Fresh off the Presses: MDDC Contests for Newspapers!

The definitive resource for entering MDDC's 2011 Editorial and Advertising Contests is now available! The Editorial Contest and Advertising Contest packets were just released and they contain everything a newspaper needs to enter on time, efficiently and with a minimum of hassle and headache! The new packets have an easy-reference layout with quick-to-spot icons for identifying category rules and guidelines. They also include handy Declaration of Originality forms, entry forms (for the few mail-in categories) and helpful, easy-to-follow directions for using the Better Newspaper Contest web-based platform. Electronic entry via BetterBNC.com is required for most entries in the two contests, so you'll want to keep the directions near by. If you read only one book this year, make it MDDC's Contest guides for Newspapers! Download them today! And visit the 2011 Contest page for more details.

And make plans to attend the Annual Awards Conference, April 19-20, 2012!

Member Papers: Link Your Site to News, Public Notice Portal MDDCnews.com

MDDC's public notice and news aggregating web site, www.mddcnews.com, wants to be an effective portal to your site for web searchers looking for news and public notices in Maryland, Delaware and the District. To do that, MDDC needs to improve the site's ranking in search engine results. You can help optimize the site's search engine ranking by placing a link to the site on your own web site. MDDCnews.com captures RSS feeds from member papers and directs Internet traffic back to your newspapers. Improving the site's visibility as an aggregated public notice resource will also help the Association fight efforts by local governments to take the public notice franchise from newspapers. Put the www.mddcnews.com link on your site today!

Newspapers in the Mail

Many publishers and editors are concerned the U.S. Postal Service is going out of business. So the National Newspaper Association decided to do something to offer newspapers some reassurance. No, USPS is not going to die. But many changes are ahead.

National Newspaper Association Postal Committee Chairman Max Heath and President Reed Anfinson discuss the future of newspapers in the mail in a video produced by NNA at their convention in Albuquerque. The video is available at www.nnaweb.org or here on YouTube.

Watch the video and then consider joining NNA and helping in the battle to preserve Newspapers in the Mail.

Online Learning for Newspapers

MDDC is partnered with the Online Media Campus and Inland Press Association to offer a slate of affordable Webinars on subjects such as digital sales, legal immunity, and overcoming objections. Visit the respective pages for more details. 

Powell High School Journalism Scholarship Available
MDDC is offering a $1,500 CASH scholarship to a senior staff member of a local high school newspaper who exemplifies excellence in journalism. Applications are due January 31, 2012. Read more

Get the 2011 Virtual Membership Directory

The membership directory in PDF format is available for download and it includes updates for 2011. Download it now.