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PNNA's 85th annual meeting set for Nov. 9-11
Plans for the 85th annual meeting of the PNNA are complete and on Nov. 9, attendees will converge on the beautifully renovated Davenport Hotel in Spokane to network and to learn. The convention opens on Wednesday with a welcome reception. On Thursday, sessions on Circulation Best Practices, the investigative news coverage of the Spokane mayor, the shield law and the AP on what young readers want from a newspaper will wrap around a luncheon featuring presentation of the annual Blethen Awards. There will be a reception that evening prior to the annual awards dinner. The evening will conclude with an address by Art Brisbane, senior vice president of Knight Ridder, who will discuss the K-R interest in the Northwest as evidenced by the recent acquisitions of three PNNA newspapers. The conference will conclude on Friday morning with a roundtable session moderated by Rufus Woods where participants will share profit-producing ideas and problem-solving solutions. See a complete schedule. If you haven't registered yet, it's still possible to attend. Register online at PNNA’s website.
Staffers enhance skills at Seattle seminars
Personnel from nine Northwest newspapers bolstered their front-line skills this week at the PNNA Training Conference in Seattle. Seminars covered advertising sales, InDesign and PDF workflow, copyediting and reporters collaborating with graphic artists.
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Steve Werner, a consultant with the Pacific Printing and Imaging Association, provided a daylong update for Intermediate InDesign users.
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Mel "Doc" Croucher, marketing director for San Diego (Calif.)-based Brehm Communications Inc., provided a one-day quick course on advertising sales basics.
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A three-journalist team from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer led the newsroom collaboration session on Wednesday morning. Graphics editor Julie Simon, along with reporter Lisa Stiffler and artist David Badders, explained how they've teamed up on award-winning news-feature packages. Vanessa McVay, news editor at The Wenatchee World, helped to coordinate the P-I team's presentation. McVay is a regional officer with the worldwide Society for News Design.
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Deirdre Goebel Edgar, assistant copy desk chief at The Oregonian, discussed better copyediting on Wednesday afternoon. Edgar is vice president of conferences for the American Copy Editors Society.
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Werner returned on Wednesday for Part Two of the InDesign seminar and followed it with a segment on PDF workflow using the latest version of Adobe Acrobat.
Attendees were from these newspapers: The Chronicle, Centralia, Wash.; The Herald, Everett, Wash.; The Daily News, Longview, Wash.; The Enterprise, Lynwood, Wash.; Nanaimo Daily News; The Olympian, Olympia, Wash.; The Columbian, Vancouver, Wash.; Idaho Press-Tribune, Nampa; and The Wenatchee World, Wash.
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| Seattle Post-Intelligencer staff members David Badders, left, Lisa Stiffler and Julie Simon explain how they collaborate during the Storytelling seminar Wednesday in Seattle. | Attendees listen to Steve Werner during the Intermediate InDesign seminar on Tuesday. |
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| Mel "Doc" Croucher presents his Advertising Sales segment on Tuesday. |
SND honors seattletimes.nwsource.com
The Seattle Times' website was the only PNNA site honored in the recent Society for News Design 2005 SND.ies competition. Seattletimes.nwsource.com received an Award of Excellence for “Unearthing tse-whit-zen" in the Non-Breaking News category.
Rising newsprint cost expected to slow
Editor & Publisher reported on Oct. 25 that the rising cost of newsprint is expected to abate in 2006, according to a report released by Goldman Sachs. The research firm deemed it a "rare bit of good news." The reason, however, has more to do with the drop in consumption because of declining circulation and weak advertising. Goldman forecasts that for the first time in two years, newsprint consumption will slide at a faster pace than newsprint production capacity in 2005.
Google classifieds may impact newspapers
Jennifer Saba reported on Oct. 26 in Editor & Publisher that a new system being testing by Google that gives it entry into the classified market could seriously impact newspapers, according to report from Banc of America Securities. If it offers the service for free, the research firm said, "it will likely take share from other players." "Google confirmed [Oct. 25] that it's testing Google Base, a database that will include classifieds supported by keyword advertising," Saba wrote.
NAA: 'Innovative marketing slows churn'
A new report by the Newspaper Association of America released Oct. 27 found that innovative circulation marketing strategies developed by newspapers in the post-do-not-call era have been effective in decreasing reliance on telemarketing as a sales tool and increasing subscriber retention. According to the NAA's biennial survey of circulation trends, telemarketing was a source of 31 percent of all new subscriptions in 2004, compared with 43 percent in 2000. Although nearly 83 percent of newspapers continue to use telemarketing, substantial sales are coming from face-to-face selling, with kiosk sales being the fastest growing technique. Churn has declined 6.8 percent since 2002, to 56.2 percent, the lowest level in the 10 years that the NAA has been tracking churn.
WSJ.com seeks subscribers with 'open-house' promo
AdAge.com reported Oct. 26 that WSJ.com – The Wall Street Journal's paid access website – will make itself available free to all comers for a week Nov. 7-12. The weeklong "open house" is meant to attract new subscribers and "lure advertisers into buying a day of dominance there – for six-figures." According to Jupiter Research, "people who try a free trial are six times more likely to pay than those who don't try a free trial." WSJ.com has about 764,000 subscribers, where a year's subscription costs $49 for print subscribers and $99 for nonsubscribers.
WashingtonPost.com is 1st with 'vidcasts'
MediaPost reported on Oct. 26 that WashingtonPost.com has begun posting video podcasts to Apple's iTunes music store in response to the recent release of Apple's video iPod. The news and short-form documentary video from the Washington Post’s website is free and "will be ad-free as well, until the Post can convince its advertisers of the medium's worth." It's the first newspaper to begin adding the so-called "vidcasts" to the iTunes music store. CBS and several ABC affiliates have begun adding video podcasts to the site, according to the MediaPost report.
People:
Gowling named editor of Idaho Statesman
Vicki Gowling, the editor of the St. Paul Pioneer Press, on Sept. 27 was named executive editor of The Idaho Statesman in Boise. Both papers are owned by California-based Knight Ridder, which acquired the Statesman last month from Gannett. Gowling is an Illinois native who started her journalism career in 1978 as a reporter for the Miami Herald. She has been editor of the Pioneer Press since 2001.
De la Torre is new ad director of Idaho Statesman
Art de la Torre will take over as director of advertising for The Idaho Statesman, Boise, on Nov. 7. He's spent the previous 13 years at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, where he began as retail advertising zone manager and later served in management positions for classified advertising. He has also held jobs in advertising at the Dallas Times Herald and the Houston Chronicle.
Brinley named circulation director of Idaho Statesman
Jeff Brinley will join The Idaho Statesman , Boise, as that newspaper's circulation director on Nov. 7. He comes from The Tribune, San Luis Obispo, Calif., where for the last two years of his 12 years with that newspaper he served as vice president of marketing and circulation. He has also worked previously in circulation for the Daily Californian, El Cajon, Calif.; the Daily Californian, Temecula, Calif.; and the Times-Advocate, Escondido, Calif.
McGonigle is new 'day' editor in Klamath Falls
Marcia McGonigle was named "day" editor – also called city editor or assignment editor – of the Herald and News , Klamath Falls, Ore., on Oct. 23. She replaces Todd Kepple, who left after four years in the job to direct the Klamath County Museum. With the Herald and News since 1994, McGonigle has been reporting for and editing the newspaper’s Sunday Life section. She grew up in Salem and graduated from the University of Oregon.
Lund is new M.E. for Kodiak Daily Mirror
Betsy Lund took over as managing editor of the Kodiak Daily Mirror on Oct. 27, replacing Jacob Brooks, who is returning to Louisiana after a year as managing editor of the Alaska daily. Lund, 28, came to the Mirror in 2002 on a sports writing internship. She’s worked her way up, learning everything from reporting to advertisement design to editing. She most recently served as assistant editor.
Barrows to lead Montana Newspaper Association
John Barrows, editor and publisher of the Dillon Tribune for the past 16 years, was hired in mid-October as the new executive director of the Montana Newspaper Association. Barrows, 60, replaces Jim Fall, who retired earlier this year. Barrows was born in Helena and grew up in Glendive and Missoula. He started his career with the Railway Express Agency in Minnesota and Montana before joining the staff of the Wolf Point Herald News in Wolf Point as editor in 1970. He became advertising manager of the Ravalli Republic in Hamilton in 1972 and its publisher in 1975. In 1984 he and his wife, Roberta, became partners in the Buffalo Bulletin in Buffalo, Wyo. He became publisher of the Dillon Tribune in 1989.
CALL TO READERS : Send stories to the editor Nancy Brands Ward.
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Nov. 9-11 85th Annual PNNA Conference Davenport Hotel, May 3-5, 2006 NIE Conference Tacoma
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