Dedicated to improving journalism in Idaho
By Betsy Russell
(Note: This column first appeared in the Idaho Press)
BOISE — It’s been quite a career.
I first decided I wanted to be a newspaper reporter when I was in the eighth grade, inspired by a fabulous junior high school journalism teacher. I edited both my junior high and high school newspapers, stirred up some controversy in the process, and started writing for my local … [Read more...]
Get your entries in!
Now is the time to enter your best work of the year in the Idaho Press Club’s “Best of 2022” annual awards contest. The deadline is fast approaching on Jan. 20. If you haven’t done this already, it’s time to review and enter your best work of the year; you deserve the recognition!
Our Contest Committee this year conducted an extensive review and update to our categories. You’ll find an array of changes, including new categories for Spanish-language media and more. All entries are submitted online … [Read more...]
The Idaho Press Club annually awards $1,500 scholarships to Idaho college journalism students, along with a $500 mid-career scholarship for any training or project that will improve the working press in Idaho. Both are endowed scholarships, named in honor of Don Watkins, the former press secretary to Idaho Gov. John Evans who mentored scores of Idaho reporters and who died in 1981. The deadline to apply for both the student and mid-career scholarships this year is Feb. 15.
Interested in applying? Or know a deserving journalism … [Read more...]
The national conference of the Society of Environmental Journalists will be in Boise this year, from April 19-23, and SEJ and The Uproot Project, a network for journalists of color who cover environmental issues as well as students and others aspiring to cover this beat, are partnering to offer diversity fellowships (worth up to $2500) to support attendance. The fellowships cover travel, lodging, the conference and a one-year SEJ membership, and are being offered to encourage journalists of color who have been historically underrepresented … [Read more...]
THE TIMES-NEWS, Twin Falls
Following 4 1/2 years as an editor at USA TODAY, where he led a national team of more than 20 editors and reporters, Steve Kiggins became the Times-News newsroom’s top editor on Nov. 14. He has won national, regional and state reporting awards over three decades in journalism, working mostly in Wyoming and Utah.
Jesse Gwin joined the Times-News on Oct. 31 as a sports reporter, covering primarily high school sports in the Magic Valley.
BOISE STATE PUBLIC RADIO
This past year … [Read more...]
President’s Column
By Betsy Russell
The Idaho Press Club’s “Best of 2022” annual awards contest will open for entries on Dec. 15. It’s time to review and enter your best work of the year; you deserve the recognition!
This year, our Contest Committee has conducted an extensive review and update to our categories. You’ll find an array of changes, including new categories for Spanish-language media and more. The deadline to enter the contest is Jan. 20. All entries are submitted online at [Read more...]
The ‘Idaho Debates’
By Melissa Davlin
This year, like debate organizers across the country, we at the Idaho Debates found ourselves with empty time slots in our schedule as a handful of incumbent candidates declined to participate, including some who had never before turned down our invitations. That has led to some soul searching at Idaho Public Television, as we look to how we can improve our chances of hosting successful congressional debates in 2024.
This year wasn’t all bad. A lot of … [Read more...]
By Mike Weland
Dubbed the "Best Small Library in America" in 2017, the Boundary County Public Library, Bonners Ferry, became a hotbed of contention in 2021 after four employees raised numerous allegations of mismanagement, malfeasance and potentially criminal violations.
The first indication of the upheaval about to erupt came with an announcement March 13, 2021, by the library district board of the retirement of the library director, Craig Anderson, effective April 1, and the interim appointment of his … [Read more...]
Deadline is Feb. 15
By Joan Cartan-Hansen
Have a great idea for a story and no funds to get it to print or on the air? Need money for professional training? Apply for the Idaho Press Club’s Don Watkins Mid-Career Scholarship.
The Mid-Career Scholarship awards $500 for any Idaho Press Club member to use for any training or project that will improve the working press in Idaho. The only catch: You must share what you learn with Press Club members through a discussion at a conference or an article in an … [Read more...]
IDAHO EDUCATION NEWS
East Idaho investigative reporter Devin Bodkin left Idaho Education News after seven years to become a communication director at the Idaho National Laboratory. Idaho Education News replaced Bodkin with Darren Svan, a former Wyoming news editor who has been teaching English on the Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany. He earned a bachelor's degree in journalism from Louisiana State University. Svan started his Idaho investigative reporting job the first week of December.
THE IDAHO … [Read more...]
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...]
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...]
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...]
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...]
The Idaho Press Club is dedicated to improving the practice of journalism in Idaho. To that end, this website features resources for journalists, from how to object to a closed meeting to an Idaho Town Pronunciation Guide. You’ll also find press club news, contest entry information, how to apply for our scholarships and much more. The Idaho Press Club’s mission is to promote excellence in journalism, freedom of expression and freedom of information.
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