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See the VPA's stances on New Leaders, Total Media and More: Virginia’s E-Press for July 18
VPA / July 19, 2012
NEW VPA LEADERSHIPOn July 1, 2012, Keith Stickley of The Free Press in Woodstock became the 112th president of the Virginia Press Association and Virginia Press Services, Inc. The gavel was officially passed to Stickley by 2011-12 VPA President Peter Yates on July 13 during VPA's Executive Management Retreat in Virginia Beach.
Stickley is president and publisher of The Free Press in Woodstock and its printing division, Narrow Passage Press in Edinburg. He began his newspaper career as a reporter for The Winchester Star and Daily News-Record. Stickley then served as managing editor of the Plant City (Fla.) Courier, followed by stints as assistant bureau chief of the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times; general manager of the Shenandoah Valley Herald; and swing man at the Bradenton (Fla.) Herald, before starting The Free Press.
When asked in a 2010 interview for Virginia's Press to name the best career move he ever made, Stickley, a Woodstock native, replied, "Creating a newspaper in my home town."
Stickley will head a slate of officers for 2012-13 that includes the following persons:
Daniel Finnegan of the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Cindy Morgan of The Progress-Index in Petersburg, Marisa Porto of the Daily Press in Newport News, Steve Stewart of The Tidewater News in Franklin and Diane White of Womack Publishing Company, Inc., in Chatham began their first three-year terms on the board of directors as of July 1.
VPA TOTAL MEDIA DIRECTORY
This year, the VPA annual membership directory will expand into the VPA Virginia Total Media Directory! Thanks to the VPA board of directors, we will produce a publication that will still include all of our member newspaper information, but now with information added for TV, radio, current state events, current elected officials, etc.!
This new TOTAL MEDIA Directory will be distributed to all members (including our business members), advertising agencies, national advertisers, corporate executives, Virginia businesses, all statewide officeholders, and most state agencies. The directory will not only be distributed in print, but also in an electronic format.
If your publication hasn't previously advertised in our directory, this may be the time to give it a try. If you would like to place a full-page color ad on one of the pages, please reserve your space quickly as these premium spaces are the first to be requested.
Please give Adriane Long a call at 804-521-7585 or email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) if you have any questions. Don't miss your opportunity to be featured in VPA's inaugural Total Media Directory! Rate Card: http://www.vpa.net/images/pdf/directoryratecard1213al.pdf
MEMBER NEWS
William Raspberry, Washington Post columnist, 76
William Raspberry, 76, a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for The Washington Post whose fiercely independent views illuminated conflicts concerning education, poverty, crime and race, and who was one of the first black journalists to gain a wide following in the mainstream press, died July 17 at his home in Washington. Raspberry wrote an opinion column for the Post for nearly 40 years before retiring in 2005. More than 200 newspapers carried his syndicated columns, which were filtered through the prism of his experience growing up in the segregated South. Obituary: http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/william-raspberry-dies-washington-post-columnist-wrote-about-social-issues-including-race-poverty/2012/07/17/gJQAS210qW_story.html
Bill Hall, former Bristol Herald Courier publisher, 71
William H. "Bill" Hall, 71, former president and publisher of the Bristol Herald Courier, died Monday, July 16, at his home in Crockett. He retired in 2003 as president and publisher of the Bristol Herald Courier, which capped a 45-year career in the newspaper industry. Hall began writing for the Southwest Virginia Enterprise as a high school student. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Bill Hall Scholarship Fund of the Rural Retreat Lions Club, in care of Lions of Virginia Foundation, 5004 Colonial Ave., SW, Roanoke, VA 24018-3916. Online condolences may be sent to the family at http://www.highlandfuneralservice.com. Obituary: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/tricities/obituary.aspx?n=william-hall-bill&pid=158610222
POSTAL ISSUES
Newspapers strongly oppose USPS-Valassis deal
More than 30 newspaper companies, representing thousands of daily and weekly newspapers, provided detailed responses to the Postal Regulatory Commission's notice of inquiry on the proposed special postage-rate deal (or negotiated service agreement) for Valassis Direct Mail. Read more: http://www.naa.org/Public-Policy/Government-Affairs/Postal-Affairs/Responses-to-Inquiry-Reveal-Growing-Opposition-to-Valassis-NSA.aspx
NNA opposes 2014 full-service IMb requirement for automation discounts
The National Newspaper Association filed comments June 4 with U.S. Postal Service Product Classification on the proposal to require Full-Service IMb for automation discounts in January 2014. Basic IMb will be required by Jan. 28, 2013, after being delayed nearly four years since it was originally proposed. Read more: http://nnaweb.org/public-policy?articleTitle=nna-opposes-2014-full-service-imb-requirement-for-automation-discounts--1341264283--347--postal
NOTE: Congratulations to NNA Postal Chair (and VNA presenter) Max Heath, who will receive the Al Smith Award, for public service through community journalism, on Friday, July 20!
THE BOTTOM LINE
Danger signs for a publication in trouble
It's rare for a newspaper to head off a marketing strategy problem before a crisis is upon it. More often, it takes the sudden entry of a new competitor, a steep plunge in sales, or a similar emergency to get a strategy change. The answer is to evaluate the publication's marketing program on an objective on-going weekly basis. In this article by marketing consultant Bob Berting for NNA, learn about six warning signs that indicate imminent danger: http://nnaweb.org/resources?articleTitle=when-a-publication-is-headed-for-trouble--1338909593--330--advertising-sales
News About News
American Journalism Review: http://www.ajr.org
Columbia Journalism Review: http://www.cjr.org
Daily Briefing: http://www.journalism.org
Editor & Publisher: http://www.editorandpublisher.com
Investigative Reporters & Editors:
Mediabistro: http://www.mediabistro.com
National Newspaper Association: http://www.nnaweb.org
Newspaper Association of America: http://www.naa.org
Poynter: http://www.poynter.org
Public Notice Resource Center: http://www.pnrc.net
Jim Romenesko: http://www.jimromenesko.com
Society of Professional Journalists: http://www.spj.org
Recommendations for other sites? Send them to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)!
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!
Network for Rewards!
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!