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One of the best (if you can help) and worst (if you can’t) things about being a newspaper publisher is you get asked a lot of questions. Here are just some of the latest ones that have crossed my desk; the names have not been included to protect the innocent from the guilty.
Q: What’s the No. 1 complaint you get from citizens about something common happening in Cherokee County?
A: Hands down, it’s dogs. Whether they’re aggressive and violent toward humans or simply won’t shut the heck up, dogs with uncaring and unresponsive owners are what I hear about the most.
Q: What do you advise those folks?
A: Unfortunately, there isn’t a whole lot I can tell them. The county’s noise ordinance is so vague it’s essentially unenforceable, and action often isn’t taken on a dog unless someone is attacked and injured. When I’ve asked everyone from elected officials to law enforcement, the top response I hear back is to get a gun.
That means if you’re the kind of person who would prefer to not be forced to shoot a dog, especially when it’s the owner who really should be held accountable, you might be out of luck.
Q: Does criticism about the Cherokee Scout bother you?
A: Only if it’s inaccurate and unfair, which is pretty much the same standards most of us would apply in our personal lives. Constructive criticism based on actual facts makes us better; personal name-calling doesn’t improve a thing.
Q: Does criticism of what you write for the opinions page bother you?
A: Not in the least. Truth is, I’m still amazed that anyone would care enough about what I have to say on any given day to feel angry about it.
Q: How do you feel about publishing corrections?
A: Honestly, it’s a point of pride. What other business not only admits it when there’s a mistake, but then puts it right out there for everyone to see? And we don’t care whether it’s our staff who made a reporting error or whether it’s because we were given inaccurate information.
Publishing corrections, then fixing the articles involved both online and in our archives, is one of many ways we show our commitment to getting it right.
Q: What’s your favorite thing about the job?
A: Without working at the Scout, I likely never would have had a chance to meet so many interesting people. For every person I’ve met who has been a dud, I’ve met 10 who have more than made up for it. Cherokee County truly has some great people living here.
Q: What’s your least-favorite thing about the job?
A: The rise of radical misinformation. When I started as a cub reporter in 1985, I never thought someone would intentionally lie to me; today, I know better. It hurts to lose your sense of idealism.
Q: Do people pay a fee to publish letters to the editor?
A: Not at all; letters are free of charge to the writer. We welcome feedback from the community, as it’s essential to the free-flow of public information.
However, if you wish to publish a letter that is longer than our word limit and without many edits, then you’re welcome to run it as a paid advertisement, as multiple people have done in recent years. While the same standards for libel apply to ads, you do get a little more leeway when you’re putting your money where your mouth is.
Q: How do you feel about using social media, personally and professionally?
A: It’s a useful tool for communication that I’ve semi-happily used for many years, particularly to keep in touch with family and friends from afar. However, it’s a horrible medium for accuracy, and it gives an outsized mouthpiece to some people who would have left the world a better place had they remained offline.
As a lifetime advocate for free speech, I don’t believe the government should get involved in policing social media websites. However, people need to be held more accountable for what they put into words; you can’t yell “Fire!” in a crowded move theater without facing the consequences – and you shouldn’t be able to do it online, either.
David Brown is publisher of the Cherokee Scout. You can reach him by phone, 837-5122; email, dbrown@cherokeescout.com; or on Twitter @daviddBstroh.