Why I Don’t Read the Telegram
First of all, I am not one of those people that predict the demise of newspapers. It seems like every day there is another article online that is lamenting the end of newspapers. I am actually a fan of ‘em. In fact, there are very few things I enjoy more than spending an hour each evening reading the Wall Street Journal. The Journal is interesting, relevant and educational and thus I am willing to spend my finite time reading, exploring and learning about the world via the printed page. That being said I spend little time reading the Telegram. The reason being, it is not even slightly interesting, relevant or educational to me.
The one thing the Telegram could do better than anybody else is local news. This is the one thing it chooses to be subpar in. Case in point, at the last council meeting we spent almost an hour discussing the topic of conflicts of interest and how it relates to Councilmembers’ businesses. We discussed what the City Charter had to say about it, current State laws, and how we interpreted it in context with the controversy surrounding the awarding of City contract to sitting Councilmembers. The discussion was civil yet spirited. A lot of points and counterpoints were made. The people that sat through the meeting or watched it on TV will have a much better idea on where the individual Councilmembers stand on this issue. They will have a real foundation on which to form their beliefs and opinions concerning the topic and their elected officials.
What a great opportunity for the newspaper to educate the community on this most important issue. What a great opportunity to fulfill their civic responsibility. What a great opportunity to be relevant, interesting and educational. Instead it is seven days and counting and nothing meaningful has been written on this topic. The silence is deafening. There are a whole lot of people that depend on the Telegram for their local news. They form their views and opinions based on what they read or don’t read and if it ain’t in the paper it must not be important.
This is the main reason I started this blog. While you may not agree with me you will at least know where I stand, and I am more than happy to pick up the slack on being relevant, interesting, educational and yes, even provocative.
BTW, I uploaded a video of the full discussion on Google Video for your viewing pleasure. Click here to check it out. It is a little long but I think it will be time well spent.
Tags: City Charter, Conflict of Interest, Ethics