TWN
THE WASHINGTON NEWSPAPER
WCOG recognizes Malheur publisher Page 3
June 2017
Journal of the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association
Bills alter access rules for records Charges for electronic files adopted, new standards set Two bills that modify access to public records and include new charges for electronic copies were signed May 16 by Washington Governor Jay Inslee. The first bill, EHB 1595 permits agencies to charge for the cost of producing electronic documents, including costs of transmitting electronic records, the physical media device provided to the requester, and the costs of electronic file transfer or cloud-based data storage. Agencies can calculate their own costs, or charge default amounts set by the bill. The bill’s default amounts are 10 cents per page for scanning records; 5 cents for every four files delivered to the requester electronically; 10 cents per gigabyte for electronically transmitted records; or a flat fee
of up to two dollars as long as the agency reasonably estimates the cost will equal or exceed that amount. The bill also addresses certain records requests governments have viewed as burdensome. EHB 1595 provides that a request for “all or substantially all records” of a public agency is not a valid request for “identifiable” records under the PRA. Requesters may still request all records regarding a particular topic or keyword. The bill also provides that agencies may deny frequent, automatically-generated “bot requests” where responding would cause “excessive interference with other essential functions of the agency.” The second bill, ESHB 1594, makes a number of revisions to
See RULES, Page 2
Three students start internships funded by the WNPA Foundation Three students will receive $2,000 WNPA Foundation scholarships this summer and go to work at WNPA member newspapers. The three students are: • Ester Kim, a University of Washington student who will be interning at the Capitol Hill Times.
• Joseph Thompson, a Gonzaga University student who will work at the Snohomish County Tribune. • Dylan Greene, a sophomore at Washington State University majoring in Journalism and Media Production, will spend the summer at the
See INTERNS, Page 5
Columbia Gorge Press pressman Rick Ursprung of Hood River, Ore., gauges the distance as he prepares to load the last unit onto a flatbed trailer while Press manager Tony Methvin shouts encouragement. The moving of the Daily Sun News press marks the end of local printing operations in the Lower Yakima Valley after more than 100 years of continuous operations. Jennie McGhan/The Daily Sun
Daily Sun’s old Goss Community press shipped off to California By Julia Hart SUNNYSIDE -- The last newspaper printing plant in the Lower Yakima Valley is now a thing of the past. The Daily Sun News’ Goss Community press was sent last month to a new home in San Jose, Calif. No longer will area school children be able to experience the roar of the printing press while touring the hometown newspaper. No longer will late-breaking news cause editors to shout out “stop the presses.” The Daily Sun press was shuttered nearly two years ago due, in part, to the ease of electronic data transfer. For the last week as the press was disassembled,
the staff recalled the noise of the press rattling the building’s windows, the nose-burning smell of the solvents used to clean the press and the rush of pulling a paper “hot off the press.” “It’s the end of an era,” Publisher Roger Harnack said yesterday. “With digital news changing the industry, the press’ departure is a sign of the times.” The community has had its own printing press since the early 1900s, when the Sunnyside Sun was first published here. By the early 1970s, the old Vanguard unit was replaced by the shiny new Goss Community — giving The Sun its first opportunity for spot color printing. In the early 1960s, a second newspaper, The News Cast, later renamed The Daily News, was
See PRESS, Page 4