TWN0513 - The Washington Newspaper May 2013

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THE WASHINGTON NEWSPAPER

CAPITOL COVERAGE

WNPA-sponsored students fill the gap for press corps.

—page 5

Vol. 98, No. 5 May 2013

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

O’Connor named Daily Herald publisher in Everett The Herald, Everett

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Josh O’Connor

ound Publishing vice president Josh O’Connor has been named the Daily Herald of Everett’s new publisher, starting May 1.

“I enjoy the challenging dynamics of building successful community publications,” said O’Connor, who lives in Issaquah. “I am committed

World to cut print version to three days

to delivering relevant, local news that directly affects the lives of those who raise families and work in the communities that Sound serves, including Everett.”

O’Connor has been with Black Press, Ltd., Sound Publishing’s Canadian parent company, in various capacities since 1998. He was part of the acquisition team that helped

establish the daily Honolulu StarAdvertiser as Hawaii’s number-one source for news and advertising.

Along with his new role, O’Connor will continue to serve as a Sound Publishing vice president, a position he has held since 2008.

Sound Publishing president Gloria Fletcher introduced O’Connor to employees at the Herald on Wednesday

afternoon.

“Josh is an accomplished publisher with extensive experience in print and digital operations,” Fletcher said. “His expertise is truly multi-faceted. He has been part of community weeklies and dailies in both print and online, magazines and See HERALD, page 2

MEMORABLE WINNER

No plans to reduce size of news staff

The Daily World, Aberdeen

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he Daily World of Aberdeen announced April 2 that it will reduce home delivery of the newspaper to three days per week starting June 1. The paper will be delivered on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

The newspaper will continue to produce news and update stories on its website and through social media each day of the week and has no plans to reduce the size of its news department.

The change reflects a growing emphasis on digital media and reduced print advertising, said Publisher Bill Crawford.

“As the newspaper industry continues to evolve and change we have to take the proper steps to remain consistent and competitive,” Crawford said. “Although we are reducing the number of print editions we are going to beef up our remaining three print days. It’s my belief that we can streamline the operation and improve our local coverage and content by focusing our efforts on these three publication days.

“We will continue to improve our digital presence and publish to the web seven days a week.

At the end of the day my goal is to ensure longevity for the newspaper to provide support to our local businesses and advertisers and continue to document the history of the Harbor for our subscribers.”

The paper anticipates that print advertising sales won’t change as a result of the new delivery schedule, but will be consolidated in the three publication days. The size of the papers will increase in number of pages, with each edition more closely resembling a current Sunday paper in size.

The Daily World is one of several newspapers around the country to reduce days of print publication and emphasize their digital products.

Papers in Ann Arbor, Mich., Harrisburg, Pa., Syracuse, N.Y. and many other places have already made the conversion See WORLD, page 2

Dennis Box/Kent Reporter

This Memorial Day beauty won first place for Dennis Box and the Kent Reporter in Color Feature Photo, Circulation Group IV, in the 2012 Washington Better Newspaper Contest. Entries in the 2013 competition are due May 10.

Go time: First BNC entries arrive T he 2013 Washington Better Newspaper Contest is under way!

The first two dozen entries in General Excellence and regular categories are already on betterbnc.com, uploaded by staff at the Arlington Times, Issaquah Press, Marysville Globe and Sammamish Review.

Review the contest rules for each division at wnpa.com/ awards, where the contest periods, deadlines and other basic

information is posted.

Important dates

• May 11: Deadline for submitting regular entries • June 7: Deadline for Tourism/Community Guide special sections

• Oct. 4: Winners announced at BNC Awards Dinner, Red Lion Hotel, Olympia

Betterbnc.com and passwords

The password to enter the site for the first time is bnc (lower-

case). From the login screen, select “Contestant Manager” and the WNPA 2013 contest and then the name of your newspaper.

The Contestant Manager for each newspaper will have the same access and capabilities on betterbnc.com as last year, including setting up Authorized Entrants to submit entries.

While the Contestant Manager can see and edit all See BNC, page 4

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Bill a records-hiding wolf in sheep’s clothing Seattle Times

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he Legislature is on the verge of passing a bill to automatically seal preconviction court records of less-serious juvenile offenders.

The bill, which has passed the House 97-0, did not meet the bill cutoff in the Senate but could still be revived. It is ill-advised and unconstitutional.

The Washington Constitution, Article 1, Section 10, says:

“Justice in all cases shall be administered openly ...” The words, “in all cases,” mean what they say and there is a reason for them.

As Toby Nixon of the Washington Coalition for Open Government said in legislative hearings, it has been learned over the centuries that secret tribunals cannot be trusted. Nor can a system of justice be held accountable in aggregate; you have to see specific cases.

The proponents — mainly social-work advocates for children — argue that their bill, ESHB 1651, leaves actual court proceedings open to the public.

It does. But it removes from the public eye all preconviction records: arrest, hearings and charges.

This includes court appearances listed on a public docket.

The proceedings may be open, but the public will not know about them. That is not adminis-

tering justice openly.

The law now allows an offender to petition the court to seal juvenile records after two years for nonviolent crimes, and after five years for violent crimes, if the offender has a clean record since then.

The bill’s advocates argue that this is of less value than it used to be because the records are in the hands of credit bureaus and continue to be used by employers or landlords. There may be

a proper remedy for this, but it isn’t ESHB 1651.

A final note. The bill would require $500,000 of work on the court system’s 35-year-old computer, which the courts are planning to scrap.

The Legislature should wait for the new computer and use the time to devise a remedy that leaves justice in all cases administered openly.

Reprinted with permission.

No flowers for gay wedding: Bias or freedom?

Officers: President: Bill Forhan, NCW Media, Leavenworth l First Vice President: Keven Graves, Whidbey News Group, Coupeville l Second Vice President: Lori Maxim, Sound Publishing l Past President: Jana Stoner, Northern Kittitas County Tribune, Cle Elum l Secretary: Bill Will, WNPA, Seattle Trustees: Mike Dillon, Pacific Publishing Co., Seattle l Josh Johnson, Liberty Lake Splash, Liberty Lake l Eric LaFontaine, Othello Outlook l Imbert Matthee, Waitsburg Times l Don Nelson, Methow Valley News, Twisp l Stephen McFadden, Ritzville-Adams County Journal l Fred Obee, Port Townsend Leader Staff: Executive Director: Bill Will l Editor/Manager of Member Services: Mae Waldron

Officers: President: Rob Blethen, Walla Walla Union-Bulletin Treasurer: Christine Fossett, Chronicle, Centralia Board: Nathan Alford, MoscowPullman Daily News l Tyler Miller, Daily Record, Ellensburg l Heather Hernandez, Skagit Valley Herald, Mount Vernon l Dave Zeeck, News Tribune, Tacoma Executive Director: Rowland Thompson THE WASHINGTON NEWSPAPER is the official publication of the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association. It is published monthly by WNPA, 12354 30th Ave NE, Seattle WA 98125, phone (206) 634-3838.

Email: mwaldron@wnpa.com; URL: www.wnpa.com, in conjunction with Allied Daily Newspapers of Washington, P.O. Box 29, Olympia, WA 98507, (360) 943-9960. Email: anewspaper@aol.com.

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magine Robert Ingersoll’s hurt and humiliation last month when his local florist refused to do the flower arrangements for his wedding to Curt Freed, his partner of nine years.

As longtime customers of Arlene’s Flowers and Gifts in Richland, Washington, Ingersoll and Freed had mistakenly assumed that shop owner Barronelle Stutzman would be happy to provide the service.

But also imagine the pain Stutzman felt at having to turn down a friend and neighbor.

Here’s how she described the awkward scene to KEPR-TV: “I grabbed his hand and said ‘I am sorry.’ I can’t do your wedding because of my relationship with Jesus Christ.’ We hugged each other and he left, and I assumed it was the end of the story.”

As it turns out, the story was only just beginning.

On April 9, the state’s attorney general filed a consumer protection lawsuit against the florist and the ACLU, represent-

WORLD

ing the gay couple, is now asking for Stutzman to apologize and agree to serve gay weddings in the future.

This painful dispute Charles C. confronts the Haynes Director, courts – and all of us – with Religious a cruel choice Freedom Project, Newseum between two compelling values central to the American commitment to liberty: The right of citizens to be free from discrimination in places of public accommodation is pitted against the right of religious business owners to follow their conscience in matters of faith.

Unfortun-ately, this is not an isolated incident. A small, but growing number of conflicts have already broken out in other states where bakers and photographers have balked at providing

services to same-sex weddings.

Stutzman argues that she is not discriminating against gay people. She points out that she has hired openly gay people and has many gay customers. In an interview with the Seattle Times, her lawyer framed Stutzman’s views this way: “This is about gay marriage, it’s not about a person being gay.

She has a conscientious objection to homosexual marriage, not homosexuality. It violates her conscience.”

But gay couples seeking wedding services see this argument as a distinction without a difference. When they enter a business that serves the public, they expect to be treated like every other couple – particularly in states like Washington where gay marriage is now legal.

Although it upsets some gay rights advocates whenever they hear it, the First Amendment requires us to protect liberty of conscience as far as possible.

That’s why, for example, many people on all sides support

“conscience clauses” for houses of worship and religiously affiliated organizations in states that recognize gay marriage.

Catholic charities, to cite a controversial example, should be not forced to provide adoption services to same-sex couples in violation of Catholic teaching, as long as those couples have ready access to other providers.

But any business serving the public is obligated not to discriminate against customers on the basis of sexual orientation.

And no matter how gay-friendly Stutzman claims to be, refusing to treat Ingersoll and Freed like other couples is treating them like second-class citizens because they are gay.

If business owners were exempted from non-discrimination laws on religious grounds, where would the line be drawn?

What about religious objections to inter-racial marriage – commonplace at one time and still held by some? If Stutzman wins her case, why can’t another

features allow individuals and businesses to go online and create their own ads for general classifieds, employment, real estate and automotive classifications. It’s also easy to upload photos to the online ads.

On the news side, there will be no reduction in the amount of local news and sports coverage, although there will be an increased frequency of news showing up first on the website.

Readers will see changes in the configuration of the paper — designed to emphasize the number of pages set aside for local news.

“For me, the most important thing to remember is that we will still be covering our community, telling its stories and relating what life is like here just as seriously and thoroughly as we ever have,” said Editor Doug Barker.

“I understand the disappointment folks will have when the paper

isn’t on the doorstep every night, but I understand, too, that this change will keep this newspaper healthy and able to tell the community’s stories for a long time.

“The way people get their news is changing, but more important than when they get it and in what form is that it’s gathered and reported with the high standards readers expect of us, and in that regard nothing will change.”

editorial page editor and oversaw the closure of the Weekly Herald, a free-distribution weekly publication that served south Snohomish County.

Dadisman replaced Allen Funk, who retired as the paper’s publisher in 2011. Prior to Funk, Larry Hanson served 18 years as publisher, until retiring in 2002.

In addition to the Daily Herald newspaper and HeraldNet.com, The Daily Herald Co. publishes the monthly Herald Business Journal and La Raza del Noroeste, a weekly Spanish-language newspaper, and their websites.

In late March, the Daily Herald’s average daily circulation was 38,458 with an average Sunday circulation of 45,178.

Sound Publishing, with head offices in Bellevue and Poulsbo, owns more than 50 print and digital titles in Washington, with a combined free and paid circulation of more than

879,590. Among them are the Marysville Globe, Arlington Times, Peninsula Daily News in Port Angeles, and newspapers on Whidbey Island.

Sound Publishing bought the Seattle Weekly early this year and also owns papers in Bothell, Bellevue, Kent and Renton.

Sound has begun to move the printing of the Herald to presses it owns near Paine Field.

Sound will lease the Herald building on Everett’s California Street through early next year before moving to a new location. The Herald building and a parking lot on West Marine View Drive are for sale.

Black Press, Ltd., based in Surrey, B.C., publishes more than 170 newspapers and other publications in Washington, British Columbia and Alberta, Canada, as well as the Honolulu Star-Advertiser in Hawaii and the Akron (Ohio) BeaconJournal daily newspapers.

See GAY, page 4

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and some newspaper experts say it’s just the beginning of a large wave as papers react to the growing number of consumers who read their news on smart phones and tablets. Closer to home, the Centralia Chronicle converted two years ago from six-day delivery to three days.

The World has already introduced new advertising options on its website, particularly in classified advertising. The new

HERALD

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multiple start-up publications in both the U.S. and Canada.”

Though Sound Publishing received a high level of interest in the position, Fletcher said, “it became apparent that we (Sound Publishing) had the good fortune of having the right person already on board.”

As vice president of East Sound newspaper operations, O’Connor has overseen 18 publications as well as Sound Publishing’s press operation near Paine Field.

After Black acquired and revitalized the daily newspaper in Hawaii, O’Connor returned to the company’s Canadian operations in 2002, where he took on a few publishing roles in British Columbia, including a four-year stint at the Richmond Review and the South Delta Leader.

He went on to publish the Abbotsford News and the Mission City Record, one of Black Press’ largest community

weeklies.

O’Connor served on the board of the Local Media Association and is an active contributor to many community organizations throughout the Puget Sound.

Josh is married to his high school sweetheart, Erin. They have two girls, Lauren, 6, and Mailie, 3.

The transition follows the Daily Herald Co.’s acquisition in March by Black Press, which operates as Sound Publishing Inc. in Washington. The sale was announced Feb. 6 and closed March 4.

The Washington Post Co. had owned the newspaper for 35 years before that.

O’Connor will replace the Herald’s current publisher, David Dadisman, who had previously announced plans to leave after a 90-day transition period. During nearly a year as publisher, Dadisman named Peter Jackson as the Herald’s

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MAY 2013

OPEN ACCESS & LEGAL ISSUES

Inslee rejects ‘executive privilege’ loophole NAA study New governor opens files his predecessor fought to conceal Freedom Foundation

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he Freedom Foundation, an Olympia-based think tank promoting fiscal responsibility and transparency in government, scored an important victory April 2 when Gov. Jay Inslee’s office rejected his predecessor’s dubious claims of executive privilege and provided the Foundation with six documents that Gov. Christine Gregoire had for years fought to keep hidden.

From January 2007 to April

2011, Gov. Gregoire attempted to evade more than 500 public records requests by claiming that her office was not bound by state laws requiring disclosure. In 2011 the Freedom Foundation filed a lawsuit demanding the governor’s office release several of these records.

The Freedom Foundation fought the case from Thurston County Superior Court to the Washington State Supreme Court, which heard arguments last September. As the Foundation argued, transparency must extend even to the Governor’s office. Legal briefs supporting the Foundation’s position were filed by diverse

allies including the Allied Daily Newspapers, Washington Newspaper Publishers Association, National Freedom of Information Coalition, American Civil Liberties Union, Institute for Justice and Washington Coalition for Open Government.

Leading up to the Supreme Court arguments, newspapers all over the state, including the Seattle Times, the Olympian and the Spokesman Review, issued editorials supporting the Freedom Foundation.

Prior to the November election, the Olympian reported that candidate Inslee pledged to not invoke executive privilege

to block the release of records.

Since taking office earlier this year, Gov. Inslee has made good on that pledge. His release of the documents at issue in the Foundation’s case is also consistent with his statement during the campaign.

“I am pleased to see Governor Inslee keep his word and not invoke a privilege that does not exist,” said Jonathan Bechtle, CEO of the Freedom Foundation.

“Due to the support from people and media all over the state,” he said, “it’s clear we are showing the way forward toward a more transparent government.”

A day in May: Hidden truth Union says Seattle PD hid report about May Day Seattle Times

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he union representing police captains and lieutenants is accusing the Seattle Police Department (SPD) of a cover-up over the inept handling of last year’s May Day violence, questioning the validity of a pair of reviews it says unfairly blame a union member while downplaying the disruptive role of an assistant chief.

The Seattle Police Management Association (SPMA) is defending union member Capt. Joe Kessler, who is criticized in two police reports into the department’s May Day response for not being more engaged as the appointed incident commander and not adapting to changing circumstances.

At the same time, the 61-member union is questioning the credibility and thoroughness of the two reports, including an independent review commissioned by Police Chief John Diaz and conducted

by Michael Hillmann, a former deputy chief of the Los Angeles Police Department.

SPMA members think Diaz

and others in the command staff worked to steer those reports away from what really happened and to downplay the responsibility of Assistant Police Chief Mike Sanford.

A Seattle police spokesman did not respond to the union’s claim.

The dissent among the department’s managers comes as the Seattle City Council’s public-safety committee meets April 17 to discuss Hillmann’s report and an internal “after-action” report written by Assistant Chief Paul McDonagh. The hearing was scheduled by committee Chairman Bruce Harrell after the department released the two reports two weeks ago.

The council is also likely to take up a third, highly critical internal report into the May Day response written last June by Kessler, the incident commander. That report was deliberately withheld from the Seattle Times by Diaz, despite a public-disclosure request in July that sought the Kessler report.

The Police Department did not turn over a copy of the report until earlier this month.

Diaz acknowledged to a Times reporter that he deliberately withheld the report from the Times because he didn’t want it to “come out in front of” and “distract” from the department’s official version

and Hillmann’s review.

The state Public Records Act provides a strong presumption that government documents are public, and requires agencies to cite specific exemptions to the release of documents when they are withheld. The SPD did not cite any exemption for withholding the Kessler memo, or even acknowledge it existed until earlier this month.

The Times learned of the Kessler memorandum in July and filed a public-disclosure request seeking, among other items, “documents and memoranda involving May Day planning and response from all SPD lieutenants and captains.”

Since then, the department turned over hundreds of May Day documents — but never the Kessler report. The SPD closed the Times’ request, saying it had been filled on April 3, the day it released the Hillmann and McDonagh reports.

That afternoon, a Times reporter asked Diaz, McDonagh, Deputy Chief Clark Kimerer and other department officials about the Kessler memorandum.

Diaz said that the department had withheld the report but, now that its official version was out, that the newspaper would get a copy. One was sent that evening.

Since then, the SPD has provided two other series of docu-

ments to the newspaper since officially closing the request.

One included the use-of-force reports filed by the officers who had to wade into the crowd to rescue Sanford.

The other was the email sent in June by Kessler to deputy chiefs Kimerer and Nick Metz that contained his report. Metz, in a response dated in July, said that an outside expert would be hired as a result of Kessler’s concerns and that confidentiality should be maintained “to ensure this process is credible.”

The reports written by Hillman and Assistant Chief McDonough acknowledge a long list of failures and mistakes in the department’s run-up to May Day and its response to violent protesters, but they particularly took Kessler to task for not being more engaged as the appointed incident commander and not adapting to changing circumstances.

Kessler’s own 33-page assessment of May Day, written a month after the event, was harshly critical of Sanford, who Kessler said was unprepared, countermanded his orders and endangered marchers and police when he bolted into the crowd, wearing a shirt and tie, to make an arrest.

A number of police officers had to rush into the crowd and

See SEATTLE, page 6

Press robbed after move to new office Thieves make off with 11 computers

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he Issaquah Press had just settled in to new offices last month after moving from its historic location in downtown Issaquah.

The file boxes were unpacked, the phones were working, awards were hung on the wall. And then burglars took a crow bar to break in, only five days after the move.

When employees came to work that Wednesday morning, it was a shock. Eleven computers were gone, along with camera lenses and miscellaneous items.

“They only took the iMacs,”

reported Publisher Debbie Berto. “They didn’t touch a PC.” Once the staff got over the initial shock, they were relieved that it had happened on a Tuesday night, after the papers had been printed for the week.

“Our wonderful IT person from the Seattle Times came to the rescue,” said Berto. “He picked up new computers at the Apple Store and worked late into the night getting software and email installed — even though it was his son’s first birthday.”

By Thursday morning, new computers were in place.

“Sadly, many working documents that had not been moved to the server were lost. And just

dealing with lost email contacts has been difficult,” said Berto.

Now the focus of getting used to a new office has shifted to dealing with insurance claims to replace both equipment and personal items that were stolen.

The building has been re-keyed and an alarm system installed.

“Leaving the old office was very hard on the staff,” said Berto. “Let’s face it, it was home and as the oldest business in town, it still doesn’t feel quite right to not be in the historic district.”

She explained that downsizing the office space made sense.

The staff is not as large as it used to be, there is no longer a need for a darkroom or layout tables, and customers rarely

come in to drop off news items.

The savings in rent in a business park only a mile and half away played a key role in the decision to move, she said.

“Newspapers just don’t do business the way we used to, even a decade ago. We cleaned house and turned over some treasures to Issaquah History Museums to preserve our story.”

The Press had been in its Front Street location for about 85 years, although the current building was only 25 years old. The Press did not own the building.

The Issaquah Press office also houses the staff of Sammamish Review, Newcastle News and SnoValley Star.

says print ads get noticed Findings report papers deliver for advertisers Newspaper Association of America

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he Newspaper Association of America last month released the findings of a landmark study by Nielsen that compares the ability of major media, including television, radio and social media, to engage audiences.

The study looks at consumer engagement with media content — and importantly, compares each medium’s ability to engage consumers with advertising. This side-by-side advertisement scoring will aid marketers and agencies in assessing media by their ability to engage consumers who seek and respond to advertising not just by audience numbers alone.

The study, underwritten by NAA and released in Orlando during NAA mediaXchange 2013, surveyed 5,000 adults on 11 different metrics for engagement, including trust and ethics, how connected media make people feel, the value or inspiration they add to life, and the effectiveness of advertising.

“In this era of media fragmentation, advertisers want an environment in which their messages are noticed, sought and responded to,” said Caroline Little, NAA president and CEO. “This first-of-its-kind national study by Nielsen clearly demonstrates that newspaper print ads get noticed more than all other media and drive the highest purchase intent. And, newspaper media also demonstrated the highest level of engagement.”

Key findings from the study include that newspaper media — print and online — scored the highest of all media on overall engagement. Where newspapers and their websites stood out most was in the efficacy of advertising.

On a scale of different metrics of advertising effectiveness — including “usually notice ads,” “likely to purchase” and “best place for Black Friday shopping” — the average score among U.S. adult consumers for newspaper media consistently exceeded those of all other media. When looking, for example, at the aggregate advertising scores, newspapers and newspaper websites together delivered a 12 percent larger advertising-engaged audience than the overall average for all media, and 16 percent larger than that of social media.

This study also looked at consumers’ engagement with content produced by these various media channels. The study found that Americans consume a wide range of media, but their feelings about the trustworthiness of what they consume, the extent to which it adds value to their life and whether they respond to advertising varies substantially by source.

Newspaper media, while not accessed as often, scored higher on most of the metrics for engagement, including trust, public service and all four measures of advertising efficacy.

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BetterBNC says business booms

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nline contest operator BetterBNC reports that nationally, participation in journalism contests is on the rise and use of the site’s newest features—open call contests, scrapbooks and personalized web pages—is growing, as well.

“Over the past year, we’ve seen contest participation increase steadily, which shows us that journalists are engaged and the newspaper industry is going strong,” said Paul Jeffko, president of SmallTownPapers, Inc., which designed and created the BetterBNC journalism contest platform.

Contest entries increased an average of 13.5 percent across the 140 or so newspaper publishers associations, press clubs, broadcasters, Associated Press bureaus, Society of Professional Journalists chapters and specialty groups that use the site.

“We continue to make improvements to the site based largely on feedback from contestants, judges, and contest administrators using the BetterBNC platform,” Jeffko said.

Most recent are the additions

BNC

create 10 scrapbooks (up to 500 MB) and name them as desired.

The scrapbooks also track which entries are submitted to which contests.

Contestants can also create web pages within the site and add links to work in their scrapbook, whether a previous year’s award winner or other sample work they want to share.

Jeffko stressed that his company is not in the corporate contest business, but produces only journalism contests.

“The demand for news isn’t diminishing, it’s simply morphing,” Jeffko said. “Our contest platform shows that some things that traditionally were ‘ink on paper’ can be handled online.”

In fact, one specialty group new to the site was prepared for a downturn in entries as their members adapted to online entries, but instead had a 50 percent increase.

SmallTownPapers is an affiliate member of WNPA based in Shelton and annually sponsors the Washington Better Newspaper Contest.

two categories for Best Ad for a Single Advertiser were revised so half-page ads are included with larger ads, creating a more balanced competition for the smaller ads.

• News Division: The Best Business Story category draws so many entries it was split into two, Best Business News and Best Business Feature.

• Photography Division: Because of low numbers of entries in each category, the black-and-white portrait, pictorial and feature categories were combined into one category, Best Feature Photograph, Black and White.

• Web Division: The Social Media category was discontinued for 2013.

Fees are $6.50 per entry for Group I, $8.50 for Groups II

& III, $9 for Group IV. Web division entries are half price for 2013.

Member newspapers that judged TPA’s contest last month will receive a credit against 2013 entry fees.

A list of those newspapers and credits ($50 or $75) is at wnpa. com/awards.

Please direct your questions to Mae Waldron, mwaldron@ wnpa.com or (206) 634-3838 ext. 2.

The Better Newspaper Contest Committee is chaired

by Patrick Sullivan of the Port Townsend Leader. Committee members are Rudi Alcott, Federal Way Mirror; Sara Bruestle, Mukilteo Beacon; Darla Hussey, Othello Outlook; Don Nelson, Methow Valley News, Twisp; and Seth Long, Sound Publishing Inc.

But when they open their doors to the public, they have a civic and legal responsibility to uphold the civil rights of every customer.

Arlene’s Flower and Gift Shop will likely lose this case – and gay couples will take another step toward equal treatment under the law.

But the personal pain on both sides will linger for years

to come, a tragic reminder that culture wars always exact a heavy price.

Charles C. Haynes is director of the Religious Freedom Education Project at the Newseum, 555 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C., 20001. Web: firstamendmentcenter.org. Email: chaynes@ freedomforum.org

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the newspaper’s entries and account information, Authorized Entrants can see and edit only the entries they submit themselves.

General Excellence is a member benefit

All members can participate in General Excellence for free.

Enter the issues produced during the weeks of Dec. 2 and Dec. 9, 2012. WNPA plans to work with our General Excellence judges in Tennessee to secure quality comments are provided.

Changes to regular categories

The Better Newspaper Contest Committee adjusted a few categories based on participation in recent years, as follows: • Advertising Division: The

GAY

of the contestant manager function, which Washington Newspaper Publishers Association began using last year, the open-call contest, scrapbooks, and a My Web Page feature.

To broaden the appeal and use of the contest platform, SmallTownPapers expanded it to support open-call contests.

Instead of entering through their newspaper or other media organization, individuals create personal accounts to enter open-call contests, thus allowing a contest to invite freelance journalists to participate.

Contestant managers and individuals both appreciate the managerial value of the scrapbook feature. Work they might contemplate entering in the future, journalists can save in a scrapbook as a pdf, Word document, jpeg, or URL. “You can toss in work quickly all year and then, closer to the contest deadline, simply page through to select your strongest contenders,” Jeffko said.

Scrapbooks have no expiration date or fee; each person with an open-call account can

Entry fees and credits

CALENDAR OF EVENTS May 10

Better Newspaper Contest Entries due

June 7

Tourism Special Section Entries due

July 18

WNPA Board Meeting, Leavenworth

Oct. 3

WNPA Board Meeting, Olympia

Oct. 3-5

126th Annual Convention, Olympia Details: www.wnpa.com/events

Observer’s owner buys Country Media papers EO acquires three coastal properties

Chinook Observer, Long Beach

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he EO Media Group has expanded its reach on the Washington and Oregon coast with the acquisition of monthly Coast River Business Journal, along with the Seaside (Ore.) Signal and Cannon Beach (Ore.) Gazette.

The parent company of the Chinook Observer in Long Beach and the Daily Astorian in Oregon purchased the three newspapers from Country Media Inc. The transaction was effective Feb. 26. Terms were not disclosed.

The business journal will be run from Long Beach, with Observer editor Matt Winters adding it to his responsibilities.

The Journal will be a strong, independent voice for free enterprise in Pacific and Clatsop counties.

“The journal will be fun to run and fascinating to read,” Winters said. “We’re going to celebrate the ‘joy of business’ here in this beautiful place where we all choose to live.

At the same time, we’ll do

our best to shine a light on any issues that get in the way of success, and advocate for smart change.”

Rejoining the business journal will be Joyce Rangila of Deep River, who was its sales manager under former publisher and founder Susan Trabucco.

Rangila helped shape the CRBJ’s winning strategy for Pacific and Clatsop county businesses and also has worked as an independent marketing consultant and in sales at the Daily Astorian.

In October, EO Media Group acquired Oregon Coast Today, a weekly publication serving Lincoln and Tillamook counties.

The purchase of the Signal, Gazette and Business Journal brings to six the number of newspapers the company publishes on the coast; and to 11 the number of newspapers it owns and operates in Washington and Oregon.

EO Media Group, headquartered in Salem, has been under the same family ownership since 1908. Principal owners are Kathryn Brown and Mike Forester of Pendleton, Ore. and Steve Forrester of Astoria, Ore.

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religious florist refuse to serve a mixed race couple?

I strongly support finding ways to protect religious claims of conscience whenever possible. But when it comes to places of public accommodation, our commitment to non-discrimination should trump religious claims for exemption from civil rights laws.

Ingersoll and Freed, of course, can find another florist. But they shouldn’t have to suffer the humiliation of asking florists, bakers, photographers, or other providers if they’re willing to provide services for gay weddings.

Business owners have a right to their religious convictions.

Digital

Preservation Speaks

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5

MAY 2013

Odds & ends: ‘Seats’ and InDesign scripts

I

t looks like I got one right.

Joel Klaassen, publisher of Hillsboro Free Press in Hillsboro, Kansas, strolled up to me during a reception during a convention in Illinois this week and said, “It looks like you were right about JCPenney.”

Not sure what Joel was talking about, I asked what had happened. “I just heard. The CEO was fired this afternoon.”

You might remember that I predicted in early 2012 that JCPenney same-store sales would drop 20 percent by mid2013 and that the new CEO, Ron Johnson, would be fired. I went so far as to write a column in August 2012, comparing the changes at JCPenney to those at Advance Publications, the parent company of the Times-Picayune in New Orleans.

To see that column, visit kevinslimp.com and scroll down to August 2012.

Catholics find print correlates with “butts in the seats”

I walked into a colleague’s office this morning. The 40-yearold executive was sitting at his desk and said, “Look what just came in my email ... my church newsletter. That’s pretty cool.”

He told me that a while back, his church had moved from sending out printed news to an online version of the paper.

I asked if he read the online version. “No,” was his response.

“I never do anymore.”

I asked if he used to read the printed version when he got it.

“Yes, I would flip through it and read most of it.”

That reminded me of a conversation I had with Matthew Schiller, business manager at Catholic New York, in 2012. I called Matthew this week and talked to him about a study done in the Catholic Church a little over a year ago titled, “Catholic Media Use in the United States, 2011.”

Basically, the study was established to learn how converting from print to digital was affecting things like attendance,

giving, participation in volunteer efforts and more.

You might be interested in finding the results of the Kevin Slimp study, availDirector, able online, Institute of and digesting Newspaper Technology some of the material.

Basically, the study found that when the Church, which boasts newspaper staffs that rival many newspapers in most dioceses, converted it’s distribution of news from print to online, there was a direct correlation with less giving, less volunteers and fewer “butts in the seats,” as Matthew so eloquently put it.

One of the most interesting aspects of the study, Matthew told me, was learning that young people would pay a lot more attention to information sent to them in print than online.

As I speak at advertising and newspaper conferences, I remind attendees that this type of information is powerful in helping advertisers understand the value of print.

Scripts: One of my favorite InDesign “treasures”

Even though much of my speaking is of the keynote variety these days, I still get asked to lead software workshops at many conventions. The best draws are always related to photo editing and InDesign tips.

One of my favorite things to teach in InDesign is the use of scripts. Most designers, even those who have been using InDesign for years, don’t realize that scripts even exist.

A script is a tiny application within an application. Scripts are found at Windows>Utilities>Scripts in the most recent versions of InDesign. Prior to CS5, they were found at

Windows>Scripting>Scripts.

A simple example of a script is “Sort Paragraphs.” After selecting a list of items or paragraphs in an InDesign document, then double-clicking on the script in the Scripts panel, the list is magically alphabetized.

When I show this script at conferences, attendees always make “ooh” noises and start scribbling notes and whispering excitedly to their neighbors. This script has been in InDesign since the original CS version.

I also love showing InDesign users how to download free scripts from Adobe.com. My favorite script on the site is “Calendar Wizard.”

Calendar Wizard allows the user to create a somewhat detailed calendar with the click of a couple of buttons. Calendars can be anywhere from one to twelve months. They can include government, religious and other holidays. I created a series of four calendars to include with this column. It was easy to set the exact size of the calendars, the months and year and other details.

InDesign installs 20 scripts with the application. Free scripts can be downloaded from Adobe.com by clicking on the “Downloads” menu, then selecting “Exchanges” from the bottom of the right sidebar.

Once inside Adobe Marketplace & Exchange, simply choose “InDesign” and click on “Scripts” in the right sidebar.

Contact Kevin at kevin@ kevinslimp.com.

Visit Adobe.com to find hundreds of free scripts.

LEFT: The Calendar Wizard Script (left), after downloadfrom the Adobe.com site.

FAR LEFT: The Sort Paragraphs script can be found in the Scripts panel in InDesign.

NAA picks new slate of officers

Ogden CEO takes reins as chairman

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obert M. Nutting, president and CEO of Wheeling, W.Va.-based Ogden Newspapers Inc., has been elected as the Newspaper Association of America’s next chairman. The gavel was passed to Nutting by last year’s chairman, James M. Moroney III, during NAA mediaXchange 2013 held April 14-17 in Orlando.

Moroney, publisher and CEO

of the Dallas Morning News, will continue to serve on the NAA Board of Directors as immediate past chairman.

Bob Nutting is only the fourth person to lead Ogden Newspapers – a family-owned diversified media company – in its 122-year history. In addition, he serves as chairman of the Pittsburgh Pirates. He is a past president of the West Virginia Press Association. He is passionate about environmental conservation, supports various

environmental programs, and serves as vice chairman of The Nature Conservancy’s West Virginia chapter.

Other NAA officers elected were: Robert Dickey, president of Gannett Co. Inc. U.S. Community Publishing, vice chairman; Donna Barrett, president and CEO, Community Newspaper Holdings Inc., secretary; and Stephen Hills, president and general manager of the Washington Post, treasurer.

Archdiocese paper to cease publication Catholic Northwest Progress, Seattle

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he Archdiocese of Seattle has announced the Catholic Northwest Progress will cease publication with the June 27 issue.

It will be replaced this fall with a free, full-color magazine

focusing on evangelization and published 10 times a year.

The magazine, as yet unnamed, will also be distributed in Catholic hospitals and other institutions, to incarcerated Catholics and to campus ministry programs. An online pub-

POLITICS IN BLOOM

lication will provide breaking archdiocesan news.

Though the Progress has been the official publication of the archdiocese for over 100 years, its subscriptions have declined and fewer than 8 percent of households currently receive it.

At the entry to the Governor’s Mansion on Legislative Day, April 11, hyacinths were a surprising sight to the newspaper industry contingent, which typically gathers in Olympia in dark and rainy February. Gov. and Mrs. Inslee hosted dinner at the mansion for members of Allied Daily Newspapers of Washington and Washington Newspaper Publishers Association and Supreme Court justices.

6

MAY 2013

TWN

Columbian Student journalists make difference in Olympia Bureau provides writer Durbin News direct coverage for member newspapers passes at 68

By FRANK GARRED

Reporter authored forest politics books

Coordinating Editor WNPA Olympia News Bureau

I

n the wake of a dwindling press corps at our state capital, something contrary is happening: student journalists are becoming professional reporters during the legislative session, doubling the size of that corps — at least for some 10 weeks in winter. With seven University of Washington, a Western Washington University and three Washington State University journalism students interning with professional news organizations, our state legislature’s actions are finding old and new audiences discovering what government is doing to and for its voters and taxpayers.

Normally the state house has an in-place press presence of eight to 10. The Seattle Times, McClatchy Newspapers and the Associated Press represent the print medium; TVW, National Public Radio the broadcast medium (with occasional visits from the commercial television news folk). Special interest digital news sites and some independent non-profit

Columbian, Vancouver

K

athie Durbin, an author and award-winning journalist who had covered the Washington Legislature and the environment for the Columbian, died March 15 in Portland.

Durbin, who was 68, had been battling pancreatic cancer. She had been at Legacy Hopewell House Hospice for five days.

A Portland resident, Durbin was on the Columbian’s reporting staff from July 1999 until December 2011, when she retired.

Her award-winning reporting included big regional stories like the removal of the Condit Dam on the White Salmon River and the wind-power boom in Klickitat County.

Durbin was also honored for her coverage of more intimate and personal topics. They include the story of a woman whose son’s genetic disorder was so rare that it didn’t even have a name.

The native of Eugene, Ore., graduated from the University of Oregon with a degree in journalism. She spent almost 16 years as a reporter at the Oregonian in Portland, from 1978 to 1994.

Durbin’s extended coverage of Northwest environmental issues and forest politics included the 1996 book “Tree Huggers: Victory, Defeat and Renewal in the Northwest Ancient Forest Campaign.”

In 1999, she wrote “Tongass: Pulp Politics and the Fight for the Alaskan Rainforest.”

Durbin had finished another book, “The Columbia River Gorge: Bridging a Great Divide,” before she died.

SEATTLE

digital news organizations, such as Crosscut, manage to staff respective Olympia bureaus.

But it’s the student journalists who are making the difference, restoring the soul of an independent press corps depleted by an industry’s economic challenges and the too swift development of social media and digital technology.

WNPA is an organization that, through the WNPA Foundation, has helped reverse the tide of a ghosting Olympia press corps. For the third consecutive year the Foundation funded and managed the WNPA Olympia News Bureau, hosting

two UW journalism students for its reporting staff.

Kylee Zabel and Zoey Palmer are both seniors with the UW program, aiming at graduation this spring. The pair produced comprehensive stories related to a host of topics as policy bills and fiscal issues threaded their way through the legislative process, guided this session as much by politics — a political “coalition” leads the Senate — as by need and whim.

Zabel earned her legislative baptism during the 2012 session, when she served as an intern with the House Republican Caucus. That experience pro-

SU seeks adjunct instructors for journalism courses

S

eattle University’s Communication Department invites applications for several part time faculty positions to teach the following courses in Journalism during the 201314 academic year: • Introduction to Digital Production, including using audio and video for storytelling (5-credit class) • Advanced Online Journalism Production for multi-platforms (5-credit

from page 3

use force, including pepper spray, against the marchers to rescue Sanford when he yelled for help over the radio.

Sanford had appointed Kessler the May Day incident commander a week before the march, and both reports acknowledge that he contradicted Kessler’s instructions on when officers could use force — particularly pepper spray — when engaging the crowd.

Diaz announced he was retiring from the department a week after the release of the May Day reports.

Sanford was “de facto” incident commander, as Kessler’s boss, and is responsible for what happened, an SPMA news release concluded.

Lt. Eric Sano, the SPMA president, said his organization made its stance “because we are not going to let them throw a good captain under the bus.”

The union claims that Hillmann, a respected 43-year law-enforcement veteran, was given “selective input” and was not given access to all of the commanders involved and did not interview other key players.

“It prevented him from gaining a full understanding of

WNPA Olympia News Bureau reporters Kylee Zabel, left, and Zoey Palmer, both University of Washington seniors majoring in journalism, provided direct coverage from our state capital during the legislative session this year.

vided her with an understanding of the linkage between process and politics.

Palmer brought a more worldly experience to the bureau. She served a military tour as an intelligence specialist before college.

Education, transportation, social issues, animal control, voting rights, reproductive rights and water rights were among focus topics for our stories.

There were scores of others. Our reporters, in many instances, beat the major news organizations with their reporting.

TVW provided office space and Internet access at its studio headquarters just off the capital campus.

The biggest disappointment: the WNPA News Bureau closed before the session ended, leaving our client newspapers, all 124 of them, once again with a reporting vacuum in the state capital, at least until next year.

The WNPA Foundation is exploring financial means and organizational methods to expand the News Bureau operations to at least provide meaningful coverage during the full legislative session. Even year-round reporting Olympia is up for consideration, according Scott Wilson, Foundation president and publisher of the Port Townsend Leader.

the events that unfolded,” the SPMA release said.

Hillmann was paid $7,000 for his report, according to the department.

Reached Tuesday, Hillmann rejected any notion that he was steered by department officials.

He said that although he could have talked to hundreds of people, he was able to talk to those most directly involved and reach his conclusions within the time constraints.

“As they say in the baseball industry, I call them as I see them,” he said.

As to Kessler and Sanford, Hillmann said, “I like Joe. I think Joe was very open with me. I think Mike Sanford was as well.”

Hillmann said he read Kessler’s critique.

Capt. Steven Paulsen, an SPMA board member and commander of the department’s South Precinct, said he was “saddened as well as disappointed that certain members of our department, including our chief, spent considerable energy trying to minimize the actual truth of what happened on May Day 2012.”

class) • Literary/Narrative Journalism (5-credit class) We also invite applications for two new courses, Networking for Journalism (2-credit class) and Journalism Mentorship (3-credit class).

Networking for Journalism.

This course will orient students, through readings and fieldwork, to the profession of journalism today. It will introduce students to professionals in the field — practicing journalists, news organizations, and professional associations - to facilitate networking for internships, publication, and jobs. Students will attend speeches, seminars, and workshops that shed light on the changing face of journalism.

Journalism Mentorship.

This course is designed to bring together mentors from the field of Journalism and students. The mentors will have

the freedom to approach their mentorship in their own creative way. However, this course will require some structured components to ensure students are challenged in the core goals of the Journalism Major: critical thinking, ethical interpersonal relationships, and accurate, creative writing for print, broadcast or online. We are seeking mentors from specific journalistic specialties, for instance: environment, legal, sports, business, technology, art/music reviews.

Successful candidates will have the ability to teach one or more undergraduate courses in Fall, Winter, or Spring quarter during the academic year 201314.

Please provide any evidence of successful teaching experience, especially at the university level.

We seek candidates with significant relevant professional

experience in journalism and an appropriate Bachelors or advanced degree.

Applicants should submit all material electronically to the Journalism Committee at tomasg@seattleu.edu.

Include a statement of teaching philosophy and professional accomplishments, a resume, and the contact information of three references (including e-mail).

Review of applications will begin May 17, 2013 and continue until the positions are filled.

Seattle University, founded in 1891, is a Jesuit Catholic university located on 48 acres on Seattle’s Capitol Hill.

More than 7,500 students are enrolled in undergraduate and graduate programs within several schools. Seattle University is an equal opportunity employer.

H W

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WNPAHOW2013