report on meeting with Daily News editor

[Kenton Bird <kbird@uidaho.edu>]

Visionaries:

Six people attended the meeting with Steve McClure, managing editor of
the Daily News, on Nov. 9 at BookPeople.  Several others apparently
arrived before 7 p.m. and were told the meeting did not begin until 8
p.m.  I'm sorry for any confusion over the starting time.

Here are the highlights of the meeting:

1. ADVISORY BOARD.  Steve is looking for a board that reflects the
paper's readership: diverse in age, occupation, rural/urban, Latah and
Whitman counties.  The ideal board will have between 10 and 15 members.
The board will meet quarterly for two or three hours in the evening;
refreshments will be provided.  Steve has about 20 applications in hand,
including some that date back to Rick Hoover, the managing editor who
left in 1999.  If you are interested in this board, write to Steve
telling what you could contribute to the board; include a phone number
or e-mail address.  He is looking for constructive critics, not
gadflies.  You *do* have to be a subscriber to the paper in order to
serve on the board.  Steve is on vacation this week, so letters should
be waiting for him when he returns to Moscow  on Nov. 20.

2. OPINION COLUMNISTS.  In January, Steve will invite applications from
readers interested in writing an opinion column every other week.  He
acknowledged that some past and current local columnists have tended to
write about their families and pets rather than local issues.  His
request for new columnists will include a description of what he
expects.  Columnists need not pass any opinion litmus test; again, he is
hoping for a good mix of conservatives and liberals, Moscow and Pullman
residents.

3. FORMAT CHANGE: In early February, the Daily News and Lewiston Tribune
will convert to a narrower page format, brought about by a steep
increase in the cost of newsprint.  The Portland Oregonian is among the
major Northwest dailies that has already adopted this format.  The
result will be less space in the paper for news, though Steve hopes to
compensate for this by asking reporters to write "tighter" – i.e.,
present the important information in a more concise matter.

4. STAFF REDUCTIONS: Vera White will begin a transition to retirement in
January, cutting her hours to half time, and Nina Staskow, the public
schools reporter, will go half time as well to spend more time with her
family.  The result will be one fewer FTE reporting news.  Steve does
not expect the position to be restored until the paper's financial
picture improves.

5. EDITORIAL POSITIONS: In response to questions, Steve defended the
paper's editorial opposition to the 1912 Center and Latah Trail, saying
the editorial board members support the projects as individuals but do
not believe that public money should be used for either project.  He saw
no chance of the board reconsidering either position in the near
future.    Editorial board members are: McClure; Craig Clohessy, city
editor; Murf Raquet, opinion/wire editor; Vera White; Patti Jones,
Pullman office manager (who participates in editorial board discussions
but does not write editorials); Shawn O'Neal, news editor, and Craig
Staskow, design editor.

Steve said editorial positions do not influence news coverage.  The
recent ground-breaking ceremony for the 1912 Center was not covered, he
said, because one reporter was on vacation that day and another was ill.

6. HEALTH CARE ON THE PALOUSE: The paper's news staff is planning an
in-depth examination of rural health care issues in Latah and Whitman
counties.  This probably will run in January or February.   (I'm
involved in organizing a community forum that will be co-sponsored by
the Daily News. Anyone with suggestions about what might be covered in
the forum and in a special section of the paper may contact me.  –KB)

I think this covers the main points.  Apologies to Steve if I've left
anything out.
--Kenton