Newspaper junkies turn out at Crandall
Cambridge showed Glens Falls how NOT to have debate on mascot
By Ken Tingley
Over the past year or so I’ve spoken to a lot of people about the newspaper, journalism and my two books.
But Thursday night at Crandall Library was the first time anyone mentioned “Don Coyote.” This was a hard-core newspaper crowd who knew their newspaper. If you don’t remember, “Don Coyote,” was a little cartoon feature that ran each day on the bottom of the editorial page. “The Coyote” would regale readers with a quip, observation or insult. For those of us who had to write them, it was kind of a pain in the neck.
But the reader who asked about the former feature reminded us it was the first thing most people read every morning in the newspaper. The person seemed to miss it, like so many things that are no longer in the newspaper. It was commentary for sure, but hopefully it made people think. No political figure wanted to be the subject of Coyote quip.
Thursday’s event featured appearances by former Post-Star editors Will Doolittle and Pulitzer winner Mark Mahoney along with former WNYT News Director Eric Hoppel moderating. We talked about the good, the bad and the ugly from our days at The Post-Star and many of the stories that I recounted - and that Will and Mark were big parts of - in “The Last American Newspaper.”
There were two former citizen representatives from The Post-Star editorial board on hand as well as at least one elected official. Most of these events are scheduled for an hour or so, but we blew right past the 8 o’clock hour and kept going for another 30 minutes. We probably could have gone on longer.
Many in the audience lamented the reduced coverage they were seeing in the newsroom. We tried to remind them of the in-depth journalism we did and the role that editorial and column writing can have in making a difference in the community. It was an easy sell for this group.
One man said he started going to his local Town Board meetings because newspaper stopped covering them. It’s good to know there are still passionate newspaper people out there who care about their community. They were out in force Thursday night.
Heading west
Dwindling content and less local journalism are important issue that need to be addressed as part of a larger national discussion.
I’m hoping to take a step in that direction when I speak about “The Last American Newspaper” at the Denver Press Club on Thursday, Dec. 1.
The invitation came out of the blue, after a woman in Denver read my book as described as “pure newspaper crack.” I’ve never been to Colorado, so I’m looking forward to the trip and talking about the book.
Next local event
My next local event will be at the Queensbury Senior Center on Monday, Dec. 5 at 2 p.m.
Over the past year, I’ve spoken at many of the local senior centers. They are my people. They grew up and read newspapers their whole life. I’ll be talking about both my books - “The Last American Editor” and “The Last American Newspaper” as well as the future of newspapers and journalism.
After that it is on to Chase Prestwick in Saratoga on Wednesday, Dec. 7 and then the Greenwich Lions Club on Thursday, Dec. 15 at 6:30 p.m.
Mascot debate
I suspect there will be some debate about Glens Falls High School being forced to change its mascot - an Indian - by the state in the coming weeks.
I hope the folks in Glens Falls review how things went in Cambridge over the past year so they know how NOT to do it.
Johnsburg supervisor
Andrea Hogan, the Johnsburg supervisor, seems to have moved to Maine and taken a job there, although she insists she is only there part-time.
Despite some attention from local media recently, it is unclear exactly how much time she will be spending in Maine where her husband already has a job, too, and how much time she will be in Johnsburg.
As an elected official, Hogan should make her future plans known now.
A few years ago, a Queensbury councilman moved to North Carolina while continuing to be paid to be on the Queensbury Town Board. After being criticized by the newspaper, he finally resigned.
If Hogan is not going to live for most of the year in Johnsburg, she should also resign.
Behaving properly
Stumbled on this Tweet from the former Republican Speaker of the House. Our current congresswoman - and so many others - could learn a lot from this one act of civility.
Tweet of the Day
Considering the events of Saturday where the former president was allowed back on Twitter, I’ve decided to conduct my own poll about whether I should continue “Tweet of the Day.”
Let me know.
RE: Leaving Twitter
I think you leave, but you do it as a transition, so your followers know where to find you (and you know where to find the people you follow too)
I just left Twitter, it is so, so toxic. But there will be things I miss, some connections will be lost. And my day was not complete without a tweet from @NJGov; whoda thunk New Jersey could have the best Twitter account on the planet. I'm more active on Facebook again. I just signed up for Mastodon and I heard a podcast about another Twitter alternative that will be rolled out in a year or two that is structured somehow to cut back on amplifying misinformation. Can't recall the name or how it actually worked, but I'm looking forward it.
On Andrea Hogan: she has said she will be finishing her term in Johnsburg while working remotely for her new job in Maine. I can’t help but make the comparison to Stefanik who never actually lived here while running and being elected to Congress 2 or 3 times. But more important in my book is that modern technology affords people the ability to efficiently work remotely - if we have necessary high quality infrastructure in place. As you may or may not know I’m running for Qby Supervisor At-Large. While many local GOP electeds constantly gripe about people leaving our region I will be dedicating effort to pointing out the many reasons for people to come here, to bring families for extended work/vacations, and for some to move here permanently so they can raise families here. We have a lot to offer but grouchy old men who built their political careers complaining about raising taxes while at the same time voting for nearly every tax increase are not the advocates we need to further that goal. By the same token, remote work offers locals the opportunity to access a world job market while still living here, at home.