In the wake of COVID-19 and soft advertising sales, community newspapers are finding ways to make money while serving readers and advertisers, says a new study conducted by Dolph Tillotson, newspaper operations consultant and chairman of Southern Newspapers, Inc.

Camille Olson of Seyfarth Shaw encourages newspapers to take a fresh look at the specific duties of their reporters and photographers, in light of new guidance from the Department of Labor that allows small town and local journalists to qualify for the creative professional exemption to federal overtime rules and be paid a salary, as opposed to hourly wage.

Pat Dorsey has been appointed to the Board of Directors of America's Newspapers to fill the unexpired term of Bill Barker, who stepped down from the board after leaving Gannett. In other news, America's Newspapers welcomes two new newspaper members. 

The Final Rule published Thursday, Jan. 7, in the Federal Register by the U.S. Department of Labor with regard to "Employee or Independent Contractor Classification" uses an "economic reality" test to determine a worker's status. It is currrently scheduled to become effective March 8, 2021. The Final Rule considers whether a worker is in business for himself or herself (independent contractor) or is instead economically dependent on an employer for work (employee).

Topics on the agenda: personnel serving on President-Elect Biden's transition team and anticipated appointments in the Biden Administration, EEO/EEOC/OFCCP, National Labor Relations Board and labor management issues, OSHA and wage-hour enforcement, Fair Labor Standards Act, the Affordable Care Act, and immigration issues.