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Unlock the Power of Obituaries: Register for this webinar with Legacy.com on December 10

Join veteran media expert Ron Speechley, VP of Sales at Legacy.com, for a compelling NENPA University 30-minute webinar that dives into the evolving world of obituaries and their essential role in community news. Drawing on insights from over 1,500 newspapers, this educational session will empower attendees with the knowledge and strategies to strengthen their obituary offerings.

What You’ll Learn:

  • The Historical Significance of Obituaries: Discover the vital role obituaries have played as a cornerstone of community journalism.
  • Generational Shifts in End-of-Life Traditions: Understand how evolving traditions are impacting obituary placement and readership.
  • Actionable Strategies for Success: Gain practical ideas to ensure your publication is the go-to destination for anyone looking to place or read obituaries.

Meet the Speaker:
Ron Speechley brings over 25 years of expertise working with leading media companies nationwide. During his tenure at SRDS (Standard Rate and Data Service), Ron partnered with major media outlets, helping them optimize their strategies. Now, as VP of Sales at Legacy.com, he consults with newspaper affiliates to maximize the obituary category’s potential. Ron is based in Chicago and continues to be a thought leader in the industry.

Why You Should Attend:
Obituaries remain one of the most meaningful and trusted sections of community news. As audience preferences shift, this webinar offers the insights you need to adapt and thrive.

Don’t miss this opportunity to learn from one of the industry’s top experts. Reserve your spot today!

Register Here
Duration: 30 minutes
Date & Time: December 10, 2024, 12:00-12:30 EST
Cost: Free to Press Association Members, $15 for Non-members

Secure your place now and gain the tools to make your obituary section an even more vital part of your community’s story.

Thank you for your dedication to journalism

As we take a moment to reflect on the season of giving thanks, we want to express our deep appreciation for everything you do to make journalism thrive.

From uncovering important stories to shaping them for your readers, from connecting with audiences to keeping the gears of advertising, circulation, and accounting turning, you ensure that the news keeps flowing to the communities we serve.

Your dedication to truth and your tireless efforts are what sustain and strengthen journalism in these challenging times. We’re incredibly grateful for your hard work, your creativity, and your resilience.

Thank you for being an essential part of this mission. Wishing you and your loved ones a warm and meaningful holiday season.

The NENPA offices will be closed on Thursday, November 28, and Friday, November 29. Our eBulletin will return with its regular programming on December 6, 2024.

With gratitude,

Staff of the New England Newspaper and Press Association

Better Newspaper Contest Deadline Has Been Extended To Nov 24 – There’s still time to enter and be recognized!

Good news! The deadline to enter the New England Newspaper & Press Association’s Better Newspaper Competition has been extended to Sunday, November 24, 2024. There’s still time to showcase your best work and gain recognition from your readers and peers.

As New England’s largest and most prestigious journalism recognition program, this competition is your opportunity to:

  • Highlight your finest work.
  • Reward and celebrate your hardworking team.
  • Share your achievements with your readers.

All work published by NENPA member news organizations between August 1, 2023, and July 31, 2024, is eligible.

The competition spans three divisions:

Download the division packets for complete guidelines, rules, competitive categories, and judging criteria. Each packet includes FAQs to guide you through preparing your entries.

Don’t miss this chance to be recognized for the skill, passion, and dedication that go into producing outstanding journalism. Celebrate your achievements and give your readers a reason to be proud.

Mark your calendar: Winners will be honored at the annual New England Newspaper Convention in Spring 2025.

Act now to participate in the 2024 Better Newspaper Competition! Showcase your work, celebrate your team, and inspire your peers.

Got questions? Email us at L.Conway@nenpa.com or T.Cleary@nenpa.com.

Learn more about the 2024 Better Newspaper Competition.

2024 Obituaries

You will notice a change in the format of our obituaries. Our obituary program, dedicated to honoring the lives and legacies of those who shaped the New England newspaper industry is experiencing some technical difficulties. We are working on addressing these to ensure it continues to serve as a valuable resource for the community. In the meantime, if you have any information about a recently deceased journalist, photographer, editor, publisher, or anyone who worked in the New England newspaper industry, please let us know so that we can tell their friends and colleagues. Send any information or links to t.cleary@nenpa.com.

Get your school recognized in the 2024 New England Better Newspaper Competition

It’s not too late to submit your entries to the 2024 New England Better Newspaper Competition – New England’s most prestigious college journalism recognition program.

Starting in 2022, colleges and universities in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont were invited to enter 27 competitive categories, including College Newspaper of the Year. Our first two years were a resounding success, with over 20 schools participating.

We encourage you to participate in the Better Newspaper Competition to recognize your students’ best work, compete with peers, and compare your coverage and publication.

All college and university publications located in New England may enter, regardless of membership status, and submit up to 10 entries for a low flat fee of only $125.

We are running a promotion for Academic Membership to the New England Newspaper and Press Association that includes the contest entries. Click here for information on the expanded benefits of Academic Membership.

Work published by student publications in print and/or online during the contest year, August 1, 2023, to July 31, 2024, is eligible for this competition.

You can download the information packet for all the information necessary to prepare your entries, including a list of competitive categories, complete rules and guidelines, and criteria that each contest category will be judged upon.

The deadline to submit entries is Friday, November 15, 2024.

Awards will be presented at the annual New England Newspaper Convention, happening in Spring 2025.

We wish you the very best of luck in this year’s competition! For any questions and further information, do not hesitate to contact students@nenpa.com.

Learn more about the Better Newspaper Competition

Learn more about NENPA Academic Membership

Submit your entries

Press politicians on election promises

Jim Pumarlo is a former editor of the Red Wing (Minn.) Republican Eagle. He writes, speaks, and provides training on community newsroom success strategies. He is the author of “Journalism Primer: A Guide to Community News Coverage,” “Votes and Quotes: A Guide to Outstanding Election Coverage” and “Bad News and Good Judgment: A Guide to Reporting on Sensitive Issues in Small-Town Newspapers.” He can be reached at www.pumarlo.com and welcomes comments and questions at jim@pumarlo.com.

Elections are over, and you breathe a sigh of relief. The exhaustive campaign season has concluded, and newsrooms can return to some level of normalcy.

Not so fast. The most substantive aspect of election coverage may loom. Your pages have been filled with campaign promises detailed in stories, letters to the editor, and ads. The next logical step: Are the winners keeping their promises?

In that regard, mark April 1. It’s common to rate the president’s first 100 days in office. Why not do the same for other elected officials? Yes, it’s unreasonable to expect a great deal of policy-making in the first three months, but it’s an opportunity to get a flavor of lawmakers’ priorities and participation.

The lack of civility in politics prompts many to bemoan the 24/7/365 election cycle. The hyper partisanship unfortunately has permeated into local races. At the same time, this is an excellent reminder that election coverage cannot simply be turned on and turned off during campaign season. Benchmarking is likely easiest, and most relevant to readers, by focusing on local elected officials.

Continuing coverage, if thoughtfully planned, goes a long way toward holding elected officials accountable. It also can enrich coverage of local public affairs, providing substantive content beyond blow-by-blow meeting reports.

Several angles can be pursued once newly elected bodies take shape. For example:

  • Candidates emerge victorious propelled by a platform of what they represent and promise to accomplish. Prepare periodic scorecards of their performance.
  • A new year often is accompanied by a new agenda – “state of the state” speeches by the mayor, county board chair or school board presidents. Detail their objectives and track progress, periodically generating stories and, where appropriate, editorial commentary.
  • Elections can produce new voting blocs and changes in governing dynamics. That may be easily noticed when individuals run on a party label. It’s less evident in nonpartisan contests. Reporters who regularly cover these bodies are in an excellent position to analyze the changes and preview what might be in store.

This year’s acrimonious presidential election offers a more immediate opportunity for examination. Party-line voting is common among many voters, leading at the top of the ticket. Did that pattern hold sway this year? 

Track the local voting percentages for the presidential nominees compared to other partisan races. Research the same percentages for the presidential election four years ago. Did margins remain static or were there significant changes? Any surprises in either regard?

Create a nice, easy-to-read graphic with the figures. Then connect with local party leaders or elder statesmen to interpret the patterns. Consider maybe a retired public official, an incumbent who chose not to seek re-election, or a political science professor at an area university.

Are you short on newsroom resources or simply exhausted from writing election stories? Explore point/counterpoint columns for the editorial page. You provide the theme, and others generate the content. Publish the commentaries side-by-side with their photos. Produce a nice graphic restating the final vote totals and maybe additional breakdown such as contrasting urban/rural districts – whatever might be appropriate.

A deeper review of what the voters said doesn’t have to be all rolled into the next day’s edition. Follow-up stories are excellent content for your newspaper in succeeding days and weeks and help readers know what the election results really mean.

Newsrooms should put as much effort into post-election reports as in ongoing campaign coverage. Both your newspaper and community will benefit.

Networking Night for New England Journalists on Tuesday, November 12!

Join us for a networking event and a relaxing evening to unwind after last week’s election! The Boston Association of Black Journalists, the New England chapter of the Asian American Journalists Association, and the New England chapter of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists are joining forces with the New England Society of News Editors to host an after-work gathering.

Event Details

Date: Tuesday, November 12, 2024
Time: 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM
Location: Tiki Rock, 2 Broad St., Boston

This FREE event is open to all media professionals in the area. It’s a perfect opportunity to connect with colleagues from various news organizations, exchange ideas, and expand your professional network.

What to Expect

  • A vibrant atmosphere for networking
  • Cash bar available
  • Chance to meet journalists from diverse backgrounds and media outlets

Don’t miss this fantastic opportunity to mingle with fellow journalists and media professionals in a fun setting. Whether you’re a seasoned reporter or new to the field, this event promises to be an enriching experience for all attendees.

Please spread the word to your colleagues and join us for what promises to be an engaging and fun-filled evening! We look forward to seeing you there! If you have a chance, RSVP to emily.sweeney@globe.com.

Calling All Aspiring Journalists: Apply for 2025 New England Scholarships

As the next generation of journalists prepares to make their mark, the Journalism Education Foundation of New England (JEFNE) offers aspiring reporters a chance to jumpstart their careers. The foundation has announced the opening of applications for its 2025 scholarship program, including the MacGregor Fiske Award.

Administered by the New England Newspaper and Press Association, this annual scholarship program aims to support up to 10 promising students passionate about pursuing a career in the newspaper industry. The program is open to high school seniors and college students who are residents of Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, or Vermont.

Interested candidates must submit their applications by Friday, March 14, 2025 to be considered. For more information about this exciting opportunity, email students@nenpa.com.

Don’t miss this chance to turn your journalistic aspirations into reality – apply now and take the first step toward shaping the future of news in New England!

Qualifications for JEFNE Scholarships:

  1. Be a resident of New England (CT, MA, ME, NH, RI, or VT).
  2. Must be a senior in high school or an undergraduate college student, studying journalism or a related field, planning to attend college in Fall 2025.
  3. Have a GPA of 3.0 or above.
  4. Demonstrate a serious interest in a career in journalism by sending: a cover letter, transcript, resume or biography, and letter of recommendation.
  5. Submit a body of published work in a school news publication, general circulation newspaper, or a similar publication or a body of work prepared for a journalism class. A minimum of three works must be submitted.
  6. PLEASE NOTE: You will receive an email confirming the receipt of your application with a link to a Dropbox folder to upload the required documents.

Journalism Scholarship Program Information
Journalism Scholarship Application

Enter Better Newspaper Competition and show off your successes in marketing, advertising, circulation, and promotion

The Advertising/Circulation/Promotion division of the Better Newspaper Competition consists of 32 competitive categories, and we want you to flaunt your best ideas for everyone to see. We are encouraging innovative and creative members to enter their best work in the 2024 competition!

Participation in the contest is a great way to show off your best revenue-generating work, reward and recognize your advertising, graphics, and production staff, and share ideas so we can learn from each other!

There is no limit on the number of entries per category, except in Advertising General Excellence. Newspapers are eligible to compete in six classes:

  • Dailies with circulation up to 12,999k
  • Dailies with a circulation of more than 13k
  • Weeklies with circulation up to 4,999k
  • Weeklies with a circulation of more than 5k
  • Specialty and niche publications
  • News Services and Online News Sites

Publications interested in joining NENPA can find out more information at this link.

Work published by NENPA member news organizations during the contest year, August 1, 2023, to July 31, 2024, is eligible for this competition.

The deadline to submit entries is Friday, November 15, 2024.

Download the information packet and you will find all of the information necessary to prepare your entries, including a list of competitive categories, complete rules and guidelines, and the criteria that each contest category will be judged upon. You can find additional information on preparing entries – such as how to make PDF files smaller, extract particular pages, and how to combine several PDF files – on the Frequently Asked Questions page at the end of the packets.

Reminder – the association code to access the contest portal is NENPA and you’ll need to register for the platform even though you may have been registered last year (the system gets wiped clean between contests.) Also, both the email and password fields are case-sensitive.

Link to contest platform:

https://newspapercontest.com/Contests/NewEnglandNewspaperandPressAssociation.aspx

Awards will be presented at the annual New England Newspaper Convention, happening in Spring 2025.

For further information please contact Linda Conway, at l.conway@nenpa.com or Tara Cleary, at t.cleary@nenpa.com.

Learn more about the Better Newspaper Competition

Submit your entries

The State of Local News 2024 Report – Expanding Deserts, Shifts in Ownership, and Expanded Digital Coverage

The State of Local News 2024 report produced by the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University highlights the ongoing crisis in local news across the United States. Despite some positive developments, the overall trend remains concerning, with an average of two newspapers closing each week.

Since 2005, the country has lost more than a quarter of its newspapers. In 2023 alone, more than 130 newspapers ceased operations.

The report identifies 204 counties without a local newspaper, and 1,562 counties with only one newspaper, typically a weekly publication. This leaves over half of all U.S. counties with limited access to local news.

While there has been growth in digital-only local news sites, with more than 550 sites launched since 2019, these efforts have not fully offset the loss of traditional newspapers.

The financial struggles of local news outlets persist, with advertising revenue continuing to decline. This has led to further job losses in newsrooms.

The report emphasizes the crucial role of local news in supporting democracy and community engagement. The decline in local news coverage is linked to decreased voter participation and increased political polarization.

Despite the challenges, the report notes some encouraging trends:

– Increased philanthropic support for local news initiatives
– Growing public awareness of the importance of local journalism
– Emergence of new business models and collaborations in the local news ecosystem

The report concludes by stressing the urgent need for action to address the local news crisis and its implications for the health of local communities and American democracy.

Read the full report

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