Comments on: So, what if the mayor-and-chair weren’t keeping secrets? http://blogs.e-rockford.com/editorsnote/2008/07/01/so-what-if-the-mayor-and-chair-werent-keeping-secrets/ Back in the old days -- that's less than a decade and before there were such things as blogs and interactive conversations with readers -- editors used to respond to their newspaper readers with an "editor's note." Sometimes it clarified a point made in a letter to the editor. Sometimes it offered a correction. Sometimes it was just a simple explanation. An editor's note was a handful of sentences; maybe a four or five paragraphs. It was always a personal link between the editor and the reader. Only difference between it and today's blog is the immediacy and the platform. Welcome to Editor's Note. Sun, 22 Nov 2009 03:43:57 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=wordpress-mu-1.2.4 By: unmanager http://blogs.e-rockford.com/editorsnote/2008/07/01/so-what-if-the-mayor-and-chair-werent-keeping-secrets/#comment-54 unmanager Wed, 02 Jul 2008 12:24:45 +0000 http://blogs.e-rockford.com/editorsnote/2008/07/01/so-what-if-the-mayor-and-chair-werent-keeping-secrets/#comment-54 As a former supporter of the mayor, my great disgust with the situation is a clear recollection of a campaign event where then candidate Morrissey proclaimed, \\\' it\\\'s time to get the deal making out of the backroom and into the front room\\\'....guess it sounds good attacking opponents.... As a former supporter of the mayor, my great disgust with the situation is a clear recollection of a campaign event where then candidate Morrissey proclaimed, \\\’ it\\\’s time to get the deal making out of the backroom and into the front room\\\’….guess it sounds good attacking opponents….

]]> By: Veritas http://blogs.e-rockford.com/editorsnote/2008/07/01/so-what-if-the-mayor-and-chair-werent-keeping-secrets/#comment-51 Veritas Wed, 02 Jul 2008 04:56:35 +0000 http://blogs.e-rockford.com/editorsnote/2008/07/01/so-what-if-the-mayor-and-chair-werent-keeping-secrets/#comment-51 I don't disagree at all that important activities which affect the community should be done with as much public exposure and involvement as possible—though anyone with any experience knows this is sometimes impractical (or even unwise) in early planning stages while ideas are being articulated into something presentable for community reaction. However, one thing that bugs me is the automatic presumption by some in the media that groups such as business leaders in the leadership council have some evil, money-or-power-grubbing conspiracy in mind that they want to cloak in secrecy until it can be sprung onto a naive public who quakes in the shadow of the cartel’s power. Come on—most of these leaders are trying to accomplish the same goal as everyone else, including the Register Star: make this a nicer place to live and work for their families, neighbors and employees. Are they 100% successful or always experts in managing the process? Of course not, since it appears they really are human. Perhaps in addition to their personal motives as residents they have a complementary business incentive. The funds being invested in these community projects are, afterall, private money. What’s wrong with that in a market-based society? Let’s turn the tables a bit and ask this question of the newspaper’s free-from-bias-and-personal-motive editorial leadership: “Will you open to the public every internal editorial position and story planning meeting so we can see if your decisions are being influenced by a political agenda or a desire to shape public opinion—or heavens—maybe even a goal of selling more newspapers or ads?” Wait—nix on that last point. I forgot that journalism is always separated from the dirty world of commerce. I will look forward to seeing the editorial meeting schedule and location in Sunday’s paper. I don’t disagree at all that important activities which affect the community should be done with as much public exposure and involvement as possible—though anyone with any experience knows this is sometimes impractical (or even unwise) in early planning stages while ideas are being articulated into something presentable for community reaction.

However, one thing that bugs me is the automatic presumption by some in the media that groups such as business leaders in the leadership council have some evil, money-or-power-grubbing conspiracy in mind that they want to cloak in secrecy until it can be sprung onto a naive public who quakes in the shadow of the cartel’s power.

Come on—most of these leaders are trying to accomplish the same goal as everyone else, including the Register Star: make this a nicer place to live and work for their families, neighbors and employees. Are they 100% successful or always experts in managing the process? Of course not, since it appears they really are human. Perhaps in addition to their personal motives as residents they have a complementary business incentive. The funds being invested in these community projects are, afterall, private money. What’s wrong with that in a market-based society?

Let’s turn the tables a bit and ask this question of the newspaper’s free-from-bias-and-personal-motive editorial leadership: “Will you open to the public every internal editorial position and story planning meeting so we can see if your decisions are being influenced by a political agenda or a desire to shape public opinion—or heavens—maybe even a goal of selling more newspapers or ads?” Wait—nix on that last point. I forgot that journalism is always separated from the dirty world of commerce.

I will look forward to seeing the editorial meeting schedule and location in Sunday’s paper.

]]>