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

director@nmpress.org  and we'll get the message out to the masses.  

Better Newspaper Contest time is fast approaching.  We'll have some announcements on some additions and changes to the categories and divisions.  Hopefully you'll agree it is an even better Better Newspaper Contest.  Rules and entry forms should be arriving by mid-June.  

The 2010 New Mexico High School Journalism Workshop is June 12 -15 at University of New Mexico

The workshop is open to high school students entering their junior or senior years. Participants receive newspaper journalism training from UNM faculty, high school journalism teachers and newspaper professionals. This summer NMPA is hosting 34 students from high schools around the state - one of the highest turnouts in the history of the journalism workshop.    

Socorro Electric loses lawsuit  

What members say, goes.

That's what a New Mexico Supreme Court-appointed judge ruled Wednesday in a landmark case in which Socorro Electric Cooperative sued all of its approximately 10,000 member-owners in an effort to block three bylaws - each aimed at increasing transparency - passed by members at last year's annual meeting.

The ruling by Judge Albert J. Mitchell Jr. of the 10th Judicial District Court means that the democratically controlled rural electric utility must abide by the New Mexico Open Meetings Act and Inspection of Public Records Act.

The merits hearing drew an audience of about 100 people, who packed a Socorro courtroom.  Read more 

Webinar Training

There are a series of upcoming webinar training sessions offered through Inland Press.   NMPA members are afforded special member prices through co-sponsorship of these convient training sessions.  Please take a look at the upcoming topics on the lower left hand side of this newsletter.   Clicking on the title will bring you to the registration page and provide additional information.  

Industry News

Around the Industry

Missouri Tornado Relief  

In an effort to assist Missouri newspaper employees impacted by the May 22 Joplin tornado, the Missouri Press Association has established a disaster fund within the Missouri Press Foundation.

Reports have been received that the homes of at least 25 Joplin Globe employees were heavily damaged or destroyed.

Tax-deductible donations may be sent to the Missouri Press Foundation, 802 Locust Street, Columbia, MO 65201.  Tax deductible donations to the relief fund may also be made online at http://tinyurl.com/44szw5r .

The Missouri Press Foundation Board of Directors will oversee 100 percent distribution of the funds.  The Foundation, chartered in 1984, is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization.

Checking in with the Newport (RI) Daily News: Two years after a digital paywall, print is still king

After the change was put into effect, "single-copy sales went up about 300 a day" - a bit less than 10 percent of overall single-copy sales. As the economy improves, "print is coming back. February [2011] was up 35 percent over last year" in ad sales. Read more 

Small dailies more likely to charge for digital content

Paid digital content strategies generally work best in niche markets-and small newspapers may be one relatively viable niche, according to new research from the Reynolds Journalism Institute...

In more than 300 phone interviews with publishers at a random sample of US daily newspapers, RJI found that 46% of dailies with circulation under 25,000 now require payment for at least some of their digital content. For dailies with circulation greater than 25,000, only 24% now charge.  Read more   

Longtime NAA President and CEO John Sturm is stepping down

John Sturm, president and CEO of the Newspaper Association of America since 1995, plans to retire later this year. A search for a successor is well under way, and there is a chance that NAA will reframe what has been principally a lobbying job.  Read more   

Why is business spending on daily deal promotions increasing?

Who Needs Newspapers?

OK -- it's an ironic rhetorical question. But the fact is, since 1704 when the Boston News-Letter hit the streets, the news agenda in the United States has been largely dictated by the local newspaper industry. Newspapers play a critical civic role: local newspaper reporters are the source of most of the original enterprise reporting in the USA.

To find answers to some of these questions, an idea was born. Six media colleagues created a 501(c)(3) corporation called Valid Sources. Its first project is www.whoneedsnewspapers.org - this Internet-delivered report on the status of 50 newspapers in 50 states.

The Santa Fe New Mexican is on www.whoneedsnewspapers.org now ---- click on New Mexico.   

The Santa Fe New Mexican is a family-owned, 23,000 circ. daily newspaper in New Mexico's capitol.   It is housed in an attractive, newly renovated building close to Santa Fe's historic Plaza (see a picture in their report).  The newspaper is committed to serving the community through an emphasis on local content and helping local businesses succeed.