It’s 8:58 pm. For the past four years at this time, I’ve usually been going through my 10 p.m. scripts and reviewing the lead reporter’s top story before her live shot. But tonight, like any Monday-Friday in my new lifestyle, I’m instead listening to the theme song for “Emergency!” and 90 seconds away from a new show open: the 9 p.m. news on KBCI’s second channel, RetroTV (KYUU).

What’s happened? Has 9 become the new 10?

“It’s not an age group, it’s more a lifestyle that we’re targeting,” said Julie Weindel, my news director and boss at 2News. And we’re not alone. Today’s 6 (KIVI) is now doing news at 9 on KNIN, joining Fox12 (KTRV) in their regular 9 p.m. news time slot. “We used to market news by shows,” Weindel explained. “Now, we market by product because we’re multiple platforms and multiple channels.”

It’s something NBC affiliate KTVB (News Channel 7) has been doing for years with their second channel 24-7, where viewers can find news programs live or on repeat, community specials, even Oprah and the Dr. Oz show. Weindel said all of the television stations are faced with the new challenge of accommodating people’s  busy lifestyles and giving viewers news when they want it. Weindel said that’s why 2News uses the 10 @ 10 format for the late news. “Give them news and weather in the first ten minutes,” she said. “They don’t want to mess around.” Weindel acknowledges it’s not just the 9 p.m. time slot being noticed by news directors.

“People go to bed earlier, they get up earlier,” she said. “Who would have thought we’d be doing news at 5 a.m. twenty years ago?” So fast-forward to the present. Will programming a second channel mean the chance of splitting viewers? “No, we have an opportunity to gain a loyal audience to our news product,” said Weindel. “It’s available to them in multiple places.”

More news in more time slots has streamlined anchor duties at 2News, where the same two anchors host the 4, 5, 5:30, 9 and 10 p.m. news. From my perspective, every minute of every hour is accounted for, and finding time to report, even MC a community event, means taking an anchor off a newscast.

Do anchors like it? I think my co-anchor Mike Murad will agree: It’s been a big adjustment both personally and professionally. So what will the future bring? Will we still be doing the same amount of news or possibly even more? “I think that our best accomplishment in 2009 is yet to come,” said Weindel.

And when the Nielsen diaries come back for yet another ratings period, we’ll know what the verdict is from viewers.

Natalie Hurst is an anchor for CBS 2News (KBCI) and serves as TV representative on the Idaho Press Club state board.

The theme of this year’s conference was “Back to Basics.” Instead of wringing their hands over the fate of the industry, reporters and editors learned about pertinent media law in the Internet age and heard from newsmakers about what it’s like to be on their side of the microphone.

Attorney Brad Frazer kicked off the day with his presentation about media law and the Internet. Frazer, who focuses on such topics for the Hawley Troxell law firm in Boise, guided conference attendees through the maze of law that pertains to the Internet.

“The Internet changes the field dramatically,” Frazer said. His discussions about defamation and invasion of privacy, plus the risks inherent in using different types of copyright-protected material, were eye-openers for many journalists, even those who have been reporting on and through the Internet for years.

The takeaway from Frazer’s presentation?  “Trust me, you don’t want to get sued,” Frazer said.

Dealing with the go-go publishing schedule of the Internet was a focus of a thoughtful presentation by Len Reed, the Environment and Sustainability Editor for the Portland Oregonian. Reed traveled to Boise to give a talk called “Trapped in Real Time,” about the search for meaning in journalism, especially in an age when news gets old, fast.

“We’ve held the newspaper up at some of our morning news meetings and said, ‘This is what stupid looks like,'” Reed said. The challenge, he said, is to make the company’s signature product, the newspaper, meaningful when it might come a day later than the news.

“We’re in the meaning business,” Reed said. “In the new day, people are going to want someone to sort the miasma for them and suffuse it with meaning.”

For Reed, a 30-year newspaper veteran, this was an exciting challenge, not an insurmountable wall.

“I’m not depressed by this,” he said. “I’m jazzed and energized by it. It’s just harder. Everything is learning, all the time, in real time.”

Finally, journalists enjoyed a spicy panel of newsmakers who were encouraged to tell stories and discuss lessons they’d learned about being the source of news. State Sen. Dean Cameron, Rep. Scott Bedke, Ada County Commissioner Sharon Ullman and onetime Congressional candidate Andy Hedden-Nicely offered their advice to reporters and editors. The discussion was off the record, to encourage a frank and candid discussion, and the audience got it. One lesson these newsmakers agreed upon: Remember to ask sources if they’ve got the information right.

The conference crowd was increased by the presence of several Borah High School journalism students.

The conference was organized by the Southwest Chapter of the Idaho Press Club, with assistance from the state board. Chapter board members Todd Dvorak, Patti Murphy, Sydney Sallabanks, Thanh Tan and Shea Andersen arranged for the space, prepared the agenda, wrangled the speakers and even got the coffee and sweets for early morning attendees.

Shea Andersen is a freelance journalist, and is the president of the board of the Southwest Chapter of the Idaho Press Club.

When I asked our lead presenter at the recent Fall Conference how things were going at his paper, The Oregonian, I was startled by the answer: They’re cutting 70 positions in the newsroom. I shouldn’t have been startled. This, of course, is what’s going on in our industry right now. My own paper is cutting three more newsroom positions right now, and we’re all getting another week’s furlough on top of the earlier furlough week and the pay cuts. The Statesman laid off its photo editor and isn’t replacing her – they just won’t have one. The Times-News announced that its editor resigned and won’t be replaced, with the publisher instead taking on that role with help from the city and features editors.

We’re in a difficult time of shrinking resources and greater demands on those who are left, at the same time that our jobs have expanded in many ways in the new multimedia world of news. The only solace for those of us still in it is to do good work, to keep learning, and to take pride in work well done. This is where the Press Club can help.

This year’s Fall Conference, hosted by our Southwest Chapter, offered lots of thought-provoking material, from Ada County Commissioner Sharon Ullman’s complaints about her media coverage to attorney Brad Frazer’s guideposts as we venture through a new legal world as Internet journalists. But my real take-away was Len Reed’s discussion about the challenges we face in infusing meaning into our final product, in my case the article for the next morning’s print newspaper, after a full day of covering a breaking news story, posting repeatedly online, sending out reports in different forms ranging from photos to audio and video, and hitting so many angles already long before the paper is printed.

I thought about this the next time I covered a story that developed through the day, which happened to be a political story. Initially, as Len said, what mattered was What, as in, what happened? But for the readers the next morning, why and how were more important, along with: What does this mean? I stepped back and asked myself that question. I did more reporting, added information I hadn’t had during the breaking-news what-happened phase, information that added perspective and context. Then, of course, my story was too long, and I had to trim it. As usual, that was painful. But when it was done, my editor said it worked.

The Idaho Press Club’s mission is improving journalism in Idaho, and one way we do that is through our annual professional development conference in the fall. All of us, from the rookie reporter to the longtime veteran, can learn and improve. Another is by working for openness in government and freedom of information, which are essential both to our ability to do our work and to the functioning of our unique form of government. We do this through our 1st Amendment Committee, ably chaired by Vice President Kevin Richert, and our lobbying efforts, this year to be handled pro-bono by Gallatin Public Affairs.

A third way we work to improve journalism is through recognition of excellence in our annual journalism contest. This is an opportunity for all Idaho journalists to select their best work, submit it in competition, receive constructive feedback from judges who are professionals in the business from outside our state, and possibly win an award, whether it’s a handsome plaque for your wall or a well-earned honorable mention certificate. The awards matter. They look good on your resume, and tell a future employer you do outstanding work. They provide the positive reinforcement for doing good work that sometimes, in our busy and much-crimped news organizations, may not come from the organization itself. They counter the negative feedback journalists sometimes get in their communities from challenging the status quo or the established order with new information, facts and solid reporting.

Most importantly, the awards, and even simply the process of going through our work and selecting our best, provide something important to all of us as we slog through the toughest of times in the news industry: A reminder that, at the end of the day, we’ve done good work in our own eyes. That’s worthwhile, and it matters.

The deadline for entering our annual Excellence in Journalism contest, to compete to have your work named among the “Best of 2009,” is coming up in January. Take a look at the work you’ve done this past year, despite everything else. Remind yourself of its value. Enter the contest, and then come join us this spring at the annual awards banquet and celebrate the good work that Idaho journalists do.

Betsy Russell is a Boise based reporter for The Spokesman-Review, and is the president of the Idaho Press Club.

An Ada County magistrate judge has refused to release a search warrant in the Robert Manwill murder case — saying the document would compromise the defendants’ right to a fair trial in the high-profile case. The Idaho Statesman has pressed for the release of the warrant. The following editorial appeared in the Sept. 25 Statesman:

The Robert Manwill disappearance became big news – and the Boise Police Department did nothing to discourage it.

The police held frequent and excruciatingly incremental news briefings; several coincided with live local newscasts. The police asked the community to help find clues into the disappearance of the 8-year-old, and 2,300 people turned out.

The unprecedented search effort and the intense public interest will complicate jury selection, if the case of Robert’s murder goes to trial. The rights of the accused must be protected. But this can be done without sealing court documents – a judicial overreach that could embolden police and prosecutors to try to keep other documents out of public view.

Magistrate Judge John Hawley has kept a lid on a key record – a search warrant for the apartment shared by Robert’s mother, Melissa Jenkins, and her boyfriend, Daniel Ehrlick. Saying the document contains accusatory hearsay statements against the two first-degree murder suspects, Hawley said its release would only make it more difficult to find an impartial jury.

It is a strangely reasoned and highly troubling decision.

Search warrants are presumed to be public records. They have been made public prior to other high-profile local trials. Hawley concedes this point, then proceeds to ignore it.

An open court process ensures accountability and holds police and prosecutors to healthy scrutiny. Again, Hawley concedes the point. “Moreover, ” he writes, “given the immense concern and emotion evoked by national publicity and extensive media coverage, the public has a strong interest in making sure that appropriate steps have been taken to investigate and prosecute those responsible for Robert’s death.”

And yet, when it came time to uphold the public’s right to know, Hawley failed. His concern for the suspects’ Sixth Amendment rights is valid. His compromise of the public’s First Amendment rights is not.

Nor is it even necessary. Hawley’s curious ruling seems to dismiss the notion that fair-trial concerns are better addressed through the jury selection process. The Statesman argued this point while seeking the release of the warrant.

We have no doubt that it will require a painstaking and costly effort to find an unbiased jury. We have seen this before. Last year, 325 potential jurors were summoned to Boise for the sentencing of confessed child killer Joseph Duncan III.

The parallels are clear. Another highly and appropriately public search for a missing child has evolved into a highly public murder case. It is impossible for a judge to unring this bell. It remains possible to seat a jury – without sealing documents.

After his July 24 disappearance, Treasure Valley residents got to know the smiling face and short life story of young Robert Manwill. Since Aug. 3, when Robert’s body was found in a canal, they have learned precious little about his slaying. The case has been presented before a grand jury – and is based, to some unknown extent, on records Hawley doesn’t want the public to see. A community that deserves answers is left only with new questions.

Kevin Richert is editorial page editor of the Idaho Statesman, and vice president of the Idaho Press Club.

More than 100 people gathered in Boise’s Municipal Park in early October to celebrate the life of Chuck Oxley, an Idaho newsman who died in a car accident on October 3. He was 46.

Oxley, like many reporters, worked for several news organizations in Idaho, and made an impression on most of those with whom he worked. At the memorial, several reporters and editors spoke about his good humor, his idealism and his dedication to the craft.

Oxley had made a rare transition back into news after a time spent in a partisan position, working as a spokesman for the Idaho Democratic Party. In the summer of 2009 he became the managing editor at the Blackfoot Morning News.

In his column in the Idaho Statesman, Opinion Page Editor Kevin Richert wrote, “He seemed to be enjoying the new job. In an e-mail a few days back, sent to “close friends, family and colleagues,” Chuck wrote with a sense of purpose about an editor’s responsibilities – of having a say in what readers saw about their community every day. He wrote with joy about his newest pursuit: learning to fly. He wrote with determination about other things he vowed to do in his life.”

Richert was among several of Oxley’s friends who wrote tributes to him. These include Boise Weekly News Editor Nathaniel Hoffman, who wrote about the advice Oxley gave him while the two were covering the Idaho Legislature. Oxley was then working for The Associated Press and Hoffman, writing for the Idaho Press-Tribune, was trying to second-guess the session’s outcome:

“Chuck, who was juggling three or four stories at the time and had his characteristic sweaty brow, sports coat pockets overflowing with papers and pens, stopped a minute in the hallway and said something to the effect of: “Just write it as it happens.”

At the memorial, Statesman Managing Editor Bill Manny talked about Oxley’s idealism, saying Chuck “believed in causes, even if they were not the newspaper’s causes.”

Oxley, Richert wrote, “was always smart and opinionated, good-natured and sharp-witted. It didn’t matter whether he was a fellow newspaper editor, a candidate for state Legislature or a spokesman for the Idaho Democratic Party – and I got to know Chuck in all of these roles. At his core, he was always the same person.”

Anthony Duignan-Cabrera, a friend of Oxley’s from journalism school, wrote on his blog that when Oxley took the job in Blackfoot, he was as happy as he’d ever been.

“Chuck, even right up to the end, believed in the future. Maybe it was naively romantic, but he wanted to believe in it. He would be beaten down by doubts and mistakes and depression, yet he kept getting up and kept setting new challenges for himself.”

He is survived by his daughter Susannah, brother and sister-in-law Chris and Suzan Oxley, mother Janet Still, father Bill Oxley, and friend and former wife Jennifer.

You might expect public radio to be the last place for a television news personality to land. And Elizabeth Duncan might agree with you. But Duncan, the News Director for Boise State Radio, seems right at home in the station’s rabbit warren of desks and recording equipment. She’s determined to pep up the station’s reporting and presentation, and eagerly awaits the planned move to new offices off the main campus.

Duncan, 45 and the newest member of the state board for the Idaho Press Club, has made a few interesting moves herself in the years that she’s been in Idaho. After two years at Channel 6, she took a job in 2004 at the City of Boise’s Public Works Department, eventually winding up as the lead spokeswoman for Boise Mayor Dave Bieter. “I’m glad I did it,” she said, “but I’m so glad I’m here now.”

Rather than pursue a typical Q&A, Duncan agreed to fill out the famous Proust Questionnaire popularized by Vanity Fair magazine. The questionnaire gained notoriety when the French writer began popularizing its use, saying it revealed the “true nature” of those who dare to take it. Below are the questions with Duncan’s answers.

1. What is your idea of perfect happiness? Being in love, surrounded by like-minded people, in a vibrant place among high achievers, with access to arts and beautiful scenery. A place where everyone is happy and content with themselves, and generous in spirit. Dead-lifting 150 lbs and being a size 6. So, in other words – I’m close.

2. What is your greatest fear? Living a bland, mediocre life.

3. What is the trait you most deplore in yourself? Being indecisive. No, being sensitive, no, indecisive, no, hyper-sensitive. OK – Indecisive.

4. What is the trait you most deplore in others? Cynicism and being proud of ignorance.

5. Which living person do you most admire? My father and … Jimmy Carter.

6. What is your greatest extravagance? High-end skin care products & clothes & having a personal trainer.

7. What is your current state of mind? Trying to maintain hope and faith.

8. What do you consider the most overrated virtue? Modesty.

9. On what occasion do you lie? Same as most people – to avoid hurting someone, or to avoid being embarrassed.

10.   What do you most dislike about your appearance? 10 extra pounds.

11. Which living person do you most despise? I try not to hate or despise anyone … having said that – war profiteers, charlatans and people who stir up hatred and fear.

12. What is the quality you most like in a man? Oh so many – loyalty, self confidence, a tender heart and passion.

13. What is the quality you most like in a woman? Confidence and an unwillingness to conform to absurd notions of what a woman should be like.

14. Which words or phrases do you most overuse? “That’s interesting.” “Cool.” “This is important.” “How gauche.”

15. What or who is the greatest love of your life? My late sister.

16. When and where were you happiest? Living in Australia as a young girl surrounded by my animals, riding my bike through the tropical rainforests, daydreaming about what I would achieve as an adult.

17. Which talent would you most like to have? Playing the cello and doing the Chinese splits; not at the same time.

18. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? I’d have more self discipline – to learn to play the cello and do the splits.

19. What do you consider your greatest achievement? Backpacking by myself through Indonesia …. Being a television anchor for 12 years in large media markets, and any occasion when I made my sister proud.

20. If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be? A virtuoso’s cello … seriously I’m afraid to pick something because if it happens then I’m stuck being that for another lifetime.

21. Where would you most like to live? New York City.

22. What is your most treasured possession? My sister’s ashes.

23. What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery? Living alone in a remote area or not making a difference in anyone’s life.

24. What is your favorite occupation? Anything that involves writing and being creative; anything where being well-read and curious is valued … anything that’s intellectually stimulating and involves being around vibrant people.

25. What is your most marked characteristic? Independence and intelligence (see, I really don’t believe in modesty).

26. What do you most value in your friends? Loyalty, gentle spirits, robust sense of humor, kindness, enthusiasm.

27. Who are your favorite writers? Eudora Welty, Tennessee Williams, DH Lawrence, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Pearl Buck.

28. Who is your hero of fiction? Atticus Finch, Tom Joad, Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, Odysseus.

29. Which historical figure do you most identify with? Eleanor Roosevelt (high aspiration) Achilles, Baroness Karen Von Blixen.

30. Who are your heroes in real life? People who write good stories – stories that enrich our lives and inspire us. Anyone who works hard at being a loving parent – and understands the enormous responsibility of shaping a young human’s life.

31. What are your favorite names? Penelope, Gladys, Dominique, Babette, Fiona, Maximillian, Thor, Angus.

32. What is it that you most dislike? Vertical blinds, bowling, turquoise, cheap shoes and Mayonnaise.

33. What is your greatest regret? Too many to list – redemption is possible.

34. How would you like to die? Quickly.

35. What is your motto? Never Give Up, Never Give Up.

Nick McMullin has been promoted from studio cameras operator to morning editor.   Kim Fields joins KTVB as weekend anchor / reporter from WTVC in Chattanooga, TN.  Nishi Gupta joins KTVB as a reporter from WHOI in Peoria, IL.   Kaycee Murray, Nick Gamb and Jay Howell are no longer with the station.

KBCI

Alana Brophy is the new weekend weather / reporter from KCSG-TV in St. George, UT.  Jen Wahl joins KBCI as a reporter from Arizona State University.  Mike Calcagno, reporter, joins the station from the University of Oregon.  Greg Huff is the new video editor from Boise State University and Julie Weindel is KBCI’s news director, formerly with WHIO-TV in Dayton, OH.  Yvonne Simons,  news director, left to become assistant news director at WBTV TV in Charlotte, N.C. 

KIVI

Megan Sweeney joins KIVI as a news reporter from Oregon.  Meghan McBride is a new producer / reporter from Chicago. Reporter Kelsey Minor has left KIVI

IDAHO PUBLIC TELEVISION 

Melanie Corey, associate producer for Dialogue, came from Chico, CA.  Chuck Cathcart, videographer / director, and Kevin Evans, master control supervisor, were laid off due to state budget cuts.

KIDK

Danica Lawrence,  reporter, joins the station  from Los Angeles. Ian Parker, producer / reporter has left to become an Anchor-Reporter in Colorado Springs.  Araksya Karpetyn, reporter, left to go to Portland.   Anne Chanthavong, producer, left for other opportunities..
KPVI

Johnny Archer, Idaho Falls reporter, came from Philadelphia.  Suzanne Hopps, Idaho Falls bureau chief,  and Tyler Hieb, photographer, were laid off.

PRINT

TIMES-NEWS
James G. Wright has resigned his position as editor of the Times-News.  Publisher Brad Hurd will assume the editor’s position, along with his publisher role. However, he will rely on two veteran editors, David Cooper and Virginia Hutchins, for day-to-day supervision of the reporting staff and for daily editing of stories. Wright joined the Times-News in August 2007.

IDAHO STATESMAN
The Statesman is making several newsroom staff changes in November, including the following:
Managing Editor Bill Manny will become associate editorial page editor, as well as the Sunday/enterprise editor.  Assistant Editorial Page Editor Dave Bomar will become the production editor, overseeing the universal desk, sports and photo.   Brenda Gutierrez will become an assistant production editor in charge of Life and Scene.

Photo editor Kim O’Connor was laid off. Assignments on the city desk will change.  Coverage of Ada County and its communities is now under Greg Hahn. Coverage of Canyon County and its communities is now under Dave Staats. Niki Forbing-Orr will take over responsibility for photo assignments and help with posting content online. She also will continue to be in charge of food pages and Sunday Life.   Cynthia Sewell will team up with Bethann Stewart to cover the city of Boise, and also will continue to cover transportation.

As a very, very green – green as in no experience – aspiring journalist many years ago, I now know how fortunate I was to have the opportunity to endure a few months of sheer terror working under the knowing influence of a truly accomplished city editor.  At an impressionable age, those few weeks of education at the hands of an exacting news veteran have had a marked impact on all the years of my professional life.

My early mentor, at least as I remember him, always had a pencil stuck behind his ear and the sleeves of his white shirts rolled up above the elbows. He would issue newsroom orders while never rising from his chair and would reinforce the urgency of whatever he wanted accomplished by waving about and pointing a pica pole (look it up) much as I imagine Toscanini might have directed a symphony.  In the dark ages of journalism when newspapers were assembled not with computers, but with hot lead, I once saw this city editor leave his desk on deadline, sprint to the composing room on the floor below the newsroom, fling himself into the command seat of a linotype machine and compose – in hot type – a new lead on a breaking story.  This guy knew the business, as they say.

A man of few and carefully chosen words, he imparted two lessons I have tried to never forget.  One lesson involved writing, the other involved reporting.  I once proudly handed in a lengthy piece destined for the Sunday feature section.  I had produced, in my own mind at least, a story with a perfect mix of insight, intelligence and cleverness.  It was the kind of piece people would be talking about around the water cooler Monday afternoon.  When the piece came back from the city desk bleeding red ink, I was stunned.  The editing seemed to have remade the entire piece.  Then I noticed chilling words written in the margin:  “Let’s talk.”

I approached the city editor’s perch – ground zero in the newsroom – with about as much anxiety as I would have felt had I had to confront Dad with the news of a crumpled fender on the new Plymouth.  I waited.  Surely he would glance up eventually then speak profoundly about my shortcomings and swiftly end my dreams of a career in newspapers.  Finally, he spoke.  “Just remember,” this master of the newsroom said, “it doesn’t cost us any more to print a period.”  I stood silent as he turned back to marking up some other poor slob’s copy.

What was he saying?  “It doesn’t cost us any more to print a period.”

I took my story, brutalized with red editing marks, to my desk in the far corner of the newsroom and in a few minutes reality took hold.  The vast majority of the editing marks indicated the need to replace a comma with a period.  The old pro was telling me, gently but effectively, to knock off the run-on sentences.  Good writing is often about the simple, descriptive sentence.  He was telling me to strive for clear meaning by using straightforward, concise sentences.  I could reserve the flowery, creative writing for my novel, should there ever be one.

The second lesson the  ink-stained veteran served up was, if anything, even more important.  He taught me that facts alone are seldom enough.  Good writing and reporting require context.

I remember handing him another story (I have long since forgotten the subject, but it could well have been a routine report on a city council meeting) and having it returned accompanied by a crystal clear bit of editorial insight.  “You are not the first person who has ever written about this subject,” the city editor said, “and don’t treat the reader like you are.”  In other words, he was appropriately pointing out that a good many things had happened before I stumbled on the collection of facts I had assembled into a story and it might be appropriate as a reporter to attempt to convey some sense of context.

Context, by which I mean shedding light on the meaning of facts, is much harder to come by, I admit, than using a period more regularly.  It requires real reporting, making the extra call, cultivating a new source.  Context is particularly important in reporting on politics and public policy.  Because, believe me, nothing is ever really happening for the first time.  All political news is a variation on a theme already played.

Therefore, I make a gentle and I hope respectful plea to my friends in the news racket to, at least once in a while, ask “who has been through this before?”  Or, who might have a perspective on this budget crisis or that legislative debate simply because they had lived through something similar in an earlier time.

My old city editor would have said it simply.  “Go find someone with a perspective and no particular ax to grind and ask them what is important about what is going on.”  I would be among the first to acknowledge the brutal crush of daily journalism provides precious little opportunity to flesh out a piece with “context,” but that may make the effort even more important and more rewarding to the reporter and the reader.

We all know the current narrative of the news business:  shrinking staffs, reduced budgets, few reporters and more demands.  I cannot imagine the economic pressures crowding in on newsrooms today.  All I know for sure is that lots of us – devoted consumers and users of news – still depend on the work product of the daily craft.  Keep after it.

Thanks for the opportunity to reminisce, pop off and cheerlead.  I will be reading and listening, hoping always for context and still aware that the little dot at the end of this sentence is one of the least expensive things in journalism.

Marc C. Johnson is a former television reporter and producer and columnist for the  Idaho Statesman.  He was president of the Idaho Press Club in 1978 and later served as press secretary and chief of staff to Gov. Cecil D. Andrus.  Johnson is currently president of Gallatin Public Affairs.

Marshall Simmonds, SEO guru for the New York Times, told a group of Boise reporters and PR flaks at a recent Idaho Press Club event that Google search queries are getting longer.

So how long are your searches? Do you type a whole sentence, or are you more about quality of search terms than raw, uncut length?

SEO, for those of you who have never even heard of it, is search engine optimization, and according to Simmonds, there is nothing wrong with it, nothing sinister. It is just presenting your content (the stuff that used to be called articles and photos) in a way that Google and other search engines can find it and index it.

We also learned about a new search engine called BING. It’s a Microsoft project but we’ll still try it, and it’s the first hit on Google when you search for “Bing.”

Simmonds said that half of all Google searches—some 250 million to 300 million a day—are unique searches. More people search for “NFL” than National Football League, and “diet” is better than weight loss. So that could throw some AP Style and traditional newspaper verbiage on it’s head, though Simmonds stresses that editorial standards come first.

But good writers have always known that shorter and more direct terminology is better to read. So I’m going on a diet.

But here’s one thing that made us a little uncomfortable: The Idaho Press Club (Southwest Chapter), which sponsored the event, is made up of journalists and PR people, which is fine. So we are all sitting there in the Idaho Public Television meeting room, and learning about social media and search and I’m realizing that in many ways the two fields have completely competing interests online.

How do we ensure that truth and justice come before sales and marketing on the search engines?

One guy had some ideas for this at the Association of Alternative Weeklies conference we just returned from. Scott Karp, of Publishing 2.0, thinks that newspaper editors should become the new filters for the Web. Editors have always served as filters, picking and choosing stories for the public. So we can collectively pick and choose the best on the Web for y’all, link to it and reclaim our mantle as Chief Filter Strategists.

To read more about Marshall Simmonds, search engine optimization, and what it did for the New York Times, go to www.DefineSearchStrategies.com .    That is Simmond’s company, a division of The New York Times/About.com.

Nathaniel Hoffman is the news editor of the Boise Weekly. This article first appeared at Boiseweekly.com.
By Nathaniel Hoffman

Marshall Simmonds, SEO guru for the New York Times, told a group of Boise reporters and PR flaks at a recent Idaho Press Club event that Google search queries are getting longer.

So how long are your searches? Do you type a whole sentence, or are you more about quality of search terms than raw, uncut length?

SEO, for those of you who have never even heard of it, is search engine optimization, and according to Simmonds, there is nothing wrong with it, nothing sinister. It is just presenting your content (the stuff that used to be called articles and photos) in a way that Google and other search engines can find it and index it.

We also learned about a new search engine called BING. It’s a Microsoft project but we’ll still try it, and it’s the first hit on Google when you search for “Bing.”

Simmonds said that half of all Google searches—some 250 million to 300 million a day—are unique searches. More people search for “NFL” than National Football League, and “diet” is better than weight loss. So that could throw some AP Style and traditional newspaper verbiage on it’s head, though Simmonds stresses that editorial standards come first.

But good writers have always known that shorter and more direct terminology is better to read. So I’m going on a diet.

But here’s one thing that made us a little uncomfortable: The Idaho Press Club (Southwest Chapter), which sponsored the event, is made up of journalists and PR people, which is fine. So we are all sitting there in the Idaho Public Television meeting room, and learning about social media and search and I’m realizing that in many ways the two fields have completely competing interests online.

How do we ensure that truth and justice come before sales and marketing on the search engines?

One guy had some ideas for this at the Association of Alternative Weeklies conference we just returned from. Scott Karp, of Publishing 2.0, thinks that newspaper editors should become the new filters for the Web. Editors have always served as filters, picking and choosing stories for the public. So we can collectively pick and choose the best on the Web for y’all, link to it and reclaim our mantle as Chief Filter Strategists.

To read more about Marshall Simmonds, search engine optimization, and what it did for the New York Times, go to www.DefineSearchStrategies.com .    That is Simmond’s company, a division of The New York Times/About.com.

Nathaniel Hoffman is the news editor of the Boise Weekly. This article first appeared at Boiseweekly.com.

By Betsy Russell

If you’re covering a story from Idaho’s courts, or one that has anything to do with our state’s judiciary, don’t miss the newly revamped online “Media Guide to the Idaho Courts,” which has recently been extensively updated.

The guide is located on the Idaho Supreme Court’s Web site, www.isc.idaho.gov. In the bar on the left, click on “Media Guide,” which gives you two options, a PDF to print out the entire thing, or the handy and highly accessible online guide.

The Idaho Supreme Court’s Media/Courts Committee, on which I serve along with numerous other journalists, judges, lawyers, court officials and others from around the state and which is chaired by the chief justice, used to print up the Media Guide as a pamphlet and distribute it around the state, but the budget crunch and printing costs have trimmed that back. Now, the guide is online, but it’s considerably more extensive and frequently updated.

You’ll also find links to the Media Guide on the Idaho Press Club’s Web site, idahopressclub.org.

In the guide, you’ll find everything from an outline of the state’s judicial structure, to explanation of the special rules we have in Idaho regarding cameras in the courtroom, to information on courthouse etiquette for the media, getting court records, criminal, civil and juvenile proceedings, the appellate process, judicial selection and election, access to jurors and more.

There’s a section on high-interest proceedings, a “View from the Bench” preface from then-6th District Judge Ron Bush (now a federal district judge) on the interplay between reporters and judges, a second section in the preface that explains why you may find that a judge won’t comment when you’d hoped he or she would, and throughout the guide, active links to such key resources as the actual court rules, judicial calendars, and other sites you’ll want to use.

In the “Getting Court Records” section, you’ll find a link to the Idaho Supreme Court Data Repository, which contains updated basic information on court cases in all 44 counties going back to 1995. This includes speeding tickets, civil lawsuits, criminal cases, you name it. It’s searchable, too.

The data repository went up in 2008, after another Supreme Court committee, on which I also served, spent long months revising the court Rule 32, which governs access to court records, to allow online access to records in Idaho. The basic information it offers is planned as a first step, with more documents to go online in the future.

Especially if you’re headed over to cover a court hearing, check out the guide in advance. It’ll help. And it’s one of those reporting resources in our state that, while maybe not widely known, can save you time, point you in the right direction, and help along the way.

Betsy Russell is a Boise based reporter for The Spokesman-Review, and is the president of the Idaho Press Club.