County government and the local news
Thoughts from the editor
May 13, 2020
Sheila Harris
Sheila Harris
Call me slow, but I just realized the importance of local newspapers last week, after it occurred to me that it’s doubtful anybody in the rest of the state pays much attention to what happens in an individual county’s government.
Without local news sources - I mean, newspapers here within our county - we taxpayers wouldn’t have a clue what county and municipal organizations are doing with our hard-earned money. If it weren’t for those who are willing to ask questions - then tell what they’ve learned - you and I would be in the dark.
Too, I realized the responsibility heaped upon the shoulders of those who report the news. Some things are unpleasant to think about, let alone write about, and “kill the messenger” is not always metaphorical.
I’ll admit, I prefer pleasant fare, like this week’s farmers’ market story. I like to believe the best about people, and put allegations and rumors of wrong-doing out of my mind.
“Look the other way; maybe it’ll get better,” has always been my motto of improbable hope, even though my passivity has come back to bite me a few times.
Murray Bishoff, crack reporter for The Monett Times - and the nemesis of many - told me when I took this position that I’d run across some interesting stories down here. I didn’t know exactly what he meant at the time, but I found out in short order.
I’ve already heard some negative allegations (nothing criminal) in my short time here, and have been left with two choices. I could look the other way, which was tempting, since nobody would know the difference. In one case, I was unsure of the credibility of the source, since he or she preferred to remain anonymous.
My second choice was to ask questions. I knew which choice would be easier. But then I thought of Murray Bishoff.
I knew what Murray Bishoff would do. Anybody who knows Murray, knows what Murray would do.
As I thought about Murray, I realized that asking questions is not just his job, it’s his responsibility. If local reporters from local newspapers don’t ask questions of our county and city officials and organizations, when necessary, nobody else will. In a very real sense, as melodramatic as it sounds, we’re the last bastion of defense, when necessary, for the enlightment of taxpayers.
Not that I believe our local officials are crooks and ne’er-do-wells. Far from it. I’ve met some very nice county and city officials, who carry an amazing amount of repsonsibility. I wouldn’t want their jobs. But I’ve also lived long enough to learn we’re all human, with human proclivities.
I’m reminded of President John F. Kennedy, who, in a 1961 address to the American Newspaper Publishers Association, beseeched the press to hold him accountable in the position he’d been entrusted with. He knew the importance of the press. (How far we have fallen! But that’s another story.)
This job of editor, I now know, is not always going to be one I can wrap up in an eight-hour shift, then go home for the evening and put out of my mind.
There will always be questions. Sometimes the question will be: should I ask more questions? Asking more questions might not be what I want to do, but it might be my responsibility. Although I by no means equate Murray Bishoff with Jesus Christ, I can always ask myself, “What would Murray do?”
Murray’s example will stand, for me and for others, long after his retirement - and probably long past his lifetime. He’s a man who knows his responsibility.
Call me slow, but I just realized the importance of local newspapers last week, after it occurred to me that it’s doubtful anybody in the rest of the state pays much attention to what happens in an individual county’s government.
Without local news sources - I mean, newspapers here within our county - we taxpayers wouldn’t have a clue what county and municipal organizations are doing with our hard-earned money. If it weren’t for those who are willing to ask questions - then tell what they’ve learned - you and I would be in the dark.
Too, I realized the responsibility heaped upon the shoulders of those who report the news. Some things are unpleasant to think about, let alone write about, and “kill the messenger” is not always metaphorical.
I’ll admit, I prefer pleasant fare, like this week’s farmers’ market story. I like to believe the best about people, and put allegations and rumors of wrong-doing out of my mind.
“Look the other way; maybe it’ll get better,” has always been my motto of improbable hope, even though my passivity has come back to bite me a few times.
Murray Bishoff, crack reporter for The Monett Times - and the nemesis of many - told me when I took this position that I’d run across some interesting stories down here. I didn’t know exactly what he meant at the time, but I found out in short order.
I’ve already heard some negative allegations (nothing criminal) in my short time here, and have been left with two choices. I could look the other way, which was tempting, since nobody would know the difference. In one case, I was unsure of the credibility of the source, since he or she preferred to remain anonymous.
My second choice was to ask questions. I knew which choice would be easier. But then I thought of Murray Bishoff.
I knew what Murray Bishoff would do. Anybody who knows Murray, knows what Murray would do.
As I thought about Murray, I realized that asking questions is not just his job, it’s his responsibility. If local reporters from local newspapers don’t ask questions of our county and city officials and organizations, when necessary, nobody else will. In a very real sense, as melodramatic as it sounds, we’re the last bastion of defense, when necessary, for the enlightment of taxpayers.
Not that I believe our local officials are crooks and ne’er-do-wells. Far from it. I’ve met some very nice county and city officials, who carry an amazing amount of repsonsibility. I wouldn’t want their jobs. But I’ve also lived long enough to learn we’re all human, with human proclivities.
I’m reminded of President John F. Kennedy, who, in a 1961 address to the American Newspaper Publishers Association, beseeched the press to hold him accountable in the position he’d been entrusted with. He knew the importance of the press. (How far we have fallen! But that’s another story.)
This job of editor, I now know, is not always going to be one I can wrap up in an eight-hour shift, then go home for the evening and put out of my mind.
There will always be questions. Sometimes the question will be: should I ask more questions? Asking more questions might not be what I want to do, but it might be my responsibility. Although I by no means equate Murray Bishoff with Jesus Christ, I can always ask myself, “What would Murray do?”
Murray’s example will stand, for me and for others, long after his retirement - and probably long past his lifetime. He’s a man who knows his responsibility.
