California Publisher Fall 2010

Page 1

Fall 2010

Volume XCVIV, No. 3

Clemens’ influence notable in our state

Networks benefit members, programs

will go first to its namesake, during an October celebration in Angels Camp. A second honor will be announced in December at the annual Cal Press Winter Meeting in San Francisco. And each year thereafter, the Twain Award will go posthumously to someone who has done great work that appeared in a California newspaper. Samuel Clemens, before he adopted the pen

By Thomas Emery Special to California Publisher Little was it known that the sandy-haired lad who liked to play practical jokes on his schoolmates in a small Hannibal, Mo., school would some day add a colorful chapter to early California journalism. The boy was Samuel Langhorne Clemens, who, even while he was still in his early school years in the mid 1800s, began to show the restlessness and optimism that became so prominent in his later years. Clemens was born Nov. 30, 1835, in Florida, Mo. Late in 1839 his family moved to the teeming Mississippi River port of Hannibal. There, not long after his father’s death, Clemens at the age of 13 launched his journalistic career. He began as a printer’s devil, newspaper carrier and unofficial sub-editor for the Missouri Courier, a local weekly. In the spring of 1851 he became a subprinter for the Weekly Dollar Journal, published by his brother, Orion, in Hannibal. He also worked on the Hannibal Western Union. Later he was employed by the Journal and Western Union, a paper which developed out of the merger of the two weeklies. In 1853, Orion started the Daily Journal, and Clemens also worked for it. Clemens combined the arts of printing and writing, and his experience on these newspapers obviously served as a stimulus for

See AWARD Page 9

See TWAIN Page 9

Securing new revenue continues to be a top priority for CNPA’s advertising departments. Member newspapers benefit from participation in one or more of CNPA’s networks, and a percentage of revenues supports the association’s work on behalf of California newspapers. Here is an update on the advertising programs, along with details on new initiatives. CNPA Advertising Services CNPA Advertising Services has expanded market research and mapping to meet the challenges of its clients. In the spring, Tiffany Chiang joined the Marketing Department as a marketing analyst for CNPA and the National Preprint Network. Chiang focuses on maintaining the accuracy and timeliness of the networks’ newspaper circulation information. Her background includes marketing analysis for the commercial real estate industry as well as working with the government of Taiwan in areas of banking and commercial development. Michael Schupp, a 20-year marketing analyst veteran, continues to head the marketing team. CNPA placed more than 50 accounts in calendar year 2009 and continues to see new accounts, agencies and other associations use CNPA services. These services range from marketing analysis and rate negotiation to one order, one bill and cash processing. For more information, visit www.cnpa.com. National Preprint Network NPN continues to grow with new member papers and clients. The service placed more than 22 million circulars in the first quarter and is on track to place more than 100 million this calendar year. This is all plus business to the newspaper industry in these markets. Major accounts continue to use NPN as their vehicle for total-market coverage and target marketing. What differentiates NPN is the quality of its audience. NPN gives clients access to paid subscribers in the top DMAs, leveraging the benefits of the higher readership and efficiencies of newspaper advertising. NPN provides the advertiser the ultimate convenience: With one phone call, advertisers are ensured one contact, one rate and one invoice for their buy. NPN’s second year of membership recruitment has expanded the network to 130 major newspapers with a national footprint of more than 56 million circulation. Member newspapers include Tribune, McClatchy, Gannett, Hearst, Journal Register, Media General, BANG, See NETWORKS Page 10

Before he set off to become the legendary Mark Twain, Samuel Clemens was a newspaper reporter in Nevada, San Francisco and Hawaii. PHOTOS COURTESY MARK TWAIN PROJECT, BANCROFT LIBRARY, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA

Mark of Pride California Press Association award honors writers The California Press Association for decades has administered three distinct awards that honor newspaper executives for their service and impact on California and their local areas. Now comes a fourth, and it’s probably the very first to deal with jumping frogs. Just in time for this 100th anniversary of the death of Mark Twain, a new Cal Press award will honor great work by a journalist at a California newspaper. The Mark Twain Award

I N S I D E

Publisher Profile R.D. Tucker Mariposa Gazette

Pg. 3

Legal HelpLine ......................... 2 From the President ................... 2 Newspaper Design .................... 6 Technology ................................ 7 People ..................................... 13

California Newspaper Publishers Association

Newspaper headaches cured with call to CNPA’s Helpline Among the many services CNPA offers its members, the legal helpline often provides the most direct benefit to members and their staffs. Helpline calls are included with membership in CNPA. Members often say that the money the helpline has saved them in legal costs is alone worth the price of CNPA membership. To help members make the most of this benefit, here is a quick review of the Helpline basics: Q: Does a newspaper need continual legal advice? A: Are you kidding? We’re in California, remember, where almost no human endeavor goes unregulated and even normal businesses need to tread carefully to

708 10th St., Sacramento CA 95814 (916) 288-6000

avoid stepping in it. Add all the diverse activities of reporters, editors and photographers to the work of publishers, ad directors, circulators, human resources and production employees, and what do you have? Q: What? A: A lot going on, legally. Not just Chamber of Commerce stuff, but, thanks to our forefathers and the brilliance of the First Amendment, the rich and interesting law associated with the “non-regulation” of speech and the free press, or for short, media law. The real question is, how do you decide if the question is a legal matter or just a policy decision? Q: Okay, how do you? A: You ask a lawyer.

Fax (916) 288-6002

See LEGAL Page 12 www.cnpa.com


Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.