Newsletter
Fall 1998 Issue
- Fall Convention Preview: Can news and marketing coexist peacefully?
- Don't miss a great networking chance
- Hopeful signs for NIU journalism
Can news and marketing coexist peacefully?
Market-driven newspapers: Are they the wave of the future for news, or
the end of journalism as we know it? On Friday, Oct. 30, at NIU, NINA's
Fall Convention addresses a sometimes-rocky relationship with "Barriers
or Bridges: The Relationship Between Marketing and News."
The day's speakers will examine the topic from the national level of USA
Today, the regional level of the Daily Herald to the micro-local level of
Copley's Sun Publications. At issue:
* How high should the walls of separation be between news and advertising,
and between news and marketing?
* How can a newspaper's news coverage adjust to changes in its marketplace?
Or should it?
* How can strong, hard-news coverage coexist with market-driven, featurish
news?
* Does market research suggest that we should ignore certain segments of
our markets?
Two USA Today executives will deliver the day's keynote session at 11 a.m.
Monte Lorell, managing editor/sports, and Melissa Snyder, vice president
of marketing, will talk about their newspaper's highly formatted mixture
of news and marketing.
Prior to that, Art Wible and Greg Mellis from Copley's Sun Publications
will discuss their development of free, market-driven weeklies. And, The
Daily Herald's Doug Ray -- a veteran newsman turned executive -- will examine
those walls of separation.
Cheryl Wormley, NINA Program committee chairwoman, said the sessions will
appeal to people from all sides of the newspaper business.
"We recognize the need for NINA to serve the entire newspaper staff,"
Wormley said. "This is an opportunity for us to deal with an issue
that's important to us all. We're all looking at how we can keep readers."
Of course, the convention features another big attraction to members: the
annual NINA awards luncheon, where this year's contest winners will be announced.You'll
find more information, a schedule and a convention registration form inside.
The form also is available online, at NINA's Web site.
Speakers:
Monte Lorell has been managing editor / sports for USA Today since 1996.
From 1989-96, he was managing editor/page one, responsible for selecting
and shaping stories, photos and graphics that appear on page one, and overseeing
the editing of the page. He joined USA Today in 1982.
Melissa Snyder has been vice president of marketing for USA Today since 1991. Her departments include public relations, research, advertising marketing, creative services, strategic planning and Baseball Weekly marketing. She also has served as the newspaper's promotion director and marketing director.
Don't miss a great networking chance
By John Etheredge
NINA President
As they have done annually since the mid-1960s, members of our NINA Board
of Directors and NIU faculty and staff have spent many hours planning this
fall's annual convention and awards banquet. The topics change from year
to year, but the goal has always remained the same: to put on an informative
program -- at a reasonable cost -- for our more than 100 newspaper members.
We want NINA members to be able to take home information they can use to
help make their newspapers even better.
Looking back on the NINA conventions I've attended over the past several
years, I can recall listening to a number of keynote speakers address topics
ranging from the Illinois Open Meetings Act to trends in layout and design
to how to attract and retain new readers.(One of my favorites was a nifty
mock libel trial that was staged with the help of the NIU College of Law
and attorney Don Craven.)
I've learned much from the keynote speakers and panel discussions, but I
also realize I've learned a lot just by meeting and talking with our members
between sessions and over lunch at the awards banquets. In fact, having
the opportunity to converse with other newspaper people is one of the things
I like best about attending the convention. Though most of us serve different
communities, the difficult issues we all face on a daily basis are largely
the same. Some of these casual convention conversations have even led directly
to changes and improvements in our newspaper. Here are a few examples:
*I've found it interesting and educational to swap war stories with editors
and reporters about how they've covered controversial issues and significant,
breaking news stories. It's always interesting to ask them what they would
do differently if they could cover a particular story again.
* The November elections are held a week or two after our fall convention
and often are a topic for convention conversations. Over the years I've
exchanged election coverage ideas with editors from several of our member
papers. Partly because of these talks, we recently made some changes in
how we profile candidates in our election preview sections. Our intent in
making the changes was to make the sections more reader friendly.
* Our policy on letters to the editor has been refined partly as a result
of some of the discussions I've had with editors during previous conventions.
It's always encouraging to hear that the community our newspaper serves
is not the only one in northern Illinois with a handful of readers intent
on using our letters page to launch potentially libelous attacks.
* Does your paper have a Web site yet? How is that new computer system working?
Technology is a frequent topic of discussion among our members during conventions
and I've found it beneficial to hear how the latest computer systems and
other wonders of the modern age are actually working in some newsrooms.
* It's always educational and occasionally inspiring to chat with contest
winners after the awards banquet. I like to talk to editors and reporters
about how they produced that award-winning investigative series or developed
that feature story idea.
* We've set up exchanges with at least two other member newspapers who regularly
win awards in the contest. We like to see on a weekly basis what they do
year-round to capture all those honors every fall.
I think you'll find this fall's program as informative as those in the past,
but don't miss the opportunity to talk shop with your fellow members.
Don't underestimate the value of those casual conversations by the coffee
and doughnut table in the morning or over lunch at the awards banquet.
John Etheredge is news editor of the Ledger-Sentinel, Oswego.
Hopeful signs for NIU journalism
By Lois Self
Executive Director
Fall semester is off to a very busy but productive start in our program.
Enrollments are up about 12 percent over last year! And, almost every class
is full. Many alums responded to the university's student telefund with
pledges for journalism.
Both of these facts are important as we face Illinois Board of Higher Education
program review this year for our journalism undergraduate degrees. Similarly,
our ongoing relationships with newspaper professionals via NINA and our
annual newspaper contest (in conjunction with the upcoming Fall Convention)
also provide important support.
Newspaper folks are aiding our educational mission in a variety of ways.
For example, this semester Northern Star adviser Jim Killam is co-teaching
Journalism 200, Basic News Writing, with professor Avi Bass. This allowed
us to open a special section of the course for Honors students, some of
whom we hope will join us as majors. For spring, Rick Baert from the Daily
Herald will again assist us by teaching the graphics course. NINA and Copley
Newspapers both contribute scholarship funds for our students and many of
you offer internship opportunities for them.
Change in journalism students, staff and courses seems to be the norm. Tony
Scantlen, really only semi-retired, is teaching a course each semester this
year. We have welcomed from the University of Utah Professor Walter Atkinson,
who teaches advertising and public relations. At the end of this spring,
another long-time stalwart, Avi Bass, will retire ... though he too has
agreed to come back for part-time teaching as the needs of the program dictate.
Next year, the department anticipates hiring three new faculty members,
two of whom will be in journalism. We plan to add a new specialist in visual
communication, graphics and design and a print journalist specializing in
news and editorial writing. We are optimistic about recruiting high-caliber
new faculty and we very much appreciate the action of the NINA Board in
underscoring the importance of the print journalism here with a letter to
our administration.
As you can see, there are no shortages of vitality or challenges for the
NIU journalism program. So, we remain especially grateful for your support
and interest in our program. See you all at the Fall Convention!
Dr. Lois Self chairs the Department of Communication at NIU.
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