YouTube Launches Reporters’ Center to Foster Citizen Journalism

Steve Myers of PoynterOnline recently wrote an informative article concerning YouTube’s new efforts to improve and promote videos that are newsworthy: The Reporters’ Center, launched yesterday, gives reporters and citizens alike the opportunity to cover newsworthy events for an online audience, wherever they happen to be. This site includes instructional videos from professional journalists on interviewing techniques, shooting video with your cell phone, and much more.

YouTube hopes this new tool will enable citizen reporters to “more effectively report on news and have that content amplified on a bigger platform,” said Steve Grove, the site’s head of politics and news. YouTube sees this site as a new medium for people who witness important events and the organizations that need their accounts.

The Reporters’ Center could be a useful online tool for community newspapers, too, providing them with another means of connecting with their local citizens.

The recent BCYCNA/BC Press Council High School Scholarship competition revealed huge support for this kind of initiative. Almost every student commented that they wanted more of an online presence from their local newspapers.

Alongside blogs, twitter, Facebook, and the online edition of a paper, YouTube’s Reporters’ Center provides local readers with another opportunity to be involved in their community and their community news.

Community papers faring better than metro dailies

Recently the Business Ledger, a suburban Chicago newspaper, wrote an enlightening article on the current status of community newspapers. The piece comments how community papers are performing better than other publications in the industry, such as metro dailies.

The article continues to explain how community newspapers have an advantage over other outlets due to their ability to deliver regional audiences for local advertisers, much like the BCYCNA Community Classifieds.

The article closes with, Nancy M. Lane, president of Suburban Newspapers of America,  saying, “The future is bright.” As mentioned in the recent blog post, The BCYCNA continues to deliver, the future is optimistic for community newspapers!

For a full report of the story, click here.

It’s never too early to start thinking about the 2010 Ma Murray Awards!

The BCYCNA is pleased to announce that we have confirmed the date and location for the 2010 Ma Murray Community Newspaper Awards. The 2010 event will take place on Saturday, April 10, 2010 at the River Rock Casino Resort. We’ve managed to secure an even lower room rate than last year, and are excited that the River Rock’s new lobby and skybridge will be complete by the time our event takes place.

BCYCNA members, it’s well worth your time to compete! Being a winner, or even a finalist, is a fantastic marketing tool for your paper. And on top of that, the top three finalists in all categories are typically given a free ticket to the event as well as a free night’s accommodation. So take the time now, while we’re still more than six months away from the entry deadline, to put aside some of your best work. Anything published between January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2009 will be eligible, so we’re halfway there.

Watch out for that extraordinary sports photo, or that fantastically-written feature article. File away your best ad campaigns, photo essays, and hard news stories. Keep copies of all the elements of your special community service efforts and special sections. It will save you so much time later, when we ask you, right in the middle of your busy holiday season, to pull together your submissions. Start doing it now!

For a full list of the 2009 categories, click here.

And mark April 10, 2010 on your calendar. See you at the River Rock!

The BCYCNA continues to deliver

The trend for several companies in the industry has been to cut their advertising budget on traditional media while leaving their online presence as-is. The BC & Yukon Community Newspaper Association continues to offer community classifieds, which enable advertisers to maintain their online presence while reaching over 11 million readers through various Canada wide print publications.

In addition, the BCYCNA has other economical services for any company to get their message out, such as, our highly targeted press release distribution service which can reach any media outlet across BC.

Whatever the trend or your needs, the BCYCNA has the ability to assist you in getting your message heard.

For more information on the BCYCNA community classifieds check out the Our Services tab on our website or click HERE.

5 Benefits of Twitter

In recent post on bizzia.com, Anna Farmery gives her top 5 Benefits of Twitter. They are as follows:

1. For creativity. Working alone can be hard and Twitter constantly feeds ideas to me.
2. Support. If I have a question, if I have a problem then I put it out to my virtual friends. Free advice !
3. Meeting new people. I am naturally shy and twitter lets me meet people, get to know them and establish new friends in a non embarrassing way.
4. To get me thinking about different aspects of life, different topics, different cultures. It makes me think globally and stops me being insular.
5. Helps me condense my thinking. I am a natural waffler! Twitter is a training tool which makes me think about the importance of each word.

The BCYCNA is also finding some benefits with Twitter as it is being utilized for Community Classifieds. Find the BCYCNA on Twitter @CommunityAds.

Prepare for the return of recruitment classified advertising

An article by Adolfo Mendez of the Inland Press states, “It’s only a matter of time before employers begin to feel confident enough about the economy to hire workers.”  The question is whether those companies will use newspapers to advertise their job openings, or whether they will choose to advertise online.

Mendez notes that newspapers will need to prepare sales staff to be more aggressive in order to raise recruitment classified revenue, and to use the paper’s status in the local community as a selling point. Mendez interviews Larry Maynard, chairman of NGM Partners LLC, who outlines several steps newspapers can take in order to increase sales, including the creation of sales and marketing materials specific to recruitment, and to design a single rate card that encompasses packages for all categories of ads in a media kit for potential clients.

To read Mendez’ article, go to: http://www.inlandpress.org.

Premier Campbell announces new cabinet

On Monday, June 8, 2009 shortly after the latest 46-member caucus was sworn-in, Premier Gordon Campbell made the announcement that BC will get a new cabinet this week and a new budget in September.

As of June 10, the new cabinet will be sworn in giving him time to recall the legislature in late August, while the new budget will be listed on September first.

According to Campbell the new cabinet will consist of new and old MLAs and will immediately be tasked to find more ways to save costs.

Webinar: The State of the Newspapers

Suzanne Raitt of the Canadian Newspaper Association

On June 18^th the associates of the BCYCNA have the opportunity to enjoy some of the many perks of membership! On this occasion, Suzanne Raitt, VP of Marketing and Innovation, from the Canadian Newspaper Association is sharing a new Webinar presentation called “The Newspaper Report.” It highlights the power and effectiveness of newspapers. Topics addressed include:

• Newspapers are not dead – they continue to be strong and relevant
• The influence of online newspaper sites
• Newspaper strengths
• How newspapers can be used strategically
• Innovative use of newspapers
• Newspapers deliver ROI  

The latest research and case studies from Canada and around the world are used to present the message.

Suzanne holds a strong background in Marketing and Advertising. She began her career in packaged good marketing (at Hershey and Robin Hood Multifoods). She then moved to the ad agency side of business working with agencies such as Saatchi and Saatchi and MacLaren McCann. With a previous stint at the Association, recently she re-joined the team from the Toronto Star.

Cost: $60. (Use one speakerphone & one computer and you can train as many people as you like)

Cancellations are permitted up to 24 hours prior to the start of the Webinar session. All other registrants will be billed for the session. Please forward cancellations to k.shardlow@ocna.org

Title: 2009 Report: The State of Newspapers
Date: Thursday, June 18, 2009
Time: 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM EDT

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar. 

System Requirements
PC-based attendees – Required: Windows® 2000, XP Home, XP Pro, 2003 Server, Vista.
Macintosh®-based attendees – Required: Mac OS® X 10.4 (Tiger®) or newer.

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/916625721.

Video Coverage of Ink & Beyond Available Online

Missed a presentation at Ink & Beyond 2009, Canada’s premier newspaper event? Or missed the conference altogether? Visit the Ink & Beyond website at www.inkandbeyond.ca to watch short video interviews with conference presenters such as Susan Karol, executive director of the Suburban Newspapers of America Foundation, Theo Blanco of Sweden’s UNT Media Group and MSNBC columnist Michael Rogers. The videos are courtesy of Ink & Beyond sponsor the Canadian Press.