Help The Industry and Help Yourself
Individual Giving Campaign Kicks Off and Pledges Are Urged
Click here
to learn more about the Foundation’s Giving Campaign
With the theme of “The Cause Is Personal...For All Of Us” the SNA Foundation (a
501(c)(3) charitable trust affiliated with SNA), has officially kicked off its’
individual giving campaign. All donations are tax deductible and the goal is to
raise $250,000 over the balance of the calendar year. Every penny raised will be
used to further the Foundation’s mission of helping suburban and community publishers
make the digital transition successfully. “We want to provide much needed research
and information to community publishers to help them develop successful business
models on the digital side so that our industry can continue to inform and engage
the local citizenry,” said SNA President Nancy Lane.
Among other objectives, there are several initiatives that the Foundation could
accomplish for SNA members and the industry as a whole with a successful fundraising
campaign, including:
- Follow several promising case studies with regular reports and updates on their
successes and lessons learned
- Start beta sites to explore new and interesting audience-attracting and revenue-generating
ideas
- Conduct valuable research on emerging trends and innovations
- Publish a best practice guide that will be an indispensable resource for local publishers
looking for practical and useable guidance in multimedia publishing
- Continue to provide FREE training for the industry
- read more
Sweet, Tweet Twitter
Learn about the many applications this fast growing social network tool has
in local media
By Deb Shaw
6/29/2009 — Am I the only person who doesn’t tweet?
Perhaps it’s my hesitancy to take on yet another social networking tool that’s heightened
my awareness factor but it seems like everywhere I turn the talk is all about Twitter.
Turn on the local news and the talking head is telling me I can follow the latest
and greatest on Twitter. Whoopi and Barbara were arguing over who had the larger
number of followers and Elizabeth chastised Ms. Walters for not tweeting enough.
Time magazine lobbed an in depth cover story into the mix, seemingly just to further
fuel my insecurity over this latest social networking player.
read more
Web First in Practice
By Deb Shaw
Ann Hoffman: “It would surprise me if there are many folks in our business who are still resisting
using the web for breaking stories.”
6/15/2009 — “It would surprise me if there are many folks in our business who are still resisting
using the web for breaking stories,” says Publisher Ann Hoffman who runs The Daily
Advance in Elizabeth City, NC, as well as several non-daily newspapers in the region.
Yet, at a recent SNA Foundation-sponsored webinar (Topic:
Small Staff Can Make A Big Web Presence), one participant challenged the
notion of putting news on the web first, arguing that doing so would be a threat
to their single copy and subscription sales. No doubt, he is not alone in his concern.
Is there an approach that can combine these two perspectives for the benefit of
both mediums? You bet there is but hold on a minute... the approach can come with
a price. Daily Kingston (NY) Publisher Ira Fusfeld points out that posting an exclusive
story for the web gives your competitors a heads up, enabling them to match it on
line and in print. “That creates a tug of war here between the old thinking and
the new. On the one hand, we want our exclusive in print. On the other hand, we
want to be first with the story on the web,” comments Fusfeld. read more
News Release
LocalPoint Media Announces Online Coupon Partnership with Valassis and its RedPlum
Network
Nearly 300 Web sites have already signed up; all community newspaper Web sites are
invited to participate and benefit from volume pricing.
Livonia, Mich. and Traverse City, Mich., June 11, 2009: Community
newspaper Web sites will now have the opportunity to run manufacturers’ coupons
online via a new partnership between LocalPoint Media (LPM) and Valassis, one of
the nation’s leading media and marketing services companies. Manufacturer coupons
will be available to consumers through Valassis’ redplum.com Web site.
Under the terms of the program, newspaper Web sites will create a locally branded
coupon section of their site to house the grocery coupons. They will also be able
to sell local coupons and banner ads around the highly desirable grocery coupons.
The program provides a revenue share based on a “pay per print” model. LPM has negotiated
a volume-based revenue share that will provide newspaper Web sites with better terms
than they could negotiate on their own.
“Providing grocery coupons online will drive traffic to community newspaper Web
sites and allow them to monetize on the local side in a very meaningful way,” said
Nancy Lane, President of LocalPoint Media and Suburban Newspapers of America (SNA).
“For papers that do not get the printed FSI’s, this is a terrific opportunity to
offer these valuable coupons to their readers. For those that do get them, this
is a smart way to extend the reach to non-subscribers in the market. Decisions on
participation will be made on a market-by-market basis. We encourage all community
Web sites to learn more about the program and give it serious thought.”
read more
$225,000+ in Online Ad Dollars
By Deb Shaw
Mark Poss, CEO of Red Wing Publishing, shared insights about their web ad sales
blitzes at the 2009 SNA Spring Publishers' Conference held in Tampa.
6/8/2009 — We’ve all heard about the less is more concept. Perhaps you should consider following
the lead of the folks at Red Wing Publishing in Minnesota and apply the principle
to your website advertising. They did, and the results are impressive. So far, over
3 sales blitzes in the last 11 months, more than $225,000 in online ad commitments
have been inked.
‘Nascarnage’ is how Red Wing CEO Mark Poss describes the old look of advertising
on their sites. With a bunch of logos down the side, the original web advertising
model was jumbled, off-putting and looked like a Nascar racecar cramming in sponsor
logos. “It’s easy to spot newspapers which adhere to this dated model,” says Mike
Blinder of The Blinder Group. “You can simply go to their Web site and look for
a litany of small, boxed ads appearing one on top of the other, all the way down
the side of the Web page.” read more
NewsView Feature Snags Website Innovation Recognition
Click to view live NewsView maps.
By Deb Shaw
6/1/2009 — Like fancy silverware and crystal on a dining table, the NewsView feature on Metroland
Media Group Durham division’s websites adds pleasure to the experience of the sites
but it doesn’t stand alone as the only reason to visit. As with any compelling local
media site, content is king but a quick look at the feature will give you reason to understand why
judges in the just announced SNA Community Website Contest selected the team of
Ian Caldwell and Bryan Stokes as Innovators of The Year. They are the brains behind
the geo-coding based feature of their local sites that, at least in part, has helped
boost traffic and unique visitors since its’ debut last year.
The NewsView maps pinpoint local stories on their websites and are aimed at making
the local coverage in the seven communities that they serve even more hyper-local.
This unique online experience launched at the end of August ’08 as part of the ‘new’
newsdurhamregion.com and in September, their first full month with the new site,
they had page views that totaled 396,197 and total monthly unique visitors of 72,640.
That compares to 442,685 page views in April 2009 and total monthly unique visitors
of 97,204. Although no one can say exactly what impact the geo-coding by itself
has had, the trend indicates that the online experience they’re offering is definitely
attracting more views and visitors. read more
Five Core Threats to Media Revenue Growth...And What You Can Do About Them
By Deb Shaw
Toni Malanaphy-Sorg urges sales managers to consciously take action based on an
expectation of a positive outcome.
read more
5/26/2009 — Unless you’ve been seriously not paying attention to your inbox you know by now
that one of the major 2009 initiatives from SNA for its members is a commitment
to ongoing training via frequent and mostly free webinars. From the get-go of the
New Year, SNA has offered numerous webinars each month covering an expansive array
of topics across all the disciplines — editorial, new media, retail and classified
advertising, circulation and operations. Fear not if you’ve missed those of interest
— all of the completed webinars have been recorded,
archived and are available on-demand.
Last month, Toni Malanaphy-Sorg and Linda Rabagliati of Alliant Consulting took
center stage for a webinar that focused on overcoming the Five Core Threats to Media
Revenue Growth. Drawing on her 20 years of service to the newspaper industry, Alliant
President and CEO Malanaphy-Sorg was able to combine both the historical aspects
of advertising sales with the current need to embrace the new media realities and
guide participants to think anew about sales practices, processes and management
ideology. read more
Announcing the 2009 Local Community Web Site Contest Winners
Sioux City Journal / Lee Enterprises, Inc. won Best Site for daily newspapers with
total circulation over 40,000.
5/14/2009 — Judges for the SNA Local Community Web Site Contest were faced with very challenging
decisions this year. This competitive contest represents the top Web initiatives
from community and suburban newspapers across North America. We're extremely proud
of all the Web sites that entered the contest and the amazingly hard work and innovation
that goes into creating a winning site.
Web Site of the Year applies to any site produced by a local newspaper. Winners
in this category provide overall excellence including design, ease of navigation,
content, reader interactivity, innovation and advertising.
read more
Telling Stories Differently On The Web
By Deb Shaw
Bryan Mahoney
5/11/2009 — Size doesn’t matter. Small staff or large staff, weekly or daily newspaper, free
or paid circulation... there seems to be no common denominator when it comes to
delivering interesting and alluring local websites. What does seem like a universal
truth however is, in a word, gumption.
As we explore more deeply the online efforts and results put forth by community
media, what is seen again and again is that it doesn’t take an army of people to
create the kind of web content that is pulling in users. Rather, it seems to be
more about the desire to try new things and using different methods to tell the
story on the Web than what is used in print.
It makes sense — the medium is different and so should the storytelling.
Last month, the SNA Foundation hosted a webinar that focused on just that —
learning how to tell stories on the Web and no surprise, a good part of the discussion
focused on video. The two part webinar featured Bryan Mahoney, editor of the weekly
Lexington Minuteman (MA) and Jason Kolnos and Eric Williams from the Cape Cod Times
(MA). Each described the approaches that are working for them including lessons
learned so far and tips for others who are exploring new and different story telling
techniques.
read more
Rising Over The Din
By Deb Shaw
One in a series of ads created by The Newspaper Project.
5/4/2009 — It’s about time. Finally, the national press has given some upbeat ink to the fact
that there is a huge difference between smaller market newspapers and major metros
and the positive attention is thanks, in large part, to the financial reporting
inaugurated by SNA and the National Newspaper Association. (Watch your inbox for
the quarterly invitation to participate in this confidential reporting.) The April
28th Wall Street Journal article entitled Investors Bet on Small-Market Papers is
just one in a spate of pieces written recently that point to the continued vitality
and importance of community newspapers.
Donna Barrett, president and chief executive officer of Community Newspaper Holdings
Inc. based in Birmingham, AL, is sick and tired of the negative news and she’s not
going to take it anymore. “The roar of misinformation swirling around newspapers
is deafening,” said Barrett. “We must cut through the noise to set the record straight.”
She’s working with a group of other industry leaders to spearhead The Newspaper Project, an undertaking dedicated to promoting
the value of the newspaper and related online mediums. Among other things, The Newspaper
Project has made available a series of clever and professionally designed print
and web ads (they’re free) that newspapers are urged to schedule as part of an
ongoing campaign.
read more
Wall Street Journal Recognizes Strength of Community Newspapers
News Release
4/29/2009 — The loyalty and buying power of community newspaper readers are among the attributes
that continue to be recognized by advertisers and investors, and most recently by
a story in the April 28, 2009 edition of The Wall Street Journal.
The story confirmed many facts about smaller market papers that industry insiders
have long recognized. Specifically, that one of the many attractions of smaller
papers is their intense local focus and community connections, which continue to
generate solid returns for advertisers and smaller market newspaper owners.
Newspaper industry leaders echoed the findings in the financial publication's story.
“Newspapers are too often painted with a broad brush, and it’s nice to see The Wall
Street Journal acknowledge the realities and diversification of our industry,” said
Gareth Charter, publisher of six weekly newspapers in Massachusetts. “Of course,
we are affected by the economy, but community publishing has a very bright future.
We purchased a 21-year-old weekly in May 2007 and grew its revenue 30% the first
year. It’s up another 19% through (the first quarter) of this year.”
read more
SNA, Inland Partner on Fall Conferences
Inland Group Executives Conference to Affiliate with SNA Fall Publishers' &
Advertising Directors' Conference
“The
Inland Group Executives Conference has a great reputation and we are delighted that
they will be joining us in Kansas City this fall.”Nancy Lane, SNA President
4/29/2009 — Two of the strongest newspaper associations will join forces this
September to provide superior programming to the industry. Suburban Newspapers of
America is proud to announce that the Inland Press Association's Group Executives
Conference will be held in conjunction with the SNA
Publishers' & Advertising Directors' Conference in Kansas City from September
22-25.
The Group Executives Conference will start with a reception Monday evening, Sept.
21, and continue Tuesday, Sept. 22, one day prior to the official start of the SNA
Fall Conference. Both groups will then have joint programming for the morning sessions
on Wednesday, September 23. Members of both associations will have access to the
full Inland and SNA programs at member rates. Special non-member rates are also
available for those that are not members of either association. read more
Understanding (and Growing!) Online Audiences
Use of low and no cost qualitative tools yields rich data
By Deb Shaw
Metroland’s John Futhey is expert at using qualitative tools to understand web audiences
and shared many insights at a recent SNA Foundation webinar.
Learn more
4/27/2009 — This is the second in a two part story that started last month having to do with
measuring web audiences and using those insights to grow audience. In part one of
the story we discussed the many quantitative low and no cost web
analytic tools that are available to help editors and others charged with driving
traffic to local websites. That story, No Cost Web Analytics, grew out of an SNA
Foundation sponsored webinar featuring two industry experts on the topic —
Preston Gibson, Vice President/Solution Delivery at the Digital Press Consortium,
the technology division of the Cape May County Herald (NJ), and John Futhey, Managing
Director, Community & Specialty Sites for Metroland Media Group (ONT).
read more
Free NewsU e-Learning Course Now Available
4/21/2009
Leading An Online Newsroom: What You Need To Know, the second in
a series of free e-learning courses sponsored by the SNA Foundation, is designed
specifically to help suburban and community newspapers further their newsroom's
transition into multimedia. Thanks to a generous grant from the John S. and James
L. Knight Foundation, the SNA Foundation once again partnered with the Poynter Institute's
News University to produce this dynamic and interactive e-learning tool. The course is designed for editors but is applicable to
anyone who wants to know more about managing newsrooms and assignments in the new
age of multimedia storytelling.
What you will learn: Participants will learn what industry peers
who have gone before already know about making the transition to an online news
operation. Editors and others who have already jumped the hurdles that you face
share the practices they have found to be most successful, on topics including Web-first
publishing, newsroom workflow, training and hiring staff, content partnerships,
project planning and more.
read more
Scandinavia’s Bjorn Ottersen Talks With SNA
By Deb Shaw
Bjorn Ottersen and SNA President Nancy Lane prepare for his session about Scandinavian media practices.
4/20/2009 — “Don’t let history blur your vision for the future.” How apt is that quote for local
news media these days? I don’t know which of the visionaries in Scandinavia made
that remark but Fred Fiander says it’s a favorite that he picked up on last year’s
Innovation Mission. Fiander, Group Publisher with Transcontinental Media, joined
a group of North American newspaper executives in September 2008 to make a historic
mission to Norway & Sweden. The goal of the six day Innovation Mission, which was
sponsored by the SNA Foundation, was to personally interact with counterparts in
Scandinavia and learn firsthand how they are maintaining high reader levels in their
print products while also spearheading successful and multi-dimensional forays into
digital and non-traditional business models. Dismal economic climate aside, the
fact is that Scandinavian media houses are doing a better job of keeping circulation
levels higher than in the U.S. and Canada while simultaneously making significant
headway with multi-media tools.
read more
Grow Web Revenues Exponentially
By Deb Shaw
4/13/2009 — Ever wonder how much money other local media companies are making
with their websites? Who are the top performers and what are they doing differently?
How to position your company for the booming growth of online advertising revenue?
For one thing, according to Gordon Borrell, forget about banner advertising as the
prime source of ad revenue from your website. It’s dying and the quicker you move
on to targeted advertising the better you will be.
read more
SNA and SNPA Partner in Combined Circulation and Classified Conference
For more information, contact Nancy Lane, SNA President, at
nancy.lane@suburban-news.org or (843) 390-1531.
4/2/2009 — SNA is pleased to announce a strategic partnership with The Southern Newspapers Publishers Association (SNPA). Together,
SNA and SNPA will co-sponsor the 2009 SNA Circulation and Classified Conferences
taking place November 4-6 in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. This co-sponsorship will
further enhance the outstanding value and high-level productiveness for attendees
of both conferences.
"We know in these tough economic times that our members are watching every travel
dollar. We chose affordable Myrtle Beach for this year's Circulation and Classified
Conferences. We think this co-sponsorship will provide tremendous ROI opportunities
for both SNA and SNPA members to come together in one dual conference. Flights are
very affordable from many SNA and SNPA member cities; many members are also in driving
distance. These conferences have a reputation for outstanding quality and ROI, and
this year will be no exception, at a time when our industry needs new ideas and
innovation the most," says Nancy Lane, President of SNA. read more
Playbook for Breaking News Online
By Deb Shaw
3/30/2009 — Coaching a group of kids on a sports team can teach you a lot
about energy and passion. As nine and ten year olds learn the ropes of their sport
and begin to practice the fundamentals, the glint in their eyes and the fervor for
learning and trying new things is electrifying. John Humenik, publisher & editor
of the Arizona Daily Star, also finds coaching youngsters inspirational for leading
his newsroom in the very competitive and very strategic Tucson, Arizona market.
While the ages of the players in little league and in the newsroom are different
by many years, the zeal and energy for learning and winning are hallmarks of both.
Humenik knows that driven news hounds always want to scoop the competition, regardless
of the platform, and he is determined to lead the charge that will enable them to
do so with their online and mobile platforms.
read more
No Cost Web Analytics
By Deb Shaw
Preston Gibson, Vice President/Solution Delivery at the Cape May County Herald (NJ).
3/23/2009 — Did you ever scuba dive? Up until the moment I went below the
surface for the first time and into the 100' depth of inner space I always felt
like the snorkeling experience was awesome in and of itself. But, once I got below,
my perspective on the snorkeling experience changed dramatically. So much more awaited
me below the surface that, until I got there myself, I could never have imagined
what lay below. That’s the exact analogy that Preston Gibson, presenter extraordinaire
at a recent SNA Foundation Webinar, drew when comparing every day Web site metrics
to the rich and useful data that await those who choose to dig a little deeper.
And here’s the best part — a lot of the analytic tools he discussed are free.
Gibson, Vice President/Solution Delivery at the Digital Press Consortium, the technology
division of the Cape May County Herald (NJ), joined John Futhey, Managing Director,
Community & Specialty Sites for Metroland Media Group (ONT) as co-presenters in
an early March webinar entitled “How to Use No Cost/Low Cost Research and Analytics
to Understand Your Online Audience — And What to Do With The Info Once You
Have it.” read more
Scandinavia Innovation Mission;
Newsrooms: The New Landscape for Conversation
Posted 10/6/08 by Dave Greber, Innovation Mission Multimedia Reporter
When designing newsrooms, the Bergen Tidende has created an interesting “boat” concept.
Their offices allow for open conversation areas in a unique layout.
To learn about this interesting design, view my new video titled, "Bergen Tidende
Tour" in the video player on the right.
Also, be sure to read my trip highlights and ask me some questions in the
Innovation Mission Forum.
And finally, don't forget to check out my
photo gallery for more information.
SNA Contests: And the Winners are...
2009 Local Community Web Site Contest
Judges for the SNA Local Community Web Site Contest were faced with very challenging
decisions this year. This competitive contest represents the top Web initiatives
from community and suburban newspapers across North America. We're extremely proud
of all the Web sites that entered the contest and the amazingly hard work and innovation
that goes into creating a winning site.
read more
2008 Editorial Contest
The SNA 2008 Editorial Contest resulted in an extraordinary number of entries in
a total of 36 categories. These entries once again proved the outstanding editorial
content of community and suburban newspapers. read more
2008 Editor of the Year and Journalist
of the Year
They are the best of the best. Individuals who not only contribute to their newspaper
company, but to their newspaper community. read more
2008 SNA Newspaper of the Year /
General Excellence Contest
It is the most competitive contest of the year and 2008 was no exception. Hundreds
of newspapers competed. The judges labored over many worthy entries. In the end,
six newspapers stood out from the field.
read more
2008 SNA Advertising and Promotions
Contest
With over 1,200 outstanding entries, this was the most competitive contest in our
history! Competition was fierce and our judges certainly had their work cut out
for them. read more
2008 Dean S. Lesher Award
Among SNA’s highest honors is the esteemed Dean S. Lesher Award, a lifetime achievement
award recognizing outstanding leadership within the community and suburban newspaper
industry. The 2008 nominating committee has bestowed this year’s honors to Murray
Skinner. read more
Media Buyers
There’s no doubt that suburban and community newspapers offer substantial opportunity
for target marketing, and SNA makes it easier than ever to gain access to over 2,000
suburban newspapers from across North America. Our Media Buyer Resource Center will
help guide you through the buying process; providing research, testimonials and
a searchable newspaper database. read more
Conferences
SNA conferences provide members with extensive educational training and support
and just as importantly, yield outstanding networking opportunities. Our members
are consistently pleased with their conference experiences; from the innovative
industry specific sessions to the creative exchange of ideas — SNA conferences
are jam-packed with educational value, helping to raise the standards of excellence
for our suburban and community newspaper members.
read more