National Newspaper Week celebration set for Oct. 4-10

WV Press Sharing

CHARLESTON, W.VA. — The 80th annual National Newspaper Week — a recognition of the service of newspapers and their employees across North America — is set for next week: Oct. 4-10

The Newspaper Association Managers (NAM) group sponsors National Newspaper Week. West Virginia Press Association is a member of NAM.

NAM provides a content kit with promotional ads, editorials and editorial cartoons; all available for download at no charge to daily and non-daily newspapers across North America. Additional materials for use by newspapers promoting NNW will be posted as they become available.

“America/Canada Needs Journalists” is this year’s theme. The Iowa City ‘Daily Iowan’ developed the concept.

Click here to learn more about the work they are doing to support student journalists.

NAM and WVPA hope each newspaper will plan to celebrate National Newspaper Week by downloading the materials and devoting as many column inches as possible to reinforce the importance of newspapers to local communities.

NNW Chairperson Susan Patterson Plank, executive director of the
Iowa Newspaper Association, hopes each newspaper will localize the information.

“Make it local by editorializing about your newspaper’s unique relevance. This can be about your duties as government watchdog, your role as a community forum and coverage of community events, publication of timely public notices and other items,” said Plank.

Plank said since the principle is timeless, the materials, new and archived, will remain on the website and accessible year-round as a continuing resource.

“Thank you for supporting National Newspaper Week. You already know there is power in association. And the same principle holds when associations like ours band together to provide even greater impact — both directly to newspaper members locally and collectively to the overall industry nationwide,” Plank said.

Newspapers are encouraged to use one or all of the ads from this year’s “America/Canada Needs Journalists” ad campaign in their newspaper. Feel free to start running the ads during National Newspaper Week and continue them in the days and weeks that follow.

Click here to access a Dropbox folder with FIVE DIFFERENT ads in SEVEN SIZES. Pick the size that is right for your newspaper. There are America and Canada versions of each ad in the folder.

NEWSPAPERS ARE ALSO ENCOURAGED to replace the “National Newspaper Week” line in the ad with their own flags or logos.