Votes are in -- mock election results coming next week
Time is ticking away. 

The votes are being tallied. And high school seniors in Pennsylvania are ready to make their statement about the presidential race. 

Don't miss out on your newspaper's chance to let your young voices speak. The Pennsylvania Society of Newspaper Editors and Pennsylvania Newspaper Association are ready to wrap up our statewide mock election. 

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Statewide candidates meeting
Within the past three weeks a number of PNA staff and members conducted a series of informative meetings with five of the six candidates for statewide row offices – Joe Peters and Sen. Jack Wagner, the Republican and Democrat, respectively, who are running for auditor general, Bob Casey, Jr. and Jean Craige Pepper, the candidates for state treasurer, as well as Tom Corbett, Republican candidate for attorney general. Jim Eisenhower, the Democratic candidate for attorney general, has not scheduled a meeting with the Association.

PNA President Tim Williams, VP Corinna Wilson, Esq., and Gov. Affairs Director Deborah Griffiths met with the five candidates individually, with participation in several interviews by Tom Barstow, of the Central Penn Business Journal and Jim Deegan, of the The (Easton) Express-Times. 

The discussion with the candidates focused on PNA concerns regarding transparency of government generally and access to government records and meeting specifically. The cordial and informal discussions established the existence of common values that the press shares with law enforcement officials and state fiscal watchdogs, and should provide a basis for future interactions with the ultimate winners of each race. PNA participants were gratified by the level of interest and knowledge that each candidate brought to the discussion, and agreed that the time and effort devoted to the project were well spent. 

Front page gallery: Next up, Wed., Nov. 10
Following the success of PNA's online front page gallery for the recent flooding, PNA will again be collecting front pages for Nov. 10 as election results are reported. Alert your staff today to plan on sending a front page PDF to mikes@pa-news.org, after the paper goes to bed on election night, and PNA will begin posting images on Nov. 10.

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Pennsylvania endorsement round-up
During the next weeks as the election approaches, the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association will be collecting and publishing editorials endorsing presidential candidates.

A web page will list the newspapers endorsing each candidate and will include links to the editorials.

To ensure that the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association includes your editorial, send it to mikes@pa-news.org with the subject "Endorsement."

See what papers have already published endorsements.

Banko leaves Scranton for managing editor job in Altoona
Pete Banko joined the Altoona Mirror Oct. 11 as the paper's new managing editor, replacing Ray Eckenrode, who was promoted to general manager earlier this year.

Banko comes to the Mirror from Scranton, where he held the position of senior city editor. In that position, he managed five assistant city editors and 24 reporters for the newspaper, which publishes two daily editions.

Philadelphia City Paper names editor as Weekly reporter joins City Paper.
Duane Swierczynski has been named editor of the Philadelphia City Paper, a position which has been vacant since May. He starts full-time on Nov. 1.

Mike Newall, formerly of Philadelphia Weekly, began this week as a reporter for Philadelphia City Paper.

Saturday's Liver Walk dedicated to George Reynolds 
The Delaware Valley chapter of the American Liver Foundation will hold its fourth annual Liver Walk from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday on Kelly Drive. There will be a 5-mile run on Sunday. Both events are dedicated to the memory of former Philadelphia Daily News photographer George Reynolds, who died on June 9 from liver cancer. Reynolds, considered among the nation's best sports photographers, spent 23 years capturing the highs and lows of Philadelphia's sports teams for the Daily News.

Have you submitted your directory form?
The deadline has come and gone to return membership update forms for the 2005 Pennsylvania Newspaper Directory. For those of you who have not sent them back, we need you to do so immediately. If we do not receive your directory form we will assume that all the information is correct and it will be printed in the new 2005 Directory. 

PNA needs these forms to calculate members' dues for the next year. If this information is not provided, PNA will assess your dues increase -- up to 5 percent. If you need us to fax or mail you a copy of your directory form, contact Luann Smith at 717-703-3075 or email luanns@pa-news.org. Thanks for all your assistance!

Are you ready for a sunny getaway? Purchase your raffle tickets today!
The Foundation is offering the chance to pre-order raffle tickets and a chance to pre-bid on action items. If you can not attend the auction, this is great way to offer your support to the foundation. You will have a 1-in-20 chance to win 5 terrific prizes, including hotel accommodations to the Winter Management meeting in St. Martin. If you bid now, you can get a leg up on the other bidders and help support the efforts of the Foundation at the same time. Please click on the auction link for more details.

For more information on the PNA Foundation Auction, visit our web site.

Use natural curiosity to find the story and tell it completely
In a new online exclusive Coaching Box column, Stasiowski shows how his curiosity helped him glean information from a friend in a conversion. Staz throws out the formulas, forms and lists used to write a story, instead, he explains why a reporter needs to be a good storyteller. 

[CLICK FOR THE NEW STAZ WRITING COLUMN].

Tell me how you really feel
Check out the general discussion bulletin board on the Testy Copy Editors Web site. Members discuss coverage of major news events, sometimes comparing headlines and front pages. Other times they debate proper usage, editorializing content, and coverage of polls. Regardless of the topic or subject of skewering, the board provides a critique of newspaper journalism, and most of the time -- a good laugh or two.

Tax benefit lifts Knight Ridder earnings results.
Knight Ridder Inc., the second-largest newspaper publisher in the country, reported an 11 percent increase in third quarter earnings Thursday due mainly to a one-time tax gain. 

The San Jose, Calif.-based publisher, whose newspapers include The Miami Herald and The Philadelphia Inquirer, earned $76.9 million in the three months ending Sept. 26, up from $69.1 million in the comparable period a year ago. 

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