Meeting Industry Demands p.31

By: John Consoli NEWSPAPER ASSOCIATION OF America president and CEO John Sturm told newspaper executives there are three demands the industry must meet to ensure a bright future.
Addressing the opening session of the NAA-sponsored Nexpo conference and exposition in Las Vegas, Sturm said newspapers must:
u Make it easier for advertisers to do business
with us.
u Create standards so that all newspapers are
"reading from the same page in production, measurement and terminology."
u Assure production quality.
"Right now, we process our undying love for our customers and then we tolerate technological limitations that too often turn them into an afterthought," Sturm said.
"Right now, the industry is speaking with so many voices, in so many ways, that, in many areas, the term 'industry standards' remains something of an oxymoron," he added.
As far as production quality is concerned, Sturm said, "Right now, it is a now you see it, now you don't proposition with no assurance from paper to paper that advertisers are going to get the quality they want and deserve."
Sturm said Electronic Data Interchange, aimed at making newspapers a more value-added business partner to advertisers, is high on the agenda.
NAA, he said, has developed a standard format that will allow all newspapers to connect to advertisers in the same way. The hard part, he said, is that newspapers must begin using it. "If we can do that, it's going to mean a much faster, much easier, much more accurate link between advertisers and newspapers."
Sturm also cited Digital Ad Exchange as being another critical ease of business issue and another area of NAA focus.
"Another badly needed bench mark is for newsprint waste ? important in good times, but absolutely critical when newsprint costs go through the roof," Sturm said.
"One of the key points in NAA's broad newsprint conservation project is the overhaul of current newsprint waste definitions and categories," he said. "It doesn't sound exciting, but we must have a consistent way to measure newsprint waste from one end of the business to the other."
Sturm said the NAA is working with IFRA, the international newspaper technology association, to develop world standards for newsprint roll identification, standards for digital ad exchange, and definitions and standards for quality reproduction.
"We're also working with IFRA in developing evaluation assistance worldwide, and working on standard Quality Reproduction Guidelines to help all newspapers achieve consistent, excellent color reproduction," Sturm said.