The Washington Newspaper, January 2023

January 2023

Interns ready as 2023 Legislature begins session

Two students, one from Washington State University and one from the University of Washington, have begun their coverage from Olympia for WNPA member newspapers.

They are Alexandria Osborne and Renee Diaz.

Diaz is a fifth-year student at the University of Washington studying Journalism and Public Interest Communications.

She’s been a staff member at the university’s student-run newspaper, The Daily, for the past two years.

Osborn interned last summer at The Tri-City Herald, where she covered city planning and wrote feature stories.

She is currently a junior in the Edward R. Murrow College of Communication at WSU pursuing a degree in multimedia journalism. She’s also been a writer and editor at WSU’s student newspaper, The Daily Evergreen.

Leading the interns in

Olympia is Larry Ganders, who started his career as a reporter and ultimately went to work for WSU as a lobbyist in Olympia. He also supervised WSU’s internship program in Olympia.

Since the 2011 Legislative Session, the WNPA Foundation has provided scholarships for journalism students to do full-time, supervised reporting on the state Legislature in Olympia.

These students file reports on issues of interest to rural or suburban communities. The stories are available to all WNPA members.

Legislative internships are named in honor of Kris Passey, Wallie V. Funk and Jerry Zubrod. Passey was the former owner of the Marysville Globe and Arlington Times and a founder of the Washington Coalition for Open Government.

Funk, an avid photographer and community activist, was publisher of the Whidbey News-Times, South Whidbey Record and the Anacortes American. Passey and Funk both passed away in 2017.

Zubrod was WNPA Executive Director for more than two decades.

Intern stories are distributed to WNPA member papers by email and posted at wastatejournal.org.

This shot was an award winner for Evan Caldwell of the Stanwood Camano News who took second place in the Photographer of the Year category in last year’s Better Newspaper contest. This year’s contest opens at the beginning of March.

Courage in journalism: Walt & Milly Woodward & the Bainbridge Review

by Mike Dillon

This story about what happened on an island where I grew up has been told. Given our challenging times, I think it bears retelling.

It starts with the editorial written for a special, single-sided issue of the Bainbridge Review dated Dec. 8. 1941. “If ever there was a community which faced a local emergency

growing out of something over which it had no control,” the editorial begins, “it is Bainbridge Island on this Monday morning in December 1941. This is no time to mince words.”

The Review’s new owners, Walt and Milly Woodward, worked into Monday’s wee hours following the Sunday morning attack on Pearl Harbor by Japan. And they did not mince words: “There are on this Island some 300 members of 50 families whose blood ties lie with a nation which, yesterday, committed an

atrocity against all that is decent.

“There is the danger of a blind, wild hysterical hatred of all persons who can trace ancestry to Japan. That some of those persons happen to be American citizens, happen to be loyal to this country and happen to have no longer a binding tie with the fatherland are factors which easily could be swept aside by mob hysteria.

“To other Islanders, the Review says this: These Japanese Americans of ours haven’t bombed anybody. In the past,

Journal of the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association

Osborne

Dillon

Diaz

Upload your legals to our statewide site

More than a decade ago, WNPA, in partnership with Allied Daily Newspapers of Washington, established a statewide legals website after some legislators began discussing moving legal advertising from printed newspapers to a statewide website.

To put a stop to that talk, WNPA and Allied told state legislators that the newspapers of Washington would create their own statewide website at no cost to the state if legislators left in place the requirement that legals continue to appear first in print in the state’s newspapers.

That way, we argued, interested parties around the state would have easy, online access to legal notices, but newspapers would retain their crucial role in accepting and publishing legals.

Why should papers continue to publish legals?

• It’s important that an independent third party

verify that governments have fulfilled their duty to inform the public.

• Local newspapers are the place most readers expect to find public notices that affect their community.

• Legal advertising brings in revenues that support healthy, community newspapers which provide an essential service in notifying the public of government actions.

• Many people don’t have access to online websites, but everyone can pick up a paper and be informed.

Here in Washington, we partnered with the Illinois Press Association to provide Washington State newspapers with Washington’s public notice site, wapublicnotices.com.

We ask all newspapers to upload to this site.

To learn more about the site and how to upload your legals, contact Janay Collins at WNPA. Her email is ads@wnpa.com.

Weeding fact from fiction in letters to the editor is a constant struggle

By Michelle Nedved

We receive a lot of letters to the editor at The Miner. Typically, this is considered a good thing. It shows people are engaged with us and each other. I’m proud of how many letters to the editor we receive and we keep the limitations on them brief. Three hundred words or less (with a 25word grace) and nothing libelous, we’ll run it as long – as long as there are no blatant falsehoods.

We don’t limit the number per writer per month and we rarely push back on what is alleged.

However, I’ve been struggling with this policy in the last few years, and I’m sure you all can relate. With the loosie-goosy grasp some of our readers have on facts, letters to the editor can find themselves in the weeds. If a writer makes a flat-out false statement such as “the earth is flat,” of course we don’t run it. It’s when

they make vague “what ifs” that the line gets fuzzy.

We don’t want to censor the public. We also don’t want to give oxygen to falsehoods.

We believe in science. We believe doctors. We appreciate the practice of medicine and find value in vaccinations. Our staff gets the COVID vaccine regularly. We all get the flu shot. And we hope that others do as well.

Vaccinations are also a personal decision. There’s lots of articles on questionable websites about the alleged dangers of vaccinations. While we don’t believe these to be true, or the sources to be vetted, we also don’t have the manpower or the energy to argue ad nauseum with these letter writers who pose questions about vaccinations.

We encounter the same problem with letters to the editor about election integrity. The writers who argue there’s a possibility that election fraud took place don’t necessarily come out and make the claim. They pose the question, which again, we don’t have the energy or manpower to go 10 rounds over. So where do we draw the line

on letters to the editor. We understand our readership is heavily right-leaning. Because of our encouragement of vaccinations and our coverage of COVID and the like, we’re regularly slammed as a liberal rag. We also have subscribers canceled because we’re too left leaning, and we get subscriptions canceled because we’re too right leaning.

I had a reader call last week and ask why we didn’t run any left-leaning letters that week. She explained that we usually have a good dose of both sides but this issue we didn’t. “Why did you do that,” she asked. She was actually surprised when my answer was, “We didn’t run any left-leaning letters because we didn’t get any.” She thought we censored what we run.

I don’t want to limit the letters to the editor we publish but I also don’t want to perpetuate lies and conspiracy theories. It’s a struggle I battle in my head nearly every week.

I wish I knew the answer. Do you?

Michelle Nedved is the publisher of the Newport Miner and this year’s WNPA President.

Nominations wanted for top awards

Officers: Michelle Nedved, President; Donna Etchey, 1st Vice President; Sean Flaherty, 2nd Vice President; Steve Powell, Past President; Trustees: Roger Harnack, Teresa Myers, Rudi Alcott, Matt Winters, Ron Judd and Bob Richardson.

THE WASHINGTON NEWSPAPER is the offical publication of the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association. It is published monthly by WNPA, PO Box 389, Port Townsend, WA 98368.

Fred Obee: Executive Director: 360-344-2938 Email: fredobee@wnpa.com

Janay Collins, Member Services Director: 360-344-2938. Email: ads@wnpa.com

Nominations are being sought for two of WNPA’s top awards, the Dixie Lee Bradley award and the Miles Turnbull Master Editor/Publisher award.

Bradley tirelessly served the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association and its members for 45 years and Turnbull was an active publisher and ultimately Executive Director of the organization.

The Bradley award recognizes newspaper staff

members who work long and hard, often behind the scenes, to see that the best possible community newspaper is produced and distributed each week. The selection criteria includes a demonstrated record of consistent quality work in aproduction, circulation, or front office support.

There is no entry fee at the time of nomination. However, should its nominee win, the sponsoring newspaper must agree to

pay the winning employee a $250 bonus which will be matched by WNPA for a total cash prize of $500 for the winner.

The first WNPA Master Editor/Publisher award was presented at WNPA’s 1994 annual convention.

This award may be given to any person who is actively engaged in editing, managing and/or publishing a newspaper which is a member in good standing of the Washington Newspaper

Publishers Association.

Selection criteria includes service to a free press or freedom of information, and service to the cause of community newspapers.

To nominate someone for either award, send us a short essay describing why your nominee should win. Be sure to include your contact information and send entries to Fred Obee at fredobee@wnpa. com. Deadline for submission is July 1.

Nedved

Legislative Day returns Feb. 16 after nearly three year hiatus

Legislative Day in Olympia sponsored by Allied Daily Newspapers of Washington, the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association and the Washington State Association of Broadcasters is set for Feb. 16.

The session begins at 10:30 a.m. with a legislative report by Allied’s Rowland Thompson in the John A. Cherberg Building, Room ABC.

Thompson’s report is followed by and brown bag lunch and discussions from legislative leaders. Invited are: Rep.Laurie Jinkins, Speaker, Senator Andy Billig, Senate Majority Leader, Rep. JT

Wilcox, House Republican Leader, Senator John Braun, Senate Republican Leader, Rep. Joe Fitzgibbon, House Majority Leader, Rep. Joel Kretz, House Deputy Republican Leader, Senator Christine Rolfes, Ways and Means Chair, Senator Lynda Wilson, Ways and Means Ranking Member, Rep. Timm Ormsby, Appropriations Chair, Rep. Drew Stokesbary, Appropriations Ranking Member, Senator Marko Liias, Transportation Chair, Senator Curtis King, Transportation Ranking Member, Rep. Jake Fey, Transportation Chair and Rep. Andrew

Barkis, Transportation Ranking Member.

Attendance by these members is dependent on scheduling. Most will probably make it but some may not.

At 1 pm state elected leaders are invited to speak. Invited are: Bob Ferguson, Attorney General; Steve Hobbs, Secretary of State; Mike Pellicciotti, State Treasurer; Pat McCarthy, State Auditor; Mike Kreidler, Insurance Commissioner; Hilary Franz, Commissioner of Public Lands; and Chris Reykdal, Superintendent Public Instruction.

At 2:45 p.m. Lieuten-

ant Governor Dennis Heck and John Batiste, Chief State Patrol Chief, are invited to speak.

From 4 to 5 p.m. is a reception hosted by Washington Supreme Court Justice Steven Gonzalez. Because the Temple of Justice is unavailable, the reception will be at a private residence at 1502 Columbia Street.

A reception with Governor Jay Inslee follows at the Governor’s Mansion. A photo ID is required for entry into the mansion.

Registration information will be available soon.

WITH OVER 60 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE, WE KNOW JOURNALISM.

From public records to protecting journalists, from defamation claims to business needs, large and small Washington publishers turn to us.

Gov. Jay Inslee addresses a previous Legislative day event in the Governors Mansion.

COURAGE: Shuttered train awaited detainees

they have given every indication of loyalty to this nation. They have sent, along with our boys, their own sons — six of them — into the United States Army. Let us so live in this trying time that when it is all over loyal Americans can look loyal Americans in the eye with the knowledge that, together, they kept the Stars and Stripes flying high over the land of the brave and home of the free.”

Imagine: All hell had just broken loose. Rumors of Japanese landings on the West Coast filled the air. The Imperial Japanese Army was on the move in the Far East. The Bremerton Naval Shipyard, a few nautical miles away, represented a major target. People were confused and scared. And yet the Woodwards, young owners of a small weekly in Puget Sound, kept their heads in a dark time when the rest of the West Coast media did not. In the process, they put their newspaper and their livelihoods on the line.

In fact, it came to pass that even the patron saint of American journalism, Edward R. Murrow, would write: “I think it possible that, if Seattle ever does get bombed, you will see… some University of Washington sweaters on the boys doing the bombing.”

At the time of Pearl Harbor some 120,000 people of Japanese descent lived on the West Coast — most of them American citizens. They were imprisoned in the American interior without due process.

The run-up to imprisonment moved rapidly: On Feb. 19, 1942, President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 creating West

Coast exclusion zones. A March 5 Review editorial stated: “Because of a cruel war in which they have no part nor parcel, there are many heartsick people on this Island today…the Review has done what little it could do to keep them here, for the Review trusts them and believes they are good residents of this nation. Others, in the majority, have ruled otherwise. The Review, and those who think as it does, have lost.”

On March 24 soldiers boarded the ferry from Seattle to post Civilian Order No. 1: “Instructions to all Japanese living on Bainbridge Island.” Notice the word “descent” did not appear after the word “Japanese.” The gist: They must be gone by noon, March 30. Those living on Bainbridge Island were the first on the West Coast to go.

On March 26, Walt Woodward wrote a frontpage editorial: “But we are talking here about 191 American Citizens. Where, in the face of their fine record since December 7, in the face of their rights of citizenship, in the face of their own relatives being drafted and enlisting in our Army, in the face of Ameri-

can decency, is there any excuse for this high-handed, too-short evacuation order?”

On the morning of March 30, Bainbridge Island’s Nikkei were rounded up by Army trucks and driven to Eagledale dock on the south side of Eagle Harbor where the ferry Kehloken waited to take them to Seattle. A large group of Islanders turned out to see them off, including my mother and grandmother. During the crossing, Captain Wyatt wept in the wheelhouse.

A shuttered train waited on the Seattle waterfront. The prisoners were bound for Manzanar in the central California high desert. Eventually, 10,000 West Coast Nikkei were imprisoned in Manzanar: tarpaper shacks, an extreme climate, and barbed wire where the machine guns pointed in.

The Woodwards hired a series of high school kids in the camp to write dispatches to the Review, letting the folks back home know what was going on: births, deaths, weddings, gossip, youthful pranks, beauty contests, softball league results. To keep the Islanders informed about their friends and

neighbors, the Woodwards said. And to hold the gate open for their return.

When the fortunes of war turned in the Allies’ favor, not all islanders were on board with the Review. The letters to the editor section became a crossroads of point, counterpoint; most Islanders wanted their imprisoned friends and neighbors to return, but not all.

A crackpot writer on economics led the resistance to their return. Here’s a slice from one of his letters to the editor: “We knew them as neighbors, as the smiling and inscrutable operators of truck farms and grocery stores.” This was followed by a raw, racist rant employing the perennial tropes we’re familiar with today.

The first public meeting of No Returners brought out more than 200 people. When talk of boycotting the Review’s advertisers arose, the crackpot economics writer urged restraint. He said the Review must be kept in business — otherwise, who will print their letters to the editor?

The man’s name was Lambert Schuyler.

Walt Woodward responded in the Review’s pages to one of Schuyler’s venomous letters. Mark Twain couldn’t have done it better: “An intelligent man doesn’t argue with invectives — unless he is driven by personal bias. Yet Mr. Schuyler prefers to call our evacuated friends ‘monkeyjawed.’ Well, we won’t risk libel by attempting to describe Mr. Schuyler’s undoubtedly pretty countenance, but we know our own whiteskinned phizz would never win a beauty contest. “We’ve got flop ears and a bulbous beak.

“Supposing, in a

whimsical way, the federal authorities should suddenly decide tonight that all people named Schuyler should be moved from their homes and bundled back to the interior, there to be objects of scorn by the rest of us. Does it matter that Mr. Schuyler’s name is not Yamamoto?

“The Review has for many, many months stood up for the JapaneseAmericans. It is true. But basically, it makes no difference to the Review whether they are Japanese Americans, German Americans, Italian Americans, or Schuyler Americans. They are Americans and, as such, are guaranteed certain rights which the Review will always defend.”

A paltry handful turned out for the No Returner’s second meeting.

When peace came, Bainbridge Island’s Japanese Americans returned at a higher rate than Japanese Americans did to other West Coast communities. The Woodwards and the Bainbridge Review played no small part in this.

In Hood River, Oregon, mob violence broke out; In Seattle, the Teamsters prevented Japanese American produce from reaching public markets. Up and down the West Coast, houses left vacant were vandalized, the fields overgrown.

On Bainbridge Island there is a Woodward Middle School.

The Woodward’s daughter, Mary, wrote “In Defense of Our Neighbors: The Walt and Milly Woodward Story,” the indispensable source book on the subject, which is rich with archival photos. It’s a book worth having.

At the 1998 WNPA Convention, Walt Woodward was recognized with the Freedom Light Award. Sitting in a wheelchair up front, he did not speak that day. He had three more years to live. Milly died in 1989.

The program conveys the depth of gratitude Bainbridge Islanders felt, and island old-timers still feel, toward the Woodwards and the Review. To watch the program go to TVW.org and search this event code: 1998091050

I know. I was born in 1950, and grew up as a fourth-generation Bainbridge Islander. The Woodward’s legacy is part of the island’s DNA.

On March 30 2002, the sixtieth anniversary of the forced removal, hundreds showed up at the site of the long-gone Eagledale dock to remember what happened there. It is now the site of the admirable Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial. The program that day was moving and cathartic, and ended with the crowd singing “America the Beautiful.” The proceedings couldn’t have unfolded in the deeply meaningful way it did if it hadn’t been for the Woodwards and the Bainbridge Review.

Current research confirms that local journalism, including community newspapers, is the most trusted source of news in America today. What a responsibility and privilege.

And so, I often wonder, given the temper of our times: How would Walt Woodward craft an interview, and story, in which truth and lies do not get equal time?

Bainbridge Island Review photo

Citizens of Japanese descent wait at the dock on Bainbridge Island.

Counties, cities have cash for tourism

Regional ads bring visitors

When you are looking for ways to bring in new revenue, spend a few minutes learning how your WNPA co-op ad network can help your bottom line.

Now that the pandemic is mainly behind us, people are itching to get out and mingle and community events are once again filling the streets.

But after two years of relative inactivity, extra effort is necessary to let people know your town is open for business and welcoming tourists.

Online advertising is an option, but with ad blocking software and distrust growing over social media, it isn’t the solution it used to be. In this changing environment, trusted community newspapers across the state serving a highly educated, affluent and involved readership are a perfect place to get a message out.

Every ad salesperson knows it is wise to identify the entities in your community with fat ad budgets. At this moment in time, don’t overlook the folks with hundreds of thousands of dollars to spend – your local governments!

Every city and county in the state has a pool of money generated by local lodging taxes, and that money is supposed to be used to reach beyond local markets and bring people to town.

If you have not already, you should ask your city and county governments (each has separate

Ad network:

Continued from Page 5

funds) for a report on where the lodging tax money is going (usually chambers of commerce and local non-profits) and then propose a marketing plan that reaches out across the region.

WNPA ads are a perfect match for boosting community events because you can choose to advertise regionally or statewide.

Here’s how the WNPA program works:

• You sell the ad to a local organization.

• You charge your client for the full cost of the ad and send an insertion order to WNPA. WNPA then invoices you for half the cost of the ad, splitting the revenue on the ad sale. The advertising salesperson gets their regular commission on the sale and $50 direct from WNPA.

• WNPA uses our share of the money to provide your legal hotline, professional services, Legislative Day, the Better Newspaper Contest and the annual convention.

• We keep the price to the client affordable by asking all member newspapers to publish the ads sold by other newspapers for free. The ads are small – just two columns wide by either two or four inches tall. One column by four or eight inches is also OK. They need to be produced in two different widths, to accommodate different column widths.

Potential customers include festivals, fairs, resorts, real estate offices, state agencies, statewide or regional political candidates – anyone who desires a cost effective regional or statewide campaign.

Because member newspapers publish these ads for free, we can only promise that they will run as black and white ads. If you include a color version, many papers will use it instead, but there is no guarantee of this.

Need more information?

Contact Janay at WNPA by emailing ads@wnpa.com or by calling 360-344-2938.

REPORTER

Sound Publishing Inc. is seeking a general assignment reporter with a minimum of 1-2 years of writing experience and photography skills. This position is based out of our Federal Way office.

The primary coverage will be general assignment stories. The schedule may require evening and/or weekend work.

As a reporter for Sound Publishing, you will be expected to produce 5 by-line stories per week, use a digital camera to take photographs of the stories you cover, post on the publication’s website, blog and use Twitter on the web and shoot and edit videos for the web.

We are looking for a team player willing to get involved in the local community through the publication of the weekly newspaper and daily web journalism. He or she will have a commitment to community journalism and everything from short, brieftype stories about people

and events to examining issues facing the community.

Candidates must have excellent communication and organizational skills, and be able to work effectively in a deadlinedriven environment.

Must be proficient with AP style and use the publication’s website and online tools to gather information and reach the community.

Must be organized and self-motivated, exceptional with the public, and have the ability to establish a rapport with the community

We offer a competitive hourly wage and benefits package including health insurance, paid time off (vacation, sick, and holidays), and 401K (currently with an employer match.)

Email us your cover letter, resume, and include five examples of your best work showcasing your reporting skills and writing chops with your resume submission to careers@soundpublishing.com.

REPORTER

The Vashon Beachcomber, a division of Sound Publishing Inc., is seeking a general assignment reporter with a minimum of 1-2 years of writing experience and photography skills.

This position is based out of the Vashon Island office.

The primary coverage will be city government, business, sports, arts and general assignment stories. The schedule includes evening and/or weekend work.

As a reporter for Sound Publishing, you will be expected to produce 5 bylined stories per week, use a digital camera to take photographs for the stories you cover, post on the publication’s website, blog and use Twitter on the web and shoot and edit videos for the web.

The ideal applicant will have a commitment to community journalism and everything from short, brief-type stories about people and events to examining issues fac -

ing the community. Candidates must have excellent communication and organizational skills, and be able to work effectively in a deadlinedriven environment.

Must be proficient with AP style. Must use the publication’s website and online tools to gather information and reach the community.

Must be organized and self-motivated, exceptional with the public, and have the ability to establish a rapport with the community.

This is a full-time position. Sound Publishing offer a competitive hourly wage and benefits package including health insurance, paid time off (vacation, sick, and holidays), and 401K (currently with an employer match.)

Email us your cover letter, resume, and include five examples of your best work showcasing your reporting skills and writing chops to: careers@soundpublishing.com ATTN: VMB Reporter.

MANAGING EDITOR

The Daily Record, located in Ellensburg Washington, is looking for candidates to fill our Managing Editor role. Ellensburg is a tight-knit community that is the county seat for Kittitas County in the heart of Washington State and home to Central Washington University which means there are cultural, sporting and entertainment events not found in similar-sized towns. We also enjoy easy access to four-season outdoor recreational opportunities.

The role’s primary focus is growing and sustaining digital audience while continuing to serve loyal print subscribers.

A strong understanding of, and experience with, digital platforms, social media strategy, and search engine optimization are essential. The best candidates also will have a collaborative spirit and knowledge of total operation, including audience/circulation, sales and production. Performance will be

measured by subscriber growth, engagement and retention as well as the impact our content has in the community – audience reach and public service. Importantly, this top newsroom position requires a rock-solid, fundamental understanding of what is required to deliver journalism of the highest order.

Managing Editor must collaborate and lead other members of the newsroom to design workflows that lead with digital delivery and follow with smooth and efficient print packaging. This will require leading cultural change in the newsroom. The managing editor will and other people’s stories, write content, take photos and videos on a weekly basis as needed to fill content goals.

Understand how to use measurement tools and analytics to judge performance. Make datadriven decisions and set internal goals that are thoroughly explained

from

to staff. Hold regular training sessions so that newsroom staff always know where the team stands against goals.

It’s not all about the numbers. Charge the team with having an impact in the community – finding ways to represent the underserved in the community, for example, even when that means challenging community leaders to do better. Assess the potential impact of all investigative work and pick those shots wisely as this work requires significant use of precious resources. But, make no mistake, it is our responsibility to have a steady diet of this highlevel work.

Applicants should have a minimum of three years of experience leading a news team, experience with digital analytics (Google Analytics preferable) strong interpersonal skills and community-engagement experience – in person and on social networks. A Bachelor’s degree is required. Additional professional training in areas such as social media, analytics or project management is preferred.

The Daily Record is owned by Adams Publishing Group. Benefits will be the same as offered to other company associates and may change periodically. APG offers a choice of two medical plans with varying levels of employee cost-sharing, and employee-paid Dental and Vision options. There are three company-sponsored and paid benefits, including short-term Disability, longterm disability and a term life insurance policy.

To apply, send your resume, cover letter and writing samples to General Manager, Josh Crawford at jcrawford@ kvnews.com.