUSTRY NEWS
2015 IBC Community Award Winner Announced
RECIPIENT: SCOTT ROSTS,GROUP MANAGING EDITOR, NIAGARA THIS WEEK Scott is never too shy to lend a helping hand. He believes that every group could use support to achieve their goals, whether with a monetary value or raising awareness through a newspaper profile. Since joining the Niagara This Week team roughly 15 years ago, Scott has encouraged and inspired fellow colleagues to do the same and build relationships with those working to make their community a better place. Despite an already busy work schedule, Scott manages to find time to volunteer with various organizations, setting a positive example for everyone around him including his three children. Since 2013 he has been an active panel member with the NEXTNiagara youth retention and attraction initiative. The group of leaders are committed to seeing their community grow and become a viable place for the next generation to live and work. He helped organize the inaugural Dining in the Dark fundraiser for CNIB, securing sponsorship, seeking silent auction items, coordinating media coverage and taking care of social media promotions. The dinner collected $16,440 and set a high standard for what is now an annual event. In addition, he has served as director of public relations for the St. Catharines Female Hockey Association since 2011, and helped with a rebranding process which included a new the development of a new Web site.
March 2016
His efforts do not stop there. Scott has built quite a strong reputation for being a key community partner, and organizations recognize that he can be counted on to deliver their message. He truly believes a difference can be made through the power of numbers and rather than watch from sidelines, has participated in various events while also covering them for newspaper content. Scott has ‘Walked a Mile in HER Shoes’, pedaled during a 24-hour ‘spinathon’ for the Canadian Cancer Society and joined an ‘Out in the Cold’ program to help raise funds and awareness within his community. Scott is an industry leader and community role model, which is why the Ontario Community Newspapers Foundation (OCNF) is proud to recognize him with the 2015 Insurance Bureau of Canada Community Award in Memory of Mary Knowles. Scott will be invited to accept his award during the OCNA BNC Awards Gala on Friday, April 22 at the Hilton Garden Inn in Vaughan. The Award is coordinated by the OCNF, with generous support of the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC). Together, we are committed to recognizing dedicated newspaper employees who are constantly making a difference within their communities. Mary Knowles was a dedicated newspaper employee and active community member who died from breast cancer in 1996. Congratulations to Scott and all of the nominees for showing strong leadership and connections to your communities.
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INDUSTRY NEWS
Nominate a Worthy Individual for a Gold, Silver or Bronze Quill Award The Canadian Community Newspaper Association is proud to recognize its members’ longstanding service to the community newspaper industry through the Quill Recognition Program. With the 2016 awards season approaching, now is the perfect time to nominate your peers and colleagues for this prestigious personal award. The CCNA Board of Directors presents awards in the following categories: •
The Gold Quill Award is given in recognition of 50 years of service to the industry.
•
The Silver Quill Award is given in recognition of 25 years of service to the industry.
•
The Bronze Quill Award is awarded to individuals who have demonstrated outstanding service to the industry for less than 25 years but who do not qualify for a Gold or Silver Quill.
Want to contribute to NewsClips? If you have news you would like to share about your paper - it could be a new project, recognition from the community, awards you’ve won or an upcoming anniversary, please send them to newsclips@ocna.org. Photos are also welcome!
Nomination forms for Gold Quills and Silver Quills must be approved by a regional association before being submitted to the CCNA Board of Directors for consideration. Nominations for Bronze Quills can be submitted directly to the CCNA office.
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March 2016
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INDUSTRY NEWS
Is Your Business Family Living The Prince Charles Syndrome? Why Skipping A Generation Can Be A Viable Option To Keep Business In The Family By Stefan Voswinkel The Family Business Catalyst
Why skipping a generation can be a win for all... The next generation: • is relieved from what they may consider a burden • can pursue what they are passionate about • will have a much improved relationship with their founderparents • can focus on helping their (willing) children develop into owner-managers from an early stage
Sometimes the next generation should make way for the grandchildren to take the throne…… and founders should abdicate. Many founders are at an advanced age and their children may already be in their 40s or 50s. Here is what you need to know if you are considering to skip a generation: Fake compromises abound: • The eternal middle manager: the founder is firmly in control. The middle-aged kids are middle managers, not making any final decisions as owner-managers – and they are quite comfortable not to. • The silent shareholder: to be ‘fair’ to those children who don’t want to work in the business, they are made silent shareholders. A recipe for disaster if they are not taught and willing to be responsible owners. • The Peter Principle: against everyone knowing better, the son or daughter that does not have what it takes gets designated as the next leader, and will muddle through and eventually run it into the ground.
The founders: • no longer have to pressure their own children into becoming successors • have an enlarged pool of family successors – taking the long term view • get fresh young minds to tap into • can support the grandchildren in their development (without spoiling them) • can see their own children as who they really are and treat them accordingly The grandchildren: • get an early opportunity to discover their talent and being supported developing it • grow into competent business family members much earlier • are enabled to utilized their talent and passion on the family business’s behalf and their own – an opportunity not many have
If you want to keep the business in the family, take a serious look at the grandchildren – NOW! Avoiding Pitfalls: • Because they are still teenagers, the grandkids are being overlooked altogether as successors • There is no systematic development of successors. Grandkids sweep the shop floor, but they are not made aware of the vision. (An outside mentor can help) • There is no clarity about shared core values as a business family. No family business will make it into the next generation without it. • Standards are being lowered for the grandchildren – a recipe for disaster. They need to have the merit and the spirit to become successors. • If the focus is shifting to the grandchildren, the next generation can also be overlooked when it comes to sharing the benefits of being part of a business family: They deserve being supported in their own endeavors, and a share of the family’s prosperity. March 2016
Relationships in the business family will be much improved – ensuring continued family cohesion. The likelihood of the family’s business legacy surviving is greatly increased.
© All rights reserved, Stefan Voswinkel, President of YLynx Management Consulting, Inc. stefan@voswinkel.ca Direct: 867-456-7506 12
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INDUSTRY NEWS
TRAINING ONLINE MEDIA CAMPUS WEBINARS: OCNA has teamed with the Online Media Campus to help the association fulfill its mission of providing affordable and relevant training to members. ▄▄
April 8 - Train the Trainer: Creating Top-Notch Training Materials for Your Team
Sales managers rarely have time to develop top-notch training materials. They are busy selling, managing and marketing. Training often gets pushed aside. The Local Media Association has developed a 14-week turnkey package that will arm sales managers with templates, presentation materials, guided conversation points, individual/group exercises, suggested management follow-up, coaching and feedback opportunities. Each of the 14 modules is perfect for a one-hour sales training program every week. This webinar will give you an overview of all the materials included in the program and guide you through implementation of the program. All participants in this session will receive electronic versions of the materials needed to easily launch the program. ▄▄
April 22 - Best BreakoutsAD for Reporting CLASSIFIED
Presented in partnership with GateHouse Media. Whether you’re using them to share data and statistics or to provide background on a story, making use of breakouts can help trim your stories and provide a better experience for your readers. In this session, we’ll cover a rundown of effective breakouts and tips on how to implement them into your everyday reporting. ▄▄
April 28 - Advertising is NOT Marketing! Tips for the Media Marketer
When clients are working with you, they’re expecting a strong sales strategy that will help guide them to a healthier bottom line. In this session, marketing pro Stuart Arnold will help you understand the basic tools for creating an impactful strategy, messaging and marketing for your clients. The return on their advertising investment will increase, and so will their trust in you! ▄▄
May 12 - Three-Call Sales System: A Proven Process for Closing Sales Quickly
You may have heard the statistic that 80 percent of sales are made after the fifth call — and in some cases well beyond the fifth call. In a day and age where time is money, we want to help you save time and increase revenue by fine-tuning your sales approach. This webinar will walk through the how and why of a three-step sales process to close more sales in less time. • First call — Establishing credibility •
Second call — Building trust
•
Third call — Solidifying belief
Presenter Bob Berting tried and tested this system over 15 years with a leading suburban newspaper chain where he averaged two cold contracts a week. This session will benefit new sales professionals as well as industry veterans.
For more information and to register, visit: www.onlinemediacampus.com.
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ADVERTISING
Competing for Customers By John Foust Raleigh, NC
Years ago, I helped judge an advertising competition for a large agricultural association. By design, all of the judges were outsiders. We evaluated each ad on its merits, without being influenced by inside knowledge of individual advertisers or personalities. I recently ran across a leftover scoring sheet in my files. There were five scoring areas, with points awarded in each one. Although it was an industry-specific competition, these areas easily apply to all advertising:
value of features and benefits. Along the way, it’s smart to narrow the list to those which are most relevant. Features A,B and C may not mean anything to potential buyers, but Feature D might hit the mark. 4. Believable - will audience believe message? Although advertisers realize that there is no sale without trust, some of them hurt their chances by resorting to exaggerations and unsubstantiated claims. They lose credibility when they use shallow terms like ‘unbelievable’, ‘one of a kind’ and ‘best deals in town’.
1. Stopping Power - described on the scoresheet as ‘attention getting ability’: this concept of stopping power is more important than ever. In the old days, we were exposed to about 500 ads per day. But today’s number is 5,000 or higher.
I believe that people often exaggerate when they lack confidence in the truth. Sometimes this means the copywriter has not learned enough about the product and the audience to create a believable campaign. The remedy is to get the right information – and simply put that information into words and pictures.
It takes a lot to break through that kind of clutter. 2. Clarity of Message - is message understandable? I once heard a speech by John O’Toole, president of the famous Foote, Cone & Belding advertising agency. After his talk, I chatted with him for a minute or two and asked what he thought was the most important principle of advertising. Without hesitation, he said, ‘clarity.’
5. Tone - good taste in keeping with audience. This is a matter of likeability. People would rather hear, “We understand you, and here’s something you’ll like” than to hear, “You’re making a big mistake if you don’t buy from us.”
3. Interest of Message - does message hold attention of audience? Once an ad gets attention, the task is to maintain that attention. The surest way to do that is to appeal to the target audience’s interests.
At the end of the day, there’s something which can mean more to your advertisers than winning ad contests. And that’s winning customers.
And what are we human beings interested in? Ourselves. There’s real truth in the old cliché that we all listen to radio station WII-FM – ‘What’s In It For Me?’ Every time we encounter an advertiser’s product or service – even for a split second – we automatically run it through the self-interest filter. If it holds some appeal, we’ll give it a few more moments of our time. If not, we’ll click, tap or turn to something else.
COPYRIGHT LINE (c) Copyright 2016 by John Foust. All rights reserved. John Foust has conducted training programs for thousands of newspaper advertising professionals. Many ad departments are using his training videos to save time and get quick results from in-house training. E-mail for information: john@johnfoust.com
The key is to know the audience. Marketing textbooks emphasize the
Affordable media insurance for Canadian Community Newspapers Service includes: Libel, Invasion of Privacy, Plagiarism, Piracy, Infringement of Copyright, Pre-Publication Hotline
We want to hear from you! Please share your news and/or opinions with us: newsclips@ocna.org
Contact us for a quote: 905-639-8720
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press card
dave adsett Publisher
2015
2015
This certifies the individual identified has been awarded Press Credentials by the Publisher of this newspaper, and is to be used for identification purposes.
Fergus Wellington advertiser 519-843-5410 905 Gartshore St. Box 252 Fergus, ON N1M 2W8
This newspaper on the reverse side is, as of date of issue, a member in good standing of the Ontario Community Newspapers Association (OCNA) www.ocna.org
Caroline Medwell, Exec. Director
June 3, 2015 Date
x4439
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DESIGN
10 Things I Tell Publishers About Their Newspapers By Ed Henninger Henninger Consulting
Some time back, I was asked to give a quick after-lunch talk to a group of publishers at a statewide newspaper convention. It was short notice. I only had a half-hour to put together some thoughts. I decided I’d seize the opportunity and give them my ‘Top Ten’ list of ideas for community newspapers.
training, look for ways to get that for them. Your state/province press association is always a good resource. If you’ve just invested in some new software, give those who will use it some training so they can make the best use of it. If your ad staff has won some awards in the annual press association contest, reward them by sending them to the state/ provincial convention so they’ll know how much you appreciate their work.
Here they are: 1. PRINT IS NOT DEAD. More new community newspapers are starting up. Advertisers believe in the value of print. Readers still want print. So, please, let’s stop with the ‘newspapers are dying’ garbage! It’s just not true.
7. INVEST IN YOUR PRODUCT. You don’t need to be the first to buy that new Mac, but don’t be the last. You don’t need to be the first to upgrade your system software, but keep it at least reasonably up to date. Your newspaper is your business. It’s just sound business practice to make sure you have the tools you need to get the job done.
2. LOCAL, LOCAL, LOCAL. We all know the mantra. Metro and regional newspapers have tried time and again to go ‘local’. They can’t. They don’t have (or won’t commit to) the resources it takes—in people, energy and time—to do community journalism. But we can. And we prove that in every issue. We are focused on local people, places and events. It’s what we do…and we do it very well.
8. DESIGN MATTERS. What’s the first thing your readers and advertisers see when they look at your newspaper? Right: its design. If your design is outdated, if your text makes your paper difficult to read, if your content placement is inconsistent…your newspaper is less than it can be. And readers and advertisers will find it wanting. Some may choose not to read, some may choose not to advertise…until you fix those problems.
3. SPORTS IS BIG. We struggle to attract younger readers. To my mind, the answer here is simple—and most of you are already doing a good job with it: Sports. Your sports coverage is about kids. It’s about them, their friends, their classmates. Boost your sports coverage and you’ll boost your number of younger readers. Yes, there are other events, like scouting, classroom achievement, choir, band and the like. But sports is big. Give it big coverage.
9. BE THE BEST at who you are. You’re not a metro or a regional newspaper. Most of you don’t carry wire, but you do carry those obits and events listings and city and county council meetings that are important to your readers. Most get only limited national advertising, but you are the only source of advertising for that shoe shop down the street. Don’t try to be what you’re not—but do everything you can to be the best at what you do. Your newspaper is part of the lifeblood of your community. Keeping that in mind will drive you to do your best.
4. IT’S OK TO BE A BOOSTER. Nothing disappoints me (and readers, too, I think) more than to see a newspaper in a town where a team has just won a district or state championship and the story and photos are…splashed all over the sports front. It’s disappointing because those stories and those photos should be on the front page. Most of your readers will be happy to see a page 1 poster of the winning basket or the winning touchdown. Sports is about striving and achievement and dedication and teamwork. What’s wrong with celebrating those qualities. And, yes, on your front page when the achievement is big.
10. REMEMBER who the boss is. Sorry…you may be the publisher, but you’re not in charge here. Your readers and advertisers are the real boss. It’s your obligation as a publisher to bring them your best—in every issue. You’re the chief support person for your folks who do the writing, editing, designing and selling of your product. You’re all working toward giving readers and advertisers a newspaper they’re proud to call ‘my paper’. It is theirs, you know…they’re only letting you run it for them while they go about the important business of living their lives and contributing to the success and welfare of your community.
5. BUILD REVENUE. The metros think they have the answer to satisfying their corporate owners and stockholders: cut costs. They’re into hubs and outsourcing and layoffs. At community newspapers, we’re already thin. But we’re also aggressive when it comes to generating new revenue. Let’s keep searching for new approaches, like selling ad position and selling our photos online and creating more options for advertisers. This takes some rethinking on our part but that’s what got us here.
ED HENNINGER is an independent newspaper consultant and the Director of Henninger Consulting, offering comprehensive newspaper design services at: www.henningerconsulting.com.
6. INVEST IN YOUR PEOPLE. If your editor and/or writers need some March 2016
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TECHNOLOGY
You Might Be Losing More Than Pages With Lower Page Counts By Kevin Slimp
There is a rule of thumb which almost always proves to be true at newspaper conventions: attendance drops drastically on Saturday morning. There are plenty of theories on the subject from ‘too much fun on Friday night’ to ‘heading home to be with the kids’. Whatever the cause, you can imagine my surprise when I walked into a room in Des Moines, Iowa, two days ago and realized it would be necessary to add chairs. Honestly, I didn’t expect many folks to show up for a Saturday morning session where we would primarily be looking at numbers, but show up they did. The topic was ‘What’s Really Going on in the Newspaper Industry’. My plan was to discuss results from my most recent survey, completed only days before the Des Moines conference. It was obvious the attendees really wanted to know my thoughts on that topic. After completing a major survey, I attempt to discuss one or two findings in each of my subsequent columns for newspaper industry readers until we have covered the most relevant findings. As with previous studies, there is enough information to write books about the state of the industry, but I will stick to the most interesting discoveries. Perhaps the most thought-provoking discussion in Des Moines revolved around newspaper ownership. Before sharing survey results, I gave the group a little quiz. Their mission was to guess how North American newspaper publishers responded to the survey. Not to answer the questions in the survey as they related
to their own newspapers. When asked to guess the percentage of newspapers that are independent, not related to any group or other newspapers, most of the attendees guessed the number would be pretty low. They were surprised to learn that 53 percent of newspapers in the U.S. and Canada are independent, without any relationship to even a small group. I found that most interesting because most of the folks in the room were from independent publications, not part of a larger group. Yet they assume that most of their brethren are from large newspaper groups. And as I discussed in a previous column, independent papers reported better health and more growth than those that are part of a group. There were several other questions where most publishers guessed their papers were different from most others. When the numbers are broken down, however, we find that ownership plays a bigger role than anything else in determining how newspapers respond. Most independent papers respond very similarly to most questions, as do most small, mid-sized and large group newspapers. Today, I would like to focus on one interesting correlation: page count vs. newspaper health. Most newspapers, 53 percent, responded their page count was relatively unchanged from three years ago. That is 20 percent higher than the number which reduced the number of pages over the past three years. While 33 percent reported fewer pages, 12 percent answered that they have increased the number of pages. We could argue all day whether newspapers are healthier as a result of having more pages, or whether healthier papers produce Continued on Page 19 >>>
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HUMAN RESOURCES
Human Resources - I’m Too Busy A TwoGreySuits Article
When you ask small business owner/managers what business issue literally keeps them awake at night, they say one or more of the following: “My cash flow….collecting money….increasing sales…keeping the bank happy…making payroll.” Ask them where Human Resources management fits in and they’d probably say “Human Resources? I’m too busy for that fluffy, big company stuff. I don’t have the time or the money. I’ve got a business to run.” And yet, when they find themselves in a messy people issue, the same owner/manager is willing to pay his lawyer or other advisers whatever it takes to make the problem go away and keep him out of court, or even worse, jail. Sometimes that runs into thousands of dollars and sometimes the problem still doesn’t go away. Unfortunately for the Human Resources profession, the business owners’ perception of Human Resources management is more fact than fiction. The Human Resources function has done little over time to promote the notion that good people practices and a healthy financial bottom line go hand in hand. Consequently it is perceived, with some justification, as a non-value added expense that should be avoided if at all possible. In this article, we hope to dispel that perception. In our combined fifty plus years of corporate and consulting HR experience, we have learned two important lessons;
no question that building a set of interviewing skills requires practice, an opportunity that the small business person doesn’t get. However, learning and following some basic recruitment principles improves the probability of hiring the right person. The people factor is what distinguishes successful organizations from unsuccessful ones. Managing Performance in the workplace involves letting employees know what is expected of them, how they are doing, and how they can do an even better job. Only then can employees contribute their best, use their abilities to the fullest, and feel connected to their organization. Managers need certain skills to manage performance effectively. In most cases building these skills requires basic behavioural change. Given the right tools, anyone can make it happen. Again, this is not rocket science! Rewarding Performance: Employee pay and benefits are too important to ignore. Small and medium sized businesses sometimes think that taking a proper approach to this important issue will be both complex and costly. It doesn’t have to be either. Remember, the primary objective for establishing a solid Pay and Benefits program in any organization is “to attract and retain the quality of employees you need to achieve your business objectives.” Managing Risk: Managing risk is one of the cornerstones for developing a solid platform for business growth and organizations that understand risk and put measures in place to manage it are likely to be more successful over the longer term. Penalties for non-compliance with legislation can be significant, in some cases threatening an organization’s survival. It is important to recognize that risk management is a complicated area and may require the advice of legal counsel in certain situations.
1) Good people management does have a direct and positive relationship to a strong bottom line 2) Managing people is not rocket science although some HR professionals and consultants would have you think otherwise. Spending just 5-10 minutes a day doing something different than you are doing now with your employees will pay huge dividends but you have to know what to do differently. It could be as simple as asking employees for their ideas or encouraging an employee’s behaviour through positive reinforcement. It could be communicating policies so that employees understand the company’s expectations or developing a work improvement plan to bring an employee back to acceptable performance. None of this is hard to do. So, what does it really take to be a good people manager? It all starts with hiring the best people you can find. Then you have to get them to perform to their maximum potential. You have to reward them appropriately for that performance. You have to give them some structure or boundaries within which they can work comfortably and finally you have to understand risk and how to minimize it. Let’s take a look at each area in greater detail:
Policy Administration: People expect to be treated fairly and consistently at work. The best way to accomplish this is to establish and communicate a set of people policies that reflects the organization’s values and culture while ensuring compliance with applicable legislative requirements. Conclusion: Given the right tools and processes, any small business owner, manager or administrator can manage the core of their business, their people, a professional. Good people practices and a healthy financial bottom line go hand in hand and our fictional small business manager should be sleeping peacefully in the knowledge that his approach to managing the people side of his organization is giving him a stronger bottom line and a more successful company. Barry Chapman and Ron Guest from TwoGreySuits have a combined 50 years of accumulated HR expertise in a half dozen major corporations. Both worked as HR executives in large companies and subsequently as highly regarded management consultants. Their accumulated knowledge forms the basis of the HR Power Centre solution.
Hiring: The cost of employing the wrong person can be enormous - wasted time, wasted training, mistakes, replacement costs, legal action...the list goes on. Studies have shown that the true cost of turnover can be as high as one and a half times annual salary. Making the right decision can therefore directly contribute to improving business performance. There’s March 2016
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HUMAN RESOURCES
TwoGreySuits Introduces Powerful New Benefit The HR Power Centre and has HR Hot a TwoGreySuits (TGS) hadLine anisinnovation breakthrough that can have a tremendous impact on your company’s one-of-a-kind product specifically designed to success! Check out their new website at www.twogreysuits.com to learn more about how focusing on employee get you the answers can you need in hundreds engagement havefast, a direct impact on profitability. The whiteboard video on the home page explains it all in less of different HR situations. than two minutes. Signing up is simple and free for OCNA members. You can call us today at 905-639If you are already using the service, just log in and take advantage of one Individual Plan online training access 8720. Why wait? Don’t let important people absolutely freegoforunresolved OCNA members. management issues when you If you are not currently taking advantage of this free member benefit, now’s the time to sign up. can deal with them today.
After experiencing the training, you will likely want all your managers and supervisors involved. You can subscribe to the TGS Corporate Plan online and enroll additional employees for only $39.50 per month per employee, a 20% discount from retail. And, you’ll be able to manage the training through an online administrative platform and measure your results using the TGS metrics package. Don’t wait! Improve Employee Engagement...Improve Profitability…by starting your training now to take advantage of this unique opportunity.
Decreasing the Number of Pages Could Reduce Profits >>> Continued from Page 17
more pages because they are in better shape. I would guess that, as in most topics of disagreement, the truth is somewhere in the middle. There is, however, no doubt newspapers that report a higher page count than three years ago also report significantly increased health over those same years. An astounding 81 percent of newspapers that increased the number of pages report better overall health than three years ago. That figure is even more amazing when compared to newspapers with decreased page counts over those same years. Of those, only 17 percent report improved health over the same period. Among the largest group, made up of papers which report the same number of pages as three years ago, 38 percent indicate improved health since 2013. This discussion could easily turn into a ‘Which came first, the chicken or the egg?’ conversation. I would suggest there are enough responses to persuade me that one of the indicators of newspaper health is page count as compared to previous years. For some newspapers, decreasing the number of pages and staff March 2016
members is a sure way to improve the bottom line. But if these 859 publishers and other newspaper executives can be believed, decreasing the number of pages has a high chance of leading to diminished health, rather than increased profits. I’ll stop there. If you’re fortunate, or perhaps unfortunate, enough to be in one of my audiences in Rochester, New York; Amarillo, Texas; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; or Mitchell, South Dakota, over the next few weeks, I’m sure we’ll find plenty of time to discuss these surveys in more detail.
KEVIN SLIMP serves as director of the Institute of Newspaper Technology. He is a faculty member of the University of Tennessee College of Communication and Information. www.kevinslimp.com 19
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