Volume 32, No. 2 March 2007 QUOTE OF THE MONTH

“In any country, the press protects and empowers the government, whether it be a dictatorship or a democracy. “In a dictatorship, the government is one person. “In a democracy, as in the United States, the gov- ernment is the people, all the people. “Thus, in the United States, the free press, guaran- teed and protected by the First Amendment, has the awesome responsibility of protecting and empowering the people through the accurate, objective, and free flow of news.”

— Douglas Perret Starr, Professor of Agricultural Visit the ISWNE’s Web site: Communications and Journalism, Texas A&M University www.iswne.org

Published by the Institute of International Studies, Missouri Southern State University, Joplin, MO Join ISWNE in the Black Hills, June 27-July 1 People attending the ISWNE 2007 summer by sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski, his family conference in the Black Hills June 27-July 1 has continued the project since his death in will have several unique opportunities to 1982 and his widow, Ruth, will speak to the experience the western region of South group. The schedule includes a rare trip to the Dakota. top of the mountain where the likeness of And getting there for the start of the confer- Crazy Horse is emerging. ence late Wednesday afternoon is essential Thursday’s program will also include sessions for people wanting to see Mount Rushmore. on American Indian issues and the annual Not only will the group see the national career program for American Indian high memorial that features 60-foot sculptures of school students. The noon meal will be held four U.S. presidents, but the group will be spe- at the restaurant at the base of the moun- cial guests at the evening lighting ceremony. tain. Thursday evening activities, back on the In addition, Gerard Baker, superintendent of SDSMT campus, will feature entertainment Mount Rushmore National Monument, is and fellowship at the hospitality room. scheduled to speak to the group. Baker, the Friday’s programming, on the SDSMT cam- first American Indian to serve as superintend- pus will explore some of the scientific ent of the monument, will bring a unique research underway in the state as well as a perspective to the experience for ISWNE visi- look at South Dakota’s populist, independent tors. political tradition. The group’s annual busi- The Avenue of Flags at Mount Rushmore The conference is slated to begin mid-after- ness meeting is also planned for Friday. Memorial leads visitors to the Grandview Terrace. The walkway is lined with the official flags of the noon Wednesday on the campus of South Friday evening activities planned in down- Dakota School of Mines and Technology in 56 U.S. states, territories and districts, arranged in town Rapid City will include a reception and alphabetical order. The Avenue provides direct Rapid City. Buses will leave around 4 p.m. dining opportunities. and easy access to the Grandview Terrace and the with a stop for the evening meal in Keystone Presidential Trail, offering spectacular views of en route to the memorial. Saturday will feature the editorial critique. The editorial critique — many would say it is the mountain sculpture. Thursday’s daytime programming will take the traditional heart of the conference — is the conference guests to Crazy Horse being expanded this year. In addition to the Museum in Rapid City will provide a fitting Memorial, a carving in progress at round table discussions, this year’s critique cap to the conference. The displays there Thunderhead Mountain near Custer. The will include an overview session. (See related bring together four major prehistoric and his- sculpture portrays the Oglala Sioux (now story, page 4.) toric collections to tell the story of the Lakota) warrior Crazy Horse. Started in 1948 Western Great Plains from the perspective of Saturday night’s banquet at The Journey continued on page 3 The International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors President’sresident’s

By Harry Hix School of Journalism & Broadcasting Reporteport Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Okla. Dealing with students often a paradox Isn’t life interesting. mailing a friend.” Glad we got that cleared up. We did, didn’t I’m not sure if that should be punctuated as a May I be forgiven. I thought an intolerant we? statement or as a question. It’s just a thought and offensive thought. However, it remained The search for meaning sometimes boils down tippy-toeing its way through my mind as I only a thought, not a verbalization. It’s hard to, did you mean what you said, Mr. Hix? cogitate on what to write for this month’s col- to talk when you’re gritting your teeth to the I think that was the situation with another umn. Life has been moving at a fast pace in point of lockjaw. student, who lost as many points on an recent days at the Hix household and I have The midterm exam in the reporting class was assignment as some basketball teams score in been facing some weighty questions from stu- Tuesday. Rather than taking on the daunting a game. dents. All of which have combined to make task of grading essay or short-answer ques- time fly by. One of the requirements in the reporting class tions with a class of 81 students — it’s enough is that students include with each news story In the midst of that fly-by, I got a pleasant, work to grade their lab and out-of-class story they write a list of the sources interviewed for but straightforward, e-mail reminder from assignments each week — I made the test the assignment. That list is to include the Chad yesterday: “Harry, could you have a col- multiple choice. names of the sources, their titles and either umn by Monday?” I allowed as how I could One issue we have been dealing with is the their phone number or e-mail address, and — for those of you who aren’t Southern, that use and placement of attribution. Our pre- the list is to be attached to the printed copy of means, “yes, I can” — and so here I am pon- ferred style for class assignments is to place the story turned in for grading. dering what I should write. the attribution after the first sentence in multi- The list has a two-fold purpose. One, it is for I want to be sure that anything I write is clear ple-sentence direct quotes. That, we suggest, my use. If I decide that some fact, name or and easily understood. Of late, some doubts informs the reader quickly who is being quot- other information in the story needs to be have arisen about my ability to express ed. checked or verified, or even if I should just myself clearly. So, one of the questions on the exam asked: wish to be assured that the sources were inter- For instance, in a reporting class lab the other “In a multi-sentence direct quote, the pre- viewed, I can contact the appropriate source. day, I observed that a couple of students were ferred placement of the attribution is:” Four The second purpose is for use by editors of the surfing the web or checking their e-mail rather options were given, including option B, which campus newspapers. Stories assigned in the than listening to my pronouncements, which read “after every sentence in the quote.” class are also turned in to the campus paper included instruction for that day’s in-lab A student came to me, pointed to option B, for possible publication. Having the list of assignment. So, I admonished them: and asked: “What does this mean?” sources is valuable to the campus editors “Folks, please extend me the courtesy of listen- “I’m sorry, but what don’t you understand?” should they desire to validate something in ing to what I am saying and do not be doing the story. “It’s just not clear. What does it mean?” other things such as catching up on your e- Because of the importance of the list, a severe mail while I am explaining today’s assign- What do you mean, what does it mean? That penalty is assessed if the list is not attached to ment. Aside from being rude, that will result was only my thought, not what I said. the story. That penalty is minus 30 points, in your not understanding the assignment “I think it’s clear,” I said. “It means that you and it is clearly stated in the class syllabus and thus not following directions.” would put the attribution after every sentence that failure to attach the list will result in a Frankly, I thought then, and I think now, that in the quote.” deduction of 30 points. In addition, I inform what I said was clear. Quit doing other things “But do you do that?” the students orally about the penalty, and it is and pay attention. “That’s what the question is asking. Is this the included in a document titled News Story Apparently, I was wrong. Right after I handed correct answer or is the correct answer one of Guidelines. I give a copy of these instructions out the information sheet for the assignment the other three choices?” to each student and a copy is posted on the class Web site. and told them how much to write, a student “But I need to know what this means.” skipped up to my podium, smiled at me, and Chief among the points the student had lost asked: “Well, do the best you can. But, and this is an on the assignment was a 30-point deduction HHH (that’s short for Harry’s Helpful Hints, a for failure to attach the list of sources. “Mr. Hix, what is it we are to do? I didn’t device I use to call attention to some things), I catch everything you said because I was e- suggest you look closely at the other options.” continued on page 28 2 March 2007 The International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors

Join ISWNE in the Black Hills from page 1 the Lakota people, the pioneers who settled The Waltner family of the Freeman Courier is the area and the scientists who now study it. planning the conference with assistance from The banquet will include the announcement Larry Atkinson of the Mobridge Tribune. of the ISWNE 2007 winners of the Golden For information about South Dakota School Quill and Cervi awards as well as the instal- of Mines and Technology: www.sdsmt.edu lation of the new officers. For pre- or post-conference stays at SDSMT, In addition to the Black Hills experience, a contact Stephanie Lindsley at 605-394-6774. pre-conference visit to Freeman (located on Availability is somewhat limited so call early the opposite end of the state) is being offered. if you’re interested. See the related story for more details. For information about the Black Hills region: www.rapidcitycvb.com www.blackhillsvisitor.com www.blackhillstouristinfo.com. For information about South Dakota tourism: Gerard Baker is the first Native American super- www.travelsd.com. intendent of the Mount Rushmore Memorial. He is scheduled to speak to the ISWNE members who For airline tickets, car rentals, pre and post will be visiting the memorial Wednesday even- tours and itinerary planning call the Black ing, June 27, the opening day of the 2007 sum- Hills Central Reservations @ 605.578.7702 or mer conference. toll free (US/CANADA) 1.800.529.0105 or go online at: www.blackhillsvacations.com. To send e-mail messages regarding the con- ference, send mail to: [email protected]. To reserve rooms at the Freeman County Inn (for the Freeman visit): 605-925-4888 To reach the Waltners, call: 605-925-7033 (office) or 605-925-7013 (home). Officers of the International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors: Pre-conference: Schmeckfest and Hutterites President: Harry L. Hix School of Journalism & Broadcasting By Tim L. Waltner to cover the Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Okla. Publisher expenses of a Freeman (S.D.) Courier Monday evening Vice President: Jeremy Waltner Schmeckfest meal The Freeman Courier, Freeman, S.D. Shortly after we announced we’d be hosting the 2007 summer conference in the Black (ethnic foods Executive Director: Hills, people told us they were sorry Freeman served at Dr. Chad Stebbins, Director, Institute of was located on the other end of the state and Freeman’s annual International Studies, Missouri Southern couldn’t be part of the gathering. spring festival), a State University, 3950 E. Newman Road, tour of the Heritage Joplin, MO 64801-1595 One of the joys of ISWNE is getting to know Hall Museum Phone: (417) 625-9736 each other and sharing information about Complex, and a Fax: (417) 659-4445 the communities we serve. And so, we’ve Tuesday morning decided to give those who want to visit E-mail: [email protected] visit and noon Tim L. Waltner Freeman prior to the Black Hills conference meal at a Hutterite Board of Directors: that chance. Colony. There will be time for casual tours Don Brod We’re scheduling several events for pre-con- St. Charles, Ill. and visits around the community and we’ll ference visitors in Freeman Monday evening open our home for informal visits and Charles Gay and Tuesday morning, June 25 and 26. refreshments Monday afternoon and Tuesday Shelton-Mason County Journal We’ve asked the Freeman Country Inn, a Shelton, Wash. morning. local motel, to hold 20 rooms Sunday, Jim Painter People can stay in Freeman Tuesday night Monday and Tuesday nights. Call them and travel to the Black Hills Wednesday West Valley View, Litchfield Park, Ariz. directly at 605-925-4888 and identify yourself Jeremy Condliffe morning; the trip takes between five and six as part of the ISWNE group. We’ve also hours depending on route and stops. Congleton Chronicle included a registration form that is part of Congleton, Cheshire, England. the regular conference registration form. However, we’d recommend using Tuesday Robert Mihalek afternoon and Wednesday morning to Yellow Springs, Ohio While not an official part of the conference, explore places along the route from Freeman anyone wanting to learn a bit more about to Rapid City. Another option is to travel part Chris Wood Freeman and its agricultural roots is invited Wisconsin Web Offset, Brookfield, Wis. way Tuesday — stopping at Wall, for exam- to participate. Immediate Past President: ple and then heading to Rapid City through Carol O’Leary People need to make their own housing the Badlands or traveling across the southern Central Wisconsin Publications, Inc. arrangements and there is a registration fee Abbotsford, Wis continued on page 4 March 2007 3 The International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors EditorialEditorial critiquecritique aa cornerstonecornerstone ofof conferenceconference By Tim L. Waltner cate, on the registration form, how they will members of the critique, you will also send a participate in the editorial critique: set to the editorial critique coordinator. Those The editorial critique has been a cornerstone • As someone with editorial pages to review; editorial pages will be reviewed and used for of the annual ISWNE summer conferences. a presentation on “the state of the editorial • As someone without editorial pages to pages” for the 2007 ISWNE summer confer- The review of the editorial pages of the partic- review ence. ipating newspapers reflects the mission of • To not participate. ISWNE and has been a valuable tool in help- To make the most of the editorial critiques, it ing members improve the quality of their edi- On the basis of that, assignments will be is essential that everyone exchange their torial pages and their service to their commu- made to balance those who provide papers papers in a timely fashion. We hope to make nities. for review and those who do not. Each partic- the assignments by mid-May which means ipant will be notified with instructions on every participant should have all the papers In recent years the focus of the editorial cri- who to send papers to. Our hope is that from their group in hands no later than mid- tique sessions has been roundtable discus- everyone will have all the papers from their June. sions in which groups of six to eight people group in their hands by early June. That will Here’s the four-step plan. discuss the pages of the newspapers in the allow the participants to read and review the group to which they have been assigned. papers prior to the conference. They should 1. Include your plans for participation when One of the greatest challenges for this exer- bring the papers — at least the editorial completing the registration form. cise is the simple logistics. The concept is to pages — with them to the conference. 2. Respond immediately by exchanging exchange three consecutive issues of the We also are going to encourage members of papers when your group assignment is made. papers with the members of the group. To the group to meet informally during the con- 3. Read and critique the papers prior to the make the most of the limited time devoted to ference prior to the editorial critiques to visit conference. the editorial critiques — usually two to three about their respective communities. That will hours — preparation is essential and that 4. Bringing those papers with you and partic- allow the editorial critique sessions to focus ipate in the roundtable discussions June 30. means having the papers in the hands of the on the editorial pages. participants early enough for study and This should help make the most out of this review. Too often, the delay in getting the There is one final addition to this year’s edito- value exercise and further the mission of papers results in “last minute cramming” the rial critique. In addition to sending the papers making our editorial pages stronger and night before the critiques. to the members in the group, we are offering more engaging. an independent critique of each paper that Our plan for 2007 is to push hard to have will be the final element in the 2007 editorial people exchange papers prior to the confer- critique session. That means in addition to Tim L. Waltner can be contacted at ence. That means working with a May 15 sending three issues of your paper to the [email protected]. deadline in which every attendee will indi-

Pre-conference: Schmeckfest and Hutterites from page 3 route to Wounded Knee and the Pine Ridge anniversary. fism. While they wear distinctive plain cloth- Indian Reservation. There are many other Schmeckfest, which raises funds for Freeman ing, unlike the Amish, they embrace technol- options. Academy — a private Mennonite school that ogy. There is air service to Rapid City, but for peo- offers 5-12 education — has expanded to a The Hutterites, however, live in colonies — ple who are flying and want to include the two-weekend event held in late March or collective farms with population of about Freeman stop, flying into Sioux Falls and early April. Today it includes a full stage 100. They believe in the concept of communi- renting a car would be the best option. musical production and displays and demon- ty of goods on the model of the early church. What’s Schmeckfest? strations of culinary arts and handicrafts and They take their name from their charismatic draws an estimated 5,000 folks from across leader, Jakob Hutter, who was burned as a Schmeckfest is a “tasting festival,” an invent- the country. heretic by Moravian authorities in 1536. ed word based on the German word for taste A Schmeckfest meal will be served visitors to Persecution of the group promoted them to (schmeck). The first Schmeckfest was held in move across Europe, to Russia and to the the spring of 1959 as a celebration of the the pre-conference gathering in Freeman. While there won’t be musical or all the United States in the 1870s, where they settled Freeman Junior College and Academy near Freeman. Auxiliary. demonstrations, the local museum complex will be open for visitors. There are a number of colonies in the larger The event featured the ethnic foods of the Who are the Hutterites? Freeman area and a visit to one of the Mennonites that emigrated from Russia to colonies has been arranged for the ISWNE the Freeman community in the 1870s. Hutterites are members of the Hutterian visitors in June. It will include a tour, visit Response to the inaugural Schmeckfest was Brethren, an Anabaptist sect. They share with leaders and a noon meal. overwhelming and the organizers decided to many of the same basic principles as repeat it the following year and it became an Mennonites and the Amish, including adult annual event; next year will mark the 50th baptism, separation from the state and paci- Tim L. Waltner can be contacted at [email protected].

4 March 2007 The International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors

March 2007 5 The International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors

6 March 2007 The International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors ISWNEWSNEWS

McCully-Mobley also publishes a regional magazine, The Ozarkian Spirit, ISWNE newspaper exchange in April and teaches part-time for Drury University and Crowder College. She ISWNE members are invited to exchange newspapers in April. You will serves as treasurer for the Southwest Missouri Chapter of the Society of select one issue of your choice and mail it to all the other participants. We Professional Journalists. had 40 participants last year. This will give everyone the opportunity to see how their fellow editors Finklea wins 2 photo awards in South Carolina cover their communities. You might even pick up an idea or two that you can borrow. ISWNE member Betsy Finklea, editor of The Dillon Herald, won the South Carolina Press Association’s J.L. Sims Award for Spot News Photo for a “Participating in the exchange was a super valuable experience,” said picture of a warehouse fire taken in July 2006. Suzanne Dean, publisher of the Sanpete Messenger in Manti, Utah. “We passed the samples we received around the office and discussed them. I Finklea also won third place in the General News Photo category for a think the main value was getting the vision of what some of the best February 2006 picture she took at the funeral of a soldier killed in Iraq. ISWNE papers were doing — and starting to set our sights on a higher The awards were announced at the S.C. Press Association winter meeting quality level.” on Feb. 23. Another participant, Isabell Fooks, publisher of The Drumheller Valley Times in Alberta, said, “The ISWNE newspaper exchange is a great way to see different newspapers from different countries and to read what their editors are discussing for relevant topics. I found it interesting that even ISWNE new member though I read editorials in newspapers from England, Canada, and the U.S., the same topics were often discussed. There were municipal govern- Cheryl Kaechele is the co-owner and ment issues, provincial government issues and local issues discussed, publisher of Kaechele Publications, among many other topics. Inc., in Allegan County in southwest- “It made me realize how small the world really is and how important our ern Michigan. She and her husband, job as newspaper editors and publishers is to make our readers think Walt, bought the Allegan County about the issues with controversial and thought-provoking editorials. I News in 1982 and the organization find it a very valuable process and I am looking forward to participating has grown to include three weekly in it again this year.” newspapers, a weekly real estate pub- lication, a monthly business guide, a To participate, email ISWNE executive director Chad Stebbins at stebbins- seasonal tourist guide and a seasonal [email protected] with the mailing address of your newspaper by March 26. weekly free circulation newspaper published from May 1 through Labor County Line wins 2 awards in Wisconsin Day. The County Line, published by ISWNE member Karen Parker, won two Kaechele is a graduate of the University of Michigan where awards at the recent Wisconsin Newspaper Association Better Newspaper she earned a double major in history and English with a Contest in Lake Delton. teaching certificate. She earned a master’s degree in English The County Line received a second-place award in the Open Record/ at Western Michigan University where she also taught a jour- Freedom of Information category for an article on the excessive number nalism class for five years. of closed sessions held by the Royall School Board. The County Line also She is Region 5 representative for the National Newspaper received a second place in the Reporting on Local Government category Association and on the executive board, a past president of for articles on the dispute over a wind farm in the town of Ridgeville. the Michigan Press Association, and on the board of directors The contest drew 2,678 entries from 150 Wisconsin newspapers. for the Michigan Press Association Foundation. Prior to her journalism career, she was an English and history McCully-Mobley wins Teacher of the Year teacher for 15 years, serving on the Allegan Education Kim McCully-Mobley has been elected Teacher of the Year for Aurora Association as vice president. (Mo.) High School by the Aurora Education Association. Kaechele can be contacted at [email protected]. This is McCully-Mobley’s third year of teaching English and journalism at Aurora High School. An ISWNE member since 2001, she previously was editor of the Aurora Advertiser.

March 2007 7 The International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors

President Harry Hix called the meeting to Brod said ISWNE had been waiting 25 years order at 9:05 a.m. for such a name. 1. The minutes of the June 21, 2006, board Minutes 8. Brod updated the board on his ISWNE meeting in Norman, Oklahoma, were International Society biography project, saying that Bob Trapp Jr. approved (J. Waltner/Painter). had come through with a 4,000-word piece of Weekly Newspaper Editors 2. Stebbins reported ISWNE had $25,577.62 on his father. O’Leary suggested putting the in its checking account as of Dec. 31, 2006. Board of Directors Meeting, biographies on the ISWNE web site; Brod He distributed a profit and loss statement asked how much interest there would be. showing that ISWNE was $10,366.94 “in the January 27, 2007 Jeremy Waltner suggested highlighting a black” from Jan. 1, 2006 to Dec. 31, 2006. San Antonio, Texas portion of a different biography in every He pointed out that when the $8,793.22 newsletter, referring readers to the web site profit from the 2006 conference and a In Attendance: for the complete article. $1,000 contribution from the South Dakota Harry Hix 9. The board addressed the writing of Newspaper Association for the 2007 confer- Chad Stebbins ISWNE’s 50-year history. Jeremy Waltner ence are subtracted, ISWNE was left with a Don Brod said such a resource would give him a net gain of $573.72 for 2006. This surplus Charles Gay “tremendous perspective” on the organiza- follows several years of the Society running Robert Mihalek tion. Gay said the board was struggling with a deficit, he said. Stebbins reported that the Jim Painter the cost to benefit ratio of undertaking such ISWNE Foundation had $13,362.78 in its Jeremy Waltner a massive work. Brod said ISWNE needed a checking account as of Dec. 31, 2006. The Carol O’Leary historian who was enthusiastic about the financial statement was approved Elliott Freireich* project; Stebbins reminded the board that (Brod/O’Leary). Bill Haupt* Vickie Canfield Peters had volunteered her 3. Hix reported that the Oklahoma confer- Tim Waltner* services at the Oklahoma conference. Tim ence had $27,521.92 in revenue, including a * non-board member Waltner suggested asking Canfield Peters for $1,000 donation from the Oklahoma Press her vision of ISWNE’s 50-year history. Association, and $18,728.70 in expenses, Painter said the first step was to gauge the which resulted in an $8,793.22 contribution level of interest among the membership. to ISWNE. Expenses included hotel ($7,554), Freireich suggested that someone could take the January 2008 board meeting the existing biographies, add some transi- meals ($7,127.20), transportation (Brod/O’Leary). ($1,116.36), and T-shirts ($650). The board tion material, and have the project complet- approved his financial report (Hix/J. 6. Tim Waltner updated the board on plans ed in short order. The board approved a Waltner). for hosting the 2007 conference in Rapid motion that Stebbins would contact Canfield City. He said the South Dakota School of Peters and determine her level of commit- 4. Stebbins distributed a membership chart Mines and Technology would have the ment for the task (Painter/Gay). showing that ISWNE had 207 paid members capacity to house 112 people in the Surbeck in 2006, an increase of 11 from 2005. In 10. The board discussed themes for upcom- Center. Conference highlights include a visit ing issues of Grassroots Editor. Painter sug- 2001, ISWNE had 159 paid members. to Mount Rushmore, a trek to the top of the Stebbins said he had given out 77 compli- gested the impact of Wal-Mart on communi- Crazy Horse Memorial, and a session on ty newspapers. Hix said Dr. Kenneth Stone mentary memberships in 2006 to editors in South Dakota politics by the Sioux Falls states where ISWNE had poor representation at Iowa State University had conducted a Argus Leader’s David Kranz. Waltner said considerable amount of research on Wal- and that he hoped several of these would Ruth Ziolkowski, widow of Crazy Horse become dues-paying members in 2007. Mart. Brod said it would be better to discuss sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski, would accom- the effect of big-box stores rather than focus- 5. Haupt reported on the ISWNE pany the ISWNE group to the top of the ing solely on Wal-Mart. Mihalek suggested Foundation’s board meeting the night before sculpture. Painter suggested moving the other themes on ethics, web sites, citizen (see minutes, page 9). Brod said the annual business meeting from Saturday to journalism, and blogs. Foundation should seek more endowed Friday to allow more time for the editorial scholarships, such as the $10,000 one that critiques. Stebbins said the only problem he 11. Painter brought up a proposed ISWNE Burt and Ursula Freireich gave in June. The could foresee was that it would reduce the “wire service” that would make editorials, ISWNE board discussed awarding conference time the past presidents had to solicit nomi- columns, feature stories, travel pieces, movie scholarships to repeat winners in the Golden nations for ISWNE offices. Waltner asked and book reviews, and health features avail- Quill contest. Mihalek said he had been whether the Society should pay for food and able to ISWNE members’ newspapers. He working for a cash-strapped newspaper and drink in the conference hospitality suite. He asked if there was interest in such a service that the scholarship helped to allow him to said he would put a jar out for donations. and how to gauge the amount of interest. attend the conference. Stebbins said repeat Jeremy Waltner discussed the Freeman, S.D., Gay said there was a definite need for edito- winners were given half scholarships at the “pre-conference,” June 25-26, and said it rials that members could publish as needed. Oklahoma conference, and Brod suggested “works best for those who are driving.” Painter said he could organize the service and that his publisher, Elliott Freireich, had doing that again for the South Dakota con- 7. A motion to name the ISWNE newsletter ference. The board approved a motion that agreed to allow him to devote the necessary “ISWNEws” failed (J. Waltner/Brod). Gay time to it. Painter said it would be an added this practice would be continued for the suggested waiting until someone came up South Dakota conference and reevaluated at benefit of ISWNE membership. The board with a name that “we’re excited about.” instructed Stebbins to survey members on

8 March 2007 The International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors whether they would be interested in the torials that identify issues that are or should bonus for 2007 and increased his annual service and whether they would contribute be of concern to the community, offer an stipend by $500, beginning July 1. In addi- material. opinion, and support a course of action.” tion, his wife, Laurel, was awarded a confer- 12. Gay asked if enough emphasis was Tim Waltner suggested reviewing the call for ence scholarship. Stebbins said he would being placed on local editorials in the entries before next year’s contest. Gay said share the bonus and the stipend increase Golden Quill competition. Stebbins said the the same guidelines needed to be communi- with Sharen Brown, his secretary at Missouri judge did not always follow the mandate cated to the membership and the judge. Southern State University who performs that “Entries should reflect the purpose of 13. The board conducted an in camera many duties for ISWNE. the ISWNE: Encouraging the writing of edi- review of Stebbins and awarded him a $500 The board adjourned at 12:50 p.m. FoundationFoundation BoardBoard ofof DirectorsDirectors MeetingMeeting

President Bill Haupt called the meeting to ing a pitch at the annual conference. order at 5 p.m. January 26, 2007 Waltner also said he planned to test a kids’ 1. The minutes of the June 23, 2006, meet- San Antonio, Texas silent auction in South Dakota. ing in Norman, Oklahoma, were approved 6. Stebbins distributed a Dec. 9 letter from (Freireich/Waltner). In Attendance: ISWNE member Al Seiler that addressed “the 2. Stebbins reported that the ISWNE Bill Haupt misuse of the term ‘scholarship’ to identify Foundation had $13,362.78 in its checking Tim Waltner the Golden Dozen winners.” According to account and a CD worth $10,000 as of Dec. Elliott Freireich Seiler, the dictionary definition of scholar- 31, 2006. He said the Foundation received Chad Stebbins ship is “a grant in aid to a student (as by a $3,374.30 in contributions in 2006, in addi- Carol O’Leary college or foundation).” He went on to write: tion to the $10,000 donation from Burt and Harry Hix “These award winners are not students! Ursula Freireich. Other income included Language is being perverted by a society of $1,765 from the silent auction at the wordsmiths!” Seiler said he believed the Oklahoma conference and $370.84 in inter- Foundation money should be used to assist est. The Foundation spent $2,329 on confer- recipients near the beginning of the South a first-time attendee at the conference, ence scholarships in 2006. The financial Dakota conference and again at the awards “preferably a top tier high school or college report was approved (Freireich/O’Leary). banquet. The board reaffirmed the policy student with a proven interest in print jour- nalism.” O’Leary said attending the annual 3. The board discussed awarding ISWNE’s that the Foundation rather than ISWNE should pay for the Greenslade Bursary conference is a learning experience for all four “named” scholarships — the involved. Waltner said the purpose of the Greenslade Bursary, the Hazel Brannon scholarship in order to reduce conference costs. conference is to educate, and Hix said that Smith, the H.R. Long, and the Houstoun “we are all students of the profession.” The Waring — in order to keep the names 4. The board addressed an apparent mistake board took no action on Seiler’s letter, but “alive” with the membership. Stebbins said in Article III, Section 2 of the Foundation Haupt said he would send him a letter the Greenslade Bursary scholarship had bylaws: “Each of the directors must also be thanking him for the suggestion. been awarded to Moira Sleight, managing on the Board of Directors of International editor of the Methodist Reporter in the Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors, Inc.” 7. The board discussed the problem of some United Kingdom. Hix suggested that the The board approved a motion that the sen- scholarship recipients arriving midway or other scholarships could be awarded to edi- tence be changed to read: “Each of the direc- toward the end of the four-day annual con- tors residing in the state where the annual tors must also be a member of International ference, thus limiting their ability to take conference is held. The board approved a Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors, Inc.” full advantage of the conference and reduc- motion that the four named scholarships Freireich voted against the motion. ing their opportunity to meet other ISWNE and the Burt and Ursula Freireich scholar- members. Waltner said it was crucial that 5. The board discussed goals for 2007. they arrive in Rapid City no later than the ship be awarded to individuals as deter- Waltner said the Foundation needed to con- mined by the conference host and the exec- formal introduction of scholarship recipi- tinue its efforts to add a named, endowed ents. utive director (Waltner/O’Leary). The board scholarship every year. He suggested mak- agreed to introduce the named scholarship The board adjourned at 6:30 p.m.

March 2007 9 The International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors Short-term fix ultimately becomes his calling

By Dan Thalmann Washington County (Kans.) News for a circulation of Publisher/editor school and general reporter and seeing no around 2,800 with Washington County News other viable options and having a wife and slow growth. We Washington, Kan. two young children to support, I took the cover the entire job “until I could find something better.” I county, which Dan Thalmann recently became a member had no journalism experience, nor any includes 12 com- of ISWNE. training. munities and six That was February 2000. I purchased the school systems. I entered the newspaper business as a short- Our ad market term fix. Two weeks prior to finishing my weekly newspaper on Nov. 1, 2006. This “newspaper thing” was evidently my call- reaches beyond college career at the University of Kansas our borders to with a bachelor’s degree in history, I moved ing, because I cannot ever see myself doing anything else. retail centers in to rural Kansas, near my hometown, with adjacent counties. the intention of taking an alternative agri- I act as publisher, editor, reporter, photogra- The WC News has Dan Thalmann culture-related job that was to be funded pher, layout and design guy and occasional received a variety through a grant. front desk clerk among other tasks associat- of awards from the Kansas Press Association I finished my degree by commuting, but ed with a small newspaper including snow during the last few years. unfortunately, two weeks later, I received a shoveler, aquarium cleaner, postal bagger, general customer schmoozer and occasional Despite the daily grind of the newspaper letter saying the grant would not be business, I feel very strongly about the role approved and I was left to find a job in an toilet cleaner. Surely William Allen White didn’t lead such a glamorous life!? a newspaper plays in its community, espe- area where there was only welding jobs cially a small, rural community. If the com- available. Soon after, an ad came up in the The WC News is 138 years old and has a munity is a body, we often have to serve as the heart, the brain and even intestines. People often ask how we find topics on which to report in such a small town. I ISWNE new member show them my notebook full of story ideas and tell them the weekly frustration of not Joseph Ledford became editor of the local edition of The having the time to include more. Budget in Sugarcreek, Ohio, in November 2005. Located in I am particularly interested in the impor- the Heart of Ohio’s Amish Country, the newspaper also tance of editorials in a weekly newspaper publishes a national edition — a collection of “letters” and strive to confront a variety of topics written by Amish and Mennonite scribes representing their within my editorials. I also believe this is communities throughout the United States (primarily Ohio, the hardest type of writing to master, so I Indiana and Pennsylvania) and also Canada, Central and admit I am always learning. I have com- South Americas, and overseas. mitted myself to writing an editorial every In addition to covering stories and writing a weekly com- week now. mentary, Ledford oversees an editorial staff of two full-time On a personal side, I am married with four reporters and one part-time reporter. During his short but children (ages 11 to 2) and a fifth on the busy tenure, Ledford has established an arts and living sec- way. (I used to say “fourth and final” but tion in the paper, increased the publication’s coverage now I’m saying “fifth and final.”) We live area and helped to launch the paper’s Web site, www.thebudgetnewspaper.com. The on a farmstead a few miles south of Budget has also won five of the Ohio Newspaper Association’s Osman C. Hooper Washington, population 1,200. We love the Awards during his time as editor. rural Kansas lifestyle. Prior to coming to The Budget, Ledford worked for nearly three years as a beat While almost all of my time is taken up by reporter for The Daily Record in Wooster, Ohio. He is a 1999 graduate of Asbury work, family, civic and church pursuits, I College, Wilmore, Ky, where he received a bachelor’s degree in Media Communica- aspire to have hobbies such as gardening tions. In addition to print media, Ledford has also worked in both the radio and tele- and landscaping, birding, reading and par- vision industries and is also a professional actor. ticipating in and watching sports. Ledford can be contacted at [email protected]. Dan Thalmann can be contacted at newsed- [email protected].

10 March 2007 The International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors 2007 Golden Quill Entries Name Newspaper City State/Prov. Jan Anderson Boulder Monitor Boulder MT Jon Brake Manhattan Free Press Manhattan KS George Brown Devon Dispatch News Devon AB Mike Buffington The Jackson Herald Jefferson GA Patricia Calhoun Westword Denver CO Greg Campbell Fort Collins Weekly Fort Collins CO Carl Conley The Island Sand Paper Ft. Myers Beach FL Dick Crockford Big Horn County News Hardin MT Bonnie Danylyshen Coronation Review Coronation AB Mike Dart Four Oaks - Benson News in Review Benson NC Steve Dills Sylvan Lake News Sylvan Lake AB Peggy Dostie Duxbury Clipper Duxbury MA Margaret Downing Houston Press Houston TX M. Dickey Drysdale The Herald of Randolph Randolph VT Lori Evans Homer News Homer AK Betta Ferrendelli The Observer Rio Rancho NM Betsy Finklea The Dillon Herald Dillon SC Elliott Freireich West Valley View Litchfield Park AZ Charles Gay Shelton-Mason County Journal Shelton WA Melissa Hale-Spencer The Altamont Enteprise Altamont NY C.J. Janovy The Pitch Kansas City MO Luke Klink The Star News Medford WI Michael Lewis Miami Today Miami FL Bill Lynch The Sonoma Index-Tribune Sonoma CA Julie Lyons Dallas Observer Dallas TX Paul MacNeill Eastern Graphic Montague PEI Bradley Martin Hickman County Times Centerville TN Richard McCord El Dorado Sun Santa Fe NM Gisele McKnight Kings County Record Sussex NB Frank McTighe The Macleod Gazette Fort Macleod AB Mo Mehlsak The Forecaster Falmouth ME Robert Mihalek Yellow Springs News Yellow Springs OH Richard Mostyn Yukon News Whitehorse Yukon Rick Murphy The Independent East Hampton NY Bob Norman New Times Broward/Palm Beach Ft. Lauderdale FL Leslie O’Donnell Derry News Derry NH Carol O’Leary The Star News Medford WI Jim Painter West Valley View Litchfield Park AZ Joan Plaxton The Valleyview Valley Views Valleyview AB Cathie Roy Coast Reporter Sechelt BC Bill Schanen Ozaukee Press Port Washington WI Brenda Schimke Coronation Review Coronation AB Jim Schutze Dallas Observer Dallas TX Richard Schwab The Ligonier Echo Ligonier PA Gary Sosniecki The Vandalia Leader Vandalia MO Chuck Strouse Miami New Times Miami FL Dan Thalmann Washington County News Washington KS Chris Thompson East Bay Express Emeryville CA Guy Townsend Flemingsburg Gazette Flemingsburg KY Jeremy Waltner Freeman Courier Freeman SD Tim Waltner Freeman Courier Freeman SD Brian Wilson The Star News Medford WI John Wylie II Oologah Lake Leader Oologah OK March 2007 11 The International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors ResolveResolve toto putput moremore resolveresolve intointo storiesstories inin 20072007

By Jim Stasiowski run a weak story, I will make it as short as that trying to please readers is foolish. The possible. Afterward, the reporter and I will image of thousands of demanding readers try to understand both where we went will pull me in so many different direc- Of all the stupid things man has invented wrong and how, in the future, we can tions, I will lose my focus. I know what a (energy drinks, reality TV, cummerbunds, avoid settling for such mediocrity. good story is. I do not need readers to et. al.), by far the stupidest is the New remind me. Year’s resolution. 5. I resolve that I shall grade each story this way: If I were not an editor, would I 5. I resolve to turn in only those stories Think about it. On Jan. 2, your dim-witted read it? Whenever my answer is “No,” I that are ready for publication. I resolve not cousin says, “I’m gonna quit smokin’, but will examine my motives for using it. to think, “Geez, I have a lot of stuff here, now I gotta wait 364 days to do it.” 6. I resolve to coach my reporters, to make I’ll just cram it all into sentences and para- I have never made a New Year’s resolu- time each day to review their work and graphs, then let the editor sort things out.” tion, but 2006 was so loaded with gloom guide them toward better ideas, better I take pride in what appears under my about newspapers, I am suggesting these interviewing, better storytelling. byline, and if I turn in a half-baked story to ignite a bright, turnaround 2007. in hopes the editor will straighten it out, I 7. I resolve to remind myself each day that We’ll start with resolutions for editors: am handing over my reputation to some- a newspaper is not merely a reflection of one else. 1. I resolve to stop paying attention to its community, but also the leader of its expensive advice from so-called readership community. I resolve that each edition will 6. I resolve that each day, when I walk experts. Instead, I’m going to listen to my motivate our readers to think about and into the newsroom, I will be enthusiastic own wisdom born of experience and com- talk about events, people, ideas and solu- about the chance I have to say something mon sense. I know what good stories are, tions. meaningful, colorful and forceful to the community. I will value my voice and my and I know what bad stories are. I’m going Next, these are for reporters: to stop running the bad ones, and I’m perceptiveness. I will report and write with going to require that reporters turn in good 1. I resolve that, each day, I shall venture this one intention: to uncover surprises. ones. from the newsroom so I can talk to at least Finally, for us all: one person I’ve never met before. Perhaps I 2. I resolve to make my newspaper stand will not get a worthwhile story from that I resolve never to forget two things: (1) If out from the crowd. To do that, I am going person, but at least I will increase my newspapers are, indeed, failing, then I to insist that, in every edition, we run at understanding of my community and the share in the blame; (2) newspaper work is least one front-page story that no one will cares of its people. the world’s most fun job, and if I cannot be able to find anywhere else. It should continue doing it, I’ll starve because I have thrill, anger or elevate readers. It may be 2. I resolve that when I am reporting a no other skills, other than to be a contest- an investigative story, it may be a sad story, I shall think not of just facts-facts- ant on a reality-TV show. story, it may be a frivolous story, it may be facts, but also of story-story-story. As important as facts are — and without THE FINAL WORD: I may run into some a risky story, but above all, it will be this: disagreement about this one: I’m very tired unique. them, we have no newspaper — they are worthless unless I tell stories. Without sto- of the fad word “spike,” in the sense of a 3. I resolve that, in every edition, we shall ries, we have no readers. rapid rise, usually in the price of some- run a bylined obituary about a local per- thing. 3. I resolve that before I place my fingers son who was not a newsmaker. People so I’m always reading business stories about recognized may have succeeded in life or on the keyboard, I will know what story I want to tell. I will know not merely facts; I the “spike” in oil prices, the “spike” in air- failed, and their obituaries will explore line ticket prices, etc. The word, I concede, how they lived. No obituary will include will know also how I will weave those facts into a story that moves forward, has has some charm: Its violent sound is color- such well-meaning but hackneyed boiler- ful. plate as, “She was a people person,” or, drama and color, and, most importantly, “He was a great dad.” Instead, the obituar- interests me. I cannot always interest But with overuse, it has lost meaning. ies will capture both the person’s individu- myself in the topic I’m writing about, but I “Rise,” followed by specifics, is preferable. ality and the sweet struggle common to us always can interest myself in the writing. all. 4. I resolve to stop thinking, “How can I Writing coach Jim Stasiowski can be con- 4. I resolve that we shall not settle for weak please readers?” and replace that with, tacted at (410) 796-0210. stories. If, in a deadline pinch, we must “How can I please myself?” I will recognize

12 March 2007 The International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors FewFew QualifiedQualified inin FieldField ofof TwelveTwelve By R. Braiden Trapp der of Connie Valdez’s term, following her Vote for Leonard Managing editor death. Romero is an old hat at school poli- Valerio in District 4. Rio Grande SUN tics, having served in the 1970s. He didn’t We sympathize Española, N.M. help then and he’s not helping now. with District 5. Feb. 1, 2007 Romero’s best quality as a board member Constituents there is that he doesn’t really do anything so, are in the This year’s Española school board election like part of a doctor’s Hippocratic oath, he quandary of will go in the books as another squandered usually does no harm. It would be nice for whether to be sensi- opportunity. Four seats are on the ballot, this District to have an advocate on the ble and conflate leaving only Joe Guillen bereft of any chal- Board. Alcalde and lenge. He’s faced by Marvin Vigil, who would Velarde Elementary Instead of getting some strong candidates love to get his wife, attorney Yvonne Schools or remain with a sincere desire to better our public Quintana, back on that gravy train called, stubborn, keep R. Braiden Trapp schools, holding a modicum of school “school attorney.” Those hours bill so nice- them separate and administration knowledge and some expe- ly and are rarely questioned. lose millions in rience with budgets, we have a huge wide- Voters should flip a coin, however, whether state funding. This district requires the open field of people fighting over school it’s heads or tails, they’ll lose. strongest member on the Board. bus routes and contracts. Of the field of 12, The SUN makes no endorsement in District Isaac Medina wisely chose to jump off this perhaps three aren’t someone’s puppet in 3. sinking ship and not run again and we, the fight to control school bus contracts. thank him. His replacement must be a leader, negotiator and diplomat, schooled While getting children safely to school ENDORSEMENTS should be a consideration of the board, we in budget knowledge. state lobbying expe- would all be better off if it could focus on District 4 yields the best candidate of the rience and the ability to bring two commu- the general student population’s inability 12, Leonard Valerio. Valerio has worked nities together for the sake of children’s to pass tests, get to school regularly with- county projects from 4H and the county education. out attacking each other and graduate fair to helping raise money for after school Unfortunately no one with those abilities is high school with basic skills. Who makes programs and participating in them. in the race. We were holding out hope what money from which bus route is pure While everyone is talking about helping Vecinos del Rio would put in its own candi- politics and the Senny Quintana versus children, Valerio has been doing it in dif- date. That’s a group of educated people Leroy Salazar bus contract cat fight is the ferent capacities for almost two decades. who get things done, correctly, efficiently, lowest form. The school district will be able He’s a local ranch operator and vested in without politics. to move ahead light years after these two the community. Some people fault him for Alcalde and Velarde are going to become get completely out of the school district’s having his children at McCurdy. Just the victims of the Boards’ overall wishes in business — permanently. because he wants to bring the Española regard to capital spending and construc- In District 1 incumbent Ralph Medina has School District kicking and screaming into tion oversight. We feel for them but until a sat on the board for four years and the 1980s, voters should not expect him to responsible, educated person from that watched many problems go from bad to sacrifice his children in the process by put- area is willing to take a leadership role, worse, too many to list here. ting them in the District. that area of the county will remain a row- His challenger, Joann Salazar, has no visi- Valerio is a straight shooter, hard worker boat being pulled behind the ship. ble or marketed skills or abilities, save her and knows something about school opera- The SUN makes no endorsement in District working for the school district, to qualify tions from his work at McCurdy. He’s 5. her for the seat. approachable and his main concerns are not who gets to drive which school bus. In District 1 the SUN makes no endorse- He’s more concerned about raising the R. Braiden Trapp can be contacted at ment. level of education and preparing students [email protected]. In District 3 Joe Romero must run to be for college. elected to his seat. He is filling the remain-

March 2007 13 The International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors EnrollmentEnrollment reportreport soberingsobering By Gary Sosniecki trend continues down. would be if the Co-publisher Here’s another sobering figure: The Leader prison wasn’t The Vandalia (Mo.) Leader published 52 death notices last year of peo- here. Many north- Jan. 31, 2007 ple with Vandalia addresses. We published ern Missouri towns only 23 Vandalia births. In other words, for have lost more Once again the enrollment report was sober- every two persons from Vandalia who died than Vandalia ing at this month’s meeting of the Van-Far last year, only one person was born to has; the prison R-1 Board of Education. Vandalia parents. Technically, less than one has been person. Vandalia’s finger December enrollment, kindergarten through in the dike. 12th grade, was down to 594. You may be getting tired of your newcomer editor pointing out Vandalia’s continuing But it isn’t That compares to 597 the month before, 613 enough. on the first day of school in August, 616 at population loss. But so much is at stake the end of the last school year and 623 one here: the long-term survival of the school, Vandalia can turn Gary Sosniecki year earlier in December 2005. the business district, the churches, civic this around, even- organizations, even the tax base that pays tually, with a four-pronged tack. The com- In 1969, when my college buddy Mike for the streets, parks, police and fire protec- munity must: Wormsley was senior-class president, Van- tion. Far’ s enrollment was 1,242. • Continue economic-development efforts to Not to mention community pride. recruit industry that will bring more people Van-Far is now less than half the size it was Just think how much worse those numbers here to work and live as well as provide when “Worm” roamed its halls, and the employment options for those already here. • Recruit families to live here even if Mom and Dad work in a neighboring town. Anthony Longden on Marg Hennigar Keeping a high-quality school system and high-quality, family-oriented amenities, such as the new swimming pool, can make By Anthony Longden Vandalia an attractive place to live regard- Buckinghamshire, England less where you work. 1999 Greenslade Bursary • Recruit retirees to move here, especially Vandalia natives who left when the jobs I learned of Marg Hennigar’s death with great sadness. began disappearing a quarter-century ago. These folks have a vested interest in their My wife Joyce McKimm and I met Marg when she hosted hometown surviving. the 1999 ISWNE conference in Halifax, and I attended as that year’s recipient of the Greenslade Bursary. • Continue to recruit those prison employees who don’t live here now to move here. Marg gave us a particularly warm welcome on our first visit to Canada, and we have fond memories of a great Vandalia has a lot to lose — more than just conference where we made so many friends. We also have people — by sitting still. daily reminders of her culinary skills, having won one of As I’ve written before, Vandalia is too good her excellent cookery books in an ISWNE raffle on our last night. of a town to give up without a fight. Our thoughts go out to Ralph, Lynn and David. Anthony Longden can be contacted at ALongden@london.newsquest.co.uk. Gary Sosniecki can be contacted at van- [email protected].

14 March 2007 The International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors MakingMaking thethe leapleap fromfrom stonestone ageage toto computercomputer ageage

By LuJane Nisse to be delivered as they can get online and nity news and Publisher get any news from anyplace immediately local advertising LatahEagle ...except their community news. Small com- and still be attrac- Moscow, Idaho munity newspapers have an edge that insu- tive and interac- Jan. 7, 2007 lates them a little. tive enough to But, for how long? warrant the “give it to me now” gen- Over the past couple of years I’ve cut back to This is a problem waiting to happen and my about half of what I was working. Health eration logging “fix it” mentality continues to mull over on. seemed to push it. However, there lingers in what we can do to have a handle on it my head the thought — no, the belief — when it falls. I enjoy the elec- that I can still do anything I set my mind to tronic and online do, as long as I work hard enough to do it. The problem? phenomenon that When our older generation is gone, most of Someplace in my youth that belief was encompasses us LuJane Nisse instilled in me and it sticks, even today my generation and those that follow will be now. I find it fasci- when my body begins give in to the abuse seeking news online only. The print editions nating. But I also I’ve given it. I don’t believe my parents were will be dinosaurs and no longer desired. find it daunting. The vocabulary is foreign overly ambitious people but they had a phi- A piece of me denies this will happen. and techniques completely awkward. The losophy of “never give up.” Coming from “Community newspapers are unique,” my ability to sell such a medium to advertisers the depression era, that was common. denial reassures me. “They will survive the escapes me as I don’t completely under- electronic age just for that reason alone.” stand, nor am I completely sold on it myself. My father said often, “When the going gets Intellectually, I know it is the future. tough, the tough get going.” That denial may just give the small commu- nity newspaper industry a death sentence. Emotionally, I love opening a newspaper I think it was that saying that influenced my and smelling the ink and reading the print- life more than anything else as it invades There are very few independent weeklies left ed word. I never go to a store that I don’t my thoughts whenever anything begins to in the east. They have been bought by larger stop first at their newsstand and fondle any look impossible. I get a surge of adrenaline chains and are now “community ad free- paper there. Reading the headlines and and begin to plot just how to solve the prob- bies” — they have a couple of pages of com- enjoying whatever innovative graphic lem at hand. Often that solution is to just munity news with the rest being advertising design they are using on their cover. roll up my sleeves and dig in. and advertorial (editorial disguised as adver- tisements). They are drop-shipped from large Taking a community newspaper from the I’m not sure we are giving our youth the stone age into the electronic age will take same fortitude to carry them through the printing plants to places where they are handed out free and sold to advertisers as a finesse, courage and foresight. hard times they will hit in their life. We live Are we up to that? in an “immediate gratification” era. Our blanket market product. They make money children expect everything immediately. that way. Lots of it. But they have lost the Only time will tell. They carry cell phones so they can call community flavor and interest. friends immediately. They log on to the I’m fighting my denial and attempting to LuJane Nisse can be contacted at Internet and plug in their question to the find ways we can survive in both worlds. [email protected]. search engine and their answer is near The only way I see that happening is to immediate. They don’t wait for newspapers develop a web site that contains the commu-

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March 2007 15 The International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors GoodGood policepolice workwork netsnets resultsresults By Hank Bond ous. I do not believe Editor and co-publisher There have been several drunken driving there is any ques- Nicholas News arrests and speeding has been monitored tion that in this Carlisle, Ky. and reduced on the city’s streets by virtue last round of Jan. 24, 2007 of several speeding tickets and tickets for arrests for an other violations. assorted list of The public face of the Carlisle Police drug and other Additionally this traffic enforcement has violations under- Department has changed in the past few sent several to jail for related traffic offens- weeks. cover work by es, such as driving on a suspended license KSP officers was The addition of new officers has brought and other breaches of the law. an extremely the force to a size, which will allow Nicholas County Jailer Jeff Sidles said earli- large factor in the increased patrols and more enforcement of er in the week that he believes the 28 indi- success of this laws in the city. viduals incarcerated from arrests in roundup. Hank Bond With a reduced force the department’s Nicholas County may very well be the This just goes to leaders and members were only able to largest number at one time he has seen show what the proper amount of man- respond to calls. Long shifts, often per- since taking office more than four years power, proper preparation and equipment formed seven days a week, made it impos- ago. can do in assisting the law enforcement sible to do much investigative work and These arrests are a combination of war- community in protecting the citizens of the other essential law enforcement activities. rants served and a myriad of violations, area. For a large part, department members which require incarceration. All of this I am certain none of this comes without were only able to be a reactionary depart- leads me to acknowledge the increase of some substantial cost. It will likely mean ment — going when called — making cov- on-street law enforcement, especially with that as time goes on, there may have to be erage in the city difficult at best and more than one officer on duty at a time, budgetary adjustments to provide for this impossible at times. will only benefit those it is designed to pro- service. tect. Carlisle Police Chief William Denton is Members of the general public have made about to reach his one-year tenure as the I believe it to be essential that those citi- it plain that this is what they want. They city’s chief. He has now seen the ranks of zens who raised their collective voices have expressed this in public meetings, in his department grow. While one full-time demanding more police action — and yes general conversation, in letters to the edi- officer left, just before the first of the year, results — speak up now to acknowledge tor and in other ways. Carlisle Mayor Gene Kelley added two new the hard work and efforts of those involved officers. These men will attend training at in these efforts to maintain the peace and Let’s applaud the efforts and support the Eastern Kentucky University’s Law safety of the city and county. continued improvement and changes. It’s Enforcement Academy and then return to time to say that something is good and I don’t mean in any manner to diminish being well done, and I am glad to do that. work as certified officers. the efforts of the officers of the Kentucky The new officers have been riding with cer- State Police or the Kentucky Department of And so, for another week, thanks and thir- tified officers and have already become Fish and Wildlife, who often assist and at ty. involved in law enforcement activities in times initiate law enforcement activities in Hank Bond can be contacted at Carlisle. our county. [email protected]. When the administration changed, new Mayor Ronnie Clark added a part-time cer- tified officer and a new, full-time certified officer to the department adding even more capability to the city’s department 2007 Sustaining Members and the local enforcement community. In addition, Nicholas County Sheriff Dick In addition to paying their $50 ISWNE membership dues, these Garrett and Nicholas County Deputy individuals have donated $50 more to the Society. We appreciate Sheriff Bennie Buckler joined in to make their generosity! certain everything possible was and is being done to protect the citizens of Donald Smith Albert Scardino Nicholas County. Frank Garred Tamura Norio In the past 10 days or so, street activity, so Bob and MaryLou Estabrook David Burke encouraged and at times demanded by the Larry Atkinson Chris Wood citizens of Carlisle and Nicholas County, Paul MacNeill has been increased with the results obvi-

16 March 2007 The International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors Don’tDon’t shootshoot badbad newsnews messengermessenger By John Howell, Sr. building negotiations, we received two the town’s Publisher telling documents. The first was a copy of machinery oper- The Panolian a record of a phone request on June 22 ating — even with Batesville, Miss. from an Atmos Energy representative the mayor’s Feb. 6, 2007 requesting the mayor’s full name, his micromanage- wife’s full name, his address, county and ment; There was a brief exchange during the social security number. The second was a • The town’s vol- Friday, Jan. 26, meeting of the Crenshaw copy of a fax and cover sheet sent in unteer firemen mayor and aldermen during which response the following day from the mayor have complained Crenshaw Mayor Sylvester Reed told our to the Atmos spokesman providing the continually about reporter that our newspaper’s coverage of information requested — information lack of equip- John Howell, Sr. the operations of his town’s government required for a deed in the mayor’s name ment. were “destroying” the town. but not the city’s name. Requisitions submitted for equipment don’t Our reporter replied that there were many Stuff made up, indeed. result in purchases, even though money is in Crenshaw who thought that he is the The exchange late last month involved available in funds set aside for the fire one who is destroying the town. Indeed, it another special called meeting where department. One fire truck sits idle with was such concern expressed last spring by Michael Purdy attempted to inform the four flat tires. The fire department submit- Crenshaw citizens that brought us to the mayor and aldermen about the problems ted a requisition for new tires on Dec. 8. monthly meetings of that town’s govern- that he had found with the town’s water • Last month, heat to the fire house was ment. system and also a Mississippi Department cut off and not restored for a week because The Jan. 26 exchange with our reporter of Health water system inspection report the gas bill was unpaid. was not the first time Mayor Reed has completed Jan. 25, 2007. Purdy, a certified • The town’s police department is chroni- called our coverage of events there into water operator, had been hired as a pri- cally short of personnel, partly due to a question. vate contractor to conduct tests of the disagreement between aldermen and the town’s municipal supply. When Atmos Energy last spring made a mayor about whether the aldermen should decision to abandon its office building in The mayor squelched, over an alderman’s be able to review all of the applications Crenshaw, company officials attempted to objection, Purdy’s attempt to discuss the submitted to the town. The mayor’s posi- implement policy whereby the building health department report. Granted, board tion is that he should review all the appli- would have been sold or even donated in a attorney Mary Brown backed the mayor, cations and bring his recommendations to sweetheart deal to the town or some not- stating that the meeting’s agenda consisted the board. for-profit entity in Crenshaw. We reported only of discussing Purdy’s contract with the • Efforts to clean up abandoned property that Reed apparently withheld the infor- town, but the decision again left Crenshaw and overgrown lots in Crenshaw have mation from aldermen for a couple of aldermen and citizens in the dark because made little progress in spite of widespread months while he tried to negotiate pur- the health department’s inspection docu- citizen support. The mayor who is so chase of the building for himself — on the ments the town’s latest infrastructure fail- versed in his administrative powers with same sweetheart terms as Atmos had ure. regard to personnel matters and chairing offered it to the town. Consider: board meetings becomes reluctant when “For some reason there seems to be allega- • The town struggled late last year with exercising them to clean up the town. tions of all this that have no value,” the sewerage problems aggravated by a lack of • Water, sewer, fire and police protection mayor replied in a special meeting called experienced personnel and proper chemi- and cleanup — the main functions of a by aldermen on August 8 to confront Reed cal treatment. Long-time maintenance municipal government — have become about the allegations. “There is a bunch of employee Jimmy Frazier, who was also the dysfunctional in Crenshaw. And that’s not stuff made up,” Reed said, referring to our town’s last certified water operator, because of whatever has been published in news coverage and commentary. resigned in July out of frustration with the the newspaper. Yet when we filed an open records request mayor’s micromanagement of supply pur- with the Town of Crenshaw asking for chases, maintenance policies and pay. John Howell can be contacted at publish- copies of any information about the Atmos Since then, no one has been able to keep [email protected].

March 2007 17 The International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors AA neighborneighbor —— notnot aa zoningzoning —— mattermatter By Bradley A. Martin to work in helping young men find direc- Editor tion. Hickman County Times “You mean they can put a religious Centerville, Tenn. retreat anywhere they want?” you might Jan. 29, 2007 ask. Read the words of Amendment 1, which Much caution is needed in the continuing dispute over the Narrow also deals with free speech, free press, Gate Foundation’s request to operate a religious retreat in the peaceful assembly and petitioning the Leatherwood Community. government. Because of it, I think Narrow It’s a “request” because the nonprofit foundation has asked for Gate can establish itself anywhere its appropriate zoning from the county government. But given the operators can secure some property. requirements of Amendment 1, I think that we are talking more In terms of zoning, I’d like someone to about a “right.” explain to me how the government has Bradley A. Martin If a church wishes to establish itself anywhere in this country, I anything at all to say about religious truly believe that the government has no right to say anything establishment. about it. The government in the current case includes the Hickman In terms of zoning, agriculture is hands off; says so in big bold let- County Legislative Body and the Hickman County Planning ters in several places in the Hickman County Zoning Resolution. Commission. Religion, according to the U.S. Constitution — a somewhat more Narrow Gate is not a church, but comments by its representatives at time-tested document — is to be treated in the same way. last week’s public hearing — including hours of Bible study each For the record, Hickman County does have four other religious day — leave absolutely no doubt that the foundation is operating retreats in our county; three of them are used principally by persons directly upon the basis of religious belief, trying to put Christianity who do not live here. Most folks would say it’s a good thing that Cedar Crest and NaCoMe and Camp Lake Benson and Camp Meribah are encouraging Christianity here. The principal problem with the Narrow Gate project comes down to ISWNE new member how folks get along, which is not addressed directly in the U.S. Mo Mehlsak is editor of The Constitution or the Hickman County Zoning Resolution. Forecaster in Falmouth, Maine, Folks in the Leatherwood Community have an understandable con- which publishes four editions cover- cern about the tendencies of young men, ages 18-25 to find their ing the greater Portland area. He way into mischief, mayhem, even burglary and rape — especially joined the paper as managing edi- when those young men are in the community for a short time and tor in July 2004 and became editor are not restrained or otherwise supervised. in September 2006. Mehlsak previ- That is not a zoning matter. It’s a neighbor matter. Narrow Gate, ously spent 18 years as a reporter being a Christian organization, certainly would like to be a good and editor at the daily Journal neighbor. It could meet with local residents, who have been there a Tribune in Biddeford, Maine. while longer, and try to address their concerns. He is a 1977 graduate of the The Leatherwood Community is, because of its location in Hickman Newhouse School of Public County, filled with folks who are interested in each other, interested Communications at Syracuse in continuing on as a good place to live. They could knock on University and began his career as a writer and editor at Narrow Gate’s door and introduce themselves and talk it over. Automotive Age magazine in Van Nuys, Calif., before becom- ing a reporter at the Daily News of Los Angeles. Maybe I am wrong, but a lack of conversation between Narrow Gate and the community, plus worst-case rumors, has helped cause Mehlsak lives in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, with his wife, the current situation. Barbara Riegelhaupt, who is a career law clerk for a judge on the U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals. Mo and Barbara have A face-to-face solution is the only one that will work. As was point- two daughters; Rachel is program coordinator at The ed out last Monday, the Hickman County Sheriff’s Department has Hadassah Foundation in New York City and Alison is a soph- not had to respond to any calls involving Narrow Gate or one of its omore at Tufts University in Medford, Mass. young men. Mehlsak can be contacted at [email protected]. Discussion now can help keep it that way. Bradley Martin can be contacted at [email protected].

18 March 2007 The International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors LawmakersLawmakers closeclose doordoor onon publicpublic accessaccess By Tim L. Waltner official board to attend meetings of local news media Publisher another public entity or board without who have Freeman (S.D.) Courier following requirements of the state’s open requested notice. Feb. 7, 2007 meetings law. For special or Open meeting laws require that anytime rescheduled There is a perception that the importance a quorum of elected officials meet to dis- meetings, all of open government is driven by the cuss or consider official business, the peo- public bodies media. ple must be notified. shall also comply with the public There is basis for that perception; in South Dakota Attorney General Larry notice provisions many cases — sadly — it seems newspa- Long has been clear when talking to of this section for per, television and radio folks are the elected officials — school board members, regular meetings only people who seem to be voicing con- city council members and county com- to the extent that cern about government operating behind missioners — that when there is a quo- circumstances Tim L. Waltner closed doors. rum meeting on behalf of government, it permit.” is subject to the open meetings law. What is wrong about that perception is HB 1201 measure closes the door to the the notion that those efforts are self-serv- A misguided House wants to change that people and opens the door to abuse. ing. and take away your right to know. If this measure were to become law, the In reality, open government — discus- The measure appears to come from an Freeman Public School Board could meet sion, debate and decisions elected repre- incident where a township board met with another district to explore consolida- sentatives do on behalf of the citizens — with the Grant County Commission to tion or cooperation issues without serves everyone. It’s the difference discuss a culvert issue. Although the informing the people in the Freeman between dictatorship and democracy, county had posted its agenda, as required Public School District. between a monarchy and a republic, by the open meetings law, the Melrose between slavery and freedom. board did not. Responding to a citizen’s If this measure were to become law, the complaint, the state’s Open Meetings city of Freeman could meet with another The intent of the founders of the United city to explore cooperating on law States in protecting the rights of the citi- Commission ruled the Melrose board had violated the law by not posting the prop- enforcement without informing the city zens is clear. All one need do is look at residents. the Constitution drawn up more than er public notice of the meeting. two centuries ago and the amendments Rather than acknowledge that the public If this measure were to become law, to that Constitution known as the Bill of had been deprived of a fundamental county officials could meet with another Rights. right of access to government, lawmakers county to explore consolidating county decided to change the law to exempt services without informing county resi- That concept extends from the federal dents. level to the state and local levels. It public notification. allows citizens to see what the individuals The state’s open meetings law states: “All The bill is wrong and serves no purpose entrusted with making decisions on their public bodies shall provide public notice, other than allowing elected officials to do behalf are doing. It is called the public’s with proposed agenda, at least 24 hours their business without informing the pub- right to know. prior to any meeting, by posting a copy lic. Monday, members of the South Dakota of the notice, visible to the public, at the Hopefully the Senate will get it right. All House of Representatives — including principal office of the public body hold- of us need to remind our senators that those from this area — voted 60-7 to ing the meeting, and, for special or the public must come first. close the door on your access to your rescheduled meetings, delivering, in per- elected officials. son, by mail or by telephone, the infor- Tim L. Waltner can be contacted at couri- mation in the notice to members of the House Bill 1201 allows a quorum of an [email protected].

March 2007 19 The International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors TurningTurning outout kidskids forfor warwar machinemachine isis wrongwrong By Charles Gay top general was talking about during a $400 billion Editor and publisher Puget Sound visit when he told audiences spent in Iraq Shelton-Mason County Journal the military needs to reach “influencers,” would provide Feb. 1, 2007 those who young people look to for eight million kids advice when making important decisions. $50,000 for their How disappointing to see the Shelton He knew that young people are being dis- education. School District delving into military couraged from enlisting by worried par- Children who recruiting when its mission should be ents, teachers and others. want to join the educating children. Last week’s school Hicks filled out a form requesting to leave military are one board approval of sending Shelton High the state for training. It asks the question, thing. Children School Athletic Director Bill Hicks on a “Why is the training important to school who are pushed junket to San Diego to Marine basic improvement?” He answered, “It is valu- to join are quite training so he can spread the word here able experience in dealing with student another. They about the leathernecks’ educational questions concerning future planning are expected to Charles Gay opportunities is a sad commentary on when military recruitment is involved. make a life-and- society’s attitude toward what it calls its Also very informative training techniques death decision at age 18, but will our most precious resource. to possibly incorporate into our athletic educators give them all the information? In a time of war — a misguided and programs.” Will they teach them about involuntary botched effort that has turned from popu- In an age when high-school coaches go call-ups and stop-loss orders, 35 percent lar to unpopular in a conflict longer than to specialized clinics in their individual of soldiers returning from Iraq seeking World War II — when the military servic- sports often taught by college coaches mental-health services, the mentally es are running out of volunteer bodies, a and pros, he’s going to pick up some unfit being sent into combat, the some- sergeant in Marine Corps marketing training tips for our athletes. And he times worthless Iraqi army at their sides, writes to frostbitten educators inviting plans to advise students at recruiting the Marine squad with one member left them to go to San Diego this winter to time and train other “influencers” to alive after house-to-house searches 12 learn about “the myriad of educational advise kids. “How will this training be hours a day in 120-degree temperatures, opportunities available to today’s shared and implemented at the build- the bawling “grown men” in the field Marine.” The Marines, he says, feel that ing/district?” the form asks. “Through devastated after an attack, the tens of they are educators’ “partners in educa- staff meetings with teachers and coun- thousands of soldiers maimed, the impos- tion.” selors and future planning seminars for sibility of fighting an enemy without per- sonally killing civilians, the four years of The Shelton School District is under no students, parents and other interested parties,” he answered. untold horror stories? And that’s if they obligation to become the Marines’ part- live. ner in war, even though federal law prac- We have an educational crisis. We have tically forces the district to. To willingly too many days in testing and not enough This country, and this town, should think carry the Marines’ water isn’t part of its in classroom learning. We have teachers about what we are doing to our children. educational mission. who need to be trained in new curricu- The educational system, under pressure lum, new teaching techniques. So we’re to turn out technicians for corporate The federal No Child Left Behind law America, is trying to force every child to requires the district to provide contact going to use training time to tell teachers all about the Marines. love math and turning out graduates information for students to military shorted in the liberal arts that will help recruiters. Those recruiters will call and Hicks’ trip is “free,” paid for by the them enjoy life and understand the world call and call children, even when chil- Marines. That’s like saying when the City around them. Now the government dren tell them they aren’t interested, even of Shelton receives a state or federal wants educators to churn out children for when children tell them they have been grant it doesn’t cost the local taxpayers its war machine. accepted to a four-year college. Military anything. recruiters already are allowed on campus Educators should be preparing children The argument is that the Marines offer for life. at the high school. SHS has a Naval educational opportunities for kids who Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps pro- couldn’t get an education otherwise. gram more than a quarter century old. Perhaps if we spent our money on our Charles Gay can be contacted at Those feet in the door aren’t enough. The children instead of attacking others, our [email protected]. Marines want something like the Army’s poor could further their education. The

20 March 2007 The International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors IowaIowa whoopswhoops itit upup forfor Hill-AR-REEHill-AR-REE By Al Seiler jacket over a lightweight pink sweater and a meet in small Pike Press modest pearl necklace. groups with folks Pittsfield, Ill. She stood on a raised platform in the middle throughout the Jan. 31, 2007 of the gym, under glaring overhead lights to state, including accommodate the needs of the national tele- small towns. I’ve They asked me at the media door, “Are you vision coverage. She spoke for 20 minutes got a dozen ideas with the national press or the Iowa press?” I with no notes whatever, turning easily in all on how to run the said I was with the foreign press, represent- directions to face her audience. government, and ing Pike County. That sounded foreign to my latch string is She stressed her “middle class background.” out, but I doubt if them and was good enough to gain admis- She expressed her views on women’s rights, sion to the restricted press seats at the big she’ll be calling at education, the environment, pay for teach- my door. hoopla rally last Saturday for U.S. Senator ers, the minimum wage, alternate fuel Hillary Clinton at the East High School in sources, a boost for ethanol, which is highly In conclusion, I Al Seiler Des Moines. popular in Iowa, largely a typical liberal want to note the Giant red, white, and blue banners hung political agenda, but not a word about Iraq baggage that today’s reporters bring to a from three walls in the jam-packed gym and the war. major news event. The pushy men with those ponderous television cameras perched reading, “Iowa welcomes Hillary for presi- As her talk scored points with the friendly dent. Let the conversation begin.” In much on their shoulder, others with digital cam- audience of about 2,000 persons, they react- eras and telephoto lenses 18 inches long, smaller letters was the name Clinton. A high ed with thunderous applause and the new school jazz band was playing at one end. laptop computers, tape recorders, and every- tribal yell Hill-AR-EEE. body with a cell phone, the clear necessity of Remember when the Illinois state senator She anticipated the commonly asked ques- life. I sat there with my small pocket note- used only the name Laura in her campaign? tion, “Can a woman be elected president?” book, a pencil, and a simple film camera of Likewise, you’ll see only the name Hillary in She said, “We won’t know until we try, and several years’ usage. this candidate’s campaign. It’s an early I’m going to try.” She added, “I’m in it to I may be a relic of the past, but none of inning extra base hit no other candidate of win!” either party can match. It’s also a clue to the them can match my political experience, well oiled machine that is operating in her After her talk, she fielded about a dozen cot- dating as far back as my travel with the ill- behalf at this early stage of the statewide ton ball questions from the audience, but fated presidential campaign of Alf Landon Iowa caucuses next year. again none seeking her view on Iraq. in 1936 and many others since then. Saturday the New York U.S. Senator arrived A central theme of her campaign is the at the rally almost on time. She was wearing recurring message, “Let the conversation Al Seiler can be contacted at charcoal colored pants, a matching long begin.” Repeatedly, she said she wants to [email protected]. Future Conferences Save the dates...... upcoming ISWNE conferences 2007: June 27-July 1 Black Hills of South Dakota 2008: June 25-29 Santa Fe, New Mexico 2009: June 24-28 Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island

March 2007 21 The International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors BoardBoard MissedMissed OpportunityOpportunity toto GiveGive AnswersAnswers By Brian Blackley sent the position of his client — in this case, Monday night’s The Scott County Times the school board. But the law doesn’t prohibit meeting still leaves Forest, Miss. personnel discussions. It simply allows per- questions on the Feb. 14, 2007 sonnel discussions to be conducted privately. table. Those ques- According to the Mississippi Code of 1972, tions were posed The Forest City School Board meeting “Any public body may enter into executive from a number of Monday night was nothing if not informa- session for the transaction of public busi- sources in the audi- tive. It wasn’t what was said that was exclu- ness...” (note the use of the word “may”). ence, including all seven of the speak- sively interesting; what wasn’t said proved The code further states, “Nothing in this sec- equally interesting. ers who were there tion shall be construed to require that any to argue to the According to Board Attorney Tommy Lee, the meeting be closed to the public, nor shall any board on Lathem’s school board was prohibited from comment- executive session be used to circumvent or to behalf. ing on the termination of Superintendent defeat the purposes of this chapter.” What’s the point? Brian Blackley Skip Lathem’s contract because it is a person- The law goes on to spell out items that “may” nel matter. This, Lee said, meant the board be discussed (remember, “nothing in this sec- The bottom line is was prohibited under law from saying any- tion shall be construed to require that any that board members protected their irrational thing. meeting be closed”) and it includes personnel silence by invoking the law which doesn’t Mr. Lee is using the law to effectively repre- discussions. exclude them from offering an explanation for their decision. Their attorney said they couldn’t speak, but the reality is they could speak. They didn’t want to and they wanted to blame the law for their silence. Sure, the ISWNE new member 1972 code “allows” them to be silent, but con- Mike Moore was named editor of The Jessamine Journal in trary to what was said Monday night, it does- Nicholasville, Ky., in December 2005. Prior to the Journal, n’t require them to do so. Moore, 36, worked for the Appalachian News-Express in This change of language and this incorpora- Pikeville, Ky., the Times-Tribune in Corbin, Ky., and the tion of the shield offered by the state’s execu- Phenix Citizen in Phenix City, Ala. He has earned several tive session clause is nothing new here. newspaper awards from the Kentucky and Mississippi press Boards have been stretching the exemption of associations, including 2006 Best Editorial in the Daily the open meetings law for years to avoid con- Class 1 division. troversial issues. A self-proclaimed “Military Brat,” Moore was born in Approximately 150 people were at the meet- Heidelberg, Germany. He is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force, ing Monday night, including parents of serving from 1989 to 1995 as a health services manage- school children, school faculty members, busi- ment specialist. During his time in the military, Moore was stationed in Alabama, ness owners and managers and plain old Mississippi, Florida and Ankara, Turkey. He is a veteran of Operation Desert concerned citizens across social and ethnic Shield/Storm and Provide Comfort. groups. Almost all of them — evidenced by Moore is a 1988 graduate of Pine Forest High School in Fayetteville, N.C., as well as a the thunderous applause that erupted over graduate of the Mississippi University for Women with a bachelor of science degree in the room when Dr. Randy Reynolds and oth- communication. ers delivered their evidence to the board on Lathem’s behalf — were there to support “One of the best things about being a ‘W’ alum is it usually sparks some interesting Lathem. conversations with folks I’ve just met,” he quipped. “Actually, the ‘W’ began to accept men into the school in 1982 — its motto is ‘Accepting smart men since 1982.’” They were there for answers. Moore resides in Nicholasville with his dog, a German shepherd-boarder collie mix, The board had an opportunity to provide named Daisy. His hobbies include hiking, sports, especially football, spending time them. In this case, the board failed. with family and friends and attending church. Moore can be contacted at [email protected]. Brian Blackley can be contacted at bblack- [email protected].

22 March 2007 The International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors HowHow youryour countycounty governmentgovernment spentspent youryour taxtax dollarsdollars inin 20062006 By Donald Dodd can know. Publisher Listed on these pages is every vendor that the county paid in 2006. The Salem (Mo.) News Everything paid for printing from The Salem News to meals for jail Feb. 15, 2007 prisoners from Main Street Cafe is listed on these three pages. This is a wonderful, wonderful piece of information provided by On pages 11, 12 and 13 of today’s edition of The Salem News is county government that helps shed a lot of light on how we spend just about anything you want to know about how your county our money. It is called a “full and detailed” statement. That it is. government spent your tax dollars in 2006. And I do mean all you You deserve it. Some members of the Missouri Association of Counties and Missouri Association of County Clerks would like to see this infor- mation reduced to a summary statement, which would not really ISWNE Foundation Contributors publicize all of the information needed to show us how the money since Dec. 1, 2006 is spent. The logic there is to save money. It would also reduce needed accountability. Stringer ($10 to $99) There is actually a bill to this effect. Senate Bill 22 would replace Douglas P. Starr the list of payments to vendors you see on pages 11-13 with a sum- Tom Phillips mary statement. No doubt the summary statement would be Garrett Ray cheaper. But I don’t think there is anything wrong with govern- Edith Boys Enos ment spending a little money to inform taxpayers on how and Ellen Albanese where they are spending the bucks. The money spent with newspapers all over the state to list a full Cub reporter ($100 to $199) and detailed statement is miniscule compared to total county Bill and Jan Haupt budgets. The benefits of openness and an informed public far out- Donald and Nancy Smith weigh the costs. That should be the issue here. Jane Steinmetz First class counties are already printing only the summary state- Robert Mihalek ment. Second, third and fourth class counties are required to print Carol O'Leary the full and detailed statement. Dent County is a third class coun- ty. Copy editor ($200 to $299) One argument some people are making is that not only would the Don and Deborah Brod summary statement save a little money, it could be made accessi- Anonymous ble on the Internet, thus making it available to all. Well, not all. There are many people who do not have Internet Editorial page editor ($300 to $399) access, at least not easy Internet access. This is especially true in Allan Seiler rural counties such as Dent and many of our neighboring counties. Tom Wills There is another factor. Quietly placing the full and detailed state- Managing editor ($400 to $499) ment on the Internet would not get near the viewership and scruti- ny that it receives when placed in rural newspapers. It would take Editor in chief ($500 to $999) a little time and effort, if you even heard it was there. Jim and Gail Painter The day may come when placing the full and detailed statement online is a good move, but that day is not here yet. Publisher ($1,000) This is not all about newspapers trying to save a little business that has been coming their way for years and years. It is also about government being open and accountable in a way that is easy to Named scholarship ($10,000) access. You can’t get much easier or open or revealing than appearing on the pages of a local newspaper. Total raised: $2,235 Donald Dodd can be contacted at [email protected].

March 2007 23 The International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors A little cooperation can go a long way By Mike Moore coming up with a way to solve the issues. tend to leave after Editor Jessamine County Judge-Executive Wm. a while. Why is The Jessamine Journal Neal Cassity kind of shook his head and that? Nicholasville, Ky. said, “The last four years, not very often,” Nicholasville City Jan. 18, 2007 when I asked him how long it had been Commissioner since the governmental bodies of Chris Moore hit Accomplishing goals means formulating a Jessamine County had gotten together to on it when he plan and working the plan. discuss common issues. said across the Tuesday night, the governmental bodies of Tuesday evening marked the first joint board we must Jessamine County took the first step in meeting between the governing bodies in improve our qual- coming up with a plan to achieve common quite some time, more than a year in fact. ity of living, “I want the commu- goals, goals that, in the end, will benefit Cassity, in his own folksy way, said “It just all of Jessamine County. nity to be desir- Mike Moore makes sense that we all put our heads able for my fami- About 60 people attended the joint meet- together and make things happen.” ly now.” ing of the Jessamine County Fiscal Court, I agree. Wilmore City Council and Nicholasville Quality of living. Give our people some- City Commission to discuss common issues Looking at the governing bodies, we are thing to do, whether it be better parks and facing our community. very fortunate to have solid, upstanding recreational facilities, or simply a down- people in office. The talent, both from a town cafe to sit and enjoy music or other Many ideas and comments were tossed government and a resident’s perspective is forms of entertainment. around, but one thing — not really a par- already here. ticular comment or idea — stood out in my Jessamine County Chamber of Commerce mind. Everyone seemed to be singing from Jessamine County is an outstanding place Director Nancy Stone told those present the same page of music. to live, but there is much room for Tuesday, “We fall short of presenting a improvement. We’ve got a great bunch of unified front on what we accept as devel- There were no egos Tuesday night. citizens already here and it’s good to opment and progress.” I’m not suggesting the governmental bod- attract new business and families to our I would agree. But I also submit that ies don’t get along, but in my 13 months area. But we’ve got to figure out a way to Tuesday’s meeting, the first of what is in Jessamine County I’ve heard several keep them. promised to be quarterly meetings, is a times about the need for the agencies to Jessamine County schools Superintendent giant step in the right direction to make come together and hammer things out. Lu Young said it best when she said we our community across the board a much All three governments realized the impor- cannot afford to lose our younger genera- better place to live. tance of coming together to come up with tions to other thriving cities and towns. one comprehensive plan which will benefit Many of our young people go off to col- Mike Moore can be contacted at everyone. lege, earn degrees, but very few come back [email protected]. A comprehensive plan only makes sense. to work and live, and many who are here After all, what Wilmore does will eventual- ly affect both Nicholasville and Jessamine County and vice-versa. “We’ve been talking about it for the last four years,” Nicholasville Mayor Russ An invitation from Julian Calvert Meyer told me after the meeting. “It’s time we get down to the nuts and bolts and get ISWNE members are invited to the Society of Editors’ annual confer- to work.” ence in Glasgow, Scotland, Sept. 7-8. According to the Merriam-Webster Organized by Society chairman — a former ISWNE Greenslade Dictionary, a basic definition of govern- Bursary recipient — the event will feature high-profile speakers deal- ment is “The act or process of governing; ing with issues such as training in new technology. specifically: authoritative direction or con- A warm Scottish welcome is guaranteed in an historic city well known trol.” for its architecture, shopping and nightlife. In the past several months, the groups For more information, email Calvert at [email protected]. have tossed around many good ideas, but there seemed to be no real direction on

24 March 2007 The International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors Interview with a Terrorist

By Carl Conley interviewed a former member of the Although terrorist Editor and publisher Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO). conditioning is The Island Sand Paper Walid Shoebat was a terrorist in our under- similar to that of Jan. 19, 2007 standing of that term. At some point in the a cult, it’s more violent process, Shoebat decided to study like Nazi Turn on the television, pick up a newspa- the foundation his acts were based on. His Germany, where per, or listen to talk radio, and you’re rea- journey of self-discovery has led him to a the German sonably sure to be given someone’s view- deeper understanding of the dynamics of a masses were con- point on the Iraqi war, Israeli-Palestinian phenomenon that threatens the survival of ditioned in public conflict, or saber-rattling over Middle East our species. squares, the boy politics in general. At the core of the scouts, and open arenas. The other debate that many feel is the most impor- The Interview tant issue facing humanity is the conflict issue is that Carl Conley between two religions — Christianity and Carl Conley: What is radical Islam? Westerners find it Islam. Walid Shoebat: Calling it radical Islam difficult to comprehend that Muslims seems to imply that something was taken, aspire to die, and so they blame suicide This is an overly simplistic division. Just as bombings on poverty or human rights there are many denominations within the then radicalized. This is not the case with Islam. In my upcoming book Why We issues. But if poverty and human rights Christian community, Islam also takes issues are the cause of suicide bombings, many forms. Its most dangerous form is Want to Kill You, The Jihadist Mindset and How to Defeat It, I express the definition, again we must ask, why do we never hear Islamic Fundamentalism. Ultra conserva- during the Palestinian-Israeli war of a tive, this radical arm is characterized by which I chose to call Islamic fundamental- ism. After years of analyzing my life and Palestinian Christian suicide martyr? After the Jihad manifested daily in Western all, it is claimed that both suffer equally media by suicide and car bombers, the web of Islamic terror, I have concluded that Islamic Terrorism is: from the Israeli occupation. Same goes for beheadings, kidnappings, torture and con- the war in Iraq, we have Christians, and if stant militarism. Religious conditioning taught to Muslim masses, by using allusions of misery, his- indeed they suffer an American occupa- When the World Trade Center fell, most tion, why are they not blowing themselves Americans rallied in a war against al- toric manipulation, and illusion of the virtues of a distant past by continual up? Qaeda, personified by Osama bin Laden. It The other issue that Westerners do not get was a narrow and insufficient view. reflection to glory days of the past, in order to convert masses into angry, pride-filled, when it comes to this movement is that Whether you approve of the war in Iraq or they know little of, or do not focus on the not, there can be no denying that a rapid- remorseless killers and seekers of salvation by death. The goal is to intimidate non- fact that what Muslim leaders say in ly growing movement is pushing the vio- English, many times, is usually different lence in the Middle East. For much of this Muslims by fear and threats, in order to re- establish a utopian theocratic world order from what is said in Arabic. Americans century, these Islamic radicals were dor- need to track the Arabic or Persian. mant, suppressed by strong dictators and in which Islam and Muslims are domi- Arab nationalism. The resurgence and nant, and all non-Muslims are subservient. CC: What is the mindset of the Jihadist? acceptance of this self-styled “Holy War” is This conditioning becomes the sole focus of WS: Jihadism is a message of salvation. For difficult for the secular West to understand. both the spiritual leaders and the followers one to die in the cause of Allah is an While we embrace religion and spirituali- in every aspect of their daily life. assurance of salvation and entry to para- ty, long ago we accepted the separation of That’s what Islamic fundamentalism is, dise. It’s a corruption of Christian dogma. Church and State. Religious wars in Europe and you will find that everything in this The difference is that the shaheed (martyr) taught us all too well the evil that can be dangerous movement fits within that defi- can atone for sin. A martyr in Islam can harnessed and released when we justify nition. It’s crucial to keep that definition in be an intercessor for 70 members of his or civil behavior by the divine and the after- mind. It will help you when you watch her family. Dying in Jihad is the ultimate life. news media coverage, and you will be able way to instantly transit one’s soul to para- There are now millions of people bound by to understand the mindset. dise. In order to become a martyr (sha- a code that demands they kill “infidels” CC: What do you think is the Western per- heed), one must be killed, thereby obtain- and spreading this doctrine of morally ception of radical Islam? ing an assurance for salvation. It may charged extremism. The best way to under- WS: Most Westerners think that terrorist appear that Christianity and Islam have stand this disturbing trend is to go to the conditioning takes place in isolated envi- similarities — both accept they need a source. This week, we did just that and ronments, but that is not the case. death for salvation.

March 2007 25 The International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors

However, the major difference is that schools, mosques, and media outlets. I CC: In your view, is there a chance this Christians understand that salvation describe this in detail in my current book. movement will quiet down on its own, comes from the death of one man, Jesus CC: What is the position of women in making Western action unnecessary? Christ, so that whoever believes in and Fundamentalist Islam? WS: Islamic Fundamentalism has risen to accepts Him obtains salvation. Islam such an extent that it’s impossible to deal rejects the idea that Christ died for all WS: A Muslim woman’s primary role is to offer moral and ideological support to with it peacefully. We must tame this dan- humanity; it’s not the death of Christ that gerous force just as the West tamed Libya’s sends you to heaven, but your own death. male jihadists. The wives of male militants demonstrate their support for their hus- Quadaffi and Saddam Hussein. It will be a That, or you better work to obtain enough mistake if the West doesn’t use greater merit to outweigh your sins. But how bands, sons, and brothers. The propagan- da arm of al-Qaeda in Saudi Arabia arti- force. When Condoleeza Rice urged Israel much merit do you need? This is the to pull out of Lebanon, she went contrary dilemma that confounds Muslims. cles focuses on the role of women in jihad. Even on the Internet, websites for Muslim to what I’m saying. The consequence was CC: How could we change extremism? women such as http://www.mojahdat.jeer- to build confidence in the Jihadist move- WS: Several ways. Westerners need to stop an.com encourage them to support male ment. The people behind this use the viewing the Middle East issues through jihadis in various conflicts worldwide. West’s appeasement policies to build the their Western mindset. They compare movement. It’s taken as a sign of weak- In short, women are increasingly being ness. As soon as Israel pulled out, Hamas Middle Eastern thinking to their own, and called on for jihad. No longer invisible, moderates from the Middle East to their moved back in with greater forces than Muslim women with support from a new before and many locals viewed them as understanding of what a moderate is, as if generation of male terrorists are able to Palestinian Mahmoud Abbas or Iranian victors. The West must fight to win and utilize modern technology and proclaim press their efforts to a victory. Rafsanjani are real moderates in the true their voices on the global jihadi landscape. Western sense. CC: So, you completely disagree with those CC: What is the role of children in the who urge us to cut and run? Also, we need to stop building up the Jihad movement? enemy’s confidence by pulling back every WS: Absolutely. What will happen if the time we win. This happened in Israel in WS: Everyone in this movement is called West pulls out is a strengthening of the regards to Lebanon, and now in Iraq. on Jihad — man, woman, and child. As horn around Israel, comprised of Syria, evident, children have wrapped suicide We also need to deal with this issue as we Iraq and a Hamas-dominated Lebanon. A belts. Much footage has been provided second horn will emerge as Sunnis contin- deal with drugs. There are drug pushers in with children responding to the call “What the mosques that are funded by billions ue to consolidate and turn currently mod- are your desires?” The children in unison erate states like Turkey and Egypt and a from Saudi Arabian oil revenues. We have respond, “To die for Allah’s sake.” drug addicts (the followers of fundamental few cultivated African states. Turkey is a Islam). We eradicate the problem by CC: Is the West’s fear and concern over real sleeping issue. The prime minister of removing the cancer. Let’s not forget that Muslim extremism justified? Turkey is a radical Muslim. If the West this movement is a cancer. Not only will it WS: Yes, it is. There’s a good comparison cuts and runs, he will be emboldened to destroy itself, but will attempt to destroy us to be drawn between Nazi Germany and start reversing the secular laws and further in the process. Islamic Fundamentalism. It’s not the militarize his country. CC: How does Muslim Fundamentalism Fuhrer, though, who gives the orders; it’s CC: Do you think we’ll cut and run or stay differ from Islam? God himself. This religious twist makes it the course? even more dangerous. When Bush called WS: I think America will proceed with “cut WS: To answer this without political cor- this movement Islamic Fascism, he was rectness might be a problem for Westerners and run” because the American people derided by the press, but he’s right. We don’t fully contemplate the magnitude of who are conditioned to understand that need to label this to differentiate between Islam is simply a religion. Islam is a set of the problem. If you talk to the people in liberal Muslims and radical Islamics. Arab countries, including secular states Sharia laws to be established globally. Westerners don’t like labels; it’s not in step History well records the expansion of Islam like Turkey, you’ll hear them expressing with the current trend of political correct- pride that Iran may soon be a nuclear from the beginning of Islam until it was ness. When Winston Churchill tried initial- defeated in the nineteenth century when force. Americans will win a war, forgive ly to assign a label to the Nazis, the and make friends with a former enemy. the West ended the Caliphate in Turkey. English people rejected it, but history cer- This was when Islam was defanged from This is not the mindset of the Fundament- tainly proved him right. History will also alists. This conflict has deep roots and Jihad. What we see now is simply the res- prove Bush right because in order to fight urrection of Islam. hence, deep resentments. The extremists something, you have to know what it is. are stuck on the record of history. Liberal Muslims are much different. They We didn’t hate the Russians during the seem to do away with all of this. Cold War, but we abhorred communism. CC: What can we do to try and prevent this? CC: What makes Muslim Fundamentalists We didn’t hate the Germans; we detested do extreme acts? Nazism. I’m not an Islamaphobe, but I WS: We need to establish a more forceful fully understand and hate Islamic American media in all these societies so WS: The preparation to kill, behead, and Fundamentalism. the people will better understand what is be killed is introduced at all levels, in really happening. A lot of the coverage

continued on page 27

26 March 2007 The International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors Newspaper Faces Competition in Small Town

By Patricia Barkley six-page free publication in order to devel- The Times is still Associated Content op a readership base and advertising clien- in production, Feb. 10, 2007 tele, but it will expand in future weeks. So and according to far, Crawford says that she has had no statements made Most readers concur that a small town problems selling advertising and has by the owner, cannot support more than one newspaper. encountered a great deal of encourage- who could not be Yet, that is exactly what the city of ment from local business owners and resi- reached for any Haysville, Kan., is attempting to do after dents. further comments, the departure of one paper’s new editor to Crawford’s plans are to focus on local will continue to start up a brand new publication of her news and sports, and the first issue includ- print. There own. ed both recent game news and an article remains some on a Haysville homicide. She says that she doubt, however, Johnna Crawford rejoined her former as to whether employer, the Haysville Times, at the end also plans to do things somewhat differ- Patricia Barkley ently than her former employer does. For both papers can of 2006 with the intent of purchasing the survive in a city paper from the present owner, C.J. Cross, instance, she will be including color photo- graphs and ads on the front and back of with just 10,000 residents. Although com- within the next few years. She had worked petition is generally considered to be good for them several years ago before attend- each issue, something the Times rarely does. in business, numerous small businesses ing college. Within a month after her have gone under in Haysville in recent return, however, internal problems and When she left the Times, Crawford took years due to a lack of support from the conflicts caused her to depart again. This with her several other employees who were community and/or lack of a large enough time, she decided to start fresh. unhappy with their work there. Most of customer base to support both them and “I want to start from scratch and build them are now on the payroll for the Sun. their competition. At least one of the news- from the ground up,” Crawford noted. Animosities between the two newspapers papers is likely to fold; the question will “That way, I can make the paper what I have grown to such a level that Crawford be, which one? want it be and not have to deal with any has said she will not share reporters with previous problems.” the Times, and it has been widely circulat- ed that Cross has criticized Crawford’s new Patricia Barkley can be contacted at pur- The Haysville Sun, named after Crawford’s enterprise and accused her of sabotaging [email protected]. daughter, distributed its first issue on the Times, which Cross has owned for six Friday, February 9, 2007. It is starting as a years.

Interview with a Terrorist from page 26 being given now is fanciful, based in an force the capitulation of Japanese Destruction. But when you have a move- idealism that’s one-sided. Imperialism. Iran and many other coun- ment based on the belief that death is a CC: A lot of Americans are comfortable tries will drop a bomb on Israel if they get reward for spreading the Jihad, there’s lit- that our military would never allow a it and once the dogs of nuclear war are tle incentive for restraint. If the West does- threat to our country. They believe we are unleashed, it’s on your shores whether you n’t contain this problem now, they will fighting someone else’s war. Are they justi- like it or not. Remember the Scud missiles? surely be dealing with much worse later. fied in this belief? Hussein fired them into Israel and Saudi Arabia. If he had possessed nuclear war- Carl Conley can be contacted at WS: America is the kindest country in the heads, they’d have been on those missiles. world. It took a lot of deaths to get [email protected]. America to drop the atom bomb on Japan. Westerners think in terms of the Cold War Huge numbers of soldiers were dying to doctrine of MAD, or Military Assured

March 2007 27 President’s report from page 2 “Mr. Hix, I don’t understand about this minus Perhaps hope flared momentarily for the stu- and discovered that they had not been called 30 points. That really kills my grade.” dent, who produced the memo triumphantly. and that the name of one of them was mis- Nice statement of the obvious. My thought, A quick glance revealed no list of sources spelled in the story, which had appeared on not my response. attached; rather, there was just the list of peo- page one of the campus newspaper. ple talked to since the last beat memo. “What don’t you understand? This was I called the student into my office and asked: announced in both lecture and lab, and it’s in “I thought that was the same thing. I should- “Did you call your sources or contact them in the syllabus.” n’t lose credit for misunderstanding.” person to do an accuracy check?” “I think I was absent that day (could have Guess I’m just not very understanding I thought I had asked a question to which been true since the student has two or three because I didn’t understand the misunder- there was only one of two answers: yes or no. absences), and I was probably late to lab.” standing. What I really understood was the I was wrong. student didn’t read or listen closely to instruc- Probably sensing that this question was lead- “Even if that’s true, the information is in the tions and that carelessness proved costly. syllabus.” ing in some pre-determined direction, the stu- One thing I do understand is that when this dent responded: “There is a chance that I “But, I didn’t understand that the list had to happens each semester, the student never might not have. Well, actually, I don’t be attached to the story. I thought it could be makes the error again. Hopefully, it is a les- remember specifically that I did.” attached to the beat memo and that’s what I son that will carry over into the workplace. did. Shouldn’t I still get credit?” I know some Democrats and Republicans who Politicians have nothing on students when it would have been right proud of that answer. (Students in the class are assigned a beat on comes to evasive answers. Take this one, for “Honesty on your part is very important in campus to cover, and their news story assign- example. ments come from their beat. Periodically, they this situation,” I said. “So, I am going to take turn in a beat memo to me which lists their A requirement of the class is that students do that answer to be an honest answer of ‘no, I idea for their next news story, tells me what an accuracy check on their stories. To do this, didn’t do an accuracy check.’” they are learning about running a beat, and they are required to contact the sources and We managed to move on from there. lists the sources they have talked to since the verify that information in the story from that source is correct. I’m still not sure whether saying that life is last beat memo.) interesting is making a statement or asking a “Attaching to the beat memo does not count,” When a key professor called the other day to question. Perhaps it depends on the situation. I told the student. “However, if you will show complain that a student had not called him Maybe even just the moment. Whether state- me your beat memo and, if the list is to do the accuracy check after promising to do ment or question, it keeps you anticipating attached, I’ll think about it.” so, we checked the other sources for the story tomorrow. Right?

ABOUT THE ISWNE Dr. Chad Stebbins Editor & ISWNE Executive Director Director, Institute of International Studies The International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors (ISWNE) was founded in 1955 at Southern Illinois University (SIU) by Howard R. Long, then chair of SIU’s Department of Journalism at Carbondale, and Houstoun Produced by the Institute of Waring, then editor of the Littleton (Colo.) Independent. ISWNE headquarters were at Northern Illinois University International Studies at Dekalb from 1976 to 1992, at South Dakota State University in Brookings from 1992 to 1999. Missouri Missouri Southern State University Southern State University in Joplin became the headquarters in 1999. 3950 E. Newman Road ISWNE’s purpose is to help those involved in the weekly press to improve standards of editorial writing and news Joplin, MO 64801-1595 reporting and to encourage strong, independent editorial voices. The society seeks to fulfill its purpose by holding (417) 625-9736 annual conferences, presenting awards, issuing publications, and encouraging international exchanges. There are (417) 659-4445 FAX ISWNE 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. [email protected] This publication will be made available in alternative formats upon request to Chad Stebbins 417-625-9736.

International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors Institute of International Studies Missouri Southern State University Joplin, MO 64801-1595 FIRST CLASS