Diane Collins, editor and publisher of the Seneca (Mo.) News Dispatch, ran into a problem with the Seneca Chamber of Commerce. It wanted to put up a Web site that presented the same kinds of information that the newspaper’s own site contained.

According to Collins, the chamber president sent the following e-mail to all chamber members: “Things that will be added to the website for the public to view: job postings (by members only), real estate postings (by members only), rental property (by members only), members login page, Committee page or Community Billboard (public will be able to contact webmaster to list an event such as a charity dinner for John Smith or FFA dinner). This will not be used for classified listings such as garage sales and the such. This is a great benefit to the members and to the public and will be updated as needed.”

This overlapped with postings on Collins’ own site. In addition, she was concerned with the chamber’s plan to sell advertising on the site in order to pay a webmaster. Collins asked other ISWNE members whether they had had similar experiences and if she should treat the chamber Web site as competition.

ISWNE members responded with several different solutions. Randy Mankin, publisher and editor of the Eldorado (Texas) Success, said the chamber’s Web site “absolutely is competition and should be treated as such.” Mankin suggested meeting with the chamber and telling it, in no uncertain terms, all the things the paper does to assist the chamber in its goals.

“Be specific and be firm when you confront them on their direct competition,” he advised. “Then ask if a car dealership or a grocery store would tolerate competition from the chamber of commerce. Also, on a parallel front, get your own Web site up that swamps the chamber’s effort. Promote your Web site only. Any press releases from the chamber should have the Chamber’s Web site info edited out unless they want to pay open rate for an ad.”

Derek Kilbourn, editor of the Gabriola Sounder (located on Gabriola Island in British Columbia), agreed and further asserted that even a small amount of competition should not be taken for granted. The best advice he has been given is to “look at what they are doing, be aware of it, and then do your job well. Focus on making your product better and deal with the competition that way.” He suggested publishing an increasingly better and more desirable paper — one that will keep the customers coming back. The strength of the local newspaper, Kilbourn says, “is a team of professional and objective staffers who [should] be the place the community comes to for finding out what is going on in their town.”

Robert M. Williams Jr., publisher of the SouthFire Newspapers Group in Blackshear, Ga., suggested that Collins first have a discreet conversation with the chamber’s president or volunteer leader. “If he is a clothier, ask simply how he would feel if the chamber began selling trousers and shirts similar to what he sells,” Williams advised. “Be positive in your support of the chamber and your willingness to help support it. Remind gently of how much your newspaper has (and will continue) to do to be supportive of the chamber. I would quietly, but firmly, express the opinion that a non-profit entity that your newspaper has long supported ought not to be trying to usurp your place in the business community. Then ask that the chamber Web site be used for information purposes primarily for visitors interested in your area.”

Williams said even if the chamber is determined to follow through with its plans, it will not succeed in the long run. “Local residents have little reason to go to a chamber Web site and the only way to drive traffic to a Web site is by promotion, promotion, promotion — and the chamber likely doesn't have access to sufficient tools (without your newspaper) to do that promotion,” he said. “It will die a natural death, fairly quickly, so I would not raise too much of a stink. No one is going to push this Web site constantly, over the long term, as your newspaper pushes its advertising. Without a constant push, nothing moves forward.”

Dick Crockford, publisher of the Dillon Tribune (Dillon, Montana), cautions against whining and making a public scene about the issue. Instead, he says to “take the high road and do a superior job.”

“The real solution is to begin by pointing out that your Web site already provides these things,” he said. “If it doesn't, it should. These situations, such as yours, come about because newspapers have allowed it to happen by not protecting our collective franchises by providing what our readers and advertisers want. Ours should be THE community sites. Instead, we have allowed our chambers of commerce and broadcast competition to erode our bases with sites of their own.

“In particular, chambers of commerce have no business carrying real estate, rental or jobs listings, especially if their members include the local newspaper. BUT, if you can't convince the chamber’s board of directors that this plan would put the agency in direct competition with one of its members, then treat them like you would any other competitor.”

Other ISWNE members suggested more passive methods of coping with competition. If you can’t beat them, join them. Cyndy Slovak-Barton, co-publisher of the Hays Free Press in Buda, Texas, cited an example of a time when she started producing visitor guide booklets for her chamber of commerce. The chamber outsourced the booklets until Slovak-Barton took the initiative and suggested her newspaper make them. The chamber received a cut of the proceeds, and the Hays Free Press received more publicity.

Brian Steffens, executive director of the National Newspaper Association, said one solution would be to offer to create and manage the Web site for the chamber and share the revenue. “Since the paper would be doing all the work and shouldering the staffing, the paper should get the lion’s share of the revenue, with maybe a small split back to the chamber (so they feel good about it),” he said. “And the chamber doesn't have to hire anyone.”

Jan Anderson, editor and publisher of the Boulder (Mont.) Monitor, is doing just this. Her paper created and now maintains the chamber Web site on a paid contract basis.

“We took the approach that working together is better for everyone, and made it clear we could do it all for them cheaper and better,” she said. “They do not have ‘classified’ ads on their Web site, because they don't need them when they are linked to ours. They do not have real estate ads because we set up their Web site to link to local real estate agents (whose Web sites we also created and maintain). They do have a community billboard, but it comes through us, and usually we can sell those folks an ad in the newspaper (perhaps because they feel guilty coming to ask for a free service without putting anything in the paper).

“We could tell early that the chamber would run away with a bunch our business for a while if we did not get ahead of the curve, so we did,” Anderson added.

Ross Connelly, editor and co-publisher of The Hardwick (Vt.) Gazette, said his community also has a chamber-affiliated Web site that sounds similar to the one in Seneca, Mo.

“Fortunately, it is not selling ads — yet,” Connelly said. “I’m not pleased with the effort here and do think the keepers of the site would be happy to expand and put us out of business, if possible, as the newspaper also reports the ‘bad’ news.

“What I find about such sites — and many solo bloggers — is they don't have the professional training nor commitment to report the news consistently — or beat the pavement for ad sales. And they don't understand that news gathering and reporting takes time and skill, as do ad sales. Running a newspaper takes time, has lots of expenses and is a lot more involved than just putting up a Web site.”

Mac McKinnon, publisher of the Dublin (Texas) Citizen, says publishers such as Collins and Connelly need not worry. He believes the Seneca chamber will soon lose interest since maintaining a Web site is not one of its top priorities. Proper maintenance and promotion are necessary to make a successful and lasting Web site.

Thomas Ward, publisher of The Valley Breeze in Cumberland, R.I., echoed McKinnon’s comments and said it was likely the Seneca chamber’s efforts would fail.

“Today, anybody can compete against you in your own hometown,” he said. “If the chamber volunteer webmaster was really good, he wouldn’t need the chamber. He (or she) would be out on his own eating your lunch. It’s pretty easy — and cheap. But you have the news, you have the story. The chamber just has its ‘whatever.’

“I’m on the chamber board of directors here, and we are quite challenged by financial problems. I bet your local chamber is, too. Take the chamber president to lunch and find out the facts. I bet the Web effort is a desperate effort to make new money, doomed to fail. But readers’ old habits die hard (very, very hard) and if you have been doing a good job and building relationships through the years, the chamber won't touch you, and in six months, the effort will die on the vine.”

Isaac Roelfsema is a senior English major at Missouri Southern State University and is serving a writing internship with ISWNE.