Southwest Region News Service

Motives of Journalists on Trial in Andy Griffith Episode

2008-09-04T13:45:00.001-04:00

I used the Andy Griffith episode #61, "Andy on Trial," which aired in April 1962, as a learning tool in the “Introduction to Community Journalism” class I taught this summer.

The show taught some very important lessons about journalism ethics.

Here is a short recap of the Andy Griffith episode:

Andy travels to Raleigh to locate noted newspaper publisher J. Howard Jackson and bring him back to Mayberry. Two weeks earlier, Andy ticketed the businessman for speeding. Mr. Jackson was issued a summons to appear before the Mayberry justice of the peace (Andy) within a few days. He chose to ignore the summons. Now, a very irritated Mr. Jackson, accompanied by his lawyer, reluctantly returns to the small town to stand before Andy. He pleads guilty and is fined $15. Upset by having to travel that far to pay such a small fine, the irate publisher leaves the courthouse vowing revenge. When he returns to Raleigh, he orders one of his reporters, Jean Boswell, to go to Mayberry and dig up all the "dirt" she can find on Andy, and then twist it into a scathing article against the sheriff. He wants Andy’s reputation destroyed. Being very discreet, the reporter taps Barney for anything that could be used against Andy. Barney, caught up in all the attention, proceeds to tell the reporter that if he were in charge he would run the sheriff's department differently. Barney continues to complain about crimes going unpunished (Emma Watson's jaywalking) and the blatant unofficial use of the squad car (delivering groceries to a shut-in). As you can imagine, Mr. Jackson uses Barney's words to write a scathing article about Andy's administration which leads to a hearing that could cost Andy his job.

I asked my students to write about what journalism ethics they saw violated in this episode and here is some of what they wrote about:

“The accuracy of the information this reporter used was never adequate. She used an overall biased style in the content of her story. She distorted Barney’s quotes and the overall conversation. She never took precise notes. And worst of all, her method of information retrieval was totally unprofessional and a clear violation of the code of ethics.” – Sam Cunningham

“The reporter asked Barney questions about Andy but she never went to the source for comments or confirmation. She also lied about who she was and what she was doing, another clear violation of the Code of Ethics.” – Tyler Bueno

“The point that struck me in this episode was that Andy was actually doing his job as Sherriff according to the law when he brought in the newspaper publisher but the publisher actually does not do his job, under the code of ethics, when he knowingly printed lies, or at least did a sloppy job of editing.” – Jessica Light

“Undercover reporting, using deception to get a story, flirting with a source, distorting of information, not testing the information she was given, were all violations of the journalists code. Ironically, she wrote about what she said were unethical practices in the Sheriff’s office but she actually used unethical journalism practices to come up with the information for her story.” -- Darla Vance

What do you think?

Missouri's First Newspaper to be on Display during Missouri School of Journalism Centennial/Dedication Celebration

2008-08-27T18:17:00.001-04:00

An original copy of the Missouri Gazette, published in 1808 as the first newspaper in Missouri, will be on display throughout the Missouri School of Journalism Centennial and the Reynolds Journalism Institute (RJI) Dedication Celebration to be held Sept. 10-12 at the University of Missouri.

Datelined “St. Louis, Louisiana,” the Vol. 1, No. 3, issue of the Missouri Gazette was published 13 years before Missouri was admitted into the Union. Also on display will be the Vol. 1, No. 1, issue of the University Missourian (now the Columbia Missourian). The paper was published Sept. 14, 1908, at the end of the first day of classes at the world’s first journalism school. For 100 years, the Columbia Missourian has served as the hands-on newspaper laboratory for Missouri journalism students, who produce the paper’s content under faculty supervision.

The copies will be available in the Marvin D. McQueen Rotunda of Lee Hills Hall at the corner of Eighth and Elm streets. The first issue of the Columbia Missourian's second century will be added to the display on Sept. 14, 2008.

Another presentation of historical newspapers, “Front Pages, A Decade Apart,” will showcase some of Missouri’s newspapers that have existed for at least 100 years. Sponsored by the Missouri Press Association, the display of front pages from 1908 and 2008 issues of select newspapers will be shown side by side in the Frank Lee Martin Journalism Library Foyer.

The displays will be part of a three-day celebration to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the School and the grand opening of RJI, the advanced studies center for journalism. A full slate of activities is planned, including more than 35 interactive journalism sessions featuring the nation’s top journalists, 27 technology discussions, seven museum exhibits and displays, three live performances, two unique dining experiences and the RJI dedication.

More information about the centennial/dedication activities is available at http://journalism.missouri.edu/2008/.

Editor’s Note: Media should contact Emily Smith, (573) 882-3346, SmithEA@missouri.edu to obtain a media pass for all events. Media credentials will be required.

"Opies Newspaper" Teaches Lessons on Community Journalism According to Students

2008-08-22T00:33:00.002-04:00

The story line for "Opie's Newspaper" (Episode 153 of the Andy Griffith Show which originally aired on Mar 22, 1965) is as follows:

Opie's friend Howie receives a small printing press and the boys decide to publish their own newspaper. Their first edition of The Mayberry Sun covers events from the fifth-grade class. The initial sales are kind of slow. Barney and Andy encourage Opie to not to give up and to widen the scope of the paper. Opie and Howie look to the big Mayberry paper for ideas. The boys decide to emulate the most popular news section, the gossip column called "Mayberry After Midnight." The boys spice up their penny newspaper by publishing gossip they overhear. When Barney and Andy get a look at the new issue, they have to scramble to collect the copies before they are read by the rest of the town.

The episode is funny, and it strikes a chord with all of us, because it is so truthful. Just like in Mayberry, "gossip" still sells newspapers. If you don't believe me, just take a look at the publications available in the checkout line next time you are at Wal-Mart or the grocery store.

Students in my “Introduction to community journalism” class this summer watched this episode and then commented on whether or not they thought the newspaper was a success and whether or not the journalism code of ethics was violated. Here are some of their responses:

“I would actually rate the boy’s newspaper as a success because they now know what NOT to do and what NOT to write.” -- Jessica Light

“According to the SPJ Code of Ethics, journalists should strive to minimize harm. Unfortunately, the ‘Mayberry Sun’ actually maximized the hurt.” – Brooke Iler.
“One of the biggest lessons to learn from this episode is that you need to test the accuracy of your information, not just go with what you hear on the streets.” – Darla Vance

“The boys used quotes and opinions in their newspaper from just one person. They didn’t contact multiple sources nor did they confirm things to make sure they were accurate and factual.” – Diana Ruedlinger

“I would rate their newspaper as both a success and a failure. They failed to show true facts when they were writing gossip but they succeeded when they wrote their paper about the little things in their school because they were not just telling gossip.” – Grant Morz

“One journalism lesson to be learned from this episode is to always get the full story. If you put in gossip then you are not getting the general public any real information, which is what they pay for in a newspaper.” – Patty Ruedlinger

“Opie and Howie probably violated almost every elementary ethic known to the journalism profession. Andy says it himself when he tells Opie that just because somebody says it doesn’t mean it should be printed. … This episode really does teach a good lesson about community journalism and the intentions a local newspaper must consider.” – Sam Cunningham

Have you seen this episode yourself? What do you think?

Students Apply Media Ethics to Andy Griffith Episode

2008-08-15T14:58:00.000-04:00

On Tuesday, I got to watch Andy Griffith episode with two classes of journalism and English students at Aurora High School in Aurora, Mo. To be more specific, it was episode #61, "Andy on Trial," which aired in April 1962.

We discussed the journalism Code of Ethics put together by the Society of Professional Journalists. Then we watched the video and applied the Code of Ethics to what happened in the story. It is a topic that struck a cord of interest with the students.

In some ways the Andy Griffith story reminded me of recent situations in southwest Missouri where journalists used their position to grind a personal ax. That is a dangerous and unethical practice and something most honest journalists avoid. But, it is something that is easy to let happen when newspaper staffs are so thin.

Let me make the point by giving a recap of the Andy Griffith episode:

Andy travels to Raleigh to locate noted newspaper publisher J. Howard Jackson and bring him back to Mayberry. Two weeks earlier, Andy ticketed the businessman for speeding. Mr. Jackson was issued a summons to appear before the Mayberry justice of the peace (Andy) within a few days. He chose to ignore the summons.

Now, a very irritated Mr. Jackson, accompanied by his lawyer, reluctantly returns to the small town to stand before Andy. He pleads guilty and is fined $15. Upset by having to travel that far to pay such a small fine, the irate publisher leaves the courthouse vowing revenge. When he returns to Raleigh, he orders one of his reporters, Jean Boswell, to go to Mayberry and dig up all the "dirt" she can find on Andy, then twist it into a scathing article against the sheriff. He wants AndyÂ’s reputation destroyed.

Being very discreet, the reporter taps Barney for anything that could be used against Andy. Barney, caught up in all the attention, proceeds to tell the reporter that if he were in charge he would run the sheriff's department differently. Barney continues to complain about crimes going unpunished (Emma Watson's jaywalking) and the blatant unofficial use of the squad car (delivering groceries to a shut-in). As you can imagine, Mr. Jackson uses Barney's words to write a scathing article about Andy's administration.

The episode concludes with a hearing to determine if the charges against Andy can be substantiated... . Barney reluctantly tells the court that he did say the things printed in the article ... (but) goes on to defend Andy as the best friend he and the town of Mayberry ever had.

The specific codes most obviously violated in this story included the following ethical recommendations.

Journalists should:

— Test the accuracy of information from all sources and exercise care to avoid inadvertent error. Deliberate distortion is never permissible.
— Diligently seek out subjects of news stories to give them the opportunity to respond to allegations of wrongdoing.
— Always question sources’ motives before promising anonymity. Clarify conditions attached to any promise made in exchange for information. Keep promises.
— Avoid undercover or other surreptitious methods of gathering information except when traditional open methods will not yield information vital to the public. Use of such methods should be explained as part of the story
— Distinguish between advocacy and news reporting. Analysis and commentary should be labeled and not misrepresent fact or context.
— Show compassion for those who may be affected adversely by news coverage. Use special sensitivity when dealing with children and inexperienced sources or subjects.
— Recognize that gathering and reporting information may cause harm or discomfort. Pursuit of the news is not a license for arrogance.
— Show good taste. Avoid pandering to lurid curiosity.
—Avoid conflicts of interest, real or perceived.
— Remain free of associations and activities that may compromise integrity or damage credibility.
— Abide by the same high standards to which they hold others.

Barney Fife may have summed up the problem in this TV show, and in the real life problem, best by saying, "When you are dealing with people you do a whole lot better if you go not so much by the book, but by the heart."

Journalists are in the people business. Yes, go after wrong doers and pursue the information citizens need to know but make sure your reporting is accurate. It is also good to remember that every story and editorial impacts a real person. That fact should be weighed against what is written and the accuracy of it, especially if the journalist is tempted to "go after" someone with a story or editorial

Sorry, But Research Shows Negative Political Ads are Effective

2008-07-24T12:55:00.004-04:00

I just read a column today from another person writing about how they hate negative political advertisements. I tend to agree.

Where we part company is when the writer starts attributing low voter turnout to the increase in negative advertisements (at least at the state and national levels). There is no research to support that position.

There is also no research to support the suggestion that a larger voter turnout will result in a "better" or different outcome.

There is a lot of research to support the belief that negative advertisements are effective. Research like this study entitled, "Effectiveness of Negative Political Advertisement" done at the University of Missouri School of Journalism.

"Overall, negative political advertising produced negative evaluations of both the sponsor and the target. Those effects are consistent with the findings of the previous research."

The basic rule of thumb I learned while earning my political science degree was that 40% of voters will fall on either side of an issue or side with one candidate over another no matter what. For example, 40% will vote for the Republican, not matter what.

What that means is that candidates, or groups pushing issues, are really only fighting over the 20% in the middle (normally undecided voters). Not all of that 20% will bother to show up and vote.

The University of Missouri study also notes that young and poor voters seems to be most influenced by negative advertisements. Guess where those two demographics largely reside in the 40%-20%-40% formula? Yep, in the 20% trying to be reached.

Still not convinced? You might want to check out this study too: "Hate Negative Political Ads All You Want, They Work" in US News and World Report.

"According to a new paper, though, "Confirmation and the Effects of Positive and Negative Political Advertising," by a group of marketing professors from Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business and the University of Texas–Dallas, negative political ads are also surprisingly effective at swinging voters toward their sponsor. In a study conducted in the final weeks of the 2004 presidential campaign, researchers found that negative ads caused 14 percent of viewers to change their minds about their favored candidate. 'People who use negative ads have long been convinced they work,' says coauthor Joan Phillips, a professor of marketing at Mendoza. 'Academics have just had a hard time proving it'."

As for decreased voter turnout, there appears to very little research supporting that position. In fact, the opposite exists, like this study.

"Krasno and Green have argued that political advertising has no impact on voter turnout. We remain unconvinced by their evidence ... but differences aside, we strongly agree that political advertising does little to undermine voter participation.

I'm sure more research could be done on this issue, and everyone has their own opinion I'm sure, but saying negative ads are solely responsible for low voter turnout is way too simplistic.

What is Community Journalism, According to One Area Editor

2008-07-18T11:55:00.003-04:00

I've read the entries from the high school students I recently had in class (and I'll have more from them in the coming weeks), but how would you define community journalism? How does your newspaper practice it?

Here is what one respected area journalist and editor told one of my students in an e-mailed interview. Details that would give away the editor's identity or newspaper have been removed.

Q: What does your newspaper do to get readers (and citizens in the community) involved in the news and the events in your community?

A: We print a lot of contributed photos that people bring to us. They include pictures of a youth with the turkey or deer he or she killed, organizations donating money to charity or a student graduating from college. Parents especially like to see their kids' names in the newspaper when their kids accomplish great things. People submit announcements when babies are born, people get married and couples celebrate wedding anniversaries. I once heard community journalism referred to as "scrapbook journalism," meaning people cut articles out of the newspaper to put in their scrapbooks. Another aspect of reader involvement that is rather new is our Web site. There we allow readers to post comments to stories and upload photographs to share with other readers. It provides more interactivity than the print edition.

Q: Does community journalism make your paper better? Does it improve your reporting and/or circulation?

Definitely. We have small editorial staff and we cannot be everywhere at once, especially when we also have to do a lot of the production of the newspaper, including adjusting photographs, laying out pages and updating the Web site. Readers often call us with story ideas, usually about a friend or family member who has done something outstanding. I believe it does help our reporting by giving us ideas of what our readers want to read. As far as circulation, yes I would say it helps there, too, because parents want to keep a copy for their scrapbook and extra copies to send to grandma and grandpa.

Q: What is a strength of your community newspaper?

A: This newspaper has a tradition of excellence. But more important than the awards is that (we have lots of) people purchase each issue. That many people trust us to be a reliable information source.

Q: Does your community newspaper have a weakness?

Our biggest weakness is not having the editorial resources to cover all of our circulation area. We cover the city government and school board where we are headquartered, as well as the county government, thoroughly but but that leaves other city governments and school districts in our circulation area that we do not have the resources to cover as thoroughly. Sports is another area where we are lacking in coverage simply because we do not have the staff to cover all the county schools' sports programs as well as we should.

Q: Is it more important for me as a student to learn how to research and write objective news stories or editorials?

A: News stories. A lot of small-town newspaper editors don't even write editorials. Solid, objective reporting is what will gain the community's trust. Without that, they won't even bother reading your editorials, so it is important to learn reporting first. Editorial writing can come after that.

What Students Say They Learned About Community Journalism

2008-07-11T11:48:00.001-04:00

Students in my Upward/TRiO "Community Journalism class" had a final in-class speed essay to write entitled, "What I have Learned about Community Journalism."

Here are some selected statements from their essays:

* "I learned that community journalism takes time, patience and a certain knowledge of your community. You can't just start writing things in your local newspaper. You need to learn what to write about, where to get the information, how to get it, why you write about and who to write about. You also have to learn the Code of Ethics, which many practicing journalists don't even know exists." -- Grant Mroz

* "I love to write but news and gossip has never really interested me. But this class has opened my eyes to other things -- like fighting back and getting involved. Don't like things they way they are? Stop complaining and do something about it. Voice your opinion, because it is our constitutional right. Tired of corruption in politics? Dig up the dirt, reveal the evidence and expose them." - Laken Herd

* "As a member of this class the one thing I will take away is the importance of knowing who, what, when, where, why and how." - Jessica Light

* "Doing community journalism right means being honest because the work is very important to the community." - Darla Vance

* "Community journalism is a standard of journalism that provides important news events going on within that community ... and it is hard work." - Sam Cunningham

* "My knowledge of community journalism has greatly expanded. It is the art of journalism that requires the journalist to be ethical and honest." - Brooke Iler

* "I learned that community journalism is a lot harder than I thought. I also now realize that journalism is not for me." - Tyler Bueno

* "I have learned that here is much more to journalism than just getting the stories and publishing them." - Dianna Ruedlinger

It was a good group of students and they learned alot in five short weeks. Next week I'll post some of the feedback these students received when they asked area editors about community journalism. And no, I won't be posting the names of the editors that were nice enough to respond.

Journalism Movies Worth Your Time to Watch

2008-07-03T13:27:00.002-04:00

I've been teaching a community journalism workshop this summer. Since class members are in high school they have requested a movie or two as part of the class. Well, we didn't have time for that but I did provide a list of great journalism-themed movies they can watch on their own time. Here is that list:

1. Shattered Glass - This is probably one of the best journalism movies ever made. It focuses on ethics and how easy it is to ignore the faults in the popular kid in the newsroom. PG-13

2. Good Night and Good Luck - This is of course the story of Edward R. Murrow and his fight against McCarthyism. Great journalism movie even if it doesn't get all of the history exactly right, or without bias. PG

3. The Pelican Brief - Denzel Washington plays a great newspaper reporter. There is a great scene in this movie where Denzel interviews her and reviews his notes. It is a great way to show great note taking. PG-13

4. The Killing Fields - Great true story of a photographer and a reporter during the fall of Laos and the aftermath. R

5. All The President’s Men - You just can’t escape this movie. for many, it is the benchmark for journalism movies. It is not my favorite but it is a must see for journalists. If you don't know much about Watergate you might want to check out a history book first. PG

6. Absence of Malice - Another good story about ethics and when you should print information that might be damaging. PG

7. The Truman Show - Not really about journalism, but about our television culture and how much we are invading into people’s personal space. PG-13

8. Broadcast News - Pretty good movie on what is fake in the news. Some good scenes you could actually use to show kids how a news interview is really done. R

9. The Paper - Micheal Keeton plays a great foul mouthed, deadline oriented, sensationalist editor. An often too realistic look at many daily newspapers. R

10. Deadline USA -- Bob Greene of the Chicago Tribune has called this the best journalism movie ever made. "If you are interested in art movies, see Citizen Kane. If you are interested in screwball comedy, check out His Girl Friday. If it's history you're after, watch All the Presidents Men. If you want to see a classic journalism movie, rent The Front Page. But if you want to see a movie that actually shows you what life is like inside a newsroom, how reporters work together to get a story, and how the story is not always about the big expose but sometimes just about getting the little details right, this is your movie," writes Greene.

11. -30- (also known as Deadline Midnight) -- "In just nine hours they put the world on your doorstep." This 1959 movie is a classic if you can find it.

12. The Front Page -- nominated for 3 Oscars this 1930 film was remade in 1970.

13. His Girl Friday -- A newspaper editor uses every trick in the book to keep his ace reporter ex-wife from remarrying. 1940

14. Switching Channels -- A television news chief courts his anchorwoman ex-wife with an eleventh-hour story. 1988

15. Blessed Event -- Here it is! The scandalous comedy of a scandal columnist who rose "from a keyhole to a national institution." 1932

16. The Big Clock -- A career oriented magazine editor finds himself on the run when he discovers his boss is framing him for murder. 1948

17. I Love Trouble -- Peter Brackett and Sabrina Peterson are two competing Chicago newspaper reporters who join forces to unravel the mystery behind a train derailment. 1994

18. Up Close and Personal -- An ambitious young woman, determined to build a career in TV journalism, gets good advice from her first boss, and they fall in love. 1996

19. The Insider -- A research chemist comes under personal and professional attack when he decides to appear in a "60 Minutes" expose on Big Tobacco. I like this movie. I understand some if it plays fast and loose with the facts, but it is still good drama. 1996

20. S1M0NE -- A producer's film is endangered when his star walks off, so he decides to digitally create an actress to substitute for the star, becoming an overnight sensation that everyone thinks is a real person. 2002

21. Ace In The Hole -- A frustrated former big-city journalist now stuck working for an Albuquerque newspaper exploits a story about a man trapped in a cave to re-jump start his career, but the situation quickly escalates into an out-of-control circus. 1951

22. Sweet Smell of Success -- They know him - and they shiver - the big names of Broadway, Hollywood and Capitol Hill. They know J.J.- the world-famed columnist whose gossip is gospel to sixty million readers! They know the venom that flickers in those eyes behind the glasses - and they fawn - like Sid Falco, the kid who wanted "in" so much, he'd sell out his own girl to stand up there with J.J., sucking in the sweet smell of success! This is J.J.'s story - but not the way he would have liked it told! 1957

23. Citizen Kane -- One of my personal favorites and often listed at the top of many "best movie" lists, this movie is more about the person than about the profession. 1941

24. Live from Baghdad -- A group of CNN reporters wrestle with journalistic ethics and the life-and-death perils of reporting during the Gulf War. 2004

25. "Under Fire" is a war movie staring Nick Nolte. I haven't seen it yet but another journalist recommended (see comments on this blog). "Three journalists in a romantic triangle are involved in political intrigue during the last days of the corrupt Somozoa regime in Nicaragua before it falls to a popular revolution in 1979." Released in 1983. It did get a couple of Oscar nominations.

26. "The Year of Living Dangerously" was also released in 1983. The IMDB website describes this movie in this way: "Guy Hamilton is a journalist on his first job as a foreign correspondent. His apparently humdrum assignment to Indonesia soon turns hot as President Sukarno electrifies the populace and frightens foreign powers. Guy soon is the hottest reporter on the story with the help of his photographer, half- Chinese dwarf Billy Kwan, who has gone native. Guy's affair with diplomat Jill Bryant also helps. Eventually Guy must face some major moral choices and the relationship between Billy and him reaches a crisis at the same time the politics of Indonesia does." This movie won an oscar.

27. Bonus -- Superman or Spiderman - Who doesn’t see journalists as superheros (especially journalism teachers)? Go rent almost any one of the movies featuring Peter Parker or Clark Kent.

Watching all of those movies may take you an entire year but it will be worth it!

Key to community Journalism is Personal Approach

2008-06-26T15:39:00.001-04:00

One of my favorite movies, Frank Capra’s holiday classic "It’s a Wonderful Life” also happens to teach a good lesson about community journalism.

George Bailey, played by Jimmy Stewart, is confronting Mr. Potter, the cynical businessman trying to dismantle the Bailey Bros. Building and Loan Association, which helps working-class families buy homes.

"Do you know how long it takes a working man to save five thousand dollars?" Bailey asks Potter. "Just remember this, Mr. Potter, that this rabble you're talking about. They do most of the working and paying and living and dying in this community."

George Bailey isn’t a newsman, but there’s a message in his words for journalists who will spend their time covering a community by telling the stories of real people.

Community journalism is sometimes viewed as the minor leagues of the profession. Working at a small daily or weekly, aspiring journalists are often told, must be endured to achieve greater things.

Like George Bailey, journalists dream of leaving the small town. They long for the prosperous metro daily where every day is filled with glamorous story assignments and articles read by countless thousands.

This summer I’ve been teaching a class on community journalism and I asked my students to leaf through some community newspapers (including The Monitor (Republic, Mo., The Chronicle (Crane, Mo.) The Commonwealth (Ash Grove, Mo.) and The Community Free Press (Springfield, Mo.) and describe the values that seem to matter to these publications.

Here’s what they found:

- Personality. The best community newspapers reflect the places and people they serve. Can you pick up that paper get a sense of place? If so, the journalists have done their job.

- Heartfelt and invested. Small weekly newspapers sometimes earn a reputation for editorials that shape the future of the community the serve and that is only possible when editorials are heartfelt and the editors (and owners) are invested in the community.

- See your neighbors. Sports pages feature high school athletes, and news pages are dominated with stories about the regular people celebrating everyday life. A few area newspapers still have community correspondents also that write about their neighbors.

- Comforting. No matter what else happens in the world, it’s reassuring to know that you can open the local community newspaper and see the school lunch menu and find out when the next volunteer firefighters pancake breakfast is going to be held.

- Feisty and independent. "The truth is there are three or four very fine papers in any state, usually family-owned with guts and determination," writes Ray Laakaniemi, author of "The Weekly Writer's Handbook" and associate professor emeritus from Bowling Green State University. "Some are innovative, some are stubborn and ride the heck out of the local government, and some turn a corner when they are sold to a chain."

- Voices for the voiceless. More than 250 ethnic newspapers in New York City are helping new immigrants find a place to voice their opinions and learn about the issues that affect their communities. At the same time, community journalism in rural areas can also help voices be heard.

- Accountability. Community journalists aren’t afraid to take on the big issues, but they do it knowing that they will have to stand behind the words they write for years to come. "It’s the kind of journalism practiced by newspapers where the readers can walk right into the newsroom and tell an editor what’s on their minds," writes Jock Lauterer in his book "Community Journalism, the Personal Approach."

Students Chime in on Community Journalism

2008-06-18T15:01:00.004-04:00

I'm teaching a journalism survey class for high school students in the summer Upward Bound program at Missouri State University. Our class is going to focus on basic news writing, the basic elements of what makes something news, media ethics and community journalism.

Fifteen minutes before the end of our first class, I asked the students to write an essay answer responding to this question: "What Does Community Journalism Mean to You?"

Here are portions of some of the better responses.

"Community journalism is when journalists who live in the community also write about what goes on in that community. These journalists would be better at writing about the community because they live in the community. They know what goes on and what is happening in their community so they are better able to write about it. They also know how the community is effected making what they write more understandable and agreeable. To me, community journalism would also mean that I would know that this person/journalist is more in the know than someone who is from a media outlet from outside the area so it means I would also trust their reporting more." -- Darla Vance

"Community journalism is when the community is involved in what local journalists are doing. It means the journalist is getting involved in what is happening around them. It means the citizens are talking about what is going on and trying to change things, or trying to fix the problems in the community. Community journalism means helping each other when people need help. Making us be better people and a better community. That is what community journalism does, it shows the problem in the community and then tries hard to get the problem fixed. We as a community can do that, we just need people to tell us what is going on or where the needs are in the community and help us find ways to fix it." -- Jessica Light

"Community journalism is a way of writing about local news and issues that grabs a person's attention. When you are writing in a local newspaper most readers are interested in what is happening right in the local community. This type of local reporting also helps to put local issues in perspective." -- Patty Ruedlinger

"From the perspective of an amateur journalist, community journalism is simply reporting on the community. It may involve using local opinions or local writers or even citizen journalists." -- Brooke Iler

"Community journalism refers to the covering of stories and events that happen in the immediate community of people." -- Sam Cunningham

You can learn more about how I would define community journalism by reading the publication I have online entitled, "What is Community Journalism." It can be found at http://extension.missouri.edu/swregion/news/publications/Communityjournalism.pdf.

Blog Comments on Newspaper Site Should be Signed, Just like Letters to the Editor

2008-06-13T13:40:00.002-04:00

Letters to the editor are the most read, discussed and cussed portions of the newspaper. The same can now be said for comments posted to newspaper stories or blogs online.

Offering an editorial forum (printed page or online window) is one way a newspaper helps to preserve the inalienable right of people in a free society to discuss, question and challenge actions and utterances of our government and of our public institutions.

Journalists uphold the right to speak unpopular opinions and the privilege to either agree or disagree with the majority.

One way that can be done is through the publication of letters to the editor or the publishing of comments to stories or blogs online. Both are printed in order to allow readers an opportunity to express views differing from those of the newspaper or ones expressed by individuals in published articles or other letters.

There are, however, two types of letters or online comments that are damaging to a newspaper's reputation as well as the public trust in what they publish: letters with libelous material and anonymous letters (or posts).

Not running libelous letters is a policy universally agreed to by newspapers. The same policy should be applied to blog and story comments even though the courts have not yet ruled on this issue.

Research shows that running an anonymous letter to the editor is an easy way to get you or the newspaper sued because they are more likely to be filled with misinformation or libel. Because an anonymous letter (or online blog entry or story comment) cannot be identified with a person or group, it has limited value.

As a communication professional focused on helping restore the public trust in the news media, my recommendation is that anonymous letters to the editor should go straight to the shredder. Anonymous comments or blogs to stories or columns on a newspaper's website should not be allowed either for many of the same reasons that a newspaper would not publish unsigned letters to the editor.

If a citizen has something truthful and valid to say, they should write a letter (or comment) without trying to harm others and let the readers evaluate what they have to say in the light of who they are.

Often times, the names of the writer reveal other motives behind a letter. For example, a chairman of one county political party lashes out against the fundraising practices of another.

As a former weekly newspaper editor, I had a saying about letters to the editor -- “A person of integrity does not have to hide when they speak, or write.”

So here is the bottom line: in order to maintain the public trust in what is printed (on paper or online), a newspaper's policy should be to pitch anonymous letters to the editor (and not allow anonymous online posts).

If it's worth saying or putting in writing, it's worth signing. Otherwise, it's worth nothing.

Yes, Community Bloggers Could Save Local Papers

2008-06-04T15:44:00.002-04:00

Local bloggers are similar to community correspondents. You know, the correspondents that used to write about who visited who during the week and how Aunt Bea's knee was feeling. During the 1990s, when paper prices increased, many community newspapers ditched those community correspondents.

Turns out, that was probably a mistake.

And now community newspapers are saying they can't keep up with local bloggers and online content that are stealing away readers.

I've been saying and writing for over four years about the disappearance of community correspondents from weekly newspapers (read column here). Bloggers have taken the place of elderly community correspondents and it seems to me that a strategic partnership between weekly newspapers and bloggers in their community could be good for business while also reaching new readers and opening up some column inches in the local newspaper.

Perhaps the best of those blog enteries could be printed in the newspaper on the opinion page.

What do you think?

Hannibal Publisher and Editor Uses Letter to Explain Increased Local Media Coverage

2008-05-30T11:52:00.000-04:00

To Our Readers,

Rarely, if ever, do newspapers use their “news” pages to communicate with their readers, especially not on real estate as valuable as the front page. After all, that’s what the opinion page is for, isn’t it? Perhaps that’s one more reason why newspapers find themselves becoming irrelevant to the modern generation and even to some long-time readers.

For too long, we have been producing products for our peers – newspapers stories and series that can be judged by other newspaper professionals. We submit them to various entities like state press associations, even the Pulitzer competition, and then bask in the accolades we receive when we win. But in this process, we have lost the real reason for our being - YOU, the reader.

Following is a letter I received from our editor (yours and mine), Mary Lou Montgomery. We have been talking a lot lately about how we can make the Hannibal Courier-Post more compelling to you, our readers. I was so moved by it, that I felt it imperative that I share it with you in this prominent position of the Courier-Post.

Please take the time to read it and accept that this is our new philosophy at the Courier-Post. We may not always get it right, but it won’t be because we didn’t try. We invite you to be our eyes and ears. Let us know what is happening in the region. Don’t ever assume we already know, chances are we don’t. When in doubt, call us.

While painting the popcorn ceiling in my bathroom on a rainy Fourth of July morning, I mentally reviewed the last three decades of my career. I came up with a long list of things that - to meet “journalistic standards” of the day - we stopped offering to our readers.

We don’t do dead deer.
We don’t use Polaroid pictures
We don’t print long lists of names, such as those attending a reunion.
We don’t use pictures without accompanying names.
We stopped inviting pictures of the first mushroom finds of the year.
We stopped taking pictures of the pee-wee league ball players.
We started downplaying the beauty pageants and baby contests.
We stopped printing happy birthday pictures of children as part of the news package.
We stopped paying correspondents to submit “chicken dinner” news.
We stopped taking pictures of newly elected club officers.
We stopped describing wedding gowns.

Somewhere between Watergate and Iraq, newspapers let go of the personal touch and replaced it with a more “sophisticated” journalistic style. In the meantime, we lost our loyal readers.

I was shocked a few years ago when I asked my daughter’s friend (a school teacher working on her master’s degree) where she obtained her local news. She doesn’t take a newspaper or watch network news, she told me. She votes Democratic – her family always has – and her mother keeps her abreast of the local happenings. But what really surprised me was her answer to this question: “How do you find out about national news?” Her answer was condensed to three letters: M-T-V.

“MTV has news??” I asked, showing my ignorance for her generational preferences.

While I wasn’t watching, M-TV stole a segment of our news market.

I can trace my own transformation from an enthusiastic gatherer of community news to a “journalist’s journalist” to a conference I attended in March 1981. Because I lacked formal J-school training, newspaper management sent me to the prestigious JC Penney Workshop at the University of Missouri-Columbia. Daryl Moen conducted a page design workshop, and made slides of the newspaper pages we submitted in advance. Surrounded by real “community editors” from metro papers across the country, my nervousness was surpassed only by my level of intimidation. As my pages flashed onto the oversized screen in this auditorium on the J-school campus, Moen offered his condescending reviews of my amateurish attempts at design, and the congregated editors followed his lead, laughing at my pages – and at me. I slunk out of that conference and headed back to the safe haven of my hometown newspaper, where I joined my colleagues in redefining local content. That laughter echoed in my consciousness for years while we took steps to please contest judges and other journalists, rather than our loyal readers. We shunned those who invited us into their homes every day - ‘We don’t do that,’ - until they lost interest in what we had to say.

How do we reverse this trend? As journalists, we must quit trying to please each other, and instead get back to the basics of getting in touch with our neighbors.

Today, we call it reader contributed content. I see it as a three-decade reversal of attitude for the journalism profession. It’s inviting citizens to once again be a part of the news gathering process.

In order for our community newspapers to recapture our market share, instead of saying “We can’t,” or “We don’t,” we must find a way to say: “Yes, we will.”

Hannibal Newspaper Committes to Hyper-Local Coverage and Sees Postive Results

2008-05-23T12:34:00.000-04:00

One Missouri newspaper has made a tremendous turn-around and its publisher, Jack Whitaker, says the upswing in subscribers and advertisers is because of a new emphasis on local coverage.

Yep, you read that right, local coverage. The newspaper in Hannibal is focusing its attention on doing what a local newspaper does best -- covering local issues. It is the reason readers subscribe. And local coverage is why local newspapers exist.

"We have a local franchise and our focus is local," said Whitaker. "Let the big national newspapers cover the national stories but we are going to protect our local franchise by providing local news coverage."

Whitaker spoke for a few moments at the Ozarks Press Association meeting this Spring. He said the Hannibal Courier-Post, which is a daily newspaper, has stopped using Associated Press content except for national sports coverage.

The change at this newspaper has been pretty dramatic. Granted, the steps they took were dramatic too. But this renewed and continual focus on local coverage has increased subscriptions and every other benchmark used by newspapers to measure success.

"People want to know what only the local newspaper can bring them. Our franchise is the local news, local people and local photos," said Whitaker.

Would a renewed local focus help your community newspaper? I think the answer is "yes" for every newspaper in southwest Missouri. If MU Extension can be of help in working on increasing your local news coverage but helping with a content audit or going over ideas for local coverage please contact me.

Next week, I'll share the letter written by Jack Whitaker to his readers about the importance of local news coverage. It is worth reading.

Protect Mourners' Rights, But Not at Expense of First Amendment

2008-05-16T14:45:00.001-04:00

The quiet reverence of a funeral service held in honor of a fallen soldier is punctuated by the jarring retort of a 21-gun salute. A folded American flag, once draping the coffin of the deceased, is handed respectfully to the surviving spouse. A few short words “from a grateful nation” are uttered, followed by a crisp salute and the solemn playing of “Taps.” A few yards away mulls a group of protesters holding signs and chanting “Thank God for dead soldiers.” It’s the juxtaposition of these two rituals that is at the heart of one University of Missouri professor’s examination of the legal issues surrounding privacy and free speech.

Christina Wells, Enoch H. Crowder Professor of Law at the MU School of Law, found that recent legislation enacted in response to funeral protests conducted by members of the Westboro Baptist Church of Kansas may restrict a broad range of expressive activities, including peaceful protests. A careful examination of the statutes, some of which have been upheld in lower courts, reveals that they are designed to protect mourners from offensive rather than intrusive protests, a distinction that is important, Wells said.

“The instinct to regulate or punish is powerful and understandable. Such regulation, however, poses significant issues for freedom of speech. Our outrage shouldn’t overshadow reasoned legal response,” Wells said.

Lower courts, after hearing legal challenges to the funeral protest statutes, have essentially said a person has a privacy right to be free from offensive messages while attending funerals. If those decisions are allowed to stand, they could have an impact on freedom of speech doctrine, Wells said. According to Wells, the First Amendment allows some regulation of protests near funerals, but how and why government officials restrict such protests also matters.

“While few would argue against protecting funeral services from intrusive protests, these statutes go far beyond that notion,” Wells said. “Funerals are worthy of protection and respect, but to allow them greater protection than what is given to other gatherings or rituals is inconsistent with longstanding free speech principles.”

Wells said the combination of vague terms, unclear doctrine and controversial protests threatens to cloud the difficult task of balancing privacy and free speech rights and has caused state officials and courts to respond out of emotion rather than analysis of the Court’s precedents.

“These court decisions may have a lasting and detrimental effect on our free speech jurisprudence.” Wells said. “Most of us desperately want the Westboro Baptist Church to treat funeral goers with greater respect. As long as protesters’ speech is part of public discourse, free speech principles allow regulators to do only so much to require an outward showing of civility and respect.”

Wells’ research on the first amendment and funeral protest is slated for publication in the North Carolina Law Review, Vol. 87, 2008.

Key to Newspaper Survival is Putting Emphasis on Local

2008-05-02T15:21:00.000-04:00

The world of newspapers has changed a lot in the past 10 years. Nationwide, larger newspapers with over 50,000 circulation are seeing subscriptions disappear. There is unrest in the industry. Smaller newspapers, which actually make up 88 percent of the industry, are worried about their bottom line too and fearful of competing in a digital world.

Well, John Schneller, a professor of journalism at the University of Missouri says "fear not!"

"It is the biggest newspapers that are in the biggest trouble," said Schneller at the Ozarks Press Association's annual conference. "Weekly newspapers have the voice of the community and the local franchise. In fact, they have what the larger newspapers want."

But weekly and small daily newspapers still need to do a better job of becoming the "community coffee shop." In order to do that, community newspapers need to reflect the community they serve. That means have a presence at the digital town square also.

One example of a newspaper that is doing a great job of being hyper-local is
Bluffton Today.

Morris Communications Corp. has begun publishing Bluffton Today, a tabloid newspaper tightly coordinated with a Web site, BlufftonToday.com. The hyperlocal publication will be distributed free in the namesake South Carolina community of about 15,000 people. Every reader will be invited to log onto the Web site and comment about stories, as well as start their own blog, upload pictures and even contribute recipes.

"Newspapers have gone on the Web by putting yesterday's news online," said Steve Yelvington, manager, Web site development for Morris. "That's a one-way street. We are doing the opposite; Participation is right at the center of what we're doing."

He added: "BlufftonToday.com is a grand experiment in citizen journalism, a complete inversion of the typical 'online newspaper' model."

Readers' comments about stories will be edited and printed in the hard copy of the paper.

Success will be easy to judge, according to Yelvington. "People will be participating. The reality is people are doing this already, publishing their own Web sites and Web logs. The choice is not whether it will happen but whether we are going to participate in it."

Another thing that local newspapers need to work on is not telling people what they already know (reporting on things after the fact). Schneller says this type of reporting has a very limited value.

"Citizens have become a group that we talk about and not to. Newspapers need to lead the way with doing a better job and engage readers in our democracy," said Schneller.

Another example is the newspaper in Hannibal, Mo., which is going to be the subject of two later blog enteries here.

Sunshine Audits a Great Way to Test Compliance

2008-04-21T15:44:00.001-04:00

Sunshine Audits are a great tool to test the compliance of the Sunshine Law while also providing an opportunity to educate both leaders and members of the public about the Sunshine Law.

This is a topic I spoke on at the Ozarks Press Association meeting Friday, March 28 in Branson and something I'm going to write about here over the next few weeks.

But first, to set the stage, I want to share the text of story and Sunshine Audit done in March 2008 by Mert Seaton, managing editor of the Community Free Press in Springfield, Mo. Mert pulled off the only Sunshine Audit I recall being done in the Springfield media market over the past 5 or 10 years.

If you like want you read there, be sure and let Mert know.

State Sunshine Law Brought to Light

By Mert Seaton
Community Free Press

The Missouri Sunshine Law can be a confusing legal guideline for people to understand. There are many rules as to what is available and what is not.

“The Missouri Sunshine Law is the law that provides access to the public for meetings and records of public government bodies,” said James Klahr, Missouri assistant attorney general. “A public government body, defined in state law, covers a variety of public entities. The goal of the definition is to take in those public bodies that are tax supported.”

But what about the people controlling the information — do they understand their roles as the law applies to them?

The Community Free Press recently conducted a Sunshine Law audit on various public bodies to find out if the controllers of the information were following the law.
Sunshine requests were sent to 13 different public bodies in Greene and Christian County requesting each body’s written Sunshine Law policy. Each request was worded exactly the same, and sent electronically to each body’s custodian of records.

According to the state Sunshine Law, section 610.028, “Each public governmental body shall provide a reasonable written policy consistent with the Sunshine Law and open to the public regarding access to public records and meetings.”

Klahr said these policies do not have to have any kind of formal approval.

“The language is relatively broad,” Klahr said. “That is an issue where the legislature, if they wanted to, could add specifics to the law.”

According to the Missouri Sunshine Law, law requires that “each request for access to a public record be acted on no later than the end of third day following the date the request is received by the custodian.”

The first policy received was from the Christian County Planning and Zoning Department, followed by Greene County who sent the information within 24 hours.
“We take it (the Sunshine Law) very seriously,” said Richard Struckhoff, Greene County clerk.

Struckhoff said his office does everything it can to respond to requests quickly, but they are not also able to respond as fast as they did to this request.

“It depends on the type of response,” he said. “We have a lot of requests that require research.”

Other bodies that sent their policy within the three-day period were: CU, Republic, Willard, Nixa, Nixa Fire Department, Ozark, and the Ozark Fire Department.

The city of Springfield was sent the Sunshine request on February 27. A read receipt attached to the e-mail showed the request was read the evening of February 28.

After three days, no response from the city was sent and a phone call was made on March 6 to City Clerk Brenda Cirtin.

Cirtin said she was out sick the week the request was made and she read the e-mail from home. She sent the policy a few hours later.

Klahr said he couldn’t comment on this specific incident, but noted that it creates a sticky situation.

“The statute clearly says what happens when the person is there (in the office),” he said. “But it doesn’t deal with them not being there. That is the type of thing that public bodies could have in their policies.”

Three bodies replied, but did not have a Sunshine Law Policy on file. One of those bodies was Christian County.

“As far as I know we don’t we have anything, but we need to have something,” Christian County Clerk Kay Brown said.

Brown said part of the problem was the lack of county records her office currently has.

“The Commission passed an ordinance in March of 2003 naming the county clerk as the custodian of records,” Brown said in an e-mail. “However, I do not have the records after 1992, only prior.”

Brown said she thought the lack of a policy had been brought up before, but she would address the issue again. She also noted that she did not believe the Christian County Commission had a written Sunshine Law policy.

Other bodies that did not have policies were the Christian County Library and the Springfield/Greene County Library.

“We overlooked the fact we didn’t have a policy,” said Annie Busch, executive director of the library district. “I assumed there had been one from several years ago, but we can’t find one so we might as well not have one.”

Busch said she is currently writing a policy and will take it to the library board for approval.

Klahr said a bill that would require training for all members of public bodies is working its way through the state legislature. He said this kind of training would be a good tool for public officials.

“Public bodies and people that are members of those bodies need to understand their obligations under the Sunshine Law,” he said. “Being familiar and competent on Sunshine Law issues is not only important for legal reasons, but it is also important in communicating to the public that the public body knows and understands their obligations.”

Again, great piece by Mert Seaton.

Are you interested in doing a Sunshine Law audit of your own? Next weel, I'll start sharing information and links on how you can do that very thing.

4th place in Student 1st Amendment Essay Contest from Strafford

2008-04-16T13:59:00.002-04:00

What Free Media Means to America
By Joshua Scott Holcomb

When you watch the news, do you want to hear someone else’s opinion about what is going on, or do you want to hear what is actually going on? When you listen to the radio, do you want one view on a political issue, or do you want a variety of views? When you read the newspaper, do you want to hear the complaints of the healthy, wealthy, and prosperous, or do you want to know how to help those who are in a minority and actually have real problems? In short, do you believe that our media should be biased to those with power, or do you believe that all Americans have the right to have access to a free media?

The first amendment of our Constitution addresses free media. It says, “Congress shall make no law . . . abridging the freedom of speech or of the press.” This right to free media is what the rest of the Bill of Rights hinges upon. If the government had control of our media, the rights of the people could be infringed upon, the cry of our citizens could be suppressed, the objections of our fellow Americans could be covered up – all without the public’s knowledge. A society without a free media is a society without a free people.

But free media has uses other than just giving us some security against the government infringing upon our rights. The way a political candidate is portrayed and spoken about in the media is very instrumental in swaying the public’s opinion. Without a free media, voters would be fed biased opinions and one-sided arguments to influence their vote. Having a free media allows the people to form their own opinions about the candidates and make the decision that they believe is right for our country. This is a free society; this is a government run by the people and for the people.

As you can see, it would be impossible for our free society to function as it does without a free media. Free media means exposure when we are wronged and recognition when we do right. No free media means isolation. Free media means citizens can choose the candidate most in line with their views. No free media means dictation. We are a free society and so Americans have the right to have access to a free media.

3rd in Student 1st Amendment Essay Contest Goes to Stockton Student

2008-04-08T14:29:00.002-04:00

Stephanie Tucker
Grade 12 – Stockton High School, Stockton, Mo.
Teacher: Kim Chism Jasper

Free to be Informed

“Write what only you can write,” my English instructor repeats constantly. In our class my instructor challenges us to write a paper that makes a reader second-guess or question their beliefs. You might ask yourself, “What gives someone the right to publish an essay that questions a society’s beliefs?” The answer is free media.

I am a senior in high school and co-editor of the yearbook. As yearbook editor my job is to oversee the work of the staff members and make decisions regarding what events to cover in our book. As a staff we take hundreds of photos each year to compile in our annual book. We have the freedom to include any image or story we want without having to answer to anyone. Without free media our yearbook staff would not be able to write and include the stories that we do. We would not be able to achieve our sole purpose, which is to inform the public.

“Educate and inform the whole masses of the people… They are the only sure reliance for preservation of our liberty,” said Thomas Jefferson, an advocate for free media, and I have him to thank for one of the most used freedom I have. He believed that in order for a society to flourish, the citizens must be well educated and informed of their surroundings. Free media may seem simple and irrelevant to the masses, but without free media the masses would not be able to make daily decisions.

This November our country will make one of the most important decisions regarding our future. We will elect a leader who will represent our society for the next four years and serve as our president. This will be the first presidential election I will be allowed to vote in. I am nervous about making the right decision and choosing a president that will serve me.

In order to make a more informed decision I watch the presidential debates, read articles in the newspaper, and listen to reports on the news. Without the free media, it would be impossible for an 18-year-old student to make an educated decision and vote for the right candidate.

Whether I am doing a task as simple as creating a yearbook to cover a school year or making the important decision of whom to vote for, I rely on the media to inform me. Without free media, I would not be able to save a moment in a yearbook or to save our country with a single vote.

Meeting Minutes May Not Be What You Think

2008-04-04T13:20:00.002-04:00

I get lots of calls from reporters and individuals who have questions about the Sunshine Law. I’m not a legal expert but I do normally know where to find the information.

Plus, I have the advantage of having my notes from a presentation by the Assistant Missouri Attorney General on the Sunshine Law hosted by MU Extension in Springfield during the fall of 2007.

One issue that I get lots of questions about is meeting minutes. Most people are very surprised when they discover that Missouri state law does not require as much in meeting minutes as they think it should.

For example, this comes from the fall meeting I hosted on the Sunshine Law:

Questions about meeting minute retention and content is something Attorney General’s office get lots of calls about. People are surprised sometimes when they attend a 3-hour minute and then see minutes that are 2 pages long.

“Missouri’s requirement for minutes is very basic. The statue says you have to show date, time and place of meeting, who attended and the record/count of votes. If you want to know what was discussed a public might need to be able to look back and see more than just votes but the law does not require it. This is part of the reason why citizens have the right to come into any public meeting and record it,” said James Klahr, Assistant Missouri Attorney General.

The state law discussing this issue can be found at http://www.moga.state.mo.us/statutes/C600-699/6100000020.HTM.

It says, “A journal or minutes of open and closed meetings shall be taken and retained by the public governmental body, including, but not limited to, a record of any votes taken at such meeting. The minutes shall include the date, time, place, members present, members absent and a record of any votes taken. When a roll call vote is taken, the minutes shall attribute each "yea" and "nay" vote or abstinence if not voting to the name of the individual member of the public governmental body.”

Klahr emphasized these three points at the fall 2007 session on the Sunshine Law.

1) Official minutes of a meeting are not required to be a transcript.

2) Members of the public have a right to get draft minutes of a meeting even before they are voted on or approved but they should be marked as draft.

3) Requirements for minutes are very vague which is why it is so important for citizens to be able to record what is taking place at the meetings.

The first point may be the most important to remember. And that is straight from the Missouri Attorney General's office.

2nd Place Student Essay from Jordan Taylor of Greenfield

2008-03-24T23:47:00.001-04:00

“Why Free News Media Are Important – Full Disclosure
2nd place entry in 2008 SPJ Student Essay Contest - Southwest Missouri
By Jordan Taylor, Greenfield High School, Greenfield, Mo.

Freedom of the press is fundamental to the success of any truly free society. Without freedom of the press, citizens can be deceived and indoctrinated with corrupt government propaganda.

Active free press deters government corruption. If citizens are made fully aware of irresponsibility by their elected or appointed officials, they will more than likely take action to protect personal interests. However, in order for press to be truly free, there must be a system of government in place in which the press not only has freedom, but protection under the law as well. It is one thing to tout freedom of the press, but to create an environment in which the press can report sometimes controversial viewpoints without fear of government suppression is quite another. Citizens must also be offered this same protection; in order for free press to be utilized, citizens must be made sure that if their beliefs and opinions differ from that of others, they will not be subject to persecution.

News organizations should be, by design, independent of any and all political affiliations. Government should not impose upon the freedom of the press to provide the public with information, but neither should news organizations filter all news items through a prism that reflects only one political viewpoint. The press has every right to expose injustice. However, the press should not draw conclusions. Instead, they should provide the public with every shred of information available so people can make their own well-informed opinions.

It could be said that with great freedom comes great responsibility. This is very applicable in journalism. Along with the freedom to report any side of a news story comes the great responsibility to report all sides of that news story. Full disclosure is what makes free press free. Free press does not only refer to the freedom that news organizations have to report, but also the freedom of people to know the truth. Government controlled press and biased news organizations have one primary similarity: both rob the public of the truth that is necessary to be free from the bonds of ignorance at the hands of a communistic government.

Every right that Americans are entitled to hinges on the fundamental and inalienable right to the freedom of information. Every person has the right to think, speak, and conclude without being afraid of consequences. News organizations have an obligation to provide citizens with a 360 degree panorama of every issue so that informed decisions can be made. Knowledge is power and freedom. It is the role of the free press to facilitate and protect every citizen’s fundamental right to know.
###

Why Free News Media Are Important - 1st place entry

2008-03-18T10:36:00.002-04:00

“Why Free News Media Are Important”
1st place entry in 2008 SPJ Student Essay Contest - Southwest Missouri
By Rachel Holcomb, homeschooled, Strafford, Mo.

You wake up in the morning to your alarm clock, roll out of bed, shuffle to the front door, peek out to make sure no one is out there to see you, dash out to grab the morning newspaper, and slam the door behind you. You then try to accomplish the extremely difficult task of reading the paper and walking to the kitchen - at the same time.

You have now had your first exposure to free news media.

Next, after finally making it to the kitchen, you turn on the small TV on the counter to watch the morning news while you make a pot of coffee.

You have now had your second exposure to free news media.

After the news is over, you run back to the bedroom and get ready for the day, then sail out of the house and into your SUV to go to work. As you sit at a red light, you turn on the radio, and –

You have now had your third exposure to free news media.

Within an hour or two of getting out of bed in the morning, the average American has been exposed to free news media multiple times.

What do free news media allow? They allow us to get news and other information that is largely free of government influence. They allow us to state our opinions freely without fear of repercussions. They allow us to have a say in matters of importance.

Why are they important to us? They are important because having a free media means that we are not getting a biased opinion on everything. The government does not filter everything we hear; we are able to hear more than one side of a story.

What would it be like to not have free news media? Picture yourself in a country where the government filters everything. Any news (such as a car chase, a big storm down on the coast, the way the President dealt with a certain situation) would be the government’s side of the story. All the information you received would be the government’s opinion. You would receive only one view on everything. Because you might have the police come to your front door to take you to jail for opposing the government, you would not be able to state your opinions freely. The government would dictate everything. This would be a country without free news media. We do not want that to happen to our country.

So, what do free media mean to America? Free media mean that the government does not filter the news we receive – we do not get a biased opinion on everything; they mean that we can state our opinions freely without fear of repercussions; they mean that we have a say in matters of importance.

We, as American people, need to protect our rights to free news media.

Missouri’s Sunshine Law is important to members of the public, not just journalists

2008-03-14T14:05:00.000-04:00

Missouri’s Sunshine Law is an important, but misunderstood, tool for both the public and the news media. That is an important message to communicate during Sunshine Week, March 16-22, 2008.

It may come as a surprise to know that the Sunshine Law is not designed to benefit the news media. The law is designed to protect and inform the public.

The law actually opens doors so both reporters and individuals can see government at work, and find out how taxpayer money is being spent.

The Sunshine Law helps us watch what public officials are doing and it also allows the media to watch on our behalf.

Missouri’s legislators passed their first version of the Sunshine Law in 1973 (with major revisions in 1998 and 2002), just a few years after the federal Freedom of Information Act was enacted. But the fact that this is a fairly new law is important to remember.

The “right to know” is not a constitutional right, but a statutory one. So, only legislative support can save Freedom of Information laws like the Sunshine Laws.

That means public knowledge and support for FOI laws, like the Missouri Sunshine Law, are vital to the future of these laws in our democracy.

During my reporting and professional career, I have heard some people refer to the requirements of the Missouri Sunshine Law as a “waste of time.”

It isn’t so much the posting of notices that most of those complainers were talking about. Rather, it was the general concept of doing public business in public.

I would argue that trying to dodge the requirements of the Sunshine Law is a waste of time. Doing so often creates other unnecessary problems for public officials, boards and political subdivisions.

The Sunshine Law applies to all records, regardless of what form they are kept in, and to all meetings, regardless of how and where they are held.

The law does allow a public body to close meetings and records to the public, in limited circumstances, but it almost never requires a public body to do so.

Another thing worth noting about the Sunshine Law is that it requires a public body to grant access to open records it already has. It does not require a public body to create new records in response to a request for information.

The Sunshine Law also says a public body generally must give at least 24 hours' public notice before holding a meeting. If the meeting will be closed to the public, the notice must state the specific provision of the law that allows the meeting to be closed.

Copies of the Missouri Attorney General’s Sunshine Law booklet can be requested by calling 895-6567. Additional information and forms can be found online at http://ago.mo.gov/sunshinelaw.

Journalism Created Initial Awareness of Nation's History, MU Study Finds

2008-03-06T15:09:00.001-05:00

American history is referenced in news features, profiles and analysis pieces, giving meaning to current events, discoveries and individuals. A University of Missouri researcher recently completed a study on the use of historical references by journalists in the 19th century, a time when the United States had little or no published history records. The study revealed that 19th century American journalism was significantly influential in shaping the nation’s early history.

Betty Winfield, Curators’ professor of Journalism at MU, based the study on 2,000 magazine and newspaper headlines from various publications throughout the 19th century. Organizing titles into particular groups and tracking patterns, Winfield found an increase in historical references from the beginning of the century to 1900, when historians first began recording the nation’s past. Winfield said journalists created a particular national story by referencing certain people and events, which emerged as collective memory.

“Magazine and newspaper journalists played a crucial role in publicizing national history before there were professional historians,” Winfield said. “Magazine circulation was increasing, production was easy and distribution was free to the public. Journalists began writing longer news stories and, by connecting events of the present to the past, they created meaning and placed the news in context for their readers.”

To understand patterns and themes and illustrate how journalists progressively used history, Winfield said it was necessary to examine journalism’s public role throughout the 19th century. The study found historical references were primarily used for context and placement; other themes included nostalgia, values and analogies.

“We found that selective bits of history were used by journalists,” Winfield said. “Stories were aimed toward a certain Anglo-Saxon, white male nation. Usually women, African Americans, Native Americans and immigrants were not portrayed. This selective media proved very influential on the nation’s culture.”

Other studies have focused on specific events or shorter time periods, and no previous study has examined historical references in news accounts during the 19th century, according to Winfield.

“Nineteenth century journalism reiterated a particular American story, not only to those who had been here awhile, but also to new immigrants. These reports shaped the definition of America and gave the United States a national identity,” she said.

The study, “The Continuous Past: Historical Referents in Nineteenth-Century American Journalism,” was published in Journalism and Communication Monographs. Janice Hume, associate professor at the University of Georgia and Winfield’s former doctoral student at MU, co-authored the study.

For more information, contact Emily Smith at (573) 882-3346, or via e-mail at SmithEA@missouri.edu.

Newspaper Election Coverage Focus on 'Horse Race,' Not Policy

2008-02-25T19:35:00.000-05:00

After analyzing the contents of more than 800 stories published in USA Today about the presidential primary campaign, University of Missouri Communication Professor William Benoit and doctoral candidate Mark Glantz found the stories focused heavily on the "horse race" (polls, predictions, election outcomes, campaign strategy and related subjects) and much less on candidates’ character and policy positions.

Benoit, an expert on political communication at MU’s College of Arts and Science, reported 56 percent of statements in the newspaper articles were about the election "game." Statements about the candidates’ character were less common (29 percent), and statements about the policy positions of the candidates were not very frequent (15 percent).

Benoit’s study reveals this allocation of comments contrasts sharply with the messages from the candidates themselves, which – with the exception of candidate pages on Facebook and MySpace – were mostly about policy. Data collected from announcement speeches (63 percent policy, 37 percent character); television spots (59 percent policy, 41 percent character); debates (70 percent policy, 30 percent character); candidate web pages (81 percent policy, 19 percent character) and candidate Facebook/Myspace pages (42 percent policy, 58 percent character) support Benoit’s conclusions.

"Clearly, the news stories analyzed for this study focus on the horse race and, after that, candidate character more than policy," Benoit said. "This is the opposite emphasis from most candidate messages."

Perhaps most revealing is Benoit’s finding that many newspaper reporters are not sourcing the statements in their stories. According to the study, reporters used candidates as sources for only 18 percent of statements, candidate supporters for 5 percent of statements and other are used for 10 percent of the statements.

"Most commonly, statements in these stories are not sourced, or made by the reporters themselves," Benoit said. "Two-thirds of statements neither quote nor paraphrase any source. Newspaper coverage from earlier campaigns confirms most statements about the election are unsourced. We are more likely to hear the reporters’ interpretations of the campaign than the candidates’ own statements."

Benoit has been a MU faculty member since 1984. He is the second-most published scholar of all time in significant communication research journals. Benoit is the author of several books on political campaigns, including Communication in Political Campaigns (2007).

Other information about political campaigns can be found on the website associated with this project: http://politicalcampaigns.missouri.edu.

Story contact: Bryan E. Jones, (573)882-9144, JonesBry@missouri.edu

Flashback - Do Editorial Endorsements Matter?

2008-02-21T18:04:00.002-05:00

In this political season, with major elections coming up in April, August and November, many editors are again musing about the tradition of newspaper editorials "endorsing" candidates.

So, in this flashback posting, let's revist the issue of political endorsements posting on this blog, in three parts, about one year ago. You can read the collection posts on the subject HERE.

Let me know what you think.

Projects to Revolutionize Journalism Worldwide Unveiled on MU Website

2008-02-21T13:26:00.002-05:00

The home of the world’s first journalism school is taking steps toward improving the global media industry. The University of Missouri will officially dedicate the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute (RJI) in September with the goal of improving journalism around the globe.

The RJI Web site, which launched Monday, Feb. 18, previews several innovative projects already underway in partnership with leading media and non-profit organizations including the Associated Press Managing Editors (APME), National Conference of Editorial Writers (NCEW) and the Committee of Concerned Journalists (CCJ).

RJI projects address current problems in journalism to find solutions that can be applied worldwide. Professional journalists and researchers, interested citizens and students can access the site and provide ideas, participate in forums, and use research and media tools.

“The RJI Web site will be a valuable resource for journalists in the Internet era,” said Pam Johnson, executive director of RJI. “The site will feature Institute projects that focus on enhancing journalism using new technologies. Our mission is to bring citizens and journalists together to ensure the availability of credible information.”

Featured projects include:

• The Opinion Pool: RJI partners with NCEW to discover the effect on editorial writers when newspapers reduce staff and bloggers attract readers.

• Credibility: Project with APME that focuses on media credibility asking “who or what can people believe?”

• RJI Leadership Forums: Project with CCJ on topics including “Newsroom Leadership in a Challenging World” and “How to Promote your Online Version.”

• Community Knowledge Base: Exploration to develop a functioning prototype for civic mapping. The project uses concepts from Lew Friedland, professor at the University of Wisconsin, to understand local communities from the associations of people and institutions that are engaged civically.

• Digital Publishing Alliance: Member-supported initiative that brings leaders and innovators together with technology experts and researchers to find new digital publishing products, strategies and business models.

• Adobe AIR/RJI Student Design Competition: Last summer, students were asked to submit innovative ideas about how news organizations could deliver news and advertising to consumers. Viewers are asked to vote on students’ application demos.

“As we’re demonstrating with the Adobe competition, the RJI Web site is a great way to showcase the work our students are doing with the Institute and to elicit feedback from citizens partnering with us to create the future of democratic media,” said Mike McKean, chair of convergence journalism and director of the project.

“We hope our Web site will inspire citizens, academics, journalists and other professionals to participate in the Institute’s many endeavors,” Johnson said.

The Institute was made possible by a $31 million gift from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation, the largest private donation ever to the University of Missouri. Mr. Reynolds graduated from the Missouri School of Journalism.

The RJI Web site can be accessed by visiting: http://rji.missouri.edu.

FOIA Workshop at Evangel University Open to the Public, Other Journalists

2008-02-12T14:14:00.000-05:00

Members of the Society of Collegiate Journalists at Evangel University are hosting a Freedom of Information Act training workshop from 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., on Wednesday, April 2 in Room 204 of Trask Hall (also know as Academic Building 2) on the campus of Evangel University in Springfield, Mo.

Members of the public, as well as area journalists, are invited to come and participate with all Evangel communication students in this important training.

Charles Davis, associate professor of journalism and the executive director of the National Freedom of Information coalition (http://nfoic.org/foi-center/index.html) at the University of Missouri, will be the instructor for the event.

Davis' scholarly research focuses on access to governmental information and new media law, including jurisdictional issues, intellectual property and online libel. He has earned a Sunshine Award from the Society of Professional Journalists for his work in furthering freedom of information.

He is also the author of the book, “Access Denied: Freedom of Information in the Information Age,” published in 2001.

“Charles Davis is one of the nation’s foremost authorities on the Freedom of Information Act,” said David Burton, civic communication specialist with University of Missouri Extension and president of the Southwest Missouri Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. “He has done this type of training all over the country and even developed an FOI Toolkit for the national Society of Professional Journalists.”

The training will begin with a general overview of FOIA, and then segments on actually using the laws will be presented followed by a question and answer session.

“We are very excited about this program,” said Melinda Booze, assistant professor of communication at Evangel University. “We worked hard to get a grant to fund the training and I really think our students, as well as area journalists, will benefit as a result.”

For more information on the program, call Booze at Evangel, (417) 865-2815.

Members of the public, and journalists, who want to register for this free program, need to contact the Greene County Extension Center at (417) 862-9284 prior to March 30.

Missouri’s Sunshine Law is important to members of the public, not just journalists

2008-02-06T17:17:00.000-05:00

Missouri’s Sunshine Law is an important, but misunderstood, tool for both the public and the news media.

In fact, it may come as a surprise to know that the Sunshine Law is not designed to benefit the news media. The law is designed to protect and inform the public.

The law actually opens doors so both reporters and individuals can see government at work, and find out how taxpayer money is being spent.

The Sunshine Law helps us watch what public officials are doing and it also allows the media to watch on our behalf.

Missouri’s legislators passed their first version of the Sunshine Law in 1973 (with major revisions in 1998 and 2002), just a few years after the federal Freedom of Information Act was enacted. But the fact that this is a fairly new law is important to remember.

The “right to know” is not a constitutional right, but a statutory one. So, only legislative support can save Freedom of Information laws like the Sunshine Laws.

That means public knowledge and support for FOI laws, like the Missouri Sunshine Law, are vital to the future of these laws in our democracy.

“A WASTE OF TIME”

During my reporting and professional career, I have heard some people refer to the requirements of the Missouri Sunshine Law as a “waste of time.”

It isn’t so much the posting of notices that most of those complainers were talking about. Rather, it was the general concept of doing public business in public.

Actually, I would argue that trying to dodge the requirements of the Sunshine Law is a waste of time. Doing so often creates other unnecessary problems for public officials, boards and political subdivisions.

My advice is to keep business funded by public dollars public.

WORTHY OF NOTE

The Sunshine Law applies to all records, regardless of what form they are kept in, and to all meetings, regardless of how and where they are held.

The law does allow a public body to close meetings and records to the public, in limited circumstances, but it almost never requires a public body to do so.

Another thing worth noting about the Sunshine Law is that it requires a public body to grant access to open records it already has, but it does not require a public body to create new records in response to a request for information.

The Sunshine Law also says a public body generally must give at least 24 hours' public notice before holding a meeting. If the meeting will be closed to the public, the notice must state the specific provision of the law that allows the meeting to be closed.

LEARN MORE

Copies of the Missouri Attorney General’s Sunshine Law booklet, an easy to use publication that does a great job of explaining the law, can be requested by calling 895-6567.

It is also possible to file a Sunshine Law complaint online at http://ago.mo.gov/sunshinelaw, download a .pdf copy of the Sunshine Law booklet or simply lean more about the law.

No matter how much you choose to learn about the Sunshine Law, remember that the law is designed to help citizens, not just the news media.

Ozark Press Association Event March 28 Gives Journalists Access to Knowledgeable Speakers

2008-01-30T16:00:00.000-05:00

The Ozark Press Association Annual Meeting will be held from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Friday, March 28 in the Keeter Center at College of the Ozarks, Point Lookout, Mo.

The program for this annual event is filled with knowledgeable speakers who will be addressing timely topics that are relevant to area journalists.

Program speakers will include: Dr. Jim Wirth on "Managing Stress at Work," Ron Cunningham on postal changes, Springfield News Leader Editorial Page Editor Tony Messenger on “The Sunshine Law,” Columbia Missourian Editor John Schneller on "Flirting with the Digital Frontier, attorney Jean Maneke with a legal and legislative update and Advertising Director Greg Baker with "How to Avoid No's.”

The lunch speaker will be author, speaker and actor Mitch Jayne, an Ozarks original.

Registration costs are very affordable with the first newspaper representative costing only $50 and other participants costing only $35. Non-Ozark Press Association newspapers will need to page $70 registration.

Please send registrations with payment by Feb. 29, 2008, to OPA, c/o Sharon Vaughn, The Summersville Beacon, PO Box 272, Summersville, MO 65571

Rooms have been set aside at the Keeter Center for those wanting to stay overnight either March 27 or March 28 at a cost of $59.95 per night. Please make reservations no later than March 1 by calling 1-417-239-1900 ext. 120.

For more information on the program, please contact the Missouri Press Association. Registration information can also be found online at http://www.mopress.com.

Cross-Ownership has Positive Effect on Local Media Coverage, MU Researcher Finds

2008-01-22T16:37:00.000-05:00

The recent decision by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to loosen restrictions on cross-ownership of newspapers and broadcast television stations in the same market has met with criticism from consumer advocates and members of Congress that a cross-ownership would diminish the quality of local news coverage. However, the effect may be just the opposite, according to a University of Missouri study, which found that cross-owned television stations produce a greater percentage of local programming news content when compared to other network-affiliated stations in the same market.

“Local television newscasts for cross-owned stations contain on average about one or two minutes more news coverage overall, or 4 to 8 percent more than the average for non-cross-owned stations,” said Jeff Milyo, an economics professor at MU’s Truman School of Public Affairs and Senior Fellow at the Cato Institute in Washington D.C. “Cross-owned stations also show 7 to 10 percent more local news and offer about 25 percent more coverage of local and state politics.”

Milyo also evaluated the political slant of the news coverage and found that overall cross-ownership had no consistent or significant effect on local news.

“All local newscasts in a market have the same political slant, regardless of ownership; this is s is broadly consistent with other research on political slant in newspapers,” Milyo said. “We do see a difference across markets, but not within. “In general, a market that is serving more consumers that are Democrat leaning is going to give a slant or ‘flavor’ to the news that tends to be a little more Democratic and similar for Republican markets.”

Commissioned by the FCC’s chief economist, Milyo’s study compared broadcasts from 29 cross-owned stations located in 27 U.S. markets to those of major network affiliated competitors in the same market. A total of 312 recordings from 104 stations were compiled from the week prior to the November 2006 elections.

“To study whether cross-ownership lead to political bias, I chose measures of political slant that were easily quantifiable in the broadcasts,” Milyo said. “For instance, I compared if there were more Democrat or Republican candidates interviewed or discussed and if more of one party’s issues were mentioned than the other. The broadcasts from cross-owned companies showed little difference when
compared to those of other major networks.”

No previous study has examined the local news content and slant of every cross-owned station, nor have they appropriately controlled for differences in market characteristics such as the salience of current events and local preferences for news coverage, making this the most comprehensive analysis to date, Milyo said.

The study, “The Effects of Cross-Ownership on the Local Content and Political Slant of Local Television News,” was published in a report by the Federal Communication Commission. It’s available for download at: http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-07-3470A7.pdf.

Research Says News Service has Regional Impact

2008-01-17T12:11:00.000-05:00

Southwest Region News Service is a weekly news service highlighting University of Missouri Extension in southwest Missouri. Weekly articles are delivered by e-mail and reach every media outlet and journalist in the area.

Council members, and individual members of the public can also receive Southwest Region News Service upon request.

Yearly, readers are surveyed to determine how they are using this service, what impact it has and what information they like to read.

AND THE SURVEY SAYS ...
This year’s survey showed the news service did the following for individuals:

* Increased knowledge of extension programs for 92 percent of its readers;
* Provided information causing 73 percent to do something different; and
* Increased awareness of issues in southwest Missouri for 71 percent of readers.

Area journalists also took the survey and:

* 100 percent said the news service was “generally well-written;”
* 100 percent said they had found stories in the news service to be accurate; and
* 94 percent said they had used content from this news service for stories.

48.5% OF NEWS SERVICES READERS LIVE IN GREENE COUNTY
Nearly 2,350 members of the public receive this news service. Based on a recent demographic study of this audience this is what we know about the members of the public who read Southwest Region News Service: Missouri residents comprise 91 percent of the readership; Greene County residents account for 48.5 percent of all individual readers.

There were 366 new subscribers to Southwest Region News Service in 2007. Of those new subscribers, 2.2 percent were American Indian, .5 percent were Asian, .5 percent were Hispanic or Latino, 1 percent were African-Americans, 1.7 percent were of unknown origin and 94.5 percent were White. These new subscriber numbers are very similar to the breakdown of the total subscription numbers.

Nearly 11 percent of subscribers said they have a disability. Veterans accounted for 6.4 percent of subscribers. Seventeen percent of the new subscribers were over 65 years old and 92 percent of all new subscribers were from Missouri.

“This news service educates and informs readers of current news and information that is accurate, up-to-date and fills a real need to know in this area,” wrote reader Danette Proctor of Willard.

Emotional damage from natural disasters can add to stress levels long after the crisis is over

2008-01-11T13:43:00.000-05:00

The emotional damage of tornados, floods and other natural disasters can be felt long after the immediate crisis is over, according to a licensed clinical social worker at the University of Missouri.

Families should watch the signs of stress and depression, and get help if needed, said Sherry Nelson, an MU Extension human environmental sciences specialist in Palmyra, Mo.

“People have different sensitivities to stress,” she said. “Some people are more likely to experience the symptoms of stress, depending on their physical or psychological makeup.

“The thing about stress is that it tends to pile up. Often the straw that broke the camel's back may be pretty little,” Nelson said. “It may not come up as an obvious money issue or it may come up in other ways.”

Sleepless nights, changes in appetite, excessive use of alcohol or drugs, headaches, forgetfulness, irritability, fatigue, anxiety and depression are common among people suffering from prolonged stress.

Avoidance and denial also are common, Nelson said. “Sometimes people think ‘If I just work harder, this will all come out OK.’”

That approach may work against you, she said, adding that stress can affect the ability to concentrate making a person more prone to injuries, she said.

“Depending on how severe the stress is and if we catch it early, we can do things to alleviate it,” Nelson said. “Often being able to talk about it does us so much more good than keeping a stiff upper lip.”

Nelson recommends that family members discuss their current situation and what it may mean for the future.

“Finances are not easy to talk about,” she said, but good communication among couples is an important part of problem solving. “Sometimes we figure out our own solutions by talking to someone.”

Spouses should not only discuss the family’s financial situation among themselves, they should be open with children living at home.

“Kids are pretty smart and can pick up on the fact that something’s wrong,” she said, “so it’s important to talk about what’s going on, instead of letting them guess or make up what’s going on.”

How much detail parents share will depend on the child’s age, maturity and involvement in the farming operation, Nelson said.

“You don’t have to go into a lot of specifics about the family finances,” she said. “It might just be talking about the things you can’t afford right now, for example, stopping and getting fast food.”

Talking with someone outside the family, a close friend or member of the clergy, who can be non-judgmental about the situation, also can be helpful, she said.

“Farming is often a somewhat isolated profession,” she said.

“Forming those support groups can help you get through a difficult situation.”

If the symptoms of stress are severe or if a person begins thinking about suicide, Nelson said, it is time for professional help.

“We’re talking about a situation where people are under a tremendous amount of stress,” she said. “With professional help, they can get what they need to pull themselves back from that edge.

“Mental health professional are simply another resource in coping with a health problem.”

People who need help can contact their physician, local mental health centers of the Missouri Department of Mental Health at (800) 364-9687 or visit www.dmh.missouri.gov.

“Many providers offer services on a sliding scale, and services are often covered by health insurance,” Nelson said.

This information was provided by Eileen Yager, Communications Officer, University of Missouri Extension

What is the Best Way to Help a Family Impacted by Disaster?

2008-01-11T13:34:00.000-05:00

My wife and I have some friends who have been left without a home because of the resent tornados in southwest Missouri. Their home was insured but they are still stressed and face lots of uncertainly.

Members of our Sunday School class jumped in and helped them salvage items from the home. In fact, fellow church members are helping them in a number of ways. But still, my wife and I have wondered, what is the best way to help a family impacted by disaster?

My wife talked to a co-worker who lost her home about years ago and she said, based on her own experience, that the most helpful things after a disaster are: 1) gift cards to stores like Wal-Mart and/or places to eat; and 2) gift baskets cleaning supplies and personal items.

The other keys are giving the family time to grieve and then doing things that help to reduce the stress they are feeling after a storm or disaster.

For example, focus on what is important to the family, delegating some responsibilities to others and keeping a sense of humor.

It is also important for the impacted family to invest in their health by establishing a daily routine, eating well, and sleeping enough hours.

According to research, stress can be reduced if a person first accept disappointments and grieve their losses before moving forward. It is also stress reducing to accept outside help.

"Reduce tension with organization by doing one thing at a time, breaking a demanding project into manageable steps and keeping track of your commitments. It is also important to live in the present and to not dwell on the past or worry about the future," said Jinny Hopp, a human development specialist with MU Extension.

Other stress reducing ideas include letting go of anger in healthy ways (such as physical motion) and celebrating accomplishments as you get back to normal.

For more information on reducing stress, see guide sheet 6651, "Challenges and Choices: Stress Management" online at http://muextension.missouri.edu/explore.

Community Journalism in Bangladesh is in its Infancy

2007-12-20T11:38:00.000-05:00

Community journalism is not just a topic of interest in the United States. A few weeks ago, I received this e-mail from a journalist in Bangladesh.

I am working with the largest Bangladeshi news portal www.the-editor.net. In Bangladesh for the very first time we have introduced the concept of community journalism and I am in-charge of it.

As it's a new concept in Bangladesh, we like to have your suggestions and advice.

We want to make sure that every person should know what is happening around them, as their rights for information. The community people will also take part in our news gathering system through SMS, MMS, VOICE MAIL from their cell phone.

Here in Bangladesh the main stream news papers and the local news paper also ignore the community news. We want to change the scenario. To make this approach smooth and easy for the community people, you may suggest us to build up a suitable policy.

If you kindly allow me, I would like to make further contact with you for you kind advice to promote the concept among all the communities of Bangladesh to ensure their rights about information.

Sincerely

MAHBUB ASHRAF
www.the-editor.net
Bangladesh

Mahbub e-mailed me because he read an article I wrote about community journalism that is available online at http://extension.missouri.edu/swregion/news/cj/community.shtml.

If you are interested in sharing some advice with Mahbub, check out his website and correspond with him.

Study of FOI Laws a Cry for Reform Nationally, and in Missouri

2007-12-19T10:30:00.000-05:00

Missouri's Sunshine Law gets a rating of "F" in a recent study done by the Better Government Association, which worked with the National Freedom of Information Coalition on a study of freedom of information laws in all 50 states.

Granted, Missouri is not alone at the bottom of the study. But still, the study is a cry for reform in FOI laws nationwide.

The full study can be found here: http://nfoic.org/news/bag/overview.html.

Nebraska and New Jersey ranked at the top of the list.

Missouri ranked high in the study for responding within the statutory time.

However, Missouri began to fall short in this study when the area of appeal the denial of access was considered. Missouri offers no choice on the appeals process except to take a public body to court for refusing to provide public records.

States that rated high in this study provide citizens with an opportunity to appeal a denial of access to public records via an administrative process instead of the courts.

Missouri also lost points in the study because of the speed in which complaints are reviewed. Some states require an access case to be heard within 10 days.

Another area of concern for Missouri in the study is that payment of attorney fees and costs are not mandated for plaintiffs in records cases.

And in the final category of sanctions, Missouri scored low because our Sunshine Law only provides for civil sanctions. Some states may access criminal penalties, higher fees and even employment termination for denial of access to public records.

Some of the answers to these concerns have been posted on this blog in past weeks. Many in the local media establishment think changes are coming to the Missouri Sunshine Law this year. One positive change would be the creation of a public records counsel and making it possible for access concerns to move more quickly.

Five Things the Attorney General’s office Says Every Public Body Needs to Respond to the Sunshine Law

2007-12-13T22:26:00.000-05:00

According to James Klahr, Assistant Attorney General for the state of Missouri, there are five things every public body needs to have in place to respond to the requirements of the Sunshine Law.

1. They need to have a written policy on how you comply with the Sunshine Law. Who is the custodian of records? How much do I charge for records? The benefit of a policy is that it is in writing and lets the public know how you are going to deal with this issue.

2. Each public body must have a custodian of records. This is the gatekeeper or quarterback. They need to know who might have records in order to respond to the request. However the request comes in you should try to respond to it. Oral requests are okay but can create problems when things are misunderstood. It is best to have requests in writing. The custodians must also protect the records.

3. Must have a record keeping system and know which records are open and which records are closed. Some records can be closed during litigation but they become open later when litigation is over, for example.

4. Every public body should have a noticing system. Every public body must post meeting notices 24-hours in advance. This is one area where the law could be improved. They are not legally bound to post notices on the Internet but they really should. “As a society we no longer venture down to the city hall in person to check a notice, we check for it online. Doing this would not be a problem with the Hancock Amendment because it does not add an extra expense,” said Klahr.

5. Questions about meeting minute retention and content is something Attorney General’s office get lots of calls about. People are surprised sometimes when they attend a 3-hour minute and then see minutes that are 2 pages long. “Missouri’s requirement for minutes is very basic. The statue says you have to show date, time and place of meeting, who attended and the record/count of votes. If you want to know what was discussed a public might need to be able to look back and see more than just votes but the law does not require it. This is part of the reason why citizens have the right to come into any public meeting and record it,” said Klahr.

Klahr provided this information during the “Practical Use of the Sunshine Law” panel discussion co-hosted by the Evangel University (EU) chapter of the Society for Collegiate Journalists, the EU Christian Pre-law Society, the Southwest Missouri PRO Chapter of the Society for Professional Journalists and University of Missouri Extension on Thursday, Jan. 15.

Sunshine Law Would Benefit from Updates and Teeth

2007-12-07T11:47:00.000-05:00

“Practical Use of the Sunshine Law” was the topic of a panel discussion co-hosted by the Evangel University (EU) chapter of the Society for Collegiate Journalists, the EU Christian Pre-law Society, the Southwest Missouri PRO Chapter of the Society for Professional Journalists and University of Missouri Extension on Thursday, Jan. 15.

Seventy-eight students, professional journalists and interested citizens attended the Nov. 15 event, which was free and open to the public.

Panelists were Tony Messenger, Springfield (Mo.) News-Leader editorial page editor (Sunday circulation of 92,586); Ron Davis, KSPR (Springfield, Mo., television station) senior news producer; James Klahr, assistant attorney general, state of Missouri; and Ernie O’Gaffney, Christian County (Mo.) citizen.

The following are highlights from that panel discussion.

RECORD RETENTION

James Klahr explained that a public body is any political subdivision. Chapter 109 of the state law requires these groups to retain their records and documents. It outlines how long the record has to be retained.

“The retention schedule does not talk about e-mail specifically. It deals more with the content of the record … and how does that fit on the schedule of retention. Then the Sunshine Law deals with a public body’s responsibility for sharing those records,” said Klahr.

FIRST BIG STORY

Tony Messenger related a story about his first job as newspaper in Colorado and how his first big story revolved around the Sunshine Law, although he knew nothing about the law then. “Every citizen has the right to use the Sunshine Law … it is not a press law. If you are a young reporter this law is your very best friend. This is how you get information … it is not about being a jerk or trying to embarrass anyone … it is about keeping public business public. The problem is that not enough city councils, school board or county commissions fully understand this law. There are examples of these violations every single day. Sometimes they happen out of ignorance and many times out of a desire to keep public business private.”

DOING THE TWO-STEP

Ron Davis said dealing with the Sunshine Law is like “a dance between those wanting to let the sunshine in … and those who do not.” As a veteran reporter he has seen situations where government groups pile on the paper work and charge high fees to try and keep a person from getting information. But the information is too important for journalists to stop because there are lots of pages. “Too often the news media gives up because it takes a lot of work … journalists are getting lazy. We need government to be responsive to our requests. Journalists need to be willing to stand up and willing to do the work and go through the records. When journalists stop making these requests that is when journalism falters,” said Davis.

STATE LAW COULD BE IMPROVED

Ernie O’Gaffney said he thinks the state law dealing with minutes and what needs to be them needs to be updated immediately. “The Sunshine Law is very difficult to enforce or to get action on … and there is no real teeth or penalty that makes government bodies feel like they need to respond to requests. Without making it impossible for public citizens to enforce the law it really doesn’t have any teeth. It puts citizens at a real disadvantage,” said O’Gaffney.

COMPLAINTS TO COURT

What percentage of time does a Sunshine Law complaint end up going to court? Rarely, according to James Klahr, who said three cases have come to court in the past year. “The Attorney Generals office gets around 600 calls, letters or inquiries about the Sunshine Law. Half are for clarification or information. The other half are complaints … many times the Sunshine Law is wrapped up in other issues. Sometimes they can be addressed sometimes they can’t,” said Klahr.

KNOW THE LAW THEN USE IT

The two most important laws for journalists to know are libel laws and Sunshine Laws. Privacy laws are also important to know.

“Many public officials know more about the Sunshine Law and they will let on about. This law is the journalist’s tool and it needs to be used to get accurate information. The great thing about the law is that it is very easy to read and understand,” said Messenger.

When a reporter is searching for information, Davis said it is important to remember that the government has to make the case for why the records need to be closed.

“The bedrock is that these records are open. Period. The best way to deal with this is to file a request. A problem many journalists fall into is that they want to be liked by the people or groups they are covering and that can be a real problem. It is the job of a journalist to sign a light on government. Skirting the Sunshine Law seems to be the most non-partisan thing that most all politicians do,” said Davis.

DOES THE LAW NEED MORE TEETH?

The issue with requests for public records is not so much what a person gets, it is what a person doesn’t get. It is impossible to know what else might be available. That begs the question, does the law need more teeth and can it been strengthened?

“When I make a request I don’t know if I’m getting everything. I try to know some of the information I should be getting before I ask. The law needs to be changed in several ways. It needs real teeth. The standard is that you have to prove the violation was purposeful and that is hard to do. This standard should be changed to just violating the law. All state law makers should have some Sunshine Law training after election. Fines should be bigger In Texas, the burden is on the official who does not want to comply with a request. They have to seek a response from the Attorney General. This puts more of the burden on the government official.”

The Sunshine Law has not kept up with changes according to Ron Davis.

“Right now your question has to be a very narrow cast. The law is not very user friendly right now. Let your legislators know you care about this issue. Apply pressure on this issue,” said Davis.

Panelists also agreed that the law needs to be given some teeth.

“In California a violation of the code is a misdemeanor. That is teeth. Missouri could do the same thing. I don’t think you will see it because the same persons we need to change the law are the same ones who are faced with Sunshine Law requests,” said O’Gaffney.

CHANGE IS COMING

“I think there is a lot of statewide interest in updating the Sunshine Law now and I do think something will get done. There is going to be a major media push to make this law better,” said Messenger.

Klahr seemed to agree, although he pointed out that the Attorney General’s office tried to work on some of these same issues several years ago.

“Government bodies can ask us for opinions on these issues but seldom do. A change for that is needed,” said Klahr.

DOES POLITICS INFLUENCE ENFORCEMENT OF THE LAW?

“From my seat it does not influence my day to day work. Under Missouri law currently, these cases are not easy to win. There are a number of questions here. We can be more effective than we were years ago. We could better. Citizens should also make requests not just when they perceive things are going badly … they should make requests regularly,” said Klahr.

Will Citizen Journalism Improve, Stretch or Break the News Media?

2007-11-28T14:00:00.000-05:00

Can citizen journalists be ethical journalists? The First Amendment guarantees citizens' rights to engage the public. But what happens when citizens decide to practice journalism? What obligations do or should they have to something like the code of ethics of the Society of Professional Journalists?

A panel of citizens, professionals and academics explored the ethical issues of journalism practiced by citizens on Wednesday, Nov. 14 at Missouri State University in Springfield. Thirty-two citizens, journalists and members of the public attended the program.

Panelists included:
• Doug McGill, a former reporter for The New York Times and a former editor for Bloomberg;
• Dr. Mary Jane Pardue, associate professor of journalism at Missouri State;
• Mari Winn, editor of the JoplinIndependent.com in Joplin;
• Bob Korpella, editor of Freshare.net headquartered in Springfield; and
• Brian Lewis, columnist for the Springfield News-Leader.

Dr. Andrew R. Cline, assistant professor of journalism at Missouri State moderated the event which was co-hosted by the Southwest Missouri Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.

EVERYONE IS A JOURNALIST

Everyone is a journalist according to Brian Lewis. “We all gather information and sort through it and make decisions. But journalists are also sales people. We are selling that we can be trusted and that our reporting is accurate. If I can’t get someone to buy the idea that being informed matters then newspapers and journalism doesn’t matter.”

At the same time, journalism is a craft that most people can learn. It is hard work and something that some journalists are able to do better than others.

“Journalism is hard work but if newspapers are going to drop the ball on covering important news stories in the community then it will be up to citizen journalists to pick up the stories and content,” said Lewis.

CITIZENS MAKE JOURNALISM BETTER

Doug McGill says that when citizens get involved in reporting, journalism gets better.

“Journalism as a craft and news media as an industry are struggling. It is a bad sign for our democracy. Journalism gets better when more things get covered with more details. There are more experts outside the news room than inside the newsroom. That is why expanding the role of citizen journalists is so important,” said McGill.

But with the growing role of citizen journalism, citizens need to become more knowledgeable about the impact they have on society.

“What we see on the media becomes the substance of what we think. We need to develop an approach to dealing with some of this toxic and disrespectful talk that is going on. The constant celebrity coverage may not be so good for our mental health either. There needs to be some ideas and rules about how to consume responsibility. What are we going to do now that we don’t have the sources of news we always felt like we could trust. We don’t have those anymore and we are not going to have them anymore. It is going to be up to citizens to be better consumers of news and how to be citizen journalists. Responsible media literacy needs to be part of our discussion about what it means to be a citizen,” said McGill.

TAKE A STAND YE CITIZENS!

Six years ago when Mari Winn started the Joplin Independent she was looking for people to share opinions and not just be sheep agreeing with majority opinions.

“The concept of a newspaper is one that should take a stand against corruption and political bias. … But there is more than one way to practice journalism and that is why it doesn’t really matter who is writing the story,” said Winn.

SELF-DIRECTED JOURNALISM WILL BE AN IMPROVEMENT

Frank Korpella purchased an existing print publication after working in human resources for many years. At the time, the trend in human resources was toward the idea of self-directed work teams. This concept brought a lot of change into manufacturing. Managers became more like trainers or coaches and team members did more of the managing.

“I think we are in the same situation with journalism. Citizen journalism will enhance professional journalism and expand what the industry is able to do. Journalism is a craft that can be practiced by a lot of people. It is like John Updike and J.K. Rowling. Both are authors of books but they couldn’t be further apart in how they practice the craft. It is the same for professional journalists and citizens journalists. It is a dynamic situation and in the long run it is going to get better. Roles are going to change and what we end up with is going to be a better product. As for ethics, I’m not sure that a code of ethics can be practiced in the same way by a citizen journalist as a professional paid journalist,” said Korpella.

At the same time, Korpella says the role of the professional journalist is changing and what the future looks like is still unknown.

CREDIBILITY IS THE KEY

Dr. Mary Jane Pardue has been a journalist for over 25. As a result, she has been witness to a lot of change in the industry. One thing that has not changed, however, is the importance of credibility.

“Credibility is the biggest problem with blogging and people taking it seriously. How do you enforce a code of ethics for bloggers? Ethical practices of fairness, balance should be practices. Just because we could do something doesn’t mean we should do it.”

If a professional journalist does a poor job and loses credibility, they can also get fired. But what happens to a citizen journalist who does poor journalism or purposefully lies in a story?

“We do have to be held accountable for our own actions. No matter who you work for or why you write you need to act responsibly. We are responsible for our own actions,” said Pardue.

But at the same time, Winn thinks stories can be balanced to a ridiculous level.
“The other side of an issue doesn’t always need to be done. The state is being driven by economics and the environment is sometimes overlooked. Citizen Journalists tell it the way they think it is from their point of view,” said Winn.

WHY CITIZEN JOURNALISM?

What makes people want to be citizen journalists? It is a question that professionals have wondered about since no other profession seems to have such a high number of people wanting to try the craft as a side hobby or individual effort.

“Citizenship has responsibility and journalism is getting involved in civic matters and sharing this expertise on a topic. Being a journalist is like running for office or serving on a jury. It is not learning specialized skills in specialized areas. Being a journalist is a citizen’s duty. That is why I think people are getting involved in it,” said McGill.

Ratings and content might be another reason. For example, one audience member asked if the ratings and circulation game force journalists to report what people want to know instead of what people need to know.

“If you report on one thing there is always something else you don’t report on. It is a subjective business and we try to decide what would be of more interest to our readers,” said Lewis.

On a similar note, Winn says, “we make a content decision based on what we think is best for the common good.”

Click Takes You Back to Maps of Missouri Cities in 1880s

2007-11-14T09:36:00.000-05:00

With a quick computer search by city or street name, people can now study historical maps of every Missouri city between the years of 1883 to 1922 online at the University of Missouri’s Digital Library Web site.

Originally compiled and published by the Sanborn Fire Insurance Map Company to assess the risk of insuring property, the 6,500 maps in the digitized Sanborn collection are drawn at a scale of 50 feet to an inch. The maps include detailed information such as location of water mains, fire alarms and fire hydrants and are color-coded to identify the construction material of each building.

The Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) through the Missouri State Library of the Missouri Secretary of State’s Office gave the University of Missouri-Columbia Libraries a $16,208 grant to digitize and index the maps. The process took 18 months to complete.

People use the historical maps to research genealogy and historic buildings, to prove property rights and to study the history of a Missouri town.

Founded in 2001, the University’s Digital Library has 20 text collections and 23 image collections including World War I sheet music, MU sports posters, and Victorian studio portrait photographs. Other items recently digitalized include the Missouri Alumnus, the MU alumni monthly magazine; The Savitar, the MU yearbook; and The Tiger Claw, the yearbooks of University High School at MU.

To view the maps, please visit: http://digital.library.umsystem.edu/

SPJ asking questions about reduction in budget for student newspaper at UMR

2007-11-08T14:57:00.000-05:00

I was a college newspaper editor once. Now I am the president of the Society of Professional Journalists chapter in Springfield which SPJ is an organization that takes the First Amendment, media ethics and freedom of the press (professional and college) very seriously.

Our Springfield chapter was asked this week to look further into a situation where the budget of the student newspaper at the University of Missouri - Rolla was decreased (back in February 2007).

So far, most of what I know about the situation has come from blogs or newspaper articles. Folks (students and instructors) on campus seem to have decided not to talk about it.

But you can read a blog at the student newspaper about the situation about the situation.

Or you might also want to read the national SPJ president's blog for more on this subject.

Members of Society of Professional Journalists chapters in Springfield, Kansas City and St. Louis are asking questions on the funding issue for The Miner.

If the student budget has been cut, I would encourage the students to not give up. There is a saying that necessity is the mother of invention. If the budget has been greatly reduced, and staff still wants to be paid, what about moving the publication to an online format? In fact, MU has a great online format that can be used (see information on the emprint format at http://www.columbiamissourian.com/emprint). Students at a school for engineers would probably like an online format.

I had a similar experience while I was in college. And, then again four or five years after I was out of college, the student newspaper had the same problem again. The funding for the student newspaper was cut by one-third so the staff sold more advertisements. In a few years, the student funding came back.

But secondly, if the students at UMR are putting out a poor newspaper with lots of mistakes then they may deserve to have funding pulled. "Welcome to the real world."

Here in Springfield if you put out a mistake-ridden TV newscast you loose viewers (and then advertisers) and eventually staff. If you put out a horrible newspaper filled with mistakes you will see advertisers disappear, budgets will shrink and staff will be sent camping.

Unless there is more to the story, I'd say, "welcome to the real world" and find a good copy editor. I'll keep you posted as more information becomes available.

Light Humor in the Workplace is a Good Thing According to MU Study

2007-10-31T15:41:00.000-04:00

In this day of political correctness and workplace harrassment concerns, it is commonly believed that kidding around at work isn’t a good thing.

Well, turns out that some light humor is good in the workplace according to a University of Missouri-Columbia researcher, who has examined how workplace humor affects the working environment.

Chris Robert, assistant professor of management in MU’s Robert J. Trulaske, Sr. College of Business, said that humor – particularly joking around about things associated with the job – has a positive impact in the workplace.

Occasional humor among colleagues, he said, enhances creativity, department cohesiveness and overall performance. The conclusion was made by examining theories on humor and integrating literature from a wide variety of disciplines that touch on the subject. Several hundred sources were analyzed by Robert and collaborator Wan Yan, a business doctoral student.

“Humor has a significant impact in organizations,” said Robert, who also teaches psychology in MU’s College of Arts and Science. “Humor isn’t incompatible with goals of the workplace. It’s not incompatible with the organization’s desire to be competitive. In fact, we argue that humor is pretty important. It’s not just clowning around and having fun; it has meaningful impact on cohesiveness in the workplace and communication quality among workers. The ability to appreciate humor, the ability to laugh and make other people laugh actually has physiological effects on the body that cause people to become more bonded.”

So see, it turns out that I was doing the right thing all those times that a previous boss told me to "stop being funny."

Do learn more about the results of this study visit http://munews.missouri.edu/news.

First Amendment Expert and Freedom Forum director to speak on secrecy, security in Springfield Nov. 5

2007-10-23T14:04:00.001-04:00

Paul K. McMasters, an expert on First Amendment and freedom-of-information issues, will discuss “Secrecy versus Security: Can Democracy Function in the Dark?” at Drury’s Diversity Center at 7 p.m. on Nov. 5.

The Center is the historical Washington Avenue Baptist Church now situated on the Drury campus.

McMasters began his journalism career at the News-Leader in 1960, working his way up to editor of the morning paper over the next 19 years.

He went to USA TODAY in 1982 and worked there until he moved to the Freedom Forum in 1992 as executive director of the First Amendment Center at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, where he worked to educate and inform about First Amendment issues that arise in Congress, the courts, the media, and other areas of public life.

This program is co-sponsored by Peace Network of the Ozarks, the Diversity Center, and Drury University Pre-Law Program. It is free and open to the public.

Programs, Handouts Help Take Mystery Out of Missouri’s Sunshine Law

2007-10-18T13:15:00.000-04:00

James Klahr spoke about Missouri’s Sunshine Law to 40 people during two different sessions in Springfield on Oct. 11. His willingness to answer questions, and the information handouts he provided, helped to take some of the mystery out of this state law.

To view the Powerpoint Presentation that he used for the program go HERE.

You can also download the Missouri Attorney General’s Sunshine Law booklet HERE.

Readers might also find the Sunshine Law Policy template available HERE useful.

Here are a few highlights of what Klahr had to share:

GENERAL COMMENTS

The Missouri Sunshine Law is designed to ensure public access to government decision making and access to the records dealing with those government decisions.

If a board or a commission has five committees working for them, all of the subcommittees are also subject to the Sunshine Law.

“Your board has to have a reasonable written Sunshine policy or you are already in violation.”

“Liberal construction of the law is to be the policy which means the presumption in the state law that the records are open to the public. If there is a gray area and you can’t decide if something is open or not, then you should err on the side of making it open.”

CLOSED SESSIONS

“Closed sessions have to be on the agenda as well as the reasons why that closed session is being held. If the board is listing the same laundry list every meeting then they are getting lazy. It needs to be specific … not just an umbrella they can apply at the last minute in case they want to go into closed session.”

As of 2004, there has to be minutes taken in closed sessions. Those must show the votes taken by name. There are certain exceptions to the Sunshine Law that allow for closed sessions. Roll call vote must be known 72 hours later. Should also be note of the motion made.

“Boards are authorized to close portions of the meeting in narrow situations … but not required to do so. There can be good reasons to do so … but the law does not require it, it just authorizes it in certain situations.”

E-MAIL RECORDS

If electronic records are retained they are public record, even if the document is retained for a short period. If it is available when the request is made then it must be shared.

In terms of e-mail, transitory e-mail (like setting up appointments) doesn’t have to be retained. But if the e-mail relates to policy or the business of the office, these need to be retained. The type of document does not matter. It is the content that makes these relevant. Courts have not addressed the issue of deleted e-mail and the electronic record.

“E-mails are public records because they are generated from tax supported equipment. The hard question is whether or not e-mail is related to public business.”

VIOLATIONS

“The opportunities to violate the Sunshine Law have always existed and perhaps technology is providing more ways to do that. We have councils sometimes that will go into closed session for one reason but discuss other topics …”

“How things are handled is a big part of this. The appearance of how things are done can raise red-flags. Because of that, the assumption is that you should err on the side of openness. There has to be a trust factor and people need to be held accountable.”

MINUTES OF MEETINGS

Official minutes of a meeting are not required to be a transcript.

Members of the public have a right to get draft minutes of a meeting even before they are voted on or approved but they should be marked as draft.

Requirements for minutes are very vague which is why it is so important for citizens to be able to record what is taking place at the meetings.

Sunshine Law Programs in Springfield on Oct. 11

2007-10-02T16:10:00.000-04:00

The Ins and Outs of the Missouri Sunshine Law, a 1-1/2 hour unbiased educational program will be presented to the public and professionals at 2 p.m. and repeated at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 11. It will take place in the first floor classroom, University of Missouri Extension, 833 Boonville, Springfield. The program, sponsored by the Missouri Attorney General's office, University of Missouri Extension--Greene County and the Southwest Missouri PRO Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, will be conducted by Missouri Assistant Attorney General James Klahr. All attendees will receive a copy of Missouri's Sunshine Law booklet. A Q & A session will follow the speaker.

For more information, contact David Burton.

Philanthropy and Journalism Go Hand-in-Hand for Betty Nguyen

2007-09-25T18:24:00.000-04:00

Betty Nguyen joined CNN in April 2004 and now anchors Saturday Morning and Sunday Morning. You can read her bio here.

Back on Thursday, Sept. 13 she gave a presentation at Drury University entitled, “Humanitarian Work Will Change Your Life.” Several members of the local Society of Professional Jouranlists chapter attended her program, as well as a Q&A session later in the day.

Here are a few highlights from her comments.

“It is very difficult to break the cycle of poverty in most countries. That is something we don’t understand because here in the United States we have freedom to break out of the poverty cycle.”

“When you have a chance to make a difference in someone’s life, take that chance.”

“We’re all searching for that sense of purpose. The answer to the question: Why am I here? While family and career may drive your life, helping those in need will change your life. You’ll be surprised how much you truly get from the act of giving.”

"I love to document life and tell stories. That is why I love journalism. I get to tell important stories that can help impact a region or chance a person's life."

Referred to CNN at different times as “the most trusted name in news,” the “mother ship,” and the “place where news royalty works.” She also said it was important to know that CNN “covers the world as individuals.”

If you want to know more about Nguyen, visit this website about her non-profit charity called "Help the Hungry."

Journalists Should Expose Unethical Practices of Others in the News Media

2007-09-25T17:26:00.000-04:00

There it is in plain language, printed in black and white at the bottom of the Society of Professional Journalist's Code of Ethics. The code caught my eye because I see so little of it happen.

Right under the heading of "be accountable," the code says journalists should "expose unethical practices of journalists and the news media."

How often have you seen that happen? Unless the criticism is being leveled at some high-profile ethical lapse being talked about in the national media I can't think of any examples. Wait, yes, I can think of two blogs (Chatter and The Turner Report) that sometimes point out breaches of ethics in local news but I don't think that is what the Code of Ethics is suggesting.

Local examples seem to largely go unnoticed, or unexposed. Is it because media outlets don't want to attack the competition? Is it because reporters and editors don't think the community or common reader/listener would care? Is it because most local media outlets do not have journalists who are members of SPJ? Or is it simply because there is not enough space in print or time on the air?

I don't have an answer for this one. And I'm not claiming that there is tons of bad journalism happening in southwest Missouri. However, there are ethical lapses that happen from time to time and those seem to go unnoticed among local media outlets. I'm just wondering aloud about why that happens. I'm also wondering if there is a reporter, editor or media outlet that will pick up on this particular line in the SPJ Code of Ethics and breathe some local life into it.

Area journalists, as well as media consumers, would all reap the benefits.

Aurora High School Students Learn About Code of Ethics for Journalism from Andy Griffith Show

2007-09-24T22:56:00.000-04:00

Andy travels to Raleigh to locate noted newspaper publisher J. Howard Jackson and bring him back to Mayberry. Two weeks earlier, Andy ticketed the businessman for speeding. Mr. Jackson was issued a summons to appear before the Mayberry justice of the peace (Andy) within a few days. He chose to ignore the summons.

Now, a very irritated Mr. Jackson, accompanied by his lawyer, reluctantly returns to the small town to stand before Andy. He pleads guilty and is fined $15. Upset by having to travel that far to pay such a small fine, the irate publisher leaves the courthouse vowing revenge. When he returns to Raleigh, he orders one of his reporters, Jean Boswell, to go to Mayberry and dig up all the "dirt" she can find on Andy, then twist it into a scathing article against the sheriff. He wants AndyÂs reputation destroyed.

Being very discreet, the reporter taps Barney for anything that could be used against Andy. Barney, caught up in all the attention, proceeds to tell the reporter that if he were in charge he would run the sheriff's department differently. Barney continues to complain about crimes going unpunished (Emma Watson's jaywalking) and the blatant unofficial use of the squad car (delivering groceries to a shut-in). As you can imagine, Mr. Jackson uses Barney's words to write a scathing article about Andy's administration.

The episode concludes with a hearing to determine if the charges against Andy can be substantiated... . Barney reluctantly tells the court that he did say the things printed in the article ... (but) goes on to defend Andy as the best friend he and the town of Mayberry ever had.

The specific codes most obviously violated in this story included the following ethical recommendations.

Journalists should:

— Test the accuracy of information from all sources and exercise care to avoid inadvertent error. Deliberate distortion is never permissible.
— Diligently seek out subjects of news stories to give them the opportunity to respond to allegations of wrongdoing.
— Always question sources’ motives before promising anonymity. Clarify conditions attached to any promise made in exchange for information. Keep promises.
— Avoid undercover or other surreptitious methods of gathering information except when traditional open methods will not yield information vital to the public. Use of such methods should be explained as part of the story
— Distinguish between advocacy and news reporting. Analysis and commentary should be labeled and not misrepresent fact or context.
— Show compassion for those who may be affected adversely by news coverage. Use special sensitivity when dealing with children and inexperienced sources or subjects.
— Recognize that gathering and reporting information may cause harm or discomfort. Pursuit of the news is not a license for arrogance.
— Show good taste. Avoid pandering to lurid curiosity.
—Avoid conflicts of interest, real or perceived.
— Remain free of associations and activities that may compromise integrity or damage credibility.
— Abide by the same high standards to which they hold others.

Barney Fife may have summed up the problem in this TV show, and in the real life problem, best by saying, "When you are dealing with people you do a whole lot better if you go not so much by the book, but by the heart."

Journalists are in the people business. Yes, go after wrong doers and pursue the information citizens need to know but make sure your reporting is accurate. It is also good to remember that every story and editorial impacts a real person. That fact should be weighed against what is written and the accuracy of it, especially if the journalist is tempted to "go after" someone with a story or editorial

Online Profiles of Journalists Would Be in Keeping With Historical Development of Bylines

2007-09-18T16:23:00.000-04:00

In early American history, community newspapers led the way in forming and developing our democracy. They also informed citizens about how they could participate, kept readers abreast of important topics, supported the First Amendment and laid the ground work for the basics of community journalism.

One of the early ways newspapers made a connection with their audience was to begin printing bylines (the name of the writer) on each news story.

Much like having names on letters to the editor, bylines in smaller communities helped the reader to judge whether the author of the story had an axe to grind, was related to someone involved in the issue or whether a certain political agenda was being pushed.

Some research suggests that the use of bylines also caused journalists to take extra care in writing since their name was attached to story. This was especially the case in smaller communities where a reporter was likely to meet the people in his story on the sidewalk.

In theory, having bylines led to more accurate reporting, helped the reader and connected the newspaper with the community.

Much of this sense of “connectedness” is gone in today’s media world where journalists often come and go in smaller markets, moving around frequently.

Plus, a single name no longer carries with it as much recognition as it used to, especially in larger media markets. Most importantly, simply having a byline doesn’t tell the reader anything about the writer, their perspective or the subjective choices the reporter may have made with the story.

ONLINE BYLINE PROFILE

Would it be a good idea for newspapers and other media outlets to develop online byline profiles for their reporters and editors? I have come to believe it would be good for the reader and for an industry that is increasingly being criticized for ethical lapses and accused of being biased.

To be meaningful, these byline profiles would need to provide more than just educational information about the journalists and more than just three general sentences. Remember, one of the purposes of a byline profile is for readers to be able to understand the reporter’s background and perspective.

How about developing what I have been calling, “Online Byline Profiles.” Each individual publication could maintain these profiles on a website as a way to connect with the community.

Profiles should include educational information, but also information regarding a journalists religious perspective and background, political perspective, a comprehensive list of organizations they belong to (or support with donations), other published writings and a sentence or two regarding their opinion on certain key national topics.

One example of a profile and its content, this one designed for John Doe, is available online. From this information, you learn a lot about John Doe, his personal political views and his hot button topics. As a reader, you would be able to better judge the objective nature of material written by John Doe.

What do you think?

Sunshine Law Complaint Form Now Online

2007-09-11T22:06:00.000-04:00

JEFFERSON CITY — To help ensure that state and local government bodies comply with the provisions of Missouri’s Sunshine Law, Attorney General Jay Nixon unveiled on Sept. 11, 2007, an online form for Missourians to file complaints about violations of the law.

The complaint form can be found under the Open Government section of the Attorney General’s Web site at ago.mo.gov or at this specific webpage. Nixon said the new form will help attorneys in his office look into complaints about alleged violations of the law and try to resolve those complaints.

“This easy-to-use online form is part of my ongoing commitment to open government in Missouri,” Nixon said. “We educate, we mediate, and, if necessary, we litigate to help make the meetings and records of public governmental bodies as open as possible to the citizens of this state.”

Each year, Nixon’s office takes hundreds of complaints and inquiries from citizens, government officials and members of the media about open meetings or records. Of those inquires, some were questions that were answered by staff; others were concerns that were mediated by Nixon’s office.

Nixon’s office also publishes a free 80-page booklet on the Sunshine Law. The booklet is updated periodically to reflect changes in Missouri’s law, new court decisions pertaining to the Sunshine Law, and new legal opinions issued by the Attorney General’s Office on the Sunshine Law. In the past year, Nixon’s office has distributed more than 80,000 copies of the booklet.

Copies may be obtained by ordering them online at ago.mo.gov or by calling 1-800-392-8222. The online version of the booklet is also frequently viewed and downloaded.

SPJ/MSU Event to Focus on Citizen Journalism

2007-09-11T15:58:00.000-04:00

Go ahead and more down this date: 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 14, in Plaster Student Union, Room 313, on the campus of Missouri State University.

Dr. Andrew Cline, a member of the local Southwest Missouri Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, along with other faculty members at Missouri State University are putting together this exciting program.

Doug McGill, a former reporter at the New York Times and a nationally known speaker on media ethics and citizen journalism (http://www.mcgillreport.org) will be the featured speaker at this program (which will also include a panel of local bloggers and citizen journalists).

Area journalists and local SPJ members will be urged to attend.

More information will be coming soon.

Wow, I Must Have Hit a Nerve

2007-09-05T11:59:00.000-04:00

Last week I wrote a blog entry entitled, "Is There More Anger in the News Media or is it Just Me?" Well, I must have hit a nerve. A good one of course. The type that makes your leg jump, not the type that hurts when you hit it. Well, then again, it might be the other way around. I guess it all depends on your perspective.

And I guess the same could be said about my perception that many in the news media, and American society, seem to consider anger as the first approach to dialogue.

Feel free to weigh in on the subject yourself by reading the entry here. So far, this entry holds the record for the most posted comments. Remember, you can post your comments without leaving a name.

Early Warning on Media Events in Southwest Missouri

2007-09-05T11:55:00.000-04:00

The Ozarks Press Association and the Southwest Missouri Professional Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists have some great programs planned for this coming academic year. There will be more information coming soon but for now, mark these events on your calendar:

Society of Professional Journalists first quarterly meeting of the year begins at 11 a.m., Thursday, Sept. 13 at Clara Thompson Hall on the campus of Drury University, Springfield, Mo. Members will get to hear Betty Nguyen, who joined CNN in April 2004 and anchors Saturday Morning and Sunday Morning. Her presentation is entitled, “Humanitarian Work Will Change Your Life.” Afterward, SPJ members and area journalists who are in attendance can eat lunch at Lucy’s Chinese Food on Central Street and then attend a class presentation and Q&A with Nguyen at 1:30 p.m. on campus. If you plan to attend the speech, our lunch meeting or the class presentation please RSVP with me (at 862-9284 or via e-mail burtond@missouri.edu).

Planning is underway for SPJ Chapter events at Evangel and at Missouri State University. The event at MSU is going to focus on citizen journalism and will feature a nationally known authority on the subject. More details will be coming soon.

The Ozarks Press Association Annual Conference will be held March 20 -21, 2008 at the Keeter Center, College of the Ozarks, Point Lookout, Mo. Partnering with OPA on this conference will be the Missouri Press Association, University of Missouri Extension, the Missouri School of Journalism and the Southwest Missouri PRO Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. One confirmed speaker is John Schneller, Missouri School of Journalism assistant professor and Columbia Missourian metro editor, who will present "Flirting With the Digital Frontier." Our program details are currently being worked out.

Anchorwoman show cheapens broadcast journalism

2007-08-28T17:06:00.000-04:00

In recent years, broadcast journalism has been widely criticized for being biased or too entertainment focused. Others say broadcast journalists, especially the anchors, just read the news. Some movies have played upon this stereotype with “air head” television news broadcasters.

While I personally know that is an unfair criticism many Americans do not and now a new reality show called Anchorwoman (http://www.fox.com/anchorwoman) feeds upon this common stereotype. The end result, I think, is bad for journalism.

On June 11, 2007, the New York Times ran a story by Paul J. Gough entitled, “Fox reality show roils East Texas town.” Here is an excerpt:

“An upcoming Fox reality series about a model-turned-TV journalist is causing a stir in the East Texas city where "Anchorwoman" is being produced.

Model Lauren Jones arrived last week in Tyler, Texas, for a 30-day stint at KYTX-TV, a CBS affiliate, that will include co-anchoring the 5 p.m. newscast today. Jones, who was cast for the show by Fox 21 and the G Group, has been undergoing behind-the-scenes preparation as a reporter and anchor, her every move taped by a 40-member crew. "Anchorwoman" will run on Fox beginning in late August.

Jones is a swimsuit model and actress whose credits include WWE's "SmackDown!" and "The Guiding Light." She has no journalism experience; the show will be about whether Jones can hack it in TV news. She arrived in Tyler a week ago and has been put through what a station official calls intensive training in how to read a TelePrompTer and report stories on her own. …

This is the first time that a reality series will feature someone with no journalism experience who will be thrust into a job surrounded by real journalists. It has raised concerns inside and outside KYTX.

"One of the last sacred grounds of integrity in local television is the local newsroom, so I guess I would say I'm disappointed to see a station, much less one in our own community, that has evidently sold its integrity," said Brad Streit, vp and GM for KLTV-TV, the ABC affiliate in Tyler. …

Al Tompkins, broadcast group leader for the Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Fla., is more blunt: "It devalues the work of real journalists who are trying to do real work. It doesn't do anything to help the reputation of journalists there and around the world."

KYTX station president and GM Phil Hurley shrugs off the criticism, pointing Friday to the big story on cable news.

"Journalism credibility? I think that's somewhat amusing when all I see today on the cable news is Paris Hilton, nonstop," he said. "This is a TV show. It's going to be a comedy. They just chose to shoot it at our station." …

Barbara Cochran, executive director of the Radio-TV News Directors Assn., said that among her concerns is that viewers will get a distorted picture of what goes on in a newsroom.

"At a time when journalists are getting a lot of criticism, it's going to present a picture that doesn't show the hard work and deep thought that goes on in every newsroom," Cochran said.

I’d be interested to know what you think. Post a comment on this blog.

Is there more anger in the news media, or is it just me?

2007-08-28T17:03:00.000-04:00

Seems to me like news editorials, magazine commentaries, printed news analysis, letters to the editors, guest columns and news talk shows are full of anger these days. I don’t remember that always being the case. I don’t mean just disagreement over issues or people, I mean real anger toward people or groups that are in power or are in opposition to the ideas of the editor/writer/commentator.

It has become almost common place for journalists/commentators to include statements of hate in their commentaries. There are spoken and written comments saying they wish a politician would die, or saying they hate a particular group or ideology. What I’m seeing and hearing is more than just simple name calling (although there is far too much of that). This is real anger, real hate, leveled at groups and individuals.

One author, Peter Wood, says we have a “national epidemic of anger.”

Wood is provost and academic vice-president at King's College, an in his new book, A Bee in the Mouth: Anger in America Now, Wood explores the roots of that anger and the way it manifests itself in our culture.

In his book, Wood says this cultural anger has become central to our political process. In a recent commentary, Chuck Colson (breakpoint.org) explained Wood’s ideas in this way:

The discourse of our time has become about anger, with pundits, politicians, and their supporters acting as if their anger and hatred were virtues in themselves. Political and journalistic careers are built on being angry. It's a nationwide case of "I-hate-therefore-I-am," says Wood. As traditional virtues like self-control have eroded, replaced by new "virtues" like self-expression, anger and hatred have become celebrated, even cherished.

If you doubt it, look around. Read a bumper sticker or a comic strip. Pick up a newspaper or a magazine. Although Wood cites prominent cases of New Anger on both the right and the left, he sees a September 2003 article in the New Republic as "pivotal." That was the article that Jonathan Chait began with these words: "I hate President George W. Bush."

Wood comments, "Chait is a serious political commentator, not a barroom drunk." But Chait and others like him have legitimized a new way of talking about culture and politics that once would have seemed more at home in the barroom. They have demonstrated "that people who were eager to maintain a view of themselves as 'serious' and 'thoughtful' could, without risk to self-image or reputation, indulge in public vituperation" of the president or any other politician that they happen to hate. And many have followed their lead, with the result that true seriousness and thought have gone out the window. If you get angry enough, you prove your viewpoint worthy of respect—and that no one else's viewpoint is even worth considering.

Americans should do some serious thinking about how common anger has become in our culture and in our discussions of political ideas and people. Political debates are not won by who can shout the loudest, get the maddest or hit the silence button first. A person who cherishes anger can be downright dangerous.

Forum Attendees Develop Shared Vision on Issue of Money and Politics in Democracy

2007-08-19T20:36:00.000-04:00

Finding ways to develop public policies toward money and politics in a democracy was the purpose of a deliberation I conducted through University of Missouri Extension.

Nine persons attended and deliberated all sides of this issue before making choices and finding common ground.

Money has always been a political problem, but today, there is a widespread perception that the political thirst for cash is out of control. Now so much money changes hands in politics that a cloud of suspicion grows.”

Darkening this cloud above our political system is the daily news about the staggering amounts of money that lobbyists spend to kill legislation or obtain tax breaks and favored treatment in regulations.

Americans believe the entire political system must be done in the spirit of one person, one vote. The significant level of public alienation from politics calls into question the legitimacy of our democrat form of government.

The focus of this forum was whether Americans should reform the campaign fund-raising system, rein in lobbyists and politicians thirst for money or publicize all political donations, but not regulate them.

Most everyone seemed to enjoy themselves and by the end of the forum a shared view had developed.

“The diversity of political viewpoints and backgrounds at the forum, different as they seemed, appeared to be moving on a similar path be the end of the forum,” wrote one attendee on a post-forum questionnaire. “I saw the value in listening with more respect to others opinions but I also learned a lot from the content.”

Based on pre- and post-forum questionnaires, participants did change some of their views as a result of the forum.

For example, before the forum, 40 percent of participants said they were not sure about what should be done on this issue. After the forum, 90 percent said they had a definite opinion about what should be done.

A majority of attendees, 90 percent, agreed that “high campaign costs discourage good people from running for office.”

There was also a strong sense that “current election laws favor those who already hold office,” a statement that found support from 100 percent of participants.

The statement, “candidates depend too heavily on large campaign gifts from wealthy donors,” was agreed with by 100 percent of participants.

It is interesting to note that only 40 percent of participants felt that “restricting political donations infringes on the free speech of citizens.”

When the forum was over, post-forum questionnaires showed that participants had moved toward favoring some specific actions. Attendees generally agreed with getting rid of lobbyists, restricting (or greatly limiting) donations to campaigns, and providing free television time and public financing for qualified candidates in state and federal campaigns.

There was also some discussion about a participant’s idea to get Representatives and Senators out of Washington, D.C. altogether. His idea was to let members of Congress work out of their current homes, in their legislative districts, and linking Congress together electronically so business could be done more efficiently, for less money, with less support staff, and without continual pressure from lobbyists.

At the end of the forum, 90 percent of attendees favored this statement: “Reduce the power of special interest by using public funds to finance elections even if that would cost taxpayers more money.”

This statement, “Curb the power of lobbyists for special interests even if that means reducing the power of interest groups that speak for you,” was favored by 100 percent of attendees, including an active member of AARP who attended the forum.

On the other side of the issue, none of the attendees favored the removal of “restrictions on political donations even if that means that some candidates will have much more money than their opponents.”

What is Good Journalism?

2007-08-16T17:47:00.000-04:00

Journalism is vital to the health of our democracy, the glue of information that holds this complex nation together, according to a new book by 12 members of the Missouri School of Journalism faculty.

What Good Is Journalism? How Reporters and Editors Are Saving America's Way of Life, edited by George Kennedy, professor emeritus, and Daryl Moen, professor, shows that there is much to be praised about the state of American journalism today.

"Journalism tells us most of what we know about the world beyond our own experience by going where its audience cannot or will not," said Kennedy. "It keeps watch on the government and other powerful institutions, exposes wrongdoing and injustice, and shares the endless fascinations of everyday life."

Through stories of real people, the chapters trace the development of free expression through American history and show how the principles of journalism that Americans take for granted are playing a revolutionary role in emerging democracies.

The subjects of those stories, some famous and some unknown, range from American heroes such as John Peter Zenger and Ida B. Wells to Fatmire Terdvice, an investigative reporter who risks her life with every story in today's Kosovo.

Other chapters detail the remarkable growth of NPR, examine the community-building role of a small daily newspaper, and show the importance of investigative reporting. There is even a chapter suggesting how citizens can demand the quality of journalism they want and need.

What Good Is Journalism? includes the results of a national survey, undertaken exclusively for this book, that reveal how Americans really view and use the press. The survey shows, as others have, that news consumers object to what they see as bias and intrusiveness. However, these consumers also place great value on journalism's roles as watchdog, explainer and informer. Overall, they believe what they read and hear. With all its faults, they say, journalism is important in their lives.

The chapters and authors are:

Americans and Journalism: We Value but Criticize It
By George Kennedy and Glen Cameron, the Maxine Wilson Gregory Chair in Journalism Research

Journalism: The Lifeblood of a Democracy
By Sandy Davidson, associate professor, and Betty Winfield, University of Missouri Curators' Professor

NPR Offers News and Companionship
By Geneva Overholser, Curtis B. Hurley Chair in Public Affairs Reporting

The Hometown Newspaper Builds Community
By Judy Bolch, Houston Harte Chair in Journalism

Watchdogs of Government Serve Citizens
By Wes Pippert, associate professor and director of the Washington Program

Journalism Builds New Democracies
By Byron Scott, professor emeritus

Investigative Reporting Saves Lives
By Brant Houston, professor and executive director of Investigative Reporters and Editors

Computer-Assisted Journalism Creates New Knowledge
By David Herzog, assistant professor, and Brant Houston

How to Get the Journalism You Deserve
By Stuart Loory, the Lee Hills Chair in Free Press Studies

What Good Is Journalism? How Reporters and Editors Are Saving America's Way of Life (ISBN 978-0-8262-1730-1, $37.50 cloth) (ISBN 978-0-8262-1731-8, $19.95 paper) is available at local bookstores or directly from the University of Missouri Press. Individuals placing orders should include $5.00 shipping and handling for the first book and $1.00 for each additional book.

Goodbye to Newspapers

2007-08-04T16:24:00.000-04:00

Is it really goodbye to newspapers? One writer, Russell Baker, suggests this may be the case in a recent issue of the New York Review of Books.

The American press has the blues. Too many authorities have assured it that its days are numbered, too many good newspapers are in ruins. It has lost too much public respect. Courts that once treated it like a sleeping tiger now taunt it with insolent subpoenas and put in jail reporters who refuse to play ball with prosecutors. It is abused relentlessly on talk radio and in Internet blogs. It is easily bullied into acquiescing in the designs of a presidential propaganda machine determined to dominate the news.

Its advertising and circulation are being drained away by the Internet, and its owners seem stricken by a failure of the entrepreneurial imagination needed to prosper in the electronic age. Surveys showing that more and more young people get their news from television and computers breed a melancholy sense that the press is yesteryear's thing, a horse-drawn buggy on an eight-lane interstate.

Then there are the embarrassments: hoaxers like Jayson Blair and Stephen Glass turn journalism into farce. The elite Washington press corps is bamboozled into helping a circle of neoconservative connivers create the Iraq war. What became of heroes? Journalists used to dine out on the deeds of Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein during Watergate; of David Halberstam, Neil Sheehan, and Malcolm Browne in Vietnam; of "Punch" Sulzberger and Kay Graham risking everything to publish the Pentagon Papers. Instead of heroes, today's table talk is about journalistic frauds and a Washington press too dim to stay out of a three-card-monte game.

Read the rest of the article online for free HERE.

The article is worth reading and raises some important issues. What do you think?

Do "Harry Potter" Books Damage Image of Journalists?

2007-08-04T16:16:00.000-04:00

Over the last several years the journalism profession has taken a lot of hits. Headlines on topics like unethical practices among journalists, accusations of media bias, loss of circulation make it seem that journalism is in a downward spin.

One researcher at the University of Missouri decided to investigate the impact of popular literature on the image of journalism. Specifically, the student asked whether or not the portrayal of journalists in the Harry Potter books negatively impacted young readers' perceptions. Much to his surprise, the MU reseacher found the opposite to be true.

When it comes to how journalists are portrayed in J.K. Rowling's immensely popular Harry Potter book series, University of Missouri-Columbia doctoral student Daxton R. "Chip" Stewart expected perceptions to meet reality. The negative depiction of Rita Skeeter and the Daily Prophet, Stewart figured, would push readers' attitudes toward journalists in an adverse direction.

A recent study of 657 students at MU, however, proved differently.

"Basically, I did a media effects study of Harry Potter reading to see if the negative image of journalists in the books carried over," Stewart said. "I expected kids who read the books, particularly the fourth and fifth books, to have more negative thoughts about news media credibility. Instead, the study showed that Harry Potter readers had greater feelings about media credibility in spite of the negative portrayal."

The study employed second-level agenda setting theory to provide a framework for examining any effects that could result from Rowling's choice of attributes associated with journalists, such as untrustworthiness, immorality and lack of credibility. Second-level agenda setting maintains that news media - and in this case entertainment media - not only tells us what events and issues to think about, but also how to think about them.

The subjects of the study were non-journalism students who ranged in age from 18-22. First-year students were chosen because they were most likely to be born between 1987 and 1989, making them between the ages of 10 and 12 when the books began to peak in popularity in 1999. Participants were given either extra credit or entered into a drawing for $100 as an inducement to take part in the Internet survey, which was held over a three-week period in February 2007.

Five scales were created to measure the attributes identified in the framing analysis, i.e. journalists invade people's privacy, and readers’ responses were compared to those of non-readers. Across the board, readers of the fourth and fifth Harry Potter books showed less salience of negative attributes, suggesting that readers had more positive views of journalists.

Next week, I'll take another look at journalism and democracy.

Research by MU Professor Anaylyzes Questioning of Presidential Candidates in Debates

2007-07-23T14:01:00.000-04:00

Several months ago I wrote two entries about doing U.S. Presidential searches, American Idol style. One entry was entitled "Find our Next President American Idol Style," and another was entitled "Great Mind Think Alike."

Then during the summer, prior to the July 23rd Democractic forum on CNN, a new twist was introduced to the format. For the first time, candidates were questioned by everyday citizens via video by YouTube.

Mitchell S. McKinney, associate professor of communication at the University of Missouri-Columbia, drew calls from across the nation to analyze the debate Democratic forum.

McKinney, an international expert on presidential debates, has analyzed the process of citizens questioning candidates during debates and how Internet and video technology might be used in televised debates to engage young voters.

His research shows:

1. When citizens question candidates during debates, such as Town Hall debates, their questions are fundamentally different than those by journalists.

2. Debates in which citizens are involved as questioners result in less candidate clash and also elicit more direct candidate responses.

3. Viewers of debates, in which questions are asked by citizens, report greater learning and higher levels of interest in the on-going campaign.

4. McKinney's research also shows that candidate forums and debates that involve innovations such as the use of video segments and Internet questions are particularly effective in reaching younger voters.

To learn more about Mitchell McKinney, visit http://communication.missouri.edu/people/mckinney.html.

Interest in Rural Schools is Growing

2007-07-21T10:01:00.000-04:00

Back in 1997, I began a project to drive Greene County and comb through 100-plus year old records, to discover the rural school buildings that were still standing in this county. Turned out there were a bunch of them. In fact, nearly 70 of the 124 were still standing at that time.

I put together a book, which can be purchased from the Greene County MU Extension Center, and worked with the Greene County Historic Sites Board to get many of the better cared-for schools on the county's historic sites register.

Lots of information about this effort can be found at the "Rural Schools of Greene County Project."

Most recently, I have redriven the county to update a driving tour of the best schools. You can see an online map HERE or download the 10-page printed map (complete with pictures) HERE for free. In just 10 years, 5 of these buildings that were standing in 1997 have been lost. Others are in much worst condition and most of them are in need of attention.

That is why I was so excited this week to read about the efforts of a group in Strafford to restore the historic NorthStar School there. Read about that group's effort HERE.

Here is a little information about that school from my book:

#69 North Star
Stands at the corner of Madison and Olive in Strafford, immediately south of City Hall and Old Rt. 66. Serves as a community center. Original site of the school was south of Strafford on Hwy. YY, east of Hwy. 125. Building was moved to Strafford Sept. 8, 1952, south of the railroad on old Rt. 66 to be used as a club for the Women's Progressive Farming Association (WPFA).

You can find my photo of the school HERE.

For more information, send me an e-mail or post your question in the comments section of this blog.

Disappearing Bees -- An Answer May Have Been Found

2007-07-21T09:47:00.000-04:00

Way back on April 29, 2007, I wrote a newspaper column entitled, "Disappearing Bees a Cause for Concern in Agriculture." Well, I have some follow-up information on the topic. Researchers now believe they have found the source of the disappeance.

This was printed July 19, 2007 in PlantArk: "A parasite common in Asian bees has spread to Europe and the Americas and is behind the mass disappearance of honeybees in many countries, says a Spanish scientist who has been studying the phenomenon for years."

For background purposes, here is a piece of my column:

A new phenomenon in beehives has beekeepers and researchers buzzing. A breakdown in normal colony structure is causing bees to abandon their hives, said a University of Missouri Extension entomologist.

"They're leaving the queen, which is unusual," said Richard Houseman, associate professor of entomology. “In many hives, there are no bees at all. The broods, or young, remain capped.”

Affected hives also are slow to be "robbed out" by other colonies.

This phenomenon, first identified last fall, is known as Colony Collapse Disorder.

Bee experts are unsure of the cause. Possible reasons include mites, diseases, sublethal insecticides and even the signals from cellular phones and rely towers.

The disorder has been reported in 24 states. Missouri is not on the list, yet.

State entomologist Mike Brown said he hasn't had any official reports of CCD in Missouri. "Everything I have heard has been anecdotal," he said.

Both Houseman and Brown say beekeepers that have hives showing symptoms of the disorder should report their findings to the Missouri Department of Agriculture or the University of Missouri. They will need to complete a confidential survey about the details of their loss.

"It may provide some clues or common threads, such as practices beekeepers should avoid," said Houseman.

One local beekeeper told me he has only noticed one of his hives exhibiting symptoms of the disorder. That hive had no bees. No live bees, no dead bees, just honey.

For beekeepers the situation is scary. Not only can they lose half of their honey crop, but farmers also lose the benefits of pollination. And pollination is what the buzz is all about.

"In some states, the impact (of low bee numbers of pollination) may be large depending on the major crops," said Houseman. "In Missouri, our major crops are corn and soybeans, and they're self-pollinating."

He said growers of fruit and vegetable crops, such as apples, cucumbers and watermelons, may see an impact because those plants are pollinated by honey bees.

Right now Missouri's bee status is unknown. However, honey bees are big business in the state. Missouri ranks 22nd nationally in honey production, with 1.7 million pounds produced annually.

A guide sheet about honey bees is available from the nearest University of Missouri Extension Center or online at .http://extension.missouri.edu

For the full story on this Spanish research, visit http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/43163/story.htm.

Why All of the Unhappiness?

2007-07-17T13:50:00.000-04:00

A few months ago I saw a movie at the theater entitled, “The Ultimate Gift,” and it got me to thinking about happiness. Well, actually it got me to thinking about all of the unhappiness I see around me.

Then, last week, along came the results of study done to measure how “happy” Americans are these days. The headline on this story (from Reuters Life) says it all: “Americans less happy today than 30 years ago according to study.”

Here are highlights from that story:

Americans are less happy today than they were 30 years ago thanks to longer working hours and a deterioration in the quality of their relationships with friends and neighbors, according to an Italian study.

Researchers presenting their work at a conference on "policies for happiness" at Italy's Siena University honed in on two major forces that boost happiness-- higher income and better social relationships …

And while the average American paycheck had risen over the past 30 years, its happiness-boosting benefits were more than offset by a drop in the quality of relationships over the period. …

"The main cause is a decline in the so-called social capital -- increased loneliness, increased perception of others as untrustworthy and unfair," said Stefano Carolina, one of the authors of the study. "Social contacts have worsened, people have less and less relationships among neighbors, relatives and friends." …

He and two other Italian researchers looked at data from 1975 to 2004 collected by the annual General Social Surveys that monitors change in U.S. society through interviews with thousands of Americans. …

"The increase in hours worked by Americans over the last 30 years has heavily affected their happiness because people who are more absorbed by work have less time and energy for relationships," said Bartolini.

The results of this study are no surprise to me. It seems obvious: just look at the drastic rise in medical treatments for depression nowadays! The same is true in Britain. Although real incomes have tripled since the 1950s, the number of people who described themselves as "very happy" has dropped dramatically from 57 to 36 percent.

While there are many reasons why unhappiness is on the rise, people on both sides of the Atlantic expect government to do something about it. The same poll that measured Brits' unhappiness found that 80 percent of them believed that the "government's prime objective should be the 'greatest happiness.' "

One of my favorite commentators, Chuck Colson, recently explained it this way:

We have succumbed to the illusion that every problem has a political solution. All that's needed is the right combination of expertise and political will. Of course, the idea that government can promote or create happiness is absurd on its face: a New Scientist survey found that Nigerians and Mexicans, whose countries aren't known for stellar governance, are the happiest people in the world.

I suspect this trend toward being unhappy will continue until people realize that neither wealth nor government can ever be the source of true happiness.

Media Ethics Drown When Reporter Enjoys a “Swim Party” with Source

2007-07-10T23:45:00.000-04:00

My wife has been a bit obsessed with the story about missing mother Lisa Stebic. Here are the details you need to know:

Stebic, 38, was last seen the evening of April 30. Her husband, Craig, told police he was in the backyard — and the couple’s two children were not at the house — when he thought someone picked his wife up for an exercise class. Her cell phone and credit cards have not been used since. Lisa and Craig Stebic were living in the same house but were in the midst of a divorce and rarely spoke. Police have not yet named either a suspect or a person of interest in the case.

My wife has been checking online sources everyday for updates on Stebic. On Tuesday night, she yelled at me to come read a story that has moved this “missing person” story in a new direction.

A reporter’s ethical blunder is now overshadowing the news story she had been covering since April 30. Here is a summary from the Fox News website:

A Chicago television reporter’s job could be on the line after videotape surfaced of her at the home of missing mother Lisa Stebic.

WMAQ reporter Amy Jacobson, who has covered Stebic’s story, was caught on tape by the pool at the Stebics' home last week by rival channel WBBM Channel 2. The tape reportedly shows Jacobson “in a swimming suit top” at the pool on Friday with her children and Lisa Stebic’s estranged husband, Craig.

Neighbors told Channel 2 in Chicago that Jacobson has visited the Stebics' home frequently since she started covering the story. …

Jacobson immediately was taken off the Stebic story and was told to hire a lawyer, the Sun-Times reported.

Channel 2 obtained the footage of Jacobson at Stebic's home Friday but held out until Tuesday to air it. They aired the footage and posted a story on their Web site after the Tribune and Sun Times reported the matter.

Jacobson’s attorney, Kathleen Zellner, said the tape should not be aired “because unauthorized taping on someone's property is a crime.”

"You can't just go around videotaping and disseminating the tape. ... To me, it begins and ends there.”

Hmm… actually, it probably begins and ends with the Society of Professional Journalist’s Code of Ethics, which the reporter freely choose to violate. It looks like Jacobson let her media ethics drown while she went for a cozy little dip in Craig’s pool.

The obvious Code of Ethic’s violations that I see by Jacobson include:

-- Diligently seek out subjects of news stories to give them the opportunity to respond to allegations of wrongdoing. (It is hard to question a subject in a crime story if you are getting cozy with them at the same time).
--Avoid conflicts of interest, real or perceived. (Sure looks like a conflict).
-- Remain free of associations and activities that may compromise integrity or damage credibility. (I’d say Jacobson’s credibility on this story is ruined).
-- Refuse gifts, favors, fees, free travel and special treatment, and shun secondary employment, political involvement, public office and service in community organizations if they compromise journalistic integrity. (What integrity?)

I think it is even more interesting that her attorney doesn’t see this as a problem but instead is focused on how the video was obtained. He must not watch television news very often. I'd be interesting in knowing the thoughts of other journalists.

City Survey for Battlefield Online During July

2007-07-06T15:17:00.000-04:00

Residents of the City of Battlefield are being asked to complete an online survey this month about the direction and services of the city. The survey can be taken online at the city website, http://www.battlefieldmo.org.

"Residents that have Internet access at work or home can answer the survey at any time during the month of July. City residents without Internet access can visit City Hall and complete the survey on a workstation in the council chambers," said Judy Stainback, mayor of Battlefield.

Paper copies of the survey are available at city hall and can be returned by mail or faxed to 883-5840. City Hall is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

The survey is being conducted as part of a project to revisit the city Comprehensive Plan that was prepared in 2002 by the Southwest Council on Government.

The text of the survey was developed by a committee of citizens led by Wayne Dietrich, a community development specialist, University of Missouri Extension. The online survey was developed by David Burton, civic communication specialist, University of Missouri Extension.

Results will be presented to the city during a public meeting in August.

For more information, contact City Hall at 883-5840 or the Mayor at 882-9518.

Treat Internet Like a Public Square

2007-07-05T15:19:00.000-04:00

How much privacy and freedom of speech are Americans willing to give up in order to make the Internet a safer place? That was the basic question that guided a recent public issue forum at the public library in Republic, Mo.

Forum attendees each had personal stories of crime or fraud perpetrated on the Internet and many instances of unwanted exposure to sexual content. A few knew of stories about the Internet being used for hate speech and terrorism.

“Because of that personal experience, the central focus became where you draw the line on what is allowed. By the end of our two hour deliberation, this group’s basic conclusion was that the Internet needs to be treated like a public square and the behavior and content online needs to be regulated accordingly,” said David Burton, civic communication specialist for University of Missouri Extension and moderator for the forum.

PUBLIC SQUARE

For the group in Republic, the top five concerns about the Internet included its use to perpetrate fraud, its use to commit crimes, private information and records shared via the Internet, the exposure of children to sexual content and the Internet’s role in terrorism.

“I’d be willing to give up some personal freedoms in order to protect others or limit the top four concerns about the Internet,” said one participant. “I’d be willing to give up even more if I thought it would help the police catch criminals.”

That was a sentiment shared by most participants, many of whom seemed more than happy to impose the public standards of a public square on the Internet.

“Americans are free to assemble and make speeches and do all sorts of things on a public square. But we also want the police there to catch those who commit crimes and laws to impose public standards of decency. If you feel like the rules restrict your freedom, then practice those other freedoms someplace that isn’t so public,” said another forum participant.

SEXUAL MATERIAL

No doubt, people are deeply concerned about protecting children from sexually explicit material on the Internet. Adults worried about the impact of Internet pornography on children and about children getting on-line and viewing X-rated and other inappropriate material.

“The abundance of pornography on the Net is an indication of our ethical decline,” said one participant. “But I don’t think government censorship is the answer.”

In this and two previous forums on the same topic, people generally felt that whatever is permissible in print should be permitted on the Internet. So, just as child pornography cannot be sold in book stores, neither should it be on the Net.

As they deliberated, participants agreed that a First Amendment right is at risk here so the conversation began to focus more on improved software filters on the Internet to enable parents to limit what comes into the home (but not limit what is on-line).

PRIVACY AND MORE

People’s thinking about privacy protection online is an emerging national issue and that showed at the forums where this issue did not float to the top.

Early in the forum, when the issue was raised, most were not overly concerned about privacy violations, either on or off the Internet.

“Participants did not express much spontaneous concern about an array of other Internet issues, including hate sites, partly because people said they are protected by the First Amendment and partly because participants did not see them as presenting a danger,” said Burton.

COMMON GROUND

Was any firm common ground for action revealed? Yes. With the exception of what is illegal in print, such as child pornography, participants did not want the government to restrict sexually explicit material on the Net.

People were not terribly concerned about hate sites, saying such sites have a right to be on-line as long as they do not incite violence.

“In terms of privacy, people left the forums frustrated and concerned,” said Burton.

Nearly everyone wanted to stop government agencies from releasing personal information. There was a nearly unanimous sense that a person's medical information should be on-line and accessible, but only by health care workers, not by insurers or employers.

Media Companies Need Policy About Political Contributions by Reporters and Editors

2007-06-27T15:49:00.000-04:00

MSNBC reported on a story this week about newspaper editors and reporters at various respected publications making contributions to political candidates and causes. Juicy stuff for those who see bias in the media, especially when the story reported they gave to liberal/Democract causes at a rate of 9 to 1.

Here is a snipet from that story by Bill Dedman, an investigative reporter with MSNBC:
Whether you sample your news feed from ABC or CBS (or, yes, even NBC and MSNBC), whether you prefer Fox News Channel or National Public Radio, The Wall Street Journal or The New Yorker, some of the journalists feeding you are also feeding cash to politicians, parties or political action committees.

MSNBC.com identified 144 journalists who made political contributions from 2004 through the start of the 2008 campaign, according to the public records of the Federal Election Commission. Most of the newsroom checkbooks leaned to the left: 125 journalists gave to Democrats and liberal causes. Only 17 gave to Republicans. Two gave to both parties.

Other local reporters are writing about this same story. Folks like Tony Messenger at the News-Leader.

Journalists in smaller markets have similar pressures (to give to candidates) and a similar interest in causes. Most due not because of journalism ethics.

But what about company policy on this issue?

What is the policy at your newspaper, radio or TV station about political campaign contributions made by reporters, editors, producers and such? If your publication or company does not have an official policy, you might consider following the national trend which is to prohibit all political contributions by journalists to political candidates or parties.

A large part of being fair is the perception of being fair. It isn't possible for a journalist to do objective news stories on a cause or candidate they support.

Forum Attendees Say There is No Simple Way to Help American's Make Ends Meet

2007-06-27T15:48:00.000-04:00

Many existing companies offer examples of what is wrong with corporate America and the growing trend of paying non-living wages with no medical insurance.

At least that was the perspective of most participants at a public issues forum hosted by University of Missouri Extension. The forum was aimed at deliberating the trends that are making it harder for working Americans to make ends meet.

We had a very diverse group of attendees who considered three different approaches to solving this problem.

One area of agreement among participants was the need for more childhood financial education.

The group’s consensus was that much of the blame should be placed at the feet of corporate America for taking advantage of workers, at the feet of government for not cracking down on illegal immigrants and on the doorstep of schools and families for not doing a better job of educating children about finances.

While the group expressed real concern for the working poor, the discussion of three different approaches confirmed that there is no single “magic” bullet and all government solutions require tax monies from those who are working.

This group agreed that personal choices (quitting school for example) can lead to a life of hardship, but not everyone who quit high school has money troubles. There are other factors too.

For example, easy credit is part of the problem but our culture, and the fact that many families have become overly materialistic, is a large part of the problem too.

When it was time to talk about the need for living wages and benefits, this discussion group had strong opinions according to Burton.

Partipants in this group felt like the two biggest villains are illegal immigration and corporations who take advantage of employees. One participant who had an engineering degree was a living example of how many Americans work and still can’t make enough for decent housing and insurance. Most of the group faulted American companies for that type of trouble.

The third approach encouraged discussion about how private and government programs have provided a safety net for people with money problems in the past but are now failing.

This group was supportative of help from faith-based groups but skeptical of how far-reaching help from these groups would be. The consensus was that this problem needs government attention.

Somebody is listening - American Idol idea catches on

2007-06-15T17:20:00.000-04:00

As many of you know, I offered some thoughts on this blog several weeks ago about doing Presidential searches (or primaries) "American Idol" style. Here is the first column and the follow-up the next week on others who have had a similar idea. I've literally received hundreds of e-mails and telephone calls about the idea. I even had an e-mail from a student in New Zeland about my blog entry.

Well, add Tony Messenger, editorial page editor at the Springfield News-Leader to the list of those thinking about this same idea. His column, "Civilized dialogue on American Idol style television not a bad idea" appeared in print on June 10, 2007.

He writes:
But I thought of this year's American Idol and wondered, what if we combined our terribly inefficient primary and caucus system in which candidates spend literally millions of dollars trying to appease a few voters in Iowa and New Hampshire, and instead we brought the candidates on a stage together, and over a period of weeks, we let America vote?

Robin Carnahan (Missouri Secretary of State) knows the suggestion is riddled with pitfalls, but this is how big ideas begin, she believes. People talk about the possibilities and see where they might lead.

Frankly, our America needs more of that.

It needs more people of both parties willing to throw out big ideas and talk about them and mold them into successes before they are shot down by partisan sniping. ...

Imagine the gaggle of candidates we have running for president right now, all on the same stage, all having to give answers to questions in given topics, week after week. And after their answers are analyzed by a panel of experts — former statesmen, perhaps, sprinkled in with a journalist or two — America votes. Surely in our complicated technical world, we can devise a system to allow only registered voters access to the system. One vote per person per week. And like American Idol, the calls can even cost some minimal amount, and the money can go to charity, or perhaps to the public financing of the final two candidates.

Each week, a Chris Dodd or Sam Brownback falls to the wayside, and the suspense builds.

It would be great television.

It might even be great Democracy. ...

On an even more serious note, maybe the News-Leader and University of Missouri Extension's civic communications specialist in southwest Missouri (me) could work on this type of contest on a more local level. Perhaps we could partner with KSMU radio and KOZK (PBS-TV), do debates for the Mayor of Springfield or other local races, and have viewers call in votes.

I'd be happy to help in anyway I can. I like the idea but I can't make it happen by myself. However, I don't think government can force the idea.

Political parties or political subdivisions can try and force the idea but I'm not sure it will take off that way. We could even try call in votes as an "extra feature" to traditional debates and school board election might be a good time to experiment with it.

However, I don't think the idea will take off locally, regionally or nationally until a candidate is able to harness the popularity something like this promises. It will take a break through by one person to change the tide. Otherwise, candidates will continue to do what their political advisors suggest ... and what they suggest are the traditional methods of campaigning and primaries.

I really think Missouri could be ripe for a populist type of candidate but the problem is that there is not just one statewide media that could provide the statewide type of exposure that a viable candidate would need.

Another problem is that a winner of a competition like this would not have to be accepted by either of the political parties. That is what happened to the winner of the Showtime show "The Candidate." The leadership of the political party in his state said "thanks, but no thanks, we already have a candidate we are backing, and you are not him."

Blake Mixon, Parkview High School, Springfield, Mo., “The Importance of Free News Media”

2007-06-06T11:51:00.000-04:00

Given access to a range of sources for the viewing of world happenings, it is the individual who is provided with opportunity to seek the news from a multitude of perspectives.

Although it is true that many allow all that is read to them from a smiling face on a teleprompter to be understood as truth, the variety within options to obtain world events is far more than surface local news stations, and even respected national affiliates.

The importance of free news media is that there is a free news media.

One must realize that what is relayed unto them may not be exactly what is happening, the word of your friendly local anchor that flows beaming with certainty is only as certain as the person who typed his or her script.

To sound cynical is most certainly not the point to be created, but to view free news media one cannot rely on a certain station if it is in fact necessary to perceive the issues from many view points, not just that smiling face on the television. The realization that news does not merely come from the country one resides is an epiphany of sorts; other nationalities, other countries, other people may not view world events the same as someone such as anyone else.

The ability to be informed by such a plethora of stations and perspectives is a gift, but what is this gift lacking its own utilization? The importance is in relation to the beholder in relation to this free media, but then again, this news media is free, no one is forced to believe these researched objective opinions.

The greatness of this media is equal to the greatness of knowledge obtained, but what is this obtained knowledge lacking self-questioning, self-investigation? This gift of perspectives is only so once it has been applied.

This gift of free speech and research, of knowledge to be obtained, of possibilities of opinions. Being open to interpretation is the greatness of this information, this free news media.

Printing Anonymous Letters to the Editor Puts Public Trust in Newspapers at Risk

2007-06-06T11:47:00.000-04:00

Letters to the editor are the most read, discussed and cussed portions of the newspaper.

Offering an editorial forum (page) is one way a newspaper helps to preserve the inalienable right of people in a free society to discuss, question and challenge actions and utterances of our government and of our public institutions.

Journalists uphold the right to speak unpopular opinions and the privilege to either agree or disagree with the majority.

One way that can be done is through the publication of letters to the editor. Letters are printed in order to allow readers an opportunity to express views differing from those of the newspaper or ones expressed by individuals in published articles or other letters.

There are, however, two types of letters that are damaging to a newspaper's reputation as well as the public's trust in what they publish: letters with libelous material and anonymous letters.

Not running libelous letters is a policy universally agreed to by newspapers. Policy's concerning anonymous letters seemed to be a more varied.

However, research shows that running an anonymous letter to the editor is an easy way to get you or the newspaper sued because they are more likely to be filled with misinformation or libel. Because an anonymous letter cannot be identified with a person or group, it has limited value.

As a communication professional focused on helping restore the public trust in the news media, my recommendation is that anonymous letters to the editor should go straight to the spreader.

If a citizen has something truthful and valid to say, they should write a letter without trying to harm others and let the readers evaluate what they have to say in the light of who they are.

Often times, the names of the writer reveal other motives behind a letter. For example, a chairman of one county political party lashes out against the fundraising practices of another.

As a former weekly newspaper editor, I had a saying about letters to the editor -- “A person of integrity does not have to hide when they speak, or write.”

I know other newspapers keep anonymous letters and evaluate the material for potential stories but my experience has been that in probably 95 percent of the cases, that is also a waste of time.

Of course, that perspective is from the fact that I always tried to use the limited space in the weekly newspaper I edited to tell stories that were an essential part of our community journalism effort instead of dealing with rumors and personal arguments.

So here is the bottom line: in order to maintain the public's trust in what is printed, a newspaper's policy should be to pitch anonymous letters to the editor and do everything possible to encourage letters that express a wide range of opinions.

If it's worth saying or putting in writing, it's worth signing. Otherwise, it's worth nothing.

Kevin Demster, junior, Stockton High School, "Why Free News Media Are Important"

2007-06-01T11:53:00.000-04:00

Free news media are symbolic with a free nation. A people who do not know what is going on in the world, or even in their own country, are not free. Without free media, a country’s people are limited in their rights and are not truly free-thinking citizens. They are slaves to their government. Just as a standing army is a tool for tyrants, so is a limited news media.

Free news media are important because all people have “unalienable rights,” and it is immoral to take these rights away. Think about how it would be if news media were limited in the United States. The atrocities of tyrants such as Adolph Hitler and Saddam Hussein might have gone unnoticed by the American people. The president may have the power to declare war, but it is the people’s will that forces his hand. Without a catalyst like the American people, we might not have gotten involved in or gotten out of previous war.

Free news media play a vital roll not only war but also in politics. Without free news media, many injustices in Washington, D.C. might have gone unnoticed. Scandals such as Watergate and the Clinton/Lewinsky affair might never have been revealed to the American public. If all politics is local, a free media affects local communities too. When some citizens in Stockton heard (through the local newspaper), the town’s supermarket wanted a liquor license, they petitioned to make their voices heard. They also used their freedom to write letters to the editor. Even though they lost the struggle, and the stores sells alcohol, they used the media to share their ideas. They did not have a dull, chained mindset of a people who are enslaved by their government. They were free to protest.

Recently, a severe ice storm knocked out power for many people in southwest Missouri. When some people were getting their power back on, others were still in the dark. Some people thought the electrical company was acting in a biased way and made their complaints known through the Springfield News-Leader. Others defended the utility company and applauded the workers’ efforts.

Media can change the course of history. Would the American Revolution have even happened without Thomas Paine’s Common Sense? “Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered,” wrote Paine, and those words, printed by a free media, inspired people to overthrow the tyranny of the British.

People have a right to know about events, such as the genocide of more than 6 million Jews and about the atom bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II. Many more Americans might have died in the Vietnam War if it had not been televised. People have a right to disagree with the actions of the government, and the world has a right to know about events that affect them.

Free news media are important because they open people’s minds to the events going on in the world, and even in their own backyard; doing so inspires citizens to take action. Letters, newspapers, and television are the tools of free-thinkers, and in fact help people remain free.

What is the key to survival for newspapers?

2007-05-16T14:27:00.000-04:00

The survival of newspapers is a topic I’ve written about many times on this blog. Other academics and media groups are concerned with the same issue as larger newspapers continue to suffer from circulation loss.

Smaller newspapers (weeklies) and holding their own and some are even showing growth. Why is that? One of the main reasons is that these smaller newspapers are closer to their communities and their readers. The readers of community newspapers (small dailies and weeklies) feel a connection to the publication and they can identify with the newspaper.

If that is a strong suit for a small newspaper then there must be a disconnect between metro newspapers and the reader. Weekly newspapers cannot afford that type of disconnect.

A commentary in the December 2006 issue of Editor & Publisher by John Fredericks suggests that larger newspapers know this disconnect exists, they just don’t know what to do about it.

Frederick’s lists several suggestions for removing this disconnect. For starters, he notes that the return on investment (ROI) a reader receives from time spent “engaging with the content” of the newspaper determines the paper’s value to the reader. He contends that metros are not valuing readership as they should.

“Readers are fleeing because the content most major newspapers provide is not giving them an ROI on their time invested,” Fredericks wrote. “It’s that simple. Once again the basic principles of microeconomics trump the experts! The industry’s response is (similar) to the Queen of France 200 years ago. When posed with a similar dilemma, she boldly responded, ‘Let them eat cake.’ If memory serves me correctly, she was beheaded.”

In the November issue of Editor & Publisher, a commentary by Mark Moore, former editor-in-chief of Metro U.S., publisher of free, daily newspapers in three metropolitan areas, posed the question of what metro newspapers have to do to counter the readership trend and answered it this way: “Give the readers what they want.”

Moore, in his comments, offers some interesting ideas on what constitutes giving readers what they want. Two that are sure not to receive wholehearted endorsement are: embrace the tabloid format because it’s easier to read and to use, and have free circulation rather than paid. Internet competition makes paying for information seem archaic, and young readers especially know they don’t have to pay for their news, Moore says.

His other suggestions include writing succinct, informative, useful stories and using graphics and information/summary boxes to aid the reader; making readers regular contributors to the newspaper, especially as columnists; hiring young reporters and listening to their ideas; focusing on local news remembering that “quality trumps quantity;” stop endorsing political candidates; and get rid of editorial pages.

Those last two are controversial, to say the least.

Giving readers what they want is important to the survival of newspapers in American. However, does giving readers what they want harm a newspaper’s credibility? Should readers also be given information deemed important and useful for them to know even if they might not want it?

I’d be interested to know your comments.

Journalism's Future: A "Panorama of Possibilities," Concludes Overholser in New Study

2007-05-08T13:07:00.000-04:00

Downward trends in circulation have many people talking about the future of journalism. There is plenty of finger pointing but change seems had to find.

Even revenue from classifieds is moving downward as more Americans sell items via ebay or Craigslist. You can read the comments of Craigslist founder in Editor & Publisher about this change and what he sees as the failure of American newspapers.

Along those same lines, a member of the journalism faculty at the University of Missouri recently wrote about the future of journalism. Here is a release that announced her work during the fall of 2006.

Journalism will survive only if it adapts to the times, writes Geneva Overholser in a new report titled "On Behalf of Journalism: A Manifesto for Change." The report was released in the fall by the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania.

"The story of American journalism is undergoing a dramatic rewrite," says Overholser, a nationally known reporter and editor who formerly worked for The New York Times, the Washington Post and the Des Moines Register before joining the faculty of the Missouri School of Journalism. "The pace of change makes many anxious, and denunciations are lobbed from all sides - and from within. It's easy to overlook the promise of the many possibilities that lie before us."

Overholser holds the Curtis B. Hurley Chair in Public Affairs Reporting at the School and works out of its Washington, D.C. bureau at the National Press Club.

The Overholser report, a project of the Annenberg Foundation Trust at Sunnylands, in partnership with the Annenberg Public Policy Center, is the result of more than a year's worth of research and interviews. The project grew out of a June 2005 conference in Philadelphia that brought together 40 journalists, scholars and news executives to discuss the role of the press in a democracy and what might be done to enhance it.

In the process, topics such as the growing financial pressures on newspapers, the benefits of public vs. private ownership, credentialing of journalists, the role of government in a free press and new forms of media were discussed. At the conclusion of the conference, Overholser conducted additional analysis of media problems and potential solutions before writing the report.

She also created a list of "action steps" - recommendations designed to keep the nation's media vigorous and independent, while recognizing a dramatically different information landscape.

"We are not lacking for ways to deliver information," Overholser concludes. "What we are lacking, increasingly, is the particular kind of information that keeps free people free...The first step toward solving this challenge is understanding its magnitude. Then will come necessary actions from many different constituencies. We intend to pursue these solutions vigorously, in the fine company of others working on behalf of journalism."

You can find the full manifesto for change online here: http://www.annenbergpublicpolicycenter.org/Downloads/Overholser/20061011_JournStudy.pdf

Newspaper Circulations Nationally and Locally Trending Downward

2007-05-02T20:57:00.000-04:00

Newspapers nationwide are losing readers. In general, the trend in southwest Missouri appears to be the same – although some weeklies have shown growth. You can read about the national trend here. Basically, for all newspapers reporting daily circulation, the Newspaper Association of America said that daily circulation fell 2.1 percent while Sunday circulation fell 3.1 percent this year.

In Springfield, the News-Leader reported average paid circulation of 63,061 (daily) and 91,513 (Sunday) in April 2003. Compare that to the numbers reported in September 2006: daily paid circulation of 58,238, and Sunday circulation of 84,147.

How are other newspapers in the region doing? To answer that question I pulled out my 2002 and 2007 copies of the Missouri Press Association newspaper directory. Each of the newspapers in that directory self-report circulation numbers each year. These are not necessarily the same as the numbers that appear in circulation audits (as reported above with the News-Leader). Do you see a trend here among these 16 randomly selected newspapers in southwest Missouri:

DAILY NEWSPAPERS

Joplin Globe – 2002 paid 34,598 and Globe Sunday paid 43,000; in 2006, paid 30,242 and Sunday 23,684
Carthage Press – 2002 paid 4,278; in 2006, paid 3,854
Monett Times - 2002 paid 4,066; in 2006, paid 3870
Branson Daily News - 2002 paid 11,170; in 2006, paid 9813

WEEKLY NEWSPAPERS

Ash Grove Commonwealth - 2002 paid 1,498; in 2006, paid 1,000
Aurora Advertiser - 2002 paid 3,489; in 2006, paid 2904
Bolivar Herald-Free Press - 2002 paid 7,134 in 2006, paid 7,050.
Crane Chronicle/Stone County Republican - 2002 paid 2,446 in 2006, paid 2,316
Greenfield Vedette - 2002 paid 2,656 in 2006, paid 1,358
Lamar Democrat - 2002 paid 3,312; in 2006, paid 3,900
Marshfield Mail - 2002 paid 5,012; in 2006, paid 5,800
Mt. Vernon Lawrence County Record - 2002 paid 3,622; in 2006, paid 3,900
Ozark Christian County Headliner-News - 2002 paid 3,620; in 2006, paid 5,750
Republic Monitor - 2002 paid 3,630; in 2006, paid 3,050
Seneca News-Dispatch – 2002 paid 1,786; in 2006, paid 1,868
Stockton Cedar County Republican - 2002 paid 2,638; in 2006, paid 1,954

A few of these weeklies have shown growth. What makes the newspapers in Lamar, Marshfield, Mt. Vernon, Seneca and Ozark different from those that had a slide downward in circulation? The growth of those newspapers could be because of the product itself or the growing communities those publications call home. Or, readers may actually prefer community journalism. I’m sure there are other possibilities too as well as success stories specific to each individual market.

The bigger question to me is what impact is this change going to have on our democracy? Join in the discussion of this topic here.

Celebrate National Ethics in Journalism Week

2007-04-25T11:25:00.000-04:00

The Southwest Missouri Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists invites journalists and members of the public to join us in celebrating National Ethics in Journalism Week April 23-27. Promoting ethical journalism and freedom of information are the two principal missions of the Society of Professional Journalists.

The SPJ Code of Ethics can be found online. The SPJ Code of Ethics is an industry standard and was the first in the country, adopted in 1926. The code is a living document that has been updated several times, most recently in 1995. The code calls journalists to uphold four main criteria: Seek Truth and Report It, Minimize Harm, Act Independently and Be Accountable.

Good journalists recognize ethical behavior is crucial to their credibility and important in maintaining a solid relationship between the media and readers, viewers and listeners. The Southwest Missouri Chapter encourages working journalists to refer to the Code of Ethics for guidance as they tackle ethical issues in coverage.

The Society also invites newsroom staff to use its Ethics Advice Line at 866-DILEMMA (345-3662). To use the Advice Line: call, identify yourself, state your question and leave a call back number. Most questions will be answered by phone within 24 hours by a person trained in journalism ethics at Loyola University in Chicago.

SPJ works to improve and protect journalism. Founded in 1909 as Sigma Delta Chi, SPJ is dedicated to encouraging the free practice of journalism and to stimulating high standards of ethical conduct.

If you want to have some fun learning about journalist ethics, take the local SPJ Chapter ethics survey online.

"Why Free News Media are Important," by Syed Naqvi

2007-04-17T23:13:00.000-04:00

This award winning essay, interested in the regional SPJ First Amendment essay contest was written by Syed Muhammad Naqvi, a senior at Bolivar High School, Grade. This essay was a third place choice of the judges. Here it is:

Li Yuanlong will spend the next two years caged inside a Chinese prison. In July of 2006, the Chinese government charged and convicted this reporter for the Bejie Daily for treasonous acts against the state–in reality, he only mildly criticized the government for, ironically, not providing enough freedoms to its citizens.

While the leaders of the CCP clearly feel differently, one of America’s founding fathers Thomas Jefferson established the republic on the idea that “our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost.” While America is lauded worldwide as the “land of the free,” China is denounced as a repressive, tyrannical society.

Independent news and media present the population with unadulterated facts and feed the masses with a variety of opinions, even if they differ from those of the mainstream. By censoring all critics of the government’s policies and providing the people with only state-run newspapers and media reports, Chinese politicians hope to retain their iron grip over the country by providing for no room for dissent. Inherently, the Chinese establishment wishes to uproot democracy and subjugate the people into a life of servitude to their will, rather than being humble servants to theirs. In contrast, Americans are happy customers to thousands of news sources that constantly scrutinize and either support or criticize every single one of the government’s actions and policies. Most importantly, this keeps the population informed and educated, so that it may voice dissent or even take action (most often through protest or by electing new leaders) against any policies that do not represent the peoples’ best interests.

People like Li Yuanlong, who analyze and inform the public of the government’s many shortcomings, are not imprisoned as traitors but rather treated as patriots and guardians of the peoples’ will.

Perhaps the greatest tragedy of our age, then, is the willingness of the American people to murder this freedom of the press with the weapon of apathy. Record falls in newspaper circulation over the past few years, unfortunately, indicate that while billions around the world dream of and struggle for the liberty to express their views freely and publicly without persecution, Americans are more content to spend their time and money in front of the TV or in the theaters than to educate themselves on the inner workings of their government–in so doing, we risk becoming the only nation to ever willingly surrender the fruits of democracy rather than securing and expanding them.

The Ire of All Despots

2007-04-11T11:56:00.000-04:00

This essay is the submission from Matt Oursbourn, a student at Lebanon High School, placed 3rd in the 2007 First-Amendment essay contest sponsored by the Southwest Missouri Professional Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.

Imagine the following: government-sanctioned mass murders proceed unnoticed by the public and undocumented in the news, flyers condemning religion padorn the streets, political competition ceases to exist—a single leader reigns absolute. This scenario may seem the ridiculous dystopia of some paranoid harbinger, but this very plot unfolded during the Nazi regime in Germany and a similar one was played out during the rise of Communism in Russia. Restricted news media made possible the evils of these instances.

As independent and in control as we humans proclaim ourselves to be, in truth, our opinions are determined largely by outside influences. Thus is the great importance of the media. Each news media agency persuades its audience in a different direction. The more sources that exist, the nearer the viewer draws to sound judgment. Without access to multiple unconstrained media outlets, the public becomes helplessly subject to the will of the regulating authority behind the media. This is where despotism begins.

But to the ire of all despots, free news media ensure a liberated society by keeping the government responsible to the governed. The State of the Union address is a perfect example of this. Once each January, the nightly routine of sitcoms and reality shows is cast aside as every major broadcasting company and news agency televises the scene inside the Capitol building. The Chief Executive of the United States must account for his actions of the past year and propose his agenda for the next in front of the entire nation. This direct communication between a head of state and the people is a rare thing in history and affirms the fundamental principle of popular sovereignty. But when the correspondence between a government and its subjects is distorted by controlled news media, the power of public opinion is lost and those governing can literally “get away with murder.”

The era of Stalin in Russia exemplifies this concept. His actions effectively obscured from the public by the Communist-regulated news outlet Pravda, a paranoid Stalin executed the Great Purge in which hundreds of thousands of assumed “enemies of the people” were systematically murdered. The contrast between the two former examples demonstrates the great value of free news media to all governed peoples.

In addition to holding governments to some degree of honesty, free news media bring a diversity of viewpoints to light, which allows for variance of opinions among the people. The resulting intellectual hodgepodge ensures the perpetual presence of a rebuttal for every presented argument and continually checks the increase in esteem of emerging ideas, both of which are vital to the preservation of personal rights and liberty in general.

Free news media are a necessary aspect of any society worthy of the prestige to be alled such. “Pride goeth before destruction”[1] and controlled media goeth before yranny. To vanquish free media would be to relinquish any claim to intellect and any grasp of the ideals of fair government and freedom.

"Free Media" Essay by Skye Ronald a Top Three Pick

2007-04-04T14:47:00.000-04:00

"Free Media," by Skye Ronald of Stockton High School was a top three finisher in the Southwest Missouri PRO Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists annual First Amendment Essay Contest for 2007. Here is the text of her winning entry:

The First Amendment of the Bill of Rights states that all citizens have the freedom of press. This right is important for many reasons and has never changed. This right gives the media the ability to say to the public the stories that tell what has been going on around the world. All citizens of the United States have the right to speak their mind and share stories through news media. News media is the way of life for U.S. citizens. With this they have a way of knowing facts about government and stories happening all around them.
The media provides a variety of opinions. During the vote for stem cell research some newspapers included articles that were for the research, while others came out with articles against the research. It is important to have more than one news outlet so that more than one opinion on a subject is available. People need to see more than one side of a story.

Another good reason for the freedom of media is the fact that people can have an opportunity to see what’s going on around them and within their country. It is important to be able to know facts about everything from outbreaks in disease to kidnapping to simply knowing the weather. For example, lately there was a big issue about salmonella in Peter Pan peanut butter. Without the ability for the media to freely tell us that story, many people would have not been able to know about this illness originating from peanut butter. Lost children’s pictures are posted as soon as the family is able to get out the information that they had been kidnapped. Without the freedom to post these pictures of the child, a kidnapper could get away with a crime. Recent posting of information helped catch a criminal in the St. Louis area. And though it may be small talk, people always are interested in what the weather will be like, and even more so in times of severe storms.
So from the everyday to the national, news media are important.

So is Skye correct? Give us your feedback.

If All Journalists Followed Code of Ethics, the Profession and Democracy Would be Better Served

2007-03-28T12:10:00.000-04:00

Good journalism is vitally important for a strong democracy, but studies and surveys show Americans increasingly do not trust the news media.

This mistrust comes from several directions (liberal and conservative) but examples seem to abound, even locally.

No wonder Americans mistrust the news media when we have weekly newspapers where the editor writes news stories and then editorials on the same subject (actually taking sides). No wonder American trust of the media is waning when hosts disguised as “journalists” on talk radio shows only give one side of a story – and give it as fact.

Some national experts believe negative influences in journalism have been allowed to flourish because journalists have been working without identified standards of conduct.

As a result, they have lost sight of journalism as a public service.

Supporters of this approach point out that many professions, such as accounting, law, and teaching, require ongoing certification for participation in the field. Journalists should be subject to this kind of scrutiny especially given their unique role in our society.

It has been suggested that journalists should develop and post standards that help citizens discern fair and accurate news coverage and then should be officially tested and certified in these new standards.

What most Americans don't realize is that the Society of Professional Journalists (www.spj.org) already has a comprehensive "Code of Ethics” with four major components.

First, journalists are to seek truth and report it. "Journalists should be honest, fair and courageous in gathering, reporting and interpreting information," reads the Code. This covers the need for accuracy, as well as different aspects of reporting and the need to not impose their own values and biases on readers.

Second, journalists are to "minimize harm." In other words, "ethical journalists treat sources, subjects and colleagues as human beings deserving of respect” by showing compassion, not being arrogant, respecting people's privacy and showing good taste.

Third, journalists should "act independently." The SPJ Code of Ethics says, "Journalists should be free of obligation to any interest other than the public's right to know."

And finally, journalists should "be accountable … to their readers, listeners, viewers and each other." The SPJ Code of Ethics says this can best be done by "inviting dialogue with the public over journalist conduct, encouraging the public to voice grievances against the news media, admitting mistakes and correcting them promptly, exposing unethical practices of journalists and the news media and abiding by the same high standards to which they hold others."

If every journalist followed this code of ethics, the profession and the democracy would be better served.

Unwrapping Freedom

2007-03-22T16:39:00.000-04:00

A submission by a Stockton High School senior was the unanimous first-place selection in the 2007 First-Amendment essay contest sponsored by the Southwest Missouri Professional Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. The following first place essay was written by Katie Shellhorn, senior, Stockton High School. Here essay, entitled "Unwrapping Freedom" is reprinted here:

Every year at Christmas I anticipate opening presents with my family. After opening all of the gifts I usually focus on the main gift and push the less important ones aside. In a sense, I treat Christmas the same way I do freedom. I am thankful for the most important gift, which is freedom, but I find myself overlooking the small freedoms. In eighteen years I have overlooked free media, a freedom with significant importance. I’ve been so used to finding information through the news or Internet, but I never stop and realize that not everyone in the world has that freedom.

The first amendment to the United States Constitution, a gift given to all Americans, states, “Congress shall make no law…abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press...” Free media is the only way citizens are informed and not deceived. In societies such as George Orwell’s 1984, the government used media to control the people which resulted in a loss of individual freedom. Where there is no free media, there are no free people.
Thomas Jefferson, America’s third president, stated the importance of free media over the government. “…And were it left to me to decide whether we should have a
government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.”
September 11, 2001 was a day in which I realized the importance of the media. As I sat in my seventh grade classroom I watched the twin towers fall. I felt I was experiencing the tragedy with the people of New York. I was able to grieve with the suffering and at the same time I became angry with the terrorists. If I were unable to see the damage done to my country that day I would have had no idea how bad it truly was. Without free media I would have been left in the dark without any knowledge or understanding of what happened that day.
Freedom is a gift I receive everyday of my life. I don’t have to write it down on my wish list each year for Christmas or beg my mom and dad to buy it for me. Each time I turn on the news, listen to the radio or get on the Internet, I unwrap gifts of freedom.

What a great entry. I hope we find out in a month or two that Katie has won at the national level too. I'll keep you posted. Plus, I'll be sharing some of the award winning essays over the next few weeks. These are available for publication by any area newspaper that is interested.

2007-03-09T12:30:00.000-05:00

Quality of Weekly Newspapers Better Than Some Suspect

In the Feb. 27, 2007 issue of the Maneater, an independent student newspaper on the University of Missouri - Columbia campus, columnist (and pre-journalism student) Dan Friesen took a swipe at agriculture (students and families), rural living and weekly or rural newspapers.

The result was a firestorm of criticism from campus. Friesen heard the complaints loud and clear. He even issued an apology saying he intended the column, entitled “I can service a horse” as satire.

The newspaper itself backed away from supporting Friesen by printing an editorial note saying, “The opinions of Dan Friesen or any other columnist, guest columnist or letter to the editor solely reflect the opinion of their respective authors.”

Friesen’s views on agriculture and farm families have been dealt with fully this past week. However, one comment he made in the middle of the column, a comment about weekly or rural newspapers, seems to have been passed over by many. This is the one that caught my eye:

Can you farmers dig through all the daily events and weave a coherent yarn
explaining why any of it matters? No way. I’ve read the papers that come out
of the country. They have headlines like “O’Flannigan Cow Farts.” Nice try.
Tell you what: You stick to the … (farming), we’ll stick to the important
work of print.

I enjoyed my work at a weekly newspaper. I produced some serious journalism during that time and I met other weekly newspapers editors in Missouri who were considered to be at the very top of the profession.

During those six years at a weekly newspaper I heard plenty of comments from peers who didn’t think weekly newspaper work was “real” journalism. The comments originated from a stereotype, just like Friesen’s suggested “country” headline. The irony is that the only place I have read about cow gas over the last several years has been in national magazines and
newspapers that have written about studies on the impact of “cow methane” on global warming.

Here are a few examples:

ABC News did, “Global Warming Culprits: Cars and ... Cows.”

Terra Daily: “Cow Gas Study Not Just A Lot Of Hot Air”

Breitbart.com: “Cow gas study not just a lot of hot air”

You get the idea. Big city journalism does not always mean better journalism. In fact, good weekly newspapers that practice quality community journalism are having business great success and are about the only newspapers in the nation seeing circulation increases.

I’ve detailed some of that success of weekly newspapers in this blog before. Journalism needs more of the community/local reporting that takes place at weekly and rural newspapers.

But one other fact also deserves a special note. Weekly newspaper editors do garner national journalism honors. The Associated Press and other newspaper organizations recognize their work and several have actually won the Pulitzer Prize. John Hatcher has a great piece, “Small papers, big stories: a comparison of community newspapers that have won the Pulitzer Prize” in the Spring 2005 issue of the Grassroots Editor, the quarterly journal published by the International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors (www.iswne.org). Perhaps this
journal article should be required reading for journalism students.

I hope the writer of the Maneater column has learned a lesson or two. I know when I was young, and a college newspaper editor, I made some foolish decisions too. The bad thing about putting your opinions in print is that year’s later, they can come back to haunt you.

Government Bodies Should Adopt Sunshine Law Policy

2007-03-01T22:25:00.000-05:00

A strong Missouri Sunshine Law is essential to open and fair government. But based on my past experience, there are times when tax supported public bodies (and there are lots of them) get lazy in following the Missouri Sunshine Law.

Just like I need an occasional reminder on AP Style and coaching baseball, public governmental bodies probably need regular reminders about the Missouri Sunshine Law.

The Missouri Press Association is recommending that every tax funded (public) board go through and personalize -- and then approve – a model Sunshine Law Policy.

You can download a template of a very good six-paged policy here: http://www.mopress.com/Files/PGBSunshinePolicyForm.pdf. It is self explanatory.

I’ve read the policy and I think it has merit for any public body. The policy could help groups avoid some common problems.

When it comes to the Missouri Sunshine Law, my suggestion is to “err on the side of openness” by always posting a notice and keeping meetings as open as legally possible.

Missouri’s legislators passed their first Sunshine Law in 1973 just a few years after the federal Freedom of Information Act was enacted.

The single most important thing for reporters and citizens to know is that the “right to know” is not a constitutional right, but a statutory one. So, only legislative support can save Freedom of Information laws like the Sunshine Laws.

It is also important to know that the Sunshine Law is not designed to benefit the news media. The law is designed to protect and inform the public. It opens doors so reporters -- and individuals -- can see government at work, and find out how taxpayer money is being spent. Knowing what your public servants are doing and how they are spending your money is critical to having a strong democratic society.

Sunshine Week is coming up in Missouri (March 11-17). Learn more at http://www.mopress.org.

Interviewing Tips for Reporters

2007-02-22T22:17:00.000-05:00

Most of this list of interviewing commandments is condensed from a reportby Karl Harter published in Creativity Connection from the University ofWisconsin-Madison.

1. Do your homework. Always be prepared.
2. Be punctual.
3. Tape whenever possible.
4. Note details, including mannerisms. (Realize, however, that a tic orevasiveness may not be the result of the questioning. Some people are normally shy or nervous.)
5. Avoid yes-or-no questions.
6. Take copious notes. If you get behind, ask the subject to give you amoment to catch up so you don't miss or misunderstand good information.
7. Be yourself. That should be simple because the discussion will be about the other person and you will have something to talk about. You won't have tocreate small talk.
8. Proceed from nice. Save the tough questions for later.
9. Drop names if it will help you get an interview.
10. Ask questions, shut up and take notes. Give the person plenty of time toanswer, even to the extent of prolonging pauses. (This will give you a chanceto catch up on your note taking and it will give the subject a change toreorganize, refine or embellish the initial response.)
11. Be sure the person knows your name and phone number.
12. Ask the person if you can call later if you need to clarify something.Then don't hesitate to call.
13. Be certain the subject knows the reason for the interview. If you suspectsomeone of cheating people, don't ask for an interview about the person'sunusual hobby.

SPJ Chapter Hosting Media Critic at Noon Meeting, Feb. 21

2007-02-15T14:51:00.000-05:00

The Southwest Missouri Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists will host a brown-bag lunch discussion with Norman Solomon, an author and media critic, from noon to 2 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 21 in the training room at the Springfield News-Leader, 651 Boonville Ave., Springfield, Mo.

Solomon writes “Media Beat,” a weekly syndicated column on the news media and politics that runs in newspapers across the country.

Solomon is the founder and executive director of the Institute for Public Accuracy, a national consortium of policy researchers and analysts, and is a longtime associate of the media watch group FAIR (Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting).

A collection of Solomon’s columns won the George Orwell Award for Distinguished Contribution to Honesty and Clarity in Public Language. That award was presented by the National Council of Teachers of English and it honored Solomon’s book, “The Habits of Highly Deceptive Media.”

In 2003, Norman Solomon appeared on CNN more than a dozen times as an in-studio guest. Solomon’s op-ed articles have appeared in a range of newspapers including the Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Newsday, New York Times, Boston Globe, Miami Herald, USA Today, Philadelphia Inquirer and Baltimore Sun.

“Solomon clearly has strong opinions about what is right and wrong with the media. He believes that some journalists rely on bias instead of facts when reporting stories. This discussion will allow him to share his views and experiences with members of local media. It will also give local journalists a chance to question him,” said Michelle Rose, a local SPJ member and non-daily publications editor at the News-Leader who helped to organize this special event.

For more information, visit Solomon’s Web site, www.normansolomon.com, which features a biography, his columns and information about his books. His most recent “Media Beat” columns can also be found at www.fair.org.

For directions or more information on the program contact Michelle S. Rose at 837-1371 or by e-mail at mrose@news-leader.com.

Society of Professional Journalists is the nation’s largest journalism organization, dedicated to encouraging the free practice of journalism and stimulating high standards of ethical behavior. Founded in 1909 as Sigma Delta Chi, SPJ promotes the free flow of information vital to a well-informed citizenry; works to inspire and educate the next generation of journalists; and protects First Amendment guarantees of freedom of speech and press. The SPJ chapter in southwest Missouri has about 25 members.

How to use the Sunshine Law

2007-02-12T23:09:00.000-05:00

The Missouri open meetings and records law says that most meetings and records must be open, with a few exceptions that are to be "strictly construed." The most common are for personnel matters, legal advice and for discussions of real estate transactions when public knowledge might affect the costs.

Citizens may ask to inspect or obtain copies of records. It's best to put the request in writing, being as specific as possible about the records you are seeking. Under the law, a government official must respond to your request within 72 hours.

Public meetings must be advertised at least 24 hours in advance, with a tentative agenda of the meeting.

You can find more specific information about how the Sunshine Law works and how you can use it at several Internet sites. Among them:

www.ago.mo.gov. The state attorney general's site has the most complete information specific to Missouri's law. The site includes the full text of the law, a Q&A, judicial and attorney general opinions about the law, and sample forms for requesting documents. The information on the site also is available in a pamphlet distributed through attorney general's offices around the state.

www.rcfp.org. The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press site includes "Tapping Officials Secrets," a state-by-state, searchable guide to sunshine laws in all 50 states. Also at this site: "How to Use the Federal FOI Act" and "The First Amendment Handbook."

www.spj.org/foia_opendoors.asp. The Society of Professional Journalists publishes "Open Doors," a guide on how to use federal and state freedom of information. The text is available online or in a printed pamphlet.

www.citizenaccess.org. This site, a project of the Brechner Center for Freedom of Information at the University of Florida, offers in-depth analysis of state FOI laws and provides comparisons between states.

http://foi.missouri.edu. The Freedom of Information Center at the University of Missouri is packed with research on state and federal Sunshine Laws. It also includes sample letters for making an FOI request

Top 10 Reasons to Subscribe to a Newspaper

2007-02-07T08:45:00.000-05:00

If you're looking for an effective sales piece to enclose with sample copies, or almost any subscription promotion, here's an effective sales tool from the Blair (NE) Enterprise titled “TOP 10 REASONS TO SUBSCRIBE TODAY!” It can be adapted for any newspaper.

10. We're really a lot of fun. It's not all hard facts and numbers. We'll give you weekly listings of what's happening in the area on our "To Do" page. You'll find weekly features on interesting people, recipes, "How To's", plenty of special columns, letters to the editor and much more.

9. Our focus is your community. No other publication in the world cares about your community as much as we do. No other publication is strictly focused on Washington County. That's our mission, and nobody does it better.

8. A free Enterprise mug or stadium cushion. If you take advantage of this free trial offer, then subscribe when we invoice you at the end of your trial subscription. Just pick up your free gift at the Enterprise office, 138 N. 16th in Blair, NE.

7. It's a really great deal. It costs you less than 30 cents an issue-and it's delivered to your door, twice each week. That's less than half price if you buy it at the newsstand. You'll be saving $42 a year off the cover price.

6. It's full of 'Classified' information. Classified advertising that is. Subscribers will get our Classified pages twice each week. You'll be informed about all those great deals, like garage sales, cars and trucks for sale, pets and much more.

5. Save money. You'll receive all the advertising, circulars and special sections that are brimming with moneysaving specials. You'll probably be able to save enough your first week of shopping to pay for your entire year's subscription.

4. Save time. We're your one-stop information source. We gather all the news and information from Washington County and pack it into two editions each week. It's always there to refer back to. You can scan our pages in a few minutes twice each week, and know what's been happening around your community.

3. Get to know your neighbors. Some months we have in excess of 1,000 faces in photos of the people of Washington County. You're bound to know someone who has their picture in the paper this week.

2. Be informed about your community. It's our job to find out the details. Whether it's covering the school board, city council, county board or any other important meeting, we're there, and we'll get you the facts.

1. FREE TRIAL OFFER. Here's your chance to give us a try, at absolutely no risk to you. It's easy. Just fill out the attached postcard, and drop it in the mail. The postage is already paid. Then enjoy your local newspapers!

Thanks and a tip of the hat to Mark Rhoades, publisher of the Enterprise.

What Happens When Past Editorials Come Back to Life?

2007-01-31T11:55:00.000-05:00

Everyone has an opinion but not everyone puts them in print for the world to read.

That fact has caused grief for some newspaper editors and reporters who decide to switch careers and are then singled out for “politically incorrect speech” by persons offended by past editorials.

It can be a touchy situation when you change from an being an editor, where you are paid to write thought provoking editorials that may raise the hair on people’s neck, to other types of jobs where you can be encouraged to keep your personal opinions to yourself.

That fact led me to do a study in 2005 among other current and past newspaper editors. The goal was to determine what sort of impact past opinion columns and editorials have (or can have) on future work.

CASE STUDY FACTS

Imagine the day when you are no longer a newspaper editor or journalist. You apply for (or even get) another job which works with and represents diverse audiences and opinions. What happens when a potential employer, or co-worker, discovers an editorial you had written 12 years before? Assume also that the topic of the editorial, and position taken by you, are not in keeping with the position of your new (or potentially new) employer or co-worker.

What is a former editor to do? You may have written hundreds, maybe thousands, of editorials during your tenure. What can you, as a former editor whose work is available for the public to see, do to protect your career? What are you ethically bound to do? When does this become a First Amendment issue? And finally, what about damage control to your reputation?

NATIONWIDE RESPONSES

Here are a few of the responses that were shared in regard to this journalism ethics scenario when it was posed to a group of nearly 300 practicing community journalists from around the United States.

Put it in context
“Unlike a tattoo that can be surgically removed, the newspaper, its editorials, and your work will be around as long as bound volumes remain at the county courthouse, the library keeps microfilm and the website archives are in place. I hope I am never ashamed of the work that I do, including the paper trail I leave behind. I think each editor needs to explain what they were thinking and doing five, 10 or 20 years ago to put an older editorial in perspective. Experiences change. Life changes. People are allowed to change their positions and philosophies.”
--- Stacy Chastian, editor, The News Observer in Blue Ridge, Ga.

This feedback came from local journalists.

Editorials reflect character
“I have written columns and editorials for over 28 years and I'm sure that anyone who had read them consistently has formed an opinion of my character and values based on the words I've written. I don't necessarily hold with the same opinions I had 15 or 20 years ago, but neither do I apologize for them. If a writer has been true to himself, then his editorials and columns are an honest reflection of his character and a part of the package. I am who I am. The question you pose is so far outside the realm of concern that I've never even considered it.”
--Jim Hamilton, editor, Herald Free-Press, Bolivar, Mo.

Editorials are supposed to be provocative
“An editor is always vulnerable to the ramifications of an editorial. Our publisher in 1940 wrote an editorial saying it was wrong for the U.S. to get into a war in Europe. I refer to it today as a classic. If the opinion piece can't be defended 10 years from now, it shouldn't be written today. Editors should not have to apologize for their work. If they do, they should have been more thoughtful in the first place. If the new employer has a problem with such a piece, there will be other problems in the future. Any employer should know an opinion piece, by the nature of opinion pieces, at times should be provocative. If an old one still is, the writer should be respected for delivering the goods, and any good writer should be able to work with a superior in shaping opinion pieces for the current market, even if the views haven't always matched.”
-- Murray Bishoff, editor, Monett Daily Times, Monett, Mo.

This national voice also chimed in with feedback.

What is the big deal?
“I don't see a problem. I've been writing editorials for 20 years on a daily basis. Anyone is welcome to go back and look at any of them. I know perfectly well that there are plenty of individuals, businesses and organizations that would never hire me because of editorials I have written over the years. That's the price I pay for telling the truth as I see it. If you are worried that someday someone might hold you accountable for what you are writing and that it might hurt your future earning potential, you have no business in this business. Those of us who set ourselves up as the conscience of our communities by writing editorials and pontificating on how others should conduct their own business or the public's business need to realize that we'll never become popular or beloved. The most we should hope for is that fair minded people will examine the body of our work and find that occasionally we made a point worth considering.”
-- James E. Reagen, Managing Editor, The Journal Advance News, Ogdensburg, N.Y.

Join in the discussion

Feel free to join in the discussion on this topic by submitting a comment to this blog.
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Community Building with Community Journalism

2007-01-23T23:03:00.000-05:00

When you find a newspaper that concentrates on local coverage, has a tone that is positive and supportive, and also strives to find solutions to community issues, you have found a newspaper that practices community journalism.

Community journalism is the belief that newspapers have an obligation that goes beyond just telling the news or unloading facts. Journalism can help empower a community or it can help disable it. In the small towns and cities of America, the local newspaper is one of the links that connects people. It is one of the ways the community is maintained. It is part of the local discussion on issues that concern a community.

True community journalism has been defined as the style of intensely local-first coverage provided by “small” newspapers. The American Society of Newspaper Editors draws the line between large and small newspapers at the 50,000 circulation mark. That means there are about 1,533 "small" daily newspapers and 7,437 small weeklies in America.

Southwest Missouri is dominated by community newspapers, which throw their news and editorial weight behind providing local coverage. The finest community newspapers know they are key stakeholders in the forces that help build and grow their communities.

In the small communities I know, the publisher, editor and reporters are recognized on the street. The people at the newspaper belong to the same local organizations and churches as the rest of the community. For the most part, the people at the newspaper fall into the same economic bracket as other the community members. There is an accessibility and interactive quality that makes the newspaper a community resource.

Community journalism means having newspapers concentrate on being a fair-minded participant in public life, with journalists as citizens, instead of reporters being detached. It means the local newspaper does more than describing what is going wrong; it imagines what "going right" would be like and how those community connections can be made.

It also means the local newspaper goes beyond seeing people as merely consumers or readers to seeing them as actors in arriving at democratic solutions to public problems.

Is death notice of newspapers premature?

2007-01-18T22:17:00.000-05:00

The changing landscape of print media is a frequent topic on this blog. And in one recent blog I wrote that more local coverage would help newspapers survive. Others in the area have shared similar thoughts and now an article with similar themes has appeared in the International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editor's quarterly magazine.

The article, "Hold that obit! The report of our death has been greatly exaggerated," is written by Jock Lauterer, the author of Community Journalism: Relentlessly Local 3rd. ed., 2006, the University of North Carolina Press. He teaches journalism at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He can be contacted at jock@email.unc.edu.

Here is a bit of what he has to say:

The late Charles Kuralt, with his typical gift for the cogent, was the first journalist I ever heard use the expression “relentlessly local.” And I would argue it’s that local-local-local news emphasis that gives the community papers their vision, identity, franchise and future. In the words of Pennsylvania community newspaper editor Jim Sachetti of the Bloomsburg Press-Enterprise, “Local? — It’s the only game in town!”

I would recommend the entire article, but in case you don't get around to it here is one more quote worth reading:

What is it about community papers that make them so viable? Consider the comments of cowboy poet and columnist Baxter Black, who wrote the following in a column titled, “Why I Love My Hometown Paper,” (a weekly in San Pedro, Ariz.): “Small-town papers often thrive because CNN or the New York Times are not going to scoop them for coverage of the ‘VFW Fish Fry’ or ‘Bridge Construction Delay’ or boys and girls playing basketball, receiving scholarships, graduating, getting married or going off to war... I think of local papers as the last refuge of unfiltered America — a running documentary of the warts and triumphs of Real People — unfettered by the Spin and Bias and the Opaque Polish of today’s Homogenized Journalism. It is the difference between Homemade Bread and Pop Tarts.”

ISWNE makes a contribution to the profession by publishing the Grassroots Editor, a quarterly journal that presents significant articles by journalists and academics. Ethical and legal matters are often discussed, and the present and future share the reader's attention with occasional articles of historical interest. The magazine, which comes with ISWNE membership, is also available by subscription and is found in libraries and journalism schools around the world.

New Stories Should Focus on Person, Not Disability

2007-01-09T14:22:00.000-05:00

I came across this story that I wrote in July of 2003 and felt like it was worth sharing again in this space as a reminder of something that is often over-looked:

There are over 54 million people with various types and degrees of disabilities in the United States according to Ann Morris, executive director of the Southwest Center for Independent Living, Springfield, Mo.

However, there is also a growing need for the news media to do a better job of portraying what it means to be disabled.

"If the disability is not part of the story, don't bring it up," said Morris. "And, if you do bring it up, don't sensationalize it by saying a person is 'afflicted with', 'suffers from', or is a 'victim of' a particular disability."

Morris also sees opportunities for the news media to show people with disabilities as active participants of society and to be a driving force in changing how society views them.

"What I would like to see is journalists talking more about how we value disabled people or showing examples of this, like writing about the expenditures being made toward ADA compliance," said Morris. "Instead of writing about a disability, focus on issues like accessible transportation, affordable health care and discrimination."

According to Dr. Chris Craig, assistant dean of education services at Southwest Missouri State University, the greatest need in news coverage is for the media to put people first.

"Talk about the person, not the disability by putting people first, with phrases like, the man who is blind, instead of focusing on the fact I am blind. If you have to mention the disability, be sure the story shows the disability is only one characteristic of the whole person," said Craig.

Another concern expressed by the panel is the tendency for the news media to portray successful people with disabilities as superhuman. Portraying people with disabilities as superstars raises false expectations that all people with disabilities should achieve this same level.

"Don't overstate the accomplishments of a disabled person because it gives the impression they are unusual when the fact is there are millions of very intelligent and successful disabled people," said Craig. "Overstating accomplishments, or writing about a disabled person's super achievement, can also give the impression that what they are doing is something other disabled people do all the time. Both of these are problems in the media."

Portraying persons with disabilities interacting with nondisabled people in social and work environments helps to break down barriers quicker than the Americans with Disabilities Act can.

"Laws don't change the hearts of people," said Craig.

Jami Johnson knows first hand the impact ADA can have but also the impact that people with disabilities can have when given a chance.

"Jami served on an MSU advisory board to bring about changes on the campus after the ADA went into effect," said her mother Cathy Johnson. "News stories at the time focused on the fact that she has muscular dystrophy and was serving on this committee instead of focusing on what she and the rest of the committee was accomplishing on campus."

Craig, Morris and the Johnsons were on a panel at a workshop entitled, "A Guide to the Americans with Disabilities Act," which was presented July 22, 2003, in Springfield, Mo., by the Society of Professional Journalists Southwest Missouri Chapter (SPJ).

What has been your experience reporting on these types of issues?

Motives of Journalists on Trial in Andy Griffith Show

2007-01-04T17:58:00.000-05:00

This past weekend I was watching an Andy Griffith episode with my kids. To be more specific, it was episode #61, "Andy on Trial," which aired in April 1962.

In some ways the story reminded me of a situation in southwest Missouri where a journalist is using his/her position to grind a personal ax. That is a dangerous and unethical practice and something most honest journalists avoid. But, it is something that is easy to let happen when newspaper staffs are so thin that the same journalist ends up writing both news stories and editorials.

Let me make the point by giving a recap of the Andy Griffith episode:

Andy travels to Raleigh to locate noted newspaper publisher J. Howard Jackson and bring him back to Mayberry. Two weeks earlier, Andy ticketed the businessman for speeding. Mr. Jackson was issued a summons to appear before the Mayberry justice of the peace (Andy) within a few days. He chose to ignore the summons.

Now, a very irritated Mr. Jackson, accompanied by his lawyer, reluctantly returns to the small town to stand before Andy. He pleads guilty and is fined $15. Upset by having to travel that far to pay such a small fine, the irate publisher leaves the courthouse vowing revenge. When he returns to Raleigh, he orders one of his reporters, Jean Boswell, to go to Mayberry and dig up all the "dirt" she can find on Andy, then twist it into a scathing article against the sheriff. He wants AndyÂs reputation destroyed.

Being very discreet, the reporter taps Barney for anything that could be used against Andy. Barney, caught up in all the attention, proceeds to tell the reporter that if he were in charge he would run the sheriff's department differently. Barney continues to complain about crimes going unpunished (Emma Watson's jaywalking) and the blatant unofficial use of the squad car (delivering groceries to a shut-in). As you can imagine, Mr. Jackson uses Barney's words to write a scathing article about Andy's administration.

The episode concludes with a hearing to determine if the charges against Andy can be substantiated... . Barney reluctantly tells the court that he did say the things printed in the article ... (but) goes on to defend Andy as the best friend he and the town of Mayberry ever had.

Pioneer puts digital concepts to work

2006-12-14T10:21:00.000-05:00

You may have first read about emPrint here on this blog. It is an electronic version of the newspaper invented by a professor at MU. Now, the Society of Professional Journalists is taking notice. Learn more in this article written by Michele Holtkamp Frye for the SPJ's Quill Magazine, published December 2007:

In 1981, Roger Fidler wrote an essay for the Associated Press Managing Editors about what newspapers might be like in 2000 and beyond.

Fidler, now the director of technology initiatives for the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute at the Missouri School of Journalism, envisioned a successful digital alternative to print that would be portable, durable and easy to use and would preserve many of the features that people have come to appreciate about print media.

The display device in his mind needed to weigh less than 2 pounds and be easy to carry.

His prediction was laughed at in the age before IBM personal computers were produced.

Now, a product he has developed is one of an array of products newspapers are exploring that marry the conveniences of the Web with the characteristics of a newspaper.

“We will eventually see all-digital publishing, but we’ll have print and digital co-existing for quite some time,” Fidler said.

“Papers that only publish in print will disappear over time. But not any time soon,” he said.

Digital publishing isn’t just dumping stories onto a Web site.

The product Fidler has developed includes a series of sophisticated PDFs that allow users to jump back and forth between stories but doesn’t involve a lot of scrolling around to read full stories. It also has the interaction of the Web.

He calls it eMprint, and it was field tested in 2005 at the Columbia Missourian.

EMprints are portrait oriented and designed to take full advantage of the Tablet PC, which has a rotating screen, or the upcoming generation of portable devices.

Display devices can’t just take the traditional newspaper and scrunch it down. That product would be hard to read and involve a lot of navigation and scrolling, besides not adding any significant value to the work.

The key to getting people to read full stories on screen is to provide a mobile reading device that is lightweight, is comfortable under any lighting, can store the information and has a lengthy power life, Fidler said.

Some wonder why more devices are being developed for digital publishing when people already carry cell phones and laptops, Fidler said. The thought is that all technologies will merge into one, he said.

“That is not the vision of convergence as I believe,” Fidler said. “As technology develops, we end up with more (devices) rather than fewer. History has shown that.

“We like our gadgets.”

Fidler said one of the highlights of eMprint is that the format has a beginning and an end. The Web is endless, but people don’t like to search on and on forever.

Readership patterns on the traditional Web show that readers don’t go much deeper than one story, he said.

Fidler said he can convert the print edition of the Columbia Missourian to eMprint in eight hours, but the time involved depends on the size of the publication and how sophisticated the newspaper wants it to be.

For example, to convert the metro edition of the L.A. Times fives days a week would probably require four full-time employees.

Additional advertising was sold for the Missourian and 5,000 people signed up. The newspaper has about 7,500 subscribers, and about 10 percent of the eMprint readers held subscriptions to the newspaper.

Readership of eMprint has been stable, but the newspaper doesn’t have a large marketing budget, which is a challenge seen across the industry, Fidler said.

“We think a house ad in the print product is enough to market a product,” he said.

EMprint continues to be published twice. Newspapers must begin exploring digital publishing, Fidler said.

When new reading devices are readily available, any entrepreneur can become a publisher because the cost of starting a newspaper will be dramatically reduced.

Which news organizations survive will depend on the talent newspapers can hire to be reporters, editors or sell advertising.

To see how these news organizations are implementing multimedia or other new technologies, visit these Web pages:

Columbia Missourian eMprint edition.

The Times of Northwest Indiana text message alert partnership.

Spartanburg Herald-Journal audio slideshows.

Daytona Beach News-Journal.

Bakersfield Californian.

Why do journalists do what they do?

2006-12-12T16:25:00.000-05:00

Why do journalists do what they do?

In September 2003, I was at a media conference where Dr. Jack Hamilton, Dean of the Louisiana State University Manship School of Mass Communication, gave a presentation entitled, "Why Journalists Do What They Do."

Hamilton is recipient of the 2003 Freedom Forum Journalism Administrator of the Year Award and a former reporter for the Milwaukee Journal, People, the Christian Science Monitor, The New York Times Magazine and ABC Radio, among others. As a foreign correspondent, he had assignments in more than 50 countries in Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America. In addition, he has written numerous books, including Hold the Press: The Inside Story on Newspapers.

During his 45-minute presentation, Hamilton gave three major criticisms of the news media. One was that journalists do a poor job of covering news that stays the same.

“For example, how many stories have you seen about the number of safe airplane landings? Instead, the news media focuses on events where something goes wrong and this results in a tendency toward negative news,” Hamilton said.

Instead, reporters tend to focus on what is changing, not on what is staying the same. In doing so, they sometimes miss the real story.

“For example, when China opened their economy that made news, but what stayed the same -- China is still communist -- may be the most important part of that story,” said Hamilton.

Second, Hamilton wonders why the trend is for journalists to hide behind “objective journalism” in order to say what they are doing is not about selling papers. Historically, this couldn’t be further from the truth.

“Newspaper publishers who wanted to sell more newspapers -- not high-minded academics or reporters who were pursuing an improved ethic -- dreamed up the ideal and practice of objective journalism,” said Hamilton.

U.S. journalism has gone through many phases. At first, the government licensed the press, and then it became independent and aggressive during the revolutionary war. These phases impacted the way in which reporting was done.

In the first phase, the purpose was simply to sell more newspapers. So, American newspapers printed news taken from overseas newspapers (this wouldn't get you in trouble with the British government). Then came the Stamp Act which hit newspapers in the pocket book.

At this point, American newspapers began to develop as two different strains, a partisan press (supported by political groups) and a commercial press (elite but fact based).

Then came James Gordon Bennett and the penny press. He provided news driven by what people wanted to read in a “one size fits all package.” He also discovered that crime news was very interesting, well read and cheap to get.

“This discovery caused objective news reporting to begin leading the way because it sold more newspapers,” said Hamilton.

Newspapers also discovered early on the need to keep readers “by making the news.” For example, press conferences are designed to make news. And sometimes, according to Hamilton, interviews and investigations became ways to make news.

“One of the earliest examples of this was when Mr. Stanley (a newspaper reporter) was sent to find Dr. Livingston in Africa. His travels and search was an early example of making the news and reporting it,” said Hamilton.

Because of Stanley's success, and the discovery that exploration trips and adventure stories sold newspapers, more and more news outlets started funding adventure trips.

“Soon, journalists were learning how to make the news and publishers were finding that if you provided factual news you could make even more money,” said Hamilton.

Not long after this phase, journalists decided they didn't want to be compromised so most newsrooms became separate from ad sales and they developed their own rules of ethics.

"But objective journalism developed because reporters didn’t' want to think they were selling newspapers, but in fact, that is what they have been doing all along," said Hamilton.

And finally, Hamilton thinks the news media needs help, especially from academics and professional communicators.

“Not even the casual observer can fail to notice that the media are unsure of themselves. They are grappling with new media technologies, with greater public ownership of their enterprises, with political interests that have become highly effective at manipulating communication, and with an increasingly distrustful audience,” said Hamilton.

As a result, Hamilton thinks media scholars and critics are more important than ever in designing best practices and ending bad ones. He believes someone needs to be critically assessing the professional standards that underpin media and shape its discourse.

“Journalism is too important to be left to journalists alone. Scholars must look over their shoulders. If journalism teachers and academics and practicing journalists do not do this, shame on us. We not only concede strength, but also an obligation,” said Hamilton.

The Hutchins Commission on Freedom of the Press noted in the late 1940s that “no public service was more important than the service of communications.” It also pointed out that the freedom to perform that service was fragile. “The press itself,” the commission concluded, “is always one of the chief agents in destroying or building the bases of its own significance.”

Andy Griffith Show and Media Ethics

2006-12-07T08:35:00.000-05:00

I had the honor of visiting the campus of Evangel University on Wednesday, Dec. 6 and leading a class session for a group of college journalists. I appreciate getting the invitation from my friend and former classmate, now turned professor, Melinda Booze.

I used an episode of the Andy Griffith show to foster class discussion about media ethics and libel. It was the same episode I've used with high school journalism students in the past, most recently at Aurora High School.

The story line for "Opie's Newspaper" (Episode 153 which originally aired on Mar 22, 1965) is as follows:

Opie's friend Howie has received a small printing press as a gift and the boys decide to publish their own newspaper. Their first edition of The Mayberry Sun covers events from the fifth-grade class. The initial sales are kind of slow. Barney and Andy encourage Opie to not to give up and to widen the scope of the paper to attract more readers. In their effort to widen their scope, Opie and Howie look to the big Mayberry paper for ideas. The boys decide to emulate the most popular news section, the gossip column called "Mayberry After Midnight." The boys spice up their penny newspaper by publishing gossip they overhear. When Barney and Andy get a look at the new issue, they have to scramble to collect the copies before they are read by the rest of the town.

The episode is funny, and it strikes a cord with all of us, because it is so truthful. Just like in Mayberry, "gossip" still sells newspapers. If you don't believe me, just take a look at the publications available in the checkout line next time you are at Wal-Mart or the grocery store.

Those same publications are also competition for local newspapers which have become more feature oriented and also print more "Hollywood" or celebrity type news to try and keep up. And, when celebrity news is getting printed other information important to our local area, or our democracy in general, is not.

This Andy Griffith show can lead to discussion about why newspapers exist (as a public service or to make a profit), what type of journalism sells more newspapers, libel, proper reporting techniques and the state of American journalism.

Survey gives tips on story submissions

2006-11-30T13:50:00.000-05:00

The best way to get your articles, releases, events and news stories in print is to do everything possible to make life easier for the local editor or reporter.

That means well-written, concise submissions that emphasize a local connection and news copy that does not need a lot of editing.

According to a survey I conducted in 2002 with local newspaper editors, the next most important thing to do is to meet deadlines.

If you represent an organization or business that will be making regular submissions to a media outlet, I recommend meeting with the editor or beat reporter to ask about deadlines. It is also a good idea to ask about personal preferences regarding submissions and delivery methods.

It is always best to submit typed articles. If you have to submit something that is hand-written make sure it is legible. The editor must be able to read it in order to use it. Either way, making the release timely is vital.

In this MU Extension survey, editors also suggested letting the local newspaper know at least a week in advance if something notable will be happening. It is also a good idea to find out what topics interest your local editor and to respect the editor’s local news judgment.

Stay in touch with the local editor, don't just call when you need a favor or have a complaint. At the same time, remember that editors have other stories to work on.

Five other suggestions from local editors: use statistics when possible, provide strong local content, use "bullets" to attract interest, list sources and alternative sources for follow-up, and consider doing follow-up stories on events.

Especially with weekly newspapers, Monday is typically the busiest day of the week. Avoid going by or delivering information on Monday if at all possible.

Newspapers remain primary souce for information according to survey

2006-11-20T23:16:00.000-05:00

A telephone survey of 1,005 interviews was conducted in 2005 with Missourian residents by the Center for Advanced Social Research (CASR) of Missouri's School of Journalism on behalf of University of Missouri Extension.

Fifty-six percent of the people surveyed say they usually rely on newspapers as their primary source of information about what happens in their communities. Twenty-one percent use television and six percent listen to the radio as their primary source.

Three-fourths (76 percent) of the residents surveyed said they had access to the Internet.

For more information about the survey, contact Kenneth Fleming, director of CASR, at (573) 882-3396.

What would restore readership? More local coverage.

2006-11-16T12:04:00.000-05:00

Print journalism continues to face declining readership. The answer, however, is the same as it was when I began my career as a weekly newspaper editor: more local content. Readers of the Cross Country Times didn't want to read about events elsewhere. They wanted to read about the people and events of northwestern Greene County. Our circulation zoomed upward, by the way, once we started refining that local focus. After I left, the newspaper circulation zoomed downward when another editor decided to report more on Springfield events than on Ash Grove, Walnut Grove and Willard.

Andrew Cline's Rhetorica blog often explores journalism issues from an academic viewpoint. One of his recent posts offers the same common-sense solution declining readership that I used 20 years ago: local content.

Dr. Cline goes into detail about what has not worked:

Here's a radical idea, a stupid idea, and idea so far out in the ozone as to be thoroughly without merit: Try taking citizens seriously; try treating them as citizens rather than consumers.

It's the one thing American journalism has yet to try in recent history. Shortening stories didn't work. More graphics didn't work. Putting fluff above the flag didn't work. Targeting free publications to young people didn't work. Shrinking the news hole didn't work. Cutting editorial staff didn't work. Cutting foreign news didn't work. Running wire fluff didn't work. Ignoring the poor and working class in favor of the middle class didn't work. Partnering with the advertising department didn't work. Specialty publications aimed at the rich didn't work. Re-design after re-design after re-design didn't work.

Randy Turner of The Turner Report comes to the same conclusion on his blog entry about this topic. He also offers to specific examples of how local coverage improved newspapers he worked out. Randy also has this to add:

Unfortunately today's newspaper publishers and business managers (most likely on orders from corporate suits who have never written a story in their lives) have decided that the only way to make profit from newspapers to create a flurry of niche publications and special sections. The daily newspaper has almost become an afterthought.

What are your thoughts?

How to Write Good

2006-11-16T12:02:00.000-05:00

By Frank L. Visco
1. Avoid alliteration. Always._
2. Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.
3. Avoid cliches like the plague. (They're old hat.) 4. Employ the vernacular._ 5. Eschew ampersands & abbreviations, etc.
6. Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are unnecessary.
7. It is wrong to ever split an infinitive.
8. Contractions aren't necessary.
9. Foreign words and phrases are not apropos.
10. One should never generalize.
11. Eliminate quotations. As Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, "I hate quotations. Tell me what you know."
12. Comparisons are as bad as cliches.
13. Don't be redundant; don't use more words than necessary; it's highly superfluous.
14. Profanity sucks.
15. Be more or less specific.
16. Understatement is always best.
17. Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.
18. One-word sentences? Eliminate.
19. Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake.
20. The passive voice is to be avoided.
21. Go around the barn at high noon to avoid colloquialisms.
22. Even if a mixed metaphor sings, it should be derailed.
23. Who needs rhetorical questions?

A Biased Media? What one journalist thinks ...

2006-11-09T11:04:00.000-05:00

A comment on media bias from the fall 2006 issue of "The Grassroots Editor," the quarterly journal of the International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors.

In the article entitled, "Newspapers have a moral obligation to recommend political candidates," Jim Painter, a member of the ISWNE board of directors and managing editor of the West Valley View in Litchfield Park, Ariz., writes:

In my opinion, it’s the concept of an “unbiased” press that is doing the public a disservice. There is no such thing as an unbiased press. Deep down, we all know that to be true, but no one in the mainstream media wants to admit it publicly.
We would like to leave our readers (or viewers or listeners, as the case may be) with the impression that, as professional journalists, we are somehow the masters of our personal biases, which, in a sense, makes us godlike creatures. I’ve known a lot of newspaper people in my life, and I can assure you, we are not god-like creatures.

What do you think?