Lancaster New Era places in Editor & Publisher's '10 That Do It Right'
The Lancaster New Era was doing something right long before the past year. It won state awards, and was the rare afternoon daily with almost as much circulation as its morning counterpart.

But the New Era, founded in 1877, received national attention when its coverage of last October's tragic shootings of five Amish schoolgirls won honors including the Pulliam prize and the Religion Communicators Council's Wilbur Award.

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KBA combines triplewide capacity with singlewide flexibility
Danish newspaper publisher Dansk AvisTryk, ordered a triplewide KBA Commander in what press manufacturer Koenig & Bauer calls a first-of-its-kind configuration.

With project consultant Web Offset Services, Sarasota, Fla., Dansk AvisTryk proposed the design to achieve high productivity and production flexibility within a compact arrangement.

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Herald-Standard: Expanded Pa. open records proposal expected
A bill that would expand public access to municipal and state records ranging from police reports to Penn State football coach Joe Paterno's salary will be at the top of this fall's legislative agenda, House and Senate leaders have pledged.

The House State Government Committee has scheduled a hearing Aug. 7 in Harrisburg on open records legislation sponsored by Rep. Tim Mahoney, D-Uniontown.

Mahoney has proposed revamping the state's open records law to make it more difficult for the local and state government and agencies that receive public funding to block access to records.

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PASSOPENRECORDS.ORG: Blog for open records!

Why are we always last?
House Bill 976, which passed unanimously in the lower chamber but has not yet been voted on in the Senate, mandates that Pennsylvania put all its laws on the Internet where they can be accessed for free. It turns out that Pennsylvania is the ONLY state that does not currently have that program for its citizens...

Doubt
Despite the public and prolific announcements of legislative leaders that open-records reform is at the top of their to-do list for the fall session, there remain a good many doubters around the state about how much – if any – reform we may actually see...

From the Legal Hotline:
Does Pennsylvania law require school superintendent finalist names to be public?

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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. 

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Former president of Dardanell Publications (Gateway Newspapers) dies at 79
James Stanton Steele, a newspaper advertising salesman who rose to president of Dardanell Publications -- now Gateway Newspapers -- and later ran his own promotional distribution company, died July 9, 2007, of complications from Alzheimer's disease.

He was 79 and lived in Monroeville with his wife, Evelyn, before entering hospice care at The Cedars of Monroeville.

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Foundation Update: Boot camp and brown bag lunches
Last chance to register for the New Reporters Boot Camp! Coming soon: Brown bag lunches via teleconference. These lunches will be the perfect setting for dialogue with peers and colleagues across the state.

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PNA Foundation and the Pa. NIE Committee present "Thomas Paine: American Patriot"
This 8-week serial and accompanying teacher’s guide will be available on disc, free of charge, to all PNA member newspapers. The recommended timing for publishing the first chapter of the serialized story is on or before Sept. 17, Constitution Day, which is a federally mandated day of study of the U.S. Constitution.

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2007 Classified Advertising Tearsheet Contest
Contest deadline: Aug. 10
The Classified Advertising Tearsheet Contest honors the best use and promotion of classified advertising in newspapers. The contest offers circulation divisions for both dailies and weeklies.

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2007 Reader Initiative Award
Contest deadline: Aug. 17
The face of readership is diverse. This diversity demands our attention. Newspapers across the state of Pennsylvania are recognizing this challenge, and stepping up. This award honors Pennsylvania newspapers that accept the challenge and create a community of readers through innovative initiatives.

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Your help needed on PNA Foundation Internship Guide
We are in the process of updating the PNA Foundation Internship Guide for Fall 2007-Summer 2008, and would appreciate your help in gathering accurate information for this year’s guide. The Foundation is pleased to offer this free service once again as part of our effort to improve newspapers through education and training programs.

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Aug. 5-11: New Reporters Boot Camp - Harrisburg
Calling all newbie journalists! Get a little push in the right direction from Potter Leader-Enterprise Editor Don Gilliland and a host of other seasoned journalists and industry experts.

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Four out of five newspaper Web site readers also read the printed edition
A new study recently released by the Newspaper National Network LP, conducted by Scarborough Research, found that 81% of newspaper Web site users also read the printed newspaper in the last 7 days. Crossover users (those who used both print and online newspapers in the past 7 days) have deep affinity with both their printed newspaper and their newspaper Web site, and 83% say “I love both my printed newspaper and visiting my newspapers Web site.”

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Online newspapers experience record visitor numbers
Data compiled by Nielsen//NetRatings, on behalf of the Newspaper Association of America (NAA), showed that, on average, just under 40 percent of all active Internet users visited newspaper Web sites during Q2 2007. That amounts to over 59 million people and a 7.7 percent increase on Q2 2006.

“As the industry continues to expand its digital portfolio, readers are visiting newspaper Web sites in record numbers for in-depth news and information as well as hyper-local information,” said NAA President and CEO John F. Sturm.

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Political ads stage a comeback in newspapers
Political consultant Cathy Allen isn't yet certain which issues will define the 2008 elections. But she's already decided that the campaigns she manages will make heavy use of an old-fashioned advertising vehicle: newspapers.

"Newspapers are back," says Ms. Allen, a Democratic political consultant in Seattle who manages mostly local and statewide campaigns in the Northwest. Of the quarter-million dollars in spending that she directed on behalf of 34 candidates in 2006, newspapers received a larger share than television, she says.

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