The Washington Newspaper, September 2021

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THE WASHINGTON NEWSPAPER September 2021

O’Connor moves up in Black Press, Alcott to lead Herald Page 5

Journal of the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association

In-person convention cancelled by board

Foundation auction, annual meeting, awards move online as pandemic persists The 2021 annual convention was cancelled last week by the WNPA Board of Directors.

Surging COVID-19 case numbers prompted the cancellation. Board members said they were worried about the convention becoming a super spreader event, or even bringing infections home to young, unvaccinated children.

The decision was made reluctantly, but board members noted WNPA is

far from alone in cancelling coming events. The Washington Coalition for Open Government is moving its award breakfast to the spring, and across the state other indoor meetings are being cancelled or postponed.

WNPA is negotiating with the hotel to move planning up one year. It is expected that the 2022 convention will once again be planned for the Four Points by Sheraton hotel in Bellingham.

For this year, convention events will

New officers, trustees proposed for WNPA A new slate of officers and two new board members will be presented to the membership for approval at the annual meeting at 2:30 p.m. Oct. 8.

The meeting will be virtual, and login information will be emailed to members and available on wnpa.com in the weeks ahead.

Stepping up to the president position is Steven Powell, the editor of the Bainbridge Island Review.

Steve has a long history of journalism in Washington at daily and weekly newspapers.

He becomes the 129th person to be president of WNPA in its 134 year history. Five presidents served two terms.

Stepping up to 1st Vice President is Michelle Nedved, publisher at the Newport Miner. Michelle has worked at the Miner for many years and stepped up to the publisher

Powell

move online. The annual meeting of the association will be at 2:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 8. Links for the online meeting will be posted at wnpa.com and emailed to members.

WE NEED AUCTION ITEMS! The WNPA Foundation Auction will continue online and we still need your donations. Gift certificates are a perfect option. Easy to put together and easy to deliver!

Gift baskets, stays at a B&B, wine tours, whale watching, art works, dinners out or newspaper memorabilia are always popular. Contact Janay at the wnpa office with questions!

Finally, the 2021 Better Newspaper Contest will be a virtual affair. The presentation will go live online at 7 p.m.

Oct. 8.

That’s it for now. Details and links to events will be posted on wnpa.com and emailed to members soon.

Online awards ceremony goes live Oct. 8

Nedved

position after Fred Willenbrock sold the Miner to Louie Mullen.

Nominated for 2nd Vice Etchey President is Donna Etchey, publisher of the Port Townsend Leader. Donna also is a veteran of WNPA member newspapers, serving in ad sales and publisher positions with Sound Publishing on Bainbridge See WNPA, Page 3

This photo of trick or treating in the age of COVID-19 by David Pan of the Mukilteo Beacon is among the winners in this year’s Better Newspaper Contest. Awards will be announced Oct. 8 in a virtual awards ceremony that goes live at 7 p.m. Links will be emailed and posted on wnpa.com.

FROM THE PRESIDENT

We are the “accurate & reliable” news source people say they trust the most Promotional ads feature elections New promotional ads created for the Relevance Project that feature election themes are now available online.

The latest house ad touts “Our Reputation Is The Difference” and is based on the results of a 2021 survey by the reputable Pew Research Center.

The well-earned reputation of a news organization is a top factor with readers and viewers when they decide whether a news story is trustworthy.

The “Our Reputation” promotion allows newspapers to proclaim

“count on us” when covering politics and government.

The Relevance Project staked out election coverage to help advertising staffs secure political ads because newspapers do a better job of labeling and presenting these types of messages. The Election Series also salutes journalists for digging out the truth and facts during sometimes complicated and intense political races.

The Election Series promotions are available to download in both print and digital versions at relevanceproject.net.

Officers: Caralyn Bess, President; Steve Powell, First Vice President; Michelle Nedved, Second Vice President; Patrick Grubb, Past President.

Trustees: Roger Harnack, Scott Hunter, Teresa Myers, Rudi Alcott, Sean Flaherty, Eric LaFontaine and Donna Etchey.

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 2 The Washington Newspaper September 2021

By Caralyn Bess Happy September or as they say, “Happy fall y’all!” Hard to believe that we are already at the end of the third quarter and getting ready to go into Q4, our busiest time of the year, at least on the business side.

I’d like to share a couple of key findings from the Reuters Institute 10th edition Digital Bess News Report which aims to cast a light on the issues that face our industry, issues all too familiar that we are grappling with each and every day. These results support the importance of local newspapers and we should be sharing them with our communities and local businesses. They demonstrate that community newspapers, and yes, I mean the printed word, is still relevant and very important and should remain a staple in marketing plans of local businesses.

When used in tandem with digital display on our local news sites, the effect is powerful. Here are some of the results: • Trust in the news has grown, on average, 6 percent – with 44% saying they “trust most news most of the time,” bringing trust levels back to those of the 2018 survey.

• Trust in news from search and social has remained broadly stable.

I found the trust portion of the survey quite interesting, but it isn’t all good news. The question was: “Thinking about news in general, do you agree or disagree you can trust most news most of the time? While trust is growing, the United States has the lowest news trust factor of all. In fact, 44% tend to or strongly agree that you cannot trust the news. Is this because of news bias from nation-

al news media in conjunction with the sharing of misinformation via social media channels?

According to Reuter’s interpretation of the data, “this means that the trust gap between the news in general, and that found in aggregated environments has grown – “with audiences seemingly placing a greater premium on accurate and reliable news sources.” In my mind, this bodes well for community newspapers, provided that greater premium means that they understand that accurate and reliable news isn’t cheap and that they are willing to pay for it.

If you are interested in reading more, here is the link to the report: https://reutersinstitute.politics. ox.ac.uk/digital-news-report/2021 We are all very aware of the struggles our local business owners have endured and continue to endure. With the added inability to recruit and retain talent, along with supply chain challenges, they are still struggling as they try to regain lost revenue. The fourth quarter of the year is the make it or break it time for many retailers who are vital to the lifeblood

of our communities, just like our local newspapers. So please, as much as possible, shop local, eat local and read local! This is a message that America’s Newspapers is sharing and I encourage each of you to share this too.

While many of you have adopted the shop local, dine local messaging, I ask you to please add the read local message as well. After all, garnering support for our local newspapers is vital to our future and to the future of our respective communities.

That is a message we should all take forward. There are resources available at AmericasNewspapers. org that you can download and publish. With the value and trust of local newspapers and the fact that we have stepped up to lead and support our local businesses throughout this pandemic, we should help each other through this most important time of year for both retail outlets and newspapers.

Caralyn Bess is the publisher of the Columbia Basin Herald and this year’s WNPA president.

WNPA: New board awaits approval Continued from Page 1

Island before accepting the position at The Leader.

Joining the board as trustees this year are Matt Winters, the long-time editor of the Chinook Observer in Long Beach and Heather Hernandez, publisher at Skagit Publishing whose titles include the Stanwood Camano News, the Anacortes American and the Skagit Valley Herald. Sean Flaherty, publisher of the Wenatchee World, was appointed this year to fill an unexpired term.

Continuing on the board as trustees are: Roger Harnack, Cheney Free Press; Rudi Alcott, Sound Publishing; Teresa Myers, OmakOkanogan County Chronicle; and Eric LaFontaine, Woodinville Weekly.

Stepping down from the board after serving the maximum number of years allowed by the bylaws is Scott Hunter, publisher of the Grand Coulee Star.

Scott has given many years of

Hernandez

Winter

Flaherty

Harnack

Alcott

service to WNPA. Without scouring the WNPA archives, we know is this is at least his second term Hunter Myers Bess LaFontaine of service on the board Continuing on the board as Past (we are probably underestimating President is Caralyn Bess of the that). Scott was WNPA President in Columbia Basin Herald.

2003.

Tune in to WNPA podcasts and learn

Reporters and editors who want to improve their reporting can now log on to WNPA’s podcast site and listen to experts in the field tell how they approach their stories.

Currently on the site are interviews with Les Zaitz, owner and Publisher of the Malheur Enterprise.

Les and his staff are redefining how community papers approach reporting.

Also, Eli Sanders, Pulitzer Prize winning writer

for the Stranger in Seattle, talks interviewing and narrative writing techniques.

Pulitzer Prize winner Jacqui Banaszynski talks feature writing and winning trust, and there are discussions of reporting on hate groups.

To find the podcasts, go to wnpa.com and click on the podcast tile in the middle of the home page or access Google podcasts on your phone and search for WNPA.

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 September 2021 3

Give events a regional boost and get $50 As we slowly emerge from our pandemic cocoon, the opportunity to get business rolling again will be everywhere.

That means events will restart and people will want to travel – but how will the public know who is once again welcoming travelers? The answer is a WNPA Impact Ad. Selling statewide or regional 2x2 or 2x4 Impact Ads is a big part of what helps fund your Washington Newspaper Publishers Association, and it’s a great option for advertisers seeking an affordable regional ad opportunity.

And for the next few months, you can get an extra $50 direct from WNPA for selling an ad.

Who has money for ads? Governments do!

They collect a tax on hotel and motel rooms and hand money out to cities and counties to promote themselves. Impact ads are a perfect match for this program.

If you have not already, you should ask your city and county governments (each has separate funds) for a report on where the hotel-motel tax money is going.

In most cases, nonprofit organizations that receive this money are

supposed to spend it in outside markets that will draw people to your town.

Although most events have been limited, some are slowly returning. If anything, people will be itching to get out this summer.

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

Here’s how it works: • You sell the ad to a local organization to bolster tourism.

• 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 revenue on the ad sale. The advertising sales person 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 annual convention.

• We keep the price to the client affordable by asking all member newspapers to publish the ads sold by other newspapers for free.

Potential customers include festivals, fairs,

resorts, real estate offices, state agencies, statewide or regional political candidates – anyone who desires a cost effective regional or statewide campaign.

Because member newspapers publish these ads for free, 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.

The ads are small – just two columns wide by either two or four

inches tall. One column by four or eight inches are also OK. They need to be produced in two different widths, to accommodate different column widths.

So talk with local chambers or festival organiz-

ers or others who receive hotel-motel tax money from local governments, and let’s start planning our comeback.

Questions? Call Member Services Director Janay Collins at 360-344-2938 or email ads@wnpa.com.

Earn $50 plus your usual commission by selling WNPA ImpactAds • ImpactAds are 8 column inches max.

• They run in WNPA papers statewide or by region.

• Great for events, real estate, recruitment, festivals, fairs, golf courses, wine tours, casinos, car shows, whale watching boats, tourism activities.

• Sell as a stand alone ad buy, or as an upsell for an ad you are selling locally.

• Sell any time. Commission is paid when the ad runs.

• Full price of the ad is split between your paper & WNPA. • See wnpa.com under Advertise Statewide for full details.

Questions? Call 360-344-2938 or email ads@wnpa.com

The map above shows the regions for Impact Ads. Sell the whole state, or choose a region.

4 The Washington Newspaper September 2021

O’Connor moves up, Alcott takes Everett Herald reins

Josh O’Connor, president of Sound Publishing and publisher of The Daily Herald, will step into a new role at Sound’s parent company, Black Press, in September.

O’Connor has been named co-chief operating officer of Black Press. In his new role, he will join fellow co-chief operating officer, Randy Blair, in overseeing operations in Canada, Washington and Alaska.

O’Connor has been the Everett Herald’s publisher since May 2013 and president of Sound Publishing since 2018.

He has worked in various capacities with Black Press, Sound’s parent company since 1998.

“Sound Publishing has been developing a sustainable digital growth platform for local news,” O’Connor said. “Timely, local factual news and information is more important than ever. It’s imperative that we continue to develop and utilize

Josh O’Connor enhanced technology and platforms to reach out to readers.

“It has been an exciting eight years at The Daily Herald,” O’Connor said.

“We are experiencing the most transformative period in our history — growing and delivering award-winning journalism in innovative ways. I am proud of what we’ve accomplished and the overall direction of the business.”

David Black, Black Press’ majority owner and chairman of the board,

Rudi Alcott along with president and CEO Rick O’Connor, (Josh O’Connor’s father) announced the appointment this week. Rick O’ Connor sold his community newspaper to Black Press in the 1980s, joined the company and is president and CEO. Josh O’Connor will continue to oversee Sound Publishing operations in Washington and Alaska, but adds the Kootenay region and the Prairie Newspaper Group in Canada to his oversight.

As co-chief operating

officer, Josh O’Connor will work closely with Blair in advancing digital growth and audience development.

“Over the past decade it has become clear that we must seek new ways to help pay for the local independent journalism that plays such a key role in a vibrant community and democracy,” Blair said.

Black Press is based in Surrey, British Columbia.

Josh O’Connor, however, will continue to be based in Washington, where he resides with his family.

Rudi Alcott, currently vice president of advertising with Sound Publishing, will take over as publisher of The Herald. He will be the 10th publisher in the paper’s 120-year history.

Alcott currently is in charge of the day-to-day operations of 14 digital and print products. With Sound, he’s made his mark in digital sales and was the company’s first director of digital revenue. This will be his first time guiding a daily newspaper.

“I look at The Herald as the signature flagship of Sound Publishing papers,”

he said. “I am looking forward to this challenge and to be part of the great team up there and to continue the great work.”

At The Herald, Alcott will focus on bolstering audience development and expediting the newspaper’s digital transformation. But a printed paper will continue to be published seven days a week for the foreseeable future, he said.

Alcott, 53, was born in Compton, California. He grew up mostly in Indiana, with a spell in Colorado.

He started his professional career in Fort Wayne, Indiana, as a sales manager in charge of house accounts for Ellison Bakery, then the makers of Archway Cookies. The parent company was Darlington Farms.

After moving to Washington in 1997, he entered the newspaper industry. He spent a decade with Horvitz Newspapers and later joined Sound as publisher of the Federal Way Mirror, ultimately taking on the same role for the Enumclaw CourierHerald.

Sebastian Moraga has returned to Quincy.

Moraga back as QVPR editor

Sebastian Moraga, a former sports editor for the Quincy Valley Post-Register from 2016 to 2019, is the newspaper’s new editor.

Moraga comes back to Quincy after a short stint as communications manager for a Mercer Island-based nonprofit.

“Quincy was so good to me the first time around that having this opportunity really feels like a blessing,” he said.

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The Washington Newspaper September 2021 5

JOB BOARD SPORTS EDITOR/NEWS REPORTER Lewis Publishing Company, publisher of the award-winning community newspapers Lynden Tribune and Ferndale Record, has an immediate opening for a full-time sports editor/news reporter.

The successful applicant will be responsible for covering prep sports in the sports-crazy area of north Whatcom County.

You will be responsible for game coverage, human interest, recreation, investigative/explorative pieces, and commentary. Applicant will work closely with the editor and other staff members in a deadlinedriven environment for both print editions and our websites. Although this position is primarily sports, this reporter will also be expected to handle 2-3 general news assignments each week.

The ideal candidate will be curious in nature, familiar with a variety of sports, work well with coaches and athletes, and show proficiency in photography, InDesign and social media. You will have plenty to do in your 40-hour week. You also will have the opportunity to become a wellversed, skilled journalist capable of advancing your career in most any direction. Send resume and 4-5 clips, including photos to mdlewis@ lyndentribune.com.

SPORTS WRITER Bring your drive for news to Moses Lake at the Columbia Basin Herald and cover big stories and hometown events. We need a sports writer who can also do

features. We also need a news reporter to cover a variety of beats and write features on local people and happenings.

The Herald is a “small but mighty” team, we like to say, that won a couple of dozen awards in the Better Newspaper Contest last time, including first place in general excellence for our category. If you want recreation opportunities, we have those in every direction. Send your letter of interest, resume and work samples to Managing Editor Dave Burgess, dburgess@columbiabasinherald.com.

REPORTER The award-winning Kitsap News Group has an opening for a general assignment reporter to cover community news in South and Central Kitsap County, WA. Applicants must be able to work in a teamoriented, deadline-driven environment, be self-motivated and resourceful, possess excellent writing skills, have knowledge of community news, and be able to write about a wide range of issues and cover multiple beats.

The ideal candidate is comfortable covering government issues and writing hard news stories primarily for publication in the Port Orchard Independent and Central Kitsap Reporter, and online in the Kitsap Daily News. Weekly or daily newspaper experience is preferred, although time worked on student publications and internships will be considered.

This is a full-time position that includes excellent benefits: medical, dental, life insurance,

401K, paid vacation, sick, and holidays. EOE. No calls, please. EOE. No calls, please. To apply, please e-mail to careers@soundpublishing.com and be sure to include GenRep Kitsap in the subject line; (1) a resume including at least three professional references; (2) three or more non-returnable relevant work samples in PDF or Text format (and/or a link to them); and (3) a cover letter addressing the specific job requirements we’ve outlined.

Please also include your salary requirements.

Sound Publishing, www. soundpublishing.com, is an Equal Opportunity Employer and strongly supports diversity in the workplace.

REPORTER Free Press Publishing is looking for several journalists for different newspapers in Eastern Washington. We’re looking for journalists in Cheney, Colfax, Ritzville and Spokane Valley. The successful candidates will cover local news and sports, work with journalists in our other nearby newspapers, and keep tabs on public records including land transactions, court reports and the police blotter.

Each of our communities has an abundance of news to chase, from water and agriculture, drought and wildfire, to highway crashes and shutdowns, to local government, festivals and sports.

These are not remote positions.

From high plains desert to rolling hills, our newspapers cover five counties across Eastern Washington’s “wheat

country,” where smalltown living is at its best.

Our readers are fiercely loyal, with more than 80% of homes getting the printed newspaper each week in most of our core markets.

If you think you have what it takes, we’d like to hear from you. Email a cover letter, resume and references to Publisher Roger Harnack at Roger@cheneyfreepress. com. No telephone calls.

EDITOR If you embrace community journalism at its core, this position is for you.

Nestled between the

TURN ON THE LIGHT…

natural rural beauty of Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Rainier, you are 90 minutes from skiing, the ocean, the Seattle or Portland metro areas and much more. The handson editor of The East County Journal covers city governments, school boards and area business from Morton as part of a family-owned, growing community weekly newspaper group in beautiful Lewis County, Washington. You will get satisfaction from covering the community as no other media can or does. Salary DOE, including PTO, health, dental, vision and retire-

ment benefits. Send cover letter, resume to: Frank DeVaul, DeVaul Publishing, Inc., 429 N. Market Blvd., Chehalis, WA 98532. Or respond by e-mail to fdevaul@ devaulpublishing.com EDITOR We’re looking for you: An energetic, creative and outgoing journalist ready to be editor of a family-owned weekly newspaper. We seek a journalist who is passionate about local news, excited about the opportunity to publish in print, online and with social media. Our editor Continued 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

The Washington Newspaper September 2021 6

JOB BOARD What happens to your archives when newspapers consolidate?

Sometimes the selling publisher will retain ownership, sometimes the archives are passed on to the new owners. In either case, it is important that all parties agree and understand what is going to happen with the bound, loose or microfilm archives.

Historical stakeholders will continue your stewardship!

There’s no downside to scanning your newspaper's archive but there is a singular hurdle so daunting that most publishers simply cannot foresee any way to overcome it – cost. Luckily, there are organizations determined to help. ArchiveInABox works with historical societies and museums who can provide funding to digitize and index small-town newspapers, while publisher retains all ownership and rights.

ArchiveInABox can help you: Carry on Stewardship Mission Maintain Ownership of Copyrights Digitize Archives for Community Access

ArchiveInABox.com 7 The Washington Newspaper September 2021

Continued from Page 6 will understand and thrive on the story of the New West.

You’ll manage and mentor two newsroom employees and work with a professional page design team. Your journalistic integrity is a must. Leadership, budgeting, multi-media and mentoring experience are a plus. This is a handson position that edits and writes stories; takes photos; posts daily to our web site; and uses social media to engage readers Important local topics include forest health, logging, public lands grazing, water supply, wildlife habitat improvements and wildfire resilience in addition to coverage of smalltown life and the active practice of accountability journalism.

It’s an opportunity to practice award-winning journalism in a stunningly beautiful part of Oregon.

The Eagle is the oldest (146 years) weekly newspaper in Eastern Oregon and is part of EO Media Group.

Candidates should have an education in journalism or a related field, plus at least 5 years of progressive newspaper leadership experience.

The position pays $41,000 to $44,000, depending on your experience. Benefits include health insurance, a 401(k) retirement plan and paid time off. Let us know why you want to join the team in John Day in your cover letter.

Submit your cover letter, along with your resume. To apply go here: https://www. applicantpro.com/openings/eomediagroup/ jobs/1935287-490973.