Meeting The Editor

On Thursday, our group met with Andy Nystrom, the editor of The Bothell-Kenmore Reporter. This meeting provided valuable insights into the professional world of journalism. After being a journalist for over twenty years, Nystrom was the perfect candidate for learning about this career. This is due to the fact that he has gained extensive experience throughout this period of time. Nystrom’s career began after he graduated from San Jose State and started to write for various news papers. Since then, he has worked for papers such as The Los Altos Daily and The Bothell-Kenmore Reporter. During the interview, he gave advice on how to be a good reporter and what it takes to make it in the competitive field of journalism. According to Nystrom, “there are a lot of highs and lows, but you have to make it work with what hand your dealt.”

Over the years, Nystrom has written many stories, but his most memorable one was when he interviewed celebrity Mariel Hemingway when she came to Bothell for a book signing. Stories like these do not come along every day, but according to Nystrom, “when they do you have to dig your heals in to get the story, because this is not an opportunity to miss”. Despite gripping stories like this one, The Bothell-Kenmore Reporter will be downsizing and moving its location to Totem Lake in order to share office space with The Kirkland Reporter. This may change the dynamic of the paper, but Nystrom is staying positive saying “you just have to roll with the changes.” At the end of the interview, my group was able to leave with a new perspective and optimistic outlook on journalism.

Participation

In journalism, its competitive to get a position in this business, but no matter if your story may be in print or broadcast form, be prepared for rejection. It is normal. Not every story that you write or present will probably make (in athletic terms) the final cut. I have learnt this lesson many times when I sent some of my articles to the Times and the Post-Intelligencer. You can always talk to the editor on why your story wasn't chosen. At the Bothell-Kenmore Reporter, one of the questions I had asked Andy Nystrom, the editor of the paper was how can student journalists contribute? Since this newspaper is more confined to on news within Bothell, its kind of a challenge for me as I only go to Bothell because of where I go to school, and the rest of it or a majority of it in Seattle. You can contact Nystrom by e-mail at editor@bothell-reporter.com or calling him at 425-483-3732 (Ext. 5050). To pitching a story idea with a local twist is not easy for someone like me who only is in Bothell for about eight hours because of school and spends the rest of those remaining 16 hours of a 24 hour day in Seattle. In discussing how the newspaper runs its meetings, Shannon explained in another blog how there are only six people working at the Bothell-Kenmore Reporter. Although I didn't ask that question, newspapers big and small have meetings whether its a size of six or a hundred. As a reporter for The Husky Herald, I do know that we meet Tuesdays from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Speaking of meetings, I have to prepare for my next reporter meeting where we are covering the 2010 ASUWB Elections. You can watch the interviews that the Herald's reporting team have conducted with the current ASUWB Student Board by visiting our YouTube channel at huskyherald or by our website center at www.huskyherald.com/. For The Husky Herald, Deni Proto reporting. Have a great day!

Impressions of the Bothell Reporter

While I wasn't able to physically attend the site visit to the Bothell-Kenmore Reporter, I actually learned quite a bit, and gathered a plethora of information about the publication. The BKR is a local publication reporting primarily on events, businesses, people and stories deemed news-worthy occurring in the Bothell, Kenmore and Mill Creek area. While the occasional story or tidbit from other neighboring cities may pop up, the focus is local.

As some of my group members have mentioned, the BKR runs with a small, tigh-knit staff of only six members, but regardless creates a multi-faceted offering. Not limited to just news reporting, the BKR offers classifieds listings for buying and selling items, apartment listings, yellow page listings, contests, lifestyle advice, and coupons. After poking around the website and doing research on the publication my first reaction was to be quite impressed actually. After meeting with my group and hearing their initial report about the BKR (mainly the fact that they have such a small staff, and they're centered in Bothell) I thought their attempt at offering a periodical would be rather lacking and flimsy in it's offering, but I was surprised to find myself impressed at it's comprehensive publication.

About Bothell Reporter

Bothell-Kenmore Reporter is a weekly community paper located on 18324 Bothell Way Northeast in Bothell, Wash. Their website address is:

http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/north_king/bkn/

You can also find the contact information of all the staff on the paper's website under the "contacts" tab.

Their website contains a variety of sections such as local breaking news, sports, entertainment, and more that readers would typically find in a newspaper. Until 2001, the paper was just a broad sheet that was originally published in Northshore. From 2001 to 2006, the paper was published twice monthly for the Bothell-Kenmore communities. Since 2006, the paper has published weekly. Although the staff will have to relocate to a Kirkland location, they will continue to serve news for the Bothell-Kenmore communities.

The primary audience for the weekly are the Bothell and Kenmore residents, from kids to adults. "We cover them all, whether it be school features and sports to senior-citizen events," said Nystrom. The Web is another way for the paper to comunicate with people everywhere. Nystrom knows that the weekly has a diverse audience because of the feedback he receives. In addition to thank-you notes and comments, people often stop by the Bothell-Kenmore office to express their thoughts about the paper. "We're often stopped at games or events to talk about the paper," said Nystrom. "Whether it be the mayor a teacher or coach/player, we get feedback from them all."

Reflections

by Shannon Connant

On Thursday, our group made a trip to the Bothell-Kenmore Reporter where we met with Editor, Andy Nystrom. Located next to city hall and the Bothell police department, Nystrom emphasized the convenience and accessibility in responding to events and reporting them in a timely matter. This was one of the many things we learned about the newspaper industry during our visit.

With only six staff members, Nystrom confesses that working for a community paper can be challenging at times. In addition to editing, Nystrom often does many jobs for the paper, such as shooting photos and videos, and maintaining the paper's website. His advice for people interested in journalism is to be flexible. "Have an open-mind," Nystrom said, which he emphasizes is important in the reporting field.

Although the weekly is accessible worldwide through its website, it remains local in its reporting, and this is beneficial in working for the paper. Throughout Nystrom's three-and-a-half year experience at the weekly, he has developed many relationships with people of the Bothell community, and this has allowed him to get more out of his interviewees, such as residential issues with the mayor.

Bothell-Kenmore reporter, however, won't be in the same place for long, according to Nystrom. Soon the staff will be sharing a space with a local Kirkland paper, and this might be a challenge for them. Accessibility to events may be difficult to get to, so Nystrom encourages the Bothell community to be their own reporters by sending videos and updates within the city. This is another aspect of journalism where Nystrom emphasizes the importance of flexibility and adaptability.

Though Nystrom has been through several closures, he believes the Bothell weekly newspaper will last. "There's always somewhere to write," said Nystrom.