Be sure to visit the MPA photo archive for scenes from the 2009 Summer Convention, including shots from the BNC, sessions and post-event schooner cruise.
If you attended the event and have not yet completed the convention survey, please follow this link and leave your feedback. It’s very important in helping us plan future events.
The publisher of the Daily Corinthian was elected president of the Mississippi Press Association and Mississippi Press Services for 2009-2010 during the organization’s 143rd Annual Convention in Biloxi.
Reece Terry accepted the gavel from outgoing president Randy Ponder, publisher of the Sea Coast Echo, who becomes immediate past president and chairman of the MPA Education Foundation.
Terry, who first joined the MPA Board in 2005, is also publisher of The Banner Independent, a weekly newspaper in Booneville. His experience in the newspaper industry includes advertising sales, production, systems management and sales management. Prior to his work in print journalism, Terry held positions as a production manager, chief engineer, operations manager and station manager in broadcasting.
He is an active member of the MPA advertising committee and most recently served as the 2009 convention chairman. He annually serves as a moderator for the MPA Silver Dollar Breakfast during the Mid-Winter Conference.
At home, Terry is a member of the Corinth-Alcorn County United Way board of directors and serves as fund drive chairman. He is a member of the Corinth Rotary Club and is an advisory board member for the Salvation Army. He also serves as a member of the Corinth Chamber of Commerce Economic Development Council.
Terry and his wife, Sharon, have two children, Chris, 17 and LeeAnn, 15.
In his acceptance speech during the President’s Banquet on the Gulf Coast, Terry reminded MPA members and guests that it is incumbent upon our industry to tell the public about our strengths during turbulent economic times.
“Nobody else will do it,” he said. “There is plenty of bad news for broadcasters, but you don’t hear talk from them about that. We have to do a better job talking about what our papers do for our communities.”
Also elected to leadership positions during the convention were Wyatt Emmerich of The Northside Sun, vice president for weeklies; Jimmy Clark of The Vicksburg Post, vice president for dailies; and James E. Prince III of The Neshoba Democrat, treasurer.
Elected to a three-year term on the board was Judith “Skippy” Haik of the Laurel Leader-Call. Haik returns to the board after serving an abbreviated term from 2007-2009 while serving as publisher of The Hattiesburg American.
Returning for the their second three-year terms on the board are David Hampton of The Clarion-Ledger, Clay McFerrin of The Sun-Sentinel and Rupert Howell of The Panolian.
The publisher of the Calhoun County Journal in Bruce will be presented the Daniel Phillips Leadership Award from the National Newspaper Association during its 123rd Annual Convention and Trade Show this September in Mobile. Joel McNeece will receive the award during a special luncheon program September 26.
The award, named for the late Oxford Eagle associate publisher, recognizes young newspaper professionals who are actively involved in their communities, NNA and their state press associations. McNeece has worked for the Bruce weekly paper since 2001 and is a leader in Calhoun County civic affairs, including chambers of commerce and the Rotary Club.
McNeece is a board member for MPA and serves on the Governmental Affairs Committee. He is a former member of the board for the MPA Education Foundation. He became publisher of the weekly newspaper in 2008 following the death of his father-in-law, S. Gale Denley. He is married to Lisa Denley McNeece, a past MPA president.
MPA nominated McNeece for the award.
Phillips, a past president of both MPA and NNA, died in 2005 at the age of 47. NNA created the award in 2008 to honor his memory and commitment to the organization and industry it represents.
Click here for more information on the upcoming NNA convention.
Media planning to cover any portion of the National Governors Association Annual Meeting must first obtain an official NGA 2009 meeting credential. Members of the media are encouraged to pre-register online at the NGA Annual Meeting Website. This secure site includes all pertinent meeting information, including a draft agenda. To register, click on “Register Now,” then click on “I accept.”
The deadline for advance registration is 11 am, Tuesday, July 14, 2009. Reporters and producers who miss advance registration must register at the Beau Rivage beginning at noon on Friday, July 17, but should expect delays in clearing security and obtaining credentials. If members of the media plan to register onsite, they must arrive one hour prior to the event they wish to cover in order to register and ride the shuttle to the Gulf Coast Convention Center.
All media must pick up their individual credentials in person at the Beau Rivage. Two forms of identification will be required to pick up NGA credentials — even if media pre-register. These must include a government-issued photo ID (such as a driver’s license) and a current, valid press credential. (MPA provides official press photo credentials for a small fee, if needed, but requests must be made by Tuesday, July 7 to be processed in time for this event.)
All meeting attendees must register and pick up credentials at the Beau Rivage in Azalea Room C on the Convention Floor. There is no registration opportunity at the Convention Center.
From Editor and Publisher | It was debated on the blogosphere and on news sites for several days and fully broke on TV Sunday morning via a segment on Howard Kurtz’s CNN media program: The so-called “planted” question at President Obama’s press conference last week.
From Newspaper Association of America | Nearly 100 newspaper executives met with the new Macy’s Centralized Marketing organization in March to discuss how we will continue that partnership. In preparing for the three-hour meeting, Macy’s asked us, the newspaper industry, to take a bit of time to talk about the vitality of the newspaper industry today and how newspapers are building for a brighter tomorrow. This script and presentation is the one Mort Goldstrom, NAA VP Advertising, used for that meeting. It was so well received that attendees encouraged us to post on our NAA.org site.
From The New York Times | For seven months, The New York Times managed to keep out of the news the fact that one of its reporters, David Rohde, had been kidnapped by the Taliban. But that was pretty straightforward compared with keeping it off Wikipedia.
MPA’s 143rd Annual Convention begins June 18th at Biloxi’s Beau Rivage Resort and Casino. Keynote speakers at this year’s event include Gov. Haley Barbour, State Auditor Stacey Pickering, and Dr. Will Norton, the recently-named Dean of the Meek School of Journalism at Ole Miss.
Deadline for hotel reservations is Monday. Members who have not yet made arrangements with the Beau Rivage are urged to do so today. We will not be able to accommodate members at the group rate following this deadline. Click here for more information on reservations and the hotel.
We regret to announce the previously-announced return of the MPA Regatta has been canceled due to area yacht clubs being unable to accommodate the event. As an alternative, there will be a pool-side MPA cabana set up for members at the Beau Rivage Friday afternoon. If you are not participating in golf, tennis or other activities, we encourage you to stop by for refreshments.
Click here for a registration form or to register online. We’re looking forward to seeing everyone on the coast.
Will Norton, dean of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Journalism, will return to the University of Mississippi July 1 as founding dean of the new Meek School of Journalism and New Media.
Norton served 13 years as chair of UM’s Department of Journalism before becoming UNL’s journalism dean in 1990. He joined UM in 1974 as assistant professor of journalism.
“It was not an easy decision (to leave UNL) because the faculty, staff and students of the College of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln are such important parts of my life,” Norton said. “However, the timing is right.”
Design expert Ed Henninger is encouraging members who will attend his workshop next month at the MPA Convention in Biloxi to send him samples of their work. Specifically, Henninger is encouraging attendees to email two PDF page samples: One of design you liked; the other of a design you didn’t. Send the PDFs to edh@henningerconsulting.com. Please include in the subject line: “PDFs for MPA Workshop.”
Wondering how online social networking sites such as MySpace, Facebook and others are changing the landscape of journalism ethics in this digital age? Steve Buttry will lead a workshop on this important topic during the 143rd Annual Convention June 18-20.
The seminar zeroes in on the ethical challenges presented by such matters as social networks, blogging, user-generated content and breaking news online.
Buttry has spent 36 years in the newspaper business. He was a reporter, editor and writing coach for the Omaha (Neb.) World-Herald, Des Moines (Iowa) Register, Minot (N.D.) Daily News, Kansas City (Mo.) Star and Times and the Evening Sentinel in Shenandoah, Iowa. He is editor of The Gazette and GazetteOnline in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
The seminar is presented in conjunction with the American Press Institute. Buttry is content coordinator for the No Train, No Gain Web site and a columnist for API’s Web site.
From The Associated Press | About two dozen newspaper industry executives huddled Thursday to explore how they might be able to boost profits from their online operations as revenue from their print editions collapses.
From Denver Westworld | As the chairman of MediaNews Group, which owns more than 100 publications and media properties across the country, including the Denver Post, Dean Singleton is a divisive figure in many quarters. But like him or loathe him, he’s a true believer in the daily newspaper, and his attempts to safeguard the form could have a profound impact on the medium as a whole. And he’s got no shortage of ideas about how to do that, as he makes clear in this Q&A.
The website for the 143rd Annual Mississippi Press Association is now live and online with details about the event, June 18-20 at Biloxi’s Beau Rivage Resort and Casino. Visit today and find out information on convention registration, hotel reservations and speakers for MPA’s annual meeting.
A few headlines from the site:
The event kicks off with a sunset reception poolside at the Beau Rivage Thursday evening. Our grand finale is once again the presentation of the Better Newspaper Contest Editorial Awards Saturday at noon. For more information, contact Kimberly Haydu.
Longtime Indianola Enterprise-Tocsin editor and publisher Jim Abbott will be inducted into the Mississippi Press Association Hall of Fame June 19 at the Beau Rivage Resort in Biloxi.
Abbott, 64, retired in 2008 after leading the newspaper for 37 years. He is a past MPA president and a native of Greenwood. He earned a degree in business and another in journalism from The University of Mississippi.
He joined the Enterprise-Tocsin after returning to the U.S. following a tour in Vietnam, becoming the youngest newspaper editor in the state at that time.
During his tenure, Abbott was awarded the Silver Em from Ole Miss in 2003. The newspaper was named Indianola’s small business of the year in 2005.
Abbott joins other recent inductees in the Hall of Fame: The late Edgar Crisler (2008), former publisher of the Port Gibson Reveille, and the late Murphy Weir (2008), publisher of the Weekly Democrat; Rubye Del Harden (2007), longtime publisher of the Itawamba County Times; the late Dan Phillips (2006), former co-publisher of The Oxford Eagle; and Stanley Dearman (2005), former publisher of The Neshoba Democrat and the late Mildred Dearman (2005), longtime executive editor of The Carthaginian.
The induction ceremony will be part of MPA’s 143rd annual convention. For additional information or to register for convention, click here.
For more information on the Hall of Fame, contact Beth Boone.
Member publishers will be notified by May 15 of any awards their newspapers have earned during the 2008 Better Newspaper Contest-Editorial. Judging for the contest cycle was recently completed by volunteers with the Arizona Newspapers Association.
Awards will be handed out June 20 during MPA’s 143rd Annual Convention at the Beau Rivage in Biloxi. Click here for more details on the event.
MPA members who are on Facebook may now follow the Assocation on the social networking site. Click here for the link and to sign up as a fan of MPA.
“Capture the Moment: The Pulitzer Prize Photographs,” the largest and most comprehensive display of Pulitzer Prize-winning photographs ever shown in the United States, opened at the Overby Center for Southern Journalism and Politics at the University of Mississippi. The photographs are to be on display through July 3.
The exhibition features 138 images drawn from each year’s winning entries from 1941 - the first year a photograph was eligible for the prestigious award - up to and including the award-winning 2008 image of a Japanese videographer fatally wounded during a demonstration in Myanmar.
The National Newspaper Association’s annual convention will be held Sept. 24-27, 2009 at the Renaissance Riverview Plaza Hotel located in the heart of Mobile’s downtown business and entertainment district overlooking Mobile Bay.
The convention includes a large tradeshow, educational seminars, social networking opportunities and other special events. The convention is geared toward the community newspaper — weeklies and small dailies. For more information, visit the NNA convention site.
From MediaLife Magazine | The New York Times has been awarded five Pulitzer Prizes for its reporting and writing over the past year, just a year after taking home seven. Also winning multiple awards this year is the St. Petersburg Times. The Las Vegas Sun won for public service.
From NNA | The U.S. Postal Service is not yet confident it has found the bottom of the recession, Chief Financial Officer Joe Corbett told the Mailers Technical Advisory Committee. Losses in February alone were $1.7 billion, with a total mail volume loss for the year of 12.1 percent.
From The Washington Post | The New York Times Co. said last night that it is notifying federal authorities of its plans to shut down the Boston Globe, raising the possibility that New England’s most storied newspaper could cease to exist within weeks.
The room block is now open for reservations at the Beau Rivage Resort in Biloxi for the 143d Annual MPA Summer Convention.
The event will be held June 18-20. The press association room rates of $139 (Wednsday and Thursday) and $179 (Friday and Saturday) are available through June 1, 2009. Call 1-228-386-7444 or register online here.
Confirmed speakers thus far for the convention include Ole Miss Department of Journalism chair Dr. Samir Husni, Mississippi State Auditor Stacy Pickering and design and content consultant Ed Henninger. A complete agenda with more information on programs and speakers will be mailed to members in April.
New USPS requirements for the placement of mailing labels on periodicals went into effect March 29. The postal service now requires labels be affixed in the “vertical upper portion” of the newspaper page.
The label may be placed in either parallel or perpendicular position to the top edge of the newspaper page as long as the address information can be read “right-side-up.”
According to USPS information, mailings that are not in compliance with the new regulations will be charged First Class postal rates.
The Oklahoma Press Association has compiled a PDF showing common, allowable locations for mailing labels on broadsheet and tabloid publications. It may be downloaded here.
Deadline to apply is April 17. For more information, contact Beth Boone or by calling 1-601-981-3060.
Nominations for the MPA Hall of Fame will be accepted until Friday, April 3. The nomination form with details on criteria can be downloaded here.
Nominees must be a Mississippi native or someone who made his or her journalistic reputation in the state. Inductees can be living or deceased. For more information on the program, email Beth Boone.
This year’s nominee will be inducted during the 143rd annual convention this June in Biloxi.
From The New York Times | The Sun-Times Media Group, which publishes The Sun-Times newspaper in Chicago, said on Tuesday that it had filed for bankruptcy protection. The company said it would continue to operate its newspapers and online sites while it focuses on further improving its cost structure and stabilizing operations.
From Editor and Publisher | U.S. Internet advertising revenue climbed in the fourth quarter in spite of the poor economy, but the growth rate was sluggish compared to previous years, according to an analysis released Monday.
From whattheythink.com | New data from Nielsen Online indicates that average monthly unique audience figures for newspaper Web sites grew by more than 7.9 million in January to 74.8 million visitors, an increase of 11.9 percent over the same period a year ago. These figures, which comprise home and work Internet usage, are the highest for any month since NAA began tracking these numbers in 2004.
