NewsBeat

2 NewsBeat October 2015 Mark your calendar Friday, October 30 - Saturday, November 7, 2015 NYPA Journalism Mission to Cuba Friday, November 13, 2015 NYPA/NYPS Board of Directors Meetings NYPA Foundation Board of Directors Meeting Straus News, 333 Seventh Ave. (6th flr.), NYC NYPA Better Newspaper Contest Deadline, Tuesday, January 12, 2016 Thursday, April 7, 2016 NYPA/NYPS Boards of Directors Meetings NYPA Foundation Board of Directors Meeting Gideon Putnam Hotel, Saratoga Springs, NY Friday & Saturday, April 8 & 9, 2016 NYPA Spring Convention and Tradeshow Gideon Putnam Hotel, Saratoga Springs, NY Thursday, September 15, 2016 NYPA/NYPS Boards of Directors Meetings NYPA Foundation Board of Directors Meeting Location to be determined Friday & Saturday, September 16 & 17, 2016 NYPA Fall Convention Location to be determined Friday, November 11, 2016 NYPA/NYPS Board of Directors Meetings NYPA Foundation Board of Directors Meeting Straus News, 333 Seventh Ave. (6th flr.), NYC PA NY NewsBeat A NEWSLETTER FOR NEW YORK'S COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS Published by the New York Press Association 621 Columbia Street Ext., Suite 100, Cohoes, NY 12047 518.464.6483 • 518.464.6489 fax • www.nynewspapers.com Executive Editor — Michelle K. Rea Layout & Design — Rich Hotaling C L I P & S A V E n my newspapers, like in so many newspapers across the state and nation, we run a weekly history column. It focuses on an event or a person or an era in our community's past and is usually paired with a grainy black and white photo that might help document how things have changed in the past 50 or 100 years. Our communities, like our newspapers, have stood the test of time, and these columns are successful because they generate a feeling of nostalgia and a sense of place for those that are alive today. In short – our newspapers and many more like ours do a fantastic job of looking backward and remembering the Good Old Days. Putting my business hat on, however, I see newspapers across the state, including my own, struggling to visualize what the future may bring. That's where the New York Press Association comes in. I think what I find most compelling about this organization is the focus to position our newspapers and companies for brighter days to come. Yes, we celebrate the contributions people have made in the past, as evidenced by last month's celebration of Richie Stein. But at its core, the mission of the association is to pave the way forward for newspapers and journalism in New York State. Just think about the current initiatives. Led by Executive Director Michelle Rea, we enlisted two business professors from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute – who have put in numerous hours and an even greater number of miles – to research the current state of our products and help us create real change in our companies that I'm convinced will position our industry to succeed well into the future. Their research-based suggestions are already taking root in several newsrooms in New York state, and in the months ahead, NYPA will take the message on the road to all corners of the state. At Michelle's urging, we've also made huge strides in developing a statewide digital advertising network that will aid all of us in breaking down the technological barriers that keep us from taking advantage of the newest advertising mediums. With a tremendous audience and the compelling creatives provided by our Dublin-based partner, AdForce, this new initiative will position NYPA's Paving the way forward for New York's newspapers I By DAVID TYLER — President, NYPA Board of Directors membership to far exceed the digital advertising rates we currently receive from the digital advertising networks that many of us utilize. These are just two of several initiatives the association is involved in. And in the midst of these major projects, the staff at NYPA and the press service continue to make all of our companies stronger through legal and HR support, design and marketing aid, editorial and sales training, and of course the networked advertising that puts money in all of our coffers. Again, thinking of the future, in September, the NYPA board of directors proposed a pair of amendments to the organization's bylaws, which were subsequently passed by the NYPA membership. The first amendment extends the term for each of the board leadership positions from one year to two years. The intention of this is to provide additional continuity for NYPA's administration and staff, and to increase the level of experience of the leadership team. I have first-hand experience as to why this is a sensible move. In my first term as president of the NYPA board, I spent several months learning the ins and outs of the job and by the time I felt fully acclimated to the role, my term had nearly ended. Extending the term will create a more productive board leadership. The other amendment to the bylaws creates an ethics clause to the membership section. This allows the board to remove a member in the event that he or she has been convicted of crime of moral turpitude, a crime related to the profession, or has committed an act discreditable to the profession. As I start my second stint as president of the NYPA board, I'm very confident in the future of our industry in New York, because I know this organization will continue to look forward and provide us with the vision and drive to succeed in an ever-changing world. I very much look forward to the challenges that lay ahead, and would love to hear from NYPA's membership on how the organization can best serve newspapers in New York. Note: David Tyler is the publisher of Eagle Newspapers in Syracuse. He can be reached at dtyler@eaglenewsonline.com.

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