Upcoming Events
2012 Legislative Session
Jan 17th Opening Day
Feb 1 Deadline for introduction
Feb 16th Session ends
Jan 27th
NMPA Legislative Breakfast. Rio Chama.
2012 NMPA Convention
Oct 25 - 27
Hyatt Tamaya
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Featured Article
John Foust
The 40-40-20 rule of marketing
An effective marketing campaign is 40 percent list, 40 percent offer, and 20 percent creative.
Technology with Kevin Slimp
The latest news in publishing technology
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Greetings!
Please enjoy the latest edition of ShopTalk. If you have interesting news items please forward them to director@nmpress.org and we will include them in the next available bulletin. For any membership questions or inquiries please call the NMPA office. Phil Lucey505-275-1377 phil@nmpress.org
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State Headlines
NMPA Legislative Breakfast
On Friday January 27th, NMPA will be hosting a legislative breakfast at the Rio Chama. Breakfast will begin at 7:30 AM. Please rsvp to phil@nmpress.org with number of attendees from your publication by Friday Jan 20th.
Click for directions to RIO CHAMA
Community outreach
NMPA is looking to increase awareness and promote the products of our member newspapers throughout the state in 2012. If you know of local events, trade shows or outings that would be a fit in your local community, please send details to phil@nmpress.org
Kingston woman found guilty of assaulting Sun-News reporter
LAS CRUCES - Marjorie Reese Stewart, 75, a retired attorney from Kingston, N.M., was convicted Wednesday afternoon of a misdemeanor assault charge after a bench trial before U.S. Magistrate Judge William P. Lynch in federal court in Las Cruces.
Reese Stewart remains on conditions of release pending her sentencing hearing, which has yet to be set. At sentencing, Reese Stewart faces a maximum penalty of six months in jail, a $5,000 fine, and five years probation.
Reese Stewart was charged Sept. 29 with physically assaulting Las Cruces Sun-News crime reporter Ashley Meeks in the federal courthouse in Las Cruces on Sept. 19, immediately following a hearing in which Reese Stewart was denied pre-trial custody of her grandson, one of four family members charged with selling 34 weapons and thousands of dollars of ammunition to undercover agents and a a Mexican cartel member turned government informant between 2010 and this July. All have pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Records Request Ignored
By Michael Maresh
SUN Staff Writer
The Espanola School District. has allegedly ignored a public records request from the District's union liaison prompting a formal complaint to the state attorney general regarding the delay.
Charles Goodmacher, who acts as an intermediary between the District's employees union and the state branch of the National Education Association,
requested on Oct. 5 to inspect all contracts, policies, correspondence and other documents related to ProSec Security, a private firm that provides security services to Espanola Valley High School and Espanola Middle School, correspondence shows.
Goodmacher said the union wanted these documents because members are concerned about the safety of students and staff at the schools where ProSec conducts patrols.
After waiting for more than two months with no response to the request, Goodmacher filed a complaint Dec. 13
State Won't Release Video
Journal Wanted To View
Lawmakers' Altercation
By JOHN ROBERTSON
Of the Journal
The Legislature's legal director says a Capitol security video that might have recorded a recent confrontation involving two New Mexico lawmakers cannot be released to the public because it doesn't document offlcial acts or
"affairs of government." The action depicted on the video would not relate to public business, said Legislative Council Service Director Raul Burciaga.
The Journal sought release of the video - apparently recording a public meeting of the Legislative Education Study Committee in a public meeting room at the Capitol on Dec. 14- under the state's Inspection of Public Records Act.
The video might show the lunch-break incident which House Majority Whip Sheryl Williams Stapleton, D-Albuquerque, who said she was angry over her integrity being called into question, verbally assailed Rep. Nora Espinoza, R-Roswell. It does not include audio, Burciaga said.
Independent celebrates first year under new ownership
From December article:
This first year has been a real adventure, with the staff at The Independent
making the transition from being employees of the newspaper to owning it. While we've ground our gears more than once this year, we're looking forward to continuing this collaborauve community endeavor for many years to come. We'd like to thank the community for your continuing support-we couldn't do it without you.
Gov. Backs Increased Public Notice
Earlier Meeting Agendas, Online Notice Proposed
BY DAN BOYD
Journal Capitol Bureau
SANTA FE - New Mexico school boards, city councils and other public bodies would have to post their meeting agendas earlier and make them available online under proposed legislation endorsed Tuesday by Gov. Susana Martinez.
State law currently requires agendas be displayed 24hours before a public meeting takes place. While agenda items can be removed following that deadline, public bodies cannot take action on matters not included on the agenda.
Minimum public notice would be increased to 72hours - or three days - under the bill to be sponsored during the upcoming 30-day legislative session by Rep. Jim Smith, R-Sandia Park.
"The reason the final agenda matters is these are the action items," said Sarah Welsh, executive director for the New Mexico Foundation for Open Government, which is also backing the proposal. "With a 24-hour notice, people really have to be on their toes."
The proposal is similar to a bill that failed to pass the Legislature earlier this year. However, that legislation was initially drafted to require a seven-day notice period, a deadline deemed unworkable by some state agencies, Welsh said.
Sun-News looks to return downtown in 2012
LAS CRUCES - While Sun-News employees aren't yet humming Motley Crue's "Home Sweet Home" ballad just yet, signs of action are visible in the downtown area at the building that used to house the newspaper for decades.
Demolition will be followed by cleanup and Sun-News Publisher Frank Leto said that a groundbreaking at 256W. Las Cruces Ave.,could be held in about a month. After fire damaged the building on Jan. 16, the company considered a variety of options -and locations - for its future and decided to rebuild on it's lot where it has been located for 40 years. Legislative watch Session begins Tuesday January 17th For legislative updates, CLICK HERE To view bills that have been prefiled CLICK HERE Bills we are watching: HB 35 RELATING TO THE OPEN MEETINGS ACT; REQUIRING AGENDAS TO BE AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC AT LEAST SEVENTY-TWO HOURS PRIOR TO A
PUBLIC MEETING. INTRODUCED BY James E. Smith SB 30 STATE AGENCY SUNSHINE PORTAL REQUIREMENTS
INTRODUCED BY: Sander Rue SB 63 LOCAL GOVERNMENT TRANSPARENCY ACT
INTRODUCED BY: Mary Jane M. Garcia Public Notice promotion Thanks to Maria Lopez Garcia and the Rio Grande SUN we have new promotional ads letting the public know they now have several options to find notices: in print, the NMPA website, sunshineportlanm.com and now newmexico.gov. The state websites do not upload our content, they only provide a link to the existing website. Please run the ads as space permits. Not only does it let the public know where to find these notices, it will also be instrumental in the upcoming legislative session to make legislators aware of how the newspaper industry has made these notices accessible and a clear message to any outside interests that have thoughts of creating new public notice websites that newspapers already have that covered. No other medium can deliver public notices to the public in print and online like newspapers can. Session begins January 17th thank you for helping to spread the message. Find the ads online at NMPA Public Notice Ads. 2012 Directory Surveys have been collected and 2012 information is being compiled. Proofs of listings will be sent out for final approval. 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 left hand side of this newsletter. Clicking on the title will bring you to the registration page and provide additional information. |
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Industry Headlines
Around the Industry
Issuance of pardons is a very public matter
(ED NOTE: Recently numerous pardons were handed out by Mississippi Governor Barbour - more than 200 - the legality of which is being called into question as the public was not properly informed of the pardons according to state law. Below is an op-ed written by the Miss. Press Association Executive Director, Layne Bruce)
JACKSON - Call former Gov. Haley Barbour's pardons of over 200 convicted felons what you want - egregious, nonsensical or - if you're so inclined - justified. More worrisome, though, may be the volume of instances where pardons were issued but public notice requirements about them were not fulfilled.
It's a bizarre turn of events that has led to a court order to halt the release of some prisoners, the potential rounding up of others and wiping the slate clean for scores of people long out of jail. The pardoning power of governors and presidents is a well-known and important part of executive privileges. It's there for deserving individuals who have simply exhausted all other avenues of possible reprieve. More obscure to many - apparently even to some officials and their throngs of legal advisers - is Article 5, Section 124 of the Mississippi Constitution that succinctly requires proper advance public notice be made before a pardon request is granted by the governor. In the case of scads of pardons issued Jan. 10, that didn't happen. Many public notices pertaining to cases in counties all over the state weren't published in the proper local newspaper far enough in advance of the issuance of the pardons. Many more evidently didn't run at all. Even a cursory check of ads placed in a Jackson newspaper showed some of the public notices were scheduled to begin running Jan. 12, two days after the pardons themselves had been signed by the former governor. This isn't about whether any one of the individuals Barbour pardoned was worthy or not. That's another debate and one that's usually rendered moot by the chief executive's right to release convicts and restore their civil rights. Rather, this is about transparency and the public's right to know. The circumventing of public notice law has been a problem at all levels of government since we formed one. And, quite frankly, I'm not sure whether it's better to say the governor's office was unaware of what is constitutionally-required or simply didn't bother to check. A spokesperson for Barbour correctly pointed out after the story broke that the burden of notice falls on the individual requesting the pardon. But it's valid for the public to expect someone at some level of government validated the notices were published properly before the executive orders granting the pardons were signed. This is a prime example of the importance - and too often overlooked - principle of public notices that appear in newspapers and on their websites in this state and nationwide. They serve the public's right to know about what is happening with government and public officials within their communities. And when public notice laws are abused - either by mistake or on purpose - a serious right of citizens, taxpayers and voters is compromised. Now we're left to sort out how many of those pardoned were actually eligible. It's going to take time and money. Some have discounted the outrage resulting from the mass pardons as political rhetoric. After all, a vast majority were no longer incarcerated. It doesn't reconcile, though, a number of murderers were nearly handed back the right to own a gun. And some molesters were almost excused from registering as sex offenders. Victims of such crimes deserve better. And the public at large has a right to know. Always. Layne Bruce is executive director of the Mississippi Press Association. Find the money to tell your storyThe Birmingham News provides insight on their successful marketing strategyThe Birmingham News had heard enough talk about the imminent demise of newspapers. Instead of standing idle, the News tackled the problem head on. The staff was ready for a fight.
"Our industry takes hits day in and day out," said News publisher Pam Siddall. "There are so many voices, regardless of where you live or work, that tell us newspapers are dying. Everybody wanted to fight this." Keep Reading
Social Login Preferred to Site Registration According to the Janrain Social Identity study, conducted by Blue Research, consumer frustration at being asked to register on a website continues to grow, and almost eight in ten people want social login to be offered as an alternative. The research shows that marketers have a clear opportunity to increase conversion rates and online engagement by replacing traditional registration with social login. 86% of consumers are bothered by registering at a website and most will give false information or leave forms incomplete when creating a new account. Four in five people are bothered by the need to create new accounts when registering on a website and will change their behavior as a result: - 88% admit to having given incorrect information or left forms incomplete when creating a new account at a website
- 9 in 10 people (versus 45% in 2010) admit they have left a website if they forgot their password or log-in info, instead of trying to recover their password
- 82% seek out or avoid companies based on reviews from friends in their social graph
Consumers increasingly believe social login, the ability to sign-in to a website using an existing online identity from providers like Facebook, Google and Twitter, is a desirable alternative, says the report. 77% of respondents think websites should offer social login, instead of requiring the creation of a new account through a traditional registration process. In addition, fans of the service are more likely to both influence and be influenced by comments about a product or service from friends in their social graph. Increased brand affinity in fans of social login: - 78% of social login fans have posted a comment or message to their social networks about a product or service they liked or thought others should know about or purchase
- 4 in 5 people (83%) say they are influenced to consider buying new products or services based on positive comments or messages from people in their social network
- 69% say positive reviews may increase their likelihood to purchase a product or service
- 82% seek out or avoid companies based on reviews from friends in their social graph
Paul Abel, Ph.D., Managing Partner, Blue Research, says "... failing to offer social login is a missed opportunity for businesses to improve ROI of online properties... fans of the service are more likely to register on the site, influence their friends ... and more likely to return to a site that offers them a personalized experience..." PRC supports NNA recommendations for better selection criteria for post office closings WASHINGTON-The Postal Regulatory Commission has recommended that the U.S. Postal Service take another look at its approach to closing post offices, supporting many criticisms made by National Newspaper Association in its fall 2011 testimony. Continue reading New York Times, Washington Post Expand Policing of Article Pilfering Online The New York Times Co., The Washington Post Co., The Associated Press and 26 other news companies began a joint venture today to police websites that use their articles without consent and demand fees for legitimate use.Continue reading How a Digital First reporter should approach statehouse coverage Nine themes for the digital emphasis of a statehouse reporter Continue reading
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People in the News
William Halbert "Hop" Graham William Halbert "Hop" Graham, 81, community leader and former owner and publisher of the Lovington Leader, died Tuesday at Covenant Hospital in Lubbock, Texas after suffering a stroke Friday, December 9, 2011. He was a second-generation publisher and a pioneer in the newspaper industry in the 1950s and was the first to use web-fed offset printing in the Texas panhandle and New Mexico. In the late 1950s, he was the principal person behind Texas newspapers the Stratford Star, the Bovina Blade, the Farwell State Line Tribune and the Mach Meter, the base paper out at Cannon Air Force Base in Clovis, NM. Graham heard of the development in the Dallas area of a web-fed press and decided the new technology of offset printing was the hope of the future for small papers that had a hard time finding good help. He bought the second offset press manufactured and put it in Friona, Texas in 1958. He became the first person between Dallas and Denver to use the new method. He moved the printing press to Lovington, New Mexico with his family in 1965 to run the Lovington Leader. The new press made the Leader the most modern newspaper in New Mexico at the time. The technology caught on, soon all newspapers converted to offset printing. Continue reading
Jerry A Padilla, The Taos News' El Crepusculo editor, is retiring after 23 years of working to preserve Northern New Mexico's unique form of Spanish. Padilla is mulling his options following his official retirement Jan. 2) but he will continue to write on a freelance basis for The Taos News, including a weekly column in
Spanish.
Send updates of new hires, promotions, retirements, memorials, etc to director@nmpress.org. We will print the news in this section each month.
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Looking for extra revenue?
Newspapers that participate in the Classified and 2x2 networks run ads on a weekly basis and have the opportunity to receive revenues in two easy ways: receive payments on a bi-annual basis from a pool of revenue from the 2x2 network and receiving commissions on any ads sold into either network. NMPS actively sells clients into these networks on a weekly basis, but you can too!
Click Here for more information NMPS Networks
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