News notes

Because of the fireworks surrounding last year’s budget, I decided to sit through the county’s budget workshop Wednesday night.

I felt a little like a hockey fan attending a Chill game because you can usually expect at least one good fight.

Boy, was I surprised. It was more like a love-fest. One at a time, each of the department heads explained that they had sat down with county administrator Charles Londo and worked out the differences. They were happy with the proposed budget.

Even the sheriff’s office, represented by Maj. David Thompson, was sedate and reserved in its criticism. The board members listened politely, asked a few questions, then suggested that Mr. Londo and Maj. Thompson sit down and work out the issues. None of them seemed insurmountable - although there was a serious difference of opinion over how much overtime pay is appropriate.

The closest thing to sparks came when a commissioner asked Maj. Thompson if the department was doing anything to curb abuses of sick time. But Maj. Thompson didn’t take the bate, and the session returned to polite and pleasant.

That’s a stark contrast to last year, when Mr. Londo and some board members engaged in heated exchanges with the sheriff, eventually leading to several new candidates for the county board running on what some called, “the sheriff’s ticket.”

Actually, I wasn’t really hoping for a fight. I’m glad they’re handling their differences more amicably this year. But it wasn’t as entertaining as I expected.

Words have power, no doubt about it.

And although a media outlet’s goal may be to objectively report the news, it can face accusations of bias with every word choice.

When NBC decided Monday to begin using “civil war” instead of “sectarian violence,” it created a firestorm of controversy. Some saw it as caving in to liberals - others as finally recognizing reality.

On a local level, we sometimes struggle with the same kind of difficult choices over words.

Is the jail crowded, or overcrowded. They mean the same thing; purists would claim that overcrowded is an unnecessary redundancy. At The Evening News, we generally use crowded, for that reason. But some might suggest that downplays the seriousness of the problem; that ”overcrowded” would have more impact.

Then there is the debate over anti-abortion or pro-life; pro-abortion or pro-choice. We use “pro-life” and “pro-choice,” because they have become accepted by most people. But the Associated Press stylebook still suggests avoiding them, in favor of the more neutral “anti-abortion” and “abortion-rights.”

A hot debate in recent years has focused on ”Christmas” and “holiday.” We use both, allowing a little common sense to guide our choices. If the reference is to the Christian holiday, we don’t hesitate to use Christmas. If the reference is to the season in December when gifts are exchanged, we use holiday, because there are a number of religions celebrating special days this time of year. But whatever choice we make, someone is going to disagree.

Which brings us back to the civil war/sectarian violence in Iraq. What do you think? Is it a civil war? Does the media significantly change the nature of the national debate by changing the terminology? Is it much ado over nothing?

By Dan Shaw, danshaw@monroenews.com

A reader suggested this morning that we add a locally written personal advice column. Something along the lines of Dear Abby, but with a local flavor.

That’s a great idea, was my response. But … isn’t there always a but … the trick is in finding the right person. Folks don’t want advice on their personal relationships from just anyone.

Then it occurred to me - a blog on blogsmonroe.com is an even better idea, and it takes some of the pressure off the blogger to be perfect with the answers. On a blog, lots of people could join in, offering more opinions on the issue of the day.

Since we’re already recruiting people to blog on a variety of topics, why not personal advice? It would be a chance to help people with their relationships in a blog format where others could add their own two cents worth.

If you’re interested or you know someone who might be, let me know. Some professional education in therapy or psychology or social work would be helpful. But more important, it seems to me, is a nice mix of compassion and life experience combined with a healthy dose of common sense.

You can reach me at danshaw@monroenews.com or 740-240-5749.

By Dan Shaw, danshaw@monroenews.com

The Evening News, for as long as folks around here can remember, doesn’t publish on holidays.

That’s a good thing for employees, who can spend Thanksgiving with their families. But in the days before the Internet, it left readers hanging for 48 hours.

Now, with monroenews.com, we can keep readers informed even when The Evening News is taking a break. A good example was the Detroit Stoker story, which broke Wednesday afternoon, the day before Thanksgiving. It didn’t hit the pages of The Evening News until Friday afternoon.

A few years ago, Monroe area residents would have been eating turkey without knowiing that one of our leadiing employers had been sold.

This year, it was on monroenews.com early Wednesday afternoon. 

By Dan Shaw, danshaw@monroenews.com

A longtime reader today questioned, in a post on the Eyes and Ears forum on monroenews.com, whether The Evening News should have allowed such a poignant personal discussion on a public forum.

This is what she said: “I have to say I have been a long time reader of Monroe Evening News and I am very disappointed that things like this have been allowed to be posted on the message board. Didn’t the family and friends go through enough.”

She raises a good point. From the first story about the baby’s death in the newspaper, right through to the final trial story, as well as monitoring the forums, reporters and editors at The Evening News have struggled with this question.

Clearly, the public is interested in the case and has a right to know the details - one of our own, a member of our community, died. That’s not just a private family matter, it’s an issue of wide community interest. As John Donne noted nearly 400 years ago, …”Any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.”

At the same time, two families suffered immeasurably, first losing a baby to death, then a mother/daughter/sister to prison. It was a very personal tragedy; they have a right to mourn in private.

We’re acutely aware of the difficulties balancing the public’s right to know with the family’s right to privacy. One of the toughest issues is how much detail to include. Reporter Ray Kisonas, who wrote most of the stories, had to make decisions all along the way: about the baby’s injuries, about the accused’s personal life, about the interpersonal relationships among both families. We printed what we thought people needed to know to understand the story. We left many details out.

Then along came the forum discussion. We didn’t ask for it; it happened on its own. People close to both the victim and the accused, as well as others who didn’t know them, gave their opinions and responded to each other in a remarkably open and honest exchange.

Some of the posts appeared to be too personal. We considered deleting them. But where to start and stop? One came from a juror, which is perfectly legal and appropriate, if unusual.

Perhaps this is one of the new roles of the Internet in our lives - to be a place where we can air our feelings, get them off our chests, so to speak. Perhaps it’s healthy, even cathartic.

One thing that makes all of this challening for editors of newspapers and Web sites is that there appear to be two different standards for the newspaper and the Web site. We allowed information on this forum thread that we didn’t put in the newspaper.

Is that good. Many journalists think not. Others rejoice in the differences between our fiber and cyber products. What do you think?

Related links:

The trial verdict story.

The forum thread.

A reporter’s views on the story.

Monroe County residents aren’t shy about their opinions.

The addition of this blog comes at a time when both the letters to the editor in The Monroe Evening News and the forums on monroenews.com are booming.

We printed record numbers of letters during the election season, and the pace has hardly slowed since the election. Last week Editorial Page Editor Tom Chulski was on vacation, so I handled the letters process. The variety and quality of opinions was impressive.

Also last week we made the decision to end pre-moderation of our forums. Traffic to the forums - both people commenting and people just reading the forums - has grown steadily since they were launched a year ago. The forums receive upwards of 5,000 page views a week, and there have been few problems with inappropriate language.

The two different venues - printed letters and online forums - tend to attract different writers/readers, focusing on different topics.

One fascinating thread on the forums over the last few days has been friends and acquaintenances of Sonya Moussaed, who was convicted of first degree murder in the death of her boyfriend’s baby. Click here to go to forum. A  juror in the trial even weighed in with her thoughts, responding to questions about whether the trial was fair. The strength of the forum is the ability of people to talk back and forth to each other, commenting on each others’ posts.

The letters to the editor, on the other hand, take much longer - usually a few days - before they’re printed. But they have a sort of permanence; after all, they are printed on paper.

It’s fascinating that in 2006, after more than 10 years of the Internet, both venues are thriving.

By Dan Shaw, danshaw@monroenews.com

Deciding how big to play a big story is one of an editor’s most challenging decisions.

The Michigan/OSU game Saturday has been growing in excitement since before the leaves started to fall. As the Wolverines climbed the BCS rankings, the game got bigger and bigger. For three weeks, since Michigan climbed to No. 2 in the AP poll, it’s been clear this is the game of the century.

So, as we planned coverage this week, we were faced with the question? How big is big enough? How much is too much?

We decided to make sure there was a story on pages 1A and 1B of The Evening News every day of the week leading up to the game. City Editor Doug Donnelly and Sports Editor Ron Montri worked together to plan the stories - everything from a feature on fans living across the state line in enemy territory to a whimsical look at planning a game party.

We devoted two extra pages in the sports section Friday and Saturday to stories about the game itself - player matchups, features on stars from both teams, etc.

Was it too much? I don’t think so. I haven’t been in a conversation this week that didnt’ include the game. Not enough? Maybe. The reader appetite seems to be inexhaustible.

A personal note: Sometimes it’s hard for journalists to remain objective on stories like this. In my case, it’s easy. My wife has a degree from OSU and my daughter has a degree from Michigan. I’m rooting for both sides. I know who buys my birthday presents.