In outdoor-minded Traverse City, Mich., the Record-Eagle sponsors community activities that include the TC Trimdown weight-loss contest and a series of road runs among other health-related events. It also publishes a health and wellness magazine every other month, serving a community on the shores of Lake Michigan and Grand Traverse Bay that depends on tourism, especially in the summer.

So it wasn't a stretch for the newspaper to create "Healthy Community" advertising packages last year. "The financial health of our local businesses is very important as well," said Shawn Winter, director of advertising.

The goal was to sign up businesses for monthly packages that included every form of advertising the Eagle-Record offered at different price points depending on size. Winter said the businesses could reach every audience, try out forms of advertising that were new to them and do so on monthly budgets and contracts of six months or a year.

The Associated Press and the News Media Guild have reached a tentative agreement on a new three-and-a-half-year contract that includes pay raises each year of the agreement and health care revisions.

The agreement comes after more than 17 months of negotiations and is subject to ratification of the union membership.

Donations from McClatchy readers and viewers around the country will help pay off more than $5 million in medical bills owed by servicemembers, veterans and their families.

In partnership with RIP Medical Debt, a nonprofit that buys bundles of debt at a steep discount and forgives it, McClatchy's War Within Initiative fundraising drive across print, digital, video and social platforms sparked the compassion of donors in the local news company's 30 markets and beyond, leading hundreds to join the effort to lift a burden for those who serve.

Community Impact Newspaper is launching in the Nashville area, debuting an edition in the cities of Franklin and Brentwood. Residents can expect the hyperlocal publication to reach mailboxes in March. The company is also planning an expansion in the Houston area, and may have more news to announce this week, says owner John Garrett.

The Wake Weekly newspaper group – The Wake Forest Weekly and its zoned editions in Rolesville and Franklin County along with the Butner-Creedmoor News – are operating under new ownership.

Publisher and Executive Editor Todd Allen has sold the newspapers, along with marketing agency Kingsdale Media, to The Wilson Times Co., a growing print and digital media company with a daily paper and two other weeklies in its publishing portfolio.

In these uncertain times, futurists give us scenarios we can use to try to predict how technology might impact journalism's future. But the present is less clear, and anyone who says they know what should be done at the moment isn't being honest. At best, we can only guess what skills we'll need to cope with this ever-changing landscape.

SKAR Advertising, a full-service integrated advertising agency in Omaha, Neb., has been purchased by Terry Kroeger, who was previously chairman and chief executive officer of BH Media Group and publisher of the Omaha World-Herald. Effective with the purchase, Kroeger will become president and CEO of SKAR.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch is excited to launch the Virginia Video Network, a location-based video advertising solution delivered through standalone periodical racks and video displays. Through this new platform, the paper's advertisers can market directly to consumers at the point of purchase in high-traffic retail locations.

Virginia Video Network is Virginia's first digital-out-of-home video marketing solution that combines data and technology together to deliver relevant advertising messages to targeted customers.

With football season winding down, sports fans nationwide are turning their attention to college basketball. The TownNews Bracket Challenge empowers local media sites – newspapers, TV stations, radio stations and magazines – to create digital college basketball bracket contests that turn local sports fans into loyal repeat visitors, driving audience engagement and advertising revenue.

Issuu has published a new resource for up-and-coming student journalists to get informed of their rights for Student Press Freedom Day this Wednesday, Jan. 30.