Dear Reader

If you have ideas about how to improve the Missourian, consider joining the new Readers Board. It will meet four times in the spring.

As important as MU is to Columbia, its funding from the state is decreasing. It is time for the Missourian to step up its coverage to help the entire community understand this complex situation.

Columbia Missourian is beginning the merger between MyMissourian.com and ColumbiaMissourian.com, of which the family obituaries are the first of "from readers" content to make the switch to Missourian proper.

Complain about online comments all you want, but they can lead to richer reporting and better community conversation.

Websites and blogs about grammar and language make the world of editing a collegial enterprise.

The Missourian’s most-read list is based on use, not opinion, that is by the number of readers who clicked on the online version of the articles at ColumbiaMissourian.com.

The story of a village flooded by the levee breach at Birds Point captures the human condition in so many ways. Ultimately, it's a story of perseverance and hope.

Four MU students — Kip Hill, Laura Kebede, Will Guldin and Charles Minshew — were selected as winners of Dow Jones News Fund Editing Internships last week.

The "Free to Tweet" contest, sponsored by 1 for All, encourages students to celebrate free expression. The contest helps promote the First Amendment and the free flow of ideas.

Vox 5 gives users a sampling of various things going on in Columbia each weekend. The Missourian has also gone mobile, with a new site that makes reading on your smartphone easier.

The results from Saturday's comment moderation questionnaire are in. Many responders think the comments section is overwhelmingly negative, and that discourages them from participating. 

Take a few minutes to let us know what kind of conversation meets your personal standards.

First-time commenters will have posts reviewed by Missourian staff to help reduce spam on the website.

Instead of rewarding the participant with the most errors found, all participants' names will be entered in a drawing, one chance per correction. Part of the prize is changing, too.

Asking the right questions helped the Missourian manage journalistic ethics in handling a story about the family of the Missourian's director of photography.

Missourian reporters and photographers fanned out for a weekend to capture Columbia's football culture. The best part about the effort? It worked.

Commenters have raised several criticisms lately about the Missourian's comment policy. Here is a responses to some of their points.

Chris Carmody knocks the reigning winner of the Missourian's Show Me the Errors contest off his copy-editing throne.

The use of colloquialisms depends on context. Sometimes, informal words are necessary to remain true to the essence of the story.

Citizens have a right to publicly scrutinize government business, so officials should expect to be open about what they do.