The Washington Newspaper, March 2024

TWN

THE WASHINGTON NEWSPAPER

March 2024

Journal of the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association

Better Newspaper Contest opens April 1 Page 2

Coalition issues report on open records

People’s right to know is eroding; action must be taken to stop, reverse trend

Access to public records is becoming harder, and government agencies are creating more roadblocks every year to citizen access.

That’s the conclusion of a report issued last month by the Washington Coalition for Open Government.

The special report urges the mobilization of civic leaders, organizations, businesses and all Washington residents to work together to save Washington state’s Public Records Act.

The report is available online for viewing and downloading on WashCog’s website.

News fellowships announced as new program begins

Nine sites have been selected to host the inaugural cohort of Murrow News Fellows, a two-year appointment designed to strengthen local newsrooms and better inform underserved communities in Washington state.

A team of evaluators selected the sites after a review of proposals and interviews with newsroom leaders over the past two months.

“With 40 newsroom applications, it was a very difficult decision,” said Jody Brannon, Murrow News program manager. “The evaluation team worked hard to narrow the list, given the very compelling proposals to enhance the information needs across many communities in all corners of

the state.”

The program is operated by the Murrow College of Communication; the fellows will be employed by Washington State University and will live in the communities to which they are assigned.

The newsrooms include several innovative partnerships across digital, broadcast and print publications. The selected sites are:

• Inland Empire: Joint proposal from KHQ, broadcasting from Spokane, and KNDU, whose coverage area reaches residents in TriCities and Yakima, to focus on three concerns facing Okanogan, Grant and Douglas counties: housing, civic health, and agriculture.

It outlines how state lawmakers and the courts continue to whittle away at the landmark public records law, which was adopted overwhelmingly with a citizens’ initiative in 1972. Since then, state legislators have passed more than 650 exceptions to the transparency law and have tried

repeatedly to exempt themselves from it.

Washington residents argued in 1972 nearly all records involving governance belong to the people, not the elected officials and employees entrusted to act on behalf of the state residents. Yet the attacks on this act have

ramped up considerably in the past decade.

The latest claim of “legislative privilege” by state lawmakers gives them the power to withhold essentially any document they choose, a privilege that flies in the face of the law’s intent.

Nixon appointed Sunshine committee chairman

Toby Nixon, a former state lawmaker and president emeritus of the Washington Coalition for Open Government, has been named chair of the state Sunshine Committee.

His appointment by Gov. Jay Inslee became official Feb. 29. He will continue serving his emeritus role as a senior advisor to the WashCOG board and executive committee. His Sunshine Committee term ends in August 2027.

Nixon said he always considered the Sunshine Committee, officially named the State Public Records Exemption Accountability Committee,

David Pan of the Mukilteo Beacon picked up a first place award in a feature photo category in last year’s Better Newspaper Contest. This year’s contest opens April 1.

NIXON: Big challenge will be getting state Legislature’s attention

Continued from Page 1

as important. The panel was created at the former attorney general’s request in 2007 because of the rapidly growing number of exemptions to the public records law. The trend has continued, and today, there are about 650 exemptions.

Meanwhile, the Sunshine Committee has struggled.

“People have been frustrated that the Legislature has been ignoring the committee’s work,” Nixon said.

“Sometimes (members) couldn’t get anyone to introduce a bill, much less get it through the Legislature.”

Nixon’s biggest challenge will be getting the Legislature’s attention, she said, adding that he will be the first permanent chair who was also an open government advocate.

Nixon served as a Republican state

representative from 2002 to 2006. His appointment in these politically divided times could seem to be an unusual choice for Inslee, a Democrat.

However, party affiliation hasn’t been the issue in the open records disputes. In both parties, some lawmakers support transparency while others have a different view of what that means.

Nixon’s top three goals as he begins as Sunshine Committee chair:

• New strategies for submitting bills.

• Filling vacancies.

• Accelerating the committee’s work.

“I know intimately the issues of all the stakeholders. I feel I have the ability to bridge the gap,” he said “It’s still very hard. There are deep feelings on both sides, but also friends on both sides.”

Officers: Donna Etchey, President; Sean Flaherty, 1st Vice President; Matt Winters, 2nd Vice President; Michelle Nedved, Past President. Trustees: Roger Harnack, Teresa Myers, Rudi Alcott, Staci Baird, Terry Ward 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: execdirector@wnpa.com

Better Newspaper Contest opens April 1

It is that time of year again, when you need to start collating your potential contest entries for the 2024 Better Newspaper Contest!

The rules and entry fees are the same as last year. You go to the wnpa. com website and click on the home page tile to download the rules you want.

Remember, entering General Excellence is free. We would love to see 100 percent participation there. You are all doing great work, so why not enter?

Results of the contest will be announced Oct. 5 at the Olympia Hotel at Capitol Lake at WNPA’s annual convention.

We hope to see you all there.

Good luck to everyone. We can’t wait to see your best work from the past year so start gettting organized.

ArchiveInABox busy with preservation

Archive in a Box has an award-winning online museum publishing platform, but did you know SmallTownPapers, Inc., is also a vested historical stakeholder? They have scanned and made freely accessible more than four million pages of small community newspapers.

In addition to newspaper archiving, there’s a wide range of digitization work currently underway including:

Nehalem Valley Historical Society - This Oregon historical society has undertaken an ambitious project to consolidate multiple digital archives. We imported Omeka™ and SmugMug™ databases and scanned more than 15,000 pages of artifacts including letters, postcards, pamphlets, newsletters,

and newspapers.

Heritage Society of Pacific Grove - Known for its colorful history, this picturesque California small town has entire neighborhoods comprising historical districts which include many of the homes and buildings. AIB was selected to host their collections, consolidate Google Docs databases and create customized features.

Mercer Island Historical Society - ArchiveInABox recently scanned editions of the “Mercer Island Reporter” from 1996 and 2001. This ongoing multi-year project is preserving the history of one of Seattle’s first suburbs.

Lake Stevens Historical Society - ArchiveInABox just finished scanning editions of multiple Lake Stevens (WA) titles

dating from 1928 to 2003.

Monroe Historical Society - Continuing a multi-year scan project, ArchiveInABox is preserving the legacy of Monroe by digitizing editions of the «Monroe Monitor» from 1988 to 2000.

Sno-Isle Genealogical Society - The society contracted with ArchiveInABox to scan “The Tribune-Review” from 1907 to 1918, including very fragile materials.

Sno-Isle Libraries - This county library system selected ArchiveInABox to preserve its unique collection of the “Snohomish Tribune” printed editions from 1904, 1910-1912, and 1921-1937.

For more information, go to ArchiveInABox.com.

The Hotel at Capitol Lake in Olympia is a familiar setting for WNPA convention goers. Hope to see you there Oct. 4&5.

FELLOWS: WSU announces inaugural cohort

Continued from Page 1

• Long Beach: The Chinook Observer will expand coverage of economically disadvantagedrural people — particularly immigrant and Indigenous communities. This will include detailed examination of housing, environmental, social and regulatory factors that influence overall community health.

• Spokane: Joint proposal from Spokane Public Radio and The Spokesman-Review to increase coverage of public policy on rural Eastern Washington residents, including infrastructure, rural economies, agriculture and environmental issues, healthcare and education.

• Tacoma: Proposal from the Tacoma News Tribune to expand coverage of public

Podcasts feature prominent journalists

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Spokane, Les Zaitz, owner and Publisher of the Malheur Enterprise, Eli Sanders, Pulitzer Prize winning writer formerly with the Stranger in Seattle, and Jacqui Banaszynski, another Pulitzer Prize winner.

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policy, economy, and plights of unhoused and homeless people in Tacoma and Pierce County.

• Tri-Cities: Proposal from the Tri-City Herald to increase coverage of the Hispanic and Latinx communities in the Mid-Columbia and Lower Yakima Valley, including civic life, agriculture, food processing industry and other statewide issues.

• Vancouver/ Longview: Joint proposal from the Vancouver Columbian and The Daily News in Longview to expand on coverage of the Columbia River corridor including water rights, tribal issues, hydropower, and environmental issues along the 1,243-mile river.

• Wenatchee: Joint proposal from The Wenatchee World and Northwest Public

Broadcasting to increase bilingual coverage of civic and municipal issues in Wenatchee, East Wenatchee, and surrounding rural communities.

• West Sound: Joint proposal from Gig Harbor Now and The Kitsap Sun to expand coverage of local government, including health care, drug addiction, and mental health in Kitsap County’s rural, suburban and urban communities.

• Yakima: Joint proposal from The Yakima HeraldRepublic and El Sol de Yakima to increase coverage of municipal, county, state and federal government issues in smaller communities in central Washington. Certain articles likely will be shared with the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin and The Seattle Times, the

Herald-Republic’s sister newspapers.

Through the state’s investment in the Murrow News Fellowship program, Washington has positioned itself as a national leader in creative solutions to help keep its local communities informed. The first cohort of Murrow News Fellows, currently in the interview process, are expected to be working in their assigned newsroom by April; the remaining seven reporters are likely to be placed by summer.

“We view this program as a small but critical part of maintaining the state’s news infrastructure until the financial precarity of news organizations subsides,” said Ben Shors, Murrow chair of Journalism and Media Production. “Over the past eight months, we have spoken to dozens of news

organizations, journalists, and community leaders, and the responses have been sobering. From urban centers to rural communities, the need for reliable local information is clear. Our responsibility is to ensure good stewardship of this program, to engage with reporters, editors and publishers, and to direct a program with the flexibility to be responsive to a rapidly evolving media landscape.”

The fellowship program is led by Washington State University’s Edward R. Murrow College of Communication. The selection team comprised Shors, Brannon and three professionals: broadcaster Enrique Cerna, television reporter Holly Menino and retired newspaper executive Julie Shirley.

Counties, cities have cash for tourism

Go get your share to 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.

People are itching to get out and mingle and community events are filling the streets.

But extra effort is necessary these days to let people know your town is open for business and welcoming tourists.

Many just trust in online notices, but with ad blocking software and distrust of social media growing, 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 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 region-

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Ad network: Fairs & fests, golf courses, wineries, resorts all can benefit

Continued from Page 6

ally 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.

• 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 WNPA by emailing ads@wnpa.com or by calling 360-344-2938.

Produce ads in two sizes,‘Version A & Version B,’ to accommodate different page sizes.

PRA: Report urges action to aid transparency

Continued from Page 1

Amid the stormy racialjustice protests of 2020, thousands of text messages were deleted from the phones of the former Seattle mayor and police chief. The city paid nearly $3 million in court settlements with whistleblowers and The Seattle Times. None of the officials involved was either fined or prosecuted.

“Many government agencies and officials complain the PRA is a burden that gets in the way of doing their job, but upholding it is an essential part of their job,” WashCOG President Mike Fancher said. “It should be treated as such.”

The report explains

the history of the Public Recoreds Act got and what WashCOG beleives should happen next. The report’s central conclusion is simple and direct: The people’s right to know is eroding and this trend must be reversed.

In examining why the people’s right to know is being weakened, WashCOG found these recurring problems regarding the Public Records Act:

• The Washington Legislature undermines the PRA.

• Public officials and agencies obstruct requesters.

• Agencies fail to properly maintain, organize and disclose records.

• Open government training Is inadequate and often wrong.

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

JOB BOARD

COMMUNITY EDITOR AND LEADER

If you have a love for community journalism and are excited about an opportunity to make a difference in rural Western Washington communities, you may have a future with our company.

In anticipation of retirements, we are planning ahead and seeking the next generation of journalists to provide reporting and editorial leadership in the communities we serve in Southwest Washington. Your love for the laidback lifestyle and an understanding of the challenges and opportunities offered by smaller rural communities is key to being a part of a team that is the trusted, dedicated news source in our regions.

Reporters with a

desire to be an editor are encouraged to respond.

DeVaul Publishing Inc. is a family of six award winning, engaged publications in Southwest Washington with more than 35 years of experience in our communities. Send a letter of interest and resume to Frank DeVaul at fdevaul@ devaulpublishing.com.

REPORTER

Adams Publishing Group’s Western Division has an opening for a reporter to help cover Kittitas County for The Daily Record

Recent college graduates — ideally those with an online-first background, plus experience covering public safety, breaking news, and/or feature writing for a college newspaper or internship — are highly encouraged to

apply. Photography experience is also helpful.

Essential Responsibilities: General assignment, beat reporting including daily stories, profiles, news features, sports, exclusive news, and watchdog reports.

Qualifications include a Bachelor’s degree in journalism, communications, or related field. Previous journalism experience is preferred, but recent college graduates will be considered.

To apply, please email three samples of your work to General Manager Donna Etchey at detchey@ kvnews.com.

REPORTER

The Chronicle in Centralia, Washington, is looking for the next great journalist to join its growing team.

The position calls for

a motivated, adventurous and endlessly curious reporter who enjoys reporting on environmental issues, the outdoors and more from a coverage area that includes Mount St. Helens, Mount Rainier, White Pass Ski Area, the Pacific Crest Trail and the sprawling Gifford Pinchot National Forest.

The successful applicant will report on wildfires and floods when they occur but will also be asked to keep tabs on a number of small towns in East Lewis County and carry out general assignment duties as needed.

We’re looking for a reporter who is handy with a camera, but photographers are available to join journalists on assignment.

The Chronicle is located midway between Portland and Seattle, just a short drive from the Washing-

ton coast and the Cascade Mountains. The newsroom prides itself on awardwinning local news, with an intense focus on the communities we call home.

The Chronicle publishes three robust print editions a week and daily updates at chronline.com.

The locally-owned family newspaper is part of CT Publishing, which also publishes The Reflector in Battle Ground, and the Nisqually Valley News in Yelm.

The pay range for this position is $18 to $22 an hour, depending on experience and qualifications. The Chronicle offers health and dental insurance. Journalists are reimbursed at a rate of 66 cents per mile for travel to and from assignments. Company vehicles are available to reporters looking to reduce wear and tear on their own

vehicles.

To apply, send a short cover letter, samples of your work, a resume and references to Chronicle Editor-in-Chief Eric Schwartz at eschwartz@chronline. com.

WEB PRODUCER

The Daily Herald is looking for a multi-skilled journalist to play a crucial role on our digital news desk as a web producer and innovator. This job is full-time, on-site, and has multiple responsibilities including the editing and posting of news to the website; video and audio production; management of social media accounts and reader interaction; and creative presentation of news online. That last task is especially important: We want someone who can spot opportunities for

Continued on Page 9

Continued from Page 8 innovation on the web using existing and new tools. That may mean supplementing a story with a sidebar, timeline, chronology, video, map, graphic, gallery, poll or other feature to increase reader interaction.

The winning candidate will have a passion for journalism and a nose for news, basic reporting and writing skills, an ear for headlines, good visual instincts and be comfortable with web services and data presentation. A working knowledge of video/audio creation and editing also needed. Experience with WordPress and Adobe Photoshop is a plus.

The position pays $18 per hour. Benefits include a medical/vision plan with a significant portion of the premiums paid by the company, Life/ AD&D/LTD insurance paid for by the company and voluntary dental plans (base and buy up options), 401k retirement plan with company match and vacation & sick accrual.

Sound Publishing, Inc. is an award-winning news and media organization based in the beautiful Pacific Northwest with community news outlets in Washington and Alaska. The Daily Herald, with the website HeraldNet.com, has been the leading news and information source in Snohomish County, Washington, for more than a century.

To apply: please email an introductory letter and a resume to careers@ soundpublishing.com and include «EDHWEB» in the subject line. We would welcome a critique of our website, HeraldNet.com, with emphasis on our presentation of news stories. What could we do better?