May 2008 - Missouri Press Association
Transcription
May 2008 - Missouri Press Association
May 2008 Thespian Hall in Boonville will be the site of Missouri Press Association’s July 12 commemoration of the first Missouri newspaper. Capital city daily, Fulton and California papers bought by Arkansas group owner. 4 6 Ozark Press has new officers Ozark Press Association elected officers when it met March 28 in Point Lookout. Seated, from left, are Director Jeff Schrag, Springfield; President Tianna Brooks, Mountain View; Vice President Jeff McNeill, Houston; and Director Keith Moore, Ava. Standing are Director Brad Gentry, Houston; Director Dala Whittaker, Cabool; Secretary-Treasurer Sharon Vaughn, Summersville; Director David Burton, Springfield; and Past President Roger Dillon, Eminence. 8 Regular Features Southeast Missouri Press Association will meet May 30 in Cape Girardeau. Missouri Press News, May 2008 5 Combined meeting of Show-Me Press, MSNE, APME June 12-13 at Lake Ozark. Porter Fisher Golf on June 12. www.mopress.com 7 President 2 On the Move 9 Scrapbook 11 NIE Report 16 Obituaries 17 Jean Maneke 18 Our paper’s role in the community R We make a difference in people’s lives ather than talk this month about my travels and the lost sight of this important fact years ago. And I believe that has interesting meetings I have attended, I thought it contributed greatly to the decline in circulation and readership, would be appropriate to share some of my philosophy especially at major metro newspapers. We at the Hannibal Courier-Post have committed to our on the role of community journalism in our communities. My point of view on this topic has been greatly influenced readers that we would return to our roots and publish local by my editor, Mary Lou Montgomery. Mary Lou has a pas- news and local faces in our newspaper every day. We commitsion for her job and believes nothing can or should stand in ted to keeping our local content to at least 67 percent of total content and the way of our providing the best local news to publish at least 1,000 local This is and information possible. After 30 years in the faces in our paper every month. business, Mary Lou admits that she is having To maintain accountability, we nothing more fun than ever. track those numbers every day new to our But back to the passion and our role in our in a chart on the editor’s wall. communities. Mary Lou shared a story about a o further demonstrate our weekly telephone conversation she recently had with a commitment, and to be newsreader. Let me let her tell the story in her own sure our readers don’t forget or words: take it for granted, my editor paper “Trudy Strieker called from Collinsville, Ill. and I publish a “To Our Read- members. Her husband, Joe, has been officiating baseball ers” open letter on the front for 30 years. Last weekend, he officiated at two page of the newspaper on the triple-headers. He is pictured in the background Jack Whitaker first of each month. In that letter we report what of an HLG (Hannibal-LaGrange College) play. Hannibal Courier-Post our percentage of local content was last month and It is on page 8A of Saturday’s edition. Shaun MPA President how many local faces were published. (Sports Editor) took the picture. And the response? It has been overwhelmingly “He (Mr. Strieker) was so excited that his picture was in the paper, his wife said. After all these years, she positive. I rarely go anywhere, even now 20 months later, doesn’t have a single picture of him umpiring, so she wants a without someone commenting on how they like our new copy of the picture to give to him. Their wedding anniversary local approach to news. It demonstrates to me that readers are not looking for national news in our product. They really is coming up, and she is going to surprise him. “He’s not even in focus in this picture. The focus is on the don’t care too much about state news unless it impacts them in some manner. pitcher, and Joe is in the background. Like I said earlier, this is nothing new to our weekly news“Please don’t lose track of the impact we have on people. When the world seems to be pounding down on us, remem- paper members. But it is something all dailies should note and heed well. For if we do not satisfy our readers, then we have ber Joe. His picture was in our paper, and he’s thrilled. truly lost our reason for being. And without that, we certainly “We make a difference in people’s lives.” he point of this is not new to our members who publish cannot withstand the economic pressures that exist in this weekly newspapers. They have known that local news country today. It gives a whole new meaning to the phrase and features are their bread and butter. But daily newspapers “local, local, local.” T T VOL. 76, NO. 5 MAY 2008 Official Publication of Missouri Press Association, Inc. PRESIDENT: Jack Whitaker, Hannibal Courier-Post FIRST VICE PRESIDENT: Vicki Russell, Columbia Daily Tribune SECOND VICE PRESIDENT: Sandy Nelson, Cass County Democrat-Missourian, Harrisonville SECRETARY: Brad Gentry, Houston Herald TREASURER: Kate Martin, Perry County Republic-Monitor EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: Doug Crews ADVERTISING DIRECTOR: Greg Baker EDITOR: Kent M. Ford DIRECTORS: David Bradley, Jr., St. Joseph News-Press Kevin Jones, St. Louis American Dan Wehmer, Webster County Citizen, Seymour Mark Maassen, The Kansas City Star Joe May, Mexico Ledger Jon Rust, Cape Girardeau Southeast Missourian Dennis Warden, Gasconade County Republican NNA REPRESENTATIVE: Jeff Schrag, Springfield Daily Events MISSOURI PRESS NEWS (ISSN 00266671) is published every month for $7.50 per year by the Missouri Press Association, Inc., 802 Locust St., Columbia, MO 65201-4888; phone (573) 449-4167; fax (573) 874-5894; e-mail [email protected]; website www.mopress.com. Periodicals postage paid at Columbia, MO 652014888. (USPS No. 355620). POSTMASTER: Please send changes of address to Missouri Press Association, 802 Locust St., Columbia, MO 65201-4888. Missouri Press News, May 2008 www.mopress.com Flash flooding hits Monett Times April 10 issue of daily published on-line only T he Monett Times staff was part of the rescue performed by Monett firefighters during the peak of the April 10 flash flood in downtown Monett. Because of the flooding, The Times was published on April 10 exclusively on-line. A band of storms across the Midwest dumped more than 3 inches of rain in a brief period on Southwest Missouri, causing flash flooding that resulted in the closing of many roads and schools. Responding to warnings from the Monett Police Department, Times staff began putting up flood gates and sandbags before 7 a.m. on April 10. Kelly Creek, which runs behind The Times offices, showed sharp rises during the following hour. Times publisher Lisa Craft, who lives east of Monett, reported high water in fields that drain westward into Monett made flooding more likely than usual. At 8:30 a.m., water began to back up in storm sewers and flood Broadway. Times staff began moving vehicles to higher ground at that time. In the next 10 minutes, access out of The Times offices was cut off. Around 9 a.m., firefighters wading through the water secured a series of A Monett firefighter helps Monett Times production manager Charlotte Brady cross the street in a rescue during high water of Monett’s flood on April 10. At left are news editor Charles Brady, production assistant Amy Obermann and publisher Lisa Craft waiting to be helped to higher ground. The construction materials are for a renovation project at The Times. (Monett Times photo) ropes across Broadway. With firefighters at their sides, Times staffers were walked one at a time across waste deep water to the north side of the street. Piedmont paper flooded in March I n Southeast Missouri, the offices and pressroom of the Wayne County Journal-Banner in Piedmont were flooded March 18 when lengthy downpours forced creeks out of their banks and flooded the downtown area. Publisher Harold Ellinghouse said vehicles driving along flooded Main Street washed much of the water through doors and into the newspaper office. Staffers plugged cracks around doors with newspapers and used a wet vac to suck up water. With some shuffling of press runs, the Journal Banner did print its regular weekly issue, but it could not print the Van Buren Current Local. That weekly was printed by the Sikeston Standard-Democrat. Ellinghouse said some of the flooring in his building will need to be replaced. Missouri Press News, May 2008 www.mopress.com The same procedure was done on Sept. 25, 1993. One of the firefighters recalled water on that occasion was at chest level, a bit higher than this time. The Times office remained blocked by water until after 11 a.m. Water inside the building reached five-and-a-half inches in the newsroom, as shown by a mud line on filing cabinets. Over the next three hours, the staff pushed out the standing water and mud so operations could resume. With water on the floor in the pressroom and around high voltage electrical equipment, it became apparent that for the first time in history, it would not be possible to print the paper. Publisher Lisa Craft decided to put the April 10 issue on The Times’ web page. A full account of the flooding was drafted and posted at 9:30 p.m. —from The Monett Times 3 Help celebrate 1st newspaper Joseph Charless began publishing Missouri Gazette on July 12, 1808 M issouri’s newspaper history began 200 years ago on July 12, 1808, when Joseph Charless published the first edition of The Missouri Gazette in St. Louis. To commemorate that historic event, the Missouri Press Association, in collaboration with The State Historical Society of Missouri, will present a readers’ theater performance of “The Editor is Absent: Tribulation & Triumph in Missouri’s Pioneer Press,” on Saturday, July 12, 2008, in Boonville’s historic Thespian Hall. The Society’s MoHiP Theater (Missouri History in Performance Theater) will perform the play, written by Boon- Boonville’s historic Thespian Hall. You can help sponsor Boonville production Missouri Press Foundation is seeking sponsors to assist with production expenses. Any MPA newspaper purchasing in advance 10 or more adult tickets to the event (tickets are $5 for adults, $2.50 for children under age 10), will be listed as a sponsor. If you cannot attend the performance, any donation of $50 or more will be acknowledged in the program as a sponsorship. If you wish to buy tickets in advance for your newspaper staff or other guests or if you wish to become a sponsor, please send your check to: Missouri Press Foundation, 802 Locust St., Columbia, MO 65201. Or pay by credit card by calling Kristie Williams at Missouri Press, (573) 449-4167. ville playwright Mary Barile, managing editor of the Cowhich is drawn from actual lumbia Daily Tribune, with Missouri newspapers KBIA radio producer Darpublished between ren Hellwege and Daily 1808 and 1858. JoTribune columnist Mary seph Charless, known Paulsell. as the Father of MisFolk musicians Cathy souri Journalism, will Barton and Dave Para of be in the spotlight as Boonville will begin the actiMissouri’s first newsvities at 7 p.m. and perform paper publisher. vocals and instrumentals Readers in the play of the period throughout will be journalists Bob the production. Priddy of the MissouriImmediately following the net, Jefferson City; Jim Joseph Charless performance, the audience Steele, publisher of the will be invited to enjoy cake Fayette Advertiser and Demo- and punch with cast members at a recepcrat-Leader; and Jim Robertson, tion across the street in Turner Hall. Old photos needed for video F or several years MPA has been interviewing publishers and editors around the state to record their oral histories and to gather material to be used in a one-hour documentary commemorating 200 years of Missouri newspapers. MPA now needs photos of newspaper operations, past and present: buildings, equipment, staff, people at work, old advertisements, political cartoons, etc.—whatever you find that is visual and appropriate for our video documentary. If possible, scan images to at least 200-300 resolution and email them to Beth Pike at [email protected]. The deadline is May 15. For further information, please contact Beth at (573) 445-5095. 4 www.mopress.com Buyer sought for St. Joseph Telegraph T he weekly St. Joseph Telegraph suspended publication on April 11 while the owners seek a buyer. Carl Fowler and Greg Fields bought the paper in February 2007 from Guy and Leslie Speckman, publishers of the Savannah Reporter. In a letter to subscribers, Fowler and Fields said family situations require them to cease publication. The Telegraph began publishing in 1989. The 2008 MPA Newspaper Directory lists its circulation at 1,500. Missouri Press News, May 2008 SEMO Press will meet May 30 in Cape A Advertising expert, sales trainer will be headliner dvertising expert Joe Bonura will be the featured presenter at the May 30 meeting of the Southeast Missouri Press Association in Cape Girardeau. The Association’s 116 t h annual meeting will be held in the Joe Bonura University Center at Southeast Missouri State University. Bonura spoke at the Missouri Press Association Convention last fall in St. Louis. He owned and operated an advertising agency for 18 years before selling it to start a speaking and consulting company, Bonura Training Systems. He is the author of the audio learning systems Three Dimensional Selling™ and Turning Customer Satisfaction into Customer Excitement!™ Bonura Bonura will deliver the keynote address at spoke at lunch and a two-hour the MPA breakout session for publishers, managers Convenand sales staff. tion last He will speak on “ Thriving on the fall. Challenge of Change,” offering personal and professional development strategies for using change to your advantage. His session will be “Create & Sell Advertising Ideas That Work.” Participants will learn how to be creative advertising and marketing resources for their customers. Registration for the meeting will begin at 10 a.m., with the Southeast Press board meeting beginning at 10:15. A session “Publishing Through Disaster” will precede lunch. Bonura’s presentation will begin after lunch. The other concurrent session will Missouri Press News, May 2008 be Lynda Kraxberger speaking on “Journalism of the Future” followed by a postal roundtable. A reception at River Campus will begin at 4 p.m. Cost of the meeting is $75 per newspaper or business, plus $15 per person for lunch. Register by May 21 with Michelle Friedrich, Daily American Republic, PO Box 7, Poplar Bluff, MO 63902. Is your website making you money yet? The 3 biggest complaints that newspapers have about their websites: 1. “It doesn’t make us any money” 2. “Nobody visits our website” 3. “We don’t have any video on our site” Does your website need a boost? The weekly 2-minute video stories of … RED, WHITE & TRUE MYSTERIES generate money for you and drive traffic to your site: Marion (famous actor) Charles (famous aviator) Anna (famous painter) Syndicated columnist Paul Niemann delivers FREE video content that makes money for your web site EACH WEEK These weekly 2-minute videos, formerly known as INVENTION MYSTERIES, reveal the little-known true stories of the men & women who shaped America. They are available in PRINT and VIDEO for your website, where they will make money for you while driving new viewers to your website. Visit www.PaulNiemann.com to watch the above 3 videos, and more! Contact Paul, or meet him at the May 8 – 9 Missouri Ad Managers’ Conference: Paul Niemann • 2614 South 24th Street • Quincy, IL 62305 www.PaulNiemann.com • [email protected] www.mopress.com 5 Arkansas group buys News Tribune W alter E. Hussman Jr. of Arkansas is buying the Jefferson City News Tribune, the daily Fulton Sun and the weekly California Democrat from the Weldon family. Ownership was expected to transfer about May 1. Hussman’s family-owned company, WEHCO Media, Inc., owns seven other newspapers, including Little Rock’s Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, and 13 cable television systems. Hussman, 61, joined the family business in 1970. It acquired the Arkansas Democrat in 1974. Hussman told the News Tribune that a number of things made the Jefferson City newspaper attractive. “Being in the state capital was a big plus, and this very stable employment base here was a big plus,” Hussman told the News Tribune. “The facilities, particularly the new printing press—which is really state-of-the-art and really terrific—were a major plus. Bob Smith again is interim tourism chief F ormer publisher R.B. “Bob” Smith III, who was president of Missouri Press Association in 1991, has been named interim director of the Missouri Division of Tourism. It is his second stint in that capacity. The Missouri Tourism Commission named Smith March 4 to replace Blaine Luetkemeyer, who resigned to run for Congress. The Commission plans a national search for a permanent director. Smith served as interim director in 2001-2002 and has been deputy director since 2002. Smith served as publisher of the Lebanon Daily Record from 1988 to 1994 and was publisher of Tri-Lakes Newspapers in Branson from 1980 to 1988. 6 “(And) the fact that it was a familyowned newspaper and we’re a familyowned newspaper and would share a lot of the same kind of values with the people who worked here.” No immediate changes are planned for staff or newspaper. When his family acquired the Arkansas Democrat in 1974, it was an afternoon paper competing with the larger, morning Arkansas Gazette. The Democrat was switched to mornings. Hussman said there is no commitment to changing the 18,100circulation News Tribune from afternoon to morning publication. “We’ll evaluate that, along with everything else,” he said, “and also try to do some reader research on that.” Most of WEHCO Media’s cable television franchises are in Arkansas. Its other newspaper holdings include the Chattanooga, Tenn., Times Free Press; and papers in Hot Springs and El Dorado, Ark., and Texarkana, Texas. Hussman and his wife, Robena, have three children. Their son, 24, graduated from the University of Arkansas-Little Rock, after spending about 1 1/2 years at Westminster College, Fulton. Their twin daughters, 21, are juniors at the University of North Carolina. Dirks, Van Essen & Murray represented the Weldon family in the transaction. The Weldon family has owned the News Tribune since 1927. Betty Weldon was publisher for nearly 50 years before her death in 2007. The family acquired the Fulton daily in 1995 and the California weekly in 1998. —from the Jefferson City News Tribune T hese individuals have made recent contributions to Missouri Press Foundation. Their generosity will help the Foundation continue its educational programs and its support of projects that promote Missouri newspapers and newspaper people. A donation to the Foundation in honor or in memory of an associate or friend is an eloquent way to recognize the person’s contributions. A pledge to the Foundation Builders program, which is a four-year commitment, helps ensure that Foundation efforts will continue in the future. Donations to Newspapers In Education programs are directed back to the donor’s local newspaper to support its NIE efforts. All donations to the Foundation are deeply appreciated. Photojournalism Hall of Fame Mr. and Mrs. William L. Miller, Washington (two donations) Donald and Donna Park, Washington www.mopress.com Missouri Press News, May 2008 Groups, golfers to meet at Lake Ozark R Show-Me Press, MSNE, APME, Porter Fisher Golf June 12-13 egistration forms are now available for the joint meeting of the Show-Me Press Association, Missouri Society of Newspaper Editors and AP Managing Editors and for the MPA Porter Fisher Golf Classic. The forms for the meeting and for golf are separate. The meeting will be Thursday-Friday, June 12-13, at the Resort at Port Arrowhead, Lake Ozark. Golfers will play at 8 a.m. Thursday, June 12, at Sycamore Creek Golf Course (the fish hatchery layout). Registration forms for the meeting and for golf were in the April 17 Bulletin, and they are online at mopress. com/current_forms.php. Following is the agenda for the meet- Police review policy after series in paper A series by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has prompted the city’s police department to re-evaluate the practice of not seeking warrants for thousands of fugitives suspected of felonies. Police Chief Joe Mokwa says the series points to issues that need to be examined. The newspaper investigation found that authorities in St. Louis city and St. Louis County routinely refuse to issue warrants despite police saying they have enough evidence to arrest the suspects. Without warrants, the suspects’ names can’t be entered into state and FBI fugitive databases. As of the end of October, there were more than 4,000 such cases combined out of St. Louis city and county. Those cases included 16 murders, 75 sexual assaults and 279 robberies. —AP, from St. Louis Post-Dispatch Missouri Press News, May 2008 ing. Thursday, June 12 8:00 a.m. — Porter Fisher Golf Classic, Sycamore Creek Golf Course 2:00 p.m. — Registration at the hotel 3:00 p.m. — Laurie Marble, Community Relations, MODOT 3 : 3 0 p. m . — Pete Rahn, Director, MODOT 4:30 p.m. — Jean Maneke, MPA Legal Hotline Counselor, on current law topics 5:10 p.m. — “Ten Tips for a Profitable website,” Gary Sosniecki 5:30 p.m. — MSNE Board Meeting 6:30 p.m. — Dinner Cruise on the Tropic Island departs from Resort at Brokers Port Arrowhead Friday June 13 7:45 a.m. — MSNE & Show-Me Press Business Meetings 9:00 a.m. — Gubernatorial Candidates Open Forum (tentative) 11:15 a.m. — “Recalibrating Local News and How AP can Help” 12:15 p.m. — AP Awards Luncheon 1:45 p.m. — Missouri School of Journalism’s 100th Centennial Celebration and What’s Next, with Esther Thorson, acting dean, and Suzette Heiman, celebration coordinator. Appraisers Consultants A tradition of service to community newspapers If you have been considering a transaction, and would like to achieve a strong market value, we look forward to an initial conversation with you. We represent a tradition of serving our clients’ best interests and the best interests of each community our clients serve. THOMAS C. BOLITHO P.O. BOX 849 ADA, OK 74821 (580) 421-9600 [email protected] EDWARD M. ANDERSON P.O. Box 2001 BRANSON, MO 65616 (417) 336-3457 [email protected] nationalmediasales.com EXPERIENCE www.mopress.com KNOWLEDGE INTEGRITY 7 Brooks elected Ozark Press president Students read winning essays during meeting at College of the Ozarks O zark Press Association members elected Tianna Brooks, publisher of the Mountain View Standard News, president for the coming year. Ozark Press chose new leaders during its annual meeting held on March 28 at the Keeter Center, College of the Ozarks, Point Lookout. Brooks, who previously served as vice president, succeeded Roger Dillon, publisher of the Shannon County Current Wave, Emi- Winning the Southwest Missouri Professional Chapter SPJ Essay Contest were Jordan Taylor, left, of Greenfield High School, nence. Other officers second place; and Rachel Holcomb, Strafford, home schooled, first place. They read their essays at the Ozark Press meeting. and directors elect- David Burton, center, coordinator of the contest, presented ed are Jeff McNeill, framed certificates and cash prizes. Holcomb’s essay has been Houston Herald, forwarded to national competition, where it is eligible to win a Vi c e Pre s i d e n t ; $1,000 scholarship. Sharon Vaughn, Summersville Beacon, Secretary-Trea- Hamilton, Neighbor Newspapers. surer; and Directors Keith Moore of the Also serving on the Ozark Press board Douglas County Herald, Ava; and Jim are Jeff Schrag, Springfield Daily Events; Dala Whittaker, Cabool Enterprise; Brad Gentry, Houston Herald; David Burton, University Extension, Springfield; Kimball Long, El Dorado Springs Sun, and Dillon as Past President. The meeting opened with breakMitch Jayne, center looks at a column he wrote for the Shannon fast and a business County Current Wave that was reprinted in the March issue of Mis- meeting. Morning sessions souri Press News magazine. Looking on are Ron Cunningham, left, Missouri Press Association’s postal consultant; and Dean were Dr. Jim Wirth, Webb of Branson West, a longtime friend and former bandmate University of Misof Jayne’s. Jayne and Webb played together with The Dillards, and they both got to know Andy Griffith as they appeared on his souri, on managing stress at work, and popular television show a number of times. 8 www.mopress.com a postal update by Missouri Press postal consultant Ron Cunningham. After a break, the first- and secondplace winners of the Society of Professional Journalists Essay Contest read their winning entries. That was followed by a presentation on Sunshine Law audits by David Burton, University of Missouri Extension. Ozark historian and author Mitch Jayne spoke at lunch. He talked about working with his music group, The Dillards, on The Andy Griffith Show, and about writing a down home column for years for the Shannon County Current Wave. After lunch, John Schneller of the Columbia Missourian and Missouri School of Journalism, talked about the need for newspapers to create an online presence. MPA Legal Hotline counselor Jean Maneke then gave an update on legal and legislative issues. MPA’s ad director, Greg Baker, closed the meeting with a session on “How to Avoid No’s.” Report on airbag failures earns accolades for Star A n investigation by The Kansas City Star on airbags has been recognized by the Society of American Business Editors and Writers in its Best in Business Journalism Contest. Reporters Mike Casey and Rick Montgomery, whose series exposed the dangers of airbags that do not inflate, were among the winners in the projects category. “Fatal Failures,” published in October, triggered a congressional investigation. The reporters found that at least 1,400 drivers and front-seat passengers died from 2001 through 2006 in frontimpact crashes involving vehicles whose airbags did not deploy. The 13th annual contest recognized the best business news reporting during 2007. Awards were presented April 27 in Baltimore at the society’s 45th annual conference. Missouri Press News, May 2008 Past presidents annual gathering Past Presidents of Missouri Press Association and guests held their annual gathering April 17 at The Upper Crust Elm Street Ballroom in Columbia. Attending were, seated from the left: William L. Miller Sr., Washington (2000); Dane Vernon, Versailles (2002); Wallace Vernon, Eldon (1973); Kenneth Cope, Neosho (1989); Jack Whitaker, Hannibal (2008); Chuck Haney, Chillicothe (1995); John Spaar, Odessa (2005); Steve Oldfield, Adrian (2006); Dean Mills, Dean of the Missouri School of Journalism (on sabatical); standing from left, Harold Ellinghouse, Piedmont (1996); Wendell Lenhart, Trenton (2001); Dave Berry, Bolivar (2003); Don Warden, Owensville (1993); Ed Steele, MPA Ad Director, retired; Bill Williams, Thayer (1974); Robert Blosser, Jefferson City (1976); Rogers Hewitt, Shelbyville (1980); Kirk Powell, Pleasant Hill (1994); Robert W. Wilson, Milan (1999); Esther Thorson, Acting Dean, Missouri School of Journalism; Dave Bradley, St. Joseph (2007); Betty Spaar, Odessa (1988); Bill James, Warrensburg (1998); Jim Sterling, Columbia (1985); and Gary Kremer, Director, The State Historical Society of Missouri. On the Move • Bloomfield — Interim reporter Corey Noles has been named editor of the North Stoddard Countian. He succeeds ElFreda Cox, who died in March. Noles has been working since January while Cox was out because of her illness. Noles is a native of Bloomfield. He has been reporting for the Dexter Daily Statesman for two years and will continue to write for that paper. • St. Louis — Post-Dispatch business editor André Jackson has left for an editorial writer position at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and ajc.com. He was with the Post-Dispatch since 1987 and was business editor since 2001. • West Plains — Assistant sports editor is the new title for West Plains Daily Quill staff writer/photographer Allison Wilson. She is working closely with sports editor Dennis Crider, learning Missouri Press News, May 2008 about all the sporting events covered by The Quill and about page layout. Wilson returned to The Quill in January after about eight months working in public relations for Air Evac Lifeteam in West Plains. Before that she worked at The Quill for five years. • Le Claire, Iowa — Helen Sosniecki, Le Claire, Iowa, former co-owner and co-publisher of The Vandalia Leader, has joined Interlink Inc. as its senior sales and marketing manager. Interlink, based in Helen Sosniecki Berrien Springs, Mich., provides circulation management and ad-billing systems for more than 1,200 community newspapers. Sosniecki and her husband, Gary, www.mopress.com are former owners and publishers of newspapers in Vandalia, Seymour and Humansville and were editors and publishers of The Lebanon Daily Record for several years. Last fall they sold the Vandalia paper to Lakeway Publishers of Missouri. • Kansas City — Michael Nelson, a longtime editor at The Kansas City Star, has left to become editor of the Lincoln Journal Star in Nebraska. Nelson, 59, worked at The Star for almost 35 years, most recently as assistant managing editor for zoning and suburban news. • Kansas City — Kristi L. Dalberg has joined the staff of The Northeast News as a reporter. She will graduate in May from Park University in Parkville. Dalberg’s work has appeared in The Sun News, Parkville Luminary and The Kansas City Star. • Kansas City — Steve Rose, a former publisher of Sun Newspapers and son of the group’s founder, has returned as 9 publisher and chief executive officer. News-Press & Gazette Co. of St. Joseph, which bought Sun Newspapers more than three years ago, announced the change along with the layoffs of about a dozen Sun employees from its staff of 75 to 80. Rose replaced Kraig Cawley, who joined Sun last summer. David Small, Rose’s nephew, has been hired as co-publisher and chief operating officer. He was Sun’s advertising director from 1997 to 1999. The Rose family sold Sun Publications in 1998. Neither has a current ownership interest. • Columbia — Columbia native Rachael Heffner has replaced Beth Ott as the graphics designer for Missouri Press Association. Ott has moved to Kansas City, where she has begun work for an advertising agency. Heffner is a December 2007 graduate of Stephens Rachael Heffner College in Columbia with a degree in graphic design. Her parents live in Millersburg and work in Columbia. She has an older sister who lives in California and a brother who will begin attending Columbia College this fall. Before joining MPA, Heffner was 10 director of creative services for MarineParents.com, Inc. for about a year and a half. She also served as head designer for Creative Ink, a student-run marketing firm at Stephens College. Heffner plans to continue volunteering with the Marine Parents organization. One of the group’s projects is sending care packages to Marines serving overseas. • Washington — Charles G. Coy, Washington, who has owned four weekly papers and a small daily in Missouri during a 56year career, writes a weekly column, “Reflections,” for Charles Coy the Washington Missourian. He retired from the paper in 2007. Coy and his wife, Else, owned The Garden City Views from 1963-68, The Lexington Daily Advertiser-News from 1971-80, The Waverly Times from 197580, the Sullivan Tri-County News and St. Clair Chronicle from 1981-85. Since 1985 Coy has worked for several papers, including the Topeka CapitalJournal and Clinton Daily Democrat. • Joplin — Clair Goodwin called it quits as editorial page editor for The Joplin Globe on March 21. He held that www.mopress.com position since 1991 and was with The Globe for 50 years. Goodwin retired two years ago, but continued with the paper part-time. His final column appeared March 23. He will continue to write golf columns. • St. Louis — Lee Enterprises Inc. has named Nancy Green vice president of circulation for Lee St. Louis and president of STL Distribution Services. She is in charge of circulation for the Post-Dispatch and Suburban Journals. Green has been publisher of the WaNancy Green terloo-Cedar Falls Courier in Iowa since 2004 and vice president of circulation for Lee. Green was the publisher of the Springfield News-Leader for a number of years in the 1990s. • Columbia — Scott Charton, 46, director of communications for the University of Missouri System since 2005, left the University April 30 to form Charton Communications & Consulting based in Columbia and Jefferson City. Before joining the University, Charton worked for the Associated Press for about 20 years. Missouri Press News, May 2008 Scrapbook • St. Louis — The achievements of 18 female lawyers were recognized April 10 at the St. Louis Daily Record’s 10th annual Women’s Justice Awards banquet. U.S. District Judge Jean C. Hamilton received top billing as Woman of the Year. She and the others were honored at the Four Seasons Hotel in St. Louis. • St. Joseph — News-Press sports editor Scott Pummell was named among the Associated Press Top 10 small-paper sports columnists for 2007. Pummell has been sports editor since July 2006. He’s been with the News-Press for 13 years. He was chosen in Scott Pummell the under-40,000 circulation division by the Associated Press Sports Editors organization. • San Marcos, Texas — Joe Snyder, former publisher of the Gallatin North Missourian, and his wife, Kathy, observed their 65th wedding anniversary early in April. After selling their newspaper, they moved to Texas about seven years ago to be near their daughter and granddaughter. The Snyders also have two grandsons who live in Florida and three great-grandchildren living in Missouri. Their mailing address is Joseph R. Snyder, The Wellington, 600 Leah Ave., Apt. 1601, San Marcos, TX 78666. • St. James — The Leader-Journal has launched a website, StJamesLeaderJournal.com. It provides material from the printed paper plus news updates. Michele Martin is the editor of the paper. • Bolivar — Neighbor Newspapers had a deal for car race fans in April. They gave free admission to Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland on April 5 to anyone who arrived with a current issue of a Neighbor Newspaper in hand. Participating newspapers are in Bolivar, Stockton, Buffalo, Marshfield, Missouri Press News, May 2008 Rogersville, Ozark, Nixa and Republic. They sold subscriptions to their papers outside the track for people who wanted to take advantage of the free ticket promotion. •Joplin — SBJ Publishing Inc.’s Joplin Tri-State Business honored its inaugural Dynamic Dozen on March 4. SBJ Publishing President Dianne Elizabeth Osis presented awards to the businesses. is observing the 80th anniversary of its founding this year. In March the weekly ran lengthy stories about the newspaper’s history, its current operations and staff. Nathaniel A. Sweets founded The American in 1928 “to give a voice to the African-American community.” Donald M. Suggs was among a group that purchased the newspaper in 1981. He has been the newspaper’s publisher for a number of years. • Neosho — Among those honored in March by the Neosho Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution was John Ford of the Neosho Daily News. He received the Media Award for his reporting on the activities of the Neosho Chapter DAR. • Kansas City — The Sun groups’ business section has been replaced by a lifestyles section dependent on web content. Along with the section’s elimination from the Sun Tribune, Sun Gazette and Liberty Tribune, Gene Hanson, who did most of the business section’s reporting and editing, has left the paper along with a copy editor, a part-time copy editor and circulation and collections staffers. The Sun Tribune targets Clay County, the Sun Gazette targets Platte County and the Liberty Tribune covers the city of Liberty. They are owned by the News-Press & Gazette Co., St. Joseph. Mexico literacy awards Four awards were presented April 8 during the 14th annual North Central Missouri Salute to Literacy held in the Country Church at the Audrain County Historical Museum Complex. Mexico native Jane Simmons, author of “Arthur Simmons, American Icon of the Horse World–A Daughter’s Memories,” was guest speaker for the event. Simmons also received the In The Book Award. The top literacy award, The Mexico Ledger Community Literacy Award, was presented to the League of Women Voters, honoring members for their years of service in voter education. President Linda Ahmann accepted the award on behalf of the LWV. The Civil Literacy Award was presented to the Veterans of Foreign Wars in recognition of sponsorship of the Voice of Democracy Youth Essay Scholarship Program. Robert Seigfreid, 2008 essay winner, read his essay during the ceremonies. Donald Shire, who retired in 2007 as The Ledger’s Newspapers In Education director, was honored with the Enabling the Gift of Literacy Award. Award recipients pictured are (from left) front, Shire, Simmons and Ahmann; back, Steve Totten and Dorothy Carter representing the VFW. (Mexico Ledger photo by Brenda Fike) • Park Hills — Fun and games were the order of the day during the Daily Journal’s Relay for Life Adult Easter Egg Hunt. Prizes were abundant and everyone came out a winner. • St. Louis — The St. Louis American www.mopress.com • Lee’s Summit — The Lee’s Summit Tribune at the end of March launched a complete redesign of the newspaper. Sarah Tucker led the graphics work, with help from reporters Seann McAnally and Chase Jordan, photographer Bob Thebeau, publisher Jerry Vaughan and editor Matt Bird-Meyer. 11 The Tribune’s sister papers, Raytown Post, Jackson County Advocate and BEST Classifieds, and the company’s commercial printing business, Hi-Tec Web Printing, all recently launched websites. • Sedalia — For the second year in a row, Latisha Koetting, newsroom assistant for The Sedalia Democrat, received national recognition from a veterans’ honor group for her work on The Democrat’s veterans page. Koetting recently was named firstLatisha Koetting place national winner for military biographies of veterans from the Voiture Nationale at the 88th Promenade Nationale of the 40 & 8. Koetting has coordinated The Democrat’s veterans page for eight years, during which time the paper has published more than 200 stories of war veterans. • Bowling Green — The Bowling Green Times encouraged area amateur photographers to enter its second annual photo contest. Winning photos were published in the April 19 edition of the weekly. Photos were sought in two categories: people and animals and places and events. Awards were presented for first, second and third place in each category. • St. James — The St. James LeaderJournal and the Cuba Free Press joined with the Chambers of Commerce in their towns to sponsor a region-wide garage sale on April 5. The papers sold ads for $10, and all ads were printed in both papers along with maps showing the locations of the sales. The papers also placed ads in a number of other newspapers in the area to promote the sales. In past years, ATMs in St. James have run out of money on garage sale day. The papers also encouraged businesses to have special promotions that day to take advantage of the high traffic. • St. Louis — Two photojournalists for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch have won 2008 National Headliner Awards. David Carson won first place in online videography for a collection of his video in the series “Reporting for Duty.” Robert Cohen won two awards: second place for a portfolio of photoDavid Carson graphs and second place in feature photography. In “Reporting for Duty,” Carson and reporter Phillip O’Connor followed a class of recruits through nine weeks of basic training at Fort Leonard Robert Cohen Wood. Cohen’s feature entry was “Superman at the Airport,” a photo of a boy in a Superman costume waiting for his luggage. The Headliners are sponsored by the Press Club of Atlantic City, N.J. Win- ������������������������������������������������������ ���������������� ������������� ������������������ ��������������� �������������������� ������������������������������ ������������������ �������������������������������� The Missouri Bar Jefferson City 573-635-4128 12 You can’t trust just anybody when it comes to good health and nutrition ... contact the For information about agriculture or issues affecting rural Missouri, contact: (573) 893-1467 M ISSOURI D IETETIC A SSOCIATION and get connected with a Licensed Registered Dietitian in your area. We are the nutrition experts for you, your family and your organization. P.O. Box 1225 • Jefferson City, MO 65102 (573) 636-2822 • www.eatrightmissouri.org Advertise on the websites that people go to — their local newspapers. Across Missouri, across the country. Call Missouri Press Service. 573-449-4167 www.mopress.com Missouri Farm Bureau Call us for one-order, one-bill newspaper advertising placement. 573.449.4167 Missouri Press News, May 2008 ners will be honored at a banquet in Atlantic City on May 17. • Centralia — Jeff Grimes, general manager of the Fireside Guard, served as a questioner during a forum for local candidates on March 27. The Guard was joined by the Centralia Women’s Network as co-host for the event. • Independence — The Examiner was named runnerup in the national Newspaper of the Ye a r c o n t e s t by GateHouse Media. It placed second to The Daily Messenger of Canandiangua, Hugh Welsh N.Y. Examiner writer Hugh Welsh was named Features Writer of the Year, and The Examiner took top honors in the Public Service Project of the Year for its nine-part series last summer about the proposal to transfer seven schools from the Kansas City to Independence School District. The Examiner had three other finalists in the individual categories: Julie Scheidegger for Photographer of the Year, Bill Althaus for Sports Writer of the Year, and Andre Riley for Columnist of the Year. • Cuba — Several staff members of Three Rivers Publishing hosted a Newspapers In Education activity day for second graders at Cuba Elementary School on March 6 during NIE Week. Students made paper hats, worked a crossword puzzle and a word search, heard a story, went on a scavenger hunt and wrote a story for the newspaper. Three Rivers Publishing provides newspapers each week for NIE programs in Cuba, Bourbon and Steelville. • St. Louis — In observance of Black History Month, the St. Louis Gateway Classic Sports Foundation recognized 11 Outstanding African American Citizens. Donald Suggs, president and publisher of the St. Louis American, gave the keynote address at the awards luncheon. • Charleston — On April 3 Mildred Wallhausen, former publisher of the Charleston Enterprise-Courier, celebrated her 94th birthday a n n i ve r s a r y. Sh e still writes and proofreads for the newspaper and may be the oldest active newspaper person Millie Wallhausen in the state. She’s also the official historian for the Southeast Missouri Press Association. Millie’s mailing address is P.O. Box 69, Charleston, MO 63834. • Springfield — Members of the Society of Collegiate Journalists at Evangel University sponsored a Freedom of Information Act training workshop on April 2. Area journalists and the public were invited to join Evangel communication students for the training. The instructor was Charles Davis, associate professor at the Missouri School of Journalism and director of the Na- ������������������������������������������������������ Missouri Insurance Information Service ��������������������������� ������������������������ (573) 893-4241 - phone (573) 893-4996 - fax [email protected] - email A public information organization of insurance companies. ���������������������������� ������������������ �������������� It’s What’s For Dinner. This wa Th way to way to common sens ense. e. MPA Postal Help Ron Cunningham (417) 849-9331 [email protected] Missouri Press News, May 2008 Missouri Beef Industry Council TM TM EMBARQ.com www.mopress.com 13 book fair week at Chillicothe schools earlier in March. • Nevada — Nevada’s community newspaper, The Daily Mail, was transformed into another kind of tiny community when children from a local day care center created newspaper people. The children formed bodies with newspapers and then stuffed them with more newspapers. They used scraps for hair and other decorations. Newspaper veteran John and Donna Fisher, publishers of the Montgomery Standard, help their veteran correspondent, Girland Branstetter, celebrate her 89th birthday. Mrs. Branstetter began her newspapering career in the 1930s as a high school student working for the Middletown Chips. She started covering the Middletown area for the Montgomery Standard as a correspondent in 1947. For many years she would drive the 25 miles from Middletown to Montgomery City on Mondays to hand deliver her news. Girland now lives in the Gamma Road Nursing Center where she provides frequent correspondent’s news. Mrs. Branstetter was honored on her birthday at the Middletown Christian Church. tional FOI Coalition, which is based at the J School in Columbia. • Montgomery City — The Montgomery County Human Resource Council held a reception to honor local media on March 12. Among those receiving certificates of appreciation were John and Donna Fisher of the Montgomery Standard and Gay Donaldson of the Wellsville Optic News. They were recognized for their support of the Council, its member agencies and the community. • Chillicothe — The ConstitutionTribune held its Spring Expo on March 29 in the Chillicothe High School gym and commons area. More than 50 local vendors showcased their products. This was the sixth Spring Expo sponsored by the newspaper. Admission was free. Publisher Rod Dixon was a guest reader for a second grade class during 14 • Nevada — Friends and family of former Daily Mail sports editor Kelly Bradham organized a card shower for him in March. His health has been poor, and he recently underwent major surgery, which included amputation of part of an arm. Bradham worked for the Daily Mail for 25 years before retiring in 2002. • Kansas City — Kansas City Star executive Lewis W. Diuguid is the 2008 recipient of the Catalyst Award for Print. The award from the National Association of Minority Media Executives recognizes action and leadership that advance the cause of diversity in the media. Diuguid is The Star’s vice president of community resources. In 1993 he was a co-leader of The Star’s first diversity initiative, and he remains involved with the newsroom diversity committee. He serves on the faculty of the Kansas City Association of Black Journalists Urban Student Journalism Academy and has funded thousands of dollars in scholarships for aspiring journalists of color. BDN Weekend focuses on entertainment, how-to features, home improvement, travel and health. BDN now is being published Monday through Thursday. Subscribers receive BDN Extra on Fridays. It includes local news and sports, weddings, engagements and anniversaries. The online version of the BDN was redesigned in April. • Lee’s Summit — The Lee’s Summit Tribune and The Raytown Post have made an advertising and circulation deal with The Examiner in Independence/Blue Springs. The Tribune and Post carries the Examiner’s “Welcome Home” real estate section, the Tribune in all of its papers and the Post in its subscriber copies. The weeklies sell non-real estate ads into the daily paper’s real estate section. • Crane — The Crane Chronicle/Stone County Republican has sent all of its old printing equipment to the Barry County Museum in Cassville. It will be on display in the future. The museum also will have a room of memorabilia of Emory Melton, former Cassville publisher and state senator. • Boonville — At the end of March, the BDN changed its free weekly paper, The Record, to BDN Weekend. The paper is distributed mid-week to 10,300 households in Cooper and Howard counties. It is delivered to BDN subscribers with their Thursday papers and is placed in news racks on Friday mornings. www.mopress.com Missouri Press News, May 2008 Mountain View publisher featured in Pub Aux T ianna Brooks and the Moutain View Standard News were the focus of a feature story in the April issue of Publishers’ Auxiliary, a publication of the National Newspaper Association. Brooks’ family bought the Howell County weekly in 2001 and put Tianna, 28, in charge in 2003. Brooks’ background is as a teacher. She taught fifth and sixth grade language arts before taking on the newspaper and worked with her father in real estate. Brooks’ two brothers each operates a business, one a heating and air conditioning firm, the other a carpet company. Those two companies and the newspaper are housed in a family-owned building. “I have developed a great respect for journalism and the newspaper’s watchdog role,” Brooks told Publishers’ Auxiliary. She has learned by doing and by attending training programs sponsored by Missouri Press News, May 2008 the National Newspaper Association and Missouri Press Association. She went on the NNA On the Road tour of Missouri newspapers in 2005. Missouri Press inspired her to begin a Newspapers In Education program, and she appreciates MPA’s legal hotline. Whenever she gets bogged down she just heads off to an MPA meeting to get a new dose of education and inspiration, she said. Brooks was elected president of Ozark Press Association at that group’s March 28 annual meeting in Point Lookout. Arrow Rock gets national designation W ASHINGTON, D.C.—Arrow Rock was recently honored when First Lady Laura Bush, honorary chair of the Preserve America initiative, designated the village as one of the nation’s newest Preserve America Communities. Arrow Rock joins nine other Missouri Preserve communities: Cape Girardeau, Fredericktown, Independence, Jefferson City, Liberty, St. Charles, Soulard (St. Louis), Ste. Genevieve and Weston. 600 communities have been named www.mopress.com nationwide. Missouri Press Association’s Print Shop Museum is in Arrow Rock. Arrow Rock’s Board of Trustees will receive a certificate of designation signed by Mrs. Bush. Benefits include the right to use the Preserve America logo; eligibility for Preserve America Grants; notification to state tourism offices; and listing in a web-based directory that showcases Arrow Rock’s preservation efforts and heritage tourism destinations. 15 Newspaper In Education Report Find local teacher for Living Textbook class S Session will be July 16-18 at MU even years ago, Missouri Press resources with other teachers within my Foundation partnered with district.” the University of Missouri’s —“This course was fantastic! I learned MU Direct program to offer a summer so much and can’t wait to go back to my course, The Living Textbook, to train classroom and utilize the newspaper. Missouri educators on effective ways to Thank you for the wonderful opportunity. use the newspaper in the classroom. Also, I have been inspired to go back to The impetus for the my school and present the program was to help MisNIE program to my colsouri’s newspapers develop leagues. What a valuable relationships with young asset in the classroom readers in their communi– an asset most teachers ties. To do this, we initiatdo not utilize. Wow!” ed the Teacher Ambassador —“… I also do not Scholarship program. With currently subscribe to my this, community newspanewspaper, but when I pers partner with teachers arrive home I am signing from their communities, up for a Monday through offering them this training Sunday subscription! I opportunity and in return want to get to know my reaping the rewards of paper, be more informed having a highly motivated, and share what I know well-trained newspaper Dawn Kitchell is MPA’s NIE with my students.” ambassador in the local director. Contact her at (636) his summer, The 932-4301; [email protected]. school. Living Textbook And it has worked. Each seminar will be offered year the evaluations of the workshop July 16-18 in Columbia. The cost to indicate the Living Textbook training your newspaper to provide a scholarship is one of the best professional develop- for a local teacher to attend the training ment opportunities available. Teachers is $325. Here is what is included in that leave the three-day experience ready to scholarship: not only share a passion for newspapers • The course will begin in Columbia with their students, but also with their on the University of Missouri campus peers. at noon on Wednesday, July 16. Parere are a few comments from past ticipants will be given University garage participants: parking permits. —“I am so excited to get back into • We will spend the first four hours my classroom and try these lessons and in the classroom, jumping into the hisactivities. I have never been to a seminar tory of newspapers and the industry’s as wonderful, educational, or inspiring as efforts — and effectiveness — in the The Living Textbook.” classroom. —“I can’t wait to use the paper as my • The teachers will receive a training text for all areas! One of the best workshops manual with more than 600 pages of I’ve been to!” resources that will be introduced over —“This has been one of the best work- the duration of the seminar. shops that I have attended. I cannot wait • Wednesday and Thursday evenings to share the wealth of information and participants will stay at Stoney Creek T H 16 www.mopress.com Inn. • On Wednesday evening, the group will have dinner at a popular local restaurant, giving participants the opportunity to get to know one another and begin the important exchange process. • On Thursday, in addition to working in the classroom, participants will tour the Columbia Daily Tribune plant and enjoy lunch provided by the newspaper during an open forum with Tribune management. • Guest speakers will share their expertise on the effective use of the newspaper in the classroom. Participants will be introduced to the resources available to newspapers through the Missouri Press Association’s Newspapers In Education program. The seminar will end Friday at noon. • In addition to course materials, parking, housing, most meals and the training, participants will receive a continuing education (CEU) certificate. The course also may be taken for one hour of graduate credit. This year, offer one or more scholarships for teachers from your community. Also send your NIE staff person. To get started, visit the Newspaper In Education pages at mopress. com/nienews.php to access a sign-up form for the Teacher Ambassador Scholarships. Seating is limited to our classroom capacity, so use this form to reserve a spot(s) for your newspaper. Begin visiting with teachers and administrators in your community to find educators who might be interested in your scholarship opportunity. Investigate the possibility of your school district sharing the cost of the scholarship with professional development funds. lso available at mopress.com/ nienews.php is a promotional ad for the scholarship opportunity and the course. Personalize the ad and start publishing it in your newspaper. You might be surprised who shows an interest in the opportunity. Once you’ve secured your participants, registered them with MPF and paid your scholarship fee, we’ll do all the rest. We’ll even provide you with photos and cutlines to promote your newspaper’s newly trained ambassador following the seminar! A Missouri Press News, May 2008 Obituaries Overland Park, Kan. H Howard Turtle oward Turtle, 95, Overland Park, a longtime Kansas City Star editor who was the first editor of “Star Magazine,” died March 16, 2008. Mr. Turtle worked for The Star for about 40 years, interrupted by service in the Army during World War II. He served as a medic in five European campaigns, including Normandy and the Battle of the Bulge. His work appeared in national magazines such as Reader’s Digest, The Saturday Evening Post and Esquire. After retiring Mr. Turtle devoted more time to music. He played trumpet and cornet. He was part of the Junkyard Jazz Band in Lawrence, Kan. Survivors include a daughter, a son and five grandchildren. Bloomfield E ElFreda Cox lFreda Cox, 52, Dexter, reporter for the North Stoddard Countian in Bloomfield, died of cancer and complications on March 24, 2008. Miss Cox lived in Dexter but was deeply involved with Bloomfield. She was the founding president of the Bloomfield Lions Club. The Bloomfield Chamber of Commerce named her Woman of the Year in 2005, and she received many other awards of appreciation and service from the community. Miss Cox worked for 12 years as a reporter for the Puxico Press before joining the Bloomfield weekly. The Lions Club and other local organizations held a fund-raiser in early March to help with Miss Cox’s medical bills and household expenses. Business Opportunities Unlimited for 10 years before illness forced him to retire. Mr. Cullen is survived by Mary, his wife of 53 years; two daughters, a son, seven grandchildren, two great-grandsons, five sisters and a brother. St. Joseph P Phyllis Wright hyllis Wright, 80, who joined the St. Joseph News-Press at age 17, died of Alzheimer’s disease on March 13, 2008. Mrs. Wright took time off from 1947 to 1962 to raise her three children, then rejoined the newspaper as editor of the society page. She remained there until 1993. For years she wrote the Brevities column filled with chicken dinner news, family visits, vacations and hospital patients. Columbia J ohn Philip Norman, 91, a retired professor emeritus of the Missouri School of Journalism, died Feb. 28, 2008. Mr. Norman grew up in Iowa, attended the University of Iowa and started his journalism career in advertising for what is now Sunbeam Co. He bought and ran two weekly newspapers in central Wisconsin before joining the J School faculty in 1955. Before retiring in 1980, Mr. Norman spent a year as a consultant to the Korean Herald, an English language newspaper in Seoul, South Korea. He also worked as Missouri/Kansas manager for National Election Studies providing national election results for three major networks and two wire services. Mr. Norman leaves his wife, Jeanette; two sons, two daughters and four grandchildren. Kansas City St. Louis J C Joseph Cullen oseph Thomas Cullen, 81, an employee of The Kansas City Star for 25 years, died March 24, 2008, of complications of Alzheimer’s. After leaving The Star’s national advertising department, Mr. Cullen operated Missouri Press News, May 2008 Phil Norman Clarissa Start larissa Start, 91, who wrote about gardening and everyday life during 64 years with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, died April 9, 2008, in a nursing home in Woodbridge, Va. Mrs. Start was best known locally for www.mopress.com her columns “The Little Woman” and later “The Happy Gardener.” She wrote 10 books, including “Never Underestimate the Little Woman.” Her book that sold best was “When You’re a Widow,” which she wrote from personal experience. It was serialized in Ladies Home Journal. Ms. Start graduated at age 19 from the Missouri School of Journalism and started at the Post-Dispatch in 1938. She retired from the paper in 1972 but wrote her gardening column for 30 more years. She is survived by a son. Kansas City R Robert L. Hale obert Lee Hale, 93, former superintendent of composing operations for The Kansas City Star, died on April 6, 2008, in a care center in Lenexa, Kan. Mr. Hale worked for The Star for 35 years. He began his newspaper career before World War II at the old Kansas City Journal Post. Mr. Hale’s wife of over 55 years, Eva, is deceased. There are no close relatives. Columbia D David Lendt avid L. Lendt, 71, Columbia, director of university relations for the University of Missouri System from 1989 until his retirement in 2000, died April 15, 2008, of acute myelogenous leukemia. Mr. Lendt was a good friend of Missouri Press Association and attended many of its functions. For the University he served as chair of the Public Relations Council, comprised of the chief public information officers from each of the campuses and University Extension. Mr. Lendt is survived by his wife of more than 50 years, Alice; two daughters, a son, four grandchildren and a sister. Details of the Missouri School of Journalism Centennial Celebration to be held in September can be found at http://journalism.missouri.edu/e-blast/. 17 Sunshine law is not unduly burdensome Elected officials need to know obligations S ome smaller cities in Missouri are has absolutely no obligation to produce becoming painfully aware of the them. And all a city is required to do is sunshine law, but not due to ac- to respond to a request within 72 hours tions of Missouri Press members. of its receipt. In the last year, a greater St. Louis If additional time is required to comarea lawyer has filed approximately 120 pile records, a city is permitted under suits, according to a story the law to request that in the Bolivar Herald-Free additional time, so long Press, quoting officials of as the delay requested is the Missouri Municipal “reasonable.” And that League. This lawyer sends word is not further derequests for copies of minfined—a judge is the only utes of city council meetone who determines if the ings, and when the city fails delay is reasonable. So one to respond properly under can hardly say the city the law, he files suit. is being imposed on for In at least one case, a city such a request. apparently chose to settle Reporters regularly with the plaintiff rather make similar requests. than litigate, paying him Cities regularly respond $5,000, according to the Jean Maneke, MPA’s Legal to such requests seeking news report cited above. additional time to comHotline attorney, can be As a result, cities are reached at (816) 753-9000, pile the requested records. upset. The Missouri Mu- [email protected]. It is only those cities that nicipal League is upset. fail to timely and properly Reporters in this state who have a good respond that are caught in the plaintiff ’s working relationship with their cities are sunshine law net. upset. They don’t like seeing their muecond, a city that might choose to nicipal officials entangled in litigation settle and pay the plaintiff is doing against a non-resident whom they feel so for its own reasons. Maybe the city has no actual interest in seeing that the looked at its response for the first time community has good government. with the input of counsel’s advice and I understand all these concerns. But realized it had broken the sunshine law I want to raise a cautionary flag against and decided it had better settle. you, the readers, deciding this plaintiff Maybe the city, with counsel’s advice, is doing wrong. In fact, the enemy here felt it had not broken the law, but beis not this plaintiff, despite his clearly lieved the cost to fight this battle in court having motives more closely aligned was going to be so expensive compared with personal financial gain than actual to the smaller sum the plaintiff offered justice. to settle for that it was cheaper to end irst, it is clear he is beginning each this battle by settlement. This financial campaign with a sunshine law decision happens regularly when a party request. In some cases, cities receiving is faced with litigation. those requests have failed to make a Maybe the underlying issues—relatproper reply. ing to the way a city had imposed taxes, I’ve seen some arguments that he is were such that the city had erred and asking for records that do not exist. If resulted in a decision to settle that had that is the case, under the law, the city absolutely nothing to do with the at- S F 18 www.mopress.com tached sunshine law issue. Regardless, I believe those of you whose cities might be entangled in this lawyer’s campaign for wealth and notoriety need to be careful with what you say regarding this matter. It is important that every city and every elected official make an effort to understand the obligations imposed by the sunshine law. It is never an abuse of the law for a citizen or a media entity to file suit when the public entity fails to properly respond. The sunshine law is NOT unduly burdensome. Please don’t ever taken an editorial position that the obligations imposed under this law are unfair. We depend on the sunshine law to do our jobs well. Citizens depend on the sunshine law to maintain a watch on their local government. t is not abuse of the law to use it to hold a public body liable if it fails to meet its statutory obligations. This law does not require superhuman efforts to produce every document, even documents that no longer exist, within 72 hours after a request is made. A city that chooses to settle such a case is ripe for a story about that decision. There’s a reason driving that decision that your readers need to know. Maybe the plaintiff had no case. Maybe the plaintiff caught the city in an embarrassing position. Maybe the answer lies somewhere between. But filing a sunshine law case is not abuse of the law. I Please don’t ever take an editorial position that the obligations imposed under this law are unfair. Missouri Press News, May 2008 CALENDAR Missouri Newspaper Organizations NORTHWEST MISSOURI PRESS ASSOCIATION: President, Dennis Ellsworth, St. Joseph; First Vice President, Jim Fall, Maryville; Secretary, Kathy Conger, Bethany; Treasurer, W.C. Farmer, Rock Port. Directors: Leslie Speckman, Savannah; Chuck Haney, Chillicothe; Steve Tinnen, Plattsburg; Jamey Honeycutt, Cameron; Kay Wilson, Maryville; Steve Booher, St. Joseph; Matt Daugherty, Smithville. SHOW-ME PRESS ASSOCIATION: President, Trevor Vernon, Eldon; First Vice President, John Spaar, Odessa; Secretary-Treasurer, Sandy Nelson, Harrisonville. Directors: Stacey Rice, Drexel; Judy Spaar, Odessa; Past President/Director Gary Beissenherz, Concordia. OZARK PRESS ASSOCIATION: President, Tianna Brooks, Mountain View; Vice President, Jeff McNeill, Houston; Secretary-Treasurer, Sharon Vaughn, Summersville. Directors: Dala Whittaker, Cabool; Brad Gentry, Houston; Jeff Schrag, Springfield; David Burton, Springfield; Keith Moore, Ava; Jim Hamilton, Buffalo; Kimball Long, El Dorado Springs; Past President, Roger Dillon, Eminence. SOUTHEAST MISSOURI PRESS ASSOCIATION: President, Kate Martin, Perryville; First Vice President, Elaine Pursell, Dexter; Second Vice President, Gera LeGrand, Cape Girardeau; Secretary-Treasurer, Michelle Friedrich, Poplar Bluff; Historian, Mrs. Mildred Wallhausen, Charleston; Executive Secretary, Ann Hayes, Southeast Missouri State University. Directors: Kim Million-Gipson, Piedmont; Peggy Scott, Festus; Judy Schaaf-Wheeler, Ironton; H. Scott Seal, Portageville; Diane McClain, Kennett. DEMOCRATIC EDITORS OF MISSOURI: President, Richard Fredrick, Paris; First Vice President, Bob Cunningham, Moberly; Secretary, Beth McPherson, Weston; Treasurer, Linda Geist, Monroe City. MISSOURI CIRCULATION MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION: President, Brenda Carney, Harrisonville; First Vice President, Jack Kaminsky, Joplin; Second Vice President, Steve Edwards, St. Joseph; Secretary, David Pine, Kansas City; Treasurer, Doug Crews, Columbia. Directors: Jim Kennedy, Bolivar; Ken Carpenter, Kansas City; Rob Siebeneck, Jefferson City. MISSOURI ADVERTISING MANAGERS’ ASSOCIATION: President, Steve Hutchings, Gainesville; First Vice President, Trevor Vernon, Eldon; Second Vice President, Bobbie Snodgrass, Joplin; Secretary, Jim Salzman, Jackson; Treasurer, Doug Crews, Columbia. Directors: Debra Kiser, Jefferson City; Stacy Rice, Drexel; Dennis Warden, Owensville; Suzie Wilson, Milan. Past President, Jane Haberberger, Washington. MISSOURI ASSOCIATED DAILIES: President, Joe May, Mexico; Vice President, Ben Weir, Jr., Independence; Secretary, Shelly Arth, Marshall; Treasurer, Doug Crews, Columbia; Past President, Larry Freels, Kirksville. Directors: Jack Whitaker, Hannibal; Arnie Robbins, St. Louis; Charlie Fischer, Sedalia; Don Wyatt, Springfield; Dan Potter, Columbia; Randy Cope, Neosho. MISSOURI PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATORSV: Co-Presidents, Fran Manino, Kirkwood, and Janice Denham, Kirkwood; Secretary, Peggy Koch, Barnhart; Publicity, Colene McEntee, St. Peters; Membership, Suzanne Corbett; Treasurer/Archivist, Dee Rabey, Granite City, Ill.; Contest, Janice Denham, Kirkwood; Quest Awards, Susan Fadem, Olivette; Conference Director, Michelle Oyola; Newsletter, Karen Glines, Des Peres and Peggy Koch; At Large, Verna Smith, St. Louis; Mary Kimbrough, St. Louis; Susan Fadem. MISSOURI PRESS SERVICE: President, Steve Oldfield, Adrian; Vice President, John Spaar, Odessa; Secretary-Treasurer, Gary Sosniecki, Vandalia. Directors: Dave Berry, Bolivar; Dane Vernon, Versailles. MISSOURI PRESS FOUNDATION, INC.: President, Tom Miller, Washington; First Vice President, David Lipman, St. Louis; Second Vice President, Mrs. Betty Spaar, Odessa; Secretary-Treasurer, Doug Crews, Columbia. Directors: R.B. Smith III, Lebanon; Wallace Vernon, Eldon; Rogers Hewitt, Shelbyville; James Sterling, Columbia; Mrs. Wanda Brown, Harrisonville; Mrs. Avis Tucker, Warrensburg; Edward Steele, Columbia; Robert Wilson, Milan; Kirk Powell, Pleasant Hill; Wendell Lenhart, Trenton. MISSOURI-KANSAS AP PUBLISHERS AND EDITORS: Chairman, John Montgomery, Hutchinson, Kan. Missouri AP Managing Editors: Chairman, Carol Stark, Joplin; Past Chairman, Oliver Wiest, Sedalia. MISSOURI SOCIETY OF NEWSPAPER EDITORS: President, Buzz Ball, Carthage; First Vice President, Cathy Ripley, Chillicothe; Second Vice President, Dale Brendel, Independence; Secretary-Treasurer, Doug Crews, Columbia. Directors: Chris Wrinkle, Hannibal; Dennis Ellsworth, St. Joseph; Rob Viehman, Cuba; Jeff Schrag, Springfield; Sam Blackwell, Cape Girardeau; and Oliver Wiest, Sedalia; Past President, Buck Collier, St. Louis. MISSOURI COLLEGE MEDIA ASSOCIATION: President, Sarah Hale, St. Louis University; Vice President, Ryan Scherr, University of Missouri-St. Louis; Secretary, James Patrick Schmidt, University of Missouri-Columbia; MPA Liaison, Pat Sparks, Longview Community College; Adviser, Jason Young, St. Louis University. Missouri Press News, May 2008 www.mopress.com May 8-9 — Missouri Advertising Managers’ Association, Hilton Promenade Hotel, Branson 30 — Southeast Missouri Press Association meeting, Southeast Missouri State University, Cape Girardeau June 11 — Missouri Press Board of Directors meeting, Lake Ozark 12 — MPA Porter Fisher Golf Classic, Sycamore Creek Golf Course, Osage Beach 12-13 — Show-Me Press, MSNE/ APME joint meeting, Resort at Port Arrowhead, Lake Ozark July 11 — MPA judges Illinois Press Association Newspaper Contest, Upper Crust, Columbia 12 — Performance in Celebration of 200th Anniversary of First Missouri Newspaper, Thespian Hall, Boonville 16-18 — Living Textbook Newspapers In Education seminar, Columbia September 10 — MPA/Missouri School of Journalism Centennial Golf Classic, A.L. Gustin Golf Course, Columbia 10-12 — Missouri School of Journalism Centennial Celebration, Columbia 11-13 — 142nd MPA Convention, Stoney Creek Inn, Columbia 25-28 — NNA Convention and Trade Show, St. Paul, Minn. Sign up for J School golf T he Missouri School of Journalism will open its Centennial celebration with a golf outing on Wednesday, Sept. 10, at A.L. Gustin Golf Course in Columbia. Missouri Press Association is the host for the four-person scramble. Cost is $50. Register at golfdigestplanner. com/3421-MPAGolfOuting/. Gardeners are part of our electric co-op. Missouri’s Electric Cooperatives Touchstone Energy® Missouri Press News, May 2008 www.mopress.com