The Idaho Press Club Best of 2015 Annual Awards is now open. News organizations can enter online at bestinmedia.com. Find step-by-step instructions on how to enter, as well as contest categories, at idahopressclub.org/awards. This year, the contest features a new podcast category in the Online/Multimedia Division, as well as an updated magazine photo category. Contest fees are $20 per entry for professional members and $45 per entry for non-members. Student fees are $15 for members and $30 for non-members. It’s not too late to join the … [Read more...]
PRESIDENT’S COLUMN: Report your public records problems
By Betsy Russell Although our current public records law provides no official place to turn other than going to court when a requester feels a request has been wrongly denied – or excessive fees have been charged, or other issues arise – there is another option now: Gov. Butch Otter’s public records ombudsman, Cally Younger. Younger is collecting information on public records issues in Idaho, not only at the state agency level, but also at the local government level. She’s convened a stakeholders group that includes city and … [Read more...]
Idaho Press Club announces 2016 pre-legislative social
What: Idaho Press Club’s pre-legislative social When: 5-8 p.m., Thursday Jan. 7 (following the AP Legislative Preview that morning) Where: Solid Grill and Bar, 405 S. 8th St., downtown Boise Cost: Free for Idaho Press Club members and guests Join the Press Club or renew your membership online today at www.idahopressclub.org By Clark Corbin Mark your calendars, because one of the Idaho Press Club’s most popular social events is right around the corner. The Southwest Chapter of the … [Read more...]
Public records requests, fees at issue in reporting rape-kit testing story
By Scott McIntosh For several weeks, Idaho Press-Tribune reporter Ruth Brown worked on a story about the testing of rape kits in Canyon County. What she found out was that only about 10 percent of the rape kits — 12 out of 117 kits submitted — had been submitted to the state lab for testing in the past five years from the city of Nampa. Meanwhile, in Caldwell, the percentage was more like 54 percent, and the Canyon County Sheriff’s Office submitted 52 percent of its kits. Ruth set out to find out the reasons rape kits … [Read more...]
Records requests pricey at the University of Idaho
Editor’s note: This article is by the Murrow News Service, which provides local, regional and statewide stories reported and written by journalism students at the Edward R. Murrow College of Communication at Washington State University. It appeared in The Spokesman-Review on Dec. 2 and is reprinted here. When Tom Blanchard wanted to learn more about controversial murals at the University of Idaho, he filed a public records request. The university responded that the records were available. But first, Blanchard would have to pay a … [Read more...]
Changes made at BSU radio after complaint
By Audrey Dutton Editor’s note: This article first appeared Dec. 15 in the Idaho Statesman; it is reprinted here. Two staff members at Boise State Public Radio complained to managers in February, citing concerns “that undue influence from Boise State University threatens to compromise our journalistic ethics.” Reporters Emilie Ritter Saunders and Adam Cotterell said the journalistic firewall between the newsroom and Boise State, which holds the broadcast license for the station, had “dangerously eroded” over four … [Read more...]
Apply for Don Watkins scholarships
By Joan Cartan-Hansen Have an idea for a special project, want to attend a conference or get some specialized training but can’t afford it? The Idaho Press Club can help. Each year, the Idaho Press Club offers the Mid-Career Scholarship. Any member of the Idaho Press Club can apply for $500 and use the funds for any training or project that will improve the working press in Idaho. This could include going to a conference you have wanted to attend or funding toward travel on that enterprise story you have been working on for … [Read more...]
Meet your IPC: Clark Corbin
Interviewed by Melissa Davlin Where were you born? Kansas City, Mo., home of the World Series champion Kansas City Royals! Where else have you worked? I started with the The Shawnee Dispatch and Bonner Springs Chieftain weekly newspapers in the Kansas City area, then moved to Idaho Falls and began working for the Post Register in 2006. Why have you stuck with journalism? I love it and I’m stubborn. There are other jobs out there, but I don’t know of any others that would have allowed me to cover the Legislature, dig … [Read more...]
Media Moves
RADIO BOISE STATE PUBLIC RADIO General Manager John Hess resigned from Boise State Public Radio on Dec. 8. Hess had been with the station for a decade. Boise State Dean of Extended Studies Mark Wheeler announced Dec. 16 that Peter Morrill, former longtime general manager at Idaho Public Television, will start Jan. 4 as interim general manager, while a national search is conducted for a permanent replacement. 670 KBOI RADIO Jay Howell will be 670 KBOI’s statehouse reporter this year, covering the upcoming 2016 legislative session. A former … [Read more...]
Idaho Press Club Fall Conference set for Oct. 17 in Boise
When: 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday, October 17 (registration opens and Guru donuts and Flying M coffee will be served beginning at 8:30 a.m.) Where: Boise State University downtown facility, 301 Capitol Blvd., Boise, across from Trader Joe's What: Join us for our annual Fall Conference featuring hands-on clinics to help you get the most from data, as well as discussions about media literacy. Registration details: Free for current Press Club members, new members who join prior to registering for the fall conference and students. $15 … [Read more...]
President’s Column: A chance to learn about open meeting, public records laws
By Betsy Russell Everyone in Idaho – including reporters, public officials and citizens – should know about the Idaho Open Meeting Law and the Idaho Public Records law, what’s in them, and how to comply. That’s why Idahoans for Openness in Government (IDOG) has partnered with Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden to put on lively, interactive seminars about these two important laws each year since 2004, all around the state. This year, the IDOG sessions are coming to the Treasure Valley. The first in this series of workshops … [Read more...]
Press Club writes to leadership about open meeting questions
Idaho Press Club President Betsy Russell and First Amendment Committee Chair Rebecca Boone, concerned about open meeting and notice questions involving the Legislature’s Tax Working Group, sent the following letter to House Speaker Scott Bedke and Senate President Pro-Tem Brent Hill. The working group started as a small gathering of members of legislative leadership over the summer, and grew with each subsequent meeting. Then, the leaders asked the chairs of the House and Senate tax committees to each appoint five members from their house – but … [Read more...]
Contest time will be here soon; plan now to enter your best work!
It’s almost contest time! Now is the time to prepare to enter your best work in the Idaho Press Club’s “Best of 2015” contest, Idaho’s premier journalism contest. We will open the website for entries in early December. Watch for a notice in your mail which will also indicate your membership renewal status and check our website often to see more details about the opening date. The deadline for entries this year will be Jan. 21, 2016. There will be no extensions, so please plan ahead! Entry is done entirely online; please start early, to … [Read more...]
Don Watkins Memorial Scholarship 2016; opportunities for mid-career and student applicants
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 enrolled in college, preparing for a career in journalism or communications. We also award a $500 Mid-Career Scholarship to any Press Club member who will use the money toward a project or professional development opportunity that … [Read more...]