NAA Roundup

By Lindsey Loving February 5, 2016

Member Announcements:

Tribune Publishing Company Announces $44.4 Million Private Placement Transaction With Merrick Media, LLC To Accelerate Strategic Initiatives
On February 3, Tribune Publishing Company announced the completion of a $44.4 million private placement transaction with Merrick Media, LLC. Merrick Media Chairman and CEO, Michael Ferro, Jr., has been appointed to the Tribune Publishing Board of Directors as its Non-Executive Chairman. Tribune Publishing plans to use proceeds to help implement components of its growth strategy involving strategic acquisitions and digital initiatives.

Tampa Bay Times to print The Tampa Tribune (Tampa Bay Times)
The Tampa Bay Times announced it will begin printing The Tampa Tribune as part of a five-year contract. In addition to The Tribune, under the agreement The Times will also print the editions of its affiliate publications and its commercial printing partners.

How the New York Times is using unpublished images from the archives to tell stories it missed the first time (Poynter)
The Times is opening its archive and publishing old photos that tell stories never heard before, providing insightful context on the people and places depicted. The current project, Unpublished Black History, celebrates Black History Month.

McClatchy Announces 12 President’s Awards For Journalism Excellence, Digital Innovation And Public Service (McClatchy Company)
The McClatchy Company announced the 12 journalists who have received its 2015 President’s Awards. The Awards recognize excellence in reporting using a variety of platforms and/or showing innovation.

Staff Announcements:

Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc.: Bob Parks, longtime publisher of the Plattsburgh Press-Republican, announced he is retiring after a four-decade career in the newspaper business.

Washington Post: Miki King will be joining The Post as vice president of operations. King will oversee cross-functional initiatives and lead the finance project management office, along with other teams.

NAA Announcements:

NAA Announces “Top 30 Under 30” Awards Program at NAA mediaXchange 2016: NAA has launched the inaugural “Top 30 Under 30” Awards program to honor young industry leaders. The program provides an opportunity to showcase the energy, innovation and vitality of the news media industry – and its rising stars. To qualify, applicants should be employed at an NAA member news media company (journalists or those in business or technology departments) and must be under the age of 30 as of March 31, 2016. Entries for the program will be accepted today through Friday, March 11, 2016. The winners will be recognized at NAA mediaXchange 2016, taking place April 17-20, 2016 in Washington, DC.

What We’re Reading:

It’s How Long Ads Are Viewed That Really Matters (The Wall Street Journal)
New research found that as an online ad’s viewability increases, so does consumer attention to and recollection of the ad.

How CNN and Washington Post are using voicemail to connect with their audiences (podcast) (SoundCloud)
In this podcast produced by Journalism.co.uk, social media reps from CNN and The Washington Post talk about how they’re trying out voicemail to increase engagement with their online communities.

The Boston Globe built an election app with one small twist to keep you glued to your phone (Nieman Lab)
The Boston Globe has a mobile and desktop app that provides users with up-to-the-second results of the presidential campaign caucuses. Because the app automatically refreshes every 15 seconds, it is seeing very high engagement.

In search of Facebook love, publishers form link-sharing pacts with each other (Digiday)
Some publishers are partnering with each other to achieve “social syndication,” agreeing to share other publishers’ posts on their Facebook pages in return for the same, in hopes it will increase their volume of unique readers.