IN-COUNTY NEWSPAPERS ENTERED AT DELIVERY OFFICES
AVOID 78% PIECE PRICE INCREASE FOR 'FLIMSY' NEWSPAPERS

National Newspaper Association received news this week that its campaign to
help community newspapers avoid a postage up-charge intended for lightweight
publications was successful and a 78% in-county piece rate increase that
would have taken effect in June has been averted.  The Postal Service
announced that it would not assess a charge on carrier-routed newspapers
entered at delivery offices. The charge may still apply to outside-county
carrier-routed newspapers that fail a "droop" test.

The test applies to flat mail that droops more than 4 inches when extended 5
inches off a flat surface.

NNA President Cheryl Kaechele, publisher of the Allegan County (MI) News)
said the charge was proposed last fall, and that NNA's Postal Committee
Chairman Max Heath had immediately swung into action to prevent it.  The
"droop" test is imposed to charge flats that are too lightweight to be
handled by automated sorting machinery, but in the latest iteration, USPS
had said it thought that even publications not sorted by machine should be
assessed the charge.

"We were greatly concerned," Kaechele said, "The Postal Service had
announced that there would be no postage increases during this very
challenging economy. Then to suddenly find this daunting charge looming
because of a mere rules change was very bad news indeed. We congratulate the
Postal Committee and Max Heath for effective advocacy to turn back this
threat to our industry."

Heath said: "NNA won a decisive victory in its effort to ensure that
so-called 'flimsy flats' entered at DDU post offices retain the Basic
carrier-route price for 6-124 Periodical pieces or 10-124 Standard Mail
Enhanced Carrier route pieces on a route if they fail a so-called
'deflection' test.

"NNA was the only association publicly cited during a presentation on the
final rule at the Mailers Technical Advisory Committee in Washington
February 17 for the reasonableness and quality of arguments to a Federal
Register filing. NNA, several members, and some state associations filed
comments showing that newspapers would be discriminated against with a 78%
increase to 5-digit Periodical rates should a newspaper fail a new, more
restrictive 'droop test.'" This revised test applies to "flat mail" that
droops more than 4 vertical inches when extended 5 inches off a flat
surface.

The final rule, effective June 7, indicates that the test will be applied to
periodicals, such as magazines, that don't enter at Destination Delivery
Units.

Heath said,   "I encourage publishers to maximize their DDU drops if at all
possible to avoid this nasty penalty if they have a concern that their
newspaper could fail the droop test."

"This decision once again shows the value of mailers dropping their own
subscriber copies via Exceptional Dispatch to DDU post offices, both
in-county and across county lines, anywhere substantial carrier-route mail
exists," Heath said. "Likewise, those with Standard Mail shoppers get the
same price discount on Basic price carrier route sorted mail entered at the
DDU. High-density and Saturation mail is already exempt from this penalty in
both classes."

Each NNA member newspaper without high page counts will enjoy a savings of
4.6 cents per piece when sorted to the Basic carrier-route price In-county
(line A13 of Form 3541), and 12.3 cents on every Basic carrier-route price
piece Outside County (line C25 of 3541). DDU-entered shopper copies would
have a savings of 11.4 cents  per piece from Basic-price pieces staying on
line I12 rather than going to line E9 for 5-digit rates on a 3602-R.

Members can annualize their savings by multiplying $0.046 times in-county
Basic carrier route copies times the number of issues in a year, then $0.123
times outside-county Basic carrier route copies times annual issues. For
newspapers with shoppers, or free Standard Mail newspapers, paying Basic
carrier-route rate, multiply $0.114 times line I12 copies times the number
of issues in a year. That should more than pay for annual dues for any
member and multiple years membership for some.

Details of the deflection test, which is still being argued by major
mailers, will appear in Max Heath's Pub Aux Postal Tips column prior to
implementation.