July 16, 2009

Andy Molloy photo courtesy of the Kennebec Journal of Augusta, Maine

Snappy rescue
Shawn Lawson holds onto a metal control wheel atop the North Wayne (Maine) Dam moments before he was swept over the dam July 6. Andy Molloy, a photographer for the Kennebec Journal of Augusta, Maine, was shooting photos at the dam before Lawson was swept away. Molloy and two bystanders went into the water to help rescue Lawson, who was transported to a Lewiston, Maine, hospital, treated and released. Please see story in Briefs section (link below).

To cut costs, papers rely more
on freelancers and interns

By Patrick Adcock
Bulletin Staff

In the face of the economic woes facing many newspapers, a number of New England newspapers find themselves using more freelance writers and student interns to fill their pages.

In a questionnaire sent in December to hundreds of journalists in New England, newspaper executives and others were asked whether their newspapers were hiring more freelance writers than in the past. About half of 40 respondents said their papers were taking on more freelancers and interns. The other half said they hadn’t seen any change or were using fewer freelancer and interns because of budget cuts.

“Frankly, freelancers and students cost less money than full-time employees, and with the state of (the) industry currently, are an attractive alternative to lower overall costs,” Jack Kramer, editor of the New Haven (Conn.) Register, said in an e-mail. Kramer said freelancers at the Register were used chiefly for enterprise and feature stories, to add to the regular municipal coverage still done by full-time writers. MORE>

By Jennifer Skala
Bulletin Staff

Just in time for the celebration of the nation’s birthday, members of the former New England Newspaper Association and New England Press Association can mark the birth of their new, merged organization, the New England Newspaper and Press Association (NENPA).

With the formal required paperwork filed July 1 with the Massachusetts secretary of state’s office, the organization is now operational.

Robert Laska, president of the NENPA board of directors and retired publisher of the Connecticut Post of Bridgeport, told the Bulletin that the new board was excited about the future and what the new organization would be able to accomplish.MORE>

Writing
Time traveling to a better future for newspapers
Jim Stasiowski

Just Design
Redesign: Road map to returns on your investment
Ed Henninger

Ad-libs
10 surefire routes to Advertising Hall of Shame
John Foust

Technology
Soundslides: Creating slideshows in a Flash
Kevin Slimp