The Spokesman-Review : interns

Stef: Coeur D'Alene River 2 -- Spokesman Interns 0

2007-07-23T15:39:00.000-07:00

As Sara aptly put it, the river wins . We surrender.

Yesterday, the interns and former interns (Parker, Lacey, Meghann and Shadra) spent a lazy afternoon rafting down the Coeur D'Alene river.

The trip was a blast, and we had an amazing time.

Of course that was before I practically killed myself trying to scale up the rock face to get back to the car.

We'd finished rafting and deflated all the rafts, and were taking turns playing on the rope swing connected to the underside of the bridge. A little after 4 p.m. I started getting antsy about getting back to Spokane because I had an Indians game to cover at 6 p.m.

So I'm standing on the rocks, behind Megs and a couple of other people, impatiently waiting for them to get up the natural(ish) 'stairway' that led back up to the highway.

But in my haste to get going, I decide what the heck, I'm not gonna wait. I'm just gonna try and scale the steeper side of the rock face to get back up so that we can get this show on the road. I'd climbed that same portion of rock a couple of times already that afternoon, so it wasn't like it was impossible.

More haste less speed apparently.

So I'm reaching up to grab onto a handhold. And my fingers latch onto a chunk of rock. Great. Handhold. I put weight on it, and I distinctly remember that at this point, the thought did occur to me that it might be a better idea to just wait the five seconds it would take for the people in front of me to move.

But of course I dismissed the misgivings.

So I put my weight on my arms, and suddenly the rock seems a lot slicker than it felt the first couple of times I'd climbed up that way. My hands slipped, and then I'm scrabbling at rock with my feet realizing that this was probably A. Bad. Idea., and that this could be bad, because there was nothing beneath me but rock and more rock. The water was a little too far away for me to hope to fall into.

Disaster was averted when Shadra somehow caught me mid-slip and steadied me by the waist.

In my relief, I didn't realize until I was clambering up the easy way, that my left foot was kinda wet.

Reach down with fingers. Fingers touch liquid.

That's blood.

Wait. That's MY blood pooling below me.

Apparently I'd sliced an inch-long gash into the underside of my foot while scrabbling around to try and find purchase on the rock as I was slipping.

Well this is fun.

Parker says he has a first aid kit and he runs to get it. I'm sitting there thinking that he's gonna come back with one of those tiny like hiking aid kits that has like three band aids and a roll-up bandage in it.

Nope. The thing he brings back is like the 5-star version of all first-aid kits. He sits there flipping through a selection of different bandages and I'm marvelling at the sight.

So the former Boy Scout ( :) ) and a bunch of people clean me up, and then Sara and Jess bundle me into the car and we head back to Spokane.

Guess I won't be covering the Indians game after all.

Back in town, we figure I might need a tetanus shot and that we should have a doctor just check out the foot. So Sara and I spend the next two hours at the Emergency Room.

Finally, a tetanus shot and four stitches later, I'm hobbling around on one crutch because two crutches, a gimpy foot and a good leg are too much for me to coordinate all at once, and I do not relish the idea of tripping on one of those damn things and breaking my face.

Today, word on the street in that Shadra's out for the day with Sun Poisoning.

Wow. Some weekend huh? I nearly died as a result of my own sheer dumb impatience, and the person who saved me is now fried.

Geez.

The River wins already. Okay. We give up and all hail the mighty power of nature.

P.S. The doctor said Parker said an "excellent job" on the field dressing.

Donna: "Near Nature. Near perfect."

2007-07-16T11:33:00.000-07:00

My first thought when I arrived in Spokane: I don't think I've ever seen so many trees in my life.

And that was just while I was on the freeway.

Yesterday the outdoor editor Rich Landers led Mark, Stef and I on a hike to Stevens Lakes. He was working on a story about the Spokane Mountaineers club's trail cleanup and was kind enough to invite the interns along.

At the starting point we met with three members of the Mountaineers Club. There was Lin, a one-man forestry crew (he carried garbage bags for picking up trash, as well as cutting shears, an ax and a saw for keeping the trail clear of foliage that would trip clumsy hikers such as myself), Chick, who looks like he has wrestled a bear or two (the man has a full, shaggy, gray beard and talked his adventures in Patagonia for goodness' sake!), and Stephanie, a kind-hearted biologist, who took pity on me and lent me her hiking pole-thingie when my flimsy running shoes started to suffocate my feet.

I had been hiking before at John Muir Woods, a national park near San Francisco. But those were leisurely 5-mile strolls compared to hiking up this mountain.

The hike was 10-miles round trip, a breeze for Rich and the Mountaineers Club, and, it seemed, for Mark and Stef, who are frequent bikers. For me, not so much.

I'm such a city girl.

But it was incredibly worth it. The lakes were beautiful. Smooth and clear, they were like polished stones tucked around the mountain peak.

And it was clean. The water was so clear, we could see to the bottom. The fire pits around the lake, aside from ashes from an extinguished camp fire, had no debris or very little. Fire pits and lakes in San Francisco do not look like this.

Rich and the Mountaineers told me that the area and trails are usually not this clean. They still came away with a bag full of garbage

The trip was great, but what I enjoyed most of the passion Rich and the mountaineers had for the environment around them and for hiking. They scoured the lake areas and trails, picking up bits of paper, tape, plastic and foil among other things. They gave us time to stop and appreciate the waterfalls we came across and the views of the tree-coved mountain peaks around us.

We watched as Rich scooped up a baby bird that had fallen out if its nest, putting it in foliage around the trail so it wouldn't get stepped on.

Lin's voice was filled with excitement when he found a nice bear bag (a bag hung up on a tree, used to keep food away from bears) that someone had left behind. Since he already owned one, he courteously left it there in case someone else who needed one came along. Then Rich's eyes lit up when Stef found a metal peg in the shrubbery (not sure what it was for, but apparently it was something very cool and useful).

And all of them couldn't seem to stop smiling.

It was a great inspiration for me. Even though San Francisco is trying to become a zero-waste city, I have many friends and family who often discourage me from worrying about environmental issues. There is a big “What’s the point?” attitude among them.

At the end of the trip, we found out that Lin takes a group hiking every Wednesday evening. These hikes are much shorter and the group consists of expert hikers and novices alike he assured me.

Looks like I’ll be buying my first pair of hiking boots soon. And some more Bengay cream. Lots of it.

Mark: 4th of July at the newsroom...

2007-07-06T02:12:00.000-07:00

I felt lucky on the 4th of July to copy edit the Nathan's Famous hot dog eating championship story.
I don't really know why, but I've become pretty fascinated with the Japanese champ Kobayashi and this whole competitive eating culture. I also have a glow of pride because Joey Chestnut, the new hot dog champ, is from San Jose, my hometown.
My headline for the story: "U.S. champ eats 66 hot dogs in glutton gantlet"
I think that headline got changed, though.
Don't get me wrong. This whole competitive eating craze is disgusting, unhealthy and unnatural. But for those very reasons, the juvenile side of me is intrigued.
Few would deny that it's stupid, but there's a hint of human purity in the quest to achieve something despite bodily harm or common sensibility... even if that quest is shoveling wieners down your stomach.
I think it's the same reason why Evel Knievel had such a following even though he was performing motorcycle stunts that usually pulverized his body.
Fun fact: Evel Knievel supposedly is the only person who has broken every bone in his body. From his record of painful crashes, I don't doubt it.
But with pro competitive eaters, I'm curious what their real motives are for gorging themselves beyond any possibility for pleasure.
I doubt it's money. On Wednesday, Chestnut won a paltry $10,000 for devouring 66 hot dogs in 12 minutes. Unless he's getting massive sponsors or commercial deals, then I doubt he sees much financial gain.
Maybe competitive eaters do it just for the fame. But what kind of fame could one expect from chowing on hot dogs?
Whatever the reasons for why they pursue it, this whole hot dog craze reminded me of an awesome cartoon from SNL that was conveniently posted on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNeuNjoQO08

Funny stuff!

Spokane: where the roads are lined with flowers

2007-07-03T13:03:00.000-07:00

The ride to and from work along the Centennial Trail has become the best work commute I have ever had in my life.

Unlike most of my fellow interns, I work in the evenings and I usually start riding home on my rusty, old bike around midnight. At that time, typically no one is out on the trail.

I got off work a little later than usual last night, and when I started riding through River Front Park, I discovered flowers were scattered all over the path.

At first I thought the flowers were bouquets in tribute to someone who died — maybe Jimmy Marks or one of the recent river drownings.

But actually, they were new flower plants from the concrete planter boxes. Likely for no reason at all, a person had uprooted almost all of the planter-box flowers and discarded them across the ground. I counted about 40 Petunia plants that had been freshly ripped out.

I wish I had a camera at the time to photograph this senseless destruction. I talked with a teenage couple sitting nearby and they said they had heard a group of people making a lot of noise earlier.

I rode along the trail, but I didn't see anymore people or flowers on the path.

But when I got home, I was still angry thinking about how some people could be so reckless. I told my housemate about it, and I liked his response:

“The best thing about a public park is it's public,” he said. “And the worst thing about a public park is it's public.”

Jessica: Eating More than My Words

2007-06-03T11:17:00.000-07:00

I grew increasingly concerned at the end of May with the laughter that followed my announcement: I’m moving to Spokane this summer.

“You’re going where?” was the response from some Berkeley elitists who view any city with fewer than seven different ethnic restaurants as uninhabitable.

It’s not my summer internship at The Spokesman-Review that made them scoff. The paper is well regarded in journalism schools for its regional coverage, including the one I attend, University of California-Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. What spurred the chuckles was the notion these Northern California die-hards carried about Spokane, described to me as something between a Midwest turnpike stop and an industrial-based, Mohawk-sporting town.

I told them that’s part of the reason I chose to come. It’s an area of the country I’ve never encountered. As I reporter I need to learn how to cover town council meetings as eloquently and thoroughly as protests in Kosovo. Plus, it’s beautiful, I added. To further pacify myself, I would spout off one of Spokane’s numerous mottos and reiterate key phrases from the guidebook regarding scenic views from South Hill or trails along the river.

Actually, I gulped. I packed my Vietnamese hot sauce and rice noodles. I threw a library of books into the trunk of my car. I read what I thought would be my last hard copy of The New York Times.

Then I arrived.

I entered Huckleberry’s and found that the prices rival San Francisco’s. The beer selection is greater than in my hometown of Washington, D.C. I walked downtown and discovered a minimalist-style wine bar lodged between classic brick buildings. There was even a skyline.

Beyond the availability of goods--although being an outrageous but broke foodie, I did feel some relief at these discoveries--art and music festivals were taking place the weekend I arrived and posters advertised concerts and events throughout the summer.

The city oozed a character that surprised me. Somewhere between yuppie trendiness and blue collar comfort, Spokane is reinventing itself. But it’s doing so at its own pace. First impressions are often overly generalized, and I hesitate to make such assumptions so quickly. Yet, visitor perceptions can sometimes reveal what longtime residents have ceased to notice.

Most importantly, the people characterize a town, and there’s something to be said about community. A Friday afternoon discussion with two women at an outside café in Browne’s Addition grew into a table of eight and an entire evening, followed by sailing on “the lake” the next day.

I might not be used to smiling at strangers and I will probably crave Indian food at some point during these next two months. Yet, to cast aside Spokane as a bland small town on the way to somewhere else is to miss out on a city worth exploring.

Stef: Rare Display of Courage

2007-05-25T23:59:00.000-07:00

Eugene, Ore. — Some of the top track and field athletes in the nation convened in Eugene, Ore. this weekend to compete in the NCAA West Regionals. Many of these athletes are legends in the making. Some, like Oregon's Rebekah Noble and Galen Rupp, are the names we'll be hearing at the Beijing Olympics next year.

But when I left the track this evening, the image that resonated in my head was not one of Rupp sprinting to the tape, arms raised in triumph, or of Stanford's Theresa McWalters' come from behind win in the Women's 5000m as she passed Brigham Young's Whitney McDonald with about 40 meters to go down the homestretch of the bell lap.

The image that stuck with me was one of Portland's Amie Dahnke, pale cheeks flushed, rail-thin body wavering as she half-jogged and half-stumbled over the finish line, almost two minutes after McWalters' first place finish.

To me, the fact that Dahnke had even finished was a miracle in itself.

With five laps to go in the 25-lap, 5000m race, Dahnke, had already fallen at least a half-lap behind everyone else. She was dead last by more than 100m, and every time she passed the pen where I was standing with all the journalists, it seemed to me as if she was looking wearier and wearier.

At the 4000m mark, I watched as Dahnke — a Spokane native who graduated from University High School in 2004 — fell farther and farther behind the pack, and I couldn't help but feel bad for her. She was running so slowly she seemed to practically shuffle. Her fists were clenched as she ran, and her face was set in a worried grimace. She no longer appeared to be able to run between the lines the delineated the first lane. Instead, she swayed and wavered into Lane 2, and looked as if she didn't even know she was there.

"I bet she's gonna drop out," I remarked to a fellow journalist. He agreed with me.

"She can't even stay between the lines anymore," he said.

We watched as Dahnke approached the far curve closest to the athletes' holding pen, to see if she would just stop running and walk off the track, just as I'd seen a couple of other laggards do in the men's 5,000m race fifteen minutes earlier.

But to my surprise, she kept going. Her steps were small and measured, and each time she passed the spot where I was standing, the pained expression on her face made it evident that she was struggling. But Dahnke kept running.

On the bell lap, McDonald and McWalters easily lapped Dahnke, and so did the rest of the pack.

My heart went out to Dahnke as she crossed the finish line where the other athletes stood around panting in exhaustion after having finished the race. And I thought she'd just stop and throw in the towel right there.

But once again, Dahnke kept going.

She shuffled past all the bent over atheletes. And it became evident that she was determined to complete the last lap even if it killed her.

I didn't see her come in because I'd turned my attention to the times being announced over the PA. But I did notice that she'd eventually clocked in at 17:52.78. To put that in context, McWalters finished the race in 16:04.92.

Upon to that point, my interest in Dahnke extended only as far as a mere fleeting respect for her tenacity in finishing that race. The magnitude of her courage didn't quite hit me until after I'd left Hayward Field and was walking past the athletes' cool-down fields to get home.

As I walked through the gate separating both fields, I caught sight of a tall, lanky figure decked in Portland's purple-and-white uniform, standing at one corner of the cool down fields crying.

Dahnke was sobbing. She was just standing there, holding her hands to her face and crying in a gut-wrenching manner that conveyed every ounce of the exhaustion and disappointment that I imagined she must have been feeling. One of her teammates came over and hugged her. And as I stood there watching Dahnke cry into that other girl's shoulder, I was suddenly struck by a much deeper respect for her.

As a sportswriter, my gut instinct is to always look out for the winner because I'm trained to believe that that's what matters Get the quote from the guy who wins because he's the one people want to read about in the paper tomorrow.

But at that moment it hit me that it must have been infinitely harder for Amie Dahnke to finish that race — to continue on that final lap knowing that everyone else was already done — than it had been for Galen Rupp to cruise to the tape triumphant.

Dahnke had staggered in so far behind the rest of the field that her result had already ceased to matter. She didn't have to finish that race. But she did anyway, regardless of the fact that she looked dangerously close to passing out throughout the last two laps.

She finished even though it took her just about everything she had.

And that to me is the stuff that real champions are made off.

When I got home, I Googled her and realized that her post-race breakdown probably resulted from acute disappointment. A month ago, Dahnke had run that very same race in 16:51.55.

My greatest regret is that I didn't stop to talk to her this afternoon. I just kept on going. Because as I stood there watching her collapse in disappointment, I decided that I didn't need that story. Not then. Women's track is not my beat, and Dahnke is not a Duck, so there was no reason to put her in our paper anyway. I decided that after that draining race she'd earned her right to some sort of privacy.

But I was touched by her courage nonetheless.

Stef: AWSM Day 3

2007-05-22T18:55:00.000-07:00

Originally written, Sunday, May 20, 2007

Growing up, when I told my mother that I wanted to write sports for a living one day, she looked at me skeptically and said that's great honey, but you're going to be working in a man's world.

On some level I've always known that. But in my career thus far, I've been fortunate enough to have worked with men who've been nothing supportive of me, regardless of my gender.

So it was definitely an eye-opener to hear the stories told by some of the pioneering women in the field whom I met over the course of this weekend.

When Margaret Koy Kistler first started writing sports for a Texas daily newspaper in the 1940s, she had to wait on the verdict of a local school board meeting that would decide whether or not she would be allowed into the locker room of the local high school team.

Other women talked about taking flak from players, who spoke disrespectfully to them because of their gender, and still others talked about their struggle to prove themselves in a male-dominated field, and how disheartening it was to never see another woman's byline in the sports section of the paper.

This weekend made me count my blessings. It made me realize that I owe the ease through which I am advancing in my chosen field to so many women who've paved the way for me. To borrow a cycling metaphor, I'm riding on the back wheel of these women who've been pulling for my generation for so many years.

Listening to their stories inspired me and made me grateful for everything they've done to advance women in this business. It serves as motivation because now the way I see it, regardless of the challenges to come in my career, nothing is really insurmountable, and I'm not going to face anything that other women haven't faced and overcome before. I can walk right into a locker room or press box without having to worry about petitioning to the school board. And I owe it all to my predecessors.

So it was an amazing experience to meet people like Christine Brennan — whose columns I've read and enjoyed for years — Margaret Koy Kistler, Jody Conradt, Kristin Huckshorn and Julie Ward, and to realize that obstacles aside, they found a way to succeed in this business.

Stef: AWSM Day 2

2007-05-22T18:15:00.000-07:00

Originally written, Saturday, May 19, 2007

Today I met Michelle Kaufman, who has my dream job. Michelle is the Olympics and tennis beat writer for the Miami Herald. She hosted a panel with Darryl Seibel, the Chief Communications Officer for the US Olympic Committee and they talked about balancing the needs of media with the needs of public relations professional and the athletes and coaches whom they serve.

That was interesting in itself, because it was nice to find out that there are media relations people on this planet who are committed to helping journalists do their job — as opposed to those who function more as the athletes' bodyguard, which ends up impeding communication instead of enhancing it.

One of the things I've always wrestled with in my dealings with the media thus far is the question of when it's okay to go around the PR guy, and whether this will impact future relations between the journalist and said PR guy. So it was good to hear Seibel speak up for journalists and admit that there are situations where the journalist is justified in trying to find a way around the PR people.

Michelle Kaufman then regaled us with tales of the Olympics and talked about finding that one story that sets you apart from all the rest of the drabble that's coming through on the wires and from every one of the other 6 million journalists around.

Her advice: You can't cover the ENTIRE Olympic games on your own, so don't even bother to try. Instead, pick an event for the day and stick with it. You don't want to go hammer away at the big storylines that the AP writers are obligated to pick up, you want to milk the human interest angle and find that diamond in the rough — the offbeat story about the Cuban athletes packing shopping carts full of electronics at an appliance store in Greece and shipping all that stuff back to relatives in Cuba because they can't shop like that back home, or the story about the lone Ethiopian cross country skiier who finished dead last but with his sense of pride intact.

All that resonated with me because I've always figured that sportswriting isn't about the stats and numbers, it's about stories about people. And the best way to do that is to fly under the radar and keep your eyes open , right?

Stef: AWSM Day 1

2007-05-22T11:01:00.000-07:00

Originally written, Friday, May 18, 2007 (also published in The Oregon Daily Emerald, Tuesday, May 22, 2007)

Until very recently, I'd always scoffed at the legitimacy of NASCAR - a sport that I'd long associated with beer-gulping, pot-bellied hicks waving the Confederate flag, and drivers who drove stock cars because they'd probably never be able to cut it in the European-dominated world of F1 racing, the real motorsport.

As of this moment, I hereby rescind all snide comments.

I spent the weekend in Dallas at the Association for Women in Sports Media's (AWSM) 2007 National Convention.

One of the planned activities was a ride in a specially outfitted stock car: four laps around the Texas Motor Speedway at 160 mph.

My roommate for the convention - a bona fide NASCAR fan from Philadelphia who could match driver to car by numbers alone (apparently Dale Earnhardt Jr. drives the No. 8 Budweiser-sponsored car, and Casey Mears drives the No. 25 National Guard-sponsored car) could hardly contain her excitement. I simply shrugged and said whatever, it'd be a fun little roller coaster, but nothing more awe-inducing than a romp on the Indiana Jones Adventure Ride at Disneyland.

I take that back.

We got to the track and everyone donned firesuits and helmets. I sauntered up the the replica No. 11 FedEx car (usually piloted by Denny Hamlin, who is currently fourth in the standings, my roommate chirped. OK, someone's a little obsessed.)

With my broken left collarbone, it took some effort before I finally managed to crawl through the open window on the front passenger side of the car. I got into my bucket seat and strapped in.

At this point, the experience conjured up visions of astronauts and space shuttles. My body and the bucket seat molded together. This, I thought, must be what it feels like to strap into a seat preparing to blast into space.

The driver climbed in through the window on the driver's side, pulled on his helmet and grinned at me, "You done this before?"

"Uh uh," I shook my head, cheeks squished by the helmet.

"Well, hang on."

Nonchalance aside, I got really excited when all 10 cars revved their engines together.

Then we were off. My driver slid us into third place behind the first two cars, and as we rounded the first curve, it seemed to me that we were veering so close to the side wall that if I'd stuck my hand out the open window, I could have touched it.

But that was not an option because we were already roaring along at 140mph.

The drivers put on a good show, darting from side to side, and every time another car came within a few feet of ours, I cringed and thought we were going to crash.

We quickly maxed out at 160mph, and being the speed demon that I am, I felt myself grinning like an idiot as we whizzed along so fast that I was pinned back in my bucket seat.

I soon lost track of how many laps we'd done. So I blinked in disbelief when my driver took both hands off the wheel to pull his helmet off his head while maintaining the ridiculous speed we were going at.

"Dude, I don't want to die!" I wanted to say when he wedged his knee under the steering wheel and steered like that as he reached up to clip the helmet to a hook in the ceiling.

Just as I was about to grab the wheel and steer for myself, I saw the end in sight, and we came cruising to a halt.

As I clambered out of the car, I'd gained a newfound respect for all NASCAR drivers. Jostling for position and weaving between cars at 160 mph takes a whole lot more skill and quick reflexes than I ever imagined. And anyone who can make those bulky looking machines dart around like Reggie Bush going through a pack of defenders is a champ in my book.

Stef: AWSM Convention 2007

2007-05-22T10:57:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, I attended the Association for Women in Sports Media (AWSM's) 2007 Convention in Dallas. In return for some sponsor money, I agreed to blog about the event for the Spokesman, but because I couldn't get on the Internet all weekend at the Hotel, I ended up journalling my thoughts with pen-and-paper instead, and will post all those entries on this blog today.

I had an amazing time and learned a lot from some really inspiring women.

Stef

Thuy: Come on, everybody, what are you up to?

2006-12-21T20:35:00.000-08:00

For the holidays, we're reminded that as a newsroom we are - first and foremost - a family.

When you spend so much time with people in such a close setting, often in a crisis setting, it's hard not to think of them as family. Forty hours a week and everybody becomes roommates. I could just as well introduce everyone to non-news-junkies as "Hi So-and-so, I'd like you to meet my roommate, [common name], one of five people on our floor with that name, but he's the one who [something memorable]."

And for the holidays we wish each other a happy holiday season. We bring holiday food to share, stop at each other's cubicles to talk about holiday plans and take a little extra time to be personal even though many of us are wrapping up everything in order to leave for vacation.

This week has been one of newsroom Christmas letters, cookie exchange, holiday coverage, Christmas Fund, collective chocolate frenzy, and yesterday a reporter brought her baby who fell asleep in the arms of a senior reporter... take note, the baby everybody in the newsroom was anticipating when said reporter was supposedly overdue. We get excited for everybody's happinesses and celebrate one another's successes.

Then today our biz columnist brought baklava - a holiday tradition at his house. (Baklava! The flakiness was perfect. I lifted the top layer of pastry off the top and set it to the side to eat last. I nibbled the nutty part sideways. The honey syrup was slightly tart. The last bite was scrumptious. How do you eat baklava? Holy cow)

Today was a day of complimenting his family on their baklava. We had huddle conversations about Harry Potter theories (who's going to die next?), in addition to talking about our children and making plans to sneak out and go Christmas shopping during lunch break.

We're making memories and making traditions, marking the rhythm of life and the passing of time.

Time may pass quickly in a newsroom but it doesn't make quality time any more fleeting.

Thuy: More eschaton

2006-12-19T21:21:00.000-08:00

Living in a newsroom is a fabulous twisted combination of living the eschaton, the fast shooter adrenaline rush crazy lifestyle experienced in weird compressed binges.

For crazy days and crazy weeks, there's a flurry of phone calls and deadlines, troubleshooting for design, crunching everything at the last moment to make sure it's perfect, and finally letting the paper go for the night. The Web presence is somewhat forgiving, but print is not. Daniel Henniger from the Wall Street Journal gave it a great descriptor: "...what good newspapering does, is take the chaos that is the Information Highway and submit it to an organizing intelligence - first the reporters and after them a series of editors and copy editors who have the skills, in a few hours, to make that chaos coherent." ("Why We Do It: A Need to Know, A Need to Tell")

Then we get to experience the exhale. We pick up the paper the next morning or on the weekly release day, to experience a soft and intimate slowdown. Procrastinating feels good though highly discouraged.

I have a fairy newsmother who told me we have a very intimate relationship with the reader. As a newsroom, we are welcomed and carried every day into people's homes to sit down in front of them for their reading pleasure. We share a private moment of their day, perhaps as they cozy up in front of the fireplace with an animal or as they experience the slow waking process on a lazy Sunday morning. We try to help readers make informed decisions, relay stories about their community and, if we're lucky, reassure them that there is good in the world.

Let me tell you a story - one about the world that you live in.

We're meditating on a grand scale - Eschaton and then decompression over and over again. As an S-R news junkie, or at least a college reporter and editor, to experience both worlds and contribute to making a difference in my community gives the most amazing rush.

It's almost like a religion.

Off to bed, and tomorrow another day of surprises downtown.

Thuy: The News business and the Eschaton

2006-12-14T09:41:00.000-08:00

Our newsroom is morphing fast. In fact, there's been a steady stream of change to life in the newsroom and especially to the Web team - people shifted around, people with new sets of responsibilities, our holiday season with the seasonal personnel that it entails, growth in Web and media, the new Vox. As a newsroom we're coming to terms with of revolutionary new media and what it has taken out of print - but we're also able to recognize what the print medium does best.

I have to admit that I'm freaked out but also excited for these changes. It opens up a slew of new opportunities for professional development. It's our standing on the edge, waiting for the world to come over the hill, waiting in the mind of God, waiting for the eschaton.

Thuy: Dealing with death in the newsroom

2006-11-02T14:53:00.000-08:00

Laura Crooks, one of our features editors, passed away this weekend from what started off as a household accident. She leaves behind her husband Gary Crooks (from editorial board, Smart Bombs columnist) her son C, age 9, and her daughter C, age 6.

The newsroom has been in a slump this week. Most of the newsroom went out this afternoon to attend a memorial service. We celebrated Laura's life by gathering, something she was immensely good at doing - and storytelling, also something she was immensely good at doing.

We heard stories from Laura's brother who talked about her childhood, coworkers from both her life in AZ and at the Review who remember how she balanced being a working mom while not losing sight of the important stuff. Then from neighborhood friends on her block who remember waiting for their children together at the bus stop or breaking bread together... all after we'd been seeing photos of her life. You'd think that 37 years is too early to die, but it's as if Laura knew ahead of time, filling her life with the quality and purpose that might fill the life of someone much older. She lived well and served others well.

It was difficult knowing she was lying in that big wooden box up front. It was a closed-casket service. I heard one of her children cry.

By the end of the service, by some appropriate wave of God's hand, it started to snow. They wheeled her out through the foyer and out the door on the first snow day of the season.

It's hard to ask what good will come out of someone's death, but something I have been seeing is the sense of community. It was a huge hypothetical huddle around the Crooks family. It won't just be in taking shifts to bring food and take care of the kids, but all the love and prayers and support.

Now I want to run up to everyone, hug them and say "I LOVE YOU AND HOPE YOU LIVE TO BE 100" I want to Post-it palooza everyone's cubicles with hopes and dreams and love.

We love you Laura.

Jared: Bellingham thoughts

2006-09-29T17:01:00.000-07:00

Well I'm here in Bellingham, and let me tell you, it's a completely different world from Spokane. My apartment is in a historic house that was recently converted from a bed and breakfast to apartments. The kitchen and all of the large common areas are shared. It's very communal.

I went to a nearby grocery store, a community food co-op, to get some lunch. The place was full of dreadlocks. A massive elaborate bike rack waited out front in which you hung your bike from it's back tire. If I ride down there, I'm just going to chain it to a tree (without harming the tree, of course). Solar panels stood on the roof. My first thought: Maybe in some parts of South Hill or Peaceful Valley, but it wouldn't be anywhere else in Spokane.

The people in my building are also very varied. A woman who nobody sees lives down the hall. The rest are college students. A woman with dyed, spiked up hair that's shaved in the back and who stressed how much she loves strip clubs. As I put away dishes in the shared kitchen, I chatted with one student, who more or less acts as the onsite manager. "Mike seems like a nice guy," I said, referring to the building owner, whom I'd just met an hour before. He responded, "Yeah, except he's a capitalist." I gave a strange laugh and was quiet for a minute. "But I guess we're all capitalists," he added.

The town is beautiful, and this is the first time I've lived next to the ocean, which I've wanted to do. I start work on Monday as a growth and development reporter at The Bellingham Herald. I'm really excited to get started there, and to get even more lost on assignment in Bellingham's strange streets than I did in Spokane's North Side.

This will probably be my last post. I'll never forget the amazing summer I had in Spokane. I left with warm memories of the people I worked beside, those I met on assignment and the friends I made outside of work.

Jared: moving to Bellingham, crashing cars and THE DUCKS ROCK!

2006-09-18T16:51:00.000-07:00

And then there were only two.
Shadra and I are the only two interns left, of those who posted on this blog. I have accepted a job at The Bellingham Herald as a growth and development reporter. After a very frustrating few days, I think I may have found a good apartment situation (I found one apartment that's $475 a month for a 135-square-foot room (not including bathroom). It has its own bathroom; I won't make the same mistake twice. It's in a home that was built in 1887 and is on the National Register of Historic Places. It sits on a hill above downtown. It was a bed and breakfast until just recently. Five minutes ago I faxed my application over, and I'm now crossing my fingers.

I will really miss the people I got to know here at The Spokesman-Review, and a walk back from the county courthouse about 20 minutes ago over the Monroe Street Bridge reminded me how much I'll miss downtown Spokane, which I think is rather beautiful.

Before I left, I'm glad I got to cover one thing: demolition derby. At the fairgrounds Sunday, demolition derby drivers and thousands of fans went to action, smashing large cars into each other. They kicked up mud and dirt clods, spewed steam from their radiators, one caught fire slighly and tore their tires off by smashing into each other. It was kinda cool.

People seemed glad I was there, as, I've noticed, have most groups that you go to write weekend features on. It was the same with the trapshooting folks. They practice specialized sports/activities that rightfully don't make it into a general newspaper every day. But they are passionate. Reporters tend to get warm receptions when they do come by to cover big events, and almost always they get invited back.

Anyway, my last day isn't until Sept. 26, so I'll post again.

Oh yeah, and GO DUCKS! I don't care if that onside-kick call was bad, we still blocked the field goal attempt at the end, and that's not easy to do.

Sasha Davis: Final Stretch

2006-09-12T10:01:00.000-07:00

My mom told me that as you get older time goes by much faster. I am finding this to be incredibly true. I remember in elementary school summer break seemed to last forever. Endless days running around the neighborhood with my friends, those three months felt like a whole school year. In high school I couldn’t wait for school to get back into session during the final days of summer. Hours of pushing shopping carts in 90 degree weather made summer feel like an eternity. Now that I am approaching the end of my final summer before I graduate and no longer have to go back to school, I’m not ready for it to end.
I started my internship at the Spokesman-Review eleven weeks ago, yet I feel like I just got here. Time flew by. The other day, I was looking for decorative tapestries when I realized that I’m moving out in 2 weeks and I still haven’t decorated my apartment, or (shamefully) totally unpacked. The painting I begun 9 weeks ago is still not completed. I told myself I was going to paint all the time this summer. I still want to explore Manito Park, and finish J.D. Salinger’s Nine Stories. Summer can’t be over yet, I still haven’t done everything I wanted to do.
Oh well. Sometimes items on my agenda get moved aside for things I could have never thought to put on a list. I never thought I would find such great friends here in Spokane. The other interns have made my experience so much fun. I guess hours of painting were replaced with hours of swimming in Lake Coeur d’Alene, and cold refreshments at Far West. Last weekend, at Lake Pend Oreille, I went sailing via canoe towed by a sailboat. It was like a Disneyland ride. Now who puts something like that on their to-do list.
Work at the Spokesman-Review did not seem like work at all. I still am in awe that I got paid to do video and meet awesome people. I learned so much about print and video media allowing my growth only to accelerate during my final production classes. I learned that I am on the right career track, because when I wake up in the morning, dread is not an emotion that I feel. I’m going to miss this place.
My tip for future interns is to take advantage of your time here. There is so much to learn both in and out of the newsroom. You will find that a lot of the time, work and enjoyment go hand in hand. I got to see so many beautiful places and meet amazing people during assignments. Explore the area and get to know the town. You are at an advantage, because knowing the community is part of your job working at a newspaper. Don’t worry too much about your summer to-do list and just go with the flow. Oh yeah, and definitely go canoe-sailing on Pend Oreille.

Parker: (Not) Seeing the Light

2006-09-11T10:42:00.000-07:00

It's often a difficult task for reporters to truly understand what their sources are experiencing. Such is the case with my stories about Rod Christensen, a 60-year-old Spokane man who has been blind since birth. Christensen lost his guide dog, Justice, July 11 when the dog was killed by a dump truck in North Spokane. I covered the memorial service for Justice - a touching ceremony attended by many of his friends, some of them guide dog owners as well.

On Friday, I did a follow-up article, checking in with Christensen to see how he's adjusting two months after Justice's death. After 20 years of being guided by a guide dog, Christensen now uses a cane because he doesn't want to endanger another dog.

Navigating by cane is much more difficult. I know not only because of what Christensen and his friends at the Lilac Blind Foundation told me, but because some of them encouraged me to step into their shoes for a brief moment Friday by putting on vision-obscuring goggles and trying to navigate using both methods.

Kelly Croft, a rehabilitation teacher for the foundation, first led me into a small closet inside the foundation's building to pick out a white cane. She pulled several green-handled canes from a rack on the wall, holding them next to me to find one long enough. She then showed me a variety of goggles emulating vision disorders, such as glaucoma.

Wearing goggles that made me legally blind, I could see light and colors but only vague shapes as I picked up my cane. With Croft at my side, I navigated via cane through the building and across West Boone Avenue. I was surprised several times when my cane jammed into an unexpected crack, and overhanging branches worried me even though they didn't hit me.

Next, I donned "sleeper shades" that made my world totally black -- much like Christensen's experience. Croft borrowed a guide dog harness from one of Christensen's friends and led me as if she was a guide dog. She walked quickly, and it was difficult to trust her not to run me into any obstacles. When we reached the intersection, Croft told me to listen to traffic and tell her when it was safe to cross. It was not a harrowing experience, but it was certainly uncomfortable.

Walking the busy streets of Spokane as a blind man, even if just for a few minutes, illustrated why a person might choose a dog rather than a cane. It also demonstrated the total state of trust that must exist between a blind person and his or her dog. Christensen and Justice had that trust, and their relationship far surpassed that of a typical human-animal bond. I was grateful to gain greater understanding by walking a little in his shoes.

Jared: Getting quieter in intern-ville

2006-09-08T15:07:00.000-07:00

The ranks of our interns are thinning in the newsroom nowadays. As the summer comes to a close they're either accepting jobs at other newspapers or returning to school. We have only Sasha, Shadra, Sam, Parker and myself left of the crew that posted on this blog. It's a bummer.

I have applied for a reporter position at The Bellingham Herald, covering growth and development, a beat that really interests me. I just returned last night from three days there, one of which was devoted to meeting people, touring the town and interviewing.

There's a chance I won't be here much longer myself.

Jared: Nice to get a real-person source

2006-08-31T14:56:00.001-07:00

Often, while doing small business features or any story in which you interview people at businesses, you get people acting like you're there to put their advertisement in the paper. Canned slogans. Answers that aren't genuine, and are especially uninteresting. People that won't break through that false exterior to be a real person.

Recently I interviewed the opposite. He was a small business owner who owned a home design studio with five employees. His is a fledgling business, so he could have tried to use me for free advertising. Instead, he looked me in the eye, gave me very honest answers. He wouldn't detail every aspect of his business (those that give his competitors an advantage) and I respected that, because I felt he was approaching me as a real person, and I tried to do that with him.

The interview was so interesting it went on for more than two hours, without break. I kept asking questions, interested in how the industry worked and how his business fit into it.

His interview was very refreshing.

Somer: end of the internship

2006-08-29T10:54:00.000-07:00

Before I started my internship at the Spokesman I dropped off a cover letter and a few clips to the Moscow-Pullman Daily News in Moscow, ID. Thinking ahead for after the internship I was skimming journalismjobs.com and kept in touch with Moscow. A few weeks before my sports internship ended I accepted a position with the Daily News covering high school sports. My first day was yesterday and I feel completely overwhelmed. I started just three days after my internship ended and I'm jumping right into the heart of the high school sports season. Right now I'm working on previews, covering soccer games, taking calls at night and preparing for my first Friday football game this week.
I shadowed my new sports editor covering a high school game to see how he records stats, but I can't help but feel completely terrified of this new experience. I understand the game, but I've never had to keep my own football stats. It made my summer with the Spokane Indians baseball team seem like a piece of cake. But the only way I'm going to learn is to just do it. The Daily News is a p.m. paper which prints a weekend edition on Friday night. So I'll be on deadline, but thanks to my internship with the Spokesman, it shouldn't be too bad.
I feel very fortunate to have landed a job so quickly after graduating college. While I'll be working crazy hours because we're only a three-man(woman) sports staff, I know it will end up being a good experience for me.

Jared: Put yourself in your source's shoes

2006-08-23T15:26:00.000-07:00

While on assignment covering a large motorcycle rally in the tiny town of Rosalia, about 45 minutes south of Spokane on Highway 95, I realized how important it is to put yourself in your source's shoes. After I arrived at the rally, I did a walk through to see where everything was. Then, before the action started for the weekend, I thought it'd be good to track down some key sources so I could find them later for their thoughts. I looked for the Whitman County Sheriff, in case any incidents broke out. I looked for the event organizer, so I could later get his thoughts and a ticket sales estimate.

When I found him, he was less than cordial. First he told me he didn't want to do any interviews and then he asked if I had a VIP pass (rhetorical questions) and because I didn't, he threw me out of the VIP area. I suspected that he was angry about the previous coverage I'd done of the festival, specifically a story I wrote in which some town residents were upset because they would have to wear a pass to enter the town during the rally and their company for the weekend would have to pay $20 for a day or $40 for the weekend just to enter the city, regardless of whether they were interesting in the rally.

After he kicked me out, I was mad. I called my editor, who rightly suggested that I include a 'no-comment' paragraph in my story. I forgot about it and went about meeting interesting folks for the feature. Later, as I was leaving, I walked by that organizer, who sitting in a golf cart. He asked me if I was having fun. I told him yes, and walked by. Then, I stopped and realized that I should at least try to ask him again if he would interview. This time, he did. Because he kept telling me that he was really busy ealier, I think be felt bad about his earlier behavior. I didn't have to put the "no comment" in the article.

The next weekday, I called him to do a followup on the rally, and he apologized for being so rude. He told me that he would have the ticket sales numbers after 5 p.m. and I should call him then. I waited and called. It went straight to voicemail. I waited until about 7 p.m. and tried again. It went straight to voicemail. Whether his phone died or he turned it off to avoid talking to me, I don't know, but I had no choice but to put in there I couldn't reach him.

I don't know whether this source likes me or hates me, and I don't care. But I felt like I was able to treat him a little more fairly by approaching him again, when he wasn't in a mad scramble to keep the rally rolling along. It was a lesson in how putting yourself in your source's shoes can lead to understanding. That doesn't mean making excuses for people who treat you horribly or who don't want to release information to the public. It means being human, and realizing that the people you talk to are too.

Parker: When you wish you were a bigger sports fan

2006-08-18T15:02:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I received the fun assignment to cover the 85-man Seattle Seahawks team catching a football movie at River Park Square. I literally ran over to the theater in time to be part of the tail end of the team's entourage as it headed up the escalators. Surprised mall patrons stood open-mouthed all around us, jabbering on their cell phones and taking pictures. Heading over to the event, however, I realized that I can't recognize but a few key players from the Seahawks. That indeed proved to be a challenge.

Football players tend to look similar to the untrained eye. And while I'm a big Oregon football fan, I haven't followed the Seahawks closely. Thus I had to ask players for their names, positions and numbers. I wasn't able to find any big-name stars for the article (This worked out because sports interviewed Matt Hasselbeck for its version of the story).

After the event, photographer Dan Pelle told me he had a similar experience at the event. While it was an exciting and unusual assignment, it would have been beneficial to have the knowledge of a sports reporter who knows every player by face and by name.

That's all for now. I'm off to cover a koi show at Riverfront Park.

Get your own bathroom; dealing with sources who hate your paper

2006-08-14T11:23:00.000-07:00

Note: If you're a student ready to take an internship is another city, pay attention to this.

Get your own bathroom.

That's one of my biggest pieces of advice for you incoming interns. These people who live on my floor and with whom I'm sharing a bathroom are disgusting. If it's not puke that's left in the middle of the floor or muddy water on the floor, it's stealing my soap and using my shampoo. Or its knocking a clock I got when I was a litle kid with my own money at Wildlife Safari and leaving it sitting in water next to the tub. Or it's the pile of what looks like molding crap under the freestanding tub.

Whatever you do, get your own bathroom. Living downtown has been wonderful, and my place is very cheap, allowing me to start saving money to pay back the student loans (or at least pay off the $70 in parking tickets the University of Oregon finally asked me to collect on.) But, if you can, get your own bathroom. You'll thank me.

Now for something different.

One thing that has struck me as a reporter here in Spokane is how even though I'm new to the paper, I become the target of people pre-existing feelings about the paper. Sometimes, it's good, and they welcome you because the've had good experiences with the paper. Othertimes, you incur the anger and bias people have toward it.

It may not be fair, but that's the way it works.

Dealing with it isn't hard though. For sources that may have talked to the paper before (those you contact when doing stories about annual events, or those who represent organizations especially) read back stories that have been written about them. And if you can, talk to the reporter to ask how they are ahead of time. If they hate the paper, you might be able to get more information from them by pointing out at the beginning of the interview that you're new to town. Then, hopefully, they'll realize it isn't fair to treat you like dirt because of where you work.

Sometimes it helps just to ask them about their relationship with the paper, especially if you can tell they don't like you. You don't have to say anything. Just ask questions about how they feel and past experiences. They may be wrong, but your job isn't to debate about whether

Sasha Davis: Ethics and Gifts

2006-08-09T13:16:00.000-07:00

Going on assignment can bring many opportunities for free items. Recently, I have been doing video for various news stories, and while I’m out on interviews it seems like someone is always offering something.
Last week, I went to Silverwood Theme Park to get some video for reporter Jared Paben’s story on the park’s economical impact. After our guided tour by the director of marketing, we were offered free t-shirts and rides. Although she was insistent, we politely declined and explained our policy. In Cheney, a local tavern owner I was interviewing offered to buy lunch. I think he felt a little insulted that I declined, but I explained the situation. It is important to have these policies to keep news free of outside influence. The Spokesman Review’s code of ethics states, “Gifts of significant value, meals, cars or use of cars, liquor, beer, wine, tickets and lodging will not be accepted or solicited, unless they are for review purposes.”
Yesterday, I was interviewing a 69-year-old Australian man. As he entered the room with great excitement, he handed me a little koala bear toy. I set it down on the table hoping to “forget” it after the interview was over. After hearing his inspirational story containing medical problems and finding purpose and hope in a rescued dog, I walked to my car empty handed. However, as the car started, the man ran out and knocked on my window saying, “You can’t forget your bear lass.” I took the bear and thanked him. It would have been uncomfortable to say no.
The Spokesman’s ethics code also states, “Gifts of insignificant value- Key chains, calendars, small food items, pens- may be kept if it is awkward to return them.” I think this situation fits this category. If you are not sure what the difference between a significant and insignificant gift is, just ask your editor. It seems pretty clear, but it is always better to ask if you are unsure.

Shefali: International News in a Local Paper

2006-08-08T16:54:00.000-07:00

It's a double edge sword. When a paper like the Spokesman Review puts international news on their front page-there's one of two reactions: either we are applauded for keeping international news (like the War in Iraq or the Lebanon Conflict) on the front page-open and out there. Or we are criticized for printing hard reminders about the war and not enough local coverage.

I was talking to a housemate of mine who said he read the paper and was tired of seeing stories about the War in Iraq and stories on the Lebanon Conflict. But it was frustrating because what he meant by 'reading the paper' was that he read all of the A-section. That's about it. It was hard to argue with him because we were speaking two different languages. Part of the problem with journalism I see these days (and I’m no expert) is that reporters tend to assume that our readers are a certain type of reader--when they aren't.

Perhaps we assume readers read the entire paper-we cater to the audience that sits in the metro car or at the breakfast table with the paper wide open scanning anything and everything. We aim to please in the newspaper industry and I don't see that as a problem--it's when we are so detached from our 'customers' that I get a bit scared. Are we trying to put out a paper that suite us...or them? We assume that people know to look in the B-Section for local news. We assume they know to read the whole story to get the whole story--but do our readers know what an inverted pyramid is?

I told my housemate this dilemma. I told him that the Spokesman never claims that it's a source for international news--but we print what we feel is significant. I got to tip my hat to the newspaper I interned at for nearly 10 weeks. The Spokesman knows that it's a watchdog tool for the community but what good is a watchdog if it doesn't know who it's watching. This newspaper certainly takes it's time to get to know readers and listens to them--it's a hard thing to do. Not everyone has nice things to say about the paper. But my hope is that those who critique the paper still respect us as a publication for listening.

Sarah Slavick: Israel and Lebanon

2006-08-06T20:20:00.000-07:00

I'm excited to announce that an Israel-Lebanon page (potentially) will be published in the Aug. 20 issue of The Spokesman-Review.
I'm trying my best to condense information on hundreds of years of conflict in an effort to promote an understanding of issues that, though they're thousands of miles away, affect us today - and will affect us for a long time to come.
I'd like more people to feel that their newspaper is a form of civil service, which aims to make them informed citizens. I hope that the page on Israel and Lebanon will aid in that service.
Intern tip for the entry: When you're interviewing or writing a cover-letter for an internship, talk about why you're passionate about the field, not just what you're good at.

Shefali: Internship Cake

2006-08-04T17:08:00.000-07:00

I have about one week left of my internship here, and I'm not going to lie: there is a temptation to kick back and relax for the last week of your internship. After working on story after story it is exhausting; constantly working under the pressure of a deadline, harsh critique from editors that all have different styles. This isn't an easy job.

Working as a reporter is much more than just reporting. I think I'm picking up on that after my 10 weeks here. Working in the newsroom means we make impressions on people--from our cubicle neighbor to our editor. That is one thing this internship really taught me.

My advice to those interning for the first time, or interested in journalism is this: don't slack in your last few weeks at your internship. Often times that is when everyone is watching you the most; paying the close attention to what you are doing or not doing, how persistent you are with stories and how much initiative you show when your 'to-do' pile runs low.

I'm realizing that as an intern we make lasting impressions with our co-workers and editors-it's important that those impressions are in good form.

Recently, a story I was working on for about 2.5 weeks was lost in our computer system. My editor informed me and I rewrote the whole thing the following day in about 4 hours. It was irritating because I remembered certain sentences I carefully crafted in my first version of the story, but couldn't remember what context they were in. I eventually wrote a whole new story.

(*side note*)The story doesn't change but how we tell it does. So don't worry if you have to rewrite a whole story-in the end it could be better than what you had first written. My editor liked my second version better.

Do what it takes to keep up good morale. No matter what! If you've made a mistake, don't show it. Apologize and then move on. (Remember: Chin Up) If that means dressing up a little sharper to make you feel better, or if it means coming to work a little earlier to get a head start on the day---whatever it is, DO IT, because it can be the icing on the cake (and by cake, I mean your internship).

Parker: College journalist jailed for refusing subpeona

2006-08-02T17:01:00.000-07:00

The latest casualty in the ongoing struggle by journalists to protect their sources, a freelance college-age journalist is in jail tonight following his refusal to turn over videotape of a 2005 G8 protest in San Francisco.

U.S. District Judge William Alsup ruled that Joshua Wolf, 24, will be detained until he hands over the tapes or until the grand jury that is investigating the 2005 protest riot expires in next summer.

This ruling should be alarming to all journalists, but especially student journalists who are not backed by the legal and financial support of news corporations; this isn't the first time authorities have subpoenaed young journalists. Because of such situations, some journalism advocates have called for creation of a national shield law that would protect journalists from being forced to turn their notes, photographs or video over to law enforcement for evidence purposes. The Spokesman-Review's editorial on the subject from this winter is online here.

Another interesting wrinkle is that he has posted some video from the protest on his Web site. Although dark, the footage shows black-clad protestors marching through downtown San Francisco. Ironically, the major destructive act shown on the tape is people dragging newspaper distribution boxes into the street. I guess freedom of the press only applies to media you support.

Alsup makes an interesting but short-sighted point by saying that the event was public and thus Wolf doesn't have a right to control resulting images. However, as journalists point out, turning over information to law enforcement makes journalists seem like an extension of the government. This contradicts journalists' role as a watchdogs who inform citizens about how their representatives are working for them.

Do you support a shield law? Is Alsup correct in stating in his ruling that journalists should be held to the same standards as all citizens, including the president? Let’s get some discussion going about this.

The War in Iraq News Page

2006-08-01T16:10:00.000-07:00

The War in Iraq Sunday news page created by interns Sarah and Carrie generated a lot of discussion and curiosity from our readers. For those who are outside of the Spokesman Review's circulation click here to get a PDF version of their informative news page.

Thank You and Keep Reading!

~The Spokesman Interns~

Jared: Knowing places; providing a sense of place

2006-07-31T13:57:00.000-07:00

I've learned through my internship experiences the importance of knowing places, geographically, I mean. Before I came to Spokane I posted a small tourist map of downtown on my apartment wall and studied it as I brushed my teeth in the morning. Sometimes it made me late for school, but I think it helped me get some idea of where things are. I also studied a map of Grants Pass before I went down there to report last summer.

If you're not familiar with an area, it can be a real challenge to report in a new city, especially on breaking news where 'place' is especially important. It can be really hard to take time to figure out where you're going on a tight deadline.

I would recommend studying maps, but also go to Google Maps and study recent satellite images of areas. Later, they will help you understand where you are.

Some people discount the importance of 'place.'
Don't.
Study the way a place looks, what it borders, how it feels. Learn cardinal and relative directions. These things can all give you an idea of what to expect while on assignment.

When you're on assignment, it's obviously important to talk to the people who know the story, whether they're experts, witnesses, neighbors, etc... But take a minute and take some notes on the 'place,' scribbling details that will help bring it alive for your readers. Much news happens somewhere, not on white memos buried in filing cabinets in a stifling bureaucratic environment. Tell readers what that place is like. Even though you may be new in town, your long-time resident readers probably won't know what every place is like, and if they do, they won't mind the descriptions. It might even help them connect with the story.

In short: Study streets, districts, regions, cardinal directions, etc... And when you get to those areas, show your readers you were there.

Shefali: lend me your iPods and 'angst'...and your pens and your tape recorders...

2006-07-28T17:09:00.000-07:00

Heads-up:
This post is a shameless plug.

The SR is testing the waters of youth. The paper hopes to start a new publication similar to the former OurGen newspaper, geared to high school students. This time around it is to be taken as a serious publication for, created and read by, high school students.

Today at the intern meeting we had the pleasure of meeting the organizer of this newest project, Erin Daniels. The conversations were circled around the idea and goal of making a newspaper suitable for today's youth. We pitched ideas and talked about what kids read today that really impact them. Should the publication be shy for the first few issue, then come at them with some shocking stories?

We also talked about who we would want to write for this publication (it's without name yet). Not just the straight 'A' high school students but a real diverse range of kids. The student in the back of the classroom who says nothing but is glued to his iPod--he'd be great! The girl who wears black nail polish and talks about her 'angst' like it's a separate human being--perfect! Granted, it seems like Erin is also looking at passionate writers and those who possess a creative streak--but the more unique the better. She comes from unique high school newspaper--very off the cusp.

What I am trying to do here is this: if there are any readers out there who are even mildly interested in getting in on this new publication or who would like to contribute please leave a comment! Do you think this newspaper could be successful? It would span across 15-20 high schools from around the area.

What do you think?
Have any suggestions? Contact Erin Daniels: erind@spokesman.com

Thank you!

Sam Taylor: Covering death

2006-07-28T16:17:00.000-07:00

Today I wrote a story on a well-known man in the community who died. I thought this was a good time to throw out some pointers for those who may have never done coverage of such happenings.

These events are difficult for everyone, including the journalist. If you're human, it can be difficult to ask someone to share their personal stories with you about someone who they've lost. It's difficult to sit there and watch as a person breaks down while they try to tell you the story, without perhaps crying yourself, the whole time knowing you're basically an intruder who is being paid to get information from them.

But covering deaths or similar tragedies (perhaps a severe injury, etc.) is important in order to pay tribute to people. Sure, you're doing a job, but you've already got one of the best jobs in the world; you write for a living, and you must share the story of this person with the public.

First, a disclaimer: I am by no means an expert on covering tragedy or death. But I will lay out a background of some issues I have covered so perhaps you have a perspective of why I think the way I do - or why I handle such coverage the way I do.

In about a one-month period I helped to cover the death of a University of Idaho football player who was murdered at his apartment, the deaths of two fraternity brothers who crashed a motorcycle right in front of their house during a drunk-driving incident and another motorcyle death.

I've written features on people who have been in severe car wrecks and lived while their best friend died. I have covered several other tragedies - from a girl killed by a truck while jogging, to a student whose wife (who he met while she was on a foreign exchange program to his small Idaho town) died because of her seatbelt, and she may have been pregnant.

So I've got a background in these types of things. Still, I don't think I'm an expert - but writing what I do know may help you and if you have any thoughts, please feel free to share them. The more we know, the better.

First, it can be hard to approach victims. Some of the best ways is to be less aggressive and try the phone. Generally, I hate phone interviews, but an easy way to break the ice is to call up and try to arrange a meeting from there. You want a physical interview to gain details about the people you speak with and their surroundings.
Make sure to tell the person that you are sorry for their loss. It's an easy way to break the ice and make the conversation easier.
When you speak with the spouse or family members of a loved one, be considerate. Victims or those who have lost somebody do not have to speak with you. Really, they're doing you a favor agreeing to an interview and you should realize that.
Don't get angry if someone does not want to speak with you. Remember that they're probably going through a rough time.
Sometimes people can be outraged and can't believe you're calling at a time when they're hurting so bad. Try to explain to them that you're writing a story so they have the opportunity to share with the public who their loved one was. Tell them you don't want to get anything wrong and by them sharing it will help you.
Always try to contact friends and family. Don't feel scared to call or knock on a door. The worst they can do is say no, or - you know - hit you, but that's probably a rare thing.

But consider this: Say the person who died was a young kid in a gang. Think how his parents might feel if you DIDN'T call and the entire story was about his rap sheet. What about the stories of that young man as a child who played soccer and got straight A's? If you don't call - you don't get that part of the story, and that's a disservice to that person's memory. Remember - your goal is to be fair and accurate.

That's some general stuff. I hope it helps in some way. Some other points are to remember details of surroundings, remember to get good background on the person and some great anecdotes and quotes. Remember, also, that you can't use it all. It can be a challenge because there is pressure to tell the story well when you're writing about someone who has died or been severely injured.

Good luck and enjoy your Friday.

Sarah Slavick: Fresh ideas

2006-07-27T14:20:00.000-07:00

Carrie's already touched on our "little" Iraq war page coming out Sunday, but I'll elaborate some. I'm so excited about the prospect of the page. I really feel like it will help readers to better understand such a complex - and important - topic.
When I started designing last year at the Columbia Missourian my professor encouraged me to think of ways to pull out information from articles to provide context and/or make the article easier to read. I had trouble with it at first. As a copy editor, I valued the importance of a story in itself - and, at the time, I had the attitude that people should read articles because they're clearly important, not because a designer made it "easier" for them. But I quickly changed my mind. We should provide as many ways as possible for readers to get information quickly and easily.
And that got me thinking about bigger topics, namely the war in Iraq. We've been in Iraq now for over three years, and the longer we're there, the more of the situation's background and contextual significance fade. There just isn't the space in the stories that run every day to explain why sects of people there are at odds - or what advancements we've made - or the events that led up to us going there. So let me know if the page in Sunday's paper helped you to better understand the war or even one of its aspects. You can e-mail me at srsyq5@mizzou.edu.
My intern advice for this entry: Come to your internship with ideas. Part of your role as an intern in a newsroom is to provide a fresh perspective.

Shadra: Jill of all trades

2006-07-26T21:04:00.000-07:00

I have discovered something: As an intern, if you show interest in multiple departments at the newspaper you're working for, you just might have new opportunities open up to you. I recently began working on a story for the Spokesman's weekly entertainment section, 7. Doesn't sound like an earth-shattering, life-altering thing? What if I told you I haven't written an article for publication for three years? Columns and briefs, yes, but stories that require reporting? No. Now my byline will appear, seemingly out of nowhere, in a well-respected, award-winning, large circulation publication.

This all happened because I said at the beginning of my internship that I was interested in the entertainment section. This opportunity carries with it several benefits. To name one, I get to take my journalistic education to another level. This time, instead of forking over $2,000 a term to the University of Oregon, I'm getting paid to learn to report. Also, I am without a permanent job. The more skills I develop the more job options I have.

Future interns, take some initiative; spread your work around the newsroom. Know that if you are working for a professional newspaper you are in one of the best classrooms on earth.

Shefali: The Age Debate

2006-07-26T16:44:00.000-07:00

While in the midst of writing a story for our "Today" section about women motorcyclists in the area, I realized I did not get the age of a main character in my article.

I called her immediately and I carefully slipped in the question most middle-age women dread to hear, "Oh so by the way, can I get your age please?" Her reply was a long awkward pause. Then she said, "No." This was irritating. I dealt with this issue at my first internship and I wasn't going to back down this time.

"Well I might not publish it, it's just a standard thing reporter's do," I said. She wasn't buying it--but I was really selling anything either. It's true, ever since I started journalism I was told to get a name and an age right off the bat. Asking this woman her age after my story was half written was already bad enough.

Apparently she wanted to keep her age hidden for 'social' reasons. But it got me thinking about a couple of different things: One- why are women reluctant to give their age? I've made a decision here and now that not matter how old I am I will always give my age. (Ask me that in a few years though so I remember) Two- Why DO reporters ask for age? I can understand the use of age in a news story--strictly factual. But many times, I slide age into a feature story and it's fine. Sometimes I don't put it in but I have it in any case (which was the argument I was trying to make for this woman). "Why do you need to know?" she asked. Well after some thought I finally have an answer--but I’m not to proud of it.

Age tells us something. Journalists are people-readers we observe, we write we talk, we get the information we need to make a story as honest and as telling as it can be. My favorite moments in an interview are when I ask a source about something they never told me; rather I picked up on it. A fishing photo on their desk, nails bitten, a scar. Details like this can sometimes (not always) get you somewhere. I think it was Don Fry, from the Poynter Institute who advised reporters to ask a question you know the answer to at the very beginning of an interview and while they are telling you their answer, write down what you see in their office, or what they are wearing or a scar you see on their hand. Because a tape recorder won't get any of that.

Well here's a better answer to the question on age. I just talked with Steven Buttry from the American Press Institute this afternoon and posed the same question to him on why we need age. He said that the rules of the game are changing. He recalled being told to get age when first reporting too, but then said sometimes it just wasn't needed. Buttry offered help though. He said that even without a numerical age, a reporter can put a person in a generation. Perhaps they have an 11-year old daughter or they told you what year they graduated college or high school in. It's still telling but without offending them. I can see the benefits of that.

But I'll still always tell people how old I am.

Carrie Howell: The war in Iraq

2006-07-26T13:23:00.000-07:00

Have you ever read an Iraq story in the paper and not really understood what was happening? To me, I get confused sometimes with a new war story almost everyday. I know I am not the only one, and Sarah (our copy editing intern) decided to do something about it.

She recently suggested doing an overview of the war so readers can understand all the various issues that are involved. She came to me for design and graphics help. We presented an extremely rough sketch to Gary, our managing editor, and he gave us the approval. We were given a full color page that will run on Sunday.

Next came hours of research for Sarah, and I had get my creative juices going to put all this information on a page without scaring the reader. My challenge is to present the detailed information in a visual way so the reader will not be turned off by clumps of text.

Overall, this project has taught me two things. I understand a lot more about the war in Iraq. But more importantly, I learned that just because I am an intern, does not mean my voice won't be heard in the newsroom. We presented this idea and we saw it through until the end.

So, please check out the page on Sunday and give me some feedback. Did it work for you? Does it help?

Somer Breeze: The Big Leagues

2006-07-25T15:11:00.000-07:00

Last week I wrote a feature on a Chad Tracy, catcher for the Spokane Indians. His father, Jim, is the manager for the Pittsburgh Pirates, a major league baseball team. I called the Pirates and left a message requesting to talk to Jim and a few hours later the director of public relations calls me to say I have an interview set up for the next day. Just like that I was going to talk to a MLB manager who I see on television, read about in newspapers, but never dreamed about talking to on the phone.
Jim was very humble talking about his son Chad. Jim also has two other sons who play baseball in college. It was nice to learn the life of someone who has been involved with the MLB for 30 years and the struggles his family endured.
I felt the feature turned out to be one of my favorites. It included art of Chad at an Indians game, but also a picture of Jim at a Pittsburgh game.
Talking to people involved in the major leagues really boosts your confidence. I was afraid of sounding like an idiot because I know Jim has dealt with the media for so long, but we had a really nice coversation about him and his son. Even though it's still pretty crazy to think I talked to some one from the pros, he's still just like every body else.

Sam Taylor: C'est la vie ... of an intern

2006-07-25T10:51:00.000-07:00

Today is a busy day in the life of Sam the Intern. Our cops and courts reporter is out, meaning work is thrown to me for that beat.

Already this morning there has been a bomb threat (actually, it's allegedly three bombs in a corporate office next to the Coeur d'Alene Resort) and less than 30 minutes later a bank robbery was called in and they're still searching for a suspect.

On top of this I get the classic intern story of how much water is being consumed during this extremely-hot week we've been having. No, I'm not complaining about the story - but the point is sometimes you'll have a slow day, and other days (like today) you have the chance of being swamped. You take it all in and learn from it. That's the best advice I can give. Me? I thrive off of the stress, as I think most journalists do. A key, I think, is to try to give yourself a brief respite every so often. I'm taking that time to get this fresh thought out of my head in the form of the blog. Other days I might read the newspaper's Web site or the blogs - or surf myspace quickly to see if I have messages (I never do, sadly, so it's a very quick look. Then I cry ...).

Do this so you don't flip out and go insane. It'll help keep you fresh. Remember that perching over the scanner for hours on end will not help the police catch anyone faster, or get you information sooner. Young journalists always want info then and there to get the reporting done. I've covered issues and events where I'm there 15 minutes early and a 25-year veteran reporter walks in half an hour late and pretty much gets the same story that I did. In time, you figure these things out, too. After four internships, I think I'm starting to get it but I know, also, that I have a ways to go.

And I was supposed to be playing guitar at lunch with one of the photo journalists, too.

Parker: Drinking and Discoursing

2006-07-21T17:32:00.000-07:00

First, I must echo Jared's message about the importance of thorough editing. I've been working for the last four days on a story about motorcycle safety that is slated for Sunday's paper. This enterprise piece has been a change from my other assignments thus far, which were shorter. During my research, my desk has literally become buried in sheets of statistics about national, Washington and Idaho fatal crashes. When I turned in the first draft of my story, I included too many of these figures, despite knowing that I should keep them to a minimum. Even I had trouble comprehending them when rereading my story. Coming with a fresh perspective, editor Dan Hansen was able to help me trim some of the excess numbers and emphasize the human element of the story.

Now, for the drinking portion of this discourse. Thursday night I hung out with hundreds of bikers at Easyriders Road House in Post Falls for a weekly motorcycle celebration. Prior to the event, my research indicated that alcohol plays a major part in many fatal motorcycle crashes (About 30 percent in Washington between 1993 and 2004). So I was somewhat surprised to see many riders drinking multiple beers before hopping on their hogs and riding off, many not wearing helmets, into the Idaho sunset. Yet no riders I talked with would admit to having more than one beer. One suggested that he has "two beers for two wheels." The organizer of the event, however, insisted that riders police themselves. It is impossible to judge from mere observation whether these riders were exceeding the legal blood alcohol limit, but watching the event helps explain why alcohol is a factor in bike crashes.

One interesting aspect of this assignment was interviewing people about drinking who were possibly intoxicated. At what point does a potential source become too intoxicated to consent to an interview? Is a "buzzed" source reliable but a "wasted" source off-limits? A journalism ethics professor would likely suggest, and rightly so, that some sources who are mentally or emotionally challenged cannot give consent for stories. I propose that even though people choose to drink, intoxication can become a similar factor. What are your thoughts?

Jared: The importance of a rough edit

2006-07-21T10:26:00.000-07:00

For several weeks (far too long, I know) I've been working on a story about a controversial annexation in the north side of Spokane. The city is trying to pull in a strip of commercial areas, but it also included plans to pull in a residential neighborhood owned and maintained by a housing association. Neighbors are pissed, to say the least, because they feel the city purposely chose a petition process that side steps the need for a vote. The city says it's going through a normal annexation process and is trying to avoid the high cost and long wait of an election. Those people should be part of the city because they use city services and state law directs the city to pull them in, the city says.

This story is about up to 44" as I write this, and it's not done. I put my heart and soul into the first draft, but when it came back to me the editor had littered it with notes with recommendations and suggestions. I was dismayed for, oh, probably about five minutes.

Then I realized that I would have been more disappointed if my editor didn't care enough to do what she did. The story, this time, is much better after I did some more reporting and pulled the story in the direction she suggested. Also, there were questions I'm sure readers would have asked that I hadn't answered.

The lesson: Be open to criticism because even if you know way more about a story (obviously, you've been reporting and talking to folks) you probably don't know the best way to present it. It's about trust. You want to find an editor you can fully trust.

To do that, I would recommend talking to reporters (interns are good) who have worked with that editor before. If you can, try writing material for several different desks when you get to your internship. Find the editor who seems to spend the most time on your work and is the most thorough, and go to him or her.

I know I trust my editor a lot more for sending my story back.

Jared

Shefali: News vs. Features and How to Pitch an Idea

2006-07-19T09:46:00.000-07:00

Working in the features section is a refreshing change from news. Though I'll admit I do miss the fast-pace the news desk offers.
The one thing I am beginning to recognize about the features desk is this: you have to stay on your toes when it comes to creating story ideas. I was taken back when, on my first day of work, I sat in my editor's office and was told that tomorrow we would meet to go over MY story ideas.
I thought "what ideas?!"
Betty Wong of Reuters New York advised the young journalists of the South Asian Journalists Association that the key to a successful career in journalism is varying it up. Wong went from the copy desk to the business desk to a general assignment reporter to an editor and back to a reporter (and so on) until she found her niche as the Managing Editor of Reuters. One thing I remember her saying in a speech is that journalists have to maintain that sense of curiosity. When I'm in my 'zone' I question everything from why there is construction on a building to why someone made stop signs red. Some of it is pointless but a good journalist (which I aspire to be one day)can sift out all the pointless queries to get to a great question--one that needs an answer. I hope to hop around different desks (not only while I am at this internship but at other internship as well).
The way I look at it is this: news happens, but features are created.
Pitching an idea isn't easy-especially being low on the totem pole. My advice to aspiring journalists (or interns) who want to pitch an idea is this: be confident in your idea, show that you put thought into it, don't start of with 'well...Um...Well I don't know how you feel about this but...' rather say 'I have this idea and tell me what you think...' be open-ended. Also do your homework. Editors are going to ask you follow up questions after you pitch an idea and it's up to you to answer them or say 'that's what I want to find out...'
Also think about your audience and (perhaps) run it by some people OUTSIDE of the newsroom. The problem these days is that the newsroom can become it's own bubble and while reporters can come from all walks of life there is still this tendency to refer to outsiders as 'the audience' or 'the readers' do we remember who they are? It's amazing how many times I've written a story (for college or at internships) and heard readers say 'why am I reading this?' or 'oh my god why did they write about this?' I'm realizing slowly that reporters tend to distance themselves from the REAL reader population. We think how good the graphic will look or how great a lede is going to be but what's the point if no one will read the lede...
Just blabbing now...
A great place to get story ideas is Al Tompkins "morning meeting" he takes suggestions too. Also certain journalism groups tend to send out daily or weekly emails on story ideas.

Shefali: Newspaper's role in representing its community

2006-07-18T17:09:00.000-07:00

Looking back, I really enjoyed writing my '7' story on jeans in the workplace. It wasn't just because I got to go out into downtown Spokane with our photographer, Amanda, and scare people by asking them where they got their expensive jeans. It's because after a long time there was some diversity in the paper. I got a chance to talk to an African American woman who was previously in finance and now follows a career in dancing. She dressed her jeans well.
I have to hand it to the Spokesman Review. For a community with very little diversity they are trying their best to convey a diverse perspective of the inland northwest.
But there is always more that can be done. And as a young journalist of color, I feel it's my personal responsibility to initiate this.
When I worked at The Dalles Chronicle I was told that I would be writing profiles on local women for the paper's annual Women in Business section. While looking at back issues of the section I realized that there wasn't a single woman of color. The Dalles is a diverse community with a large Samoan population and a growing Hispanic population--not to mention the prospect of an even more diverse community with Google moving to The Dalles in the next few years--it wasn't as if they were low on minorities to profile.
Then I did see minorities in the newspaper, but in the news section or in the public record section (that shows the previous night's police report). It was very frustrating to read and know that I worked at a paper that didn't take this lack of diversity issue as seriously as I did.
I decided I wanted to see a woman of color in that summer's Women in Business section. My hunt led me to a professor at Columbia Gorge Community College. An Afro-Caribbean woman from NY, the professor was the head of the math, science, business and technology department of the college--how perfect.
I could have written the story better, (in my opinion) but it was refreshing to see a woman of color in the paper--in a good light.
For the remainder of my internship here at the SR I hope to try to accomplish a similar goal. The '7' story not only showed women in jeans, it showed men too! And an African American woman as well.
If a newspaper is to serve its community well—part of that should entail covering all aspects of the community. Is a newspaper really functioning as a community tool if it is not representing all the different cultures inside that community? I'm glad to see articles in the SR that talk about diversity issues. A story that ran in June about a Hispanic family protesting a dress code really reignited my desire to pursue a story about diversity. Hopefully I can come through.

Sam Taylor: City life

2006-07-17T09:12:00.000-07:00

As a post-graduate intern working in the Spokesman-Review's Idaho office, I usually don't have to deal with the insane traffic of Spokane (the big city around here, for those outside of the area). Nor do I have to deal with the personalities that come with a big city for the most part.

Being from Coeur d'Alene, Idaho - where the Idaho office is - we basically get all the luxuries of Spokane 30 miles away without some of the negatives. Our crime rate is lower, our traffic is better and gosh darn it I think it's a lot prettier.

So it's sort of awkward for me when I work a shift in Spokane to be approached by homeless people looking for some money or some food.

In Coeur d'Alene we have a homeless population, but the majority are people that still have jobs and are just down on their luck enough to where they need to live in a shelter or in their cars. They still generally have money to feed themselves (keep in mind this is NOT everyone, but we have a far less visible homeless population in this town of 40,000).

As I worked the Saturday shift, I was firstly irked that I didn't get to eat until 7 p.m. and secondly that I had to foot it over to Riverpark Square Mall for some Subway. On the way back is when I realized how much more fortunate I am and that I need to stop whining.

I saw the man approaching people before he ever came to me. I'll admit it, I even tried to avoid him because I knew he was going to ask me for change or something as well. Sure, I lived in Hollywood once for a summer, but I'm still from a small town and still not used to people coming up to me for things.

When he finally did, I felt quite awkward because I had Subway in hand - drink and all. He didn't ask me for change, he asked me if I could buy him a meal. I was still so nervous, and I feel bad about the only words I could think to utter: "Sorry man, I got nothing."

How embarassing as this man who has nothing comes to me for help, and all I can offer him is blank stares and empty, stupid words.

These are the kinds of things you have to deal with when you're in a larger city, though. If you're from a small town and you come to Spokane you will eventually get used to it. It's an awkward adjustment that even I still am not used to.

And when you're hitting the streets, sulking because an editor made you go do "Man on the Street" interviews for that personal flavor - remember that there are people out there less fortunate than you that would gladly do the same job simply for a bite to eat.

Sasha Davis: The Streets of Spokane

2006-07-17T09:07:00.000-07:00

Interning at a newspaper, with a background in broadcasting, is quite interesting. Technically, my major at the University of Oregon is electronic media. This does incorporate news broadcasting, but there is a lot more to it. I am in the documentary side of the sequence, so visual storytelling is something that appeals to me. I have learned a lot about print media while working here, especially the importance print holds in fully informing a community.
My Internship involves developing some sort of daily newscast. Do people really want another way to view a talking-head saying the news? They might, especially if they are the ones presenting it.
"News From Your Neighbors" features random people on the streets of Spokane, reading brief news stories. It is a fun idea, trying to avoid the look of TV news. I usually head to Riverfront Park when looking for my pseudo-anchors. I set up my camera and mic, and ask people if they would like to read the news. Some people are very forthcoming, actually approaching me. Others are reluctant at first, but you can tell they want to do it. Others are not interested at all. Every now and then I feel like a sales person: No, I don't want you to buy anything, and I'm not trying to get you to sign up for anything. The majority of the time, people think it's funny and are excited to participate.
Throughout the three weeks I have hit the streets of Spokane on a mission to find makeshift news anchors, my expierence has been positive. I talk to people of all ages and classes. People are friendly. People want to participate and think it is a cool idea. This job is the perfect way to get to know the city of Spokane. I love meeting people and even with all diversities and situations, most can agree that they are interested in what is going on in their community.

Somer Breeze: Sports intern

2006-07-16T09:41:00.000-07:00

Before I came to the Spokesman-Review for my three-month sports internship, I didn't have very much experience covering sporting events on deadline. At my college paper at Washington State University I mostly covered the WSU tennis and cross country teams, and I would also cover various events, but nothing that would prepare me enough for what I needed to do at the Spokesman.
My internship involves covering the Spokane Indians, a minor league baseball team affiliated with the Texas Rangers. The team plays 76 games in 79 days and while I don't travel with the team, when they are at home they play five to eight games in a row. I didn't want to come to Spokane not knowing what I was doing, so I did everything I could to prepare myself. For a school project we had to make a style guide for a journalism course. I made mine on the Indians so I could become familiar with the team's Web site and the program. I also shadowed a basketball beat writer at my school paper to see how they handle deadline pressure. When I was being interviewed for the internship I requested to see the newsroom and do a possible job shadow. When I visited I shadowed a Spokesman staff writer at back-to-back Whitworth basketball games. But what helped me the most was contacting a minor league baseball writer at another paper. Darrin Beene of the Tacoma News Tribune covers the Tacoma Rainiers and before my internship began I shadowed him at a game and watched as he kept his own score and wrote while the game went on. I asked him questions of what I could expect.
When I finally arrived in Spokane on June 5, I felt like I knew what I was doing, but it wasn't until I started getting in a groove that I learned what was expected of me.
At first I had a problem with stiff stories that kind of ran on with play-by-play, but now 15 home games in, I'm learning how to be creative and how to piece together the game without regurgitating everything the fans saw. I keep my own scorebook so I can look back and notice patterns and I keep game notes on the side to ease the deadline pressure. There have been a couple of games, either weather delays or a 12-inning game that really made time tight, but because I wrote during the game I was able to file my story as soon as the game was over.
I suggest to future interns to prepare themselves as much as possible for their job, whether it be job shadowing or just reading copy of the paper to learn its style. Extra steps you take will ease you into the new environment and will show you're superiors that you're making an effort to be prepared.

Sarah Slavick: Making the move

2006-07-14T22:26:00.000-07:00

I've come all the way to Spokane from the University of Missouri via the Dow Jones Newspaper Fund's copy-editing program. If you're interested in copy editing, or even in well-rounded reporting, you should look into the DJNF program. Some schools don't participate on the annual test date, but you should be able to find a school nearby that would.
I've been copy editing on the news desk here, as well as designing the Opinion page and some inside news pages. Learning a new computer program has been interesting; it's funny how habits from other programs stick with you.
I'll plan to provide at least one internship tip per entry. My tip for this entry:
When you're headed to an internship, research the area as much as possible. You want to go into the newsroom with a general idea of the geography, political structure, current issues and such of the area. Request a subscription, check things out online and try talk to people in the newsroom before you've even arrived. It'll help your transition tremendously.
Spokane tidbit: If you're a fan of milk shakes and/or onion rings, go to The Onion restaurant at Riverside and Washington!

Carrie Howell: Indiana to Spokane

2006-07-13T15:35:00.000-07:00

When I first accepted an internship in Washington, I did not fully understand what a huge and amazing decision I had made. I packed my tiny Alero six days after graduation and headed to Spokane. Despite the four-day drive across the country and leaving everything familiar, I made the best choice to be a design intern in Spokane. The mountains replaced the cornfields and cattle I used to see. The humidity was finally gone, and I got to enjoy the beautiful Northwest!

I have been here almost three months, and I start front page training tonight. I am nervous and excited at the same time. Since The Spokesman-Review is a larger newspaper, I will have to learn how to zone certain stories and switch to news design. However, my design director has been helpful in letting me test my skills in all areas.

Sam Taylor: The people we meet

2006-07-11T20:17:00.000-07:00

I wrote a story today about the Idaho American Legion's state convention, which is coming to Post Falls Thursday through Sunday.

The story was about whether membership in the group is waning as more war veterans are dying (namely World War II veterans). But what I hardly touched on was the work of John Dunlap, the Post Falls American Legion Post 143 commander.

Dunlap is a pretty amazing individual and it's hard not to admire the man who did several tours in Korea and Vietnam. He gets hundreds of calls each day - most of them outside of Post Falls - from people seeking help. Whether it's about a soldier who passed away and someone doesn't know what to do, veterans benefits or more, he is there on the front line to help these people.

Today photojournalist Jesse Tinsley and I helped pick up the cooling unit of a new refridgerated store room outside of the Post 143 building. We placed it on the roof of the room so a technician can install it fully. John plans to use the room to store all of the food they give away to people in the community. It's not just veterans or their families. The Post Falls American Legion Post truly wants to help everyone. They have steak dinners and weekend breakfasts at low costs for anyone who wants it.

When children of veterans have birthdays, the Post Falls American Legion Post has a birthday celebration for them on a monthly basis. They gave food away to the 116th Engineer Battallion C Company soldiers' families while they spent 18 months in Iraq.

And John was instrumental in bringing the Veterans license plates to Idaho.

So it's not that hard to listen to John when he sort of goes off on a failed federal amendment that would change the constitution to say that the U.S. flag should not be desecrated. Sure - even if people have differing opinions and say that whatever someone does to the flag is free speech - John still earned the right to lament his position. He truly cares about his community and about his nation.

As a journalist, it's great to meet people like John. He is colorful and he cares about what he does. He's not a fanatic - he's merely a patriot. If I were one of the ones to disagree with him, so what? He's got an interesting story that many can appreciate, and this is what journalism is about. Telling other people's stories.

And I was glad I met him today.

Shadra Beesley: Ethics

2006-07-11T15:46:00.000-07:00

Most newspapers have a code of ethics. Many journalism students are aware of the Society of Professional Journalists' (SPJ) code of ethics, which is a set of standard guidelines for journalists. Individual newspapers also have ethics codes. The Spokesman-Review's ethics code is one of the simplest, and one of the best, I have ever seen.
I knew I wanted to be a journalist the first day I worked in a newsroom. I knew I was on my way to being an ethical journalist the day I first heard of the Spokesman's values. Steve Smith came to the University of Oregon and gave a class on leadership. He outlined the goals the Spokesman strives for every day. I was truly inspired and overjoyed that I was going to work for a paper that had standards I could really be on board with. I knew that at the Spokesman I would not only learn about copy editing, I'd learn about adhering to high ethical standards.
My advice to aspiring interns is: Before (or after) you accept an internship, read that newspaper's code of ethics. Study it. Think about it. Make sure you are signing up for an organization that has principles you agree with. Think about what matters to you. Make sure the same things matter to the paper you're going to work for.

The Players

2006-07-10T14:29:00.000-07:00

Shefali Kulkarni • Features intern
Shefali finished her third year at Beloit College in southern Wisconsin, but spent this last semester studying journalism and interning at the Dallas Morning News’ Washington Bureau, in Washington D.C. After she graduates next year, Shefali plans to pursue a career in print media. When she isn’t "geeking-out" over journalism, Shefali can be found supporting her chocolate addiction, taking photographs, making people laugh and cooking (her nickname is Shef).

Somer Breeze • Sports intern
Somer is a 2006 graduate of Washington State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication and a minor in English. While at WSU she was a sports reporter, copy editor and general assignment reporter for The Daily Evergreen. When she's not reporting on sports, Somer like to play, especially volleyball and softball.

Sam Taylor • Reporting intern at the Idaho bureau
Sam just got a certificate in a diploma folder claiming he graduated from the University of Idaho with a degree in journalism and a minor in political science. Sam spent the last few years working at The Argonaut, the UI student newspaper, and as president of the UI Society of Professional Journalists chapter. Sam works at the North Idaho bureau in Coeur d’Alene — his hometown — which means he gets free rent from his parents for the summer. He digs comic books, too

Parker Howell • Reporting intern for city desk
Parker comes fresh from a year of late nights as editor in chief of the Oregon Daily Emerald, the independent student newspaper at the University of Oregon. Last summer he worked as a features reporter for the Statesman Journal in Salem, Ore. Howell is graduating in 2007 with a degree in news/editorial journalism. He enjoys playing guitar, basketball, photography, outdoor recreation and playing Xbox.

Jared Paben • Reporting intern
Jared, 24, is working for both the business and city desks. He walked in his graduation from the University of Oregon last spring, but he won’t have enough credits to graduate until he completes his internship here. He worked for three years at the Oregon Daily Emerald, and interned last summer as a reporter at the Grants Pass Daily Courier. Years ago, he was on staff at the weekly Cottage Grove Sentinel. Jared is from Creswell, a small town just south of Eugene. He likes to travel and has been to Europe and the Caribbean several times. He’s looking for a tennis, golfing or rock climbing buddy.

Shadra Beesley • Copy desk intern
Shadra arrives at the copy desk fresh from graduating from the University of Oregon, where she worked for the Oregon Daily Emerald. She is such a grammar nerd that one of her friends made a bad-punctuation-fighting comic book character, the Apostrophist, based on her. Check it out at www.stevenneuman.com. She loves to sing karaoke, socialize with late-night crowds and hang out at the lake. People say she's got a bit of a sarcastic streak.

Sasha Davis • Web-broadcast Intern
Sasha is going to be a senior at the University of Oregon this fall. She was hired to work with the online team on various video projects, which beats scooping ice cream like last summer. While she is down in Eugene, she interns at Chambers Production Studios as an assistant director of photography. She is the president of the National Broadcasting Society and loves rafting, hiking, painting and exploring Spokane.

Sarah Slavick • Copy desk intern
Sarah is a Dow Jones Newspaper Fund copy-editing intern. In the fall, she begins her senior year at the University of Missouri. She will be an associate editor and wire editor at the Missourian, the journalism school's daily community newspaper. Sarah has worked with CiN Weekly magazine and the Community Press in Cincinnati. Sarah plays the viola with the University Philharmonic. Sarah loves coffee and is working on finding a place in Spokane where she can become a "regular" and finish reading "The Brothers Karamazov."

Carrie Howell • Design intern
Carrie graduated from Ball State University in May 2006 and made the four-day trek from Indiana to Spokane for her internship. While at Ball State, Carrie worked for the college newspaper, worked for the Ball State Journalism Workshops office and was actively involved with SND. In the workshops office, she created numerous programs, registration packets and maps for events such as junior high and high school J-Days and summer workshops. She is excited to be in Spokane for the summer and does not want to go back to seeing cornfields every day!