I know at small papers, there are press passes for most sporting venues (in Lake Placid the major one is Olympic Regional Development Authority)
Lake Placid News, Adirondack Daily Entripse, Press Republican (I think Post Star), Watertown Daily News all accept these free gifts to events. From the ECAC's to Disney on Ice. Not only is entrance to events part of the gift, but for ski venues -- that includes a day of skiing.
I don't read all those Papers thoroughly, but I don't see very many editorials challenging ORDA.
The small papers generally don't have the resources to go after a big quasi-government entity. It's actually hard to do investigative reporting unless you have a big paper backing you. Increasingly rare. And to do one story like that takes away energy that could be devoted to 20 other, less labor-intensive (and probably more popular) stories.
Sure, if it is indeed a national story and the paper sniffs out a potential journalism prize for covering it, they may. More likely the case is these small papers are really shorthanded and they get press releases all day from such orgs and they run them almost as-is. It was a smaller paper that actually broke the "Spotlight" Boston Church scandal, but Boston Globe went more nuclear with it. A tiny paper broke the George Santos fib, but bigger papers eventually cherry-picked that story. The smaller papers, even if they do get the sniff of a big story, can only cover it so well -- and their reach is only so far. They have to hope a larger paper swoops in after the initial buzz.
• so my point is, you don't need a big staff or lots of reporters.
• in the cases you mentioned the larger papers may have never had that story
• but to the point, once you are friends with your source.. or the entities you are to cover.. have you corrupted yourself
• Last summer a man wielding a knife was killed
° the man had mental issues
° the police released a body cam video, but NOT the police radio conversation o the way to the scene
° I hope the race of the man had nothing to do with it, but it is why I wonder about the radio
° the statement issued was there was to be an investigation
All the (Adirondack Daily Enterprise and NCPR) reporting was from the active duty police department, no one questioned why the police did not use his taser; no one asked asked a non- Saranac Lake officer if firing two shots into the chest of the assailant was typical protocol; I don't believe there has been one follow up story -- even to just ask if there was an investigation.
You may say the ADE and NCPR doesn't have the staff to ask those questions, personally in a case where a man lost his life, a case where one of the law enforcement in the area left a man dead... I would say
You make the time. I am left wondering, why did the media depend only on the police releases to do an important story.. was it because you want a good relationship with police (over making sure they are doing their job); are you afraid if you make the police mad, the may pull you over at 2 a.m. (I hope not)
----
and
I would point out if a small paper is to survive (often the topic here at : "The Front Page") they must also have both a set of ethics that removes any doubt of that and the energy to do the job.
a smaller note. This essay addresses clarence thomas' and the supreme court ethics... And that story actually (partially) took place in Saranac Lake. At a great camp that is less than a 15 minute drive from the ADE office.
One of my oft criticism of both the ADE and NCPR is they have no sources in the area.. They have no one they know who works at Harlan Crow's camp... and nurturing sources, is not something you need thirty reporters to do.
I would agree it is more challenging for the smaller papers, but there are many, many examples of our newspaper doing in-depth enterprise reporting that made a difference. Check out the examples in “The Last American Newspaper.”
It was purposeful that big chain papers kept (usually underpaid) editorial people away from the monetization side of the business, starting midway through the 20th century, and supported Codes of Ethics and such regarding "gifts." Without knowledge of the financial side of the business, editorial employees couldn't go off and start their own publications. Editorial people were taught to think of the financial side as "the dark side." But the reality is, if an underpaid reporter gets some tickets to Six Flags or whatever so their kids can go on some rides like normal kids, that isn't going to corrupt that reporter. In fact, it might make that reporter happier and more well-rounded. It's not like Six Flags is dumping sludge into the river -- but if they are, a few park tickets aren't going to bribe someone to look the other way.
I definitely disagree. Receiving gifts from a a corporate entity like Six Flags could very well temper the reporting on the attraction. Our newspaper used to give tickets to employees to places like Six Flags, but it came from the newspaper. It is a slippery slope.
Yes, the ad people did a trade. The staff goes to Six Flags regardless. Mission accomplished from Six Flags point of view, even though there was a thin wall of separation. I guess the question is, what kind of cop does a better job -- Dudley Doright or Dirty Harry (or somewhere in between)?
you nailed it, Ken. I suggest that the local papers (P-S, T-U) and others who subscribe to ASNE code collaborate in uerging other to press SCOTUS to adopt similar code -- with examples.
A number of years ago I was voted in as a Town/Village justice…long story…The training was intense, informative and fascinating. As an aside…the only two branches of the judiciary that do not require a law degree are some state’s Town/Village courts and, you guessed it,
The US Supreme Court. Not that being a lawyer makes you a better judge- studies showed that lawyer judges were censured as much as non-layer judges. At training sessions, I was appalled at the lack of decorum from some attendees, mostly the Lawyers who sat in the back, talked amongst themselves and obviously resented being forced to sit through session they obviously felt they should have been exempt from attending.
As T&V judges we was told, very bluntly, that any actions or activity that might even hint at impropriety was to be vetted/approved by a supervising Justice. The local DA wanted to take me out to lunch…I had to decline. I was told I shouldn’t perform with the local community theater cause my name would appear in the playbill and people might feel compelled to attend. Though approval was given to judges playing on local softball teams - even though their names were emblazoned on the backs of their jerseys. But I digress, shame on the Supreme Court, shame on Congress for not imposing even rudimentary rules of ethics on the Supreme Court! Let us remember though, that when Congress makes laws for us they usually exempts themselves.
Good piece, And spot on. Interesting how the arc of corruption traces from SCOTUS to the decline of principle in GOP and the rise of fundamentalism. All are inextricably linked. Ethics? Left at the doorstep.
It appears the only recourse the citizenry has against a corrupt bench is the media's continuous pressure. I hope this isn't lost in the news cycle, but have faith that the Rottweiler grip they've established won't loosen anytime soon. Apparently Congressional oversight is only worthy for family members and prosecutors.
We need to stand for something lest we fall for anything—and the quality of the “something” is significant. What do we stand for? What are our values? Hopefully, love, justice, peace, honesty, integrity, compassion, and the like.
Itme to "pack" the court?
good point about ethics... but
I know at small papers, there are press passes for most sporting venues (in Lake Placid the major one is Olympic Regional Development Authority)
Lake Placid News, Adirondack Daily Entripse, Press Republican (I think Post Star), Watertown Daily News all accept these free gifts to events. From the ECAC's to Disney on Ice. Not only is entrance to events part of the gift, but for ski venues -- that includes a day of skiing.
I don't read all those Papers thoroughly, but I don't see very many editorials challenging ORDA.
The small papers generally don't have the resources to go after a big quasi-government entity. It's actually hard to do investigative reporting unless you have a big paper backing you. Increasingly rare. And to do one story like that takes away energy that could be devoted to 20 other, less labor-intensive (and probably more popular) stories.
true and not true
I have seen several examples in the past couple years where national stories were broke by small papers.
This because a Lake Placid News will have internal sources that the Albany Times Union would not --- as with the case of ORDA
Sure, if it is indeed a national story and the paper sniffs out a potential journalism prize for covering it, they may. More likely the case is these small papers are really shorthanded and they get press releases all day from such orgs and they run them almost as-is. It was a smaller paper that actually broke the "Spotlight" Boston Church scandal, but Boston Globe went more nuclear with it. A tiny paper broke the George Santos fib, but bigger papers eventually cherry-picked that story. The smaller papers, even if they do get the sniff of a big story, can only cover it so well -- and their reach is only so far. They have to hope a larger paper swoops in after the initial buzz.
• so my point is, you don't need a big staff or lots of reporters.
• in the cases you mentioned the larger papers may have never had that story
• but to the point, once you are friends with your source.. or the entities you are to cover.. have you corrupted yourself
• Last summer a man wielding a knife was killed
° the man had mental issues
° the police released a body cam video, but NOT the police radio conversation o the way to the scene
° I hope the race of the man had nothing to do with it, but it is why I wonder about the radio
° the statement issued was there was to be an investigation
All the (Adirondack Daily Enterprise and NCPR) reporting was from the active duty police department, no one questioned why the police did not use his taser; no one asked asked a non- Saranac Lake officer if firing two shots into the chest of the assailant was typical protocol; I don't believe there has been one follow up story -- even to just ask if there was an investigation.
You may say the ADE and NCPR doesn't have the staff to ask those questions, personally in a case where a man lost his life, a case where one of the law enforcement in the area left a man dead... I would say
You make the time. I am left wondering, why did the media depend only on the police releases to do an important story.. was it because you want a good relationship with police (over making sure they are doing their job); are you afraid if you make the police mad, the may pull you over at 2 a.m. (I hope not)
----
and
I would point out if a small paper is to survive (often the topic here at : "The Front Page") they must also have both a set of ethics that removes any doubt of that and the energy to do the job.
a smaller note. This essay addresses clarence thomas' and the supreme court ethics... And that story actually (partially) took place in Saranac Lake. At a great camp that is less than a 15 minute drive from the ADE office.
One of my oft criticism of both the ADE and NCPR is they have no sources in the area.. They have no one they know who works at Harlan Crow's camp... and nurturing sources, is not something you need thirty reporters to do.
I would agree it is more challenging for the smaller papers, but there are many, many examples of our newspaper doing in-depth enterprise reporting that made a difference. Check out the examples in “The Last American Newspaper.”
It was purposeful that big chain papers kept (usually underpaid) editorial people away from the monetization side of the business, starting midway through the 20th century, and supported Codes of Ethics and such regarding "gifts." Without knowledge of the financial side of the business, editorial employees couldn't go off and start their own publications. Editorial people were taught to think of the financial side as "the dark side." But the reality is, if an underpaid reporter gets some tickets to Six Flags or whatever so their kids can go on some rides like normal kids, that isn't going to corrupt that reporter. In fact, it might make that reporter happier and more well-rounded. It's not like Six Flags is dumping sludge into the river -- but if they are, a few park tickets aren't going to bribe someone to look the other way.
I definitely disagree. Receiving gifts from a a corporate entity like Six Flags could very well temper the reporting on the attraction. Our newspaper used to give tickets to employees to places like Six Flags, but it came from the newspaper. It is a slippery slope.
Yes, the ad people did a trade. The staff goes to Six Flags regardless. Mission accomplished from Six Flags point of view, even though there was a thin wall of separation. I guess the question is, what kind of cop does a better job -- Dudley Doright or Dirty Harry (or somewhere in between)?
you nailed it, Ken. I suggest that the local papers (P-S, T-U) and others who subscribe to ASNE code collaborate in uerging other to press SCOTUS to adopt similar code -- with examples.
A number of years ago I was voted in as a Town/Village justice…long story…The training was intense, informative and fascinating. As an aside…the only two branches of the judiciary that do not require a law degree are some state’s Town/Village courts and, you guessed it,
The US Supreme Court. Not that being a lawyer makes you a better judge- studies showed that lawyer judges were censured as much as non-layer judges. At training sessions, I was appalled at the lack of decorum from some attendees, mostly the Lawyers who sat in the back, talked amongst themselves and obviously resented being forced to sit through session they obviously felt they should have been exempt from attending.
As T&V judges we was told, very bluntly, that any actions or activity that might even hint at impropriety was to be vetted/approved by a supervising Justice. The local DA wanted to take me out to lunch…I had to decline. I was told I shouldn’t perform with the local community theater cause my name would appear in the playbill and people might feel compelled to attend. Though approval was given to judges playing on local softball teams - even though their names were emblazoned on the backs of their jerseys. But I digress, shame on the Supreme Court, shame on Congress for not imposing even rudimentary rules of ethics on the Supreme Court! Let us remember though, that when Congress makes laws for us they usually exempts themselves.
The corruption in the SCOTUS is frightening.
Good piece, And spot on. Interesting how the arc of corruption traces from SCOTUS to the decline of principle in GOP and the rise of fundamentalism. All are inextricably linked. Ethics? Left at the doorstep.
It appears the only recourse the citizenry has against a corrupt bench is the media's continuous pressure. I hope this isn't lost in the news cycle, but have faith that the Rottweiler grip they've established won't loosen anytime soon. Apparently Congressional oversight is only worthy for family members and prosecutors.
Thanks, Ken, for being on target once again.
We need to stand for something lest we fall for anything—and the quality of the “something” is significant. What do we stand for? What are our values? Hopefully, love, justice, peace, honesty, integrity, compassion, and the like.
Thanks, again. Shalom!