The Washington Newspaper, October 2022

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October 2022

Journal of the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association

It’s convention time in Bellingham!

First in-person meeting in two years; first Saturday meeting in decades

Bellingham is rolling out the carpet for WNPA Oct. 7-9 at the Four Points by Sheraton Hotel in Bellingham.

The 2022 annual meeting kicks off Friday Oct. 7 with an opening night reception from 4 to 6 p.m.

Saturday features a breakfast business meeting, morning and afternoon workshops, a jam packed awards luncheon and the gala dinner, awards ceremony and WNPA Foundation auction

McNab to be honored

Andy McNab, a former WNPA President and longtime newspaper publisher, will recieve the Miles Turnbull Master Editor/Publisher award at the fall convention in Bell ingham.

He began with Eagle Newspapers in Oregon, became publisher and ultimately owner of the Golden dale Sentinel, and published Idaho’s oldest weekly newspaper, the Idaho County Free Press.

In 2018, he purchased the Sunnyside newspaper and converted it from daily to weekly to assist three recruits in their own pursuit of business ownership.

that raises money for interns who cover the state Legislature and work at WNPA member newspa pers during the summer months.

A get-away day breakfast and informal round table discussion is scheduled for Sunday.

On Saturday morning, members will elect a new slate of officers. The nominees are: for President, Michelle Nedved, pub lisher of the Newport Miner; for 1st Vice President, Donna Etchey, publisher of the Port Townsend

Leader; for 2nd Vice President, Sean Flaherty, publisher of the Wenatchee World.

Joining the board for the first time is Cascadia Daily News Executive Editor Ron Judd.

Continuing to serve on the board are Roger Harnack, Pub lisher of Free Press Publishing; Rudi Alcott Publisher of the Ev erett Herald; Matt Winters, Editor & Publisher of the Chinook Ob server; Teresa Myers, publisher of the Omak-Oakanogan County

Chronicle; and Bob Richardson, Publisher of the Columbia Basin Herald.

Steve Powell, editor of the Bainbridge Island Review, moves to the past president position.

TEST BEFORE YOU COME

To be respectful to fellow conventioneers, we highly recom mend a home test for COVID-19 the day before you come to Bellingham. If you get a positive result, we recommend that you

stay home.

Anyone who is experienc ing symptoms of COVID-19 or who tests positive just before the convention, should stay home. WNPA will refund the registration fee of anyone who tests positive.

We will make an effort to allow for breathing room at the convention, but if you feel more comfortable wearing a mask at some events, feel free to do that. Masks are optional at the hotel.

Distelhorst takes over at Skagit Publishing

Heather Hernandez, a WNPA board member and former Pub lisher of Skagit Publishing has resigned that position to take a publisher role for a group of luxury magazines in Arizona.

Her successor at Skagit Pub lishing is Michael Distelhorst.

Hernandez has been the publisher for Skagit Publishing since 2011 and also served as regional president in Wash ington for Adams Publishing Group.

for this next chapter in our lives.”

Distelhorst was previously with Lee Newspapers. He was formerly president and director of local advertising sales for the Daily Journal in Park Hills, Missouri.

This rodeo picuture by Al Camp of the Omak-Okanogan County Chronicle is among the entries in this year’s Better Newspaper Contest. The awards in all categories will be presented Oct. 8 at the fall convention in Bellingham. Check in at wnpa.com after Oct. 8 for lists of the award winners.

“It’s been a pleasure serv ing this community as pub lisher and working alongside an incredible group of directors and staff. My time here will certainly lead the highlight reel of my career,” she said.

“It was a hard decision to leave after more than a decade with Skagit Publishing, but my family and I are very excited

Before the Daily Journal, he was group publisher for Gannett’s Coastal North Caro lina Group. His career also includes publisher of Hearst Newspapers’ West Texas Publishing Group. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Commu nication from Central College in Pella, Iowa.

As publisher, he will oversee the Skagit Valley Herald and three WNPA member newspa pers: the Stanwood Camano News, the Anacortes American and the Daily News in Ellens burg.

McNab

WNPA can help in legal emergencies

By Fred Obee

At WNPA, we are devoted to helping our member newspapers protect themselves from lawsuits, libel actions and other legal difficulties.

If someone serves you with a subpoena, presents you with an order to turn over files, files a lawsuit against you, issues you a summons to testify, or takes some other legal action against you that requires an immediate legal response, you should call WNPA and we will put you in touch with an attorney who will tell you what your legal op tions are and what steps you need to take next.

All discussions with the our attorney are protected by the attorney client privi lege and are not shared with anyone outside the contact ing newspaper.

This consultation is limited to one hour and is paid for by WNPA. You can choose to retain our attor ney after that consultation or you can select a differ ent attorney. If the initial

consultation goes beyond an hour, the caller must pay for the additional time.

For non-emergency questions about access to meetings and public re cords can be answered by the WNPA staff. When we face a particularly vexing issue about open records or meetings, we can col laborate with the attorneys at the Washington Coali tion for Open Government and get a quick response. We have a short turn around time. WNPA staff is available at almost any time of the day, any day of the week. Our office phone is 360-344-2938. If we are out of the office, you can call my cell phone at 360-301-6453.

We are happy to con sult with our members on any issue they face, but legal advice about your business, taxes, employee issues, copyrights and other non-emergency questions are more ap propriately directed to your personal attorney for resolution.

FROM THE PRESIDENT

Careers have lots of ups and downs

By Steve Powell

This is my swan song column as WNPA president, so I thought I’d make it my swan song column for my almost 40-year career, too.

After getting to interview folks like legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden, longtime Congressman Norm Dicks and TV personality Art Linkletter at Green River Community College, and the “Throwin’ Samoan” Jack Thomp son and even tual Sonics center James Donaldson at WSU, I set out on my more humble professional career.

I started at Spokane Inside, but never actually worked there because the upstart folded on my first day, going out of business after six months. Do you think I should have taken that as an omen?

I moved on to the Heppner Gazette Times weekly in Eastern Oregon. Some great folks there, but also some rednecks. I was chastised for writing that the high school football team should pass more or it wouldn’t get far in the state playoffs (I was right). I’m so happy there was no social media back then. Heck, I used an old typewriter.

learned news was actually more im portant in the big picture of the world, and in part because my family was getting bigger and older, and I wanted to be home more at night.

Moving on, my family and I went to Redding, CA, to the second-biggest paper I ended up working for — The Record Searchlight, at 33,000 circula tion. I started as a copy editor and halfway through my four years there was promoted to assistant city editor.

All in all, that was probably the most talented group of people I ever worked with. Very professional. We even had to wear ties on 110-degree days. John Lucero was my best editor ever -- teaching me the importance of every word.

From there we moved to the Pen insula Daily News in Port Angeles. I was there for 10 years. For being a small paper in a fairly remote location, I hired some great reporters from all over the country. They wanted to come to the Seattle area and check out the great Northwest. They weren’t disappointed. So many great hiking opportunities up there.

We had some great teams and covered some huge stories — like the Makah whaling controversy, a doctor who smothered a baby who was suf fering and likely not going to make it and the closing of the Rayonier Mill, putting hundreds of people out of work.

My wife, bless her heart, credits me and my team of three on that proj ect, for helping Everett’s waterfront become what it is today.

Next was three years as city editor at the Olympian. Again, a very talented staff. A highlight was beating my former colleagues at the Everett Herald for the best newspaper of that size in General Excellence for SPJ. We won it again two years later. Ironi cally, the convention was just after I had been laid off after McClatchy cut staff at the paper.

My foolish pride wouldn’t allow me to go back to weeklies after 30 years, so I ended up getting my mas ter’s in education at PLU and taught mostly high school for three years. But if you think journalists are disre spected, try being a teacher.

When the chance came to get back into journalism at the Marysville Globe and Arlington Times, I took it. We won numerous WNPA General Excellence awards there, ironically the last one just after the paper shut down due to COVID-19. It has not reopened.

However, after a short furlough, I’m back editing the Bainbridge Island Review, North Kitsap Herald and Kingston Community News. I am proud to say they also have won numerous General Excellence awards.

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

I got out of there after 10 months to work for the La Grande Observer, which actually used computers. Wrote some of my best stories there. A 10part series on the 10-year anniversary of Title IX. A feature on a volleyball coach who was paraplegic after a trampoline accident. A prep football player who had a wife and child. A Black quarterback at Eastern Oregon State College who faced racism daily. Great memories of the people there.

After three years there I moved my family to South Lake Tahoe. It’s one of the most beautiful places in the world.

While I was there, I went from sports to news — in part because I

Disappointed that I was passed over three times to become managing editor, I finally moved to the Ever ett Herald, the largest paper I ever worked for with over 50,000 circula tion at the time.

I was there six years and was assistant city editor the entire time. Again, I was passed over for promo tion three times. We had some really good reporters there.

A highlight of my career there was going to Washington, D.C. right after 9-11 for a Civic Journalism confer ence (I can still recall the soldiers in fatigues with machine guns at the airport). That led to another highlight — the Waterfront Renaissance Proj ect, which involved a town hall, online interactive map, travels to other cities to report on their waterfronts.

I’m hoping to end my career here in the next few years. I’m so glad I decided to find my way back into weeklies. They have been the mostrewarding years of my career, person ally and professionally. I think with the downturn in the industry higherups know they have to treat people better to stay in business. I know it’s really hard to find good workers who want to stay in the field.

I would not change this career for anything. Mostly low pay, sometimes long hours, but the rewards are so many, especially at the community level. You get to watch your stories make a difference. I don’t know about you but that’s why I got into journal ism so many years ago - to make a difference and make the world a better place.

Thanks to all of you for also trying to make the world a better place.

Officers: Steve Powell, President; Michelle Nedved, First Vice President; Donna Etchey, Second Vice President; Trustees: Roger Harnack, Teresa Myers, Rudi Alcott, Sean Flaherty, Matt Winters and Bob Richardson.

Powell

Raymond resident Mary ‘Rick’ Gauger passes after long illness

RAYMOND — Mary “Rick” Gauger, a resident of Raymond for 50 years and the wife of former WNPA President Dave Gauger, passed away Sept. 6, 2022. She was 83.

Rick died peacefully in her sleep at the Willapa Harbor Hospital after a long period of deteriorating health.

She was born Dec. 22, 1938, in Lexington, Nebraska, the youngest of three children of Henry and Edna Rickertsen. She grew up on the family farmstead 10 miles from town, attending a country school and

then high school in Lexington.

She got her lifelong nickname, Rick, while in school from her maiden name, Rickertsen. She also got her future husband – a classmate and city kid, Dave Gauger.

After high school, she attended Hastings College for two years to study vocal music. She then married Dave and, nearly two years later, gave birth to their first child, Jeff, in 1960. Just weeks later, she and Dave moved to Florida for his first posting as a Navy pilot. Son Mark arrived in 1961. More moves prompted by the Navy followed, to Texas, California and the Whidbey Island Naval Air Station in Washington state.

The family returned to Nebraska in 1965. A daughter, Liesl, arrived in 1968. Daughter Jennifer followed in 1972.

That year, the family moved to Raymond, where Rick worked in the family business

operating the Raymond Herald (later the Willapa Harbor Herald ) and then KSWW radio.

Rick involved herself deeply in music. She performed leading roles in musicals at the Willapa Harbor Playhouse. She also taught piano.

Most notably, her love of music blessed the community as director of the Willapa Harbor Community Chorale performing two concerts annually — spring and Christmas.

She initially sang in the chorale and eventually directed the 35-voice group for nearly 40 years. She lost her beautiful soprano voice more than 30 years ago to throat cancer. “Now the Willapa Chorale is my voice,”

she said at the time.

She is survived by her husband of 64 years, David, of Raymond; sons Jeff Gauger of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Mark Gauger of Kirkland, Washington; daughters Liesl Phelan of Black Diamond, Washington, and Jennifer Cunningham of Seattle; four granddaughters, Lauren of West Sacramento, California, Kelsi of Bellingham, Washington, Natalie of Kansas City, Missouri, Shannon of Richmond, Virginia, a foster daughter, Touk Sinantha of Seattle; a foster son, Justin Mounkhoune of Austin, Texas; a brother, Harold Rickertsen of St. Paul, Nebraska.

A memorial service will be scheduled and appropriately announced.

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.

With husband Dave, published the Willapa Harbor Herald

Rick Gauger

Statewide ad network has been updated!

New ad prices, & state regions

Take note! Your WNPA co-op ad network has just two regions, Western and Eastern Washington, and ad pricing has been adjusted accordingly. Now it is simpler than ever to use the network to bring in new revenue!

Now that the pandemic is receding and public health direc tives are relaxing, people will be itching to get out and mingle and community events will once again take to the streets.

But after two years of relative inactivity, how will people know your town is open for business and welcoming tourists?

Online advertising is an option, but with ad blocking soft ware and distrust growing over social media, it isn’t the solution it used to be. In this changing environment, trusted community newspapers across the state serv ing a highly educated, affluent and involved readership are a perfect place to get a message out.

Every ad salesperson knows it is wise to identify the entities in your community with fat ad budgets. At this moment in time, don’t overlook the folks with hundreds of thousands of dollars to spend – your local govern ments!

Every city and county in the state has a pool of money gener ated by local lodging taxes, and that money is supposed to reach beyond local markets and bring people to town.

If you have not already, you should ask your city and county governments (each has separate

Ad network:

from Page 5

funds) for a report on where the lodging tax money is going (usu ally chambers of commerce and local non-profits) and then propose a marketing plan that reaches out across the region.

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

Here’s how the WNPA pro gram works:

• You sell the ad to a local organization.

• 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 rev enue on the ad sale. The advertis ing salesperson 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 an nual convention.

• We keep the price to the client affordable by asking all member newspapers to publish the ads sold by other newspa pers for free. The ads are small –just two columns wide by either two or four inches tall. One column by four or eight inches is also OK. They need to be pro duced in two different widths, to accommodate different column widths.

Potential customers include festivals, fairs, resorts, real estate offices, state agencies, statewide or regional political candidates – anyone who desires a cost effective regional or state wide campaign.

Because member newspa pers 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.

Need more information? Con tact Janay at WNPA by emailing ads@wnpa.com or by calling 360-344-2938.

REPORTER

Sound Publishing Inc. is seeking a general assignment reporter with a minimum of 1-2 years of writing experience and photography skills. This position is based out of our Federal Way office.

The primary coverage will be general assignment stories. The schedule may require evening and/or weekend work.

As a reporter for Sound Publishing, you will be expected to:

• be inquisitive and resourceful in the cover age of assigned beats;

• produce 5 by-line stories per week;

• write stories that are tight and to the point;

• use a digital camera to take photographs of the stories you cover;

• post on the publica tion’s website;

• blog and use Twitter on the web;

• shoot and edit videos for the web.

We are looking for a team player willing to get involved in the local community through the publication of the weekly newspaper and daily web

journalism.

Candidates must have excellent communication and organizational skills and be able to work effec tively in a deadline-driven environment. Must be proficient with AP style.

We offer a competitive hourly wage and benefits package including health insurance, paid time off (vacation, sick, and holidays), and 401K (cur rently with an employer match.)

Email your cover letter, resume, and include five examples of your best work showcasing your re porting skills and writing chops with your resume submission to careers@ soundpublishing.com.

Sound Publishing is an Equal Opportunity Em ployer (EOE) and strongly supports diversity in the workplace.

PUBLISHER

We want a proven leader with the entrepre neurial skills to build on the solid growth of our WhidbeyNewsgroup pub lications.

Ideally, the Publisher will have a good under

standing of all facets of newspaper operations with emphasis on sales, marketing, financial management, and a strong appreciation for quality journalism.

Additionally, the candi date should be well-suited to working with commu nity groups and advertis ers. As Publisher, you will help develop strategy for the operation as it con tinues to serve a rapidly expanding and diverse market area.

Qualified applicants must be well versed in leading and developing sales teams and culture on all media platforms, have excellent communication skills and be innovative and agile in responding to changing business and audience needs. Minimum qualifications include at least 5 years in a related industry, with at least 3 of those years in manage ment.

This position receives a base salary plus bonus; and a benefits package in cluding health insurance, paid time off, and 401K with employer match. Qualified applicants

should email a cover letter with salary requirements and a resume to: careers@ soundpublishing.com.

Please be sure to include ATTN: WNGPUB in the subject line.

Sound Publishing is the largest provider of community news in the Northwest, with over 40 daily, weekly and monthly publications lo cated throughout the Puget Sound and North Olympic Peninsula regions. EOE Visit our website to learn more about us! www. sound publishing.com.

EDITOR

Free Press Publishing is looking for an experi enced managing editor to oversee one of our weekly newspapers, niche publi cations, web-based news and social media. This is an in-person, hands-on po sition requiring reporting, paginating, photography and managing reporters. Strong time management is a must.

The managing editor will coordinate and lead news and sports coverage for our community weekly newspaper. The successful

candidate will be able to maintain a weekly news budget, assign and man age reporters, write and edit stories, shoot photos and paginate.

You’ll work with our graphics staff to design and paginate compelling publications, and juggle digital and social media. You’ll also work with our editors in our other nearby publications, coordinating comprehensive coverage of regional news, activi ties and sports.

Free Press is headquar tered in Cheney, Wash., on the edge of the rolling Palouse farm region. The city is home to Eastern Washington University and only 15 minutes away from the state’s secondlargest city, Spokane. We also have offices in Col fax, Davenport, Ritzville and Odessa, Wash. Our company covers multiple rural communities in Spokane, Lincoln, Adams, Whitman and Franklin counties.

If you have what it takes to be a news leader in a five-county region, we want to hear from you. Email cover letter, resume

and clips to Publisher Roger Harnack at Roger@ cheneyfreepress.com.

REPORTER

The Nisqually Valley News in Yelm, Wash., is looking for a reporter to lead its local news cover age. We’re looking for an energetic, self-starter who can take ownership of the coverage area, enterprise stories and maintain the position of the Nisqually Valley News as the primary source of news and information for the community. We cover the communities of Yelm, Rainier, Roy, McKenna, the Nisqually Tribe and Tenino, in addition to Mount Rainier National Park and surrounding areas.

The Nisqually Valley News is a family-owned newspaper with 100 years of history. Experience with basic photogra phy, general assignment reporting and city council coverage is valued. Recent college graduates are encouraged to apply. To be considered, please send a resume, cover

EDITOR

The award-winning Omak-Okanogan County Chronicle is seeking a top-notch managing edi tor to lead the newsroom in the largest community newspaper in beautiful North-Central Washing ton.

Our newspaper covers several small towns, pic turesque mountain ranges, beautiful lakes and fertile valleys not far from the Canadian border.

The successful candi date will lead a team of journalists dedicated to providing the best cover age of people, places and events in Okanogan and Ferry counties, from the Cascade Mountains to the Columbia River.

Effective communica tion and strong leadership skills are necessary, as well as enthusiasm, cre ativity and organizational skills.

This opportunity af fords a full-time position with generous benefits after a 60-day new hire period. Benefits include health care, paid holi days, sick, vacation and personal days, as well as 401(k) and Flexible Spending (FSA) EOE. Must have a valid driver’s license, proof of insurability.

Send resume, cover letter, and writing samples and professional refer ences to: tmyers@ omakchronicle.com with “Managing Editor” in the subject line. If you prefer to mail the information, do so to: The Chronicle - Attn: Teresa Myers, PO Box 553, Omak, WA 98841. No phone calls please.

Continued from Page 6 letter and at least three writing samples to CT Publishing, Regional Editor Justyna Tomtas at justyna@yelmonline. com.