Better Newspaper Contest Advertising Division deadline is Tuesday, Oct. 4. All entries are due to MPA by 5 pm on this date. Click here for details or an entry packet.

Statements of Ownership due Sept. 30

Statements of Ownership, Management and Circulation are due to your local postmaster by Friday, Sept. 30. Daily newspapers are required by USPS to publish their statements by Oct. 10. Non-dailies have until the end of October to publish the information.

Click here to download USPS Form 3526.

ArkLaMiss Circulation Conference Nov. 3-4

Upheaval with the U.S. Postal Service, including proposed cuts in service days and closure of many small post offices, will be one of the key elements of the agenda at the annual ArkLaMiss Circulation Conference Nov. 3-4 in Vicksburg. Postal consultant Max Heath will speak to attendees on cuts by the Post Office and offer tips on how to prepare for a litany of changes proposed to help USPS close the gap on an $8 billion operating deficit.

Heath, retired vice president for postal and acquisitions with Landmark Community Newspapers, will also deliver his popular postal savings seminar, a program that has saved community newspapers thousands in costs each year he has presented at ArkLaMiss.

Keynote speaker for the conference is Steve Wagenlander, director of audience development for the Post and Courier Co. in Charleston, SC. Wagenlander will discuss marketing, niche publications and innovation, among other topics.

Ameristar Casino in Vicksburg is the venue for the event. Room rates are $89 nightly with a reservation deadline of Oct. 15.

Registration fee is $90 per attendee. The MPA Education Foundation is once offering $100 grants to contributing newspaper members to help offset expenses related to the conference.

Click here for additional information, to register online or download a registration packet.

National Newspaper Week is Oct. 2-8

Newspaper Association Managers once again is facilitating National Newspaper Week beginning this Sunday. A trove of editorial features is available to you to help mark this week, which is an important marketing initiative to remind readers and the entire nation of the importance of our products.

You can access this material here. You will have to register for access (but your password and username from 2010 should still be active if you recall it).

We encourage all members to take part in recognizing and promoting NNW. MPA helps make this event possible through an annual contribution to NAM.  


INDUSTRY HEADLINES

Diverse media diet choice of many Americans

From The New York Times
With the economy recovering slowly, local businesses are continuing to be cautious about how they spend their money. Now, more than ever, they want to see direct results from newspaper advertising campaigns both online and in print.  

Local newspapers hold their own against Patch

From NetNewsCheck
Generations before “hyperlocal” was coined, community newspapers were doing it. But in the digital media age, many such papers have found that Main Street online can be a much harder and unfamiliar place to navigate than its real world pavement.

Why Netflix is a cautionary tale for newspapers

From Gigaom
Newsrooms that came of age before the dawn of digital media often act as though the rest of the media ecosystem doesn’t exist. When they pick up on a story that was broken elsewhere, or covered in a richer or complementary way by another venue, they usually won’t mention—let alone link to—those other stories. But in an age where access to information is ubiquitous and instantaneous, not offering links to related coverage might harm your news brand’s reputation and even deter potential new revenue sources.