DIGITAL INK

The fold

2011-09-28T10:28:00.000-05:00

Sometimes, despite our best copy editing efforts, (stuff) happens.

Opportunity for high school J teachers

2011-09-26T16:37:00.000-05:00

The Eastern Illinois University Journalism Department is partnering with the McCormick Foundation, the Illinois Press Foundation and the Illinois JEA to offer another free Multimedia Workshop for high school journalism teachers and advisers in the Southwest suburbs of Chicago Oct.14-15 at Moraine Valley Community College in Palos Hills, Ill.

In addition to free registration, we also have a limited number of stipends for substitute teachers on the Friday of the workshop on a first-come first-served basis.

For more about the workshop and a registration form go to http://www.ux1.eiu.edu/~jtidwell/Multimedia/Oct2011.pdf

2011 Fall Conference is set

2011-09-13T18:06:00.000-05:00

In a year of blizzards, tornadoes, earthquakes and hurricanes, it’s only natural to focus NINA’s Fall Conference on disaster coverage.

Kevin Wendt, editor of the Hunstville (Ala.) Times and a 2000 graduate of Northern Illinois University, will serve as keynote speaker for the Oct. 20 evening event. Wendt’s paper provided acclaimed coverage of this year’s tornadoes in northern Alabama.

In 2005, while with the San Jose Mercury News, parent company Knight Ridder sent Wendt to Columbus, Georgia, to help the Biloxi (Miss.) Sun-Herald cover Hurricane Katrina. From Columbus, Wendt helped organize the desk operation that remotely published the paper for 11 days. The coverage received a Pulitzer Prize for Public Service.

In 2001, with Wendt as a key designer, the Mercury News was named one of the five “World’s Best Designed Newspapers” by the Society for News Design. He later would serve as the paper’s assistant managing editor before departing for Huntsville in 2008.

The Oct. 20 event at NIU also features NINA’s annual awards dinner, with honors announced in 28 individual categories, plus newspaper sweepstakes awards for dailies and nondailies. Judging has been completed and contest results now are being compiled, said contest coordinator Jim Killam.

What: NINA Fall Conference and Awards Dinner

When: Thursday, Oct. 20

Time: 5:30-6:30 p.m. Social hour (cash bar); 6:30-7:15 dinner; program follows

Where: University Suite, second floor of the Holmes Student Center, NIU-DeKalb

Cost: $30 a person for dinner and program

To register online: http://www.ninaonline.org/

To register by phone or email: Contact Jim Killam at 815-753-4239 / jkillam@niu.edu

Registration deadline is Monday, Oct. 10.

Contest deadline

2011-06-29T09:09:00.000-05:00

Here's a reminder that the postmark deadline for this year's NINA contest entries is TOMORROW, June 30. You can enter either via mail or online. Full details on the NINA website. Good luck!

Combining Wordpress and Google Docs

2011-06-20T09:44:00.000-05:00

Looking for an inexpensive way to integrate online and print newspaper? This VIDEO and accompanying blog post may give you some ideas. The Bangor Daily News has come up with a combination of Google Docs and Wordpress.

Tracking our scholarship winners

2011-06-14T09:26:00.002-05:00

We’ve tracked down most of our 13 previous first-place NINA scholarship winners. Many are working in media. Here are brief updates.

2010 – Allison Prang, Bartlett High School

Allison just finished her freshman year as a journalism major at the University of Missouri. She’s been named city, state and nation editor for The Maneater, the student-run newspaper there. In April, Allison flew back to the Chicago area to attend a speech by her journalistic hero, Bob Woodward. A friend took this photo of the two of them together. It’s now Allison’s Facebook profile photo and someone even made it into a coffee mug for her.
Allison is interning this summer at the St. Louis Beacon, an online daily, and also is working for http://www.patch.com/.

2009 – Emily Busse, Prospect High School.

Emily is a student at University of Iowa, and is metro editor for the Daily Iowan.

2008 – Rebecca Krase, Deerfield High School.

Becca is studying abroad this year in Madrid, Spain. She’s working toward completing her dual-degree of communications and Spanish, and will graduate from the University of Missouri in December. In addition to studying in Spain, she’s also working as an assistant English teacher in a Madrid middle school. After graduation, she’ll be looking to get into either bilingual education or public relations for organizations that work with Chicago’s Latin American community.

2007 – Tara Grimes, Huntley High School.

Tara has been a reporter for KOMU-TV (NBC affiliate) in Columbia, Mo., the only university-owned commercial station in the U.S. She graduated in May 2011 from the University of Missouri’s School of Journalism. More at http://www.taragrimes.com/.

2006 – Erika Strebel, Glenbard North High School.

Erika is a page designer copy editor, reporter and occasional photographer at the Beloit (Wis.) Daily News. She earned her B.S. degree from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana. “It’s my first job since I graduated in December of 2009,” she says. “When I get a chance to do reporting, I usually write feature stories. I’ve roamed the pastures with alpacas, learned how to make homemade soap and even hung out a local shooting range all between designing for our daily paper and special sections.”

2005 – Whitney Wyckoff, Elk Grove High School.

Whitney has been temping the past year and a half for National Public Radio in Washington, D.C. She’s worked as an assistant producer, production assistant and editorial assistant on a variety of desks and shows, including science, digital news and Weekend Edition. “Right now, I’m a rundown editor for ‘All Things Considered,’” she writes. “As a rundown editor, I edit dacs lines (which are used by member stations as intros), write promos and coordinate the show’s Web presence.”

As a University of Illinois student, her internships included Congressional Quarterly and the Chicago Tribune’s Washington Bureau.

2004 – Kristen Sackley, Mundelein High School.

Kristen works as a sales & marketing specialist at EnvirOx, LLC, in Champaign, Ill. She handles internal and external communications, creation of marketing materials and project management. At the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, she worked three years as a reporter, designer and editor at the Daily Illini. She graduated in 2008 with a degree in advertising and now is pursing an MBA at the university.

2003 – Matt Weir, Naperville Central High School.

Information not available. We do know that Matt graduated from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University

2002 – Laurel Jorgensen, Prospect High School, Arlington Heights.

Laurel lists herself on LinkedIn.com as web editor at the American Bar Association, Chicago. Previously, she was overnight supervisor, night broadcast editor and reporter at Associated Press. She completed both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Northwestern University in four years.

2001 – Brandon Hoops, Freeport High School.

According to soulation.com, Brandon works part-time as a teaching assistant at the Columbia Missourian, and full-time as a campus missionary with Great Commission Ministries at The Rock Church. He coaches a junior high basketball team. And, he blogs at http://www.hoopshundred.com/. Brandon graduated from the University of Missouri School of Journalism in 2005.

2000 – Hannah Kenser, Joliet West High School.

Hannah (Kenser) Heck graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University in 2004 with a B.A. in Psychology. While there, she was an editor of the Harvard Crimson as well as a contributing writer to the Harvard Political Review. Upon graduation, she went to work for Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue as his criminal justice policy adviser.

“I advised the governor on criminal justice legislation and budget priorities and helped implement policies to curb methamphetamine production and use, decrease recidivism in the Georgia prison system and decrease highway traffic fatalities,” she writes.

In 2007, Hannah was asked to serve as the governor’s Director of Policy. She helped lead a staff of five advisers in all policy areas, including healthcare, transportation, education and the environment, as we developed legislative and budget initiatives and advised the governor whether to sign or veto legislation.

In 2009, she entered Emory University School of Law. This summer she’s working at the Atlanta law firm of Alston and Bird, and plans to graduate from Emory Law in 2012. She also serves on the board of the Georgia Department of Community Health, where she chairs the Care Management Committee, and is vice chairman of the board at Westside Atlanta Charter School.

1999 – Nathan Charlan, Johnsburg High School.

Nathan is director of development and executive producer at Warm Springs Productions, Missoula, Mont. He creates new concepts for television series, casts for new talent/characters, creates television show formats, writes treatments for television series, field produces/directs shoots, and ultimately pitches series ideas to TV networks.

He and his wife, Renee, have a 4-year-old son, Zachary, with spastic quadriplegia Cerebral Palsy. Zachary is the inspiration behind them creating Exceptional Family TV, a website that focuses on raising special-needs children. They live in Arvada, Colo.

1998 – Laura Kuhn, Dixon High School.

Laura lists herself on LinkedIn.com as a professional copywriter and editor at Professional Medical, Inc., and also a freelance copy editor and proofreader at Triumph Books. She graduated from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

And our 2011 scholarship winners are ...

2011-05-27T11:06:00.001-05:00

Student journalists from Prospect, Evanston Township and Rolling Meadows high schools were honored by NINA in the 14th annual Northern Illinois High School Journalist of the Year Scholarship competition.

A total of $2,050 in scholarships was awarded, including $1,800 from NINA and $250 from The Daily Herald.

The annual scholarship competition is open to graduating high school seniors in northern Illinois. NINA presents the scholarships to high school students who demonstrate the standards of honesty, integrity, attention to detail, hard work, creativity and an understanding and commitment to quality journalism.

Applicants submit an autobiographical essay, letters of recommendation and a portfolio of their work.

John Etheredge, NINA scholarship coordinator, said the association has received nearly 500 applications for scholarships since the association first offered a single scholarship award in 1998.

“Each year our judges enjoy examining the students’ portfolios and, as in prior years, they were impressed with the high quality of the students’ work and their passion to pursue careers in journalism,” Etheredge said. “Our judges found it extremely difficult to select the top three portfolios for this year’s scholarship awards.”

NINA and its member papers have awarded a total of $20,500 in scholarships since 1998.

Despite the economic downturn, the NINA Board voted earlier this year to increase its annual contribution to this year’s scholarship program by $300. Revenues for the scholarship program come from NINA member dues and proceeds from NINA training seminars and programs.

“I would like to thank my colleagues on the NINA Board for their increased support for this year’s scholarship program and to The Daily Herald for its continuing support and assistance,” Etheredge said.

And the winners are ...

First place: Gina O’Neill, Prospect High School

O’Neill has been a member of the staff at Prospect High School’s “Prospector” newspaper for the past three years. She served as editor of the paper’s Opinion section her junior year and this year as copy editor.

In selecting O’Neill for the top scholarship award, NINA judges were impressed with her concise and compelling writing on a broad range of difficult and, at times, controversial topics, including teen suicide, student drug use and the separation of church and state.

O’Neill’s skill as a copy editor was also evident to NINA judges who took note of the high quality of The Prospector.

In a letter of recommendation, Jason Block, O’Neill’s journalism instructor, noted that O’Neill has “contributed in every way possible” to the Prospector over the past three years.

Block wrote of O’Neill: “In addition to being a gifted writer who is willing to take risks, Gina is also a gifted leader who is willing to do anything to help those working under her succeed. She is one of the most patient editors I have ever been around, spending countless hours walking a younger staff member through a story in order to get that story up to Gina’s very high standards.”

Block added: “Gina has not allowed all of her responsibilities as copy editor to distract her from writing amazing stories of her own. She tackles large topics like drug use at our school and traffic issues, and handles them with a maturity rare for a high school journalist. And she manages all of this while also holding a demanding part-time job, never allowing her grades to slip in the process.”

“I’ve grown to love reporting, editing and even layout just as much as the writing,” O’Neill wrote in her autobiographical essay. “I’ve learned to respect what reporting stands for; I’ve seen how stories can not only inform others but affect their lives as well. When I wrote a story about drug usage in school, it did not spark controversy with the administration. Rather, people respect how well we informed the school of this issue. After writing a story on teen suicide, several teachers showed me their appreciation for bringing that topic to light. I’ve seen how thankful and touched the wife of a late Marine was after we ran a story of his passing and what being a member of a military family entails. That’s why I want to purse a career in journalism.”

O’Neill noted that The Prospector transitioned to the web last year while retaining its print edition.

“As copy editor I had to learn to break out of the normal, three-draft routine of editing in order to work with writers efficiently for online stories.”

Describing herself as The Prospector’s “resident grammar diva,” O’Neill said, “I have learned so much about AP style and editing in general, and I know how to pace myself and focus when reading 24 stories an issue, three times each.”

O’Neill plans to major in journalism with an emphasis on print and online reporting at either DePaul University or Northwestern University. She received a total scholarship award of $1,200: $1,000 from NINA and $200 from The Daily Herald.

Second place: Meredith Newman, Evanston Township High School

In selecting Newman for a second place scholarship award, NINA judges took notice of her excellent writing and eye for detail as shown in her work as an executive editor for her school’s student paper, The Evanstonian.

Newman has been on the newspaper’s staff the past three years, excelling as a news reporter and editor.

Judges were also impressed with feature stories Newman has written for her hometown paper, The Evanston RoundTable.

Rodney Lowe, a journalism instructor for almost 30 years and faculty adviser to The Evanstonian, said Newman’s “continuous, tireless” work ethic alone warrants a scholarship award.

In a letter of recommendation, Lowe wrote of Newman: “She is committed, hardworking and compassionate. Moreover, Meredith is conscientious and tenacious. You should know that she has set some lofty goals for herself and these goals, in my professional opinion, are in reach.”

In her autobiographic essay, Newman said she was inspired to pursue a career in journalism partly because of the influence of Lowe and a feature story she wrote early in her high school journalism career on a classmate, Kelly Chong. Kelly’s mother died when she was 3 years old and Kelly has since lived in 15 different foster homes.

Newman wrote, “While writing Kelly’s story, I realized that if I became a journalist, I would be able to share important stores like Kelly’s with others…A career in journalism will allow me to write people’s untold stories.

Newman received a $500 scholarship from NINA. She will attend Syracuse University this fall.

Third place: Alexandria Johnson, Rolling Meadows High School

NINA judges picked Johnson for a third-place scholarship based on the high quality of her work for The Pacer, the student newspaper at Rolling Meadows High School.

“Accomplished” is the word one NINA judge used to describe Johnson’s work, while another said her passion for journalism was clearly evident in her portfolio.

In recommending Johnson for a scholarship Stan Zoller, a journalism instructor and Pacer adviser, wrote: “It’s not unusual for a scholastic journalist to excel at design or editing. It’s also not unusual for a high school journalist to be the proverbial editorial leader or outstanding writer. What sets Alexandria apart is that she is exemplary in all of the aforementioned areas and more.”

Zoller added: “As I reflect on Alexandria’s four years in journalism…it is clear that her passion, leadership, motivation and quest for excellence is unsurpassed.”

In her autobiographical essay, Johnson said she has worked to create an improved standard of journalism at Rolling Meadows High School.

“There is nothing I would rather dedicate my life to; journalism makes me feel powerful, confident and important,” she wrote. “To have the opportunity to work on a prominent newspaper and share my words and my voice with millions would be one of the great honors to be accomplished.”

Johnson will continue her journalism education at Northwestern University this fall. She received a total scholarship award of $350: $300 from NINA and $50 from The Daily Herald.

The stories we're missing

2011-05-26T13:41:00.000-05:00

On a recent trip to Lebanon, a friend and I got to spend time in Bourj Hammoud – a crowded, lower-class community bordering Beirut.

It’s a true melting-pot neighborhood. Armenians, Egyptians, Syrians and Kurds – many undocumented – live in concrete, high-rise apartments, above a cacophony of markets, small shops and traffic spewing diesel fumes.

About 60 people packed into a tiny storefront for Sunday-evening church. Afterwards, as journalists, we could interview anyone we wanted (with the aid of interpreters). Every person in the room, it seemed, had a compelling story. We ended up writing about:

A Syrian music-store owner who fled to Lebanon rather than face continued government oppression over the kinds of CDs he was selling;
A Lebanese man who left a lucrative business career in Abu Dhabi to come live in Bourj Hammoud and train to be a pastor;
And a Sudanese pastor who watched his brother be murdered for his Christian faith, and who now lives and ministers among the people who killed him.

Every person has a story, and those stories are worth telling. Good journalism schools have emphasized that maxim for generations. For all of these people, this was the first time their stories had ever been written. That’s as true in my own neighborhood as it is in a place like Bourj Hammoud. Yet, as an industry we’re missing them.

As newsrooms have shrunk, the must-cover beats – government, cops/courts and, to some extent, business – have crowded out all else. Newspapers still have features, but they’re usually confined to the Lifestyles or Entertainment pages and the reporting is necessarily shallow. Time and competing demands don’t allow for anything more.

Walt Harrington opened his wonderful 1997 textbook, “Intimate Journalism,” with this quote from historian Will Durant:

“Civilization is a stream with banks. The stream is sometimes filled with blood from people killing, stealing, shouting and doing the things historians usually record; while on the banks, unnoticed, people build homes, make love, raise children, sing songs, write poetry and even whittle statues. The story of civilization is the story of what happened on the banks.”

Newspapers today are still doing a decent job of covering the stream. We’re doing a lousy job of covering the banks. As we search our industry’s soul for areas where we can continue to excel – and that readers can’t get anywhere else – we ignore great feature writing at our peril.

Harrington wrote:

“The stories of everyday life – about the behavior, motives, feelings, faiths, attitudes, grievances, hopes, fears and accomplishments of people as they seek meaning and purpose in their lives, stories that are windows on our universal human struggle – should be at the soul of every good newspaper.”

As our industry collectively neglects these great stories, another problem arises: We are forgetting how to write them. A generation of new reporters can deliver a live story from a press conference with a series of Tweets, but has never written a compelling, 30-inch feature story.

The formula is simple. Jon Franklin outlined it in “Writing For Story”: “A story consists of a sequence of actions that occur when a sympathetic character encounters a complicating situation that he confronts and solves.”

Simpler yet: Characters. Conflict. Resolution. Redemption. That’s every good novel, every good TV drama, every good movie. Fellow journalists: We can do this. We need to do this.

At a Rockford coffee shop the other day, a guy named Ray struck up a conversation with me. A former master machinist in a town where those are almost extinct, he’s looking for full-time employment. He fills his days by fixing cars and computers for friends, doing odd jobs and hanging out at the coffee shop. There, he talks with staffers and customers about everything from theology to martial arts. And he surfs the web on his laptop, watching videos about ancient astronauts and intelligent life on Mars.

Shadowing someone like Ray for a day or two would produce a wonderful feature story. He is a face of the Rust Belt: a brilliant, supremely talented technician whose skills are no longer valued in the town where he’s lived his whole life. So, for now, he’s constructed a life that pays the bills, he cares about people and he’s a central character in this neighborhood. Yet, he’s the kind of guy that a passerby would dismiss without a second thought.

He’s also the kind of guy that newspapers don’t have time to write about anymore.

So, here’s my plea to reporters: Develop an eye for stories like this. Write one per month. Here’s my plea to editors: Let them. Carve time, even if it means missing a government meeting once in a while. And then devote serious space for these stories.

Reporters and editors: This will stoke creativity that you forgot you had. You’ll remember a big reason you got into this business. And your readers will remember, or discover anew, the value of a great newspaper.

2011 NINA contest

2011-05-13T15:22:00.000-05:00

Information about NINA's annual competition -- including rules, entry forms and a link to submit entries online -- is now posted to our website, http://www.ninaonline.org/. Entry deadline is June 30.

We'll be sending the same information by mail to members in the next week.

Good luck!

High school photojournalism winners

2011-05-02T10:56:00.001-05:00

Here are the winning images shot by high school photojournalists Saturday during the IHSA Journalism Sectional held at NIU. Students turned in their best three images, captured that morning on campus. These three students qualified for this Friday's state competition in Charleston.

Full sectional results can be found at the IHSA site.

First place: Jordan Geigle, Huntley

Howard Eckdahl, a grad student, prepares for a concert. He is finishing an afternoon rehearsal with the concert choir. They concert will be held, along with this rehearsal, in the Music Building.

Katie Mccarcy (front) and her friend BriAnna Bedi laugh as a gust of wind blows their hair. Leaning along the bridge outside of the library, they take pictures of geese below in the water. They spent the afternoon wandering the campus until the carnival starts at 1 p.m.

Andrew Reeves studies in a quiet corner of the library. He is taking his last chance this afternoon to review before his final on Monday. Reeves is studying Electrical Engineering.

Second place: Chelsea Hearyman, Stillman Valley

Using all their strength, one of the fraternity groups from NIU tries to pull their opponent to their side. The fraternities participate in an annual "tug" war every spring. The tug grounds were located next to the Huskie Stadium.

In the awakening of spring, an ambitious squirrel munches on its leftover stock from the winter. It was April 30th, and the signs of spring were becoming more apparent on the NIU campus. The squirrel was resting in a tree near the Visitors Center.

On the last Saturday of April, students wander out of the library and venture around the campus. The Holmes Student Center is located across from the library. Students like to go to the center to eat lunch with their friends.

Third place: Amon Rizvi, Bartlett

Motorcycle instructor, David Gordan, teaches and conducts NIU students about motorcycle safety through his driving obstacle course on April 30, behind the convocation center.

Jyne Bruce works on her Chicago bears laptop while she sells sports merchandise during DeKalb County’s largest garage sale, the Convo’s Colossal Clean Sweep on April 30, in the Convocation center. Bruce has been a bears fan since she was a young girl and has been selling sports merchandise for over a year.

NIU’s tugs team stretches before their final competition on April 30, outside of Huskie Stadium. Tugs has been around since the 1960s and is competed in mud filled trenches.

Discounted webinar for writers

2011-04-28T10:22:00.001-05:00

NINA members can get a 25-percent discount next Thursday, May 5, for the Poynter Institute's webinar, "How to Use Detail in Your Writing." So, instead of the $29.95 advertised price, you pay just $22.46. The webinar will last an hour and 15 minutes. The instructor is Steven Gray, Washington correspondent for TIME magazine.

Contact me for the discount code. You have to register prior to the 1 p.m. CDT start time to receive the discount. But, once you've signed up for the live event, you also get automatic access to the replay, which will be available by May 10, allowing you to watch as often as you want, whenever you want.

In the Year 2000 ...

2011-04-27T14:17:00.000-05:00

Watch this Knight Ridder video from 1994, about how newspapers, by the turn of the century, would migrate to tablet devices that look a lot like the iPad. Then the web happened.

First vs. Fair

2011-04-27T12:22:00.000-05:00

The Rockford Register Star published results today of a four-month investigation into allegations about the city's (now departing) school superintendent. These allegations stemmed from a long letter written to the superintendent by a departing administrator. A weekly newspaper in Rockford, The Rock River Times, FOIA'd for the letter, received it several months ago and immediately published it. The Register Star -- in the face of critics that said it was protecting the superintendent -- chose not to publish it until allegations could be checked out.

Here's Register Star executive editor Linda Grist Cunningham's accompanying blog post about how the paper approached this thorny ethical issue.

And here's the letter in question, turned by the Register Star into an interactive graphic where all of the serious charges are footnoted.

Tricky stuff. By the time the paper's investigation was finished and published, the superintendent had resigned -- her last day is this Saturday. And anyone who wanted to see the letter had already seen it on the Rock River Times website.

In the face of all that, the Register Star stuck to its journalistic principles and had the story last ... but probably best.

A sticky ethical issue

2011-04-04T11:32:00.000-05:00

Repeating a semi-annual complaint: Those sticker ads on the front pages of newspapers are annoying enough. But political ads plasted across a newspaper's flag, saying "Vote for John Doe," really ought to trigger ethical alarm bells.

That's not too idealistic, is it?

Let's remember why we're here

2011-03-28T13:52:00.000-05:00

Financial woes can’t obscure
reasons we became journalists

By Wally Haas

Remember why you first became a journalist? For some of us it was because we loved to write, or we loved to read or we loved working with words or because we believed stories that appeared in a daily newspaper could make a difference in people’s lives.

We need to remember when we first walked into a newsroom, when we thought we were kings and queens of the information world. Remember your first big story, or remember that first election night when the adrenaline rush of working under deadline pressure gave you a high unlike any other.

We got into this business because we loved it and newspapers will survive because dedicated journalists believe in what they do.

Consider all the options available to a new journalist. There’s video, audio, blogging, texting, more ways to deliver information than ever before. We should celebrate that and not dwell on dwindling circulation numbers for our print products. People are reading us in different ways. We still make a difference.

No one knows what 2011 will bring. Early indications are that it won’t be pretty. Good journalists are leaving the business because they can no longer be confident that a paycheck will be there at the end of the week. We just saw another round of furloughs that affect our friends in the Gannett Company. Job security is at an all-time low.

We can’t ignore the financial realities that face us, but we can’t let them paralyze us either. In 2011 we can resolve to be the best journalists we can be, to serve our readers whether they pick up a print product or access us online. We can learn to use all the tools to inform, entertain and educate.

The Northern Illinois Newspaper Association is here to help journalists no matter their level of experience. We design workshops to help you learn the skills needed to be a 21st century information provider.

What journalists do is important.

By remaining dedicated to our craft, we give people the information they need to go about their lives.

We can’t forget that.

2011 NINA President Wally Haas is editorial page editor of the Rockford Register Star.

Redistricting: A Primer for Journalists

2011-03-28T13:34:00.002-05:00

April 15 conference will help you
help your readers

Register online HERE

How does legislative redistricting work? How does it impact your community? And how can journalists monitor and question the process, and then involve their readers in the conversation?

With the redistricting process affecting all of Illinois in 2011, the Northern Illinois Newspaper Association is working with the Citizen Advocacy Center to help journalists learn about the process and how to explain to readers why they should care.

Redistricting will be the focus of NINA’s Spring Conference April 15 at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb. This important issue will help shape communities for the next decade.

“Redistricting might seem like government gibberish, but it’s going to determine the kind of elected representation your community will receive,” said Wally Haas, NINA president. “Journalists need to understand this process and help educate their readers. It will be well worth your time to attend the conference.”

The morning’s main speaker is slated to be Terry Pastika, executive director and community lawyer for the Citizen Advocacy Center, based in Elmhurst. Pastika last spoke to NINA journalists in 2010 at a session about Illinois’ new Freedom of Information law.

NINA Spring Conference
Friday, April 15, 2011

Schedule:
8:45-9 a.m. Check-in
9 a.m. - noon Program

Where: Blackhawk Annex, lower floor of Holmes Student Center, NIU-DeKalb. MAP.

Cost: $15. Includes light breakfast.

Parking: Please park in the NIU visitor lot, off Lincoln Highway and Carroll Avenue. Cost is $5.

To register: Contact Jim Killam, 815-753-4239. Or, register online HERE:

Registration deadline is April 7. Payment may be made at the door.

Working blue on the copy desk

2011-03-07T16:44:00.000-06:00

A college paper (not mine, thankfully) recently ran a writer's byline, and the affiliation line beneath it said: "Bad Motherf-----." Only it didn't use dashes.

Our paper did once do a top-of-page-1 promo for a story about the horse-slaughtering plant in DeKalb. The designer needed a generic photo of a horse, so he grabbed one from AP and used it. Unfortunately, that horse was Barbaro, the Kentucky Derby winner who had shattered his leg and had just been euthanized.

At one paper I worked for, on the day musician Lawrence Welk died, a designer did a space-filler cutline that said: "Welk cutline here. Welkie welkie welkie cutline cutline cutline here here here." And of course it ran.

What's the worst / funniest thing that's ever made it into your paper unintentionally?

Grammar? Style? Punctuation? LOL

2011-02-25T11:58:00.001-06:00

These are notes and links from Jim Killam's session, "Grammar? Style? Punctuation? LOL." The session will be part of NIU's New Ideas in English conference, on Monday, Feb. 28, 2011.

Journalists may enjoy some of these links, too.

Jim's Powerpoint file

Links

NBC news report

Guy reading bad grammar in online comments

Newsroom 101 exercises – grammar, style, punctuation, usage

The 20 most common grammar errors

"What Happens in Vagueness Stays in Vagueness"

Dave Barry's "Ask Mister Language Person"

Protocol for a Free & Responsible Student News Media

Grammar lessons from "Louie, Louie"

“Decyphering Teens” video

Video interview: “The Dumbest Generation” author Mark Bauerlein

Shorter interview w. same author

NIU and the value of remembrance

2011-02-14T17:03:00.002-06:00

Three years after the NIU shootings, I heard some sentiment today that it’s time for the university, and the Northern Star, to scale back on these yearly remembrances and move forward.

Agreed. But I think sometimes in our desire to put an awful event behind us, we forget about the value of remembering, and teaching future generations.

Several thousand students, faculty, staff and community members gathered for a brief memorial ceremony this afternoon outside Cole Hall. With the building finally undergoing renovations and a facelift after sitting empty for three years since the shootings, President John Peters remarked that the construction signals “a sense of renewal and a resolve to move forward.”

Before the procession, I heard groups of students talking quietly about where they were when the shootings happened, and what they experienced. Other, younger students stood respectfully and quietly. For a supposedly narcissistic generation that cares little about history, these were good moments.

At the Northern Star today, a framed photo of shooting victim Dan Parmenter and a bouquet of flowers graced a table near the advertising department, where Dan worked. It was an ordinary day, but the reminder was front and center. Uncomfortable, but right.

Before the ceremony outside Cole, a student who was wounded in the shootings stopped by the Star to say hello. He had ended up being a Star reporter last year, right before he graduated, and always impressed me as someone who had made peace with the whole experience. He works in another state now but wanted to be here today for the ceremony. To him, there’s value in taking time to remember what happened. Not to wallow in it, but to acknowledge its significance. That strikes me as a healthy approach.

Several other Northern Star students, past and present, were in that Cole classroom when the shootings happened. They’ve spoken, both publicly and privately, about how surviving that day gave renewed meaning to how they want to live their lives.

It’s not about reliving the terrible, vivid memories so many of us have. It’s simply about taking a few moments, once a year, to remember. Yet, I can understand why some student journalists who have been here for four years experienced a relapse in recent days of what experts call “event fatigue.” For them, these stories require a lot more than a few moments.

“I cannot wait to not write about this any more,” one reporter told me this afternoon.

We both understood that sentiment. The reality is, though, that she probably will, in one form or another. Feb. 14, 2008, does not define any of us at NIU, but it is forever a part of us all.

And it’s OK to be OK with that.

Nominate someone for Illinois Journalist of the Year

2011-02-09T09:43:00.002-06:00

NIU seeks nominations for the 2011 Illinois Journalist of the Year. You can nominate someone online HERE.

The award is presented annually by the Department of Communication of Northern Illinois University 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 an Illinois mass medium, or an Illinois resident associated with a national medium serving the people of Illinois, is eligible to receive the award.

A panel of judges consisting of the chair of the Department of Communication, members of its faculty, and student presidents of appropriate journalism organizations at NIU will consider all nominations and choose the award winner.

Nomination deadline is Feb. 28, 2011. The award will be presented at NIU’s 2011 Journalism Banquet in April. A scholarship also will be presented in the recipient’s name to a deserving journalism student.

Past winners:

Mike Royko, 1972, Chicago Daily News

Clayton Kirkpatrick, 1973, Chicago Tribune
Walter Jacobson, 1974, WBBM-TV, Chicago
Ralph Otwell, 1975, Chicago Sun-Times
Karl Monroe, 1976, Collinsville Herald
Lois Wille, 1977, Chicago Daily News
Roger Hedges, 1978, Gannett News Service
Pamela Zekman, 1979, Chicago Sun-Times
Bill Kurtis, 1980, WBBM-TV, Chicago
John Whiteside, 1981, Joliet Herald-News
Anne Cusack, 1982, Chicago Tribune
John H. Johnson, 1983, Johnson Publishing
Gary Watson, 1984, Rockford Register Star
Marx Gibson, 1985, Kankakee Daily Journal
William O'Connell, 1986, Peoria Journal Star
John Callaway, 1987, WTTW, Chicago
Carol Marin, 1988, WMAQ-TV, Chicago
Dan Miller, 1989, Crain Communications
Reynold Hertel, 1990, Joliet Herald-News
Clarence Page, 1991, Chicago Tribune
Colleen Dishon, 1992, Chicago Tribune
Paul Hogan, 1993, WMAQ-TV, Chicago
John Hultman, 1994, WBBM-AM, Chicago
Bob Greene, 1995, Chicago Tribune
Jack Higgins, 1996, Chicago Sun-Times
William Shaw, 1997, The Telegraph, Dixon
Phil Ponce, 1998, Chicago Tonight, Channel 11
Linda Grist Cunningham, 1999, Rockford Register Star
Doug Ray, 2000, Daily Herald
Ken Armstrong and Steve Mills, 2001, Chicago Tribune
John Drury, 2002, WLS-TV, Chicago
Chuck Goudie, 2003, WLS-TV, Chicago
Tim Novak and Steve Warmbir, 2004, Chicago Sun-Times
Jonathan K. Whitney, 2005, Carroll County Review
John Foreman, 2006, The News Gazette, Champaign
Olga Gize Carlisle, 2007, The Journal Standard, Freeport
Scott Strazzante, 2008, Chicago Tribune
Bob Frisk, 2009, Daily Herald
Jodi S. Cohen, 2010, Chicago Tribune

Scholarships for graduating high-school seniors

2011-01-24T11:52:00.000-06:00

Please remind high-school journalism advisers in your area about NINA's annual scholarship competition for graduating seniors. We have a mailing going out this week, but application materials are available online now at http://www.ninaonline.org/.

Smartpen for reporters

2011-01-04T15:33:00.000-06:00

Has anybody experimented yet with this product -- the Livescribe Echo Smartpen? Much as I'd love to have an iPad, this gadget seems like it could be an even more useful -- and basic -- tool for reporters. Used in tandem with a special notebook filled with dotted paper, the pen records everything you write. Here's the best part: You can tap the pen on any word in your notes, and the recorder plays back the audio from the point that you wrote that word.

I've talked with a couple of writers who use these and they swear by them.

A Wired.com reviewer writes:

"And for college students and journalists in particular, the Pencast option is quite simply a Godsend. Simply hit the record icon on the included paper and start taking notes as you usually would. Once you’ve finished the lecture/meeting/interview, you can not only replay the entire recording, but also instantly move from one section to another by simply tapping on a specific note. The pen will automatically play back the audio from that precise moment. This has the obvious benefit of helping you navigate long, meandering lectures, but it also frees you up to write random or tangential thoughts without the fear of missing important information."

Take a look at the available apps, too, including dictionaries and translators. Here's the video on the company's site.

The pen comes in 4 GB and 8 GB capacities, and lists on Amazon for between $157 and $174. Best Buy, Target and a few other stories also sell them. The notebooks come in various sizes. Basically, a four-pack of 100-sheet, spiral notebooks runs about $20.

If you've used one of these for journalism, let us know what you think of it. Is it worth the price?

Another loss for Illinois citizens

2011-01-03T09:32:00.001-06:00

Legislature fails to protect transparency and the rights of taxpayers

By Jay Dickerson
Galena Gazette

Like knowing your tax dollars are being spent wisely? You’re in the wrong state.

Performance evaluations of all public employees in Illinois are now exempt from public disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) after both the House and the Senate voted to override Gov. Quinn’s amendatory veto of House Bill 5154. Quinn’s amendatory veto narrowed the exemption to law enforcement personnel.

The Senate voted Dec. 1 to override the governor’s veto, making all evaluations of public employees exempt. The House also voted in favor of the override, on Nov. 16.

The Illinois Press Association still believes that the evaluations of all public employees whose salaries are funded entirely by taxpayer dollars should be accessible to the public. Before the override veto, the FOIA stated, “The disclosure of information that bears on the public duties of public employees and officials shall not be considered an invasion of personal privacy.”

“The law couldn’t be any clearer,” said Josh Sharp, director of government relations for the IPA. “Nothing bears more clearly on the public duties of public employees than their performance.”

In arguing that all evaluations of public employees should be kept from the light of public scrutiny, the Illinois Municipal League wrote: “Performance reviews are simply not documents that are designed to be distributed to a broad audience … these reviews are rife with personal and private information that could be harmful to individuals if disclosed.”

The Illinois Municipal League also wrote that the Freedom of Information Act “reduces the use of performance evaluations as a tool for the efficient management of communities. Communities need the ability to communicate honestly and openly with their employees concerning job performance. This need outweighs the need for the public to review routine employment matters.”

I disagree. So should you.

I believe that government should be transparent. And so should you.

Claiming something is a personnel issue gives far too wide of an exemption that may be misused. You don’t need to look any further than Jo Daviess County for an example.

In Jo Daviess County, several years ago, there was an issue with a county employee in an administrative position. At the time, a number of county employees who worked underneath this administrator shared their concerns with the Gazette. They alleged this administrator was misusing his position, and making it difficult for other employees to serve the public. He was fostering an environment of distrust. People were concerned about their continued employment.

After learning of the troubles with this employee, the county board did act. The county board gave the administrator a list of goals to accomplish, and ways to improve. When The Gazette tried to receive the goals through the Freedom of Information Act, the Gazette was denied: the Gazette was told the list of goals was personnel-related, and therefore, exempt to public scrutiny.

A list of goals for a public servant to accomplish, but the public is not allowed to know what those goals are? It doesn’t seem right. Taxpayers should be offended that goal-setting is considered a personnel issue.

This was more than just a “routine employment matter,” as the Illinois Municipal League might argue. This was about openness, and transparency. This was about a public servant misusing his position.

Only weeks later, this individual was fired by the county board, but not before each county department head spoke to the county board in a closed session. The Gazette also learned that this administrator had a history difficulties at his previous job in Wisconsin as well, culminating in a physical altercation with an alderman. And Wisconsin does not have the same personnel exemption that Illinois does.

Incidentally, a physical altercation with an alderman also should not be exempt from public scrutiny.

I believe taxpayers have the right to know how their tax dollars are being spent. I believe you have the right to know how people paid with those same tax dollars are doing their job–at the very least, if they are meeting their goals.

We live in a state of entitlement, where some public servants feel their actions are above public scrutiny.

We live in a state that has seen four governors in the past 35 years see prison time.

We live in a state where we need transparency, now more than ever.

We don’t need another level of secrecy.

The public needs to know that an employee paid with tax dollars is doing his or her job effectively. This override took away that right from every taxpayer in the state.

"So you want to be a journalist"

2010-12-16T10:47:00.000-06:00

Want to work for the New York Times someday? Watch this

What would Joseph Stallion do?

2010-11-16T13:38:00.000-06:00

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.

Your feedback wanted

2010-11-01T10:57:00.000-05:00

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 .

NINA contest winners announced

2010-10-21T11:09:00.000-05:00

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.

If the motto fits ...

2010-10-12T13:34:00.000-05:00

Not much I can add to this ...

Conference registration deadline is today

2010-10-11T10:36:00.000-05:00

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.

Register by Monday for Fall Conference

2010-10-06T17:00:00.000-05:00

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 Case for Teaching Journalism

2010-10-06T10:29:00.000-05:00

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.

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

Student Press Law Center, Arlington, Va.

Fall Conference set for Oct. 20

2010-09-20T10:21:00.000-05:00

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.

Wanted: Your watchdog ideas

2010-09-13T13:47:00.000-05:00

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

2010-09-13T10:05:00.000-05:00

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

A Free and Responsible Student Press

2010-09-10T09:01:00.001-05:00

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.

Panel: Watchdog Journalism Survives, But Fewer Are Doing It

2010-07-22T14:10:00.001-05:00

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:

“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.”

Survey: Watchdog journalism at your paper

2010-07-06T15:35:00.002-05:00

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.

Scholarship winners

2010-06-01T10:35:00.001-05:00

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.

NINA Board member Kathy Gresey presents the second-place plaque and scholarship check to Rolling Meadows High School senior Jimmy Hibsch on May 28. Also pictured are James Kane (far left), assistant city editor of the Daily Herald; and RMHS journalism adviser Stan Zoller (far right). The Daily Herald also provided Hibsch with scholarship money.

Full story on our scholarship winners

NINA summer newsletter

2010-05-24T13:44:00.000-05:00

NINA's Summer 2010 newsletter is online.

High school journalists honored

2010-05-24T13:38:00.000-05:00

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.

Chicago panel to discuss watchdog journalism

2010-05-21T10:16:00.000-05:00

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:

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.

Space is limited. Please RSVP by June 14 to Dirk Johnson.

Support journalism's future: Pay your interns

2010-05-20T13:00:00.000-05:00

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.

Go, Wolpfack!

2010-05-20T09:49:00.000-05:00

Dyslexics of the world, untie!

What Illinois' new FOIA means to journalists

2010-05-17T12:10:00.000-05:00

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:

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.

Public-private economic development corporations are not subject to FOIA, Pastika said, but from municipalities reporters can request records of all communications with those corporations, plus documents and contracts. Articles of incorporation and tax filings also are obtainable.

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.

Snappy headlines and prized keywords

2010-05-17T11:58:00.000-05:00

Great NY Times column Sunday about writing web headlines that appeal to search engines.

2010 NINA contest announced

2010-05-11T10:51:00.001-05:00

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!

High school photo winners

2010-04-26T12:21:00.001-05:00

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

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.

Senior Christian Plott checks out a book at the Founders Memorial Library for a final paper before he graduates.

Third place: Isabel Diaz De Leon, Rockford East

Valeria Diaz De Leon, high school student, works on her assignment for the IHSA Journalism Sectionals.

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.

Register today for NINA Spring Conference

2010-04-16T10:56:00.000-05:00

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.

You want access. They've got answers

2010-03-25T12:01:00.000-05:00

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.

Sun shines on city councils, too

2010-03-25T11:54:00.000-05:00

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:

“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.

Yes, those names are public

2010-03-19T16:15:00.000-05:00

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.

Discount on Design Webinar

2010-03-19T15:58:00.000-05:00

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.

Beautiful women make skateboarding more dangerous

2010-03-16T15:23:00.000-05:00

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.

Censoring the censorship debate

2010-03-16T10:31:00.000-05:00

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.

Study: Powerful people are better liars

2010-03-15T14:27:00.000-05:00

Interesting story from MSNBC. A study shows that people in power make better liars. Good reading for journalists.

"There's nothing here but words"

2010-03-11T13:00:00.000-06:00

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

2010-03-11T12:46:00.000-06:00

The Pew Research Center has released its latest research about the millennial generation. Fascinating stuff.

How come no one thought of this before?

2010-03-10T14:38:00.000-06:00

More impact from the newspaper industry's decline, from The Onion.

No secret candidates

2010-03-08T10:37:00.000-06:00

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 ...

Closed minds?

2010-03-04T10:57:00.000-06:00

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.

Your own private sports writer

2010-03-03T09:45:00.000-06:00

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.

Authors speaking Thursday in Chicago

2010-03-01T10:16:00.001-06:00

Robert McChesney and John Nichols, authors of the fascinating new book, “The Death and Life of American Journalism,” are speaking at two different venues in Chicago this Thursday, March 4.

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.

Explaining Illinois' mess

2010-02-23T09:35:00.002-06:00

For background info about why Illinois is in such a financial mess, www.illinoisisbroke.com is a good resource for journalists.

More Webinars, more discounts

2010-02-18T09:53:00.002-06:00

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)

Facebook NINA / Webinar discount

2010-02-17T16:03:00.003-06:00

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."

Including the majestic moose

2010-02-15T14:19:00.002-06:00

For the journalist who wants to get away from it all: Iceland may become an international safe haven for investigative reporting.

Illinois Journalist of the Year

2010-02-04T10:22:00.002-06:00

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.

Radio silence

2010-02-03T18:28:00.004-06:00

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."

Those #%*! sticker ads

2010-02-01T16:59:00.004-06:00

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.

Fun newspaper ad

2010-01-28T09:20:00.002-06:00

Here's a fun video ad for a newspaper in Finland.

Sifting through it all

2010-01-27T21:18:00.003-06:00

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.

Winter newsletter is here

2010-01-27T17:01:00.002-06:00

NINA's Winter 2010 newsletter will be mailed soon, but it's available here now.

iPad

2010-01-27T15:04:00.003-06:00

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.

Secret candidates

2010-01-26T11:48:00.003-06:00

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?

Flaming Kindle

2010-01-26T11:19:00.003-06:00

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.

Twitter's shortcomings

2010-01-25T13:27:00.002-06:00

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

2010-01-25T10:12:00.003-06:00

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.

Apple's tablet and newspapers

2010-01-21T12:53:00.001-06:00

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."

Twitter helps Haiti

2010-01-15T10:31:00.001-06:00

Twitter campaign has raised $5 million for the Red Cross, $10 at a time through text messages this week. Story.

Editor & Publisher lives!

2010-01-15T09:01:00.003-06:00

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

Dispatches from behind the lines

2010-01-14T15:19:00.004-06:00

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.”

Haiti links

2010-01-13T14:20:00.002-06:00

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

Training opportunity for reporters

2010-01-12T15:17:00.001-06:00

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

What Lou Grant saw

2010-01-12T09:27:00.002-06:00

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.

Coming to student journalists' defense

2010-01-11T13:38:00.002-06:00

From the Chicago Tribune today:

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.

New NINA president looks ahead

2010-01-05T14:31:00.001-06:00

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.

NINA president looks back at 2009

2010-01-05T14:27:00.003-06:00

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:

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.

Census info

2010-01-05T11:51:00.000-06:00

Media info and contacts for 2010 Census stories can be found here.

Help plan NINA's 2010 training

2009-12-11T10:33:00.002-06:00

NINA's incoming NINA president, Mike Cetera of the Beacon News in Aurora, has proposed a training theme for 2010. It addresses access to public information in our communities ... and challenges to that access. For instance, police and fire departments are looking to adopt new, proprietary radio technology that will not be accessible to the public via scanner radios. Does the public understand the implications of this?

What other access issues are you and your newspapers facing? Availability of public safety officials to speak with reporters? Indefinite delays in responding to FOIA requests? Governmental bodies playing fast and loose with the Illinois Open Meetings Act?

If you're experiencing challenges in getting important information to the public, we'd like to know about them. As trends emerge, NINA would like to plan training sessions around how the press can work with public officials for everyone's benefit.

So, please send me ideas and concerns - either by commenting below, or by e-mailing me. and I will compile them and get them to the NINA board for its January meeting. And if you have ideas for training on issues other than access, please send those along, too. Thanks.

All a-Twitter

2009-12-10T12:34:00.001-06:00

NINA is now on Twitter. Find us and follow us @NINAnewspapers

Shield Law update

2009-12-10T10:37:00.002-06:00

From Logan Aimone at Associated Collegiate Press:

The Senate Judiciary Committee is debating the Federal Shield Law this morning. The SPJ is tweeting @spj_tweets and so is Clint Hendler @clinthendler of Columbia Journalism Review. You can also watch the live stream:
http://judiciary.senate.gov/hearings/hearing.cfm?id=4218

Sen. John Kyl of Arizona, the minority whip, is offering a slew of amendments about national security. Sen. Dianne Feinstein voted with him on at least one, according to the SPJ tweet, and she was the only Democrat to do so.

E&P will be no more

2009-12-10T10:33:00.000-06:00

Editor & Publisher is going out of business. Story here.

Dart Center award

2009-12-03T11:03:00.002-06:00

The Dart Center for Journalism & Trauma is sponsoring an award for coverage of "exemplary journalism on the impact of violence, crime, disaster and other traumatic events on individuals, families and communities. Entries should focus on the experience of victims and survivors and should contribute to public understanding of trauma-related issues."

The Dart Awards recognize newspaper, magazine, online, radio, television, video and multimedia journalism that goes beyond the ordinary in reporting on trauma. Entries may include breaking news, enterprise reporting, single stories, packages of coverage on a single event, cohesive series, local, regional or national television coverage, long-form documentary and online multimedia packages.

Info and application materials are here.

2010 technology

2009-11-16T11:41:00.005-06:00

Fascinating technology coming in 2010, including the widely-rumored Apple iPad (fake ad at right) and the Android tablet. Basically, these are the equivalent of an iPod Touch with a 10-15" screen. Obvious implications for the newspaper and magazine biz. This could be the game-changer device we've wondered about.

And, in mobile phones: "Android and Apple are going to make life difficult for everyone else."

As one speaker in today's Future of News Summit mentioned, "The last 40 years are all coming to a head. Normal people will have high-speed in their pocket. The mobile phone IS the computer now."

Here are a couple of stories about the rumored iPad, one from CNN Money and the other from PC Magazine. And here's one on the Android tablet.

Future of News Summit

2009-11-16T10:11:00.001-06:00

There's an important event going on today in Minnesota: The Future of News Summit. You can watch it live HERE. It's being put on by Minnesota Public Radio.

Facebook Webinar reminder

2009-11-10T16:54:00.003-06:00

Don't forget about Thursday afternoon's Poynter Webinar: "Facebook for Journalists." $10 discount for NINA members. You'll need to contact me in advance for the code.

Full info here.

Uncle Jay Explains the News

2009-11-09T15:34:00.003-06:00

Insightful analysis of the past week's TV news coverage, from a guy named Uncle Jay.

Thanks to retired NIU journalism professor Avi Bass for spotting this one.

A tough call

2009-11-05T09:54:00.003-06:00

Tricky ethical situation in DeKalb. An NIU student jumped in front of a train and was killed Wednesday. Though not officially declared as such, it was pretty clearly a suicide. The Northern Star had the name late last night but decided not to use it in the story. The Daily Chronicle did use the name - presumably because this happened semi-publicly, just west of town, and because it hadn't been ruled a suicide yet.

My take on these types of things is, when in doubt, err on the side of not causing further pain to a hurting family. Unless a presumed suicide creates a major public spectacle, or involves someone well-known, I don't think printing the name is all that helpful. And if this week's case turns out to be something other than suicide, then printing the person's name in a follow-up story seems like a better approach.

Declaring winners and losers

2009-11-04T13:38:00.002-06:00

Here's a post from the GetReligion blog about how the media frame political stories. Forget for a moment that the issue is gay marriage, and look instead at how easy it is for journalists to slant any story -- knowingly or unknowingly -- in subtle ways. It's a good lesson.

"Old Dogs are the Best Dogs"

2009-11-04T11:01:00.002-06:00

Just a great piece of writing here from Gene Weingarten of the Washington Post. Sometimes we need to remember why we got into this business. Telling stories like this one tops my list.