By Betsy Russell

Yes, things have been rough. Really rough! But we’re all doing good work, and that matters.

Now it’s time to look over your work from 2020 and think about what you’d like to enter in our Best of 2020 annual awards contest. The best work from journalists in all media in Idaho, along with the work of journalism students and PR folks, is highlighted in this annual statewide contest, and you deserve the recognition!

The contest is opening for entries at our website, www.idahopressclub.org. New this year are categories for, you guessed it, COVID-19 pandemic coverage. 

Our contest also recognizes everything from spot news coverage to investigations to the rookie of the year. Photography and videography, opinion writing, design, sports reporting, media innovation and general excellence are all among the categories available for entering. There’s outdoors reporting, election reporting, headlines and public affairs programs. Reviews, features and columns. Public affairs programs, documentaries, and best use of social media.

Look over the categories, look over the fine work you’ve done in this incredibly challenging year, and enter the contest. We’ll look forward to celebrating with you in the spring, whether our celebration this year turns out to be in-person or virtual.

Stay safe, everyone.

Betsy Russell is the Boise bureau chief for the Idaho Press and Adams Publishing, and is the president of the Idaho Press Club.  

By Joan Cartan-Hansen
 
Need money for that professional training? Have a great idea for a story and no funds to get it to print or on the air? The Idaho Press Club can help.

The Don Watkins 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. 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 months. The only catch: You must share what you learn with Press Club members through a discussion at a conference or an article in an upcoming edition of the Communicator. Any Press Club member is eligible for this scholarship.

To apply, send your resume and a proposal for how you would spend the money, via e-mail, to email@idahopressclub.org. Applications are due Feb. 15 of each year. The winner is announced at the Press Club’s annual awards banquet in April. 

The Idaho Press Club offers scholarships for college students too. Graduates of Idaho high schools who have completed at least one year of college and wish to pursue a career in journalism or communications are eligible for up to $1,500. Full-time students majoring in journalism or working for a college or professional media outlet are also eligible to apply.

If interested, submit a one-page resume; a 500-word essay explaining your interest in a journalism or communications career; samples of your journalistic work, whether published or unpublished; and a copy of your transcripts, including GPA, through the most recent fall term. Applications may be submitted electronically via email to email@idahopressclub.org. If you have video files, please upload them to YouTube or a similar site and send the link.  The deadline is also Feb. 15.

For more information about either scholarship, call IPC Executive Director Martha Borchers at (208) 389-2879, or contact her by e-mail at email@idahopressclub.org.

Joan Cartan-Hansen is a producer, reporter and writer for Idaho Public Television; a former Idaho Press Club president, she’s also the treasurer of the Idaho Press Club board. 

At the end of this year, Heath Druzin wraps up his time with Boise State Public Radio as the Audion Fellow for Guns & America. This grant-funded radio project, which began in Summer 2018, examined gun issues across the country. 

The public radio station welcomes newsroom interns Audrey Regan and Gustavo Sagrero.

Boise State Public Radio is the lead partner for the Mountain West News Bureau, which added three new reporters, showcasing its commitment to diversity and mentoring young talent. Savannah Maher, who provided coverage of the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming, joins KUNM in New Mexico. Like Savannah, Robyn Vincent is also leaving Wyoming, to KUNC in northern Colorado. Stephanie Serreno-Escoto joins the team from KUNR in Reno, Nevada.

IDAHO STATESMAN

Cynthia Sewell, longtime Idaho Statesman reporter who most recently covered state politics and the Idaho congressional delegation, is no longer with the company. She still resides in Boise with her husband.

Katherine Talerico, who covered development and local government for the Idaho Statesman, is no longer with the company. She is freelance writing and teaching English to schoolchildren through a government program in Nantes, France. 

Ximena Bustillo, who served as an Idaho Statesman breaking news reporter, is now covering legislation, trade and agriculture in Washington, D.C., for Politico. 

Katherine Jones, who has served as the Idaho Statesman’s photo lead, photographer, videographer and feature columnist, will retire from the Idaho Statesman at the end of December. She has worked for the Statesman for 30 years. She is excited to spend more time with her sisters and their children and to travel the world (including all the wild rivers she can handle) with her sweetie. 

IDAHO PRESS

Olivia Heersink joined the Idaho Press in January as the Canyon County public safety reporter. The Fruitland native graduated from the University of Idaho with a degree in journalism and a minor in justice studies. Before joining the Idaho Press, she was the morning cops/breaking news reporter for The Times of Northwest Indiana. Olivia fills the role after previous reporter Emily Lowe took a communications job with the Ada County Prosecutor’s Office. 

Reporter Ryan Suppe in August transitioned from the Idaho Press’ Meridian Press weekly to the city of Boise beat. Before moving to the Treasure Valley, Ryan was the business reporter for the Post Register in Idaho Falls. Ryan grew up in Las Vegas and attended the University of Nevada, Reno, graduating with degrees in journalism and philosophy. He takes over the Boise beat from Margaret Carmel, who now reports for BoiseDev.

College of Idaho graduate Blake Jones, who interned with and worked part-time for the Idaho Press during college, accepted a full-time reporting position with the Press this year, managing content for the Meridian Press and Kuna Melba News weeklies. Blake grew up in Meridian and graduated in spring 2020 with an emphasis in creative writing and political economy.

Jeff Robinson, assistant editor of the Idaho Falls Post Register, in February expanded his role to regional editor for Adams Publishing Group. Jeff plays a key role in editing and managing the newsrooms for both the Post Register and the Idaho Press, both owned by APG. A native of Kellogg and a longtime journalist, Jeff has worked at newspapers in Lewiston, Pocatello and Idaho Falls and has also been an editor for newspapers in Iowa, Montana and Washington.

Andi Gordon joined the Idaho Press in July as director of advertising. Andi has nearly 20 years’ experience as a sales leader in the newspaper industry, largely with the Tampa Bay Times in St. Petersburg, Florida. Prior to joining the Idaho Press she oversaw digital media advertising for Cox Media in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Andi replaces Michelle Robinson, who was named president and director of local sales and marketing of the Casper Star-Tribune in her hometown in Wyoming. Robinson was previously publisher of the Boise Weekly and advertising director of the Idaho Press in Nampa.

Traci Bauer in August was named vice president of print and digital content for Adams Publishing Group. Bauer started out as a reporter in Springfield, Missouri, and worked her way through the management ranks with the Gannett Company, primarily in New York. Her roles included managing editor of The Democrat and Chronicle, digital content executive for the Gannett Company and director of journalism for KCUR, Kansas City’s NPR affiliate.

University of Idaho student Emily Pearce served as a summer news intern for Idaho Press. She is earning her degree in psychology and communications and plans on being a journalist or psychologist. 

IDAHO EDUCATION NEWS

Nik Streng joined the staff of Idaho Education News in November. He comes from the Argus Observer in Ontario, Ore., where he covered sports, education and courts. Streng, who holds a creative writing degree as well as a master’s in journalism from the University of Oregon, will focus at EdNews on giving a voice to the students and parents of the Gem State, especially its many historically underserved communities.

IDAHO BUSINESS REVIEW

Idaho Business Review editor Kim Burgess has left for a job in industry. The publication is currently hiring to replace her. You can apply at . In the meantime, former managing editor Sharon Fisher is acting as interim editor. In addition, the organization added Boise State University student Adam Thompson as an intern for the fall 2020 semester. 

PUBLIC RELATIONS

Seth Ogilvie, a former journalist, was named communications director for Boise Mayor Lauren McLean in September. Ogilvie previously worked on the communications team at the Tennessee Department of Education. For nearly a decade before that, he was with Idaho Public Television.

Scott Phillips was named policy and communications chief for the Idaho Department of Lands in May. He previously served as communications director for state schools Superintendent Sherri Ybarra.

KTVB TV

Former KTVB President and General Manager Kate Morris departed in September for a job with KPNX in Phoenix. She will serve as president and GM at KPNX, a sister station to KTVB, both of which are owned by Tegna. Morris joined KTVB as a news producer in 2006.

KIFI/KIDK/NPG of Idaho, Idaho Falls 
 
Bill Cummings has been appointed as News Director at NPG of Idaho.  Bill comes from KSTU FOX 13 in Salt Lake City. He’s been in news management for over 20 years.
 
Former News Director Curtis Jackson is now the Multiplatform Executive Producer at NPG of Idaho. Curtis was news director for 12 years and decided to take a step back and reduce stress on himself. He will be in charge of overseeing news content placed on all platforms.
 
Two new multimedia journalists have joined the NPG of Idaho team: Chelsea Briar from Idaho Falls and Cole Sams from Tennessee.  
 
Longtime anchor Karole Honas retired at the end of August.  She was replaced by Bre Clark.  Bre was a former employee at the station as a multimedia journalist. Before coming back she worked in Spokane at KREM and has been a talent coach in Houston before returning to Idaho Falls.
 
Jeff Roper is the new morning weather anchor.  Jeff also works at KUPI Radio as a morning DJ.  Roper was doing weekend weather before coming full time in the morning.  He previously has worked for TV and radio stations in San Antonio, Texas.

Here are some words from Karole Honas, the longtime Idaho Falls anchor who retired this year:

“Finally something good happened in the year 2020.  I turned 65 in September, and got to retire.  It’s been quite a run. 

I started in the summer of 1977 in Pocatello at a brand-new station, KPVI Ch 6. 

I was two months out of school at the U of I … and 1 month married.  In those days, we used film cameras and 16mm film.  I learned f-stops, lighting, and changing film in a blackbag while driving a blue station Pinto.  The kind with the gas tank in the back that could blow up in rear-end collisions.  Six years later I quit to have my first son, and stayed home for 6 years having two more. 

One day the anchor from KIFI Ch 8 called to see if I could fill in as an anchor for Susan Furniss for 6 weeks.  She’d gone into early delivery with her baby.

After six weeks, I went home.  Got a call the next day wondering why I wasn’t at work. I explained my six-week contract was up.  They called me in for another interview and I retired nearly 30 years later. My partner, Jay Hildebrandt, helped me get through those years. 

Retirement isn’t quite what I anticipated because of Covid.  We can’t do anything we planned.  But we’re making it work.  I’m proud of the many young reporters I helped as they began their career.  And I count on the rest of you in the press corps to keep me current on all the happenings in Idaho.” 

Normally, the Idaho Press Club’s annual membership meeting – at which we take care of such club business as the annual re-election of the board and officers and any bylaws changes – occurs at the same time as our annual awards banquet in the spring. This year, the banquet was canceled due to COVID-19, and we did our awards festivities online.

But then we realized we still had to hold an annual business meeting, so we did it via Zoom. The June 25 meeting was well-attended, positive, and pretty darn efficient. Members had nice things to say about what we’re doing as the Press Club, and it was much appreciated.

The current slate of officers and board members was re-elected unanimously for another one-year term. That includes:

President: Betsy Russell, Idaho Press; Vice President: Melissa Davlin, Idaho Public Television; Treasurer: Joan Cartan-Hansen, Idaho Public Television; Secretary: Deanna Darr, Freelance

Board members: Rebecca Boone, AP; Audrey Dutton, Idaho Statesman; Ryan Hawes, KBOI/KYUU TV; John Hecht, at-large; Deb Kristensen Grasham, at-large; Scott McIntosh, Idaho Statesman; Tom Michael, Boise State Public Radio; Kate Morris, KTVB; Sydney Sallabanks, Associate Rep; Jennifer Swindell, Idaho Education News

We also unanimously approved a bylaws change that the board had approved last fall, in collaboration with our Southwest Chapter, which is currently our only active chapter (though we’ve had interest in restarting chapters in the east and north). It adjusted the chapter dues share from one-half of the dues from the members in its region to 37.5% each year, due to the change in chapter duties and expenses since we formed a Training Committee under the state board. Audrey Dutton, the SW Chapter president, is the chair of our new Training Committee.

After the annual membership meeting, the Training Committee met, also via Zoom. We are moving ahead with an online cultural sensitivity training for journalists; more info will be coming on that. Our usual in-person fall conference isn’t happening this year, but stay tuned for other training opportunities. Our Journalists Institute on Covering the Courts has been postponed to next spring, to be held in conjunction with what we hope will be our annual awards banquet then.

The Idaho Press Club is in sound financial shape and paying attention to the needs of our members, including open meetings and public records concerns. One thing we have in the works is a fundraising project to help Idaho journalists who are in need during the pandemic, whether they’re unemployed, furloughed or on reduced pay.

Stay safe, everyone, and we’ll be in touch!

Betsy Russell is the Boise bureau chief and state Capitol reporter for the Idaho Press and Adams Publishing, and is the president of the Idaho Press Club.

The coronavirus pandemic and statewide stay-at-home orders this spring changed work life for many journalists. We had to come up with new ways to reach our sources, to upload to our broadcast channel and websites and to share with our audience. After Memorial Day, the nationwide vigils and protests following the killing of George Floyd further complicated the work of a remote and disparate workforce.

 Newsrooms had to pivot to meet new challenges. How do we safely cover street protests? How do we best cover press conferences? How do we ensure that we’re sharing diverse voices? In what ways has systemic racism affected our coverage and how can we improve?

 Industry groups and media organizations have offered a slew of training opportunities to address these concerns. My industry, public media, has been awash in webinars over the past month. War correspondents have been dusting off old slide decks to share with a new generation of journalists covering protests. Journalists of color have been leading webinars on how to improve diversity in sourcing and staffing.

 A quick review of my work calendar over the past several weeks, and I see training titles such as, “Pandemic Forced Innovation,” “The Imperative Of Inclusion,” “The Mobile Opportunity In Challenging Times,” “Words Matter: The Language Of Unrest,” “Managing Trauma In Your Newsroom” and “Creating An Inclusive Newsroom In The Time Of COVID.”

 The Boise State Public Radio newsroom attended a customized webinar led by Francisco Vara-Orta of IRE, Investigative Reporters & Editors. His name may be familiar because he came to Boise in September to lead a weekend of training for Idaho reporters. The Texas-based journalist created an online presentation for us called “The Urgency Of Inclusion In Newsrooms.”

 Vara-Orta shared historical recommendations made for media back in 1968 by the Kerner Commission Report during the civil rights movement. In dispiriting detail, he recounted the decades that passed before many of these recommendations were implemented. Even to this day, surveys show that more than 75% of those working in U.S. newsrooms are white. For example, despite years of discussion, the NPR newsroom had not moved the needle much in the past decade. In 2017-19, it increased its minority representation of journalists by almost 5 percentage points.

His IRE presentation went on to discuss confirmation bias, white privilege, implicit bias and a recent hot-button issue, objectivity. We had time for discussion afterwards.

 Training offered to Idaho Statesman reporters included a three-hour webinar on how to safely and effectively report on protests. According to Ximena Bustillo, it got into details such as “identification methods and protection strategies, especially for female reporters.” Reporters were taught mitigation strategies for tear gas and rubber bullets, as well as advice on how to present yourself as a reporter and not a protester.

 One of our editors, Kate Concannon, who manages the Mountain West News Bureau, won Editor of the Year, from the PMJA, Public Media Journalists Association. At the virtual awards banquet, she was a keynote speaker along with Maria Hinojosa of the radio program and podcast Latino USA. Both used their acceptance speeches to talk about how the industry needs to diversify – and fast.

 Concannon spoke about the need to break away from the media monoculture, even beyond race and ethnicity. Born in England into a working-class neighborhood in the East Midlands, she described how her natural radio voice wasn’t “posh” enough for the famed BBC. As a young reporter in America, she proudly submitted a broadcast package to them, but was stunned to hear her story when it aired. The BBC had it entirely re-voiced it with a British man whose accent was more suited to the network at the time.

 As the world continues to adapt to this “new normal,” our media organizations don’t just need to keep up with innovations in content delivery or new digital platforms, but to “meet our audience where they live” in many more ways, as well. 

Tom Michael is general manager of Boise State Public Radio, and is a board member of the Idaho Press Club.

BOISE STATE PUBLIC RADIO

In March 2020 Troy Oppie joined Boise State Public Radio as a full-time reporter and weekend host. He had been a freelancer and a volunteer for the radio station in the years prior. He began his journalism career in television sports and news at local stations in Seattle, Missoula and Boise. He rejoined journalism this year after a brief career in finance.

KIVI 6 ON YOUR SIDE/KNIN FOX 9 NOW

KIVI has launched two daily newscasts in Twin Falls on KSAW-TV using a team of reporters stationed in the Magic Valley. They are: Multimedia journalists Natasha Williams, a Boise native and BSU grad who first started working for KIVI at age 15; Stephanie Garibay, a Cal Poly San Luis Obispo grad who most recently interned at KCRA in Sacramento; and Alex Grant, a graduate of Temple University in Philadelphia who most recently interned at their Fox affiliate, Fox29.

In Boise, KIVI has brought on two new reporters: Lynsey Amundson, who recently received her master’s in sports journalism at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication in Phoenix and also holds a bachelor’s degree in public relations from Western Washington University; and Nicole Camarda, a Chico State graduate who interned at Fox40 in Sacramento, ABC7 in San Francisco, NSPR and Action News Now in Chico.

By Betsy Russell

 Idaho Press Club members — both professional journalists and students — have a unique opportunity to learn about covering the courts from some of the top folks in the field, from journalists to attorneys and federal and state judges. It’s our 3rd annual Journalists Institute on Covering the Courts, in cooperation with Attorneys for Civic Education, the University of Idaho College of Law, the Idaho Supreme Court, and the U.S. District Court for Idaho. If you haven’t attended this institute before, sign up! If you have, come back — you’ll learn more.  

 It’s set for Saturday, April 25, from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m in Boise. That’s the same day as the Idaho Press Club Annual Awards Banquet (which is that night), so journalists traveling from throughout the state can make this trip matter, both picking up their awards and honoring the best in Idaho journalism and also getting a chance for some high-quality professional development training — for free.

There will be some limited travel assistance — possibly including lodging — for journalists or journalism students traveling from northern or eastern Idaho to attend the institute. Please register ASAP so we can get that worked out. We’re also very interested in hearing from local journalists (or journalism students) who are interested in attending. To register, please email Betsy Russell, bzrussell@gmail.com, with your name, affiliation (news organization and/or university), and where you’ll be coming from. 

 It’s a great opportunity for all of us — especially those whose jobs include covering anything related to the courts. There will also be information on access to public records in Idaho in general. Join us!!

Betsy Russell is the Boise bureau chief for the Idaho Press and is the president of the Idaho Press Club.  

RSVP by February 13 

You’re invited to the Idaho Press Club Southwest Chapter’s breakfast with Gov. Brad Little. He’ll share his thoughts on the session and answer your questions on the record.

This event is always popular, and we have limited space, so reserve your spot early! We did sell out last year. Payment is required to attend, even for folks who don’t eat breakfast. Register at https://idahopressclub.org/events

When: 7:30-9 a.m., Wednesday, Feb. 19. Breakfast buffet at 7:30 a.m. Governor starts at 8 a.m.

Where: Beside Bardenay, 612 W. Grove St., Boise

Cost: $15 for Idaho Press Club members; $20 for non-members or anyone paying at the door; free for students (pre-registration required)

Deadline to register: Thursday, Feb. 13

Tickets: https://idahopressclub.org/events  

What else: Save money by joining or renewing your Idaho Press Club membership today online at https://idahopressclub.org/join

  •The Don Watkins Scholarship awards $1,500 to graduates of Idaho high schools who have completed at least one year of college and wish to pursue a career in journalism or communications. Full-time students majoring in journalism or working for a college or professional media outlet are eligible to apply. Click here for more details.

•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. Click here for more details.

 by Audrey Dutton

I got a tip in 2018 to investigate spending by the Idaho Governor’s Cup. The Idaho Statesman published the results of that reporting in a story that ran Jan. 3, 2019.

We found that over 10 years, the annual fundraiser cost $6.1 million to put on, while awarding just $2.1 million in scholarships. An interview with a regulatory expert also prompted a question about the event’s purpose: Was it a political networking event, or was it primarily to raise money for deserving college students?

The cup’s chairman told me that anyone who “wants to take a shot at being critical of our event … should attend and see the philanthropy.” I thought that sounded like a good idea. But they didn’t give out press passes. Purchasing a ticket was financially out of reach — the multi-day event costs thousands of dollars to attend. Just an evening there would run $250 with travel and lodging. Paying to attend also posed a challenge in maintaining the Statesman’s impartiality.

I was relieved and thrilled to learn last spring that the Idaho Press Club’s Don Watkins Mid-Career Scholarship would cover the costs to attend one evening of the cup. Not only would it help me attend, it would put a degree of separation between the event and the Statesman.

With that assistance, I bought a ticket for the cup’s Saturday dinner and ice show, and I booked a room in a Bellevue hotel.

That Saturday, I spent more than four hours at the Governor’s Cup — doing interviews, shooting photos, taking notes on what I saw and heard. I counted at least 19 state legislators, 41 lobbyists and a few elected officials, either in the crowd or signed up for activities and competitions.

Was it a political networking event? Yes. If the name didn’t give that away, the sheer number of politicians in attendance confirmed it. The cup was also a business networking event, with CEOs and lawyers and business leaders everywhere you looked.

Was it an event to raise money for scholarships? Also yes. Was charity its primary purpose? Hard to tell from just one evening. The scholarship recipients weren’t there — one exception being a College of Idaho student, the keynote speaker. But there were several calls for people to donate, and plenty of people who volunteered to give thousands of dollars during the dinner.

I was surprised at how the cup blurred the line between public and private, government and non-governmental functions. The governor and first lady were the hosts, but Gov. Brad Little’s spokeswoman said the governor’s office isn’t involved. Gov. Little also told me it was “kinda my job” to be there and that it was “not an optional event,” yet it’s a private fundraiser with its own organization, separate from the governor. It isn’t beholden to open meeting or public records laws, and the records it leaves behind are minimal.

Once I got through the door, though, I was given access to do my job.

The cup’s chairman and executive director introduced me to people they wanted me to meet. Otherwise, they let me do my thing as a reporter. They didn’t attempt to limit where I went or whom I interviewed. They didn’t ask me not to take photos or videos. They never used the fact that it was a private event as a reason to limit my access. (I wore a name tag that identified me as from the Idaho Statesman, and I made it clear to everyone I interviewed that I was a journalist covering the event.) That’s more transparency and openness than I’ve experienced from even some government agencies. The Governor’s Cup administrators are to be commended for that.

Now, if only we could get the nonprofit to let journalists in with a press pass.

Until then, I am grateful to the Idaho Press Club and Don Watkins’s family and friends, who created the scholarship in his name, for making it possible to attend and cover this important event.

Audrey Dutton is an investigative reporter for the Idaho Statesman