newsclips
MAY 2012
YELLOWKNIFER REFLECTS CHANGING TIMES NORTHERN NEWS SERVICES Forty years ago, a pair of exiled scribes were working desperately to bring their newlyfounded newspaper project to life ahead of the ‘biggest ever’ Caribou Carnival weekend in March 22, 1972. Inside this inaugural edition – born on publisher Jack ‘Sig’ Sigvaldason’s kitchen table with one typewriter, a camera and a thousand dollars – was a six-page schedule of events. With empty pockets and no government loan, Sigvaldason and his partner Jack Adderley made their deadline and residents were greeted with the first edition of the Yellowknifer. Both men had previously worked for a norhtern paper but had left on not so
amicable circumstances. Sigvaldason and his family had come North from Winnipeg to work in the industry in 1969. Adderley came to Yellowknife in 1959 to work as radio operator at the Yellowknife airport, after which he quickly found himself in charge of a local sports program for CBC radio. He joined News of the North as a parttime sports columnist in 1965, and as a fulltime reporter working with Sigvaldason in 1970. Both were married, with seven children to feed and clothe between them – two for Sigvaldason, five for Adderley – as the pair embarked on an ambitious, and admittedly highly risky venture to launch a new Continued on Page 6 >>>
ENTER YOUR ADS IN THE 2012 EXTRA AWARDS ORGANIZED BY NEWSPAPERS CANADA
Newspapers Canada is now accepting submissions for the 2012 Extra Awards. This annual awards program is open to all newspapers (daily and community), advertisers, agencies and freelancers from across the country. The Extra Awards program honours outstanding advertising in newspapers that span all forms of media: print, online, tablet and mobile phone. Enter your best print and digital newspaper ads by Friday, June 29. All entries must have run between June 1, 2011 and May 31, 2012 to be eligible for this year’s competition. Visit www.newspaperscanada.ca/extras for more information.
WHAT’S INSIDE:
ADVERTISING IN NUMBERS
FIVE MOST COMMON HIRING MISTAKES
There are four important numbers in advertising
Hiring mistakes most commonly fall under five categories
See Page 14
See Page 18
LISTEN TO YOUR GUT Your gut will tell you exactly what you need to hear when designing a page
See Page 12
May 2012 MONTHLY PUBLICATION OF THE ONTARIO1COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS ASSOCIATION www.ocna.org
INDUSTRY NEWS
IT’S A GOOD FEELING BY ANNE LANNAN OCNA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
There is a wonderful sense of pride and optimism that is spreading through our industry right now and it is great to see how infectious it is. A prime example is the spirit shown at the OCNA BNC Gala in Toronto last month. Community newspaper publishers, journalists and ad managers brimmed with enthusiasm. They shared story after story about new projects they were undertaking at their newspapers, about involvement in their cities and towns to drive the economy, and about ideas that were being generated by their teams. They spoke of their pride about the quality of newspapers they publish for their readers and advertisers week after week. The feeling of celebration was alive and well. I wish I had journalist Bill Dunphy’s talent with similes, but witnessing the Barry’s Bay Valley Gazette win its first 1st place Premier Award and the Scugog Standard win its first 1st place General Excellence Award was like a mother seeing a child take his first steps. You can’t help but be swept up in their accomplishments.
NEWSCLIPS VOLUME 01, ISSUE 11 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
Mike Mount
FIRST VP
Maureen Keeler
SECOND VP
Gordon Cameron
SECRETARY/ TRESURER
Dave Harvey
PAST PRESIDENT
Don MacLeod
DIRECTORS
Dave Adsett Andrea DeMeer Abbas Homayed Rick Shaver Ray Stanton John Willems
We always say that all the newspapers are ‘winners’, regardless of a first, second or third place position but there really are times when getting that first is more special. Newspapers within our association boast some of the best teams in the country. I had the pleasure of sitting with the gang from News/North in NWT at the national presentations and it’s no wonder they put out such outstanding publications when you see how they all interact with each other. Respect, camaraderie, and encouragement – it works every time. Papers are moving to larger offices, they’re enthused about their new involvement with Twitter and Facebook, they’re sending staff to cover the Summer Olympics, they’re attending conferences across the continent to absorb as much as they can to better themselves and their products, and on and on. They are celebrating.
OCNA STAFF EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Anne Lannan
CONTROLLER
Todd Frees
The strong sense of moving forward was also felt by the suppliers to our industry at the Trade Show as they told me of conversations with newspaper professionals.
MEMBER SERVICES
Karen Shardlow Kelly Gorven
Keep the feeling alive at your newspapers and continue to fuel your teams. It really is making a difference.
NETWORK CLASSIFIEDS
Carol Lebert Susana Czyrnek
ACCOUNTING
Lucia Shepherd
AD*REACH
Ted Brewer Doug Sexton Carolyn Press Erica Leyzac
IN THIS ISSUE... 03 ............................................OCNA’S ONLINE TRAINING CENTRE 04 ..............................................................INDUSTRY AD CAMPAIGN 07 ...........................................INDEPENDENT PUBLISHERS LUNCH 14 .................................................ADVERTISING BY THE NUMBERS 16 ..........SETTING GOALS AND STANDARDS FOR ACHIEVEMENT 18 .....................................FIVE MOST COMMON HIRING MISTAKES 20 ....................................................................LISTEN TO YOUR GUT 21 ..........................................................................NUMBERS POINT UP May 2012
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ASSOCIATION NEWS
SILVER QUILL AWARD WINNERS Silver Quills recognize individuals for 25 or more years of service to the newspaper industry. This year CCNA President Greg Nesbit presented 6 individuals with Silver Quill Awards. Unfortunately, Rob Mooy, Photographer from Kingston This Week, and Patricia Livingston who retired from the Lucknow Sentinel in March could not attend the BNC Awards Gala to recieve their awards. Don Cumming from Fort Frances Times also received a Gold Quill during the CCNA dinner for 50 years of service to the newspaper industry. Congratulations to all!
Heidi Ostner, President, Ayr News
2012/2013 OCNA BOARD DIRECTORY NOW ONLINE The OCNA’s Board of Directors and Staff Directory for 2012/2013 is available for download in the Members section of the OCNA website. Log in to find the file under Board of Directors/Staff (filename: BoardDirectory2012-13.pdf)
BNC AWARD PLAQUE ORDERS Congratulations to all the winners of the 2011 Better Newspapers Awards!! Duplicate plaques are available at a cost of $35. + HST. This includes delivery. Deadline to order plaques is June 1st, 2012. Please contact Karen Shardlow at k.shardlow@ ocna.org or 905-639-8720 x 239 should you wish to order a plaque.
Lucy Hass, News Editor, Renfrew Mercury EMC
TAKE YOUR LIVE ONLINE TRAINING COURSE NOW
Ron Drillen, recent General Manager for a publishing group in central Ontario
If you are searching for training programs for your staff, look no further. OCNA’s Online Training Centre houses an extensive list of courses that will benefit a variety of positions within your news organization. Our Training Programs are designed to allow the student to progress at a pace with which they are comfortable or which their personal and professional schedules can permit. A challenging online examination will assess their knowledge of the course material once the course is complete. Courses cover topics such as sales training, business skills, management and leadership skills, personal development, and desktop computing and software training. We also offer a customized program for new advertising sales representatives working at community newspapers, developed by leading industry professionals.
John Carter, News Editor, Arnprior Chronicle-Guide EMC
Register here to sign up and begin your training: http://ocna.protraining.com/ May 2012
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ASSOCIATION NEWS
THIS WEEK NAMED EMPLOYER OF THE YEAR
INDUSTRY AD CAMPAIGN Dear OCNA members:
KAWARTAH LAKES THIS WEEK
The Ontario Community Newspapers Association is pleased to provide its members with an industry advertising campaign – fully adaptable to include newspaper flags.
Kawartha Lakes This Week was recognized with the Employer of the Year award from the Lindsay and District Chamber of Commerce on March 30.
The campaign includes a series of seven 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.
"We are very fortunate to have the benefits of Metroland to provide our group with ongoing training for our employees to be better and to grow with our ever changing industry," says Regional General Manager Mary Babcock.
2. Download the files. Ads have been created in CS2 – InDesign. 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.
This Week was also recognized for its internal awards program, incentives for carriers and its positive team-based work environment. On top of its amazing office staff, workers assist young people in the community to become entrepreneurs of the future and perhaps the next journalists, media consultants, editors and even publisher, says Tracy Magee-Graham Director of Circulation/Distribution.
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. 4. Translation – member newspapers publishing in other languages may translate the ads.
“For this team, media is more than a career; it is a passion, a commitment, and a desire to see the community be the best it can be,” Babcock says. A newspaper becomes a great publication, because its staff understands that the contents of every page happens because of trust.
Did you see in the paper...
People trust it enough to allow reporters into their lives to tell their stories. They trust ad reps into their businesses to help grow their business, or help compose memorials and thankyous to loved ones. Kawartha Lakes This Week has never lost sight of the fact that without that trust, a newspaper cannot truly be a part of the community it claims to serve.
5. 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. May 2012
we have a new doctor coming to town?
Kawartha Lakes This Week began its story back in 1977 and has grown and diversified its business during that time. With 25 full-time employees, it has been the business's mandate to provide a place of employment where staff members can grow and prosper. Many things have changed in the media industry, but This Week's employees have been a constant and have pushed the company to improve. It is all about providing great results for advertisers' investment dollars and readers a great product they look forward to receiving every Tuesday and Thursday.
We need more doctors.
Kawartha Lakes This Week has raised more than $35,000 from the Annual City of Kawartha Lakes Mayor's Golf Tournament and Family Day Event. All of these funds have gone back into the community.
Community Newspapers Your Local Social Network
"We are more than a business - we are a family," Babcock said as she accepted the award. 4
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ASSOCIATION NEWS
TC MEDIA AND QUEBECOR MEDIA WITHDRAW FROM HEBDOS QUÉBEC
MEMBER NEWS
NEWSWIRE
Given the major changes that have impacted the local weekly press in recent years, TC Media and Quebecor Media have made the joint decision to withdraw from Hebdos Québec in order to secure the continuity of the association and uphold the interests of independent newspapers. This decision was unanimously approved at a meeting of the Board of Directors on April 12. "The local weekly press sector is in the midst of major changes, as numerous newspapers have been launched by the two major media groups. The industry experienced growth of 1.2 million copies in barely 18 months, for a total circulation of 6.2 million copies per week", explained Gilber Paquette, Executive Director and Marketing Director at Hebdos Québec. "The withdrawal of the two major press groups will allow Hebdos Québec to refocus its mission on services adapted to the independent press, whose needs often differ from those of major players," said Chair of the Board of Directors, Angèle MarcouxPrévost. Hebdos Québec will continue to promote the interests of its members and the weekly press to government authorities and will offer customized courses in journalism and digital production. The association will also analyze new formulas for its annual conference and its Les Grands Prix des Hebdos awards of excellence. Although TC Media and Quebecor Media will no longer be directly involved in the decision making relating to the association, the two companies have confirmed that they will nonetheless support projects that will benefit the industry as a whole. About Hebdos Québec Hebdos Québec, a not-for-profit corporation was founded in 1932 by independent publishers. The association's activities are centered on the promotion and development of local weekly press with a special attention for its artisans. It also defends the interests of its members to the relevant authorities.
STANDARD GETS NEW GENERAL MANAGER Karsten Johansen recently took on the role of General Manager at the Elliot Lake Standard and Espanola Mid-North Monitor, a position previously held by the late Ray Ethelston who passed away in a snowmobile accident in February. Karsten has extensive experience in the business and is a former publisher of Sudbury Northern Life.
STAFF CHANGES FOR PICTON GAZETTE AND NAPANEE BEAVER Inez Brown recently left the Picton Gazette and Napanee Beaver. Scott Johnston will be stepping in to act as new Sales Manager for the two papers. He has been a sales representative with Picton Gazette for the past five years and has more than 20 years experience in marketing and sales with the TV broadcast industry.
TC MEDIA PRESIDENT RESIGNS Transcontinental Inc. recently announced the resignation of Natalie Larivière, President of TC Media. Natalie is leaving to pursue new professional challenges and will officially terminate her duties on June 29, 2012. Over the summer she will work with the team, periodically, to ensure the smooth transition of certain projects. François Olivier, President and Chief Executive Officer of Transcontinental Inc., will take over as the interim head of TC Media. Natalie expressed her gratitude to the TC Media team. “It has been a privilege to work with experts and seasoned professionals who are creative, passionate about media and marketing, and eager to provide top-of-the-line communication products. I thank them for their support over the past six years. Together we have made a vital contribution to the growth and success of TC Media, and I am very proud of this. I am leaving a fine organization and have many good memories. It is now time for me to turn to other career challenges.” May 2012
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ASSOCIATION NEWS
BLYTH/BRUSSELS CITIZEN TYPESETTING EQUIPMENT DONATED The Blyth/Brussels Citizen recently donated their original Compugraphic typesetters, used when the paper began publishing in 1985, to the Huron County Museum. Publisher Keith Roulston admitted being a bit of a packrat for storing the Compugraphic Jr. typesetter and Compugraphic 7200 headliner in the basement of the old location since the paper switched to Mac computers in 1991. “It had been such an accomplishment to be able to afford those Compugraphics in the first place – even as used equipment – I couldn’t bear to throw them in the dump,” he said. When the move was planned, he offered the equipment, along with a process camera, waxer and processors, to the museum. The museum has a print shop display with previous hot type technology and felt the early cold-type equipment should be preserved and added to its collection. “Most people just threw out this equipment so in future the museum may have a rare display,” Roulston said. Meanwhile staff at the newspaper are enjoying a more spacious, light-filled office.
SIGVALDASON TO RECEIVE LIFTIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD >>> Continued from Front Page
Not only was the company’s physical space growing, so was the enterprise itself. Sigvaldason purchased the newspaper that fired him, News of the North, in 1979 and re-named it News/North. The Inuvik Drum was added in 1988, followed by Canarctic Graphics a year later. The Deh Cho Drum and Kivalliq News were founded in 1994 and 1995 respectively, Nunavut News/North was launched in 1998, and just last year the Hay River Hub was brought on board.
Yellowknife-centric newspaper, just five years removed from its designation as NWT capital and two years after the territory’s centennial. They had five weeks to scrounge up cash, advertisers and editorial content. The Yellowknifer was wildly successful despite its technological limitations and chaotic construct. A typical Yellowknifer edition in the early 1970s contained Adderley’s sports column, an editorial or two, cooking advice by ‘Milo’, an anonymously penned human interest column called ‘Little Sticks,’ some interesting ads, including some featuring topless dancers at the Gallery, and of course, local news coverage, carrying headlines like ‘People power perplex politicians,’ and ‘The North’s largest fire trap.’
Adderley left the company in 1975, although he continued to write a popular column – Jack’s Pot – for years afterwards. Sigvaldason, who turns 78 in June, says Yellowknife has changed a lot since his coming up with a kooky idea to start a newspaper in the dead of winter. It’s still Yellowknife’s primary source for community news.
Yellowknifer grew quickly in its first decade. Production moved from the kitchen table to an old ‘reefer’ shack in Old Town where, even if the washroom was equipped with just a honeybucket, at least staff had phones.
With more than 40 years contributing to the newspaper industry, Sigvaldason has been chosen to receive the Canadian Journalism Foundation’s Lifetime Achievement Award at the 15th Annual Awards Gala on June 7th in Toronto.
Yellowknifer moved again in 1978 to Kam Lake Road before making its final move to the present 50 Street location in 1981. May 2012
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ASSOCIATION NEWS
TRAINING OCNA’S UPCOMING WEBINAR SCHEDULE: OCNA is constantly working on putting together webinars for our members. If you would like to see a discussion on a particular topic contact Karen Shardlow at 905-639-8720 ext. 232 or e-mail k.shardlow@ocna.org. ▄▄
June 15 - Advertising Alerts (Cost = $50)
Whether you are accepting a classified ad or a display ad, there are so many laws and regulations that you need to be aware of. Publishing an ad without full knowledge of the reprecussions can put your newspaper in jepardy. Hosted by OCNA Executive Director, Anne Lannan, this webinar will touch on such things as MLM, elecions, money reproduction, firewood, municipal advertising, and so much more. Reserve your webinar seat now: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/927359840
NEWSPAPERS CANADA WEBINAR SCHEDULE: This year’s training series includes presentations tailored to a variety of departments including editorial, sales, design and circulation. ▄▄
June 26 - Newspapers: A Recipe for Success (FREE)
Learn ‘what’s cooking’ in the medium for 2012. Research and examples from Canada and around the world have been sourced to provide a delicious sampling. Presented by Suzanne Raitt, vice-president, marketing and innovation for Newspapers Canada. A full list is available on the Newspapers Canada website: www.newspaperscanada.ca
INDEPENDENT PUBLISHERS LUNCH OCNA is once again inviting our member independent publishers to lunch with Board President Mike Mount and Executive Director Anne Lannan to network with your peers. No strings attached, no cost, no long speeches - just a relaxing opportunity to gather with a group of like-minded individuals to meet and mingle over lunch. Choose the location closest to you and RSVP to 905-639-8720 ext. 232 or e-mail k.shardlow@ocna.org no later than one week prior so lunch arrangements can be made. If you are unable to attend, please feel free to invite your editor, ad manager or another appropriate staff member. Stay tuned for more information regarding restaurants, location and time. ▄▄
Chatham - July 25
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Belleville - July 26
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Stratford - August 15
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Ottawa - August 16
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GOODBYE SUSANA! OCNA and Ad*Reach will be sad to see Susana Czyrnek, Network Classified Coordinator and Ad Flight, leave her position at the beginning of June. Susana began working for OCNA and Ad*Reach six years ago as an Accounting Coordinator and has since been dedicated to ensuring all advertisements are posted in the AdLine correctly, and classified advertisements are booked and distributed accordingly. She will be missed and we wish her all the best! www.ocna.org
DIGITAL
TAKEAWAYS FROM THE LOCAL ONLINE ADVERTISING CONFERENCE BY TODD FREES OCNA CONTROLLER In late March I had the pleasure of attending Borrell Associates’ 2012 Local Online Advertising Conference. For those unfamiliar with Borrell, the firm is a US-based media consulting company specializing in local advertising. This conference was a venue for attendees to listen to best practices/success stories from an array of speakers spanning all mediums, on a variety of topics. And of course today’s media environment being what it is, there was no shortage of prophesiers and foretellers sharing their vision of the future media landscape.
of flux, with the latest ‘disrupter’ being the mobile device. In this article I’d like to share my subjective takeaways from the event.
Mobile Outlook
In case you’ve been living under a rock, I’d like to inform you that ‘mobile’ is the latest term that has the advertising world and media companies alike in a scurry. Borrell projects that 88% of all local digital advertising will be delivered on a mobile device by 2016. With Moore’s Law holding true, and our ability to grasp in the palm of our hand what would once be thought of as a super-computer, this really isn’t a shocker. According to the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) there are 1.5 billion personal computers in use in the world compared to 5.5 billion mobile phones. MMA statistics show national marketers spent on average 59.1% more on mobile marketing in 2011 than in 2010. Their stats also show that when comparing the average person’s time spent with major types of media, mobile has already surpassed print newspapers and magazines, occupying 9% of the average Joe’s time spent with media. The rise of the mobile device has also allowed for the creation of new forms of targeted advertising, such as location-based advertising. As such, Borrell predicts that for online display advertising there will be a monumental shift towards targeted display and away from non-targeted in the near future.
The conference began with a bang as one of the first presenters set a timeline for the demise of daily newspapers and local television by 2016, with Yellow Pages barely alive, terrestrial radio and network television in disarray by the same year. And if you put any stock in this you may be happy to hear the same presenter predicted that community newspapers would be doing well five years down the road.
Digital’s Effect on Agencies
Perhaps it’s human nature to want to be the first out of the blocks predicting the future and the chance to gain “I told you so” bragging rights. Within the last few weeks I’ve heard the death of online display advertising and the death of the mouse (of the computer variety) predicted. Many of the bold predictions given during the conference contradicted others. In fact, Borrell Associates CEO Gordon Borrell opened the conference with a snapshot of the local advertising environment showing that traditional media companies controlled 91% of all local advertising, and half of online advertising in 2011. He also gave his opinion that most of the bloodletting was over for newspapers. Another presenter gave statistics showing the average person spends over 4.5 times as much time watching traditional network/cable television than spends consuming Internet-based media and streaming services (like Netflix) combined.
If you’ve been involved in any large digital ad campaigns lately you’ve most likely experienced the endless choices and combinations available. At the same time there’s a good chance that you’ve dealt with a media planner who was less adept at facilitating the process. This complexity seems to be borne by a survey of major brand companies presented by one of the advertising executives at the conference. Of the chief marketing officers (CMOs) surveyed, 79% believe the level of complexity will be high or very high over the next five years. But only 48% feel prepared to cope with it. The majority of brands work with at least 15 different agencies, and 23% work with more than 25. Only 41% of the CMOs surveyed have a positive view on agency people, and just 38% are satisfied with how their agency manages integration. And to top it off, media planners only have the capacity to meet with about 5% of the people who want to meet them.
I think something everyone can agree on is that we’re in a period
This turmoil had led to the marketing people in many
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DIGITAL
organizations working closer with the finance department and just focus on getting as much ROI as possible. The presenter predicted that in the future agencies will be trying to partner with brands and move towards more of a ‘marketing strategy’ focus as opposed to an advertising focus. As well, digital advertising operations will be outsourced to third parties, and ad exchanges will be used for a large portion of digital display advertising. There will also be a larger division between premium and non-premium digital advertising.
years, and with the continuing advancement technologies that facilitate targeted digital advertising, it stands to reason that more and more media companies are drilling down to the local level to grow their revenues. Huge Internet companies such as Google and Yahoo, and mass media companies like CBS Broadcasting Inc. (in the states), were well represented at the conference. For the large ‘traditional’ media companies (newspapers, radio, and television) there seems to be a lot of resources being directed at developing online sites/apps that relate to their local newspaper properties or local TV/radio stations. Another phenomenon of note is the partnering of media/Internet companies for the purpose of growing local ad revenues - case in point, Google partnering with Yodle, a company that specializes in offering Internet marketing services to small businesses.
The Web-Based Dashboard
There seems to be a myriad of advertising intermediaries out there, all offering some sort of online service or digital platform to facilitate ad sales and/or delivery of online content. Many also offer an ad sales service which may involve selling ads onto your property or reusing your content outside your market and pairing it with advertising. Also, these sales services usually involve a revenue sharing scheme. Some of the vendor offerings ranged from services such as mobile apps, geofencing, ad networks, digital coupons, social media marketing, and online video editing.
What does this all mean for community newspapers? Most likely some new opportunities as well as more competition. As I stated earlier, there are lots of media technology firms, such as Yodle, getting really good at providing local marketing services on a very large scale. Most have services that would be applicable to online community news, whether for a fee or revenue share. Partnering with a company may also provide the opportunity to grow new revenues from clients that are less suited for print. Going forward newspapers will want to occupy the local online space as much as possible to protect their market. But before entering into such a partnership I’m sure many publishers, being the seasoned skeptics they are, would ask, “Will I be shooting myself in the foot?”
Regardless of what incarnation the service offered took, all were web-based and administered by the customer through an online dashboard. Many of the services offered by the various vendors seemed to be similar to, or overlap other services. I couldn’t help but wonder when most of these services will inevitably be commoditized and perhaps rolled up into a service offering by a larger company, or in some part incorporated into an off-the-shelf product. But as one of the presenters from a media company put it, partnering with a company that has an expertise or a technology related to online advertising can be an easy and expeditious way for media companies to take a giant leap forward with their digital operations. And if it doesn’t work, then you can just ‘plug out’ the vendor and ‘plug in’ a new one. I guess what it really boils down to is return on investment. Most of these vendors charge a monthly fee, plus profit sharing if there is an ad revenue component. A newspaper publisher would need to gauge whether the benefits justify the costs.
Dedicated online sales person – Yes or no?
Some media companies are still struggling with how to structure their digital sales force – i.e. should they have dedicated salespeople for digital? Some of the other questions firms are trying to answer are: how do we incentivize legacy sales people to sell digital; how do we avoid cannibalizing our legacy sales for digital; and, how do you package digital products with legacy? This current challenge has even given birth to some sort of abomination called the four-legged salesperson!
Good News, Local Advertising is Hot! Bad News, Local Advertising is Hot
After listening to a bunch of presentations on organizational structure by various media companies that have had some degree of success managing both legacy and digital sales, I’ve concluded that there’s no one-size fits all solution due to the
Borrell projects that local digital online advertising will have a compound annual growth rate of 11.2% over the next five May 2012
Continued on next page >>>
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>>> Continued from previous page
endless variations in size, scope, etc. of companies. Borrell prescribes dedicated resources for legacy sales to increase penetration of legacy accounts, with interactive up-sells on those accounts. As well, there should be dedicated digital sales persons to aggressively grow interactive new business in high-value categories. According to Borrell’s stats, across all the primary mediums companies that had dedicated sales reps for online advertising averaged 2-3 times as much online revenue. For newspaper companies surveyed, the average was 2.5 times.
in your market over 12 years of age and multiply by 87%) ▄▄
If you have dedicated digital sales reps, the annual revenue their accounts generate should be at least two times their annual compensation ▄▄
For legacy (print) sales reps, you should be setting a target of 5-10% of their account revenue coming from digital.
My parting thoughts
Some other best practices Borrell prescribes are: don’t split commissions for interactive/four-legged sales rep sales on legacy accounts, legacy reps should have interactive mandates, legacy reps should not be able to stake a claim on stale accounts, and companies should be billing separately for legacy and digital.
For me, the Borrell conference really hit home the importance of community news publishers having a strong digital strategy and allocating sufficient recourses to grow online revenue. Building your online presence will not only help protect your ad revenues from the online aggregators soon to be coming to your local market, but will also provide opportunities to grow your customer base through forms of marketing that are better suited to some customers than print (e.g. daily deals, geo-fencing, pre-roll video).
Borrell’s Best Practices Going Forward
Gordon Borrell capped off the conference by unveiling what he called ‘The Digital Dashboard,’ which represented a compilation of measurements that best practice local online media companies should monitor. I’ve paraphrased some of the important measurements below:
I also concluded that local newspapers have a distinct advantage over many of the digital-only marketing/media companies– that is; newspapers know their customers and have an understanding of their customers’ business. This is very important when developing an effective marketing plan, especially given the number of advertising choices. It was clear from the conference that the ‘self serve’ model for digital ad sales isn’t working in most cases, particularly at the local level. Companies need to give the client a good understanding of what they’re buying and make the process customer-friendly.
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- For newly organized or re-organized firms, try to stay profitable in early years with your digital operations (with profit margin around 5-7%), but don’t focus on getting huge margins early on as they will improve with time. ▄▄
Set a target of capturing 15-30% of the local online advertising in your market.
I’ll leave you with one of my favourite sound bites from the convention to ponder, given by Maryam Banikarim, a Senior VP at Gannett, a keynote speaker whose presentation dealt with where she saw her ‘traditional’ media company headed: “We’re in the content business...print, mobile, or digital are just the distribution channel.”
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Most online ad revenue should come from new customers. Set a target of having 45% of online revenues from print customers, then track over time to gauge ‘new’ business growth. ▄▄
Set a goal to sell your entire available online inventory. ▄▄
Track your revenue dollars lost to unsold inventory. Tracking will keep the pressure on having all inventory sold. ▄▄
Set a goal to reach 40-50% of the businesses in your market with your print product and/or online product.
TODD FREES is the Controller of OCNA and general manager for the Community Newspaper Reciprocal Insurance Exchange (cnrie) which involved dealing with claims management and security supplementary insurance coverage as provided for members and non-members.
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Set a goal of obtaining an e-mail address for the majority of people in your market. This is an important delivery mechanism. (To estimate the number of e-mail addresses available, take the number of people May 2012
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OCNA’s Board of Directors is pleased to announce the following newspapers as probationary Active Members: Newspaper
Circulation
Ownership
Guelph Review
42,500
Sun Media
Kitchener/Waterloo, KW Review
97,000
Sun Media
Ottawa Capital City News
167,000
Sun Media
Toronto Aaj Kaal
4,000
Independent
Windsor This Week
133,000
Sun Media
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Community Community Newspaper Newspaper Review Review he qua et v 2012 2012 pro
The Community Newspaper Review is NOT a professional critique program.
It IS a program that makes use of the skills and experience of community newspaper professionals. OCNA will pair newspapers with similar-sized publications wherever possible.
Each newspaper, who completes the program by the deadline (August 24, 2012) will receive a free registration to the first editorial webinar in the Fall of 2012.
m o i Download the registration form from the members section of our t ng i k website (you must be logged in as a member to access this). Fill this form loo u o out and fax to 905-639-6962 no later than June 22, 2012. Are y For more information, contact Karen Shardlow at OCNA, 905-639-8720 ext 232 or e-mail k.shardlow@ocna.org May 2012
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ADVERTISING
GRASS ROOTS
CLASSIFIEDS
BY TED BREWER AD*REACH
I shouldn’t need to sell the idea that a Community Newspaper provides a unique perspective on the issues that affect the local populace of any town or region. Indeed that is precisely why it is so important. It provides an open forum for the average person to air grievances, or celebrate accomplishments without any need for a technological interface. It is equally accessible to all. One might say it is the cornerstone of democracy, the grass root for consensus and action on issues that affect people directly. It is the cornerstone of our Canadian political system that we choose our representatives locally to select those that will serve our community best within each Municipal, Provincial and National assembly. It is this local connection to our politics that we can never lose. Quite the opposite, we need to foster this and give our communities as large a voice as possible within the bigger picture. Many times there are issues that get kicked around locally, which never seem to get traction beyond the borders of our communities, and seem too big to solve. Wouldn’t it be nice if there was some place to go to see if there are other communities with the same problems, who could help create a united front and take to a larger audience. Each of those communities could apply pressure to their representatives so they can engage in a larger more fruitful discussion. There are many, many lobby groups provincially and nationally that may just be involved in some aspect of the issue at hand. It is not too difficult for us at Ad*Reach to find them. As a part of the OCNA, we are a lobby group ourselves and share the same registry. We should be using all the tools at our disposal to find key players both locally and abroad, at either end of the discussion. We have Editor Conference Calls, Press Services, and Advertorial Space to offer these potential participants. Right now in the post provincial budget phase of the year, there are plenty of special interest groups and associations that might need to rally the grass roots to apply pressure on our regional representatives. If you have been tracking an issue locally, and you think other publishers may be as well, let us know, and we’ll see if we can help stir up some momentum for a larger awareness campaign, and some healthy public debate. It is always good for the readers and never hurts the bottom line.
TED BREWER is a National Accounts Manager for Ad*Reach, the sales and advertising arm of the Ontario Community Newspapers Association. Since joining OCNA and Ad*Reach in 2007, Ted has sold hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of advertisements in OCNA’s member newspapers. May 2012
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SENIOR REPORTER Fergus Wellington Advertiser has an opening in its Editorial department for a Senior reporter position. This position involves attending council meetings, reporting on community news and events of all types, writing feature stories, taking photos and participating in weekly editing and proofing of our publications. Qualifications: ▄▄ ▄▄
Excellent, interviewing, writing and editing skills
Experience with Indesign and Photoshop on a Mac platform ▄▄ ▄▄ ▄▄ ▄▄ ▄▄
Working knowledge of pagination concepts An eye for great photography Familiarity with CP stylebook Comfortable with online news and social media
Good organizational skills and must be able to meet deadlines ▄▄
Reliable transportation and valid license
Education: ▄▄
Minimum college diploma in journalism
Hours of work: ▄▄
Full-time position, with a flexible schedule to accommodate weeknight and weekend work as assigned. Deadline for submission: June 1st 2012. Please send your resume and cover letter to: The Wellington Advertiser c/o Dave Adsett, Editor Box 252 Fergus Ontario N1M 2W8 Or by e-mail: dadsett@wellingtonadvertiser.com All applications will be treated in confidence. Only those selected for an interview will be contacted.
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ADVERTISING
ADVERTISING ALERTS: OLYMPICS Source: Canadian Olympic Committee (www.olympic.ca/brand-use) Last updated: September 2011 Government of Canada has enacted legislation – the Olympic and Paralympic Marks Act (“Act”) – to specifically protect the Olympic Brand in Canada. This legislation is highly enforced. The ‘Olympic Brand’ is comprised of the names, phrases, marks, logos and designs relating to the Olympic Movement. This includes, but is not limited to, those relating to specific Olympic Games, the Canadian Olympic Team, Olympic moments and the accomplishments of Olympians. Only official sponsors, licensees and partners of the COC are permitted to suggest an affiliation or connection with the Olympic Movement in Canada. When companies create false or misleading commercial associations with the Olympic Brand without making the financial investment required to secure official marketing rights, they are threatening the COC’s sponsorship and licensing programs and impair the COC’s ability to attract future sponsors and licensees. The Act prevents a person or company from promoting or otherwise directing public attention to their business, wares or services in a manner that misleads or is likely to mislead the public into believing that the business, wares or services in question are approved, authorized or endorsed by the COC, or that a business association exists between the business in question and the Olympic Brand. Section 3(5) of the Act specifically allows for use of the Olympic trademarks in news reports and ‘for purposes of criticism.’ In addition, the Act allows current and former Olympic and Paralympic athletes to use or to permit the use of certain prohibited marks (such as OLYMPIC and OLYMPIAN) in reference to their own participation in Olympic Games.
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.
May 2012
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ADVERTISING
ADVERTISING BY THE NUMBERS BY JOHN FOUST RALEIGH, NC
Let’s take a look at four important numbers in advertising.
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One: The best ads make one point. The point can be made in several different ways, but the bottom line is that an ad should make only one point.
A lot of advertisers think they can multiply their impact by putting numerous selling points in every ad. Unfortunately, that doesn't work. Years ago, I heard that one of the most important advertising formulas is E=0 (everything equals nothing). When an ad tries to say everything to everybody, the end result is zero impact. That’s especially true in today’s over-communicated society. To break through the clutter, keep it simple.
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Three: The headline is the most important part of an ad. Numerous studies reveal that only about 20 percent of people who read a headline will read the rest of the copy, the headline should tell readers right up front what the ad is about. If a headline is loaded with puffery (‘fantastic savings,’ ‘unbelievable quality,’ etc.) or doesn’t provide helpful information, it won’t move the needle.
There are three types of effective headlines – benefit, news and curiosity. Benefit headlines promise an immediate payoff (‘Save 50 percent on new carpet’). News headlines emphasize something newsworthy (‘Introducing the daily flight to London’). And curiosity headlines ask a question or make an unusual statement (‘Which of these two houses has the lower heating bill?’) Some curiosity headlines are more extreme than others. A case could be made for a separate category – surprise headlines (‘If your chute doesn’t open, the second jump is free’).
Two: There are two types of advertising – image and response. Image advertising is intended to strengthen a brand in a general sense and give consumers a good feeling about the advertiser. For example, you’ll find the ‘good hands people’ at Allstate. Wrangler sells ‘Real. Comfortable. Jeans.’ And John Deere says, ‘Nothing runs like a Deere.’
On the other hand, response advertising's objective is to motivate consumers to take some specific action. Save 25 percent on sunglasses this weekend. Better hurry – only three townhomes left. Buy one pizza, get one free. While image advertising has a longer success curve, response advertising is designed to make cash registers ring right away. Too few advertisers realize the difference. They believe all they have to do is announce they’re open for business, and consumers will flock to their door. Ad sales people should help clients set realistic expectations. Ideally, a campaign should include image-building and response tactics.
May 2012
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Four: A typical print ad has four elements – headline, illustration,
body copy and logo. The headline should let page-turners know what they’ll learn by reading more. The illustration should have a direct relation to the headline. The body copy should expand on the theme which is introduced in the headline. And the logo – the most prominent logo, if there’s more than one – should identify the advertiser most closely associated with the message. Better advertising? It's as easy as one, two, three, four.
(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
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GET YOUR PRESS IDENTIFICATION CARDS TODAY!
May 2012
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HUMAN RESOURCES
SETTING GOALS AND STANDARDS FOR ACHIEVEMENT BY CHUCK NAU MURRAY & NAU, INC.
In this ongoing economic uncertainty, staying focused, committed and upbeat continues to be an everyday challenge for your sales staff. Coupled with the ongoing efforts to retain client and ad dollar commitments, your staff’s selfconfidence and solid footing may be easily undermined and on shaky ground.
larger number of small retailers, service providers, or businesses? Launching a new niche product? Establishing a quarterly sales training program? Will enhancing available resources generate the results desired? Making a part time sales support position full time? Or do new resources and support systems need to be identified, designed and implemented? What benchmarks need to be put in place to identify desired outcomes and results that move you toward your short term or long term goals? What red flags or midcourse adjustments need to be identified to assure success, reduce unexpected slow downs and prevent failure?
How can you best help them and in the process help your newspaper and yourself? Consider pausing for a moment, stepping back and disconnecting from the constant flow of information, and taking a renewed look at your sales staff. No matter the size or the experience of your staff, your people will want to know how they're doing. Are they doing well? How can you tell when and how it needs to be better?
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Measure and Reward: Are your benchmarks clearly defined as measurements for attaining or not attaining your newspaper's objectives? Are they challenging but not impossible? Are they fair and equitable? Has your sales staff been asked and encourage for some input? Careful! Do not clutter your measurements of success with unimportant parameters. Will monthly revenue goals, special section lineage goals, or quarterly 'team' achievements be your sales benchmark or should you develop other criteria? How will your support teams and non-revenue teams be able to measure successful goal achievement? Are you measuring what you want to accomplish?
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Where Are You? Identify what you have on hand, today. Carefully review your sales staff, assessing their strengths, weaknesses, and various talents in relation to your current market positions. What support systems are in place, both within the sales department and within the entire newspaper? What rate programs and products currently exist? Which of them are growing? Which are shrinking? What are your newspaper product's strongest selling points? What's your overall competitive advantage? What do you do better than other media in your market?
Likewise, are you rewarding your sales staff on desired outcomes (95% or better goal attainment) in a timely and consistent fashion? Do your rewards allow for continued growth and achievement? Do your rewards also take into account excellent customer service, reduced sales adjustments, new creative ideas or strategies, and individual personal career growth in addition to revenue goal attainment?
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Where Do You Want To Be? What are your newspaper's objectives, in terms of sales, sales team growth and overall market expertise, both short term and long term? What opportunities, threats, or obstacles lie in your sales staff’s path? How do you envision further developing your individual sales people, your staff overall, yourself and newspaper? New rate programs? New products? Is there another segment of the population or market (social media, mobile, etc.) you would like to develop or enhance? Identify what is missing between where you are and where you want to be.
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Eyes To See, Ears To Hear: Do you continue to fine tune, enhance and develop your resources? Do you encourage your sales staff to ask their advertising clients how your newspaper and its various products might consider and subsequently implement ongoing changes to meet their (your advertising clients) needs and those of your market? Are you listening to your sales staff to tell you what you can do to fine tune, enhance, and grow the newspaper?
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What Needs to Happen? What must occur to move you from where you are to where you want to be? Enhancing your Web site? Contacting and selling a May 2012
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HUMAN RESOURCES
More importantly, are you asking your staff what needs to be done to enhance their success, both internally (systems and environment) and externally (training, sales tools, resources?) Do you continually observe the way your goals are achieved in order to prepare for forming new goals and objectives, so that you can continue the process of growth and development at your newspaper in the future?
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.
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Give Honest Feedback: Tell your sales staff how they are doing, sharing equally in success and failure, on a timely and consistent basis. Communicate to them so they can understand where you are, where you want to be, and how you are going to get there. Encourage and support them as you implement midcourse corrections to keep on target. Support an open dialogue for ideas, suggestions, and observations. Let them know when they have arrived.
Photos are also welcome!
Your sales staff needs appropriate, carefully considered benchmarks to measure their achievement, thereby giving them an opportunity to make adjustment to their sales efforts quickly and responsibly by themselves or with assistance from you and your management team. Setting appropriate, well-thought-out ‘points of reference’ enables you to measure sales staff performance and the progress being made towards the achievement of those goals. Clear and well-developed benchmarks help you and your staff stay focused on the ‘big picture’ and on track and on time to achieve it.
Affordable media insurance for Canadian Community Newspapers Service includes: •Libel • Invasion of Privacy • Plagiarism • Piracy • Infringement of Copyright • Pre-Publication Hotline
© Murray & Nau, Inc. CHUCK NAU OF MURRAY & NAU, INC. is a Seattle area based publishing consultant and sales and management trainer. He has conducted advertising, marketing, management and sales training workshops with newspapers, niche publishers, publishing groups and press associations, throughout North America.
Contact us for a quote: Todd Frees, General Manager 905-639-8720 ext. 234 t.frees@ocna.org
Comments and questions are welcome and may be directed to Chuck via e-mail: murnau@nwlink.com. or at (425) 603 - 0984. May 2012
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HUMAN RESOURCES
FIVE MOST COMMON HIRING MISTAKES A TWOGREYSUITS ARTICLE These articles are part of the TwoGreySuits Employee Performance Management Series and is offered by our partner, the TwoGreySuits HR Power Centre as a free service to our members. Ron Guest, Management/HR Consultant
4. Lack of orientation or on board program: Too often we see new hires that are not properly oriented to the job and introduced to the company. They usually leave within three to six months. Hiring managers are often so relieved a new person is onboard, that they unconsciously let them find their own way. A planned first three to four weeks is required, with regular scheduled check- ins.
As management consultants and experienced recruiters, we are often called in after a company-conducted recruitment exercise did not work. The hiring mistakes generally fall within these five categories:
5. Not understanding the cost/benefit of spending money in the recruitment process: Frankly, sourcing candidates can be
1. Too narrow scope in sourcing the market: As an example, we have heard stories
very time consuming and also expensive. Trying to go cheap here will unquestionably affect your quality of hire. Additionally, getting locked in on a certain compensation or salary number is also placing you at a great disadvantage. Sometimes, by paying even a few dollars more, you open a vastly different candidate pool. The market will tell you what to pay in most cases.
where an expensive ad was placed in an industry magazine with just three to five responses. Often because of time restraints and perhaps an open vacancy, companies end up choosing from a far too small candidate source, or the process gets dragged out unnecessarily because of lack of qualified candidates.
An effective recruitment campaign should include candidates from employee referrals, industry networking candidates, trade association advertising candidates and local advertising candidates. Professional recruitment firms usually have their own database of prequalified candidates. Additionally, if you know of a good person in theindustry,directcontactorsourcing‘passive’candidates is valuable. Even if you are doing everything else right, selecting from too small a candidate pool is very risky.
Also, compensation now is often not the most important thing to job candidates. Other factors such as benefits, hours of work, daycare availability, public transit availability, career progression, vacation, etc. are all important. If your benefits plan is outdated, it will affect your ability to hire qualified candidates in the marketplace. The decision to save a few thousand dollars in the recruitment process, can have very long lasting negative consequences, with less than average performers working in a business long term. The payback for hiring a high performing individual far outweighs any ‘savings’ realized in a recruitment campaign.
2. Skill Set of the Hiring Manager: More often than not, a hiring manager will focus too heavily on relevant experience and job knowledge versus the behaviours understanding which will go a long way in determining a best fit. In our experience we see ‘poor fit’ as the reason in about 90% of employment terminations, even when the person is actually competent to do the job! Being skilled in behavioural interviewing is critically important.
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.
3. Poor or no reference checking: We have heard the reasons why people do not check references, frankly, none of which are valid, if you know how to properly do a detailed reference check. A proper reference check will verify job skills and more importantly, the fit, or behaviours which the person operates within.
Signing up is simple and free for OCNA members. Just visit https://www.twogreysuits.com/sign_up/regform/index. html?r=OCNA complete the signup page and you’ll have immediate access. Why wait? Don’t let important people management issues go unresolved when you can deal with them today.
May 2012
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BUSINESS
THE VALUE OF POST MORTEM IN BUSINESS NEGOTIATIONS! BY PATRICK TINNEY MANAGING PARTNER CENTROID TRAINING & MARKETING
2. Tactics they used: I love the game of tactics in a business negotiation because it is where some of the fine art in bargaining is displayed. Tactics are what we see, hear, smell and feel. Can we identify each tactic and catalogue it for the next time with a frequent bargaining partner with an appropriate neutralizer from our side? What verbal expressions did they use? What body language did they recoil into? What did they do to move us off of our script in the heat of the moment?
All great business negotiation professionals look to their victories and loses for inspiration for future bargaining engagements. A post mortem of any business negotiation will always reveal new and valuable information on the other side. Negotiation professionals immediately prepare for the next negotiation with regular business partners by capturing every detail of the negotiation they have just finished. They make copious notes on all topics within the negotiation. Seasoned negotiators may take weeks to discreetly probe their negotiation partners to garner even more information to draw final conclusions on how they will prepare and execute their next negotiation engagement. The short line is ‘learn from your mistakes.’
3. Strategies they used: The difference between novice and seasoned negotiators is the strategies they employ. A novice negotiator may only have a couple of go to strategies they use under a wide variety of situations with varied success. Whereas, a seasoned negotiator shifts gears with a catalogue of effective strategies. If you can identify your negotiation partner’s strategies you have a huge advantage in guiding the other side toward your business negotiation objectives.
Negotiation professionals go to these great lengths because like great chess masters each opponent they engage has a specific line of thought as they lay out their negotiation plans. The opponent’s logic base may repeat itself. They may choose a specific time of day to meet to enhance their access to information. They may also choose a specific style of venue to create a mood such as austerity, collaboration, conciliation or just a need for quick fulfilling closure.
4. Improvements we must make: The old saying, ‘fool me once shame on you. Fool me twice shame on me’ applies. In order to become the best business negotiator you can be, you have to continually pull even your finest bargaining efforts apart to look for further improvement. Educate yourself to recognize when a trusted negotiation partner is offering you an opening to complete a great innovative deal. Think more about end to end negotiation strategies. Understand the importance of your negotiation partner’s business culture. Look for the good in business partners and conclude smart deals that stand the test of time. Remember great skill sets take years of practice and refinement. Start your business negotiation post mortem rituals today!
There is a lot to think about and process when big money negotiations are in play. As I often say to my large corporate clients, “What if I could help you realize a 1% gain on every business negotiation you complete on an annualized basis. What would this mean to your business?’ It is one of those client queries that makes a very small number grow into a very large and intriguing one. Below are four topics to add to your next business negotiation post mortem:
1. Their objectives: In my experience most business negotiation partners are pretty forthcoming and transparent about what they want simply because they are trying to foster an environment of trust. Many times this mindset can lead to collaboration in bargaining which is surely the gold standard in business negotiation. However, over the years there have been a few negotiation partners that say one thing and play us to the hilt to get what they wanted, in a manner that might be construed as reckless. We always have to ask ourselves, did we really guide them into the bargaining continuum (AKA zone of potential agreement) or were we duped? May 2012
PATRICK TINNEY is the founder of Centroid Training and Marketing, a consulting firm 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, CanWest Media and more. Over his 30 year career Patrick has concluded multi-million dollar media sales and negotiation solutions. For more on Patrick visit centroidmarketing.com 19
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DESIGN
LISTEN TO YOUR GUT BY ED HENNINGER HENNINGER CONSULTING Listen to your gut…but don’t make it have to yell. From a recent conversation between a design director and an editor:
Editor: “I just don’t like what I did with this page. What do you think? DD: “Well…what does your gut tell you?” Editor: ” I should’ve run that picture larger. It really needed to go full-page wide.” DD: “Uh-huh…and what else?” Editor: “The headline needed to be bigger.” DD: “Uh-huh…and what else?” Editor: “I should’ve trimmed the story. It’s too long.” DD: “Uh-huh. So…what’ve you learned from this?” Editor: “I gotta learn to listen to my gut.” DD: “Uh-huh. Your gut was saying the right things. Listen to your gut.” I’m not a strong believer in ‘gut.’ To me, design is more than ‘gut feelings.’ It’s a craft, a discipline, a set of guidelines to help us offer the reader a compelling and easy-to-follow package. But if all of the rules are satisfied, if you’ve taken the time to craft the package…then give yourself at least a few moments to listen to your gut. Usually, it will tell you just what you need to hear. If…you listen.
ED HENNINGER is an independent newspaper consultant and the Directorof Henninger Consulting, offering comprehensive newspaper design services and design evaluations at www.henningerconsulting.com.
May 2012
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TECHNOLOGY
NUMBERS POINT UP
LATEST FIGURES BOOST CONFIDENCE IN NEWSPAPERS OF ALL SIZES BY KEVIN SLIMP INSTITUTE OF NEWSPAPER TECHNOLOGY There’s been an interesting mix of material that has ended up in my inbox lately. A story on National Public Radio’s website reports that 23 percent of Americans age 18-24 read a PRINTED newspaper yesterday. Not an online edition of The New York Times or an iPad edition of a magazine. Twenty-four percent report having read an actual, honest to goodness, printed newspaper. These numbers came from the Pew State of the News Media study.
institution, newspapers, might beat the dominant twentiethcentury institution, TV, at the premium part of its own game.” And this headline from the May 1, 2012 issue of ADWEEK added more kindle to the flames, ‘Newspapers See Gain in Daily, Sunday Circ: Thanks to paywall, ‘NYT’ daily circulation soars 73 percent.’ Yes, The New York Times is doing well with their online edition. But print is doing well of late, as well.
I love it when media outside the newspaper world report on our successes. Maybe it’s time we did a little of that ourselves.
The infamous Web site newspaperdeathwatch.com reports that 14 U.S. daily newspapers have closed since 2007. I found it more than a little humorous that some of those papers were from outside the U.S. But hey, when you’re having a death watch, who needs to be bothered with facts.
When I was invited to speak at Memphis University a few months ago, I was surprised to learn that the students had voted to increase activities fees so they could receive three daily newspapers each day. Speaking of The New York Times, the latest figures indicate that 10 percent of their print subscribers are 18-24 year olds. More readers in that age range subscribe to the print version than the online version. I can’t remember a single friend in college who subscribed to a newspaper when I was in school. I’d love to know how these figures correspond to the numbers 10, 20 or 30 years ago.
According to Wikipedia, there were 1,457 daily newspapers in the U.S. in 2007. If 14 of those closed, that would be a decrease of less than one percent. Please check my math. I was being generous by leaving in the dying papers on the death watch list that weren’t actually in the U.S. Add this to a non-scientific survey conducted by the National Newspaper Association this year that indicates close to half (46 percent) of respondents at community newspapers held steady or showed an increase in the circulation over the past 10 years, and I’d say things don’t look nearly as gloomy as many would like us to believe.
I recently received an e-mail from TV News Check that included lots of information about TV news around the United States. What caught my eye was the lead story, ‘Papers Offering More And Better Video News.’ The story, found at tvnewscheck.com, tells how newspapers are creating video on par with, and many times better than, TV Web sites.
And why do they want us to believe that the newspaper business is within - what is it now, six years of its certain demise? You’ll have to ask them that. I don’t believe it for a second.
“In fact, some of the newspapers’ video content is so good that it has beaten material produced by TV news departments when it’s gone head-to-head in awards competitions,” according to writer Diana Marszalek. This reminds me of a story by Kurt Anderson in New York magazine roughly eight years ago. He was predicting the future of journalism online when he wrote, “I can easily imagine newspapers’ Web-video portals becoming the TVjournalism destinations of choice for smart people – that is, in the 21st century, the dominant nineteenth-century journalistic
May 2012
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
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PHOTO GALLERY
THIS YEAR OCNA TEAMED UP WITH NEWSPAPERS CANADA AND CAJ TO HOST A JOINT CONVENTION. THE INK+BEYOND CONVERENCE TOOK PLACE ON APRIL 26-27 AT THE FAIRMONT ROYAL YORK HOTEL IN DOWNTOWN TORONTO.
May 2012
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PHOTO GALLERY
IN ADDITION TO INDEPENDENT PUBLISHER SESSIONS AND SEMINARS FOCUSING ON VARIOUS INDUSTRY RELATED TOPICS, ATTENDEES JOINED US DURING OUR BNC AWARDS GALA WHERE WE RECOGNIZED THE OUTSTANDING QUALITY OF WORK PRODUCED EACH YEAR BY OUR MEMBER NEWSPAPERS. May 2012
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WWW.OCNA.ORG . INFO@OCNA.ORG
May 2012
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