Many years back, I attended a NEXPO show in Las Vegas. I wandered down a pathway behind one of the displays and

instead of meeting up with excited vendors clamoring for my business like carnies try-ing to sell me three more darts to win the big prize, I came face-to-face with a little gray and white pigeon calmly having break-fast. Apparently the big show provided enough floor food to entertain a stray bird, but not enough excitement and benefits to bring in the horde of attendees I was accus-tomed to at earlier gatherings. Conferences seemed to be losing their luster and the expense for many smaller properties didn’t seem to justify the cost like it used to.

I’d been to several shows before and

picked up quite a few wonderful new ideas. I knew attendance on the production side had dropped off over the years and as a result, vendors had also questioned their participation due to the expense associated and poor return on their investment. I was a bit concerned that this could be the end of another era of networking for production individuals to exchange ideas and further develop expertise in our wonderful industry.

To my delight, not only does it appear the void has been filled, but it appears that ING (International Newspaper Group) has stepped up to provide production/opera-tions executives with new and innovative ways to learn about our industry and take that experience back home to benefit their own operations.

In a press release from ING, Mark Hall, Postmedia Network regional director and incoming ING vice president said, “We are proud to introduce our 2019 ING directors to the industry, all of whom will be recog-nized by the newspaper industry as ener-getic, knowledgeable professionals driven for success.”

Introducing the quality of talent that ING brings to our industry can alone be well worth the cost of admission to their upcom-ing event: the ING Leadership Networking Summit set for Oct. 4-5 in Chicago at the Wyndham Grand Chicago Riverfront.

In full disclosure, while some of this article was compiled using information provided by ING through their website, personal contact and promotional infor-mation, the core is based primarily on my personal viewpoint of the ING organization and the services it provides to our indus-try. Sincere thanks goes to Brian Blair of Strategic Marketing Communications and adjunct communications advisor to ING for providing answers to many of my questions regarding the conference.

Informational ProgramsSo, what can Chicago offer in October

besides perhaps some nasty cold and windy weather? The answer is one of the most informational and exciting programs we’ve seen in awhile.

Referring back to the cost of admission, I posed the question to an ING representa-tive. Although there is absolutely no arguing

BY JERRY SIMPKINS

production2019 ING LEADERSHIP NETWORKING SUMMITProduction and operations leaders to gather Oct. 4-5 in Chicago

}The ING Leadership Networking Summit will take place at the Wyndham Grand Chicago Riverfront.

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the benefits of their summit, many small and midsize newspaper publishers have dramati-cally cut their travel budgets. Profits simply are not what they used to be and many smaller properties, operating on a shoestring budget may not see the value or ROI in the program. Many of the properties I’ve worked at in my career have eliminated travel to summits and conferences all together due to expense reductions. Why is it important to attend the ING Leadership Networking Summit and what’s the return on investment that can justify this expenditure for some of our smaller properties?

I was quickly reminded of the reasonable cost of the program ($195) as well as the point that “history is not always an indica-tor of future results,” which I interpreted as saying this show is different and has quite a bit to offer. Don’t base this show on any past experiences, but instead look at it for what is will be—a dynamic and informative program that will provide production executives with a wealth of information and some exciting new ideas to benefit from.

After travel expenses, some smaller prop-erties may still question spending perhaps a thousand or more dollars to attend the ING presentation; to this the response is one that made perfect sense based on my past experi-ences. If a newspaper operations executive can walk away with just one idea or recom-mendation they can implement back home, the cost should be viewed as an investment with a credible ROI, rather than entertain-ment expense. This truly appears to be a “must attend event” for production execu-tives throughout our industry.

Here’s a brief rundown of the summit. I strongly advise you to take a look on the ING website (internationalnewspapergroup.org) for additional information.

The summit will feature two keynote speakers: Jason Taylor and Joe DeLuca. Those of you that have been around our in-dustry for any amount of time are most likely familiar with both of these industry giants and ING couldn’t have selected two more qualified speakers to share their qualifica-tions and many successes navigating through the rough roads of production and opera-tions.

In addition to the wealth of experi-

ence both of these individuals bring to the summit, surely between now and October, changes will take place in our industry that will give both of these keynote speakers fuel to add to their already dynamic and powerful presentations.

Taylor is scheduled to present on Leader-ship, Revenue, and Cost Management in a Consolidating and Declining Market Space. He is president of New Media Investment Group Ventures, and president of Gate-House Live Promotions and Events, and was previously president of Gatehouse Media’s Western U.S. Publishing Operations.

With Taylor’s broad range of experience in publishing, I believe he is well qualified to deliver an exciting presentation that should provide useful information to any prop-erty navigating the ever changing world of consolidation and cost management in the current newspaper environment.

DeLuca has shared his vast knowledge of our industry with many of us over the years. According to an ING promotional release, DeLuca is a well-known industry expert, newspaper captain and community leader. He is currently the executive vice president and general manager of the Times Publish-ing Co. in Tampa Bay, Fla. He is responsible for consumer marketing, operations and dis-tribution. DeLuca will deliver the afternoon keynote speech and share from his hands-on experience producing 70 newspapers and 50 monthly publications along the East Coast. I believe this speaks to DeLuca’s accomplish-ments in our business and sets the stage for a powerful and informative presentation.

DeLuca is scheduled to present on embracing the challenge and leading the charge—current state of demand for our product; technologies impact on customer behavior and perception of our industry; and the path forward.

In this frequently turbulent time for newspapers, I personally think his presen-tation will speak directly to many of us in the industry. DeLuca’s experiences—tied to product demand, customer behavior and perception of our industry—are sure to provide everyone with a powerful message to take away from the summit.

The keynote lunch speaker is Keni Thomas, an author, speaker, musician,

}Jason Taylor, president of New Media Investment Group Ventures and president of GateHouse Live Promotions and Events, and keynote speaker

}Joe DeLuca, executive vice president and general man-ager of the Times Publishing Co., and keynote speaker

}Keni Thomas, author and keynote lunch speaker

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decorated former Task Force Army Ranger, a graduate of the University of Florida and the recipient of the bronze star for valor. It’s quite an impressive resume to bring to the ING Summit.

According to ING, Thomas’s message will inspire and stimulate attendees with valuable lessons from Black Hawk Down. To me personally, after reading the message Thomas is going to deliver, that alone would be worth the entire cost for the summit.

His message is one we all should practice in our daily operation: “Leadership has never been about rank or the position you hold. It’s about the example you set. There are people to your left and to your right who are counting on you and it’s up to you to deliver. But you will only be as good as you prepared yourself to be.”

In addition to these three keynote speak-ers, two experts are on tap: Dee Anna Hays and TJ Freno.

Hays is board certified in labor and employment law by the Florida Bar. She has represented employers in all aspects of labor and employment law compliance and litigation for more than 11 years. A growing part of her practice focuses on occupational safety and health issues; these areas of expertise should provide production execu-tives with useful information and guidance. She is scheduled to present on OSHA, labor law and Hot Off the Press updates.

Freno is the manager of strategic pro-

grams for Orion Talent. He helps compa-nies to acquire skilled professionals using targeted strategies for optimizing recruit-ment processes, finely matching employ-ment opportunities with candidate skills. His presentation is scheduled to inform attendees on how to attract, reward and re-tain manufacturing talent in today’s market.

Expert PanelsIn addition to serving up a powerful array

of industry leaders and dynamic profession-als from other fields, ING will also offer a series of expert panels along with network sessions with fellow executives. Expert pan-els will be facilitated by both current and past ING professionals.

International Print Peers: Quality, Cost, Expertise: With 37 years in our in-dustry, Mark Hall, ING vice president, will serve as the panel facilitator.

Logistics and Distribution—Meet-ing Today’s Demands: ING president Russ Newton will serve as panel facilitator. Newton is the general manager of Bay Area Production Services. His past roles include president and COO of the San Diego Union-Tribune, Hearst executive director of opera-tions, SVP of operations at the Los Angeles Times, and president and director of opera-tions—California Community News.

Profits from Nothing, Zero Waste: ING immediate past president Joe Bow-man will serve as panel facilitator. He is vice

president of operations for The Plain Dealer Publishing Co. in Cleveland, Ohio.

In addition, on Oct. 4, there will be sev-eral networking opportunities for summit attendees. The first I’ve had the pleasure to experience a time or two and strongly recommend it to all attendees. You’ll come away from a tour of the Chicago Tribune’s Freedom Center in awe. From their robotic newsprint delivery system to their incred-ible presses and front-end operation, this is one impressive facility.

z Local tour of Chicago Tribune Freedom Center

z Custom networking and informational tour of the Tribune’s 10 press campus, prepress, newsprint warehouse and pre-press area for newspaper exec attendees.

z Guided tour at PRINT 19 z Custom APTech/PRINT presentation and guided tour of show floor at Mc-Cormick Place

z ING opening networking reception z Networking dinnersA networking session opens up the day on

Oct. 5, followed by a 2019-2020 network-ing plan, discussion regarding continuing network through the year, closing remarks and networking reception, and networking dinners.

ING shared with me a survey used to evaluate what production/operations executives regarded as beneficial and helpful to their management experience.

}Attendees will have the opportunity to tour Chicago Tribune’s Freedom Center.

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I was extremely impressed to see how ING took this survey information and incorporated it into the ING Leadership Networking Summit tailored to the feedback. It shows that not only does the ING organization know and understand production, but also clearly shows their desire to present attendees with informative and detailed programs relevant to the daily needs of newspaper professionals.

Each response to the survey questions will be represented in some manner contained in the summit. What an impressive and mean-ingful way for an organization to represent its industry. We should all be proud and honored to have ING in our corner.

Jerry Simpkins has more than 30 years of experience in printing and operations in the newspaper industry. Contact him on LinkedIn.com or at simpkins@tds.net.

See What Newspaper Production Leaders Have to Say about the ING Leadership Networking Summit “ING has put me in a position that has deepened and strength-ened the camaraderie and friendships that I have in the industry, giving those relationships depth and breadth. If I have a question or if I am facing a challenge, I now have a much larger network of colleagues that I can reach out to. It’s a ‘share the wealth’ philosophy.”—Bill May, VP of production, Dallas Morning News

“It is an understanding of the shared accomplishments and the journey ahead by a lot of other people, as some have come up with some good ideas. Therefore, if you (not only) attend, but participate in the ING conference, you will hear, see and un-derstand how others in similar situations have overcome their obstacles and ‘righted the ship.’”—Joseph Vincent, SVP, opera-tions, Dow Jones

“The key reason for attending ING is because of the interac-tions you will have with industry vendors, and have immediate access to these people for any projects that you might have planned, or ones from the past that you may have issues with and need resolved. It’s the one place to have an all-access pass to the key vendors that are left in our industry.”—Wayne Pel-land, VP of manufacturing and distribution, GateHouse Media

“ING has always been known as the place where you could meet with the decision makers of the industry; people who were pushing new technology, automation and quality. The conference provided the opportunity to meet with upper level management group: VPs, directors of operations and produc-tion. These were the people who truly made the decisions in regard to purchasing new equipment, experimenting with new technology and trying to become more efficient and faster, while maintaining higher quality.”—Joe Bowman, VP of opera-tions, The Plain Dealer Publishing Co.

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