The governor has to follow the law, too

This article is free to use and publish in your publication.  Randy Evans, executive director Iowa Freedom of Information Council When the Iowa Legislature wrote the state’s public records law 50 years ago, lawmakers wanted to guarantee that anyone could obtain copies of state and local government records that are not designated by statute to…

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Don’t let fatigue and friction keep you from covering the pandemic

Al CrossPresident, The Society of Professional Journalists Just as some people are tiring of taking precautions against the novel coronavirus, helping it spread, I’m sure some newsrooms are tiring of covering it. And that helps it spread, too, by making it seem less of a threat, and discouraging precautions. And I fear that some newsrooms…

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Why we participate in contest – Zack Kucharski, Cedar Rapids Gazette

Few of us get into journalism to win awards. Many more of us seek to learn every day, introduce and highlight interesting people and the work done in our towns or better the places we live through connecting people economically. So why participate in the INF Better Newspaper Contest? The awards program helps us do…

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Why we participate in contest – Amy Gilligan

As journalists we don’t often take time to savor our work. There’s always another story to write, another deadline to hit, another product to get out the door. Preparing entries for the INA contest each fall provides an opportunity to take a moment to look over the body of work we have done in a…

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Convention Corner: Resources available for your last-minute questions!

We’re getting down to the wire. The deadline to submit entries for the Better Newspaper Contests is Friday, October 16. All entries must be submitted and uploaded to the betternewspapercontest.com website by 4:30 p.m.; hard-copy examples must be postmarked on or before October 16. In past years, many entries were submitted in the 1-2 hours…

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