After 10 years with INI, Mike Fenimore has decided to move on. At the end of this month, he will be taking a job as the IT Administrator for the Kent County (DE) SPCA. Mike’s dedication and commitment will certainly be missed. As the company’s hardware/software systems manager, he worked with nearly everyone in the company in one way or another; whether it was advice on eradicating a virus, or simple instructions on how to back up a crucial file, or breaking down a computer to replace a disk drive, Mike was always available and prepared to go the extra mile. Mike, we wish you well. Please know you will be missed, and we all hope you will stay in close touch.
For now, Mike’s duties will be absorbed by our regular tech team, so anyone with questions about software or hardware should e-mail techteam@newszap.com for assistance.
Thursday, January 19, 2012
EXCELLENCE AWARDS:
Nominations for Independent's annual Excellence Awards must be submitted by the last Friday in January. Nominations may be made by any employee. The nomination form and more details are available at http://www.newszap.com/excellenceawards/nominationform.html
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Community Appreciates DSN Reporting
Andy,
I wanted to thank you so much for your support and professionalism in handling this years coverage of First Night Dover. Unfortunately, I’ve learned the hard way that not all newspapers reporters are looking to report just the facts and many want to stir up controversy unnecessarily. Once again, the DSN took the high road, reported the facts clearly and made it clear that the New Year’s Eve event taking place this year had nothing to do with First Night Dover. I’ve enjoyed working with you through the years and look forward the future.
Thank you again for helping to defuse a sticky situation.
My best to you in the 2012!
Shelly Cecchett
I wanted to thank you so much for your support and professionalism in handling this years coverage of First Night Dover. Unfortunately, I’ve learned the hard way that not all newspapers reporters are looking to report just the facts and many want to stir up controversy unnecessarily. Once again, the DSN took the high road, reported the facts clearly and made it clear that the New Year’s Eve event taking place this year had nothing to do with First Night Dover. I’ve enjoyed working with you through the years and look forward the future.
Thank you again for helping to defuse a sticky situation.
My best to you in the 2012!
Shelly Cecchett
2012: Happy Digital New Year!
Our industry has been through a lot over the past few years. Thanks to the dedication, sacrifices and hard work of our people, we’re among the survivors. Even though economic uncertainties remain, we are well-positioned to thrive in the future.
Even in the depths of the recession, we stayed true to our values and mission. We made the tough decisions that had to be made, while always treating our employees and customers fairly. And despite revenue declines, we continued to serve our communities with meaningful journalism, public forums and vibrant marketplaces for local products and services.
Even as the nation slid into the Great Recession, we made significant --- and many felt risky --- investments in our Arizona and Delaware printing facilities. Those investments are paying off for us now because Valley Newspapers and Delaware Printing Company enjoy significant competitive advantages in their regions in both quality and efficiency.
Community publications and printing operations now provide us with two solid foundations that we will continue to build into the future.
But while we concentrated on those two areas, we lagged behind much of our industry in developing solid mobile and online products. Part of this was strategic, because a small company like ours simply couldn’t afford too many mistakes. So, we monitored what others were doing, and carefully analyzed what worked and what didn’t work.
Now, 2012 will be the year of our digital rebirth! It’s time for us to take what we have learned, crank up our new Content Management System, launch our website redesigns and put together terrific print-digital packages for our readers and advertisers. Small to medium sized businesses in our communities are increasingly exploring digital options, so it’s vitally important that we help them find solutions that will be effective and profitable for them.
Here’s our Strategic Vision for 2012:
1. Worthwhile mission. We will maintain and enhance our position as the leading source of local advertising, information and public dialogue in each of our communities, with new media becoming an ever more important component of our mix of products and services. This will allow us to do an even better job of fulfilling our mission of community service through independent local journalism.
2. Nimble culture. Nobody can safely predict what the future holds for our industry, and we are not a large enough player that we can afford to make large bets. Therefore, we will continue to promote a culture that embraces change and is nimble enough to make whatever adjustments are necessary to thrive in the future.
3. Print/Digital integration. We believe there’s a viable and sustainable future for those of us who can intelligently integrate print, mobile and online. In order to thrive in the future, our print products must develop complementary new media components.
4. Adequate Profits. Maintaining an overall operating profit margin of 5-10% will allow us to continue to reduce debt and make investments in the company’s future prosperity, so each of our operations will strive to achieve 10% margins while also providing the best service their markets will support.
5. Sustainability & growth. Short-term, our focus on productivity, expense control and profit has allowed us to service our debts and strengthen our balance sheet. Long-term, our nimble culture will allow us to reinvent ourselves in ways that will allow us to thrive into the foreseeable future and continue to pursue our mission.
Thanks, everybody, for making it possible for us to have this opportunity. Now let’s have some fun while we make 2012 our happy digital new year!
(Joe Smyth is the board chair & CEO of Independent Newsmedia Inc. USA. He can be reached at joesmyth@newszap.com )
Even in the depths of the recession, we stayed true to our values and mission. We made the tough decisions that had to be made, while always treating our employees and customers fairly. And despite revenue declines, we continued to serve our communities with meaningful journalism, public forums and vibrant marketplaces for local products and services.
Even as the nation slid into the Great Recession, we made significant --- and many felt risky --- investments in our Arizona and Delaware printing facilities. Those investments are paying off for us now because Valley Newspapers and Delaware Printing Company enjoy significant competitive advantages in their regions in both quality and efficiency.
Community publications and printing operations now provide us with two solid foundations that we will continue to build into the future.
But while we concentrated on those two areas, we lagged behind much of our industry in developing solid mobile and online products. Part of this was strategic, because a small company like ours simply couldn’t afford too many mistakes. So, we monitored what others were doing, and carefully analyzed what worked and what didn’t work.
Now, 2012 will be the year of our digital rebirth! It’s time for us to take what we have learned, crank up our new Content Management System, launch our website redesigns and put together terrific print-digital packages for our readers and advertisers. Small to medium sized businesses in our communities are increasingly exploring digital options, so it’s vitally important that we help them find solutions that will be effective and profitable for them.
Here’s our Strategic Vision for 2012:
1. Worthwhile mission. We will maintain and enhance our position as the leading source of local advertising, information and public dialogue in each of our communities, with new media becoming an ever more important component of our mix of products and services. This will allow us to do an even better job of fulfilling our mission of community service through independent local journalism.
2. Nimble culture. Nobody can safely predict what the future holds for our industry, and we are not a large enough player that we can afford to make large bets. Therefore, we will continue to promote a culture that embraces change and is nimble enough to make whatever adjustments are necessary to thrive in the future.
3. Print/Digital integration. We believe there’s a viable and sustainable future for those of us who can intelligently integrate print, mobile and online. In order to thrive in the future, our print products must develop complementary new media components.
4. Adequate Profits. Maintaining an overall operating profit margin of 5-10% will allow us to continue to reduce debt and make investments in the company’s future prosperity, so each of our operations will strive to achieve 10% margins while also providing the best service their markets will support.
5. Sustainability & growth. Short-term, our focus on productivity, expense control and profit has allowed us to service our debts and strengthen our balance sheet. Long-term, our nimble culture will allow us to reinvent ourselves in ways that will allow us to thrive into the foreseeable future and continue to pursue our mission.
Thanks, everybody, for making it possible for us to have this opportunity. Now let’s have some fun while we make 2012 our happy digital new year!
(Joe Smyth is the board chair & CEO of Independent Newsmedia Inc. USA. He can be reached at joesmyth@newszap.com )
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