Study: City newsrooms lack diversity; Philadelphia examined
Newsroom diversity at most daily newspapers in the United States this year is below its peak levels of recent years, according to a June report from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

The report, which studied newspaper employment at 1,410 dailies from 1990 through 2004, found that journalism jobs held by “non-whites” has dropped from its high-water mark of over 18 percent in 2004 in most newsrooms, large and small.

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Judge to review reporters' material in intelligent-design case
A federal judge July 14 asked to review notes and other source material of two freelance newspaper reporters subpoenaed in a lawsuit over a school district's inclusion of "intelligent design'' in the ninth-grade biology curriculum.

Attorneys for the Dover Area School District board want the reporters to give sworn testimony in connection with the lawsuit. They also want to examine the reporters' records from two June 2004 meetings in which board members discussed "intelligent design,'' which holds that the universe is so complex, it must have been created by some kind of guiding force.

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Philadelphia Tribune receives awards at NNPA convention; Philadelphia New Observer also places
At the NNPA convention, The Philadelphia Tribune was nominated 11 times and won first place in three categories in the NNPA Merit Awards, including Best Special Edition, Best Circulation Promotion and Best Youth Section. The Philadelphia Tribune also received an A. Philip Randolph Messenger Award for Best Education News Story.

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Paxton Herald's Kimmel dies at 82
Robert I. Kimmel, 82, general manager for the Harrisburg Paxton Herald, passed away Wednesday, July 20, 2005 at Hershey Medical Center.

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Journal Publications names Kluger president and shareholder
Journal Publications Inc. of Harrisburg, which publishes the Central Penn Business Journal, Central Penn Parent, NJBiz and other publications, named Lawrence M. Kluger president and shareholder, with responsibility for operations in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Previously, he was executive vice president and shareholder.

In addition, Peter Burke was named president of JPI's Best Companies Group. Kelly Nagurny was named an event coordinator. David A. Schankweiler will retain the title of CEO and publisher.

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'Skip' Henry retires from News Gleaner
Coulston S. (Skip) Henry, the fourth generation of his family to serve as publisher of the News Gleaner community newspapers, is retiring. His 40-plus year career in newspapers included everything from delivery boy to president of the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association. He had been serving as associate publisher of the paper since Oct. 1, when Journal Register Company, which purchased the business in March 2002 , named his son, Christopher A. Henry, publisher.

From News Gleaner community newspapers, June 22

Miller named Observer-Reporter advertising director
Matt Miller, an eight-year employee of Observer Publishing Co., has been named advertising director for the Washington, Pa. Observer-Reporter.

In his new position, Miller is responsible for a staff of 32, which includes inside and outside sales representatives, managers and support staff who work for the Observer-Reporter in Washington and Waynesburg, as well as The Almanac, a weekly newspaper in McMurray covering Pittsburgh's South Hills region.

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Centre Daily Times appoints Leath as new advertising director
After a nationwide search, the Centre Daily Times has named Susan D. Leath as advertising director.

She joined the company on July 5 and succeeds Jim Grahn, who left the paper in April.

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Former Post-Gazette editor hired at Pitt
Madelyn Ross, former managing editor of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and The Pittsburgh Press, has been named associate vice chancellor for national media relations at the University of Pittsburgh.

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Vinelli promoted to sports editor at Bradford Era; Kloss resigned
Long-time Bradford Era sports writer Joe Vinelli has been named sports editor.

Vinelli's appointment, which was effective Friday, July 1, was announced by Era Managing Editor Marty Wilder. Vinelli, 40, succeeds Ron Kloss who recently stepped down because of health problems.

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New Junk Fax Law Takes Effect
The Junk Fax Prevention Act of 2005 (the "Junk Fax Act") was signed into law on July 9, 2005, and is effective immediately.

The law confirms that unsolicited advertising faxes are illegal, but creates an exception for faxes sent to recipients with whom the sender has an "established business relationship." It also requires senders to notify recipients of a method to "opt out" of future faxes.

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Notes from the Capitol
Although an almost-tropical calm has descended over the Capitol since passage of the state budget on July 7, this is also the time when the various state agencies start ramping up their plans for the new fiscal year. We anticipate the PA Revenue Department to roll out some enforcement of the interpretation that Xerox copies of public records are subject to the 6% sales tax, just like an order at Kinko's.

PNA is working with groups representing other regular users of public records, such as attorneys, bankers and engineers, underscoring the many logistical and policy objections to this initiative, and of course we'll keep you apprised of these lobbying efforts. Read on for recent coverage of this issue.

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Classified Advertising Contest
Deadline: Aug. 12, 2005
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Contact Tracy Metz at 717-703-3003 or tracym@pa-news.org with any questions.

From the Hotline: 
Can a newspaper accept an employment or housing ad seeking "students"?

PNA's General Counsel Teri Henning discusses the legal ramifications of an ad that specifically requests students.

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Use this link to visit the Headlines & Deadlines page which groups and archives Teri Henning's weekly 'From the Hotline' columns. 

[HOTLINE ARCHIVE]

SND Ad Design Quick Course (hosted by PNA)
Aug. 15, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m., Hilton Garden Inn, Canonsburg, Pa., Cost: $95
High quality advertising content and design not only drives readership for the newspaper, it drives response for the advertisers. This one day workshop will reinforce the value of advertising as a provider of crucial content for our readers. Presented by the Society for News Design. This seminar is open to ad designers, classified designers, ad salespeople and ad managers.

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Keep your skills fresh with other seminars and workshops brought to you by the Pennsylvania Press Institute:

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Senate panel implored to advance reporter's shield bill
The legal rules for how journalists can uphold promises to confidential sources -- an issue that has splintered the federal courts for decades and sent New York Times reporter Judith Miller to jail -- must be clarified by Congress, a six-member panel of journalists and media lawyers told a Senate committee Wednesday, July 20 in support of a proposed shield law.

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Feds: Media Shield Bill Bad Public Policy
The fight against terrorism would be undermined by a law to protect reporters from going to jail when they refuse to reveal their sources, the Bush administration said Wednesday, July 20.

Democrats, meanwhile, continued to pelt the White House over presidential adviser Karl Rove's role in the leak of an undercover CIA officer's identity. The Senate legislation has gained attention with the recent jailing of a New York Times reporter who declined to testify in the federal investigation into the leak.

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Cooper Testifies as Justice Dept. Criticizes Media Shield Bill
Under fire for presidential adviser Karl Rove's role in the leak of an undercover CIA agent's identity, the Bush administration on Wednesday, July 20 labeled as "bad public policy" legislation to protect reporters from being jailed when they refuse to reveal their sources.

Deputy Attorney General James Comey canceled his appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee just before a hearing on this issue was to commence the morning of July 20. In prepared remarks already submitted to the panel, Comey said the measure would "create serious impediments" to the Justice Department's ability "to effectively enforce the law and fight terrorism."

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ABC Meeting Produces Key New Procedures
The Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) announced on July 19 actions taken by its board at its just-concluded July 13-16 meeting. The board also announced that the Bureau's fiscal 2006 budget does not include a rate increase.

The board voted to reintroduce the “green stamp” model for purposes of placing a valuation on bartered items. The board also approved a new day-of-week report format for Publisher's Statements, FAS-FAX and Audit Reports.

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ABC circulation rule change affects 80 publications; subscriptions from two widely used companies no longer count as paid circulation
Two third-party agents' subscriptions are no longer allowed to count as paid circulation. The ABC determined that EBSCO Consumer Magazine Services had not kept proper records and InFlight Newspapers and Magazines had not paid publishers for subscriptions.

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Flint Ink to Merge with Xsys
Flint Ink Corp., the largest privately owned ink maker, headquartered in Ann Arbor, Mich., announced July 20 that it agreed to merge with Xsys Print Solutions, Stuttgart, Germany.

The merged company is to be headquartered in Luxembourg.

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AP Board Approves New Licensing Policy, 2.2% Fee Hike
The board of directors of The Associated Press approved a new licensing policy July 21 governing online use of AP content by its member news organizations, but will not charge a separate fee for such use.

The board of the news cooperative chose to roll fees for online usage into a 2.2 percent annual increase in the overall fees it will charge its members in 2006.

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Judge dismisses Navy SEALs lawsuit against The Associated Press
A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed against The Associated Press and one of its reporters that alleged the news organization violated privacy and copyright laws by publishing photos of Navy SEALs posing with Iraqi prisoners.

The lawsuit was filed after the AP distributed photographs that reporter Seth Hettena found posted on a commercial photo-sharing Web site, Smugmug.com, by the wife of one of the SEALs.

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