Thursday, December 16, 2010
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
What would Joseph Stallion do?
For every newsroom staff that struggles with online comments, here's an editor's column where commenters unwittingly prove his point exactly. Kind of amusing. Notice how quickly Adolf Hitler and someone named "Joseph Stallion" are trotted out.
Monday, November 1, 2010
Your feedback wanted
We'd like to hear your feedback on date, time and format for our annual Fall Conference and Awards Dinner. Is the current, Wednesday-evening format working? Would you prefer something different? Please take a couple minutes and complete our short survey .
Thursday, October 21, 2010
NINA contest winners announced
From our Fall Conference last night at NIU: The winners list from our annual contest. Congrats to all of our winners, and to the sweepstakes-winning newspapers: The Evanston RoundTable and the Rock Island Argus / Moline Dispatch.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Monday, October 11, 2010
Conference registration deadline is today
Here's a reminder that if your paper is planning to send people to the Northern Illinois Newspaper Association's Fall Conference next Wednesday, we need to hear from you by the end of today (Monday, Oct. 11).
Conference details here. Note that we don't need your payment by today, but we do need your commitment so we can order meals.
Hope to see many of you next Wednesday. We have a great program, and lots of awards to hand out.
Conference details here. Note that we don't need your payment by today, but we do need your commitment so we can order meals.
Hope to see many of you next Wednesday. We have a great program, and lots of awards to hand out.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Register by Monday for Fall Conference
Here’s a reminder that the deadline to register for the Northern Illinois Newspaper Association’s Fall Conference and Awards Dinner is Monday, Oct. 11.
The event is scheduled for Wednesday evening, Oct. 20, at NIU-DeKalb. Keynote speaker is Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter and editor Deborah Nelson, who now teaches journalism at the University of Maryland. And, we’ll announce our annual awards in 28 categories for both daily and non-daily newspapers.
Registration is $30 each; new this year, we’ve eliminated the higher fee for the first attendee from each newspaper. Payment may be made at the door, but we you’re your registration forms by Oct. 11.
You’ll find full information, including a printable registration form, at http://www.ninaonline.org//
The event is scheduled for Wednesday evening, Oct. 20, at NIU-DeKalb. Keynote speaker is Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter and editor Deborah Nelson, who now teaches journalism at the University of Maryland. And, we’ll announce our annual awards in 28 categories for both daily and non-daily newspapers.
Registration is $30 each; new this year, we’ve eliminated the higher fee for the first attendee from each newspaper. Payment may be made at the door, but we you’re your registration forms by Oct. 11.
You’ll find full information, including a printable registration form, at http://www.ninaonline.org//
The Case for Teaching Journalism
Here's a good letter to the editor from USA Today, today:
The tragic loss of an 18-year-old Rutgers University freshman, driven to suicide by a voyeuristic online video, has the nation clamoring for new methods of teaching online civility.Student Press Law Center, Arlington, Va.
But there is already a highly successful program that trains young people to differentiate between fact and rumor, verify information before they repeat it, take responsibility for the consequences of their words, respect opposing points of view, and weigh the legal and ethical considerations before damaging a person's reputation. That program is called "journalism."
When everyone with Internet access is a publisher, school authorities should be stampeding to ensure that all students are taught the journalistic fundamentals to publish responsibly. Far too many are doing the opposite.
Journalism teachers are being driven from the classroom — fired, demoted or transferred in retaliation for their students' uncomfortably candid journalistic work. Administrators who value the PR illusion of a controversy-free school over the quality of education are creating a hostile climate that makes participation in journalism intolerable for all but the meekest and most compliant students — just when the values conveyed by journalism education are desperately needed.
State officials in Kansas are defunding scholastic journalism programs on the grounds that newsgathering is not a marketable career. They are right. Ethics, responsibility, accuracy and fairness are not résumé credentials; they are essential life skills for membership in a civilized society, which journalism teaches effectively.
Frank LoMonte, executive director
Monday, September 20, 2010
Fall Conference set for Oct. 20
Information about our Oct. 20 Fall Conference is available at http://www.ninaonline.org/. Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter and editor Deborah Nelson will deliver the evening's keynote address, and winners will be announced in 28 categories for our annual contest. The event runs from 5:30 to 9 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 20, at NIU-DeKalb.
Pricing has been simplified this year, to a flat $30 per person. (In previous years, the first participant from each newspaper was charged significantly more.)
Registration deadline is Monday, Oct. 11. The registration form is available on our website, or get it here.
Pricing has been simplified this year, to a flat $30 per person. (In previous years, the first participant from each newspaper was charged significantly more.)
Registration deadline is Monday, Oct. 11. The registration form is available on our website, or get it here.
Monday, September 13, 2010
Wanted: Your watchdog ideas
For the upcoming NINA newsletter, we're looking for examples of watchdog journalism your paper has done this year. Big stories, small stories ... if it served your readers and could work for other papers, let us know. Either comment below or e-mail me.
Shaw Newspapers becomes Shaw Media
Press release:
Shaw Newspapers becomes Shaw Media
SEPTEMBER 13, 2010 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DIXON, Ill. – Chief Executive Officer Tom Shaw announced today a change in name to Shaw Media, to better reflect the forward motion of this legacy company. The change goes into effect on October 10, 2010.
The Shaw brand has been synonymous with high-quality newspapers for more than 159 years.
The name change is necessary to more appropriately capture the company’s ongoing growth – both inside and outside of newspapers – and its strength in current and emerging forms of media.
“We decided to embrace a name more reflective of the company we have become – a vibrant, community-based, media organization that is well poised to meet the changing information needs of the communities we serve,” Chief Executive Officer Tom Shaw said. “Although newspapers are still at the core of what we do so well, our future will increasingly use various publishing platforms to provide our valuable products and services.”
Shaw Media also announced that three distinct elements of its brand promise would guide the company and serve as goals for its future.
“Our brand promise is to provide relevant information for all of our customers, create and aggressively sell marketing solutions for all our business partners, and to be aggressive community advocates for the areas we define as our markets,” Shaw said.
Shaw Media publishes 60 newspapers, magazines and websites across Illinois and Iowa. Benjamin Flower Shaw published the first issue of The Dixon Telegraph and Herald in 1851.
– 30 –
Contact:
Shaw Media, Tom Shaw, 815-284-4000
Shaw Newspapers becomes Shaw Media
SEPTEMBER 13, 2010 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DIXON, Ill. – Chief Executive Officer Tom Shaw announced today a change in name to Shaw Media, to better reflect the forward motion of this legacy company. The change goes into effect on October 10, 2010.
The Shaw brand has been synonymous with high-quality newspapers for more than 159 years.
The name change is necessary to more appropriately capture the company’s ongoing growth – both inside and outside of newspapers – and its strength in current and emerging forms of media.
“We decided to embrace a name more reflective of the company we have become – a vibrant, community-based, media organization that is well poised to meet the changing information needs of the communities we serve,” Chief Executive Officer Tom Shaw said. “Although newspapers are still at the core of what we do so well, our future will increasingly use various publishing platforms to provide our valuable products and services.”
Shaw Media also announced that three distinct elements of its brand promise would guide the company and serve as goals for its future.
“Our brand promise is to provide relevant information for all of our customers, create and aggressively sell marketing solutions for all our business partners, and to be aggressive community advocates for the areas we define as our markets,” Shaw said.
Shaw Media publishes 60 newspapers, magazines and websites across Illinois and Iowa. Benjamin Flower Shaw published the first issue of The Dixon Telegraph and Herald in 1851.
– 30 –
Contact:
Shaw Media, Tom Shaw, 815-284-4000
Friday, September 10, 2010
A Free and Responsible Student Press
Here's a piece by Randy Swikle that is offered as an op-ed column for any newspaper interested in publishing it.
Retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor is disturbed by research showing our nation’s high schools are failing their students when it comes to instilling in them an appreciation for the First Amendment and civic issues.
“Civic education—and, with it, civic learning—has been in steady decline for decades,” she writes in the forward to Sam Chaltain’s new book, "American Schools: The Art of Creating a Democratic Learning Community." “As a result, too many young people today do not understand how our political system works, or how to be seen and heard in meaningful, effective ways.”
Arguably, the best measure of a high school’s commitment to civic education is the nature of its student news media. A student newspaper can provide the most visible evidence of whether schools just preach or actually practice First Amendment principles, democratic learning and significant civic engagement.
All high schools in America receiving Federal funds are required to hold an educational program about the U.S. Constitution every Sept. 17, the anniversary of the signing of the document in 1787. On Constitution Day schools will offer special lessons about the principles of democracy and the virtues of American freedom. But beyond that talk, how many schools are actually doing the walk?
The student press is a telling sign.
If school authorities recognize their student newspaper as a forum that serves the functions of authentic journalism, if they nurture free and responsible student news media and if they trust the student press to provide a meaningful and effective way for students to be seen and heard, chances are, democratic learning is at the core of the school’s culture.
However, if school authorities want to control the student press rather than cultivate it, if they want students to learn obedience rather than responsibility and if they want to silence rather than share diverse—sometimes unpopular—perspectives, chances are, autocratic administrators are impeding the school’s civic mission.
Too many school authorities are too quick to censor controversial student expression that they disagree with, find discomforting, consider overly critical or otherwise object to for additional reasons. By exercising clout rather than collaboration, administrators demoralize and alienate learners. They may control the learners, but they sure don’t convince them.
Good schools support authentic journalism and democratic learning when they strike a proper balance between the press rights of students and the pedagogic responsibilities of educators. Students are empowered but not emancipated; educators are authoritative but not authoritarian; and the school culture is collaborative and not autocratic.
Help has arrived for proponents of civic education. A new initiative by the McCormick Foundation, supported by the Illinois Press Foundation, can help resolve student expression controversies while inspiring students and administrators to engage in dialogue that should enhance civic education, community engagement and ethical development.
Protocol for Free & Responsible Student News Media is a handbook to guide scholastic journalism stakeholders in ethical decision-making. The Protocol process can be used in other school arenas as well. The Protocol is the product of a two-day conference of 50 leaders from around the country representing students, educators, administrators, school board members, professional journalists, attorneys and a wide variety of organizations.
Here’s how the Protocol works:
Key principles and important questions relevant to the issue at hand are identified. The principles provide reference points on your moral compass, represent “what you stand for,” and guide you in ethical decision-making. The checklist of questions is a pathway to follow to resolve conflicting principles and to help determine your actions.
The protocol helps balance freedom and structure at school, prioritizes the merits of arguments above the rank of advocates and helps stakeholders find common ground. (See http://www.freedomproject.US/Education/Protocol.aspx to read the Protocol report.)
Sandra Day O’Connor believes in experiential learning: “Knowledge about our government is not handed down through the gene pool. Every generation has to learn it, and we all learn best by doing.”
Schools that practice democratic learning build civic responsibility, and no indicator is more telling of school commitment to democratic learning and civic engagement than the way administrators deal with the student press. Such an examination will reveal the correlation between rhetoric and reality.
Randy Swikle is state director of the Journalism Education Association and a member of the board of directors of the Northern Illinois Newspaper Association and the Illinois Press Foundation. He is a retired journalism teacher in Johnsburg, Ill.
Retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor is disturbed by research showing our nation’s high schools are failing their students when it comes to instilling in them an appreciation for the First Amendment and civic issues.
“Civic education—and, with it, civic learning—has been in steady decline for decades,” she writes in the forward to Sam Chaltain’s new book, "American Schools: The Art of Creating a Democratic Learning Community." “As a result, too many young people today do not understand how our political system works, or how to be seen and heard in meaningful, effective ways.”
Arguably, the best measure of a high school’s commitment to civic education is the nature of its student news media. A student newspaper can provide the most visible evidence of whether schools just preach or actually practice First Amendment principles, democratic learning and significant civic engagement.
All high schools in America receiving Federal funds are required to hold an educational program about the U.S. Constitution every Sept. 17, the anniversary of the signing of the document in 1787. On Constitution Day schools will offer special lessons about the principles of democracy and the virtues of American freedom. But beyond that talk, how many schools are actually doing the walk?
The student press is a telling sign.
If school authorities recognize their student newspaper as a forum that serves the functions of authentic journalism, if they nurture free and responsible student news media and if they trust the student press to provide a meaningful and effective way for students to be seen and heard, chances are, democratic learning is at the core of the school’s culture.
However, if school authorities want to control the student press rather than cultivate it, if they want students to learn obedience rather than responsibility and if they want to silence rather than share diverse—sometimes unpopular—perspectives, chances are, autocratic administrators are impeding the school’s civic mission.
Too many school authorities are too quick to censor controversial student expression that they disagree with, find discomforting, consider overly critical or otherwise object to for additional reasons. By exercising clout rather than collaboration, administrators demoralize and alienate learners. They may control the learners, but they sure don’t convince them.
Good schools support authentic journalism and democratic learning when they strike a proper balance between the press rights of students and the pedagogic responsibilities of educators. Students are empowered but not emancipated; educators are authoritative but not authoritarian; and the school culture is collaborative and not autocratic.
Help has arrived for proponents of civic education. A new initiative by the McCormick Foundation, supported by the Illinois Press Foundation, can help resolve student expression controversies while inspiring students and administrators to engage in dialogue that should enhance civic education, community engagement and ethical development.
Protocol for Free & Responsible Student News Media is a handbook to guide scholastic journalism stakeholders in ethical decision-making. The Protocol process can be used in other school arenas as well. The Protocol is the product of a two-day conference of 50 leaders from around the country representing students, educators, administrators, school board members, professional journalists, attorneys and a wide variety of organizations.
Here’s how the Protocol works:
Key principles and important questions relevant to the issue at hand are identified. The principles provide reference points on your moral compass, represent “what you stand for,” and guide you in ethical decision-making. The checklist of questions is a pathway to follow to resolve conflicting principles and to help determine your actions.
The protocol helps balance freedom and structure at school, prioritizes the merits of arguments above the rank of advocates and helps stakeholders find common ground. (See http://www.freedomproject.US/Education/Protocol.aspx to read the Protocol report.)
Sandra Day O’Connor believes in experiential learning: “Knowledge about our government is not handed down through the gene pool. Every generation has to learn it, and we all learn best by doing.”
Schools that practice democratic learning build civic responsibility, and no indicator is more telling of school commitment to democratic learning and civic engagement than the way administrators deal with the student press. Such an examination will reveal the correlation between rhetoric and reality.
Randy Swikle is state director of the Journalism Education Association and a member of the board of directors of the Northern Illinois Newspaper Association and the Illinois Press Foundation. He is a retired journalism teacher in Johnsburg, Ill.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Panel: Watchdog Journalism Survives, But Fewer Are Doing It
Large newspapers with a long tradition of investigative reporting likely will continue that tradition, regardless of whether it’s in print or online.
Of great concern, though, is the capacity for smaller community newspapers to serve as watchdogs when they barely have the resources to produce their product at all.
Those were among the opinions expressed June 17 during a panel discussion at the Union League Club in Chicago, focusing on the future of watchdog journalism. The sentiments were echoed this summer in an online survey of NINA journalists.
George Papajohn, deputy managing editor of the Chicago Tribune, responded to an audience question about whether social media is changing the standards for investigative reporting – particularly, what’s published and when.
“The same standards apply,” Papjohn said. “We are scrupulous. We are careful. The stories that need the extra time get the extra time. To us, that credibility is essential to our survival and to everything we do. Nothing we do in the future will matter if we lose our credibility. So every day when we examine stories – whether they are short-term, mid-term or long term, we’re applying very high standards to them.”
Kurt Gessler, Interactive Media editor for the Daily Herald, said deadlines and the pressure to publish incomplete information are less of a factor in investigative stories.
“We have six or seven irons in the fire, and when it’s ready is when we’ll publish it,” Gessler said, adding that misleading or inaccurate reporting could reduce news organizations’ credibility to the level of their untrained competitors.
“With all the different voices out there, you cannot tarnish your brand,” he said. “There’s been this flight to quantity. At some point there will be a flight to quality. And the media outlets that have stayed true to their audiences and to their beliefs will exist in some form. So on those types of stories, I don’t see any lapse. The breaking news stuff, we have clearly become quicker and dirtier at. We are a lot more radio-ish, a lot more television-ish. We get stuff out and then tweak it. That’s where I see the quality eroding more.”
However, the story changes in smaller communities, several panelists said. When community papers can’t afford to do investigative work, there’s not much profit motivation for out-of-town competitors, either, said Polly Smith, Money and Business editor for the Chicago Sun-Times.
“In the suburbs, there’s no competition (for investigative stories) from the smaller papers – the five-day-a-week or weeklies,” Smith said. “They’ve been decimated. They can’t cover everything. And so because there’s no competition from them, we can sit back and not worry about it. … That worries me more than anything.”
The Internet culture and the perceived demand for up-to-the-second news can work against watchdog reporting, too, said Jim O’Shea, co-founder of the online-only Chicago News Cooperative and a former executive at the Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times.
“A news organization’s job is still, at the end of the day, to step back and put the events of the day in context,” O’Shea said. “And I fear that sometimes the competition to get audience on the Internet creates a situation in which people have a tendency to scream rather than just talk in a calm voice. I’ve spent my entire life encouraging people to do investigative journalism and good journalism and beat reporting … to be the voice of reason and keep things in context.”
The panel was sponsored by NINA and moderated by executive director Dirk Johnson.
Thoughts from the trenches
This summer, an unscientific survey of reporters and editors from NINA newspapers showed a range of watchdog journalism occurring. Some produce multiple stories every month. More than half said their paper does no watchdog reporting whatsoever.
The survey got only 10 responses – not a large enough sample to indicate trends. But some of the comments reveal the tension caused by newspapers’ responsibilities on one side and limited resources on the other.
One editor wrote that investigative work used to be routine for most reporters, but that today’s staffing levels make that difficult.
“We still try to allocate time for everyone to have at least one project in the pipeline,” the editor wrote. “We can’t do them as often as we once did, but I’m hopeful that will change with the economy. Until then, we need to keep them on the radar.”
Another editor said the paper does afford reporters time for long-range stories, “although there are few takers. More push is needed and support from editors.”
Another paper searches for creative solutions. “As the staff has shrunk, it’s become a greater challenge,” an editor wrote, “but we work in time for reporters to chip away at projects. Interns and free-lancers are a huge help in getting day-to-day items covered to free up some time for staffers to do this. Sadly, but candidly, it’s probably also resulted in more of our inside copy being press release rewrites, but something has had to give.”
Several reporters said they are too buried in day-to-day work to do investigative stories.
“We work under a quota of two stories a day because of our small size staff – only three reporters for a community of 35,000 not counting other surrounding areas,” one wrote. “Because of the quota it makes it difficult to hold stories or devote to more in depth types of investigation.”
The survey concluded with this question: Given our industry’s reduced workforce and limited financial resources, what suggestions would you give to editors and publishers about how newspapers can increase their amount of watchdog reporting?
Some of the responses:
Of great concern, though, is the capacity for smaller community newspapers to serve as watchdogs when they barely have the resources to produce their product at all.
Those were among the opinions expressed June 17 during a panel discussion at the Union League Club in Chicago, focusing on the future of watchdog journalism. The sentiments were echoed this summer in an online survey of NINA journalists.
George Papajohn, deputy managing editor of the Chicago Tribune, responded to an audience question about whether social media is changing the standards for investigative reporting – particularly, what’s published and when.
“The same standards apply,” Papjohn said. “We are scrupulous. We are careful. The stories that need the extra time get the extra time. To us, that credibility is essential to our survival and to everything we do. Nothing we do in the future will matter if we lose our credibility. So every day when we examine stories – whether they are short-term, mid-term or long term, we’re applying very high standards to them.”
Kurt Gessler, Interactive Media editor for the Daily Herald, said deadlines and the pressure to publish incomplete information are less of a factor in investigative stories.
“We have six or seven irons in the fire, and when it’s ready is when we’ll publish it,” Gessler said, adding that misleading or inaccurate reporting could reduce news organizations’ credibility to the level of their untrained competitors.
“With all the different voices out there, you cannot tarnish your brand,” he said. “There’s been this flight to quantity. At some point there will be a flight to quality. And the media outlets that have stayed true to their audiences and to their beliefs will exist in some form. So on those types of stories, I don’t see any lapse. The breaking news stuff, we have clearly become quicker and dirtier at. We are a lot more radio-ish, a lot more television-ish. We get stuff out and then tweak it. That’s where I see the quality eroding more.”
However, the story changes in smaller communities, several panelists said. When community papers can’t afford to do investigative work, there’s not much profit motivation for out-of-town competitors, either, said Polly Smith, Money and Business editor for the Chicago Sun-Times.
“In the suburbs, there’s no competition (for investigative stories) from the smaller papers – the five-day-a-week or weeklies,” Smith said. “They’ve been decimated. They can’t cover everything. And so because there’s no competition from them, we can sit back and not worry about it. … That worries me more than anything.”
The Internet culture and the perceived demand for up-to-the-second news can work against watchdog reporting, too, said Jim O’Shea, co-founder of the online-only Chicago News Cooperative and a former executive at the Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times.
“A news organization’s job is still, at the end of the day, to step back and put the events of the day in context,” O’Shea said. “And I fear that sometimes the competition to get audience on the Internet creates a situation in which people have a tendency to scream rather than just talk in a calm voice. I’ve spent my entire life encouraging people to do investigative journalism and good journalism and beat reporting … to be the voice of reason and keep things in context.”
The panel was sponsored by NINA and moderated by executive director Dirk Johnson.
Thoughts from the trenches
This summer, an unscientific survey of reporters and editors from NINA newspapers showed a range of watchdog journalism occurring. Some produce multiple stories every month. More than half said their paper does no watchdog reporting whatsoever.
The survey got only 10 responses – not a large enough sample to indicate trends. But some of the comments reveal the tension caused by newspapers’ responsibilities on one side and limited resources on the other.
One editor wrote that investigative work used to be routine for most reporters, but that today’s staffing levels make that difficult.
“We still try to allocate time for everyone to have at least one project in the pipeline,” the editor wrote. “We can’t do them as often as we once did, but I’m hopeful that will change with the economy. Until then, we need to keep them on the radar.”
Another editor said the paper does afford reporters time for long-range stories, “although there are few takers. More push is needed and support from editors.”
Another paper searches for creative solutions. “As the staff has shrunk, it’s become a greater challenge,” an editor wrote, “but we work in time for reporters to chip away at projects. Interns and free-lancers are a huge help in getting day-to-day items covered to free up some time for staffers to do this. Sadly, but candidly, it’s probably also resulted in more of our inside copy being press release rewrites, but something has had to give.”
Several reporters said they are too buried in day-to-day work to do investigative stories.
“We work under a quota of two stories a day because of our small size staff – only three reporters for a community of 35,000 not counting other surrounding areas,” one wrote. “Because of the quota it makes it difficult to hold stories or devote to more in depth types of investigation.”
The survey concluded with this question: Given our industry’s reduced workforce and limited financial resources, what suggestions would you give to editors and publishers about how newspapers can increase their amount of watchdog reporting?
Some of the responses:
- “Keep scheduled news stories short and to the point; push for watchdog or other enterprise FIRST on a daily basis. You won’t always have it, but will leave everyone with an ongoing impression that it is important to pursue it. Something we are considering is a significant monthly bonus for the best watchdog report (hoping reporters will find ways to find time if given additional monetary motivation).”
- Watchdog journalism is not only good journalism, it sells papers. Good managers understand this.
- We all talk about ‘limited financial resources,’ but there has got to be some way occasionally to reward reporters for superior work. And I mean beyond a pat on the back. Maybe it’s a bartering thing – like giving some free advertising to a department store, and then having a supply of $100 or $200 gift cards to give as bonuses.
- “A little overtime could go a long way.”
- “Reporters and editors need to understand the watchdog role applies to every story that should always keep our readers’ interests in mind. The real question is, do we or can we find the time to dig into bigger issues? I think it can be done, regardless of staff size. It’s just a matter of planning and chipping away each day or each week. Two things are needed, however: reporters who have the desire (and frankly they seem hard to find) and editors who beat the drum. I think our readers want and expect the watchdog role, but might have given up expecting it.”
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Survey: Watchdog journalism at your paper
As a follow-up to last month's panel discussion in Chicago, we're conducting a short survey on the state of watchdog journalism among NINA newspapers, and we'd love to see your thoughts. http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/2NDGFJK All responses are anonymous.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Scholarship winners
Bartlett High School Seniors Kourtney Liepelt (left) and Allison Prang took third and first place, respectively, in NINA’s annual journalism scholarship competition for graduating high school seniors. Pictured (from left) are Kerry Lester, a staff writer with the Daily Herald; scholarship winners Liepelt and Prang; and NINA President Mike Cetera of the Beacon News in Aurora. The Daily Herald also contributed scholarship money to the winners.
Full story on our scholarship winners
Monday, May 24, 2010
High school journalists honored
Our 2010 scholarship winners have been announced. Congrats to three graduating high school seniors -- two from Bartlett High School and one from Rolling Meadows High School.
Friday, May 21, 2010
Chicago panel to discuss watchdog journalism
Join top Chicago news pros for tough talk about watchdog journalism and the fight for survival in America's most celebrated muckraking town. To hear the strategies, the Northern Illinois Newspaper Association has called together some of the most prominent editors and writers in Chicago for a forum at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, June 17, at the Union League Club, 65 West Jackson Blvd.
The panelists include:
Space is limited. Please RSVP by June 14 to Dirk Johnson.
The panelists include:
- James O'Shea, co-founder of the Chicago News Cooperative and former top executive at the Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times.
- George Papajohn, Deputy Managing Editor of the Chicago Tribune
- Tom McNamee, Editorial Page Editor of the Chicago Sun-Times
- Kurt Gessler, Interactive Media editor, The Daily Herald
- Laura Washington, Chicago columnist and professor at DePaul University
- Peter Kendall, Associate Managing Editor of the Chicago Tribune
- Polly Smith, Money and Business Editor of the Chicago Sun-Times
The discussion will be moderated by Dirk Johnson, a former bureau chief for The New York Times and Newsweek, who lectures on journalism at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb.
The forum is supported by APCO Worldwide, a public affairs and strategic communications firm with offices in Chicago; Northern Illinois University; and the Union League Club of Chicago. Light fare will be provided. Cash bar. Admission is free.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Support journalism's future: Pay your interns
My first big break in journalism came in 1981, a week after I graduated high school. Al Post, the editor of the Belvidere Daily Republican, called and asked if I’d like to serve as interim sports editor that summer. I’d covered high-school football for the paper during my senior year and apparently hadn’t libeled anyone.
At the time, I was busing tables part-time at a mall steakhouse for the minimum $3.15 an hour. The newspaper wanted to pay me the princely salary – I’d have a salary! – of $120 a week. Was I interested?
I never set foot in that steakhouse again.
I also quickly discovered that my new salary equated to less than $2 an hour. No matter. That summer, before I’d even started college, journalism became my career.
Would I have worked for free? Probably. At least until my 1973 AMC Hornet conked out. But the meager income helped me pay my frequent car expenses, take my girlfriend to the movies once in a while and generally not have to sponge off my parents before everything had to go toward college expenses.
I kept working for that paper through college, doing vacation relief for editors and reporters during summers, and sports on fall and winter weekends. They paid me, which kept me from having to quit and work more hours at my second job, a retail hellhole called Ardan’s.
Today, I get to work with college journalists who have that same wide-eyed enthusiasm. For years, I’ve been telling them they can make their own breaks and find opportunity. Some do. Others get smacked in the face with financial reality. Plenty of internship opportunities exist … so long as students are willing to work for free.
NIU is a good school – sometimes a great school – but it’s no secret that many students come here because it’s their most affordable college option. They spend their summers working in order to cover a chunk of their college costs. If they’re lucky, their parents can pick up a chunk. The rest goes onto loans that might take more than a decade to repay.
The Northern Star often is recognized as one of the nation’s best college newspapers. Yet, a low percentage of our students work summer internships in other newsrooms. The reason: They can’t afford to. If they don’t make money during the summer, they either won’t return to school in the fall or they’ll have to add to that scary debt load.
I have students who have had to turn down summer internships this year because they not only wouldn’t be paid, they also would have been required to pay for the college credits, whether they needed them or not. Newspapers’ legal reasoning is that the student is purchasing something of value – newsroom experience – which makes up for the lack of pay.
In a very real sense, then, many newspapers are selling journalism experience … not necessarily to students who deserve it, but to those who can afford it. Last time I checked, that’s the kind of thing good newspapers expose … not propagate.
There are better ways. For instance, the Rock Island Argus and Moline Dispatch have paid their interns for years and have no plans to stop.
“We believe that it’s tough to expect good work, response to direction, dependably showing up to work each day, if the person is a volunteer,” said Managing Editor Roger Ruthhart. “We also believe that if you are asking people to work for you, you should pay them. Pretty simple concept.”
At Rock Island / Moline, that’s close to minimum wage. Ruthhart finds it a good summer solution when regular staffers take vacation.
“Our other options would be drops in coverage or paying other staff to work overtime,” he said. “Interns are better than nothing and cheaper than time-and-a-half.”
Publishers and editors: Even in tough times, please set aside something – anything – to pay your interns. Find creative ways to make it happen, in the same way you find creative ways to meet other necessary expenses. Failure to do so is denying opportunity for some talented college journalists. It’s failing to invest in journalism’s future.
As an industry, we can’t afford that.
At the time, I was busing tables part-time at a mall steakhouse for the minimum $3.15 an hour. The newspaper wanted to pay me the princely salary – I’d have a salary! – of $120 a week. Was I interested?
I never set foot in that steakhouse again.
I also quickly discovered that my new salary equated to less than $2 an hour. No matter. That summer, before I’d even started college, journalism became my career.
Would I have worked for free? Probably. At least until my 1973 AMC Hornet conked out. But the meager income helped me pay my frequent car expenses, take my girlfriend to the movies once in a while and generally not have to sponge off my parents before everything had to go toward college expenses.
I kept working for that paper through college, doing vacation relief for editors and reporters during summers, and sports on fall and winter weekends. They paid me, which kept me from having to quit and work more hours at my second job, a retail hellhole called Ardan’s.
Today, I get to work with college journalists who have that same wide-eyed enthusiasm. For years, I’ve been telling them they can make their own breaks and find opportunity. Some do. Others get smacked in the face with financial reality. Plenty of internship opportunities exist … so long as students are willing to work for free.
NIU is a good school – sometimes a great school – but it’s no secret that many students come here because it’s their most affordable college option. They spend their summers working in order to cover a chunk of their college costs. If they’re lucky, their parents can pick up a chunk. The rest goes onto loans that might take more than a decade to repay.
The Northern Star often is recognized as one of the nation’s best college newspapers. Yet, a low percentage of our students work summer internships in other newsrooms. The reason: They can’t afford to. If they don’t make money during the summer, they either won’t return to school in the fall or they’ll have to add to that scary debt load.
I have students who have had to turn down summer internships this year because they not only wouldn’t be paid, they also would have been required to pay for the college credits, whether they needed them or not. Newspapers’ legal reasoning is that the student is purchasing something of value – newsroom experience – which makes up for the lack of pay.
In a very real sense, then, many newspapers are selling journalism experience … not necessarily to students who deserve it, but to those who can afford it. Last time I checked, that’s the kind of thing good newspapers expose … not propagate.
There are better ways. For instance, the Rock Island Argus and Moline Dispatch have paid their interns for years and have no plans to stop.
“We believe that it’s tough to expect good work, response to direction, dependably showing up to work each day, if the person is a volunteer,” said Managing Editor Roger Ruthhart. “We also believe that if you are asking people to work for you, you should pay them. Pretty simple concept.”
At Rock Island / Moline, that’s close to minimum wage. Ruthhart finds it a good summer solution when regular staffers take vacation.
“Our other options would be drops in coverage or paying other staff to work overtime,” he said. “Interns are better than nothing and cheaper than time-and-a-half.”
Publishers and editors: Even in tough times, please set aside something – anything – to pay your interns. Find creative ways to make it happen, in the same way you find creative ways to meet other necessary expenses. Failure to do so is denying opportunity for some talented college journalists. It’s failing to invest in journalism’s future.
As an industry, we can’t afford that.
Monday, May 17, 2010
What Illinois' new FOIA means to journalists
DeKalb – Illinois’ newly revised Freedom of Information Act represents better access for journalists to serve their communities, two experts told the NINA Spring Conference audience April 23.
Cara Smith, public access counselor for the Illinois Attorney General, spoke of her office’s increased authority, and workload, since the new law took effect Jan. 1.
“Our phones never stop ringing,” she said. “It’s usually public bodies calling to ask for advice.”
Smith also conducts training sessions for public employees on how to handle FOIA requests. She’s been met with a hostile reception at nearly every session, she said – largely because the new law holds consequences for noncompliance.
In the past, she said, public officials could deny a request and dare the requester to sue them … which they knew was highly unlikely. Under the new law, a public body wishing to deny a FOIA request must get pre-authorization from the public access counselor.
“We have hundreds of requests,” Smith said. Decisions on pre-approvals are being posted to the attorney general’s website and, Smith hopes, soon will be used as precedents.
Her office also now has the authority to issue binding opinions on requests for denial – particularly, for the commonly tried “unwarranted invasion of privacy” exemption. To appeal such an opinion, the public body is required to file for administrative review in either Cook or Sangamon County.
“The threat of binding authority has been the most effective thing,” said the day’s second speaker, Terry Pastika, executive director of the Citizen Advocacy Center.
More provisions of the new FOIA law:
For reporters dealing with tax increment financing (TIF) districts, Pastika suggested getting on the district’s Interested Parties Registry. It’s free and you’ll then be notified of anything going on regarding that TIF district.
Finally, watch for citizen referendums to be kicked off local election ballots by something called the Rule of Three, she said. Only three initiatives are allowed on any one ballot, and an initiative from a public body supersedes a citizen-initiative referendum. So, if bogus public initiatives show up on a ballot, journalists could FOIA for all initiatives proposed in the past months or years, to see what’s been kicked off.
Cara Smith, public access counselor for the Illinois Attorney General, spoke of her office’s increased authority, and workload, since the new law took effect Jan. 1.
“Our phones never stop ringing,” she said. “It’s usually public bodies calling to ask for advice.”
Smith also conducts training sessions for public employees on how to handle FOIA requests. She’s been met with a hostile reception at nearly every session, she said – largely because the new law holds consequences for noncompliance.
In the past, she said, public officials could deny a request and dare the requester to sue them … which they knew was highly unlikely. Under the new law, a public body wishing to deny a FOIA request must get pre-authorization from the public access counselor.
“We have hundreds of requests,” Smith said. Decisions on pre-approvals are being posted to the attorney general’s website and, Smith hopes, soon will be used as precedents.
Her office also now has the authority to issue binding opinions on requests for denial – particularly, for the commonly tried “unwarranted invasion of privacy” exemption. To appeal such an opinion, the public body is required to file for administrative review in either Cook or Sangamon County.
“The threat of binding authority has been the most effective thing,” said the day’s second speaker, Terry Pastika, executive director of the Citizen Advocacy Center.
- Mandatory attorney’s fees will be charged to public bodies if a requester is denied, then goes to court and wins.
- Fines of $2,500 per occurrence will be leveled if the public body is determined to have acted willfully and wantonly.
- The response-time requirement for FOIA requests has dropped from seven working days to five.
- Copying fees are set: the first 50 pages are free; 15 cents a page for additional pages. Smith said some public bodies used to charge $1 a page, openly calling the practice “a disincentive.”
- The personnel-file exemption – which used to be a big dodge – no longer exists. Public bodies would throw anything and everything into a personnel file, whether it belonged there or not, and then claim exemption. Now, there’s a balancing test: Would disclosure violate personal privacy?
- The new FOIA applies to old documents, too, regardless of when they were created.
- If documents are maintained electronically, then they can be requested electronically, for the cost of a blank CD.
Pastika mentioned several types of public information reporters could request, including:
- Documentation that supports press release information. Too often, she said, reporters rely on press releases alone and don’t look at the underlying stats.
- Lawsuits filed against public bodies.
- Full budgets – not just the synopses. Ask to see all funds and all line items.
- Attorney bills for public bodies.
- Cell phone bills, credit card bills and travel vouchers for public employees.
- Procurement records, bids received.
- Public officials’ contributions to other public officials’ campaigns.
- A list of FOIA requests to a public body – to see what others might be looking for.
Snappy headlines and prized keywords
Great NY Times column Sunday about writing web headlines that appeal to search engines.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
2010 NINA contest announced
Hello, NINA members.
Newly posted on our website today is all the information you need for this year's NINA contest.
We'll be sending a print mailing later this week, but everything's on the website now for you to get started. Please read everything carefully. We've made some significant changes this year. Most noticeably, the contest is now grouped into two divisions: dailies (4x a week or more) and non-dailies (less than 4x a week). We've added several categories and removed a couple of others, in hopes of reflecting the types of work most of our members are doing and the types of work NINA wants to encourage.
Also new this year is an entry form available online. You'll fill out the fields, save and print the form for each entry. For the entries themselves, we're encouraging PDFs rather than tearsheets -- though we'll accept either. No online entry submission just yet; you'll still send everything by mail, including a CD with PDF files.
Note the June 30 postmark deadline for entries. THIS WILL NOT BE EXTENDED this year, so please plan accordingly.
And our usual web address, http://www.ninaonline.org/, is now working again. So you can use either that or www.northernstar.info/nina.
Please let us know if you have any questions, and good luck!
Newly posted on our website today is all the information you need for this year's NINA contest.
We'll be sending a print mailing later this week, but everything's on the website now for you to get started. Please read everything carefully. We've made some significant changes this year. Most noticeably, the contest is now grouped into two divisions: dailies (4x a week or more) and non-dailies (less than 4x a week). We've added several categories and removed a couple of others, in hopes of reflecting the types of work most of our members are doing and the types of work NINA wants to encourage.
Also new this year is an entry form available online. You'll fill out the fields, save and print the form for each entry. For the entries themselves, we're encouraging PDFs rather than tearsheets -- though we'll accept either. No online entry submission just yet; you'll still send everything by mail, including a CD with PDF files.
Note the June 30 postmark deadline for entries. THIS WILL NOT BE EXTENDED this year, so please plan accordingly.
And our usual web address, http://www.ninaonline.org/, is now working again. So you can use either that or www.northernstar.info/nina.
Please let us know if you have any questions, and good luck!
Monday, April 26, 2010
High school photo winners
Here are the Feature Photography winners from Saturday's IHSA Journalism Sectional competition at NIU-DeKalb. Top three place-winners' work is shown. All three students qualified for the state competition this Friday at EIU in Charleston.
Entries were judged by professional journalists from northern Illinois. Judges did not see the names or schools of the photographers.
First place: Christina Wales, Rockford Jefferson
While cooking up lunch at NIU’s Nitrorun, Victor Diaz from Inbodens Meats, helps prepare the runners with a delicious after treat.
Preparing for her next test, 3rd year student of NIU, Shannon Wapole, spends her rainy afternoon in the Law Library.
Drumming instructer John Potter shows the auditioning, incoming freshman a para-diddle technique at the tryouts for the NIU drumline in the Music Building.
Senior Christian Plott checks out a book at the Founders Memorial Library for a final paper before he graduates.
Mike DeCampa searches resources for his history project.
Albert Davis, high school student, waits for his friends, that are in the IHSA Journalism competition, outside.
Entries were judged by professional journalists from northern Illinois. Judges did not see the names or schools of the photographers.
First place: Christina Wales, Rockford Jefferson
Outside the Founders Memorial Library, Ellen Desitter, Junior, enjoys the rainy weather
reading her favorite book.
While cooking up lunch at NIU’s Nitrorun, Victor Diaz from Inbodens Meats, helps prepare the runners with a delicious after treat. 
Preparing for her next test, 3rd year student of NIU, Shannon Wapole, spends her rainy afternoon in the Law Library. Second place: Jordan Geigle, Huntley
One of the many huskies around campus, this mascot is ready to take a photo of the runners in the 5k run.
Drumming instructer John Potter shows the auditioning, incoming freshman a para-diddle technique at the tryouts for the NIU drumline in the Music Building.
Third place: Isabel Diaz De Leon, Rockford East
Valeria Diaz De Leon, high school student, works on her assignment for the IHSA Journalism Sectionals. 
Friday, April 16, 2010
Register today for NINA Spring Conference
Today is the deadline to register for next Friday's NINA Spring Conference at NIU-DeKalb. Contact Jim Killam. One speaker substitution: Terry Pastika, executive director of the Citizen Advocacy Center, replaces Beth Bennett of the Illinois Press Association. Our other speaker is Cara Smith, public access counselor for the Illinois Attorney General's office.
Terry Pastika joined the Citizen Advocacy Center as a community lawyer in 1999 and became its executive director in 2001. In her tenure as a community lawyer, Ms. Pastika organized the Center's three suburban Civic Fairs which brought together more than 150 community organizations and civic leaders throughout the Chicago metropolitan region, coordinated the Center's Citizen Training Corps program which was recognized regionally and nationally as "civics boot camp with clout," and launched the Center's youth civic education program. Ms. Pastika provides community organizing assistance, legal assistance, and when necessary litigates to help citizens access the democratic process and remove anti-democratic or illegal policies that prohibit citizen participation in government decision-making. Ms. Pastika speaks at conferences and law schools on topics such as the First Amendment, open government laws, TIF, home rule, election laws, campaign finance, and community empowerment. She has authored several law journal articles and co-author of the Citizen Advocacy Center’s 2009 release of its Midwest regional study on FOIA and OMA laws titled, Accessing Government: How Difficult is it?. Beyond working to strengthen democracy at the local level, Ms. Pastika has participated in statewide reform initiatives that have included TIF, ethics, campaign finance, and most recently FOIA.
Ms. Pastika was part of the team of community lawyers that received an award for "Most Innovative Advocacy" in the Chicagoland region and has been guest speaker at the John F. Kennedy School of Politics at Harvard University. Ms. Pastika was nationally recognized in 2003 by the Washington D.C. non-profit, OMB Watch, as one of a handful of people inducted into the first "Public Interest Rising Star Hall of Fame" for leading a new generation in pursuit of social justice. Ms. Pastika graduated from Marquette University in 1992 and Creighton University School of Law in 1997. She is a member of the California, Nebraska and Illinois Bar.
Terry Pastika joined the Citizen Advocacy Center as a community lawyer in 1999 and became its executive director in 2001. In her tenure as a community lawyer, Ms. Pastika organized the Center's three suburban Civic Fairs which brought together more than 150 community organizations and civic leaders throughout the Chicago metropolitan region, coordinated the Center's Citizen Training Corps program which was recognized regionally and nationally as "civics boot camp with clout," and launched the Center's youth civic education program. Ms. Pastika provides community organizing assistance, legal assistance, and when necessary litigates to help citizens access the democratic process and remove anti-democratic or illegal policies that prohibit citizen participation in government decision-making. Ms. Pastika speaks at conferences and law schools on topics such as the First Amendment, open government laws, TIF, home rule, election laws, campaign finance, and community empowerment. She has authored several law journal articles and co-author of the Citizen Advocacy Center’s 2009 release of its Midwest regional study on FOIA and OMA laws titled, Accessing Government: How Difficult is it?. Beyond working to strengthen democracy at the local level, Ms. Pastika has participated in statewide reform initiatives that have included TIF, ethics, campaign finance, and most recently FOIA.
Ms. Pastika was part of the team of community lawyers that received an award for "Most Innovative Advocacy" in the Chicagoland region and has been guest speaker at the John F. Kennedy School of Politics at Harvard University. Ms. Pastika was nationally recognized in 2003 by the Washington D.C. non-profit, OMB Watch, as one of a handful of people inducted into the first "Public Interest Rising Star Hall of Fame" for leading a new generation in pursuit of social justice. Ms. Pastika graduated from Marquette University in 1992 and Creighton University School of Law in 1997. She is a member of the California, Nebraska and Illinois Bar.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
You want access. They've got answers
From NINA's Spring 2010 newsletter:
Two of the state’s foremost experts on the Illinois Freedom of Information Act will headline NINA’s April 23 Spring Conference at NIU-DeKalb.
The conference kicks off a year of NINA training with emphasis on journalists’ access to public information.
Cara Smith, public access counselor for the Illinois Attorney General’s office, and Beth Bennett, governmental relations director for the Illinois Press Association, will talk about Illinois’ Freedom of Information Act. They’ll help journalists understand recent changes – and challenges – to the law.
“Too often, officials build walls so that the public can’t get the information it deserves,” said Wally Haas, NINA first vice president and editorial page editor of the Rockford Register Star. “Beth Bennett and Cara Smith will tell you how to break those barriers and get the information you and your readers are entitled to.”
Registration is just $10 for NINA members and journalists from member newspapers.
Smith joined Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s staff in 2003. Most recently serving as Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy and Communications, she has been integrally involved in the development and implementation of many initiatives, including spearheading the rewrite of the State’s FOIA. Previously, she served as an Assistant Attorney General in the Governmental Representation Division of the office, from 1992 to 1997.
Bennett has held her IPA post since joining the association in 1987. Prior to joining the IPA, she served for four years as the Legislative Liaison for the Illinois General Assembly’s oversight committee, the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules. Her responsibilities at the IPA include lobbying on behalf of Illinois newspapers, as well as, working with IPA members on issues of industry concern. Those issues include: employment and environmental regulation, access laws, public notice requirements, advertising law and tax issues specific to newspapers and commercial printers.
Bennett also serves as the Illinois Freedom of Information (Sunshine) Chair for the Society of Professional Journalists.
Spring Conference Details
When: Friday, April 23, 2010
Time: 9 a.m. to noon
Where: Holmes Student Center, Room 305, NIU-DeKalb
Cost: $10 for NINA members and employees of member newspapers. $20 for nonmembers. Light breakfast will be provided.
Parking: $5. Use the NIU visitor lot off Lincoln Highway (Illinois 38).
To register: Contact Jim Killam, 815-753-4239. Registration deadline is Friday, April 16. Pay at the door on the day of the workshop.
Two of the state’s foremost experts on the Illinois Freedom of Information Act will headline NINA’s April 23 Spring Conference at NIU-DeKalb.
The conference kicks off a year of NINA training with emphasis on journalists’ access to public information.
Cara Smith, public access counselor for the Illinois Attorney General’s office, and Beth Bennett, governmental relations director for the Illinois Press Association, will talk about Illinois’ Freedom of Information Act. They’ll help journalists understand recent changes – and challenges – to the law.
“Too often, officials build walls so that the public can’t get the information it deserves,” said Wally Haas, NINA first vice president and editorial page editor of the Rockford Register Star. “Beth Bennett and Cara Smith will tell you how to break those barriers and get the information you and your readers are entitled to.”
Registration is just $10 for NINA members and journalists from member newspapers.
Smith joined Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s staff in 2003. Most recently serving as Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy and Communications, she has been integrally involved in the development and implementation of many initiatives, including spearheading the rewrite of the State’s FOIA. Previously, she served as an Assistant Attorney General in the Governmental Representation Division of the office, from 1992 to 1997.
Bennett has held her IPA post since joining the association in 1987. Prior to joining the IPA, she served for four years as the Legislative Liaison for the Illinois General Assembly’s oversight committee, the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules. Her responsibilities at the IPA include lobbying on behalf of Illinois newspapers, as well as, working with IPA members on issues of industry concern. Those issues include: employment and environmental regulation, access laws, public notice requirements, advertising law and tax issues specific to newspapers and commercial printers.
Bennett also serves as the Illinois Freedom of Information (Sunshine) Chair for the Society of Professional Journalists.
Spring Conference Details
When: Friday, April 23, 2010
Time: 9 a.m. to noon
Where: Holmes Student Center, Room 305, NIU-DeKalb
Cost: $10 for NINA members and employees of member newspapers. $20 for nonmembers. Light breakfast will be provided.
Parking: $5. Use the NIU visitor lot off Lincoln Highway (Illinois 38).
To register: Contact Jim Killam, 815-753-4239. Registration deadline is Friday, April 16. Pay at the door on the day of the workshop.
Sun shines on city councils, too
A column from NINA's Spring 2010 newsletter:
A nice piece of news found its way to DeKalb, appropriately enough, during Sunshine Week. Turns out, if you apply for a job as an alderman, the public gets to know that.
The cities of both Chicago and DeKalb argued recently that the names of citizens applying to fill aldermanic vacancies should not be made public. DeKalb’s city officials claimed that disclosure of these names – just the names, mind you, not phone numbers, shoe sizes or any other personal data – would constitute “a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy for applicants for an appointed or elected position.” Chicago took an almost identical position.
Let me see if I have this right. In the minds of these city leaders, people should be able to seek public office without the public knowing about it. Anyone see a slight problem there?
In DeKalb, both the Daily Chronicle and the Northern Star filed two Freedom of Information Act requests for the lists of names in the two wards with vacant city council seats. The city then referred those requests to the Illinois Attorney General’s Public Access Counselor, Cara Smith.
Smith’s response to both DeKalb and Chicago was basically: Knock it off. Here’s an excerpt from her letter to DeKalb’s city clerk:
So, common sense and seventh-grade civics win the day. Sort of. The system still has imperfections, chiefly the time lag. The Northern Star’s first FOIA request, for names of those seeking one of the seats – was sent to the city Dec. 16, 2009. Smith’s response to the city was dated March 16, 2010 – three months later. At that point, the city released both lists of names. But in the meantime two new aldermen had been recommended by the mayor and approved by the city council, before the public ever knew the names of the other applicants.
The Public Access Counselor’s is a small office with a huge case load. We in the media understand that. That case load, though, may point to the real issue: a state whose political culture has encouraged anything but government transparency, and a citizenry that is fed up with it.
Throughout this disagreement, I never heard anyone suggest that DeKalb was hiding anything scandalous. What elected officials need to understand, though, is that when they withhold information with obviously flawed arguments, the public begins to wonder if they are hiding something.
Anyone can file a FOIA request, of course, but a FOIA from a news organization packs a much larger wallop, because of the likelihood that the whole community will see the results. When we use FOIA often, we’re placing our local units of government on notice that we’re paying attention.
NINA’s April 23 Spring Conference brings Smith and the Illinois Press Association’s Beth Bennett to NIU-DeKalb, to discuss the status of FOIA law reform in Illinois. Please come. Bring others from your newspaper, too. Our watchdog function is our most vital role, and FOIA is one of our most valuable tools. With the constant thought of keeping our communities informed, let’s not hesitate to increase the attorney general’s workload if necessary.
A nice piece of news found its way to DeKalb, appropriately enough, during Sunshine Week. Turns out, if you apply for a job as an alderman, the public gets to know that.
The cities of both Chicago and DeKalb argued recently that the names of citizens applying to fill aldermanic vacancies should not be made public. DeKalb’s city officials claimed that disclosure of these names – just the names, mind you, not phone numbers, shoe sizes or any other personal data – would constitute “a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy for applicants for an appointed or elected position.” Chicago took an almost identical position.
Let me see if I have this right. In the minds of these city leaders, people should be able to seek public office without the public knowing about it. Anyone see a slight problem there?
In DeKalb, both the Daily Chronicle and the Northern Star filed two Freedom of Information Act requests for the lists of names in the two wards with vacant city council seats. The city then referred those requests to the Illinois Attorney General’s Public Access Counselor, Cara Smith.
Smith’s response to both DeKalb and Chicago was basically: Knock it off. Here’s an excerpt from her letter to DeKalb’s city clerk:
“In this case, the City has failed to establish either that disclosure of the applicants’ names would be highly personal or objectionable to a reasonable person or that the applicants’ right to privacy outweighs any legitimate public interest in obtaining information about the people seeking appointment to this public office. City aldermen are public officials who represent the residents of their ward on the City Council. Once appointed, aldermen who wish to remain in the position eventually must submit valid nominating petitions to qualify for the ballot and be elected by voters of their ward. As a result, when this public office becomes vacant, citizens have a legitimate interest in knowing who has applied for the position so that they may evaluate whether the individuals are qualified to represent a particular ward and discern why one applicant was appointed over others. It is precisely this public scrutiny of public officials that the General Assembly had in mind in enacting FOIA.”
So, common sense and seventh-grade civics win the day. Sort of. The system still has imperfections, chiefly the time lag. The Northern Star’s first FOIA request, for names of those seeking one of the seats – was sent to the city Dec. 16, 2009. Smith’s response to the city was dated March 16, 2010 – three months later. At that point, the city released both lists of names. But in the meantime two new aldermen had been recommended by the mayor and approved by the city council, before the public ever knew the names of the other applicants.
The Public Access Counselor’s is a small office with a huge case load. We in the media understand that. That case load, though, may point to the real issue: a state whose political culture has encouraged anything but government transparency, and a citizenry that is fed up with it.
Throughout this disagreement, I never heard anyone suggest that DeKalb was hiding anything scandalous. What elected officials need to understand, though, is that when they withhold information with obviously flawed arguments, the public begins to wonder if they are hiding something.
Anyone can file a FOIA request, of course, but a FOIA from a news organization packs a much larger wallop, because of the likelihood that the whole community will see the results. When we use FOIA often, we’re placing our local units of government on notice that we’re paying attention.
NINA’s April 23 Spring Conference brings Smith and the Illinois Press Association’s Beth Bennett to NIU-DeKalb, to discuss the status of FOIA law reform in Illinois. Please come. Bring others from your newspaper, too. Our watchdog function is our most vital role, and FOIA is one of our most valuable tools. With the constant thought of keeping our communities informed, let’s not hesitate to increase the attorney general’s workload if necessary.
Friday, March 19, 2010
Yes, those names are public
Good news on a public-records issue I mentioned a while back. On advice from the Illinois Attorney General, the city of DeKalb has released the names of citizens who applied for two vacant aldermanic seats. The city had sought to keep those names private. The Northern Star and Daily Chronicle had contended the information is public.
In case you are dealing with a similar issue, here's the letter from the Illinois Attorney General's office to the city of DeKalb, advising them to comply with the Northern Star's FOIA request.
In case you are dealing with a similar issue, here's the letter from the Illinois Attorney General's office to the city of DeKalb, advising them to comply with the Northern Star's FOIA request.
Discount on Design Webinar
NINA members get a $10 discount on Tuesday's Poynter Webinar, "Best in Design: Lessons from SND Competition 2010." If you're interested, contact me for the discount code.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Beautiful women make skateboarding more dangerous
Not sure how much this has to do with journalism, but it's funny. New psychological research "found that male skateboarders took more risks when in the presence of an attractive woman."
In other breaking news, researchers have determined that the world is round.
In other breaking news, researchers have determined that the world is round.
Censoring the censorship debate
Here's a Daily Herald story with the latest on the Stevenson High School censorship case. Apparently sunshine doesn't always shed a lot of light.
Speaking of sunshine, if you haven't already bookmarked the site, here's the link to the new Sunshine Illinois site.
Speaking of sunshine, if you haven't already bookmarked the site, here's the link to the new Sunshine Illinois site.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Study: Powerful people are better liars
Interesting story from MSNBC. A study shows that people in power make better liars. Good reading for journalists.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
"There's nothing here but words"
The Onion has had a good week. Here's a story for editors and designers: Nation Shudders at Large Block of Uninterrupted Text.
More about millennials
The Pew Research Center has released its latest research about the millennial generation. Fascinating stuff.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
How come no one thought of this before?
More impact from the newspaper industry's decline, from The Onion.
Monday, March 8, 2010
No secret candidates
The Illinois Attorney General's office has said cities cannot keep secret the names of applicants for city council positions after an alderman resigns. Story.
So much for the dodge about "personal privacy." It's getting so you can't run for public office in Illinois without the public knowing about it ...
So much for the dodge about "personal privacy." It's getting so you can't run for public office in Illinois without the public knowing about it ...
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Closed minds?
Interesting quote this past weekend from Rob Curley, new media editor at the Las Vegas Sun, speaking to a college media convention in Phoenix:
"The most closed-minded journalists I've met are the ones who just graduated."
That could be due to their lack of confidence as rookies, or that their college might have been woefully behind in teaching new media, or youthful idealism that says, "Dammit, Bones, I'm a writer, not a Web jockey."
At any rate, we will try to do our part here to prove Rob wrong. But I'm afraid in many cases he's right.
"The most closed-minded journalists I've met are the ones who just graduated."
That could be due to their lack of confidence as rookies, or that their college might have been woefully behind in teaching new media, or youthful idealism that says, "Dammit, Bones, I'm a writer, not a Web jockey."
At any rate, we will try to do our part here to prove Rob wrong. But I'm afraid in many cases he's right.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Your own private sports writer
Here's an interesting approach reported on ESPN.com: a baseball writer employed directly by his readers.
Ever wanted to have a say in the makeup of your morning sports report? Or just have someone personally ask Washington Nationals pitcher and New Jersey native Jason Bergmann what he thinks of "Jersey Shore"? Then meet Mark Zuckerman. A 33-year-old baseball writer from suburban D.C., Zuckerman is covering the Nationals during spring training in Viera, Fla. -- coverage made possible by reader donations to his team blog.
As in more than $10,000 in reader donations, collected in less than a month, $20-60 at a time.
Monday, March 1, 2010
Authors speaking Thursday in Chicago
DePaul University 1:30-3 p.m. --The lecture will be held from 1:30 to 3 p.m. at DePaul’s College of Communication lower-level theatre space, 14 E. Jackson Blvd., Chicago. Thursday afternoon:
57th Street Books: 6 p.m. Thursday March 4. 1301 E. 57th St., Chicago.
If you’re a journalist and have not read this book, you should. You may not agree with everything the authors propose. Even if you don't, this is the most complete explanation I've seen of how newspapers reached the crisis we're in today, and the options we now face.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Explaining Illinois' mess
For background info about why Illinois is in such a financial mess, www.illinoisisbroke.com is a good resource for journalists.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
More Webinars, more discounts
Two more upcoming Poynter/NewsU Webinars where NINA members can get a $10 discount:
Online Advertising and News Site Credibility, Part of the APME credibility project. Feb. 24.
Mobile Media 101: Producing News with Your Smartphone. March 3.
If you're interested, contact me for the discount code.
And there's still time to get in on today's Webinar, "Multimedia Tools: Your 2010 Shopping List." (see previous post)
Online Advertising and News Site Credibility, Part of the APME credibility project. Feb. 24.
Mobile Media 101: Producing News with Your Smartphone. March 3.
If you're interested, contact me for the discount code.
And there's still time to get in on today's Webinar, "Multimedia Tools: Your 2010 Shopping List." (see previous post)
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Facebook NINA / Webinar discount
Become a fan of the Northern Illinois Newspaper Association on Facebook, and learn about a special member discount for this Thursday's Poynter Webinar: "Multimedia Tools: Your 2010 Shopping List."
Monday, February 15, 2010
Including the majestic moose
For the journalist who wants to get away from it all: Iceland may become an international safe haven for investigative reporting.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Illinois Journalist of the Year
NIU is accepting nominations for its annual Illinois Journalist of the Year award. The award is presented annually by the NIU Department of Communication "to a person who has made a significant contribution to the mass media or, through them, to the public they serve, either as a result of a single accomplishment during the past year, or through a sustained effort over a longer period of time."
Any journalist employed by a mass medium, or an Illinois resident associated with a national medium serving the people of Illinois, is eligible to receive the award. The most recent honorees were Scott Strazzante, Chicago Tribune photojournalist (2008); and Bob Frisk, Daily Herald sports writer (2009).
The nomination deadline is March 1, 2010. Details and nomination form.
Any journalist employed by a mass medium, or an Illinois resident associated with a national medium serving the people of Illinois, is eligible to receive the award. The most recent honorees were Scott Strazzante, Chicago Tribune photojournalist (2008); and Bob Frisk, Daily Herald sports writer (2009).
The nomination deadline is March 1, 2010. Details and nomination form.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Radio silence
Here's a link to a story out of Burlington, Vt., but it's an issue the NINA board already has identified as an imminent problem in Illinois, too.
Without fanfare last spring, Burlington police encrypted their main broadcast channel, making it impossible to hear anything being discussed over the most commonly used police radio frequency. Several of Burlington’s lesser-used channels remain unencrypted, as does the city fire department’s channel.
The encryption came in response to what Police Chief Mike Schirling says was a growing problem: criminals, or teams of criminals, using police scanners and text messaging to anticipate and evade police. Someone listening to a scanner at home can track police, Schirling says, and relay their movements via text message to an accomplice breaking into cars or selling drugs on a street corner. The encryption will improve public safety and officer safety, the chief says.
Understood ... sort of. Couldn't the bad guys always track police, scanner or not? And then there's that little matter about the news media being able to inform the public of an emergency. Or serve as watchdog of government, including police departments that say, "Just trust us."
Monday, February 1, 2010
Those #%*! sticker ads
Pet Peeve Edition: Those sticker ads on front pages make me crazy. It's bad enough when a newspaper's flag or lead story is covered by a sticker advertising cheap beer or carpeting. (You have to peel the sticker off, and half the ink from the story underneath comes off with it.) But in election season, occasionally you'll get political ads stuck over the top of the front page -- vote for so-and-so.
To me, that crosses a significant ethical line. To many readers, it looks like an endorsement.
To me, that crosses a significant ethical line. To many readers, it looks like an endorsement.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Sifting through it all
Just a reminder that the Pulitzer-winning Politifact Web site is a great place to sort fact from fiction when analyzing the State of the Union address and pre-election rhetoric. It's fascinating and very even-handed. A good place to point your readers.
iPad
Check out Apple's new iPad. I gotta get me one of these.
Here's the NYTimes liveblog from today's event. The thing does still have some issues to be worked out, like not being able to read Flash documents. Price ranges from $429 to $829.
Here's the NYTimes liveblog from today's event. The thing does still have some issues to be worked out, like not being able to read Flash documents. Price ranges from $429 to $829.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Secret candidates
Since NINA's 2010 theme is access to public information, here's an interesting case today from DeKalb.
Recently, DeKalb's Third Ward alderman resigned. By law, the mayor appoints a successor. The mayor publicly stated that 10 people applied with him for the position, but he declined to name them. Both the Northern Star and the Daily Chronicle filed FOIA requests for this list of names. Meanwhile, the new appointee was named late last week and sworn in Tuesday night.
The city denied the Northern Star’s (and, presumably, the Daily Chronicle's) FOIA request. Its reasoning: Identifying these people would have been a "clearly unwarranted invasion of their personal privacy."
These people were seeking public office. If this had been an election for the same seat, their names would be on the ballot for all to see. How exactly is this any different in the end result? Don't citizens have a right to know who wants to represent them?
Recently, DeKalb's Third Ward alderman resigned. By law, the mayor appoints a successor. The mayor publicly stated that 10 people applied with him for the position, but he declined to name them. Both the Northern Star and the Daily Chronicle filed FOIA requests for this list of names. Meanwhile, the new appointee was named late last week and sworn in Tuesday night.
The city denied the Northern Star’s (and, presumably, the Daily Chronicle's) FOIA request. Its reasoning: Identifying these people would have been a "clearly unwarranted invasion of their personal privacy."
These people were seeking public office. If this had been an election for the same seat, their names would be on the ballot for all to see. How exactly is this any different in the end result? Don't citizens have a right to know who wants to represent them?
Flaming Kindle
On the eve of Apple's unveiling of its new tablet device, a University of Georgia study shows that young readers don't think too highly of Amazon's Kindle as a means to read a newspaper. They say it needs a color display and touchscreen interface. Here's the report from Poynter.
Anecdotally, I have heard from several older readers who love the Kindle for books.
Anecdotally, I have heard from several older readers who love the Kindle for books.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Twitter's shortcomings
The Haiti crisis has illuminated some of Twitter's shortcomings, writes Joshua Keating in Foreign Policy magazine.
Twitter can occasionally be an effective means of organization -- Tweets played a role in the online campaign to pressure the U.S. Air Force into opening the Port-au-Prince airport to aid flights -- but they can just as often lead well-meaning readers astray, particularly when there's celebrity involved.
Scholarships available
The Northern Illinois Newspaper Association is pleased to announce our annual scholarship competition for graduating high school seniors who plan to continue their journalism education at the college level.
This spring, NINA will award $1,500 in scholarships, with the potential for matching amounts from the winning students’ local newspapers.
Application materials are HERE. Please forward this information to anyone who may be interested. Application deadline is March 15, 2010.
This spring, NINA will award $1,500 in scholarships, with the potential for matching amounts from the winning students’ local newspapers.
Application materials are HERE. Please forward this information to anyone who may be interested. Application deadline is March 15, 2010.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Apple's tablet and newspapers
Today's Wall Street Journal has a story looking ahead to next week's introduction of Apple's tablet device and how newspaper and magazine publishers might play a key role.
Mr. (Steve) Jobs is "supportive of the old guard and [he] looks to help them by giving them new forms of distribution," says a person who has worked with the CEO. "What drives all of these changes is technology, and Apple has an ability to influence that."
Friday, January 15, 2010
Twitter helps Haiti
Twitter campaign has raised $5 million for the Red Cross, $10 at a time through text messages this week. Story.
Editor & Publisher lives!
Press release:
Editor & Publisher Sold To Duncan McIntosh Co. Inc.
Will Resume Publication In Print and Online
NEW YORK CITY -- Editor & Publisher, the only independent news organization reporting on all aspects of the transforming newspaper business, will resume publication in print and online following its sale Thursday from The Nielsen Company to Duncan McIntosh Co. Inc., the Irvine, Calif.-based magazine and newspaper publisher.
The announcement came exactly two weeks after the closing of E&P, the acknowledged "bible of the newspaper industry," which can trace its roots back 126 years.
Duncan McIntosh said he knew immediately when Nielsen announced in December the closing of E&P that he wanted to keep the magazine and its digital newsgathering properties going.
"Such a critical information source for a newspaper industry so desperately in need of help should not go away," McIntosh said. "I've been a reader of E&P over the course of 30 years and know its incredible value to readers and advertisers."
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Charles "Chas" McKeown, who will continue as publisher of E&P, hailed the sale and the speed and professionalism with which McIntosh and Nielsen completed the transaction. "Everyone knew what was at stake here," McKeown said. "Newspapers, which are transforming beyond the printed page to all forms of digital media, simply could not lose the one place where the industry could have a conversation with itself and exchange ideas and best practices for navigating the uncertain waters ahead, exemplified by our Interactive Media Conference which includes cable, TV, radio and other media."
Duncan McIntosh Co. Inc. is the publisher of several well-respected boating magazines and newspapers, including Boating World magazine; Sea Magazine, America's Western Boating Magazine; The Log Newspaper; and FishRap. The company also produces the Newport Boat Show in the spring and the Lido Yacht Expo in the fall. Both shows are held in California.
Mark Fitzgerald, a 26-year veteran, was named as the new E&P editor. He had most recently served as E&P's editor-at-large.
"I'm of course grateful to Duncan for stepping up to keep E&P alive, and I've been extremely impressed by the passion and energy he is bringing to this enterprise," Fitzgerald said. "I'm humbled to be leading a news organization that I've always believed produces one of the best news reports of any industry sector."
E&P's new owners announced plans to publish a February print issue and continue the monthly print publication schedule. Online reporting on its Web site began immediately on the close of the transaction Thursday, as did posting on its two blogs.
Media Contacts:
Duncan McIntosh
949.660.6150 x 211
Charles "Chas" McKeown
646.654.5120
Mark Fitzgerald
773.610.0026
Editor & Publisher Sold To Duncan McIntosh Co. Inc.
Will Resume Publication In Print and Online
NEW YORK CITY -- Editor & Publisher, the only independent news organization reporting on all aspects of the transforming newspaper business, will resume publication in print and online following its sale Thursday from The Nielsen Company to Duncan McIntosh Co. Inc., the Irvine, Calif.-based magazine and newspaper publisher.
The announcement came exactly two weeks after the closing of E&P, the acknowledged "bible of the newspaper industry," which can trace its roots back 126 years.
Duncan McIntosh said he knew immediately when Nielsen announced in December the closing of E&P that he wanted to keep the magazine and its digital newsgathering properties going.
"Such a critical information source for a newspaper industry so desperately in need of help should not go away," McIntosh said. "I've been a reader of E&P over the course of 30 years and know its incredible value to readers and advertisers."
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Charles "Chas" McKeown, who will continue as publisher of E&P, hailed the sale and the speed and professionalism with which McIntosh and Nielsen completed the transaction. "Everyone knew what was at stake here," McKeown said. "Newspapers, which are transforming beyond the printed page to all forms of digital media, simply could not lose the one place where the industry could have a conversation with itself and exchange ideas and best practices for navigating the uncertain waters ahead, exemplified by our Interactive Media Conference which includes cable, TV, radio and other media."
Duncan McIntosh Co. Inc. is the publisher of several well-respected boating magazines and newspapers, including Boating World magazine; Sea Magazine, America's Western Boating Magazine; The Log Newspaper; and FishRap. The company also produces the Newport Boat Show in the spring and the Lido Yacht Expo in the fall. Both shows are held in California.
Mark Fitzgerald, a 26-year veteran, was named as the new E&P editor. He had most recently served as E&P's editor-at-large.
"I'm of course grateful to Duncan for stepping up to keep E&P alive, and I've been extremely impressed by the passion and energy he is bringing to this enterprise," Fitzgerald said. "I'm humbled to be leading a news organization that I've always believed produces one of the best news reports of any industry sector."
E&P's new owners announced plans to publish a February print issue and continue the monthly print publication schedule. Online reporting on its Web site began immediately on the close of the transaction Thursday, as did posting on its two blogs.
Media Contacts:
Duncan McIntosh
949.660.6150 x 211
Charles "Chas" McKeown
646.654.5120
Mark Fitzgerald
773.610.0026
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Dispatches from behind the lines
Over the past year, several of our new NIU graduates have found reporting jobs at small-town daily newspapers across the country.
Based on what they’d heard and read, I think they half-expected to find these places in ruins: dark, empty newsrooms … tumbleweeds blowing through the pressroom … the assorted journalism refugee hiding behind a stack of yellowed newspapers, swilling whiskey, snarling into a disconnected, rotary-dial phone, “Get me Rewrite!”
They’ve encountered something very different: vibrant newsrooms that still produce a printed product their communities can’t imagine living without. To be sure, there’s an empty desk here or there. The economy and the newspaper decline have taken a toll. But you hear a lot less talk in a small town about newspapers going away. You hear a whole lot more talk sparked by what's in the paper.
Newspapers remain the lifeblood of these communities whose entire populations would fit comfortably inside Wrigley Field, or even snugly into Huskie Stadium. A few months into their jobs, I offered my former students the chance to reflect on their career decisions and life far away from a big-city metro.
“Working for a small-town newspaper has really shown me what it means to be a community journalist,” said 2008 grad John Puterbaugh, a reporter and copy editor for the Daily Chronicle in DeKalb. “I also live in the community in which I work, and it’s not difficult to find that my own world is not too far detached from anyone else’s.”
He especially likes the fact that sources, readers and journalists are all neighbors – much more so than in a large city or suburbia.
“I get the feeling that connections made and relationships formed in small communities are the kinds of connections you can count on for the long run,” he said. “I guess, with a less fluid populace, it’s just easy to grow comfortable working and living in smaller communities.”
2009 grad Caitlin Mullen got a reporting job at the Sanford Herald in Sanford, N.C., a city of 29,000. Staff there has shrunk; one of the paper’s three reporting positions isn’t being refilled for now. So no one’s exactly holding pep rallies in the newsroom.
“But, I do love my job,” she said. “I enjoy talking to new people every day and building relationships in a new place. Everyone has a story. And I like small towns. Most people here are very friendly.
“I love interacting with people, and getting to tell their stories is a privilege. As long as I can do that, I’m happy.”
Giles Bruce (’09) works at the Charles City Press in the northern Iowa town of 8,000.
“My paper doesn’t have another newspaper in town to compete with, nor are their bloggers aiming for our scraps,” he said. “There’s a radio station in town, and other papers and TV stations nearby, but a lot of their Charles City news comes from us.
People here actually get their news ... from the newspaper. Not the online version or a blog or a TV station, but the actual print, hold-in-your-hands paper. That’s something I — who still read print editions — can appreciate.
“I also never thought a town of 8,000 people could support a five-day-a-week daily. I’ve lived in towns with six times the population that only had a weekly. And the folks here don't think anything of it — a paper arriving at their house every weekday morning is just how it’s always been.”
John Ranallo (’09) works for the Beloit Daily News in the Wisconsin town of 35,000. This after spending last summer interning at a weekly newspaper in Wolf Point, Mont., where the pronghorn population may outnumber the people.
“I really think small town journalism is where it’s at,” he said. “It is great to live in a town where you see the effects of your work rather than have it get buried in a larger mass of news. It is humbling to receive calls and letters from real people who care about the area they live in. I have learned that being a reporter is a very noble job – one that requires me to become actively engaged in everything I am doing, and I love it.
“I use to think I wanted to be a big metro reporter, and while I haven’t ruled it out someday, it is great to make a difference. Sometimes I think reporters don’t understand how much of a difference they can make. I never envisioned myself here, but I am glad I made it.”
Based on what they’d heard and read, I think they half-expected to find these places in ruins: dark, empty newsrooms … tumbleweeds blowing through the pressroom … the assorted journalism refugee hiding behind a stack of yellowed newspapers, swilling whiskey, snarling into a disconnected, rotary-dial phone, “Get me Rewrite!”
They’ve encountered something very different: vibrant newsrooms that still produce a printed product their communities can’t imagine living without. To be sure, there’s an empty desk here or there. The economy and the newspaper decline have taken a toll. But you hear a lot less talk in a small town about newspapers going away. You hear a whole lot more talk sparked by what's in the paper.
Newspapers remain the lifeblood of these communities whose entire populations would fit comfortably inside Wrigley Field, or even snugly into Huskie Stadium. A few months into their jobs, I offered my former students the chance to reflect on their career decisions and life far away from a big-city metro.
“Working for a small-town newspaper has really shown me what it means to be a community journalist,” said 2008 grad John Puterbaugh, a reporter and copy editor for the Daily Chronicle in DeKalb. “I also live in the community in which I work, and it’s not difficult to find that my own world is not too far detached from anyone else’s.”
He especially likes the fact that sources, readers and journalists are all neighbors – much more so than in a large city or suburbia.
“I get the feeling that connections made and relationships formed in small communities are the kinds of connections you can count on for the long run,” he said. “I guess, with a less fluid populace, it’s just easy to grow comfortable working and living in smaller communities.”
2009 grad Caitlin Mullen got a reporting job at the Sanford Herald in Sanford, N.C., a city of 29,000. Staff there has shrunk; one of the paper’s three reporting positions isn’t being refilled for now. So no one’s exactly holding pep rallies in the newsroom.
“But, I do love my job,” she said. “I enjoy talking to new people every day and building relationships in a new place. Everyone has a story. And I like small towns. Most people here are very friendly.
“I love interacting with people, and getting to tell their stories is a privilege. As long as I can do that, I’m happy.”
Giles Bruce (’09) works at the Charles City Press in the northern Iowa town of 8,000.
“My paper doesn’t have another newspaper in town to compete with, nor are their bloggers aiming for our scraps,” he said. “There’s a radio station in town, and other papers and TV stations nearby, but a lot of their Charles City news comes from us.
People here actually get their news ... from the newspaper. Not the online version or a blog or a TV station, but the actual print, hold-in-your-hands paper. That’s something I — who still read print editions — can appreciate.
“I also never thought a town of 8,000 people could support a five-day-a-week daily. I’ve lived in towns with six times the population that only had a weekly. And the folks here don't think anything of it — a paper arriving at their house every weekday morning is just how it’s always been.”
John Ranallo (’09) works for the Beloit Daily News in the Wisconsin town of 35,000. This after spending last summer interning at a weekly newspaper in Wolf Point, Mont., where the pronghorn population may outnumber the people.
“I really think small town journalism is where it’s at,” he said. “It is great to live in a town where you see the effects of your work rather than have it get buried in a larger mass of news. It is humbling to receive calls and letters from real people who care about the area they live in. I have learned that being a reporter is a very noble job – one that requires me to become actively engaged in everything I am doing, and I love it.
“I use to think I wanted to be a big metro reporter, and while I haven’t ruled it out someday, it is great to make a difference. Sometimes I think reporters don’t understand how much of a difference they can make. I never envisioned myself here, but I am glad I made it.”
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Haiti links
Three Haiti links you might share with your readers today:
People in Haiti using Twitter today: http://twitter.com/georgiap/live-from-haiti
List of charities setting up relief efforts: http://ow.ly/W8a7
Donate online to International Red Cross: http://tinyurl.com/yg6kbgw
People in Haiti using Twitter today: http://twitter.com/georgiap/live-from-haiti
List of charities setting up relief efforts: http://ow.ly/W8a7
Donate online to International Red Cross: http://tinyurl.com/yg6kbgw
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Training opportunity for reporters
From SPJ:
Print journalists with three years (or less) of professional experience are invited to apply to attend the print-based Reporters Institute. The program will be held May 23-26 at The Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Florida.
MORE
Print journalists with three years (or less) of professional experience are invited to apply to attend the print-based Reporters Institute. The program will be held May 23-26 at The Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Florida.
MORE
What Lou Grant saw
Remember the late-'70s TV show "Lou Grant"? Don Terry does, and he wrote a wonderful piece for the Columbia Journalism Review, about watching episodes of the show on his iPod after being laid off by the Chicago Tribune.... Right now I need a little help in getting past the anger, fear, and sense of loss that keep me up at night. It was watching Lou and the gang at the fictional Los Angeles Tribune that originally helped to convince me that a life in journalism was what I wanted—that it was fun and honorable and important. I’m surprised and happy after every episode at how good it feels to be back in a newsroom, even if it is only make-believe.
Monday, January 11, 2010
Coming to student journalists' defense
From the Chicago Tribune today:
Tribune, Sun-Times, NYTimes, Washington Post and others have signed on.
Full story here.
Journalistic heavy hitters lent support today to an effort to toss out a prosecutors' subpoena for notes, grades and other materials from Northwestern University journalism students, an investigator and their professor in connection with the case of a man the students argue was wrongfully convicted.
Tribune, Sun-Times, NYTimes, Washington Post and others have signed on.
Full story here.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
New NINA president looks ahead
And here's a column from incoming NINA President Mike Cetera:
The weak economy has seen our industry shed jobs, news hole and paying readers, creating a difficult atmosphere for many newsrooms. Yet these losses may have given us something as well: a unique opportunity to re-examine our mission and reinvent ourselves.
We must ask, how best can we be relevant? One answer is to redouble our efforts to hold accountable the public officials who spend taxpayers’ money.
While trained journalists perhaps are best equipped to monitor whether politicians are upholding the public trust, our industry challenges have made this calling more difficult. But we also face obstacles put up by those we cover.
At the December meeting of the Northern Illinois Newspaper Association board, I proposed we look at public information and how we get it as a broad theme for 2010. The idea was born out of a concern there has been an erosion of access.
As an example, one long-standing tool of the trade – the police scanner – may become obsolete as some police and fire departments move to more secure networks and shut out journalists in the process. When we can no longer hear about that fire, accident or arrest, can we possibly do our jobs as well?
In 2010, NINA would like to offer training sessions that address problems with access. But we need your help. Have you noticed that government layoffs have made getting your questions answered more difficult? Are local governments following FOIA laws in getting you information the public is entitled to know? Are your local boards properly following the Open Meetings Act?
Please share your experiences in these and all areas of access to help NINA make 2010 the year of open government. You can e-mail me here .
Mike Cetera, NINA’s 2010 president, is the senior interactive editor for Sun-Times Media’s Suburban West Division in Aurora.
The weak economy has seen our industry shed jobs, news hole and paying readers, creating a difficult atmosphere for many newsrooms. Yet these losses may have given us something as well: a unique opportunity to re-examine our mission and reinvent ourselves.
We must ask, how best can we be relevant? One answer is to redouble our efforts to hold accountable the public officials who spend taxpayers’ money.
While trained journalists perhaps are best equipped to monitor whether politicians are upholding the public trust, our industry challenges have made this calling more difficult. But we also face obstacles put up by those we cover.
At the December meeting of the Northern Illinois Newspaper Association board, I proposed we look at public information and how we get it as a broad theme for 2010. The idea was born out of a concern there has been an erosion of access.
As an example, one long-standing tool of the trade – the police scanner – may become obsolete as some police and fire departments move to more secure networks and shut out journalists in the process. When we can no longer hear about that fire, accident or arrest, can we possibly do our jobs as well?
In 2010, NINA would like to offer training sessions that address problems with access. But we need your help. Have you noticed that government layoffs have made getting your questions answered more difficult? Are local governments following FOIA laws in getting you information the public is entitled to know? Are your local boards properly following the Open Meetings Act?
Please share your experiences in these and all areas of access to help NINA make 2010 the year of open government. You can e-mail me here .
Mike Cetera, NINA’s 2010 president, is the senior interactive editor for Sun-Times Media’s Suburban West Division in Aurora.
NINA president looks back at 2009
Here's a column by Pete Nenni, outgoing NINA president, that will appear in our print newsletter soon:
The most challenging year in recent memory for the news media in general, and newspapers in particular, was equally as challenging for NINA board members.
Our newsrooms suffered through the same tight budgets, staff and expense cutbacks and advertising revenue declines. Our employees, like yours, scrambled to create products in print and online that would make us useful, relevant and necessary to readers. In short, we shared your pain.
Sadly, we have no magic bullet to combat the weak economy and ongoing shifts in readership.
And, like you, NINA was forced to think out of the box in 2009. Our mission was to identify different approaches to training and conveying critical information to meet the needs of our members.
Some of those efforts included:
While we sought new approaches to training and presenting information, we didn't abandon our most important traditions.
We again honored great journalism in the annual awards program, and we continued to support the future of the industry by helping high school journalists pursue their careers. NINA honored five talent high school journalists in its 12th annual scholarship competition. A total of $1,400 in scholarships was awarded.
And, that leads us to 2010.
To be sure, the New Year will be no less challenging. Our members will still be required to be vigilant in finding ways to provide meaningful coverage to communities and reach out to readers.
The NINA board, under new president Mike Cetera, will use responses to a 2009 survey of members to develop programs to help support you in the effort.
It’s an exciting time and we want you to look to NINA as a resource in meeting that challenge.
Pete Nenni, NINA’s 2009 president, is the Lake County editor of the Daily Herald in Libertyville.
The most challenging year in recent memory for the news media in general, and newspapers in particular, was equally as challenging for NINA board members.
Our newsrooms suffered through the same tight budgets, staff and expense cutbacks and advertising revenue declines. Our employees, like yours, scrambled to create products in print and online that would make us useful, relevant and necessary to readers. In short, we shared your pain.
Sadly, we have no magic bullet to combat the weak economy and ongoing shifts in readership.
And, like you, NINA was forced to think out of the box in 2009. Our mission was to identify different approaches to training and conveying critical information to meet the needs of our members.
Some of those efforts included:
- The Spring Conference, which focused on “The New Basics” and featured a panel discussion aimed at showing journalists what they can do to save and advance their career.
The Chicago Tribune’s Ray Long talked about how he uses social networking Web sites to promote his work and build audience; Barbara Vitello of the Daily Herald discussed her switch from the features desk to the courthouse and how it has made her a more valuable asset to the newspaper; and Denise Schoenbachler, dean of the Northern Illinois University College of Business, brought a business perspective about adapting to an uncertain career path. - NINA communications coordinator Jim Killam, the adviser for NIU’s daily student media, the Northern Star, expanded the use and reach of Digital Ink, NINA’s blog. There, he created and fostered discussions on some of the most pressing issues facing our industry. For the first time, NINA also offered free listings on its Web site for job seekers.
- NINA offered a Webinar training for the first time when we arranged a discounted fee for members to participate in the Poynter Institute’s NewsU Facebook for Journalists discussion. It provided insight into using the popular social networking tool.
- Recognizing the cost and time constraints facing our members, NINA changed the traditional format of our Fall Conference. Instead of a half-day training program, the event featured an evening dinner and keynote speaker George Papajohn, of the Chicago Tribune, who discussed the critical need for the media to continue its watchdog role.
While we sought new approaches to training and presenting information, we didn't abandon our most important traditions.
We again honored great journalism in the annual awards program, and we continued to support the future of the industry by helping high school journalists pursue their careers. NINA honored five talent high school journalists in its 12th annual scholarship competition. A total of $1,400 in scholarships was awarded.
And, that leads us to 2010.
To be sure, the New Year will be no less challenging. Our members will still be required to be vigilant in finding ways to provide meaningful coverage to communities and reach out to readers.
The NINA board, under new president Mike Cetera, will use responses to a 2009 survey of members to develop programs to help support you in the effort.
It’s an exciting time and we want you to look to NINA as a resource in meeting that challenge.
Pete Nenni, NINA’s 2009 president, is the Lake County editor of the Daily Herald in Libertyville.
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