Lively Thursday group

Talk at the table centered on a couple of front page stories: one about different management styles regarding the kokanee population in Lake Coeur d’Alene. At the center of the issue is the fact the State of Idaho and the Coeur d’Alene Tribe have wildly different catch limits.

A story which was worked late into the evening by reporter Virginia De Leon about a theological split among a convent of nuns drew interest both inside the newsroom and outside. A nun called the news desk to say she felt the headline “Nuns pushed out of convent” was not fair. It was agreed the story has nuances which were handled well by the design treatment and the writing.

The latest installment in the story about the threatened Peopole’s Clinic getting a one year reprieve by the president of Washington State University was deemed a success since Elson Floyd said he heard about the closure by reading The Spokesman-Review (though, to be fair, it was not an exclusive).

All in all, it was a “pretty good Thursday paper,” summed up Editor Steve Smith (via conference call).

A good discussion was started at the table about a national story on political contributions by journalists and an effect it may have locally. More on that in a p.m. posting.