Read the damn editorials
Newspaper columns can define a community
The Front Page
Evening update
Sunday, April 11, 2021
By Ken Tingley
I suspect very few of you read editorials in the local newspaper.
Granted, it can be one of the tougher reads of the day. It requires concentration and a commitment to actually read to the end of the article. But it may also be the most importantly read of the day.
Some believe a newspaper should not write opinions, or take stands on important community issues. They argue newspapers should just regurgitate facts and let the readers decide for themselves what they should believe and care about.
The editorial in Sunday’s newspaper - click here to read - is an example of why regular citizens are not to be trusted with this responsibility. The local IDA recently granted tax breaks to a high-end boat-maker to move from Ticonderoga to Queensbury.
If you know what IDA even stands for then you get bonus points to make you an elite citizen. Even if you do know what IDA stands for, when was the last time you gave the board a passing thought?
Ever been to one of its meetings?
Do you know anyone on the board?
Probably not.
This is the type of issue that newspapers, veteran journalists like Will Doolittle and Bob Condon from The Post-Star and their veteran reporters would pay attention to.
The point of Sunday’s editorial was pretty simple. The purpose of IDAs was not to give out tax breaks to businesses that already were intent on making a move. They were attract new business from out of state. By the time the boat company in Ticonderoga even applied for the tax breaks, it had already invested $185,000 on renovations for the new building.
“The tax breaks were thrown away on a done deal,” The Post-Star concluded. It is hard to disagree with that conclusion. More importantly, it took tax revenue from a new business off the table.
The editorial made clear the newspaper was not against the boat company moving from Ticonderoga or applying for the tax breaks, but it was opposed to the IDA giving out tax breaks that were not needed.
Moree importantly, the newspaper reminded readers that this is not a one-time thing, but something it has seen regularly over the years.
Newspaper editorials are educational. The writers do research, bring years of experience to their arguments and are careful to get it right. How the local IDA gives out tax breaks is not a sexy issue that is ever going to come up at the dinner table, but it is no less important.
I doubt you will see one letter to the editor about Sunday’s editorial.
You want to be a good citizen?
Read the editorials.
Missed newsletter
It was gratifying to get an email this weekend from a concerned reader. He had not seen my newsletter this weekend and wanted to make sure there was not a problem with his computer.
I told him I did not believe it was his computer, but my wife’s urging me that some yard should get done before next winter.
For the past six weeks or so, I have not missed a day writing the newsletter, so it was nice to know that it had become part of the routine for at least one reader.
SOOP votes
Not too long after starting work as sports editor of The Post-Star in 1988, I stumbled upon a copy of Don Metivier’s book in the newsroom. Don, a long-time reporter and columnist for the newspaper, had recently published a collection of his columns. He even wrote one for our centennial issue in 2004.
I confess, it was many years before I finally sat down and started reading them. The style was a little more old-school, folksy, but they clearly showed Don knew the city of Glens Falls and was big part of the community.
What struck me even more was how he was able to show the legacies of so many people and events through his writing. In a sense, he had preserved them for history.
Newspapers are not just the first draft of history, they can also provide the context and the color for an entire era. That’s what Don accomplished with his book.
I suspect, It has always been in the back of mind to publish my own collection of columns and provide my own context for another era. That has been my project for the past six months. I’ve settled on 80 or so columns and the plan is to publish them in June.
I urge you to click here and vote for the book. It will provide a way for my publisher - Something or Other Publishing - to provide you more information as we near the release of the book.
Terry Pluto column
A few weeks back I shared with you a column from Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. When Terry is not putting sports in perspective for Cleveland fans, he is writing his “Faith and You,” column. For a time he wrote it for The Post-Star.
Terry tackled what it means when you “cancel” someone these days and I think it is worth a read. I think we are all looking for a little more “faith” and a lot more “inspiration.” I think Terry provides a weekly dose of that. Click here to read.
