Three new members will enter the Maine Press Association Hall of Fame in October. Nat Barrows, Kathryn Olmstead and the late Winifred French were selected this month by the MPA’s Hall of Fame Committee. They will be inducted Oct. 20 during the association’s annual Fall Conference at the Sunday River Resort in Newry.

Nathaniel W. Barrows is in his 50th year as owner, publisher and editor of Penobscot Bay Press in Hancock County. He started by purchasing the weekly Island Ad-Vantages in Stonington in 1968, when he was not long out of college. That was followed by his purchases of The Weekly Packet in Blue Hill in 1981 and the Castine Patriot in 1990.

He has received numerous awards for his news stories, photography and editorials. In 2007, he was honored as the MPA’s Journalist of the Year for his fearless coverage of the discovery, arrest and conviction of a serial pedophile who had elevated standing in the community. He was president of the MPA from 1989-91.

Caroline Spear, assistant to the publisher at Penobscot Bay press, wrote in nominating Barrows for the Hall of Fame, “Nat is a man of great character and moral conviction and believes in holding all people to those same standards. For the last five decades he has not only brought those qualities to his reporting, but has insisted that they guide all decision making at Penobscot Bay Press.”

Kathryn Olmstead, a writer, editor, publisher and journalism teacher, has been affiliated with Maine journalism since the late 1970s, when she moved to Caribou to take a job as editor of the Aroostook Republican & News. She later served Sen. William S. Cohen as northern Maine field rep from 1979 to 1984 before taking a position at the University of Maine as journalism instructor and later department chair.

In 1988, she launched Echoes magazine, a journal dedicated to the rural culture of northern Maine. She continued to edit and manage the beloved publication until its final edition in 2017.

In 1993, she founded the Maine Center for Student Journalism, which held contests for student newspapers and an annual conference that brought high school and middle school students to the UMaine campus to meet and work with newspaper professionals. In 2002, she was honored for her work with a special award from the New England Scholastic Press Association. She directed the center until 2004, and retired from UMaine in 2009.

Olmstead served on the MPA Board of Directors from 1996 to 2005.

Winifred French started publishing The Quoddy Tides in 1968, when Eastport had no newspaper. “Lubec and Eastport weren’t covered by the press at that time and, in Eastport, the council had their meeting around a kitchen table,” French recalled on her retirement in January of 1995. “I thought people should know what was going on.”

With no previous experience in journalism, she started a one-woman operation. She was the twice-monthly newspaper’s reporter, editor, publisher and distributor.

Covering the news in eastern Washington County and neighboring Canadian communities, French quickly earned the respect and admiration of her contemporaries. She was named the MPA’s Journalist of the Year in 1979.

Her son, Edward French, became the managing editor in 1986, and succeeded his mother as editor and publisher when she retired for health reasons.

Fifty years after its first issue, Winifred French’s paper carries its mark of distinction on its front page: “Most Easterly Newspaper Published in the United States.”

The MPA Hall of Fame, established in 1998, honors newspaper people with Maine connections who have made outstanding contributions to the profession. Its members are on the MPA website, at http://mainepressassociation.org/hall-of-fame/

Tickets to the Hall of Fame luncheon are available by contacting MPA Executive Director Diane Norton at mainepressmail@gmail.com or 691-0131.

Bipartisan Group of Ten Senators Introduces “PRINT” Act to Protect Publishers and Printers from Harmful Tariffs

Bill Would Suspend Newsprint Tariffs While Government Studies Effects on U.S. Industries

Arlington, Va. – Today, in an effort to protect printers and publishers from unwarranted tariffs, Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Angus King (I-ME) introduced S. 2835, the “Protecting Rational Incentives in Newsprint Trade Act of 2018,” or “PRINT Act.” Senators Roy Blunt (R-MO), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Johnny Isakson (R-GA), Doug Jones (D-AL), Claire McCaskill (D-MO), Jerry Moran (R-KS) and Roger Wicker (R-MS) joined as original co-sponsors. 

The PRINT Act would suspend new tariffs currently being imposed on imported uncoated groundwood paper from Canada, which is the primary source of newsprint and other paper used by domestic newspapers, book publishers and commercial printers. Simultaneously, the legislation would require the Department of Commerce to review the economic health of the printing and publishing industries. Newspapers and printers across the United States have told Congress that the new import tariffs – as high as 32 percent – would jeopardize the viability of the industry and threaten to decimate the U.S. paper industry’s customer base.

Many local newspapers and printers that use uncoated groundwood paper have experienced price increases and a disruption in supply since preliminary countervailing and antidumping duties were assessed earlier this year. Even as the Commerce Department investigation is ongoing, the duties are already being collected on imports, causing immediate economic harm to printers and publishers. A final Commerce Department decision is expected on August 2.

The new PRINT Act legislation would pause both the preliminary and any final duties while the Department completes its study.

In introducing the legislation, Senator Collins stated, “The U.S. printing and publishing industry is facing an unprecedented threat from crippling new import tariffs imposed on Canadian uncoated groundwood paper — better known as ‘newsprint’ — which is used by newspapers, book publishers, and commercial printers. As a Senator representing one of our nation’s leading papermaking states, I have consistently fought for actions to ensure a level playing field for the domestic papermaking industry.  In this case, however, one domestic mill owned by a venture capital firm appears to be taking advantage of trade remedies to add to its own bottom line, putting thousands of American jobs at risk.  I encourage my colleagues to support this bipartisan bill to fully evaluate the economic impact of these tariffs before they harm our local newspapers and printing industries.”

“Throughout Maine, small town newspapers remain a principal source of information for people looking to read the news, learn about the goings-on in their communities, and stay up-to-date on current events,” Senator King said. “But new tariffs on uncoated groundwood paper could jeopardize this access to information and impact hundreds of thousands of American jobs in the U.S. newspaper business and paper manufacturing industry, which are already operating on razor-thin margins. I have consistently fought for stronger trade enforcement, especially when it involves protecting the domestic paper industry, and must take action to ensure the Department of Commerce hears the serious concerns of the domestic paper manufacturing industry. The PRINT Act would help us better understand the damaging consequences of the DOC’s decision to impose duties and help ensure local newspapers don’t bear an undue burden from these misguided tariffs, so people in Maine and in rural towns across America, can continue to receive their local news from hometown papers.”

Comments on the Introduction of the PRINT Act from Members of the Stop Tariffs on Printers and Publishers (STOPP) Coalition:

David Chavern, President & CEO, News Media Alliance
“Publishers already face economic headwinds due to the migration of advertising from print to digital. We simply cannot absorb extra costs from import taxes. Newspapers will close or be forced to raise prices for readers and advertisers. We are already seeing some papers cut back on news distribution and cut jobs. These tariffs are killing jobs and high-quality news in local communities. We are grateful that Senator King, Senator Collins and the original co-sponsors of the bill showed leadership and stepped up to protect small publishers in local communities across America.”

Susan Rowell, Publisher, Lancaster (SC) News and President, National Newspaper Association
“Good trade policy increases the job opportunities in America. Applying tariffs like a tax to industries simply to penalize struggling businesses does not enhance jobs. It takes opportunities away. On behalf of community newspapers, we believe the Department of Commerce must fully understand how irretrievable the damage to our publications and our towns would be if trade policy continues to force newsprint costs higher. If you want to silence a free press, take away the newsprint. That is what is happening now, and it is simply wrong. We applaud Senators Collins and King for taking a bold step to protect newspapers.”

Michael Makin, President & CEO, Printing Industries of America
“The printing industry is constantly innovating and reinventing itself to stay competitive in the modern communications marketplace. Taxing our most essential raw material drags down the industry’s job creation, economic growth and future viability. PIA supports free and fair trade, but trade remedy laws are designed to help domestic industries – not to create an exponential number of domestic losers in the process. The PRINT Act is crucial to restoring a much-needed sense of sanity surrounding tariffs on uncoated groundwood paper.”

Alfredo Carbajal, President, American Society of News Editors
“ASNE thanks Senators Susan Collins and Angus King for introducing the PRINT Act. The economic sting of the ongoing proceedings at the Department of Commerce and United States International Trade Commission is being felt by our members, some of whom will be laying off staff as newsprint costs increase. The impact of these layoffs may be permanent, even if the tariffs are reversed. Unfortunately, it is the public who will be impacted the most by these changes. The PRINT Act offers a reasonable solution, which prevents long-term impact on the public and press as the need for government action is assessed.”

Molly Willmott, President, Association of Alternative Newsmedia
“The Association of Alternative Newsmedia is proud to endorse the PRINT Act and thanks Senators Susan Collins and Angus King for introducing this bill. Our members continue to serve their local communities via the distribution of print newspapers on a weekly basis. They are already being affected by increases in printing costs that have resulted from the proceedings initiated before the Department of Commerce. Unless action is taken now, there will be short and long-term effects on our members’ ability to inform their readers. The PRINT Act will help.”

Jim Fetherston, President, Book Manufacturers’ Institute
“Plain and simple, the tariffs and duties on uncoated groundwood paper are having a negative financial impact on American book manufacturers. Rather than protecting American jobs, they are having the opposite effect. Book publishers are moving production to China to avoid this extra cost. The BMI solidly supports the introduction of the PRINT Act.”

Mark J. Nuzzaco, Vice President, Government Affairs, Association for Print Technologies
“The Association for Print Technologies (APTech^SM), formerly NPES, joins with its industry colleagues in endorsing the PRINT Act and commends the leadership of its sponsors, U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King. Support for free, fair trade along with the use of trade sanctions under U.S. law when necessary and appropriate are bedrock principles for APTech. But in this instance, the already-imposed countervailing and anti-dumping duties are misplaced and are harming a domestic industry rather than shielding it from unfair competition. The PRINT Act will provide a much-needed reprieve from the ongoing damage of these duties while all of the facts of the case are fully assessed.”

The PRINT Act seeks a further examination of the harm that these tariffs will have on our nation’s economy, local jobs and the distribution of news and information in local communities. Specifically, the PRINT Act would:

1) require a study by the DOC of the economic wellbeing, health and vitality of the newsprint industry and the local newspaper publishing industry in the U.S.;
2) require a report from the Commerce Secretary to the President and Congress within 90 days that includes both the findings of the study and any recommendations the Secretary considers appropriate;
3) pause any affirmative determination by the DOC or ITC (U.S. International Trade Commission) until the President certifies that he has received the report and has concluded that such a determination is in the economic interest of the United States; and
4) halt the collection of cash deposits for uncoated groundwood imports currently under investigation at the Commerce Department until the President has made such certifications.

Because of the devastating impact of the tariffs on publishers, printers and other businesses, the bill has received widespread support from Stop Tariffs on Printing & Publishing (STOPP), a broad-based coalition that was formed to fight these crippling tariffs and which represents more than 600,000 workers in the U.S. printing and publishing industries.

The ITC is conducting its final investigation in this case, which includes a public hearing on July 17, 2018. The Commission will reach a final determination in mid-September.

For more information about “Protecting Rational Incentives in Newsprint Trade Act of 2018,” click here.

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The STOPP Coalition is a group of associations representing printers, publishers, paper suppliers and distributors that represent mostly small businesses in local communities that employ more than 600,000 workers in the United States. We have joined together to fight proposed government tariffs on newsprint that have been initiated by petitions filed by a single newsprint mill, NORPAC, an outlier in the industry that is owned by a New York hedge fund, with no additional pulp or paper operations in the United States or globally. Information about the STOPP Coalition can be found at www.stopnewsprinttariffs.org.

The Maine Press Association mourns the loss of longtime journalist Mike Lange of St. Albans, who died of cancer at age 74 on April 28 at Redington-Fairview General Hospital in Skowhegan.
A native of Pennsylvania, Mike moved to Maine in 1972 and established himself as a radio announcer in Somerset County. He later made the jump to newspapers, working as a reporter for the Advertiser-Democrat in Norway, the Somerset Reporter in Skowhegan, the Morning Sentinel in Waterville, and the Moosehead Messenger in Greenville. During his  recent semi-retired years, he wrote part time for the Piscataquis Observer in Dover-Foxcroft and the Eastern Gazette in Dexter.
He served on the Maine Press Association Board of Directors for three terms and was executive director of the organization in 2009-2010.
“Mike Lange was the quintessential Maine journalist,” stated former MPA President Earl Brechlin, who served with Lange on the association’s board of directors for several years. “He’d race from one end of his large coverage territory to the other in a single day, taking notes, snapping photos and pounding out multiple stories on the keyboard before deadline. Whether it was a bean supper, kids’ bike rodeo, selectmen’s meeting, or a breaking major crime story, Mike put his full energy and intellect into covering every aspect of each assignment.”
Former longtime MPA Executive Director Jeff Ham praised Lange’s devotion to the organization.
“I was saddened and surprised to read about Mike’s passing,” Ham wrote in an email. “He was a stalwart with the Maine Press Association. He and I were board members together for years. He left a couple of times because he was too busy at work, but he’d always come back. He just couldn’t stay away.
“When he took over as the association’s executive director in 2009, I figured we were in good hands. When I saw him take charge of the contest and the Fall Conference, I knew we were,” Ham wrote.
Brechlin summarized what many people in Maine are feeling.
“His passing is not just a great loss to his family, friends, and colleagues, but to the region he served as well.”
A memorial service for Lange was held on May 6 at Shorey-Nichols Funeral Home in Pittsfield. To leave a message for the family, please visit www.shoreynichols.com. Full obituary is here: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/name/by/lange/michael

It’s time to mark your calendars. This year, the MPA heads west to Sunday River Resort in Newry for the MPA Annual Conference, to be held on Saturday, October 20.

Planning will begin soon for the Conference which includes informative and interactive sessions, idea sharing, networking, the Hall of Fame Induction Luncheon, Scholarship Auction, and Awards Dinner & Banquet.

By Dennis Hoey, Portland Press Herald, January 29, 2018

Veteran Maine newspaper editor A. Stephen “Steve” Riley died this month at his home in Meredith, New Hampshire. Riley, whose career at the Portland Press Herald and Maine Sunday Telegram spanned 30 years, was 90 years old. His family said his health had been declining.

Join members of the Maine Press Association as they gather at Atlantic Oceanside Hotel & Event Center in Bar Harbor on October 21 to exchange ideas and celebrate the year’s achievements. A full day of workshops, including a general session with guest speaker Lincoln Millstein of Hearst, has been organized.

Hear from a panel of actual advertisers about why they advertise and what they need to be successful, participate in a discussion about media bias and how newspapers can protect their brand (of good, quality journalism), and gain tips and information about management that will be useful across all departments.

The day begins at 8:30 a.m. with the Annual Business Meeting, when the new slate of 2017-2018 MPA officers and board members will be voted in. Morning sessions will run from 9:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. followed by lunch and the induction of Mark Woodward and Alan Baker into the MPA Hall of Fame at 12:30 p.m. Our final session is in the afternoon from 2:15 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Auctioneer Extraordinaire Earl Brechlin will reprise his role—possibly for the last time—at the Scholarship Auction & Reception at 5:30 p.m., followed by the 2017 Better Newspaper Contest Awards Dinner & Banquet.

The Conference registration deadline was Oct. 2. For further information about the conference or registration, please contact MPA Executive Director Diane Norton at mainepressmail@gmail.com or via phone at 691-0131.

Join members of the Maine Press Association as they gather at Atlantic Oceanside Hotel & Event Center in Bar Harbor on October 21 to exchange ideas and celebrate the year’s achievements.

A full day of workshops, including as a general session with guest speaker Lincoln Millstein of Hearst has been organized. Hear from a panel of actual advertisers about why they advertise and what they need to be successful, participate in a discussion about media bias and how newspapers can protect their brand (of good, quality journalism), and gain tips and information about management that will be useful across all departments.

*Featured speaker: The Future of Print and Why ‘Digital First’ Won’t Deliver  (10:45-12:15)
Lincoln Millstein, Senior Vice President of Hearst, will share his views on the future of newspapers at a General Session at the annual Fall Conference. Don’t let his digital background fool you, Lincoln is bullish on the future of print and he will tell you why. Get a preview of Lincoln’s thoughts on the future of newspapers by reading the first chapter of a book he is writing on the topic.
His talk is for every MPA member whether on the business side or in the newsroom. You won’t want to miss this. Lincoln was a digital executive at the New York Times Company before joining Hearst. He was the founder of Boston.com and a former business editor at The Boston Globe. He and his wife Irene vacation on MDI each summer and he is delighted to join us in Bar Harbor.

News, Fake News and Media Bias  (9:15 to 10:30)
Is ‘fake news’ hurting journalism? Do we really mean to say bias when we say ‘fake’? How should media organizations respond and what can they do to keep their brand in tact? Explore the basic tenants of journalism with a panel of guests that will talk about what newspaper organizations can do to promote and support their work, especially when it comes under attack.
Panelists: Nat Barrows, Editor and Publisher, Penobscot Bay Press
JW Oliver, Editor, Lincoln County News
Judy Meyer, Executive Editor, Sun Journal

Your Market, Your Advertiser — Why People Buy (9:15 to 10:30)
You sell advertising. But, have you thought about why people buy it? We have invited a group of advertisers to show you another side of the process—their side. They will take your questions and give insight into how to strengthen relationships in your community.

Management: A Delicate Balance (2:15 to 3:30)
Newsrooms are stressful, Ad Departments are stressful, heck, all departments are stressful—that’s the business we’re in.
In light of that constant grind, how do you still motivate staff on a regular basis? How do you deal with difficult personalities? How do you manage being an intermediary between the staff and ownership? Hear about ways to build your human resources knowledge and hopefully make a happier staff.
Panelists: Jennifer Holmes, Vice President, Bangor Daily News
Justin Pelletier, Managing Editor, Sun Journal
Michelle Lester, Publisher, Times Record

The MPA’s Annual Fall Conference will be held on Oct. 21 at Atlantic Oceanside Hotel & Event Center in Bar Harbor.

Here’s the schedule of events:

8:30 am – 9:00 am: Annual Business Meeting

9:15 am –10:30 am: News, Fake News and Media Bias

9:15 am –10:30 am: Your Market, Your Advertiser—Why People Buy

10:45 am – 12:15 pm: Featured speaker Lincoln Millstein, The Future of Print and Why ‘Digital First’ Won’t Deliver

12:30 pm – 2:00 pm: Hall of Fame Induction Luncheon

2:15 pm – 3:30 pm: Management–A Delicate Balance

5:30 pm: Scholarship Auction & Reception

Awards Dinner immediately following

The Maine Press Association’s Annual Fall Conference will be held this year on October 21, 2017, at the Atlantic Oceanside Hotel & Event Center in Bar Harbor. A full day of conference events is planned, including the Hall of Fame Inductee Luncheon, annual Scholarship Auction, and the 2017 Better Newspaper Contest Awards Dinner & Banquet.

Contest judges have been jamming the MPA Office with packages, decisions and wonderful comments. We hope to have the majority of decisions sorted, reviewed and ready to share with members in the next ten days.

As always, we’ve negotiated a great hotel rate for the nights of Oct. 20-21 for MPA members and guests at Atlantic Oceanside. All MPA rooms have a single king or two queen beds and are in the Main Hotel. The nightly rate is $139.

Guests can make hotel reservations by booking directly online at www.AOBarHarbor.com  (BOOK NOW) and using the MPA Group Code 27348, or by calling the Atlantic Oceanside reservation line at 800-336-2463 and referencing Maine Press Association. Reservation deadline is September 20, 2017. While the hotel will honor the MPA group rate after the reservation deadline, they cannot guarantee room availability.

You can find Conference Registration information and a registration form on the MPA website (look for 2017 Fall Conference tab) or by clicking here. Conference registration deadline is Monday, October 2.