Search Results eDoc

By Brad Hill
President

Nearly 250 newspapers now are using Interlink Circulation to submit postal documentation online for every issue. In doing so, publishers are freed from having to provide hardcopy PS Forms 3541 (Periodical Mail) and 3602 (Standard Mail), as well as the USPS Qualification Report.

In lieu of clicking Print, eDoc users choose Send to USPS to submit their reports, which are then immediately available to the local post office. Printed copies still are available for determined record-keepers, from within Circulation or by logging into the USPS Business Customer Gateway at gateway.usps.com.

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Improving editorial pages

Members of the International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors participate in an editorial critique session at the organization’s summer conference held at Fort Lewis College in Durango, CO. From left, Interlink customer Sarah Kessinger, editor and publisher of the Marysville Advocate in Kansas; Merle Baranczyk, publisher of the Mountain Mail in Colorado and Immediate Past President of the National Newspaper Association; Steve Bonspiel, editor and publisher of the Eastern Door in Quebec, Canada; Jim Painter, city editor of the Temple Daily Telegram in Texas; and (back to camera) Clyde Willis, retired publisher of the Metropolis Planet in Illinois. The editorial critique session above was facilitated by retired Missouri publisher, now Interlink Senior Sales and Marketing Manager Helen Sosniecki, whose husband, Gary, is the current ISWNE president. Conference hosts were former Interlink customers Guy and Marcia Wood of New Mexico, now retired. The Sosnieckis will host the 2015 conference at the University of Missouri School of Journalism in Columbia. Click here for photos from the Colorado conference.

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USPS has scheduled an update to PostalOne! from 5-9 a.m. EDT this Sunday, Sept. 7.

During that time, the Business Customer Gateway will be unavailable, and Interlink Circulation users will be unable to submit documentation electronically (eDoc).

By Brad Hill
President

Have you ever published an issue where the page count on your postal documentation was higher than that of the paper itself? Answering ‘yes’ has become ever easier as mailing requirements and the complexity of supporting documentation have increased over time.

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Living history

Johnson Publications publisher Lori Pankonin, right, watches a presentation at the print shop in Railroad Town, which is part of the Stuhr Museum’s Living History Community in Grand Island, NE. The tour was a fundraiser for the Nebraska Press Foundation as a kickoff to the Nebraska Press Association’s annual convention in April. For more photos from the Nebraska convention, click here. Interlink photo/Helen Sosniecki

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NNA members in D.C. for ‘We believe in newspapers’ summit

NNA members from around the country converged on Washington, D.C. on March 13 for the “We Believe in Newspapers” Leadership Conference and Postal Summit. After a group session, members headed to Capitol Hill to visit their representatives and senators to discuss issues important to the community newspaper industry. Postal changes, including the possibility of the United State Postal Service dropping Saturday mail and the possible end of Postal Regulatory Commission oversight of USPS, and the handling of advertising deductions as a business expense were high on the group’s list this year. The day ended with Bob Schieffer, CBS anchor and moderator of Face the Nation, addressing the group at a dinner at the National Press Club. Schieffer, a friend of NNA President Robert Williams, is shown above, center, with Williams, right, and Nebraska Press Association Executive Director Allen Beermann as he arrived at the Press Club prior to the dinner.  For more photos from the ‘We Believe in Newspapers Summit’, click here.  Interlink photo/Helen Sosniecki

Subscriptions: Expanding that revenue source may be easier than you think

By William E. (Bill) Garber
Founder

Time to risk something new?

How about more of the same?

It’s a lot easier than changing!

And, in at least one substantial way, much more promising.

Newspapers have been around for centuries.

Their user interface was perfected before anyone came up with the words, user interface.

So what’s different these days?

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Interlink customers shouldn’t let delay slow their progress

By William E. (Bill) Garber
Interlink founder

Google offers way more than seven explanations for why people are often impressed with seven of anything. Interlink clients have their own reasons, including seven for why they will be continuing with their plans to implement Full-Service Intelligent Mail® as soon as possible, even though the Postal Service had to pull the plug on the January 26 deadline.

1.  Pocket money. The sooner a weekly claims the Full-Service Intelligent Mail® postage discount, the more savings will accumulate over the years. Of course, this is only about $100 annually for a 2,000-subscription weekly. But, it is a rare publisher who wouldn’t reach down to pick up a $50 bill or two off the street.

2.  More consistent delivery. Full-Service Intelligent Mail® is highly visible on the outside of every sack, tub and other handling units. Postal workers from dock, to plant, to post office know Full-Service Intelligent Mail® when they see it; they also know that ‘the system’ has seen it and knows it is right in front of them. The sooner your newspapers travel in Full-Service Intelligent Mail® handling units, the sooner subscribers will enjoy more consistent delivery.

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photo/Jessica Hughey

Discussing postal issues

Wyatt Emmerich of Emmerich Newspapers (standing) chats with (clockwise) NNA Postal expert Max Heath, Columbian-Progress Publisher Adam Prestridge, Interlink Senior Sales and Marketing Manager Helen Sosniecki and Petal News Publisher David Gustafson during the ArkLaMiss Circulation Conference in November in Vicksburg, MS. For more photos from the conference, click here.

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The Full-Service Intelligent Mail requirement for continued qualification for Periodical Mail Automation Rate discounts has been delayed. Interlink is assessing the situation and as we come to better understand the implications for community newspapers, we will share what we learn with you.

As you review the Postal Service statement, please share your views and opinions on the Interlink Community Forum. We’ve opened a Main Category thread for comments on this turn of events here: http://forum.ilsw.com/showthread.php?2284-USPS-Defers-Full-Service-Intelligent-Mail-Requirement&p=7977

The complete explanation by the Postal Services follows:

USPS Defers Implementation of Full-Service Intelligent Mail
Requirement for Automation Prices

The U.S. Postal Service is disappointed with the portion of last week’s ruling from the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) which held that the implementation of Full-Service Intelligent Mail barcode (IMb) constitutes a rate increase. This ill-conceived decision will impair complete adoption of Full-Service IMb and hinder the Postal Service’s ability to promote a technology that enhances the value of mail, which is critical to the development of next-generation digital products and services. The PRC’s overly expansive view of the price cap demonstrates why comprehensive postal reform legislation should include additional pricing authority for the Postal Service Board of Governors.

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By Brad Hill
President

Earlier this month, we released Interlink Circulation version 2.3, and with it passed a major milestone as publishers of mailing software. This update, one of the most significant we have produced in recent years, includes everything necessary to submit mailings that meet the upcoming Full-Service requirements of the U.S. Postal Service.

As a reminder, after Jan. 26, 2014, all Full-Service Intelligent Mail requirements must be met in order to claim the automation rates previously granted by simply printing a barcode with the mailing address. Full-Service is about much more than automation rates, and there’s a lot of good information explaining what else Full-Service means.

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