A Tuesday story out of the Seattle Times explains that the Olympia School District recently approved a plan that includes allowing layoffs to teachers in order to meet impending budget shortfalls.
OLYMPIA — In preparation of an expected budget shortfall in the millions of dollars, the Olympia School Board approved a reduction in force of up to 37.5 full-time-equivalent employees with teaching certificates at its meeting Monday night.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Document Story Proposal
I requested all documents regarding the consolidation of the coordianted dietetics program at Washington State University. As I touched on in my profile story, a number of students and faculty members at WSU are affected by this sudden change. What is the underlying reason for this move? Is it due to financial concerns?
WSU has demonstrated a desire to move health-related areas of study to Spokane, but the back-and-forth nature of the decision regarding the CDP oozes of unspoken motives.
I want to be able to look through the e-mails and documents sent between department members when making this decision.
The story will highlight what the move means for current students, as well as the future of the dietetics program at WSU.
View my Records Request
WSU has demonstrated a desire to move health-related areas of study to Spokane, but the back-and-forth nature of the decision regarding the CDP oozes of unspoken motives.
I want to be able to look through the e-mails and documents sent between department members when making this decision.
The story will highlight what the move means for current students, as well as the future of the dietetics program at WSU.
View my Records Request
News from the Weekend
Budget cuts are beginning to take a toll on all levels of education:
Vancouver school superintendent takes pay cut
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
VANCOUVER, Wash. -- Vancouver, Wash., school Superintendent Steven Webb has voluntarily taken a 4.5 percent pay cut, and he's asking teachers to take a 1 percent reduction.
Citing state budget cuts, Webb says he's having his pay cut to $204,370 from $214,000.
Ann Giles, president of the Vancouver Education Association, says teachers already face a loss of two days' pay under legislation pending in Olympia. She adds that they'll also likely pay more out of pocket for medical benefits.
The teachers receive (between) $38,526 and $70,387 a year. They don't expect to see a 4.2 percent raise once promised by the state, but they'll still get increases of $460 to $1,200 for another year of
classroom experience.
Vancouver schools face a $5.6 million to $8 million shortfall out of a $212 million budget.
Fees jumping at University of Idaho:
Redistributing wealth
MARCUS KELLIS, Argonaut
Vancouver school superintendent takes pay cut
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
VANCOUVER, Wash. -- Vancouver, Wash., school Superintendent Steven Webb has voluntarily taken a 4.5 percent pay cut, and he's asking teachers to take a 1 percent reduction.
Citing state budget cuts, Webb says he's having his pay cut to $204,370 from $214,000.
Ann Giles, president of the Vancouver Education Association, says teachers already face a loss of two days' pay under legislation pending in Olympia. She adds that they'll also likely pay more out of pocket for medical benefits.
The teachers receive (between) $38,526 and $70,387 a year. They don't expect to see a 4.2 percent raise once promised by the state, but they'll still get increases of $460 to $1,200 for another year of
classroom experience.
Vancouver schools face a $5.6 million to $8 million shortfall out of a $212 million budget.
Fees jumping at University of Idaho:
Redistributing wealth
MARCUS KELLIS, Argonaut
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Journalism Legends Worry About Future
Michael Walsh
The 35th Edward R. Murrow Symposium at Washington State University offered a sense of irony. Helen Thomas and Bob Schieffer were presented with lifetime achievement awards while they spoke about the uncertain future of journalism.
“The technological marvels which have allowed us to deliver news as it happens, has caused a seismic shift,” said Schieffer, the recipient of the 2009 Edward R. Murrow Award for Lifetime Achievement in Broadcast Journalism, as he addressed a crowd of about 500 people Tuesday night at the Beasley Performing Arts Coliseum.
Schieffer, 72, carries more than 50 years of broadcast journalism experience, 40 of them at CBS News. He has covered all four major beats in the nation’s capital –the White House, the Pentagon, the State Department and Capitol Hill –and has been a floor reporter at every Democratic and Republican National Convention since 1972.
His biggest fear for the future of journalism is that online media will bring a lack of accountability and integrity, the very pillars for which the industry stands.
“The web is the only vehicle we have ever had to deliver news to the world without an editor,” Schieffer said.
Thomas, the recipient of the 2009 Edward R. Murrow Award for Lifetime Achievement in Journalism, also voiced her concern about the current state of journalism.
“Unfortunately, everyone with a laptop thinks they are a journalist,” she said.
Often referred to as the “First Lady of the Press,” Thomas has been a White House correspondent since John F. Kennedy was in office. Thomas spent 57 years with United Press International, from 1943 to 2000, eventually becoming the first female United Press bureau chief. She has traveled the world with seven presidents in the past quarter-century and now writes as a syndicated columnist for Hearst Newspapers.
Having a lifetime of experience covering politics, both honorees are worried about how the American government will be affected by the decline of newspapers.
“American democracy, as we know it, cannot exist without access to independent coverage,” Schieffer said.
Thomas said the future looks grim because in the last decade, reporters have failed the public by going along with the censorship the government is trying to enforce. She is also worried journalism may never return to where it was because great reporters that have been around for years are losing jobs everyday.
“I’m not trying to stop progress,” Thomas said, “but I am going to miss traditional journalism.”
Schieffer, while also pessimistic about the future, argues the values and ethics of traditional journalism can still be upheld. He said the advances put an added pressure on schools to instill the values of conventional journalism, but as long as there are writers who understand the ethics, they will be sought.
Elizabeth Boss, a public relations major at WSU, was happy they addressed the shift in journalism and appreciated Schieffer’s message for everyone to continue to support media and read newspapers instead of going on the internet to only find what you want.
Schieffer also said it could become very difficult to support media though.
“Technology is moving so fast that no one can say where this is going,” Schieffer said after admitting he does not know what he will do if the day comes he has to start his morning without a coffee and a newspaper.
Spokane resident, Mary Stanley, came to the symposium with a friend to hear the two honorees speak. She came away impressed their stances on priorities in news coverage.
“They were great,” Stanley said. “I liked what Schieffer said about integrity. It is really important to get the truth.”
The Murrow Symposium is an annual event to recognize the accomplishments of a national figure in print or broadcast journalism. Previous recipients of the lifetime achievement award include Tom Brokaw, Peter Jennings and Don Hewitt. The symposium is named after legendary journalist and WSU graduate, Edward R. Murrow.
Both recipients this year spoke to the legacy of Murrow.
Thomas said Murrow set himself apart because he realized the historical relevance of the daily drama he covered, and was able to relay that emotion to his audience.
Schieffer was flattered to be mentioned with his fellow CBS icon.
“To be given an award with Ed Murrow’s name on it is beyond anything I could have ever imagined,” he said.
The 35th Edward R. Murrow Symposium at Washington State University offered a sense of irony. Helen Thomas and Bob Schieffer were presented with lifetime achievement awards while they spoke about the uncertain future of journalism.
“The technological marvels which have allowed us to deliver news as it happens, has caused a seismic shift,” said Schieffer, the recipient of the 2009 Edward R. Murrow Award for Lifetime Achievement in Broadcast Journalism, as he addressed a crowd of about 500 people Tuesday night at the Beasley Performing Arts Coliseum.
Schieffer, 72, carries more than 50 years of broadcast journalism experience, 40 of them at CBS News. He has covered all four major beats in the nation’s capital –the White House, the Pentagon, the State Department and Capitol Hill –and has been a floor reporter at every Democratic and Republican National Convention since 1972.
His biggest fear for the future of journalism is that online media will bring a lack of accountability and integrity, the very pillars for which the industry stands.
“The web is the only vehicle we have ever had to deliver news to the world without an editor,” Schieffer said.
Thomas, the recipient of the 2009 Edward R. Murrow Award for Lifetime Achievement in Journalism, also voiced her concern about the current state of journalism.
“Unfortunately, everyone with a laptop thinks they are a journalist,” she said.
Often referred to as the “First Lady of the Press,” Thomas has been a White House correspondent since John F. Kennedy was in office. Thomas spent 57 years with United Press International, from 1943 to 2000, eventually becoming the first female United Press bureau chief. She has traveled the world with seven presidents in the past quarter-century and now writes as a syndicated columnist for Hearst Newspapers.
Having a lifetime of experience covering politics, both honorees are worried about how the American government will be affected by the decline of newspapers.
“American democracy, as we know it, cannot exist without access to independent coverage,” Schieffer said.
Thomas said the future looks grim because in the last decade, reporters have failed the public by going along with the censorship the government is trying to enforce. She is also worried journalism may never return to where it was because great reporters that have been around for years are losing jobs everyday.
“I’m not trying to stop progress,” Thomas said, “but I am going to miss traditional journalism.”
Schieffer, while also pessimistic about the future, argues the values and ethics of traditional journalism can still be upheld. He said the advances put an added pressure on schools to instill the values of conventional journalism, but as long as there are writers who understand the ethics, they will be sought.
Elizabeth Boss, a public relations major at WSU, was happy they addressed the shift in journalism and appreciated Schieffer’s message for everyone to continue to support media and read newspapers instead of going on the internet to only find what you want.
Schieffer also said it could become very difficult to support media though.
“Technology is moving so fast that no one can say where this is going,” Schieffer said after admitting he does not know what he will do if the day comes he has to start his morning without a coffee and a newspaper.
Spokane resident, Mary Stanley, came to the symposium with a friend to hear the two honorees speak. She came away impressed their stances on priorities in news coverage.
“They were great,” Stanley said. “I liked what Schieffer said about integrity. It is really important to get the truth.”
The Murrow Symposium is an annual event to recognize the accomplishments of a national figure in print or broadcast journalism. Previous recipients of the lifetime achievement award include Tom Brokaw, Peter Jennings and Don Hewitt. The symposium is named after legendary journalist and WSU graduate, Edward R. Murrow.
Both recipients this year spoke to the legacy of Murrow.
Thomas said Murrow set himself apart because he realized the historical relevance of the daily drama he covered, and was able to relay that emotion to his audience.
Schieffer was flattered to be mentioned with his fellow CBS icon.
“To be given an award with Ed Murrow’s name on it is beyond anything I could have ever imagined,” he said.
Questions
Helen Thomas:
What did you learn by traveling overseas with presidents that you could not have learned any other way?
Who was the most difficult president to cover?
Which scandal, Nixon or Clinton, was more difficult to cover as a reporter and which was more painful as an American?
Bob Schieffer:
Which Washington beat was the most challenging? Rewarding?
What do you enjoy about moderating presidential debates?
What is the most memorable interview of your career?
What did you learn by traveling overseas with presidents that you could not have learned any other way?
Who was the most difficult president to cover?
Which scandal, Nixon or Clinton, was more difficult to cover as a reporter and which was more painful as an American?
Bob Schieffer:
Which Washington beat was the most challenging? Rewarding?
What do you enjoy about moderating presidential debates?
What is the most memorable interview of your career?
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Murrow Symposium Background
Often referred to as the “First Lady of the Press,” Helen Thomas has been a White House correspondent since John F. Kennedy was in office. Thomas spent 57 years with United Press International, from 1943 to 2000, eventually becoming the first female United Press bureau chief. She has traveled the world with seven presidents in the past quarter-century and now writes as a syndicated columnist for Hearst Newspapers.
Bob Schieffer carries more than 50 years of broadcast journalism experience, 40 of them at CBS News. Schieffer has covered all four major beats in the nation’s capital and has been a floor reporter at every Democratic and Republican National Convention since 1972. Career highlights include moderating the final presidential debates in 2004 and 2008.
The Murrow Symposium is an annual event to recognize the accomplishments of a national figure in print or broadcast journalism. Previous recipients of the Lifetime Achievement Award include Tom Brokaw, Peter Jennings and Don Hewitt. The symposium is named after legendary journalist and WSU graduate, Edward R. Murrow.
Bob Schieffer carries more than 50 years of broadcast journalism experience, 40 of them at CBS News. Schieffer has covered all four major beats in the nation’s capital and has been a floor reporter at every Democratic and Republican National Convention since 1972. Career highlights include moderating the final presidential debates in 2004 and 2008.
The Murrow Symposium is an annual event to recognize the accomplishments of a national figure in print or broadcast journalism. Previous recipients of the Lifetime Achievement Award include Tom Brokaw, Peter Jennings and Don Hewitt. The symposium is named after legendary journalist and WSU graduate, Edward R. Murrow.
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