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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 2, 2019)
4A | WEDNESDAY EDITION | OCTOBER 2, 2019 Siuslaw News P.O. Box 10 Florence, OR 97439 NED HICKSON , EDITOR | 541-902-3520 | NHICKSON @ THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM Opinion The First Amendment C ongress shall make no law respect- ing an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Govern- ment for a redress of grievances. “I never considered a difference of opinion in politics, in religion, in philosophy, as cause for withdrawing from a friend.” —Thomas Jefferson (1800) USPS# 497-660 Copyright 2019 © Siuslaw News Siuslaw News Published every Wednesday and Saturday at 148 Maple St. in Florence, Lane County, Oregon. A member of the National Newspaper Association and Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association. Periodicals postage paid at Florence, Ore. Postmaster, send address changes to: Siuslaw News, P.O. Box 10, Florence, OR 97439; phone 541-997-3441; fax 541-997-7979. All press releases may be sent to PressReleases@TheSiuslawNews.com. Jenna Bartlet Ned Hickson Susan Gutierrez Cathy Dietz Ron Annis Publisher, ext. 318 Editor, ext. 313 Multimedia Sales Director, ext. 326 Office Supervisor, ext. 312 Production Supervisor DEADLINES: Wednesday Issue—General news, Monday noon; Budgets, four days prior to publication; Regular classified ads, Monday 1 p.m.; Display ads, Monday noon; Dis- play classified ads, Friday 5 p.m. Saturday Issue—General news, Thursday noon; Budgets, two days prior to pub- lication; Regular classified ads, Thursday 1 p.m.; Display ads, Thursday noon; Display classified ads, Wednesday 5 p.m. Soundings, Tuesday 5 p.m. NEWSPAPER SUBSCRIPTION RATES: In Lane County — 1-year subscription, $79; 6-month in-county, $56; 10-week subscription, $25; Out of Lane County — 1-year subscription, $102; 6-month out- of-county, $69; 10-week subscription, $35; Out of State — 1-year subscription, $134; E-Edition Online Only (Anywhere) — 1-year subscription, $65. Mail subscription includes E-Edition. Website and E-Edition: TheSiuslawNews.com Letters to the Editor policy LETTERS We can all do more; draw a line on climate change In this country, the nation was built on the backs of human ex- ploitation and the westward ex- pansion expressed as our “mani- fest destiny.” This mindset during the mid 1800’s was used to validate ex- panding U.S. territory as both justified and inevitable. The po- litical, social and economic influ- ences of this “at all costs” attitude are being felt today as resourc- es are depleted and the air we breathe, the water we drink and land that we love are suffering the consequences. When short-term profits are more important than the long- term consequences to the planet and people, we will all feel the ef- fects. What have we done? What can we do? Recently, the attention this crisis deserves has been brought about by Greta Thunberg, a 16-year-old Swedish student and climate activist. She started alone with a climate strike and recent- ly addressed the United Nations with a speech that called out the leaders of nations, “The eyes of all future generations are upon you. And if you choose to fail us, I say we will never forgive you. We will not let you get away with this. Right here, right now is where we draw the line.” Millions around the globe joined the climate strike week that just concluded, recognizing that our house is indeed “on fire.” We all have to draw a line. We can all do more. Be like Greta. —Beverly Sherrill Florence Thanks for community support of veterans Thanks to the generous citizens of the Florence area during the recent Veterans fundraiser held at Fred Meyer, Bi-Mart and Safeway. Without the continued support from the citizens of local busi- nesses, our fundraising could not continue. Thanks to veterans groups American Legion Post 59 and Auxiliary, VFW Post 3232 and DAV Chapter 23. —Mike Nielsen, Comm. AL Fred Burns, Comm. VFW Jerry Hernandez Comm. DAV Some thoughts for the upcoming National Newspaper Week (Oct. 6-12) O nce upon a time, hav- ing a job at a news- paper meant working in one of the most imposing buildings in town, inhaling the acrid aroma of fresh ink and the dusty breath of cheap newsprint and feeling mini-earthquakes under our feet every time the presses started to roll. For those of us old enough to remember those days, National Newspaper Week 2019 could be one big, fat elegiac nostalgia trip. Today, many news- papers are ditching the imposing buildings for low-rent storefronts. As University of North Car- olina professor Penny Ab- ernathy has documented in her ground-breaking research on the news de- sertification of America, upwards of 1,300 commu- nities that had newspapers of their own in 2004 now have none. So here, dear readers, are some facts you need to know: Newspapers are more than a medium Increasingly, for both younger and older readers, that low-grade paper with come-off-on-your-hands ink is being replaced by bits and bytes that light up your phone or tablet or computer. What can’t be replaced, however — and what should never be made ob- solete — is the primary function that newspapers have traditionally per- formed: Deploying report- ers, photographers and editors to find and pro- duce stories on everything from natural disasters to political scandals to your much information at our disposal. The same digital rev- olution that blew a hole in newsroom budgets and turned Craigslist and eBay into advertising be- hemoths also created new paths to publication. According to a 2018 sur- vey by the Pew Research Center, more Americans now get their news from Guest Viewpoint Kathy Kiely, University of Missouri School of Journalism neighbor’s golden wedding social media than from anniversary. newspapers. Why pay for ‘free’ news? But not everyone who’s That 25 or 35 cents you publishing via smartphone used to plunk into a news- and YouTube is a promis- paper box didn’t come ing writer or videographer close to covering what giving voice to under- it cost to produce what served communities. A lot newsroom denizens like to are peddlers of propagan- da, snake oil, disinforma- call “the daily miracle.” The high cost of public tion and dissension. Nor is social media as service journalism has al- ways been subsidized by free as it seems: We pay by providing our personal advertisers. So thank them by show- data every time we log on ing your support — in and, often, every time we their businesses and your make a purchase IRL (in real life). subscription. Social media sites that Social media use data to deliver in- is not free news Readers might not no- formation that’s likely to tice the hollowing out of keep you on their sites: A newsrooms because today, resident of Moberly, Mo., we have, if anything, too who shops at Cabela’s and is Facebook “friends” with Donald Trump supporters is likely to get a very differ- ent news feed on Facebook than one who lives in New York City, listens to NPR and “likes” Joe Biden’s Facebook page. I’m not arguing that we should turn off the Inter- net and replace it with ink and paper. What I do think readers can do this National News- paper Week is become more mindful about their information diet — rather than nutrition-free news snacks we often consume each day. Supporting real news is a more expensive propo- sition for readers than it used to be, but it’s cheap when you consider what you’re really paying for. As my former Gannett News Service colleague, University of Kentucky journalism professor Al Cross put in a bumper sticker he had commis- sioned a couple years back, “Support democracy: Sub- scribe.” Kathy Kiely is the Lee Hills Chair in Free Press Studies at the University of Missouri School of Journalism. The Siuslaw News welcomes letters to the edi- tor as part of a community discussion of issues on the local, state and national level. Emailed letters are preferred. Handwritten or typed letters must be signed. All letters need to include full name, address and phone number; only name and city will be printed. Letters should be limited to about 300 words. Letters are sub- ject to editing for length, grammar and clarity. Publication of any letter is not guaranteed and depends on space available and the volume of let- ters received. Letters that are anonymous, libelous, argumen- tative, sarcastic or contain accusations that are unsourced or documented will not be published. Letters containing poetry or from outside the Siuslaw News readership area will only be pub- lished at the discretion of the editor. Political/Election Letters: Election-related letters must address pertinent or timely issues of interest to our readers at-large. Letters must 1) Not be a part of letter-writing campaigns on behalf of (or by) candidates; 2) En- sure any information about a candidate is accu- rate, fair and not from second-hand knowledge or hearsay; and 3) Explain the reasons to support candidates based on personal experience and perspective rather than partisanship and cam- paign-style rhetoric. Candidates themselves may not use the letters to the editor column to outline their views and platforms or to ask for votes; this constitutes paid political advertising. As with all letters and advertising content, the newspaper, at the sole discretion of the publish- er, general manager and editor, reserves the right to reject any letter that doesn’t follow the above criteria. Email letters to: nhickson@thesiuslawnews.com WHERE TO WRITE Pres. Donald Trump The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW Washington, D.C. 20500 Comments: 202-456-1111 Switchboard: 202-456-1414 FAX: 202-456-2461 TTY/TDD Comments: 202-456-6213 www.whitehouse.gov Oregon Gov. Kate Brown 160 State Capitol 900 Court St. Salem, Ore. 97301-4047 Governor’s Citizens’ Rep. Message Line: 503-378-4582 www.oregon.gov/gov U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden 221 Dirksen Senate Office Bldg Washington, DC 20510 202-224-5244 541-431-0229 www.wyden.senate.gov U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley 313 Hart Senate Office Bldg Washington, DC 20510 202-224-3753 FAX: 202-228-3997 541-465-6750 www.merkley.senate.gov U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio (4th Dist.) 2134 Rayburn HOB Washington, DC 20515 202-225-6416 541-269-2609 541-465-6732 www.defazio.house.gov State Sen. Arnie Roblan (Dist. 5) 900 Court St. NE - S-417 Salem, OR 97301 503-986-1705 FAX: 503-986-1080 Email: Sen.ArnieRoblan@ oregonlegislature.gov State Rep. Caddy McKeown (Dist. 9) 900 Court St. NE Salem, OR 97301 503-986-1409 Email: rep.caddymckeown @oregonlegislature.gov West Lane County Commissioner Jay Bozievich 125 E. Eighth St. Eugene, OR 97401 541-682-4203 FAX: 541-682-4616 Email: Jay.Bozievich@ co.lane.or.us
