Judging the judgmental: A moderator’s lament

Some days I really wonder why I ever volunteered to moderate 100s, even 1,000s of comments on our Website all the time. (I know why, of course – because a news Website without comments seems cold and sterile and one-way to me. So either you have no comments allowed, you let them say just about anything that’s not obscene or threatening – or you have someone like Yours Truly who gets to draw the line and redefine ‘offensive’ all the day and night, etc.;-)

Two recent stories prompt this little venting session — both of which I knew darn well would prompt the kind of judgmental comments that they have — after years of this, you get pretty good at know what will spark debate and where the debate is likely to go.

One is a piece on a local panhandling couple. The other is on a Redmond family’s reaction to a cut in their food stamp benefits.

I often post the first comment now, to spark discussion and to plead, even beg for civil comments. Knowing full well I likely won’t get my wish.

Indeed, I ask you to review the comments and see where things have gone. It’s often not pretty, but oh so predictable.

We’re always wanting to, and often asked to please put “real people” in our stories. Many such people are reluctant to appear on camera – and considering the caustic state of our social media-driven online dialogue, who can blame them? Why would anyone voluntarily subject themselves to such scrutiny from the digital purveyors of all that’s right and wrong?

I do understand, especially in the food stamp story – we all pay for them, and so many folks seem to have witnessed so much abuse. Maybe I’m blind when I go to the grocery store – I don’t see it all that often. Or maybe it doesn’t register/ignite upset and rage as it does with some.

But in these kinds of stories, I have to bite my tongue harder than ever to not fire back – a dangerous thing for me, and I do fall victim to getting into the fray at times. But while I’m not much of a religious person – much to the dismay of older brother Rick — I do know the lines, “Let he who is without sin …” and “Judge not …” Some seem to know but not live it day to day, or at least, not in what they say in comments online, anonymous or not. And one only needs to visit Facebook for a brief period to see it’s NOT all about people hiding behind screen names – it’s AMAZING what some folks will say with their names attached — apparently without shame or regret.

Yes, it’s all part of that thing I refer to as today’s Blame Society – it’s always been that way, I suppose, but never so toxic, caustic and in your face. Maybe it was all better when it was whispers behind one’s back rather than shouts in your face while the whole world’s watching. I don’t know. And maybe it has something to do with a certain segment of teens turning off Facebook — well, some — because anything shared online can be scorned, scrutinized and make you wish you never opened your digital mouth.

I sure do know that so many of us are only a paycheck or two away from needing our own Oregon Trail card. And maybe we’d only buy bread, milk and fresh fruits and vegetables, and be ashamed when we get in line and pull out the card. But wow … the judgmental nature of those who get to check a person’s shopping list on their fridge or whatever … it’s simply amazing, and depressing.

Don’t get me wrong – there are some insightful comments amid the nasty ones. And on some stories, people are supportive, kind and understanding. But it seems things like this bring out the worst in some people, oh so predictably.

I often hope that the people who regularly post aren’t who they appear to be by their posting – that it’s an alter-ego, perhaps, or a venting of sorts that allows them to be more kind, respectful, etc. in real life to those they encounter, or their families or co-workers. Naive? Perhaps.

Then there are those who have fired back, calling the critics hypocrites. And some comments I’ve wanted to stand up and applaud – but as moderator, I NEVER a) ‘like’ or upvote/downvote  a comment or b) post under a pseudonym. It’d be far too dangerous and slippery a slope for me.

But I do have this blog, where at least it can be clear I’m reacting to and venting about the comments in general and not about a specific commenter, which causes grief in so many ways.

To judge others is human nature, I suppose. But I just hope and pray that we don’t have to hand out a ‘Here’s How to Sanitize Your Life to Avoid Ruing an Interview’ sheets to every ‘real person’ we talk to. Police, govt. officials — they sign up for the barbs and brickbats that come their way. But “everyday people” shouldn’t have to be perfect to go through a media encounter unscathed. Should they?

I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating: The only people I really hate are those who seem to be people full of hate and judgment. And if that makes ME judgmental … well, so be it. I can live with that, knowing what the world of nasty online comments has brought us to, or is pushing us toward – unless we take control of the discussion and drown out the nastiness with … dare I say … compassion, civil debate and respectful dialogue.

Care to join me?

Tightening up, letting loose and saving memories: Evernote and Spotify

I am now listening to a live version of a favorite ELO song on Spotify that I NEVER would have known existed, if not for Spotify.

Some swear by Rhapsody, others by Pandora – I Googled for comparisons and still feel I’ve settled into the right home.

I’ve followed a few friends there, and they have introduced me to new music that’s up my pop/smooth alley that I NEVER would have known existed if not for Spotify.

I am paying $10 a month, and Spotify’s postings indicate to me some of that money DOES go to the artists – for all I know, the same sliver that actually got to them from the albums, cassettes and CDs I’ve bought over the decades. I hope it’s even more.

All I miss are the liner notes/lyric sheets. The bios are nice, if brief. They have a lot of foreign/compilation albums by artists with outtakes/alternates etc. I again, never would have known existed if not for Spotify.

For example, had no idea Jeff Lynne has yet again returned to ELO and — like Chicago with its recent Nashville Sessions — they re-recorded their hits to, perhaps, make more direct-to-them digital lucre. Good for them! And for folks like me and my aging kindred spirits, because to hear the same artists still sounding great 40 years or so later is a hopeful godsend for someone who hopes his writing these days is as good as way back then — perhaps better, more seasoned in a way, as I still Ride the Tide of the Daily News.

Then there’s Evernote – I bought the ‘Evernote For Dummies’ book about it on my Nook (darn images are too small but otherwise…;-) I am not using it yet for more than  just an always-synced, everywhere (4-5-6 devices) same set of notes without having to print them out or go deep-searching the PC. It’s also an idea-catcher, a to-do list that has bells and whistles I doubt I’ll ever use – heck, just to get things organized enough to organize the notes into notebooks and then stacks of notebooks SOUNDS so simple, but perhaps calls for a greater degree of organization than Messy Yours Truly will ever get to. But at least all those notes will be searchable forever more.

Put Evernote or some future version of it into the future version of Google Glass and an aging, dottering, forgetful Barney will never truly “forget” a thing – names will go with faces, and I can at least for a while “fake remembering.”

The Cloud Memory. The Great Collective. Both reassuring and a bit unnerving at the same time.

But I can’t re-record/post the old news. It’s sort of like Shakespeare or Picasso or Beethoven or The Beatles — some agent or such applauding over their latest masterpiece — and then immediately going, “Great stuff chaps! But what have you got new TODAY?” Always wanting more.

And while some of my tide-riding gets oh-so-dreadfully familiar, even routine after all those decades – crashes, crime, politics, etc. etc. – so much unhappy news, occasionally broken by wonderful good-news stories — at least no two days in my field are exactly the same, and you never know what’s going to come in over the transom (look it up) to change the rest of your day, week, maybe even month. Maybe even life.

Put THAT in your Evernote and remember it. Or let it remember for you!

(PS: Read just today – and I remember! – that they have found another 10 or so genes that deal with the memory Alzheimer’s eats away. It’s like a race against time – will they fix that awful theft of a disease before most of my generation is in its clutches? Only time will tell. I forget who said that first;-)

Riding the tide of the daily news (and helping others float their boat)

I often tell people I ride the tide of the daily news.

And that means I often have less than full control over where the day takes me — because you can never know exactly what’s going to come into the e-mail box, pop up on the police scanner or just… happen. (Like an ER doctor, but thankfully with a lot less blood and … stuff;-)

Some days that look to be busy as heck fizzle. Some quiet days blow up fast.

Ever since second grade and the mimeoed (remember mimeograph machines? How about ditto machines?) Room 210 Tooter, I’ve loved telling folks what’s going on.

Part and parcel of how we hear about stuff is the lowly (hey, they get little respect but are vital) news release (which of course is usually e-mailed but — we still get the occasional fax. Fax machines – long gone, so they are turned into Adobe PDFs auto-magically;-)

Ask just about any Central Oregon police officer or fire official, and odds are after we get such a release, I’ll be one of, if not the first calling or e-mailing to fill in holes, ask a follow-up question or find out something more specific than say, “vehicle.” (Bleh.)

My list of Press Release Pet Peeves has been so longstanding, there’s probably a version buried in the (ahem) bowels of this very blog.

Things like — don’t say what year something is going to happen, even near the end or beginning of the year — that’s so obvious in the vast majority of cases. But please DO put in what day of the WEEK it will be – that helps folks know whether they can attend your event or not. Don’t make them look it up on a calendar.

Titles are only capitalized immediately BEFORE a name, not after. Stuff like that. (Give up the two spaces between sentences — or heaven forbid, double-spacing the lines — those kinds of things died with the typewriter and grizzled newspaper copy editors with red pencils. And know your its and it’ses. And try not to let your organization develop it’s own quirky style, like capping the “City” of Bend (it’s not the only city!) or having to cap “County” every time in a release. Why? And ease back on the Acronyming of America (A of A). (Oh, and “Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley?” There are 2 senators from Oregon. Or is that a dig at your fellow Democrat?;-)

Oh, and PR folks: I know you want to make personal relationships happen, but if you send something only to one person in a 20-person newsroom, it WILL be the day they are off – or worse yet are the ancient un-updated media lists that send to people and places long gone — in some cases, dearly departed, even. That’s really worth the time and investment. Better to use the generic e-mail address, like stories@ktvz.com for our newsroom. Several people check that and will route it properly.

I’ve thought many times about a sideline business of helping folks get the basic style and grammar hurdles out of their releases, so folks can focus on the content.

But when you ride the tide of the daily news, it’s pretty much all-consuming, just to stay in the boat, not have it flip and keep it pointed downstream, ready for whatever rapids, swirls and eddies lie ahead.

And don’t forget that life jacket!

The new news symbiosis (no blackout when it comes to info-sharing)

I started hearing about power outages this evening near Sunriver and La Pine.

I asked about it on our Facebook page. In minutes, dozens of reports – well before I got hold of the Midstate Electric Co-op representative to start providing reports.

I used the Facebook friends’ info to help tell the story – the neighborhoods and roads in the affected area.

Soon, I had official info to weave in – not just official info, but also from the most sought after thing in the news world – real people.

Put the two together, and you have magic. It doesn’t happen all the time, but it does happen a lot. It’s grown every year in the past several.

The questions are simple and obvious, in this case: No political messes, no angles or subtext.

How big is this outage? How long will it last? Phone lines can melt down, and … people want to know.

People hear sirens, see a bunch of police cars, and they ask … me, us. Often on Facebook, where they hang out. I appreciate their trust in us, and try to answer when I can.

We’ve found out about plenty of things on Facebook from people who wouldn’t e-mail or pick up a phone, but feel comfortable weighing in there. (Do I wish they’d comment on our Website instead? Yes, for a host of reasons, and I’m trying to spark conversations. But people are where they are, and like what they like. We can only affect that so much.) Just about every day, a reporter suggest we seek out some folks willing to help in a story — and sometimes, like last week, they end up on the air.

It’s a wonderful symbiosis — they help us, we help them. Information is shared, news is gathered, from new sources and not-so-new.

When it comes to the Future of News and Is Everyone a Journalist Now? Great themes for hand-wringing and crystal ball-gazing — pontificators can pontificate, consultants can consult, advisers can advise.

Meanwhile, I… we are … just doing it. Day by day, post by post.

And it’s pretty darn cool. A 2-way social media avenue that benefits both parties.

No money changes hands, and that worries a lot of people who justifiably need to find how to pay for things of value that we provide.

It’s like my old T-shirt slogan idea: Information wants to be free! (But I want a raise). Cognitive dissonance that doesn’t help directly pay the bills — but return on reputation IS worth something, right?

Those questions need answers, and one way or another, they will come.

But in the meantime, in between time… ain’t we got fun?

As always, to our Facebook friends: Thanks for the help, folks.

Stop the men’s pants madness! (Or, a pocket full of problems)

Please, men’s pants manufacturers.

I beg of you. Don’t go changing, to try to please me (props to Billy Joel.)

I bought some new pants a few weeks back. No doubt due to the technology advances of the day, and the need to carry smartphones but not want them scratched by keys or something = they have put a DIVIDER in the bottom of the pocket.

Um, no. No thanks.

So now, my keys end up straddling the divider, and of course the change is in one when I need it from the other, so out come the keys and the smartphone and change to get to the buried treasure.

Life was simpler back when a pocket was just a pocket. One pocket, indivisible, for convenience and pleasantry for all.

If I wanted to have 15 compartments, I’d carry a purse, as women do — I can only imagine the frustration THEY feel trying to find what’s where. Unless they are more organized than I am.

I’m not about to become a backpack or fanny pack kind of guy. (Though I do use a duffel bag of sorts that my boss provided years ago from a convention in Vegas. I use just the main compartment, and occasionally futz with the zippers I ignore.

So once again, in an area far removed from technology, technology invades, and makes something simple… not.

I used to just have to see if a pair of pants fit, had a pleasing texture, weren’t too thin a fabric or stiff, right hem length etc.

Now I have to pick a pair of pants precisely to peruse the perfect pocket placement?

Pshaw.

UPDATE: I just remembered (ya get older, you just remember a lot of stuff later;-) that these other new pants of me also have a 2-pocket pocket, but it’s the full pocket, from top to bottom. That’s better, BUT still a problem in that they are so narrow, keys get wedged in there — I don’t have that many – and again everything has to come out, tissues etc. flying, to get out the keys or such. We may be in a Golden Age of Experimentation and Innovation when it comes to pants pockets. But like so many things, I yearn for the good ol’, simpler days. Not all the good ol’ days thought – the Nehru jackets and flared jeans can stay back in the past;-)

Of the Fitbit, Evernote and turning over new (fall) leaves

I am writing this at work.

(Why care? Let me explain.)

This blog craves attention I don’t give it. By forcing myself to do it at work, even when busy (ask anyone, I’m always busy) — maybe I can be more consistent. Otherwise, why link to it at KTVZ.COM – the place I/we strive to make sure has fresh content as 24/7 as possible?

So the past month has been satisfying on several fronts (except for my wife’s uncertain work situation, but … let’s not go there, just have to keep the faith.)

My employer, News Press & Gazette, was kind enough to provide us a free Fitbit Flex – a wristband-worn activity tracker — AND a tasty incentive to use it — half off our monthly insurance premiums!

I’d been waiting for a “good excuse” to treat my body better, and this fit the bill. Couple it with what my wife and others say is a much better food logger — My Fitness Pal — and the two sync nicely. (Free, too!)

So at least twice a day, I’ve been taking walks through the neighborhood — and it’s been good, in many ways. Time to think, to breathe deep, to wonder why one neighbor always has the water running (?) and to just … take a break.

I’ve also finally dealt with the mindless eating I’ve grown accustomed to — I bought the book “Mindless Eating” a few years back, but as usual, never finished it — attention span of a gnat, dontcha know. But having to (forcing myself to!) stop and enter the food items can slow one down and get one thinking. The database is pretty darn good, and it has a bar code scanner to help track that way (even if my phone doesn’t always do well focus-wise, it’s almost like a video game to get the thing to beep and recognize it;-) The other night, I was proud of myself because rather than just polish off a Shari’s panini sandwich (side of salad not fries! Wow!) — I stopped myself after one half and brought the other half to work for lunch the next day. Seeing it had 800 calories! — don’t even ask about the sodium! — gave me pause, so… half at a time, good deal.

So also, I’ve been trying to force myself to stop working at home and get in the newsroom earlier. Some days more successful than others, just like anything. (I don’t call the work I do “the Vortex” for nothing;-) It was my call — my great bosses have been exceedingly kind about the flexibility today’s “work anywhere” technology allows, but … being IN the newsroom more has its host of benefits. From answering the phone to helping reporters with questions and just being more … useful. (I’ve never been great at office politics, I just hope being here more averts more problems with ‘Babblin’ Barn’s Big Mouth’ than it creates:-)

I was going to promote a favorite new free reading experience on my Nook — Engadget’s weekly magazine, Distro – but alas, they’ve decided to shelve it, just a few weeks after I discovered it. Oh well, I still have Flipboard, another favorite collection of things fun to read (though my HTC One’s Flipboard is still the king of fun reading).

So instead, I’ll give a shoutout to Evernote — a note-taker that has more bells and whistles than I’ll ever use, BUT has the great advantage of syncing to all devices. I use the Windows client on my work and home PCs for a few extra features, but there’s also a Web sign-in version and apps for the phones. So I can keep all my notes in “one place” — the cloud (mostly) — and not lose them.

So it’s fall — a time of shortening days and crisp (ooh boy, that wind in the face) air and … new things. We’re about to launch our new one-hour 10pm Fox news, have had one of our every-few-years Tsunamis of Change in the newsroom, and another Sweeps period is just ahead, in November.

And I’m back to blogging. I hope you find it enjoyable. Anything you’d like me to weigh in on – journalism-wise, government (oy, the Blame Society at its zenith right now!) or how/why we do what we do at NewsChannel 21 — drop me a note, or a comment here. I’m never short of words or shy of using them;-)

Conflicting fairnesses (or, since when is life supposed to be fair?)

I heard overnight from a friend who is livid that Bend city councilors sent a proposed room tax increase – a compromise that probably pleases no one 100 percent, the very definition – to voters in November.

He says the public has no full understanding of such things as tourism economics and that the councilors shirked their duties and should resign. Etc. etc.

Was really surprised by that. First of all, aren’t city councils required to send tax hikes to voters – by state law, city charter or both — and wouldn’t the outcry be much larger if they did this without asking the voters?

And since when is an “educated vote” required? That’s as problematic to make happen (quizzes at the polling place before you get to vote? Oh wait, we don’t have polling places any more) as the notion that only “those who pay” — property owners – should get to vote on property tax hikes. What property owner doesn’t pass on all or part of such taxes to their renters? And whose fault is that?

Life isn’t fair, but so many expect it to be perfectly so. And yes, the odds of this tax hike passing are great, since it’s a tax on someone else – the visitors to our community.

Some have cried “taxation without representation!”

Huh?

How about the notion that visitors to a community by their very visit make use of roads, sewer, water and sometimes emergency services that residents pay for — and thus should shoulder a percentage – the exact amount in never-ending argument — of those costs?

It all reminds me of the favorite line, “Growth should pay it’s own way.” Like “information wants to be free,” it’s nice pablum, but completely impossible in the real world.

Bend is growing again, and that tug of war, wrestling match (grow the city! No, say no to developers! Keep Bend as it is!) will be back, with all the impossible-to-please-all decisions they entail.

A city or county cannot reject a building or a resort, say, because “we don’t want any more” or “we have enough already.” It’s simply … well, illegal, under state land use laws. It’s like saying “I want to do whatever I want with my land – property rights! – but my neighbor shouldn’t be able to do anything that affects me.” Impossible to make happen, impossible to enforce – and totally illogical to request. And yet, some do. Many, in fact.

Why are all the things we “learned in kindergarten” so hard for folks to remember or accept later in life? Ah, because by then, with all our life experiences, we “know better.”

Not;-)

If Tears Could Put Out Wildfires

If tears could put out wildfires
Then we’d all be safe from harm.

They rush to save our lives and homes
From city, ranch and farm.

They call themselves the “hotshots”
And it’s not to brag or shout

They walk into a fearsome sight
To put those fires out

While we are told to leave and flee,
To grab our things and run

These pros rush in, without a thought
To fight until it’s done.

Then they head to yet another place
Where fire rages on the land

Never knowing if this fire or that
Could be their final stand.

Some fires just move too hot and fast
To safely run away

And some will not survive the night
To fight another day.

We honor them, and mourn their loss
And thank them one and all

If tears could put out wildfires
Then they’d still be standing tall.

–In honor of those lost on Colorado’s Storm King Mountain, and on Arizona’s Yarnell Hill Fire

Oh my, I’m out front! (Do home pages matter?)

I swear, I had NOTHING to do with the fact that this blog of mine is now in the navigation lineup folks now encounter when they visit our home page! It was my friend Laura the sales lady, I swear! She’s been moving stuff around to make it more logical and stuff, and…

Not that I’m complaining. Maybe it will get me blogging more often and not thinking I must have Something Very Extra Special Important to post.

It does remind me of something I read recently, though: As we move more and more into the mobile world — close to half of our page views are from folks’ smartphone and tablets — the home page — the spot I slave over more than any other in years of Website design assistance — is becoming less and less important.

What that means on the ad side — I mean, there’s only so much room on a smartphone screen, even my fun HTC One — I’ll leave to others to ponder. But for me, it’s like spending a whole lot of time over a very long time on the front door of one’s home – the fit, the finish, what it says — only to realize half your audience is entering through the side door, looking at one little piece of content — and quite often, moving on to something else somewhere else.

Wait! Come back! Futile, huh?

But it also speaks to the fact that while the home page is diminishing in importance, the layout and content of the article pages – the meat and potatoes of what we do – rises in importance. That’s why we have the links to other stories, including the ‘Most Popular” box to the right of every article. I also believe we’ve been getting more views since we put videos front and center atop every story that has one. They used to be tucked to the corner in a way that many may not have noticed or known was a video.

So anyway, as I welcome and greet you, newcomers to my words from the home page link or … however you got here, do let me know if you have any questions about KTVZ.COM you’d like me to address, or about, gulp, me if you prefer.

And however you got here – front door, window, through the roof – I… make that we sure appreciate it, and we hope to make it worth your while!

Have a great summer!

E-mail’s too easy, but Big Data is a Google away

OK, I have learned from those who know me that sometimes my venting-frustration e-mails to colleagues or our Website’s service providers are … over the top.

Granted, I have learned that e-mail can be the BEST way to reach a news source – beats phone tag, for sure. Sometimes people in the newsroom can’t get hold of someone – granted, they need to get someone on-camera, usually – but for info or a quick answer, it’s still one of the best ways to get it.

But it’s also just too easy to fire off a vent-note when something isn’t working again and … well usually it’s in part to make folks aware, but it’s also to… complain, and whine. I need to dial that back, and I will.

But Google… well, now that’s a different story. I’ve read the sample and am probably about to buy a book about the wonders of Big Data — how amazing all that data can be at, say, tracking where the flu is hitting, in real time (via search queries!)

It’s not a matter of calculating formula dreck, it’s just having alll that data can present magical answers we never could have gotten the old-fashioned way.

And because it’s late, I’ll leave it at that;-)