Obama courts weekly newspapers in Iowa, which say Clinton ... · make a real difference in a...

QQUUOOTTEE OOFF TTHHEE MMOONNTTHH

“There can be nohigher law in journal-ism than to tell thetruth and to shamethe devil.”

— Walter Lippmann(1889-1974)

Visit the ISWNE’s Web site:www.iswne.org

Volume 33, No. 1 January 2008

By Al Cross DirectorInstitute for Rural Journalism andCommunity Issues

Iowa may be more important than ever inthe Democratic presidential nominatingprocess, because Sen. Hillary Clinton is con-sidered likely to win the nomination if shewins the state’s Jan. 3 caucuses, while a vic-tory by Sen. Barack Obama or former Sen.John Edwards could burst her balloon ofinevitability. With such huge stakes, candi-dates “are scouring the state like neverbefore,” going to towns that have rarely ifeven been a campaign stop, Iowa veteranJeff Zeleny reports on The New York Times’political blog, The Caucus. On that trail,Sen. Barack Obama is paying special atten-tion to such towns’ weekly newspapers —while Clinton has given at least one weeklypublisher a semi-stiff-arm.Zeleny, who once worked for the Des MoinesRegister, knew there was a story when hesaw Obama giving interviews in Clarionwith The Wright County Monitor and inGrundy Center with four other weeklies in a10-mile radius, three with circulations under1,000. “There is, perhaps, no better way togive an hour-long presidential visit fargreater staying power than appearing on

the pages of the weekly newspaper, particu-larly in an edition that is likely to be sittingon coffee tables at Thanksgiving time,”Zeleny wrote, reflecting his knowledge ofIowa and its small towns. Monitor Publisher Barb Mussman, a formerelementary-school teacher whose paper hasa circulation of 1,367, told Zeleny that nopresidential candidate had ever offered heran interview, so “He’s going to get a story,”not just the usual picture. Her 794-wordstory focused on Obama’s appearance at alocal school and appeared to devote only176 words to her interview, in which sheasked about education and global warming.Its style was matter of fact, with one majorexception: “The word, hope, keeps enteringinto Obama’s remarks.”Zeleny’s post spurred dozens of comments toThe Caucus. “Everybody here thinks that it’sthe blogosphere that is sooooo important —but these small newspapers, I bet they canmake a real difference in a community.Why? Because everybody knows the journal-ists who write them,” wrote a poster identi-fied only as Petra. “In the case of Ms. Mus-mann, readers probably learned how to readin her classroom. Smart move indeed.” David Bordewyk, who identified himself, butnot as general manager of the South DakotaNewspaper Association, wrote, “Midwestern

community news-papers areplugged in to thecommunities theyserve. The weeklygets a story andObama gets a bet-ter sense of thelocal pulse. Go onebetter: Scrap allthe TV ads, buyads in the commu-nity newspapersand the campaignwill win big.”That, of course, is not Obama’s strategy, orthat of Edwards — and certainly not ofClinton. A survey by NBC News of 15 weeklyand small daily papers in Iowa — whichhas 272 weeklies — found they had “mixedexperiences with all the campaigns,Democratic or Republican,” the NBC politi-cal unit reports in “First Read.” “Most paperssaid that their inboxes were flooded by e-mails from all the campaigns and manyreceived phone calls before an event toremind them to attend. The majority ofnewspapers reported being able to get a fewminutes with a candidate either immediate-ly after the event during the rope line or

Published by the Institute of International Studies, Missouri Southern State University, Joplin, MO

Obama courts weekly newspapers in Iowa, whichsay Clinton’s been the least cooperative candidate

Al Cross

continued on page 3

January 2008

The International Society of Weekly Newspaper EditorsThe International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors

President’sresident’sReporteport By Jeremy Waltner

Freeman CourierFreeman, S.D.

At the start of every new year, it is custom-ary for the Courier — as is the case at manynewspapers around the world, I suppose —to offer our readers a comprehensive,month-by-month review of the previous 12months as they unfolded in Freeman.It is a significant undertaking that for yearshas fallen squarely on this news editor’sshoulders. And I like it that way.While pouring over 52 issues of the Courier(or roughly 832 broadsheet pages) and con-densing 1,000-word stories into 50-wordparagraphs to create a 14,000-word piecemay not sound like a barrel of fun, for meit’s an invigorating exercise and one that Itake on with gusto.Not only does it provide tremendous contextand insight into the year that was, but Ilook at the year in review as a close exami-nation of how well we did in the business ofproviding information to our readers, ourNo. 1 objective and top priority every weekof every year.How well did we write? I should be able toget to the crux of the story quickly (probablyby the third paragraph) and have all theinformation I need to write a Cliff Notes ver-sion for the year in review without addition-al research.How well did we do with follow-ups? Did allthe unanswered questions one week getanswered the next? Or the next? If I’m leftwith questions, so are my readers.If done right, historians should be able totake the year in review editions published bythe Courier and have a comprehensive,complete and well-organized history of thecommunity.

I’ve been researching and writing theCourier’s annual year in review since I wasa student in high school (with the exceptionof but a few years) and I truly believe theself-examination that goes along with it hasmade me a better writer. Here’s why.Because I approach every story, not asthough I am writing it, but as though I amreading it 12 months from now. How muchcritical information can I present up front,what are the pressing questions and whatare the clearest answers?If you’re a writer, I challenge you to write asthough you’re reading it for a year inreview, remembering that a well-writtenstory makes it much easier for historians tounderstand it. If you have writers on your staff, no matterhow good they may be, make them betterby challenging them to do the same.We are, as former Washington Post publish-er Phil Graham once said, “a first roughdraft of history.”So write like it.

* * * * *Speaking of writing history, one of the fea-tures the Courier publishes weekly is calledReflections, a review of events that tookplace 15, 30, 50, 75 and 100 years ago asrecorded in our newspaper. I suspect manyof you have similar features in your publica-tions.It is one of our most popular features withour readers, and one of the most interestingtasks for this writer, whose week is highlight-ed by researching the file copies forReflections.

Not only does it provide a history lesson, butit also reveals just how different writing was,say, 100 years ago, when news was lacedwith editorial comment and vice versa.Some of the most entertaining writing I haveread comes from old, torn and yellowedissues of the Courier.Like this dandy tidbit that was published inthe Nov. 28, 1907 Courier. It was written bythen-publisher J.J. Mendel, who owned theCourier from 1902 to 1960. He was a legendin his own time, known for his entertainingand insightful ramblings and who died theday after selling the Courier.Take time to read Mendel’s take on life,printed here, as it was 100 years ago. It’shumorous, entertaining, poetic and touch-ing all at once, well-worth the read andappropriate considering a new year hasdawned.May 2008 be an enjoyable, prosperous andhistorical 12 months for you, your friendsand family, newspapers and communities.There are times when every thing seems togo wrong. From seven o’clock a.m. till 10p.m. affairs are in a twist. You rise in themorning and the room is cold and a buttonis off and the beefsteak is tough and thestove smokes and pipes burst, and you startdown the street nettled from head to foot.All day long things are adverse. The ink bot-tle upsets and spoils the carpet. Someonegives a wrong turn to the damper and thegas escapes. An agent comes in determinedto insure your life, when it is already insuredfor more than it is worth, and you are afraidsomeone will knock you on the head to getthe pride of your policy, but he sticks to you,showing you pictures of Old Time, the hour

2

Year-end review can provide self-examination

continued on page 17

The rosy illusion of tax credits and grants By AAll SSeeiilleerrThe Pike PressPittsfield, Ill.Oct. 10, 2007

Hardly a day goes by that a political candidate, Democrator Republican, doesn’t promise a tax credit for some“deserving” group or activity. Many years ago I took a college level night school class inaccounting. Much of what I learned I’ve forgotten. But onething I remember well: that for every credit on one side ofthe ledger there must be a corresponding debit entered onthe other side and vice versa. So my question to all these “tax credit” candidates is this: Where is the entry on thedebit side? If a tax credit means tax relief for some person or enterprise, doesn’t thatmean less tax revenue for the government and an even bigger budget deficit?Maybe there’s a new and revised edition of my textbook called Basic PoliticalAccounting for Dummies. If so, I need a copy.In similar fashion, politicians like to trumpet the awarding of grants for some“deserving” project in their state or district. The recipient’s response to the pressrelease is greeted with huzzahs of approval and gratitude. Yes, many of these grantsdo meet a legitimate need and are worthy of their mission. But again, does anybodyask, “Where’s the money coming from?” Or care?I’m waiting for the politician who will say, along with his tax credit or grantannouncement, “Folks, let me remind you, this money is coming from your own andfellow taxpayers’ pockets.” Before that happens, we’ll land an American on Mars, plus Venus and Jupiter. Al Seiler can be contacted at [email protected].

with a one-on-one interview. SenatorClinton was the exception in this case. BothEdwards’ and Obama’s staff were praised fortheir efforts to reach out to reporters andprovide access to the candidate.” The surveywas prompted by an item on this topic inThe Rural Blog, published by the Institutefor Rural Journalism and Community Issues.

Clinton has yet to grant an interview toJohn Beaudoin, publisher of the LoganHerald-Observer and Woodbine Twiner, whohas gone public with his problem. In a com-ment on Zeleny’s post, Beaudoin wrote,“Barack Obama and his handlers have beenextremely professional to work with duringthis campaign. I have interviewed 21 candi-dates for President, including Mr. Obama,and I have been impressed with how hispeople have delivered information to ournewspapers. I am the publisher of two smallnewspapers in Southwest Iowa and havepromised my readers as much informationas possible on the candidates. Mr. Obama’scampaign has been top notch (which issomething I unfortunately cannot say aboutHillary Clinton’s campaign).”Beaudoin has posted interviews with candi-dates on this page of his Web site. He saidin an interview with the video site Currentthat the Clinton campaign has offered hima group interview with other journalists, buthe has declined because of the success he

has had with other candidates. “Once wegot that going I thought we were buildingup some credibility with the Hillary cam-paign,” he said. “This is not an entitlementthing...I promised my readers I was going tobring them every presidential candidate,and by God, I still feel like I’m going to. Hercampaign, bar none, has actually been themost defiant as far as trying to make theinterview happen.” But when asked who hethinks the next president will be, he said, “Ihave a hard time saying it will not beHillary.”The lack of journalistic access to Clinton wasthe focus of a Nov. 30 story in The Wash-ington Post, by Howard Kurtz. He concludedwith this quote from Clinton: “We try to bal-ance what we do every day. I’m trying toreach as many voters as possible one-on-one” while also dealing with the local press,“which has a very big role to play” in theearly caucus and primary states.Al Cross can be contacted [email protected].

The International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors

Officers of the International Societyof Weekly Newspaper Editors:

President: Jeremy WaltnerThe Freeman CourierFreeman, SD

Vice President: Don BrodSt. Charles, Ill.

Executive Director:Dr. Chad Stebbins, Director, Institute ofInternational Studies, Missouri SouthernState University, 3950 E. Newman Road,Joplin, MO 64801-1595 Phone: (417) 625-9736Fax: (417) 659-4445E-mail: [email protected]

Board of Directors: Jeremy CondliffeCongleton ChronicleCongleton, Cheshire, England.Charles GayShelton-Mason County JournalShelton, Wash.Paul MacNeillSandra GeorgeJonesville, Mich.Paul MacNeillThe Eastern GraphicMontague, Prince Edward IslandJim PainterWest Valley View, Litchfield Park, Ariz.Chris WoodWisconsin Web Offset, Brookfield, Wis. Immediate Past President: Harry L. HixSchool of Journalism & Broadcasting Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Okla.

Obama courts weekly newspapers in Iowa from page 1

January 2008 3


4 January 2008

Clipper Press nominated for journalism awardsThe Duxbury Clipper and Hanson Express in Massachusetts have beennominated for a combined four awards by the New England PressAssociation.A special series in the Express on missing University of Massachusettsstudent Maura Murray garnered nominations in investigative report-ing and Web convergence categories.Clipper editorial page editor Peg Dostie (a past winner of the ISWNEGolden Dozen award) was recognized in the editorial writer category,and the Paper’s annual Year in Photos issue was recognized in theadvertising supplement category. A high school prom issue in theExpress was also nominated as best special section.Nominees represent the top three places in each category. Overall win-ners will be announced in February at the annual Better Newspaperawards banquet in Boston.This year’s contest included 5500 entries from 350 New England news-papers.

McTighe gets another term on CCNA boardFrank McTighe, editor and publisher of The Macleod Gazette, waselected in September to a second three-year term on the CanadianCommunity Newspapers Association board of directors.McTighe, who chairs the CCNA’s Community Media Circulation Auditcommittee and also serves on the Better Newspapers Competition com-mittee, was first elected to the board in 2004.The position as CCNA director also makes McTighe a member of theAlberta Weekly Newspapers Association board of directors. McTighechairs the AWNA Industry Education and AWSOM Archive commit-tees.The Macleod Gazette is an independent community newspaper in FortMacleod, Alberta.

MSSU publications manager starts blogT.R. Hanrahan, publications manager at Missouri Southern StateUniversity, has started a blog called “Newsprint in my Blood.” The blogfeatures “observations on journalism, my experiences as a collegenewspaper adviser and links to those that do it right...and wrong.”The blog can be found at http://newsprintinmyblood.blogspot.com/.“Sometimes my students think I am a real fascist when it comes towords,” Hanrahan writes. “I hate the misuse of words. It is insulting tothe language and to the intellect of the reader.”

ISWNEWSNEWSI will miss working for a weeklyDDoonnnnaa RReemmeerr was ISWNE presidentin 2003-04.A couple hours after I turned in thekeys to my office at The Voice andArmada Times, the phone rang. Imight have guessed it would besomeone from ISWNE. People in thisgroup have an instinct for news thatcan’t be beat. And yes, I told SSaannddrraaGGeeoorrggee, I’d be happy to help plan aDetroit conference for 2008. After all,I have some free time now.Some of you might remember that Iwas organizing a Detroit conference a couple of years ago buthad to change plans after The Voice and Armada Times werepurchased by the Journal Register Company. I served as editorof those papers for 14 years and was editor of the family-owned Romeo Observer before that. The Voice was independ-ently-owned, too, when I joined the staff, but it was sold to21st Century Newspapers, a Michigan-based group, in 2000.Then, it was sold again to JRC two years ago. JRC is a publicly-held corporation based in Yardley, Pa. They own a bunch ofweeklies in New England, Ohio and Michigan, with a fewdailies thrown in the mix.Working for JRC was an eye-opener. Lots of changes in thenewspaper industry, and I was right in the middle of it. Somechanges have been good...I doubt many editors miss the dark-room or pine for the opportunity to wax galleys of type andpaste them on grid sheets like pieces of a jig-saw puzzle. And,the ability to expand readership to the web is pretty exciting.But, some things have been lost, and that sense of loss becamemore focused as the months passed. It is sad to think that Iwill no longer be working for a weekly newspaper, but theoverwhelming feeling right now is one of relief. Bill has lots ofvacation time between now and Jan.1, so we plan to make themost of it. We are thinking of this as a “trial run” for retire-ment and so far, it’s working well.I loved being a weekly editor, and will always be grateful tohave had the opportunity. I know there are new things aheadand the Detroit conference is a start in the right direction. Ilook forward to welcoming you to the Motor City next June.Donna Remer can be contacted at [email protected].

Cash award advances Rio Grande Sun film projectCash award advances Rio Grande Sun film projectThe International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors

January 2008 5

By Richard McCordSanta Fe, N.M.

The plans of an independent New Mexicofilmmaker to produce a one-hour documen-tary about the weekly Rio Grande Sun, pub-lished by longtime ISWNE members theRobert Trapp family in Española, N.M., gota major boost in November, when the proj-ect was awarded $20,000 from the state gov-ernment.The proposed film, tentatively titled “TheSun Never Sets,” is a project of the Albuquer-que-based company Tijeras Films, operatedby partners Ben Daitz and Dale Sonnenberg,who have produced other documentaries inthe past. The award was one of 11 announc-ed by the two-year-old New Visions/NewMexico program, which seeks to spur thestate’s film media industry.A total of $160,000 was distributed in theprogram this year, and the $20,000 award— which went to seven different projects —was the highest individual amount paid.The four other winners got lesser amounts.Almost 200 entries were submitted.

“Local filmmakers are critical to the contin-ued success of New Mexico’s media indus-try,” said state official Eric Witt, whopresided over the competition. “The NewVisions program remains an important partof our long-term strategy to create a strongproduction and training base.” As part of their contract, awardees areexpected to provide a service to the state,such as training other New Mexicans whoare new to the industry, conducting out-reach to high school students interested inpursuing film media careers, and providingfree in-state screenings, workshops and semi-nars.The independent Rio Grande Sun is widelyrecognized as one of the best and mostcourageous weeklies in the nation, and at12,000 it has the highest paid circulation ofany weekly in New Mexico. It was foundedin 1956 by Robert E. Trapp and his wife,Ruth, and two other partners, who werebought out in the early 1960s. Trappremains the only editor and publisher in thepaper’s history, and his son Robert B. Trappis now the Sun’s managing editor.

Daitz said that thestate award doesnot provideenough money tocomplete the film,but it would allowthe project toadvance. He esti-mated thatbetween $80,000and $100,000would be neededfor the full job, buthe noted thatawards and seedmoney are very helpful in attracting addi-tional funding, especially from organiza-tions such as the Public BroadcastingService, where he hopes the documentarywill be broadcast nationally.Daitz said he plans to continue to gatherfootage of the Sun’s operations in Españolaand other communities in scenic northernNew Mexico, which is the newspaper’s base.The plans include following an investigativereport from start to finish, interviews withthe senior Trapp and other staff members,comments from various members of thecommunity, scenes from the Sun’s officesand the commercial plant where it is print-ed, sports events and special occasions, andstreet scenes from downtown Española,where traffic backups occur eachWednesday, as vendors sell the paper topassing motorists.“This is a nice little piece of money,” Daitzsaid. “It allows us to peck away at getting awhole lot more, and in the meantime it paysfor gas to get up there.” With its own fund-ing, Tijeras Films has already produced an11-minute demonstration video, which waspresented to the state as a key part of theaward-application process. “Getting thisdone might take a long time, but in the endthese things always come out,” Daitz said.Bob Trapp senior has served on the boardand as president of ISWNE, and was the1992 winner of the organization’s highesthonor, the Eugene Cervi Award for a distin-guished career in non-daily journalism. BobTrapp junior has served on the board.Filmmaker Daitz has previously writtenabout his plans in the ISWNE newsletter.Any ISWNE member wishing to contributeto the film project may send tax-deductibledonations to Tijeras Films, 7 Chacon PlaceNW, Albuquerque, NM 87104.

Robert Trapp Sr.

ISWNE new memberHHeelleenn HHoollllyyeerr has served as reporter, photographer, editorand publisher at The Creswell (Ore.) Chronicle for the pastthree-and-a-half years. She writes:“I’ve never been to journalism school, so I’m not ham-pered by superfluous knowledge of how journalism is sup-posed to be done. Fortunately, I’ve had a wonderful men-tor, University of Oregon journalism professor Dean Rea,who took me under his capable wings so that I didn’t haveto re-invent all the journalistic wheels.“I have an extremely low boredom threshold, so I love tomaster a skill and then move on to try something new —as demonstrated by my many previous careers whichinclude: cartographic aide for the U.S. Geological Survey,cultural anthropologist, real estate broker and State Farm insurance agent.“I am intensely curious about my surroundings — there are a few subjects that don’thold interest for me (other than team sports and organized religion). I have littlerespect for authority figures, which makes me difficult to intimidate but essentiallyunemployable, so I am forced to be self-employed.“I am the queen of multi-tasking, although a glance at my desk will give an observera vivid sense of the eternal conflict between the forces of organization and those ofchaos. I’ve lived long enough to have accumulated a lot of life experience; I have a personallibrary of more than 7,000 fiction and non-fiction volumes, read a book every day orso and am a word worm.”

View headed to new digsView headed to new digs

Sheriff offers olive branchPublic should benefit from renewed cooperation between MCSO, ViewSheriff offers olive branch


By Elliott FreireichPublisherWest Valley ViewLitchfield Park, Ariz.Nov. 2, 2007

The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office is talk-ing to us again.And it is sending us press releases.And the sheriff’s chief public informationofficer told us he is setting up protocols toallow us to inspect arrest reports at theDistrict 2 substation in Avondale, just likewe had done for nearly 20 years before all“this” started.Events that led up to this change of heart bythe Sheriff’s Office included a confrontationbetween the sheriff and me during the ques-tion and answer period of a public meetingin Litchfield Park. After the meeting, thesheriff came over to talk to me. We spentabout 20 minutes discussing what had hap-pened, the state of our relationship andwhat I wanted to happen to get us beyondthis state of seemingly endless confrontation.I told him I thought shutting the View out ofall the Sheriff’s Office communication hadput the community at risk and could do soagain in the future. Citizens had not beeninformed of criminal events in their commu-

nity and therefore didn’t know to protectthemselves and their children. I also toldhim I just wanted things to go back to theway they were before all of “this.”He promised to look into it and try to resolvethe situation. It appeared that he had beeninsulated from most of the details of whathad been going on.The next day our managing editor, JimPainter, was contacted by Sheriff’s Officepublic information officer Capt. PaulChagolla. They met the following day andChagolla made apologies and agreed towork with the View to provide the informa-tion we had sought for so long. The proof inthe pudding was that the View did receive itsfirst e-mailed press release from the Sheriff’sOffice later that day — one about a hatecrime in Wigwam Creek.More than two years ago, the Sheriff’s Officestopped providing press releases to the View,required reporters to drive to downtownPhoenix to inspect arrest reports collected atthe Avondale substation and required virtu-ally every request to be made in writing as apublic records legal request.The View sued in Superior Court and won,and then won a challenge in the state Courtof Appeals, which upheld the SuperiorCourt’s decision. The appeals court also

awarded courtcosts to the View,which, combinedwith the Sheriff’sOffice’s legal fees,are approaching$100,000. TheSheriff’s Office hassince asked thestate SupremeCourt to hear thecase.I’m certain thisissue wasn’tresolved because I have outstanding oratoryskills. It’s probably closer to the truth thatjust getting to talk face to face with the sher-iff and the timing of the Sheriff’s Office’sother recent confrontations with other Valleynews media were equally responsible.The bottom line is that residents of the WestValley will once again be able to get news ofcrimes taking place in Litchfield Park andunincorporated areas of the West Valley.They will be able to be more aware, takeproper precautions and help law enforce-ment officials identify bad guys and solvecrimes. They need our help just like we needtheir help.Elliott Freireich can be contacted at [email protected].

January 20086

Elliott Freireich

The West Valley View’s move to Avondalefrom Litchfield Park is less than a year awayfollowing an Oct. 31 groundbreaking.The new 35,000-square-foot building willpresent the opportunity to produce the news-paper completely in-house, as it will beequipped with an offset printing press. Thestate-of-the-art press will give the newspaperthe capabilities to print more color pagesand push back deadlines, which could resultin more late-breaking stories appearing in

the paper.The View now contracts out the printing ofits newspaper.The new building will contain some environ-mentally friendly features, Publisher ElliottFreireich said. It will be oriented on the lot tominimize the solar effects on air condition-ing. The paper will be designed and printedon a system that goes directly from comput-er to plate, cutting out a processing step to

eliminate the use of chemicals that other-wise would be run down the drain. Theprocess also will eliminate the need for run-ning water a minimum of eight hours a dayin the processing of plates.As construction begins on the future homeof the West Valley View, Litchfield Park isconsidering what use to make of the existingView office building. The building, a formertire shop, is owned by the city.


January 2008 7

By Christine Brock

Christine is the stepdaughter of ISWNE exec-utive director CChhaadd SStteebbbbiinnss. She lives withher grandparents on a farm near Neosho,Mo., and attends Missouri Southern StateUniversity. ISWNE member DDaavviidd BBuurrkkee iseditor and publisher of The Tuam Herald inIreland.In late November the Burke family gave mea once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Colum,and ultimately David, invited me to come totheir home in Tuam, Ireland for a few days.Needless to say, it didn’t take much thoughtfor me to respond to their invitation.Colum would be attending his official grad-uation ball signifying his egress fromGlenstal Abbey School and wanted me tocome along as his date. The ball was a won-derful start to a fabulous trip.The Debs, as it is informally called, was heldin a really great historical hotel by the nameof Dunraven Arms Hotel (founded in 1792).I was able to meet all the guys and theirfamilies that Colum had grown up withthrough school. They were the largest groupof brothers I have ever seen. They were allreally sweet and respectable gentlemen whomade every girl there, including myself, feel

like a princess.The next morning they took me out toGlenstal to take a tour of what had beenColum’s second home for quite some time.One thing that really impressed me was thedeep history of everything there. TheBenedictine monks founded the abbey andschool in 1933, in a castle built in the 18thto 19th century.Per my request, we were able to attend theafternoon mass there and listen in on thebeautiful music being sung. In one of myclasses at Southern we had discussed Latinchant and its origins and styles and so forth.I thought that there probably couldn’t be abetter place in the world to experience thatsort of thing than in Ireland. It was a reallygreat experience, I have to say.The school was absolutely amazing. I wish Icould have gone to school in a castle! Laterin the afternoon my personal tourguides/chefs/chauffeurs took me to see theCliffs of Moher on the Atlantic coast. Theview was absolutely phenomenal and thewind was nearly comparable to hurricaneweather. The wind made it difficult to takepictures (or walk a straight line for that mat-ter), but it did allow for some monstrous andvery picturesque waves.

There is just too much to tell with what littlespace I have. I had numerous wonderfulexperiences while there that will stick withme a long time into the future. The entireBurke family helped to make my trip phe-nomenal and I wish I could convey theextent of how privileged I feel for beinginvited to come and stay in their home andtake a peak into their culture if only for aweekend.Christine Brock can be contacted at [email protected].

A fabulous trip to Ireland, thanks to the BurkesA fabulous trip to Ireland, thanks to the Burkes

By Donna Remer

Detroit. The Motor City. Springboard for Motown music.Home of Rosa Parks, “mother” of the CivilRights Movement.An international city with Windsor, Ontario,across the Detroit River to the south. Yes,south. I grew up here. I got my education here. Iwork here. And, I’m very excited aboutshowing this city to other members ofISWNE from June 25-29.Sandra George and I have put our headstogether and here’s the plan, so far:You will be staying in a new residence hallat Wayne State University, where you willhave views of the city from the GeneralMotors headquarters at the RenaissanceCenter downtown, to the historic Fisherbuilding in the New Center area. The halls

are walking distance from the Detroit PublicLibrary, the Detroit Historical Museum, TheDetroit Institute of Arts, the Museum ofAfrican American History, the InternationalInstitute and the Science Center.You will see the historic Rouge plant, an“industrial city” and the largest such com-plex in the world in the 1920s and 30s. TheRouge took Henry Ford’s assembly line tonew heights in a virtual “industrial city”where iron ore from northern Michigan andcoal from Pennsylvania arrived byship...and Model A cars rolled onto thestreet. It is still used by Ford for vehicle pro-duction.You will see the magnificent, but controver-sial, Diego Rivera mural at the recentlyexpanded Detroit Institute of Arts. Themural was commissioned by Henry Ford’sson, Edsel, but was almost whitewashedshortly after it was unveiled in 1933.Fortunately for generations of Detroiters, it is

now a showpiece for the museum’s gardencourt.Stay tuned for details, and mark the dates.You won’t want to miss it.

June 25-29: Save the dates for Detroit conferenceJune 25-29: Save the dates for Detroit conference

Diego Rivera is shown working on hismural.

Christine Brock and Colum Burke


January 20088

By Bill LawsonStaff writerMaumelle (Ark.) MonitorDec. 11, 2007

This is a first-person account of Bill Lawson’sarrest by a state trooper while attempting totake pictures at a house fire in Maumelle,Ark. The Maumelle Monitor is a weeklyowned by the Stephens Media Group.Having lived 59 years, battled cancer, wornthe country’s uniform for 26 years andproudly worked as a journalist — a profes-sion I always admired — I thought I’d seen itall. That is until Monday night, when I wasarrested and charged with a criminal offensejust for trying to do my job and take photosof a residential fire in Maumelle.Being arrested, searched, having my camera,reporter’s notebook and billfold confiscated,humiliated in front of friends and people Iwrite about every week was a difficult way tobe arrested for the first time in my life. Theonly other time I wore a pair of handcuffswas 10 years ago during a training class atthe Law Enforcement Training Academy inCamden.When I was told that I was being arrested itseemed like a dream. I knew I’d done noth-ing wrong. But I knew better than to arguewith a state trooper who obviously had anattitude.Although I was arrested and handcuffed, notonce was I read my rights. In fact, the StatePolice trooper told me I was being chargedwith obstructing governmental operationsand one other offense. I can’t rememberwhat the second one was. It was such anincredulous feeling to be stopped from doingmy job, much less to be arrested, that it wasdifficult to consider what was really happen-ing.All I was doing was what Capt. GloriaWeakland, State Police Troop A commander,advised me to do when I inquired via tele-phone months back about a fatality accidentnear Cabot and talked to her about coveringthe news. Capt. Weakland told me that I waswelcome at any accident or incident sceneand for me to approach the trooper thereand identify myself with the news media andthat I would have access to do my job.That’s all I was trying to do Mondayevening. I didn’t think the trooper inMaumelle had seen the press credential onmy windshield and I approached him as she

suggested to let him know who I was andwhy I was there. That’s when he said he wasgoing to arrest me for approaching him. Hetold me that he saw the press sign on mywindshield and the ID around my neck butthat it didn’t mean anything to him.Life has been difficult for me since my battlewith cancer. The cancer, radiation treat-ments and multiple surgeries have all lefttheir marks on me. Thank God I’m cancer-free, but I’m not half the young man whoused to run the 100-yard dash in 10.2 sec-onds. In fact, this past weekend has been oneof the most painful in my life. The medicinethat I still must take often depletes my potas-sium and my muscles hurt so badly it’s verydifficult to move. I actually have to hold onto something to pull my way in and out ofmy vehicle so that I don’t generate morepain in my legs. I use my arms and hands asmuch as possible to keep from using my legsto even lift me out of chairs because of thepain.Of course, being overweight makes it evenmore difficult. For the first two years of mybattle with cancer, I had to take steroid shotsalong with the 18 different kinds of medi-cine, to even feel like getting out of bed. Acombination of the cancer’s damage to mykidneys, bladder and colon and the steroidsadded about 100 pounds to my already largeframe. But I tell people everyday that I’drather be fat and alive than skinny anddead. My physician tells me that some of thekidney medicine I take contributes to theretention of fluids in spite of other medicineto help relieve that problem.The combination of medical problems andbeing overweight makes for a slow-movingwide body. Walking is a chore and an occa-sional run or climbing stairs leaves mebreathless. After being handcuffed andforced to stand still for more than 30 minutesbeside his Arkansas State Police vehicle withunit number A-54 on it, I couldn’t move amuscle. When I squirmed, the trooper wasyelling at me to stop resisting. Standing withmy arms behind me was difficult andpainful to the point of being unbearable. Iknow what resisting is and I did nothing thatcould be considered that. The too-tight hand-cuffs hurt my wrists and I have scratchesfrom them on my right arm where the troop-er hit it while slapping the handcuffs on me.All of that and the pain of standing still forso long was unbearable, but I knew betterthan to complain or suffer the trooper’s

wrath.His demeanor wasabusive, intimidat-ing and downrightscary.Some of my friendson the MaumelleFire Departmentcame over to checkon me. I was still50 to 75 yardsaway from theminor fire andthey all wonderedwhat was going on. They asked if they couldhelp and I told my publisher’s son-in-law,who is a firefighter, to call him in case Ineeded to be bailed out of jail. The firemenlater told me they couldn’t believe I hadbeen arrested for attempting to take photosfar away from the fire. In fact, they calledthe Maumelle Police Department to comeand check on me because they said theywere worried about me.After my boss’ son-in-law left, the troopercame over and asked if I was somebody spe-cial. I told him no, I’m just a reporter. Thenhe wanted to know whom I asked the fire-man to call and I explained that it was myboss. He then asked which newspaper Iworked for and I tried to explain that Iworked for several newspapers owned byStephens Media. He wanted to argue withme, telling me I’d mentioned a specific news-paper earlier. Every time I tried to explain,the trooper would interrupt me, like a trialattorney would do when they’re trying to dis-credit you.I wanted to tell him that I needed to sit downbut I was afraid he’d charge me with some-thing else, or worse. After all, he had the gunand authority of a state trooper and I wasjust a journalist with a notepad and a cam-era. As mad as he was, I feared for my safe-ty. He had roughed me up a little bit, pullingmy left hand behind my back and thendemanding that I let go of the camera in myright hand. I wasn’t about to drop a $1,500camera with a $400 strobe light on it. Hegrabbed it and yelled at me until I let it go.He took it, walked off behind me and laterplaced the camera on the trunk of his vehi-cle.After he visited with several Maumelle policeofficers, he came up to me and asked me, “IfI take these handcuffs off you, are you going

Weekly reporter in Arkansas arrested covering story

Bill Lawson

Weekly reporter in Arkansas arrested covering story

continued on page 9


January 2008 9

to behave?”I was stunned. From the moment he told meto turn around because I was under arrestfor taking his photo, I attempted to followhis every command for fear of what hemight do. I was handcuffed and defenseless.Not that I’d have tried to resist; I have toomuch respect for law enforcement officers todo that, even when I know I didn’t do any-thing wrong.As I was handcuffed, he tried to tell me thatI’d stuck the camera “up in my face, inchesfrom my nose, snapping it over and overattempting to blind me.” I tried to explainthat the camera had been set on motor drivein order to capture the firefighters in actionand that I had actually only snapped itonce. He wanted to argue and said that Iheld it down for 10 seconds or longer, tellingme that he knew all about cameras.Even hours after the arrest, it all seems like a

dream. A very bad dream. Maumelle PoliceChief Sam Williams told me that I shouldfile a complaint against the state trooper. Itold him that wasn’t my style because I haveso much respect for all police officers and thedifficult jobs they do.I’ve worked closely with state troopers andcount many of them as friends. In April2006 when a trooper sergeant died out on aroadblock, I was so inspired when I attendedhis funeral in Searcy that I wrote a newspa-per column tribute to him and all troopers,entitled “The Thin Blue Line,” that ended upbeing reprinted in the Arkansas State PoliceAssociation’s magazine.After the episode, Chief Williams told me hemight have yelled at me if he thought I’doverstepped my bounds, but he said he cer-tainly wouldn’t have arrested me for justdoing my job.Standing on a public street in a city where

I’ve covered much more serious fires thanthis one, I couldn’t have believed that myFirst Amendment rights to cover and reportthe news would have been abridged. Evenworse than the painful handcuffing episode,the state trooper turned me around so that Icould not even see the firefighters in actionputting out the fire. That was adding insultto injury. Now I can’t even report on theiroutstanding efforts to save a home —because I wasn’t allowed to see it and I can’treport what I didn’t see.Editor’s note: Prosecutors asked a judge onDec. 14 to dismiss the misdemeanor citationissued to Bill Lawson by State Trooper TomWeindruch. Lawson filed a formal complaintwith state police Dec. 13 over the incident.State police officials have removed Wein-druch from enforcement status and assignedhim to temporary office duties while theagency investigates the incident.

By R. Braiden TrappManaging editorRio Grande SUNEspañola, N.M.Nov. 15, 2007

Española School District superintendentDavid Cockerham has almost run out ofammunition in his quixotic quest to enforcehis District-wide gag order. His last bullet isinferring an employee would be fired, shouldthey talk to the media.Cockerham put the gag order in place in2005. Its capricious nature made it a nui-sance more than an order. Following lastmonth’s middle school protest, the orderbecame more pointed. He labeled his mercu-rial move not so much a gag order but arequest that employees follow the “chain ofcommand” so that the media would getaccurate information from the top. There’s amilitary phrase for you: chain of command.Cockerham’s clearly intimidated much of thestaff as many employees’ fealty is demon-strated in their refusal to talk to the SUN, infear of their job.It’s ironic that you learn about the constitu-tion in school, where the administration

denies basic constitutional rights — and staffand teachers let them do it. Someone remindme. Why are we fighting Iraq? And pleasedon’t put the word freedom or democracy inthe answer because it’s hollow in its use.His accuracy argument went up in smokeNov. 8 when an Abiquiú Elementary class-room filled with smoke and 911 was called.Through a comedy of errors and miscommu-nications, the Abiquiú Fire Department did-n’t respond quickly so Agua Sana was calledout. An hour and 13 minutes after the initialcall, Agua Sana arrived, followed quickly byAbiquiú’s unit.It was just a. smoky fan but if it had been afire, there’s no telling the damage that mayhave been caused. You would not know about this except that aSUN reporter was on the scene and thenwent around Cockerham’s gag order andresearched the time line through 911 and theindividual fire departments. On the scenewas Abiquiú principal Gloria Lopez, who des-perately wanted to explain what had hap-pened but could not because of Cockerham’slording.She went so far as to call Cockerham in an

effort to get him todisseminate some“accurate” infor-mation. He wouldnot nor would heallow her to speak.When Cockerhamfinally sent hismemo, it wasgrossly incorrect in911 and firefighterreaction times andincident occur-rence. Obviously, someone on the scenealways has more accurate information thana bureaucrat in his office.Eventually Cockerham’s control of the Boardwill slacken enough to where someone willgain the confidence to start giving him direc-tives. Meanwhile, don’t expect accurate orfree-flowing information coming from yourtaxpayer-supported school district.This isn’t the United States. It’s the EspañolaSchool District.R. Braiden Trapp can be contacted [email protected].

School District Censorship Argumentof ‘Accuracy’ Running a Little Thin

R. Braiden Trapp

School District Censorship Argumentof ‘Accuracy’ Running a Little Thin

Weekly reporter in Arkansas arrested from page 8


January 200810

By J. Leland GourleyCo-publisherOklahoma City FridayOklahoma City, Okla.Nov. 30, 2007

The immigration problem is a real prob-lem. But it is a problem demanding anational solution, not an unenforceablestate “solution.”The so-called illegals did not break anyOklahoma law crossing our state border.They broke a U.S. law, coming across thenational border.They did break a law, so technically, theyare criminals. They didn’t commit anembezzlement. They didn’t commit burgla-ry, or armed robbery, or kidnapping, orrape, or murder. Not even a fist fight. Nota penny stolen or robbed. So why do wehave such a vicious hatred toward thesepoor souls?The typical illegal immigrant probably didnot know he was committing a crime. Hedoesn’t understand the difference betweenlaws and rules. He was not taking any-thing away from anybody, not even a job.He came to get a job our economy needsdone but that few Americans will take, ataffordable market wages.He was living in a shack, bitter cold inwinter nights and blazing hot in summersun. No indoor plumbing. No central heat.No money to buy warm clothes or food forhis hungry children.Of course we cannot overlook the fact thathe did break one of our laws, so that can-not go unpunished. But where is our com-passion as we work with the problems ofthis poor criminal who is doing harm tono one as he slaves to feed his kids?Our legislature passed this bad immigra-tion law last session by an overwhelmingmajority. The politicians conscientiouslyfelt they were voting for the position of themajority of their constituents. That’s repre-sentative government. But it does notmake the law any less bad.

In addition to catering to a populace withraging hate, the law says it’s illegal to hirethese people but it does not prescribe apenalty for so doing.There is a way to solve the problem on anational basis that should appease anyreasonable person.We have to do four things, which demandgive and take from everybody’s ideology.We have to erase the hatred of our citizens.We have to penalize, and get the full com-pliance, of the guilty. No open amnesty. As we have previously editorialized:• ONE — Fine every illegal $3,000, to bepaid to the local county sheriff’s office atthe rate of $5 a month for five years.That’s not a hefty fine but it’s a fine. Themonthly payments will generate $75 mil-lion a month nationwide ($900 million ayear). More than $100,000 a year for everycounty sheriff, to finance an ImmigrationDeputy. Why would the immigrant go tosee the sheriff and pay his fine monthly?• TWO — This would make the immigrantlegal so long as he has a new fool-proofidentification card. If he stays out of trou-ble, pays monthly and learns to speakEnglish during his five years, he would beable to go to the back of the line andapply for U.S. Citizenship. After he haspaid his full penalty dues.

• THREE —Another incentivefor immigrantcompliance isthat the countyimmigration offi-cer could enforceserious fines onemployers whohire an illegalwithout the newidentificationcard. Right now,there is no legiti-mate way to forceemployer compliance.• FOUR — Meanwhile, the federal govern-ment must do what is necessary to stopfurther illegal invasion of our borders.Military force, if necessary. Fences are stu-pid. We simply have to close our borders.All this is so easy, if we can muster a littlereason amid all the partisan, divisive hos-tility on both sides.If you think this is a sensible solution, clipit out right now and send a copy to theWhite House.J. Leland Gourley can be contacted [email protected].

J. Leland Gourley

Repeal that state immigration lawIt is unenforceable and based on hate

Repeal that state immigration law

ISWNE new membersJJooeell aanndd LLiissaa MMccNNeeeeccee are co-editors of theCalhoun County Journal in Bruce, Miss. Theweekly newspaper with a circulation of almost5,000 was founded in 1953 by Lisa’s grandfa-ther, Sellers Denley.Lisa’s father Gale Denley, who taught journalismat the University of Mississippi for 35 years, stillserves as the paper’s publisher today. Lisa’s sis-ter, Celia Hillhouse, completes the three-person,all-family staff of The Journal.

Prepare now for candidate announcements, interviews The International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors

January 2008 11

By JJiimm PPuummaarrlloo

The race among states to be first in select-ing presidential candidates guarantees thatholiday gatherings are likely to be inter-rupted by political telemarketers. The accel-erated election season also means thatnewspapers must be prepared for all candi-date announcements.No. 1, newsrooms should have a standardformat for candidate announcements,regardless of whether individuals are politi-cal newcomers or seeking their eighth term.No. 2, editors and reporters should have aprocess for approaching candidate inter-views.Preparation is a requisite for solid news sto-ries. This principle is doubly importantwhen presenting candidates. For the majori-ty of readers, these stories will be their pri-mary exposure to these individuals and willbe the basis for their decisions at the ballotbox. The decisions of these policy-makers atall levels affect nearly everything in peo-ple’s everyday lives — from taxation to zon-ing to classroom sizes. Newspapers should not underestimate thescrutiny of candidate announcements. Yet,many newsrooms approach these stories toocasually — and the results are predictable.On one extreme, political novices, greetedby rookie reporters, walk in and announcethey are seeking elective office. Reporters getsome basic biographical information, askwhy they are running, and a short storyruns on an inside page.On the other extreme, veteran candidatesare interviewed by reporters knowledgeablein public affairs. Candidates come preparedwith lengthy announcements, positionpapers and a photo. Reporters ask probingquestions and a detailed front-page is pro-duced.The two scenarios underscore the pitfalls —for candidates and readers alike — if news-papers do not have a plan. Distinctive cir-cumstances will warrant that some candi-dacies deserve greater attention, but guide-lines will provide a framework. The second step — interviewing and pre-senting candidates — is equally important.Reporters must take steps to educate them-

selves on the issues before quizzing candi-dates.Reporters are well suited to draw up initialquestions by virtue of regularly coveringgoverning bodies. Other avenues are avail-able to identify the key issues in a race. Forexample, review letters on the opinion pageto see what is on people’s minds. In schoolboard races, check with the parent-teacherorganizations. Candidates and organiza-tions also typically have Web sites that out-line their platforms. In addition, theInternet is a valuable and convenientresource for reporters to familiarize them-selves — and their readers — on issues.Editors and reporters should reach consen-sus on candidate questions. Also, determineif specific questions should be asked of par-ticular candidates. For example, in a schoolboard race, maybe one candidate is run-ning for the sole purpose of making thePledge of Allegiance mandatory in all class-rooms. The process of identifying questionswill be streamlined if newspapers are edito-rializing or writing in-depth stories on issuesduring regular coverage of governing bod-ies.It’s healthy as well to solicit opinions out-side the newsroom on what people identifyas the major issues. The newspaper family— employees in all departments — usuallyis an excellent cross-section of a communi-ty.Go outside the newspaper office, too. Checkwith the superintendent, parent-teacherassociations, the chamber of commerce andother groups that have a vested interest inthe quality of schools. Blend everyone’sideas with your initial list and come upwith a final set of questions.A similar process can be followed for otherraces. As editors move up the jurisdictionalladder — such as legislative or congression-al races — give priority to issues of greatestlocal consequence. Knowing the questions is one thing; under-standing them and having the ability tocross-examine candidates is another. This ismore important in such races as legislativeand congressional contests where candi-dates are usually prepped for interviews.Reporters’ greatest challenge will be to flush

out answers in thecandidates’ ownwords, minus theircheat sheets. Don’tbe afraid to havethem elaborate ifanswers areincomplete orunsatisfactory. Tryto think ofunorthodox ques-tions that willforce candidates tothink on the spot,and delve into ter-ritory that won’t be covered at the usualcandidate forums.Incumbents often have an advantage ininterviews, especially if they have served forany length of time. It can be daunting forreporters; consider a rookie reporter inter-viewing a 12-year state legislator. For thatreason, it often is helpful for two people todo the interviews. The editor, or maybeeven a general manager or publisher,should sit in on those races identified asbeing especially important.All editors and reporters likely rememberthe interviews for their current jobs. Whatwere the toughest and most meaningfulquestions — the ones that afforded anopportunity to distinguish you from theother applicants? Which questions prompt-ed a simple “yes” or “no” answer, andwhich ones gave your prospective boss aninside look of who you are, and what you’dbring to the table?The same principles should apply whenquizzing candidates, no matter the office.After all, they are applying for a job. Theiranswers must convince their bosses — theelectorate — that they are the most quali-fied to represent and effectively advanceconstituent interests.Jim Pumarlo regularly writes, speaks andprovides training on Community NewsroomSuccess Strategies. He is author of Votes andQuotes: A Guide to Outstanding ElectionCoverage and Bad News and GoodJudgment: A Guide to Reporting onSensitive Issues in a Small-TownNewspaper. He can be contacted atwww.pumarlo.com.

Jim Pumarlo

Prepare now for candidate announcements, interviews


January 200812

By Charles GayEditor and publisherShelton-Mason County JournalShelton, Wash.

Editor’s note: The Shelton School Boardannually approves all of the extracurricularactivities at Shelton schools. When the boardrefused to approve a Christian club or aScrabble club at the local high school at itsOct. 9 meeting, ISWNE member Charlie Gayof The Shelton-Mason County Journal wrotean imaginary story from the future aboutcommunity reaction. At its next meeting,the board approved both clubs. After thevote, a board member sarcastically said hecouldn’t wait to see what the “literarygeniuses” at The Journal would do with thatnight’s board action.)

By CHARLES GAYDisassociated Press

SHELTON, November 14, 2007 — Anti-Scrabble activists came out in force for lastnight’s Shelton School Board meeting to sup-port the beleaguered board that last monthrejected the establishment of a Scrabble clubat Shelton High School.“We have some choice words, none of whichare proper nouns and all of which are in thedictionary, for those who would attack thisboard for banning Scrabble,” said DonnyBrooke, organizer of the demonstration out-

side the CHOICE School meeting room.A counter-demonstrator across the street saidBrooke was babbling. “They have noMonopoly on family values,” he said.Brooke held a sign that said, “Friends don’tlet friends play Scrabble.” His 9-year-old sonhad one saying, “You’ll play Scrabble whenyou pry the tile from my cold fingers.”The demonstration started with about 50activists burning their Scrabble games in abonfire in Evergreen Square and then march-ing through the streets to the school boardmeeting shouting slogans such as “Yahtzee,yes! Scrabble, no!” and “No dice? No dice!”One pocket of demonstrators was harangu-ing three reporters from big-city dailies aboutthe stories they would write, labeling themScrabble-rousers.“And don’t you dare call this a hard-Scrabble town!” threatened Molly Caudill,who held a sign that read, “Register Level IIIScrabble Players with the Sheriff.” Sheattended with a neighbor who marched witha sign reading, “Remember 9/11. NoScrabble.”“First it was Sputnik, then it was the Tri-Lateral Commission, then Monica Lewinskyand now it’s Scrabble in our schools,”Caudill said. “Today it’s Scrabble. Tomorrowdirty bombs. This is no Trivial Pursuit. Don’tbelieve these bleeding-heart Scrabble fans.”A short scuffle broke out when a demonstra-tor took a swing at a reporter after a per-

ceived insult by thejournalist. Thereporter askedactivist Cliff Hangerwhat kinds ofgames he played athome, and whenHanger respondedthat he didn’t playgames, the writerasked, “Then youdon’t have a Clue?”Rosie Outlook, amother of three whocarried a sign say-ing, “Cast Your Spell Somewhere Else,” saidshe didn’t want her kids doing anything inschool where they could triple the value of aW and get 12 points. She said the schoolboard had every right to distrust Scrabbleplayers. “It’s insidious,” she said. “They startsmall and then they introduce hardcorethings like Backgammon and Parcheesi.These are the kind of people who wouldsneak eight letters onto their tray and hopeyou didn’t notice. They’d argue till the cowscome home about xyst being a word.”Bill Fold stood with a sign stating, “Followthe Letter of the Law. Ban Scrabble.” “Itcomes down to this,” he said. “Do we wantactivities in our schools that would force achild to think or more socially acceptableactivities that allow children to smash intoeach other? When you reflect on that, youcome down squarely against a dangerousgame.”“Scrabble leads to socialism,” said anotherdemonstrator, Lance Korporal. “People aresocial around it. Give a man a Scrabblegame for Christmas, and he will play for aday and put it into the closet. Teach a manto scribble, and he’ll write satire for the restof his life.”The Disassociated Press could not ascertainwhether a sign stuck on a bush along themarch route to the board meeting belongedto the anti-Scrabble or pro-Scrabble group. Itsaid simply, “No School Board Games.”Charles Gay can be contacted [email protected].

Charles Gay

No school board gamesNo school board games

Stringer ($10 to $99)Edith Boys EnosLes AndersonTom Phillips

Ellen AlbaneseGarrett and Nina Ray

Robert and Sandy Horowitz

Cub reporter ($100 to $199)Donald and Nancy Smith

Sandra George*Tim WaltnerBill Haupt

Brad Martin

Copy editor ($200 to $299)Kris O’Leary

Carol O’LearyVickie Canfield Peters

Jane SteinmetzAnonymous

Editorial page editor ($300 to $399)

Managing editor ($400 to $499)Albert Scardino

Editor in chief ($500 to $999)Gary and Helen Sosniecki Cheryl and Jim Wormley

Jim and Gail PainterDonald and Deborah Brod

Jeremy CondliffeTom Wills

Publisher ($1,000)Burt & Ursula Freireich

Named scholarship ($10,000)

Total raised: $10,919

Ways a journalist knows it’s election timeThe International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors

January 2008 13

By Mike MooreEditorThe Jessamine JournalNicholasville, Ky.Nov. 1, 2007

It’s Tuesday morning, around 10:30, and thenewspaper staff is busily pounding out alitany of stories. Suddenly, a person thenews staff hasn’t seen in nearly four yearspops in unannounced, and says, “Hellothere, what’s been going on?”This person tries to make small talk, all thewhile the editor and the news staff looks atthis person inquisitively, thinking to them-selves, “I’ve seen this person somewhere, butcan’t quite put my finger on it.”Then it dawns on the news staff; this is soand so. This person was elected to publicoffice nearly four years ago.Then they remember that this is the sameperson that has never returned a phone callwhen a reporter has attempted to make con-tact for a quote for a news story.In fact, during this person’s time in office,they have made it a point to only deal withthe media when it best serves the politician’sagenda.Now all of a sudden this person is your best

buddy, willing to spout out quotes at thedrop of a hat. They’re now a proverbialfountain of information.Puzzled, the news staff takes a quick peek atthe calendar and realizes the election is fastapproaching.Now it all makes sense.There are other ways that mark sure signsthat an election is approaching.One of the more common is when a politi-cian schedules a ground breaking on proj-ects that are long overdue, or major newsannouncement in the days leading up to theelection.It’s simply another way of putting a featherin a cap, hoping to sway a few more voterscome election day.Don’t be fooled.Don’t judge incumbents or challengers onthe old adage, “What have you done for melately?”Hold the incumbents accountable for whatthey’ve done over the course of their term inoffice, whatever that office might be.At the same time, look at them carefully.Are they really the best choice for hold theoffice for the next four years.Don’t be swayed by the attempted manipu-

lation.Media outlets,especially smaller-sized outlet, areoften the target ofwould-be manipu-lators.As election timedraws near, visitsand phone callsfrom candidatesand often timestheir supportersincrease, saying,“So and so’s opponent was once arrested forsuch and such.”As a journalist, we investigate claims. If theyare founded, we report on it. If they areunfounded — as many are — they are sim-ply tossed out.In this era of political spin, reporters havean even more pressing obligation, if not anout and out duty, to be suspicious of a politi-cian’s motivations.The public should be on guard as well, andhold those who are elected to public officeaccountable for everything.Mike Moore can be contacted [email protected].

Mike Moore

Ways a journalist knows it’s election time

ISWNE Foundation Contributorssince Dec. 1, 2007

*contributions earmarked for a Brian Mazza Memorial Scholarship


By DDaavviidd GGiiffffeeyyHome NewsSpring Green, Wis.Dec. 5, 2007

Opinions flow as freely as the morning coffeeat the round table in Grandma Mary’s Café,214 Highway 14, Arena.“The group down in Arena, they talk aboutpolitics, it could be medical things, we com-plain about taxes,” according to a long-timeparticipant in breakfast and lunch at thecafé’s round table, known to some as “thefarmers’ table.”Whatever it’s called, the round table atGrandma Mary’s preserves a tradition ofcommunal dining for area residents, mostlymen, who wish to chow down while socializ-ing in the company of their friends andneighbors. The round table dates to a time —not quite as early as King Arthur’s — whenfarmers grabbing some food and gossipbetween chores in their barns and fields regu-larly patronized cafes across Wisconsin’sagrarian countryside.A special table tacitly reserved for the “regu-lars,” like the one at Grandma Mary’s, onceupon a time could be found in small eateriesand taverns far and wide. While similargatherings remain in some cafes in the RiverValley area, they are becoming more a mem-ory and less a reality. A reason for theirdemise is the drastic reduction in familyfarms in the state. Another reason is a trans-formed job market, which turns former farmfamily members into commuters who don’thave time to chat at the café. And, somewould claim, there’s a 21st century societaltendency against taking the time to sit and

chew the fat for a while.Not so at Grandma Mary’s. You can’t missthe round table. Just inside the front door, it’ssometimes loud and regularly entertaining.It’s also identifiable by the prevailing gar-ment of choice, bib overalls. While notmandatory, the classic apparel is preferred bya number of the elite round table partici-pants.“Travelers that come in will sit next to theround table because they like to listen towhat’s being talked about,” said café propri-etor Mary Sawle. “There are only seven chairsand sometimes there are 11 people sitting atit. They just keep squeezing closer togetherand pulling in more chairs.”Population density at the round table can bea problem for people like waitress CathyHugill. Keeping the orders in order is confus-ing when diners rotate between chairs. Witha full complement of patrons, Cathy some-times simply hands over the coffee pot forself-fulfilling refills. A moment of extreme tension occurred awhile back when, not only were all the chairsin use but also a row of customers stoodbehind the seated diners waiting for someoneto leave. A cheeky customer, legendary to all,called Cathy on his cell phone from a fewfeet away and demanded a place to sit. Theresponse he received was not reported.At least two shifts show up at the round tablefor breakfast, Sawle said. “We have the earlyshift that goes to work. They come in about5:30 or 6, just after we open. There are moreof them now that some are being laid off forthe winter. The later shift comes in and staysuntil 9:30 or 10. Then they go home so they

can get back intime for lunch,” shesaid with a chuckle.The more relaxedschedule of the“later shift” impliesthat some of thepatrons may beretired from regularchore duty. Itshould also benoted that, whilethe number ofhands-on (no pun intended) dairy farmershas dwindled, a considerable number of thediners work in agriculturally related occupa-tions.Between shifts on a recent morning, just oneman occupied the round table. In theabsence of breakfast companions, his com-ments served to bring the round table tradi-tion to life.“This is the farmers’ table,” he said thought-fully. Pointing to the empty chairs one byone, he recited: “That’s Eric Drachenberg, RodAnding, Paul Swenson, Eldon Heck...” Sawle’s café is in its 12th year of operation“on the hill” in Arena. The round table tradi-tion was inherited from its immediate prede-cessor, Porter’s Restaurant, which Marion andClarence, known as Sonny, ran in their housein the village.“I bought Marion’s coffee cups,” Sawle saidlast week. “The round table moved fromPorter’s to Grandma Mary’s.”While a core of regulars kept the table rollingin recent decades, there have been inevitablechanges in the population. Good-natured rib-bing and ribaldry aside, new patrons some-times submit to initiation into the group.“You have to break in,” Sawle said simply.Local lore is a regular topic as it was when apatron recently discussed the broader conceptof the community table. “Al Wright’s feedstore in Barneveld has a bigger table thanMary’s,” he said. “He’s got a coffee pot there.It’s not a restaurant but somebody usuallybrings in some donuts or sweet rolls.”Returning to the Arena scene, he said: “I getfree advice. We’ve got an engineer that sitsthere. We’ve got people that know a lotabout tools. They’ve got some smart peoplethere.”David Giffey can be contacted at [email protected].

David Giffey

Farmers’ table busy at Grandma Mary’sFarmers’ table busy at Grandma Mary’s

January 200814


January 2008 15

CCaatthheerriinnee MMoouunnttffoorrdd, partner of ISWNE boardmember JJeerreemmyy CCoonnddlliiffffee, from the CongletonChronicle, England, has gained a distinctionin her master’s degree in politics and the massmedia.Mountford studied at Liverpool University forthe 12-month course and her dissertationlooked at a number of media outlets in theNorth West, how they reported politics andwhat conclusions could be drawn as regardstheir news coverage and circulation.Prof John Corner, director of the MA in politicsand mass media at Liverpool and a formerhead of the School of Politics and Communi-cation Studies, said: “Catherine was a pleas-ure to teach, fully earning her distinction. Herdissertation allowed her to focus on a topicshe found really engaging, the question of thefuture for local news in a changing mediamarket and changing technology, and shebrought to it a combination of strong skills inthe collection and analysis of survey data andan impressive gift for critical thinking.“Reading it, I ended up being much more of achampion of localism than I would have everthought possible! Throughout all her studies,

her writing was clear and tight, her enthusi-asm for different ideas nicely balanced byscepticism.”The dissertation considered the future of localnews and its place within the mass media.Mountford analysed the role the local pressand television played in the democratic struc-ture of the country. She concluded that region-al news had a strong political grounding, andthus a strong future.There was demonstrable demand for grass-roots political news such as information onplanning applications and council spending.Newspapers with a better provision of politicalcoverage reached a higher proportion of theirpotential readership.She also looked at the new concept of “ultra-local news” and how that differed from the“local news” model and looked at how othernews media might attempt to move into thelocal market traditionally served by localweekly newspapers.The Liverpool course has had many stronggraduates over the last 10 years, some of themjournalists with a track record achieved before

doing the pro-gramme. Manymore have gone onto pursue careers inmedia. It hasrecruited frommore than 20countries, includingrecently Russia,China, India,Jordan and SaudiArabia.Prof Corner added:“Catherine is wellpositioned in the top band of those who haveshown excellence throughout the whole rangeof their work and we all wish her well in herfuture career.”Mountford celebrated her success alone andfar from home — after completing the courseshe travelled to Australia and went backpack-ing for five weeks. She was in Sydney whenthe results were emailed to her. She now hasto decide whether to find a job or embark ona PhD course, hopefully picking up some lec-turing work to help fund the course.

Mountford completes M.A. in Liverpool

Catherine Mountford

Mountford completes M.A. in Liverpool

The Huck Boyd National Center for Comm-unity Media at Kansas State University andthe National Newspaper AssociationFoundation have issued a Call for Proposalsfor the 14th annual Newspapers andCommunity-Building Symposium, which willbe Sept. 26-27, 2008 in St. Paul, Minn. Thedeadline to submit proposals is Feb. 15, 2008.The purpose of the symposium is to bringjournalism educators and publishers togetherin a forum that encourages discussion aboutcurrent research that is relevant to communitynewspapers. We seek research and case stud-ies relevant to newspapers with less than50,000 circulation.

If you can offer insight about “Newspapersand Community-Building” in any of itsaspects, we invite you to send a one-page pro-posal postmarked by Feb. 15, 2008. Thoseselected will prepare a paper for presentationat the National Newspaper Association con-vention in St. Paul, Minn. in September.Completed papers are due by July 7, 2008. Each presenter will receive a $250 honorari-um.Possible topic areas are: encouraging commu-nity involvement through the newspaper;enhancing readership among specific groups;addressing a diverse audience; using new

technology; and solving advertising, ethicaland legal issues.The proposals will be evaluated in a blindreview. Please send a separate title page withthe title of your proposal, your name, address(including university or professional affilia-tion), phone and e-mail; please indicate it is aproposal for Symposium XIV. The accompa-nying one-page proposal should include onlythe title and proposal, and the text must bedouble-spaced on 8 1/2” by 11” paper.Please contact Center Director Gloria Freelandat [email protected] if you’re interested in sub-mitting a proposal.

Huck Boyd Center and NNAF issue Call for Proposalsfor Symposium XIV, to be Sept. 26-27 in St. PaulHuck Boyd Center and NNAF issue Call for Proposalsfor Symposium XIV, to be Sept. 26-27 in St. Paul


January 200816

By Cheryl K. MillerAssistant to the Dean for College OutreachWichita State University

Its reputation ranges from truck route to redlight district to culinary thoroughfare.Ambulance sirens, heavy trucks and musicstreaming from the Artichoke Sandwich Barintermingle with the pungent odor of auto-mobile exhaust and the aroma of beefbrowned at La Chinita Mexican Restaurant.The street known simply as “Broadway” inWichita has a storied history, and at leastone person thought it worthy to share thosetales with the community. He believed thebest way to tell the stories was through theeyes of journalists.Les Anderson, associate professor and associ-ate director of the Elliott School of Com-munication at Wichita State University, senthis spring 2007 semester class, Comm 571:Feature Writing, to Broadway to help his stu-dents learn how to write feature articles.Rather than have them sit in class and learnthe process, he had them experience it byobserving people and landmarks, interactwith them and then share their stories withreaders. But why Broadway?“Broadway has always fascinated me,” saidAnderson, “because I grew up around hereand I drive that way a lot. I wasn’t sure howstudents would react, but most got into itfrom the beginning.”“I was intrigued,” said Roni Ayalla, senior incommunication. “I thought it was such agood idea; Broadway is so rich with history.The street also has a certain stigma about it.A lot of people, especially my age, think neg-atively of the area. Some don’t realize thehistory and importance of the street.” Patrice Hein, graduate student in communi-cation, had a similar reaction.“I could tell this would be a project thatwould involve a lot of people in the commu-nity: from those who helped to bring it alltogether — the Elliott School, The WichitaEagle and KMUW — to those who wouldenjoy reminiscing about life on Broadwayand what it meant to them,” Hein said. Sheresearched and wrote on the history ofBroadway.Anderson also sought to give his students

experience writing different kinds of featuresand to have their work be “print ready” forpublication. However, the enormity of theproject faced a major constraint, and thatwas the length of the 16-week semester. Toprovide a tighter framework for the studentsto draw from, he limited the reporting areafrom 61st Street South to 61st Street North. Inthis almost 15-mile stretch, classmates woulddiscover history, social changes, culturalinfluences and family stories.Each student wrote five or six articles. Oneassignment was to write a “tidbit piece” thathighlighted something unique or unusualabout Broadway (such as the globe atop theWelch Cleaners building). Others wrote a 50-word feature on a staff member, volunteer orguest at the Lord’s Diner, a non-profit soupkitchen for the poor and homeless sponsoredby the Catholic Diocese of Wichita. “It was humbling,” Ayalla said of the secondassignment.The Wichita Eagle published the students’work, collectively known as “The BroadwayProject” at its Web site, www.kansas.com,and included more than 70 of their stories.According to Nick Jungman, Eagle onlineeditor, the project will be accessible for anindefinite length of time. “The Eagle has been a great partner,” said

Anderson. “The editor, Sherry Chisenhall,bought into the project last fall, making itpossible for the project to be carried out bythe class in the spring. Eagle staff also gaveus ideas and direction as needed.”

FFrroomm ccaattttllee ttrraaiill ttoo eetthhnniicc jjoouurrnneeyyBroadway is part of U.S. Highway 81, a four-lane highway that stretches from Laredo,Texas, to the Canadian border of NorthDakota. However, it had very humble andearthy beginnings in Wichita — literally.While conducting background research, Heinlearned the lowly beginnings of the streetthat would shape much of Wichita’s charac-ter and history: it was a cattle path on theeast side of Darius Munger’s tract of land. Hereferred to it as “Texas,” a nod to the cattledrives and commerce around the time of set-tlement. The route was later namedLawrence, and finally, Broadway, in recogni-tion of its importance to Wichita’s commerceand use as a main street. Other names attrib-uted to the blacktop included MeridianHighway and the familiar “Old 81.”From the early 1930s until the beginning ofWorld War II, Broadway hosted a greatbuilding boom for businesses, churches,motels and restaurants. However, when theKansas Turnpike opened in 1958 and

Lessons from BroadwayLessons from Broadway


January 2008 17

Interstate 235 opened in 1963, Broadway lostits importance as a thoroughfare and busi-nesses began to close. People stopped goingto Broadway for shopping and dining, andin the late 1980s, drug pushers and prosti-tutes found new grounds in the strugglingmotels on the south end of town.In a lesser city, Broadway might have died.However, Wichitans took up for the old cattletrail and went to work to preserve many ofits old structures. The John Mack Bridge,Engine House No. 6 and the OrpheumTheater were a few of the structures savedfrom demolition. As the face of societychanged, so did Broadway’s. Connie’sMexico Café and the Saigon Restaurant nowshare the street with the Lord’s Diner andSavute’s Italian Ristorante. Ethnic marketsline both sides of the street. Several students wrote stories about familiesimmigrating to the United States for a betterlife and finding their success in running abusiness on Broadway. For some students,though, these sporadic Broadway visits didn’tgive them a clear image of the street’s role inthe community.To further their understanding, Hein, LauraRoddy Brown and Amy Maxton, also gradu-ate students in communication, spent aSaturday traversing 14.5 miles of the streeton foot. “We really got to know Broadway a lot betterthan you can just driving by,” said Brown.“We snacked at various restaurants, checkedout pawn shops, looked at the beautifulchurch architecture and generally exhaustedourselves.”

The project has reshaped her perspective ofthe street many know for its colorful charac-ters and illicit activities.“It showed me that Broadway doesn’t reallydeserve its reputation,” she said. “There aredefinitely still some prostitution and drugproblems, but there are a lot of great thingsthere, too. I enjoyed the multiculturalism ofthe Hispanic and Asian communities on

North Broadway.”Anderson also had a shift in perspective dur-ing the project.“A lot of people don’t know aboutBroadway,” said Anderson. “Many believeit’s a place to avoid. I rediscovered things I’dforgotten and realized how much thingshave changed.”The project has spurred much interest fornew Wichita residents as well as those whohave lived here many years. As of Sept. 30,the “On Broadway” section of theKansas.com Web site had 18,021 page views.Readers posted many comments and memo-ries following several stories, and Andersonreceived a lot of feedback personally.

“It got people to reflect on Broadway,” hesaid.

TThhee jjoouurrnneeyy ccoonnttiinnuueessGiven its success and the number of storiesleft to mine, Anderson couldn’t put theBroadway Project to bed. Now students areworking on stories involving the flatironbuilding at 21st Street North and Broadway,the Grand Chapel and the Commodoreapartment building. They’ll also cover themortuaries, the long-demolished 81 Drive-In,and Waxene Products, a company that pro-duces floor sweep and wiping rags. The students’ commitment to the project isevident. Those now involved are participat-ing as individual students in directed studies.As with the class, not all of the students arefollowing a print emphasis. Some are pursu-ing electronic media, advertising or publicrelations, which Anderson thinks reflects theElliott School’s integrated approach. Though there has been some informal con-versation about turning the BroadwayProject into a book, Anderson is content nowwith helping students gain and hone theskills they’ll use as journalists. The project, hesaid, has given students something to use intheir portfolios and provided them with net-working opportunities.In return, the students have given Wichitansa gift. They have preserved Broadway andilluminated its spirit. ISWNE member Les Anderson can be con-tacted at [email protected].

Finding the Broadway project• Log on to www.kansas.com • Scroll down to “Featured Sections”• Click on “The Broadway Project:

Special Section”

glass, and the death’s scythe, making itquite certain that you will die before yourtime unless you take out papers in his com-pany. Besides this you have a cold in yourhead, a grain of dirt in your eye and youare walking uneasy. The day is out of jointand no surgeon can set it. Be careful andnot write any letters while you are in thatterrible mood. You will pen some things in

the way of criticism or fault findings thatyou will be sorry for after wards. The tablewould be poorly set that had on it nothingbut treacle. We need a little vinegar, mus-tard, pepper and horseradish that brings thetears even when we do not feel pathetic. Ifthis world were all smoothness we shouldnever be ready for emigration to a higherand better world. Blustering March and

weeping April prepare us for shining May.This world is a poor hitching post; instead oftrying fast on the cold, cold mountains, wehad better whip up and hasten on towardthe inn, where our good friends are lookingout of the window watching for us to comeup.Jeremy Waltner can be contacted at [email protected].

President’s Report from page 2


January 200818

By JJiimm PPaaiinntteerrManaging editorWest Valley ViewLitchfield Park, Ariz.Nov. 30, 2007

Privacy used to be fairly easy to define. Itused to be “1 a: the quality or state of beingapart from company or observation b: free-dom from unauthorized intrusion,” accord-ing to Merriam-Webster. It will have a brand new definition, if somepeople in the Bush administration havetheir way. A couple of weeks ago, a high-level U.S.government intelligence official toldCongress that the United States needs tochange its definition of privacy.

Donald Kerr, the principal deputy directorof national intelligence, said that a new def-inition of privacy is needed in light of newtechnology and new threats to Americansecurity. Congress is reviewing the ForeignIntelligence Surveillance Act and Kerr wantsintelligence agencies to have greater accessto people’s private e-mails and phone calls.Telecommunications companies want to begranted government protection from law-suits filed by citizens whose e-mails andphone records have been opened to govern-ment agencies. President Bush has threat-ened to veto any bill that doesn’t grantthem such immunity. Kerr argued that the Internet has changedthe concept of privacy.

“Protectinganonymity isn’t afight that can bewon,” he toldCongress.“Anyone that’styped in theirname on Googleunderstands that.”He also cited thefact that manyAmericans (main-ly the youngerones) have abro-gated their privacy and anonymity by post-ing their personal information on social-networking sites such as MySpace andFacebook. The personal privacy vs. national securitydebate will only grow louder as time goeson. How much privacy are American citi-zens willing to give up in exchange for secu-rity? Do most Americans of the 21st centuryfeel as many 18th century Americans didthat liberty (of which personal privacy is amajor component) is more important thanlife itself? How many Americans todayagree with Patrick Henry’s rousing speech inwhich he said: “Is life so dear, or peace sosweet, as to be purchased at the price ofchains and slavery? Forbid it, AlmightyGod! I know not what course others maytake; but as for me, give me liberty or giveme death!” It’s true that we live in a different age thanthe founding fathers and that new technol-ogy has changed the rules a bit. But, libertyis something that Americans will alwayshold dear, and the great minds of the 18thcentury defined liberty as freedom from gov-ernment intrusion. Once our governmenthas more rights than individual citizens,then our own government becomes an evengreater threat to our security than any for-eign government or terrorist group.Jim Painter can be contacted [email protected].

Personal privacy vital to freedom

Jim Painter

Personal privacy vital to freedom

ISWNE new membersJJiimm MMccGGaauulleeyy is editor and publisher of The Baker CountyPress in Macclenny, Fla., a 5,700 circulation weekly locatedjust west of Jacksonville. McGauley is vice-chair of theFlorida Press Association (assuming chairmanship in June)and an adjunct journalism professor at The University ofNorth Florida. He's a native of St. Louis, a 1969 graduate ofBenedictine College, and the father of five grown children.His wife, Margaret (Mag) is a certified civil mediator.

LLuuJJaannee NNiissssee has owned the LatahEagle in Idahoand The Boomerang! in Washington since 1981. Shestarted in the newspaper business as a typesetterback in the Compugraphic days of punching tickertape, barely missing the hot metal days. Her hus-band, BBeeaarr, joined the newspaper business when thetwo married in 1986. The couple has seven children(two his, three hers, and two theirs) and sevengrandchildren.

By NNaannccyy RRiicchhaarrddssoonnThe Journal-NewsHillsboro, Ill.Dec. 31, 2007

Although my family insists I make the bestchocolate chip cookies ever, I don’t claim tobe an expert on anything, at least not any-more. (Ask Mr. Deabenderfer and he’ll tell youthat wasn’t the case during my high schooldays.)I have gained some knowledge through lifeexperience that I feel is worth sharing, aknowledge I fervently hope no one else has tolearn on their own.Those readers who know me realize my hus-band and I lost our youngest son, Bryce, in ahead-on collision on May 11 of this year, lessthan two weeks after his 19th birthday. In aneffort to survive the agonizing days followingthis event, made worse (if that’s possible) byoccurring Mother’s Day weekend, I have triedto focus on what I can learn from a senselesstragedy for all involved.We experienced an outpouring of support dur-ing that time, often from people we didn’teven know very well. It gave and continues togive us a great deal of comfort.I would now like to help other people under-stand how to treat us, the unwilling membersof the grieving parents club.Let’s face it, what do you say to someone whofeels like their heart has been ripped out inslow, agonizing handfuls. I’ve been in thesame situation as you and had no clue, butnow that I’m looking at the situation from theother side, let me offer some insight.I don’t claim to know all the answers.Everyone grieves in their own manner. Somecry; others don’t. Some work nonstop untilthey drop; others can’t muster the strength toeven get off the couch.In speaking to other parents whose childrenhave died, I found us to have many similarthoughts and reactions. I hope this helps any-one who is thrust into the situation of beinginvolved with a parent undergoing such aloss.First, and possibly foremost, don’t ignore thesituation. Do you honestly think acting likenothing happened makes us feel better?Ignoring the elephant in the room is not help-ful.

I think most people do this for well-inten-tioned reasons. They are afraid to bring upthe deceased’s name because they fear upset-ting us. Believe me, we’ve already faced theworse that can happen. We would ratherknow you remember our child and show youcare about our well-being than pretendingyou didn’t see our son or daughter in a casketonly a few weeks before.If you ask, “How are you doing?,” be preparedfor a truthful answer. It’s hard to keep spout-ing the same, platitudinous “I’m OK” when,obviously, we are not by any description ofthe word, OK. Ask us and mean it. Giving usthe chance to talk can help more than youknow.Realize we will never get over this. Grievingthe loss of a child, or any other family mem-ber or friend, is a process. We may eventuallyget through it, but we will not get over it. Andit takes a long time to feel like we’re makingany progress.That being said, if you see us tear up for noapparent reason, understand there is a rea-son. It could be a song on the radio, a particu-lar scent, a child that reminds us of our ownor any number of things.For instance, about a month or so afterBryce’s death, I was working at The Journal-News, typing up the menu for the senior citi-zen center. One day included pickled beets aspart of the meal.That’s all it took for me to start crying, asstrange as it sounds, but Bryce was the onlyone of my three sons who would eat pickledbeets. To his brothers’ astonishment, he actu-ally liked them while they gagged on everybite.Understand that the first birthdays and holi-days aren’t the only days that we struggle toget through. Every day is a first day after thedeath of a child. Every time you do somethingyou may have routinely done in the past,such as visit a favorite fast-food place orwatch a homecoming parade, memories aretriggered.We need the memories to survive, but thosememories also make us face once again thereality of our loss. If we must leave an eventearlier than planned, understand we may beoverwhelmed with emotions.If you do encourage us to talk, be prepared fortears. Don’t feel like you’ve brought them on;they are always there, waiting just below the

surface. It doesn’thurt us to cry, it’sjust part of theprocess. Sometimesa good cry mayeven help.Don’t expect us tobe as concernedabout certain lifeissues or events aswe once were. Afootball team los-ing a game is justthat, no more. (Ican already hearthe response from my employer and half ofthe staff.)For many of us, myself included, death forcesus to focus on the really important aspects inlife, such as time spent with family or makinga lasting difference in the world in some man-ner. Having a clean house or attending everychurch meeting may fall by the way side indeference to playing Candyland with a grand-child.My advice if you have a friend in my situa-tion? Talk, listen and have a box of tissueshandy. Expect tears and don’t fear them. Ifyou don’t see us crying, don’t assume we don’thurt. We try to cry at home where our mas-cara-making raccoon eyes doesn’t matter andour loud nose-blows don’t frighten anyone.And don’t expect us to be your version of“OK” ever again. We have to learn to livewith an entirely new kind of normal.I hope I continue to learn more as I travel thisunwanted and unexpected road, especially asranting against the heavens produces noresults. We have to play the deck life deals usto the best of our ability and make the mostof the time we have, whether it’s 19 years or91 years.One of the songs we chose for Bryce’s funeralsums it up pretty well. I’ll leave you with onestanza from Time of Your Life by Green Day:“Another turning point, a fork stuck in theroad. Time grabs you by the wrist, directs youwhere to go. So make the best of this test anddon’t ask why. It’s not a question but a lessonlearned in time. It’s something unpredictable,but in the end it’s right. I hope you had thetime of your life.”Nancy Richardson can be contacted [email protected].


January 2008 19

Nancy Richardson

Lessons I Have Learned: An Instruction Manual, of SortsLessons I Have Learned: An Instruction Manual, of Sorts


January 200820

By Nancy Bliss SlepickaThe Journal-NewsHillsboro, Ill.Dec. 31, 2007

This is my obituary for twice-weekly dead-lines.As an HHS classmate of ‘65 reminded meon Saturday, I vowed way back then thatI’d never return to Hillsboro to work for myfamily’s newspaper.Well, as readers of this column well know,I changed that tune exactly 37 years agowhen Richard and I turned a page and leftthe university life — him at Stanford, meat Berkeley — to accept Dad’s invitation totry community journalism. Uncle Tom wasretiring, and my parents, Bob and PatBliss, needed help at The MontgomeryCounty News.Except for one year, 1973, when we trav-eled overseas, worked on the Navajo reser-vation and finally decided to return to TheNews, we’ve been in Hillsboro, enjoyingthe variety and the challenges of a smalltown newspaper.Today, Dec. 31, we turn another page to anew chapter of travel and escape from fre-quent deadlines.We’ll soon point “Harvey, the RV,” towardsLouisiana, where we’ve volunteered towork on a two-week Habitat for Humanityproject. Later in January we’ll visit CaroleHoover Allen, Hillsboro native and ‘07Educational Foundation Alumni Awardwinner, to see how she saves the sea turtleson the Texas gulf coast.Since a week ago when Susie wrote of ourcoming retirement, we’ve received manykind words from readers. And even thoughit’s felt a bit like attending our own wake,we’re grateful.Although our style of community journal-ism has been all-consuming — addictiveperhaps — the rewards come often.Readers thank us for a factual story or awell written obituary. Readers say thanks

for capturing special moments with ourcameras. Readers stop us at the grocery tosay they agree with an editorial comment.If you want a job that gives a sense ofmeaning, of making a difference, be anewspaper editor. If you can take the occa-sional barb while relishing the more fre-quent pats on the back, be a communityjournalist.The up side and the down side of thiscareer come from feeling close to our read-ers.It’s fun to write about (relive) your goodnews — personal triumphs, winningteams, economic growth, town successes.It’s awful to write about (relive) the sadand tragic news that strikes too many, toooften.When the Bliss family’s MontgomeryCounty News and the Galer family’sHillsboro Journal merged more than threeyears ago, we wrote with optimism about anew newspaper that would draw from ourseparate histories and build on our sharedcommitments.

I believe, and amproud, that TheJournal-News hasaccomplishedthat.What I didn’tanticipate whenmy desk movedthree blockssouth, from theMontgomeryNews building tothe Journal-News, was thatwe didn’t lose thefamily business that I’d known all my life.Instead, we gained a larger and welcomingfamily — the people who create this news-paper day in and day out. For that wethank the Galer clan and all our co-work-ers.It’s been rewarding and fun. What morecould we hope for?You’ll be hearing from us.Nancy Slepicka can be contacted at [email protected].

Nancy Bliss Slepicka

Obit on DeadlinesObit on Deadlines

ISWNE new memberGGeeoorrggee LLeeddbbeetttteerr has been editor and publisher of TheChadron Record, a Lee Enterprises newspaper in Chadron,Neb., since 2001. He worked previously at The LawrenceCounty Centennial in Deadwood, S.D., where he started hisjournalism career in 1989 after previous stints as disciple ofa Hindu guru in India; world traveler; gemstone, jewelryand carpet merchant; beekeeper; and tour guide. An avid reader of newspapers and magazines, Ledbetterfinds community journalism a rewarding profession. Hebelieves that small town weekly newspapers reporting onlocal issues and events should strive for the same standards of quality and ethics aslarger dailies do in covering their particular corner of the world.Ledbetter and his wife, Elizabeth, have three children, who, other than holding downa paper route, show no interest in following in their father’s footsteps. In his too-fewoff hours, he enjoys mountain biking and cross country skiing, and would be delight-ed to utilize his private pilot’s license if only time and money allowed.

January 2008 21


By BByyrroonn BBrreewweerrFrankfort, Ky.

Listen! Listen closely. Hear it? It’s not the snap of a twig or the whistleof a witch’s broomstick in the wind oreven a grade-B movie monster come tocarry off your first-born child. No, thismonster was real, and it was right in thebackyards of school children who livedominously, perilously close to theGeorgetown Cemetery. If they failed tobehave, to do their homework or to brushtheir teeth at night, chances were theymight be called upon by...the Tent Girl!For three decades, parents who liked totake the fast route to teaching Dick andJane the “how-to’s” of life used the TentGirl instead of the Boogeyman as theirobject of motivation. This was how I wasactually introduced to the Tent Girl: I waslooking for a Halloween story, and theold-timers told me the youngerGeorgetown College frat boys sometimestook their dates into the cemeteryHalloween nights on dares from upperclassmen and forced the girls to touchher tombstone. Well, you see how good these stories werefor All Hallow’s Eve and I ran with themfor four or five years until I sat downwith my friend, former deputy countycoroner Kenneth Grant, and began dis-cussing the case of the Tent Girl. Kennethhad worked the case at the scene and heknocked into a young reporter’s headsomething that had not been therebefore. (Or perhaps it just died of loneli-ness.)The Tent Girl was a monster, yes, but shewas also someone’s daughter, and maybeeven someone’s wife and mother. Andshe had been missing for a long, longtime and there had been an empty chairat someone’s table for as long as orlonger than the Tent Girl had been underthe earth.After that conversation, I began to inves-tigate the case of the Tent Girl, not herlegend. I talked with Marvin Yocum, withmy ever-helpful buddy Earlene Arnette at

the Scott County Public Library whoaided me in finding microfiche withnewspaper information on the case. Italked to Sheriff’s Deputy John Farris, mygood friend who was a state policemanat the time of the case and who hadworked it since its inception; ditto BobbyVance, who was sheriff when the eventoccurred. I also discussed the matter withboth Archie Frye and Ralph Maurer, whoactively reported on the story. My mis-sion became to see to it that a family,somewhere, knew where its lost loved onewas and that it would happen in my life-time as a journalist.When Todd Matthews of Livingston,Tenn., called me that day in 1998 andsaid he had made a connection betweenthe Tent Girl and a family missing amember from that time period throughhis Internet sleuthing, I nearly fell to thefloor. He was at the News-Graphic thevery next weekend. I was the first news-paperman he talked with. He had appre-ciated how I had kept the story alive. Herfamily came to town next, we got a posi-tive DNA match, and the identity of theTent Girl — and her past as BarbaraHackmann Taylor — was revealed.I think the tale is summed up best in theeulogy I wrote for Taylor and read duringher funeral on April 25, 1998: For almost 30 years, she has been thereason our children have gone to bed ontime, the reason many pledges make itinto college fraternities. She has been aHalloween fairy tale, a dare betweenyoungsters. And she has been called theTent Girl. Today, she is someone’s sister, someone’smother. Today, we honor the legend ofthe Tent Girl but more the womannamed Barbara Hackmann Taylor. Fromthe moment the news of Wilbur Riddlefinding the remains of a young girlwrapped in tent-like material hit thestreets of Georgetown, and especiallyafter her story was published in an issueof Master Detective magazine in an effortto find her killer, did she become a leg-end in Scott County.

She was oftenused to promptour children intoan undesiredtask, much like afavored ghoststory. She wasoften the first realchallenge ofyouthful friend-ship. “Let’s go seethe stone of theTent Girl,” or thefirst obstaclefaced by anincoming Georgetown College freshmanunder a midnight moon. Yet for the fear her tale inspired, she hasalways been beloved by the people ofGeorgetown and Scott County. The samechildren who may fear her in the dead ofnight continually bring flowers to hergrave and pray for the woman behindthe legend. The same college studentswho sweat through their first meetingwith the Tent Girl later honor her byhelping to keep the grave and the com-munity in which it dwells free of litterand rubbish through clean-ups. In acemetery of many notable and honoreddead, she has over the last three decadesbecome its most prominent resident. Today, 30 years after Wilbur Riddlefound that young girl’s body and onlymonths after his son-in-law, ToddMatthews, made a connection on theInternet worthy itself of a MasterDetective story, we come to honor thelegend of the Tent Girl and the younggirl whose life and death inspired it. The legend of the Tent Girl does not endtoday. It will live in our community foras long as the community itself survives.But for Barbara Hackmann Taylor andfor her family — for Shelly and Bonnie,for Rosemary and Jan and Marie andNancy — one long journey is over. TheTent Girl legend will live on. But Barbaraand her family this day, after 30 years,are finally at peace.Byron Brewer can be contacted at [email protected].

Byron Brewer

Uncovering the Tent Girl mystery Uncovering the Tent Girl mystery


January 200822

GOLDEN QUILL and EUGENE CERVI AWARD Winners will be asked to attend ISWNE’s annual

conference at tDetroit, Michigan June 25-29, 2008.

Each award includes a plaque, conference expenses, and travel expenses up to $500.

The 48th Annual Golden Quill AwardsEntries should reflect the purpose of the ISWNE: Encouraging the writ-ing of editorials that identify issues that are or should be of concern tothe community, offer an opinion, and support a course of action, withan emphasis on local subject matter.

Eligibility:All newspapers of less than daily frequency(published less than five days per week) arequalified to enter. Entries must have beenpublished between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2007.

Entries must be postmarked byFeb. 1, 2008.

Please mark the envelope: GOLDEN QUILL ENTRY.

Send to: Chad Stebbins,Institute of International StudiesMissouri Southern State University 3950 E. Newman Road, Joplin, MO, 64801-1595

How to Submit:Select up to four best editorials or signed opin-ion pieces from your newspaper. TTwwoo iiss tthheemmaaxxiimmuumm nnuummbbeerr ooff eennttrriieess ppeerrmmiitttteedd ffrroommeeaacchh iinnddiivviidduuaall.. Mount each entry on 8 1/2-by-11-inch white paper, using glue or mount-ing material that does not bleed throughnewsprint. Please try to eliminate any identi-fying information, such as a byline or mugshot.

On the back of each page on which theentries are mounted, the following shouldappear: Name of newspaper, full mailingaddress of newspaper, date of publication, fullname and title of the writer, and the writer’semail address and telephone number.Grassroots Editor, ISWNE’s quarterly journal,will reprint the 12 best editorials as theGolden Dozen in the Summer 2008 issue.


January 2008 23

ISWNE 2008awards competition

ISWNE 2008awards competition

The Eugene Cervi Award winner will be asked to attend ISWNE’s annual conferenceat Detroit, Michigan from June 25-29, 2008.

The award includes a plaque, conference expenses, and travel expenses up to $500.

The 30th Annual Eugene Cervi AwardThe Eugene Cervi Award was established byISWNE to honor the memory of Eugene Cervi ofthe Rocky Mountain Journal, Denver, by recogniz-ing a newspaper editor who has consistently actedin the conviction that “good journalism begetsgood government.”The award is presented not for a single braveaccomplishment, however deserving, but for a

career of outstanding public service through com-munity journalism and for adhering to the high-est standards of the craft with the deep reverencefor the English language that was the hallmark ofEugene Cervi’s writing.The award also recognizes consistently aggressivereporting of government at the grassroots leveland interpretation of local affairs.

CCeerrvvii AAwwaarrdd NNoommiinnaattiioonnss sshhoouulldd bbeeggiinn wwiitthh aa lleetttteerr ooff nnoommiinnaattiioonn,, which shouldinclude the writer’s reasons for making the nomination. The nomination alsoshould have other letters about the nominee, clippings demonstrating the criteriafor the award and a biographical data sheet giving basic facts about the nominee’scareer.NNoommiinnaattiioonnss aarree ooppeenn oonnllyy ttoo eeddiittoorrss ooff nneewwssppaappeerrss ooff lleessss tthhaann ddaaiillyy ffrreeqquueennccyy..Daily is defined as at least five days per week in frequency. (Note: Since the CerviAward covers a journalistic career, supporting materials are not limited by chronol-ogy. Clips can be made from any point in the nominee’s career.)NNoommiinnaattiioonnss sshhoouulldd bbee sseenntt bbyy MMaarrcchh 11,, 22000088 (materials may follow by end ofmonth) to:CChhaadd SStteebbbbiinnss,, IInnssttiittuuttee ooff IInntteerrnnaattiioonnaall SSttuuddiieess,, MMiissssoouurrii SSoouutthheerrnn SSttaattee UUnniivveerrssiittyy,,33995500 EE.. NNeewwmmaann RRooaadd,, JJoopplliinn,, MMOO 6644880011--11559955.. PPlleeaassee mmaarrkk tthhee eennvveellooppee:: CCEERRVVIIAAWWAARRDD EENNTTRRYY..

The 33rd Annual Eugene Cervi Award

Facebook provides information for story Facebook provides information for story

International Society of Weekly Newspaper EditorsInstitute of International Studies

Missouri Southern State UniversityJoplin, MO 64801-1595 FIRST CLASS

ABOUT THE ISWNEThe International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors (ISWNE) was founded in 1955 at Southern IllinoisUniversity (SIU) by Howard R. Long, then chair of SIU’s Department of Journalism at Carbondale, and HoustounWaring, then editor of the Littleton (Colo.) Independent. ISWNE headquarters were at Northern Illinois Universityat Dekalb from 1976 to 1992, at South Dakota State University in Brookings from 1992 to 1999. MissouriSouthern State University in Joplin became the headquarters in 1999.ISWNE’s purpose is to help those involved in the weekly press to improve standards of editorial writing and newsreporting and to encourage strong, independent editorial voices. The society seeks to fulfill its purpose by holdingannual conferences, presenting awards, issuing publications, and encouraging international exchanges. There areISWNE members in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan.There are subscribers to Grassroots Editor, the society’s quarterly journal, in still more countries.This publication will be made available in alternative formats upon request to Chad Stebbins 417-625-9736.

Dr. Chad StebbinsEditor & ISWNE Executive Director Director, Institute of International Studies

Produced by the Institute ofInternational StudiesMissouri Southern State University3950 E. Newman RoadJoplin, MO 64801-1595

(417) 625-9736 (417) 659-4445 FAX

[email protected]

The Congleton Chronicle in England hasnotched up a first — running a front-pagestory based entirely on comments from theFacebook social networking web site.The story concerned a popular pub inCongleton that shut suddenly. LandlordMike Pickering and his staff pulled the lastpints at the Wharf Inn as drinkers watchedEngland’s crash to defeat against Croatia inthe Euro 2008 qualifying match, puttingthem out of the tournament. It was specu-lated that the lack of future football gamesand the trade they bring in was the finalstraw for Pickering. The next day the pub’swindows and doors were covered with steelshutters.Pub owner Punch Taverns said it wasunaware of the closure and Mr Pickeringhad apparently left the area but pub regu-lars were given an explanation in a state-ment posted on the “Wharf Inn (Congleton)Appreciation Society” page of Facebook.Written on behalf of Mr Pickering by aCarla Ditzel, it explained that the pub “hasnot been able to maintain the level of cus-tom required in order to succeed as a prof-

itable business” and Mr Pickering had decid-ed to move on.Chronicle editor Jeremy Condliffe said: “I’dnormally be suspicious of lifting informationfrom the Internet — there’s a lot of rubbishout there — but the statement appeared tobe genuine and was in the public domain.The pub was also clearly closed and boardedup so we weren’t maligning the business. “We had to run a story because it was thetalk of the town and using the Facebookcomments made the story much better. It’sworth noting that the regulars from the pubwere talking about the closure as soon as ithappened — Facebook might turn out to beuseful source of information on local sto-ries.”The Chronicle also used the Internet to trackdown a controversial local businessman.Entrepreneur Joe Terry opened a restauranton a former trawler, “moored” on the riverin Congleton — it’s actually in a concretedry dock. The business only lasted 18months and the boat has been steadily dete-riorating for the last eight years. Terry him-self disappeared.

Condliffe wrote a feature on the boat andTerry, who was a bit of a character. Then atip-off led him to track Terry down — to StHelena, near the Falkland Islands, one ofthe most remote spots in the world. True toform, Terry is involved in a controversialleisure scheme on the island.In one of those moments that make localnewspapers so magical, it then transpiredthen the new governor of St Helena wasfrom the Chronicle’s circulation area andactually emailed a letter from the island forthe paper after having the stories from theChronicle sent out to him.

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