NLRB rules that carriers cannot unionize

Newspaper carriers as independent contractors do not have the right to unionize according to an Aug. 31 ruling by the National Labor Relations Board. The NLRB ruled against the rights of carriers of the St. Joseph (Mo.) News-Press to unionize because they are independent contractors. The ruling should apply to most dailies in the U.S., since carriers at 95 percent of daily newspapers are also independent contractors according to figures from the Newspaper Association of America. The California Newspaper Publishers Association and the NAA filed amicus briefs with the board in this case, as did many of the country’s major newspaper companies including Knight Ridder, Tribune, Advance Publications, E.W. Scripps, McClatchy, Belo and North Jersey Media Group.

PNNA seminar for reporter-artist teams Oct. 26

Your reporters and graphics staffers know it takes planning to produce news and feature packages that will captivate readers. You can't just drop off a graphics request form with a deadline and hope for the best. At the PNNA Storytelling through Collaboration seminar on Wednesday, Oct. 26, a graphics editor, designer and reporter from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer will explain how they worked together on recent projects. The seminar will help your reporting and graphics people to understand each other's language and expectations. You'll see how to arrange a timeline for a short project and a longer one. So plan to send at least one reporter-artist team to the seminar Oct. 26. It will make a big difference in that next enterprise package. It’s set for 9 a.m.- noon on Wednesday, Oct. 26, at the DoubleTree Hotel Seattle Airport. The $89 cost includes continental breakfast, lunch, parking and materials. For details on this and PNNA's sales, InDesign and copyediting seminars Oct. 25-26, click the Conferences button at www.pnna.com

Recruiters: Save the date Oct. 20-21

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, in partnership with American Society of News Editors, is hosting a Diversity Job Fair Oct. 20-21, at the Silver Cloud Inn, Seattle. The event will start Thursday afternoon with a relaxed mixer and dinner at the Inn. On Friday, students and other job candidates will meet individually with recruiters to discuss openings and internship opportunities. This is a great opportunity not only for immediate hires, but also to start tracking promising candidates for future openings. The Silver Cloud Inn on Lake Union is holding a block of rooms for the fair through Sept. 20. Rooms are either $109 or $119 (lake view). To reserve, please call (800) 330-5812. Be sure to ask for the ASNE/PI group rate. Additional information will be sent to PNNA member papers in September. For more information please contact: Janet Grimley, Assistant Managing Editor, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, (206) 448-8316 or janetgrimley@seattlepi.com.

Save the date: NIE conference May 3-5 in Tacoma

PNNA will co-host a Newspaper In Education conference May 3-5, 2006, in Tacoma. Planning has begun in cooperation with the California Newspaper In Education Association. Leaders of both the PNNA and California NIE groups believe this united program, with invitations going to 13 Western states, will provide for a critical mass of attendance, which should prove to be appealing both for participants and for vendors. A combined PNNA-CNIE planning committee will set the program, and PNNA staff will coordinate logistics.

Seattle P-I solicits reader input on editorials

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer began in mid-August asking readers to offer their views on topics selected for editorials in the next day's newspaper. In an Aug. 15 story announcing the next day's topics – Counterfeit in Seattle; Salmon Plan; and Liberal Seattle – the P-I told online readers: "We want to know what you have to say about selected topics – before we reach a conclusion and write our editorials. P-I Editorial Page Editor Mark Trahant told Steve Outing of Poynteronline that the writers would monitor public comments from the "Virtual Editorial Board" and "consider what (if anything) to do with them."

PNNA papers collaborate, win APME, other awards

Two PNNA newspapers' reports on how China's fast-emerging apple industry is impacting U.S. growers have won the Associated Press Managing Editors association's International Perspective Awards. The Yakima Herald-Republic and The Wenatchee World won the fourth annual award for the under-40,000 daily circulation category for "The China Challenge." In a unique partnership, Wenatchee World Photo Editor Don Seabrook and Herald-Republic Coordinating Editor Craig Troianello spent more than two weeks in China reporting on that country's growing apple industry last fall. The work has also won a number of other awards over the past few months, including the prestigious Gerald Loeb business writing award for newspapers under 150,000 circulation and a Sigma Delta Chi award. The project was underwritten by a grant from the International Center for Journalists in Washington, D.C., which awards several grants to newspapers seeking to link international events to their local communities.

Spokane, Anchorage papers score Capitolbeat Awards

The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Wash., and the Anchorage Daily News were honored with Capitolbeat Awards in The Best in State House Journalism Contest sponsored by the Association of Capitol Reporters and Editors. In the Beat Reporting category for online publications, Betsy Russell's "Eye on Boise blog – 2005 legislative session" on spokesmanreview.com took first place. For daily newspapers under 75,000 circulation, Sean Cockerham's work for the Anchorage Daily News took second-place honors for beat reporting.

Seattle Times’ Riley wins Pulliam Fellowship

Kate Riley, an editorial writer for The Seattle Times, was awarded the 2005 Eugene C. Pulliam Fellowship for Editorial Writing presented annually by the Sigma Delta Chi Foundation of the Society of Professional Journalists. She will receive $75,000 to conduct research on the controversy surrounding the discovery of 9,300-year-old human bones that have come to be called Kennewick Man.

Utah legislation would ban ads for illegal activities

The Deseret Morning News reported in early August that one of Utah's state representatives plans to introduce legislation that would prohibit advertising illegal activities in Utah, such as fireworks, prostitution and, the real aim of the legislation, gambling, which is banned in Utah but legal, in at least some form, in every neighboring state. The legislation would only prohibit ads within Utah, such as on billboards or local radio and television stations, and would only restrict the advertising of the illegal activity. It would not stop casinos from promoting their buffets, spas or golf courses. Advertising could still cross state lines in the form of radio stations, national advertisements in magazines, and on network television, prompting some to say that the law will only punish those who cannot advertise nationally.

Get your NAA tabs for Sept. 8 Literacy Day

In celebration of International Literacy Day Sept. 8., the Newspaper Association of America Foundation is offering a free tab, "Newspapers Bring the World to Your Doorstep." Run all 16 pages, pick what you like or add your own local copy. Sponsored by Verizon, the Lit Tab contains articles and activities geared toward making reading the local newspaper a family affair. It also features a September newspaper activities calendar, annual cover contest for students and nine camera-ready "activity ads" that can run anytime to further promote reading the newspaper. Order your copies, which come in PDF files on a CD, by visiting the NAA's website.

Bids to name book characters benefit 1st Amendment

Michael Chabon, Stephen King, John Grisham, Amy Tan and a dozen other best-selling authors are selling the right to name characters in their new novels through an eBay auction that begins Sept. 1. Profits will go to the First Amendment Project, which defends the free speech rights of activists, writers and artists. The auction runs for 25 days on eBay Giving Works. For information, visit eBay or the First Amendment Project.

Marketing budgets up, confidence down

Blackfriars Communications' Marketing Index indicates that companies expect to spend 78 percent more on marketing during the third quarter than they did in an average quarter in 2003, BtoB online reported earlier this month. At the same time, marketing confidence has weakened since the beginning of the year, Blackfriars found. In the first quarter, 90 percent of senior executives agreed that marketing was important to their companies. That number fell to 75 percent during the third quarter. Also, only 59 percent said marketing provides their companies with significant competitive advantage, down 11 percent since the first quarter.

Ads to reach $261 billion by 2009

Advertising is expected to grow at a rate of 6-7 percent per year through 2009, reaching $260.9 billion, "driven primarily by the migration of advertising dollars from traditional to new media," according to the "Communications Industry Forecast" by Veronis Suhler Stevenson, AdWeek reported in mid-August. The "new advertising media" category – which includes cable and satellite TV, satellite radio, the Internet and ads on movie screens and in video games – is forecast to grow 20.7 percent this year to $37.9 billion, compared with traditional media advertising that is expected to grow 3.2 percent this year. New-media advertising is projected to grow at an annual rate of 16.9 percent through 2009, while traditional media advertising grows at a rate of 4.3 percent.

FSIs grow by 2.3% in first half of 2005

Free standing inserts (FSIs) in the first half of 2005 increased 2.3 percent from a year ago, with more than 136 billion coupons delivered in Sunday newspapers – the largest number of FSI coupons distributed in any six months since 1995, the Center for Media Research reported at the end of August. Consumer packaged goods remains the largest sector using FSIs, with a 3.4 percent increase in page activity. The direct response sector, which has been increasing in activity steadily for the past three years, again posted positive growth. Personal care and health care both saw double digit increases in coupons dropped vs. the same period last year, at 15.7 percent and 11.8 percent respectively. Food item coupons dropped 7.9 percent.

Real estate ads to go online, but not at newspapers

According to an Aug. 30 report in the Inman News – a real-estate news service – more real estate advertising dollars are migrating online. But real estate agents surveyed did not intend to significantly increase the amount they spend on advertising at newspapers' websites over the next five years beyond the 4 percent they currently spend. The portion of real estate ad budgets allocated to online is expected to increase from 14 percent in 2000 to more than 33 percent in 2007. But the single biggest spending category is maintenance of realtors' own websites. The next category is local search advertising, like Google's and Yahoo's pay-per-click ad programs.

Online newspaper growth to reach 36% by year-end

Online newspaper revenue reached $1.3 billion in 2004, up 38 percent from 2003, and by 2008 is expected to reach $2.3 billion, according to Internet research firm eMarketer and reported by BtoB online on Aug. 18. This year, online newspaper revenue should grow by 36 percent. Growth is being driven by a strong online ad market and a shift in reader usage toward online newspapers. The Newspaper Association of America on Aug. 23 reported preliminary estimates that online ad revenues at newspapers surged to $500.7 million in the second quarter – representing a a jump of about 29 percent.

Online gets 15% of $1 billion Ford marketing budget

Ford Motor's Ford Division will spend 30 percent of its estimated $1 billion-plus marketing budget this year on "targeted" media – half of that will be used for digital advertising, AdAge reported on Aug. 25. Ford defines "targeted" as direct mail, video on demand, mobile-phone ads, sponsorships, CRM and internet marketing. The online component is crucial; some Ford dealers close one out of five deals begun via online contracts.

Unhappy users simply click off annoying websites

In late August, the Center for Media Research reported results from a survey by Hostway Inc. that more than 70 percent of consumers said they're unlikely to purchase from, or even return to, a website after encountering a pet peeve. Only 25 percent will complain about what annoys them. Here's a list of the top pet peeves: pop-up ads (93 percent); need to install extra software (89 percent); dead links (86 percent); confusing navigation (84 percent); slow-loading pages (83 percent); and ineffective site-search tools (80 percent).

Broadband connections in U.S. reach critical mass

JupiterResearch reports that more than 43 percent of online households in the U.S. now connect to the Web via broadband, thus constituting critical mass. Jupiter projects that broadband adoption will reach nearly 80 percent of online U.S. households, or 69 million households, by 2010. The market researcher maintains that portals and content sites can leverage these increases by experimenting with personalization features, Flash-based home pages, customizable RSS feeds and other advanced functions.

NAA estimates just 2.8% growth in 2nd quarter ads

According to a release Aug. 23, the Newspaper Association of America estimates that overall advertising revenues at newspaper companies totaled $12.2 billion for the second quarter of this year – showing just 2.8 percent growth from last year. Among the print categories, classified advertising was up 5.3 percent to $4.1 billion, retail ad spending rose 1.4 percent to 5.5 billion, and national advertising was down by 2.8 percent, coming in at $2.1 billion. Within the classified category, recruitment advertising climbed 13.7 percent to $1.3 billion. Real estate ad spending was up 7.2 percent to $1.0 billion. Automotive dipped 5.3 percent to $1.1 billion. All other classifieds were up 6.5 percent to $676 million. For the first half of the year, total print and online ad spending totaled $23.2 billion, an increase of 3.2 percent. Total print ad spending in newspapers increased 2.2 percent to $22.2 billion. Also among the print categories, classified led the way with a 4.4 percent gain to $7.8 billion. Retailers increased ad spending in newspapers 2.1 percent to $10.4 billion, and national ad spending was down 1.8 percent to $3.9 billion.

Newspaper studies will measure engagement

The newspaper industry is sponsoring two research initiatives that will focus on audience engagement, MediaPost reported on Aug. 22. One study is underwritten by the Newspaper Association of America, and at least one is expected to be based on research being fielded by Scarborough Research. The goal is to illustrate the unique relationship readers have with newspapers and why the print medium is a superior environment to advertise in.

5 newspapers among top 10 online sites

Five newspapers and newspaper chains were among the top 10 online sites for current events and global news in May, according to Nielsen NetRatings. Gannett Newspapers were No. 5, followed by NYTimes.com at No. 6. Knight Ridder Digital was No. 8. Tribune Newspapers were No. 9. and USAToday.com was No. 10. Also in the top 20 were Washingtonpost.com at No. 12 and Hearst Newspapers Digital at No. 14.

People:

Ritter retires as Olympian’s publisher

Bob Ritter, president and publisher of The Olympian, announced at the end of August his retirement from Gannett Co. Ritter, 59, joined The Olympian from The Journal News in Westchester, N.Y., where he was executive editor. Previously he'd been editor of Gannett News Service. Earlier this month McLean, Va.-based Gannett gave The Olympian, The Bellingham Herald and The Idaho Statesman, Boise, to Knight Ridder Inc. in exchange for the Tallahassee Democrat in Florida and cash. John Winn Miller, senior vice president of marketing in Tallahassee, was named president and publisher of The Olympian.

Seattle P-I's McCumber named Executive Editor

Managing Editor David McCumber was promoted to executive editor of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer in mid-August. McCumber, 53, who had been in the M.E.'s job since 2000, said the P-I is known for aggressive reporting and investigative work, and that commitment will continue.

Bunting moves up to associate publisher at Seattle P-I

Executive Editor Kenneth F. Bunting was promoted to the new position of associate publisher of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer in mid-August. Bunting, 56, the paper's executive editor for seven years, will focus on strategic planning and reader and community relations. As associate publisher, Bunting will increase his community involvement and become a member of the paper's editorial board.

CALL TO READERS : Send stories to the editor Nancy Brands Ward.

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