Special section success stories written and designed by Michelle Finkler.

1. Ideas
Pap er help s read ers looking to save money on travel
By Michelle Finkler “I don’t want to imply th at th is
ASSOCIATE EDITOR
can’t b e done at ju st one paper. It’s
In spring 2008, gas prices in many parts not su ccessfu l b ecau se we h ave
of the country were hovering around the seven newspapers. It cou ld b e
$3.75 a gallon mark and would reach the $4 applied any wh ere.”
a gallon mark during the summer months.
Many Americans were feeling pain at the Kathy Lafferty-Hutchinson
pump and opted to avoid
S p ec ial S ec t io n summer travel that in-
S u c c ess S t o r y cluded long, out-of-state with the editorial department. Stories for the
road trips and instead publication were assigned like any other
looked for fun things to do in their own neck story, and most of the content was derived
of the woods. This trend gave one newspa- from the communities that the newspapers
per manager an idea. are in. There were also general travel stories,
“I had seen other papers do some variety such as a story outlining tips for summer
of this in some way,” said Kathy Lafferty- travel planning. Lafferty-Hutchinson said
Hutchinson, regional advertising sales man- this year’s A Day Away will feature a story
ager for a group of Kansas weekly papers giving pointers on traveling with children.
owned by The World Company. The news- On the second page of the tabloid, there is
papers are in communities surrounding a list of festivals. Existing resources at the
Lawrence, Kan.—in Tonganoxie, Baldwin, newspapers provided all of the content, in-
Basehor, Bonner Springs, Eudora, De Soto cluding stories and photos. The publication
and Shawnee. also has an online component, which Laf-
“The idea came up this time last year ferty-Hutchinson said will be updated year-
when the economy was starting to take a round this year.
hit,” Lafferty-Hutchinson said. “Gas prices When it came time for the publication’s
were out of sight. People were looking to release, 60,000 copies were distributed in-
stay local. You have to see what’s in your side each of the seven weeklies’ papers.
own backyard. We miss a lot of things that Lafferty-Hutchinson said they also over-
are nearby. The gas prices are the thing that printed Road Trips to use as a future sales
made us say, ‘We have to do this now.’” piece. Also, the chamber of commerce in
In May 2008, Road Trips; Driveable Des- each city was given an overrun to distribute
tinations was released, and it was a big hit, to tourists. Overruns were also given to ad-
Lafferty-Hutchinson said. The regional vertisers, and the newspaper offices kept
product was at team effort on behalf of all some copies available for people to pick up
of the seven weekly newspapers, she said. throughout the year.
The tabloid publication was 16 pages long
Room to grow
and was printed on a heavier stock of news- The 2 0 0 8 ed ition of Road Trip s w as created in resp onse to high gas p rices and the economy, w hich w as
print than the newspapers usually use. Road just starting to take a hit. This year’s ed ition w ill b e called A Day Aw ay. PHOTO SUPPLIED Lafferty-Hutchinson sees a lot of potential
Trips also featured pages with full-color ads in the publication as she and staff members
and photos. “If you have the budget, you can be on move forward with A Day Away.
Appealing for advertisers M o r e o n lin e the TV show and the print product,” Laffer- “I’m thinking about following up with a
TO V IEW ROAD TRIP S IN ITS EN TIRETY AS A P DF, ty-Hutchinson said. “The majority of our campaign that would just feature one city,
Road Trips was also a money-maker. The P LEASE V ISIT N BDN -IN LAN D.ORG . advertisers—probably 90 percent—are just like A Day Away in the Eudora area or the
publication attracted advertising clients going to be in the print product.” Baldwin City area,” she said. “We would
who had not advertised in the newspapers pealing to advertisers.” just feature a specific city on a page in the
Get connected
before. Lafferty-Hutchinson said 45 per- With the success of the first issue, plans paper. I want to go back to advertisers and
cent of the advertising was new to the com- for a 2009 edition, which will come out in Lafferty-Hutchinson said it’s not neces- pitch it.”
pany, not necessarily to The World Com- early May, are already under way. This sary for a newspaper to own a TV station or The next step, Lafferty-Hutchinson said,
pany, but to her chain of weekly papers. year’s publication will be larger than the have a network of area papers for a publica- would be to introduce spring and fall edi-
The publication attracted advertisers all the 16-page 2008 edition, as more advertisers tion like Road Trips to be successful. tions, because there are many festivals and
way from Missouri to Dodge City, on the are excited about the product and get on “I don’t want to imply that this can’t be events hosted by the newspapers’ communi-
opposite side of Kansas. Lafferty-Hutchin- board. done at just one paper,” she said. “It’s not ties during those times, such as leaf tours
son said advertisers were able to track the The 2009 edition will be called A Day successful because we have seven newspa- and holiday parades.
success of the ads they placed and see a Away, which is the name of a show that airs pers. It could be applied anywhere.” “It really has room to grow,” she said.
return on their investments soon after pub- on a TV station owned by the company. She suggests newspapers get in contact “It’s one of these projects that could grow
lication. Lafferty-Hutchinson said the TV show had with area chambers of commerce or eco- so big.”
“When we sold it, we told [advertisers] “the same kind of feeling” as Road Trips, nomic development entities, as well as res-
you’d be grouped by region,” she said. and it made sense for the two to come to- taurants and businesses to get ideas on con- Contact: Kathy Lafferty-Hutchinson,
“For example, if your company was in gether. This union has also given advertisers tent, such as festivals and events to cover klafferty@lansingcurrent.com
Bonner Springs, your ad would be near the opportunity to appear on the “A Day on the editorial side.
other Bonner Springs ads. That was ap- Away” show, she said. Lafferty-Hutchinson also worked closely
PAGE 10 The Inland er | w w w .inland p ress.org | AP RIL 2 0 0 9

2. 2009 -
istrib-
Ideas
H o w a p ap er tu rned a scho o l calendar into so mething sp ecial
which was laid out by the paper’s
By Michelle Finkler creative designer.
ASSOCIATE EDITOR Before the 2007-08 school year
edition, the newspaper had been put-
An Iowa paper is leaping beyond ting together a school calendar for
newspapers with its creation of a the district, but it was with “a differ-
niche product that has become a ent kind of paper, all black and
local favorite, lasting for many white—a no-thrill type of thing,” he
months and reaching a young audi- said. The upgraded calendar was at-
ence. tainable through advertising revenue,
S p ec ial S ec t io n The Fort so it wasn’t something the district
S u c c ess S t o r y Dodge Com- had to pay for. All of the advertising
munity School revenue that didn’t go toward print-
Calendar is put together by The ing costs went to The Messenger.
Messenger, a 17,000-circulation Advertising
daily newspaper that serves Fort
Dodge, Iowa. “We start calling [advertisers] in
The full-color calendar, with a the end of May and into June,” the covers should be at a premium
glossy front and high-quality news- Jakeman said. Because the news- rate, especially if they are glossy.”
print pages, begins in August and paper has published 2007-08 and Because the school calendar has
ends in August of the following 2008-09 calendars, “it’s a lot easi- only 13 months, ad space is limited,
school year, said David Jakeman, er because we start with the same which is a key selling point reps use
advertising director for The Mes- people. We say, ‘We will hold your when recruiting for advertising, he
senger. spot if you let us know early.’ Start- said. Also, certain months are more
The idea originated at a sister ing from scratch, it’s harder. Now, desirable to certain businesses.
publication, Jakeman said, where it they see the value. They see how “Some [advertisers] didn’t care
was shown to local school officials. much it’s used. It’s an easier which spot they were on; some did,”
“We said, ‘Wouldn’t it be nice to sell.” he said. “It was on a first-come-first-
do something in full color, that has Jakeman said no more than two served basis, which was a good sell-
that durability to last all year?’” inside sales reps at the paper sell ing point. If you’re a tanning salon,
Content the advertising. The calendar fea- and prom’s in May, you’re gonna
tures ad spots on the front and back want an ad in April. First come, first
Although most of the calendar is inside cover and on the back cover. served is a key selling point.
made up of the month grids and the These ads are larger than ads on the “Once you got to the end and all
opposite photo pages, the first three calendar pages, are on the glossy the key selling spots were taken, we 2009-10 calendar by packaging ev
-10 ev- last year. The copies were d distrib-
pages contain school information. cover stock and are available to went to bigger places that just want- erything with the Web site. Messen- uted at the schools and in town at
In addition to a phone directory of advertisers at a premium rate, Jake- ed to be in it. They didn’t care what gernews.net, the newspaper’s Web different locations where people
school employees, the calendar in- man said. Ads on the inside news- month they were on, but they just site, will offer a Web version of the could pick them up for free. He
cludes school buildings and ad- print calendar pages are available wanted to be in it and show they calendar, which will feature a rotat- said full distribution of the calen-
dresses, school procedures, lunch on the photo page that appears op- were supporting the schools.” ing banner ad that will run across dar wasn’t necessary because it
program information, student fees, posite of the calendar grid. These The Fort Dodge Community the top of the calendar. The Web site would only be of use to students,
vacation days, tardiness policy in- ads are positioned on a strip over School Calendar was able to attract has recently launched a 2008-09 faculty and parents, not everyone
formation, bus transportation infor- the photo. Half- and full-strip sizes businesses that aren’t regular ad- version of the calendar so sales reps living in The Messenger’s circula-
mation and legal notices. are available. vertisers of The Messenger’s print can show the 2009-10 calendar’s tion area.
The school district supplies that “You have to really strategically product, Jakeman said. The product potential advertisers what the fea- “I was just talking to the school
information along with all of the price your stuff,” Jakeman said. was pitched to businesses that ture will look like, Jakeman said. He superintendent not too long ago,”
scheduling information that is in- “Since you have a limited amount wanted their ads in front of stu- also said pricing for the 2009-10 Jakeman said. “She said every em-
cluded on the month grids, such as of space, you have to carefully gauge dents, parents and faculty members, calendar will increase because of the ployee receives one of these cal-
when a sporting event, board meet- how much you have to charge to he said. newspaper’s initiative to bundle the endars. Every family of a student
ing or dance takes place, Jakeman make it worth your while.” “We really target people who ads with the online calendar. gets the calendar when they sign
said. The schools also provided Jakeman said ad rates have in- would benefit from connecting with “Now with papers integrating up. Throughout the year, parents
some of the classroom photos fea- creased each year by about 5 or 10 school kids,” Jakeman said. “Tan more Web, it’s smart to bundle it,” will ask her for multiple copies of
tured on the photo pages, he said. percent. When determining the rates World and florists for prom, pho- he said. the calendar. They ask for it early,
“The athletic photos we took at of the different ads, Jakeman said tographers for senior photos, a per- Web users can access the calen- before it’s ready.
different events,” Jakeman said. papers should consider the costs of forming arts school, pizza places. dar from the bottom portion of the “It’s something that benefits our
The Messenger has “a photo site printing, insertion, commission, etc. We have a National Guard ad. It’s site’s main page, where a calendar community. It benefits the school
that we could pull the photos off of. “Obviously you need to cover a wide range. We really target busi- section is located. Web users can as a whole and the community as
The calendar was a good way to those costs and a healthy profit mar- nesses with a niche that want to hit click on events in the calendar, and a whole. There’s a lot of satisfac-
promote the site, too. Beneath the gin,” Jakeman said. “I would advise the kids or parents.” the links will lead them to a page tion in having a product everyone
photos it says, ‘For more pictures, each paper to price the ads according New edition with more details about the event. is happy with and uses all year.”
visit cu.messengernews.net,’ which to their individual market. Then give Distribution
is our photo site.” the sections annual increases from Jakeman said The Messenger’s Contact: David Jakeman,
The 2007-08 school year was the there. Remember that this calendar sales reps will be offering an added Jakeman said 8,000 copies of djakeman@messengernews.net
first to get the upgraded calendar, is referred to year around as well, so incentive for advertisers with the the 2008-09 calendar were printed
MAY 2 0 0 9 | www.inlandp ress.o rg | The Inlander PAG E 15

3. Ideas
Ind. paper decides less is more when it comes to special sections
By Michelle Finkler ing with tofu, visiting Nashville,
assoCIaTE EdITor Ind., and making holiday cards. Be-
cause the magazine is quarterly with
Consolidating a few special sec- spring, summer, fall and winter is-
tions into one publication can low- sues, Showalter said many of the
er costs and result in a better over- stories are seasonal.
all product. For the featured home article that
Such was the case with “Enjoy!,” runs in every issue, Showalter said
a quarterly life- finding houses to write about can
Special Section style magazine be difficult. One way Showalter
Success Story created by The gets story ideas is from reader feed-
Republic, a back.
21,500-circulation daily newspaper “Occasionally, we get sugges-
located in Columbus, Ind. tions like, ‘You should do this
Sharon Shumate, the advertising house,’” he said. “For the [home]
director for The Republic, said com- we’re doing now, I asked the local
bining two quarterly publications interior decorator. He had just fin-
with one annual special section re- ished decorating this house, and it
sulted in “one robust publication.” turned out nice. We have a couple
“There was ‘Your Home, Inside homes that are visible and are on
& Outside’; there was a health and busy streets and everyone says, ‘I’d
fitness magazine called ‘Smart like to see what’s inside that place.’
Living’—these were both quarter- I also will just ask people if they
ly,” Shumate said. “Then there was know of any.”
‘Summer Scene,’ an annual publi- Showalter said that although most
cation that told you about fun things of the homes featured in the maga-
to do during the summer. We took zine are large and upscale, newspa-
those three and combined them into per staff tries to present the content
one.” in a way that is appealing to a gen-
Publisher Chuck Wells, who was eral audience since Enjoy! is dis-
the advertising director during the tributed inside the newspaper.
time of the change, said the three For the most part, local stringers
previous publications had lost their and freelancers write the editorial
“newness” with advertisers and, content, Showalter said, adding that
consequently, began losing ad rev- The Republic’s Special Publications
enue. Department is responsible for edit-
The publications “were also very ing, layout and design.
narrow in focus, which limited our “Our Special Publications De-
audience and potential advertiser partment is very small,” he said. “I
base,” Wells said. “It also allowed might write a story here or there. I
the reps to focus on one publication have a pool of maybe six or seven
rather than three, which improved [stringers] I use regularly. I try to
sales pressure and focus. assign stories to writers to play to
“The publication is producing their strengths.”
more revenue than the others com- For photos, Showalter said he
bined, and production, editorial and submits requests to The Republic’s
sales costs are a third of what they photo editor, and he gives the as-
were before we made the change,” The summer 2009 edition of Enjoy!, a quarterly lifestyle magazine put together by The (Columbus, Ind.) republic, was signments to either staff photogra-
he said. released June 11. The magazine features content on home and garden, health and fitness, and travel and finance. Image supplIed phers or freelancers. Showalter said
Shumate said Enjoy!, which stock art is also used in the maga-
launched in March 2007, has been Choosing to distribute the maga- made many changes since its incep- zine.
one of the more successful special More online zine as an insert also saved on post- tion but tries to feature the same Advertisers
sections for the newspaper. To keep To see full copies of Enjoy! age, Wells said. For Internet users, types of stories in each edition.
ad costs attractive and at a reason- in PDF format, visit Enjoy! is also available as a virtual “We still try to touch on certain Enjoy! attracts many different
able rate for businesses in The Re- nbdn-inland.org and magazine on The Republic’s Web things in every issue,” he said. “We types of advertisers, Shumate said.
public’s market, Shumate said the select the “Ideas” tab. site, TheRepublic.com. have an outstanding-home feature, She said companies that specialize
newspaper opted to print the inside Inside home and garden content, health in home improvement—kitchen
pages of the magazine on premium between 44 and 60 pages long. and fitness stories and travel— countertops and cabinetry busi-
high bright stock, instead of glossy. Enjoy! is distributed four times Enjoy! features a wide variety of things you can go to within a day’s nesses or home improvement
The inside portion of the publica- a year—March, June, September content, including home, garden, drive. There’s finance- and recre- stores—see results by advertising
tion is printed at a sister newspa- and December—as an insert inside health, fitness, travel, recreation and ation-type stuff—those kinds of in the magazine. Shumate said a
per’s facility, and the glossy covers the Thursday newspaper, which is finance stories. Doug Showalter, areas. No profiles; more lifestyle furniture store always advertises on
are outsourced to a vendor, Shumate one of The Republic’s higher cir- special publications editor for The content.” the back cover, and restaurants,
said. Typically, the magazine is culation days, Shumate said. Republic, said the magazine hasn’t Past features have included cook- EnJoY! : ConTInUEd on pagE 14
PAGE 12 The Inlander | Inlandpress.org | JULY 2009

4. Ideas
Enjoy!: Many options for advertisers
CoNTINUED From pagE 12 “We had one person who did a one-time, half-
page ad—a landscaping company—and they
banks and Realtors have also run advertise- said after the ad ran, they booked 13 jobs,” she
ments in the magazine. said.
Advertisers are “trying to reach people in a However, advertising in Enjoy! has fallen off
higher income bracket, people in the 35 to 55 a little with the sluggish economy. Advertising
age group,” Shumate said. “It’s for men and in Enjoy! is viewed as more of a branding-type
women both; I’d say it’s about 50/50. For ex- message, which Shumate said advertisers are
ample, in the last issue, we had a story about scaling back from and instead doing more call-
making your own home brew. We try to not to-action-type advertising.
just appeal to women.” “The first issues were strong and successful,
Advertisers can connect with these readers and then it started waning a little bit,” she said.
through quarter-, half- and full-page ads, “After the elections, there were some local lay-
Shumate said. An advertising package is offs in the area. We’ve probably seen about a
available that offers businesses the opportu- 20 to 25 percent drop since the earliest issues
nity to advertise throughout the year in each that were the most successful.”
of the four issues. As a way to attract advertisers in the tough
“We do try to secure an annual contract, a economy, Shumate said the newspaper has of-
four-times-a-year contract,” Shumate said. fered companies specials, such as getting the
“So a lot of the advertisers appear in every annual contract rate without signing a contract.
issue. We have two different rates—a con- “Of course, we don’t want to do that, but we
tract rate and an open rate. Color is included have,” she said.
in all of the ad rates.” Ultimately, Shumate said Enjoy! will make
About 35 percent of the advertisers in it through the tough times and bounce back to
Enjoy! are using the annual-contract option, its previous advertising revenues.
she said. With the annual package, Shumate “The way it’s positioned in the market, it will
said the newspaper is flexible in offering sustain itself,” she said. “We’re not that far from
advertisers different ad-size combinations our goal as far as advertising revenue is con-
depending on which seasons they want cerned, so that says a lot given this economy.”
more or less exposure. She said the spring
and summer issues tend to be larger with Contact:
more gardening and outdoors-related ad- Sharon Shumate, sshumate@therepublic.com;
wspaper Business Development
sna gged a second-place 2008 Ne vertisers wanting to get their ads in front
The Fall 2007 issue of Enjoy! egory. Image supplIed
Chuck Wells, cwells@therepublic.com;
cat
Contest award in the Shelter of readers. Doug Showalter, dshowalter@therepublic.com
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PAGE 14 The Inlander | Inlandpress.org | JULY 2009

5. Ideas
Neb. publisher pursues, finds new revenue in commercial printing
By Michelle Finkler
ASSocIATe edITor
Newspapers are in the pub-
lishing business. Military bases
are not.
So when Dan Collin, a former
employee of the Bellevue, Neb.-
based Sub-
Special Section urban News-
Success Story papers Inc.,
saw that Of-
futt Air Force Base in Nebraska
published a newcomer’s guide
and telephone book for new per-
sonnel, he had an idea.
Collin’s idea was simple: have
the newspaper put together the
guide and phone book for the base,
said Lowell Miller, retail advertis-
ing local sales manager for Subur-
ban Newspapers Inc.
Suburban Newspapers owns the
Ashland Gazette, Bellevue Leader,
Gretna Breeze, La Vista Sun, Papil-
lion Times, Ralston Recorder, Wa-
hoo Newspaper and Waverly News.
The Omaha World-Herald is the
parent company of Suburban News-
papers.
“We said we would be able to do
it for them with the understanding
that we would be able to sell the
advertising, and they agreed,” Mill-
er said. “It was roughly $55,000 in
total revenue we brought in.”
Projects like the Offutt Air Force
Base Newcomer’s Guide and Tele- Suburban Newspapers Inc. puts together the Newcomer’s Guide and Telephone directory for the
nearby offutt, Neb., Air Force Base. The 2009 editions will be available oct. 30. Images supplIed
phone Directory show how Subur-
ban Newspapers is finding new through an outside printer. ments and verifying that informa- personnel get acquainted with the
revenue by going beyond its news- More online Although the Offutt Air Force tion. base and the surrounding area.
papers and special sections to offer To see excerpts of the Of- Base had previously produced the “For this next edition, we’re “It’s more of a resource guide,”
its publishing and production ser- futt Air Force Base New- publications, Suburban Newspapers working with the Public Relations he said. “A lot of the people have
vices to new clients. comer’s Guide and tele- started from scratch when they took Department at the base and using served at another Air Force base,
“We also have a paper that’s dis- phone directory in PDF over in 2007, Miller said. them as a conduit to gather the in- but they don’t know a lot about
tributed on the base called the Base form, visit NBDN-Inland.org “The first one is always the formation. The last time we did Omaha or the base. The guide
and select the “Ideas” tab.
68113,” Miller said. “It’s a free toughest,” he said. “This time, we’ll this, it was difficult gathering all shows them where everything is—
rack publication. We do 8,000 cop- do a lot more updating. There are the information from all the differ- buildings, maps, departments, com-
ies of that. It’s a weekly on Thurs- at the base, as well as businesses in obviously a lot of changes with ent departments. This time, we will munity information regarding Bel-
days.” the area. people coming and going from the be able to have someone assist us levue or the other surrounding ar-
Base 68113 has news, features, The first editions of the Offutt Air Force base. The workload from in getting everything.” eas.”
sports and recreation content per- Air Force Base Newcomer’s Guide the phone number standpoint is Inside The content comes to Suburban
taining to the base and the Omaha and Telephone Directory put to- pretty much the same. We have the Newspapers from the various de-
area. The Newcomer’s Guide and gether by Suburban Newspapers template down, though.” Planning for the Newcomer’s partments at the base. Miller said
Telephone Directory also serve this came out in 2007, and Miller said For the 2007 editions, Suburban Guide and Telephone Directory all of the content is provided, ed-
military community’s roughly the 2009 editions will be available Newspapers worked closely with begins about eight months before ited and whittled down to fit space
9,100 personnel, Miller said. The Oct. 30. The base requested that the the Air Force base in completing publication, Miller said. The Offutt constraints by a team at Suburban
guide is a helpful resource for those publications be produced every two the project. Newcomer’s Guide is a four-color, Newspapers. A freelancer is also
who are new and are not familiar years based on the amount of new “We had to get all of the phone glossy publication of about 80 brought in on the Newcomer’s
with Offutt or the surrounding ar- personnel coming in and how fast numbers from them,” Miller said. pages. It is the size of a magazine Guide and Telephone Book project
eas, Miller said. The Telephone it takes to run out of books. In 2007, “With the Newcomer’s Guide, we and is stitched and trimmed. Miller for layout and design.
Directory is a tool used by person- 2,000 copies of the Newcomer’s had to make sure all that informa- said the guide doesn’t feature sto- Miller said the Telephone Direc-
nel at the base to look up phone Guide and 4,000 copies of the Tele- tion was accurate. We were work- ries per se, but rather general infor- tory is about the same size as the
numbers and addresses for offices phone Directory were printed ing with all the different depart- mation meant to help incoming oFFUTT: coNTINUed oN PAGe 16
PAGE 12 The Inlander | InlandPress.org | AUGUST 2009

6. Ideas
Four more NBDN ideas to generate revenue with Special Sections
W ell-executed Special Sections can produce several Health, Family & Youth
thousands of dollars in new revenue. For this “bonus”
section, The Inlander offers four additional ideas for The Record into the Sunday paper. The publi- a few.
special sections that have delivered proven results for newspa- Stockton, Calif. cation included first-hand accounts Copy: The Record solicited for
pers (revenue figures are included at the end of each summary). Contact: Karen Bakhtegan of local war veterans who served submissions from veterans and
Next month, we begin looking at the most recent revenue- E-mail: kbakhtegan@recordnet. in conflicts from World War II to their families through an ad in the
generating ideas that have emerged from our recently judged com the Iraq war. newspaper. Soon after the ad ran,
NBDN contest (details on contest winners on page 5). Theme: For Veterans Day in Sales Strategy: The Record set the newspaper began to receive
2007, The Record decided to put strict guidelines for the special hundreds of photos, written ac-
Arts/Entertainment together “A Soldier’s section to ensure that all of the counts, old letters, service awards
Story,” a 20-page special advertising would be tasteful in and newspaper clippings. Most of
Calgary Herald section that was inserted this tribute to veterans. Tribute and the articles that appeared in A Sol-
Alberta, Canada “thank you” ads were accepted dier’s Story were written and sub-
Contact: Barb Livingstone with minimal “advertising” mitted by veterans. The other sto-
E-mail: blivingstone@theherald. included, and no sales pitches ries were pieced together using
canwest.com or product photos were al- photos, letters, journals, biogra-
Theme: The Calgary Herald has lowed. A wide variety of busi- phies and interviews provided by
been putting together “4-H On Pa- nesses and organizations par- veterans and family members.
rade” for the past three years. 4-H ticipated in the section includ- Content from the section is also
On Parade is not a parade, but ing a kitchen and bath center, posted online on the newspaper’s
rather a three-day event that takes a car dealership and military Web site, RecordNet.com.
place in May where 4-H clubs recruitment offices, to name Results: Revenue of $10,094
from around the province come
to show their animals in competi-
tion and participate in other
events not commonly associated
Glossy
with 4-H, such as public speaking. Copy: Stories and photos in 4-H The Daily Herald solicit for advertising to cover the cost
The 4-H On Parade section was On Parade are geared toward chil- Arlington Heights, Ill. of the section. Advertisers could choose
designed not only to highlight the dren. The special section features Contact: Amy Seng from four ad sizes and paid listings.
range of work 4-H encompasses, profiles on prominent Calgarians E-mail: aseng@daily- Sales Incentives: The bar association
but to bring rural life to an urban who have gone through the 4-H herald.com used the special section to boost mem-
audience. The 12-page tabloid is system and gave credit to the or- Theme: The Daily Herald bership for their referral service pro-
family-friendly and distributed to ganization for their business suc- worked with the Northwest gram. Members of the service were
rural subscribers and nonsubscrib- cess. The newspaper has a pool of Suburban Bar Association to offered a free listing in the Attorney
ers in areas surrounding Calgary, about 20 freelancers that it uses for create the “Attorney Guide,” Guide, but non-members would have
as well as copies in the newspaper special sections to write stories and which featured stories, photos to pay $125 for the listing. Joining the
for readers in the city of Calgary. shoot photos. For 4-H On Parade, and a listing directory. The referral service program cost $150,
The tabloid was also distributed at the Calgary Herald assigned the Daily Herald and another prompting many non-members to be-
the 4-H On Parade event, and the stories and photos to freelancers local paper distributed the come members.
content was posted on CalgaryHer- who enjoy writing for a family au- guide through home deliv- Copy: The NWSBA offered its mem-
ald.com. dience and who also might have ery and newsstands. More bers an opportunity to write stories for
Sales Strategy: The biggest sup- some rural experience. All design than 77,000 copies were the publication. The Daily Herald took
porter of 4-H On Parade is the Cal- and coordination for the section is distributed in Chicago’s photographs and wrote a feature story
gary Stampede, the Herald’s partner done in-house. Because the publi- Northwest suburbs. about the association’s board mem-
for the publication. Other partners cation is printed on upgraded news- Sales Strategy: The bers.
have included businesses that want print, the newspaper uses an outside NWSBA gave the news- Results: Revenue of $31,320
to reach urban and rural audiences commercial printer. paper a list of members
of kids and families. Results: Revenue of $31,500 to call on their behalf to
Saturday’s college matchups. The publication the person in the photo calls in and identifies
Sports features content pertaining to different school himself, he’ll win a prize.
districts and colleges in the area, and it is dis- Sales Incentives: Advertisers are asked to com-
The Daily Item tributed with the newspaper. mit to a 12-week run, which translates into new
Sunbury, Pa. Sales Strategy: Game Night appeals to a variety revenue for the newspaper without requiring
Contact: Laura Smith of advertisers, such as a photographer, cable weekly callbacks. Advertisers who don’t commit
E-mail: lsmith@dailyitem.com news stations, auto body shops, restaurants and to the 12-week run are charged a premium rate.
Theme: The Daily Item’s “Game Night” pizza parlors, as well as a jewelry store selling Advertisers are also charged a premium rate for
runs for 12 consecutive weeks in the pa- class rings and school-related jewelry. Advertis- the front-page banner ad and for ads on the back
per’s Friday morning edition during foot- ers can have their ad placed on the page that page.
ball season, which lasts from the end of features the school district in which their busi- Copy: The stories and photos were produced
August to the end of November. The sec- ness is located. The newspaper also uses Game in-house, as were design, layout and printing.
tion includes player profiles, game pre- Night for its own promotions, such as a Fan of Results: $23,901 total revenue for all 12
views, statistics, photos and articles on the Week Photo where a picture of an unidenti- weeks
that evening’s high school games and fied fan is put in the sports publication, and if — Compiled by Michelle Finkler
AUGUST 2009 | InlandPress.org | The Inlander PAGE 13

7. Training
Here’s a way to increase printing productivity Offutt: Guide, phone book
Web Press
Automated Compensator Preset-
ting. What is it? Think of it as an- appealing to advertisers in which ink key presetting is ac-
complished. The result is decreased
Update
other newspaper gold mine waiting startup time, reduced startup waste,
to be tapped. lower startup costs, and, most im- CoNTINUed FroM PAGe 12 in order to be listed in the yellow
One of the generally untapped portantly, more time spent printing pages.”
methods of increasing press produc- good copy. Newcomer’s Guide with 80 Beyond the newspaper
tivity today includes the use of au- Providers of closed loop register pages of content, though the
tomated presetting of page compen- systems sometimes provide auto- phone book is a perfectly bound The Newcomer’s Guide and
sators (includes unit-to-unit and mated compensator presetting kits. product. There is a white pages Telephone Directory are proj-
ribbon compensators). Unit-to-unit CC1 in Portsmouth, N.H., for ex- section for AFB office listings ects that go beyond traditional
compensators effect color image ample, is one such company. When and a yellow pages section for newspapering. It’s a way for the
register; movement of ribbon com- John F. Nicoli you work with a company that pro- area businesses, which is where newspaper company to offer its
pensators do not. On all presses, Elmhurst, Ill. vides “auto registration,” you will Suburban Newspapers sells publishing expertise to the com-
compensators are either motorized find that one system can also support ads. munity and generate revenue.
or manually controlled devices that The fact is, in certain shops across the other. In other words, if you al- Miller said advertiser recruit- “We produce six area cham-
allow the operator to align the head the U.S. that specialize in short runs, ready have one system or the other, ment efforts begin about three ber of commerce and business
and tail of each page with all of the eight runs a day are common. And it is not much more of any invest- months before publication. Both association directories each
other pages and webs within a given the number of these “short-run” ment to add to the existing system of the AFB publications are year,” Miller said. “We also pro-
printed product, prior to their en- shops is growing every year. and end up with both compensator great opportunities for local duce fall/spring sports programs
trance into the folder. Automated presetting of compen- presetting and color registration. businesses to get their products and posters, graduation pro-
But here’s the problem: Today, sators eliminates the need to use your By intelligently examining the and services in front of incoming grams and play programs for
most press operators are manually operator’s experience to “guess” printing production process and add- base personnel, Miller said. To area high schools.”
setting page compensators. where the pages will line up before ing automation that makes both prac- help entice advertisers, Subur- With the Newcomer’s Guide
Setting page compensators can be the press run—and then, once the tical and “ROI” sense, newspapers ban Newspapers offers a dis- and Telephone Directory, Mill-
accomplished through either manu- press has started up, work hard to and commercial printers can enjoy count for businesses that choose er said, “we were able to take
al adjustment or motorized adjust- finalize those settings while the press the benefits of modern technology. to run ads in the Newcomer’s what they were doing—their
ment of roller arrangements that is running startup waste. The technology that drives auto- Guide and Telephone Directo- recourses were somewhat limit-
effectively increase or decrease the Instead, repeat job settings are mated compensator presetting is not ry. ed—and dress it up and make it
length of printed web between the stored within the press’s computer. necessarily “rocket science,” but it “Advertisers get a discount on better for them. They’re not a
impression point and the folder. This Each time the job is run after that, certainly seems to be a cost-effective the lower-priced ad if they run publisher, so their resources
allows the operator to properly align the job is “called up” on a system way to spend more time printing in both the guide and phone were lacking somewhat. We
each page on top of the companion computer. Using software and con- good copies—rather than printed book,” Miller said. “Every busi- were able to help them.”
newspaper pages. trols, the compensator motors are waste. ness that runs an ad in the guide
Years ago, larger production sites energized and moved to the position or phone book gets a free direc- Contact: Lowell Miller,
ran one, two, maybe three jobs in a that will produce properly compen- John Nicoli is vice president of Britton Services, tory listing in the phone book. lowell.miller@papilliontimes.com
given shift. Today, it is not uncom- sated pages from the beginning of Inc., a supplier of Web reduction services, press Businesses either had to run an
mon to see up to eight jobs being run the run. equipment and machinery installation and other ad in either the directory or
in a given shift. This is very similar to the manner services. He can be reached at (630) 833-7366. phone book or purchase a listing
13 years later, Kenosha News editor says goodbye to newspaper
On Feb. 8, 1996, I wrote a col-
umn introducing myself to the com- Commentary Friday, June 26, will be my last
day at the Kenosha News. That date
concluded that I no longer was
physically up to the stressful de-
try turmoil, this staff—indeed, the
entire Kenosha News family—re-
munity of Kenosha, Wis. It was falls two days short of my 56th mands of newsroom management. mains as committed to reader ser-
typical new-guy-in-charge fare, birthday, an age I once considered It’s hard for me to let go, but it’s vice and customer care as the day I
pulsing with a sense of mission and far too young for retirement, but also necessary. I need more time to arrived 13 years ago. But now as
determination. changing circumstances have a way focus on my health and my family, then, they need your guidance.
As the new editor on the block, I of disrupting long-range plans. and the newsroom needs re-ener- Stay in touch. Share your opin-
was eager to establish my creden- More than seven years ago — gized leadership capable of un- ions. From Publisher Ken Dowdell’s
tials and develop a rapport with April 8, 2002, to be precise — I was swerving attention to our role in a office on down, you will get a will-
Kenosha News readers.
Reviewing that column now, at a
Craig Swanson diagnosed with Parkinson’s Dis-
ease. For awhile, not much changed.
rapidly changing media landscape.
My anxiety about leaving is tem-
ing ear and an appropriate re-
sponse.
remove of more than 13 years, I find Kenosha, Wis. Medication kept the illness in check, pered by my faith in those who will As for me, I would simply like
myself thinking of the many re- (and now its Web site) remains as and for the most part I was able to carry on. to say thank you. Thank you to a
sponses it generated. I recall being intense as ever. Residents respond- function normally. The newsroom is in good hands. wonderful employer, a dedicated
surprised by the sincere interest so ed 13 years ago when I invited them Over the years, however, I have Managing Editor Karl Frederick, a staff and a great community for
many readers had in the future of to “drop me a line or give me a call,” had to devote a steadily increasing professional’s professional, will be making Kenosha the highlight of
their daily newspaper and their will- and they never stopped responding. amount of time and energy to manag- in charge, at least in the near term. my career.
ingness to help shape that future. We’ve enjoyed and benefited from ing my symptoms as many once- He will direct a dedicated staff of Best wishes. It’s been fun.
Times change, and the newspaper a remarkable dialogue with readers simple tasks became challenging outstanding journalists, a staff that This article was reprinted with per-
industry itself—long an economic young and old, liberal and conserva- adventures. (Tying a tie ... digging is the best I have ever worked with, mission from the June 21 edition of the
stronghold—has seen its fortunes tive, friend and foe. for change ... typing this column ...) person for person, top to bottom. Kenosha News. Please send your com-
fade, but reader interest in the News I will miss those conversations. At some point along the way, I Despite recent newspaper indus- ments to inland@inlandpress.org.
PAGE 16 The Inlander | InlandPress.org | AUGUST 2009

8. Ideas
What’s needed for the holiday gift guide: a complete makeover
By Michelle Finkler that was distributed with the area as far as events,” Gyger said. “There’s also a timeline of what
ASSocIATE EdIToR More online Thanksgiving Day newspaper. But “We also have content on preparing places to go to for early-bird spe-
To view the Black Friday the gift guide had lost its appeal and for Black Friday. cials and when stores open,” she
Over time, a newspaper’s “tried Survival Guide in its was in need of a jumpstart. “It’s a little bit edgier than what said. “The timeline almost made it
and true” special section—like a entirety as a PDF, visit “The previous publication had we were doing before.” more fun than serious. It was really
holiday gift guide—can lose its flair NBDN-Inland.org and select been spiraling down every year,” Gyger said the Black Friday Sur- more like, ‘Here are the things you
with readers and advertisers. But the “Ideas” tab. Gyger said. vival Guide is meant to be a light- need to do to get through it.’”
instead of scrapping the gift guide So in 2008, the Telegraph Herald hearted publication that encourages The timeline begins at 2:30 a.m.
concept all to- vertising manager for the Telegraph released the Black Friday Survival shoppers to embrace Black Friday and includes items like, “Stop No.
Special Section gether, give the Herald, a 28,000-ciculation news- Guide, a “must-read publication” for what it is. 1—Kennedy Mall. Key places to
Success Story old, underper- paper in Dubuque, Iowa. “When for Dubuque residents venturing “It was more to have fun with it,” stop and shop: Borders, Younkers,
forming special they get excited, it sells better. It into stores on the day after Thanks- she said. “You already know you’re Hallmark, Sears, JC Penny.” The
section a makeover that will get was new and different; we put more giving. going to get pushed and shoved, but timeline also offers tips, such as
readers, advertisers and sales reps fun into it.” “The Black Friday Survival it’s about making the most of it and reminding shoppers to take breaks
excited. Previously, the Telegraph Her- Guide talks about what happens on having fun.” to recharge and alleviate stress. Gy-
“You have to get the reps behind ald had been putting together a Black Friday—all the crazy things ger said the Telegraph Herald tried
Content
it,” said Cindi Gyger, display ad- basic holiday gift guide every year that go on, what’s happening in the to feature as many local businesses
The 16-page Black Friday Sur- as possible in the timeline, which
vival Guide is printed in-house on stores didn’t have to pay for.
a premium newsprint stock. All “We made our money off of ad-
content is local content, Gyger said. vertising,” Gyger said.
The Telegraph Herald’s Editorial Advertising
Department took the initiative in
planning the new publication, she Gyger said a staff of six outside
said. sales reps started selling for the Sur-
“We wanted to mix it up,” she said. vival Guide in the beginning of Oc-
“Editorial really wanted to do it. They tober. Advertisers were offered
said, ‘Let’s do stories on events and modular sizes, from 1/8 of a page to
go out and talk about what’s going full-page ad positions. Some adver-
on in our community.’” tisers opted to feature coupons, such
Gyger said the Editorial and Ad- as buy one breakfast sandwich get
vertising departments worked one free or coffee specials. Gyger
closely in putting the publication said the Black Friday Survival Guide
together. Four employees from the was targeted toward women in the
newsroom worked on the guide, 30- to 50-year-old age group, which
and three newsroom staffers actu- was appealing to businesses.
ally posed for its cover, which por- “Our advertisers enjoyed their
trays shoppers in a theatrical brawl. ads,” she said. “They felt their section
Most of the art included in the guide got read by a lot of people. We’re
is file art shot by Telegraph Herald looking to grow it this year. We’re
photographers during the previous hoping to add another four pages.”
holiday season. The 2008 Black Friday Survival
“They’re a really good set of edi- Guide brought in about $7,000,
torial folks,” she said. “They under- which, Gyger said, was much better
stand that a lot of what they do than what the previous gift guide
drives the advertising content, and had been producing. She attributes
they’re willing to work with us.” the new special section’s success
Inside the Survival Guide were to the sales reps and their excite-
tips on how to prepare for Black ment in selling it.
Friday, where to stop to eat break- “Reps got behind it because it
fast or grab coffee and what cloth- was local, local, local,” she said. “It
ing to wear. There was also content had no canned copy. Some of our
from store managers who offered other sections will have canned
advice to shoppers, such as to use copy every once in a while. This
credit and debit cards instead of only had things that were pertinent
checks and to buy the more expen- to Dubuque and the surrounding
sive items early in the day when area.”
there is more opportunity for sav- Gyger said she expects the new
ings. There was a feature story Survival Guide to address the slug-
about giving back and donating to gish economy and how to stretch
the Salvation Army. There was also holiday dollars in the local market.
a holiday event listing that included
happenings in Iowa, as well as Il- Contact: cindi Gyger,
linois and Wisconsin. cgyger@wcinet.com
PAGE 8 The Inlander | InlandPress.org | SEPTEMBER 2009