TALKING IT OVER – Dean Will Norton of the Meek School of Journalism (left) talks business with Charlie Langford, general manager of the Monroe Journal. MPA and Ole Miss have been making visits this summer to discuss ways the association and the school can be of greater service to state newspapers.

New ad series touts 2013 survey results

A new ad series focuses on the results of the 2013 Media and Advertising Use in Mississippi survey commissioned this spring by MPA. The survey, conducted by American Opinion Research of Princeton, NJ, heralded strong results for Mississippi newspapers, indicating as many as 1.5 million Mississippi adults – over half the adult population – are regular readers.

The latest ad series is an extension of last year's "Power in Print" campaign and zeroes in on specific survey findings, including state newspapers' strength as the number one source for shopping information, popularity among young readers and global reach through online audience engagement.

The campaign kicked off earlier in mid-July with an optional quarter-page advertisement touting the newspapers' position as the leading source for shopping information for Mississippi consumers. Each ad is scheduled via insertion order but participation is voluntary. Publishers are strongly encouraged to elect to participate and to communicate the importance of the campaign to their advertising managers and staffs.

As of last Friday more than 75 newspapers have signed insertion orders agreeing to participate in the effort. Ads are available in full color and black-and-white versions. In addition, custom ad sizes for tabloid or magazine format may be requested by contacting MPS media buyer Andrea Ross, 601-981-3060.

"We are grateful to each newspaper that has committed to participating in this campaign," said Layne Bruce, MPA executive director. "It is crucial to promote the vitality of our industry and its importance to Mississippi news consumers."

Bruce said each ad contains a unique QR code that can be scanned for a detailed summary of the 2013 Media Use survey.

Volunteers sought for Hoosier Press contest judging

MPA members this year are responsible for judging the Hoosier State (Indiana) Press Association editorial contest. It will take approximately 55 volunteers and be conducted primarily online. There will be some hard copy entries mailed direct to judges and then a brief on-site judging, most likely in Jackson, for their sweepstakes award.

If you or anyone on your staff can volunteer, please let Member Services Manager Monica Gilmer know. Judging assignments will go out by Aug. 9, with all judging completed in a few week's time.

"We know this is a difficult time of the year with school and athletics resuming, but reciprocal judging is very important," said MPA Executive Director Layne Bruce. "And we need a good many of you to pay it forward."

MPA will be contacting some publishers and editors direct in our efforts to recruit judges. But, again, if you have any interest in assisting the effort, please go ahead and contact Gilmer.

August webinars focus on branding, news apps

Two timely webinars from the Online Media Campus will focus on improving your media and important apps for newsgathering.

How to Reinvent Your News Media Brand will show leaders, owners and managers how to elevate branding to organizational strategy. Discussion will focus on how to connect the public to each of your news outlets so they are recognizable as arms of your newspaper brand. This session will supply you with simple brand strategies for connecting all employees to your vision and brand success, from CEO to front-line employee. The webinar is set for Aug. 16 at 1 pm.

wLatest Apps for News Reporting will explore the iPhone as a mobile reporting tool. You’ll learn about the latest tools for reporting, creating and publishing content using your mobile device.

You will hear about the latest mobile applications to help you take photos, record video and audio, take notes and get content to your readers via social media. You’ll also learn about tools to easily move content between your phone, desktop computer and laptop computer so you can get content to your readers (and your editor) more efficiently. The webinar is Aug. 28 at 1 pm.

Each session's registration fee is $35. The Online Media Campus is a partnership of the Southern Newspaper Publishers Association, the Iowa Newspaper Foundation and MPA Education Foundation along with other associations throughout the United States and Canada.

NAMES IN THE NEWS

Bennie Ivory, former managing editor of The Clarion-Ledger, recently retired as executive editor of the Louisville (KY) Courier-Journal... Former Jasper (AL) Daily Mountain Eagle managing editor James Phillips has been named editor and publisher of The Star-Herald in Kosciusko. The newspaper was purchased in May by Jackson-based Emmerich Newspapers... Kevin Williamson was recently named publisher of The Chronicle in Laurel. A Jones County native, he most recently worked for Impact in Laurel... Kenneth Andrews, publisher of The Clarion-Ledger when it won a Pulitzer Prize in 1983, died last week. He was 83.


UPCOMING EVENTS

Aug. 15      Governmental Affairs Committee Meeting, MPA Office, Jackson
Aug. 15      MPA Special Board Meeting, MPA Office, Jackson
Aug. 30      2013 BNC Advertising Division Rules & Entry Packet released
Sept. 12     National Newspaper Association Convention, Phoenix, AZ
Oct. 1         2013 BNC Advertising Division entry deadline

Click here to visit the MPA Calendar

INDUSTRY HEADLINES

Against all odds, a newspaper war erupts

From USA Today
Publishing the name or address of a concealed gun permit holder or applicant is set to become a crime in Louisiana, under a pair of new laws recently signed by Gov. Bobby Jindal. - See more at: http://www.rcfp.org/browse-media-law-resources/news/louisiana-criminalizes-publishing-gun-permit-information#sthash.xhejXo4V.dpuf
Aaron Kushner is a successful businessman and a smart guy. Before getting involved with newspapers, he was a Web entrepreneur and a greeting card magnate. He studied economics at Stanford, graduating with honors, and went on to get a master's there in organizational analysis.

Advance executive: We're doing well

From Romenesko.com
Randy Siegel, Advance Publications’ president of local digital strategy, tells colleagues that “although we have reduced the frequency of home delivery [in New Orleans and other Advance newspaper markets], we’re pleased that for the six-month period ending March 31, 2013, average circulation declines in our relaunched markets were in line with newspaper industry averages.”

Small Florida paper has big impact

From Poynter
The Lakeland (Fla.) Ledger has delivered almost daily installments this summer of a story of law enforcement dysfunction that seems more like a script for Reno 911 than a scandal plaguing a modern-day police department.