<< Back 6/26/02 ... and the rush of newspapering By Scott McLeod My desk, office and email file runneth over. Damn, where does it all come from? ... But I won’t dare to unload on those who send stuff in and thereby help us get this newspaper out. No way, because I happen to think I have one of the best jobs in the world. It’s hard work, but I’ve met only a small handful of people I would want to spend time with who are afraid of hard work. Journalism vascillates between the mundane and the exhilarating, but it keeps me interested, is almost always satisfying, and facilitates a lifestyle that is anything but 9 to 5. I was thinking about this job when I read the column written by Ann Landers’ (Esther Lederer is her real name) daughter about her mom, the advice columnist who passed away this weekend. I’ve always read Dear Abby and Ann Landers, since I was a kid. Can’t help myself. And for the last two years, I’ve harbored a secret: we buy an editorial cartoon from the same syndicate that sends out Ann Landers, and somehow I got on the email list. I get the copy about 10 days ahead of when it is printed. Every Tuesday morning I get to read it a whole week’s worth early. The daughter said she and her mom had talked about the last column, but her untimely death prevented the writing of it. So the daughter wrote in her stead. Brushing aside the morbidity of thinking about one’s own death and what might be said or thought by those affected by it, I read the daughter’s description and earned a whole new appreciation for Ann. Here’s some of what she wrote: This column was her mission, her raison d’etre, and she worked on it, daily, until the end. She believed she got as much sustenance from you, her readers,as you got from her. The chance to come into your homes and into your lives meant the world to her. And she was convinced that if any one thing could serve as a solution to all manner of problems, it was kindness ... (this farewell is) in honor of a gutsy, old-school newspaper dame who believed there was no better job in all the world ...” Thousands of blue-collar writers slogging away at keyboards belonging to newspapers large and small across this country and in other places where the press is free will relate to those words. ... Bob Gabordi, the editor of the Asheville Citizen-Times, discussed the attitude that makes great reporters in his column this past Sunday. That column also struck a chord with me, and I could feel the excitement he described and could vividly remember seeing it in many young reporters hot on their first big story: “It’s about what comes from within, burns in your soul, wakes you up in the morning with a rush more powerful than adrenaline.” ... Another word on journalism, or really something much more important — the role and responsibility of the free press. Archived on the website of the alternative newspaper the Boston Phoenix (www.bostonphoenix.com) is what is surely one of the most frightening videos ever made — the murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl by Islamic militants from Pakistan. An article about the impact of the video and whether the Boston newspaper or any media source should show it appears in the most recent edition of Editor and Publisher, the newspaper trade industry magazine. The writer, Wayne Robins, is a Jew, and he says it is important for the video to be available because it shows that the type of genocide which occurred in World War II is indeed still possible, that there are those who would emulate it. I sat here and thought about whether I should watch it. And then I did. The video shows Pearl admitting to being Jewish, admitting visiting Israel, and discussing the policies of our government. And then, in a blurred and quick scene, a knife at his neck. A man then holds up his decapitated head, and more warnings and demands are made. I won’t describe how nauseous it made me, but I do agree with Robins: there are crazed humans still out there, still people who kill others simply because they are Jews, not because they are American or because they are a reporter. Reality is sadistic and cruel, and a free press is one weapon against the monsters who would lead people down that path. At its worst, journalism can resemble a snuff film and pander to prurient and violent exhibitionists; at its best, the immoral, the evil and the power mongers can be uncovered or made uncomfortable, feet knocked from under them before they can harm another innocent. You can’t have one without the other. ... There are many ways to abuse power, and some are just laughable. On Monday, July 1, at 7 p.m. Haywood commissioners will hold a public hearing on their budget proposal for the upcoming year. The budget is supposed to be adopted by June 30, which is Sunday. So, to meet that deadline, elected leaders will “listen” to public concerns and then, that same night, adopt the budget. I guess the hearing is just a formality. Anyone with any real qualms certainly won’t get a chance to change anyone’s mind since the budget will be adopted that same night. Perhaps they could just adopt the budget and then hold the public hearing. ... Covering local governments during this budget season has made balancing my own checkbook look awfully simple. Boards everywhere are crying the blues and making, in many cases, some hard decisions. But while state cutbacks and falling tax revenues have been the main points of discussion, the crazy aunt in the attic that may eventually force wholesale change on local governments in this state is insurance for employees — primarily health insurance. Those costs are probably the only thing going up faster than property values, and they show no sign of stopping. Waynesville’s total budget is $19 million, and insurance costs went up nearly $500,000 this year. The warning light is flashing for the looming health care crisis in this country that has gotten pushed to the back behind the so-called war on terror, the failing economy, Social Security, etc., etc. ... It’s so easy to talk about local decision making and how important it is, but in truth it does not always work out that way. Edward Barlow, a futurist, spoke to a couple of hundred people two weeks ago at the Haywood Community College High-Tech Center. He said the basic concept of local control of education, pushed especially hard by Republicans, could be one reason our students don’t do so well on international testing. In China, top-down decision making encourages students to excel in math and science. In the U.S., local leaders elected by residents in counties where up to half the population never graduated from high school are running the schools. How can we expect to compete? I guess the moral of the story is that we will get what we deserve. Now, finally, I’ve gotten it off my chest, off the desk, and into print. (Scott McLeod can be reached at info@smokymountainnews.com)