February 1, 2009 - Seattle, WA – Pioneer Newspapers, Inc. have chosen the Vision Total Advertising system, from Vision Data in Rensselaer, NY to run all of the advertising sales and management, retail layout, classified pagination and business functions in their 20-plus newspapers in the states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Utah.

Mike Gugliotto, President and CEO of Pioneer Newspapers, says, "Pioneer is pleased to be working with Vision Data to meet our advertising software needs moving forward. They're a great fit for our group and we're confident that their product and responsive staff will exceed our expectations."

The newspapers include The Skagit Valley Herald (Mount Vernon, WA), Anacortes American (Anacortes, WA), Ellensburg Daily Record (Ellensburg, WA), The Argus (Burlington, WA), Courier-Times (Sedro-Wooley, WA), Herald Journal (Logan, UT), Tremonton Leader (Tremonton, UT), Bear River Publishing Co. (Preston, ID), Idaho Press-Tribune (Nampa, ID), Idaho State Journal (Pocatello, ID), Lone Peak Lookout (Big Sky, MT), Messenger-Index (Emmett, ID), News Examiner (Montpelier, ID), Preston Citizen (Preston, ID), Standard Journal (Rexburg, ID), Teton Valley News (Driggs, ID), Bozeman Daily Chronicle (Bozeman, MT), Belgrade News (Belgrade, MT), West Yellowstone News (West Yellowstone, MT), Herald and News (Klamath Falls, OR), Klamath Nickel (Klamath Falls, OR), Lake County Examiner (Lakeview, OR), and all other Pioneer LLC’s and associated publications. These will run on a central Sun Microsystems Enterprise server, backed-up by a second backup and report server.

The new Vision Total Advertising system is licensed for 115 concurrent users, with 40 of those seats being licensed for classified ad order entry. Additionally, the VisionWeb Home Order Entry suite will allow individuals the ability to place their own classified ads, 24-hours per day, into any of the newspapers or directly to any of their on-line websites. The program handles ad payment via credit card or direct charges for established accounts with approved credit. Rating and product placement are handled through a single rating engine for both the on-line and print products, housed in the central server.

The print products will use the Vision Retail Ad Layout system to design and layout the pages, and the classified pages will be created and the ads placed on the pages via the Vision Classified Pagination system. It will also interface directly to Pioneer’s existing PMP ad-tracking system.

The Vision Total Advertising system also handles all accounting, credit and billing functions for each of the newspapers as well as the on-line products and includes full electronic tearsheet functionality

Once the servers are setup and operational, data will be converted from the former systems to the Vision Data system and loaded for uninterrupted use. A detailed training program includes sessions at the Vision Data training center, on-site training, in-person assistance during the go-live process, and follow-up.

Overall, the Vision Total Advertising system will fully satisfy Pioneer’s needs to streamline their operational, reporting and production functions, optimize sales and revenue potential, and produce the best possible ROI.