In leaving: reflecting on what my readers and sources taught me

Aug. 7, 2009

When I started work here a year ago, I never suspected leaving my post at the southern bureau of this local paper would be so bittersweet.

If I have learned nothing else in the last 13 months, it is that the news – good and bad – never ends. There will always be new projects to work on and old projects to plug away at, and no matter what time you choose to move on, there will always be loose ends. In the last several weeks, I have learned to accept that some things get left unfinished. I hope, though, I am not merely leaving, but instead leaving my successor(s) with some things to carry forward – like some of these stories I wish I could have seen through before my departure:

• The opening of the new Mexican restaurant in this city. In a county hit so hard by the economic recession, good news is now even better news.
• The passage of a telecommunications ordinance that would allow construction of cellular towers that would improve mobile phone service for residents.
• The case of a shooting involving a member of the police force. The shooting happened 10 months ago and I have written more than a dozen stories on its various aspects, but its late placement on the grand jury docket means my colleague will take the torch from here.
• The new school year. A year of hope and countless stories within stories about children I have met, children of people I have met, and children I never got the opportunity to meet.
• An examination into why this county has no drug court, and what having one might mean for the citizens here.
• The completion of new garden homes in a nearby tiny town, and what it will mean for their local economy as well as the economy in nearby cities.
• The construction of a new independent-living facility for the seniors in this city.
• Resolution and conclusion of the citizens' law suit against a nearby waste management company.

I don’t flatter myself that my work has done wonders for the south end of this county -- after all, I was following in legendary footsteps – but I know the cities I covered have done wonders for me.

Each article I reported deepened the realization that every story has more than one, or even two sides. Most have many sides, and all deserve to be told.

The people of this coverage area, in a hundred ways in hundreds of days, have taught me something of even more importance when I think about my future: the vitality of the local newspaper. By vitality, I mean two things: the local newspaper’s ability to thrive during the hard times, and as an extension of that, its utter, incalculable importance and value to the community.

The local paper’s vitality is evident when at a 9 a.m. city council meeting, the only people present are the council members, reporters from the local news outlets, and a handful of civic leaders. The actions taken by the council are no less weighty by having only five people present instead of 50, and it is up to your local newspaper to report those actions to those who can’t be there themselves.

A 7 a.m. school board meeting draws even fewer attendees, but your local newspaper will have someone there to hold your elected officials accountable for your tax dollars.

When others stop caring, your reporter will care – about the big stories and the small ones. Not just because it’s our job and we have to, but because it’s our life.

We work long hours to put information in your hands that will empower you to remain involved in this democratic government that allows its citizens to help shape policies.

I didn’t come to this conclusion alone. The readers and residents in my coverage areas taught me, as some demonstrated what could be done, and others resigned themselves, thinking they could do nothing.

Regardless of your agreement or disagreement with perceived positions in a newspaper or on a television station, remember it is dedicated to preserving your freedoms by giving you information. It is up to you what to do with it, but we would fail miserably at our jobs if we did not at least supply it.

“Knowledge is power,” the cliché goes, but I think John Peter Zenger, a father of the American free press, phrased it more eloquently when he said, "No nation, ancient or modern, ever lost the liberty of speaking freely, writing, or publishing their sentiments, but forthwith lost their liberty in general and became slaves.”

Salary Cuts: The Least Unsavory Option

Yesterday, our company's board of directors announced they would be cutting salaries by 10 percent across the board, effective next month. The news was sad, but given the employee-generated speculations about possible bureau closings or layoffs, most of us were relieved to receive the cuts instead.

"Everybody still has a job," our managing editor said as a preface to the bad news.

As a small paper committed to hyper-local coverage (for us, this is not just a buzz word; it's what we do), we were disappointed that, along with countless papers and news publications across the country, we had lost enough advertising revenue to make such dramatic measures necessary. Because of the nature of our business, it can sometimes take a little longer for us to feel the impact of a recessed economy, but we finally did. Many business closings in the area have had a direct effect on our advertising sales, and as the remaining ones cinch their belts, so do we.

The news came as a blow to me, who as a fresh-out-of-college cub reporter has nearly every dollar budgeted for specific and necessary purposes. Reporters don't make that much. Cub reporters make less. Cub reporters in an ailing economy make even less.

That said, I applaud my company for choosing salary cuts rather than layoffs. It would be at best difficult to manage on a staff any smaller than the one we already have. Although everyone here is bummed about smaller paychecks, we still feel like a team who can and will pull through this tough time together, instead of a decimated staff whose members pick up the slack for those laid off and wonder, "am I next?"

Of all the options a company could choose to mitigate lost revenue, I think a salary cut is the least unsavory. After all, we could have each taken five weeks of furlough, or been out a job entirely.

Follow-Through on Developing Stories

In my 11 months here, perhaps one of the most valuable lessons I've learned is that of the importance to follow through on ongoing, developing stories.

Even in a small town, most events signify a series of smaller events leading up to them. For example, a community-wide Thanksgiving dinner is not just a dinner; it's supported by weeks and even months of planning, fundraising, advertising, organizing and volunteering. Each of those aspects can represent its own story -- or stories.

In my coverage area, the arrival of a new Veterans Administration community-based outpatient clinic was newsworthy enough to garner months of attention in the form of stories on the negotiating and construction processes. The day the clinic opened was only one news story among a long series of them leading up to its ribbon-cutting. Three reporters cycled through that beat between the planning stage and the clinic's completion, but we all recognized the imperative to continue covering its progress. And now I plan to follow up with more pieces outlining the impact it has on the veterans community, new employees and local area.

Another story on my beat that has required proactive and consistent follow-through has been the Tony Martin Jr. shooting, which occurred in October. Since then, I have written no fewer than 12 stories about the investigation process, public officials withholding documents pertaining to the case, attorneys' statements and plans, case filings and court hearings.

The benefit to following these stories through is not only that you as a reporter will produce more (and more interesting) copy, but that each story will be placed in a wide context, giving readers a deeper and broader perspective on their community and the persons in it.

Furthermore, this practice gives you an opportunity to develop a sweet rapport with your sources, who will begin calling you with new information before you have to ask.

late blossoms

red all over

Now is as good a time as any to admit I've been branching out a little bit into photojournalism. Unlike many who pick up a camera in order to make themselves more marketable in the new media world, I picked up my Canon Rebel XT because I have always loved photography and the stories pictures can tell.

I haven't quite figured out the relationship between my writing and my photography yet (I'm discouraged from taking my own photos for my stories, so I am mostly a hobby photographer at the moment), but I do enjoy both and can only hope one day they will be inextricable from one another and from my identity as a journalist.

They say about newspapers that they're black and white and re(a)d all over. The building behind our bureau is red all over, and I thought this somewhat fitting to the newspaper theme.