Show and tell, in various media

Editors passed around a crack pipe for show and tell today at the 10 a.m. meeting - except we’re certain that nobody knows how to use it. It’s part of a story in the works about local drug use (Stay tuned).

Behind the photos

Great photo by Dan Pelle for a Voices centerpiece, and at the same time it looks pretty painful, folks said. Or at least it would be after the frame. Goes with this story here: Best sledding hill in town

Daniel Loftice, 16, catches some air after sledding over a jump at Underhill Park on Friday. Loftice, a student at Rogers High School, traveled across town to the South Side park. Dan Pelle photo.

Folks also asked about the decision to use the following photo as centerpiece for the Northwest section. The person in the photo only appears for a paragraph or two in the story. But it’s hard for a photographer and a writer to know about the other’s final product, photo director Larry Reisnouer explained. Continued coverage on the Bryan Kim trial is here .

Jeremy Winter, a high school friend of accused murderer Bryan Kim, waits in the hallway for his turn on the witness stand, January 16, 2008 at the Spokane County Courthouse. Dan Pelle photo.

And one final item, Reisnouer said photographer Jesse Tinsley has really enjoyed shooting photos at hockey games lately. Hockey games are particularly hard to shoot, Reisnouer and Mulvany said, because you’re making pictures through a glass barrier. It’s also a challenge to keep following the game’s action through the camera’s viewfinder, in case a good moment comes up.

“It’s one of the most frustrating sports I’ve ever had to shoot,” Mulvany said.

Spokane Chief’s Curtis Kelner, right, puts a hard check on Everett’s Taylor Ellington in the second period of play against the Everett Silvertips at the Spokane Arena Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2008. It was smashmouth hockey Wednesday night, and the Chiefs finished the second period 1-1 against the Silvertips. Jesse Tinsley photo.

Around the country

In the morning, managing editor Gary Graham often takes a look at other newspapers around the country to see their coverage decisions. Some of the popular front-page stories he found were the following. The first two ran on the S-R’s front page. The third was on Page A2:

• Study maps changing abortion landscape : Number of surgeries plummets as more people opt for abortion pill
• Cold meds too risky for tots, FDA says
• Study finds markers for prostate cancer

A few slices, thick and thin

• Pampered Pups : What happens at a dog day care
• If Murray was in Spokane recently, why did we have a wire story of her on the West side instead? asked reporter Jim Camden. Assistant city editor Dan Hansen said it was based on a phone call with an employee of Patty Murray. Sending a reporter was a matter of how much news Murray would “commit” at the event in Spokane. It sounded like she wasn’t “committing news” at her Spokane nor Seattle appearance, folks said. It sounded like the West side Murray story was an after-hours space adjustment, when an editor adds or removes wire stories as needed. The story is here: Murray wants more FBI agents: Senator says many crimes in state go unprosecuted.
• District in Post Falls is revising standards for extracurricular activities
• Firms to compete for sewage contract : Facility will be in Spokane but process wastewater for Spokane Valley