5000 Northwind Dr.

, Suite 240
East Lansing, MI 48823
Phone (800) 783-0267 • (517) 333-3355
Summer 2010
Fax (517) 333-3322 NEWSLETTER
www.communitypapersofmichigan.com Volume 5 • Edition 3
Inside Michigan Festivals and Events Association Partners with
This Community Papers of Michigan
Issue:
• MFEA & CPM
Partners
• CPM’s New
Classified
Corner
• Executive
Director
Updates
• Ad Design Tips
• Advertising
Award
Winners
Announced
• From Sales This photo was taken at the Delta College Planetarium in Bay City, MI. July 16, 2010, after the banner presentation by NASA Astronaut,
Person to Captain Michael Foreman. The MFEA Banner Pictured here was aboard the space shuttle Atlantis. From left: MFEA Board member,
Serve Person Joe Syrian; MFEA Board member, Nancy Bliss; NASA Astronaut, Captain Michael Foreman; MFEA Executive Director, Sue Bila;
Community Papers of Michigan Executive Director, Jack Guza; and MFEA Board member, Jeanna Zehnder.
• Hardware &
East Lansing, MI - Community Papers of guides located throughout the state. Our
Software
Michigan Executive Director, Jack Guza, members offer a combined weekly
Info
along with Michigan Festivals and Events audited circulation of over 2.1 Million
• Paperchain Association Executive Director, Sue Bila, home-delivered publications. CPM offers
Updates are pleased to announce an exciting training, conferences, sales support to
partnership between the two their members, and promotes the
• Postal Service associations. effectiveness of weekly community print
News
Community Papers of Michigan (CPM), publications as viable news and
is a trade association serving ninety eight advertising mediums.
community newspapers and shopping (Cont.)

Committed to improving member publications by providing resources, education, exchange of ideas and information.
 community papers of michigan
Michigan Festivals and Events Association Partners with Community
Papers of Michigan (Cont.)
Guza stated, “Our members' publications are
highly read and deeply rooted within their
respective communities. Our association offers a
state-wide classified advertising network,
Michigan MegaMarket, which features
advertisers within community publications
throughout the state for one low price.” Guza
continued, “I presented an idea to Sue Bila, the
Executive Director of MFEA that would have our
associations working together for the mutual
benefit of our collective memberships, utilizing
CPM's state-wide classified network.” Guza
continued, “Both CPM and MFEA are non-profit
associations and funding is challenging in these
tougher economic times. “MFEA members now
have the ability to purchase a MegaMarket ad at
a new discounted rate.” “CPM will donate a
portion of each state-wide classified
advertisement placed by an MFEA member back
to MFEA to assist them in continuing their great
work promoting their vast membership's events
from communities throughout the state.” “This
alliance will strengthen both associations while
providing each participating event with optimum
advertising coverage - a win-win-win situation.”
“CPM's MegaMarket state-wide classified
network will reach millions of people each week
inviting readers to visit the many fabulous and
unique festivals and events that Michigan is
famous for.” “Residents throughout the state will
now find many family-friendly events within the
classified ads featured in their local community
newspapers which will help to strengthen local
economies as they explore all that Michigan has
to offer.” “The Festival and Event ads will be
featured under the well publicized PARTY AT MI
PLACE logo followed by the Michiganfun.com
website above the name MI Festivals & Events
Association.” Guza continued, “We're all in this
together and new creative solutions with
businesses and organizations supporting each
other and working together is needed now more
than ever.”
www.communitypapersofmichigan.com
“MFEA is proud to announce our new partnership
with CPM, adding a new affordable service for
our members“, explained Sue Bila, MFEA
Executive Director based in Chesaning, MI. “It is
with great partners MFEA has continued to grow
and become the largest state association for
festivals and events. MFEA takes pride in
dedicating and developing educational programs,
services, and networking opportunities
contributing to the business success of festivals,
fairs, events, attractions, suppliers and related
tourism businesses. IDEAS SHARED…VISIONS
FORMED…A NEW LEVEL.
“Thanks to volunteers like you, worthy causes are
supported, important events take place, our
communities are strengthened, and our lives are
enriched. We thank you for caring…and doing!”
CPM - Member
Classified
CORNER
CPM Members may place employment
classifieds in our quarterly newsletters
FREE OF CHARGE
Please email to CPM Executive Director, Jack Guza at
jackguza@cpapersmi.com and your recruitment ad will be
placed in the next available edition.
Advertising Sales Management
The Pioneer Group, a regional publishing leader
headquartered in Big Rapids, has an immediate need
for an assistant sales manager.
The successful candidate will have sales experience,
preferably media sales, supervisory experience and can
demonstrate a strong record of achievement.
We’re looking for a dynamic individual who can motivate
and manage teams. Strong interpersonal skills are a
must. The ideal candidate will be creative, organized
and possess basic computer skills. Compensation will
be salary plus bonus.
Send letter of interest and resume to: Nina Jones, HR
Manager, The Pioneer Group, 115 N. Michigan Ave. Big
Rapids, MI 49307
2
 community papers of michigan
Executive Director Updates
We have been working on a full
schedule of initiatives at the
Community Papers of
Michigan’s East Lansing office.
Our focus has been on growing
Jack Guza revenue through classified and
Executive Director display sales which will in turn
bring additional member benefits to you. We are
attracting more and more interest in our networks
from Michigan-based businesses. Because of your
efforts, our state-wide classified network is one of
the strongest-performing networks in the country! I
have spoken to some of the agencies that place
ads into our network and they are quick to say that
their customer’s call volumes noticeably increase
when they place Michigan MegaMarket ads. This
always perplexes them as Michigan’s economy is
known far and wide as challenged, to say the least.
I tell them the reason the ads work is because our
participating members are placing the ads week in
and week out. Also, running the ads within your
local classifieds has been another key to the
success of our network. We also have a few
additional members selling MegaMarket ads
including: J-Ad Graphics; The Salesman
Publications; and Morning Star Publications. Keep
up the great work!
CoolerAds Update: As more and more of our
members continue to sign-up with Joe Nicastro for
the CoolerAds program, we are moving closer to
establishing our classified website that will have
participating members’ classifieds aggregated.
This initiative is one of the most important things
we can do as Community Papers, to provide your
readers with a viable state-wide and beyond free
on-line classified advertising option. As we move
forward with this initiative, it will shed a positive light
on each of our members’ publications and
encourage/educate people of the value that is
available in placing a print classified in conjunction
with an on-line advertisement. We need 100%
participation for this to be as effective as possible.
We are up to 29 member publications that are
www.communitypapersofmichigan.com
ready to roll out their CoolerAds program. We are
now beginning to build the aggregated classified
website, and once it is operational, I will send the
link to all of you to check it out. I believe that once
you see all of these ads from different parts of the
state listed under common headings, you will see
why your publication needs to join in this fight
against Craigslist, ebay, and other free classified
sites. This will give all CPM members’ classified
ads much more clout and effectiveness and will
drive your readers to your website to review the
legitimate and edited classified ads – as opposed
to the many scams people deal with on other sites.
Membership Directory: Most of you have now
received CPM’s new membership directory as I
have been visiting member offices throughout the
state delivering them and talking about your
association and offering information on our
advertising networks to your staffs. If you have not
yet received your copies, you will very soon. We
encourage you to have enough directories on hand
to provide one to each sales rep., several copies for
your office/s, and feel free to have some on your
counter for people to take. If any of your clients
want to reach beyond your market, please
encourage them to consider a fellow CPM Member
publication. This could bring welcomed added
business to our members, and hopefully your
company will gain an additional advertiser from this
suggestion by a fellow CPM Member.
CPM/MFEA Partnership: As the press release on
the front of this newsletter states, our new
partnership with Michigan Festivals and Events
Association, (MFEA), will provide additional
classified advertising opportunities for our
members and our office. These additional sales
will come back to you in the form of added member
benefits and larger rebates for participating
MegaMarket members. Our MegaMarket network
is a perfect fit for MFEA’s members who have a
need to reach people from throughout the state
and invite them to their events.
(Cont.)
3
 community papers of michigan
Executive Director Updates (Cont.)
There’s simply not a more
affordable way to reach across the
state than with a MegaMarket
classified network advertisement.
If your classified or display
Jack Guza salespeople who work with your
Executive Director
local festival and event committees
need additional information regarding our MFEA offer,
please have them call me. Also, if your local festival,
fair or event is not yet a member of MFEA, they can
call MFEA’s Executive Director, Sue Bila at 989-845-
2080 for membership details. I also want to thank
those of you who published the press release and
photo I sent to you. It is important that your local
festival and event committees keep our networks top
of mind.
Political Advertising: We are working on advertising
packages to present to the winners of the August 3
primary elections. We are going to approach
Gubernatorial, State Attorney General and Secretary
of State primary winners as most of you already work
with candidates within your congressional districts. I
have your political rates and now it will be a matter of
packaging individual proposals for each political camp,
encouraging them to give Community Papers and our
Tips for Designing An Attention Getting Ad
All the rules of good page layout apply to ads as well as to
other types of documents. However, there are some generally
accepted practices that apply quite specifically to good
advertising design. The goal of most advertising is to get
people to take some type of action. How elements of an ad
are placed on the page can help accomplish that goal. Try one
or more of these layout ideas for a better ad.
Ogilvy Layout - Research indicates that readers typically
look at Visual, Caption, Headline, Copy, and Signature
(Advertisers name, contact information) in that order.
Following this basic arrangement in an ad is called the Ogilvy
after advertising expert David Ogilvy who used this layout
formula for some of his most successful ads.
Z Layout -Mentally impose the letter Z or a backwards S on
the page. Place important items or those you want the reader
to see first along the top of the Z. The eye normally follows the
path of the Z, so place your "call to action" at the end of the Z.
This arrangement coincides nicely with the Ogilvy layout
where the visual and/or headline occupy the top of the Z and
the Signature with call to action are at the end of the Z.
www.communitypapersofmichigan.com
members’ serious consideration. If they want a real
“grass roots” campaign message to reach voters
throughout the state, they need to look at what your
community publications have to offer. I will keep you
updated as we move toward the November General
Election and any sales I make. Thanks to all for your
rapid response in sending me your political rates.
CVC Audit: The latest 2009-2010 CVC Audit report
will be sent to you beginning in early August. This is
our most costly and useful CPM-funded member
benefit. You are encouraged to use your audit to the
fullest by taking part in the no-cost CVC
teleconference audit training. Your audits tell an
important story and you need to learn how to present
this info in an effective manner to your clients.
2011 CPM Conference: We are finalizing the location
of the 2011 CPM Conference and will inform you in the
coming weeks. By going to an every-other year full
conference, we will offer you an informative and fun-
filled event that will very much be worth your time
attending.
Thank you for your continued support of Community
Papers of Michigan. Together, we CAN make a
difference!
Jack
Single Visual Layout - Although it is possible to use multiple
illustrations in a single advertisement, one of the simplest and
perhaps most powerful layouts use one strong visual
combined with a strong (usually short) headline plus
additional text.
Illustrated Layout -Use photos or other illustrations in an ad
to:
• show the product in use
• show the results of using the product or service
• illustrate complicated concepts or technical issues
• grab attention through humor, size, dramatic content
Top Heavy Layout - Lead the reader's eye by placing the
image in the upper half to two-thirds of the space or on the left
side of the space, with a strong headline before or after the
visual, and then the supporting text.
Upside Down Layout - If an ad is well-designed, it will look
just as good upside down. So, turn it upside down, hold it out
at arm's length, and see if the arrangement looks good.
4
 community papers of michigan www.communitypapersofmichigan.com

Sce ra l Memb er sh ip Meet

nes Gen e ing
from our May, 2010

Advertising
Advertising And
Composition Awards
Banquet Cindy Gaeder-Wing, Liza Sayre & Jon Jacobs

CPM President Terry Roby presenting to Fred Jacobs, Jon Jacobs and Kathy Trumbo.

Left to right: CPM Presidennt Terry Roby presenting to Kim Montoy and Sharon Frederick. Seated: Stacey Kotecki, Val Kniffen, Jeff Winegar, Lyndsay Ruell,
Michelle Winegar & Kathy Simon.

Seated left to right: Jon Jacobs, Steve Mather, Bettie Watson & Kathy Fountain looking over the Design-An-Ad Booklet. In the back Sharon & Rick Frederick.
Old friends Kathy Trumbo & Jack Padley. Jon Jacobs, Terry Roby & Marty Bennett.
5
 community papers of michigan
Community Papers of Michigan
2009 Advertising Awards
CATEGORY 1
BEST SINGLE AD
1st Place-Division 1
Black & White
Pioneer East News Shopper
"Hills Body Shop"
1st Place-Division 2
Black plus spot color
The Burton View
"Center Road Eye Institute"
1st Place-Division 3
Process Four Color
Advance Newspapers
"United Bank"
CATEGORY 2
BEST SINGLE AD
SMALL SPACE
1st Place-Division 1
Black & White
The County Journal
"LCN Mortgage"
1st Place-Division 2
Black plus spot color
Lapeer Area View
"Polar Palace"
CATEGORY 3
BEST GROCERY AD
1st Place-Division 2
Black plus spot color
River Valley News Shopper
"Birds Farm Meats"
1st Place-Division 3
Process Four Color
Bangor Reminder
Shopping Guide
"Village Market"
www.communitypapersofmichigan.com
CATEGORY 4
BEST AUTOMOTIVE AD
1st Place-Division 1
Black & White
Bangor Reminder
Shopping Guide
"Dan's Automotive
& Mike's Towing"
CATEGORY 4
BEST AUTOMOTIVE AD
1st Place-Division 3
Process Four Color
Tri-County Shoppers Guide
"Crossroads Chevrolet"
CATEGORY 5
BEST SIG AD
1st Place-Division
1 Black & White
The County Journal
"Potterville High School"
1st Place-Division 3
Process Four Color
Lapeer Area View
"What's In Your Basket"
CATEGORY 6
BEST RESTAURANT AD
1st Place-Division 1
Black & White
The Reminder, Hasting
"Waldorf Brew Pub"
1st Place-Division 3
Process Four Color
The County Journal
"Riedy's"
CATEGORY 7
BEST REAL ESTATE AD
1st Place-Division 3
Process Four Color
Advance Newspapers
"John Postma RE/MAX"
CATEGORY 8
BEST FURNITURE AD
1st Place-Division 3
Process Four Color
Lapeer Area View
"Fenton Home Furnishings"
CATEGORY 9
BEST INSERT
The Reminder, Hastings
"Celebrations"
CATEGORY 10
BEST SPECIAL SECTION
The Buyers Guide, Lowell
"101 Things To Do"
CATEGORY 11
BEST IN-PAPER THEME PAGES
1st Place-Division 1
Black & White
The County Journal
"Halloween Coloring Contest"
1st Place-Division 2
Black plus spot color
The Reminder, Hastings
"Hastings Area Schools"
CATEGORY 12
BEST BLOOPER
1st Place-Division 1
Black & White
Bangor Reminder
Shopping Guide
"Maple Grove Grill"
1st Place-Division 2
Black plus spot color
Advance Newspapers
"Farmers Co-Op Elevator"
6
 community papers of michigan www.communitypapersofmichigan.com

Community Papers of Michigan

2009 Advertising Awards (Cont.)
CATEGORY 13
BEST ORIGINAL ARTWORK
1st Place-Division 1
Cover of Special Section
The Buyers Guide, Lowell
"Brides & Bouquets"

1st Place-Division 2
Advertisement
Lapeer Area View
"Lapeer Days 2009"

CATEGORY 14
BEST FRONT PAGE DESIGN
1st Place-Division 1
Newspaper Division
Battle Creek Shopper News
"Fall Into The Arts" Jeff Winegar
1st Place-Division 2
of Lansing Community
Shopper Division Newspapers,
Bangor Reminder Shopping Guide Winner of the
"Country House Furniture" “Design-An-Ad Contest”

BEST
PUBLICATION

CATEGORY 16 CATEGORY 16
1st Place-Division 1 1st Place-Division 2
Newspaper Division Shopper Division
The Reminder Community Shoppers Guide
HASTINGS OTSEGO

7
 community papers of michigan www.communitypapersofmichigan.com

even examining you first! It's just as crazy to begin

From Salesperson your sales presentation telling your prospects all
the ways you can help them, when you're not even
to Serve Person by Joe Bonura
sure what their problems are.

Develop a list of at least 10 questions before you

Imagine what it would be like at meet any prospect. Design the questions around
your organization if every service finding out if and how your product or service can
representative knew more about help your prospect. Either commit them to memory
selling and every salesperson or keep a written list. Do not attempt recommending
knew a little more about service. solutions until you have asked your questions,
Your efforts would be doubled listening carefully.
and possibly so would incoming
business. Every employee would be working Become a Problem Solver
together to meet sales objectives. Instead of Being a problem solver fits right in with the new
departmentalization, you would have harmony.Your philosophy floating around about changing from a
customers would benefit because salespeople product-driven organization to a market-driven one.
would be able to answer service questions and The key to being a problem solver is to eliminate the
service people could make a few sales. order-taker syndrome. Start asking customers
questions, solving their problems and giving them
The following ideas and suggestions will help you what they need to solve their problems.
balance sales with service -- and that leads to
increased job esteem and, of course, more money For example, if a client calls and asks for a certain
to be made by all. item or service you offer, you may want to ask him
why he made that choice. Find out how he intends
The Service Approach to Sales to use your product or service.You may discover the
When conducting a sales training seminar for a item he asked for will not fill his need -- and he'll be
commercial printer, I suggested they change their unhappy in the end, possibly bad-mouthing your
business card titles from "salesperson" to company. In this case, recommend another model
"serveperson." They took my advice and reported or service from your line. If you don't have a product
back with a success story. or service that will fit his needs, refer him to a
company that does.
One of their sales associates handed the card to a
prospect who he had been unable to tap for years. Yes, I said send him to another company! This idea
While handing her the card, he said made Macy's department store rich. In the end, that
enthusiastically, "I'm a serveperson for my printing customer will say great things about you and come
company. I'm here to find out how we can help you." back when he can use what you offer. A one-time
The client exclaimed, "It's about time someone was sale should never outweigh the Importance of a
more interested in serving me than selling me!" lifelong, trust relationship with your clients. Your
Your customers may be crying for help too. They customers will be loyal for life and spend even more
want to be served, not sold. The more you serve money with your company.
your clients, the more they will buy. A Success Story

Telling Is Not Selling
Servepeople ask questions before making any
recommendations.You must find out what the injury
is before you make any medical recommendations.
How would you feel if you went to your doctor for a
headache and he recommended surgery -- without
Being a professional speaker, I travel all the time
and I'm picky about travel arrangements. We had
been shopping for a new travel agency simply
because we had not found an agent who met our
high expectations.
(Cont.)

8
 community papers of michigan
From Salesperson
to Serve Person (Cont.)
by Joe Bonura
We were looking for someone who
could think creatively and get us the
most economical, yet comfortable,
flight arrangements. A colleague
recommended we call his agent, Jess Swanson
of Atlas Travel, and we have been blown away by
his spectacular service.
Why is he so wonderful? Jess CALLS US every
month to see if we have any travel needs. Jess
CALLS US to let us know he found an upgrade to
first class at no charge. Jess CALLS US to let us
know he found a cheaper fare -- even though he's
already made the reservations, even though he
knows it will take him more time. He spends so
much time helping us, we feel like we're his only
clients.
We love Jess because he doesn't just sell us
tickets or take our order. He solves our problems.
Even though he is located hundreds of miles
away in another state, we will always remain loyal
to him because he's out for our welfare. We're so
excited about his service, we want to tell
everyone about him, including you.
Joe Bonura & Associates, Inc. Website: www.bonura.com
407 Landis Lakes Court, Louisville, KY 40245 (800) 444-3340 toll free, (502) 244-0087 phone E-mail: sales@bonura.com
How Do You Cook A Waitress?
Here is the winning entry of CPM’s
“Super Blooper” Advertising Contest
submitted by the Bangor Reminder
www.communitypapersofmichigan.com
Tips for Being an Effective Serveperson
Read the local news
Look for clips or articles about your customers
that will stimulate new ideas on how you can
serve them better.
Read industry publications
If you work with printers, get your hands on their
association newsletters. If you work with bankers,
call the American Bankers Association for their
magazine. Look for trends in their business world
and think about how your product can serve your
customers better.
Form a Customer Council
Call trusted customers and ask them to be on
your council. Hold a monthly meeting or call them
individually to discuss current challenges. You
may get business just for your interest.
Call your customers periodically just to let
them know you're there
I've had many clients say "Boy. You sure called at
the right time. We need a speaker for our next
meeting!" And all because I called to see how it
was going.
Write notes to your customers often
We write them on birthdays, before special
meetings, when we see an article about their
company - we even write them when they turn us
down! Make sure that when the time comes for
them to buy a product like yours, they will think of
you first.
Free Newsletter Full of Ideas
MEMBERS: If you would like to receive a free monthly
newsletter that contains excellent ideas and suggestions to
improve your publication’s bottom line, sign up for the Black
Inklings newsletter. just click on this link: blummer@aol.com
and ask to receive this great resource.
2,800 community newspaper professionals receive Black
Inklings. Feel free to send your comments and ideas to
blummer@aol.com. If you know another person in the
community newspaper field who may be interested in
receiving this free newsletter, have them e-mail their name,
job title, newspaper and e-mail address to
blummer@aol.com. 9
community papers of michigan www.communitypapersofmichigan.com

10
 community papers of michigan
Time is money when
it comes to hardware
& software updates
Kevin Slimp
Institute of
Newspaper Technology
kevin@kevinslimp.com
W
hen I was younger, I
owned a graphic de-
sign business. It start-
ed out small, but grew to several
employees and bigger clients as
the years went on.
As much as we enjoyed our
work, like most businesses, mak-
ing a profit was a priority. One
of the lessons I learned pretty
quickly was that the faster our
computers, the more money we
could make. Our output could
double or triple with an invest-
ment in new computers and
software.
I thought of this a few days
ago when a publisher told me his
papers were still using QuarkX-
press 4.1 to paginate. Normally,
I wouldn’t have given this a sec-
ond thought. But for some rea-
son, I haven’t been able to shake
the memory.
Don’t get me wrong; I realize
there are limits to what we can
newspaperinstitute.com
I  N T • O - • K, T
spend. However, using software
that’s eleven years old on com-
puters, which I’m assuming are
pretty old, just doesn’t make a
lot of business sense.
Consider this. Since version
4.1, there have been 5 upgrades
to QuarkXpress, the latest be-
ing version 8. In that same time,
there have been
seven versions
of Adobe InDe-
sign, now the
industry stan-
dard for pagi-
nation. Imagine
the extra time it
takes to create
ads and pages in
software that’s
been around for
eleven years.
Let’s face it: Computer years
are like dog years. In most busi-
nesses, computers are replaced
every two to three years. Soft-
ware upgrades are routine. Even
though computers will run lon-
ger than three years, it doesn’t
make sense, from a business
point of view, to keep them
much longer than that.
With this in mind, it seemed a
good time to share my thoughts
on a few of the most important
upgrades you might wish to
consider:
Page Layout & Design: Most
newspapers use Adobe InDesign
for ad design and pagination. If
you’re a Quark user and are de-
termined to stick with it, then
upgrade to QuarkXpress 8. No,
I don’t like it as much as InDe-
sign. But it’s far superior to other
www.communitypapersofmichigan.com
versions of
Quark Xpress
and will pay for itself
in terms of speed and fewer
problems. If you’re an InDesign
user, you should be using version
CS3 or later. The latest version
of Adobe’s Creative Suite is CS5.
Computers: If you’re using older
versions of soft-
ware, you’re
probably using
older computers
as well. On the
Mac platform,
most current
applications
require Intel
based comput-
ers. Both the
iMac and the
new Mac Minis
are great computers for news-
paper design. When upgrad-
ing Windows-based machines,
consider purchasing computers
with the Windows 7 operating
system.
Scanners: Purchasing a new
scanner is one of the least ex-
pensive ways to make your pa-
per look better. The tubes that
do the scanning start to wear
down after a couple of years and
you pay for this with photos that
seem too yellow, red or blue and
with noisy pictures. By spending
$89 on a new scanner, you can
bring new life to your scanned
images.
Cameras: Digital SLR cameras
continue to improve in speed
and quality at lower prices. Both
Canon and Nikon, as well as
other vendors, offer great camer-
as at affordable prices. With the
ability to shoot high definition
video with many current mod-
els, purchasing a new camera
seems like a good bet. If you’re
looking for a camera that does
a lot at an affordable price, con-
sider the Canon 550D ($799)
or Nikon D5000 ($569). Both
shoot high definition video (the
Canon shoots higher definition
than the Nikon) and are solid
cameras.
OK. That’s my two cents
worth. If you want to use older
computers and older software,
go right ahead. I won’t be there
to watch you. However, if in-
creasing production quality and
speed are important to you, con-
sider a few of these updates at
your newspaper.
Where is Kevin?
July 22-23: Bismarck ND
July 29-30: Buffalo NY
Aug 12: Sioux Falls SD
Aug 19: Columbia SC
Coming this fall to:
Indianapolis, Portland (OR),
Nashville, Omaha, Knoxville,
Louisville (KY), Shreveport (LA)
Bring Kevin to your office
or next training event.
To contact Kevin
directly, email:
kevin@
kevinslimp.com
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 community papers of michigan www.communitypapersofmichigan.com

August These networks provide the major funding of

your association.
When you attend the SAPA/IFPA conference in
September, please stop by the PaperChain booth
and check your SRDS listings on one of several
computers that we will have set up. There will be

Update someone at the booth from the PaperChain

committee to help you log on and to answer any
questions you may have. This is just one of the
I had a great call from Jim Bush the author of the
benefits your paper enjoys by belonging to
“Link and Learns”. He wants to know if the
PaperChain. It is extremely important that you
readers of the “Link and Learns” would like to
have correct information in your SRDS listing.
have a few articles about sales management and
That is how a media buyer learns how to contact
management in general. Jim and I are working
you. After all, it is your money!
on a project that will benefit all sales reps and
managers. There will be more about this Please bring any success stories that you have
project revealed later. That way you have to come because of your SRDS listings. We enjoy sharing
back to read the updates to find out what is them with other PaperChain Members.
happening.
The PaperChain Committee will sponsor a
PaperChain is doing an email blast to media strategic planning session after the SAPA/IFPA
buyers and the click through rate has been quite conference on September 25 and 26, 2010. If you
impressive. This particular campaign is for the have any suggestions that will help the
various associations’ classified networks. This is movement, please give them to your PaperChain
an area that is under a lot of pressure right now Committee member or send them to me at
and any additional help and promotion is greatly briangay@mchsi.com.
appreciated by all of the various associations.

DidYou Origin of the word
Know? DEADLINE: 1864
It began as a real line, drawn in the dirt or marked
by a fence or rail, restricting prisoners in Civil War
camps. They were warned, "If you cross this line,
you're dead." To make dead sure this important
boundary was not overlooked, guards and
prisoners soon were calling it by its own bluntly
descriptive name, the dead line. An 1864
congressional report explains the usage in one
camp: "A railing around the inside of the
stockade, and about twenty feet from it,
constitutes the 'dead line,' beyond which the
prisoners are not allowed to pass." Nothing could
be more emphatic than dead line to designate a
limit, so we Americans happily applied the term
to other situations with strict boundaries. For
example, the storyteller O. Henry wrote in 1909
about crossing "the dead line of good behavior."
But it was the newspaper business that made
deadline more than just a historical curiosity. To
have the latest news and still get a newspaper
printed and distributed on time requires strict
time limits for those who write it. Yet many are the
excuses for writers to go beyond their allotted
time: writers' block, writers' perfectionism, or just
plain procrastination. (Perhaps the writer is a
deadbeat (1863)--another dead word invented by
Americans during the Civil War.) Seeking the
strongest possible language to counter these
temptations, editors set deadlines, with the
implication that "Your story is dead--You are
dead--if you go beyond this time to finish it."
Our urgent twentieth century has made such
deadlines essential not just for reporters and
other writers but in every kind of activity; there
are deadlines for finishing a job or assignment,
for entering a contest, for ransoming hostages, or
for buying a product at the special sale price.
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community papers of michigan www.communitypapersofmichigan.com

13
 community papers of michigan
SMC Postal Service Update
By Donna Hanbery
Lynch Bill Seeks to
Correct CSRS
Overpayment
All of our efforts to focus attention on the January
OIG report revealing a $75 billion overpayment
by the Postal Service and ratepayers to the
CSRS pension fund have produced a bill.
HR5746 the “United States Postal Service’s
CSRS Obligation Modification Act of 2010" was
introduced by Representative Stephen Lynch (D-
MA). The Lynch bill seeks to direct the Office of
Personnel Management to update and correct
the actuarial methodology it has used in
allocating the CSRS retirement benefit liabilities
between the USPS and the federal government.
The bill would have the OPM make adjustments
in accordance with an actuarial recommendation
report sent by the PRC to Congress. An
independent actuarial analysis conducted by the
Segal Report and the PRC found that the
overpayment amount was between $50 billion
and $55 billion under modern actuarial practices
and accounting standards for apportioning
benefit liabilities.
Lynch describes the bill as “intended to remedy
an unfair and inequitable methodology for
allocating the Postal Service’s share of Civil
Service Retirement System (CSRS) retirement
benefit liabilities for employees that provided
services to this country under both the Post
Office Department and the independent United
States Postal Service.”
Although the prospects of seeing this bill lead to
final legislation and the passage of a law this
year may be low, this is an essential big step on
the road to getting Congress to permanently
relieve postal ratepayers from this unfair burden.
www.communitypapersofmichigan.com
SMC members are urged to contact your elected
officials and ask them to support the Lynch bill.
Alliance asks PRC to Dismiss Exigency Rate
Case — Collins Agrees
On Monday, July 26 an Alliance of mail
associations and individual mailers filed a motion
with the PRC to dismiss the Postal Service’s
exigency rate hike proposal on the grounds that
the proposed rate hike does not meet the
definition of “exigent circumstances” as set forth
in the Postal Accountability and Enhancement
Act of 2006. The 72 page motion, along with 17
pages of Alliance supporters, can be viewed on
the PostCom website or the PRC website. SMC
has not signed as a sponsor of the motion but
will submit a separate filing in support of
dismissal.
Importantly, Senator Susan Collins, the author of
the 2006 Reform law, has gone on record as
agreeing that the exigent rate case is not
appropriate or justified under the terms of the
2006 Postal Accountability and Enhancement
Act. In a press release in support of the
Alliance’s motion, Collins stated “as the author of
the PAEA, I can unequivocally state that the law
does not provide for an exigent rate case based
merely on poor economic circumstances or on
increased utilization of electronic or other
alternatives to traditional mail. Neither of these
circumstances are exceptional or extraordinary
as required by law . . . these types of events are
normal in business and postal management
must be expected to adjust to normal business
fluctuations.”
It is not anticipated that the PRC will issue a
ruling or decision on the motion until the
conclusion of the case. The PRC has set a
procedural schedule for the case with a decision
expected October 4, 2010.
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community papers of michigan
CPM Board of Directors
Terry Roby
President
Gratiot County Herald
P.O. Box 10
Ithaca, MI 48847
Phone: (989)875-4151 x113
Fax: (989)875-3159
Cell: (989)388-8309
troby@gcherald.com
Jon Jacobs
Vice President
Buyers Guide
P.O. Box 128
Lowell, MI 49331
Phone: (616)897-9555
Cell: (269)208-9223
Fax: (616)897-4809
Jon@lowellbuyersguide.com
Marty Bennett
Past President
Community Shoppers Guide
117 N. Farmer - P.O. Box 168
Otsego, MI 49078
Phone: (269)694-9431
Fax: (269)694-9145
Cell: (269)370-9469
shoppersguide@sbcglobal.net
Fred Jacobs
Sec./Treasurer
J-Ad Graphics
1351 North M-43 Highway
Hastings, MI 49058-0188
Phone: (269)945-9554
Fax: (269)945-5522
Cell: (269)838-0881
fred@j-adgraphics.com
Jack Guza
Executive Director
5000 Northwind Dr., Ste. 240
East Lansing, MI 48823
Phone: (800)783-0267
Fax: (517)333-3322
Cell: (517)242-0203
jackguza@cpapersmi.com
www.communitypapersofmichigan.com
Bettie Watson
Director
Salesman Publications
102 N. Main Street - P.O. Box 205
Concord, MI 49237-0205
Phone: (517)524-8540
Fax: (517)524-8570
Cell: (517)740-9461
spinc@frontiernet.net
Elaine S. Myers
Director
C&G Newspapers
13650 11 Mile Road
Warren, MI 48089
Phone: (586)218-5012
Fax: (586)498-9631
Cell: (248)672-0998
emyers@candgnews.com
Sharon Frederick
Director
Tri-County Shopper Pioneer Group
115 N. Michigan Ave.
Big Rapids, MI 49307
Phone: (231)796-4831
Fax: (231)796-1152
Cell: (231)598-1285
sharon@pioneergroup.com
Kathy Trumbo
Director
View Newspaper Group
1521 Imlay City Rd.
Lapeer, MI. 48444
Phone 810-245-9343
Fax: 810-245-9375
Cell: 810-358-5805
ktrumbo@mihomepaper.com
Stacy Kotecki
Office Manager
5000 Northwind Dr., Ste. 240
P.O. Box 1388
East Lansing, MI 48823
Phone: (800)783-0267
Fax: (517)333-3322
slkotecki@cpapersmi.com
15