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THE WASHINGTON NEWSPAPER
Centralia Chronicle gets Key award Page 3
August 2017
Journal of the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association
Newspaper contest results in your mailbox 2017 Convention registration open
wnpa.com. The 2017 convention program is a Better Newspaper Contest results were mailed to newspa- strong one. Les pers last week, and registration Zaitz, formerly is now open for WNPA’s 130th an investigative reporter for the Annual Convention Oct. 12 to Oregonian and 14 in Olympia at the Red Lion Zaitz now the owner of Hotel. the weekly Malheur Enterprise, If for some reason you didn’t will lead off the convention as receive contest results, please contact WNPA at 360-344-2938 the Keynote Speaker. Zaitz, a two-time Pulitzer or email Janay Collins at ads@
Foundation seeking auction items to fund WNPA internships We need your auction items! Each year at WNPA’s annual convention we conduct silent and live auctions to raise money for student internships. The internships are offered at the state Legislature and at member newspapers around the state during the summer months. The auction committee, headed up by incoming WNPA President Sandy Stokes, is now seeking your committment for an auction item. Auction items can be anything of interest, from local art, to gift baskets, to overnight stays at bed and breakfasts in your community. Sandy will be contacting you toward the end of this month to get a commitment from you, but you could save
Prize finalist, is a fierce advocate for community newspapers. Since buying the Enterprise, he has found himself in a Hallman number of challenging positions. First, a big national story broke in his backyard - occupation of the Malheur Wildlife Center by
followers of Ammon Bundy, a rancher and critic of federal land management. Later, the state of Oregon started a suit against him after he filed a public records request about a crime in his circulation area. Ultimately, the suit was dismissed, but not before Zaitz had marshalled the support of journalists everywhere. In an essay this year, Zaitz said the community press needs to step up to the challenge of
creating a national conversation. “At the moment, we’re behaving nationally as two people in a conversation talking past each other. Neither side hears the other. Volume substitutes for reason,” Zaitz wrote. “Community journalists are uniquely poised to serve as more than billboards for local information. They have an opportunity to pull segments
See CONVENTION, Page 2
BETTER NEWSPAPER CONTEST
Have an auction item? Contact Sandy Stokes stokesbodynsoul@hotmail.com
her a phone call by emailing her at the address above. Please include the donor’s name, a complete description of the item and a value. The more complete the description, the more people are likely to bid the item up, so use your best language and sales skills to describe your item. The WNPA Foundation is a 501(c)3 organization and is wholly separate from the WNPA. It has its own board of directors, mainly made up of past presidents of WNPA, some of whom have been serving on the Foundation board for many years. Donations to the Foundation may be tax deductible.
This photo, titled, “Waving in the lavender,” by Matthew Nash of the Sequim Gazette, is one of the entries in the photo division of this year’s Better Newspaper Contest. Awards will be announced at the annual convention Oct. 12-14 at the Red Lion Hotel in Olympia.
CONVENTION: Go to wnpa.com to register Continued from Page 1
of a community together, focusing them on an issue of importance, whether it’s how to drive down local poverty or replace a dangerously aging school. “The need is significant for solution-aimed conversations, to get people talking.” Also on the agenda is Tom Hallman, another Oregonian staff member, who will lead a session on narrative writing. Hallman is a Pulitzer Prize winner and nationally recognized for his compelling storytelling and his approach to newswriting. One member of a previous Hallman workshop said this: “Tom Hallman Jr.’s narrative writing seminar was the most useful I’ve attended in my 40 years working in radio and newspapers.” On the ad side, Trish Kinney is among the session leaders who will get you organized and inspired. Kinney knows print and digital sales, is an Interac-
LOOKING BACK
tive Advertising Bureau certified Digital Media Sales Trainer and a certified Google Professional, with more than 18 years of in-field sales training. Since 2005, she’s signed over seven million in digital revenue, and her focus on multi-media training helps sales reps strengthen their business relationships, exceed their sales goals, and gain a greater sense of wellness in the workplace. Registration for the conference is open at wnpa. com. Click on the home page convention tile to find the registration forms. We’ve simplified things a little. The Opening Night reception is part of the full registration, and there is no higher charge for the first registrant. Register by Aug. 18 and save $25 off the full registration price of $250. A la carte registration is also available if you are planning to attend only part of the conference. The deadline for registration is Sept. 6.
H.L Bassett was publisher of the Harrington Citizen in Eastern Washington from 1907 until 1959 and according to WNPA files was known as the “Sagebrush Bard.” The Harrington Citizen office was located in the Bank Block, with the Harrington Opera House, The Bank of Harrington, J.W. Dow’s shaving parlors and R. Benchly’s cigar and confectionary store. There was a bowling alley under the cigar store. Today the opera house is restored and is the location for concerts and other events.
FROM THE PRESIDENT
WNPA President recovering after surgery
Officers: Don Nelson, President; Sandy Stokes, First Vice President; Michael Wagar, Second Vice President; Keven Graves, Past President. Trustees: Tom Mullen, Donna Etchey, and Scott Hunter. 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 August 2017
Bassett published Harrington Citizen
The following was posted on night to treat an aggressive the Methow Valley News website infection around my backbone July 29. which was rapidly making its way through my body. I won’t To my Methow friends and provide much detail and hope colleagues: not to create unnecessary Many of melodrama around all this, but you may have my coming absence of uncerheard of my tain duration might otherwise rapid departure raise more questions. from the valley The infectious disease by ambulance condition that I had was imearly Thursday minently life-threatening, and morning, with had been developing gradually scant detail for some time. Thursday it Nelson or by way of totally blew up. Thanks to the interesting rumors about what excellent and attentive care of happened. Dr. Alison Fitzgerald, everyI was taken to Mid-Valley one at Aero Methow and LifeHospital by Aero Methow, line, and the hospital staffs at where I was checked and Mid-Valley and Central Washadministered a CAT scan and ington, I am here to write this. MRI – after which the doctors I’m grateful for and amazed at told me I needed to be transthe lengths to which they have ferred to Central Washington gone to care for me. Hospital in Wenatchee. I had The operation was successlower spinal surgery on Friday ful, and today I’ve been able
to move around with very little pain. Jacqui has been here with me since Thursday night. There are a few leftover complications, and I now face a long course of antibiotics to continue attacking the infection. I hope to get back to the Methow as soon as possible, but that’s not up to me. The incredible News staff has stepped up to keep things going. Please assist them any way you can. Finally, The Merc play “The Real Inspector Hound” opened without me (I am a cast member), after a bit of scrambling. The show goes on. I urge you to see it. Can’t wait to get back to my community. Don Don Nelson is the Publisher of the Methow Valley News and this year’s WNPA President.
On hand to receive Key Awards from the Washington Coalition for Open Government were, from left, Columnist Brittany Voie, Chronicle Publisher Christine Fossett, Editor Eric Schwartz and reporter Natalie Johnson. Karen Peterson, at right, is a WCOG board member. Photo by Pete Caster
WCOG recognizes Centralia for open meetings reporting The Washington Coalition for Open Government honored The Centralia Chronicle with three Key Awards during a brief presentation on the steps of the Lewis County Courthouse recently. The awards were aimed at acknowledging The Chronicle’s reporting and commentary on the meeting practices of the Lewis County commissioners. The commissioners had previously claimed a 2009 resolution allowed them to consider Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. one continuous public meeting without additional notification of gatherings of a quorum. After The Chronicle’s reporting, the Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office eventually created a new policy bringing the commissioners in line with the state Open Public Meetings Act, which requires 24 hours of notice if a quorum - in the case of the commissioners, two of the three members - is planning to hold a meeting.
Karen Peterson, a coalition board member and former editor of The News Tribune in Tacoma, presented the award. She presented the awards to reporter Natalie Johnson, columnist and web developer Brittany Voie and The Chronicle newsroom as a whole, adding that the new policy produced by the Prosecutor’s Office is now in some facets even stronger than the Open Public Meetings Act. “That almost never happens,” she said. Johnson discovered the previously unknown 2009 county resolution while reporting on turmoil at the Lewis County 911 Communications Center, where she has documented under-staffing and the lack of confidence of dispatchers for management, among other issues. The commissioners called a press conference earlier this year after Johnson learned of a plan to place the center under the management of Steve Mansfield, director of the county’s
Emergency Services Department. Commissioners Edna Fund, Bobby Jackson and Gary Stamper all attended the press conference after providing 15 minutes of notice to the public via an email to the media. Fund initially said it was an emergency meeting, but the Open Public Meetings Act does not allow for such a meeting except in cases of disasters. The commissioners later cited the 2009 resolution, which the Washington Coalition for Open Government said appeared to violate state law. Voie filed additional records requests that showed the commissioners were holding additional unannounced meetings. She also reached out to the coalition, which filed its own records requests with the county. Chronicle Editor Eric Schwartz noted the changes in county policy have brought immediate benefits to the public, which can now see a schedule of commissioner meetings on the county’s website. The Washington Newspaper August 2017 3
WNPA Impact Ads important arrow in your ad sales quiver Selling statewide or regional 2x2 or 2x4 black and white 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. Here’s how it works: • You sell the ad and send an insertion order to WNPA. • Your paper keeps half the revenue and the advertising sales person gets his or her regular commission. • WNPA receives 50 percent of the sale and uses that money to provide your legal hotline, professional services, Legislative Day, the Better Newspaper Contest and the annual convention. • All member newspapers agree to publish the ads sold by other newspapers without cost. 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, the ads are necessarily small – just 2 columns wide by either two or four inches tall. They also must be black and white. Newspapers should create two sizes to accommodate different pages around the state. The illustration at right shows sizes. A great way to pay for these ads is to work with non-profit organizations in your area. They can apply to your local city and county governments for hotel-motel tax fund grants to pay for “tourism” ads. A Chamber of Commerce, for example, can ask your county
government for funds to help attract tourists to your area. These can be general ads detailing the benefits of visiting your area, or ads for a specific fair or festival. Anything that brings people to your area can qualify. It’s not too early to talk with local chamber or festival organizers now about the possibilities. Generally, they make their proposals at the end of summer to local governments. Actual schedules may differ in your area, so check with city or county officials about specific timelines. The WNPA 2x2 ad program is important arrow in your sales quiver and a great way for advertisers in your area to reach a broader audience. Questions? Call Janay Collins at 360-344-2938 or email ads@wnpa.com.
Jonel Lyons the sales leader in WNPA’s Pinnacle Award Jonel Lyons of the Sequim Gazette has opened a substantial lead for WNPA’s Pinnacle Award, which will be presented at the annual convention Oct. 12-14 at the Red Lion Hotel in Olympia. The Pinnacle Award recognizes the WNPA member who sells the most 2x2, 2x4 or statewide classified ads in the course of a year. The award comes with a $1,000 cash prize. To date, Lyons is in first place with $2,975 in sales. She is followed by Laura Martin of the Statesman Examiner with $2,200 and Kim Winjum of the Whidbey News-Times with $1,700. The Pinnacle award is presented each year at WNPA’s annual convention. The contest period begins the Monday following the annual October convention’s adjournment. It concludes
the following Sept. 30. The winner receives a $1,000 cash prize and a trophy. Standings are reported in WNPA email updates and The Washington Newspaper throughout the year. Winner must be employed at a WNPA member newspaper at the time the award is presented. 2x2, 2x4 and statewide classified information and a downloadable sales brochure are available at wnpa.com. There’s still time to get in the race and compete to win $1,000. Two more months remain in the sales contest and selling two or three ads can put you in the running. To learn more about the contest or WNPA statewide ad networks, contact WNPA ad director Janay Collins at 360-344-2938 or email ads@wnpa. com. The Washington Newspaper August 2017 4
North Carolina facing draconian public notice restrictions The North Carolina legislature has convened for a session that could have a major impact on public notice laws in the state. The Republican-dominated legislature is expected to consider the four vetoes penned by Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper (photo above) this year that haven’t already been overridden, including his veto of H. 205, Sen. Trudy Wade’s (R-Guilford) apparent effort to punish the newspapers in her district. Wade’s bill would move court-ordered legal notices in Guilford County to the county government’s website and authorize local government units in Guilford to move their notices from newspapers to their own websites. It would also allow newspapers in the state without periodical
permits to qualify for public notice advertising; limit the price newspapers can charge for some government notices; require newspapers to publish notices on their own websites; and eliminate the legal presumption that newspaper carriers are independent contractors. The bill was passed minutes before the legislature adjourned on June 29 after Wade attached her stalled public notice and newspapercarrier bills to another piece of legislation that would change how worker compensation laws relate to prison labor. Although there has been no official confirmation, it is widely believed that Wade held up a bill with bipartisan support in the Senate to force the House to vote on H. 205.
It was approved by a 60-53 vote in the lower chamber. Gov. Cooper vetoed the bill on July 17. “(T)ime and again, this legislature has used the levers of big government to attack important institutions in our state who may disagree with them from time to time,” he said in his veto statement. “Unfortunately, this legislation is another example of that misguided philosophy meant to specifically threaten and harm the media. Legislation that enacts retribution in the media threatens a free and open press, which is fundamental to our democracy.” Wade said Cooper’s “veto of bipartisan legislation eliminating special carve-outs for the newspaper industry makes it clear his number one priority is brown-nosing those who
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5 The Washington Newspaper August 2017
cover him.” The Governor vetoed nine bills this session; five have already been overriden. Overriding a veto on H. 205 requires a three-fifths majority. The conference report on the bill was approved in the Senate by a veto-proof margin of 32-14, so the real action will be in the House, where Republicans hold 74 of 120 seats. If the vote proceeds on a party line the GOP can override the veto without any Democratic votes. Although 14 of the 53 nays in the House were cast by Republicans, observers speculate that GOP members may be reluctant to buck their party in its attempt to deny the governor any legislative “wins”. If the H. 205 veto doesn’t come up on Thursday, it may
be a sign that GOP leadership doesn’t have the votes to override it. However, the legislature is also scheduled to reconvene on Sept. 6, so it will have another opportunity to consider the veto. As several media outlets in the state have noted, the changes to the public notice eligibility laws in H. 205 would allow government notices to run in the North State Journal, a new statewide publication launched by former officials in Republican Gov. Pat McCrory’s administration. However, a line added to the bill before it passed, requiring eligible newspapers to maintain a “physical location in the county” in which notices are published, would limit the paper’s ability to benefit from the change.
WNPA JOB BOARD ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Oregon’s North Coast beckons! Located in picturesque Astoria, OR, at the junction of the Columbia River and the Pacific Ocean, EO Media Group is seeking a proven, creative Advertising Director for multiple publications and digital platforms. This area is a mix of commercial fishing and cruise ships, nature and the arts, a rich history and the Goonies. We need a strong, hands-on leader to inspire our 7 display and classified staff and grow our advertising sales for our Monday through Friday daily, a weekly, two bi-weeklies and a monthly magazine, plus specialty publications. Our digital media Marketplace has won national awards and is poised for growth. We’ve invested in the best software available with a strong CRM to help you lead. Prior management experience in the media field preferred and a solid record of successful campaigns is required. Comprehensive benefits include paid time off (PTO), insurances and a 401(k)/Roth 401(k) retirement plan. Send resume and letter of interest including salary requirements and why you want to grow with us to EO Media Group, P.O. Box 2048, Salem, OR 97308-2048 or e-mail hr@eomediagroup.com.
Good driving record and reliable transportation required. Benefits include Paid Time Off (PTO), 401(k)/ Roth 401(k) retirement plan and insurances. Send resume, clips and letter of interest to EO Media Group, PO Box 2048, Salem, OR 973082048, or e-mail hr@eomediagroup. com
Send cover letter and resume. Only applicants meeting the strict criteria outlined above will be contacted as part of the shortlisting process. Send in confidence to: Human Resources/Publisher, PO Box 910, Moses Lake, Washington, 98837. MANAGING EDITOR PUBLISHER/DIRECTOR OF SALES The Daily Sun Newsis looking Privately held Hagadone Newsfor a managing editor who can lead papers, Moses Lake, Washington, our staff into the new media era is searching for a candidate to lead through a mix of traditional news, business development and oversee social media and internet skills. general business operations for three If you can lead a traditional news established print and digital puboperation while maintaining a strong lications: Columbia Basin Herald web and social media presence, we (Monday-Friday), Sun Tribune want to hear from you. (Weekly), and the Basin Business Our newspaper is in a very comJournal (Monthly). petitive market, sandwiched between Work with the best while living two larger dailies while competin the desirable Pacific Northwest. ing with a variety of much smaller Moses Lake, Washington…a region weeklies in Eastern Washington. known for its beautiful lake and tre- Published five days a week, we mendous outdoor activities located cover the Lower Yakima Valley from right on Interstate 90 with easy Prosser to Zillah, as well as eastern access to Spokane and Seattle. With Klickitat County and the community over 300 days of sunshine per year, of Bickleton. you can always plan and enjoy your EEO. Pre-employment drug activities. screen and motor vehicle driving reIn this exciting role you will drive cord check required. Full-time positop-line revenue while leading an tion with benefits that include, health established sales team of Multimedia care and life insurance, FSA, 401(k), Account Executives and Facilitators, sick, vacation and personal days. while reporting directly to the PresiEmail a cover letter, resume, dent. You will need to demonstrate a references and salary history history of driving sustainable results to rharnack@dailysunnews.com. No SPORTS REPORTER with an ability to work indepentelephone calls. The East Oregonian, a five-day dently, while thinking and acting daily newspaper in Pendleton, Ore., strategically. PRESS PERSON is looking for a full-time sports Lead in sales, lead in the commuPress person needed at a Tueswriter. Job duties will include print nity. As the senior on-site executive, day through Saturday morning and online coverage of high school, you will also spend quality time newspaper in Pendleton, Oregon. In college and community sports and addition to East Oregonian newsoutdoor activities, as well as design- representing each newspaper while engaging with community leaders, paper, our operation prints an array ing pages for print. We’re looking of weekly, bi-weekly and monthly for a creative, energetic writer to pro- organizations and events. Qualifications: Experience makpublications. To join our team, you’ll duce compelling sports and outdoor ing a best-practices sales culture a need web press operation skills, an features and to write game stories quickly on deadline. We want some- top priority. Proven success in sales eye for color, mechanical ability, be leadership with 5 plus years experia good communicator and work well one with strong writing skills who ence along with a proven track rewith others. Must be able to lift 50# avoids sports cliches. The person and go up/down stairs on a regular hired will also edit on a limited basis cord of growing revenue. Meaningbasis. Wage DOE plus benefits. and work with the Web. The position ful experience leading digital sales preferred. You’ll need a Bachelor’s Benefits include Paid Time Off offers a competitive salary, a solid (PTO), insurances and a 401(k)/Roth benefits package and the opportunity degree or equivalent in marketing, advertising or related field. Strong 401(k) retirement plan. Send resume to live in Eastern Oregon near the skills in integrating analytics, market and letter of interest to EO Media Blue Mountains and abundant outinsights, strategies, account planning Group., PO Box 2048, Salem, OR door recreation. It is also a farming 97308-2048, or e-mail hr@eomediand ranching center and home to the and other best practices to create famous Pendleton Round-Up rodeo. and execute successful sales growth. agroup.com. 6 The Washington Newspaper August 2017
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