The Indiana Publisher

April 2023 Page 5 Entertainment programs Magazine campaigns Digital sales drives Puzzle/comic guides Total audience initiatives We're ready to help you and your team achieve your revenue goals. Contact Dee Evans at 309-945-7563 or devans@newspaperconsultants.com. Staff reports National Newspaper Association The U.S. Postal Service has announced another postage increase for July 9 that again sends Periodicals postage into the double-digit zone for annual increases. This mid-year hike will be 8.8% for Within County newspapers and 8.1% for Outside County newspapers. Newspapers have already absorbed nearly 24% in price increases since the Postal Regula- tory Commission lifted the inflation-based price cap on postage for the 2021 round of increases. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy has previously announced his intention to seek the maximum allowable increases for more of the mail considered captive customers within USPS. His Delivering for America plan aims at investing heavily in a USPS strategy to increase its market share in package delivery, where it competes with Amazon and United Parcel Service (UPS). Changes in service performance and carrier deliveries have been rolled out over the past two years for newspaper publishers. More changes are expected in 2023 as many postal carriers will lose the ability to work from their local post offices and will be required to sort mail at central facilities within many geographical areas. The planned new rates were submitted April 10 to the Postal Regulatory Commission, which routinely rubber-stamps the increases. USPS is allowed to charge more than inflation increases for most mail, and for Periodicals that are considered unprofitable for USPS, surcharges may be applied. For the July increase, only 3.4% is attributable to inflation alone. "These increases are punitive and misguided," NNA Chair John Galer, publisher of the Journal-News in Hillsboro, Illinois, said. "USPS is betting the farm on its ability to become a primary carrier of commercial packages because it believes the internet is going to drive away its mail business. But I am telling USPS: This is a bad bet. The package business is leveling off and the loss of mail is being driven by these increases, rather than occurring organically. For newspapers, seeing our postage go up by 30% in two years at a time when publishers are looking at USPS as a possible delivery partner is a flashing yellow light. We may no longer be able to count on this delivery partner." Galer said NNA is making its concerns known to Members of Congress as well as USPS management. News/Media Alliance Staff reports Arlington, VA – The News/Media Alliance applauds Senate Antitrust Chairwoman Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Senator John N. Kennedy (R-LA) for reintroducing the "Journalism Competition and Preservation Act" (JCPA). The bill would provide digital journalism providers the ability to collectively negotiate with Facebook and Google for fair compensation for the use of their valuable content. Currently, publishers do not have the ability to negotiate these deals on their own, as the dominant tech platforms capture the majority of U.S. digital ad revenue, leaving publishers with little to reinvest in the production of high-quality journalism. This follows in the wake of other countries' successful compensation systems for publishers, with Australia's Media Bargaining Code and European legislation leading the way and Canada and the UK expected to follow. In response to the bill reintroduc- tion in the Senate, News/Media Alliance Executive Vice President & General Counsel, Danielle Coffey said, "The time is now to pass this critical legislation that will protect and sustain local journalism, now more important than ever to ensuring an informed society. Emerging technologies such as AI are making it even more clear the need for compensation when content creators may soon see even less return than what they receive today. The cost of inaction is simply too great to ignore any longer. We must ensure that the digital ecosystem returns value back to the people who deliver high-quality journalism we all rely on around the world." Since 2018, the News/Media Alliance has been vocally advocat- ing for such legislation in the U.S. To read the full statement, visit bit.ly/423dm1I Newspaper mail hit hard again by USPS postage increase The U.S. Postal Service has announced another postage increase for July 9 that again sends Periodicals postage into the double-digit zone for annual increases. NMA applauds members of Senate for reintroducing JCPA

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