Like many of you following the Joseph Duncan trial, I feel appalled by what we've heard in testimony and from Duncan himself.

Three years ago when Shasta and Dylan first went missing, I interviewed the children's grandmother. She was a very soft spoken woman, who was in shock over what happened. And quite honestly, during the interview, I didn't know what to ask her...or how to ask it. What do you say in a situation like that?

We spent most of our time talking about the differences between the two children, who liked school, and who didn't. What they wanted to do when they were older...and if the family was holding up under all this pressure.

Of course, I was caught up in the whole media storm over the story...covering it for radio in Spokane, appearing on CNN, "Nancy Grace," and filing radio reports. I didn't really have time to think about how or what I felt. I was too busy trying to cover the story...and everyone from all over the country seemed to be fascinated and disgusted by what had happened in this tiny area of North Idaho.

Fast forward to August of 2008, and after reading SR reporter Betsy Russell's account of what those two children went through...I feel like I've been kicked in the stomach. Everything I didn't feel three years ago...I'm feeling now. And I know I'm not alone.

Now that the first phase of the trial is over, I'm starting to really get the chance to look at how we covered this story in recent weeks...on radio, in print and on line.

I honestly don't think we sensationalized the coverage (and believe me, if I thought we had, I would tell you right here)...after listening to what's come out of the courtroom, that just isn't possible. Many people think when a story like this breaks it's a way for newspapers to gain readers. Editor Steve Smith says it's just the opposite... we'll probably lose subscribers.

Since my background isn't print, I've been able to compare and contrast the two reporting styles. It's been horrific reading about what jurors heard or saw on any given day in the courtroom. But to me, it's been more difficult having to turn the written word into the spoken word...and report what's happened on the radio. I'm actually hearing it, in my own voice. And that, to me, makes it even more real.

When reporter Betsy Russell talks with us on the radio, I hear the story in a different way than I do when I read her articles. In fact, on several occasions, I've told her not to worry about coming on...covering something like this day after day gets to you...I don't care who you are, or how long you've been in the business.

There's been a lot of talk about how the media...and the Spokesman Review, has covered this story. Some feel we might have gone too far. Others say the insight from our reporters was needed. To tell you the truth....I don't know. I'm an employee of this paper, so I know my (our) job is to report the story, and I think Betsy Russell and Meghann Cuniff have done a damn fine job.

But I'm also a subscriber (yes, I buy the paper just like you),and I'm looking forward to the day when Duncan doesn't have to be front page news anymore. And judging from the jury's decision last week, that day may be in the not too distant future.

What do you think?

dan mitchinson

If you read reporter John Stucke's story on fluoride Sunday, you know it's still a very divided issue in Spokane...you're either for it, or against it. There doesn't seem to be much of a middle ground.

Anti-fluoride activists show up at Regional Health District meetings, and claim fluoride is "a sisnister chemical additive."

Then you have those people who feel we need as much fluoride in our water as we can get. Proponents of adding fluoride to our water say "the lack of fluoridation in Spokane and Coeur d' Alene discriminates against the poor...especially children whose parents don't encourage good dental hygiene."

And here's something to chew on, the number of children throughout the county with dental decay rose from 49 percent to 62 percent between 2000 and 2005, according to the Spokane health district.

So, are you for or against fluoridation? We can start that conversation here...or continue it "On the Record with Rebecca Mack" Monday morning at 11a.m. Call us with your opinion at 232-0790.

-dan

Nearly 50 percent of American's feel the government should require radio and TV stations to offer a balanced amount of liberal and conservative commentary.
That's according to a study by Rasmussen Reports. 71 percent say it's still possible to hear any political view in the media today.

If you want "fair and balanced" news, I've always felt you can find it on the radio, TV, print or on-line…it depends where you look (and listen) and what your political viewpoints are. If you want it, you'll find it.

Spokane has several conservative leaning radio stations, and one liberal (Air America).
Should the government mandate a fifty-fifty balance of conservative and liberal air time? What say you?

-dan

I've been reading one of my favorite on-line radio trade publications, and come across the question "If you were elected President of Radio, what would you do during the first 100 days of your administration?"

What a great question. There's a DJ or programmer inside us all…thinking "Boy, if I ran that radio station, I'd do this...." Or "Man, that dj isn't funny, why don't they let me do a show?"

So…if you were elected President of Radio…what would you do to improve the industry…or your favorite station?

-dan

Today the Spokesman Review launched our one hour news and talk show "On The Record w/ Rebecca Mack."

Having been a part of several "launches" this one went off almost flawlessly…which has me kind of worried. Almost every new show experiences technical glitches, computers crashing…what we call "growing pains." Guess this means we'll have to be on our toes in the coming days and weeks.

The response has been good…although we've had several people ask why the program isn't being streamed on the SR website. Unfortunately, under the agreement between the Spokesman, and Mapleton (who own kjrb) steaming isn't allowed. However, the show will be posted on line every afternoon by 12:30…so you'll be able to listen to it commercial free and at your convenience.

We appreciate the comments…good or bad. You can e-mail Rebecca at ontherecord@spokesman.com or call the program weekday mornings between 11a and noon at (509) 232-0790.

-dan

We debut our new weekday news/talk show Monday, "On The Record w/ Rebecca Mack." It airs from 11a.m. till noon on 790 kjrb.

It's what we call a "soft launch," meaning there hasn't been a lot of pre-show publicity. You'll hear…and read…more about it in the coming weeks as the show develops its style, and we work out the bugs (there's bound to be a few along the way...there always is).

Let us know what you think. You can call the show (232-0790) and talk about what's in the news…or what's on your mind.

-dan

NBC has hire Luke Russert as a correspondent.

Son of former Meet the Press host Tim Russert, Luke's first assignment will be covering the Democratic National Convention in Denver, and the Republican Convention in St. Paul.

Tim Russert died of a heart attack June 13th. He was 58.

Could talk show host Rush Limbaugh be the next owner of the St. Louis Rams football team?

Limbaugh, who is in good financial shape (he just signed a new deal worth 600 million dollars) told a St. Lous radio station he might be interested.

The teams owners said the Rams are not on the market....but if the right offer came along, who knows????

Limbaugh, who is from Cape Girardeau, Mo. said any decision he makes would have to be from a business decision...not based on ties to the region.

-dan

August 4th we launch "On The Record w/ Rebecca Mack." The hour long program will air weekdays at 11am on 790 kjrb, and will be a mix of news, talk, listener interaction and segments with columnists from the Spokesman Review.

Rebecca is well known in the community, having been the producer and fill in host of "The Mark Fuhrman Show." She also writes a weekly "Hard 7" column for the Spokesman. But this isn't a one person "I'm right, you're wrong" type of talk show. In fact, I'm hesitant to even call it a talk show (at least in the traditional sense). It's more like a community forum....with a chance to talk about the issues, bring you in depth reporting from our news staff.... and have a little fun along the way.

We'll be anxious to hear your comments about the program...and hope you'll be a part of it.

-dan

Odds and ends from the world of radio:

-The controversy over comments talk show host Michael Savage made on autism has cost him another station. Newstalk 1420 in Cleveland has yanked the show off the air.

-Proactive Communications, which owned top 40 station KQQB in Spokane (but is licensed out of Newport, WA), has been take over by a company called KMJY LLC.

Proactive’s owners fell behind on payments, forcing a court ordered sale.

The station has been off the air for over a month.

-And Clear Channel shareholders have approved the privatization of the radio company.
The deal, between CC and a private equity investors group, is expected to close by the end of this month.

-dan

Talk show host Michael Savage has been pulled off seven stations in Mississippi after making some controversial comments about autism.

Savage says his remarks were aimed at "greedy doctors (who) include children in medical categories which may not be appropriate is a crime against that child and their family. Let the truly autistic be treated….let the falsely diagnosed be free."

The host has claimed his comments were taken out of context by people who would like him off the air.

At least one company has pulled its advertising from the show.

Savage is heard in Spokane on 790 kjrb.

Producer's note: Listen to audio of Savage's remarks at the S-R's A Matter of Opinion blog by clicking here.

A FOX station in Las Vegas has found a very nontraditional way to generate some extra dough.

Product placement on the news desk.

"Two cups of McDonald's iced coffees sit on the Fox 5 TV news desk" every morning, according to a story in the Las Vegas Sun newspaper.

To top that off...the coffee isn't even real...it's fake! According to McDonalds, the anchors aren't supposed to mention or acknowledge the cups. I assume viewers see the product...and in the (summer) heat of the moment say to themselves "I think I need to rush out and get myself one of those iced beverages."

The Sun quotes Kelly McBride, an ethics group leader for a nonprofit journalism training organization, who says product placement in a newsroom, represents the “slippage” of news into advertisement, a descent into a dark world where conglomerate companies control coverage.

Oh, and then there's this quote from news director Adam Bradshaw:

“I stress the fact that it is being done on a program that is a combination of news entertainment and lifestyle programming."

Way to justify a bad decision Adam.

And to prove his point, the cups come out on the desk only in the 7am hour...when the "newscast" shifts from hard news to "light lifestyle news" according to Bradshaw.

Hmmmmmm.

In all fairness, I bet Bradshaw didn't have much of a say in the product placement. It probably came from the general sales manager, who found a way to increase his bottom line....and decrease the value of the news product he's trying to sell.

-dan

From "Inside Radio"

"For the first time in 14 years, the FCC has given its blessing to downsize a clear channel 50,000-watt station.

The FCC has given (the OK) to Mapleton Communication's plan to reduce the nighttime power of “NewsTalk AM 1510” KGA, Spokane in order to increase its Bay Area KPIG to cover more of San Francisco.

The move allows other West Coast stations to also improve their nighttime signals."

And in the interest of full disclosure, The Spokesman Review provides newscast to kjrb, which is owned by Mapleton.

-dan

There's an immediacy to radio you can't get anywhere else…that includes TV and the web.
Covering a fire….or any natural disaster is challenging in best of times, and the past 24 hours have had their share of challenges. But I think, all things considered, we've done a good job. Of course there's always room for improvement…and we'll never just settle for "good enough."
One thing concerns me though…with TV, cable, radio, and the web all 24/7, there's this need to "feed the machine," and for reporters and news directors to get information on the air, before it's been confirmed, or checked out. I noticed that today on several local web sites and TV stations. Reporting facts about homes that burned that just wasn't true at the time (I know, because we talked to the same public information officer).
When a natural disaster hits, it's our job to bring you the information you need. But we need to get it right…which is more important than getting it on the air first (and getting it wrong).
Thoughts?

-dan

OK, we all know there are cut backs going on in the radio, TV and newspaper business….but things aren't this bad yet, are they? Sometimes you just have to laugh (our thanks to Snofla, via Flickr)

-dan

As you might have read online at the SR, there is an efficiency study underway in our newsroom. A group of 8, who are working on a proposal for editor Steve Smith on how we can restructure the newsroom…streamline the workflow….while continuing to allow the Spokesman to do what it does best….tell stories.

I wasn't asked for my 2 cents…which is probably just as well. I wouldn't know where to start. But what I do know is...we can't fear change.

The Spokesman you grew up reading 50 years ago…isn't the newspaper we should be printing a year or two from now. It can't be. It won't survive.

I'm still the new kid on the block around here…and can only imagine the skepticism those who have been in this business a long time might be feeling. But having worked in radio since I was 16, I've gone through a few changes of my own (from records and carts to CD's and digital…from "personality radio" to "more music, less talk"). It hasn't always been change for the better…but it's forced me to be more creative in what I do….and how I do it. And in the end, I think I've been part of a better product.

Guess that's why I've always liked being the underdog. As the saying goes, when you're on top, you have nowhere else to go but down. But when you're down…and can throw out all the old ideas, and let the creative juices flow…the climb to the top (or even the middle of the pack) is sooooooooooo much more interesting and rewarding.

-dan

I just came back from spending the July 4th holiday in San Diego. The first thing I do when I go back home is to check out what local radio/TV and print are doing. It wasn't easy this time. Like many other cities across the country, layoffs and downsizing has hit my hometown...and it isn't pretty.

The familiar faces on television are not so familiar anymore. Management is replacing the veterans, and bringing in newbies who are willing to work for 25k and 300 days of sunshine a year.

Radio isn't much better, but there are still a few bright spots left, like my former employer, KOGO. The station continues to invest in local news and talk shows....but their news staff is smaller than it was just six months ago.

Then there's the San Diego Union Tribune. While never the best newspaper in the county (by a long shot), it was a pretty decent paper in its day. But reading it on the flight back to Spokane, I almost wished I hadn't. It's like eating junk food...you feel full for a short period of time, but a half hour later, you know you never got any real nutritional value out it.

Even though I've worked in radio and TV longer than I have for a newspaper company, I've always had a passion for the printed word. I had news ink on my hands by the time I was four or five years old. I'd watch the mail box each afternoon, waiting for the newspaper to arrive so I could read the comics and "Mini-Page." By the time I was seven or eight, my dad told me I should get my own subscription...I was reading more of the paper than he was. Guess I'm feeling a bit nostalgic.

These days print and electronic newsrooms all over the country are being downsized. In the past month, CBS cut 120 employees, Meredith Corp. let 120 people go (mostly on the publishing side) Media general has made an 11 percent reduction in staff and....well, I can go on and on.

Still, I guess I shouldn't complain too much. I'm heading towards my 25th anniversary in this business and still manage to make a decent living doing what I love. But it's tough to see something you love so much going through such hardship.

I often wonder when I talk to high school or college students who ask about going into this profession, if they'll be lucky enough to make this into a career, the way I have?

I'd sure like to think so.

-dan

Talk show host Rush Limbaugh, who celebrates his 20th anniversary next month as the nations most listened to radio program, has reportedly signed a new long term contract worth 400-million dollars.

Limbaugh's show attracts 20 million people a week, and is carried on 600 stations across the country.

-dan

OK Simpsons fans...what do you make of this.

Venezuelan regulators are forcing a local TV station to run public service announcements as punishment for broadcasting "The Simpsons."

It seems the show ran at 11a.m. in a time slot reserved for children's programs. So what did the TV station run in its place???? "Baywatch Hawaii."

As Homer himself might have said "Dohhhhh"

Talk show host Laura Ingraham is back behind the mic.

The syndicated radio host had been off the air for a month...while hosting a new show for the FOX news channel.

Ingraham didn't explain why she was gone...although the buzz was contract negotiations had stalled between Ingraham and the company that syndicates her show.

-dan

Lara Logan is considered a "rising star" at CBS news. She's reported from around the world for 17 years....contributes to "60 Minutes" and has just been named Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent for the news division.

In fact, there's even been talk the network is grooming Logan for "bigger and better things" (i.e. an anchor position????).

Now, Logan finds herself at the center of a story. A divorce between a U.S. State Department contractor who worked along side her in Baghdad....and the contractor's wife.

The story has hit the front page of the New York Post...which next to the daily tabloid papers in England, probably writes the best (well, at least the most colorful) headlines you'll find anywhere.

-dan

OK, maybe I've become my dad...old and cynical.

Or maybe I've been in the business longer than I care to admit. But it grates on my nerves to hear a TV (or radio) reporter say "Reporting live...." (they couldn't be reporting if they were dead now, could they). It's become a cliché, like "BREAKING NEWS," or "THIS JUST IN TO OUR DIGITAL NEWS CENTER..."

The sad thing is, I don't think news directors, reporters or anchors give it much thought. They use it because someone before them used it. "Breaking news" has become such a common catch phrase in the TV biz, that it's obsolete. Everything is BREAKING NEWS.

Is it any wonder Jon Stewart has such a wealth of material to draw on for The Daily Show?

Your thoughts?

-dan

He may not be running for president anymore, but former Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee isn't out of a job.

Huckabee has signed on as a political commentator for the Fox News Channel.

-dan

We all know Tim Russert was good at what he did. And I believe NBC, and the media, lost not only a good anchor, but a heck of a nice guy.

That being said, has the coverage of his death been just a bit over the top? Nightly News devoted its entire broadcast to Russert Friday night, Dateline had a one hour special, Matt Lauer hosted a special Saturday edition of the Today show paying tribute, and the cable channels gave his death wall to wall to wall coverage Friday. This morning, The Today show interviewed his son.

Would Russert have felt uncomfortable with all this attention? Probably. Did NBC go over the top with its coverage....you tell me.

-dan

NBC News is reporting that Tim Russert, host of Meet the Press, has died.

Russert collapsed at work today, after taping this weeks program.

He was 58 years old.

-dan