Feb. 5-7: N.C. Press Photographers Association annual meeting at Randolph Community College.

Feb. 12: Webinar training on InDesign software. Session co-sponsored by NCPA. Details

March 1-5: Newspapers in Education Week

March 5: Webinar on Social Media co-sponsored by NCPA. Get the details

March 14-20: Sunshine Week

March 18: NCPA Winter Institute at the Dean Dome, Chapel Hill

April 29: Newspaper Academy at UNC-Chapel Hill

May 14-15: North Carolina Newspaper Production Conference at Durham. Details.

Attention advertising awards aficionados!
We’ve been warning everyone for a few months that changes would be coming for the annual Best Ad Contest (as well as for the annual editorial contest) in terms of how you’ll submit entries. We’re now on the verge of the big change and the deadline for submitting entries in the Best Ad contest is March 8. Here’s the deal: With the exception of entries involving complete sections and the best concept category, all entries will be submitted online in PDF format. You’ll even fill out all the entry information online. Look for more information about the process soon. In the meantime, make sure you’re keeping track of your possible contest entries and saving PDF versions. Newsrooms, you’ll be facing the same issue for the News, Editorial & Photojournalism Contest, so start saving those files now.

Let people know just how big newspapers’ reach is
You’ve probably heard the frequently cited research comparing the number of people who watch the Super Bowl each year to the number who read newspapers. (Newspapers come off the winners in this contest, by the way.) Two separate organizations are supplying newspapers with free house ads touting this fact. NCPA has made the process to get them easy. Just go to this Web page and you can download the format you prefer. One set of ads comes to us from Inland Press while the other set has been distributed by the Newspaper Project organization. Oh, and don’t forget, you can use the words “Super Bowl” in news items such as this, but call it “the big game” or something else for advertisements or contests. The NFL is rather picky on this point.

Want to learn more about social media?
If you couldn’t tell the difference between a Tweet and a toot, we may have a Webinar just for you. NCPA, in conjunction with SNPA and the Iowa Newspaper Foundation, will present Intro to Social Media at 2 p.m. March 5. Registration is $35, going up by $10 after the deadline of March 2. Nathan Wright of Lava Row Consulting will review what the fuss is all about and how some newspapers have been making effective use of this technology. For more information, download the flyer. And don’t forget about the Feb. 12 Webinar on using InDesign software. Download the flyer for this event for more details.

Speaking of social media, what papers have Facebook pages?
We know of several North Carolina newspapers that have created their own Facebook pages. We’re interested in making a list of papers using this medium. If you have such a page, send us an e-mail and provide the name of your account.

• News & Observer reports depositions reveal former Gov. Easley had a secret e-mail account that he allegedly used for state business
• Editor of news@norman says he'll fight a subpoena for him to testify in criminal case against Lincoln County's sheriff
• The Charlotte Observer establishes a reporting beat for covering social media
• The News & Observer a finalist for the Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting
• East Carolina University honored the Whichard family for its donation of more than 85,000 negatives taken by Daily Reflector photographers
• The Daily Advance in Elizabeth City unveils new design on narrower pages

• NAA reports that newspapers continue to draw more than one-third of all Web users
• ASNE study finds more newspapers finding gold mines in online databases
• The Associated Press, Yahoo reach licensing agreement for its news content
• Valassis settles its lawsuit against rival News America
• Study finds non-traditional media seek employees with "adaptive expertise" versus traditional media, which prizes employees with strong technical skills
• Time Warner Cable plans to deliver localized interactive ads to 7 million homes this year
• An inside look into the thinking behind AP Stylebook changes
• Classified ad revenue down 70 percent in 10 years, with one bright spot
• News organizations tapping into Twitter, Facebook to generate revenue
• Dallas Mavericks owner Cuban calls content aggregators "vampires"

• KEVIN SLIMP: Newspapers are still important to their readers
• JOSHUA BENTON: Five thoughts on how the iPad may change the game for news organization
• BOBBI BOWMAN: Suggestions for covering Census 2010 results
• JILL GEISLER: What great bosses know about talking themselves into trouble