Disclosure is important in politics. It’s also important in stories about politics that involve politically active people.

With that in mind, it’s time to set the record straight about Cape Elizabeth resident and frequent Democratic donor Robert C.S. Monks and his changing role in the Portland Press Herald. 

In an October story about top Maine political donors, I noted that Monks was a minority owner of the Portland Press Herald and MaineToday Media, which owns the Kennebec Journal and Waterville Sentinel. That was true — at the time. 

More recently, I noted in a Ticker post about about Monks’ wife Bonnie Porta that Monks is a former former investor, "but no longer involed with the paper." I repeated the disclosure in Monday’s story about campaign finance reports for gubernatorial candidates.

That’s not completely right.

I’ve since learned that Monks is definitely not an investor, but he does sit on the company’s advisory board. This is not the editorial board and it’s not involved in the daily operations of the paper. It’s a board that’s met once in over a year and advises the company’s owner, S. Donald Sussman, on business strategy.