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Board takes action at June 16 meeting
Important TPA business took place at meetings during the Summer Convention on June 16 in Gatlinburg.

TPA Board of Directors Meeting
A five-part recommendation by the Futures Committee, chaired by Gregg K. Jones of Jones Media Inc., was approved by the Board of Directors. It includes a new mission statement, vision statement and creation of a public policy position for TPA. The full Futures Committee recommendation follows:

"First, that the TPA board acknowledges that aggressive advocacy of TPA members’ public policy interests is TPA’s highest priority, and that the mission and vision statements of TPA reflect that.

Second, that the following Mission and Vision Statements be adopted:

TPA Mission:
To help member publishers achieve greater success than each could attain individually.

TPA Vision:
1. Advocate for the press by proactively shaping public policy and opinion
2. Facilitate statewide standards and execution across the membership
3. Coordinate the exchange of ideas and the sharing of tools, best practices and opportunities to help members elevate their craft.

Third, that TPA public policy efforts be more proactive, and less reactive.

Fourth, that TPA’s public policy efforts be year-around and, to that end, that TPA hire a full-time person to head up that effort, and that that person be based at a new TPA office in Nashville and, ultimately, have an assistant. That said appointment and establishment of a Nashville office take place as soon as possible, but in no case later than October 1, 2011.

Fifth, that the president of the Tennessee Press Association immediately appoint a Task Force charged with identifying and putting in place the steps necessary to create a highly effective public policy effort consistent with points one through four, including finding the most feasible way to fund a year-round public policy position, in cooperation with Tennessee Press Service, that will be based in Nashville and responsible for direction of government affairs and relations within, and on behalf of, TPA.”

The chair of the task force is Art Powers, TPA Immediate Past President and publisher of the Johnson City Press.

Additional actions
Additional actions by the Board include selecting McFarland and Gann PC to again provide auditing services and contracting with Hollow and Hollow LLC to provide legal counsel. The Board voted to again offer blanket Legal Hotline coverage for members with Hollow and Hollow LLC providing the service.

Fiscal year
The TPA Board of Directors voted to change TPA’s fiscal year from the current Dec. 1 – Nov. 30 cycle to July 1 to June 30, pending additional information from auditors on possible tax consequences and costs to do so.

The Board also elected three new trustees and re-elected nine trustees to the Tennessee Press Association Foundation Board of Directors.

Presidential term length change proposed
An idea to change the length of the term of the TPA president from one year to two years was shared. Prior to a specially-called meeting, the Board will notify the TPA membership of an intended discussion to change the term of the TPA President from one year to two years. This issue will require a vote by the full membership before the TPA Constitution and Bylaws could be changed.

TPA Business Session
During the TPA Business Session, the membership of the Association elected new officers and directors. Elected were:

Officers:
President: Jeff Fishman, The Tullahoma News
Vice President for Dailies: Michael Williams, The Paris Post-Intelligencer
Vice President for Non-Dailies: Lynn Richardson, Herald and Tribune, Jonesborough
Treasurer: Dale Gentry, The Standard Banner, Jefferson City

Directors:
Director, District One: Keith Wilson, Kingsport Times-News
Director, District Three: Chris Vass, Chattanooga Times Free Press
Director, District Five: Hugh Jones, Shelbyville Times-Gazette
Director, District Seven: John Finney, Buffalo River Review, Linden
Director, District Nine: Joel Washburn, Dresden Enterprise

Continuing on the Board are:
Director, District Two: Jack McElroy, News Sentinel, Knoxville
Director, District Four: Darren Oliver, Overton County News, Livingston
Director, District Six: Joe Adams, The Lebanon Democrat
Director, District Eight: Brad Franklin, The Lexington Progress
Director, District Ten: Eric Barnes, The Daily News, Memphis
Immediate Past President: Art Powers, Johnson City Press

NOTE: Officers’ terms are for one year; directors’ terms are for two years with even-numbered districts’ terms expiring in even years and odd-numbered districts’ terms expiring in odd years.

Minutes of the June 16, 2011 TPA Board of Directors Meeting, TPA Business Session and the Tennessee Press Service Stockholders Meeting were sent via e-mail to publishers on June 30. If you did not receive your copy, please let us know. You may also request that printed copies be mailed to you. Members may request the minutes by contacting Robyn Gentile at rgentile@tnpress.com or Angelique Dunn at adunn@tnpress.com or by calling TPA at (865) 584-5761.

Fishman, Tullahoma publisher, becomes TPA president
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 20, 2011

Jeffrey (Jeff) D. Fishman, publisher of The Tullahoma News and vice president of Lakeway Publishers, is the new president of the Tennessee Press Association (TPA). photo

TPA is the trade association of the state’s daily and non-daily newspapers. It is composed of 26 daily newspapers and 99 non-daily newspapers.

Fishman succeeds Arthur (Art) S. Powers, publisher of the Johnson City Press.

Fishman is the third member of his family to lead the TPA as its president. His father R. Jack Fishman and his brother R. Michael Fishman have both held the post.

“Jeffrey is a dedicated community newspaper person. He believes that a newspaper can make a difference in his community and works very hard in providing good news reports to his subscribers and uses the newspaper to build up his community’s institutions, “ said his father, R. Jack Fishman, CEO and president of Lakeway Publishers Inc. “He is a people person and he believes that people do matter. In my view he will continue to be a strong advocate for the first amendment during his term as TPA president.”

“I am especially proud that both of my sons have chosen the newspaper business as their careers and both are willing to give of their time and energy and talents to serve the industry,” said Mr. Fishman.

“I am very proud of Jeff. Not only for his role as the new President of the Tennessee Press Association but for all of his accomplishments throughout his life. He has an exceptional love for the newspaper industry. I am confident that because of his passion, he will be an outstanding leader for our association. I am equally as proud if not more so to say he is my big brother,” said R. Michael Fishman, publisher of the Citizen Tribune, Morristown.

Other officers elected at TPA’s Business Session during the 142nd Anniversary Summer Convention June 16-18 in Gatlinburg, Tenn. were Michael Williams, publisher of The Paris Post-Intelligencer, re-elected vice president for daily newspapers; Lynn Richardson, publisher of the Herald and Tribune, Jonesborough, elected vice president for non-daily newspapers; and Dale Gentry, publisher of The Standard Banner, Jefferson City, elected treasurer.

Directors elected for two-year terms are Keith Wilson, publisher of The Kingsport Times-News, director of District 1; Chris Vass, metro editor of the Chattanooga Times Free Press, director of District 3; Hugh Jones, publisher of the Shelbyville Times-Gazette, director of District 5; John Finney, vice president of the Buffalo River Review, Linden, director of District 7; and Joel Washburn, editor of the Dresden Enterprise, director of District 9. Powers will continue on the board as immediate past president.

Continuing their terms as directors are Jack McElroy, editor of the News Sentinel, Knoxville, director of District 2; Darren Oliver, advertising director of the Overton County News, Livingston, director of District 4; Joseph Adams, publisher of The Lebanon Democrat, director of District 6; Brad Franklin, marketing director of The Lexington Progress, director of District 8; and Eric Barnes, publisher of The Daily News, Memphis, director of District 10.

The TPA Board of Directors elected trustees to serve on the Tennessee Press Association Foundation (TPAF) Board of Trustees for three-year terms. Re-elected trustees were Jim Charlet, Brentwood; Jeffrey D. Fishman, The Tullahoma News; R. Michael Fishman, Citizen Tribune, Morristown; Hugh Jones, Shelbyville Times-Gazette; Hershel Lake, Pulaski Citizen; Victor Parkins, The Milan Mirror-Exchange; Darrell Richardson, The Oak Ridger, Oak Ridge; F. Gene Washer, Clarksville; Scott Whaley, Chester County Independent, Henderson.

Elected to their first term on the TPAF Board of Trustees were: Michael Williams, The Paris Post-Intelligencer; Jack McElroy, News Sentinel, Knoxville and John Finney, Buffalo River Review, Linden.

TPAF officers elected at the TPAF Board of Trustees meeting are Gregg K. Jones, president of Jones Media Inc., Greeneville, elected president and Victor Parkins, editor of The Milan Mirror-Exchange, elected vice president.

Officers and directors of the Tennessee Press Service (TPS), business affiliate of TPA, are Michael Williams, publisher of The Paris Post-Intelligencer, president, Jeffrey D. Fishman, publisher of The Tullahoma News and Victor Parkins, editor of The Milan Mirror-Exchange, were re-elected to serve as directors during the TPS Stockholders’ Meeting on June 16. Continuing to serve on the six-member TPS Board are Arthur S. Powers, publisher of the Johnson City Press; Pauline D. Sherrer, publisher of the Crossville Chronicle and Jason P. Taylor, president of the Chattanooga Times Free Press.

Williams was elected president at the May 13-14 TPS Board of Directors meeting.

Jeffrey D. Fishman became publisher and editor of The Tullahoma News in 2000. He has also held the position of Vice President of Weekly Newspapers for Lakeway Publishers Inc. since 2000. He has been employed with Lakeway Publishers since 1986 first as a special projects manager and later in roles of customer service manager, print job estimator, production manager and assistant publisher of The Tullahoma News.

He is a graduate of East Tennessee State University and attended Carnegie/Mellon University.

Fishman has served on the Tennessee Press Association Board of Directors since 2002. He also serves on the Tennessee Press Association Foundation Board of Trustees and the Tennessee Press Service Board of Directors.

He is a member of the National Newspaper Association Board of Directors.

Fishman chairs the Tullahoma Industrial Development Board and is a board member of the Coffee County Industrial Development Board and the Tullahoma Area Chamber of Commerce, the Motlow State Community College Foundation and chairman of Karing for Kids.

Fishman resides in Tullahoma with wife Karen and son Jacob. He is a former Vestry member and Sunday school teacher at St. Barnabas Episcopal Church. He enjoys personal time with family, travel and reading.

The TPA was founded in 1870-71 for the purpose of creating a unified voice for the newspaper industry in Tennessee. Today, TPA continues to provide assistance to its 125 member newspapers by monitoring legislative activities, providing training programs, issuing press credentials, maintaining a website and providing regular meetings and forums to foster the exchange of information and ideas.

The TPA presidency rotates among TPA's three divisions of Tennessee, east, middle and west, and alternates each year between a daily and non-daily publication. It is customary that, when a person is elected a vice president, he or she will serve two terms as vice president before being elected president.

TPA President reflects on convention, offers 'Know Your Tennessee Supreme Court' ad to all members
By Art Powers, TPA President

That old saying, “Time flies,” is so right. The TPA committee headed by John Finney worked on the recent convention and institute for months and months and months. That is what it takes to pull off an exceptional program. It is hard to believe that it has come and gone.

For those who were not fortunate to have been there, I will pass along some of the high points and tidbits that made one attendee say, “I’ve been to a lot of TPA winter conventions, but I believe this year’s meeting was the best ever. The committee put together an excellent program, and everything ran very smoothly.”

To those on the committee who worked so hard, I want to say thank you. To the staff, and on behalf of all in the association, I offer our congratulations to each of you for a truly outstanding three days. Your efforts are greatly appreciated!

The opening Legislative Reception was a total surprise, as everyone thought the snow and ice would dampen the event or even force it to be cancelled. Wrong. Senators and representatives turned out despite the weather, allowing a great interchange of ideas. On our agenda was, of course, seeking support to stop the attempt to prohibit public notices in the state’s newspapers.

We all knew this would be a very tough budget year. Mark Emkes, state finance commissioner, told us that although Tennessee experienced unexpected sales tax increases resulting from a more robust Christmas selling season, our best since 2007, it will probably be 2013 or 2014 before we return to revenues posted prior to the recession. We will all be watching and listening to what the budget will be. It is due March 14.

Others underscored the hard work in front of them regarding the budget, including Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey and Sen. Jim Kyle, who were among those expressing just how difficult and unpopular the cuts will be.

For the first time in several years, the governor spoke to us at lunch. He detailed what was in front of him, explaining how we will all have to suffer some pain in order to get our financial house in order. Although not popular, reductions in the state budget are going to be made.

It was a pleasure having the new president of the University of Tennessee, Dr. Joe DiPietro, for some brief remarks. He said he’s been spending as much time in Nashville as he has in Knoxville.

The institute, celebrating the 59th year of association with the University of Tennessee, was the largest gathering in the past three years. I want to thank the many who fought the weather to be there.

Your association had several meetings with some very positive results, or great beginnings. The Journalism Education Committee, chaired by Keith Wilson, publisher of the Kingsport Times-News, discussed visioning and some specific projects to get young students more involved.

The Technology Committee discussed working on something very interesting that will help members with their websites, particularly those without websites. More will be coming on that in the future.

Speaking of the future, Gregg K. Jones reported to the board about the initial meeting of the Futures Committee in January. There was quite a good turnout, and the groundwork was laid for more discussions in the coming months. Nothing was a sacred cow, the location of the building, staffing, membership structure and dues, and more. This committee will certainly have a favorable impact on our association as we move forward.

At the final luncheon, the chief justice of the Tennessee Supreme Court, Cornelia A. Clark, told us, among other things, that fewer than 20 percent of Tennesseans could name one Tennessee Supreme Court justice.

In light of that I asked several people around our newspaper and, sure enough, they could not name one. So, I have created a full page house ad we are using for an NIE project, “Know Your Supreme Court.” Our circulation personnel will be notifying the teachers that it is coming so they can spend some time teaching our children about our highest court in Tennessee. We are running a replica of it, and if you would like to have a copy, send me an e-mail, and I will gladly pass it along. (Or download the ad here)

The next conference is the Advertising/Circulation meeting April 29 in Nashville. If it is anything like last year’s in Chattanooga, it will be well worth your time. Make certain your ad/circ people know in plenty of time to make their reservations. Remember, these meetings are more successful when we have strong participation.

Our summer convention will be held June 16, 17 and 18 in Gatlinburg. Make your plans to come to the mountains and enjoy the Smokies. And for you West Tennesseans, the drive is not all that bad, as it is interstate all the way. Matter of fact, the drive is far shorter than the one I made last year to Tunica.

As always, I want to thank those fighting the good fight for public notices to remain in our newspapers. There are many working on this, and all members are appreciative of your efforts.

Art Powers is publisher of the Johnson City Press.

Community Newspapers Continue to Show Strong Readership, Community Reliance
COLUMBIA, MO—Communities served by community newspapers continue to demonstrate heavy reliance upon their local papers for news and information. Seventy-three percent say they read a local newspaper at least once a week.

Readers also say they read most or all of their community newspapers (78 percent), and of those going online for local news, 55 percent found it on the local newspaper’s website, compared to 17 percent for sites such as Yahoo, MSN or Google, and 26 percent for the website of a local TV station.

The results are reported by the National Newspaper Association, which has just completed its fifth readership survey on the patterns of community newspaper readers. Working with the research arm of the Reynolds Journalism Institute at the Missouri School of Journalism, NNA tests reactions of people living in smaller communities served by local newspapers.

Since 2005, NNA has done research on how people read and what they think about their local newspapers. Results have been fairly consistent over the years, though the surveys have focused more tightly on small communities during the five years. For the 2010 survey, readership for towns with newspapers that have circulations of 8,000 or less were sampled. The community size has not significantly affected outcomes. The surveys show that community newspapers have remained popular.

The early data indicate that the positive findings are consistent with the earlier surveys:
• 73% of those surveyed read a local newspaper each week.
• Those readers, on average, share their paper with 3.34 persons.
• They spend about 37.5 minutes reading their local newspapers.
• 78% read most or all of their community newspapers.
• 41% keep their community newspapers six or more days (shelf life).
• 62% of readers read local news very often in their community newspapers, while 54 percent say they never read local news online (only 9 percent say they read local news very often online).
• 39% of those surveyed read local education (school) news very often in their newspapers, while 67 percent never read local education news online.
• 30% read local sports news very often in their newspapers, while 67 percent never read local sports online.
• 35% read editorials or letters to the editor very often in their newspapers, while 74 percent (nearly three quarters) never read editorials or letters to the editor online.
PUBLIC NOTICE
Even though state and local governments are debating the best way to transmit public notice, those readers surveyed said newspapers remain the best way to receive such notices:
• 75% think governments should be required to publish public notices in newspapers, with 23 percent reading public notices very often in their newspapers.
• 71% have Internet access in the home, but 66 percent never visit a website of a local government.
• Of those with Internet access at home, 89 percent have broadband access.

The local community newspaper is the primary source of information about the local community for 49.3 percent of respondents. The next best source runs a distant second: friends and relatives for 18 percent of respondents and TV, 16 percent. Readers are nearly seven times more likely to get their local news from their community newspapers than from the Internet (7.7 percent). Less than 6 percent say their primary local news source is radio.

Watch for additional information, charts and presentations from the survey in future issues of Publishers’ Auxiliary and on NNA’s website.
Established in 1885, NNA is the voice of America’s community newspapers and the largest newspaper association in the country. The nation’s community papers inform, educate and entertain nearly 150 million readers every week.

*Sampling Methodology: The 2010 survey was based on 670 telephone interviews completed with residents that lived in areas where the local newspapers had a circulation of 8,000 or less in the U.S. in August and October 2010. Please note that this sampling methodology differs from the survey conducted in 2009, which was based on 500 telephone interviews completed with residents that lived in areas where the local newspapers had a circulation of 15,000 or less. Because of this new methodology, the 2010 survey had the highest percentage of non-daily newspaper readers (66.2 percent), compared to previous years. This may explain the reduction in the percentage of visits to newspaper Web sites (from 63 percent to 55 percent) between the two years (2009 and 2010) as the number of non-daily newspapers that have a functional website serving small towns and cities may be lower than that of daily newspapers. Further, in the 2010 survey, cell phone numbers were included in the sample, compared to landline numbers only in the past four years. As a result, the average age of the 2010 respondents (51.2) was younger than those in previous years (56.1). Please refer to the full study for more information about the research methods and results.
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Post offices kicking out newsracks: What to do
From the National Newspaper Association
Oct. 28, 2010

The U.S. Postal Service Retail division recently issued directives to postmasters to require enforcement of 39 C.F.R 232.1, which prohibits vending of products, including newspapers and other publications, on postal grounds. Newspapers around the country are receiving notice that they must remove racks at post offices.
While the rules prohibiting racks on most postal property have not changed, the enforcement leaves some gray areas.

If your newspaper has received such notice, will you please let TPA know by contacting Greg Sherrill or Robyn Gentile? Two members have reported this issue as of today.

Here is what publishers need to know.

1. Newspapers generally have the right to place newsracks on public sidewalks, though not all sidewalks around a post office may be public sidewalks. A USPS regulations change in 2005 clarifies that it understands that public access right. Postmasters should not try to enforce removal of a rack that is on a city sidewalk or on public property. The rule says newsrack prohibitions don’t cover: “sidewalks along the street frontage of postal property falling within the property lines of the Postal Service that are not physically distinguishable from adjacent municipal or other public sidewalks, and any paved areas adjacent to such sidewalks that are not physically distinguishable from such sidewalks.” 39 C.F.R. 232.1(a)(ii)

How this exception is interpreted will be a case-by-case situation. If a rack is on a sidewalk that the public may also use to access other retail or office buildings, or is clearly a city sidewalk, for example, it is likely to be “newsrack-eligible.” The stairs into the post office, on the other hand, probably are not eligible. If a sidewalk’s only purpose is to bring people from a parking lot to the post office door, it is less likely to be “newsrack-eligible.”

When a rack threatened with removal appears to be in a public area, postmasters should be asked to take photos of the rack on the property, showing the environs and the nature of the sidewalk or street area, and send it with a query to USPS Area legal counsel before asking the newspaper to remove the rack.

2. Some post offices in malls or private shopping areas may be governed by lease obligations or state laws that would either permit or prohibit vending outlets on sidewalks or parking lots. In some states, such as California, some public forum rights exist even in shopping malls. Before accepting a rack removal from shopping areas, consider raising the issue with a mall or retail area owner or, if you are in a state where you believe state law creates broader “First Amendment” rights, contact your attorney general.

3. The 2005 rule also clarified “that the regulations do not apply at all to property that is owned or leased by USPS, but is leased or subleased to private tenants for their exclusive use.” NNA believes that “contract post offices,” which have been common in rural areas, such as a country store with a contract post office inside the store, will be “newsrack-eligible” if the host store allows the racks.

4. USPS does have the right to remove solicitations (racks, included) on its own property, except in the situations described above. The U.S. Supreme Court affirmed that right in 1990, in a case involving a political activist group. Postal officials now take the position that they are not allowed to permit some vendors and ban others -- except under limited circumstances. Military recruiters and certain labor union activities are permitted. The current basic regulation has been in place in essentially the same form since 1998. It states: (h) Soliciting, electioneering, collecting debts, vending, and advertising. (1) Soliciting alms and contributions, campaigning for election to any public office, collecting private debts, soliciting and vending for commercial purposes (including, but not limited to, the vending of newspapers and other publications), displaying or distributing commercial advertising, collecting signatures on petitions, polls, or surveys (except as otherwise authorized by Postal Service regulations), are prohibited.

5. USPS has its own law enforcement authority and its own police force. Disobeying an order to remove a rack can lead to fines of $50, 30 days in jail or both. Postmasters are being told to allow 30 days for removal, which allows for time to resolve disputes about the nature of a sidewalk or otherwise public place.

Though regulations are not new, this nationwide enforcement effort is.
National Newspaper Association is particularly concerned about the timing of the enforcement, coming on the heels of multiple aggressive actions against newspapers as mailers. We have expressed our concern to USPS and will follow up with further discussions on the prohibitions.

It would be helpful to learn how NNA members are being affected by the enforcement actions. Please e-mail Max at maxheath at lcni.com or Tonda at tonda at nna.org if you have questions or want to report an enforcement action. Max’s November Pub Aux column reports in-depth on the enforcement effort.

TPA thanks NNA for sharing this information.

Institute of Newspaper Technology
Knoxville

TPA is a primary media sponsor of the Governor's Books from Birth Foundation Imagination Library project.