Former State reporter gives public lecture on Feb. 18
2/8/10
Claudia Smith Brinson, a journalist for 30 years, now a senior lecturer in English at Columbia College, will discuss in-depth reporting and read excerpts from her work on Feb. 18 as Columbia College¹s Maxwell Guest Writer. The 7 p.m. reading and talk will be held in the Breed Leadership Center, 201-202, is free and open to the public and will be followed by a reception.
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Action delayed on legal ads
2/4/10
The Post and Courier
Staff report
A South Carolina House subcommittee on Wednesday delayed action on a bill that would eliminate newspaper legal notices in upcoming elections.
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Election notices changes proposed
2/3/10
The Post and Courier
By Yvonne Wenger
COLUMBIA -- The State Election Commission estimates that it would save at least $80,000 a year on legal advertisements for statewide races if it moved the notices from newspapers to the Internet, but critics fear it could result in lower voter awareness and turnout.
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Morris projects “return to sustained profitability” after debt restructuring
2/3/10
The Florida Times-Union
by Mark Basch
Morris Publishing Group LLC filed its prepackaged Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition early Tuesday morning, saying in court filings that its debt restructuring plan will allow the company to implement business strategies that “improve our ability to return to sustained profitability.”
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Gannett sales drop, but it turns a profit
2/3/10
The Post and Courier
NEW YORK -- Gannett Co., the largest U.S. newspaper publisher, said Monday that it turned a fourth-quarter profit, helped by a drop in onetime costs and a smaller decline in ad sales.
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McClatchy to experiment with pay model
1/29/10
Editor & Publisher
By Jennifer Saba
NEW YORK McClatchy is one of the few newspaper companies reporting positive online advertising results in a very tough year. In Q4, online ad revenue was up 14.9% and now represents almost 16% of total revenue*.
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Industry promotion ad:
A tremendous scoring opportunity
1/29/10
SNPA
A new ad highlighting the super-sized readership that newspapers deliver seven days a week now is available from The Newspaper Project. The critical run date for the ad is Monday, Feb. 8.
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AP Chief: strong fight needed for open govt.
1/31/10
SNPA
Journalists should be willing to fight for strong laws protecting open access to government even as the news industry struggles in a weak economy, the top executive of The Associated Press said in a speech last Friday.
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Don't Use "Super Bowl" in an ad without permission
1/29/10
By David Silverman
Broadcast Law Blog
The term "Super Bowl" is a trademark owned by the National Football League, and it is protected very aggressively.
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Larson to leave Fort Mill Times for new post
1/21/10
Fort Mill Times
From staff reports
FORT MILL -- Patricia Larson, publisher of the Fort Mill Times and two other weekly newspapers in York County owned by The McClatchy Co., will be leaving Jan. 29 to take a new position with the Catholic News & Herald in Charlotte.
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Horry Independent banned from filming Gilland's state ethics hearing
1/21/10
Horry Independent
By Michael Smith for The Independent
South Carolina’s ethics commission violated open meeting laws when it prohibited the Horry Independent from videotaping Horry County Chairwoman Liz Gilland’s ethics hearing, according to experts in the S.C. Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
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Rock Hill Herald announces job cuts as weak revenue continues
1/21/10
The Herald
Staff Reports
The Herald plans to eliminate seven positions and consolidate some newsroom and business operations with The Charlotte Observer, a new round of money-saving changes to deal with continued weak revenue.
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Lee Enterprises sees profit, improving ad trends
1/21/10
Associated Press
By Andrew Vanacore
NEW YORK -- Lee Enterprises Inc., which publishes the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and other newspapers, posted its second consecutive quarterly profit Tuesday, helped by falling costs and a smaller drop in ad revenue.
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Health care bills shrouded in secrecy, says ASNE
1/21/10
Editor & Publisher
By E&P Staff
CHICAGO The American Society of News Editors (ASNE) waded into the debate over health care reform Tuesday, decrying "an inexcusable level of secrecy surrounding this landmark legislation."
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Supreme Court says jury selections should be open
1/20/10
RCFP
By Amanda Becker
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that Georgia's high court incorrectly upheld a trial judge's decision that the public could be barred from jury selection in a drug trial, ruling that jury selection in criminal trials is presumptively open and judges must consider alternatives to closure.
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Sheriff's Office awaits advice
1/18/10
The Post and Courier
By Glenn Smith
Dorchester County sheriff's officials want legal guidance from prosecutors before deciding whether to release video of a chase involving an off-duty North Charleston police officer.
But an expert on South Carolina's Freedom of Information Act said the state's highest court has already ruled that the public is clearly entitled access to these recordings.
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Back in Business: E&P sold, resumes operations
1/18/10
Editor & Publisher
Staff Reports
NEW YORK Editor & Publisher, the only independent news organization reporting on all aspects of the transforming newspaper business, has resumed publication in print and online following its sale Thursday to Duncan McIntosh Co. Inc., the Irvine, Calif.-based magazine and newspaper publisher.
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Editorial: Openness and Ethics
1/18/10
The Sun News
When Gov. Sanford disclosed last summer that he had been conducting a year-long affair with a woman in Argentina, he unleashed upon himself a torrent of investigations by the media and others into what exactly he'd been up to. Many dismissed the effort as purely prurient, but a valid question was at stake: Had the governor misspent any taxpayer money in pursuit of a cross-continental tryst?
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Board members: Riverview director's performance reasons for abrupt dismissal
1/18/10
Beaufort Gazette
By Kate Cerve
kcerve@beaufortgazette.com
Eleanore Bednarsh was fired halfway through her first year as Riverview Charter School's director because she failed to meet performance goals, according to Alison Thomas, chairwoman of the school's board.
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Gannett, Scripps Florida papers agree to distribute each other in home markets
1/18/10
Editor & Publisher
Staff Reports
NEW YORK Gannett Co. Inc. and E.W. Scripps Co. are rolling out a plan to distribute each others' dailies on Florida's West Coast.
Since Jan. 4, the Naples Daily News, published by E.W. Scripps, has been delivering Gannett's The News-Press of Fort Meyers in the Daily News' home Collier County. Starting next Monday, the News-Press will begin distributing the Daily News to single-copy sales locations in its Lee County.
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Savannah Morning News celebrates big anniversary
1/18/10
The Associated Press
The Savannah Morning News is celebrating its 160th anniversary.
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Morris Publishing to seek prepackaged bankruptcy
1/18/10
Augusta Chronicle
Augusta, Ga.-based Morris Publishing -- owner of the Augusta Chronicle, Savannah Morning News, Florida Times-Union and 10 other papers -- says it will file a "prepackaged" bankruptcy plan, preapproved by a majority of its creditors.
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S.C. Insurance News Service Director to step down and start own business
1/18/10
After 14 years of being Executive Director of the South Carolina Insurance News Service, Allison Dean Love will be leaving at the end of this month to start her own consulting company, “Allison Dean Love Consulting LLC.”
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Kershaw school district to cut budget by $1.5M; few know how
1/18/10
WIS TV
The Kershaw County school district now knows how it will cut nearly $1.5 million from its budget. The problem is, no one else does.
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Can newspaper muckraking carry on in nonprofits?
1/18/10
The Associated Press
By Andrew Vanacore
NEW YORK -- Nonprofit groups that specialize in investigative reporting have had some big scoops, cracking the front page of such newspapers as The Washington Post and forcing officials out of their jobs.
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New Owner: Editor & Publisher 'More Vital Than Ever'
1/18/10
By Jason Fell
The fate of 126-year-old Editor & Publisher is no longer drifting in uncertain waters.
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Another analyst turns bullish (sort of) on newspaper stocks
1/18/10
Editor & Publisher
Staff Reports
NEW YORK Newspaper stocks have come back so far from their parlous state a year ago that the sector now ranks among the market's best performers, the chief analyst for Zacks Investment Research Inc. says in his latest report.
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The State cuts 12 jobs in newsroom
1/12/10
The State
From Staff Reports
The State Media Co. on Monday announced the elimination of 12 newsroom jobs at The State newspaper to trim costs. In addition, the paper is ending the Your Home section published on Sundays, and changing the look of the Weekend entertainment tab.
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NNA offers free reader research
1/12/10
Alabama Press Association
Let's show advertisers they can get more customers with consistent print advertising.
The economy continues to sputter. Consumer confidence is up, then down. Together
let's take the pulse of reader spending and prove that community newspapers can deliver new customers and sales for local businesses. More than ever, advertisers demand current reader information about their business.
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SNPA's Online Media Campus debuts
1/11/10
www.snpa.org
The first webinars in the new Online Media Campus initiative have been announced and registration has begun. Online Media Campus is a joint project of SNPA and the Iowa Newspaper Foundation to provide affordable and accessible professional development programs for newspaper professionals. The webinars shift much of the content from the Traveling Campus to digital delivery to accommodate newspaper employees who find it difficult in this economy to schedule time away from the office for traditional training programs. More than 20 webinars will be presented in 2010. The cost for a webinar is only $35.
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Editorial: Openness does not include unnecessary closed sessions for public business
1/8/10
The Herald-Journal
School District 7 board member Chip Hurst told his colleagues Monday that the board has been "inaccurately portrayed over the years as not being transparent." Tuesday's meeting was a perfect example of the board's lack of commitment to transparency and the unnecessary secrecy with which it often shrouds its actions.
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Index-Journal promotes Bryan, Sitarz into new positions
1/5/10
The Index-Journal
From staff reports
Sports editor Scott J. Bryan and features editor Joseph W. Sitarz are assuming new roles at The Index-Journal.
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National Freedom of Information Coalition to Receive $2 Million From Knight Foundation
1/5/10
Broadcasting & Cable
By John Eggerton
Media companies will get some financial help in filing Freedom of Information Lawsuits, according to the Knight Foundation. Monday (Jan. 4), the foundation said it is giving $2 million to the National Freedom of Information Coalition over the next three years to pay court costs and fees for attorneys willing to take on pro bono cases that cash-strapped media companies might not otherwise pursue.
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SCPA files comments with state's highest court over juror contact rule
1/4/10
The S.C. Press Association has filed comments with the state Supreme Court opposing a rule change that would prohibit all contact with jurors after a case has ended.
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Cothran, former Aiken publisher dies
1/4/10
Aiken Standard
Staff Reports
Samuel A. Cothran, former editor and publisher of the Aiken Standard, died Sunday. Cothran was 94. After a distinguished career in Charleston, Cothran came to Aiken in 1968 to head the newspaper that had just been purchased by Evening Post Publishing Company.
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Official e-mails, documents requested from Sanford's office denied
1/4/10
The State
By John O'Connor
COLUMBIA -- Records of S.C. officials and agencies are available to the public, right? Maybe. State and local governments have applied patchwork standards to preserving records, e-mails and other documents. In some cases, those governments have ignored guidelines set out by state archivists.
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Jolie returning as full-color, glossy magazine
1/4/10
The State
Staff Reports
Jolie - The State Media Co.'s free fashion, beauty and lifestyle publication - will return as a full-color, glossy magazine this month.
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