OCNA members can now register online for OCNA's upcoming Spring Convention and Better Newspaper Awards Gala. This year's event will be held at the Hilton Garden Inn in Vaughan on March 22. 

To view our complete agenda, please visit our events page.

Follow the below link to register online: www.ocna.org/registration2013 

The youth of today are the leaders of tomorrow and they are dedicating their time and energy to making a difference within their communities and around the world. The 12 final recipients of the 2012 Ontario Junior Citizen of the Year Awards are truly an inspiring group of individuals whose stories illustrate leadership, creativity, determination and generosity evident in youth today.

Mary Knowles was a dedicated newspaper person, and active community member who died from breast cancer in 1996. This award recognizes both the contributions of individuals, and the intimate connection community newspapers have with their communities.

Quill Awards are presented by the Canadian Community Newspapers Association to community newspaper owners and employees for long time service to the industry.

Recognize someone today - download a nomination form in the Members Area of our website under OCNA Programs and Services (login required) or contact Kelly Gorven at k.gorven@ocna.org. 

If you wish to have a Quill Award presented at our Spring Convention on March 22, please submit your nominations by January 18. 

The November/December issue of NewsClips is complete and available for your enjoyment. Click here to check it out.

Here's a sneak peek at what you can find inside:

Industry Changes
Sun Media has recently made some changes in an effort to reduce its operating costs by $45 million.

John Foust
Raleigh, NC

Thomas knows the power of storytelling. "I've found that the right stories help me sell more advertising," he said. "After all, prospects are like everyone else. They like to hear stories and examples of things that have happened to other people."

Thomas is right. Every sales person should have an arsenal of stories for a variety of purposes - to establish credibility, illustrate product benefits and answer objections. 

By Patrick Tinney
Managing Partner
Centroid Training & Marketing
www.centroidtraining.com

"Often the difference between a successful person and a failure is not one has better abilities or ideas, but the courage that one has to bet on one's ideas, to take a calculated risk - and to act." - André Malraux, French Historian, Novelist & Statesman

There is almost always risk in business negotiations. The question is whether it is a negative risk or positive risk. If there is no risk in a negotiation then we are all just buying and selling stuff at market rates or at rates with unknown mark-ups. 

It's that time once again - the Ontario Community Newspapers Foundation (OCNF) is pleased to launch the Student Distance Placement Program.

In an effort to facilitate the endurance and continued growth of the Ontario community newspaper industry, this program provides much-needed funding to undergraduate Journalism students entering into a co-op or internship at a community newspaper. OCNF’s intent is to attract talented up-and-coming journalists to the industry as a viable and long-term career option, and to provide a valuable educational experience to aspiring journalists who, without adequate funding, would otherwise not have the opportunity to do so.