What’s a newspaper (guy) to do?

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Last week I asked the community an important (to me, the stingy, skinflint, scrooge-like yellow journalist) question.
Actually, I asked a series of questions, and I quote: What do you want? Do you want a watchdog? Do you want a newspaper to ask the hard questions for you? Or do you want a Suzie Sunshine Everything Is Rosy chamber of commerce publication?
What is your opinion? Is this Stepford or Clarkston? Are we gonna? be tough as hell or babbling neurotics on the couch, popping pills and whining, ‘What went wrong??
The night the paper hit the streets, I couldn’t sleep. I turned out the bedroom light at 2:30 and was up at 5 a.m. What if I misplayed my cards? What if nobody cared enough to respond? In my mind, I started to wander down a trail of tears. Would I write no more forever on the subject of this newspaper’s watchdog role in the community?
Luckily for me, my sleep deprived state was much worrying about nothing. Here are some community-members? comments.
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What do you want? Rush for it! Be a watchdog. Ask the hard questions. Pursue a reasonable answer. Be tough as hell.
How about an organizational chart, top to bottom, showing number of people in each position, salary range, duties and responsibilities.
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I want a watchdog asking hard questions. That is what newspaper journalists are supposed to do: keeping the public informed of the nice and not so nice ‘stuff? going on in the community/world. Do we want to be like the Chinese and know only the good stuff and not the truth? Heck, no!
I don’t give a rip what will be painted on the wall of 5 South Main. I want to hear what Supervisor Dave Wagner and his cohorts are up to now. How are they spending our tax dollars, is it for the good of the whole township? I want to hear what Superintendent Al Roberts and our school board is doing, does he/they have the children’s best interest in mind? Both of these men, are supposed to have a transparency that is built into their jobs for the public to be informed of what is going on. They are elected officials and I wish the public would wake up and smell the roses, these men aren’t working for the good of the people or the township.
Be tough as hell, if these elected officials, are not being honest, forthright and admirable, let’s take away their positions and give them to people who are better qualified. Please keep me informed.
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I can’t wait to read your column. As sad as this sounds, I’m going to have to wait until I get home to read it, since they track the sites I visit and I am on the ‘troublesome? list. And yes, Clarkston is often Stepford. Which isn’t so bad, unless you happen to be enlightened … then it’s just freaky. I’ll get back to you soon.
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Oh please, you have to ask? I cannot believe you have not been inundated with calls and letters given the amount of discussion I have had in the last three days. With regards to the police and the City of the Village of Clarkston in general, there needs to be a detailed presentation on the costs and alternatives. There are people that want them and will pay, there are those that don’t and will still pay, and I think there are more that cannot afford to pay, whether they want them or not. I’m not that up on the school issue since I don’t have kids, but the political and parliamentary procedure side drives me crazy. Independence Township is my comic relief which is why I would rather not be directly related to them if there is another alternative.
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Hoooo Boy….you will have to post your responses to that column! I loved the, ‘That’s what I learned at CHS? quote. Makes me want to live in Clarkston and kick some butt! Sic ’em, Spanky, sic ’em! (Don’t ask where the name ‘Spanky? came from, please.)
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When have any of you been hard on local governments? . . . Critical? I wonder what a trained journalist like yourself uses for a dictionary, as your definition of critical and Webster’s definition clearly don’t match. Spending some ink inspiring the citizens to step forward and speak their minds, would have been a better use of the space than you took up with this dribble of a column this week!
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There you go folks, what are your thoughts? I have had several letters and comments come out after deadline and will continue to make ’em public, so keep them coming — don@dontrushmedon.com

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‘Once America was John Wayne: stoical, taciturn and tough as hell. Now it’s a babbling neurotic on the couch, popping pills and whining about its self-esteem. What went wrong??
— From Christopher Hart’s review of ‘Smile or Die: How Positive Thinking Fooled America and the World? by Barbara Ehrenreich
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Last week’s Clarkston News was jammed full of interesting stuff . . . and taken separately just depicts life in the fair city. But, if you read the edition again, look for trends. See if you can connect the dots, extrapolate and draw conclusions.
We have been pretty tough on local government-types these days. And, it is not because we have an axe to grind. I’d venture to say we even personally like some of them government-types we’ve been tough on. We’ve been tough, because, dangblabit, it is our job. And, we could have been tougher.
n We touched on Clarkston’s need to whack its police department, due to having no money. We didn’t go on to report, city council voted on an increased budget last time around, knowing full well they couldn’t afford it.
n Stories on Clarkston schools let the superintendent defend new program spending, in light of nearly $10 million in budget cuts. But, let’s be fair, The Clarkston News has been critical of the school administration.
I’d like to pull some quotes from last week’s CNews and then opine on them — so I will. The newsstaff submitted a Freedom Of Information Act request to the schools for budget stuff. To this, Superintendent Al Roberts wrote us, ‘If you prefer to have this type of relationship, we will all need to play by the rules. There are timelines, extensions and costs under such a formal system. If you are choosing to FOIA the information, I will have our FOIA coordinator contact you with the approximate cost and timelines for response.?
What our boy Al forgets is this is the relationship he created — hell, even members of the school board have had to threaten FOIA’ing him to get information. Al has never, on his own, without prompting ‘given up? information. He hangs onto it and doles it out only as he sees fit.
‘We have asked for detailed reports, but have not yet received what we requested . . . have also asked to review our financial processes to assess if we have the information we need to make decisions.?
That wasn’t the CNews, asking, that was an elected official trying to get info from Al. That was a representative of the public getting jerked around by the superintendent. Teachers are not ‘sposed to talk to school board members, school board members are not to speak with the press. Why does he disdain the public so much, what truth can’t we take?
Al says discussing current and past cuts are not productive. We all need to remember, if we don’t study history, we are doomed to repeat it. I learned that by listening to my history teachers at Clarkston High School. I have also learned usually folks who only want to look to the future are the ones who messed up the past.
People in this district, parents, teachers, staff members and business owners, do not trust Clarkston school administration — how do I know this? They have contacted me personally, but all are too scared to go public for fear of reprisal.
The Clarskton News did not create this environment of distrust. Much like the media didn’t create the mistrust in the Oakland Intermediate School District (their super created it). What I am saying is let us in . . . let the sunshine inside select school/government buildings. Let the people see what is going on.
So, what should we do, Clarkston? Should we stick our heads in the sand? Should we sit on our hands?
I ask, because while all of this stuff with local government has been going on, the number one newsstory in Clarkston the past two years has been: ‘What will be painted on the wall of 5 S. Main Street??
If we chastise government-types, people call us negative — and we all know only good, positive things happen in Clarkston, right?
What do you want? Do you want a watchdog? Do you want a newspaper to ask the hard questions for you? Or do you want a Suzie Sunshine Everything Is Rosy chamber of commerce publication?
What is your opinion? Is this Stepford or Clarkston? Are we gonna? be tough as hell or babbling neurotics on the couch, popping pills and whining, ‘What went wrong??
Let me know, don@dontrushmedon.com

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