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 Gridiron West Dinner a Big Success More than 300 people from this state's media, political, corporate, and non-profit worlds attended the Washington News Council's 3rd Annual Gridiron West Dinner "Toast" on November 11 at the West Coast Grand Hotel in downtown Seattle. The fun-filled event, which is fast becoming a not-to-be-missed post-Election Day tradition, combines spirited "toasting" with affectionate tributes to prominent journalists. The Council "toasted" Jean Enersen of KING-TV, Kathi Goertzen of KOMO-TV, and Susan Hutchison of KIRO-TV, Seattle's three favorite television anchorwomen. They were introduced by Dennis Bounds of KING, Dan Lewis of KOMO, and Ken Hatch, former president of KIRO. Videotaped salutes to the three women from Tom Brokaw of NBC News, Dan Rather of CBS News and Peter Jennings of ABC News were shown, along with a videotaped tribute -- filled with hilarious bloopers and outtakes -- produced by Larry Cali of the WNC and Ken Jones of KING 5. "Toasters" included Senators Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray (by videotape), King County Executive Ron Sims, King County Councilman Rob McKenna, former Mayor Charley Royer, former Secretary of State Ralph Munro (with Karen and George Munro), Seattle Times columnist Jean Godden, and former anchor Mike James. Table hosts included the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, King County Journal Newspapers, Microsoft, and PEMCO Financial Services at the $5,000 level; Puget Sound Energy, Sandy Schoolfield & Jon Kechejian, State Farm Insurance and Weyerhaeuser at the $2,500 level; and Fisher Communications, The Gallatin Group, Merriman Capital Management, the Floyd and Delores Jones Foundation, Vulcan Northwest, The Frause Group, YWCA of Seattle/King County, The Weiss Company, The Benaroya Company and Starbucks Coffee Company at the $1,000 level. KING 5 Television, KIRO 7 Television, and KOMO 4 Television also provided major support for the event, along with Stimson Lane Wineries and State Farm Insurance, which printed the invitations and programs. David Horsey, Pulitzer-Prize winning cartoonist for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, donated an original drawing for the invitations and programs. David Silverman, well-known Seattle actor/singer, was Master of Ceremonies, with Rich Gray on piano. Comedian Mike Egan of "Potlatch" dinner fame did the Opening Monologue and some introductions. Proceeds from the Gridiron West Dinner benefit the educational programs of the Washington News Council, including the Dick Larsen Scholarship Fund, which was established at the 1st Annual Gridiron West Dinner in 1999. The two winners of this year's Dick Larsen Scholarships -- Adam Faber of the University of Washington and Chris Chancellor of Washington State University -- attended the event. Each received a $2,000 scholarship in May. NOTE: At last year's Gridiron West Dinner, the WNC "toasted" legendary columnist Emmett Watson. Highlights from that event are included in a documentary on Watson produced by Jean Walkinshaw of KCTS-9 Television. SPJ Panel Discusses News Councils "News Councils: Controversial But Worthwhile?" That was the topic of a Panel Discussion on Saturday, Oct. 6, during the Society of Professional Journalists' National Convention in Bellevue. Panelists included Joann Byrd, Editorial Page Editor of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer; Geneva Overholser, Syndicated Columnist for The Washington Post Writers Group; Carol Nunnelly, American Society of Newspaper Editors' Credibility Project; and Cliff Rowe, Member, Washington News Council. The Panel was part of SPJ's "Project Watchdog," an effort to engage the public in dialogue about the role of journalism in society. A few quotes from the discussion: Joann Byrd: "The Washington News Council (has) done a lot of good work and is gaining credibility....I think (it's) making progress." Geneva Overholser: "I think we need to look for every way we can to raise credibility....Of course (news councils) are imperfect. But we're (the press) imperfect too." Carol Nunnelly: "Sunshine might be good for us." NOTE: A videotape of the 90-minute panel is available for $10. Please call or email to order. WNC Forum Debates Media's Wartime Role A WNC Public Forum on "The News Media During Wartime: What are Journalists' Rights and Responsibilities?" was held at Town Hall Seattle on Oct. 1. The event was broadcast by TVW. (Videotapes are available for $10, including postage and handling. Call or email us to order.) A distinguished panel included: Joel Connelly, Seattle Post-Intelligencer; Philip Gold, Discovery Institute; Slade Gorton, former U.S. Senator; Lt. Gen. James T. Hill, U.S. Army, Fort Lewis; Kim Murphy, Los Angeles Times; and Don Porter, KING 5 TV. It was a fascinating discussion of the difficult balance between national security needs and the public's right to know. WNC/Elway
Survey on "Citizen Views of Local News Media" Released
Full Report If this document requests a password, just select
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Featured speakers: Kovach and Rosenstiel discussed their
new book, "The Elements of Journalism: What Newspeople Should Know and
the Public Should Expect." At this event, the Washington News
Council presented the results of its recent statewide survey by Elway
Research of public opinion toward local news media in Washington state.
The survey was co-sponsored by the Evans School of Public Affairs. Adam Faber, a senior at Lynden Christian High School who will enter the University of Washington in the fall. Congratulations to both of our scholarship winners. The WNCĂs scholarship committee decided to give two awards this year because we had such a strong field of more than a dozen applicants. The Dick Larsen Scholarship was established by the WNC at our first annual ¦Gridiron West˛ dinner event in November 1999 to honor the high standards of fairness, accuracy and balance that he achieved throughout his career. The fund is administered by The Seattle Foundation. The $2,000 award is open to students with a serious interest in communications -- journalism, politics, public relations or a related field. To be eligible, you must be a graduate of a Washington state high school and currently enrolled in a Washington state four-year public or private university (or about to graduate and enroll). Dick Larsen, former Seattle Times
political writer, died on April 20, 2001, at his home on Mercer Island.
The Larsen family suggested remembrances be made to the Scholarship
Fund. Memorial donations may be sent to: Washington News Council, P.O.
Box 3672, Seattle, WA 98124-3672. (Please make checks payable to ¦Dick
Larsen Scholarship Fund.˛) Both hearings were based on an actual case from the Minnesota News Council, involving a complaint by the University of Minnesota WomenĂs Studies Department against the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. At Whitworth, Spokane Spokesman-Review Editor Chris Peck played the role of the Star-Tribune editor. Whitworth Journalism Professor Ginny Whitehouse played the WomenĂs Studies Department Chair role. Students played the role of the News Council. At WSU, Steve McClure, Managing Editor of the Moscow-Pullman Daily News, played the Star-Tribune editorĂs role. WSU journalism students from Professor John IrbyĂs class played all the other roles. Members of the Murrow SchoolĂs Professional Advisory Committee attended the hearing as observers. At both schools, the student news councils reached virtually the same decision as did the Minnesota News Council in the actual case -- upholding the Star-TribuneĂs position in defense of its articles. While in Spokane, WNC Executive
Director John Hamer, Special Projects Director Sandy Schoolfield, and
Media Member Cliff Rowe also met with Bill Stimson, journalism professor
at Eastern Washington University; David Roseleip, president of the
Washington Agriculture and Forestry Education Foundation; and Lon Lee,
president of KHQ Television. More than 200 people attended the event, including a diverse mix of citizens and journalists. The forum inspired an open, candid and sometimes heated discussion of the news mediaĂs performance and standards. Panelists were: Rev. Leslie Braxton, Senior Pastor, Mount Zion Baptist Church; Ken Bunting, Executive Editor, Seattle Post-Intelligencer; John Carlson, Talk-show Host, KVI Radio; Pat Costello, News Director, KING-5 TV; James Kelly, President, Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle; and Dave Ross, Talk-show Host, KIRO Radio. Eddie Reed, President of the Washington News Council, welcomed the crowd and introduced our co-sponsors: KCTS TV; Society of Professional Journalists, Western Washington Pro Chapter; Church Council of Greater Seattle; CityClub; Downtown Seattle Association; Seattle Human Rights Commission; and Washington Institute Foundation. Thanks to all of them for helping publicize the event. (Special thanks to Society of Professional Journalists for covering room-rental costs.) Moderator Enrique Cerna, Executive Producer of KCTS TV, asked probing questions and guided the discussion, which focused on news coverage of the events before, during and after the recent ¦Fat Tuesday˛ activities. About 20 members of the audience lined up at microphones to question the panelists or express their opinions. The forum received considerable news coverage, including this story by Hector Castro in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer: http://seattlep-i.nwsource.com/local/mmedia21.shtml. It also was the subject of a radio report by Paula Wissel of KPLU-FM. A videotape is available. Call 206-262-9793. Bill Moyers Endorses WNC Bill Moyers of Public Affairs Television, Inc., has endorsed the Washington News Council. Moyers learned of the Council during his recent visit to Seattle in a conversation with WNC Member Susan Han at KCTS TV. After reading a packet of material about the News Council, he sent us a gracious letter. Excerpts: ¦Nary an institution is beyond criticism or accountability, not even the press....The Washington News Council seems like a mighty good listening post....Finally, if even lawyers recognize the value of ethics committees, surely we journalists can tolerate a news council to keep us on our toes.˛ For the full text of MoyersĂ letter, click HERE. WNC wins national grant The Washington News Council has been awarded a $15,000 grant from the Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation, a national organization that funds media-related projects and programs. The WNC's grant will help underwrite a series of public forums statewide to help encourage dialogue between the public and media. WNC makes CJR In the January/Febuary issue of Columbia Journalism Review, one of the nationĂs most respected journalism magazines, the Washington News Council is strongly endorsed by Geneva Overholser, former Ombudsman at The Washington Post and a nationally syndicated columnist. HereĂs the link: http://www.cjr.org/year/01/1/overholser.asp OverholserĂs endorsement is especially significant because she is a widely respected expert on media ethics and accountability. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reprinted her column on its op-ed page on Feb. 6. Here's the link: http://seattlep-i.nwsource.com/opinion/geneva1.shtml The P-I also ran our letter to the editor, from President Eddie Reed and Vice President Herb Robinson, replying to Overholser's column. Here's the link: http://seattlep-i.nwsource.com/opinion/ltrs1119.shtml (Third letter down.) Read her article and send us your feedback! |
