The Washington Newspaper/Volume 6/All Set and Going on the Gong

The Washington Newspaper

October, 1920

Dedicated to the Study and Improvement of Journalism in Washington

All Set and Going on the Gong

The state campaign for a more compactly organized press in Washington is on, and the district organization authorized at the Yakima convention of the State Press Association in August is a reality.

The first meeting was held at Wenatchee September 24 , and by the time this issue of The Washington Newspaper is in the hands of its readers all the series will be going full speed. A full report of the eleven sessions will be given in the November number.

First call for the Wenatchee meeting was sounded by N. Russell Hill, secretary of the State Press Association, and early Friday morning, September 24, O. H. Woody, editor of The Okanogan Independent surveyed the hotels in Wenatchee for twenty editors representing every paper in Chelan, Grant, Douglas and Okanogan counties, which comprise the fourth district. Besides Mr. Woody and his twenty editors, N. Russell Hill and Prof. Fred W. Kennedy of the School of Journalism , University of Washington, answered the initial roll—all primed for the great movement that is to put the state press of Washing ton in the lead for concerted action.

Secretary Hill, who has been devoting the greater portion of his time for the last six weeks to the zoning system, has booked plans for the organization which were tried out in Wenatchee with decided success and will be followed at each of the succeeding meetings.

A Crowded Program

At the Wenatchee gathering every item touching the betterment of the profession which could be crowded into the rapid schedule was presented. Officers for the fourth district were chosen. Every editor was made a member of the Washington State Press Association, the parent body that is fathering the campaign. Needed legislation was discussed. The Franklin Price List was adopted as Standard. The delegate system to the State Press and the Institute was agreed to. Cooperative buying and field secretarial possibilities were gone over with recommendations for the Institute session. Professional ethics were discussed. And so on until it seemed as though the members of the fourth estate had never been in assembly before.

So much business needed to be talked over, so many matters to be determined, so many tangles to be smoothed out, and so many really good fellows were gathered together to attend to their own affairs that every editor was patting the other on the Tack with such keenness that the time slipped into nothing long before the numerous matters had been thoroughly thrashed out. Full details of the Wenatchee meeting, however, have had to be reserved until the complete report in the next issue of The Washington Newspaper.

Hill and Kennedy, both tired out after the joyous labor of the day, jumped a train for Spokane, where zone one was to meet Saturday, September 25 , at the Davenport Hotel. This district has 33 papers and is com posed of Ferry, Steven's, Pend d'Oreille, Lincoln, Spokane, Adams and Whitman counties. Here the same program as at Wenatchee was scheduled.

Monday, September 27, E. L. Wheeler of the Waitsburg Times will have his session at Walla Walla, where seventeen papers will be represented from the counties of Walla Walla Columbia, Asotin, Franklin and Garfield, known as district 2. T. R. Porte, Salt Lake, representing the Franklin Price List, will be at this meeting, and also Prof. Kennedy, to offer whatever assistance the editor's may need in perfecting their organization.

Double-Header Sept. 28

A double-header will be played on Tuesday, September 28, when two districts will hold their meetings - one at Ellensburg. the other at Vancouver. The Ellensburg meeting will have Chapin D. Foster of The Grand View Herald, J. C. Kaynor of The Ellens burg Record and Dr. M. L. Spencer, director of the School of Journalism , University of Washington, to guide their work . This is district 3 and includes Yakima, Benton and Kittitas counties, with sixteen papers. The Vancouver meeting will be under the direction of R. H. Mitchell of The Woodland News. Fifteen papers are in the counties of Clarke, Skamania, Cowlitz and Wakiakum . Both Mr. L'orte and Mr. Kennedy are scheduled for the entire session in this district, when all the problems of or ganization will be perfected .

Chehalis has claimed the right to convene district 6 on Friday, October 1 , when Clarence Ellington, president of the Washington State Press Asso ciation , will handle the gavel of at tention to editors of the counties of Lewis and Pacific with ten papers. Mr. Kennedy is due to be there too .

Following this session , Dan Cloud from The Montesano Vidette will realize one of his ambitions when district 7 convenes in his home town, with Mr. Porte and Mr. Kennedy as assist ants. Mr. Cloud has been working on this plan for some weeks and is ready to fire. Grays Harbor, Thurston and Mason with fourteen papers will make up this meeting.

Another cloud comes over the state press at the next meeting when Ray Cloud meets with the forty -three papers representing districtIcom posed of counties Snohomish , Skagit, Island, San Juan, and Whatcom . This eeting Willbeheldin Anacortesi Monday, October 4. Mr. Cloud is from Ferndale and owns The Record of that city. He also will be assisted by Mr. Kennedy.

District 11 has as its counties Cal lamandsefferson with six papers, the session to be held in Port Angeles with Billy Welch of The Port Angeles News as directori - chief and Kennedy to fill in wherever his services may apply.

Plan Complete to Zone 8-9

This leaves the district organization plan complete up to zones 8 and 9. District 9 is made up of Pierce Coun ty , with twelve papers , and will hold 222 a meeting in Tacoma, Saturday, October 16, with Robert Montgomery of The Puyallup Valley Tribune running things. Mr. Montgomery will have the assistance of a representative from the School of Journalism at the University.

Friday, October 15, district 9, composed of King and Kitsap, with fifty one papers, will have a meeting in Seattle over which H. M. Leslie of The Auburn Globe-Republican, will preside as chairman. Mr. Leslie is assured of sufficient assistance, as there is a probability that the entire staff of the School of Journalism will be present.

At the time this is written Secretary Hill says the response from all districts is highly satisfactory and all indications lead him to believe each of the sessions will come up to the scratch on promises made to their chairmen and reports to him in his official capacity.