TWN0113 - The Washington Newspaper January 2013

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TWN

THE WASHINGTON NEWSPAPER Vol. 98, No. 1 January 2013

Journal of the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association and Allied Daily Newspapers of Washington • www.wnpa.com

Community newspaper bucks the trend North County Outlook makes leap to weekly

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ore than five years ago, in late summer 2007, North County Outlook began publishing a bi-weekly community newspaper, serving the residents of Marysville, Arlington, Smokey Point, Lakewood and Tulalip in north Snohomish County. Beginning in January 2013, the tabloid will be published

Beckye Randall

Sue Stevenson

weekly on Wednesdays, a move that allows the company to better meet the needs of advertisers and readers. “We’re a little nervous, but very excited about taking this step,” said editor, co-owner and

co-publisher Beckye Randall. “Producing a paper every other week has been a bit confusing for our advertisers, and the one improvement our readers have asked for is to get the paper in their mailbox weekly,” said Randall. The Outlook is mailed directly to about 23,000 households and businesses in the Marysville to Arlington area. Beginning Jan. 9, the delivery date will be moved up from Thursdays to Wednesdays. To manage the increased production requirements, current part-time staffers will see

additional hours added to their work schedule. The city news reporter, who has been working on assignment outside the office, will now have regular office hours. “Going to a weekly schedule is the next logical step for us,” said Sue Stevenson, advertising sales manager, co-owner and co-publisher. “Our existing advertisers are very supportive of the decision, and we are confident a more standardized schedule will make it easier for new advertisers to recognize the value of our product.”

In addition to the weekly newspaper, North County Outlook Inc. publishes annually two editions of its magazine [360], one as a general interest community resource publication and another focused on health care services. In addition, the company publishes the official Strawberry Festival program each June and other supplements throughout the year. North County Outlook owners are Sue Stevenson, Anita Wuellner and Beckye Randall.

TAKING EXCELLENCE TO THE MAT

Emily Hanson/Shelton Mason County Journal

The judges highlighted Emily Hanson's success at conveying the strength of the victor as well as the determination of his opponent in this second-place winner in the Black and White Sports Photo category, Circulation Groups III and IV combined, in the 2012 Washington Better Newspaper Contest.

Summer journalism intern nominations due Feb. 8 Submit apps for local reporting, marketing interns

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NPA publishers who would like to host a journalism intern this summer through the 2013 WNPA Foundation Internship Scholarship program are urged to nominate their candidate by Feb. 8. Up to seven internships are available, including the newly established Wilson-Gay Internship Scholarship (see December 2012 TWN). Your nominee may be a high school student, college student,

or simply someone in your community who you would like to have as an intern at your newspaper this summer. The internship is a 240-hour commitment. Reporting internships must be served in the newsroom of a WNPA regular-member newspaper. In response to comments in exit essays from recent interns, at their September 2012 meeting the Foundation board adopted new requirements for host newspapers: • Keeping in mind that the internship has an educational

purpose, the host editor should preview assignments with the intern and carefully review stories after publication, especially in the opening weeks of the internship. • There should be at least one “job shadowing” opportunity for the intern, scheduled in the early days of the internship if possible. • Each week the editor should have a brief one-on-one meeting devoted to the intern’s professional development. In addition, the board will assign interns a contact person and provide that person’s contact information to the host newspaper’s editor. The board member will check in with the intern at

the mid-point of the internship, and both the intern and the editor will be free to contact the board member at other times. The board’s goal is to ensure that our scholarship students and their host newspapers obtain a solid benefit. Although these internships are most often awarded to reporters, publishers may nominate qualified marketing interns by providing a proposal of the student’s activities, supervision, and goals. The supervisor would assume responsibility for ensuring a solid benefit to the student by providing oversight comparable to the bulleted items listed above. To nominate an intern, by Feb. 8 please send the following

by hard copy or email to Mae Waldron at the WNPA office or mwaldron@wnpa.com: • Letter of nomination from the publisher, including the proposed duties for the intern and the name and title of the person who will supervise the intern • Essay (up to 300 words) from your nominee about their interest in a career in community journalism • Up to five examples of your nominee’s work, if available (pdf, url or hard copy) Winners will be announced by March 9. If you have questions, please call Scott Wilson at (360) 3852900 or Mae Waldron, (206) 634-3838 ext. 2.


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