TWN THEWASHINGTONNEWSPAPER

May 2016

Journal of the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association

2x2 ad network works for youPage 5

Running for daylightBetter Newspaper Contest entry deadline is May 6

Opinion sought on executive session details

The deadline for the 2016 Bet-ter Newspaper Contest is Friday, May 6. Don’t miss this opportu-nity to be recognized for your best work this year.

Contest rules and instruc-tions can be found at wnpa.com and entries are uploaded at BetterBNC.com, a website produced by SmallTownPapers. This edition of The Washing-ton Newspaper also contains information on the contest, entry fees and applicable dates. Awards will be announced at the annual WNPA convention Oct. 13-15 in Wenatchee.

“We are already well into our planning for the fall convention,” said WNPA Executive Director Fred Obee. “We have great lineup of presenters, and we hope every-one will enter their best work in the BNC.”

Every WNPA member news-paper is eligible to enter the cov-eted General Excellence award category without cost. Just submit all issues published in the weeks of Sept. 23 and Sept. 30, 2015 (the last two issues of September). Include your entire newspaper, including special sections and the classifieds.

SPONSORSSponsors are being sought

now for the 129th Annual WNPA Convention, Oct. 13-15 in Wenatchee, WA. Sponsors are an integral part of the convention and in a variety of year-round promotions.

As a sponsor, you will con-

nect with community news-paper publishers, marketing experts and print and online journalists from across the state. You can demonstrate your product or service or your organization’s scientific, political or social interests from your exhibitor table, located in the center of our convention activities.

If you want an opportu-nity to access local media publishers in Washington state at one time, this is your opportunity!

WNPA offers a large range of sponsorship levels and benefits. A sponsorship brochure is available for download on our website, wnpa.com or you can call WNPA today at 306-515-5239 for more details.

This shot garnered a first place award in Group 1 for Katelin Da-vidson at the Ritzville Adams County Journal in the Color Sports Photo-Action category in WNPA’s 2015 Better Newspaper Contest.

A Spokane legislator wants advice from state attorneys on what city officials can reveal about secret, closed-door ses-sions like the one that pre-ceded the ouster of the city’s police chief.

Rep. Marcus Riccelli, D-Spokane, has asked for a for-mal attorney general’s opinion to clear up what he believes are “gray areas” on what information can be released by officials from an executive session and what must be kept confidential.

Spokane officials who attended an executive session the day before police Chief Frank Straub was fired have been warned by an assistant city attorney that they could face criminal charges if they reveal what was discussed.

The warning came more than a month after the council voted to “waive privilege” on information from that meeting so members could speak with an investigator looking into problems in the police depart-ment and City Hall.

Riccelli decided to request a formal attorney general’s opinion over what’s exempted under the state’s Open Public Meetings Act.

Such an opinion does not have the force of a judge’s ruling, but often serves as guidance to government of-ficials until a court is asked to decide a specific case. Under state law, a legislator can ask for an attorney general’s opin-ion, but a city official cannot.

Other cities also have reported disputes over what

officials must keep confiden-tial from executive sessions, Riccelli said. In 2009, the attorney general’s ombudsman for open government issued an informal opinion that some things discussed in executive session can be made public.

“Not all information shared in executive session may be confidential,” Tim Ford wrote at the time. “Moreover, while the executive session allows closed meetings on specific topics, it does not limit your First Amendment right to

speak about non-confidential information that concerns the public.”

But Ford was answering questions that dealt primarily with executive sessions on real estate purchases.

It’s particularly important in Spokane, where city offi-cials were warned they could be prosecuted for revealing information, he said. Even if officials doubt that’s correct, the safe thing is for them to do is say nothing to avoid

See OPINION, Page 5

qSEE CONTEST RULES ON PAGE 8

2 The Washington Newspaper May 2016

Officers: Don Nelson, President; Sandy Stokes, First Vice President; Michael Wagar, Second Vice President; Keven Graves, Past President.

Trustees: Sara Bruestle, Eric LaFontaine, Donna Etchey, Scott Hunter, Michael Wagar, LuAnn Morgan and Jill FitzSimmons.

Staff: Fred Obee, Executive Director; C.J. Burk, Assistant Director.

THE WASHINGTON NEWSPAPER is the offical publi-cation of the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association. It is published monthly by WNPA, 1204 Fourth Ave. East, Suite 4, Olympia, WA 98506.

Fred Obee: Executive Director: 360-515-5239. Email:

fredobee@wnpa.comCJ Burk: Accounting and Advertising 360-515-0974.

Email: cj@wnpa.com. Fax: 360-515-5546

The Washington Newspaper Publishers AssociationEstablished 1887

By Don NelsonIf you’re like me, you’re

scrambling to review a year’s worth of newspapers to figure out what to enter in the WNPA Better Newspaper Contest. Every year I make a resolution to track things as we go along and keep a file of possibles, and every year I instead crash up against the deadline (May 6, as you must know by now, for everything but special publications).

The Better Newspaper Contest is an important revenue-generator for the WNPA. It’s also a way to let your staff know that you think their efforts deserve recognition, and for all of us to get a sense of the collective good works that WNPA members are producing.

Selecting, winnowing and submitting entries is a tedious exercise for most of us, and a logistical challenge for our able executive assistant C.J. Burk, who shepherds us through the entry period and sorts out the winners after the judging is completed.

At the same time, I am always gratified to see the volume of good work we’ve produced over a year. It’s a reminder that, week in and week out, we’re serving our community in many ways.

Newspaper award contests are an incestuous process. Right up to the Pulitzers, we are judged and deemed award-worthy by our industry peers. That makes sense in an important way: They know what it

takes to produce a certain kind of story, or photo, or design, or advertisement. Acknowledgement and recognition from others like us make awards meaningful. When accolades come from elsewhere, we’re a little suspicious. If you get an award for business writing from the chamber of commerce, or for education reporting from the state teachers’ association, you may start worrying if your coverage has been too soft.

Having judged dozens of contests over the years and entered at least as many, I’ve come up with some guidelines for how to think about possible entries. Here are a few suggestions for sorting out what to enter in rational, cost-effective way.

• Put yourself wherever the judges are – usually in another state far removed from Washington. They don’t know our communities, our issues, our challenges. Something that is vital to your coverage area may mean nothing to a judge 2,000 miles away without some context, and over-explaining in an entry note doesn’t necessarily help. I look for stories that have a fairly universal theme or eye-catching topic. You are likely going to have no more than 30 seconds to make an impression before the judge moves on to the next entry. Make it count.

• Long isn’t always better. Consider your own judging experience, and how daunting it is to confront a 4,000-word story. But if your 4,000-word story is superb, don’t hesitate to enter it.

• Don’t load up entries in any one category. Pick the one or two best entries – often a tough judgment – and hope that they make

an impression. If you enter three or more in a category, you are competing against yourself as well as all the other entrants, and probably wasting your entry fees.

• Related to the above, category shop – that is, look for another place that an entry might fit. Some categories are broad or flexible enough that you can move things around.

• Remember that the judges are just like us – stressed, overworked, distracted, with not a lot of time to spare for the serious job of assessing piles of entries, often in diverse categories. Don’t make it harder for them. Keep your entry formats clean, readable and easily accessible. As a judge, nothing annoys me more than having to work too hard just to look at an entry.

• Be ready for disappointment. I like to think that all my entries are winners, but of course it never works out that way. Those “just-like-us” judges may get it absolutely right, or they may make decisions that are to you, and perhaps others, inexplicable. The judge in New York or Arizona or wherever may be a 40-year veteran like me, or a 22-year-old rookie reporter who’s never done it before. I’ve seen things happen in contests that were simply baffling – Pulitzer Prize-winning stories that were runners-up in regional competition, for instance.

If you’re in this business long enough and work hard, the words “award-winning” will at some point attach to you. Why not this year?

Don Nelson is the Publisher of the Methow Valley News and this year’s WNPA President.

FROM THE PRESIDENT

Nelson

Without you, it’s no contestDixie Lee Bradley nominations sought

Dixie Lee Bradley tirelessly served the Washington Newspa-per Publishers Association and its members for 45 years. She kept the office on track, provided continuity and bridged gaps be-tween the experienced staff and newbies. Do you have someone like that on your staff who de-serves recognition? A behind the scenes person who keeps things running?

If so, consider nominating that person for WNPA’s Dixie Lee Bradley award.

This award, which was conceived in 1996, symbolizes Bradley’s devotion and passion for community newspapers. It recognizes newspaper staff members who work long and hard, often behind the scenes, to see that the best possible com-munity newspaper is produced and distributed each week.

Publishers nominate one staff member per newspaper. The selection criteria includes a demonstrated record over a considerable time period of con-sistent quality work in any facet

of the community newspaper industry including production, circulation, or front office sup-port. Professional positions, such as photographer and advertising sales, are not included due to ample opportunities for these professionals to be recognized through WNPA’s annual Better Newspaper Contest.

There is no entry fee at the time of nomination. However, should its nominee win, the sponsoring newspaper must agree to pay the winning em-ployee a $250 bonus which will be matched by WNPA for a total cash prize of $500 for the win-ner. The winner also receives an engraved clock.

To enter, send us a short essay describing why your nominee should win. Be sure to include your contact information and send entries to C.J. Burk at cj@wnpa.com or mail to Washington Newspaper Publishers Asso-ciation, 1204 Fourth Ave. East, Suite 4, Olympia WA 98506. Deadline for submission is July 1, 2016.

The Washington Newspaper May 2016 3

Patrick J. Sullivan of the Port Townsend & Jefferson County Leader won a third place award for this photo of a drip-ping wet Quilcene Ranger football player in the Black and white Sports Photo, Action or Feature category in WNPA’s 2015 Better Newspaper Contest.

PLAYING THROUGH THE RAIN

Nominations are now open for The Washington Coalition for Open Government’s 2016 top annual rec-ognition awards to be presented later this year to individuals or groups who have made outstanding contributions to the cause of open government in Washington.

• James Madison Award -- Named for one of the primary authors of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, The James Madison Award honors an individual or organization whose long-term commitment to the First Amendment and to open govern-ment has been demonstrated through exemplary words or deeds. It is one of the highest honors WCOG bestows to honor transparency advocates.

• The James Andersen Award – This award honors an individual or organization that has made an outstanding contribution to the work of the Washington Coalition for Open Government. It is named after James

Andersen, retired chief justice of the Washington Supreme Court and a founding member of the coalition. Both awards will be presented pub-licly in September. • The 2016 Ballard/Thompson Award – This award is designed to recognize a member or members of the state legislature demonstrating outstanding dedication to the cause of open government during the legisla-tive session. The award is named in honor of former Speaker of the House Clyde Ballard (R) and former state Senator and Chief Clerk of the House Alan Thompson (D), both founding members of WCOG. Provided there is a recipient who meets the award crite-ria, it will be presented at the Capitol during the 2016 legislative session. The deadline for 2016 nominations for all awards is May 31. Full criteria, nomination forms and lists of past recipients are available online at www.washingtoncog.org. The Madison and

Andersen awards will be presented at the 2016 Annual Madison Andersen Awards Breakfast on Friday, Sept. 23 at the Washington Athletic Club, along with The Kenneth F. Bunting Award, presented to honor journalists who have used transparency laws or exposed secrecy in government. The Washington Coalition for Open Government is a statewide nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that advo-cates for the people’s right to access government information and for the principle that transparency and public participation are building blocks of good government. Membership in the coalition is open to all citizens who want to promote and protect open government. For more information, contact Wash-ington Coalition for Open Govern-ment, 6351 Seaview Avenue NW, Seattle, WA 98107-2664 or on the web at www.washingtoncog.org or call (206) 782-0393.

WCOG recognizes exemplary work

By Fred ObeeIt is with great pleasure

that I address all of you for the first time as your Executive Director. I truly feel honored to help lead our organization, and I am looking forward to meeting with all of you.

WNPA has been a part of my professional life for a very long time. I started out as a reporter at the Whidbey News-Times when Wal-lie Funk, a former WNPA president, reigned supreme. Wallie is a legend in our busi-ness, and I learned a lot from him. At the time, Dave Pinkham, another WNPA past president, was the news editor. He gave me my first journalism job, and I couldn’t have asked for a better, more even tempered, funny and principled mentor.

When Dave left to purchase the Stanwood-Camano News, Wallie promoted me to news editor, and when David Black purchased the Whidbey News-Times and the South Whidbey Record to start the company that was to become Sound Publishing, I was pro-moted to editor.

I spent about 12 years at Whidbey News-Times and left to take a job at the Port Townsend & Jefferson County Leader where Scott Wilson, another WNPA past president, hired me. Frank Garred, yet another WNPA past president, was still working there then. You don’t find community journalists more dedicated to the task than Scott and Frank. To say I owe them a lot is a big understatement.

After six years at the Leader, I left to become the editor of the Daily Triplicate in Crescent City, Calif. I loved working there – in the redwoods and on the ocean -- but after three years, I was missing

Western Washing-ton, and at Scott Wilson’s invita-tion, I returned to the Leader as its general manager.

Anyone who works for a newspaper these days knows chal-lenging times lie

ahead for our industry, but that has always been the case. The history of our enterprise is one of constant evolution.

Hal Borland, who penned elegant nature essays for the edito-rial page of the New York Times for many years, wrote two of my favorite books on journalism. His books, High, Wide and Lonesome and Country Editor’s Boy, describe how his family came to settle the high plains of Eastern Colorado, and how he was introduced to the newspa-per business by his father, the editor and owner of a small town paper.

Borland put it this way, in High, Wide and Lonesome:

“A frontier is never a place; it is a time and a way of life. Frontiers pass, but they endure in their people.”

Indeed. Today we stand at the edge of a new frontier, and I for one am looking forward to the adventure.

Fred Obee is the Executive Director of the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association.

WNPA a constant part of my career

Obee

The Washington Newspaper May 2016 4

Political ads have their own set of particular rules, and ad managers should regularly review the regula-tions to make sure candi-dates are staying on the straight and narrow.

The rules apply to newspaper ads, billboards, signs, brochures, articles, tabloids, flyers, letters, radio or TV presentations, or other means of mass communication. If the item directly or indirectly asks for votes or for financial or other support or opposition in an election campaign, it is considered political advertising.

Here’s a few of the rules established by the state Public Disclosure Commis-sion that should be taken into account when preparing election materials:

• Candidate photos must have been taken within the last five years.

• Party preference must be included in any form of advertising about a candidate seek-ing election to a partisan office, regardless of who

sponsors the ad. Of-ficial symbols or logos adopted by the state committee of the party may be used to indi-cate a candidate’s party preference in political advertisements instead of words.

• Sponsor identification is required for political advertising, except for certain types of ads. The «sponsor» is the candidate, committee, or other person who pays for the ad. When the person buying the ad is an agent for another person or is otherwise reimbursed, the sponsor is the ultimate spender. The PDC’s has separate instructions that explain the unique spon-sor ID requirements for electioneering communi-cations and independent expenditures.

• Use the words “paid for by” or “sponsored by” followed by the sponsor’s name & address. Include all sponsors’ names and addresses when there is more than one. A political

committee must include its Top 5 contributors’ names when sponsor-ing an ad about a ballot measure with a cost of at least $1,000 in the aggre-gate. (The top 5 is defined as the five largest contribu-tors who gave more than $700 during the 12 months before the ad appears.

• Print ads and web-sites must display sponsor names and any party pref-erence in an area set apart from the ad text on the first page of the ad. Use at least 10-point type; do not screen or half-tone the text. Small online ads with limited characters may display sponsor names & party preference in an

automatic display such as a mouse tip/rollover or non-blockable popup that remains visible for at least 4 seconds or on a web-page that is conspicuously linked to the small ad and reached with one mouse click.

• A sponsor’s name and address may be left off of a political ad that meets all of the following criteria:

1. the sponsor is an individual acting on his or her own behalf, indepen-dent of any candidate, political committee or organization, who person-ally produces and distrib-utes the ad (or pays for it to be produced and/or

distributed).2. The sponsor receives

no contributions or other support to produce and distribute the ad.

3. No more than $50 in the aggregate is spent for online advertising or $100 in the aggregate for any other type of advertising.

4. The advertising is either distributed through the individual’s social media site, per-sonal website, or similar online forum where information is produced and disseminated only by the individual or a letter, flier, handbill, text or email from the individual that does not appear in a newspaper or comparable mass publication.

• It is illegal to sponsor a political ad, with actual malice, that contains a statement constituting libel or defamation. Ads cannot directly or indi-rectly imply a candidate has the support or en-dorsement of any person or organization when the

candidate does not. Ads cannot include a false statement of material fact about a candidate or falsely represent that a candidate is an incumbent.

• Sponsors of ads can-not use an assumed name for sponsor identification in a political ad or dis-tribute campaign mate-rial deceptively similar in design or appearance to the voter and candi-date pamphlets published by the Secretary of State, or use the state seal or its likeness to assist or defeat a candidate.

• Candidates cannot falsely imply incumben-cy in a political adver-tisement about a candi-date who does not hold the office. Recommend-ed format: Elect Tracy Jones Auditor or Tracy Jones for Auditor.

For more information or to clarify the rules, you can call WNPA at 360-515-5239 or visit the Public Disclosure Commission’s website at https://www.pdc.wa.gov.

Have a legal question? Call the WNPA hotlineWNPA members can call the hotline five times a year for:

• Pre-publication emergency review of a story, letter or advertisement.• Analysis of a demand letter or some other challenge to something that has already been published.

Call (206) 801-7510 or email michele@alliedlawgroup.comMichele

Earl Hubbard

Know the rules of the road for political ads

5 The Washington Newspaper May 2016

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 their regular commission.

• WNPA receives 50 percent of the sale and uses that money to provide your legal hotline, professional services, Legisla-tive Day, the Better Newspaper Contest and annual convention.

• All member newspapers are required 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 candi-dates – 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.

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 these ads. A Chamber of Commerce, for example, can ask your county government for funds to help attract tour-ists 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 orga-nizers now about the possibili-ties. Generally, they make their proposals at the end of summer to local governments. Actual schedules and procedures may differ in your area, so check with city or county officials about specific timelines and the process for applying for hotel motel tax funds.

Any proposal that puts more “heads in beds” is likely to win approval.

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 C.J. Burk at WNPA, 360-515-0974, or email cj@wnpa.com.

Tourism promotion good fit for WNPA ads Your local governments have cash to hand out

The map above shows the regions advertisers can buy in WNPA’s 2x2 ad program. Orange is the Eastern Region, Green is the Metro Region and blue is the Coastal Region. The newspaper that sells one of these ads keeps half the revenue with the balance going to WNPA. Other member papers agree to run the ads at no cost. Rates and sizes are outlined in the graphic below.

defending themselves against the charge.

The specific ques-tions to be answered are:

• Does RCW 42.23.070(4) restrict public officials from disclosing informa-tion shared during meetings conducted as executive ses-sions under the Open Public Meetings Act? If so, does the statute categorically prohibit disclosure, or is its reach limited to “confidential infor-mation”? If limited, how should public of-ficials define “confi-dential information”?

• If RCW 42.23.070(4) does prohibit public officials from dis-closing information exchanged during executive sessions, would a violation of that prohibition constitute a misde-meanor under RCW 42.20.100 (“Failure of duty by a public wrongful conduct”) and/or “official mis-conduct” under RCW 9A.80.010?

Portions of this ac-count were originally published April 8, 2016 in the Spokane Spokesman Review under reporter Jim Camden’s byline.

Opinion:Closed session rules eyed by AG Continued from Page 1

6 The Washington Newspaper May 2016

New squad for hire to critique newspapersBy Sara Bruestle

The BeaconA “groovy” squad of journal-

ists is now available for hire to examine the quality of Washing-ton’s community newspapers.

The Hit Squad, inspired by the hippie TV show “The Mod Squad,” is comprised of three Washington Newspaper Publish-ers Association trustees who together offer more than 50 years of journalism experience and fresh sets of eyes to member and non-member newspapers looking to improve.

Eric LaFontaine, Sara Bruestle and Michael Wagar, who serve on the WNPA’s Editorial & Journal-ism Education Committee, have teamed up to offer their construc-tive criticism of a newspaper’s print and web products, as well as its social media presence.

“The Hit Squad will burst into your journalism efforts and offer solid, reasonable and groovy

suggestions for upgrades,” said Wagar, who is the squad leader.

“We’ll take a deep look at your news-paper, your website and social me-dia practices and give you a thoughtful examination of everything from use of photos, writing and reporting skills and digital advertising, to the best cyberspace practices.”

“The Mod Squad,” which ran from 1968-1973, followed the lives of three hip undercover cops – Peter “Pete” Cochran, Julie Barnes and Lincoln “Linc” Hayes – who fight crime in Southern California.

Instead of fighting crime, the WNPA squad will examine newspapers and websites on the

whole, looking at the overall quality of coverage, connection to the community, writing, editing, headlines, photography, layout, design, typography, advertising and more. If members “dig it,” or if they don’t, they’ll let staff know why and offer solutions.

The squad’s mission is to provide staffers with in-depth feedback – in written and verbal reports – to help them “keep the faith” and make improvements to the overall journalistic quality of their work, in print and online.

MEET THE HIT SQUADEric LaFontaine (aka Pete)

is the publisher of the Sun Tri-bune. He has worked in jour-nalism for 14 years, including 10 years as a publisher.

In addition to a strong editorial and photography background, LaFontaine has been at the tip of the spear of the newspaper digital revolution.

Sara Bruestle (aka Julie) is the editor of the Mukilteo Beacon and chair of the WN-PA’s Membership & Bylaws Committee. She has been a journalist for 11 years, includ-ing six at The Beacon.

Bruestle, who has been a copy editor as long as she has been a reporter, has a sharp eye for great photography, lay-out and design. She has won eight WNPA awards.

Michael Wagar (aka Linc) is the publisher of the Nisqually Valley News, regional executive

editor for Lafromboise Com-munications Inc., and chair of the WNPA’s Editorial & Journalism Education Committee. He has won several Blethen awards as a reporter and an editor.

After first reporting for 10 years, Wagar has been lead-ing newsrooms for the past two decades, and has jump-started sev-eral weekly and daily papers.

Want to hire The Hit Squad? The cost is $50 for WNPA members; $100 for non-members. All proceeds go toward WNPA operations.

Mail three copies of one com-plete issue of a specified date to: Washington Newspaper Publish-ers Association, 1204 Fourth Ave. East, Suite 4, Olympia WA 98506.

Provide a newspaper website (url link) and any login and pass-word, if required.

Call WNPA Executive Direc-tor Fred Obee at 360-515-5239 for more information.

Bruestle Wagar La Fontaine

7 The Washington Newspaper May 2016

REPORTER WANTEDThe Tacoma Daily

Index, a division of Sound Publishing Inc. is seek-ing a general assignment reporter with writing experience and photogra-phy skills. This position is based out of the Tacoma office. The primary cover-age will focus on business and Construction news for Tacoma. Schedule includes evening and/or weekend work.

Candidates must have ability to work indepen-dently in a deadline-driven environment. Skills re-quired are writing, editing, and pagination.

We offer a competitive hourly wage and benefits package including health insurance, paid time off (vacation, sick, and holi-days), and 401K (currently with an employer match.)

Email us your cover letter, resume, and include five examples of your best work to: careers@sound-publishing.com, ATTN:

INDEX.Sound Publishing is an

Equal Opportunity Em-ployer (EOE) and strongly supports diversity in the workplace. Check out our website to find out more about us! www.soundpub-lishing.com

CUSTOMER SERVICE/ INSIDE SALES PERSON WANTED

If you have an outgo-ing personality, a sense of humor, can multi-task, and handle the pressure of deadlines, this is the job for you! This full-time job is located in our Port An-geles office, includes an hourly wage plus commis-sion, medical benefits, life insurance, paid vacation, sick pay and a 401k with a company match. You will work Mon.-Fri., 8-5 p.m. in a team oriented, fast paced environment. The right candidate should have excellent telephone manners and sales skills, have great spelling, gram-

mar and writing skills. Please email resume and cover letter with 3 references to: careers@soundpublishing.com. No phone calls, please The Peninsula Daily News is part of the largest com-munity news organiza-tion in Washington State. Check us out at www.soundpublishing.com.

NEWS WRITER WANTEDThe Woodinville

Weekly, a locally-owned community newspaper since 1976, is seeking an experienced news writer to write 3-4 articles per week. Article topics will include local government, education, crime, local businesses, community organizations and more.

The writer should have demonstrated experience covering local news, espe-cially local government. The ideal candidate will have experience meet-ing weekly deadlines and be comfortable meeting

local politicians, business owners and citizens and attending meetings and events. Attention to detail and accurate reporting are a must. Photographic abilities are preferred for some stories. Familiarity with the Woodinville area is preferred. This can be a work from home position, but you must be based in or near Woodinville or the greater Seattle area.

The ability to write feature articles is also desir-able, with topics such as previews of events, special accomplishments of local citizens, community service and local history. Must be able to take direction from the editor and be motivated to find story ideas.

To apply, please send a cover letter, resume, and 3-5 clips to editor @ woodinville.com and julie @ woodinville.com.

EDITOR SOUGHTThe Woodinville

Weekly, a locally-owned community newspaper since 1976, is seeking an experienced editor. The editor role is part-time but could be combined

with our open news writ-ing position to create a full-time role. The ideal candidate should have experience covering com-munity news, including news and features writing experience. Experience in an editing or publica-tion leadership role is preferred. Familiarity with the Woodinville area is also preferred.

The editor’s duties include assigning stories to freelance and staff writers, editing articles from writ-ers and submissions from the community, choosing which topics to cover, acting as the first point of contact for readers contact-ing the paper, represent-ing the paper publicly at events, and working with the publisher to plan the paper. Some weekend work is required, but hours are usually flexible. The ideal candidate will have experience using InDesign, Photoshop, and be able to do light page layout.

The successful can-didate must be skilled at writing and grammar, at-tentive to detail, organized and punctual, and must

live in or near Woodinville or the greater Seattle area.

To apply, please send a resume, cover letter, 3-5 writing clips and refer-ences to editor @ wood-inville.com and julie @ woodinville.com.

REPORTER WANTEDDaily Sun News has

an immediate opening for a general assignment reporter in the Lower Yakima Valley. Are you a competitive journalist with a penchant for scoop-ing the competition? If so, we want to hear from you. Our five-day newspaper now covers the area from Prosser west to Granger and from Vernita to Bick-leton.

The ideal candidate will have photography and InDesign skills. Fluency in Spanish would be a plus. We offer health and dental insurance, a non-matching 401k, six paid holidays, vacation, sick leave and a health savings program. Email your resume, five clips and references to rharnack@dailysunnews.com. Please, no calls.

WNPA JOB BOARD

If you are not audited by CVC you’re missing out

on additional data that can increase revenue in

2016. View the new expanded 30 question survey

template at research.net/r/cvc2016. For a CVC

information package & discounted WNPA

price quote call (800) 262-6392, or

email tbingaman@cvcaudit.com.

SEMULOVSKAEPSATADRUO

“What were you thinking?”

Photos like this won Natalie St. John of the Chinook Observer third place in the Photog-rapher of the Year category in WNPA’s 2015 Better Newspaper Contest.

8 The Washington Newspaper May 2016

2016 WNPA Better Newspaper

ContestTIMELINE

April 4 (Monday) Begin submitting entries on BetterBNC.comMay 6 (Friday) Deadline for submitting Regular Entries and General ExcellenceJune 1 (Wednesday) Deadline for submitting Tourism/Community Guide Special SectionsJune 13 to July 8 Judging Period (including Open Website)Oct. 13 to 15 Winners announced at the WNPA Convention in Wenatchee

RULES: Download Category List & Rules at www.wnpa.com click BNC tabENTRIES: Upload entries at www.BetterBNC.com produced by SmallTownPapers

1204 4th Ave E, Suite 4,Olympia WA 98506 • www.wnpa.com • t 360 515 0974Contact CJ Burk: cj@wnpa.com

PASSWORDS• Contestant Managers who submitted entries last year can use the same email and password as last year; use the Forgot

Password link on www.BetterBNC.com if needed. Contestant Managers submit entries and also control which staff membersat a newspaper are authorized to submit their own entries. Contestant Managers can see and edit all the newspaper’s entriesand account information.

• If your Contestant Manager from last year is no longer at your newspaper and you need the account email changed to a newperson, contact CJ Burk (see below).

• If no Contestant Manager was active at your newspaper last year, create a Contestant Manager account by first logging inas a Contestant using use the temporary password bnc (lowercase).

• Authorized Entrants who submitted entries in 2015 can use the same email and password information as last year; use theForgot Password link on www.BetterBNC.com if needed. New Authorized Entrants receive an email from BetterBNC.comasking them to validate their email address. Once they have done so, Authorized Entrants can log in and begin submittingentries. Authorized Entrants can see and edit only the entries they submit themselves.

ENTRY FORMATS• Upload all entries as PDF, JPG, PNG, TIF or via URL to www.BetterBNC.com. The maximum file size is 5 MB. Please use

www.issuu.com or www.realviewdigital.com to enter special sections and large, multi-page entries. www.realviewdigital.comhas been built into the BetterBNC.com site.

• Please don’t submit both URL and PDF of the same entry. It confuses judges.• For photo entries, consider providing jpeg and/or a pdf. WNPA plans to use submitted jpegs to create photoboards for display

at the 2016 WNPA convention, Oct. 13-15 in Wenatchee. Please use these specs for jpegs: 180 px/inch, 10” on longest side.

TECHNICAL SUPPORT• For technical help getting logged in, making entries and general use of the BetterBNC platform, please use the “Contact

BetterBNC” button at www.BetterBNC.com to initiate a trouble ticket.• For help with rules, eligibility and entry fees please contact CJ Burk (see below).

GENERAL EXCELLENCEGeneral Excellence participation is a member benefit. There is no fee. Submit all issues published in both the week ofSept. 23 and the week of Sept. 30, 2015 (the last two issues of September). Include special sections and the classifieds.You may wish to create separate pdfs/urls for the newspapers and special sections distributed with these two weeks’newspapers.

CONTEST PERIODSRegular Entries: April 1, 2015 – March 31, 2016 Tourism/Community Guide Special Sections: June 1, 2015 to May 31, 2016

ENTRY FEES: $6.50/entry for Group I, $8.50 for Groups II & III, $9 for Group IV

Legislature passes law regulating body camera footage

The Washington State Legis-lature in its last session estab-lished interim provisions for the release of police body-worn camera footage, including spe-cial provisions for how copies can be requested and disclosed to the public.

The bill, which was signed by Gov. Jay Inslee, creates a task force to consider and recommend permanent legislation.

The task force will report to the Legislature for the 2018 legislative sessions, in time for updates to be made before the law expires at the end of that year.

The measure sets rules on what body-camera footage is presumed to be private under the Public Records Act, and it encourages police agencies that plan to use the cameras to adopt policies related to their use.

Under the bill, certain videos would be presumptively private, such as footage that shows a dead body, was recorded in a home or shows a minor. Such footage would be withheld unless the requester can demonstrate that the video is of legitimate public concern and should be released.

The conversation over police body cameras in Olympia comes amid a sweeping movement nationwide for cities and state legislatures to pass laws on how agencies use the body cameras, how the files will be managed and maintained and when they will be released to the public.

Recent police shootings and other incidents across the nation have sparked growing interest in police accountability and the role body cameras can play.

Seattle Police Chief Kathleen O’Toole said in a Feb. 20 written statement: “The community has made it abundantly clear they welcome this technology.”