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THE WASHINGTON NEWSPAPER Vol. 99, No. 1 January 2014
Journal of the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association and Allied Daily Newspapers of Washington • www.wnpa.com
Interns gear up for session Students work with mentors from WNPA
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he three University of Washington journalism students selected as 2014 WNPA Legislative Reporting Interns have been meeting with mentors in Olympia in preparation for covering the upcoming legislative session for WNPAmember newspapers. The interns, all seniors at UW and funded by the WNPA Foundation, are Rebecca Gourley, Chris Lopaze and Elliot Suhr.
Rebecca Chris Elliott Gourley Lopaze Suhr Gourley started her reporting career at the Goldendale Sentinel, the weekly newspaper in her hometown. She worked there for two years while earning an associate of arts degree at Yakima Valley Community College, then took a year off
college and continued to work for the Sentinel before starting at the UW in 2012. Her long-term goal is to be a photojournalist for National
Geographic. Lopaze covered student government for the UW Daily this past fall, and he also has experience writing for City Living, Seattle, and the Bellevue Reporter. One of his long-term goals is to cover important
issues relating to health or government. He is originally from Yakima. Suhr interned at the Seattle P-I for a year as a photographer and has written for community newspapers around the Puget Sound. He grew up in the suburbs of Birmingham, Ala., and moved to Seattle in 2000. After graduating he hopes to pursue a career in journalism as a photographer and a reporter. Andrea Otanez, a lecturer in journalism and communications at UW, is leading the program for the UW. She is a former political editor for the Seattle See INTERNS, page 2
Legislative Day plans pending T
he date has not yet been set for Legislative Day 2014 for Washington Newspaper Publishers Association and Allied Daily Newspapers of Washington. The schedule and registration will be posted at www.wnpa.com/events and provided to members of both organizations when the date is available. Please direct questions to Mae Waldron, mwaldron@ wnpa.com, or Heather Clarke, heather@clarkecompany.net.
LIGHT FANTASTIC
Brian Myrick/Daily Record, Ellensburg
Named Photographer of the Year in the 2013 Washington Better Newspaper Contest, Brian Myrick of the Ellensburg Daily Record also won first place for ‘Lightning Storm’ in the Color Pictorial Photo Category, Circulation Groups III-IV, in the contest.
High court limits investigative records exemption The Associated Press
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ashington’s Supreme Court has limited the ability of police agencies to automatically withhold investigative records under the Public Records Act. The 5-4 ruling came Dec. 19 in the case of Evan Sargent, a
man who was RELATED in a confronSTORY, tation with PAGE 3 an off-duty Seattle officer in 2009. The city settled the case just days earlier, agreeing to pay Sargent $235,000 to drop his legal claims of civil rights and
Public Records Act violations. The confrontation ensued when Sargent left his car blocking the alley, and he was arrested for investigation of assault. The prosecutor’s office declined to immediately file charges and sent the case back to police for further investigation.
Sargent sought documents related to his case and on an internal investigation of the officer. The majority of the justices said that once the case was referred for charges the first time, police were no longer entitled to withhold the documents under a
blanket exemption for ongoing investigative files. Instead, they would have to prove that any documents withheld would jeopardize effective law enforcement if released. The minority said the court’s ruling erodes important protections for active police work.