PROMOTING PRESS FREEDOM SINCE 1868 APRIL, 2017 “Don’t be afraid to be controversial...you put yourself in a better position to be on the right side of history.” - Eileen Carey Engaging the Community in All Levels of Government The public policy team at MPA monitors government at many levels to make sure newspapers Bridge will provide 400 pieces of can do their jobs and keep their citizens informed. in-depth journalism per year at an An important part of that information includes the happenings under the Capitol Dome in incredibly reasonable cost per week. Lansing. The decisions made on the Senate and House floors in Lansing directly impact what Publishing Bridge Magazine content is going on in your community. not only informs your readers and deepens your print and online content The relationships of legislators and their hometown newspapers is a symbiotic one. offerings – it helps the Michigan Newspapers need to be able to let voters know what their legislators are up to and legislators Press Association grow and serve need their local newspapers to keep people informed of their legislative activities. membership. Bridge has won the Strong relationships back in the district lead to responsive legislators here in Lansing. There “Newspaper of the Year Award” in the are many state laws that impact newspapers. These include public/legal notice laws, open MPA Better Newspaper Contest for the government laws and tax laws. The public policy team has found that when a legislator past two years. views their local newspaper as a business contributing to the local economy they are more If you are interested in subscribing to responsive to helping with our issues. either or both of these services, go to In the last year, MPA has developed new partnerships that will help our members keep their michiganpress.org/subscription- local citizens informed about the happenings under the dome and strengthen relationships content/ on our website to find out with legislators. MPA members have access to content subscriptions from Bridge Magazine more. Or contact us at 517-372-2424. and MIRS News. Both of these news outlets our well known for their quality reporting. MIRS offers capitol news coverage to member newspapers of the MPA. The content will provide fresh capitol news stories from Lansing each week to participating papers. Content will vary depending on legislative, executive branch and judicial branch activity. Content Syndication Opportunity Welcome Explore content opportunities to inform your readers and deepen your print and enhance online offering. New Members • Bridge Magazine MPA would like to extend a warm welcome to our newest Affiliate Members: • Michigan Information & Research Services members. The new members were approved by the MPA The Michigan Interscholastic Press Association was founded board. Cartoonist John Auchter Editorials in 1921 and is a non-profit organization composed of • In the Individual News Media Membership Category: scholastic journalism advisers and student media advisers. Visit michiganpress.org or call Jim Tarrant at 517.372.2424 Jeremy Steele- Jeremy has long been a friend to MPA. He MIPA is committed to promoting excellence in scholastic for additional information and begin your syndication currently serves as the Executive Director of the Michigan journalism at all levels of education. They have been a today. Interscholastic Press Association and teaches at the MSU longtime friend to MPA and we’re excited to make our J-School. Jeremy has been a reporter at the Port Huron partnership official. Times Herald and the Lansing State Journal as well as Michigan Coalition for Open Government is an organization Auchtoon! working for Booth Newspapers. made up of different groups and individuals who strongly support government transparency. The coalition has Al Willman- Al is currently a freelancer doing most of his members from MPA, the ACLU, Mackinac Center and the work with the Detroit News. In 2015 he was an intern with MPA Foundation to name a few. the Leelanau Enterprise. Al was a 2013 MPA Foundation Scholar. Emeritus Members: Kathy Hoekstra- Kathy is the Regulatory Policy Reporter for Lonnie Peppler-Moyer- Lonnie recently retired from the Watchdog.org. She reports on government regulations- Monroe News. She has served on the MPA and MNI Boards how and why they’re made and their impact on citizens. and is currently on the MPA Foundation Board. Her work on the Watchdog site has been shared with some Janet Mendler- Janet recently retired from the MPA current Michigan newspapers including The Detroit News Foundation. She worked tirelessly over the years to promote and the Livingston Press and Argus. journalism in Michigan during her career. Violeta Ikonomova-Violeta is an investigative reporter. She currently does work for the Metro Times. PAGE 2 APRIL, 2017 Golfing for a Cause A note from MPA President Doug Caldwell Dear MPA Member, of MPA members. I know first hand — the past two summers I I have supervised an MPA Foundation Match Intern, and I am The beauty of one of Michigan’s premier golf resorts. The camaraderie of playing golf among excited to do it again this summer. your peers and friends. The competition of driving, chipping and putting for a good cause. I urge you to support the efforts of the Foundation. There are There are many of good reasons to take a drive to Gaylord’s Treetops Resort Thursday, May 18 two major fundraising efforts annually that help underwrite for the annual Michigan Press Association Foundation Golf Tournament. the scholarships, matching funds, contests and training they There will be an 11 a.m. shotgun start at Treetops’ Fazio Premier course, designed by famed provide. architect Tom Fazio, who was once asked which was his favorite hole. His reply, according • The Annual Golf Benefit-Held this year at Treetops Resort to Treetops: “All of them!” The course takes advantage of the rolling terrain and beautiful on May 18th. overlooks of the Sturgeon River Valley. The time of year will be perfect, as mid-May is the gateway to the glorious end of spring and summer Up North. • The Gala/Auction held at the MPA Annual Convention. The event will feature an 18-hole golf scramble, “beat the pro” and putting contests, skins According to Dirk Milliman, the MPA Foundation Golf Chair, since the Foundation began in game, mulligans, giveaways, prizes, lunch and dinner. 1980, it has awarded more than 260 scholarships to students from Michigan who are studying the ever-evolving art of community journalism at Michigan colleges and universities. As you know, it’s not just about the golf. The Foundation is an important part of our organization. Through their efforts, scholarships have been provided to journalism students The association is looking at other ideas for fundraising for the Foundation and we look at Michigan colleges and universities, awards have been given to the Journalist of the forward to your support of those efforts in the future. Year in Michigan for the last three years and various training sessions at MPA events have If you would like to find out how you can be involved with MPAF please contact Brittiany at been sponsored. Last year the Foundation assumed the responsibility for judging and MPA via email [email protected] presentation of the Wade H. McCree Awards for the Advancement of Justice at the Annual Michigan Journalism Hall of Fame event. Deadline for golf registration is May 12. Don’t miss the Early Birdie golf registration discount which ends May 1. Register now at www.michiganpress.org. Members of MPA may wonder why the Foundation is important to them. The answer is multi- faceted. The awards programs the Foundation oversees and executes raise awareness of the importance of good journalism in Michigan (which helps all newspapers). The scholarships provided over the years have helped educate numerous future journalists that enhance the See you there! quality of reporting for our members across the state. Another often overlooked program handled by the Foundation provides matching funds for summer internships in the newsrooms Presenting Awards MPA Executive Director, Jim Tarrant with MPA Foundation President, Rich Perlberg congratulate recipient George Hunter of the Detroit News with the Wade H. McCree Jr. Award for the Advancement of Justice at the Michigan Journalism Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. HE N T WO I R E L R D E H I S W April 1967 Michigan Publisher - Newsboy NT RA AR #TBT JIM T www.MICHIGANPRESS.org PAGE 3 APRIL, 2017 What’s happening in White House Visitor Logs Won’t Be Public WASHINGTON? From MLive White House communications director Michael Dubke tells Time that the decision to not disclose visitors to the public was due to the national security and number of visitors each year. Three White House officials, who asked for anonymity, told Time that this shift in policy will allow President Trump to “seek advice from whomever he wants with some discretion.” Obama’s administration released more than 5.99 million records in six years, which are still available on the White House’s archives. With this number, the Obama administration did fight for the right to redact or withhold some visitor log records. A three-judge U.S. Court of Appeals panel agreed with the administration, and ruled in August 2013 that the White House can keep its visitor logs private. The Obama administration did take advantage of this ruling, as The Hill points to a 2015 concert at the White House with Prince and Stevie Wonder in which the guest list was not included in the visitor log. The Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington said it has sued the Trump administration for the release of the White House’s visitor logs.