Last month, I wrote about how we swarmed the Nakia Creek Fire. Swarming is a technique we use on a big story, where we divide it into a lot of smaller chunks and assign each piece to a reporter or photographer.
We used that technique again on election night, which meant that instead of one or two stories rounding up the local races, we offered eight, plus photos from two of the biggest races of the night — 3rd Congressional District and Clark County sheriff. And the effort wasn’t confined to the newsroom. Our pre-press team increased our page count to accommodate all of the stories, and our printing and packaging crews stayed late to allow us two extra hours of production time.
For most of our young, energetic reporting staff, it was their first general election night. And, for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic, people and candidates gathered in public to celebrate, or mourn, the results.
So after a ritual slice or two of election night pizza, the reporters fanned out to find the candidates. Becca Robbins and Photo Editor Amanda Cowan headed to sheriff candidate John Horch’s party, then on to the party for his opponent, Rey Reynolds. Lauren Ellenbecker and photographer Taylor Balkom headed over to the Hilton Vancouver Washington to gauge the reaction and get some quotes from Democratic congressional candidate Marie Gluesenkamp Perez. We didn’t go to Republican candidate Joe Kent’s party after being told earlier in the day that we were not welcome and that we would not be admitted if we arrived. I heard Wednesday that a few reporters from other media did show up, but were told they needed to stand across the street.
That kind of behavior didn’t surprise me. Donald Trump, who supported Kent’s election bid, is famous for berating reporters and photographers and trying to prevent them from doing their jobs, then later complaining he didn’t get enough favorable coverage. Kent has stayed aloof from news media throughout his campaign, instead preferring to communicate on conservative political talk shows and social media sites.
I stayed around the newsroom, ate pizza and edited a couple of stories until around 10 p.m., which is near my bedtime these days. No matter who wins, it’s a fun experience to be part of election night in a local newsroom.
Photo night
One of best things the newsroom did in 2019 was invite the public to see some of the best things we did in 2019. I’m talking about our Photos of the Year presentation. It’s back post-pandemic, scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 13, at The Columbian, 701 W. Eighth St.
Our two staff photojournalists, Amanda Cowan and Taylor Balkom, will show some of their favorite images from the year and talk about how they shot and selected the photos and what they think makes them special. It will be informal, so there will be plenty of time for questions. Amanda and Taylor have really interesting jobs, so I think it will be a good event. I’ll bet some reporters will be there, too.
We’re charging a small fee to cover the costs of the snacks, so pre-registration will be required. That will also help us count the crowd. We don’t have room to accommodate a lot of guests, so if you want to come, register early. We’ll develop some ads telling readers how to register. Look for them to start appearing sometime in the next few days.
Parade’s future
Do you look at Parade magazine, the supplement in your Sunday newspaper? If so, I wanted to remind you that this Sunday, Nov. 13, is Parade’s last print edition. The magazine’s new owners plan to continue publishing it as a supplement to newspapers’ e-editions. Personally I am disappointed, but the decision to go digital-only wasn’t The Columbian’s. Now I’ll read it online at epaper.columbian.com.
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