iswne/firestorm coverage

Chronicle staff pulls double dutyBy Dee CampOmak-Okanogan County ChronicleOmak, Washington

The wildfire that ravaged our ruralcounty in July made national headlines.

Our job at The Omak-OkanoganCounty Chronicle was to provide accurate,up-to-date information that wasmore complete than the soundbytes that appeared in theregional and national media.

The Carlton Complex – origi-nally four lightning-caused blazesthat merged into one huge con-flagration – was more than just abig story for the evening news.The fire was – and is, since it’sstill burning as of July 30 – ahuge, ongoing story that impactsnearly everyone in our county of40,000 people.

It is the largest wildfire inWashington state history.

At 5,315 square miles, Okanogan Countyis the largest, geographically, in the state ofWashington. Despite its size, it is a relative-ly close-knit area. If you weren’t directlyaffected, then you’re likely to know some-one who lost a home – 280 were reducedto ash – or lost cattle or suffered damageto crops or had power off for days whentransmission lines burned.

Along with direct losses, thousands ofresidents were affected when land line tele-phones, cellphones and Internet servicewent down or experienced spotty service.The entire 911 system was down for atime.

So what does atwice-weekly paperwith a news staff offive, including thepublisher, do whenthe biggest story ofthe year ignites? Webuckle down and

report thatstory.

We alsohelp out.After all,this is ourcommuni-ty, too.

The firestartedJuly 14.We knewit hadpotentialto be

destructive when vol-unteer fire depart-ments 50 or 60 milesand a mountainrange away werecalled to help protectstructures. Our July16 paper carried afront page storyabout the fire, whichwas then relativelysmall.

The same issue carried an editorialwarning our state and federal officials. Theeditorial, titled “Manage forests before firehits,” called on forest managers to increase

logging, keepforest roadsopen andclean upslash pilesleft from pre-vious thinningprojects.That editorialturned out tobe an eerieforecast ofthe days tocome.As the weekwent on, tem-peraturessoared wellabove 100degrees –topping out at105 in Omak– and thewinds kickedup. Much ofOkanoganCounty ishigh desertand heavilytreed moun-tains, withfruit orchardsin the twomain river

valleys and livestock grazing in the high-lands and mountains.

The small blaze, high heat, windy condi-

Published by the Institute of International Studies, Missouri Southern State University, Joplin, MO Volume 39, No. 5 • August 2014

THE LARGEST WILDFIRE IN WASHINGTON STATE HISTORY

CONTINUED ON PAGE 8

DEE CAMP

Landon Wills walked into our Humansville (Missouri) Star-Leaderoffice one July morning in 1982, introduced himself to Helen and me,and explained that he was driving home to Kentucky from the annualISWNE conference in Denver and wanted to personally deliver my firstGolden Dozen certificate.

And, of course, he recruited us to become members.Thirty-two years and four newspapers later, I’m proud to serve as

ISWNE president for the next year.What a unique organization this is! Our annual conferences are family

reunions with more hugs than handshakes. Our membership includesPulitzer Prize winners and first-time editors, but we have no cliques. AsPulitzer winner Dave Mitchell said in accepting his Cervi at the Durangoconference, his first: “It’s like I discovered I have a family I never knew Ihad. You people are my family.”

As rewarding as our conferences are, many of you never have attendedone and maybe never will.

I understand.Helen and I didn’t attend a conference until Erie in 1998 – 16 years

after we became members. We couldn’t afford the expense, we couldn’tafford to be away so long, and we often had a conflict with an importantcommunity event. Helen and I missed the record-setting Rapid City con-ference in 2007 because we needed to be at our Vandalia Area Fair.

It’s important that ISWNE remains an organization that serves all ourmembers: the working editors who don’t have the time or money toattend conferences, the working editors who can get away from the officea few days every June; and the “mentors,” those of us who are retired orout of the business or in academia.

Certainly the hotline has done more to serve members of all types thananything else in recent years. We need to develop other programs, suchas one-on-one editorial-page critiques, that help the two-thirds of ourmembers who don’t or can’t attend conferences.

And we constantly need to be recruiting new members, especiallyyoung working journalists. As someone pointed out when the ISWNEboard reviewed a proposed brochure at its summer meeting, our groupphoto had too many white-haired members on display.

ISWNE is not for everyone. As I travel around the country visitingnewspapers and press conventions in my present job, I’m often sur-prised that some editors – even those who excel at editorial writing –have no interest in joining another organization. For one, they’ve neverheard of us. For two, they just don’t have time.

There’s nothing we can do to put more hours in a weekly editor’s day.But there’s no reason we should continue to be the weekly industry’sbest-kept secret. The positive publicity ISWNE received from SteveThurston’s front-page blitz that convinced the Newseum to change its pol-icy toward displaying weekly newspapers – and Bill Tubbs’ column aboutthe blitz reprinted on the front page of Publishers’ Auxiliary – makes

this the time to act.Every member can and should be involved in this effort. Start by con-

tacting the weekly winners of editorial-writing contests in your state,province or nation. Suggest that they submit their winning editorial in thenext Golden Quill competition. Tell them about the hotline and our publi-cations. Offer them a complimentary membership for the rest of thisyear.

And we should expand our horizonsbeyond the United States, Canada, England,Ireland, Scotland, Australia and SouthAfrica, the countries where we already havemembers. What about English-languageweekly newspapers in New Zealand, Indiaand elsewhere? How do we reach their edi-tors?

We started the Durango conference with265 members. How close to 300 can wecome in the next year?

As I travel in the coming months, Ihope to meet many of you. When I do,you’ll get an official invitation to our 2015 conference in Columbia, Mo.,which Helen and I are hosting. I’ll also snap a photo of you holding theinvitation for my personal and the ISWNE Facebook pages.

Last month at the Arkansas Press Association SuperConvention in HotSprings, I presented an invitation to ISWNE member Van Tyson, editorand publisher of The Atkins Chronicle. I enjoyed sitting with Van duringthe awards luncheon. I learned that he owned the weekly Chroniclefrom 1959 to 1961, sold it, then bought it back in 1992 while he wasteaching journalism at Arkansas Tech. He worked three years for the DesMoines Tribune and five years for the Arkansas Democrat in Little Rockbefore starting his teaching career, which included two years at WayneState in Nebraska and 33 years at Arkansas Tech. He was thrilled that daywhen one of his former students received three awards.

Van hopes to attend the 2015 conference, which would be his first.I wore my ISWNE polo shirt the first day of the convention. One APA

member joked that at first he thought it said “I-SWINE.” I laughed andexplained that our members can’t agree how to say it, despite a procla-mation during the 2008-09 presidency of Don Brod that ISWNE shouldbe pronounced ICE-WINE.

Frankly, I don’t care if you call us ICE-WINE, I-SWINE, IS-WI-NEE or I-S-W-N-E, as Helen and I do.

I just thank you for being a member.

Former Missouri editor and publisher Gary Sosniecki is ISWNEpresident. He can be contacted at [email protected].

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By Gary SosnieckiISWNE President

PRESIDENT’S REPORT

Goals: Serve all members, recruit more

VAN TYSON

A U G U S T 2 0 1 4 | T H E I N T E R N A T I O N A L S O C I E T Y O F W E E K L Y N E W S P A P E R E D I T O R S | P A G E 3

ISWNE NEWS

Vermont weekly celebrates 140thanniversary

This year marks the 140th anniversary ofcontinuous publication of The Herald,which is the second-oldest weekly newspa-per in Vermont.

“To prove it, we have walls and closetslined with volumes of Heralds, almost allthe way back to its founding by L.P. Thayerin 1874,” wroteeditor and pub-lisher M. DickeyDrysdale. “Duringthose 140 years,The Herald hashad a number ofdifferent namesand editions, butthe formula hitupon by its firstowner was alwaysat the core of itscontinued success: The Herald would rep-resent not just one small town, but 16, tiedtogether by the White River and its threebranches and linked also by a rurallifestyle carried on in a landscape of sur-passing beauty.”

The Herald’s mission has consistentlybeen to create a community out of “our”16 towns.

Even more remarkable than the longevityof the newspaper is the fact that during

those 140 years, The Herald has been pub-lished by just four owners.

Thayer, a businessman with statewideambitions, published the paper from 1874to 1894.

Luther B. Johnson, a Northfield native,succeeded Thayer, publishing the paper foran astounding 51 years before selling it toa down-country newspaperman, JohnDrysdale.

John Drysdale steered the course for 26years, before turning it over to his son, M.Dickey Drysdale, the current publisher, in1971. He was 26 at the time, and a littlearithmetic can show the reader that as ofthis writing, he is no longer a spring chick-en.

ISWNE elects Sosniecki as president for 2014-15

Longtime Missouri publisher GarySosniecki hasbeen electedISWNE presidentfor 2014-15.

Sosniecki waselected by themembership atthe recent ISWNEconference inDurango,Colorado. BarryWilson, managingdirector of AssetMedia Services, a global newspaper con-

sulting business in Australia, was namedvice president. Wilson will host the 2016conference in Australia.

Marcia Martinek, editor of the HeraldDemocrat in Leadville, Colorado, and AndySchotz, managing editor of The Gazette inGaithersburg, Maryland, were elected tothree-year terms on the ISWNE board ofdirectors. Steve Ranson, editor of theLahontan Valley News in Fallon, Nevada,was elected to a two-year term.

Derek Sawvell to receiveNNA leadership award

Derek Sawvell, managing editor of theWilton-Durant Advocate News in Wilton,Iowa, will be honored during the NationalNewspaperAssociation’s128th AnnualConvention &Trade Show, whenhe will be present-ed with the DanielM. PhillipsLeadership Award.

NNA establishedthis award in2007 to honorDaniel Morris“Dan” Phillips, an award-winning writer,photographer and assistant publisher ofthe Oxford (Mississippi) Eagle, who died

CONTINUED ON PAGE 12

GARY SOSNIECKI

M. DICKEY DRYSDALE

DEREK SAWVELL

ISWNE OFFICERS:

PRESIDENT: Gary Sosniecki - Term exp: June 2015

TownNews.com

Moline, Illinois

VICE PRESIDENT: Barry Wilson - Term exp: June 2015

Asset Media Services

Kiama, NSW, Australia

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR:

Dr. Chad Stebbins

Director, Institute of International

Studies, Missouri Southern

State University,

3950 E. Newman Road,

Joplin, MO 64801-1595

Phone: (417) 625-9736

Fax: (417) 659-4445

Website: ISWNE.org

E-Mail: [email protected]

BOARD OF DIRECTORS:

Steve Bonspiel - Term exp: June 2015

The Eastern Door, Kahnawake, Quebec

Dave Gordon - Term exp: June 2015

Professor Emeritus,University of Wisonsin - Eau Claire

Jan Haupt - Term exp: June 2016

Lodi, Wisconsin

Steve Ranson - Term exp: June 2016

Lahontan Valley NewsFallon, Nevada

Andy Schotz - Term exp: June 2017

The GazetteGaithersburg, Maryland.

Marcia Martinek - Term exp: June 2017

Herald DemocratLeadville, Colorado

Immediate Past President:

Kelly ClemmerStar News. Inc.Wainwright, Alberta

President Kelly Clemmercalled the meeting to orderat 7:35 p.m.

1. The minutes of theJanuary 18, 2014, meetingin Goodyear, Arizona, wereapproved (CherylWormley/Jan Haupt).

2. Chad Stebbins reportedISWNE had $20,197.73 in

its checking account and three CDs totaling $28,000 for a net worth of$48,197.73 as of June 19. ISWNE had income of $23,602.04 from July 1,2013, through June 19, and expenses of $21,950.66, for a net “profit” of$1,651.38. Stebbins reported the ISWNE Foundation had $29,298.78 in itschecking account and two CDs totaling $33,000 for a net worth of$62,298.78 as of June 19. Wormley said ISWNE had too much money in itschecking account and suggested that more be put into CDs. She asked ifISWNE funds could be transferred to the Foundation. Stebbins said no, thatthe two accounts must remain completely separate for tax and legal purpos-es. The financial statement was approved (Wormley/Haupt).

3. Stebbins reported ISWNE had 265 paid members in 2014, a decrease offive from 2013. He distributed a list of 27 people who had not renewed theirmemberships this year. He said they each had received three dues noticesand at least two emails reminding them to renew, but that many of them hadbeen signed up by other ISWNE members a year ago at the special $25 rate.Andy Schotz suggested that board members call all of the delinquent mem-bers. Haupt said ISWNE shouldn’t be overly concerned with the $25 mem-bers who didn’t renew. Stebbins also distributed a list of 32 individuals whowere receiving complimentary memberships in 2014, most at the recom-mendation of Gary and Helen Sosniecki and others he had found by scouringnewspaper websites.

4. John Hatcher discussed the upcoming special, joint issue of GrassrootsEditor and Community Journalism, the online, peer-reviewed journal basedat Texas Christian University that is the official journal of the CommunityJournalism Interest Group. Submission deadline is Sept. 2 for extendedabstracts and Dec. 15 for full manuscripts, with the publication planned forMarch 2015. Hatcher said the journal will be published online throughCommunity Journalism and in print through ISWNE. Titled “InternationalPerspectives on Community Journalism,” the journal will describe the state ofcommunity journalism in various countries. “ISWNE will provide the per-spective of working journalists,” Hatcher said.

5. Gary Sosniecki distributed an updated schedule for the 2015 conferencein Columbia, Missouri. The hospitality suite will be at The Heidelberg, a cor-nerstone of the University of Missouri campus since 1963. ISWNE will have adownstairs room and a portion of the patio reserved for conference atten-dees. Each registrant will receive two drink tickets per evening. Sosnieckisaid he could arrange a pre-conference tour of the Missouri StatePenitentiary and the State Capitol in Jefferson City on Tuesday, June 23, butwould need a minimum of 15 participants for a private prison tour. The

prison closed in 2004 after 168 years of service and was once known as “thebloodiest 47 acres in America.”

6. Barry Wilson updated the board on his plans for the 2016 conference inAustralia. He said it will be a moving conference, starting with three nights inMelbourne and ending in Sydney. Conference attendees from the UnitedStates would most likely depart from Los Angeles or Dallas on a Sunday andarrive in Melbourne around 7 a.m. Tuesday, which would be a free day. Theconference would begin on Wednesday with a tour of the Herald Sun, thehighest-circulating daily newspaper in Australia. Thursday would include ajoint meeting of ISWNE and the Victorian Country Press Association and theeditorial critique sessions. Wilson said the state of Victoria has the greatestproportion of family-owned weeklies and bi-weeklies in Australia. On Friday,attendees would travel three hours by coach to Bairnsdale, where ISWNEmember and conference co-host Bob Yeates lives. Members may be hostedovernight by local Rotarian families. Saturday would feature a trip to the capi-tal city of Canberra, a visit to the House of Parliament, and the annual awardsbanquet. The conference would conclude on Sunday in Sydney, with a SydneyHarbor dinner cruise. Attendees could choose to stay on for additional sight-seeing in Sydney or elsewhere in Australia.

The board discussed a possible sponsorship with the South AustralianTourism Commission, which might be willing to help offset some conferenceexpenses if ISWNE newspapers placed ads promoting Australia as a traveldestination. Wilson said he would continue his negotiations. He asked theboard for input on conference dates, and it was decided that mid to late Julymight bring better prices. Average temperatures in Melbourne in July are 57degrees Fahrenheit during the day and 45 degrees at night.

7. Stebbins expressed concern that ISWNE hadn’t determined a conferencelocation for 2017, noting that conferences are usually set three years inadvance. He thought Washington, D.C. would be a big draw, but that it wouldrequire Schotz and Steve Thurston to serve as co-hosts. Clemmer said he hadconsidered hosting a “low-rent” conference in Alberta. Steve Bonspiel saidhe would be interested in hosting a conference in Montreal in 2018 or 2019.Haupt said ISWNE should hire a conference coordinator and Sosnieckiagreed, adding that it was something the organization should explore.

8. Stebbins presented a proposal from BetterBNC to provide an onlineGolden Quill contest, to “provide significant streamlining” for ISWNE, thecontestants, and judges. Cost would be $1,450 annually, plus a one-timesetup fee of $1,120. Golden Quill contestants no longer would have to mailin their entries, and the judge would have everything available on an onlineplatform. Haupt said it wasn’t worth the money, and Schotz noted that “it’spretty easy to send entries through the mail.” He added: “BNC is expensive.”The board voted to deny the proposal (Haupt/Wilson).

9. Stebbins brought up the possibility of securing advertisements for ISWNEpublications. Wormley asked what the additional revenue could be used for.Stebbins said he might want to retire as executive director “someday” andthat the money could be used to increase the new director’s annual stipendand cover additional expenses that might result. Wormley said ISWNE neededto do some strategic planning and encouraged the board to set aside ampletime at a future meeting for this purpose.

ISWNE BOARD MINUTES


Minutes | Board of Directors Meeting, International Society of Weekly Newspaper EditorsDurango,Colorado | June 25,2014

In Attendance:

Kelly ClemmerChad StebbinsGary SosnieckiCheryl WormleyDavid GordonJan Haupt

Barry WilsonAndy SchotzSteve BonspielJohn Hatcher*Helen Sosniecki*

*non-board member

President Kelly Clemmer called the meeting to order at 8:18 a.m.

1. The minutes of the July 13, 2013, meeting in De Pere,Wisconsin, were approved (Vickie Canfield Peters/Kris O’Leary).

2. Chad Stebbins reported ISWNE had $20,197.73 in its checkingaccount and three CDs totaling $28,000 for a net worth of$48,197.73 as of June 19. ISWNE had income of $23,602.04 fromJuly 1, 2013, through June 19, and expenses of $21,950.66, for anet “profit” of $1,651.38. Stebbins reported the ISWNE Foundationhad $29,298.78 in its checking account and two CDs totaling$33,000 for a net worth of $62,298.78 as of June 19. The financialstatement was approved (Steve Bonspiel/Barry Wilson).

3. Stebbins reported ISWNE had 265 paid members in 2014, adecrease of five from 2013. He said 27 people had not renewedtheir memberships this year and that they each had received threedues notices and at least two emails reminding them to renew, butthat many of them had been signed up by other ISWNE members ayear ago at the special $25 rate. Ross Connelly asked whichregions of the country ISWNE had the best representation in.Stebbins said the Midwest, with Wisconsin (28) and Illinois (24)having the most members. He said ISWNE was improving its show-ing in California (11), but that there were still a few states, such asAlaska, Delaware, Hawaii, and Indiana, where there wasn’t a singlemember. “It is everyone’s responsibility to increase membership,”Cheryl Wormley said. “It is a membership responsibility.”

4. The membership approved a motion that ISWNE “cash in” onthe exposure it received from April’s #Frontpageblitz of theNewseum and place an ad in Publishers’ Auxiliary touting thebenefits of the ISWNE Hotline (Canfield Peters/Gary Sosniecki).The ad ran in the August 2014 issue of PubAux.

5. Sosniecki emphasized that the weather would be hot during the2015 conference in Columbia, Missouri, but that the rooms wouldbe air-conditioned. He said a highlight would be eating at JackStack Barbecue in Kansas City on Thursday, June 25, following avisit to the Truman Presidential Library and Museum and theNational World War I Museum. “Jack Stack is costing almost as

much as the awards banquet,” Sosniecki said. “Paul MacNeill bet-ter be there – he wanted Kansas City barbecue.” Sosniecki distrib-uted an “invitation” he is passing out at state press associationconventions, urging everyone to come to Columbia June 24-28.

6. Wilson said the 2016 conference will begin in Melbourne, whichmay be Australia’s largest city in two years. He said he’s a“Melbournian,” and that it’s a beautiful city. Conference highlightsinclude a boat trip on the Great Lakes of Gippsland, a combinededitorial critique session with the Victorian Country PressAssociation, a bus ride through the iconic Merino sheep country(home of the world’s finest wool yarn) on the way to Australia’scapital – Canberra (hopefully a chance to visit Parliament House),and a Sydney Harbor cruise. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime destination,”he said. Wilson said he would require a $100 deposit per personby the end of the year, as “numbers are going to be critical.” Fullconference payment is going to be required much earlier thanusual. He said conference registration will cost around $800, butthat he will get it as low as he possibly can. There will certainly bean early-bird saving.

7. Canfield Peters presented the same slate of officers for theISWNE Foundation: Canfield Peters, president; Carol O’Leary, vicepresident; and Guy Wood, member. Other members are the ISWNEpast president (Clemmer) and executive director (Stebbins). Theslate of officers was approved (Tim Waltner/Kris O’Leary).

8. Wormley presented a slate of proposed officers from the pastpresidents: Sosniecki, president; Wilson, vice president; AndySchotz, board member (three-year term); Marcia Martinek, boardmember (three-year term); and Steve Ranson, board member(two-year term). The slate was approved by the membership(Canfield Peters/Jim Painter).

The meeting adjourned at 9:33 a.m. and was followed by an “InMemoriam” PowerPoint presentation by Dick McCord recognizingthe six members of ISWNE who died in the past year: Edith BoysEnos, Ursula Freireich, Ellen Simon, Bob Horowitz, HowardKessinger, and Bob Trapp.

ISWNE GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING


Minutes | International Society of Weekly Newspaper EditorsDurango,Colorado | June 29,2014

ISWNE BOARD from page 4

10. The board reviewed a preliminary designof a new brochure for ISWNE and offeredsuggestions. Haupt asked board members toprovide Stebbins with additional input by theend of the conference. (The brochure wasprinted in mid-July.)

11. Stebbins pointed out that the board, at its

January 18 meeting, had agreed to form anad-hoc committee of him, Clemmer,Wormley, and Haupt to review the outdatedISWNE Constitution & Bylaws and recom-mend changes, but that nothing had tran-spired. Haupt suggested that the ad-hoc com-mittee could meet by conference call. DavidGordon said it was crucial to get the recom-

mended changes to the board before theJanuary 2015 meeting. Clemmer appointedWormley as committee chair; Wormley willwork with Haupt and issue a preliminaryreport by September.

12. Under new business, the board consid

CONTINUED ON PAGE 7

The ISWNE tradition of seeking toencourage and improve strong, independ-ent editorial voices was in evidence asseven groups met in the Friday afternooneditorial critique sessions of the 2014 sum-mer conference at Fort Lewis College inDurango, Colorado. The editorial critiques,a long-standing element of ISWNE confer-ences, are set up in a group discussion for-mat in which the editorial pages of partici-pating newspapers are reviewed with par-ticipants offering critiques, observations,suggestions and affirmations.

Each group was asked to share a reviewof some of the “best practices” identifiedin its critique. Here are 30 tips to improvean editorial page as generated by thegroups:

Group facilitated by Helen Sosniecki

1. Editorials should take a leadership role,and, if labeled editorial, make sure theyare really editorials. Make sure the editori-al headline includes the headline topic (asopposed to a one- or two-word label.)And, keep them a reasonable length.

2. Use a local cartoonist where possible.

3. Have a box or designated area on theeditorial page to encourage letters to theeditor and explain letters policies.

4. Give the editorial page a prominent,consistent position in your newspaper.

5. Educate readers withperiodic columns as towhat newspapers do andexplain the differencebetween news, editorials,columns, ads, etc. (Wedeal with the differenceevery day, but our read-ers may not understandthe differences.)

6. Have a uniform policyfor handling corrections.

7. Use mug shots of thewriters with columns…including local columnsand op-ed pieces.

Group facilitated by Ellen Albanese

8. Readers need signposts on the editorialpage as well as points of entry into editori-als and columns. It’s a good idea to distin-guish editorials from columns graphically.Ways to indicate the importance of an edi-torial and draw the eye include: largertype, drop caps, ragged right, the top leftspot on the page. Running a headshot with

columns is a good way toindicate that they arepersonal, not institution-al, opinion pieces.

9. Pull-quotes or read-outs are one way tostretch editorials to fillan allotted space. Othersinclude running a letterspolicy or a list of munici-pal meetings directlybeneath the editorial.

10. Some ideas forencouraging letters tothe editor: (A) Makeyour letters policy wel-coming, not intimidating;describe the kinds of let-ters you do accept,

instead of a laundry list of things you don’taccept. (B) Work a letters pitch into edito-rials that encourage civic participation. (C)Once a year, run a list of the names ofeveryone who has written a letter to theeditor over the past year.

11. The editorial page should have a dis-tinctive sense of place, reflecting thepaper’s community.

12. The most popular item in the newspa-per varies by community. In many, it’s thepolice log; in one of ours, it was the “mys-tery photo,” in another, “events of yester-year.”

13. A quick way to elevate your writing: It’s“people who, things that.”

Group facilitated by Gary Sosniecki

14. The newspaper must be a leader in thecommunity. Always have an editorial.

15. Don’t prostitute your fonts. Keep themsimple. Don’t adjust spacing between let-ters. Scientific calculations were used toget it right.

16. We didn’t have 100-percent agreementon this, but there was considerable senti-ment that all letters to the editor should bepresented equally, with headlines of equalweight. Limit letter writers to one or twoper month.

17. We liked how The Pagosa (Colorado)Springs SUN asked the same question in itsonline poll and man-in-the-street inter-views, then packaged the results togetheron the opinion page.


30 tips to improve editorial pages

Ellen Albanese and Becky Dickerson

Barry Wilson, Areia Hathcock, and Don Brod participated in GarySosniecki’s group.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 7

Group facilitated by David Gordon

18. Make it totally and quickly clear whohas written op-ed pieces – if you're notingtheir affiliation, be sure to explain exactlywhat that group stands for (e.g., don’t justindicate that author X is affiliated with theNevada Policy Research Institute, but addthat this is an organization that promotespolicies that support free markets).

19. If a column deals with multiple topics,make it clear right at the start that this iswhat the reader can expect *and* distin-guish between topics with asterisks, or bul-lets, or a dash between them – or anyother device that will tell the reader “here’ssomething new/different.” Also, if you’redealing with a local columnist in a situa-tion like this, consider suggesting toher/him that one or more of those shorttopics might be developed into a full-scalecolumn with a bit more research.

20. On controversial and complex topics(the specific example here was the upcom-ing referendum on Scottish independence),consider doing an editorial that provides,for example, “Five Reasons Why YouShould Vote ‘Yes’ and Five Reasons forVoting ‘No’.” The number is arbitrary, butthe presentation of opposing arguments isthe key here, especially if you’re uncom-fortable with endorsing one side or theother of the issue.

Group facilitated by Chad Stebbins

21. Make sure that your editorial appears

on a prominent place onthe editorial page (nor-mally the top left oracross the top) and hasthe largest headline onthe page. Use a boldfont, not italic.

22. Make a commitmentto writing an editorialevery week.

23. Find local colum-nists. Former publisherBill Haupt once lined up26; each would write twocolumns annually. Youmight end up with a fewpermanent ones who aregood.

24. Make sure the masthead is accurateand that you have a letters to the editorpolicy.

25. Multiple entry points on the editorialpage are good, such as a poll or “JustCurious” question. Take responses fromFacebook or your website and run them onthe editorial page.

Group facilitated by Deborah Givens

26. Find your focus. Ask: What’s the goalyou have in mind? What are you trying toachieve? Why should the readers/communi-ty care?

27. Don’t make the editorial an after-

thought. Editorials deserve the same plan-ning, research, and writing/revision time asnews articles.

28. As a follow-up to previous point, edito-rials should be supported with facts andeven original reporting.

29. Bring variety to the opinion page withdifferent editorial types, including explana-tory and educational. It’s OK to step downoff the soapbox occasionally.

30. Don’t be afraid to break the rules,especially for important issues and editori-als. A long editorial, well-written and docu-mented, brings attention to an issue. Thesame goes for a frontpage editorial if theissue deserves such attention.

30 tips to improve from page 6

Marcia Martinek and Ellen Miller-Goins


ISWNE BOARD from page 5

ered changing the Golden Quill entry fee ($20for members and $25 for non-members). “Itdoesn’t look good to raise it again so quickly,”Schotz said, and the matter was dropped aftersome discussion. Sosniecki said ISWNE need-ed to target the editorial writing winners of thestate and provincial press associations forISWNE membership. “Every member of theorganization should do that,” he said.

Schotz mentioned the success of April’s#Frontpageblitz of the Newseum and MelissaHale-Spencer’s April 21 suggestion via theHotline that “the next step is to work togeth-

er, over the course of a year, on covering asingle topic, each in our own way, each withthe depth of knowledge we bring to our ownlocation. If we were to each year choose asingle topic that is germane to what we areall already covering (not an add on), like theoppression of women, the poverty of chil-dren, the pollution of the Earth, we wouldcreate a worldwide view of a particular topicand our editorials would offer varied solu-tions to its many parts. We could post theseregularly as we write them on the ISWNEwebsite with links (maybe with a print icon)

from each of our papers. This would not justraise the profile of weeklies and stress ourcritical role in each of our communities but,more importantly, perform a worthwhile pub-lic service.” Sosniecki said ISWNE needed toleverage the #Frontpageblitz success, whichincluded a front-page column by memberBill Tubbs in the June issue of Publishers’Auxiliary.

13. After agreeing to meet on January 10,2015 in St. Augustine, Florida, the boardadjourned at 10:40 p.m.

tions, poorlymanagedforests, drygrasses, sage-brush andsteep terrainwere a recipefor disasterand flameserupted acrossthe alreadyparched hills.By Thursday,July 17, theOkanoganCounty Sheriff’sOffice wasknocking onrural residents’doors, tellingthem to getout, now.

ChroniclePublisher andEditor RogerHarnack, amember ofOkanoganCounty Searchand Rescue,was called todouble duty –manage anewspaper andevacuate resi-dents from theline of fire.

Harnack andChronicleSports

Editor/photographer Al Camp were inIndian Dan Canyon when the evacuationorders came. Wildfire raced through thecanyon as residents feverishly gatheredwhat they could and fled.

Harnack and Camp remained in thecanyon, helping deputies and photograph-ing the approaching flames as they con-sumed trees, sage and homes.

“I’m 63, use long lenses and stay infront of the fire,” Camp said, noting thewildfires were moving too fast to get close.

With most residents out of the valley,Sheriff Frank Rogers directed his deputiesout of harm’s way. Harnack and Camp left,too.

Departing the canyon, Harnack wentsouth to the city of Pateros where a shelter

was set up for evacuees at Pateros HighSchool. At the time, nobody expected windsto shift and drive the fire to the edge of theschool grounds by the end of the night.

Camp headed north to the city ofBrewster – flames were advancing on thecity known for its apple production.Brewster was thought to be the comingground zero for the disaster.

Camp said he felt like he was competingwith everyone in Brewster, as anybody witha mobile phone, tablet or camera stopped

to take photographs.The fast-moving, growing wildfire exhib-

ited some unusual behavior. Wildfires nor-mally “lay down” at night and tend to burnuphill. This one, fanned by winds that sentburning embers aloft, burned downhill onThursday and the wind shifted that eveningtoward Pateros, population about 675.Those embers rained down on the city,which sits at the confluence of the Methowand Columbia rivers.

Its rapid advance overwhelmed lawenforcement’s ability to warn everyone andfirefighters’ ability to protect structures.About 30 homes burned in the cominghour. Residents had mere minutes to fleethe city.

“It really did feel like being in hell,” said

former Chronicle reporter JenniferMarshall, who lives in Pateros with herhusband, Aaron Best.

“We lost our shed and took some heatdamage to the back of the house, but over-all we’re extremely lucky considering theflames were only about five feet from thehouse by the time Aaron was able to corralthe cats, move his car out of the fire’s pathand get out of there,” she said a few daysafter the fire.

Volunteer firefighters and a retaining

wall helped save their home.Back at the office that Thursday and

later from our respective homes, I wroteup information provided by the Sheriff’sOffice and phoned in by Harnack andCamp, and emailed it to fellow reporterBrock Hires to post on our website. Thosepostings went late into the night.

Meanwhile in Pateros, Harnack tuckedaway his camera and put on his Search andRescue hat and began evacuating the city,going door-to-door as the heat andfirestorm bore down. The sky blackenedwith ash and smoke. And the heat rose to alevel high enough to melt the light bars,bumper covers, headlamps and side viewmirrors of fire trucks.

Chronicle staff pulls

AL CAMP


from page 1

CONTINUED ON PAGE 9

ROGER HARNACK

BROCK HIRES

Sheriff Frank Rogers watches the wildfire advance in

Indian Dan Canyon. (Photo by Al Camp on July 17,

just before the wind turns toward Pateros)

His camera still around his neck,Harnack snapped a quick photo here andthere as the fire engulfed the city’s watertanks, destroyed homes and devoured thecountryside.

With the city evacuated, Harnack eventu-ally found himself on the far side of the fireand wasn’t able to get out until the weehours of the next morning.

As he photographed the blaze fromacross a small bridge, the Washington StatePatrol asked him to puthis Search and Rescuehat back on and directtraffic. For the nexthour or so, he turnednorthbound U.S.Highway 97 motoristsaround, advising themto go to Chelan orWenatchee.

The fire continued togrow and advanced aresort community nearHarnack’s location.With traffic under con-trol, the State Patroldirected him to assistwith evacuating AltaLake, a golf coursecommunity atop a sage-covered hillside.

He and a deputyevacuated the last of theresidents as the fireripped into the commu-nity. Eventually, 41homes in the Alta Lakearea would burn, including the home of atrooper helping others as the fire begangrowing north. Golf carts burned, but thegreen course survived.

By the end of the last evacuation,Harnack looked like a coal miner, his faceand clothing blackened from the soot andash.

Harnack left the fire area about 4 a.m.after being released from Search andRescue. He was allowed to head norththrough the fire area and eventually backto the newspaper office about 40 milesaway.

Overnight and into Friday, anotherbranch of the fire, burning northeast of theblaze that attacked Pateros, moved alongthe edge of neighboring Brewster andacross the mountains into the ChiliwistValley. It then turned north along Old

Highway 97, where it skirted the communi-ty of Malott.

Camp was there to photograph theadvance of the fire near Malott. He contin-ued to supply me with information to beposted immediately to the web.

“I thought that was an extremely goodjob of firefighting,” Camp said of the effortin Malott. “It was pretty amazing.”

Camp, a veteran photographer of numer-ous other wildfires, said he had never

experienced anything like this year’sfirestorm.

“I did Tripod, which was the last big onehere. Barker Mountain (fire) threatened alot of homes,” he said, noting the wind anddry heat this year fanned the flames.Over the course of the first week of thewildfires, Camp shot close to 1,200 photos,wrote 10 fire stories and supplied informa-tion to me for our social media and web-sites. Over the second week, he addedanother 800 images and several more sto-ries.

That was in addition to his role as thenewspaper’s sports editor.More houses burned, including theChiliwist home of Chronicle ProductionManager Katie Montanez and her husband,Rick.

Although disabled, Rick is credited for

saving the lives of many residents of theChiliwist. As the fire raced in, he dialed upthe “phone tree,” calling the first of theresidents on the list, who then called moreresidents, and so on.

Power, telephone and cell phone servicewas knocked out within minutes, literallyleaving residents in the dark without help.

But Rick’s efforts had afforded neighborsjust enough time to get out of the valleybefore a majority of Chiliwist homes

burned.“We got two phone

calls from neighborswarning us of thefire,” Montanez said,noting that was theimpetus for her hus-band to dial up thephone tree. “One ofthem said, ‘You andRick need to get outnow.’”

Rural Chiliwist resi-dents had little timefor gathering belong-ings, and no time toget livestock out.Hundreds of cattleworth millions of dol-lars would die, tan-gled in barbed wirealong the few roads inand out of the valley.

“We were alreadygetting ready to go,”Montanez said. “I hadbeen outside a couple

of times and could hear the roaring of thefire although I couldn’t see flames or evena glow.

“By the time we were loading up in thevan, the roar was much, much louder. Weheard later that the fire trucks couldn’t getinto our driveway, so we feel very fortunatewe had time to leave. There would havecome a point at which we wouldn’t havebeen able to leave and would have beentrapped.”

Despite the emergency evacuation,Montanez reported to work Friday, notknowing whether her home had survived.She set to work dummying the weekendand Wednesday editions, building ads andsecuring press times and runs.

On Friday, we continued posting andreporting new developments – the fire’s


Chronicle staff pulls from page 8


Fire races along Old Highway 97, south of Malott,Washington, as utility crews inspect poles and lines.(Photo by Roger Harnack on July 18)

Chronicle staff pulls

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from page 9

advance, Red Cross shelter locations,donations that began pouring in from allover the country, power outages, emer-gency declarations and where to take dis-placed animals. We lost count of how manystories and photos we posted that day toour website, Facebook and Twitter.I would hit the save button on a completedstory, then immediately dive into another.That went on for hours and hours. I don’tthink any of us remembered to grab a biteto eat that day as one horrible scenarioafter another unfolded.

Assisting us wasintern Chelsee Johnson,a recent high schoolgraduate.

Meanwhile, the papercalled for donations offood and bottled waterfor fire victims. Ourlobby began to fill up;Advertising ManagerTeresa Myers andCirculation ManagerJulie Bock headed theeffort. Julie’s teenageson, Kash Heath, helpedcarry donations into thelobby.

With the exception ofsports, our entireSunday paper – a four-page broadsheetwrapped around theWenatchee World in ajoint distribution agree-ment – was devoted tofire coverage.

By this time, Internetand phone services were intermittent coun-tywide. We made plans to put the Sundaypaper on a flash drive and drive it to thepress in Wenatchee, 90 miles to the south.Since roads were closed much of the time,we plotted alternate routes. In the end, theInternet came back and we were able totransmit pages electronically, as usual.Camp went out photographing again andHarnack, who hadn’t slept, was called intoSearch and Rescue duty again at theOkanogan Emergency Operations Center asan unofficial public information officer,posting updates to both the sheriff’sFacebook site and ours, and “tweeting”information online through Twitter.

He and Camp continued to phone in ortext information about the fire, allowing

Hires and me to post constant updates. Atone point, Harnack texted me information,in short snippets, from a meeting involvingcounty officials dealing with the disaster.Our story was online before the meetingbroke up.

Shortly thereafter, Harnack “volun-teered” rookie reporter Hires to take overthe social media and public informationcampaign.

Hires relocated to the EmergencyOperations Center, where he continued towrite stories for the newspaper as well as

manage the social media for us and theSheriff’s Office.

Hires, who has been a reporter for lessthan two months, called the fire “truly dev-astating.”

Hires said it’s a real honor to have beentasked to not only report the news, but toalso keep up social media for emergencyofficials.

“Being able to get the information outjust…it’s an honor to have that kind ofresponsibility. It’s amazing how the wholething came to be,” he said.

At 8 p.m., the center closed its phonesand social media operations for the night,but our newsroom continued to operate.Helping with news coverage Saturday –production day for the Sunday paper –

were a couple freelancers – formerreporter Sheila Corson and the Camps’son, Doug (a music teacher home for thesummer) – and advertising representativeKate MacKenzie, a former CanadianBroadcasting Corp. reporter.

MacKenzie also took turns volunteeringon the hotlines at the Sheriff’s Office,answering questions for fire victims andthose still in harm’s way.

Our volunteer efforts continued. Withless than four hours sleep, Harnack startedout at the emergency operations. Hires

took over for Harnacklater that morning andthe publisher went insearch of more pho-tos.

Camp, who alsoonly had a few hoursto sleep, went back towork with a camera,too.

Doug took a truck-load of donated foodto Pateros, where arelief station was setup at the high school,and also pho-tographed thedestruction along theroute and in town. Hephoned in informa-tion, allowing us toalert residents, whohad started to comeback, about the reliefeffort and also of animpromptu communi-ty barbecue to use up

perishable foods and dozens of pies madefor the community’s Apple Pie Jamboree,which was to have been that day.

During those hectic few days, Doug alsoposted information on his personalFacebook page to keep his acquaintances– many of whom moved away for collegeor jobs – up to date with accurate reports.He also consoled a close friend whosefamily lost their home in the Chiliwist area.

On Sunday, Gov. Jay Inslee and severalother state officials came to town to viewsome of the damage and meet with localofficials. Harnack spent much of the day inthe emergency center; he and I covered ameeting involving local officials and thegovernor’s entourage.


View of the wildfire from afar taken by Roger

Harnack on July 17

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Chronicle staff pulls from page 10

By this time, TV crews had arrivedfrom larger cities elsewhere in the state.While they chatted in the parking lot,waiting for a sound byte from the gover-nor, we were in the meeting listening tolocal officials assail Inslee with questionsabout state response to the fire.

Monday, July 21 – a week after the firestarted – was our marathonday. We continued to write,photograph and post updatesall day and early into thenext morning. Harnackmade the decision to devotethe entire 12-page front sec-tion of the Wednesday paperto fire coverage and squeezethe remaining stories intothe second section.In an unusual move, thepaper quality was bumpedup to 38 pound Hi-Brite. Weknew people would want theissue as a keepsake and the“whiter” paper helped thephotos stand out.

We also increased ourpress run. (The Wednesdaypaper is not a partnershipwith the Wenatchee World.)

We continued posting toour Web page, Facebook andTwitter during the secondweek of the fire, bringingmuch-needed information toour readers. A specialFirestorm 2014 page wasadded to our website. Ourgoal was to be the first placepeople would visit for accu-rate, up-to-date information.

Harnack and Hires contin-ued to handle the socialmedia.

At one point, Hires postedkey information that contra-dicted incorrect informationposted by a Spokane TV sta-tion. The station later cor-rected its story. Throughoutthe coming week, our staffended up correcting multipletelevision stories and social media postsdealing with fire evacuation levels, whereto make donations, road closures andfire status.

Throughout that time, we dealt withintermittent Internet service, non-func-

tioning phones, a brief power outage andwonky computers that chose to act up ondeadline.

A special section for our upcomingOmak Stampede rodeo fell in the middleof it all. We got the section out, but withthe Internet down that day, we ended upsending Mailroom Supervisor Howard

Thompson to the press with the pages ona flash drive. Harnack, in the meantime,found an Internet signal at the countyoperations center and tried to send thepages electronically. The connection wasso slow that pages were still arriving at

the press the next day, after the sectionhad been printed.

It was an ultra-high-stress time thatcould have resulted in personal melt-downs and professional blow-ups, butstaff members kept their cool.

The July 27 (Sunday) and July 30newspapers also were full of fire informa-

tion, including the begin-nings of recovery mode asthe fire slowed its rapidadvance.

At the fire’s height, therewere more than 3,100 fire-fighters and support person-nel assigned to the fire fromall over the nation. Threefire camps served as tempo-rary home for those crews,around 7,000 electrical cus-tomers were without power(some still are), three shel-ters were in operation andthe only railroad line intothe area was damaged whentwo trestles burned. Tons ofclothing, food and waterwere donated, along withhay and other supplies fordisplaced animals.

As this is written, on July30, the fire continues toburn, although it’s nowlargely away from populatedareas. Damage will be in thetens of millions of dollars.No one’s yet estimated howlong it will take to assessand tally the damage.

Harnack has been official-ly named as the public infor-mation officer for theEmergency OperationsCenter, which will shut downin the coming days when fireconcerns subside.

Hires continues to be oncall for the center’s socialmedia needs.

“That whole two-weekspan is just a blur,” he said.

While most of the TVcrews have packed up and gone home,we will continue to cover the stories ofour county’s residents and their struggleto recover from Firestorm 2014.

Fire silhouettes Pateros church

cross (Photo by Roger Harnack

on July 17)

Bill Tubbs wins two NNA writing awardsThe North Scott Press of Eldridge, Iowa,

placed first in two categories and willreceive seven awards during NNA’s 128thAnnual Convention & Trade Show at theGrand Hyatt in San Antonio, Oct. 2-5.Publisher Bill Tubbs won firstplace in two writing competi-tions for Best Serious Columnfor daily and non-daily news-papers with circulations of3,000-5,999, and Best SportsColumn, for daily and non-daily newspapers with circu-lations under 6,000.

Tubbs’ serious column wasentitled “People like Charliemade King’s ‘dream’ real.” Itwas about a lawyer, CharlieDoster, whom Tubbs met whiledoing polio immunizations in India, whointegrated the public library in Anniston,Ala., in 1963 amidst violence that was per-petrated against African-American minis-ters who tried to check out a book twoweeks after Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous“I have a dream” speech in the march onWashington. Judges commented, “This is agreat column about a great man, a coupleof them, and a great subject. Really a wor-

thy remembrance.”Tubbs’ sports column, “Winners in the

game of life,” told about the high achiev-ing careers of the members of his home-town Elwood, Iowa, High School 1961

baseball team on the 51stanniversary of their state champi-onship. Judges commented,“Excellent package presentationof a column all readers couldboth enjoy and learn somethingfrom.”

The NSP’s coverage of thespectacular fire that destroyedthe former Eldridge Turner Hall,Del’s Eatery & Pub, “She’s gone!”won second place for editorScott Campbell for Best BreakingNews Story for non-daily newspa-

pers, circulation 3,000-5,999. Judgescommented, “Great job working the per-sonal angle into the lead of the story. Ilove how the story weaves together quotesfrom residents, eyewitnesses, fire officials,etc. Good use of drop quotes, sidebar sto-ries. Excellent overall package of a horri-ble breaking news story that impactedmany people.”

Pictures from the Del’s fire won another

second place for The NSP for Best Use ofPhotographs, Daily & Non-daily (all circula-tions). “Good fire photos,” said the judges.

The NSP won third place for overallexcellence for Best Coverage of LocalNews, daily and non-daily, circulations3,000-5,999. This is the same category inwhich The NSP won first place in 2010.Judges commented, “This publication haspacked plenty of news coverage within itspages. This thorough coverage is demon-strated by a solid mixture of in-depth newsand feature stories, as well as photos andnews briefs. Of special note is the diversityof topics covered.”

A feature photo by Jim Turley of a baldeagle entitled “Time for a little lunch,” wonthird place for Best Feature Photo for non-daily newspapers, circulation 3,000-5,999.Judges commented, “Oh what detail! Whatwonderful color! Just a fantastic shot!”

The NSP’s seventh award was honorablemention for Best Agricultural Story, dailyand non-daily division, “Inside CinnamonRidge,” by editor Scott Campbell. Judges’comments were not available.

There were 2,245 entries in the nationalcontests with 530 awards won by 193newspapers in 40 states.

ISWNE NEWSin 2005 at the age of 47. This award is pre-sented to an individual between 23-40years old who is well respected in his orher community, of good reputation andintegrity, provides active leadership in thenewspaper industry and is active in his orher state press association and communityand whose newspaper is a member of NNA.

The award will be presented at the busi-ness luncheon, Oct. 4, which will be heldduring NNA’s annual convention in SanAntonio, Texas.

Sawvell, who was nominated by BillTubbs, publisher of the North Scott Pressand Wilton-Durant Advocate News, willbe the sixth recipient of the Daniel M.Phillips Leadership Award and will be rec-ognized in the November issue ofPublishers’ Auxiliary.

ISWNE designer Liz Forddies of cancer at 59

Liz Ford, who designed all of ISWNE’s

publications from 2001 through October2013, died July 27 of cancer at her homein Joplin, Missouri. She was 59.

Ford was a graphic designerwith the University Relations &Marketing department atMissouri Southern StateUniversity for 15 years. She wasresponsible for layout anddesign of university publications,ads, billboards and web graph-ics.

“Liz told me a few months agothat her favorite thing to do wasto work on the ISWNE publica-tions,” said Chad Stebbins,ISWNE executive director. “She knew thenames of all the prominent ISWNE mem-bers and kept a directory of their photoson her computer.”

Stebbins said when longtime memberUrsula Freireich died in July 2013, he wasattending the ISWNE conference in GreenBay, Wisconsin, and contacted Fordimmediately for a photo that he could add

to his “In Memoriam” PowerPoint presen-tation.

Ford, a 1977 MSSU graduate, is sur-vived by her daughter, EmilyNichole Lansford and husband,Matt, Joplin; her granddaughter,Katherine Elizabeth Lansford(born Feb. 22); and three broth-ers. She was known for her greatsense of humor.

“In addition to the ISWNE publi-cations and advertisements, Lizalso designed all of mybrochures, programs, and fliersfor the Institute of InternationalStudies,” Stebbins said. “The min-

ister referred to her as ‘Mrs. Job,’ at herfuneral because of all the adversity shehad faced – an earlier bout with breastcancer, a detached retina, and multiplesclerosis. Plus, she fell and broke herhand about four months before she died.”

Carl Fowler, a freelance designer fromnearby Carl Junction, has replaced Fordas the designer of ISWNE’s publications.

from page 3

LIZ FORD

BILL TUBBS


Provincial school sports association honours Macleod Gazette editorThe Alberta Schools’ Athletic

Association honoured the editor of TheMacleod Gazette for coverage of schoolsports.

The association presented itsmedia recognition award to FrankMcTighe last month at the 44thannual Routledge Award and Hallof Fame banquet at Edmonton.

“To say that Frank has a pas-sion for all sports is a bit of anunderstatement,” F.P. Walsheschool athletic director CraigPatton said. “It’s very rare in themedia to find someone who givesas much attention to every sport.”

Patton spoke of The Macleod Gazette’scommitment to covering sports of allkinds in Fort Macleod.

“He is approachable, he is profession-al,” Patton said of McTighe. “I’ve heardmany times from people outside the com-munity say they wish they could get thatkind of coverage.”

“We are definitely spoiled in Fort

Macleod because of Frank McTighe.”McTighe said one of his early memories isattending a high school football champi-

onship game in Calgary.“I was taken at a real early

age by the excitement of thecrowd,” McTighe said. “I neverforgot it.”McTighe played football andrugby while attending St. Francishigh school in Calgary and expe-rienced the positive aspects ofschool sport.

“It gave a guy who had thetypical teenage angst an identity,a peer group and friendships

that endure today,” McTighe said.McTighe later coached football at SenatorRiley and Highwood high schools in HighRiver and was reminded of what schoolsports mean.

“I watched a group of young men learnthings about dedication and hard workand the things that come from that,”McTighe said.

Frank and Emily’s sons, Ryan, Dan andMichael, all played school sports, soMcTighe later experienced school athlet-ics from the perspective of a parent.

In his career as a journalist McTighecovered school sports in Taber, Vauxhall,Coaldale, Picture Butte, High River,Nanton, Vulcan and Fort Macleod.

“Everywhere I go it’s the same thing.You realize how much school sports meanto the community and how much it meansto the kids.”

McTighe said Fort Macleod and othertowns take great pride in the achieve-ments of student athletes.

“Craig and the other coaches in FortMacleod do an amazing job,” McTighesaid. “The people I’ve worked with overthe years through so many communitiesare all like that.”

“I have so much respect and admira-tion for you people and the work you putinto providing opportunities for youngmen and women,” McTighe said. “It’s justamazing. This award is very special.”


Six newspaper people, including twohusband-wife teams, will be inducted thisfall into the Missouri Press AssociationNewspaper Hall of Fame.

The induction reception and banquet arescheduled 6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 26, duringthe 148th annual Convention of theMissouri Press Association (MPA) at theHoliday Inn Executive Center in Columbia.This will be the 24th group to be inductedinto the Newspaper Hall of Fame, whichwas established by MPA in 1991.

This year’s inductees are David Bradley,Jr., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer ofNews-Press & Gazette Company, St. Joseph;Judy Dixon, Festus, a cartoonist/illustratorwith more than 30 years in the newspaperindustry; Don and Kathy Ginnings, longtimepublishers of the Hermitage Index; andGary and Helen Sosniecki, former Missouripublishers of three community weeklynewspapers and one daily.

Hall of Fame inductees receive PinnacleAwards in honor of their service to theMissouri newspaper industry and theircommunities. Inductees' plaques will jointhe permanent display of inductees in the

MPA office in Columbia and in the studentlounge in Lee Hills Hall at the MissouriSchool of Journalism.

Gary and Helen Sosniecki owned weeklynewspapers in Humansville, Seymour andVandalia and published The Lebanon DailyRecord during a 34-year newspaper careerthat also included newspaper jobs inTennessee, Illinois and Kansas.

They are 1973 graduates of theUniversity of Missouri School of Journalism

and will host the 2015 summer conferenceof the International Society of WeeklyNewspaper Editors at Mizzou.

Their many awards include ISWNE’s life-time-achievement honor, the Eugene CerviAward, in 2003. Gary’s editorials wonGolden Quill awards from ISWNE in 1998and 2006. The Sosnieckis received theNational Newspaper Association’sCommunity Development Award in 1998for their efforts to build a new library inSeymour and its President’s Award in 2007for their work on postal issues.

Helen was the NNA’s Emma C. McKinneyMemorial Award winner for 2011. Garywas 2004 president of the Missouri PressAssociation and is the current president ofISWNE. Helen was MPA’s state representa-tive to NNA. Both served as presidents ofthe Ozark Press Association.

The Sosnieckis have served on numer-ous local boards in their communities.Since 2008, Gary has been a regional salesmanager for TownNews.com and Helen hasbeen senior sales and marketing managerfor Interlink Inc. They live in Le Claire,Iowa.

Gary and Helen Sosniecki to joinMissouri Newspaper Hall of Fame

GARY AND HELEN SOSNIECKI

FRANK McTIGHE

Jackson Herald layout experimentOver the last decade, weekly newspa-

pers have been trying to figure out howto mesh their online websiteswith their print editions.

The Jackson Herald, Jefferson,Georgia, is experimenting withdoing the reverse.

During the month of July, TheHerald has redesigned its frontpage to look like its website.

“I’m not sure what the futureof digital will be for communitynewspapers,” said co-publisherand editor Mike Buffington. “Butmany readers clearly like theonline interface with shorter sto-ries and more of a headlinefocus for casual readers. So wethought we’d take some of thoseconcepts and apply to the frontpage for a month and ask read-ers what they think.”

So far, the reaction has beenpositive, Buffington said.

“We’re running a story eachweek on the front explainingwhat the experiment is aboutand asking people to email withtheir comments,” he said. “Sofar, it’s been overwhelminglypositive and we’ve tried to tweakthe layout based on some of theemails we’ve gotten.”

The front page of The Heraldis a series of seven “boxes” thathighlight a mix of stories. Thetop lead box has a photo with ablurb, or a promotion for alonger story inside the publica-tion. The other boxes are a mixof crime, sports, features andnews. Sometimes they are just apromo blurb, but others areshort articles that don’t refer toan inside story.

The design is more or less thesame kind of layout and colorscheme the newspaper uses onits website,JacksonHeraldToday.com.

“Back in the 1980s, there wasa brief newspaper design move-ment to make newspaper frontpages more of an index rather than car-rying stories,” said Buffington. “Thatmay have been a little ahead of its time.

Now, with the impact of digital designs,readers may be ready for this kind of

index and short blurbs in print.”The other reason the newspaper is

experimenting with the new layout is a

sense that readers are fatigued with tra-ditional local government news.

“It seems that readers hereare tuning out the traditionalcity-county-school meetingstories that have long beenour bread and butter ofreporting and front pagenews,” said Buffington. “Ithink there’s a trickle downfatigue from all the nationalcontroversies – people seemto be sick of politics at all lev-els right now. Unless there’ssome kind of huge controver-sy locally, government newshas become stale for manyreaders.

“So we’re putting govern-ment news inside on pages 2and 3A, but we’re trying tofocus the front with thisdesign more on softer fea-tures, sports and crime to seeif that will impact our reader-ship. It is forcing us to rethinkmany of our old assumptionsand ways of doing things.We’ve always been hard newsand local government orientedin how we play news on thefront, so this is a newapproach for us.”

Buffington said he isn’t sureyet if The Herald will stay withthe new design after July.

“That will depend on fur-ther evaluation,” he said.“School here starts back inearly August, so maybe we’llrun it another month to seehow people respond whenthey get back into a routineand out of vacation mode.We’re still looking at all ofthat.”

The Jackson Herald is theflagship publication ofMainstreet Newspapers, Inc.,which is a family-owned groupof six weekly newspapers anassociated websites inNortheast Georgia.

Mike and his brother Scott are sec-ond-generation owners of the business,which their parents purchased in 1965.


GEORGIA NEWSPAPER EXPERIMENTS WITH DIGITAL LAYOUT IN PRINT


By Bill TubbsPublisherThe North Scott PressEldridge, IowaJuly 23, 2014

Were it left to me to decide whether weshould have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without agovernment, I should not hesitate amoment to prefer the latter.

– Thomas Jefferson,author of the Declaration ofIndependence and third president of the United States

Davenport Mayor Bill Gluba madeheadlines last week when he vetoed plansfor a football stadium and riverfrontrestaurant, and said child refugees whoare being warehoused on our Mexicanborder would be welcome in the QuadCities.

Those are important issues, but afourth story about Davenport leapt off thepages when I read the morning paper lastThursday and I found myself screaming,“No! No! No! They can’t do that!”

The headline of the article that pro-voked that reaction was, “Davenport cre-ating its own news hub: City to hire stafffor digital newsroom.”

The article by Quad-City Timesreporter Barb Ickes was as breathtaking –and disturbing – as the headline. The gistof it was this: The Pooh-Bahs at the City ofDavenport got it in their heads that theyshould take citizens’ tax dollars to puttheir own spin on the news – and to wit-tingly, or unwittingly, compete with privateenterprise. I’d like to give them the bene-fit of the doubt on the latter, but the reali-ty is that they ARE competing with taxpay-ing, job-creating private enterprises.

I wish I were making this up. Sadly, Iam not. “The city of Davenport is doingsomething officials say no other U.S. cityhas done, creating a news-based websitethey vow will shine new light on positiveand negative city happenings,” the storybegan.

There was more: The city councilapproved a first-year budget of $185,000for the “digital newsroom” that includes

hiring two part-time staffers, a websitedesigner and money for freelance writers,among other things. This does not include$213,045 that the city already pays twostaffers to manage information. (As onewho has worked in the news business inthis area for 44 years, I assure you thatthose salaries bear no relation to whatmost reporters make!)

The stand-alone website, officials say,will cover city news and possibly addweather and sports. They’ve lined up well-known local journalists (former Timesreporters Kurt Allemeier and Tory Brecht)to write articles and are talking with mete-orologist Terry Swails about providing aweather report. (Brecht previously workedat The North Scott Press, as well.)

This is necessary, said Davenport cityadministrator Craig Malin, to create apositive buzz. “We do stuff all the time –good stuff, great stuff, life-changing stuff –that never sees the light of day.”

Davenport says they’ll report bad news,too, just trust them. Hmm. I thinkJefferson had something to say about that(see above).

If these talented journalists want toearn their paychecks producing web-based news, more power to them. Butthey should invest their own money andgo through all the audience-buildingexpenses – and risks – that we who areengaged in free enterprise – and pay taxes– know all too well. Their “news” shouldNOT be subsidized by the taxpayers! THAT,my friends, is not only a black hole for taxdollars, it is a First Amendment issue.

Let me repeat. This is a FIRST AMEND-MENT ISSUE.

Suppose, for example, that the websitewas being launched by the government ofthe United States and it was BarackObama instead of Craig Malin saying, “Wedo stuff all the time – good stuff, greatstuff, life-changing stuff – that never seesthe light of day.” What would you thinkthen if the president decided to use yourtax dollars to start a government websiteto compete with CNN and Fox and TimeWarner and AP and all the rest?

The founders, in their wisdom, shunneda state-sponsored news media. They want-ed the press to be free and independent. Substitute “website” for “newspapers” inthe Jefferson quote at the top of this col-

umn and you’llsee how wrongit is forDavenport toeven CONSID-ER using pub-lic money tomanage itsown message. There are mul-tiple newsmedia outletsin the QuadCities – two daily newspapers, four weeklynewspapers, five TV stations, a dozenradio stations and more; most of themwith websites (not to mention socialmedia) – who will COMPETE to be first toreport Davenport’s “great stuff” if it istruly newsworthy. Many times already Isee them reporting “great stuff” aboutDavenport, so it’s not fair to say that apositive message isn't getting out. Butapparently not enough to pleaseDavenport leaders.

Remember, though, that, each privatesector media pays taxes and creates jobsfor individuals who also pay taxes. It’scalled free enterprise and it’s what madeAmerica’s economy the envy of the world. It just isn’t right that their taxes will besubsidizing their competition. No, a gov-ernment website isn’t going to put any ofus out of business. The public has figuredthat out: The traffic at government web-sites pales in comparison with mediawebsites where we have to be better ifwe’re going to stay in business. But theresources available for the private sectormedia to tell about Davenport’s “greatstuff” are diminished small step by smallstep every time a government entity – city,county, school – grabs a share of ouraudience.

Instead of using public money to rein-vent that which private enterprise knowsbest – and has learned how to make com-mercially successful – Davenport leaderswould be ahead if they focused on doingwhat THEY do best: providing excellentpublic services – and let the news mediado its job without fear or favor.

Bill Tubbs can be contacted [email protected].

Davenport’s news hub a misuse of tax moneyGOVERNMENT SHOULD NOT BE IN THE NEWS BUSINESS

BILL TUBBS

If nobody needs newspapers, why are we so busy?

By Jan AndersonEditor and publisherBoulder MonitorBoulder, MontanaJuly 2, 2014

Who needs newspapers any more, right?What with Google and other search enginesputting all the information in the world,including plenty no one really ever needs,at your fingertips, a newspaper is simplyold hat, useless, don’t you think?

That’s one perspective. One morning last week got us thinking

about a different perspective. Within 90minutes, we heard from a wide range offolks who seemed to need what we offeredas a newspaper.

An author from Butte, about 35 milesaway, researching a book stopped by theoffice. He wanted to know about economicfactors making a difference in our commu-nity. Do the high school graduates leavetown? Are there an increasing number ofprofessional jobs? Low wage jobs? What arethe driving factors behind the economy?What industries and occupations influencehow the community is doing?

We painted him a general picture butprimarily referred him to other resources.He left with guidance on who else heshould really talk to.

A man from Missoula, about 120 mileswest, wanted some information on a mur-der a couple decades earlier in Boulder.We told him he was welcomed to comeinto the office and do the research, couldresearch the matter at a couple of otherplaces, or could pay for our time to do theresearch. He pointed out he was a volun-teer miles away with a non-profit organiza-tion and asked us to do the research free.We offered to provide it in exchange for areceipt acknowledging the value of our

donation.The next contact came from closer to

home. A citizen concerned about a plannedgovernment expense wanted to know whatkind of notice was required of a meeting toaccept public comment on the issue. Hewanted to voice his opposition. Wereferred him to a couple of resources, justas we had a few days earlier when some-one else called, someone involved with set-ting up the meeting who said he wanted tobe sure it was properly noticed.

Then we got a phone call from Billings,about 225 miles east. A professor therewanted to know about the status of a min-ing operation in our area. We told himwhat we could and gave him a couple ofsources who could answer his questions.

All of that within 90 minutes. All of thatproducing no income whatsoever and cost-ing us time.

That does not include what came in themail or the folks who walked through thedoor with various needs or the emails. Nordoes it include the many folks who sub-scribe to the paper to help them decidewhether they would like to move here orwho subscribe to keep tabs on the placethey used to call home. Or the letter writ-ers and advertisers wanting to get the wordout about various upcoming events.

So, at least for that morning, folks inMissoula, Billings and Butte plus peopleright here in Jefferson County seemed toneed our little weekly newspaper.

Sure, if all of the newspaper's contentsince forever were available online some ofthat research could have been done online.But not all of it, and not necessarily veryquickly. And in most of the cases, the ques-tioner really wanted some degree ofexpertise and familiarity with the commu-nity they believed we could offer.

Our credibility counts. While we marvel

at the wealth ofinformationonline and lovethe conven-ience, we arealways amazedat the inaccu-racies availablethere.

As an aside,we are notalways as help-ful with everysearch as some folks would want. A coupleof weeks earlier a man stopped in andidentified himself as a private investigatorfrom Las Vegas, over 700 miles away. Hewas asking about an incident in which arecent jailer was accused of sexual inter-course without consent with inmates. Didmost folks in the community think he didit, we were asked. Even though he insistedthat he had lived in a small town and knewpeople talk and come to conclusions, wetold him we do not read minds and did notknow what most folks in the communitythought. We also pointed out that the manis officially presumed innocent. We still didour best to help him figure out what heneeded, though, by referring him to courtrecords and other official documents.

We are not a library, or a museum, orthe keeper of public records, but we are aninformation source for folks in our com-munity – and, it seems, for others far andwide wanting to know about our communi-ty. We may not be as quick as a few key-strokes, but apparently folks still need us.

So, who needs a newspaper anymore?Lots of folks, apparently.

Jan Anderson can be contacted at [email protected].


JAN ANDERSON

Flap Over IHOP FlapjacksBy Don CorriganEditor-In-ChiefWebster-Kirkwood TimesWebster Groves, MissouriJuly 18, 2014

Where's your favorite place to get a stackof pancakes? First Watch? Spencer’s? Chris’s?Uncle Bill’s? Boardwalk Café? Egg & I?

Maybe you wait until the flatfoots at theKirkwood Police Department have theirfamous flapjack feast to get your fill. Ormaybe you are partial to the WebsterGroves Rotary’s annual fall flapjack fest.

In any case, I can name one place that’snot too popular with newspaper folks forpancakes right now. That would be IHOP,otherwise known as the InternationalHouse of Pancakes.

An organization to which I belong, theInternational Society of Weekly NewspaperEditors (ISWNE), had an allergic reactionrecently to a digital pancake promotion byIHOP.

IHOP sent digital press releases to news-paper editors asking them to publicize itsbuttermilk pancakes – still the most popu-lar item on the menu after 56 years – forjust 56 cents. IHOP noted this was lessthan the original cost of 60 cents when the

first IHOP eatery opened its doors 56 yearsago on July 8, 1958!

Here’s how an Illinois editor respondedto IHOP’s request:

“Ain’t that nice! We’re celebrating 151years! We have had numerous restaurantsover the years advertise their specials,including pancakes. We help them surviveand they help us survive by interacting withour subscribers. I’m sure you have a greatpromotion, but IHOP has never spent apenny with our newspaper. For the life ofme, I cannot believe you have the gall toask us for free publicity. I guess corpora-tions like yours simply have no shame andcertainly no sense of community...”

Editors also flipped out over the“Flapjack PR Fiasco,” because of a call fornewspapers to publicize IHOP’s socialmedia addresses. Find out the latest onPineapple Upside Down Pancakes by fol-lowing IHOP on Facebook, Twitter and thewebsite.

If social media is working out so well forpushing your pancakes, then why make aplea to “we in the dead-tree media” to getyour hype into print? asked I-HOPping-madeditors.

All of this inspired me to sit down with ashort stack at home, which I smothered

with berrysyrup (fromone of ourloyal advertis-ers), whilereading theJuly issue ofColumbiaJournalismReview (CJR).

After yearsof reading howprint is dead inCJR, I enjoyed reading John MacArthur’spiece on “Digitalization: The God ThatFailed.” He makes the point that digitalonline news media are unreliable, unvet-ted, scattershot, financially unsustainableand most of the “real news” is taken fromprint.

MacArthur said he’s tired of the “digitalcorrectness” of academics. He said theirslogan, “Information Wants To Be Free” isas goofy as the notion of print’s inevitabledeath. He may be right, but those IHOPfolks sure want their information to befree.

Don Corrigan can be contacted at [email protected].


DON CORRIGAN

Those attending the Durango conference posed for a group photo on the campus of Fort Lewis College before the awards banquet on June 28.

Why we do what we doBy Cyndy Slovak-BartonPublisherHays Free PressBuda, TexasJuly 30, 2014

A note to a friend in the newspaper busi-ness who had had a particularly toughweek made me think about everything wedo.

Her response to me ended, “We’ve alldone it ... and I wonder how we do it. Butat the time it’s all happening, there’s neverany question that it must be done.”

The tragedy started with a simple horse-back ride – by a young woman who wastaking her niece out for a jaunt after arainstorm.

Neither returned. The body of the six-year-old was found fairly quickly. The bodyof the older woman, in her mid-20s, tookdays.

It took five days with the sheriff’s depart-ment officers, volunteers, firefighters, allsearching through the river, trying to findthe body. Finally, as water receded, herbody was found in the mud trappedbeneath a tree branch.

How did the townspeople get a hint thatsomething was wrong? When the two didn’treturn on time, the horse was found, stillsaddled, standing by the spot where theyoungster drowned.

It was tragic for the families of both vic-tims.

But it was also difficult for the newspa-per to cover. The publisher of this newspa-per, because she covers a small town,knew everyone involved.

She said her camera was sitting on the

seat of her car, but she couldn’t even touchit when the family of the young rider wastold. She was at the river the morningsearchers found the little girl’s aunt.

No photos – just a hug to the sheriff,“who had tears streaming down his face,”she said.

She wrote the story after waiting at theoffice while the sheriff contacted the family.This publisher stayed up nights blockingand deleting posts on the Facebook pageannouncing news of the deaths. Why?Because the families hadn’t been notifiedand rumors abounded about “whodunit.”Thankfully, it is rare that we have to coversuch events.

But, when it does happen, it makes uswonder “why do we do what we do?”Because tragedy happens, and maybe thereis a lesson to be learned. Because the truthcan stop the rumors that inevitably fly aftera tragic happening.

When someone calls our office locally,complaining that they don’t like the politi-cal cartoon, or that our editorial pageleans too far left or too far right, we haveto think that there is good in what we do.We shed light on what is happening in cityhall; we give advertisers a way to get theirnames out to the public; we let peopleknow which school team is winning or los-ing; we print pictures of people doingsomething good or helping out a neighbor.And, sometimes, we have to cover sadnews and tragedy.

It’s what we do, because there’s neverany question that it must be done.

***

There’s alsothis quote thatmy father-in-law kept by hisdesk. I didn’trun this as itwas inappro-priate for thisparticular col-umn, but itseems to say alot about jour-nalism:

I.F. Stone: “And, I tell you, I really haveso much fun, I ought to be arrested.Sometimes I think it’s wrong of me,because you know, if you’re a newspaper-man, as I’ve been since I was fourteenyears old, to have your own little paper, itmay be very small, as Daniel Webster saidabout Dartmouth, ‘It may be a small col-lege, but there are those that love it’ – tobe able to spit in their eyre, and do whatyou think is right, and report the news, andhave enough readers to make someimpact, is such a pleasure, that you forget,you forget, what you’re writing about.

“It becomes like, you’re like a journalis-tic Nero fiddling while Rome burns, or likea small boy covering a hell of a fire. It’sjust wonderful and exciting and you’re acub reporter and God has given you a bigfire to cover.

“And you forget – that it’s really burn-ing.”

Cyndy Slovak-Barton can be contacted [email protected].


CYNDY SLOVAK-BARTON

Marcus Ashlock purchased TheSyracuse (Kansas) Journal in August2010 after leaving a university position asan assistant professor of agricultural com-munications and journalism at KansasState University. His research emphasiswas risk and crisis communication studieswithin food, agriculture and environmen-tal systems. He was also a member of thegraduate faculty at the A.Q. Miller Schoolof Journalism and Mass Communication.

Prior to his academic career, Ashlockspent eight years with Tyson Foods, the

last four years as a corporate trainer, con-ducting training seminars for thousands ofmanagers in leadership and managementdevelopment training.

He’s a native Arkansan and moved toKansas in 2006 to begin working at K-State. He has a B.S.A. in agricultural busi-ness and economics from Arkansas StateUniversity, an M.A. in interpersonal andorganizational communication from theUniversity of Arkansas at Little Rock, anda Ph.D. in agricultural communicationsfrom Oklahoma State University.

Ashlock gotinto journal-ism from anacademicpoint of viewand decided totake a sideroad and buya small-townweekly, some-thing he hadalways wantedto do.

ISWNE new member: Marcus Ashlock

MARCUS ASHLOCK

A Website Dog Is Wagging Democracy’s TailBy Ross ConnellyEditor and publisherThe Hardwick GazetteHardwick, VermontJuly 2, 2014

Head down, eyes glued to the small rec-tangular phone in her hand, the citizenreads, searches, texts, on the screen,oblivious to those around her. A manwalks down the sidewalk, smiling in a waythat might have others looking askance athim were his eyes not also glued to asmall phone he carries in his hand. He isoblivious to people around him.

The scene is repeated millions of timeseach day, from the smallest village to thelargest city in the land. People are gluedto their phones, their tablets, their com-puters, as they travel, while they work, asthey commute, on vacation. They areaddicted to the devices that allow them tohave a window on the world. When thewindow on the world and the world inter-sect, however, the interaction is not all themarketing mavens guaranteed as theyspent millions, if not billions, over thepast number of years touting how the newcellular technology would connect us.

Although the rapid rise in technologyand the hell-bent rush to hit the internethighway is nothing new, more than a fewtowns in Vermont are snared in a picklethis week that has them feeling like a flyin a spider’s web.

As of July 1, all towns in Vermont with awebsite are mandated by state law to postthe minutes of meetings on those web-sites, no later than five business days afterthe meeting was held. Some towns are not

worried about the requirement. Othersare perplexed and claim the new law isonerous and unable to be met. TheVermont League of Cities and Towns, thelobbying and support organization for thestate’s municipalities, suggested in amemo last month that towns that couldnot comply with the law take down theirwebsites.

Should drivers that have a tendency tospeed be told to stop driving, or would itbe better to tell them to obey the law? Andtell them to take a refresher driver’s edu-cation course so they can relearn the finermotor skills needed to gently depress thebrake with the left foot while gently liftingthe right foot from the accelerator.

There is no question that ever-changingtechnology – new gizmos, new software,compatibility – can have people scratch-ing their heads. There’s no question, asmart phone is convenient, but the instru-ment is not always as user friendly aspicking up the telephone receiver andtalking to the switchboard operator.

Town officials and the VLCT were notunaware the new requirement to postminutes was coming down the pike. TheLegislature debated the bill this past win-ter, and the VLCT keeps a garage full oflobbyists sitting in on legislative commit-tee hearings and roaming the halls of theStatehouse. Better had the organizationoffered workshops on website construc-tion and development than suggest a townremove a website.

The intent of the law is openness ingovernment, also known as transparencyor honoring the public’s right to know.Towns are already required to make min-

utes of meet-ings publicafter no morethan five busi-ness days. Ifthe minutesare there, andsurely kept ina computer inthis modernage, to let atechnologicalpothole beused as an excuse to not send those min-utes on to a website... Well, that sounds abit like, “But Officer, I didn't see thespeed limit sign.”

The new law may require a town tospend money to hire a consultant toupgrade its website. The new law mayrequire a town to add some duties ontoan already busy town clerk. The new lawmay require a town to recruit a newemployee or volunteer to keep the websiteup-to-date and within the law. That’s acost of democracy.

Another cost of democracy occurswhen citizens fail to participate in govern-ment. Staring at the screen of a smartphone or computer is not the same asattending a meeting and engaging electedand appointed officials. Those officials arewilling to take the time and make theeffort to represent and serve the public.Members of the public strengthen democ-racy when they participate – face-to-face?in the process, too.

Ross Connelly can be contacted [email protected].


ROSS CONNELLY


The Star News has obligation to accurate, unbiased reporting

By Brian WilsonNews EditorThe Star News

Medford, WisconsinJuly 24, 2014

A longtime subscriber recently wrote anote to The Star News complaining aboutthe liberal bias he said he observed in thepaper’s news reporting.

The accusation of bias in news reportingis a serious one to a newspaper. Bias inreporting the news, regardless of the issueor the form it takes, has no place in a newsstory.

Unfortunately, bias is often in the eye ofthe beholder. The perception of bias in themedia is generally tied to the specificworld view of the person reading or view-ing the article. Two people reading thesame set of facts can draw different con-clusions.

The first step in news reporting is togather the facts. In this case, a staff mem-ber looked back over the past few monthsof newspapers to see if the reader’s allega-tions were accurate.

The staff member searched for a liberalbias and instead found lengthy articlesabout the opening of a new bank buildingand the work being done on another.There were other articles quoting financialexperts urging consumers to use conserva-tive financial tactics to manage their house-hold finances and plan for the future.There were articles reporting on crime andpunishment for those convicted of thecrimes. There were lengthy front page sto-ries for each of the assembly candidates.There was an entire section celebratingmanufacturing and commerce in the state.

There were reports on new rules for stu-dent athletes and changes needed toensure that people are safe in severeweather. There were also hundreds ofitems celebrating the achievements of localresidents on the athletic field, in the class-room and in their professional lives. Therewere reports of milestones – births,deaths, centennial birthdays, anniversaries.There were stories about people seekingproperty tax relief. Other articles reportedon the challenges of dealing with onerousgovernment regulations and efforts tomake change happen.

Among those thousands of words of arti-cles and features in the news pages, therewere many things which could, and should,provoke reaction by readers. Whether it islearning of a new bill being proposed andcalling a lawmaker to voice their supportor opposition, or writing a Vox Pop toexpress an opinion about a topic of localinterest, news articles seek to engage thereader and make them aware of what isgoing on in their community.

This isn’t bias, it is a newspaper doingits job.

Newspapers are mirrors of the commu-nities they serve.

As with any mirror, sometimes they showthings people would choose not to see. Justas a mirror cannot pick and choose whichimages it reflects, a newspaper or anyother news media worthy of the name, can-not choose to ignore news just because itwill make people uncomfortable orbecause they happen to like or dislike aperson’s lifestyle choices.

One story from a few months ago standsout. It was about a state supreme courtcase challenging the constitutionality of a

state law. It hasdrawn signifi-cant reactionfrom all sidesof the issuebecause it puta face to thecontentiousissue of defin-ing marriage ina secularworld, and thatface happenedto be a familiar one to many in the com-munity. It was a national story that hit closeto home given the many ties those involvedhave to the community. It was the newspa-per’s obligation to report on it.

Being slapped with the accusation ofhaving biased reporting simply becausepeople disagree with the content of a storyis nothing new. It is also one of the reasonsThe Star News provides an open forum onits opinion pages for people to write in andexpress their reaction to a story. There isan open invitation for readers to sharetheir views on the issues facing the localcommunity and the nation. The opinionpages are also where the newspaper’s edi-torial board expresses its opinion.

The Star News takes seriously the job ofreporting accurately and fairly on the peo-ple and events and has little tolerance forbias in whatever form on the news pages.This newspaper will not shirk its obligationto report the news simply because peopleare uncomfortable talking about a topic.

Brian Wilson can be contacted at

[email protected].

BRIAN WILSON


By Enrique LimónSanta Fe ReporterSanta Fe, New Mexico

Editor’s note: ISWNE member RichardMcCord started the Santa Fe Reporter onJune 26, 1974. The issue of June 25-July 1,2014, devoted some 15 pages to the 40-year anniversary, including a story onMcCord and another on his investigationinto the Gannett Company and “TheNewspaper That Was Murdered.”

“It feels like it was just yesterday,” RichardMcCord says, pulling up a chair at a localcoffee house and reminiscing about the jour-ney that led him from being a doggedNewsday vet at a large daily in New York stateto become a New Mexico transplant and,eventually, founding editor and general man-ager of the weekly Santa Fe Reporter.

Still toting a reporter’s notebook in hisback pocket even now, McCord recalls theebb and flow of negotiations to buy the thenSanta Fe News shopper from owner RudyRodriguez. When first approached by McCord,Rodriguez said he had no interest in selling hisoperation. So McCord set out to create anentirely new paper.

McCord mined just about every singleadvertiser in town, ringing them up personallyand showing them a “dummy” issue of thepaper he had in mind. “I didn’t say I’m tryingto start a newspaper. I said I’m going to starta newspaper.”

Meetings with prospective investors fol-lowed, usually held at the pricey CompoundRestaurant, where McCord would share his“pipe dream” and breathe a sigh of relief everytime they offered to pick up the tab. Eachpotential backer received a 21-page typewrit-ten proposal that began with “Santa Fe is readyfor another newspaper…”

Hearing about McCord’s hustle and realizinghe meant business, Rodriguez decided to sellthe News. He made his decision known onApril 1, 1974 – April Fool’s Day. McCord wasquite discouraged at that point. He had notraised enough money to start his proposednewspaper, and seemed to have no otherprospects to try. He was close to giving up, anddecided to take that day off and just stay homeand rest. Suddenly the phone rang.

The voice on the line: “‘Dick, this is RudyRodriguez. Everywhere I go, I’m runningacross your tracks. You seem to be seriousabout starting another weekly, and I don’t wantto have another competitor in this town,’”McCord recalls – adding that because of the

date, he believed the call to be a joke, some-one playing a prank on him.

He had reason to. Leading up to thatmoment, the process had been far from acakewalk. Living in Albuquerque, he wouldoften travel to Santa Fe to place his never-end-ing list of calls and save on long-distancecharges. Upon returning to the house of afriend who had agreed to be the paper’s adver-tising manager, McCord found a typed letter ofresignation left next to the telephone. Theoperation hadn’t even taken off the ground,and already it had lost a key staff member.

Still, he was tenacious. And Rodriguez’soffer – which turned out to be genuine – gavethe project the boost it needed. Among thebenefits of taking over an existing outlet,McCord says, were an established base ofadvertisers, a set circulation system, andoffices outfitted with typesetting equipment anda darkroom. Because of this new development,McCord was able to attract some more invest-ment. But just barely enough.

By then, he had exhausted every singlepenny he could come up with, including hisown savings, and had camped out in a tent fora lengthy amount of time to save on rent. Thenjust a day before the transfer of ownership of

the weekly shopper was scheduled, an investorreneged on his $1,000 pledge, leaving theproject that much short on cash.

“The night before we were to sign thepapers to buy the News, one of our investorspulled out. I had an escrow contract witheveryone who had invested – if we didn’t pullit off by a certain date, they were supposed toget all their money back,” he recalls, a hint ofhis Georgia twang still lacing his words. Thatwould have killed the project.

But an old friend who had left Santa Fe forthe Canadian Great White North called one ofhis would-be staffers “out of the blue” andasked how McCord was doing. After hearingabout the fall-through, the friend wired thecash and saved the day. “I had – to the dollar– what I needed at that point, went andclosed the deal, and then we more or lesswere in business,” McCord says. “It was justtotal luck, you know?”

Up next was coming up with a snappyname. “I knew I didn’t want to keep theNews. We were going to be so different,” he

says. “We went through a bunch of names,shooting the bull, like The Santa Fe Sun, butthen there was The Rio Grande Sun right upthe road in Española. Somebody suggested wecall it The Tortilla Press and we discussedcalling it The Santa Fe Times Picayune,” helaughs.

“I just wanted it to have a good, honestname. Something unpretentious that simplyindicated what we want to do – we wanted toreport the news,” he says. And so, the SantaFe Reporter was born. Reflecting back now,however, McCord wishes the brainstormingsession had led to a different name.

“There are two reasons: One is that throughthe years, our staff members would find itawkward to say, ‘Hello, I’m a reporter fromthe Reporter.’ And years later, long after wewere established, Editor & Publisher maga-zine did a survey on the most common news-paper names in America, and the most com-mon was the Times, then maybe the News andnext was the Reporter. I wish we were moreunique.”

That first drawback is still felt in the SFRnewsroom to this day.“I told them to start saying, ‘I’m a writer withthe Reporter – that’s my advice to you,”McCord chuckles.

Mr. ReporterBLAME CANADA, AN APRIL FOOLS’ TIE-IN, THE ROCKEFELLER

CONNECTION AND OTHER REPORTER-ISMS


SANTA FE REPORTER FOUNDING EDITOR AND GENERAL MANAGER, RICHARD MCCORD.

Looking back not just at his almost-15-yeartenure as editor and the accolades and brawlsthat followed, McCord still gets a twinkle in hiseye when picking up and looking at that firstedition, on June 26, 1974. “Starting with thisfirst issue,” he says, pausing, “we set a wholenew journalistic story here in town.”

Much of his favorite personal archive is nowhoused in an Italian leather briefcase, thesame briefcase he took with him in 1981 to aSalem, Ore., federal courthouse where officialtrial records regarding a huge conglomeratethat had succeeded in destroying the localweekly, were sealed by a gag order. But by astroke of luck, McCord got the records andpublicized them in Santa Fe. This prevented asimilar fate from killing SFR, because the SantaFe daily was then owned by the same hugeconglomerate.

Days after this interview for SFR’s 40th-anniversary issue McCord dropped off theattaché case at our headquarters. The tattered

case holds everything from the last issue of theSanta Fe News to an “Adobe Christmas” sup-plement, and endless hard-hitting cover storieson everything from the 1980 prison riot to along series on state hospital abuse.

McCord helmed the Reporter until its saleto Hope Aldrich in 1988. Aldrich, a singlemother of three, had walked into McCord’soffice some years earlier to ask for a job as astaff writer under her married name, HopeSpencer. “I said, ‘Hope, we couldn’t possiblypay you enough to raise three boys,’ and shesaid, ‘Well, money is not a problem’ – that’s allshe said.”

Only after hiring her, would McCord wouldfind out that Hope was Hope AldrichRockefeller, eldest daughter of philanthropistJohn D. Rockefeller III. Aldrich came cleanafter her first deadline day at the weekly. “Isaid, ‘Hope, I know about your family, butthat’s not why I hired you. I hired you on yourcredentials,’” he reminisces. “‘You had good

credentials, I hired you on the basis of themand then I learned about your family. And nowI know about your family, so let’s get towork.’” Before ultimately buying the paper in1988, Aldrich worked a number of years onthe staff as a news writer.

Looking back on his personal style as aneditor, McCord is quick to shoot back, “I wasgreat.”

On a more serious note, he continues, “Wecultivated excellent staff members, or werelucky enough to get excellent staff members. Igave a bunch of people their first writing job.Santa Fe was an excellent recruiter – becauseeveryone wanted to come here.”

It is those “adventurers” that would often-times show up at the office unannounced ask-ing for a job, among those that McCordremembers the fondest. They included currentstaffers at the New York Times, Vanity


Jane Steinmetz’s husband dies in North CarolinaJon David Steinmetz, husband of ISWNE

“groupie” Jane Steinmetz, passed away atMission Memorial Hospital in Asheville,North Carolina, on Sunday,June 1, 2014, three daysshy of his 74th birthday.

He was born inBrooklyn, New York, theonly child of the late LewisI. and Rose JosefsbergSteinmetz; he grew up inLong Island City, Queens,and attended the local pub-lic schools. Jon earned hisliberal arts degree fromNew York University’sHeights campus in 1962,majoring in psychology witha minor in physics. Hereceived his M.A. in clinicalpsychology from Bradley University, Peoria,Illinois, in 1963. Following an internship atGalesburg (Illinois) State Research Hospital,Jon became a staff psychologist at Manteno(Illinois) State Hospital, 60 miles south ofChicago.

He married Jane Hilton, whom he met atBradley, on Dec. 24, 1964. They lived inPark Forest, Illinois, for 42 years, where theyraised their two children, Jonna Lynn and JayDaniel. Jon was quite active in the communi-ty; among other volunteer activities, he waselected to the seven-member Board of

Trustees, the lay policy-making body of thevillage, for three terms. He was inducted intothe Park Forest Historical Society’s Hall of

Fame in 2006.As his career developed,

he became an administra-tor at Manteno, served asassistant facility director atTinley Park (Illinois) StateHospital, and finished histenure with the state ofIllinois as facility directorof Chicago Read MentalHealth Center (formerlyknown to Chicagoans asDunning.) He was honoredin Who’s Who inAmerica’s Medicine andHealth Care for his inno-vative, creative and adap-

tive programming in mental health care.After leaving state employment, Jon

worked as a consultant and intake supervi-sor for one of Jane Addams’ Hull Houseprograms in Chicago and as acting directorof a satellite facility of SOS Children’s Villagesin Lockport, Illinois. He also had a stint as astaff psychologist for a Bradley classmate inIowa City, Iowa – returning full circle to hisearly days in the field – before finally retiringand moving to Hendersonville in 2006.

He is survived by his wife Jane, daughterJonna of Chicago, and son Dan (Marina,

Ashton) of Ft. Mill, South Carolina.Jon was known for his kind and gentle

disposition, quick wit and sense of humor,even up to the end. He loved his family verymuch and was so happy to have been able totravel with them over the past few years. Heenjoyed music of all kinds (especially folk),theater productions, watching any sports aswell as cooking shows on TV, all thingsApple, and barbecuing on his Green Egg.

“As a matter of fact, not only did he cometo an ISWNE conference or two, he was aguest panelist at a session we held atNorthern Illinois’ outdoor education camp,”Jane Steinmetz said. “It was the conferencewhere my daughter and Jeannie and DonPease’s daughter rode horses at White PinesState Park on the Rock River. It had to beeither 1977 or 1978.

“Jon, Sandy Horowitz, Bob Schneider(MJ’s then husband) and I were the presen-ters for a panel on mental health and psy-chology in the schools. I think people likedit; we were all in different aspects of thefield. Sandy was in special education admin-istration, Jon in mental hospitals, Bob in pas-toral psychology and me in the trenches as aschool psychologist.”

Jane Steinmetz said she plans to attend the2015 ISWNE conference in Columbia,Missouri.

JON AND JANE STEINMETZ IN 2011

Mr. Reporter from page 21


In search of Gwendolyn Brooks in DurangoBy Christopher Wood

When I was asked to prepare somethingabout my newspaper experience inDurango 30 years ago to present informallyat the recent ISWNE conference, I puttogether a couple of sheets of poster boardwith some of my old clippings from backthen. They included stories from theDurango Herald, the FLC Independentand a couple of samples of the so-called“underground” newspaper that I andanother guy had started at the north rim ofthe Grand Canyon where we were workingfor the summer.

It worked out pretty well, since I arrivedalmost two days late due to flight cancella-tions. I was able to set the boards upagainst the wall in the ISWNE classroomfor people to look at as they pleased if theywere so inclined.

However, missing was a story on a visitto Fort Lewis College by Pulitzer Prize-win-ning poet Gwendolyn Brooks near the endof the 1984 school year. I didn’t have acopy of the article and found it surprisingthat I hadn’t saved one because as Iremembered it, she was a very engagingand interesting speaker. Since she hadpassed on earlier this year, it would havebeen very timely.

Could it be that I was just rememberingit wrong and actually hadn’t covered it? Iknow that I initially declined due to itbeing very near the end of the school yearand multiple projects all coming due at thesame time. However, I could have sworn Ihad reconsidered because the editors were

in a jam and had no one to do it (and itwas just too good an assignment to passup!).

I called Fort Lewis and asked the switch-board operator to connect me with therecords department, which handles allareas of the school’s records.Unfortunately, I was told, their copies ofthe FLC Independent only went back as faras 1985, so I had missed the beginning ofthem being filed by one year and was outof luck!

I thought there must be another way tofind it and it had piqued my interestenough to get on the web and access theFort Lewis College website. There weren’tany copies of the Independent available inany format but there was a catalog of pressreleases from that year. As I began lookingthem over, I found one from March 1984indicating she was coming at the end of themonth. After a couple of additional calls, Iascertained it would probably be nearlyimpossible to continue my search byremote control during the summer break.

However, I decided I would give itanother try while I was at the conferencethe following month.

After finally arriving in Durango andchecking in at the conference, I went up tothe Independent archives one afternoon,introduced myself and asked if they wouldassist me in my quest. They agreed and webegan looking through all of the newspa-pers from that semester.

Unfortunately, the ones from Marchthrough May were missing! Of course, Iwas extremely disappointed and asked the

office managerif there wasany possibilityof them beingloaned out orlocated some-where else oncampus.

“No,” shesaid. “Theyshould behere. However,sometimesthey’ve been known to be misfiled, so youcould try looking in the months precedingthat time as well as those following it.”

We did that and continued our searchmore in depth, looking beyond that year aswell as at the previous one.

Imagine the happy surprise I felt when Icame upon a familiar-looking front pagefrom the April 6 edition that I still recog-nized after all these years! Eureka – it wasthe one we’d been looking for!

Our efforts had been rewarded when wechecked the previous year’s files and cameacross the object of our quest. Fortunately,we had taken the time and made the effortto do so because it would have been mucheasier to not bother. For me, it was a goodreminder of an old newspaper adage (ortwo) to “leave no stone unturned” and“never give up until you’re 100 percentsure of the outcome,” whatever it may be!

Christopher Wood can be contacted [email protected].


CHRISTOPHER WOOD

Have you successfully implemented anidea at your news organization andthought, “Wow, I could use 20 more likethat”?

The Donald W. Reynolds JournalismInstitute (RJI) can help.

RJI is inviting industry professionals tothe second Walter B. Potter Sr. Conferencethis fall and the price of admission is twosuccessful ideas – proven winners thatgenerated revenue, boosted readership orimproved your operation.

The Potter Conference will bring togeth-

er community news executives and leadersat the Missouri School of Journalism for anexchange and dialogue of best practicesthat will help sustain local journalism,especially in small and rural markets.

The two-day event will be held Nov. 20-21 at RJI in Columbia, Missouri. All partici-pants will be permitted to bring up to threecolleagues from their outlet or mediagroup. We’re looking for 40 unique ideas,not 40 versions of the same idea. So startbrainstorming your idea(s) before some-one else submits it and grabs your seat at

the conference. Or submit several ideas toincrease your chances for participation.Seating is limited and registration will opensoon. Those who make it to the conferencewill return home with access to all 40 (ormore) innovations, including details onhow you can implement them at yourorganization.

• Registration will open soon, so savethe date, start gathering your ideas andcheck www.rjionline.org/events/potter14for updates.

The Walter B. Potter Sr. Conference:Innovation and Transformation in Community Newspapers

By John MarshallLindsborg News-RecordLindsborg, KansasJune 26, 2014

This is part of a series of occasionalinstallments about the plight of LarryHopkins, the death of his wife, Margaret,and the indifferent circumstances thatled to it. ISWNE published the firstinstallment on pages 22-23 of theFebruary 2014 newsletter.

The last thing the officer said to Hoppywhen he delivered him to booking was“Thanks for not making me kill you.”

It might have happened. A few hoursearlier that day, on November 5, Hoppyhad dialed 911 and told the operator hehad just shot his wife at their home inLawrence. She was dead.

It was supposed to be a murder-suicide,he said, “but I lost my nerve.” During hisinterview with detectives the subject of sui-cide-by-cop (forcing an officer to gun himdown) came up.

“No, I wouldn’t do that.” Hoppy told thedetectives. “It wouldn’t be fair to the offi-cer.”*

“Hoppy” is Larry Hopkins, 67, a boy-hood pal from long ago. He is in theDouglas County Jail in Lawrence, Kansas,awaiting transfer to the state penitentiary atEl Dorado; there he will be “evaluated” todetermine at which of the state’s prisons hewill spend the rest of his life.

Larry has been “Hoppy” forever, itseems, since those heady, early days inLincoln, Kansas, and that brief, sweetmoment known as childhood, when lifewas simple. We were neighbors and playedball and rode bikes together and walked toschool, and we wanted to be all the heroeswe could be, back when we kicked aroundin our little town with our friends.

He was a brilliant student, attendedKansas University on an academic scholar-ship but dropped out in his junior yearafter his father died (heart attack) at age46. He had a 20-year Army career, andlater joined the Spencer Research Libraryat KU and became the assistant librarianfor special collections, specializing in sci-ence fiction. An insatiable reader, half of

his 11,500-volume personal library was inscience fiction; he remains an expert. Butall that was many years before a horrid tideof complexities would lead to his wife’sdeath and a no-contest plea to a charge ofmurder.

Hoppy telephones from jail every otherevening, each call limited to 15 minutes.This has been the arrangement since hisplea hearing on March 27 in DouglasCounty District Court, and through his sen-tencing hearing on May 15. It was no sur-prise when Judge Michael Malone sen-tenced Hoppy to life in prison with no pos-sibility for parole for 25 years. Hoppyexpected that.

He knows he will die in prison.

*Larry and Margaret Thompson were

married in October 1989, a hundred daysafter their first “blind” date, deeply in loveand happy – he, recently retired after 20years in the Army and about to begin hislong career at the Spencer Library; she, anaccomplished and renowned social workerin Lawrence and Douglas County. Therewere 15 or 20 wonderful years, in theirtidy little home, its snug and leafy neigh-borhood.

Margaret had chronic diabetes and itseemed well-managed, but about five yearsago, things changed. The afflictions beganto mount. Margaret had a mild stroke, apulmonary embolism, then a knee replace-ment, later a hysterectomy, another kneereplacement, then a second stroke andweeks of physical and occupational thera-py. Then Margaret took a fall and brokeher left femur in seven places; surgery tookforever, then rehabilitation and therapy inTopeka and, weeks later, she came hometo Lawrence in a wheelchair.

Hoppy suffered one stroke, then another.He had several falls, a herniated disc. Hehad been getting ready for work and fellover. In the emergency room, he hadanother stroke. He was unconscious for aweek. Margaret was learning to use a walk-er. She began to suffer sleep apnea.

At home one morning, Hoppy turnedgray. Margaret called 911. A routine examwith X-Ray revealed a spot on Hoppy’s leftlung. He was sent to the KU Medical Centerfor surgical biopsy, and during a prelimi-

nary stress testdoctors discov-ered fourblocked arter-ies – one 85percentblocked, two95 percent andone 100 per-cent – andperformed aquadruplebypass. Theoperation took a lot of veins. Hoppy’s legshad been savaged, but, as he now says,looking for cancer had saved his life. (The“spot” was benign.)

In the spring of 2012 Margaret haddamage to her right rotator cuff repaired.She was in a wheelchair, with one arm ofno use. Hoppy had begun to learn to use awalker. The herniated disc, the legs weak-ened by heart surgery, were too much. Nofun, Hoppy recalled.

*Larry and Margaret Hopkins shared an

anguish of deteriorating health. Margaret’sspecial torment, ceaseless pain, came fromdiabetes, nerve disease, arthritis, badknees, the wreckage of two heart attacksand multiple strokes. Hoppy could walkonly with the aid of a walker.

Their home in Lawrence fell into disre-pair, a home once celebrated, even writtenabout in the local paper, for its gardens, itsabundance of color and creativity. The cou-ple was caught in what bureaucrats call a“resource gap.” In poor health himself,Hoppy was Margaret’s primary caregiver;he remained proud in spite of his own lim-its. The couple fit the profile of a caregiverreluctant to ask for help and a patient in anage gap, which kept her from receivingsome services; they joined the ranks ofgrowing waiting lists, a backlog due todepleted state funding. Age and incomerequirements were obstacles. Margaret wasnot 65. They were poor, but not poorenough. Or old enough.

“He and Margaret were good people,solid people,” said Harry Boyle, theHopkins’ neighbor to the west. “But theretoward the end everything got to be too

More from Hoppy:Afflictions that would not end


JOHN MARSHALL


Be careful not to squelch reader exchangeBy Jim Pumarlo

We’ve all received letters that give uspause as to whether they should ever see thelight of day on our editorial pages. In theeditor’s mind, there are numerous reasonsto dismiss the letter out of hand.

Take your pick: The writer’s a crackpot.The language is vicious. Statements present-ed as facts are half-truths. The subject hasbeen thoroughly debated. The exchange ismore appropriately handled privately. Thedispute doesn’t rise to the level of a publicforum. The writer is a frequent contributorto the page and has had enough say on thesubject.

If you decide to publish the letter, it’s onlyafter taking one or more precautions. We’reall familiar with these, too: Demand attribu-tion for every asserted fact. Give the“accused” a preview of the letter and anopportunity to present a rebuttal in the sameedition as the letter from the “accuser.” Tackon an editor’s note. Or scrap the letter alto-gether and pursue a news story so you candecide which quotes and statements to use.

Don’t get me wrong. Editors certainly havea responsibility to themselves and their read-ers to ride herd on their editorial pages. ButI urge caution. Letters are the lifeblood of aneditorial page; a lively reader exchange is atthe foundation of a vibrant community news-paper. If editors overuse the “delete” button,or place too many restrictions on letters, youmay well dampen the flow of communityvoices in your newspaper.

Resist these temptations:Insist on verification: It’s necessary to

fact-check letters to the extent that you areable. Some information is easy to trackdown. But, remember, writing a letter is likeattorneys arguing a case in court. Everyonemay agree on the same set of facts, butlawyers selectively use those facts that sup-port their arguments. Omitting one fact can

be just as misleading as presenting a false-hood. You’ll never have enough time to verifyeach statement in every letter.

Share the letter: Sharing a letter inadvance with the aggrieved, and allowing aresponse to the original letter in the sameedition, should be done only in extreme cir-cumstances. Implement this practice once,and you’ve set a precedent. You’ll almostcertainly be challenged by others whobelieve they should have had a similaropportunity. One exception that comes tomind is when 11th-hour charges are leveledduring an election campaign.

Pursue a news story: An exchange inthe letters column may well prompt pursuinga news story. By all means, assign a reporter– after the letters have been published. Don’tpre-empt what the writers have to say –don’t sanitize what you may consider offend-ing language, or selectively edit what youconsider to be the facts – by taking the key-board out of their hands.

Protect public figures: We all maycringe at some of the strong criticism leveledat public figures, but that’s the risk theyassume when assuming office. It’s a goodchance that some of these same public offi-cials have used their bully pulpit to unleash atongue-lashing of others, even private citi-zens. Remember, we often use harsh lan-guage in our editorials.

Editor’s note: Tacking a P.S. on lettersshould be used sparingly and only as a lastresort. From the writer’s perspective, editor’snotes are just an example of the newspaperhaving the “last word” and diminishing theimpact of the letter. Do so, and it’s a goodbet the authors will be hesitant to submitanother letter. They will be unafraid toexpress that sentiment to friends.Am I endorsing a free-wheeling editorialpage? Absolutely.

Am I endorsing a commentary that iscruel and borders on libel? Absolutely not.

Editors shouldtake great painsto promote acivil andrespectfulexchange ofopinions. At thesame time, youdon’t want tounnecessarilysquelch readercomments. Becareful that youdon’t let your personal impressions of, orassociations with, the author and/or the sub-ject to interfere with the exchange for fear ofreader reaction.

The biggest surprise may be the expecta-tions that a particular letter will generate animmediate and rather venomous response,and a black eye for the newspaper. Don’tunderestimate your readers. They may welltake the letter for what it is – a personalvendetta or passion on an issue.

If a rather nasty dialogue develops andtakes on a life of its own, you always havethe ability to tone down the exchange or stopit altogether. Then write about it in a columnexplaining to readers the hows and whysbehind your decisions.

Jim Pumarlo writes, speaks and provides training on community newsroom success strategies. He is authorof “Journalism Primer: A Guide to Community News Coverage,” “Votesand Quotes: A Guide to OutstandingElection Coverage” and “Bad News andGood Judgment: A Guide to Reporting onSensitive Issues in Small-TownNewspapers.” He can be reached atwww.pumarlo.com and welcomes comments and questions at [email protected].


JIM PUMARLO

Fair and even a Pulitzer Prize winner at theLos Angeles Times.

“We won something like, more than 200awards and that was nice. But when I lookback, it was so damned interesting, youknow? It never got dull,” he says. “It got scaryfinancially, that’s for sure, and it could wearyou out physically, but it wasn’t like goingdown and taking drivers-license pictures all

day for a paycheck…every day was different,and you were always trying to be creative anddo good journalism.”

When the time did come for contributorsto leave, a not-so-dreaded-talk would takeplace. “Someone would come to my officeand say, ‘I hate to tell you this, but I will beleaving in two weeks.’ And I’d say, ‘Look, donot apologize. That’s our role in life. We look

for good talent, we try to give it the best train-ing we can to try to make it better. We can’tafford to pay you very much. You give us yourvery best effort, and improve your skills. Thenone day you come to me and say you’ve beenhired at a bigger place for more money. Butthere is no need to apologize – that’s whatwe’re supposed to do in life.’ ”

Mr. Reporter from page 22

An open letter to United StatesPostmaster General Patrick Donahoe

Dear Postmaster General Donahoe:

I do hope this letter arrives at your officein reasonable time.

Sarcasm aside, there was a time when Iput a First Class stamp on a letter andmailed it, I had confidence, depending onits destination, it would get there overnightor within two or three days. There was atime when newspaper publishers couldexpect their latest edition would reach mailsubscribers in a reasonable time frame aswell.

Today, that confidence doesn’t exist. And your latest plan to close more than

80 mail processing plants around thecountry – including the Dakota Centralfacility in Huron – will erase any shreds ofremaining confidence.

You have a difficult job. Mail trends havenot been kind to your business the pastseveral years, thanks in large part to theinternet and 9-11. First Class mail – stillthe biggest generator of revenue for you –has dropped more than 35 percent the lastdozen years or so.

So how do you clear a path for the sur-vival of the Postal Service in the face ofsome mighty strong headwinds? Obviously,you need to reduce expenditures and tight-en the belt to fit new realities.

But I believe your latest plan goes toofar. From the 30,000-foot view at USPSheadquarters, your latest plant consolida-tion plan may look good on the spread-sheet. But looking at it from here on MainStreet and the mailbox-dotted gravel roadsof South Dakota, it’s a clunker.

The newspaper publishers of SouthDakota who belong to the trade associationI work for, know it’s a clunker as well.They have been fighting desperately now

for several years to find ways to get theirnewspapers delivered to customers in atimely manner. Fighting desperately despitethe roadblocks and hurdles put up by yourorganization.

Closing more mail processing plants willonly contribute to the sclerosis of the mailnetwork in this country. Your plan doesn’tsave the Postal Service; it just makes thingsworse.

The degradation and decline don’t hap-pen all it once, but they happen. Newspapersubscribers become frustrated they can’tget their hometown paper delivered tothem in a reasonable time, so they stoppaying for it when the subscription comesdue. Advertisers become frustrated whentheir promotions and marketing specialscan’t reach the marketplace soon enough.

But it is not just newspapers. It is allbusinesses that rely on the mail for deliveryof invoices, checks, correspondence andso much more. It’s people who live so farfrom town that they must rely on the mailfor delivery of their medical prescriptions.It’s the delivery of farm parts and legaldocuments. The list goes on.

Mail service always has been andremains a vital part of the infrastructureserving rural America. For that matter, ourentire country. Good, reliable mail servicesupports a strong economy and a connect-ed, engaged society.

Let’s not degrade and destroy that net-work. Instead, we should be working toprotect and provide for a strong, reliablemail service that serves all of our country.

If you won’t do it (and your latest plantconsolidation announcement suggests youwon’t), then we call on Congress to step inand put a halt to it. Congress should freezeany further plant consolidations and clos-

ings until itcan agreeupon meaning-ful reform leg-islation for thePostal Service.

Postalreform legisla-tion has beenpercolating inCongress forsome timenow. Congressneeds to act.

Congress needs to remove the onerous,overly aggressive provisions that requirethe Postal Service to greatly accelerate set-asides for postal retirees’ health benefits.Doing so would help the Postal Service’sbalance sheet and remove some of thepressures that lead to policies and actionsthat have hurt, not helped, your organiza-tion.

Postal reform legislation is not a head-lines-grabbing, popularity-poll issue thatCongress rallies around. Nevertheless,Congress needs to act now, before yourorganization, Mr. Postmaster General,regresses into a shell of its former selffrom which it cannot recover.

I thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

David BordewykGeneral ManagerSouth Dakota Newspaper Association

(South Dakota Newspaper Association rep-resents the state’s weekly and daily newspa-pers with a total readership of more than600,000 people.)


DAVID BORDEWYK

Seniors more likely to read news on tabletsBy Roger FidlerDonald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute

Both tablets and smartphones are usedby a majority of owners for keeping upwith the news, but tablets are used fornews by a somewhat higher percentage ofowners aged 55 or older than by thoseaged 18-34, according to the latest mobilemedia survey from the Donald W. ReynoldsJournalism Institute (RJI). The oppositewas found for news consumption on smart-phones.

The larger tablet displays undoubtedlymake reading long news and feature sto-ries easier on the eyes for seniors, but theyalso make viewing movies and TV pro-grams, as well as reading books and maga-zine content, more appealing to tablet own-ers of all ages.

The RJI survey found most ownersappear to use tablets primarily as exten-sions to their smartphones, especially forleisure reading and watching movies, TVprograms and other videos.

More than half (52 percent) of tabletowners overall said they had watchedvideos in the week prior to participating inthe survey. About 70 percent overall said

they spent more than 20 minutes with thisactivity in a typical day. By comparison, 41percent of smartphone owners overall saidthey watched videos and 52 percent saidthey spent more than 20 minutes with thisactivity in a typical day.

Among RJI’s other findings about the useof large media tablets:

• Mobile media users were found to bemuch less likely to interact with socialmedia on large tablets than on smart-phones. They also were much less likely toread news found within social media onlarge tablets than on smartphones.

• The percentages of large tablet ownerswho said they read books on their tabletswere three times greater than the percent-ages of smartphone owners who said theyread books on their smartphones.

• Mobile media users also were morelikely to read magazine content on largetablets than on smartphones. The differ-ence was greatest for tablet owners aged55 or older.

• About one-third (33 percent) of largetablet owners overall said they had madepurchases or reservations using theirtablets in the week prior to taking the sur-vey. Smartphone owners were slightly less

likely to usetheir smart-phones tomake purchas-es or reserva-tions in thesame period.As with readingmagazine con-tent, the differ-ence wasgreatest fortablet ownersaged 55 or older.

Coming soon: Report 7 explores howtablet ownership influences news con-sumption on smartphones.

Nearly 1,200 randomly selected U.S.adults participated in RJI’s third annualMobile Media News Consumption surveybetween Jan. 1 and March 31. This phonesurvey focused exclusively on the use ofsmartphones and touch-screen tablets withmobile operating systems. RJI’s previoussurveys included questions about the use ofe-readers and other Internet-enabledmobile devices, such as netbooks, tabletPCs, hand-held computers and ultra-lightnotebooks.


ROGER FIDLER

More from Hoppy from page 24

much.“When Larry had his trouble – the heart

attack and the strokes and all – my wife,Vicki, helped take Margaret to the hospitalto see him. But Margaret had all her prob-lems, too – diabetes, her heart attacks andstrokes, and unable to get around, andthen falling. Well, it got to be we’d see anambulance there six or eight times aweek.”

*“I knew in general what it would be

like,” Hoppy said recently. “I went into itwith my eyes Open…and so what hap-pened to me was immaterial.”

He was talking about that morning,November 5. He rose early and went to thekitchen and made coffee in the little one-

cup brewer, and drank cup after cup andsmoked about a pack of cigarettes. Thenhe put down the cup and went to the bed-room where Margaret lay asleep. He took aRuger Security Six .357 magnum revolverfrom a drawer in a bedside table. He heldit a foot and a half from Margaret’s head asshe lay sleeping, cocked it and pulled thetrigger.

“I knew I’d drawn my last breath as afree man, that there’s life in prison and I’dhave to live with it. I knew what was goingto happen in general terms and acceptedit.”

*“I laid the gun down after I fired the

shot,” Hoppy said.He called 911 and carried the phone to

the front deck at their house, sat down andlit a cigarette. “I was still talking to the(911) operator when I told the operator Iheard the siren,” Hoppy said.

The police were there in moments. Anofficer approached Hoppy as he sat on thedeck. “The officer told me to drop the tele-phone, to move very slowly and keep myhands where he could see them.”

Their lives had become unbearable,Hoppy said.

(Next: What Hoppy never told thepolice)

John Marshall is the retired editor and a columnist for the Lindsborg (Kansas)News-Record. He can be contacted [email protected].

Brian Hunhoff (left)

and Dave Mitchell

were all smiles after

winning the Golden

Quill Award and

Eugene Cervi Award,

respectively, at the

2014 awards banquet

in Durango, Colorado.

A B O U T T H E I S W N E

iswne/firestorm coverage

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