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THE WASHINGTON NEWSPAPER
Former Wenatchee publisher Wilfred Woods remembered
April 2017
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Journal of the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association
Better Newspaper contest now open, receiving entries It’s time to sort through your best work from the last year and enter WNPA’s Better Newspaper Contest. The contest is now open and receiving entries at BetterBNC.com. You have a few weeks to get things together, but don’t delay too long. The deadline for entries is May 5. At wnpa.com you will find full instructions for entering the contest. Just click on the
home page contest graphic or the 2017 BNC tab in the navigation bar and download the instructions you need. If you have questions about the rules, call WNPA at 360-3442938 or email Fred or Janay at fredobee@wnpa.com or ads@ wnpa.com. The entire contest is handled digitally at BetterBNC.com, a website developed by SmallSee CONTEST, Page 2
Laura Martin leads pack racing to $1,000 prize
Following last year’s WNPA Convention, we launched a new sales contest to reward the WNPA salesperson who had the highest revenue numbers for statewide and regional 2x2, 2x4 ads and statewide classifieds. Whoever sells the most by Sept. 30 will win $1,000! The award and check will be presented at the 2017 Convention in Olympia. Here are the standings for ads published as of this week: Laura Martin, Statesman Examiner, $1,650; Louise Mugar, Northern Light, $1,350; Kim Winjum, Whidbey News Times, $1,275; Jonel Lyons, Sequim Gazette, $850.
The WNPA ad network works like this: When you sell a 2X2 or 2X4 black and white ad for distribution regionally or statewide, your paper keeps half the revenue. A statewide 2X2 costs $1,350, so the paper’s share is $675. Pretty nice rate for a 2X2! A statewide classified is $275, and the paper that sells the ad keeps half. Salespeople, of course, also collect their regular commissions. These ads are great for resorts, festivals and fairs looking for an affordable, regional marketing option. Full details on the Ad Network are at wnpa.com. Get selling. You could win $1,000!
Scott Stoddard of Issaquah Press, took home Photographer of the Year honors in the 2016 Better Newspaper Contest. This shot at a basketball game was among his submissions.
Janay Collins joins the staff of WNPA Janay Collins joined the staff of and Advertising (MA) in the College of WNPA this week as the advertisCommunication. ing manager. She also will assist She was a lecturer at both Washwith the annual convention and ington State University and the Better Newspaper Contest. University of Washington where she “I was initially attracted to taught advertising to hundreds of WNPA because of its goal to supWashington state undergraduates. port a robust and free press among She then worked at Microsoft as community newspapers,” Collins a research manager and developed said. “I look forward to meeting programs for online audience meaWNPA members and going to surement, traditional market research work for them. I believe commuprojects and customer satisfaction nity newspapers build strong comresearch. munities. I think that’s something After moving to Port Townsend, she we all want.” was hired by the Port Townsend Leader Collins Collins is a native of Michigan, to manage special promotions. In March, where she attended Michigan State University she accepted the Advertising Manager position earning degrees in Telecommunications (BA) with WNPA.
12 states considering pulling legal ads from printed newspapers At least 62 bills relating to public notice in newspapers have been introduced in 25 different states, according to a review of bill-tracking software used by the Public Notice Resource Center. Many of the new bills merely add or change requirements for particular categories of notice, but at least 12 states are considering legislation that would move all or most of their official notices from
FROM THE PRESIDENT
The rewards of awards: Here’s your chance to get recognition
newspapers to websites operated or controlled by government units. In Washington, WNPA and Allied Daily Newspapers collaborated on a statewide legals website geared toward protecting legal ads in printed newspapers. If you care about keeping legals in print, and you are not uploading to the WNPA site, please call or email Janay Collins at WNPA to get started.
CONTEST: BNC site ready
Continued from Page 1
TownPapers, which is once again a prime sponsor of WNPA’s contest and convention. You can learn more about them at smalltownpapers.com. Each year we swap judging responsibilities with another newspaper association. This year our partner is the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association. Their judges will eyeball your entries. New this year – the ad of the year category is one you
have to enter yourself. In the past, judges chose from among all the ads submitted. Also this year, there will be an open competition across circulation groups for sports writer, news writer, feature writer and photographer of the year. If you helped judge the Pennsylvania contest, you will get a $25 discount on your entries. And don’t forget, entering the General Excellence competition is free.
Officers: Don Nelson, President; Sandy Stokes, First Vice President; Michael Wagar, Second Vice President; Keven Graves, Past President. Trustees: Sara Bruestle, Eric LaFontaine, Donna Etchey, Scott Hunter and Bill Shaw. 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. Staff Fred Obee: Executive Director: 360-344-2938. Email: fredobee@wnpa.com Janay Collins, Advertising Director: 360-344-2938. Email: ads@wnpa.com 2 The Washington Newspaper April 2017
By Don Nelson The awards banquet at WNPA’s annual convention is, for me, one of the most rewarding events of the year. It’s a once-a-year opportunity to be amazed by the cumulative amount of extraordinary work being done by our member newspapers. Amazed, but not Nelson surprised – some of the best and most important journalism in the country is being generated by newspapers in small communities. That mostly goes unnoticed, and unremarked upon, when people talk “the media.” Our impact is usually limited to our respective communities, but it is no less vital than the work done by metropolitan newspapers and national publications such as the New York Times and Washington Post. Our readers expect us to not only cover the local news, but also celebrate their accomplishments, connect them with other readers and advertisers, and help them fully participate in civic life. We do this with limited resources and under pressures that journalists at larger
publications can’t appreciate (I know – I’ve worked as a reporter and editor at large dailies). And for the most part, no other media operations are even approximating the service we do for our communities. Without us, the information vacuum in a lot of small towns and rural counties would be nearly impossible to fill. For all that, we may get some praise, support and recognition in our circulation areas, along with the inevitable criticism – which mostly results from us doing our jobs really well. The WNPA awards banquet is a different kind of recognition that comes from our industry peers and colleagues. I find it inspirational, and challenging, to see the initiative, resourcefulness, creativity, energy and passion that our members put into their work. We love to put the spotlight on you, but as they say, you cannot win if you do not play. The WNPA Better Newspaper Contest entry period is now underway, and I encourage you to take part. The contest is an important revenue generator for the WNPA. It’s also a way to let your staff know that you think their efforts deserve acclaim. And, if you’ve been to a convention or two, you know that the winners are thrilled when their names are announced. It’s a deservedly
celebratory atmosphere. The awards have meaning. You can find all the information you need about how to enter the Better Newspaper Contest, and applicable deadlines, on our website. Don’t delay – my own experience is that trying to cram the selection and entry process into the final few days is nerve-wracking. It’s also easier for Fred and Janay to handle the logistics of hundreds of entries if they aren’t all coming in at the last minute. Of course, I will probably ignore my own advice. If you are so inclined, one way to at least have some idea what your WNPA colleagues are doing throughout the year is to arrange newspaper exchanges – give a free subscription to a newspaper you are interested in seeing, and get a free sub from them in return. I get several papers each week and try to find a few minutes to see what they’re up to. I also get ideas about good practices that are producing results elsewhere. I’ve found that most publishers are amenable to such exchanges, in reasonable numbers. So, get cracking on those entries – come October, you’ll be glad you did. Don Nelson is Publisher of the Methow Valley News and this year’s WNPA president.
Free kids column on science available at WSU A free column about science is now available from Washington State University. Called Ask Dr. Universe, the column is written by Rachel Webber of the university’s communications department. The column comes out weekly, features a science
question from a kid, and a 500-word answer from the very smart scientist -- who happens to be a cat -- Dr. Wendy Sue Universe. The column is available for print or web. Samples of the column can be found at askDrUniverse.wsu.edu.
OPEN RECORDS & OPEN MEETINGS
Seattle Times investigative reporters Mike Baker and Justin Mayo are given the Washington Coalition for Open Government’s Key Award, Thursday, March 16, 2017, in Seattle, for their series investigating Swedish Hospital’s Neuroscience Institute in Seattle. From left: Seattle Times Executive Editor Don Shelton; Washington Coalition for Open Government president Toby Nixon; reporters Mike Baker and Justin Mayo; and Managing Editor Michele Matassa Flores. (Photo by Ken Lambert/The Seattle Times)
Legislators exempted themselves from records act without debate
Toby Nixon, president of the Washington Coalition for Open Government, took it upon himself recently to discover just how the state Legislature managed to secure for itself an exemption from the state Public Records Act. According to Nixon’s research, the Legislature acted quickly and without hearings on the matter in the 1995 session by amending a bill that was moving through the legislature. Here’s what Nixon learned: “The original bill, as introduced in the Senate, did not have the “legislative exclusion” language. The substitute bill out of the Senate Law & Justice Committee did not have the language. The engrossed bill as passed off the Senate
floor did not have the language. The amended bill as it first passed the House did not have the language. “Note that this means there was NEVER a public hearing on the “legislative exclusion” language. The language was never in a bill or amendment subject to a hearing. “After the House first passed their version of the bill on Friday, April 14, 1995, it went back to the Senate. On April 19, the Senate refused to concur in the House amendments, and asked the House to recede. On April 21, the bill was brought back up on the House floor. The House receded from their previous amendment, and passed a striking amendment, #909, sponsored by Representa-
tives (Jim) Horn and (Marlin) Appelwick. It is in this striking amendment that the “legislative exclusion” first appears. “After replacing the bill with Amendment 909, the House unanimously passed the bill. Two days later, on April 23, the Senate also unanimously passed the bill. The public never got a chance to comment on it.” Nixon noted that the bill’s language says nothing about the fact that huge swaths of legislative records were hidden from the public. “But we know why,” Nixon said. “Legislators didn’t want the public to know what was being done. The legislature just exempted most of its records from public disclosure, and did it in secret.” The Washington Newspaper April 2017 3
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PASSINGS
Wilfred R. Woods, former publisher, The Wenatchee World Former Wenatchee World Publisher Wilfred R. Woods died Feb. 12, 2017 at age 97, ending his nine decades of wandering the world and wondering tirelessly about how it worked. Preferring the nickname “Wilf,” the newspaperman, family patriarch, avid outdoorsman, art philanthropist and expert whistler died at home from complications of old age and new ailments. Arthritis in his knees had slowed him in recent months to finally allow heart and pulmonary conditions to catch up. A globe-trotting reporter, columnist and former publisher of The Wenatchee World — the newspaper his family has owned since 1907 — Woods regularly touched the lives of thousands of readers and North Central Washington residents through his writing and passionate interests in art, music, theater, history, travel, politics, science and the creative people who made those happen. A sampling of his adventures included hiking in the mountains west of Kathmandu, Nepal; 40 years of hikes and pack trips into the North Cascades; hitting the state’s ski slopes in 1935, years before rope tows and chairlifts were common fixtures; skiing at Stevens Pass in the 1930s — before completion of Highway 2 in 1939 — when it meant most people up there were from the Wenatchee Valley. Born in Wenatchee on Sept. 30, 1919, Woods was the newest addition to a newspaper family headed by his father and
took the helm and has run the newspaper since. After newspapering and family, Woods’ primary love was music and arts. In 1974-75, he helped organize Friends of the Music and was active with the group for 15 years in bringing chamber music to the area. In the 1990s, Wilf and Kathy created the Woods House Conservatory of Music in Wenatchee, helped form a coalition to fund and build the Wenatchee Performing Arts Center, played a major role in establishing
the Icicle Center for the Arts in Leavenworth and promoted the construction of the Wenatchee Valley College Music and Arts building, which includes The Grove recital hall. Even in his 90s, Woods strode each day 1.5 miles from his office to the World’s production plant. There, he’d fetch that day’s freshly-printed edition right off the press to be one of that issue’s first readers. A reporter once asked Woods — then 95 years old — if those daily walks were the secret to his
longevity, if they helped ward off the inevitable date with death. He admitted that the walks kept him fit and alert, but that they also got him outside in all kinds of weather to see what the world had to offer that day. As for dying? “That’s life,” he chuckled. “That’s the way life goes.” This is an edited version of an original story written by Mike Irwin and published in the Wenatchee World Feb. 13, 2017.
Wilfred R. Woods, former publisher of the Wenatchee World, passed away in February. firebrand publisher Rufus Woods, a fierce advocate of development in North Central Washington and a key proponent of the building of Grand Coulee Dam and development of the Columbia Basin Project. Woods attended three years of college before the start of World War II. He joined the U.S. Army Air Corps and served more than three years (1942-46) at Edwards Air Force Base in California as a sergeant of clerical duties for one of the military’s first jet groups. He then returned to college — the University of Washington — and graduated in 1947 with a degree in history. He immediately returned to Wenatchee to work as a World reporter, duties that included coverage of North Central
Washington’s devastating floods of 1948. Later that year, he was accredited as a foreign correspondent and embarked for Europe. He lived in Paris, learned a smattering of French, and sent many dispatches during two years overseas. In 1950, while visiting hydroelectric facilities in Toronto, the elder Rufus Woods suffered a debilitating heart attack and died in that Canadian city. Wilf Woods immediately inherited the paper and served as editor and publisher for 47 years. “Luckily, I also inherited a really good crew who could basically operate the paper until I learned the ropes,” he said. In 1997, Woods retired as publisher to serve as chairman of the newspaper company’s board of directors. His son Rufus
The Washington Newspaper April 2017 4
Judgment entered for utility official who knowingly violated Open Meetings Act
Jefferson County’s Tom Thiersch has won a $18,000 judgment for having been vigilant in 2015 and catching the Jefferson County Public Utility District and Commissioner Wayne King acting in violation of the state Open Public Meetings Act (OPMA). Jefferson County Superior Court Judge Keith Harper signed a judgment order Feb. 27 in Port Townsend in which the PUD and Wayne King agree to pay Thiersch $4,000 for violating the law that states that each member of a governing body who attends a meeting with knowledge that the meeting is in violation of the law should be exacted a civil penalty. The PUD and King did not contest the order. In addition to the $4,000 fine, the PUD and King are to pay for $14,000 in attorney fees. Jefferson County is located on the Olympic Peninsula. Port Townsend is the county seat. Thiersch, a Jefferson County resident and member of the Washington Coalition for Open Government, said he doesn’t
think ratepayers should have to pay for King’s mistake. “I would prefer he pay everything the law requires, which is the $4,000 fine. The law requires it to be a personal liability of a civil penalty,” said Thiersch. “Why should the public agency pay for it?” Thiersch said, that after paying his attorney, Michele Earl-Hubbard, he plans to make contributions to the Washington Coalition for Open Government and the American Civil Liberties Union. He’ll keep a portion as well, but declined to say how much. “These fines are tiny and inconsequential. They haven’t kept up with inflation,” he said. “But I am serious about officials violating their oaths of office. They can’t pick and choose what laws they want to obey.” Thiersch used records obtained by public records requests, including emails between himself and King, to prove that King had attended training on the OPMA and that King knowingly violated the law pertaining to when,
and for what reason, a board can convene in closed executive sessions. On March 3, 2015, according to court records, Thiersch sent an email to all three commissioners and manager Parker. He attached a document from the Municipal Research and Services Center that addresses the need to be specific when a board recesses into an executive session. Thiersch urged the board to follow the law for future meetings. “That really sort of said to me that this guy doesn’t care. You can put it in his face and he just doesn’t care that he’s breaking the law. That, to me, is unacceptable,” Thiersch said. The $4,000 fine was calculated based on the number of violations, Thiersch said. Thiersch alleged 38 violations in his complaint. In 2015, when the violations occurred, the OPMA law had a $100-per violationfine clause. In 2016, the law was changed and the per-violation fine rose to $500. Because of the timing of change, the $100 per violation was used to calculate the fine, Thiersch said.
There is another rule, CR 68, that also was applied. A CR 68 “offer of judgment,” as it is called, is allowed in Washington’s superior courts in civil cases and allows one party to offer to settle a case. If the person bringing the suit agrees, the case doesn’t go to trial. “They say, ‘Hey, look, we’re going to make you an offer and you won’t do any better in court, and if you don’t do any better in court, then you’re responsible for our costs,’” Thiersch said. “Because the $4,000 civil penalty in the offer of judgment was for more than the court would or could award at trial ($3,800), I had no choice to accept the offer,” Thiersch said. “As far as Michele [Earl-Hubbard] knows, CR 68 has not previously been used in OPMA cases, mostly because it has been nearly impossible in prior cases to prove beyond any doubt that the individual who violated the act did so ‘with knowledge of the fact’ that they were doing so,” Thiersch wrote. “In this case, the evidence was incontrovertible.”
Mayor backtracks after billing reporter Langley Mayor Tim Callison backtracked quickly last month after sending a South Whidbey Record reporter a bill for time he spent questioning the city attorney. Now, the mayor says, he billed the newspaper for asking the attorney a question just to get the newspaper’s attention. The unusual saga began when the attorney,
on contract with the city, included his time spent with a reporter on his bill to the city. That apparently piqued Mayor Callison, whose relations with The Record have been occasionally contentious. On March 8, the mayor left a voice mail on a reporter’s cell phone asking for the newspaper’s billing address so he could send an invoice
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to The Record for the time spent speaking with the city attorney. The reporter called Callison back shortly after. The mayor reiterated his request for the newspaper’s billing address and remarked that the attorney’s time isn’t free. Later a bill showed up at the Record office for $64. News of the unprecedented action quickly drew
incredulous reponses from Puget Sound media outlets and on social media. Now the mayor says the whole incident was just a big mistake. “If we’d have talked, I’d have said I was just doing it to get your attention. It was a bill to me, it wasn’t a bill to you,” he added. “I didn’t say the South Whidbey Record should pay this.”
Have a legal question? WNPA is ready to help If you have a question about access to public meetings or records, the WNPA staff can help. Call 360-344-2938 For questions beyond government access -- if an attorney has served you with a demand letter, or if Earl Hubbard you need emergency review of a story, letter or ad -- call or email our WNPA attorney, Michele Earl Hubbard. (206) 801-7510 or email
michele@alliedlawgroup.com
WNPA JOB BOARD CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER We’re a fourth-generation, family-owned media company in Oregon with a portfolio of newspapers, magazines and digital products. We win national and regional awards for our journalism and business innovation. Our most recent honor was for Best New Digital Initiative, presented by Local Media Association. We’re proud of our 109-year heritage of publishing and the creativity of our managers and employees. If this sounds like the company you would like to lead, we welcome your interest. Our Chief Operating Officer is retiring. To guide us in the coming years, his successor will require a strong background in business, with an emphasis on sales – both advertising, commercial printing and audience development. The successful candidate should have a successful track record as a strategic thinker, with a bias toward action. If you fit this description, send us a cover letter and resume along with salary requirements to Human Resources, EO Media Group, PO Box 2048, Salem, OR, 97308 or hr@ eomediagroup.com. More information on our company can be found on our web site www.EOMediaGroup.com. FREELANCE REPORTERS Have your byline appear in the Snohomish County Tribune Newspapers, community newspapers that thrive to go above and beyond. The Tribune is seeking paid freelance reporters to add to its roster. Familiarity with newswriting
and local government preferred but not exclusionary to contribute. Please email clips and resume to editor.tribune@snoho.com. Only local applicants need apply. Usual range per article is $25-$45. ADVERTISING SALES MANAGER The Chronicle in Centralia has an opportunity for a dynamic, driven sales manager to lead a team selling advertising and sponsorships for the largest print and online audience in our area. The position is full time with a salary and performance bonus. This is a supervisory position that includes a personal sales territory. The ability to lead the team to success selling multiple print and electronic products is key. Strong customer service skills are important including the ability to effectively communicate to clients and prospective customers in person and in writing. Must have computer skills for weekly and monthly reporting, strong time management skills in order to develop new clients, and represent our team with professionalism. Reliable insured transportation and valid drivers license required. To apply please email your resume and cover letter to: Christine Fossett, Publisher cfossett@ chronline.com, or mail to The Chronicle Attention: Christine Fossett, Attention: Sales Manager, 321 N. Pearl St., Centralia, WA 98531. The Chronicle is a
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publication of Lafromboise Communications Inc., which is an Equal Opportunity Employer who provides drug-free workplaces. Drug testing is a prerequisite for as well as a condition of employment. No phone calls. MEDIA SALES PROFESSIONAL If you love agriculture, are technology savvy, and want to help businesses succeed while growing your career, we want to talk to you! The Capital Press, a weekly agriculture newspaper and website, is hiring for a Media Sales Professional to cover our NW Oregon/ SW Washington sales territory. Excellent communication skills, the drive to exceed goals, and general computer skills (PowerPoint, Excel, Microsoft Word) are crucial. This position is fieldbased (home office) and requires daily territory travel, and some overnight travel. Wage plus commission and benefits including Paid Time Off (PTO), 401(k)/Roth 401(k) retirement plan, company car and insurances. Capital Press is owned by EO Media Group, a family-owned and run company for over 100 years. Send resume and letter of interest to EO Media Group, PO Box 2048, Salem, OR 97308-2048, by fax to 503-371-2935 or email hr@eomediagroup. com PRESS PERSON Press person needed at a Tuesday through Saturday morning newspaper
Dixie Lee Bradley tirelessly served WNPA and its members for 45 years. Today, we honor her service with an award in her name that goes to a newspaper staff member who works behind the scenes in roles other than news and advertising. Does somone on your staff fit that description? If so, send a nomination letter to WNPA Executive Director Fred Obee at fredobee@wnpa.com. in Pendleton, Oregon. In addition to East Oregonian newspaper, our operation prints an array of weekly, bi-weekly and monthly publications. To join our team, you’ll need web press operation skills, an eye for color, mechanical ability, be a good communicator and work well with others. Must be able to lift 50# and go up/down stairs on a regular basis. Pendleton is near the Blue Mountains and has abundant outdoor recreation. It is also a farming and ranching center and home to the famous Pendleton Round-Up rodeo. Wage DOE plus benefits. Benefits include Paid Time Off (PTO), insurances and a 401(k)/Roth 401(k) retirement plan. Send resume and letter of interest to EO Media Group., PO Box 2048, Salem, OR 97308-2048, by fax to 503-371-2935 or e-mail hr@eomediagroup. com
PHOTOJOURNALIST Where the Columbia River meets the Pacific Ocean is a dynamic, photogenic environment. It is also home to one of America’s best small newspapers and websites. The Daily Astorian has an opening for a photojournalist. We have benefitted from a succession of excellent shooters over four decades. We value news judgment, creativity, sharp photocomposition and the ability to tell a story photographically, in print, online and mobile. You must be able to meet deadlines, edit digital images and write accurate and informative captions. Multimedia and video skills are a plus. You will work with the other staff members to improve their photography skills. You will also be required to generate story ideas for your work and photo gal-
leries from your work. You must be willing to work a flexible schedule that includes nights and weekends. Candidates should be able to operate sophisticated camera equipment, have knowledge of Adobe Photoshop and a college journalism degree or related experience, along with a reliable vehicle covered with acceptable insurance and a valid driver’s license with a driving record insurable by the company. Benefits include Paid Time Off (PTO), insurances and a 401(k)/Roth 401(k) retirement plan. To apply, submit a cover letter and an electronic portfolio, including single images, slideshows, photo pages. Include hard news, sports, breaking news, feature and stand-alone examples to EO Media Group, PO Box 2048, Salem, OR 97308-2048 or e-mail hr@eomediagroup.com.