ONA is offering training opportunities on classifieds and audience strategies in April that may be attended conveniently from your office or home.

“How to Sell in the New Age of Classifieds” is a 75-minute webinar scheduled for April 7. Instructor Peter Zollman has more than 35 years in the news business and is executive editor and publisher of “Classified Intelligence Report.” He has written many industry “white papers” and special reports about interactive media and classified ads.

Zollman will discuss how the role of the inside sales person for classifieds has changed just as much as the landscape for classified advertising. The webinar will include:

• Reasons for the changes in the classified category
• Tips on how to shift from accepting calls to prospecting for leadsThe most effective methods for outbound calls
• How to encourage upsells to help customers with quick sales of merchandise
• And ample time for questions from participants.

Consultant Barbara Cohen will lead a separate 75-minute webinar titled “Emerging New Audience Strategies” on April 21. Cohen has more than 30 years experience in marketing strategy.

A newspaper is not simply a “general circulation” or “mass media” product anymore. With the evolution of newspaper Web sites, handheld devices and new habits, there are new audience models for publishers, editors and salespeople to track if they are to be successful. As one of the leading experts in this field, Barbara Cohen will help webinar participants with details on:

• Market segmentation
• Turning demographic numbers into nine consumer “Lifestages”
• How age & presence of children help define “Lifestage groups”
• Strategies to reach these groups

And how use of smart phones and mobile devices is changing strategies.

For more information and to register visit training.ohionews.org. Contact Sue Bazzoli with questions at sbazzoli@ohionews.org or (614) 486-6677 ext. 18.

Richard (Dick) Morris, vice president & general manager of the Bowling Green Sentinel Tribune, has been elected president of The Ohio Newspaper Association. The election took place at the board of trustees meeting held during ONA’s 2010 convention last week at the Columbus Hilton. Morris succeeds H. Kenneth (Ken) Douthit, president of Douthit Communications, who completed his two-year term as ONA president.

Elected as vice president of ONA and president of The Ohio Newspapers Foundation was David Dix, publisher of the Kent/Ravenna Record Courier. Del Varney, vice president of operations for The Columbus Dispatch, was elected treasurer. All are two-year terms ending in February 2012. Frank Deaner continues as executive director and secretary to the board.

At the ONA Annual Meeting on Feb. 11, Jerry Mossbarger, publisher of The Telegram, Jackson, OH, was elected to ONA’s board of trustees. He will serve a three-year term representing weekly newspapers. He succeeds Douthit, who has retired from the board. Dix was re-elected to a three-year term on the board, representing daily newspapers of 10,000 to 50,000 circulation.

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ONA members will see the rollout of a new and improved libel insurance program thanks to action taken by the board of trustees at its Feb. 10 meeting. Details of the program will be coming from Walterry Insurance Brokers of Clinton, MD.

The new plan is the result of deliberations last year by a task force of the board that also reviewed membership dues and non-dues revenue. Walterry has offered libel insurance coverage to ONA members since 1993 as part of a program established by the National Newspaper Association (NNA).

Under the new ONA plan, all that is required is membership in ONA. Walterry will be offering discounted premiums and expanded coverage not available on the open market. ONA members who are currently covered through their own local agents will still be able to move to the ONA plan, as Walterry has offered to work with local agents in those instances.

Walterry will also offer additional property and casualty coverage to ONA members. Through a marketing agreement, ONA will receive a marketing reimbursement on policies written by Walterry.

Watch for complete details that will be coming in the next two weeks!

ONA’s annual sharing session for NIE coordinators is scheduled for Thursday, March 25, at The Columbus Dispatch Production & Distribution Center on Columbus’s Westside. The half-day gathering is underwritten by The Ohio Newspapers Foundation and is free for any ONA member.

The Sharing Session runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and includes lunch. The agenda includes a review of current ONA activities related to NIE, discussion of potential future projects and a chance for local NIE coordinators to share materials from their own programs. Anne Coburn-Griffis, director of educational services for The Lima News, is chairman of ONA’s NIE Committee and will chair the March 25 session.

For additional details and to register for the Sharing Session contact Sue Bazzoli, manager of administrative services for ONA at sbazzoli@ohionews.org or (614) 486-6677 ext. 18.