Postal Issues, Pinterest and FOIA: Virginia’s E-Press for June 27

E-Press will take a break for the Fourth of July next week!
Best wishes for a happy and safe holiday -- E-Press will return on July 11.

POSTAL ISSUES

Friday is deadline for comments on Valassis deal
As previously reported in Virginia's E-Press, the U.S. Postal Service proposed a negotiated service agreement with Valassis Direct Mail, Inc., that would permit it to earn deep postage discounts if it can attract a million new mailpieces into a new package it would start in its existing markets. It cannot open new markets for this discount, but the new advertising contracts it will sign may well allow it to open new markets without the discount.

Valassis would have to perform this obligation within a year of its start date. The primary target is local newspapers' insert programs. USPS believes many newspapers have pulled their TMC programs out of the mail and is using this observation as a justification for the deal with Valassis to bring that mail back.

The Newspaper Association of America (NAA) and the National Newspaper Association (NNA) have both filed comments objecting to the proposal, on slightly different but compatible legal arguments.

The Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) took note of these objections and issued a new order on June 15 requesting new data from all interested parties. The original deadline of June 22 has been extended to June 29.

In the notice of inquiry, the PRC asks a number of questions about the specific relevant marketplace, specific questions about the amount of Total Market Coverage volumes that may leave the postal system (as newspapers explore cost-cutting moves in response to the NSA), data about trends in the delivery of advertising circulars, the views of durable goods advertisers, and the effects on small businesses.

NAA has provided instructions and a template for filing responses with the PRC: http://www.naa.org/login.aspx?item=%2fpublic-policy%2fgovern-
ment-affairs%2fpostal-affairs%2fprc-requests-more-informatio-
n-on-direct-mail-nsa&user=extranet%5CAnonymous&site=website. [Note: If your newspaper is part of a group, your company may be working on a consolidated response or coordinating responses from individual newspapers.] If you have any questions, please contact Paul Boyle at NAA, .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

NNA has constructed a survey for its members and will provide the data to the PRC in the survey format. You can access the survey through the link below:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/PXHKHZ3

The two groups are consulting frequently on the matter. There is no policy difference between them on this deal.

The deadline for responses is Friday, June 29, 2012.

Get away with VPA to the Executive Management Retreat!
July 13-14, The Cavalier, Virginia Beach
Click here for details: http://www.vpa.net/images/pdf/EMRagenda12.pdf

SUMMER WEBINARS

Are you pinning? Lots of people are using Pinterest for personal reasons -- recipes, decorating and crafts projects among them. How can you use it to build your newspaper website's audience? Find out on Thursday, July 12, at 3 p.m., by participating in "Using Pinterest to Drive Readers to Your Website, Showcase Your Journalists' Best Work and Make Advertisers Love You." Joan Stewart is the webinar leader.
Details/Registration: http://www.onlinemediacampus.com/2012/05/pinterest/

VPA partners with Online Media Campus and Inland Press Association to offer learning opportunities to our members. Each program allows participation by an unlimited number of people at your site, using one Internet connection and one phone. In addition to the Pinterest session, the following webinars are coming in July:

Thursday, July 19, 3 p.m., "Ultimate Money-Making Print and Web Ads" with Joe DeBiak
Details/Registration: http://www.onlinemediacampus.com/2012/05/ultimatemoneymaking-printwebads

July 9-31, Online Certificate Program for Web Press Operators (2-4 hours for completion)
Details/Registration: http://www.onlinemediacampus.com/certificate-programs/

VPA Training and Education: http://www.vpa.net/index.php/education/

FOIA UPDATE

FOIA Council subcommittees meet to study bills
It's going to be a busy few days for Virginia's Freedom of Information Advisory (FOIA) Council.

The Electronic Meetings Subcommittee will meet at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, June 28, in the Speaker's Conference Room of the General Assembly Building in Richmond. The subcommittee will study HB 1105 (Greason) and HB 1149 (Dudenhefer), concerning the conduct of electronic communication meetings, referred to the FOIA Council by the 2012 General Assembly.

At 1:30 p.m., the Criminal Investigative Records Subcommittee will meet in the Speaker's Conference Room. As a reminder, the Criminal Investigative Records Subcommittee was first appointed in 2010 to study SB 711 (Edwards), then reappointed to study SB 1467 (Edwards) in 2011. Both SB 1467 and SB 711 would limit the exemption for criminal investigative or prosecution records to those investigations or prosecutions that are ongoing. As a result, criminal investigative and prosecution records would be open to the public after the ongoing criminal investigation or prosecution has become final or has been otherwise terminated. In 2011 the Subcommittee directed staff and stakeholders, including VPA, to continue studying the various issues relating to access to criminal investigative records into 2012.

The Parole Board Subcommittee will meet at 10:30 a.m. on July 2 in the Speaker's Conference Room. The subcommittee will study HB 397 (Hope), concerning access to guidance documents used by the Virginia Parole Board, referred to the FOIA Council by the 2012 Session of the General Assembly.

The full FOIA Council will meet at 1:30 p.m. on July 2 in House Room C of the General Assembly Building. FOIA Council website: http://foiacouncil.dls.virginia.gov

Last call: share your ideas by June 29
The Virginia Press Association roadshows in Williamsburg, Lexington, Warrenton and Chatham provided opportunities for publishers and staff to discuss VPA's current programs, industry trends, member needs and related issues. If you did not attend a roadshow, but have thoughts or ideas about VPA's future that you'd like to share, please email them to Kim Woodward at VPA, .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address), by June 29. A report from these meetings will be produced and given to the VPA Board of Directors in July. Let your voice be heard!

2011 VPA Contests
Click here to access the gallery: http://omnicontests4.com/gallery-search.aspx?gallery_id=11

Visit the Public Notice Resources page for VPA members on http://www.vpa.net to access online and print ads, our general information page, and more!

Who should be getting E-Press? Let us know!
Do you find yourself forwarding Virginia's E-Press every week to fellow staff members? Have you retired but still want to keep up with your VPA colleagues? Is there a new employee who should be added to our mailing lists? If you'd like to add people to our electronic (and postal) mailing lists, or if there are updates we need to make to our records, please send the names and email addresses to Caroline Cardwell, .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address), at VPA.

Looking for a new job? Or a new employee?
For job hunters, VPA's online classifieds at http://www.vpa.net/index.php/classifieds/ are a great place to start. Listings are added each week. And if you have a position to fill, remember that VPA members can post classifieds for free. Check it out!

Join SCAN and/or 2x2: there's money involved!
Participants in Virginia Press Services' Statewide Classified Ad (SCAN) and 2x2 Networks can earn significant rewards. If you are not participating and would like to begin, or if you are only participating in one network and would like to join both, please contact Adriane Long, Statewide Classified/2x2 Coordinator, at 804-521-7585 or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Expert Advice: Ask the Columnists
Newspaper Technology: Kevin Slimp
Common Sense Journalism: Doug Fisher
Writing Matters: Jim Stasiowski
Design for Readers: Ed Henninger
Ad-libs: John Foust
Visit http://www.vpa.net/index.php/education/article/expert_advice_ask_the_columnists1/ for contact information!