The Washington Newspaper, June 2020

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THE WASHINGTON NEWSPAPER

Nominations due for annual Bunting awards Page 5

June 2020

Journal of the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association

Better Newspaper Contest remains open until June 8 The Better Newspaper Contest site is open for entries, but don’t delay. You won’t have as long this year to enter. The contest closes June 8. The good news? This will be the most affordable year to enter. Recognizing that these are difficult times for newspapers, the WNPA board agreed to a sliding scale for entries, with the price per entry getting smaller as the number of entries increase. Newspapers entering up to seven entries get a 10% discount; eight to 20 entries get a 20% discount; 21 to 49 entries get a 30% discount and papers entering 50 entries or more will

get a 50% discount off their entry fees. In addition, newspapers have credits for judging two newspaper contests and those will be applied to entries. We hope WNPA members will take advantage of the deal and keep this important tradition alive. We will all need to do a little celebrating in October, so look over your work during the contest period and enter the contest. Rules for the contest, and a list of credits available for member newspapers are all online at wnpa.com. Just click on the home page contest tile to get started.

Congress adds flexibility to CARES Act PPP loans Bipartisan legislation that gives newspapers more flexibility in the use of Paycheck Protection Program loans was approved this week by the Senate. The approved legislation: • Allows borrowers to spend their funds over 24 weeks from the date they received their loans, instead of requiring all funds to be spent by June 30. • Allows up to 40% (previously 25%) of forgivable loans

to be used for the allowable nonpayroll expenses: rent, mortgage interest, utilities, interest on prior SBA loans. • Sets a Dec 31, rather than June 30, deadline for rehiring employees to achieve full FTE complements from the baseline. • Extends the period for paying back any unforgiven portion of loans to five years, rather than two years. See PPP, Page 2

Protesters across the country have turned out in force. In some cases, journalists covering the protests have been targeted by police.

Press groups condemn targeting of reporters covering the protests Journalists covering the protests of George Floyd’s death at the hands of Minneapolis police in many instances say they were targeted by police who were attempting to disperse protesters. A joint statement of the News Media Alliance, America’s Newspapers and the National Newspaper Association condemned the assaults on reporters, and underscored the importance of having journalists reporting what happens. “It is essential that law enforcement and government officials not only allow journalists to report on the historic events currently unfolding, but to provide journalists with the necessary protection in order to remain safe to do their jobs, as members of the press – the

rights of which are guaranteed under the First Amendment. Reports of reporters being targeted poured in from around the country. • A CNN crew was arrested in the Minnesota’s Twin Cities while giving a live television report. • In Louisville, Kentucky, a crowd swarmed a television photographer and knocked him to the ground, laughing and taking pictures of him. • In that same city, a police officer fired more than a halfdozen non-lethal PepperBall rounds that hit a television reporter and photojournalist. • A television photographer in Minneapolis was taken into custody by the Minnesota State Patrol.

• Police arrested a Des Moines Register reporter while she was covering a demonstration that turned violent. The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press sent a letter this week co-signed by 115 media and press freedom organizations to officials in Minnesota demanding attacks against credentialed, clearly identifiable journalists stop. “The right of the press to document police activity is foundational to our democracy and has long been recognized and protected by the courts,” the Reporters Committee’s letter states. The letter also argues that reporters should be exempt from curfew orders as compliance with the curfews is newsworthy.


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