The Idaho Press Club 2013 Fall Conference
Idaho media coalition reunites in fight for openness in private prison lawsuit
By Todd Dvorak BOISE - For the second consecutive year, a broad coalition of Idaho news organizations has joined together in a fight for openness. This time, the focus of the battle is a lawsuit in federal court pitting a group of inmates against the state’s only private prison contractor, the Corrections Corporation of America. The case was filed last year and the inmates allege, among other things, that a pattern of understaffing and mismanagement at the prison has created a reality where gangs to run the lockup. Ultimately, that … [Read more...]
Idaho lawyer who won landmark case dies at 85 – Derr’s work advanced gender equality
By John Miller BOISE (AP) – Allen Derr, an Idaho lawyer who won a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling to bolster anti-discrimination protections for women, died June 10 in Boise. He was 85. Derr, a longtime and highly valued board member of the Idaho Press Club, grew up in North Idaho, graduated from Clark Fork High School in 1947, and then earned bachelor’s and law degrees from the University of Idaho. On Nov. 22, 1971, the Supreme Court justices issued their Reed vs. Reed decision, holding states cannot discriminate against people … [Read more...]
President’s Column: Idaho Press Club is still a screaming deal…
By Betsy Russell Twenty-five years ago, in 1988, the annual dues to join the Idaho Press Club was $25. The cost this year, until July 1? Also $25. Though it’s decades later and costs have gone way up. So now, after long resisting it, the Idaho Press Club board has decided to raise annual dues by $5 on July 1, to $30. It’s a modest increase that’s still a screaming deal; most press associations charge much higher dues, often more than double that amount. The Press Club is funded solely by membership dues and contest entry fees. Yet we … [Read more...]
Don Watkins Memorial Scholarship winners announced
By Melissa McGrath Every year, the Idaho Press Club awards $2,000 or more in scholarships to working journalists and future journalists. It’s all a part of the Don Watkins Memorial Scholarship Program. We gather applications from across the state and award a $1,500 scholarship to one Idaho high school graduate who is currently pursuing his or her career in journalism or communications in college. We also award a $500 Mid-Career Scholarship to any Press Club member who will use the money toward a project or professional development … [Read more...]
Meet your IPC: Melissa Davlin
Name: Melissa Davlin Job (past and present): Former reporter at the Times-News in Twin Falls; currently freelancing and writing about Idaho politics at melissadavlin.wordpress.com Press Club position: Print representative, Idaho Press Club state board; just started this spring Education: BA, General Studies, University of Idaho Tell us about your family: My mom and dad live in Meridian, and I have two younger brothers who live in Nampa. My husband, Nate Poppino, and I just moved to … [Read more...]
MEDIA MOVES
PRINT MOSCOW-PULLMAN DAILY NEWS Holly Bowen moves from Whitman County reporter to the news copy desk and editorial board. She replaces Elizabeth Rudd, who moved to the Lewiston Tribune. Lindsey Treffry, a 2013 graduate of the University of Idaho, is the new 360 reporter replacing Alan Solan, who resigned to write freelance. Meredith Metsker, a 2013 graduate of the University of Idaho, moved to full time and is covering Washington education. Bill McKee, a 2013 graduate of Washington State University, is the new Whitman County reporter. … [Read more...]
Download the Spring 2013 Communicator
Download a PDF copy of the Communicator here. … [Read more...]
Swing Into the Evening with Frim Fram 4
Best of 2012 gala is May 18 By Deanna Darr All too often, the term “awards banquet” triggers a primitive shudder—as if our most ancient ancestors had to sit around a cave with a dry meal and droning speeches about great mammoth hunts of the last season, somehow passing their dread on to future generations. Perhaps that’s why the Idaho Press Club Best of 2012 Awards Banquet should lose the whole “awards banquet” part of the name and more accurately be called the Idaho Press Club Best of 2012 Concert, Dinner and Celebration. No, we’re … [Read more...]
Public record lawsuit results in legal victory in Blackfoot
By Nate Sunderland The Post Register’s recent legal victory against Blackfoot School District 55 was a tribute to the strength of Idaho’s sunshine laws and transparency in government. At the heart of the story was a nearly $220,000 payout from District 55 to former Superintendent Scott Crane – a deal struck during an illegal executive session. While the discovery was satisfying; the victory wasn’t complete. In fact, the bigger truth was lost when the board, on the advice of its attorney and under threat of a lawsuit from the former … [Read more...]
President’s Column – Celebrating victories for openness in this year’s Idaho legislative session
By Betsy RussellIt’s been a good year for openness in government in Idaho. There are a lot of reasons for that, but I’d like to focus on four in particular, all four of which came out of – believe it or not – this year’s Idaho legislative session. The first one didn’t start off like something good. The state Department of Administration proposed legislation to make all surveillance video exempt from the Idaho public records law. This happened just after a shot from a surveillance video at the state Capitol – of an armed man rifling through … [Read more...]
New Idaho online news site focuses on education
By John Miller There’s a new education news website in the Idaho Capitol this year, but the reporters who are writing about disputes over the education budget, new teacher contract laws and additional funding for charter schools are all familiar faces. Idaho Education News includes Clark Corbin, the former legislative reporter at the Idaho Falls Post-Register, and Kevin Richert, the longtime editorial page editor for the Idaho Statesman in Boise. The website, breathed into life following voters' defeat of public schools chief … [Read more...]
Bingham v. Blackfoot points up red flags the press should notice
By Brian Kane In December, Judge David Nye handed down a decision in a public records case. Based on this analysis, there are several instructive points for the press and public as they engage in governmental oversight. This case is particularly instructive because Judge Nye expressly acknowledges, “Yet, everything about this case smacks of a public agency trying to hide its decision-making from the public.” First, don’t just rattle your saber. Once Joyce Bingham made her request and it was denied, she hired an attorney. This … [Read more...]
Open Idaho: Working to promote access
By Joan Cartan-Hansen Whether you are a journalist, a public official or a private citizen, you have rights and responsibilities under Idaho’s Open Meeting and Public Records laws. Now it is easier to find out what to do if you are denied a document or barred from a public meeting. Idaho Public Television and Idahoans for Openness in Government have updated their award winning Open Idaho website to reflect recent changes in state statutes. On the Open Idaho website, you’ll find eight videos that go through the “dos … [Read more...]
