An Alternative to Bureaucracy p.

By: Ann Marie Kerwin

Informal network of independent newspaper companies, formed over the past year, grows to 25; members deny that its creation is due to disenchantment with the Newspaper Association of America

AN INFORMAL NETWORK of independent newspapers has formed over the past year, with as many as 25 newspaper companies represented at the first three meetings.
The network, which has named itself the Independent Newspaper Group, has appointed E. Donald Lass, president of the Asbury Park (N.J.) Press, as its spokesman. The group has no constitution, no bylaws, no executive director and no dues structure. That is the way most participants would like it to stay.
"There is a strong sentiment among the group to continue exactly the way we are now, to remain a loose confederation that has a commonality of interests," said Howard Sutton, vice president, administration of the Providence (R.I.) Journal Bulletin.
"The informality is really a strength at this point," Lass said.
Participants even shy away from calling ING an organization, preferring "network," "group" or "caucus" to describe the collection of mostly family-owned newspapers.
"The target group is daily independent [non-publicly traded] newspapers of 50,000 circulation or more. However, we're not absolutely precise with those guidelines. We just feel that newspapers in those categories do share an interest in similar topics," said Lass.
ING began with an informal meeting of independent newspaper operators during the 1992 American Newspaper Publishers Association convention in New York City. The group decided to pursue the concept of an independent newspaper group to represent the particular interests of independent daily newspaper publishers.
A second meeting took place on Oct. 1, 1992 in New York, with the Sawyer-Ferguson-Walker representative firm acting as hosts and facilitators for the meeting. Ten newspapers were represented at this meeting: the Providence (R.I.) Journal Bulletin, Buffalo (N.Y.) News, Scranton (Pa.) Times, The Record of Hackensack, N.J., Riverside (Calif.) Press-Enterprise, Raleigh (N.C.) News & Observer, Asbury Park (N.J.) Press, Cedar Rapids (Iowa) Gazette, Bangor (Maine) Daily News and the Baton Rouge(La.) Advocate.
The group agreed to work toward advancing an agenda of common interests, and to share ideas and programs. Topics discussed so far by the group include new technology, database marketing, financial operating ratios, revenue opportunities, cost reduction ideas, quality improvement and the use of reader affinity cards.
Sawyer-Ferguson-Walker agreed to continue as facilitators, with the understanding that the newspapers would establish the agenda and determine the direction of the group.
The third meeting, held on Jan. 27 in Atlanta, had 14 newspapers attending and certain parameters for the group were established. First, membership would be limited to independent daily newspapers. Secondly, all sharing of information would be voluntary and reciprocal. And third, that the group would expand at the discretion of the participants.
Others that have since participated include the Spokesman Review, Spokane, Wash., Bakersfield Californian, Minneapolis (Minn.) Star Tribune, Omaha (Neb.) World-Herald, Erie (Pa.) Times-News, The Press of Atlantic City, N.J., Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch, Central New Jersey Home News, Daytona Beach (Fla.) News-Journal, Little Rock (Ark.) Democrat-Gazette, London (Ontario) Free Press, Quincy (Mass.) Patriot Ledger, St. Joseph (Mo.) News-Press, Calkins Newspapers Inc., Levittown, Pa, and Schurz Communication, South Bend, Ind.
At the fourth meeting in Boston April 24 and 25, prior to the Newspaper Association of America annual convention, participants agreed that ING's main purpose would be one of networking. It would not be to compete with NAA or any other trade organization, but would "supplement and support the efforts of other organizations, and maintain an efficient network of independents with common interests."
Everyone connected with the group that E&P spoke with for this article stressed that the independent newspapers were not anti-NAA.
"ING is not intended to be a renegade group," said Robert J. Sapanara, president and general manager of The Record.
In fact, most are members of NAA, and supportive of NAA projects, he said.
"I feel very good about how far the newspaper publishers and group have come with organizing NAA," said Stanford Lipsey, publisher and president of Buffalo (N.Y.) News. "I think NAA is bending over backward to work with and serve small and independent newspapers and I am very happy with that."
Lipsey said he joined the group to exchange information with other publishers in the network in an "informal and unstructured way."
"I think it's just good for publishers and general managers to be able to sit and chat in a situation where we can be open about our operations and exchange ideas," Lipsey said.
While NAA has many resources and "does things on a grand scale," Sapanara said, he believes ING is able to get more done with less bureaucracy.
"Through the network, I can call two or three publishers and get an answer. It's a quicker source of information," Sapanara said. "NAA has to be big because it deals with a lot of publishers, but this subgroup has the ability to move quickly to answer questions, especially those specific to independent newspapers."
Avoiding bureaucracy is important to many of the participants in the group.
"I'm hoping it won't become more formalized than it is. We don't need any of the bureaucracy or expenses or trappings that go with a formal organization. We all belong to too many formal organizations," Lipsey said.
Lass also emphasized that the group was not forming because of any discontent with NAA.
"The idea was, 'Let's get together and talk.' We're not trying to do what the NAA is doing. We're all members of NAA or ASNE [American Society of Newspaper Editors]. We all read Editor & Publisher and Presstime. We're not trying to compete with any existing organizations," Lass said.
"Independent newspapers, though, have particular problems that are of more interest to them than mass newspaper organizations, like family considerations. Many are family-owned and face certain issues connected with that. We have not discussed those thus far but because such things exist, we can focus on those issues," Lass explained.
He cited that he believes that larger chains or groups have certain advantages, such as synergy, that independent papers can emulate if they work together.
Sapanara talked about how emerging technology is allowing the industry to move quickly into new revenue streams. By sharing with newspapers of similar size, the independent papers can get the same advantages that the chains have.
"We don't have the benefit of Gannett to use experience from one newspaper at another. Most of us do not have the same resources as the chains do. We don't have corporate staffs to develop projects," Sapanara said.
An idea that has been discussed is allowing one independent to act as a prototype in developing projects and then sharing the results with the others. Cooperation could also spill over into other areas of mutual interest.
"We haven't discussed purchasing but the chains do have more purchasing power, and more clout with vendors," he said. Eventually the group may be able to coordinate buying from vendors, he said.
Lipsey said there are some built-in advantages to being a member of a chain that independent newspapers could have if they banded together.
"On the other hand, if you are an independent newspaper, you really have the freedom and time to do a lot of things the chains cannot do," he said.
Among the 225 daily newspapers with circulation over 50,000, independents represent circulation of more than 5.5 million, Lass calculates.
Sapanara sees the independently-owned family newspaper as an endangered species that needs protecting, or at least looking after.
"Unfortunately, we are a dying breed. There are fewer of us around, but the ones that have survived are very strong entities. Individual newspapers have a place in the world and are doing well. [ING] is a way to have us continue to grow. They're all healthy properties involved in ING," Sapanara said.
Members of the group also emphasized that no political motives existed for their formation.
"We have no intention of using our 'collective clout' to drive an agenda or push on certain issues," Sutton said.
Lass agreed, explaining that the group is "sharing with each other the way that Knight-Ridder would, by sharing how we are training people and sharing ideas about managing a newspaper. That's not to say Knight-Ridder wouldn't share information with independent newspapers. It's just a lot more convenient to share among ourselves."
Lass, however, did say that the network could be helpful in getting independents to agree to NAA projects as a group. Certain NAA projects, such as the drive to win more national advertising, would be better served the more papers agree to participate.
"We just have to play a role as an independent newspaper to help the industry get its act together to become an easier group to deal with. If we all get on board, it will succeed. If we don't, it will not. [ING] can be helpful by communicating to the independents that we should get together on certain things," Lass said.
At the last meeting in Boston, the group decided it will meet twice a year and discuss a previously agreed-upon agenda of topics.
So far the participants have swapped a week's worth of newspapers so all could glean ideas from what the others are doing. The papers also did an inventory of their businesses to see where the independents have commonalities (e.g., who is involved in audiotex, and what equipment they each use). They also exchanged editorial and financial information, and "a box of promotional ideas."
"If I get one good idea out of that box, it's worth it," Lass said.
Right now, ING meetings are attended by publishers or top managers. However, it is possible that as different projects are undertaken, other levels of management would be assembled to work together.
Members of the group say they are not planning too far into the future. The next official meeting is scheduled to take place in Chicago on Oct. 23 and 24. The group is also planning to meet in San Francisco during the May 1994 NAA annual convention.
"I think we're kind of feeling our way through. We all started this with an open mind with four or five newspapers and now we have about 25. We do not have a sense or vision of what we want to be. With two meetings a year, we'll just take it one at a time, keep it kind of informal," Sapanara said.