Crime up
Seems we are having a crime wave - at least they are acknowledging it. But then, it is hard to miss a body in the street. I would post on PennLive on the issue, but I am still persona non grata
"Tuesday, March 14, 2006
Midtown shooting victim diesAn unidentified man died minutes after he was shot in the chest at Green and Muench streets shortly after 7 a.m. this morning. The victim was described as white and about 40 to 45 years of age, said city police Chief Charles Kellar. He was shot once in the chest and was found lying on the sidewalk. Kellar said the man was taken to Harrisburg Hospital, where he died. Police cordoned off the 1900 block of Green Street, talked with residents and searched for evidence. Kellar said police do not have a description of the shooter at this time.
Police seek downtown bank robberA man held up a downtown Wachovia Bank branch at about 9:45 a.m. today and ran into Strawberry Square, Harrisburg police said. Almost immediately, police searched Strawberry Square but did not find the robber. Police are searching the train and bus stations and other places downtown. The man is described as a black, about 5'6" with a medium build. At the time of the holdup, he wore sunglasses and a sky blue hooded sweatshirt.
Man shot on Midtown streetcornerA man was shot this morning at the corner of Green and Muench streets in Harrisburg's Midtown district. Police say a white man about 40 was found lying on the ground and was taken to a hospital about 7 a.m. He appeared to have been shot once in the chest, police said. Detectives were investigating at the scene, but no further information was immediately available."
posted by Anniken Davenport, Esquire @ 8:15 AM
8 Comments:
Hey, maybe she can take up censorship, too?
I hate to be a pain, here but I'm not all that enthused by Nancy's column.
Nancy's a columnist. She always goes farther than the real reporters.
When is the Patriot "News" going to step up and follow these stories through?
According to the 'Contact Us' page on PennLive.com, Nancy is the city editor at the paper. Generally, city editors are responsible for assigning stories, so I'd have to imagine that the 'crime wave' was a big surprise to her too. With smaller newsroom staffs, its challenging to cover all of the news that is happening in your readership area, especially with a mayor that doesn't believe in public access.
If the mayor doesn't believe in public access, then it is time for reporters to push. If they got off their butts instead of waiting for press releases, maybe they would get some news. Police blotters are open to the public.
If you are a lawyer, then you must know that Pennsylvania has some of the most restrictive public-information laws in the country. It is a travesty to see what politicians can do behind doors and what information they are allowed to withhold from voters. Until the voters decide to change the politicians, the paper can only do so much. From what I have seen, there is more aggressive First Amendment reporting that can/should be done by The Patriot-News, but that can be said for any newspaper. Plus, when the paper does attack public-information access, see the Joe Paterno salary saga, they get little support from the public.
I am indeed familiar with the Right to Know Law in Pennsylvania, as I once routinely handled such requests from reporters and others when I was employed by state agencies many moons ago. Aggressive reporters can get the information if they want it. I am well aware of the state of journalism and the disconnect between readers, voters and government. I am also well aware of the business pressures facing newspapers today - see my posts on the media in this blog. That said, I still believe that reporters have an obligation to the public separate and apart from whether the public wants to read what reporters disclose. What is at stake is a free press and a free people.
If you are a reporter, as your post seems to hint at, then may I suggest you spend some time developing the sorts of stories that will have an impact. If your paper won't support you, do it on your own time and freelance the articles or books. Seek out grants and reporting fellowships. Get advanced education, perhaps an MJS or Masters of Writing. Go to the Poynter Institute for advanced training. Etc.
Speculation will lead you nowhere.
While I do agree with you that reporters can access information, it is finding the time and resources to do this that is the challenge. The government's responsibility is to serve the people and by creating bureaucracy to slow or stop this, they are taking power away from voters.
The promise of freedom of the press does in no way guarantee the survival of newspapers and other mass media outlets. In fact, I'd argue that the ability of people to self publish, see this blog for an example, is a greater expression of the founding fathers' original idea than any newspaper.
A newspaper is just like any product in the fact that we wish it could be better. Sure, my old Nissan truck was a good vehicle and did the job, but did I want more power, softer seats and better gas mileage? Of course I did, but with anything in life, there are tradeoffs.
A newspaper must make money and to do this within their current financial model, they have to print a daily product with 'X' amount of ads. Even a paper like The Patriot-News, which has a very high readership penetration in this market, is faced with financial realities.
Any journalist wishes they could spend all day researching stories and filing FOI requests, but the reality of the situation is that there isn't a large market for freelance writers. Considering most freelance writers are paid by the inch of copy, and very poorly at that, surviving is a challenge. Hopefully, blogs and other niche publications will allow writers to do real bulldog, investigative pieces and get paid for them, but the market isn't there yet.
So, what can you do? Rally the masses, boycott advertiser and burn subscriptions? That may be one answer. Another answer is to support journalists, find writers who need work and give them avenues to pursue it. The community supports artists in this way, why not journalists?
Of course, the easiest answer is, why don't we, the public, report the truth? We have the tools, energy and passion to research, report and inform . .
Anon - this one obviously not Milton, makes some valid points. To which I respond that journalists who want to make a difference can. I'm a full-time freelancer myself and I write pretty regularly on public policy. No, it is not my bread and butter. However, there is a significant market for books on important public policy issues. It won't make freelancers rich, but that's what grants and fellowships help defray. I'm currently working on two books that expose the dirty underbelly of government, and have published several articles on similar topics.
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