Community Newspaper Association of Victoria

2011 Conference

CNAV — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 12:00:46 +0000

The power of the community press

Conference 2011 at Geelong

CNAV award winners 2011

2010 Conference – Award Winners

CNAV — Sun, 21 Nov 2010 11:41:19 +0000

Congratulations to the 2010 CNAV awardees.

Best community reporting

Winner Waranga News

Runners-up Meredith & District News

East Loddon Community News

Best editorial

Winner Noojee News

Runners-up Springdale Messenger

Traf News

Best general feature story

Winner Ferntree Gully News

Runner-up The Pinnacle

Best history story

Winner Burwood Bulletin

Runners-up Great Gisborne Gazette

Thomson Times

Best layout

Winner Mountain Monthly

Runners-up Great Gisborne Gazette

Ferntree Gully News

Best newsletter

12 pages and under

Winner Carisbrook Mercury

Runners-up Poowong Press

Drouin West Chronicle

Best Sports reporting

Winner Traf News

Runners-up Waranga News

Mountain Monthly

Best young people’s writing

Winner Diamond Creek News

Runners-up Churchill & District News

Stratford Town Crier

CNAV awards special mentions

The following entries received special mentions from the judges

Chewton Chat (Communuty reporting 2^nd place)

Studfield Wantirna News (Community reporting 3^rd place)

Beeac District News (Editorial 2^nd place)

Landsborough & District News (History story 2^nd place)

Mirboo North Times (History story 2^nd place; Layout 3^rd place)

Yinnar South Newsletter (Newsletter 12 pages 2^nd place)

Bass Valley News (Newsletter 12 pages 3^rd place)

Birregurra Mail (Young people’s writing 3^rd place)

Village Bell (Young people’s writing. Two 3^rd places)

Judges’ comments

Burwood Bulletin: In a strong category, the Burwood Bulletin shone with a well written history story. The story, about the local cemetery, brings to life characters passed and describes also the work and interests of local history buffs.

Churchill & District News: Reporting on students’ participation in Anzac Day ceremonies, two young writers consider the meaning of this tradition to their own generation.

Carisbrook Mercury: This is an ambitious paper with a nose for news and high production values.

Diamond Creek News: An informative article about organ tissue donation reveals responses to tragedy and suggests hope for the future.

Drouin West Chronicle: A brand new publication to “keep locals informed”. It certainly does that in eight pages, with stories about a sawmill dispute, bushfire recovery projects, education, and entertainment.

East Loddon Community News: A very powerful story about how a community pitched in to harvest 1500 acres of wheat and barley in a single day, to help a local farmer following an accident.

Ferntree Gully News: A nicely nuanced short feature. Too short really. I could have read much more, as it said something new about the Black Saturday fires and was suitably humble in its approach.

Great Gisborne Gazette: A standout publication, presenting stories in eminently readable ways, inviting the audience in on every page. The content includes intriguing tales of local history

Mountain Monthly: Strong colour takes the eye in this glossy, magazine-style publication. The Monthly is as big as ever in the wake of the 2009 bushfires. With 78 pages, it has a wide advertising base and scope to experiment with layout.

Meredith & District News: This easy-to-read newsletter covers important events, and while most of the content is about community groups, the front page stories about the Police Paddocks and the cemetery maintenance indicate a keen sense of newsworthiness.

Noojee News: The editorial, covering two pages, is a thought-provoking analysis of what it means to be a local in a country town.

The Pinnacle:The former penal colony of French Islandhas a permanent population of 90 or so, a school called Perseverance Primary, no electricity or mains water, and no rates and taxes, and the only way to get there is by barge or ferry. It is little wonder then that the newsletter contains testimonies of curious island life.

Poowong Press:This little newsletter uses subtle colour and simple design to cover in 8 pages the events of the town, including town planning, transport, and council issues.

SpringDale Messenger: An editorial vision of inclusiveness in a local community and the Messenger’s plan to increase print run to 7000 reveals true community newspaper spirit. There’s an upbeat tone to the editorial in the Messenger. It tends to inspire rather than to heckle or hassle.

Stratford Town Crier: You go girls. Where would Sydney be without all these contestants from Stratford? The musical success of this Gippsland town covers the back page in newsworthy fashion.

Traf News: Manages to blend comprehensive coverage of local sporting events with an easy-to-read description of the community around each of the sports.

Thomson Times: Runner-up in the history category, this A5 booklet-style newsletter contains a well crafted story in anecdotal style. The story holds the reader’s attention through a mystery tale about the disappearance of a well known local character. Competent non fiction writing indeed.

Waranga News: provides comprehensive and energetic coverage, reflecting the diversity and interests of the community.

CNAV awards

List of entries 2010

CategoryPublication

Community reporting Bass Valley News

Carisbrook Mercury

Chewton Chat

Churchill & District News

Diamond Creek News

Drouin West Chronicle

East Loddon Community News

Landsborough & District News

Lockington Community News

Lorne Independent

Meredith & District News

Mirboo North Times

Mountain Monthly

Stratford Town Crier

Studfield Wantirna News

The Pinnacle

Waranga News

Welcome Record

Yinnar South Newsletter

Editorial Beeac District News

Chewton Chat

Meredith & District News

Noojee News

Springdale Messenger

Studfield Wantirna News

Thomson Times

Traf News

General feature Beeac District News

Birregurra Mail

Carisbrook Mercury

Ferntree Gully News

Great Gisborne Gazette

Loch Express

Lorne Independent

Noojee News

The Pinnacle

Waranga News

Welcome Record

History story Burwood Bulletin Chewton Chat

Great Gisborne Gazette

Landsborough & District News

Thomson Times

Mirboo North Times

Layout Bass Valley News

Bayswater North Newsletter

Birregurra Mail

Burwood Bulletin

Churchill & District News

Diamond Creek News

Drouin West Chronicle

Ferntree Gully News

Great Gisborne Gazette

Lockington Community News

Meredith and District News

Mirboo North Times

Mountain Monthly

Noojee News

Springdale Messenger

Stratford Town Crier

The Pinnacle

Thomson Times

Taradale Talk

Village Bell

Welcome Record

Yinnar South Newsletter 22

Newsletter

12 pages and under Bass Valley News

Bayswater North Newsletter

Beeac District News

Carisbrook Mercury

Drouin West Chronicle

Landsborough & District News

Poowong Press

Yinnar South Newsletter

Sports writing Mountain Monthly

Springdale Messenger

Studfield Wantirna News

Traf News Waranga News

Young people’s

article – under 18 Birregurra Mail

Churchill & District News

Diamond Creek News

Stratford Town Crier

Village Bell Traf News

Total: 85

The judges

Awards convener: Jo Vondra

Gwenda Oldmeadow: Sales consultant in real estate and mother of two daughters. Gwen lives in Berwick and works in Drouin. She grew up on a farm at Cora Lynn. She has participated in community groups most of her life and has been a member of St John’s Anglican Church Upper Beaconsfield, Upper Beaconsfield Tennis Club, and the women’s service club Soroptimist International. In 1983, Gwen and her family were among many who lost their homes in the Ash Wednesday fires at Upper Beaconsfield.

Dr Andrew Dodd: Senior lecturer at Swinburne University, journalist, and broadcaster. Andrew has worked in community radio, for Radio Netherlands, for the Age and the Australian newspapers, and for ABC Radio National, where he presented the Media Report and the Law Report. He now contributes to the online newspaper Crikey.com. In 2009 he won the Redmond Barry Fellowship, jointly awarded by the State Library and Melbourne University.

Brett Millsom: student. Brett grew up in Traralgon and is studying Arts at Monash University’s Gippsland campus, majoring in journalism and communications. He hopes to make a career in the media. Brett is a keen reader, particularly of classical literature, and his other interest is music. He is the youngest CNAV judge in the association’s five-year history.

CNAV thanks all entrants for participating in the annual awards.

Judge: “I loved reading every entry.”

2009 Conference

CNAV — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 02:58:30 +0000

The fourth CNAV Annual Conference at Toolangi has been hailed as a great success by both member and guest participants alike. Many members once again enjoyed meeting up with old friends from past conferences, while first-timers were introduced to the ideas and experiences of our vibrant community newspaper ‘community’.

Due to our theme ‘Community newspapers in time of crisis’ and a growing awareness of the role of our member publications in bushfire prone areas, a number of guests from government departments and agencies attended this year. These included the Minister for Regional Development, Jacinta Allen (who officially opened the Conference) and the State Emergency Services Commissioner, Bruce Esplin. All were impressed with the range and diversity of our publications and acknowledged the one thing members have in common – they are the main source of information in their local communities.

The Annual Awards dinner was once again a highlight for members. Toolangi Tavern proved a great venue for a relaxing evening of good food, entertainment and lots of conversation. This is an evening of celebration and congratulations, not only for winners and finalists, but for all who dedicate so much of their time producing amazing publications for their communities.

News Roundabout – August 2009

CNAV — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 07:39:30 +0000

News Roundabout – August 2009

GO! GO!

It’s all GO! for CNAV’s 2009 conference to be held at Toolangi and Kinglake between Friday, October 23 and Sunday October 25.

You should have your Registration and CNAV Annual Awards entry forms within a matter a weeks.

Your committee is working hard to offer a range of interesting speakers, great workshops and of course the very prestigious annual awards. Our keynote speaker will be The Age’s senior writer, Karen Kissane.

Karen covered the fires during Black Saturday and also the Royal Commission and is a journalist not afraid to speak her mind.

The Award Night has now become a main feature of the conference – it is a chance for community newspapers to compete in a range of categories, including layout, reportage, and specialised feature writing.

The entries will be judged by independent journalists and the awards in addition to their prestigious standing among the community newspaper fraternity, will be a good opportunity to showcase the high standards, innovative approaches and prestigious influence, most of all the enormous range of styles and approaches our publications represent.

But just remember – you’ve got to be a financial CNAV member to enter.

A measure of the importance of our newspapers to the community is that the 2009 CNAV conference has already attracted the attendance commitment of an unusually high number of politicians, bureaucrats and observers.

Advertising and money

State Government it seems is ready to consider placing advertising in community newspapers.

Through consistent lobbying by CNAV’s executive committee, State Government has agreed to consider placing advertising in CNAV-member community newspapers through its official advertising agency, Mitchell Partners.

State Government is most anxious to reach ‘the heart of communities’ especially to spread important information concerning bushfire safety.

Important: it is up to the individual CNAV newspaper to submit its advertising data to Mitchell Partners.

What they want to know is fundamental advertising information – the size (A4 etc) of your publication, number of pages and column layout, column widths and length, advertising rates per column cm. They also need to know date of publication, frequency (monthly, weekly etc), copies printed and area of circulation (eg Birregurra and surrounds).

Mitchell Partners has requested the time-frame for the information to be kept between September 2009 and February 2010. Obliviously, the Government wants to disseminate its fire messages during this period.

You should have an official CNAV advertising information form has now been emailed to you.

Electronic submissions are encouraged.

Please send this information to:
Ron Phillips,
Group Account Director
Mitchell Partners,
Level 4,
111 Cecil St.,
South Melbourne.
VIC 3205.
rphillips@mitchells.com.au

Easy money – perhaps?

Copyright Agency Limited, a Sydney-based organisation which collects copyright payments for its members Australia-wide, keeps sending us reminders that community newspapers could be eligible for royalties.

We intend to write a more comprehensive article on this in the near future because at this point, there are a few points to clarify.

However, have a look at their website – especially under the arts and culture seeding grants section.

At least one CNAV member has received substantial payments from CAL.

Rosanna Arciuli, CAL’s membership services manager recently sent the following email: Since 1989 CAL has been working on behalf of our members and other copyright owners to manage their copyright interests. CAL has over 14,000 direct members and has now distributed more than $550m to copyright owners for the use of their works – most of it going to Australian authors and publishers.

Why join CAL?

Membership of CAL is free and the benefits of joining are immediate:

CAL acts as your agent to licence and collect payment for the use of your copyright works by many different users in Australia and overseas;
CAL members have access to information about copyright and their rights; and
CAL will act on your behalf, lobbying government and others on any issues that are likely to affect your ability to earn a living from your work.
As a CAL member, you continue to own your rights. By becoming a member, you grant CAL a non-exclusive licence to your works, so you can continue to license the use of your work just as you have before.

Once you become a member, CAL will notify you if your works have been used and appear in copying records, and advise you of any payments you may be entitled to claim

Please ask your members to simply complete the Publisher online membership application, print out the completed application form, sign it and return it to me.

Licence Scheme Participation

A common question about the membership form often arises in relation to Section C: Copyright Material and Licence Scheme Participation. CAL recommends publishers participate in all of its voluntary licences (Commercial Reproduction and New Media) as it will give your work a greater opportunity of being picked up in future surveys conducted by CAL, with the real possibility of additional revenue. Please ask your members to remember to ‘tick’ the boxes under section C, Licence Schemes.

If you or your members would like to discuss CAL membership or if you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact me on the numbers below.

I look forward to members of the Community Newspaper Association of Victoria joining CAL.

Insurance and defamation safe-guard

Many of our CNAV members are still concerned about libel and defamation in the course of their newspaper production and committee has made wide range inquiries about possible insurance covers.

From all information, it’s a bit like trading in the proverbial Persian Market.

One thing is certain: no insurance company or group is prepared to offer collective cover, primarily because the great variance between each individual community newspaper. Individual insurance covers range from a few thousand dollars annually, to just under a thousand.

It’s really up to the individual newspaper to make contact and negotiate its own insurance cover.

However, CNAV has had discussion with Ross Dahlstrom, an insurance broker who believes reasonably priced cover can be obtained. Email or have a chat.

Details are: ROSS DAHLSTROM Greater National Group P O Box 61 CAULFIELD EAST VIC 3145 www.gng.com.au ross@gng.com.au Phone: +61 3 9572 5755

Birregurra Mail

Recently spent a delightful evening catching up with the team responsible for producing the Birregurra Mail, a fortnightly 20-page A4 publication servicing this small but very active community.

Birregurra is at the ‘foot of the Otways’ in south western Victoria, just 30 minutes out of Lorne, and its population is made up of farmers, retirees and people with holiday ‘cottages’.

The ‘Birri Mail’ is housed in a beautiful little historic cottage right on the main street and it doubles as the local historic centre.

Founded in 1987, the ‘Birri Mail’ was also one of the inaugural members of CNAV when the Association really got going at the Ballarat convention in 2006.

Editor Janet Brien said about 270 copies are printed (60 cent cover charge) with 23 going out on mailed subscription and 15 on-line subscribers. The front and back cover feature colour.

“Advertising is not really a problem, but getting people to write for us is,” Janet said. “We could do with more contributors!”

Assistant editor is Margaret McDonald and there are about a dozen people involved in getting editions out. It is put together with a Publisher program and is printed at the local general store.

Anne and Frank Wood, old friends from journalism days, recently retired to the township (they immediately set about renovating the Birregurra Vicarage) and were also drawn into the ‘Birri Mail’ team.

Anne is now in charge of layout and Frank acts as ‘adviser’ – in a previous life, he was head of the Herald and Weekly Times design team before going freelance. Look out for some high class, high quality and innovative designs from this absolutely terrific community newsletter. – JV

Lastly – a feel good story.

The CNAV committee has been made aware of generosity shown by some larger community newspapers. They have offered and paid CNAV membership renewals for smaller papers struggling after the fires. Offers of sponsorship to the CNAV conference are being arranged too.

Some of the larger papers involved were from very badly fire-affected areas too, but apparently anonymity has been requested.

See you all the CNAV Conference.

Please contact Jo Vondra for any contributions, questions or suggestions to this CNAV column
- jvondrabigpond.net.au (03) 5289 1344

Please note, the above content is not professional or legal advice, but put together from members’ own knowledge and experience. CNAV, or the authors of the items do not accept any responsibilities, and members should seek professional advice when necessary.

News Roundabout – June 2009

CNAV — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 07:42:53 +0000

News Roundabout – June 2009

Regional Media Consultative Group.

CNAV represents the interests of community newspapers at the regular Regional Media Consultative Group Forums that are organised by Victoria’s Department of Premier and Cabinet.

The first forum for 2009 (May) was mainly fire-related, with briefings given by Louise Martin (Department of Justice – which covers areas such as CFA, Emergency Services, Police etc.), Laura Parker (Department of Human Services), Sally McIntyre (Department of Premier and Cabinet) and Ali Garner (Tourism Victoria).

Advertising campaigns and strategies such as Fire Awareness, Post-Fire Recovery and Post-Fire Tourism were explained and illustrated, and suggestions for improvements, refinements and possible future directions sought.

The fire aftermath seems to have demonstrated the importance of community newspapers, and the potential for them to be involved more widely and directly in disseminating essential community information seems to be rapidly coming on to the radar of many government departments.

Follow-up meetings involving CNAV representatives and state government departments and agencies are now expected to explore further the possibility of government campaign advertising involving community newspapers.

John Ellis

Membership renewal reminder

Membership of the Community Newspaper Association for the year 2008-2009 will expire at the end of June. Notices will be arriving by email soon.

We greatly appreciate the support given by members to help the CNAV improve networking and communication amongst community papers and newsletters. Our membership is currently 60, and with the potential to grow even more as we estimate there are up to 200 local papers operating in Victoria. The circulation of our CNAV members alone is in excess of 105,000 copies!

Community papers play a very important role in their local areas. The possibilities are very exciting for future development and the association can only continue with active membership.

Planning for the annual conference in October is underway where members can get together to get ideas, exchange information and see what other community papers are doing.

Helen Smith Membership/Treasurer CNAV

Profile: Meredith & District News

An example of a good, all-rounded newspaper which reflects a wide range of community activities is Meredith & District News, a 24-to-28 pages monthly, put out by editor Jim Elvey and his team from the Meredith Community House.

This neat and most interesting newspaper with a monthly print-run of about 850 copies serves a number of small communities around Meredith, a small town of just over 1,000 people on the Midland Highway, between Geelong and Ballarat within the Golden Plains Shire.

A feature of the content is its well-rounded editorial mix – there are good reports on local issues (bushfires featured large in the March edition), several features on local identities, a school column, also a report on local crime contributed by the local constabulary, a book review and even an article on local fungi (mushrooms).

As with many small newspapers, getting copy is always a problem. “We are lucky that we have a group of regular contributors,” said editor Jim Elvey.

Jim, who comes from a management background before retiring, is head of a sub-committee from the Meredith Community House – members include Dawn Macdonald, David Jones and Trudy Mitchell.

The newspaper is produced on a Publisher program, and printed in Geelong. Distribution is free though there is a charge for mailed subscriptions. A PDF version of about 3.3MB is also available on the Meredith website, including back copies.

A standout is its good advertising support. Jim said that the committee aimed at a 50/50 mix of editorial content and advertising. He said that a strength was the loyalty of advertisers – about 80 percent have been with the paper over five years, about 5 percent ten years or longer.

Founded in 1972, this marvellous newspaper can be accessed on the Meredith website -Google ‘Meredith’ and just click on ‘newspaper’. Check it out!

Lorne’s ‘Guide to Loos’

Now heading towards full tourist status, Lorne since the summer has been involved in a lot of controversy over its public toilets.

Basically, there are some toilets for exclusive use for the camping/caravan sites, others for public use, others still not really classified for public use but used extensively by tourists …all causing heart-burn to the locals and frustration to visitors.

Rather than do an article on the issue, the Lorne Independent put together a ‘Guide to Lorne’s Loos’, each facility described in detail and Toilet Roll motifs being awarded, very much like the Chef’s hats in food guides.

The reaction by the relevant local authorities was most interesting.

By the way, there is such thing as an ‘Australian National Map of Public Toilets’ on the internet, compiled by the Federal Department of Health and Ageing. It’s apparently the ‘bible’ of travellers.

Check to see if your local facilities accurately match the facts in the document.

Please contact Jo Vondra for any contributions, questions or suggestions to this CNAV column
- jvondra@bigpond.net.au (03) 5289 1344

2008 Conference

CNAV — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 09:14:25 +0000

The 2008 CNAV Conference in Castlemaine was summed up at Sunday’s Wrap Up in the Chewton Town Hall as a very positive and rewarding experience. “The conference fosters a sense of belonging to a wider, broader community” and “Well worthwhile, will definitely be back next year,” were just two of the many enthusiastic responses received. More.. [Photos]

Awards 2008 – Judges’ comments

Best historical writing

This was a very interesting category, and all entries were impressive. The Burwood Bulletin article was timely and a very interesting story. Special mention to Churchill News for their charming Looking Back section about local residents. It was a big effort by Churchill News to tell the story of Syd Hedley. The Warrandyte Diary recalls with interest the social life of an emerging tourist town in the depression years. The Great Gisborne Gazette’s reflection of the local history shone through that little publication, and the lively writing style successfully intrigues the reader. It seemed to fit well into the local context. The Village Bell’s recollections of 30 years told simply and unpretentiously the story of a most stable and successful community newspaper, and it is timely that this publication be recognized in this category. The Waranga News took the eye also, for its consciousness about and contribution to its own local historical record.

Best editorial writing

Some entries were more like feature stories than editorial comment, though nevertheless interesting to read. The Lorne Independent really lives up to its name in this category. It makes a strong point, probably much to the annoyance of some readers who might disagree. So does the Beeac News make a very strong point in its editorial section. Thomson Times taps into the local issues in a most forceful way, reflecting the feelings of the community and portraying a reasonable view.

Best publication 12 pages and under

The Carisbrook Mercury is an impressive publication with one of the best layouts in this category as well as containing plenty of news. Very professional. The Kyneton Connect for what it lacks in layout is quite imaginative and contains plenty of news. The Bass Valley News is a great community publication maximizing the space on every page. It offers residents a wide variety of news and updates relevant and informative to the locals. Also worth a mention was the Glenlyon, impressive particularly for its arrangement of content.

Best article by someone under 18

Unanimous: the New Woodend Star article by Sam Cooper is excellent and serious, about life in Cambodia. Samantha articulated her own experiences of people in the Andsng community most forcefully. Shae Iddles in the Upper Gully News has written an impressive and honest account of just one of the difficulties facing teenage girls. Nicole Lancy in the Loch Express has given a fine portrayal of her visit to the rain forest.

Best layout

Many entries. Much discussion before the final decision. The Burwood Bulletin has an eye catching and professional look. The design is open and follows an easy style throughout. The Bass Valley News makes the most of blending page space and content, including advertising content. The Noojee News was clear and easy to read, with simple page design so the reader does not get lost on the page. The Great Gisborne Gazette contains a terrific page-1 photo. It draws attention to the paper. Inside is not too crowded, and the photos are well arranged in a small format. Also worth a mention in this category was the Churchill & District News, for its professional, uncluttered appearance.

Best sports writing

Unanimous: Waranga News, a clear winner for good coverage and strong photographic back-up. It covered many grades with its summaries of matches. Very comprehensive with good pics. The Welcome Record had a degree of excitement in its coverage of a weekend archery contest – a hard subject to make exciting. Sport is a major feature of the Village Bell, which must represent a very active, outdoors community.

Best community reporting

The Waranga News takes this one for its strong community coverage and good photography. It captures the community feeling on the front page while still providing a strong article in hard news style. Clearly the Churchill & District News reflects events of general interest and needs a special mention. The Loch Express is a really busy little paper with lots of news and well placed excellent photos. In this category, what takes the eye is also the Studfield Wantirna Community News, a metropolitan paper with a different emphasis and different concerns from most country papers and with a keen mission to link with the ordinary people in the suburbs.

Best blooper

We had trouble finding the blooper in the Blackwood News. It wins though over CNAV, who also has been known to make some bloopers. Don’t bet on this category being in every year, because people might try to make bloopers just to win the award.

Best inhouse advertisement

Unanimous: The Loch Express contained an eye catching and professional advertisement about Anzac Day. Though clear and simple it looked impressive. All details were there, and there was no confusion. The Welcome Record also put up a pretty good show for its attractive advert.

Best hard news reporting

Unanimous: The Warrandyte Diary has excellent coverage of St Stephen’s Anglican Church predicament. It highlighted the parishioners’ passion for their church. The Chewton Chat has entered a very comprehensive analysis of the hard news issue affecting that town. In this way, it carries out the role of a community newspaper. Had the Waranga News entered this section it might have made a place. Thomson Times had great hard news coverage and was not dependent on trying to follow a hard news style. In this way it reflected the style of writing many community papers adopt in covering important issues in their communities.

2007 Conference

CNAV — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 09:12:01 +0000

CNAV’s second annual conference was held in Lorne over the weekend of 19-21 October at the Grand Pacific Hotel. The conference continues to be our organisation’s main process to actively involve its members and to bring them together.

Early arrivals met on Friday evening for an informal get together. The main sessions were held on Saturday, with 67 people representing 29 community newspapers attending.

CNAV president Mick Bourke commenced proceedings with a welcome for participants. He spoke briefly of the increasing importance of community newspapers in providing local news in a world in which national and international news is much more readily available. Surf Coast shire’s mayor, Cr Rose Hodge, then officially opened the conference.

The keynote speaker was Mr Eric Beecher, an owner of Crickey.com. He also has a long background in community newspapers. Eric spoke of the need for community newspapers to be viable. He commented that journalism is not public relations, that there must remain a wall between advertising and editorial.

The Executive Summary is available in PDF format here… (Acrobat reader needed).

A full report of the conference is available to CNAV members in the Members’ section.

Strong Communities: Ways Forward

CNAV — Fri, 24 Nov 2006 13:19:34 +0000

A Report to The Hon John Thwaites Minister for Victorian Communities.
This report reflects the views of many communities around Victoria and will be of interest to community newspaper groups.

Strong Communities: Ways Forward

2006 Inaugural Conference

CNAV — Tue, 21 Nov 2006 08:51:28 +0000

CNAV president Mick Bourke welcomed those in attendance, and spoke of the importance of community newspapers to their communities and of the need for communities to take the lead role in changes to their respective communities. He also spoke of the need for stronger partnerships with, amongst others, state government, and spoke of the need for government advertising in community newspapers.

The Hon John Thwaites, Deputy Premier and Minister for Victorian Communities, officially opened the conference. He continued the theme of the importance of community newspapers and their important relationship to their local communities. Mr Thwaites also promised that his Department for Victorian Communities will allocate $200,000 per annum towards advertising in community newspapers. (CNAV will approach the department before the end of this year).

Merial Clark, the Executive Officer, Neighbourhood Houses and Learning Centres, the keynote speaker, gave an informative speech as the keynote speaker.

A number of interactive workshops and activities then took place for the remainder of the day.

Topics at the conference included:

The role of the community newspaper
Legal issues and structures: working within the rules
Production and governance issues affecting community newspapers
Working with volunteers
Advertising and marketing
Moving forward

The conference finished with CNAV’s first Annual General Meeting, and was followed with a dinner and presentation of awards. The awards were available to Community newspapers which are members of CNAV, and covered the following categories:

Best layout
Best young people’s article
Best editorial
Best newsletter 8 pages and less
Best community reporting
Best sports article
Best historical article

Welcome to CNAV

CNAV — Mon, 21 Nov 2005 02:32:03 +0000

The Community Newspapers Association of Victoria (CNAV) is the peak body representing community newspapers in the state, with a current membership of around 60 members.

CNAV defines a community newspaper as a newspaper or newsletter that is owned by the community. This could mean a newsletter produced by a community house, or a newspaper that is produced by a group of volunteers for a town or community group.

CNAV actively works with its members to enhance the capacity and standing of community newspapers, to enable them to fully realise their vital role in communities.

The core objectives of the organisation include:

Developing an active network that will support the development and continuation of community newspapers in local communities
Raising the profile of community newspapers with all levels of government
Fostering cooperation between community newspapers
Hosting an annual conference and awards event for community newspapers

CNAV invites any Victorian community newspaper to become a member and also offers associate membership to individuals, interstate and overseas community newspapers, government departments, business or community groups.