This is a probably as appropriate of a time as any to make a few comments regarding some recent criticism Ive received of my work. A number of the critics are people who have been criticizing my work for years and I doubt I could do anything to make them happy. Its a free country, and Im happy to affirm that they have every right in the world to voice their views. The recent readership numbers make clear that far more people like what I do and how I do it than the number of people who criticize my work. However, I pay attention to my critics and some of the people have legitimate questions which deserve a response. In no particular order: #1. Some people have strongly objected to my coverage of the recent beating death of Justin Young. While there are a variety of reasons, many of the critics are people who dont like Young and believe his death doesnt deserve media attention. My response: Based on what I read in law enforcement reports, the man was beaten to death. It doesnt make any difference what he did in the past. We have a court system in this country and vigilante justice cannot be tolerated. A second response: For much of this past week I had friends of Justin Young asking why I wasnt covering his beating. Most were nice and were trying to give me a news tip. A few were downright angry that the beating wasnt getting the attention it deserved. Im not sure what I would have done if this remained a beating incident, but the death of Justin Young changed things and it went to the front of my to do list. Bottom line: beating people to death deserves media coverage. Anyone who disagrees is welcome to their views, but Im not going to agree with you -- and neither will most of my readers. #2. Weve had two major police chases this week. While the statistics show beyond a shadow of a doubt that most of my readers value that kind of reporting, some not only dont want to read such coverage but also think it shouldnt be done at all. My response: Go to a major urban area and see how a major police chase gets covered -- up to and including hovering news helicopters. There is a **MAJOR** public safety reason to report on such things. If somebody is leading police on a 100-mph chase on I-44, let alone the curves on Highway 17 and city streets in St. Robert, Waynesville and Crocker, anyone who thinks I shouldnt be doing live reporting on that chase is not going to get very much of my time. Its crystal clear to me why that needs to be covered, and again, the readership stats make clear that readers care about that a great deal. #3. Im not getting too many complaints directly on my coverage of drug-related deaths, but some people in local law enforcement and some public officials are receiving complaints that their warnings about rising heroin usage is giving our community a bad name. My response: If the shoe fits, too bad. I care about hard numbers. We clearly had a major methamphetamine problem several years ago. If we have a major heroin problem now, I dont care if it makes the community look bad or not. Fix the problem, dont blame media for covering it. In fact, I probably should be covering this more. #4. Several things need to be said about the recent announcement of plans for St. Robert layoffs. Ill say more later, but for now, I need to repeat publicly two things Ive said privately. First: I have no evidence whatsoever of corruption in St. Robert city government. Anyone who knows the history of the city knows there have been problems in the past, and some of them have been quite serious. Ive covered those and will continue to cover them. But my linking to a new Facebook group regarding alleged corruption in city government is for information, not endorsement, and is no different from my linking to sites for the firefighters union or for city government. Im in the information business, and since most stories have at least two sides, I think its good for people to know where to find out where people are telling their own sides of the story. Second: Some city officials who I know well, and who I respect, have been hurt that I didnt make a phone call to them at night. Ill say this publicly: I blew it. I should have made that phone call. The simple fact is that a lot of people in this community dont want reporters calling them at home, at night, or on the weekends, but some dont mind. PINGing people on a Facebook post or sending an email works for lots of people because it lets them decide whether or not to reply, but not everyone works that way, and I need to respect that. #5. Lastly, Ive received some criticism recently that I frankly dont understand. Apparently some people think I need to get out of my office more and think I do my work entirely by phone and by the internet. My response: Have you seen my gasoline bill recently? More seriously, I honestly dont know where those critics are coming from. For much of what I do, Im usually the only reporter there, and when theres a second reporter, its most often Steve Smith of The Pulaski County Mirror, who I like and who does a lot of good work, but who has had serious medical issues recently and cant get out as much as hed like. While I dont always agree with my readers or do what they would like, I do listen. My news media training goes back to the days when reporters were told to ignore their readers, and when editors often carefully selected which letters to the editor should be run, arguing that printing some peoples views would give people credibility who didnt deserve it. We live in an internet age today where media no longer can control the flow of information. I cant shut down or silence critics even if I tried, and I cant stop people from voicing their views about other issues going on in our community. I happen to think the nuts-and-bolts of traditional news coverage -- city councils, school boards, taxes, roads, crime, and related matters -- still interest readers. The statistics here show clearly that thousands of people are regular readers, and sometimes (as with major crime) a lot more than that. I cant possibly please everyone. Nobody can do that, and theres no point in trying. But its clear that I can provide -- and am providing -- a product that lots of people want.
Posted on: Mon, 08 Dec 2014 14:10:35 +0000
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