Happy 50th, Marty
When times are toughest, innovation often comes not from the behemoths, stuck in the old business models, but from smaller enterprises, those that are light on their feet and open to new ideas. So it is in my business, the newspaper business.
Consider the Lowell Sun. In search of new revenue like all the rest of us, the Sun is throwing a celebration for its hometown congressman, Marty Meehan.
"We are thrilled to announce that on Wednesday, December 27th, we will produce a special commemorative section on Congressman Marty Meehan as he celebrates his 50th birthday and reflects on his life, local roots, and the commitment to public service," Sun publisher Mark O'Neil writes to local advertisers.
It gets better. Taking a page from the revenue-sharing playbook that brought down one-time Times-Mirror CEO Mark "Captain Crunch" Willes, who got into bed with the Staples Center seven years ago in Los Angeles, O'Neil says "a portion of the proceeds will benefit the Marty Meehan Educational Foundation." Just how big a kickback -- I mean portion -- will go to Marty's fund the paper isn't saying.
Meehan, whose nice-guy dad, Buster, spent 43 years in the Lowell Sun's composing room, is having his staff work the phones for the hometown paper. Writes Meehan on his campaign stationery: "A representative from the Sun or my office will likely be contacting you within the next few weeks with an offer to be part of this special edition. In the meantime, should you have any questions or want to place an advertisement, please contact Emily Byrne at (978) 884-7114." Byrne works in Meehan's Lowell office when she isn't taking ads.
"She is not authorized to sell," Meehan, a prodigious fund-raiser, told me. Instead, he says, she is helping to coordinate material for the section. He doubts it will affect the paper's coverage of him, which he terms "lousy."
O'Neil, the Sun's publisher, also doesn't think going into business with the congressman will affect the paper's coverage. "We have proven ourselves to be good watchdogs, tough when appropriate," he says. O'Neil says the paper has done other tribute sections, including one coming out tomorrow to honor Ed Davis, who is leaving Lowell to become Boston's police chief. Davis, however, declined to help sell the section, O'Neil says. "Frankly, he wouldn't have been a great salesman," O'Neil says.
A full page in this special "Marty Meehan at 50" keepsake edition goes for $3,000; a half-page is $1,900. The back page, in color, is $6,000. If you are looking to feed at the trough -- and who isn't? -- are you really going to say no when the congressman's office calls? The only real question is can I get away with a quarter page (price: $1,250)?
Imagine the possibilities. Deval Patrick's inauguration is coming up. Who wouldn't buy an ad in that, particularly if the governor-elect's staff is working the phones. Other birthdays to put on the editorial calendar: Mayor Tom Menino turns 64 on Dec. 27. Ted Kennedy is 75 on Feb. 22. Cambridge boy Ben Affleck is 35 on Aug. 15. Revenue opportunities, all.
. . .
Neighborhood news: Ken Chandler is stepping down as the Boston Herald's editorial director at the end of the year, but he is already out there prospecting for Fortune 500 clients for his new consulting firm. On his website (chandlermedia.com), Chandler refers to the Herald in the past tense. "He served twice as editor of the Boston Herald . . ." A Chandler spokesman, George Regan, says there is no conflict in soliciting corporate clients while still editor of the Herald. Chandler is not starting a business in Boston, and the Herald sells no papers in New York, Regan says. "If there was a potential conflict, Ken would recuse himself in a New York second," Regan says.
Steve Bailey is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at bailey@globe.com or at 617-929-2902. 
