Virginia’s Press Virginia Press Association 11529 Nuckols Road Glen Allen, VA 23059 Summer 2013 Volume 100 • Number 2 www.vpa.net Keith Stickley has worked in the newspaper business for more than 50 years and there are probably few things that he has not seen or experienced. Still, what the publisher of e Free Press, a weekly newspa- per serving the Woodstock community in Shenandoah Coun- ty, and the current president of the Virginia Press Association Board of Directors enjoys most about going to work each day is the variety that comes with the job. “I don’t want to say every day is exciting, but it’s more var- ied than the weather,” Stickley said in May. “Every day brings something new and interesting, if you’re in this kind of busi- ness.” Stickley, who was inducted into the VPA’s Golden 50 Club in April, is nearing the end of his one-year term as the head of the association’s board of directors. As he reflected on his term, he said his job was made easier by the VPA staff and its efficient operation. He oversaw a year in which the 132-year- old organization’s finances stabilized and the Virginia Newspa- President reflects on VPA’s accomplishments Inside The proliferation of digital devices has changed the way people consume journalism. Executive Director Ginger Stanley asks DOJ to return Associated Press phone records. Winners pose with their awards at the VPA conference. Digital dimes Page 4 AP probe Page 6 Award photos Page 7-13 Ad sales reps advised to go on the offense Stepping out newspaper style w w w . v p a . n e t Continued on page 2 per Foundation was created to accept charitable donations and grant funding to further journalism’s cause. However, Stickley does not take full credit for the financial measures enacted at the end of the fiscal year that concluded June 30, 2012. e board of directors, near the end of Past-Pres- ident Peter Yates’ term, agreed to provide an additional “hold- back” percentage from 1 percent to 2 percent of total sales on display advertising when it became clear that the association operated with a net loss. Attention was also directed at increasing newspaper partici- pation in the association’s 2x2 Advertising Network and State- wide Classified Ad Network during the past 12 months, which was capped by the addition of e Virginian-Pilot to the net- works. “e results of these financial efforts, in the first 10 months of this fiscal year, have restored the VPA to a positive cash flow,” he said. “at is our biggest achievement, so far, this year. It would not have occurred had we not taken some of these steps late in Peter’s term. I certainly don’t want to take credit for that entirely.” During its April meeting, the board voted to create the Vir- ginia Newspaper Foundation and allocated up to $20,000 from the VPA future fund toward the creation of the foundation. Stickley said he hopes the board in July will approve the opera- tional structure of the foundation, which will be established as a tax exempt 501(c)(3) organization. “Essentially, the foundation would be another income-gen- erating component to sustain journalism into the future,” Stick- ley said. “e Foundation would use those funds to educate and train journalists in Virginia and offer training to people who are actively engaged in newspaper work or people who have an interest in journalism.” Virginia Press Association Executive Director Ginger Stan- ley described Stickley as a consensus builder, persuader and a gracious host. “His leadership on the board of directors has guided us into better times and has brought fun back to an industry that need- ed a reason to rejoice,” she said. “He has done this by example and amazing support, and yet, he is quick to give the credit to others.” One idea that Stickley can take the credit is the “e Awe- some Party” aſter April’s awards banquet to cap the annual VPA news and advertising conference, held this year in Norfolk. As he puts it: “I’m all about fun. I enjoy working, but if you can’t celebrate a little bit … it’s not worthwhile.” His paper was the first to contribute $200 to the cause, and Daniel Grissom made a bold claim before a room full of advertising salespeople on a recent May morning. He was going to arm them with a minimum of three tips to help im- prove their sales performance – not necessarily sales results – by 30 per- cent during the next 30 days. at improvement will be spread over three areas: plan, do and review. To gauge the effectiveness of the session, each attendee wrote down one of the discussed topics they were going to implement for themselves and another topic they would implement as a group with their colleagues. ese were mailed to them two weeks aſter the conference. Grissom, a world-class sales coach and the best-selling author of “STEP-UP! – How to Win more and Lose Less,” energized the 31 representatives from newspapers across Virginia during the Classified Conference (i.e. idea-generating session) at the Virgin- ia Press Association’s Glen Allen headquarters. Described as a dynamic and inspirational speaker, Grissom made the point during his seminar to acknowledge participants by their first names and joked about his similar appearance to comedian Steve Harvey. But he was serious about wanting to see the “corporate athletes” in attendance be successful. Lynn Hurst, advertising director at Montgomery Publish- Fashion and journalism meet at the annual VPA awards banquet in April, held this year in April. Staffers from The Tidewater News in Franklin celebrate winning the sweepstakes award for Non-Daily papers with a circu- lation below 5,000. See more on pages 7-13 VPA President Elect Nick Cadwallender (right) congratu- lates VPA President Keith Stickley upon his induction in April into the association’s Golden 50 Club, recognition for those who have worked in the newspaper business for 50 or more years. Continued on page 3 Daniel Grissom
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Transcript
Virginia’s Press Virginia Press Association11529 Nuckols RoadGlen Allen, VA 23059
Summer 2013 Volume 100 • Number 2www.vpa.net
Keith Stickley has worked in the newspaper business for
more than 50 years and there are probably few things that he
has not seen or experienced.
Still, what the publisher of Th e Free Press, a weekly newspa-
per serving the Woodstock community in Shenandoah Coun-
ty, and the current president of the Virginia Press Association
Board of Directors enjoys most about going to work each day is
the variety that comes with the job.
“I don’t want to say every day is exciting, but it’s more var-
ied than the weather,” Stickley said in May. “Every day brings
something new and interesting, if you’re in this kind of busi-
ness.”
Stickley, who was inducted into the VPA’s Golden 50 Club
in April, is nearing the end of his one-year term as the head
of the association’s board of directors. As he refl ected on his
term, he said his job was made easier by the VPA staff and its
effi cient operation. He oversaw a year in which the 132-year-
old organization’s fi nances stabilized and the Virginia Newspa-
President refl ects on VPA’s accomplishments
Insi
de
The proliferation of digital devices has changed the way people consume journalism.
Executive Director Ginger Stanley asks DOJ to return Associated Press phone records.
Winners pose with their awards at the VPA conference.
Digital dimes Page 4 AP probe Page 6 Award photos Page 7-13
Ad sales reps advised to go on the off ense
Stepping out
newspaper style
w w w . v p a . n e tContinued on page 2
per Foundation was created to accept charitable donations and
grant funding to further journalism’s cause.
However, Stickley does not take full credit for the fi nancial
measures enacted at the end of the fi scal year that concluded
June 30, 2012. Th e board of directors, near the end of Past-Pres-
ident Peter Yates’ term, agreed to provide an additional “hold-
back” percentage from 1 percent to 2 percent of total sales on
display advertising when it became clear that the association
operated with a net loss.
Attention was also directed at increasing newspaper partici-
pation in the association’s 2x2 Advertising Network and State-
wide Classifi ed Ad Network during the past 12 months, which
was capped by the addition of Th e Virginian-Pilot to the net-
works.
“Th e results of these fi nancial eff orts, in the fi rst 10 months
of this fi scal year, have restored the VPA to a positive cash fl ow,”
he said. “Th at is our biggest achievement, so far, this year. It
would not have occurred had we not taken some of these steps
late in Peter’s term. I certainly don’t want to take credit for that
entirely.”
During its April meeting, the board voted to create the Vir-
ginia Newspaper Foundation and allocated up to $20,000 from
the VPA future fund toward the creation of the foundation.
Stickley said he hopes the board in July will approve the opera-
tional structure of the foundation, which will be established as
a tax exempt 501(c)(3) organization.
“Essentially, the foundation would be another income-gen-
erating component to sustain journalism into the future,” Stick-
ley said. “Th e Foundation would use those funds to educate and
train journalists in Virginia and off er training to people who
are actively engaged in newspaper work or people who have an
interest in journalism.”
Virginia Press Association Executive Director Ginger Stan-
ley described Stickley as a consensus builder, persuader and a
gracious host.
“His leadership on the board of directors has guided us into
better times and has brought fun back to an industry that need-
ed a reason to rejoice,” she said. “He has done this by example
and amazing support, and yet, he is quick to give the credit to
others.”
One idea that Stickley can take the credit is the “Th e Awe-
some Party” aft er April’s awards banquet to cap the annual VPA
news and advertising conference, held this year in Norfolk. As
he puts it: “I’m all about fun. I enjoy working, but if you can’t
celebrate a little bit … it’s not worthwhile.”
His paper was the fi rst to contribute $200 to the cause, and
Daniel Grissom made a bold claim before a room full of advertising
salespeople on a recent May morning.
He was going to arm them with a minimum of three tips to help im-
prove their sales performance – not necessarily sales results – by 30 per-
cent during the next 30 days. Th at improvement will be spread over three
areas: plan, do and review.
To gauge the eff ectiveness of the session, each attendee wrote down
one of the discussed topics they were going to implement for themselves
and another topic they would implement as a group with their colleagues.
Th ese were mailed to them two weeks aft er the conference.
Grissom, a world-class sales coach and the best-selling author of
“STEP-UP! – How to Win more and Lose Less,” energized the
31 representatives from newspapers across Virginia during the
Classifi ed Conference (i.e. idea-generating session) at the Virgin-
ia Press Association’s Glen Allen headquarters.
Described as a dynamic and inspirational speaker, Grissom
made the point during his seminar to acknowledge participants
by their fi rst names and joked about his similar appearance to
comedian Steve Harvey. But he was serious about wanting to see
the “corporate athletes” in attendance be successful.
Lynn Hurst, advertising director at Montgomery Publish-
Fashion and journalism meet at the annual VPA awards banquet in April, held this year in April. Staffers from The Tidewater News in Franklin celebrate winning the sweepstakes award for Non-Daily papers with a circu-lation below 5,000. See more on pages 7-13
VPA President Elect Nick Cadwallender (right) congratu-lates VPA President Keith Stickley upon his induction in April into the association’s Golden 50 Club, recognition for those who have worked in the newspaper business for 50 or more years.
Continued on page 3
Daniel Grissom
Vir
gini
a’s
Pres
s •
Sum
mer
201
3
2
Until his death in 2011 at the age of 89,
Carlos Wilson lived much of his life by a sim-
ple set of rules.
He showed up for work on time, did more
than he was paid to do and developed a knack
for remembering names.
More important, he didn’t lie and he con-
sidered respect to be more valuable than mon-
ey.
And in his mind, anytime was a good time
to smile.
Carlos Wilson was a friend to all he met.
Many of them were folks who owned, man-
aged or worked for Virginia newspapers.
Carlos went to work at Th e Cavalier Ho-
tel on Virginia Beach in 1938 at age 16. For
73 years, he held ev-
ery job on the hotel’s
staff , from dishwash-
er to superintendent
of guest services. He
died two days aft er
his last day on the job.
Th e Cavalier Ho-
tel, Carlos Wilson and the Virginia Press As-
sociation enjoyed a long and storied rela-
tionship, one that continues to this day in his
absence. What could well be the last chapter
of that relationship will play out July 12 and
13 when VPA’s annual Executive Retreat con-
venes there.
A family feud bouncing around in Virginia
courts since 2005 could result in Th e Cavalier’s
closure.
Th e story of the Virginia Press Association
and Th e Cavalier Hotel, though, is one that
would impress even Carlos Wilson.
Th e original Cavalier, an imposing edifi ce
perched atop a hill on the north end of Vir-
ginia Beach, opened in 1927. A year later, the
hotel hosted a joint meeting of the Virginia
Press Association and the American Newspa-
per Publishers Association.
As the hotel’s reputation improved, so too
did its clientele. Judy Garland and F. Scott
Fitzgerald each paid a visit.
Virginia’s newspaper executives, though,
didn’t return to Th e Cavalier until the 1950s
when it became one of a select few grand old
hotels of the Commonwealth considered wor-
thy of the organization’s patronage. Others
were Th e Hotel Roanoke, Th e Chamberlin Ho-
tel, Old Point Comfort, Th e Homestead, Th e
Jeff erson, John Marshall and Natural Bridge.
In July 1973, the Virginia Press Association
helped christen Th e Cavalier’s Oceanfront Re-
sort Hotel and a new, enduring friendship had
begun.
Except for a few
summers since, VPA
has met each July at
the hotel, in better
economic times us-
ing the occasion as a
launching pad for off -
shore island junkets for newspaper publishers
and their families.
Just six years earlier, the association’s direc-
tors met on the Eastern Shore, a get-together
that would become yet
another VPA tradition.
With few exceptions,
the association’s direc-
tors have since met
each fall in the home-
town of the VPA presi-
dent.
To be sure, Th e
Cavalier Oceanfront is
not the luxury hotel it
was when VPA fi rst visited there in 1973. Like
most of us, it’s showing its age.
Th e restaurant
where well-dressed
folk drank good
wine, ate gourmet
food, listened to a
piano and watched
the ocean ebb and
fl ow is closed. Th ey
no longer play Big
Band music on the
patio. Guests arrive
in smaller, older
cars.
Th e hotel that
once denied men a room if they didn’t have
on a tie, today is the destination of many men
who’ve never worn one.
As they say, though, Th e Cavalier is what it
is. It’s comfortable, convenient, friendly and it
knows how to treat newspaper people. Like a
good marriage, aft er 40 years you get to know
one another.
Horton Beirne, publisher of Th e Virgin-
ian Review in Covington, his wife, Mary Ann,
their daughters and grandchildren have made
VPA’s Executive Retreat at Th e Cavalier a part
of their family vacation for at least a quarter
century. Th ey’ll be there come July. Depend-
ing on how the courts rule, it could be their
last visit.
Virginia newspaper publishers and man-
agers who enjoy history and value tradition
should think about joining us one last time
at the beach in July. My good friend Lou Em-
erson will tell us how to improve our online
presence without going broke. We’ll talk a little
business, soak up some sun, belly up to a buf-
fet, share some ideas and raise a glass, perhaps
two. And, of course, we’re sure to talk about
old times.
We’ll miss Carlos. But h e’d be glad we came.
VPA Board of Directors
Offi cersPresident Keith Stickley
The Free Press, Woodstock
President-Elect Nick Cadwallender
The Free Lance-Star,
Fredericksburg
Vice President Jay Bondurant
The Bedford Bulletin
Treasurer Anne Adams
The Recorder, Monterey
Immediate Past Peter Yates
President Daily News-Record,
Harrisonburg
Asst. Secretary/ Ginger Stanley
Treasurer VPA
DirectorsDaniel Finnegan, Richmond Times-Dispatch
Gail Harding, The Enterprise, Stuart
Steven Kaylor, Danville Register & Bee
Cindy Morgan, The Progress-Index, Petersburg
Bill Owens, The Virginian-Pilot, Norfolk
Matt Paxton, The News-Gazette, Lexington
Marisa Porto, Daily Press, Newport News
Steve Stewart, The Tidewater News, Franklin
Michael Stowe, The Roanoke Times
Jenay Tate, The Coalfi eld Progress, Norton
Steve Weddle, The Central Virginian, Louisa
Diane White, Womack Publishing, Chatham
VPA/VPS StaffGinger Stanley, Executive Director
Kim Woodward, Assistant Director
Diana Shaban, Advertising Director
Jeremy Slayton, Editor
Ron Clark, Accounting Manager
Janet Madison, Member Services Manager
Adriane Long, Advertising/Network Coordinator
Diane Spencer, Tearsheet Coordinator
How to reach us:
Phone: (804) 521-7570
Fax: (804) 521-7590 or (800) 849-8717
Website: www.vpa.net
VOLUME 100, Number 2
(USPS 621-640)
VIRGINIA’S PRESS (ISSN 0887-5227), the offi cial publica-
tion of the Virginia Press Association, is published four
times a year.
Subscriptions are $15 per year in Virginia, $20 per year
out-of-state, by Virginia Press Association / Virginia Press
Services Inc.,
11529 Nuckols Road, Glen Allen, VA 23059, (804)
521-7570.
Periodicals class postage paid at Glen Allen, VA, and
additional post offi ces.
POSTMASTER, please send change of address to:
Virginia Press Association
11529 Nuckols Road, Glen Allen, VA 23059
Copyright 2012, Virginia Press Association
OUR MISSIONThe mission of the Virginia Press Association is to sup-
port our membership through responsive services and
resources. We champion the common interests of Virginia
newspapers and the ideals of a free press in a democratic
society.
OUR PURPOSEWe connect our members through valuable business ser-
vices, eff ective representation, practical communication
and information, and relevant education and recogni-
tion.
OUR VALUESThe values important to the work of the VPA are fairness,
dedication, integrity and honesty.
Keith Stickley
“And in his mind, anytime
was a good time to smile.
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
VPA and The Cavalier: old friends to the end
Carlos Wilson
ing, said he has never voluntarily taken as many
notes while listening to a speaker as he did dur-
ing Grissom’s all-day training.
“I found myself nodding in agreement most
of the day because even though I’d heard several
of his points before, his delivery brought it all
together in a clean, concise package,” Hurst said.
As the sales market evolved, so too must the
sellers in order to compete, Grissom said. One
key for sellers is to diff erentiate themselves to
standout in what he called “the sea of sameness.”
Th ere is also a new competitor standing in the
way of classifi ed and advertising salespeople.
“Th e new competitor is called nobody …
encouraging your customers, your prospects to
do nothing,” Grissom said.
To break through, he said, sellers need to
better defi ne and understand their V = B-C
(Value = Benefi ts - Costs) – a formula he bor-
rowed from the book “Rethinking Th e Sales
Force.” Salespeople should go on off ense re-
garding the worth or benefi t, rather than play-
ing defense on the cost, Grissom said.
“Selling is dead; value creation is alive,” he
said, noting that sales calls are now becoming
idea-generation or market- intelligence calls.
“Th e more value you create the more business
you can get.”
He off ered each attendee three value drivers
they can employ on the phone, in person or as a
coach to other sellers:
Insight: bring market insights that help a
customer anticipate change; what’s going on out
there?
New Ideas: provide new ideas that help cus-
tomers achieve a competitive advantage
Intelligence: provide access to your internal
(network) intelligence.
“I will highly recommend that anyone who
works in a sales environment take any opportu-
nity to hear Daniel speak,” Hurst said. “From his
‘V=B-C’ to the ‘half-hour huddle,’ every word
from his mouth made perfect sense and I’m
looking forward to implementing his strategies
here at Montgomery Publishing.”
Don’t sell, create valueContinued from page 1
Advertising salespeople from newspapers across Virginia listen to sales coach Daniel Gris-som share ideas about improving sales performance.
Sales coach Daniel Grissom addresses a room full of advertising salespeople during the Classifi ed Conference at VPA headquar-ters in Glen Allen.
Vir
gini
a’s
Pres
s •
Sum
mer
201
3
3
Minutes,
VPA Board of DirectorsFOR THE RECORD
others quickly followed his lead. Th e party was
hosted by 15 Virginia newspaper organiza-
tions that comprise the association’s board of
directors. Th ough the party featured compli-
mentary wine and beer, it also brought togeth-
er journalists of all ages from across the state
to dance, share ideas and build camaraderie.
A problem facing the newspaper industry
here and across the country, Stickley said, is
attracting young journalists into the fi eld be-
cause of the impact of declining revenues on
benefi ts and salaries.
“If you are successfully recruiting young
Stickley refl ects on yearpeople into the fi eld, you need to give them the
tools to get excited about what they are doing,”
he said. “To me, one of the best ways of accom-
plishing that is interacting with other people
in the craft .
“I don’t think I’ve ever had an original idea
in my life, but I’ve borrowed a lot of really
good ones from people I’ve met.”
His fi rst newspaper job came in December
1962 with Th e Winchester Star. He dropped
out of college as a 20-year-old to start a family.
“I begged a job at the newspaper because
I thought that was one thing I might be able
to do and never stopped,” said Stickley, who is
not yet thinking about retirement.
Continued from page 1
Virginia Press Association
Board of Directors meeting
April 19, 2013
Marriot Norfolk Waterside
Norfolk, Virginia
Minutes submitted by Cindy Morgan.
Th e Virginia Press Association Board
meeting was held on April 19, 2013, at the
Marriot Norfolk Waterside in Norfolk, Vir-
ginia.
Board members in attendance: Keith
Stickley, Nick Cadwallender, Jay Bondurant,
Anne Adams, Peter Yates, Ginger Stanley,
Steve Kaylor, Gail Harding, Bill Owens, Cin-
dy Morgan, Matt Paxton, Marisa Porto, Steve
Stewart, Michael Stowe. Ron Clark, VPA ac-
countant was also present at the meeting.
Call to Order: President Keith Stickley
called the meeting to order at 8:45 a.m.
Minutes: Minutes of the October 19, 2012
at Th e Hampton Inn & Suites in Woodstock
were presented by Keith Stickley for approval.
Upon motion duly made by Gail Harding and
seconded by Steve Kaylor, the Board approved
the minutes without amendment.
Financial Report: Treasurer Anne Ad-
ams, along with Ron Clark, presented associa-
tion fi nancials through March 31, 2013. Trea-
surer Adams reported the fi nancial statement
for VPA and VPS showed revenue over ex-
penses of -$44,168 and net income of $21,777.
She also added the revenue over expenses last
year at this time was around -$200,000. Upon
motion duly made by Peter Yates and sec-
onded by Michael Stowe, the Board approved
the fi nancial statements. Adams stated Gin-
ger and staff have done a great job in cutting
expenses and increasing the revenue through
the 2x2 network. She noted Adriane Long has
done a great job with the 2x2 network. Ginger
Stanley also noted the increase in the number
of participating members of the 2x2 network.
Bill Owens announced the Virginian-Pilot
would be joining the 2x2 and SCAN net-
works. Adams noted the 990 form has been
submitted and the IRS refund of $2,800 has
been received.
President’s report: Keith Stickley noted
Ginger Stanley initiated a VPA day at the cap-
ital this year and several publishers and man-
agers attended. He said it was very successful
and very eff ective. Stickley said we were able to
turn back most of the legislation the VPA was
concerned about. He hopes to have even more
participation next year. He also commented
on the staff at VPA and how impressed he is
with their hard work and enthusiasm.
Executive Director’s Report: Executive
Director Stanley spoke of the VPA day at the
capital this year and noted she saw attitudes
and votes change because of one-on-one
meetings with the legislators. Stanley said she
would like to see more people participate next
year. One big breakthrough was with the del-
egate from Virginia Beach who introduced the
RFP public notice bill the last two years. Th e
delegate said if the public notice bills failed
this year he would not bring it forward again.
She also spoke with Peter Easter who is with
a management company representing broad-
casters. Stanley and Easter discussed the pos-
sibility of legislators talking to the broadcast-
ers and VPA members together as a group in
regards to access bills.
Legislative Report: Executive Director
Stanley noted all the bills and positions and
status are included in the Board’s workbook.
Stanley felt overwhelmingly it was a very suc-
cessful year. She did, however, express disap-
pointment in not being given the opportunity
to speak in regards to the concealed carry per-
mit.
Stanley felt that we gained ground on pub-
lic notice this year. She said this year there
were 2 fewer bills and 3 fewer issues, the votes
were better for us this year, and the conversa-
tions around the bills were milder. She noted
Delegate Steve Landes did not put in his an-
nual bill. However, Stanley spoke with Del-
egate Landes to let him know we would sup-
port his bill that gave stricter requirements to
the board of visitors of higher ed and better
training for them to understand how to work
within the FOI act.
Committee Reports:
Classifi ed Committee: Gail Harding in-
quired about the number of attendees at the
classifi ed conference. Ginger Stanley esti-
mated there usually between 20 and 30 in at-
tendance and noted at one time there were
over two hundred. Stanley said there are more
members in the 2x2 network this year and she
will be calling all the members who are new to
the 2x2 network to encourage their participa-
tion. Upon motion duly made by Nick Cad-
wallender and seconded by Gail Harding, the
Board approved to increase the rate from $275
to $300 for the classifi ed scan.
Membership Committee: President
Stickley noted Rappahanock News is now in
good standing. He noted membership ap-
plications for associate memberships have
been submitted by Chesterfi eld Monthly and
Stardom 101 magazine. Upon motion duly
made by Nick Cadwallender and seconded
by Peter Yates, the Board approved associate
member Chesterfi eld Monthly .Upon motion
duly made by Michael Stowe and seconded
by Matt Paxton, the Board approved associ-
ate membership to Stardom101 magazine.
Ginger Stanley noted members not in good
standing have been notifi ed by certifi ed letter.
Upon motion duly made by Matt Paxton and
seconded by Bill Owen, the Board approved
to remove the names of Heart and Soul of the
City, AEP-Appalachian Power, Virginia Tour-
ism Corp., Susan A. Gibbs, Pamela H. Owen,
Gayle Jessup White, and Marcus J. Wilson,
Sr. from the membership. Stanley also not-
ed the practice has been if a member is re-
moved from the membership and then pays
within next 6 months they could be reinstated
without coming back before the membership
committee.
Nominating Committee: Peter Yates
committee is proposing the following slate of
offi cers have been nominated for 2013-2014.
President, Nick Cadwallender; President-
Elect Jay Bondurant; Vice President, Eric Li-
eberman; Secretary, Anne Adams; Treasurer,
Michael Stowe; Past President, Keith Stick-
ley and Assistant Secretary/Treasurer, Ginger
Stanley. Jenay Tate was nominated for a sec-
ond three year term. Maria Hileman, Manag-
ing Editor of Th e Winchester Star was nomi-
nated to replace Peter Yates who rotates off the
board in July. Th is slate will be presented to
the membership tomorrow. Yates then noted
Eric Lieberman is moving to Florida and will
not be able to serve. Additional offi cer nomi-
nations will be accepted from the fl oor at to-
morrow’s meeting. Upon motion duly made
by Gail Harding and seconded by Steve Stew-
art, the Board approved to appoint Jay Ken-
nedy, Th e Washington Post, to fi ll the unex-
pired term of Eric Lieberman, eff ective today.
Staff Reports:
Advertising: Executive Director Stanley
said Diana Shaban continues to do an amaz-
ing job. Kim Woodward also now supports
this area and is spending more of her time on
advertising. Stanley noted there is currently
no outside sales staff due to the budget and she
hopes in the future to add a staff member for
outside sales. She also noted political advertis-
ing could be greater but the rates are an issue
and she recommended this as an area for dis-
cussion. She noted there is much discrepan-
cy in some papers between the local political
rate and the national political rate and it has
been a real challenge for VPA to represent the
papers. One agency in particular noted their
dissatisfaction with the rate discrepancies of
the newspapers. It was agreed this would be
a great item for discussion at the Publisher’s
Roundtable in May. Stanley emphasized po-
litical advertising could be an important part
of the bottom line for newspapers if treated
fairly.
Old Business: Keith Stickley addressed
the possibility of creating a foundation that
was discussed during the October meet-
ing last year. Stickley said he has spoken to
CPA’s and attorneys to gather information in
regards to forming a foundation. He noted
that money in the past has not been a prob-
lem for VPA but now times are tough and it
is time to look at another revenue stream. He
said a non-profi t foundation would allow us
to accept gift s such as legacy gift s and other
charitable tax deductible gift s. Th e foundation
gift s would be used for educational and train-
ing purposes only. Th e only argument against
creating a foundation would be that it would
create more work. He noted other newspaper
association foundations do well with all kinds
of things such as a golf tournament, auctions,
etc. and he said PNA has a great foundation
with three staff members. Stickley highly rec-
ommended creating the foundation and not-
ed that by-laws and a plan would need to be
created. He stated he could have a plan to the
VPA board in 45 days which would allow time
at the July meeting to select offi cers of the
foundation and a liaison member. Th e foun-
dation would be named the Virginia Newspa-
per Foundation.
New Business: Nominations are open to
VPA members to replace Bill O’Donovan on
the VCOG board of directors’ .Gail Harding
inquired about the possibility of having schol-
arships. Upon motion duly made by Anne
Adams and seconded by Nick Cadwallender,
the Board approved to authorize the executive
director of VPA to engage services to begin
the process to form the Virginia Newspaper
Foundation. It was then discussed that we
currently have about $59,000 in the future
fund and part of this money could be used
for the seed money. Keith stated the estimate
to be about $15,000 to create the foundation.
Upon motion duly made by Gail Harding and
seconded by Nick Cadwallender, the Board
approved the VPA use up to $20,000 of the
future fund money toward the creation of the
foundation.
Th e meeting was adjourned at 10:27 a.m.
Th e Virginia Press Association in April announced the hiring of
Jeremy Slayton as its new publications editor.
Slayton, who is a native of Danville, joins the VPA aft er spend-
ing more than six years as a metro news reporter at the Richmond
Times-Dispatch. He joined the Times-Dispatch in January 2007 as
an obituary writer and most recently covered local government and
schools in Chesterfi eld County.
A 2000 graduate of Virginia Tech, Slayton worked as a sports
reporter for daily newspapers in North Carolina.
“Th is is a new challenge and I am looking forward to working
with newspapers and journalists throughout Virginia,” Slayton said.
You can contact him by phone at (804) 521-7584 or through email at [email protected].
Jeremy Slayton new VPA publications editor
Vir
gini
a’s
Pres
s •
Sum
mer
201
3
4
Elizabeth Conner understands the importance of social me-
dia to journalism.
As the faculty editor on the interactive copy desk at the Co-
lumbia Missourian – the city’s morning newspaper and a lab for
Missouri School of Journalism students – she works with the
community outreach team to develop and execute strategies for
the newspaper’s social media accounts.
“Social media is a mindset, not a platform. All the things that
we cover are inherently social … and fodder for what we talk
about,” she said during an April workshop at the Virginia Press
Association’s annual conference in Norfolk. “Social media plat-
forms are communication tools.”
During the 90-minute seminar, Conner presented fi ve ways
that social media makes news better: achieve real collaboration/
conversation with readers; celebrate community together; share
iterative news; fi nd people who care about your news; and it’s
where the readers newspapers most want to reach are.
Conner, who spent nearly four years as a copy editor and de-
signer with the Columbus (Ga.) Ledger-Enquirer, said the key
to social media success is fi nding an incentive for the reader to
click on a story.
“Th ere is not a right or wrong way to promote … on social
media; it depends on the audience,” she said, noting that not ev-
ery social media platform is right for every newspaper. “Focus
on your goals and what you want to accomplish.”
Social media sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, are good
ways to connect with potential sources for stories or generating
discussion by posting questions to readers, she said.
But for smaller newsrooms, engaging readers on social media
does present challenges. Jeff Lester, news editor of Th e Coalfi eld
Progress in Norton, said he has a full-time newsroom staff of two
people. He wanted to know how to use his limited resources to
build on social media without hurting the print product.
Th e answer, Conner said, is to make social media a part of
the regular process.
“Th ink of it as an opportunity not ‘awww crap, I’ve got to deal
with this,’” she said. However, she also cautioned not to spend
too much time on social media if readers aren’t being engaged
through those platforms.
Uriah Kiser, publisher of the online Potomac Local News,
said social media becomes part of your day. He’ll tease stories
on social media sites, such as Facebook, to draw readers to the
website or schedule stories to post on social media the following
day, instead of waiting to do it.
Th e proliferation of digital devices has changed the way peo-
ple consume journalism. For advertisers and newspaper organi-
zations, it presents multiple revenue streams just waiting to be
tapped.
During this explosive digital age, “advertising is much more
disrupted than journalism,” Brian Steff ens, the director of com-
munications with the Colombia, Mo.-based Reynolds Journalism
Institute, said during an April workshop at the Virginia Press As-
sociation’s annual conference.
“Journalism is not broken; journalism is storytelling,” Steff ens
said. “It’s always adapted. One thing that is never going to change
is that we’re going to change … and have to be ready to change.”
Steff ens off ered several ideas to journalists and newspaper
executives to turn those digital dimes into big dollars. Newspa-
pers, Steff ens said, need to off er value on every digital device and
platform.
“Take what is unique and maximize that,” he said, noting that
newspapers should get a tracking system that can create daily,
weekly and monthly reports that show where the digital readers
are. “Capitalize on your traffi c.”
One of the fi rst opportunities mentioned by Steff ens was to
Social media reaches readers newspapers want most
Online obituary columns a ‘goldmine’
When Th e Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk an-
nounced in late April that it would start charg-
ing frequent readers of its digital edition this
summer, the paper joined a growing number
of publications across the country that no lon-
ger provide all their online content for free.
In an article about the decision posted on the
newspaper’s website, Virginian-Pilot Editor
Denis Finley said, “Our work has great value.
We can’t give it away anymore.”
A study conducted by the Reynolds Jour-
nalism Institute shows that nearly half of the
country’s newspaper are charging for digital
content.
“Paid content is not a trend, but a move-
ment,” RJI Director of Communications Brian
Steff ens said during a workshop at the Virginia
Press Association’s annual conference in April.
“It’s a movement that is overdue.”
According to the RJI study, 47 percent of
the 458 daily publishers surveyed said they
require online users to pay to access content.
Steff ens said smaller newspapers have led the
charge – 59 percent of daily newspapers with a
circulation under 5,000 charge for online.
Content generated by smaller newspapers
“is not or cannot be duplicated elsewhere,” he
Most newspapers today charging for online content
Jeff Lester and Katie Dunn, of The Coalfi eld Progress in Norton, listen to a speaker discuss the importance of social media in journalism.
Brian Steffens talks to journalists and newspaper execu-tives during a workshop in Norfolk about ways to generate revenue online.
Good use of social media, Conner said, is not just to share
stories, but to get readers to continue to come back to the news-
paper’s website.
“Social media can be a … curator of readers,” she said.
couple advertising with obituaries to create an online revenue
stream. Practically every newspaper represented in the 90-min-
ute workshop said obits are among the top online draws in terms
of clicks from readers. Th ese webpages could include paid spon-
sorships, display ads or premium announcements (longer notice,
photo and online/print inclusion).
“If it’s the highest volume page, nickels, dimes and pennies
add up,” Steff ens said, calling this opportunity a “goldmine.”
Other, oft en underutilized opportunities include text alerts or
email blasts. Advertisers can buy sponsorships, or in the case of
an email, ad positions. Both options would allow the consumer to
opt-in to receive the advertisements.
One area that is currently generating a lot of buzz, Steff ens
said, is contests. When people sign up, they can allow the com-
pany to send them emails about other off ers or they can share the
contest with friends to extend the company’s exposure.
Some Virginia newspapers have their own unique spin on
digital dimes. A business reporter with Th e Free Lance-Star in
Fredericksburg, for example, creates a business-centric enewslet-
ter and receives a percentage of the revenue generated by adver-
tising.
said, noting four benefi ts of a paid model: new
revenue, your site becomes more valuable to
advertisers, quality of reader comments im-
prove and online users are no longer freeload-
ers, they are customers.
Steff ens also pointed out that paid mod-
els come with disadvantages – online users
are no longer freeloaders, they are custom-
ers (and can’t be so easily ignored) and nega-
tive comments are likely when a pay model is
launched.
Steff ens off ered journalists and newspa-
pers executives seven recommendations to
consider when moving to paid online content.
• Make your site worth paying for: You
have to make your digital good enough to ex-
pect readers to pay for it.
• Go with “opt out,” not “opt in”: Give
print subscribers the option of NOT choosing
a digital membership, but assume they will
want to do so.
• Choose a meter over a hard wall … but
keep your meter tight: O ff er access to a limit-
ed number of stories for free during a month.
“Diff erent markets respond diff erently,” Stef-
fens said.
• What to keep inside/outside the wall: Ex-
amples of open access stories – breaking news,
section fronts, wire stories, classifi eds. Re-
stricted-access stories – unique local content,
news, sports, obits and ability to comment.
• Don’t be afraid to ask for real money: It is
possible to charge too little.
• Membership has its privileges: Set expec-
tations by conditioning digital subscribers to
feel they are members, not just paying custom-
ers.
• Develop your own customer acquisition
strategies.
Vir
gini
a’s
Pres
s •
Sum
mer
201
3
5
Mobile devices have given new meaning to
surfi ng the web.
Nearly one out of every three minutes on-
line is mobile, according to Gordon Borrell, a
media industry analyst and the chief execu-
tive of the Williamsburg-based consulting fi rm
Borrell Associates.
Capitalizing on that digital time is one of
the major aims of advertisers, he said.
“Th ere is a role for news, but that is not
where the money is,” Borrell said in April at a
seminar during the Virginia Press Association’s
annual conference in Norfolk. “Th e use of mo-
bile devices for commerce is where advertisers
want to be.”
Newspapers remain the top distribution
source for coupons, he said, and the biggest
challenge for mobile devices is that its value
has not been sold.
Borrell suggested that traditional newspa-
per organizations can leverage its strengths,
such as its marketing staff , and sell it to local
businesses. Instead of a display ad in a print
edition, a newspaper can build a mobile app
Advertisers aim to capitalize on consumers using mobile devices
for the local business.
“Building a mobile app is the equivalent of
building a website 10 years ago,” Borrell said,
but cautioned newspapers to partner with a
third-party with the technological strengths.
“You have the content, promotional and sales
force. What they have is the technological” ex-
pertise.
Borrell Associates’ directory for companies
and people that can help mobile and digital
sites become more eff ective can be found at:
https://directory.borrellassociates.com/.
To make matters more diffi cult for adver-
tisers is reaching consumers in a distracted so-
ciety. Borrell said the average worker stays on
task for 11 minutes and spends 28 minutes try-
ing to get back on task.
How businesses are advertising is also
changing, Borrell said. Th ey spent 6 percent
less on advertising from 2002 to 2012, he said,
but 88 percent more on promotions, such as
coupons, discounts, contests and sponsorships.
Newspapers “are megaphones and help get
the message across,” he said.
Smartphones are more than just a com-
munication device for journalists – they are
becoming an essential tool to gather informa-
tion.
According to a study conducted by Jenn
Burleson Mackay, an assistant professor in
the department of communications at Vir-
ginia Tech, 85 percent of journalists said they
used a smartphone for their job, but only 24
percent responded that the smartphone was
provided by their employer.
Th e responses show that journalists “are
using personal devices for much of their
work,” Mackay said during a workshop at the
Virginia Press Association’s annual confer-
ence in Norfolk.
Mackay, who has worked as a journalist in
television and newspapers in North Carolina,
Tennessee and Virginia, received responses
from 156 participants -- reporters, editors,
photographers, columnists and copy editors.
She sent surveys to 843 people, a response
rate of nearly 19 percent.
Her research considers how technology
infl uences journalism.
Th e highest percentage of respondents
said they used a mobile device to text col-
leagues, but devices were also used for taking
pictures, submitting stories, texting sources
and recording interviews. Her research also
found that 47 percent of those who respond-
ed said they have posted a story to the inter-
net without editing, while eight percent said
they post multiple times a day without edit-
ing.
Mackay also explored the types of apps
journalists used on their smartphones or mo-
bile devices. She received a variety of respons-
es, and here are some that she highlighted
during her presentation:
• Apps to access social networking sites
(such as Twitter and Facebook)
• Hootsuite (manage multiple social networks,
such as Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin)
• Tweetdeck and Tweetcaster
Camscanner (for iPhone or Android devic-
es; create PDFs, upload to Google docs)
• Evernote (create notes that include photos;
synchs with online program)
• Easy Voice Recorder (Android only; re-
cord interviews/meetings; creates WAVE
and MP4 fi les)
• Dragon Diction (iPhone only; records
voice to notes, sends emails or texts)
• Police Scanner (to listen to police radios)
• Wordpress (post directly to a blog; insert
photos or links)
• Dropbox (s tore fi les, such as images, text
and video; save to all devices; save to Inter-
net)
• Camera apps (Camerapro, Photogene,
Hipstamatic, iTimelapse)
• Panoramic Camera apps (Pano, 360 or
Spincam)
• Splice (iPhone, iPad only; video editing,
share option)
• Free wifi fi nder (iPhone, iPad only; fi nd
free wifi near you)
• Waze (community-based maps; contrib-
ute info as you drive; receive alerts and road
conditions)
• CIA World Factbook (like the website; in-
cludes information on 270 countries)
• Bluefi re Reader (an E-reader; works with
Adobe protects fi les, allows you to share ex-
cerpts via email, Facebook, Twitter)
• News apps (for specifi c news organiza-
tions)
• Pulse (displays news from multiple RSS
feeds in a single page)
• Flipboard (users can catch up on news or
stay connected with people)
• Rebelmouse (organizes a social media
presence into a dynamic social site)
More journalists using personal devices for work
Vir
gini
a’s
Pres
s •
Sum
mer
201
3
6
building on Th ompson Street in Ashland where it operated for
most of the 20th Century until 1991 when it moved its printing
operation to the Hanover Industrial Park.
“It really seems natural for the Herald-Progress to be com-
ing back home to downtown Ashland,” William “Bill” Trimble,
the paper’s publisher and vice-president of Lakeway Publish-
ers of Virginia, said in an April 1 Herald-Progress news story.
“Th e newspaper always has had a close relationship with the
community and this will only make it stronger.”
Th e building on Th ompson Street dates back to the early
1900s. Before it became the center of the newspaper’s opera-
tions, the building was a municipal headquarters.
Th e move will not aff ect delivery of the Herald-Progress.
In addition, the papers telephone and fax numbers will remain
the same. Once staff has fi nished settling into its new location,
they’re planning an open house, the details of which will be
announced at a later date.
“We’ve still got some boxes to unpack, pictures to hang,
keys to cut, and all the other drudgery that goes along with
moving, but it feels right to be putting a paper out again on
Th ompson Street,” Editor Lee Francis wrote in a recent edito-
rial. “Th anks for having us, Ashland.”
Leesburg Today opens new offi ceLeesburg Today celebrated in April the opening of its new
downtown offi ce and the start of its 25th anniversary year with
a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
MEMBER NEWS
People, events
in the newsALL ABOUT MEDIA
Virginia Press Association Executive Director Ginger Stanley on May 16 sent
a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder and Deputy Attorney General James M.
Cole requesting the Department of Justice “immediately return” the telephone toll
records obtained by the department and destroy all copies, as requested by Th e As-
sociated Press.
Th e department seized two months’ worth of telephone records of more than
20 lines belonging to Th e Associated Press and its journalists as part of a year-long
investigation into the disclosure of classifi ed information about a failed al-Qaeda
plot last year.
Th e Washington Post reported on May 13 that the AP’s president said federal
authorities obtained cellular, offi ce and home telephone records of individual re-
porters and an editor; AP general offi ce numbers in Washington, New York and
Hartford, Conn.; and the main number for AP reporters covering congress.
On May 14, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press sent a letter to
Holder and Cole calling for the immediate return of the records. It was signed by
numerous other national media organizations.
“In the thirty years since the Department issued guidelines governing its sub-
poena practice as it relates to phone records from journalists, none of us can re-
member an instance where such an overreaching dragnet for newsgathering ma-
terials was deployed … particularly without notice to the aff ected reporters or an
opportunity to seek judicial review,” the committee wrote.
Holder that same day defended his department’s actions.
Th e House Judiciary Committee held a Department of Justice oversight hearing
on May 15 with Holder as the sole witness. During the hearing, several members
of Congress from both sides of the aisle expressed outrage over the Justice Depart-
ment’s actions in the AP case, and expressed renewed support for a federal shield
bill to protect journalists’ confi dential sources. Holder responded that the DOJ and
the Obama Administration continue to support a federal shield bill.
Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., announced on May 15 that he will reintroduce his
shield bill, which passed the Senate Judiciary Committee with bipartisan support in
the 111th Congress. In the House, Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas, a member of the House
Judiciary Committee and a former judge, introduced the Free Flow of Information
Act of 2013 (H.R. 1962).
Th e VPA encouraged its members to draft similar letters and send them to the
Department of Justice.
Here is the text of the letter Stanley sent to the Department of Justice.
Post critic wins Pulitzer PrizePhilip Kennicott, the chief art critic at Th e Washington
Post, won the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.
According to Th e Pulitzer’s website, Kennicott was noted
for “his eloquent and passionate essays on art and the social
forces that underlie it, a critic who always strives to make his
topics and targets relevant to readers.”
Kennicott joined Th e Post in August 1999. He has also been
chief classical music critic for the Detroit News and the St.
Louis Post-Dispatch, where he also worked for two years as an
editorial writer. Before that he was a New York-based editor
at Musical America and Chamber Music magazines.
In 2000, Kennicott was a Pulitzer Prize fi nalist for editorials
opposing a concealed-carry gun initiative in Missouri (which
failed despite heavy support from gun-rights organizations).
In 2006, he was an Emmy Award nominee for a Web-based
video journal about democracy and oil money in Azerbaijan.
He has also won a Cine Golden Eagle for his video work. In
2010, he won the American Association of Sunday and Feature
Editors’ general commentary award. Kennicott now writes ex-
tensively about architecture and the intersection of architec-
ture and culture.
He graduated summa cum laude with a degree in philos-
ophy from Yale in 1988. Before attending Yale, he spent two
years at Deep Springs College in California.
Staunton newspaper to sell buildingsTh e News Leader in March announced plans to put its
property at 11 N. Central Avenue in Staunton up for sale as
part of what the company calls its ongoing strategic transfor-
mation.
Publisher and President Roger Watson said a sale would
give the paper the chance to position itself digitally without
maintaining a largely empty print production facility. Th e
News Leader uses about a third of the 23,000 square feet it
owns at its current location. Much of that space is empty be-
cause the company contracted out its printing operation to a
newspaper in Harrisonburg in 2009.
Herald-Progress returns to its original homeTh e Herald-Progress comes home. Th e weekly, community
newspaper on May 1 returned to the original Herald-Progress
VPA responds to DOJ probe
Continued on page 14
May 16, 2013
Eric Holder, Attorney GeneralJames M. Cole, Deputy Attorney GeneralU.S. Department of JusticeVia email: [email protected] fax: (202) 307-6777
Dear Sirs:
Th e Virginia Press Association champions the common interests of Virginia newspapers and the ideals of a free press in a democratic society. As that is our mission, we were shocked and appalled by the Department of Justice’s broad subpoena of telephone records belonging to the journalists at Th e Associated Press. Th is action seriously undermines the First Amendment rights of the news media and the pub-lic’s interest in reporting on all manner of government conduct, including matters touching on the national security which lie at the heart of this case. Th e Department’s actions demonstrate that a strong federal shield law is needed to protect re-porters and their newsgathering materials in a court of law where the adversarial process ensures a fair weighing of the issues.
Journalists cannot operate freely if fear exists that the government can broadly subpoena re-cords that could be relevant to an investigation in an eff ort to see information that might be of interest to them. Th e actions taken by the Department have harmed its working relationship with the news media, which time and time again have undertaken good-faith eff orts to cooperate with government lawyers in a way that protects the public’s interest both in law enforcement and in independent, autonomous newsgathering.While Congress should provide that protection to journalists through legislation, there is still much that the Department can do to mitigate the damage it has caused. We join the growing chorus of the nation’s news media organizations asking the Department to immediately return the telephone toll records obtained and destroy all copies, as requested by Th e Associated Press. We also request that the Department announce whether it has served any other pending news-media related subpoenas that have not yet been disclosed. We look forward to your prompt response.Sincerely,
Ginger Stanley, Executive DirectorVirginia Press Association
Movers unload The Herald-Progress into its new/old loca-tion on Thompson Street in Ashland.
Vir
gini
a’s
Pres
s •
Sum
mer
201
3
7
Award Winners
Joel Smith, Tonie StevensAccepted by Joel Smith, Style Weekly
Best of the BestBest of the BestDoris Ann Kane
Richmond Times Dispatch
Outstanding Sales Professional of the YearOutstanding Sales Professional of the Year
News and Advertising Award Winners
Congratulationspages 8-13
to VPA
Best of
the BestSales Pro
Vir
gini
a’s
Pres
s •
Sum
mer
201
3
8
AD
VE
RTI
SIN
G /
BE
ST
IN S
HO
W
Non-Daily 1 ElectronicKelly Mays, Brooke HillAccepted by Brooke Hill, Amherst New Era-Progress
Non-Daily 2 ElectronicSteve Wall, Paul Anders
Accepted by Jackie Newman,The Farmville Herald
Non-Daily 3 ElectronicLewis Johnson
Richmond Free Press
Daily 1 ElectronicAnn Wells, Marc Calindas
Accepted by Ann Wells, The Progress-Index, Petersburg
Daily 2 ElectronicBrooke Hill, Tom Leedy
The News & Advance, Lynchburg
Daily 3 ElectronicSherri Holland
The Virginian-Pilot, Norfolk
Speciality Electronic & Hard CopyJoel Smith/Joel Smith & Tonie Stevens
Lance-Star of Fredericksburg, has been selected as recipient
of the 2013 George Mason Award by the Society of Profes-
sional Journalists, Virginia Pro Chapter.
Th e Mason award, established in 1964, is presented to an
individual for outstanding contributions to Virginia jour-
nalism.
Hammerstrom has worked for newspapers in Virgin-
ia and North Carolina and been an editor with Th e Free
Lance-Star since 1997.
Journalists throughout the state know Hammerstrom
as the go-to guy for Freedom of Information Act and open
government issues. He also helps promote better access to
courtrooms and court-record laws for journalists and the
public around the state. He has been the chairman of the
Virginia Press Association’s FOI Committee for more than
a decade and involved in open government issues since the
1980s. He also served as vice president of the Virginia Co-
alition for Open Government and as Virginia’s Sunshine
Chairman for the Society of Professional Journalists.
Hammerstrom has conducted training sessions on press
law issues to journalism organizations, on college campuses
and in Th e Free Lance-Star newsroom.
“Dick is a most worthy recipient of this award,” said
Nick Cadwallender, publisher of Th e Free Lance-Star. “He
is a recognized expert on FOIA law and has always been
willing to share his knowledge, especially with young jour-
nalists starting their careers.”
Ginger Stanley, executive director of the Virginia Press
Association, said Hammerstrom is well known to what she
referred to as “the access community.” Stanley has known
Hammerstrom since the mid-1980s and said he “has put his
heart and soul” into the open government cause.
She praised him for leadership of VPA’s eff orts fi ghting
for open government and better access laws and noted his
work to with other open government advocates and law en-
forcement offi cials to make police information more acces-
sible to the public.
SPJ Virginia Pro Chapter will present the Mason award
to Hammerstrom at its 50th George Mason Award Banquet
on June 18 at University of Richmond. Th e chapter and its
Virginia SPJ,SDX Educational Foundation will also present
two scholarships to Virginia college journalists.
Tickets are $50 a person and include an open bar recep-
tion, silent auction, dinner and the program. Proceeds ben-
efi t the scholarship foundation. For reservations and infor-
mation, contact Brian Eckert at (804) 287-6659 orbeckert@
richmond.edu.
Th e Mason award is named for the Virginian who at-
tended the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in
Free Lance-Star editor to receive George Mason Award
Continued from page 6
Leesburg Today staffers and community leaders celebrate a ribbon-cutting at the newspaper’s new offi ce.
1787, but refused to sign the Constitution because it did
not include a declaration of individual rights. Th e Bill of
Rights, eventually added to the document, is based on the
Virginia Declaration of Rights, written principally by Ma-
son in 1776.
Vir
gini
a’s
Pres
s •
Sum
mer
201
3
15
OBITUARIESLodge Compton
Henry Cabot Lodge Compton, 80, of Vansant, editor and
publisher of Th e Virginia Mountaineer for more than 40
years, died March 22. He began working at the Mountaineer
in 1944 at the age of 11 as an apprentice helper, or “printer’s
devil” – the offi cial newspaper jargon for the title. He contin-
ued to work for the newspaper as he grew up and also worked
at the former Lynwood Th eatre. Following his graduation
from Grundy High School, he went on to Hiwassee College,
but when ownership of the newspaper changed hands, he was
asked to return to the Mountaineer as a part owner. He did so
and continued in that capacity until 1971 when he assumed
the role of editor and publisher of the Mountaineer and be-
came its sole owner. During his tenure as editor and publisher,
the Mountaineer achieved numerous statewide honors from
the Virginia Press Association recognizing its work. He also
served for six years on the statewide Virginia Press Associa-
tion board of directors.
Leon Townsend
Charles “Leon” Townsend, 92, of Danville, a longtime pho-
tographer for the Register & Bee, died on April 1. He was a
member of Moff ett Memorial Baptist Church where he served
as a deacon and a longtime Sunday School teacher. He was
employed as head photographer for the Danville Register &
Bee. Also, he served his country as a member of the United
States Navy during World War II. Townsend began working
in the newspaper industry in 1934, when he was 13 years old,
delivering Th e Danville Register in the morning and Th e Bee
in the aft ernoon. Denice Th ibodeau of the Register & Bee
noted “from the mid-1950s through the end of the millenni-
um, Townsend was a well-known photographer for the Dan-
ville Register & Bee, taking photographs on assignments that
ranged from heartbreaking scenes from disasters to touching
photos of everyday life in the Dan River Region.”
Ann Gregory
Ann Peyton Young Gregory, 77, editor and co-owner of the
Clinch Valley Times newspaper passed away April 7. She grad-
uated Magna Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa in May 1956,
with a degree in Radio and Television from the College of Arts
and Sciences of the University of Kentucky. Upon graduation,
she accepted the position of traffi c manager at WVLK Radio in
Lexington, Ky. until September 1961. She was married to Allen
Gregory on Jan. 29, 1957, and in October 1961, they moved to
St. Paul, Va. She wrote from home for the Clinch Valley Times
for a few years before accepting a position with the Chil-
dren’s Television Workshop as administrative assistant from
1970-1974. In 1974, with her husband, Allen, and her moth-
er, Pauline Young, they purchased the Clinch Valley Times
newspaper, where she was editor until her passing. As well as
newspaper editor she taught adult education (GED) classes for
a few years. In 1975, she was appointed to the Wise County
School Board where she served for 30 years until 2005. While
on the board she served as Vice Chairman for 13 years and
chairman for one term. During her tenure on the Wise County
School Board she served on the Virginia School Boards Asso-
ciation, where she was secretary, vice president, and president.
John Waybright
John David Waybright Jr., age 74, of Luray, Va., retired edi-
tor and general manager of the Page News and Courier in Lu-
ray, died Friday, May 10. He graduated as valedictorian of the
New Market High School Class of 1957 and attended Madison
College, now James Madison University, in Harrisonburg, VA.
Aft er a brief stint with the U.S. Department of Agriculture in
Beltsville, Md., he began work as a proofreader at the Harri-
sonburg Daily News-Record March 10, 1961. He was named
News-Record telegraph editor in 1962 and assistant manag-
ing editor in 1963. He became editor and general manager of
the Page News and Courier in Luray aft er the weekly news-
paper was acquired by the News-Record in 1967. He retired
from that position March 10, 1996. Following his retirement,
he worked as a public relations and editorial consultant, in-
cluding assisting with the Luray Caverns 120th Anniversary
celebration in 1998. He worked several years as a desk clerk at
the Luray Caverns Motel West. He was co-author of a biogra-
phy of Page County-born artist, George Quaintance.
By L. Michael ZinserThe Zinser Law Firm, P.C.
Th e U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Cir-
cuit on May 7 reversed a decision of the Na-
tional Labor Relations Board due to that agen-
cy’s practice of ignoring the First Amendment
of the Constitution of the United States. Th is
marks the second time in a 6-month period
the court has made such a ruling.
Th e notice-posting rule would require
nearly 6 million employers to post a paper
notice on their properties and websites, serv-
ing as a virtual roadmap on “how to union-
ize.” Th e rule declares that it is an unfair la-
bor practice for an employer to fail to post the
notice.
Th e rule contains two additional enforce-
ment devices. Th e board may suspend the
running of the 6-month statute of limita-
tions for the fi ling of any unfair labor practice
charge concerning the notice. Additionally,
the board may consider an employer’s “know-
ing and willful refusal to comply with the re-
Court of Appeals strikes down NLRB notice posting rulequirement to post the employee notice as evi-
dence of unlawful motive in a case in which
motive is an issue.” On April 17, 2012, the rule
was enjoined pending this appeal.
Th e appeals court vacated the Board’s
notice-posting rule. Th e court went right to
§8(c) of the National Labor Relations Act.
Th at section was passed in 1947 as part of the
Taft -Hartley Act and was implemented be-
cause Congress believed the NLRB was regu-
lating employers’ speech too restrictively. Th e
Court stated, “From one vantage, §8(c) merely
implements the First Amendment… but §8(c)
enactment also manifests a Congressional in-
tent to encourage free debate on issues divid-
ing labor and management.” Th e court noted
that §8(c) not only protects the right of free
speech under the First Amendment, but also
“serves a labor law function of allowing Em-
ployers to present an alternative view and in-
formation that a union would not present.”
Th e court ruled that forcing employers to
post the notice is compelled speech in viola-
tion of the First Amendment of the Constitu-
tion of the United States. Th e Board stated:
Instead, the board’s rule requires employ-
ers to disseminate such information, upon
pain of being held to have committed unfair
labor practice. But that diff erence hardly ends
the matter. Th e right to disseminate another’s
speech necessarily includes the right to decide
not to disseminate it. First Amendment law
acknowledges this apparent truth: “all speech
inherently involves choices in what to say and
what to leave unsaid…” Some of the Court’s
leading First Amendment precedents have es-
tablished the principle that freedom of speech
prohibits the government from telling people
what they must say… Th e First Amendment
freedom of speech includes the right to speak
freely and the right to refrain from speaking
at all… just as the First Amendment may pre-
vent government from prohibiting speech,
the Amendment may prevent the government
from compelling individuals to express cer-
tain views… Plaintiff s here, like those in other
compelled speech cases, object to the message
that government has ordered them to pub-
lish on their premises. Th ey see the poster as
one-sided, as favoring unionization, because
it fails to notify employees of their rights to
decertify a union, to refuse to pay dues to a
union in a right-to-work state, and to object
to payment of dues in excess of the amounts
required for representational purposes.
Th e court further explained that §8(c)
necessarily protects – as against the board –
the right of employers not to speak: “Th at is
why, for example, a company offi cial giving
a non-coercive speech to employees describ-
ing the disadvantages of unionization does
not commit an unfair labor practice if, in his
speech, the offi cial neglects to mention the ad-
American FactFinder Basics:
Your Portal To Household Data
A hands-on, computer-based workshop to teach you how to use the Census Bureau’s premier data-digging tool: the American FactFinder
community, down to the Census tract level.
Training includes a review of the latest enhancements to the American FactFinder,
Census geographies and datasets.
Review some of the Census Bureau’s easy-to-use data tools – QuickFacts, Easy
Participants should bring laptops or tablets to maximize this hands-on experience.
June 6, 2013: 9:30 a.m.-noon at VPA Headquarters
Ally Burleson-Gibson,
data dissemination
specialist for the
Census Bureau.
This workshop is FREE, but advance registration is required. Click on training at www.vpa.net for more information or contact Kim Woodward at (804) 521-7574 or [email protected]
Newspaper publishers agree that they provide a higher-
quality product than their competitors, but they don’t market
themselves very well.
Greg Pearson, publisher of the weekly Chesterfi eld Observ-
er, said it’s almost as if the newspaper industry needs to con-
duct a public relations campaign to tell the public why news-
papers are important.
“People say, ‘well, I went online and Googled the answer,’”
Pearson said in reference to a documentary entitled “Black &
White And Dead All Over.” “Google didn’t give the answer.
Most likely, newspapers gave you the answer. Th e public
doesn’t get that. We need to do something about that.”
Pearson was one of 14 publishers from metro and commu-
nity news organizations to attend a roundtable discussion in
May at the Virginia Press Association’s Glen Allen headquar-
ters. Th e newspaper offi cials discussed a variety of topics, in-
cluding paywalls and ways to improve circulation. Th e four-
hour session was moderated by Digby Solomon, publisher and
chief executive offi cer of the Daily Press Media Group, and
co-sponsored by the VPA and Southern Newspaper Publish-
ers Association.
Pearson, who also publishes the Chesterfi eld Monthy and
Henrico Monthly magazines, said he has oft en had to call on
broadcast television stations when they “steal” his newspaper’s
stories.
“We ought to be talking about that. You can look around
the room, if you are in a meeting, and (see) if no one is there
from broadcast,” Pearson said. “We all know the other media
are not there. We ought to tell people our stories are being
used” by the television stations.
One publisher suggested that newspapers begin touting
their stories are exclusives or “you read it here fi rst,” much like
television stations do with their reports.
Anna Harrison, publisher of the Charlottesville weekly
newspaper Th e Hook, countered that in this digital age where
most people have a digital, handheld “news source in their
pocket,” getting it fi rst is not always the best way to promote
stories.
“I don’t think you need to be the fi rst one to report on it,
you need to do it better. Th at is our focus,” Harrison said. She
noted, as an example, that it didn’t matter if Th e Hook was the
fi rst to report last year on the failed ouster of University of Vir-
ginia President Teresa Sullivan. “We did it the best. I think be-
ing fi rst isn’t always the way to go.”
Th e session also featured idea-sharing and brainstorming
among the newspaper offi cials. Each publisher came armed
with, and left with, “best ideas” about innovative projects at
other newspapers. For example, the Richmond Times-Dis-
patch created the JOBS DIVA to “tweet jobs listing for a low
added fee.”
Uriah Kiser, publisher of the online Potomac Local News,
said one of its more successful ventures was to create a Google
map of the commuter parking lots in its coverage areas. One
thing it shows is a snapshot of how crowded they are during
the morning and aft ernoon.
“In our region, it’s huge,” Kiser said.
We’re good but few know it
Digby Solomon, publisher and chief executive offi cer of the Dai-ly Press Media Group, examines a
Google map that shows com-muter parking lots. The map was
created by the online Potomac Local News and was one of many ideas shared during a publisher’s
roundtable sponsored by the VPA and Southern Newspaper
Publishers Associaiton.
The Community Journalism Workshop (CJW), which returns June 20-21 to the Virginia Press Association headquarters, has been described as a “boot camp for new reporters” that should be mandatory.
Past participants have utilized information learned in the intensive two-day training to advance in their careers; Mike Jones of The Washington Post, an
keynote speaker. Others regularly collect awards in VPA’s annual news contests and have risen to leadership positions at newspapers.
The workshop is geared for both new journalists and those wanting a skills refresher. Sessions are led by seasoned instructors and experienced editors: Lou Emerson of FauquierNow.com, Anne Adams of The
Katrice Franklin Hardy of The Virginian-Pilot. Topics include interviewing skills, narrative
storytelling, the Freedom of Information Act, photography, maintaining a beat and lede writing. Ethics gets special attention. In addition to group
on-one critiques. Plus, each attendee receives a “tool box” of resources to take home and use on the job.
The cost for two days of sessions, dinner on Thursday, lunch on Friday and the take-home tool box: $99 for VPA members, $250 for non-members. To register, visit www.vpa.net and click on training.
Overnight accommodations, including breakfast, are available at the Comfort Suites Innsbrook at a special rate of $74.
For more information contact Kim Woodward at (804) 521-7574 or through email at [email protected].
Registration deadline is May 31
Virginia Communications Hall of Fame award recipients, from left, Dorothy Abernathy, Associated Press bureau chief for Virginia and West Virginia, Doug Harwood, editor and publisher of the Rockbridge Advocate, Ismail Amir-Tariq, 2013 Hall of Fame Scholar-ship recipient, Don Belt, senior editor for National Geographic, Steve Bassett, Group
Photo taken by Bob Brown/Richmond Times-DispatchCreative Director at The Martin Agency and Tom Silvestri, president and publisher of the Richmond Times-Dispatch, pose after receiving their awards during the Vir-ginia Communications Hall of Fame dinner at the John Marshall Hotel in Richmond on Thursday, April 11, 2013.