Non-compete clauses raise big issues for broadcast journalists

By Joan Cartan-Hansen

What if moving to a new job meant you couldn"™t work for six months "“ or five years? That"™s the reality for many broadcast journalists.
Beth Saboe starts work well before most of us are out of bed, as a morning anchor and a producer/ reporter in Bozeman, Mont. Her day starts at about 3 a.m. and she generally finishes in the late afternoon- long hours, but Saboe loves what she does. She"™s a Montana native and wants to work in her home state.

When she started her first job, she made less than … [Read more...]

Reporters discuss their experience covering Duncan death penalty case

By Bethann Stewart

Joseph Duncan's appalling crimes made him one of Idaho's most notorious criminals, and three reporters who covered his federal death penalty sentencing hearing spoke publicly for the first time at a recent Idaho Press Club forum about the professional and personal challenges they had faced.

"As a 32-year-old crime reporter, you don't think you have any innocence left to lose, " said Rebecca Boone of the Associated Press. "This case was so singular in its horrendousness ... that it was hard to … [Read more...]

Media strands meld in new information age

Newsrooms try to adapt By Melissa McGrath

If you're a reporter at the Idaho Press-Tribune in Nampa, you no longer have to worry about fighting traffic to make it back to the newsroom and post that breaking news story -- or the photos to go along with it. Every reporter has been equipped with a laptop computer, digital camera, digital audio recorder and microphone so they can write, photograph and transmit on the spot.

It is all a part of the Press-Tribune becoming a 24/7 newsroom that is trying to keep up with … [Read more...]

Idaho newspaper closes after 127 years in Blaine County

The Sun Valley area, which long has had two competing weekly newspapers, is losing one, as the Wood River Journal ceases publication with its Oct. 22 edition.

Express Publishing Inc. of Ketchum, publisher of the rival Idaho Mountain Express and Guide, has purchased the assets of the Wood River Journal. The Express will continue to publish twice a week; the Wood River Journal name will now go on what previously was called the “Valley” section of the Wednesday editions of the Express.

The Express also has … [Read more...]

Meet your IPC

Member profile: Don Day, KTVB

By Sydney Sallabanks

"We are in for nothing but change," said Don Day, when asked about the future of the news industry. Day is digital media producer at KTVB News Group, Boise's NBC affiliate. Apart from a brief stint in Seattle, he's been keeping the station at the forefront of digital media since he graduated from high school in 1999.

Day says he can't remember a time when he wasn't fascinated by the news process. Eager to get involved, he simultaneously ran a newspaper and … [Read more...]

Media Moves

NEWSPAPER IDAHO STATESMAN
The Statesman in September announced 15 layoffs, including six newsroom positions. Several other Statesman staffers have left in recent weeks. State government reporter Heath Druzin left to join Stars and Stripes in Germany. Feature writer Erin Ryan left to take a job with
Boise State University's communications department. Copy editor Vanessa Childers left to move back to her home in Ohio.

THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW
Major layoffs at The Spokesman-Review were announced on Oct. 1, … [Read more...]

A Reporter’s Tale: To Iraq and back

Despite layoff, reporter follows Idaho military twins’ story to Iraq and back

By James Hagengruber

Along with photographer Brian Plonka, I began writing about the lives of twins Matthew and Robert Shipp in March of 2006. The Shipps, of Hauser Lake, Idaho, were seniors in high school and desperately wanted to join the U.S. Marines. They wanted to fight for their country. Brian and I desperately wanted to find a way to tackle the story of our generation: the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

By following the stories of two … [Read more...]

President’s Column

Idaho media join together to push for open courts

By Betsy Russell News media organizations from across the state joined together this spring in an unprecedented effort to stand up for open court proceedings in one of the state’s most horrific criminal cases ever. Joseph Duncan already has admitted murdering three members of a North Idaho family in a bloody attack at the family’s home east of Coeur d’Alene, in order to kidnap and molest the family’s two youngest children. Only one little girl, then 8 years old, survived the ordeal; … [Read more...]

Paul Hosefros photo exhibit hosted by SW Chapter

By Shea Andersen

New York Times photographer Paul Hosefros was the go to photographer for the Times when the president was making news, in a career that spanned several presidential administrations. He also was one of the first photographers on the scene of the 9/11 destruction in New York City in 2001.

Now he lives in Boise, and Press Club members and guests were treated to a special showing in May of Hosefros’ photo exhibit, “When The President Comes To Town,” an exhibit that also was displayed at the College of … [Read more...]

Wasden, other state A.G.’s stand up for shield law

By Kevin Richert

Forty-one attorneys general — including Idaho's own Lawrence Wasden — support a federal shield law for journalists.

And now they’ve written a letter to key senators, urging them to get moving on a shield law.

As the A.G's point out, shield laws that allow reporters to protect the anonymity of unnamed sources "advance a public policy favoring the free flow of information to the public." Idaho and 48 other states already have shield laws, but A.G. 's make a strong argument on the need for a federal … [Read more...]

Meet your IPC

Member profile: Kai Eiselein

By John Miller

Some of Kai Eiselein’s fondest early memories include walking with his great-grandfather in little Boulder, Mont., to check in at the family newspaper, the Monitor. Other mornings, a grandfather who worked at the Missoulian would wake him to get the paper as it rolled off the presses.

His great-grandfathers A.H. and A.W. Eiselein started publishing newspapers in Montana in the early 1900s. The Roundup Record-Tribune, published by A.W. in the tiny town north of Billings, is … [Read more...]

Media Moves

WEEKLY NEWSPAPER

BOISE WEEKLY

Rachael Daigle has taken over as editor of the Boise Weekly. Daigle has been with the paper on and off for five years, serving as staff writer and entertainment editor among other posts. Daigle is a Boise State graduate, who has spent the better part of a decade in Boise between stints traveling the world extensively.

As part of the newsroom reshuffling, Deanna Darr is taking on the position of features editor. Darr has worked as the paper's news editor for the last year after working at … [Read more...]

Idaho court records from all 44 counties go online

By Betsy Russell

As envisioned two years ago by the Idaho Supreme Court’s “E-Records Committee,” at least some court records from every Idaho county court system are now available online. This significant step forward in access to public information is occurring through the Idaho Supreme Court Data Repository, which is now up on the Idaho State Judiciary Web site, and as of May 27, includes case information from all 44 Idaho counties.

Not everything is there yet – it’s not as complete a system as, say, the federal court’s … [Read more...]

President’s Column

Why the Idaho Press Club contest matters

By Betsy Russell

Each year, the Idaho Press Club sponsors our state's premier journalism contest, our annual Excellence in Journalism competition, in which entries from all media compete in various categories to be named, in this case, the "Best of 2007."

There are several reasons why this contest really does matter. One is that contest entry fees are the Press Club's largest funding source for our year-round operations, from our part-time executive director to … [Read more...]