newsclips
JANUARY 2012
RECENT CANADA POST CHANGES IN EFFECT
FROM NEWSPAPERS CANADA Members who use mail delivery should note recent changes to Canada Post’s Unaddressed Admail and Publications Mail services. The changes, which were announced by Canada Post on July 25, 2011, took effect on January 16, 2012. These changes cover several areas, including mail preparation, pricing changes, service enhancements, and seasonal discounts. These changes include: ▄▄ 10% seasonality discount for Unaddressed Admail orders deposited 6 months of the year (January, February, June, July, August and December). This discount does not apply to SOM Only orders, manual Statements of Mailing, Transportation Fees or the High Demand Route Premium ▄▄
Overall weighted average rate increase of 5.3% (will vary depending on volume, weight, fees, etc.) ▄▄
RECOGNIZED FOR LONG-TIME SERVICE TO THE NEWSPAPER INDUSTRY
Pictured above, Silver Quills were presented to David Meyer (left) and William Adsett (right) at the Fergus Wellington Advertiser Christmas Party in December. David Adsett (middle) presented the awards to these outstanding individuals for their service of more than 25 years to the newspaper industry.
Progressive per gram rate reduction (50 – 100g and over 100g weight bands) as volume commitment increases (currently progressive rate remains the same regardless of volume level) ▄▄
Refer to the Householder Counts and Maps at www.canadapost.ca/cpc2/addrm/hh/default-e.asp to view updated information, which will also identify High Demand Routes. Improvements to this online tool facilitates the capacity for you to determine the number of points of calls (houses, apartments, farms and businesses) in a selected geographical area, and provides you with the ability to better target customers and prospects. ▄▄
Precision Targeter online application for targeting, pricing and ordering Unaddressed Admail. Precision Targeter takes you from targeting to ordering in five easy steps. This online tool can help you refine your Unaddressed Admail geographical coverage or help you expand your reach by targeting routes in communities surrounding your own. This application will make it easier for you to execute Unaddressed Admail mailings and help get the most out of marketing campaigns. COMING APRIL 23, 2012: ▄▄ A premium of $0.015 will be applied to High Demand Routes. A 1.5-cent premium per item destined to High Demand Routes will be introduced on April 23, 2012, to better align volume with our operational capacity. ▄▄
Eliminating bags as a containerization option for Publications Mail.
For more inforation on these changes visit the Canada Post Website at www.canadapost.ca
WHAT’S INSIDE:
INDUSTRY AD CAMPAIGN OCNA provides it’s members with a series of ads fully adaptable to include newspaper flags
See Page 6
TIME MANAGEMENT TIPS: A TWO GREY SUITS ARTICLE Learn how to balance your schedules
See Page 12
DISCIPLINED LISTENING LEADS TO GREATER NEGOTIATION PROFITS Six tips to improve listening skills in big negotiations
See Page 14
MONTHLY PUBLICATION OF THE ONTARIO1COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS ASSOCIATION January 2012 www.ocna.org
INDUSTRY NEWS
SHOW ME THE MONEY, AND PROVIDE THE SERVICE BY ANNE LANNAN OCNA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
As newspapers review their revenue streams, shifts in them, and new possibilities, so too does your association. You look at changes in your subscription revenue, classified sales, local and national ROP, inserts and online revenue. Then set your budget with the goal of producing the best products possible that will serve your communities. The Ontario Community Newspapers Association does the same as our traditional revenue streams have changed over the years – graphic art supplies, newsprint sales, national advertising, classified advertising, etc. Unlike many industry associations, the majority of revenue raised is distributed back to our member newspapers for ads placed in their newspapers. With our operating funds, staff and our board of directors, reinvest it in programs and services to meet our goal of helping our newspapers to be successful.
NEWSCLIPS VOLUME 01, ISSUE 7 3050 Harvester Rd. #103 Burlington, ON L7N 3J1 p.905.639.8720 f.905-639.6962 e.info@ocna.org w. www.ocna.org OCNA BOARD PRESIDENT
Don MacLeod
FIRST VP
Mike Mount
SECOND VP
Maureen Keeler
SECRETARY/ TRESURER
Dave Harvey
PAST PRESIDENT
Abbas Homayed
DIRECTORS
Dave Adsett Gordon Cameron Jim Cumming Andrea DeMeer Ron Dunn Rick Shaver John Willems
Our New Revenue Task Force is reviewing our core services to members which, for the most part, are user-pay services, and looking at other means of supplementing the association through new streams of revenue. This would most likely provide other services for our member newspapers. We’d love to get input from you to learn of other types of programming you would like to see from the association. What are your needs that you could use some assistance with? One of the missions of the association is to offer services that newspapers can’t provide on their own. There is strength in numbers. Please feel free to share your comments with me at 905-639-8720 ext 228 or a.lannan@ocna.org. OCNA STAFF
IN THIS ISSUE... 03 ...............TC MEDIA BECOMES FULL OWNER OF RESEAU SELECT 06 .....................................................................INDUSTRY AD CAMPAIGN 08 ..........................................................DON’T LET PHASING FAZE YOU 09 .............................................................SAILING CLOSE TO THE WIND 10 ...........................................................OCNA’S SUPPLIER SHOWCASE 11 ......................ADVERTISING ALERTS: SUPER BOWL ADVERTISING
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Anne Lannan
CONTROLLER
Todd Frees
MEMBER SERVICES
Karen Shardlow Kelly Gorven
NETWORK CLASSIFIEDS
Carol Lebert Susana Czyrnek
ACCOUNTING
Lucia Shepherd
AD*REACH
Ted Brewer Doug Sexton Carolyn Press Erica Leyzac
12 .....................................................................TIME MANAGEMENT TIPS 14 ......DISCIPLINED LISTENING LEADS TO GREATER NEGOTIATION PROFITS 16 ................SIZE, REALLY DOES MATTER WHEN IT COMES TO PDFS
January 2012
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ASSOCIATION NEWS
TC MEDIA BECOME FULL OWNER OF RESEAU SELECT COURTESY OF ADNEWS
TC Media of Montreal has become the sole shareholder of Réseau Sélect, operator of an advertising network for French-language weekly publications. Réseau Sélect represents 150 publications produced independently or owned by TC Media. The various independent weekly paper publishers that were shareholders of Réseau Sélect have been voluntarily redeemed by the company, but they will remain members of the network as clients. “This change allows us to merge the Réseau Sélect operations with those of the TC Media internal sales network, which gives our national clients a more complete service offering,” said Serge Lemieux, TC Media’s vice-president of the newspaper division for Quebec and Ontario. “Our clients will now be able to run campaigns that include our own community papers, but also a larger pool of French-language papers in Canada that serve complementary territories.” TC Media has appointed François Laferrière to the position of general manager for Réseau Sélect. He was previously general manager of network sales and business development for the Quebec and Ontario newspaper division of TC Media. Prior to that, he was was the owner of Journal Le Nord.
NOMINATE A WORTHY INDIVIDUAL FOR A SILVER OR GOLD QUILL AWARD
OCNA is now accepting nominations for Gold and Silver Quill Awards for 2012. These prestigious awards recognize newspaper owners and employees for their long time dedication to the industry. Nominations for Bronze Quills should be submitted directly to CCNA. Silver Quills recognize services of 25 years or more, and are presented to those who have been actively engaged or who have made a substantial contribution to the newspaper industry. Gold Quills recognize service of 50 years or more, and are presented to those who have been actively engaged, or who have made a substantial contribution to the newspaper industry. To download a nomination form, log in to the Members Area of our website. You can find the PDF under OCNA Programs and Services > Quill Awards. For more information, please contact Anne Lannan at a.lannan@ocna.org or call 905-639-8720 ext 228. Three Winchester Press Staff members were recently honoured with Silver Quill Awards. Recipients include Sharon Sharkey-Holmes (left), clerical staff; Donna Rushford (third from left), co-publisher and advertising manager; and Linda Johnston (right), graphic designer. The trio is pictured with Beth Morris (second from left), press owner and president of Morris Group. Press Photo - Uhrig January 2012
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ANNOUNCEMENTS HELP WANTED
Want to be your own boss but can’t afford to buy? North Huron Publishing Company Inc, a community-owned publishing company, located in southwestern Ontario, 20 minutes from the sands of Lake Huron, is seeking a creative, energetic individual to succeed the founding publisher. They operate a community newspaper serving two villages of 1,000 each, a farm magazine of 13,000 circulation and a tourist publication. For an information package, write to: Keith Roulston, President of North Huron Publishing Company Inc. P.O. BOX 429 Blyth, ON N0M 1H0 or call 519-523-4792 or e-mail editor@stopalonglakehuron.com
ST. THOMAS ELGIN WEEKLY NEWS NOW CARRIES FLYER INSERTS After converting its distribution from Canada Post to 90 per cent carriers and drivers, and 10 percent Canada Post, The St. Thomas Elgin Weekly News began carrying flyer inserts before Christmas, 2011. Ken Seguin from Newspaper Circulation Specialists was engaged to engineer the conversion to carriers in mid-2011. Rebecca Smallman is now running the circulation system. “The change also allows us to produce some special sections for the weekly newspapers that we were not able to do before,” said publisher Terry Carroll, owner of Carroll Publishing Inc. which publishes The Weekly News, Elgin This Month and the occasional specialty publication. www.ocna.org
ASSOCIATION NEWS
TWELVE SPECIAL YOUNG PEOPLE CHOSEN AS 2011 ONTARIO JUNIOR CITIZEN OF THE YEAR AWARD RECIPIENTS Sarah Lewis, 11, Windsor
Working hard to make a difference within their communities and around the world. The youth of today are the leaders of tomorrow and they’re final recipients of the 2011 Ontario Junior Citizen of the Year Awards are truly an inspiring group of individuals whose stories illustrate initiative, creativity, dedication and leadership evident in the youth today. This group of young individuals are devoting their time and energy to countless causes and community groups, overcoming obstacles and putting others before themselves.
At the age of seven, Sarah developed a campaign called ‘Socks Warm Your Heart’. Her brother at the time was selling candy canes to buy sleeping bags for the homeless as part of a school social justice project. Sarah was inspired after she helped deliver the sleeping bags to a local homeless shelter and met a man who said they could use warm socks. To date she has donated almost 3,000 pairs of socks to the shelter. She will continue to help the homeless until it is history in our community, she says.
This year there were 176 nominees from across Ontario, who are being recognized with certificates by their local community newspapers. Each and every one of these nominees go above and beyond what is expected of someone their age. The Honourable David C. Onley, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario has been invited to officiate the awards ceremony in Toronto in March. The final recipients and their families will be invited to this special presentation.
Rebecca Marsh, 16, Burlington
It is evident Rebecca’s heart is in the right place. She is dedicated to helping her community and active in a diverse range of projects. She helped raise $11,400 towards a sustainable clean water system in Kenya, is co-leader of Tumaini Toronto – a fundraising arm of Free the Children, is a member of her school’s Leaders Against Bullying group, and has volunteered at her local hospital for four hours a week since 2009.
The Ontario Junior Citizen of the Year Awards are promoted through the 300+ member newspapers of the Ontario Community Newspapers Association (OCNA) with the support of corporate sponsors TD Bank Group and Direct Energy. Nominations of eligible youth aged six to 17 are received through member community newspapers committed to recognizing the outstanding leaders who are making a difference in their communities. Nominees may be involved in community service; young people who are contributing to their community while living with a physical or psychological limitation; or individuals who have performed acts of heroism or bravery. Candidates are also recognized for being ‘good kids’ who show a commitment to making life better for others. A panel of judges unanimously agreed on the final award recipients.
Kalem McSween, 17, Toronto
Kalem is a very generous person, inspired by his diverse and urban community to show that anyone can make a difference. He has been an active member of the Catholic Student Leadership Impact Team representing students at the Toronto Catholic School Board for the past year. He is Director of Equity and his goal is to ensure students have a voice and can express their concerns about issues related to mental health wellness, racial and ethnic relations, antibullying and anti-homophobia.
Stephanie Murchison, 17, Sarnia
Alysha Dykstra, 7, Guelph
At the age of four, Alysha was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia. In January 2009, Operation Alysha was formed as a social action group to promote and build awareness of the need to donate blood and registration of potential stem cell donors with OneMatch. At such a young age, she has battled her way to remission and consistently hosts blood donor clinics and OneMatch swabbing events to help others with the disease.
Stephanie is a well-rounded individual representing all categories of this award. She is visually impaired, suffers from Anxiety, OCD and Asperger’s. Despite overcoming many challenges, she is a hero who is greatly involved in her community. She had the courage to risk a friendship by calling the police when she recognized a friend showed signs of suicide. She continues to volunteer with many organizations including Autism Ontario, Pathways Health Centre for Children and CNIB.
Madelaine Frank, 13, Whitby
Mackenzie Oliver, 12, Barrie
After hearing about the tragic Oshawa Humane Society’s fire in 2008, Madelaine decided she wanted to help raise funds for the major rebuilding effort. She designed and sold fridge magnets at fundraisers, schools and stores. She has produced and sold over 3,000 magnets and over $6,000 has been raised. January 2012
Mackenzie recognizes the importance of self-esteem. She started the I LOVE ME club at her school through which she sells t-shirts and blankets and has raised $25,000 for local charities. The charities she chooses to help primarily focus on the betterment of children, through peer and emotional support. In addition, 4
www.ocna.org
ASSOCIATION NEWS Mackenzie speaks to different groups about the importance of feeling good about yourself and passing the feeling on to others. She is currently fundraising to go to Kenya.
Our Sponsors Our goal to recognize outstanding young people in communities across Ontario would not be possible without the generous support of our sponsors. Our gratitude to them all.
Breanna Pede, 11, Sarnia
Primary Sponsors
Breanna has a sharp eye and good instincts. She rescued two friends within a week of each other from drowning, all while suffering from a broken leg. In one case the girl was having a seizure and Breanna was able to get her in the proper position and call for help. Since these incidents, she has been proactive and made it her mission to spread the word on the importance of swimming lessons and how to recognize when someone is having an epileptic seizure.
TD Community Giving: Making a Difference Together TD invests in communities to make a positive impact where it does business and where our customers, clients and employees live and work. In 2010, TD donated over $50 million to support community organizations in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom. In Canada, we focus on Education and Financial Literacy, Creating Opportunities for Young People and the Environment.
Andrew Sigmaringam, 17, Toronto
Andrew was born deaf and has defeated many obstacles in order to participate and contribute to his community. He has successfully raised $5,000 for Free the Children, assisted children with Autism and continues to present and appear as a guest speaker at numerous different workshops to talk about his personal experiences. He looks past his own needs and works hard to make his community a better place to live.
For more information visit www.td.com/corporateresponsibility
River Wong, 16, Thornhill
Direct Energy: Helping Communities Help Each Other In 2010, Direct Energy committed over $1.4 million in cash, product and service donations to charitable organizations across North America, raising an additional $213,000 for charitable causes through employeeled fundraisers.
Having to cope with a new learning system after moving to Canada from Hong Kong, River learned to enjoy school and became a caring and patient tutor in grade 7 and 8. In grade 9 River was diagnosed with a dangerous bleeding disorder and struggled with behaviour problems. Despite difficulties, he is confident, resilient and has a great outlook on life. River has volunteered well over 800 hours within his school and community for his passionate causes, which include raising funds for United Way, the Scarborough Chinese Outreach Committee and World Vision.
Direct Energy believes we have a responsibility to support the communities in which we live and work. By investing our resources, sharing our skills, knowledge and volunteering our time, we believe we can create valuable inter-connections and develop lasting corporatecommunity partnerships. Our employees found new ways to partner with the non-profit sector to share skills and ideas and strive to make a difference by volunteering over 10,500 hours to iniatives in their local communities.
Stephanie Simmons, 17, London
In 2010, Stephanie spearheaded a campaign for childhood cancer awareness. Her dream is to see a gold ribbon, the symbol of childhood cancer, on a Canadian postage stamp. In 2011, more than 30,000 letters from across the country were collected in support of Stephanie’s campaign. Stephanie herself has suffered from three brain tumours.
Direct Energy is a member of Volunteer Canada’s Corporate Council and supports our employees through a robust array of charitable programs such as Dollars for Doers, Matching Grants and our own Direct Energy Citizen of the Year Award. For more information, please contact Emily Richardson, 416-758-8979, emily.richardson@directenergy.com or visit our website at www. directenergy.com
Isabelle Wilson, 12, Kincardine
Currently, both of Belle’s parents and her brother are battling cancer. Despite difficulties at home, she is still a happy bundle of joy and is very involved within her community. She is a member of the Helping Hands committee at her school, has participated in fundraisers to support her school’s Clean Water Project in Kenya and spearheaded a fundraiser for Make a Wish which raised over $1,100.
January 2012
Patron Sponsors
James Publishing Company McLaren Press Graphics Ltd. Performance Printing Temiskaming Printing Co. For more information on the Ontario Junior Citizen Awards contact: Kelly Gorven, Jr. Citizens Coordinator, 905-639-8720 ext. 239, jr.citizen@ocna.org 5
www.ocna.org
ASSOCIATION NEWS
DESIGNERS WELCOME TO JOIN ADOBE INDESIGN USER GROUP It’s FREE! By joining, members get all kinds of perks and discounts, including FREE indesign meetings in Toronto, held quarterly. These events feature guest speakers and review new features with demonstrations.
ANNOUNCEMENTS GRAPHIC DESIGNER RELEASES BOOK INSPIRED BY ALGONQUIN PARK Andrea Hillo, a graphic designer from Haliburton recently completed a book with the help of Len Pizzey, Corey Pietryszyn and Robert Bateman. The book is titled Artists of Algonquin: Contemporary Artists Wild with Passion. The book features art inspired by the landscape of Algonquin Park and the areas surrounding it. Included are pieces by Robert Bateman, Shelley Beach, Donna Caldwell, David Kay, Elizabeth Siegfried, Linda Dorensen, Eric Tenn, Wendy Wood and many more talented artists. The book will be available in February.
It’s a free adobe indesign use group with no strings attached. Each meeting there are great prizes, software, programs and subscriptions that are given out as prizes. Each year one lucky individual receives the Adobe Master Creative Suite package, a value of over $3,500. Currently there are over 1300 members, and usually 150-200 attend the quarterly meetings. It’s a great way to network and learn more about designing for your newspaper.
POSTMEDIA WANTS NEW OWNERSHIP RULES
To become a member, visit www.indesignusergroup.com and sign up for the area closest to you. There are groups in Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Vancouver.
Postmedia Network’s CEO Paul Godfrey recently spoke out against ownership restrictions on domestic publications. He believes Canadian newspapers need access to foreign owners if they are to compete with the unregulated Internet for advertisers and readers. Under Canadian tax rules, advertisers cannot receive the same tax breaks for advertising in a foreignowned newspaper as a Canadian one - ensuring all major newspapers in this country are controlled by Canadians.
COURTESY OF THE GLOBE AND MAIL
For more information please contact Andrea Hillo at hillo@sympatico.ca.
ECHO CELEBRATES 35TH YEAR
PHOTO OF THE MONTH
Manitouwadge Echo is celebrating it’s 35th year of publishing under the Schermann family
Photo by Rob Mooy - Kingston This Week Alexis O’Brien, 6, dreams under the tree Christmas morning in Kingston, Ontario January 2012
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www.ocna.org
ASSOCIATION NEWS
OCNA BETTER NEWSPAPER AWARDS Thank you to all those who sent their entries for the 2011 Better Newspapers Competition. OCNA is currently confirming more than 1950 entries! Our judges are currently looking at the hundreds of entries, choosing the best writing, photos and advertisements in the Ontario Community Newspaper industry. The top three winners of each category will be announced on our website in alphabetical order on February 14th, 2012. Final results will be announced at the Awards Gala to be held on Friday, April 27th, 2012 at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel in Downtown Toronto. Please mark your calendars now. Important BNC dates to remember: ▄▄ ▄▄
Results announced:
February 14th, 2012
Awards Gala:
Friday, April 27th, 2012
2012 OCNA Spring Convention To be held in partnership with the Newspapers Canada INK+BEYOND Conference April 25 – 29th, 2012 Fairmont Royal York Hotel To book your hotel room at the conference rate of $185, per night please call 1-800-663-7229. Visit http://www.newspaperscanada.ca/programs/inkbeyond-conference for more information
Registration is now open for the INK+BEYOND conference and trade show, taking place this year at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel in Toronto on April 26 to 27. The annual industry conference sees hundreds of newspaper delegates from across the country gather for two days of presentations, workshops, social events, awards galas and more. Don’t miss out on all of the educational benefits and valuable networking opportunities. Sign up before the early-bird deadline of March 26 and you’ll receive a $100 discount on the registration fee. Visit http://events.newspaperscanada.ca/cgi/page.cgi?event_id=22&_id=6&action=viewdetail to register. If you have any questions about registration for INK+BEYOND please contact info@newspapercanada.ca
OCNA’S WEBINAR SERIES Join us for our “You The Brand” in Sales and Business Negotiations webinar on February 10. Presented by Patrick Tinney, Managing Partner with Centroid Sales/Negotiation Training & Marketing, learn how to build a personal brand to become more successful in Sales and Business Negotiations. How customers and colleagues view you as a brand is often how they will react to you. To reserve your webinar seat now visit https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/271730233 January 2012
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www.ocna.org
ASSOCIATION NEWS
INDUSTRY AD CAMPAIGN Dear OCNA member newspaper:
newspapers. If you do not have InDesign at your newspaper, please contact OCNA Member Services Coordinator Kelly Gorven at k.gorven@ocna.org and send her your newspaper flag. She can then send you PDFs of the ads customized for you.
The Ontario Community Newspapers Association is pleased to provide its members with a new industry advertising campaign – fully adaptable to include newspaper flags. The campaign includes a series of 7 ads and an editorial and has been designed to remind readers and advertisers that Community Newspapers are the original Local Social Network. With the tagline ‘Did you see in the paper…’, the series reflects that articles and ads get people connecting with one another and calls them to action, and this is what builds community.
What to do: 1. Go to www.ocna.org and
log into the Member’s site (user: member, password: ocmb2010) Under the left hand navigation bar under ‘member’, go to the OCNA Programs & Services folder. Here you will find the folder ‘2011 Social Media Ads’ which contains a subfolder for each of the ads and contains the necessary fonts and graphics.
3. The seven ads reflect – news, entertainment, advertising, sports, seniors, community events. Respecting copyright, trademarks, and libelous material, you may change the text and images to better reflect something in your own community, without having them look like an ad for a specific local advertiser or event.
Did you see in the paper...
the hardware store is having a huge Home Improvement Sale?
I’ve got two rooms to paint.
Community Newspapers Your Local Social Network
2. Download the files. Ads have been created in CS2 – InDesign so they should be accessible to most
4. Timing – feel free to begin publishing the series at any time; in any order; and at intervals that suit your page count (eg. one per week, every other week). 5. Translation – member newspapers publishing in other languages may translate the ads. 6. The bubble ‘Did you see in the paper…’ can be used as an online icon on your web site if you would like to have it link directly to your ad material or editorial.
A special note of appreciation to the Marketing Task Force for their input in this campaign.
TIDBITS (LINKS FOR MORE INFORMATION) The Kingston Whig Standard 2011 In Review: Stories too strange to make up http://www.thewhig.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=3420278
A 50-year-old Kingston man, convicted twice in 2006 and again in 2007 for stealing newspapers, was back before a judge in April, charged with stealing yet more newspapers. The man’s lawyer told the court his client is working with a mental health agency to try to curb his compulsion to steal and hoard newspapers. The lawyer suggested the judge impose on his client a curfew between 5 and 7 a.m., the time when newspapers are delivered to stores. In February, a BBC Newsmagazine poll ranks the Whig-Standard as one of the world’s most unusual newspaper names. Canada’s oldest continuously published daily is No. 16 on the Top 50 list, along with such papers as the Unterrified Democrat of Linn, Mo., the Banbury Cake of Oxfordshire, England and Bunyip of Gawler, Australia. January 2012
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www.ocna.org
GET YOUR PRESS IDENTIFICATION CARDS FOR 2012 OCNA can provide you with laminated, business card-sized Press Cards.
PRESS CARD
PRESS CARD
This certifies the individual identified has been a Press Credentials by the Publisher of this news and is to be used for identification purpose
DON MACLEOD Publisher
Kawartha Lakes/North Durham CAPS News 905-985-9755 201 North St. Port Perry ON L9L 1B7
2010
This newspaper on the reverse MARK side is, asRIBBLE of date of issue, a member in good standing Reporter of the Ontario Community Newspapers Leamington Post Association (OCNA) www.ocna.org.
2 2 0 11
2 0 12 1
This certifies the individual identified has been awarded Press Credentials by the Publisher of this newspaper, and is to be used for identification purposes.
905-871-3100
Anne Lannan, Exec. Director
450 Jan. Garrison 1,1,2012 Dec. 2010Rd. Unit 1 Fort Erie ON L2A 1N2 Date
PRESS CARD Cost is $10 each for the first three, and $5PRESS for each one CARD This certifies the individual identified has been a thereafter. Press Credentials by the Publisher of this news
and is to be used for identification purpose
450 Garrison Rd. Unit 1 Fort Erie ON L2A 1N2
PRESS CARD
0
9
This newspaper on the reverse ROBINA side is, as NAZ of date of issue, a member in good standing Editor Political Affa www.ocna.org of the Ontario Community Newspapers
10
0
Date
This certifies the individual identified has been a Press Credentials by the Publisher of this news and is to be used for identification purpose
DESMOND DEVOY Editor / Reporter
Anne Lannan, Exec. Director
57 Auriga Dr. Suite 103 Oct. 1,ON 2010 Ottawa K2E 8B2
PRESS CARD
This certifies the individual identified has been awarded Press Credentials by the Publisher of this newspaper, and is to be used for identification purposes.
January 2012
2010
KRIS DUBÉ This newspaper or on the reverse ANIL side is,JHALLI as Contact Kelly Gorven at k.gorven@ocna.org call Editor of date of issue, a member in good standing Editor / Reporter of theAuthorization Ontario Community Newspapers 906-639-8720 x239 for a Publisher’s Fort Erie Times Ottawa, The Now E Association (OCNA) www.ocna.org. Form and instructions on how to send photos. 905-871-3100 613-688-1491
2010
2010
This certifies the individual identified has been awarded Press Credentials by the Publisher of this newspaper, and is to be used for identification purposes.
DESIGN
DON’T LET PHASING FAZE YOU
BY ED HENNINGER HENNINGER CONSULTING Smaller items first
At least 99 percent of the redesigns I’ve done have been fullbore-knock-down-drag-out-pedal-to-the-metal-do-it-now projects. We may work on the redesign for months, but when it’s ready, we launch it with a Big Bang.
Once everything is designed, begin by placing smaller items (bylines, photo credits, captions and the like) into the paper.
Larger items later
But occasionally, some are more inclined to a phased approach, introducing the redesign slowly.
Hold off on those items that will clearly look different (headlines, section flags and such until smaller elements are in place.
There are two key reasons for this approach:
Tweaking is OK
Concern that readers and advertisers will react negatively to what they see as too much change.
Don’t be afraid to alter some elements as long as they mesh with the rest of the design.
Knowing that your newsroom and designers are a small group who need to be able to juggle the redesign project with their day-to-day duties.
Tell customers
As you go along, let readers and advertisers know you’re making changes. They’ll notice some differences here and there – it’s a good idea to tell them you’re working on improvements.
Don’t let a phased redesign faze you. Some hints:
React to reaction
Have a plan
If you get feedback – either positive or negative – don’t be afraid to make some small changes as needed.
When do you want to complete the project? Make sure that target doesn’t coincide with other busy times. For example, it’s not a good idea to launch a redesign in late December. But midFebruary might work well.
Promote the final product
When you’re finished, let your readers and advertisers know. They’ve been patient and accepting throughout the process – they will be less anxious when they know the redesign is completed.
Back up
Work backward from your target date, set times for key elements to be introduced.
Do it!
Before you put any redesigned elements into your paper, do the full redesign first. That way, you won’t have to worry about some elements not reflecting others. Designing all the elements together helps you achieve a consistent look throughout.
ED HENNINGER is an independent newspaper consultant and the Director of Henninger Consulting, offering comprehensive newspaper design services and design evaluations at www.henningerconsulting.com.
Leaving begind an Olde Englishe nameplate for something more contemporary may seem a bit radical - but not so much if it comes at the end of a phased redesign. January 2012
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www.ocna.org
SAILING CLOSE TO THE WIND
ADVERTISING
BY JOHN FOUST RALEIGH, NC
If you are familiar with sailing, you know that you can’t sail into the wind. You can sail at angles to the wind, and you can sail with the wind behind you, but it’s physically impossible to sail directly into the wind. If you try to sail too close to the wind, the boat will go ‘into irons.’ Your forward progress will stop, the sails will flap loudly, and the boat may even move backwards.
Feel-Felt-Found – and adds depth to your response. For example, you can say, ‘This issue is important to you, because you want to make the best use of your budget (or another stated issue). It’s serious business to consider the possibility of re-allocating those funds.’
3. Ask for clarification: Encourage him or her to expand on the issue. Say something like, ‘If you don’t mind, help me better understand your ideas on this.’ You can even restate the other person’s concern and ask if your impression is correct.
Experienced sailors have been in irons enough times to know how to avoid it – and how to get going again, after stalling on the water. They can tell by the feel of the boat when to make adjustments in the rudder and the sail. It’s all part of sailing. Sailing and selling have a lot in common. In a sales presentation, it’s also impossible to sail directly into the wind. If your prospect is countering what you are trying to communicate, you have to adjust to the situation and change direction.
4. Listen carefully: This is crucial. For years, sales people have been programmed to talk. But in this case, talking is equivalent to aiming into the face of the wind. You’ll go into irons, for certain.
While some resistance comes in the form of clearly stated objections (‘the price is too high.’), other negative reactions can be expressed in non-verbal terms (such as frowns or closed body language) or general disagreement. Here are some steps to keep in mind, as you adjust your sails:
Drill down: Without pushing, keep probing for clarification. Sometimes, you can simply say ‘Hmmm’ in a curious, non-threatening tone of voice.
5. Look for points of agreement: As you listen and learn, you may find that the other person’s resistance is not as much of a deal breaker as you initially thought.
1. Acknowledge the issue: This brings to mind
the standard Feel-Felt-Found formula (‘I understand how you feel. Many others felt the same way, until they found...’). While this three-step formula can be effective in addressing specific objections, it has been around for so long that many prospects have heard it hundreds of times.
By taking a non-confrontational approach, you’ll put some wind back into your sails.
Even so, the formula emphasizes the importance of getting in step with your prospect. Instead of saying ‘I understand how you feel,’ say something like, ‘I understand completely that this issue is important to you.’
(c) Copyright 2011 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
2. Say why you understand: This goes beyond
We want to hear from you! Please share your news and/or opinions with us:
newsclips@ocna.org January 2012
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SUPPLIER SHOWCASE
OCNA’S SUPPLIER SHOWCASE NEWS-NET INC BRINGS 57 PUBLICATIONS LIVE LAST QUARTER
News-Net Inc announced that 57 publications went live last quarter with its flagship advertising management software, AdWorks and MyTearsheets, a simple, efficient and powerful browser-based digital tearsheet and archive system. AdWorks is a full featured advertising system designed for daily and weekly publications. It provides all the tools necessary for efficient print and digital ad sales, accounts receivables, live reporting and pagination integration – all in one complete system. MyTearsheets boasts its effortless delivery of digital tearsheets to advertisers, a leading edge and cost-cutting solution. Advertisers are able to see their ads the same day they are published, and the fully hosted system requires no IT personnel. “We are committed to the continuous development of cost-cutting and revenue generation solutions to the newspaper industry.” said Andrew Stolarz, CIO of News-Net Inc, “Publishers are seeing massive elimination of costs with the implementation of MyTearsheets and this holds true whether you are a single weekly publication, daily or have many publications across your group. MyTearsheets provides an excellent ROI.” For more information on News-Net’s products and services, please visit www.news-net.ca
About News-Net Inc.
News-Net Inc (www.news-net.ca) provides first-class software solutions, programming, integration and development to over 1,500 newspapers throughout North America. A trusted supplier to the publishing industry since its inception over 25 years ago, News-Net has continually grown market share and develops affordable cost-cutting and leading-edge technologies for the publishing industry.
MEDIACOM PROVIDES UNIQUE DIGITAL EPUBLISHING SERVICES MEDIACOM provides 4 unique digital ePublishing services offering unique ePublishing features for a wide variety of markets. Our cost-effective products replicate the unique print experience over the web.
By using our digital edition, companies can get information into the hands of readers, sales people, customers and subscribers quickly, effectively and inexpensively. NewsPublisher is our newest and ‘full service’ ePublish product/service providing much more than a simple page turning software. NewsPublisher is a full epublish interactive turnkey site that can be run with minimal overhead and minimal cost, providing newsworthy sections driven by interactive actionscript PHP on SQL servers. NewsPublisher builds revenue from a traditional web based news site, plus digital version page-turning newspaper that can be easily delivered to traditional and non-traditional markets. OCNA acts as a gateway to over 300 community newspapers in all areas of the province. Promote your information to our members here. Send your updates to newsclips@ocna.org.
January 2012
The entire system will have your brand name and not others including ‘Powered by your business’ etc. Archives and interactivity, ecommerce, subscription and more! Check out the product/demo sites below: 1 FlipBook/FlipDoc - Our Entry Level ePublish Service 2 SmartReader - Independent Level ePublish System 3 NewsReader - WebPage Plus Archives System 4 NewsPublisher - Full Site ePublishing Revenue Maker 12
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ADVERTISING ALERTS: SUPER BOWL ADVERTISING Many advertisers, especially bars and restaurants, will want to advertise Super Bowl related promotions in the days leading up to the Super Bowl. Even though the advertising blitz may be heavy, it’s important to remember the law regarding the use of NFL trademarks. The NFL controls all marketing and proprietary rights with respect to the Super Bowl. The NFL uses its trademarks in order to generate revenue and reserves the use of trademarked material to official sponsors and licensees who have invested large amounts of money to acquire the specific rights to these marks. According to federal law the NFL retains the exclusive right to control marketing of the Super Bowl and all of its associated trademarks. These trademarks include the phrases ‘Super Bowl,’ ‘Super Sunday,’ ‘National Football League,’ ‘NFL,’ and the NFL shield and all Super Bowl logos. Additionally, the NFL and the individual teams also own federally registered trademarks for the team names (e.g., ‘Jaguars’ or ‘Buccaneers’), nicknames (e.g., ‘Jags’ or ‘Bucs’) and uniform and helmet designs. The NFL also owns the trademarks for ‘National Football Conference’ and ‘NFC,’ as well as ‘American Football Conference’ and ‘AFC.’ Without the express permission of the NFL marketers and advertisers may not use these terms in their promotions.
Summary of Trademarks:
You can’t print: You can print: ‘Super Bowl’ ‘Super Sunday’ ‘NFL, NFC, or AFC’ Any specific team name or nickname Any NFL logo or uniform
‘The Big Game in Indianapolis’ ‘The Football Championship Game’ The date of the game The names of the team’s home cities A generic football picture or graphic
Remember, major investments have been made by official sponsors and licensees to obtain the rights to use NFL trademarks. Accordingly, the NFL vigorously protects and enforces its rights regarding Super Bowl marks. The bottom line is that running promotions or advertisements designed to create the appearance of a relationship between the newspapers and/or its advertisers and the NFL or Super Bowl is risky and possibly illegal. More info at http://www.broadcastlawblog.com/2009/01/articles/intellectual-property/dont-use-super-bowl-in-an-ad-withoutpermission-but-how-about-in-other-programming/
Make Money with Network Classifieds OCNA’s Network Classified Advertising is an easy way for you to earn additional revenue. Upsell your retail and classified advertisers and earn a 35% commission. An All Ontario 25-word ad is $475. You earn $166.25 each time you upsell your client into the program. You already know that advertisers in community newspapers get results. Help your advertisers extend their reach into a region of the province, across Ontario, or right across the country. They Win – You Win. The possibilities are endless: »Online revenue – any retailer with a web site. Let the Networks drive traffic to their site for increased sales »Real estate – any agent with vacation properties, commercial properties, and luxury homes. Buyers from outside your newspaper distribution area need to know »Events – Fairs, Markets, Shows, Theatre, Concerts, Sports. Spread the word to draw more people »Help Wanted – Trades and other positions that individuals would relocate or commute to should be advertised here
Contact OCNA Network Classified Coordinator Susana Czyrnek for full details at s.czyrnek@ocna.org or 1-800-387-7982 ext 230.
January 2012
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HUMAN RESOURCES
TIME MANAGEMENT TIPS A TWOGREYSUITS ARTICLE
over the years by people that do not have any concept of managing their time. When it affects me, sorry, but I often take it personally, that the person cannot place any value on my own time that they are wasting. Of course we don’t live in a perfect world either and s_ _ _ does happen. But when this is a repeated behavior, it’s a problem.
These articles are 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. Ron Guest, Management/HR Consultant
A few years ago, at an HR Consulting assignment I undertook, I saw perhaps the very worst time manager in my life. This was a senior manager, who didn’t have a set schedule and who had a pile of paper on his desk, approx. 12 inches high. He came to work each day and simply responded to e-mails and phone calls (but not in a timely way) and when he had time he would simply pick off the top thing on his pile and start to work on it. People were constantly lined up at his door; he was always behind on his commitments and was always working on urgent things. So many fires were burning you could almost feel the heat just walking by his office. This guy was a CA and MBA, so there were no intelligence issues, but he just could not get himself organized. I understand he is no longer with that organization.
With the advent years ago of email and voice mail, and now mobile computing, social media and blackberry powered evenings, more and more Managers are finding it difficult to get things done in a given work day or week. With the recent economic downturn, many Managers are being asked to take on even more with less staff to do the work. In fact, in our view, time management represents perhaps one of the most significant problems/productivity issues in business today – getting things done that need to get done. Even otherwise good time Managers are falling into the traditional traps – simply working more hours and not being able to say no to things. Here is a generalized statement we hear quite often from people at all levels:
The good news is that the situation can be remedied by making some simple adjustments to the way you work. Following are some suggestions for better management of your workday:
“I am finding it more and more difficult to manage my time at work. It seems I am constantly putting out fires or getting distracted by colleagues, e-mail and other interruptions. By the end of the day, my to-do list remains undone, and I leave work feeling frustrated and overwhelmed. This impacts my productivity, as well as my ability to manage and lead my team. How can I take control of my time at work?”
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Analyze your schedule: (This is key if you are serious about truly managing your time) Keep a running tab of how much time you spend on each activity over the course of a typical week. Include everything you do during the day, including writing and responding to e-mails, handling requests from co-workers, attending to personal business, going to lunch, putting out fires, and participating in meetings. Be brief in your descriptions, though — after all, you don’t need this task to throw you off schedule even more. Then, analyze how you spent your time and make adjustments accordingly. For instance, was the majority of your time devoted to your top priorities? If not, retool your schedule and minimize the attention you give to less-pressing responsibilities. Did you find that your week was consumed by last-minute emergencies? While you can’t always avoid a crisis, you may find a pattern in the so-called fires and be able to address the root cause. For example, if the same project required your constant intervention, it could be that the wrong employee was assigned the task, and it needs to be given to someone else.
How can this be resolved? Many people find it difficult to take control of their schedules. This is a significant challenge for sure. Being a decent time manager is a beautiful thing – but you have to work at this and be very disciplined in your approach to personal time management. The most effective and successful people we have ever met are co-incidentally good managers of their time. Even the most focused individuals can get derailed by poorly planned meetings, ad hoc requests and other activities that steal minutes from the day. A lack of focus and personal disorganization can also cause people to lose track of their time. Some senior managers we know say that they get so deep into thought and intellectually invested or deeply focused on things or projects they are working on that they miss very important things pre-scheduled into their work day.
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Schedule priority items when you’re at your peak: Are you sharpest before lunchtime, or
On a personal note, I have been frustrated many times January 2012
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HUMAN RESOURCES
does your mind focus best in mid-afternoon? A simple way to make the most of your time is to schedule more difficult tasks for when you’re at your best.
don’t misinterpret your actions. Above all, be flexible and realistic: Some days you will be more productive than others. Don’t worry if you temporarily get off track, and make sure you create balance by allowing yourself a daily coffee or walking break.
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Block out time for specific tasks: Set aside specific times throughout the day when you will tackle low-priority items, such as making and returning non-urgent phone calls. Group similar tasks together during these periods. By focusing on a single type of task, you’ll avoid wasting time and effort switching between one activity and another. Just make sure to keep an eye on the clock, and don’t allow tasks allotted for one time frame to extend into the next, unless a high-priority situation arises that requires your immediate attention.
Making more effective use of your time while on the job requires commitment, as well as good communication with your employees. By creating a plan for prioritizing and achieving key objectives, you’ll be able to keep your to-do list from constant expansion. You’ll also know exactly how your workday was spent and, most importantly, you’ll have something to show for it.
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Delegate: Many managers spend hours on mundane tasks they should delegate to others. If your days are filled with tasks that could be accomplished by someone else on your team, such as creating a report outlining last month’s expenditures or organizing a client meeting for the following week, it may be time to let them go. Delegating not only saves you time but also makes you a better manager: You empower your employees and enable them to learn new skills. Letting others take on more responsibility also allows you to focus on strategy and other responsibilities that only you can handle.
TWOGREYSUITS’ HR Power Centre and HR Hot Line is a one-of-akind product specifically designed to get you the answers you need fast, in hundreds of different HR situations. Signing up is simple and free. OCNA member newspapers can call us today at 1-888-661-9234 or sign up here: http://www. twogreysuits.com/register.asp?assc=AG6EWD62IRDC8BR56GH1D SWO2D3YJ87Z Why wait? Don’t let important people management issues go unresolved when you can deal with them today.
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Designate uninterrupted time: If chatty co-workers are common distractions, or if you just need to focus on a pressing project, close your door to gain uninterrupted work time. Just be open about your need for some quiet time, so that your employees
OCNA WANTS TO HEAR FROM YOU! OCNA asks members to please keep us posted on what is happening at your newspaper so we can share it with over 300 community newspapers across the province through NewsClips, or on our website. Feel free to tell us a little about your community or your staff. Have you done something different lately? Has your community recognized you? Do you have any upcoming anniversaries or celebrations? A picture also says a thousand words. Why not send us photos of your team out and about in your community, or busy in the office, or photos you’ve taken for your newspaper that you are proud of. Send your updates and photos to Kelly Gorven at k.gorven@ocna.org. We look forward to your responses!
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BUSINESS
DISCIPLINED LISTENING LEADS TO GREATER NEGOTIATION PROFITS!
BY PATRICK TINNEY MANAGING PARTNER CENTROID TRAINING & MARKETING
“
of persuasive thinking that will help draw the other side The most basic of line closer to our objectives. It also helps us to listen for certain all human needs pieces of information to verify or denounce our knowledge is the need to understand and base and strategy. be understood. Ranked High Gain Questions The best way In business negotiations high gain questions are money to understand people is to listen questions. Questions that begin with who, why, where, when, what, how or which. They encourage descriptive answers. I to them.
”
call them money questions because I want to rank questions in terms of importance to the negotiation. The questions with the greatest importance to a negotiation generally have the highest correlation to the revenue/budget. For example ‘who in your organization will benefit most from our proposal?’ Listening carefully to the answers to these money questions allows our side to ask even deeper questions on our list and opens up even greater chances for deeper listening if we can discipline ourselves to remain silent while the other side responds.
— Ralph Nichols
In big money business negotiations we have to train ourselves to become professional listeners or risk losing out on millions of dollars in sales, savings or future opportunities. By nature most of us are not great listeners. Many sales and procurement professionals distract easily. Technology including cell phones, smart phones and other omnipresent hand held devises only exacerbates our inability to concentrate. I once had a boss who used to have a television blaring in his office quite often and confessed to having the attention span of a nat.
No Unnecessary Technology
If you are going to engage a client and can do without the use of a smart phone…turn it off. How can you listen if you are glancing at a smart phone when your bargaining partner is answering money questions? Don’t let the technology cost you a profitable opportunity regarding money questions. Remember if your bargaining partner slips and gives you a sensitive piece of information it is doubtful they will repeat it.
The difference between business negotiations and other business functions is that you really only get one shot at getting it right. In other words…when you have completed a negotiation the last thing you want to do is to re-open the negotiation and risk losing what you have gained in the first pass.
Stay In The Present
Focus your thought process so you do not drift backward and forward too much when you are listening to the other side answering high gain questions. By keeping your mind anchored in the precious present you will hear more and notice more of their body language. This will help you make better decisions about their bargaining position.
To improve your listening skills in big negotiations I recommend:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
Planned meeting objectives Ranked high gain questions No unnecessary technology Staying in the present Using a note taker
Using A Note Taker
Practice
I cannot tell you how advantageous it is to have a note taker in a business negotiation. This creates an opportunity for one person to ask high gain questions and listen…totally focused on our negotiation partner’s response. It allows the person asking the questions to have a great impact on the speed and tempo of the negotiation session. It may mean that our side will get more of our money questions answered. The note taker focuses all their energy on capturing the maximum amount of information for later review.
Planned Meeting Objectives
Do not enter into a negotiation hoping to think on your feet or depend on your ability as a counter puncher. If we have well planned meeting objectives for each bargaining session we will have already thought through our and our bargaining partner’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. This information is helpful in creating our business negotiation tactics and strategy. It will lead to a January 2012
Practice 16
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BUSINESS Winston Churchill has it right in his quote below. It’s tough to listen when you have great ideas or quick fixes for problems competing for dominance in your mind. Silence is golden in a business negotiation especially after you’ve asked the high gain, money question that has the potential to be the tipping point in a big business negotiation. If you are not a great listener admit it to yourself and practice more! Disciplined listening does lead to greater business negotiation profits!
“
Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.
”
— Winston Churchill
CLASSIFIEDS CITY BEAT REPORTER Northern Life
Sudbury, Ontario Deadline: February 6, 2012 Salary: Competitive Northern Life seeks an experienced and enthusiastic community newspaper reporter to cover the city beat, producing news stories, photos and video for this award-winning, twice-weekly newspaper, nationally acclaimed website, and video news portal. The ideal candidate not only understands the workings of a community newspaper, but also its importance to the readers and community it serves. Northern Ontario’s largest city, Sudbury has an economy based in mining, but with strong health, education and service sectors. The print edition of Northern Life reaches some 100,000 homes a week, while our website, which functions as a daily newspaper, boasts 106,000 unique visits a month. The city reporter is responsible for covering all council meetings, and most committee and board meetings of the City of Greater Sudbury, as well as business, financial and political news that would have a direct impact on the city. The ideal candidate will have a proven ability to dig up and develop news stories in a timely fashion for web and print publication, often on tight deadlines. Familiarity with using social media to help break and cover news will be considered an asset. Evening and weekend work is required. This is not an entry-level position. It requires a candidate with demonstrable skills and a proven track record.
PATRICK TINNEY is the founder of Centroid Training and Marketing, a consulting firm specializing in helping organizations make and save money through consultative selling, sales prospecting and business negotiation training. Prior to Centroid, Patrick held various corporate sales and management positions at The Southam Newspaper Group, Hollinger Inc. and CanWest Media. Over his 30 year career Patrick has concluded multimillion dollar media sales and negotiation solutions for many of Canada’s largest advertisers. As an expert on the topic of business negotiations, techniques and trends, Patrick is frequently published in online and print business journals. Patrick is a Certified Print Production Practitioner (CPPP). He is a double graduate of Sheridan College, a founding Director of the Flyer Distribution Standards Association of Canada and a member of the Canadian Society of Training and Development. Patrick is also an active Advisory Committee member for the Sheridan College, Advertising Program. January 2012
The ideal candidate must have a passion for journalism, a superior news sense, and experience at a community newspaper. The proven ability to write clean, interesting copy, adhere to stringent deadlines, and be able to work both independently as well as part of a team are required. Qualifications: - The successful candidate will hold a diploma or degree in journalism from an accredited Canadian college or university. - The reporter must have his or her own transportation, which will be a reliable vehicle. - The reporter shall be expected to write from 10 to 15 stories per week. The reporter may also be asked to contribute to special sections. - Reporters are expected to follow all CP style conventions - Taking an active role in initiating story ideas and generating feature stories - Flexibility to work evenings, weekends or overtime as the job demands. - Ability to meet tight deadlines and work constructively as part of a newsroom team. Interested candidates should email a cover note, resume and one or two work samples, to: Mark Gentili Managing Editor editor@northernlife.ca Phone calls will not be accepted. Applications from out-of-country will not be accepted. Only candidates of interest will be contacted.
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TECHNOLOGY
SIZE, AMONG OTHER PROPERTIES, REALLY DOES MATTER WHEN IT COMES TO PDFS BY KEVIN SLIMP INSTITUTE OF NEWSPAPER TECHNOLOGY
I spent my weekend with two clients. The first was a 60,000 circulation newspaper in North Carolina. The second was a large shopper in New England.
If you’ve been reading my columns very long, you’ve probably seen something I’ve written about the importance of creating PDF files the right way. When you don’t, problems happen.
In North Carolina, my assignment was to observe the operation and make suggestions to improve the production workflow.
In the case of the North Carolina newspaper, the new printer had instructed the paper to export their PDF files from InDesign using a preset that worked ‘perfectly with their system.’
In New England, I was asked to train the staff as they began the conversion from QuarkXpress to InDesign. As is often the case, my initial assignment turned out, in both instances, to morph into other areas.
Well, perfectly when the pages actually print.
We had this problem with our new printer this week...
For years, the newspaper had created their PDF files using Acrobat Distiller, without any problems. Suddenly, in their first effort using the new system, there was a problem.
Back to North Carolina. I met with the entire staff, visited each person individually and made recommendations where appropriate. After lunch, I learned that there had been an issue with one of the pages when plates were being made at the new printer. This was the first issue printed with the new printer. Changing printers was a wise decision, by the way. The print quality was significantly better. Photos were almost magazine quality, compared to photos in previous issues.
Normally, I’d just suggest the designer ignore the instructions from the printer and create the files the way he always had. However, the preset provided created invisible lines that were used to place the pages together before going through the RIP.
There was one problem, however. After receiving all the files and running the pages through the raster image processor (RIP), which converts the files when creating the plates, one page kept ‘kicking out.’ There was an error on the page which would not allow it to go through the RIP.
Exporting using PDF Presets in InDesign ‘seems’ so much easier than making them using Acrobat Distiller. Looks can be so deceiving.
We looked closely at the files that were created using the printer’s settings and attempted to create a preset in InDesign, via Distiller, that would create the same lines. When we thought we had it right, we called the printer, sent a couple of files and received word that the files printed perfectly.
The designer went back to the page to see where the problem was. After some time, he realized it was with a font. He changed the font, sent the file back to the printer, and it made its way through the RIP.
As is usually the case, the PDF files were approximately one-third the size of the files that were exported from InDesign. No problem, gang. That’s what you pay me for. Then on to New England... So after a day of training the staff of the New England shopper, some questions were posed about creating PDF files.
His question to me was, “Why did this happen? We’ve The line, ‘PDF Producer,’ lets you know this PDF file never had this was exported using Adobe PDF Library. That means problem before, the creator exported it from InDesign, Illustrator or ever.”
The printer, who had two representatives at the training, instructed the group that they should export the PDF files using a preset they would provide.
Photoshop. In this case, InDesign.
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TECHNOLOGY
Affordable media insurance for Canadian Community Newspapers
Those nasty CID fonts - they are killers to RIPS. Even though printers often mistake the source of errors in pages to other sources, quite often it’s one or more CID fonts in a PDF file.
Joe, my contact at the paper, asked if this was the best way to create the PDF. When I answered negatively, the printer asked what kind of issues come up in PDF files that are exported. When I started describing problems that could arise, he said, “We’ve been experiencing those from several of our customers.” I stayed around a couple of hours and talked with some of the folks from the shopper and a representative from the press. We installed PDF printer drivers and created InDesign printing presets (not to be confused with export presets) on each of the ten machines, new iMacs, then set up Distiller to receive the files via ‘Watched Folders’ and make the PDFs. When done, the process of making PDFs was as fast as it would have been exporting the files. The files were less than half the size they would be if exported and I had a very happy printer on my hands. “I think this is exactly what we’ve been looking for,” he told me before I headed out to dinner with the bosses. At dinner that night, Joe said, “You know, that last hour you spent with us fixing our PDF problems was worth every penny we spent to get you over here.” No problem, Joe. That’s what I do.
Service includes: •Libel • Invasion of Privacy • Plagiarism • Piracy • Infringement of Copyright • Pre-Publication Hotline Contact us for a quote: Todd Frees, General Manager 905-639-8720 ext. 234 t.frees@ocna.org
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!
KEVIN SLIMP serves as the director of the Institute of Newspaper Technology. He is a faculty member of the University of Tennessee College of Communication and Information and makes his home in Knoxville, Tennessee. Kevin’s insight on technology is highly sought after at various industry events across North America. www.kevinslimp.com January 2012
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WWW.OCNA.ORG . INFO@OCNA.ORG
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