INIers have risen to the occasion

As everybody knows, the economy still stinks.

Like most others in publishing, our advertising revenues have suffered double-digit declines because consumers and businesses aren’t spending. Independent’s people have all had to scramble to adjust. It hasn’t been easy, but we have adjusted and been able to post some modest profit improvements despite the economy. Unlike many others in our industry, we continue to service our debt on schedule and are within all bank covenants.

When the economy finally recovers --- as we know it will --- we believe we are well positioned to thrive in the decades ahead, thanks to the spirit and tenacity of INIers in all four states in which we operate.

Even in this economy, we continue to gain market share in both publishing and printing. The increased color capacity, quality and efficiency of our new printing presses in Arizona and Delaware have given us a solid competitive edge in competing for commercial printing jobs. (One of our key competitors in Arizona just recently closed shop.) We have converted all of our broadsheet publications to a modern and colorful compact format, to the applause of advertisers and readers.

We also continue to develop our newszap.com community websites as complementary web products that cross-promote our print products. We made the right “contrarian” decision by not posting all of our print content online free….and instead developing unique user-driven web content online. The Public Forums and Post Your News features continue to thrive and have allowed us to engage in some very efficient “reverse publishing” of “refrigerator news” (as described by Charlene Patti Bisson here) thus freeing up our journalists for more meaningful issues-oriented coverage.

We are now adding Community & Journalist blogs. We have added online Yellow Pages on Delmarva and print/online Special Sections company-wide. E-editions of our print products have allowed us to expand our reach while reducing some printing and delivery costs.

We have converted to paid obits and celebrations. We’re experiencing success with an online Classifieds approach and are about ready to roll out an improved version that will allow users to more easily post photos and videos. We are building a dedicated sales team for online-only and online/print (bundled) advertising. We will soon launch new “content channels” for specific topics like autos, entertainment, real estate and sports.

Once again, INI’s people have risen to the occasion, made sacrifices and proven that they --- and we --- are survivors. Thanks everybody, for all you do!

(Joe Smyth is the board chair and CEO of Independent Newspapers, Inc. He can be reached by email at JoeSmyth@newszap.com.)

Okeechobee News

Introduction to Okeechobee Office profile

By Tom Byrd
Florida VP

The office profile of the Okeechobee News for this issue of Presslines tells the story of the kind of dramatic actions and bold steps that have been required across INI as we strive to successfully deal with the extraordinary economic challenges. Some of these steps have clearly been painful. Yet, as the summaries told by Katrina Elsken and Judy Kasten attest, we have also made the kind of changes that put us in position to better serve our mission: providing useful news and advertising to our communities over the long haul.

While we necessarily have taken some short term belt tightening type actions, we have also made sea-change moves in Okeechobee such as converting to three days, going all local, and of course, as has the rest of INI, moving to the reader preferred compact format. I believe that the search for a more sustainable economic model for our Florida operations is entirely consistent with the longer term values of INI. Not only do we want to be around to continue to fulfill our mission, we can also embrace another INI value—continuous improvement in serving our readers and clients.

Okeechobee News Office Profile

Compact, thrice-weekly
is packed with local news

By Katrina Elsken
Editor

Pete Gawda, Eric Kopp and Katrina Elsken (not pictured is Charles Murphy)

In the past year the Okeechobee News has decreased staff size, decreased frequency of population and anticipated reducing our office space.

But good things come in small packages -- and so does dynamite.

The leaner Okeechobee News is more local, more readable, more attractive and more than ever determined to do what it takes to survive.

After nearly 16 years as a seven-day paper, in September the Okeechobee News dropped to three days a week. We also dropped our Associated Press membership.

It was not an easy decision for any of us. Like newspapers all over the country, the daily Okeechobee News has felt the economic downturn. We saw not only a reduction in ads, but some days of the week, the only display ads in the newspaper were house ads. There was just no support for all seven days a week.

We promise to give the community the best newspaper it will support. It was obvious the community could not at this time support a daily newspaper.

We had been proud to be able to give our small community the daily news. But if the paper were to survive the economic downturn at all, we had to make sacrifices. After much marketing research, discussion and reflection, we concluded that a local daily paper could not survive, but a thrice-weekly paper could.

There were big changes involved. The most immediate change was to drop the Associated Press Membership. Our strength has always been local news. We pledged to fill the paper with just that -- all local, all the time. We do not apologize for the fact that we don't run national and international news -- we are proud to be a local newspaper. Our readers get their fill of national and international news on television and the Internet. There is no way we can compete with that. But we are often the only media covering local Okeechobee events. We may be their only source of news for many issues that are important to their daily lives.

While we sometimes still miss the comforting backup of an AP feed, cutting AP was the least painful of the changes.

Another big change was staffing. Much of it was done through attrition, but some employees did see their positions terminated and this was hard on everyone.

The editorial department lost two full time reporting positions, one full time production position and one part-time production position. We also converted two full time news clerk positions to part-time.

Advertising lost one full time sales position and one full time production/graphics position.

Front desk lost one full time position.

Many of the remaining staffers were asked to take on extra duties to compensate.

In the months following the switch to three days a week, we received a few complaints -- primarily about losing the comics which were not cost-effective or practical for the thrice-weekly format. One heartbreaking call came from a woman whose husband has Alzheimer's. The disruption in his schedule left him lost, since he counted his days by the arrival of the newspapers. But even she understood that the change was forced by the economic conditions.

There were plenty of positive comments and those kept our spirits up. Most readers loved the all-local coverage. They didn't miss the AP content and non-local features.

The news team redoubled their efforts to continually increase story counts and to go after stories that would grab the readers.

Eight months after we switched to thrice-daily, the paper made another big change, going from broadsheet to compact format.

The compact format helps the advertisers -- a small ad makes a bigger impact on a smaller page. And readers reaction has been positive. Readers tell us they actually read more of the paper now because the new modular design and smaller pages make it easier to consume the paper is small bits. The modular layout draws the reader in. The smaller pages make it much easier to "package" a page with just one story with photos or a group of related short stories and photos.

Credit for the success goes to the hard work of the staffers -- who literally do more with less. Stories have to be tightly written and edited. I often edit right on the page to make everything fit and to pack as much into each page and into each edition of the newspaper as we can.

Readers often ask me, if the economy improves, will we add more days of publication back? And I tell them that if the market produces sufficient advertising to support it, of course we will. We pledge to give the community the best newspaper it will support.

But of course, there are also fundamental shifts going on the news and information business as newspapers everywhere search for more sustainable journalistic models, so it may be that Okeechobee will never again support a daily newspaper of its own.

To keep our "daily" news production going, the Okeechobee News recently entered the "blogosphere" with staff-written blogs on newszap.com. Even though we no longer print a newspaper seven days a week, we can still get the news out to those community members who join us online.

This summer, the Okeechobee News also plans to reduce our office size. The newspaper office was originally four office units. We are giving of those units up, and as it happens, the unit we are giving up is more than 50 percent of the news department's office space. (The unit next door to it is already vacant and the new tennant will occupy both.) It's going to get a little tight and we have to be brutal about what we keep and what we sell or throw out, but we are determined to make it work.

The editorial news team includes myself, Eric Kopp, Pete Gawda and Charles Murphy.

Three days of the week, I am usually in the office editing stories, supervising and helping with production. On the luxurious non-production days I gather news, help research stories, take photos, meet with community members and help reporters come up with story ideas. And if someone is out sick or we have a large paper, or unexpected breaking news, I also do whatever has to be done to get the paper to press on deadline.

I also serve as Executive Editor for the INI Florida Group and recently joined the blogosphere with the new newszap.com blogs with "Life in Okeechobee."

Eric Kopp covers cops and courts as well as investigative reporting. He tackles the tough stories with relish. Eric writes the Okeechobee -- Cops and Courts blog.

Pete Gawda has the government and the environmental beats, writes features, and does a weekly column with news from local churches. Pete writes the Okeechobee - Local government blog.

Charles Murphy is our sports reporter who is rarely seen in the office. Under a special agreement, Charles also works for the local radio station. In the mornings, he is on the air with his local news show. In the evenings, he covers high school, middle school and recreation department sports for the Okeechobee News. Charles works from home and emails his stories and photos in.

Charles also writes "The Murphy Report" blog -- which includes sports as well as a potporri of news he gathers from around the community in his daily travels.

With the loss of the positions previously held by our school and business reporters, we juggle the business and school news stories.

News production is shared by Dee Hamilton, Teresa Mataushek and Diane Timmons.

Dee, the only full time staffer in the group, handles a lot of different duties. In addition to processing community submissions and helping to build pages for the Okeechobee News, she also handles the community submitted editorial copy and photos for the Immokalee Bulletin and the Caloosa Belle. Most weeks, Dee gathers the entire editorial content of the Bulletin -- thanks to a small army of volunteers she has worked hard to recruit and maintain. Teresa, who started nursing school in January, was previously a fulltime staffer, now only works three afternoons a week. Diane Timmons, also a part-timer, works four afternoons a week. Diane stays busy proofing copy and building pages. A computer whiz, she's also often found helping out other editorial staffers who aren't quite sure what they did wrong but the computer isn't doing what they meant it to do.

Okeechobee News Advertising

By Judy Kasten
Advertising Director, Okeechobee News

Ad sales team -- Kay Sheedy, Diana Whitehall, Linda Bridges and Judy Kasten

Adverting graphics seated Kristina Schwartz, standing Ann Hines (not pictured is Ginny Guy)

Front desk/advertising support: standing Angie Bridges and Selena Eubanks; seated Jean McNeeley

The Okeechobee News advertising department includes the sales team: Kay Sheedy, Linda Bridges and Diana Whitehall. Angie Bridges is office manager and does order entry. Kay has been with the Okeechobee News for 12 ½ years and handles coastal automotive accounts, financial accounts and real estate accounts. She also sells and coordinates the production of our monthly real estate magazine.

Linda Bridges joined our staff a year ago, having been in retail ad sales for another local publication. Linda handles a mix of medical and retail accounts.

Diana Whitehall joined the Okeechobee sales team in 2005 and has been in advertising sales for 17 years, a transplant from Illinois. Angie Bridges joined the Okeechobee News circulation department 10 ½ ago and has worked with the circ team and also as customer service representative in our front office before moving to the ad team.

The advertising graphics team includes Kristina Schwartz, who has been with us 2 1/2 years and Ann Hines, who has been with INI for 15 ½ years. The graphics team is overseen by Ginny Guy who also builds ads and steps in wherever needed in addition to her pre-press and tech support roles.

Jean McNeeley, who has been with us for 4 ½ years and Selena Eubanks, who joined us last year, are our front office customer service ladies. Selena also handles retail advertising for the south lake package and our other FL papers, backs up Angie Bridges for order entry and handles classified ad sales for the Okeechobee News.

Tough economic times have created difficult sales conditions for the ad team but this team of veteran advertising sales professionals is up to the challenge. The conversion to compact format has offered a new look and size and added impact for each of our accounts and the paper itself has a fresh new look with all local content.

With the unprecedented challenges due to the severe economic downturn, there is the need to look even more aggressively for new advertising venues and opportunities to help our clients grow their businesses. A recent one, Meet Your Local Merchants, was quite successful in bringing 16 pages of new revenue into our paper. We have managed to hold the lion’s share of the real estate advertising for our area as well, but this is obviously an especially tough category in Florida as is the Automotive sector. One current project is a community awareness page for July 4th followed by an Okeechobee County school information guide, but we are actively seeking to provide advertising solutions to as many clients as possible throughout our market.

Circulation

Circulation director Janet Madray and circulation assistant Doug Powell.

The Okeechobee News circulation effort is staffed by veteran circulation manager Janet Madray and circulation assistant Doug Powell. The entire Florida circulation operation is handled in centralized fashion by Janet and Doug with support from the reader service and distribution team in Delaware, as well as the front office teams in our weekly offices. All other distribution is performed by independent contractors. Over the last couple of years, Janet has contracted out as much of our distribution work as possible for maximum efficiency and lowest cost. While the distribution department is considerably smaller then it once was, it remains the critical link to our all-important print readers and providing topnotch service to readers remains job one.

Established in 1915, the Okeechobee News is the longest continuing business in Okeechobee County. With innovation, techology and a lot of hard work we plan to keep that status for many years to come.

COVERING IMMOKALEE: High Touch Coverage Done Remotely

“It's quite amazing that a weekly could remain so timely in its reporting of needed information” Diane Christianson iTECH (Immokalee Technical Center)

“We all LOVE the Immokalee Bulletin at The Shelter for Abused Women & Children, Immokalee Outreach Office. Not only does it provide our community with information about events that happened or future events, we get to read about local heroes. Neither the Naples Daily News nor the News-Press can provide that 'hometown' news that the Bulletin does. Thank you so much.” Mary Ann Green/Collier County Shelter for Abused Women & Children

“I am exceptionally pleased with our Collier County Health Department’s relationship with you and the Immokalee Bulletin. We feel the Bulletin is the primary source of media information for residents and visitors to Immokalee. Our public health messages are usually very important messages dealing with the health and safety of our community; knowing the Bulletin is always willing to help us share our messages is invaluable to us in public health! Thank you for your ongoing service to our community!” Deb Millsap, Director of Nutrition/Health Education Collier County Health Department

The above quotes give testament to the vibrant and active role the Immokalee Bulletin plays in the life of this rural southwest Florida community. Our paper is a 3,500 circulation free weekly serving this unique agricultural community on the edge of the Everglades and 35 miles inland from the affluent city of Naples. Due to its remote location and limited economic base, we have learned that our old models of full time staff in the community are not possible in Immokalee. In fact, it has been quite some time since we have had any employees actually stationed in Immokalee. Yet, as seen in the comments above, we are producing a news product that is vital and useful to the community. How do we do it?

The piece below by Dee Hamilton (along with editor Katrina Elsken) tells how, and offers some lessons for covering communities remotely. Dee works in Okeechobee, over 100 miles from Immokalee, but keeps in close touch with community sources and contacts via email and phones. My perception is that it works very well. In my visits to Immokalee, I find that some folks in the community actually assume Dee actually is in the community since she is so dialed into what’s going on.

Working with Caloosa Belle news editor Patty Brant who is stationed 30 miles from Immokalee, Dee proves that that you don’t always have to be physically present in a community to be ‘high touch’. In a time when we are actively searching for more sustainable journalistic models, there are some things emerging from our Immokalee experience that we can hopefully all take away. Read on.

Tom Byrd
Florida VP

How to Influence Contacts and Embrace a Community

Getting new contacts – and keeping them

By Dee Hamilton
INI FL News Department

Immokalee Bulletin editorial desk

The Immokalee Bulletin looks like many other weekly newspapers. The front page usually features a photo of a local event -- photos that include lots of faces are popular page one items. The inside pages are packed with local news and photos.

What's unusual about the Immokalee Bulletin is that many weeks the entire paper is filled by community submissions. The newspaper has no editorial staff on site. Yet, despite the fact the Immokalee Bulletin does not have a local office and does not have any onsite staffers, the people of Immokalee embrace it as "their" newspaper.

Getting people to respond to requests for submitted materials is a tricky task. People are busy with work, school and other responsibilities and everyone counts on "the other guy" to do it.

Nearly every agency, organization and club has some need to "get the word out" at one time or another. The best way to do that is to show people (readers) what they missed. Some organization funding counts heavily on attendance to events or functions and letting their local news publication know about it can help.

Well written articles speak to a local audience when describing what an organization can do for a small community, but photos speak loudly.

The question is, "How to get them to send them in?" The most obvious answer is to just, ASK. Once isn't enough. Ask often.

Key people in any community can really help get the ball rolling. Local club and business members are for the most part, involved in their local community. They stay active in volunteer organizations, school events, civic committees and even local festivals, fairs, etc. There is always someone at every event and club meeting with a camera and/or taking notes.

Email is the choice of communication these days and just like the days of using the phone to make contacts, people are waiting for a return phone call. Return emails just the same.

The copy desk in Okeechobee first started working on the Immokalee Bulletin in May 2006.

After nearly 15,000 emails, sent out since May 12, 2006 to anyone submitting photos, stories, news of events, etc., we've focused on communication, consistent follow up, appreciation and respect.

COMMUNICATION: If you want people to send in local news, you have to ask. Local members of the key organizations including: Rotary, Kiwanis, School Board, Churches, etc. within the local area can be great contacts. Town and county Web sites can be a great help. We searched the internet for web site for or about Immokalee and compiled a list of email addresses. We called all known community contacts, those who had previously submitted news to the paper and asked for their email information, and for that of any other community organizations they might know. Then we "shot-gunned" emails to every address we could find, asking for submissions to the Immokalee Bulletin.

CONSISTENT FOLLOW UP: Every email from a community contributor must be answered. Sometimes we respond with follow-up questions. Sometimes it's simply a "thanks!"Every response also includes a request for more submissions.

APPRECIATION: People who take the trouble to submit news want to know that you appreciate it and that you will use it.

When emails are received, answer every single one and invite them to submit more for future editions. Be sure to let readers know that the time that they took to submit something is appreciated. And...if you say that something will be used, be prepared to use it in a timely manner. Trust of a contact can be either lost or strengthened. People just want to know if you received whatever it was that they took the time to submit. Sometimes just a simple "Thank you" is enough, however, depending on what is sent in, a simple request for more will bring on lots of great input for current and future editions.

If for some reason you can't use what they send, let them know why. For example, "Thank you for the photos. However, the resolution is too low to reproduce well in the newspaper. Can you please resend at a resolution of at least 180 dpi?" Developing good, dependable local contacts takes consistent follow up. Without annoying your contacts, a simple "All Call" for local stories, photos, etc. by way of email, invites the community to make the paper their own. Let anyone submitting material know that their story or photo are always welcome, especially when replying to an email.

Many emails that we get have contact information at the bottom of them, especially if they are from a local government office, school or organization officer. Record this information from the emails along with a note on what they send in (ie. photos, events, etc.) to develop a resources file. Although editorial is technically not a position of "sales," we do have to help in encouraging community members including local business owners, to believe in what we deliver. That’s where only quality input comes in.

Small communities such as we service, seem to be more than happy to hand in photos and stories that they write. We just need to "ask" for them.

Communication with sources is also an opportunity to promote our website. Each time you reply to an email, remind them they can post their news online.

With the new compact format, a recent concern is having room for everything. It would be easy to fill up a page with one long item. The editor's job is to provide a balance of news. Submitted items must often be edited down to the essential information so that a greater variety of items can be in the paper. When you have to shorten an item for the paper, remind the sender that Post Your News on newszap.com does not have the same space limitations. You can post as much as you want on Post Your News.

RESPECT: Our community contributors help us because they care about their community. It is important that we respect them enough to care too, and to give the paper the same care and consideration that we give papers in larger communities.

Executive Editor, Katrina Elsken also contributed to this article

Delaware State News wins chamber’s ‘Outstanding Partnership’ recognition

Central Delaware Chamber of Commerce/Gina Aurora

Central Delaware Chamber of Commerce Past Chairman Alan Kovitz (center) presents Delaware State News managing editor Andrew West (left) and Delaware State News President/Publisher Ed Dulin (right) with the Annual Chairman’s Outstanding Partnership Award.

The Central Delaware Chamber of Commerce awarded the “Chairman’s Outstanding Partnership Award” to the Delaware State News.

Outgoing chairman Alan Kovitz surprised INI President Ed Dulin and Delaware State News Managing Editor Andy West with the honor at the annual Chairman’s Dinner June 18 at the Sheraton.

Mr. Kovitz praised the Delaware State News for printing the chamber’s weekly column, for the newspaper’s work on the Diamond State BBQ/Big Boys Toys Show program and $100 coupon advertising program for chamber members.

The blue glass trophy will be placed on display in the awards case on the second floor landing of the Delaware State News office.

Readers keep contributing

By Charlene Patti Bisson
Publisher
West Valley Independents

There is no doubt that we – along with the entire newspaper industry – do not have the staffing we had five years ago.

Fortunately, Independent Newspapers, unlike many of our competitors, believes in letting our community dictate our inside pages, which in our tough economic times has been a blessing.

Our company philosophy has always been let “our inside pages be overflowing with ‘refrigerator’ news items and photos submitted by readers”.

Some competitors may scoff, but this grassroots approach has built a devoted readership and strong niche over the years. Our biggest proof of success has been our voluntary pay program as well as circulation starts – our phones are always ringing.

We are in a deep recession – and our readers know it. Some have written to us: “Hang in there!” They continue to support their hometown newspapers even though their monthly income has taken a tremendous hit.

Our fall and winter voluntary pay programs have received tens of thousands of dollars. Our June campaign is approaching these figures now.

Our readers appreciate knowing what is going on in their own backyard. Their local events thrive on the coverage we give them.

Here is what the community is saying:

“Great newspaper for our own local news and like the letters to the editor and the short unsigned letters are interesting,” Blanche Alpert of Sun City.

Joan Smith wrote she appreciated how we keep up to date on the local happenings in Sun City West.

“You report an unbiased opinion, which is most refreshing,” Clarrisa J. Cline of Sun City.

“Fine paper. Love the articles by Rusty Bradshaw and Jeremy Carr,” Paul Zaleski.

We also have our critics, but they want to see quality journalism at its best and still donate in hopes we can meet their needs.

Refrigerator journalism allows our news editors to focus on investigating larger issues that are important to the community, because our editors know the community’s contributions have our inside pages covered.

Delaware State News Teams Up to Win Big

The Delaware State News Advertising and Graphics teams had great success with the Maryland-Delaware-D.C. Press Association 2008 Advertising Contest. Pictured left-to-right is Heather Cregar with graphic artists Cyndy Paquette, Olivia Littleton, Angi Hicks, and Jeff Carney.

Delmarva Classified Advertising team with assistance from the Retail Advertising team and the Dover Graphics team was recognized in the Maryland-Delaware-D.C. Press Association 2008 Advertising Contest for the “Santa’s Gift Bag” themed feature page.

Pictured left-to-right, front row, Heather Carver, Vicki Rosado, back row, Janet Levy, Dianna Sellers, Karla Akmentins, and Jen Wright.

By Heather Cregar

The Delaware State News Advertising and Graphics teams had great success with the Maryland-Delaware-D.C. Press Association 2008 Advertising Contest and celebrated their winnings in true Delaware style under a tent with balloons, banners, subs, sodas, cookies, and of course, laughs and good fun.

The annual MDDC Advertising Contest offers newspapers from throughout the region the opportunity to compete head-to-head with other newspapers from the same circulation division. The awards recognize creativity and originality in advertising design and features categories such as retail, real estate, recruitment, house ads, niche publications, special sections, house promotions and others.

One team award that stood out for the Delaware State News was a first place for the “Santa’s Gift Bag” themed feature page. This page was championed by the Classified Advertising team with assistance from the Retail Advertising team and the Dover Graphics team. The judges comments on this page were, “Nice layout and spacing. Good variety of advertisers.” Graphic Artist Jeff Carney deserves an added “pat on the back” for his design work on the header, page layout and sales flyers for this promotion. In addition to the first place award for this page, the Delaware State News also took home a “best in show” award. This award pits the first place winners of all circulation categories against each other for the coveted “best in show” standing. The State News beat out the Washington Times, The Catholic Review and the Milford Beacon to bring it home to Delaware.

The Sussex County Profile magazine was again recognized as a high quality publication with a 3^rd place award for Niche Publications produced by daily publications under 35,000 circulation. This award was shared by the Delaware State News and Sussex teams of News & Layout, Retail & Classified Advertising and Graphics. Independent Newspapers has published this glossy, full color magazine since 1997. The success grows each year and 2010 will see the addition of a Kent County Profile magazine.

The Classified Advertising team shared a second place award with the Graphics Team for their popular Community Service advertising “Adopt-A-Pet.” This monthly page features photos of dogs, cats and sometimes pigs and horses for adoption at the local SPCA. Local businesses sponsor each pet’s block, and a clever saying completes the design of each advertisement making this page a readers’ favorite every month. A special “pat on the back” goes to Graphic Artist Angi Hicks who designed the page and regularly does the layout.

Another team award was for the “Super Bowl XLII” page put together by the Retail & Classified Advertising teams, the Graphics Team and Sports & Layout. This fun-filled page was framed by ads from local businesses and featured local “celebrities” and dignitaries picking their favorite team to win the Super Bowl Trophy. For this themed page, the teams shared a 3^rd place win --- garnering two prizes in the Themed Feature Page category.

Graphic Artist Cyndy Paquette and Advertising & Promotions Coordinator Heather Cregar also teamed up to win a 3^rd place award in the Print Promotion of Newspaper category for the “Feel The Roar” rack cards promoting the Delaware State News race contest.

A surprise award was presented to Barbara Drummer from Kohl’s Department Stores in recognition of the Delaware State News’ error-free preprint distribution for the 2008 calendar year. This is the third year that the Delaware State News and the Delaware Printing Company have received this award – every year that Kohl’s has been doing business with our company.

Other MDDC Advertising Awards were also presented to the following individuals:

• Olivia Littleton, Graphic Artist
• 1^st Place – Local Retail Color, Less than ½ page – Delaware State News – Forney’s Too – “The Bunny Trail”
• 1^st Place – Ad Campaign or Series – Delaware State News – For Dreamers Gallery
• 2^nd Place – Promotion Ads – Delaware State News – “Create it Yourself”
• Angi Hicks, Graphic Artist
• 2^nd Place – Ad Campaign or Series – Delaware State News – Sharon Hills/Odd Fellows Cemeteries – “Prearranging Your Funeral”
• 3^rd Place – Local Retail Color, Less than ½ page – Crisfield Times - Racks Sports Bar – “Halloween After Party”
• Cyndy Paquette, Graphics Artist
• 3^rd Place – Local Automotive, B&W or Color – Delaware State News – Townsend Bros. Chevrolet – “No Matter the Season…”