This issue: Credibility

Tough words: Do people read into words like "terrorist?" A Star Tribune reader representative offers thoughts. Click here for a link.

Ethical stew: A new food magazine will take payment to mention food brands in its recipes. Click here for more.

Legal ads: A county attorney in Louisville bought an ad to list names of parents who are delinquent in child support. Click here for a link to coverage.

More tough words: Here are some common "labels" that might have connotations. Click here for a link to learn more.

Conference: What are the "embedded" readers? Click here to find out how you can learn from them.

ALSO: AP Cooperation: Members cited for recent assistance; also July Showcase Photo of the Month. Click here for more.

LABELING COMBATANTS GETS TRICKY
When to use the words "terrorist," "militant," "insurgent" and "suicide bomber" are tough calls for every newsroom. Kate Parry, reader representative for the Star Tribune in Minneapolis, says readers complain about stories that are inconsistent and not as fair as they should be when it comes to describing terrorism. She identifies some of the specific pitfalls in her Aug. 7 column. Find it with a click here.

KEEPING AN EYE ON MAGAZINES AND PRODUCT PLACEMENT
Adweek and AdAge recently reported that "Relish," the new food magazine Publishing Group of America plans to distribute in newspapers starting in Feburary, will accept paid product placements in editorial content. Web sites for the ad magazines recently reported that "Relish" will permit marketers to pay to have their brands mentioned in recipes. Publishing Group of America also publishes American Profile magazine, which is distributed in more than 1,200 newspapers. Product placements are already a hot topic in the magazine industry. Media Buyer Planner Web site reports that the American Society of Magazine Editors plans to issue new guidelines on product placements later this year.

COUNTY ATTORNEY TRACKS DELINQUENT PARENTS WITH ADVERTISING
You can guess what happened when the county attorney's office bought an ad in The Courier-Journal, Louisville, Ky., listing the top 1,000 people who were behind on child-support payments. Yes, indeed, that long string of gray type became the talk of the town. Pam Platt, the Courier-Journal's public editor, describes how the paper handled the ad and the reaction in a column headlined "Deadbeat parents list caused a stir among readers." Read it with a click here.

CONTEXT CAN HELP AVOID NEGATIVE LABELS
Do labels such as "gay," "Jew" or "Mexican" sometimes stop you short when you see them in print? Derek Donovan, reader representative of The Kansas City Star, recently wrote a column titled "Good words with objectionable connotations." Donovan argues that context is important whenever journalists describe people. Read his piece (you may need to register) by clicking here.

COME TO SAN JOSE AND HEAR FROM EMBEDDED READERS
The San Jose conference promises a packed program with speakers, idea exchanges and more. But one of the best discussons of credibility will come from the "embedded readers." A highlight of the Louisville conference was the panel of embedded readers — everyday folks from across the country who came, who observed us and who shared their thoughts. Some were regular newspaper readers. Some were reluctant newspaper readers. Come questioned media bias. One — a minister — pledged to invite journalists to "embed" with his denomination at one of their future conferences. The Next Big Thing is Oct. 26-29. Join the learning, the fun and the sight-seeing in California. Click here for registration information.

This week's installment was written by Bobbie Jo Buel of the Arizona Daily Star and vice chair of APME's Journalism Today committee.

COOPERATION KUDOS
Newspapers, broadcast stations and online operations are AP's eyes and ears when local news breaks. APME recognizes members who go the extra mile in helping the cooperative cover the news for the benefit of all AP members by awarding Instant Citations. These members will be cited for their recent help:

SHOWCASE PHOTO This is the July 2005 Member Showcase photo of the month, as judged by APME. Umpire Ken Bray, Juneau West catcher Kristian Petaja, and Petersburg's Tristan Pennington all blink as Pennington swings at the ball during the Little League District II 9-10 year-old All Star Championships in Petersburg, Alaska, July 12. Klas Stolpe of Petersburg (Alaska) Pilot was the photographer. Click here to view a larger version of the photo.

— KEYC-TV, Mankato, Minn., for giving AP first word of the death of a local soldier in Iraq. The station also provided a family photo of the victim.

— The Post-Tribune, Merrillville, and The Times of Munster, both in Indiana, for transmitting photos from a traffic accident in which a toddler was killed.

— Minnesota Public Radio, St. Paul, for making available to other electronic media CDs of AP's recording of a "print-only" briefing Aug. 11 about Northwest Airlines' contingency plans for a mechanics strike.

— The Elko (Nev.) Daily Free Press, which assisted AP in the coverage of a recent 18-car pileup on Interstate 80 near Elko that killed four people and an usual plane crash in downtown Elko that occurred at about the same time. The newspaper immediately shared stories and photos. KELK-AM radio in Elko also will be cited for its help on the same stories.

— KAGE, Winona, Minn., where News Director Darryl Smelser gave AP first word that a soldier from Winona had died after being injured in Baghdad.

— KNSI-AM/KCLD-FM, St. Cloud, Minn., where News Director Cory Kampschroer offered his interviews with the families of two students shot to death at Rocori High School, after a judge rejected the defendant's insanity defense. The interviews included news that the defense attorney had turned down a plea deal that would have sent the shooter to a mental facility instead of prison.

— The Gazette-Times, Corvallis, Ore., for sharing information on an arrest of a subject in the disappearance of Brooke Wilberger, a college student who has been missing for 14 months.

— The Deseret Morning News, Salt Lake City, for assistance covering the story of a group of Boy Scouts struck by lightning on a camping trip Aug 2.

— KBHB-AM, Sturgis, and KOTA-AM, Rapid City, both in South Dakota,  for help covering a major forest fire in the Black Hills.

Also, congragulations to Klas Stolpe of the Petersburg (Alaska) Pilot for contributing the July 2005 Member Showcase Photo of the Month. Stolpe's image showed the umpire, catcher and batter all blinking as Tristan Pennington takes a cut at the ball during the Little League District II 9-10 year-old All Star Championships in Petersburg.