TWN
THE WASHINGTON NEWSPAPER November 2020
Editor takes bull by the horns Page 3
Journal of the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association
Legislature will be in-person & virtual hybrid Because COVID-19 is making it difficult to gather in large groups, lawmaking in Olympia this January will be a hybrid of virtual meeting platforms, web and television coverage and perhaps a few limited socially-distanced, inperson gatherings. Plans are being made now to assure that open government laws that require the Legislature to operate in public are observed. According to current plans, in-person
observation and testimony at hearings will not be allowed except in rare circumstances. Capitol insiders say access to the Capitol building and other legislative offices will be severely limited, at least for the start of the session. All committee meetings will be virtual and floor sessions will have limited numbers of members and staff present, with everyone else watching on computer screens See LEGISLATURE, Page 2
Tech giants decimating local news, report says
Big search and social media companies are contributing to the decimation of local news outlets, a U.S. Senate report concludes. “These trillion-dollar companies scrape local news content and data for their own sites and leverage their market dominance to force local news to accept little to nothing for their intellectual property,” the report says. “There is a clear need for Congress to address the market failures created by the search and social-media platforms.” The report, issued by the Commerce Committee’s Democratic minority recommends that Congress require Facebook and Google to negotiate payment terms with local media outlets for the headlines, photos and summaries that attract users. It also suggests Congress give agencies “new or expanded authorities” to address the undue influence tech platforms exert in contracts with local news organizations. The report was released ahead of appearances by the chiefs of Facebook Inc., Twitter Inc. and Alphabet Inc. See REPORT, Page 2
Renae Justice is the winner of the 2020 Dixie Lee Bradley award. Here she shows off her award and the check that goes with it with DeVaul Publishing owner Frank DeVaul.
Justice gets Dixie Lee Bradley award; Willenbrock wins Miles Turnbull honor At its 133rd annual meeting Oct. 9, WNPA bestowed two of its highest honors. Renae Justice of DeVaul Publishing was awarded the Dixie Lee Bradley award, and Fred Willenbrock, the long-time publisher the Newport Miner, was given the Miles Turnbull Master Editor/Publisher award. The meeting was an all virtual affair this year due to state restrictions imposed because of the coronavirus pandemic. Dixie Lee Bradley tirelessly served the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association and its members for 45 years and the award in
her name recognizes newspaper staff members who work long and hard, often behind the scenes, to see that the best possible community newspaper is produced and distributed. Justice perfectly fits that description, said her boss Frank DeVaul. Justice joined the team at DeVaul Publishing, Inc. on Nov. 8, 1999. She was initially hired as a receptionist and billing clerk, but her role within the company expanded and grew with each new publication and business enterprise DeVaul Publishing tackled. Everything she was handed See AWARDS, Page 4
Fred Willenbrock, former owner of the Newport Miner.