Betsy Russell retired Jan. 1, 2023 as the Boise bureau chief and state government and politics reporter for the Idaho Press. She is the former longtime president of the Idaho Press Club, and is also president and a founding board member of Idahoans for Openness in Government (IDOG). A graduate of the University of California-Berkeley, she holds a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University. Russell worked for the Idaho Press for five years, and previously worked for nearly 27 years for The Spokesman-Review, including five … [Read more...]
President’s Column: Signs of life in the news industry
October 3, 2022 by
By Betsy Russell
Check out the “Media Moves” section of this newsletter – there are a lot! Lots of Idaho journalists are moving around as our industry finally once again begins to show some signs of life, after the huge financial gut-punch most or all of our employers took due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
As you’ll see in Orion Donovan-Smith’s interesting article in this issue, reprinted from The Spokesman-Review, the news … [Read more...]
Demystifying the Courts: Idaho Journalists Institute Promotes Understanding of the Courts and the Judiciary
October 3, 2022 by
By William Cracraft
Twenty-eight journalists from across Idaho attended Idaho’s third Journalists’ Institute on Covering the Courts in April. The Idaho Press Club, Attorneys for Civic Education and the University of Idaho College of Law teamed up to hold the institute. Previous institutes were held in 2018 and 2019.
The day-long program, titled “Without Fear or Favor: Reporting on the Rule of Law and the Work of an Independent, Impartial Judiciary,” included information on journalists’ access to court … [Read more...]
Can Congress save local news? Two bills backed by Northwest lawmakers may help
October 3, 2022 by
Note: This story first published in The Spokesman-Review
By Orion Donovan-Smith, The Spokesman-Review
Jun. 12—WASHINGTON — America's local news outlets are in crisis and in search of a new business model, forced to cut staff or close altogether amid rising costs and falling revenue. But two proposals backed by Northwest lawmakers in Congress may offer a solution.
The Local Journalism Sustainability Act, introduced in 2021 by Washington Sen. Maria Cantwell, a Democrat, and GOP Rep. Dan Newhouse … [Read more...]
Meet Your IPC: Lisa Chavez
October 3, 2022 by
Lisa Chavez is one of the newest members of the Idaho Press Club board. She is the Director of Content at KTVB. She oversees the news department and all news platforms.
Interviewed by Joan Cartan-Hansen
Where are you from?
I was born and raised in Powell, Wyoming.
Why did you go to Boise State University?
I initially wanted to focus on documentary shooting and producing. Boise is so … [Read more...]
Media Moves
October 3, 2022 by
New faces in your newsroom or communication department? Let everyone know. Send your Media Moves mail to:email@idahopressclub.org
TIMES-NEWS, Twin Falls
Business reporter Hannah Ashton is leaving to become a science writer for Oregon State University.
IDAHO PRESS, Nampa/Boise
Crime and courts reporter Alexandra Duggan left for a position at KTVB. … [Read more...]
Lots happening, and now is the time!
April 27, 2022 by
President’s Column
By Betsy Z. Russell
There is SO MUCH going on with the Idaho Press Club right now! It’s time to sign up for our first gala awards banquet since 2019 on April 30; don’t miss it! We are also just a week away from the deadline to register for our top-notch “Journalists Institute on Covering the Courts” the same day as the banquet; registration deadline for that also is April 20.
The courts training, for which we’ve teamed up with Attorneys for Civic Education and the University of … [Read more...]
A busy session for public records legislation
April 27, 2022 by
First Amendment Committee report
By Scott McIntosh
The 2022 Idaho legislative session was a surprisingly busy one for the Idaho Press Club.
In all, the Press Club, represented by our lobbyist, Ken Burgess, of Veritas Advisors, worked on seven pieces of legislation having to do with open government and public records. We worked with legislators to help make a couple of bills better, we helped to get a couple of bad bills quashed and we carried a bill that requires disclosure of phone numbers … [Read more...]
Media Moves
April 27, 2022 by
New faces in your newsroom or communication department? Let everyone know. Send your Media Moves email@idahopressclub.org
COEUR D’ALENE PRESS
Managing Editor Mike Patrick reports that Maureen Dolan will take over as managing editor, and Patrick will cut back to part-time, effective June 1. Patrick has been managing editor at the Press for more than 20 years. He will continue to write the paper's editorials and do some consulting while traveling and spending … [Read more...]
Register Now for the Best of 2021 Awards Banquet
April 27, 2022 by
By Deanna Darr
You have just one week left to register to attend the Best of 2021 Awards Banquet.
After two years on hold, we’ll be gathering on Saturday, April 30, to celebrate some of the best work of Idaho journalists in the last year. Get dressed up and enjoy a wonderful meal with your friends and colleagues as award winners claim their bragging rights.
We’re returning to the Boise Centre East in the heart of downtown Boise. We’ll gather in the ballroom on the fourth floor of the Boise Centre … [Read more...]
Burnout, stress, trauma for journalists – it’s real
March 9, 2022 by
President's Column
By Betsy Z. Russell
A key part of the Idaho Press Club’s mission is to promote excellence in journalism, and one way we work toward that is by providing professional training. I can’t say enough about the recent “Stress, Trauma and Self Care for Journalists” training that was organized by our training committee, chaired by Audrey Dutton, with the Dart Center for Trauma and Journalism.
The training, held on Jan. 6, drew more than two dozen Press Club members, and it was top-notch. We have another … [Read more...]
Registration now open for Media/Courts Training
March 9, 2022 by
By Melissa Davlin
The Idaho Press Club has teamed up with Attorneys for Civic Education and the University of Idaho College of Law for a free courts training for Idaho journalists, the latest installment of our multi-year Journalists’ Institute on Covering the Courts training series.
Registration is open for the day-long session, titled “Without Fear or Favor: Reporting on the Rule of Law and the Work of an Independent, Impartial Judiciary.” The training will take place at the University of Idaho College of Law … [Read more...]
Meet Your IPC
March 9, 2022 by
Benjamin "El Chupacabras" Reed
Benjamin is the Program Director, Spanish Language Brand Manager, and News Director for 99.1 La Perrona, LatinX and formerly La Patrona and La Fantástica 970. He also programs KYJJ Boardman, Oregon and KYOZ, Spokane, Washington (which covers northern Idaho). His only English job is with KART AM at night.
Interviewed by Joan Cartan-Hansen
Where were you born and where did you go to school?
I am an Idaho native, born in Boise, but have lived in North Dakota, Utah, Texas, … [Read more...]
IRE conference provides valuable tools and tips
March 9, 2022 by
Mid-Career grant recipient 2021
By Rachel Spacek
For years I watched my colleagues at other newspapers attend the annual Investigative Reporters and Editors Conference. They came back with data experience, source building ideas and phone numbers from dozens of fellow reporters across the country. I was always either new at my newspaper or new in journalism and never had the chance to figure out how reporters got to take a week off work and fly to these conferences.
Thankfully, last year the Idaho Press Club’s Don … [Read more...]
