By Deanna Darr Idaho Press Club members are a talented group of people, and we’re not just talking about being able to track down the perfect source, write a story that inspires the masses or put together a presentation that dazzles all who gaze upon it. At this year’s annual awards banquet on Saturday, May 3, we’re planning to show off some of the artistic talents of our membership. For the first time, it will be IPC members who take the stage during the event’s social hour, providing the musical score for the night and showing … [Read more...]
Meet Your IPC: Julie Hart
March 25, 2014 by
Interviewer’s intro: Julie has been our Idaho Press Club lobbyist, pro-bono, for the past two legislative sessions. She’s a crackerjack lobbyist and we’re lucky to have her pulling for us on open-government issues. She made national waves last year with her push to remove Idaho’s sales tax from Girl Scout cookies – another pro-bono effort, as Julie served on the board of the Girl Scouts Silver Sage Council and her daughter, Ella, is an active scout. She also represents a list of clients and is a familiar face at Idaho’s Statehouse. Press … [Read more...]
National reporter headlines 2014 Oppenheimer Ethics Symposium
March 25, 2014 by
By John Hecht Paul Farhi, media reporter for the Washington Post, will be the keynote speaker at the Oppenheimer Ethics Symposium at the University of Idaho in Moscow Friday, March 28. The presentation is free and open to the public. Farhi's presentation is titled "Should the Press Report National Secrets?" His discussion will focus on news coverage of Edward Snowden, spying by the National Security Agency (NSA), and national security leaks. "The symposium theme will be developed around media reporting of national security … [Read more...]
What I learned in Mexico
March 25, 2014 by
Watkins Mid-Career Scholarship winner reports By Bridget Ryder One of the most interesting aspects of journalism is that for all your planning, for everything you think a story is, you never really know what is going to happen, especially when you take your small-town newspaper job to a foreign country. I had an idea—go to Mexico and see what life was like for seasonal workers and others with connections to Teton Valley. I wrote the brainstorm into a pitch for the $500 at stake in the Don Watkins Mid-Career Scholarship. In … [Read more...]
MEDIA MOVES
March 25, 2014 by
Daily/Weekly Newspaper COEUR D’ALENE PRESS After five years, city reporter Tom Hasslinger has departed for the Garden Island newspaper on Kauai, where he’ll be city editor. New reporter Keith Cousins arrives from the chain’s weekly paper in Superior, Mont., the Mineral Independent. IDAHO FALLS POST REGISTER In January, Alex Stuckey, the Post Register's former reporter covering Idaho National Laboratory, accepted a job at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. She is based in Jefferson City, Mo., and covers the Missouri Legislature. Also leaving … [Read more...]
President’s Column: IPC has plenty in the works for you, its members
October 14, 2013 by
By Betsy Russell There’s a lot going on at the Idaho Press Club right now, from our upcoming fall conference (see page 1) to First Amendment victories to website upgrades, to all the planning for upcoming scholarship awards, the annual awards contest, and our gala spring awards banquet, which this year will be held May 3, 2014 at the Boise Centre. Meantime, many of your Press Club board members have been busy judging journalism contests from other states, in preparation for swaps in which those state press clubs will help with the judging … [Read more...]
A sketch artist’s challenge: Capturing courtroom drama in images
October 10, 2013 by
By Jamie Grey Zella Strickland has never turned on a computer. The only one ever in her home was for her husband to use, and after some frustration was quickly discarded on the curb with a sign that said “FREE”. In that spirit, it’s fitting that even with almost every reporter toting a laptop and smartphone, Strickland is one of the necessities of Idaho courtroom reporting that hasn’t changed: A sketch artist. In cases where cameras aren’t allowed, such as in federal court, Strickland can sometimes be seen in the front row of … [Read more...]
IPC Fall Conference: Tools and Tips Getting newsroom smart with the latest smartphones
October 10, 2013 by
By Todd Dvorak BOISE - It’s no secret so much more is expected of reporters. Attending a press conference anymore isn’t just about asking the right questions, gathering the facts and pithy quotes and filing a story for the website, broadcast or print edition. These days, our jobs and expectations are also about making sharp and clear photos or shooting web-ready video with those brand new iPhones, Samsung Galaxy’s or the latest Android devices. It all sounds great when your editor hands you this amazing new technology - along … [Read more...]
High-profile and active roles: Women in Idaho journalism defy national stats
October 10, 2013 by
By Melissa Davlin The statistics paint a bleak picture for female newshounds. According to the Women’s Media Center, women make up only 36.9 percent of newspaper staff in all positions, and male bylines outnumbered female bylines three to one in front-page presidential coverage in 2012. But the Idaho Press Club -- which boasts women in both its executive director and president positions -- spoke to female reporters and editors to get their take. The consensus: Women play high-profile and active roles in Idaho journalism. The … [Read more...]
Meet your IPC: Seth Ashley, Assistant Professor, Department of Communications, Boise State University
October 10, 2013 by
Interviewed by Todd Dvorak Interviewer’s Intro: Granted I’m speaking for the entire Southwest Chapter Board here, but I think it’s safe to say we were just minutes into our most recent planning meeting when we all wondered the same thing: Why did we wait so long to bring Seth Ashley into the fold? Seth is the newest member of the Southwest Chapter Board and we’re pleased to have him. I’m confident he’ll bring a fresh perspective, one that’s essential to journalism in Idaho and abroad but one that too often gets lost among those … [Read more...]
Live blog from court
October 10, 2013 by
U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill issued an order in the recent high-profile St. Luke’s/St. Alphonsus hospital lawsuit permitting live blogging from the courtroom. The judge’s decision, made on his own initiative after checking with counsel for both sides, followed inquiries from reporters about computer use. Winmill agreed to permit live blogging from court, as long as there was no audio or video recording or photography; cameras aren’t allowed in federal court. In most cases, computer use in federal courtrooms to date has been allowed … [Read more...]
MEDIA MOVES
October 10, 2013 by
TELEVISION IDAHO FALLS/POCATELLO KIFI Bre Clark, reporter, joins the station from Houston, TX. She is a graduate of the University of Houston. Caleb James, former reporter, accepted a job at KOB, Albuquerque, NM. Stephanie Hale-Lopez, another reporter, moved to the Northeast with her husband. KPVI Dani Beckstrom is a new weekend reporter/anchor/weather caster. She comes from BYU. Deanne Coffin is a new part-time reporter. She comes from ISU. Bill Kotowski has been promoted from a part-time to a full-time reporter. Summer Joy, a … [Read more...]
Idaho media coalition reunites in fight for openness in private prison lawsuit
July 31, 2013 by
By Todd Dvorak BOISE - For the second consecutive year, a broad coalition of Idaho news organizations has joined together in a fight for openness. This time, the focus of the battle is a lawsuit in federal court pitting a group of inmates against the state’s only private prison contractor, the Corrections Corporation of America. The case was filed last year and the inmates allege, among other things, that a pattern of understaffing and mismanagement at the prison has created a reality where gangs to run the lockup. Ultimately, that … [Read more...]
Idaho lawyer who won landmark case dies at 85 – Derr’s work advanced gender equality
July 31, 2013 by
By John Miller BOISE (AP) – Allen Derr, an Idaho lawyer who won a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling to bolster anti-discrimination protections for women, died June 10 in Boise. He was 85. Derr, a longtime and highly valued board member of the Idaho Press Club, grew up in North Idaho, graduated from Clark Fork High School in 1947, and then earned bachelor’s and law degrees from the University of Idaho. On Nov. 22, 1971, the Supreme Court justices issued their Reed vs. Reed decision, holding states cannot discriminate against people … [Read more...]
