About Belleville News Democrat
P.O. Box 427
Belleville, IL 62222
618-234-1000
BND
Vision: The Belleville News-Democrat, known as the BND, is strongly committed to its responsibility as southwestern Illinois’ most trustworthy information source, through our website, newspaper and other products. Our mission is to provide independent, essential local journalism that serves the public.
Founded: 1858. In 1883, the Weekly Democrat merged with the Belleville News to become the Belleville News-Democrat. Since its founding, the newspaper has had a succession of owners. It was a family-owned newspaper from 1891 to 1972, until its purchase by Capital Cities/ABC, Inc. Knight Ridder acquired the newspaper in 1997. McClatchy acquired the newspaper in 2006 with its purchase of Knight Ridder.
Distinction: The leading news website and newspaper in southwestern Illinois. The BND is known for its accountability and enterprise journalism, as well as its breaking news coverage. Over the years, the staff has been recognized by its peers, winning numerous Illinois Press Association and ILAPME awards for journalism excellence, as well national awards such as the George Polk Award in Journalism, Investigative Reporter & Editor Awards, National Headliner Awards, Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award, McClatchy President’s Awards and others.
Key Executives
Jeffry Couch, General Manager and Editor 618-239-2551, jcouch@bnd.com
Todd Eschman, Senior Editor, 618-239-2540, teschman@bnd.com
Market: The second-largest metropolitan area in Illinois, the metro-east is a bustling, fast growing, diverse region just outside St. Louis, Mo. The BND is the leading news website and daily newspaper in southwestern Illinois.
Coverage Area: The Belleville News-Democrat covers the metro-east area of the St. Louis metropolitan area, serving most of southwestern Illinois. It’s primary coverage area is St. Clair and Madison counties, but it has a broad reach across eight counties and beyond.
Site: The BND is headquartered in downtown Belleville. Its Belleville Weekly Group consists of three weekly publications, also headquartered downtown.
Website:www.bnd.com
McClatchy News Ethics Policy
These ethical guidelines for McClatchy newsrooms outline the values and standards that guide our journalism. No policy can address every conflict that may arise in our day-to-day work. It’s the responsibility of each McClatchy journalist to use good judgment and confer with news managers if the answer to an ethical question is not completely clear.
This story was originally published April 9, 2015 at 1:12 PM.