|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FROM THE EDITORFor many officials at CCPOA, a phone call from a newspaper reporter looking for a quick quote can almost ruin an otherwise OK day. At the risk of sounding as if I'm making a sweeping generalization of the newspaper business, let's face it, CCPOA has learned the hard way over the years that Clark Kent on the other end of the line with a list of questions in one hand and a tape recorder in the other is never going to be your best friend. And, depending on the dire incident of the moment - be it a last-minute amendment to a prison reform bill, the decision to use force during a riot, or the state imposing their version of a last, best and final offer - CCPOA has been misquoted, taken out of context, or ignored altogether. In the interest of fair and balanced news, our officials painstakingly search for the right words, arm themselves with the most up-to-date facts and stats, clear their throats, and pick up the call. Then we either don't see anything in print or what it says isn't what we meant. And that can lead to a distorted perception and uneducated bias. Bad combination. Our cover story this issue is an interview between CCPOA's communications chief and a longtime Sacramento Bee reporter. Perhaps through conversations like this, by demystifying both professions for all interested parties, we offer our readers a chance to form their own opinions. Recently, The Sacramento Bee editors have been printing articles outlining their plans to overhaul or improve the longtime newspaper. In these ever-changing, high-tech times, The Bee is cutting staff and changing the look of the newspaper, while vowing to keep their readers happy through it all. In one recent Sunday edition, Bee editor Melanie Sill wrote, "Communities shape newspapers, and vice versa." Amen to that, sister. Which begs the question: How easily does the media's perception of correctional peace officers become the public's perception of correctional peace officers? Or of anything else, for that matter. And, if there's shaping going on, to what extent is the media's responsibility to ensure the community doesn't end up with a slanted version of the truth? Elsewhere in that Sunday edition of The Bee, I read a column by David Holwerk, the editorial page editor, who also wrote of changes to come within the pages of the improved Sacramento Bee. "From its first edition 151 years ago, the editorial page of The Sacramento Bee has strived to be a voice for progress in Sacramento, in California and beyond. Our commitment to that is unchanged and unwavering," Holwerk wrote. Progress, you say? Well, for me, the word progress brings forth images of someone or something moving forward, evolving, if you will. I can't see how you can help a community "progress" if you are still stuck in the "If it bleeds, it leads" mode. And if you are, in fact, responsible for shaping communities, as Editor Sills indicated, then certainly you have an obligation to show your readers that no story is one sided. Ending his column about the upcoming changes to the paper, Holwerk wrote, "Our goal in all this is to make the opinion pages and the Forum section of The Sacramento Bee essential and compelling reading for everyone interested in making the Sacramento region and California a better place to live." Great plan, but I don't think you accomplish that by holding on to a negative image of a collective profession, such as law enforcement, misrepresenting the whole lot of them for your readers, even those thirsty for "essential and compelling" journalism. As we've said before in these pages, you don't do a community any good by demeaning the dangerous work of public safety officers, even if it does help you sell more newspapers in this web-based world of ours.  Print This PageBack to Volume 25, Issue 5 Back to PEACEKeeper Main Page |
