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Directory information for TPA member newspapers may be found under "Newspapers Online" or by calling to order your copy of the Tennessee Newspaper Directory today. ($40 cover price waived for members and clients.)

Sale of Daily Times to Blount County Publishers finalized, Baldwin is interim publisher
The sale of The Daily Times and its related websites to Blount County Publishers LLC is final, having closed at midnight Sunday.

Blount County Publishers LLC is owned by the Greeneville-based John M. Jones family and is a sister company of Jones Media, Inc. The Daily Times, a 19,000 circulation seven day daily newspaper, was sold by Horvitz Newspapers, LLC, headquartered in Bellevue, Washington, and owners of The Daily Times since 1994.

As the sale became final, Gregg K. Jones, president and chief executive officer of Jones Media Inc. and Blount County Publishers LLC, announced that Ralph C. Baldwin Jr. has been named interim publisher of The Daily Times. Link to story at www.thedailytimes.com
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International Literacy Day is Sept. 8
International Literacy Day, traditionally observed annually on September 8, focuses attention on worldwide literacy needs.
www.reading.org
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Only 4 Institute of Newspaper Technology scholarships remain, claim yours now!
Four of 22 scholarships remain for TPA members to send staff to the October 7-9 session of the Institute of Newspaper Technology in Knoxville.

Thanks to the generosity of the Tennessee Press Association Foundation, these scholarships reduce the registration fees for TPA members from $595 to $145. That's right. TPA members pay only $145 to attend all three days of the Institute.

For INT information: http://www.newspaperinstitute.com.
To receive the TPA discount: http://www.newspaperinstitute.com/tpa.html
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Members urged to attend Education Reporting Seminar Oct. 1
Education reform is here. Very soon in every community across the state, school children, their parents, teachers and school systems will be confronted with a new score card of academic achievement that is benchmarked against the best in the nation. Some at the state level predict that as much as 40% of all school children and nearly 50% of all schools statewide will be below the minimum standard.

At TPA we see the looming crisis as an opportunity all across the state for newspapers to do what we do best: report, analyze and lead community discussion on education reform. This is an opportunity for newspapers statewide to demonstrate the importance of community-based journalism. To help your newspaper take a leadership role in informing your community about these monumental changes, TPA is conducting a training seminar for editors and reporters. The seminar is designed to help everyone understand the purpose of reform, as well as the sources, uses and validity of the statistical data on your schools.

We urge all editors and reporters who will be writing about local schools to attend the seminar. The seminar will be conducted in Knoxville at the Knoxville News-Sentinel offices from 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. on October 1st. Seating is limited to 60 people, but if you cannot attend in person, the seminar may also be viewed live via the Internet.

A detailed list of speakers and topics will be arriving very soon. However, you may reserve a seat by contacting Angelique Dunn at the TPA offices. The number is (865) 584-5761, ext. 100.

In order for our association to become a stronger voice on education we need your participation at this event. We strongly urge you to send your personnel to this important conference.

Sincerely,

Keith Wilson, Journalism Education Committee Chairman
Kingsport Times-News

Arthur S. Powers, TPA President
Johnson City Press

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NewsTrain in Nashville Sept. 23-24
APME NewsTrain and the Freedom Forum Diversity Institute present NewsTrain / Nashville at the John Seigenthaler Center on the Vanderbilt campus Sept. 23-24. This workshop is intended for frontline editors, broadcast producers, newsroom leaders at all levels, college journalism educators and others who want to improve their journalism and leadership skills.

The Thursday-Friday workshop involves two tracks, The Nimble Leader and The Evolving Journalist. Participants may attend both days and both tracks, or may pick a day and pick a track. The cost for one or both days is $50, including lunches and coffee breaks.

Highlights of the NewsTrain workshop include:
Tom Curley, Associated Press president and CEO, keynote address Thursday, Sept. 23: "The Renewed Power of the Press"
John Seigenthaler, First Amendment Center founder, keynote address Friday, Sept. 24: "The First Amendment, a Cornerstone of Democracy"

Reception and performance by Freedom Sings, "Fight the Power," a musical celebration of the First Amendment, hosted by Ken Paulson, First Amendment Center CEO, Thursday, Sept. 23

Workshop faculty members are: Ronnie Agnew, Jacqui Banaszynski, Patrick Beeson, Bobbie Bowman, Michael Roberts.
To register, or for a detailed agenda, faculty bios, information about accommodations:
http://www.apme.com/?page=NashvilleNewsTrain

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Federal Shield bill needs your support
The Society of Professional Journalists has been working with a coalition of other journalism groups since 2005 to pass a federal shield law to protect journalists and their confidential sources. The bill, S. 448, is close to passing but needs one final push. It has passed the House of Representatives and needs extra prompting in the Senate.

SPJ President Kevin Smith has written an editorial on the subject outlining why it is important to all Americans to pass this bill, and why the Senate should do so quickly. The editorial is available at www.spj.org and open to publication.

Links to information about this effort also at www.spj.org
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Can government be trusted to give 'public notice?'
www.knoxnews.com
Jack McElroy's blog, "The Upfront Page"

A debate that keeps keeps popping up in the legislature is whether governments should have to put public notices in newspapers.
Three bills in 2009 and eight in 2010 would have shifted some public notices to government websites. None passed both houses, but odds are that more proposals will arise during next year's session. link to blog at www.knoxnews.com
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ABC Launches Audit Report for Mobile
By: E&P Staff
Published: August 26, 2010
CHICAGO—Audit Bureau of Circulation’s ABCi interactive auditing service is launching a standalone report for mobile content publishers. The “mAudit Report” can be used to provide advertisers with detailed mobile usage statistics, ABC said. Link to story at www.editorand publisher.com

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TPA Board, Government Affairs Committee to meet Sept. 24 in Knoxville
TPA President Art Powers has called a fall meeting of the board of directors for Friday, Sept. 24, in Knoxville. The event will include an option to buy tickets to the UT vs. University of Alabama Birmingham football game.

All TPA members are invited to attend the meetings and related activities.

The schedule calls for a Government Affairs Committee meeting at 1:00 p.m., followed by the Board of Directors meeting at 3:00 p.m. and an optional group dinner on Friday evening.

Hotel accommodations will be available through the Crowne Plaza Hotel in downtown Knoxville at a rate of $129 plus tax per night. Please contact the hotel directly to make reservations by calling (865) 522-2600. The deadline for making reservations and reserving football tickets is Aug. 24.Register online or PDF of TPA registration packet
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Circulation Idea: Single Copy Success Keeping the Value Story Top of Mind
from NAA.org

In Louisville the strategy is to work together to drive single copy sales and promote the total value of the manufacturers' coupons contained in each Sunday's paper.

This value is prominently positioned in the masthead on the front page of each Sunday edition. link to circulation blog posting at naa.org

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'Exigent' postal rate increase would not extend mail delivery by a single day
National Newspaper Association, as part of the Affordable Mail Alliance, this week filed comments with the Postal Regulatory Commission opposing the Postal Service’s request for a Jan. 2 rate increase that would hit all mailers with a 5.6 percent postage increase, and some periodicals mail by increases in the 10 percent range.

The nearly 1,000-member Alliance told the Commission that the Postal Service’s financial woes are not the result of an emergency, but are the result of its inability to gain control over its operating costs. link to story at nnaweb.org

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How Poligraft Can Help Journalists and Consumers Discover Connections in the News
Poynter.org

Poligraft is a new tool released by the Sunlight Foundation that tries to add political context to news stories. It scans news articles for the names of donors, corporations, lobbyists and politicians and shows how they are connected by contributions. link to column at poynter.org

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State Press Contests winners announced

Photo credit: Elenora E. Edwards, The Tennessee Press
Winners of the 2010 University of Tennessee-Tennessee Press Association State Press Contests Awards were announced at a luncheon on Friday, July 16 at the Embassy Suites Nashville Airport Hotel. story, release and list of winners

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Powers, Johnson City, is TPA president
Arthur S. (Art) Powers, vice president and publisher of the Johnson City Press, is president of the Tennessee Press Association (TPA).

Powers succeeded Victor Parkins, editor of The Milan Mirror-Exchange. The installation ceremony will take place on Friday, July 16 in conjunction with the State Press Contests Awards Luncheon at the Embassy Suites in Nashville.

Other officers elected at TPA’s business session during the Tri-State Press Convention June 24 in Tunica, Miss. were Jeff Fishman, publisher of The Tullahoma News, re-elected vice president for non-daily newspapers; Michael Williams, publisher of The Paris Post-Intelligencer, elected vice president for daily newspapers; and Kevin Burcham, publisher of the News-Herald, Lenoir City, re-elected treasurer. continuation
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Web Audience Measurement: IAB Seeking to Set Standards
MediaWeek
By Lucia Moses

Web audience measurement amounts to a Tower of Babel, with various vendors and Web publishers speaking in a multitude of tongues. The result is confusing advertisers and frustrating online publishers who believe the lack of consistency is costing them revenue.

The Interactive Advertising Bureau is quietly trying to change that, spearheading the creation of a gold standard for Web measurement. link to story at www.mediaweek.com

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Powers appoints chairmen of 2010-11 TPA committees
Committee chairmen for July 2010-June 2011 have been selected by TPA President Art Powers. He also has added two committees and combined two.

The new committees are Futures and Membership. The Futures Committee will be given the task of developing a plan for Tennessee Press Association for the next five to seven years. The Membership Committee will work to get more members involved in the association, recruit more associate members and evaluate the TPA dues structure.

The former Public Notice Committee has been combined with the Government Affairs Committee.

The committees and their chairmen are:
Advertising: Roger Wells, The Lebanon Democrat
Circulation: Don Lovelace, Citizen Tribune, Morristown
Contests: Mark Stevens, The Erwin Record
Futures: Gregg K. Jones, Jones Media Inc., Greeneville
Government Affairs: Clint Brewer, The Tennessean, and Michael Williams, The Paris Post-Intelligencer, co-chairmen
Hall of Fame: Dr. Peter Gross, UTK School of Journalism and Electronic Media
Journalism Education: Keith Wilson, Kingsport Times-News
Membership: Jason Taylor, Chattanooga Times Free Press
NIE/Literacy: Phil Hensley, Johnson City Press, and Lynn Richardson, Herald and Tribune, Jonesborough, co-chairmen
Nominating: Victor Parkins, The Milan Mirror-Exchange
Postal: Joe Adams, The Lebanon Democrat
Summer Convention: Jana Thomasson, The Mountain Press, Sevierville
Technology: Scott Critchlow, Union City Daily Messenger

John Finney, Buffalo River Review, Linden, chairs the Press Institute and Winter Convention Committee for 2011. He was appointed by then president Victor Parkins. Powers will appoint a chairman for 2012 during the 2011 convention.

TPA members and associates who are interested in serving on a committee should contact the committee’s chairman. The Hall of Fame and Nominating committees have special procedures for membership.

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Nominations being accepted for Newspaper Hall of Fame
Nominations will be accepted through Dec. 10 for potential inductees to the Tennessee Newspaper Hall of Fame. The Hall honors those who have made outstanding contributions to Tennessee newspaper journalism or who have made extraordinary contributions to their communities and region, or the state, through newspaper journalism.

Fifty-three honorees have been inducted since the Hall of Fame was established in 1966 as a joint project of the Tennessee Press Association and the University of Tennessee. All inductions are made posthumously.

The Hall of Fame is located in the Communications Building at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Information about the Tennessee Newspaper Hall of Fame, biographical sketches of the honorees and nomination information can be found at www.tnpress.com/halloffame.html.

All nominees must be deceased five or more years prior to the nomination. A selection committee of five TPA past presidents will review nominations and announce whether an induction ceremony will be held in 2011.

Previously submitted nominations are kept on file for the selection committee’s review during each nomination cycle.

Dr. Peter Gross, director of the UTK School of Journalism and Electronic Media, serves as the Hall of Fame Committee chairman.

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50 years and counting...
Jim Thompson has served Hardin County at The Courier for half a century

Courier Managing Editor Jim Thompson is celebrating a half century on the job at the newspaper.

"He’s been the one to institutionalize this paper," said Courier Publisher Joe Hurd. "We’ve grown from 1,200 papers a week to about 9,200, which makes us the second largest in Tennessee."

With Thompson at the helm, the newspaper earned 104 awards from the University of Tennessee – Tennessee Press Association in categories including general excellence, local editorials, best news story, best special section, best personal column features, photography, community lifestyles, sports coverage, make-up and appearance, and public service. continuation
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TPAers overwhelmingly vote to change constitution
By Greg Sherrill, TPA executive director

Tennessee Press Association (TPA) member newspapers overwhelmingly voted to allow a change to the TPA Constitution and Bylaws that would make it easier for the Association to amend that same document. The change allows the membership to alter or amend its governing document with a super-majority of those voting, rather than a super-majority of the entire membership.

The independent auditing firm, McFarland and Gann P.C., which conducted the ballot referendum, reported results of the vote to the board of directors at its June 24 meeting. Out of a total membership of 125 newspapers, responses were received from 111 publishers, or 88.8 percent of the membership. Per the then-current bylaws requirements, TPA needed two-thirds of the full membership to approve the proposed change, and 94 votes were returned in favor of the change (75.2 percent). In the spirit of openness, members were told that their voting preference would be made available to the membership after the referendum. continuation

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Jones Media Inc., of Greeneville, to purchase The Daily Times
From Staff Reports, The Daily Times
An agreement has been reached in principle for the sale of The Daily Times and its related Web sites by Horvitz Newspapers, LLC, to the John M. Jones family, of Greeneville. The Joneses own and operate a fourth-generation family-owned media company, Jones Media Inc., that has published newspapers in Tennessee since 1916.

Link to story at www.dailytimes.com

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1 for All campaign ads available to educate public on 1st Amendment, nationwide promotion
By Ken Paulson

Every July 4th, we celebrate the Founding Fathers who gave America the gift of liberty.

Except that they didn’t.

Actually, the operative word is “fathers.” These gentlemen did a fine job of building a nation founded on freedom – unless you happened to be a woman, a slave or poor.

For all the poetic flourish of the Declaration of Independence, the most powerful passage in America’s history can be found in the First Amendment to the Constitution. The five freedoms guaranteed there gave Americans the right to speak out against injustice, to report about inequality, to protest and petition, and to draw strength from freedom of faith.

In the centuries that followed this nation’s founding, the First Amendment was used to free the slaves, extend the vote to women and ensure equal protection under the laws. continuation
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2010 AP Stylebook now available, includes social media guidelines
NEW YORK -- Social media have gained greater recognition in the 2010 edition of The Associated Press Stylebook with a separate section for the first time that also makes "website" one word. Details are available at http://www.apstylebook.com/
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Pulse of America survey research available
Invite your readers and website visitors to participate in the survey between now and June 30. Pulse Research will provide you with the results of the Q2 Pulse of America survey, providing your sales staff with the most current consumer product and service purchasing plans for effective sales presentations. Visit http://www.pulseresearch.com/poa/ for more information. Get a free copy of the First Quarter survey by visiting http://www.pulseresearch.com/results/

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2010 Ideas Contest winners announced, Robertson County Times takes top prize
Awards in the 2010 Tennessee Press Association Ideas Contest were presented on Friday, April 16, in conjunction with the Advertising/Circulation Conference in Chattanooga, Tenn.
List of winners

The Robertson County Times won the top prize—the Jack Freeland Memorial Award Best of Show— for its ad, “Home,” entered in the Best Use of Multi Color category. The newspaper also took the top prize in the 2005 contest and was first runner up in 2007. continuation
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Bristol Herald Courier wins Pulitzer Prize
The Bristol Herald Courier has won the Pulitzer Prize in Public Service for the work of Daniel Gilbert in illuminating the murky mismanagement of natural-gas royalties owed to thousands of land owners in southwest Virginia, spurring remedial action by state lawmakers.
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Newspapers are not non-profit
By Victor Parkins, TPA President

Remind politicians that newspapers are not non-profit
As the campaign trails heat up this election year, take a moment to remind every politician that walks through the front door of your newspaper that we also have an advertising department.

For the first time ever, every employee at the Mirror-Exchange has been well schooled to direct our potential lawmakers to the advertising department when they call the office.
continuation

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Political ad disclaimer law

Publishers,

Recently, our Legal Hotline has fielded several calls regarding Tennessee's "political disclaimer law," which requires disclosure of who paid for any political advertisement. In this election year, many newspapers will be accepting political ads from the gubernatorial race on down. It's something we all need to watch, and communicate with ad staffs as to the importance of checking ads for a "paid for" disclaimer.

Tennessee Code 2-19-120 requires a clear and conspicuous disclaimer on any political ad. The statute carries a criminal provision (misdemeanor punishable by a $50 file or six months or both), which is normally targeted at a candidate, campaign, or PAC. In speaking with our attorney Rick Hollow, however, he cautioned that this could potentially apply to a newspaper publishing the ad.

"Since the section has no limiting provisions it could be interpreted as applying to anyone in the chain of publication," Hollow said.

This could especially be true, heaven forbid, if a newspaper ever omitted the disclaimer line from the ad. It's definitely advisable to counsel your staff to double check that each political ad includes an appropriate disclaimer. I have included the text of TCA 2-19-120 below for your reference. If you have specific questions about the law, please remember that each TPA member newspaper has access to the TPA Legal Hotline.
Greg Sherrill, TPA Executive Director

Tennessee Code Annotated: 2-19-120. Political communications, advertising and solicitations — Contents — Applicability — Penalties. —

link to TCA 2-19-120

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TPS provides sample letters for reaching political ad dollars
By Greg Sherrill, TPA Executive Director/TPS Executive Vice President

This is an important mid-term political year, as well as being a gubernatorial showdown in our own state.

Unfortunately, the past several election cycles have seen significant declines in political advertising in newspapers. Many speculate that it's because candidates know that newspapers will likely run campaign and platform information as news (for FREE.) Newspapers have the unique ability to deliver in-depth information that broadcast and outdoor cannot. And when it comes to reaching rural and non-metro counties, newspapers have the edge!

I know many of you will be visiting or hosting candidates at your papers in the upcoming weeks. At the request of the TPS Board of Directors, our sales agents have drafted some letters that you may use for contacting candidates and/or their campaigns in your local races. Link to four letters These letters explain the benefits of using print advertising in their campaign's media mix, and could be a good way to get your foot in the door or at least start a dialogue about the effectiveness of newspaper advertising.

TPS is reaching out to Tennessee's gubernatorial candidates in hopes of securing more print advertising for you, our stockholder newspapers. Please keep TPS in mind as a resource for any candidate and/or campaign that may wish to advertise in many newspapers across our state.

Thanks for your help in representing the newspaper industry of Tennessee. Happy selling!
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Do you want campaign ads in your paper?
By Art Powers, TPA vice president for dailies
Publisher, Johnson City Press

Like most newspapers across the state, candidates for next year’s gubernatorial race have been dropping by the Johnson City Press to discuss issues in an attempt to set themselves apart from their opponents. In doing so they know we will write a story about their visit and report their responses to the questions fielded by our editorial board. We always do that as it is news for our readers. Candid photos always accompany the story. Of course, in subsequent months they will return one-by-one for more coverage as well as asking for our editorial endorsement since we are the only medium that does that anymore. continuation

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How Much Stimulus Funding is Going to Your County?
by Jennifer LaFleur, Dan Nguyen, Michael Grabell, and Jeff Larson
http://projects.propublica.org/recovery
We’ve taken all the data used on the government’s stimulus Web site, Recovery.gov, cleaned out the cobwebs and added thousands of records the feds didn't include — the law doesn't require all recipients to report to Recovery.gov — to create the most comprehensive publicly available analysis of stimulus spending that we know of.

Type in your county or click on your state to find local projects, and check out how per capita spending compares with poverty, income and unemployment in your area. http://projects.propublica.org/recovery

APME, AP, Sunlight offer help digging into Stimulus
APME is partnering with The Associated Press and the Sunlight Foundation on a national investigative project looking at the effectiveness of the billions of dollars of federal stimulus spending. A database you can use to look up projects in your area is available at apme.com. The site also contains questions you might pursue as you look into these projects. www.apme.com For more information about the Sunlight Foundation visit www.sunlightfoundation.com.
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HIPAA Resource for Reporters
HIPAA is the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, a law intended to make it easier for people to keep their health insurance when they change jobs. The law set standards for the electronic exchange of patient information, including protecting the privacy of such records. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued the Privacy Rule to implement that aspect of the law, and its Office of Civil Rights is in charge of enforcing it.

Since the Privacy Rule went into effect in April 2003, it has become more difficult for reporters to get information about individuals' health care. The Association of Health Care Journalists has a resource to aid reporters.

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Updating public notices keeps information in newspapers
Since the inception of tnpublicnotice.com, a majority of our members have joined the effort to create a database of public notices found in Tennessee newspapers. One of our chief tools in fighting efforts to remove public notices from newspapers has been this site, giving Tennesseans the ability to search online for notices found in our newspapers.

When members fail to upload their notices, our argument to keep notices in newspapers is weakened. It’s important that every TPA member upload their public notices to this site. Most of our daily newspapers do an excellent job of uploading their notices each day. It’s easier to forget when publishing dates are further apart.

If you’d like to know if your paper is doing its part to keep public notices in newspapers, email Greg Sherrill at or Kevin Slimp at for a report on how frequently and how many notices your paper has uploaded.

Forces to remove public notices away from newspapers haven’t slowed down. It’s more important than ever to upload your notices with every issue of your newspaper.
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Reporters' Guide to Multimedia Proficiency available online
Mindy McAdams is a journalist, journalism educator and Web developer. She has compiled a Reporters' Guide to Multimedia Proficiency. Guide
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Americans rely on newspaper advertising as essential shopping tool
Newspaper Association of America

When Consumers Read Newspaper Ads, They Take Action
Arlington , Va. – Newspaper advertising remains the leading advertising medium cited by consumers in planning, shopping and making purchasing decisions, according to early data from a MORI Research survey of more than 3,000 adults. The findings, announced today by the Newspaper Association of America, provide conclusive evidence of the ongoing value newspaper ads deliver for marketers trying to reach consumers who are ready to shop and spend. full release

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Have a job opening?
Post your open positions and search for resumes in TPA's employment area at http://www.tnpress.com/employment.html.
Only authorized personnel from member newspapers can post jobs or review résumés. First time users will need to register with a user name and password. Once you complete your online registration, please contact Robyn Gentile, member services manager, for access—(865) 584-5761, ext. 105 or via e-mail to .
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Training videos online for members
TPS offers free training videos online for TPA members. New videos include five segments on Adobe Flash and a segment on new features in Adobe Creative Suite (CS4). Other topics include: InDesign, Photoshop, Adobe Acrobat, QuarkXpress and OS X. The videos can be accessed through the training page at www.tnpress.com/training.html. A username and password are required. Contact TPA at (865) 584-5761 if you need the access information.

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Find older TPA News
TPA news items moved from this home page may be found at TPA News

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2010
Press credentials
  TPA now offers members a more
   professional press card.
   View details and order form

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TPA is a primary media sponsor of the Governor's Books from Birth Foundation Imagination Library project.