NewsClips December 2015 by Ontario Community Newspapers Association

newsclips

DECEMBER 2015

Ontario Junior Citizens - Where Are They Now? The 2015 Ontario Junior Citizen nomination period has come to a close, and while we work on the judging process to determine new recipients, OCNA is recruiting help from its members to recognize previous recipients. ‘WHERE ARE THEY NOW’ is a project celebrating the 35th Anniversary of the awards program. The goal is to uncover stories of Junior Citizens like Justin Hines, a 1999 Ontario Junior Citizen from Stouffville who was recognized for applying his musical talents, incredible optimism and spirit to support charities and help others, all while dealing with his own physical challenges. Justin has since toured internationally, and is recognized worldwide for his advocacy. He continues to sing, write, and speak about hope and helping others, and received the Order of Ontario in 2014 for his charitable work and international success. Members have been asked to track down previous recipients from their communities to see how the award impacted or inspired them, and how their lives have changed since being acknowledged. Those who publish a story about a past recipient by January 15, 2016 (deadline extended) and send it to OCNA have a chance to win one of ten $200 pre-paid Visa cards! Some advice to those struggling to get in contact with previous recipients: • Utilize the power of social media (Facebook and Twitter) to spread the message • Contact long-time residents or ‘local historians’ who may have strong connections with the people in your community • Write an editorial online or in print seeking help to get in touch with previous recipients • Let OCNA know and we will do our best to help you research (Contact Kelly Gorven, k.gorven@ocna.org or Caroline Medwell, c.medwell@ocna.org) Depending on the volume of stories received, they may be collected into a unique publication celebrating the Award’s 35th Anniversary. This initiative would not be possible without the generous support of corporate sponsors, TD Bank Group and the Insurance Bureau of Canada.

Family Literacy Day is January 27 Every year on January 27, ABC Life Literacy Canada hosts Family Literacy Day, the largest national family literacy event in Canada. Literacy organizations, schools, libraries and media groups will coordinate numerous literacy-themed events and activities across the country in honour of this special initiative. Award-winnning author Barbara Reid has been named the honorary chair for Family Literacy Day 2016. For more information about Family Literacy Day, visit http://abclifeliteracy.ca/family-literacy.

WHAT’S INSIDE:

MAIL HELP CENTRE Newspapers Canada is working to assist publishers with postal issues and concerns.

See Page 6

BUYING SIGNALS If we pay attention, they will show us where we stand in the selling process.

See Page 10

DOMINANT VISUAL PROVIDES IMPACT Want to make your page more compelling? Use a dominant visual.

See Page 12

MONTHLY PUBLICATION OF THE ONTARIO1 COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS ASSOCIATION December 2015 www.ocna.org

ASSOCIATION NEWS

The State of Our Industry Is Strong By Dave Adsett, OCNA President & Wellington Advertiser Publisher Since being installed as President of OCNA last spring, I have had the honour of attending conferences across Canada representing our association. Setting aside the obvious differences in culture and geography, the people I met were every bit as determined to succeed and proud of their vocation as I have found our members to be. These occasions present opportunities as well, to talk about the challenges their associations and members face. Every association has been under the gun to operate more efficiently. Candidly, the survival of some provincial associations is in question. This has led to discussions at the Canadian Community Newspaper Association board level about the prospect of a national association that would represent daily and community newspaper interests. A committee of sorts has been struck, consisting of Paul McNeill from PEI and Alan Allnutt from BC. They are gathering feedback on how such a model would function in terms of service delivery and governance. Once they have crisscrossed Canada a preliminary report will be presented in February to the national board on feasibility and next steps. As noted in the headline of this column – the state of our own association is strong, for many reasons. Your board met in the summer and have laid out a course of action to attend to matters of import to members. Chiefly, efforts to increase sales at AdReach, keep our recycling InKind agreement in place with Stewardship Ontario, upgrade our website and ensure that publishers have access to training opportunities. An independent publisher conference held this fall was well attended and planning is underway for our annual spring convention. Please accept my best wishes for a Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year.

IN THIS ISSUE... 05 ..................OCNA WELCOMES NEW NATIONAL ACCOUNTS MANAGER 06 .......................................NEWSPAPERS CANADA’S MAIL HELP CENTRE 10 ................................................A FEW WORDS ABOUT BUYING SIGNALS 12 ....................................................DOMINANT VISUAL PROVIDES IMPACT

NEWSCLIPS VOLUME 04, ISSUE 06 890 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 Erica Leyzac Carolyn Press

13 .....................................................................................CRITIQUING PAGES 14 ......................................................INTERVIEW TIPS FOR INTERVIEWERS

December 2015

www.ocna.org

ASSOCIATION NEWS

Happy Holidays from OCNA & Ad*Reach

OCNA MEMBER SPOTLIGHT R

LONG-TIME NEWSPAPER EMPLOYEE AND FORMER OCNA BOARD DIRECTOR, DAVID HARVEY RETIRES

Best wishes for the Holidays and a happy New Year from the team at OCNA & Ad*Reach. The OCNA office will be closed at noon on Thursday, December 24 until Monday, January 4.

Show Off Your RevenueGenerating Products and Great Ideas Newspapers Canada is now accepting entries for the annual Great Idea Awards. This unique national awards program recognizes innovative revenue-generating campaigns undertaken by daily and community newspaper members from across the country. French and English-language newspapers can enter multiple times in a variety of different categories covering promotional projects such as special sections, digital innovation, magazine supplements, and young reader engagement initiatives. The goal of the awards program is to showcase as many outstanding promotional initiatives as possible so we encourage our newspapers to enter up to five times in each category. The final entry deadline for this year’s CCNAwards is Friday, January 29, 2016. If you have any questions about the awards program please contact: Taylor Kormann, Awards Coordinator - awards@newspaperscanada.ca

After a 34-year career with Metroland, David Harvey, Regional General Manager for Halton, has decided to retire at the end of this year. Over his career David has held several key roles across Metroland. He started with the company in 1982 as an Advertising Sales Representative at the Markham Economist & Sun. David was later promoted to the position of Retail Sales Manager and then Advertising Director for the Mississauga News. From there he was promoted to the positon of Regional Advertising Manager at Toronto Community News. David moved into his current role of Regional General Manager for Halton in 2007. David also served as Director and Treasurer on the OCNA Board for six years. He and his wife will enjoy retirement in Nova Scotia. With David’s departure, Kelly Montague will assume the role of Regional General Manager for Halton. Kelly will be returning to the markets where she launched her career, after nine extremely successful years as V.P. of Advertising at the Hamilton Spectator. These changes will take effect on January 4, 2016.

MARIE DAVID, GROUP DIRECTOR FOR POSTMEDIA RETIRES AFTER 37+ YEARS After nearly 38 years in the industry Marie David, Group Director for Grey Bruce Area, Postmedia will retire effective January 9th, 2016. Marie’s career with newspapers began at the Hanover Post in deliveries, before moving up to sales and eventually joining the management team as publisher. She took on her current role in 2013.

December 2015

www.ocna.org

ASSOCIATION NEWS

OCNA MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

OCNA Better Newspaper Competition Thank you to everyone who submited entries for this year’s Better Newspaper Competition.

FORT FRANCES TIMES’ EDITOR QUALIFIES FOR BOWLING CHAMPIONSHIP

Judges will be looking at the hundreds of entries throughout January, choosing the best writing, photos and advertisements in the Ontario Community Newspaper industry.

Fort Frances Times’ Editor, Mike Behan, recently qualified for the provincial pins-over-average bowling championships coming up later this winter. Behan, who is president of the F.F. Bowling Club, finished in top spot in the ‘President’ division of the Executive tournament at +43 over his 215 average during the five-game zone roll-offs held Dec. 11-13 in Balmertown. He will now represent Sunset Country against fellow ‘President’ winners from the five other zones in Northern Ontario at the provincials set for Feb. 18-22 in Dryden. Behan has attended the provincial P.O.A. tournament twice previously (in 1990 and 2003) and also has made fourstraight appearances at the Open (scratch) provincials from 2012-15. He was a member of the Sunset Country men’s team that won the silver medal at the Open provincials this past spring in Sudbury.

The top three winners of each category will be announced on our website in alphabetical order on February 14, 2016. First, second and third place will be announced at the BNC Awards Gala on Friday, April 22 at the Hilton Garden Inn in Vaughan. Best of luck!

LAKESHORE ADVANCE EDITOR’S STORY DELIVERED IN A DELICIOUS WAY Lynda Hillman-Rapley, Editor of the Lakeshore Advance in Grand Bend wrote a story about a new manager at a local grocery store. They must have been delighted by her words, because she later received a cake decorated with the article.

December 2015

www.ocna.org

OCNA Welcomes New National Accounts Manager for Ad*Reach The staff and board of directors for OCNA are excited to welcome Brad Hopkins as National Accounts Manager for Ad*Reach, the sales and marketing arm of the Association. Brad started his career as the bassist/songwriter in the band Chalk Circle, and moved into the media and advertising business just over 20 years ago. His experience includes 12 years at the Globe and Mail, where he sold both digital and print, specializing in the Performing Arts, Sports and Retail. He launched the Performing Arts section of the paper, which started as an advertorial feature, and grew into a profitable editorial section. He’s also worked at the marketing and research firm Youth Culture, as well as in radio sales. Brad joined our Toronto office on December 7th and starting in January will be focused on growing our government advertising revenues, and building new business.

Upcoming Webinars PubAux Live Generating Revenue with a Local Business Honor Roll Thursday, January 7 Presenter Cecile Krim, Crosby (N.D.) Journal

Instant Sales: Six-Step Proven Process Thursday, January 14 Presenter Steve Kloyda, the Prospecting Expert

A Crash Course to Fact-Checking Journalism Friday, January 15

BREAKING NEWS

Newspaper layout expert goes freelance • More than 20 years’ experience in newspaper production • Deadline-driven, meticulous production professional • Reasonable rates • References available

If you are an established or start-up newspaper looking for a reliable design and production expert to work from home, give me a call...let’s chat.

Presenter Jane Elizabeth, American Press Institute

Google Analytics: Finding and reading the data Thursday, January 21 Presenter Sherri Horton, GateHouse Media

613-612-5373 • patti@pattimoran.ca www.coroflot.com/pattimoran December 2015

High-quality, low-cost web conferences that help media professionals develop new job skills without leaving their ofces.

www.ocna.org

INDUSTRY NEWS

Newspapers Canada’s Mail Help Centre Assists Publishers With Postal Concerns Newspapers Canada has created an online Mail Help Centre to assist publishers deal with postal issues and concerns. The site features a variety of resources, including: • Latest news about Canada Post • Helpful Web site links to the most sought-after information about Publications Mail and Unaddressed Admail • How to report and resolve mailing issues including late or non-delivery of mail If you experience a problem with mail delivery, including late or non-delivery of your newspaper, report the problem to:

1. Canada Post’s Commercial Service Network by phone OR online:

PHONE: Toll-free: 1-866-757-5480. Follow these voicemail promts: Press 1 for English Enter the extension of the agent you wish to reach OR press 1 to Continue Press 1 for ‘Help with a mailing...’ Press 3 for ‘Issues related to an existing mailing’ ONLINE: Submit details by creating a business service ticket on the Canada Post Web site.

2. Newspapers Canada

Let Newspapers Canada know about your mailing concern. The association will contact Canada Post on your behalf. Contact: Tina Ongkeko, Managing Director, Member Services Toll-free: 1-877-305-2262 ext. 3325 services@newspaperscanada.ca NOTE: It is important that you complete both steps. Step 1 ensures that Canada Post has the necessary details to track down and investigate the problem. Step 2 ensures that Newspapers Canada can direct Canada Post headquarters to your service ticket and expedite its resolution. For more information, and to find out how your readers can report delivery issues, visit www.newspaperscanada.ca/canada-post.

Like us on Facebook! Frequent updates on our Facebook page. Upcoming events, association changes, industry news, job postings and more! https://www.facebook.com/pages/OntarioCommunity-Newspapers-Association-

December 2015

2015 IBC Community Award

Nominate an active community member and dedicated newspaper employee The Insurance Bureau of Canada Community Award in Memory of Mary Knowles is coordinated by the Ontario Community Newspapers Foundation. It wishes to recognize those in the community newspaper business who contribute their own time to the betterment of their communities. The award also recognizes the intimate connection community newspapers have with their communities. Mary Knowles was a dedicated newspaper employee and active community member who died from breast cancer in 1996. The Award will be open for entries in the new year and the recipient will be invited to receive the award during OCNA’s Better Newspaper Awards Gala on Friday, April 22 at the Hilton Garden Inn in Vaughan. Stay tuned for more information. 6

www.ocna.org

INDUSTRY NEWS

Mark Your Calendars OCNA Spring Convention and BNC Awards Gala FRIDAY APRIL 22, 2016 Hilton Garden Inn, Vaughan Don’t miss your chance to attend OCNA’s 2016 Spring Convention! The day will be jam packed with information and sessions for all members. It’s a chance to mingle, discuss industry related issues and have some fun! The day will conclude with the BNC Awards Gala. Here we will announce first, second and third place winners of the Better Newspaper Competition.

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!

For more information please contact Karen Shardlow at k.shardlow@ocna.org or 905-639-8720 x 232.

The NEW Metro Creative Connection More Intuitive. Streamlined. Inspirational. We've redesigned our web experience to help you make even more money with easier access to Metro's creative imagery and compelling ad solutions.

Metro brings you new material each month to support your ad sales efforts. Our new SearchBooks™, combined with new search tools, make it easier than ever for creative and sales pros to find and use art, photo and design resources that will be effective and profitable for your advertisers.

SearchBooks give you instant access.

Images, designs and ideas in a unique presentation designed to inspire.

Metro Creative Graphics, Inc.

800.223.1600

www.metrocreativeconnection.com • service@metro-email.com

December 2015

Take a tour now and experience all of the incredible improvements and new designs we've developed just for you.

CONNECT WITH US! @OCNAAdreach Follow us for frequent association updates, industry news, upcoming events and more!

newmcctour.com 7

www.ocna.org

INDUSTRY NEWS

Make Christmas Count – Talk BUSINESS With Your Family. By Stefan Voswinkel The Family Business Catalyst What will your Christmas look like? There are traps galore to spoil Christmas, including... ▄▄

An overload of expectations. Remember: Expectations are one-sided contracts to be broken. ▄▄

A feast of ‘fake harmony’ - who would want to rock the boat over Christmas? ▄▄

A hectic sequence of preparations and events nobody really wants but complies anyway

themselves in 3, 5 and 7 years? ▄▄

Giving each other candid feedback – critique as well as praise Tackling difficult issues together in a relaxed atmosphere will be a relieve for all. Family and business cannot be separated! Ask your family what’s on their mind. This is a unique opportunity that only family-owned businesses have!

Avoiding Pitfalls: ▄▄

Don’t fool yourself: There are always issues that are lingering

▄▄

Add in some consumerism: The slavery of Boxing Day deals

▄▄

Be clear with your family about what you want to talk about

Unresolved issues will breed assumptions and resentment – and will surface anyway, when you have no control and are not prepared.

▄▄

Set a limit: “Can I have two hours of your time?” A time to be strategic and talk about the future – family and business

Why Christmas is a great opportunity to sort things out? ▄▄ ▄▄

▄▄

Follow through: To have an effect, all good intentions need next steps – get buy in and commitment from your family about who will do what, and when

Most family members are around

Time is in more supply than usual, especially during meals ▄▄

Family members are more willing to reach out to and listen to each other ▄▄ ▄▄ ▄▄ ▄▄

The flood of e-mails and calls has subsided A time for reflection and new ideas A time to plan family fun and holidays

▄▄

Jointly set a meeting date when you will discuss progress, challenges and next steps Judith and I will spend our 23rd Christmas in a row at our cabin on Atlin Lake, British Columbia. With a good cup or glass and looking across the lake, we are having our best conversations and ideas, and decide the next steps into our shared future. We wish you and your family the same!

A time to be strategic and talk about the future – family and business

The kind of topics I mean: ▄▄ ▄▄

Is anyone carrying bottled-up frustrations?

What are the hopes and expectations of family members? ▄▄

Where do family members see the business and

December 2015

www.ocna.org

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. ▄▄

January 14 - Instant Sales: Six-Step Proven Process

Let’s face it, nothing happens until you get in front of the prospect or customer, either by phone, conference call, webinar or face to face. The biggest challenge that all salespeople face in the 21st Century is getting the prospect’s attention. One isn’t born knowing how to prospect. It’s a skill and ability that is developed over time. During this webinar, Steve Kloyda will show you how to: • Create a prospecting calendar that keeps you focused and on track • Develop a prospecting gold list that keeps your sales pipeline full • Strengthen your prospecting message that gets the prospect’s attention • Implement a proven six-step process to get in the door and close more sales ▄▄

CLASSIFIED ADto Fact-Checking Journalism January 15 - A Crash Course

During this webinar, you’ll learn how fact-checking journalism is different than ‘regular’ reporting and how to identify factual deception, especially in campaign ads and speeches. ▄▄

January 21 - Google Analytics: Finding and Reading the Data

Presented in partnership with GateHouse Media. We all know how important our website’s analytics are, but they’re of no use to us if we can’t read the numbers or find where they are. In this webinar, GateHouse Media Data Analyst Sherri Horton will explain where to find your basic site metrics and also give a couple of tutorials on how to navigate the ever-confusing Google Analytics interface. We’ll start out at a basic level and move into more advanced custom dashboards and reporting toward the end. For participants, Horton will send out a few custom report templates and tutorial videos that will help you find accurate information, fast.

For more information and to register, visit: www.onlinemediacampus.com.

Canadian Community Newspaper Awards Open for Entries Community newspapers from across the country are invited to submit their best work for this year’s Canadian Community Newspaper Awards. Each year the competition recognizes outstanding pieces across of variety of different categories including editorial, photography and multimedia. This competition is open to all English and French-language community newspapers. The deadline for entries is Friday, January 29, 2016. For more information, please visit www.newspaperscanada.ca/ccnawards. December 2015

www.ocna.org

ADVERTISING

A Few Words About Buying Signals By John Foust Raleigh, NC

In my senior year of high school, I met the new girl in town on the first day of school. Louisville, Kentucky seemed like a world away from Greensboro, North Carolina, where I had spent all of my life to that point. And I was intrigued by the girl whose family had just moved from that exotic place. We chatted several times between classes. Although her favourite topic was her boyfriend in Louisville, my teenage brain missed the significance of that information, because Louisville seemed a million miles away. After turning me down a number of times, she finally agreed to go to a movie. As we walked to the theater, she stopped in front of a wedding shop, and ‘oohed’ and ‘aahed’ over the wedding gowns in the window, saying she was looking forward to marrying her boyfriend. That’s when I realized I didn’t have a chance. She couldn’t have been more obvious if she had said, “John, here’s a clue you can’t miss. I’m not interested in you. In fact, I’m planning to elope tomorrow.” Things turned out for the best. I don’t know if she ended up marrying the boyfriend back in Louisville, but I eventually met the real woman of my dreams, to whom I am happily married. Buying signals. If we pay attention, they will show us where we stand in the selling process. There are negative signals, like unmistakable ‘no’ of the Wedding Shop Incident. And there are positive signals. Some are more definite than others. Let’s take a closer look:

suggested ads you are presenting - Maintains good eye contact, and is not distracted by a cell phone, e-mail, or non-related items on the desk - Takes possession of the ads you are presenting, by positioning them on his or her side of the desk - Calls for an associate to step into the room to hear your ideas

2. Verbal signals. A number of prospects won’t say, “I’m sold. Where do I sign?” But they will say other things that show they’re ready to make a commitment. Be ready to move quickly, if he or she... - Asks about the agreement - Asks when the ad campaign can start - Asks about your billing procedures - Requests clarification of earlier sales point. For instance, “Tell me again how you can reach my target audience.” - Requests a change in the ad copy you are presenting - Indicates a willingness to close, by asking, “What’s the next step?” - Stops referring to THE ads and starts referring to MY ads. This is one of the strongest buying signals of all, because it shows that he or she already owns what you are selling

1. Non-verbal signals. Your prospect may be prepared to move to the next step in the sales process if he or she... - Nods frequently, agreeing with the points you are making - Leans forward with an increasingly pleasant expression - Holds his or her pen near the advertising agreement, as if ready to sign - Smiles while re-examining your sales materials, especially any

(c) Copyright 2015 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: jfoust@mindspring.com

Affordable media insurance for Canadian Community Newspapers

Service includes: Libel, Invasion of Privacy, Plagiarism, Piracy, Infringement of Copyright, Pre-Publication Hotline Contact us for a quote: 905-639-8720 ext. 4423

December 2015

We want to hear from you! Please share your news and/or opinions with us: newsclips@ocna.org

www.ocna.org

press card

dave adsett Publisher

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

December 2015

www.ocna.org

DESIGN

Dominant Visual Provides Impact By Ed Henninger Henninger Consulting

Other points:

Want to make your page—especially your front page—more compelling? Give it more impact? Get more readers to give it a close look? Use a dominant visual. Most times, that will be a photo. But occasionally, it may be a grouping of smaller pictures, a graphic or illustration. Whatever that visual may be, there’s one quality it must have to make it work. That quality? Size. If your visual isn’t large enough to dominate the page, then it isn’t a dominant visual. How big? My guideline has always been three columns wide by eight inches deep, four columns wide by six inches deep—as a minimum. Again, that’s a minimum. And, yes, those figures apply to tabloid pages as well. If your visual isn’t big, it hasn’t got the impact and pull you need to bring readers into the page.

RELATIVE SIZE: One of the ways you can guarantee the dominant

size of your key visual is to take care that no other visual elements compete with it for attention. You can do this by making sure that other elements are no larger than half the size of your dominant visual.

OPTICAL CENTER: As indicated in the illustration, optical center

is an area of the page that’s above and left of dead center. Precisely how far above…and how far left? No one’s been able to determine that, but we do know that optical center is an area of the page where the reader’s eye naturally falls first. And that’s where we want to place the dominant visual element.

THE FOLD: Does your dominant visual have to be above the fold?

Well, on the front page, the answer is usually ‘yes’. If you place the visual over the optical center, it goes without saying that it’s also above the fold.

GROUPING: Instead of one visual element, it’s OK to package a few together. This can work well, for example, if you have group of photos taken at the same event.

CONTENT: Select an element with compelling content for your

dominant visual. Check-passing photos and grip-and-grin shots have their place in community newspapers, but they lack the interest needed for strong reader appeal. If it’s a photo, look for action and colour.

CROPPING: Give the element even greater impact by removing

unimportant or extraneous content. A photo of a car/truck crash, for example, need not show yards of pavement at the bottom and miles of sky at top. You want readers to look forward to the content and impact of your pages—especially your front page and section fronts. One of the best ways you can do that is by offering them a dominant visual.

ED HENNINGER is an independent newspaper consultant and the Director of Henninger Consulting, offering comprehensive newspaper design services at: www.henningerconsulting.com. December 2015

www.ocna.org

TECHNOLOGY

Critiquing Pages

To the readers, it’s almost always about the stories By Kevin Slimp In October, I traveled to Albuquerque, where I gave the Saturday keynote address at the New Mexico Press Association Convention. On Sunday morning, I caught a flight to Orlando, where I spoke at an international conference made up of newspaper and magazine publishers. My assignment in Florida was a little out of the ordinary. In addition to giving the keynote, I was asked to meet with publishers individually and look over their products, offering criticism and advice. The convention planner expected maybe a dozen publishers to take advantage of the opportunity to meet with me for 30 minutes each over two days. By the time I left Florida, I had met with more than 20 publishers, who represented scores of titles. While I was packing my computer to head back to the airport, several of the attendees stopped me. Most of them said something like, “I can’t wait for you to see my magazine next year” or “I plan to win all the awards next year after making the changes you suggested.” It reminded me a little of my visits to Hopkinsville, Kentucky, where I’m invited every couple of years to spend two days with the news staff there. I’m always surprised by the things we get into while I’m with the Kentucky New Era, but tend to find our page critiques the most helpful exercise. I can’t take credit for the idea. It originally came from Eli Pace, editor, and we’ve made it a regular part of my visits. The idea works like this: The various editors meet around a conference table for a few hours, while we look over pages from the previous year. This is done by projecting the pages onto a large screen, where we can critique the pages simultaneously. We discuss the quality of headlines, the placement of stories, the general layout of the pages and more. Once, I noted that newspaper flag on the front page looked a little dirty. Eli gave me the go-ahead to ‘play with the flag’ that afternoon and I sent a clean copy to him before heading back to the hotel. Not knowing he was actually going to use the cleaner design, I Adding a white line above a drop was surprised the next shadow can create a cleaner morning when he told me several readers had effect on newsprint. December 2015

called in to comment on the improved front page design. All I did was clean up the drop shadow behind the words ‘Kentucky New Era.’ I didn’t change the shape or size of anything. I simply inserted a thin while line between the characters in the flag and the drop shadow behind them. Little things make a big difference. While preparing for the Florida group, I gathered 23 folks in my hometown of Knoxville to look over some of the various newspapers and magazines that would be represented in Orlando. This focus group was made up of ordinary readers. None of them were professional writers, editors or designers. I divided the focus group into smaller groups of three to four members each and asked them to critique a dozen elements of the publications. These included stories, design, readability and other elements. Most surprising to me was the lack of concern over paper quality. Most readers didn’t seem to care whether they were reading something printed on coated stock, newsprint or something else. What they cared about most were the stories. Were the topics of local interest? Were the writers local or did they get the material from a news service? How was the quality of the writing? When I met individually with publishers, I shared the input of the focus groups, then went through their publications page by page, sharing my own thoughts. Afterwards, more than a few of the participants told me it was the most valuable program they’d every attended at a convention. Why was it so valuable? Most of us, I think, get so used to seeing our newspapers that we forget how the reader sees them. By looking at their products through new eyes, I was able to share ideas that will be valuable as they continually work to improve their publications. Here’s a thought: How about gathering a focus group to look at your newspapers every six months? By offering to pay for lunch, I had 23 willing participants, giving us enough folks to break into groups and critique two dozen titles in four hours. In my customer service survey last month, I learned that the chief concern of subscribers is the number of local stories and the quality of writing. For nonsubscribers, quality of writing was number one and local story content was number two. Consider creating your own focus group. I can’t wait to hear from the publishers I met in Florida to learn about the improvements to their products in the coming months. 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 13

www.ocna.org

HUMAN RESOURCES

Interview Tips for Interviewers A TwoGreySuits Article

This article is part of the TwoGreySuits ‘Employee Performance Management’ Series and is offered by our partner, the TwoGreySuits HR Power Centre as a service to our members.

the interview. Make sure you’ve covered all your questions and you haven’t missed anything. 6. Extend professional courtesies. Offer candidates a glass of water, and ask if they had difficulty finding the place. Be on time. Consider giving them a tour of the office. Give them an opportunity to speak with other team members or prospective coworkers, if appropriate. 7. Watch nonverbal signals. Just as you are looking for eye contact and appropriate dress, the candidate is looking for those unspoken signals from you. Be sure your tone of voice is appropriate and professional. Clearly articulate the job’s duties and the company’s mission. Dress as you normally would, and pay attention to manners. You are a representative of your company and department, so make sure your actions reflect this. 8. While being polite and professional, don’t get too chummy. Keep all your questions job-related. If you spend the interview chatting, you may make a hiring decision because you liked the candidate versus whether the person is truly qualified for the job. 9. Whether it’s by e-mail or phone, follow up to let candidates know whether they got the job. This is one more way of extending a professional courtesy and gives the interview process closure. 10. Hiring is serious business. If you want to get a 100% guaranteed excellent hire, consider using the professionals, TwoGreySuits.

At TwoGreySuits, our short list candidates describe their interviews with the hiring manager, and it varies greatly. In many cases, we are told that the hiring manager isn’t structured in their approach, they didn’t spend enough time and they rely too heavily on their gut feel which can be dangerous. Interviewing and selection skills are rarely if ever taught to Managers. So you’ve had a crazy day, with tight deadlines, meetings and ‘urgent’ matters coming up. Now you have to interview candidates for a Marketing Assistant position. If you don’t have a human resources department to guide you along, here are some tips for how to prepare for and conduct a job interview -- from the other side of the desk.

Tips for Interviewers

Remember that candidates are deciding whether they want to work for you just as much as you are trying to decide whether to hire them. You have only about an hour to make a good impression on the candidate. Follow these steps:

1. Write down a list of questions that directly relate to the job’s responsibilities. If you don’t have a job description, list the key responsibilities of the position, and then draw up a list of questions that relate to the direct job responsibilities. 2. Ask behavioural questions, as in ‘tell me about a time when you...’ Ask for specific examples of past performance and behaviour. Specifically ask for names of people, place, times, as this is easily checked in a reference call. Previous behaviour and successes are a good indicator of future performance and behaviour. 3. Review the candidate’s resume before the interview. Ask questions about the environment of the places the candidate has worked, for example, ‘what did you like or not like about the culture of the company?’ This way you can see if they would be a fit in your own company culture. 4. Outline the interview structure for the candidate. First, give a brief description of the company, and then outline the job duties. Tell the candidate you will leave time for any questions near the end of the interview. Ask the applicant questions as more information is revealed about their experiences. This sets up the parameters of the interview, keeps you both focused, and gives the candidate an idea of what to expect. 5. Don’t talk too much. TwoGreySuits suggests the hiring managers should talk only about 30 percent of the time. Allow candidates time to describe their skills and qualifications during December 2015

We cover all aspects of interviewing and selection in the HR Power Centre’s Recruitment Module.

The HR Power Centre and HR Hot Line is a one-of-a-kind product specifically designed to get you the answers you need fast, in hundreds of different HR situations. Signing up is simple and free for OCNA members. You can call us today at 905-639-8720. Why wait? Don’t let important people management issues go unresolved when you can deal with them today.

www.ocna.org

HUMAN RESOURCES

TwoGreySuits Introduces Powerful New Benefit TwoGreySuits (TGS) has had an innovation breakthrough that can have a tremendous impact on your company’s success! Check out their new website at www.twogreysuits.com to learn more about how focusing on employee engagement can have a direct impact on profitability. The whiteboard video on the home page explains it all in less than two minutes. If you are already using the service, just log in and take advantage of one Individual Plan online training access absolutely free for OCNA members. If you are not currently taking advantage of this free member benefit, now’s the time to sign up. 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.

December 2015

www.ocna.org

WWW.OCNA.ORG

December 2015

INFO@OCNA.ORG