2006 Annual Conference


2006 Annual Conference
September 9-14, 2006 Lake Superior Magazine, Host
See the Group Photo.
Contents
	Program Schedule
	Things You Need to Know
	Thank You, Major Sponsors
	Who's Coming (so far)
Program Schedule
Friday, September 8
All Day		Board of Directors/Presidents Council Arrivals and Check-in
6:00 p.m.		Board of Directors/Presidents Council (and spouses) Dinner
			Bennetts on the Lake
Saturday, September 9
All Day		General Arrivals and Check-in
6:30 - 10:30 a.m.		Breakfast Buffet Opens
			Inn on Lake Superior Buffet
9:00 a.m. - Noon		Board Meeting
			Eagle Harbor Room
12:30 p.m.		Board Lunch
			Green Mill Restaurant
5:45 p.m.		Buses to Spirit Mountain
			Canal Park to Spirit Mountain Supper Club
			Note: We are working to coordinate with flight schedules. Late arrivals will have a shuttle from the airport to the restaurant at Spirit Mountain.
6:00 p.m.		Welcome Reception—An Authentic Midwestern Smorgasbord Dinner
			Spirit Mountain Supper Club
			Maine has its lobster bakes, Texas its BBQ and the Midwest does smorgasbords and church suppers�we'll leave the church up to you but will provide some down-home specialties Midwestern-style from our bird's eye view restaurant on Spirit Mountain. Plus�we'll enjoy wonderful smoked fish�looking for lutefisk but it may be the wrong time of year…
8:00 p.m.		Congress of Regionals
			Spirit Mountain Supper Club
			Back by popular demand: What is the state of the regional publishing industry today? For the second time in recent history, IRMA will tackle the question head-on. During our first-night introductions, we will have short, impromptu reports from every regional magazine in our membership and we will assess the health of the market for regionals across North America and beyond. In little more than an hour, you can learn how regionals are doing everywhere and how your product stands in the international milieu.
			Also, Savoring Back Issues�IRMA's Hysterical past, moderated by Herman Kelly, Executive Director. Though Herman has not missed any of the past 30 Annual IRMA Conferences (including one that was canceled because of 9/11 while he was en route), he wants your perspective on some of those memorable moments that our group has experienced over the years. Recall them now and bring them to Duluth. Be prepared to share them with everyone. Might we see Charles Robert's mother in an air hockey machine later this week? Do you know why IRMA's hospitality suite can be counted on to open every evening of every conference? Are you aware of how to avoid the dangers of centipedes, bears, and other threats that have befallen some at past conferences? Add your own conference experience to the rich aroma of IRMA lore.
9:15 p.m.		Buses Back to Inn on Lake Superior
			Spirit Mountain to Canal Park
9:30 p.m.		Hospitality Suite Open
			Eagle Harbor Room
Sunday, September 10
All Day		Registration continues
6:30 - 10:30 a.m.		Breakfast Buffet
			Inn on Lake Superior Buffet
9:00 - 10:15 a.m.		Kaercher Keynote (General Session)
			Northern Lights I
			Our Keynoter is Dan Kaercher, Editor-in-Chief and Founding Editor of Midwest Living magazine, launched in 1987 by Meredith Corporation, Des Moines, Iowa. The magazine has a circulation of 925,000 and readership of 4.2 million, primarily in the 12 Heartland states (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin - note how many IRMA magazines cover the same states!).
			In 2004 and 2005, Dan completed "Best of the Midwest" road trips that evolved into articles, a book and a TV series. This is brand extension and multimedia the Meredith way. He'll speak to the future of regional magazines and is also willing to swap notes with IRMA editors.
10:15 - 10:30 a.m.		Break
			Prefunction Area
10:30 a.m. - Noon		Multimedia (General Session)
			Northern Lights I
			Our very own Andy Jackson of Vermont Life will tackle "Regional Magazines in a Multimedia Future." Andy has long been IRMA's "go-to guy" on many cutting-edge areas and this session will be invaluable, as always. Andy summarizes our world this way: "People are increasingly seeking information and entertainment from new media. Magazine circulation in general is stagnant at best. Advertising is migrating to new media. We, as publishers, urgently need to address these issues in terms of both our editorial products and business models." Andy will discuss some of Vermont Life's efforts in the arenas of Web sites, e-commerce, e-newsletters, digital editions, online ads, search engine optimization, paid search, online reader research, podcasting and more. He'll set the stage in a general session and then open it up for others to share their experiences and questions.
Noon - 1:00 p.m.		Lunch
			Prefunction Area
1:00 - 1:30 p.m.		Free Time
1:30 - 3:00 p.m.		Concurrent Sessions
			Brand Extension
				Northern Lights 1
					More from our own: Al Zikovitz of Cottage Life and Linda Gourlay of Saltscapes will lead off a group discussion on "Profitable Brand Extensions that Include Advertisers" as a further discussion of the major shifts occurring in our industry—consumers who relied on our magazines are now finding other sources for their information and our advertisers are looking for new ways to reach consumers. Learn how these two highly successful Canadian publishers are addressing these issues to ensure that they bring their advertisers along. Al's basic business mantra is that "there are a lot of things we can do but what we do must make money." Learn from the very best and be prepared to share things you are doing to capitalize on your magazine's brand.
			Editors' Roundtable
				Rock Harbor Room
					Konnie LeMay, Editor of Lake Superior Magazine, will lead a frank and open discussion of peers about the latest concerns and great ideas to pass along. Among potential topics: Special Advertising Sections and how they affect editorial (or don't); freelance horror stories and how we survived them; the best things that happened to us this year. (Tim Sayles still wants to discuss commas.)
			Photoshop Photo Color Management
				Copper Harbor Room
					John Burgraff from ProPrint will present tips for getting the most our of Photoshop for sizing, color adjustment and general clean-up of the images. We will be going through the process from receiving tiff, raw or jpeg files from photographers (amateurs and professionals), photo resizing correctly and the boundaries of an image, tips and tricks for great color correction and adjustments, sharpening them to their fullest potential and getting them ready for print.
3:00 - 3:15 p.m.		Break
			Prefunction Area
3:15 - 4:30 p.m.		Concurrent Sessions
			Marketing Database Opportunities for Regional Magazines and Datamining
				Northern Lights I
					Major sponsor Glyn Standen of Kable Fulfillment Services and Steve Dunn of Mal Dunn & Associates will brief us on the state of renewals, renewals by e-mail and IRMA's new combined mailing list as well as datamining from our lists and reports.
			Digital Photography
				Copper Harbor Room
					What's the Need-to-Know on this new horizon? Michael Furtman, a nationally published photographer reveals how to work with digital photography/photographers to get the best images: What to require from digital submissions; what makes a good digital photo; what is the lingo (digi-speak) so you, the photographer and the prepress all speak the same language; how to even out those uneven resolution problems; what are the new photo ethics in terms of color manipulation (enhancement) or image tweaking.
5:00 p.m.		Vista Cruise and Dinner
			Canal Park – Vista Cruise Dock (Walking Distance & Boat Departure at 5:15)
			We'll take a narrated cruise along Lake Superior's shores and through Duluth-Superior's famous World Post and see the working vessels of our beautiful port up close and personal. At 7:00 p.m. we will be at Grandma's Sports Garden for the first-ever IRMA pool, foosball, pinball and air hockey competition.
8:30 p.m.		Hospitality Suite Open
			Eagle Harbor Room
Monday, September 11
6:30 - 10:30 a.m.		Breakfast Buffet
			Inn on Lake Superior Buffet
9:00 - 10:30 a.m.		The Evolution of the Perfect Schedule (General Session)
			Northern Lights I
			Based on experience with the monthly Offshore magazine, IRMA Board Member David Dauer will help you learn one publication's secrets to being on time without the stress and long hours. Do you find yourself fighting between Editors, Artists, Designers and Salespeople creating conflicts and detours in your production cycles that need not exist? Through a team approach, careful planning and the execution of a realistic schedule, your magazine's life can change for the better. Dave promises the secrets of a 40-hour week without stress, pressure or interoffice problems. Dave (as most of you know) is Director of Operations & Creative Services for Offshore Communications Inc.
11:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.		North Shore Road Trip
			Front lobby of the hotel
			Lunch will be on the road.
			Tour of Split Rock Lighthouse and Gooseberry State Parks
			We'll take you on a short drive up the North Shore of Lake Superior to visit the most photographed lighthouse in the Midwest. We'll meet with Lee Radzak, the lighthouse keeper, who has raised his family on site and will amaze you with the expansive views of the lake where you cannot see the opposite shores. You'll get to dip your toes in our famously cool water (no ice yet!). Then we'll play in the falls at Gooseberry Falls State Park with famed local photographer Paul Sundberg welcoming us. These two parks are among Minnesota's most visited and loved.
6:00 p.m.		Discovery and Dinner on Your Own
			Canal Park and Downtown Duluth
			Dinner is on your own. There are more than 15 restaurants to choose from within walking distance and priced for every budget.
8:00 p.m.		Hospitality Suite Open
			Eagle Harbor Room
			Jam Session. Bring your instruments and be ready to have fun.
Tuesday, September 12
6:30 - 10:30 a.m.		Breakfast Buffet
			Inn on Lake Superior Buffet
9:00 - 10:15 a.m.		Advertising Sales Expert PART-ONE (General Session)
			Northern Lights I
			If you've ever dreamed of going to FOLIO: conferences, you've become familiar with the name Helen Berman. She is a media sales expert who has 20 years experience working with magazines to help them sell more advertising. Helen expects to be put to work and we will do that. She will conduct a three-hour session that provides How-To Tools for advertising sales. Her topic will be "Beyond the page, beyond the banner: Selling Integrated Media" and she promises that attendees will "arrive excited, stay attentive, and will leave motivated, informed and eager to put new ideas into action."
			In later sessions of Helen's program, she discusses training and compensation issues in a multimedia environment. She will also do a media kit critique session and meet with anyone one-on-one as time allows to address specific questions and issues. Her schedule will be set on a first-come, first-served basis.
			TO DO: If you are interested in the media kit critique, please send a sample of your kit to Helen directly BY AUGUST 15^th to: Helen Berman, 14332 Antioch #164, Pacific Palisades, California 90272. Please enclose a note and your card explaining that this is part of the IRMA conference on September 12^th.
10:15 - 10:30 a.m.		Break
			Prefunction Area
10:30 a.m. - Noon		Concurrent Sessions
			Advertising Sales Expert PART-TWO
				Northern Lights I
					Helen Berman continues with PART-TWO of her earlier session before the break.
			Quark XPress & InDesign Square Off
				Northern Lights II
					Experts Chris Luger, Desktop Tech Services Consultant (Midwest), Quark, Inc., and Colin Fleming, Solutions Engineer, Adobe Systems Inc., talk about the bells and whistles of their latest software and will answer questions on technical subjects. (There may be a debate out in the hall over which is better, Quark or InDesign, followed by a fight about whether to use Macs or PCs.) This session may be a first-ever for the publishing industry, not one to miss.
Noon - 1:00 p.m.		Lunch
			Prefunction Area
1:00 - 1:30 p.m.		Free Time
1:30 - 3:00 p.m.		Concurrent Sessions
			Advertising Media Kits
				Eagle Harbor Room
					Helen Berman discusses media kits and will meet with anyone afterwards in the Eagle Harbor Room for an individual critique one-on-one.
			Copyrights in a Multimedia World
				Northern Lights I
					Laura Coates is a member of the intellectual property group in Faegre & Benson's Minneapolis law firm. Her practice focuses on representing clients on intellectual property matters including copyright and trademark prosecution, enforcement and litigation. Her litigation practice includes disputes involving trademark infringement, unfair competition, cybersquatting, licenses, copyright infringement and general press law (defamation, access, libel, slander). She will address how to ask for the proper copyrights that we need to use for writer and photographer work online or in other media besides the magazine, and what's needed to protect freelance and our own work.
			Quark XPress & InDesign Roundtables
				Northern Lights II
					The representatives Chris Luger, Desktop Tech Services Consultant (Midwest), Quark, Inc., and Colin Fleming, Solutions Engineer, Adobe Systems Inc., will break off into individual groups to speak for a short period of time and then answer questions, resolve issues or problems and mediate discussions about their software.
					TO DO: We encourage you to e-mail Matt Pawlak (mp@lakesuperior.com) your specific problems ahead of time or to bring the files with these problems on disc and they will be addressed.
5:30 p.m.		Group Photograph
			Just outside the Lakewood entrance to the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center (DECC)
6:00 - 9:00 p.m.		Gala Awards Dinner
			Duluth Entertainment Convention Center (DECC) – Horizon Room
			Congratulate the winners and console the losers. Just make sure you enjoy yourself. You will have the choice to walk to the DECC or take a shuttle.
			Note: This is the only time we dress up for a conference event (and, in this case, the group photograph!).
9:00 p.m.		Hospitality Suite Open
			Eagle Harbor Room
Wednesday, September 13
6:30 - 10:30 a.m.		Breakfast Buffet
			Inn on Lake Superior Buffet
9:00 - 10:15 a.m.		IRMA Champions All – Hits & Misses (General Session)
			Northern Lights I
			The morning AFTER the awards will be our famous Hits & Misses session, chaired by IRMA President-Elect Joan Henderson of Oklahoma Today (one of the 2005 Magazine of the Year winners). For newcomers, this is a traditional session where we learn about individual projects and experiences from member magazines that they consider a success or not so successful. It's all about the sharing, right?
			TO DO: Consider this a Call For Entries for your Hits & Misses. Hits: A fantastic direct mail campaign, a blockbuster newsstand performer, an advertising homerun, an insert or blow-in that really pulled, a perfect cover, a brilliant ancillary product, a Web site win, etc. Misses: A failed direct mail campaign, a botched issue or cover, a postal nightmare, or something that really should have worked but didn't. Email your digital photos to joan@oklahomatoday.com no later than August 18. Please label your images as a hit or miss and give a very brief explanation of each. You will be asked to "tell all" during the session.
			NEW: We are going to lead off this session by asking our 2006 Magazines of the Year (and any Honorable Mention magazines) to take the podium and spend 10-15 minutes each explaining HOW they became such HITS! What we hope to learn are their closely guarded secrets to creating award-winning editorial and designs; how they choose what they will enter in awards competition, who gets the most votes on staff, etc. Bring your questions! Writing judge Kim Pittaway will be there to share some of her observations, too. And we hope all winners have a chance to chime in about how they do what they do!
			TO DO: Remember to bring a complete set of your 2005 magazines (including those not entered in this year's IRMA Awards) and your award entry list for this show-and-tell so you can show us the your features/covers/etc. and compare them to the winers.
10:15 - 10:30 a.m.		Break
			Prefunction Area
10:30 a.m. - Noon		Concurrent Sessions
			Subscription, Marketing and New Ancillary Roundup
				Northern Lights I
					Tom Bartelt, COO of Wisconsin Trails, will moderate this discussion. The group ran out of time in Texas so we'll gather again to discuss what's happening in the world of subscription rates, subscription sourcing and if anyone is using a "subscriber or newsstand-buyer only" password for access to additional Web site materials. What are the hot new ancillary products?
					TO DO: Bring your renewal statistics, budget goals for ancillary products, samples of catalogs, plans for the holidays, best-selling books and your questions.
			Great Writing (in a small space on a modest budget)
				Rock Harbor Room
					A special projects editor and writing coach for the Minneapolis Star Tribune, recommended by the Poytner Institute, will advise how to write (or edit) for the brightest, most informative writing. Laurie Hertzel is the co-author of They Took My Father, the memoir of a Finnish-American woman who grew up in Stalin's Russia. Her short fiction has been published in literary magazines and been honored with the Thomas Wolfe Fiction awards. Her journalism has received many state and national awards. She has been a frequent speaker at the Nieman Foundation Conferences on Narrative writing and editing at Harvard University. Plus, she's got a heck of a ghost story to talk about when she lived in James Thurber's house on a fellowship.
			Better, Stronger and More Powerful PDFs and Prepress
				Copper Harbor Room
					Colin Fleming, Solutions Engineer, Adobe Systems Inc., and Sture Nelson from Lane Press, IRMA's longest continuous major sponsor, will provide this general discussion of tips and tricks to make better, cleaner files and deal with current problems that are being faced with this format. Also, where is the technology going to take us over the next 5-10 years?
Noon - 1:00 p.m.		Lunch
			Northern Lights I
			General IRMA Business Meeting
1:00 - 1:30 p.m.		Free Time
1:30 - 3:00 p.m.		Secrets to Cover Success (General Session)
			Northern Lights I
			Whether your magazine is sold on the newsstand or not, it's competing for readers' time and attention. Your best weapon? Your cover. Kim Pittaway will show you how to…
			Grab attention with the right image Spark interest with the right cover lines Create connection with the right cover mix Reflect your magazine's strengths and character with image and word choice Create a cover recipe that works for your magazine—and your budget Develop a cover process that works for you and your team Kim Pittaway is an editorial consultant and the former editor-in-chief of Chatelaine magazine, Canada's largest-circulation women's magazine. During her time at Chatelaine, the magazine was lauded as a finalist at the Canadian Newsstand Awards and showed an almost 10% increase in newsstand sales in her final year there.
3:00 - 3:15 p.m.		Break
			Prefunction Area
3:15 - 4:30 p.m.		Concurrent Sessions
			Future IRMA Conferences
				Eagle Harbor Room (Hospitality Suite)
					This is a gathering for publishers, upcoming hosts and anyone else who wants to join in while we wrap up the conference with a relaxed discussion of what folks would like to see handled in future IRMA conferences. Everyone is welcome to attend or provide suggestions to one of the publishers in attendance. We've started a list of potential topics and speakers we could not find a way to add into this year's lineup.
			Finding, Feeding & Keeping Freelancers
				Northern Lights I
					They can make your life easier – or your life miserable. How can you find the right freelance writers, photographers and illustrators for your magazine � and for your budget? Kim Pittaway will show you how to: Build a stable of freelancers you can depend on Create positive working relationships that will put you first on freelancers' lists of magazines to work for Find ways to reward freelancers when your budget isn't rich Develop an assignment process that keeps you sane—and your freelancers happy Kim Pittaway (she's an IRMA writing judge this year) has been on both sides of the editor/freelancer relationship as a long-time freelance writer and past editor-in-chief of Chatelaine, Canada's largest circulation women's magazine. Her experience extends beyond magazines that can pay big bucks. As a past volunteer board member on a small politics and culture magazine, she knows what it's like to try to tempt freelancers when money is no issue�because there isn't any!�and what it takes to convince her to take on an assignment where the payoff isn't necessarily in cold, hard cash.
			Printing Futures
				Copper harbor Room
					How will the current technologies affect paper, presses, ink and new innovative equipment moving forward? Because all of this affects our decisions every day, Chris Wood of MAN Roland, a partner of Major Sponsor Lane Press will discuss what the future holds in printing innovations and what should be expected of us as publishers.
6:00 p.m.		Dinner & Polka Party
			Northern Lights Ballroom
			Put on your dancing shoes and get ready to enjoy some great Midwestern polka fun.
8:30 p.m.		Hospitality Suite Open
			Eagle Harbor Room
Thursday, September 14
All Day		Checkouts, Goodbyes and Departures
6:30 - 10:30 a.m.		Breakfast Buffet
			Inn on Lake Superior Buffet
Noon		Official Checkout Time

Thanks for your company in Duluth! Have a safe trip home. Oklahoma Today will welcome you next year in Oklahoma!
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Things You Need to Know
Dates	September 9-14, 2006 Board of Directors and Presidents Council should arrive September 8, 2006. Register by August 10, 2006 to get the lower fees.) No refunds can be issued after August 23, 2006. (Book your room at The Inn on Lake Superior by August 1, 2006, if possible.)
The Hotel	The Inn on Lake Superior is located at 350 Canal Park Drive, Duluth, Minnesota 55802, right on Lake Superior (10 percent of the world's fresh surface water) and on the Lakewalk in Canal Park, just a long block from our famed Aerial Bridge and ship canal where 1,000-foot ore carriers called lakers and foreign vessels called salties from all over the world enter our port city. Canal Park has lots of shops, restaurants and museums right outside the door. Visit www.theinnonlakesuperior.com to learn more about The Inn on Lake Superior. Also, visit www.visitduluth.com and www.exploreminnesota.com to enrich your experience. The hotel offers FREE PARKING!
Reservations	The special conference room rate is $135 Lakeview and $115 Cityview per night, with 13% tax. Continental breakfast is included, open from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. For reservations, call (888) 668-4352 or (218) 726-1111. You can also reserve your room at www.theinnonlakesuperior.com.
Weather & Clothing	Dress for comfort. Expect daytime temperatures in the 70s (F) and crisp fall temperatures in the evening. We will dress up only for the annual group photograph and awards dinner. Be sure to bring rain gear and gloves. Plan to layer clothing. Temperatures can vary widely from afternoons to evenings.
Shipping Materials	Please send no more than 30-40 copies of each item for display. Conference hosts have had too many left-over items after recent conferences. Remember that most attendees receive your magazine through IRMA's exchange program. Ship materials to: The Inn on Lake Superior ATTN: Kim Chick 350 Canal Park Drive Duluth, MN 55802 Phone: (218) 625-0414 (Kim Chick direct) (218) 726-1111 (Local hotel main number) Clearly mark each package: HOLD FOR IRMA CONFERENCE and include the name of your magazine or company (to assist those who set up the display). SHIP TO ARRIVE AFTER SEPTEMBER 5, 2006.
Airport Transportation	The Inn provides van service to the Duluth airport. Your flight arrival times are being provided to the Inn so you can expect to be picked up at the airport. You may arrange for your return to the airport with the Inn once you arrive. Taxi service from the Duluth airport to The Inn on Lake Superior is approximately $12 one way. It's about eight miles and take 15-20 minutes. Duluth is currently served only by Northwest Airlines. Yes, they are currently in bankruptcy but working things through (and our IRMA conference will, no doubt, put them into the black). There are lots of flights to Duluth from Minneapolis and a few from Detroit. Our airport is negotiating with other airlines but nothing has been announced. It is feasible to fly into Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada and rent a car, but we have not found that to be cost effective. It's about a four-hour drive from Thunder Bay (and TBAY is located in the eastern time zone while Duluth is in the central time zone). The drive from Minneapolis to Duluth is about 150 miles (2.5 hours on I35.
Set your Watches	Duluth will be on Central Daylight Time during the conference.
Cell Phones	Please turn your cell phones to vibrate or off during presentations.
Other Questions or Concerns	If you have any questions at all, please pick up the phone and call Lake Superior Magazine at (218) 722-5002 or (888) 244-5253. You may also contact Cindy Hayden at cmh@lakesuperior.com or Herman Kelly at us002848@earthlink.net.
Conference Registration	Registration Forms are now available for download in the Members-Only area. If you are a member and don't have the necessary password, please contact IRMA's Executive Director.
Registration Refunds	Refunds of registration fees cannot be issued after Friday, August 23, 2006.
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Thank You, Major Sponsors
	Communications Data Services, Inc.
		1901 Bell Avenue Des Moines, IA 50315-1099 Phone: (515) 246-6920. Fax: (515) 246-6882 Web site: www.cdsfulfillment.com
	Kable Fulfillment Services
		Kable Square Mt. Morris, IL 61054 Phone: (800) 800-7451. Fax: (815) 734-5228 Web site: www.kable.com
	Lane Press
		807 Meadowland Dr Burlington, VT 05403 Phone: (800) 733-3740. Fax: (802) 865-1714 Web site: www.lanepress.com
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Last modified: March 25, 2008