Home of the first ethnic paper, Philadelphia has a world of diversity.
When mainstream American newspapers are losing circulation and advertising revenue, many ethnic newspapers in the United States are flourishing -- reaching 51 million readers, or about one-quarter of the U.S. adult population, according to a survey released in June by New California Media, an association of ethnic media organizations.

Today dozens of ethnic papers call Philadelphia home, including Philadelphia Tribune, the venerable black paper; Dong-A Daily News, a Korean-language paper that employs 20 people in Elkins Park; Spanish-language Al Dia; Little Saigon News, a free Vietnamese weekly; and Russian Market Newspaper, a weekly paper published in Northeast Philadelphia.

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Patriot-News tabloid edition stopped after strong effort
While the future of the newspaper industry might well be a tabloid edition, The Patriot-News has not been able to show that. According to Patriot-News Editor and Publisher John Kirkpatrick, the paper has proved that many occasional readers really like the compact format, but turning them into regular buyers was the difficult part.

Friday, Sept. 30 marked the last day of publication for the Harrisburg paper's compact edition, The Patriot.

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Former publisher buys Titusville Herald
The Titusville Herald has been sold to its former publisher, Michael Sample.

The newspaper was owned for six years by Community Newspaper Holdings Inc., of Birmingham, Ala. CNHI also is the parent company of The Meadville Tribune.

The sale was completed on Sept. 30.

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Times Leader sues Wilkes-Barre, police chief seeking crime stats
The Times Leader filed a civil suit against the city and its police chief Oct. 5, demanding the release of crime statistics the chief refused to provide to the paper.

The suit filed in the Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas comes after Chief Gerry Dessoye’s denial of two written requests for a geographical breakdown of crime statistics from previous years made by Times Leader Managing Editor Dave Iseman.

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Scranton Times appeal: Judge ignored rulings
A Lackawanna County judge ignored three state Supreme Court rulings that upheld reporters’ absolute right to protect confidential sources when he ordered The Scranton Times to publicly identify a source at the heart of a libel suit filed by two former county commissioners, the newspaper contends in its appeal of the order.

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Journalists sue PHEAA for spending records.
Three journalists, including an Associated Press reporter, sued Pennsylvania's student-loan agency for its spending records, including receipts for almost $900,000 that board members spent on retreats.

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday, Oct. 4 said the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency violated the law and the reporters' due process rights when it denied a request for the records and then asked a state appellate court to rule that the records are not public.

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Kevin Flowers: PNA Minority Job fair should have taken place
Kevin Flowers of the Erie Times-News editorializes about why the PNA's Minority Job fair should have taken place. Despite months of advance notice, the PNA was forced to cancel the event due to lack of student registrations.

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Benefactor takes on Chestnut Hill Local
Richard Wood Snowden, the well-known benefactor, socialite and businessman who owns more than three dozen commercial properties in Chestnut Hill, is taking on the Chestnut Hill Local. In recent years, the weekly paper has covered Snowden, his family and his business, Bowman Properties, in ways that have displeased them.

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Herald-Standard names new ME Snead
Terry Snead has returned to the Herald-Standard in Uniontown, Pa., as its dayside managing editor.

Snead, 48, previously worked at the Herald-Standard from 1982 to 1987. He served as the Uniontown city beat reporter before he was promoted to associate editor in charge of the newspaper's Brownsville zone.

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2005 Newspaper of the Year winners now posted
We know you've all been waiting patiently! Newspaper of the Year, as well as the Public Service Award and G. Richard Dew Award winners are now posted. Awards will be presented Nov. 4, 2005 at PNA's Annual Convention at the Yorktowne Hotel, York, Pa.

[NEWSPAPER OF THE YEAR WINNERS]

[PUBLIC SERVICE AWARD WINNER]

[G. RICHARD DEW AWARD WINNER]

PNA offers complimentary human resources service to members
PNA’s Human Resources Network is now a complimentary service to our members. Introduced as a member service in 2003, PNA members previously paid a fee based on circulation to join the HR Network.

The HR Network has been successful in training hundreds of managers and employees on and off-site in the areas of staffing, performance management, diversity, customer service and other topics. We worked with members on questions regarding employment, employee relations, compensation, benefits and employee safety and health. The HR Network has also offered the ability to provide in-depth HR help, such as working alongside members through difficult HR issues, writing employment policies and procedures, conducting employee opinion surveys and workflow studies.

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Get Your Motor Running...at the PNA Annual Convention
In a city known for Harleys, help your newspaper hit the open highway towards success at the PNA Annual Convention, Nov. 2-4, at the Yorktowne Hotel, York. A slate of outstanding and valuable sessions have been planned to meet the needs of today's publishers and general managers. From changing products to changing audiences to Advo to FOI, we've got it all.

Don't miss Dean Singleton, vice chairman and CEO of MediaNews Group. As an industry leader, Singleton offers his thoughts on the newspaper industry today. Repeatedly insightful, often controversial and always knowledgeable, this is a speaker whom you don’t want to miss! He's speaking at lunch on Thursday, Nov. 3.

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Support the 2005 PNA Foundation Auction
Nov. 2, 2005
Yorktowne Hotel, York, Pa.
An entertaining "Harley-themed" night is planned for this year’s annual auction to benefit the PNA Foundation. Come dressed in your finest leather and be ready to bid!

We're asking for your support so the Foundation can continue to provide low-cost training and respected contests, as well as promote the newspaper industry to our youth. Please consider making a donation to the auction. Last year, your generosity helped us earn more than $25,000.

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America East Print Quality Contest under way
Put your paper's print quality to the test and enter it in this year's Print Quality Contest. Newspapers printed by offset, flexo and letterpress are eligible and are evaluated on black ink laydown, color ink laydown, color registration, halftone quality, page alignment and overall print appearance.

The Print Quality Contest is held every year in conjunction with America East. Winners will be recognized at an awards ceremony on March 29, 2006, at the conclusion of the Print Quality sessions at America East in Hershey, Pa. The contest is sponsored by Flint Ink and US Ink.

Registration deadline is Nov. 18, 2005. Contact Elissa Doyle at elissad@pa-news.org or (717) 703-3069 with questions.

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From the Hotline: 
Can a housing rental ad read “Attention Parents”?

PNA's General Counsel Teri Henning answers this question.

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Use this link to visit the Headlines & Deadlines page which groups and archives Teri Henning's weekly 'From the Hotline' columns. 

[HOTLINE ARCHIVE]

NY Times reporter's decision to testify in CIA leak probe concerns journalism organizations.
New York Times reporter Judith Miller's decision to escape jail by testifying about her conversations with a confidential source surprised some of her supporters and left journalists wondering what her choice will mean for press freedoms.

Miller spent 85 days in jail for initially refusing to tell a grand jury whom she spoke with about Valerie Plame, a covert CIA official whose identity was leaked to several reporters in 2003. But on Thursday, Sept. 29 she was abruptly released from prison, and a day later gave a grand jury the testimony long sought by Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald.

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NAA's New 'NADbase' Exposes True Reach of Newspapers
For too long, publishers have complained that the only metric newspapers are measured against is paid circulation. The Newspaper Association of America (NAA) is trying to change that notion, and Monday, Oct. 3 it released the first comprehensive report on newspaper readership -- print and Web -- called the NADbase.

The NADbase looks at the top 100 newspapers and breaks out readership by gender, age group, household income level, and total reach. The report slices the numbers for daily, Sunday, daily cumulative (a five-day average) and Sunday cumulative (a four-Sunday average). In addition, it lists the paper's online activity by page views and unique audience.

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