Virginia’s Press Virginia Press Association11529 Nuckols RoadGlen Allen, VA 23059

Summer 2013 Volume 100 • Number 2www.vpa.net

Keith Stickley has worked in the newspaper business for

more than 50 years and there are probably few things that he

has not seen or experienced.

Still, what the publisher of Th e Free Press, a weekly newspa-

per serving the Woodstock community in Shenandoah Coun-

ty, and the current president of the Virginia Press Association

Board of Directors enjoys most about going to work each day is

the variety that comes with the job.

“I don’t want to say every day is exciting, but it’s more var-

ied than the weather,” Stickley said in May. “Every day brings

something new and interesting, if you’re in this kind of busi-

ness.”

Stickley, who was inducted into the VPA’s Golden 50 Club

in April, is nearing the end of his one-year term as the head

of the association’s board of directors. As he refl ected on his

term, he said his job was made easier by the VPA staff and its

effi cient operation. He oversaw a year in which the 132-year-

old organization’s fi nances stabilized and the Virginia Newspa-

President refl ects on VPA’s accomplishments

Insi

de

The proliferation of digital devices has changed the way people consume journalism.

Executive Director Ginger Stanley asks DOJ to return Associated Press phone records.

Winners pose with their awards at the VPA conference.

Digital dimes Page 4 AP probe Page 6 Award photos Page 7-13

Ad sales reps advised to go on the off ense

Stepping out

newspaper style

w w w . v p a . n e tContinued on page 2

per Foundation was created to accept charitable donations and

grant funding to further journalism’s cause.

However, Stickley does not take full credit for the fi nancial

measures enacted at the end of the fi scal year that concluded

June 30, 2012. Th e board of directors, near the end of Past-Pres-

ident Peter Yates’ term, agreed to provide an additional “hold-

back” percentage from 1 percent to 2 percent of total sales on

display advertising when it became clear that the association

operated with a net loss.

Attention was also directed at increasing newspaper partici-

pation in the association’s 2x2 Advertising Network and State-

wide Classifi ed Ad Network during the past 12 months, which

was capped by the addition of Th e Virginian-Pilot to the net-

works.

“Th e results of these fi nancial eff orts, in the fi rst 10 months

of this fi scal year, have restored the VPA to a positive cash fl ow,”

he said. “Th at is our biggest achievement, so far, this year. It

would not have occurred had we not taken some of these steps

late in Peter’s term. I certainly don’t want to take credit for that

entirely.”

During its April meeting, the board voted to create the Vir-

ginia Newspaper Foundation and allocated up to $20,000 from

the VPA future fund toward the creation of the foundation.

Stickley said he hopes the board in July will approve the opera-

tional structure of the foundation, which will be established as

a tax exempt 501(c)(3) organization.

“Essentially, the foundation would be another income-gen-

erating component to sustain journalism into the future,” Stick-

ley said. “Th e Foundation would use those funds to educate and

train journalists in Virginia and off er training to people who

are actively engaged in newspaper work or people who have an

interest in journalism.”

Virginia Press Association Executive Director Ginger Stan-

ley described Stickley as a consensus builder, persuader and a

gracious host.

“His leadership on the board of directors has guided us into

better times and has brought fun back to an industry that need-

ed a reason to rejoice,” she said. “He has done this by example

and amazing support, and yet, he is quick to give the credit to

others.”

One idea that Stickley can take the credit is the “Th e Awe-

some Party” aft er April’s awards banquet to cap the annual VPA

news and advertising conference, held this year in Norfolk. As

he puts it: “I’m all about fun. I enjoy working, but if you can’t

celebrate a little bit … it’s not worthwhile.”

His paper was the fi rst to contribute $200 to the cause, and

Daniel Grissom made a bold claim before a room full of advertising

salespeople on a recent May morning.

He was going to arm them with a minimum of three tips to help im-

prove their sales performance – not necessarily sales results – by 30 per-

cent during the next 30 days. Th at improvement will be spread over three

areas: plan, do and review.

To gauge the eff ectiveness of the session, each attendee wrote down

one of the discussed topics they were going to implement for themselves

and another topic they would implement as a group with their colleagues.

Th ese were mailed to them two weeks aft er the conference.

Grissom, a world-class sales coach and the best-selling author of

“STEP-UP! – How to Win more and Lose Less,” energized the

31 representatives from newspapers across Virginia during the

Classifi ed Conference (i.e. idea-generating session) at the Virgin-

ia Press Association’s Glen Allen headquarters.

Described as a dynamic and inspirational speaker, Grissom

made the point during his seminar to acknowledge participants

by their fi rst names and joked about his similar appearance to

comedian Steve Harvey. But he was serious about wanting to see

the “corporate athletes” in attendance be successful.

Lynn Hurst, advertising director at Montgomery Publish-

Fashion and journalism meet at the annual VPA awards banquet in April, held this year in April. Staffers from The Tidewater News in Franklin celebrate winning the sweepstakes award for Non-Daily papers with a circu-lation below 5,000. See more on pages 7-13

VPA President Elect Nick Cadwallender (right) congratu-lates VPA President Keith Stickley upon his induction in April into the association’s Golden 50 Club, recognition for those who have worked in the newspaper business for 50 or more years.

Continued on page 3

Daniel Grissom

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Until his death in 2011 at the age of 89,

Carlos Wilson lived much of his life by a sim-

ple set of rules.

He showed up for work on time, did more

than he was paid to do and developed a knack

for remembering names.

More important, he didn’t lie and he con-

sidered respect to be more valuable than mon-

ey.

And in his mind, anytime was a good time

to smile.

Carlos Wilson was a friend to all he met.

Many of them were folks who owned, man-

aged or worked for Virginia newspapers.

Carlos went to work at Th e Cavalier Ho-

tel on Virginia Beach in 1938 at age 16. For

73 years, he held ev-

ery job on the hotel’s

staff , from dishwash-

er to superintendent

of guest services. He

died two days aft er

his last day on the job.

Th e Cavalier Ho-

tel, Carlos Wilson and the Virginia Press As-

sociation enjoyed a long and storied rela-

tionship, one that continues to this day in his

absence. What could well be the last chapter

of that relationship will play out July 12 and

13 when VPA’s annual Executive Retreat con-

venes there.

A family feud bouncing around in Virginia

courts since 2005 could result in Th e Cavalier’s

closure.

Th e story of the Virginia Press Association

and Th e Cavalier Hotel, though, is one that

would impress even Carlos Wilson.

Th e original Cavalier, an imposing edifi ce

perched atop a hill on the north end of Vir-

ginia Beach, opened in 1927. A year later, the

hotel hosted a joint meeting of the Virginia

Press Association and the American Newspa-

per Publishers Association.

As the hotel’s reputation improved, so too

did its clientele. Judy Garland and F. Scott

Fitzgerald each paid a visit.

Virginia’s newspaper executives, though,

didn’t return to Th e Cavalier until the 1950s

when it became one of a select few grand old

hotels of the Commonwealth considered wor-

thy of the organization’s patronage. Others

were Th e Hotel Roanoke, Th e Chamberlin Ho-

tel, Old Point Comfort, Th e Homestead, Th e

Jeff erson, John Marshall and Natural Bridge.

In July 1973, the Virginia Press Association

helped christen Th e Cavalier’s Oceanfront Re-

sort Hotel and a new, enduring friendship had

begun.

Except for a few

summers since, VPA

has met each July at

the hotel, in better

economic times us-

ing the occasion as a

launching pad for off -

shore island junkets for newspaper publishers

and their families.

Just six years earlier, the association’s direc-

tors met on the Eastern Shore, a get-together

that would become yet

another VPA tradition.

With few exceptions,

the association’s direc-

tors have since met

each fall in the home-

town of the VPA presi-

dent.

To be sure, Th e

Cavalier Oceanfront is

not the luxury hotel it

was when VPA fi rst visited there in 1973. Like

most of us, it’s showing its age.

Th e restaurant

where well-dressed

folk drank good

wine, ate gourmet

food, listened to a

piano and watched

the ocean ebb and

fl ow is closed. Th ey

no longer play Big

Band music on the

patio. Guests arrive

in smaller, older

cars.

Th e hotel that

once denied men a room if they didn’t have

on a tie, today is the destination of many men

who’ve never worn one.

As they say, though, Th e Cavalier is what it

is. It’s comfortable, convenient, friendly and it

knows how to treat newspaper people. Like a

good marriage, aft er 40 years you get to know

one another.

Horton Beirne, publisher of Th e Virgin-

ian Review in Covington, his wife, Mary Ann,

their daughters and grandchildren have made

VPA’s Executive Retreat at Th e Cavalier a part

of their family vacation for at least a quarter

century. Th ey’ll be there come July. Depend-

ing on how the courts rule, it could be their

last visit.

Virginia newspaper publishers and man-

agers who enjoy history and value tradition

should think about joining us one last time

at the beach in July. My good friend Lou Em-

erson will tell us how to improve our online

presence without going broke. We’ll talk a little

business, soak up some sun, belly up to a buf-

fet, share some ideas and raise a glass, perhaps

two. And, of course, we’re sure to talk about

old times.

We’ll miss Carlos. But h e’d be glad we came.

VPA Board of Directors

Offi cersPresident Keith Stickley

The Free Press, Woodstock

President-Elect Nick Cadwallender

The Free Lance-Star,

Fredericksburg

Vice President Jay Bondurant

The Bedford Bulletin

Treasurer Anne Adams

The Recorder, Monterey

Immediate Past Peter Yates

President Daily News-Record,

Harrisonburg

Asst. Secretary/ Ginger Stanley

Treasurer VPA

DirectorsDaniel Finnegan, Richmond Times-Dispatch

Gail Harding, The Enterprise, Stuart

Steven Kaylor, Danville Register & Bee

Cindy Morgan, The Progress-Index, Petersburg

Bill Owens, The Virginian-Pilot, Norfolk

Matt Paxton, The News-Gazette, Lexington

Marisa Porto, Daily Press, Newport News

Steve Stewart, The Tidewater News, Franklin

Michael Stowe, The Roanoke Times

Jenay Tate, The Coalfi eld Progress, Norton

Steve Weddle, The Central Virginian, Louisa

Diane White, Womack Publishing, Chatham

VPA/VPS StaffGinger Stanley, Executive Director

Kim Woodward, Assistant Director

Diana Shaban, Advertising Director

Jeremy Slayton, Editor

Ron Clark, Accounting Manager

Janet Madison, Member Services Manager

Adriane Long, Advertising/Network Coordinator

Diane Spencer, Tearsheet Coordinator

How to reach us:

Phone: (804) 521-7570

Fax: (804) 521-7590 or (800) 849-8717

Website: www.vpa.net

VOLUME 100, Number 2

(USPS 621-640)

VIRGINIA’S PRESS (ISSN 0887-5227), the offi cial publica-

tion of the Virginia Press Association, is published four

times a year.

Subscriptions are $15 per year in Virginia, $20 per year

out-of-state, by Virginia Press Association / Virginia Press

Services Inc.,

11529 Nuckols Road, Glen Allen, VA 23059, (804)

521-7570.

Periodicals class postage paid at Glen Allen, VA, and

additional post offi ces.

POSTMASTER, please send change of address to:

Virginia Press Association

11529 Nuckols Road, Glen Allen, VA 23059

Copyright 2012, Virginia Press Association

OUR MISSIONThe mission of the Virginia Press Association is to sup-

port our membership through responsive services and

resources. We champion the common interests of Virginia

newspapers and the ideals of a free press in a democratic

society.

OUR PURPOSEWe connect our members through valuable business ser-

vices, eff ective representation, practical communication

and information, and relevant education and recogni-

tion.

OUR VALUESThe values important to the work of the VPA are fairness,

dedication, integrity and honesty.

Keith Stickley

“And in his mind, anytime

was a good time to smile.

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

VPA and The Cavalier: old friends to the end

Carlos Wilson

ing, said he has never voluntarily taken as many

notes while listening to a speaker as he did dur-

ing Grissom’s all-day training.

“I found myself nodding in agreement most

of the day because even though I’d heard several

of his points before, his delivery brought it all

together in a clean, concise package,” Hurst said.

As the sales market evolved, so too must the

sellers in order to compete, Grissom said. One

key for sellers is to diff erentiate themselves to

standout in what he called “the sea of sameness.”

Th ere is also a new competitor standing in the

way of classifi ed and advertising salespeople.

“Th e new competitor is called nobody …

encouraging your customers, your prospects to

do nothing,” Grissom said.

To break through, he said, sellers need to

better defi ne and understand their V = B-C

(Value = Benefi ts - Costs) – a formula he bor-

rowed from the book “Rethinking Th e Sales

Force.” Salespeople should go on off ense re-

garding the worth or benefi t, rather than play-

ing defense on the cost, Grissom said.

“Selling is dead; value creation is alive,” he

said, noting that sales calls are now becoming

idea-generation or market- intelligence calls.

“Th e more value you create the more business

you can get.”

He off ered each attendee three value drivers

they can employ on the phone, in person or as a

coach to other sellers:

Insight: bring market insights that help a

customer anticipate change; what’s going on out

there?

New Ideas: provide new ideas that help cus-

tomers achieve a competitive advantage

Intelligence: provide access to your internal

(network) intelligence.

“I will highly recommend that anyone who

works in a sales environment take any opportu-

nity to hear Daniel speak,” Hurst said. “From his

‘V=B-C’ to the ‘half-hour huddle,’ every word

from his mouth made perfect sense and I’m

looking forward to implementing his strategies

here at Montgomery Publishing.”

Don’t sell, create valueContinued from page 1

Advertising salespeople from newspapers across Virginia listen to sales coach Daniel Gris-som share ideas about improving sales performance.

Sales coach Daniel Grissom addresses a room full of advertising salespeople during the Classifi ed Conference at VPA headquar-ters in Glen Allen.

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Minutes,

VPA Board of DirectorsFOR THE RECORD

others quickly followed his lead. Th e party was

hosted by 15 Virginia newspaper organiza-

tions that comprise the association’s board of

directors. Th ough the party featured compli-

mentary wine and beer, it also brought togeth-

er journalists of all ages from across the state

to dance, share ideas and build camaraderie.

A problem facing the newspaper industry

here and across the country, Stickley said, is

attracting young journalists into the fi eld be-

cause of the impact of declining revenues on

benefi ts and salaries.

“If you are successfully recruiting young

Stickley refl ects on yearpeople into the fi eld, you need to give them the

tools to get excited about what they are doing,”

he said. “To me, one of the best ways of accom-

plishing that is interacting with other people

in the craft .

“I don’t think I’ve ever had an original idea

in my life, but I’ve borrowed a lot of really

good ones from people I’ve met.”

His fi rst newspaper job came in December

1962 with Th e Winchester Star. He dropped

out of college as a 20-year-old to start a family.

“I begged a job at the newspaper because

I thought that was one thing I might be able

to do and never stopped,” said Stickley, who is

not yet thinking about retirement.

Continued from page 1

Virginia Press Association

Board of Directors meeting

April 19, 2013

Marriot Norfolk Waterside

Norfolk, Virginia

 

Minutes submitted by Cindy Morgan.

Th e Virginia Press Association Board

meeting was held on April 19, 2013, at the

Marriot Norfolk Waterside in Norfolk, Vir-

ginia.

Board members in attendance: Keith

Stickley, Nick Cadwallender, Jay Bondurant,

Anne Adams, Peter Yates, Ginger Stanley,

Steve Kaylor, Gail Harding, Bill Owens, Cin-

dy Morgan, Matt Paxton, Marisa Porto, Steve

Stewart, Michael Stowe. Ron Clark, VPA ac-

countant was also present at the meeting.

Call to Order: President Keith Stickley

called the meeting to order at 8:45 a.m.

Minutes: Minutes of the October 19, 2012

at Th e Hampton Inn & Suites in Woodstock

were presented by Keith Stickley for approval.

Upon motion duly made by Gail Harding and

seconded by Steve Kaylor, the Board approved

the minutes without amendment.

Financial Report: Treasurer Anne Ad-

ams, along with Ron Clark, presented associa-

tion fi nancials through March 31, 2013. Trea-

surer Adams reported the fi nancial statement

for VPA and VPS showed revenue over ex-

penses of -$44,168 and net income of $21,777.

She also added the revenue over expenses last

year at this time was around -$200,000. Upon

motion duly made by Peter Yates and sec-

onded by Michael Stowe, the Board approved

the fi nancial statements.  Adams stated Gin-

ger and staff have done a great job in cutting

expenses and increasing the revenue through

the 2x2 network. She noted Adriane Long has

done a great job with the 2x2 network. Ginger

Stanley also noted the increase in the number

of participating members of the 2x2 network. 

Bill Owens announced the Virginian-Pilot

would be joining the 2x2 and SCAN net-

works. Adams noted the 990 form has been

submitted and the IRS refund of $2,800 has

been received.

President’s report: Keith Stickley noted

Ginger Stanley initiated a VPA day at the cap-

ital this year and several publishers and man-

agers attended.  He said it was very successful

and very eff ective. Stickley said we were able to

turn back most of the legislation the VPA was

concerned about. He hopes to have even more

participation next year. He also commented

on the staff at VPA and how impressed he is

with their hard work and enthusiasm.

Executive Director’s Report: Executive

Director Stanley spoke of the VPA day at the

capital this year and noted she saw attitudes

and votes change because of one-on-one

meetings with the legislators. Stanley said she

would like to see more people participate next

year.  One big breakthrough was with the del-

egate from Virginia Beach who introduced the

RFP public notice bill the last two years. Th e

delegate  said if the public notice bills failed

this year he would not bring it forward again.

She also spoke with Peter Easter who is with

a management company representing broad-

casters.  Stanley and Easter discussed the pos-

sibility of legislators talking to the broadcast-

ers and VPA members together as a group in

regards to access bills.

Legislative Report: Executive Director

Stanley noted all the bills and positions and

status are included in the Board’s workbook.

Stanley felt overwhelmingly it was a very suc-

cessful year. She did, however, express disap-

pointment in not being given the opportunity

to speak in regards to the concealed carry per-

mit.

Stanley felt that we gained ground on pub-

lic notice this year. She said this year there

were 2 fewer bills and 3 fewer issues, the votes

were better for us this year, and the conversa-

tions around the bills were milder. She noted

Delegate Steve Landes did not put in his an-

nual bill. However, Stanley spoke with Del-

egate Landes to let him know we would sup-

port his bill that gave stricter requirements to

the board of visitors of higher ed and better

training for them to understand how to work

within the FOI act.

Committee Reports:

Classifi ed Committee: Gail Harding in-

quired about the number of attendees at the

classifi ed conference. Ginger Stanley esti-

mated there usually between 20 and 30 in at-

tendance and noted at one time there were

over two hundred. Stanley said there are more

members in the 2x2 network this year and she

will be calling all the members who are new to

the 2x2 network to encourage their participa-

tion. Upon motion duly made by Nick Cad-

wallender and seconded by Gail Harding, the

Board approved to increase the rate from $275

to $300 for the classifi ed scan.

Membership Committee: President

Stickley noted Rappahanock News is now in

good standing. He noted membership ap-

plications for associate memberships have

been submitted by Chesterfi eld Monthly and

Stardom 101 magazine. Upon motion duly

made by Nick Cadwallender and seconded

by Peter Yates, the Board approved associate

member Chesterfi eld Monthly .Upon motion

duly made by Michael Stowe and seconded

by Matt Paxton, the Board approved associ-

ate membership to Stardom101 magazine.

Ginger Stanley noted members not in good

standing have been notifi ed by certifi ed letter.

Upon motion duly made by Matt Paxton and

seconded by Bill Owen, the Board approved

to remove the names of Heart and Soul of the

City, AEP-Appalachian Power, Virginia Tour-

ism Corp., Susan A. Gibbs, Pamela H. Owen,

Gayle Jessup White, and Marcus J. Wilson,

Sr. from the membership. Stanley also not-

ed the practice has been if a member is re-

moved from the membership and then pays

within next 6 months they could be reinstated

without coming back before the membership

committee.

Nominating Committee: Peter Yates

committee is proposing the following slate of

offi cers have been nominated for 2013-2014.

President, Nick Cadwallender; President-

Elect Jay Bondurant; Vice President, Eric Li-

eberman; Secretary, Anne Adams; Treasurer,

Michael Stowe; Past President, Keith Stick-

ley and Assistant Secretary/Treasurer, Ginger

Stanley. Jenay Tate was nominated for a sec-

ond three year term. Maria Hileman, Manag-

ing Editor of Th e Winchester Star was nomi-

nated to replace Peter Yates who rotates off the

board in July. Th is slate will be presented to

the membership tomorrow. Yates then noted

Eric Lieberman is moving to Florida and will

not be able to serve. Additional offi cer nomi-

nations will be accepted from the fl oor at to-

morrow’s meeting. Upon motion duly made

by Gail Harding and seconded by Steve Stew-

art, the Board approved to appoint Jay Ken-

nedy, Th e Washington Post, to fi ll the unex-

pired   term of Eric Lieberman, eff ective today.

Staff Reports:

Advertising: Executive Director Stanley

said Diana Shaban continues to do an amaz-

ing job. Kim Woodward also now supports

this area and is spending more of her time on

advertising. Stanley noted there is currently

no outside sales staff due to the budget and she

hopes in the future to add a staff member for

outside sales. She also noted political advertis-

ing could be greater but the rates are an issue

and she recommended this as an area for dis-

cussion. She noted there is much discrepan-

cy in some papers between the local political

rate and the national political rate and it has

been a real challenge for VPA to represent the

papers. One agency in particular noted their

dissatisfaction with the rate discrepancies of

the newspapers. It was agreed this would be

a great item for discussion at the Publisher’s

Roundtable in May. Stanley emphasized po-

litical advertising could be an important part

of the bottom line for newspapers if treated

fairly.

Old Business: Keith Stickley addressed

the possibility of creating a foundation that

was discussed during the October meet-

ing last year. Stickley said he has spoken to

CPA’s and attorneys to gather information in

regards to forming a foundation. He noted

that money in the past has not been a prob-

lem for VPA but now times are tough and it

is time to look at another revenue stream. He

said a non-profi t foundation would allow us

to accept gift s such as legacy gift s and other

charitable tax deductible gift s. Th e foundation

gift s would be used for educational and train-

ing purposes only. Th e only argument against

creating a foundation would be that it would

create more work. He noted other newspaper

association foundations do well with all kinds

of things such as a golf tournament, auctions,

etc. and he said PNA has a great foundation

with three staff members. Stickley highly rec-

ommended creating the foundation and not-

ed that by-laws and a plan would need to be

created. He stated he could have a plan to the

VPA board in 45 days which would allow time

at the July meeting to select offi cers of the

foundation and a liaison member. Th e foun-

dation would be named the Virginia Newspa-

per Foundation.

New Business: Nominations are open to

VPA members to replace Bill O’Donovan on

the VCOG board of directors’ .Gail Harding

inquired about the possibility of having schol-

arships. Upon motion duly made by Anne

Adams and seconded by Nick Cadwallender,

the Board approved to authorize the executive

director of VPA to engage services to begin

the process to form the Virginia Newspaper

Foundation. It was then discussed that we

currently have about $59,000 in the future

fund and part of this money could be used

for the seed money. Keith stated the estimate

to be about $15,000 to create the foundation.

Upon motion duly made by Gail Harding and

seconded by Nick Cadwallender, the Board

approved the VPA use up to $20,000 of the

future fund money toward the creation of the

foundation.

Th e meeting was adjourned at 10:27 a.m.

Th e Virginia Press Association in April announced the hiring of

Jeremy Slayton as its new publications editor.

Slayton, who is a native of Danville, joins the VPA aft er spend-

ing more than six years as a metro news reporter at the Richmond

Times-Dispatch. He joined the Times-Dispatch in January 2007 as

an obituary writer and most recently covered local government and

schools in Chesterfi eld County.

A 2000 graduate of Virginia Tech, Slayton worked as a sports

reporter for daily newspapers in North Carolina.

“Th is is a new challenge and I am looking forward to working

with newspapers and journalists throughout Virginia,” Slayton said.

You can contact him by phone at (804) 521-7584 or through email at jeremys@vpa.net.

Jeremy Slayton new VPA publications editor

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Elizabeth Conner understands the importance of social me-

dia to journalism.

As the faculty editor on the interactive copy desk at the Co-

lumbia Missourian – the city’s morning newspaper and a lab for

Missouri School of Journalism students – she works with the

community outreach team to develop and execute strategies for

the newspaper’s social media accounts.

“Social media is a mindset, not a platform. All the things that

we cover are inherently social … and fodder for what we talk

about,” she said during an April workshop at the Virginia Press

Association’s annual conference in Norfolk. “Social media plat-

forms are communication tools.”

During the 90-minute seminar, Conner presented fi ve ways

that social media makes news better: achieve real collaboration/

conversation with readers; celebrate community together; share

iterative news; fi nd people who care about your news; and it’s

where the readers newspapers most want to reach are.

Conner, who spent nearly four years as a copy editor and de-

signer with the Columbus (Ga.) Ledger-Enquirer, said the key

to social media success is fi nding an incentive for the reader to

click on a story.

“Th ere is not a right or wrong way to promote … on social

media; it depends on the audience,” she said, noting that not ev-

ery social media platform is right for every newspaper. “Focus

on your goals and what you want to accomplish.”

Social media sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, are good

ways to connect with potential sources for stories or generating

discussion by posting questions to readers, she said.

But for smaller newsrooms, engaging readers on social media

does present challenges. Jeff Lester, news editor of Th e Coalfi eld

Progress in Norton, said he has a full-time newsroom staff of two

people. He wanted to know how to use his limited resources to

build on social media without hurting the print product.

Th e answer, Conner said, is to make social media a part of

the regular process.

“Th ink of it as an opportunity not ‘awww crap, I’ve got to deal

with this,’” she said. However, she also cautioned not to spend

too much time on social media if readers aren’t being engaged

through those platforms.

Uriah Kiser, publisher of the online Potomac Local News,

said social media becomes part of your day. He’ll tease stories

on social media sites, such as Facebook, to draw readers to the

website or schedule stories to post on social media the following

day, instead of waiting to do it.

Th e proliferation of digital devices has changed the way peo-

ple consume journalism. For advertisers and newspaper organi-

zations, it presents multiple revenue streams just waiting to be

tapped.

During this explosive digital age, “advertising is much more

disrupted than journalism,” Brian Steff ens, the director of com-

munications with the Colombia, Mo.-based Reynolds Journalism

Institute, said during an April workshop at the Virginia Press As-

sociation’s annual conference.

“Journalism is not broken; journalism is storytelling,” Steff ens

said. “It’s always adapted. One thing that is never going to change

is that we’re going to change … and have to be ready to change.”

Steff ens off ered several ideas to journalists and newspaper

executives to turn those digital dimes into big dollars. Newspa-

pers, Steff ens said, need to off er value on every digital device and

platform.

“Take what is unique and maximize that,” he said, noting that

newspapers should get a tracking system that can create daily,

weekly and monthly reports that show where the digital readers

are. “Capitalize on your traffi c.”

One of the fi rst opportunities mentioned by Steff ens was to

Social media reaches readers newspapers want most

Online obituary columns a ‘goldmine’

When Th e Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk an-

nounced in late April that it would start charg-

ing frequent readers of its digital edition this

summer, the paper joined a growing number

of publications across the country that no lon-

ger provide all their online content for free.

In an article about the decision posted on the

newspaper’s website, Virginian-Pilot Editor

Denis Finley said, “Our work has great value.

We can’t give it away anymore.”

A study conducted by the Reynolds Jour-

nalism Institute shows that nearly half of the

country’s newspaper are charging for digital

content.

“Paid content is not a trend, but a move-

ment,” RJI Director of Communications Brian

Steff ens said during a workshop at the Virginia

Press Association’s annual conference in April.

“It’s a movement that is overdue.”

According to the RJI study, 47 percent of

the 458 daily publishers surveyed said they

require online users to pay to access content.

Steff ens said smaller newspapers have led the

charge – 59 percent of daily newspapers with a

circulation under 5,000 charge for online.

Content generated by smaller newspapers

“is not or cannot be duplicated elsewhere,” he

Most newspapers today charging for online content

Jeff Lester and Katie Dunn, of The Coalfi eld Progress in Norton, listen to a speaker discuss the importance of social media in journalism.

Brian Steffens talks to journalists and newspaper execu-tives during a workshop in Norfolk about ways to generate revenue online.

Good use of social media, Conner said, is not just to share

stories, but to get readers to continue to come back to the news-

paper’s website.

“Social media can be a … curator of readers,” she said.

couple advertising with obituaries to create an online revenue

stream. Practically every newspaper represented in the 90-min-

ute workshop said obits are among the top online draws in terms

of clicks from readers. Th ese webpages could include paid spon-

sorships, display ads or premium announcements (longer notice,

photo and online/print inclusion).

“If it’s the highest volume page, nickels, dimes and pennies

add up,” Steff ens said, calling this opportunity a “goldmine.”

Other, oft en underutilized opportunities include text alerts or

email blasts. Advertisers can buy sponsorships, or in the case of

an email, ad positions. Both options would allow the consumer to

opt-in to receive the advertisements.

One area that is currently generating a lot of buzz, Steff ens

said, is contests. When people sign up, they can allow the com-

pany to send them emails about other off ers or they can share the

contest with friends to extend the company’s exposure.

Some Virginia newspapers have their own unique spin on

digital dimes. A business reporter with Th e Free Lance-Star in

Fredericksburg, for example, creates a business-centric enewslet-

ter and receives a percentage of the revenue generated by adver-

tising.

said, noting four benefi ts of a paid model: new

revenue, your site becomes more valuable to

advertisers, quality of reader comments im-

prove and online users are no longer freeload-

ers, they are customers.

Steff ens also pointed out that paid mod-

els come with disadvantages – online users

are no longer freeloaders, they are custom-

ers (and can’t be so easily ignored) and nega-

tive comments are likely when a pay model is

launched.

Steff ens off ered journalists and newspa-

pers executives seven recommendations to

consider when moving to paid online content.

• Make your site worth paying for: You

have to make your digital good enough to ex-

pect readers to pay for it.

• Go with “opt out,” not “opt in”: Give

print subscribers the option of NOT choosing

a digital membership, but assume they will

want to do so.

• Choose a meter over a hard wall … but

keep your meter tight: O ff er access to a limit-

ed number of stories for free during a month.

“Diff erent markets respond diff erently,” Stef-

fens said.

• What to keep inside/outside the wall: Ex-

amples of open access stories – breaking news,

section fronts, wire stories, classifi eds. Re-

stricted-access stories – unique local content,

news, sports, obits and ability to comment.

• Don’t be afraid to ask for real money: It is

possible to charge too little.

• Membership has its privileges: Set expec-

tations by conditioning digital subscribers to

feel they are members, not just paying custom-

ers.

• Develop your own customer acquisition

strategies.

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Mobile devices have given new meaning to

surfi ng the web.

Nearly one out of every three minutes on-

line is mobile, according to Gordon Borrell, a

media industry analyst and the chief execu-

tive of the Williamsburg-based consulting fi rm

Borrell Associates.

Capitalizing on that digital time is one of

the major aims of advertisers, he said.

“Th ere is a role for news, but that is not

where the money is,” Borrell said in April at a

seminar during the Virginia Press Association’s

annual conference in Norfolk. “Th e use of mo-

bile devices for commerce is where advertisers

want to be.”

Newspapers remain the top distribution

source for coupons, he said, and the biggest

challenge for mobile devices is that its value

has not been sold.

Borrell suggested that traditional newspa-

per organizations can leverage its strengths,

such as its marketing staff , and sell it to local

businesses. Instead of a display ad in a print

edition, a newspaper can build a mobile app

Advertisers aim to capitalize on consumers using mobile devices

for the local business.

“Building a mobile app is the equivalent of

building a website 10 years ago,” Borrell said,

but cautioned newspapers to partner with a

third-party with the technological strengths.

“You have the content, promotional and sales

force. What they have is the technological” ex-

pertise.

Borrell Associates’ directory for companies

and people that can help mobile and digital

sites become more eff ective can be found at:

https://directory.borrellassociates.com/.

To make matters more diffi cult for adver-

tisers is reaching consumers in a distracted so-

ciety. Borrell said the average worker stays on

task for 11 minutes and spends 28 minutes try-

ing to get back on task.

How businesses are advertising is also

changing, Borrell said. Th ey spent 6 percent

less on advertising from 2002 to 2012, he said,

but 88 percent more on promotions, such as

coupons, discounts, contests and sponsorships.

Newspapers “are megaphones and help get

the message across,” he said.

Smartphones are more than just a com-

munication device for journalists – they are

becoming an essential tool to gather informa-

tion.

According to a study conducted by Jenn

Burleson Mackay, an assistant professor in

the department of communications at Vir-

ginia Tech, 85 percent of journalists said they

used a smartphone for their job, but only 24

percent responded that the smartphone was

provided by their employer.

Th e responses show that journalists “are

using personal devices for much of their

work,” Mackay said during a workshop at the

Virginia Press Association’s annual confer-

ence in Norfolk.

Mackay, who has worked as a journalist in

television and newspapers in North Carolina,

Tennessee and Virginia, received responses

from 156 participants -- reporters, editors,

photographers, columnists and copy editors.

She sent surveys to 843 people, a response

rate of nearly 19 percent.

Her research considers how technology

infl uences journalism.

Th e highest percentage of respondents

said they used a mobile device to text col-

leagues, but devices were also used for taking

pictures, submitting stories, texting sources

and recording interviews. Her research also

found that 47 percent of those who respond-

ed said they have posted a story to the inter-

net without editing, while eight percent said

they post multiple times a day without edit-

ing.

Mackay also explored the types of apps

journalists used on their smartphones or mo-

bile devices. She received a variety of respons-

es, and here are some that she highlighted

during her presentation:

• Apps to access social networking sites

(such as Twitter and Facebook)

• Hootsuite (manage multiple social networks,

such as Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin)

• Tweetdeck and Tweetcaster

Camscanner (for iPhone or Android devic-

es; create PDFs, upload to Google docs)

• Evernote (create notes that include photos;

synchs with online program)

• Easy Voice Recorder (Android only; re-

cord interviews/meetings; creates WAVE

and MP4 fi les)

• Dragon Diction (iPhone only; records

voice to notes, sends emails or texts)

• Police Scanner (to listen to police radios)

• Wordpress (post directly to a blog; insert

photos or links)

• Dropbox (s tore fi les, such as images, text

and video; save to all devices; save to Inter-

net)

• Camera apps (Camerapro, Photogene,

Hipstamatic, iTimelapse)

• Panoramic Camera apps (Pano, 360 or

Spincam)

• Splice (iPhone, iPad only; video editing,

share option)

• Free wifi fi nder (iPhone, iPad only; fi nd

free wifi near you)

• Waze (community-based maps; contrib-

ute info as you drive; receive alerts and road

conditions)

• CIA World Factbook (like the website; in-

cludes information on 270 countries)

• Bluefi re Reader (an E-reader; works with

Adobe protects fi les, allows you to share ex-

cerpts via email, Facebook, Twitter)

• News apps (for specifi c news organiza-

tions)

• Pulse (displays news from multiple RSS

feeds in a single page)

• Flipboard (users can catch up on news or

stay connected with people)

• Rebelmouse (organizes a social media

presence into a dynamic social site)

More journalists using personal devices for work

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building on Th ompson Street in Ashland where it operated for

most of the 20th Century until 1991 when it moved its printing

operation to the Hanover Industrial Park.

“It really seems natural for the Herald-Progress to be com-

ing back home to downtown Ashland,” William “Bill” Trimble,

the paper’s publisher and vice-president of Lakeway Publish-

ers of Virginia, said in an April 1 Herald-Progress news story.

“Th e newspaper always has had a close relationship with the

community and this will only make it stronger.”

Th e building on Th ompson Street dates back to the early

1900s. Before it became the center of the newspaper’s opera-

tions, the building was a municipal headquarters.

Th e move will not aff ect delivery of the Herald-Progress.

In addition, the papers telephone and fax numbers will remain

the same. Once staff has fi nished settling into its new location,

they’re planning an open house, the details of which will be

announced at a later date.

“We’ve still got some boxes to unpack, pictures to hang,

keys to cut, and all the other drudgery that goes along with

moving, but it feels right to be putting a paper out again on

Th ompson Street,” Editor Lee Francis wrote in a recent edito-

rial. “Th anks for having us, Ashland.”

Leesburg Today opens new offi ceLeesburg Today celebrated in April the opening of its new

downtown offi ce and the start of its 25th anniversary year with

a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

MEMBER NEWS

People, events

in the newsALL ABOUT MEDIA

Virginia Press Association Executive Director Ginger Stanley on May 16 sent

a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder and Deputy Attorney General James M.

Cole requesting the Department of Justice “immediately return” the telephone toll

records obtained by the department and destroy all copies, as requested by Th e As-

sociated Press.

Th e department seized two months’ worth of telephone records of more than

20 lines belonging to Th e Associated Press and its journalists as part of a year-long

investigation into the disclosure of classifi ed information about a failed al-Qaeda

plot last year.

Th e Washington Post reported on May 13 that the AP’s president said federal

authorities obtained cellular, offi ce and home telephone records of individual re-

porters and an editor; AP general offi ce numbers in Washington, New York and

Hartford, Conn.; and the main number for AP reporters covering congress.

On May 14, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press sent a letter to

Holder and Cole calling for the immediate return of the records. It was signed by

numerous other national media organizations.

“In the thirty years since the Department issued guidelines governing its sub-

poena practice as it relates to phone records from journalists, none of us can re-

member an instance where such an overreaching dragnet for newsgathering ma-

terials was deployed … particularly without notice to the aff ected reporters or an

opportunity to seek judicial review,” the committee wrote.

Holder that same day defended his department’s actions.

Th e House Judiciary Committee held a Department of Justice oversight hearing

on May 15 with Holder as the sole witness. During the hearing, several members

of Congress from both sides of the aisle expressed outrage over the Justice Depart-

ment’s actions in the AP case, and expressed renewed support for a federal shield

bill to protect journalists’ confi dential sources. Holder responded that the DOJ and

the Obama Administration continue to support a federal shield bill.

Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., announced on May 15 that he will reintroduce his

shield bill, which passed the Senate Judiciary Committee with bipartisan support in

the 111th Congress.  In the House, Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas, a member of the House

Judiciary Committee and a former judge, introduced the Free Flow of Information

Act of 2013 (H.R. 1962).

Th e VPA encouraged its members to draft similar letters and send them to the

Department of Justice. 

Here is the text of the letter Stanley sent to the Department of Justice.

Post critic wins Pulitzer PrizePhilip Kennicott, the chief art critic at Th e Washington

Post, won the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism. 

According to Th e Pulitzer’s website, Kennicott was noted

for “his eloquent and passionate essays on art and the social

forces that underlie it, a critic who always strives to make his

topics and targets relevant to readers.”

Kennicott joined Th e Post in August 1999. He has also been

chief classical music critic for the  Detroit News  and the  St.

Louis Post-Dispatch, where he also worked for two years as an

editorial writer. Before that he was a New York-based editor

at Musical America and Chamber Music magazines.

In 2000, Kennicott was a Pulitzer Prize fi nalist for editorials

opposing a concealed-carry gun initiative in Missouri (which

failed despite heavy support from gun-rights organizations).

In 2006, he was an Emmy Award nominee for a Web-based

video journal about democracy and oil money in Azerbaijan.

He has also won a Cine Golden Eagle for his video work. In

2010, he won the American Association of Sunday and Feature

Editors’ general commentary award. Kennicott now writes ex-

tensively about architecture and the intersection of architec-

ture and culture.

He graduated summa cum laude with a degree in philos-

ophy from Yale in 1988. Before attending Yale, he spent two

years at Deep Springs College in California.

Staunton newspaper to sell buildingsTh e News Leader in March announced plans to put its

property at 11 N. Central Avenue in Staunton up for sale as

part of what the company calls its ongoing strategic transfor-

mation.

Publisher and President Roger Watson said a sale would

give the paper the chance to position itself digitally without

maintaining a largely empty print production facility. Th e

News Leader uses about a third of the 23,000 square feet it

owns at its current location. Much of that space is empty be-

cause the company contracted out its printing operation to a

newspaper in Harrisonburg in 2009.

Herald-Progress returns to its original homeTh e Herald-Progress comes home. Th e weekly, community

newspaper on May 1 returned to the original Herald-Progress

VPA responds to DOJ probe

Continued on page 14

May 16, 2013

Eric Holder, Attorney GeneralJames M. Cole, Deputy Attorney GeneralU.S. Department of JusticeVia email: askdoj@usdoj.govVia fax: (202) 307-6777

Dear Sirs:

Th e Virginia Press Association champions the common interests of Virginia newspapers and the ideals of a free press in a democratic society. As that is our mission, we were shocked and appalled by the Department of Justice’s broad subpoena of telephone records belonging to the journalists at Th e Associated Press. Th is action seriously undermines the First Amendment rights of the news media and the pub-lic’s interest in reporting on all manner of government conduct, including matters touching on the national security which lie at the heart of this case. Th e Department’s actions demonstrate that a strong federal shield law is needed to protect re-porters and their newsgathering materials in a court of law where the adversarial process ensures a fair weighing of the issues.

Journalists cannot operate freely if fear exists that the government can broadly subpoena re-cords that could be relevant to an investigation in an eff ort to see information that might be of interest to them. Th e actions taken by the Department have harmed its working relationship with the news media, which time and time again have undertaken good-faith eff orts to cooperate with government lawyers in a way that protects the public’s interest both in law enforcement and in independent, autonomous newsgathering.While Congress should provide that protection to journalists through legislation, there is still much that the Department can do to mitigate the damage it has caused. We join the growing chorus of the nation’s news media organizations asking the Department to immediately return the telephone toll records obtained and destroy all copies, as requested by Th e Associated Press. We also request that the Department announce whether it has served any other pending news-media related subpoenas that have not yet been disclosed. We look forward to your prompt response.Sincerely,

Ginger Stanley, Executive DirectorVirginia Press Association

Movers unload The Herald-Progress into its new/old loca-tion on Thompson Street in Ashland.

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Award Winners

Joel Smith, Tonie StevensAccepted by Joel Smith, Style Weekly

Best of the BestBest of the BestDoris Ann Kane

Richmond Times Dispatch

Outstanding Sales Professional of the YearOutstanding Sales Professional of the Year

News and Advertising Award Winners

Congratulationspages 8-13

to VPA

Best of

the BestSales Pro

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AD

VE

RTI

SIN

G /

BE

ST

IN S

HO

W

Non-Daily 1 ElectronicKelly Mays, Brooke HillAccepted by Brooke Hill, Amherst New Era-Progress

Non-Daily 2 ElectronicSteve Wall, Paul Anders

Accepted by Jackie Newman,The Farmville Herald

Non-Daily 3 ElectronicLewis Johnson

Richmond Free Press

Daily 1 ElectronicAnn Wells, Marc Calindas

Accepted by Ann Wells, The Progress-Index, Petersburg

Daily 2 ElectronicBrooke Hill, Tom Leedy

The News & Advance, Lynchburg

Daily 3 ElectronicSherri Holland

The Virginian-Pilot, Norfolk

Speciality Electronic & Hard CopyJoel Smith/Joel Smith & Tonie Stevens

Accepted by Joel Smith, Style Weekly

Non-Daily Hard CopyJon Ness, Staff

Accepted by Brooke Hill, Amherst New Era-Progress

Daily Hard CopyEJ Toudt, Jennifer Fenner,

Cecelia JolleyAccepted by EJ Toudt,

The Virginian-Pilot, Norfolk

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SW

EE

PS

TAK

ES

AW

AR

DS

Non-Daily 1The Tidewater News, Franklin

Accepted by staff

Non-Daily 2The Breeze, James Madison University

Accepted by staff

Non-Daily 3Loudoun Times-Mirror

Accepted by staff

Daily 1Northern Virginia Daily, Strasburg

Accepted by staff

Daily 2The Free Lance-Star, Fredericksburg

Accepted by staff

Daily 3The Virginian-Pilot, Norfolk

Accepted by Denis Finley and Maria Carrillo

SpecialtyStyle Weekly, Richmond

Accepted by staff

Online OnlyPotomac Local News, Prince William

Accepted by staff

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MIM

S /

CO

MM

UN

ITY

SE

RV

ICE

Anita ShelburneThe Daily Progress, Charlottesville

D. Lathan Mims Award for Editorial Service to the Community

VPA Award for Journalistic Integrity and Community Service

SpecialtyThe Hook, CharlottesvilleAccepted by Lisa Provence,

Hawes Spencer and Courteney Stuart

Non-DailyThe Recorder, Monterey

Accepted by John Bruce, Mike Bollinger,

Margo Oxendine andAnne Adams

DailyDaily Press, Newport News

Accepted by staff

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BE

ST

IN S

HO

WArtwork

WritingWriting

Presentation

Daily Alberto Cuadra, Kathryn Faulkner, Cristina Rivero, Michael E. Ruane

The Washington PostAccepted by Vernon Loeb

Non-Daily Jean Card, Laurence Foong,

Craig SterbutzelFairfax Connection

Accepted by Jean Card

Specialty Timothy Cook

Richmond MagazineAccepted by Steve Hedberg, Brandon Fox, Susan Winiecki, Anne Dreyfuss

Daily Andrea Noble, Matthew Cella

The Washington Times

Non-Daily Tiffany Hudson

The Gazette-Virginian,South Boston

Specialty Richard Foster

Richmond MagazineAccepted by Steve Hedberg, Brandon Fox, Susan Winiecki, Anne Dreyfuss

Daily The Washington Post

Accepted by Vernon Loeb

Non-Daily The Breeze,

James Madison UniversityAccepted by staff

Specialty Troy CooperSuffolk Living

PhotographyPhotography

Non-Daily Sandra Sellars

Richmond Free Press

Specialty Scott Elmquist

Style Weekly, Richmond

Daily Vicki Cronis-Nohe

The Virginian-Pilot, Norfolk

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Scenes from the VPA’s red carpet

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Leesburg Mayor Kristen Umstattd, Loudoun County

Board of Supervisors Chairman Scott York, and Loudoun

County Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Tony

Howard joined other local offi cials, guests and employees for

the event at 19 North King Street. 

Aft er a nine-month renovation of the 200-year-old build-

ing by PR Construction and owner Fianna Investments, the

newspaper moved into the 4,500-square-foot offi ce in January.

 “It is great to be back downtown, not far from where the

company fi rst set up shop 25 years ago,” Editor and Publisher

Norman K. Styer said. “It also is gratifying to play a role in the

preservation of an important part of Leesburg’s streetscape.

Following the work that was done last year, this building is

well prepared for the next two centuries.”

 Th e location also is the headquarters for Leesburg Today’s

parent company, Northern Virginia Media Services, which

also publishes the Sun Gazette newspapers in Fairfax and

Arlington counties and Prince William Today, as well as the

monthly Middleburg Life.  Its newspapers reach 175,000 high-

income households in Northern Virginia every week. 

  Th e company also operates affi liated websites, includ-

ing InsideNoVa.com, which generate more than 1.5 million

monthly page views. Leesburg Today was founded in 1988 and

most recently was located in the Lansdowne development, sev-

eral miles east of downtown Leesburg. 

Roanoke Times reporter wins $30,000 prizeReporter Beth Macy recently won a $30,000 prize for an

upcoming book about the eff ect of globalization on Southwest

Virginia furniture manufacturing. Her book, “Factory Man,”

focuses on Galax furniture heir John D. Bassett III.

In April, Columbia University announced that Macy won

the J. Anthony Lukas Work-in-Progress award for the book

she is writing. According to Th e Roanoke Times, the book is

scheduled to be published next year by the Little, Brown & Co.

Macy is nearing the end of a yearlong leave from the news-

paper as she completes the book. According to the Roanoke

Times, Macy has written for the newspaper since 1989 and

won numerous national and state awards, including serving

as a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University during the 2009-10

academic year.

New leadership at the Virginia MountaineerSam Bartley, a 38-year Virginia Mountaineer employee, has

been named editor and publisher of the newspaper following

the company’s recent reorganization. He becomes the sixth

editor in the newspaper’s 91-year history, succeeding former

editor and publisher Lodge Compton, who served in the role

for over 40 years. 

 Bartley, part-owner of the Mountaineer for a number of

years, is now joined by Scotty Wampler and Joe St. Clair as sole

owners of the paper. 

  “It is with much admiration and great respect for those

before me that I am humbled, honored and excited about car-

rying on the 91-year legacy of Th e Virginia Mountaineer,”

Bartley said in April. “As our new partnership team embraces

the opportunity given us, the endless pursuit to give readers

the most factual and accurate reporting of community news

events and to chronicle the present and future of Buchanan

County, remains our main priority.”

  Th e Mountaineer’s managerial team was also reshuffl ed

under the new ownership structure. Wampler, who served as

news editor since 2007, was named the Mountaineer’s manag-

ing editor. In addition, St. Clair, who served as staff reporter

and in ad sales since 2011, was elevated to the role of general

manager. 

 Both Wampler and St. Clair, who now partner with Bart-

ley in the company’s overall operation, will continue in their

capacities as the primary news reporters for the Mountaineer.

Th e Virginia Mountaineer, founded in 1922 by Grundy

businessmen Hannibal Compton and Cecil C. Waldron, re-

mains committed to providing the best possible product to its

readers, Bartley added.  

 

Scholarship named for retired publisherTh e Wytheville Community College Educational Founda-

tion has announced the establishment of the Rural Retreat Li-

ons Club’s William H. ‘Bill’ Hall Memorial Scholarship Fund.

Th e scholarship was recently established by Hall’s wife of 53

years, Priscilla Musser Hall, who is an adjunct professor at Wy-

theville Community College, and other family and friends.    

 Hall was a devoted member of the world’s largest service

organization, the Lions Club, for 50 years. He served two terms

as a District Governor, 1977-1978, for the Roanoke-New Riv-

er Valley Area, and 2009-2010 for the Southwestern Virginia

area.  

 He was born in Rural Retreat on September 13, 1940, the

son of the late Chester Lee Hall and Bessie Hazel Hale Hall. Bill

was a member of St. Paul Lutheran Church. He began writing

for local newspapers while he was a high school student in Ru-

ral Retreat and retired in 2003 as President and Publisher for

the Bristol Herald Courier, which capped a 45-year career in

the newspaper industry.   

 Th e “Rural Retreat Lions Club’s William H. ‘Bill’ Hall Me-

morial Scholarship Fund” will provide scholarship assistance

to deserving Wytheville Community College students who

meet the following criteria:   are graduates of Rural Retreat

High School and have a minimum 2.0 grade point average.

First preference will be given to students who plan to transfer

to a four-year college or university and plan to pursue a career

in journalism.   

To fi nd out more information about this and other avail-

able scholarships at WCC, to make a gift to the WCC Edu-

cational Foundation, or to donate to the “Rural Retreat Lions

Club’s William H. ‘Bill’ Hall Memorial Scholarship Fund,”

please contact the WCC Educational Foundation at (276) 223-

4771 or email foundation@wcc.vccs.edu.

MEMBER NEWS

From Society of Professional Journalists,

Virginia Pro Chapter

Dick Hammerstrom, local news editor for Th e Free

Lance-Star of Fredericksburg, has been selected as recipient

of the 2013 George Mason Award by the Society of Profes-

sional Journalists, Virginia Pro Chapter.

Th e Mason award, established in 1964, is presented to an

individual for outstanding contributions to Virginia jour-

nalism.

Hammerstrom has worked for newspapers in Virgin-

ia and North Carolina and been an editor with Th e Free

Lance-Star since 1997.

Journalists throughout the state know Hammerstrom

as the go-to guy for Freedom of Information Act and open

government issues. He also helps promote better access to

courtrooms and court-record laws for journalists and the

public around the state. He has been the chairman of the

Virginia Press Association’s FOI Committee for more than

a decade and involved in open government issues since the

1980s. He also served as vice president of the Virginia Co-

alition for Open Government and as Virginia’s Sunshine

Chairman for the Society of Professional Journalists.

Hammerstrom has conducted training sessions on press

law issues to journalism organizations, on college campuses

and in Th e Free Lance-Star newsroom.

“Dick is a most worthy recipient of this award,” said

Nick Cadwallender, publisher of Th e Free Lance-Star. “He

is a recognized expert on FOIA law and has always been

willing to share his knowledge, especially with young jour-

nalists starting their careers.”

Ginger Stanley, executive director of the Virginia Press

Association, said Hammerstrom is well known to what she

referred to as “the access community.” Stanley has known

Hammerstrom since the mid-1980s and said he “has put his

heart and soul” into the open government cause. 

She praised him for leadership of VPA’s eff orts fi ghting

for open government and better access laws and noted his

work to with other open government advocates and law en-

forcement offi cials to make police information more acces-

sible to the public.

SPJ Virginia Pro Chapter will present the Mason award

to Hammerstrom at its 50th George Mason Award Banquet

on June 18 at University of Richmond. Th e chapter and its

Virginia SPJ,SDX Educational Foundation will also present

two scholarships to Virginia college journalists. 

Tickets are $50 a person and include an open bar recep-

tion, silent auction, dinner and the program. Proceeds ben-

efi t the scholarship foundation. For reservations and infor-

mation, contact Brian Eckert at (804) 287-6659 orbeckert@

richmond.edu.

Th e Mason award is named for the Virginian who at-

tended the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in

Free Lance-Star editor to receive George Mason Award

Continued from page 6

Leesburg Today staffers and community leaders celebrate a ribbon-cutting at the newspaper’s new offi ce.

1787, but refused to sign the Constitution because it did

not include a declaration of individual rights. Th e Bill of

Rights, eventually added to the document, is based on the

Virginia Declaration of Rights, written principally by Ma-

son in 1776.

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OBITUARIESLodge Compton

Henry Cabot Lodge Compton, 80, of Vansant, editor and

publisher of Th e Virginia Mountaineer for more than 40

years, died March 22. He began working at the Mountaineer

in 1944 at the age of 11 as an apprentice helper, or “printer’s

devil” – the offi cial newspaper jargon for the title. He contin-

ued to work for the newspaper as he grew up and also worked

at the former Lynwood Th eatre. Following his graduation

from Grundy High School, he went on to Hiwassee College,

but when ownership of the newspaper changed hands, he was

asked to return to the Mountaineer as a part owner. He did so

and continued in that capacity until 1971 when he assumed

the role of editor and publisher of the Mountaineer and be-

came its sole owner. During his tenure as editor and publisher,

the Mountaineer achieved numerous statewide honors from

the Virginia Press Association recognizing its work. He also

served for six years on the statewide Virginia Press Associa-

tion board of directors.

Leon Townsend

Charles “Leon” Townsend, 92, of Danville, a longtime pho-

tographer for the Register & Bee, died on April 1. He was a

member of Moff ett Memorial Baptist Church where he served

as a deacon and a longtime Sunday School teacher. He was

employed as head photographer for the Danville Register &

Bee. Also, he served his country as a member of the United

States Navy during World War II. Townsend began working

in the newspaper industry in 1934, when he was 13 years old,

delivering Th e Danville Register in the morning and Th e Bee

in the aft ernoon. Denice Th ibodeau of the Register & Bee

noted “from the mid-1950s through the end of the millenni-

um, Townsend was a well-known photographer for the Dan-

ville Register & Bee, taking photographs on assignments that

ranged from heartbreaking scenes from disasters to touching

photos of everyday life in the Dan River Region.”

Ann Gregory

Ann Peyton Young Gregory, 77, editor and co-owner of the

Clinch Valley Times newspaper passed away April 7. She grad-

uated Magna Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa in May 1956,

with a degree in Radio and Television from the College of Arts

and Sciences of the University of Kentucky. Upon graduation,

she accepted the position of traffi c manager at WVLK Radio in

Lexington, Ky. until September 1961. She was married to Allen

Gregory on Jan. 29, 1957, and in October 1961, they moved to

St. Paul, Va. She wrote from home for the Clinch Valley Times

for a few years before accepting a position with the Chil-

dren’s Television Workshop as administrative assistant from

1970-1974. In 1974, with her husband, Allen, and her moth-

er, Pauline Young, they purchased the Clinch Valley Times

newspaper, where she was editor until her passing. As well as

newspaper editor she taught adult education (GED) classes for

a few years. In 1975, she was appointed to the Wise County

School Board where she served for 30 years until 2005. While

on the board she served as Vice Chairman for 13 years and

chairman for one term. During her tenure on the Wise County

School Board she served on the Virginia School Boards Asso-

ciation, where she was secretary, vice president, and president.

John Waybright

John David Waybright Jr., age 74, of Luray, Va., retired edi-

tor and general manager of the Page News and Courier in Lu-

ray, died Friday, May 10. He graduated as valedictorian of the

New Market High School Class of 1957 and attended Madison

College, now James Madison University, in Harrisonburg, VA.

Aft er a brief stint with the U.S. Department of Agriculture in

Beltsville, Md., he began work as a proofreader at the Harri-

sonburg Daily News-Record March 10, 1961. He was named

News-Record telegraph editor in 1962 and assistant manag-

ing editor in 1963. He became editor and general manager of

the Page News and Courier in Luray aft er the weekly news-

paper was acquired by the News-Record in 1967. He retired

from that position March 10, 1996. Following his retirement,

he worked as a public relations and editorial consultant, in-

cluding assisting with the Luray Caverns 120th Anniversary

celebration in 1998. He worked several years as a desk clerk at

the Luray Caverns Motel West. He was co-author of a biogra-

phy of Page County-born artist, George Quaintance.

By L. Michael ZinserThe Zinser Law Firm, P.C.

Th e U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Cir-

cuit on May 7 reversed a decision of the Na-

tional Labor Relations Board due to that agen-

cy’s practice of ignoring the First Amendment

of the Constitution of the United States. Th is

marks the second time in a 6-month period

the court has made such a ruling.

Th e notice-posting rule would require

nearly 6 million employers to post a paper

notice on their properties and websites, serv-

ing as a virtual roadmap on “how to union-

ize.” Th e rule declares that it is an unfair la-

bor practice for an employer to fail to post the

notice.

Th e rule contains two additional enforce-

ment devices. Th e board may suspend the

running of the 6-month statute of limita-

tions for the fi ling of any unfair labor practice

charge concerning the notice. Additionally,

the board may consider an employer’s “know-

ing and willful refusal to comply with the re-

Court of Appeals strikes down NLRB notice posting rulequirement to post the employee notice as evi-

dence of unlawful motive in a case in which

motive is an issue.” On April 17, 2012, the rule

was enjoined pending this appeal.

Th e appeals court vacated the Board’s

notice-posting rule. Th e court went right to

§8(c) of the National Labor Relations Act.

Th at section was passed in 1947 as part of the

Taft -Hartley Act and was implemented be-

cause Congress believed the NLRB was regu-

lating employers’ speech too restrictively. Th e

Court stated, “From one vantage, §8(c) merely

implements the First Amendment… but §8(c)

enactment also manifests a Congressional in-

tent to encourage free debate on issues divid-

ing labor and management.” Th e court noted

that §8(c) not only protects the right of free

speech under the First Amendment, but also

“serves a labor law function of allowing Em-

ployers to present an alternative view and in-

formation that a union would not present.”

Th e court ruled that forcing employers to

post the notice is compelled speech in viola-

tion of the First Amendment of the Constitu-

tion of the United States. Th e Board stated:

Instead, the board’s rule requires employ-

ers to disseminate such information, upon

pain of being held to have committed unfair

labor practice. But that diff erence hardly ends

the matter. Th e right to disseminate another’s

speech necessarily includes the right to decide

not to disseminate it. First Amendment law

acknowledges this apparent truth: “all speech

inherently involves choices in what to say and

what to leave unsaid…” Some of the Court’s

leading First Amendment precedents have es-

tablished the principle that freedom of speech

prohibits the government from telling people

what they must say… Th e First Amendment

freedom of speech includes the right to speak

freely and the right to refrain from speaking

at all… just as the First Amendment may pre-

vent government from prohibiting speech,

the Amendment may prevent the government

from compelling individuals to express cer-

tain views… Plaintiff s here, like those in other

compelled speech cases, object to the message

that government has ordered them to pub-

lish on their premises. Th ey see the poster as

one-sided, as favoring unionization, because

it fails to notify employees of their rights to

decertify a union, to refuse to pay dues to a

union in a right-to-work state, and to object

to payment of dues in excess of the amounts

required for representational purposes.

Th e court further explained that §8(c)

necessarily protects – as against the board –

the right of employers not to speak: “Th at is

why, for example, a company offi cial giving

a non-coercive speech to employees describ-

ing the disadvantages of unionization does

not commit an unfair labor practice if, in his

speech, the offi cial neglects to mention the ad-

American FactFinder Basics:

Your Portal To Household Data

A hands-on, computer-based workshop to teach you how to use the Census Bureau’s premier data-digging tool: the American FactFinder

community, down to the Census tract level.

Training includes a review of the latest enhancements to the American FactFinder,

Census geographies and datasets.

Review some of the Census Bureau’s easy-to-use data tools – QuickFacts, Easy

Participants should bring laptops or tablets to maximize this hands-on experience.

June 6, 2013: 9:30 a.m.-noon at VPA Headquarters

Ally Burleson-Gibson,

data dissemination

specialist for the

Census Bureau.

This workshop is FREE, but advance registration is required. Click on training at www.vpa.net for more information or contact Kim Woodward at (804) 521-7574 or kimw@vpa.net

vantages of having a union.”

Th e court also summarily struck down the

part of the rule that allowed the tolling of the

statute of limitations. Referring to it as “bad

wine of recent vintage,” the court noted that

there is nothing in the legislative history of

the 1947 Amendments justifying authority for

the rule. Rejecting the NLRB’s argument that

employees lack knowledge of the National La-

bor Relations Act, the court stated, “Even to-

day, courts do not generally recognize lack of

knowledge of the law as a basis for equitable

tolling.”

In this writer’s opinion, the NLRB ignores

and harbors hostility toward the First Amend-

ment rights of Employers under §8(c) of the

National Labor Relations Act.

Th e court with this decision proves once

again that the First Amendment rights of Em-

ployers are paramount.

Has your press ID expired? Fallen

apart? Press ID application and re-

newal forms are posted on the Mem-

bership page at www.vpa.net. Th e

form must be completed, signed by

the publisher and notarized. Th e ap-

plication can be faxed or emailed if the

notary seal is in ink; if it is embossed,

it must be mailed to VPA. Photos can

be emailed to jeremys@vpa.net along

with the application. Images must be

head-and-shoulder shots and a mini-

mum of 300 dpi. IDs are processed by

the Virginia State Police and mailed to

the publisher’s attention.

Need a new press ID?

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Newspaper publishers agree that they provide a higher-

quality product than their competitors, but they don’t market

themselves very well.

Greg Pearson, publisher of the weekly Chesterfi eld Observ-

er, said it’s almost as if the newspaper industry needs to con-

duct a public relations campaign to tell the public why news-

papers are important.

“People say, ‘well, I went online and Googled the answer,’”

Pearson said in reference to a documentary entitled “Black &

White And Dead All Over.” “Google didn’t give the answer.

Most likely, newspapers gave you the answer. Th e public

doesn’t get that. We need to do something about that.”

Pearson was one of 14 publishers from metro and commu-

nity news organizations to attend a roundtable discussion in

May at the Virginia Press Association’s Glen Allen headquar-

ters. Th e newspaper offi cials discussed a variety of topics, in-

cluding paywalls and ways to improve circulation. Th e four-

hour session was moderated by Digby Solomon, publisher and

chief executive offi cer of the Daily Press Media Group, and

co-sponsored by the VPA and Southern Newspaper Publish-

ers Association.

Pearson, who also publishes the Chesterfi eld Monthy and

Henrico Monthly magazines, said he has oft en had to call on

broadcast television stations when they “steal” his newspaper’s

stories.

“We ought to be talking about that. You can look around

the room, if you are in a meeting, and (see) if no one is there

from broadcast,” Pearson said. “We all know the other media

are not there. We ought to tell people our stories are being

used” by the television stations.

One publisher suggested that newspapers begin touting

their stories are exclusives or “you read it here fi rst,” much like

television stations do with their reports.

Anna Harrison, publisher of the Charlottesville weekly

newspaper Th e Hook, countered that in this digital age where

most people have a digital, handheld “news source in their

pocket,” getting it fi rst is not always the best way to promote

stories.

“I don’t think you need to be the fi rst one to report on it,

you need to do it better. Th at is our focus,” Harrison said. She

noted, as an example, that it didn’t matter if Th e Hook was the

fi rst to report last year on the failed ouster of University of Vir-

ginia President Teresa Sullivan. “We did it the best. I think be-

ing fi rst isn’t always the way to go.”

Th e session also featured idea-sharing and brainstorming

among the newspaper offi cials. Each publisher came armed

with, and left with, “best ideas” about innovative projects at

other newspapers. For example, the Richmond Times-Dis-

patch created the JOBS DIVA to “tweet jobs listing for a low

added fee.”

Uriah Kiser, publisher of the online Potomac Local News,

said one of its more successful ventures was to create a Google

map of the commuter parking lots in its coverage areas. One

thing it shows is a snapshot of how crowded they are during

the morning and aft ernoon.

“In our region, it’s huge,” Kiser said.

We’re good but few know it

Digby Solomon, publisher and chief executive offi cer of the Dai-ly Press Media Group, examines a

Google map that shows com-muter parking lots. The map was

created by the online Potomac Local News and was one of many ideas shared during a publisher’s

roundtable sponsored by the VPA and Southern Newspaper

Publishers Associaiton.

The Community Journalism Workshop (CJW), which returns June 20-21 to the Virginia Press Association headquarters, has been described as a “boot camp for new reporters” that should be mandatory.

Past participants have utilized information learned in the intensive two-day training to advance in their careers; Mike Jones of The Washington Post, an

keynote speaker. Others regularly collect awards in VPA’s annual news contests and have risen to leadership positions at newspapers.

The workshop is geared for both new journalists and those wanting a skills refresher. Sessions are led by seasoned instructors and experienced editors: Lou Emerson of FauquierNow.com, Anne Adams of The

Katrice Franklin Hardy of The Virginian-Pilot. Topics include interviewing skills, narrative

storytelling, the Freedom of Information Act, photography, maintaining a beat and lede writing. Ethics gets special attention. In addition to group

on-one critiques. Plus, each attendee receives a “tool box” of resources to take home and use on the job.

The cost for two days of sessions, dinner on Thursday, lunch on Friday and the take-home tool box: $99 for VPA members, $250 for non-members. To register, visit www.vpa.net and click on training.

Overnight accommodations, including breakfast, are available at the Comfort Suites Innsbrook at a special rate of $74.

For more information contact Kim Woodward at (804) 521-7574 or through email at kimw@vpa.net.

Registration deadline is May 31

Virginia Communications Hall of Fame award recipients, from left, Dorothy Abernathy, Associated Press bureau chief for Virginia and West Virginia, Doug Harwood, editor and publisher of the Rockbridge Advocate, Ismail Amir-Tariq, 2013 Hall of Fame Scholar-ship recipient, Don Belt, senior editor for National Geographic, Steve Bassett, Group

Photo taken by Bob Brown/Richmond Times-DispatchCreative Director at The Martin Agency and Tom Silvestri, president and publisher of the Richmond Times-Dispatch, pose after receiving their awards during the Vir-ginia Communications Hall of Fame dinner at the John Marshall Hotel in Richmond on Thursday, April 11, 2013.

Hall of Fame