Sorting It Out

The sun is shining as I write this. It is cold, near zero wind chill with the wind blowing out of the north at 20 miles an hour. Later the wind will boost to 30 mph. Over the weekend the chills will drop well below zero with only a slight chance of freezing precipitation. That’s the news on the local weather front!

The car is dirty from road salt. Most of routine tasks have been cared for. My personal agenda includes preparing taxes, reading, preparing for mentoring sessions with SCORE clients, preparing for a consulting engagement (rare these days!), keeping up with Twitter, Facebook, this blog and family relationships.

Still being sorted out is the fallout from newspaper troubles. Will we close down? If so, when? Who will do all the work? Is there a chance to save the paper and recruit volunteers to fill in the volunteer blanks? We have been reluctant to share financial ills with the community, just asking them for annual pledges of help was all we dared to do. And of course we have asked the public for volunteers continually.

The request for dollars was strong at first, weak last year, and we don’t have much hope for this year. Same is true for volunteers. We haven’t explained our situation to the public really. I wonder if doing so would gain the help we need? But the management team seems locked in the position to keep news of the paper silent. The paper is not the news, they say. I think otherwise.

At any rate, if we did tell our story to the community might we expect an outpouring of assistance to keep the paper going? That is a special question of note. It is special because the nature of a newspaper is delicate as it reports the ‘news’ and the not news, and the social, opinion, events and other desiderata of the community. Some folks think the only thing that is important is their letter to the editor while others think the announcement of bingo night at their church is the all important item to include in the paper. And of course every organization in town wants its special promotions and fund raisers to be touted at no cost.

Coming attractions are promotions or advertisements. Happenings of the scheduled event is the real news. How did the event come off, who attended, and what was their purpose for the event and was that objective met? That’s news. But then those close to the event and the sponsoring organization(s) think this is a social and cultural happening that ought to be treated as news. They may be right. Or wrong. That’s one of the delicate lines to be played correctly by a newspaper. We get it right a lot of the times, but we miss the opportunity some of the time.

What’s happening in government circles is a wholly different subject. There are those who trust government no matter how small, or large, because they are involved with the government, its commissions and committees, or know the elected officials fairly well. Then too, if they are involved with many of the staff persons in various projects over the years, personal relationships tend to earn more trust. What’s happening in those circles? That depends on who you trust, the broad sweep of achievements, and the objectives, goals and priorities shared with the public by those same persons.

The context of all of this helps determine and discern what is fact and what is reportable. Just because a few people disagree or ‘smell a rat’ or are generally suspicious  of elected officials and all government, doesn't mean that something bad is happening or planned. The news is the suspicion, not the suspected.

That is not always easy to determine or even notice. Too bad because sides in this are chosen and if you are on the wrong side of ‘their’ chosen perception, you are the bad guy or the hero. Such is the nature of journalists in this day and age.

When one considers what’s good for a community there is an incipient judgment made. It only matters if that judgment is shared and discussed in the public. That goes for journalists, elected officials, and members of the public who set themselves up as critics of the established order. All three of these elements need to gather and speak openly about their ideas. Not their attacks or suspicions, but their ideas and priorities. Only then can the public’s agenda be established and worked on to fruitful ends.

Infighting doesn't accomplish much but damage to relationships needed to get the work done. Damaged relationships curtail volunteer input and efforts, as well as avoidance of the work needing to be done. All are hurt in this environment.

Too bad some folks think the real service to the public is making trouble and clouding the discussion. Nothing much gets done because of them. Critical thinking is one thing. Critical attacks are completely different. And they lead us not to a promising future.

February 13, 2015