LMA Partnership Offers Sales Certification: Virginia’s E-Press for August 8

TRAINING SPOTLIGHT

LMA now offering print and online sales certification training to VPA members through partnership
Sales staffs at VPA member newspapers can improve and reinforce their print and online sales skills using a unique web-based media sales certification program provided through VPA's new partnership with the Local Media Association (LMA). Current courses include Basic Online, Basic Print and Basic Print and Online, with new courses being added in the next several months.

LMA, formerly Suburban Newspapers of America, developed the training program in partnership with Gordon Borrell, CEO of Borrell Associates and one of the media industry's leading analysts, and Kevin McCrudden, president of MotivateAmerica, an expert in media convergence and sales and a national speaker on motivation, inspiration, management and leadership.

The sales training courses consist of nine 35-45 minute video webinars on topics including needs analysis, product knowledge, terminology, territory management, basic marketing, competitive media, presentation skills, answering objections and closing skills. Upon completion, participants take a 50-question test that requires a 90% grade or higher to earn certification. The training cost is $395 per person for non-LMA members and multiple-user discounts are available.

Results from the training since its launch to LMA members last fall have been outstanding. Some newspapers have used the certification program to introduce new salespeople to the basic skill sets they need to be successful. Others have used it as a refresher for experienced salespeople, with many companies requiring their entire sales team to participate and pass the test. Read more: http://www.vpa.net/index.php/education/article/23922/

VPA will also advertise webinars and other programs offered by LMA on its Training page at http://www.vpa.net. Watch for details!

For more information, contact Mark Laskowski, association partnership manager, Local Media Association, at (843) 667-6647 or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Upcoming webinars in August and September:
The Art of Selling Deals: Strategies for Securing the Best Offers
with Inland Press Association
Wednesday, August 29 / 3 p.m. EDT
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
Information/Registration: http://www.onlinemediacampus.com/2012/07/onlinepromotions/

How to pursue an investigative project while juggling other stories
with Online Media Campus
Thursday, September 13 / 2-3 p.m. EDT
Information/Registration: http://www.onlinemediacampus.com/2012/07/jugglingstories/

Digital Monetization with Online Media Campus
Friday, September 14 / 2-3 p.m. EDT
Information/Registration: http://www.onlinemediacampus.com/2012/07/digital-monetization/

VPA partners with Local Media Association, Online Media Campus and Inland Press Association to offer learning opportunities to our members.

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

ALERT: PUBLIC SAFETY CONCERN
(previously emailed to VPA ad directors and publishers on 8/7/12)
The Virginia Board of Pharmacy has alerted the Virginia Press Association that a public safety concern has been raised by a recent newspaper advertisement for TotalDrugMart.com. The ad claims that TotalDrugMart will ship prescription drugs to consumers at "Canadian pharmacy savings" and lists a business address in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

Pursuant to Section 54.1-3434.1 of the Virginia Drug Control Act, any pharmacy located outside the Commonwealth that ships, mails or delivers, in any manner, Schedule II through VI drugs or devices pursuant to a prescription into the Commonwealth shall be registered with the board as a non-resident pharmacy. Further, any business which does not hold a Virginia pharmacy license and advertises as a pharmacy is in violation of Section 54.1-3433 of the Virginia Drug Control Act.

TotalDrugMart.com is not registered with the board and therefore may be in violation of the referenced laws. There is a recognized risk to public safety due to the number of documented instances of rogue drug outlets claiming to be "Canadian pharmacies" when the operations are not located in Canada. Drugs shipped from such operations often do not contain the drug ingredients expected, but may include dangerous substances like drywall powder or various strengths of other drugs.

The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP) lists TotalDrugMart as a "Not Recommended Site" as it is out of compliance with state and federal laws and NABP patient safety and pharmacy practice standards. Therefore, due to concerns over public safety and the potential for illegal activity, the Virginia Board of Pharmacy asks that VPA members take these concerns into consideration when deciding whether to run ads for "Canadian pharmacies" and other such operations located outside the U.S.

For more information, please visit the Virginia Board of Pharmacy website at http://dhp.virginia.gov, or contact Caroline D. Juran, executive director of the board, at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or 804-367-4456.

NEW VPA COMMITTEE!
Do you tweet on Twitter, connect on LinkedIn or pin on Pinterest when you're not Facebooking? VPA is creating a Social Media Committee and is looking for members to help us navigate cyberspace. Interested? Please contact Kim Woodward at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) if you'd like to be part of our efforts.

MEMBER NEWS

New owner for York Town Crier and Poquoson Post
The York Town Crier and Poquoson Post have been sold to Yorktown-Poquoson Truth Media, Inc., which published its first issue on August 2. Tom Ward will serve as the new editor-in-chief. Rob Meisner, editor under the previous owner, Spectrum Publishing, is staying with the paper and helping with the transition.

INDUSTRY NEWS

Brown named as new ED of Reporters Committee
Bruce D. Brown, a former journalist and a partner in the law firm of Baker & Hostetler, has been selected as the new executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, to begin September 10. Lucy Dalglish, the committee's previous executive director, is the new dean of the Philip Merrill School of Journalism at the University of Maryland. Read more at http://www.rcfp.org/bruce-d-brown-new-executive-director-reporters-committee-freedom-press

THE BOTTOM LINE

RT-D rents building space to local entrepreneurs
Have space going to waste in your building? Consider renting it to local entrepreneurs, as the Richmond Times-Dispatch has done, and turn it into an incubator for creativity and collaboration. On July 29, the RT-D announced that it has dedicated an initial 4,000 square feet on the first floor of its building as "1E," office space for area entrepreneurs.

Selected entrepreneurs will rent offices in 1E, which includes access to common areas where they can mingle and brainstorm with other tenants and newspaper employees. The first tenant, the Floricane consulting firm, has agreed to help guide the development of 1E as part of its leasing agreement.
http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/commentary/2012/jul/29/td-comm02-t-d-makes-room-for-enterprising-entrepren-ar-2090438/

VPA TOTAL MEDIA DIRECTORY
Advertising space is going quickly in the new 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 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

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
Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press: http://www.rcfp.org
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

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

2013 Conference Dates
Next year's VPA/The Associated Press News & Advertising Conference will be held April 19-20 at the Norfolk Waterside Marriott. Contest information is coming this fall... plan your entries now to save time later!

FOIA Council Update
The Virginia Freedom of Information Advisory (FOIA) Council has announced its upcoming subcommittee and full council meetings, as follows:

The council's Criminal Investigative Records Subcommittee will meet at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, August 21, in the Speaker's Conference Room, Sixth Floor, General Assembly Building, 910 Capitol Street, Richmond, Virginia 23219.

The council's Electronic Meetings Subcommittee will meet at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, August 22, in the Speaker's Conference Room, to continue its study of HB 1105 (Greason) and HB 1149 (Dudenhefer), concerning the conduct of electronic communication meetings, referred to the FOIA Council by the 2012 Session of the General Assembly.

The full FOIA Council will meet on Wednesday, September 5, at 1:30 p.m. in House Room D of the General Assembly Building. This will be the third meeting of the FOIA Council for 2012, and will include the annual legislative preview.

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. It's a great time for VPA members to use those materials featured on the Public Notices resource page on http://www.vpa.net.

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!

Who should be getting E-Press? Let us know!
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.

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!