SC Hotline
Tom Mashberg edited Renee Dudley's work when she was at the Boston Herald, and says the young reporter "stepped in cold and immediately broke big stories for me." He adds that "the aim of Dudley’s reporting, then and again now in the matter of [South Carolina] Gov. Nikki Haley [expensing $127,000 for a weeklong trip to Europe], is to track and examine the expenditure of taxpayer money, and to force those government officials who spend it to justify the how and why." Haley reacted to Dudley's Charleston Post & Courier story by calling her "that little girl" trying to "create conflict." Mashberg says his ex-colleague was "engaging in the most basic and important reporting task journalists have: to follow the money, and to see whether an official’s spending claims stand up to reality." He adds:

It is perhaps to be expected that Gov. Haley, no doubt shamed and embarrassed by her poor handling of the matter, would resort to dismissive and insulting remarks. From my vantage point, it is clear that the 25-year-old reporter is showing far more maturity and professionalism than the person running your state.

"I decline comment," Dudley emailed after I asked her reaction to Haley's remarks. On Friday the governor said she regretted the "little girl" comment.

Politico | Reuters
Washington Post Co. CEO Don Graham told shareholders Friday that the paper's execs “put the Post back on its feet,” but “I’m obviously disappointed about the price of our stock, relative to the place it’s been in the past.” (It's fallen 37 percent so far this year.) He said of the once high-flying Kaplan division: “The company and I remain strongly committed to the business.” At today's meeting, Graham repeated what he told Reuters on Thursday when asked about the possibility of selling the company's flagship newspaper: “No. That’s spelled N-O.”
> Earlier: WP publisher sees new media as "them," not "us"

Capitolbeat
Capitolbeat -- the association of Capitol reporters and editors -- hopes partnering with an academic institution will "give us long-term organizational stability and allow [the Capitolbeat] board to focus more of our energy on programs." The organization tells potential partners that its greatest challenge "is establishing an income stream to support ongoing operations. Membership dues have never fully sustained the organization and we are hesitant to raise them given the state of the news industry." It asks interested parties to "specify what fundraising resources you could put to work on behalf of Capitolbeat." (more...)

Romenesko+ Misc.
A Romenesko reader points out that The National has been taking other news outlets' stories and giving top credit to "The National Staff." At the end of the story, editors add "* with Reuters," "* with Bloomberg News," or whatever news outlet was plagiarized. "The National's Business staff added nothing at all to those pieces ... they are totally copied and pasted from those wires," says an email pointing out The National's ways. "This is unethical, shady, sloppy and simply ridiculous. But the practice is daily routine in that section." The National's Business Desk hasn't responded to my email requesting comment .

* Bloomberg News' review of Kevin Mitnick's book | The National's version

* Reuters' story on Gtrot.com | The National's pick-up

The email about The National's practices is after the jump. (more...)

Associated Press | Romenesko+ Memos
Lee Enterprises, publisher of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and other papers, says it's reached a deal with most of its lenders to give the company more time to pay back its debt. Uncertainty about whether Lee would be able to repay about $1 billion in debt due in April had raised fears that the chain might have to seek bankruptcy protection, reports the AP. Lee says in a letter posted below that it has an agreement to refinance $864.5 million of its debt, under which it would pay steep interest rates to extend the repayment dates to 2015 and 2017. (more...)

Grand Forks Herald | Bismarck Tribune | Bismarck Tribune
John Irby, who is retiring today as Bismarck (N.D.) Tribune editor, told his paper in late August that "I fairly enjoyed it, overall." The 61-year-old newsman was more open about his departure in a column published days later: "I am retiring because I am tired of being the whipping boy, by one and all. My skin has thinned. Life is too short to put up with all the noise." He says he’s not opposed to online comments, but he wants controls to encourage civil discourse. “There’s less tolerance for alternative points of view and that’s what journalism has always been about — about presenting as many different voices as possible. It’s increasingly hard to do that in journalism without getting attacked.” He writes in his farewell column:

Over the years, I have developed a thick skin and defended the First Amendment and freedom of speech. The only censorship I have personally practiced with readers has been libelous statements. As editor, I have supported - and agreed with - other institutional concerns as established by greater employer powers that be. ...

There are no absolute First Amendment or freedom of speech protections for people making online comments. But I will never be able to convince those who disagree, so how about trying to digest this: The old days have passed. Editors are not in charge of, or responsible for, everything.

Bay Citizen
Jonathan Weber, who has been editor-in-chief at The Bay Citizen since its May 2010 launch, says details of his new venture will be announced soon. [UPDATE: He's joining Reuters as West Coast bureau chief.] Managing editor Steve Fainaru will take over as interim editor-in-chief. In his farewell note, Weber cites The Bay Citizen's accomplishments as "breaking a lot of news, crafting a great Bay Area section for the New York Times, developing new modes of multimedia reporting, building a partner network, and generally establishing ourselves as strong journalistic force in the region." || SF Weekly: "When asked if the organization he will now work for is well-known, Weber replied in the affirmative."
> January 2010: Weber leaves New West to join new Bay Area News Project
> March 2010: Bay Area News Project aims to be "agenda-setter for news in the region"

Cleveland Plain Dealer
Plain Dealer columnist Connie Schultz wrote Wednesday about "politely crashing" a Tea Party Express event held near her home last Saturday. One of the 450 or so in attendance was Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel, but Schultz failed to mention that.

"In retrospect, that was a mistake," she writes today. Mandel been named as the likely 2012 Republican opponent of Schultz's husband, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown.

"He frequently attacks my husband in public interviews and speeches, and the Tea Party event was no exception. I did not mention him because I wanted to avoid the appearance of singling him out for criticism, or promoting my husband."

This is my debut column for the Plain Dealer's Metro section. Not what I had planned. But it's the only way to proceed if I am to ask for your trust.

My error in judgment also caused unnecessary anguish for editors who trust me, and champion my work. I feel just sick about that.

> Blogger takes credit for "exposing her shenanigans" at the event
> From 2005 (summary only): Plain Dealer in tough spot as columnist's hubby runs for office

St. Petersburg Times
Employees at the Poynter-owned paper will be given five additional days off, with pay, during the five-month period, reports Eric Deggans. The Times will save about $1 million in payroll costs with the move. CEO Paul Tash says there's likely to be additional job cuts, and "with that in mind, the company is changing its severance policy, from the current maximum of 40 weeks’ pay to a new cap of 26 weeks – the equivalent of six months – starting October 1." A 5 percent pay cut was also implemented in the fall of 2009. || On Wednesday, the Philadelphia Daily News offered buyouts [PDF] to Guild employees.
> St. Pete Times managing editor/presentation leaves the paper -- again

The Awl
A Gawker Media employee tells Choire Sicha that Nick Denton's pep talk at the Crosby Hotel Wednesday night "amounted to showing a chart of upward linear growth and telling us it wasn't good enough." The staffer adds: "But what do you expect from Nick -- is he going to go around and rub everybody's shoulders?" Sicha -- a former Gawker employee -- writes:

Nick was asked if he would do the infamous redesign differently if he could do it over again. "No," he said—saying that, what's the point in having an independent company if you can't do things that are radical and make screw-ups? (While the company's competitors are, he said, hide-bound and risk-averse. That is true.)

More meeting highlights:
* "When will I get a raise?" someone asked Denton. His response: "You'll get a raise when you're promoted."
* Denton announced the company was absolutely not for sale.
* Denton didn't relent to a top editor's insistence that Gawker Media was an editorial property, and not tech company.
* There's been a hiring spree of late, because each Gawker Media site is expected to grow "quite incredibly" over the next year.
> From a 2003 Poynter post: Nick Denton's blog empire slowly builds