A new National Newspaper Association survey has yielded some results that will be useful for advertising salespeople who are selling the value of a community newspaper ad buy. Here are the stats you will want to pass along to your salespeople:
– On average, readers share their paper with 2.36 additional readers.
– Nearly 40 percent keep their community newspaper more than a week.
– Three-quarters of readers read local news “often to very often” in their community newspaper.
– Among those going online for local news, 63 percent found it on the local newspaper’s website, compared to 17 percent for sites such as Yahoo, MSN or Google, and 12 percent from the website of a local television station.
– 60 percent read local education news “somewhat to very often” in their newspaper, while 65 percent never read local education news online.
– And finally, something to brighten the day of everyone in your ad department: 47 percent say there are days they read the newspaper as much for the ads as for the news.
And in other survey news, community newspapers experienced a slight decline in circulation volume in the second quarter of this year compared to the first quarter, down about 2 percent as a group, according to the latest audit data from Circulation Verification Council.
The CVC survey said 45 percent of community newspaper publishers reported that circulation increased, with the heaviest declines in the Southeast.
This page contains handouts and presentations from the workshop. The amount of content on this page will increase as the videos are edited and posted. To keep up with new content as it’s posted, follow us on Twitter (@tccj) or find us on Facebook.
Chuck’s handouts
Newspapers and other print media have no legal duty to publish the name of any author or source. Publishers have broad discretion to make decisions about what to print. The U.S. Supreme Court has recognized the importance of such editorial discretion in ensuring the First Amendment guarantee of freedom of the press:
“A newspaper is more than a passive receptacle or conduit for news, comment, and advertising. The choice of material to go into a newspaper, and the decisions made as to limitations on the size and content of the paper, and treatment of public issues and public officials – whether fair or unfair – constitute the exercise of editorial control and judgment.” [from Chief Justice Burger’s opinion in the unanimous decision in Miami Herald v. Tornillo, 418 U.S. 241, 258 (1974)]
There may, however, be ethical obligations to consider — for example, the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics says journalists should:
“Identify sources whenever feasible. The public is entitled to as much information as possible on sources’ reliability.”
One other consideration is what happens if an unattributed statement or anonymous author becomes the subject of a defamation lawsuit or is relevant to a criminal investigation. Then, a news organization may have to identify the source or author. This is mostly about identifying witnesses or suspects in the service of the legal process (so police can identify criminal suspects or so a plaintiff can make his or her case and can properly name potential defendants). A publisher who refuses to identify an author or source when a judge issues a subpoena demanding such a release will likely be held in contempt of court. Texas, of course, recently passed a reporter shield law to make it harder for prosecutors and plaintiffs to force journalists to divulge confidential sources (see Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code § 22.021 et. seq.) Congress is considering a similar law that would apply in federal courts (see H.R. 985 and S. 448).
You have already read Andrew Chavez’s great piece here on this site about the impact of Craigslist on newspaper classifieds. Now check out these three articles from NAA that tell the stories of three newspapers that have gone to free classifieds:
- Oregonian Aims to Change Perceptions, Create Attractive Marketplace
- Atlanta: An Exchange of Sites and Mindsets
- In Houston, Kaango Brand Boosts Print
NAA’s Digital Edge blog also tells the story of a smaller newspaper, The Daily Journal of Kankakee, Ill., which went to a free classifieds concept (no URL here because you need a Digital Edge subscription to access this one, so read on to find out what happened).
For the Kankakee paper, the impetus was the establishment of a free shopper four years ago. The shopper sold its display ads but gave away its classifieds. The paper hired a temporary employee who called everyone who had taken out a free ad in the shopper, telling them that the Journal also had free ads and had a much greater circulation.
The shopper even offered free auto ads – the newspaper countered with a $19.95 “Run It ‘Till It Sells” promotion. It partnered with a local car wash to offer $5 car wash coupons for readers who submitted a photo along with their six lines of ad copy.
The paper even purchased digital cameras and offered to take a photo of a reader’s car if the owner brought the vehicle to the newspaper office. The bottom line: The Daily Journal‘s classified section has grown to more than four times its original size.
Says the paper’s classifieds manager: “It’s been phenomenal. We actually didn’t see a downturn in revenue after we started this.” Even the pet section has grown, with dog breeders across the state wanting to advertise.
The result? The free shopper has disappeared, and The Daily Journal has maintained its free classifieds policy for merchandise under $400. Since the shopper died, the paper changed its policy to offer the free classified only to newspaper subscribers. Each month, the paper signs up 25 to 30 new subscribers because of the free classifieds offer.
Categories
Something for your ad sales reps
Check out this handout from NAA that details what the organization considers 10 truths about newspaper circulation. The interpretation of some of their points will be debated, but this one-page handout will make a great addition to advertising pitch books — it basically gives the reasons why newspapers are still a great buy for advertisers, print and online.
Unfortunately, there is no legal requirement that notices and press releases be distributed evenly. If a quorum of officials is present, a public notice must be posted at the appropriate place but there is no posting requirement for a press conference. I’d recommend that your first course of action would be to sit down with the official or officials in charge and discuss the issues. Explain that you want to be fair about your coverage, and you’re disturbed that they are trying to exclude your readers from the information that they believe is important. Make them realize this is not about you but about members of the public who rely on you for information. Sometimes that will give them the opportunity to rant and rave at you, and then you can all move forward.
As we all know, however, rational arguments do not always work. That leaves the old-fashionioned reporting approach:
- Are there public officials who are more sympathetic to you who could alert you to these events? Cultivate those people, and make sure you protect their identities, or they likely will be cut off, too.
- If you believe a press release has been issued, make an open records request for it. If they delay in giving it to you, file a complaint with the Texas Attorney General’s office. (Information that has already been released publicly is considered public under the law and can’t be withheld, generally.)
- Make an effort to show up regularly at every event and activity you hear about. I realize this takes a lot of staff time, but perhaps you could do this on a short-term basis until basic courtesies have been re-established.
- Do they have a working Web site? Constant checks to the Web site can also alert you to activities.
Rebuilding lines of communication can be very difficult. Quite honestly, sometimes there’s nothing you can do about it except to continue covering issues the way you believe they should be covered. You can also point out in your coverage that officials have refused to provide information, or refused to discuss issues. But that shouldn’t stop you from continuing to cover the things that are important in your community.
So you’ve found a video on YouTube that you’d like to use on your Web site or you’re interested in writing a story about. What are the ethical considerations and how do you decide if it’s worth covering? What are your legal responsibilities from accepting video from a user? Leah Betancourt, the digital community manager at the Minneapolis Star Tribune, has all of those answers in this post.
Todd from the Wise County Messenger asks: Craigslist seems to be getting perilously close to our area, not to mention a local blogger has set up his own free classifieds system. What can we do to try and combat this?
One thing to understand about the new classifieds market online — and the Internet in general — is that there will inevitably be revenue losses brought on by increased efficiency.
In fact, as many of you likely know, classified advertising is down across the industry, and many have pointed to it as one of the chief catalysts in the erosion of the newspaper business model. Online alternatives such as eBay and free online alternatives such as Craiglist have replaced newspaper classifieds — especially in large markets.
The revenues from those companies don’t even come close to adding up to what newspapers have lost in revenue. That’s because they’re doing what newspapers have been doing with classifieds for years, but they’re doing it far more efficiently – a luxury afforded by the Internet.
And while Craigslist and others have yet to hit small markets, they’re growing quickly. They expanded their list of cities by 25 percent last month.
So why fear Craigslist and the like? Many reasons, and it’s not just their price:
- Because they’re free they can amass content faster, adding to their utility for buyers.
- There’s no skimming the page; a simple search capability greatly increases the usability.
- Their self-service interface allows users to place their own ads on their own time.
So how can you compete with Craigslist? In many ways, traditional printed newspaper classifieds just can’t compete. That’s why newspapers across the country are struggling to regain lost classified revenue from free classified services.
Be proactive
That’s the key, though: regain. The good news for community newspapers is that, for many, Craiglist and others have yet to take revenue from them. So far, they’re still the place to go.
Because of that, it’s a great time to strike before someone else does, but you’ll have to go into this knowing that you may never get back what you were once getting from classified sales.
There are legitimate reasons for that. It doesn’t cost as much to publish online classifieds and anyone can do it. There are many more options out there than your newspaper classifieds or even Craigslist. Just search for free classifieds on Google with your community name, and you’re likely to find plenty of options.
Facebook also has a feature, called Marketplace, that users can turn to. And they can just as easily let their friends or followers know on their social media accounts that they’re trying to unload something.
Capitalize on your strengths
What you can deliver that nobody else can is trust and eyeballs.
While Craigslist and the offer free sites have been around for years, they haven’t been in Decatur, Texas, for years. Your newspaper’s brand is one of your biggest assets in this case.
Also, if you have a Web product you can immediately leverage that audience, bringing potential online sellers a loyal, established audience that a new person in the market can’t provide.
To compete with the free part of online classifieds, though, there aren’t many solutions besides going free as well. But that doesn’t mean everything for free all the time.
You have value-added options you can provide — specific ally publication in your print product. You can also provide premium “upsells”, such as photos, videos or premium placement within your system.
Monetize the platform
By hosting the classifieds on your site, you can also capitalize on the additional traffic. Using your established advertising base, you can sell online display ads around your classified listings.
All of these things might never replace what you’ve lost in print classifieds, but the reality is they’re just not worth what they were to consumers several years ago.
That’s a realization that has been brought on by the multiple free alternatives out there, but it has been a reality since our communication methods adapted to the Internet age.
Steve Yelvington has posted some easy practical advice on how to build a healthy community around your online news product. He gives advice on both how to change your Web site and how to change your newsroom mentality.
No. The Texas Public Information Act does not allow government officials to ask why you want the information.
I generally find that a very polite response – with an emphasis on polite – noting that the law doesn’t allow them to ask will generally put an end to that line of questioning.
According to the Texas Attorney General’s office, a government agency is allowed to ask for proper identification of the requestor and for clarification, if necessary, on the information requested.
“Often, an initial open records request may involve the production of more documents than the requestor intended,” according to the attorney general’s Web site. “Similarly, many open records requests ask for information that is not kept by the governmental body in the requested format. In either case, the governmental body can ask the requestor whether a potential narrowing or variation of the request would meet the requestor’s needs.”
For more information about this issue or the Texas Public Information Act, visit the attorney general’s web site at www.oag.state.tx.us, and then click on the “open government” tab. Down the right side of the screen you will see a prompt for “public information act made easy.” This is a great resource for explaining the law and how it has been interpreted over the years.