Covering a state basketball tournament is among the most difficult things for a sports department to do. The amount of teams and games and the intensity of play and interest make for a difficult mix to capture in our pages and online.

We annually devote lots of newspaper space and manpower to reporting on the state tournaments. This year, in addition to a considerable amount of coverage in the printed paper, we are doing several things online.

Let me pass along a few statistics about Wednesday's first day of tournament basketball coverage:

Posts to the Prep Blog: 75
Page views to the Prep Blog: 6,256 (It was the fourth most popular page on our Web site.)
Page views to the prep scores database: about 3,600
Page views to prep stories: about 2,000
Reporters and correspondents involved in the coverage: 9 (Doug Pacey, Mindi Rice, Todd Milles, Darrin Beene, Scott Fontaine, Doug Drowley, Mike Curto, Grant Clark and Tyler Hemstreet).
Photographers, photo editors and correspondents involved in the coverage: 11 (Jeremy Harrison, Janet Jensen, Lui Kit Wong, Joe Barrentine, Russ Carmack and six students from Pacific Lutheran University.)
Sports copy editors, page designers and team leaders involved in the coverage: 11 (Dusty Lane, Arnold Lytle, Liz Wishaw, Scott Oberstaller, Bill Schey, Jonathan Smith, Kenny Via, John Wallingford, Rob Wieman, Victor Yoshida and Paul Miller.)

A question from the audience: Is the News Tribune liberal or conservative?

David Brewster, editor of Crosscut.com: I admire the balance of The News Tribune. I think it has had a nice sense of a moderate Democratic point of view that is appropriate for Pierce County and refreshingly different from Seattle.

Mike Fancher, editor at large, Seattle Times: They have an editorial page that should have an opinion, but a newside editorial voice that should hold local leaders accountable.

Jack Hart, retired managing editor of The Oregonian: That’s the aim of most newspapers. There are people of all political stripes in any newsroom. Where biases creep in are in the stories not told or the assumptions made that shouldn't be.

From the audience: What comes after the Internet?

Brewster: A convergence of audio, video and the web. Highly personalized forums the web allows you to do. Google and other national outfits competing with local.

Hart: Steve Smith of Spokane said the web is a transitional technology. He has quizzed college students about where they get their news, and the variety of sources is enormous. The market is fragmenting. In the whole history of media, the advent of a new technology has never killed existing media, but every time a new technology comes, the functions of all the different media get shifted around.

Here are the top local stories in Thursday's News Tribune:

• It's high school basketball tournament time again, and News Tribune reporters and photographers columnists plan full-court press coverage.


• A consultant has told the Tacoma City Council that it's historic Murray Morgan Bridge is indeed repairable and for a lot less money than previously thought.


• Neighboring fire districts want the Eatonville Fire Department to begin carrying more of the load when it comes to providing advanced paramedic services.

That was the question posed tonight at a forum we sponsored downstairs.

Our panelists included: Mike Fancher, editor at large of The Seattle Times; David Brewster, publisher of Crosscut.com; Jack Hart, retired managing editor of The Oregonian, author and writing coach; and Alex Tan from the Washington State University journalism school.

About 80 people attended.

Here are highlights of some questions and answers:

What is news?

Brewster: Something someone has an urgency about telling you. The writer decides what is urgent, and so does the audience.

Fancher: It used to be that news was whatever you read in the newspaper, see on TV and hear on the radio. But that definition has changed with the lessening role of the media as gatekeepers. Now consumers decide what the news is because they can go out and find the information. What’s important is to have it delivered by an independent voice that has standards for credibility and accuracy.

Hart: At its simplest level, news is information that helps you live a better life.

Tan: From the perspective of the audience, it’s information that excites me. In journalism schools, we teach that news is information that can energize the community and help them participate in civic affairs.

How does a newspaper maintain its credibility?

Fancher: Be more open about the ways you operate, the methodology, the standards and ethics you use. We’re going to tell you when we make mistakes.

Brewster: Online journalism is more of a conversation.
The truth-seeking process is cooperative and collaborative.

How do we bring more independent voices into the conversation?

Fancher: Diversify our newsrooms. The more we represent the mix of our communities, the better we can understand them. And solutions-oriented stories – they invite participation.

More thoughts from the forum later.

Here are the top local stories in Wednesday's News Tribune:

• Some are funny, some witty, some indecipherable. Vanity plates, those expressions of our peculiarities, are popular in Washington state and especially in Pierce County, where more than 10,000 have been issued.


• Senate Democrats have their own version of the budget. And it has some significant differences from the version being pushed by House Democrats.


• A three-acre parcel on the Tacoma waterfront is the focus of a political tempest over the future of the Children's Museum. And it's a fight the City Council finds itself increasingly involved in.

Here are the top local stories in Tuesday's News Tribune:

• A process called data mining gives pharmaceutical company representatives a powerful tool they they try to market their wares to physicians. A bill now moving through the state House would outlaw the process, which critics say increases health care costs and violates privacy.


• Puyallup Police Officer Gary Shilley is fully recovered from the gunshot wound that nearly killed him two years ago. And he has a new partner in his crime-fighting efforts, a big, black dog named Chance.

Here are the top local stories in Friday's News Tribune:

• A stretch of forest between Highway 410 and South Prairie Road remains closed to the public. But there's reason to hope that the parties involved in determining the future of the parcel are making progress in forging an agreement on the urban woodland's future agreeable to all.


• For several years now, the local Humane Society has been pointing to its efforts to become a no-kill animal shelter. But it seems the group has conceded defeat in its attempt to reach that goal.


• What may be the oldest continually operating business in the state is about to call it quits. The hardware store that Sam Cavanaugh launched in 1887 will soon pass into history.

Here are the top local stories in Tuesday's News Tribune:

• Defense Department officials confirm that a second U.S. soldier killed over the weekend was a Fort Lewis-based Stryker brigade member.


• The candidates may be elsewhere, but there's an election going on in Washington state even though the national attention is centered on Wisconsin.


• Longtime Seattle Mariners broadcaster Dave Niehaus is going to Cooperstown, and this time he'll be one of the attractions, instead of one of the spectators.

Brian Gawley of the Peninsula Daily News reports that the effort to require taping of closed-door executive sessions appears over for this session.

Gawley reports "Rep. Lynn Kessler . . . vowed to try again next year:"

Open-government advocates led by Attorney General Rob McKenna and Auditor Brian Sonntag sought the law, saying it would lead to better accountability.

"I talked to House Speaker Frank Chopp, and he said it looks like I don't have support on both sides of the aisle," Kessler said in a telephone interview. "But I'm going to bring it back again next year.

Full story here.

County- and city-government lobbyists appear to have won this round. Wonder why they fought so hard to defeat a bill that was easy and inexpensive to follow and only required them to prove -- in rare circumstances -- that they were just following the law?

Here are the top local stories in Thursday's News Tribune:

• For the first time, the Port of Tacoma, the Puyallup Tribe and SSA Marine will work together to create new shipping terminals on the east side of the Blair Waterway. The three entities will cooperate on infrastructure improvements, the widening the Blair Waterway and property transfers, all to make develop more efficient terminals.


• An ex-con will escape a possible death sentence by pleading guilty to killing Graham newlyweds Brian and Beverly Mauck. Prosecutor Gerald Horne says courts reluctant to uphold death sentences helped form his decision not to pursue capital punishment for Daniel Thomas Tavares Jr.

Here are the top local stories in Thursday's News Tribune:

• Tacoma police have been stepping up their anti-gang efforts, but the problem continues to grow. Now, TPD and other area police agencies are working to develop a broad-front strategy for dealing with gang-related crime and violence.


• Sumner City Council members say they want to minimize the chances of a shooting rampage during council sessions. So they're asking for a police presence at every council session.


• Still confused about about the state's political caucuses and how they related to this weekend's primary vote. We can help.

Those of you who read the print version of The News Tribune's stock listings may have noticed our more visually appealing stock page that debuted today.

We converted our stock page to a more at-a-glance look at the day's market activity.

As happens any time we change your newspaper, you called. I have heard from about three dozen readers today with opinions on the new format. Most of them want to know what happened to the oil prices. The answer: We forgot them. As we were rearranging the various pieces on the page, we didn't notice the commodity price didn't make it into the new format. But we heard you. They will return in Wednesday's paper.

Let me know if you have other thoughts about our print stock page. Or thoughts on our online edition.

Julie Muhlstein, Everett Herald columnist, says she won't be voting in a primary or participating in a party caucus. Column here.

She says: "In my line of work -- although as a columnist I have expressed views on many issues -- taking part in partisan activity risks raising questions about fairness."

Her editor leaves the decision for journalists to decide, but notes that participation is public and may harm the newspaper's credibility.

Our paper is more restrictive. Here's my Sunday column on the same topic.

Your thoughts?

Mark Briggs, our online editor, has worked with all our staffers who cover politics to create a new place to find the very best Web news content about Washington elections.

Check it out here.

It uses new technology developed by Scott Karp and his outfit, Pulish2.

Read more about it on Mark Briggs' blog.

I said "no" in my Sunday column. I think journalists should not join, give money to or work for political parties. That also means they shouldn't participate in party affairs, including selecting who the parties will run in elections through caucuses or primaries.

I'm all in favor of journalists voting in secret-ballot elections and making the decisions all citizens make.

Our standards at the TNT are common throughout the industry in newsrooms that aspire to be independent and objective.

Ken Schram of KOMO-TV has given me a "Schrammie" for asking employees, in his view, to "trade their rights for their jobs."

" . . . For pulling off a stunt that Joe Stalin would be proud of; for pitting public perception against citizen participation and for buying off constitutional rights with a paycheck, take a bow David Zeeck, because this "Schrammie" is for you," said Schram.

See his column here.

Your thoughts?

Here are the top local stories in Thursday's News Tribune:

• The trial of accused rapist Anthony Dias got under way Wednesday with opening arguments. Dias is accused in a string of violent sexual assaults in King and Pierce counties in 2005..


• Much will happen before Saturday's presidential caucuses. Reporter Niki Sullivan tells readers what the Democrats and Republicans of Washington state are doing to prepare for their big day.


• The race for attorney general is starting to heat up. John Ladenburg, the Democratic Pierce County executive, announced his candidacy for the post Wednesday. Incumbent Republican Rob McKenna wasted no time in responding to Ladenburg's opening shots.

Here are the top local stories in Wednesday's News Tribune:

• Kevin Rivera and his neighbors are the latest to be entangled in efforts by Pierce County’s flood protection to minimize damage from floods. By imposing tough building regulations, the experts are trying to keep people out of severe hazard areas. But Rivera and others say they're getting a raw deal.


• How will Super Tuesday's election results affect Washington caucuses?


• Oral arguments begin in the trial of Daniel Ralph Maples, who's charged with first-degree murder in the 1988 death of co-worker Christine Blais.

Here are the top local stories in Tuesday's News Tribune:

• Owning a vicious animal could become a much riskier proposition in Pierce County if several proposals from the county auditor are adopted by the Pierce County Council. Auditor Pat McCarthy wants to raise fees and insurance requirements for owning dangerous animals and impose tougher penalties for violations.


• Tim Hyland's job may not have had the cachet of some. But you wouldn't have known it from the turnout for his memorial service. Sumner's beloved streetsweeper died of meningitis last month, and hundreds of city residents turned out Monday to say goodbye.


• Omar Lewis Martin spent the weekend as a free man, thanks to a mistake at the Pierce County Jail. Jailers released Martin, 67, after he had been jailed for failing to show up for a hearing in a 25-year-old incest case.

Puns in sports headlines are an occupational hazard in the news business. And we've been guilty of a few groaners over the years. Here are the post Super Bowl heds that appeared in our pages and in The Seattle Post-Intelligencer today.

Us: "18 and ... D'oh!"
Them: "Brady bunch canceled."

Both headlines require a grasp of popular television from the last 30-some years, but at least ours plays off a program that's still on the air!

A few other observations from editors reviewing the weekend papers:

* In the Business page Q&A today, the chief operating officer of the new Hotel Murano didn't answer the reporter's questions as directly as we had hoped. We also want to show readers some of the glass art that will be showcased in the former Sheraton downtown. Stay tuned for more Murano coverage, possibly this week.

* We liked the good Sunday accountability story by Debby Abe about inconsistent standards for student-athletes in local school districts. Take a look for yourself at some of the reader comments the story generated.

* The Sunday SoundLife section gives a nice, broad report on the various environmentally friendly steps taken by outdoor recreation companies. I suppose it shouldn't be surprising that these outfits are greenies, but some of their conservation practices are innovative. Who knew you could run a chainsaw on vegetable oil? We also liked the green footprint that our visual staff came up with. How'd they do it? Outdoor writer Craig Hill put green paint on the sole of his boot, stepped on some paper, and our designers ran it through a scanner.

We got a handful of calls and emails over the weekend from people asking us to write more about how Washington's presidential primaries and caucuses work.

Here's an example:

Hi Karen,
I spent the weekend asking people to vote at their local caucus and here was the overwhelming response:
What's a caucus?
Why is it important?
Why can't I just wait and vote at the primary?
Where would I find my local caucus?
Please consider running a front-page article informing people about the caucus before February 9th, it's critical in giving our state a voice on which nominees will run for the presidency.
Thanks so much!!!

First, I agree that our state's system is confusing. That's why we've run several stories about it, including an A1 story last week explaining how the system works and one on B1 today about the politics behind Washington's complicated system.

Second, it's obvious we need to do more. If this many people have contacted us, the information is still not getting out.

We decided at our news meeting this morning we'll keep running information about the primary/caucus system and how to participate as we run up to the events in our state.

And we appreciate hearing from readers about what they need from us.