“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” It was Sunday’s Times-Reporter, it was Saturday’s Times-Reporter. How so, you say? The lead story on Sunday, February 14, headlines “Year ahead shows promise.” The lead story on Saturday, February 13, headlines “Housing woes mount.” Confused? If you only read one or the other lead story, it made sense. If you read both, there could be cause for confusion.
The New Philadelphia Mayor’s State of the City address, presented to City Council in printed form on Monday, February 8, the basis of Sunday’s lead article, paints a picture of a city successfully working its way out of recession. Mr. Taylor cited a number of business improvements which have taken place over the last year, all of which are encouraging. The remodeling of Wendy’s, the Holiday Inn, and Wal-Mart are encouraging signs, but are not recent developments of planning and investment. Projects such as those are not accomplished overnight, rather require a year or more to come to fruition. A few new businesses have come to New Philadelphia, and for this we are genuinely thankful, and bid them welcome.
On the other side of the coin, Saturday, February 8, the Times-Reporter reported foreclosures in Tuscarawas County in 2009 at 454, the highest in the past two years. According to the article, foreclosures are 17% ahead in January 2010 when compared to the same period of 2009. On the same page was an article that Gorant Candies, Cards, and Gifts will close by the end of February. A walk through the city, including downtown, reveals a number of empty buildings, some of which have been unoccupied for months. Figures released by the Bureau of Labor the first of February show unemployment slightly higher than 11%.
The two lead articles send conflicting messages. Part of the confusion may be a lack of understanding on the part of the media of what is really happening in the city. Their articles appear to be not much more than quotes from city officials and others, which are accepted at face value and without question.
The media doesn’t seem to understand that the business of the City is generally not decided during meetings of City Council. The hard decisions, confrontations, negotiations, and, yes, political deals occur behind the scenes. Within City Council these activities take place in committee meetings, which, by the way, are open to the public. The news media is, by law, informed of such meetings 72 hours before they convene. The media, unfortunately, doesn’t generally publish such notices, nor do they attend the committee meetings in which decisions are made on which legislation is sent to the Council floor for a vote.
An example of the desirability of more in-depth reporting would be The Mayor’s State of the City presentation. It created questions which need examination but were ignored by the media. In it the mayor requested personnel increases including a Human Resources manager, an Assistant Street Superintendent, an Assistant Water Superintendent, and a permanent fourth Lieutenant for the Fire Department, the later in addition to the four Lieutenants hired last year. The four new positions alone have the potential to add a quarter of a million dollars to New Philadelphia’s budget. Tax revenues at all levels of government are down because of high unemployment. The Media failed to recognize the danger of increasing city personnel at a time when city income is decreasing.
It wasn’t that long ago that the guiding words in journalism were what, who, why, and where. It took digging, interviews, critical evaluation, to come up with the four W’s which made the news an important part of informing and educating the American public. It was inquisitiveness on the part of the news media which informed the public of current events, concerns, and kept watch over governmental follies. The search for truth and in-depth reporting, which made the American press unique in the world in past years, seems to have disappeared to be replaced with quotes from press releases and sound bites. What happened to the media of the past which aggressively protected citizens’ rights, guarded our liberties, attacked government excesses, and informed the public?
The citizen of New Philadelphia deserves to get the full story on events that shape and control their lives. It is the media’s responsibility to provide not only the story, but the facts behind it. It is the media’s legacy to find the truth and, regardless of political implications and pressures, report it to the citizenry.
Will New Philadelphia, and Dover, ever again experience the thrill of such a committed, informative chronicler of our times? I hope so.
The New Philadelphia Mayor’s State of the City address, presented to City Council in printed form on Monday, February 8, the basis of Sunday’s lead article, paints a picture of a city successfully working its way out of recession. Mr. Taylor cited a number of business improvements which have taken place over the last year, all of which are encouraging. The remodeling of Wendy’s, the Holiday Inn, and Wal-Mart are encouraging signs, but are not recent developments of planning and investment. Projects such as those are not accomplished overnight, rather require a year or more to come to fruition. A few new businesses have come to New Philadelphia, and for this we are genuinely thankful, and bid them welcome.
On the other side of the coin, Saturday, February 8, the Times-Reporter reported foreclosures in Tuscarawas County in 2009 at 454, the highest in the past two years. According to the article, foreclosures are 17% ahead in January 2010 when compared to the same period of 2009. On the same page was an article that Gorant Candies, Cards, and Gifts will close by the end of February. A walk through the city, including downtown, reveals a number of empty buildings, some of which have been unoccupied for months. Figures released by the Bureau of Labor the first of February show unemployment slightly higher than 11%.
The two lead articles send conflicting messages. Part of the confusion may be a lack of understanding on the part of the media of what is really happening in the city. Their articles appear to be not much more than quotes from city officials and others, which are accepted at face value and without question.
The media doesn’t seem to understand that the business of the City is generally not decided during meetings of City Council. The hard decisions, confrontations, negotiations, and, yes, political deals occur behind the scenes. Within City Council these activities take place in committee meetings, which, by the way, are open to the public. The news media is, by law, informed of such meetings 72 hours before they convene. The media, unfortunately, doesn’t generally publish such notices, nor do they attend the committee meetings in which decisions are made on which legislation is sent to the Council floor for a vote.
An example of the desirability of more in-depth reporting would be The Mayor’s State of the City presentation. It created questions which need examination but were ignored by the media. In it the mayor requested personnel increases including a Human Resources manager, an Assistant Street Superintendent, an Assistant Water Superintendent, and a permanent fourth Lieutenant for the Fire Department, the later in addition to the four Lieutenants hired last year. The four new positions alone have the potential to add a quarter of a million dollars to New Philadelphia’s budget. Tax revenues at all levels of government are down because of high unemployment. The Media failed to recognize the danger of increasing city personnel at a time when city income is decreasing.
It wasn’t that long ago that the guiding words in journalism were what, who, why, and where. It took digging, interviews, critical evaluation, to come up with the four W’s which made the news an important part of informing and educating the American public. It was inquisitiveness on the part of the news media which informed the public of current events, concerns, and kept watch over governmental follies. The search for truth and in-depth reporting, which made the American press unique in the world in past years, seems to have disappeared to be replaced with quotes from press releases and sound bites. What happened to the media of the past which aggressively protected citizens’ rights, guarded our liberties, attacked government excesses, and informed the public?
The citizen of New Philadelphia deserves to get the full story on events that shape and control their lives. It is the media’s responsibility to provide not only the story, but the facts behind it. It is the media’s legacy to find the truth and, regardless of political implications and pressures, report it to the citizenry.
Will New Philadelphia, and Dover, ever again experience the thrill of such a committed, informative chronicler of our times? I hope so.
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