Faced with the prospect of an overcast and rainy Sunday, I retrieved the Sunday edition of the Tribune from the front porch, prepared an espresso, joined Mrs. Confidential on the couch -- and experienced not one, but three epiphanies.
The Tribune’s recently arrived publisher, John Tucker, should be very, very proud of his staff today.
Managing editor Chris Morris leads off with another well-written, clearly reasoned editorial endorsement of the Cannon Acres sports park.
“I am not so naïve to think there won’t be opposition to this plan even though it has already passed several hurdles,” Chris writes, “but people need to understand that this complex will not only benefit our youth, it will also attract visiting teams who will spend their hard-earned money in our city.”
Regular guest columnist Terry Cummins contributes a typically thoughtful examination of the “certain-uncertain” dilemma, taking as his starting point a widely read op-ed piece by Charles Krauthammer.
But star billing this Sunday must be given to the Tribune’s city editor, Amany Ali, whose column, “New Albany has its share of problems,” is an ambitious effort to focus attention on the persistent, destructive presence of a cult of misinformation in New Albany.
Her writing is mature, her anecdotes amusing, and her stylish denunciation of the roots of misinformation unstinting. The Tribune has performed a valuable public service in publishing this illumination of the devious methodology favored by the community’s “no progress at any price” obstructionists.
Other observers are equally impressed with Amany Ali’s column, and also with today’s welcome indication that the Tribune is not afraid to cast its vote for progress in New Albany.
In a posting today, “Volunteer Hoosier” Randy Smith notes:
“To be more precise, this isn't misinformation. It's tactical disinformation, designed to obfuscate and distract the public from the woeful lack of competence of a particular faction of council. It is disinformation designed to create a sense of disgust where none is deserved, to depress voter turnout, and to wrest control of the levers of government through lies.”
NA Confidential couldn't agree more strongly, and believes that Amany Ali’s column today is far too important not to be archived on-line (as is the newspaper's custom), so we have copied it in its entirety for the consideration of our readers.
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NEW ALBANY HAS ITS SHARE OF PROBLEMS
By Amany Ali, Tribune City Editor
"New Albany is filled with problems.
"Sure, we have absentee landlords who rent crappy houses all over the city and obviously don’t care enough to maintain them, homeowners who think that putting couches and washing machines on their front porches is a good idea, we also have gangs, drugs and more methamphetamine labs than people would be comfortable knowing about, just to name a handful.
"With those problems stated, a problem that gets my blood boiling in a special kind of way is how misinformation is constantly being distributed.
"I have such a problem with misinformation because it often comes from elected officials (Not all elected officials, just a select few). Don't get me wrong, there are non-elected local residents who spend entirely too much time spreading gossip as the truth. Anyone who wants to hear misinformation on a grand stage should attend a New Albany City Council meeting. Get there early, and stay late and you're likely to hear more misinformation.
"One example of the ridiculous spreading of misinformation came during a recent council meeting when someone approached me about an organization currently erecting a structure in the city. This person had been told that the officials from the organization had already begun the building process but had not yet obtained a building permit or received the OK from the local historical association.
"Knowing that the person giving me the information received it minutes before passing it along to me, I said that I could not believe that the organization would be that foolish. I was also more than skeptical about the information because I knew from whom he had obtained the information. So, before jumping to any conclusions, I decided to check it out for myself.
"The very next day, I walked into the city building commissioner’s office and did an amazing thing. I asked the building commissioner himself if a building permit had been given for the construction.
"Without having to give a pint of blood or promise my first born child, the building commissioner’s secretary not only informed me that a permit had in fact been given, she also printed a copy of the permit for me. She also informed me that the project got the go-ahead from the historical association.
"Thankful and bewildered, I stepped out of the office and wondered if getting such information was so easy for me, why it apparently is so difficult for others to obtain. After all, I didn’t have to give a special passport to get in the office ot anything.
"Some people, both elected officials and members of the general public, use City Council meetings as an opportunity to spread misinformation under the guise of a concerned elected official or concerned-taxpayer. Bewildered, I sit at the meetings and wonder why those people wait for council meetings to get on their soapbox. I wonder why they don’t pick up a telephone and direct their questions at someone who can actually give them an answer.
"It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that the county auditor or the city controller are your best bet for finding out tax and budget information in the city or county. I have called and gone to the city controller’s office and the county auditor’s office on more than one occasion to ask questions.
"Amazingly, just like in the building commissioner’s office, I was given the requested information. Not only that, the city and county employees are able to relay the information in the most customer-friendly way possible for someone like me, who isn’t a math or tax wizard, to understand.
"Unfortunately, the previously mentioned misinformation spreading I could cite. However, it would require a separate publication to include them all.
"In my eight years at The Tribune I have received dozens of telephone calls from people who give me information that they swear is the truth. After some checking, about 98% of that information is found to be plain wrong. My frustration grows with each call because I wonder why people don’t check out the information before they call me.
"Some people may have a legitimate concern. However, I’ve come to know many people in Floyd County and I have come to know that people are deceitful and do things out of dislike, jealousy and who knows what else.
"People should realize that spreading misinformation throughout the community accomplished nothing.
"I wish people who claim to care so dearly about New Albany and its future would grow up, act like responsible adults and quit the irresponsible junior high school antics."
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17 comments:
Was this article of Ali's under the watchful eye of the new Tribune commander in chief Perry White?
Seriously, misinformation is not only torching this area we live in, but nationwide with big business having a hand at controlling what we read, see and hear. I am not a fan of the 'Bune but went out and bought a copy of today's paper after RAB posting here at NA Confine. Maybe with a new publisher, we may see some change for the better in the months to come.
For more truth driven news reporting; although nothing about NA I'm sure, check out thenation.com or salon.com.
Emerson, I'll grant you the "naivete" observation, but I think that if we lash them when they're bad, we must at least acknowledge improvement.
She picked a serious topic and made a good effort at doing it justice.
One minor nit: It isn't supposed to be an editorial - it's supposed to be a column.
Ali should have queried while in the building commissioner's office why he turns a blind eye to the "crappy houses" and debris on front porches--clear violations of the city building code.
I remain unimpressed with Ms. Ali. I have been interviewed by her, and she demonstrated very amateur abilities at fact-finding and conducting an interview.
Annie, I agree.
But we can't expect to run a marathon without first training by walking around the block.
Any sign of investigative instincts must be rewarded if we're to expect the 'Bune to improve.
I remain an idealist, and believe that everyone -- even anonymous blog commentators -- are capable of seeing the light and improving.
What I find the most frustrating about The Tribune is that so many of the articles seem to be written with a feeling of fearful censorship. They don't tell it like it is, don't ask the tough questions, and they NEVER put the higher-ups in city government on the spot when they need to be.
I seem to remember a time when Doug England broke off relations with the 'Bune, and refused to speak to them for interviews, as did many of his appointed administrators. So I suspect that the 'Bune now soft-pedals anything that may be perceived as unflattering to the current powers-that-be, rather than run the risk of another freeze-out.
I am surprised that Ali is given the latitude to publish a column about such topics as her friends and how they like to get together to gossip, how wonderful her siblings are, or what she really wants in a man. This seems a waste of good newspaper space.
Is there nothing better to write about? I'd prefer to see a guest columnist writing on a topic of interest to EVERYONE, not just Ali and her friends and family.
How about having our Floyd County historian, David Barksdale, use that space instead to educate all of us on Floyd County's past? Or interview a local business person or community leader?
I would like to see the Tribune raise their standards and ask their reporters to write fearlessly and truthfully on matters that are important to us all.
Annie,
They just took a positive step in that direction as noted above.
Emerson, you're preaching to the choir when it comes to the 'Bune's failure to fulfill potential or understand its community role.
I spoke with Carl Esposito a while back, and it was a good chat about many of these topics. I thought progress was possible, and then a week later, he's gone. Clearly, the corporate ownership is a crippling factor, although apocryphal evidence suggests that CNHI isn't as bas as some of the rest.
So, as my man Vlad once said, what's to be done? A few million, and we buy it - but I'd rather use the money for a brewery. Erect a shadow 'Bune on line? Possible, perhaps even required at some point, but almost certainly non-profitable.
I take the view that for now, we must work with what we're given. If Amany begins to see that there are larger matters than her boyfriends and television viewing, she'll write accordingly. Quite obviously Chris is not going to demand this from her, so to achieve it, perhaps we can encourage her when she does well. Heaven knows I've bashed her when she hasn't.
Annie, a question: You comments v.v. Ms. Ali's column have focused primarily on previous performance.
What did you think of the content itself?
I think that Ali's most recent column is more of the same, albeit the subject matter is different. It's more polishing of the apple. While it is true that much info is ours for the asking, it is also a law that most of this info must be provided upon demand. So why be amazed and thankful at receiving info citizens are legally entitled to, and then compose a column about simply receiving what laws require that citizens be given?
Why not march into the building commish's office with a list of code-violation buildings that citizens have repeatedly and rightfully complained to that office about, and ask to see the action his office has taken in response to those complaints? That would make for some interesting and enlightening reading, I'll wager.
I worked for the Jeffersonville Evening News for several years, so I have experience with the inner workings of the newspaper industry, as well as first-hand knowledge of the local papers' philosophy. Something very important to know about newspapers is that they are advertising-driven, rather than news-driven, especially in the case of small town papers like The Tribune.
When we laid out pages, the advertising went on the page first (with the exception of the front page), and then the open space got filled with AP wire stories that were ranked by the editor in order of importance.
So in a small town, it is crucial not to piss off the major advertisers. If they see a story that they perceive as unflattering to a friend, colleague or political associate, the newspaper will most definitely hear about the advertiser's displeasure. In my opinion, it is important to keep this in mind as one reads The Tribune.
Annie, no sane person argues with your critique of the 'Bune's advertising-driven reluctance to tackle important local issues, but with all due respect, I think you and perhaps a few others miss the bigger point of Ms. Ali's Sunday column.
She's simply pointing out those who seemingly have made a profession of pleading ignorance and never receiving their rightful information, and telling them that the information's right there for them if they ask.
You think it's so obvious that id doesn't need to be said. I disagree.
Who are these people? You have witnessed the spectacle wherein Bluegill attempted to provide information to the denizens of the SOLNA blog, only to be hectored for "length" (do they think the workings of local government can be explained in 100 words or less?) and subsequently banished for his efforts.
Annie, there are people who simply don't want the "information," because if they had it, they'd have nothing more to complain about. Others have taken this a cynical step further, and use their lack of information as a political agenda in and of itself.
Amany wouldn't name names, or she may have and Chris lopped them off, but anyone who attends city council meetings knows as well as she does who these people are.
Four of them occupy the right side of the council seating area: Coffey, Schmidt, Price and Kochert. Seabrook joins them occasionally when expedient.
Several others are out in the crowd, returning home occasionally to post on SOLNA - anonymously, of course -- about how their information is being denied them.
And when Amany writes about this topic, what do we hear from the outraged citizens?
Snores. Silence. Pins dropping. Crickets chirping.
Rather than rebuke Amany for past transgressions, of which there have been many, I'd say that she took a step, however tentative, toward lancing the sacred cow of misinformation.
Her topic was real enough. Will she carry this newfound discovery forward into deeper realms of investigative journalism? 50/50 at best.
If the Tribune is driven by advertising, given that flushing money down the toilet is much easier and just as effective as spending it advertising in the Tribue, then what good is the Tribune?
I've never bought an ad in the 'Bune, yet the ads still sell. I can't explain it.
There has to be a wrapper around the ads for people to want to read it. They need to know that every time they turn a page they'll find something interesting and even provocative. Those who advertise don't do it out of a public service motive. They advertise because they must and because it works for them.
It's a truism that institutional and event ads don't work for retail bookstores, so we're not big advertisers in The Tribune at this point.
But the bigger point is that we must encourage The Tribune to do what it and only it can do - cover local news. When The Tribune becomes a must-read, its advertising will rise.
We need to encourage every little improvement so we can recommend the paper to readers. Increased circulation won't come from timidity.
Ali took on an issue of some importance. Cheers to her.
I agree with you to a certain extent, New Albanian. I am frustrated by the inaccurate info that floats on some local blogs. And I'm a big believer in getting documentation on issues rather than listening to the folklore and accepting it as fact.
That being said, I still think that Ali is more concerned with taking individuals to task rather than asking the tough questions. If a person chooses to believe what someone tells them rather than getting the facts, I doubt they can be saved from their own foolishness.
In a nutshell, I don't think it is prudent to spend so much time trying to disprove the critics. They can believe (and state) whatever they wish, and listeners can either believe it themselves or check facts and records.
I would far prefer to see the true problems that exist within our government machine brought to light and remedied. And our local newspaper could be a great asset in that endeavor if they so chose.
Agreed, Annie - it could be an asset.
Turns out "Perry White" has a boss, and it doesn't appear to be Lex Luthor.
Suffice it to say, the next year at The Tribune is liable to be dramatically different.
Keep an eye out for subtle signals in the masthead of the paper. Seems there's going to be a new czar driving the coverage, and one hopes, the opinion pages.
I'll be watching The Tribune closely, all4word, with great hopes and some cynicism. Let us hope for the best.
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