SR.com Blogs | Daily Briefing

Good paper, good coffee

This is the new campaign for North Idaho coffeeshops, because for every hot cup of coffee there's a warm crisp Spokesman-Review waiting to be read. ( Full post )

Kudos, primary voting, On The Record, skating

KUDOS AND UPDATES: Nixing direct United flights to Chicago | Then & Now with Ed Randall, one-time Indians voice | More Duncan news from Boise ( Full post )

iSalon: Reporter debrief from Boise visit

Reporter Meghann M. Cuniff is back from Boise, after taking the grim Joseph Edward Duncan III case to Twitter. (more archive coverage here) Two questions today - Where would S-R use a microblogging format again, and how do you make money from it? For one, folks recommend developing a similar technology in-house, to keep the viewer traffic in a Spokesman-Review venue instead of diverting it to a third-party site. The plan is to use similar microblogging format for other cases in the pipeline. ( Full post )

A reporter's account, a discontinued column, thin slices

Impossible not to be shaken: Boise reporter Betsy Z. Russell posted a reflection on covering the Duncan sentencing proceedings and how it changes her personal and home life, including waking up to strange noises in the middle of the night. Also, the video that shows the torture and death of 9-year-old Dylan Groene has not been shown in the courtroom yet.

On Friday night, after three days of intense immersion in the blood-drenched reality of the Joseph Duncan case, I came home from the courthouse only to find blood smeared all over my bathroom floor. I couldn�t help it; I screamed. Read the rest of Betsy's post.

( Full post )

Smith's statement on Twitter, notes about J-camp

"We've come to the end of our one-week experiment [in using Twitter]. We will return as developments warrant and for closing arguments and the verdict." (editor Steve Smith) ( Full post )

Video, Duncan, Islam, swimming, Star Wars

Longtime pen pals finally meet: They'd been writing each other for more than six decades. Here's a quick video of their reunion, produced by Andrew Zahler: ( Full post )

We'll pick Twitter projects wisely

said editor Steve Smith at the meeting this morning. ( Full post )

More live blogging and Twittering tomorrow

For the Duncan sentencing. ( Full post )

Social networking and all that jazz

"I created a Facebook account yesterday and I don't know what to do with it," said managing editor Gary Graham, who also signed up for Twitter to follow the Duncan case. Many newsroommates have also signed up for accounts during this coverage experiment where reporter Meghann M. Cuniff is sending mini blog posts to the SpokesmanReview's Twitter page. Instructions are below. ( Full post )

How to follow Duncan case on Twitter

RE: Toadman's question, here's the link to Twitter updates: Real-time posts from the trial. ( Full post )

S-R is going to Twitter the Duncan case.

Seriously. Reporter Meghann M. Cuniff is heading to Boise to expand our coverage of the Joseph Duncan case to a totally different platform � followers of the Twitter service, which includes mobile users. ( Full post )

Court report, condo parties, free stuff, Paul McCartney

Today's report from court: Single Duncan juror has power to block death penalty: The newsroom is expecting more in-depth coverage coming in from the Boise bureau, as opening statements in the Joseph Duncan case are scheduled to start Wednesday. Stay tuned, check in with hourly newscast or turn it up for Rebecca Mack. ( Full post )

Weekend kudos, and other slices

Another crop of Journalism Camp participants are in the house - There are 15 students this time around. Vox director Erin Daniels is hosting. More soon... ( Full post )

Newsroom ant farm

For the final goal of the Online department's penny collection, it was between an ant farm or a coat rack. The ants arrived Friday. The party is going down in the office of director Ryan Pitts. There is also an in-house webcam. The ants burrow through the space-age blue gel - they also eat it. They bury their dead. ( Full post )

A couple video slices in a hurry

Follow the link at right for the audio slideshow from this morning's meeting � F-22 Raptors at the Skyfest preview.

Although the F-22 Raptor, the newest Air Force fighter aircraft has been around for a few years, the 2008 Skyfest is the first time Spokane area residents will get to see it fly. Major Paul Moga, a Raptor pilot, talks about what the Raptor means to the Air Force. He will fly the 12-minute demonstration flight at Skyfest. Produced by Jesse Tinsley

( Full post )

Duncan, notes on a photo, Voice slices

Duncan takes over jury questioning: Such drama so far, and with more details developing, editors said there will probably be even more drama. Some editors wondered when the case would get national attention because of how strange it is, but then again, Duncan is "just a psychopath who spent most of his adult life in prison" � not Michael Jackson. ( Full post )

More than one way to buy a diploma, apparently

A handful of people have called in to lobby for The Spokesman-Review to remove their names from the diploma fakes list. One man called to say everybody in his town thinks he's a fraud - He argues that his name should be off the list because he bought a diploma not for himself, but as a birthday present for his wife. No name removals, city editor Addy Hatch and editor Steve Smith said - The list comes from the government and S-R just happens to be one of many parties with a copy. ( Full post )

Day 2 of On The Record with Rebecca Mack

The Spokesman-Review is on the air with Day 2 of the new talk show, On The Record with Rebecca Mack at 790 KJRB from 11 a.m. to Noon. The show does not stream but the whole thing will be archived online all day until the next broadcast. Editor Steve Smith will be on the air shortly to talk about whether the newspaper industry is dying - he's sitting outside the studio right now and the "On Air" light is up. For those of you who remember Mack, she worked with Mark Fuhrman on his morning show. ( Full post )

iSalon preview, kudos, multimedia, newsroom news

A refresher: Nine newsroommates were given the task of restocking a newspaper's content. In a nutshell, the question was if you could make a newspaper from scratch, what would be inside it? The resulting proposal went in favor of content that is local, relevant and socially-rewarding. The report came out a couple weeks ago but the addendum was finalized by this past Friday. Here's the final report in question, from the most recent task force (PDF, 12 pages excluding title). ( Full post )

New phones

Recently, The Spokesman-Review began installing a new telephone system. Slick black telephones each with a total of 33 regular buttons, two pairs of scroll buttons and a color welcome screen. ( Full post )