2014 October

V I S I T U S A T W W W . S A P A T O D A Y . C O M

Southeastern Advertising Publishers Association (931) 223-5708 (888)450-8329 fax 1

SAPATodayAdvancing the free paper industry by providing resources for success and venues for sharing ideas.

Board of DirectorsThe leadership of SAPA is in good hands. The board of directors, director, and assistant are listed with contact information.

Page 3

Advertising’s Dirty Little SecretJohn Foust shows us the our industry has a “dirty, little secret.” Read on to find out what it is.

Page 3

Conference ScheduleSAPA and AFCP Joint Conference & Trade Show, April 9-11, 2015. Savannah, Georgia

Page 8

Graphics Series Ellen Hanrahan gives us some excellent ways to make a photo graph stop just laying on the page. We want it to Pop Off the Page.

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Work PositivelyDr. Joey Faucette teaches us 3 ways we can profit from change. We all tend to avoid change. Here’s how to make it work for you!

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What is the Core Value of your Publication?Bob Berting , Mr. Community Paper, asks us what our value is to our community.

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by Douglas Fry

By every metric the recent confer-ence in Orlando was a success. We had nearly 300 people in attendance, 35 associate or vendor booths were set up, there were 3 tracks going on nearly the whole time so no matter what you were interested in there was something for you, and the hotel was fabulous.

Probably the most valuable time was spent “rubbing elbows” with publish-ers like you. We all face similar chal-lenges in similar markets. As we over-

come each challenge and share our successes with each other we all grow. I’ve found that some of the most valu-able time at a conference is spent af-ter hours conversing with you. If you were not able to attend you missed quite a bit. Perhaps next April 2015.

We had planned an evening under the stars listening to the Trop Rock Junk-ies play, eating delicious BBQ, socializ-ing with friends and associates. How-ever, the weather didn’t cooperate. Did that stop us? No way! We brought the party inside and had a great time. In

THE MONTHLY NEWSLETTER FOR THE FREE PAPER INDUSTRY OCTOBER 2014

Orlando ConferenceHuge Success

fact, it might have been more pleasant in the air conditioned ball room.

Saturday at lunch we enjoyed the video presentation of the winning entries in the annual Advertising & Editorial Competition. SAPA was well represented in the winners circle. I’m including photos later in this news-letter and a list of the winners will be emailed to you shortly.

I hope you plan now to attend the joint conference with AFCP in historic Savannah, Georgia on April 9 - 11, 2015. See you there.



Organizational SoftwareOrganizational SoftwareTools you need to be more effi cient.

Software Developed by: Little Fish Big Ocean, Inc.

Lead Developer & Founder

[email protected]@[email protected]@MaxProPublishing.comwww.MaxProPublishing.comchris@[email protected]@MaxProPublishing.com

407-656-2777 P.O. Box 53790Fayetteville, NC 28305Cell: 910-391-3859ph: 910.222.6200fax: [email protected]

Bill BowmanPresident

"The Nation's Fun, Family Newspaper!"www.kidsvillenews.com/cumberland



Board MemberKathy CrumptonPiedmont Shopper

Danville VA434-822-1800

Past PresidentTony OnellionBargains PlusSlidell, LA

985-649-9515

PresidentCaroline

QuattlebaumSoutheast Sun

Enterprise, AL 334-393-2969

Past PresidentRussell

QuattlebaumSoutheast Sun

Enterprise, AL 334-393-2969

Board MemberGreg Ledford

Shelby Shopper & Info

Shelby, NC 704-484-1047

Vice PresidentWill ThomasExchange, Inc.

Fayetteville, TN 931-433-9737

SecretaryMike Marlow Rutherford WeeklyForest City, NC828-248-1408

TreasurerTodd Godbey

Livin’ Out Loud Magazine

Wilmington, NC 910-338-1205

Executive Director

Douglas FrySAPA Headquarters

Columbia, TN931-223-5708

Administrative Assistant

Vickie BeldenSAPA Headquarters

Columbia, TN931-223-5708

SAPA Leadership

By John Foust, Raleigh, NC

IAdvertising has a dirty little secret. Most ad managers know it, but don’t like to bring up the subject in staff meetings. Most sales people know it, but wouldn’t dare mention it in sales presentations. And most advertisers

replacement for that lost revenue.

It’s all about expectations. In their ea-gerness to close the deal, sales people have a tendency to oversell the pos-sibility of making their prospects’ phones and cash registers ring. “Just run some ads,” they say, “and you’ll ex-

Advertising’s Dirty Little Secret

continued on page 4

know about it, even though it rarely figures into their marketing plans.

What is this dirty little secret? Ad churn. When an ad campaign doesn’t work – or falls short of expectations – the advertiser is likely to pull out of the paper. And the sales person is faced with the challenge of finding a

If you are interested in serving on the SAPA board please give our president, Caroline Quattlebaum, a call at 334-393-2969. Ser-vice in our industry is fulfilling, enjoyable and gives you sense of accomplishment. Besides that you give back to the industry that enjoy. SAPA works hard to keep you informed and up-to-date on the latest advances and trends in publishing.

We’d love to talk with you about how you can give back.



pand your customer base and increase sales.” But once the ads start running, the new advertiser’s focus shifts from words (what the sales person said) to results (what the ads actually do). If the ads don’t meet expectations, other media choices become more enticing.

In my opinion, disgruntled advertis-ers are the primary prospects for new media outlets. If they’re unhappy with Publication A, they’ll readily consider Publication B.

Churn is expensive. I’ve heard that the costs of replacing a lost customer can be as high as ten times more than the

cost of keeping an existing client. Los-ing one advertiser can hurt, but losing a number of advertisers can be devas-tating.

The days of John Wanamaker are long gone. Wanamaker, the marketing pio-neer who opened Philadelphia’s first department store in 1896, famously said: “Half the money I spend on ad-vertising is wasted; the trouble is I don’t know which half.” Today we have Pay-Per-Click online advertising (PPC), in which advertising charges are based on response numbers.

The growth of PPC advertising is pres-

suring traditional media to produce measurable results for advertisers. That’s why it is increasingly impor-tant to manage expectations. Simply running ads is not enough. Those ads have to work.

There are essentially two types of ad-vertising: image ads and response ads. Image ads are designed to build recog-nition and response ads are intended to generate immediate results. Unfor-tunately, some advertisers think that “putting their name out there” in im-age ads will produce customers right away. That’s possible, but not likely. When new customers don’t flood in, an advertiser might jump ship and run ads elsewhere.

On the other hand, response ads can give advertisers an immediate reading on results. The key is to make the right offer. Instead of saying, “here’s a whiz-bang benefit of using our widget,” say “here’s why you should buy our widget today.”

Although image ads and response ads play different roles, both are im-portant. Brand recognition is a good thing. And immediate response is a good thing, too.

Churn is a big concern in the advertis-ing world. Perhaps it’s time for those ad managers who have been saying, “Sell ads” to start saying, “Sell ads that work.”

(c) Copyright 2014 by John Foust. All rights reserved.

John Foust has conducted training programs for thousands of newspaper advertising professionals. Many ad de-partments are using his training videos to save time and get quick results from in-house training. Email for informa-tion: [email protected]

By Bob Berting, Berting Communications

Don’t overlook this question in your sales meetings. Your salespeople are telling your prospects and customers that you are the best newspaper in town or if you’re the only newspaper, you’re the best media choice in town. They go on to say you have the best customer service in town. But what is your core value? What is the value you bring to the marketplace that no one else can bring? What impact does that value have on the prospect, not intel-lectually, but emotionally? What value do you bring that will compel your prospect to ask you to fix their prob-lems. This is usually emotional.

PRINCIPLES OF CONTEMPORARY

SELLINGThe act of “selling” in the traditional sense of the word weakens your place in the buyer-seller negotiation. Cut down on selling emphasis and begin using psychology and philosophy to translate your value. When you stop selling, your prospect will feel prone to open up and give you the reasons why he or she needs you to fix his or her problems. Isn’t that what we want anyway? Salespeople who sell hard and relentlessly sometimes don’t un-

continued on page 7

What is the Core Value of your Paper?

Display & Classified Ad Sales & BillingCirculation Direct Mail Payroll Accounting

Integrated Management Software designed by publishers for publishers

MERRIMAC SOFTWARE ASSOCIATES INC.TAMWORTH, NH 603 323 8811 WWW.MERRSOFT.COM Southeastern Advertising

Publishers Association



I welcome your input and suggestions. A former art teacher, I entered the free paper publishing business in the early 80s. I write for IFPA, Community Papers of Michigan, and am still learning. E-mail: [email protected] Ellen Hanrahan ©2014

STACK OR OVERLAP I combined the border and stacking and when I added the drop shadow, I made sure my light source was consistent with the tilt or angle of the photo. I also kept the shadow small because I wanted it to feel as if it was on a flat surface. If I had made the shadow larger, my photo would appear to “float” over the surface instead of resting on the surface. I just want an illusion of depth. Creating the drop shadow in my page layout

program allows me to change my mind on shadow direction easily. Both Adobe InDesign and QuarkXPress can do this. At the bottom of the first column you see I created an “editorial” layout with the photos. This will work with any community event and you know people like to look at photos—especially if they are in them! I added the dotted graphic shape to create a bit more of a scrapbook feel. It also helps because I just add a 3 point white border… which can be a problem if you have white in your photo background because the drop shadow is only on two sides. The colored graphic shape helps define the white edges (it’s a Gestalt thing— continuation). I also used a large iconic photo of a Ferris wheel as my background to further emphasize a scrapbooking approach.

CREATE YOUR OWN FASTENERSThis time I decided to add a paper clip to my photo for fun. I added a small drop shadow to the paper clip and placed it on top of the photo (matching the photo shadow to the clip shadow). This may look better with a little “curl” on the photo but I’ll save that for next time. The photo is tilted a mere 2 degrees because you don’t need much of an angle to add the depth. You’ve seen this “tape” technique (below) before but it does add inter-est and is pretty fast and simple to cre-ate. (Save the “tape” pieces to a library and it will be even easier!). It uses a transparency blending mode for creat-ing realistic effects called Hard Light. To simulate transparent tape. Start with a rectangle in the shape of a strip of tape. Fill it with 20% black in the Swatches panel and set it to Hard Light in the Effects panel. You might need to reduce the opacity a bit, too. Now give it a very small drop shadow directly behind (with a distance of zero or one) and voila: tape!” I used a wavy border of .25 and I set my opacity to 40% (75% on the post it note)—but experiment to see what will work best for you and see if you can add a little more interest to those ribbon-cutting, award-presenting photos that add community interest to your papers!

UPDATE: In my September IFPA article, I created a Typo-Painter effect for the out-going director, Gary Rudy. The newsletter was printed on glossy stock and the effect turned out better than my prints. So always check the final results of whatever you have printed, plus I had a strong suspicion that glossy paper would work better. Also, if you view the photo from a distance, it helps as well. There is a painting by Georges Seurat, a French impressionist, entitled, A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte (1884–1886) that was done in his signature style, pointillism. This painting is done in tiny “points” or “dots” of color, is about 10 feet by 7 feet in size and can be seen at the Art Institute of Chicago. It is truly amazing. So this Typo-Painter effect reminds me of that “process,” maybe that’s why I like this plug-in so much!

Photo FixesDigital photos are great, but as I said in the intro, they can be a bit “blah.” As it happens, I was going through some of my old Before and After articles and there it was, “Scrapbook-style Photos.” That’s when I realized that I had used these techniques before to add a little dimension (pizzazz?) to my photos, but I hadn’t put them all in one place—yet!

ADD A BORDER The easiest way to add dimension is to add a border and create a drop shadow. I know you can do this in Photoshop, but I pre-fer to do it in my page layout program. I feel I have more control over the process and I don’t have to go back into Photoshop if I decide to change the tilt of the photo. The size of the border is up to you, but be consistent for all the photos that you use.

Photograph Fun

Snapshots

THE EASE IN WHICH WE CAN ADD PHOTOS TO OUR ADS, SPECIAL SECTIONS AND EVENTS HAS NEVER BEEN EASIER. HOWEVER, NO MATTER WHAT, THESE PHO-TOGRAPHS STILL SEEM TO LAY FLAT ON OUR PAGES. MAYBE WE NEED SOME…

This year has gone

by too fast… until

next month!



Work Positive3 KEYS TO PROFIT FROM

CHANGEBy: Dr. Joey Faucette

Days are getting shorter. It’s dark when I wake up and gets dark earlier at day’s end. The temperatures are cooler in the mornings. The seasons are chang-ing…

...and apparently no one cares what I think about it because no one called or emailed to ask. I have no control, much less influence on the changing seasons.

RIDICULOUS FOR ME TO EXPECT? OF COURSE.

Almost as ludicrous as the conversa-tions I have with business owners about their change experiences. They expect a call or email. They want someone to ask permission.

That’s an unrealistic expectation today. Change happens.

The one controllable is how you deal with it—whine or win? Pout or profit?

Here are 3 Keys to Profit from Change:

BELIEVE THE CHANGE IS REALOur first reaction to change is usu-ally, “Why? What’s wrong with the old way?” We crave the familiar. Our brains recognize it and know what to do. Often we weren’t consulted about the need for change or the rationale. “Here is it is. Deal with it” is the typical response.

Say to yourself, “It is what it is. I will make the best out of it.”

Then list the reasons it’s real, e.g., “My franchiser said so,” “That OS is no lon-ger supported,” or “You can’t buy parts for it anymore.”

This listing helps you avoid denial, beat back fear, and move forward to believing the change is real.

BRIDGE FROM FAMILIAR TO UNFAMILIAR

Now detail the change by starting with what’s familiar. Most likely the change performs the same basic function as something you do currently, just with enhancements. What is that function? List everything included in the change that you recognize.

Next describe and list the unfamiliar aspects of the change.

Now connect the familiar to the un-familiar. What lines up as similar? Your fear and anxiety diminish with this exercise because your cognitive—brain—overcomes your emotive—gut—in recognizing the familiar. You bridge from the familiar to the unfa-miliar.

BUILD TO SUPPORT THE CHANGEFinally, ask yourself, “What are the op-portunities to grow profits?” Perhaps the technology involved allows you to generate business while you sleep by providing improved customer access.

Or, maybe productivity grows which maximizes profitability.

Look at the systemic changes neces-sary and ask, “What must we do to adapt? Who needs training and devel-opment? How do we accelerate reve-nue growth? How can we best leverage new opportunities for profit increase and diversification?”

These questions focus you on the posi-tive dynamics of the change. Think of them as the features over which you do have control and influence.

Then implement your answers so you increase sales with greater productiv-ity and get out of the office earlier to do what you love with those you love. Change and Work Positive!

Free PapersWorking For You

While others retreat, we are moving forward.Some publication’s numbers are falling behind. Your free community paper is moving forward. Readership of free community papers is now higher than paid daily papers, and continues to grow. Rather than being replaced by “instant” media, your local free community paper has become an important part of our neighborhood.

Insert Your Logo Here

Another sign we’re working for you.



derstand human nature—and it costs them.

You still do your dog and pony show to sleepy eyes. Stop the show and ask questions about their problems and existing conditions. “ What conditions exist in your company that caused you to be interested in our publication?’

Let them talk. You’re working too hard. Let them work a little.

NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE PROPENSITY TO PURCHASE

You have seen this happen. A pro-spective advertiser will balk at spend-ing $1500.00, then turn around and spend $2500.00 with a competitor. Why? Because the belief was there. The energy was there. The money is always there. Money is conceptual. Many times, the danger is that salespeople will make decisions for the prospect before they do. Don’t make the deci-sion for the prospect before they do. Don’t make the decision for the pros-pect about anything, especially money. Also, sometimes the more one pays for something, the more value they attach to it—providing the value is actually there. The world is full of buyers who have bought half a solution only be-cause of the salesperson’s fear to talk in larger terms that would have solved the entire problem of the prospect or customer. Think about that last state-ment.

NEVER LET YOUR FEARS AFFECT YOUR SELLING

Often, we won’t ask the question be-cause we’re afraid of the answer. The prospect is telling you about a severe problem he has. You need to ask

“ Why haven’t you learned to solve this before/” By asking, you will be finding out an important part of his values—his own fear. From that, you can deter-mine the best corrective action to take.

DON’T OVERWHELM YOUR PROSPECT

You have tremendous knowledge about your publication –type styles, printing press capability, demographic statistics, website benefits, etc. You feel good about what you know and you

Core Valuecontinued from page 4

Justin Gerena, President, Director of Salesp: 888.592.3212 x710e: [email protected]

JB Multimedia, Inc. P.O. Box 704 N. Bellmore, NY 11710 888.592.3212 phone/fax www.jbmultimedia.net

M a k i n g p u b l i c a t i o n s i n t e r a c t i v e.

want to start spouting all this informa-tion to the prospect. Many times, the reaction to all this rhetoric is actually wearing the customer out. Never wear out the one with the check.

So you know everything there is to know about newspaper advertising. But many times you don’t know the customer’s compelling problems that need to be solved—and you need to know them.

Bob Berting, newspaper marketing con-sultant, has published his new e-book for sales professionals in the newspaper in-dustry entitled “Advanced Selling Skills For The Advertising Sales Pro”. This is a publication for beginning salespeople who can learn advanced selling techniques and experienced salespeople who can sharpen their selling skills. Salespeople can learn more about this publication by using the link www.adsalespro.com and see the table of contents as well as reading the complimentary first chapter. Payment of 24.95 to download the 34 page e-book.

Bob Berting is a professional speaker, newspaper sales trainer, and pub-lisher marketing consultant who has conducted over 1500 live seminars and tele-seminars for newspaper sales staffs, their customers, and print me-dia associations in the U.S. and Can-ada. His 40 year background includes 15 years in newspaper management, 5 years as university marketing instruc-tor, and owner of a full service adver-tising agency for 20 years.

Bob can be contacted at [email protected] or 800-536-5408. He is located at 6330 Woburn Drive, India-napolis, In 46250.



SAPA AND AFCP JOINT CONFERENCE & TRADE SHOW,

APRIL 9-11, 2015The perfect setting for this annual networking extravaganza - Savan-nah’s Marriott Riverfront Hotel in the heart of historic Savannah, Georgia! Stay tuned for details on a program that is sure to be packed with ample networking, educational, motivational

Conference Schedulesand entertainment opportunities for everyone.

This annual industry celebration pro-vides something for everyone - from publishers and marketing profession-als to editors and support staff, the in-formation gained from this conference provides for the growth and profes-sional development publications can build on all year long.

N E W S P A P E R P R I N T I N G C O M P A N Y




A c c o u n t E xe c u t i ve

5 2 1 0 S O U T H LO I S AV E N U E / TA M PA , F LO R I DA 3 3 6 1 1( 8 1 3 ) 9 0 2 - 1 1 9 6 / C E L L ( 5 6 1 ) 2 3 9 - 2 4 9 5P ro d u c t i o n : ( 8 1 3 ) 8 3 9 - 0 0 3 5 / FA X : ( 8 1 3 ) 8 3 9 - 7 2 9 5E M A I L : d o u g s @ N P C p r i n t i n g . c o mw w w. N P C p r i n t i n g . c o m

Doug Schwenk

“Success is never final; failure is never fatal. It’s courage that counts.”

Winston Churchill

“I believe that you should gravitate to people who are doing

productive and positive things with their lives.”

Nadia Comaneci

“I have learned that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dream, and endeavors to live the life he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.”

Henry David Thoreau

Contact Alan Spiegel at (301) 949-9766 or [email protected] for further information.

Boomer & Senior publications continue to growin readership and revenue.

Start your own Beacon - with our help, you can be publishing in your own exclusive area within 90 days.



USPS UpdateEXIGENCY UPDATE

On August 27, 2014, the United States Court of Appeals issued its order set-ting the time for oral argument on the pending exigency appeals. The oral arguments will take place on Septem-ber 9, 2014 with a total time of 40 minutes for all parties to be heard. This is the last stage in the legal pro-ceedings before the Court issues its decision on the Postal Service appeal to make the exigency increase of 4.3% “permanent,” and the corresponding appeals of the industry challenging the exigency increase in its entirety, or, alternatively, supporting a limit on the exigency increase. The Court could issue its decision as early as Oc-tober 2014. The parties have asked for an expedited decision given the importance of the case. At the latest, a decision would likely be known in early December 2014. The Court’s ruling will, hopefully. set the stage for a potential roll-back of postal rates in 2015. As is the case in any complex legal proceeding, the Court could also find that further information is needed and send the case back to the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) for fur-ther analysis, fact finding, or proceed-ings.

SMC, along with numerous other mail associations and individual mailers has been part of the legal efforts to limit the exigency increase to a temporary surcharge that must be terminated when the Postal Service recoups $3.2 billion in revenue and the contribu-tion lost due to the “Great Recession.”

PMG COMMENTS AND 2015 PRICE CHANGES

During the August 2014 meeting of the Mailers Technical Advisory Com-

mittee (MTAC), the Postmaster Gener-al, Patrick Donahoe, addressed attend-ees and talked about price changes for 2015. SMC, along with other mailers, has appealed to the Postal Service, and has filed comments with the PRC, ask-ing the Postal Service to forego any “normal” end of the year filing of a CPI price increase for implementation in January 2015. SMC, and other mail-ers, have appealed to the Postal Service to plan its price adjustment for 2015 to only have one price or rate change.

In his address to the industry, it ap-pears that the Postal Service is listening to these requests. It seems likely that the Postal Service will not be seeking a CPI rate adjustment in early 2015. The Postmaster General commented that the Postal Service’s plans for rate adjustments in 2015 were uncertain based on the pending outcome of the exigency appeal. Although the Post-master General expressed frustration with the atmosphere of uncertainty, he told MTAC participants that there was a very good degree of certainty that the Postal Service will not implement price changes for market dominant products on the first of the year. It ap-pears the Postal Service will wait for the Court of Appeals decision, a deci-sion that will be released around the time the Postal Service would typically file for a CPI increase, to plan for its rate adjustments and price changes in 2015. Although the Postmaster Gen-eral avoided making any firm prom-ises or predictions, he seemed to sug-gest that the Postal Service would wait for the Court of Appeals decision and plan for one price adjustment in 2015.

On August 15, 2014 the Postal Ser-vice filed its exigency report to show

the amount of revenue and contribu-tion it has collected based on the exi-gency surcharge through its fiscal third quarter. Since the exigency rate sur-charge of 4.3% was implemented, the Service has collected $855.8 million in surcharge revenue. At this pace, the Postal Service appears to be on track to have recouped the additional revenue permitted under the PRC order at the end of 18 months. This would be in line with the projections that a roll-back, if any, would be required under the PRC exigency decision in July/Au-gust 2015.

MTAC MEETING DISCUSSES POSTAL SERVICE PROMOTIONS

AND INCENTIVESDuring the MTAC meeting, there was a presentation about 2014 promotions and incentives and a preview of incen-tives to be offered in 2015, subject to PRC approval.

In discussing product development, the Postal Service released figures showing volume changes for Standard Mail. One bright spot in the volume figures was the growth of High Den-sity and Saturation letters and flats. While other Standard Mail has shown volume declines, Saturation Mail has shown modest overall growth.

The 2014 Saturation and High Density incentive required prior registration to participate. 392 registrants complet-ed the certification process with pro-gram year to date volume approaching 1,655,000 pieces.

In spite of the modest successive the Saturation High Density program, no similar program is being offered for 2015.

continued on page 10



The promotions previewed for 2015 were more limited than the 2014 in-centives and promotions. At the pres-ent time, the only promotions pre-viewed that would apply to Standard Mailers are an Emerging Technology Promotion, and a Mail Drives Mo-bile Commerce Promotion. Specific details for each promotion, length of promotion, and requirements, have not yet been presented to the indus-try. But there has been discussion of extending the length of time for pro-gram participation from two months to a longer period. All proposed USPS promotions must be submitted to the PRC for approval. It appears that pro-motional programs will be submitted to the PRC in fall 2014, even if the CPI rate adjustment is delayed until some time in 2015.

Priority Mail and “Competitive Prod-uct” Price Adjustments Approved

On August 15, 2014, the PRC ap-proved the Postal Service’s propos-als to change prices for competitive products including Priority Mail. Of interest to some Saturation Mailers, particularly those that use Priority Mail to drop ship mail programs, was the approval of reductions in prices for the competitive Priority Mail prod-uct. Retail and prices showed a mod-est increase, but for mailers using the Commercial Plus Service rates were reduced by 2.3%. The Postal Service also proposed, and the PRC approved, reduction in the rates for parcels and packages at heavier weights.

It appears the Postal Service is mak-ing a compelling play for more par-cel business. As other shippers, like Federal Express and UPS, are raising prices for parcels that have bulkier di-mensions, and take up more volume, the Postal Service has proposed rate

reductions for heavier weights. The USPS does not charge by volume or dimensions and appears to be gain-ing market share. The package busi-ness has been an area of growth for the Postal Service in recent years with regular increases in every quarter. The figures released by the Postal Service for the third quarter showed shipping and package volume increasing 7.7%.

The new prices for competitive prod-ucts and parcels go into effect on Sep-tember 7, 2014.

POSTAL SERVICE ANNOUNCES PHASE TWO NETWORK

RATIONALIZATIONThe Postal Service announced the next stage in its plan to downsize and reduce its network with a consolida-tion of over 80 facilities. As part of this process, some changes in service standards and critical entry time for First Class Mail and Periodicals will be implemented.

Congressional and union opposi-tion to the announcement was swift. However, the Postal Service has been resolute in its plans and needs to ratio-

continued from page 9 nalize the network. In addressing the attendees at MTAC in August 2014, the Postmaster General stressed that most First Class Mail and Periodicals will enjoy the same service standards they have received in the past. Do-nahoe stated the Postal Service would press ahead with its Phase Two Net-work changes unless an acceptable postal reform bill is passed by both the House and Senate and signed by the President. Donahoe defended this action pointing to continuing declines in single piece First Class Mail. These declines are not expected to stop. The Service could lose almost half of its single piece First Class Mail over the next 5 or 6 years. Based on these pre-dictions, Donahoe stated, the Postal Service would be “crazy” to keep these additional processing facilities open.

REFORM LEGISLATION GOING NO WHERE FAST

Although many bills and proposals have been entered, the time left in the 2014 pre-election legislative session is limited. The prospects for compre-hensive postal reform before the elec-tion appear remote.

Free PapersWorking For You

Will the Internet kill your free community paper?Did instant coff ee kill coff ee?

New technologies change many things. But not everything. You may tweet, blog, surf, shop, or search online but you continue to read your free community paper. You just proved it.

Readership of free community papers is now higher than paid daily papers, and continues to grow. Rather than being replaced by “instant” media, your local free community paper has become an important part of our neighborhood.

Th e reason, which sometimes is not heard because of all the noise about the Internet, is pretty obvious: your free community paper does what the Internet doesn’t. We promote connections at a local level. Free papers join readers and advertisers in ways digital media doesn’t.

In fact, the local content and power of your free paper makes advertising even more eff ective. We are the number one medium for driving purchases. Th at’s important in every product category.

Including coff ee.



Web design is BIG business

2014 October

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