Wanted: The next generation of news professionals

Queensbury wants to spend $39 million on school project

By Ken Tingley

One of the strengths of any newspaper is its institutional memory.

Greg Brownell, Bob Condon, Will Doolittle and Mark Mahoney all provided decades of experience and memory during my time at the Glens Falls newspaper. Nothing surprised them. Nothing caught them off guard. For any new reporter, they were an important resource to explain history of dredging, the trash plant or the political landscape in Thurman.

Most news outlets have a lot less of that these days.

Andy Flynn is the new publisher of the Adirondack Daily Enterprise and The Lake Placid News where is also the editor. He is a Tupper Lake native and has worked as editor of the Lake Placid News for some time.

What he noticed over the years was the difficulty in getting new reporters to come to the North Country.

This is not unique.

It was often a problem for us in Glens Falls as well.

Rural newspapers all over the country have been dealing with the problem on and off for years.

While Andy and his newspaper have been offering internships for years, he recently decided to formalize the recruiting effort by being part of something called “Next Generation Newsroom.”

“As you know, we live in the middle of nowhere,” Andy said. “It is not always easy to recruit, being so remote. It poses a big problem. We wanted to create educational pathways for local students to become professional journalists.”

For years, Andy has been out there visiting schools, going to career days and hoping it might spark something in a student.

“Planting those seeds are part of the process,” Andy said.

The program is described like this on the Adirondack Daily Enterprise website:

“The Next General Newsroom is a program of outreach, recruitment and training for local students - in public and private schools and homeschooled - to gain valuable experience that will launch their journalism careers - either in entry-level positions at the Adirondack Daily Enterprise and Lake Placid News or in bigger newsrooms.”

Andy remembered his own journey of being part of the photography club in school and how that sparked his own interest in journalism. It’s often as simple as that. Finding something you like and realizing you can get paid for it.

“I’d like to see more newspapers do this, and many are doing it,” Andy said. “I just wanted to make it a little more formal, I’m the old guy in the newsroom at 54. When I started, none of these people were born. What am I going to leave behind? I’d like to leave behind robust journalism in the Tri-Lakes region.”

It’s a great sentiment and an important mission, but it can be difficult at small newspapers.

“You have to make the time,” Andy said. “A lot of the stuff we’re already doing. This is just a way of formalizing it.”

It starts with newspaper tours for kindergarten kids and often leads to internships for students as young as junior high.

But it’s also a problem every citizen should be concerned about.

Journalism careers are no longer very attractive to not only young people, but their parents who paid for college. Don’t discourage your kids from writing. Or reading a newspaper. Or wanting to work for the school newspaper.

I fear many parents discourage the interest.

The New York Press Association has sponsored internships for its member newspapers - many are weeklies - for years. I imagine they have a difficult time filling the positions.

On the Adirondack Daily Enterprise’s Next Generation Newsroom website it delivers this important message:

“News is that part of communication that keeps us informed of the changing events, issues and characters in the world outside. Though it may be interesting or even entertaining, the foremost value of news is as a utility to empower the informed.

“The purpose of journalism is thus to provide citizens with the information they need to make the best possible decisions about their lives, their communities, their societies, and their governments.”

It is so important to have strong professionals doing those jobs.

People like Andy Flynn.

We should never forget that.

Queensbury vote

People often wonder how these huge capital school projects get funded. I’ve heard more than once, “I never voted on that.” It’s mostly because you didn’t know when there is a vote.

The Queensbury School District is holding a vote on a $39 million capital project and the vote is scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 12 from noon to 8:30 p.m.

The argument for passing it is that 75 percent will be paid for by the state. That still leaves close to 10 million Queensbury taxpayers have to fund. And aren’t we funding the state monies too?

I’d urge you all to take a closer look at the project, and most of all mark your calendars to vote on Dec. 12.

PCBs in Hudson River

All these years later, environmental groups and the EPA are still sparring over the dredging of the Hudson River.

The Albany Times Union reported this week that environmental groups have characterized the dredging project a “failure” after analyzing recent data from the river.

The EPA has to review the site every five years and file a report. The EPA is in the process of doing that and said it “politely agreed to disagree” with the environmental groups.

The environmental groups say that the PCBs are not breaking down as fast as expected at the bottom of the river and that the measurements in three species of fish are also not falling fast enough to reach EPA goals.

The EPA will be evaluating both those measurements in its report as well.

Stefanik vote

Rep. Elise Stefanik was one of the many Republicans who voted with Democrats for a continuing resolution to keep the government open this week for the next several months.

It appears to be one of the few times in recent memory she voted with Democrats.

The Last American Newspaper

For those of you who missed my second book - The Last American Newspaper - my publisher McFarland Books is offering a special 40 percent off deal leading up to Black Friday.

The Last American Newspaper looks at the great work that was done and the personal stories of Post-Star reporters and editors over the past two decades. It is a good read and will give you some insights into how that work was beneficial to local communities.

Through Cyber Monday (Nov. 27), McFarland Books is offering 40 percent off all titles - including The Last American Newspaper - with the coupon code - HOLIDAY23.

After Monday, Nov. 27, the discount will drop to just 25 percent.