Two cases in point;
"Crime" Stats
Unreported for three years. Though this is not a
personal favorite of mine, in a county that elects it's sheriff,
prosecutor and judges I would like to at least see a summary. An informed
electorate might like to know if 100 arrests are made and no prosecutions
follow; what does that say about a department's arrest procedures? A
prosecutor's plea bargaining? A statistical breakdown might tell us what
type of arrests go on to prosecutions and convictions, what type get
dropped or bargained.
As was brought out at the Daily News' meeting, an arrest is fact, not
gossip. Wanting to know who is arrested for DUI, driving with a suspended
license or a 'domestic disturbance' may seem an unhealthy interest in the
misfortunes of others, but maybe we need to know that John Doe has been
arrested 4 times for a 'domestic disturbance' but never prosecuted. And
maybe we need to start asking....why.
Innovative and 'visionary' changes
I asked at the meeting if the Daily News had considered a new breakdown
for it's news; instead of National, Regional, Local, perhaps daily
sections entitled Moscow , Pullman, Rural.... no chance; those 100 cave
dwellers are completely dependent on this newspaper for their national
news.
One of several possible changes I did not bother to mention (and how many
others might have had unspoken innovative suggestions had they been
encouraged to voice them?) involves experimenting with the incredible
possibilities of the Internet and email. For example; one of your recent
'regional' stories reported that the Idaho Beef Association (as I recall
the name) was recommending labeling meat as to origin-ie 'American Beef';
this story could have been faxed to someone at the U. of Idaho
Agriculture Dept. for comments to run alongside the story; faxed to area
farmers for comments on the same page, same day. And yes, many farmers
have computers (buy them a modem; $200 is a pretty cheap price for a
columnist for the next 5 years).
Any number of the dreaded wire stories can be localized with same day
commentary; we have two universities here and nobody seems interested in
hearing what they have to say.
And just because another paper may have had a bad experience with online
newspapers doesn't mean you quit trying; it should challenge you to do
better.
And since I'm on a roll here, why not schedule meetings ( and this goes
for public officials as well) when the public can attend? A Saturday
morning bring-your-own-donuts/granola might get a better reception than
trying to gear up for civic responsibility after a hard day's work/school
schedule.
Jo Williams tajs@potlatch.com