Jodi Wilgoren of the Los Angeles Times wrote recently about the refusal by
Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., to speak to reporters from her newspaper,
a
treatment that many regional reporters get now and then from lawmakers they
cover. Here's her assessment.
So, did the
"If-you-don't-talk-to-me-I'll-write-a-story-about-you-not-talking-to-me"
strategy work?
In short, no.
Rohrabacher apparently loved my column. His very nice press secretary,
Natasha Clerihue, called to tell me so in her usual polite way (though she
was
concerned that she might get a bad rep because I'd portrayed her as so
nice).
He even yukked it up with me at a reception shortly after the piece ran,
mentioning what a talented writer I am and how funny it was.
Then the freeze continued.
I called to interview him for a profile about a colleague who is running
for
governor. No comment. A co-worker who covers the White House called him in
search of a quote regarding Al Gore's All Earth, All the Time idea -- he
wouldn't come to the phone.
My partner covering California issues and politics, Faye Fiore, had the
best
one: Rohrabacher was quoted in the Orange County Register suggesting that
Rep.
Jay Kim, R-Calif., should step aside in light of his conviction on campaign
finance violations and his subsequent sentencing to home confinement. She
wanted to know whether he really said that.
Actually, no, Dana's aides told her. The Register got it wrong and was
planning to print a corrected version of the quote the following day.
Well, Faye asked, what did he say?
Sorry, Natasha said in her oh-so-polite way. He doesn't talk to The Times.
If at first you don't succeed . . .
-- Jodi Wilgoren, By Jerry Zremski
Releasing the bureau's 1997 county population estimates, Census Bureau
geographer David Rain said: "The county-level growth patterns suggest that
the
population is continuing to spread outward from the established
metropolitan-area cores."
Census officials noted that for non-metropolitan counties within 25 miles
of
a metro area, population grew by 0.7 percent between 1996 and 1997. Other
non-metro counties shrunk by 0.1 percent.
The March briefing was the first Census event held in conjunction with its
annual county estimates.
Organized with the Regional Reporters Association, more than 25 regionals
attended. The next day, the front pages of The Washington Post, Los Angeles
Times and other large dailies featured the story. Because of the event's
success, Census officials have promised to hold similar briefings in the
future.
The numbers are on the Web:
http://www.census.gov/population/www/estimates/countypop.html. The numbers
give details on how the nation's counties are shrinking or growing and
offer
information on things such as deaths, births and migration.
The numbers showed Maricopa County, Ariz., to be the fastest growing
county
in the nation in terms of sheer numbers, adding 82,789 residents. Los
Angeles
County followed, adding 61,623.
In percentage terms, Douglas Co., Colo., led the way with a 12.9 percent
gain. Lincoln Co., S.D., followed with a 9.9 percent increase.
The briefing was another sign of what has become a strong relationship
between the Census Bureau and RRA.
RRA previously sponsored an event on the bureau's County Business Patterns
data, and at RRA's request, Census donated more than $1,000 worth of
CD-ROMs
to the National Press Club library for use by regionals and other
reporters.
The class, made up of regional reporters new to the Washington beat, spent
the last 12 months attending seminars with newsmakers, agency heads and
others
whose insights help reporters learn the ropes.
This year's participants include: John Biers, States News Service; James
Carroll, Louisville Courier-Journal; Ruth Conniff, The Progressive; Ken
Foskett, Atlanta Journal-Constitution; Robert Gavin, Newhouse News Service;
Craig Gilbert, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; James Grimaldi, The Seattle
Times;
Desiree Hicks, Akron Beacon Journal; Carol Leonnig, Charlotte Observer;
Jennifer Maddox, Scripps Howard News Service; Scott Montgomery, Dayton
Daily
News; Rhonda Pence, Dispatch Broadcast Group; Tracey Reeves, Knight-Ridder;
and Chris Tollefson, Casper Star-Tribune.
The 1998-99 Miller class was scheduled for announcement at an April 22
graduation ceremony for the outgoing class. All former Paul Miller Fellows
were invited.
The board, at its April 13 meeting, also discussed ideas for professional
development programs brought up at a recent Regional Reporters Educational
Foundation meeting.
Some RREF members expressed interest in providing individualized computer
training for RRA members. The RRA board generally agreed that was an idea
worth pursuing as long as no RREF board member benefits financially.
Upcoming newsmaker events were discussed, including potential briefings
with
the Commerce Department and Health Care Financing Administration.
In the works is a briefing May 15 with officials at the Bureau of Land
Management.
RRA board members will also begin making phone calls to association
members
who have not yet paid their 1998 dues.
The next RRA board meeting will be May 4.
-- Pete Leffler, By Jerry Zremski
"There's more here than meets the eye."
That's what the special prosecutor said, I'm sure. Obviously, the folks at
HUD didn't think about all of the, um, ramifications of their new motto.
Nevertheless, I can see why they used it. It's an appropriate slogan in
all
sorts of situations. It even applies to the Regional Reporters Association.
No, don't panic -- we're not doing anything untoward with your dues money.
It's just that a lot more work goes into RRA than you might know.
Just look at what we did in the month of March, which was probably our
busiest in memory.
Vice President Christine Dorsey arranged a get-together with
Transportation
Secretary Rodney Slater. The session yielded all sorts of good regional
news
tidbits on such topics as the transportation bill, air fares and the Winter
Olympics in Salt Lake City.
Carl Weiser of our Newsmaker Committee arranged a meeting with Sen. John
McCain, R-Ariz., in which the senator spoke on his campaign finance
overhaul.
McCain also offered a newsworthy preview of the tobacco bill now moving
through the Senate.
Midwest regional director Jonathan Riskind arranged a sit-down session
with
governors on the Internet sales tax issue.
At-large director Sylvia Smith arranged a panel discussion on the
environmental regulation of agricultural waste -- a well-attended session
that, according to Hill staffers, sparked new interest in the issue among
regionals.
And I helped put together the Census Bureau's first-ever press event for
the
release of the annual county population estimates -- an event that used to
pass by without much fanfare.
Not to brag, or anything, but you should know that hours of work went into
each of those events. We spend hours on the phone working out the
logistics.
We spend more time putting out faxes, e-mails and daybook listings so that
our
members know about our events. Some of us end up missing parts of these
events
because we're so busy manning the door. Then we have to write thank-you
letters to all involved.
That's what you're really getting for your $20 RRA dues -- a lot of hard
work
put in by a board of unpaid volunteers who do a great deal to make life a
bit
easier for Washington's regional reporters.
If you haven't paid your $20 dues for 1998 yet, you can expect a call from
one of those hard-working volunteers soon, asking that you pay up.
Given how much RRA does, and plans to do in the future, we hope that you
send
in your check as soon as you get that call.
Doing so will guarantee that you continue getting your monthly newsletter
and
that you will be able to attend upcoming events. We plan on meeting with
the
head of the Bureau of Land Management in May, and we're working with
Commerce
Secretary William Daley, Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman and other top
federal officials on other potential events in the coming months.
See, there is more here than meets the eye.
Let me rephrase that.
For $20, I think you're getting a great bargain.
By Sylvia Smith
"The fundamental nature of manure is not toxic. It's the same nutrients we
feed our stock and fertilize our fields with and put on our lawns."
Animal waste becomes a public policy issue, Jeff Armstrong said, when it
is
concentrated.
How to deal with large quantities of animal waste is under discussion in
Congress and at the Environmental Protection Agency, which has announced a
plan to regulate large livestock farms much like it regulates factories and
other waste-producing industries.
To set the stage, the Regional Reporters Association sponsored a briefing
session with Armstrong; Deb Atwood, a lobbyist for the National Pork
Producers
Council; and Joe Rudek, a senior scientist with the North Carolina
Environmental Defense Fund.
Armstrong said the three concerns discussed most often are groundwater and
surface water contamination; odor and air pollution; and application and
distribution of the nutrients in animal waste (as fertilizer).
Rudek said farms that collect a lot of waste in lagoons should be required
to
enclose them, a suggestion Atwood said was far too expensive.
Atwood said restrictions shouldn't be placed on a technology -- such as
lagoons -- but on problems if they exist.
For instance, she said, if seepage is the problem, the problem should be
corrected instead of moving to ban lagoons.
A 1997 graduate of the University of Virginia, Katherine comes from The
New
Republic, where she has worked as an assistant editor and a reporter for
the
past several months.
Andrea Foster is the new Washington editor of Chemical Week. In mid-March,
she replaced Peter Fairley, the publicationís Washington bureau chief. He
has
moved to New York and is now Chemical Week's senior editor of technology
and environment.
-- Jill Miller, Got news? Call Jill Young Miller at (202) 824-8225, or e-mail:jillymill@aol.com.
A newsmakers forum organized by RRA and co-sponsored by the National Press
Club featured Govs. Roy Romer, D-Colo., and Michael O. Leavitt, R-Utah.
Most
of the major networks, national print reporters and even a couple of
regional
reporters attended the event.
Romer and Leavitt were there to pitch the National Governors' Association
perspective on why a congressional proposal to ban Internet taxes would be
a
catastrophe for state economies. They also offered some proposals of their
own
for congressional action.
A few days later, the NGA endorsed a new version of an Internet taxation
bill
authored by Rep. Chris Cox, R-Calif. Governors considered that version more
friendly to states.
-- Jon Riskind,
Founded in the early
1990s, the Regional Reporters Educational Foundation is a non-profit,
tax-free
corporation intended to channel grant money to further the goals of
regional
reporters in Washington. Unlike the RRA, it has no membership or dues. It
is
run by a group of volunteers, mostly former RRA members, who work
cooperatively with the RRA to develop grant applications for programs for
regionals. You are always welcome to call and offer your services if you
envision a valuable educational goal for regionals and can devote some time
to
writing a grant.
In conjunction with the RRA, the RREF's program goals include a broad array
of
professional development activities, including potentially presenting
classes
in computer training, offering workshops on writing improvement and
maintaining a clip file of regional reporting and job leads. The RREF
sponsored the first writing and reporting workshop for regionals in 1992
with
a $1,000 grant from the Freedom Forum, attended by more than 60 regional
reporters. That tradition continues to this day in cooperation with the
RRA;
however, the RREF is no longer needed since grant money is no longer
involved.
The RREF also has worked with the National Press Foundation for several
years
to sponsor RRA members to participate in the NPF's educational programs
(see next article).
There are two major challenges facing the RREF. First, the cooperation
between
the RREF and RRA can only be as effective as the volunteers involved in
both
organizations. If RRA sees no reason to seek grants, the RREF will not be
useful. Looking to the future, the candidates for the upcoming June
elections
for the RRA and RREF boards and officers are encouraged to maintain good
communication between the two organizations.
I think there is a very good reason to keep the RREF alive and vital, and
with
it, preserve the ability to seek grants and outside funding for regional
reporter education i
n the future. Regional reporters, many of whom hail
from
small and mid-sized papers all over the country, are generally lacking in
money and resources for training and professional development. If our own
companies won't pay $500 for a computer seminar, it's up to our volunteers
to
design a program that can be made affordable with outside grant money.
Secondly, grant money always will be hard to get - period. Currently, the
RREF
has over $800 in its account but there is no guarantee it could be quickly
or
easily replenished. Without a rapid stream of money coming in, there are
some
who would question the need for RREF to exist at all. I believe that is
shortsighted thinking. Preserving the RREF will enable future volunteers to
continue striving for the worthy goal of educating regional reporters.
-- Alice Lipowicz By Alice Lipowicz
RRA members are encouraged to note their RRA membership on their
application
letter, as it will be a factor in their favor.
For other deadlines and information, please contact the National Press
Foundation, 1282 National Press Building, Washington, DC 20045. Phone is
(202) 662-7350. E-mail address is npf@aol.com.
Most reporters have used this database in the House and Senate document
rooms. Those places are still the best way to get the most recent
information.
But if you're on deadline and want some quick information on whom your
local company uses as a lobbyist and how much they spent last year -- that
information is now available online.
The link is: http://www.crp.org/lobby.
There you will find a searchable database that you can browse by company,
lobbyist or type of interest (aerospace, banking, etc.) If you look up a
company, you will get a list of all the lobbying groups that firm retains
and how much each earned in every reporting period. The reports are filed
twice a year.
If you search by lobbying firm, you will get a list of every company for
whom they are currently registered to lobby. You also can search by lobbyist's
names.
-- Lolita Baldor,
The Los Angeles Times
Census Estimates Released to RRA
The Buffalo News
HEADS UP: Land Management Event in May
Patrick A. Shea, director of the Bureau of Land Management, will be
RRA's May newsmaker. He will speak FRIDAY, MAY 15 at 2 p.m. Place TBA, but
will probably be at either BLM downtown or at Interior. Check the RRA Web
page for updates.
Congrats, Paul Miller Fellows
The 1997-98 Paul Miller class graduates this month.
Board minutes
The RRA board selected June 8 for the annual RRA general membership
meeting and election.
Allentown Morning Call
President's Report
The Buffalo News
Animal waste is topic of briefing
with regionals
Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette
Restive Regions
St. Petersburg Times Washington reporter Kati Gazella is headed to the
Times'
Tampa bureau. She's being replaced by Katherine Pfleger as news assistant
at
the Washington bureau.
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinal
Governors speak on Internet sales taxes
A regional event on Internet taxation went national March 13 at the
National
Press Club.
Columbus Dispatch
An open letter to RRA members
Did you know that the RRA has a sister organization?
president, Regional Reporters Educational Foundation
Press foundation offers seminar
Crain's New York Business
WWWeblink
The Center for Responsive Politics, which has an extensive and always
useful
Website, http://www.crp.org/index.html-ssi
, has added the Federal
Lobbyist
Database to its pages.
New Haven Register
March 1998 Regional Reporter
February 1998 Regional Reporter
January 1998 Regional Reporter
December 1997 Regional Reporter
November 1997 Regional Reporter
October 1997 Regional Reporter
September 1997 Regional Reporter
August 1997 Regional Reporter