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Super Bowl stories available on News Exchange site
2/3/12
Three undergraduate students from Indiana University-Bloomington and four graduate students from the IU National Sports Journalism Center at IUPUI have written Super Bowl stories that are available for SCPA member use at SCNewsExchange.com.
Stories include:
- Practice squad players
- Anatomy of high ankle sprains (Gronkowski)
- Mathias Kiwanuka Feature
- Patriots Shaun Ellis Feature
- Weatherford Feature (he's from Terre Haute)
Lawmakers propose changes for Freedom of Information requests
2/3/12
WLTX.com
Getting information from a local government or agency could soon get a bit easier.
Lawmakers are looking at a bill to change the South Carolina Freedom of Information Act.
That's the legal way to request records or documents from a government agency.
Representative Bill Taylor, an Aiken County Republican, says it would require government groups to only charge the fair market rate when making copies.
It could also shorten the amount of time an agency has to produce requested documents.
"Frankly citizens have the right to know what goes on in their government whether it be at the state or local level and right now, at times, they get horsed around. They don't get the direct answer, they get delays, they get stonewalled, so our attempt here is to get a bill that has some teeth to it and specificity," said Taylor.
Lawmakers are still working on how to best construct the bill.
Visitors stay longer on newspaper websites in 2011
2/3/12
Arlington, Va. – Newspaper websites in the fourth quarter of 2011 averaged more than 111 million monthly unique visitors, an increase of more than 6 million compared with the same period a year ago. The analysis, performed by the Newspaper Association of America based on data provided by comScore, also indicates continuing strong performance in other key engagement and demographic metrics important to advertisers, with 63 percent of all adult Internet users visiting newspaper websites.
A comparison of newspaper website usage data year-over-year for the fourth quarter showed that average daily visitors increased by more than 3 million, or nearly 15 percent. Unique visitors increased nearly 6 percent, while total minutes increased 14 percent.
“The comScore data for 2011 demonstrate the growing appeal of newspapers’ online content – particularly for engaged, informed and affluent users whom advertisers, especially those buying political advertising in an election year, seek to reach,” said Caroline Little, NAA president and CEO. “In fact, 70 percent of Internet users with household income above $60,000 are reached by newspaper websites, reach that climbs to 75 percent when looking at household incomes above $100,000.”
Other key findings of NAA’s comScore analysis show that during the fourth quarter:
For people ages 45 to 54, newspaper website percentage reach of Internet users climbed to 67 percent;
Within the 18-to-34 demographic, newspaper website reach of Internet users remained at or above 60 percent.
Newspapers are answering these numbers with a steady stream of innovative strategies designed to maintain and build their digital audiences. Recent product launches include animated editorials from The Star-Ledger in Newark, N.J.; a fashion-focused niche app from The New York Times; an app for local ticket sales from the Sarasota (Fla.) Herald-Tribune; and branded game apps for advertising customers from The Oklahoman in Oklahoma City.
“During all of 2011, the percentage reach of Internet users enjoyed by newspaper websites never dipped below 61 percent,” Little said. “Web-based and other digital platforms at newspapers are capturing – and holding – attention in the marketplace.”
FMPD reviews public information policies
2/2/12
Fort Mill Times
Staff Report
The Fort Mill Police Department has reviewed its public information policies after a January incident left the public without access to police files.
On Jan. 22, a reporter who contributes as an independent contractor to the Fort Mill Times requested to view police incident reports for the month of January. Such documents give specific details of crimes and other police activity.
However, police present at the time told the reporter that only documents dated Jan. 15 and 16 – just six documents – were available. No other reports from the month were released. When questioned, police personnel on duty said other reports had not been reviewed by supervisors and could not be given to the public.
Freedom of information laws requires police departments to make reports available to the public.
Fort Mill Police Capt. Bryan Zachary, the department’s public information officer, apologized for the misunderstanding. He said department policy is to make the reports of police activity available as soon as they’re completed, often within hours of an incident taking place.
“They’re public documents,” he said. “They should be available as soon as they’re completed. It’s a matter of public information.”
Zachary said he would investigate the delay, remind staff of the policy and make sure the reports were accessible to the public at all times. The documents for the entire month were available for review this past Sunday when a reporter made a routine check.
S.C. Press Association Executive Director Bill Rogers, an advocate for access to public information, says police departments in South Carolina are required by law to make incident reports available to the public as soon as they’re prepared by officers.
“It’s a matter of public safety,” he said. “If there has been a string of break-ins, for example, the public needs to know and have timely access.”
Rogers called Fort Mill’s delay in releasing the reports “ridiculous.”
Most York County public safety agencies uphold the public information statutes. The York County Sheriff’s Office maintains a three-ring binder of reports that is updated daily. A similar policy is used by the Tega Cay Police Department.
In Fort Mill, police keep reports for public viewing in a manila folder. Zachary says the department’s policy calls for the folder to be updated at shift changes and available to the public upon request.
The reports viewed Sunday contained the following reports:
Man charged with DUI at middle school
A Fort Mill dad is suspected of drunk-driving while picking up his son from school, according to a Fort Mill Police report.
The Jan. 17 incident happened as class was dismissed at Springfield Middle School. Witnesses told police they saw a man driving a white Ford truck erratically in the parking lot. The truck pulled out of the lot and then stopped in the middle of the road, the report states. A police officer questioned the driver, who smelled like alcohol and said he didn’t know where he was, the report states. The driver later said he had come to the school to pick up his son.
The driver denied drinking any alcohol. But after he failed a sobriety test, the man told police he drank a pint of Jim Beam bourbon, the report states. His blood-alcohol level registered at 0.13 percent, according to the report, well above the legal limit of 0.08 percent.
He was arrested at the scene.
Restaurant worker accused
of taking cash from register
A Fort Mill teen confessed to stealing $72 from the cash register of the Subway restaurant where he worked, according to a Fort Mill Police report.
The restaurant owner filed a complaint last week, accusing the 18-year-old clerk of taking money. He showed police video surveillance of an employee putting cash from the register into his pocket while closing the store.
Police located the suspect at Fort Mill High School. During an interview with police, the suspect admitted to taking $72 and apologized, the report states.
The suspect, 18-year-old Brandon Dyson of Fort Mill, faces charges of larceny.
Report: Dog attacks mail carrier
A U.S. Postal Service worker had to be treated for an apparent dog bite after she was attacked while delivering mail, according to a Fort Mill Police report.
The report states the 22-year-old mail carrier was delivering mail at 4 p.m. Jan. 19 on Sharonview Street when a mixed breed dog broke free from its tether. The dog jumped on the woman, knocking her to the ground and causing minor injuries, the report states. The dog’s owner corralled the dog and helped the mail carrier to her feet.
The carrier said she had been bitten and sought medical treatment, the report states. The case has been turned over to animal control officials to determine the fate of the dog and its owner.
Compiled by Adam O’Daniel
Thief siphons fuel
About 100 gallon of diesel fuel were stolen from a Fort Mill paving company last week.
An employee with SMI Paving near Carolina Place said when two of his dump trucks were locked up on Tuesday, their gas tanks were full, according to a York County Sheriff's Office report. The next day, Wednesday, one of the drivers ran out of fuel on the same road that the business is on.
An investigation showed damage to all of the locking gas caps on the trucks, the report states. It appears the diesel fuel was siphoned out.
The employee estimated about $200 in damage to the trucks, the report states. About 100 gallons of diesel fuel was reported stolen.
Column: What's point of hiding crime info?
2/2/12
The Post and Courier
By Melanie Balog
At the same time Charleston police were working out new ways to keep the public in the dark about important details in crimes, they also were announcing that rapes have increased in the city.
2011 saw violent crime decrease in Charleston, with a few exceptions, including sexual assaults, which rose to 30 from 26 in 2010, according to a Jan. 20 Charleston Police press release.
That same memo says the department "will continue to work with local partners to seek ways to address this troubling crime, while patrol officers and detectives work to teach our citizens about how they can avoid risky behavior that can lessen their chances of becoming a victim."
By the way, "risky behavior" apparently means drinking, as alcohol was listed as a contributing factor in many cases. Whether this means that a woman who wants to avoid rape should abstain from drinking remains to be seen, depending on what kinds of "comprehensive strategy" the department plans to work out.
Yet a week before this release went out, the department was looking at ways to keep suspects' identifying information out of police reports and away from the public and the media.
Something doesn't add up there.
Let the public help
As Glenn Smith reported Saturday, a Jan. 12 internal police memo was encouraging officers to keep identifying information out of their initial reports. "If your mother was the victim, what information would you want shielded from the public?" the memo asks.
How about every available piece of information police have about the suspect?
Why wouldn't you want the public to know everything they possibly could so that if they saw that person, they could alert police?
In 2008, the police were similarly unforthcoming about a rash of sex assaults around the College of Charleston. Why would police not want to put out information that could help catch a criminal, as well as protect the public?
One step up, two steps back
In January, the definition of rape was updated to be more comprehensive. "This new definition will encourage victims, empower law enforcement, and build public awareness about a devastating crime," National Center for Victims of Crime Executive Director Mai Fernandez said Jan. 6. The same release quoted the head of the Justice Department's Office on Violence Against Women saying that the new law sends a message that victims will be supported and perpetrators held accountable.
How, exactly, does hiding information from the public correspond to holding perpetrators accountable and support victims?
The same Jan. 20 crime report press release contains this directive: "During 2012, it is imperative that the Department continue to foster its relationship with the community to gain trust, support, and cooperation so that crimes can be prevented."
It's going to be hard to foster a relationship of trust with the community when you don't even trust the public enough to give them information about crime suspects.
Police chief says report will be available
2/1/12
The Daily Gamecock
By Cassie Cope
Columbia Police Chief Randy Scott said a redacted police report will finally be made available today, five days after police responded to an early morning sexual assault allegation on Greene Street.
Bill Rogers, executive director of the South Carolina Press Association, said by not providing the incident report upon The Daily Gamecock’s initial request Monday, the police department broke the law. The public is entitled to know the crime occurred as well as its details, Rogers said.
Reports about the nature of a crime are legally open to the public, Rogers said, and the law allows names of victims of sexual assault to be redacted or blacked out. He added that newspapers wouldn’t print the names anyway.
“This is an important issue,” Rogers said. “No one is looking for the name of the victim.”
Scott’s statement comes after the Columbia Police Department repeatedly failed to provide the report to The Daily Gamecock. A reporter called the police department spokeswoman Jennifer Timmons twice Monday and sent an email asking if the police report would be available.
“Due to the on-going investigation and sensitive nature of the allegation, it would not be appropriate to release the incident report at the time,” Timmons said in an email response.
Releasing specific information would be premature, she added.
Rogers said a crime under investigation does not provide exemption from obeying the law.
“If that were the case, no report would ever be released,” he said.
Around 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, Timmons suggested submitting a Freedom of Information Act request after several inquiries about obtaining the police report.
To file a request, the city’s form or letter must be submitted via fax, mail or hand-delivered.
Jay Bender, an SCPA attorney, said the law states if a person appears at the police station, then that person can see police reports from the previous 14 days without a written request.
Two Daily Gamecock reporters went to the Columbia Police Department around 4:20 p.m. Tuesday and requested the incident report from the records department. The reporters were told by the records receptionist the information could only be obtained from Timmons, who he said was not available. The reporters waited in the lobby, called Timmons’ office phone and sent her an email. After less than 10 minutes, the receptionist told the reporters that Timmons had left for the day.
At 4:47 p.m., after the reporters had left, Timmons sent an email saying she and the assistant chief went to the lobby and the reporters were gone.
Around 5:30 p.m. The Daily Gamecock reached Scott, who said he would be available to talk at a later time.
Scott called back around 8:40 p.m. and said he had been busy all day Tuesday but would make the incident report available early today.
“Normally, the reports would be done,” Scott said. “But, I can tell you I’m extra sensitive on releasing information on reports on sexual assaults — for obvious reasons, because it is a traumatic incident to whomever is assaulted.”
Bender said when the General Assembly enacted the Freedom of Information Act, it summarized the importance of making public information available.
“It’s vital within a democratic society that public business be conducted in an open and public manner,” Bender said, quoting the legislation.
Treasurer worries about pension fund risks, urges transparency
The Greenville News
By Tim Smith
COLUMBIA — State Treasurer Curtis Loftis says the state’s $26 billion pension fund is at “excessive risk,” pays too much in fees and isn’t transparent or accountable enough to the hundreds of thousands of state employees and teachers who pay into it.
Loftis also alleges that contrary to state law, 70 percent of the pension fund’s assets aren’t in the custody of the Treasurer’s Office.
But the vice chairman of the South Carolina Retirement System Investment Commission, on which Loftis serves, told a Senate panel Tuesday that the state’s investments are doing well, and a co-chairman of the Senate panel suggested Loftis was more comfortable expressing his concerns to national news media than to the commission that can take action on them.
Two officials with the Retirees Association of South Carolina, meanwhile, said they aren’t worried about wrongdoing with their investments but praised Loftis for pushing for more transparency and accountability.
“I think there is a transparency issue here that frustrates the treasurer,” said Sam Griswold, president emeritus of the Retirees Association. “It frustrates us. Do we think any thing horrible has been going on here, illegal, immoral, unethical? No, I don’t think so. But I do think there is more room to get more transparency in the system for everybody’s sake.”
Griswold said, for instance, he would like to have all of the pension fund’s individual investments posted on its website for retirees and others to examine.
The investments are a key part of the fund that supplies retirement money for thousands of state workers and teachers. For the fiscal year ending last June, the fund increased its market value from $22.9 billion to $26.2 billion, with an investment return of 18.6 percent.
But that compares to a median return of 21.4 percent for large public pension funds, a spokeswoman for the Wilshire Trust Universe Comparison Service told GreenvilleOnline.com.
And while the average public pension invests about 13 percent in alternative investments such as hedge funds, real estate, commodities and managed futures, which carry more risk, South Carolina has invested almost half of the state’s pension money in such investments, Loftis said.
“In utlilizing these alternative investments, we have over-exposed our pension plan to risk far beyond the reward we are receiving,” Loftis told members of a special Senate committee studying the retirement system.
The treasurer said the state’s pension fund paid $349 million in fees last year and is invested in “deals” that are so complicated that “few, if anyone, truly understands.”
“We have had an underperforming pension fund that is expensive, overly complicated, and places the taxpayers and pension members at excessive risk,” he said. “The bottom line is the pension system is not transparent, is not accountable, and that affects us all.”
Loftis said he thinks the percentage of alternative investments should be reduced, an outside audit performed, and officials engaged more in oversight.
Reynolds Williams, vice chairman of the investment commission, took issue with Loftis’ portrayal of the fund’s returns, its fees and the oversight of the system by board members.
He said comparing the system to others depends on the time frame.
He said for the year ending last June 30, the stock market was up and funds like South Carolina’s, which have a smaller allocation of stocks and more in cash, fixed income and other types of investments, showed lower returns than those with higher allocations in stocks.
But he said for the later half of 2011, the fund excelled in comparison to other funds.
“Our conservative approach paid off handsomely,” he said of the fund’s returns from last fall.
The 15-year returns for alternative investments average about 12.5 percent, compared to 5.5 percent for stocks, he said.
“Mainly the retirement system assets are for the long term,” he said.
Sen. Greg Ryberg, an Aiken Republican and co-chair of the panel, said the investment commission has to look at alternative investments to meet the required assumed rate of return, currently 7.5 percent. Williams said even with alternative investments, reaching that goal isn’t easy because of the drag of cash and fixed income investments.
Williams said the treasurer does have custody of all funds in the pension system but many alternative investments are held by investment managers.
He said fees are based on the level of risk, sophistication and success.
Williams said the state paid $248 million in investment fees last year and accrued another $95 million in fees. That $95 million he said is tied to investments whose returns are above the state’s benchmark, in effect, bonuses paid for successful investments.
He said the state could pay as little as $7 in fees if it wanted to place all its money in a company like Enron.
“Lowering fees is not the primary objective,” he said, adding that obtaining good returns is.
Loftis also alleged that he has been denied information by the staff of the Investment Commission, citing a case in which he wanted to look at the calendar, travel schedule and entertainment expenses of the commission’s former chief investment officer.
He said he wanted to look at the documents to see if there were ties and relationships between the official and those in the investment community trying to sell South Carolina investments.
He said he was denied the information and told to file a state Freedom of Information Act request, after which he received a calendar that didn’t appear to be complete.
Williams said the board didn’t require the CIO to keep a calendar. He said the official’s travel and expenses are accessible to all.
Sen. Thomas Alexander, an Oconee Republican and co-chair of the Senate panel with Ryberg, said he wants to have additional meetings exploring the issues raised by Loftis.
Wayne Bell, president of the Retirees Association, said he feels some of the issues Loftis brought up are legitimate.
“Whether this is the right mix (of investments) or not, I couldn’t tell you,” he said.
“I have to trust the experts. One thing that would help us be comfortable with it is if they are audited externally. I think the treasurer brought up some concerns that if there are any validity to them at all they need to be looked at. What we don’t want to happen is 10 years from now find out all hell broke loose and all these alternative investments went straight south.”
Opinion: Openness applies to police, too
1/31/12
The Post and Courier
It is getting more difficult to trust that the Charleston Police Department is sincerely trying to abide by the state's Freedom of Information law.
Each time reporter Glenn Smith is assured the department just goofed -- nothing intentional -- another way of hiding information seems to surface.
In 2008, it was drawing black marks through pertinent information on police reports when that information was legally available to the public. The department backed off that practice -- some.
Recently, police reports began including only the most basic information -- sometimes just a single sentence. The rest of the information was put in supplemental reports that were withheld.
After being confronted about the practice, police attorney Mark Bourdon agreed it was wrong. Supplemental reports have been public information at least since 1998 when the Legislature voted to clarify that they were.
But as Chief Greg Mullen was promising to correct the problem, the officer who oversees the patrol division was telling officers how to hide descriptions of robbery suspects, injuries to sexual assault victims and weapons used in homicides: Put the details in supplemental reports.
Mr. Bourdon said the memo was intended to be helpful, but was inaccurate. He said commanders are working to put out a corrected policy that complies with the law.
That would be satisfying except for what we already know about the mindset of the police department. We understand that their focus is on solving crimes, and sometimes they fear releasing information will foil their attempts.
But government officials from the top down have been promising "transparency" so that citizens are apprised of how their tax dollars are being spent -- and how their government offices are performing. Police should know that applies to them as well.
In fact, with police reports, it is often more important for residents to have timely access to information so that they can make responsible decisions to keep themselves and their families safe.
Under the leadership of Chief Mullen, violent crime in the city fell by 28 percent from 2009 to 2010. So the police force is doing something right.
But the department could do even better if it adhered to both the letter and the spirit of the FOI law. The public has a right to know about crime and law enforcement in their community.
Memo told police officers to hide key crime details
1/28/12
The Post and Courier
By Glenn Smith
While Charleston's police chief was pledging to be more open with the public about crime details this month, a top commander was at work instructing officers how to hide that information from reports available to residents.
The strategy is outlined in an internal memo obtained Friday by The Post and Courier. The Jan. 12 memo, sent to patrol supervisors by Capt. Kevin Boyd, explains that "sensitive information" about crimes should be kept from incident reports available to the media and public.
The memo states that descriptions of robbery suspects, injuries to sexual assault victims and weapons used in homicides are examples of information that should be placed in supplemental reports.
The memo erroneously states that supplemental reports can be withheld from the public until investigations are completed. In 1998, state lawmakers changed the Freedom of Information Act to stop police from hiding crime information in supplemental reports.
S.C. Press Association attorney Jay Bender called the police memo "nonsense," saying it instructs officers to violate the state's sunshine law and undermines the public's ability to offer tips and help solve crimes.
"I'm not suggesting for a moment that solving crimes is an easy business, but shutting the public out of the process seems counterproductive to me," Bender said.
The police department's in-house attorney, Mark Bourdon, said Boyd was attempting to provide officers with some guidance in preparing reports, but the memo contains inaccurate information regarding supplements, which are subject to release.
Bourdon said the memo wasn't cleared by his office or Police Chief Greg Mullen, and it doesn't reflect the department's position.
Bourdon said commanders are now working to put "the correct version of departmental policy" out to officers, and to explain how best to comply with the state's open records law. "It's not our intention to hide information in reports," he said.
The memo sent by Boyd went out the day after The Post and Courier spoke with Mullen about officers submitting bare-bones incident reports, and hiding details in supplemental documents officials refuse to release.
Several recent reports were limited to a single sentence with no description of what occurred.
During a Jan. 11 conversation with a reporter, Mullen pledged to speak with commanders and remind them of the need to share sufficient information about crimes with the public. He denied that the police department had an official strategy to withhold information from residents.
Mullen spoke to Boyd as a result of that conversation, and Boyd, in turn, asked Detective Sgt. Trisha Taylor to prepare a memo explaining how officers should prepare reports that comply with the FOIA, said Bourdon, who said he was speaking for the department on the issue.
The resulting document, titled "Writing an initial report," was a well-meaning effort to do that, he said.
Boyd, who oversees the patrol division, shared the memo with his officers "as a reference."
The memo states that "an initial report is only required to relay what crime occurred (date, time, location and crime)." It fails to mention that the FOIA law also requires police to detail the nature and substance of crimes.
The memo goes on to caution that the initial report is available to the media, "which means that even suspects will be privy to the information."
"If your mother was the victim, what information would you want shielded from the public?" the memo asks. "If the suspect had a copy of the initial report, what information would you save for the supplemental to protect the investigation?"
The memo also provides "an excellent example of an initial report," which offers a basic synopsis of a Jan. 10 robbery at a Wentworth Street convenience store.
The report offers no description of the suspect, the gun he used or how much cash he stole. The report mentions that the robber fired several shots as he fled from the scene, but the officer neglected to mention that those shots were fired directly at innocent bystanders leaving a nearby home. No one was injured.
Bender and others argue that the failure to release such details effectively denies people living in the areas of the crimes the ability to know they might be in danger. It also effectively denies police the opportunity to obtain volunteered information from residents who might have seen something, they said.
Bourdon said police need to redact some information from reports to shield certain witnesses from harm or to safeguard facts crucial to pending investigations.
"But we are taking every step we can to make sure that correct information is put out and that all officers have a better understanding of what is required in these reports," he said.
Mayor Joe Riley did not respond to a request for comment on the memo.
City Councilwoman Kathleen Wilson, who heads the public safety committee, said she had not seen the document, but planned to speak with Mullen about the matter.
Wilson said she can understand police officials' reluctance to release details that could hamper investigations, "but obviously we need to be in compliance with the law." She added that her committee has received no complaints about police handling of reports.
PRC supports NNA recommendations for better selection criteria for post office closings
1/27/12
WASHINGTON—The Postal Regulatory Commission has recommended that the U.S. Postal Service take another look at its approach to closing post offices, supporting many criticisms made by National Newspaper Association in its fall 2011 testimony.
The PRC released its opinion in the USPS proposal to close retail offices, laid out in the case Retail Access Optimization Initiative. The Postal Service is required to seek the PRC’s input whenever it embarks upon major service changes.
NNA participated in the case to argue that although it did not categorically oppose small post office changes, the selection of offices to be closed and the manner in which USPS sought public feedback were flawed. The PRC agreed with NNA and strongly suggested that USPS revise its plans. PRC Chair Ruth Goldway was particularly critical in a separate opinion, saying the proposals “reveal a pattern of inaccurate and overly optimistic economic savings calculations and of careless disregard of community concerns.”
NNA President Reed Anfinson, publisher of the Swift County Monitor-News in Benson, MN, said NNA had achieved its goals through evidence offered to the commission.
“We said at the outset we were not opposing post office closings, but that we saw major gaps in the Postal Service’s approach. Through the expert testimony of our Postal Committee chair, Max Heath, we pointed out flaws.
We are gratified that the commission was able to use our information in its final opinion. Now we hope to support the Postal Service in a more rational approach to this problem,” Anfinson said.
Among the problems were:
• USPS decision to count only front-counter stamp and package sales as incoming revenue when deciding whether an office is unprofitable, while ignoring the bulk business mail revenue essentially coming through that office from newspaper, shopper and direct mail business.
• Inadequate development of plans to allow newspaper mail to be entered at alternative facilities being developed as post offices closed, such as the much publicized “Village Post Offices” intended to replace some post offices in rural areas.
• Poor transparency in conducting community meetings before a closing.
Heath said the PRC unanimously found problems with the USPS analysis of the effect of closings. Among other things, USPS was charting the new distances involved for consumers to reach remaining post offices through “as the crow flies” measurement rather than driving distances.
“I was particularly gratified that the commission takes such a tough line on transparency,” Heath said. “Through NNA’s testimony and our ongoing dialogue with USPS headquarters Vice President of Corporate Communications Sam Pulcrano, we had already secured a commitment that community meetings before a closing would become open to photographers and audio recordings. The initial meetings had produced quite a few complaints from our members about poor treatment of reporters and observers who wished to record the event for stories and for historical record. As a journalist, I found the practices ill-advised, and was grateful that Mr. Pulcrano made a promise to me to reform that aspect. But there is more to transparency than allowing reporters in. These meetings need to be better publicized and more conveniently scheduled. The commission agrees, and I applaud its strong mandate for openness.”
The case formally involved only 3,750 post offices on the hit list for closure, but USPS had said it intended to close more after the current round ends. Intervention by Congress as well as the commission’s recommendations may affect those plans. The 2012 federal spending bill passed by Congress in December contains a rider prohibiting the closing of small and rural post offices.
To see the full recommendation, go here.
Lee to exit bankruptcy Jan. 30
1/27/12
Lee Enterprises Inc. recently announced that it will exit its prepackaged bankruptcy Jan. 30 after a federal bankruptcy judge OKd a plan that restructures almost $1 billion in debt.
The plan extends the due dates of Lee's indebtedness to December 2015 and April 2017, thus providing the publisher "with a nearly four-year runway to continue improving our balance sheet," according to CEO Mary Junck.
"This is the favorable outcome we fully expected," she said in a statement.
The agreement covers more than $127 million in debt Lee assumed when it purchased Pulitzer Inc. in 2005. Lee filed for bankruptcy Dec. 12, listing $1.2 billion in assets and $1.3 billion in debt, Bloomberg reported.
Carl Schmidt, Lee's vice president, chief financial officer and treasurer, said that although the refinancing agreements ultimately received support from approximately 97 percent of lenders under the credit facility and all Pulitzer Notes lenders, Lee needed the court process to complete the transactions due to provisions that required unanimous approval for certain terms of the amended credit facility.
NAA Foundation merges with API
1/27/12
The American Press Institute and the Newspaper Association of America Foundation are joining forces, the two organizations announced recently.
The new organization will be focused on meeting newspapers' crucial multimedia training and development needs, the NAA Foundation said.
Over the coming months, the new entity’s leadership will map out the specifics of integrating existing API and NAA Foundation programs into the new organization. Organizational and related details will also be addressed through a comprehensive review process, under the direction of board governance that will be drawn from the NAA Foundation Board of Trustees and the API Board of Directors, the organizations said.
“By combining, NAAF and API create a unique industry opportunity to intensify a critical focus on extending the strengths of our print, digital and niche assets in a changing media landscape,” Tom Silvestri, chair of the API Board of Directors, said in a release. “The new organization will better serve the newspaper industry with inspiration and help in an era of transformation."
“We couldn’t be happier joining forces with API. It provides a terrific opportunity to deliver more horsepower to share best practices, training and leadership development throughout the industry,” NAA President and CEO Caroline Little, said in a release.
Skimpy police reports disputed
1/22/12
The Post and Courier
By Glenn Smith
On the night of Jan. 8, a trio of robbers burst into a popular supermarket in suburban West Ashley and held terrified employees at gunpoint while they plundered cash from the store's safe.
But you'd never know that from reading the public report Charleston police completed on the holdup.
The official police report -- which the public can obtain at the police records office -- offers just a one-line summary stating that an officer was sent to Publix in reference to a robbery. No details at all on the suspects, what they did or even how many robbers were involved.
Such one- and two-line reports have become commonplace for Charleston police over the last couple years. In many cases, the real details are hidden in supplemental reports that police officials have refused to release to the public -- in violation of the state Freedom of Information Act.
Charleston police say the practice is not department policy, but likely a well-meaning attempt by some officers to keep a lid on information investigators need to solve crimes.
Other area police departments have used the same strategy on occasion, but not to the degree seen in Charleston, where details on homicides, robberies, rapes and other serious crimes have become increasingly scant.
Such information was made public by the Legislature to help people make informed decisions about safety in their communities and how law enforcement uses their tax money.
State lawmakers, in fact, changed the Freedom of Information Act in 1998 to make clear that supplemental reports also are public records, not loopholes so police can hide details about crimes, Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell said. The amended law requires police to release all reports detailing the nature, substance and location of crimes.
"It should all be there" in the police reports, McConnell said.
"The best thing is to err on the side of disclosure. I think that was the spirit of the law."
After reviewing some of the one-line reports, Charleston Police Chief Greg Mullen said he would speak to his commanders and have them remind officers of the need to provide enough information in reports for the public to understand what occurred and be better able to help police with tips if they see or learn anything about the incident.
Mark Bourdon, the police department's in-house lawyer, said he would also remind officials that supplemental reports are public records and subject to release. Police might have to redact some information to shield certain witnesses from harm or to safeguard facts crucial to pending investigations, but the department never intended to issue a blanket denial to requests for these reports, he said.
Police officials, including the department's public information officer, Charles Francis, have on multiple occasions refused to provide supplemental reports on crimes, even though the department provided them in years past. Francis and others have often cited detectives' concerns about jeopardizing pending investigations.
Mullen said police are trying to achieve a balance where the public is kept informed about crimes without hamstringing investigators. A robber, for example, might choose to dump a distinctive jacket he wore during his crime if he learned that police were looking for someone wearing such an item, he said.
"I understand that people want to know what's going on, but at the same time, we want to give our investigators as much opportunity as possible to solve these cases," he said.
That's fine, South Carolina Press Association attorney Jay Bender said, but the law does not allow police to pick and choose what information they find convenient to release. The open records law has narrowly defined provisions for redacting details from crime reports, and the state Supreme Court has ruled that police must prove that releasing the information would injure their agency in some way. Each instance must be decided on a case-by-case basis, he said.
"They are not entitled to a blanket exemption that 'this is under investigation,'" Bender said.
This is not the first time Charleston police have come up against complaints about withholding information and ignoring provisions of the state's sunshine law.
In 2008, Charleston police began blacking out names, addresses, phone numbers and other important details from the reports, claiming the information fell within privacy provisions of the FOIA.
Open records law advocates challenged the move, saying the act's privacy protections were meant to shield highly sensitive information, such as a person's medical history, not to prevent the public from learning specifics about the people and events involved in a crime.
Bender and others argued that the failure to release such details effectively denied people living in the areas of the crimes the ability to know they might be in danger. It also effectively denied police the opportunity to obtain volunteered information from residents who might have seen something, they said.
Police backed off to some degree, but have continued, on occasion, to redact information from reports that FOIA experts insist should be public.
Mullen said police are doing their best to achieve a proper balance and comply with the law. Some of the more recent incident reports on crimes -- completed after Mullen spoke with The Post and Courier -- have contained more details.
The chief maintains he is committed to getting the media and the public the information they are entitled to receive.
Opinion: Discuss, approve new fire deal — in the open
1/22/12
The State
While it's a relief that Richland County finally came to its senses and is seeking to continue its long-standing fire agreement with Columbia, it’s also troubling that county officials crafted their proposal in secret.
Instead of discussing this matter publicly, an ad hoc committee of County Council met behind closed doors to draft the proposed agreement, and the full council discussed it in executive session before approving it and sending it to City Council for consideration.
There is absolutely no justification for an elected body to shut the public out of discussions about an agreement outlining the delivery of a service paid for by taxpayers.
As Columbia City and Richland County councils deliberate this matter going forward, they should hold all discussions in public view. Not only do residents need to hear the details first hand, but they should be able to observe how the councils interact as they conduct business on the public’s behalf.
There is enough skepticism and distrust of government as it is. Why create more by trampling upon the spirit of the Freedom of Information Act?
Frankly, a new agreement should have been reached two years ago, but it remained in limbo due to the county’s misguided notion that it could pull out and go it alone, continued poor communication and distrust among city and county officials and disagreement over costs.
The joint city-county fire system stands as a sterling example of the good that can come from the two governments working together to improve services and efficiency. The seamless fire system improved protection and brought insurance rates down markedly.
The county is seeking more oversight and accountability through a proposed city-county fire committee to review operations quarterly and advise the chief on policies, procedures, budgets and planning. County officials also want input in hiring and evaluating the fire chief.
Richland wants to design a system for tracking the use of the $19 million the county contributes to the $37 million joint system. Its proposed agreement would require Columbia to inventory equipment and set up a volunteer recruitment, retention and training program, to encourage more volunteer firefighters in rural Richland.
Requests for more oversight and accountability make sense, as both bodies have a duty to ensure the quality, efficiency and cost-effectiveness of public services.
One thing that isn’t on the table but should be is a fully merged system that includes EMS.
While the county and city have wisely taken steps that would allow firefighters to be more helpful in emergencies, including giving them the ability to drive ambulances in dire situations, that doesn’t remedy the overall lack of coordination between fire and EMS. If they were under one administration, it would be easier to remove barriers to improve service and save lives. It’s an idea that, if not considered now, should be on the councils’ agenda later.
While the city appears to be in agreement with some key issues, Columbia and Richland won’t agree on every point in this proposed agreement. But they must work out the details and, absent glaring problems that would jeopardize the public interest, ink a new deal as soon as possible.
New ownership team greets Herald-Journal staff, shares its vision
1/18/12
Herald-Journal
By Trevor Anderson
Executives for the Spartanburg Herald-Journal's new parent company, Halifax Media Holdings LLC, made a stop at the newspaper's downtown headquarters on Wednesday.
Michael Redding, CEO for Halifax Media, officially welcomed Herald-Journal employees into the fold during a town hall meeting. He was accompanied by Lori Catron, Kathleen Mayes and John Kirkman, fellow officials in the newly formed company.
Redding shared his company's vision for the future, insisting that newspapers are still a viable business and the strategy of sacrificing print for digital products is fundamentally flawed.
“We don't think newspapers are dead,” Redding said. “The stigma placed on our industry is just awful.
Unfortunately, we (the media) are largely to blame for that.”
Daytona Beach, Fla.-based Halifax Media agreed to purchase the New York Times Regional Media Group for $143 million in cash on Jan. 6. The acquisition was for 16 newspapers, including the Herald-Journal.
Redding said he toured the Herald-Journal's facilities in September but was not able to speak with employees due to confidentiality agreements with the New York Times.
“The most difficult thing (throughout negotiations) was just not being able to communicate with employees,” Redding said. “It's an honor to now meet the people who have worked for the company for so many years. They're going to be an amazing asset to our company going forward.”
Redding and his partners in Halifax Media bought The Daytona News-Journal in April 2010.
Halifax Media is owned by an investment group that includes Stephens Capital Partners, LLC of Little Rock, Ark., Jaarsss, LLC of Destin, Fla., and Redding Investments, LLC of Daytona Beach.
Redding relinquished his position as publisher of The Daytona Beach News-Journal on Friday in order to assume his new role as chief executive of Halifax Media.
He said his company's purchase of the N.Y. Times Regional Media Group began early last year after Halifax Media had initially expressed interest in purchasing The Gainesville Sun in Gainesville, Fla.
Eventually, those discussions led to the proposal for the acquisition of the entire group, which has a Monday-to-Friday circulation of more than 433,000 and nearly 1,800 full-time employees. About 96 percent of those employees have been retained, Redding said.
He said the new company will focus on continuing to meet the expectations of its customers and producing quality digital and print products.
“We're bringing resources to the table, as well as the idea that print is not dead,” Redding said. “We're going to focus on digital and print at the same time.”
He said the company also will raise its customer service standards and remain open to new ideas hatched within its employee base.
For the time being, Redding said Halifax Media is working on transferring operations from the purchased newspapers to its system. It will then begin to figure out where the needs are in order to provide each community with quality news coverage.
The role that community newspapers play
1/18/12
By Richard Eckstrom
State Comptroller
In Pickens County, the local “Meals on Wheels” program announced in early January that it’s teaming up with another organization to prepare emergency food packages for homebound people in case inclement weather creates hazardous driving conditions which prevent Meals on Wheels volunteers from being able to deliver food, according to the Pickens Sentinel.
In Hartsville, a group that promotes economic development in the city’s downtown area has been gearing up for a chili cook-off as a way to showcase all that the area has to offer, according to the Hartsville Messenger.
In the Lancaster News, the leader of a recent “Angel Tree” charity drive wrote a thoughtful Letter to the Editor thanking the community for its support in helping to provide Christmas gifts for underprivileged children in Lancaster County.
According to the Pageland Progressive in Chesterfield County, Miss Pageland, Emily Moody, is working with the “Wreaths Across America” program to honor the fallen heroes of the U.S. Armed Forces.
And Dunleavy’s Pub on Sullivan’s Island sponsored a popular “Polar Bear Swim” on New Year’s Day to benefit the Special Olympics, according to the Moultrie News in Charleston County.
When I drive around the state for a meeting or speaking engagement, as I did recently, I try to make sure to pick up a copy of the local community newspaper wherever I go. You see, I’ve always had a special fondness for community newspapers, mainly because of the valuable role they play: They bring us good news… news that not only keeps us informed but also spotlights so many positive things within the community.
It seems you can’t turn on the television these days without being bombarded with “bad news” … continued high unemployment, political gridlock in our nation’s capital, violence, crime, over-paid athletes acting like children, and celebrities setting poor examples for their fans.
Yet, there’s lots of “good news” happening all around us: Churches are holding fundraisers to benefit those who need assistance, civic clubs are working to improve our local quality of life, and Scouts and 4-H’ers are learning the keys to success in life. Parents, grandparents and businesspeople are volunteering in local schools. Students are celebrating achievements, and families are holding reunions.
And the pages of community newspapers are a valuable link to this good news. Weekly, non-daily and other local publications draw the community closer together, help neighbors get to know each other a little better, promote worthy causes and raise awareness of the efforts of people, businesses and civic organizations working to make their hometowns a better place.
In a very real way, the newspaper you hold in your hand helps strengthen your community and improve your quality of life.
Richard Eckstrom, a CPA, is the state’s Comptroller.
The Item declares a new birthday: 1850
1/17/12
The Item
By Graham Osteen
When I ran our newspaper in Hartsville from 1997-2008, I became friends with a great character named Hugh Gibson, who was from Sumter.
Hugh died in June 2010 at age 96, and was preceded in death by his sister, Lila Gibson Boyce, who was 76 when she passed in 2005. She was the widow of W. Norwood Boyce, and Dr. Allan Bruner's nurse for many years.
I wrote a column about Hugh in 2001 titled, "Sometimes life's finest characters just stop by for an impromptu visit," explaining how Hugh met his wife, Joan Leucher Gibson, at a bus stop while he was stationed in England during World War II.
She came to America in 1946 and was Sumter's first official war bride. The Gibsons moved to Hartsville in 1948, where Hugh was employed by J.L. Coker & Co. as manager of a supermarket.
Hugh took care of Joan as she struggled with Alzheimer's Disease, and I would see him pushing her down the street in Hartsville even before I got to know him.
Hugh dropped by my office one afternoon after she died in his big, crazy, yellow Cadillac convertible that he used to run over curbs and scare people to death, and told the folks in the front office that "I didn't know him but he knew all about me."
Over the course of the next few years, he told me stories about my great-great-grandfather, Noah, and my great-grandfather, Hubert Graham, and gave me copies of old newspapers and clippings he and Joan had saved. He shared memories of being a newspaper carrier as a boy in the 1920s, and how he broke his leg carrying The Sumter Daily Item. He remembered how the doctor wouldn't work on it until his father brought $15 to the Tuomey hospital.
He spoke of his wife's life and death, his children and his time serving his country in World War II, and about his life and career in Hartsville.
His nickname was "Hoot Gibson," after the old movie cowboy of the same name, and he got it after crashing his bike in the Sumter school yard in front of the whole student body, he said.
"All the kids were saying 'ride'em Hoot,' and the name just stuck," he said.
The point of all this is that I was going through some boxes the other day and found the old editions of The Item and The Watchman and Southron he gave me, including the 1932 "80th Anniversary and Progress Edition" which dates The Item back to 1850 because of the association with the Black River Watchman, founded in 1850.
So from here on, I'm declaring The Item to 162 years old - and counting - based on that association rather than the "official" 1894 founding. If you have an issue with it, please take it up with Sumter Daily Item Historian and Archivist Sammy Way.
On the front page of the "Progress Edition" is a vivid illustration about truth prevailing with a poetic dialogue written, I assume, by either Hubert Graham Osteen, Editor and General Manager, or his father, Noah, who would have been almost 90 at the time.
I'm sharing this below just because it's such an interesting piece of writing, and a good example of why newspapers are so endlessly fascinating. Also, if you have old editions, we'll take them off your hands and take good care of them here at 20 North Magnolia St.
The music that today makes words.....winged words....seeking and capturing the pulsating tempo that is Today. Telephones are jangling insistently.....telegraph wires chatter with them....futilely, as if aware that a few hours will see their burden forgotten....Like fragments of a musical score whose refrain sings tragedy, history and comedy in one - "Prison Fire Toll is 318" - "Five Power Pact Signed" - "Local Team Runs Wild, 13-0" - bits of paper are whisked away.....Type-setting machines rumble rhythmically. A few new bars in life's symphony are crystallizing. And always the hands of the clock advance; behind them, skilled fingers and tireless machinery move endlessly to keep pace with time....Done! The pattern is complete. And now the petty clamor is silenced by a fuller note. It is the rich diapason of the rotaries.....the Song of Today and of Tomorrow....the clarion call of the press. The plaintive notes begin to echo; raucous shouts; the cries of tomorrow's messengers, the newsboys. The Item is on the street....And so another brief measure in time's endless symphony is played; already tomorrow's happenings are finding birth beneath the maestro's fingers....To record Today before Today is gone....to foretell Tomorrow before Tomorrow comes....to paint with a brush of Truth the million pictures of the things that happen, in your street as in Singapore and Peru, into an interesting panorama, accurate and unbiased...to bring this, the news of the days, unfailingly to your fireside....that is the appointed task. The Sumter Daily Item - Dedicated to Progress.
Hubert Graham Osteen II is co-president of Osteen Publishing Co. and Editor-At-Large of The Item. Contact him at The Item, 20 North Magnolia St., Sumter, S.C., 29150; graham@theitem.com, or call 803-774-1352.
Newsmedia executives cautious about 2012
1/17/12
NetNewsCheck
By Ed Strapagiel
Newspapers — and many other industries — expected at least some economic recovery in 2011. This simply did not happen. Perhaps as a result, newspaper executives and managers are adopting a cautious mindset going into 2012. There is nevertheless widespread optimism in digital as a source of revenue going forward, and many newspapers are putting plans in place to improve both Web site and mobile advertising products.
KubasPrimedia surveyed more than 400 daily newspaper executives and managers in North America on their expectations for advertising revenues and what strategic initiatives they intend to undertake in 2012.
There are some differences in responses by country and newspaper size:
• Smaller circulation U.S. newspapers (under 25,000) are less pessimistic, calling for less severe declines in the weakest areas like national display and real estate, and perhaps even a small gain in retail display.
• Mid-sized U.S. newspapers are somewhat more bullish than average on their prospects in digital.
• The largest U.S. newspapers (100,000+ circulation) have lower than average expectations in practically every ad revenue category.
In general, digital is seen as the top growth area across the board by a large margin. There is perhaps just one other ad revenue source seen as slightly positive, offering an “outside chance” of revenue gain. This source varies by group. For large and medium U.S. newspapers, this is automotive. For small U.S. newspapers, it’s retail. … But at every type of newspaper, declines are expected in most ad revenue categories.
In 2012, about 70% of newspapers have definite plans to start or upgrade content delivery on mobile devices and to improve their Web sites for online visitors. Other popular 2012 operating initiatives include controlling or reducing both staff and non-staff costs, charging readers for digital content, and starting a new niche product.
In terms of advertising sales initiatives, 65% to 70% have definite plans to expand e-mail, mobile, or e-reader digital advertising to improve Web site advertising programmes and options and to upgrade digital sales capabilities. Two other areas of attention for 2012 are upgrading print sales capabilities and improving ad pricing and rate structures.
Click here to read the rest of the article.
Get ahead with the new spring schedule of free Reynolds Center training in business journalism
1/17/12
Jump-start your business coverage and career with free training in business journalism this spring from the Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism.
Journalists can learn at their desks with the center’s free, live Webinars on topics such as investigating private companies and nonprofits and using LinkedIn to find sources, plus understanding local economic studies, municipal bonds, business editing, financial statements and economics.
The center also has free regional workshops in Lexington, Ky., and Fort Worth on uncovering the best local business stories. It offers free workshops on tracking companies’ influence on politics before the Investigative Reporters and Editors conferences in St. Louis and Boston.
Plus, the center provides free self-guided training, beat basics and daily tips off the news at BusinessJournalism.org.
REYNOLDS CENTER SPRING FREE-TRAINING SCHEDULE
Learn in just one hour a day with these free Webinars:
· Investigating Private Companies and Nonprofits: Jan. 23-26.
· How Not to Be Bamboozled by Local Economic Studies: Feb. 8-9.
· Getting LinkedIn – Sourcing through Social Networking: Feb. 28.
· Using EMMA to Find Great Stories in Municipal Bonds: March 27-28.
· Business Editing in Depth – 10 Things You’d Better Know: May 1.
· Unlocking Financial Statements: May 14-18.
· Economics 101, with NPR’s Marilyn Geewax: June 26-28.
And don’t miss these free workshops:
· Follow the Money – Tracking Companies’ Influence on Politics: St. Louis, Feb. 22, and Boston, June 13.
· Be a Better Business Watchdog – CAR for Business Journalists: Indianapolis, March 15.
· Uncovering the Best Local Business Stories: Lexington, Ky., April 13, and Fort Worth, April 26.
To suggest topics for training or host a workshop, please contact Executive Director Linda Austin at 602-496-9187. Please sign up for biweekly updates on additional free training.
Opinion: Pardon furor shows importance of public notice
1/13/11
By Layne Bruce
Mississippi Press Association
JACKSON, Miss. — Call former Gov. Haley Barbour’s pardons of over 200 convicted felons what you want – egregious, nonsensical or — if you’re so inclined — justified. More worrisome, though, may be the volume of instances where pardons were issued but public notice requirements about them were not fulfilled.
It’s a bizarre turn of events that has led to a court order to halt the release of some prisoners, the potential rounding up of others and wiping the slate clean for scores of people long out of jail.
The pardoning power of governors and presidents is a well-known and important part of executive privileges. It's there for deserving individuals who have simply exhausted all other avenues of possible reprieve.
More obscure to many – apparently even to some officials and their throngs of legal advisers – is Article 5, Section 124 of the Mississippi Constitution that succinctly requires proper advance public notice be made before a pardon request is granted by the governor.
In the case of scads of pardons issued Jan. 10, that didn’t happen. Many public notices pertaining to cases in counties all over the state weren’t published in the proper local newspaper far enough in advance of the issuance of the pardons. Many more evidently didn’t run at all.
Even a cursory check of ads placed in a Jackson newspaper showed some of the public notices were scheduled to begin running Jan. 12, two days after the pardons themselves had been signed by the former governor.
This isn’t about whether any one of the individuals Barbour pardoned was worthy or not. That’s another debate and one that’s usually rendered moot by the chief executive’s right to release convicts and restore their civil rights.
Rather, this is about transparency and the public’s right to know.
The circumventing of public notice law has been a problem at all levels of government since we formed one. And, quite frankly, I’m not sure whether it’s better to say the governor’s office was unaware of what is constitutionally-required or simply didn’t bother to check.
A spokesperson for Barbour correctly pointed out after the story broke that the burden of notice falls on the individual requesting the pardon.
But it’s valid for the public to expect someone at some level of government validated the notices were published properly before the executive orders granting the pardons were signed.
This is a prime example of the importance – and too often overlooked – principle of public notices that appear in newspapers and on their websites in this state and nationwide. They serve the public’s right to know about what is happening with government and public officials within their communities.
And when public notice laws are abused – either by mistake or on purpose – a serious right of citizens, taxpayers and voters is compromised.
Now we’re left to sort out how many of those pardoned were actually eligible. It’s going to take time and money.
Some have discounted the outrage resulting from the mass pardons as political rhetoric. After all, a vast majority were no longer incarcerated.
It doesn’t reconcile, though, a number of murderers were nearly handed back the right to own a gun. And some molesters were almost excused from registering as sex offenders.
Victims of such crimes deserve better.
And the public at large has a right to know. Always.
Layne Bruce is executive director of the Mississippi Press Association.
Gannett adding paywalls to 6 dailies
1/13/12
Digital subscription plans limiting non-subscribers' access to online content will go into operation at six additional Gannett Co. Inc. U.S. Community Publishing papers.
The Poughkeepsie (N.Y.) Journal, the St. Cloud (Minn.) Times, the Argus Leader in Sioux Falls, S.D., the News Journal in Wilmington, Del., (Melbourne) Florida Today and the Journal and Courier in Lafayette, Ind., will join the Tallahassee (Fla.) Democrat, Greenville (S.C.) News and the Spectrum in St. George, Utah, as USCP papers with paywalls. The Democrat, News and Spectrum established their digital subscriptions in 2010.
"As you know, innovative subscription programs are already under way across the industry. At Gannett, we have had several tests in place to better understand the relationship between our consumers and our content. We are committed to creating unique local content for the communities we serve and making it available across platforms, be it the Web, smartphones, tablets, e-editions or in print," a Gannett spokesperson told News & Tech.
Late last year, GCI CEO Gracia Martore told investors and analysts that Gannett would increase the number of papers with paywalls in 2012.
Six-day mail delivery saved for now
1/12/11
Special from Arkansas Press Association
Last minute legislation pushed through the Congress before the holidays will ensure that six day postal delivery will continue through at least most of 2012, according to the National Newspaper Association (NNA).
The six-day delivery will continue at least through Sept. 30, 2012. The legislation also included new restrictions on closing small and rural post offices in the New Year.
The legislation stopped short of including postal reform legislation approved by the United States Postal Services (USPS) Oversight Committee in both the House and Senate.
Instead, the six-day mail requirement passed as part of an appropriations bill that funded the federal government through the end of the 2012 fiscal year.
Several newspapers had expressed concern about dropping Saturday mail delivery. Among those newspapers
were some with late-week editions that would be particularly hard hit with such a change.
The USPS continues to wallow in a sea of red ink as postal operations continue to lose money by the billions each year.
With regard to proposed post office closures, The Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) has recommended that the U.S. Postal Service take another look at its approach, supporting many criticisms made by NNA in its
fall 2011 testimony.
The PRC released its opinion in the USPS proposal to close retail offices, laid out in the case Retail Access Optimization Initiative. The Postal Service is required to seek the PRC’s input whenever it embarks upon major service changes. The PRC agreed with NNA and strongly suggested that USPS revise its plans. PRC Chair Ruth Goldway was particularly critical in a separate opinion, saying the proposals “reveal a pattern of inaccurate and overly optimistic economic savings calculations and of careless disregard of community concerns.”
Among the problems cited were:
• USPS decision to count only front-counter stamp and package sales as incoming revenue when deciding whether an office is unprofitable, while ignoring the bulk business mail revenue;
• Inadequate development of plans to allow newspaper mail to be entered at alternative facilities being developed as post offices closed; and
• Poor transparency in conducting community meetings before a closing.
Sale finalized as Halifax Media buys Herald-Journal
1/7/12
Herald-Journal
The New York Times Co. and Halifax Media Holdings LLC announced on Friday the finalization of the sale of 16 newspapers, including the Spartanburg Herald-Journal.
Daytona Beach, Fla.-based Halifax Media purchased the New York Times Regional Media Group for $143 million in cash.
In 2010, an investment group that includes Stephens Capital Partners LLC, Jaarss Media and Redding Investments formed Halifax Media, and the company purchased the Daytona Beach News-Journal the same year.
During a conference call with reporters Friday afternoon, Michael Redding, CEO of Halifax Media, said the company was impressed with quality of the news publications and the position of each within its community.
Redding said the company sees the future of the news business as local news, saying that Halifax can potentially bring a perspective and resources to each of the 16 publications.
“But I can tell you the commitment to local news is everything,” Redding said.
Herald-Journal Publisher Roger Quinn said he is excited about this new era for the Herald-Journal and GoUpstate.com. “Halifax is a company that values our local news franchise and will help us to build that business and keep us serving our readers,” he said.
The Times Co. purchased the Herald-Journal in 1985, but the newspaper's roots in Spartanburg can be traced back to 1842 – with what was then known as The Spartanburgh Journal.
The following publications were included in the sale: the Sarasota Herald-Tribune in Sarasota, Fla.; The Press Democrat in Santa Rosa, Calif.; The Ledger in Lakeland, Fla.; Star-News in Wilmington, N.C.; Herald-Journal in Spartanburg; Star-Banner in Ocala, Fla.; The Gainesville Sun in Gainesville, Fla.; The Tuscaloosa News in Tuscaloosa, Ala.; The Gadsden Times in Gadsden, Ala.; The Courier in Houma, La.; Times-News in Hendersonville, N.C.; Daily Comet in Thibodaux, La.; The Dispatch in Lexington, N.C.; Petaluma Argus-Courier in Petaluma, Calif.; News Chief in Winter Haven, Fla.; and North Bay Business Journal in Santa Rosa, Calif.
In total, the newspapers have a Monday-to-Friday circulation of more than 433,000 and nearly 1,800 full-time employees.
Collins retires after 3 decades at Index-Journal of Greenwood
1/2/12
Index-Journal
By Russell Cox
 Wrapping up a 32-year career as an Index-Journal editor, Editorial Editor William A. “Bill” Collins received a retirement reception Thursday attended by family, friends and staff.
Collins’ final day at the Index-Journal is today.
With experience as a reporter, editor and publisher, Collins has worked for the Richmond (Va.) Times-Dispatch, The State, The Columbia Record, the Alexandria (Va.) Gazette and the Kannapolis (N.C.) Daily Independent. As one of the four editors to serve at the Index-Journal since its inception in 1919, Collins’ time has amounted to about one-third of the time the paper has operated, according to President and Publisher Judith M. Burns.
A graduate of the University of South Carolina and once a member of the U.S. Army’s Airborne Rangers, where he served during the Korean War, Collins has also received the Order of the Palmetto, the highest civilian honor in South Carolina, in 2006.
“The one word which comes to mind when you think of Bill is ‘respect,’” Burns said during the reception. “He is respected in the community; he is respected all over the state.”
Burns announced Collins will be named Editor Emeritus, an honorary status given to retiring editors and a first in the paper’s history. His name will continue to appear on the paper’s masthead during his lifetime.
Thanking the Index-Journal staff, Collins said of his retirement, “I’ve climbed a lot of mountains in my life, and maybe now I’ll go downhill a little.”
Executive Editor Richard Whiting described working with Collins for the past 12 years as an honor and a privilege, as the two have shared war stories from their newspaper careers and lives.
“I admire Bill’s work ethic,” he said. “While always serious about the day-to-day job at hand, he also never failed to find an opportunity to laugh, to have some fun.”
Whiting expressed “utmost respect and admiration” for Collins, and wished him many enjoyable years of retirement.
“He said he wouldn’t do it, but I hope he will occasionally drop by the newsroom to see how things are going and to share some stories, some laughs again,” Whiting said.
With Collins’ retirement, Whiting will inherit the editorial editor duties.
What others said
From staff reports
On learning of Collins’ retirement, several area lawmakers shared their thoughts about the longtime editor.
“Mild mannered, soft spoken and small in stature, Bill has defended the Constitution and our liberties first as an Airborne Ranger before age 18 and for a lifetime with a pen as a journalist, understanding and using those first two amendments so vital to and protective of each other,” said state Rep. Mike Pitts. “Bill Collins is a true patriot and I am proud to call him my friend.”
Former Greenwood mayor and current state Sen. Floyd Nicholson said Collins has been a very vital part of the Greenwood community for many years.
“His writings at the Index-Journal have expanded on many issues here in our community, our state and our nation. His writings always displayed the pros and cons of both sides and really made you think for yourself and form your own opinion concerning the issues. I really appreciate Bill’s service to our community.”
State Rep. Gene Pinson lauded Collins’ writing as well.
“For years, Bill Collins, in his editorials, has uniquely used his artistic skills to provide our community with portraits of community leaders, opinions on local, state and national issues, and historical parallels and contrasts.”
Even though they often saw issues from opposing sides of the fence, former governor and U.S. secretary of education Dick Riley praised Collins.
“Bill Collins has been a solid friend of mine over the years. While we may have disagreed on some things, we always came together on the big, more important issues. I have great respect for Bill Collins as a serious-minded journalist and editor, and I wish him well in his retirement.
This one’s for you, William A. Collins
1/2/12
Index-Journal
By Richard S. Whiting
This space often contained kind words about various Lakelands residents, written in tribute to lives that touched other lives in many positive ways.
Such tributes were dutifully written by longtime Index-Journal editor William A. “Bill” Collins. They were, to coin a phrase, eulotorials; that is, they were editorials that eulogized lives lived well.
Today, however, it is only fitting that this space serve as a living tribute to the author of those and hundreds of editorials that graced the Index-Journal’s opinion pages.
Collins has always believed in the value of hard work. Having joined the Army at 17, he barely enjoyed the joys and freedoms of childhood before entering the workforce on a career path that took him through the Army Rangers and into a host of other jobs. But the bulk of Collins’ career was devoted to newspapering, and 32 of those years were spent at the Index-Journal.
On any give day, Collins could be found at his desk tucked in a corner office of the newsroom as he busily crafted the newspaper’s opinions on world, national, state and local issues.
He defended the country’s Constitution, the people’s right to know what is taking place behind governmental bodies’ doors. He took elected and appointed officials to task when they committed a wrong and was equally prone to writing kind words when they did what was right.
Those who have followed Collins’ writings — columns, as well as editorials — also know that the longtime editor had a soft spot for the innocent, for those who could not defend themselves. He was a champion for the Humane Society and its efforts to find loving homes for the hundreds of dogs and cats that pass through its doors. He also was a champion for the elderly, children and battered women.
How does anyone sum up the life of a man who, after 32 years serving as the voice one newspaper, retires? Truly, it cannot be done. Not fully, at least. Still, attempts to do so have been made today, on this page and the opposite page.
Here are but a few words that apply to Collins’ life and career: Hard working. Devoted (to family and work). Caring. Compassionate. Insightful. Wise. Witty. Respected. Respectful. Professional. Well read. A gentleman.
It is ironic, although perhaps appropriate, that we cannot adequately craft words to serve as a tribute to Bill Collins.
He now holds the high honor as editor emeritus of this newspaper, designated in the masthead above. Perhaps that can and will serve as a fitting daily tribute to a man whose life has had an unmeasurable impact on his community.
Bill Collins: My respected friend
1/2/12
Index-Journal
By Judith M. Burns, publisher/president
 The Index-Journal was founded in 1919, and has had only four editors during all those years. Bill Collins served as editor for 32 of them.
Since Bill took over the editorial duties in 1979, he has served as the voice of this newspaper. He never wavered from his responsibly to carefully think through issues confronting this community, nation and the world and then offer a common sense solution to the problems. He presented his observations in order to help our readers make sound decisions about critical matters affecting their lives.
Bill is one of the most respected newspapermen in this state and is highly regarded by his peers. He adheres to the ethical standards of journalism as they should be practiced, and that is a rare commodity in today's world of the often-questionable practices of the mainstream media. He earned his journalism degree at the University of South Carolina.
Bill is a quiet, kind man who is devoted to his family, his church and his community. He also has a special place in his heart for four-legged critters and has always been a champion for the Humane Society. Over the years he has provided a loving home for many stray animals.
Army Ranger. Respected. Gentleman. Order of the Palmetto. Friend. Kingstree barbecue. Gamecock. These are only a few of the words that come to my mind when thinking about Bill.
Bill has been my colleague for 32 years. For this reason, I am honored to name him Editor Emeritus of the Index-Journal.
Retired, but it’s not -30- for Bill Collins
1/2/12
Index-Journal
By Richard Whiting
Some retirements come with little fanfare. Truth be told, Bill Collins would probably like it that way. Truth also is, the fanfare is well deserved; after all, 61 of his 78 years have been spent at work in one way or another. That it has taken Bill the better part of the fourth quarter to sort through all the shelves, drawers and stacks of paper in his office tells you he is either a packrat or has amassed a menagerie of substantive and sometimes quirky mementos reflective of an extensive and full career.
In Greenwood alone, Bill has served as this newspaper’s managing editor, general manager and editorial editor. In reality, there’s no way to sum up the man’s career. The irony is, it would probably take more than a daily edition of the Index-Journal do so.
He has mingled with the powerful in the Statehouse, the White House and the U.S. Capitol. He wove a career path that has taken him into the world of lobbying, marketing, public relations and — mostly — newspapering.
AS A NEWSPAPERMAN, HE has worked for major metropolitan newspapers, such as The Columbia Record in Columbia, S.C., and The Richmond Times-Dispatch in the heart of Virginia. Despite the very diverse work settings, the bulk of his newspaper years have been spent here in Greenwood, a community more full of trees and green space than tall buildings and pavement.
How appropriate that is. William Ansel “Bill” Collins is a humble man, a quiet man, a family man. Big cities were good, smaller communities are better. Bill would much rather shed light through a provocative editorial than bask in the spotlight of recognition of any kind. That’s just his nature.
And while he performed well no matter where he served, be it in the Army as an Airborne Ranger, as chairman of a large United Way campaign, as a reporter or editor in a state capitol, Collins probably has never felt more at home and content than in his various roles faithfully serving not only the owners of this newspaper, but also its readers.
AS A JOURNALIST AND MANAGER, Bill could and did occasionally exhibit a tough side. How could he not?
Journalists are — sometimes unfairly — cast as rough around the edges, gruff. Even heartless. Certainly his entry into the Army at the age of 17 introduced Bill to a rigid structure, one in which orders were probably barked and not requested. So, no doubt in his early years as a newsroom manager, Bill had to use a little bark, maybe even a little bite. He wouldn’t be the first to claim that running a newsroom is not unlike herding kittens.
But this man with Army training and years upon years in a newspaper setting hardly fits the stereotype often associated with journalists. In the 12 years I’ve been associated with Bill, I can only recall one time — maybe two — when the Army training seemed evident. That’s because the tough side of Bill Collins is only a thin layer. In fact, it’s really not a layer; it’s more like a jacket he’d have to slip on every so often.
The Bill Collins I have known over the years is more even-keeled, not prone to anger or raising his voice. He is methodical — maybe even to a fault, if that’s possible. He is compassionate. Anyone who has kept up with his editorials or columns knows this.
HE HAS TRUMPETED THE CAUSES of many local organizations that care for four-legged critters as well as two-legged people. Don’t let Bill stop by the Humane Society of Greenwood County! If he could do it, he’d probably turn his home into a haven for the animals out there — especially the cats. The Piedmont Agency on Aging and United Way also occupy special corners of Bill’s heart. Years before he could even carry the moniker “senior citizen,” Bill has championed efforts that help the elderly.
Bill has also been involved in causes that improve the lives of youths. The father of three children, Bill recognized the value of education and sports. He was a member of Parents and Adults Inspiring Reading Success (PAIRS) here in Greenwood, as well as a board member at the YMCA. He saw to it that his own children got involved in activities beyond the home, beyond the classroom. Thus, he touched not only his family’s life, but also the lives of others through his involvement in Toros soccer and Greenwood Community Theatre.
If there is any one thing cause that would stand as Bill Collins’ beacon, his overriding message to and for others, it is one word: education. Bill knows all too well, through his personal experience and the experience of his children, that education is a master key in life because it alone can and will open so many doors for those who absorb and apply a solid education.
The Army kept Bill from finishing high school. While that would be enough to prevent many a young man from returning to the classroom, Bill earned his GED while in the Army. He did not stop there as he entered the University of South Carolina in Columbia and earned a BA degree in journalism.
YES, BILL COLLINS RETIRES from a storied career as 2011 came to a close. The headlines he has written and the headlines he has witnessed are astounding. Equally astounding are the newspaper industry changes he has seen — some good, some not. If all the stories, editorials and columns he has written were compiled, you’d either need several long rows on a bookshelf or a 64 GB thumb drive to store them. He won’t be content to patter around the house in his retirement, so maybe a book of his writings will be in the offing. Maybe, in between tackling a few items on a honey-do list and enjoying time with the grandchildren who live in Greenwood and Columbia, Bill will write a book. Or two. After all, there’s quite a bit of knowledge and experience to be shared.
You have my respect and admiration, sir. You have the respect and admiration of a good many people whose lives you have touched. And we’re all grateful.
Postscript to readers: If you don’t get the “-30-” in the headline, ask Bill. Few of today’s journalists know what it means, but he does.
Whiting can be reached at rwhiting@indexjournal.com or 943-2522. Views expressed in this column are those of the writer only and do not represent the newspaper’s opinion.
Ode to a newspaperman
1/2/12
Index-Journal
By Chris Trainor
Bill Collins is a newspaperman.
He also could certainly, and justifiably, be labeled a “journalist,” a “military veteran,” a “community watchdog” and a “patriot.”
But, to me, Bill Collins, who retired last week after serving more than 30 years as an editor at the Index-Journal, is and always has been the quintessential newspaperman.
He doesn’t blog or tweet. He isn’t on Facebook. His commentary on the news of the day has never been flippant or trite or glib. He doesn’t claim the title of a journalist simply because he has access to a computer and the Internet.
No, Bill Collins is a newspaperman. Old school. Tried and true. He can talk about hot type and evening editions and so many other things the writers of my generation will never know about.
Note I said he’s “old school,” not “old.” In fact he’s the youngest 78-year-old man I’ve ever known. Want to go toe-to-toe with Bill Collins on the issues facing the world today? Bring a pen and a pad because you’re probably going to learn a few things during that conversation.
A NATIVE OF FLORENCE, Bill — or Mr. Collins, as I’ve always known him — entered the U.S. Army at 17. In fact, he didn’t finish high school, instead getting his GED while serving in the military. (He later graduated from the University of South Carolina with a degree in journalism.)
He served in the Korean War and was one of the first Airborne Rangers in the U.S. Army.
As far as his career in newspapers, he has held a litany of positions, from sports writer to editor to publisher and more.
Aside from his decades-long association with the Index-Journal, Collins also has served as a sports and news reporter at The Times-Dispatch in Richmond ,Va., a wire editor, copy desk chief, night city editor and city editor at The State in Columbia, a managing editor and editor at The Columbia Record, a publisher at The Alexandria Gazette in Alexandria, Va. and an editor at The Daily Independent in Kannapolis, N.C.
As many know, Bill also has served in a number of other capacities in the Lakelands. He has been on the boards of the Greenwood Genetic Center, Greenwood YMCA and Greenwood Community Theatre. He has been on the board of visitors at Lander University, Erskine College and Piedmont Technical College and the board of trustees at Francis Marion University.
Several years ago, he was given the Order of the Palmetto, the highest honor that can be bestowed upon a citizen of South Carolina. I remember vividly the December 2006 day on which Collins received his Order of the Palmetto. State Rep. Mike Pitts came to the office and presented the Order, and we had a little ceremony to mark the occasion.
I had been with the paper for a little more than two years at the time and had quickly come to respect and admire Bill quite a bit. But as a I stood that day and listened to Rep. Pitts rattle off Bill’s resume and accomplishments, one after another, it was the first time I was struck by the thought “Man, this guy is a pretty big deal.”
IN THE YEARS SINCE THAT DAY, I have learned definitively that Bill is, in fact, a big deal.
If I go somewhere — not just locally, but statewide — and mention to someone I’m with the Index-Journal, the inevitable question I get in return is “Do you know Bill Collins?” or “How’s Bill Collins doing?”
The Index-Journal does not endorse political candidates. Nevertheless, whenever politicians — governors, U.S. representatives, U.S. senators, etc. — come to town, they almost always stop by to see Bill.
In the years I have been here, U.S. Sens. Jim DeMint and Lindsey Graham have sought court with the editor, as have U.S. Reps. Gresham Barrett and Jeff Duncan.
Former Gov. Mark Sanford was a fairly frequent guest, pre- and post-Appalachian Trail.
For most of the last 30-plus years, Bill Collins has written the Index-Journal’s opinion every day. Take a minute to think about that. Really think about the responsibility in such a task.
It’s a serious, daunting process that can take a mental and emotional toll. He was tasked with analyzing the news of the day — local, state, national and international — and putting forth the newspaper’s opinion — not necessarily his own opinion, but the opinion of this institution — every...single...day.
Executive Editor Richard Whiting is now set to take the editorial reins here, a task for which he is certainly prepared. In working with and observing Bill for more than a decade, he has learned from, literally, one of the best.
AS YOU CAN LIKELY TELL, I look up to Bill quite a bit.
I fancy myself a newspaperman, though I dare not put myself in the same class as Bill Collins. But, I am a newspaper junkie — Associate Editor Scott J. Bryan also readily fits in this category — and a student of this line of work. (Not “journalism” as much as “newspapering,” if that makes any sense.)
As such, it’s been a joy to work with William A. Collins. Like all newspaper junkies, I take particular interest in the old days. The heyday. The “romantic” period of newspapermen.
The days when circulation was booming, ads were selling left and right and the city room was its own bustling societal microcosm.
You know, fedoras and cigars and hot tips and maybe a bottle of something good to drink in the bottom drawer.
Alas, those days have passed and newspapers are working to adapt to the wireless world. We’ll figure it out, eventually.
But, in the meantime, I have always enjoyed popping into Bill’s office for some conversation and few stories. Hell, his office itself was an institution. Newspaper reporters are notorious pack rats and Bill is no different.
His office was filled with photographs, plaques, trinkets, letters from politicians and athletes and readers and papers, papers, papers. You should see some of the treasures he has uncovered as he has cleaned out in recent weeks.
I fully expected him to, at some point, pull a photograph out of a stack, look at it for a minute and mutter “Hmm, what do you know? There really was a second gunman on the grassy knoll.”
Bill will be missed here at 610 Phoenix St. It will be weird not seeing him — nattily dressed, as always — strolling back and forth in his distinct gait from the newsroom to the pressroom, reading rough drafts of his columns.
He has spent three decades shaping and forming the opinion of this newspaper. It has taken me just more than seven years to form an opinion of my own: I want to be Bill Collins when I grow up.
Trainor is the senior staff writer at the Index-Journal. Contact him at 943-5650; email ctrainor@indexjournal.com. Views expressed in this column are those of the writer only and do not represent the newspaper's opinion.
Saying farewell is just the flip side of hello
1/2/12
Index-Journal
By Bill Collins, Editorial Editor
Everyone has dreams, those nocturnal journeys into the uncharted reaches of the subliminal mind. There are other dreams, though, dreams that turn drab surroundings into living rainbows.
Those are the dreams that give the human soul a reason to keep going when it seems life is too difficult and, on occasion, too depressing to face. Some of those dreams might be mundane and ephemeral. Nevertheless, they help you persevere when all else might seem hopeless.
There is that one special dream, however, if you're lucky enough to find it. It is a dream that creates the foundation for everything you strive to be and accomplish. It sustains you and gives meaning to life itself. It defines the essence of what you become. It is the motivation to succeed and walk among friends, along with the realization the dream has become the "calling," the something you're supposed to be. It might involve service to your fellow man, love, vocation, avocation or just plain fate.
IT IS, TO BE SURE, the most important dream anyone will ever have. It doesn't have to come true, however, to be the focus of your existence. The treasure it holds is the promise of the dream, not, necessarily, the reality. As long as you can hold on to the hope it offers, you possess the essentials for a good life. If that hope is taken away, if the dream is lost, what's left?
Many of us are indeed lucky enough to find that dream. Some keep it locked inside, known only to that one person. Should he ever accept the possibility that it is gone, he also would have to accept the possibility the future just might hold only a faint hope for becoming a contributing member of society, an asset to humanity instead of a liability. That would be too much for any fragile soul to comprehend or process. As difficult as it might be for some to admit, there might come a time on the downhill side of every life when a lost dream could lead to soul-shattering disappointment.
Those who hold on to their dreams, and persevere, more often than not find their rainbow and the fabled pot of gold. Those who dream are more fortunate than some who stumble along the way and never have a goal to persuade them to keep going, regardless of circumstances. It's crucial the dreamer be determined not to let his most private wishes fade into time. It is, of course, his dream, and his alone. He should never try arbitrarily to force it on anyone else. To each his own is the magic of self-fulfillment.
AS LONG AS EVERY DREAMER retains the hope integral to his special dream, he can look to the future without despair. We all can be thankful for that.
For those who find that special dream, those around them - family, friends, acquaintances, neighbors - mean more than they could possibly imagine. If they recognize the promise of the dream, they find the key to the mystery of the great unknown.
It would be a travesty for anyone not to search for his own special dream. It would be a disappointment for anyone never to realize the blessings that offer opportunities for the pursuit of life, liberty and happiness by making dreams come true.
All the special people in every life deserve to know they are special, and why. It's particularly gratifying to know there are others who care, about them and for them. If they believe the dream will endure. Keep your dream alive, whatever it might be. It's worth the effort. It might not seem so at times, but on the far end of time it is always worth the effort.
The dream itself is what's important. The amazing reality is it doesn't have to come true to command such status. We all need a dream to enhance our lives. Hold on to yours. Make it happen. Let the Golden Rule be the guide to all your tomorrows.
Remember. Every day, value freedom and make someone happy. It's not that difficult. A word, a smile, a pat on the back, a simple thank-you can mean so much. As time marches inexorably onward, one chapter of life ends and another begins. Fortunately, when the Lord closes a door, He opens a window someplace.
EVENTUALLY, THOUGH, THE TIME will come to say farewell, and there's no better way to say it than the way comedian Red Skelton did. It's been a privilege ... "and may God bless."
Now, the time has come. As the man said, "The moving finger writes; and, having writ moves on ..."
Happy New Year!
Collins retired Friday as the Index-Journal's editorial editor. Views expressed in this column are those of the writer only and do not represent the newspaper's opinion.
SOPA denounced by newspaper journalists, too
1/2/12
Washington Post
By Elizabeth Flock
As the Stop Online Piracy Act heads to a vote in the House Judiciary Committee tomorrow morning, its opponents are lining up to stop it. The bill’s newest foe? Journalists.
First came the critiques of civil liberties and human rights groups. Then came the slams from Internet engineers and Web giants, including Facebook, Twitter, and Google. Wednesday, the American Society of News Editors (ASNE) piled on by sending Congress a letter to ask that it stop the bill. ASNE represents newspaper editors, editors of wire services and online-only news organizations, and other journalists.
If passed, SOPA would expand the ability of law enforcement and copyright holders to shut down any site that hosts pirated content. But as the American Censorship group voiced on the blog Boing Boing on Wednesday, many believe “SOPA would not only hurt free speech, it will choke off the Internet workforce and its readers by taking down entire Web sites.”
The Post’s Maura Judkis reported that a group of people who work on the Internet launched a visual petition so Congress could see the faces of those who would be hurt by SOPA. Journalists are among their ranks.
Last month, Jennifer Martinez of Politico wrote that SOPA will be a “shootout at the digital corral,” between lobbyists in the entertainment industry and Internet giants. She can now add journalists to that list. From ASNE’s letter to Congress:
Our members use the Internet in ways that could be construed to violate SOPA, and that’s not acceptable. Whether utilizing content contributed by third parties, stepping outside the direct reporter-source interaction to acquire and use information from Web sites around the world, or augmenting our stories through the use of multimedia previously unavailable to print-only publications, ASNE members continue to change the way news is presented. We fear that SOPA will restrict our ability to engage in these activities and stifle our capacity to innovate when we most sorely need the freedom to do so.
ASNE is not specific about what it is worried SOPA would consider copyright infringement on a news site.
But BlogPost can take a guess. Bloggers at the Post every day use content from Facebook, Twitter, and Google+, among other third-party social Web sites. We often aggregate information from other news sites and augment it with our own. And how we report is changing every day. Would all of that work be threatened by SOPA? ASNE seems to think so.
Dan Gillmor, a professor of digital media entrepreneurship at Arizona State University, shared the ASNE letter on his Google+ page Wednesday, writing: “Finally, journalists see the threat from SOPA and . . . this runaway train.”
NY Times sells regional newspaper group, including Herald-Journal
12/28/11
Herald-Journal
The New York Times Co. has agreed to sell 16 regional newspapers, including the Herald-Journal, to a Florida-based company for $143 million.
The Times announced the pending sale to Halifax Media Holdings LLC in a written statement Tuesday evening - roughly a week after confirming that both parties were in advanced talks.
The transaction is expected to close within a few weeks, allowing the Times to record an after-tax gain of an estimated $150 million in the first quarter of 2012.
Roger Quinn, publisher of the Herald-Journal, said, “We're excited to be joining the Halifax Media Group and look forward to this opportunity to further build our market-leading newspapers and websites.”
“The Herald-Journal has a long history of providing great journalism to the Upstate under various owners,” Quinn said. “We will continue to meet the news and information needs of our readers both in print and online as part of Halifax.”
The sale includes the following publications: the Sarasota Herald-Tribune in Sarasota, Fla.; The Press Democrat in Santa Rosa, Calif.; The Ledger in Lakeland, Fla.; Star-News in Wilmington, N.C.; Herald-Journal in Spartanburg; Star-Banner in Ocala, Fla.; The Gainesville Sun in Gainesville, Fla.; The Tuscaloosa News in Tuscaloosa, Ala.; The Gadsden Times in Gadsden, Ala.; The Courier in Houma, La.; Times-News in Hendersonville, N.C.; Daily Comet in Thibodaux, La.; The Dispatch in Lexington, N.C.; Petaluma Argus-Courier in Petaluma, Calif.; News Chief in Winter Haven, Fla.; and North Bay Business Journal in Santa Rosa, Calif.
Combined, the papers have a Monday-to-Friday circulation of 433,251 and 1,755 full-time employees.
Based in Daytona Beach, Fla., Halifax was founded in 2010 by an investment group that includes Stephens Capital Partners LLC, Jaarss Media and Redding Investments. Halifax purchased the Daytona Beach News-Journal that same year.
Michael Redding, CEO of Halifax Media, said in a statement that the “purchase of the Regional Media Group reflects Halifax Media's belief that a good newspaper is an essential part of any vibrant community. The strong local news coverage these papers provide represents not only an important community service, but, in our eyes, a good investment.”
“We have been impressed with the newspapers' reputations as well as the markets they serve,” Redding said. “When you have the opportunity to purchase solid news products located in great markets, it is very compelling, and we are excited to have the group join Halifax Media.”
The Herald-Journal's roots in Spartanburg can be traced to 1842, when a publishing company started The Spartanburgh Journal – though the newspaper and its namesake city eventually dropped the “h.” The Spartanburg Herald purchased the Journal and Carolina Spartan in 1914, and the Journal became the afternoon paper.
On Oct. 1, 1982, the Spartanburg Herald merged with the Spartanburg Journal, creating the present day Herald-Journal.
The Times Co. purchased the Herald-Journal in 1985.
For more on this story from Jim Romenesko, click here.
Thomas Langford, journalist and T&D columnist, dies
12/28/11
The Times and Democrat
Funeral services for Thomas Clifton Langford Jr., Orangeburg, will be held at 2 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 29, 2011, at St. Paul's Methodist Church, with the Rev. Kristen Richardson-Frick officiating. Following the ceremony, the family will receive visitors at their home.
Born in Orangeburg, he was the son of Thomas Clifton and Lucia Culler Langford. After attending The Citadel for two years, he enlisted in the U.S. Army, where he trained for infantry service, and then spent 18 months with the 2nd Infantry Division. He received five battle stars, including those for the D-Day Invasion and the Battle of the Bulge.
Upon discharge, he attended Duke University, where he received a bachelor's degree in 1948. He then did graduate work in creative writing at Columbia University and worked for two years as a trainee at The New York Times.
Returning to South Carolina, he served two years as a reporter, then state editor for the Greenville, S.C., Piedmont daily paper, then returned to Orangeburg as managing editor of The Times and Democrat. From 1961 to 1988, he was director of public relations for the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control. In addition to editing news for DHEC, he gave more than 500 speeches on good health practices before clubs and organizations throughout the state, specializing in the subject of heart diseases. He also wrote and appeared in the SCETV network show "A Great World" for two years.
In Columbia, he was a member of the Richland Sertoma Club and served on its board of directors. After two terms on the board of directors of Columbia's Town Theater, he was elected to two terms as president. During his tenure, the theater held its first capital improvements campaign, which included renovation for the building and organization of a capital funds endowment. He was also a member of Forest Lake Club, and an officer of The Columbia Bachelors Club. Retiring to Orangeburg in 1988, he became a member of the Orangeburg Rotary Club, the Fine Arts Society, the Corsairs, and a regular attendee at The Coffee Club. He also served on the board of directors of the Society of First Families of South Carolina in Charleston.
In 1997, he wrote a charter for the Orangeburg Historic and Fine Arts Endowment and, with the assistance of Mayor Martin Cheatham, organized a board of directors, which has held annual fund drives and is now well past its initial goal of $100,000. The OHFAE will award grants to local fine arts organizations to sponsor musical concerts, plays, historic exhibits and other entertainments at low-ticket prices to large audiences. Early in 2005, he began writing a weekly column, "Some Edisto Stories," for The Times and Democrat. It included many incidents in the life of Orangeburg citizens and other portrayals of S.C. lowcountry life. In addition, stories on European and Asian travels were occasionally included.
Surviving are his wife, Mary Beldon Forget Langford, formerly of Stamford, Conn.; a daughter, Mrs. Elizabeth Langford Hansen of Blacksburg, Va.; and two grandchildren, Margaret Bailey Hansen and Thomas Langford Hansen.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests gifts to the Orangeburg Historic Fine Arts Endowment, 649 Riverside Drive, Orangeburg, SC 29115.
Please sign the families' online guestbook at www.dukesharleyfuneralhome.com
Opinion: A victory for FOIA law
12/27/11
The Post and Courier
Keeping government honest depends on an informed public, and that depends on a strong Freedom of Information Act. Keeping the FOIA viable is a work in progress.
That's because some government officials are willing to ignore the law to exclude the public, even when the FOIA demands transparency.
Just look at Gov. Nikki Haley's initial failure to provide emails related to the public's business on health care exchanges. Fortunately, she's recognized that error and is making policy revisions accordingly.
But sometimes the courts have to intervene. In one recent case, a district court judge brought the state Department of Public Safety to heel for its refusal to release information on a 2010 DUI arrest of a Greenwood city councilwoman. The agency denied access to information, including the video record, citing an ongoing investigation of the case.
But that excuse isn't allowed under the law, and Circuit Judge James Barber ruled for the Greenwood Index-Journal by ordering the DPS to release information related to the arrest, including the video record.
The ruling ensures that the FOIA won't be abrogated by using a nonexistent exemption that literally could be extended for months.
As Bill Rogers, executive director of the South Carolina Press Association, observed: "Routinely withholding reports and videos casts a blanket of secrecy over police activity."
He cited a Horry County case in which troopers refused to release the videotape of a pro golfer's arrest on DUI charges. "Timely release of this information allows the public to know that politicos and sports stars are being treated just like the rest of us."
Efforts to ensure disclosure of matters in the public realm are continually met with inventive subterfuge by public officials who want to arbitrarily decide the limits of what shall be made public.
Thanks to Judge Barber's ruling, "ongoing investigation" will be removed from the lexicon of excuses used by public agencies that want to avoid doing what the FOIA requires.
Former SC governor deleted thousands of emails
12/27/11
Herald-Journal
By Stephen Largen
Editor's note: This is the first in an occasional series examining how and whether elected officials and public bodies comply with South Carolina's Freedom of Information Act.
In a possible violation of state law, former Gov. Mark Sanford's administration deleted a massive trove of emails from state-provided accounts during the administration's final days and turned over only a small amount of the emails from the administration's eight years in office.
Such emails historically have provided valuable insight into how administrations set public policy.
The disclosure of the Sanford administration's destruction of the records — about 18 to 20 gigabytes worth — came in talks between an information technology official within the Governor's Office of Executive Policy and Programs and a staffer from the state Department of Archives and History, an independent state agency tasked with preserving government records and historic documents.
The revelation of the email destruction, paired with the recent admission by the administration of current Gov. Nikki Haley that it has deleted emails in recent months, raises new questions about officials' compliance or lack thereof with state records law and whether sufficient deterrents are in place to prevent violations of the law.
Archives Director Eric Emerson said the Sanford administration's failure to turn over records conflicts with state law, which states: “No records of long term or enduring value created, including those filed, kept, or stored electronically, or those records converted from paper to magnetic, optical, film, or other media in the transaction of public business may be disposed of, destroyed, or erased without an approved records schedule.”
Emerson said the assessment of what represents “long term or enduring value” must be made by Archives staffers, not the Governor's Office. “We expected a lot more,” he said of the records received from the Sanford administration.
“The destruction of public records is a violation of the public records act. It's of concern to this agency because our mission is to preserve documents that are going to be of enduring historical value. It's far easier to destroy electronic records than it is paper records.”
Emerson said historians will not be able to create an accurate picture of the past without primary source documents such as emails. “If we're constantly deleting our communications, what will people 50, 100 years from now be able to draw upon?” he asked.
“It's something we're going to have to face and face it now. I don't see how we can kick this down the road.”
Sanford, now a paid contributor for Fox News, said this week he was shocked that a large number of emails were deleted by his administration.
“That kind of a deletion would be a mistake and would be wrong and contrary to my view of transparency in the political process,” he said. “That which is done on a state computer is ultimately public property. That was an underlying principle.”
Sanford said his staffers were asked to retain all emails and were given clearance to delete the electronic messages to save storage space only when a staffer's inbox contained multiple copies of the same email.
In an interview with the Herald-Journal earlier this month, Sanford said the Haley administration's deletion of emails between the governor and her staff was “a mistake” given Haley's campaign platform of government transparency.
But after he was told this week about the emails deleted by staffers in his administration, Sanford said it could not be compared to the emails deleted under Haley's administration. He said it was like comparing “apples and oranges.”
Emerson said the Sanford administration's late-stage email deletion followed a series of meetings between Archives staffers and administration officials in which the Archives officials sought to craft a plan for a transfer of records from the administration to the Archives Department.
Haley's office announced Thursday following recent reports in The (Columbia) State newspaper and Charleston Post and Courier revealing that the administration had deleted certain emails that it would work with the Archives Department to create an updated retention policy. Archives Department officials say they have reached out to each South Carolina gubernatorial administration since 1974 to develop a more detailed records retention policy, but until this week had received no takers.
More missing emails
The emails deleted at the end of the Sanford administration aren't the only emails missing from the Archives Department.
According to the Archives Department, at a Feb. 17, 2010 meeting between members of the Governor's Office and the Archives Department, former Sanford deputy legal counsel Brandon Gaskins said the Governor's Office would not transfer staffers' personal email to the Archives Department.
Gaskins did not specify what he considered to be a personal email, according to the Archives Department.
Gaskins said this week that he didn't recall making a specific reference to personal emails during the meeting with Archives officials, but confirmed that it was his interpretation of state law that the administration was not required to save or provide the Archives department with staff-level emails.
Archives staffers subsequently met with Sanford administration officials after the February meeting to create a plan for a records transfer at the close of the administration, but an agreement on emails was never reached.
In a fall 2010 meeting, Archives staffers were told the Governor's Office did not have any emails.
That explanation didn't stop a small amount of paper copies of emails from eventually making it to the Archives Department.
The emails are contained in the more than 500 boxes of Sanford's correspondence file stored at the Archives Department.
Most of the messages were from constituents requesting information or action from Sanford, and statements of disapproval or support.
The Archives Department received no electronic transfer of email records from the Sanford administration, save a small collection of emails contained in a dump of the Sanford administration's network directory provided to the Archives Department the week after Sanford left office.
It was at the time of the network directory transfer that the Archives Department was informed of the mass email deletion.
The network directory was primarily comprised of Microsoft Word documents, databases, spreadsheets, image files and email templates that had been saved by various staff members.
The directory did however contain a PDF file of about 3,300 pages of emails from “several accounts of Mark Sanford” between Sept. 3, 2008 and July 17, 2009. Most of the emails in the file are daily press briefings that were sent to Sanford.
A small number of emails provided by the Sanford administration in response to Freedom of Information Act requests during the early years of the administration also were provided to the Archives Department in paper format.
The state may have little recourse to address the problem. State law stipulates that a person in possession of a public record who refuses or fails to deliver them in compliance with state law is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, is subject to a fine not exceeding $500.
In addition, the legal custodian of the public records or the Archives director may file a petition with the court of common pleas in the county of residence of the person withholding the records, according to state law.
The court can then issue orders for the return of the records.
Emerson said neither he nor any previous Archives directors have pursued that option.
He said that section of the law doesn't address how deleted electronic records could be retrieved.
“How exactly would one seize electronic records?” Emerson asked.
Haley to retain all emails following controversy
12/22/11
The Post and Courier
By Renee Dudley
Gov. Nikki Haley has decided all of her emails actually are part of the public record.
In the wake of criticism over some of Haley’s messages being deleted, her office changed course Wednesday and said that it is drafting a policy that requires keeping all of the governor’s emails.
The Post and Courier recently reported on controversial emails obtained from a state agency that revealed Haley’s influence over a nonpartisan, taxpayer-funded committee she established to decide how South Carolina should implement the federal health care overhaul.
The Department of Health and Human Services provided the March emails to the newspaper Dec. 9, but Haley’s office failed to include them in its response to a separate, nearly identical Freedom of Information Act request in May.
Haley’s office maintained that Haley’s orders for an independent health panel were not retained because they were “of routine matters” and contained no policy information.
S.C. Press Association attorney Jay Bender challenged the explanation and the administration’s operations.
“It’s an email-destruction policy,” Bender said. “They’re making it up as they go along.”
On Tuesday, Haley spokesman Rob Godfrey pointed to a state statute that says only messages that “concern coordination of programs, agency policy and responsibilities of a non-routine nature that impact on the agency or its divisions” must be preserved.
The messages in question, however, seem to discuss policy.
In a statement, Godfrey said, “These provisions direct public bodies to retain ‘records of long term or enduring value’ ... but do not require the retention of routine matters, such as communications regarding program procedures, general work activities and responses to information requests.”
On Wednesday, Godfrey said that a policy being drafted requires retaining all emails sent or received by the governor.
The office is working with the state Department of Archives and History to create a new record retention policy. It’s expected to be finalized and released in January.
The current policy on what her office must retain is believed to be a left over from 1974, and predates emails and other technology — making references throughout to microfilm — and can be open to interpretation. But Godfrey said the governor’s office has followed the law.
“To be clear, the office of the governor does not have a ‘deletion’ policy,” he said. “But now we’ll have a stronger and more specific retention schedule that we’ll have developed” with the archives agency.
Haley said it’s the right thing to do.
“We have retained thousands of records and correspondence that will be preserved for archiving at the end of the administration,” Haley said in a statement. “But we have also found room for strengthening the policy — and, as we always do, when we see something that needs to be fixed, we fix it.”
Haley said she’ll also ask legislators to require that public records officers in all agencies undergo annual training from the archives department on records-retention laws and guidelines.
The Post and Courier reported that in the March emails, Haley and her top aides discussed the Health Planning Committee before the panel met for the first time. The committee’s eventual findings mirrored Haley’s email directive that “the whole point of this commission should be to figure out how to opt out and how to avoid a federal takeover, NOT create a state exchange.” A central part of the federal health overhaul, an exchange is a marketplace where various insurance plans eventually will be sold.
Also, The State newspaper reported that Haley staffers delete emails because of limited storage space on servers and because the correspondence wasn’t considered important.
Columbia police prepare to enforce anti-cussing law
12/21/20
Associated Press
Police in South Carolina’s capital city say they’ve decided it’s time to enforce an ordinance that outlaws profane language within city limits
WIS-TV 10 reports that blue signs with the words “No Profanity” written on them could be coming to parks in Columbia.
Columbia Police spokeswoman Jennifer Timmons says officers are renewing efforts to stop people who are using vulgar language in a public place. Police deny the ordinance violates First Amendment rights.
“We do respect people’s first amendment rights,” Timmons said, as reported by WIS. “If they want to curse, do it in their own home. Why do you have to do it in park where they are other children, other people who will. This, it’s just quite frankly, pretty rude.”
Others believe that enforcing such a law leaves it to police to judge the fuzzy distinction between what might be offensive speech to some people but not others.
NY Times Co. confirms talks to sell Regional Media Group
that includes Spartanburg Herald-Journal
12/19/11
Herald-Journal
From wire reports
The New York Times Co. announced today that it is in advanced discussions to sell its Regional Media Group, consisting of 16 regional newspapers, including the Spartanburg Herald-Journal, to Halifax Media Holdings LLC.
The potential deal includes other print publications and related businesses.
The Regional Media Group comprises the following publications: Sarasota Herald-Tribune in Sarasota, Fla.; The Press Democrat in Santa Rosa, Calif.; The Ledger in Lakeland, Fla.; Star-News in Wilmington, N.C.; Herald-Journal in Spartanburg, S.C.; Star-Banner in Ocala, Fla.; The Gainesville Sun in Gainesville, Fla.; The Tuscaloosa News in Tuscaloosa, Ala.; The Gadsden Times in Gadsden, Ala.; The Courier in Houma, La.; Times-News in Hendersonville, N.C.; Daily Comet in Thibodaux, La.; The Dispatch in Lexington, N.C.; Petaluma Argus-Courier in Petaluma, Calif.; News Chief in Winter Haven, Fla.; and North Bay Business Journal in Santa Rosa, Calif.
The New York Times Company reported 2010 revenues of $2.4 billion and includes The New York Times, the International Herald Tribune, The Boston Globe, 15 other daily newspapers and more than 50 Web sites, including NYTimes.com, BostonGlobe.com, Boston.com and About.com.
Editorial: Step One toward transparency
12/19/11
The Post and Courier
Gov. Nikki Haley has adopted a policy of deleting email that is akin to burning public documents. To comply with state law on the preservation of public records, the governor should reverse her directive regarding electronic communication.
The Post and Courier has come up dry on several requests for emails under the state Freedom of Information Act. That law requires the governor's office to produce public records upon request.
Under the state's public records law, that includes email to and from the governor. "No records of long term or enduring value created, including those filed, kept, or stored electronically" can be destroyed, according to the law.
But Mrs. Haley's spokesman, Rob Godfrey, insists that the law is being followed to the letter. He acknowledged that emails had been deleted, but insisted, in comments to our reporter, that the governor's office was "in full compliance with the law."
He added that "any suggestion otherwise is totally inaccurate."
Besides being in apparent violation of state laws governing public records and the conditions requiring their release to the public, the governor's policy is a slap in the face to transparency -- a goal much touted by Mrs. Haley on the campaign trail, but insufficiently honored while in office.
Her shortcomings on the transparency front drew criticism Thursday from Ashley Landess, president of the S.C. Policy Council. Ironically, it was the Policy Council's research on the Legislature's failure to adequately record voting by its members that gave then-House member Haley the issue that helped propel her to the governor's mansion.
Ms. Landess decried the governor's failure to follow her stated precepts on transparency. "When you run on a platform of fully open, transparent government, you better be the most open elected official at the table every time without exception," she said.
Additional concern is raised by W. Eric Emerson, director of the State Archives and History Department. In that position, he is responsible for collecting and storing public state documents. Dr. Emerson said the law is "explicit" on the matter, and includes electronic communications. "We should receive all communications to and from the chief executive," he said, adding that the administration has been briefed on the matter.
A spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services tells us that HHS follows the guidelines of the state archives department. Good thing, since that is where the Post and Courier ultimately retrieved the emails in question.
More and more, email is used to carry out everyday communications, and the record obtained from HHS shows that the governor's office is no exception -- despite official protestations to the contrary.
Gov. Haley must immediately reverse the ill-considered decision on email for the sake of public scrutiny, historical accuracy and, not the least, compliance with the law.
Editorial: Lexington administrator search must be open
12/19/11
The State
As Lexington County Council searches for a new administrator to oversee day-to-day activities, it must reject the secretive process it used to select outgoing executive Katherine Hubbard.
While Ms. Hubbard proved to be a capable and respected administrator, County Council did the public a disservice by conducting the search almost exclusively behind closed doors. It willfully ignored the S.C. Freedom of Information Act, trampling on the public’s right to know what its government is doing.
The pitiful truth is that Lexington County is not alone in running afoul of the Freedom of Information Act. Far too many local governments are doing far too much public business in secret. And when they’re caught, they make ridiculous excuses or issue half-hearted apologies. The remedy is simple: Officials must conduct public business in the sunshine. The public has a right to know how the council goes about hiring the person who will oversee 1,300 public employees and a $102 million budget.
Lexington County Council’s exclusion of the public during its 2006 administrator search was egregious. After a secret meeting where it was illegal to take a vote, Council Vice Chairman Joe Owens announced that Ms. Hubbard had been hired to replace the retiring Art Brooks: “Once it was determined that she had a majority of support, we all backed the decision.”
The decision was portrayed as a straw vote and not an official act, although even that was against the law. And the council continued the charade by delaying the official (read: legal) vote until a subsequent meeting.
Even if you accept the stretched definition that local councils give to the “personnel matters” exemption to the open meetings law, the law mandates that any action be taken in the open. That ensures government is operating aboveboard and allows voters and taxpayers to hold their representatives accountable.
Lexington County’s violations didn’t start when it picked a winner in secret.
The Freedom of Information Act requires public bodies to disclose the names and most other materials on “not fewer than three” finalists. The law has a twofold purpose: To give voters enough information to judge whether their council members made the best decision. And to provide the opportunity for public comment, scrutiny and reflection on the finalists. That second purpose demands that the candidates be made public while there still is a possibility any of them could be chosen. But the county waited until after the decision had been made to release the names of the finalists, even though The State had specifically requested the information. Other than advertising the job early on, the county gave no public notice of its selection methods or timetables.
Because of the secrecy, there was no way to tell whether there were as many candidates as the county said or, for that matter, whether the best candidate was hired. Frankly, had The State not raised questions, the process might have been even more secretive. The council was so intent on keeping the public in the dark that it played piano renditions of The Beatles’ “Let It Be” and Crystal Gayle’s “Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue” to prevent anyone from overhearing its illegal secret discussions.
A repeat of such antics is unacceptable.
Former backer slams Haley: Operative says deleting emails
shows lack of transparency
12/16/11
The Post and Courier
By Renee Dudley
COLUMBIA -- Gov. Nikki Haley drew criticism Thursday from an influential member of her own party and former ally, who came down on the governor's policy of deleting certain email exchanges with staff members.
Ashley Landess, a conservative political operative, pointed out that Haley promised voters her administration would "fight for accountability and transparency."
"When you run on a platform of fully open, transparent government, you better be the most open elected official at the table every time without exception," said Landess, an architect of Haley's most notable victory while in the Legislature, roll-call voting.
Haley's policy of deleting certain emails became an issue when controversial messages from March surfaced Friday. They revealed Haley's influence over an independent, taxpayer-funded committee she established to determine how health care reform should be implemented in South Carolina.
The state's Department of Health and Human Services provided the emails to The Post and Courier last week. Haley's office failed to include them in its response to a separate, nearly identical request in May.
Asked why the emails were not included, Haley spokesman Rob Godfrey said Thursday the governor's office was
"in full compliance with the law" and "any suggestion otherwise is totally inaccurate."
He continued: "What I'm saying is that the email had not been retained."
Haley's office has a policy of deleting internal emails, archiving only public correspondence, The State newspaper reported in November. Staffers told The State that Haley almost never uses email to conduct state business, instead relying on phone calls and in-person meetings.
But the governor's office appears to have applied its own policy inconsistently.
In its response to the newspaper's public records request, Haley's office included some internal emails written in the same time frame as the emails it failed to provide.
Gov. Nikki Haley refuses during a public appearance to answer a reporter's questions about public documents her administration has failed to provide.
The March emails in question show Haley dictated findings of the Health Planning Committee before the panel met for the first time, The Post and Courier reported Wednesday. The panel's November findings mirrored Haley's directive that "the whole point of this commission should be to figure out how to opt out and how to avoid a federal takeover, NOT create a state exchange."
A central part of the federal health overhaul, an exchange is a marketplace where various insurance plans eventually will be sold.
Godfrey said this week that an appearance Thursday at the state Budget and Control Board was the only window Haley had to address the records and health committee criticisms. She routinely makes herself available for media inquiries after such meetings.
But after the session, Haley refused to take questions from the media.
Questioned by a Post and Courier reporter who was among members of the media at the meeting, Haley refused to speak or make eye contact. A group of aides surrounded her, keeping reporters out of the way.
"We have to move along today," a staffer said.
When told the public appearance was the one time the governor's own spokesman, Godfrey, said she would be available, a staffer said, "You'll have to talk to Rob about that."
The governor, surrounded by her aides, waited for an elevator in silence as a reporter asked about the missing emails.
In an email later in the day, Godfrey said, "Unfortunately, the governor had to get back to the office for a meeting."
Bill Rogers, executive director of the South Carolina Press Association, likened Haley to "a deer in headlights."
"She backed out of her responsibility to answer the questions," Rogers said. "A press release doesn't cut it."
Landess added, "I can tell you it doesn't make a lot of sense to ignore reasonable questions from media or public."
"They all have this attitude they are entitled to conduct certain business behind closed doors," Landess said, referring to the governor's office and other elected officials in the state. "Is there anything that goes on that the public shouldn't have access to? The answer is: Very little."
Two state legislators have filed separate bills that would require emails sent and received by public officials to be preserved.
The bill, filed by Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter, D-Orangeburg, would require emails to be retained for 10 years, with a fine of up to $2,500 for officials found in violation.
The one filed by Rep. Mia Butler Garrick, D-Columbia, would require officials to keep emails from both their public and private computers for a minimum of five years after leaving office.
Column: So much for campaign of transparency
12/16/11
The Post and Courier
By Brian Hicks
So this is what transparency looks like in Nikki Haley's world.
On Thursday, the governor refused to answer questions from our own Renee Dudley -- wouldn't even look her in the eye -- as she was asked for the third day in a row why she withheld documents that show she wasted taxpayer money and hosed the uninsured for the tea party.
Bill Rogers of the South Carolina Press Association compared her to a "deer in headlights," which may be an insult to deer. They aren't the sharpest critters in the woods, but at least they aren't ethically challenged.
While Haley has time to do a video celebrating her first year in office, or one making the bogus claim that she has created 19,000 jobs -- and counting! -- she refuses to do her job.
Of course, that's hard to do when you are so ill-equipped and assisted only by campaign hacks and amateurs. It's no wonder a new poll shows her approval ratings cratering. The only people who support her are blind party loyalists.
Covering her tracks
The story from Dudley -- or "that little girl," as Haley has called her -- says the governor dictated the findings of an allegedly independent council charged with setting up a health insurance exchange.
Why, other than for political gain, would Haley waste the valuable time of board members -- not to mention part of a $1 million federal grant -- to put on this sham? Funny thing is, that incriminating email did not show up in the junk Haley submitted in response to a Freedom of Information request.
I guess it's hard to be transparent when you are deleting emails or, as it's also known, covering your tracks.
Sad thing is, this isn't even Haley's most egregious abuse of office. Last month she had the Department and Health and Environmental Control sell out the Savannah River -- and potentially cost our port billions -- by asking board members to again look at a request to deepen the river.
As one prominent state official said, everyone knows what it means when the governor asks you to take another look at something.
She didn't have to come right out and tell anyone to approve the permit. DHEC staff knew what to do.
Blind ambition
Privately, state officials describe Haley as consumed by unadulterated ambition, only looking out for herself and the next step on the ladder of power and fame.
And that's just what the Republicans say.
Now the woman who ran on a campaign of transparency, and little else, is deleting emails, running from reporters and hiding behind her poor press secretary, Rob Godfrey. Although she overpays much of her staff, no amount of money is just compensation for being a human shield.
Every week there is a new scandal out of this young administration, all of which show a lethal mix of ineptness and disdain for governing. No matter what anyone at a state agency is ordered to tell you, it's not a great day in South Carolina.
But it will be when Nikki Haley joins the growing ranks of the unemployed.
Gov. Haley refuses to answer questions about FOI request
12/15/11
The Post and Courier
By Renee Dudley
COLUMBIA — Gov. Nikki Haley today refused during a public appearance to answer a reporter's questions about public documents her administration has failed to provide.
Today's appearance was the time her spokesman said the governor would be available to discuss a possible violation of the state public records law and other recent criticism of her influence over an independent health panel.
Haley presided over a 20-minute meeting of the state Budget and Control Board. Haley routinely makes herself available for media inquiries after such meetings.
Confronted by a Post and Courier reporter who was among other members of the media, Haley refused to speak or make eye contact. A group of aides surrounded her, keeping reporters out of the way.
"We have to move along today," a staffer said.
When told the public appearance was the one time the governor's own spokesman, Rob Godfrey, said she would be available, a staffer said: "You'll have to talk to Rob Godfrey about that."
Godfrey could not be immediately reached.
Haley, surrounded by her group of aides, waited for an elevator in silence as a reporter asked why emails sent from Haley were not included in response to a May public records request by the newspaper.
Bill Rogers, president of the S. C. Press Association, likened Haley to "a deer in headlights."
"She backed out of her responsibility to answer the questions," Rogers said. "A press release doesn't cut it."
Haley's office for three days has refused to say why emails in question were not a part of its response.
The March emails show Haley dictated the findings of a committee she set up to study how the state would handle the federal health care overhaul before the panel met for the first time.
The Health Planning Committee's November findings mirrored Haley's directive that "the whole point of this commission should be to figure out how to opt out and how to avoid a federal takeover, NOT create a state exchange."
A central part of the federal health overhaul, an exchange is a marketplace where various insurance plans eventually will be sold.
The Post and Courier in May requested documents related to the exchange from the governor's office, which released no emails from Haley.
Haley's emails surfaced Friday after a different state agency responded to a separate request for documents.
The two requests are nearly identical.
To view a video of Gov. Haley ignoring reporter's questions, click here.
Health care exchange panel says Haley emails didn't matter
12/15/11
The Post and Courier
By Renee Dudley
Members of a planning committee dominated by the governor's appointees insisted Wednesday they reached their own conclusions about how the state should implement federal health care reform.
One Democrat on the committee, though, said the panel's November report drew foregone conclusions.
The comments follow a story Wednesday in The Post and Courier detailing newly released emails that show Gov. Nikki Haley ordered the panel's findings in March, before the group met for the first time.
The Health Planning Committee's findings mirrored Haley's directive that "the whole point of this commission should be to figure out how to opt out and how to avoid a federal takeover, NOT create a state exchange."
A central part of the federal health care overhaul, an exchange is a marketplace where various insurance plans eventually will be sold.
Evelyn Perry, a Charleston small-business owner whom Haley appointed to the panel, called the governor's emails "distasteful" but said the group agreed on the final recommendations without being directly influenced.
"In my mind, I think it was a legitimate conclusion," Perry said. "The amount of research and work that went into it -- I don't think that went down the drain."
But at least one member of the committee took a dimmer view.
S.C. Rep. David Mack, a Charleston Democrat appointed by S.C. House Speaker Robert Harrell, said he resigned himself to being a minority voice on the committee from the start.
"You could tell by the composition of that committee what the result was going to be," he said. "It was handpicked. The numbers are set to get a certain outcome."
Haley established the 12-member group in a March executive order and personally appointed five panelists. Two more, Tony Keck, director of the S.C. Department of Health and Human Services, and David Black, director of the S.C. Department of Insurance, are state Cabinet members. Keck was copied on the email that contained Haley's orders about the committee's eventual findings. The panel used part of a $1 million federal "Exchange Planning" grant to conduct research and hire contracted staff.
The committee rejected a federally run exchange, saying the federal government has not provided sufficient information about how it would operate. It also dismissed having a state-run exchange, saying it would be too costly and could carry liabilities. The group recommended a "wait and see" approach that would encourage private businesses to set up their own exchanges. States that fail to set up their own exchanges by 2014, however, will be subject to federally run ones.
"The governor has said all along that she wanted to look for alternatives," said Keck. "We had amazing consensus on such a contentious issue."
Keck rejected criticism that the governor had undue influence over the process through him.
"It just couldn't have happened," given the number of people involved in discussions, he said.
Keck, who wrote key portions of the report, continued, "She (Haley) had an opinion. Everyone at the table had opinions too."
The panel and members of its subcommittees met more than 30 times between April and November.
Casey Fitts, a Charleston physician appointed to the panel by Republican S.C. Sen. Glenn McConnell, Senate president pro tempore, said he entered discussions in "very strong" support of a state-run exchange. But he changed his opinion by the end of the planning process, instead favoring something "unique to South Carolina," he said.
Fitts, who runs a medical clinic that offers discounted treatment to the working poor, said the primary reason behind his change of opinion involves the long-term cost of operating an exchange.
But the emails that surfaced this week left him with questions about the discussions.
"I'm trying to digest and think through the process," he said. "Was I an unwitting stooge through this process that was predetermined?"
He continued, "We had frank discussions about health care, and none of that was swept away."
S.C. Sen. Michael Rose, a Dorchester Republican who also was appointed by McConnell, said he "went to 35 meetings in five months, costing me thousands of dollars personally to research these issues and draw my own conclusions."
"(Haley) might have dictated them to Tony Keck, but that's different than dictating to me," he said.
City delays response to request for records in Lamar Jack case
12/14/11
Independent Mail
By Nikie Mayo
ANDERSON — City leaders in Anderson refused again Wednesday to release an email detailing steps the police department has taken in handling the death of college basketball player Lamar Jack.
Jack, a sophomore at Anderson University, died Oct. 4, four days after collapsing during a preseason warm-up at the school.
Anderson County Coroner Greg Shore said laboratory testing he sought in Pennsylvania confirmed the 19-year-old student had ingested JWH-018, a chemical found in synthetic marijuana. The chemical was banned by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in March, but is still found in products that are often falsely marketed as “herbal incense” or “legal highs.”
An “herbal incense” product called Tease was found in Jack's car after he collapsed, and the young man's parents asked police to analyze it before he died.
The email that city leaders are withholding is supposed to detail the steps the Anderson Police Department took in responding to Jack's parents' request and in handling the investigation of the young man's death. The email was provided to the Anderson City Council, but city leaders first denied, and are now reconsidering, the Independent Mail's Dec. 2 request for the document.
“Have had to spend time on some other matters,” city manager John Moore wrote in an email Wednesday. “Need another day to get my stuff together.”
Moore said the city is still researching the matter and would respond to the newspaper's request within the time allowed under the Freedom of Information Act. Under that law, public bodies must take no more than 15 working days to respond to a records request.
Jay Bender, an attorney for the South Carolina Press Association, said the city has no good reason to delay in responding to a request for a public document.
“How difficult is it to find an email?” he said. “I can … find my email fairly quickly.
“It seems to me that what they are doing is what a lot of public bodies do: Harass their citizens by delaying access to documents that are readily available.
“It reminds me of Shakespeare's soliloquy in 'Macbeth': 'Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow, creeps in this petty pace from day to day.'”
Along with the email, the newspaper has requested copies of any reports, documents or correspondence provided to the council or city staff regarding the handling of the Jack case.
So far, nothing has been provided.
Moore initially said the federal Drug Enforcement Administration asked the city to withhold the email related to the Jack case because of an ongoing investigation involving the police and the federal agency. Moore later said he had not spoken directly to anyone at the Drug Enforcement Administration, but was going by what the police chief told him the agency had said.
The Freedom of Information Act does not allow for a public record to be withheld simply because of an ongoing investigation.
The newspaper has submitted a request for the email to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, and that request was being processed Wednesday.
The email is supposed to be a report that Moore requested from the police chief after the Independent Mail reported in November that the substance found in Jack's car had never been analyzed, despite what his parents believed.
Moore, the city manager, has said that the police chief met with Lamar Jack's parents and apologized to them.
Bill Rogers, executive director of the South Carolina Press Association, said city leaders' decisions to withhold the email about the Jack case amounts to withholding information about a matter of public concern.
“It's not as if they have to search for the email,” Rogers said Wednesday. “There's no legal justification for stonewalling and delaying on something that the public has a right to know.”
Where people get information about restaurants and local businesses
12/15/11
Pew Research
People looking for information about local restaurants and other businesses say they rely on the internet, especially search engines, ahead of any other source.
Newspapers, both printed copies and the websites of newspaper companies, run second behind the internet as the source that people rely on for news and information about local businesses, including restaurants and bars.
And word of mouth, particularly among non-internet users, is also an important source of information about local businesses.
Some 55% of adults say they get news and information about local restaurants, bars, and clubs. When they seek such information, here are the sources they say they rely on most: 51% turn to the internet, including:
search engines - 38% rely on them
specialty websites - 17% rely on them
social media - 3% rely on social networking sites or Twitter
31% rely on newspapers, including
printed copies - 26% rely on them
newspaper websites - 5% rely on them
23% rely on word of mouth
8% rely on local TV, either broadcasts or websites
Some 60% of adults say they get news and information about local businesses other than restaurants and bars. When they do:
47% say they rely most on the internet, including:
search engines - 36% rely on them
specialty websites - 16% rely on them
social media - 1% rely on social network sites or Twitter
30% rely most on newspapers, including:
printed newspapers - 29% rely most on that
newspaper websites - 2% rely on them
22% rely on word of mouth from family and friends
8% rely on local TV, either broadcasts or the websites of local stations
5% rely on local radio
People who seek out information and news about local businesses and restaurants are a diverse and somewhat upscale group. As distinct populations, they are more likely to live in relatively well-off households - those earning $75,000 or more - and have college educations.
In addition, the 55% of adults who get information about restaurants, bars, and clubs are more likely to be women, young adults, urban, and technology adopters.
The 60% of adults who get information about other local businesses are also more likely to be tech users.
Background on this report
Together, these subjects are among the most popular of 16 local topics explored in a national survey by the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism and Internet & American Life Project, produced in association with the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. The survey probed how people learn about their communities in a new way, asking about specific subjects and discovered that people use a complex range of different sources.
Last September, we issued an overview report on this survey called "How people learn about their local community." In broad terms, it covered on the sources that people rely on for news and information about their communities on a host of different topics.
This report offers a more in-depth examination of two closely-related topics that were part of that survey. It expands on that earlier work by 1) looking at the people who get information about local businesses and restaurants; 2) looking at all the sources they use; and 3) examining which sources of information are most relied upon by which people.
The survey was conducted on January 12-25, 2011. In the part of the survey that dealt with those who get information about local businesses and restaurants, 1,087 adults (age 18 and older) were interviewed by landline and cell phones, in English and Spanish. The margin of error for the full sample is 3.3 percentage points. For the subpopulation of people who say they get information about restaurants, bars, and clubs the number of respondents (which we label as "n") is 592 and the margin of error for that sample is 4.4 percentage points. For the group who get information about local businesses other than restaurants, bars, and clubs is 667 and the margin of error for that sample is 4.2 percentage points.
Request brought irrelevant material
12/14/11
The Post and Courier
By Renee Dudley
Gov. Nikki Haley's office did not release emails exposing its influence over a nonpartisan health care committee, instead releasing innocuous materials when The Post and Courier asked in May for documents related to the panel.
Revelatory emails surfaced Friday after a separate state agency responded to a different request for documents under the South Carolina public records law.
The two requests are nearly identical.
The governor's response contained press releases, public schedules and some correspondence among staffers, but no emails from the governor.
Haley's office offered no explanation for the discrepancy.
Haley spokesman Rob Godfrey said the governor was unavailable for an interview Tuesday or today, but has a scheduled public availability on Thursday.
Jay Bender, an attorney for the S.C. Press Association, blasted the omission and the lack of response.
"This is consistent with the governor's idea that it is acceptable to destroy public records in spite of a state law that demands their preservation," he said.
Bender pointed to a March email thread in which Haley tells her top aides the outcome she expects of a nonpartisan committee she established to study how the federal health care overhaul should be implemented in the state.
Recommendations in the committee's report, sent to the governor two weeks ago, reflect the directions Haley gave in the March email.
"They're covering up a sham," Bender said. "They're covering the fact that the committee came up with a decision the governor preordained."
In an email, Godfrey said, "The governor's office provided you with all records the office had in its possession that were responsive to your request."
Godfrey did not respond to follow-up questions about the missing records.
Bills would preserve public officials’ emails
12/12/11
The State
By Gina Smith
Two House members want to stop the deletion of emails sent and received by public officials.
State Reps. Gilda Cobb-Hunter, D-Orangeburg, and Mia Butler Garrick, D-Richland, filed separate bills this week to require the preservation of those records, which some say help the public and the news media better understand the inner workings of government. The documents also aid historians’ efforts to piece together S.C. history.
Garrick’s bill would require public officials to preserve emails from both their public and private computers for at least five years after they leave office.
Cobb-Hunter’s bill would require the preservation of emails and other public records for 10 years. Anyone who violated that requirement, should it become law, would face a $2,500 fine per violation.
“It’s important to me that the historical records
be preserved,” Cobb-Hunter said. “This is an opportunity to update our state’s record and retention laws.”
A review of Gov. Nikki Haley’s email by The State newspaper last month found that some emails between Haley and staff members are being deleted. At least one previous governor, Mark Sanford, had a similar policy, Haley’s office says.
Haley’s office has said important emails that meet the state’s definition of public records are being preserved. But emails considered routine, including inner-office communications, are being deleted by Haley and staff members.
Media attorneys say the emails are public records, and the deletions violate the state’s open records laws.
Opinion: Public entitled to written record of evaluation
12/12/11
The Times and Democrat
THE ISSUE: School superintendent's performance;
OUR OPINION: Regardless of how trustees conduct evaluation, their assessment is important to public
The performance evaluation of the superintendent of Orangeburg Consolidated School District 5 is a matter of keen interest to the public. Recent issues over the evaluation and how it was performed are secondary to the necessity of full disclosure of how trustees rate the performance of the district's CEO.
Amid debate that appears born largely of Cynthia Wilson's decisions to reassign certain district personnel and make other changes since taking over as superintendent a year ago, a board election resulted in ouster of two incumbents, who were replaced with those sympathetic with forces criticizing Wilson.
In a final meeting of the board with outgoing members, there was to be an evaluation of the superintendent. Critics said the purpose was to reinforce and protect Wilson in advance of changes in the governing body.
After the closed session, the board released a statement saying Wilson had received a positive evaluation, being rated in five areas: student achievement, teacher/administrator quality, school climate, technology and board/superintendent relationship. The statement did not say how any trustee individually or trustees as a whole rated her performance on the individual measures, but stated that trustees are satisfied with Wilson's performance.
To the surprise of public and press, when The T&D asked for a copy of the evaluation, our reporter was told by outgoing board Chairwoman Lisa Jenkins there was no paper copy. The evaluation was done by phone, another trustee, Susan Gleaton, said.
As to whether this was a first, trustees and former trustees have different recollections, but the fact remains that no formal record of the evaluation and its results is and will be bad administrative practice. And it is not district policy, which requires a written evaluation.
In its defense, the board was backed by South Carolina School Boards Association Director Paul Krohne in its method.
"The whole premise behind it is that the true evaluation is the collective statement of the board as opposed to individual responses. A phone call allows for a more expansive answer as opposed to just checking" things off, Krohne told The Times and Democrat.
"We actually endorse that. It's not that we don't support a written document because some boards are still using that, but what we've found is that this type of response does lead the board toward collaborating toward a joint statement which is, in my opinion, a true evaluation of the superintendent," Krohne said. "The superintendent works for the full board. We have found this to be a very effective model."
Conducting the evaluation session by phone or not, a record of the evaluation and its results is to be available. It is necessary for tracking the superintendent's performance over time, and necessary for the public to make its own determination of performance based on their elected representatives' actions.
The S.C. Freedom of Information Act, which is state law, makes Wilson's evaluation public information.
S.C. Press Association Executive Director Bill Rogers noted that superintendents, teachers and other district employees are public employees. Their evaluations are public record. Along with the written summary, even any notes used in compiling the evaluation are accessible to the public under the law.
Days after the meeting and in the wake of requests by the newspaper under FOIA for a written copy of Wilson's evaluation, she said a written summary of her evaluation was discussed by trustees during an executive session and was placed in her personnel file. She said she would share the summary that the district's attorney completed following phone interviews with each of the board members.
The summary was released - more than a week after the meeting at which the evaluation was to be the subject.
Trustees believe Wilson is doing a good job as leader of the district. Their statements and documents now in the hands of the public make that clear. In the future, there should be no confusion and delay about presenting the evaluation to the people. As to how the evaluation is conducted, the telephone is a useful tool, but discussion via electronic device should not replace trustees sitting down with the district leader to discuss performance and priorities. And there should be no question of availability of a record of the evaluation. If the record is to be in electronic form, the down side is limiting its access. Even in 2011, a written record is preferred - and important.
Publicly funded organizations should operate in the open
12/12/11
By Richard Eckstrom
Entities that spend taxpayer dollars should show taxpayers how that money is used. That's true for government entities -- like your local town, county and school district -- and for nonprofit groups that accept government grants.
Transparency shows respect for the public, which in turn encourages the trust of the citizens. And when that happens, we all win.
Unfortunately, the cause of government transparency suffered a setback a few weeks ago.
According to media reports, the S.C. Association of School Administrators had been refusing requests to open its meetings -- and its books -- to the public. SCASA advocates on behalf of school district administrators. Many of its activities are political, and its Website announces it has a "full time lobbying team" at the State House.
Here's the problem: the S.C. Association of School Administrators is funded in large part by public dollars. You see, in most instances, the membership dues of the superintendents, assistant superintendents and principals belonging to SCASA are paid with taxpayer dollars by their school districts.
Of course, we can't tell how much of SCASA's budget comes from the pockets of taxpayers, because it isn't willing to open its books. But a cursory glance at school districts' check registers, which are required by law to be posted on the Web, shows it's not uncommon for districts to make payments of $10,000 or more to SCASA for membership dues and other costs.
To many of us, the fact that the group supports itself on public funds to this extent means it should operate in accordance with the state's Freedom of Information Act. Meetings should be open to the public, and taxpayers ought to be able to look at its spending records. But as we know, SCASA has resisted calls to operate openly. So, in 2009, a Lowcountry radio personality [Rocky D] submitted a Freedom of Information Act request seeking to look at the group's records. When he was denied, he hired lawyers and took the matter to court.
A few weeks ago, the judge in the case issued a surprising ruling. He said that SCASA, even though funded with public dollars, doesn't have to be open in its business, and that requiring it to disclose information on its activities would violate the First Amendment. "The First Amendment encompasses the right not to speak publicly," the judge wrote, according to a media report. That's a shame. The ruling, as well as SCASA's continued refusal to reveal how it is spending public dollars, threatens to deal a serious blow to the cause of open government in South Carolina.
Too many public entities already defy the intent of open-records laws, and I worry that this ruling might embolden even more of them to do the same.
This disappointing episode undermines a current trend in government. The "people's business" was becoming more open. Other public bodies, whether government agencies or groups that feed off public funding, have been increasingly heeding the public's calls for open disclosure. In fact, a bill pending in the state Legislature would require any organization receiving a grant from a municipal or county government to provide regular reports on how the money is spent. That's the very least they can do with any money that's been taken from our paychecks.
Meanwhile, the public school administrators making up SCASA's membership are presented a unique opportunity to take an important stand. They should insist that as long as their group feeds at the public trough -- and as long as SCASA's activities and spending are intended to sway public policy -- its meetings should be open and its spending details made conveniently available to the public.
Doing so would set the right example for other entities that receive public funding, and it would send a message that these public servants have nothing to hide.
Failure to do so would be a disservice to their constituents, and it would send a message that hard-working people don't have the right to see how their tax dollars are being spent. Open-records laws are one of the most important protections citizens have for ensuring honest and accountable government.
Richard Eckstrom, a Republican and a certified public accountant, is South Carolina's comptroller general.
In $2.5 million judgment, court finds blogger is not a journalist
12/9/11
New York Times
By David Carr
Academics and Web thinkers have spent a lot of time jawboning about whether a blogger fits the definition of a journalist. It’s an endless discussion, but this week in Oregon, the debate turned costly for one blogger.
Crystal Cox, a Montanan who calls herself an investigative blogger and produces several blogs about the law, was sued in January by the investment firm Obsidian Finance Group over several opinionated blog posts that were highly critical of Obsidian and its co-founder Kevin Padrick. The firm sought $10 million in damages. Although the judge threw out several of the firm’s claims, he ruled against her on a single post and ordered her to pay $2.5 million in damages.
According to The Seattle Weekly, Ms. Cox, representing herself in court, argued that her post, in which she called Mr. Padrick a “thug” and a “liar,” was based on an inside source. She cited Oregon’s shield law, which allows journalists to protect sources, and refused to reveal her source.
According to The Associated Press, “U.S. District Judge Marco A. Hernandez found last week that as a blogger, Cox was not a journalist and cannot claim the protections afforded to mainstream reporters and news outlets.”
In his decision, which might send a chill up the back of many nontraditional journalists, the judge wrote:
Although the defendant is a self-proclaimed “investigative blogger” and defines herself as “media,” the record fails to show that she is affiliated with any newspaper, magazine, periodical, book, pamphlet, news service, wire service, news or feature syndicate, broadcast station or network, or cable television system. Thus, she is not entitled to the protections of the law.
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