In a nostalgia moment on Wednesday evening, Doug Clark asked whether his officemates remember Elf Bowling, which was apparently also a big deal at The Spokesman-Review newsroom some time after email became really popular.

Here's part of the Nov. 30 1999 column by Clark:

By conservative estimates, 1 million plays in the first 14 hours would equate to about $100 million in squandered productivity.

"Er, we don't want to think about that," adds a chuckling Mike Bielinski, the NVision programmer who dreamed up the Elf Bowling concept.

Ever since Elf Bowling showed up at The Spokesman-Review, we journalists have been too occupied to, well, commit any journalism. So we've been filling the newspaper with recycled 10-year-old Parade Magazine stories.

Whataya mean you didn't notice?

Clark's gonna head to Turkey. More columns to come soon.

Long discussion at the morning meeting today about "Man charged with double slaying," a story accompanied by yesterday's video.

The video contains early details of the double homicide before Friday's arrest, but those details have become outdated as the story and the reporting progressed.

Discussion was on how to clearly label multimedia for time elements - for example when posting archive video with a current story - because posted video tends to convey "NOW" as opposed to earlier details.

Watch Thursday's video here.

Get the Flash Player to see this video.

Disclaimers for video

Another backstory - There was glass-office discussion about the offensive language in the following video. Rap artist Bobby Brown uses expletives in the interview, specifically the S-word, F-word and N-word. But because it was important to the tone of the interview and the personal background of the interviewee, it was OK'd for publishing with one condition - that it come with a disclaimer.

Editor's note: This video contains language that may be offensive to some viewers.

Get the Flash Player to see this video.

For the extended interview (audio) with Bobby Brown a.k.a. Church, go to Spokane7's Soundwave blog.

The obituary on William Buckley was on the front page of many other newspapers around the country, managing editor Gary Graham said.

But if his death announcement was so early in the news cycle (Radio was talking about it by morning drive time), and the story had been all over the Internet by then, shouldn't that have pushed the priority level of this story down a bit? reporter Jim Camden asked.

"He represents an era in politics that's still very significant," Graham said, adding that the time of passing may not matter if there is a lot of interest in Buckley's life story.

Then again, editor Steve Smith asked to compare the story placement of Buckley's death vs. Heath Ledger's death. Both are icons for a different audience. People who would be keen on details about Ledger's death may never have heard of Buckley.

Flashback - Graham remembers working in a Wichita newsroom when Kurt Cobain died. There was debate for story priority when few of the editing staff were all that enthusiastic about putting Cobain on the front page. His guess? Maybe Cobain was a bigger deal on the west coast at the time.

Other thin slices from A1 and Voices

• War estimate tops $3 trillion: Economist's calculation subject of congressional hearing today
• For Lotto winner, it's payback time
• Snowstorms bring out the best in area residents
• First Lilac Queen remembered as 'gracious lady'
• Manito ducks find new homes
• Take a gander at this round's State B and State 4A coverage here.

Coming up

Expect a prom-themed edition of the Vox. Smith gave kudos to Vox staffer Caroline O'Grady, junior at Lewis and Clark, for a bunch of graphics/illustrations including the one seen at left.

Coming up in 7 will be a piece on cowboys and ninjas - a "fractured music scene" approach to local music that brings different genres together into the same show. Country performers and hip hop performers, for example. This creates cross-exposure of different fan bases ("Will Big Cat Daddy be there?"). Is there such thing as country hip hop? Smith asked. Yes: Chris "Sandman" Sands, for one, whose post-live streaming show is here, a podcast is here, and the mp3 collection includes the Ballad of a Salad.

In other news, the Today section will have a story on a guy who does extravagantly (excessively?) romantic things for his wife that have the potential to make every other person look bad (or the other argument, to make every other person more human).

But all of this is in tomorrow's issue... stay tuned.

During a radio station visit, managing editor Gary Graham met some radio guys who introduced themselves only as "Big Cat Daddy" and the Big T.

Inspired, Graham will be answering to "Big G" or "The Big G" today.

More on the morning meeting in a little while.

When it comes to putting text on top of photos, is a page more pleasing with or without it?

Photo director Larry Reisnouer prefers the Food section centerpiece photo (by Kathy Plonka) without the white text because it can distract some readers from what's in the image - In this case, the sprinkling of a garnish onto a lamb dish. Meanwhile, a possible argument from the other camp - It's good to have a bit of headline above the fold of the full page.

This image appears on page D1.

Coming up

State 2 B coverage, potentially good theatre, and a story on a doctor in small-town Athol, Idaho, who has taken eggs as payment.

A quick list of what editors found to be interesting reads:

• More Americans leaving religious ties of their youth: Individual concept of faith increasing in U.S. A lot of newspapers used this newswire story on their front pages today, managing editor Gary Graham. Part of his morning routine is to take a look at how newspapers around the country tackled 'story play.'
• Huetter election turmoil remains: Residency settled, but 2 not on rolls
• Elderly couple ambushed
• Spokane council approves photo-red: It's $124 a ticket if camera catches them running light
• Then & Now: Allison Beatty
• Jury pool queried in Schrock case: Focus was on children's deaths, phone use while driving. (One editor asked who was the woman in the photo - The average reader might assume she is Helm's wife, but we don't know for sure)

Clifford Helm leaves Spokane County Superior Court Monday February 25. 2008 after the start of his trial stemming from criminal charges after a vehicle crash that left five children dead. Christopher Anderson photo.

Disabilities and the newspaper

When it comes to wheelchair-user vs. wheelchair-bound, the proper term is wheelchair-user, multimedia editor Nancy Malone said. A person is not literally bound to the wheelchair — he or she uses one for mobility. (See the related story: "Al-Qaida widens tactics" features a wheelchair term in the sub-headline. The print edition says wheelchair-bound but the online edition has been changed.)

The Spokesman-Review follows standards of the Associated Press when describing people with disabilities, and only when the disability is important to a story. Some of the preferred terms include forms of 'visual impairment', 'hearing impairment', and 'speech impairment'; and in general one would say that a person has a disability or a medical condition rather than to say a person suffers from it.

Here is what the ethics code draft says on this topic under Sterotypes and Race:

Journalists should avoid using terms and phrases that demean or reflect assumptions about people’s religion, race, sexual preference, gender, ethnic background, status or physical condition. References to a person’s racial or physical characteristics may be used when appropriate in providing readers an accurate and balanced news account.

A video for the day (Produced by Thomas Clouse)

Get the Flash Player to see this video.

The phones were ringing off the hook when the newsroom offered to send tax forms to people. The offer ends at the end of this week, folks.

Available below are the three pieces of requested information... If you know anybody who knows anybody who knows anybody who needs this particular tax form and information, please pass it along. S-R will not be mailing stuff out after this week.

(1) THE 1040A FORM
(2) THE ADDRESS for the IRS
(3) THE LIST of places to get help

(1) T H E   F O R M

This is for people who are eligible for economic stimulus payments but do not otherwise file a return. Click on the image to go to download the 1040A tax form if you need it (It will take you to the PDF from the Internal Revenue Service) If you do not have access to a printer, there are forms available at the public libraries and at the lobby of The Spokesman-Review.

(2)  T H E   A D D R E S S

Mail 1040A Tax forms from Washington and Idaho to the following address:

Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service
Fresno, CA 93888-0015

(3)  T H E   L I S T

Here are the sites offering tax-preparation assistance in Washington and Idaho (Assistance offered through AARP)

WASHINGTON

CHENEY

Cheney Library
610 First St.
Sat. 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.; ends April 12
First come, first served

Wren Pierson Community Center
615 Fourth St.
Fri., noon – 4 p.m.; ends April 11
First come, first served

DEER PARK

Deer Park Library
208 S. Forest Ave.
Fri. 11 a.m. - 3 p.m.; ends April 11
First come, first served

MEDICAL LAKE

Medical Lake City Hall
124 S. Lefevre Road
Wed., Thurs., 5 – 7 p.m.; ends April 10
First come, first served

DOWNTOWN SPOKANE

Tom Foley U.S. Courthouse
920 W. Riverside Ave., Rm. 489
Mon., Tues., Wed., Thurs. 10 a.m. –
2 p.m.; ends April 15
First come, first served

YWCA
829 W. Broadway Ave., Spokane
Tues. 4-7 p.m.; Sat. 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.; closed from March 4-17; ends April 12
First come, first served

NORTH SPOKANE

Corbin Senior Activities Center
827 W. Cleveland St.
Wed. noon - 4 p.m.; ends April 9
By appointment – (509) 327-1584

Garland Avenue Alliance Church
2011 W. Garland Ave.
Thurs., Fri., Sat.; noon – 3 p.m.;
ends April 12
First come, first served

Northeast Community Center
4001 N. Cook St.
Thurs., noon – 4 p.m.; ends April 10
By appointment, (509) 482-0803

North Spokane Public Library
44 E. Hawthorne Road
Mon. 3-7 p.m.; ends April 15
First come, first served

SOUTH SPOKANE

Spokane Moran Prairie Library
6004 S. Regal St.
Tues., 3-7 p.m.; Sat. 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.; ends April 12
First come, first served

SPOKANE VALLEY

Spokane Valley Library
12004 E. Main Ave.
Mon. 4-7 p.m.; Thurs. 1-4 p.m.;
Sat. 10 a.m. – 1 p.m.; ends April 14
First come, first served

IDAHO

COEUR D’ALENE

Lake City Senior Center
1916 N. Lakewood Drive
Mon., Wed., Fri. 9 a.m. – noon;
closed April 15
By appointment, (208) 667-4628

Lutheran Church of the Master
4800 N. Ramsey Road, Coeur d’Alene
Fri., Sat. 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.;
closed April 15
First come, first served

Silver Lake Mall
200 W. Hanley Ave.; tax site is next to entrance to Red Oak store in the mall.
Mon. through Sat., 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.; Tues., Wed., Thurs. 5- 8 p.m.;
ends April 15
First come, first served

POST FALLS

Post Falls Senior Center
1205 E. Third Ave., Post Falls
Tues., Thurs. 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.; ends April 15
By appointment, (208) 773-9582

RATHDRUM

Rathdrum Senior Center
805 Montana St., Rathdrum
Tues., Thurs. 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.; ends April 15
By appointment, (208) 687-2028

It's a Monday that felt like one. No deep news philosophy discussions today. Here are some nuggets and highlights from today's and weekend's print editions:

TODAY

• Violence climbing near WSU campus: Pullman cops want to fine fighters; 'university district' floated
• Taming the tantrums: Parents weigh in on best methods of dealing with child meltdown

SATURDAY

• Pristina owner commits suicide
• Sterling wins suit against feds: Judge sides with financial firm, but limits damages to $1 million
• Schools dump recalled beef in Northside Landfill: Officials reject incineration; 50,000 pounds buried. More beef recall or mad cow disease-related stories are in Newstracks, and there's video from Friday, shown below. One staffer asked if this story was overplayed. Deputy city editor Dan Hansen said it was remarkable that one interviewee on the video talked about animal abuse, instead of talking about sick cows getting into the food supply.

SUNDAY

• Mentally ill inmates number in thousands: Fate 'dismal' for convicts like Kim, advocates say
• this month's installment of Voices of War with Bryant Smick (with interview audio)
• Out in the cold: Thrill and chills for Yellowstone campers

MULTIMEDIA

Bruttles, a locally-made soft peanut brittle will be featured on the Rachel Ray Show. Click here to view the audio slideshow.

Recalled beef buried in landfill

Get the Flash Player to see this video.

"Baynes darted – yes, darted, as a manatee darts – around to intercept and in a matter of minutes was at the other end by himself, ramming the ball through to the amazement of the world’s scientists." (Find this in Baynes' dunk delivers)

Other thin slices

• There have been roughly 1,100 calls to The Spokesman-Review about tax forms since the newsroom offered to have editorial staff mail out forms and information to people who request them. Is it a lot of postage? "We probably spend more than that on pizza," said senior editor Carla Savalli. "It's worth it."
• Iron Bartender comes with a video (see below). Pick up 7 at your nearest drop point for a smashing rundown of Monday's event at RAW Sushi. Iron Bartender continues this coming Monday.
• Kim sentenced to life in prison: Great human elements, editors said in reference to the part about Bryan Kim's sister's concern for her family's safety. The Kim story also has an accompanying sidebar about a woman in a similar situation.
• Wolves coming off endangered list gave good background about why the story is important, folks said.
• Here's the dirt: Movin' on up to 22nd floor: Attorney relocates practice to the Davenport Hotel Tower

Video roundup: Manito ducks boxed up for delivery

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Battle of the Bartenders

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Miss Ukraine 2007 visits Spokane

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The moon falls into the shadow of the earth during a total lunar eclipse Wednesday night, February 20, 2008. Rajah Bose photo.

Did anybody watch the lunar eclipse last night, managing editor Gary Graham asked. Photo director Larry Reisnouer preferred Doug Clark's view. Features editor Ken Paulman had some neighbors who were ready to watch the whole thing but went indoors after a short while.

• Aides advised McCain, lobbyist to sever their ties, report says: Inner circle saw contact with woman as campaign threat. Editors brought this story up as a topic though the discussion was short - They said the New York Times article had stronger suggestions about an affair, but the Washington Post version focused more on a potential for conflict of interest and bad press.

• 'Phantom' tops lineup on INB stage: Best of Broadway season announced. Paulman would have preferred to have this story for the front page of the Today section, but the press conference was after the features section production deadline.

• Valley's Pheasant Hill Inn gets a new, local brand: Magnuson Hotels based in Spokane. The print edition headline says "Pleasant" but it's "Pheasant."
• Global warming could spread pythons across lower U.S.

A couple of Voices highlights

• Tavi has his smile back: Sheepdog's owner's dentist saves canine's tooth with root canal, filling
• U-Hi students create special-needs cheer squad: Senior project brings lessons for life

Six S-R readers showed up for the ethics code revision public input meeting today at the Downtown library branch.

There were few specific suggestions for ethics code terminology, but there was a lot of discussion about general media philosophy, including questions that nobody can really answer yet.

Whitworth professor Gordon Jackson facilitated this session, with newsroom senior editor Carla Savalli and editorial page editor Doug Floyd present to listen.

The people who showed up (besides the two editors, two staffers, one photographer and one facilitator):

A blogger/retired detective, a long-time subscriber, a former mayoral candidate, a retired librarian, a member of Spokane Ethics Committee, and a citizen civic watchdog who said he came in part "to find out who's calling me a wacko."

Some of the themes from this one-hour meeting:

« Things that don't get coverage. How does the code address stories that do not appear in the S-R, asked demolition contractor Mike Noder. Jackson referred Noder to the part in the values statement that goes 'We tell people what we know when we know it, without fear or favor,' especially in matters of significant public interest.

« Removal of content. It irked blogger Ron Wright that some blog comments are pulled without explanatory text, suggesting S-R tell readers when a comment has been removed. (The standard for S-R blogs is "Please keep yours civil, clean and on-topic; spam of all kinds will be ruthlessly deleted").

« There was a bit of a discussion detour about River Park Square, mostly related to conflict of interest and what they said was coverage or lack of coverage about the Cowles company's business ventures, to which Jackson referred folks to the 'Conflict of interest' section.

« Enforcement of the code. "Adhere to the code. I don't know how to get somebody to adhere to a code," said Stephen Reichard, member of the Spokane Ethics Committee, who asked how the code will be enforced, for lack of a better word.

« Keeping it simple. Long-time subscriber Frank Schoonover said "I really don't care what it's taken to get those stories," only that the newspaper's content is accurate, newsworthy and timely. Pointing to the ethics code in broadsheet, he said he would rather see a small, simple version that challenges journalists to do the very best they can. "Take War and Peace here and put it into a pamphlet."

Fairly normal meeting today. Here are editors, staffers picks for the morning.

• Scammer hired to sell loans to seniors: Felon has been working for Sterling subsidiary. The gold quote as chosen by city editor Addy Hatch: "I can't remember a time in all the time I've been a regulator when a bank actually hired a felon." --Deb Bortner, of the state's Department of Financial Institutions, in Olympia
• Tax centers gear up for rush: Rebate checks require forms from benefits recipients who haven't filed in years. Requests are coming in from readers who would like tax forms sent to them. Strange that the newspaper is providing this service today and not federal government, said Hatch, senior editor Carla Savalli and managing editor Gary Graham.
• Lunar eclipse could be stunner
• Spartan approach: Rosalia boys go to state for first time since '81
• Offbeat oatmeal: Jazz up your bowl with steel-cut oats. With a surprisingly delicious-looking oatmeal photo, folks said. (Rajah Bose photo)
• A headstart on sourdough was our travel story for the day - A travel story is where everybody enjoys reading about it but most of us will never go there.
• Wall Street trims gains as oil prices soar: Should coverage about oil prices closing at $100 have been published with higher priority?

Cuss word

Coming tomorrow is a preview on comedian Paula Poundstone. There's an audio clip in the works in which Poundstone talks on the phone with feature writer Jim Kershner.

But in the clip, Poundstone says "goddamn."

Editors had a quick discussion but here are the talking points, both on and off camera:

• Should offensive language be flagged? Does that increase the possibility that the content will be accessed?
• As for readers who would be offended, does it extend past the highly religious?
• What about the fact that this will be multimedia? Is it different from standards for direct quotes? Yes, features editor Ken Paulman said. Readers take initiative by clicking on a link, while readers may have less forewarning with an offensive word used in a story.
• Paula Poundstone is a comedian. Will listeners expect this from Poundstone? asked deputy city editor Dan Hansen.
• Here are some past summaries on editor discussions: Jan 18, 2008, Dec. 10, 2007.
• Is there a downside to using an editor's note disclaimer?

Here's a sampling of editor's notes... This one appeared in a Dec. 8, 2007, story that contained sexual slurs about women, and in a story about changing occurrences of "squaw" on regional place names:

Editor’s note: This story contains language that some readers may find offensive

and from a Jan. 21, 2004 story about child sexual abuse:

Editor's note: This story contains graphic information that might be offensive to some readers.

Showdown at the 4:30 meeting:

(1) There's a lunar eclipse coming Wednesday evening
that will occur at an accessible hour (not like at four o'clock in the morning, features editor Ken Paulman points out, and you won't have to "drive to Green Bluff" for it)

(2) Meanwhile there's coverage of a morning meteor, story found here with surveillance footage and reader feedback (see sidebar links).

With a limited amount of space on A1 and B1, editors wondered whether the meteor or eclipse has more news value. Folks considered moving one of the page 1 stories to a less prominent position to make room, but they were all too important to move.

Conclusion? Packaging the outer space stories side by side.

Thin slices
• Ancient frog was size of bowling ball, image credit: SUNY-Stony Brook
• Doug Clark's 'Hot Rod Lincoln' story
• Presidential candidates on health care | view health care story without formatting

Emery Stacklin, 3, of Coeur d'Alene enjoyed the warm sunshine at McEuen Park on Monday, February 18, 2008. Kathy Plonka photo.

Anybody have "really cogent, on-point, provocative statements about today's paper?" editor Steve Smith asked.

No. But there's plenty about tomorrow.

Miss Ukraine 2007 will be holding an exclusive talk show at a local church about culture and politics. Her theme is 'How to be beautiful, yet stay pure.' Tomorrow's paper will also include information about tax forms and workshops - following yesterday's conversation about stimulus rebates and some phone calls from readers, including two to assistant city editor Scott Maben.

Not a whole lot of complicated issues today, but here's a three-pack of thin slices and weekend picks.

TODAY

• Editor Steve Smith is beginning to get panic calls from people about the new TV converters that are required for digital cable. City desk also gets calls from people who are confused about stimulus rebates, but some of these people make less than the minimum for filing a tax return. S-R is considering ways to make a particular tax form(s) available to those who ask for it.
• One S-R photojournalist and one correspondent are in the Middle East pursuing stories about the Shipp Twins.
• Rep. Timm Ormsby, D-Spokane was incorrectly listed from another city in a Monday Spokesman-Review story.
• Cruel intentions: Girls bully each other too
• State primary deadline Tuesday: Three-way Republican contest is close
• Eugster advocates lower taxes: Former city councilman petitions for smaller utility rate. When does Eugster become an ordinary citizen? editors ask. Probably never.

Kudos for this photo, editors said.

New state initiatives have given Chase Middle School eighth-graders Mariah Eby, Nadine Quitugua, Rhiannan Dozier, Bartolo Salazar and Sebastian Rinde, from left, hope that they will be able to further their education. Christopher Anderson photo

SUNDAY

• Doug Clark: Omdougsman knows some, tells all about the new S-R radio initiative, plus an explanation about why it's called transparency.
• The Slice: The airwaves will never be the same
• Mobile home parks getting more scarce: Two low-income housing sites to close in summer
• Swindler's number is coming up: For his part in a scheme that bilked 1,000 investors out of $50 million, a Spokane man may spend 15 years in prison

SATURDAY

• Penny wise, pound foolish: Always scouting out the cheapest deal could cost you more money in the end

In Johnny Depp news, editor Steve Smith and managing editor Gary Graham have discussed the correspondent's fictional piece about the film star (which Smith called "failed satire") but it's still fuzzy what happens next.

(For the backstory, click here for yesterday's post)

On the Huckleberries blog is one thread where people clearly don't separate correspondents from full time staff, said photo director Larry Reisnouer. Here's part of a comment by MamaJD on the blog:

More importantly --- Where was the editorial staff on this? I understand she is a correspondent and somehow different standards may apply but I gotta tell ya, SR -- the average reader doesn't know the difference between reporter and correspondent.

"It just doesn't reflect well on us," said Carla Savalli, senior editor for innovation - It makes people wary that other content in the newspaper may be fiction also - which it isn't.

Smith said if this had been one of S-R's own full-time staffers, the piece wouldn't have been published. Normally the post-gloop process is to investigate the issue, take recommendations, and Smith and Graham would make a decision.

Assistant city editor Dave Wasson suggests having Voices correspondents identify themselves as Voices correspondents, not "I work for The Spokesman-Review."

The S-R editorial staff have yet to present a code of ethics for correspondents to sign, and Smith expects that the correspondent code will vary slightly from the newsroom code. Correspondents may have less restriction on conflict of interest e.g. community involvement, but newsroom standards about accuracy and truth still apply just the same. The Voices do have a different style for presentation of columns, or quasi-columns.

Thin slices

• School officials deny they're 'Net nannies'. Features editor Ken Paulman said it's amazing how often posted online content comes back to haunt people.
• At home in the historic Webster house has an accompanying slideshow.
• Pristina Pine closes, laying off 115: Was this just as big of a story as Deaconess' layoffs? Should it have been moved to the front page? No, editors said, because even though the jobs were similar in pay, the Deaconess coverage is more complicated and more long-term.
• Returning airmen welcomed home has a video component, first video by Meghann M. Cuniff:

Get the Flash Player to see this video.

• Model-train buffs looking for new track comes with video.

Get the Flash Player to see this video.

Not the most mainstream thing for Valentine's Day, but this is amazing soup, and it comes with a slice of newsroom culture.

Fish head soup appeared a while back in a front-page story on June 28, 2007, about the death of Spokane Gypsy leader Jimmy Marks. It also features in a follow-up column on July 12, 2007 by reporter Mike Prager.

The following is a condensed version of the fish head soup recipe from Mr. Marks, adjusted for universal quantities and shortened to fit the blog code.

While these aren't good times for getting salmon heads, which make excellent soup, one of the joys of fish head soup is in its variation - It works to substitute different vegetables, swapping out fish fillets for fish heads, using different fish, or shrimp, scallops, clams or crab. The soup can also be made completely vegetarian. This is a retelling of a retelling - the parentheses are notes from Marks' S-R reporter friend Prager.

In addition to being a community icon, Mr. Marks was a frequent caller to the Spokesman-Review newsroom and would send giant jars of spicy pickled vegetables. Doug Clark also wrote Gypsy Curse as a tribute. So here's to Jimmy Marks, and Happy Valentine's Day to all, in case you hadn't made dinner plans.

Here is [the] recipe as told to [Prager] by Jimmy. Take one large or two smaller heads and cover with water, add salt and a teaspoon or two of vinegar (it dissolves calcium from bones.) Stir the heads a bit as the pot warms up to keep them from sticking. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for an hour, no more. You might add celery tops, garlic, herbs, etc., to liven the broth.

Remove the heads, lay them on a plate or large bowl and remove all of the edible parts you can manage, eyeballs optional, setting the meat aside. Recover any broth back to the pot and strain the broth to remove bones or remaining fish.

Add about 4 parts tomatoes, several cloves of diced garlic, up to 1 part white rice (depending on how much broth you have - this will take some guesswork).

Start adding veggies in order of hardness: celery, onion, some type of garden green like collards or chard, (oregano, thyme are optional), green pepper (add last), Italian parsley and possibly corn, beans, peas, kidney beans, lima beans, edamame, eggplant, whatever you like, and not necessarily all of them, just whatever is available and what sounds good...

Season with chile pepper in whatever form you can get it, and as hot as you want it. Salt to taste and add a little at the table if necessary.

Add back the removed fish, and any additional seafood such as possibly clams, shrimps, scallops or crab, and any additional salmon that's available. I prefer wild fish over farmed because of the lesser pollution and reliability of the feed in the North Pacific.

Sweet basil should be added at the end. Also, I usually put a couple three dashes of sugar in as well...Good luck, and hope that the mojo kicks in. As I recall, Jimmy called it "jajoobie" or something to that effect.

So when editors read the paper this morning, what a surprise to find out that Johnny Depp was not in Idaho after all. Three movements:

• In last week's episode of Prairie Voice, correspondent Mary Jane Honegger had written a column about Johnny Depp helping her shovel snow off the roof.
• This also led to a nice discussion on Huckleberries, plus today's response:
• The catch came this week when the columnist revealed the previous story to be a j-o-k-e.

There was no obvious hint that the column was meant as a joke, deputy city editor Dan Hansen said at this morning's meeting. In fact, features editor Ken Paulman added that it's not completely implausible to have a movie star in North Idaho because it's happened before.

There was a short discussion at last Thursday's meeting about whether it was really Depp. S-R folks gave it some thought and decided to confirm it. Features reporter Jim Kershner sent an email to the people at the Depp camp to ask whether he was in the area: Fiction, folks.

Hansen said the first column was technically in violation of the ethical code - accuracy and truth, etc. It gets fuzzier - S-R ethics code does not directly address the use of jokes or sarcasm in a column. (Also see: roles of newspaper to inform and occasionally entertain, and also see: columnist Doug Clark's wiggle room)

Here are some selections from the ethics code draft:

Accuracy

proper names, titles, phone numbers, street and Web addresses and other facts (historical information, dates, equations, statistics and geographical directions) must be verified

Truth

It’s worth stating the obvious: Journalists seek truth. Our credibility depends on our ability to be accurate, balanced and independent with our news report.

Correspondents

Editors should strive to ensure that the work that correspondents do is in compliance with this code of ethics.

Some discussion questions
Do readers make the separations between columnist and reporter, reporter and correspondent, correspondent and columnist?
The Spokesman-Review declares it fiction when it's fiction such as with Spokane7's Shattered Glockenspiel. When is a story so ridiculous that it does not require a disclaimer that it is not true?
Perhaps more importantly, is it excusable to have a bad sense of humor?

Thin slices and kudos

• Empire cutting 130 jobs: Deaconess, Valley Hospital parent in financial straits
• John Blanchette: Hearings nothing more than a waste

A great photo:

Former deputy U.S. marshal David Brodhagen exits the U.S. Courthouse in downtown Spokane, Wash. Wednesday February 13, 2008 after pleading guilty to a federal charge of "official writings" where he lied about a college degree on job promotion papers. Brodhagen had used his bogus Saint Regis University degree that he purchased from a Spokane-based diploma mill to attain a promotion and a $15,000 salary increase. Rajah Bose photo.

Get the Flash Player to see this video.

Priceless quote

Senate backs wildlife corridor plan: Spokane would be 'capital' of Yellowstone to Yukon region. Managing editor Gary Graham and assistant city editor Dave Wasson's pick:

"I hadn't realized this, but Spokane's the second-largest metropolitan area in the region, and it is the gateway from here," said the bill's prime sponsor, Sen. Ken Jacobsen, D-Seattle.
...As for the clause declaring Spokane the capital, Jacobsen said, he just added that "so people would think to go to [Spokane]."

There are radio journalists in the building. New S-R radio guys Dan Mitchinson and Dick Haugen and now-correspondent Rebecca Mack have been walking around on the 4th floor.

Business will be tougher at the Spokesman-Review this year, but the company will keep working at it with some new ventures, W. Stacey Cowles and a handful of managers said at a noon meeting today. An hour wasn't enough to get into detail, but there was time for a rundown on the state of the news industry and some previews on new S-R projects.

There's plenty of bad news:
• Industry and company advertising revenue is down because advertisers are finding new ways to spread the word, because consumer habits are changing toward web
• Substitutes such as Craigslist detour readers from buying ad space
• Online advertising e.g. Google will charge for readers who actually click, compared to readers who look at paper
• Fewer young people are using newspapers everywhere, and current subscribers are eventually going to die
• There are many information sources to choose from in the world

Some of the efforts for the year:
• Making alliances with other outlets, increasing sensitivity to advertisers' needs, marketing solutions and not space, controlling cost
• Working hard to keep the subscribers (and revenue) that S-R already has
• Taking more journalistic risk, promote the Spokesman-Review as a source of information and not just as a newspaper
• The radio initiative, which will also help promote print coverage and enhance S-R as a brand of information delivery
• S-R.com redesign, new web sites for specific audiences, some Voices expansion coming soon, multimedia in news
• Also, the innovation team had a good first two months with multimedia production and interactive features. Our Kids Our Business will continue this year also.

There was one notable item from the Q&A:
How can the S-R capitalize on the deeply local policy-changing journalism such as Otto Zehm? Cowles and Higgins responded that the cross-platform promotion would benefit the newspaper in general, and it would highlight the efforts in print. Although generally, many reporters and editors might add, tough investigative and policy-changing journalism also results in plenty of subscription cancellations.

• Is anyone going to have mice-shaped strawberries for Valentine's Day? Deputy city editor Dan Hansen suggested mice shaped like strawberries.
• Principal among 48 becoming citizens includes a video embedded into the story.
• The newsroom had some visitors this morning from Eastern Washington University's editing and publishing class, all journalism majors - Thanks for coming in, and it was very nice to see former S-R veteran Jamie Tobias Neely.

Good morning Spokane

The talk of the morning was the new radio initiative, where the S-R has announced (1) the hires effective in March (announcement made in Feb) and (2) the partnership with RadioSpokane, Spokane arm of Mapleton Communications, LLC (announcement made this week). S-R content will be on one or more of the stations listed in the press release, although it doesn't matter to S-R's role in the information flow, Smith said. The list of possible stations includes 1510 AM KGA and 101.1 FM KEYF.

For more about the press release, click here to go to the News is a Conversation thread.

Did S-R initiate this? Answer coming soon, but upper management have been talking about this radio thing since early December, and these talks included Publisher W. Stacey Cowles and the sales and marketing director Shaun O'L. Higgins.

Will these radio guys work for the newsroom? They will be subject to the newsroom ethics code, even if their news judgments and decisions on story play will probably be different, Smith said. Senior editor (for innovation) Carla Savalli will be coordinating/approving content flow among platforms, as has been done with iTeam content.

What about Rebecca Mack? Right now the contract with Mack is for a correspondent position for Hard7 in Spokane7, but Smith didn't rule out future changes.

Have media outlets in other areas taken on these kinds of partnerships? Sure, but other areas' partnerships have involved television stations.

What about the conspiracy nuts who say the 'Cowles Gang' pushed for the layoff of Mark Fuhrman and Rebecca Mack so the S-R could have a radio deal? The conspiracy nuts will be talking about this theory, and at least one conspiracy nut has already begun, reporter Jim Camden said. Assistant city editor Dave Wasson said the 'Why RadioSpokane?' question is a legitimate one, because the Cowles-owned KHQ also has a radio component.

Content is coming soon, March or April.

Publisher W. Stacey Cowles will be making a 'state of the newspaper' address today at two sessions for Spokesman-Review employees. More soon.

They like it, they really do

Staffers weren't bothered by this peel-off ad. Maybe we're learning to be bothered by a lack of ads, Hansen said.

It was a slow day yesterday and by the 4:30 meeting, editors weren't feeling all that great about getting news content... but lo and behold, news happened. Here are some picks from the morning.

• U.S. Hispanic population is on pace to triple: Number to reach 438 million by 2050, study says
• Hold the salt: Cutting back on sodium starts at the supermarket
• Murder suspect's troubles are years old: Orth, 25, recounted mental illness in 2000. This is perhaps the third mental illness-related murder covered in the S-R in recent weeks. Perhaps a time to revisit news coverage of mental health services, editors agreed.
• Photographer held in unsolved slaying: Wife's throat cut in Anaheim in 1983

Here are the headlines dropped at this morning's meeting:

• Connect: A long life of lessons to share
• Fallen soldier mourned: Hundreds attend Spokane service for Army Sgt. James Craig
• Mom fighting foster parents for son: Eight-year battle with Montana couple reaches Washington Supreme Court on Tuesday

• This Sunday's Marshall Chesrown horses story has an audio slideshow component in Video Journal.

For this story, reporter Erica Curless wrote and performed the voiceover. Multimedia editor Colin Mulvany said it's tremendously helpful to have the reporter do it because the reporter is closer to the story than any other third-party voice.

Spokesman-Review multimedia has had a very conversational reading tone.

"It feels more truthful to me," he said, describing conversational voiceovers as different from a "broadcaster" voice or a television voice, where pacing can be quicker and less personal.

Political headache for some readers

Some callers to editor Steve Smith's office were still upset and confused about election stuff.

At least one person asks why the delegate counts don't match. Here's one well-written:

Why are there so many conflicting sets of numbers listed as "THE" Super Tuesday "Vote/Delegate Results"? It seems that - especially after the official tallies are completed - the official websites and publications for various news organizations would agree. How can we trust this process if those charged with reporting to us - our own votes - don't agree?

--Lucy Jeanne, Deer Park

The short answer: None of the delegate counts match because they're all estimates, reporter Jim Camden said.

For those who missed the visits, there's Friday coverage here for Hillary Clinton at the West Central Community Center, and the Michelle Obama visit at the Fox.

The pages have video, audio, photos, stories, reader comments and live-on-scene blog posts - This stuff came in incrementally. (Some staffers find the slideshow program difficult to use, with captions that are too small, but it was a way to provide a photo set for each candidate that started with just a couple and grew to 20 or 30)

Videos from both camps to cap off event coverage:

Get the Flash Player to see this video.

Get the Flash Player to see this video.

From Saturday's caucus event:

Get the Flash Player to see this video.

Coming up

Healthy moderate salt consumption, and a story about a very convincing new scam.

In office news, word is managing editor Gary Graham is back tomorrow.

iTeam crew are either digging in and plowing through raw multimedia, or writing it out for tomorrow's print edition. Expect more video, which will be posted with the rest of the coverage here at Hillary Clinton visit and Michelle Obama visit infohubs. There are also some newer photos and media, including aforementioned audio excerpts of speeches, updated around 5 and 6 p.m. today.

... Everybody else is too, because we're all in that waiting room vortex before the big Clinton Obama campaign events. Here's a quick rundown of campaign coverage so far a la Transparent Newsroom:

Newsroom staff began mobilizing around 1 p.m., going out to venues to talk to waiting event-goers, getting photos of gathering crowds...

Reporters Jim Camden and Jonathan Brunt are blogging live from both venues through Spin Control 2.0. One producer is going out to the Obama venue to see about getting more photos to that set. On the code side from the S-R web developers, there's a photo feed, video feed, and comment feed growing in the pre-event heat. Click on the following links to find multifaceted coverage of the Hillary Clinton visit and Michelle Obama visit.

This is the first non-snow event for which the S-R has mobilized the new "innovation team" based on recent staff reorganization. The iTeam (because there's no i in team) includes editors, reporters and webfolk. iTeam was originally called "skunk works" although nobody got the old-school joke and everybody just started calling it the "iTeam," perhaps with a hyphen.

The goal is for experimental multi-angle on-and-offline coverage: Unique and timely breaking news for the web, and then to find ways to digest the information for meaningful consumption in the next day's print edition - much more than rerunning the stuff that will happen today.

Other live coverage notes

As soon as the campaign visitors get here, we also anticipate audio from venue.

If you know anybody who's there who can send photos through their cell phones- call 'em, text 'em, tag 'em - add your media to the flow by txting or emailing us at breakingnews@spokesman.com.

• One reader contacted editor Steve Smith to ask why the West Central Community Center for Hillary - Reader did not like choice of venue.
• Pick up your nearest Spokane7 - former KGA talker Rebecca Mack has her first Hard7 column as correspondent for the S-R.
• Check out the new audio slideshow at Video Journal about Marshall Chesrown's ranch. The story is coming Sunday in the print edition.
• HOME: "Apparently that was something people pulled out and saved for a very long time," said HOME editor Cheryl-Anne Millsap, who said feedback is still coming in from people who miss seeing HOME as its separate magazine-style section. Now it's a weekly feature in the Today section. Past issues of HOME are still available here online at s-r.com/home

Coming up

The Today section will have a story about the animal rights movement gaining supporters.

"Are we giving them the right to vote?" Smith asked, to which features editor Ken Paulman said not quite yet.

Just in time for the caucus, they said it would be nice to have a pawcus in which staffers could set up two food bowls labeled with two candidates names, set loose a herd of cats and do a head count. And that could be a video. That would be just as aggravating, said reporter Jim Camden who will be doing lead campaign coverage today.

This may go without saying, but stay tuned for today's coverage from both venues - the Fox Theater and the West Central Community Center. The plan today is to send two reporters to each venue. Here are the links we have:

Related stories:
Campaigns swing through town today | Police, traffic logistics | Campaigns energize high school students | Washington caucus Q and A
Clinton town hall: Comment and find event details
Obama rally: Comment and find event details
Share your experience: Send photos and text messages from the events to breakingnews@spokesman.com
Election news: Profiles, headlines, polls, video clips and more

To improve circulation.

It's T-minus roughly 24 hours (or at the time of the creation of this blog post) until Clinton and Obama campaign events start up in town and staffers have been meeting and talking all morning about who's covering what (how many reporters for each event and what their individual focuses will be) what kind of multimedia is possible (The plans involve video, interactivity, discussion, blogging, and creative and sensible repurposing of online content for the print version). Tomorrow will be a busy day in the newsroom. Please stay with us - there will be lots of timely coverage and updates.

Can this caucus stuff get any more complicated? suggests assistant city editor Dave Wasson. The idea for tomorrow is for a Q&A caucus story format.

Then there is the question of whether SR employees want to go to tomorrow's political events to watch. Here's what folks tentatively agreed on: Staff should not carry signs, edge into podium shots, get on TV, wear political colors, smile nor frown. But can put a paper bag over one's head...

Newsroom ethics policy prevents staff from being politically involved. Some journalists here don't even vote.

The other issue that goes without saying, Smith said, is balance in tomorrow's coverage. Here are some variables:
- Candidate vs. spouse of candidate - One of them is definitely the bigger news.
- Split page in half because it's one campaign vs. another?
- the possibility of a full compelling photo of one subject, used for centerpiece photo.
- whether something newsworthy happens at one of the two events.

Thin slices

•Smith took some calls about the wolf story. These readers said they didn't believe that there are wolves in the area. ("Well, transfer 'em to me," said deputy city editor Dan Hansen. "We spent millions of dollars to get wolves there, so they better be there.")
•One editor said there's a jump photo on page A9 that pops out of the story because STA is featured in the photo, but not in the story about the North-South freeway.
•The bar graph on the front page: The bars are correct but the numbers got mixed up.
•Johnny WHO was shoveling your snow?

Coming up

Coming up in 7, buffet micro-reviews. The one that staff liked best? Bombay Palace.

What's a ground blizzard?

Get the Flash Player to see this video.

Editors discussed whether to promote a Heath Ledger prescription drugs death story to the front page. Was this just another celebrity story, or would it be about the dangers of prescription drug misuse? Copymistress Kat Smith argues that such a story might be old by tomorrow morning, when the interested readers will have already found out by other means. Another editor suggested that running a Ledger story be conditional: If the Associated Press newswire offers a deep issue story, using Heath Ledger's death as a door to discussion, that could warrant front page placement for tomorrow.

An unrelated sidenote

Managing editor Gary Graham will be back Monday.

Or is it the other way around? When editor Steve Smith came home to moose in his backyard, he came back this morning with an important question, "Are moose edible? Like, highly edible?"

Doubleplusgood

In other news, Super Tuesday went very smoothly and very well, Smith said. Everybody took a gander at the front page at the morning meeting and had one of two opinions about the tricolor decoration below "The Spokesman-Review": "I think it was too cheesy," said one editor, while others said it was good for getting readers' attention.

We like visitors

The U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker came to talk with the editorial board of The Spokesman-Review yesterday. The story appears on the on the right side of the front page or online here, with audio excerpts here. Smith said Crocker answered the board's questions very thoughtfully. Ed board also asked him whether he wanted to run for mayor and asked about his views on snow removal.

Speaking of snow, photographer Christopher Anderson made the photo outside after the interview when he and reporter Jim Camden followed Crocker out to the car. The meter had expired but he didn't get a ticket.

Photographer Brian Plonka and now-correspondent Jim Hagengruber will be going to the Middle East to do more coverage on the Shipp Twins, and Crocker agreed to let the two S-R journalists spend some time with him to get some coverage of the diplomatic effort. Plonka and Hagengruber will have five days of downtime when they wait to be embedded. This overseas trip is scheduled for March.

Voter fright

Why does it have to be so complicated, asked a caller or two of editor Steve Smith. Folks came up with the story ideas that involve comparing voting methods in various places, because imagine how complicated it must be to explain the American voting process to people in other countries, said assistant city editor Dave Wasson.

Yo, there's a Super Tuesday recap page right here.

Multimedia

Check out this audio slideshow by Brian Plonka for Finding The Frame, where he talks about making the hawk photo.

Here's a video by mobile reporter Thomas Clouse, on plowing in Brownes Addition:

Get the Flash Player to see this video.

In response to a question an editor asked at the morning meeting, correspondent Virginia DeLeon sent this to go with today's story about fasting.
From www.survivaltopics.com

Medical Doctors: Commonly cite 4 to 6 weeks without food

10 Political Prisoners in Ireland: Lived 46 to 73 days before succumbing to lack of food

12 individual starvation protesters: Two lost tongues, 1 lost feet, 7 on kidney dialysis

Many war prisoners: Lived 28 to 40 days with no food

World War II concentration camps: With only 300 to 600 calories per day, many thousands did not have enough food to survive more than a few months at best.

Terminally Ill patients: Live 10-days to 3-weeks without food depending upon initial health

Obese: Can live from 3-weeks up to 25-weeks and more without food depending upon initial health and amount of fat

Mahatma Gandhi: Survived a 3-week fast while in his 70's

This is one of the things our staff were talking about yesterday. It's an un-broadcast Super Bowl commercial that features a swear jar. For those of you who read along in recent months, the Spokesman-Review meeting table swear jar disappeared this past November when the Christmas Fund started up.

Thin slices, things we mentioned

• Thank you to a Eugene journalist visiting with us this morning. He will be porting to his mobile journalist position (in Eugene) soon.
• Photojournalist Brian Plonka once again shot a great photo while sitting in his car. The hawk story is here and it goes with the photo shown below.
• This morning's weather update: Snow.
• Empty stomach, full heart (a story about fasting). One editor asked a legitimate question- "How long can you fast before you die?" This story comes just in time for the Catholic season of Lent.
• Jim Meehan's Zags coverage for today
• Editor Steve Smith took some calls from people who were confused about political coverage. Once again, here's our political coverage portal, Spin Control 2.0 which includes the blog, calendar, precinct finder and recent news feed.

Red-tailed hawk clutches a rodent making a kill along the Rathdrum Prairie, February 1, 2008, where scores of raptors co-inhabit with the growing number of homes and roads in North Idaho. Brian Plonka photo.

Get the Flash Player to see this video.
We watched this video at the 10 a.m. meeting today. Lunar New Year begins Thursday. Find more Video Journal work here at /blogs/video

Video Journal has a couple new pieces by Brian Immel, one of which is a narrated audio slideshow of snowstorms much worse than we saw in past weeks. Video Journal traffic and blog traffic in general has increased significantly in the past few months according to our Google site stats service.

Get the Flash Player to see this video.

Maps to you

Editor Steve Smith and reporter Jim Camden have been getting reader feedback about the voter turnout vs. plow schedule story on Saturday, which ran on Feb 2 with two maps side-by-side.

At least one reader accused the newspaper of suggesting the city was basing its plow schedule on voter turnout.

The headline in the print version was "Plows go where voters live." Headlines are always written in present tense, and this headline was like any other in the world of headline protocol. Readers took this one differently though: "Plows always go where voters live" vs. "Recently, plows went where voters live."

The story is only about recent data. For more on this, er, the story that goes with this headline, here's the full text.

Photo sales

If anybody remembers the preview posted on DB of the photo sales site, the site is now ready for use.

The photo department used to do this completely offline (remember the circumhorizon arc by Brian Plonka? That was a big hit), but now there's a cart-based system where you can pay with a credit card and search by photo, name, subject or even photographer's name.

Editors discussed promoting this site through online or print version:
- Putting it in the left-hand rail/strip of the front page, as a regular feature ("furniture," as we call it, or as city editor Addy Hatch calls it)
- Linking to it and promoting it on the web site
- Is it too presumptuous to promote it in the print version of The Spokesman-Review?
- In the past, the editorial department arranged for ads
Adding a url into the photo caption of the print version, although senior editor Carla Savalli calls it "uncomfortable connection between journalism and commerce."

Folks debated whether the headline "IT'S AN EMERGENCY" on the front page is overkill.

The story: Governors declare emergency due to heavy snowfall. Some editors argued it may be an emergency for many people, but that a lot of people have difficulty leaving their homes regardless of the weather. Deputy city editor Dan Hansen said he'd lean toward "emergency" if neighbors stopped helping each other - But help still gets around, and there are good people in this town.

Speaking of which, the "Need Assistance?" graphic was very readable and useful, said editor Steve Smith.

Click here to see a zoom of the "Need Assistance?" box shown at the top of the today's front page.

The box refers to the Help Your Neighbor feature that the newspaper has been promoting for the past few days. There is also a phone number listed, (509) 459-5400, for people who need help submitting a request and don't have access to a computer. So with this, the newsroom's lead editorial assistant brought up an important ethical issue to the editors.

Many of these callers believed that The Spokesman-Review is offering assistance - but the use of the map is actually more like Craigslist. Readers request help from other readers, and S-R.com serves as an intermediary.

It's a Rap

Ok, ok, shameless plug, this is music writer Isamu Jordan's first rap video for Spokane7.

Get the Flash Player to see this video.

Then Smith suggested we have somebody sing the headlines. ("It's an emerrr-gency..." features editor Ken Paulman suggested in tune.) See more Sommys post-event coverage here.

Other notes

• The Northwest page-B1 news briefs from today are not from the Associated Press, but rather from sharing content with other newspapers - which is how the Associated Press began in the early years, folks pointed out.

• This is another video by the S-R's Pullman bureau reporter Nick Eaton, this time covering a wild snow day at WSU, complete with snowboards and a new take on the term "dogsledding."

Get the Flash Player to see this video.