Category: Commentary/Editorial || By

One of the things that bugged me during my relatively short, undistinguished newspaper career (I've now been full-time in PR longer than I was full-time in newspapers, which is scary) was the lack of transparency.

Oh, newspapers demand transparency from government agencies --- often filing expensive lawsuits to score minor legal points --- but news organizations are among the most paranoid corporations you'll ever encounter when it comes to secrecy.

(Didja ever notice that when a newspaper changes hands, the price is almost never disclosed? Or that rank-and-file employees are rarely quoted about the newspaper's operations?)

At every newspaper where I worked, there were certain subjects that we either didn't write about, or which were covered in the most generic terms.

It usually had nothing to do with politics. It was often as simple as "the publisher sits on their board of directors" or "the managing editor volunteers there."

As a reporter, that always chapped me.

All this is a long way of saying that I have a major conflict of interest right now in covering city government. It involves my role as a director of the McKeesport Heritage Center. I can't say too much more than that.

It's nothing bad --- in fact, it will be a good thing, if it happens.

I don't think it's influenced my writing, but my conscience forces me to admit that I'm not sure about that, and the readers of The Almanac should be aware. Caveat emptor, in other words.

(P.S.: It's worth noting here that opinions expressed on www.tubecityonline.com are not those of any other group of which I may be a part.)

. . .

Writers, Photographers Wanted: On a related note, one way that we can ensure that we're delivering a more balanced picture is by adding more independent voices.

We have occasionally run contributions from other writers, and photographer John Barna has lent his talents several times as well.

My short-term goal is to build a stable of reliable writers who can review entertainment (McKeesport Little Theater, McKeesport Symphony Orchestra, etc.), profile student athletes and provide regular coverage of organizations such as the school board, for instance.

We will be paying (modestly) people who take and complete story assignments, assuming we can continue to build a reliable revenue stream.

There are some details and standards to work out, and our board has to give its approval.

But if you're interested, please contact me; or if you know someone who's interested, send them a link to this entry. I'm hopeful that we'll have this up and running in a few months.

And thanks for your continued patronage. It's both flattering and weird when I'm writing a check somewhere (yes, I'm that guy) and someone says, "Oh, you're the one with the McKeesport website."

I suppose it could be worse. I could be known for something like Angus was known for.