The Washington Newspaper, November 2019

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THE WASHINGTON NEWSPAPER

SmallTownPapers completes digitization project: Page 3

November 2019

Journal of the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association

Foundation rents Olympia office; eyes website launch The Washington Newspaper Publishers Association Foundation is in the process of setting up a year-round office in Olympia, just steps from the Capitol building.

The office will house interns when the Legislature is in session, and the Foundation’s Board of Directors hopes to add staff there in the future to provide news coverage for WNPA member papers and for the public.

In addition to the office, the Foundation is in the process of establishing a non-profit news website dedicated to reporting on state government all year. With the permission of

WNPA member newspapers, the website will also feature a selection of important stories from member papers around the state.

The Foundation will rely on donations, grants and contributions by partners to support news gathering operations.

“It will be baby steps at first,” said WNPA Executive Director Fred Obee. “Everything will depend on how much money we can raise.”

The website and the office are expected to be operational late this year, in time for the 2020 Legislative session.

Birthdates are public, Supreme Court rules Public employee birthdates are not confidential and can be disclosed in public records requests, the Washington State Supreme Court ruled Oct. 24 in a split decision, 5 to 4.

“This case requires us to decide whether state employees have a protected privacy interest against disclosure of public records containing their birthdates associated with their names,” said Justice Debra Stephens, writing for the majority. “We conclude

that the Public Records Act does not exempt these records from disclosure. Nor does Washington Constitution article I, section 7 preclude disclosure, given that names and birthdates are widely available in the public domain and that their disclosure here does not violate privacy rights.”

The case was brought by the Washington Public Employees Association against the Evergreen Freedom

See COURT, Page 2

Photo by Philip Watness, Skamania County Pioneer

The annual awards dinner at the 132nd annual meeting of WNPA drew a lively crowd.

In addition to awards, live and silent auctions raised more than $6,000 for the WNPA Foundation scholarship fund.

Awards, speakers draw big crowd to meeting in Olympia The 132nd annual meeting of the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association celebrated the work of member newspapers and presented a host of informative speakers and workshops.

Awarded the Miles Turnbull Master Editor/Publisher Award was Michael Lewis, publisher of the Lynden Tribune and the Ferndale Record.

Lewis thanked long-time editor Cal Bratt for his contributions, and he gave heartfelt thanks to his wife, Mary Jo, who has worked side by side with

Lewis since he took the reins of the Tribune from his father.

The Lewis family has owned the newspaper since 1914, when Michael Lewis’ grandfather bought the paper.

Winning the Dixie Lee Bradley Award for behind the scenes work was Cindy Vest of the La Conner Weekly News. Vest has been the do-everything staffer in La Conner for decades, working for different newspapers that were published there.

Keynote speaker David Chavern, CEO of the News See CONVENTION, Page 4

Michael Lewis, Publisher of the Lynden Tribune, speaks after receiving the Master Editor/Publisher Award.

COURT: Ruling allows birthdates in records Continued from Page 1

Foundation.

The Washington Newspaper Publishers Association, other media groups and the Washington Coalition for Open Government supported the Freedom Foundation in an amicus brief filed by Eric Stahl of Davis, Wright, Tremaine.

Public access advocates for years have argued that birthdates should not be confidential and are essential to the proper identification of people in databases and news stories. It is the single piece of information that separates people with the same or similar names.

Using birthdates actually protects people from being mistakenly identified, when, for example, someone with a common name is arrested on criminal charges. People in the neighborhood will know, that the 24-year-old suspect is not the same

person as their 60-year-old neighbor.

When comparing criminal data bases against applicants for public employement, birthdates differentiate between applicants and people with criminal records. Without birthdates, telling one from the other is nearly impossible when names are the same.

Writing for the dissent was Justice Charles Wiggins.

“The ease with which criminal actors can use these keys to unlock our personal details is shocking; the ruination it can cause is even worse.

Identity theft, credit card fraud, hacking, phishing — cybercriminals use our names and birthdates to do all of this and worse. To protect against these threats, it is critical to safeguard personally identifying information like names and birth dates.”

FROM THE PRESIDENT

Clear & concise is the way to go when knocking out news stories

By Patrick Grubb In days of old, when men were bold and keyboarding was yet to be invented, I took a typewriting course in junior high.

The reason why is lost in the mists of time.

It probably had to do Grubb with the results of the aptitude tests we were given in those days.

In my case, as I recall, it revealed insights such as I would probably excel in architecture or drafting, teaching college English or secretarial work, law or traffic court clerk -- occupations along those lines. I’m sure, given my motivation at the time, that my counselor pointed me toward courses at the

low end of the achievement scale.

I graduated out of that typewriting course with a minus 64 words per minute on the final typing test.

It was only 150 words long but when you get nicked five points for every mistake you make, it doesn’t take long to get into negative territory. Still, my typewriting teacher was a little awestruck at my achievement.

What did I learn from that experience? Two things.

One, you can always tell when someone first learned to keyboard on a typewriter or was taught by someone who learned on one. They always hit the space bar twice between sentences because manual typewriters are monospaced.

Two, I learned to write using as few words as possible to avoid unforced errors. Of course, I back-

slid a little once I got to university and was given minimum word counts for essays.

That’s still a problem that I see with the J-school interns who we get. I try to beat wordiness out of them, but it’s a heavy slog.

What generally works after you hire them is to give them 10 stories to write on Monday morning – they’ll write real short. The problem then becomes they forget the 5 Ws. A manager’s work is never done.

A recent survey and study by the Knight Foundation (bit.ly/2pAHLIn) found that Americans have more trust in local news sources than in the national outlets. The study’s authors suggest that national news outlets are less trusted because they cover more socially and politically divisive issues than local news.

I suspect another fac-

tor comes into play and that’s writing style. There seems to be a trend toward clickbait headlines and more emotive news writing at the national level in response to social media and web-based news.

I’m all in favor of vivid writing, but it can often be perceived as bias. Given the time crunch faced by local reporters, it isn’t easy to compose colorful copy that covers the subject objectively without occasionally crossing the line.

Clear and concise is the best way to go when you’re covering local news. All things considered, I think it’s better to write as if you’re afraid of finishing up with a minus 64 on a typing test. After all, we now have auto-correct.

Patrick Grubb is the Publisher of The Northern Light in Blaine and this year’s WNPA President.

Call WNPA first on legal questions, emergencies

Officers: Patrick Grubb, President; Caralyn Bess, First Vice President; Steve Powell, Second Vice President; Michael Wagar, Past President Trustees: Roger Harnack, Scott Hunter, Teresa Myers, Pili Linares, Eric LaFontaine and Michelle Nedved.

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, Member Services Director: 360-344-2938. Email: ads@wnpa.com 2 The Washington Newspaper November 2019

By Fred Obee At WNPA, we are devoted to helping our members protect themselves from lawsuits, libel actions and other legal difficulties.

Toward that end, years ago we established a hotline for legal help aimed at getting quick advice from an attorney when members faced a legal emergency.

For years, we kept an attorney on retainer and members were allowed to call the attorney directly.

During this time, the use of the hotline expanded.

People were calling about

lots of non-emergency issues the WNPA staff was qualified to handle.

Ultimately, the WNPA Board of Directors decided that keeping an attorney on retainer to answer these non-emergency legal questions was veering pretty far from the original purpose of our legal hotline.

Our policy today is this: 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 response, you should call WNPA first to get clearance to talk to our hotline attorney.

If you face a legal emergency, WNPA will connect you with Michele Earl Hubbard, an attorney well known to WNPA members, and she will tell you what your legal options are and what steps you need to take next.

All discussions with the hotline attorney are protected by the attorney

client privilege and are not shared with anyone outside the contacting newspaper.

This consultation is limited to one hour and is paid for by WNPA. From there, members can retain the attorney of their choice at their own expense.

The good news is that most non-emergency questions on access or libel can be answered by the WNPA staff. Our office phone is 360-344-2938.

If we are out of the office, you can call my cell phone at 360-301-6453.

SmallTownPapers completes digitization in Issaquah SmallTownPapers, Inc. is pleased to announce it has completed the digitization of The Issaquah Press and its predecessor, The Issaquah Independent, giving the community online access to the documented history dating back to the newspaper’s founding nearly 120 years ago in this small town 30 miles outside of Seattle.

The Issaquah Press began digitizing its archives with SmallTownPapers 14 years ago but was able to scan only a representative portion from each decade.

Fast forward a dozen years when SmallTownPapers re-engaged the newspaper along with the local historical society with a goal of completing the project. The nonprofit Issaquah History

Museum was as eager as the newspaper to have archives digitally preserved and, more importantly, made easy to access and search online, so they included scanning in their capital campaign.

“We knew the community had strong feelings about the Issaquah Press and would support digitizing,” explained Museum Director Erica Maniez. “Anyone who lived here ended up in The Issaquah Press at some point in time.”

And that’s what happened. It cleared the way for the museum to engage the company’s scanning and hosting expertise. Today, all available physical copies have been digitized and can be searched online for

free. Maniez says the timing is perfect since a lot of community organizations were formed in the 1970s when Issaquah began to really expand. Those groups are now about to celebrate their 50th anniversaries and can easily find articles and photos about their own history.

ArchiveInABox® from SmallTownPapers is widely recognized as the leading provider of newspaper archiving services and can help publishers identify community partners eager to participate.

Whether in bound volumes, loose papers, or microfilm – they can convert your archive so it can be easily accessed and searched by the public online.

The Issaquah Press from May 1952 shows the high school graduating class, and the big news -- Subscription contest begins today. SmallTownPapers recently completed digitization of the paper’s archive.

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.

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The Washington Newspaper November 2019 3

2019 Annual Convention CONVENTION: Awards, workshops Continued from Page 1

Media Alliance, said he continues to try to win a place at the table in negotiations with big tech platforms who are using newspaper content but not compensating publishers.

The Internet, he said, is not a democratic place. Google and Facebook choose the things you will see, depending

on your search history and advertising priorities.

State Superintendent for Public Instruction Chris Reykdal told attendees it’s good schools have been given more money, but he said nothing was done to change the way education is delivered. It’s the same system, he said, bumped up a notch.

Pulitzer Prize winner Jacqui Banaszynski leads a workshop on writing profiles that get beneath the surface.

David Chavern talks about ways big tech companies can compensate publishers.

Chris Reykdal discusses school funding, the pros and cons of recent decisions.

4 The Washington Newspaper November 2019

Molly Ernst of the Northern Light was winner of the Pinnacle Award for being WNPA’s top sales person. The award comes with a $1,000 check.

In the background is WNPA Member Services Director Janay Collins.

Dana Moreno (left) of the Columbia Basin Herald celebrates a sweep in the Ad of the Year compeition with WNPA 1st Vice President Caralyn Bess

WNPA President Pat Grubbof The Northern Light, at left, presents 2019 President Michael Wagar with a plaque for his service.

2019 Annual Convention

Photos by Philip Watness, Skamania County Pioneer

Kirk Boxleitner of the Port Townsend Leader picks up a tiny broom after the paper swept the in-paper special sections category.

Al Camp of the Omak-Okanogan County Chronicle picks up his first place award as Photographer of the Year.

Eric Trent from the Lynden Tribune is congratulated on his Sports Writer of the Year award by Caralyn Bess.

Cal Bratt of the Lynden Tribune picks up a General Excellence Award From WNPA 1st Vice Presient Caralyn Bess.

5 The Washington Newspaper November 2019

Matthew Nash of the Sequim Gazette takes home second for Feature Writer of the Year.

Eric Rosane from the Nisqually Valley News accepts General Excellence award.

Jessie Stensland of the Whidbey News-Times picks up her award for News Writer of the Year.

WNPA JOB BOARD REPORTER The Chronicle in Centralia has an opening for a general assignment reporter to help us tell the stories of our county of 75,000 people and surrounding communities.

Our newsroom produces three print editions per week, periodical special sections and posts content daily to our website, Chronline.com.

We pride ourselves on the quality and quantity of the news we produce and are well respected for our fierce commitment to the public’s right to know.

In recent years, our news staff has won recognition from the Pacific Northwest Newspaper Association, the Washington Coalition for Open Government and the Society for Professional Journalists.

Photography skills are a plus. We’d prefer a candidate with experience but will take applications from talented grads.

The position is fulltime — 40 hours per week. Medical, dental, 401k and paid time off are offered for full-time employees. The Chronicle is located in Lewis County — a 90-minute drive from Seattle, Portland, two active volcanoes and the rugged Washington coast and offers some of the best outdoor opportunities in the region.

If you think you’d fit in well with our newsroom, send a cover letter, resume, clips and references to Editor Natalie Johnson at njohnson@chronline. com.

World based in Aberdeen, Wash., and two weekly papers. We’re looking for someone who writes clear stories about complex matters, and who will find and tell stories about real people and life on the coast. We value enterprise and reporters who dig.

Photography and strong social media credentials are a must. Send writing and photography samples to careers@soundpublishing.com and make sure to include in the subject line: Attention - GR Aberdeen.

This is a full-time position that includes excellent benefits: medical, dental, life insurance, 401k, paid vacation, sick and holidays. EOE. No calls, please.

a 401(k)/Roth 401(k) retirement plan. Send resume, clips, references and letter of interest to EO Media Group., PO Box 2048, Salem, OR 97308-2048, by fax to 503371-2935 or e-mail hr@ eomediagroup.com.

REPORTER The Blue Mountain Eagle, a family-owned weekly newspaper in a stunningly beautiful Oregon community, seeks an energetic, dedicated reporter.

The Eagle is located in John Day, where seeing deer in front yards is normal and traffic is unheard of, just three hours from Bend and Pendleton.

Despite the picturesque environment, the community is at the center of an SENIOR REPORTER evolving natural resource This is your chance to restoration economy, be part of dynamic, family which gains statewide and newspaper. even national attention.

We have an immediate Ongoing topics include opportunity for an state and federal policies, accurate and hardforest health, logging, working senior reporter at public lands grazing, water one of Oregon’s best small supply, wildlife habitat daily newspapers based improvements and wildfire in scenic and historic resilience, in addition to Pendleton. coverage of small-town life This is a key reporting and local government. The assignment covering two position offers a wealth of of the newsroom’s bigger breaking news and enterbeats — Umatilla County prise opportunities. government and public Serving the community safety. We value spot for more than 150 years, news hustle but also prize the Eagle is the oldest deeper enterprise pieces. weekly newspaper in The successful candidate Oregon and is part of EO should be fluent in filing Media Group, an awardpublic records requests, winning and innovative social media, breaking news organization with an news and multimedia. active family of owners.

The East Oregonian Candidates must be able has been named the top to develop story ideas, newspaper in its class take photographs, develop eight of the last nine years sources, prepare website REPORTER in the Oregon Newspaper and social media updates The Grays Harbor Publishers Association’s and work in a cooperative Newspaper Group is annual competition. team environment. Jourlooking for a reporter Full time with benefits nalistic integrity is a must. who is also good with a including Paid Time Off Journalism education camera. The newspaper (PTO), insurances and or experience is required group includes The Daily 6 The Washington Newspaper November 2019

for this full-time position offering insurances, a 401(k)/401(k) Roth retirement plan and paid time off (PTO). Send resume, letter of interest and up to five clips to hr@eomediagroup.com.

team. This position will work closely with the Publisher, Sales, and Creative teams, as well as our customers.

The ideal candidate will possess good written and verbal communication skills, be WindowsADVERTISING proficient, able to multiSALES ASSISTANT task and possess good The Daily World, a problem-solving skills in division of Sound Puban exciting, fast-paced, lishing, Inc. is seeking deadline-oriented envia Full-Time (M-F 8 am ronment. Essential to this -5pm--hours may vary) position is flexibility, exAdvertising Sales Assistant cellent organizational and to join our advertising time-management skills,

TURN ON THE LIGHT…

and the ability to juggle concurrent projects.

We offer competitive compensation and a benefits package that includes medical, dental, vision and life insurance; paid time off (vacation, sick, and holidays); and a 401k with employer match.

To apply, please e-mail to careers@ soundpublishing.com a resume including at least three professional references. Make sure to include Ad Sales Asst (AbContinued on Page 7

…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

WNPA JOB BOARD sports, outdoors and recreation, general features and multiple special sections. We’re a small team that offers a hardworking ADVERTISING SALES person the opportunity ASSISTANT to participate in many The Daily Herald, areas of the newspaper a division of Sound industry and its specialty Publishing, Inc. is seeking publications, including the a Full-Time (M-F 8 am website and social media.

-5pm--hours may vary) Strong photography skills Advertising Sales Assistant and familiarity with AP to join our advertising style guide required. Abilteam. This position will ity to be organized and work closely with the meet deadlines is a must.

Publisher, Sales, and Previous news media Creative teams, as well as experience and camera our customers. equipment is a plus.

The ideal candidate EOE. Pre-employment will possess good written drug screening required. and verbal communicaHourly wage, plus bention skills, be Windowsefits. Send writing and proficient, able to multiphoto samples to: tmyers@ task and possess good omakchronicle.com or problem-solving skills in P.O. Box 553, Omak, WA, an exciting, fast-paced, 98841. deadline-oriented environment. Essential to this CUSTOMER position is flexibility, exSERVICE MANAGER cellent organizational and Sound Publishing, Inc. time-management skills, is currently accepting apand the ability to plications for a full-time juggle concurrent projects. Call Center Manager. The We offer competitive position will be based out compensation and a benof our Everett office and efits package that includes will report to the Director medical, dental, vision and of Audience Developlife insurance; paid time ment. The primary duty is off (vacation, sick, and to manage the call center holidays); and a 401k with staffing, training, regular employer match. reporting, staff contests, To apply, please subscriber retention ace-mail to careers@ tivities and assuring great soundpublishing.com a customer service for The resume including at Daily Herald and our least three professional community newspapers. references. Make sure to Call center experience include Ad Sales Asst (Ev- preferred. erett) in the subject line.

We offer competitive Please also include your compensation and a bensalary requirements. efits package that includes

medical, dental, vision and SPORTS REPORTER, life insurance; paid time PHOTOGRAPHER off (vacation, sick, and Seeking sports reholidays); and a 401k with porter/photographer for employer match. a weekly award-winning To apply, please newspaper in Omak, loe-mail to careers@ cated in beautiful Okano- soundpublishing.com a gan County. Diverse beat resume including at includes high school least three professional 7 The Washington Newspaper November 2019

Continued from Page 6

erdeen) in the subject line.

Please also include your salary requirements.

references. Make sure to include Call Center Mgr (Everett) in the subject line. Please also include your salary requirements.

MEDIA SALES PROFESSIONAL Exciting opportunity for a skilled sales professional in Bend, Oregon.

The Bulletin is Central

Oregon’s leading media outlet. More than just a newspaper, The Bulletin represents the community through events and print and digital products, bringing credible, relevant coverage to readers and advertisers.

Can you be a part of our team? We seek someone who is skilled

in business development, contract negotiations, communicates clearly with an internal support team, thrives in a CRM driven environment and has outstanding proposal and presentation skills. Two or more years of sales experience with proven success in media or digital sales, and/or a degree in market-

ing is desired.

The Bulletin was recently acquired by EO Media Group, a familyowned Oregon company.

Benefits include paid time off (PTO), a 401(k)/ Roth 401(k) retirement plan, expense reimbursement and insurances. Send resume and letter of interest to hr@eomediagroup.