The Missouri Ethics Commission has upgraded its website to improve the transparency and search capabilities for information available to the public about campaign finance reporting, said Julie Allen, executive director.
The new search allows the public to view campaign finance contributions reported on the 48 Hour Contributions Over $5,000 report. Section 130.044, RSMo., requires all individuals and committees, required to file campaign finance disclosure reports, to electronically report to the Commission within 48 hours any contribution exceeding $5,000 made by any single contributor.
Enhanced Contribution and Expenditure search features allow users to see contributions and expenditures for all electronically filed campaign finance committee reports and to identify those committees not electronically reporting with the Commission.
State law requires all statewide candidates, legislative candidates and continuing committees making contributions in excess of $15,000 per year to file their campaign finance reports electronically with the Commission.
All other committees have the option of filing their campaign finance reports electronically. The Commission’s online campaign finance searches can be accessed at www. mec.mo.gov under Campaign Finance or Common Searches.

ASNE Ethics and Values Forum – Public Trust Through Public Engagement Nov. 16-17 at the Reynolds Journalism Institute Open to the public. Attend via livestream – register for reminder.
Presenters: Jim Brady, Steve Buttry, Jerry Ceppos, Chris Cobler, Jarvis DeBerry, Kelly McBride, Michele McLellan, Michael Skoler, Bob Steele, Jane Stevens, Esther Thorson, Lee Wilkins 2008-2009 Reynolds Fellow Mike Fancher will convene a select group of editors and journalism educators. The aim is to build public trust through public engagement. This forum is a collaboration between RJI and the ethics and values committee of the American Society of News Editors (ASNE), which Fancher chairs.
Topics to be explored: Differences in how citizens and journalists view journalism values When anyone can be a publisher, what distinguishes a journalist? New ways of partnering with the public “Surveys show the public doesn’t trust today’s journalists to get the facts right, to own up to their mistakes, to avoid political bias or to treat all sides fairly,” says Fancher, citing findings from the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press.
“The potential consequences of this lack of public confidence in journalism are dire.” Fancher points out that journalism needs to be trustworthy in order to be relevant, valuable or necessary, especially now, when technology enables the public to rely less on journalists as fact-finders, gatekeepers and truth-tellers. “Ironically, the same technology is giving journalists new ways to create the bond of trust and respect that is essential to a free press,” says Fancher. “What is needed is a new ethic of public trust through public engagement.”
For more information contact: Kelly Peery, Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute, peeryk@rjionline.org; (573) 882-9650

11-06-2009
The Kansas City Star has notified registered users of its KansasCity.com Web site that effective 9/4/09 it has implemented new “Terms of Service” that will include a subscription or surcharge for certain on-line content.
The McClatchy-owned paper has been forced to dramatically reduce its staffing levels, seen its circulation drop and has tried all kinds of methods to generate additional revenue, including dramatically increasing the cost of the paper (Star Sunday paper went from $1.25 to $2.00).
As an example, former KC Star subscribers are now being offered a new subscription package that runs from Wednesday through Sunday (not daily as is the traditional model) for $1.25 per week (plus an E-subscription on the paper’s Web site).
Most recently the paper announced it was more than doubling the cost of its Thanksgiving Day newspaper to subscribers.

By Mark Fitzgerald

Published: November 02, 2009 10:50 AM ET
CHICAGO – A former St. Louis television executive says the St. Louis Globe-Democrat will return as an online newspaper on Dec. 8 — 23 years after it folded for its second, and last, time as a daily.

In an announcement, Dan Rositano said the free site will be staffed by people “whose name will be familiar to former Globe-Democrat readers and all St. Louisians.”

He added in the statement, “Our columnists will be among the most-read voices in both St. Louis and the world today, covering news, sports, politics and all issues of the day.”

As soon as Rositano announced the revival of the Globe-Democrat, however, a legal obstacle emerged. As first reported on the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Web site by Deb Peterson, the publisher of a six-time a year publication that calls itself the St. Louis Globe-Democrat said his attorney would be filing a cease-and-desist letter to stop Rositano from using the name.

Steve DeBellis told the P-D that he discovered the name had been abandoned in 1995, and so he began using it for his newspaper. He said he registered the name with the Missouri Secretary of State’s office in 2000.

Rositano, the former director of information and technology for KPLR-TV in St. Louis, did not immediately return a phone message seeking comment Monday morning. He told the Post-Dispatch that his application to use the Globe-Democrat trademark was “pending.”

If the Globe-Democrat is revived as a daily it would be another remarkable chapter in the history of the paper. Launched as the Missouri Democrat in 1852, it merged with the St. Louis Globe in 1875.

In 1959, the paper, then owned by Newhouse Newspapers, forged a joint operating agreement (JOA) partnership with Pulitzer Inc.’s Post-Dispatch. In 1983, Newhouse announced it was folding the Globe-Democrat, but continuing its JOA partnership with Pulitzer.

The U.S. Justice Department’s Antitrust Division forced Newhouse to offer the paper for sale. It was bought by a young entrepreneur named Jeff Gluck. The paper quickly fell into financial difficulties, with paychecks bouncing. The daily was closed, but revived several months later by two local real estate developers.

It folded for good as a print daily on Oct. 29, 1986.

FRANKLIN, TN (October 23, 2009)– Publishing Group of America (PGA) today named Sandra Baylis director of partner events and special services. In the newly created role, Baylis will be responsible for partner events such as the company’s Relish Cooking Show and Expo, and customized partner services such as Hometown Content, which provides newspaper publishers with value-added editorial and advertising content.

PGA is the publisher of American Profile, relish and spry magazines.

Steve Smith, senior vice president, publisher relations, for PGA, said, “Sandi’s creativity and her close relationships with our publishing partners make her ideally suited for this leadership position. I am confident that Sandi and her staff will do a terrific job strengthening relations with our newspaper partners through these signature events and services.”

Since 1999, Baylis has been a regional director for PGA, responsible for publisher relations and circulation sales across portions of the South and Midwest.

“I am excited to bring Relish Cooking School to life as well as other PGA events,” said Baylis. “I thrive on customer relations and am convinced that newspapers are the lifeblood of the community and, ultimately, our country.”

PGA has grown its newspaper base steadily since its founding in 1999 and now reaches 60 million people monthly via 1,700 newspaper partners.

The entry form for the 2010 Youth Content Awards contest is now available on our Web site.
This contest recognizes original stories, art and photographs by students ages 13 and up who work with their local professional newspapers to produce youth content. Categories are news story, news feature story, sports story, feature story, first-person feature, personality profile, best children’s writing, review, illustration/graphic, photograph and cartoon/comic. Fee is $10 per entry.
Deadline for entries is Nov. 30 (received, not postmarked). Winners will be announced during the NAA Foundation Young Reader Conference, scheduled for May 6-8, 2010, in Arlington, Va.
And mark your calendars for another deadline: entries for the Young Reader Awards contest will be due March 1, 2010.
Good luck!
Marina Hendricks/NAA Foundation

Joshua Aaron Fitzwater was born June 12, 1982, to Ronald and Caroline Fitzwater, in Rolla, Missouri. He was a beloved husband, brother and son who went home to be with the Lord on October 10, 2009.
Joshua’s life was a life of service. Joshua was a very active youth in the Assemblies of God Royal Rangers program, attaining the Gold Medal of Achievement by age sixteen at the Bolivar First Assembly of God, in Bolivar, Missouri. His service in Royal Rangers was a direct result of his personal relationship in Jesus Christ. He enlisted in the Army Reserves his senior year in high school, later completing his basic and advanced training after graduation. While enrolled in college, Joshua’s reserve unit, the 459th Transportaion Unit, was called to active duty for deployment to Iraq in January, 2003, to serve for 19 months.
While on leave from Iraq, Joshua met his future bride Melissa Rae Cunningham of Rogersville, Mo. After returning from service, Joshua and Melissa were married on May 19, 2007.
He completed his education, graduating from Missouri State University in May, 2009. Joshua was diagnosed with cancer in September 2006. This, his bravest battle in life, eventually took its toll. Joshua fought hard against this enemy, even until the last day. Joshua is survived by his wife, Melissa of Springfield, Mo.; parents, Ronald and Caroline of Pearland, Texas; sister and her husband, Carrie and Jason Williamson; and niece, Jayna of Richmond, Texas; and brother Luke of Gastonia, N.C. Joshua is also survived by two grandmothers, Jewel Fitzwater of Greenville, Ohio, and Iona Cloyd of Wellington, Ohio; and numerous aunts, uncles and cousins. Joshua will also be missed by his extended family, Ronald and Raelean Cunningham, Travis and Heather Bass; niece Rachel; and nephew, Braden, all of Rogersville, Mo.; and many friends.
The funeral and visitation will be in Greenlawn Funeral Home East, 3540 East Seminole, Springfield, Missouri. Visitation will be Wednesday, October 14, from 6 to 8 p.m. The funeral will be Thursday, at 11:30 a.m., with interment in Missouri Veterans Cemetery, in Springfield, Missouri.
In lieu of flowers, a person may donate to the Joshua A. Fitzwater scholarship fund. Send donations in his honor and name to Greenlawn Funeral Home.

November 15-17
RJI (Reynolds Journalism Institute) will host a public forum on journalism ethics.
Open to the public; livestream available
Topics to be explored:

• Defining journalism ethics and values in the digital age
• Better understanding public attitudes about journalism ethics
• Putting the public in “public service journalism”
• New thoughts about community connections
• Developing new resources for examining ethical questions
• Better collaboration between journalism educators and professionals

For more information about the forum, click here.

WASHINGTON, DC — National Newspaper Association Cheryl Kaechele, publisher of the Allegan County (MI) News, today urged community newspapers to use precise language in coverage of the H1N1 flu virus. Technically, Kaechele said, the virus is not related to swine.

Kaechele said NNA was asked on behalf of pork producing states to clarify for readers that exposure to hogs, pork products or other swine is not the precipitator of the virus. Confusion from newspaper headlines that refers to H1N1 as “swine flu,” she said, has unfairly cast doubt upon the pork industry.

She said: “Here is what the Center for Disease Controls says about the H1N1 virus:”

This virus was originally referred to as “swine flu” because laboratory testing showed that many of the genes in this new virus were very similar to influenza viruses that normally occur in pigs (swine) in North America. But further study has shown that this new virus is very different from what normally circulates in North American pigs. It has two genes from flu viruses that normally circulate in pigs in Europe and Asia and bird (avian) genes and human genes. Scientists call this a “quadruple reassortant” virus.

As newspapers that often cover farming communities, she said, NNA member publications should be aware of the nature of this confusion and accurately label stories about the virus. She thanked Rep. Ike Skelton, D-Mo, for calling the issue to NNA’s attention.

CDC also provides useful tips for preventing illness, Kaechele said.

• Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.
• Wash your hands often with soap and water. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand rub.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread this way.
• Try to avoid close contact with sick people.
• If you are sick with flu-like illness, CDC recommends that you stay home for at least 24 hours after your fever is gone except to get medical care or for other necessities. (Your fever should be gone without the use of a fever-reducing medicine.) Keep away from others as much as possible to keep from making others sick.

Community newspapers can provide information on sensible management of the H1N1 season by contacting their public health agencies, she said. Information from CDC can be found at www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/qa.htm.

Nov. 21, 2009 – Jan. 24, 2010 The most comprehensive display of Pulitzer Prize-winning photographs ever shown in the United States will open on Saturday, November 21, at the Harry S. Truman Library and Museum in Independence and run through January 24, 2010.
Of the millions of photographs seen in newspapers each year, only two Pulitzer photography prizes are given – one for spot or breaking news and the other for feature photography. Capture the Moment includes all of those winning images from 1942 – the year of the first photography award – through the 2008 winners.
Iconic images include Joe Rosenthal’s 1945 photograph of the raising of the American flag at Iwo Jima, and the RockyMountain News’s staff spot news photographs of the 1999 Columbine tragedy.