The Indiana Publisher

Page 4 September 8, 2016 General Assignment Reporter - The Herald, a 9,800-circulation, family owned daily newspaper in southern Indiana, is hir- ing a general assignment reporter. Successful appli- cants are curious, have solid reporting skills, are adept at writing both news and features, and can use social media for the betterment of daily journalism. A degree in journalism or a related field is encouraged. Send cover letter, resumé and 5-8 clips — both news and features — to Jason Recker, news editor, The Herald, P.O. Box 31, Jasper IN 47547-0031 or to jrecker@dcherald.com. Managing Editor - Reporter-Times in Martinsville, Indiana is seeking a managing editor to gather/assign- ing the news, supervise newsroom staff, and edit local news. Successful candidates should have 5-7 years of newsroom management and edit- ing experience, and 7+ years of management and journalistic experience. Candidate should have a Bachelor's Degree in Journalism or a related field. Benefits include competitive wage, paid time off, 401(k) and more. Interested candi- dates please visit www. schurz.jobs and search Requisition Number HTI2722. Send member and employee notices to news@hspa.com. Notices Continued from Page 2 The media's responsibility to improve our democracy P oliticians spend a good bit of their time complaining about the media. But why should they have all the fun? I'm going to join in, though I tend to get upset about different things than most sitting politicians do. You see, I don't actually mind when journalists — whether in print, on television or online — treat what politicians say with skepticism. That means they're doing their jobs. This doesn't happen nearly as much these days as it should. A lot of journalists don't just want to report the news, they want to be players and affect policy. As one observer said, the media is drawn to "superficiality, sensationalism, scandal, and sleaze." They make building a consensus — the key task of the democratic process — much harder. There are still really excellent journalists out there who are doing their best to serve both their profession and the country. Every day they struggle to make sense of enormously complex events. What they understand — and what I wish more of their colleagues believed — is that democracy demands journalism that improves its workings. Properly done, journalism can help consensus emerge, improve the knowledge and judgment of voters, and sharpen the performance of public officials and gov- ernment as a whole. In the end, the democratic process is about bridg- ing differences. This is virtually impossible with- out a solid base of information and analysis. Our democracy needs well-informed citizens making decisions based on facts about both policies and politicians. This means that the model of the journalist that seems to be going out of fashion — reporters who were reasonably objective, independent of outside groups, and even independent of their company's owners — is actually crucial to representative gov- ernment. Curious, skeptical journalists who point out inconsistencies, draw attention to mistakes, call out misleading statements, and identify outright lies serve a larger purpose: they provide citizens what they need to know in order to be a good citi- zen, and public officials what they need in order to do their work well. This is quite an ideal, especially in this age of economic turmoil within the media universe. But I don't think it's too much to hope that as the pro- fession sorts out its future, it takes seriously its leadership role in advancing the public good, and doesn't sacrifice its part in making representative democracy work properly. Lee Hamilton is a Senior Advisor for the Indiana University Center on Representative Government; a Distinguished Scholar, IU School of Global and International Studies; and a Professor of Practice, IU School of Public and Environmental Affairs. He was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for 34 years. By Lee H. Hamilton Indiana University Center on Representative Government newspaperdisruptor.com. Some won't like it, so tread carefully. Joey doesn't have anything to sell you. He will just share what is working so well for him in Kansas. Now on to Al Cross. After posting a link to Joey's blog on my blog, I heard from Al Cross. Most of you know Al, but for those who don't, he is the director of the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues at the University of Kentucky. I suppose it's only natural, since Al and I both grew up in the mountains of Kentucky and Tennessee, we went around several twists and turns during our conversation, agreeing that Joey and his newspapers have a great future. Our thoughts then turned to our newspapers closer to home. With 1:00 a.m. approaching, I summed up my thoughts: "Al, I just care so much about these newspapers." I wasn't surprised by Al's response, "I care about these newspapers, too." During a recent trip with my best friend to Western Canada, so many newspaper friends welcomed us. A few drove hours to take us to dinner and brought local gifts. My old friend, Roger Holmes is a living newspaper legend in Canada and a graduate of the Institute of Newspaper Technology (newspaperinstitute. com). I could write a dozen columns about his groundbreaking work, including developing the first affordable direct- to-plate system for community newspapers. During a drive through his home of Wainwright, Alberta, we made a stop to visit his newspaper. Peter, Roger's son and general manager, was the first to see us coming. He rushed out to meet us, then called several of the staff together. "Do you know who this is?" he asked them. "This is the guru of the newspaper industry. This is Kevin Slimp!" What a welcome. No wonder everyone says Canadians are nice. I learned I missed Roger because he was in Moose Jaw looking over the daily paper there, which he had just purchased. Peter explained they had purchased two dailies, one major weekly, six small community weeklies and a number of specialty products in Alberta and Saskatchewan from one of the large national corporations, allowing these papers to operate locally. It's no wonder I feel so much enthusiasm concerning our industry. About the time I start to get discouraged, it's time to hit the road and be reminded of the great things taking place in our business. Joey Young gives us all hope. So do Roger and Peter Holmes. So does the young publisher in South Dakota and the managing editor in Tennessee. It's becoming increasingly obvious Al Cross and I aren't the only ones who care. Kevin Slimp works as a newspaper industry trainer, speaker, writer, and consultant. Kevin can be reached at kevin@kev- inslimp.com. Common Sense Continued from Page 3

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