CNPA Bulletin

The Federal Communications Commission delayed its July 1 deadline to Jan. 9, 2006 requiring businesses to have signed consent forms before sending faxes to customers. The order followed directly after the U.S. House of Representatives on June 28 passed S. 714, the Junk Fax Prevention Act of 2005, which recognizes common sense fax rules between businesses and their customers. The bill passed the Senate on June 24, and now awaits President Bush's signature. Then the FCC is expected to bring its rules into compliance with the new law. In a release, the National Newspaper Association reminds publishers that when the law goes into effect they will need to include opt-out information, including a cost-free mechanism (such as an e-mail address) for their customers, and to make sure that in the future fax numbers are voluntarily provided by fax-machine owners. Fax numbers in a newspaper’s possession as of the effective date of the bill will be grandfathered.

Oregonian, Anchorage are Missouri Lifestyle winners

Two PNNA newspapers were honored in the 2005 Missouri Lifestyle Journalism contest – the oldest and best known feature writing and editing competition in American newspapering. The Oregonian took three prizes in this national contest: Gabrielle Glaser’s “Sending Black Babies North" was the winner in the Consumer Affairs category; “Fighting for Life on Level 3" by Tom Hallman Jr. won for Health & Fitness; and “A Place Where Children Die” by Brent Walth, Julie Sullivan and Kim Christensen was the winner in the Multicultural category. The Anchorage Daily News won third-place honors for General Excellence in Class III.

Reporters at 3 PNNA papers get Nieman fellowships

Reporters at three PNNA newspapers were selected for the 68th class of Nieman Fellows at Harvard University. The fellowships are awarded to working journalists of accomplishment and promise for an academic year of study in any part of the university. Those chosen from PNNA newspapers are: Cathy Grimes, education reporter for the Walla Walla (Wash.) Union-Bulletin; David Heath, investigative reporter from The Seattle Times; and Brent Walth, senior reporter from The Oregonian.

Peninsula Daily News increases circulation

For the seventh straight year, the Peninsula Daily News, Port Angeles, Wash., increased its circulation in Jefferson and Clallam counties based on an ABC audit for the 52-week period ending March 27 according to a report in the newspaper. Monday through Friday circulation averaged 17,161, up from 17,106 in 2004. Sunday circulation rose to 18,550, an increase over the 2004 figure of 18,463. The Daily News also reported that: “No other newspaper in Washington state showed year-over-year growth in weekday and Sunday circulation, according to the Audit Bureau.”

Deseret News observes 155th birthday

The Deseret Morning News, the oldest registered business in Utah and one of the West's oldest newspapers, quietly celebrated its 155th birthday on June 15. The newspaper printed its first edition on a small hand press in the adobe territorial mint building in Salt Lake City on June 15, 1850.

Alexander, former Post-Intelligencer publisher, dies

J.D. Alexander, a former executive editor and publisher of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, died June 14 of lung disease. He was 66. Alexander was managing editor of the former San Diego Union from 1979 to 1986, then left for the Post-Intelligencer. In 1993, he became editor and publisher of the Seattle paper. In 2000, he took on a new role as a consultant to the Hearst Corp. Earlier in his career, Alexander served as assistant national news editor at The Washington Post when the paper broke the story linking the break-in of National Democratic Committee headquarters at the Watergate Hotel to the White House. Alexander was a native of Charlotte, N.C., and served in the Air Force from 1961 to 1965. He began his journalism career at the Winston-Salem Journal before moving to The Washington Post in 1967. Survivors include his wife, Carol Lee "Cadee" Alexander; son, Jasper Alexander; and brothers, David C. Alexander and J. Neil Alexander; and a granddaughter.

APME study: Anonymous sources OK

More than half of readers say the use of anonymous sources in a story don’t affect their view of it or make it more believable in a recent poll conducted by the Associated Press Managing Editors. Responses solicited via the Internet through 35 news organizations in 42 states reveal that 42 percent said anonymous sources made no difference in their view of story, 11 percent said it made the story more believable and 44 percent said it made them less likely to believe the story. About one in five said anonymous sources should never be used.

Websites contribute significantly to readership

Websites contribute significant numbers of readers who do not necessarily read the printed publications to create larger audiences overall for newspapers. On June 23, Scarborough Research released an analysis of “Integrated Newspaper Audience,” a new measurement that combines the audience of traditional printed newspapers with the audience of their websites. Steve Seraita, executive vice president and director of sales at Scarborough Research, said the measurement will benefit newspapers and advertisers: “Newspaper websites will play a vital role in the media buy and will no longer be ‘add-ons.’ Advertisers and agencies on all levels will have a more comprehensive and accurate valuation of the whole newspaper audience.” The other good news according to Scarborough is that website users are younger than those who read the printed newspaper, demonstrating that young adults are engaged by newspaper content.

Time hands over records in Plame case

Time Inc. on June 30 said it would comply with a court order to turn over records to a grand jury that were subpoenaed by a special prosecutor investigating the identification of Valerie Plame as a CIA operative. Last fall, Time’s Matthew Cooper and The New York Times’ Judith Miller were held in contempt for refusing to disclose confidential sources. They faced 18-month jail sentences and fines, pending appeal. Time’s decision to release the records came after the U.S. Supreme Court’s refusal on June 27 to hear an appeal, and two days later the federal judge who cited the pair for contempt granted a one-week delay in sentencing the reporters. In a statement, Time Editor in Chief Norman Pearlstine argued strongly for Constitutional protection of journalists’ confidential sources, but said: “The same Constitution that protects the freedom of the press requires obedience to final decisions of the courts and respect for their rulings and judgments. That Time Inc. strongly disagrees with the courts provides no immunity.”

NAA calls on Congress to enact federal shield law

In response to the Supreme Court’s decision on July 27 not to hear the appeal of Judith Miller of The New York Times and Matthew Cooper of Time Magazine in the Valerie Plame case, the Newspaper Association of America is calling on Congress to act on legislation to protect against the release of confidential source information. Representatives Mike Pence (R-IN) and Rick Boucher (D-VA) and Senators Richard Lugar (R-IN) and Christopher Dodd (D-CT) have introduced the "Free Flow of Information Act."

U.S. Senate approves bill to limit on FOI exclusions

The National Newspaper Association announced that the U.S. Senate approved legislation on July 24 designed to allow for greater scrutiny of attempts to exempt information from the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). S.1181, sponsored by Senators John Cornyn (R-Texas-TX) and Patrick Leahy (D-VT.), requires any future exemptions contained in legislation to be explicitly set forth in the text of the bill. The bill addresses the increasing use of what are called “(b)(3)” exemptions, referring to a subsection in FOIA which allows Congress to create further exemptions by statute. However, often these new exemptions take the form of one or two paragraphs inserted into a much larger bill, effectively masking their impact upon public disclosure. As a result, Congressional debate about the wisdom of the exemption rarely occurs.

Newspapers hold 7 of top 20 online news spots

Newspapers held seven of the top 20 online current events and global news sites for May 2005 according to Nielsen/NetRatings data. Yahoo! News was No. 1, and newspaper sites were: No. 5 Gannett Newspapers; No. 6 NYTimes.com; No. 8 Knight Ridder Digital; No. 9 Tribune Newspapers; No. 10 washingtonpost.com; No. 14 Hearst Newspapers digital; and No. 20 Associated Press.

People:

Sager new in marketing at Wenatchee World

Becky Sager has accepted a position with The Wenatchee World as their marketing and community relations coordinator. Sager previously worked for the Wenatchee Valley Chamber of Commerce as their event and membership coordinator. Sager holds a bachelors degree in merchandising and marketing from Central Washington University. She can be reached at sager@wenworld.com or 509-665-1174.

Ashton named AP news editor for Utah

Linda Ashton, news editor in Anchorage for The Associated Press, has been named AP's news editor in Salt Lake City. Ashton, who joined the AP in New Orleans in 1987 and moved in 1990 to Spokane, Wash., has been news editor in Alaska since August 2003. Ashton, who grew up in Portland, Ore., has also worked in the AP’s Seattle bureau and as the correspondent in Yakima, Wash.

Volume 86, No. 2

June 30, 2005

FCC delays fax consent to Jan. 9, 2006