2016 Conference set for June 12-14 in Saratoga!
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Mark your calendars! The Ninth Annual Sales & Marketing Joint Conference is set for June 12-14, 2016 at the Gideon Putnam Resort in Saratoga Springs.
An annual collaboration of NYNAME and NYSCMA, Inc., the 2016 Conference also marks the 100th anniversary of NYSCMA, Inc.'s first conference!
The 2016 Conference's theme of "Black and White & Read All Over" is a nod to the old newspaper punchline which also acknowledges that now, more than ever, the news is consumed by readers across numerous platforms, wherever they may be.
Planning for the 2016 Conference's agenda is well-underway, with several informative speakers and valuable presentations already lined-up by the planning committee. More
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Valassis special postage deal goes out with a whimper
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The long struggle between the newspaper industry and Valassis Inc., over the direct mail company's special postage discounts from the U.S. Postal Service appears to have ended with a whimper. In November, Valassis filed a report saying it had carried out no mailings eligible for the special discount. It announced it had paid an agreed $100,000 penalty to USPS last September.
The tension between newspapers and its long-time insert customer began in April 2012 when the Postal Service requested a special contract rate for Valassis that was designed to pull advertising inserts out of Sunday newspapers and into a new weekend Valassis direct mail package. If the program had launched and successfully mailed 1 million qualifying mail pieces, Valassis could have earned a 22 percent to 34 percent Standard Mail postage discount. The newspaper industry fought the proposal, even taking it to the U.S. Court of Appeals. But in the end, the market ruled.
Valassis announced it had launched programs in May 2013 in Atlanta, Phoenix and Washington. It reported mailing 2 million pieces in 2013, but that these were not qualifying pieces under the rules of the contract agreement. There were no mailings in 2014 or 2015.
NNA President Chip Hutcheson, publisher of the Princeton (KY) Times-Leader, said the $100,000 fine was a fitting end to an unfortunate chapter.
"We want to think of this whole experience as an episode of recession fever at the Postal Service. They were facing grim markets, as we all were, and USPS was grasping at straws. The fever ignited this idea of picking winners and losers in the advertising marketplace for the sake of maybe getting in some new mail volume. We at NNA didn't think it would work, and it didn't. So USPS got $100,000, and spent unreported thousands in lawyers and analysts' time. The newspaper industry and Valassis spent heavily to advance their various viewpoints. And in the end, there was no new mail. Newspapers were undoubtedly hurt in those test markets and Valassis couldn't come up with the advertisers.
"There is a moral to this story that every parent knows: don't play favorites in the family. No good comes of it. We are glad this chapter is over and we intend to continue to work with Valassis to develop its markets and with USPS to improve the mail. Money is tight. We need to plant our seeds where they can grow."
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Zinsergram: Kentucky newspaper carrier is an independent contractor
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On October 12, 2015, Warren Circuit Court Judge John Grise granted the Motion for Summary Judgment of The Daily News in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Specifically, the Court ruled that the newspaper carrier whose status was at issue was an independent contractor for purposes of tort liability in Kentucky.
Finding that the newspaper carrier was an independent contractor as a matter of law, the Court relied upon many factors, including the following:
- The carrier executed a written Agreement that expressed the clear intent that the parties were creating an independent contractor relationship;
- Under the contract, the carrier purchased the newspapers at a wholesale rate and resold them to subscribers - the difference being the carrier's profit;
- The Daily News exerted very little control over the details of the carrier's deliveries, only requesting that the papers be delivered by 5:00 p.m. in a dry, readable condition;
- The carrier controlled the sequence of delivery;
- The carrier provided the vehicle needed to deliver the newspapers and paid all expenses therefore;
- The carrier had the right to purchase supplies from any source;
- No taxes were withheld from any payments made to the carrier;
- The carrier had the right to charge a retail price different than the suggested retail price of The Daily News;
- The Daily News did not designate any particular or specific place where the paper was to be placed; and
If the carrier did not want to service a customer because the customer would not pay enough, was rude, or for any other reason, that was the decision of the carrier.
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Rochester Democrat and Chronicle upgrades e-newspaper
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The Democrat and Chronicle has a new look and feel for the digital replica of the print newspaper.
The new interface, unveiled Thursday, employs a design similar to the one used in our print edition apps for iPhone, iPad and Android devices. It has been optimized to work on all web browsers and all devices, including phones, tablets and e-book readers. While the controls for the e-edition have changed, they are fairly intuitive. If you're having trouble, this guide explains the changes and should help you get up to speed quickly. More
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Des Moines Register and Gannett Product win first ever, 'Best Use of Technology in Journalism' Award for virtual reality and 360-degree video
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The National Press Foundation awards The Des Moines Register and the Gannett Product team as the first-ever recipients of the 'Best Use of Technology in Journalism' award for the "Harvest of Change" and "Iowa State Fair Soapbox" projects.
As part of the USA TODAY NETWORK, The Des Moines Register worked closely with the Gannett Product team to produce a groundbreaking, Edward R. Murrow award winning virtual reality (VR) experience on Iowa agriculture called "Harvest of Change." The 3-D immersive tour of a southwest Iowa family farm was the first of nine VR experiences produced by journalists and digital product experts within the USA TODAY NETWORK. In addition to Harvest of Change, The Des Moines Register and the Gannett Product team providedlive 360-degree coverage of the speeches from the Iowa State Fair Presidential Soapbox, giving at-home viewers a first-of-its-kind, fully immersive experience of this Iowa State Fair tradition. More
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Labor and Employment: EEOC has Attendance Point Systems in its Sights
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Attendance point systems undoubtedly have appeal. These policies - often referred to as "no fault attendance policies" because they assign points to absences regardless of the cause - take the subjectivity out of attendance-related corrective action. However, to be legally compliant, an attendance point system must make allowances for legally protected absences. You may be thinking - "how could this be discrimination? We're treating disabled employees the same as all other employees." Well, the ADA requires you to not only treat qualified individuals with disabilities the same as you would nondisabled employees, it also requires that you provide reasonable accommodations - modifications or adjustments to the way things usually are done that enable a qualified individual with a disability to enjoy an equal employment opportunity. Among the possible accommodations envisioned by the EEOC? Modifying or changing policies. Not surprisingly, the EEOC now has employers with attendance point systems in its sights. In fact, the EEOC has brought legal action against a number of employers who maintain attendance point systems that fail to except out legally protected absences. More
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Accepting entries for the 2016 America East Digital Media Contest
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The Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association (PNA) is now accepting entries for the 2016 America East Digital Media Contest. This contest offers the opportunity for news organizations to prove their website or digital platform is one of the best! The annual contest is held in conjunction with the largest regional conference and trade show for the news media industry, America East. Submissions are due by Feb. 12, 2016.
The Digital Media Contest is open to all news media platforms and provides a valuable learning experience, designed to recognize excellence in the digital realm. Each entrant will receive personalized feedback from contest judges and have the opportunity to meet the judges during an awards presentation on April 4, 2016.
2016 contest categories include:
- Best Overall Digital Experience
- Best Use of Video
- Best Use of Technology on the Web
- Best Interaction with Readers
- Best Overall Use of Social Media
- Best Use of Multimedia
- Best Revenue Generation Initiative
- Best Search Presence
- Best Overall Mobile Experience
For a detailed list of categories, descriptions and entry information, visit the America East website.
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Occupational Safety and Health Law: OSHA Penalties Soon Getting a Boost
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Michael Kinsley once said "A gaffe is when a politician tells the truth." And one gaffe that has often been repeated is Speaker Pelosi's statement from 2010, saying about the Affordable Care Act, "we have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it." There was great truth to that statement, as we are now in an age where the public only finds out what was contained in legislation after it has already been passed.
Such as the new 144-page budget deal signed into law last week. It was made public just before midnight on October 26, and with little debate, passed the House on October 28, the Senate on October 30, and was signed into law by the President on November 2. And we are now coming to "find out what is in it."
Such as a provision allowing OSHA to increase its penalties by up to 82%, to account for inflation since 1990. OSHA's penalty amounts were previously fixed and not indexed to inflation. However, the "Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act" tucked into the budget deal not only allows OSHA to begin increasing its penalties annually to account for inflation, but also allows it to implement a "catch up" increase for not raising its penalties for the past quarter century. If OSHA elects to do so - and as the sun rises in the east, OSHA will elect to do so - it must implement an interim final rule by July 1 that will go into effect by August 1. More
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In a New York Minute is the weekly electronic newsletter of NYNPA, providing you with member news, money-saving and money-generating ideas, and upcoming events. If you would like to contribute to this newsletter please reply to this e-mail or contact mmiller@nynpa.com. For more on NYNPA please visit us on the web at www.nynpa.com.
Don Ferlazzo Director of Advertising & Event Management
New York News Publishers Association
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NIE Monthly Features
Free Features include:
November - National Family Literacy Month
December - Human Rights Day - 12/10
January - Celebrating the Legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Why not center each in a page and run ads from NIE sponsors or advertisers around it?
You could make some money to support the NIE program and young readers and the general public just might learn something too! Need more info? Contact Mary Miller at mmiller@nynpa.com or call 518-449-1667518-449-1667 x 701__________________
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