JOSH HUTCHINS.COM

     Just so everybody knows, I work for the Great Falls Tribune now. I'm an account exec. in the retail advertising department. But I have very little contact with the news department. In fact, the news people pretty much stay in one place with headphones on so they can concentrate. The ad people, of which I am one, spend our time in and out of the building and running around the office with a very quick step. Our desks are in the corner of the office kinda like a leper colony is separated from the rest of the populace. But I really do like working there. I am still selling real estate very actively. I have from 5 pm on, and the weekends to do lots of home selling. So don't think for an instant I can't help you with your real estate wishes and dreams and issues.

And now, just to answer some questions I'm sure some people out there are thinking. No, I cannot get you a discount on your paper. No, I do not have my name anywhere on my shirt. No, I can't fix your paper delivery issues. No, I don't have an inside scoop on any upcoming stories. No, I cannot get you a free or discounted ad. Yes, I can get you a quality ad for a good price. Yes, I can help you identify your target audience and help you develop an advertising plan. Yes, I can work with you to get advertising within your budget.

Some common rumors about newspapers:

Readership is down: not really. Readership isn't really growing very fast, but the important part is who is reading it. Older, wealthier, home owners, parents, and high-paid workers are the group reading the paper the most.

It's too expensive to advertise in the paper: It's all about the return on investment. If you advertise to the wrong audience and spend a lot of money, yes you will get bad results. But if you work with your ad rep, you can build a plan to give you a good ROI. Plus, it isn't cheap to advertise on the radio or tv.

Nobody has time to read the paper: People are even more pressed for time these days than before. Radio and tv offer ways of advertising that require less real thought and interaction, but you can't actively search for information there. If you want to look for a job or what's happening on the weekend or a house to buy, you don't just sit and listen to the radio or watch tv hoping an ad will come on. Those are both passive methods. The newspaper offers an active method. If you are really looking for something, you go and look for it.

Don't believe that tripe you hear on the radio or watch on tv about how nobody reads the paper. Think about this: on the radio, they read the paper over the air for morning news.