I hate making errors. What can I say? I eat bottles of Ginko Biloba, but my short-term memory is just not what it once was. I’m a little like the late comedian Richard Pryor, I don’t have Alzheimer’s, but I do suffer from “Sometimer’s.”
No one takes it more seriously than do I when I infer something accidentally, or when I make typos — which I make every week. I guess that is why I live in a constant state of embarrassment. With each passing day, the world seems to change into something that seems — unfamiliar.
As with all things in life, when a mistake is made, it is best to own up and take responsibility immediately. For me, admitting fault is a regular way of life. The last time I took a gut check, I was still human. And I don’t know about you, but the older I get, the less I know.
I think most folks are pretty forgiving of an honest mistake, especially when the culprit fesses up candidly and with expedience.
But for all my miscues, therein lies the beauty of a community newspaper. It is a more personalized approach to journalism than its mass-media cousins. You have to be truthful and transparent when serving smaller, close-knit communities. My success at this newspaper must be measured by my ability to be fair, honest and impartial. And unlike a journalist at a larger venue, it is essential that Lake Travis residents and leaders know me on a personal basis. That can kinda be uncomfortable at times, but it comes with the territory.
As I often lament, it is fairly obvious that a certain disconnect has manifested itself between big media and the average Joe. Statistics consistently indicate that Americans have less confidence than ever in the Fourth Estate.
The reasons for the erosion in public trust has many contributing factors. At its root, the dispensation of news in this millennium is evolving in ways that are unprecedented in the whole of history. For centuries, humanity learned what was going on in the world by word of mouth or from scribes. While stone tablets graduated to the printing press, public sources for information were limited by technological constraints.
But it is a new world where instant information reigns. Radio, television, tabloids, cell phones, the internet, the blogosphere and the I-Pod have burned an indelible mark into the landscape of our society.
But I, for one, believe the immediacy of the Information Age has its down side. I don’t know about you, but I increasingly feel that news is held hostage by both the far left and the far right of the political spectrum. The truth has no such persuasion.
And the non-stop glut of information is breeding a society that can only think in 30-second sound bytes. Lost in the crawl across your television screen is the beginning, middle and end. Under the unrelenting economic pressure to find an audience, all too often, media gives way to sensationalism in a lowest common denominator mentality.
Meanwhile, everywhere one looks, perfection is the unattainable goal set by an unrealistic society, anesthetized by its own insanity. The vast majority of us aren’t as skinny, smart or good-looking as our television role models.
Journalism isn’t immune to pressure of Hollywood. Content and character often give way to good hair and white teeth.
With the proliferation of sources, I think it is more important than ever for the public to be more disseminating in where it gets its news. Let’s face it — a lot of the information that is floating out there is garbage. It isn’t news — it is gossip or politically-charged rhetoric.
While there may be more in volume, misinformation is nothing new. History is replete with propaganda. Take a look at some of the stuff that passed for “news” in the presidential race between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. And the whisper of “Rosebud” conjures images of William Randolph Hurst’s Yellow Journalism. The pendulum swings back and forth across the landscape of history. At the end of the day, information is only as good as the ethical values that guide a reputable news source.
In this chaos of modern information, the role of the community newspaper is singularly important.
It is the community newspaper that delivers news you aren’t likely to find elsewhere, from the local city council meetings to the high school sports stories. This is journalism at its most elemental level. Perhaps the graduating seniors aren’t news to most, but for me they are. I hope they are for you as well.
So in my watch over your community newspaper, I constantly try to rededicate myself ti do the my best to stick to the basics of the trade – who, what, when, where and why – with compassion, fairness and accuracy as my guides. My opinions will always fall under a clearly-marked disclaimer.
And on the frequent occasions when I inadvertently err, don’t be afraid to pick up the phone or drop an email and call my attention to it.
Meanwhile, I know I am not immune to any of the issues that rightly concern Americans concerning the media. Just know that each of my mistakes, faults and failures, I am intensely tempered and corrected constantly by my human frailties.