On Tuesday, December 16, The Minnesota International Center will host a conversation with Tom Gitaa, president and publisher, Mshale, the African newspaper; Nghi Huynh, publisher and editor, Asian American Press; and Alisa Miller, president and CEO, Public Radio International, to explore how media consolidation is affecting the news consumption of the American public, and how this shift allows for new voices, perspectives and news media to emerge.

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Go to http://www.mna.org/mna-resources/911-MNA.html to read the entire issue!  MNA monthly columnist and News Council member Jim Pumarlo talks about letters to the editor.

Editor’s notes on letters – a sure-fire way to squelch the exchange of ideas

by Jim Pumarlo

Letters to the editor truly are the lifeblood of editorial pages. Letters underscore the value of editorial pages and represent an active citizenry.

But the letters column, if it is to serve its greatest purpose, must be monitored or it can quickly become nondescript. The dos and don’ts of letters should be well understood by everyone at the newspaper, and it is equally important to let readers know the ground rules.

Too often, editors give free reign to letters and are hesitant to impose restrictions on “free expression” of ideas. In reality, a letters column without policies may prove more detrimental than beneficial to the exchange of ideas. More »

FROM WISCONSIN FREEDOM OF INFORMATION COUNCIL

3 in 10 public-records requests not properly fulfilled, new study finds

A statewide public records audit found that one in 10 requests for basic documents were denied or ignored by local governments. 

Another two in 10 requests were fulfilled only after records custodians
required the requesters to identify themselves or explain why they
wanted the documents, in violation of state law.

The audit, conducted by the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council and the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communication, involved 318 public records requests filed in 65
counties.

“We were not trying to trick anyone,” says Bill Lueders, the Council’s elected president and news editor of Isthmus newspaper. “We asked for basic information that no one should have any problems getting. And yet
there were problems.” More »

Tags: Election, Events, Featured Events, Society for Professional Journalists, St. Paul, Sweeney's
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