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 By TPA President Chad Ferguson | "PRESSing MATTERS," Texas Press Messenger
Making, as well as saving, money is something that is dear to everyone’s heart.
And TPA has a couple of ways that will help us do just that.
First and foremost, the TPA Central Office has asked its member publishers several times to provide copies of their paper by simply uploading the PDF of the paper at the same time that they are uploading it to the press.
Over the next few weeks, TPA will begin contacting newspapers to explain its new … and free … archiving service.
Yes free.
From now on, publishers will no longer need to send TPA four copies of their newspaper each day (or week), but instead all they will need to do is simply upload the PDF immediately after it has been uploading to the press.
That will save some money in postage and, more importantly, eliminate the delay in TPA receiving the newspaper(s).
By getting the papers to the TPA Central Office sooner also will result in a financial benefit. Electronic clipping will increase the Texas Press Clipping Service’s productivity, thus increasing royalty checks to the papers.
It also will make the service more competitive with other electronic clipping services.
In addition, TPA will be able to deliver advertising invoices, along with tear sheets, much more quickly to help its cash flow.
Another interesting twist is that the archive will be available for you to offer to your community … for a fee if you should choose.
It also will serve as a research morgue for your reporters.
Down the road, TPA expects this service to integrate with the Texas Better Newspaper Contest to help simplify the process of submitting your contest entries.
And how about a means to steal revenue ideas from your fellow TPA member newspapers?
I know some of you participate in the Texas Newspaper Exchange, as I get your paper(s) and thumb through the pages religiously.
The cost is only $25 per year and it is worth every penny.
Here how it works:
Most publishers already exchange newspaper subscriptions with other publishers.
However, after you read another market’s paper for several weeks the interest begins to wane somewhat. The exchange papers begin to pile up and some even go unread for a period of time.
On the other hand, when a publisher heads out on a vacation and along the way stops for fuel, he/she will always purchase the local newspaper … or at least I do.
It is a curiosity that cannot be quenched. You just want to see how others do what you do. You want great ideas, along with the confirmation that you are doing your very best.
But you don’t want to see the paper every week for a year.
TPA’s program is designed to appeal to that curiosity. By taking part in the Texas Newspaper Exchange, you receive one to two different newspapers every week — new communities each time.
Participants in the exchange program are required to send their paper to the other TPA exchange members just twice per year, but receive papers for the remainder.
And another key point is that TPA manages the schedule for you, so no one falls through the cracks.
It is a great program … use it.
The sign-up period for 2012 will begin in a couple of weeks, so be on the lookout and don’t be hesitant to join. It is well worth the small fee of $25.
I will close by offering my congratulations to the four newest additions of the Texas Newspaper Foundation’s Hall of Fame.
The honorees, Arthur H. “Art” Kowert, Roy Robinson, William Dean Singleton and Carmage Walls, will be inducted during a ceremony at TPA’s 2012 Midwinter Convention Friday night, Jan. 20 at the Hyatt Regency DFW Airport Hotel. |
