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VIEWPOINT: Readers want media on community's side |
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By Yvonne D. Hawkins
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Tuesday, 03 July 2007 |
I sat in on a coffee shop conversation one recent morning simply to catch a glimpse of what folks are talking about these days.
Sitting around a table sipping coffee and having breakfast were a group of people from a mixed bag of backgrounds – a few business leaders, a government official or two as well as others. The common thread among them was that each had arrived to offer an opinion about, well, something.
When I joined the conversation, the topic often centered around the state of local journalism – particularly the variety that emanates from the Argus Leader Media building.
The Sioux Falls Business Journal seemed to fly under the radar of most of the harshest feedback, though that’s likely because the journal’s mission is to view the world through the lens of the business community.
However, there were other moments during the conversation that made me feel as if I were, shall I say, strongly encouraged to pay particular attention.
And so I did.
As I sat there, sometimes asking questions, sometimes just listening, it seemed as if through the layers of critique and insight an interesting theme began unfolding.
What these engaged residents seemed to be conveying is that people in this growing city on the prairie deeply care about their community. They care about its history and where the city is going from here. They care about what avenues the city will take to achieve its goals.
And nothing upsets them more than when they feel the city suffers harm from local media.
At first I thought the depth of commitment to protecting Sioux Falls was largely an outgrowth of the positions that some in the group held in the community. After all, this was a rather plugged-in crowd, some of whom were part of the local establishment.
But later I thought about conversations I often have with a friend who could be affectionately characterized as disestablished. She’s a 60-something-year-old who lives off disability income. And nearly every week, she calls and peppers me with questions about various building projects going up or especially news stories about the community at large.
Her theme sometimes is a little different from the one floated at the coffee shop. She’s at times uncertain whether Sioux Falls is growing in the right direction. On several occasions, she has threatened to move to Parker if she thinks Sioux Falls is going to jump too far off track. But her desire for something good to unfold in this area is apparent.
And she certainly holds me and others in the local media responsible for being part of the equation for something good to happen.
That’s a tall order, but my friend as well as those in the coffee shop crew are right. Local journalists should function as allies in charting a solid course for Sioux Falls.
Some of that role, as we journalists love to tout, involves fulfilling a watchdog commitment to examining business and governmental affairs.
Still our role equally involves continued commitment to getting facts straight, understanding the history of the community and reporting the information people need to help make decisions that impact their lives.
To be sure, the coffee shop crew will expect no less. |