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Posts by: "Jason Sanford"

Supreme Court says states can restrict access to public records

April 29, 2013 · Add Comment

States may have little reason to restrict public records access to their own residents, but the practice is not unconstitutional, the Supreme Court ruled Monday.

The unanimous decision, allowing Virginia to favor its residents under its Freedom of Information Act, goes against media organizations and professional data miners that had sided with the law's out-of-state challengers.

During oral arguments in February, several justices had questioned whether the state's law served any purpose, since non-residents can hire residents to get information. In his ruling, Justice Samuel Alito noted much of the data is available on the Internet.

Still, Alito said, the state law "did not abridge any constitutionally protected privilege or immunity" because access to public records is not a "fundamental" privilege, such as employment.

While the Constitution's privileges and immunities clause "forbids a state from intentionally giving its own citizens a competitive advantage in business or employment, the clause does not require that a state tailor its every action to avoid any incidental effect on out-of-state tradesmen," Alito said.

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Complete Pulse survey for chance to win $2,000

April 26, 2013 · Add Comment

From Pulse Research

The economy is showing signs of turning around, but what does the coming year hold for businesses in our area? Here is your chance to be heard and to help us help local businesses.

To thank you for taking the time to complete the survey, a Grand Prize of $2,000 is being offered!

The current economy is a real challenge for many LOCAL businesses (perhaps even your own business or that of a friend or relative). By completing the Pulse of America survey you will help in estimating the economic climate of our local community in the hopes that we can help local business, provide our valued readers and website users with advertising information they need, and to strengthen our community at large. We have partnered with Pulse Research, a nationally respected research company, in the Pulse of America project. The survey is approximately 25 minutes in length and primarily focused on shopping plans and media use. Once completed we will share the results of the survey with local businesses. Your responses are completely confidential.

To begin the survey click here: www.pulsepoll.com

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Olentangy board member sues colleagues, alleges illegal meetings

April 26, 2013 · Add Comment

From The Columbus Dispatch

One member of the Olentangy school board is suing the other four over a series of emails and phone calls that he says violated state public-meeting laws.

Adam White filed the lawsuit yesterday against Dave King, Julie Wagner Feasel, Kevin O’Brien and Stacy Dunbar. The suit was filed in Delaware County Common Pleas Court.

In the lawsuit, White says the other board members held an illegal, private meeting to discuss district business, although he doesn’t say that they met in person. Instead, he says a series of emails and phone calls constitutes a meeting as defined in Ohio law.

For elected bodies, the law says a meeting is “any prearranged discussion of the public business of the public body by a majority of its members.” Public business is to be handled in public, the law says.

To win the case, White would have to prove that the emails fit every part of the state’s definition of a meeting. He makes that case in the suit and asks for $500, along with court costs and attorney fees.

“This case is not about money; it’s about forcing the Olentangy school board to follow the open-meetings law,” White wrote in a statement.

O’Brien, the board president, said he and the others named in the suit plan to use district lawyers in their defense. “I don’t believe we’ve done any wrong,” he said. “It’s unfortunate that he feels this is the only means in which he can have dialogue with board members.”

In October, the four board members sued by White sent more than a dozen emails to one another, planning a response to a Dispatch editorial that criticized Olentangy schools and other districts for requiring board members to notify the superintendent before they talked to other administrators or visited schools. In the emails, which were also sent to some district administrators, the four drafted a response defending the policy that was published in the Oct. 27 issue of The Dispatch.

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Doug Franklin named new executive vice president and chief financial officer of Cox Enterprises

April 26, 2013 · Add Comment

From The Dayton Daily News

The president and CEO of Atlanta-based Cox Enterprises, one of the nation’s biggest privately held companies, announced Tuesday he will retire next year.

Jimmy Hayes, Cox’s top officer since 2008, plans to retire next April, though he will remain on the board of directors.

His retirement triggers several other executive moves for the company—including the promotion of former Dayton Daily News publisher Doug Franklin to Cox Enterprises’ executive vice president and chief financial officer, effective May 1. Franklin, 55, is the current president of Cox Media Group, the subsidiary that controls Cox’s newspaper, radio and television assets. He also served as former publisher of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

In his new role, Franklin will be responsible for the company’s treasury, financial reporting and control, as well as tax and audit functions. He also has responsibility for public policy, supply chain services, information technology, risk management and legal. Franklin joined the company more than 30 years ago as a door-to-door circulation solicitor.

“Doug has spent his entire career with Cox and will make a great addition to the Cox Enterprises senior leadership team,” said Jim Kennedy, chairman of Cox Enterprises in a news release. “His extensive experience in both finance and operations is the ideal background for this role, and the skills he’s honed for the past three decades will serve him well as he makes his transition.”

Cox’s media operations in Ohio include the Dayton Daily News, the Springfield News-Sun, the Middletown Journal, the Hamilton Journal-News, WHIO-TV, K99.1 FM, AM 1290/95.7 WHIO-News Talk Radio and 95.3FM/The Eagle.

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Ohio News Photographers Association names photographers of the year

April 26, 2013 · Add Comment

From ONPA

Gus Chan from The Plain Dealer and Bill Lackey from the Springfield News-Sun have been chosen Ohio News Photographers of the Year for 2012 by the Ohio News Photographers Association. Chan won in the large market division and Lackey won the small market division.

Finishing second in large market division was freelance photographer Michael E. Keating from Cincinnati and third was Marvin Fong, from The Plain Dealer. Finishing second in small market division was Barbara Perenic from the Springfield News-Sun.

The James R. Gordon Ohio Understanding Award was awarded to Gary Harwood, David Foster, Caitlin Bourque, Matt Hafley, Jenna Watson, Adrianne Bastas, Coty Giannelli, Jessica White and Chelsie Corso from Kent State University, for their entry "Tiger Legacy," which told the story of the legacy of the Massillon Tiger football team.

Meg Roussos from Ohio University won the Student Photographer of the Year award with Hannah Potes from Kent State University placing second. Potes also won the Larry Fullerton Photojournalism Scholarship. Steven Turville from Ohio University placed second in the category.

Chelsie Corso of Kent State University was awarded Best of Show in the contest for her entry, "Sisters."

Seventy eight visual journalists from across the state submitted 861 entries in the 62nd annual news photography contest judged over the last three days at The Columbus Dispatch.

See the complete list of winners>>

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Tom Archdeacon of the Dayton Daily News named a 2012 Sigma Delta Chi Award honoree

April 24, 2013 · Add Comment

The Society of Professional Journalists has announced the recipients of the 2012 Sigma Delta Chi Awards for excellence in journalism. Among the honorees is Tom Archdeacon of the Dayton Daily News for Sports Column Writing (Daily Circulation 100,001+).

As the SPJ website states,

Judges chose the winners from more than 1,700 entries in categories covering print, radio, television and online. The awards recognize outstanding work published or broadcast in 2012.

Dating back to 1932, the awards originally honored six individuals for contributions to journalism. The current program began in 1939, when the Society granted the first Distinguished Service Awards. The honors later became the Sigma Delta Chi Awards.

Founded in 1909 as Sigma Delta Chi, SPJ promotes the free flow of information vital to a well-informed citizenry; works to inspire and educate the next generation of journalists; and protects First Amendment guarantees of freedom of speech and press.

Sigma Delta Chi award winners will be honored at an awards banquet on June 21 at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.

See the complete list of honorees

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Circulation revenue gains offset advertising losses at Gannett in first quarter

April 23, 2013 · Add Comment

Gannett’s publishing division reported higher circulation revenue in the first quarter of 2013, but those gains were thwarted by lower advertising revenues. Gannett’s broadcast and digital businesses both reported revenue gains.

The circulation revenue rise, however, kept revenue at the publishing division essentially flat — it declined .3 percent over the first quarter of 2012. Circulation revenues grew 8.6 overall and 14.5 percent at Gannett’s local properties, the earnings report says. Advertising revenue was down 4.5 percent at Gannett’s publishing businesses.

Digital revenues in publishing rose 75.5 percent, “reflecting the all access content subscription model as well as growth in digital advertising and marketing solutions revenue. Digital revenues at local domestic publishing operations were 98.4 percent higher, while at USA TODAY and its associated businesses they were up 9.1 percent.”

All of Gannett’s newspapers except USA Today now offer metered access to their online content.

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Sales tax expansion out of budget – at least for now; Other initiatives loom that affect our industry, open government

April 19, 2013 · 4 Comments

By Dennis Hetzel, Executive Director

Hearings on the state budget bill are moving into the Ohio Senate without the expansion of the sales tax to business services, including advertising. Meanwhile, the House version of the budget bill would level the playing field in Ohio for local merchants who compete with Internet advertisers.

As I said in a recent e-mail alert to our publishers, that’s good news. But the sales tax issue is not going away as there is considerable interest in the concept. Republican policy-makers around the country seem intrigued by the idea of sharply reducing or even eliminating state income taxes in favor of consumption-based taxes, including taxes in sales. There also is discussion of raising the CAT (commercial activity) tax as a substitute for the sales tax expansion.

Our efforts and those of many other business groups have helped legislators appreciate the complexity and impact of actually implementing something without thinking through all the implications. “No,” we said repeatedly. “These new costs cannot be passed along easily if at all.”

To use a simple example, when you buy a car, the advertising and marketing costs already are baked into what you pay – and what you pay taxes on. It is double taxation to charges sales tax on every service that is supplied along the way to the end user.

We are going to continue to make our case in the Senate with meetings and public testimony to do all we can to prevent a tax on advertising in particular from re-emerging in the budget. We urge ONA members to continue to make that case as well. You will find material at our coalition website, www.noadtax.com.

Keep doing what you are doing. It’s working.

There also are other new items in the revised budget involving advertising and Sunshine Laws.

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ONA members support lobbying defense fund

April 19, 2013 · Add Comment

Nineteen Ohio Newspaper Association members have contributed to the ONA’s Legal and Lobbying Defense fund.

Proceeds are being used to underwrite costs of the government relations firm ONA has hired to support its lobbying efforts as well as legal costs such as friend-of-the-court briefs in cases important to ONA members. Several troubling developments prompted the upgrade in ONA’s lobbying effort, particularly a proposal to vastly expand Ohio’s sales taxes to nearly all business services, including advertising.

“On behalf of our Executive Committee and Board of Trustees, we thank these members from newspapers of all sizes for their support, and we encourage those who have not donated to do so,” said Executive Director Dennis Hetzel.

Here are the member newspapers that have contributed to date:

Bryan Times; Northwest Signal, Napoleon; Chronicle-Tribune, Elyria; Lisbon Morning Journal; Warren Tribune Chronicle; Norwalk Reflector, Sandusky Register; Sentinel-Tribune, Bowling Green; The Blade, Toledo; The Vindicator, Youngstown; Archbold Buckeye; Attica Hub; The Budget, Sugarcreek; Alliance Review; News Leader, Minerva; Press News, East Canton; Salem News; The Review, East Liverpool; and the Morgan County Herald.

Members have received a statement asking for an optional donation that is the equivalent of $30 for every 1,000 circulation, but donations of any amount are gladly accepted. Payments can be made by check or credit card. Please contact Sue Bazzoli, sbazzoli@ohionews.org, 614-486-6677, extension 1018, with questions.

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“We Believe in Newspapers” Leadership Conference

April 19, 2013 · Add Comment

by Keith Rathbun, publisher of The Budget and ONA Treasurer

Washington D.C.’s Capitol Hill was abuzz. “Newspapers publishers are everywhere today, throughout the House and Senate buildings, discussing postal issues,” was the word on the Hill. More than 100 representatives from 34 states crisscrossed Capitol Hill pleading with U.S. Senators and House Representatives to take seriously the newspaper industry’s concerns with the USPS in general, and the controversial Valassis service deal and maintaining six-day delivery, in particular.

Among the group were ONA member newspapers The Budget (Sugarcreek) and the Toledo Blade. We were in Washington D.C. on March 14 for a day-long “We Believe in Newspapers” Leadership Conference and Postal Summit, organized by the National Newspaper Association (NNA). The Ohio contingent included Keith Rathbun (The Budget) and Toledo Blade’s Bill Southern, Mike Mori and John Fedderke. Rathbun and Southern both sit on the Ohio Newspaper Association’s Board of Trustees’ Executive Committee. Rathbun also is on the NNA’s Postal Committee.

The annual conference usually draws about 35 publishers, but the pressing postal issues helped swell this year’s turnout nearly three-fold. We gathered for a morning Postal Summit at the conference headquarters, the Crystal City Marriott in Arlington, VA. NNA executives prepped us for our afternoon on Capitol Hill. Executive Director Tonda Rush led the pep talk outlining the day’s mission. “We want reliable, timely service; rates low; to have a fair advertising marketplace; and six-day mail delivery,” she emphasized.

Participating in the Postal Summit were USPS’ top officials: Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe; Inspector General David C. Williams; VP for Network Operations David E. Williams; and Manager for Direct Mail and Periodicals Tom Foti.

PMG Donahoe blamed a 37 percent decrease (since 2007) in first-class mail for USPS’ financial woes. “The mail is not coming back. This is not a manufactured crisis,” he warned. The PMG brushed over the negotiated service agreement (NSA) with Valassis, saying of the “hundred or so NSAs [USPS] have signed, this is one of only four domestic agreements.

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Editorial: Democrats, GOP unite to make stock records harder to find

April 19, 2013 · Add Comment

Editorial from The Columbus Dispatch

In an impressive show of swift bipartisan action, both houses of Congress late last week passed a bill unanimously, in a matter of seconds.

Unfortunately, the legislation takes the teeth out of the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act, aka the STOCK Act, the law passed with great fanfare last year prohibiting members of Congress and other high-ranking government officials from making stock trades based on inside information.

A key part of discouraging insider trading was for the law to require online, easily accessible disclosure of stock trades valued at more than $1,000. A number of lawmakers in both parties were embarrassed last year by news reports from 60 Minutes and other outlets, which detailed trades whose timing raised questions about whether these government officials were acting on insider information.

Last week’s revision to the law, after the online-disclosure requirement already had been delayed for months, was made after some raised concerns about privacy and security risks of posting trade information online.

It completely exempts Congressional staffers, and does away with the requirement for members of Congress and other high-ranking officials to make the information available online in a searchable database. It keeps the reporting requirement for those higher-ups — but essentially says that anyone who wants the information will have to come to Washington and do some digging to find it.

Lisa Rosenberg of the nonprofit Sunlight Foundation called Congress’ move an “epic failure,” pointing out that security concerns could have been addressed through narrow exemptions and tweaks rather than wholesale gutting of the law. She says the change sets a dangerous precedent, suggesting that government can make information difficult for anyone to obtain while claiming that it is making it publicly available.

“Are we going to return to the days when the public can use the Internet to research everything except what their government is doing?” Rosenberg wrote on the foundation’s blog. “Will Congress, in its twisted wisdom, decide that information is public if journalists, academics, advocates and citizens are forced to dig through file cabinets in basements in Washington, D.C. to find it?”

Ask any reporter who’s ever received stacks of irrelevant paper documents or electronic data files that can’t be opened in response to a public-records request: It’s very possible to obey the letter but not the intent of a public-disclosure law. For powerful government officials to argue that they should be exempt from having to make these records available online is especially galling, coming at a time when many are questioning government overreach in seeking to invade citizens’ privacy in a number of ways.

The irony is that, as the Christian Science Monitor reported when the STOCK Act was signed a year ago, “the driving force behind the bill was Congress' attempt to boost dismal approval ratings.” If that was the goal, this revision is sure to make people even more cynical about Congress and government secrecy.

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Newsroom investment bolsters bottom line

April 19, 2013 · Add Comment

By Ken Doctor, Nieman Journalism Lab

Noteworthy in the 2013 Pulitzer announcements are the multiple winners. The New York Times won four and the Star Tribune two. Having just wrapped up asession on paywalls at the NAA mediaXchange conference in Orlando, one that included discussion of both the Times and the Star Tribune, I wondered about a few connections.

Was it a coincidence that two of most successful all-access digital circulation strategies in the country belonged to the multiple winners? What could the relationship be? How could we think about those links between Pulitzers, paywalls, and investing in newsrooms?

The Star Tribune’s two Pulitzers were generated out of a newsroom of 260. That number has stayed fairly steady in the last three years, though it is down from an all-time high of about 400. Amid the kind of expense cutting that swept almost the entire industry, in both the recession years and the aftermath, the Star Tribune is one of a relative few that made a point of keeping its reporting staff as whole as possible. It disproportionately made its newsroom cuts in copy handling and middle management in order to do that.

So while the cuts at the Star Tribune have been significant, its remaining core is stronger than that of many metro dailies. Its reporting capacity tracks very favorably, for instance, compared to the more than 50 percent cuts endured by some Tribune metros. (In fact, as the Tribune sale is set to proceed — as early as this week, according to sources — the task of re-inflating those torn-apart newsrooms will be an early, serious business challenge for buyers.)

“Newsroom costs as a percent of total for us have risen [since its 2010 bankruptcy],” says publisher Mike Klingensmith, a statement that becomes more intriguing as we look at the overall industry’s trends.

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Ohio justices uphold BMV’s $5 fee

April 19, 2013 · Add Comment

From The Columbus Dispatch

The Ohio Supreme Court has let stand a $5 Bureau of Motor Vehicles fee that trucking companies and insurers have now twice failed to derail.

In a ruling released yesterday, the justices voted 6-0 to uphold the fee the BMV charges to provide certified copies of commercial driver’s license histories to employers and insurance carriers.

Motor Carrier Service Inc., a Columbus trucking company, argued that the fee was illegal because Ohio’s public-records law requires governments to provide copies of records at cost, typically 5 cents a page.

However, justices found that the public-records law is subordinate to the federal and state driver-privacy protection laws the BMV cited to impose the $5 fee.

Under the privacy laws, the bureau must remove drivers’ personal information from public records it releases. But the same law permits the BMV to provide unredacted copies to employers and insurers, and it charges $5 for that service.

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Monroe County Auditor charging $180 a year to access online records

April 19, 2013 · Add Comment

From The Columbus Dispatch

Monroe County Auditor Pandora Neuhart has some explaining to do.

It seems she has opened herself to a big box of questions.

Her office requires those who want to view property records or sales on the auditor's website to pay a $15 monthly fee -- $180 a year -- to examine public records.

"Due to budget restrictions, this website is a subscription only service. The subscription price is $15 per month, and subscriptions may be purchased by contacting the Monroe County Auditor's Office at (740) 472-0873. Thank you!," says a notice.

Problem is, it is illegal under Ohio law to charge the public to view public records, whether online or in person.

Ohio Auditor Dave Yost fired a warning letter across the bows of a few county recorders last year when his office found them illegally charging fees to access public records online.

Auditor Neuhart was not available to answer questions today. Monroe County is in southeastern Ohio, hard against the Ohio River.

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APSE awards include Ohio winners

April 18, 2013 · Add Comment

From APSE

Associated Press Sport Editors has announced the top 5 winners and honorable mention selections from the 2012 APSE contest. The winners, along with section and website winners, will be honored at the 2013 summer conference in Detroit in June.

The winners and honorable mentions from Ohio are:

BREAKING NEWS 30,000-75,000
Honorable mention
Todd Porter, The Repository (Canton, Ohio)

BEAT WRITING 75,001-175,000
Top 5
2. David Briggs, The Blade (Toledo, Ohio)
4. Todd Jones, Columbus Dispatch

COLUMNS 75,001-175,000
Honorable mention
Michael Arace, The Columbus Dispatch

PROJECTS over 30,000-75,000
Honorable mention
Josh Weir, Canton (Ohio) Repository

PROJECTS Under 30,000
Honorable mention
Aaron Dorksen and Andrew Vogel, The Daily Record (Wooster, Ohio)

EXPLANATORY, Over 175,000
Honorable mention
Jodie Valade, Plain Dealer (Cleveland)

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Newsstands left empty after copies of Ohio U’s The Post stolen

April 18, 2013 · Add Comment

Almost 1,000 issues of The Post were stolen from several prominent spots on Ohio University’s campus Wednesday morning.

Before noon, the issues of The Post were taken from newsstands in or near Baker University Center, Alden Library, Bentley Hall and Scott Quadrangle, according to an Ohio University Police Department report.

The Post has a total daily circulation of 10,000.

About 500,000 student newspapers have been stolen nationwide in the last 15 years, said Adam Goldstein, attorney advocate for the Student Press Law Center.

The Student Press Law Center receives between 12 and 24 reports of newspaper theft each year, Goldstein said, adding there are a variety of reasons for such larceny.

“At times, (the reasoning) is grounded in innocence and stupidity,” Goldstein said.

“Two-thirds of the time, though, it is rooted in malevolent stupidity, because people didn’t like how they or their friends were portrayed in the newspaper.”

Those accused of theft typically face sanctions from a college’s interdisciplinary commission or criminal prosecution.

The case is currently under investigation.

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Medina school board’s unusual open-government step unlikely to keep it out of court

April 18, 2013 · Add Comment

From WKSU

The Medina Board of Education has been taking a lot of heat since the action it took at its Jan. 7 meeting became public six weeks later.

The board had unanimously approved a new five-year contract with Superintendent Randy Stepp that included an $83,000 signing bonus.

But the contract wasn’t on the agenda before the meeting. The board didn’t specify why it was going into executive session during the meeting. And after the meeting, the minutes didn’t reflect what happened.

This week, the school board acknowledged what many have claimed, that the whole thing violated the state’s open meetings law. And then the board went a step further – rescinding the contract.

Dave Marburger of Cleveland has been practicing first amendment and open government law for 30 years. He says the Medina case as unusual on several fronts.

“Even when, as a matter of law, the act is invalid and their lawyer knows it is, it is rare for the public body to acknowledge that they made mistake,” he said. Even rarer, he said, is a government to undo “the act on their own.”

Dennis Hetzel is executive director of the Ohio Newspaper Association and president of the Ohio Coalition for Open Government. He says cases like this one often end in do-overs, with local governments trying to go back to affirm their actions.

“If a board does kind of an ‘Oh whoops’ -- and often it is innocent, they realize after the fact that they went too far and they shouldn’t have done what they did -- they just simply quickly correct it.” And he said the courts often respond: "There’s no significant damage, … you corrected it, it’s moot, don’t do it again.'"

But the Medina board’s action is now likely to be in court on a totally different basis. Superintendent Stepp, who is on paid leave, says the deal was valid, and the board is trying to “profit from their mistake and remove themselves from a legal obligation to uphold a contract that they willfully and unanimously approved.”

Stepp said in an email that the dispute is in the hands of his lawyer so he can’t comment further.

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Robert M. Nutting elected chairman of the Newspaper Association of America

April 17, 2013 · Add Comment

Michael Fiorile of The Dispatch Printing Co. elected to NAA board of directors

Robert M. Nutting, president and CEO of Wheeling, W.Va.-based Ogden Newspapers Inc., has been elected as the Newspaper Association of America’s next chairman. The gavel was passed to Nutting by last year’s chairman, James M. Moroney III, during NAA mediaXchange 2013 held here April 14-17. Moroney, publisher and CEO of The Dallas Morning News, will continue to serve on the NAA Board of Directors as immediate past chairman.

Bob Nutting is only the fourth person to lead Ogden Newspapers – a family-owned diversified media company – in its 122-year history. In addition, he serves as chairman of the Pittsburgh Pirates. He is a past president of the West Virginia Press Association. He is passionate about environmental conservation, supports various environmental programs, and serves as vice chairman of The Nature Conservancy’s West Virginia chapter.

Other NAA officers elected were: Robert Dickey, president of Gannett Co. Inc. U.S. Community Publishing, vice chairman; Donna Barrett, president and CEO, Community Newspaper Holdings Inc., secretary; and Stephen Hills, president and general manager of The Washington Post, treasurer.

The following were elected to additional two-year terms on the NAA Board of Directors: Michael G. Abernathy, Landmark Community Newspapers; Rosanne Cheeseman, Times Publishing Co.; Maria Eugenia Ferré Rangel, GFR Media and El Nuevo Dia; Michael Fiorile, The Dispatch Printing Co.; Clark Gilbert, Deseret News; Michael Golden, The New York Times Co.; Mark H. Jackson, Dow Jones & Co. Inc.; Michael J. Klingensmith, Star Tribune; and Douglas K. Ray, Daily Herald.

Mark W. Newhouse of Advance Publications Inc. was elected to an additional one-year term on the NAA Board of Directors. He also is chairman of the American Press Institute Board of Directors.

Elected to initial two-year terms on the NAA Board of Directors were: Jeffrey Bairstow, Digital First Media Inc.; Kirk Davis, GateHouse Media Inc.; Michael J. Joseph, Cox Media Group Inc.; Terry Kroeger, BH Media; and Kevin Mowbray, St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Bairstow is president of Digital First Media Inc., which operates Journal Register Co., MediaNews Group Inc. and Digital First Ventures. He joined Journal Register in 2010. Prior to that, he was CFO at CCBR-Synarc Inc., where he also was president of the global imaging division. Bairstow previously served as executive vice president and CFO at Dendrite International Inc.

Davis became president and COO of GateHouse in 2009. He was named CEO of GateHouse Media New England in 2006 upon the company’s purchases of Enterprise NewsMedia and Community Newspaper Co. Davis previously served as CEO of Enterprise NewsMedia and president of Community Newspaper Co.

Joseph, executive vice president of Cox Media Group Inc., joined the company in 1995. He served as publisher of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution before moving to Cox’s headquarters. Prior to that, he was president and CEO of Cox Ohio Publishing as well as publisher of the Dayton Daily News.

Kroeger is CEO of BH Media Group and publisher of the Omaha World-Herald. He joined the Omaha World-Herald Co. in 1985 and was named CEO in 2008.

Mowbray is publisher of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and an operating vice president for Lee Enterprises Inc. He oversees all St. Louis operations, including STLtoday.com, STL Distribution Services LLC and the Suburban Journals of Greater St. Louis, and has direct oversight of Lee newspapers in several other cities. He joined the company in 1986.

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Newspapers face softened requirement in 2014 for Intelligent Mail barcodes

April 17, 2013 · Add Comment

Newspapers claiming automation mailing rates for their Periodicals newspapers or Standard Mail flats not eligible for Enhanced Carrier Route rates face new hurdles on Jan. 26, 2014, as the U.S. Postal Service’s mandates for Full-Service Intelligent Mail Barcodes (IMbs) kick in. But National Newspaper Association President Merle Baranczyk said NNA’s efforts had built in new options for many newspapers to avoid the full impact.

USPS this week announced that the new Full-Service IMbs would be required for all mail seeking automation discounts. The first step toward its program to achieve greater service accountability began in January 2013, when mailers began using the Basic IMbs. The next step requires individual numbering on mailpieces, sack and tray tags and pallet placards so that USPS can see where the mail is throughout mail processing and delivery. Those individual numbers must also be provided to USPS through electronic documentation, with some exceptions.

Baranczyk said NNA had petitioned the Postal Service to make numerous changes to help newspapers adapt to USPS’s digital conversions.

“We asked for a longer period for the conversion, which USPS did not grant. But it did create options for newspapers whose mailing software cannot handle the requirements, and relaxed the requirement to put a different individual number on each newspaper. We are gratified that USPS heard our concerns on this count,” he said.

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Nationwide Arena board’s operations will stay mostly private

April 16, 2013 · 3 Comments

From The Columbus Dispatch

The semiprivate board created to manage publicly owned Nationwide Arena says it will hold at least one public meeting per year, but it still plans to operate mostly in private as part of an agreement with Columbus and Franklin County officials.

The four board members of Columbus Arena Management, or CAM, met privately on Wednesday for the first time to sign the operating policy, 10 months after canceling their initial meeting because Mayor Michael B. Coleman, county commissioners and county Prosecutor Ron O’Brien rejected their plan to meet in private.

The board agreed to hold one open meeting a year, most likely in June, to discuss and vote on Nationwide Arena’s operating budget. The board also agreed to hire an accounting firm to audit the arena’s finances.

Coleman said yesterday through his spokesman that the new policy is “significant progress” compared with CAM’s original desires, though he said “it falls short” of his expectations for transparency.

Until this week, attorneys for Nationwide Realty Investments and Ohio State University — two of the four entities with representatives on the board — had included language in the policy to allow future CAM board members to make the board completely private.

Coleman and county Administrator Don Brown balked at that idea, and the language was deleted.

But Coleman and county officials didn’t get everything they sought. They wanted CAM to operate as a public board and go into executive session to discuss major acquisitions or business deals, as is permitted by state law.

CAM maintains, however, that it is a private entity and will meet in private when it deems appropriate, said Xen Riggs, the arena’s chief operating officer.

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Blog sues for records of threats against Kasich

April 15, 2013 · Add Comment

From The Columbus Dispatch

The liberal-leaning blog Plunderbund is pushing back against state claims that investigations of threats against Ohio Gov. John Kasich are not public records.

Plunderbund Media filed a complaint with the Ohio Supreme Court on Friday seeking the release of records it contends are being illegally withheld by Department of Public Safety Director Thomas P. Charles.

On Aug. 14, Plunderbund managing editor Joseph Mismas says he filed a public-records request seeking copies of State Highway Patrol investigative files involving threats against Kasich or his staff.

Public safety officials declined to release a word, argung the documents were exempt from release as "security records" containing information about protection of the governor, who is guarded by state troopers.

The "assessment and disposition relative to each threat ... would be indicative of the relative strengths and weaknesses of a particular governor's security position. Consequently, the release of such records would pose a significant risk, not only to Governor Kasich, but to his wife and children as well," wrote Robin Mathews, a public-safety lawyer.

The complaint argues there is no blanket exemption blocking the release of "security records" and claims that the Department of Public Safety failed to consider releasing records after redacting sensitive information.

"The Ohio Supreme Court has consistently held that any exceptions to the public document act requirements should be narrowly applied. The Department of Public Safety has claimed a security exemption that is far too broad to be consistent with Ohio law on public documents," said Victoria Ullmann, a Columbus lawyer representing Plunderbund.

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GateHouse launches boutique content site

April 12, 2013 · Add Comment

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OU’s Scripps Innovation Challenge winners announced

April 12, 2013 · Add Comment

Untitled Document

By Erin Roberts, Ohio University

Six Ohio University students shared the $10,000 grand prize of the inaugural Scripps Innovation Challenge on April 11 after presenting their idea for a mobile alarm clock app get more young people to consume news.

Broadcast journalism seniors Devin Bartolotta, Matt Digby, Glenn Janos, Leah Petrovich, Sarah Tranelli and management information systems senior Ryan Vibbert collaborated to design an app that would allow users to receive targeted news on their mobile devices at their desired time of day. Their challenge – to Craft a Strategy to Get More Young People to Consume News – was submitted by Ogden Newspapers.

“It started out as a class project and, as the idea developed, we realized it could be so much more,” said Tranelli. “We felt really confident about our idea and hoped we could come in here and get the judges to believe in it. Our professor, Mary Rogus, was behind us every step of the way, and we thank her.”

The Scripps Innovation Challenge, a campus-wide contest sponsored by the Scripps College of Communication, provided the opportunity for students to innovate creative solutions to actual challenges from the media industry. The competition kicked off January 17 and concluded when ten finalist teams presented their ideas to a panel of industry judges. Each team had five minutes to present followed by a five-minute question and answer session with the judges, including Dennis Hetzel, executive director of the Ohio Newspaper Association; Ryan Lytle, social media producer for mashable.com; Silas Lyons, editor and VP of New Media Content for The Record Searchlight, in Redding, Calif.; and Christine Merritt, president of the Ohio Association of Broadcasters.

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Enquirer Celebrates 172nd Birthday

April 12, 2013 · Add Comment

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Adjusted for inflation, print newspaper advertising revenue in 2012 was lower than in 1950

April 11, 2013 · Add Comment

From AEI

The Newspaper Association of America (NAA) released its annual report today on American newspaper revenue, and the chart above displays updated advertising revenue data from the reportthrough 2012.

The blue line in the chart above shows the total annual print newspaper advertising revenue (for the three categories national, retail, and classified) based on annual data from 1950 to 2012. The annual advertising revenues have been adjusted for inflation using the CPI, and appear in the chart as billions of constant 2012 dollars. Newspaper print advertising revenues of $18.9 billion in 2012 fell to the lowest annual level of print advertising since the NAA started tracking industry data in 1950. In 2012 dollars, advertising revenues last year were below the $19.75 billion spent in 1950, 62 years ago.

The decline in print newspaper advertising to a 62-year low is amazing by itself, but the sharp decline in recent years is pretty stunning. Print ad revenues fell by almost 50% in just the last four years, from $37 billion in 2008 to less than $19 billion last year; and by 66% over the last decade, from $56.3 billion in 2002.

Here’s another perspective: It took 50 years for annual newspaper print ad revenue to gradually increase from $20 billion in 1950 (adjusted for inflation) to $65 billion in 2000, and then it took only 12 years to go from $65 billion back to less than $19 billion in 2012!

Even when online advertising is added to print ad revenue (see red line in chart), the combined total spending for print and online advertising last year was still only about $22.3 billion, which is the lowest amount of annual ad revenue since 1953, when $22.5 billion was spent on print advertising. The introduction of online advertising in 2003 has helped to increase total ad revenues (print + online) a little bit, but online advertising has remained flat at about $3 billion per year for the last six years, and was actually lower last year ($3.37 billion) than in 2007 ($3.5 billion in 2012 dollars).

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USPS won’t end Saturday delivery

April 10, 2013 · Add Comment

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Ohio University’s student newspaper The Post wins 2012 Investigative Reports and Editors award

April 10, 2013 · Add Comment

From the Investigative Reports and Editors

The annual IRE Awards recognize outstanding investigative work and help identify the techniques and resources used to complete each story. Entries are placed in the IRE Resource Center, allowing members to learn from each other. The IRE Awards were established in 1979.

STUDENT WINNER

“Drug Under the Rug,” The Post, Ohio University.
Alex Stuckey

Judges’ comments: This four-month investigation by Alex Stuckey of The Post, Ohio University’s student newspaper, shows remarkable determination by a single student journalist following her instincts. The investigation began when Stuckey, working on a story about drug arrests, could not find records of items seized by the Athens County Sheriff’s Office, even though state law required those records be kept. Stuckey requested records from other area law enforcement agencies as well as the state Attorney General’s Office. She built her own database. Interviews combined with the records and data showed the sheriff and other agencies were failing to track seizures and forfeitures and in some cases could not account for them at all. Stuckey’s investigation led to an audit by the county into the sheriff’s financial practices.

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Tumblr celebrates success of Storyboard by shutting it down and firing its journalists

April 10, 2013 · Add Comment

In a move that's sure to inspire thousands of sad-face GIF reposts, social-blogging site Tumblr declared Storyboard, its ambitious year-old editorial initiative, an unqualified success Tuesday night and immediately celebrated by shutting it down and canning its entire crew.

"After hundreds of stories and videos, features by publishers ranging from Time to MTV to WNYC—not to mention a nomination for a James Beard Award and entries into this year's NY Press Club Awards—we couldn't be happier with our team's effort," Tumblr creator David Karpwrote on the site's staff blog around 10 p.m., adding: "What we've accomplished with Storyboard has run its course for now, and our editorial team will be closing up shop and moving on."

Why do you shutter a project in the dead of night if you "couldn't be happier" about it?

Storyboard was a splashy high-profile blog (within the Tumblr community, at least) that showcased the social media property's top-shelf original content, as well as the users who produced it.

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Kasich’s tax proposals, Medicaid expansion out in House GOP plan

April 10, 2013 · Add Comment

From The Columbus Dispatch

Legislative Republicans rolled out a plan (on April 9) that eliminates most of Gov. John Kasich’s tax proposals in his two-year, $63.3 billion budget.

House GOP leaders threw out Kasich’s tax cuts and replaced it, for now, a 7 percent income tax cut. It would be a $1.5 billion cut over two years.

“We are going to continue a lot more work than you’re going to see (here),” said Rep. Ron Amstutz, R-Wooster, chairman of the House Finance Committee. He said the size on scope of the governor’s plan could be doable, but it’s going to take more work. He called the 7 percent cut “a substantial movement in that direction.”

Above all else in his tax plan as he prepares for a re-election campaign, Kasich wanted to cut the state income tax, and he proposed a 20-percent cut across the board, plus an additional 50 percent tax deduction for business owners up to $750,000 worth of net income.

Though Kasich said his overall tax package would have resulted in a $1.4 billion cut over three years, he looked to cover much of the lost income tax revenue with a broad sales tax expansion and a new tax on shale drilling that proved unpopular with GOP lawmakers.

Kasich proposed expanding the sales tax to a wide swath of economic activity that is currently exempt from the tax, while also lowering the state rate from 5.5 percent to 5 percent. The administration estimated the sales tax package would have generated nearly $3.1 billion over the two-year budget.

The 4,192-page substitute bill contains a host of other changes, from an attempt to sharply cut back funding for Planned Parenthood to revamping the governor’s school-funding plan.

A variety of business groups raised opposition to Kasich’s sales tax expansion, arguing that most of the tax revenue would be raised from business-to-business transactions, and a number of sectors would face double taxation issues. The Ohio Chamber of Commerce argued that the benefit of the income tax cut did not outweigh the problems caused by the sales tax expansion.

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AP unveils new video portal for U.S. customers

April 9, 2013 · Add Comment

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Business editors honor Dispatch credit series

April 9, 2013 · Add Comment

From The Columbus Dispatch

A national business journalism organization has honored The Dispatchand reporters Jill Riepenhoff and Mike Wagner for the newspaper’s 2012 “ Credit Scars” series.

The award for superior investigative reporting was presented on Friday at the Society of American Business Editors and Writers conference in Washington, D.C.

Three Dispatch series last year exposed flaws in the U.S. credit-reporting system and a lack of government oversight on credit bureaus.

Contest judges described the trilogy — published in May, October and December and available online here — as “the pinnacle of investigative journalism, a superb and comprehensive examination of a frightening problem: damage caused by inaccurate credit reports and stubborn credit-scoring companies.”

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Newspapers see first circulcation boost in decade

April 9, 2013 · Add Comment

From News and Tech

Newspapers saw a boost in circulation revenues for the first time in a decade in 2012.

According to the Newspaper Association of America’s study “The American Newspaper Media Industry revenue Profile 2012,” newspapers generated $10.4 billion in circulation revenue, representing a 5 percent increase over 2011. The bump is attributed to the growth of higher-priced subscriptions and the move by hundreds of newspapers to digital subscriptions. (Click here for News & Tech’s list of newspapers with paywalls.)

Newspapers also limited to 2 percent their 2012 decline in total revenues, which were $38.6 billion, compared with $39.5 billion in 2011.

NAA said the study reveals that while advertising revenues continue to decline — they slid 6 percent in 2012 — other categories are now growing. New revenue sources are also impacting the numbers, such as digital agencies for local businesses and e-commerce transactions, which now account for close to $1 in $10 coming into newspaper media companies, according to NAA. Those areas have grown significantly enough that the NAA has begun to collect detailed data on them for the first time.

“America’s newspaper media are transforming themselves,” said NAA President and CEO Caroline Little. “In virtually every community they serve, newspapers have the biggest newsrooms, the best-known brands and significant audience market share. Now they are building on those to find new ways to serve audiences and local businesses.”

To read more on the study, which NAA said is its most comprehensive look at the industry to date, click here.

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FBI honors Dispatch publisher with Community Leadership Award

April 8, 2013 · 1 Comment

From The Columbus Dispatch

FBI Director Robert Mueller presented the agency’s Community Leadership Award yesterday to John F. Wolfe, publisher of The Dispatch and chairman of The Dispatch Printing Company, and 55 other people in the United States.

Mueller praised recipients as “extraordinary citizens from around the country.” In a speech at the FBI’s home, he said those honored “sought a safer world for your children, our children, neighborhoods that are free from crime and violence, and a nation that continues to defend freedoms that we all cherish.”

Wolfe and each of the other recipients then were presented with their awards. Wolfe was selected by Cincinnati’s FBI division.

In particular, the FBI cited the Wolfe family’s long-standing support “of federal, state and local law enforcement,” adding that “since the 1940s, the Wolfe family has hosted senior FBI leaders and government dignitaries” for an annual event to salute law-enforcement officials for their work.

Wolfe said he accepted the award on behalf of his entire family for its long support of the FBI and all safety forces.

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House may set sales tax direction next week

April 5, 2013 · Add Comment

By Dennis Hetzel, Executive Director

One of the major concerns we have had with Ohio’s open meetings law is that it leaves a lot of wiggle-room for public bodies to be overly vague and even evasive about the reasons why they go into executive sessions.

A modified version of Gov. John Kasich’s budget bill is expected to be introduced early next week, and all signals are that the new bill will dramatically change the plan to expand sales taxes to services such as changes will be part of it.

ONA members have done an excellent job of contacting legislators and editorializing about the impact this would have. We also thank those members who already have contributed to the legal and lobbying defense fund we have started.

Our media-based coalition has a website, www.noadtax.com, that you can consult at any time for additional information or share with others.

Here are links to several recent commentaries and articles from ONA member papers as well as past coverage on the sales tax expansion:

Now’s the time to make contact on advertising tax
State Senator Brown: Expanding sales tax a bad idea (Letter to the Editor, The Toledo Blade)
Editorial: Not at the speed of these businesses (Akron Beacon Journal)
Editorial: Budget would cost Ohio jobs (The Ironton Tribune)
Editorial: Mystery of the sales tax expansion(Akron Beacon Journal)

As always, ONA members can stay up-to-date with legislation we are tracking by consulting our Legislative Watch List.

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