Friday, May 29, 2009

It's NENMA meetup season!

Come one, come all, to the second annual NENMA meetup in CT, the first stop on our 3-city 2009 networking tour!

That's right. As promised, your NENMA board is taking its show on the road again this year and spreading new media goodness across the region. We had such a great time -- and fantastic turnout -- in Rocky Hill last year, that we're making it the first stop on our reunion tour. Whether you're deeply mired in paid content debates, four-legged sales calls, multimedia convergence, Twitter training, or something so new that we don't even have a buzzword for it yet (that means you, Jennifer Preston!), please join us. And please, bring friends, colleagues and anyone who you think can teach us a thing or two about new media.

The details:

What: NENMA Southern New England networking
Who: Everyone in the local online news world -- and then some.

When: 5-7 p.m. on Thursday, June 18

Where: Wood-n-Tap Bar & Grill, 12 Town Line Road, Rocky Hill, CT

URL: http://www.woodntap.com/rockyhill.htm

Details: We weren't able to reserve the back room, so we'll just take over the bar area. Just look for my shaved head atop a Hawaiin shirt.
We'll cover the appetizers. You'll have to cover your bar tab.
Time Check: About 10 minutes from Hartford, 35 from New Haven, 40 from Springfield (assuming no traffic issues)

Look forward to seeing anyone that can make it.

Should you be booked for that date, two more networking events are nigh:
Aug 20: NENMA Greater Boston networking (exact location TBA)
Oct. 22: NENMA Northern New England networking, Manchester, NH (exact location TBA)

And don't forget to mark the calendar for the fall conference, focused on SEO, slated for Nov. 19.

See you soon!

--
Sean Polay
Product Manager, Distributed Media
Dow Jones Local Media Group
Ottaway Newspapers, Inc.
spolay@ottaway.com | 774.313.6093 | Gtalk: sean.polay

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Web Ad Design Seminar

New England Newspaper Operations Association (NOA) will conduct a seminar on Web Ad Design Thursday, May 21, at the Eagle-Tribune in North Andover, Mass.

The program will run from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. with time out for light lunch (provided). The program is aimed at newspaper graphic artists and anyone else who is involved in the production of advertising for the web.

The featured speakers are Bill Ostendorf, president of Creative Circle Media Consulting, who has helped redesign over 300 publications and web sites and who has led consulting and training projects all over the world ... and Taylor Esteves-Pearce, formerly of GateHouse Media New England, a specialist with extensive real world experience designing ads with Photoshop, Flash and other forms of rich media.

Here are the topics:

* Web ads versus print ads
* Designing ads that deliver results
* Common misconceptions of web ad design
* Innovative placement of online advertising
* Overview of software available for web design
* Web design trends
* Photoshop tutorial ... how it can be used for web design
* Flash tutorial ... introduction to the program, overview of the tools, and basic ad design


The cost of admission is $40 for first registrant, $25 thereafter for additional sign-ups from same paper or company. Includes lunch. Complete the registration form here and return to NOA by regular mail at: 70 Washington St., Salem, MA 01970...by fax to: 978-744-0333...or by e-mail to nena@nenews.org.


Note: The Eagle-Tribune is located at: 100 Turnpike St., No. Andover, MA 01845, Tel.: 978-946-2000. Get directions at their website: www.eagletribune.com

Thursday, May 7, 2009

Boston.com wins 2 EPpies

Congratulations to Boston.com -- and in particular NENMA board member Courtney Hollands, who is part of the Things To Do team at Boston.com -- for their double-EPpy win, announced today in New Orleans:
Web site of the Boston Globe, the newspaper whose future was still in doubt until early Wednesday morning, took home two of the five awards for which it was a finalist: Best Sports Blog, (for Globe sportswriter Tony Massarotti’s blog, “Mazz”); and Best Entertainment Web Site (with more than one million unique monthly visitors), a category in which its two finalists, Boston.com/ThingsToDo and Boston.com/ae (Arts & Entertainment), tied for the win. Boston.com had two of the three finalists in the latter category.
Former NENMA and NENA keynote Rob Curley and his team at Greenspun Interactive in Las Vegas also took home 2 awards.

Though most of us NENMA members could not make it to New Orleans for the Interactive Media Conference, we still do our best to bring the cream of the digital crop right to your doorstep whenever possible. Sure, you didn't need four EPpies to convince you of that, but it certainly doesn't hurt!

Thursday, April 30, 2009

Web Ad Design Seminar scheduled for May 21 in Andover, MA

New England Newspaper Operations Association (NOA) will conduct an important and unique seminar on Web Ad Design Thursday, May 21, at the Eagle-Tribune in North Andover, Mass.

The program will run from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. with time out for light lunch (provided). The program is aimed at newspaper graphic artists and anyone else who is involved in the production of advertising for the web.

The featured speakers are Bill Ostendorf, president of Creative Circle Media Consulting, a riveting speaker who has helped redesign over 300 publications and web sites and who has led consulting and training projects all over the world...and Taylor Esteves-Pearce, formerly of GateHouse Media New England, a specialist with extensive real world experience designing ads with Photoshop, Flash and other forms of rich media.

Here are the topics:

  • Web ads versus print ads
  • Designing ads that deliver results
  • Common misconceptions of web ad design
  • Innovative placement of online advertising
  • Overview of software available for web design
  • Web design trends
  • Photoshop tutorial...how it can be used for web design
  • Flash tutorial...introduction to the program, overview of the tools, and basic ad design


The cost of admission can’t be beat: $40 for first registrant, $25 thereafter for additional sign-ups from same paper or company. Includes lunch. Complete the registration form here and return to NOA by regular mail at:
70 Washington St., Salem, MA 01970...by fax to: 978-744-0333...or by e-mail to nena@nenews.org.

This is a thoroughly professional, key program that will benefit your newspapers enormously. We hope you will take advantage of this important seminar offering.


Jim Falzone, Program Chairman
Eagle-Tribune, North Andover, MA

Doug Hillman, NOA President
Daily Hampshire Gazette (Northampton)

--------

Note: The Eagle-Tribune is located at: 100 Turnpike St., No. Andover, MA 01845, Tel.: 978-946-2000. Get directions at their website: www.eagletribune.com






Wednesday, April 29, 2009

NENA offers workshop on multi-platform copy editing

The New England Newspaper Association will hold a seminar on copy editing in the online age.

The session runs 9:35 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Thursday, May 14, at The Telegraph, Hudson, N.H. (directions below) and is aimed at daily and weekly copy editors.

The registration form can be found here: http://nenadev.sprintout.com/static/story_images/1240347451.pdf

Please note: Attendance is limited to 30.

Registration begins at 8:45 a.m., with coffee and light refreshments served throughout the morning.

Agenda, Thursday, May 14

8:45 a.m.: Registration begins.

9:35: Welcome, Rod Doherty, chairman of NENA's editorial committee and executive editor of Foster's Daily Democrat.

First session: How new resources and tasks have changed the work of newspaper copy desks, both in handling copy for print and for the Web. Desks are under pressure to take on more roles as the number of editors available for the work is getting smaller. How have the changes reshaped desks and how can the new resources amplify editing abilities and help desk leadership cope with the challenges?
Presenters: James L. Franklin, assistant night editor/metro slot, The Boston Globe, and Phil Kincade, managing editor, online news, Foster's Daily Democrat.

Second session, 10:30 a.m.: Time management and training. How to train editors to edit in a multi-platform environment and manage their multiple responsibilities. Finding low-cost training and encouraging staff development in an era of tight budgets and shrinking staff.
Presenters: Vanessa Palange, copy desk chief, The Telegraph, and Lydia Rebac, a slot editor, night desk, The Boston Globe.

Third session, 11:30 a.m.: General discussion, lead by our presenters Jim Franklin, Phil Kincade and Vanessa Palange, Lydia Rebac.

Discussion topics:
How we're doing it: Our copy desk in the shrinking news business.

Does wordsmithing count? What we expect.

Communicating with editors and reporters.

Finding and training copy editors.

Join us again:

A second copy editing workshop will be held Thursday, Sept. 17, and will be co-sponsored by the American Copy Editors Society, ACES. The session will also discuss efforts to organize a New England chapter of the American Copy Editors Society.

Registration: $39. There is no mailing on this seminar; it is all being done via this site and the e-mailed announcement. The form should be faxed to (978) 744-0333 and marked, "Check to follow."

Questions: George Geers, (603) 785-4811, gnews@empire.net

Location: The Telegraph, 17 Executive Drive, Hudson, N.H.
Telegraph phone: (603) 882-2741
Directions:

The Telegraph
17 Executive Drive, Hudson, N.H.

From Maine, N.H. Seacoast area

Take 101 West to Manchester, until you get to the exit for the F.E. Everett Turnpike.
Take the F.E. Everett Turnpike south to Exit 2 (Hudson).

Stay to the left on the exit ramp as you cross the Merrimack River, and you will come to a stop light. Take a left at the light onto Rte. 3A (Lowell Road). You will go through another set of lights at the Dunkin Donuts. Stay to the left.

At the next set of lights, take the left onto Executive Drive. We are the third tenant on the right (17 Executive Drive).

From the Keene area

Take 101 East to Manchester, until you get to the exit for the F.E. Everett Turnpike. Take the F.E. Everett Turnpike south to Exit 2 (Hudson).

Stay to the left on the exit ramp as you cross the Merrimack River, and you will come to a stop light. Take a left at the light onto Rte. 3A (Lowell Road). You will go through another set of lights at the Dunkin Donuts. Stay to the left.

At the next set of lights, take the left onto Executive Drive. We are the third tenant on the right (17 Executive Drive).

From the North

Take 93 South to Manchester, follow signs to F.E. Everett Turnpike. Take the F.E. Everett Turnpike south to Exit 2 (Hudson).

Stay to the left on the exit ramp as you cross the Merrimack River, and you will come to a stop light. Take a left at the light onto Rte. 3A (Lowell Road). You will go through another set of lights at the Dunkin Donuts. Stay to the left.

At the next set of lights, take the left onto Executive Drive. We are the third tenant on the right (17 Executive Drive).

From Massachusetts

Take 495 to Route 3 North in Lowell. Take Route 3 north to NH border, when it turns into the F.E. Everett Turnpike. Take the F.E. Everett Turnpike to Exit 2. Follow signs to Hudson.

Stay to the left on the exit ramp as you cross the Merrimack River, and you will come to a stop light. Take a left at the light onto Rte. 3A (Lowell Road). You will go through another set of lights at the Dunkin Donuts. Stay to the left.

At the next set of lights, take the left onto Executive Drive. We are the third tenant on the right (17 Executive Drive).

Click below to view and print out a registration form.

REGISTRATION FORM:

http://nenadev.sprintout.com/static/story_images/1240347451.pdf

For questions regarding the seminars, contact George Geers at (603) 785-4811 or e-mail gnews@empire.net.

He can also fax the registration form to you.

Friday, April 24, 2009

Web Sales "Boot Camp" details for April 30 Conference

What you will learn: We’ll start with the basics. What are we selling? What’s the value proposition to both current clients and new business? What should you leave out of the conversation? Then we’ll get into the nitty-gritty of the sales call and the follow-up.

Who should attend: Managers and salespeople on the front lines of newspaper sales departments. In some cases, that’s newly minted new media specialists who are trying to get a toehold in grabbing new business and increased share of the online advertising spend in their markets. In most cases, however, it’s sales representatives who manage a large portfolio of newspaper business who have recently had specific and measurable online goals added to their plans. In order for managers to effectively manage this training or transition they need to understand the interactive ad sales environment.

Who is presenting: Mel Taylor, president of Mel Taylor Media; a Philadelphia based consultancy specializing in online revenue strategy & sales training for local media.
Mel’s background includes sales management & web training for companies such as Tribune Newspapers, Philly.com, Fox TV, Clear Channel Radio, and Calkins Media. Mr. Taylor’s blog can be found at www.MelTaylorMedia.com


Agenda:

· 10-11:30 a.m. Session 1: Interactive Sales Boot camp with Mel Taylor

· The Basics

· Overcoming common objections

· Selling best practices

· Avoid these selling mistakes

· Hottest selling online campaigns


· 11:30 a.m. -1 p.m. Session 2: Boot Camp with Mel Taylor - The Sales Call and Follow-Up

· Consultative selling

· Crafting the online campaign

· Client retention strategy

· How to sell against Google, Broadcast, & online-only sites.

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Featured panelist: Lisa Williams (@lisawilliams), founder and CEO, Placeblogger.com

Also joining us for the NENMA Spring Conference on April 30th at the Radisson in Chelmsford, MA will be Lisa Williams, founder and CEO of Placeblogger.com.

Placeblogger.com is the largest searchable directory of local weblogs and winner of the Knight 21st Century News Challenge Award. Placeblogger has been covered by many media outlets including the New York Times, Wired, USA Today and the Washington Post. In addition to running Placeblogger, Lisa serves on the board of the New England Center for Investigative Reporting and does consulting for an array of media clients.

 

Before Placeblogger, Lisa launched H2otown.info, a nationally recognized example of a citizen journalism community site, covering and talking about Watertown, MA. Follow @lisawilliams on Twitter!


Lisa will be among a jam-packed set of panelists discussing what they’re doing in two key lines of business for local media companies: Hyperlocal & Local Search.

There's still time to register for the NENMA Spring Conference, a 1-day event with two tracks: A sales boot camp led by Mel Taylor; and strategy sessions on the power and potential of hyperlocal and mobile media.

Sponsorships are also available
for businesses wishing to seize an opportunity to speak with and network among a concentration of new media leadership from New England newspaper and other media organizations.