NMPA
Shop Talk 

September 2010
In This Issue
 
 
 
 
Important Dates
Hyatt
NMPA Annual Convention
Nov 12-13
Hyatt Tamaya Resort
 Reserve your room today Call:  

$119.00 special convention room rate.

CALL TODAY!!! 

BOOK YOUR ROOM ON-LINE!!!




Quick Links
Columnists 

Kevin Slimp
Kevin does it again:
Derogatory comment about industry leads tech guru to prove his point
Link to story


John Foust
AdLibs -
Power of a Freebie
Link to story





 
Greetings!
 
Please enjoy the latest edition of ShopTalk.   In this edition you will find important information on upcoming events, including the annual convention at the Tamaya Resort in November.  

If you have interesting news items please forward them to [email protected] and we will include them in the next available bulletin.  

For any membership questions or inquiries please call the NMPA office. 

Phil Lucey
505-275-1377  
[email protected]  
 

From the President's Desk

NMPA member newspapers:

In early October, an issue will be decided with serious financial consequences for the newspaper industry and others that rely on the U.S. Postal Service. The USPS is seeking approval to raise its rates up to 10 times higher than the inflation rate. If approved, we'll be facing dramatically higher postal rates - something we just can't afford.

To counter this, I have written an op-ed piece that I think addresses the issue from our vantage point. I ask that you consider publishing it in your newspaper within the next week or two; you might even want to write about the issue yourself.

Thank you for your attention to this important matter. The column and my photo is linked below.

Tom McDonald
2010 President
New Mexico Press Association
---
Editor and Publisher
Las Vegas Optic
Las Vegas, New Mexico
505-425-6796
[email protected]

Link to Op-ed Column.    Link to photo.

NMPA Convention. Nov 12 - 13.  Reserve your hotel room today!

Call or go on-line and reserve your room today!


On November 12-13 the NMPA membership will convene at the scenic Hyatt Tamaya Resort for their annual convention.  An outstanding agenda is currently under development and will feature industry leading speakers, thought provoking panels and time to network with fellow colleagues from across the state.  It is a can't-miss event.  Save the date and plan on joining us in November.   
 
Tamaya has secured a special convention rate for us of $119.00 a night.  We even have the resort fee waived, so bring along the family and enjoy everything Tamaya has to offer.  Call 505-867-1234 today!  

For your convenience you can go right on-line and register your room.  Click on RESERVATIONS and you will be taken to the NMPA registration site. 


More details to follow soon, watch your inboxes for convention news.  
 

State Headlines

Request for News Articles  

We pull ShopTalk news from articles received from the clipping service, stories sent out by national trade groups and items we happen to hear on the street.  We need your help in making this a comprehensive bulletin.  If you have articles or learn of stories on any industry-related item, please forward them to [email protected] and we'll get the message out to the masses.

Rio Grande SUN Receives Grant to Cover Court Costs
The National Freedom of Information Coalition announced that it will front $11,000 in court costs to support the Rio Grande SUN's public records lawsuit against Northern New Mexico College.
The SUN's lawsuit alleges that "it has become standard practice at NNMC to ignore requests on the grounds that the public college is supposedly too busy to bother responding to requests to inspect public records." The SUN seeks the production of specific documents along with a court order mandating future compliance and the adoption of policies and procedures to correct the problem. The Espa�ola weekly paper is represented by Matthew Hoyt of Peifer, Hanson and Mullins, P.A.
FOG endorsed the SUN's grant application. For more information about NFOIC's freedom-of-information grants, which are funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, click here. A complete NFOIC press release on the SUN's award is available here.


Newspaper archives lead California woman to trove of family letters preserved in Santa Fe
Saving history
An online newspaper archive helped a California woman find a trove of family letters, photographs and  documents, dating to the 19th century that had been stored in Santa Fe for 39 years.
By Tom Sharpe
The New Mexican  Continue reading

Supreme Court suspends record sealing after public outcry
The New Mexico Supreme Court has suspended a ruling it instituted July 1 requiring law enforcement to file different versions of case documents to protect defendants Continue reading




Herrera dodges reporters questions
Secretary of state calls allegations ridiculous
Embattled Secretary of State Mary Herrera held a press conference but bolted before reporters could ask her any questions about allegations of criminal activity in her office and about two administrators. Continue reading


Not sure where they pulled these ads from...

Clovis Wal-Mart pulls pinatas after complaint
Clovis' Wal-Mart has pulled pi�atas from its shelves following a complaint that one was made from suggestive adult newspaper advertisements.  Store manager Frank Bean said the paper mache pi�atas, predominately in the shapes of popular cartoon characters, are purchased from a New Mexico company and he believes are made in Mexico.
Later, the Clovis News Journal purchased a Mickey Mouse pi�ata from Clovis' Wal-Mart only to find real estate ads, and contained no sexually suggestive material. Continue reading


Bean said the paper mache pi�atas, predominately in the shapes of popular cartoon characters, are purchased from a New Mexico company and he believes are made in Mexico.

FOG News

Dixon Dinner Tickets Available Now!
FOG's annual fund-raising banquet will be held Friday, Oct. 8 at the Embassy Suites Albuquerque, with a reception at 6 PM and dinner at 7 PM. Buy your tickets online at www.nmfog.org Join us in celebrating 20 years of defending freedom of information, and help us honor NMPA attorney Hal Simmons and Rio Grande SUN Managing Editor Robert B. Trapp, both of whom are receiving the 2010 William S. Dixon First Amendment Freedom Award. Banquet tickets are $60, and sponsorships are available. For more information, visit www.nmfog.org or call (888) 843-9121.
If you'd like to volunteer, please e-mail [email protected], or call 764-3750.

City of Albuquerque Launches Transparency Website
You may have seen news stories about this project, but have you visited ABQ View yet? You should. It puts a lot of information about city finances right at your fingertips - detailed information pulled directly from operational databases. Mayor Richard Berry and his staff approached FOG a few months ago to show us a first draft of the site. FOG Director Sarah Welsh encouraged the city to provide as much detailed information as possible, and to post the raw data online in downloadable form. The final site does just that - and as far as we know, it's the first government site in New Mexico to do so. This is the future of open government, and it's here now in Albuquerque.


FOG Needs Design Help (and we'll pay for it!)
The New Mexico Foundation for Open Government is seeking a graphic designer for contract work on a short-term project. (We're creating a special 20th anniversary newsletter.) Experience on a magazine-style special section is preferred. If you think you can whip up an elegant cover design and a couple of templates for interior pages, all on a tight deadline, please call (505) 764-3750 or e-mail [email protected].



Industry News

Around the Industry

NNA URGES SENATE TO ROLLBACK BURDENSOME NEW TAX REPORTING LAW:
RESTORE FAIRNESS IN TAX COMPLIANCE

The Senate should act immediately to correct a misstep in the health care reform law that sets off a flood of new paperwork requirements for small newspapers. Under Section 1096 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, businesses will be required to produce hundreds of new1099 tax forms each year to report their purchases. Continue reading



1 For All

The following is information on a First Amendment promotion initiative that the Newseum launched on July 1st.  The initiative is outlined on a new website the Newseum has created at www.1forall.us.  You'll find on the site a list of organizations that have already enlisted as supporters of the cause.   The Newseum is not seeking funding; they are hoping that state press associations will help distribute the promotion ads to ensure that the campaign gets much needed newspaper exposure, nationwide. 
 
This is an important and groundbreaking campaign that needs support from everyone who cares about a free press.  Please go to the website, check it out and then you can access the resources page to locate ads that newspapers can run beginning July 1 and thereafter.  The Newseum hopes that all state press association and newspapers nationwide will sign onto this, and they will list their supporters on materials and on their website. 


 

 Help NNA knock down massive expansion of tax paperwork about to hit newspapers
Congress must pass the Johanns amendment removing the additional 1099 reporting requirements

Background
Newspapers are required by IRS to do a 1099 tax form for any service provided by an individual or unincorporated entity if a total of $600 or more is paid out in a year. The 1099 goes to the contractor or vendor and IRS gets a 1096 form reporting the payment. The form is intended to help IRS to make sure vendors report their own income. Continue reading


Tech news

Sony Upgrades E-readers
By: E&P Staff
NEW YORK Sony has upgraded its grayscale e-reader devices and will introduce a reader app for desktop computers and mobile devices.
Now available with better contrast and cases in several colors, Sony's e-readers are lighter yet have more power and memory. The seven-inch-screen Daily Edition will be available in November ($299) with optional 3G/wireless connectivity. The smaller Pocket ($179) and Touch ($229 ) Editions are available now.
Other features include print capability, handwriting recognition, translations, and longer battery life.


There's an App for That - A Quarter of a Million of Them, In Fact
By: E&P Staff CHICAGO Apple's App Store, which opened only two years ago, now offers more than a quarter of a million applications. According to 148Apps, which tracks application development, the Apple store as of late August included 252,227 iPad and iPhone apps.

The site also said that some 50,000 developers are churning out apps at a blistering pace, submitting 626 applications every day. The average price for paid apps, 148Apps added, is $2.67.

Mediaspectrum's New Adrenalin Creates Apps, Manages Advertising and Subscriptions
By: E&P Staff NEW YORK Mediaspectrum Inc., Burlington, Mass., has introduced Adrenalin as a complete solution for publishers seeking to create customized news-reading applications for Apple's iPad and other tablet devices.
Publishers can create a branded iPad application that includes a customized icon, splash screen, and logo in a few simple steps, selecting fonts, colors, and content categories to enhance the application's look and feel, according to Mediaspectrum.

AbitibiBowater Projects Profit of $1.5 Billion over Four Years
NEW YORK Montreal-based AbitibiBowater, North America's largest newsprint producer, said it hopes to exit restructuring in October and see profits of more than US$1.5 billion over the next four years.

AbitibiBowater has cut 6,000 jobs and much of its capacity by closing mills. Creditors are due to vote Sept. 14 on a restructuring plan that would allow the company to emerge from its year-and-a-half of bankruptcy protection on Oct. 14.



 

People in the News
Send updates of new hires, promotions, retirements, memorials, etc to [email protected].  We will print the news in this section each month.  

Roy Reynolds
Roy Reynolds is the circulation director for The Taos News, overseeing the distribution of its weekly newspaper and specialty publications in Northern New Mexico.
Reynolds, who took over the position June 26, worked formerly as the district manager for the Kearney Hub, a daily newspaper in Kearney, Neb.

Frank A. Fisher
Frank A. Fisher, a journalist with 20 years of experience covering everything from crime to political scandals, has been appointed public affairs specialist for the FBI in Albuquerque.
 
Fisher comes to New Mexico from South Florida, where he spent more than four years as an assistant city editor at the Sun Sentinel  in Fort Lauderdale. Among his responsibilities was leading a team of video-journalists who filed stories for print, online and television.
 


Classifieds
Have something to sell?  Looking to buy?  Need to hire or need a job?  Send details to [email protected].  We will print the news in this section each month.