In this issue:

Journalism Excellence I: Two Weeks Left in APME Journalism Excellence Awards
Journalism Excellence II: Roundup of Watchdog Reporting from Around the Country
Editors in the News: Departures, Changes
Industry News: Government Secrecy Challenged; Business Developments
Journalism Excellence III: Ohio Member Contributes May Photo of the Month
Ask AP: What's on the Mind of Your Readers?

Twitter: @APME

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Call for Entries APME Journalism Excellence Awards Deadline: July 13 DETAILS

TWO WEEKS LEFT TO ENTER APME JOURNALISM EXCELLENCE AWARDS COMPETITION

So much to get ready with the Fourth of July coming up ... clean the grill, buy the hot dogs, pick up sun block ... and get the APME contest entries in. The deadline for nominating work for the 2009 APME Journalism Excellence Awards is next Monday, July 6. For anyone planning to take a long holiday weekend the deadline that means the work needs to be submitted by Friday, or earlier. The awards honor superior journalism and innovation among newspapers and online news sites across the United States and Canada. Winners will be honored at the APME annual conference in St. Louis Oct. 28-30. The good news is that APME's contests are received entirely online, so no rushing to the post office or FedEx with bulky packages to get them to APME in time. The first step is signing up as an "entrant" at the APME contest site. Keep your entrant username and password; you will use them to submit entries and return to edit them or add more before submitting them for judging. Even better news: there's a late, final deadline of July 13. These awards are for journalists, after all.

www.apme.com/awards

WATCHDOG REPORTING: IMPACT JOURNALISM FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY

There's no shortage of watchdog reporting from journalists in newsrooms big and small. Take a moment to appreciate colleagues who are giving readers important news they simply won't get elsewhere. See if there are stories here that might stimulate inquiries in your newsroom. We welcome your contributions. E-mail a description of the story and a link to mmittelstadt@ap.org

The Fresno (Calif.) Bee reported that a handful of San Joaquin Valley cities and public agencies have used millions of dollars meant for filtering contaminated water for entirely unrelated purposes.

www.fresnobee.com/263/story/1485633.html

The New York Times reported that the Veterans Administration hospital in Philadelphia botched 92 of 116 prostate cancer procedures.

www.nytimes.com/2009/06/21/health/21radiation.html

The Calgary Herald reported that the average Alberta applicants waits 10 weeks to receive unemployment benefits.

www.calgaryherald.com/Business/Long+waits+leave+Albertans+struggling/1717779/story.html

The Sacramento (Calif.) Bee revealed that despite appearances of prosperity, a bank in West Sacramento demonstrates flaws in the Troubled Asset Relief Program. TARP props up small banks with risky practices, few strings attached, the newspaper reported. Rather than enforcing prudence, TARP underwrites business as usual. The newspaper's investigation of internal shareholder documents and public lending records found that at Community Business Bank, those likely to benefit most from the taxpayer-funded windfall are a small group of insiders and their associates. From its inception three and a half years ago, the bank has steered many of its assets to a handful of directors, as well as their relatives and business partners.

www.sacbee.com/topstories/story/1963763.html

The Tacoma (Wash.) News Tribune reported on the high costs of the hundreds of "routine" claims filed against the city by local residents whose homes are flooded when a city sewer line backs up, whose cars are scraped by rumbling garbage trucks, whose alignments are jarred by potholes, or who are sent sprawling by an uneven sidewalk. From 2006 to 2008, the city paid out more than $1 million.

www.thenewstribune.com/topstories/story/785461.html

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that at least 11 doctors with the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health received more than $50,000 from drug or medical device companies last year, including seven who pulled in six-figure amounts.

www.jsonline.com/features/health/48692952.html

The Santa Fe New Mexican reported that New Mexico taxpayers spent more than $200,000 last year for travel by lawmakers.

www.santafenewmexican.com/Local%20News/STATE-LEGISLATURE-Flying-high-on-taxpayer-dime

The State Journal-Register of Springfield, Ill., reported that the same month Mayor Tim Davlin warned layoffs might be needed to make up for a looming budget shortfall, dozens of temporary workers were hired. Since the beginning of the year the city has hired at least 18 full-time employees and 88 temporary workers. About 68 of the temporary workers were hired after May 1.

www.sj-r.com/local/x1662361498/Springfield-hiring-despite-deficit-warning

The Boston Globe reported that over the years two members of the Essex County pension board quietly voted to approve or signed off on each other's deals to collect hundreds of thousands of dollars in promised pension benefits.

www.newseum.org/todaysfrontpages/hr.asp?fpVname=MA_BG&ref_pge=gal&b_pge=4

The Las Vegas Sun reported that thieves, drunks and lawyers drive up the cost of auto insurance in Nevada.

www.newseum.org/todaysfrontpages/hr.asp?fpVname=NV_SUN&ref_pge=gal&b_pge=5

The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that the pressure to pass students – even those who rarely go to class or can't read – is pervasive in the Philadelphia School District, according to teachers in the district.

www.philly.com/philly/education/20090621_Teachers_cite_intense_push_to_promote.html

The News-Press of Fort Myers, Fla., reported that as local governments write pink slips, slice services and ponder tax hikes, they continue to pass out millions of dollars in sick leave payouts and buybacks and vacation disbursements from employees who stockpile the time off.

www.news-press.com/article/20090621/SS15/906210387/1075&referrer=FRONTPAGECAROUSEL

The St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times interviewed high-ranking defectors from the Church of Scientology for a three-part series, "The truth rundown."

www.tampabay.com/specials/2009/reports/project/

The Contra Costa Times of Walnut Creek, Calif., looked into the county's "professional development" perk for top managers and found that elected Contra Costa leaders used it to purchase TurboTax software, large digital TV screens, a GPS navigation system, a digital camera and a laptop. A former county administrator also bought a new computer system one month before he retired and several managers purchased televisions with the money intended to reward top managers and elected officials who seek to enhance their workplace skills. Since 2007, the county has spent $750,000 on the benefit.

www.contracostatimes.com/top-stories/ci_12655355

The Honolulu Advertiser reported that taxpayers are paying what could amount to a multimillion-dollar premium for power from recently installed solar panels on the roofs of state-owned buildings, including several airports. The rate the state pays for solar power is not only more than what it would pay for traditional electricity, it's nearly twice what private consumers pay for solar energy in today's market.

www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20090621/NEWS01/906210372/
Hawaii+paying+nearly+twice+market+rate+for+solar+power+

The Chicago Tribune reported that trustees charged with fixing the admissions system to the University of Illinois' law school are among its most frequent users.

www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-clout-college-trustees-jun21,0,6348255.story

The Times of Northwest Indiana, Munster, Ind., investigated and reported that subprime lenders targeted middle-class minorities.

www.nwi.com/articles/2009/06/21/news/top/doc738ded9dc9e46185862575db007ff58e.txt

The Associated Press documented numerous exceptions to state hiring freezes – including golf course workers, zookeepers and dog wardens – that were supposed to allow only the most essential hiring. The AP found the exceptions in records requested from seven of the biggest states with hiring freezes, including New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania. It was the first national takeout on the cracks in recent hiring restrictions.

www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/18/AR2009061802546.html

The AP also spotlighted one of the forgotten aspects of the debate over overhauling the nation's health care system: the care of Indians who live on reservations. The story grew out of visits to two reservations and months of reporting to document how the government has failed to meet a 230-year-old treaty obligation. At a newsmaker session the following day, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius took note of the piece, acknowledging the government's failure and pledging a multiyear effort to remedy it.

www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hitISYixOv_DC0ABZeYzc6dg2BDAD98QNBI83

EDITORS IN THE NEWS

Recent developments involving colleagues around the country:

■ The longtime editor at the Kenosha (Wis.) News has retired. Craig Swanson, 55, was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease seven years ago and took a health-related retirement after 13 years in the top newsroom position. Managing Editor Karl Frederick will fill in until a replacement is found.

■ Paul Stevens, a longtime reporter, editor and executive with The Associated Press in Kansas City, is retiring. Stevens will step down July 13 after 36 years with the news cooperative – the last six as a regional vice president overseeing marketing and news initiatives for U.S. newspapers. The 62-year-old Stevens joined AP in Albany, N.Y., in 1973, worked in the St. Louis bureau and served as correspondent in Wichita, Kan. He was raised in Fort Dodge, Iowa, and earned a BA in journalism from the University of Iowa and a master's in journalism from the University of Kansas. He held bureau chief positions in Albuquerque and Indianapolis before taking the same job in Kansas City, Mo., in 1984 – a role he held for 19 years.

■ Former newspaper editor and Michigan lawmaker Richard D. Allen died Saturday at his Saginaw home of natural causes. He was 71. Allen graduated from Caro High School, then enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps and later in the U.S. Air Force. He was hired as a reporter in 1964 by the Tuscola County Advertiser and worked his way up to editor. The Republican won a Michigan House seat in 1982 and served 12 years.

■ A former Connecticut journalist who insisted he acted in self-defense when he shot a man to death in 2007 was sentenced Thursday to 12 years in prison. James Robertson, 66, a former editor and reporter for The Hartford Courant, was convicted of manslaughter by a jury in March after a second trial in the fatal shooting of 56-year-old Ralph Colon. The first trial ended with a hung jury. Hartford Superior Court Judge Michael R. Sheldon imposed the jail time and a subsequent five years of probation. The shooting happened at Robertson's apartment in Hartford on Aug. 9, 2007. Robertson, who was also press secretary for former Hartford Mayor Carrie Saxon Perry, testified that he didn't know Colon and was forced to defend himself when Colon entered his apartment and assaulted him. But witnesses testified that Colon was shot as he stood at the back door of Robertson's apartment with another man who had a dispute with Robertson.

INDUSTRY NEWS

The corporate owner of the Las Vegas Review-Journal has purchased the weekly Mesquite Local News. Stephens Media LLC President Sherman Frederick said that he sees the prospect of growth in the Mesquite area, about 80 miles northeast of Las Vegas. Frederick says the acquisition ensures the long-term success of the newspaper with what he calls national sales muscle that a hometown newspaper can't muster. Morris Workman, co-owner and founding editor of the Local News, is expected to stay on as editor and general manager. Workman, Cindi Delaney and Sue Hurley founded the newspaper in 2006 as an online-only operation. Reader demand led to a weekly print edition.

The Corvallis (Ore.) Gazette-Times will host an open house Wednesday afternoon to mark the newspaper's 100th anniversary. Publisher Mike McInally will participate in a recreation of the coin toss by which Corvallis Gazette editor Charles L. Springer and Times editor N.R. Moore decided the order of the combined newspaper's name. The first edition of the Gazette-Times rolled off the presses July 2, 1909.

The Journal Register Co. faced objections to its Chapter 11 reorganization plan on several fronts as the newspaper publisher submitted its proposal to a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge in New York City. The vast majority of creditors have voted to approve the terms. But the company's plans to pay executive bonuses following its emergence from bankruptcy drew criticism. So has a provision that would arrange a $6.6 million gift from secured lenders to key suppliers, including ink and newsprint providers. The Journal Register's reorganization would cut its obligations to secured lenders to $225 million from $696 million in return for ownership of the company. Unsecured lenders would get about 9 cents on the dollar from a fund of $2 million. Among those unsecured debt holders, however, are suppliers the Journal Register argues are integral to the survival of its business. The company proposes to make them whole with a $6.6 million gift from secured lenders, who will control all of Journal Register's equity. Central States, a multi-employer pension fund, broke with the rest of the company's creditors on the gift. Brad Berliner, an attorney for the group, said the provision gives unfair priority to one class of lenders and argued the company had not offered convincing evidence that suppliers would immediately cut off shipments if not paid. A judge is set to rule on the The Yardley, Pa.-based company's reorganization by July 7, which could make it the first to emerge from Chapter 11. The Journal Register's filing was essentially a "prepackaged," bankruptcy, in which much of the negotiation with lenders had already taken place.

A reputed mob boss has been called to testify about accusations that he plotted with two judges to fix a defamation case against a northeastern Pennsylvania newspaper. William D'Elia has been ordered to appear this week at a hearing in Allentown. The state Supreme Court granted a review of the $3.5 million verdict against The Citizens' Voice of Wilkes-Barre, citing questions about the role played by D'Elia and former Luzerne County Judges Michael Conahan and Mark Ciavarella. The judges pleaded guilty earlier this year in a separate case involving juvenile defendants. D'Elia's lawyer says he's considering how to respond to the order. D'Elia is serving nine years in prison on federal money-laundering and witness-tampering charges.

A startup planning to sell news online thinks newspaper and magazines will be able to get money from about 10 percent of their Internet readers. Journalism Online made the projection last week in a meeting with reporters. The venture, expected to debut later this year, is trying to help struggling newspapers and magazines generate more revenue by selling packages of online content from a variety of publishers that it hopes to sign up. Persuading Web surfers to pay for news is expected to be difficult because most newspapers and magazines have been giving away their online content since the 1990s. Other industry studies have assumed just 1 percent to 2 percent of people who visit newspaper Web sites are willing to pay for stories.

A judge in Mitchell, S.D., said he'll rule soon in a dispute over South Dakota's open meetings law. The dispute centers on an interpretation of the law that allows public boards to hold sessions behind closed doors so members can meet with attorneys. The Daily Republic newspaper contends the only litigation that can be discussed in an executive session is that which has been proposed or is pending. The city of Mitchell's interpretation is broader, including any litigation deemed possible by an attorney. The Daily Republic has sued the city over what the newspaper believes was an illegal city council executive session last year. Editor Korrie Wenzel said the lawsuit, funded by the South Dakota Newspaper Association, is aimed at the broader issue of clarifying the open meetings law.

The public is being denied access to meetings and records about applicants to become administrator of elections in Rutherford County, Tenn. Tom Walker, the chairman of the county elections commission, denied public records requests from the Daily News Journal newspaper in Murfreesboro to examine the applications. The previous night Walker told reporters to leave a commission meeting so members could privately discuss the 92 applicants. When two reporters refused to leave the public meeting, he said he would call the police. Murfreesboro Police dispatch records indicate a complaint was made about reporters not leaving the Election Commission office, but that no officer was dispatched. Rick Hollow, a lawyer for the Tennessee Press Association, says there is no exemption for to the open meetings law to discussion applications.

The new owner of the Portland (Maine) Press Herald and two other Maine dailies has begun giving away newspapers at selected locations as part of a promotional campaign to attract new readers. MaineToday Media Inc. has set out more than 100 newspaper boxes offering free editions of the Press Herald, the Kennebec Journal in Augusta and the Morning Sentinel in Waterville. The company bought the papers last week from The Seattle Times Co.

The State Media Co. in Columbia, S.C., announced it will cut six positions and force most employees to take a week of unpaid leave by Nov. 30. The company, which oversees The State newspaper and thestate.com, has offered buyouts and laid off workers twice in the last year. It cited severe declines in advertising sales as a reason for the moves. State president and publisher Henry Haitz wrote workers that he did not think revenues would rebound in the very near term, forcing the reduction and furloughs.

The Hartford Courant has a new, old look, ditching a redesign in had put in place last fall. On Monday, the newspaper returned its masthead to the top of the front page. The nation's oldest continuously published newspaper had unveiled its new redesign last September. The new look included stripping the newspaper's name down the left side of the front page. The Courant said at the time that the redesigned newspaper included 40 new columns and features designed to emphasize Connecticut news. The redesign was also supposed to better coordinate the print edition with the company's Web site.

AccuWeather.com and The Associated Press have launched mobile weather information for AP Mobile on its mobile news applications available for the iPhone 3.0 and the new NokiaN97 mobile computer. As AP Mobile's weather content provider, AccuWeather.com will provide a full range of weather information updated hourly for locations all over the world. AP Mobile news now offers current local weather conditions, 5-day local forecasts, radar and satellite images where available and links to the AccuWeather.com Mobile Web site for deeper weather information.

www.apnews.com

AP Images, a commercial division of The Associated Press, is adding Blend Images and North Wind Picture Archives as new content partners. Their images will be made available on AP Images' recently launched B2B site aimed at professional image buyers, joining content from the National Football League, Ebony and Jet, VII, NCAA and NBC Universal. "By bolstering our creative imagery offering, we are making it convenient for our customers to access and license the photos they need," said Fernando Ferre, global director of AP Images. "Blend and North Wind's unique imageries complement our award-winning AP editorial photography. These additions support our goal of making APImages.com the most robust, single source destination to the world's largest collections of historical and contemporary imagery."

http://www.ap.org/pages/about/pressreleases/pr_062309a.html

AWARDS: MEMBER SHOWCASE PHOTO OF THE MONTH

Bill Lackey of the Springfield (Ohio) News-Sun contributed the Member Showcase Photo of the Month for May. Lackey captured an unidentified woman looking up at members of the Springfield Fire Division as she waited to be rescued from her overturned vehicle May 28. The woman lost control of her car, which struck a street sign and tree and ended up flipped on its side. APME awards Member Showcase Photo honors each month for the best image shared by a newspaper with other AP photo users. The competition is judged by a panel of AP and member photo editors. The best of the monthly photos receives a Member Showcase Photo award at the APME annual conference in October.

ASK AP: AP ANSWERS YOUR QUESTIONS ON THE NEWS

Whatever happened to Paul Bremer, the former head of the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq? With the France jetliner and its passengers crashing in the Atlantic, how do life insurance companies handle claims when the body of the insured can't be found? What is the breakdown of the 47 million uninsured Americans? Those are just a few of the questions readers had for The Associated Press. AP editors provided answers in the latest installment of "Ask AP." See them at:
hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/ASK_AP?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=
2008-01-18-11-45-15. Have questions of your own? Send them to newsquestionsap.org.

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