There, I said it. And, I believe it, too. The communities within the Oxford Leader’s circulation are better places to live because there is a community newspaper here.
Conversely, without a community newspaper Oxford would become the proverbial, brainwashed, robotic, non-dramatic (dare I say boring) Stepford. Why do I bring this up? Because there is an organized effort to squelch opinion in this community. There are those who only want ideas discussed in a tone and standard they see fit.
So, I wanted to write a column about the Oxford Leader and its editor, the much maligned (sometimes justified) and often misunderstood, CJ.
Truth be told, with all the stuff I’ve heard lately, I wanted to come out swinging. I wanted to kick butt and take numbers. And I did write a column that way, but it was too easy (albeit immensely satisfying). Nope.
Recently, a concerned reader e-mailed me. We bandied back and forth about the Leader and her opinions. I admire her because she has the strength of her convictions and uses her name. Others are not so courageous. I won’t use her name, but what follows is a combination of things I wrote her — of my beliefs and what is happening in this community. We agreed to disagree on certain points. I also think I got her to concede the Leader does a whale of a lot of good in this community.
So how do I back up my ‘better community? claim?
First, let me say I love community journalism. I think it is the truest form of the trade left in America. (Notice I said trade, not profession. Journalism is not a profession, you don’t need a license to practice. It is a trade. You listen, observe, take notes and you create. You put words on paper to have meaning, to educate, to evoke emotion, entertain. Journalism is not and never should be regulated and licensed by whomever is in power at the moment.)
Some don’t like the Leader’s tone; I am sure King George didn’t like the tone of the Federalist Papers, or Common Sense either. I am sure the former mayor of Detroit didn’t like the Detroit newspapers and TV stations? tone, either. Tone is tone and fact is fact. I challenge everybody to find factual errors in our reporting. There are some, but when we find them we admit it and re-report.
I truly believe people in Oxford are more knowledgable on issues than most others in the nation. Why, because the newspaper and its editor actually care about the community and are not afraid to state what they mean, regardless if it ruffles feathers.
CJ is a strong community leader. He puts his name and face on every opinion he puts out. He is passionate and while his opinion pieces use words I wouldn’t, they are his opinion. I have coached and told all, (he, you and I) we can elevate our game with less bombastic language. While his style may make some cringe, it doesn’t mean his opinion is wrong, just as a ‘nice? writer’s opinion is correct.
CJ is doing his job because even if readers don’t like his opinion, it forces readers to think. Your resolve in opposition is either steeled or maybe your resolve is weakened. Regardless, you thought.
People in Oxford and Addison who want to be educated on what is happening have more opportunities here because of the strength of the Leader, than in communities who have no newspapers, or only newspapers who report nice things. In my opinion, nice news makes not a newspaper — it makes a mouthpiece.
CJ’s style is his style. He doesn’t backstab or do things behind closed doors. I wish more community leaders were like this; sadly it ain’t true. He puts out ideas, some I agree with, others I do not. But, as we are Americans, we embrace ideas we like, think critically and debate ideas we don’t. We do not, however, silence opinion. A newspaper should never be the mouthpiece of any group, US federal government nor local school groups.
Across the country, local schools are the hardest for any person or newspaper to be critical of. Those involved think if you are critical of schools, you are against children. That’s why it is rarely done and why when CJ does it, it grabs attention.
I challenge anyone to say they attend more events or more diverse types of events than CJ does. He is not only in the trenches on the school front (his daughter is a student here), he is in the trenches at the village level (resident) and township (resident) level. He talks to local business owners, he talks to students (past and present), he talks to school administrators, teachers, workers (many actually agree with him), he talks to his neighbors, folks call him, email him, come to our office and visit him, stop him in the store. He goes to nearly every function he possibly can, be they school, parks and recreation, service group or private party. He pays attention to government types.
Who else does that?
I love community journalism. I think it’s the last bastion of true journalism in the country. It’s the last stand, the most reflective/representative of what the founding fathers had in mind when they penned our Constitution and why.
Don Rush is assistant publisher of Sherman Publications, Inc.
For those who want to see the evil side of Don, the side whose reactions were swift, sharp, to the point and down right ugly, ask for an email.
But, if you don’t want controversy, if you are squeamish, if you don’t want to read name calling, don’t ask for it. Use your God-given right to not go there. You have been so warned. Email, don@dontrushmedon.com