Networks, News and Promotional Notions: Virginia’s E-Press for July 25

CHANGES TO VPS NETWORKS

After 131 years of service to Virginia's newspapers, Virginia Press Association and Virginia Press Services, Inc., are facing a budget deficit. In better economic times, VPS ad sales reached $21 million in a single year; they have fallen to $4 million in the past year. Revenue from other activities, including the classified and 2x2 display networks, has also declined.

VPA/VPS has taken steps to prune expenses while maintaining its levels of service, but is now left with no choice other than to improve revenue.

With a can-do attitude, the VPA/VPS board of directors has approved a solution that is designed to increase income and participation in the VPS advertising programs. Effective August 16, VPS will retain an additional 1% for all placements sent to member newspapers.

While newspapers participating in all VPS networks will only have an increase of 1% for advertising placed through the association, those enrolled in neither the classified network nor the 2x2 network will forfeit an additional 1% of ad sales revenue (2% total). Those enrolled in one or the other, but not both, will forfeit an additional .5% in revenue (1.5% total).

"These steps are being taken," wrote Executive Director Ginger Stanley in a July 20 letter to member publishers, "to encourage greater member participation which, in turn, will allow the association to increase rates for those products."

Questions? Please contact the VPA. If you would like more information about joining the networks, please contact Adriane Long, network coordinator, at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or 804-521-7585.

VPA TOTAL MEDIA DIRECTORY

This year, the VPA annual membership directory will expand into the VPA Virginia Total Media Directory -- 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.

Don't miss your opportunity to be featured in VPA's first Total Media Directory! 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 if you have any questions.
Rate Card: http://www.vpa.net/images/pdf/directoryratecard1213al.pdf

SUMMER WEBINARS

The Art of Selling Deals: Strategies for Securing the Best Offers with Inland Press Association
Wednesday, August 29 / 3 p.m. EDT
Join Second Street's Director of Affiliate Deals Success, Matt Chaney, to discuss all facets of selling deals - from the pitch to perfecting a deal and all of the negotiations in between. Getting great offers is an essential component of running a successful deals program and Matt will share insights from more than 400 deals partners that can be applied almost anywhere.
Information/Registration: http://www.inlandpress.biz/webinars/?ref=8292012

Online Promotions: Tapping Into a New Revenue Source with Online Media Campus
Thursday, August 30 / 2-3 p.m. EDT
Are you looking for a new, engaging, online revenue stream? Over the next five years, online promotions are expected to triple, surpassing all other online advertising categories. Types of online promotions include discounts, contests, coupons, rebates, sponsorships to white papers, viral marketing campaigns... and much more! The nature of the Internet is prompting local businesses to shift more dollars from traditional media to interactive marketing campaigns. Some local media companies have already identified this trend and are capitalizing on it, so presenter Peter Conti Jr. will show you how you can apply it to your business.
Information/Registration: http://www.onlinemediacampus.com/2012/07/onlinepromotions/

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.

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

Save the date for next year's VPA/The Associated Press News & Advertising Conference: April 19-20 at the Norfolk Waterside Marriott. Contest information is coming this fall... but don't wait till the deadline to get your entries together! Make sure your best work is easily accessible now -- it will streamline the entry process later.

MEMBER NEWS

End in Newport News, new beginning in Hanover: World Media now printing Daily Press
This week World Media Publishing Solutions in Hanover County added half a million additional copies per week to its workload.

The World Media facility, which also prints the Richmond Times-Dispatch, began printing the Newport News Daily Press with the Tuesday, July 24, edition.

Daily Press readers won't notice anything different when they open their newspapers. The World Media team has worked diligently since the May 1 announcement of the production agreement, carefully planning and preparing to ensure a seamless transition for customers, according to Sam Hightower, vice president of operations. Read more at http://www.vpa.net/images/pdf/WMEHanoverDailyPress2012.docx

Geoff Seamans, 66
Geoff Seamans, 66, former associate editor of The Roanoke Times' editorial pages, died July 19. A graduate of Davidson College who served in Vietnam and earned a master's degree in history from Duke University, Seamans became a reporter for The Roanoke Times in 1973. In 1980, he joined the editorial staff. Known for his "keen interest in current affairs and love of a good argument," as described by Laurence Hammack of The Roanoke Times, Seamans focused much of his work on political, economic and education issues. Before he retired in 2005, he wrote that the best part of his job was "afflicting the powerful when they do or say truly dumb things." The second-best, if more difficult, was "explaining and weighing issues where all sides have legitimate points."

THE BOTTOM LINE

Could crowdfunding journalism work for you?
That's the question Mathew Ingram asks in an article on http://GigaOM.com this week. Michigan journalist Chris Killian raised $2,500 in Kickstarter contributions to fund a journalism project in which he'll travel around the U.S., interviewing people about the upcoming election. And he's not the only reporter seeking financial help from online contributors. Ingram considers the pros and cons of raising money for journalism through crowdfunding, and the article includes links to more details. Read more at http://gigaom.com/2012/07/23/could-kickstarter-be-used-to-crowdfund-journalism/.

NEWS ABOUT NEWS
Have recommendations for other sites? Send them to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)!
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
Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute: http://www.rjionline.org
Jim Romenesko: http://www.jimromenesko.com
The Rural Blog: http://irjci.blogspot.com
Society of Professional Journalists: http://www.spj.org

WORTH A READ:
The three-part feature on the Reynolds Institute website: how-tos for optimizing your site, using email as a tool and interacting with social media.
http://rjionline.org/news/17-tips-how-optimize-your-news-website
http://rjionline.org/news/how-use-email-tool-your-news-site
http://rjionline.org/news/how-use-social-media-interact-subscribers

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!

Local Government Mandate Review Task Force eyes public notices in newspapers
Gov. Bob McDonnell's Task Force for Local Government Mandate Review will meet July 30 at the Virginia Housing Center in Glen Allen. The requirement for governments to place public notices in newspapers -- and possible modifications to allow for electronic notifications -- will be on the agenda. VPA representatives will attend the meeting and follow the task force's actions on behalf of the association.

National Newspaper Week coming in October
Mark your calendar for National Newspaper Week, the first week in October! It's a great time to remind your readers of the importance of newspapers in their daily lives, and the role newspapers play in protecting citizens' right to know what their government is doing.

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.

Job hunting? Hiring? Start with VPA!
For job hunters, VPA's online 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!