Mike Sando, our Seahawks reporter, won national honors last week when his Seahawks Insider blog was named “best media-affiliated sports blog” in the nation. The award, sponsored by the trade publication Editor & Publisher, is open to news organizations of all sizes, including newspapers, Web sites and magazines. Those of us in the press also knew him as a cheerful, influential and optimistic defender of openness in government, not only in the courts but in the larger realm of public meetings and public records, too. Rowland Thompson, executive director of Allied Daily Newspapers of Washington, noted in an e-mail message last week that Norm played a critical role in passing a shield law to protect confidential sources who bring forth important news stories in Washington state. Thompson said Norm’s support was most critical with the Washington Association of Prosecuting Attorneys, who took a “neutral” position on the bill and stayed out of the fight. Out of respect for Norm the other 38, for the most part, sat on their hands and didn’t oppose the bill and WAPA’s lobbyist wasn’t ordered to stop it. read more

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