Pressing Issue May 2007
2007 May
New Board of Directors in place
The 2007 Winter Convention is now only a memory.
Those who attended were privy to the most challenging seminars, the
most current training and educated to the most changes seen by the
newspaper industry in over 50 years.
The Board of
Directors was voted on by the membership and with that vote came some
familiar faces returning to serve again and some entirely new faces
have emerged to bring new life, vigor and issues to the Board.
Casey Claybaugh
Casey Claybaugh was elected to the position of President of the Board for keeping the tradition going in the Claybaugh family from father to son as president. Casey works along side of his father and past president Charles Claybaugh at the Box Elder News Journal in Brigham City.
Kari McFee
Kari comes to the Board of Directors from the Wasatch Wave/ Summit County Bee. This is her first time as a Board Member and the UPA welcomes her.
Lee Carter
Lee Carter, recently appointed publisher of the Ogden Standard Examiner will serve a 3 year term. He will represent our UPA Daily Newspapers.
Craig Conover
Craig Conover will represent the group of Utah County newspapers for the next 2 years. Craig will serve the balance of the 3 year term left vacant when Greig Smith left for his new position in Denver. Craig works with the Lee newspaper group in Utah County.
Dixie Brunner
Dixie, a long time Board member and Past President of UPA returns for another 3 year term bringing her enthusiasm and experience once more to our Board of Directors. Dixie serves as editor at the So. Utah News in Kanab.
Laurie Wynn, (Past President) Wasatch Wave, Heber City.
Returning Board Member
Shellie Dutson, ( Vice President) Millard Co. Chronicle, Delta.
Bruce Smith, ( Treasurer) Herald Journal, Logan.
Greg Madson, (Secretary) Leader, Tremonton.
Kyle Ashby, The Spectrum in St. George.
Suzanne Dean, Sanpete Messenger, Manti.
Jay Wamsley, The Statesman, Logan.
We would hope you would take a few moments to send a quick email thanking these fine newspaper men and women for their dedication and time to represent you for the 2007- 2008 year.
Winter Convention 2007 Photo Gallery
Check out our photo gallery. You can see this years convention, as well as past conventions (that had digital cameras attending).
Click here for the 2007 Winter Convention Photo Gallery
Vernal Express Sells to Brehm
Family
March 20, 2007
The Vernal Express and Thrifty
Shopper have been sold by the Wallis family to Gull Communications,
Inc., owner of the Sun Advocate in Price, Utah, the Emery County
Progress in Castle Dale, Utah, and the Richfield Reaper in Richfield,
Utah. Gull Communications is a subsidiary of Brehm Communications,
Inc., a family-owned company headquartered in San Diego,
California.
The announcement was made to the staff on Monday.
Bill Brehm Jr., President of Brehm Communications, Inc., stated, “We
look forward to continuing the tradition of family ownership and good
community journalism as practiced by four generations of the Wallis
family, as well a maintaining the strong advertising support, which
has created shopping values for citizens of Vernal and the Uintah
Basin. A good newspaper is very important to every community and its
success is dependent on the support it receives from its community in
return. We will do our best to produce a quality newspaper for Vernal
and the Uintah Basin. We commend the staff of the Vernal Express for
their hard work, especially during the difficult time after the death
of Steve Wallis on January 30.”
“I am pleased to
be able to sell to a family with a tradition of community journalism,
and would like to thank the community for their support of the Wallis
family over the years and the support I have had after the loss of
Steve,” said Tami Wallis.
Bill Brehm Jr. also announced
that the new publisher for the Vernal Express is Kevin Ashby. “Kevin
is an excellent community newspaper publisher and has done a fine job
for Brehm Communications, having worked for our company for seven
years as a publisher of the Price, Utah, twice-weekly Sun Advocate.
He has been living in Vernal since last fall.”
“I
appreciate the opportunity to return to community journalism in
Vernal,” stated Ashby, who has spent the last five years
managing a printing facility for three daily newspapers in Preston,
Idaho. “I love the process of putting together quality
newspapers and I’m excited to work with the current staff to
produce this area’s best newspaper.”
“Over
the past few weeks, several times my path has crossed with the
employees of the Express and I have been impressed with their
dedication to the Express,” continued Ashby. “I feel we
can build on this willingness and excitement for community journalism
to continue to produce a newspaper that is wanted in the homes and
businesses here.”
Brehm Communications is headquartered
in Rancho Bernardo, a suburb of San Diego. It was established in 1919
in Fort Madison, Iowa, where it still publishes the Fort Madison
Daily Democrat.
It has grown to over 50 daily, weekly,
semi-weekly and specialty niche products in Iowa, Indiana, Illinois,
Arizona, Nevada, Utah and California under the leadership of Chairman
of the Board William J. Brehm Sr.
Standard sold to Brehm Communications
Inc.
March 27, 2007
A San Diego-based company, which
owns dozens of small town newspapers in the West and Mid-West, last
week purchased the Uintah Basin Standard and the Vernal Express. The
weekly newspapers were sold to Gull Communications, Inc., a
subsidiary of Brehm Communications, Inc.
Bill Brehm Jr.,
president of BCI, said the company has no plans to combine the two
newspapers which are 30 miles apart and primarily serve Uintah and
Duchesne counties with a total circulation of just under
14,000.
“Both newspapers must serve their own
communities and reflect the needs of the Basin. Our goal is to have
two strong community newspapers,” Brehm said last week while
meeting with staff members of the Uintah Basin Standard in Roosevelt.
“The two newspapers will be able to help each other. They will
share resources, improve content, coverage and quality.”
The
Vernal Express and Uintah Basin Standard each have a long history of
family ownership; BCI shares a similar background. The company traces
its roots back to 1919 with the purchase of the Fort Madison Daily
Democrat in Fort Madison, Iowa. They still own and publish the
Democrat along with 50 other community dailies and weeklies in small
towns in California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Iowa, Indiana, and
Illinois. Bill Brehm Sr. remains active in the company as chairman of
the board.
The Uintah Basin Standard is among one of their
larger weeklies, said Bill Brehm Jr.
“We are very
pleased the Uintah Basin Standard and Vernal Express have joined our
group of community weeklies and dailies,” he said. “Since
both newspapers serve the Uintah Basin we will be able to completely
serve all residents and businesses. Special sections of the paper
will serve the Basin in both sister papers.”
The Uintah
Basin Standard has been published under different names with
different owners since 1917. Clarin Ashby purchased the Standard in
1964, even after selling the newspaper in 1978 to his sons Kevin and
Craig, and Joan Crozier, he continued to help out by providing
historically-related stories for the newspaper, including a lengthy
series in 2000.
Clarin Ashby said that throughout
his years in the newspaper business the biggest changes he’s
seen have been in technology and the way a news story is told.
“It's
a totally different ball game today,” he said. “When I
started, a news story was strictly news, you put down the facts and
let the readers interpret it. About 20 years ago they moved into
interpretive journalism. I didn't care for that style but you have to
adapt.”
Clarin Ashby also saw the Uintah Basin Standard
move from the old “hot press” or lino type to off-set
printing, to today’s computerized process.
Craig Ashby
assumed sole ownership of the Standard in 1987 and has been its
publisher now for almost 29 years. He will continue in this position
for BCI and his editorial, advertising and production staff will
remain the same.
“We have always prided ourselves on
being progressive. I have the best employees anybody could ask for
and believe that they stack up with those anywhere in the newspaper
industry,” he said. “Brehm Communications is a family
organization, they don’t want to make any changes. They like
what we’re doing and their desire is to support us as we
continue to do our job.”
The Vernal Express was owned
and published by the Wallis family for almost 80 years. Publisher
Steve Wallis, the great-great grandson of the paper's first
publisher, James H. Wallis, passed away unexpectedly on Jan. 30, at
the age of 52.
“We look forward to continuing the
tradition of family ownership and good community journalism as
practiced by four generations of the Wallis family, as well as
maintaining the strong advertising support, which has created
shopping values for citizens of the Uintah Basin,” said Bill
Brehm Jr.
For the past two months, the Vernal Express has been
operating under the direction of Wallis’ wife Tami with help
from staff and other family members. Kevin Ashby, who formerly
published The Sun Advocate and Emery County Progress for BCI, was
named as the new publisher of the Vernal Express.
Kevin Ashby
spent the last five years managing a printing facility for three
daily newspapers in Preston, Idaho. He has been living in Vernal for
the past few months managing the Uintah Basin Standard’s Vernal
office, assisting with newspaper reporting and in advertising
sales.
“I think this is a wonderful opportunity for the
news services of the Uintah Basin to be under the same ownership,”
said Kevin Ashby. “We can still keep the identity and the
individuality of each newspaper but share resources as they relate to
our communities. This helps break down some of the barriers we have
had which makes stronger newspapers and a better informed
public.”
Brehm Communications headquarters are in Rancho
Bernardo, a suburb of San Diego. In Utah, Gull Communications also
owns The Richfield Reaper in Richfield, The Sun Advocate in Price,
and the Emery County Progress, in Castle Dale.
Mormon Candidate Among Many Firsts
by Randy Hines
There could be positive news on the horizon for
the newspaper industry. Despite dire predictions initially for
minimal advertising growth during 2007, earlier-than-usual
presidential primaries could change that forecast for the better.
Initially considered a slow year because of the absence of elections
and an Olympics, 2007 will see an increase in ad spending after all.
Moving more presidential primaries to January and February of 2008
will create a jump start on the campaign season.
Although
television will again garner the biggest bucks in a free-for-all
campaign expected to top $1 billion in spending, Utah newspapers
still stand to profit from the many candidates who need to gain early
recognition in 2007.
As more and more critics complain about
all those empty sound bites, it’s possible that issues could be
explored in more detail via the printed page. Issue ads should be
encouraged by newspaper advertising departments. It’s still one
of the best places to reach intelligent, high-income voters with
crucial information.
Slated for January are primaries for one
or both parties in Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire and South Carolina.
States tentatively adopting February for at least one of their
presidential launches are Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California,
Colorado, Delaware, D.C., Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas,
Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, Nevada,
New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia,
West Virginia and Wisconsin. More than half of the U.S. population
will have the opportunity to vote in those first two months of 2008.
Pennsylvania debated a move to the new Feb. 5 Super Tuesday but may
wait. A few others are still considering a move.
Why the push
for more ad spending? For one thing, of course, there’s no
incumbent. So all the parties are seeking candidates. This is the
first election in 80 years in which neither major party has an
incumbent president or vice president running for the nation’s
top spot. “Ralph Nader for President 2008” items have
been on sale for the perennial third-party or independent candidate
for months already. Other blips on the radar screen are expected from
the Constitution Party, the Green Party and the Libertarian Party.
Many pundits are already predicting one of the most wide-open
contests in the last dozen or so elections. That may not hold true by
next spring, after all those primaries narrow the field. But for now
the advertising opportunities are also wide open for
newspapers.
Another plus for newspapers is the push in many
states to ban those annoying recorded phone calls that are made to
residences by parties and candidates during the 11th hour of most
campaigns. If you’ll recall, you probably had a half dozen per
day during the two weeks leading up to Election Day in 2006. I
actually received one on that Tuesday, only one hour before the polls
closed. If these unpopular pitches are banned, newspapers may again
pick up a few more of those remaining ad dollars. Naturally, you’ll
want to retain your pay-in-advance policy for political candidate
ads.
Discussion among television executives centers on what
happens when all the candidates want to place their TV plugs on the
evening news in key markets of states having primaries. All of their
news fits into a 30- or 60-minute time slot. Unlike newspapers, that
can add an extra four pages to any section quickly, TV news is a
locked-in format. However, with the convergence of media today, many
television stations will quickly be adding special Web productions
that can carry candidate’s messages. Perhaps Utah newspapers
will plan a similar strategy to incorporate such print ads into their
own Web editions.
But if every candidate jumps into the
advertising circus early, will there by any funds left for the real
campaign? Not a problem, according to political experts. Some are
even suggesting that a new face or two may appear after the first
round of early shootouts. Former VP Al Gore, fresh off his Oscar
performance, is one veteran being encouraged to enter the crowded
Democratic fray.
Another side of the coin is to ask if
American citizens will be overexposed to political campaigns with the
process so extended. Voters say they hate negative campaigning.
Candidates always say they will avoid it. Yet, time after time,
mudslinging starts early and lasts longer than anyone wants it
to.
Several firsts make this an interesting campaign. For the
first time, we have major party, serious candidates who are Mormon,
Black, Hispanic and female. Another candidate even formally announced
on the “Late Show with David Letterman.” How soon will
the White House ad push begin? Campaigning has already begun among
several Democratic candidates. Snide remarks were exchanged back in
February between Hilary Clinton and Barack Obama. Many experts are
thinking paid messages will start appearing soon, certainly by this
summer, especially in the above-listed states with those early
contests. Will your paper be
ready?
***************************************
Dr. Randy
Hines teaches in the Department of Communications at Susquehanna
University in Selinsgrove, PA 17870. He can be reached at (570)
372-4079 or
randyhinesapr@yahoo.com.
***************************************
Advertising sales from A to Z
By John Foust
Raleigh, NC
Attitude: It all starts
here. As Henry Ford said, "Think you can, think you can't.
Either way you'll be right."
Benefits: People
don't buy products. They buy what those products can do for them.
Sell benefits.
Campaigns: Don't emphasize individual
ads. Show your customers how to promote their businesses with
long-term advertising campaigns.
Design: Use graphic
techniques that make ads stand out on the page (white space, big
graphics, easy-to-navigate layouts, etc.).
Expectations:
It's not realistic to expect to close every prospect every time.
Sometimes, the objective is to advance the sale – by scheduling
another meeting, or discussing additional information.
Fast:
Return phone calls and e-mails right away. Don't keep people waiting.
Goals: Establish accountability with specific goals
for yourself and your advertisers.
Headline: Research
shows that eight out of ten readers don't read further than the
headline. Learn how to write good ones, so your ads will be in the
top 20 percent.
Illustration: Defined as "a
picture or diagram that helps make something clear or attractive."
With this in mind, an ad's illustration should clarify the headline
and attract attention.
Jam: The letter B is taken, so
we'll use the musician's term for brainstorming. Set aside some time
to bounce ad ideas around.
Knowledge: The more you
know – about your product and your customers – the more
you'll sell.
Listen: Like the old saying, we have two
ears and one mouth because we should listen twice as much as we talk.
Measure: Strive to create ads that generate measurable
results. Nothing sells like (documented) success.
Niche:
This is a world of niche audiences. Personalize your advertising to
hit the bull's-eye.
Objections: Since most of them are
predictable, there are few excuses to be caught off guard.
Proofread: There's a big difference between $995 and
$9.95
Questions: Ask open-ended questions to gather
information from advertisers.
Reason: Create urgency.
Use the right offer to give readers a reason to buy now.
Strategy:
Go beyond budgets, schedules and flow charts. Formulate creative
strategies for advertisers.
Truth: Honesty is still
the best policy. One of the fastest ways to lose readers is to make
"unbelievable, fantastic, one-of-a-kind" claims.
Unique:
Look for ways to differentiate each advertiser from the competition.
Stay away from "me too" advertising.
Variety:
The same note doesn't appeal to everyone. Develop different ways to
explain your selling points.
Win-Win: Sure, it has
become a cliché. But it is hard to find a better selling
compass. Help your customers win, and along the way, you'll win, too.
X-height: Know more about typography than a few font
names and the difference between serif and san serif type. X-height
is a good place to start.
Yes: The most important word
in customer service. If you're asked about something that is out of
your realm of expertise, say, "Yes, I'll look into that for
you," instead of "That's not my job."
Zero:
The number of sales you'll make if you don't ask for the order.
*************************************
(c)Copyright 2007 by
John Foust. All rights reserved.
E-mail John Foust for
information about his training videos for ad departments:
jfoust@mindspring.com
*************************************
Verteran Sales Professional Joins Valley Journal Team
Contact: Boyd Petersen 580-3310
Mike Perlman 244-8386
Veteran
salesman Mike Perlman has been named sales manager for three
newspapers in The Valley Journal family of community papers.
Publisher Boyd Petersen made the announcement as The Valley Journals
prepares to start it’s 12th newspaper, the Sugar House Journal,
in June.
Perlman comes to The Valley Journals with more than
30 years of sales experience in the Salt Lake Valley. Known for his
expertise in business development, he has been called a “networking
guru” by those who’ve associated with him in the
hospitality and broadcasting business arenas.
He has been
active in the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce for more than two
decades, having served as a Presidential Ambassador and a senior
volunteer.
“Mike Perlman brings a wealth of experience
and strong business relationships to the Valley Journals,”
Petersen said. “He is well known, well liked and very well
networked into the community, and he’s the perfect fit for us
as we continue to expand our newspapers.”
“I’m
thrilled to be part of The Valley Journals,” Perlman said.
“Boyd and his team have put together a first-class news
organization with a group of newspapers that are the best-read papers
in the state. The Valley Journals philosophy matches perfectly with
mine, and I’m very excited to be working for this great
organization.”
Perlman’s responsibilities will be
primarily with the Sugar House, Millcreek and South Salt Lake
Journals. The Valley Journals also publishes monthly community
newspapers in Murray, Cottonwood Heights/Holladay, Draper, West
Valley, Taylorsville/Kearns, Midvale, West Jordan, and in the South
Valley Journal cities of Herriman, South Jordan, Bluffdale and
Riverton.
The Sugar House and newly announced Draper Journals
will begin reaching every business and home in their respective
communities in June.
POSITION WANTED: Retail Advertising
Manager
The Sioux City Journal in Sioux City, IA, a division
of Lee Enterprises, is seeking to add a Retail Advertising Manager
position. The Sioux City Journal is a daily (42,000+ circ.) newspaper
with the #1 website in the state. Situated in northwest IA, this is a
growing tri-state region with a multi cultural market.
This is
an immediate opportunity for a revenue-focused sales Manager.
Management responsibilities include working closely with retail
advertising territory account executives, meeting one on one with
customers, designing effective sales strategies and developing top
performers. You should be committed to success with print and online
and communicate effectively with customers and employees. An upbeat,
straightforward management style is a must. Compensation includes a
base and targeted bonuses.
We offer a competitive starting
salary, bonus and a benefits package including medical, dental,
vision, 401(k), paid vacation employee stock purchase plan and
more.
Please send your resume with cover letter to:
Gary
Miller
Sioux City Journal
515 Pavonia St.
Sioux City, IA
51102
Email information to Gary.Miller@Lee.net