The Associated Press and Trint have announced that they will work together to automate AP's video and audio transcription process, streamlining the news agency's workflow.

AP video journalists across the globe will use Trint to transcribe recorded interviews and events for use in the video and text news report. The transcriptions are reviewed by journalists for accuracy before the content is published.

Rep. Kristi Noem, R-S.D., and Charlie Crist, D-Fla., yesterday introduced legislation to suspend tariffs on Canadian imports of uncoated groundwood paper which includes newsprint used by newspapers, book publishers, printers and direct mail companies.

The legislation, H.R. 6031 – "Protecting Rational Incentives in Newsprint Trade Act of 2018" or "PRINT Act" – would temporarily halt both the preliminary and any final duties while the Department of Commerce (Commerce) completes its study on the economic health of the printing and publishing industries. The study would, among other things, examine whether the tariffs would harm local news coverage, reduce employment in the publishing and printing industries, or harm local businesses that advertise in local newspapers.

The House bill is identical to S.2835 that was introduced by Senators Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Angus King (I-Maine) in May.

SNPA President Patrick Dorsey, publisher of the Herald-Tribune Media Group in Sarasota, Fla., and regional vice president Coastal Group, GateHouse Media, said: "Thanks for the leadership and common sense shown by Rep. Kristi Noem, R-S.D., and Charlie Crist, D-Fla., as they introduced legislation in the House to suspend tariffs on Canadian imports of uncoated groundwood paper. They should be lauded for stepping up to protect American jobs and working to stop these damaging tariffs."

Mentors are needed to pair with newspaper employees who have leadership potential in the 2018-19 SNPA NEX GEN program that begins in September. This structured mentorship program includes a variety of events and activities designed to strengthen participants' industry knowledge, professional relationships, analytical skills and aptitude for innovation.

A newly formed company, the Coastside News Group, has acquired the Half Moon Bay Review newspaper and related publications from Wick Communications.

Dirks, Van Essen, Murray & April, a media merger and acquisition firm based in Santa Fe, N.M., represented Wick Communications in the transaction. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Lance Moler has taken bargain hunting to a new level at The Edmond Sun in Oklahoma. As general manager, before he replaces a part on the press or the CTP processors he checks eBay.

In the last few months alone, Moler has saved nearly $1,000. He said he's amazed by the markups on manufacturer replacement parts and that while he doesn't find every part he needs on eBay or the local hardware store, occasional dramatic savings are well worth taking the time to search.

Paxton Media Group purchased The Batesville (Ark.) Daily Guard from the Jones family on June 1, according to Randy Cope of Cribb, Greene & Cope who represented the Jones family.

Paxton Media, a family-owned company headquartered in Paducah, Ky., owns more than 36 daily newspapers, a television station and numerous weekly publications across Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, North Carolina and Tennessee. Fourth- and fifth-generation family members manage Paxton Media.

McClatchy announced the launch of new editorial initiatives this month, aimed at better connecting McClatchy readers with important coverage of politics and policy decisions at stake in the 2018 midterm elections. The projects – "The Influencer Series," "Ground Game" and "Beto" – will provide sophisticated coverage of midterm election races important to both local voters served by McClatchy news brands and political obsessives nationwide.

The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, Va.) has been sold to tronc, formerly known as Tribune Publishing. It also owns the Daily Press of Newport News.

The cash purchase price was $34 million.

A new national survey conducted by the Lillian Lodge Kopenhaver Center for the Advancement of Women in Communication at Florida International University found that more women are middle managers and in junior level positions in the communication industries, while men dominate top management positions.

The study also found that the culture of the company most often prevents women from being promoted and keeps them from advancing in their careers. Women are also more likely to spend fewer years in the communications professions than men and lack longevity in their current positions. In addition, in this age of digital communication, communicators – both men and women – enter their positions without any digital training and do not receive digital training in their current jobs.

It began with a phone tip to The Galveston County Daily News.

"Early on Friday morning we got a call from a person who we know as a source and who trusts us that there were going to be gunshot casualties coming to an area hospital and that they were coming from the high school in Santa Fe," said Editor Michael Smith.

"This is somebody that we know absolutely to be a credible source and was in a position to know. We started mobilizing the staff from there, sending people to the emergency room and to the school. We were there shortly after the first responders."

Since then, the local paper with a staff of five news reporters, three photographers and an IT person who used to be a photographer has been covering the mass shooting alongside the Houston Chronicle, The Washington Post, New York Times and Los Angeles Times, among other large news organizations. "It's been all Santa Fe, all the time for the last few days," Smith said.