President’s column: A significant win for public records in Idaho

By Betsy Russell

The Idaho Press Club has won a significant legal ruling in our lawsuit against Ada County, the state’s largest county, over its non-compliance with the Idaho Public Records Act.

We sued, with the support of numerous news organizations in Idaho, and we won. In a sharply worded 31-page ruling, 4th District Judge Deborah Bail found that the county “not only did not follow the Idaho Public Records Act, it acted as though a different Act had been enacted – a reverse image of Idaho … [Read more...]

What we learned from the records we got in the Ada County lawsuit

By Melissa Davlin

Judge Deborah Bail's decision in our lawsuit against Ada County over its illegal public records practices didn't just admonish the attorneys responsible for breaking Idaho's public records laws. It also ordered the county to turn over the unredacted documents the Idaho Press Club, Idaho Statesman and Idaho Education News had requested.

And now, because we sued on behalf of Press Club members, we are turning the documents over to you for reporting purposes, along with this summary of our findings … [Read more...]

The Best of 2019 Annual Awards Contest Time to enter your best work!

The Idaho Press Club’s annual excellence in journalism contest is now open for entries. Be sure to submit your best work from 2019 — you deserve the recognition!

Our contest is, in many ways, the heartbeat of the Idaho Press Club. It showcases the best work of Idaho journalists, in all media, large and small, all across the state. It bestows well-deserved recognition for fine work, allowing Idaho journalists to distinguish themselves as they build their careers and resumes. It includes categories for student journalists, periodicals … [Read more...]

Media Moves

IDAHO PUBLIC TELEVISION

While Idaho Reports host Melissa Davlin is on maternity leave, Gemma Gaudette of Boise State Public Radio's Idaho Matters will fill in for her at the anchor desk. Idaho Public Television associate producer Devon Downey will take over as lead producer of Idaho Reports for the 2020 legislative session, while producer Seth Ogilvie works on other projects.

KTVB-TV 7

Jessica Mullins, who previously was KTVB digital managing editor, has been promoted to … [Read more...]

President’s column: Contest, scholarships, and standing up for student journalists

By Betsy Russell

As winter arrives, we’re looking ahead to some Press Club landmarks on the calendar: Our annual journalism contest, for which entries will open in December; our annual Don Watkins Memorial Scholarship contest, with categories both for students and mid-career journalists, for which entries are due by Feb. 15; and the legislative session that starts in January, when our 1st Amendment Committee will swing into gear to advocate against legislative proposals that would shut down public access to our … [Read more...]

Ada County lawsuit: We sued. Now we wait.

By Melissa Davlin

On Nov. 6, the Idaho Press Club appeared in court for a second time to defend its challenge against Ada County for its unlawful public records practices, this time focusing on Ada County's motion to dismiss based on standing. At the hearing, 4th District Judge Deborah Bail announced in the courtroom she will soon make a ruling on both standing and the merits of the case.

In September, the Idaho Press Club filed the request for declaratory judgment after the county's repeated violations of public … [Read more...]

A unique fall training opportunity, IRE came to Boise

On a late September weekend, Boise State Public Radio hosted a training workshop by IRE, the Investigative Reporters & Editors. Earlier in the week, IRE had provided the radio team with “Total Newsroom Training,” a two-day intensive into data journalism led by Francisco Vara-Orta of Texas. The weekend workshop, however, was open to all Idaho journalists and 65 attended on that Saturday.

Vara-Orta began the day by introducing Mary Hudetz (AP New Mexico), Les Zaitz (Malhuer Enterprise) and Cynthia Sewell (Idaho Statesman), who … [Read more...]

Media Moves

New faces in your newsroom or communication department? Let everyone know. Send your Media Moves to: email@idahopressclub.org
 

IDAHO BUSINESS REVIEW

Catie Clark has joined the Idaho Business Review as a staff writer covering development and health care. Catie holds a Ph.D. in geology and had a successful career in that field before moving over to journalism a few years ago. She most recently worked in Eastern Idaho at the Blackfoot Morning News and Bingham County … [Read more...]

President’s column: A reminder of the value of our public records laws

By Betsy Russell

 It's not every day that journalists from Angola, Costa Rica, Portugal, Serbia, Singapore and Tanzania are checking out Idaho’s state Capitol, meeting with student journalists at Boise State, stopping by Idaho Public Television and meeting with various Idahoans. But it happened in June, as the State Department’s International Visitor Leadership Program brought the group to Boise, after trips to Washington, D.C. and Tampa, Fla., and before a visit to Boston.

 They were part of a group … [Read more...]

Public radio launches new investigative podcast

By Tom Michael

As part of its work with the Mountain West News Bureau, Boise State Public Radio has launched LOCKED, a limited-series podcast about a transgender inmate who is suing the state of Idaho for sex reassignment surgery. 

It looks at the case of Adree Edmo, which is now being weighed before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. If Edmo wins, she’ll be the first inmate to receive surgery through court order, and that could create ripple effects in prisons across the west and potentially the … [Read more...]

Spacial audio mixing: ‘The wave of the future’

Mid-Career Scholarship winner’s report: 360-degree video

By Troy Shreve

Editor’s note: The Idaho Press Club’s Don Watkins Mid-Career Scholarship awards $500 for an Idaho Press Club member to use for any training or project that will improve the working press in Idaho; the deadline to apply is Feb. 15 each year. This year’s winner, Troy Shreve of Idaho Public Television, shares what he learned.

A couple years ago at a strategic planning event for Idaho Public Television, I was part of a group … [Read more...]

IPC steps up training opportunities

Press Club spring training draws crowd; more in the works

The Idaho Press Club sponsored a full weekend of free training for our members the weekend of this year’s annual awards banquet, and both the Saturday and Sunday sessions April 27-28 were high-quality and well-attended.

On Saturday, we held the 2nd annual Institute for Journalists on Covering the Courts, in collaboration with Attorneys for Civic Education, the Idaho Supreme Court and Court of Appeals, the U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho and the … [Read more...]

Meet your Idaho Press Club board member

Jennifer Swindell, founder, CEO and managing editor at Idaho Education News

Jennifer Swindell has been an Idaho journalist for 30 years. She spent 20 years with the Idaho Statesman in a variety of writing and editing roles before becoming an information director for the Caldwell School District and then a communications director at Boise State University. While at Boise State, she launched her “big idea” to start Idaho Education News. Six years later, IdahoEdNews.org hosts thousands of page views a day and has seven … [Read more...]

Media Moves & Award News

New faces in your newsroom or communication department? Let everyone know. Send your Media Moves to: email@idahopressclub.org
 

BOISE STATE PUBLIC RADIO
 
George Prentice joins the radio network as its full-time local host for Morning Edition, as previous host Matt Guilhem returns to California. Prentice has been with the station for decades, most recently as host of Weekend Edition on Saturday. He leaves his position as Editor of the Boise Weekly.
 
Sáša … [Read more...]