The dramatic rescue of hostages in Colombia received major play in several South American newspapers on Thursday, especially those published in Colombia.

In the States, the story made the front pages of the New York Times, the Washington Post and a variety of others. The Globe and Mail in Toronto gave it top play as well.

Rising gasoline prices and plummeting auto sales are getting plenty of news coverage these days. At least three newspapers gave interesting front-page play on Wednesday to the auto industry.

The Cedar Rapids Gazette might have been the most creative because it asked the question: what kind of vehicles do the Iowa governor and Congressmen drive? The centerpiece included photos of the vehicle models, mug shots of the politicians, and a quiz, asking readers to guess who drives what. Answers were provided inside.

The Orlando Sentinel, which launched a dramatic redesign a couple weeks back, gave special treatment to the latest report on nationwide vehicles sales, and the Detroit News featured major play on the financials for the Big Three.

The new Will Smith movie has nothing to do with auto sales, but I've included the front page of Quick, the free daily tabloid published by the Dallas Morning News, to showcase the special treatment.

Our neighbors to the north have the day off Tuesday because it’s Canada Day. The day celebrates the day of July 1, 1867, when Canada became a nation.

Several Canadian papers took note of the federal holiday with front page stories or promos, much like U.S. papers do for certain holidays.

Many East Coast papers played catch-up Tuesday with the news of comedian George Carlin’s death. Word of his passing came at 1:39 a.m. Monday, far past the deadlines for papers in those earlier time zones.

Carlin made Tuesday’s front page of the Chicago Tribune, the Richmond Times-Dispatch and the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, among others. CBS Evening News with Katie Couric and ABC World News with Charlie Gibson also devoted lengthy pieces to Carlin’s death on Tuesday.

The Worcester paper wins the prize for the most creative headline on the Carlin obit. However, the Richmond paper published the scariest image of the day with its display photo of a convicted killer who apparently went on quite a rant during his sentencing hearing.

The death of comedian George Carlin received front page play in some West Coast papers and prompted some discussion at our Monday morning news meeting.

Carlin died at 5:55 p.m. Pacific time, but Associated Press did not move an advisory on his passing until 10:39 p.m. A review of front pages published in East Coast papers showed no mention of his death, but it’s quite possible it was picked up for the late editions.

Carlin’s death was front-page news in the Los Angeles Times, the San Francisco Chronicle and the Ventura County Star. The Spokesman-Review had mention of it in the teasers that run across the top of the front page. Should we have published the obit on page one?

The excitement over the Boston Celtics’ NBA championship is starting to die down in Massachusetts, but newspapers there are still giving special play to their new heroes.

Check out Friday’s front page of the Boston Globe, the Brockton Enterprise and the Cape Cod Times. The Los Angeles Times, home of the vanquished Lakers, carried no front page coverage of the celebration.

Newspapers love winning sports teams, especially in the major markets. Successful teams help motivate readers to buy newspapers in order get the latest news, features and statistics about their favorite teams.

So, when a team wins a championship, many newspapers pull out all the stops in terms of front-page play, dramatic presentation on the sports page and even special sections. Today’s best example of the excitement generated by a winning team is the Boston Celtics. A variety of front pages from newspapers in Massachusetts are included here.

If you follow sports, are you more likely to buy a newspaper if your team is winning?

Tiger Woods’ sudden death victory on Monday in the U.S. Open prompted considerable play in Tuesday’s newspapers.

The front-page play seemed somewhat unusual, but our sports editor noted that even non-sports fans were peeking at office TV sets to see the dramatic conclusion.

The New York Times published a stand-alone, centerpiece photo of Woods and Rocco Mediate. The Washington Post had a story and photo on the front page. The Charlotte Observer used a large centerpiece photo, while the Chicago Tribune carried a front-page story. The Los Angeles Times used a stand-alone photo of Woods and the trophy.

Then, there’s the always entertaining New York Post, as shown here.

In an unusual step, we published a dramatic photograph of an Iowa tornado on the front page of the Saturday edition that was taken five days earlier.

We’re a daily newspaper and breaking news is one of our strong suits. By intent, our front page is intensely local. Major national or international stories regularly make the front page, but for the most part our photos and stories involve local news, events and people.

So, the fact that we published a photo that was already several days old is very unique. By way of explanation, the photo was published Wednesday in a local paper in Iowa but was not made available to Associated Press and thereby clients like us until Friday.

Editors at our daily afternoon meeting on Friday had a vigorous discussion about publishing the photo. Everyone at the meeting agreed it was an extremely compelling photo. We convinced ourselves that the age of the photo was not significant in this case. Weather in the Midwest has been a huge national story in the last week and we thought readers would be as taken by the image as we were. The photo was just too special to ignore.

Did we make the right call? Does it matter to readers that the actual moment depicted in the photo was several days old?

We’ve all seen photos and video of the devastating floods in the Midwest. Each day, the water rises and the damage toll climbs. Friday’s dramatic front page of the Cedar Rapids Gazette in Iowa is a classic example of a newspaper documenting the news in a compelling fashion.

The Gazette has a new editor, Steve Buttry, who just joined the staff early this month. Some welcome to a new job, eh? Steve wrote a column for today's paper about the heroic work of his new community and his staff.

Steve used to be a newsroom trainer for the American Press Institute and he conducted two days of staff training on accuracy for the Spokesman-Review about two years ago.

Several restaurant chains and grocery stores across the country halted sales of some raw tomatoes on Monday as health officials worked to trace the source of a salmonella outbreak, Associated Press reports. We published a small brief on the development in the business section of Tuesday’s Spokesman-Review.

The story received major front page play in a number of newspapers, including the San Jose Mercury, the Portland Oregonian, the Orange County Register, the Kansas City Star, the Chicago Tribune and the Hartford Courant.

My favorite presentation was on the front page of the New York Post. The Orange County Register treatment was perhaps the most consumer friendly.

If readers thought there were a lot of so-called horserace polls during the recently concluded Democratic primary season, they were absolutely right.

Mike Mokrzycki, director of polling for Associated Press, spoke to editors and publishers from Idaho, Utah and Spokane last week in Spokane and he confirmed that the polling season was in full bloom. According to the folks at Pollster.com, Mokrzycki said, there were 400 horserace polls during the Democratic primaries, beginning with the first one in November 2004. Horserace polls measure voter preference for a variety of candidates and are conducted by professional polling organizations, often in conjunction with media outlets.

Mokrzycki said voters in 31 Democratic contests were asked if race was the single most important factor in the election. White voters who said race was the most important factor voted for Hillary Clinton by a 76-21 margin. Blacks who said race was the most important factor voted for Barack Obama by an 89-10 margin.

In those same 31 contests, 14 percent of whites said race was the most important factor, while 28 percent of blacks said that. Eighteen percent of men said gender was the most important factor, while 23 percent of women said it was.

It’s not really related to the polling issue, but Mokrzycki said 14.5 percent of households now have cell phones but no land lines. For Hispanics, it’s 19.3 percent with cells only, and 30 percent of folks age 18 to 34 just have cells.

The competition among New York City's daily tabloid newspapers is notoriously fierce.

The headlines on some of the New York Post and Daily News front pages are among the most creative, outrageous and dramatic in the newspaper business. In fact, editors and reporters in the newsrooms of broadsheet newspapers often ask, "Wouldn't it be more fun to work for a tabloid?"

For the most part, the tab front pages are usually distinctively different from each other. However, once or twice a year, the stars and planets line up in a way that results in nearly identical headlines and/or photos. Friday's editions represent one of those rare days, as you can see by the treatment of the two guys who climbed the New York Times building.

Geez, no one ever scales the Spokesman-Review tower. New York has all the fun....

A business page reader called this morning to ask what happened to the information we used to publish each day on the business news page about the Dow Jones average and gold and silver prices.

I am happy to emphasize that we didn't eliminate that information, we simply moved it to our expanded report on stock markets, commodities, trading and other financial news. The revamped markets page is opposite the regular business page. The new look for the daily Business section made its debute today.

Barack Obama’s clinching of the Democratic nomination for president received big play Wednesday in countless newspapers in the United States and around the globe.

Most papers focused on Obama, with secondary or sidebar stories on his defeated rival, Hillary Clinton. AM New York, a tabloid circulated in Manhattan, chose to display with a Clinton photo and a headline that reads, “Let’s Make A Deal.” Another tabloid, the Philadelphia Daily News, created an illustration of Clinton being pulled off stage with the headline: “Over the Hill. Obama Nails Down the Nomination – But Will Clinton Be His VP Pick?

The Kansas City Star headline captured the motivation for much of the front-page play: “Obama Takes Historic Prize.”

As of this writing, it appears that Barack Obama has indeed locked up the Democratic nomination for president and Hillary Clinton is making it known that she would consider serving as his running mate.

Finally. The primary process has run its full course. America stands relieved. And ready for a break from the endless campaign rhetoric and breathless reporting about each and every trickle of news on the campaign trail.

Here’s hoping the candidates will take a break and ignore the news cycles for several weeks as they gear up for the fall campaign. The fall events promise to be fascinating, perhaps even dramatic. But for now, there’s reason to believe viewers and readers have had their fill for awhile.

Scott McClellan, former White House press secretary, appeared in an interview Thursday evening with Katie Couric on the CBS Evening News. Couric deserves credit for asking him some tough questions.

One wonders if some White House reporters who saw the interview wanted to leap through the TV screen and throttle Mr. McClellan, who seems to have a vague acquaintance with the concept of truth.

Here’s the portion of the interview that angered me enough to actually talk back to the TV set:

Katie Couric: Weren't you the ultimate complicit enabler, though? I asked a tough question before the Iraq War and you personally called an executive at NBC News and you threatened to deny access to us.

McClellan: I did?

Couric: Yes, you did, once the war began.

McClellan: Me personally? I don't, I don't remember that.

Couric: But did you strong-arm people into not questioning the administration?

McClellan: My style usually wasn't that way.

Couric: Well, it was you who made the call.

McClellan: I just, I just don't remember that. That may be but I certainly don't remember that incident. In terms of my style of working with reporters, it was usually straightforward when we were dealing with each other; I think I had that reputation with White House reporters. I just don't recall that specific incident..

How convenient for McClellan to forget whether he made such a heavy-handed attempt to muzzle NBC News. Does he really expect viewers to accept that explanation? He’s either an idiot, shameless or a flat out liar. The evidence suggests he’s all three.

Wednesday’s photo of President Bush bumping chests with a new Air Force Academy graduate is one of the most unusual images involving a president in recent memory.

The Spokesman-Review published the Associated Press photo in black and white inside the Thursday paper because it’s just not every day that you see the president engaged in such comical endeavors.

The Dallas Morning News published the photo in color as its front-page centerpiece, in part, we suspect, because the Air Force graduate is from Texas. I can only imagine what the talk shows and comedic observers will do with the image.

The headline above the photo in the Morning News read "Bump and Circumstance." Ya gotta love the play on words.

Even cranky newspaper editors can be impressed by the simple acts of kindness that we encounter from time to time.

As I finished a two-mile lunchtime run Wednesday in Riverfront Park, a friendly gentleman standing on the street corner saw me and offered me an ice cold bottle of water from his little cooler. I thanked him profusely but declined, explaining that I was only two blocks from the gym and a water fountain. But really, what a nice gesture on his part.

Staff photographer Brian Plonka, right, and freelance reporter James Hagengruber, left, flew to the Middle East earlier this year to catch up with Marines Matthew and Robert Shipp of North Idaho.

We published their reports and photos in the two previous Sunday editions in special 6-page packages. This Sunday, we will offer extensive excerpts from Plonka's journal of the trip.

Here’s an excerpt that describes the horror of the war in Iraq:

March 16, 2008
10:00 a.m. Escorted to see Ambassador Ryan Crocker at the U.S. Embassy. The former Republican Palace is huge and opulent. I think Saddam Hussein was trying to compensate for something. After the meeting with Crocker we eat lunch poolside outside the palace. I jokingly ask the young man escorting us back to the office about beer. He just happens to know a place near a soccer field. Ahh, cold lemon-flavored beer. Drink a few bottles in the parking lot. So much for the Holy Land, no recycling either.

4:30 p.m. Meet an Iraqi interpreter who works with the U.S. government. He’s one of several in his group who have survived; the 15 others he worked with have been executed. War is the only thing this 25-year-old knows. He grew up with the Iran War, and now this. He tells a story with tears in his eyes about his cousin, whose newborn was abducted in the middle of the night by a death squad. The infant was returned to her the next day, cooked and stuffed with vegetables.

We're departing from our normal programming today to make a pitch for the views of the Spokane river downtown at the falls.

If you haven't driven the Monroe Street or Maple Street bridges lately, or walked downtown, you really ought to make a special effort to see the falls. It's nature's power at its finest.

As a born and bred flatlander, the waterfall scenes out here in the West never cease to amaze me.

Staff photographer Brian Plonka took a spectacular shot of the falls about 4:30 a.m. Friday, so look for that photo on Saturday's front page of the Spokesman-Review.

In the meantime, you'll have to be satisfied with my amateur photo, taken over the noon hour on Friday.

Webcasts of news meetings at U.S. newspapers are hardly gaining in popularity. In fact, the Spokesman-Review still appears to be the only paper offering such transparency for its daily news meetings (at 10 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.). However, we have gained some interesting company of late.

Earlier this month, the Liverpool Daily Post became the first newspaper in the UK to broadcast its afternoon news meeting live on the web.

Just today, I received call from a news director for a television station in Florida who is about to launch webcasts of his news meetings. I'll not identify the news outlet for competitive reasons. Besides, it's their announcement to make, not mine.

The Florida news director and several of his colleagues watched our news meeting this morning. He confessed that some of his staff members have reservations about opening up the news process to the public and their competitors, but I assured him that many on our staff had similar concerns when we began the webcasts about two years ago. Some still have reservations, but they've learned to cope.

I happened to meet Greg Moore, editor of the Denver Post, at a conference Tuesday in Denver. He asked if we are still doing the webcasts and whether the process has inhibited discussion at our news meetings. He joked that he'd be concerned about webcasts of his news meetings because of the rowdy language. I assured him we've toned down some of our language, but that hey, we still swear on occasion.

Staff photographer Brian Plonka and freelance reporter James Hagengruber this weekend will continue their compelling series about the Idaho twin brothers who joined the Marines together.

I invited Plonka to engage in a brief question and answer interview via email in order to give readers a little insight into his role and the obstacles of working in Iraq.

Sunday’s six-page special section will focus on Cpl. Matthew Shipp. The section was designed by Geoff Pinnock and Ralph Walter. Liz Kishimoto edited the photos. Addy Hatch was the lead editor on the stories and the night-side copy desk did a meticulous, team edit of the section.

Here’s the Q&A with Plonka.

Q: As you look back at the time that you spent in Iraq and Kuwait, what are some of the most distinct memories you have about the Shipp twins and how they are coping with their lives in a war zone?

A: It was different seeing them working on a professional level. Usually they would let their guard down during earlier visits, but now they talk the Marine talk and walk the Marine walk. I saw them realizing their dreams into reality.

They are a lot tougher than I thought. They didn't see any intense action, but I know they could handle that situation at the drop of a hat. I do see them longing for the Northwest. California is not really their home nor will it ever be. They appear different on the outside, they are more fit. They're still Matt and Robert on the inside, very passionate, caring and understanding.

Q: What was the most difficult part of your assignment in terms of access, technology or surroundings?

A: Getting around Iraq was nerve-racking. Every layover is 24 hours on the average. Being part of the media put us on standby for every flight. I once waited 52 hours for a 45-minute flight out of Iraq back to Kuwait. Basically after getting our military press credentials in Baghdad we were on our own.

Everything is hurry up and wait and wait some more. People (contractors and some military) would try to get in our heads as we made our way through Iraq. They would tell us we were crazy and said never ever take off our body armor. The talk often turned political. One contractor asked me if I was part of the liberal media out to make the war sound bad. I asked him if he was worried about not making any more money off this war.

Q: Why was it so important to you as the series photographer to see the Shipps in the Middle East?

A: I never started a story I never finished - some 24 years now as a photojournalist. The story would have been a failure if we didn't see the twins at war. It's kind of like doing a story of a championship boxer training and then not covering the title fight.

Q: How did you handle the stress of being in Iraq? Did you have any harrowing experiences? Did you feel safe most of the time?

A: I unfortunately picked up smoking cigarettes again on this trip, but it seemed to help pass the hours. Stress is all that you make up yourself. I kept telling myself that my fate didn't lie in meeting the Shipp twins in North Idaho and then dying in Iraq. That didn't seem to be in the cards.

Walking down the streets of Rutbah the first time was scary. I stood out like sore thumb- bright green body armor and a helmet that didn't match. I felt stressed out when driving in a Humvee at night when a small truck veered off in front of us on the side of the road - I thought it was going to blow up. For the most part I was in the safe company of Marines. I didn't venture out on my own nor did I want to.

Last week, it was a disaster in Myanmar. This week, it’s China’s turn.

International disaster stories capture big headlines around the world, especially when the body counts are in the thousands. For a newspaper like the Spokesman-Review, which brands itself as a local newspaper focusing on our community, the big disaster stories always present interesting choices.

Some editors at our morning news meeting said they were surprised that we ended up with China as the main story and dominant photo on the front page. Last week, we discussed how to play Mynamar, which found its way to our front page two days after the initial reports of the cyclone damage.

We rarely use national or international stories as the dominant story on our front page these days. Today’s play of the China story was the result of a practical decision: we had no local story that deserved the lead photo and story position. Simple as that.

The front pages of many, many papers featured the China quake this morning, including the New York Times, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, Hartford Courant and the Virginian-Pilot. No surprises there, really. I then checked front pages of papers that are closer in circulation size to the Spokesman-Review. China received front-page play in many of those papers, too, including the Louisville Courier-Journal, the Wichita Eagle, the Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette, the Colorado Springs Gazette, the Lexington Herald-Leader, the Sacramento Bee and the Boise Statesman. However, few of the regional papers played the story as big as we did.

Our photo editor noted correctly that because of the Beijing Olympics, there’s more reader interest in news out of China these days. What do you think? Do you find yourself more interested in news about China right now? Did it belong on the front page? And do you find it odd that stories about the weekend tornadoes that killed more than 20 people in the Midwest never made the front page?

It’s time once again for some funny or awkward headlines from America’s newspapers, courtesy of the May/June issue of Columbia Journalism Review:

15 pit bulls rescued; 2 arrested
The Journal (White Plains, NY)

Dead inmate combative in jail
McKinney (Texas) Courier-Gazette

Cash reward to be offered whenever a cop is shot
The Star-Ledger (Newark, NJ)

Lohan: I sober before 2005 car crash
The Free Press (Kingston, NC)

Citizens get crack at downtown planning
Ocean City (New Jersey) Sentinel

Busts stick to innocent drivers
The Oregonian