2
3
10
2014 Gala
The Connector p
President’s Report
p
Executive Director’s Report
p
Since 1980
June 2013
QCNA awards and gala 2013 wraps up
p4
What’s happening in the QCNA QCNA on Parliament Hill
p6
p6
What’s this campaign news?
p7
Industry news; 100 year club,
Ink & Beyond, print still king
The Quebec Community Newspapers Association Newsletter Connecting the English community press in Quebec for 33 years
REPORT FROM THE PRESIDENT
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Steve Bonspiel,President, QCNA In my dual role as chairman of the Editorial Services Committee and president of the QCNA I have a unique advantage. I get the rare chance to participate in lively discussions that result in important decisions being made at the board level, as well as to help shape how the QCNA awards look now and for years to come. Our AGM venture into the Ottawa/ Gatineau area in May was a first in a couple of ways. It was the first time in 11 years we held our awards gala outside of the Montrealarea. It is also the first time for me as president, handing out awards and trying to look humble as I awarded myself two prizes (the latter not being something I necessarily want to repeat - haha). The event attracted 79 people, which was lower than the previous year in Montreal, but it wasn’t a surprise. We expected it and it’s part of a greater push to encourage visits to outlying areas of Quebec to embrace our diverse newspaper landscapes. In fact, 2014 will fall perfectly in line with that vision of an inclusive association across the province. It’s early, but it is all but assured we will be headed to St. Sauveur in early June 2014. And that’s great news! The ceremony is a fun, laid-back affair that gives us all an opportunity to mingle with our colleagues in the industry and learn from others. Everyone loves to be acknowledged for efforts that go above and beyond the journalism norm and the awards are all about recognizing the best of the best. June 2013
I have a few things on my wish list each year for our members. I want as many of our reporters as possible to be recognized at the Canadian Community Newspapers Association (CCNA) level. You can’t get much higher in our business and it tests our mettle. It shows us how good we are on a national level and the QCNA has battled hard in the last few years to be recognized. And I want participation within the QCNA’s awards competition to reflect as many papers as possible. To achieve that you must give yourself time and also enter early, before the mad rush in December and January. Which brings us to another first: It is now much easier to enter your potential award-winning articles, columns, ads and editorials early. If you visit www. betternewspapercontest.com you will find a scrapbook component that allows early entry throughout the year. What it does is it gives you opportunities in real time, as soon as your paper is finished, to submit to certain categories. The best part is you can change those entries any time. I encourage everyone to enter early, often and for the prestige of knowing you are one of the best!
- 2-
STEVE BONSPIEL President, CCNA representative MARC LALONDE Vice President GEORGE BAKOYANNIS Secretary,Treasurer FRED RYAN Director MICHAEL SOCHACZEVSKI Director NIKKI MANTELL Director LILY RYAN Director
HEATHER DICKSON Past President QCNA STAFF
RICHARD TARDIF Executive Director CAROLYN KITZANUK Administrative Assistant MARNIE OWSTON Advertising Coordinator & Bookkeeper
www.qcna.org
Executive Director’s Report
It’s all about community
QCNA MISSION STATEMENT The Quebec Community Newspapers Association is dedicated to the professional and economic development of English community newspapers and their enterprises serving minority communities in Quebec.
About us.
Richard Tardif, Executive Director, QCNA That’s what newspaper baron Warren Buffett is saying. The millionaire has invested $344 million in newspaper chains over the past 15 months and in his report to his shareholders, http://www.berkshirehathaway.com/ letters/2012ltr.pdfhe is raving about community news. “Newspapers continue to reign supreme… in the delivery of local news. If you want to know what’s going on in your town – whether the news is about the mayor or taxes or high school football – there is no substitute for a local newspaper that is doing its job…Wherever there is a pervasive sense of community, a paper that serves the special informational needs of that community will remain indispensable to a significant portion of its residents.” Buffett also writes that downsizing, as many publications have done, is not the key to success. He believes that ramping up content and coverage will increase circulation and that skimpy news coverage will almost certainly lead to skimpy readership and over time will diminish the paper’s relevance. Community newspapers have always been around. The Gleaner just celebrated 150 years. The Equity is 100. The Sherbrooke Record since 1897 and The Quebec Chronicle-Telegraph is turning 250 – don't blink twice – you read that right. How does an English weekly survive in Quebec City you ask? The same way all of our members do - they deliver local relevant news and ramp up their content. The QCNA was in Winnipeg in June celebrating the 100th year of La Liberte, a French language newspaper. There, we June 2013
met other centeriarian community newspapers. What a feeling it is to know that these newspapers have survived all those years, even during the “newspapers are dying” hype in the last 20 years. Certainly, the numbers are encouraging. In 2010 The Canadian Community Newspaper Database Corporation (ComBase) announced the results of its 20082009 study, with readership data for 218 markets across Canada. Overall, community newspaper readership remains strong, with 74 per cent of Canadians reading their community newspaper. Readership is particularly strong among desirable target groups: 76 percent of women, 78 percent of baby boomers, 77 per cent of adults with children, 74 per cent of university-educated adults, 76 percent of homeowners, 78 percent of affluent Canadians (i.e., household income >$75K). According to the 2008-2009 study, adults 18 and over in Canada have read the last four issues in their communities. This goes without saying. Our community newspapers have a niche, a local loyalty that keeps us going. It’s not just about putting out a weekly - it’s delivering local content that reflects the way of the community. This is why people still wait for their weekly newspaper, and there is nothing skimpy about that!
-3-
The Quebec Community Newspapers Association is as unique as the members it serves. Our English and bilingual publications distribute weekly, monthly, biweekly and daily to some 700,000 readers across the province. These publications serve an exclusive English and bilingual readership in their communities through their focus on relevant local news and high editorial-to-advertising ratio. The results from ComBase, Canada’s most comprehensive media study, show that QCNA newspapers are embraced by Quebec’s unique population more than any other medium in every market they serve.
Quebec Community Newspapers Association 400 Grand Boulevard, Suite 5 Île-Perrot, QC, J7V 4X2 Tel. 514-453-6300 Fax 514-453-6330 Email: info@qcna.qc.ca Website: www.qcna.org
QCNA acknowledges the support of the Department of Canadian Heritage
www.qcna.org
33rd Annual Better Newspapers Awards & Gala 2013
The Quebec Community Newspapers Association made the trip to Aylmer, Quebec on May 31 for its annual Better Newspapers Awards ceremony, invading the Chateau Cartier Hotel. The QCNA Better Newspapers Competition awards individuals and publications for outstanding achievements in journalism, photography, community newspaper production and sales. A publisher’s roundtable took place where industry business and future strategies were discussed. Award categories range from best overall newspaper and best editorial page to best newspaper promotion and best in-house ad. Lucy Scholey, The Low Down To Hull and Back News, won the Paul Dumont
June 2013
Frenette Award while The Chronicle’s Joy-Ann Dempsey, was honoured to received the Lindsay Crysler Award. The Equity’s Katherine Hynes was awarded the Joan Durnin Outstanding Salesperson Award for her lifelong dedication to her craft.
-4-
www.qcna.org
Special thanks to Camille Ross, Global TV, for her role as Mcee To see all the winners visit QCNA.ORG
QCNA
thanks Digital Locksmiths for its support of our 33rd Awards & Gala
Total design security begins at www.Digitallocksmiths.ca Ottawa, Ontario and Montreal, Quebec | Headquarters Ph: (888) 422-5514 | Fax: (514) 595-0330 info@digitallocksmiths.ca
Partners with the Quebec Community Newspapers Association
June 2013
-5-
www.qcna.org
Q-NEWS Q-NEWS Inside the QCNA
Canadian Jewish News to keep printing
The Canadian Jewish News, which recently announced it would cease print publication after forty-two years of serving the community, said in late June that it would continue publishing in print. The paper’s president, Donald Carr, issued a statement saying that the board of directors “is happy to confirm that the print newspaper will continue.” The newspaper said its next issue will be August 1, 2013.
QCNA website
Over the summer months the QCNA website will see a few changes. As we have moved towards incorporating social media to better serve our members and direct attention to our papers, visitors can now click on our Twitter and Facebook icons. Soon, the photo image on our home page will display more than one photo, in fact we can put as many up as we want, and viewers will see different photos and images. We will also be able to use Youtube in the future, promoting QCNA, advertising in our papers. Stay tune, or keep clicking. June 2013
Gleaner turns 150
The Gleaner, the third oldest weekly in Canada whose presence over the years testifies to the significant role it plays in the life of the Haut-Saint-Laurent (Upper Saint Lawrence) region. “For 150 years, The Gleaner has not only been a source of news in the Châteauguay Valley, but also a link between families, friends, and businesses in the whole region,” says Sheri Graham, General Manager, of the weekly. That’s why its history is being highlighted in a “Souvenir Issue,” a memorable collaborative project that includes photos from yesteryear with bilingual captions, old advertisements from the period, the major stories of the past 150 years, and the coverage of current affairs, all conceived and written by the large Gleaner team of the past and present united. The Sun Media Corporation proudly celebrates this historic moment with the
population of Haut-Saint-Laurent by inaugurating, together with the AlfredLangevin Cultural Hall, a commemorative exhibition of the 150-year history of The Gleaner. The exhibition, was open to the public until June 2, showcases the original press used to print the first issue of The Gleaner in 1863 as well as other objects of historical association with the weekly, including the hard copies of all the issues printed in 1863, a series of local photos bringing back memories of the past 150 years, and several other souvenirs.
We’re Moving In September the QCNA will have a new address 189 Boulevard Hymus, Suite 207, Pointe Claire, Qc, H9R 1E9
QCNA on the Hill
Tuesday, April 30th, in Ottawa, QCNA board director and executive director met with Mr. Thomas Mulcair , leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP) as well as two members of his caucus: Mr. Pierre Nantel, Heritage Critic, and Tyron Benskin, Deputy Critic for Official Languages. The QCNA challenged why in the recently released 2011-2012 Annual Report -6-
on Government of Canada Advertising Activities, the government spent over $2.5 million in official language media, with $901,000 only going to print media. QCNA met with other ministers, as did the Ontario Community Newspapers Association, associations from the Prairies and British Columbia and the Atlantic Association. www.qcna.org
Campaign news may help to increase print subscriptions Embarrassing pothole caricatures of politicians spur action to fix the streets in Russia After repeatedly commenting and complaining about the pockmarked streets of Yekaterinburg, local blog URA.RU turned to Voskhod to create a brilliant campaign: under the cover of night they would paint the faces of local politicians around the most unsightly potholes and potentially shame them into action. The response? It worked! Quality of roads is the eternal problem of Yekaterinburg – the fourth largest city of Russia. The local site URA.RU, which writes about life in the city, decided to remind politicians that it is their duty to repair the roads. The problem is – our politicians don’t care about potholes. Their only worry is their own public image. These associated road holes with the images of certain politicians. In the night, on three potholes in city center, artists drew faces of the governor, the mayor and the vice-mayor. The news about caricatures became a sensation. With this intense PR the
politicians were no longer able to sit idle. The holes were fixed. The news about the action was released in more than 300 media venues, the website traffic on URA.ru doubled. The officials at last started to do their jobs. Print subscriptions of URA increased by 10 percent during the campaign. http://www.thisiscolossal.com/2012/09/embarrassingpothole-caricatures-of-politicians-spur-action-to-fix-thestreets/
We’re Moving
189 Boulevard Hymus, Suite 207, Pointe Claire, Qc, H9R 1E9
June 2013
-7-
www.qcna.org
We’re on Facebook and Twitter. How do I find QCNA on Facebook? If you’re already set up with a Facebook account, simply head to our Facebook page, click the ‘like’ button to become a fan of the Quebec Community Newspapers Association and, if you like, leave us a comment on the wall. Make sure you check back to the page often, as we’ll be posting news about our newspapers, events and industry news.
Want to follow us on Twitter visit @QCNA. If you have an account, all you need to do is follow us by clicking the ‘follow’ button. If you don’t have an account, they’re free and quick to set up; just visit Twitter’s website and follow the instructions. You’ll be tweeting to us in no time. What’s next for the QCNA?
June 2013
Y R T S U D N
I
NEW
S
Our age is showing, and that just suits us fine!
Canadian newspaper editors gathered in Winnipeg in late June crowning the Centenary Newspapers of Canada Association, a 30-member group of ageing, but youthful daily and community newspapers. Hosted by the Saint-Boniface based La Liberte, this year turning a century old, the launch of the new association intends to provide entrepreneurial leadership and
support to its members and help to ensure continued success. CNC/JCC is a unifying body, a generator of ideas and a place to meet and share with peers in both official languages. The association plans to meet every two years to discuss innovative ideas and the challenges in an industry that is evolving. Manitoba’s French weekly newspaper, reached an amazing milestone on May 20th - 100 years in existence. That makes it Western Canada’s oldest French newspaper. Established in 1913 by Bishop Langevin and the Oblate Fathers, it’s been connecting Franco-Manitobans provincewide, long before social media ever made its first appearance.
Digital generation still drawn to print Americans between the ages of 16 and 29 have been labeled as digital gurus but a new study from the Pew Internet & American Life Project of reading and library habits found that the generation still has a fondness for the printed page. Some 75 percent of younger Americans said they have read at least one book in the past year, compared with 64% of adults 30 and older. The younger set was just as likely to borrow print books and browse library shelves as their older counterparts. This age group was also more likely to use the library’s Internet or computers or use the library’s research resources, such as databases. The under-30 group also says it is “very -8-
important” for libraries to have librarians and books for borrowing, and few think libraries should automate their services.
www.qcna.org
June 2013
-9-
www.qcna.org
34th Annual Better Newspapers Awards & Gala 2014
June 5-6, 2014 246 Chemin du Lac-Millette St-Sauveur, QC J0R 1R3 (450) 227-1811
June 6 - Annual General Meeting 10 -12 Noon - Cocktails 6-7 p.m. Banquet and Awards Gala 7-10 p.m.
Quebec Community Newspapers Association L’Association des journaux régionaux du Québec
June 2013
-10 -
www.qcna.org