The Washington Newspaper, February 2023

February 2023

Journal of the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association

Legislature tries to make juvenile records secret

A coordinated lobbying effort across several states is pushing to keep all juvenile criminal records secret.

In Washington, the issue first surfaced at the state Supreme Court, where justices attempted to modify court rules so juveniles were indentified by initials only.

But after a coalition of court clerks, judges, media organizations, prosecutors and law enforcement groups objected, the court determined the process would be impossible to implement, given existing laws, and the complex web of justice system agencies.

Now the Legislature has taken up the cause with the introduction of SB 5644, a bill that if approved would close access by the public to all juvenile

criminal records.

Introduced by Sen. Noel Frame, D-Seattle, the bill drew comments in support and oppsition at a recent hearing.

Objecting was the same coalition that opposed the Supreme Court rule change.

“The undersigned members of court and community stakeholders write to express strong concerns about SB 5644 sponsored by Senator Frame,” said a letter signed by coalition members. “Based on our collective experience, we do not believe that SB 5644 as proposed would effectively address current problems and would create new, avoidable problems.”

Coalition members include the State Association of County Clerks, the state Association of

See JUVENILES, Page 2

Northwest Asian Weekly ceases print publication

After 41 years, the Northwest Asian Weekly and its sister publication, the Chinese Post, have ceased print distribution in Seattle.

The Northwest Asian Weekly will continue as a website, but the Post will shut down completely.

Publisher Assunta Ng announced the changes last month.

Through the decades, the

Board votes no on allowing online news sites as members in WNPA

papers have chronicled life, death and politics in the region’s Asian communities, with punchy columns by the publisher holding the whole city to account.

“People thought I was the least likely person to be able to tackle a newspaper,” said Ng. “They all underestimated me.”

Ng said she thinks the

See NG, Page 3

The WNPA Board of Directors at its January meeting voted not to pursue a bylaws change that would allow online-only news sites to join the association.

The discussion on the proposal began in mid-2022, when the board discussed putting the measure to a vote of the membership.

During that process, several members said they were opposed to the idea.

Concerns were raised about giving online sites more credibility and some voiced worries

that online sites might move to win the right to publish legals. At its board meeting last October at the annual convention, board members discussed tax advantages that only newspapers have, and expressed concern that allowing onlineonly news sites might muddy the waters in discussions with the state Legislature.

Suggestions were made to limit membership to an Associate Member level without voting rights and without the ability to serve on the board.

Similar restrictions have

been put in place among newspaper associations across the country where online membership is allowed.

The issue was discussed during the annual business meeting at the annual convention in Bellingham

Again, some members voiced opposition while others said they thought perhaps the idea should be on the back burner for future consideration.

The board vote in January was not divided. All voted in favor of not pursuing the issue this year.

This shot was an award winner for Job Wise of the Sunnyside Sun in last year’s Better Newspaper Contest. This year’s contest opens at the beginning of March and rules will be posted at wnpa.com next week. It’s not to early to search your files for entries.

WNPA partnership with SmallTownPapers hits 15th anniversary

This year marks the 15th year in a row that SmallTownPapers has provided WNPA with the Better Newspaper Contest website for free. It remains one of the largest annual contributions made by anyone to WNPA.

“I believe in 2006-07, we worked with Mae Waldron and Bill Will to figure out how to put the WNPA BNC online,” said Paul Jeffko. “When they first mentioned it, my response was: ‘You have a contest?’ I was way out of the loop.”

The first year, a very rudimentary system was built with entries still mailed in. Waldron organized everything. Tearsheets were scanned and correlated in an online spreadsheet that the judges could access. Some judges responded very favorably. Others definitely did not like it, mostly because they were accustomed to holding an entry as a real piece of a newspaper.

Jeffko said when the contest first moved online, many said it would never be accepted simply because part of the judging was the look and feel, the ink on paper, the unpredictable print quality on newsprint -- all of that influenced the judges. Others said publishers did not have to keep PDF files of their editions, or that it would take too long, or cost too much.

“Now the most heard comment is, ‘how did we ever do this manually?’” Jeffko said.

“If it were not for Bill Will explaining what the BNC means for a publishers association, and that dozens of others would follow, I would have never even known about it, let alone built such an enterprise. So I credit him 100% for the idea and motivation to ultimately create what is now BetterBNC,” Jeffko said.

Take some time to consider entries for this year’s newspaper contest

By Michelle Nedved

Every year after I submit our entries to the WNPA Better Newspaper Contest, my staff and I agree we’re going to be diligent in the coming year. We’re going to keep contest categories in mind when we pitch stories. We’re going to pull those awesome ad designs as they’re created.

We’ll make note of our best issues for General Excellence. It never happens.

Entries for the 2023 BNC must be published between April 1, 2022, and March 31, 2023. So that gives us about six weeks to get out our best work. It’s also a good time to start reviewing old issues and organize potential submissions.

The BNC is a fantastic way to not only support the WNPA, but to inspire and celebrate your staff. To be recognized by our peers is an honor that can offset the stressors of this job.

Those hard-hitting stories that

pissed off your city council and garnered glares from the mayor can also be the first place investigative reporting winner that elicits hoots, hollars and those annoying plastic hand clappy things during the awards dinner. That sports photo that nearly caused your green reporter to be tackled by a smelly high school football team can also be that award winner that convinces her to stay the course in community journalism.

We’ve added some new categories this year that we hope will inspire more submissions. They include Ads Featuring Animals, Romantic Ads, Ads Celebrating Where You Live, Arts & Entertainment Ads, Obituary Pages and Classified Pages.

We are also hoping to revitalize the Community Service Award, which has experienced a major decline in submissions over the last several years.

This award goes to a newspaper staff or individual who fulfills a newspaper’s responsibility to use enterprise or initiative to advance the public good. Entries will be judged by the newspaper’s willingness to commit resources, the effort involved, the initiative shown and the impact of the project. It’s an open competition across all circula-

tion groups.

Use your imagination. Something you’ve always done that seems mundane to you could qualify as a community service project. Think about promotions the newspaper has done in-kind of non-profits or events, events the newspaper has hosted or helped organize, or something unrelated to journalism that your staff supports.

The BNC.com site opens for entries on April 1. May 1 is the deadline for regular entries and the deadline for Tourism Sections is June 2. Winners are announced at the WNPA Convention Oct. 7 in Kennewick.

The BNC and the Awards Dinner at the Convention is our chance to celebrate ourselves and each other. I’ve said it before in these pages. This is a tough job and our relationships with our communities can be a contentious one. It can be downright scary for someone new to the field of journalism. Take the time and thought to reflect on the important work you and your staff has done over the last year and give us all the opportunity to celebrate!

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

JUVENILES: Coalition objects to secrecy

Officers: Michelle Nedved, President; Sean Flaherty, 1st 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

Continued from Page 1

Prosecuting Attorneys, the Superior Court Judges’ Association, Allied Daily Newspapers, the Washington Association of Juvenile Court Administrators, the Washington State Association of Broadcasters, the Washington Coalition for Open Government and WNPA.

“The practical effect of confidential records is to seriously restrict who knows about the proceedings. Sunlight on a proceeding is valuable not just to the public, but to the youth. The principle of courts operating openly is bedrock. If a pro-

ceeding is open but only the hearing participants know it, the goals underlying open court guarantees are jeopardized. The community has a vested interest in knowing when serious crimes such as murder, rape, robbery, carjacking, and so on are committed by juveniles and that offenders are held accountable for these behaviors. It also can offer valuable resources such as supportive networks and restorative experiences.”

Proponents of the bill say something must be done to help juveniles move beyond their criminal records as adults. Many face discrimina-

tion in employment and housing when their juvenile records become known, supporters said.

The fate of the bill at this writing is uncertain. It was scheduled for an executive session Feb. 14 but that did not happen.

This year, the cutoff for bills to pass out of committee and be read into the record on the floor is Feb. 17.

Other states are also seeing similar bills proposed in their legislatures. Although not identical to Washington’s bill, all seek restrictions on open juvenile records.

Nedved

NG: Northwest Asian Weekly will continue as news website

Continued from Page 1

Nedved steps up to ownership in Newport

the newspaper. The Miner has been a great paper for years. Now that Michelle is a vested owner, it’s only going to get better.”

Ng

Northwest Asian Weekly can still thrive on the web, which she hopes to update with new stories on a daily basis, but the decision to close the Seattle Chinese Post wasn’t easy, she said, mentioning older immigrants who rely on the paper to learn about local, national and international news. She phoned some

of them personally to let them know.

“They’ve been reading this newspaper for so long” and either can’t read English news or aren’t comfortable reading online, said Harry Chan, owner of Seattle’s historic Tai Tung restaurant, who prefers print himself.

By the end of a call with one longtime reader, Linda Tsang, Ng was in tears.

“I was just so shocked,” Tsang said later. “It’s like I’m losing a friend.”

WITH OVER

Newport Miner publisher and WNPA president Michelle Nedved is now part owner of the newspaper company, which includes the Newport and Gem State Miner newspapers, along with a number of special publications and The Miner Extra Shopper.

Nedved, 44, who has worked at The Miner for more than 20 years, is partners with Louie Mullen of Wyoming. Mullen bought the newspaper company from Fred and Susan Willenbrock of Diamond Lake in 2015.

“Our commitment to reporting local news and supporting our local communities has never been stronger,” Nedved said. “Our staff here, while small, is dedicated and passionate about being watchdogs of our local governments, lifting up our business communities, and

OF EXPERIENCE, WE KNOW JOURNALISM.

celebrating our community’s accomplishments.”

Mullen, who owns more than 30 community newspapers across eight states, is pleased with his partnership with Nedved.

“Having a local owner is always in the best interest of the community,” Mullen said. “And since the moment I’ve met her, Michelle has done nothing but impress me and impress upon me the importance of your community and the voice of

The Newport Miner newspaper has been in publication since 1901 and is the newspaper of record for Pend Oreille County. The Gem State Miner came into existence in the mid-1970s and covers the west half of Bonner County.

The Willenbrocks hired Nedved in June 2002 as a reporter. She worked her way up to Gem State Editor, News Editor and Managing Editor, and became Publisher in the spring of 2015.

She lives in Newport with her husband Chris, a Newport school bus driver for First Student, and their two children, Zoey, 9, and Cooper, 6, both students at Stratton Elementary. They also have a dog, three birds and a snail.

60 YEARS

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

“The Miner has been a great paper for years. Now that Michelle is a vested owner, it’s only going to get better.”

-- Louie Mullen

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

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Ad network:

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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.

Historic, large format photos preserved in Sumner

ArchiveInABox helps historical society

In the 1940s, printing photos in the weekly newspaper was expensive and difficult.

So, the publisher of the Sumner newspaper came up with a quick and inexpensive way to include photographic images.

With a Graflex Speed 4x5 camera and a small offset press, a pictorial collage of photos related to stories in that week’s issue was printed and manually inserted into the paper.

The Sumner Historical Society has been working with ArchiveInABox to digitize issues from the nine titles

that documented the town’s history over 100 years, including the weekly photo collage inserts. But recently, something really interesting happened. The local historical society received 1400 envelopes which had the power to significantly elevate the town’s archive.

The envelopes contained thousands of negatives of the photos that went into those pictorial inserts. Sumner suddenly had the ability to create exceptional, high-quality, individual photos. Volunteers mobilized to screen, convert and index the negatives which

were then matched to their respective articles.

While the pictorial collage pages have been added to Sumner’s online archive site, volunteers aided by a heritage grant are now working to create and incorporate the high-quality photography collection which will enhance the history they have already preserved.

ArchiveInABox helps organizations across North America affordably complete scanning projects so archive materials are digitally preserved. To learn more contact them at archiveinabox.com.

Building Healthier Communities

Local newspapers are working to provide access to high quality news coverage. Local dentists are working to provide access to high quality oral health care. We’re both working to build a stronger community. Thank you for everything you do.

wsda.org

Hikers in the backcountry pause for a campfire lunch. This is one of the high quality large format negatives now being scanned by ArchiveInABox for the Sumner Historical Society.

REPORTER

Call us old-fashioned. The Methow Valley News, a weekly newspaper in the beautiful North Cascades of Washington state, is looking for a reporter with digital-age skills but also traditional journalism values and work habits, grounded in quality, consistency and ethics.

We don’t have story quotas. We don’t give a damn about analytics or deliverables or whether you are a social media influencer. What we need is a reporter who is productive because they are curious, who loves to dig into things and who strives to continually improve their fact-gathering, interviewing and writing.

You need to be a competent photographer. Added value if you are fluent in InDesign and the Adobe production suite, know your way around social media platforms and/or have newsroom management experience that enables you to take on additional tasks as needed. (The Editor needs a vacation.)

You need to demonstrate applicable experience through clippings or links to your work. You could be a recent college grad with potential, or a veteran who wants to keep doing great work at a newspaper where it’s appreciated. You can start quickly and accelerate. As good as you are, we can help you get better.

We are a small paper with big ambitions and accomplishments to match, including regional and national awards. Competitive salary, and a health care subsidy is available. Hiring bonus if you make it through a probationary period and it looks like you’re committed. Speaking of that, you will need to live here. We’re located in a year-round recreational paradise. If that sounds like a good situation for you and us, please be in touch. Check us out at www.methowvalleynews. com and our Facebook page.

Make a case for yourself by emailing editor@ methowvalleynews.com with a cover letter, resume

and work samples. References would be helpful. No calls, please.

MULTIMEDIA SALES

Be a part of the largest community news organization in Washington: Sound Publishing, Inc.

Come work with us at our Enumclaw office as an outside multimedia, sales consultant, supporting our south King County publications. This is a full-time, salary ($40k-45k) plus commission position with an initial three-month commission guarantee.

You will be asked to generate sales for our print and online products, build lifelong business relationships through consultative sales, and provide consistently outstanding customer service.

We offer: competitive base pay with commissions; Medical/Vision/Dental/ Life/AD&D, and LTD insurance; EAP & wellness plans; a 401k retirement plan with company match; paid holidays and vacation & sick leave accrual.

Multi-Media experience in digital and print

marketing preferred, but not mandatory.

You must have a valid WA driver’s license with active vehicle insurance and a reliable vehicle and professional sales experience.

If this sounds like you and you’d like to join our dynamic team, please email your cover letter with salary requirements and resume to: careers@ soundpublishing.com.

PUBLISHER

Sound Publishing is seeking a dynamic executive to lead the Whidbey News Group publications in the beautiful northwest on Whidbey Island.

We want a proven leader with the entrepreneurial skills to build on the solid growth of these publications. Ideally, the publisher will have a good understanding of all facets of newspaper operations with emphasis on sales, marketing, financial management, and a strong appreciation for quality journalism.

Additionally, the candidate should be wellsuited to working with

community groups and advertisers. As Publisher, you will help develop a strategy for the operation as it continues to serve a rapidly expanding and diverse market area.

Qualified applicants must be well versed in leading and developing sales teams and culture on all media platforms, have excellent communication skills and be innovative and agile in responding to changing business and audience needs.

Minimum qualifications include at least 5 years in a related industry, with at least three of those years in management.

This position receives a base salary of $104K plus bonuses; and a benefits package including health insurance, paid time off, and 401K with employer match.

Qualified applicants should email a cover letter with salary requirements and a resume to: careers@soundpublishing.com. Please be sure to include ATTN: WNGPUB in the subject line.

OUTSIDE SALES

Love being part of your community? Come work with us at The Whidbey News-Times and South Whidbey Record, divisions of Sound Publishing, Inc., where every day can be a new adventure!

We are looking for an Outside Salesperson for our office on Whidbey Island, WA to generate sales for our print and online products.

This position is responsible for both print and digital advertising. Must have a valid WA State Driver’s License, active vehicle insurance, and a reliable vehicle. Professional sales experience is necessary; media experience is a definite asset, but not mandatory.

We offer a base salary of $30k, with unlimited commission opportunity! We also have a benefits package that includes medical, vision, and dental insurance, life insurance, a 401k retirement plan with company match, and paid time off including vacation and sick leave.

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If this sounds good and you’d like to join our dynamic team, please include your cover letter with salary requirements and resume along with your Indeed submission to careers@soundpublishing.com.

ARTS & CULTURE WRITER

The Inlander, a familyowned urban weekly newspaper in Washington state, is looking for an ambitious and creative Arts and Culture Writer (with a heavy emphasis on Food coverage) to join its awardwinning editorial team. As the region’s thriving and healthy alternative weekly, our readers depend on us to seek out and tell stories that no one else is.

The position will focus on lively and insightful feature writing about food, chefs and entrepreneurs, as well as the news of food with stories on new restaurants, rules that affect the business of owning and running a restaurant, etc.

The perfect candidate is a skilled writer and hungry storyteller who understands that creativity, deep reporting and developing sources is vital to quality journalism. provide.

If you think you’re a fit, please send a cover letter, resume and several samples of your work to the Inlander’s editor, Nicholas Deshais, at nickd@ inlander.com. There is the potential for this to be a full- or part-time position, and compensation depends on experience, but will range from $35,000 to $45,000 a year. Other benefits include Inlander medical/optical/dental benefits, Simple savings plan, 10 days paid time off per year, six days of personal/sick time off per year and an annual review.