4 A
❘
WEDNESDAY EDITION
❘ 0CTOBER 4, 2017
NED HICKSON , EDITOR
❘ 541-902-3520 ❘
NHICKSON @ THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM
Special Commentary
National Newspaper Week; perspectives from your news team
As I mentioned in Saturday’s
editorial, National Newspaper
Week began Sunday and contin-
ues through Saturday, Oct. 7,
with newspapers — community,
national, daily and non-daily —
celebrating what each brings to
the continued pursuit of truth,
information and perspective
under the First Amendment and
Freedom of the Press.
Since 1890, whether called
the Siuslaw Oar, The West or
the Siuslaw News, this has been
your community newspaper.
Over the last 127 years, while
the technology utilized in bring-
ing you stories and images has
advanced from the 1892 Palmer
& Rey 10x15 press that sits in
the front office, to the new 2017
for flesh-and-blood reporters to
research and write the stories
From the Editor’s Desk
N ED H ICKSON
iMacs with 21.5-inch screens
we just received a few weeks
ago, the one element that has
remained the same is the need
that capture the achievements,
concerns, challenges and cele-
brations that distinguish each
generation within the communi-
ties we cover, from Florence to
Mapleton, Swisshome and
Deadwood.
In recognition of National
Newspaper Week, I asked each
of the reporters in our news-
room to reflect on what being a
journalist means to them, partic-
ularly as part of a small commu-
nity living within the sometimes
complicated context presented
by the interconnected nature of
today’s world — where the
events taking place across the
state and even the world can
have local impacts and implica-
tions.
As a rule, reporters go to
great lengths to avoid becoming
part of the story. Today, I’d like
to bend that rule just a bit to let
them talk about journalism in
their own words in the hope of
getting to know the flesh-and-
blood members of your news-
room and community just a lit-
tle better ...
Siuslaw News.
In my summer here, I learned
about “AP Style” in writing and
formatting as the newsroom
taught me about the inner work-
ings of the newspaper. I experi-
enced the unique community
Florence has formed. I even
wrote a little: about Queen
Rhododendra’s cape, the local
radio-controlled aircraft group
and Siuslaw Public Library’s
Summer Reading Program.
When a reporter position
opened up, Bartlett and Baer
agreed they wanted me. Now
when I enter a new place, I have
only to tell someone I am there
“with the paper” to find an
instant welcome.
That’s what Siuslaw News
has been for me — a welcome.
It is my connection with the
community as I work to bring
stories to light.
I hope when people pick up
their newspaper, the Siuslaw
News is filled with articles that
connect them to the community;
that talk about local events; that
tell a story.
I hope that reading their
neighbors’ words on the
Opinions page brings a new per-
spective or a reason for friendly
debate. I hope that pictures of
Viking and Sailor sports feature
their favorite players; that the
firefighter they know gets men-
tioned in a board meeting; that
local organizations listen to
their input during a public meet-
ing.
I hope the community knows
that the Siuslaw News works
hard every week to tell your sto-
ries — your stories, and mine.
Pursuing story
L
ike many people who
grew up before comput-
ers were an ever-present
component to modern living,
the newspaper has been a con-
stant in my life.
I grew from reading each
day’s comics pages — especial-
ly the bright colors in the spe-
cial Sunday edition — to look-
ing at the arts and entertainment
sections, before finally “gradu-
ating” to the front page when I
started to become aware of local
and world events. This, for me,
was on Sept. 11, 2001, when I
was in middle school and global
events exploded into the public
consciousness.
In our homes, schools, busi-
nesses
and
communities,
Americans talked about wars,
and rumors of war, while news
broadcasts explored the attacks,
motives and consequences.
Newspapers printed front-
page Associated Press (AP) arti-
cles, bringing national news
right down to my tabletop.
Soon, I wasn’t just reading the
big news, though those stories
often caught my eye first. The
lead item would draw my atten-
tion farther down the page to the
regional and local news. Here, I
could read about Eugene-area
events and businesses, and even
about Veneta, Florence and
places I had actually been to.
News became real when it
applied to me.
For three semesters in high
school, I was the news editor of
our monthly news magazine. I
had to interview school staff,
volunteers and classmates about
issues that impacted their day-
English, and my minor in com-
munications allowed me to con-
tinue to write — this time with
my college newspaper.
I took a break from the regu-
lar kind of story while I pursued
my master of fine arts in
Chantelle Meyer
F EATURES E DITOR
to-day lives. For an introverted
teen, it gave me the chance to
connect with people and learn
their stories.
Stories became the hook I
needed as I began to look
beyond high school and into
future careers I could pursue.
That love of story led me to
get a bachelor’s of arts in
Creative Writing, specifically
for children. When I came
home, a conversation with my
aunt, Cindy Wobbe, led to a
meeting with Jenna Bartlett,
then the general manager of
Siuslaw News. These amazing
women worked with Editor
Theresa Baer to set up my first
internship right here at the
‘A good newspaper is a nation talking to itself’
N
ewspapers
have
always been an impor-
tant component in my
life. My first job, for which I
received the sum of $2 a week
plus tips, was as a newspaper
delivery boy. I had 26 houses
on my route when I started and
I was 10 years old (which was
the minimum age required to
have a route).
I grew up in Massachusetts
and the weather is often foul.
Rain and snow were a constant
part of the landscape from
September through May. At
that time, there was a morning
paper and an evening edition. I
started out delivering the
morning paper, getting up at 5
a.m. and bundling up, grabbing
the print grey canvas bag that I
carried my papers in and filling
it at the corner drop off box.
Then I would spend the next
hour-and-a-half walking the
three miles on my route to
deliver the day’s first news to
my neighborhood.
There were days when the
snow was unplowed, falling
and freezing.
It didn’t matter.
There were days when the
rain never stopped and I was
soaked from head to toe. One
morning, my fingers and toes
were blueish grey and the tin-
gling when they warmed up
was so intense it hurt.
It didn’t matter. I never
missed a day of delivery and I
was always filled with a sense
of accomplishment; a sense
that I had played just a small
part in the process of deliver-
ing the news of the day to my
neighbors. I got to know my
neighbors in a way that was
both intimate (as I would often
see folks in their pajamas or
nightgowns) and affirming.
I knew that in every house in
our neighborhood, one of the
first things that everyone
would do was walk outside and
get the paper. It made me feel
as if, even at 10 years old, I
was a part of the rhythm and
culture of our neighborhood. It
made me feel proud.
I feel that same sense of
pride today and every day that
I am fortunate enough to have
a “by-line” or a photo credit in
the Siuslaw News.
“Journalism is what we
need to make democracy
work”
—Walter Cronkite
Walter Cronkite was a hero
to my grandparents. The daily
rituals that make up the day for
families of the middle class
often ended at the dinner table
that I would know, directly
from her and Uncle Walter,
what was good, just and right.
This was the time in
America’s history when we
were struggling with racism,
the war in Vietnam and the
murders of our leaders. This
nightly news ritual instilled
Mark Brennan
C ITY R EPORTER
watching “Uncle Walter,” as he
was referred to at my grand-
mother’s. Nightly, he would
tell America what was impor-
tant, some things we should
know about, think about and
ultimately talk about.
It was the feeling that some-
one had to make sense out of
the wild, crazy world — and
the nation’s most respected
journalist was that person in
my young world. My grand-
mother would have me sit with
her and watch the news. She
talked to me about the events
of the day as if it was important
that I realize what was going
on. I found out many years
later that she did this so that I
could make a difference — and
within me the desire to help —
by finding out what was hap-
pening, figuring out whether it
was right or wrong, and then
trying to contribute to the
improvement of my communi-
ty by doing something about it.
I feel this same calling
today, and I continue to work
to make a difference in peo-
ple’s lives by finding out
what’s going on, informing
folks about it and helping them
understand what it means.
“I think all good reporting
is the same thing — the best
attainable version of the
truth”
— Carl Bernstein
The
movie
“All
the
President’s Men” was a turning
point in my life. When I real-
ized that not only could
reporters tell others what was
going on, but that they also
could shape the news by inves-
tigating what was going on, I
had a mission: I would become
the best version of Woodward
and Bernstein and Cronkite
that I could.
This decision led me on a
journey that took decades to
complete. I started taking
classes in writing and photog-
raphy. I took classes in news-
gathering, reporting, and story
construction.
It took more than two
decades of study, practice and
dedication to attain this goal.
These years of effort eventual-
ly led to my obtaining a degree
in Journalism from the
University of Oregon.
I have never regretted a day
of the effort, or a day of the
time spent learning and prac-
ticing the craft handed down
from Walter to my grandmoth-
er to me.
“There is no substitute for
face-to-face reporting”
—Thomas Friedman
— Arthur Miller
want to tell me a story.
Sometimes it is a story of hope.
Other times it is a story of fear
or pain or rejection.
This sounds sad, but often-
times when people hear about a
problem
they
mobilize
resources and personnel to
spring into action to help oth-
ers.
I have found that even a sin-
gle person hearing about a
problem can help. I have seen
this scenario numerous times
over the past year. Someone
tells me a story which I relate
to our community — and they
receive help.
This has led me to talk with
an inspiring young man fight-
ing a deadly disease, men and
women who were dying and
felt no one cared, and to com-
munity leaders trying to con-
vey to their constituents why to
vote for them.
It is the ultimate fulfillment
of my grandmother’s dream.
The fact that I get to help,
inform, castigate, sympathize
or cry with my neighbors is an
honor and a privilege that I do
not take lightly.
I think my grandmother
would be proud.
These days I spend most of
my time talking to people that
Enamored with privilege of making the news real again
I
’m so proud to be a jour-
nalist at this moment in
history. No matter what
politicians or statistics say, I
firmly believe we’re entering
a golden age of journalism,
and it all has to do with fake
news.
To me, fake news isn’t just
purposefully printing lies. It’s
the 10-minute diatribes by TV
news pundits devoid of intro-
spection; partisan websites
that tilt an issue to an extreme
point of view; and the 500-
word newspaper reports that
attempt to encapsulate com-
plex issues into 15 paragraphs
or less.
Fake news isn’t just an
absence of fact, but a manipu-
lation of the world around us.
A challenge has been made
to the media:
Don’t lie to us.
Don’t shortchange us.
Don’t try to persuade us to a
point of view.
Journalists have been
tasked to make journalism
honest and relevant again.
We can’t just slide by with a
simple quote from a politician.
complex stories that not only
inform, but create understand-
ing.
We have to regain the trust
of the public and make news
Jared Anderson
C OMMUNITY R EPORTER
We have to honestly and fully
explain the context of it. We
have to look at multiple points
of view within historical con-
text to get to the ultimate truth
of the matter. We have to tell
real again.
To be a part of this transfor-
mation is a privilege.
Now, whether or not I’m
effective at it is a different
story. Three months in, I’m
finding more and more that I
have absolutely no idea what
I’m doing.
I’m admittedly confused by
why Ned picked me for this
job. My background is in writ-
ing collegiate textbooks, med-
ical studies and playwriting.
Actors don’t even read
plays; they just highlight their
lines.
And the length of my arti-
cles? I have one coworker
who berates me once a week
saying, “Oh look, another
‘War and Peace.’”
I am constantly embar-
rassed by my work, but I’m
just so enamored with the
process that I can’t help
myself. I’m not the brightest
guy in town, so it takes a lot of
details for me to fully under-
stand an issue. And I get so
excited by that understanding
that I just want to share it with
everyone I meet.
To me, it’s that understand-
ing that makes news real.
I’ll continue getting better
at relating the news. But for
now, being allowed to attempt
making the news real again is
one of the greatest privileges
in my life.