The Reporter newspaper, Camdenton Missouri

The Reporter covers Miller, Morgan and Camden County in Central Missouri's Lake of the Ozarks and is published once per week on Wednesdays.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. How long has The Reporter been in business?

A. We are currently in our 32nd year of serving the Lake of the Ozarks.

Q. Are you owned by any of the other lake area newspapers?

A. No. We are independently and locally owned.

Q. Who is Jack Krier?

A. Jack has been a contributor to this newspaper almost from the beginning of its existence. He has been in the newspaper business for many, many years. He was co-owner of a number of newspapers in Kansas and Missouri. He does not own any part of The Reporter. Jack passed away in the fall of 2017 but because of his popularity we are running old columns for the reader's enjoyment.

Q. Who is Frank Mercer?

A. Frank is Jack Krier's business partner and has also been a friend of The Reporter for several decades. He took over the running of Jack's business when Jack died.

Q. Who owns The Reporter?

A. The Reporter and (now defunct Ozark Freebee) are owned by Reporter Publishing LLC, a company that is locally and solely owned by Publisher Dale Johnson.

Q. Is your newspaper Democrat or Republican?

A. Believe it or not that very question is asked by many people including the Missouri Press Association (which we are a member of). Our answer is neither. Though there is a conservative slant in our editorials and in certain columns, we are not a Republican or Democrat paper. We make a concerted effort to give unbiased and fair reporting on news around the lake area.

With that said, we were forced by the State of Missouri (through the Missouri Press Association) to choose Republican or Democrat. The reason is the state will run legal notices in newspapers throughout the state but they changed their policies and stated they will not publish any legal notices in an "independent" newspaper - they have to be either Republican or Democrat. So being forced to choose one in order to publish their legal notices, we chose Republican.

But we will (and have) criticized both parties and will continue to do so.

Q. You frequently have a column by U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyerm . Are you fans/supporters of him?

A. He sends us columns on a consistent basis and sometimes he has some good information we share with those interested in Washington or Missouri affairs. Many times his column go in because it fits available space. Many times we delete his columns because they will be written for the sole purpose of promoting the politician. In other words, "look what I'm doing, vote for me." If they want to do that they can buy an ad.

Q. I don’t like the opinions on the Opinion page, will you change them?

A. No. The Opinion page is just that – an opinion. All editorial pages in all newspapers are simple one person’s opinion. The writers of those opinions are, in many cases, no more qualified than the average person. Experience or employment situations (elected officials for instance) may be to an advantage in their opinions and maybe not. Those with opposing viewpoints are welcome to write a letter to the editor. Letters can be sent by regular mail or by email and require a name and telephone number for verification. Not all letters sent to us will be printed. Slanderous and defamatory letters will be rejected and letters may be edited for length, if necessary. The other alternative if you don't like the opinions on the Opinion Page is to not read that one page of the paper.

Q. Your website doesn’t have a place to leave comments, why not?

A. We’ve noticed that the newspapers that allow anonymous comments end up with a large number of those commentators cutting people down, accusing people or simply arguing and “go off” on an individual. Constructive criticism in online comments is few and far between. It gives someone a forum to say anything they want anonymously with no recriminations. In the end, the newspaper is responsible for those comments left online. The Reporter will not be offering online comments. Opposing viewpoints can be expressed in a letter to the editor (see above question for more information on sending a letter to the editor).

Q. Do you place your entire newspaper online?

A. No. The bottom line is this is a business and we attempt to make a profit so if we place our entire newspaper online for free then there is no reason for people to subscribe to it or to buy it. Some of the things we don’t include online are: The Town Crier, History’s Corner, Positively Beautiful, The Bible Says, Outdoors, Farm & Garden, Business, Savvy Senior among others. All of this can be found in the print edition which you can subscribe to.

Q. Can I send you an editorial?

A. No. However, if you wish to state an opinion you can send a letter to the editor. Editorials are printed only from certain individuals.

Q. Can I buy you out so that I can own the newspaper?

A. The Reporter is not currently on the market for purchase, but if someone were to give us a very large bag of money (and we mean LARGE bag) then yes, they could own it.