As outlined last month, community newspapers once again have an inflationary price increase under the 2006 postal reform act, passed with the National Newspaper Association’s help, and with several newspaper rule improvements.

The official inflation factor used to file price increases under the current postal reform law of 2006, in which the National Newspaper Association was instrumental, is 1.9 percent for the 12-month average used by the Postal Regulatory Commission.

As publishers seek to offer new publications within their markets, they often ask the NNA Postal Hotline how they may insert their own magazines or other special publications, such as antique or tourist guides, into their mailed newspapers as value-added material.

There’s been an uptick in recent years of newspapers found in violation of the 75 percent advertising rule, which prohibits Periodicals from running more than 75 percent advertising percentage in more than half the issues in a 12-month period.

Postal Tips by Max Heath

With the advent of the new Marked Copy Alternate Process, some corollary questions about advertising and non-advertising measurement have arisen.

Advertising measurement of newspapers is only required to compute higher, zoned pound rates on ad matter by distance outside the county, and allows lower, unzoned rates for all editorial matter. Rules concerning ad measurement are shared below, with updated citations from the U.S. Postal Service Domestic Mail Manual and Customer Support Rulings.

The U.S. Postal Service has long provided a website, Postal Explorer at pe.usps.gov, with an abundance of useful information at the ready for those willing to “explore.” It has been rebuilt in recent months to comply with certain standards, and although confusing at first, prior users can find everything, and more, that they are used to seeing.

Postal prices have been approved by the Postal Regulatory Commission mostly as the U.S. Postal Service proposed and changed effective Jan. 22. Most of the details were given in the November issue of Pub Aux, so I will highlight them here with an emphasis on the ones of greatest importance for newspapers and their shoppers.

Changes in the business environment for community newspapers have encouraged a growing number of publishers to investigate the Requester Periodicals category that allows a newspaper to qualify for Periodicals rates and service by having more than 50 percent of its circulation either paid or requested. The General Periodicals category long-used by newspapers requires paid circulation.

Charles Walls doesn’t have that much time on his hands. After retiring from a career in architecture and construction, he moved back to his hometown of Des Arc, AR, to help his mother, Dean Walls, now 94 with failing eyesight, who continues working at the family newspaper, the White River Journal, which was started by Charles’ grandfather in 1907.

By Max Heath

Postal Tips

Getting and keeping  requests, Q & A

Last month, I covered the basics of Requester qualification. This month, I want to share ways to get and keep requests, and answer some questions posed by others on the recent National Newspaper Association webinar.

There are a lot of methods for getting valid requests, good up to three years. Here are some widely-used: