‘Creative
Circle’ e-mails didn’t come from VPA

Members
who received e-mails linking the Virginia Press Association with an advertising
company should be advised that those e-mails are not VPA-sanctioned.

VPA
received word this week that members were receiving e-mails from Creative
Circle Advertising titled “Virginia Press Association Online Tips.” The e-mail
messages then linked columns from Scott Bateman, VPA’s online media consultant,
with content programs from Creative Circle, making it appear as if VPA was
endorsing these products. Those e-mails were neither authorized by VPA nor sent
by any VPA staff member.

VPA’s
policy has been and always will be that the association does not participate in
any endorsements — product/program, political or otherwise. Members should
keep that in mind if they see e-mails such as this in the future.

Creative
Circle has been contacted by VPA about these e-mails.

Contest
information you need to know

A
reminder — everything members need to enter the 2008 News and Advertising
contests now is available on the VPA Web site. Click href="http://www.vpa.net/index.php/association/article/vpa_contests/">here style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'> to view the main contest page.

A new
feature for contest queries this year is the addition of two forums — one
for each contest — to the VPA Web site’s href="http://www.vpa.net/index.php/forums/">Forums page style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>. The forums provide another avenue
for members to ask questions about contest topics. Check the forums frequently,
as a question you might have about a category or entry may have been asked and
answered already. In order to post to these or any other forum, you must be
registered to the Web site. Click href="http://www.vpa.net/index.php/site/login/">here style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'> for information about site
registration.

Calls for
entries and rules for both contests, plus other pertinent information, are
downloadable from the site as PDFs.

Also
available are electronic entry kits for the News Contest. Their downloads may
be found at the bottom of the href="http://www.vpa.net/index.php/association/article/2008_contest/">News
Contest page.

These
files are compressed and need to be opened with the Stuffit Expander
application. If you do not have Stuffit on your computer, click href="http://my.smithmicro.com/mac/stuffit/expander.html">here style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'> to find out more about how to
download it.

If, for
some reason, you are unable to download any of the PDFs for either contest, VPA
will fax or mail them. Contact Stephanie
McCraw at (804)
521-7578 if hard copies are needed or if you have any specific questions about
the contests.

VPA
unveils ‘Sales Professional of the Year’ competition

The
Virginia Press Association has issued a call for nominations for its inaugural
“Outstanding Sales Professional of the Year” Award.

The
honor, to be presented at next April’s Advertising Conference in
Charlottesville, is designed for sales personnel only. Two winners will be
named: one for daily publications and one for non-daily publications (includes
specialty publications). A manager may be eligible only if he or she spends
more then 50 percent of their time actively selling local accounts during the
normal sales cycle through the year.

Candidates
will demonstrate leadership and tenacity that have engineered growth in linage
and revenues, developed and grown new accounts.

Additional
skill sets should include: excellent time management, organized approach to
sales presentations, detail-oriented, accurate paperwork, excellent copy and layout
skills, excellent communication skills and extraordinary customer service for
clients.

Nomination
forms and a complete list of eligibility requirements can be downloaded by
clicking here style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>. The deadline to nominate someone
is Jan. 15, 2009.

For more
information about the award, contact Stephanie
McCraw, member
services manager, at (804) 521-7578.

Coalition
calls for openness in Obama administration

From a
news release

The
Sunshine in Government Initiative has suggested that the new administration of
President-elect Barack Obama should take four immediate, concrete steps to
strengthen open government to counteract years of growing government secrecy in
a climate in Washington increasingly hostile to the people’s right to know.

"President-elect
Obama can act quickly to make transparency in government a signature component
of the Obama administration," said Rick Blum, the coalition's coordinator.
SGI's recommendations help the public stay informed of government activities by
bringing down barriers to accessing public information. These actions would
show President-elect Obama intends to fulfill his pledge to restore open
government in Washington.”

The
Sunshine in Government Initiative (SGI) consists of nine media organizations
that believe in open government. Members include: American Society of Newspaper
Editors, The Associated Press, Association of Alternative Newsweeklies,
National Association of Broadcasters, National

Newspaper
Association, Newspaper Association of America, Radio-Television News Directors

Association,
Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, and Society of Professional
Journalists.

Specifically,
early in his administration, Obama should:

• Restore
the presumption of disclosure across the executive branch. Federal agencies
should

exercise
their discretion to withhold information under the Freedom of Information Act
only when a foreseeable harm would result from disclosure.

• Create
an independent, online ombudsman to help citizens access their government. The

Obama
administration should quickly ramp up the Office of Government Information
Services at

the
National Archives and Records Administration to mediate disclosure disputes.

• Ban
agencies from proposing or endorsing unnecessary statutory exemptions from

disclosure.
Any new laws proposed or supported by the administration to specifically exempt

certain
information from disclosure should be limited in scope and life and include
oversight.

• Speak
on the record, and urge his senior deputies and aides to do the same, in all
statements

about
policy and current news about public matters.

A brief, four-page
white paper outlining the issues and recommendations is available by clicking href="http://www.sunshineingovernment.org">here.

Some
need-to-knows for the 2009 News Conference & Annual Meeting

A few
notes to remember for the upcoming News Conference & Annual Meeting March
20-21 at the Norfolk Waterside Marriott:

• After-Banquet
Party host is needed. A member-generated tradition of the News Conference & Annual Meeting
always has been the After-Banquet Party that follows the Awards Banquet.

In years
past, someone from a member newspaper in or near the host city has taken on the
role of coordinator for the party. This person, or group of people, work out
the details of the party, such as refreshments and entertainment. The party is
member-financed, meaning that newspapers pool resources to pick up the tab.

If you
would like to coordinate the party efforts, please contact href="mailto:kimw@vpa.net">Kim Woodward at (804) 521-7574.

• The
Annual Meeting is a time for VPA to commemorate retirements and remember losses style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'> at member newspapers during the
previous year.

Member
newspapers that wish to have retirements or deaths noted during the meeting are
asked to e-mail that information to Bill
Atkinson.

Sign
up for a Dec. 11 Webinar for VPA members

Borrell
& Associates will present a Webinar for VPA on Dec. 11 on improving online
classified ad sales.

The
Webinar, titled “Improving Online Classifieds: What’s Next for Recruitment,
Real Estate and Automotive,” will be held from 2 to 3 p.m.

Newspaper
sites have remained dependent on classified verticals. So what can a local
newspaper do to maintain and gain share? Join a consortium, partner with a
competitor or continue to slug it out alone. The Webinar will cover the numbers
for each vertical and offer concrete examples of newspapers that have found
their niche and are making money in the verticals through segmented tactics.

Viewers
will leave this Webinar armed with:

•
the latest spending forecasts for the Big 3 classifieds;

•
examples of successful classified campaigns; and

•
strategic insight of pure-plays in the verticals.

The cost to participate is $75 for one login. More than one person
can view. Participants will be invoiced.

At least
11 more participants are needed to make the Webinar happen. The deadline to
register is Dec. 5, but early sign-ups are encouraged.

To
reserve a space in the Webinar, click href="file://localhost/register/493281590">here style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>.

‘AP
Day at the Capital’ offers doses of politics, budget

From a
news release

Reporters
and editors attending AP Day at the Capital on Dec. 2 will get a double dose of
politics.

The day
begins with a panel analyzing the political scene in Virginia, including the
presidential race. And at lunchtime, participants will have a chance to hear
the gubernatorial candidates and submit questions.

There
also will be sessions on the Virginia budget and on some of the basics of
covering the legislature, such as how to get to the source of a bill and
contacting legislators.

The
event, organized by Virginia Associated Press Managing Editors and co-sponsored
by Virginia Press Association, will be in the first-floor conference room at
the Richmond Times-Dispatch building, on Franklin Street in downtown Richmond.
Fees are $10 per person – and that includes lunch. AP Day at the Capital
is open to all Virginia newspapers.

An agenda
and registration information can be found href="http://www.vpa.net/index.php/services/article/ap_day_at_the_capital_dec_2_2008/">here style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>.  Please note that the deadline to register is 5 p.m. Nov. 24.

For more
information and to register, contact Stacey
Carroll at
AP.   

Check
out the VNA calendar online

Here is a
list of the remaining sessions on the VNA calendar for 2008-09. Click href="http://www.vpa.net/index.php/education/article/professional_development/">here style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'> to see the complete session
descriptions.

style="mso-spacerun: yes"> 

2009

• Jan. 8
(Two sessions) — How to Manage Your Manager style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>, with Carolyn Cullen, The Daily
Progress, Charlottesville (9:30 a.m. to Noon); Leading in Times of Change style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>, with Twana Miller, human resource
expert, Fredericksburg (1-4 p.m.)

• March
5, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. — Selling Against the Competition style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>, with Adam Cook, The
Virginian-Pilot, Norfolk

• April 2
— Joint Workshop with Online News Association style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'> (presenters, topics and times to be
announced)

• April
30 (Two sessions) — Do's and Don'ts of Crime Reporting style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>, with Pam Gould, The Free
Lance-Star, Fredericksburg (9:30 a.m. to Noon); Court Reporting Basics style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>, with Mike Allen, The Roanoke
Times; and Steve Helber, The Associated Press (1-4 p.m.)

• May
14-15 — Virginia Writers' Workshop, with Kate Long, writing coach; and Ted Anthony, The
Associated Press (Kate Long 4-6 p.m. May 14; Ted Anthony 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
May 15)

• May 21,
10 a.m. to 4 p.m. — API Upholding Ethical Standards style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>, with Steve Buttry, The Gazette,
Cedar Rapids, Iowa

• June 4,
10 a.m. to 4 p.m. — Working in a Multimedia Newsroom style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>, with Randy Covington, director of
IFRA Newsplex

• June
18-19 — Community Journalism Workshop style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>, with The Experts (1:30-7:30 p.m.
June 18; 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. June 19)

Contact href="mailto:kimw@vpa.net">Kim Woodward at (804) 521-7574 if you have any questions about
the lineup.

New
Dominion parent launches redesigned Web site

From a
news release

Augusta
Free Press Publishing has relaunched its signature Web portal AugustaFreePress.com
with a new look and feel.

 

The new-look AugustaFreePress.com features a four-column layout that better
displays its array of print, video and audio content with up-to-the-minute
updates on news and current events in Greater Augusta and the Shenandoah Valley
and Central Virginia.

 

"The new website is cleaner and much easier for our visitors to access
than our old site and other news sites here in our markets," said Crystal
Graham, the president of Augusta Free Press Publishing, the parent company of
AugustaFreePress.com and The New Dominion print magazine, which begins a
monthly print run with its January 2009 issue.

 

The addition of the video and audio components to AugustaFreePress.com, in
development for several months, makes the site a virtual one-stop shop for
those who want to stay on top of what is going on in the Shenandoah Valley and
Central Virginia.

 

"AugustaFreePress.com is essentially a print newspaper, a TV station and
radio station all rolled into one, and with our sister publication, The New
Dominion, going monthly in January, our advertisers get access to our base of
more than 10,000 sets of eyeballs through a variety of marketing
platforms," Graham said.

Judge:
Times vs. Radford battle will continue into December

From style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Monaco'> style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>The Roanoke Times

A legal
fight between The Roanoke Times and the city of Radford over a Freedom of
Information request that the city wants to keep confidential will continue into
December, a judge ruled Nov. 14.

After
hearing arguments and testimony in the case, Radford Circuit Court Judge Joey
Showalter directed attorneys for both sides to submit briefs by December.
Another hearing will be set later, Showalter said.

The lawsuit
centers around two FOIA requests filed with Radford officials in August and September
by Roanoke Times reporter Tim Thornton. Among other things, Thornton asked the
city to provide him copies of any other FOIA requests the city received between
June 15 and Sept. 18.

In response
to Thornton's requests, City Attorney Jim Guynn provided heavily redacted
copies of two FOIA requests, erasing names and other pertinent information and
in one case excluding two pages of a two-and-a-half-page document. The redacted
letters were FOIA requests written by Radford spokeswoman and Deputy City Council
Clerk Becky Hawke to the city in July and August requesting a copy of a
findings report from an internal city investigation into a harassment
complaint.

Radford
City Council members have declined to discuss the investigation referred to in
Hawke's FOIA requests.

To redact
information from public records, the city must point to a specific exemption in
the law that allows the information to be withheld. Under the law, personnel
records pertaining to identifiable individuals may be kept confidential. In
this case, Showalter must decide if parts of a FOIA request can also be
classified as personnel records and thereby withheld from the public.

Paper:
Drug maker paid millions in claims

From The
Free Lance-Star

A drug
maker whose medicine was implicated in the deaths and injuries of heart surgery
patients at Mary Washington Hospital has paid millions to settle claims against
it.

Central
Admixture Pharmacy Services and its parent company, B. Braun Medical, paid more
than $5.5 million to settle four recent cases. These, combined with earlier
payments, push the total paid by the companies to more than $6 million.

In all, 10
patients or their families filed lawsuits against the companies in Spotsylvania
Circuit Court, beginning in 2006. Nine of the cases have been settled, and one
is pending.

The latest
cases were brought by the widows and children of four men who died in 2004 or
2005, soon after bypass surgery at Mary Washington.

It's not
clear from court documents how much of this money went to the Richmond
attorneys who represented the families. Frequently, a plaintiff's attorney in a
wrongful death case will receive one-third of any award.

Central
Admixture fought to keep the settlement amounts private. In at least one of the
cases, it paid the family extra money for agreeing to keep the settlement
confidential.

But The
Free Lance-Star and Media General Operations Inc., publisher of the Richmond
Times-Dispatch, pushed for disclosure. They argued in court that Virginia law
requires settlement amounts in wrongful death cases be open to the public.

The
Virginia Supreme Court agreed, ruling in September that the details must be
available.

After that
ruling, Spotsylvania Circuit Court Judge David Beck ordered the court files
unsealed, and they were made available several days ago.

Send
your rate cards for both print, online ads

Virginia
Press Services Inc. requests that VPA members who updated their rate cards for
both print and online advertising should send those updates to VPS.

VPS uses
this information to customize ad-placement orders for newspapers and newspaper
Web sites throughout Virginia.

Rate cards
may be e-mailed to Diana Shaban style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>, VPS advertising director. Hard
copies of the cards should be mailed to her attention at Virginia Press
Services Inc., 11529 Nuckols Road, Glen Allen, VA 23059.