2009-06-04

Phone (517) 333-3355 Fax (517) 333-3322

P.O. Box 1388 East Lansing, MI 48826

Volume 3 • Edition 2

www.communitypapersofmichigan.com

June, 2009

WELCOME TO CPM’S NEW E-NEWSLETTER! As we continue to be as lean and mean as possible with expenses at the CPM office, we are offering this newsletter in an electronic version only. Please feel free to share this with anyone you wish. We will also post each edition on CPM’s website www.communitypapersofmichigan.com as well as CVC’s website - www.cvcaudit.com. Free Publication Associations across the country have begun utilizing electronic newsletters to save on printing and postage. We will feature our newsletter each quarter. Please join me in welcoming the three newest members of CPM’s Board of Directors: Elaine Myers-C & G Newspapers; Kathy Trumbo-View Publications and Joe Spreeman-Tri County Citizen. These people bring a wealth of knowledge from years of experience in the print industry and we are pleased to have them join the Board. This brings our Board total to ten. Robb Harmon has resigned from the Board due to other commitments. Our thanks to Robb for many years of dedicated service to the CPM Board of Directors. I would also like to introduce CPM’s newest member publications: Central Michigan Life based in Mt. Pleasant and Shopping Guide, formerly (Greater Lansing Shopping Guide), based in Mason. Welcome!!! We are finalizing the promotional materials for CPM’s State-Wide 2 X 2 Network Buy. I will soon send info out to the publications who already signed-up for this program that will afford our members and advertising agencies additional sales opportunities within our large membership. New Member Benefit: Any CPM member publication that also has a paid sister newspaper within their company can now purchase CVC Audits for their paid edition/editions at the CPM group discounted rate! If interested please call me. Q-1 MegaMarket Sales Contest Winners Announced: Congratulations to Morning Star Publishing Co. for winning top honors in CPM’s Michigan MegaMarket Sales Contest! They have won a total of $220.00. Second Place goes to Access Shopper who received $90 and Third Place was won by Tip-Off Shopping Guide who received $70 Great Job! Remember that CPM is offering this contest for each quarter of 2009. At the end of this year, top producing sales reps will receive $500 1st place; $250 2nd place and $100 3rd place. Keep selling MegaMarket ads for your chance to win! All CPM member publications can sell MegaMarket ads and you keep $60 of every sale! Call the CPM office if you have any questions about the MegaMarket Statewide Classified Network. Due to our low membership dues structure, MegaMarket sales are the primary revenue stream to operate CPM. Any MegaMarket sales you make will help your company and strengthen CPM for the good of all members – a Win-Win! As you have witnessed, the print industry is in a state of transition, the likes of which we have never seen. Many daily newspapers throughout the state and nation are restructuring, cutting their number of editions, reducing staff, moving to on-line-only editions, many are for sale and some are simply closing - abandoning once lucrative markets. Print media in general is getting a lot of negative publicity, primarily from broadcast media who only wish print would go away. In all of this doom and gloom it’s hard to see something positive right now, however it is positively the right time for your community newspapers and shoppers to shine! If you have not made a sales presentation lately to a national account in your market that has always utilized a daily newspaper, now is the time to tell your story as you can “deliver” to a larger audience in your markets. National advertisers are taking a serious look at community publications to get their important advertising message into as many homes as possible. Your publications fill a great need within your respective communities. Some of you feature editorial content, some do not. Everyone features advertisements from your smallest classified customers to your full page auto dealers. Your readers look forward to receiving your publications free of charge each and every week at a time when everyone’s budgets are stretched to the limit. Your publications continue to be a thorn in the backsides of neighboring daily newspapers whose circulation has dipped to all time lows. While it’s a tough economy for everyone, there has never been a better time to be a community publication than right now – Keep up the fight!

Committed to improving member publications by providing resources, education, exchange of ideas and information.

Jack Guza

Executive Director, CPM Community Papers of Michigan

community papers of michigan

It’s time to believe in ourselves By Peter W. Wagner Creative House Print Publication Consultants Although very few publishers would boost they’re experiencing significant growth this year, more than might be expected report business is better than being reported by the chains and metro papers. All papers it seems – metro and rural, free and paid, chain and independent – are being grouped in the same national news story of declining ad sales, shrinking circulation, overwhelming internet competition and overall reader disinterest. Nothing, of course, could be farther from the truth. The “Chicken Little” mentality that the sky is falling does not apply to all papers and to all communities. America’s community publishers are at a crossroads, however, and those of us who still believe there is a strong and solid future must take three immediate steps to protect our investment, calling and community. Reestablish predominance. The very first thing we must do is reestablish public confidence in the truth that printed advertising is still our trade-area’s best provider of both credible information and advertiser response. We all know that local radio is no longer a contender. There are far too many stations and formats to allow any broadcaster to be prominent. But even more important, satellite radio, successfully sold by many automobile dealers with every new vehicle, is driving the local drive-time listener, the very heart of radio’s audience, out into the stratosphere.

Stay away from Chicken Little mentality

Local and regional television affiliates are also failing to deliver customers to their advertisers. The proliferation of cable and dish channels have cut local audiences to a percentage of earlier numbers. Where once a single television commercial, strategically placed within a local station’s news or weather block, could possibly reach thousands of viewers, it takes 30 to 50 times as many spots to accomplish the same success today. The internet also comes up short. With so many information sources, many of them lacking credibility, the internet is incapable of creating the consensus necessary to bind together a community or broad response to mass advertising. Only the local paper can claim today’s title as the true “broadcaster.” Only a locally published paper can provide the numbers reached to create and motivate the many parts that make up a community. The number one goal of our industry has to be the changing the thinking many now have toward all papers – paid and free circulation. We must reach both local and national advertisers with our story of the power of the local press. We must create unified print advertising, empowered editorials, usable sales materials and positive direct mail pieces designed to promote the truth that “community papers are alive and well.” Beyond that, we must strive to place ourselves in the national spotlight, through industry and general circulation magazines, on national television talk and news shows and in metro newspapers, repeating again and again our many successes. Creating a unified image. Our second major industry move must be a community newspaper commitment to stronger unity. As our nation’s founders noted: “United we stand and divided we will fall.” The first step, of course, is to recommit ourselves in time and finances to our state and national associations. For too long we’ve thought our chain resources, marketing group or local paper were strong enough to tell our specific story, create effective public relations and advertising programs and provide quality training on its own. But what good does it do to have one chain or state association be successful if most of the others fail? Without the mass shopper and newspaper distribution across all our land, advertising agencies are unlikely to create uniquely print programs and the box stores will lose their interest in printing colorful inserts for the papers that remain. Our industry has seen the creation of many new special interest press associations during the last two to three decades. We’ve come to believe target marketing for each kind of paper is more effective than mass marketing. It is the very same trend by national retailers we’ve come to abhor today.

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It’s time to believe in ourselves (cont.) By Peter W. Wagner

If we are going to turn the tide and regain our position as America’s unique and inclusive media, we need to reunite; both with our state groups and national press associations. It is a time of financial darkness. Many of the independent national organizations might be better served to merge for strength in membership and message. Most of all, we need to increase our communication with the nation’s best colleges to assure they will continue to seriously train writers, photographers and editors to meet our needs in the years to come. Stop and think about it: “Would you really want to go into journalism in an age when metro papers are closing and non-print talking heads are claiming the age of newspapers has come to an end?” We must speak with a more united national voice to reclaim our place as America’s dominate news and advertising force. Improve management skills. Finally, community and family owned newspapers must redefine our approach to management. Far too many of us have traditionally operated under the rule of top down management. We’ve believed that we only needed to sell enough advertising and subscriptions to see the profits trickle down LOCAL PAPERS into our pockets. Now, we’re being driven into thinking bottom up management. We’re beginning to learn to be more aware of our actual costs, true profits and areas of concern. America’s community papers need to take a lesson from the nation’s most successful corporations and train themselves in the fine art of tracking costs and celebrating profit. Improving income. There’s more than one way to create local financial success. At Iowa Information we’re experiencing a surge of retail advertising income through the addition of a number of magazine size specialty publications. So far this year we’ve created two such publications for the agricultural industry, two to serve our sports market, a community guide, the spring edition of 101 Things to Do and a new product designed to jump start our home construction business. The book style publications feature heavy slick covers and inside pages printed on our web press. All include a mix of ads and editorial material with the emphasis on advertising. They’re effective because advertisers can usually be attracted to any new approach to increased readership and format. Plus, the buyer’s mentality that a page is a page leads to pricing more favorable to the publishing company. Our two agriculture information books, two of the most profitable of the ventures, featured uniquely saleable themes: The first was a comprehensive guide to the many suppliers and agricultural services available in our region. A number of new advertisers were sold for the first time through contacts with distant corporate offices never approachable before. The second agricultural book featured a compilation of the most important information released on-line regarding the status of that industry across America. Researching the just released 10-year agricultural census, our editors created articles, charts and graphs detailing the changes in each county’s crop and livestock production and land prices as well as the age, education and size of the average farm family. Both books were produced in place of our usual monthly farm broadsheet section. Each produced over four times the regular monthly income.

Only a locally published paper can provide the numbers reached to create and motivate the many parts that make up a community

Nationally, community papers must take control of our own future if we are to succeed and see our communities succeed. We must separate ourselves from the part of our industry calling it quits; unite in ways pioneers of our profession saw necessary last century and look inward for greater cost control and new income ideas. There still is a strong future in publishing and it is ours to claim with a measure of courage and a willingness to work. Peter W. Wagner is publisher of The N’West Iowa REVIEW and regional Golden Shopper. His offices are in Sheldon, IA. He is a regular trainer at newspaper and shopper conferences and conventions.

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Get your scissors and tape ready: Here’s Kevin’s list of favorite products Kevin Slimp Institute of Newspaper Technology [email protected] Each year, I release a list of hardware and software recommendations for newspapers. With newspapers spending less this year, I’ve trimmed this list to items which tend to be of most interest. So get your scissors and tape ready. Here’s my 2009 list of recommended hardware and software for newspapers: Mid-Priced Cameras It’s a great time to purchase a new camera. The mix of quality and prices has never been better. Here are a couple of my favorites: Canon 450D (Rebel XSi): Even though it’s been on the market for over a year, the 450D still packs a lot of punch for the money. With a resolution of over 12 Mb, the Rebel XSi boasts LiveView, which allows you to see the image you’re shooting through the screen on the back of the camera,

as well as the ability to shoot up to 53 continuous pictures at 3.5 frames per second. And it’s hard to beat the ever-decreasing price, which is getting closer to $500 with each passing day. Nikon D5000: Just released in April, the D5000 is built upon the small chassis of the D60 but adds many attributes of the D90. A notable feature borrowed from the D90 is high-definition video capability. The D5000 can record video at 720p (1280720 pixels at 24 frames per second), and video can be captured using a Nikkor lens. With a resolution of 12.3 Mb and a speed of 4 frames per second, the $729 price tag seems almost too good to be true. Scanner Epson 4490: Epson continues to offer the best scanners for the money. The 4490 has been around for over a year, but it still offers the most bang for the buck. At a minimum, scanners should be replaced every two years. The quality of the scans depreciates significantly after a b o u t 18 months. If it’s price that’s holding you back, Epson has

Institute of Newspaper Technology Announces October Lineup Many of you know that Kevin directs a training program for newspaper designers, publishers and I.T. related staff called the Institute of Newspaper Technology. The schedule for the October 15-17, 2009 session is complete and includes classes in InDesign, scripting, photo editing, video production for Web sites, Flash, Illustrator, InCopy, Adobe Bridge, digital photography, audio slideshow creation, fonts, editing photos in camera raw, Photoshop, font management and more. Basic and advanced classes are offered. Instructors include Lisa Griffin, Russell Viers, Lesa Snider, Jay Nelson, Rob Heller and Kevin Slimp. Guest speakers will also be on hand. For more information, visit newspaperinstitute.com.

The Sony Webbie comes in three colors and two styles. Use it to shoot high definition video or 5 megapixel photos.

models starting at $49 and, if you want to spend a little more, the Epson V500 offers twice the resolution for $199. For value and quality, it’s hard to beat the 4490. Desktop Computer iMac: For page layout and design, you can’t beat the iMac. Well, you can beat it (Mac Pro), but you’d spend about $1,500 more (with the monitor) and rarely notice the difference in speed. For $1,499, you get 4 Gb RAM and a built-in 24 inch monitor. Software Adobe Acrobat Pro 9.0: The latest rendition of Acrobat includes two features that make it well worth the $150 upgrade price. The first is Acrobat’s ability to convert fonts to curves, relieving users of all the printing errors that can occur when CID fonts make their way into PDF files. The second is the Color Conversion tool that actually works the way you hoped it would. With a couple of clicks of your mouse, all colors are converted to grayscale, CMYK or whatever. GIMP: A free application offering many of Photoshop’s features. Available on both Mac and PC platforms, GIMP lacks the ability to work with RAW format images but includes most other features used by newspapers when editing photos. It’s very handy for folks who normally wouldn’t have Photoshop available, yet need an option for quickly changing the wrong color format or resolution. Free downloads are avail-

able at gimp.org. Backup Drive LaCie Big Disk Quadra: LaCie has built my favorite backup disks for a long time and they continue to bring home the awards to prove their merit. The Big Disk Quadra offers four interfaces - eSATA, USB, FireWire 400 and FireWire 800 to satisfy just about any computer specifications. Available in several sizes, the 2 Tb version lists for $399. Online Tools Publish2.com: Create your own Web page - increasing traffic to your site - using links to content that’s already been created on other sites. It couldn’t be easier. Plus it’s free. Ning.com: Don’t go to the trouble of programming your own social networking site when Ning does it for you for free. In just a few minutes, you’ll have a site up and running. To see an example of a site created by a newspaper, visit gosmokies.ning.com. Video Camera Sony Webbie: There are two versions of this handy camcorder. Both offer high definition video and 5 MP still photos. The audio is excellent for the price, and the camcorders are small enough to fit in your jacket pocket. Choose from two styles and several colors. $169-$189. OK. Go ahead and tape this to your wall or, better yet, your boss’s wall. There’s a good chance it will still be there in 20 years.

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CVC Now Offers Free Training in Webinar Format In Addition to Conference Call Training CVC now offers its free audit training sessions in a webinar format. This means that in addition to the conference call training you are accustomed to, you can also follow along with the presentation on a computer screen. All you need to participate in a free CVC webinar training session is a phone and a computer with Internet access. If you’re gathering a group together, make sure you have a speakerphone and projector. A CVC expert will guide you and your staff visually through your audit report, readership study and map, explaining each point in detail while you and your staff watch, listen and participate in the conversation. Contact Debi or call her at 800-262-6392 to schedule a free webinar training session for your staff. NOTE: Conference-call-only training will still be available.

Here are five good reasons why you should sign up for your audit training webinar today: 1. Training is immediately useful and can prevent major sales presentation blunders. A CVC audit is one of the most powerful sales tools your representatives have. Hopefully they're sharing your audit results with media buyers on a daily basis. The intimate knowledge your sales force gains during training will help them explain and sell your publication to the next potential media buyer they meet with. On the other hand, an untrained sales representative can damage your publication's reputation. In order to sell ad space in your publication, your sales representatives must be seen as experts on your publication's audit results. "An untrained sales rep can look very unprofessional in front of a media buyer," said Tim Bingaman, president and CEO of CVC. "If you don't know what your numbers mean, you can really make your publication look bad in front of a skilled media buyer." 2. We can help you put your numbers into context. An audit exposes your publication's strengths and weaknesses, according to Bingaman. During your training session, CVC will put your numbers in context with national and, if available, regional averages. This context will help you determine your strengths and weaknesses, and your sales staff can promote the publication's strengths while others work on improving areas of weakness. 3. CVC's training call is convenient, whether you prefer a webinar or conference call format. CVC recommends scheduling your training during a regular sales or staff meeting. For a conference call, all you need to do is gather around a speakerphone. For a webinar, you need a speakerphone and a computer with Web access, or a projector, if possible. A CVC representative can take your entire staff through your audit, line by line. A training session typically involves about 20 minutes of detailed explanation of your audit results. Then CVC will spend about 10 minutes, or longer if necessary, answering questions and helping you put your audit in context with your local market and competitors. 4. CVC will train your staff as many times as necessary. CVC will repeat this training as often as necessary for your staff to feel confident interpreting your audit results. If you've recently hired a new sales representative, you can even call CVC to set up one-on-one training for this person. 5. Training is FREE. Harrison Cochran, chairman of the Mile High Suburban Press Group, recently invited his circulation and advertising staff to a CVC audit training session. "It was the best combined circulation and advertising session that we've had," said Cochran. "The training was a good explanation of the audit and taught us how to sell against someone else's audit." While the information was applicable to both departments, the most useful information presented was the reader survey information, Cochran said. He recommends all publishers take advantage of this training. "You've already made the investment in the audit," Cochran said. "The training helps make sure your staff is using the information."

Please call 800-262-6392 to schedule your publication's training.

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By The Number In a Stormy Economy, Smart Publishers Prepare for Better Days Despite the black cloud of a recession overhead, many publishers of community papers, magazines and niche publications are focusing on the silver lining of this economic storm. And that lining is full of opportunities to prepare for an eventual turnaround and make new sales right now. As the economic downturn gained speed, Ray Appen of Appen Newspapers in Alpharetta, Ga., joined fellow publishers in cutting expenses where he could. But Appen, like many publishers, has found himself operating with a budget that can't bear any more cuts without hurting his product. In order to attract new clients and maintain a high number of contracts, Appen started strategically cutting his advertising rates. Reducing Ad Prices to Build and Maintain Relationships Lately, Appen has been offering a business-card-sized ad for $10 a week with a 52-week contract. Typically, this ad would cost $40-50 a week. "What that does is, it lets little businesses, and big businesses, at least put something out there that they may not have otherwise afforded," Appen said. "It allows them to market while spending almost no money. They like it, and they’ve bought a lot." Some customers are even upgrading to larger ads at times during the 52-week period for special sales and holidays. The real strategy behind this bold move, according to Appen, is to take this opportunity to build a base of new relationships with his newspapers so that when the economy improves, his company will be poised for growth. "As we emerge on the other side of this economy, we'll have all of these contracts in place and relationships that are starting to grow," he said. "We're going to be in a really, really strong position." Tom Aird, publisher of the Buyers Guide in Martinsburg, W.Va., has been able to add new national advertisers and is also running 50percent-off specials to keep existing advertisers in his paper. "A lot of people will jump off the ship because they think you're sinking," he said. "We've been able to keep people in the paper." Land New Business Now Aird has also been able to lure new national and regional advertisers, including Rite Aid and Pizza Hut, through his listing in Standard Rate and Data Service. Media buyers are increasingly adding community papers to their advertising buys, and all CVC-audited publications have two listings in SRDS, a listing service used by almost all media buyers. Read more about how Aird attracted national advertisers in a separate article. The Buyers Guide publication has also landed new sales from ZIP code comparisons, according to Aird. He uses his CVC audit and audits from his competitors to create a ZIP code circulation comparison. "We hand it to potential advertisers with a map and ask, 'Do you know where your advertising dollars are going?' That's opened up some more business." In addition to creating ZIP code comparisons, Russell Quattlebaum, publisher of Southeast Sun and Daleville Sun Courier in Enterprise, Ala., is using his receivership score, readership score and purchase intention numbers to drive new business. (CVC's handbook, "How To Use Your CVC Audit To Increase Revenue" provides details on using these numbers to make advertising sales.) "A lot of the research that CVC does, that is what helps push customers over," Quattlebaum said. He has recently secured advertising contracts with both Lowe's and Home Depot. "If we didn’t have a CVC audit, we wouldn't have a chance with a lot of these big companies," he said. Audited circulation figures, including receivership, readership and purchase intention, are must-haves for these national advertisers. The Opening in the Clouds As in all economic downturns, some publications in the market will fail, Appen said. He is already seeing competitors make substantial cuts that provide opportunities for his newspapers. "We're in Atlanta, and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution is the primary big daily. They're cutting circulation, and cutting and combining sections," Appen said. As they've done this, calls to Appen's editorial departments have tripled, he said. "They've created a vacuum for content and marketing," Appen said. Any time a competing publication cuts circulation or content, according to Appen, it's time to take stock of your own publication and see how you can fill that void and capture the advertising dollars that remain on the table – especially during a time when those dollars are so hard to come by.

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Highlights of the 2009 Annual Conference. “Navigating your publication in a changing environment”

Tim Bingamon of CVC reviews the Audit process

Speaker David Okerlund talks about “Creativity Under the Gun”

Fred Jacobs talks to publishers about joining together and supporting each other but really wants to talk about Walmart.

Three Amigos, Joe Nicastro, Tim Bingaman and Jack Guza

Marty and Jacquie Bennett with staff members from their Community Shoppers Guide. Jon Jacobs and Tom Zimmerman talk shop

CPM’s Stacey Kotecki and IFPA Exec. Director, Gary Rudy

Mike Montoy and Kathy Trumbo

Sharing ideas and information during the Publisher’s Rountable discussion 8

community papers of michigan

Highlights of the 2009 Annual Conference.

CPM’s Board of Directors and staff (Missing: Director, Micheal Flores)

Elaine Myers and George and Melanie Moses review the advertising contest entries

Cindy Gaedert Wing and Sharon Frederick accept advertising awards from CPM President, Terry Roby

Terry Roby presents Jon Jacobs with the “Publication of the Year” award for the Battle Creek Shopper News Cindy Gaedert Wing, Bettie Watson and Kathy Palon enjoying the advertising awards

Newly elected board members: Kathy Trumbo, Joe Spreeman and Elaine Myers

Terry Roby with Advance Newspaper Staff 9

community papers of michigan

How are your telephones being used? By Bob Berting, Berting Communications What does the collective voice of your people say about your publication, your receptionist, your salespeople, and the people who answer your phone in their respective departments? Do their voices tell your customers that your publication is willing to provide value-added service? If someone has a legitimate complaint, what do they say and how do they say it? Can your customers tell they are frowning over the phone?

What about the choice of words and tone of voice? Our choice of words and tone of voice give very strong messages of our underlying attitudes which change during a conversation. These things can give the wrong impression if we are not careful. We can also hear the shift in our customer's voice as they change their attitudes. When we market our services over the phone, our voice is like a broadcast to the listener. The usual visual distractions are missing, so the voice and tone may be more significant. Attitudes are also very noticeable in recorded messages. To hear your message as others hear it, play back your message with your eyes closed. The voice that your customers hear at the other end of the phone is your company in their eyes. Very important!

Each type of voice has its own label A voice can be described as happy, refined, depressed, macho., smiling, concerned, fragile, strong, etc. Customers are more appreciative if our voice is in the middle range that is approachable and pleasant. They expect us to be friendly and eager to please them, even when they are unhappy and complaining. Instead we take their complaints personally and our voices change to show our disapproval. This is exactly the time when our customer care training matters the most. The way we handle disagreements is a measure of our genuine concern and care for our customer.

What about your calls that get voice mail? When calling people who know you, these are “warm calls” and there are several points to consider: Prepare a rough script before you make the call. State your purpose clearly and ask for what you want. Include a benefit statement. Anything going on in your publication like a special savings or a new promotion. Referrals are gold. “ I promised Bob Brown I would call you. He is starting an advertising campaign with us and is very pleased with the results” Details. When leaving a message, deliver a one way conversation message and ask for exactly what you want. If you talk to a secretary or receptionist, they may interpret your message incorrectly to a customer. Create a sense of urgency. Give the contact a pressing reason to call you. Never lie about your deadlines to create urgency…it's not worth ruining your reputation. Be unique. Create a script that's unique and different. Be clear and concise. Keep your message down to a maximum 30 seconds. Preparation is important. Unprepared callers tend to ramble. In today's market, we are not always able to hire the perfect person for the job. Instead we must be prepared to teach our staff to build their self esteem, people skills, and better attitudes. When management creates a caring service environment, it also cuts down on turn over. The base of “instant friendliness” is genuine caring for the customer. It's like being the host or hostess at your own party….but sometimes the party is being held at the end of a telephone line. The host or hostess always makes sure that everyone is enjoying the process, even when something goes wrong. So before you address your next customer, think about what your tone of voice is saying. Sometimes it talks louder than words. Bob Berting is a professional speaker, sales trainer, and marketing consultant who has conducted over 1500 seminars for newspaper sales staffs, their customers, print media associations and trade associations in the US and Canada. He is a columnist in several print media trade association publications and is the author of the popular E-Booklet “ Dynamic Advertising Sales and Image Power”. The booklet is available by download from his website www.bobberting.com. Bob also conducts tele-seminars and webinars for advertising salespeople, print media management, merchant groups, and trade associations. Bob can be contacted at 800-536-5408 and [email protected]. Berting Communications is located at 6330 Woburn Drive, Indianapolis, In 46250.

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Relationships The Key to Successful Leadership By Doug Dickerson, Executive Director of Management Moment Leadership Services If you think your family has problems, consider the marriage mayhem created when 76-year-old Bill Baker of London wed Edna Harvey. She happened to be his granddaughter's husband's mother. That's where the confusion began, according to Baker's granddaughter, Lynn. “My mother-in-law is now my step grandmother. My grandmother is now my step-father-in-law. My mom is my sister-in-law and brother is my nephew. But even crazier is that I'm now married to my uncle and my children are my cousins.” From this experience, Lynn should gain profound insight into the theory of relativity. That humorous story is a way to illustrate something that in leadership is actually not too funny at all. In order to be an effective leader on any level, you have to develop people skills and good personal relationships. Leadership expert John Maxwell says, “One of the greatest mistakes leaders make is spending too much time in their offices and not enough time out among the people. Leaders are agenda drive, task focused, and action oriented because they like to get things done. They hole up in their offices, rush to meetings, and ignore everyone they pass along the way. What a mistake! First and foremost, leadership is people business.” Allow me to share with you three important reminders about the importance of relationship building. First, people are your priority. When it comes to your leadership and influence in your organization, you can't accomplish anything without your people. How you treat them is a clear indication of the value you place in them. Don't be like the group of friends who went out hunting and paired off in twos for the day. That night one of the hunters returned alone, staggering under an eight-point buck. “Where's Harry?” he was asked. “Harry had a stroke of some kind. He's a couple of miles back up the trail.” “You left Harry laying there, and carried the deer back?” “Well,” said the hunter, “I figured no one was going to steal Harry.” Sadly, many in leadership make the mistake of treating their people like poor Harry and are more concerned about the product. They fail to remember that they would have no product were it not for their people. If you are locked in your office, isolated away from everyone, it sends a clear signal that you don't value them. When you do this, you are leading from the position of a title - nothing more. In leadership, people are your number one priority. And when you treat them that way, they won't let you down. Second, relationships are your future. Longevity in your organization is tied to how well you nurture relationships today. Nurturing relationships involves a deliberate plan of action on the part of the leader. This action begins within your organization by how you value relationships. If people in your organization are treated with respect and a conscious effort is made to build a team atmosphere, the possibilities of your organization are limitless. In his book, Bringing out the best in People, Alan Loy McGinnis says, “In the simplest terms, the people who like people and who believe that those they lead have the best intentions will get the best from them. On the other hand, the police-type leader, who is constantly on the watch for everyone's worst side, will find that people get defensive and self-protective and that the doors to their inner possibilities quickly close.” The best thing you can do as a leader is to understand that the future of your organization and your career is tied to successful relationship building. It begins inside your organization and flows out. Finally, if people are your priority, and relationships are your future, then friendship is the pathway. Samuel Johnson once said, “If a man does not make new acquaintances as he advances through life, he will soon find himself alone. A man should keep his friendships in constant repair.” Friendship is the recipe that transcends the boundary of business and stands the test of time. I'm reminded of the story of Jackie Robinson, the first black to play major league baseball. While playing one day in his home stadium in Brooklyn, he committed an error. The fans began to ridicule him. He stood at second base, humiliated, while fans jeered. Then, shortstop Pee Wee Reese came over and stood next to him. He put his arm around Jackie Robinson and faced the crowd. The fans grew quiet. Robinson later said that arm around his shoulder saved his career. A wise leader understands the value of friendship, of coming along side a co-worker and putting an arm around a shoulder. A wise leader values, nurtures, and fosters friendships. A strong leader is a relationship builder. © 2009 Doug Dickerson Doug Dickerson is an award winning writer. www.dougsmanagementmoment.blogspot.com

You can read more of his columns and sign up for his free e-newsletter in his blog at

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Senate Bill Would Allow Tax-Exempt Status for Newspapers By Mark Fitzgerald Published: March 24, 2009 1:08 PM ET CHICAGO Newspapers perform a public service for democracy and should be allowed to operate as tax-exempt non-profits, U.S. Sen. Benjamin Cardin, D.-Md., proposed Tuesday. Cardin introduced a bill that would explicitly include newspapers among organizations eligible for 501(c)(3) status. The non-profit status is the same that public radio and television have now. The legislation would give a national green light for newspapers to adopt the so-called Low Profit Limited Liability Company business model, often shortened to L3C. The L3C model, which the Newspaper Guild supports as an alternative newspaper ownership model, is the subject of a feature story in the current print issue of Editor & Publisher. Under Cardin's legislation, newspaper revenue would be tax-exempt, and contributions to papers would be tax deductible. The status would also allow non-profits to invest in newspapers, something that is forbidden now. Cardin said action is needed to help preserve local newspapers. "We are losing our newspaper industry," Cardin said in a statement. "The economy has caused an immediate problem, but the business model for newspapers, based on circulation and advertising revenue, is broken, and that is a real tragedy for communities across the nation and for our democracy." The Associated Press quoted him as saying on the Senate floor, "As local papers are closing, we're losing a valuable tradition in America -- critically important to our communities, critically important to our democracy." Newspapers that accept non-profit status would not be allowed to endorse candidates, but they could cover political news just as they do now, Cardin said. Mark Fitzgerald ([email protected]) is E&P's editor-at-large. Featured in the March 24, 2009 edition of Editor & Publisher, its use was approved by Mark Fitzgerald.

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community papers of michigan

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community papers of michigan

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2009CPM Board of Directors Terry Roby

President Gratiot County Herald P.O. Box 10 Ithaca, MI 48847 Phone: (989)875-4151 x114 Fax: (989)875-3159 Cell: (989)388-8309 [email protected]

Jon Jacobs

Vice President Buyers Guide P.O. Box 128 Lowell, MI 49331 Phone: (616)897-9555 Cell: (269)208-9223 Fax: (616)897-4809 [email protected]

Marty Bennett

Past President Community Shoppers Guide 117 N. Farmer - P.O. Box 168 Otsego, MI 49078 Phone: (269)694-9431 Fax: (269)694-9145 Cell: (269)370-9469 [email protected]

Fred Jacobs

Sec./Treasurer J-Ad Graphics 1351 North M-43 Highway Hastings, MI 49058-0188 Phone: (269)945-9554 Fax: (269)945-5522 Cell: (269)838-0881 [email protected]

Michael Flores Director Independent Advisor 1907 W. M-21 Owosso, MI 48867 Phone: (989)723-1118 Fax: (989)725-1834 Cell: (989)277-7310 michaelf.chartermi.net

Joe Spreeman

Director Tri-County Citizen 110 S. Chapman St., Unit E P.O. Box 158 Chesaning, MI 48616 Phone: (989)845-7403 Fax: (989)845-4397 Cell: (810)441-9526 [email protected]

Bettie Watson Director

Salesman Publications 102 N. Main Street - P.O. Box 205 Concord, MI 49237-0205 Phone: (517)524-8540 Fax: (517)524-8570 Cell: (517)740-9461 [email protected]

Elaine S. Myers Director C&G Publications 13650 11 Mile Road Warren, MI 48089 Phone: (586)218-5012 Fax: (586)498-9631 Cell: (248)672-0998 [email protected]

Sharon Frederick

Tri-County Shopper Pioneer Group 115 N. Michigan Ave. Big Rapids, MI 49307 Phone: (231)796-4831 Fax: (231)796-1152 Cell: (231)598-1285 [email protected]

Kathy Trumbo

View Newspapers & The Davison Index 169 W. Nepessing St., Lapeer, MI. 48446 Phone 810-245-9343 Fax: 810-245-9375 Cell: 810-358-5805 [email protected]

Jack Guza Executive Director, CPM 4970 Northwind Dr., #118 East Lansing, MI 48823 Phone: (800)783-0267 Fax: (517)333-3322 Cell: (517)242-0203 [email protected]

Stacy Kotecki

Community Papers of Michigan 4970 Northwind Dr., #118 P.O. Box 1388 East Lansing, MI 48823 Phone: (800)783-0267 Fax: (517)333-3322 [email protected]

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