The Washington Newspaper, April 2021

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THE WASHINGTON NEWSPAPER

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April 2021

Page 5

Journal of the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association

WNPA welcomes two new trustees to board of directors The WNPA picked up two new board members this month, board President Caralyn Bess announced.

Joining the board are Rudi Alcott, Vice President of Advertising with Sound Publishing, and Sean Flaherty, publisher of the Wenatchee World, the Douglas County Empire Press and the Quincy Valley Post Register.

Flaherty was born and raised in the Seattle area, but he has family and friendly ties and attended college in Walla Walla at Whitman College earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics.

Sean and his wife Wendy reside Flaherty Alcott in East Wenatchee. They have three kids, all adults now. Two are Both men have a long history with WNPA and broad knowledge in the Seattle area and their oldest lives on the East Coast near the of community journalism.

other Washington.

Sean joined The Wenatchee World organization in the spring of 2018 when it was purchased

by Wick Communications. He came on board as the advertising director and now leads the news media and printing operations as publisher.

Sean grew up in the newspaper business in Seattle where his family owned and published

Master Editor/Publisher nominations now open

Nominations are being sought for WNPA’s Miles Turnbull Master Editor/Publisher award.

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

Miles Turnbull, the award’s namesake, with his wife Jane bought the Leavenworth Echo in 1976. His photos in the mountains around Leavenworth were consistent winners every year in the Better Newspaper Contest.

The couple published the Leavenworth paper until 1988, when Turnbull accepted the post of executive director of the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association.

He was well known for being quick with a joke, and his self-deprecating humor made him a hit with anyone he met, friends said.

The Master Editor/Publisher Award is 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.

The recipient must have worked hard and unselfishly and made a significant contribution to his or her newspaper, community, state, as well as the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association. Selection criteria also includes service to a free press or freedom of information, and service to the cause of community newspapers.

To nominate someone, 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 or mail to Washington Newspaper Publishers Association, PO Box 389, Port Townsend, WA 98368. Deadline for submission is July 1, 2021.

community newspapers “My grandfather and his mother started the Beacon Hill News and South District Journal in Seattle. He was the classic bow-tied editor, journalist, and publisher writing about and living in his community.

“My father was more of a community and business man – he seldom wrote for the papers.

See WNPA, Page 2

Newspaper contest site taking entries Don’t wait until last minute; enter today!

A photo page on hot air balloons won an award for photographers Steve Mitchell, LaShelle Easton and Don Nelson at the Methow Valley News in the 2020 Better Newspaper Contest. The 2021 contest is now open for entries at betterBNC.com.

The door to this year’s Better Newspaper Contest is open and awaiting your entries at BetterBNC.com.

Complete instructions on how to enter are at wnpa.com.

The BNC site opened April 1 for entries and closes May 3 for regular entries. Tourism special sections can be entered until June 1. Winners will be announced in person this year (we hope) at our convention in Bellingham Oct. 9.

As always, entering General Excellence is free, so if you enter nothing else, take a few moments to enter General Excellence.

We have a few new categories this year. There’s a special one for reporting on COVID-19 that can be anything from hard See CONTEST, Page 2

WNPA: Board of Directors welcomes two members

Continued from Page 1

His passion was leading newspapers while being very involved in the community.

Sean’s father John Flaherty was president of WNPA in 1987 and Sean remembers going to conventions while growing up. Sean worked in the family business while growing up, and ultimately followed in his father’s footsteps.

“When an opportunity to go back to work with my father for our newspapers came up, I took it.

Then, less than a year later, dad sold the family business, but I was hooked! I love what we do. I enjoy working with people and businesses in the community,” Sean says.

Alcott was born in Compton, Calif. but his family moved when he was very young to the Western Slope of of the

Rocky Mountains in Colorado. As a teenager, the family moved again to Indiana, where he graduated from high school and attended college.

After working in sales jobs in Indiana (he’ll only say he sold cookies!) he moved to Washington State and ultimatley landed in a newspaper sales job and worked his way through almost every department “except accounting,” he says.

It was about 30 years ago while intently watching his beloved Denver Broncos on national television, he was blinded-sided by a marriage proposal that he accepted.

The end to that story?

“I’m still playing in this game with the most beautiful quarterback my life has ever seen and two boys that are now big enough to be linebackers.”

Officers: Caralyn Bess, President; Steve Powell, First Vice President; Michelle Nedved, Second Vice President; Patrick Grubb, Past President.

Trustees: Roger Harnack, Scott Hunter, Teresa Myers, Rudi Alcott, Sean Flaherty, Eric LaFontaine and Donna Etchey.

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 2 The Washington Newspaper April 2021

FROM THE PRESIDENT

Pandemic brought in more readers; now it’s time to capitalize on growth

By Caralyn Bess After a long and economically crippling year, we are in Phase 3 – open at 50% capacity. YAY! Our state is finally moving forward.

This is a huge relief to local businesses, which in turn will have a positive impact on our business with returning advertising budgets. We are grateful that we are Bess finally on the road to recovery!

Newspapers were hurting long before the pandemic, with declining revenue on both the advertising and circulation sides of our business.

Some of this was of our own making. We consciously made decisions to pull back in outlying areas due to delivery costs, and on the advertising side, we failed to quickly to adapt to the changing landscape and get on board with the digital ecosystem. We have been playing catch up ever since. Then the pandemic hit.

The pandemic did one positive thing for newspapers: it increased our connection to readers as many flocked to the pages of our newspapers and our websites to stay informed on all things COVID-19.

Many of you relaxed your paywalls and/or put COVID-19 related content outside of the paywall. Why? It was the right thing to do.

Winning web readers doesn’t, however, sustain local journalism unless we convert those readers to

paid subscribers in print, digital, or better yet, both. All of this impacts our ability to fund local journalism.

That being said, there is a lot of work being done to address local journalism. I recently attended a couple of webinars hosted by America’s Newspapers. In one, Camille Olson, partner, Seyfarth Shaw and Brian Jarvis, President of WV News in Clarksburg, West Virginia spoke. Camille shared insights on the multiple class-action lawsuits that have been filed against Google — by the Justice Department and state attorneys general, as well as by several private publishers. These allege that Google’s advertising and search practices have harmed the newspaper industry. Brian shared insights on his company’s decision to file against Google and Facebook, alleging anticompetitive conduct and manipulation of the search and display digital advertising markets to stifle competition.

You can view a recording of the webinar on YouTube at: https:// youtu.be/P-g6AQIZFeE. The second presentation I saw was a webinar where Danielle Coffey, senior vice president and general counsel for the News Media Alliance, discussed an expansion of the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act (the safe harbor bill) that will ensure compensation and equitable terms for small and local publishers.

The News Media Alliance used several methodologies to estimate the value of newspaper content.

They looked at the value of advertising sold against news content,

newspaper contributions to search and platform visits and behavior, the newspaper contribution as an engagement driver and the reduction of time spent on platforms if newspaper content was excluded.

They were set to present their proposal to Legislators at the end of March.

The Local Journalism Sustainability Act, H.R. 7640 was introduced on July 16, 2020, and currently sits in the House Committee on Ways and Means.

Sponsored by Rep. Kirkpatrick and co-sponsored by Rep. Newhouse, this bill allows individual and business taxpayers certain tax credits for the support of local newspapers and media. The bill also allows local newspaper employers a payroll tax credit for wages paid to an employee for service as a journalist and certain small businesses a tax credit for local newspaper and media advertising expenses. According to Congress.gov, there are now 78 co-sponsors.

While a lot of work is being done, it is incumbent upon us to carry these messages forward.

Please, reach out to legislators to garner their support for the passage of pending legislation that benefits local journalism.

We also need to continue our efforts to inform, educate, and engage with our communities each and every day, with each and every story.

Cheers to a bright future.

Caralyn Bess is the publisher of the Columbia Basin Herald and this year’s WNPA president.

CONTEST: New feature categories in 2021 Continued from Page 1

news to feature stories.

We know there’s been no shortage of coverage on that.

In the features categories, we’ve added histori-

cal features and animal features. The feature story categories are among our most popular, so the contest committee thought it wise to offer more categories.

So look back through

the pages of time for your history feature and feel free break out your fvorite animal story. May the best dog (cat, coyote, iguana, python, horse, donkey) win.

We are also anxious to

see more ad entries this year.

All the rules and categories are online go to: wnpa.com > Members > Document Folder > 2021 BNC content.

Zaitz wins records case

FROM OUR FILES

Paper gets legal help from Reporters Committee Les Zaitz, a friend of WNPA, continues to rattle cages in Oregon with aggressive reporting in the Malheur Enterprise.

Most recently he teamed with the Reporters Committee on Freedom of the Press to bring legal action in a records case.

When Zaitz addressed the WNPA convention several years ago, he said when in bought the Enterprise it was the “worst newspaper in the state.”

Zaitz quickly turned that around with probing reporting that quickly put his newspaper in a face to face confrontation with state officials

that escalated until the Oregon governor stepped in.

Most recently, Zaitz and his staff with the help of the Reporters Commmittee attorney, won a judgment from a district attorney who ordered a county economic development department to disclose public records requested by the Malheur Enterprise.

The records concerned a multi-million dollar infrastructure project where there was inherent tension between the public and private roles of an Oregon state legislator involved in economic development

projects as both the director of the Malheur County Economic Development Department and the owner of a private development company.

“I judged that it was going to be a prudent strategic move for us to bring in legal talent to make clear just how seriously we took these matters,” Zaitz said.

The Reporters Committee regularly assists in court cases that involve First Amendment freedoms, the newsgathering rights of journalists and access to public information.

Learn more at rcfp.org.

Henry Gay, shown here in his office at the Shelton Mason County Journal, was a firebrand journalist who regularly skewered public officials of every party and affiliation in his syndicated column. He bought the Journal in 1964. He died in 1999, passing the paper to his children, who in turn sold it to Tom Mullen.

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.

DWT.COM Anchorage | Bellevue | Los Angeles | New York | Portland San Francisco | Seattle | Shanghai | Washington, D.C.

The Washington Newspaper April 2021 3

Need an extra $50? Look no further!

As we slowly emerge from our pandemic cocoon, the opportunity to get business rolling again will be everywhere.

That means we will have events again and people will want to travel – but how will the public know who is open? The answer is a WNPA Impact Ad. Selling statewide or regional 2x2 or 2x4 Impact Ads is a big part of what helps fund your Washington Newspaper Publishers Association, and it’s a great option for advertisers seeking broader reach for their messages.

And for the next few months, you can get an extra $50 direct from WNPA for selling an ad.

Who has money for ads? Governments do!

They collect a tax on hotel and motel rooms and hand money out to cities and counties to promote themselves. Impact ads are a perfect match for this program.

If you have not already, you should ask your city and county governments (each has separate funds) for a report on where the hotel-motel tax money is going.

In most cases, nonprofit organizations that receive this money are

supposed to spend it in outside markets that will draw people to your town.

Although most events have been limited, some are slowly returning. If anything, people will be itching to get out this spring and summer.

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

Here’s how it works: • You sell the ad to a local organization to bolster tourism.

• 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 sales person 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.

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.

The ads are small – just two columns wide by either two or four

inches tall. One column by four or eight inches are also OK. They need to be produced in two different widths, to accommodate different column widths.

So talk with local chambers or festival organiz-

ers or others who receive hotel-motel tax money from local governments, and let’s start planning our comeback.

Questions? Call Member Services Director Janay Collins at 360-344-2938 or email ads@wnpa.com.

Earn $50 plus your usual commission by selling WNPA ImpactAds • ImpactAds are 8 column inches max.

• They run in WNPA papers statewide or by region.

• Great for events, real estate, recruitment, festivals, fairs, golf courses, wine tours, casinos, car shows, whale watching boats, tourism activities.

• Sell as a stand alone ad buy, or as an upsell for an ad you are selling locally.

• Sell any time. Commission is paid when the ad runs.

• Full price of the ad is split between your paper & WNPA. • See wnpa.com under Advertise Statewide for full details.

Questions? Call 360-344-2938 or email ads@wnpa.com

The map above shows the regions for Impact Ads. Sell the whole state, or choose a region.

4 The Washington Newspaper April 2021

Many states fighting to pull legals from print newspapers There are now at least 15 states in which bills that would eliminate or significantly reduce newspaper notice have been introduced. That fact in itself is not alarming.

In 2017, twenty-two states considered such legislation at some point over the course of the legislative session.

So why is our collective blood pressure higher this year? Because there are more states in 2021 in which really bad public notice bills are on the move. Compare that to 2017, when only one of these ill-considered measures even made it out of a committee.

The reasons for the change are multiple and vary by state. The continuing decline of newspaper circulation.

COVID issues. Newly elected legislators and party leadership who don’t appreciate independent journalism. Four years of “enemy of the people” rhetoric.

But there may be another factor at play: You can only say no for

so long. For instance, Hoosier State Press Association Executive Director Steve Key tells us HSPA has fought 91 bad public notice bills in the past 21 sessions. Is it any surprise that even long-time supporters of public notice in the Indiana legislature are growing weary of the battle?

Indiana is not alone. All of the other states where newspaper-notice-killing bills have been introduced in 2021 have seen the same or similar legislation in previous sessions. More often than not, they’ve seen the same bill in multiple previous sessions.

Still, newspapers remain the primary means of delivering public notice in all 50 states. And newspaper publishers and their state press associations are working hard to educate the public about why newspapers are the best option for distributing notice. Here are a few brief summaries of what’s happening with public notice legislation in other states.

FLORIDA Previously, we told you about HB35, which would move all government and private notice to “publicly accessible websites and government access channels.”

It’s the third straight year Rep. Randy Fine (R-Palm Bay) has introduced the bill.

Last year it passed the House and it’s quickly moving through the lower chamber again in 2021, in a political climate that is less than favorable for newspapers.

“We’ve already had three hearings and the session hasn’t even started,” said Florida Press Association Executive Director Jim Fogler, marveling at the bill’s velocity during a Zoom meeting with Florida publishers last week.

But it’s all-hands-ondeck in the Sunshine State, with FPA launching a wide-ranging lobbying and marketing campaign designed to activate grassroots support for newspaper notice and against HB35 and SB402,

a misguided attempt to move judicial notices from newspapers to the state Supreme Court’s website.

SB402 would allow the court to charge fees and generate income from the notices it publishes on its website.

The bill’s animating purpose is to use those funds to build a different website displaying data “regarding restitution, fines and fees owed by nonviolent felons to victims and the judicial branch.”

also would have increased minimum type size and set minimum leading for public notice ads.

WEST VIRGINIA The West Virginia Press Association may be a victim of its own success.

For the last four years, it has defeated slightly different versions of bills that would have moved notice from newspapers to government websites, explains Executive Director Don Smith.

Each year, Smith says, SOUTH DAKOTA the sponsors redrafted the A bill that would legislation in response have modernized and to arguments made by streamlined the state’s WVPA the previous year. public notice laws was This year’s bill represents defeated last month on the a major iteration from House floor on a 29-41 past efforts. Instead vote. of completely killing In addition to requiring newspaper notice, newspapers to post notices HB2715 would require on their own websites the state auditor to or the South Dakota “establish and maintain Newspaper Association’s a State Central Legal statewide public notice Advertising website” site, HB1050 would and to issue an annual have raised fees for report on its use and public notice ads and financial impact, as well established a mechanism as “any recommendations to automatically increase suggested for additional rates each year. The bill enabling legislation.”

It would have been difficult for opengovernment advocates to argue against a bill establishing a government public notice website designed to supplement newspaper notice. But HB2715’s sponsors didn’t stop there.

They added a provision that would eliminate all but the first notice in statutes requiring multiple runs, as long as the notice is also published on the government’s statewide website.

Two weeks before the session began in mid-February, WVPA responded with a marketing campaign customized for each member paper urging their readers to contact legislators whose names and contact information are included in the ad.

Smith says he’s heard from several legislators.

The campaign is getting attention, he says.

The Public Notice Resource Center compiled this report. Learn more at www.pnrc.net.

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The Washington Newspaper April 2021 5

JOB BOARD

FREELANCE REPORTER The Lynnwood Times is looking for a freelance reporter. The ideal candidates will have a background in writing. A familiarity with Snohomish County is desired but not required.

The successful candidates will gather information, conduct research and write news pieces about various topics. This position reports to the Publisher.

Responsibilities include: research, verifying statements and facts, reading and posting press releases, establishing and maintaining contacts, interviewing sources, attending events (including evening events - e.g. HS sports), unbiased reporting of the facts, social media writing on multiple platforms (possible video reporting) and staying up to date with privacy, contempt and defamation law.

Qualifications include: inductive and deductive reasoning a must, ability to think critically, ability to prioritize tasks, meet deadlines, and manage time effectively, excellent verbal and written communication skills, excellent Interpersonal skills, proficiency in MS Office preferred, some knowledge of InDesign preferred but not required, ability to work independently and maintain journalistic integrity.

Send application to publisher@lynnwoodtimes.com PART-TIME OFFICE COORDINATOR Journal of the San Juan Islands in Friday Harbor, WA is seeking a part-time Office Coordinator at our Journal of San Juans office, located in Friday

Harbor, WA. This position will work closely with the publisher, sales representatives, creative artists, newsroom staff, and our customers.

Essential to this position is flexibility, excellent organizational and time-management skills, and the ability to juggle concurrent projects.

Requirements include prior office or administration experience, computerproficiency in database and spreadsheet software programs, excellent customer service and communication skills (written and verbal), the ability to multi-task in a fast-changing environment and being self-motivated, proactive, with good problem-solving skills.

We offer a competitive hourly wage and benefits package including health insurance, 401K (currently with an employer match), paid vacation (after 6 months), and paid holidays.

If you’re interested in joining our team and working for the leading independent newspaper publisher in Washington State, then we want to hear from you! Email your cover letter and resume to: careers@soundpublishing. com and make sure to add OC JSJ in the subject line.

NEWS EDITOR/REPORTER Step into the community life of north Whatcom County as part of a third-generation independent news and printing operation at the Lynden Tribune.

Lewis Publishing Co., located in the beautiful Pacific Northwest corner of Washington state, is looking for an editor to lead the Lynden Tribune into its next phase upon

6 The Washington Newspaper April 2021

longtime editor’s retirement on June 30, 2021.

Expect a high-production environment as we keep pace with a steadily growing community (Lynden, 16,000) and its surrounding area.

Editor duties: overall direction of the news and special sections process, mentoring a staff of 3-5, coordination with other departments, a robust writing and editing load, story origination and copy proofing.

• Needed: creativity, persistence, and a willingness to grow into the job. Strong organizational skills and the ability to manage deadlines.

• Rewards: your own sense of achievement and the community’s appreciation for a job well done, being part of a respected community voice.

• Is comfortable in designing and building pages with Adobe InDesign.

• Personal perks: The trails and ski slopes and lakes and parks of northwest Washington are never far away.

The successful candidate will bring: good command of English and AP style, a journalism degree and at least three years of experience in the profession, and a willingness to immerse into the local scene of civic, cultural, business, educational, agricultural and humaninterest life.

The Tribune has won multiple Washington state General Excellence awards.

We print in-house weekly, update our websites daily.

Lewis Publishing offers a competitive compensation and benefits package including health insurance, paid time off (vacation, sick, and holidays), and 401K Profit Sharing Plan.

If you are interested in

joining our team please send your cover letter, resume and a variety of published clips (3-5) to: Publisher Michael Lewis at mdlewis@lyndentribune.com or P.O. Box 153, Lynden, WA, 98264.

GENERAL ASSIGNMENT REPORTER The Sunnyside Sun, a weekly paper with more than a century of hometown reporting tradition covering the beautiful Yakima Lower Valley, is seeking an enthusiastic general assignment reporter/photographer to immediately fill this vital role in our WNPA awardwinning newsroom.

Duties include as-

TURN ON THE LIGHT…

signed beat work of public meetings; police and fire coverage, agriculture and community news and features, and sports coverage when needed.

The hourly wage starts at $13.69 and is a 40 hour per week position with an occasional weeknight and weekend assignment as part of the job.

Our successful applicant will be a motivated and deadline-driven team player able to work on multiple stories outside the newsroom, while producing daily online news content.

This is an excellent opportunity to expand your reporting credentials and grow with a family-

owned media company that believes in the value of hyper-local community journalism. Candidates with the combination of news writing experience and education, along with new college graduates are encouraged to apply.

Email your cover letter, resume and three writing and photo samples in PDF format to Patrick Shelby, managing editor at pshelby@sunnysidesun.com. No phone calls, please.

The qualified candidate will need to possess a valid driver’s license, clean driving record and vehicle insurance. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer.

…OUR TRANSPARENT GOVERNMENT BELONGS TO YOU.

DON’T LOSE IT!

Keys to government Accountability Responsibility Accessibility

Washington’s Open Public Meetings and Public Records Acts Preserve your rights to government actions that affect you.

Learn about Open Government – When Records Requests are Denied…

http://washingtoncog.org/dealing-denial

In partnership with Contact us with your open-government questions

360-344-2938 • wnpa.com

What happens to your archives when newspapers consolidate?

Sometimes the selling publisher will retain ownership, sometimes the archives are passed on to the new owners. In either case, it is important that all parties agree and understand what is going to happen with the bound, loose or microfilm archives.

Historical stakeholders will continue your stewardship!

There’s no downside to scanning your newspaper's archive but there is a singular hurdle so daunting that most publishers simply cannot foresee any way to overcome it – cost. Luckily, there are organizations determined to help. ArchiveInABox works with historical societies and museums who can provide funding to digitize and index small-town newspapers, while publisher retains all ownership and rights.

ArchiveInABox can help you: Carry on Stewardship Mission Maintain Ownership of Copyrights Digitize Archives for Community Access

ArchiveInABox.com 7 The Washington Newspaper April 2021

Statewide legals site keeps ads in newspapers Nine years 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.

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

Why should papers continue to publish legals?

• It’s important an independent third party verifies 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.

If you are participating in our program, thank you. If you are not, please contact WNPA to get started.