tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19192604036622717982024-03-13T12:44:33.920-05:00Cold Coffee: Afterthoughts of the news day.theshovelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00122854054743340223noreply@blogger.comBlogger26125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1919260403662271798.post-55674025620740828292012-08-07T17:22:00.000-05:002012-08-07T17:23:57.288-05:00A vote cast in favor of this job<br />
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This job can get a little crazy and stressful (not how long it's been since the last blog post).</div>
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This week (and it’s only Tuesday), there’s must have been
a full moon because it’s been non-stop crazy.</div>
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I’ve had to explain and justify why I won’t remove items
from the police blotter (the pot wasn’t his, he was holding it for a friend)
including why it’s wrong to bribe me to do so.</div>
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I’ve had to explain and justify why the community
calendar contains only community events. Hell, an Elvis convention in Pasadena
could justify that there are people in small town middle America here that
would have an interest in attending — that doesn’t mean it goes in this
hyper-local newspaper.</div>
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An ad for a local bar was next to an ad for a day care on
the page with the school bus schedule and back-to-school information.</div>
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It’s just been one thing after another. But the latest
thing was crazy only in the sense that it’s not the norm.</div>
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I posted a blog on my newspaper’s website Monday
afternoon reminding people of the primary election the next day, how some races
would be decided by the primary because of no one from the other party is on
the ballot and listed the coverage our newspaper has had of candidates the past
two months.</div>
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A little after 4 p.m. the next day, election day, a woman
came to the newspaper office to read the election coverage that spanned several
editions. She had gone to the polls and upon seeing the ballot she exited the
voting both without casting her ballot. There were too many names she didn’t
recognize. Remembering my blog, which she saw via a link posted on Facebook,
she came to the newspaper office.</div>
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With less than three hours until the polls closed she
perused through the newspapers to catch up. We didn’t charge her the 75 cents
per edition and stayed open a few minutes past 5 p.m. to let her read. </div>
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Most people will either not vote for those candidate or
select them at random. Because of the local newspaper, however, this woman took
time to be an informed, responsible voter.</div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">Despite all the chaos a small town newspaper
editor/reporter sees, it’s the little things like that sometimes that make this
job worth it.</span>theshovelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00122854054743340223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1919260403662271798.post-21610717924140048372012-02-22T10:22:00.003-06:002012-02-22T10:44:54.982-06:00Death of a salesman (and newsman)I'm calling this week a failure for our business. Not that the failure specifically happened this week, but the reality of it came to light.<br /><br />Coming up on the editorial side of the newspaper/news biz, I was always focused on the ideology of the newspaper's mission: provide the news/facts in an unbiased manner, be a government watchdog, find innovative ways of story telling and be the record keeper of history as it happens.<br /><br />These are fine, lofty goals. But it's not the big picture of the news business. Over the years, I have come to see the overall goals and missions for newspapers and broadcast that carry the news. Yes, it is to deliver pertinent information in a timely manner. But that is just one of many parts in the news machine.<br /><br />To be economically viable, the newspaper (or news broadcast station) must also be practicable marketing tool for businesses. Specifically, a community newspaper must be a feasible means for local businesses to advertise.<br /><br />If circulation and readership decline, the value of the product is less to those advertisers (or potential advertisers).<br /><br />The past couple years I've worried about our declining circulation. But we all know subscriptions and single-copy sales don't make us much money. The ad revenue drives the newspaper.<br /><br />For the past few weeks, a local grocer who has placed a full page ad every week in our newspaper for decades gave incredible deals through coupons in its ad. The response was minimal. So minimal, that our newspaper will no longer have that ad.<br /><br />This is a big financial blow to our weekly newspaper. But that's not the only thing I'm concerned about. The low rate of return on great deals for necessary items (eggs, milk, etc.) concerns me from a readership standpoint.<br /><br />Coupons are a great indicator of consumer response to advertisements. Take many furniture stores or car dealerships - in broadcast ads they'll say things like "Tell them Bob sent you" or "Ask for John." Chances are, the salesmen have never met Bob (or don't care that Bob sent you) or John won't be there to help you. But it gives that business an indication of who is coming there in response to the ad.<br /><br />If we are getting such a low rate of return on local grocery coupons, what does that say about how many people are actually picking up the newspaper and reading it?<br /><br />From an editorial standpoint, it means people in this community are not as informed as they should be about local issues.<br /><br />From a circulation standpoint, it means we are not reaching the number of people we need to.<br /><br />From an advertising standpoint, we are not a viable marketing tool for local business.<br /><br />Unfortunately, despite the ideological goals, the latter is the one that matters most. If local businesses cannot use the newspaper as a means to drive more business for themselves, then that product is useless to them - a waste of their money. Those businesses cannot grow through the newspaper.<br /><br />That's where it hurts the news biz financially. They stop advertising and subsequently stop picking up the newspaper. The domino affect begins.<br /><br />Unless we can find a way to rebound in circulation, we are, as the pundits have put it, writing our own obituary.<br /><br />I do not believe newspapers have to die. I believe the way we deliver them can be modified to fit consumers, creating that viable marketing tool.<br /><br />But that subject is for another blog post.theshovelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00122854054743340223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1919260403662271798.post-45804579128107914832011-06-30T10:57:00.006-05:002011-06-30T11:43:27.125-05:00ArroganceMaybe arrogance is the answer for newspapers.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqy38TJjoMWszRclepJUhphWW_c8kOF-XBUgeBH-30hQOJ-eulhAxVHyY-arIN9cvGa27vkovEFihcsIHmdcsn8c-hhQ9Mf14Y8pkpKQmcsiSgAoDVfS3NNYiHvCXPXy4MdfsO4C_5uL1p/s1600/tmsho110625.gif"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 98px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqy38TJjoMWszRclepJUhphWW_c8kOF-XBUgeBH-30hQOJ-eulhAxVHyY-arIN9cvGa27vkovEFihcsIHmdcsn8c-hhQ9Mf14Y8pkpKQmcsiSgAoDVfS3NNYiHvCXPXy4MdfsO4C_5uL1p/s320/tmsho110625.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5624043172131412210" border="0" /></a><br />Recently I was outside a fast food restaurant and saw the USA Today newspaper rack. USA Today usually impresses me with its front page. It did again this day. I wanted to buy a copy for a story on the front page because apparently I was too lazy to use my phone app to find it.<br /><br />There was one problem: I had no change. I could go inside the restaurant and get change, except for the fact I had no cash.<br /><br />Maybe this is really why single copy sales are down - who carries cash (let alone change) anymore?<br /><br />If only we could equip every news rack with a way to swipe a credit or debit card to gain access. I'd like to see the results. It's not totally unheard of. Some college campuses have a readership program for students. They swipe their ID cards to gain access to the local metro daily, USA Today and/or New York Times.<br /><br />I mentioned this to a business owner in town.<br /><br />"You'd lose money on every transaction," he said.<br />"Not if we charge $10 per newspaper," I quipped.<br /><br />Understanding that I was joking, he said I was right. But it got me thinking. I'm not suggesting we charge $10 per newspaper. However, maybe we should consider upping the price a bit.<br /><br />In what other business do you charge less than the product is worth.<br />This week we produced a 10-page A section, 4-page B section, 6 page C section and 8-page D section. That's 28 pages plus inserts. At 75 cents per newspaper, that's less than 3 cents per page. Where else can you get that kind of rate. I don't think 3 cents covers the raw costs of ink and paper, let alone transportation to get those newspapers to those locations on top of the salaries to produce it. And let's not forget overhead costs. Of course, advertising is supposed to supplement that cost. Obviously it doesn't.<br />Anytime you charge more for something, it ups the value of. Let's face it, if people really want it then they will pay for it. If they don't really want it, then we're wasting our time, right?<br /><br />I say charge more for a single copy of the newspaper and charge for unlimited online access.<br /><br />In a small town like this one, there are not many other means for a business to effectively advertise. So charge a little more for advertising, but not to the point it excludes many businesses.<br />I'm sure we happily pay more than many things cost from raw materials through production and delivery.<br />Perhaps we shouldn't be going around begging people to advertise and begging people to subscribe and begging people to visit our website. Maybe it's time to say to people if you want legitimate news presented in a fair, professional manner you're going to have to be willing to pay for it. If you want to reach your target audience, you're going to have to consider the investment associated with marketing.<br /><br />I say this, but a paperwork error last year sent subscribers a renewal notice with the price of two-year subscription in the place of the one-year subscription. Subscribers balked at the notion, many calling to cancel their subscription if that were the renewal price.<br />Sticker shock will turn many away. For the news stand price, I say up it gradually over a two-year period. The same goes for subscribers, except make it a slight increase for current subscribers to renew and a notable increase for new subscribers (but still getting a far better deal per issue by subscribing).<br /><br />If we were to implement this program tomorrow, my goal would be to have the current 75-cents per issue news stand price to be at $2 by this time in two years. For the subscribers, I would propose their renewal price to increase for a year subscription from $30 to $32 in that time. For first-time subscribers make it $35.<br />For the web, give print subscribers full access. Offer a web-only subscription for half the price. Allow one-time fees ($2 a week) for those who just need to peruse the website from afar a few times a year.<br /><br />This would increase revenue (assuming there was no significant drop in subscriptions and single-copy sales or that it bounced back within six months) around $35,000 based on our circulation after numbers return to normal.<br />For ads, up the cost 20 percent gradually over the course of two years. I can't give good figures on that, except that I would assume given a drop in advertisers we would still be making at least 5 percent more a year than we did two years prior. That can't hurt.<br /><br />People pay more for gas, groceries, coffee and alcohol. They do it while grumbling at first, but get used to it and continue anyway. Why not add news to that list?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwjl4ilI0o4r1kB068YIaLT8_qWcgjzVqR0DzqzRgfKER0I6igxXVuvGg9dGEjkRcea7P3GxJgYloPCCDGRhNydFjJcvphqxRYxJZ0XvLT2KPIq_5LNuHeXlHk037PTCKSAGFlEE0OtBHI/s1600/tmsho110630.gif"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 98px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwjl4ilI0o4r1kB068YIaLT8_qWcgjzVqR0DzqzRgfKER0I6igxXVuvGg9dGEjkRcea7P3GxJgYloPCCDGRhNydFjJcvphqxRYxJZ0XvLT2KPIq_5LNuHeXlHk037PTCKSAGFlEE0OtBHI/s320/tmsho110630.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5624053485646015202" border="0" /></a>theshovelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00122854054743340223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1919260403662271798.post-52475362156932897262011-05-02T15:43:00.003-05:002011-05-02T16:11:31.932-05:00Osam bin-WHO?I felt sick this morning.<br /><br />Sick from dissatisfaction of what was expected of me - due in part of what some people think our readers expect from us.<br /><br />Less than 24 hours ago, President Barack Obama announced Osama bin Laden was killed by U.S. forces. Bin Laden was allegedly the mastermind behind (among many terrorist acts) the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks that collapsed the two World Trade Center towers, put a hole in one side of the Pentagon and downed a plane full of passengers in a rural Pennsylvania field. The incidents that day forever changed our world.<br /><br />Today, in the aftermath of this man's death, many are buzzing about bin Laden's death. This is a man who organized al-Queda, but has been hands off for about two years. Most agree that his death is not the end of our nation's war against terror. Perhaps it is the beginning of the end, but there is certainly still a long journey ahead.<br /><br />His death has not changed our world, though. Not near the way so many things have changed our world. There were no U.S. casualties in the battle that took bin Laden's life.<br /><br />Yet, on the dawn of bin Laden's death, my publisher (who is a rarity in that he came up on the editorial side to the publisher position), energetically insisted that all of our weekly newspapers come up with "local" coverage of this. He even went so far as to post breaking news to solicit comments and locate sources.<br /><br />We've compiled the slew of elected officials' statements. Now we're to seek out local sources - local reaction.<br /><br />I just do not feel this is our role as hyper-local, weekly, community newspapers. The announcement of bin Laden's death came late Sunday night. Our papers go to press Tuesday night. For me, my newspaper hits the stands late Wednesday afternoon and is delivered via U.S. Postal Service to subscribers on Thursday.<br /><br />My prediction: by Friday talk of bin Laden's death will have dwindled significantly and by this time next week it will be just a fleeting thought. Within two weeks from now, it won't be talked about at all.<br /><br />I agree with localized coverage on Sept. 11, 2001. It changed our thinking, it changed our lifestyles. It disrupted that day in everyone's life whether they were on the East Coast or Midwest.<br /><br />This man's death does not disrupt our lifestyle. Troops are not being immediately withdrawn as a result. Almost nothing changes except a moral victory for the United States.<br /><br />In some places, celebration erupted in the streets. A crowd gathered outside the White House. Impromptu rallies formed in Lawrence, Kan., and Columbia, Mo., where there are large populations of college students. In some places, people have pulled their American flags out the closet and hung them proudly. Others have put up banners declaring the victory.<br /><br />But here, in the community my newspaper serves, little seems changed. I cannot find any more American flags than usual. I do not see any special signs or banners. This is the same town that has held half a dozen Tea Party rallies in the past three years. This town's patriotism is not in question. But like many small communities, it was exciting news last night. By noon Monday people had moved on with their lives. By Thursday, I doubt many here will care much anymore.<br /><br />Had a group staged a rally, had people displayed extra patriotism or had more people been willing to talk about when I tried to do man-on-the-street interviews; I would gladly splash this on the front page.<br /><br />One of our reporters said that newspapers are "a rough draft of history." True. But the draft is very rough if it's some redneck's uneducated opinion. Meanwhile, here, I have a full list of local issues that weigh readers' minds: pit bull bans, flooding issues and cost increases for curbside recycling among other things.<br /><br />As a small town, community newspaper, we need to focus on documenting this town's history; not wasting time and space for something nobody seems willing to talk about. We are the rough draft of history for this community, not for the nation.<br /><br />Sure, there are plenty of other angles to consider. I'm tracking down military service members from our community who will be headed to Afghanistan soon. Ideally I would find the family of someone who was currently over there. But with our deadlines, producing something worthwhile is going to be difficult as I'm already having a hard time getting known sources to call me back.<br /><br />I digress.<br /><br />Whatever this community wants to make a big deal of, I'm willing to print in the newspaper. Anything else just seems forced.theshovelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00122854054743340223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1919260403662271798.post-1629170979386957732011-01-26T13:20:00.004-06:002011-01-26T13:32:38.463-06:00By the numbersTo those who have ever grumbled about pay, layoffs or other general cuts in the newspaper world, I'm right there with you.<br /><br />But have you ever sat down and thought about what all this costs?<br /><br />Frustrated with the way things were going and sparked by my own entrepreneurial, I wrote out what I thought a newspaper should be: how it operates, how it fits into a small communities, etc.<br /><br />After getting some general and specific concepts down, including a staff list and duties, I started putting numbers to it. I've been around the biz for a while, so I'm confident in my estimates for costs and revenue. I've built a business model that (with optimistic numbers) breaks even. Except I haven't figured in the printing cost yet.<br /><br />I know, that's the obvious cost, but I don't know those numbers without some research. Salary cost was easy. I know what I get paid, have been paid, what others were paid and what I think they should get paid.<br /><br />Circulation and advertising revenue figures were fairly easy, too. The wild card to me is printing. I can barely get it to break even without printing costs.<br /><br />I'm not saying layoffs and other cuts are right or fair. I'm just saying this is harder than it looks. Start up costs are astronomical. Annual costs are surprisingly high. It makes me wonder how newspapers even worked to begin with, let alone stay open today.<br /><br />I've got a little more respect for those in the HR/accounting offices and the decision makers. I'm going to continue to find ways to make it work and create a model. Suggestions are more than welcome. So are contributions for a start up.theshovelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00122854054743340223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1919260403662271798.post-65515161305282701162010-11-04T11:18:00.007-05:002010-11-04T12:07:14.897-05:00It's a bird, it's a plane....<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSaBh_eBFSVx_EE1dfP-SbE7Db0GhMuoVvDPEsnBPV-7w044MJrWutDwZAq6Ze1S-oFlxSN_MObLbpKMntMzCbpFiQMZ5bcnfk_egj7rPnvqx6_rU7nVGIStO01iuxNcipwnG88ThNJlEv/s1600/perrywhite.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 189px; height: 271px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSaBh_eBFSVx_EE1dfP-SbE7Db0GhMuoVvDPEsnBPV-7w044MJrWutDwZAq6Ze1S-oFlxSN_MObLbpKMntMzCbpFiQMZ5bcnfk_egj7rPnvqx6_rU7nVGIStO01iuxNcipwnG88ThNJlEv/s320/perrywhite.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5535740146097965394" border="0" /></a>Jackie Cooper's voice echoed in my head this morning.<br /><br />Many may remember Cooper's role as The Daily Planet Editor Perry White in the Superman movies with Christove Reeve.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Following the dramatic opening and credits to Superman III, we cut to The Daily Planet newsroom.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Perry White: </span>I don't understand you Olsen. A boring banquet and you bring me three thousand boring pictures. Yet Superman saves a man from drowning on 3rd Avenue this morning while you stand there watching the whole thing and you don't even bring me one picture.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Jimmy Olsen: </span>Chief, I didn't have my camera with me.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Perry White:</span> A photographer <span style="font-style: italic;">eats </span>with his camera. A photographer <span style="font-style: italic;">sleeps</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span>with his camera.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Lois Lane: </span>I'm glad I'm a writer.<br /><br /><br />In small town community journalism, there is no luxury of being just a writer.<br /><br />I've blogged about the need for a journalist to carry a camera at all times, this is one of those blogs. It's also about the advantage of being the "little guy."<br /><br />On my way to work this morning I saw a metro area TV news station's van. Naturally, I followed, dreading what story they would blow out of proportion leaving me to play clean up with a story in next week's paper.<br /><br />As we headed north of town, I was becoming even more curious about what story they were chasing. Then I saw the helicopter hovering near the neighboring town that is in our school district. This couldn't be an average accident. It wasn't. There was a school bus in the ditch. The accident happened about an hour earlier.<br /><br />While everyone else shot video, I whipped out my 5-megapixel cell phone camera. The distance from the accident and the sun rising in the background left me with nothing but sun bursts and hazy images.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJTG3CkeGBt03OURBh2rjMqu5xqmtTYNgB_eBGf-zcxjd85qauCEjTxh4SrvPvfddZQViSgJJZoRGAJ46BYck8sBmRH710X5dYe0tpjtolgXVSfbqLE39u2dlGBfurCCBSPxg8608mziIi/s1600/bus+accident.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJTG3CkeGBt03OURBh2rjMqu5xqmtTYNgB_eBGf-zcxjd85qauCEjTxh4SrvPvfddZQViSgJJZoRGAJ46BYck8sBmRH710X5dYe0tpjtolgXVSfbqLE39u2dlGBfurCCBSPxg8608mziIi/s320/bus+accident.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5535740386552822098" border="0" /></a>This is the best one I took.<br /><br />My digital SLR was in the office on my desk. Had I known I was going to a school bus accident, I would have stopped at the office (on the way) to grab the camera. By the time I got to the accident and figured out what was going on, called in to get a web update and evaluated the situation, they were towing the bus out of the ditch. I didn't have time to go to the office and get back with a camera before the bus was gone.<br /><br />But being this was my backyard, so to speak, I still had some advantages. The police officer director traffic said he didn't know anything to tell the TV news reporter. They were just working traffic, the state highway patrol was in charge of the scene. She walked away discouraged.<br /><br />Then I approached.<br /><br />"How are you liking your new digs, Tom?" I asked, knowing the police just moved into a new building.<br /><br />We chatted about them still getting settled in, yadda, yadda.<br /><br />"So what time did you get called to this?" I asked.<br /><br />"I got on at 7 and was immediately sent here, it had just happened," he replied.<br /><br />We still had no idea about injuries and I knew he wouldn't know.<br /><br />"How many ambulances were there when you got here?" I asked.<br /><br />He talked about ambulances from at least three different areas, so I was able to surmise there were enough injuries to warrant at least half a dozen ambulances.<br /><br />That's all I could get out of him, but it's more than the TV reporter got. I think I had the advantage in knowing the officer by name and being able to come up with chit-chat to lead into some questions that gave me more background on the incident.<br /><br />Next, a man, looking very casual, in a jacket and ball cap comes walking from the accident to get in a pickup truck. The TV reporter has no idea this is the assistant superintendent in charge of transportation. I however, again have the advantage.<br /><br />"Morning, Randy, what happened?" I lead off with.<br /><br />He clearly didn't want to talk to the media. But between her badgering questions he'd rather ignore, I was able to remove the sensationalism out of the impromptu press conference from his pickup truck cab as he is saying he doesn't have time to talk.<br /><br />"What can we put on our website that parents need to know?"<br /><br />He then proceeds to tell me that parents have been contacted and what they were told.<br /><br />The assistant superintendent drove off, but now we've got a handle on injury types (non serious), how many students, what grade level, etc.<br /><br />The TV reporter at this point is confused about which schools the students may have been going to and the assistant superintendent has left. I, however, have no need to look up this information.<br /><br />So I don't have any good photos. I was probably the third news organization to report via the web the fact there was a school bus accident. But in the end, I was able to gather enough information in a short amount of time to get something more substantial online before having to wait for the highway patrol to call me back.<br /><br />So score one for the small town local guys.<br /><br />Take that back. I just completed this blog and went to grab my cell-phone photo out of my e-mail to put in the blog when I saw an e-mail from the city manager to many people in the community alerting them of the accident. In that e-mail, he posted a link to a TV news station's website.<br /><br />So much for hometown.theshovelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00122854054743340223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1919260403662271798.post-114669479223217042010-10-28T12:32:00.003-05:002010-10-28T12:48:06.921-05:00This one's on me<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFmrVQ8c4mI8kMfpDOA1qsCb6E_3_jSTkTXVJgGmXd0qEwlisH9Z7o9LoIiO8lWcYXjINsjgsw7-Y9asUAUpevnW0WFBwXXJBJ-lmJCubgjr3QjCkGA4yvoutvmMS3GX_docIIsJgN6UBZ/s1600/shoe_pressconf.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 226px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFmrVQ8c4mI8kMfpDOA1qsCb6E_3_jSTkTXVJgGmXd0qEwlisH9Z7o9LoIiO8lWcYXjINsjgsw7-Y9asUAUpevnW0WFBwXXJBJ-lmJCubgjr3QjCkGA4yvoutvmMS3GX_docIIsJgN6UBZ/s320/shoe_pressconf.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5533151573390528098" border="0" /></a>There are some days you've just got to love this job.<br /><br />This morning I started out touring the mayor's new business - in another city. I agree that he couldn't find the building to fit the need for this wine club he started, but I'm sure he is going to receive some backlash from the community for not investing in the hometown.<br /><br />That will be humorous.<br /><br />That same mayor, 20 years ago, pushed for an ordinance that restricts signage for beer or liquor at gas stations. After learning about this obscure law and noticing several gas stations in town in violation, I admittedly stirred the pot by asking too many questions. City officials realized they had not enforced this ordinance so cracked down on it and I wrote a story on this 20-year-old, obscure law that had gone the wayside until the newspaper brought it up.<br /><br />The newspaper came out yesterday and our website was updated this morning, including this story. Today, a local TV station contacted city officials about interviewing them for a story about this. The city official who drew the short straw to talk to the TV station called me and said, "You owe me one." Not because of doing the story or because anything was inaccurate. He just doesn't want to be on TV and blames me. Technically, it's the city's own fault for not keeping up with its own laws.<br /><br />Why isn't the mayor speaking to the TV station about his alcohol advertising restriction law? He's too busy getting his new wine store ready in the metro.theshovelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00122854054743340223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1919260403662271798.post-7032166822566911102010-10-27T09:07:00.004-05:002010-10-27T09:29:31.823-05:00Meatball journalismEditor's note: I actually wrote this back in May. In the midst of writer's block this morning, I was looking through some of my google documents and found it. I'm not sure if its intended purpose was for THIS blog, but sort of fits this morning so here it is in all its glory:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp-bbxgWSwPMt0DvGmlhHCIzDE0sJfoabfEYm0nnJ4po-g05gCP8zXAK9vC-GGBE9xqVNY-oosfOQTST86aNrkU6WoK1vUEk_H9R7IotlMgEbr6DWbSXQI4nnGsqRJGGAR0uR9aCfJHQs5/s1600/shoe_writersblock.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 389px; height: 119px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp-bbxgWSwPMt0DvGmlhHCIzDE0sJfoabfEYm0nnJ4po-g05gCP8zXAK9vC-GGBE9xqVNY-oosfOQTST86aNrkU6WoK1vUEk_H9R7IotlMgEbr6DWbSXQI4nnGsqRJGGAR0uR9aCfJHQs5/s320/shoe_writersblock.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5532732624533069554" border="0" /></a>I just remembered, this is not why I got into journalism.<br />Sitting in my cluttered office dumbfounded by writer's block with one goal for the morning: Churn out three feature stories about 300 words each that I gathered all the information for yesterday and write a 450-word summary from a meeting last night.<br />That's when I realized, I am I stuck here dreaming about all the things I could do with journalism, all the things I have done with journalism and barely making progress on Journalism 101 fluff pieces. I think I convinced myself community journalism "is where it's at," so to speak. It is. Community (hyper local) is the future of the journalism/newspaper industry. "Enterprise stories" and "niche publications" are yesterday's buzz phrases. Community journalism has a bit more sustainability than industry fads.<br /><br />The definition of community journalism is deep and multi-faceted.<br />Among what I am doing is "intense" community journalism. On my slate to finish writing today: Board of Aldermen meeting coverage, story about a the kindness of strangers, students raising money for Haiti earthquake victims and preview an upcoming community event. On the back burner is a story I've been picking at a little each week. Not the greatest of stories - a look at the issue of dog nuisance, related ordinances and tips for owners and neighbors. Riveting stuff, isn't it? It's a weak reflection of what I prefer to be doing. I like to dig deep into a story. I would rather be working on one or two in-depth stories over the course of a week than being a paragraph factory of a dozen small stories to fill the pages. Wouldn't any journalist?<br />For a while I convinced myself this is what I want to be doing. It was like telling myself that I'm OK in a bad relationship, even though deep down I know I need to end it.<br /><br />There are rewards to what I am doing. I'm filling a need in the community. I'm providing quasi-compelling content for local residents to read. There's no complaints there - on the reader's part and my part, for the most part. But this is not why I signed up.<br />In elementary school I was a big "Encyclopedia Brown" fan. For those unfamiliar with the book series, this child sleuth would solve neighborhood "crimes" or mysteries. Over time I realized he would use common knowledge, but for someone his age it was outstanding to figure these things out. As I grew older I never got into books like "The Hardy Boys" or "Nancy Drew." I cannot stand most cop shows like "Law and Order" or the "CSI" brand shows. I did always enjoy "Dragnet." Point being, I like to unravel a story by finding many facts.<br />Back on track, what I love doing is digging deep. I like taking a topic that has hazy details, finding as many sources as possible and finding the common denominator that must be the truth. I like to present a list of facts and statements in an entertaining form so the reader can determine what is right and wrong.<br /><br />But what I am doing, for the most part, is what I equate to the term used on the "M*A*S*H" television series: "meatball surgery." They had to find the best way possible to take care of mass casualties with little resource. I've got to cover as many stories as possible, along with some photos and long-term planning with as little time, staff and equipment as possible. Community journalism, if you're not careful, can become "meatball journalism."<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8fdgBAQeV7cFZGthRxOc7piz5bEs6mjaUVechnAMw-AJVBQ_TL6mD7fefg4QPj8ETDkwe9wL7Xk67qhp1wk08T6k7saCmrS4joC9Z8KMrE1sFmZACEMXUM4gH8uHGuLl4A1UWsdzysoOV/s1600/MASH-tv-show-10.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 220px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8fdgBAQeV7cFZGthRxOc7piz5bEs6mjaUVechnAMw-AJVBQ_TL6mD7fefg4QPj8ETDkwe9wL7Xk67qhp1wk08T6k7saCmrS4joC9Z8KMrE1sFmZACEMXUM4gH8uHGuLl4A1UWsdzysoOV/s320/MASH-tv-show-10.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5532731780825822114" border="0" /></a>I didn't get into journalism to post opinion poll questions like, "How would you rate your prom experience this year?"<br /><br />This is one of those days I'm about ready to give up. There are times you get this great adrenaline rush by getting the scoop on a big story or having people contact you about important things. Then there are times when you feel worthless. After nearly two years of cultivating sources, you find something in the nearby metro daily that you should have had in last week's edition. It's not breaking news. It's not big news. It's almost insignificant. It's a little slice of life for this community. That's exactly why I should have had it first. I'm just floored that my sources didn't let me know about it. Sometimes your sources let you know every time someone down the hall from them sneezes. And you try to show your gratitude and follow up on it because you want them to feel that openness when it's time to get what you want. But then they don't share the newsworthy stuff with you and you wonder why you're even here.<br /><br />I used to dream of days when I would be a crusty, old news man or a retired journalist. Now I dream of days when I "was in the biz."<br /><br />Updated: OK, I'm not sure what I meant by that last line when I apparently wrote it five months ago, but I decided to leave it in.<br /><br />The sad thing is, nothing has really changed since I wrote that blog five months ago and for whatever reason never posted it. Today is not too different from that day. I have to make a few phone calls, see some people then hunker down to churn out four stories today..... gotta go now, incoming wounded. (That's the M*A*S*H reference tying the blog back to the lede.)theshovelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00122854054743340223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1919260403662271798.post-43941712618827875262010-10-25T15:56:00.007-05:002010-10-26T08:14:59.624-05:00Small victories & a T-Rex (roar)So... long time, no post.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ1hwnkCWcYq_7iAqp7Cz_G1av72ZS9-BOAGXtjzren_A5HAUpDQpcob6vcoRk4k374RyYvcn5Hdvgyf9QpX0IBaRIDt_J-L7NBLcJY7GS_BtQmrct3XKUe-DQwUSUGKiGF5w9uarwYmBg/s1600/shoe_tech.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 347px; height: 243px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ1hwnkCWcYq_7iAqp7Cz_G1av72ZS9-BOAGXtjzren_A5HAUpDQpcob6vcoRk4k374RyYvcn5Hdvgyf9QpX0IBaRIDt_J-L7NBLcJY7GS_BtQmrct3XKUe-DQwUSUGKiGF5w9uarwYmBg/s320/shoe_tech.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5532106043268689122" border="0" /></a><br />Sometimes it seems this newspaper gig is a losing battle - not just in terms of producing a successful newspaper but also in convincing people what you do is worthwhile.<br /><br />Today I had an epiphany. I credit the neighbor who told me newspapers are dinosaurs. But what I am is not a newspaperman. I'm a journalist whose current employable position has a printed version as its primary medium.<br /><br />It is up for debate whether newspapers are dying (aka are dinosaurs), but journalism is not dying. People will continue to want news reported (good and bad), watchdogs on government kept and general interest stories told.<br /><br />Financial sustainability in the current media forms is the tricky part. For decades, print and broadcast journalism has adapted its story-telling methods through visual & audio aids in addition to writing styles and even delivery style. The current problem is so many newspapers are operating on an outdated business model. But I digress.<br /><br />So I'm going to start defining/identifying myself as a journalist from now on and respond to the "newspapers are dead" comments with solutions like "We're still alive right now, dead is past tense and newspapers still exist" and "We're working on alternatives to the print product but for many it's still sustainable."<br /><br />I also believe there is still, and will continue to be, a place for the front page in some way shape or form.<br /><br />Case in point - driving to work each day I past a cafe with three newspaper racks on its porch: my weekly local newspaper, the regional metro daily newspaper and USA Today. Today I saw a man putting change into the regional metro daily, but while doing so he stared at my weekly local the entire time. There was something (no sticky note ads this week) that was drawing his attention to that page. He would not otherwise pick up that newspaper unless something sparked his interest.<br /><br />My weekly recently received first place in general excellence of weeklies its size in the state and second place in best-front-to-back design in the same category. It was a proud moment, but what irked me was the comment from the judge: "Despite the rather unattractive display of story teases cornering the flag. Otherwise nice job!"<br /><br />That "unattractive display of story teases" sells newspapers. Since we created 10 to 13 entry points above the fold each week, single-copy sales and subscriptions have increased.<br /><br />The metro daily won first place front-to-back design and third place front-page design, receiving the comment "Color usage throughout the paper is strong. Good combination of elements." Most days it's difficult to find something relevant to anything local and there are typically less than five entry points above the fold (when ads aren't covering the front page). Meanwhile, it's my understanding that the metro daily is floundering.<br /><br />I was disappointed that my newspaper did not place in best news content while the metro daily received first in its category with the comment: "Bright writing and a strong mix of local, world and national news. Wide content variety has something for everybody."I take issue with that because most things you see in that newspaper are yesterday's news from Timbuktu. When I drive be a newspaper rack, there is little incentive to pick up the newspaper. If it's world or national news I actually care about, I usually already know about it.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH4rNcRiGRKOJ-QQNPt_h3o1ykpnQLUfuvIDISBxq7ZbpCLg1nlIr-xAN19Il5eSF0v017objTFmF7jfO5tyFQnKGHj9mwHYKD3O3NMTK-8fvoneMVfvo-ZencOtFKe9tO9UOBeOcJpqVU/s1600/shoe_sources.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 332px; height: 233px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH4rNcRiGRKOJ-QQNPt_h3o1ykpnQLUfuvIDISBxq7ZbpCLg1nlIr-xAN19Il5eSF0v017objTFmF7jfO5tyFQnKGHj9mwHYKD3O3NMTK-8fvoneMVfvo-ZencOtFKe9tO9UOBeOcJpqVU/s320/shoe_sources.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5532106228802245970" border="0" /></a>Sorry, got into a rant there.<br /><br />Back to the positive - the small victories - that would be the first in general excellence and seeing the man stare down the local newspaper in the rack.<br /><br />If newspapers are dinosaurs, then I'm living in Jurassic Park.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBfRjuDPqfQAOwsb-WD4lQUje_7SAfU8eMaNChqvZbKMnK1tAKId1T6qVSXemRKhyGz7lz3GUQ6c13adaImfrThiSYLT6Xet9Q-r442q5l3ETojMtoAGo94yTfbNr_6EhyphenhyphenqnTZGY8UzYVg/s1600/t-rex-jurassic-park.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 255px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBfRjuDPqfQAOwsb-WD4lQUje_7SAfU8eMaNChqvZbKMnK1tAKId1T6qVSXemRKhyGz7lz3GUQ6c13adaImfrThiSYLT6Xet9Q-r442q5l3ETojMtoAGo94yTfbNr_6EhyphenhyphenqnTZGY8UzYVg/s320/t-rex-jurassic-park.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5532106875979768450" border="0" /></a>theshovelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00122854054743340223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1919260403662271798.post-72493210829114617472010-02-16T10:46:00.005-06:002010-02-16T11:00:22.302-06:00In a dog eat dog world, don't blame meIt’s rant time.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwmeWbdokC5kPnQYqfJllJBpbz9ZGuuvhvmDd2rOJdPFAKW67dJZgnIp-d-OoK-_FsmUvYN4Am8sZMxt7f3E8NYh7x4YlHL5k9PMljSA5bcZ7oy5OoioBqF_Y2g729N9OX7bW9X-d_1a_N/s1600-h/shoe_dog.gif"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 272px; height: 366px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwmeWbdokC5kPnQYqfJllJBpbz9ZGuuvhvmDd2rOJdPFAKW67dJZgnIp-d-OoK-_FsmUvYN4Am8sZMxt7f3E8NYh7x4YlHL5k9PMljSA5bcZ7oy5OoioBqF_Y2g729N9OX7bW9X-d_1a_N/s320/shoe_dog.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438886539530479186" border="0" /></a><br />Stop blaming the media. We’re an easy scapegoat, but we are not the only “gatekeepers” in this world.<br /><br />If someone doesn’t tell us something, how are we supposed to report it? We, “the media,” are NOT the only ones filtering the news.<br /><br />Politicians put a “spin” on things, right? So do businessmen, volunteers, etc.<br /><br />What has spurred this rant? Pit bulls.<br /><br />I was among the recipients in an e-mail to city officials from a would-be resident who didn’t move to the city because of the ban on pit bulls.<br /><br />The e-mail from this person to the city accuses the pit bull ban to be a “knee jerk” reaction to “media scare tactics” that are “ludicrous” when you consider there are a “tremendous number” of serious or fatal dog bits by labs and other large-breed dogs that are “never reported upon.” The e-mail states that is because it is not as “sensational.”<br /><br />First of all, I have never, nor have I ever known any reporter, to “cover up” a Labrador bite or attack. There is no scandal there. Why would the “media” “cover up” something like that? I would venture to say a Golden Retriever or Labrador attack would be much more newsworthy than a pit bull attack because they are known as gentle breeds and you don’t hear about it as much.<br /><br />In journalism 101 I learned “dog bites man” is not news, but “man bites dog” is news. A lab attack would fall into the latter category.<br /><br />So IF these “lab attack” are common and IF “the media” is NOT reporting on it, who then is covering it up? Someone must be stopping this from getting out. Police? Animal control? The Humane Society?<br /><br />Show me the reports of the lab attack.<br /><br />I’ve written stories about a 10-year-old mauled to death by the family dog. Yes, it was a pit bull, but I would NOT have ignored the story had it been any other breed. I have never, however, seen in the police blotters or heard from animal control about a healthy dog of most other breeds commit a similar act.<br /><br />So, if there is a cover up and you’ve got a conspiracy theory that other breeds are just as vicious as the pit bull – look to other places for the cover up other than “the media.”<br />Consider that for other conspiracy theories and forms of news filters.<br /><br />The ultimate gatekeeper is an easy scapegoat, but we can’t control if it never reaches the gate.theshovelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00122854054743340223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1919260403662271798.post-65581746819979262232009-12-24T09:13:00.005-06:002009-12-24T09:29:22.999-06:00Sit... Stay... Good Boy.Forced to sleep on a twin bed at my parent's house for the holidays, I was able to convince my dog to sleep on a couch instead of on the bed with me. Ah, leg room.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFfdD7NGu3QvV7zxV1o5T7XLevClOKKvKqnNhcbFp2EKplbxfg_CxRpWvP8RlSCDGu86jQdi6QHnEv5QgI4bhUI_FBjL3mJLJPjOU5xv_LZjGmLqsHP6wSZ1tf2Zp_Ybj8pmNtVvfd4x4P/s1600-h/shoe.gif"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 98px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5418822000824304114" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFfdD7NGu3QvV7zxV1o5T7XLevClOKKvKqnNhcbFp2EKplbxfg_CxRpWvP8RlSCDGu86jQdi6QHnEv5QgI4bhUI_FBjL3mJLJPjOU5xv_LZjGmLqsHP6wSZ1tf2Zp_Ybj8pmNtVvfd4x4P/s320/shoe.gif" /></a>We often talk about "training" our sources and readers/listeners/viewers in the news biz. It sounds like we want Fido to do a new trick, or at least be obediant when guests are visiting.<br /><br /><div>It can be difficult to train sources and readers. Like a dog, it requires patience and persistence. Again, like a dog, it pays off.</div><div> </div><div>You know when you've got that feeling the dog may be getting the command or trick, but it's not quite where you want it to be. That's how I'm starting to feel. After more than a year and a half at this newspapers and I have confidence that some of my sources and readers are on the brink of being "trained."</div><div> </div><div>Yesterday, the city manager called my cell phone at 10 p.m. to tell me about a boil order, thinking I may want to put it on the Web. I did. By 9 a.m. the next morning (less than 12 hours since the post) the story had nearly 150 hits. </div><div> </div><div>Even just six months ago I don't think the city manager would have thought to call my cell phone to tell me something like that. And just six months ago, even if we had the boil order up promptly, I doubt we would have seen 150 hits - especially overnight like that.</div><div> </div><div>It just goes to show what, like a dog, constant reinforcement can do. It goes beyond the teases to the Web in the print product. I tell people all the time that we had that on our Web site, or that we'll get that on the Web soon if it's urgent. As a weekly, the Web becomes a resource to make the newspaper a nearly daily product (just weekdays unless there's breaking news, of course). </div><div> </div><div>You don't have to have a full list of stories everyday on the Web, just one update a day and telling people about it drives traffic over time.</div><div> </div><div>Alright, time to end the blog, I think my dog needs to go outside... where did I put that leash?</div>theshovelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00122854054743340223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1919260403662271798.post-56448210187057686172009-12-22T09:02:00.004-06:002009-12-22T09:23:39.507-06:00Of blogs and councilmenIt's 9 a.m. three days before Christmas. I'm a journalist working feverishly on an early deadline. And my coffee is cold.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitn0lHj11cq7pOtwj80wlz_lY_eJgqIhlv3iS5bRx1hQnOIHxeJ_0NFSNFkJu3z9rTxOwfmRumUxdMSbVPWBhx7_qNI9LNdus1s7GPEb-l4ettkjEr7-tVB6ostG48yS38DfjT4MUY1141/s1600-h/shoe_politics_1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 226px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitn0lHj11cq7pOtwj80wlz_lY_eJgqIhlv3iS5bRx1hQnOIHxeJ_0NFSNFkJu3z9rTxOwfmRumUxdMSbVPWBhx7_qNI9LNdus1s7GPEb-l4ettkjEr7-tVB6ostG48yS38DfjT4MUY1141/s320/shoe_politics_1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5418080872153715266" border="0" /></a><br />I think a little humor is good for a blog - a professional blog, not an anonymous personal blog. But how far is too far?<br /><br />I have two blog thoughts I'm holding back on for the moment.<br /><br />Following a recent city council meeting, I asked an incumbent if he was going to file for reelection. All other incumbents had filed and he had toyed with the idea of running for state rep. in the past. So really I was just fishing for the scoop.<br /><br />When asked if he was going to file for reelection, he replied, "I'm not up yet. It's not my year."<br /><br />I replied, "Yes it is. It was in the paper - twice."<br /><br />"Hey, Mayor," he asked, "Who's up this year?"<br /><br />"Well, it was Bill and Ted last time," (names changed to protect the innocent) the mayor replied, "So it's you and Jill."<br /><br />"Oh," the councilman said. "I'll be in City Hall first thing in the morning to file."<br /><br />I wouldn't go into that much detail for a blog on my newspaper's Web site, but I think it would be humorous to mention that he didn't realize he was up for reelection.<br /><br />Would I be burning a bridge with a source? This is a pretty easy-going councilman and it looks like he may run unopposed. But would I have a headline in the paper soon 'Councilman forgets to file, launches write-in campaign' if I had not said anything?<br /><br />Other thought on a blog: I've been toying with a blog that is a spoof on a Christmas song. The spoof could go two ways: poke fun with a reflection of the year or make it timeless to suit the city. Would the "funny" one make too many people mad?<br /><br />Oh blog, how you vex me.theshovelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00122854054743340223noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1919260403662271798.post-13417913359565922042009-12-10T14:26:00.006-06:002009-12-10T15:14:04.132-06:00To join or not to join......that is the question.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfPLZtkndx8ODZUf8kJL2rkmLneRTvPDqp749t-AR64rZc7K8eak3Np434jdeta7MX0KLMmW6BF3hAYxxPZYJtpKXaExj7UhJe2m0Xcp_Ai2Gz6OfXagD78nLlxYSqZY0Sn-P_6PoQoqwy/s1600-h/shoe_relations.gif"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 370px; height: 113px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfPLZtkndx8ODZUf8kJL2rkmLneRTvPDqp749t-AR64rZc7K8eak3Np434jdeta7MX0KLMmW6BF3hAYxxPZYJtpKXaExj7UhJe2m0Xcp_Ai2Gz6OfXagD78nLlxYSqZY0Sn-P_6PoQoqwy/s320/shoe_relations.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5413717925979922082" border="0" /></a><br />We've had some slight "restructuring" in our division of the company recently.<br /><br />The publisher for my newspaper was moved to another office to fill another role. In interest of the bottom line, the "publisher" position at this location will not be filled at this time. According to upper management, we're a pretty self-sufficient crew in this office and should be fine without a publisher.<br /><br />I'd rather have a publisher here, but that's neither here nor there at this point.<br /><br />Among the publisher's unofficial job roles, as is the same with me, was to be face for the newspaper in the community and enhance networking for the company. I do this by being a reporting editor and attend events, meetings, etc. The publisher did this by attending an occasional event, but mostly be joining groups. He was a member of Rotary and a local business networking group. He invited an ad rep to step into the business networking group role and she has done so (it provides good networking for ad sales).<br /><br />The question left to me is do I want to join Rotary or another similar organization. Rotary is really the big one. There's Lion's Club, too.<br /><br />Rotary is much more social. They meet for lunch once a week and typically have a presentation. They do some planning, usually a service project once every other month or so. Rotary is full of the younger- to middle-age business professionals int the community.<br /><br />Lions Club meets monthly in the evening to plan their next service project or fundraiser. It's also a much older crowd.<br /><br />Here's the problem: I am not a fan of the Rotary organization. I mean, I like what they do. They do some great service projects in the community and fundraising for some good local, national and international things. I just hate their meetings. And you get roped into doing so many things you don't have time to do or care to do.<br /><br />I'm also worried about the conflict of interest. Both Rotary and Lions Club do several things throughout the year that are newsworthy including briefs, wild art and full-blown stories. This would all have to be taken on by the part-time writer. And it would be hard to make sure it wouldn't seem like things at Rotary or Lions Club would be covered on the editor's whim because he's a member.<br /><br />The positives: it would be great PR for the paper, good networking opportunities and an avenue to find more story ideas or sources. It could also create some good fodder for columns.<br /><br />Any suggestions?theshovelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00122854054743340223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1919260403662271798.post-6325475265482098882009-12-09T06:41:00.005-06:002009-12-09T07:04:11.493-06:00Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkDwoabEvwwQGgFDU7XTjYRPyQ67t6AAcWaoU-EjQiywUu_yOBd0QLeiFWhRCtn_H61HmpZstljYyHH8DESeGJovO33DOl6F4dpw1-ZS6jpalMlcPoO_Tzjk7MFPD44dl40sCHGS73T58e/s1600-h/Snowdog.gif"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 421px; height: 141px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkDwoabEvwwQGgFDU7XTjYRPyQ67t6AAcWaoU-EjQiywUu_yOBd0QLeiFWhRCtn_H61HmpZstljYyHH8DESeGJovO33DOl6F4dpw1-ZS6jpalMlcPoO_Tzjk7MFPD44dl40sCHGS73T58e/s320/Snowdog.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5413221427237956546" border="0" /></a>I used to work in radio and at an afternoon daily.<br /><br />Do I miss it?<br /><br />Yes.<br /><br />Do I miss it that much?<br /><br />No.<br /><br />It snowed last night. I just got out into negative wind-chill temperatures to scrape ice and snow off my car and my girlfriend's car. But now we're sitting on the warm couch making fun of the TV people because we're in no hurry.<br /><br />I did have to get up early to update the Web site for the TWO school districts (public and private) that we cover. Then I was done ... for now.<br /><br />When I was in radio I had to be in there early, one time digging my car out of nearly a foot of snow. Why did I have to be there? Because I had to help compile and distribute the list of school closings and report snow news.<br /><br />It was a similar situation with the afternoon daily newspaper. We had to not only get to work in the snow, but we had to get there early so we could get the carriers sent off early. We also had to get some snow photos and maybe a quick weather story to let people know how long this would stick around.<br /><br />Now, at a weekly, I've updated the Web site, I'll want to get some snow photos, but other than that I'm good. I've got a meeting to go to tonight, one of three evening things I need to attend this week, so even without snow I wasn't concerned about getting in too early anyway.<br /><br />So at the weekly, so far my job is done. I don't have to leave super early to do extra work and get it done early.<br /><br />Do I miss the adrenaline rush of getting the snow news out first?<br /><br />Sure.<br /><br />Am I glad I didn't have to go in early today?<br /><br />You betchya!theshovelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00122854054743340223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1919260403662271798.post-1501568077975088582009-12-08T12:10:00.003-06:002009-12-08T12:21:36.695-06:00I'm feeling much better now...I'm in a slightly better mood now than I was earlier - and have been in the past few days.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVgq35m2-kZZT19lc4dpopeNQurCCWGq_zRLwphnwaiWsd9A5ttcepGxgeTHuJg_ZUE8NcO859eTO99FC8tIhZ-_8CtAEvsteX5B18MqODRHT4zjbuUzXbVlF4vdymkOXk3bOgndGVx2HG/s1600-h/show_badnews.gif"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 98px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVgq35m2-kZZT19lc4dpopeNQurCCWGq_zRLwphnwaiWsd9A5ttcepGxgeTHuJg_ZUE8NcO859eTO99FC8tIhZ-_8CtAEvsteX5B18MqODRHT4zjbuUzXbVlF4vdymkOXk3bOgndGVx2HG/s320/show_badnews.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5412931897545046354" border="0" /></a><br />I'm still disgruntled about many things, but I spent a few minutes looking at previous blog posts about the good community journalism days. That helps. It just seems there have been far more negative moments than gratifying moments lately. It wears you down.theshovelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00122854054743340223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1919260403662271798.post-24472579156008710312009-12-08T10:41:00.006-06:002009-12-08T11:41:47.462-06:00All work and no play... ah, forget it, I need more coffeeIn the spirit of this blog's title, let me address coffee for a moment. Apparently my roommate made a second pot of coffee yesterday and drank one cup. When I picked up the coffee pot this morning, it felt full so I assumed it was fresh. I poured it in my travel mug left for work. I typically don't drink coffee in the car on the way to work because I just brushed my teeth and I'm waiting for the toothpaste taste to settle. So I get to work, get some stuff done quickly then go for my first sip of coffee for the day. It's cold. Great way to start things off. Around 9:30 a.m. I mosey over to the coffee shop, pay for my coffee with a debit card then pull out my frequent-buyer card. I'm due a free one, but the card has already been swiped. I take that coffee to my office. It's now 10:35 a.m. I haven't been too busy to drink coffee, in fact I've done little of anything, and my coffee is already cold. That's pretty much a summary of the past couple weeks.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDVuKvrnWNa4-IfZmHrOpjv9m1ihm4YQG4dCF0cn-8QFFgyrCBc55MJK1E-27JNz0V-E0cz11_SOnctFLs52cF0RTFHd8yRh9mj5K_iMyUTXsoQHVuV6elZWanqo2iYwzkKJ18qUlqbT3n/s1600-h/shoe_phone.gif"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 262px; height: 352px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDVuKvrnWNa4-IfZmHrOpjv9m1ihm4YQG4dCF0cn-8QFFgyrCBc55MJK1E-27JNz0V-E0cz11_SOnctFLs52cF0RTFHd8yRh9mj5K_iMyUTXsoQHVuV6elZWanqo2iYwzkKJ18qUlqbT3n/s320/shoe_phone.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5412921746477754322" border="0" /></a>Let's get into the community journalist side of things now that we've got that anecdote out of the way. (One more side note, for some reason I've been saying "anecdote" lately when I mean to say "antidote." Anecdote = a humorous story. Antidote = medicine for poison. One of my favorite Ron White jokes is "My friend Billy would still be alive if I had known the difference between antidote and anecdote. He got bit by a snake and I kept reading him stories from 'Readers Digest.'")<br /><br />OK, I digress, again. You've got to love a little word humor.<br /><br />It's been a crazy few weeks around here. The football team won its state championship. We went all out. We had a four-page wrap around the sports section and made it the A-section. We bumped "A1" to "B1." We did a photo page in the double truck of the wrap and sold ads around it. We sold out. Overall, a pretty successful venture.<br /><br />Of course, you've got cynical me ready to point out the problems.<br /><br />1. We have a sticky note ad on the front page. I loathe sticky note ads. I abhor them so much that I did an informal study last year on various papers and front page ads. My results are another blog on another day. So, this sticky note ad. The only word above the fold (besides the flag) is "CHAMPS!" with a celebration photo spanning the front and back of the section (it folds out to be a poster). The sticky note is slightly off center, covering part of the only word on the front page. The word we put on the front page to sell the newspaper. As I look at the front page now, all I can think is it must say "CHUMPS!" or "CHIMPS!" under that ad.<br /><br />2. There are many photos in the sports section, several side bars to the main story, stats, etc. Everything you'd want in a commemorative edition, right? Except a roster. Or maybe team photo. One parent complained, despite her son being in the celebration shot on the front, he was nowhere to be found inside. She said he flipped through the paper, put it down and said, "It's like I wasn't even there." I'm sure he was being over dramatic and I'm sure the mother amplified that drama, but it raises a good point.<br /><br />3. I went to the game to work on a couple sidebars. I told our sports writer I was not driving across the state the day after Thanksgiving if we didn't need or have a good place for what I was going to do. He said if I wrote something, it would get in. I was sure it would. And it did. But we've got a mediocre crowd shot (compared to what I saw at the game) with a small story I wrote about fans making the trip to the game. And there's a petty column by me about the experience at the game. It's pushed back to A8 run alongside my fan story and on the same page as "other" sports news. We had two non-state-football stories: a baseball college signing and girls basketball season opener. I felt like my work just got shoved to the back. And I'm not complaining because it's "me." It's because we could have filled that space with something better and I could have lounged on the couch eating turkey instead of driving four hours, sitting through a three hour game then driving four hours home.<br /><br />So those are my complaints. Would you like to hear what some in the community think? You betcha! Compliments were scarce. Criticism ruled. Especially from cross country parents. The girls cross country team won its first state title. We did a lot for it. We could have done more. But the cross country parents think they deserved a wrap. I disagree. I'm grappling with the best way to tell the following (in a polite and professional manner):<br /><br />1. We are responding to what the public wants. We are not dictating what the public should read. Several of those cross country parents who are complaining are at the football games. Don't they look around? How many of those thousands do they see at their kids' cross country meets? Thousands turn out for the game. When the football team had a playoff game 2 1/2 hours away, the school sent a spirit bus and city chartered two fan buses. When the football team went to state, the school sent spirit buses and the city sold out of tickets for four 55-passenger buses within 24 hours. Thousands attended the game four hours away. Following the victory, the mayor made proclamation to declare it Bulldog Day and the school held a pep rally.<br />Cross country got none of this. While it is a great accomplishment, it's not what the readers want. It's not a spectator-friendly sport for many reasons. It doesn't impact as many people. In football, about 30 players on a 100-man roster are on the field for more than two snaps during each game. Think about how many parents, friends and relatives that affects. In cross country, you have five runners and an alternate compete in state. You don't have more than 10 on varsity running in a race. The impact is less.<br />It's not there fault. It's an admirable sport. It takes guts and endurance. I know. I ran cross country and track in middle school and high school. I've completed four marathons. I know about running. I empathize with runners.<br /><br />2. It's not a money maker. We sold out of football state coverage sponsorship within a couple days: 30 spots at $35 a pop surrounding a photo page. Could we have sold that for cross country? I doubt it.<br /><br />3. There's not that many diverse photo opportunities in cross country.<br /><br />Those are the top three reasons. I'm sure I can think of more if I put my mind to it.<br /><br />So that's just some of the issues we're facing.<br /><br />The holiday season is upon us. That means everybody wants us to cover their holiday-related event in the next three weeks. If we say no, even if we ask them to submit photos, it's like we're Scrooge saying "Bah! Humbug!" to the holidays. A full-time writer/editor (that's me!), a part-time writer and a shared (with other weekly newspapers in the region) photo staff of two. Apparently as editor of a small-town newspaper, you are not allowed to have weekends off. Or weekdays. Or any time, really. You should be ready to go to any event that pops up at any time or write any feature story someone suggests and if you can't do it you should have a staff ready to deploy at a moment's notice.<br /><br />By the way, many of these same people making these demands have cut back on their advertising, yet don't understand our budget woes.<br /><br />As you can tell, I'm a little disgruntled, cynical and grumpy about everything that's going on in this town, at this publication (there's issues with staff disagreements that can be another blog), in this business (again, a whole other blog) and everything else around it in general.<br /><br />I didn't even want to be at the city council meeting last night! I follow municipal government like some people follow sports. And they were talking TIF with upset residents. That's like the playoffs for me! But I just wanted to go home and crawl in bed.<br /><br />Don't worry, the holidays are almost here! Yay! My family defines awkward holidays. We wrote the book on boring. So I'm not really looking forward to a few days off. It just means I have to get more than usual done in a shorter amount of time then play catch up when I get back. Ugh.<br /><br />So there's my long, ranting blog. Glad I got it off my chest. I think I've got a ribbon cutting or something like that to go cover.theshovelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00122854054743340223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1919260403662271798.post-7526540064496155812009-11-10T09:59:00.004-06:002009-11-10T10:11:55.272-06:00Making a differenceYesterday was a good community journalism day.<br /><br />Yesterday I really felt I made a difference.<br /><br />A TIF Commission member who had a potential conflict of interest in the proposed project resigned. It was announced immediately at a meeting that included a public hearing. This came after a story and editorial in the previous week's paper about it.<br /><br />Prior to the meeting, a couple of elderly women clutched their newspaper clippings about the TIF project, with certain parts highlighted, pointing and discussing the plans. Later, when one realized who I was, she grabbed me by the arm as I walked by to stop me and thank me for the articles. It was the only way they could keep up with local government, especially this big project.<br /><br />Another resident, one who sits on a couple boards and commissions in the city, also told me how much he appreciated all the articles in the newspaper.<br /><br />Throughout the five-hour meeting and public hearing, people would come talk to me during the breaks and ask me questions about the TIF, articles in the newspaper, etc.<br /><br />This is the mark of good community journalism: people coming together with educated opinions because of something you wrote and action following an editorial.<br /><br />I also knew I was doing my job as a journalist as one of the family members of the commissioner who resigned turned around and said, "That's him" when he heard me introduce myself to someone. Another family member then turned around and told the person I was talking to, "Careful, he doesn't write what you say."<br /><br />That's not true, though. I recorded the phone conversation with this man while taking notes. I told his brother what he had said and he didn't dispute it. I heard from other community members that members of that family had told them similar things. They can be mad if they want, they can think I misquoted them, but what I wrote was correct. It just put them at the center of controversy.<br /><br />I stuck it out through the long public hearing as I formulated the best way to convey this in few words to the absent readers.<br /><br />That's a good community journalism day.theshovelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00122854054743340223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1919260403662271798.post-53696332228807267292009-11-03T10:08:00.005-06:002009-12-08T11:54:53.130-06:00Electing to not electAs usual I have a lot to do, but have decided to tend to my personal blog instead.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl2v64PRUr-2YGzZsekNonhL81Zh4vocyPwYm1ptGBg7V7-ig-37cTsmknYOvrCbnYP7B7Ah6aAoYeF95OnNa3fARs7a9o3_v3CzBwrh-JoCQXjl4enn0MdE5BPfXPpIINQeU67CX4tzmJ/s1600-h/shoe_lobbyist.gif"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 363px; height: 111px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl2v64PRUr-2YGzZsekNonhL81Zh4vocyPwYm1ptGBg7V7-ig-37cTsmknYOvrCbnYP7B7Ah6aAoYeF95OnNa3fARs7a9o3_v3CzBwrh-JoCQXjl4enn0MdE5BPfXPpIINQeU67CX4tzmJ/s320/shoe_lobbyist.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399921820556596434" border="0" /></a><br />This issue is timely because it's an election day, albeit a small election day. A year ago we were voting on a president, members of congress and the statehouse. This year it's sales tax renewals and smoking bans in the area. For my newspaper, all we're covering is the law enforcement sales tax renewal.<br /><br />I'm not voting this time around because I'm not registered. I haven't voted in the past couple elections. It's mainly been because I've been moving around too much or just too darn lazy to register. I voted in the presidential primary in another state, then a few months later moved up here. This combination of moving around and laziness for once worked to my advantage.<br /><br />Long has there been the debate about whether journalists should even be registered to vote - let alone carry out their civic duty. My personal belief has been we should exercise that right. I don't buy the "You can't blame me because I didn't vote" excuse. You had an opportunity to affect the outcome. I think we have to be careful with local elections when voting as journalists, but national elections never bothered me.<br /><br />Back to my point, electing to not elect enhanced my work performance. We'll get to that in a moment. First, some background.<br /><br />I've always felt like I'm a pretty non-partisan guy. When I was 18, I registered as a Democrat - much to my father's dismay. In college, I voted for the failed Green Party. Later in college, I registered as a Republican. I've always felt it's more important to have a good leader surrounded by sound checks and balances than to vote purely on political affiliation. I assume everyone has the best intentions (unless otherwise uncovered), so throw that part out of the equation. Political affiliation does not make someone good or evil. A good leader will listen to the people, follow the checks and balances; therefore make the best decisions. If an idea on their platform does not suit the constituents or gets booed by the checks and balances, it will get thrown out and the best idea comes to fruition. A bad leader can have the best ideas, but with poor execution can never get it done or not do it right.<br /><br />I digress.<br /><br />With all the town hall meetings and tea parties full of angry Republicans, I found myself faced with people looking at me with distrustful eyes. I am, after all, part of the "Liberal media."<br /><br />At one local tea party rally, I took a photo of a man wearing a patriotic shirt and a flag pole with two flags: the United States flag and a "Don't Tread on Me" flag. When I asked for his name, he replied, "Depends, who did you vote for?"<br /><br />To me, it doesn't matter. To him, it's a matter of whether he trusts this journalist. What "slant" am I going to take on this story? As they stated many times during the rally, the media has been "downplaying" these rallies. I'm holding back obscenities here, but that makes no freakin' sense to me. Anyway, I told him I didn't vote.<br /><br />I was met with more skepticism and distrust by him.<br /><br />"Why not?" he asked.<br /><br />I explained the aforementioned. I also told him I'm a non-partisan guy and here for unbiased reporting. Still seeming skeptic, he told me his name and thoughts on the situation.<br /><br />That leads to another problem. There is also mistrust when you don't vote. Especially among some the Republican crowds. To many of them the mindset is, "Don't you know how many people have died for your freedom to do this? So go vote!" They can't comprehend why we would need to stay unbiased, until we vote for someone they don't agree with.<br /><br />It's usually a lose-lose situation.<br /><br />But in this case, I guess I won.theshovelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00122854054743340223noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1919260403662271798.post-89048719678074310022009-10-21T15:06:00.003-05:002009-12-22T09:25:58.024-06:00Variety showOne of the comments following a set of awards mentioned my newspaper had a good mix of content and it was relevant to the readers. I had more pride in those comments than the award.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRA0z7TtbQjkD8zPZKXdHsdobf5E57ylXIOXRAlXYVAI18mBP5UmS_-hY9TX2ERtyJrJKahgG8m9aSCT_cm5dDRaEQYCMdKicisPgZUEFkXe5C-d0wEui7UqK65B6szDYkkI1Hu9VgaYBO/s1600-h/shoe_diversity.gif"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 98px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRA0z7TtbQjkD8zPZKXdHsdobf5E57ylXIOXRAlXYVAI18mBP5UmS_-hY9TX2ERtyJrJKahgG8m9aSCT_cm5dDRaEQYCMdKicisPgZUEFkXe5C-d0wEui7UqK65B6szDYkkI1Hu9VgaYBO/s320/shoe_diversity.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5418082058345647762" border="0" /></a><br />And it continues. This week's front page: follow up on plea hearing for a crime, school board action for additional certification, community theater play and economic impact of a TIF plan. Other news: law enforcement sales tax on county ballot, new business feature, calendar of Halloween/fall related events, fundraiser Halloween event, fire safety week in schools and a nearby town mimicking our city's efforts for growth.<br /><br />I'm writing this blog because I'm waiting on several people to call me back. Here are some stories I'm waiting on: more on the TIF plan front, mountain lion sightings, ghost hunters, tax collection, another new business feature, a business closing and a high school fundraiser.<br /><br />You want variety, you've got it!<br /><br />There have been times in my career when I wanted to cover a statehouse - and I still think it would be fun. I have spent time as a city reporter, being dedicated to just one beat for a daily has tremendous advantages. But the variety sure makes it fun.<br /><br />Of course, I always like to tell the story of the time I was a city beat reporter and at 7 a.m. I was sitting next to the city manager at Rotary listening to a State Rep. speak and at 3:30 p.m. that same day I was getting peed on by a dog in a park. But I don't think I've ever covered economic development, wildlife and paranormal activity all in a day.<br /><br />OK, I'm rambling now. I've got some ideas for other blog posts, just need time to work on them.theshovelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00122854054743340223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1919260403662271798.post-26409915807215504692009-10-02T16:08:00.004-05:002009-10-02T16:30:25.624-05:00The lighter sideHow about something refreshing?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkfXQjqyEfZ_7eIVO7u1Wx0hFzPsD9c2HP8Nok7Vfcd9APhMON_igspqIzWjbvKiXg9lLXxjitNu670HI6yA8mwizuNoxUMOfNOUpeFT1mPHdsaHMrLHfnrFqJvy5nUGcg2y6inE-L33Vg/s1600-h/who_shoe.gif"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 278px; height: 374px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkfXQjqyEfZ_7eIVO7u1Wx0hFzPsD9c2HP8Nok7Vfcd9APhMON_igspqIzWjbvKiXg9lLXxjitNu670HI6yA8mwizuNoxUMOfNOUpeFT1mPHdsaHMrLHfnrFqJvy5nUGcg2y6inE-L33Vg/s320/who_shoe.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5388115320260610402" border="0" /></a><br />At the risk of sounding like the readers, how about some good news for a change? I know, if it bleeds it leads; and there is plenty of "good news," you're just not looking for it.<br /><br />Well, it's time for one of those feel-good stories.<br /><br />I was at the homecoming parade today. I don't think I've ever been as connected to a community I cover as this one. While I've seen many people I recognized or knew from my beat and reporting at events in the past, it wasn't until this homecoming parade that I could look around see so many familiar faces in one place. That probably has a lot to do with it being a small town. The part that makes me feel old is seeing the students in the parade and thinking, "That's so-and-so's kid" or "They look just like their parents."<br /><br />Keep in mind, I'm making these comments after being here less than a year and a half. I think there are more connections in a smaller town. If Joe Schmo is a regular on my beat, in a smaller town it's more likely that his child will be the one involved in school. It's also more likely that you'll cross someone's path more than once in small town.<br /><br />I grew up in a similar-size town. I knew a guy in high school there that had a theory: you never see any person only once. He believed that everybody would cross paths with everybody multiple times in life. Never a one-time deal. Poor guy. He had no idea how big the world is outside that small town.<br /><br />But when you're here in Smalltown, USA, that's the way it can feel at times.<br /><br />So that's your feel-good moment of the day. Now I've got to go make some calls to find out why some guy was found dead in the truck stop shower.theshovelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00122854054743340223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1919260403662271798.post-51392162065876418492009-10-01T08:43:00.004-05:002009-10-01T08:57:13.854-05:00Broken newsWhen light features go bad....<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoM-rGMDsCs5daSJnRCCLSDDUuwFe72NQ9IlnF1AcyIl0084c97l6dKoUfy8-8MwUqrhFGbvLpsawErgC65OZzPquNVDWq46ofp-xILFnaLRLp3_VXL3Hm9UgLnBfdfPWO2LFzX9YqGoxf/s1600-h/shoe_bkngnews.gif"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 248px; height: 335px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoM-rGMDsCs5daSJnRCCLSDDUuwFe72NQ9IlnF1AcyIl0084c97l6dKoUfy8-8MwUqrhFGbvLpsawErgC65OZzPquNVDWq46ofp-xILFnaLRLp3_VXL3Hm9UgLnBfdfPWO2LFzX9YqGoxf/s320/shoe_bkngnews.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5387629798894835042" border="0" /></a>I was writing this blog in my head yesterday afternoon, but the ending was different than I wanted or expected.<br /><br />At first it was a great small-town journalism day. I was driving around to different things yesterday when I noticed three different produce stands in town with pumpkins and gourdes among other veggies. Well, I thought, this is a story.<br /><br />The first one was OK, I got some good information, but no dazzling quotes. The sellers were from a town about 40 miles north, but they're here selling every week.<br /><br />The next one was pretty much the same: from almost an hour away and not much to say.<br /><br />The third one was jackpot! Everything was locally grown and the seller had great, colorful quotes:<br />"Once Oct. 1 hits with the cooler weather it's time to decorate the porch and make chili," said the man selling pumpkins, gourdes, tomatoes and a variety of peppers.<br />"They're just so ugly they're pretty," he said about the gourdes.<br /><br />It was great. Then he wouldn't give me his name. Just the name of his business run by him and his brother. I have the two brothers' first names, but no last names and I don't know which one he is. Turns out one of them may have been convicted of a couple crimes - but nothing in the past 5 years and no outstanding warrants. So why did he want his name left out?<br /><br />It's raining today, so I probably won't have luck with going back, but I do plan to go back. I want to convince them to give me names. It may mean the story is lame, but no names and no free publicity. That's how it goes, folks.theshovelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00122854054743340223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1919260403662271798.post-89754598047447784492009-09-29T10:25:00.000-05:002009-09-29T10:35:48.427-05:00Photo 101I broke my own rule.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJOiciTm0T8NSUs_4d4r_jOyAIRulbLsbgEWr0YrZTns0Obh4RGGke04RA97m5QXV7bM3c-066-u94PsP9JMP-u5GhIdmeiZDxhCp5S-8-lyg3HIO5hFp5w9HBmTfNum_jC_209Pj7En6V/s1600-h/shoe_grafix.gif"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 102px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJOiciTm0T8NSUs_4d4r_jOyAIRulbLsbgEWr0YrZTns0Obh4RGGke04RA97m5QXV7bM3c-066-u94PsP9JMP-u5GhIdmeiZDxhCp5S-8-lyg3HIO5hFp5w9HBmTfNum_jC_209Pj7En6V/s320/shoe_grafix.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386911268441194178" border="0" /></a><br />I do that sometimes.<br /><br />I was at a school board meeting - very routine - without a camera. I know what you're thinking, "You don't need a camera at a meeting."<br /><br />Well, generally, you're right. I'm going to have to refer to Perry White in "Superman III" when Jimmy Olsen misses the shots of Superman saving the day because he was getting a hot dog and didn't have his camera.<br />"A photographer eats with his camera. A photographer sleeps with his camera," the editor drones on.<br />"Glad I'm a writer," Lois Lane mutters.<br />Back to my point, you never know what's going to happen. I decided this about four years ago while covering a school board meeting in another district for another newspaper. It was a routine meeting that included a report from the middle school administrators. They were talking about this problem-solving activity day. To better demonstrate some of the activities the students would be doing, they had a couple board members volunteer. So we went from paying the bills to several board members on their knees building a balloon tower. And no photos from me - no camera.<br /><br />Since then it's been my philosophy that reporters should take cameras with them everywhere - even if it's a routine meeting. You never know what's going to happen. Like at the last school board meeting when the junior high cheerleaders demonstrated their routines and showed off their trophies. It would have got a few more faces in the paper and demonstrated that we do cover more than just meeting motions.theshovelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00122854054743340223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1919260403662271798.post-6828540962121748312009-09-29T09:53:00.000-05:002009-09-29T10:16:41.265-05:00Checkin' da e-mail, checkin' da e-mail...Anybody get the Strongbad reference in the title? No? Never mind then.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwoai8RWV-Ty-ARjWlGCsDpfeC4989u0tgIJNtdTUcRyGtZzcGt8FAsYoERVXDBAdONvcD15yb5g7iUQ2Hmul2K5Rs93yqfP6h0MnCGVDWdmYL5HUCDZab3wtp6RgTQOG4KMPB4tLuADkD/s1600-h/shoe_tech.gif"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 366px; height: 116px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwoai8RWV-Ty-ARjWlGCsDpfeC4989u0tgIJNtdTUcRyGtZzcGt8FAsYoERVXDBAdONvcD15yb5g7iUQ2Hmul2K5Rs93yqfP6h0MnCGVDWdmYL5HUCDZab3wtp6RgTQOG4KMPB4tLuADkD/s320/shoe_tech.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386902922119482866" border="0" /></a>It's been a while since I've blogged here.<br /><br />I'm getting closer to my wit's end here. I keep getting reader-submitted content after deadline for time-sensitive events. I also keep getting things submitted that I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do with, like a group photo with a date stamp covering some people in the photo. The group photo isn't anything significant either, it's from a club's regular meeting, nothing special.<br />At least the photo was e-mailed (which took several attempts over the course of two days).<br />I had a "story" pre-written about the club dropped off for me. Why wasn't this e-mailed? So, assuming I wanted to use the pre-written article they submitted word for word - or close - I'd have to sit down and retype it instead of giving it a quick edit and save. Oh, and it was all after deadline. Thanks for making the situation worse.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">So this leads me to my first dilemma:</span> at what point do we bend over backwards to squeeze in this club's activities yet again after deadline? They've purchased an ad, which some would argue puts more pressure to give them the free press. But this cynical journalist thinks, "Good, it'll be in the paper, people will know about it! Why be redundant?"<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Next:</span> in a small-town weekly newspaper that has to beg the community for submissions, where do we draw the line? Do I print a random group photo they want with an announcement about their club's activity (let's ignore it was after deadline and has a big ol' date stamp on it)? Are we compromising a standard of excellence or quality here? I mean, this is a small town, but I don't think it's podunk. Compounding this situation is the fact we've had an continually shrinking paper meanwhile wild art, vacation photos and other content is continually held as space becomes a premium.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">More: </span>how do I get people to understand e-mail? Often times the response I hear from people is, "I'll have my son/daughter e-mail it." This e-mail concept escapes so many people in this small town. I typically type things in, gracious they'd even send it to me. Meanwhile, some weeks I could save significant time by just a quick edit and save thanks to a document attached in e-mail.<br /><br />I think that ends my rant for today. Ready for the cliche? I've got more questions than answers here.theshovelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00122854054743340223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1919260403662271798.post-80913611065411853612009-05-14T17:10:00.000-05:002009-09-29T10:17:25.005-05:00Blogorama<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3X-kztbfRwDVnteJkhY9KCUsMJRrxnqKzu2vjvaUh5ElEOehn6aO9ZKmPBWbj3u5kM44IojnAiCzIDcsbs9AMumxp770j7wCDi76a6C49PoDOemPLgsVZcfGpJs88l0Pw10vTFYnIpzqj/s1600-h/shoe_blogging.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 420px; height: 131px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3X-kztbfRwDVnteJkhY9KCUsMJRrxnqKzu2vjvaUh5ElEOehn6aO9ZKmPBWbj3u5kM44IojnAiCzIDcsbs9AMumxp770j7wCDi76a6C49PoDOemPLgsVZcfGpJs88l0Pw10vTFYnIpzqj/s400/shoe_blogging.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335805608878410962" border="0" /></a><br />Whew.<br />What an emotional journalism day.<br />It started out <span style="font-weight: bold;">simple </span>- write stories on my laptop while archiving photos on my desktop. Add writer's block with a touch of error messages while burning CDs and you've got a big heap of mounting frustration.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Perks </span>- The boss did bring in a box of leftover coffee from a meeting this morning. Free refills all morning - now jittery from caffeine.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />Comic relief </span>- cow at large. Do I go cover it? I've got enough to do and we're not that kind of newspaper. Although it times I wish things were slow enough around here we could be.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />More frustration</span> - My mother caught a spelling error while reading a story online. It was an error that made the print edition that I THOUGHT I had caught and marked in the proof reading process. Top that off with glitches throughout the Web site anyway and no time to post any updates.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />More comic relief </span>- a local man who had run for state office comes in with a complaint. He showed up on the arrest report - taken straight from what the police department gives us. He didn't deny the crimes, but claimed he wasn't actually arrested, just issued citations. He then goes on to talk about a restraining order against him. Assault and trespassing charges. Restraining order. Then, as he's walking out, in all seriousness, turns and says, "You know, I think I will run again in 2010."<br />Right.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />Back to frustration</span> - with the Web and writing. Oh, and I have to go to special olympics - NOW. Rush out the door.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Less stress</span> - Special Olympics is one of the those feel-good stories - both for you and the reader.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />Back to the office</span> - It's almost 5 p.m. and I haven't accomplished half of what I hoped to today. Deadline looms tomorrow. A quick scan of the e-mails before plugging away at the paragraph factory again in hopes of getting out of the office soon. Then the reminder it's not just a paragraph factory.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />The payoff </span>- There's an e-mail from a high school senior who just graduated. She's thanking me for talking to her journalism class and giving her an opportunity to have her columns printed in the paper. She thanked me for giving her confidence.<br />Is the cold coffee supposed to taste salty - or are those tears?theshovelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00122854054743340223noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1919260403662271798.post-83794283127981810352009-05-07T09:22:00.001-05:002009-09-29T10:18:03.202-05:00Obituaries<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKMwW1MxXy1aPACvpKtmVrE_W4hWUVqi1SReZ58mv-i8JDwgP1zXy9SQUWmUu8c1ctC4fGdL-H1CWi_KEUoA-YnAGsNVoBd9lEpPNdIYrX9cgCLGkt9K-TAqonKfpjsYu-1QutvYKb9KH5/s1600-h/shoe_obits_0507.doc"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 239px; height: 74px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKMwW1MxXy1aPACvpKtmVrE_W4hWUVqi1SReZ58mv-i8JDwgP1zXy9SQUWmUu8c1ctC4fGdL-H1CWi_KEUoA-YnAGsNVoBd9lEpPNdIYrX9cgCLGkt9K-TAqonKfpjsYu-1QutvYKb9KH5/s320/shoe_obits_0507.doc" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5333087491916631106" border="0" /></a>We recently switched to paid obituaries. You get the first 70 words free and then we charge after that. This means we, the editorial staff, do not touch the obituaries.<br />As an editor it irks me a little that there is no consistency on style, but I can get past that.<br />It has caused a few problems though.<br />One person came in and complained about the names we left out and we should have put so-and-so's half brother once removed from California in there - or something like that. We tried multiple times to explain we print exactly what the funeral home gave us as is. We can check to see if something was inadvertently omitted, but it should be exactly as they gave it to us. So if there's a problem you need to check with the funeral home or the members of the family who worked with funeral home to writ the obit.<br />"Oh well, I guess maybe you didn't have enough space to list all the names," she replied with sigh - as though we did something wrong.<br />Some people just don't get it.<br />Then there was the funeral home that misspelled the name of the cemetery in town, but insisted it was the correct spelling. I drive by the sign everyday and have looked it up in the past. Sorry, funeral home, you're wrong. We have to change that one.<br />Really, you can't win with obits.theshovelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00122854054743340223noreply@blogger.com0