The spirit of SNPA: fostering friendships and the sharing of ideas 9/2/19

The spirit of SNPA – since its founding in 1903 – has fostered an atmosphere where friendships flourish, valuable information and experiences are freely shared and help is volunteered, even by earnest competitors.

The late Joe D. Smith Jr., former publisher of the Alexandria (La.) Daily Town Talk, was one of a number of SNPA leaders who shared remembrances as part of a film produced in 1978 in celebration of SNPA's 75th anniversary. Smith served as president of SNPA in 1970-71.

View this brief video clip.

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SNPA welcomes two new members 9/1/19

A warm welcome is extended to SNPA's two newest members: Kid Scoop and Our Hometown, Inc.

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Cutting print: Making it work when publishing days must go 8/27/19

Reducing print days is often about cutting costs for immediate financial survival. A new report from the American Press Institute says a better approach is to make planned, proactive decisions about downscaling print as a step toward a long-term digital future.

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Join a committee of the new association being formed 8/27/19

While it hasn't officially formed yet, the new association being established by the merger of SNPA and Inland Press Association is already working for you and wants you to get involved.

Six committees are in the planning stages and members are encouraged to volunteer for the committee of their choice. Broad participation from across the membership is being sought.

To join a committee, simply review the list of committees and email Edward VanHorn (edward@snpa.org) or Alan Fisco (afisco@seattletimes.com) to volunteer.

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Hear details about antitrust safe harbor legislation at the SNPA-Inland annual meeting in Chicago 8/26/19

Danielle Coffey, the News Media Alliance's senior vice president of strategic initiatives, will explain the Journalism Competition & Preservation Act at the SNPA-Inland Annual Meeting in Chicago, and provide an update on its progress through Congress.

"This is a critical time for news publishers to invest in reporters and resources necessary for quality journalism," Coffey said. "Verifiable, fact-based reporting is essential to an informed democracy, and without a sustainable business model that underpins newsgathering, consumers will be harmed and click-bait will prevail. This is why we support an antitrust safe harbor for news publishers to collectively negotiate for a better deal with the tech platforms."

The Oct. 6-8 meeting in Chicago is the launch of the new association formed by the merger of SNPA and the Inland Press Association. Here are a dozen more reasons to attend:

Program details

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Act Now: Contact Congress 8/26/19

Congress is debating legislation that would allow newspapers to collectively negotiate with Google and Facebook for favorable terms. This is pivotal legislation. It is important for you to contact your representatives in Washington to support this bill.

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Richmond Times-Dispatch introduces Community Advisory Board 8/26/19

An important part of being a robust Opinions page is engaging members of the community. To help facilitate that effort, the Richmond Times-Dispatch has created its first-ever Community Advisory Board.

Pamela Stallsmith, Opinions editor, said: "The 12-member board represents a dynamic cross section of the Richmond region. It consists of readers who will share their views with the RTD Opinions team, staff columnists and newspaper leadership about how we're covering the issues facing our community. The volunteer board will meet monthly with us and will serve a one-year term."

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Believe it or not, we want our community to have the truth 8/20/19

By Shannon Casas, The Times, Gainesville, Ga.

In an age of vast amounts of (mis)information, we all need a better understanding of what credible information looks like, and when the local news media is discredited, it doesn’t just hurt us, it hurts the community that now has no source of valid information.

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Newspapers are treasure troves for family research 8/20/19

Newspapers are a great resource for genealogy research. Although they are not primary resources, they provide clues for further research. From newspapers, researchers can learn about weddings, engagements, birthdays, estate sales, probate announcements, the names of people who moved from an area but had old letters waiting for them at the post office, residents who owed back taxes and locations where settlers lived.

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COLUMN: Newspapers still have story to tell 8/20/19

By Tom May, a freelance writer and educator, and a columnist for the News and Tribune, Jeffersonville, Ind.

Local stories need to be told. Perhaps your story needs to be told. May I suggest a handful of ideas that will prevent the newspaper's obituary from hitting the press, because on the day that it is printed, it will be one day too late.

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