Alaska papers: Nuanced picture of Palin

Over the weekend, newspapers in Alaska have continued to offer perspective on Gov. Sarah Palin, now tapped as Republican John McCain's vice-presidential candidate and the beneficiary of breathlessly superficial reporting in the national media of what Alaskans call the "lower 48" (states) or, perhaps more tellingly, "Outside." Since it's second nature in the news business to consult with local reporters for background on a story, the trade magazine Editor & Publisher has been running excerpts from the papers in Anchorage and Fairbanks.

Among the most interesting stories are these:

• Tom Kizzia of for The Anchorage Daily News, has a balanced assessment of Palin's fiscal record as governor and mayor of Wasilla (pop. 9,000), the other elective she has held.
  
• The Juneau Empire in Alaska's state capital interviewed legislative leaders in both parties about her "sometimes rocky relationship with the Legislature" and got decidedly mixed reviews.

The upshot: Reporters from Alaska so far have been able to give a more nuanced, balanced picture of their governor. That's hardly surprising, since they know who to talk to. And they've hardly even mentioned Hillary Clinton!

(Kizzia, whose stories in the ADN I've been linking to the last couple of days, wrote a book on Alaska Natives based on his reporting for a series on rural Alaska and Native villages in 1990. He has been reporting for the ADN since 1982. His stuff is a model of good journalistic writing.)